| Temples & Legends of Himachal Pradesh |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
CHAMBA |
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is little doubt that the images are contempora- neous with the temples in which they are
enshrined. It should be remembered that the timber used for these buildings is the wood of
the Hima- layan cedar or deodar (cedrus deodara) which, if well seasoned, is one of the
most durable timbers existing. The carvings which axe exposed to the weather, e. g., those
on the facade of the Lakshana temple are now much decayed, but, wherever sheltered, they
exhibit an excellent state of preservation. This point is especially conspicuous in the
carved capitals of the Shakti temple. Lakshana Devi temple at Brahmaur - The plan of the Lakshana temple differs from the common pattern described above, in that in front of the shrine there is an anteroom, the two being enclosed within a solid wall of rubble and wood masonry which has replaced the verandah. Like so many ancient sanctuaries in India, the Lakshana Devi temple is a ruin kept in good repair because its cult has never been seriously interrupted. But these repairs have been executed without any properunderstanding of the originaldesign, in the technique and taste of the local peasant architecture. Thus today thetemple appears as a simple hut of wood and rubble construction with a broad, far projecting gable roof covered with slates, very similar to many local shrines all over the hills, but especially to those in Kulu. The facade of this building is of particular interest, as in the style of its decoration it exhibits a close affinity to the architecture of Kashmir and Gandhara, and, indeed, shows traces of classical influencepeculiar to the monuments of the north-west.
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