11 Kuta Stambha/Shala Hybrid [S’KsdS’] = [SKS]
The irregular, intermediate, diagonal kuta stambha/shala hybrid, notated on this site as S’*Ksd*S’* and simplified as [SKS*,] represents an extreme eccentricity, almost a hapax legomena, in the Karnata Dravida aedicular lexicon. It is found only at the Ramesvara, Ramanathapura and Lakshminarasimha, Bhadravati temples (both c 1260) and was discovered by Prof. Hardy in a wall shrine at the Kallesvara (Kattesvara,) Hire Hadagali (1057.) As employed at these two Hoysala temples, it could be described formally as an irregular kuta stambha placed diagonally or, more precisely, radially, corner-out [Ksd*] with two, also atypically angled shala gables [S’*]. These stambhas occur between the adjacent harantara panjara aedicules of the diagonally-placed, stellated, octagonal kutas [K8d*.] The stambhas are positioned by “staggering” a right angle triangle, twice around a smaller (inner) than that used to place the principal [K8d*] points. This stambha’s width, is so large it could be considered a “point” in its own right, thereby doubling the notional points of the vimana from 8to 16. It is an irregular kuta stambha because its kuta’s outer point is an acute 45° angle not a 90˚ right angle, while its obtuse (interior) angle is 135° resulting in a diamond, not square kuta stambha, It is a hybrid because these kuta stambhas have shala gables attached on either side which are themselves irregular because forming a 90˚ not a 135° angle with the diagonally-placed kuta stambhas. At the same time the shala’s end gables form a 90° angle with the adjacent harantara panjara recesses, though halving their length. Thus, these hybrid stambhas can appear to have three nearly equal points.
The east vimana of the Jora (Joda Kalasa) temple at Sudi (1054) has a more regular kuta/shala hybrid aedicule – a single-staggered shala divided by a square kuta placed at a 45° angle or diagonal to it, that is with its 90˚ corner facing outward forming a 135° angle with the shala’s roofs. Its two faces are indented like the points of a very large, stellated octagonal kuta but this kuta, if stellated, would have only four points.This hybrid aedicule is supported by five pilasters, four for the single-staggered shala and one for the point or corner of the kuta, an anomaly since it divides the vimana’s face into an even rather than odd number of bays.More fanciful composite and multi-aedicular wall shrines can be found at Hire Hadagali and other Later Chalukya sites, such as the Kasivisvesvara, Lakkundi, and Trikutesvara, Gadag.