THE SEVEN PAGODAS. 



139 



The pastoral scene in the Krishna Mandapa seems pecu- 

 liarly well-suited to the taste of some early Kurumba prince 

 ruling over the herdsmen tribes, who, we have reason to 

 believe, occupied this part of the country in the early centuries 

 of the Christian era. The affability and protecting presence 

 of the two princes, with their wives and attendants, amongst 

 the herdsfolk seem to be exhibited : there is nothing super- 

 human or frightful about them. 



The two other great sculptures of Arjuna's Penance (so 

 called) Nos. 17 and 45, seem to show the superhuman power 

 of the ascetic whose austerities have called up the divine (four- 

 armed) being, apparently the god Siva standing in approval 

 by the side of the devotee, who has thus proved himself 

 superior to the rest of creation, celestial as well as terrestrial, 

 all of whom are presented, as in a vision, trooping to the 

 worship of the earth-born Naga deities who are issuing from 

 the bowels of the rock or from the depths of the infernal 

 regions. 



The smaller tableaux in the caves introduce Siva "at home" 

 in Kailasa with his family and attendant deities ; and Vishnu 

 is pourtrayed as Narayana, and in several of his avataras, 

 descents or incarnations. 



Although the monolithic shrines, the caves, and the built 

 temples differ from one another considerably, they all have a 

 good deal in common, and belong, I should say, to but one 

 architectural style. 



The shrine cell is much the same in all, and so is the 

 general plan of the roof, and the ornamental treatment of the 

 roof and wall-panels. The great majority of the shrine 

 cells appear to have contained the lihga accompanied by a 

 tableau cut in relief on the panel of the back wall as an altar- 

 piece. Nearly all the lingas and some of the altar-pieces have 

 been removed or destroyed, but one or more of each has been 

 found in one or more examples in each class, 



