Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/166

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98
THE TEMPLE OF CHANGU-NARAIN

we pass through a sombre archway, an excellent foil to the fantasy of colour and material, which, throbbing in the sunlight, leaps to the eye beyond. At first sight the scene appears to be a miscellany of art and architecture, tossed into picturesque confusion, but overcoming this illusion, it is possible to analyse it and understand the general arrangement. The ordinary plan of these buildings is a square courtyard, around which runs a dharmasala or resting-place for the devotees. The actual shrine is a pagoda in the centre of the court, around which subsidiary altars, statues, and temples have been added by devout donors. This combination is in all cases picturesque in the extreme, and Changu-Narain is without doubt the richest of all the Nepalese pagodas in carving, colour, and embossed metal. The entrance to the large central pagoda is one mass of hammered brass, beaten up into angels and devils, reptiles and fishes, winged creatures and floral forms. In front, on pedestals, brazen beasts guard the portals, the baleful effect of one ferocious-looking grifhn being humorously intensified by a