Fergusson, James; Burgess, James: The cave temples of India (London, 1880)

ELTJRA. 381

shrines as below ; the south one, however, has not been commenced;
the north one contains a squat, and the central a sitting Buddha
with two attendants only. On the walls are many small Buddhas, a
Padmapani with four arms, females with lotus-buds, &c.

There are several cells in the court; but, as it has not been
cleaned out, and is deep in silt, only one of them is accessible, con-
taining a headless image of Buddha, a seated Lokesvara, and other
sculptures.

The Tin Thal.

The court of this fine cave has been thoroughly cleaned of the
silt that filled it, and thus (thanks to the Nizam's Government)
its ample area and great depth is now shown off to advantage.
The labour in originally excavating such a court alone out of the
solid rock must have been enormous. {See plan, Plate LXIY.)

Like the last, it is of three storeys, the first entered by a few steps
ascending from the court. It has eight square columns with bases,
and plain brackets in the front, the upper portion of the central
pair being covered with very pretty florid ornamentation. Behind
the front row are other two lines of eight pillars each, and in the area
that recedes back in the centre are six more columns, making thirty
in all.

In a large compartment on the back wall, to the left of the
approach to the shrine, is a sculpture in nine squares : in the centre
»uddha with c/wwi-bearers; to his right and left Padmapani and
'ajrapani; and, above and below, the six figures found in the
shrmes of the Do Thai, with book, sword, flag, buds and flowers.
lhis sculpture is repeated over and over again in different parts of
his cave. In the corresponding position on the south side has been
* seated Buddha, now quite destroyed. In three cells in the north

e are stone couches for the monks. In central recesses right
an„ , °^ tne vestibule to the shrine are Buddhas squatting on
*" asanas, the left attendants having different flowers in each case.
n each side the shrine door is a fat, seated guardian, with

'^er-stalks, that on the south side having the book laid over a

e shrine contains an enormous squat Buddha, over 11 feet from
seat to the crown of the head. High up on each side wall are