CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Jhilani vapi, Dhank, Gujarat

In the village of Tirumeyjnanam, there are two temples called Nalur and Tirumayanam. The Tirumayanam temple is now called the Jnanaparamesvarar temple. It has been dated in or before the second year of Aditya I (872 CE). This early Chola temple still retains its original features. References: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1966, pp. 186 – 188, D. Barrett, 1974, p. 102.

The Pallava king, Narasimha II in 8th century CE, built the Jvaraharesvara temple but the inscriptions illustrate that the Chola kings also used to donate to this temple. Although it is one of the smaller buildings of its time, it is quite ornate and is a significant example of a temple of the time of Kulottunga III (1178–1218 CE). It is also an interesting structure because of its ovular plan. The temple was renovated at the beginning of the 20th century and the brick superstructure is completely new; the complex is surrounded by a rubble compound wall, a small gateway or gopura in front on the east. Only the lower stone part of the gopura appears late Chola. References: M.W. Meister and M.A. Dhaky, 1963, pp.320-322.

K Sites, AIIS, CA&A

Kabul Museum, Afghanistan

The Kabuli Bagh Mosque was among those very few buildings that were constructed in India by Babur himself. It was built to commemorate Babur’s victory over Delhi’s Sultan Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat, thus marking his conquest of India. The mosque was in a complex that contained a walled gated enclosure, a well, and a garden known as the Kabuli Bagh, recalling Babur’s homeland in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Although Babur would have liked to build a magnificent Timurid type mosque, he lacked the resources to do so. The mosque was clearly designed by an Indian architect who lacked the knowledge of Timurid architectural principles. The stucco was probably originally painted to emulate the richness of tile-work found on Timurid monuments. The whole of this complex of which only the mosque survives was erected about two km. to the north-east of Panipat.