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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE
the General of Vijayāditya. They show that the temple was mostly completed by that time. Such a magnificent temple could not have been constructed in a short period. It was not fully completed in the reign of Vijayāditya−not even in the time of his son and successor Bhōja II as shown below. Before its completion, Bhōja was defeated and his kingdom annexed by the Yādava king Siṅghaṇa in circa A.D. 1212. This is shown by the stone inscription dated Śaka Saṁvat 1236 (A.D. 1213) on a slab placed outside the southern entrance of the temple of Kōppēśvara.[1] ..The temple faces east and measures 103½ ft. long, 65 ft. broad and 52 ft. high right up to the pinnacle. As stated before, it consists of four parts, viz., the garbha-gṛiha or sanctum, the antarāla or vestibule, the gūḍha-maṇḍapa or closed hall and the raṅga-maṇḍapa or the concert hall. Usually, the antarāla is small in size, but here it is even bigger then garbha-gṛiha. On the two sides of its door-way there were large images of the four-armed dvārapālas Jaya and Vijaya. Of them, Vijaya is in situ, though damaged, his mace being in a broken condition, but Jaya has disappeared altogether. The lower half of his broken image lies outside the southern door of the gūḍha-maṇḍapa. .. The gūḍha-maṇḍapa in front of the vestibule has richly carved pillars, forming two squares, one outside the other. The outer square has twenty, and the inner twelve pillars. They are square at the bottom, then octagonal and finally circular at the neck, being richly carved with decorative patterns. But unlike the four central pillars of the sabhā-maṇḍapa of the Ambarnāth temple, they are not adorned with sculptures. Like the ceiling of the sabhā-maṇḍapas of other contemporary temples, that of this maṇḍapa also consists of concentric circles ending in a pendant. There is generally a pyramidal roof over such ceilings, but here it is conspicuous by its absence, The construction of the temple seems to have been stopped before it could be erected.
..Usually, there is a dvāra-maṇḍapa in front of such a gūḍha-maṇḍapa, but here its place is taken by a detached large octagonal maṇḍapa (called sabhā-maṇḍapa or raṅga-maṇḍapa) as in the case of the Sun-temple at Moḍherā.[2] It has on the outside a low screen wall with thirty-six short pillars. Inside it there is a circle formed by twelve pillars with the figures of gods such as Brahmā, Vishṇu and other on their brackets. As stated before, they contain inscriptions recording the victory of Bōppaṇa, the General of Vijayāditya, over an unnamed enemy.[3] Over these pillars was to be erected a circular dome, but only the lower circle of half-cup-shaped cusped hollows was completed before the construction work was stopped. In the centre of the floor of this hall there is a large round slab, 14 ft. in diameter. As the ceiling above it was not constructed, it is open to the sky. It is believed by the local people that a pious man who stands on this slab goes to heaven in due course. Hence, this maṇḍapa is locally known as the svarga-maṇḍapa. As a matter of fact, the maṇḍapa has remained uncovered as the building work was interrupted by the sudden defeat and overthrow of the contemporary Śilāhāra king Bhōja II as shown below. ..
A viragaḷ (hero-stone) lying near the temple testifies to a sanguinary battle fought near
this temple. An inscription incised on it records that Bannēsa [the general] of Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara Bhōja (II), fell fighting here with his cavalry in the battle of the Saṅgama and went to
heaven.[4] The enemy is not named in this record, but he was evidently the Yādava king Siṅghaṇa, whose stone inscription[5] dated Monday, the new-moon day of Chaitra, in the Śaka
[1] No. 65.
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