Story of Bali, Indonesia

But even if such plans were transmitted, they can hardly have been so strictly enforced as in their country of origin, where any divergence from the plan would have led to certain precisely-defined fatal consequences. An attempt to adhere to plans drawn tip in a remote area would almost certainly have resulted in complete rigidity. The genius of Indonesian artists clearly refused to be confined within limitations that were too narrow. They developed their individual interpretations even in such areas where this would have been quite impossible in India. However this may be, Javanese architects created works of surpassing some of those in India.

A tjandi, or sepulchral monument, consists in its simplest form of three parts: tile base which bears the temple proper is cubic the plan square. The temple forms a cube, and is smaller than the base, leaving a terrace for perambulation around the temple; the third part of the whole structure is the temple roof, gradually receding in steps towards the top on the exterior, whilst in the interior it forms the rising ceiling of the shrine.

It culminates on to top in a crowning, usually in the shape of a linga or stupa. Under the shrine a small space is left open ia the base, in which the ashes of deceased prince may be preserved. We shall corne back to this point later. Over it stands a statue ol a god or the linga of the Shiva cult. A stairway, generally on tire eastern side, leads tip to the terrace, ascending alongside the base and terminating Opposite the entrance to the shrine.

This is the most simple form, but there are innumerable variations, retaining this same basic form. A projection may be added to every side of tile three parts of the three part of the building. The plan has thus twenty corners instead of four, but is still square. In tire case of the larger tjandis, this is the common form.

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