Page:The Rock-cut Temples of India.djvu/199

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VERANDAH, CAVE No. 2.—AJUNTA.


THE verandah is supported by four pillars of very massive form and tolerably elegant design. The lower portion is of sixteen sides, above this they are adorned with thirty-two flutes; but their principal ornaments are arranged in the belts which surround them. These are covered with the most elegant ornaments, so delicate as to be almost better suited for metal than for stone work. At either end of it a smaller porch stands in front of the two principal cells, the difference in height being made up by bassi-relievi representing scenes from the life of Buddha. The doorway leading into the hall is also a rich and elegant specimen of its class.

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