महाराणा कुम्भा (हरविलास सारदा - मेवाड़ साम्राज्य के अद्वितीय विजेता, निर्माता व विद्वान्)

Maharana Kumbha.
two feet square. It has nine distinct storeys,
with openings at every face of each storey,
and all these doors have colonnaded porticos."
Each storey is lighted by trellis windows,
and the angles and recesses not intersected by
steps are utilised for statues and ornaments.
The exterior surface is broken up into nine
principal divisions each furnished with its
windows, balustrades, eaves or Chhajjas
and emphasized by columns, pilasters and
numberless horizontal bands and cornices. A
stair passes up the tower though its nine
storeys but the peculiarity consists in its
winding alternately through a central well and
a gallery formed round it. The two upper
storeys are open and more ornamental than those
below. The whole of the lower is covered with
architectural ornaments and sculptures to such
an extent as to leave no plain parts, while at
the same time, this mass of decoration is kept
so subdued that it in no way interferes either
with the outline or the general effect of the
pillar. It is built chiefly of compact lime-
stone and the quartz rock on which it stands,
which takes the highest polish : indeed there
are portions possessing the hardness, and ex-
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