8 ANTIQUITIES.
THE CHANDI KOBÓN ÖALAÏÏ,
;but so covered -with .trees and.shrubs, that itri¬ visible fill,you are withui
two .or three hundred yards’ of jitr- .1 .could’.find no^remains :o£; thej aficient
•enclosure, but the .fields-fqr-some distance :round have, been enclosed:in
•later, days with5the;stonès. which have;fallèn from the .temple* . About forty
yards westward.of the,temple, formerly’stood two.colossaLimages or r'échas,*
both now overthrown,- and one broken Jn.two.:j these èvidently; faced) each
other inwards, as.if<to guard-the approach. Eacbi’of these,.including the
:pedestal, iaóf a;single block,' seven:.feet .high; the head is Awro fèet high*
the'square of the pedestal jabout three feet,, apd-‘its, height thirtêem-inchés
aöd a h a lf: the stone block coarse grained, and apparently the same' as*th§
'outer coating of the" temple.’ The’J/dpor-way is three, feet rand a half wide,
and now ten feet long,- so that, allowing two feetjfor dilapidation, Ithe thickness.
of,the walls must have been.moré than twelve.feet;;; This leads directly
.to an apartment twenty feet square, the terrace of,which,-or prigmaldfloor,
.is now covered to an unknown depth .with, masses .of,stone- fallen i from the
-waUs hnd-rodf, The present ’ height,-, ofthe 'interior,.df^the,‘ttuildidgTXs
about twenty-eight feet* I .>
The roof is a square pyramid about fourteen feet highj^for'me'd ofstonee
.'which, bverhang each .other like invertédlsteps.1 r The stone gompbsinglthe
-interior of .the apartment is .whitish and close' grained^.' and.breaksrin flakes
something .likd .flint. The whole Js uniformlyjicufe. and- neaUycanQriaQed
»ngptw Without-cement. .The interion is .perfectly plain, the .exterior
•could never, have possessed more than the simplest architectural embellish-
jnent. .
Excepting the two réckas, or porters, I saw ..qd «remains. o£.statuary.}
hut it. is probable that images of Hindurfleifies, lie buried, in theiTubbish.
■ These porters Or giants seem to .have, -been ..posted as. if. tb ..guard ithe
approach tp the sanctuaries of the góds.; .The-hair of each • is. plaitèd: and
•.wound round his head, after the fashion of .thevmendicaBt priests of India;
He wears large cylindrical earrings,. like those j o f 'thfe Javan women, brace*,
fets .and necklace of beads. His waistband, which is very bulky and
reaches almost to his knees, is confined by a' chain of square linksi' sfhd
deceives on-the right side a small- square-hilted dagger. jBetwee& his' lëgs
H ana
* Récha is the teim giypjt, by the Javans to all the remains of antiquity generally, but
particularly to the images of their former worship.
and under the waistband, there passes a lungofa or kopina, the ends
of which hang flown before and, .behind. . In his right hand, he .holds
an octagonal club ; in his left a snake,, coiled, and flatting its tongue
along - the breast: small twisted snakes also form his, armlets, - and
'one.'passes, oyer his left;’shoulder diagonally, across.,the, body, the head
and-tail forming a kind cf knot. , His, head' is broad} his forehead
and chin short but wide ;r ,hls ^y^.quite round, large, prominent, and
staring} his, lips thick j his mouth open, and] shewing, two very large dog
teeth and four others o f tjie upper jaw. Singular as the-countenance.is, it
has generally,.an open good, hiunoured p^.rgs^qp. The seppy whqattended
me, and who had-Tesked-ty(g,ypars^ong-^e Bramins at Benares, and, of
a.corps^clrupwards of, eight"hundred sepoys, was, acknowledged,.to be the
best acquainted with -sucli,s»bjeqt^ ' similar figures were
common'guardians of^the^entra.ncpj^qjih^ tempre^ pfr India, ,and seemed
perfectly well acquainted yith their history^.purppse,, and .distinctive accompaniments
} hutjhe was lost in surprise number,. magnitude, and
superior execution of those at JBnambdnan, to whi^ite said that India could
in nq respect .furnish a paralfel.Every, thing here,.- he said, was manifestly,
the work of*theJgods,*’ as no human-power effected, such things.
The-temples at Brambdnan are entirely /composed of-plain hewn stone
without the least mixturemf brick, mortar, , or rubbish of any kind, .even, in
the .most extensive solid} masses,, or- to, fill up^the floors and basements,, of
file largest L strucfurps, Large trees have made their way through many of
them, arid give an air of .high antiquity. , , - ,' p,: ; l : '• 1
Close by the ropd.side at Brambdnan,a,n& in front.,of the bandar’s house,
there-am several pieces of sculpture .deserving of nptice< One is, a very well
executed relievo on two small stqnes^pf. about eighteen inches hy five,
within tyebdndar’s Mmpungl^ represents elephants, completely caparisoned
in.the Hindu fashion. Another is a pjfeceof sculpture representing the
yvide-extended mouth and ereofcutled proboscis of the, elephant, having a
figure (I believe af a Gopia or . inferior deity orflemi-god) seated in an erect
posture on the animal’s tongue, surrounded with a formidable .array of teeth.
This is found on'either side of the top or bottom of flights of steps, grand
entrances, or portals of all'the Brambdnan buildings. There is also a more
finished'specimen of the same kind as the last,- but. having instead of a
Gdpia a lion, decorated with a necklace, to-whose head descends from the
lotos flowers which crown the elevated proboscis of tiie elephant, a ver^
.5' ' J I • * • n 1 rich . VOL. II, V .