The sanctum contains the symbol of the god, whose local appellation is Rori Barolli, a corruption of Bal-rori, from the circumstance of Balnath, the sun-god, being here typified by an orbicular stone termed rori, formed by attrition in the Chulis or whirlpools of the Chambal, near which the temple stands, and to which phenomena it probably owed its foundation. This symbolic rori is not fixed, but lies in a groove in the internal ring of the Yoni; and so nicely is it poised, that with a very moderate impulse it will continue revolving while the votary recites a tolerably long hymn to the object of his adoration. The old ascetic, who had long been one of the zealots of Barolli, amongst his other wonders gravely told me, that with the momentum given by his little finger, in former days, he could make it keep on its course much longer than now with the application of all his strength.
Some honest son of commerce thought it but right that the mandira (cella) of Bal-rori should be graced by a Parbati, and he had one made and placed there. But it appeared to have offended the god, and matters soon after went wrong with the Banya: first his wife died, then his son, and at length he became diwala, or ‘bankrupt.’ In truth he deserved punishment for his caricature of the ‘mountain-born’ Mena, who more resembles a Dutch burgomestre than the fair daughter of Sailapati.[[11]]
Fronting the temple of Bal-rori, and apart from it about twenty yards, is another [709] superb edifice, called the Singar-chaori, or nuptial hall.[[12]] It is a square (chaori) of forty feet, supported by a double range of columns on each face, the intercolumniations being quite open; and although these columns want the elegant proportions of the larger temple, they are covered with exquisite sculpture, as well as the ceilings. In the centre of the hall is an open space about twelve feet square; and here, according to tradition, the nuptials of Raja Hun with the fair daughter of a Rajput prince, of whom he had long been enamoured, were celebrated;[[13]] to commemorate which event, these magnificent structures were raised: but more of this Hun anon. The external roof (or sikhara, as the Hindu Silpi terms the various roofs which cover their temples) is the frustum of a pyramid, and a singular specimen of architectural skill, each stone being a miniature temple, elegantly carved, gradually decreasing in size to the kalas or ball, and so admirably fitted to each other, that there has been no room for vegetation to insinuate itself, and consequently they have sustained no injury from time.
CEILING OF THE PORTICO OF TEMPLE AT BAROLLI.
To face page 1758.
Midway between the nuptial hall and the main temple there is a low altar, on which the bull, Nandiswar, still kneels before the symbolic representation of its sovereign lord, Iswar. But sadly dishonoured is this courser of the sun-god, whose flowing tail is broken, and of whose head but a fragment remains, though his necklace of alternate skulls and bells proclaims him the charger of Siva.
Around the temple of the ‘great god’ (Mahadeva) are the shrines of the dii minores, of whom Ganesa, the god of wisdom, takes precedence. The shrine of this janitor of Siva is properly placed to the north, equidistant from the nuptial hall and the chief temple. But the form of wisdom was not spared by the Tatar iconoclast. His single tooth, on which the poet Chand is so lavish of encomium, is broken off; his limbs are dissevered, and he lies prostrate on his back at the base of his pedestal, grasping, even in death, with his right hand the laddus, or sweet-meat-balls, he received at the nuptial feast.
Near the dishonoured fragments of Ganesa, and on the point of losing his equilibrium, is the divine Narada,[[14]] the preceptor of Parbati, and the Orpheus of Hindu mythology. In his hands he yet holds the lyre (vina), with whose heavenly sounds he has been charming the son of his patroness; but more than one string of the instrument is wanting, and one of the gourds which, united by a sounding board, form the vina, is broken off [710].
To the south are two columns, one erect and the other prostrate, which appear to have been either the commencement of another temple, or, what is more probable from their excelling everything yet described, intended to form a toran, having a simple architrave laid across them, which served as a swing for the recreation of the god. (Vide Plate.) Their surface, though they have been exposed for at least one thousand years to the atmosphere, is smooth and little injured: such is the durability of this stone, though it is astonishing how it was worked, or how they got instruments to shape it. There is a bawari, or reservoir of water, for the use either of gods or mortals, placed in the centre of the quadrangle, which is strewed with sculptured fragments.
We quit the enclosure of Raja Hun to visit the fountain (kund) of Mahadeo, and the various other curious objects. Having passed through the ruined gate by which we entered, we crossed the black stream, and passing over a fine turf plot, reached the kund, which is a square of sixty feet, the water (leading to which are steps) being full to the brim, and the surface covered with the golden and silver lotus. In the centre of the fountain is a miniature temple to the god who delights in waters; and the dam by which it was once approached being broken, it is now completely isolated. The entrance to the east has two slender and well-proportioned columns, and the whole is conspicuous for simplicity and taste.