178 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [June, 1873. against each other for the amusement of the court, j This is the account given by tradition, and, judg¬ ing from the character of the sculptures surround¬ ing the place, it is probably the true one. The animals fought on the ground, and the king and his suite watched them from elevated platforms of stone. The buildings in which these beasts were confined cannot now be distinguished, but the stone trough at which they were watered still remains. The trough is a monolith, which has unfortunately been slightly cracked in turning it over to look for treasure. Its dimensions are 411 X 3 X 2 feet. Leaving these, the road passes through a few paddy-fields towards tho river. There are fine stone buildings all round and the ddbris of count¬ less houses of stone and brick. On the left is a mutilated monolith representing 6iva with a cobra with outstretched hood over his head. Siva is represented seated, and the statue is about 35 feet high. It has been much damaged by TipAs troops, who have broken off tho nose and one of the arms. Close by aro two fine temples between which the road passes, but which are remarkable for nothing but the enormous size of the stones which have been used in their construction. Mass¬ es of cut granite, many of them 30 feet in length by 4 in depth, are seen high up in the wall, and no explanation can be given of tho mode in which they were placed in their present position. About 100 yards beyond this place, tho crest of the hill is reached, and from it a magnificent pano¬ ramic view is obtained. Immediately below, the river TflugabadrA flows through a gorge between the rocks, and on the opposite bank are high rugged granite hills. Parallel with the river is the main street, lined with temples and palaces and some modern houses. Small patches of paddy and sugar-cane cultivation serve to give colour to the scene. At one end of this street, which is about half a mile long and fifty yards in breadth, is a large pagoda in good repair, which is the only one in which service is still kept up. A channel from the river runs through the centre of it, and is led through the room used for cooking, so that at all times there is a supply of fresh running water. At the other end of the street is a large figure of Hauuman, the monkey-god, while the whole is commanded by a high hill composed of irregular granite boulders, on the summit of which a largo temple has been erected. The view from the top well repays the trouble of the ascent. Parallel with this main street, but a little further from the river, is another, equal in size, but with fewer fine buildings in it. The finest temples of all are about half a mile lower down the river. One dedicated to Vithal, a form of Vi§hnu, is said to be equal in its architectural detail to anything at Elora. The roof is formed of immense slabs of granite supported by monolithic columns of the same material richly carved, and twenty feet high. Close by are similar buildings dedicated to Vira- bhodra and Ganesa. In the centre of the Vithala temple is the stone-car of the god, supported by stone elephants, and about 30 feet high.* Td'lpatri (population 7,869) is built on the right bank of the Penner river, which flows close under¬ neath its walls. According to tradition, it was founded by Ramalingam Nayudu, a subordinate of the Yijayanagar kings, about 400 years ago. Tho village was first called “TtUepalli,” having been built in a grove of palmyra trees, and this was afterwards corrupted into Tadpatri, He also built the fino temple dedicated to Rama Iswara. Tho other temple, on the river-bank, called that of Chintaraya, was built by his grandson Timma Nayudu, who also founded several other villages in the neighbourhood. These two temples are “ elaborately decorated with sculptures represent¬ ing the adventures of Krishna, R&ma, and other mythological events. Among the bas-reliefs is a figure holding a Grecian bow, rarely seen among Hindu sculpture.’* The temple on the river-bank is by far the finest, but was never finished. The Gopuram of the other temple was struck by light¬ ing about 30 years ago and split in half. After the battle of Talikota, the country round T&dpatri was subdued by the forces of the Kutb Shahi dynasty, and a Muhammadan ^Governor was appointed. Afterwards the town was captured by Morari Rao, and still later by Haidar Ali. The situation of T&dpatri is low, and in the rains and when the river is in fresh the worst parts of the town are under water. The main street, though narrow, is straight, and the houses on each side of it well and substantially built. Another good street might bo made along the bank of tho river, and the embankment necessary would havo the effect of preventing tho river from undermining the R&ma Iswara temple, as it now does. The streets in the rest of the town are small and crooked, and lined with squalid mud houses, built without any attempt at regularity. The road from Kad- dapah to Bel&ri passes at the rear of the town, as does also the railway, though the station is at Nandelpad, about 2^ miles off. T&dpatri has al¬ ways been a great trading centre, and on this account, and also on account of its peouliar sanc¬ tity (one authority reckoning it next *o Benares), it has always been a thriving and populous town.f
- pp. 290-292.
t Ibid. pp. 48,49.
