The site of the present town the probable centre of the old city, is a mound stretching for about three-quarters of a mile north and south and swelling twenty to thirty feet out of the plain. On almost all sides its outskirts are protected by well made thorn fences enclosing either garden land or the pens and folds of Rabáris and Bhíls. The streets are narrow and winding. The dwellings are of three classes, the flat mud-roofed houses of the Mahájans or traders and of the better-to-do Bráhmans and craftsmen with canopied doors and fronts plastered with white clay: Second the tiled sloping-roofed sheds of the bulk of the craftsmen and gardeners and of the better-off Rabáris and Bhíls: and Third the thatched bee-hive huts of the bulk of the Rabáris and Bhíls and of some of the poorer craftsmen and husbandmen. Especially to the north-west and west the houses are skirted by a broad belt of garden land. In other parts patches of watered crops are separated by the bare banks of old tanks or by stretches of plain covered with thorn and cassia bushes or roughened by the heaps of old buildings honeycombed by shafts sunk by searchers for bricks. Besides the four spired temples to Párasnáth the only outstanding building is the old kacheri or state office a mass of ruins which tops the steep south end of the city mound.
People.Of the 1400 inhabited houses of Bhinmál the details are: Mahájans 475, chiefly Oswál Vánis of many subdivisions; Shrimáli Bráhmans, 200; Shevaks 35, Maga Bráhmans worshippers of the sun and priests to Oswáls; Sonárs, 30; Bándháras or Calico-printers, 35; Kásáras or Brass-smiths 4, Ghánchis or Oilpressers, 30; Mális or Gardeners, 25; Káthias or Woodworkers, 12; Bháts 120 including 80 Gunas or Grain-carriers,
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
People. and 40 Rájbhats or Bráhm Bháts, Genealogists[4]; Kumbhárs or Potters, 12; Musalmán Potters, 4; Rehbáris or Herdsmen, 70[5]; Shádhs Beggars, 10; Shámia Aliks Beggars, 10; Kotwál and Panjára Musalmáns, 15; Lohárs or Blacksmiths, 3; Darjis or Tailors, 12; Nais or Barbers, 7; Bhumiás that is Solaṅki Jágirdárs, 15[6]; Kavás Bhumiás servants, 12; Játs Cultivators, 2; Deshantris or Saturday Oilbeggars, 1; Achárayas or Funeral Bráhmans, 1; Dholis Drumbeaters, 12; Pátrias or Professionals that is Dancing Girls, 30[7]; Turki Vohorás that is Memons, 2; Vishayati Musalmán Padlock-makers, 1; Rangrez or Dyers, 2; Mochis or Shoemakers, 30; Karias or Salávats that is Masons, 6; Churigars Musalmán Ivory bangle-makers, 2; Jatiyas[8] or Tanners, 17; Khátiks or Butchers working as tanners, 1; Sargaras, Bhíl messengers, 1; Bhíls, 120; Tirgars or Arrowmakers, 5; Gorádas priests to Bombias leather-workers, 2; Bombias literally Weavers now Leather-workers, 40; Wághria Castrator, 1; Mirásis Musalmán Drummers, 8; Mehtars or Sweepers, 1.
Objects.
In the Town.Inside of the town the objects of interest are few. The four temples of Párasnáth are either modern or altered by modern repairs. A rest-house to the south of a temple of Barági or Varáha the Boar in the east of the town has white marble pillars with inscriptions of the eleventh and thirteenth centuries which show that the pillars have been brought from the ruined temple of the sun or Jag Svámi Lord of the World on the mound about eighty yards east of the south or modern Gujarát gate. In the west of the town, close to the wall of the enclosure of the old Mahálakshmi temple, is a portion of a white marble pillar with an
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects. inscription dated S. 1342 (a.d. 1286) which apparently has been brought from the same ruined sun temple. In the kacheri ruins at the south end of the mound the only object of interest is a small shrine to Máta with two snakes supporting her seat and above in modern characters the words Nágáne the kuldevi or tribe guardian of the Ráhtors.
Surroundings.The chief object of interest at Bhinmál is the ruined temple of the Sun on a mound close to the south of the town. Of this temple and its inscriptions details are given below. About fifty yards west of the Sun temple are the remains of a gateway known as the Gujarát gateway. This modern name and the presence near it of blocks of the white quartz-marble of the Sun temple make it probable that the gateway is not older than Musalmán or eighteenth century Ráhtor times. Close to the west of the gate is Khári Báva the Salt Well an old step and water-bag well with many old stones mixed with brick work. About a hundred yards south of the Gujarát gate, in a brick-walled enclosure about sixteen yards by eight and nine feet high topped by a shield parapet, is the shrine of Mahádeva Naulákheshwar. An inscription dated S. 1800 (a.d. 1744) states that the enclosure marks the site of an old temple to Naulákheshwar. About fifty yards east of the Naulákheshwar shrine is a large brick enclosure about seventy-five yards square with walls about twelve feet high and a pointed-arched gateway in the Moslim wave-edged style. On entering, to the left, is a plinth with a large Hanumán and further to the left in domed shrines are a Ganpati and a Máta. A few paces south is Brahma’s Pool or Brahmakhund with steep steps on the west and north, a rough stone and brick wall to the east, and a circular well to the south. The pool walls and steps have been repaired by stones taken from Hindu temples or from former decorations of the pool on some of which are old figures of Matás in good repair. The story is that Som, according to one account the builder of the Sun temple according to another account a restorer of Shrimál, wandering in search of a cure for leprosy, came to the south gate of Shrimál. Som’s dog which was suffering from mange disappeared and soon after appeared sound and clean. The king traced the dog’s footmarks to the Brahmakhund, bathed in it, and was cured. As a thank-offering he surrounded the pool with masonry walls. To the south of the pool, to the right, are an underground liṅg sacred to Patáleshwar the lord of the Under World and south of the liṅg a small domed shrine of Chandi Devi. To the left, at the east side of a small brick enclosure is a snake-canopied liṅg known as Chandeshwar hung about with strings of rudráksh Elæocarpus ganitrus beads.[9] In front of Chandeshwar’s shrine is a small inscribed stone with at its top a cow and calf recording a land grant to Shrimáli Bráhmans. About forty yards north-east of the Brahmakhund a large straggling heap of brick and earth, now known as Lakshamíthala or Lakshmí’s settlement, is said to be the site of a temple to Lakshmí built, according to the local
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Surroundings. legend, by a Bráhman to whom in return for his devotedness Lakshmí had given great wealth. The hollow to the south-east is known as the Khandália pool. About fifty yards south-east at the end of a small enclosure is a shrine and cistern of Jageshwar, said to be called after a certain Jag who in return for the gift of a son built the temple. Several old carved and dressed stones are built into the walls of this temple. About seventy-five yards further south-east a large area rough with heaps of brick is said to be the site of an old Vidhya-Sála or Sanskrit College. This college is mentioned in the local Mahátmya as a famous place of learning the resort of scholars from distant lands.[10] The local account states that as the Bhils grew too powerful the Bráhmans were unable to live in the college and retired to Dholka in north Gujarát.
The slope and skirts of the town beyond the thorn-fenced enclosures of Bhils and Rabáris lie in heaps honeycombed with holes hollowed by searchers for bricks. Beyond this fringe of fenced enclosures from a half to a whole mile from the city are the bare white banks of pools and tanks some for size worthy to be called lakes. Of these, working from the south northwards, the three chief are the Nimbáli or Narmukhsarovar, the Goni or Gayakund, and the Talbi or Trambaksarovar. The Nimbáli tank, about 300 yards south-east of the college site, is a large area opening eastwards whence it draws its supply of water and enclosed with high bare banks scattered with bricks along the south-west and north. The lake is said to be named Nimbáli after a Váni to whom Mahádeva granted a son and for whom Mahádeva formed the hollow of the lake by ploughing it with his thunderbolt. About half a mile north-east of Nimbáli a horseshoe bank fifteen to thirty feet high, except to the open east, is the remains of the Goni lake. Lines of stone along the foot of the north-west and north-east banks shew that portions at least of these sides were once lined with masonry. A trace of steps remains at a place known as the Gau Ghát or Cowgate. The lake is said to have been named Goni after a Bráhman whose parents being eaten by a Rákshas went to hell. For their benefit Goni devoted his life to the worship of Vishṇu and built a temple and lake. In reward Vishṇu gave to the water of the lake the merit or cleansing virtue of the water of Gáya. In the foreground a row of small chatris or pavilions marks the burying ground of the Mahajan or high Hindu community of Bhinmál. Behind the pavilions are the bare banks of the Talbi lake. At the west end is the Bombáro well and near the south-west is the shrine of Trímbakeshvar Mahádev. This lake is said to have been made in connection with a great sacrifice or yag, that is yajna, held by Bráhmans to induce or to compel the god Trimbakeshwar to slay the demon Tripurásur. Beginning close to the south of Talbi lake and stretching north-west towards the city is the Karádá Sarovar or Karádá lake said to have been built by Kanaksen or Kanishka the great founder of the Skythian era (a.d. 78). On the western bank of the lake stands an open air liṅg of Karaiteshwar.[11] At the south end of the Karádá
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Surroundings. lake, which stretches close to the fenced enclosures round the city, are the remains of a modern bastion and of a wall which runs north-west to the Jhálor gate. Beyond the site of the bastion is an enclosure and shrine of Maheshwar Mahádev. To the north and north-west of the Karait sea lie four large tanks. Of these the most eastern, about 300 yards north-west of Karádá, is Brahmasarovar a large area fed from the north and with high broken banks. Next, about 500 yards north-west, lies the far-stretching Vánkund or Forest Pool open to the north-east. About 800 yards west is Gautam’s tank which holds water throughout the year. The banks of brick and kankar form nearly a complete circle except at the feeding channels in the east and south. In the centre of the lake is an islet on which are the white-stone foundations (18′ × 12′) of Gautam’s hermitage. On the bank above the east feeding-channel is an image of Hanumán and on the east side of the southern channel at the foot of the bank is a white inscribed stone with letters so worn that nothing but the date S. 1106 (a.d. 1049) has been made out. Of the balls of kankar or nodular limestone which are piled into the bank of the tank those which are pierced with holes are lucky and are kept to guard wooden partitions against the attacks of insects. The last and westmost of the north row of tanks is the Jaikop properly Jakshkop that is the Yaksha’s Pool about 600 yards south-west of the Gautam tank and close to the north-west of the town.[12] This tank holds water throughout the year and supplies most of the town’s demand. Along the south bank of the Jaikop, where are tombs, a shrine to Bhairav and a ruined mosque, the line of the later city walls used to run. At the south-east corner of the tank are three square masonry plinths each with a headstone carved with the figure of a man or woman. One of the plinths which is adorned with a pillared canopy has a stone carved with a man on horseback and a standing woman in memory of a Tehsildar of Bhinmál of recent date (S. 1869; a.d. 1812) whose wife became Sati. About 200 yards south-east is a row of white pália or memorial slabs of which the third from the south end of the row is dated S. 1245 (a.d. 1186). On the south-east bank is the shrine of Nimghoria Bhairav at which Shrávaks as well as other Hindus worship. In the centre of the shrine is a leaning pillar about five feet high with four fronts, Hanumán on the east, a standing Snake on the south, a Śakti on the west, and Bhairav on the north. To the south of the pillar, about a foot out of the ground rises a five-faced liṅg or pillar-home of the god one facing each quarter of the heaven and one uncarved facing the sky. Close to a well within the circuit of the lake near the south-east corner is a stone inscribed with letters which are too worn to be read. At the east end of the north bank under a pilu Salvadora persica tree is a massive seated figure still worshipped and still dignified though the features have been broken off, and the left lower arm and leg and both feet have disappeared. This is believed to be the image of the Yaksha king who made the tank. Details are given Below pages 456–458. To the west of the seated statue are the marks of the foundations of a temple, shrine hall and outer hall, which is believed to have originally been the shrine of Yaksh. About a hundred yards west, under a pillared canopy of white quartz, are two Musalmán
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Surroundings. graves in honour of Ghazni Khán and Hamál Khán who were killed about 400 years ago at Jhálor fighting for Shrimál. In obedience to their dying request their Bháts brought the champions’ bodies to Yaksh’s tank. The white quartz, the shape of the pillars, and an inscription on one of them dated S. 1333 (a.d. 1276), go to show that the stones have been brought from the Sun temple to the south of the town. To the north of the canopy is a large step-well the Dadeli Well separated into an outer and an inner section by a row of Hindu pillars supporting flat architraves. Some of the stones have figures of goddesses and in a niche is an old goddess’ image. The upper part of the well and the parapet are of recent brick work. On a low mound about 150 yards to the north is the shrine of Nilkanth Máhádev, with, about a hundred paces to the south-east, a fine old step-well. The lake was fed from the south-west corner where is a silt trap built of stones in many cases taken from old temples and carved with the chaitya or horse-shoe ornament. Some of the stones have apparently been brought from the great white quartz Sun temple. Several of them have a few letters of the fourteenth century character apparently the names of masons or carvers. Some of the blocks are of a rich red sandstone which is said to be found only in the Rupe quarries eight miles south of Bhinmál.
On the right, about half a mile south of the south-west corner of the Jaikop lake, is a ruined heap hid among trees called the Pipal Duára or Gateway perhaps the remains of the western Gateway which may have formed part of the later line of fortifications which can be traced running south along the inner bank of the Jaikop feeding channel. About a mile south of the Pipal Duára are the bare banks of the large lake Bansarovar the Desert Sea. To the north-west north and north-east its great earthen banks remain stripped of their masonry gradually sloping to the west and south the direction of its supply of water. The island in the centre is Lakhára. This lake was made by Gauri or Párvati when she came from Sunda hill to slay the female demon Uttamiyár. When Párvati killed the demon she piled over her body Shri’s hill which she had brought with her to form a burial mound. At the same time Párvati scooped the tank, and crowned Shri’s hill with a tower-like temple. This hill, where lives the Śrí or Luck of Shrimál, rises 500 feet out of the plain about a mile west of the town. It is approached from the south by a flight of unhewn stones roughly laid as steps. The hill-top is smoothed into a level pavement of brick and cement. The pavement is supported on the east side by a lofty bastion-like wall. It is surrounded by a parapet about two feet high. On the platform two shrines face eastwards. To the left or south is the main temple of Lakshmí and to the right or north the smaller shrine of Suṇḍa Máta. The main shrine has a porch with pillars and shield frieze of white quartz limestone apparently spoils of the great Sun Temple. Three or four bells hang from the roof of the porch and some loose white stones apparently also from the Sun temple are scattered about. In the west wall of the main shrine facing east is the image of the Guardian of Bhinmál covered with red paint and gold leaf. The only trace of ornament on the outside of Lakshmí’s shrine is in the north-face portion of a belt of the horse-shoe or chaitya pattern and a disc perhaps the disc of the Sun. The smaller shrine of Suṇḍa Máta to the right or north is square and flat-roofed. The ceiling is partly made of carved stones apparently prepared for, perhaps formerly the centre slabs of domes. The door posts and lintels are of white quartz marble. On the right door post are two short inscriptions of a.d. 1612 and 1664 (S. 1669 and 1691). A second pillar bears the date a.d. 1543
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Surroundings. (S. 1600). The roof is supported by four square central pillars which with eight wall pilasters form four shallow domes with lotus carved roof-stones from some other or some older temple. In a recess in the west wall, surmounted with a stone carved in the chaitya or horse-shoe pattern, is the Trident or Trisula of Suṇḍa Máta the only object of worship.
From the hill-top the mound of Bhinmál hardly seems to stand out of the general level. The mound seems hidden in trees. Only in the south gleam the white pillars of the Sun Temple and to the north rise the high mound of the old offices, and still further north the spires of the four temples of Párasnáth. Beyond the town to the south and west spread green gardens fenced with dry thorn hedges. Outside of the garden enclosures to the south-east south and south-west run the lofty bare banks of dry lakes confused in places with the lines of old fortifications. To the north-west and north shine the waters of the Jaikop and Gautam tanks. Westwards the plain, dark with thorn brake and green with acacias, stretches to the horizon. On other sides the sea-like level of the plain is broken by groups of hills the Borta range along the north and north-east and to the east the handsomer Ratanágar, Thur, and Ram Sen rising southwards to the lofty clear-cut ranges of Doḍala and Suṇḍa.
Only two objects of interest in Bhinmál require special description, the massive broken statue of the Jaksha or Yaksha on the north bank of the Jaikop lake, and the temple to Jagsvámi the Sun at the south-east entrance to the city.
Jaikop.On the north bank of the Jaikop or Yaksha Lake,[13] leaning against the stem of a pilu or jál Salvadora persica tree, is a massive stone about 4′ high by 2′ 6″ broad and 1′ thick. The block is carved with considerable skill into the seated figure of a king. The figure is greatly damaged by the blows of a mace. The nose and mouth are broken off, half of the right hand and the whole of the left hand and leg are gone and the feet and almost the whole of the seat or throne have disappeared. The figure is seated on a narrow lion-supported throne or sinhásan the right hand resting on the right knee and holding a round ball of stone about six inches in diameter. The left foot was drawn back like the right foot and the left hand apparently lay on the left knee, but, as no trace remains except the fracture on the side of the stone the position of the left hand and of the left leg is uncertain. The head is massive. The hair falls about
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Jaikop. two feet from the crown of the head in four long lines of curls on to the shoulders, and, over the curls, or what seems more likely the curled wig, is a diadem or mukut with a central spike and two upright side ornaments connected by two round bands. The face is broken flat. It seems to have been clean shaved or at least beardless. A heavy ring hangs from each ear. A stiff collar-like band encircles the neck and strings of beads or plates hang on the chest too worn to be distinguished. On both arms are upper armlets, a centre lion-face still showing clear on the left armlet. On the right hand is a bracelet composed of two outer bands and a central row of beads. A light belt encircles the waist. Lower down are the kandora or hip girdle and the kopul or dhotar knot.[14] In spite of its featureless face and its broken hands and feet the figure has considerable dignity. The head is well set and the curls and diadem are an effective ornament. The chest and the full rounded belly are carved with skill. The main fault in proportion, the overshortened lower arm and leg and the narrowness of the throne, are due to the want of depth in the stone. The chief details of interest are the figure’s head-dress and the ball of stone in its right hand. The head-dress seems to be a wig with a row of crisp round curls across the brow and four lines of long curls hanging down to the shoulders and crisp curls on the top of the head. The mukut or diadem has three upright faces, a front face over the nose and side faces over the ears joined together by two rounded bands. At first sight the stone ball in the right hand seems a cocoanut which the king might hold in dedicating the lake. Examination shows on the left side of the ball an outstanding semicircle very like a human ear. Also that above the ear are three rolls as if turban folds. And that the right ear may be hid either by the end of the turban drawn under the chin or by the fingers of the half-closed hand. That the front of the ball has been wilfully smashed further supports the view that it was its human features that drew upon it the Muslim mace. The local Bráhmans contend that the ball is either a round sweetmeat or a handful of mud held in the right hand of the king during the dedication service. But Tappa a Bráhm-Bhát, a man of curiously correct information, was urgent that the stone ball is a human head. Tappa gives the following tale to explain why the king should hold a human head in his hand. An evil spirit called Satka had been wasting the Bráhmans by carrying off the head of each bridegroom so soon as a wedding ceremony was completed. The king vowed that by the help of his goddess Chamuṇḍa he would put a stop to this evil. The marriage of a hundred Bráhman couples was arranged for one night. The king sat by. So long as the king remained awake the demon dared not appear. When the hundredth marriage was being performed the king gave way to sleep. Satka dashed in and carried off the last bridegroom’s head. The girl-bride awoke the king and said I will curse you. You watched for the others, for me you did not watch. The king said to his Luck Chamuṇḍa, What shall I do. Chamuṇḍa said Ride after Satka. The king rode after Satka. He overtook her fourteen miles out of Shrimál and killed her. But before her
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Objects.
Jaikop. death Satka had eaten the bridegroom’s head. What is to be done the king asked Chamuṇḍa. Trust me said his guardian. The king rode back to Shrimál. As he was entering the city the goddess pointed out to him a gardener or Máli and said off with his head. The king obeyed. The goddess caught the falling head, stuck it to the bridegroom’s neck, and the bridegroom came to life. Thus, ends the tale, the local Bráhmans are known as Shrimális that is men with gardeners’ heads. This meaning-making pun and the likeness of the stone-ball to a human head may be the origin of this story. On the other hand the story may be older than the image and may be the reason why the king is shown holding a human head in his hand. On the whole it seems likely that the story was made to explain the image and that the image is a Bhairav holding the head of a human sacrifice and acting as gatekeeper or guardian of some Buddhist or Sun-worshipping temple.[15] The appearance of the figure, its massive well-proportioned and dignified pose, and the long wiglike curls, like the bag wig on the figure of Chánd on the south-west or marriage compartment of the great Elephanta Cave, make it probable that this statue is the oldest relic of Shrimál, belonging like the Elephanta wigged figures to the sixth or early seventh century the probable date of the founding or refounding of the city by the Gurjjarás.[16] According to the local story the image stands about twenty paces east of the temple where it was originally enshrined and worshipped. The lie of the ground and traces of foundations seem to show about fifty paces west of the present image the sites of an entrance porch, a central hall or mandap, and a western shrine. The surface of what seemed the site of the shrine was dug about two feet deep on the chance that the base of the throne might still be in site. Nothing was found but loose brickwork. Mutilated as he is the Yaksha is still worshipped. His high day is the A’shad (July-August) fullmoon when as rain-mediator between them and Indra the villagers lay in front of him gugri that is wheat boiled in water and milk, butter, flour, molasses, and sugar.
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Sun Temple. Sun Temple.The second and main object of interest is the ruined Sun temple in the south of the town on a brick mound about eighty yards east of the remains of the Gujarát gateway. The brick mound which is crowned by the white marble pillars and the massive laterite ruins of the temple of Jagsvámi Lord of the World has been so dug into that its true form and size cannot be determined. The size of many of the bricks 1′ 16″ × 1′ × 3″ suggests that the mound is older even than the massive laterite masonry of the shrine. And that here as at Multán about the sixth century during the supremacy of the sun-worshipping White Húṇas a temple of the Sun was raised on the ruins of a Buddhist temple or relic mound. Still except the doubtful evidence of the size of the bricks nothing has been found to support the theory that the Sun temple stands on an earlier Buddhist ruin. The apparent present dimensions of the mound are 42′ broad 60′ long and 20′ high. Of the temple the north side and north-west corner are fairly complete. The east entrance to the hall, the south pillars of the hall, and with them the hall dome and the outer wall of the temple round the south and west of the shrine have disappeared. A confused heap of bricks on the top of the shrine and of the entrance from the hall to the shrine is all that is left of the spire and upper buildings. The materials used are of three kinds. The pillars of the hall are of a white quartzlike marble; the masonry of the shrine walls and of the passage round the north of the shrine is of a reddish yellow laterite, and the interior of the spire and apparently some other roof buildings are of brick. Beginning from the original east entrance the ground has been cut away so close to the temple and so many of the pillars have fallen that almost no trace of the entrance is left. The first masonry, entering from the east, are the two eastern pillars of the hall dome and to the north of this central pair the pillar that supported the north-eastern corner of the dome. Except the lowest rim, on the east side, all trace of the dome and of the roof over the dome are gone. The centre of the hall is open to the sky. The south side is even more ruined than the east side. The whole outer wall has fallen and been removed. The south-east corner the two south pillars of the dome and the south-west corner pillars are gone. The north side is better preserved. The masonry that rounds off the corners from which the dome sprung remains and along the rim of the north face runs a belt of finely carved female figures. The north-east corner pillar, the two north pillars of the dome, and the north-west corner pillar all remain. Outside of the pillars runs a passage about four feet broad and eleven feet high, and, beyond the passage, stands the north wall of the temple with an outstanding deep-eaved window balcony with white marble seats and backs and massive pillars whose six feet shafts are in three sections square eightsided and round and on whose double-disc capitals rest brackets which support a shallow cross-cornered dome. At its west end the north passage is ornamented with a rich gokla or recess 3½ broad with side pillars 3¼ feet high. On the west side of the dome the central pair of dome pillars and as has been noticed the north corner pillar remain. About three feet west of the west pair of dome pillars a second pair support the domed entrance to the shrine. The richly carved side pillars, a goddess with fly-flap bearers, and the lintel of the shrine door remain but the bare square chamber of the shrine is open to the sky. To the south of the shrine the entire basis of the south side of the spire, the outer circling or pradakshana passage and the outer wall of the temple have disappeared. The north side is much less ruinous. There remain
Appendix III.
Bhinmál.
Sun Temple. the massive blocks of yellow and red trap which formed the basis of the spire built in horizontal bands of deep-cut cushions, and in the centre of the north wall a niche with outstanding pillared frame, the circling passage with walls of plain trap and roof of single slabs laid across and the outer wall of the temple with bracket capitaled pillars and a central deep-eaved and pillared hanging window of white marble. The circling passage and the outer wall of the temple end at the north-west corner. Of the western outer wall all trace is gone. The pillars of the temple are massive and handsome with pleasantly broken outline, a pedestal, a square, an eightsided band, a sixteensided band, a round belt, a narrow band of horned faces, the capital a pair of discs, and above the discs outstanding brackets each ending in a crouching four-armed male or female human figure upholding the roof. The six central dome pillars resemble the rest except that instead of the sixteensided band the inner face is carved into an urn from whose mouth overhang rich leafy festoons and which stand on a roll of cloth or a ring of cane such as women set between the head and the waterpot.[17] On the roof piles of bricks show that besides the spire some building rose over the central dome and eastern entrance but of its structure nothing can now be traced.