Of these buildings, which so excited the admiration of the Emperor Baber, probably little now remains. The Moslems added to the palaces of the Hindus, and spared their temples and the statues of the Jains. We have ruthlessly set to work to destroy whatever interferes with our convenience, and during the few years we have occupied the fort, have probably done more to disfigure its beauties, and obliterate its memories, than was caused by the Moslems during the centuries they possessed or occupied it. Better things were at one time hoped for, but the fact seems to be, the ruling powers have no real heart in the matter, and subordinates are allowed to do as they please, and if they can save money or themselves trouble, there is nothing in India that can escape the effect of their unsympathising ignorance.
Ambêr.
The palace at Ambêr, the original capital of the Jeypore states, ranks next after that of Gualior as an architectural object among the Rajput palaces. It is, however, a century more modern, having been commenced by another Mân Singh, who ascended the throne in 1592, and was completed by Siwai Jey Sing, who added the beautiful gateway which bears his name before he removed the seat of government to Jeypore in 1728. In consequence of this more modern date it has not that stamp of Hindu originality that is so characteristic of the Gualior example, and throughout it bears a strong impress of that influence which Akbar’s mind and works stamped on everything that was done in India during his reign. Its situation, too, is inferior to that of Gualior for architectural effect. Instead of standing on a lofty rocky pedestal, and its pinnacles being relieved boldly against the sky, the Ambêr palace is situated in a valley—picturesque, it is true, but where the masonry competes with the rocks in a manner which is certainly unfavourable to the effect of the building. Nothing, however, can be more picturesque than the way in which the palace grows, as it were, out of a rocky base or reflects itself in the mirror of the deep lake at its base, and nothing can be happier than the mode in which the principal apartments are arranged, so as to afford views over the lake and into the country beyond.
The details, too, of this palace are singularly good, and quite free from the feebleness that shortly afterwards characterised the style. In some respects, indeed, they contrast favourably with those of Akbar’s contemporary palace at Futtehpore Sikri. There the second commandment confined the fancy of the decorator to purely inanimate objects; here the laxer creed of the Hindus enabled him to indulge in elephant capitals and figure-sculpture of men and animals to any extent. The Hindus seem also to have indulged in colour and in mirrors to an extent that Akbar did not apparently feel himself justified in employing. The consequence is that the whole has a richer and more picturesque effect than its Mahomedan rival, but the two together make up a curiously perfect illustration of the architecture of that day, as seen from a Hindu, contrasted with that from a Mahomedan, point of view.
It was the same Mân Sing who erected the Observatory at Benares which still bears his name, and though not very architectural in its general appearance, has on the river-face a balconied window, which is a fair and pleasing specimen of the architecture of his age ([Woodcut No. 270]). He also was the king who erected the temple at Bindrabun, which has been illustrated above (pp. 463, 464).
270. Balcony at the Conservatory, Benares. (From a Drawing by the late James Prinsep.)
Deeg.
All the palaces above described are more or less irregular in their disposition, and are all situated on rocky and uneven ground. That at Deeg, however, is on a perfectly level plain, and laid out with a regularity that would satisfy the most fastidious Renaissance architect. It is wholly the work of Sûraj Mull, the virtual founder of the Bhurtpore dynasty, who commenced it, apparently in 1725, and left it as we now see it, when he was slain in battle with Nudjiff Khan in 1763. It wants, it is true, the massive character of the fortified palaces of other Rajput states, but for grandeur of conception and beauty of detail it surpasses them all.