Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/105

CHAP. V. TEMPLES AT MUDABIDRI. 77 of Nepal ; but when we look for its origin, we at once recognise it in the huts and houses of the district, from the thatched roofs of which it has evidently been copied. There are sixteen of these Bastis at Mudabidri, though the Jain inhabitants of the village are now but few. The interiors of these temples are in marked contrast with the plainness of the exteriors. Nothing can exceed the richness 304- Jaina Temple at Mftdabidri. (From a Photograph.) or the variety with which they are carved. No two pillars seem alike, and many are ornamented to an extent that may seem almost fantastic. This again seems an indication of their recent descent from a wooden original. Long habit of using stone would have sobered their forms : they are now of great thickness it may even be said massiveness and this is just such an excess of strength as a people accustomed to wooden architecture would employ when first called upon to