The Kalinga Temple Form

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    The Smithsonian Institution

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    The Kaliga Temple FormAuthor(s): Mary F. LindaSource: Ars Orientalis, Vol. 20 (1990), pp. 87-111Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institutionand Department of the History ofArt, University of MichiganStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4629402.

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    THE KALINGATEMPLEFORM BYMARYF. LINDAALONG WITH OTHER MAJOR FORMS OF INDIAN TEMPLES SUCHas Nagara, Dravida, Bhiimija, and Vesara, the Kalirigatemple form is noted in an inscription on a temple inKarrdtal and in textual sources from west, east, andsouth India.2Although mention of this form with thebetter known temple forms suggests its significance,the KaliAigaemple has rarely been discussed in schol-arly literature and has been identified only hesitantly.The twelfth-centurysouthIndian Sivagama,the K-amika,presents a brief description of the forms of this templetype, but little is discernible from the corrupt Sanskrittext.3 This dearth of description has not been the onlyobstacle to identifying this form: Kaliriga, as coastalOrissa was known in the third century B.C., is consis-tently, and incorrectly, assumed to have been centeredin Orissa throughout the last two millenia-an as-sumption that disregards changing political history.As a consequence, the medieval Kalirigatemples thatremain in present-day northern Andhra Pradesh havenot been analyzed in light of the available informa-tion.In 1934 Stella Kramrisch, although aware of theinscriptional references to Kaliriga as a distinctivetype, identified it as the eastern variety of Nagara(northern) temples; the monuments of Orissa,whichshe assumed were Kaliriga, did not confirm separationof the two styles.4 More recently, after analyzing theinscriptions, texts, and reliefs of the major templetypes represented by artisans on temples in Karnata(modern Mysore State, south India), M. A. Dhakyconcluded that temples in Orissamost closelymatchedthe Nagaraform asdescribed in the Kamikiigama.5 ftercomparing descriptions in texts with reliefs of theNagara, Dravida, Bhuimija, and Vesara temples, hetentatively suggested that the only reliefs remaininguncategorized-those with tiered pyramidal roofs(phansana)-might represent Kaliriga temples.6 Ac-cording to Dhaky, this attribution must remain tenta-tive until the form can be found in Kaliriga,which forhim, as for Kramrisch, is Orissa.Several of the reliefs of the Kaliriga form that heillustrates depict tall towersof simple horizontal cours-es that consistently decrease in width to the apex of thetower; this creates a straightedged tower profile, typi-cal of temples in southern India (Fig. 1; Fig. 2, thecenter and two outer reliefs; and Fig. 3, the second,fourth, and sixth reliefs from the left). The four towers

    of the twelfth-century LaksmidevT temple at DoddaGaddavalli, Mysore, are presented as structural coun-terparts to these reliefs (Fig. 4).

    Dhakycorrectlyasserts that in Orissa,from the tenthcentury onwards, structures with pyramidal roofs werehalls of temples, not the temples themselves (Fig. 25).His observations of the monuments are corroboratedby information in the Bhubanapradipa,a 'silpa sastraspecific to Orissa:a temple with a square ground planand a tower (gan4i) composed of horizontal courses(pidhas in the vernacular) "piled up in the form of apyramid" is known as the bhadra type; the bhadratemple is specifically called a hall rather than a struc-ture housing a deity.7In no instance does the height ofthese halls approach either the height of the templesto which they are attached or the soaring heightdepicted in the reliefs; the structures remain squat inproportion to the width of the square base.As Dhaky points out, the one temple in Orissa thatdoes have a tower of phanisana (pz4has) is the twelfth-century Baskaresvaratemple in Bhubanesvar (Fig. 5),but the tower is curvilinear (typical of temples innorthern India), in contrast both to the straightedgedprofile of the Laksml devT emple at Dodda Gaddavalli(Fig. 4) and to the roofs of halls in Orissa (Fig. 25).Another relief in Karnata that Dhaky identifies as theKalirigaform does present a curvilinear tower of plaincourses with prominent projections on four sides andis similar in conception to the Baskare'svara emple(Fig. 6, center). Despite his reservations, Dhaky hadisolated the Kaliriga style: it is in fact a curved tower ofsimple pi4has, although usually comparable in heightto thatofNagara temples, thatdistinguishes the Kalirigafrom the Nagara temple and from temples withphamAsanaoofs in other parts of India.This temple form can be identified more preciselyby determining exactly where Kaliriga was locatedduring the medieval period. This can be ascertainedby the find-spots of the copper plate grants of kingswho claimed to rule Kaliniga.Conversely, the grants byrulers of principalities in Orissa make no mention ofKaliriga during this period. This analysis establishesthat Kalirigawascentered in the SrikakulamDistrict ofAndhra Pradesh from the late fourth through at leastthe eleventh century, during the period of style forma-tion.

    Twelve temples that remain in this area were con-structed from the seventh through the tenth century,and although many characteristics of these templesare shared with traditions north in Orissa, five of thetwelve have curvilinear towers (gandi) of simple pzdhacourses. Four were built in the late seventh/earlyeighth century, and the form was repeated on one

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    tenth-century temple. With some modifications, thetower type was used on the Baskaresvara temple inBhubanesvar, Orissa, outside Kaliriga,after the earlytwelfth-century conquest of that northern area by theLater Ganga king AnantavarmanChodagariga,king ofKaliAiga.The repetition of so unusual a form overcenturies suggests that it was known as a distinctivestyle;its use outside KaliAgaafter political conquest bya Kaliriganking reiterates its origin in, and associationwith, northern Andhra Pradesh.The other seven ninth-/tenth-century temples in Kalirigadiffer slightly fromNagara temples in Orissa-the result of modificationsinspired by the pi4ha roof form of the early Kalirigatemples.

    KalifigaThe first inscriptional reference to Kalirigawas inA'soka'sRock Edict XIII, which describes his devastat-ing conquest of Kalinigain 261 B.C. This edict is notincluded, however, in the rock edicts carved at Dhaulinear Bhubanesvar and atJaugada near Berhampur inGanjamDistrict, southern Orissa (Fig. 7).8 The admin-istrativeunitwithin Kalirigaseems to have been calledTosall. The first reference to Kaliriga n Orissa properwas in the first century B.C. Hathigumpha inscriptionof Kharavela of the Cedi dynasty, at Udayagiri, nearBhubanesvar.9 In this inscription, he is referred to as

    king of Kaliriga; his capital has been identified withthe ruins of Sisupalgarh, also near Bhubanesvar.10From the first century B.C. until the late fourth- orearly fifth-century copper plate grants of the Matharahula, there are no references to Kaliriga. Engravedcopper plates were documents of land transfer con-taining information such as the name and title of theruler (who is most often the donor), the name of thedynasty, the date of the grant, the donee's name, andthe name and location of the land granted. Since theplates verify legal ownership of land, the places wherethey are found are assumed to be close to the originalland donated. Find-spots of the grants clarify moreaccurately than verbal assertions in the grants theapproximate boundaries of a territory.Fifteen grants, all found within sixty miles of;rlkakulam City in northern Andhra Pradesh, areattributed to the Mathara dynasty by S. N. Rajaguru,who on paleographic grounds assigns most of thegrants to the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. (Fig. 7).11Initially, the Mathara rulers were only called Maha-raja, or great king, so they must have controlled alimited area; by the time of the last two kings, the titlehad aggrandized to Sakala-kaliriga-adhipati,"supremeruler of all Kaliriga."At his time, one grant specifically

    states that Sakalakaliriga was the land between theMahanadi and Krsia rivers.12 t is important to notethat even though these sovereigns claimed to "rule"this extensive area, their grants have been foundexclusively in northern Andhra Pradesh and Par-lakhemundi taluk, Orissa (Fig. 8). 3 In reality, theyprobably only controlled the area in which they madeland grants. Any political incursions into territorybeyond this area were probably for the appropriationof portable wealth.Epigraphical records from the second half of thesixth and the earlyseventh centuries are rare, and thepolitical history of Kalinigaremains relatively obscureuntil the grants of the Early Gariga dynasty in thesecond quarter of the seventh century.'4 Fifty grants,mainly issued from Kaliriganagara and dated in theGariga era (from A.D. 626 to A.D. 1023), and fifteengrants issued from Svetakabya collateral group, datedinitially in the Gariga era (A.D. 726) and then in anunknown sanivat (probably up to about A.D. 921), areattributed to the Eastern or Early Garigadynasty.'5Grants of the collateral Ganiga branch have beenfound in Svetaka, located in Ganjam District, southOrissa, but it is questionable whether Svetakawaspartof Kaliriga(Fig. 8). Although the SvetakaGariga rulersclaimed the title "king of Kaliriga," as did theKaliriganagara branch, there are several reasons toconclude that they were relatively independent andthat the territory they ruled was not part of Kaliniga.The firstgrant wasissued bya Ranaka (a high feudato-ry, often a relative) one hundred years after the begin-ning of the Gariga era; this may be an instance of aruling family establishing a relative elsewhere to main-tain a buffer zone between a core area and that of aformidable foe, in this case the Bhauma Karas ofcentral Orissa. This same donor in another grantrequested permission from a Bhauma Kara king todonate land in Korigoda which included GanjamDistrict (formerly under, or during the twilight of,Sailodbhava rule).'6 Although this seems to be theonly record of such a request, it establishes that theSvetakaGarigasmust have been subordinate, even ifminimally, to the Bhauma Kara rather thanKaliriganagaraGarigarulers. Lastly,by the end of theninth century, one king of the collateral group titledhimself "lord of Svetaka," which suggests indepen-dence from all external political powers. Whateverthepolitical status of the Svetaka Garigas, no extant tem-ples within their territory can be attributed to theirtime period.'7Of greater import for this discussion are the EarlyGarigaswho issuedgrants romKaliriganagara.ontrover-sysurrounds the location of this capital: earlyreferenc-es link it with the present-day Kalirigapatnam on the

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    coast at the mouth of the Varm'sadharaRiver;18aterevidence suggests that Mukhalirigam, inland on theVamsiadhara River, was the capital, but this may actu-ally refer solely to the capital of the same name,Kaliriganagara,of the Later Garigas."9The origins of the Early Garigas remain obscure.The first two rulerscalled themselvesTrikalinigadhipati,which probably meant "lord of Trikaliriga,"the high-land west of the Mahendra hills of Ganjam District,20rather than "lord of the three Kalirigas" (Kaliriga,Korigoda, and Utkala).21 By the second decade of theeighth century, however, the tide had been elevated toSakalakalirigadhipati (ruler of all Kaliriga), an epithetthat became conventionalized in all subsequent EarlyGariga dynastic eulogies. Mahendra Mountain on theOrissa-Andhra border may have been the northernlimit of their territory since they claimed to haveworshipped Gokarnesvara on that mountain; the ex-tent of territorycontrolled to the south isnot clear, butit probably included much of modern VisakhapatnamDistrict.The core area of Kalirigawas the same during therule of the Early Garigasas during the earlier Matharaperiod: the delta between the Nagavall andVarrisadhararivers. Other grants have been found to the north andto the south in a distribution pattern similar to that ofearlier centuries (Fig. 8). There can be no doubt thatKalirigawas located in northern Visakhapatnam andgrTkakulam District, Andhra Pradesh, and in verysouthern Ganjam District, Orissa, from the late fourthcentury onwards.The last known Early Garigagrant is dated A.D. 1023.In A.D. 1030, the first ruler of the line thatbecame knownas the Later Ganigaswas declared Trikalirigadhipati,suggesting that before that time the EarlyGanigashadbeen forced back into the western Orissan hills. Thethird king in this lineage, Anantavarman Codagariga,became one of the greatest rulers in eastern India,eventually unifying central and southern Orissa withKaliriga n the twelfth century. His territory was calledSakalotkala (all Utkala) Samrajya, and the capital wasmoved from Mukhalirigam tojagati on the MahanadiRiver in central Orissa.Brief examination of the land grants found in Orissafrom the fifth through the early eleventh century willreveal that most of Orissa wasdivided into small prin-cipalities with very specific names, although not alwayswith exact boundaries or of determinable time periods(Fig. 9). This survey will suffice to indicate that thename Kalirigawas never associated with any medievalpolitical unit other than the one in northern AndhraPradesh.

    After the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela atUdayagiri near Bhubanesvar in the first century B.C.,

    there are no surviving epigraphical records that revealpolitical history in Orissa until the last half of the sixthcentury. From then until around A.D. 620, assortedgrants by feudatories of gasarika, minor rulers, andmilitary personnel indicate that the northernmostpart of Orissa, into the Midnapur District of Bengal,was called Utkala; land close to the coast, north of theMahanadi River (Balesore and part of Cuttack Dis-trict), was known as Uttara Tosall; and land south ofthe Mahanadi (part of Cuttack, Puri, and probablynorth Ganjam District), Daksina Tosall (Fig. 9).22There are no historical records for the area north ofthe Mahanadi River from the early seventh centuryuntil the rise of the Bhauma Karadynasty in A.D. 736.But approximately from A.D. 620 until 736, theSailodhava dynasty ruled Korigoda, which includedGanjamand most of Puri District, the former DaksinaTosall, from their capital west of Cilka Lake.23Duringthe second quarter of the eighth century, the BhaumaKaras eclipsed gailodbhava sovereignty: their grantsrecord donations of land in Korigoda, which was thenpart of Daksina Tosali. Bhauma Kara hegemony inGanjamDistrict is also confirmed bythe SvetakaGarigagrant requesting permission to donate land inKongoda, mentioned above. Other Bhauma Karagrants have been found north of the Mahanadi Riverup toJajpur, near their capital, in the area that was stillcalled Uttara Tosali. This dynasty clearly controlledcoastal Orissa from Ganjam to Cuttack District, if notfurther north, and probablywest along the Mahanadi,as indicated by grants found in Baud, Phulbani Dis-trict.24When the Somavamrisis f Daksina Kosala inwestern Orissa advanced east to central Orissa in thelate tenth century, they obliterated the Bhauma Karadynasty. Prior to their invasion of central Orissa, theSomavarrisiscontrolled Sambalpur, Sundargarh, andpart of Balangir District.Three other ruling families coexisted, probably asnominal feudatories, with the Bhauma Karas for partof their rule: the Sulkis of Kodalaka, the Tuiigas ofYamagartta Mandala, and the Bhanijas of Khinjali.Kodalaka Mandala of the Sulki rulers seems to haveencompassed Talcher and Dhenkanal, both in centralDhenkanal District, north of the Mahanadi River.Grants of the Turiga rulers have also been found inDhenkanal District but south of Talcher.2' During theninth and tenth centuries, the Khinjali Bhafijas con-trolled Phulbani District and the Sonepur subdivisionof Balangir District.26They were driven into GanjamDistrict, probably by the Somavamnsis, ometime dur-ing the tenth century.In the first half of the tenth century, the Somavarnsikings managed to combine their territory in westernOrissa,DaksinaKosala,with DaksinaTosali in southern

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    Orissa; a century later, Uttara Tosalli, then known asUtkala, was also annexed. This vast area was adminis-tratively divided into Kosala and Utkala. In the twelfthcentury, the western portion, Kosala,was taken by theKYlacuris,and byabout A.D. 11 10 Utkala was lost to thegreat military king of the Later Garigas of Kaliriga,Anantavarman C6dagariga. He claimed to rule all theterritoryfrom the Ganges to the Godavari rivers and tobe the sovereign of Sakalotkala Samrajya.27Kalirigawas one of the divisions within this imperial realmwhich the Later Ganrgascontinued to rule until themid fifteenth century.Again, as in earlier periods, the extent of territoryactually controlled maybe determined bythe locationof inscriptions. During Later Garigarule, most dona-tions were recorded in stone on temple walls althoughcopper plates were intermittently issued. Inscriptionsof this period remain from the East Godavari District,Andhra Pradesh, north to the Cuttack District ofOrissa; the overwhelming majority of these appear inAndhra Pradesh, from grikakulam District, the Kalirigacore area, down to the Godavari River. Few are foundnorth of the Mahanadi River in Cuttack District; theLater Ganigaclaim to control land up to the Ganges isunsupported.

    Seventh-and Eighth-Century alingaTenmplesFour of the twelve temples that remain in Kalirigawere constructed between the mid seventh and veryearly eighth centuries: the Yuddhistira (Fig. 10) andBhima temples on Mahendra Mountain (mid to lateseventh century), on the border between Orissa andAndhra Pradesh; and the Madhukesvara (Fig. 12) andBhimesvara (Fig. 15) temples at Mukhalirigam (ca.700), inland on the Varri'sadharaRiver (Fig. 17).The Bhima temple on Mahendra Mountain is onlyroughly blocked out but enough so to indicate that itwould have resembled a smaller version of the nearbyYuddhistira emple. The MukhalirigamBhlimesvara em-

    ple was built in at least two, possibly three, stages. Thedeul (temple) is contemporaneous with the nearbyMadhukesvara temple, but the jaqamohana(hall) andantarala were added later, probably in the eleventhcentury. Either at or after this time, the three imageson the deuland the two on the antariila were insertedin niches carved into the previously flat walls. Thesefive sculptures vary in size and style, suggesting theywere not originally intended as a set for this temple.All four temples are square in plan. Their walls andtowers (gan4i) are triratha;that is, they are dividedvertically into three parts, with the central third(raha) projecting slightly from the surface of the

    temple. No niches were originally provided for imag-es on the walls of the deuls. The gandi of theYuddhistira, Madhukesvara, and Bhimesvara templesconsist of horizontal courses (pidhas), continuousthrough the central raha and interrupted only bycandrasalamotifs at the base of the raha (Figs. 11, 12,and 16). On the two Mukhalirigam temples, thesecandras'alsare filled with figural imagery (Figs. 12 and16); it is impossible to know what would have beencarved on the rahas of the Yuddhistira temple. Abovethe pI4haof the tower are the top stone (skandha), hecircular beki,an amlaikatwo on the Madhukesvara), astone over the amliaka khapuri),and a kalasa.Each pi4ha of the Madhukesvara and Bhimesvaragandis is unembellished except for a continuous plainband at the bottom of each course (Figs. 12 and 16).On the Yuddhiqtiratower, however, a series of semicir-cular forms extends from the top of the band on eachpiitha,creating avertical series from the base to the topof the tower (Fig. 11). Had the tower been completed,it is possible that each of these semicircles would havebeen carved into a small candrasila-a motif found onthe top base molding and on the lowest course of theMadhukesvara corner shrine towers (Fig. 13). Yet,since all the motifs on the Yuddhistira are at the samestage, it is equally possible that this semicircular motif,in a slightly more polished form, could have been theintended decoration on the tower. In either case, eachpidha would have remained discrete from the onesabove and below, as do the pidhas of the Mukhalinigamtemples.In contrast to the simplicity of the Pi4ha gan4i of thethree temples discussed above, the towersof the shrinessituated at the four corners of the Madhukesvara hall(jagamohana,Fig. 13), and those of the compoundcorner shrines (Fig. 14), are more similar in detail torekhaemples, such as the Parasuramesvara temple (ca.A.D. 600, Fig. 24) in Bhubanesvar, north in Orissa, thanto the temples with P/4ha towers. The walls of theMadhukesvara corner shrines and those of theParasuramesvaratemple are still triratha,but now theyhave niches for a main and two subsidiary images. Thetowers are paficaratha (five vertical divisions) and aredivided into bhiimis(stories) by amlakas in the outerdivisions (kanikas).The central raha projecting fromthe tower maintains the double candrasalamotif at thebase; above this is a network of smaller candraail&s.Courses in the second and fourth vertical divisions(anaratha)are embellished with triple candrasalas,andthe outer divisions consist of bhu2mis f four courseseach, the top twojoined by a candrasala motif.There are two significant differences, however, be-tween the towers of the corner shrines of theMadhukesvara temple (Fig. 14) and that of the

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    Parasuramesvara(Fig. 24). On the Madhukesvara tow-ers, the second and fourth divisions are separatedfrom the outer divisions only by a narrow recess, whileon the Parasurame'vara, small shrines have been in-cluded in each bhi2min the deep recess between theouter and inner divisions. Inclusion of the small shrineslends a more sculptural effect to the Parasuramesvaratower, but the absence of miniature shrines on theKaliriga temple towers sustains an emphasis on hori-zontality, evident in the Pieha towers.Additionally, except for the images in the doublecandrasalas at the base of the raha, rarely do theMukhalingam towers have figural imagery; that of theParasuramesvara is replete with images in thecandrasiiliisof the two outer divisions, in the recessesthat separate them from the two inner divisions, andabove the two candrasalaison the central projection(rahii).

    Despite these differences, it is only during this peri-od that such a close comparison is possible. After theMadhukesvara temple was built in about A.D. 700, theKaliriga temple form was modified to accommodatecharacteristics of both pi4ha and rekha emples. As willbe evident from the following discussion, the architec-tural tradition in Kalirigadeveloped slowly, with essen-tially little innovation through the early tenth century.By the tenth century in Bhubanesvar and contiguousareas, rekhatemples had developed a complexity ofform and achieved a sculptural quality unrealized inKaliriga.Ninth- and Tenth-CentulyKalinzgaTemples

    Eight temples are extant in Kalinga from the lateninth and early tenth centuries: the Dibbesvara atSarapalli (Fig. 18), the Rajarajesvaraand Agnesvara atJayati (Figs. 19 and 20; fragments of a third temple stillexist here), the Somesvara temple at Mukhalirigam(Fig. 21), and four temples at Narayanapuram (Figs.17 and 22). Of the four Narayar)apuramtemples, oneis a pi4ha deul (Fig. 23), two have towers marked byamlaka n the outer divisions (rekha),and the fourth iskhakhara,a temple with a rectangular floor plan and abarrel vaulted roof. All these late ninth-/early tenth-century temples are unfinished, all have tnratha walls(three vertical divisions) with niches for images, and,except for the pihdha eulat Narayanapuram, all havepaficaratha towers (five vertical divisions).The panicaratha owers possess characteristics thatindicate rrmodificationof the typical (Orissan) rekhatower with pi4ha gandi features: the courses in eachbhfsmiontinue on most of the towers even throughthe central riiha, particularly above the double

    candrasalas (square and candrasalai n the Somesvaratemple); the bhismis hat are indicated by amlakas inthe twoouter divisions are reiterated byanother amlaka(Fig. 18) or by courses of upturned lotus petals (Fig.21) on the two inner divisions and next to the centralprojection, emphasizing horizontality. The separa-tion of the five vertical divisions is only faintly markedby narrow, shallow recesses.In addition, the triple candrasalamotif repeated onthe Madhukesvara corner shrines in the central ra2haabove the double candrasalas, and on each course inthe second and fourth divisions (Fig. 14), has beenreplaced by no more than a single line of candras&lason the Sarapalli (Fig. 18), the twoJayatitemples (Figs.19 and 20), and the small rekha nd khiakharahrines atNarayanapuram. Embellishment of the outer kanikadivisions is consistent with that on the Madhukesvaracorner shrines: the two top courses in each bhuimirejoined by a candrasaila, ut the third course is decorat-ed separately. On the Nilakanthesvara temple atNarayanapuram (Fig. 22), and on the Somesvara tem-ple at Mukhalirigam (Fig. 21), both the outer andinner divisions are embellished in the same way:onemotifjoins two courses and the third is separate. Evenif all ornamentation had been completed, the archi-tectonic character of the towers would have beenpreserved: sculpture or reliefs were alwaysdiminutivein comparison to the structure itself.

    The one exception to this late ninth-/early tenth-century form is the tower of the small south temple atNarayanapuram (Fig. 23). Similar to the late seventh-/early eighth-century temples, the curvilinear gan(i istrirathaand consists of pi4has. As on the Yuddhistiratemple on Mahendra Mountain (Fig. 11), each pi1hais embellished with a series of geometric forms, heretriangles rather than semicircles. The triangular formsdo not extend from one Pi4ha to another, so eachcourse remains discrete, as on the earlier temple. Incontrast to those early temples, however, the top ele-ment of the tower is an akiisaliniganstead of a kalasa,and the temple walls have niches for images, consis-tent with the other late ninth-/early tenth-centurytemples. The reappearance after at least two centu-ries of the tniratha i4ha gan4i, even with modifications,demonstrates hatartisansdistinguished the pi4hagand1ifrom other temple forms.While the architectural tradition in Kalinigaevolvedconservatively, the parallel tradition in Bhubanesvar,exemplified by the Muktesvaratemple (Fig. 26), devel-oped more dynamically. By the mid tenth century, thefive vertical divisions of the tower were coordinatedwith five wall divisions, the central image niches pro-

    jected prominently from the temple wall, and a lattice-like network of candrasalias overed the second and

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    fourth tower divisions, the central raha, and the gandiof the wall niches. Almost the entire surface of thetemple wasembellished with figural, floral, or geomet-ric decoration. Also, the small shrines in each bhiimiofthe tower between the inner and outer divisions weremaintained. Through the tenth and in the followingcenturies, this attention to decorative detail and adramatic increase in height continued to characterizetowers in Bhubanesvar.The Baskaresvara temple, designated by Dhaky asthe Kaliriga temple form, was certainly an anomalywithin the tradition developing in Bhubanesvar andcan only be understood in relation to the earliertemple tower form of Kaliriga (Fig. 5). In contrast tothe soaring compact towers of the rekhatemples inOrissa, this curvilinear panicaratha andi is squat andcomposed of Pi1has. Each /4ha is embellished bytriangular motifs, similar to the unfinished forms onKaliriga temple towers (Figs. 18 and 23). Above thegan4i are the familiar circular beki, he amlaIka,nd thekalasa.Other characteristics of this temple are typicalof temples attributable to the twelfth century: theprominent projection of the central rahas (more pro-nounced over the west entrance), the base moldings,double tiered niches on paficaratha walls, and thesculptural style of the two remaining central images.28As mentioned in the discussion of Kalingahistory, theLater Gariga king of Kaliriga, Anantavarman Coda-gauiga,controlledUtkala yA.D. 11 10; in all likelihood,this temple was constructed after that with referenceto the most significant characteristic of temples inKaliniga: curvilinear tower of pi4has. The squatness ofthe tower, however, suggests that local artisans had nofirsthand knowledge of the Kaliriga tower form andadapted the Baskaresvara ower from the roofs of halls,which were familiar to them (Fig. 25).

    Knowledge f theKalingaForm n KarndtaThe question that remains is whether the Karnataartisans understood this to be the Kalirigastyle. Verylikely. Certainly, Kalinigawas a political entity recog-nized in other parts of India from at least the seventhcentury for it was mentioned in the A.D. 634 Megutitemple inscription at Aihole;29it was invaded in thetenth century by the Eastern CalukyasofVengT, and inthe eleventh century by Rajaraja C6la of Tanjavur,Tamil Nadu, and by a general of Rajaraja's sonRajendra Cdla.30Despite this, by the twelfth century,the Later Gariga kings had become powerful militaryfigures controlling extensive territory in eastern In-

    dia. By historical analogy with other areas of India, itis possible to surmise that their reputations spread

    beyond this territory and that the temple form mostimportant to them, at least during the first two centu-ries of their sovereignty, was also known.One hundred twenty-nine donatory inscriptions dat-ing to the period of Later Garigasupremacy are carvedon the walls and pillars of the Madhukesvara templehall in Mukhalinigam (Fig. 12).31 The vast majority ofthese inscriptions, which belong to the twelfth centu-ry, reveal that Madhukesvara was the state deity of theLater Gangas, and the temple was a "kind of legalarchive of the state,"since the inscriptions record giftsto other temples, to private individuals, and to the godMadhukesvara."As mentioned in the political history above,Mukhalirigam was the capital of the Later Garigasdur-ing this period. But rather than commissioning a newstate temple to serve as a focus for unification-as theCala king Rajarajadid in Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu, andhis son Rajendra I did at Garigaikondac6lapuram33-Later Garigakings and their subjects in the eleventhand twelfth centuries patronized already existingtemples of local religious significance. BecauseMadhukegvarawas the state deity and heavily patron-ized during Later Garigaresidence there, it is reason-able to conclude that the temple, with its distinctivetower form, was known beyond the boundaries ofKaliriga. The existence of the temple at the LaterGariga capital may have encouraged specific associa-tion of the pidha tower temple form with the politicalentity of Kaliriga.While it is very likely that the Kaliriga temple formwas known outside Kaliriga, there are ambiguities inthe reliefs on Karn.ta temples. Only one, the relief onthe Kattesvara temple in Hirehadagali, Mysore, isclearly close in form to the Kaliriga emple as interpret-ed by artisans in Bhubanesvar: it represents a squat,curvilinear tower of pi4has with prominent centralprojections, embellished with a series of triangularforms on each pi4ha and topped by an amalakaandkalasa (Figs. 5 and 6, center). The artisans of theKattesvara temple either were familiar with texts thatdescribed this temple form in more detail than any ofthe known surviving texts or had visual knowledge ofthe form. In either case, the relief is interpretativebecause the Katteivara temple was constructed earlier(ca. A.D. 1057) than the Baskaresvara temple (earlytwelfth century) and the details do not precisely corre-spond.More problematic to explain are reliefs of tall towersof Pi1has with a straightedged profile (Figs. 1 and 2,the center and two outer reliefs). The height of theearly Kaliriga temples is understood, but one of theother salient characteristics, the curve of the tower, isabsent. If in fact these reliefs represent the Kaliriga

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    form, and I think some of them do, artisans must haverelied solely on textual descriptions of the form, whichthey freely interpreted with a prominent southerncharacteristic, a straightedged tower profile.The reliefs on the Cennakesava temple in Maraleand on the Magesvara temple at Mosale probably dodepict the Kaliriga temple form, however schematical-ly. The Marale reliefs (Fig. 2, center and two outerreliefs) present paficaratha towers with aml&kas ndkalasa on top of the tower-typical of a northerntemple and of the temples in Kaliriga.The Magesvararelief tower (Fig. 1) is saptaratha (seven vertical divi-sions), but each ratha appears to be on a differentplane, suggesting that each phamisanawas not contin-uous across the face of the tower.The tower, topped bya large kalasa, is, however, similar in overall concep-tion to that of the Marale reliefs and more similar tothe Kaliriga temple form than to the other templeforms depicted in relief.Reliefs on the Trikutesvara temple in Gadag (Fig. 3,reliefs two, four, and six from the left, and probablythe others, but in more compressed form), however,may not be depictions of the Kaliriga temple form.Admittedly, they faithfully represent the top phanisanacourse and bell-shaped sikhara of the Laksmideviltemple type (Fig. 4), and Dhaky tentatively suggestedthat the four towers of the LaksmidevT temple atDodda Gaddavalli in Mysore were examples of theKaliriga temple in southern idiom.34 Moreover, boththe Baskaresvara and LaksmidevT towers are com-posed of pidhas. Yet the Baskaresvaratower is curvedand topped by a beki,amalaka, and kalasa, while the

    Dodda Gaddavalli towersarestraightedged and toppedabove the phalmisanaby a bell-shaped sikharaand well-developed kalasa. Although artisans were probablyaware of temple forms outside their own area-wheth-er through texts, verbaldescriptions, or visual observa-tion-there is no reason to believe that a structuraltemple as large as the multi-shrinedLaksmidevi templewould have been constructed in a form (even if trans-lated into southern idiom) associated with an area sodistant from Karnata. Temples with towers of pi4.has(or phamisana)are found in Karnata and throughoutIndia. Therefore, not all temples with phanisana owersneed be Kaliriga emples, nor do all the representationsof ph&amsana owers on Karnata temples necessarilydepict the Kalirigatower.An inscription on the Laksmidevi temple states thatthe temple wasbuilt bythe merchant Kullchana-Rahutaand his wife Sahajadevi in A.D. 1113, during the reignof the Hoysala king Visnu.35They founded a village tosupport the temple, and the merchant later gave amonetary donation for the goddess. There is no indi-cation in this inscription, nor any other evidence, ofprolonged or significant political or cultural inter-course between Kaliriga on the central east coast andKarnata in south India. It would in fact be extraordi-nary for an architect working in a local or regionaltradition consciously to construct a temple close inform to another tradition. Artisans of the Trikultesvaratemple in Gadag (Fig. 9) were probably depicting alocal temple form, typified by the Laksmldevi temple,that developed in Karnata independently from theKaliriga temple form.

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    NotesI would like to thank the Archaeological Survey of India forpermission to photograph the monuments included in this articleas well as the American Institute of Indian Studies for graciouslyproviding several photographs. All figures are by the author unlessotherwise indicated.1. M. A. Dhaky, The Indian TempleForms n Karnata Insciptionsand Architecture,New Delhi, 1977, p. 1.2. The twelfth-century Aparajitaprcchaof Bhuvandeva, westernIndia; the LaA,anasamuccayaofVairocani,an eleventh-through

    thirteenth-century eastern India agama;, nd the twelfth-cen-tury south Indian agama, the Kamika. Cited by Dhaky, IndianTemple,p. 36.

    3. Dhaky, Indian Temple,p. 50, n. 66.4. Stella Kramrisch, "Kalinga Temples," Journal of the Indian

    Societyof OrientalArt,v. 2, no. 1, 1934, pp. 43-44 and p. 43, n.3.5. Dhaky, Indian Temple,p. 9.6. Dhaky, Indian Temple,pp. 36-37.7. Nirmal Kumar Bose, CanonsofOvissanArchitecture, ew Delhi,1982, pp. 78-79 and sections XVI and XVII.8. Radhagovinda Basak, Alokan Inscriptions,Calcutta, 1959, pp.xi-xii and 63-76.9. K. G. Sankara Aiyar, 'The Hathigumpha Cave Inscription ofKharavela," Indian Antiquary,v. 49, 1920, pp. 43-52.10. Debala Mitra, Bhubanesvar,New Delhi, 1978, pp. 4-6.11. S. N. Rajaguru, Inscriptionsof Orissa,v. 1, pt. ii, Bhubanesvar,1958, pp. 1-82.12. Rajaguru, Insatiptiorns, . 46.13. A more extended discussion of settlement patterns in Kalirigamay be found in M. F. Linda, 'Temples of Stone, Centers ofCulture: Sacred Space in Medieval Kaliriga," n Studiesin theHistor ofArt, v. 31: UrbanFormand Meaning inSouthAsia, ed.Howard Spodek and Doris Srinivasan, Washington, D.C.,forthcoming 1991.14. The Matharas seem to have been overshadowed by rulers ofthe tri Kasyapagotra,who had no major or lasting impact onKalinga history. Their grants may be found in Rajaguru,

    Inscriptions, pp. 48 and 63. There are also two ambiguousreferences to Kalinga between MAthara and Early Gangahegemony. Kaliriga-ra,rtrais eferred to in one grant of south-ern Orissa, but it is not clear whether this is the Kalirigaof theMatharas or another smaller territorial unit. See D. C. Sircar,"Sumaq,dalaPlates of the Time of Prthivivigrahabhattaraka:GuptaYear 250,nEpigraphicaIndica,v. 28, n.d., pp. 79-85. Onetailodbhava ruler of southern Orissa claims to be Sakala-Kaliriga-adhipati, which may indicate a temporary intrusioninto Kaliriga from Orissa. See Rajaguru, Inscriptions, pp.157-61.

    15. For the Kalinganagara branch, see Rajaguru, Inscriptions, .2,pp. 1-232, and S. N. Rajaguru, Historyof the Gangas, pt. 1,Bhubanesvar, 1968, pp. 71-152; for the Svetakabranch, Inscrip-tions,v. 2, pp. 243-312, and History,pp. 156-76.

    16. Rajaguru, Inscriptions,v. 2, pp. 258-63.17. There are temples at Punjiyama and Borogaon, but I wouldassign them to the period of Sailodbhava hegemony.18. B. C. Bhattacharya, "Kaliriganagara and Excavation at Its

    Present Site,"Journal ofBihar and OrissaResearchSociety, . 15,1929, pp. 623-34.19. G. V. Ramamurti, "Nadgam Plates of Vajrahasta: Saka Samvat

    979," Epigraphia ndica,v. 4,1896-97, p. 192, and B.V. KrishnaRao, "On the Identification of Kaliriganagara,"JBORS,v. 15,1929, pp. 105-15.20. G. Ramdas, "Tri-KalirigaCountry,"JBORS,v. 14, pt. 4, 1928,pp. 539-47, and G. Ramdas, 'Tri-KalirigaCountry,"JBORS,v.15, 1929, pp. 635-42.21. Binayak Misra, "The TriKaliriga Country,"JBORS,v. 14, pt. 1,1928, p. 145.22. Rajaguru, Inscriptions,v. 1, pt. ii, pp. 113-56.23. For Sailodbhava inscriptions, see Rajaguru, Inscriptions,v. 1,pt. ii, pp. 157-252.24. The Bhauma Kara grants have yet to be catalogued in anysingle place. A list is provided in Thomas Donaldson, Hindu

    TempleArtofOrissa,v. 1, Leiden, 1985, p. 1198.25. K. C. Panigrahi, Historyof Orissa,Cuttack, 1981, pp. 144-45.26. Snigdha Tripathy, Inscriptions,v. 6, Bhubanesvar, 1974, pp.51-258.27. Nabin Kumar Sahu, "Historical Geography," in History andCultureofOrissa, d. M. N. Das, Cuttack, 1977, p. 40; andJames

    Fleet, "VizagapatnamGrantofAnantavarman C6dagarigadeva,Saka 1040," Indian Antiquary, 1889, pp. 165-72.28. Donaldson, Hindu, pp. 400-1, dates this temple to the twelfthcentury.

    29. Epigraphica ndica, v. 6, 1896, p. 11.30. Rajaguru, Histor, pt. I, pp. 129-34, and S. N. Rajaguru, "Two

    Copper Plate Inscriptions of the EarlyGarigaKingsof Kaliriga,"JBORS, v. 35, pts. I and II, 1949, pp. 1-27. For the ColainvasionsofKalirigaseeRajaguru, Inscviptions,v.2, p.358,andB. Masthanaiah, The Templesof Mukhalingam, New Delhi,1978, pp. 16-17.

    31. Archaeological Survey of India, New Imperial Series, SouthIndian Inscriptions,v. 5, nos. 1005-1134. Most are also cata-logued byRajaguru,Inscriptions, . 3, pts. i and ii, Bhubanesvar,1960-61.

    32. H. v. Stietencron, 'The Advent of Visnuism in Orissa," inThe CultofJagannath and theRgional Tradition of Orissa, ed.A. Eschmann, H. Kulke, and G. C. Tripathi, New Delhi,

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    1978, p. 23.33. Encyclopediaof Indian TempleArchitecture, outh India, Lower

    Dravidesa, v. 1, pt. I, ed. Michael W.Meister, New Delhi, 1983,p. 234-47, and H. Kulke, "Royal Temple Policy and theStructure of Medieval Hindu Kingdoms," in Cult,pp. 135-37.

    34. Dhaky, Indian Temple,p. 55, n. 46.35. R Narasimhachar, TheLakshmideviTempleatDodda-Gaddavalli,

    Mys reArchaeological eies, Architecture nd Sculpture n Mysore,v. 3, Bangalore, 1919, pp. 1 and 5.

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    FIG.2. North wall, Cennakesvara temple, Marale, ChikmagaCourtesy of the American Institute of In

    FIG. 1. North wall, Magesvara temple, Mosale, Hassan District, Mysore,ca. A.D. 1250. Courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies.

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    FIG.5. Baskaresvara emple, rom the south, Bhubanesvar, uriDistrict,Orissa, a. early welfthcentury. .-Courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies. FIG. 6. South wall, Kattesvaratemple,late eleventh century. Courtesy of th

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    THE KALINGATEMPLE FORM 99

    MADHYA WEST>RAN HI ,J BIHR \PRADESH, OAPR 2 SI/ DAiv9m Nad ar

    /, I RAKHAAYTANAM K