Alkapuri Gumpha located on Udayagiri hill of Orissa belongs to 1st century B.C. It was built by Emperor Kharavela. It is a two storeyed cave, the lower cells are badly damaged and while the upper cells can be approached by a flight of steps. The major portion of the pillars of the benched veranda is of modern construction.
The cave is devoid of sculptural friezes except the pillar and pilaster. The pillars are based over a three stepped pedestal and square at the base and at the top and octagonal at the center.
The existing bracket of the pillar in the interior side is designed with lion, a royal elephant flanked by two other elephant one holding umbrella and the other a fly whisk. The central pillar is designed with a enigmatic winged animal.
The pilaster on the left side of the cave is relived with a scene of a male holding a female in his one hand and a elephant tusk in other hand.
The cave is devoid of sculptural friezes except the pillar and pilaster. The pillars are based over a three stepped pedestal and square at the base and at the top and octagonal at the center.
The existing bracket of the pillar in the interior side is designed with lion, a royal elephant flanked by two other elephant one holding umbrella and the other a fly whisk. The central pillar is designed with a enigmatic winged animal.
The pilaster on the left side of the cave is relived with a scene of a male holding a female in his one hand and a elephant tusk in other hand.
28 comments:
Must be a fascinating place to visit!
Though the exterior look pathetic, amazing how it withstands. Nice carving
Wow, that's really cool!
I enjoy seeing historical sites like this that are especially old....
how often do the govt conduct renovations on these historic temples and structures?
Worth a Thousand Words
I like the relief art on the stone very much.
Beautiful building photos!
Happy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
a creative harbor
What unusual animal friezes are on that pillar!
How very lovely!
So marvelous, the doors and windows people once made from stone!
The age of this is astounding to me. Wonderful!
Wonderful that you shared the rich heritage of Odisha, India, Rajesh :)
simpler than some of the structures you've shared, but still interesting.
ROG, ABCW
Lovely architecture and informative post!
Thank you for sharing, this is so interesting. I like that you gave us lots of information.
Your part of the world has so much to offer, images we rarely see and beautiful too.
It is amazing how this art work survived over so many years. Very interesting post!
People carved this beautiful structure out of a cave? Wow!
Amazing that people in the past created such beautiful decorations for this building.
Have a great week!
Wil, ABCW Team.
Nice carvings!
Wonderful historic structure - thanks for sharing it.
The outside looks as though it could collapse at any moment, amazing its still standing and people can enjoy the carvings inside.
Amazing place...thanks for sharing Rajesh.
Beautiful cave sculptures !
Wow, that's really cool!
I am so glad that your blog site is documenting ancient Indian history for the walls, the stones, the pillars and carvings....all speak!
A structure from the 1st century BC... wondering what the structure might have been used for.
beautiful :-)
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