History of Indian and Eastern ArchitectureFergusson, James
History
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture
Fergusson, James
Architecture -- India; Architecture, Asian
In remote parts of the empire, and especially in the immediate vicinity
of the older shrines, this Mahomedan influence was much less felt than
in the places just mentioned. The modern temples, for instance, at
Palitana have domes, it is true, but they are much more directly the
lineal descendants of the old Jaina domes than copies of those of the
Moguls, and the foliated pointed arch rarely, if ever, occurs in the
walls of that old city. It requires, indeed, a practised eye to
discriminate between what is old and what is new, and without the too
manifest inferiority of modern sculpture this would not always be easy
even to the most accomplished antiquary.
One example must for the present suffice to show the effect aimed at by
this style in recent times, as well as to illustrate how little it has
degenerated from its ancient excellence. For, though this woodcut (No.
145) does not prove it, there are photographs in this country which do
exhibit the marvellous details of this temple in a manner not to be
mistaken. It was erected about thirty years ago by Huttising, a rich
Jaina merchant, and dedicated to Dharmanath, the 15th Tirthankar. In
this instance the external porch between two circular towers is of great
magnificence and most elaborately ornamented, and leads to an outer
court with sixteen cells on either side. In the centre of this is a
domed porch of the usual form, with twenty pillars (see Woodcut No.
117). This leads to an inner porch of twenty-two pillars, two storeys in
height, and with a roof of a form very fashionable in modern Jaina
temples, though by no means remarkable for beauty, and difficult to
render intelligible without more illustration than it merits. This leads
to a triple sanctuary, marked by three sikras, or spires, externally.
Behind this is a smaller court with two groups of eight cells, one in
each angle, with a larger cell in the centre, and two, still more
important, at the point of junction between it and the first court. To
the eye of a European, unaccustomed to its forms, some of them may seem
strange; but its arrangement, at least, will probably be admitted to be
very perfect. Each part goes on increasing in dignity as we approach the
sanctuary. The exterior expresses the interior more completely than even
a Gothic design; and whether looked at from its courts or from the
outside, it possesses variety without confusion, and an appropriateness
of every part to the purpose for which it was intended.
JAINA TEMPLE, DELHI.
[Illustration: 146. Upper part of Porch of Jaina Temple at Delhi. (From
a Photograph.)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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