Manchurian Books

It
surpasses, in magnitude and finish, the best specimens of Indian
architecture; it is, indeed, affirmed to have claims to precedence
over the marvellous buildings of the ancient Egyptians. The Kylas
is of conical form, 120 feet in height and 600 in circumference.
For the construction of this masterwork, a colossal block was
separated from the solid rock by a passage 240 feet long and 100
broad. The interior of the temple consists of a principal hall (66
feet long by 100 broad), and several adjoining halls, which are all
furnished with sculptures and gigantic idols; but the real
magnificence consists in the rich and beautiful sculptures on the
exterior, in the tastefully-executed arabesques, and in the fine
pinnacles and niches, which are cut out on the tower. The temple
rests on the backs of numerous elephants and tigers, which lie next
to each other in peaceful attitudes. Before the principal entrance,
to which several flights of steps lead, stand two figures of
elephants above life-size. The whole is, as has been said before,
hewn from a single mass of rock.


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