FEB. 2, 1872.]
41
THE HALABīd TEMPLE.
nuja A'charyā is A. D. 1025. The final Muham
prophesying that his race would soon be extinct and his capital fall into ruins. She, however,
madan conquest of the Belála capital was in
out of gratitude for the kindness shown her by
1326.
the potter, spared the street in which he lived. Her prophesy was soon fulfilled. A Muham madan invasion shortly afterwards took place ; the whole of the city with the exception of one street was laid in ruins. To this day the street which was saved, goes by the name of the
The latest date assigned to the birth of Ráma
In order that these statements might
agree, we should be compelled to allow that the great Vaishnava reformer lived for a period of 300 years. Nowhere in the whole of Hala bid do we find a vestige of its having been at any time the seat of the Vaishnava religion. The temples are either Jaina bastis or dedicated to Shiva.
It is therefore clear that they were
erected by kings professing one of these two religions, and the date of their building cannot be later than 1025 A. D. How long they were
Potter's Street.
The old city was surrounded by an outer wall having nine gates, and close upon 5 miles in length. The stones are cyclopean and were trimmed to fit each other.
No mortar was
the dust of bye-gone ages, and has been for
employed. From a comparison of this work with the temples, it is conjectured that the walls are the work of a prior and different race. The
gotten in the lapse of centuries. The inscrip tions on the walls of the Hoisela Ishwara, or
popular idea that these walls once enclosed 770 temples of various kinds, is supported by
erected before, it is impossible now to determine, for the history of the builders is buried under
larger temple, prove it must have been in ex
the immense number of broken shafts, pillars,
istence at a time when the Norman conquest
columns, capitals and carvings of every sort, used in forming the band of a large neighbour ing tank. Of all these temples only five now remain, viz., the Kait Ishwara, Hoisela Ishwara, and three
of England was a hardly-established fact, and long before many of England's grandest Cathe drals were thought of. Tradition—a people's history—has preserved for us the story connected with the capital. In the reign of the ninth king it happened that his favourite concubine fell greatly in love with his nephews, who are said to have been remarkably handsome men. . Each in his turn treated all her
advances and overtures with contempt.
Her
love now changed to hate. In order to be re venged, she did not scruple to charge the nephews with having made overtures to her. Furious on hearing this, the king ordered them to be impaled, and their bodies, like those of common thieves, exposed at the city gates. The gate to the south of the Jaina bastis is pointed out as being the one where this was done. Hearing what had happened, their unfor tunate mother ran to the palace to demand
justice. Not only was she refused admittance, but the inhabitants of the city were commanded not to give her assistance of any sort or kind. Weary and worn, the unfortunate woman wan dered from street to street, only to find that every door was closed against her, and every helping hand withheld. At length a poor potter took compassion upon the bereaved mother, drew her aside, and supplied her with the refresh ment of which she was so much in want.
Re
freshed, she turned round and cursed the king,
-
Jaina bastis.
Time, assisted by a banian tree, whose roots are embedded in its Wimana (or pyramidal tower over the spot where the god or his emblem is enthroned) is fast reducing the Kait Ishwara to a shapeless mound. In its pristine state this temple must have been a noble specimen of its architect's skill. The carvings, which adorned its walls, though small when compared with those of the larger temple, display a fineness of detail in execution which might be equalled but could scarcely be surpassed. Mr. Fergusson, in his History of Architec ture, when treating of the Chālukya style, has made the following remarks" with regard to Hoisela Ishwara, or larger temple:–
“It (the Kait Ishwara) is however surpassed in size and magnificence by its neighbour, the great temple, which, taking it altogether, is perhaps the building on which the advocate of Hindu architecture would desire
to take
his stand. Unfortunately it was never finished. The general arrangement of the building is...... a double temple.......Such double temples are by no means uncommon in India, but the two sanctuaries usually face each other, and have - - -- - - - - -
the porch between them.
- History of Architecture, vol. II. pp. 614-618.
The dimensions may
