Report of the Archaeological Survey. xli* 



principal one. The southern entrance has disappeared long ago, but 

 the other two are still in good order, with their interesting inscrip- 

 tions in large Arabic letters. 



93. I have already noticed that the whole of the beautiful Hindu 

 pillars in these cloisters were originally covered with plaster by the 

 idol-hating Musalmans as the readiest way of removing the infidel 

 images from the view of true believers. A further proof of this may 

 be seen on two stones in the north side of the court, one fixed in the 

 inner wall in the north-east angle just above the pillars, and the other 

 in the outer wall between the north gate and the north-east corner. 

 The inner sculpture represents several well known Hindu gods, — 1st, 

 Vishnu lying on a couch with a lotus rising from his navel, and covered 

 by a canopy, with two attendants, one standing at his head and one 

 sitting at his feet ; 2nd, a seated figure not recognized ; 3rd, Indra 

 on his elephant ; 4th, Brahma with three heads seated on his goose ; 

 5th, Siva, with his trident seated on his bull, nandi ; 6th, a figure with 

 lotus seated on some animal not recognized. The outer sculpture 

 is of a different description. The scene shows two rooms with 

 a half-opened door between them. In each room there is a female 

 lying on a couch with a child by her side, a canopy over her 

 head, and an attendant at her feet. In the left-hand room two females 

 are seen carrying children towards the door, and in the right-hand 

 room, two others are doing the same. The whole four of these 

 females appear to be hastening towards the principal figure in the 

 right-hand room. I am unable to offer any explanation of this very 

 curious scene. But as it is quite certain that these figures could not 

 have been exposed to the sight of the early Musalmans, I conclude 

 that these stones must also have been carefully plastered over. 



94. During the reign of Altamish, the son-in-law of Kutb-uddin, 

 the Great Mosque was much enlarged by the addition of two wino-g 

 to the north and south, and by the erection of a new cloistered court 

 six times as large as the first court. The fronts of the two wing 

 buildings are pierced by five arches each, the middle arches being 24 

 feet span, the next arches 13 feet, and the outer arches only 8| feet. 

 The walls are of the same thickness, and their ornamental scrolls are 

 of the same delicate and elaborate tracery as those of the original 

 Mosque. But though the same character is thus preserved in these 

 new buildings, it would seem that they were not intended simply as 



a 



