174

GRANITE WORKS OF THE ANCIENTS.

civilization—are found, as in Egypt and Nubia, innume-
rable and equally wonderful vestiges of antiquity, composed
for the most part of that indestructible material. The
ruder works, but whether on that account the more pri-
mitive is questionable, are fortresses of prodigious size
and strength in the presidency of Bengal and in the Dek-
kan; of which the principal are Chunar Gur, Gwallior,
Bidjegur, Burham-pur, and Dowlatabad; but even these,
vast as they appear, would be compelled to veil their
bonnets in the presence of those in Upper India and the
Himalaya. At the sight of the cyclopean ruins of Tog-
luckabad, which constitute even in our day a not unsuit-
able defence of the most magnificent chain of mountains
in the world, a recent traveller exclaims, “ The beholder
is struck with awe at these colossal remains, which seem
those of the work of Titans, not of men. The marvel is,
how they could put such enormous blocks of stone to-
gether, and fashion them into fair proportions.” The con-
structors, as it would really seem, had selected not only
the largest, but also the most angular masses of rock, in
order to manifest their wonderful dexterity in dovetailing
the one into the other. Ranking next to these colossal re-
mains of a primitive age are the famous rock or grotto
temples of Elephanta, Salsette, and Carli; the architecture
of which, and more particularly of the first two mentioned,
is remarkable for its simplicity. Here, too, sculpture ap-
pears in its infancy. ‘The practical eye,” remarks Mr.
Fergusson, one of the highest authorities on Indian anti-
quities, “can always detect a certain elegance of outline
and design in the older structures, which at once reveals
their antiquity ; repeats the sad lesson that the history of
India and her arts is written in decay; and presents a
picture of steady, progressive degradation from the earliest
period at which we know her to the present time.” The
more famous grottoes of Ellora, in the heart of the conti-
nent and in the midst of the Ghaut range, exemplify the
most flourishing period of Hindoo art. The richness and
variety of designs, both of architecture and sculpture, are
unsurpassed; nothing like them, in fact, is to be found in
any part of the ancient or of the modern world. Yet, these
stupendous works are of such high antiquity that, as the
natives cannot, either from history or tradition, give any
information concerning the time in which they were
executed, they uniformly ascribe the production of them
(as elsewhere under similar circumstances) to the power of
supernatural beings.

A detailed account—or indeed a mere catalogue—of
the architectural marvels of India would demand a volume
of no ordinary dimensions; their name is legion, and
their phases too. As in a geological section of the earth
the several strata vary, each presenting a distinguishing
feature for every successive epoch, so on this enormous
| continent, the cradle as well as burial-ground of innume-
; rable races, one extinct civilization superimposes another,
| no two of which are absolutely alike. In either case,
| revolutions are abundantly apparent; but the several
| lapses of time required to produce them are altogether
and hopelessly indeterminable. Here, as elsewhere, the
mazes of higher antiquity are as inscrutable as impene-
trable. In an archeological sense, Southern India takes
precedence of Northern India; whence, in the judgment
of our elder antiquaries, proceeded that band of adventurous
spirits who discovered and colonized the uberous valley
of the Nile, and whose deedalian genius is embalmed for
all time in the densest of rocks. If skill in granite-work-

ing was an acceptable proof of their Indian origin, the
Dekkan, or southern portion of the continent, affords it.
For here may be seen the ruins of several once flourishing
but now depopulated cities, whose stupendous foundations
are Nature’s own work; the effects of her severest trials
or convulsions having been utilized by the daring inge-
nuity of man; and a scene of the wildest disorder and
subversion transformed, as by a touch of harlequin’s wand,
into a very paradise of beauty and grandeur, proportion
and art. Bijanagur, in the province fof Bijapur, and for-
merly the metropolis of a kingdom which comprised the
two Carnatics, presents one of these pictures to the as-
tonished gaze of the traveller. It is built on a level spot,
enclosed by and encumbered with enormous masses of
granite; which, in some places, swell up from the surface
to the form and magnitude of hills, and in others present
detached blocks of various shapes piled over one another
in all sorts of fantastical combinations ; occasionally sur-
rounding little isolated valleys, and elsewhere obstructing
all passage, except through the narrow winding defiles
which separate the fragments. The communications from
street to street, and in some cases the streets also, follow
the mazes of these chasms, and in one quarter the princi-
pal thoroughfare. is under a naturally covered passage
formed by the rocks; the ancient battlements, turrets,
and gateways are still in a high state of preservation ;
the main streets, paved with immense flats of granite, are
intersected at intervals by aqueducts ; and tanks and wells
are excavated in the rock. Temples, choultries or hostel-
ries, and many other edifices, public and private, are seen
perched on the most conspicuous eminences of the naked
rock, or ranged in long lines on the plain. There is a
continued succession of paved streets for three miles in
extent. The walls, pillars, arches, and even the flat roofs
and beams of all these structures are wholly composed
of the finest granite, some blocks of which are twelve to
fifteen feet broad, and thick in proportion ; although of
unequal bulk and various shapes, they are universally well
cut, fitted in each other with the greatest nicety, and
display at this day an exterior lustre surpassing that of
most buildings of a modern date.

The temples here are conspicuous above all others for
their magnificent proportions and sculptured decorations.
The chief of them are dedicated to Krishna and Ganesa, —
the latter of which contains a colossal granite statue of
the elephant-headed deity, sixteen feet high, by ten feet
in breadth. The temple of Rama is distinguished by its
pillars of black hornblende which support ihe porticoes,
and are covered with mythological sculptures of exquisite |
workmanship. But the most extraordinary of all the
religious edifices, in respect to elaborate workmanship,
cementione! and freshness of condition, is the group
dedicated to Wittoba—an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu
—near the centre of the city, which has sustained no
injury from time, or from the rancour of the Mahomedan.
They consist, besides the principal fane, of four subordinate
buildings, or choultries, and several lesser pagodas, the
whole contained in an area of about 400 feet by 200 feet,
environed by cells, and entered through a coloured
pyramidal portico. The columns are aleeered with figures
of the lion, supporting the entablature, and like ther ceil-
ing, covered with various sculptures; but the greatest
curiosity is a rath or native chariot, in which ite image
of the god is exposed on holidays. It is souasll whetle
and all, entirely of granite; is complete in 1 its parts,