THE SEVEN PAGODAS, 



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end of the main group of rocks by the foot-path to the village 

 from the Pidari temple near the canal landing place. 



The f ac,ade is nearly finished ; it faces the west-north-west, and 

 consists of a projecting shrine-cell in the centre and two slightly 

 withdrawn cells, one on each side, under a prominent convex 

 cornice ornamented with the usual upright horse-shoe facets 

 capped by a flat spike and having a human face carved in 

 relief within the horse-shoe. Above the cornice is a row of 

 ornamental domical cell-ornaments, three over each shrine, an 

 oblong waggon-roofed one between two with square domes, all 

 of them furnished with KalaSam or vase-shaped finials, besides 

 the flat spikes or horns of the gable ends of the oblong cells, the 

 whole of which remain in good preservation and give an air of 

 perfection to the design which most of the other excavations and 

 the monoliths want. 



The angles of the front wall below the cornice are carved to 

 represent slender square pillars with a slight neck, and a bulging 

 capital with plain abacus and indented brackets, all in the preva- 

 lent style of the locality. The shrine cells are on a raised floor 

 or basement, and each approached by a narrow flight of steps 

 springing from a plain semi-circular (door mat or) moonstone. 

 Dvarapal (warders) fill the narrow niches or recessed panels 

 between the pillars at the angles and the square half -pillars that 

 line the doorways. Those of the central shrine are ordinary 

 men scantily clad and armed with spear and club. The back 

 wall of the central shrine has a bas-relief of a four-armed figure 

 standing in the centre with a tall cap on and arrayed in a necklace 

 and sundry belts and bands. Two unarmed attendants, men, are 

 in a half- kneeling position below, whilst two celestial attendants 

 float in mid air above, one on each side. All wear tall caps and 

 have large ears and earrings. 



The extra hands of the god bear his proper emblems, but are 

 not clear enough to be easily recognized. There is a vacant 

 square lingam-socket in the centre, two doorpost sockets above 

 and boltholes in the floor below. 



Two men with long beards, tall caps and long shirted coats (or 

 petticoats), occupy the place of warders in the paneled niches, 



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