76 THE ANTIQUITIES OF MUKHALINGAM. 
while the other two open to the east. Of what seems to 
have once been a vast building by the evidence of the 
stone debris there, there now remains only the garbhako- 
vila. Even this is now in a dilapidated condition owing 
to a recent stroke o£ lightning which has shattered a part 
of the amalaka or top. But its structure, even as it 
now stands, commands our admiration. It is a curious 
piece of architecture such as is rarely to be met with. The 
whole temple is constructed of loose sculptured stones, 
arranged skilfully one upon another without any cement 
whatever, resembling a ' kindergarten ' toy-temple built of 
loose slabs prepared for the purpose. The style is Orissan. 
Everything here is skilfully executed. The carvings are all 
of exquisite workmanship and elaborately ornamented. The 
figures, representing various deities of the Hindu mytho- 
logy, are excellent specimens of Hindu sculpture, tastefully 
executed, gi'aceful in form, and chaste in design. Each of 
these deities occupies a splendidly carved cell or niche stand- 
ing in bold relief ; in some cases it is a monolith, in others it is 
formed of loose stones fitted into one another. The forms of 
these niches are various, triangular, circular and so on. The 
gateway is surmounted by an excellent frieze, representing 
the Navagrahas. the nine Hindu planets — very beautiful 
figures. The linga called Somesvara after Soma, the Moon, 
who is said to have brought it there, is, like Bhimesvara, a 
thick stone cylinder. I could see no traces of any inscrip- 
tion when the morning sun was shining behind the temple, 
but the evening rays falling on the interior walls of the 
hovila showed to me indistinct marks of what might be sup- 
posed to have been inscriptions. The general appearance 
of the temple is dark and weather-worn, and I presume 
that it is the oldest of the three I have noticed. 
12. These three temples are more or less similar in 
form to those of Orissa, illusti'ated in Hunter's Annah. 
