1848.] Essay on the Avian Order of Architecture. 325 



" Apres avoir erige un symbole dedie a la divinite supreme, joint a un 

 cercle mystique, il consacra plusieurs-sanctuaires dans 1'ancienne ca- 

 pitale." 



In this version the words "la divinite supreme" are a translation of 

 Pravareswara, which was the name of the Saiva symbol erected by king 

 Pravareswara ; and the words " 1'ancienne capitale," are a translation of 

 Puranadhishtdna, which is now called Pandrethan. The consecration 

 of a famous lingam at Pandrethan is therefore clearly attributed to this 

 Prince, and as it is the only one mentioned throughout the history, there 

 is every probability that the gigantic Priapian fragments now existing are 

 the remains of the Pravareswara symbol. This Prince reigned from 

 A. D. 400 to 415. His pillar is therefore the oldest authenticated 

 column in Kashmir. 



XXXVIII. — Concluding Remarks. 



1 . — I have now given a complete description of all the existing tem- 

 ples of Kashmir, with a detailed account of the different parts and 

 various mouldings of which these edifices are composed. I will there- 

 fore close this long notice with a few general remarks upon the Kash- 

 mirian style of architecture, to which I have ventured to give the name 

 of the Arian order. Even at first sight, one is immediately struck 

 by the strong resemblance which the Kashmirian colonnades bear to 

 the classical peristyles of Greece. This first impression is undoubtedly 

 due to the distinct division of the pillars into the three members — base, 

 shaft, and capital, as well as to the fluting of the shafts. On further 

 inspection the first impression is confirmed by the recognition that some 

 of the principal mouldings are also peculiar to the Grecian orders, but 

 more especially to the Doric. Thus the echinos, which is the leading 

 feature of the Kashmirian capital, is also the chief member of the 

 Doric capital. A still closer examination reveals the fact that the width 

 of the capital is subject exactly to the same rules as that of all the 

 classical orders excepting the Corinthian. 



2. — Even the temples themselves, with their porches and pediments, 

 remind one more of Greece than of India ; and it is difficult to believe 

 that a style of architecture which differs so much from all Indian 

 examples, and which has so much in common with those of Greece, 

 could have been indebted to chance alone for this striking resemblance. 



