243. Plan of Cave No. 3, Badami.
(From a Plan by Mr. Burgess.)
Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
244. Section of Cave No. 3, Badami. (From a Drawing by Mr. Burgess.) Scale 25 ft. to 1 in.
Though not one of the largest, it is still a fine cave, its verandah measuring 70 ft., with a depth of 50 ft., beyond which is a simple plain cell, containing the lingam. At one end of the verandah is the Narasingha Avatar; at the other end Vishnu seated on the five-headed serpent Ananta. The front pillars have each three brackets, of very wooden design, all of which are ornamented by two or three figures, generally a male and female, with a child or dwarf—all of considerable beauty and delicacy of execution. The inner pillars are varied, and more architectural in their forms, but in the best style of Hindu art.
Compared with the style of art found at Amravati, on the opposite coast, it is curious to observe how nearly Buddha, seated on the many-headed Naga,[456] resembles Vishnu on Ananta in the last woodcut, and though the religion is changed, the art has hardly altered to such an extent as might be expected, considering that two centuries had probably elapsed between the execution of these two bas-reliefs. The change of religion, however, is complete, for though Buddha does appear at Badami, it is in the very subordinate position of the ninth Avatar of Vishnu.[457]
Sometimes the Hindus successfully conquered one of the main difficulties of cave architecture by excavating them on the spur of a hill, as at the Dhumnar Lena at Ellora, or by surrounding them by courts, as at Elephanta; so that light was introduced on three sides instead of only one, as was too often the case both with Buddhist and Hindu excavations. These two, though probably among the last, are certainly the finest Hindu excavations existing, if looked at from an architectural point of view. The Ellora example is the larger and finer, measuring 150 ft. each way ([Woodcut No. 245]). That at Elephanta, though extremely similar in general arrangement, is less regular in plan, and also somewhat smaller, measuring only 130 ft. by 120 ft. It is easy to see that if these temples stood in the open they would only be porches, like that at Baillûr ([Woodcut No. 221]), and numberless other examples, which are found everywhere; but the necessities of rock-cut architecture required that the cella should be placed inside the mantapa, or porch, instead of externally to it, as was always the case in structural examples. This, perhaps, was hardly to be regretted; but it shows how little the practice of cutting temples in the rock was suited to the temple-forms of the Hindus, and we need not, therefore, feel surprised how readily they abandoned it when any idea of rivalling the Buddhists had ceased to prompt their efforts in this direction.