244 <5N THE WEAlPONS USED 



74 priestly families of the Vaisnavabrahmans, as the Tata- 

 caryas trace their descent to Nadhamuni. He was the author 

 of a work on Vedanta philosophy, and had at his own cost 

 erected gopurams at Kancipurani, Tirupati, Srlrangam, and 

 Tirumaliramsolai. His eldest son was Tirumalatatacarya, 

 who administered the Anagundi kingdom for a while after 

 the death of Venkatapatiraya. When the Muhammedans 

 occupied Kancipurani Tirumalatatacarya lost all his riches. 



The mandapa is a square ; 12 columns face the eastern and 

 western sides, 8 columns face the northern and southern ; 

 besides these 96 columns 4 stand apart. On the 4th column 

 of the north side, when coming from the west, is cut in solid 

 stone, as the principal ornament of the column, a combat 

 between soldiers. A trooper sits on horseback and a foot 

 soldier aims with his firearm at his enemy. The mandapa was 

 erected about 1624 (the year being tallaksmidyesahhdbde). 



4. In the precincts of the Tan j ore temple are carved in 

 stone on stone pillars opposite the " Svarga ekadasl-g&te sepoys 

 with small carbines in their hands. 



5. In Perur, a few miles from Coimbatore, is a celebrated 

 Siva temple and near it is a fine shrine, known as the 

 Sabhamandapa. On the base of its broad stone pillars stands 

 a soldier with a gun in his hands. The date of the erection 

 cannot be ascertained with exactness, and even popular belief 

 does not ascribe to this mandapa more than a few hundred 

 years. As is usual with buildings in the south of the Dekkan 

 Tirumala Nayak is occasionally named as its builder. 



All these buildings, which, as we have seen, contain represen- 

 tations of firearms, are, according to our notions of antiquity, 

 not very ancient, as, the Tirupallani temple excepted, none of 

 them is over 500 years old, but in judging the age of the 

 subjects exhibited in the carvings of Indian temples, we 

 should never lose sight of the fact that new subjects are not 

 introduced in the architectural designs of the principal figures 



