"Colonel Monier-Williams, a military official, was the first to notice the temple in the course of his duties as Surveyor General. In his Journal in 1809, he described the structure as ol rare elegance, and noted that its domes had been blown off by a Muslim prince, There is one of the finest specimens of ancient Hindu architecture at Mundera I ever saw. It is a pagoda very similar in structure to those of the present day; but ornamented so profusely that it is very evident the founder was determined to make it the most finished piece of work that it was possible for the compass of human art to effect ... All the upper part of it is supported on pillars, which are of an order the most elegant, and enriched with carved work of exquisite beauty, and which would be considered in this refined age as the conception of a correct taste, and the execution of a masterly hand. Innumerable figures cover most of the bases of the pillars, and a considerable portion of the exterior surface of the building... The domes were blown off, they say, by means of gunpowder ... by a Musalman prince. The lower circles remain, and are ornamented in a style of elegance that is uncommonly striking ..."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
in Burgess and Cousens 1975: 71-72). quoted from Jain, M. (2019). Flight of deities and rebirth of temples: Espisodes from Indian history.173
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Temple%2C_Modhera
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Sun Temple, Modhera
3 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Sun Temple, Modhera →
Related Quotes
"Thereafter, in 1856, British administrator A.K. Forbes wrote of the temple and the evidence of Muslim vandalism, It r…"
"James Burgess and Henry Cousens were the first archaeologists to properly survey the temple. They noted images of sol…"
"After the 1857 Indian Mutiny/Great Rebellion, European belief in their religious superiority became racial too. After…"
"Now hereafter are written the endowments (vithi), a garden for the god of gods, who wears the war-disc, which (endowm…"
"Jajja, who long carried the burden of the varga, together with a committee of trustees (goshtijana), built a large te…"
"However, it was during the reign of Sikandar Butshikan (1394-1417), that the wind of Muslim proselytization blew the …"
"Militants damaged 127 temples and 16,000 houses of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley between 1986 and 1992, according to…"
"The Kashmir Samiti has produced a report titled Riots in Kashmir, listing 85 temples destroyed in the valley, and cla…"
"The original Shiva Lingam in the temple, along with over 300 precious idols of Gods and Godesses therein and other st…"
"The British army explorer, Francis Younghusband (1816- 1942) pronounced the (Martand) temple as “... the finest struc…"