18GC] Notes on some of the temples of Kashmir. 91 



Notes on some of the temples of Kashmir, especially those not de- 

 scribed by General A. Cunningham, in his Essay published in the 

 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for September, 1848. — 

 By W. G. Cowie, M. A., Chaplain on duty in Kashmir, during 

 the summer of 1865. 



[Beceived 1st December, 1865.] 



In these notes I have followed as nearly as possible the wording of 

 General Cunningham, in his description of the different temples, 

 which he visited in Kashmir. 



The temples of Bhaniyar, Waugat, Manusbal, Narayan Thai, 

 Futtehghur, Dyamun, and Lidar do not seem to have been described 

 before. What I have said about those of Pandrethan, the Takht, 

 Pathan, Avantiswami, and Marttand, is meant to be supplementary 

 to General Cunningham's accounts of those temples. 



Bhaniyar. 



The buildings at Bhaniyar consist of a lofty central edifice, standing 

 in a large quadrangle, surrounded by a colonnade of fluted pillars 

 with intervening trefoil-headed recesses.* The ground plan of the 

 temple is a square of 26J feet with pilasters at the corners, 4 feet in 

 thickness. The interior is a square of 13 J feet, and the walls are 

 therefore 6J feet thick, which proportion may be considered a strong 

 proof, according to General Cunningham'sf theory, of the antiquity 

 of the building. 



The roof was pyramidal, and the total height of the temple, 

 estimated at twice its breadth, would be 53 feet. The lowest stones 

 of the pyramid remain in some places, and their external slope is 

 parallel to that of the sides of the pediments over the doorways. The 

 only entrance to the temple is gained by a broad and lofty flight of 

 steps to the N. N. W. On each of the other sides there is a porch 

 containing a closed doorway. 



These porches are just the same as that of the entrance, each being 

 16f feet wide, with a projection of one foot in advance of the corner 

 pilasters. 



* See Photograph, No. I.* f See Cunningham, p. 249, para. 6. 



* The photographs referred to in this paper are by Messrs. Sheppard and Bourne of Simlah — Ed. 



