202 



DESCRIPTIVE REMARKS ON 



deities (? Vishnu and Brahma) flanking him in the back ground. 

 This tableau is produced again and again, as for instance in the 

 Mahishamardini excavation (No. 32), twice in' the shore temple 

 (No. 6), in the Mukunda Nayanar (No. 54), and no less than 

 three times over in the AtiranacandesVara cave at Saluvan- 

 kuppam, in all of which instances it is sculptured on the back 

 wall of the shrine, immediately behind the lingam. 



This niche has door-post sockets above as usual, and an escape 

 channel for the liquid used in washing and anointing the image ; 

 but there is no image or lingam now. The top or ceiling of 

 the niche shows the remains of painting, as is the case also in 

 Kamaraja's temple, and several other shrines, Nos. 24 and 25. 



The image shrine or portico niche of the first or lower terrace 

 has a wide open front between polygonal lion-based pillars with 

 squash capitals and short slightly-fluted brackets like those of 

 the adjacent Rathas and excavations. 



The walls on the north, east, and south sides are divided by 

 plain pilasters, with small squash capitals supporting tribracks 

 in the prevalent style here, into seven shallow recessed panels, 

 each containing a full length figure or group, a selection of 14 of 

 which are represented in line drawing in pi. XVI, page 60 of 

 Carr's compilation. Many of them have a Sanskrit superscrip- 

 tion in archaic characters (of the fifth or sixth century A.D.). 



They are not all, or quite correctly, shown in Carr's book. No. 

 4, upper gallery, north side, seems rather to have a complete disc 

 or ring for a crest on the top of the head-dress and not a crescent 

 as there shown. 



Several interesting ones are omitted. No, 2 from the east on 

 the " upper gallery (i.e., first terrace), south 

 side," situate between Nos. 1 and 2 of plate 

 XVI, has a death's head (skull) ornament, and 

 triumphs over or strangles a prostrate figure 

 below ; also No. 2 from west end of same row 

 between 5 and 6 of the plate bears two emblems. (See margin). 

 Another figure treads on a 3 -headed Naga, and pulls up its 



