Nro.BRATINIANIC PEnion. The next period. the Neo-Bralimanic. almost entirely abandons the impressive rock-ent temples and monasteries, and develops decorative details. Indian art. which has hitherto bis• confined to the North. not only southward, but far beyond] the borders of Ltdia, and had previously been carried to China. The principal branch of this art is mis takenly called .Taira by sonic authorities. Its most interesting examples are perhaps in the Province of Orissa. The southern school asserts its independenee. Tn the North the Brahman temples consist of one or more reetangular halls approached] by porches and by curvi linear while the temples of the South are immense rectangular inelosures entered through pyramidal doorways of several stories. Even now no true vaults are used in construction, but spaces are covered by false vaults of over hanging courses, and there are no vast. interiors its there W1.1'1• in the earlier rock-•ut temples. The central halls of the monasteries become open with their (1.11S. A curious class of buildings at Ellora shows the transition to this period from the Buddhist, for they are in the open instead of cut in the mountain; boa are entirely hewn out of the rock instead of being (-oust minded. The New I tra lininnie monuments van be classified under live heads: (1) In the Northeast, orissa; (•) in Bundelkhandl and Ftaj putana ; (3) in Oujarat ( I) in the C'entral ince,: (5) in the South.
The style in Orissa, as it flonrished for 700 years, differs from that of the South in having no storied towers or columnar halls or go/ft/rams. The nnni•roils temples cut 1{1111Va lles'A r are its highest expression. The tower of the larger temple (c.600 A.D.1 is NO feet high, and near it is the 'Black Pagoda,' whose superb decoration marks a new era. But in general these temples are small. They are built of stone, which has entirely replaeed brickwork in this region. 1\inch later (c.1•00 A.If.) is the temple of daga math at. Puri. shows the absolute deea den•e of this style.
Quite distinct is the contemporary sehool of Rajputana, whose ruined city, with its several miles of ancient buildings, includhig some forty temples, is unsurpassed in India. The plan of these temples is more elaborate, being made cruciform by the projection of wings and porches, and the elevation being elalforated by the grouping of many subordinate pyramids and spires around the central pyramid. Each temple stands on a stone platform. and ordinarily meas ures about 40 meters in height and 35 meters in width. Like the preceding, the remarkable tern ] a des at C nt w lior date from the tenth to the (ley enth century. Deeorative and figured sculpture now spreads luxuriantly over every inoh of sur face. The interiors are small and dark. the sup ports heavy and broken, and the decoration of the pyramidal exterior has beeot»e the most orec.tive part of the style. The style of con
temporary towers is shown by the rich examples at Chittur. Perhaps the extreme of delieaey of design and minute care in execution appears in the two temples of Mount .:\lati (eleventh to twelfth century), built entirely of While marble, and each standing out a raised platform. The carved inside surface of a dome in the earlier of these temples (c.1030) is a more astonishing piece of work than the most elaborate English Lie-Gothic fan-vaulting. The use of false domes is an interesting feature of a whole group of these temples, including those at Nagda recently discovered.
Passing to the centre of India, we find few hut important works. The temples of Ellora (q.v.), famous the world over, exemplify the fusion of I'Aidldhisin and Brahmanism. There are about thirty excavated in the rock over a distance of two kilometers, during a period of about three centuries ( 500-S001: others. again. as men tioned above, are cut in the rock above ground. The earliest and greatest temple is that. of Vis wakarma. 26 x 13 x 10 meters, divided into three aisles by 3ti pillars. The temple of In dra is remarkably rich decoratively, but less so than the Kailasa (see Ettort.‘), which is largely in the open (eighth century). (lit out of a single mass of rock, and one of the most fantastic and brilliant creations of Indian art. Another group of subterranean temples is on the island of Ele phanta (q.v.), dating approximately from the eighth century, and easily visited from Bombay. The absorption of Buddhism by Brahmanism, seen during its earlier stages at Ellora, is almost complete at Elephanta, as shown by the sculp tures and ritual. Some of the colossal statues are very impressive.
In the South Buddhism never had a strong hold, and its monuments begin after Jaina and Brahmin supremacy. Here also are, however, some subterranean rock-cut temples, the earliest monuments in the region. There are two groups, at Mahabalipur and at Badami. At the former is a most interesting series of small monolithic temples in the open, similar to the Kailasa at Ellora, and apparently the prototypes of the later pagodas of the South. Both groups are thought to belong to the sixth century A.n., and are among the earliest known Brahmin temples. The finest temple at Badami, though small—as are all these monuments—is beautifully execut ed in every detail, and unusually symmetrical. The sculpture is very profuse, particularly if we consider their early date; but it is less riot ous than in the North. All these buildings are better lighted than the earlier rock-cut temples, which received light only through a big arched opening over the entrance, while here the en tire facade is open.