THE SEVEN PAGODAS. 



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Hindu mythological tableaux in bas-relief, one on the back wall 

 of the portico on each side of the projecting shrine, and one on 

 each end wall. They are as follows : — 



25-a. On the north end wall, the Varaha Avatara (Boar incar- 

 nation) of Vishnu (plate Y). There is another specimen of this 

 tableau in the Varahasvami Cave temple (No. 35), and one also 

 in a small open shrine in the north-west corner of the Raja- 

 gopalsvami temple at Manimangalam. 



25-b. The next tableau faces west and represents the Gaja 

 Lakshmi, found so universally in Indian temples from Buddhist 

 times to the presentday. The goddess, only two -armed, seated on 

 her lotus throne attended by two nude females on each side, who 

 bring water pots, which two elephants raise in their trunks and 

 empty over her head : (See plate VIII, where the lotus (?) leaves 

 below the throne have not been correctly shown). 



25-c. On the verandah wall next south of the projecting 

 shrine Bhadrakali is represented with four arms standing on a 

 stool under an umbrella canopy with two dwarf figures on each 

 side of her in mid air, and two half -kneeling at her feet, one on 

 each side (see plate VII and compare plate X, No. 1). The 

 goddess bears her emblems in her superhuman hands raised, and 

 wears a tallish head dress, large earrings, a necklace, a band 

 round her breast, a belt and stomacher below the waist, and 

 bangles on her ankles. This recalled vividly the tableau in the 

 shrine of Draupadi's Eatha (No. 37). A lion's head and a deer's (?) 

 are represented in the upper corners, one on each side of the 

 umbrella. 



25-d. Next to this last, on the south end wall of the verandah 

 and facing north, is the Vamana Avatara of Vishnu eight-armed 

 with ten other figures in all (plate VI). 



In style this excavation approaches nearest to the Ramanuja 

 Mandapa (No. 48) and to some extent resembles the Yamapurl or 

 Mahishamardim Mandapa (No. 32). The octagonal shafts of the 

 two pillars are about 4| diameters high, but the whole height 

 from floor to architrave is nearly 7\ diameters, the bulging 

 capital and fine square tabular abacus being large and separated 

 from the scroll- ended bracket by a cubical block, the same as in 



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