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ARCHITECTURE
The caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri, called lena in the inscriptions,
are essentially dwelling retreats of the Jain ascetics. There are radical
differences between the general plans of this group and of the far-famed
Buddhist rock-cut monasteries of the Deccan. The latter consist of a
congregation-hall surrounded by cells often on three sides and with a
verandah or porch on the fourth. But here the hall has been entirely
dispensed with: probably the very nature of the religion did not call for
it. The cells here open either directly into the verandah or the open
space in front.
Another
peculiarity of the group is the entire absence of a rock-cut sanctuary,
which is an indispensable concomitant of a rock-cut Buddhist
establishment. The Jain monks apparently substituted it by a structural
one. In later periods, however, some of the dwelling cells were converted
into shrines with minor alterations, such as increasing the height of the
chamber by the excavation of the floor to a deeper depth and providing
greater space by the removal of not only the partition-walls between
contiguous cells but those dividing the verandah.
Not laid out on a preconceived plan, the monastic retreats were excavated
at different heights. The excavators saved both labour and expense by
following the configuration of the rock and connecting different caves,
wherever necessary, by rock-cut steps, some of which exist even now. There
is a predilection towards excavation near the top of the ledge or boulder,
probably to lessen the load over the caves, the rock being of a brittle
variety.
Meant for Jain recluses, who are unparalleled for the rigour of their
asceticism and extreme self-mortification, the caves provided little
amenities. The height of most of the caves, including even the
exceptionally large one like Cave-1 ('Rani-gumpha') of Udayagiri, does not
allow a man to stand erect; the remaining ones are so narrow that one
cannot even stretch oneself. The cells are essentially dormitories, an
inference substantiated by a sloping rise of the floor at the rear end to
serve the purpose of a pillow. This inclination of the floor extends from
one end to the other; evidently each cell was tenanted by a number of
monks.
The needs of the residents must have been very few indeed: the walls of
the cells were not even provided with niches. To keep scriptures and
articles of bare necessity, shelves were often cut across the walls of the
verandah. The cells are austerely plain, but their facades and brackets,
in important instances, are embellished with carvings. The varied
treatment of the cut-out brackets is especially noteworthy.
A fully developed monastery would consist of one or more cells fronted by
a common verandah, the latter having, in important instances like Caves 1
(Rani-gumpha), 9
('Manchapuri'
and 'Svargapuri') and 10 ('Ganesa-gumpha')
of Udayagiri and Cave-3
('Ananta-gumpha')
of Khandagiri, a levelled ground for courtyard in front. The cells may be
ranged on one, two or three sides of the verandah. There is no departure
from this general arrangement, even in the double-storeyed caves.
What distinguishes Cave-1 is the addition of two more wings, each in its
turn containing a suite of cells with a verandah. The upper storey in most
cases does not rest immediately above the lower but recedes back. This
devise was due either to the desire to relieve the lower storey of the
load of the upper, or to the slope of the rock-face which did not allow
enough front space for the upper storey to be perched directly over the
lower, or to both.
Technical Soundness
Coming to the technical details, one cannot but be struck by the
similarity between these rock-cut caves and the present-day kachcha houses
of eastern India. The excavators evidently attempted to simulate in live
rock structural houses with which they were familiar, so that the features
peculiar to such structures were reproduced even if they were not required
for stability. Thus, the ceilings of the cells are often arched and convex
like that of a hut; the roofs of the verandah, supported on non-functional
architraves, resting on pillars exactly as in a hut with bamboo or wooden
posts, are mostly lower than those of the cells.
The floors of the verandah are at a level lower than those of the cells;
the strength of the architraves is seemingly secured by brackets; the
roofs of the verandah project outward in the form of eaves, the inner
sides of the latter being curved as in a thatched or tiled hut to break
the flow of rain-water; the door-jambs sometimes incline inwards, which is
inappropriate in masonry or rock.
The number of doors varies from one to four, according to the size of the
cells. The doorways are invariably small. Even in cells high enough for a
man to stand erect, one has to crawl to enter. The jambs, in some cases,
slop inwards, causing the opening slightly wider at the base than at the
top, a feature common in many caves of an early date, including the ones
at 'Barabar' (District Gaya). The doors have grooves, cut all around their
outer frames, probably to receive movable wooden shutters.
Additional holes for hinges at the threshold and the lintel, in a few
cases, suggest single doors. Unlike most Buddhist cells, the caves of
Udayagiri and Khandagiri are adequately lighted, which is due not only to
their general layout but also to the profusion of door-openings. In some
rare instances there are windows as well. Patches of shell-lime plaster
existing even now indicate that the walls of the caves were at one time
plastered here and there.
The Cave Categories
The caves can be divided into two broad categories one plain without a
pillared verandah and the other with a regular pillared verandah. Whether
this division has any chronological significance or not is difficult to
decide, though, on general grounds, some caves of the first category might
have been earlier than those of the latter. The former are small, mostly
open in the front, and without any architectural pretensions; in a few
cases, as in Cave-12
('Bagh-gumpha')
of Udayagiri, the cell-top itself projects to form a verandah.
In the majority of the caves open in the front, a horizontal chase runs
above the opening. Whether it is meant to direct rainwater outside the
cells or to receive some wooden adjunct is not known. The date of this
group is difficult to determine in the absence of any epigraphic evidence.
The interval of time between individual caves of the second category
cannot be reckoned in centuries, taking the architectural features as the
criterion. Architectonically, they form a homogenous group, with out
evincing any appreciable process of development. They are all
characterized by a benched verandah; their pillars and pilasters are
broadly of the same design- generally square below and above and octagonal
in the middle, the corners of the square chamfered with the resultant
formation of half-medallions at the points of transition. They have a
comparable arrangement of the decoration of the facades with pilasters,
arches, railings and mouldings simulating the roofs of structures.
None of them bespeaks a different age or different
architecture-tradition. Their architectural features, combined with the
paleographic evidence of the inscriptions. A typical verandah-pillar they
bear, suggest a date of the 1st century B.C. for all caves of this
category, with a probable extension into the next century.
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