38 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[Febbvaby, 



])arative fjlnom. There are numerous groups of excavations 

 tlirouyliout India, at Elephanta, Salsette, EUora, and elsewhere. 

 Lindschotten describes the caves of Salsette as so many separate 

 ran!;es of apartments, rising in succession to four galleries or 

 stories, containing as many as 300 cliambers. The caves of EUora, 

 near Aurungabad, are amongst the most interesting — and the mas- 

 sive columns, with tlie cushion capital, the best specimens of this 

 style. Some of the "ruths," or monolithic shrines, are cut out of 

 isolated bloclis of granite; others have the rock out of which they 

 were cut so close round them, that they stand as it were in a pit, 

 and are consequently imperfectly seen. Sometimes the excavated 

 caves and monolithic slirines form a group, the latter being gene- 

 rally of a pyramidal form. 



Oude is said to have been the first imperial city of Hindostan. 

 Sir Wm. Jones says, " that if we may believe the Brahmins, it 

 extended over a line of about 10 miles, and the present city of 

 Luclinow was only a lodge for one of its gates." According to the 

 ' Maliabbarat' (an Indian historical poem), Oude continued to be 

 the chief city, until the erection of Canouge on the Ganges, about 

 lOOO B.C.; at which time idolatry was introduced, idols set up, 

 and Canouge adorned with numerous royal and sacred edifices. 

 Tlie regular empire of India may be said to have fallen with 

 ('i'.llian Chund, who reigned over Hindostan about 170 B.C. 

 I'alibothra was the ancient city of which Strabo asserts that it was 

 situated at the conflux of another river with the Ganges ; that its 

 figure was quadrangular; that in length it was 80 stadia, and 15 in 

 liieadth; and that it liad a fortification of wood, with turrets for 

 the archers to shoot from; and that it was surrounded by a vast 

 ditch. Delhi was founded about 300 b. c. This city is described 

 by the Persian historian Sherifeddin as consisting of three cities, 

 Seiri, Gehampenah, and old Delhi or Inderput. Seiri and old 

 Delhi were encircled by a wall; Gehampenah occupied the space 

 between the two former, and was considerably larger than either; 

 the walls by which it was fortified ran in parallel lines on each 

 side, and connected Seiri and old Delhi. This threefold city 

 spread over a vast extent of ground; according to Sheriffedin, it 

 had thirty (others say fifty) gates: he informs us also that it was 

 celebrated for a magnificent palace, erected by an ancient king of 

 India, and adorned with one thousand marble columns. This 

 noble city was destroyed by Timur, but rose again under his suc- 

 cessors; when Agra was also founded, and strongly fortified. 



The most wonderful amongst these monoliths or excavations is 

 Kylas, or Paradise, near Aurungabad; this ]iresents the appear- 

 ance of an assemblage of temples, shrines, and columns, of various 

 dimensions, — the wliole loaded with minute and fanciful ornament 

 that baffles description. The portico of one of the largest of the 

 temples is supported by colossal elephants, and the front is entirely 

 covered w itli figures of idols, animals, and ai-abesques, in infinite 

 variety. For an idea of this marvellous excavation, I must refer 

 the student to the beautiful and elaborate drawing of Lieut. Fer- 

 gusson, in his work entitled, 'Illustrations of the Rock-cut Tem- 

 ples of India.' 



The rules and principles of architecture, like those of most other 

 sciences in India, have been locked up in the Sanscrit language; 

 and every attempt made by the workmen to diffuse the knowledge 

 they verbally received, was considered an encroachment upon the 

 rights and privileges of the higher orders. Some interesting 

 translations have, however, been given by Ram Raz, himself a 

 Hindoo. The Sanscrit writings commence with various aphorisms, 

 such as: "An architect should be conversant in all sciences; ever 

 attentive to his avocations; of an unblemished character; gene- 

 rous, sincere, and devoid of enmity or jealousy Woe to them 



who dwell in a house not built according to the proportions of 

 symmetry. In building an edifice, therefore, let all its parts, from 

 tlie basement to tlie roof, be duly considered." Tlien follow rules 

 for choosing the ground: "The best sort of ground," says the San- 

 scrit author, "should abound with milky trees, full of fruits and 

 flowers; its boundary should be of a quadrangular form, level and 

 smooth, with a sloping declivity towards the east; producing a hard 

 sound; with a stream running from left to right; of an agreeable 

 odour; fertile; of an uniform colour; containing a great (juantity 

 of soil; producing water wlien dug to the height of a man's arm 

 raised above his head; and situated in a climate of moderate tem- 

 jierature." The ground to be avoided is, "That which has the form 

 of a circle; a semicircle; containing three, five, or six angles; re- 

 sembling a trident, or a winnow; shaped like tlie hinder part of a 

 fish, or the back of an elephant; or a turtle, or the face of a cow, 

 and the like. Abounding with human skulls, stones, worms, ant- 

 hills, hones, slimy earth, decayed woods, dilapidated walls, sub- 

 terraneous pits, fragments of tiles, limestones, ashes, husks of 



corn; or exposed to the wafted eflluvia of curds, oil, honey, dead 

 bodies, fishes, &c. Such a spot should be avoided on every ac- 

 count." Then follow rules for ascertaining the solidity of the 

 ground, and for various ceremonies, which so nearly resemble those 

 practised at the founding of Rome, and conse<iuently Etruscan, 

 that they need not be mentioned here. The whole area of a town 

 or village (according to the ancient authority), with the lands 

 thereunto belonging, being divided into twenty equal parts: one is 

 assigned for the occupation of the Brahmins, six or more for the 

 other three classes, and the remainder for agriculture. Two or 

 more tanks, or reservoirs, are to be built in every town. Private 

 houses may consist of from one to nine stories; but this is to be 

 determined according to the rank of the persons for whom they 

 are built — the lower classes must on no account construct their 

 houses of more than a single story or ground floor. In front of 

 the houses, on each side of the door, should be erected a "vedica," 

 or raised seat, or pedestal. 



The Indians employ seven orders of columns, classed according 

 to tlie propoi-tion between the diameter and the height. The 

 second order, of seven diameters, may be compared with the 

 Tuscan; the third, of eight diameters, with the Doric; the fourth, 

 of nine diameters, with the Ionic; and the fifth, of ten diameters, 

 with the Corinthian: but there is one order of six diameters, and 

 two others from one to two diameters more lofty than the Co- 

 rinthian. The first two orders of columns are always placed upon 

 pedestals. The general rule with respect to the tapering of the 

 shaft is, that the diameter at the base being divided into as many 

 parts as tlie shaft is diameters high, the upper diameter is dimi- 

 nished by one of those parts. The higher the column, the less 

 it tapers in proportion, because the ajiparent diminution of the 

 column is greater according to its heiglit. The plan of the Hin- 

 doo column admits of any form — circular, quadrangular, or octa- 

 gonal; and the shaft is often richly adorned with sculptured orna- 

 ments. The intercolumniations have no fixed rule. The capitals 

 do not mark the order, as in those of Greece and Rome, but, on 

 the contrary, they may be varied at pleasure, though not without 



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regard to the proportion of the column. The profile of the enta- 

 blature changes little, but the pedestals and bases offer a great 

 variety of outline and ornament. Occasionally, in temples and 

 porticoes, figures of men or animals are carved in bold relief on 

 the sides of pillars or pUasters. The pedestal is frequently em- 

 ployed over cornices, where the edifice consists of several stories, 

 and also as a support for thrones and statues: in the latter situa- 

 tion, great skill has been displayed in their decoration, — nor would 

 they disgrace any period of art in richness of ornament and beauty 

 of proportion. The Engraving, Plate III., shows four of the In- 

 dian columns, and a fifth with a lion sujipoi'ter. 



The Hindoos make use of two sorts of cement, or "chunani;" in 

 the interior of the country, it is prepared from a gravelly sort of 

 limestone mixed with sand; and along the coast, from the shells 

 washed out of the salt water marshes — the shell "chunam" is pre- 

 ferred — also mixed with sand; and is mixed with "jaggery-water," 

 a solution of molasses or coarse sugar, the use of which seems to 

 have prevailed from the earliest ages. There is another kind of 

 chunam (not mentioned by Ram Raz), prepared from calcined 

 shells, without any admixture of sand or other foreign matter, and 

 used as plaster; it is tempered with as little water as possible, antl 

 well worked-up; when yet moist, it is rubbed, and is susceptible of 

 a high polish. 



I shall conclude this lecture with the description of an ancient 

 Indian city, as given in tlie 'Ramayana': — "On the banks of the 

 Saraya is a vast, fertile, and delightful country, called Cosala, 

 abounding in corn and wealth In that country is a city, called 



