| Temples & Legends of Himachal Pradesh |
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| Temples & Legends of India |
CHAMBA |
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two statuettes at the bottom represent the goddesses of the holy rivers; Ganga, standing
on a makara, to the left and Yamuna (Jumna) on a tortoise, to the right each holding a
water vessel and a lotus stalk. Both are attended by a small maid- servant who originally
must, have held a parasol. Of the other figures one seems to represent a three-headed
Shiva, another Vishnu with human, boar and lion head, and a third possibly Surya. On the
lintelfour couples of flying godlings carry garlands to a central flower (padma), possibly
a symbol of the mistress of the shrine. The innermost broad and flat frame consists of highly stylized leaf scrolls arranged in oblong medallions formed by the long stalk from which these scrolls branch off. In order to relieve this beautiful entrance from the pressure of the pediment, the latter has been mounted on a long beam anchored in the rubble wall on both sides.It likewise is a very heavypiece, rising in three storeys. The seven crouch- ing figures along the basis of the triangle probably represent the seven days of the week. Here as well as on the architraves between the pediment and the doorway, we find an arrangement frequent in the Graeco Buddhist art of Gandhara; rows of figures in arched niches, separated by dwarf pilasters. In the lowermost row the figures are amatory couples which can be traced back to Graeco-Buddhist examples. We notice also a row of supporting crouching figures frequently met within Gandhara sculpture and corresponding to the Atlantes of classical art.The ornamentation on the Iii tels and jambs of the door-way is of a purely Indian type. The lowermost Storey consists of ten miniature niches of round arches supported by short pilasters with pot-and-foliage capitals. And in each niche there stands a couple of lovers (mithun), each in a different attitude of wooing, embracing or kissing. |
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