Torana

Mukteshvara Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The thick architrave that spans the torana is corbeled; it consists of overlapping layers of stone that were carefully carved so as to resemble a true arch. Decorations on the arch include reclining maidens, foliage, and heads peeping out of windows. The squat, sixteen-sided columns are decorated with garlands and fruit at the top; their square bases are carved with gajasimhas whose divided bodies meet at the corners. This trick is not unique to India; in early China, for example, the taotie heads were sometimes split in this way.

The east face of the torana is seen here; the camera looks westward, out from the temple entrance, to a row of small shrines just outside of the Mukteshvara compound. Another temple (Siddheshvara) is partly visible at the extreme right of the photo.