Fergusson, James: History of Indian and Eastern architecture (Band 2) (London, 1910)

6o

JAINA ARCHITECTURE

Book V.

296. Tower of Victory of Kumbha Ranii
at Chitor. (From a Photograph.)

in height; the whole
being covered with archi-
tectural ornaments and
sculptures of Hindu divin-
ities to such an extent as
to leave no plain parts,
while at the same time
this mass of decoration is
kept so subdued, that it
in no way interferes either
with the outline or the
general effect of the
pillar.1

The Muhammadans,
as we shall afterwards
see, adopted the plan of
erecting towers of victory
to commemorate their
exploits, but the most
direct imitation was by
the Chinese, whose nine-
storeyed pagodas are
almost literal copies of
these Indian towers,trans-
lated into their own
peculiar mode of expres-
sion.

Other examples of
this middle style of Jaina
architecture are to be
found at Palitana, Girnar,
and all the fashionable
tirthas of the Jains, but
they have not been de-
scribed or illustrated to
that extent that enables
us always to feel sure
that what we see really
belongs to this date, and
may not be a repair or a
modification of some pre-
existing building. The
Chaumukh — or Four-

1 The dome that now crowns
this tower was substituted for an
older dome since I sketched it in

i839.