Romantic Valleys And Ravines, Picturesque Masses And Walls Of Rock Lay On Both Sides, Immeasurable Valleys Spread Themselves Out Behind The Mountains, While In Front The View Swept Over An Extensive Open Plain, At The Commencement Of Which Lay The Fortress Of Adjunta.

We had already reached it at about 8 o'clock in the morning.

Captain Gill resides in Adjunta, and I had letters of introduction to him from Mr. Hamilton. When I expressed a wish, after the first greeting was over, to visit the famous rock temples of Adjunta, he deeply regretted that he had not received a letter from me four-and-twenty hours sooner, as the temples were nearer to Furdapoor than to Adjunta. What was to be done? I was resolved upon seeing them, and had but little time to lose, so I decided upon retracing my way. I only provided myself with a small stock of provisions, and immediately mounted one of the horses from the captain's stable, which brought me past the rocky pass in a good hour. The road towards the temples here turns off to the right into desolate, barren mountain valleys, whose death-like stillness was unbroken by the breathing of an animal, or the song of a bird. This place was well calculated to raise and excite expectations.

The temples, twenty-seven in number, are excavated in tall perpendicular cliffs, which form a semicircle. In some of the cliffs there are two stories of temples, one over the other; paths lead to the top, but these are so narrow and broken, that one is frequently at a loss where to set the foot. Beneath are terrible chasms, in which a mountain stream loses itself; overhead, the smooth rocky surface extends several hundred feet in height. The majority of the temples are quadrangular in form, and the approach to the interior is through verandahs and handsome gateways, which, from being supported on columns, appear to bear the weight of the whole mass of rock. These temples are called "Vihara." In the larger one I counted twenty-eight, in the smallest eight pillars. On one, and sometimes on both side-walls, there is a very small dark cell, in which most probably the priest lived. In the background, in a large and lofty cell, is the sanctuary. Here are gigantic figures in every position; some measure more than eighteen feet, and nearly reach to the roof of the temple, which is about twenty-four feet high. The walls of the temples and verandahs are full of idols and statues of good and evil spirits. In one of the temples, a battle of giants is represented. The figures are above life size, and the whole of the figures, columns, verandahs and gateways, are cut out of the solid rock. The enormous number and remarkable beauty of the sculptures and reliefs on the columns, capitals, friezes, gateways, and even on the roof of the temples, is indeed most astonishing; the variety in the designs and devices is inexhaustible.

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Words from 117807 to 118310 of 187810