nORIN COUNTY FREE LIBRfiRY

ART AND
ARCHITECTURE OF
311110Q1663663

INDIA
Benjamin Rowland

..-^

BEN^

7ooo<^^zG

ROWLAND

nI

he Art

and Architecture of
India
Hindu

Buddhist

After describing the

Jain

artistic heritage

of the

cently-discovered ancient cities of Harappa

Mohenjo-daro,
civilizations
turies.

book

this

tells

the story

re-

and

of the

that followed through

fifty cen-

Special attention

paid

is

to the influence

of religion upon the history ofarchitecture, sculpture, and painting in India and the surrounding

THIS

BOOK HAS BEEN

PROVIDED BY THE

countries from their prehistoric beginnings until

the introduction of

European influences

cent centuries. Beside

there are

300

numerous plans and other

ings, a glossary,

in re-

half-tone illustrations,
line

draw-

and a full bibliography.

Dr Benjamin Rowland

a Professor of Fine

is

Arts at Harvard University, his special subject

being the history of Western
field of research, the Italian
the fourteenth
lished a

journey

andfifteenth

art.

On

his original

and Spanish

centuries,

art

he has pub-

book and various papers. After a long

to the

Far East

came particularly

in

1932, his attention be-

directed to the art

and

architec-

of Asia; and the fruit of a second Eastern

journey in 1936-7, particularly to Afghanistan,
ture

was

his

book on

The Wall-Paintings of India,

Central Asia, and Ceylon. In 1933 he began

teaching Oriental art at Harvard.

Dr Rowland

also a painter in water colours,

and examples

is

of his work may be found

in various

museums.

SECOND EDITION
$11.50

FOR USE

IN

of

American

MEMBER

LIBRARIES

RETURN TO CENTRAL
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OCT

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^ 9 1988

FEB 2 8 1988
NOV 1 4 1991
NOV
OCT 3

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1994'

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MAR

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The art and architecture

of India

THE PELICAN HISTORY OF ART

EDITED BY NIKOLAUS PEVSNER

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA

BUDDHIST

HINDU

JAIN

BENJAMIN ROWLAND

BENJAMIN ROWLAND

THE
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
OF INDIA
BUDDHIST HINDU -JAIN

^^

C A

A/

V
W

V
f

h^

PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN BOOKS

Ffi?9libtdf>
Marin Cour''
1711 Gra?>' Avenue

San

Rafael, California

Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex

Penguin Books

Maryland, U.S.A.

Inc, Baltimore,

Penguin Books Pty Ltd, Melbourne,

Victoria, Australia

Penguin Books (^Canada) Ltd, Montreal, Canada

Penguin Books [S.A.) Pty Ltd, Cape Town, South Africa

Printed by Richard Clay

&

Company

Ltd,

Bungay, Suffolk

Made and printed

in

Great Britain

Copyright igS3 Penguin Books Ltd

First published

ig^j

Second impression ig$}

Third rearranged impression ig^4

TO

LUCY AND THE

GIRLS

CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES

ix

LIST OF PLATES

xi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

XV

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

MAP

xvii
xviii

Part

The

Prehistoric

One

and Epic Periods

in

Art and Religion

1.

INTRODUCTION

2.

THE PROTO-HISTORIC PERIOD: THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

II

3.

THE EPIC PERIOD: VEDIC AND PRE-MAURYA CIVILIZATIONS

I9

4.

THE EPIC PERIOD: THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

24

Part

The Early

Two

Classic Periods

5.

THE FIRST INDIAN EMPIRE: THE MAURYA PERIOD

35

6.

THE SUNGA PERIOD (185-72

45

7.

EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD (72-25

8.

THE ROCK-CUT SANCTUARIES OF EARLY BUDDHISM

B.C.)
B.C.)

56
63

Part Three

Romaiw-Indian Art

in

North-West India and Central Asia

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS-I. GANDHARA: GRECO-ROMAN FORM AND

INDIAN ICONOGRAPHY

69

10.

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS-II. MATHURA: THE INDIAN PHASE

85

9.

11.

AFGHANISTAN: THE ROAD TO CENTRAL ASIA

12.

BUDDHIST ART IN TURKESTAN

IO4

13.

THE ART OF KASHMIR

IIO
vii

94

CONTENTS
Part Four

The Golden Age and End of Buddhist Art

14.

THE LATER ANDHRA PERIOD

II5

15.

THE GOLDEN AGE: THE GUPTA PERIOD

121

16.

LATE BUDDHIST ART IN INDIA, NEPAL, AND TIBET

I43

Part Five

The Hindu Renaissance

17.

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

153

iS.

SOUTH INDIAN BRONZES

185

19.

PAINTING OF THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES: WALL-PAINTINGS

AND MINIATURES

188

Part Sbc

Indian Art in Ceylon and South-East Asia

20.

CEYLON

197

21.

CAMBODIA: THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE KHMERS

211

22.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN SIAM

233

23.

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF BURMA

238

24.

JAVA

243

NOTES

255

GLOSSARY

271

BIBLIOGRAPHY

275

The

Plates

283

LIST OF FIGURES
Town

1.

Mohenjo-daro

2.

Maurya

3.

Capital found at Pataliputra

43

4.

Great Stupa, Saiichi: Plan and elevation

47
60

plan

13

Palace, Pataliputra: Plan

38

Cave X, Ajanta

5.

Saddaiita Jalaka,

6.

Chaitya-hall and Viliara at Bhaja: Plan

7.

Chaitya-hall at Katli: Plan and elevation

8.

Palace

9.

Temple

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

16.
17.
18.
19.

at Sirkap,

64
66
80

Taxila: Plan

at Jandial, Taxila:

81

Plan

Monastery at Takht-i-Bahi Plan

Cave G, Bamiyan: Plan and section
Cave XI, Bamiyan: Reconstruction of the Dome
Sun Temple, Martand, Kashmir: Plan
Lantern Roofat Siva Temple Pandrenthan: Plan and section
Stupa at Nagarjunakonda: Ground plan
Trivikrama Temple at Ter: Ground plan
Durga Temple, Aihole: Ground plan
Ladh Khan Temple, Aihole: Plan and section
Siva Temple, Deogarh: Ground plan
:

24.

Temple at Bhitargaon
Temple at Bhumara: Ground plan
Cave I, Ajanta: Ground plan
Temple at Paharpur: Ground plan
Chorten at Gyan-tse: Ground plan

25.

Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

22.
23.

27.

Temple

at

33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.

125

126
127

145

Half-plan and

Temple, Ellura: Plan of upper storey

Temple, Elephanta: Ground plan

Great Temple, Madura: Ground plan

159
167
168
175

177
182

189

31. Wall-painting, Sittanavasal

32.

119

124

151
section

29. Siva
30.

113

130

Modhera Ground plan

28. Kailasanath

ill

138

Temple, Sunak: Elevation

26. Nilakantha

lOO

129

20. Brick

21.

82

99

Thuparama, Anuradhapura: Ground plan and elevation

Vihara near Thiiparama, Anuradhapura: Ground plan
Diagram of Buddha Image and 'Pointing Frame'
Great Quadrangle, Pojotmaruwa: Plan
Wata-da-ge,Po|onnaruwa: Ground plan
Shrine at Sambor: Elevation
Phnom Bayang: Elevation
Yasodliarapura and Angkor Thom, Angkor: Plan

199
200
203

207
208
2X2
213

40. Phimeanakas,

217
2l8

41.

219

39.

42.

43.
44.

45.
46.
47.

48.
49.

Angkor Thom: Plan

Takeo, Angkor Thom: Plan
Angkor Wat: Plan
The Bay on, Angkor Thom: Plan
Angkor Thom Plan
Neak Pcan, Angkor Thom: Plan
Ananda Temple, Pagan: Ground plan
Candi Sewu: Ground plan
Barabudur: Ground plan and vertical
Loro Jongrang, Prambanan Plan

221

226
228

230
240
section

244
246
25 J

LIST OF PLATES
1

Limestone bust from Mohenjo-daro

cm

(h.

17-5

cm

18 (a) Relief of Surya, Viliara, Bhaja

(b) Relief

6J in)

2 Limestone torso from Harappa (h. 9

3i

Limestone statuette of

cm

10

(h.

dancer from Harappa

henjo-daro (3-4 X 3-4

cm i|X
:

Mo-

daro

(3-5

cm

3'5

li

if in)

with representation of bull from

(d) Seal

henjo-daro (3-8

3-8

cm lix
:

from Chanhu-daro

5 Storage jar

cm

Moi ft

cm

4i in)

7J in)
(c) Gold plaque from Lauriya-Nandangarh (h.
:

cm

li in)

Lomas

Rishi cave. Barabar

Lion column. Lauriya-Nandangarh

Sarnath

(h. 2-66

13

8 ft

Chimar sandstone

9 in)

23 Yakshi

(h. 1-62

ft

from Bharhut

(h.

i in)

ft

49 cm I ft 7i in)
Medallion with Yakshi Assamukhi. Stupa

(h.

2,

Saiichi

Cakravartin from Jaggayyapeta Stupa (h.

ft 3

(b) Railing pillar.

17

The

from Begram

34 Seated Buddha from Takht-i-Bahi

52

(h.

cm

8i in)
3 ft 7 in)
35 Standing Bodhisattva (h. I'Q9
36 Presentation of the Bride to Siddhartha (h. 16

cm

6i in)

The Nirvana of Buddlia from Loriyan Tangai

(h. 41

cm

I ft

4 in)

Stupa

paradise of Indra

Reliquary from Bimaran

2,

Sanchi

from Bharhut

(h.

7 cm

7J

2j in)

39 (a) Slirine of the double-headed Eagle. Sirkap,

Taxila
(b) Ionic capital and base. Jandial Temple, Taxila

View of monastery

at

Takht-i-Bahi

41 (a) Ali-Masjid stupa. Khyber Pass

(b) Model stupa from Jaulian

42 (a) Corintliian capital from Jamalgarhi

(b) Stupa court at Takht-i-Balii
6
Statue of Wima Kadphises (h. 2-o8

43

44 Statue of Kanishka

in)

cm

in)

40

i in)

MedaUionwith i?HrM_/iJ/flfcfl from Bharhut

1-30

5 ft

Head of Buddha

5 ft

Kuvcra, King of the Yakshas, from Bharhut

ft

29 (a) Fagade of chaitya-hall. Karli

(b) Interior of chaitya-hall. Karli

38 (a) Reliquary of King Kanishka (h. 19-6

16 (a)

Saiichi

(b)

(h. 2-14

(b)

(h. I'6o

28 Fa(;ade of chaitya-hall. Bhaja

3iin)

15 (a)

cm

The Great Departure. East gate. Saiichi

Saddhantajataka. West gate. Saiiclii
26 The Return to Kapilavastu. East gate. Saiiclii
27 The Conversion of the Kasyapas. East gate.

2-14

(h.

i in)

ft

14 (a) Yakslii {Chulakoka Devala)

(b)

gate. Saiiclii (h. 71

25 (a)

37

Yaksha from Pama. Sandstone

2-14

from South

4 in)
24 Yakshi from Didargaiij (Pama)

(h.

7i in)

8 ft

and gateway from Bharhut

(b) Railing

from Parkham. Grey sandstone

12 (a) Yaksha

Saiiclii

ft

Bull capital from Rampurva.

from North East

gate. Great Stupa. Sanchi

33 Buddlia of the Great Miracle

10 Detail of lion capital in the Archaeological Museum,

2-62

at Saiichi

of East

21 East gate of Great Stupa.

32

9 Lion capital

1 1

(h.

30 Bactrian and Kushan Coins

31 Standing Buddha

7 (a) Excavations of palisade at Pataliputra

(b)

(b) Detail

Terra-cotta statuette from Mathura (h. 19-6

3-2

with Indra. Bodh Gaya

7i in)

5 ft

(b)

6 (a) Terra-cotta statuette from Sari Dheri (h.

cm

(h.

3 in)

8Jin)
10-5

20 (a) Great Stupa

li in)

(h. 55-3

Gaya

7 in)

5 ft

22 Yakshi from East gate. Saiichi

i| in)

with three-headed god from Mohenjo-

(c) Seal

1-71

with three-headed animal from

(b) Seal

(b) Railing pillar

ii in)

4 (a) Copper statuette of a dancer from Mohcnjodaro

(b)

1-70

in)
3

of Indra, Vihara, Bhaja

19 (a) Railing pillar with Surya. Bodli

(h. 1-63

5 ft

ft

10 in)

4 in)

Friar Bala (h. 2-48

45 Bodliisattva dedicated by
8 ft li in)

LIST OF PLATES
46 Seated Buddha from Katra (h. 69 cm 2 ft 3 i in)
47 Head of Buddha (h. 57 cm i ft loi in)
48 (a) Railing pillars with Yakshis from Bhutesar
:

70

View of the Great

71

(a)

(h. 1-40

(b) Railing pillar

(h. 88-5

cm

ft

7 in)

(b)

with Yakslu fromjaisinghpura

2

49 (a) The Yaksha Kuvcra and his court from Pal

Khera (h. 53-8 cm i ft 9J in)
:

and the Nemean Lion'

(b) 'Herakles

cm 2 ft 5i in)
50 Relief with scenes from

(h.

6 ft 2| in)
Standing Buddha from Nagarjunakonda
The Descent from the Tushita Heaven. Relief
:

from Nagarjunakonda or Gummadidirru

10} in)

ft

73

(a)

75

Adoration of the Buddha's alms bowl. Railing medallion from the Amaravati stupa (h.
84 cm 2 ft 9i in)
Subjugation of the elephant Nalagiri. Railing
:

life

of Buddlia

(b)

from Begram

(a)

Ivory plaque with

(b)

Ivory plaque with female attendant from

cm 2 ft 9i in)
74 (a) Cave XIX, Interior. Ajanta

52 (a)

Begram (h. of figure 1 1 cm 4^ in)

View of the Maliabodhi temple. Bodh Gaya

75 (a) Chaitya-hall at Chezarla

(b)

Vaults of Maliabodhi temple before restora-

(h.

29

cm

toilet scene

iiJ in)

medaUion from the Amaravati stupa

tion

(b)

(h.

48

cm

i ft

54

(b)

Exterior. Ajanta

Temple 17. SaiicliI

Durga temple. AOiole

(b)

Hucchimalligudi temple. Aihole

77 (a) Vishnu on Sesha. Rehef panel. Siva temple.

Head of Devata (h. 17-$ cm 6| in)

Head of brahmin ascetic from Hadda

Deogarh

cm

Cave XIX,

(a)

(b)
y(5

from Hadda

6J in)
(a)

(h. ii

(b)

Doorway of Siva

4i in)
55 (a) 120-foot Buddha. Bamiyan

78 (a) Detail of carving.

Buddha. Bamiyan

Bliitargaon (h. 23

(b) 175-foot

(b)

56 (a) Lantern roof. Bamiyan

(b)

Dome

Dhamekh

1-04

9 in)

from Bhumara

80 Standing Buddha from Mathura

81 (a) Jain Tirdiankara (h. i-ig

foot Buddha.

(b)

on

Bamiyan
on

a) Bodhisattva. Painting

Cave

E.

83

of painting on dado of shrine

at

Miran

Buddha from Fondukistan

85

ft

Dandan

from Tumshuq
from 'Cave of the

65 (a) Painting

Painter',

ft

4i

ft

li in)

7 in)

Sermon

1*575

(h.

life

of Buddha

(h. I'04

4J in)

Sultangaiij (h. 2-25

in)

(b)

Bronze standing Buddha

(b)

7i

(h.

307 cm

ft

ft

in)

cm

(h. 37-5

(h. 82

cm

ft

Si in)

Cave XIX. Ajanta

Transfiguration

of Buddha.

Chaitya-liall.

Karli

Kizil.

b)

Arhat from Kizil

a)

Two

divinities

(h. 1-65

from

5 ft 5 in)

Kizil (h. 2-20

ft

2i in)

Buddha from Bezeklik (h. 3-25

67 Sun temple. Martand, Kashmir
(b)

68 Siva temple. Pandrenthan, Kashmir

69 Head of a

3 ft

88 (a) Nagaraja.

relief

m
in)

2 in)

2j in)
87 Gandharvas from Sondani

Uiliq

c) Treasure Cave. Kizil

64 Buddliist

cm

3 ft

86 (a)

Bamiyan

5 ft

Bronze standing Buddha

Central Asia
a) Vault of niche of 175-foot Buddha.

3 ft

65

(h.

the First

Copper Buddha from

b) Stucco reliefs at Kara-shahr

63 Female figures in paintings in Afghanistan and

(h. 1-09

84 Relief with scenes from

61 Bodliisattva from Fondukistan

b)

Bodhisattva

Buddha

Buddha preaching

Bamiyan

a)

Vishnu from Mathura

82 (a) Standing
(b)

vault of

(h. 2-17

liin)

Buddha. Bamiyan
vault of niche of 175-

(h.

4i in)

3 ft

cm

floral scroll

58 Flying divinities. Painting in niche of 175-foot

59 Bodliisattva. Painting

Samath

stupa.

Vishnu on Sesha. Terra-cotta rcUef from

79 Door jamb with

of Cave XI. Bamiyan

temple. Deogarh

57 Sun god. Painting on vault of niche of 120-foot

Buddha. Bamiyan

b) Detail

(h. 85

53 So-called 'Antinoiis'

(h.

1-27
4 ft 2 in)
72 Head of Buddha from Amaravati

51

from Ama-

Stupa. Casing slab

ravatl stupa (h. 1-90

girl

from Ushkur

10

ft 8

in)

89 Great Bodliisattva. Wall-painting in Cave

Ajanta

I.

90 Great Bodliisattva. Wall-painting (detail) in

Cave I. Ajanta
91 (a) Kuvcra. Ceiling of Cave I. Ajanta
(b) Indra.

Wall-painting in porch of Cave XVII.

Ajanta

LIST OF PLATES
92 Visvantara Jataka. Wall-painting in porch of
Cave XVIL Ajanta
93 (a) Stupa at Site No. IIL Nalanda
(b)

94 (a)
(b)

Facade of Mahabodhi temple

(detail).

Gaya
Buddha from Bengal (h. 45 cm i
Bronze Buddha in Abhaya Mudra
:

cm

(b)

Tanjore

Mandapam. Srirangam. Tricliinopoly

Temple at Tiruvannamalai
(b) View of Gopuram from tank. Great temple,
Madura
124 Temple at Somnathpur
(b)

ft

5J in)

(h.

c.

35

95 Torso of a Bodliisattva from Sailchl

96 Buddliist temple. Patan, Nepal
97 (a) Bodlinath stupa. Katlimandij, Nepal

(a)

125 Hoysalesvara temple (detail). Halebid

126 Siva
Saint,
perhaps
Sundaramurtiswami.

Bronze.

Durbar square. Bhatgaon, Nepal

98 Padmapani. Bronze (h. 30-5 cm i ft )
99 (a) Tara from Nepalcse manuscript dated
(b)

(a)

a.d.

cm

ft 3

Tim Huang

(b) Jain

(b)

in)

cm

i ft

130 (a) and

131

Konaraka

from Surya temple. Konaraka

Surya. Sflrya temple. Konaraka

105 (a) Musician

106 Kandariya

Mahadeo

The

134

b)

cm

I ft 1

1| in

x
X

2ft 9 in)

Kangra

cm

I ft 1

1| in

The Hour of Cowdust.

21-5

cm

io|

I ft

6 in)

Miniature. Kangra

8J in)

Kangra

(11-5

8-3

cm:

4iX

b)

Mount

Relief Teli-ka-Mandir. Gwalior

112 Raths at Mamallapuram with Draupadi's Rath

on the right
Dharmaraja Radi. Mamallapuram
Bhima's Rath. Mamallapuram

114 The Descent of the Ganges. MamaOapuram

115 (a) The Descent of the Ganges (detail). Mamal-

(7-7

family from the Descent of the

Ganges. Mamallapuram
11 in)

6-4

cm

2i in)

b)

Dagoba. Anuradhapura
Dedicatory stupa. Ruwanweli Dagoba.

a)

Buddha from Ruwanweli Dagoba. Anuradliapura

Bronze Buddha from Dong Duong

a) So-called Duttha-Gamani. Ruwanweli Dagoba. Anuradhapura
b) Dvarapala. Anuradhapura
a) Seated Buddha from Anuradhapura
b) Kapila. Isurumuniya Vihara. Anuradhapura
a) Moon stone, 'Queen's Pavilion'. Anurab)

138

139
140

117 (a) Shore temple. Mamallapuram

(b) KaUasanath temple. Kaiicipuram

dliapura
b) Apsaras. Wall-painting. Sigiriya

118 Kailasanath temple. Ellura

119 Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa. Kailasanath

temple, Ellijra
120 (a) Siva Maliadeya, Elephanta
(b) Marriage of Siva and Parvatl. Elephanta

Anuradliapura
137

lapuram

Monkey

3iin)
Portrait of Rajput Prince. Miniature. Kangra

a) Thiiparama

(b)

ft

84

5i in)
Siege of Latika. Miniature. Jammu (59*5

a) Ras Lila. Miniature.

111 (a) Teli-ka-Mandir. Gwalior

cm: 7ix

(27

136

14

45-7

Abu

Rajasthani

cm: 8Jx6Jin)

a) Krishna. Coloured drawing. Jaipur (60

from Hindu temples. Qutb mosque,

(h. 1-5

Miniature.

Ragini.

17

temple. Khajuraho

Delhi
109 (a) Surya temple. Modhcra
(b) Great Sas Bahu temple. Gwalior
no Interior of dome. Tcjpal's temple.

133 Krishna subduing Kaliya. Miniature.

(i8-6 X 26-2 cm 7I X loi in)

107 Apsaras. Vamana temple. Khajuraho

108 (a) Surya temple. Osia
(b) Pillars

manu-

Vibhasa Ragini. Miniature. Rajasthani (19

temple. Bhuvanesvar

132

a Jain

Gujarat

(a) Asavari

(b)

from

(b) Illuminations

(22-1

Parasuramesvara temple. Bhuvanesvar

Durga

Vishnu and Lakshmi. Wall-painting. Kaila-

script,

104 (a) Siirya Deul temple. Konaraka

(b) Surya temple, detail of basement storey.

116

temple. Pattadakal

(b) Lingaraj

(b)

sanath temple. Ellura

(h. 42-5

loi Virupaksha temple. Pattadakal

102 (a) Galaganatha temple. Pattadakal

(b)

ui)

(a) Wall-painting, Kailasanath temple. Ellora

(h. 67-3

113 (a)

i ft 5

Chorten. Western Tibet

Banner of the White Tara

4iin)

(b)

(a)

(b)

(b)

(a)

cm

(h. 41-3

Bronze (h. i-oi5

3 ft 4 in)
Nataraja. Bronze (h. 84 cm 2 ft 94 in)
Nataraja. Bronze (h. 64-5 cm 2 ft i^ in)

1136
100 (a) Banner of Avalokitesvara from

103

Kah. Bronze

(b) Parvatl.

(b)

Subrahmaniya temple. Tanjore

gateway of Rajrajesvara temple.

(a) Nataraja,

Bodh

ij in)

ft

Tanjore

(a) Rajrajesvara temple.

141

Pojonnaruwa
Poloimaruwa
Statue of Parakrama Bahu. Pojonnaruwa
Sat Mahal Pasada. Polonnaruwa

a) Gal Vihara.

b) Hata-da-ge.

142

a)
b)

LIST OF PLATES
143 (a) Wata-da-ge. Polonnaruwa
(b)

166

Buddha from Wat Mahadhatu, Lopburi

Nissanka Lata Mandapaya. Polonnaruwa

144 (a) Detail from Northern Temple. Polonnaru-

ft

Devale No.

Polonnaruwa

i.

168

(b)

Towers

(Roluos)

170
171

148 (a)
(b)

at Lolci

Phnom Bakhcng. Angkor

Phimeanakas. Angkor

172

Thom

149 (a) South-west view of Angkor

(b)

Air view of Angkor

Wat

I7<5

I77

(h. 1-94

Phnom BakJieng, Angkor

Head of Vishnu from Koh Kcr (h.

38-7

158 (a)

cm

Head

Head from Candi Bhima

(b)

Candi Kalasan. Middle Java

Temple at Candi Sewu. Middle Java
Shrine at Candi Sewu. Middle Java

(a)

178 Barabudur. Middle Java

ft

180 Mriga or Ruru Jataka.

82 (a) Illustration
trcya text.

divinity or Devaraja (h.

3i in)
of Lokesvara.

l-oo

I ft

The Bayon, Angkor

Thom

(b)

183
'^

(b)

Tympanum. Ravana
lasa.

^^7

Harhsa. Banteai Srei

162 Apsaras. Bronze (h. 39-3

cm

Buddha from Ayudhya

'

i ft

(h. i-oo

text.

3 ft

text.

Fourth gallery, Bara-

Buddha Vairocana. Upper

terrace,

Bara-

Rama and

from the RamaLoro Jongrang, Eastern

the Crocodile. Scene

(h.

1-75

m:

Buddha and

Bodhisattvas.

Candi

Mendut,

Middle Java

3^ in)
ft.

9 in)

^^8 iva temple. Panataran, Eastern Java

189 Sita and attendant. Rehef from the Ramayaiia.

Panataran

(b) Visluiu
(h.

17

cm

6J in)
165 Torso of Bodhisattva fromjaiya (h. 70

3im)

Samantabhadra

Java

Brahma on

164 Head of Buddha

3I in)

from

yana. Siva temple,

Kai-

Banteai Srei

(b) Lintel.

163 (a)

186

Mount

shaking

3I in)

185 Siva temple. Loro Jongrang, Eastern Java

Angkor Wat, Angkor

Angkor Wat, Angkor

Gallery of

161 (a)

3 ft

budur

160 (a) Vishnu: The Churning of the Sea of Milk.

(b) Apsaras.

3 ft

Samantabhadra
budur

Thom

Upper terraces and terminal stupa. Barabudur

(a) Buddha Amoghasiddlii and illustrations of

Scene of military campaign. Outer Wall,

The Bayon, Angkor

Fourth gallery, Barabudur

3iin)

Buddha of the Bayon. The Bayon, Angkor

159 (a) Scenes from the Legend of Vishnu. Baphuon, Angkor Thom

(h. i-oo

from the Sudhana legend, MaiSecond gallery, Barabudur (h.

(b) Illustration

Thom
(b)

Barabudur

gallery,
1

Barabudur

First Gallery,

Upper register: The Bath of the Bodhisattva.

Lower register: Hiru Lands in Hiruka. First

41-6

4I in)

Ananda temple. Pagan

I79 Air view of Barabudur. Middle Java

181

Head of Hindu

Mahabodhi temple. Pagan

Ayudhya

(a)

(b)

in)

(b) Siva (?).

(b)

Wat
Wat Kukut. Lamp'un
(a) Wat Chet Yot. Chiengmai

(b)

4iin)

I ft

Ayudhya

I75 Candi Bhima. Dieng, Java

io| in)

3 ft

156 (a) Harihara from Prasat Andet

33-7

174 (a) Mingalazedi. Pagan

cm

stone (h.

173 Ruins of

View of central shrine. Angkor Wat

(b) Tower at Banteai Srei
151 The Bayon. Angkor Thom
152 (a) Gate of Victory. Angkor Thom
(b) Ncak Pean. Angkor Thom
153 Buddha from Prei Krabas (h. 95 cm 3 ft 1}
154 Buddha (perhaps from northern Siam)

157 (a)

from Ayudhya
Mahadhatu. Lopburi

(b)

Wat

150 (a)

155 Lokesvara (h. 1-19

(b) Siva

147 Baksei Cliamkrong. Angkor

(b)

li in)

I ft

169 (a) Head of Buddha from

Kuk

(h. i-8o

II in)

cm

Sundaramurtiswami. Bronze

(h.

3I in)

Head of Buddha. Lacquered

145 (a) PattinI Devi. Brass

146 (a) Cella. Prci

3 ft

167 Head of Buddha from Chiengmai

wa
(b) iva

l-oo

190

cm

ft

Head of

cm

monk from Candi Sewu

&i in)

(h.

21

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The
two

present
visits

work

is

based on

more than twenty

years of research in the field of Oriental art,

to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Indian countries, and an exhaustive explora-

tion of the

works of the pioneer writers

gentlemen

wish to express

my

in the field

indebtedness.

of Indian

art

and archaeology.

To

these

should like to pay an additional tribute

and help cannot be measured by the acknowledgements in

I must be grateful to the late Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy for his interpretation of Indian art covering a lifetime of scholarship; especially his History of Indian and Indonesian Art, which provides at once an indispensable reference book and an
unsurpassable model. I must also express my obligation to Mr Percy Brown for many ideas
from his brilliant and lucid account of the historical and structural aspects of Indian architecture, and to Miss Stella Kramrisch for her magnificent spiritual interpretation of the Hindu
temple. To the many curators of museums in Europe and America, in India, Pakistan, and Ceylon who have extended courtesies to me, I wish to express my thanks here, and to the late MM.
Hackin and Carl of the Mission Archeologique Fran^aise en Afghanistan I shall always owe the
to certain scholars

whose

iixfluence

footnotes. Like every student of Indian art,

help and cooperation that

The

made

my

possible

illustrations in the present

work

researches.

are reproduced

by permission of

the institutions and

mentioned below. A certain number of photographs lent from the Asiatic

Research Bureau of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
are from unknown sources, so that no proper acknowledgement can be made Plates 20B, 99B,
124, 125, 171, 172A and B, 173, 174B. The following illustrations were reproduced from photographs taken by the Archaeological Survey of India: 40, 6c, 7A and b, 8-11, i2A, 14B, 15A, i6a,
17, 19A and B, 25A and b, 26, 29A, 31, 37, 38A, 40, 41A and B, 49B, 52A and b, 70, 71A and b,
73A and B, 74A and b, 75A and b, 76A and b, 77A and b, 82B, 83, 84, 93A, 94B, 102A and b, 103A,
106, 107, io8a and b, 109A, no, 118, 119, 120A and b, i22b, 172. Plates 136A and 144B are from
the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. The photographs of objects taken at the Exhibition
of the Art of India and Pakistan held at Burlington House in 1948: Plates i, 2, 3, 4B and c,
are by Mr B. Baer. The British Museum should be
13, 14A, 24, 69, 78B, 79, 80, 85, 86a, 87
credited for Plates 30, 38B, 42A, lOOA, and 145A. The following are reproduced by courtesy of
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts: Plates 5, 6a and b, 23, 35, 54A, 81B, 94A, 98,
99A, 116, 131B, 132, 134A and B, 135A and b, 157A and b, 162, 168. Plates 127B, 130A and b are
used thanks to the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institute, Wasliington, d.c, and Plate 154
by courtesy of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington. Plate 32 was supplied by Spink
& Son, London. Plate 50 is from a Lucknow Museum photograph. I am extremely grateful to
Mr V. S. Agrawala for sending me the following photographs of objects in the Curzon Museum
of Archaeology, Muttra: Plates 43, 44, 46. Plates 12B and 48A are from photographs taken by
Professor S. Amanuma. The following illustrations are reproduced from photographs of objects formerly in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin: Plates 34, 63c, 65A, 66a and b. The Musee
Guimet, Paris, has given its permission for reproduction of the following: Plates 51A and b, 53,
54B, 56A, 57, 58, 61, 62A, 64, 72. Plates 60B, 62B, and 63B are from photographs taken by Sir

individuals to be

Aurel Stein. The following are reproduced by courtesy of the institutions named: Plate 95,
Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Plates 128B and 145B, Colombo Museum, Ceylon; Plate
128A, Government Museum, Madras; Plates 163 a and b, 165, 166, 167, 169A and b. National

Museum, Bangkok. I must thank Mr Laurence Sickman for permission to reproduce Plates 86b
and 127A from the collection of the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mr James Baldwin for his kindness in supplying the photograph for Plate 126. Plates
67 and 68 are from photographs taken by Mr H. H. Cole. am grateful to Mr E. A. Waters for
allowing me to reproduce Plates 96, 97A and b from his prints. Plates 21, 27, 91A and b, 92,
Missouri, and

104A and B, and 105B are reproduced from photographs taken by Messrs Johnston & Hoffman,
and Plates 112, 113A and b, 114, 115A from photographs by Klein & Perle, Madras. The following are reproduced from photographs taken by the Ecole Fran^aise d'Extreme-Orient Plates
137B, 146A, 147, 148A and B, 149A and b, 150A, 152A and b, 153, 156A and b, 158B, 159A, 160A,
161A and B. I am indebted to Mr H. F. E. Visser for supplying the photographs for Plates 155,
164, 186 as well as those for Plates 175 to 184, taken by the Oudheidkundige Dienst in Java.
Plates 129A and B are from photographs taken by Mr Daniel V. Thompson, jr. I am indebted
to Sir Reginald Mortimer Wheeler for permission to reproduce Plate 4A. Plate 121B was supplied by R. Moorthyvasan. Plates 185, 187 were suppHed by the Koninklijk Instituut voor de
Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie. The following plates were made from
photographs taken by the late Dr A. K. Coomaraswamy i6b, i8b, 45, 87, 88b, 89, 90, 91A,
loi, iiiA, 117A and B, 123A, 131A, 133, 136B, 137A, 138B, 139A and b, 140A, 158A, 170, 174A.
:

The following

are taken

from

my own

negatives: Plates 15B, i8a, 20A, 22, 28, 29B, 33, 36,

42B, 47, 48B, 49A, 55A and B, 56B, 60A, 63A, 78A, 81A, 82B, 88a, 93B, ioob, 103B,
105A, 109B, iiiB, 115B, 121A, I22A, 123B, 138A, 140B, 141A, 142B, 143A and B, 144A, 150B, 151,

39A and

B,

The map and line drawings were made by Mr P. J. Darvall.

must thank the members of the staff of the Asiatic Bureau of the Fogg Art Museum

159B.
I

for

aid in preparing this text; notably. Miss Elaine Evans, for her continued practical assistance in

The late Miss Anne Thomson was engaged in the most helpful
kind of proof-reading until the day of her death. I owe a debt to Miss Prudence Myer and Mrs
Clarence Glasrud for their scrupulous correction and editing of the book. I must also thank
Miss V. M. Couser for her zealous reading of large portions of the manuscript.
A final acknowledgement must be made to my wife, who through her devoted encouragethe preparation of photographs.

ment and

of counsellor, editor, and

and preparation of this work.

in the triple capacity

possible the writing

typist, has

more than anyone else made

Benjamin Rowland
Cambridge, Mass., 7 December 1952

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
OF DYNASTIES AND PERIODS

CEYLON

INDIA
Indus Valley Period

{c.

2500-f. 1500 B.C.)

Early Period at Anuradhapura (4th cent. B.c.-8th

Vedic Period (1500-800 B.C.)

Saihmaga-Nanda Dynasty (643-322

Maurya Dynasty (322-185 B.C.)

cent,

CAMBODIA

Smiga Dynasty (1S5-73 B.C.)

Pre-Khnier or Funan Period (5th-Sth cent, a.d.)

Early Andhra Dynasty (72 b.c.-c. a.d. 50)

Bactrian

Monarchy (322

Khmer, Early

b.c.-c. a.d. 50)

Khmer, Late

Indo-Parthian Period (c 200 b.c.-A.d. 50)

Ktishan Dynasty and successors in Northwest India

and Afghanistan

(c.

Later Andhra Dynasty

a.d. 50-7th cent.)

{c.

a.d.)

Late Period at Polonnaruwa (8th-i5th cent, a.d.)

B.C.)

Classic Period (802-1250)

Classic Period (1250-c. 1450)

SIAM
Dvaravati Period (6th-ioth cent, a.d.)

a.d. 50-330)

Khmer

Gupta Dynasty (330-600)

Period of the Hindu Dynasties

Period, Lophuri,

etc.

(ioth-i3th cent.)

Suk'otai Period (i3th-i4th cent.)

Ayudhya Period (1350-1757)

Solanki Dynasty of Gujarat (765-1197)

Pala and Sena D)Tiasties of Bengal (750-1200)

JAVA

Ganga Kingdom of Orissa (1076-1586)

Chalukya Dynasty of the Deccan (550-642)
Rastrakuta Dynasty of the Deccan (757-973)
Hoysala and Yadava Dynasties of Mysore

Indian Period in Western Jai'a (ist-6th cent, a.d.)

Indian Period in Middle and Eastern Java (7tli-8th
cent.)

Sailendra Period (732-860)

(1111-1318)

Javanese Empire

Pallava Dynasty (600-750)

in

Middle Jara (860-915)

Eastern Javanese Period (950-1478)

Chela Dynasty (c 907-1053)

Pandya Dynasty (1351-1310)
Vijayanagar Dynasty (1370-1565)
Rajput Dynasty (i6th-i9th cent.)

BURMA
Pa^Sn

or Talain^ Period (8th cent. A.D.-1287)

Burmese Empire of Shan-Thai (1287-1760)

PRONUNCIATION OF INDIAN WORDS

SANSKRIT, PALI, PRAKRIT, AND VERNACULAR
Avoid accent (stress) altogether, but pay strict attention to quantity (short and long vowels). Every letter
must be sounded. The soimd of each letter is invariable. Pronounce vowels as in Italian, consonants as in
English. Note especially:
America

a as in father

o
u

e always long, as in kte

a as in

always long,

ch

as in churc/i-Ziouse

as in foot

dh

as in

ii

as in boot

ri

ph

as in

as in bit

bh

as in ca/)-/iorse

as in eel

as in

Most important

is

sh.

f/mrch

the pronunciation of 'a' (never like 'a* in

twice the time of the other syllables. Final 'a'

corresponds to

is

note

or rh

as in uphill

th as in

man

or 'a' in

always Hghtly sounded;

mzd-house
as in sing

late): in

an//iill

Himalaya, ma requires

'r' is rolled; 's' is sibilant; 's'

PART ONE

THE PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

IN ART AND RELIGION
CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION
In 1864
ture:

no

was

it

'There

is

possible for a British professor

no temptation

assistance in tracing the history

as a

phase of fine

art. It

of archaeology to write of Indian sculp-

on the sculpture of Hindustan. It affords

debased quahty deprives it of all interest

to dwell at length

of art, and

its

must be admitted, however,

that the

works

existing offer very

curious subjects of inquiry to the scholar and archaeologist.' Generations of archaeologists, as

though spurred on by the very absurdity of Professor Westmacott's remarks,

have brought to hght the riches of Hindustan from the prehistoric culture of the Indus

of Akbar. We wonder how much real

pompous and ignorant hnes were written towards a

progress has been

to the palaces

much

either in art or in action, as related not so

civihzation as a whole.

graphic and

To

stylistic aspects

made

since these

understanding of Indian ideals

Western

civiHzation, but to Indian

understand the Indian quahties of Indian art in

its

icono-

we must examine the fragmentary survivals of those ancient

when these things were in their beginning,

times,

to

real

in neither a sentimental

nor a patroniz-

ing fashion, but objectively.

This

is

book written primarily

to the ancient Indian

longer

exists.

for Westerners in a period

and Medieval Christian concept of art

Members of traditional

societies

been part of their hves, and not an aesthetic luxury.

meaning of many forms of Indian

form of devotion any

such as Hinduism and Islam would not

need an extensive description of the nature of traditional

that the

when no approximation

as a

art will

art, since

It is

obviously

it

has always

equally impossible to assume

be immediately clear to every reader,

meaning of Christian art, aesthetic as well

as rehgious, is immediately apprehended by modem men. The modem artist, undisciplined by any canonical restrictions, can represent God by a pure white canvas and the

just as

it

would be absurd

to suppose that the

Devil by a black one, but he cannot expect us to understand immediately the 'profundity'

of

this personal

symbohsm

traditional periods, such as

were imphcit

in the

we

or to enjoy such a complete negation of painting. In

are

deahng with

work of art. What we

and enjoyment
was completely
which the icon, by the

in India, understanding

refer to as aesthetic reaction

involved in the worship paid to the object and the degree to

beauty and utihty of its making, invited such devotion.

This

book

is

not written for those unhappy few who, imable to adjust themselves to

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

the materialistic present, seek refuge in the traditional past and,

from

their retreats,

be

they Sufic mysticism or Tibetan Buddhism, decry our civihzation while extolling these
esoteric

since

and exotic

tlais is

mould such

observed

The

seem

traditions that

not a traditional age,

we

artists

change would have to come from within -

- from

They

to offer a sanctuary in chaos.

can hardly force

as the late

Dr Coomaraswamy

change of heart.

writer has the greatest respect for traditional societies and traditional

being a

member of such

expound

a society,

visual aspects

but, not
:

of the popular

book on

travel

exotic Asiatic regions

the innermost metaphysical truths of Hinduism and Buddliism. Although

is

art,

he cannot pretend to the powers of a demiurge to

in the veiled esoteric terms

true that art

forget that,

or society into a traditional

rehgion in India, and rehgion

of a foreign culture in

as clear

art, tliis is a

and

book intended

perfectly

it is

to explain the

logical a fashion as possible

with refer-

ence to the part played by iconography and material in the formation of what
style.

By

style the writer

structure in a

and manner

moment
all

work of arcliitecture,

of, its creation that

pecuharities of

it

art historians style

climes inexorably induces

by

call

and

the reason for,

- indeed, inevitable - for a defmite

typical

is

a kind of sinister

artists

to produce

tural or historical conditions

is

autonomous

works of art in

from archaic

linear to plastic to pictorial expression.

tion: he

we

visual appearance

sculpture, or painting conditioned

makes

fashion, usually in an inevitable procession

from

outward

in history.

For certain

and

means those

No

force

which

in all ages

a certain pre-ordained

to Renaissance to Baroque, or

circumstance peculiar to either cul-

of any period has anything to do with the

created solely to enact this stimulating intellectual

artist's

produc-

drama of stylistic evolution.

art on any such Procrustean bed as Woliflin's

by any one of the arbitrary systems of aesthetic judgement
evolved by modem art historians. It wiU be found that Indian art, like every manifestation of Oriental expression, is the product of certain rehgious and material circumstances
which, rather than any vague force like 'space composition', or 'significant form', transcending time and place, determines its form in all periods.
It is hoped that this book wiU perform a service for the average reader and for Indian
art, too, in presenting the subject in as straightforward a manner as possible. This is not
intended as a prejudiced method, unsympathetic to the interpretation of Indian culture;
it must be remembered that generations of sentimental, chauvinistic writers have probably done more harm to Indian art than good. This book is written for those who,
understanding art as a universal means of human expression, wish to study one of the
most significant and beautiful aspects of that expression in India.

It is useless

to attempt to

measure Indian

theory, or, for that matter,

Following the introduction to the fundamental concepts of Indian

torical consideration

of the

art

Period and the Vedic Period.

art,

the actual his-

of India will begin with chapters on the Indus Valley

The main body of the

devoted to an account of Hindu and Buddhist

art

text will, properly speaking, be

from the Maurya Period (322-185 B.C.),

through the so-caUed Period of the Hindu Dynasties, to end in the eighteenth century.
Mohammedan art, specifically the art of the Mogul Period, will not be mentioned in the
present

volume although partaking of many elements of earher Indian

:

art,

the art of

INTRODUCTION
Mohammedan

the

dynasties, not only dedicated to a foreign reUgion but essentially an

outgrowth of techniques imported from

Islamic art. In our survey of Lidian art

belongs properly to a volume devoted to

Iran,

it

will be necessary to concentrate

on the major

arts

of architecture, painting, and sculpture, and only occasionally include references to

the

minor

of metal,

arts

sion that these forms

and ceramics.

textiles,

It

must not be supposed from

of expression are not important for Indian

this

art; indeed, in

omis-

modem

times the only creative vitahty in Indian art has been in the perpetuation of craft traditions

and in so-called folk

art. It

has been

would be more valuable

important monuments of Indian art
available

it

however, that within the Umited space

felt,

to the reader to give a detailed analysis of the

most

rather than a thin coverage of every aspect of the

culture.

of photographs the writer has

In the matter
best

and most

characteristic

looking very

ally or archaeologically.

cations

much alike, mean

of only the

period. Photographs of purely archae-

of excavations, have been largely

ological interest, such as views

pictures, all

tried to present reproductions

monuments of each

out because such

left

httle to the general reader either aesthetic-

Anyone sufficiently interested can find the most copious pubH-

with reproductions of the actual archaeological work

at sites like

Mohenjo-daro

and Taxila.

We

may

properly begin our introduction to the study of Indian art by a very brief

survey of those geographical, cHmatic, and racial factors that from very earhest times

have had their inexorable influence on the Indian people and their
the great rehgious systems of India
art

from about 2500

to 322 B.C.,

is

art.

The

discussion

of

postponed to the chapter devoted to the history of

when

all

ways of beHef and thought came

these

into

being.

The

history of India and

this vast

its

art has

been so boimd up with the geographic nature of

continent that something must be said of these physical characteristics. India has

a kind of impregnable geographic isolation:

it is

in the shape

of a great

sealed funnel de-

pending from the heartland of Asia. This pecuhar shape of the peninsula made for an
inevitable retention

and absorption of

all

the racial and cultural elements that poured

bounded on the west by the Indian Ocean; on the east by the

Bay of Bengal. Along the northern frontier India is almost sealed off from the Asiatic
mainland by the rocky curtain of the Himalayas from Baluchistan to Assam. The only

into

it.

The

openings in

peninsula

is

formidable natural fortification are the various passes of the north-west,

this

such as the famous Khyber and Bolan Passes, which

ating India

from

the Iranian plateau.

Through

wind through the moimtains separcame all the migrating tribes

these gaps

and conquerors that made themselves masters of the rich plains of India.

The

cultural divisions

of India proper have always been determined and dominated by

Deccan plateau, and

the great river systems, the watersheds of the Indus and Ganges, the

South India. In western India

as the

is

the plain, watered

by

the Indus

and

its

Punjab or 'Land of the Five Rivers'. Along the lower Indus

Sind, a region,

millennium

now

B.C.

mostly

desert,

Another great

which was

river system

tributaries,
is

knovra

the province of

a flourishing jungle as late as the second

of India

is

that of the Ganges, the sacred

stream which flows over a thousand miles of north-eastern India through an immense

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

of land which has supported

fertile tract

In central India, south

many of the

splendid empires of the Indian past.

of the Vindhya mountain range, there rises the high and arid plateau

of the Deccan, shut off from the Indian Ocean by the steep mountain wall of the Western
Ghats and flanked by a similar continuous range of plateau-like peaks on the Bay of
Bengal. These two chains of mountains unite in what is the stopper at the bottom of the
Indian funnel, the NOgiri Hills, wliich effectually seal off the southern tip of the Indian
peninsula, so that
its

own.
Chmate, no

less

Harly indigenous

grown up

in the

this

region has maintained a culture essentially

than geography, has played

traits

of Lidian

dry and

liistory

hilly districts

and

its

art.

part in the development of the pecu-

All the races of martial character have

of the north-west and

centre,

of Bengal have been inhabited by peaceful and un warlike

plains
fall

from very early times

a large part of the Indian continent has

whereas the

cultivators.

For

fertile

its

rain-

depended on the monsoon winds which

sweep across the Indian Ocean from June to October. These winds

cliiefly affect the west

and extend to the southern slopes of the Himalayas.^ Peninsular India is
more dependent on these winds than the plains of the north, where the great rivers are

coast of India

fed

by

The

the periodic melting

of the mountain snows.

seasons in India begin with a dry and scorcliing spring

ceeded by

summer of almost continuous

from July

from March

to June, suc-

Auturmi and
winter are dry and windy, but only in the extreme north-west do temperatures drop to
levels normal in temperate zones. The almost entirely tropic nature of the chmate has
a

unquestionably had

its

effect

on

rainfall

to October.

growth of the people that

where man is in control
whereas in tropical regions, where

the racial and intellectual

inhabit this region of the earth. In desert or temperate zones,

of

environment, monotheistic rehgions prevail,

his

nature

is

completely the master of humanity,

men

great and relentless powers that govern their hves.

has in a

way

forced

are apt to ascribe divinity to

The overpowering

all

the

nature of India

upon the inhabitants an inabihty to act, a situation responsible for

become lost in rehgiosity, for their maintaining through the cen-

the Indian races having

turies

what

is

often described as a veritable 'hallucination of the absolute'.

Although nothing

definite can

generally believed that the

sula

first

were of a dark Negrito

B.C., these

be said about the

indigenous people

stock.

earliest inhabitants

who

Sometime, perhaps

once occupied

of

tlie

India,

it is

entire penin-

as early as the third

millennium

primitive black aborigines were gradually driven southwards and assimilated

by Mongoloid invaders from the north. The race that resulted from this mixture of
Negrito and Mongoloid blood developed.the 'Dravidian' or pre-Aryan culture of India.^
The Dra vidians in turn were displaced by the Aryan ijivaders towards the close of the
tliird millennium B.C. The Dravidians are probably the Dasyus or 'black slaves' referred
to in the ritual hymns of the Aryans. Although despised by their Nordic conquerors, the
fmal victory belonged to the indigenous Indian population. As will be explained in the
chapter devoted to rchgion, many of the dominant features of later Indian bchef are of
Dravidian origin, in the same way that Indian art in a general sense could be described
as a combination of the abstract philosophical concepts of Aryan origin and the representational, even naturahstic trends of Dravidian civiHzation. The Aryan tribes had their

INTRODUCTION
origmal homeland in the region of the Caspian Sea.
as the insufficiency

such

It

was probably some natural

of grazing lands or hunting grounds, that forced

this

cause,

nomadic

horde to undertake a march which led eventually through the passes of the Himalayas

of northern

to the plains

metals,

and

ably partly

India.

The Aryans'

by the process of conquest and

superior armament, their

knowledge of

outlook made them masters of India, prob-

in a sense their superior rehgious

partly

by

the process of assimilation of the

estabhshed Dravidian population.

we

Speaking in very general terms, from the earhest time that

can judge them in

the preserved writings of the Epic Period (1500-600 B.C.), the Indians reveal a tendency

and philosophical speculation on the nature of the world. This

to rehgious thought

speculation leads to a mystic pantheism and the idea of the soul's absorption in the
versal Being. In

substanceless

comparison to

phantom. Also,

this

absolute the world of

of this

as a result

men becomes

essential attitude, the

be described as abstractions of worship or philosophy. There

of that emphasis on the

plete absence

which characterized the

classical

practical,

rehgion of Iran

on the

as codified

the entirely cosmic nature of pantheism in Iran, with

nature, the pantheism
ideal in the cessation

of India

is

real

its

is,

Uni-

a delusion, a

gods of India could

in other words, a

com-

world, and on moral duty,

by Zoroaster.

In contrast to

joyful affirmation of hfe and

negative, denying the world and hfe, and descrying

of existence achieved

its

in the changeless, eternal absorption in the

godhead. This definition of the Indian point of view can apply with equal vahdity to
the great Indian rehgious systems: Hinduism,

all

Buddhism, and JaLnism, and the even

from which they sprang.

At first inspection, works of Indian art appear as strange and ahen as the Indian myths
which they illustrate. They are strange to us, of course, first of all because they are so
different from the art and legends of Greece and Rome which have become a part of our
culture and which we are able to understand and rationahze. The mystery of Indian
myths and Indian art lies partly in the fact that it suggests rather than states. Greek sculpearUer philosophical concepts

ture,

with

its

finite perfection

of form, expresses

clear external fact;

Hindu
by

transforms solid rock into the substance of dreams and defies explanation
tellectuahzation or the usual rigmarole

of aesthetic

analysis.

The

sculpture
either in-

reason for this

is

to be

found partly in the fact that Indian art was not made primarily for aesthetic reasons and so
;

it is

necessary for us to seek the meaning hidden in this art

of the inner hfe of a people strange to

art

voiced the same truth

as

us. It

Indian philosophy and myth.

of the same Pilgrim's Progress directing

tion.

Our

task, therefore, as students

abstract conceptions

on what

and

art and, conversely, to read the

changeless

human

They

energies to the

are signals along the

as a

is

to understand the

kind of intellectual comment-

stands crystallized and unfolding in the figures

symbols

way

same goal of transmuta-

of Indian myth and symbol

of India's philosopliical doctrines

ary

stemming from the sources

could truly be said that Indian symbols of

and patterns of symboUsm

as the pictorial script

of India's ultimately

wisdom.

Indian art may, in a general way, be described as theological, hieratic, or, perhaps best

of all,

as traditional.

The meaning of tradition

in

its

relation to a civihzation

has probably never been better explained than in the

words of Marco PalHs

and

its

art

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

embraces the whole of a civihzation, in all its modes and departments, and tends
of all antitheses, such as 'sacred and profane', even 'creator and creation'. A
truly traditional civihzation has its roots fixed in a doctrine of the purely metaphysical order.
This doctrine gives to the whole a principal or sufficient cause. The other constituents of die
Tradition, whether ctliical, social, or artistic, down to the most petty activities of daily Hfe, all
derive their authority from tliis doctrine, to be exercised in their prescribed spheres. Ideas of a
metaphysical order are the cement which binds every part together. ... The mechanism by
Tradition

to the obliteration

wliich the Truth

is

made

through the body

to circulate

the Tradition

is

from Master

to pupil,

wliich stretclies back into the past and reaches forward into the future.^

The only unfortunate

aspect

of this definition

is

that in

its

context

it is

applied to de-

by tradition. In the art of Tibet, dedicated

to the most esoteric phase of Tantric Buddhism, the necessity for the most explicit accuracy in pictures, statues, and other paraphernalia in a ritual dominated almost entirely by
magic was obvious. It was impossible for the artist to depart from specifications or to

scribing an art stultified, rather than vitalized,

rely at

all

on experience or experiment. Traditional

completely

stifled

art

does not necessarily imply the

and repetitious formaUzation of Tibetan

art. It

means, rather, the kind

of healthy discipline conditioned by belief and prescriptions, calculated to produce cult

images worthy of worship that yet allowed the

artist

the

most extraordinary degree of

freedom of expression. One has only to look at the great variety of interpretation in a
single subject of Hindu art, such as the Chola metal images of the Dancing Siva, or,
of the Apocalyptic Christ

for that matter, at the representations

in

Romanesque

art,

to

understand that tradition could produce works of individual creative power. In both
cases the artists

were trained

in a guild tradition

of imparted knowledge and followed a

system of canonical proportion and technique, relying on inspiration through meditation;

and

yet, inevitably,

and reaUty, to produce

at

their productions

combine system and freedom, dream

once works of individual genius and awesome rehgious

power.

The purpose of Indian

great
tial

first causes,

worlds. Art

is

art, like all traditional art, is

which, according to the

seers,

dedicated to communicating these great truths to

architectural, sculptural,
stars in their courses,

and

pictorial reconstruction

men

spiritual,

and

in the
celes-

mankind and, by the

of the powers that maintain the

magically to ensure and strengthen the endurance of the conditions

thus reproduced in material

form

in

tliis

way, every Indian rehgious structure

regarded as an arcliitectural rephca of an unseen

cosmos

primarily to mstruct

govern the material,

celestial

is

to be

region or as a diagram of the

itself.

In traditional art the shape and colour of a rehgious image,

its

conventions and pro-

depended not so much on the artist's having an uncontrolled aesthetic

inspiration but directly on what the work of art is to express to the worsliipper. These
were the Medieval and Oriental points of view which judge the truth or goodness of a
portions, have

work of art according

to

how

it

fulfilled this essential

requirement. Like the Church art

of the Middle Ages, Indian works of sculpture, painting, and architecture were devoted
to revealing the divine personahty of the gods and to increasing the dignity of the
Church. Just such bands of workers
the Indian temple. These workers

as

served the Medieval cathedral were dedicated to

had for
6

their guidance

whole manuals of

aesthetic

INTRODUCTION
procedure, the

know

it

In India

art as

we

Ufe, as interpreted

by

devoted to architecture, sculpture, and painting. Secular

sdstras,

did not

exist.

all art, like all

Ufe,

is

given over to religion. Indian art

is

rehgion and philosophy. Art was dedicated to producing the utensils, the objects of worsliip

in a life ordered

by

behef. Because the deity

in nature, the artist in his activity

was thought of as present

of making a work of art was regarded

dehght in creation. The texts of Buddhism and Hinduism

in

man and
God's

as sharing

specifically state that the

mak-

was not an eccentric individual, but a man

trained to meet a universal demand. His vocation and training were entirely hereditary.
The Indian artist was an indispensable, if anonymous, member of society; and, indeed,
ing of images leads to heaven.

Indian art
artists.

more

is

The

artist

the history of a society and

There never was in Indian

its

needs than the history of individual

art before the intrusion

corresponding to the copying of nature.

The

Indian

of Western influence anything

artist

does not seek to rival nature

by imitation, but in a metaphorical sense creates forms parallel to nature. Only that
which accords with the self-imposed canons of proportion and harmony is beautiful in
the eyes of the discerning. In traditional art it is through the selection of such symbols as
are truer than nature that the artist can hope to achieve a perfect work of art. There is
nothing to be gained by a photographic imitation of something that already

exists

well

no room for the cult of the merely

decorative nor for the cult of unintelhgibihty which dominates the modern field. It was
the object of the Indian artist to express only the essential, to improve rather than to
copy nature exactly. The Indian artist never draws simply what he sees, but rather, like
the untutored but discerning child, draws what he means.
The aim of the Indian artist may be illustrated by his attitude towards portraiture.
There is nothing to be gained by making a repUca of a man's outward appearance. The
aim would rather be to make something corresponding to that essential image of the
enough. In an

man

that the

based on these premises there

art

mind

has in

its

conception of him. Obviously, the success of the

production will depend on the intensity of the

his

is

artist's

artistic

reahzation of his mental image and

abihty to communicate this reahzation to the beholder.

Indian art of
creatures

on

all

earth.

periods

For

is

close to hfe, not only to the hfe

this reason,

of the gods but to

all

naturahsm, in the sense of drawing or sculpturing an

on the basis of actual observation of nature, is a tendency that cannot be ignored.

Although the proportions, pose, and gestures of an image were unquestionably based on
a strict metaphysical canon designed to ensure its fitaess as an object of worship, within
this framework the figure was made with an understanding of actual human anatomy,

object

not only in

its

general articulation, but also in the maker's concern with connoting the

essential character

of the flesh in terms of stone or bronze. In Indian figure sculpture,

presented, for example,

by the

yakshls at Saiichi,

it is

as re-

evident that in a period before the

development of canonical prescriptions for the human form the sculptor, proceeding
like any archaic artist, was intuitively striving to create a stone figure of a desirable
liis intuitive knowhuman body. He relied on certain formulae acquired by experience that
teclinical work easier, such as the essentially frontal pose and the defmition of

female shape, not based, to be sure, on scientific anatomy, but on

ledge of the

made

the

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

details in linear terms.
is

the

the

sum of many

artist's

The whole figure, while not articulated with anatomical accuracy,

individual parts observed and described in stone and calculated,

by

exaggeration of certain features, such as the breasts, the ample hips, and

To an
even greater degree naturahstic tendencies are to be discerned in the representation of the
lower hierarchy of creatures, especially in the carving of animals. Even in the very
crescent thighs, to appeal to the worshipper as a provocative goddess of fecundity.

rehefs, in which the individual parts of the beasts are combined with
by artists unacquainted with the problems of stone carving, the elephants,
monkeys, and deer which we find in the rehefs at Bharhut and Saiichi show the
most remarkable observation and recording of the precise articulation and movement

Buddhist

earliest

difficulty

characteristic

of these animals. As a

hfe, the artist gives us

result

of his complete awareness of their nature and

an unequalled portrayal of these creatures in the universal

sense,

based on the observation of particulars. NaturaHsm in the Indian sense could be described as a visuahzation of

of the

overall purpose

sired to

what

of Indian

essential

show the Buddha's incarnation as

necessary, for the conviction

knew them.
as a

is

art to edify

on the
and

basis

of experience.

instruct the devotee.

a particular animal,

it

complete understanding of the

ally identifying

That

subject.

this

is

its

was de-

every Indian

as

perhaps better described

amounts to the

himself with his subject and experiencing

it

was both appropriate and

of the beholder, to make these creatures

In the final analysis this definition of naturahsm

only part

It is

When

hfe

is

artist's

sympathetic-

perhaps to be taken

for granted.

In Indian art-practice the artist

is

enjoined to

trayed in a self-induced state of trance.

It is

become one with

the object to be por-

then that the image of the deity appears

as a

reflexion in his mind, conditioned, of course,

by those forms and canons which the artist

already knows from experience. In fashioning his icon from the mental image the artist
employs that most ancient of Indian philosophical sciences the method of yoga or ecstatic meditation. That such practices were not entirely imknov\m to Western artists is
attested to by the story related about Fra AngeHco's kneeling in prayer and meditation
:

before beginning

The

work on

a panel.'*

Indian view of Hfe and rehgion could be said to be based

ordinary world which

we

to us. In Indian art the

world

see

around us
is

is

upon

The

art.

way

that the

divine

is

thought of as present in

number one

is

knowable

regarded as an appearance of God. This can in a measure

explain the seemingly 'reaUstic' portrayal of many forms of nature in

dian

the idea that the

the only aspect of the infinite deity

present,

though

man and

invisible, in

all

periods of In-

in nature, present in the

two, three, four, and

same

five. It is

the Indian behef that man's preoccupation with practical ends and the understanding of
practical

behaviour over-emphasizes the material world.

It is

the aim of

all

the Indian

rehgions - Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain - to break from these barriers in order to

know the divinity directly. The methods of attaining the desired union with the divinity
are infinite,

and of these the one most important for

art

is

the

method of idolatry, the

systematic creation of forms and symbols to represent the manifold invisible powers and

mysteries of the supernatural world.

necessity to express the

The technique that grew up as a result of this

unknowable quahties of the divine was both symboHc and

INTRODUCTION
anthropomorphic.

Human effigies or diagrams could be used with equal convenience for

representing the deity, since the

images.

The icon

proportion to

When

human mind can apprehend the deity only through such

indeed, a diagram meant to express a definite reUgious concept, and

or replica of anything on earth. The symbol is perfect in

communicate the ultimate truth that it embodies.
they were shown in anthropomorphic shape, the Indian gods were portrayed

never intended

as

is,

as the likeness

its

ability to

supermen, fashioned according to canons of proportion intended to

of the idol above the accidental beauty of any one

human

raise the

being. In the

beauty

same way the

images of many-armed gods are purely mental creations that have no counterpart in
nature. Their multiple

arms are necessary for the

various attributes of their powers and activities.

deities

simultaneously to display the

The supreme purpose of these

images,

which he
accepts and with all the beings with whom he must obtain communication through
prayer. There is nothing corresponding to idolatry in the narrow sense, since the worship
is never paid to the image of stone or brass, but to what the image stands for, the prototype. The image, in other words, as a reflexion of the godhead, is as the diagram of the
of

as

all

images in Indian

art, is

to present the beHever with

geometrician in relation to the great diagram in the beyond.

and foremost objects of utihtarian

first

use,

made by a

all

the truths

The images in Indian art are

process of contemplation, and in-

tended to help the worshipper in communicating with the object of worship.

persistence of magical symbohsm and tradition in modem India may be illusby the combination of elements in the Indian flag. The solar wheel in the centre
is at once an emblem of the ancient solar cults and the Wheel of the Buddha's Law
dominating all regions traversed by the rolling wheel of the sun itself The three stripes
of the flag incorporate the thicegunas, the threefold aspect of the one, the Brahmin wor-

The

trated

of the sun

ship

at

dawn, noon, and

Although the Indian

tions

of rehgion and

tion or feeling. This

taste

craft,

sunset, the three Vedas, etc.

performance

is

seemingly rigidly prescribed by the tradi-

he was not without the quahty which

quahty

or joy or emotion.

artist's

artist's

It is

is

described

by the term

rasa,

translated as

work of art by

the reaction induced in the beholder of a

the

manipulation of the feelings which formed the original inspirational centre of his

consciousness in his vision of a certain aspect of the universe.

duce

we describe as imagina-

which may be

his

own

abstract or universal experience in art

It is

the

artist's

and communicate

aim

this

to pro-

experience

The artist does not know that his work will produce rasa, nor does he
much in love with his theme that he dedicates himself to the best of his trainand abihty to render it from the sheer abundance of his feeling, and, if the work is

to the beholder.
care.

ing

He

properly

is

so

imbued with the creator's

feeling, the

of rasa. If he has the original capacity to

his

beholder will share the

artist's

experience

feel intensely, the artist's successful reahzation

of

The evocation of rasa depends,

craft and medium. It is not self-

concept can be adumbrated by the practice of yoga.

of course, on training and devotion to the rules of the

conscious expressionism, since the artist does not project his owti personahty or self into

work of art. He is simply the agent that causes it to materiahze in inteUigible form.
The attitude towards the rehgious image described above persists practically unchanged through at least the first three thousand years of Indian art history. Only later
a

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

docs

it

come

to be replaced

by

somewhat more

lyric

and mystical religious expression

that transformed the earher symbols into an imagist, pantheistic art. In this later phase,

beginning

as early as the

than the mind.

Although
repetition

is

The

Gupta Period,

old mysteries

a certain

come

art strives to please

to be forgotten,

amount of repetition

and enchant the heart rather

and man replaces God.

to be expected in

is

not necessarily harmful or stultifying,

scriptions continue to provide a healthy discipline,

as

long

as the

any

traditional art, such

canonical forms and pre-

and the beHefs behind the

art

an ever-

renewed source of creative inspiration. Such a renewal imphes neither blind adherence
to rules nor a straying from the tradition. It is only when one of these two things happens
that decadence ensues. In Siamese art of the later centuries we have a mechanical reiteration of an evolved formula

and an attempt to improve on

this

exhausted form by

all

kinds of meaningless refinements in proportion, gesture, and pose, together with the

attempt merely to be pleasing and decorative through the heavy embellishment of surfaces

and richness of material. This

scribe

Roman

analysis could

be apphed with

Neo-Attic work, which in an exactly similar

of archaic sculpture

in the direction

entirely losing the plastic integrity

exhausted; there

is

of vapid grace and

and

nothing more to be

the phrase remains.'

spiritual
said,

way

change to de-

Uttle

re-works the formula

superficial decorative effect

power of the

originals.

'

while

The formula

because everything has been

said,

is

and only

CHAPTER

THE PROTO-HISTORIC PERIOD: THE INDUS

VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Before 1924
farther

the history of Indian art in surviving

monuments could not be traced

B.C. The entire concept

back than the Macedonian invasion in the fourth century

of the early cultures of India was changed by the dramatic discovery of a great urban
civilization that existed

the tliird

millennium

contemporaneously with the ancient culture of Mesopotamia in

B.c.^

Although the chief centres of this civihzation were brought to

hght in the Indus Valley, there are indications that

the Punjab

it

extended uniformly

and the North-west Frontier (Pakistan) and

may have

as far

included

all

north

as

or part of

Rajputana and the Ganges Valley.

The term Indo-Sumerian, sometimes used

derives

from the resemblance of many

potamian forms.

It is,

Indian civihzation
think of
great
this

will

it

as

was

a provincial offshoot

Mesopotamian empires.
is

it is

prising, as the

of this culture to Meso-

in a sense, a misleading designation because

of Sumeria, whereas

an entirely separate culture that attained just

designation

be seen,

to describe this period of Indian history,

objects at the cliief centres

better

title

would be

as

impUes that

it

it is

this

more proper

high a level

as that

to

of the

the 'Indus Valley Period', since

completely descriptive of the principal centres of this civihzation. As

not so

much

the relationships to

Mesopotamia and

complete separateness and autonomy of

Iran that are sur-

this first great civihzation in

Indian history in the major aspects of its development. Typical of the independence of
the Indus Valley art,

appears

on the many

and the mysteries surrounding

steatite seals

it, is

or tahsmans found at

the undeciphered script

all

which

the centres excavated.^

The

Indus Valley Period certainly cannot be described as prehistoric, nor does the evidence

of the fmds entirely permit the definition of chalcohthic in the sense of a bronze or
copper age. In view of the

many

well-forged links with later developments in Indian

term would be 'pro to-historic', wliich defines its position in

the period before the begiiming of known history and its forecast of later phases of Indian

culture, a better descriptive

civihzation.

The principal cities of the Indus Valley culture are Mohenjo-daro on the Indus River
and Harappa in the Punjab. The character of the finds has led investigators to the conclusion that the peoples of the Indus culture must have had some contact with ancient
Mesopotamia. These commercial comiexions with the ancient Near East were maintained by sea and overland by way of Baluchistan. The dating of the Indus Valley civilization

depends almost entirely on comparison with vestiges of similar architectural and

Mesopotamia and on the discovery of objects of Indian origin in a

sculptural remains in
level

corresponding to 2400 B.C. at Tel Asmar in Iraq.

On

the basis of these finds and

other related objects found at Kish and Susa in Iran, the beginnings of the Indus culture

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

have been fixed in the middle of the third millennium
that the civilization

of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa

until the seventeenth

ture

century b.c.^

known as the Jhukar,

It

B.C.

The

lasted for

was succeeded by an

latest

evidence suggests

about eight hundred years,

inferior

and very obscure cul-

wliich endured up to the time of the Aryan invasion in about

1500 B.C.

Allowing about

five

hundred years for the development of this

civihzation, the great

period of the Indus Valley culture occurred in the later centuries of the third millennium

and

B.C.,

may

be described

as

an urban concentration or assimilation of isolated and

primitive village centres existing in Baluchistan and Sind as early as 3500 or even 4000
B.C.

The

Sumer and

trade relations that linked these settlements with early dynastic

the

culture of Iran apparently continued as late as the period of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.

The Indus Valley

time there
:

is

there

culture

was one of almost monotonous uniformity both

in space

and

nothing to differentiate fmds from Sind and the North-west Frontier nor
;

any perceptible variation in the

separated
as

is

by hundreds of years, although

of

style
it is

objects, such as seals,

found

in levels

apparent that such forms of Sumerian art

were introduced early in the history of the culture were gradually absorbed or replaced

by elements of a more truly Indian tradition.

The end of the Indus culture is as mysterious as its origin. Whether the end came in a
sudden cataclysm, or whether the culture underwent a long period of disintegration and
dechne, is impossible to say."* The most hkely explanation for its disappearance is that the
great cities had to be abandoned because of the gradual desiccation of the region of Sind.
The descriptions by Arrian of the terrible deserts encountered by Alexander in his march
across Sind leave no doubt that the region had been a desert for some time before the
Macedonian invasion. Indeed, even in Alexander's time the legend was current that
fabled Semiramis and Cyrus the Achaemenian had lost whole armies in the deserts of
Gedrosia. Later Greek writers described the region as filled with the remains of over
a thousand towns and villages once full of men'. It is highly probable that the Aryan
invasions from 1500 to 1200 B.C. coincided with the end of this Dra vidian civilization.'
'

Viewed from an
Percy

Brown

working town
less

aesthetic point

of view, the ruins of the Indus Valley

has remarked, 'as barren as

would be

in Lancashire'.^ Certainly there

is

cities are, as

some present-day
more boring to the layman or

the remains of

notliing

revealing than those archaeological photographs of endless cellar holes that might as

well be views of Pompeii or the centre of present-day Berlin. Archaeologists have,

ever, been able to

draw

certain conclusions

on the

of the skeleton of the Indus culture that enable us

The architecture,

as

how-

of these architectural renmants

frame in

flesh.

one would expect of a commercial urban civihzation, was of a

start-

ling utUitarian character,

typifies the products

partially to clothe that

with a uniform sameness of plan and construction that

of the Indus culture

markets, storerooms, and offices

in pottery.

many of these

storey with one or

more

of the ancient

of Mohenjo-daro

city

basis

additional floors in

The

structures consisted

of a brick ground-

wood. Everytliing about

reflects a

also

buildings consisted of houses,

the construction

completely matter-of-fact, business-like

point of view, from the city plan as a whole to the almost total lack of architectural

ornamentation.

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The excavations of Mohenjo-daro have revealed that
on

the site v^as systematically laid out

a regular plan in such a w^ay that the principal streets ran

take full advantage of the prevailing winds (Figure

i).

north and south in order to

This type of urban plan

is

in itself

from the rabbit-warren tradition of city planning so univerboth ancient and modem times in India and Mesopotamia. It must have been intro-

a puzzling novelty, different

sal

in

duced when such plans were already perfected in ancient Mesopotamia. The baked
brick construction

is

perhaps the feature most suggestive of the building methods of the

Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are fireSumer and Babylon. This teclinique ob-

ancient cities of Mesopotamia, but the bricks of

baked, and not sun-dried, like the fabric of

Figure

i.

Mohenjo-daro:

Town

plan

viously implies the existence of vast amounts of timber to fire the kilns, and reminds us

once again that the province of Sind in these remote times was heavily forested, and not
the arid desert that

we know

narrow pointed niches

found

as the

to-day. Certain architectural features, such as the use of

only forms of interior decoration along the Indus, are also

as exterior architectural accents at

Khorsabad

of a relationship with the ancient Near East.

Many

in

Mesopotamia, and are suggestive

examples of vaulting of a corbelled

type have been discovered, but the true arch was apparently

Mohenjo-daro.
riiat

No

can be identified as temples, although at both

presumably serving

as citadels.

a Buddhist stupa that

Among

the

more

unknown

to the builders

buildings have been discovered at either Mohenjo-daro or

sites

there

of

Harappa

were great artificial mounds

On the liighest tumulus at Mohenjo-daro are the ruins of

may well have been

interesting structures at

on the remains of an earher sanctuary.

Mohenjo-daro were the remains of a great

raised

13

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

public bath, and

possible

it is

tliat this

establishment, together with the smaller baths

attached to almost every private dwelling,

such

performed

as are

The

regularity

in the tanks

of the

city plan

may have been

intended for ritual ablutions

of the modern Hindu temple.

of Mohcnjo-daro and the dimensions of the individual

houses are fir superior to the arrangements of later Indian

for example, the

cities, as,

TaxOa in the Punjab. Indeed, it could be said that the population of the Indus cities Hved more comfortably than did their contemporaries in the
crowded and ill-built metropohses of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Even more remarkable
in comparison to secular arcliitecture in Mesopotamia is the high development of rubGreek and Kushan

cities at

bish-shoots and drains in private houses and streets. This superiority to, and independ-

may again be explained by the availabihty of fuel for the manuOn the basis of the many imiovations and conarcliitecture, as more than one authority has stated, we are led to the

ence from, the Near East

of terra-cotta

facture

veniences in civic

in the Indus Valley.

conclusion that the centres of civihzation along the Indus in the

were vastly
he good in

commercial

millennium

b.c.

cities in

and expensive monuments dedicated to the royal cult.

Among the fragments of sculpture found at Mohenjo-daro
whitish limestone originally inlaid with a red paste (Plate
portrait

of a

fication

of

priest or

this

i).''

is

male bust carved of a

Most

likely

it

was a votive

shaman. There has been a great deal of speculation on the identi-

and other bearded heads found

argued that they represent

deities or portraits

position of the robe over the left shoulder

in

tliird

which the surplus wealth was invested for the pubthe way of municipal improvement, and not assigned to the erection of huge
rich

is

at

Mohenjo-daro. Some scholars have

of priests. In the present example the

not unlike the Buddhist

dis-

The way

sahghat'i.

which the eyes are represented, as though concentrated on the tip of the nose, is sugof a well-known method of yoga meditation, and would therefore favour the

gestive

man.

identification as a priest or holy

The

similarities

of the head

Mesopotamian sculpture in the plastic conception

mask-hke planes and certain other teclinical details are fairly close,
enough to prove a real relationsliip. The resemblance to Sumerian

of these

statues to

in hard,

and yet not close

heads consists mainly in the general rigidity and in such aspects

beard with shaven upper

lip,

and the indication of the hair

of essentially conceptual portraiture, however, are too
ancient peoples to permit us to
the costume, as well as the

More

draw any conclusions.

wearing of the

common

among

all

Details such as the trefoil design

on

a teclinique

mode of hairdressing, may be matched in Sumerian

sculpture.

suggestive of a real connexion between the sculpture of the Indus Valley and

Mesopotamia are a number of

Valley.

They

scribed in the
variants

reputed to have been excavated in the Indus

of Gudca and other Mesopo-

One of these

figurines has a cartouche in-

tliird

miUennium

Mohenjo-daro

of Sumerian

some

statuettes

are quite comparable to the log-like statues

tamian statues of the

least

as the

method of representing the eyebrows in sahent rehef,

by lines incised on the surface of the stone. These devices

the

script.

cult statues

B.C.

Presumably these

idols are provincial

- that

is,

Indian

- and their presence in the Indus Valley reveals that

relation, perhaps religious as well as styhstic, existed

of the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia.^

14

at

between the civihzations

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

piece of sculpture that the Indus Valley excavations have brought

The most notable

hght

to

a small

is

male torso

chosen for illustration reveals

it is

impossible to

tell

almost certain that

its

found

in limestone

the exact iconographic significance of this

must have been intended

it

Harappa

at

(Plate 2).

The view

magnificent plastic quahty to great advantage. Although

damaged condition no recognizable

nor

attributes remain;

nude image,

of some

as a deity

is

there

sort. In its

seems

it

present

any explanation for

the curious circular depressions in the clavicle region.' This statuette appears to us extra-

of

ordinarily sophisticated in the degree

reahstic representation, so

much

so that

it

has

been compared by some scholars to the work of the great period in Greece. In the Harappa
torso,

however, there

no attempt

is

to suggest the

human body by

harping on the

muscular structure that was the particular concern of the naturalistically minded Greek
sculptors

of the fourth century

and

B.C.

later.

On the contrary, this statuette is completely

Indian in the sculptor's realization of the essential image, a

tive representation

of anatomy,

in

which the

articulation

convex planes of modelling. The one quahty which

versally pecuhar to

many

later

symbohc

rather than descrip-

of the body

may

reahzed in broad

is

be discerned here that

Indian examples of plastic art

is

uni-

is

the suggestion of an iimer

tension that seems to threaten to push out and burst the taut outer layer of skin. Actually,
this is a technical

device by which the sculptor revealed the existence of the breath or

prdim filling and expanding the vessel of the body.

beUied

a caricature in

regarded

The

therefore, iconographically completely right

is,

as

any

sense, since this distension resulting

an outward sign of both material and

statuette, too,

what

truthful. It

is

pot-

not intended

as

from yogic breath-control was

spiritual well-being.

certainly the earhest exhibition

is

fact that the figure appears

and

We have in

of the Indian sculptor's

skill in

tliis

pro-

ducing not only a sense of plastic volume but also in representing the soft quahty of the
flesh.

This

is

not a hteral imitation, such

tion of fleshiness

the

smooth and

by such properly

softly

as

one finds

sculptural

in

Western

sculpture, but a sugges-

and abstract devices

as the interlocking

of

modelled convex planes of the torso and the exaggeration of the

depth of the navel to connote the enfolding sofmcss and warmth of flesh without any
textural manipulation

Another damaged
forecast

of the

surface.'"

statuette, also

of iconographic and

(Plate 3). Tliis

from Harappa, complements

stylistic

this torso in its striking

elements of the historical periods of Indian art

image, carved in greyish hmestone, represents a dancing male figure, per-

haps originally ithyphalhc, four-armed and three-headed. These attributes, together with
the dancing pose,

make

it

possible that this

is

a prototype for the later

Hindu conception

Lord of the Dance. The modelling, again, is of an extraordinarily telling simphcity, that, in its assured establishment of form in the completely abstract plastic sense,
suggests the work of a modern sculptor like Henry Moore. Even in its present fragmentary state, the figure is imbued with a vital, dynamic quahty and a suggestion of moveof Siva

as

ment imparted by the violent axial dislocation of the head, thorax, and hips, exactly the
same device employed to suggest the violence of Siva's dance in the great Hindu bronzes
of the Chola Period.

No

less

surprising in

its

sophistication

Mohenjo-daro, wliich in such aspects

c

is

as the

15

copper figurine of a dancing-girl from

extreme wiry attenuation

is

prophetic of

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

metal-work of the

hp

Chola Period

(Plate 4a).

perhaps a Dra vidian physical

The pendulous exaggeration of

the lower

numerous braceexplains the finding of bangles of every known precious material in the ruins of the

is

lets

Indus

trait,

and the clothing of the arms

in

cities.^'

The

statues

which we have examined, the male

and

busts

idols

from Mohenjo-daro

and Harappa, represent the Sumcrian and Indian aspects of the Indus Valley civiHzation.

The

borrowings

indications are that such

as there

were from the Mesopotamian world

existed parallel to completely Indian sculptural tradition.

The most numerous

the steatite
tions

single type

of object found in the

cities

of the Indus culture are

apparently used for seaUng compacts and as amulets, with representa-

seals,

of creatures both fabulous and

real,

and almost invariably accompanied by a num-

more than two and a half inches

most consummate and deHcate perfection of craftsmanship: the work
was done by a combination of carving with small chisels and drills and poUsliing with
abrasives. The finished seal was given a coating of alkah, which, when shghtly fired, imparted a white lustrous surface to the stone. The seals are properly described as intagHos ber of pictograpliic symbols.*^ These objects, never
square, reveal the

carved in sunken or negative rehef; the illustrations in

of impressions taken from the original

sive evidence for

objects.

The

tliis

work

are

from photograplis

provide the most comprehen-

seals

our reconstruction of the Mohenjo-daro rehgion and

its

relationship

with the ancient Near Fast and the concepts of modem Hinduism. On a number of the
seals we find a representation of a three-headed bovine monster (Plate 4b), which has

Mesopotamian legend of the primordial

A few of the
Indus Valley seals reveal another mythological hnk with Mesopotamia in the representation of a gigantic figure engaged in stranghng two great beasts, presumably lions or
tigers. This personage is certainly the great Mesopotamian hero, Gilgamesh, a sort of
been interpreted

bull, the

as a reference to the ancient

progenitor of all hving

Oriental Herakles

The

who

of other

subjects

animal and vegetable worlds. ^^

tilings in the

made

slew the wild beasts and

the world safe for humanity.

of the greatest importance for the relationship between

seals are

the Indus Valley rehgion and later iconographic concepts.

deity seated in

yoga posture,

Hindu god ^iva

(Plate 4c). ^^

head

is

who

The

is

On

one

probably to be recognized

central figure has three heads,

known

suggestive of the Buddliist symbol

as the

we

as a

find a

and the trident above

trisi'dn.

The horns

are

ably a Mesopotamian survival, and are to be read as an indication of divinity.

tral

personage

is

surrounded by

number of wild

beasts,

homed

prototype of the

perhaps

as a

his

presum-

The cen-

reference to Siva's

function as Lord of Beasts or to suggest diva's dwelling as an ascetic in the wilderness.

What

is

perhaps the most interesting aspect of

recognizable representation of a divinity in

representations of

homed

this seal

human form

is

that in

it

we

in Indian art.

have the earhest

On other seals the

female figures in trees are certainly to be interpreted as the

earhest portrayals of the yakslii, the fertility

and

tree-spirit that figures so largely in later

Buddliist art. Their appearance furnishes positive proof that the cult of tree-spirits

tioned in the Yajur and Atharva Vedas had

By

far the greatest

either the

number of the Indus

its

Valley

seals are

carved with figures of bulls,

zebu or the urus ox, some of them with objects resembling

16

men-

origins in the Indus culture.

altars

or mangers

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

before

them

fied,

seems Ukely that

it

(Plate 40)

Here again, while the iconography cannot be

this

emblem

popular bovine

positively identi-

related to the cult

is

of the bull

as a

Mesopotamia and perhaps as a prototype of biva's

attribute, the buU Nandi. From the aesthetic point of view the designs of the animal
seals of the Indus culture are the most satisfactory of all the finds. They are the exact
and lunar symbol

fertiUty

in ancient

equivalents in animal sculpture of the perfection of the

It

noted in the

will be

from Harappa.

statuettes

body

are

and sometimes the hoofs are frontally represented;

the horns, eyes,

is

human

place that whereas the head and

first

shown

in other

conceptual rather than an optical rendering, which means that the figure

tion

is

in profile,

words,
a

of those different aspects of the body wliich appeared to be significant to the

combining a visual and

tactile

impression of the object. This

is

method intended

the most essential and complete impression possible of the object.'^ ^{^q animal

among

the world's greatest examples of an

given form in

artistic shape.

representations

character

by

of a

species.

is

abihty to

embody

The
The

portraying.

imbued

carver has

liis

subject with an alive

everything that

abstract organization

is

artist,

to give

seals are

the essentials of a

These are not portraits of any individual buUs, but

his intuitive ability to define

the animal he

artist's

this

combina-

luiiversal

and

vital

important for the nature of

of the

folds

of the skin and the

muscular and bony structure are completely expressive of the massiveness and weightiness

of the

that

makes

bull. It

is

this

reahzation of the essential structure and character of the species

for the universal character

of the work of

art wliich transcends the

imitation or portrait of a single real animal, such as a painting of a bull

by Paul

mere

Potter.

The pottery of the Indus civiHzation has provided a special problem to archaeologists,
by reason of its separateness from the wares of contemporary civHizations in
Mesopotamia and Iran. The vessels, for the most part intended as storage jars, were all
largely

and covered with

kiln-fired

which was polished

a red-ochre shp

The designs, which were apphed

pigment before

in a black

to a lacquer-like finish.

firing, consist

examples of fohate and beast patterns that bear

circles with occasional

httle

of intersecting
or no relation-

of western Asia (Plate 5). This type of pottery seems to have been
of the geographical Hmits of the Indus culture and, it has been pointed

ship to the designs

made

in

parts

all

out, wares

Under

of a similar

in the shape
sites

sort are

still

the heading of pottery

of toys or

cult

made in

images that have been found in enormous numbers

inhabited by the Indus people.

They belong more

tradition than the sophisticated objects

numerous

the village potteries of western India to-day.i*

we may include not only actual vessels but the figurines

in all the

definitely to a popular, folk-art

By far the most

which have been recognized as rethe Great Mother. It is she who makes all
emanations from her. She is the madonna,

we

have already examined.

in this collection are crude female effigies

presentations of a

mother goddess.

'

She

is

nature bring forth. All existing things are

carrying the holy child. She

is

the

mother of men and animals, too. She continually

is the mistress of wild animals, snakes, birds,

appears with an escort of beasts, for she

and

fishes.

She even makes the plants grow by her universal fecundity

of which she is the fotmtain-head.''^ Most hkely this

the vegetative force

mother

perpetuating

the

same great

under various names enjoyed a cult in Asia Minor and Mespotamia and
modem Hinduism as Kali and as the Sakti of modem Indian village cidts.

who

survives in

. . .

is

17

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

Some of these

be comparable to the Cycladic idols of

statuettes are so primitive as to

the Aegean. Certain others, with fan-Hke head-dresses, bear a resemblance to the figurines discovered in various
as

Mesopotamian

sites.

These

statuettes are really to

be regarded

symbols, rather than reahstic representations.

typical

was found

example

is

a terra-cotta figurine in the

at Sari Dhcri, just

trates the applique tcclinique

Boston

Museum

of Fine Arts that

south of the Khyber Pass (Plate 6a). This fragment

employed

universally

features as the head-dress, eyes, nose, hps, breasts,

in

these images,

illus-

whereby such

and ornaments were attached

as separ-

At this period of Indian civihzatioii

the mould was unknown for clay figurines, which were built up by hand in exactly the
same way as were the statuettes of the mother goddess discovered at such Mesopotamian
ately pinched pellets while the clay

was

still

moist.

Tel Asmar and Khafaje at levels referable to about 2500 B.C. A notable attribute
of the representations of the Indian fertihty goddess is the harness of scarves crossing between the breasts, that survives as the chamiavira of the yakshi.i* It seems certain that this
sites as

article

of attire,

as

well as the beaded apron

symbol, since both are also found

potamia and

worn by some of the

in representations

Iran.

18

statuettes,

was

a fertihty

of the mother goddess from Meso-

CHAPTER

THE EPIC PERIOD: VEDIC AND PRE-MAURYA

CIVILIZATIONS
The

period between the end of the Indus Valley civilization and the

Indian empire under the Mauryas includes the Vedic Period

the

name of the first historical pre-Maurya

322

B.C.).

dynasties, the

when

After the period of initial conquest,

native population

by

the superiority of their

(c.

1500-800

rise

of the

b.c.) and,

first

from

Saisunaga-Nanda Period (642-

the Aryans

were able

armament, there unfolds

to reduce the

drama repeated

become the conquered. Alon India and penetrated the

entire fabric of Indian civilization with such forms as the caste system, the Aryans were
inevitably absorbed into the Indian population and the main stream of Indian civihzation. Long before 500 B.C. the culture of India was a mixture of Aryan and Dravidian
elements. The surviving archaeological fragments from this remote period point to the
predominance of non-Aryan ritual such as the substitution ofpilja, the worship of a god

many

times in Indian history, in which the conqueror has

though they imposed

represented in the

their philosophical

form of an image,

and

social ideals

of the Vedic

in place

yajila

or sacrifice with praise

Our knowledge of this epoch of Indian

history is based on a few scattered remains, on hterary evidence, and on conjecture. The
conjectural reconstruction of its art is based on the many references to actual techniques
and prayer to non-anthropomorphic

deities.^

and works of sculpture and architecture in the Vedic hymns, which were composed
sometime between 1500 and 800 b.c. These hymns were the compositions of the Aryan
invaders

from the uplands of northern

procedures are those of

lead,

and

silver, as

and there are

this

Asia, so that the accounts

conquering

race.

Mention

is

of crafts and technical

made of metals,

such

as tin,

well as copper and iron, which are specified in the later Vedic books,

also references to

woven

stuffs

and

ritual vessels.

Considering the background of these agricultural nomadic invaders,

ing that the architecture of the Vedic Period

it is

not surpris-

was neither monumental nor permanent

nor concentrated in urban development. With the disappearance of the Indus culture

and

its cities,

the

new Indo-Aryan population was largely distributed in small settlements

were those most readily availwood, bamboo, thatch, and, probably only later, brick.
This was the only kind of building one would expect of a people without any kind of
tradition of monumental architecture. Obviously, methods of construction in bamboo
and thatch must have been practised by the Dravidians long before the intrusion of the
located in the plains and forests. Their building materials
able for constructing shelters:

northern invaders.
sion to huts

What httle we know of architecture in these remote

of round and square shape,

as

well as tower-Hke structures.

of these descriptions to the conical huts of the primitive Toda

suggests that these forms

tribes in

were of Dravidian rather than Aryan

19

times

is

the allu-

The resemblance

South India to-day

origin. Fire-altars

and

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

sacrificial halls are

mentioned in the Vedas presumably the dimensions and measurements

;

of these and other structures were determined

buildings are already specified in the Stiha

significant to note that stone

Peaked huts are mentioned

and the

later

in

is

only occasionally referred to

Pah hterature

fraternities in Indian art history. It

fically

of

sort

cult

as a

halls. It is

building material.

well as chaityas (shrines) and pasddas

accounts of actual

may

birth-stories,

be assumed

altars,

tombs, and

confirms the antiquity of such

that, just as in the

Indus Valley

images continued to be used, although they are not speci-

mentioned. The technique of their manufacture, originally in some perishable

material like

wood

working

durable material were introduced in the

that

B.C. In the Indian

were presumably of brick or wooden construction. The ac-

count of guilds in the Jdtakas, or Buddhist

some

as

many

Brahmanas contain

shrines. All these structures

Period,

very early date, since the dimensions for

of approximately 800

Mahdbhdrata and Rdmdyana, are references to shrines and assembly

epics, the

(palaces),

at a

siitra

this

many of the

or metal or ivory, was transferred to stone

Maurya

when

Period.

the methods for

It is

certain, too,

building forms characteristic of later periods of Indian art were already

evolved in these centuries for example, the Buddhist chaitya-hall reproduces in stone a
;

pre-existing

form

in

wood and

thatch, in the

same way

that the marble arclaitecture

of

Greece so clearly foUows the joiner's technique of early wooden temple forms; the fondness

of Indian

architecture
It is

architects for using massive stone slabs in the early

may

derive

examples of trabeated

from the Dravidian dolmen form.

reasonable to assume also that the relationship with the ancient

nounced

monuments of the Indus

in the

Aryan invasion. Such motifs

Near

East, so pro-

culture, continued in the centuries after the

as battlements,

and the palmette and

rosette designs that

appear so frequently in early Buddliist monuments, were introduced to India in the

period before the development of any kind of monumental architecture or sculpture in
stone.

Among these borrowings from western Asiatic art one could mention the various

fantastic monsters,

such as the sphinx, chimera, and gryphon, as well

as the use

of ad-

dorsed animals in the so-called Persepohtan capital. Obviously, these forms, universally

employed

in the

time (second or

Maurya, Sunga, and Andhra Periods, were not introduced at that

when the civilizations that had created them had long

century B.C.)

first

As already suggested by the examination of the Indus Valley material,

was not an isolated cultural pocket, but continued as
a kind of eastward extension of the culture of Mesopotamia and Iran.
The descriptions of early architectural forms in the Vedas are complemented by representations of many of these types in the Buddhist rehefs of the first century B.C. at Bharhut and Saiichi. Indeed, the ver\^ longevity of this era of wooden building is everywhere
since disappeared.

India in the second millennium B.C.

of such structures, not orJy in rehefs, but in the rock-cut architecMaurya, ^unga, and Early Andhra Periods. Undoubtedly the gateway or

asserted in the copies

ture of the
toraiici

of the Buddhist stupa^ had

uprights topped

by

its

origin in a portal consisting of two wooden or

form with three superimposed

crossbars, such as

of wooden uprights and crossbars were used

trees

bamboo

a single horizontal bar that gradually developed into the elaborate

is

seen at Saiichi and Bharhut. Fences

as barriers

and tumuli, before their development into the vedikd or

and

as enclosures for sacred

rail

of the Buddhist mounds.

VEDIC AND PRE-MAURYA CIVILIZATIONS

As many

authorities

have pointed out, the barrel-vaulted chaitya-halls of the Buddhist

of M^estem

period, the rock-cut cave-temples

India, are imitations

ings in v^^hich the barrel roof was constructed

thatch. In

many of the

features

wooden

ribs to the socle

of Hindu and Buddhist architecture

sumably had

covered with

ribs

cave-temples of western India, although the interior

cave cut from the hving rock, the duphcation of the

point of affixing actual

of free-standing build-

of interlocking wooden

their origin in the

as the

wooden

original

is

really a

is

carried to the

of the sohd stone roof. Such

later

horseshoe-shaped chaitya arch pre-

Vedic Period. According to Percy Brov^Ti^ thongs corre-

sponding to the tie-rods of Itahan Gothic constricted the chord of the wooden arch to

we

the familiar horseshoe profile that

find carved in the

'

rose-windows

'

of the

later

Buddliist cave-temples.

One of the most

important architectural developments of the Vedic Period was the

layout of the Indo-Aryan village that

architecture. This

was the plan

that,

is

preserved for us in far later manuals of Indian

by reason both of its commodity and

specific

meta-

physical imphcations, has survived in countless arrangements in the architecture of Hin-

duism and Buddhism. The

fortified

characteristic plan, according to

HaveU,* derived from the

camps of the Aryan invaders, and was a rectangle with

four quarters and intersected

by two avenues terminating

space does not permit our entering into a detailed account of the

every part of this layout,

it

its

sides oriented to the

in four gateways.

symbohsm

can be stated briefly that the plan was intended

microcosm, with the five divisions of the village corresponding to the

Although

attached to
as a

kind of

five elements

of

the universe, and each of the gateways dedicated to one of the four Vedic deities typify-

ing the positions of the sun in

its

course through the heavens. These village plans also

included a broad path girdling the buildings within the outer walls which the householders circumambulated with recitations to ensure the favour of the gods. Tliis feature,

together with the metaphysical

symbohsm

the plan and ritual of the Buddhist stupa.

early plans, based

on

attached to the gateways,

It

may

straight intersecting avenues,

arrangements of the Indus

cities

new Aryan civihzation.

We may presume that it was

is

perpetuated in

be added that the regularity of these

is

possibly a survival of the systematic

adapted to the metaphysical and

arcliitcctural

needs of

milleimium

B.C. that

the

only towards the middle of the

first

the resettlement of the population in urban concentrations gradually led to the replace-

ment of wooden forms by

stone, perhaps beginning

ramparts and fortifications. If

we

with the necessity of erecting stone

can credit the accounts of Hsiian-tsang (the seventh-

century Cliinese Buddhist pilgrim), concerning the conflagrations that destroyed King
Bimbisara's capital at Rajagriha,
tury B.C.

whole

cities

The only surviving

were

we may

conclude that even

constructed largely of

as late as the sixth

wood and

cen-

perishable materials.'

rehcs of stone walls are the ramparts of cyclopean rubble

at ancient Rajagriha, wloich,

citadel.*

still

masonry

according to Hsiian-tsang, formed the enclosure of the inner

These ruins are generally assigned to the sixth century

B.C.

The only monuments that can positively be recognized as pre-Mauryan are a number
of enormous mounds at Lauriya Nandangarh.'' These tumuh have the domical shape of
the later Buddhist stupa and, presumably, mark the sites of royal burials. Consequently,

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

there

every reason to recognize in them the prototype for the Buddhist

is

Wooden

masts were found

in certain Buddliist stupas,

tree or axis

embedded

in the centre

were inserted for

of the universe and

their

relic

mound.

of the sohd earthen tumuh. These,

as

symbolic function of representing the

perhaps even in these early examples, for the pur-

also,

emblem of royalty - above

pose of supporting an umbrella - the

the

summit of

the

mound.*

number of rock-cut tombs of the Vedic Period have been found

Mennapuram and Calicut in Malabar.' They have been described as hoUow stupas,
since they are domed chambers with a monoHthic stone column at the centre, perhaps as
a symbolic equivalent of the wooden masts penetrating the Lauriya mounds. Intended
In southern India a

at

for the burial

of Aryan

chieftains, these caves are

Vedic round huts of wood or thatch.^"

form of the Vedic

preserves the

circular

presumably translations into stone of

Buddhist rock-cut cave

hut, even to the inclusion

of wooden

at

Guntupalla

rafters attached to

the domical roof." In this connexion one should mention also a rock-cut structure,

some-

times recognized as a fire-temple or Agnidriya, at Bangala Motta Paramba, which was

equipped with a kind of chimney occupying the place of the harmikd or balcony above

dome of the Buddhist stupa.i^ The

the

development of architecture

Hindu and Buddhist

chief importance of the Vedic Period hes in the

as a science

and the invention of types that survive

Various remains of undetermined antiquity, generally

may

historic,

in later

architecture.
classified as

neohthic or pre-

belong to the Vedic Period, for example, the cromlechs found

vatl in southern India, erected

around

burial-places,

and interesting

at

Amara-

as possible

proto-

One of these is

chosen

types for the Buddhist railing or vedika.'^

mounds

In the

at

Lauriya were found two gold

for illustration (Plate 6c) because

it is

of excavation that can with certainty be accepted

The

of this

subject

tomb

in the

earth, the

is

httle statuette

is

repo/(55c figures.

an object discovered under rchable circumstances

as the

work of the pre-Maurya

Period.

presumably the earth goddess Prithvl. Her presence

explained by a burial

hymn

in the

Rig Veda

'
:

Go

widely extending, very gracious Prithvi. That maiden,

to thy mother, this

soft as

wool

to the

may protect thee from the abode of destruction.' The implication is certainly that
dead were to be entrusted to the tender care of the earth mother, who is another in-

pious,

the

carnation of the great mother goddess of all ancient Oriental civihzations.

of view of

style the figure

constructing

ness

is

on the

attributes

it

hnk between

in the terra-cottas

of fecundity,

intended to describe her character

of presentation, together with the

make

From the point

an example in gold relief of the same additive process in

human figures wliich we have seen

Tlie explicit emphasis

figure,

is

as

as a fertihty

weU

of the Indus Period. i"*

as the stark

nudity of the

goddess. This complete frank-

persisting archaic conceptual nature

of the figure,

the Indus figurines and the yakshi statues of Maurya and bunga

times.

Examples of

terra-cotta figures

of the mother goddess, generally

classified as pre-

of the persistence of an iconographic tradition originating in the hidus Valley Period and the gradual development of specific Indian techniques and attributes that reappear in monumental sculpture of the historical

Maurya, are

interesting chiefly as evidence

VEDIC AND PRE-MAURYA CIVILIZATIONS

periods. This

would

include the additive

emblems

perpetuation of such

method of figure composition and the careful

and the beaded belt which we have

as the crossed scarves

already found to be indispensable symbols of fertihty

figurines

of pre-Maurya date are closely related

gold plaques from Lauriya and

example

illustrated

may

spirits.^'

styhstically

Some of the

for this reason be assigned to this

comes from Mathura in the Punjab

and frontality and the same emphatic display of the

and enormously exaggerated

terra-cotta

and iconographically to the

(Plate 6b)

it

same period. The

has the same flataess

of fecundity, the heavy

attributes

not only of the gold

from Lauriya but of far earher representations of the mother goddess found all
over the ancient Near East.i* The method of making - additive from both the technical
and iconographical point of view - is, from the purely anthropomorphic aspect, an adbreasts

pelvis that are characteristic

Prithvi

vance over the hidus Valley statuettes (Plate 6 a), in that there
possible

human form

The only
the

site

rather than an abstractly

that has yielded

pre-Maurya centuries

is

symbohc

occasional terra-cotta figurines, they

arts

before the

rise

a definite suggestion

of a

any kind of a picture of a consecutive development of

the Bhir

mound

at Taxila, dating

centuries B.C. Since these antiquities consist mainly

major

is

figuration of it.

from the

fifth

and fourth

of beads and lathe-turned stones with

do not add very much

to our conception

of the

of the Maurya Dynasty. The buildings are no more than an

ill-

planned and rudely constructed conglomerate of rubble and earth which can scarcely be

by the term architecture.^''

The very poverty of the remains at Rajagriha and Taxila leads

dignified

that,

us to stress in conclusion

although in certain respects the art of the Vedic and pre-Maurya Periods

the persistence of traditional forms in Indian art - in this case, continued

prototypes - this period

as the art

is

real

to

kind of interregnum during which certain techniques, such

of town-planning and stone-carving, were

next chapter, the

testifies

from Indus Valley

lost.

As

will

importance of the Epic Age lay elsewhere.

23

become apparent in

the

CHAPTER

THE EPIC PERIOD: THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

If the period

between the disappearance of the Indus civihzation and the

Indian empire under the Mauryas

of nearly a thousand years

architectural or plastic, this span

rise

of the

first

almost entirely barren of any kind of artistic remains,

is

of inestimable import-

is

ance for the emergence of all the great rehgious systems that have ever after dominated

not only India but

all

of Asia.

In this brief account of Indian religious systems

barest outline

of

their theologies,

with

it

will be possible only to present the

specific reference to those aspects

of behef that

on the development of later iconographical forms in art.

The rehgions of the early peoples of India are known as the Agamic and Vedic, or
Dravidian and Aryan. ^ The words 'Agamic' and 'Dravidian' refer to the behefs of the
indigenous population of India before the Aryan invasion at the end of the third millennium B.C. The termsJJVxdic' and 'Aryan' are used to describe the rehgious elements
have a

special bearing

-introduced by these foreign conquerors. These traditions contained the beheTsTthepHlo-

sophy, and the gods that constitute the rehgion of modem Hinduism. This rehgion
in other words, a combination

development

system of behef early in the

that

began

B.C.

The Dravidians imposed the worship of the-hngajn and

its

Hinduisrn.

It

was

as a separate

spirits,

tutelary deities,

whom we

First are theyakshas,

spirits

who were

the

first

millennium

mother goddess on

later

the purely Dravidian cult of devotion or bhakti that installed thewor-

ship of images rather than abstract principles.

able place

is,

of elements derived from Aryan and Dravidian sources

also

shall

worshipped

Among the Dravidian gods were innumer-

and powers of nature conceived

as

encounter in Indian Buddhist

as
art;

personal beings.

they were tree-

guardians of the mineral treasures hid in the earth

and associated with the idea of wealth and abundance. The female counterpart of the
yaksha was thejyakshi, a sort of Indian dryad and the

spirit

of the

fertility

of the

tree.

By

came to be regarded as symbols of the sap, the waters, and thereby

of the whole vegetable and animal worlds. They were specifically invoked

association the yakshls

of the

by

fertihty

women

desiring children.

naga or water

spirit,

Among

sented as a Tiuman with a cobra

deities, so

the Dravidian genii

we

should mention also the

described as serpentine in form, though in later art the naga

hood

attached to the back of the shoulders.

is

repre-

AU

these

deeply rooted in the behef and superstition of the Indian people, inevitably

Hinduism and Buddhism and their art.

Hindu worship is based on the Aryan householder's duty to his godHiis lamily,
and his tribe, and the Brahmanic daily ritual stems from the Vedic morning and evening
worship of the sun, so, too, are the Hindu deities descendants of the Vedic titans.^ The

came

to be absorbed into the pantheons of both

Just as

mighty beings that the Aryans recognized

needed no personifying, although when we
art

in the sun, the fire, the

first

wind, or the water

encounter them in Buddhist and Hindu

they are anthropomorphically portrayed in accordance with the attributes assigned

24

THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

to

them

was

with Dravidian

in the Vedas. In contrast

worship of specific

deities represented

by images

ritual,

which

in shrines, the

stressed the value

worship of the powers of heaven and earth by hymns and

Our knowledge of this rehgion is

or temples.

composed

Among

at

some time between 1500 and 800

Aryan deities waslndra^at once

without idols

hymns which were

b.c.^

a personification of the

god of the atmosphere and thunder, and chief of the

Aryan warrior,

thirty-three Vedic gods.

usually represented riding on_ajx elephant, the age-old Indian

rain-cloud. Surya, the sun-god, like Apollo

sacrifices

derived from the Vedic

the

of the

Vedic or Aryan tradition

of the Hellenic

tradition,

is

shown

Aryan gods,

four-horse chariot trampling the powers of darkness. Other

He

is

symbol of the swollen

like

driving a

Varuna, a

sky deity and a moral god related to Ahura Mazda, and Mitra, another solar god, are

probably the same

divinities that

milated into Greek and

Roman

we

the Vedas, Yaska's Nirukta, dating

Devas were

classified

encounter

mythology.'*

the Hittite amnas and Mithra as assi-

as

From

from about 500

the very earhest 'commentary'

B.C.,

we

on

learn that the Vedic gods or

according to their positions in the sky, the atmosphere, or earth -

theThrcefold division of the world-system in ancient Indian cosmology, which also in-

cluded the empyrean above the sky and the infra-cosmic waters below the earth.

The

was of great importance, too; it was sometimes thought of as a

pillar of fire formed by the fire-god Agni, who, in his kindling, bears the aroma of sacrifice
upwards to the gods. He is never represented in anthropomorphic form until the period
vertical direction or axis

of the Hindu Dynasties. In certain aspects of later Hindu and Buddhist iconography the
is conceived as a great mountain pillaring apart heaven and earth, or as a Great Per-

axis

son

who

ports the
In

contains within his magic cosmic

body

all

elements of the universe and sup-

firmament above him (Mahapurusa)

comiexion with the Indian concept of the world system, something should be said
Maya is at once existence and the cosmic flux and creative

about the quahty of Maya.

power

that animates

all

things;

it is

atoms of a teeming universe, and in

the emergence of material tilings

kind of all-pervading essence uniting the myriad

art,

from

Maya may be

this

regarded

as

the representation of

formless primal substance.

miragc-hke concept of ultimate reaHty that mortals can

Maya

is

the ordy

attain.

'Hinduism' conjures up for the Western reader images of

fearful,

many-armed gods,

the terrible car of Jagannatha or 'Juggernaut', and the iniquities of the caste system.
Actually, the
phical

and

Hindu

religion

is all

this

and much more, and is one of the oldest philosoproduced some of the world's greatest

religious systems in the world, that has

kings, poets,

and mystics. The entire Hindu tradition

deed, the rehgion might be called Vedism, so entirely is

is

founded on the Vedas and, in-

it

based on Indo- Aryan tradition.

which there was no one great god,

which the gods were represented as in
eternal conflict with the powers of evd. As will be seen presently, some of the gods of
modern Hinduism are descended from Dravidian, rather than Indo-Aryan sources.

It is

a development, in other words,

but

many

By

from

a system in

personifications of natural forces in

the period of the early Upanishads (800-600 B.C.) there had already developed the

principal aspects

of modem Hinduism in the evolution of a ritual of sacrifice destined

sacrifice and formulae; the concept of a

both to please and to coerce the gods through

25

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

disciplined,
all,

even

ascetic, life; salvation

through knowledge; perhaps most important of

the possibihty of winning everlasting peace through devotion or bhakti to a particular

makes its appearance in the Mahdhhdrata

[c. 400 B.C.). It is also generally acknowwas the time when modem Hinduism assumed the character of a
polytheistic pantheism which the rehgion maintains to-day. This same period saw the development of the idea oisamsdra or wandering - the soul's transmigration through end-

divinity

ledged that

this

'

'

less

reincarnations in

Of extreme

human

or animal form as a result of good or bad conduct [karma]

later Hinduism and Buddhism are the means for avoiding

were already formulated in this period the attainment of magic
powers and escape from reincarnation through the practice of extreme asceticism and
self-mortification; the science of yoga or ecstatic meditation, already directed to the

importance for

this retribution that

practitioner's attainment

The

samsara.

of superhuman

spiritual strength in

overcoming the process of

goal of life after death as absorption into a changeless and timeless

more famihar

to us

by the Buddhist term Nirvana, was already accepted by

state,

all sects

of

Hinduism.

The term Hinduism may perhaps properly be appHed

moment when,

to

tliis

rehgious system at the

probably no earher than the beginning of the Christian Era, the Vedic

gods were superseded by the worship of the Trinity or Trimurti of modem Hinduism
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.' Their personaHties are already defmed in the Mahdhhdrata,
the great epic of the post- Vedic period. Brahma may be described as the soul and creator
of the universe, the self-created father of the world and indwelUng spirit of the cosmic

The

system.

first

person of the Brahmanic Trinity has always been such a vague and

nebulous deity that most

modem

Hindus are divided

in their allegiance

between devo-

tion to Siva and Vishnu.

Vishnu

is

mild and benevolent divinity

who

offers salvation

tion rather than the practice of ritual. This deity

is

through personal devo-

beheved to have had

his origin in

one of the Vedic sun-gods. He is the preserver of the world. According to the eschatology of Hinduism, at the end of each great cycle of time or kalpa the universe is destroyed.

Brahma

is

then reborn of Vishnu, and recreates the world-system for him. In

each of these great cycles in which he has rescued the cosmos, Vishnu has appeared in a

form or avatar. Among the popular subjects of Hindu art are representations of
form of the boar that saved the earth-goddess from the waters of the flood,
the form of a Hon, when he struck down an impious king who dared to question

different

Vishnu
or, in

in the

his universal divinity.

first

One incarnation of Vishnu is in the shape of the hero Krishna, who

appears in the great Indian epic, the Mahdhhdrata, and in that most remarkable of

devotional and mystical hymns, the Bhagavac!

G'ltd,

in

which he

offers salvation

through

union with the world-soul or Brahma. The fact that Krishna is firequently referred to as
dark in colour has led some authorities to think of him as a divinity of Dra vidian origin,

and

this racial distinction

sixteenth

is

and seventeenth

maintained even in the iconography of Indian painting in the

centuries.

those of Herakles, and in his

The

legends of the god's youthful exploits rival

amours with Radha and the milkmaids he

surpasses the

amorous prowess of Zeus himself The loves of Krishna are generally interpreted as an
allegory of the soul's yearning for union with the divine. More than any other member
26

THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

of the Hindu pantheon, he extends to

of salvation through

his devotees the possibility

devotion to him.

The

third

struction

member of the Hindu Trinity

who moves his

of Dra vidian

divinity

Siva.

is

He is

a severe

devotees by fear rather than love.

origin, perhaps

He

is

and

terrible

god of de-

generally regarded as a

stemming from the Rudras,

v^^ho

were

deities

of

destruction personified in the wliirlwind, although the evidence of archaeology suggests

may have

been a deity worshipped by the Indus people in the third millennium

came to symboHze the powers of destruction which are the bases of re-creation.
He is the symbol of death, but only of death as the generator of hfe, and as a source of
that creative power ever renewed by Vishnu and Brahma. The representations of Siva
as the Lord of the Dance are personifications of his enactment of the end of the world,
when the universe falls into ruin and is recreated by Brahma and Vishnu. Siva in his procreative aspect is worshipped in the shape of a Hngam that is at once the phaUic emblem
that he

B.C. iva

and,

by symbohc

inference, the tree

bute of ^iva, especially in

all late

and

Hindu

axis

of the universe

art, is his vehicle,

itself

An

inevitable attri-

the bull Nandi, presumably

another survival of the cult of Siva going back to the period of the Indus civiUzation. In
the codes of later Hinduism, the Puranas, each

'energy'

who complements

his

power,

god has assigned

as the ideal

to

him

a sakti or female

wife in the Mahahhdrata

is

described

man'. These shaktis are worshipped in the so-caUed Tantric or 'Left-Hand'

cliief among them is Parvati, the consort of ^iva, more usually worshipped with

as 'half the

ritual

bloody and obscene

rites in

her terrible form of Kali or Durga.

Following the association of all

ritual

with the cosmic forces worshipped

in the

Vedic

Hindu gods came to occupy the position of regents of the points of the compass, formerly dominated by the Devas. The essential aspects or personahties of Vaishnavism and Saivism are already estabHshed in the post-Vedic period, a system in which

Period, the

West - the points of the sun's birth and death - and Vishnu
Lord of Life and Eternity at North and South. This is essentially a symbohcal
statement of the difference between the nature of these deities, with ^iva as both creator
^iva presides over East and

reigns as

and destroyer, and Vishnu

of the cosmic cross are

as eternal preserver. It is

later

important to note that these stations

appropriated by Buddhism, both in the circumambulation

a sunwise or clockwise direction from the East, and in the assignment of

from Buddha's hfe to appropriate points of the solar round; i.e. his birth to the
East, his Nirvana to the North.
The one feature of Hinduism with which most Westerners are dimly famihar is the
idea of caste. The caste system probably originated sometime during the Vedic period.
It consisted in the beginning of a division into three classes or social groups: the Brah-

of the stupa in
events

mins or

priests,* the

fication the

Kshatriyas or warriors, and the Vaisyas or cultivators.

Aryans added

a fourth class;

the aboriginal black inhabitants

Originally,

of course,

this

was

namely, the Sudras or

serfs,

To

this classi-

the descendants of

who were not admitted within the pale of Aryan

a system based

on

society.

a natural distribution of functions.

perhaps the one distinguishing feature of Indian society which has survived with
or no loss of vitaHty to the present day. Although in certain respects
exhibited a certain strength

by imparting sohdarity
37

it

was

It is

little

a system that

to the separate groups,

and

its

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

occuparional division could be said to resemble the guilds of medieval Europe,

been fundamentally

a source

of weakness:

division of the Indian people.

It is

easy to see

how, with

water-tight compartments in which every loyalty

emergence of anytliing resembling

it

has

very organization has made for a hopeless

its

is

a national spirit has

the population sealed off in

directed towards the caste, the

been almost impossible until the

present political unity.

From

a study of the hfe of the

modem Hindu we

governed and dictated by rehgious practice

sacrifices to the great

memorial

ritual

can see that every action in hfe

is

the tending of the household altar, the

gods; the construction of temple and house are determined by im-

and laws of geomancy intended both to stabihze magically the structure

and ensure the happiness of its inhabitants. The whole hfe-plan of the Brahmin followed
an inexorably fixed course: boyhood novitiate with

n guru, the years as a

and, in the end, retirement to the hfe of a hermit or sannyasin.

panying

birth, puberty, marriage,

and death

all

have

their rituals designed to bring

about the favour of the great gods. All these occasions necessitated the

member of the Brahmin

Indeed,

which

by the

householder,

The ceremonies accomofFiciation

of a

priesthood.

sixth century B.C.

Hinduism had developed

salvation could be attained only

by

into an intellectual cult in

a complicated and secret ritual administered

by the Brahmins. Corruptions in the encouragement of superstitions through

on the efficacy of magical powers of invocation, exploitation of the priestly
rite to administer sacrifices, and the emphasis on self-torture as a means of gaining supernatural power, were factors that invited revolt against the Brahmins who had fallen
exclusively
insistence

from the

original ideal of

Aryan priesthood. Although probably

at this early date the

had not yet grown into the rigidly compartmented divisions of

caste system

modem

Hinduism, nor the Brahmins assumed the position of infaUibihty that they came to enjoy
in later

Hinduism,

had come to regard itself as the sole interpreter of

monopoly in its ministrations to the rehgious needs of
moment of Asiatic history there arose a number of heretical

this priestly caste

the Vedas, enjoying a tyraimical

the community.

movements

At

this

that challenged the authority of the

Indian rehgious history, nor

is it

heretical

at all surprising that these

have been led by members of the Kshatriya

at least,

Brahmins and offered the opportunity

movements were notliing new in

reform movements should
or warrior caste, who in some parts of India,

of personal salvation to the individual. Such

regarded themselves not orJy

as

the rivals but the superiors of the Brahmins.

Among the many sects which disputed the authority of Hinduism in the sixth century
B.C.

was the rehgion of Jainism, the foundation of which

sage Mahavira (599-527 B.C.).

through

rebirth, as escape

The

wrongs by being reborn into

the

world

in the shape

men

the

are destined to atone for these

of an animal or

a slave.

Mahavira and

taught that salvation could be achieved through the practice of asceticism

and through the scrupulous avoidance of injuring or

who

traditionally ascribed to the

from the retribution of conduct, or karma, whereby, accord-

ing to the sins committed in earthly incarnations,

his followers

is

goal of Jainism was the attainment of salvation

killing a living creature.

Mahavira,

Brahmin knew the various systems for the attainment of salvation offered by
Hindu Church, was, hke the Buddha, a leader of a revolt against the orthodox cult
as a

28

THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

of Brahmanism.

He denied the authority of the Vedas and the efficacy of sacrifice,

ing the attainment of perfection and release

from karma

to

all

who, by the

abstinence and asceticism, coidd eradicate earthly passions. Mahavira

gether with twenty-four others/Has or tlrthahkaras

who

had attained

is

offer-

practice of

worshipped to-

this

goal of perfec-

of time. In Jain hterature and art their hves are embeUished with
miraculous events that are allegories or direct borrowings of age-old Indian metaphysical

tion in earlier cycles

concepts.

Of far vaster import for the later history

of not only Indian but

all

Asiatic civilization

was the greatest leader in this humanistic revolution the personage known to liistory as
the Buddha.^ Born about 563 b.c. into the princely clan of ^akyas on the border of
Nepal, the mortal Buddha is known by his personal name, Siddhartha, by his surname
of Gautama, or as ^akyamuni (the Sage of the Sakyas). Only the briefest possible survey
can be given of the hfe of the historical Buddha, the events of which formed the subject
:

for the art

of Buddhism

in India

and

all

eastern Asia.

During

royal house, ^akyamuni, through visions vouchsafed

the miseries
salvation

from

his father's capital,

as the

prince of a

was made aware of

known as the Great Renunciation, Sakyamuni studied under a

who advocated extremes of penance and self-mortification as

sages,

means of acquiring the

spiritual

renouncing the

ment through
his

youth

of humanity, and determined to renounce the world in order to effect the

men from the inexorable cycle of reincarnation. After his fhght

rebirth. After

of

his

the Devas,

of his fellow

number of Brahmin
a

by

power or

tapas to escape the retribution

of karma or

way of asceticism, Sakyamuni found the goal of Enlighten-

the practice of yoga. This final Enlightenment took place as the result

meditations under the Bodhi Tree, or Tree of

Wisdom,

Gaya. The culmina-

at

was the attainment of Buddhahood - the achievement of a state of

cosmic consciousness as far above the mental plane of ordinary mortals as that level of
human consciousness is raised above that of primitive men, young children, or animals.
From that moment in his career, when the deeper mysteries of the universe were revealed to him, the Buddha devoted himself to the paramount goal of winning for all
tion of this trance

humanity salvation or

release

mistic doctrine preached

by

from the

the

which stems from attachment to

senses.

endless cycle

Buddha was
self

that

all

of

rebirth.

existence

The

is

essentially pessi-

sorrow; the cause of

and the ephemeral dehghts of the world of the

the suppression of the self and the extinc-

The cure for tliis universal malady lay in

of past actions which, in the Brahmin beHef,

what is usually designated as the Ego, subject to endless reincarnation and
suffering. The Buddha denied the efficacy of extreme asceticism and rehance on ritual
formulas as efficient means of salvation. He recommended salvation by the individual s
work and action - by following the Eightfold Path that included the practice of right
belief, right thought, right speech, and right action; a way of hfe possible for all and
easily comprehensible by all, and free of the onerous and expensive ritual of Brahmanic

tion of the karma, that accumulation

survives

tradition.*

was

first

This code of hfe, based on moral conduct rather than on behef and

enunciated by the

phorically he
the

first

Buddha and

Buddha

at the

time of his

first

sermon

at

Samath,

sacrifice,

when meta-

began to turn the Wheel of the Law. For the remainder of his career
growing band of converts travelled through Magadha and

a continually

29

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

Bililr, preacliing the

way of salvation open

to

all,

regardless

of caste or

creed. In the

eightieth year of his age, the Master achieved his final Nirvana or death.

There

is

no term

whole history of Buddhism

in the

aged controversy upon

Buddhism

the

Buddha

that has been the subject of more

The Master himself never explained his last

controversy than Nirvana.

it

as

at his

We

unedifying.

may

end, and discour-

be reasonably sure that in early

demise was beheved to have entered a realm of invisibihty

men shall know him', or to have achieved a complete extinction of karma and Ego. As we shall see presently, in later Buddhism Nirvana came to
mean that the immortal Buddha, who had manifested himself in mortal shape for the
'where neither gods nor

of man,

resumed

Lord of a Paradise, there to await

Even as early as the time of the Emperor Asoka
(272-232 B.C.), the goal of the Buddliist layman was already that of everlasting reward
in Paradise, as opposed to the monk's ideal of the peace of Nirvana to be achieved in part
benefit

after 'death'

the souls of the faithful through

all

his place as the

ages.

through the practice of yoga.

The hfe of Gautama, as recounted in many different texts of the Buddhist canon, although undoubtedly based upon the career of an actual mortal teacher, has assumed the
nature of an heroic myth, in that almost every event from the hero's hfe is accompanied
by miraculous happenings, and the Buddha himself invested with miracle-working
powers. Many of the episodes from the Buddha's real hfe are interpreted as allegorical
or anagogical references to cosmic phenomena, accretions from age-old Indian cosmology: the Buddha's birth is likened to the rising of another sun; on his Enlightenment,
like the sacrificial fire of Agni, the Buddha mounts transfigured to the highest heavens of
the gods in his turning of the Wheel of the Law he assumes the power of the world;

wheel of

ruler or Cakravartin to send the

worlds in token of his universal power.

preted the whole of the

Buddha

It is

story, as

it

his

dominion, the sun, turning over

all

the

not surprising that some scholars have interappears in later texts, as a re-working of far

earher solar myths.

It is

quite apparent that

Buddhism

early

formed an alhance with the popular

cults

of

the soil and of nature, accepting perforce those same nature-spirits of Dravidian origin
that survive even to-day in the popular cults

for the presence of the yakshis

all

the

monuments of early Buddhist

art.

gods and the meticulous recording of so

said that early

unity of

Buddhism,

all life,

in

of modem Hinduism. This must account

and the nagas, the dryads and water-spirits

its

many details of animal and plant life,

man with
man had passed

in

writings

on

animal form, and

nature, the

it

demi-

might be

nature through the very forms of hfe

before their final birth into the

world. This seemingly intense feeling for nature

occasionally in the Buddhist

appear in

acceptance of the doctrine of reincarnation, stressed the

the identification of

through which the Buddha and

former births

who

In order to explain the presence of these

is

is

human

something evoked by the idea of

not in any sense a pantheistic conception. Although

hymns we encounter what seem

mention of natural objects

is

to be passionately lyrical

only metaphorical, hke the similar

references to nature in the Psalms.

The mythology of Buddliism

also

came

to include a collection of moral tales purport-

ing to relate the events in the earlier incarnations of Gautama when, in cither animal or
30

THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

human form, he was

acquiring the merit that enabled

him

Buddhahood

to attain

in

liis

which are extremely popular as subjects of illustration in early Buddhist art, are almost all of them ancient folk-tales, with or without
moral significance, that came to be appropriated by Buddhism. Their absorption into
Buddhism suggests an influence of the Vaishnavite concept of the god's avatars. Another
similarity to the mythology of Vishnu may be recognized even in early Buddhism in the
idea of the Buddhas of the Past, who in earUer cycles of world history came to earth to
lead men to salvation. In early Buddhist art these predecessors of Sakyamuni are symThese Jataka

final earthly hfe.

bohzed by the
raised

trees

stories,

under which they attained erdightenment or by the rehc mounds

over their ashes. Primitive Buddhism also included the beHef in a Buddha of the

future, Maitreya,

who

will descend

from the Tushita Heaven

to preach the

Law

at the

end of the present kalpa or cycle of time.'

Something should be said, too, of the position of the Vedic gods

in early Buddhism
The Buddha never denied the existence of these deities. They are regarded as
angels somewhat above the mortal plane, who were just as subject to the external order
as men, and equally in need of salvation. Time and again in the legend of Buddha's hfe
Indra and Brahma appear as subordinates waiting upon the Enhghtened One it is Brahma who implores the Buddha to make his doctrine known to the world. It is not unusual
to find the Vedic gods as personifications of various of the Buddha's powers, in much the

and

its art.

same way

pagan

as in early Christianity

As has already been

deities served as allegories

through moral discipline rather than by the

tion should perhaps be
as it existed in

of Christ.^"

by Sakyamuni offered salvation

way of worship or sacrifice. A distinc-

the doctrine preached

said,

made between

easier

'Primitive Buddhism', referring to the doctrine

Sakyamuni's hfetime, and 'Monastic Buddhism', which developed

lowing the master's death. Buddhism in the time of Gautama was open to
distinction

between clergy and

all,

fol-

with no

and the possibihty of salvation by following the

When the rehgion assumed a permanent

laity,

Eightfold Path accessible to every follower.

character after the Buddha's death, clergy and laity

reserved for those

who

suggestion of the possibility of

Buddha

possessed of the
the

man of the

become

separate,

and salvation

could hteraUy abandon the world to enter the order. There

all

nature.

creatures attaining

Such an

is

is

no

Buddhahood, nor that they are

however impractical for

anti-social solution,

world, was probably not regarded as at

all

unusual at a time

when

the

was offered by many different sects. In the early faith, nothing

open to those who could undertake the hard road to the entirely

idea of monastic retreat

beyond the salvation

personal reward of arhatship could be offered to the vast majority of those

not take up the monastic hfe.

Tliis

character of Buddhism.

Such

was only one of the reasons

way of salvation through

also

attained

man who, by his

by competition with other sects

Buddha was regarded by

intuitive perception

Nirvana or the extinction of rebirth,

31

It

his

should

his earliest followers as

of the cause of evil and

its

eradication,

in later generations the inevitable

of devotion to the person of the founder led to

that offered an

devotion to the person of an immanent deity.

be pointed out, too, that, whereas the

an ordinary

could

change was brought about through the gradual intrusion

of the idea of reward by worship, and

easier

who

that led to a change in the

being regarded

as a particular

growth
kind of

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

man, but a god. Even as early as the time of the Emperor Asoka
(272-232 B.C.), the worship of bodily reHcs of the Buddha was an estabhshed practice
complete with ritual stemming from earher Brahmanical practice. We should add to the
being, not an ordinary

accumulation of circumstances that led to the transformation of Buddhism into a univerrehgion rather than a moral code, the influence of the rehgions of Iran and Greece,

sal

with the idea of the worship of personal gods conceived of in anthropomorphic shape.
This revised form of Buddhism, which

and

art

as the

of all

later periods

is of inestimable importance for both the rehgion

of Indian and Asiatic history, was designated by its adherents

Mahayana or Great Vehicle

(of salvation), as distinguished

from the Hinayana or

Small Veliicle, the term appHed, not without contempt, to primitive Buddlaism.
It

can be stated with some assurance that Mahayana Buddliism came into being under

the patronage of the Kushans in the early centuries of the Christian era.

statement of the doctrine

Buddha

complete

to be seen already in the Saddharma Puiidar'ika or Lotus

which has been dated in the second century A.D.Qn Mahayana Buddliism
no longer a mortal teacher but a god, an absolute, hke Brahma, who has

Sutra, a text

the

is

is

existed before

all

worlds and whose existence

Nirvana are explained

as a device for the

is

etemalM His appearance on

earth and

comfort and conversion of men/Whereas

in

Buddhism we have the ideal of the Arhat seeking his own semsh Nirvana,
with no obhgations beyond his own salvation, Mahayana Buddhism presents the concept of the Bodliisattva, a being who, although having attained Enhghtenment, has repriniitive

nounced the goal of Nirvana

in order to minister eternally to allaying the sufferings

of

The Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana pantheon are hke archangels who pass
from the remote heaven where the Buddha resides to the world of men. These Bodhisattvas are entirely mythical beiiigs who, if they are not a re-appearance of the old Vedic
gods, may be regarded as personifications of the Buddha's virtues and powers. The most
popular in the host of the Bodliisattvas, and most frequently represented in Mahayana
all

creatures.

Buddhist

by

the

art, is

image

Paradise.

Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Compassion. This divinity

in his head-dress representing the

It is

the idea of the Bodhisattva

beings that most clearly differentiate

Mahayana Buddhism

is

is

recognizable

Buddha Amitabha, regent of the Western

and the possibihty of universal salvation for

Mahayana Buddhism from

entirely mythical

and

un-historical.

'

all

the primitive doctrine.

How much

its

mystical

Hindu ideas can never be exactly

determined; the fact remains that the elevation of the Buddha to the rank of a god is in
part a development out of a theistic current that had always been present in early Buddhism. Even the representation of the Buddha by such symbols as the footprints and the
empty throne in Hinayana art not only impUes a devotion to the person of the Teacher,
but strongly suggests that he was already regarded as a supernatural personage. In Mahayana Buddliism the mortal Buddha ^akyamuni appears only as a temporal manifestatheology

tion

is

influenced

by Mazdaean,

Christian, or

of a universal and eternal Buddha.

One of the

concepts of Mahayana

iconography of that

art

of the Buddha nature

this triune

nature

we

is,

is

Buddhism

that

fmds

its

inevitable reflexion in the

the trikdya, or Three Bodies of Buddha. This triune division

in a philosophical sense, analogous to the Christian trinity. In

have the dharmakaya or 'law body', that

32

is,

the

Law

or

Word

of

THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA

Buddha

(the logos or silent, indwelling force or spirit

scriptive

of the Buddha

'body of bliss', which

of the cosmos,

in his transcendent or universal aspect)

invisible

and de-

the saihbhogakdya or

the aspect of the trinity manifested only to the Bodliisattvas as a

is

kind of transfiguration; and the third body, the nirmdnakaya or 'noumcnal body', that
mortal shape in which the Buddha periodically manifested himself in the world of men.i^

A further step in the development of this thcistic rehgion

is

the creation of the entirely

mythical Buddhas of the Four Directions and the Centre of the World. Probably the
earhest of these divinities

was Amitabha, the Buddha of the West, whose Paradise is deYet other Buddhas presiding

scribed in siitras at least as early as the second century A.D.

over 'Buddha

fields'

or ksetras were added in the following centuries until, in the final

development of Mahayana Buddhism in the eighth century, we have the complete

mandala or magic diagram of the cosmos, with a universal Buddha of the zenith having
his seat at the

very centre of the cosmic machine, surrounded by four mythical Buddhas

located at the four cardinal points of the compass. This concept of five

back to

names

earlier behefs

and numcrologies, such

to express the classic correlation

at the centre

is

it is

the mythical

a sun in the centre,

Buddhas

of a constellation of regent

The
his

divinities

governing

Mahayana Buddliism known

the Great Illuminator,

who

is

like planets in the sky, are set the four

fixed

as

hke

mythical

associated with the four directions.

of Vajrayana Buddhism

central concept

created, primordial being

by

Buddha Vairocana,

and around him,

Tliis

only an adaptation of the Vedic and Brah-

the four directions. In the final and esoteric phase of

Vajrayana,

Buddhas may go

Five Elements, the Five Senses, or as

of the human microcosm to the universe.

concept of the mytliical Dhyani Buddhas

manic concepts of Brahma

as the

meditation.

who, when

From Adi-Buddha's

Buddhas. According to

was

all

is

the worship of Adi-Buddha, a self-

perfect void,

produced the three worlds

meditation were produced the Five Dhyani

this doctrine, the individual soul is

substance of Adi-Buddha, and will return to

him when

an emanation of the mystic

the cycle of transmigration

is

The attainment of the Buddha nature and the possibihty of reunion with AdiBuddha at the end of Hfe are now promised the worshipper through recourse to a great
many expedients, such as rehance on the priestly recitation of magical spells invoking the

done.

names of the Buddhist

deities,

or the accumulation of merit through the consecration of

and icons, or meditation on mandalas or magic diagrams of the cosmic system.

As will be seen, the promise of spiritual reward merely through the dedication of stupas
and images had at least a quantitative effect on the development of Buddhist art.

stupas

of these later developments it must be said that, throughout the cenof its development. Buddhism had always been influenced by Hinduism, and, as
have seen, many of the original assumptions and tenets of the doctrine were taken

In explanation
turies

we

over from the Vedic Hindu tradition. This

is

not the place to describe the various aspects

of later Buddltist pliilosophy that have their origin in Brahmanical

that in the later centuries
to

Hinduism, which had continued to

ideas. Suffice

exist as a

it

to say

rehgion parallel

Buddhism, came to exert a stronger and stronger influence on the whole structure of
Mahayana Church and its iconography. In the end, Buddhism in India, instead of

the

being a synthesis of the highest concepts of all the schools of Hindu thought, becomes
33

PREHISTORIC AND EPIC PERIODS

only another Hindu
priests' recitation

sect.

The

last

of uninteUigible

phase of the rehgion offered salvation through the

spells

or dhdrdnis and magical formulas which could

be neither understood nor recited by the devotees.

priests or
sinister,

to earth to aid

men

The Hindu gods

many arms and

faith

It

It

was an

evil

Buddhism

in the disguise

desires.

of personifications of various

was not long before the Bodhisattvas themselves, endowed with

multiple heads, could scarcely be distinguished from the great gods of

Hindu pantheon. The most

sakti, a

of the

but other, even more

not only towards salvation but in the attainment of worldly

vicious phase of Asariga's doctrine

of the worship of the Tantra, which meant

essentially

was the introduction

devotion paid to the female energy

concept borrowed from the more corrupt phase of Hinduism, that in

of every description

as a

kind of physical enactment of union with the divine. This

last

grosser aspects encouraged sexual practices

as a

this infalhbiht)'

when the Buddhist holy man Asaiiga brought the Hindu gods

infiltrated into

powers of Buddha.

or

is

priests,

elements came to undermine the fabric of the Buddhist Church.

day for the Mahayana

the

Not only

gurus a parallel to the function of the Brahmin

its

means of devotion,
phase of Buddhism

from the eighth century until the extirpation of the rehgion by the
Mohammedan invasions. From there it was transplanted to Nepal and Tibet, where the
iconography and st)'le of this last phase of Indian Buddhism are still preserved. ^^
However, the same centuries which marked the decline and final echpse of Buddhism
also saw the beginning of a true renaissance of Hinduism, and this developed into the
philosophical and devotional system of worship that has claimed the faith of Indian
inilhons for more than a thousand years. Nothing could more eloquently demonstrate
the vigour and power of that religion than the magnificent works of Hindu art dedicated
in this same millennium. The final phase of the Hindu Church represents the complete
unity of worship and worshippers. Although the division of worship between the devotees of Vishnu, Siva, and Krishna may appear clearly defined, then and now, and in the
eternity of Indian time, all these gods are but manifestations of one god, the Great Lord
flourished in Bengal

in his final

and

ineffable form.

34

TWO

PART

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

CHAPTER

THE FIRST INDIAN EMPIRE: THE MAURYA PERIOD

Period takes its name from a line of emperors who ruled over an India
from the Khyber to the Deccan, from 322 to 185 B.C. The prologue to the foundation of the Maurya Dynasty was the invasion of India by Alexander the Great. It will
be remembered that, following the destruction of the Achaemenid Empire of Iran with

The Maurya
united

the burning of Persepohs in 330 B.C., Alexander, seeking to emulate the legendary

triumph of Dionysius in the Orient, led

of northern

in 327 to the plains

India.

phalanxes eastward to Bactria and, finally,

his

There the defection of one

and the Macedonians' fmal victory over Porus

local Rajahs

queror to advance to the Indus.

The one

at

after another

of the

Taxila enabled the con-

constructive result of Alexander's raid

was the

opening of India to the influence of the Hellenic and Iranian civihzations of the West.
Alexander's mihtary conquest was in
retire
fell

from India to

die in

Babylon

to his general, Seleucus Nicator.

death, that a certain

itself

shorthved.

It

was

in 322 B.C.,

Chandragupta Maurya by a

Magadha

When

Alexander was forced to

in 323 B.C., the eastern reaches

series

of his world empire

only a year

of coups

after Alexander's

d'etat

gained complete

and soon waxed so strong

that he was
by show of force to compel the withdrawal of the Greek forces of Seleucus beyond
the Hindu Kush mountain range. This brief passage of arms did not mean a severance of
relations with the Hellenistic powers of the West, but rather initiated an era of more

sovereignty over ancient

in Bengal,

able

intimate cultural connexions between India and the Seleucid Empire, as

accounts of the Greek ambassadors, such as Megasthenes, at the

The empire

that

Chandragupta founded reached

its

greatest

is

Maurya

attested

by the

court.

moment of political,

hgious, and artistic development in the middle years of the third century B.C.

At

rethis

period in Indian history there rose above the waters of the Ganges the towers of Patah-

of the Maurya Emperors of India. Enthroned there in pUlared halls,

words of Megasthenes echoed the 'splendour of Susa and Ecbatana', was
Chandragupta's grandson, Asoka Raja, the earhest and most renowned imperial patron
of Buddhism in Asia (272-232 B.C.).
The history of his conversion to the Dharma is probably part truth, part legend: how,
like another Napoleon III at another Solferino, he was so overcome with horror at the
putra, the capital

which

in the

countless

windrows of the

that he then

slain that Httered the battlefields

and there determined to renounce

35

all

of

his Orissan

campaign,

further bloodshed to dedicate liimself

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

and

liis

reign to the propagation of the

of Asoka and

Law and

his piety spread to the farthest

wither and die with the fading of the bodhi tree

genii,

the Peace of Buddha. Fabulous legends

comers of Asia
at

he raised eighty-four thousand stupas to the Buddha

rather than

myth,

how

he threatened to

Gaya; how, by the aid of the yaksha

in a single night. History,

the record of Asoka's missionary activities, such as the sending of

is

Buddhist envoys to the kings of the Hellenistic world and to the green darkness of the
Singhalese jungles.

Maurya

Part of the

from ancient Mesopotamia and Achaemenid Iran was

Asoka in his regnal poHcy was
himself the ancient Babylonian and also Vedic concept of the
heritage

the ideal of world conquest and universal sovereignty.

seeking to

embody in

Lord of the Four Quarters, designated in early Indian texts as Cakravartin, whom the
celestial wheel (the sun) guides to dominion over all regions. Although in a practical
sense the dominions of the Maurya Cakravartin extended from Afghanistan to Mysore,
an actual world conquest was to be achieved, not by force, but peacefully by the spread

of the Dharma.i

Tlais

background

to

Maurya power,

of a kind of rehgious imperiaUsm for

important for our consideration of the

An examination

together with Asoka's substitution

his grandfather
art

Chandragupta's rule by force,

is

of his period.

of the ruins of the fabulous

city

of Pataliputra, near

modem Patna,

is

extremely important for an understanding of the whole character of Maurya civilization

which Asoka inherited and perpetuated. Following not only Indian but ancient Near
Eastern precedent, the palace walls, the splendid towers and pavilions, were all constructed
of brick or baked clay that has long since crumbled to dust or been swept away by
periodic inundations of the swollen waters of the Ganges. Megasthenes

hundred and sixty towers and sixty-four gateways in the

Describing the wonders of Patahputra, Aehan,
account, teUs us

Memnonian
vie. In the

'
:

In the Indian royal palace

Susa in

all its

glory nor Ecbatana with aU

great beauty in

five

wonders with which neither

magnificence can hope to

its

woodman

trees,

and

tree-

has deftly interwoven. There are also tanks of

which they keep fish of enormous size but quite tame.'^

might accurately portray a Persian royal garden or paradise

a description

days of Xerxes and Darius. Beyond the evidence of the actual excavations

at

in the

Patahputra

get an idea of the appearance of the city in the elevations of towTis that

backgrounds for Buddhist subjects in the reUefs of the Early Andhra Period

The

of

city walls.

borrows from Megasthenes'

and shady groves and pastures planted with

...

branches which the art of the

we can

tells

of the

parks tame peacocks are kept, and pheasants which have been domesticated

and cultivated plants

Such

who

there are

. . .

circuit

form the

at Safichi.

panel on the eastern gateway representing the Buddha's return to Kapilavastu

(Plate 26)

and

a similar panel

of King Prasenajit on the northern portal show us a

city

surrounded by massive walls, topped by battlements and picturesque balconies enclosed

by raihngs and surmounted by barrel-vaulted

dows. Details

a palisade or railing
all

structures terminating in chaitya

in other reUefs enable us to visuaUze the presence

of the type developed

these superstructures

were

parture from Kapilavastu

we

built

in the

win-

of a moat surrounded by

Vedic Period.

It is

to be

assumed that

of wood. In the reUef representing the Buddha's de-

see that the actual portal in the city walls

36

is

preceded by a

THE MAURYA PERIOD

frontispiece in the shape

stone at
pletely

Saiiclii.

The

of a simple torana of the very same type that

is

constructed in

excavations of PataUputra revealed that at one time

was com-

it

surrounded by a massive pahsade of teak beams held together by iron dowels.

This was, of course, an adaptation of the railings of the Vedic Period to the uses of urban
fortification.

The Chinese Buddhist

pilgrim, Fa Hsien, visiting Patahputra shortly after

mentions 'the royal palace, the different parts of which he [Asoka] commis-

A.D. 400,

by piling up the stones. The walls, doorways, and the sculpno human work.'^
In addition to a ground plan of the palace area (Figure 2), a single illustration of
the ruins of Patahputra is reproduced (Plate 7a) to show the extraordinary craftsmanship and permanence of the city's girdle of fortifications. We see here a portion of
what, according to the excavators, was an almost indefinitely extended construction,
sioned the genii to construct
tured designs are

consisting

wooden

of upright timbers

wooden

passage within the ramparts, or whether

strength.

It is as

high and fourteen and a half feet apart, with a

fifteen feet

floor and, originally, a

roof.

it

uncertain whether this tunnel was a

It is

was intended to be fiUed with earth

for

added

though a small section of the London tube, or the Holland tunnel be-

neath the Hudson, came to the attention of future excavators to give a shght clue to the

complication and magnificence of vanished

cities.

Although

it is difficult

fragment of PataUputra with towers and gateways rivalling the ancient

it

does give us some sHght suggestion, by

construction, of the great city of the

Even more

audience hall was preceded by a

tures

were intended

as

in the actual palace area

number of huge platforms

They formed

palace platforms of ancient

of Iran,

and the enormous strength of

Maurya Empire.

were the remains uncovered

interesting

cabin fashion (Figure 3).

vast extent

its

to clothe this

capitals

of soUd

wood

kind of artificial eminence or acropohs,

Mesopotamia and

foundations or

built

Iran

rafts for the

undoubtedly, these

a great
in loglike the

wooden

struc-

support of some kind of pavihons or

itself. The remains of this building - an audience hall or,

name, apadana - consisted of row upon row of colossal sandstone
columns, eighty in number, that once supported a timber roof. Although most of the
ponderous monoUthic shafts had sunk deep into the earth in the course of centuries of

stairways in front of the palace

to give

floods,

it its

Iranian

enough fragments remained

closely to the

to

show

that the plan of this hall corresponded very

arrangement of the great pillared rooms of state that are

striking remains

of the Achaemenid palace ruins

at

among

PersepoUs in Iran. This

is

the

most

only the

indication of the tremendous influence exerted upon Maurya India by the art of the
Achaemenid Empire that Alexander destroyed. The conscious adoption of the Iranian
palace plan by the Mauryas was only part of the paraphernaHa of imperiaUsm imported

first

from the

presumably began as soon as the Maurya Empire was

was furthered by the presence of actual envoys and even re-

West."* This influence

firmly estabhshed, and

it

fugee artisans from Iran through the reign of the great Asoka.

of the Achaemenid
ties

style

that replaced the

The

Indian perpetuation

undoubtedly came through contact with the Hellenistic dynas-

Hne of Xerxes and Darius.

When

he ousted Seleucus from north-

west India and Afghanistan, Chandragupta pushed his frontiers to the eastern boundary

of Iran

itself.

37

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

That Asoka's tolerance and generosity to
age of Buddhism

men

may

of the heretical Ajivika

pretentious of the hermitages

facade of this sanctuary

is

sect in the

the

is

were not limited

religious sects

be illustrated by his donation of

cells for

to his patron-

the habitation of holy

Barabar Hills near Gaya (Plate 7b). The most

Lomas

Rishi cave.

completely Indian.

It is

The

architectural carving

of the

an imitation in reUef sculpture in stone

wood and thatch, with the sloping jambs

tympanum of repeated crescent shapes under an ogee arch

of the entrance of a free-standing structure in

of the doorway supporting

20

30 40

50 FEtT
15

Figure

2.

Maurya

METRES

Palace, Pataliputra

Plan

that

presumably represents the profile of the thatched roof. This

tion

of a type of building that must have existed

The

principal decoration

cession

and

Valley

of the so-called chaitya

'

of elephants approaching a

gait

stupa.

of these elephants seems almost

seals.

in

The complete

The

showing

evolved

Maurya

of

later

first

representa-

'

like a perpetuation

elevation of this miniature facade

that the forms

in the

the

naturalistic rendering

again in the chaitya-halls of the Sunga and later periods, and

its

is

wooden forms of the Vedic Period.

window of the overdoor is a pro-

is

of the
is

of the
style

articulation

of the Indus

repeated over and over

particularly significant in

Buddhist architecture were already completely

Period.

38

THE MAURYA PERIOD

The

Achaemenid character of Asokan

Iranian or, properly speaking,

been mentioned

it is

caused to be engraved on rocks and

benefits

India has often

revealed very strikingly in the language of the edicts that

pillars in

order to propagate to

all

his

Asoka

people the

of the Buddha's Law. The very idea of proclaiming decrees by engraving them
is a borrowing from Iran, as witness the famous inscription of Darius

immortal stone

in

on

the cliff at Bisutun in northern Iran.

Nowhere do we
than in

its

find a clearer picture of the true character of

monuments

sculpture: the surviving

cratic character as

Asoka's rule in

they are foreign in

its

reveal the

essential structure; like so

style, quite apart

Maurya

civihzation

same imperiaUst and auto-

much of Maurya

from the main stream and

tradition

culture,

of Indian

art,

and display the same intimacy of relationsliip and imitation of the cultures of the Hellenistic Western powers and of Iran as the language of Asoka's inscriptions and the Maurya
court's philhellenic leanings. Side

by

side

with

this official

imperial

art,

there existed

what could be described as a folk art, much more truly Indian in style and tradition and,
in the final analysis, of far greater import for the future development of Indian art.
It has often been pointed out that one of the tangible results of Alexander's invasion of
India and the continuation of Indian contacts with the Hellenic and Iranian West in the
Maurya Period was the introduction of the technique of stone-carving and the first employment of this permanent material in place of the wood, ivory, and metal that were
used during the Vedic Period.
tive

and symbolic, were the

It is

significant that, although

common

many

motifs, both decora-

property of pre-Maurya India and western Asia,

not until the appearance of actual foreign stone-cutters from these same regions does the
teclmique of monumental sculpture begin in India.
Little

or nothing survives of Asoka's Buddhist foundations beyond the ruins of a stupa

Nepal and the core of the Great Stupa at Sailchi, but monuments of
testify to his zeal for the Dharma. These stone memorials,
erected as part of Asoka's imperiahst programme of spreading Buddhism throughout his
empire and using the Law as a unifying force of government, consisted of great pillars
or lats, some more than fifty feet in height, and originally crowned by capitals of sculpat

Piprawa

in

another type survive to

tured animals of both Buddhist and ancient Indian metaphysical significance. These

up at sites associated with the Buddha's earthly mission and at various

highways linking Asoka's India with the Himalayan valleys of Nepal.*
On the bases of many of these pillars were inscribed Asoka's edicts on the Dharma. Just
as the employment of such permanent inscriptions is of western Asiatic origin, so the

columns were

set

points along the

idea of such

from the

memorial columns

civilizations

is,

of course, not Indian, but

is

yet another derivation

of ancient Mesopotamia.*

One of the few Maurya

pillars that

remains in a perfect

state

of preservation

is

the

up at Lauriya Nandangarh near Nepal in 243 B.C.'' It is typical of the original

appearance of all of them (Plate 8). The completely smooth shaft is a monoUthic piece
of Chunar sandstone, a material quarried near Benares and universally employed for all

column

set

monuments of the Maurya Period. At the top of the pillar is a lotiform bell capital, the
shape of which is only one of many decorative forms borrowed from the art of the
ancient Near East. It is specifically reminiscent of the bell-shaped bases of the Achaemenid
39

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

This

pillars.

member

symbol of Buddha

of a Uon, probably intended

in turn supports the seated figure

as a

Lion of the ^akya clan.

as the

in Iran,

Hon is, of course, an ancient solar symbol

Mesopotamia, and Egypt centuries before the formulation of Buddhist icono-

graphy.

It

In addition to his Buddhist significance, the

may

well be, as

is

suggested by the words of Asoka's

joining the carving of such inscriptions on rocks or on

of the so-called Asokan columns, originally

set

first

and

last edicts

pillars already standing, that

en-

many

up by an earUer Maurya emperor, were

taken over and their symboUsm, Brahmanical or zodiacal, syncretically reinterpreted for

Buddhist usage.^
This type of column with a single animal at the top
others

much more

pillar

by

number of animals

stylistically

is

the simplest

form of Maurya

and iconographically complicated were crowned

placed back to back that originally supported an enormous

Wheel of

sandstone disk typifying the

the

Law, the instrument of Asoka's world

conquest.

more baroque

This essentially

variety of pillar

famous memorial that once stood

first

preaching (Plate

9).

in the

may

Deer Park

at

be illustrated by the remains of a

Samath, the scene of the Buddha's

The Chinese pilgrim Hsiian-tsang, who visited this site in the

monument as follows: 'A stone pillar about seventy

seventh century A.D., described the

feet liigh.

and

all

The

those

stone

who

is

altogether as bright as jade.

pray fervently before

with good or bad

it

see

It is

ghstening and sparkles like light;

from time to time, according

to their

was here

that Tathagata, having arrived at

erdightenment, began to turn the wheel of the law.''

The fragments of this memorial,

petitions, figures

consisting of the capital

and

bits

preserved in the Archaeological

the styUstic point of view,
ideas that
sists

we find in

of a lotiform

of a gigantic stone wheel that crowned the top, are

Museum at Samath.^" Examining the sculpture first from

see that

it

embodies the same conglomerate of foreign

the entire fabric of Maurya civHization.

bell

wheels or disks above

;

we

signs. It

on wliich
this are

rests a plinth

The composite capital con-

with carvings of four animals and four

four addorsed hons which form the throne or support for

the terminal wheel. This combination of bell capital and joined heraldic animals

many

notably dilFerenl from the type of column or order which in

found in the palace architecture of Achaemenid Iran

reason,

is

designated as Persepohtan.

in the ruins

The extremely

different

is

not

forms

is

of PersepoHs and, for this

lustrous finish

of the stone

is

again

borrowing from the technique of the carvers of the palaces of Darius and Xerxes. The

use of animals placed back to back as a supporting

member

has

its

obvious precedent in

form and so, too, has the essential shape of the styHzed lotus. The stiff
and heraldic character of the Hons themselves is a continuation of the ancient Oriental
tradition which we can see in the animal carvings of Achaemenid Iran. The mask-like
character ot the Hon-heads, together with the manner of representing the muzzle by incised parallel lines and the triangular figuration of the eyes, are among the more obvious
the Persepohtan

resemblances to Iranian Hon-forms.

It is at

different.

we

once apparent that the

style

of the four smaUer animals on the plinth

These beasts are portrayed in a

distinctly Hvely,

can recognize at once a style related to Greek tradition.

40

is

quite

even reaHstic manner. In them

The

closest geographical

THE MAURYA PERIOD

parallel to the

horse (Plate lo)

The

Hellenistic occupation.

Iranian

and

Hellenistic features ;

foreign sculptors imported

the horses

is

on

silver

of the monument

style

it is

from

bowls made in Bactria during the

is,

combination of

in other words, a

not unlikely that the workmanship was by actual

Iran and the Hellenistic colonies

on

India's northern

and western frontiers. There is every reason to beheve that this st)'le, together with the
technique of stone-carving, is an importation no earher than the consohdation of the

Maurya Empire.
If the capital at

Samath is completely un-Indian in

its

styhstic execution, the ideas these

foreign shapes are intended to express are completely Indian and

liarly

monument,
we must keep in mind that

Buddhist in character. In considering

memorial

in Indian art history,

this

by derivation pecu-

as

indeed every rehgious

its

primary function was

magical and auspicious, neither 'decorative' nor 'architectural'.

An example of the

persistence

of Indian symbolism even in

modem times is a curious

of the magical ceremonies attending the investiture of the nineteenth-century

monarch of Siam, King Chulalongkom. On the four sides of an artificial mountaiia
detail

were installed about a font the effigies of four

and the horse - in other words, the same group

erected in the capital for the occasion there

beasts

- the hon, the elephant, the

that parade

bull,

around the phnth of the Samath

received a baptism

from

During the ceremony the Prince

was no more nor less than a piece of

capital.

these four gargoyles. This

magic for the investiture of a sovereign going back to the beginnings of Indian metaphysics and cosmology. It is an illustration of the principle o( pratibimba, the reconstruction in architecture or sculpture of the imagined structure
regions, in order that

men may have

imminent symbol. The

artificial hill

of supernatural things or

them or power over them through an

in Bangkok was the world mountain Meru, accordaccess to

ing to ancient cosmology, towering like a pUlar between earth and heaven; the four
beasts stood for the four quarters

structure

was

and the four

ambulation of this

the universe reproduced there in a microcosm.

at

Samath

is

rivers

of the world, so that the whole

of rephca of the world system.^i In Bangkok, the Prince's circumfanciful stage-set was designed magically to ensure his dominion over

a kind

The merry-go-round of the four animals

simply an earher example of the same principle in operation. Various early

legends identify these creatures with the four great rivers that flow from the four open-

magic lake

ings of a

One of the

situated at the world's navel in the Himalayas.!^

Udaya or Ana-

legends concerned with the magic lake, called variously

from the waters of this pool there rises a great shaft that uphfts a
throne to uphold the sun at noon and then sinks again with the setting of the orb. The
apphcation of this rather elaborate symbohsm to the Samath column is not difficult to
explain or understand: the shaft of the column is an emblem of the world axis, rising

vatapta, relates that

earth, surrounded by the attributes of the four directions; at its

hon throne which, again following the legend, upholds the great wheel or
The lesser disks on the plinth enter into the iconography, too originally these

between heaven and

summit

is

solar disk.

wheels had a precious stone, different for each, inlaid in the hub. This is another part of the

magic directional symbohsm of western Asiatic origin, since in ancient Mesopotamia

different colours and jewels were associated with the quarters, and so, too, were
41

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

presumably the

different planets ;

lesser disks that are

rephcas of the great wheel repre-

sented the four great planets that were in their ascendant, in conjunction with the sun,
at the four

equinoxes of the year, suggesting thereby the position of the sun

seasons of the year. In other words,

it

at the four

appears that the Samath pillar was a time-and-

space symbol, typifying the sun's yearly round through the heavens, and with the con-

cept of the axis and the four directions, including the whole structure of the universe.

This cosmology

of course, pre-Buddhist, and,

is,

many

like so

other early myths and

metaphysical ideas that accrued to Buddhism, has been assimilated

as

an appropriate

em-

blem of the universal dominion of the Buddha's Law. This emblem could be taken as a
partial proof of the pre-Asokan origin of the whole pillar. The Buddha's turning of the
Wheel of the Law is anagogically a turning of the solar wheel, controlling the sun in its
diurnal path through the skies.
in the early Indian concept

the

The

turning of the

Wheel

is

one of the powers

inlierent

of the universal ruler or Cakravartin assumed by the Buddha;

Samath column may be

interpreted, therefore, not only as a glorification of the

Buddha's preacliing, symbolized by the crowning wheel, but

of the whole

logical implications

pillar, as

also, through the cosmosymbol of the universal extension of the

power of the Buddha's Law, as typified by the. sun that dominates all space and all time,
and simultaneously an emblem of the universal extension of Maurya imperiahsm
through the Dharma. The whole structure is, then, a translation of age-old Indian and
Asiatic

cosmology

into artistic terms

of essentially foreign

and dedicated, hke

origin,

all

Asoka's monuments, to the glory of Buddhism and the royal house.

As has already been suggested,

actually erected under Asoka, or

appropriated by
those pillars

this

which

it is

not certain whether

whether some of them

sovereign for Buddliist usage. This

are

the

Maurya colunms were

up by

liis

predecessors were

especially hkely in the case

is

of

surmounted by the shapes of single animals. The form suggests

the royal standards or dhvaja stamhhas used

column

all

set

by pre-Asokan

of ancient Mesopotamian

rajahs; the idea

One of the

of the animal

examples of
from Rampurva (Plate ii). This is the capital of one
of a pair of columns. The companion pillar was surmounted by a single hon, not unlike
the finial of the lat at Lauriya Nandangarh. Iconograpliically, the exact significance of

symbol on
this

simpler type

is

is

origin.

finest

the bull capital

the bull as a symbol in Buddliism is rather difficult to discern; it may have been either a
Brahmanic emblem or the heraldic device of an earher Cakravartin. '^ From the styhstic
point of view we notice first of all that the body of the bull is still partially engaged in

the core of the block of stone

from which

it

was carved.

Aesthetically this serves to con-

note the virtual emergence of the form from the matrix of the rock in which the sculptor

saw

it

imprisoned. As a technical safeguard

it

prevents the legs of the image from

breaking under the weight of the body.

Very much the same conglomerate rearrangement of older western Asiatic forms that
Asokan colunms is revealed in another rcUc of Maurya times, a colossal

characterizes the

capital recovered

during the

first

excavations at Patahputra (Figure

3). It

has the stepped

impost block, side-volutes, and central palmettcs of the Persepohtan order; the bead and
reel, labial, and spiral motifs on the lateral face are all of western Asiatic origin; and the
rosette

ornament of the abacus recalls the frames of the great friezes

42

at Persepolis.

Although

THE MAURYA PERIOD

these elements are

combined in

manner

different

from that of the

Iranian capitals, they

suggest not only this prototype but, largely through the profile of the projecting volutes,
also the

Greek

Ionic.

The explanation of this strange kinship probably

hes in the fact that

the Greek Ionic, the PersepoHtan capital, and the present variant at Patahputra are all parallel

from one

derivations
least

original

one scholar, from

form such

Aeolic or, as has been suggested by at

as the

Sumerian pictograph symbolizing

the striking resemblance of this capital to

what

form of Ionic

found

in the architectural brackets

suggests that these simple

wooden

appears, at

polarity.^'* In the
first

in the dwellings

post-tops and the

Maurya

same way,

glance, to be a debased

of modern Kurdistan,

capital are

both descended

from forms of great antiquity, forms of folk art that survive almost unchanged through
many strata of culture.'^ The form of the Patahputra capital with its distinctive projecting

Figure

volutes

is

Capital found at Pataliputra

preserved relatively intact for at least a century, as

ample of the Sunga Period

of the Indian order
animals.

3.

It

it is

in the

replaced

should be stressed that

museum
by

the

at

may be illustrated by an ex-

Samath.** Thereafter in the development

more truly Persepohtan form with addorsed

is more properly described as western Asiatic

this capital

or Iranian, and must not be regarded as an imitation of Greek Ionic

found their

way

to India only during the centuries of Parthian

the classic orders

and Kushan occupation

of the regions south of the Khyber Pass.

The official foreign art sponsored by Asoka endured no longer than the rule of the
Dharma which he sought to impose on his Indian empire it was presumably unpopular,
perhaps because it was symbohc of the Dharmaraja s suppression in his edicts of festivals
and other aspects of popular rehgion. Of much greater final importance for Indian
art was the stone sculpture of completely Indian type. Specimens of this survive in
:

the shape of colossal statues of yakshas or nature spirits of Dravidian origin, one of

which,

now in

the

Curzon Museum of Archaeology

at

Muttra,

is

more than

eight feet

high (Plate I2a).i7 This statue has been the subject of considerable controversy since
the time
statue

of its discovery

at the village

of Parkham.

of a king of the Saisunaga Dynasty (642-322

43

It

was once

B.C.),

and

identified as a portrait

at least

one authority has

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

tried to attribute

it

to the

Sunga Period. The

of the Maurya Period, reading

in part:

an inscription in Brahmi script

statue bears

'Made by Bhadapugarin

...

Gomitaka, the pupil

of Kunika'.i* Except for the indication of torques and jewelled bands, the figure
to the waist.

The lower

Hindus to-day, which

allowed to drop

body

part of the

consists

in front in

of a long

is

clothed in a skirt or

sijigle

piece of cloth

two loops sheathing

much so

dlioti,

is

nude

garment worn by

wound about

the waist

the legs almost to the ankles.

The

and

figure

It is as though
from front and back, and then
disengaged it from the enclosing panel. The statue is characterized by no real sense of
physical beauty or spiritual meaning. It is a very direct and crude representation of a
being or force which, as its superhuman size and power indicate, was to be propitiated
by ofl:erings - in other words, a very appropriate characterization of a nature spirit.

conceived

is

as frontal, so

that the sides are completely flattened.

the sculptor had executed a figure in rehef to be seen

This image belongs to an art that

folds,

low

which

is

at

of the

pletely conceptual representation

once archaic and Indian.

effigy as a whole

are not realistic, but only indicated

incisions in the stone.

The

statue

is

and

in

It is

archaic in the

such details

symbohcatly by zig-zag

as the

lines

com-

drapery

and shal-

specifically Indian in the sculptor's realization

tremendous volume and massiveness, quaHties which, together with the

scale,

of

give the

The quahty of surface tautness gives form through a

is no more nor less than a reahstic representation of
the inner breath or prana; in tliis respect the yaksha of the Maurya Period is simply a perpetuation of the st^'listic character of the torso from Harappa, dated 2500 B.C. The yaksha

idol such

awesome

imprcssiveness.

kind of pneumatic expansion. This

type, essentially a princely figure,

is

important, too,

sentations of the Bodliisattva in Buddhist art

crudity and stiffness of the figure,

to

be explained by the

for centuries

to

work in

on

fact that

it

its

as a

prototype for the

later repre-

of the Kushan and Gupta Periods. The

conception

as

two

rehefs placed back to back, are

represents a translation into stone of methods practised

wood and ivory; the first generations of Indian craftsmen

had much to learn about the problems of monumental sculpture in

a small scale in

stone

still

more difficult medium.

Even in the group of Maurya

tliis

tain

sculpture classified as popular or Indian, there are cer-

unmistakable indications of connexions with the art of Iran.

a yaksha

from Patna

(Plate 13),

which may be dated

c.

200

The

gigantic figure

B.C., has serpentine

of an Achaemenid type. And even the carving of the drapery, with

its

texture through the contrast of incised lines and parallel quilted ridges,

is

the Persepohtan style.

conception.

It

Over and beyond

these features the figure

is

has to an even greater degree than the statue from

of

armlets

suggestion of
reminiscent of

entirely Indian in

its

Parkham an almost

overpowering weightiness and glyptic bulk. The very stockiness of the proportions only
serves to emphasize the massiveness of the trunk and limbs of the earth spirit.^'

We see in the art of the Maurya Period a spectacle repeated many times in the liistory
of India; namely, the temporary intrusion and adoption of completely foreign forms
and techniques and, what is more important, the development and transcendence over
these borrowings

of a wholly Indian manner of representing the world of the gods

stone.

44

in

CHAPTER

THE SUNGA PERIOD

(185-72 b.c.)

The popular dissatisfaction with the rehgious autocracy of Asoka, even during that Emperor's reign, led to revolts against the attempted maintenance

by

his successors.

The

later history

of the Maurya Empire

is

of centrahzed authority

one of disintegration cul-

who in 185 B.C. murMaurya emperor and became the founder of the Sunga Dynasty. The
Sunga Empire was still in Magadha - modem Bengal - and extended to

minating in the overthrow of the dynasty by one Pushyamitra,

dered the

last

centre of the

Malwa

Although the

in central India.

gion of ^akyamuni and

rulers

art

its

Sunga

first

ruler persecuted

Buddhism, the reh-

enjoyed one of its great creative periods under the

later

of this house.

Shortly after the death of Asoka another dynasty

came

into

power

in central

and

southern India. This was the dynasty of the Andhras, a people of probable Dravidian

whose domains extended from the mouth of

origin,

Madras

the Kistna River above

to Nasik in the north-western Deccan, so that at the height

Andhras governed the waist of India from

The term Early

'

Classic

'

is

apphed to

dynasties because, as will be seen,

it

expression towards final maturity,

sea to sea.

all

marks

modem

of their power the

the artistic production of these

a gradual

much

the

two Indian

emergence from an archaic phase of

same way

that

Greek sculpture of the

Transitional Period (480-450 B.C.) bridges the gap between the Archaic and the Great
Periods. Indian 'Early Classic' art retains the vigour
phesies the sophistication

The

sculpture of the

and ripeness of the

Sunga Period

raUings and gateways that

now

final

and

directness

consists in large part

as

it

pro-

art.

of the decoration of the stone

surround the Buddhist stupa or reUc mound. Examples

of these monuments from the early periods have been discovered

Nagod

of archaic,

development of Indian

at Saiichi in

Bhopal,

and Amaravati on the Kistna River. Before proceeding to an

account of their carved decor, something should be said about the character and symbolBharhut in

State,

ism of these monuments

The

as a

whole

(Plate

20A and Figure

discovered at Lauriya.^

At

the demise of the Buddha, his ashes, following a custom long

reserved for the remains of nobles and holy

hills

4).

stupa or tope was in origin a simple burial-mound, like the pre-Mauryan tumuli

of earth and

Buddhist texts,

all

brick.

traces

men, were enshrined under such

artificial

These were the original Eight Great Stupas mentioned in

of which have long since disappeared.

No pre-Asokan stupas have

no mention of veneration paid to rehc-mounds in Buddhist

hterature before the Maurya Period. The Emperor Asoka is probably responsible for the
institution of stupa- worship as a part of his poHcy for using Buddhism as an instrument of
imperial unity in his state. It is recorded that the pious Emperor distributed the surviving
bodily rehcs of the Buddha into stupas erected in all the principal towns of the realm.
Apart from the miraculous properties assigned to the Buddha's reUcs, the worship of his
been discovered, and there

is

45

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

natural remains enabled the worshipper to think

by conferring

of the Buddha

as

an imminent reaUty,

and love to these fragments of the mortal body of

his personal allegiance

the Buddha who had vanished into the void of Nirvana. It followed that the stupa itself
came to be regarded as an outward and visual manifestation of the Buddha. By conferring on the rehcs of Buddha the sepulchral monument reserved for royal burials,
Asoka can be said to have promulgated the concept of the Buddha as Cakravartin or

world

ruler.

defmitely

It is

of the

stupa,

known that elaborate geomantic ceremonies

determined the orientation

and the most precise system of proportions fixed the measurement of the

whole and its every member. It is for dais reason that the stupas have something of the
same mathematical perfection of sheer architectural form and mass that we fmd in the
pyramids. The architectural effectiveness of the stupa depends on the alternation and
balance of round and square shapes. The completely undynamic character of stupa architecture

thoroughly expressive of its function of enclosing and guarding the rehc and

is

symbolism of the fixed cosmic structure. Over and above its purely funerary function, the stupa and its accessories had come to be invested with an elaborate symbohsm,

its

from the cosmography of western Asia. Like the Mesopotamof the stupa was an architectural diagram of the cosmos.
Above the square or circular base of the stupa rose the solid and hemispherical dome or
atida, which was intended as an architectural replica of the dome of heaven, enclosing
the world-mountain rising from earth to heaven. In the architecture of the stupa the

stemming

in part at least

ian ziggurut, the basic concept

presence of this world-mountain was suggested only by the liarmikd, a balcony-like

summit of the mound that typified the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods
summit of the cosmic peak enclosed within the dome of the sky. The symbohsm was completed by the mast or yasti which rose from the crov^Ti of the dome. This
member typified the world axis extending from the infra-cosmic waters to the empyrean, and in certain stupas its symbohcal function was made even more specific by an
actual wooden mast penetrating the sohd masonry dome. Above the dome proper this
mast served as a support for tiers of circular umbrellas or chatras symbohzing the devalokas or heavens of the gods culminating in the heaven of Brahma. The stupa was in
a sense also a sort of architectural body replacing the mortal frame wliich Sakyamuni

member

at the

located at the

left

behind

gram and

at his

its

The concept of the

Nirvana.

Vedic times, which was animated

whose

soul

architecture of the stupa as a cosmic dia-

animation by the enshrining of reHcs probably had

was regarded

at

its

as a replica

Just as these concepts of

dedication

of the

spirit

by

its

origin in the altar of

the insertion of a

human

sacrifice,

of the Cosmic Man, Mahapurusa.^

Mesopotamian and Vedic origin determined

the

form and

function of the stupa-mound, so the architecture of the surrounding railing and the actual
ritual

of veneration

railing,

may

be traced to pre-Buddhist solar

with the gateways

no

at the four points

cults.

The ground-plan of the

of the compass describing the revolving

accident, but a purposeful incorporation

of one of the most

claws of a swastika,

is

ancient sun symbols.

A reminiscence of solar cults may certainly be discerned in the pre-

scribed ritual of circumambulation, in

the eastern gateway,

which the worshipper, entering the precinct by

walked round the mound

46

in a clockwise direction, describing

THE SUNGA PERIOD

20

30

40

Figure

50 FEET

4.

ro

Great Stupa, Sauchi: Plan and Elevation

47

15

METRES

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

thereby the course of the sun through the heavens. This would seem to bear out the

theory maintained by
as

many

separate the sacred precinct

early period

from the

was hnuted almost

One of the principal

in

scholars that the

Buddha's mortal career was adapted

later

an allegory of solar myths. The practical function of the raihng or vedika was to
secular world.

The

entirely to the sculpture

stupas surviving

north central India. Remnants of

its

decoration of the stupas of the

of the

from Sunga times

railing

is

railing

the

and the gateways.

rchc-mound

and gateway are preserved

at

Bharhut

in the Indian

Museum

at Calcutta and in a number of European and American collections (Plate

At Bharhut and elsewhere the gateways or toranas are imitations in stone of the
wooden portals of early Indian towns, and in the same way the construction of the railing itself is an imitation in stone of a post-and-rail fence with lens-shaped rails fitted to
openings in the uprights (Plate 20A and Figure 4) At Bharhut there are three rails surmounted by a heavy stone coping. The decoration of the one surviving gateway is a

I2b).

conglomerate of forms of western Asiatic origin, including palmettes and Persepohtan

capitals in the shape

of addorsed sphinxes. Most prominent

in the decoration

ing are the carvings of yakshas and yakshis on the uprights. These divinities

They

the ambulatory at Bharhut are really only a degree above humanity.

and bloodthirsty
into the fold

nature-spirits

of Buddhism

in

of turbaned

much

the

rajahs, Jataka talcs,

One of the most

yakslii

embracing

same way

associated

is

that

find

pagan

deities

took their place

medalhons fiOed with

there are

when

is

the dohada, a

were regarded

trees

fertihty festivals,

sal tree.

many

is

woman

symbohsm

as objects

when youths and maidens

or

that

of worship,

gathered the

Although the exact

some

original

Indian legends relating the

embrace of the yakshi and the

ancient fertihty

rite,

tree that yearns for her

and may be interpreted

as

quickening touch

is

memory of

symbolical of the soul's union with

the divinity, often typified in India by the metaphor of sexual union. In Indian

logy the yakslii

tree,

in

floral motifs,

and scenes from the hfe of Buddha.

a tree, usually the flowering sal (Plate 14A). Tliis

with old

are the wild

meaning of the motif is not known,

power of women and yakshis to bring trees
immediate flowering by embracing the trunk or touching it with their feet. The

flowers of the

into

we

frequent motifs of the Bharhut railing

goes back to a period in Indian history

and

rail-

of the earher Dravidian religion subdued and brought

the hierarchy of Christian saints. In addition

busts

of the

who populate

is first

and foremost

but she stands for the sap of the

ciation be interpreted as

great waters, in

which

a fertihty

symbol. She

tree, the hfe-fluid,

is

and she

may

emblematic of the hfe-fluid of aU creation,

all

hfe

was beUeved

to have

its

origin.

mytho-

not only the bride of the

therefore

by assoby the

as typified

The male

counterparts of

the yakshis, or yakshas, are also represented on the Bharhut raihng, and Kuvera, chief

of the yakshas and guardian of the North,

is

among

these deities precisely idciitihed

by

an inscription (Plate 14B).'

The carving of

these figures

medalhons and gateways,

years and executed

by the

spirits, as

well as the

workmanship of

the

quahty and technique. These differences

by the fact that the sculpture was a work extended over

by many different craftsmen from all parts of India, as attested
masons' marks which arc incised in the stones. These figures carved in rehef are

are probably to be explained

many

of tutelary

varies considerably in

THE SUNGA PERIOD

essentially a continuation of a

stylistic

and technical point of view already discerned in

of the Maurya Period. The representation of the human figure is in every

conceptual rather than reaHstic. In the portrayal of the yakshis there is an emphasis

the sculpture
case

on the

attributes

fertility

of fertihty in the swelling breasts and ample

already recognized in the prehistoric figurines are

pelvis. Certain attributes

still

of

present in the shape of the

beaded apron and the crossed scarves or channavira. The veritable harness of necklaces

and

of amulet boxes, with which the figures are bedecked, serves a function be-

strings

possible iconographical significance

yond the

in that the

connote by contrast the sofmess of the

convex
the

planes.

body

and the reflexion of contemporary

taste,

very sharpness and precision with which these jewelled ornaments are carved

As

in terms

to suggest the

flesh parts that are

in the free-standing statues

rendered in smooth, unbroken

of the Maurya Period, the conception of

of a collection of interlocking rounded

expanding inner breath or prana,

as

surfaces

is

the sculptor's device

well as the quahty of flesh in stone.

The figure sculpture at Bharhut must be described as completely archaic in character.

The individual figure is composed of an enumeration of its multiple details, as though,
by tliis cataloguing, the sculptor was striving to give a cumulative account of the subject
and to disguise

method

is

his inabihty to present

it

to be seen in the treatment

an organic whole.

as

A typical example of this

of the drapery of the standing yakshi figure

Although the garment itself is completely flat, there is an emphatic defmition

skirt, so that the whole can be described as an ideographic and entirely legible presentation of the idea of drapery, without in any way suggesting its volume or separateness from the body enclosed. The conventionalization of
(Plate 14A)

of the borders and seams of the

the drapery folds in long parallel pleats, with borders in the shape of chevrons or the letter

'omega', reminds us of the treatment of drapery in such archaic Greek figures

AcropoHs maidens. This resemblance

may

be explained either

through the relief sculpture of Achaemenid Iran

tion of an entirely parallel development,

or,

whereby

perhaps

more

as

the

logically, as

an

illustra-

sculptors in the archaic phase arrive at

similar formulas or conventions in their struggle to represent reahty.

character of the style extends to the very precise definition

necklaces and anklets

as

an influence coming

worn by the figure. These details,

for

of every
all

The

detail

descriptive

of the multiple

the nicety of their carving,

of their attraction to the eye, actually serve to destroy the form in

its entirety. The body as a whole is, of course, no more than the sum of its parts almost
mechanistically joined. There is a certain attempt on the part of the sculptor to impart

by the very

insistence

rhythmic movement to the figure by the repeated shapes of the

left

arm and leg. Neither

Bharhut suggests the idea of a volume that could exist threedimensionally. They are all conceived fundamentally as reUefs, and appear to be quite
consciously flattened as much as possible against the background of the uprights to
this

nor any of the figures

which they
attempt to

At

are attached.

make

this stage

at

It is

possible that this flattening

of Indian sculpture

rhythmic posturing of the body

legs

is

as

is

it

is

probably reasonable to conclude that such

achieved by the alternation of thrusts of arms and

and not the result of the sculptor's following any prescribed recipe for
and appropriate posture. The exquisite precision of carving, the dehght in

intuitive,

effective

of the rehef was a conscious

the figure an integral part of the vertical accents of the rafling uprights.

49

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

surface decoration, and the essentially shallow character of the rehef make

of Bharhut

that the sculpture as well as the architecture

The

wood-carver's or ivory-carver's technique.

it

appear likely

a translation into stone

is

of the

by a certain
rigidity combined with a rather wistful naivete. That the craftsmen were aware of some
of the problems of monumental architectural sculpture is revealed by the way in which
the contours of the forms are cut at right angles to the background of the panel, so as to
ensure a deep surrounding line of shadow to set the figure off against its background.
The composition and technique of the railing medalhons are in every way similar
to the figures carved on the uprights. A single medalhon from the railing at Bharhut
will serve to illustrate the method and the capacity of these carvers (Plate I5a). Entirely
of Birth

typical are the illustrations

Buddha hved

as a

figures are

such as the

stories,

Rum

was offered by the King of Benares

a miraculous golden deer seen

discovery to the monarch.

once persuaded to drop

at

Bharhut the story

of the

is

by

When

his

his

the

bow by

Mrga Jdtaka, when

On

King

When this ingrate heard that

for information regarding the location

Queen

dream, the nobleman reported

in a

set

out to hunt the golden

stag,

he was at

zone

is

drowning man from the

bow, and in the centre of the

the stag rescuing the

upper right the Rajah of Benares draws

his

The

panel

is

illustrative

extremely elementary method of continuous narration employed by sculptors

of the development of a narrative

episodes of the story are in a

observer
sist

is

way

style.

persuaded to regard them

left:

The

figures

quite effectively isolated

as separate

of only three conceptually represented

five does at the

of
his

the eloquence of the creature's speech. In the panel

panel clasps his hands in reverence before the golden stag.

stage

the

a certain occasion

related in three consecutive episodes contained within the frame

circular panel: in the lowest

river; at the

or

golden stag in the forest of the Ganges Valley.

he rescued a wastrel nobleman from drowning in the river.

a reward

characterized

all

that represent the herd

relief created

and the placing of figures one above the other. The

spaceless

ambient that

details

of setting con-

There

stag.

is

only the most

by very timid overlappings

of this treatment

result

is

The

upper part of the medalhon and

of the golden

rudimentary suggestion of space within the

of a strangely timeless and

symboUzed in the consecutive

from one another, so that the

happenings.

trees in the

of the
at this

not without

its

is

the creation

appropriateness for

the narration of heroic myth.

The

representation of the Jataka stories and scenes

from the hfe of the Buddha could

again be described as conceptual, since the figures of men and animals are invariably re-

presented from that point of view which the

thing or a species.

As we have

employed; that

is,

memory

recognizes as most typical of a

method of continuous narration is universally

number of successive episodes from the same story are represented
seen, the

within the confmes of the same panel. In

this archaic

method, to suggest the fluctuations

of happening, the chronological associations which are stored

in

one picture

mind of the

all

together at one time

mind are represented simultaneously as they exist in the

The method of continuous narration, the employment of vertical

in the artist's

craftsman.

projection and conceptual form, should be regarded partly as naive and due to the in-

abihty to resolve representational problems, and partly as the result of the traditional
craftsman's reahzation that events

from the world of myth, apart from time and

50

space,

THE SUNGA PERIOD

cannot properly be represented in any other way. In the archaic art of India,

of all ancient civiUzations, the

traditional art
true, rather

artist represents

what

his

as in

mind knows

the

to be

than what his eye reports. In the magic world of the heroic legend, a world

of no time and no place, where anything can happen as it does in dreams, there is no
need for scientific accuracy. Since, in the world of the gods, space and time are one, it

would be impossible

to think

interest in the fugitive

of anything corresponding to the Western Classic world's

moment. The problem of the

sculptor of the decorations of the

was to present the worsliipper with the most direct and easily readable
symbols of the Buddhist legends, a problem in wliich the extreme simplification of the
theme was conditioned in part, at least, by the shape and dimensions of the medaUions.
stupa raihng

The

imposed the

necessity for simplification

composition hke so

many

parts

isolation

of the individual elements of the

of a pattern against the plain background. For

effectiveness, technical as well as iconographical,

method of carving must have been the

stone medium.

result

one cannot overlook the

all its

fact that this

of the workman's unfamiliarity with the

of carvings - perhaps the very earhest monuments of ^unga art - that

emergence of a native tradition of stone-carving is the
ornamentation of the second stupa, generally designated 'Stupa 2', at Sailchi in Bhopal
Another

set

clearly demonstrates the painful

State. This rehc mound, located to the west and below the Great Stupa of the Early
Andhra Period, was a foundation of the unga rulers of Malwa in the last quarter of the
second century B.C. When it was opened in the nineteenth century, the dome was found
to contain rehcs of two disciples of the Buddha, together with remains often Buddhist
saints who participated in the Buddhist council convened by the Emperor Asoka in 250

B.C.

The

stupa proper

is

of the simplest type, consisting of a circular base supporting the

around this was constructed a sandstone raihng with its

actual hemispherical cupola;

gateways disposed

like the

claws of a swastika attached to the circular plan of the en-

sculptural decoration consists of

medaUions carved on the uprights of the

closure.

The

interior

and more comphcated rectangular panels emphasizing the posts of the actual

entrances.

The subjects of the medallions are invariably

restricted to a single figure (Plate

I5b) or a motif set off by reaUstic or decorative fohate forms, such as the

Wheel and the

Buddha, or animals and birds intended to

evoke the stories of his former incarnations. The repertory of motifs is not large, and is
probably copied in stone from ready-made prototypes in wood or ivory. Typical of this

Tree, to typify

earhest phase

gateway

moments from

the Hfe of the

of rehef sculpture are the panels decorating the outer jamb of the eastern
upper panel are represented a man and woman who may

(Plate i6b). In the

perhaps be identified as donors or as an early instance of the mithuna, the auspicious pair

emblematic of fruitful union. In the lower panel

dagger confronted by a rampant hon. This
subject

of the Achaemenid

art

is

a turbaned personage with shield

latter motif,

and

reminiscent of a favourite

of Persepohs, showing the great king in combat with a

from the repertory of western

leonine monster, almost certainly represents a borrowing

Asiatic art forms. In

both these rehefs the figures and the

available space are carved in only

two

planes.

position are cut directly at right angles to the

51

floral accessories that

The contours of every element in

flat

background,

as

fill

every

the

com-

though the sculptor

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

were too unfamiliar to venture any
that in a

subtleties

shadowed reinforcement
is

entirely conceptual,

and

is

art.

The treatment of

upper panel

ing. Tliis

mound

is

to be seen in the plinths or pedestals

might be taken

as a

provides a deeply

it

comes

to be very

tliese flat,

decorative

ground of the lower panel we see the first instyhzation of rock-forms that survives as a regu-

convention of Indian painting and sculpture of later centuries.

in the

method of carving

since

in the

stance of the block-Uke, almost cubistic

lar

Tlais

to the silhouettes of individual forms that

subtly exploited in later periods of Indian

figures

of transition.

wny recommends itself for the glare of Indian sunlight,

very curious

on which the

detail

figures are stand-

convention to indicate that they are placed on some sohd

or eminence. Another explanation, which camiot be proved,

is

that these are

representations not of personages real or mythical, but of cult images or statues, since

even

in the

Maurya Period

the yaksha figures

were fashioned with attached

bases or

phnths.

These same supports are placed under

all the figures in a rehef from eastern India that

same period of development. This is a carving from the
stupa at Jaggayyapeta near Amaravati on the Kisma River (Plate i6a). It represents the
Cakravartin or ruler of the world, surrounded by the Seven Jewels of his office.* This

must be dated

in exactly the

relief,

carved in the greenish-white hmestone characteristic of

India,

is

in every

illustration

way

of how

the

stylistic

httle regional differences exist

separate parts of India.

this

region of eastern

equivalent of the sandstone panels of Safichi.

between works of art made

in

It is

We find here the same mechanistically constructed figures,

tened out and attached to the background in exactly the same fashion.

an

widely
flat-

The modeUing

of little more than a sHght rounding of the contours, and the detailed definition
of every feature of costume and ornament is executed almost entirely by linear incisions
consists

in the stone.

coasts
sible

The only

of India

by

real differences

the nature of the stone,

same rehef that seems

Andhra Period

between these two carvings from the opposite

in the greater precision

lie

at

of carving in the Jaggayyapeta

slab,

and the more elegant attenuation of the

made

pos-

figures in this

to herald the towering, graceful forms in the sculpture

of the Later

Amaravati.

We have already encountered this same tendency to isolation and enumeration of defrom Bharhut. Although many of these arc scarcely more
of the oldest stupa at Saiiclii, some of the sculptors
at Bharhut were adventurous enough to assay relatively comphcated arrangements of
figures and setting. Such, for example, is the representation of the veneration of the
in the

tail

developed

mcdalhon

reliefs

in style than the carving

Buddha's head-dress in the Paradise of Indra

presently, since
will

it

(Plate 17).

furnishes us with a representation

We

shall return to this

rehef

of a free-standing chaitya-hall which

be compared with the rock-cut sanctuaries to be discussed below. The figures of

dancing

celestial

maidens and the gods watching the nautch are carved with some con-

cern for their relative scale to the building, and the carver has even attempted to create

an

illusion

The

of space by overlapping

figures.

decoration of the stupa at Bharhut was at one time dated as early as 150 B.C., but

comparison with the carvings ornamenting Stupa 2 at Saiichi clearly reveals that the
Bharhut fragments must belong to a later period of development, probably no earher

52

THE SUNGA PERIOD

The Bharhut

than 100 B.C.

primitive efforts. Although

sculpture represents a distinct

improvement over

too descriptive in the enumeration of surface

still

sculptors

of the figures of yakshas and yakshis are certainly more successful

a feeling

of

are

no longer

in rehef, but

Buddha

The

plastic existence in the forms.

sculptors

these

details, the

evoking

in

of the panels and medalhons

themes and a few figures painfully combined

restricted to stock decorative

nov^ venture into a more comphcated relation of narratives from the

story involving the manipulation of

many

separate figures

and the

illusion

of

their existence in space.

A monument
viliara at

with the very early Sunga Period

certainly to be associated

Bhaja, a sanctuary located in the green

of Bombay (Figure

6).

The

of the Western Ghats

hills

is

the old

to the south

vihara, a monastic retreat for the Buddhist brethren during

chamber or porch hollowed out of the rock,

accommodation of the brothers. The carved decoration of
the Bhaja monastery consists of panels with representations of yakshas and, on either
side of a doorway at the east end, reliefs of a deity in a four-horse chariot, and, confronting him, a personage on an elephant striding through an archaic landscape. We would
certainly be right in identifying the subjects of these rehefs as representations of the Vedic
deities Surya and Indra (Plates i8a and i8b). Surya, hke the Greek Apollo, drives the
solar quadriga across the sky, trampHng the amorphous powers of darkness that appear
the rainy season, consists of a rectangular

with individual

as

cells for

the

monstrous shapes beneath the

solar car. Gigantic Indra rides his elephant Airavata, the

symbol of the storm-cloud, across the world.^

It

might

at first

seem

difficult to

explain

the presence of these Vedic titans in a Buddhist sanctuary. Actually, they are here, not
in propria persona,

and Indra are

Surya

Christ.

verse, or

but

is

symbols of the Buddha

as

allegories

of Sakyamuni,

there to designate the

Buddha

as the

of the Vedic gods,

is

as

who

Orpheus

Buddha

has assimilated their powers. Surya

in early Christianity

as the

is

an allegory of

sun and spiritual ruler of the uni-

sun that illuminates the darkness of the world. Indra, the chief

power that the Buddha wields to

The landscape through which Indra drives, unpassage, is made up of a variety of interesting details.

here to designate the temporal

maintain the stabihty of the universe.

by the storm of the god's

At the upper left is a tree surrounded by

affected

branches hangs a sinister

tree.

Below

tliis is

fruit,

rarhng proclaiming

its

sanctity,

and from

its

the bodies of human victims sacrificed to the spirit of the

a dancing-girl performing before a seated Rajah. Far to the right, in

of early Buddhist sculpture: the cannibahstic,

converted from her man-eating habits by
the power of the Buddha. This reUef at Bhaja is a perfect translation into stone of the
Indian concept of the universe as a mass replete with formless, fine matter, of which all
the lowest zone,

horse-headed

living

is

a favourite subject

yakslii,

Assamukhi,

who was

forms are concretions and transformations. Just

atom of space with

Bhaja is crowded with an

as the

Indian conception of the

universe peoples every

a million million sentient beings

so the rehef at

infinite variety

Bharhut,

is

and devas,

of forms. Here again,

the simultaneous action and simultaneous space of the dream-image.

device of vertical projection

is

employed

at

as at

The

once to indicate recession in space and to

communicate the simultaneous happening of all these events. We notice also that not
only the form of Indra, but all the separate forms in the rehef, are carved as though
53

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

emerging from the matter of the rock
cess

that imprisons

them, to indicate that eternal pro-

of becoming, that emergence of all hving things from the hmitless space-matter or

maya. Here,
cretic

as

throughout the whole fabric of Early Classic

art in India,

we

have a syn-

combination of philosophical and metaphysical tenets of Vedic and Upanishadic

origin,

and

a piquant

and powerful naturahsm that marks the coalescence of the Aryan

and Dravidian heritage

Buddhism and

in

its art.

Another monument wlaich should be mentioned to complete our survey of Buddhist

Sunga Period

art in the

is

Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya.

Buddha walked after his Illumination,
rectangular rather than round. The carving consists in the

the railing at the famous

Originally erected to enclose the area where the

the ground-plan of the railing

is

decoration of uprights and railing medaUions and, presumably,

the middle decades of the
fantastic beasts

century B.C.

The medaUions

of western Asiatic origin, which,

sentation, are prophetic

first

typical rehef

is

Sunga dedication of
of

are filled with a repertory

in the heraldic

simphcity of their pre-

of later Sasanian motifs.*

from one of

the uprights

a representation of the sun-god Surya

is

Vedic deity

(Plate 19A). Here, as at Bhaja, the

is

present in an allegorical capacity, with

reference to the Buddha's solar character.'' Surya

represented in his chariot,

is

drawn

by four horses and accompanied by the goddesses of dawn, who discharge their
arrows at the demons of darkness. This representation of the sun-god in a quadriga is
sometimes interpreted

as

an influence of Hellenistic

art,

although styhstically there

is

nothing beyond the iconography to remind us of the characteristic representations of

Hehos

in Classical art, in wliich the solar chariot

shortened side view.

is

The concept of a sun-god

of Babylonian and Iranian

origin,

Greece; so that the representation

is

is

invariably represented in a fore-

traversing space in a horse-drawn chariot

and spread from these regions to both India and

simply an interpretation of the iconography, and

not the borrowing of a pre-existing styHstic motif. In the

is

Bodh Gaya

seen in front view, but the horses are deployed to right and

to be
It is

shown

in profile. This

is

left

reUef the chariot

of the axle-tree so

as

simply another instance of the conceptual point of view.

an arrangement that also conforms to the archaic fondness for symmetrical balance.

Although constructed on
able

this essentially archaic

framework, the rehef displays consider-

the carving of the group in the deep, box-Uke panel with a definite sugges-

skill in

tion of the forms

emerging from

space, acliieved

by

the overlapping of the forms of the

horses and the discomfited demons.

Another Vedic god

iqb).

He

is

whom we

encounter on the railing at

Bodh Gaya

guised as a gardener, the chief of the gods brought the straw on

took

his seat

almost

as if

frontal in

is

Indra (Plate

represented carrying a handful of grass, in allusion to the occasion when, dis-

its

beneath the bodhi

tree.^

stepping out from the

conception, the figure

The

flat
is

figure

of Indra

is

background of the

cast in

which the Bodhisattva

seem

so deeply carved as to
pillar.

Although

essentially

an almost violent pose o( dehanchetnetit.

It is

though the sculptor were trying to suggest the figure actually walking forward to
present the bundle of grass. The body is carved with the same interest in reveahng the

as

fleshly fullness

the

first

of form that Indian sculptors of even earher periods had possessed, but for

time with a suggestion of the body

54

as

an articulated whole, rather than as the

THE SUNGA PERIOD

sum of its

individual parts. This figure need only be

of nature-spirits
of sculpture in
special

at

less

Bharhut

(Plate 14B) to see the

than one hundred years.

importance for the

later representation

knot, perhaps a reahstic portrayal of the

'

'

compared with the

representations

change that has taken place in the

feature of iconographical note that

of the Buddha in human form,

Brahmin

is

craft
is

of

the top-

hairdressing, but clearly a prototype

Buddha's ushnisha or cranial protuberance. At the top of the pillar above the
figure of Indra is a low reHef medalHon representing Lakshmi, the goddess of dawn,
for the

receiving a lustral bath

from two

elephants.'

55

CHAPTER

THE EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD

The

final

and perfect balance of the tendencies described

attained in the great

monument of the

of the four gateways of Stupa No.

at Saiichi

was

monument

and the toranas

Sanchi railing
centrated

the four, and

received

at the four points

the gateways.

is

The mound of the

It

its

great stupa

was probably in the last decades of the first century

principal embelhshment in the form of the railing

of the compass. Unlike the enclosure

The southern

remarkable chiefly for

its

portal

Hon

is

Bharhut, the

at

lowed, in order, by the carving of the north,

capitals,

The most notable of the

east,

which were almost

and west

site. Tliis

It

iconographic scheme either for the sculptural decoration of the

for the ornamentation

of the individual

may have been

portals,

dedicated

it

may

certainly

work was

artistic

fol-

point of view

should be pointed out that, since there

haphazardly combined

con-

portals.

four toranas from the iconographic and

the eastern gateway (Plate 21).

is

usually regarded as the earliest of

copied from the Asokan column that stood not far from the

is

is

the sculptural decoration

completely devoid of ornament, and the sculptural decoration

is

upon

Asokan foundation which was enormously enlarged by the

originally an

patronage of the Andhra Dynasty.

B.C. that the

in the preceding chapter

Early Andhra Period

at Safichi (Plate 20a).

(72-25 b.c.)

is

no

unified

monument as a whole or

be that the disparate subjects

by individual donors who

specified

what they wished the craftsmen to represent in the allotted space. Students of Far
Eastern art wiU recall that in the Chinese cave-temples of Yiin Kang and Lung Men we
find innumerable individual dedications of Buddhist figures and rehefs carved without

regard to any unified iconographical scheme.

Our

detailed illustration

of the upper part of the eastern gateway

(Plate 20b)

shows

the architectural arrangement usual to these toranas and the distribution of their icono-

graphy.

The superstructure is supported by massive blocks, sculptured with

shown as though processing round the actual capital. Between the

elephants

figures

of

cross-bars

or architraves are square blocks with symboHcal representations of events from the Hfe

of the Buddha. There are two panels of Lakshmi typifying the Nativity; the Enhghtenment is indicated by the tree and empty throne and the Preaching at Samath, by the
;

wheel. Further references to these same themes with the throne and what appears like a
rehef of an Asokan column occur on the vertical props between the cross-bars. These
architraves are built as
tive

though actually passing through the uprights

of earher wooden architecture.

minating in tightly
scrolls partly

wound

It is

in a

manner sugges-

possible that these long horizontal panels ter-

spiral volutes are a transference to stone

unrolled for exhibition. ^ In our view of the gateway

of popular picture

we

can recognize in

Buddhas of the Past, typified by stupas; in the

the bottom panel, Asoka's visit to the Bodlii Tree.

the upper cross-bar representations of the

centre, the Great Departure; and, in

To

right

and

left

of the main subject in

tliis

56

lowest bar

may

be seen richly carved

THE EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD

peacocks, perhaps intended only as decoration, but very possibly referring to the heraldic

emblem of the Maurya Dynasty. The top of the gateway at Saiichi was originally
crowned with trisula or trident symbols, one of which remains in place at the right, and
probably by a central palmette motif, such as may still be seen on the one surviving gateway from Bharhut (Plate I2b). The illustration of the complete gateway in Plate 20B
shows the decoration of the outer jambs of the torana: at the left, reading from top to
bottom, the Great EnHghtenment, the Conversion of the Kasyapas, and the Departure of
King Bimbisara from Rajagriha; at the right, representations of the Heaven of Brahma
and the Paradises of the gods.

two

Originally there were

bough enclosed

figures

of yakshis

these figures to the north

in position (Plate 22).

is still

of the woman-and-tree motif that

effective adaptation

Bharhut. Although the thrust of the body and

tuitive sense

was to

fiU,

of the

round, supported by a

in the

spandrel between the uprights and the lowest architrave.

as a

hmbs

architectural appropriateness

the form, perhaps

by

is

It is

we

mango
One of

a drastic and dramatically

have already encountered

of this particular figure for the space

the sculptor's intent,

at

conceived with a wonderful in-

is

not conceived in the

full

it

round,

no modelling bewas meant to be seen only from

directly in front, or in the rear view afforded the visitor from the upper processional
path on the drum of the stupa. Although functionally the image plays no part in the
support of the gate, it would be hard to imagine anytliing more simple, yet more dramabut

is

sculptured as

stowed upon the

tically effective

two high

both from the iconographical and aesthetic points of view, than

sentation of the tree-spirit.

of the

tree,

rehefs placed back to back, with httle or

lateral sections. Actually, the figure

and from

this

Her

legs thrust

this pre-

with the force of a buttress against the trunk

magic touch its encirchng boughs flower and receive the

caress-

ing grasp of the yakshi, so that she seems like a hving vine, part of the tree that she

The figures of yakshis at

Saiichi, hke the rehefs at Bharhut, are here as survivals

which had been accepted by Buddhism and which nothing would
eradicate from the popular mind. 'These figures of fertihty spirits are present here because the people are here. Women, accustomed to invoke the blessings of a tree spirit,
would approach
(these)
images with similar expectations.'^ Although their presence confirms acceptance by the Buddhist Church, their provocative charms seem al-

quickens.

of earher nature

cults

. . .

. . .

most symboUc of that world of

illusion that the

worshipper leaves behind

when he

of this yakshi and the figure from the South

Gate of Saiichi in Boston (Plate 23) does not, in comparison with the Bharhut yakshi,
depend on any closer imitation of a natural model, but on the sculptor's more successful
realization of form within essentially the same conceptual framework. The advance is
enters the sacred precinct.

The

effectiveness

not within the direction of naturahsm, but in the more

plastic articulation

of the body

dynamic vitahzation of the form. We have here an even more notable connotation of the quality of flesh in stone achieved by the essential shapes and interlockings
of smooth convex surfaces that suggest, rather than describe, the softness and warmth
of a fleshly body. The suggestion of flesh and the swelling roundness of form is denoted
further by the constricting tightness of the belt and by the contrast of the straight and
angular tubular hmbs with swelling convexities of bust and pelvis. A sense of vitahty
itself and

the

57

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

communicated by the

is

tense twisting of the torso

on

its axis.

In the frankness of their

of the union of spiritual and

erotic statement the Sanchi yakshis are a perfect illustration

metaphor that runs like a thread through all rehgious art in India.
As has been already mentioned in the preceding chapter, the gigantic statue of a yakshi
found at Patna (Plate 24), formerly assigned to the Maurya Period, fmds its proper
chronological place in the same period with the figures of tree-spirits on the Great Stupa
sensual

Patna figure and

at Saiicln. In the

sculptural realization
articulation.

Many

its

we

counterparts at Saiichi

of a fuU and voluptuous form with a

of the devices of the

see for the first

definite sense

time the

of its organic

Saiichi sculptors are here, such as the

pendent

necklaces falling in the hollow between the breasts and setting off their globular fuUness,

and the tightoess of the beaded apron compressing the flesh of the hips and abdomen to
emphasize the fullness and softness of the sweUing flesh. The whole figure is conceived
with an almost abstract sense of mathematical volumes, so that the dominantly spheroidal
is echoed in the bosom, and again in rehef in the rounded contours of
abdomen. It seems almost imnecessary to point out that this sculpture reveals a degree of accompHshment that wotdd have been beyond the powers of the artisans of the
rehefs of Bharhut. Like the yakshi of the Saiichi gateway, the figure is flattened at the back
with only a perfunctory indication of modelling. Just hke the terra-cotta figurine of the

shape of the head

the

Indus Period,
it

this colossal portrayal

of a yakshi is composed

way. Although
fromParkham, there
the suggestion of sculptural volume and a
in an additive

has the same frontahty and something of the rigidity of the figure

is,

as

explained above, a

greater crispness

much

and precision

sculpture, the very precision

greater ease in
in the carving

of details. Indeed, here,

as so often in Indian

and hardness with which jewels and metal ornaments are

rendered in stone serve, by contrast with the smooth planes and surfaces of the flesh
parts, to suggest the essential soft

and

warm

Turning to the rehef sculpture of the

quahty of the

Saiichi

gateway,

flesh

connoted in stone.

we notice in

such a panel

as the

representation of the Great Departure (Plate 25A) that, in contrast to the Bharhut rehefs,
in

which individual forms were attached

details

to a shallow background, here the figures and

of setting are so deeply cut that they seem to swim against

shadow. The resemblance of

sculpture

is

certainly coincidental,

a technical point

of view

this

dark background of

Roman

type of colouristic reUef to

this

and must be explained by quite

fourth-century

different means.

From

method of deep backgroimd carving may be regarded

the result of the Indian sculptor's desire to have his compositions

and white completely and instantaneously legible

in the glare

tell as

as

a pattern in black

of the Indian sun. From

the iconographical point of view the technique provides the same illusion as the Bhaja
panels of the forms emerging

from

a kind

shadow. The method of presenting the

is

more

greater

elaborate

and more

in question

we

of universal matter connoted by the enfolding

comparison to the Bharhut medaUions,

form of the mode of continuous narration made possible by the

suitable dimensions

story, in

of the long, rectangular panel. In the composition

have both the cause of the Great Departure and

its

confines of the same panel. In the centre of the composition the

enactment within the

empty

seat

beneath the

on the miseries of hving creatures

that resolved liim to relinquish the pomps of the world and seek the salvation of humanity.
rose apple-tree typifies the Buddha's first meditation

58

THE EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD

Although
in

this

event in the legend and the actual flight from Kapilavastu are separated

number of years,

time by a

the Indian sculptor finds the topographical and historical

unity of the happenings of greater consequence than any unity of time.' This
illustration

of

how

legends. In the relief under discussion the Departure

fashion,

with

is

another

time and space become one in depicting the heroic

in Indian art

his footprints estabhshing the

is

presented in the usual symbolical

Buddha's presence and the form of the horse

Kanthaka repeated several times relating the progress of the flight from his father's
The precision of the carving of this and other panels tends to confirm the inscrip-

palace.

tion

on the western gateway

that the sculpture

was the work of ivory-carvers from the

nearby town of Bhilsa.

We may select as typical of the rehefs of the torana pillars the panels of the outer face
of the eastern portal. Most interesting of these

is

the scene of the Conversion of the Kas-

yapa Clan, in which the Buddha confounded these heretics by performing the miracle

of walking upon the waters (Plate

of plinth or plank floating on the

27). His actual presence

river.

The Kasyapas

is

by

indicated only

kind

are showoi twice, once in a boat

ready to rescue Sakyamuni, and again on the shore reverencing the Buddha at the successful

conclusion of the miracle. If this rehef in certain aspects reminds us of Egyptian or

western Asiatic prototypes,

art

simply because,

it is

as

has been pointed out before, Indian

perpetuated the ideals of all those ancient traditional societies in which the

artist's

aim

was the communication of a theme in its most readily apprehensible form. In accordance
with this conceptual method of presentation, every element of the composition is portrayed from

and time, so
parallel

its

most

that,

characteristic point

whereas the river

rippHng hnes, the

species, the leaves are

noted that in

trees

is

of view, without regard to

its

position in space

shown from above and its waves are

on the banks

indicated

by

are shovra in profile and, to indicate their

enormously enlarged within these ideographic contours. It will be

other reUefs at Saiichi, the emphasis is entirely on the delineation

this, as in

of the various elements of the composition in terms of shadows reinforcing the outlines
and interior drawing in the form of incised lines. There is no intent to estabhsh any space
beyond the plane of the main figures and accessories and the background plane behind
them. Although there

is

a sUght

modeUing of individual forms

so that they

have some

beyond a mere silhouette, the conception of the rehef seems almost to be in

terms of drawing rather than sculpture, with no suggestion of the iUusionistic depth that
substance

we find

in later periods

of Indian

art. If

the Safichi rehefs in certain details reveal a kind

of intuitive naturahsm in the recording of plant and animal forms,

it is

because they are

which the humanity of the founder and his kinship with

all nature were still stressed. For people whose real faith rested in large part on the worship of the Dravidian nature-spirits and the barely disguised folk-tales that were the
Jatakas, the vaUdity of the real world could not be suppressed. Here is a reflexion of 'an
attitude to Hfe in which any duahsm between spirit and matter, or between the mystic
the productions of a rehgion in

and the sensuous,

is

inconceivable'.'*

Everywhere the early Indian sculptor displays a loving awareness of the material
world that surrounds him. The varieties of trees, flowers, birds, and beasts are not recorded from the point of view of a naturaHst boimd to catch the precise texture and
59

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

Figure

Structure
this

Saddantajalaka,

5.

of these forms based on

scientific

Cave X, Ajanta

observation and dissection, but rather - and

could be a definition of the conceptual point of view in art - are these accessories of

the natural world set

down as the artist knew them or remembered them, revealing with

memory image the most characteristic aspect of the growth

the selective intensity of the

and articulation of specific plants or animals. Landscape

tain before

which the dramas, rehgious and popular,

jungle, the towering peaks -

sign

is,

in order to set off,

method we have already

is

reduced to the barest

and not
seen

from, the

distract

employed

as

such does not

The

exist.

are played - the green prison

essentials
activities

cur-

of the

abbreviated as a stage de-

of the

actors.

By the same

for Uving creatures, mountains are reduced to

pyramidal, block-Hke forms; ponds and rivers are spread Uke carpets, with an engraving

of

parallel lines to indicate

by

this

symbolism the nature and movement of water. All

these conventions are present not only in the sculpture but also in the remains

of wall-

paintings in the Early Classic Period.

Although there are copious references to painted decorations

early Buddhist texts, the only surviving examples

are to be

foimd in a rock-cut chaitya-hall

in the cave confirm

its

in the Jatakas

and other

of wall-painting from the early period

at Ajanta in the

Deccan.' Various inscriptions

dedication in the second century B.C., and the fragments of wall-

painting in the interior are probably to be dated

principal wall-painting in

Cave

is

no

later

than the

first

century B.C.

The

devoted to the Saddantajalaka, wliich recounts the

story of the Buddha's sacrifice of his tusks during his incarnation as an elephant (Figure 5).
Its

arrangement

recalls the

scheme of the

Saiichi architraves, since the

composition

is

presented in the form of a long frieze in which the action progresses from episode to
episode, as in a Far Eastern scroll-painting.

It

should be emphasized, in view of the later

compositional developments in Indian wall-painting, that the picture

is

entirely confined

within the borders of its frame, and does not cover the entire wall. Only about one-tliird

60

THE EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD

of the painting

The

is

given over to the actual martyrdom and the denouement of the tragedy.

greater part of the space

is

devoted to a most wonderfully naturahstic recording of

forest. We see them bathing, resting, feeding, and
The composition is crowded, and yet one has the

home in the deep

the elephants in their

apprehensively awaiting the hunters.

impression of the beasts

moving with

them. Every available area that

is

freedom

perfect

in the space that the artist assigns

not occupied by the forms of the pachyderms

with the carving of floral and fohate forms, and serves to give a dramatic
density of the jungle.
figures in

tlie

Although the elephants

composition, the

artist

immense dignity and weight, and

sculpture

is

much

as the

human

has given us a marvellous impression of their

their

ponderous frohcs. The nearest comparison

25B).

Saiiclii (Plate

The same method of continuous

employed, so that the figure of the six-tusked elephant

(the future

Buddha)

is

narration

repeated

fewer than four times. In the rehef only the intrusion of the figure of the hunter

extreme right suggests that

this

space in these animal subjects

in

is

in

of the same story on the cross-bars of the southern and

in the representation

western gateways of

are types, just as

fiUed

is

illusion to the

is

more than

a jungle idyll.

The method

exactly the same as that in dealing with

is

no

at the

for suggesting

human

figures

both sculpture and painting. The forms in the foreground shghtly overlap those

behind, which are placed above

As

in

all

periods of Indian

art,

them in one or more

we

mastery in rendering the animals

pletely characteristic

of the

are struck

in hterally

species.

tiers

with the

to the top of the composition.

artist's

complete assurance and

dozens of poses, every one of which

The elephants at Ajanta and

such consummate knowledge of their specific articulation and gait that

think of a

is

Saiichi are rendered

comwith

it is diiFicult

to

memory-image intervening between the artist and the reahzation of his design.

The setting, especially in those portions of wall-painting dealing with the activity of
human figures, is entirely formahzed, and exists only as a background. There is already
a completely

evolved convention whereby rocks are symbohzed by a

series

of block-Uke

by duphcation of these same forms. These

serve to connote the idea of rock or mountain

cubes, and mountains are represented simply

shapes,

by

their squareness

and hardness,

without the necessity of any really structural or textural description of the form. This

is

method of representing trees, whereby leaves of the differmere ideograph of the trunk-and-b ranch structure. Neither

the equivalent of the archaic

ent species are attached to a

the backgrounds of the Saiichi rehefs nor of the early Ajanta wall-paintings are to be

taken as early landscapes in the development of a landscape tradition, for the simple
reason that landscape never developed beyond this point in any later period of Indian
art.

This stage of development which remains unaltered approximates that of European

landscape in the

work of Giotto and Ins

followers, in wliich the presence

of any necessary

was indicated by the most meagre details generally presented in the same conceptual
fasliion. Actually, there was no reason why a tradition of landscape painting should develop in India at all. In no phase of Indian philosophy or reUgion was there any suggessetting

tion

of the immanence of the deity

to the beauties of the

wUdemess

for

in the
its

world of nature, nor any romantic attachment

Nature for the Indian was essentially a

own sake.

combination of constantly menacing, even dangerous,

forces.

There was nothing lovable

about the jungle, nor the succession of scorching heat and torrential
61

rains

and

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

inundations, that could produce an Indian Claude or even a Salvator Rosa. Just as the

anthropomorphic personification of every natural force

in

Greece mihtated against the

development of an Hellenic school of landscape painting, so

tradition
spirit

of personifying every element

in India the Dravidian

in nature, hostile or friendly, in the shape

of a

anthropomorpliically described obviated the necessity for the development of

landscape.

As the dryad

in

Greece personified the grove, so in India the

yakshi and naga represented tree and lake.

Only such

details

human

of natural

shapes of

were
As in

settings as

necessary to the interests of his didactic narrative concerned the Indian

artist.

Giotto a single oak could represent the whole forest of St Francis's wandering, a single

banyan

suffices to

suggest the

home of the

elephants in the depths of the great forest.

62

CHAPTER

THE ROCK-CUT SANCTUARIES OF

EARLY BUDDHISM
The

wood and

temples of Buddliism, properly speaking, were buildings of

earliest

thatch erected

when

the

demand

arose for actual shrines to enclose

some

cult object,

such as a memorial stupa, to concentrate the worship of the Buddha's followers on

some

symbol of his earthly mission. Prior to tliis, the services had been
the open air, in groves or forest clearings, such as the Buddha was wont to

material reminder or

conducted in

select for gatherings

of

his disciples.

These earhest structural buildings of Buddhism

we

can get a very clear impression of their appearance

have, of course, disappeared, but

from the

sculptural rephcas

in various parts

of India

temples of western India.

a natural grotto that

made

recesses are

is

chaitya-hall,

which

the

the

most
is

began to be carved from the hving rock

Maurya

'cave'

home of wild

history. 'Rock-cut sanctuaries'

hewn from

edifices as

The word

the

among

of such

as early as

is

Period. These are the so-called cave

actually rather misleading, since

beasts or savages,

sophisticated examples

it

imphes

whereas these entirely man-

of rehgious

a better definition for these

art in all Indian

enormous

halls

of worship

The definition,
derived from the word chaitya,

the rock in imitation of free-standing architectural types.

sometimes appHed to these monuments,

amples of the

any holy

place.

of Alexander the Great and the re-estabhshment of

though there

is

The rock-cut temples are only the most ambitious exdevelopment of monumental stone-carving that followed on the invasion

refers to

is

no

direct resemblance to the

relations

with western

many examples of such

tecture in Egypt, Asia Minor, or Iran, there can be httle

Asia. Al-

sculptural arclii-

doubt of the influence of such

prototypes as the tombs of the Achaemenid emperors at Naqsh-i-Rustam, in which the

carved facade represented the elevation of a palace at Persepolis in

we

shall see, as the

much

the

same way,

facades of the Indian chaitya-halls reproduced those of actual

we are dealing with works of sculpture rather than arcliitecture,

was an appeal in the very permanence that was promised in the
carving out of tombs or temples from the very bones of the earth. In the Indian examples
there was probably already the idea of preserving the Buddha's Law through the bad
times at the end of the kalpa. Such grotto sanctuaries appealed to the early Buddlaists
through their association with caves that even in Vedic times had formed the abodes of
hermits and rishis. The development of the religion from the isolated practice of asceticbuildings. In both cases

and in both

cases there

ism to the formation of a monastic organization required the enlargement of the single
rock-cut

assembly

cell

provided for the retreat of holy

halls that

we fmd

men by Asoka to the monumental rock-cut

in western India to-day. All these principal sanctuaries

of

Hinayana Buddhism are located within a radius of two hundred miles of Bombay. They
are hollowed out of the almost perpendicular bluffs of the Western Ghats. They are exact
P

63

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

imitations of pre-existiiig structural forms, and in almost every one the reminiscence
these prototypes

wood and

is

carried to the point

parts

of the model fasliioned

of
in

The rehef of Indra's Paradise at Bharhut

appearance of an actual wooden chaitya-hall (Plate 17).

attached to the rock-cut rephca.

accurately reproduces the

We

of having many

may

take as a typical example of the earUest type of chaitya-hall the rock-cut

cathedral at Bhaja, datable in the early part of the second century B.C.

Its

plan (Figure 6)

of a nave separated by rows of columns from smaller aisles terminating in a

semi-circular apse, in which was located the principal symbol of worship, a rock-cut
stupa. Although this arrangement does suggest the plan of a typical Classic or Early
consists

Figure

6.

Chaitya-hall and Vihara at Bhaja: Plan

is no more than accidental, since the plan of the

was specifically evolved to provide for the rite of circumambulation around
the symbol of the Buddha's Nirvana and to provide space for services within the main

Christian basdica, the resemblance

chaitya-hall

body of the church. The method of carving the chaitya-hall at Bhaja and the many more
it was of course a sculptural, rather than an architectural, problem. After the perpendicular rock wall had been cleared and smoothed off,
the outliiie of the intended facade and entrance was indicated upon it. As may be seen
from certain unfinished caves at Ajanta, the workmen began by turmelling into the cHff
at the level of the intended height of the vault of the interior. In this way it was unneceselaborate examples that followed

sary to erect

any

scaffolding. After the ceiling

and roof were completed, the workmen

continued quarrying downward, removing the debris of rock through the open facade

and disengaging the columns and the carved stupa

64

at the rear

of the

edifice.

The

earhest

EARLY BUDDHIST ROCK-CUT SANCTUARIES

chaitya-halls,

of which Bhaja

bered, since not only

an example (Plate 28), could be described

is

were wooden

as half-tim-

transverse ribs in imitation of the structure of free-

standing buildings affixed to the vault, but the entire facade was once constructed of
striking feature of this wooden frontispiece was a kind of rose window
number of wooden members following the curvature of the vault that
divided the window into a number of lunulate openings. The lower part of the facade
consisted of a wooden screen with openings into the nave and aisles, and probably

wood. The most

constructed of a

decorated with the balcony and merlon motifs that are carved in stone above the entrance to the chaitya proper.

The

blind chaitya niches and balconies joined

by carved

raihngs are reminiscences of the picturesque architecture of contemporary palace forms

exactly similar building forms

columns of the

interior

may

be seen reproduced in the rehefs at

of Bhaja are completely plain octagonal

gered inward, so that the top of the shaft

with the base. Presumably

wooden
roof

It

building, in

this

which

is

this

could probably be said

It

something

like five inches

Safichi.

They

The

are stag-

out of alignment

a strict imitation of the arrangement in a structural

expedient was necessary to support the weight of the

general rule that the greater the slant of the piUars

as a

in a rock-cut sanctuary, the closer

token, earher in date.

is

shafts.

it is

to actual

wooden

will be noted that in the latest

prototypes, and,

of the Buddhist

by

the

same

basihcas, such as

begun in the first century B.C., this reminiscence of wooden originals

It would be impossible to give, either in words or photographs,
any adequate idea of the enormous impressiveness of these Buddhist cathedrals. This impressiveness comes, not from the builders' providing a sense of space, as in a Gothic
cathedral, for here space is completely controlled and restricted, but from the beauty and
the chaitya at Karh,

has entirely disappeared.

austerity

of the architectural members and the mystery provided by the twihght which

in these interiors
feels

seems to make everything melt and almost disappear, so that the visitor

himself in a magic world of unreahty.

not unlikely that the early Buddliist temples, both free-standing and rock-cut,

It is

embodied something of the same metaphysical symbohsm

stupa form. Just as the medieval cathedral in Europe, with

that
its

was attached

to the

cruciform ground-plan

and the encyclopaedic character of its decoration, was a symbohcal likeness of the body
of God and a reconstruction of the universe in a microcosm, so, too, the chaitya might
be thought of as a reahzation in material form of that cosmic house which
verse,

its

entrance the door of the world, the frame in which Indra fixed the

the universe

is

Brahma. The

referred to as a house built

solar

symbohsm of the

is

the uni-

air.

Often

of timber, and the timber of that structure

great lotiform

window

seems

as

imphcit here

is

as in

the Gotliic rose.

By

far the largest

and most magnificent of the cave temples of the Hinayana period is

from Bhaja (Plate 29A and Figure 7). In

the sanctuary at Karli, only a short distance

front of the fa(;ade one can

still

see

one of two massive free-standing columns or stam-

bhas that originally had enormous metal wheels supported on the Hons above the loti-

form

capitals.

The

actual order

of these

pillars is a

of the Maurya Period, except that the fluted

the

lats

the

Brahmin water-bottle or

lota.

The

continuation of the arrangement of

shafts

now rest in a form suggesting

erection of such shafts at the entrance of the

65

THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS

temple has

many

precedents in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, and must be accepted

as yet anotlier survival

of early Indian contacts with western Asia. The Karli chaitya

from others of the type in that the facade screen is of carved stone, with the excepof the lotus window, which consists of the usual teakwood framework. The sculp-

differs

tion

turing of this entrance wall

is

extraordinarily rich

and colourful. The whole structure

appears to rest on the backs of elephants that were originaUy fitted with metal ornaments

and ivory

tusks.

few

reliefs in this

Figure

7.

narthex are centuries

later

than the dedication of

Chaitya-hall at Karli: Plan and Elevation

the cave in 80 B.C. and belong to a period

when

the sanctuary

was converted

to

Maha-

yana worship. (Recent unpublished research by

Mr

versity reconsidering the historical, epigraphical,

and numismatic evidence for the date

Walter Spink of Harvard Uni-

of the Andhra Dynasty clearly indicates that the year 32

this era.

Accordingly, the dates of the

earliest

and

c.

of the rock-cut temples

one hundred and twenty-four

of the shrine

is

that

is

and the vault

of

marked

the beginning of

Bhaja and

50 B.C. and a.d. 120). The interior (Plate 29B) of this largest

Karli should be revised to

a half feet in width,

B.C.

latest chaitya-halls at

rises forty-five feet

a Gothic church.

The
66

feet in length

above the

by

forty-six

and

floor; so that the scale

basihcan plan persists with the usual rock-

EARLY BUDDHIST ROCK-CUT SANCTUARIES

Only in the ambulatory of
do the plain octagonal shafts of the earhest chaityas appear in the coloimade.
The columns of the nave have become rich and elaborate in treatment. Each individual
column rests in a water-jar, like the stambhas of the exterior. The sixteen-sided shafts
support lotiform bell capitals, and above these rise inverted pyramids, which in turn
support elaborately carved groups of elephants with male and female riders on their
cut stupa located in the circumference of the ambulatory.

the apse

backs.

There

of the

capitals

is

no suggestion of the staggering

practised at Bhaja.

of the nave columns are so deeply carved and

The sculptural groups

set so closely

together that

they give the effect of a triforium frieze of continuous sculptural ornament.

The richness

of this decoration provides a luxuriant contrast with the

of the other

members. The chaitya

at Karli,

with the

relative austerity

facjade screen intact, gives us

original effect these cathedrals produce, with the

some

idea of the

hght streaming through the timbered

rose-window to illumine the

interior with a ghostly half-hght, so that the very walls of

seem to melt into an envelope of darkness and the sensation of any kind of space
itself becomes unreal.
The only other architectural form of the Hinayana Buddhist period that has survived

the rock

is

the purely monastic structure

known as the vihara. One of the very oldest is the rock-

cut verandah with the reUefs of Indra and Siirya already studied at the

more

site

of Bhaja.

from which the

individual rooms for the monks opened. This monastic type of rock-cut building was
not hmited to Buddhism. Many viharas dedicated to the Jain faith and dating from the
second and first centuries B.C. are at Khandagiri and Lahtagiri, not far from Bhuvanesvar
in Orissa. These estabhshments toUow no regular plan. Some of them are even carved
on two levels. Most of them are characterized by the elaborate carving of the projecting
elaborate type contained a single large haU, square or rectangular,

verandahs supported by pillars with every

member - columns, doorways, and overhang-

ing thatched roof - clearly imitated from structural prototypes. Features like the forms

of these columns and the roU cornice of the overhanging roof appear over and over
'

'

again as fixed motifs in the later architecture of Buddhism and Hinduism.

67

PART THREE

ROMANO-INDIAN ART IN NORTH-WEST

INDIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
CHAPTER

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

GANDHARA: GRECO-ROMAN FORM AND
INDIAN ICONOGRAPHY

I.

The

designation Kushan art

tecture, sculpture,

may

properly be applied to

the productions of archi-

from about the

to the seventh centuries a.d.,

first

when

these

were under the domination of the Kushan or Indo-Scythian Dynasty of rulers.

Art under the Kushans, however, divides

Whereas

all

and painting in Afghanistan, north-western India and the Punjab, and

present-day Pakistan
territories

in the northern portions

of

itself into

their

two completely

distinct categories.

domains, comprising the ancient province of

Gandhara, the Kushan patrons of Buddhism availed themselves of the services ofjourney-

men craftsmen from the Roman East who produced a form of Late Antique art dedicated
to

Buddhism,

struction

at

the southern capital of Mathura (Muttra),

on

the Jumna River, the con-

and embeUishment of the Buddhist and Jain estabhshments were

a continuation

of the techniques of the native Indian schools. The peculiarly hybrid character of the

art

by devoting considerable space to

the history of north-western India both before and after its conquest by the Kushans.
The earliest reference to Gandhara and its people is in the Bisutim inscription of
Darius (c. 516 B.C.), in which the region of Gandhara, separate from India, is numbered
among the nations subject to the Achaemenian Empire. Presumably this subjection to
the first great Persian empire continued until Gandhara was invaded by Alexander the
that flourished in these regions can be explained only

Great in the cold season of 327 B.C.

The

has been greatly exaggerated, and tins

its art.

The

actual rule

of Alexander
tor,

The

to relinquish

consohdated power of the

gupta.

Under

influence of Alexander's raid in northern India

particularly true

by Macedonian Greek

in 323 B.C.

was forced

is

of the region of Gandhara and

captains in India lasted only until the death

successor to Alexander's Indian dominions, Seleucus Nica-

all

first

claim to Indian territory south of the Hindu Kush by the

of the Indian emperors of the Maurya Dynasty, Chandra-

the great Buddhist sovereign, Asoka, the region was converted to

Bud-

dhism, and the rock edict of Asoka at Shahbazgarhi, some ten miles to the east of Mardan, gives positive proof of the proclamation of the Buddha's

69

Law

in

Gandhara. The

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
Maurya Empire following

gradual break-up of the

the death of Asoka in 232 B.C. again

opened the Peshawar Valley to foreign aggression.

Although the might of Chandragupta Maurya had forced Alexander's

successor,

Seleucus Nicator, to withdraw his garrisons beyond the

Hindu Kush, this withdrawal

only made for an even stronger consoUdation of Hellenistic power in the ancient province of Bactria, the territory centred around the modem Afghan city of Balkh. In
about 250 B.C. the over-extended empire of the Seleucids began to disintegrate. Iran was
claimed by a dynasty of obscure origin known to histor)' as the Parthians, and the province of Bactria declared
pletely separated

its

from the

independence under a Greek prince, Diodotus.

Now com-

world of the West by the Parthians

in Iran, the

Hellenistic

independent kingdom of Bactria continued to maintain some semblance of Hellenistic

culture, although, since

doubtful whether

its

rulers

this isolated

were perforce a nuhtary

Eurasian Greek colony had

tion of Hellenic artistic ideals in Asia

(Plate 30, Figures A-c).

Its

history

is

beyond

aristocracy,

it is

extremely

much to do with the perpetua-

the minting of a magnificent series of coins

one of almost continuous warfare and displacement:

Gandhara and the Kabul Valley were reconquered by the grandson of Diodotus, Demeabout 190 B.C.; the successors of Demetrius were almost immediately dispossessed of Bactria and Gandhara by Eucratides, the rider of a rival Greek clan. Although,

trius, in

following the estabhshment of a dynasty by Eucratides, princes with Greek names

continued to hold these

territories until after the

middle of the second century

B.C.,

unhappy band of Hellenic exiles were numbered. As early as 135 B.C.

they were driven out of Bactria by an invading horde known as the Sakas. These
people of Scythian origin later became intimately associated with the rulers of Parthia,
and indeed, as early as the first century B.C., seem to have displaced the Parthians in eastem Iran and in the region of western Afghanistan known as Sistan. A Saka ruler by the
name of Maues or Moga conquered north-western India in about 90 B.C., thereby
constricting the rule of the last of the Greek sovereigns to the Kabul Valley.^
It was not long before the Sakas in ttim were forced out of Bactria by another race of
Scythic origin, the Yiieh-chih, whose homeland was originally in the province of Kansu
in north-western China. These people, knowTi in Indian history by the name of the most
powerful tribe, the Kushans, gradually increased their power until in the first fifty
years of our era they made themselves masters not only of the Kabul Valley but also of
the years of this

the region

of Gandhara. This conquest involved the displacement of the Sakas and the
last of the Greek sovereigns, Hermaeus.- The date of a.d. 64 is usually
marking the sack of the city of Taxila and the final estabhshment of Kushan

overthrow of the
accepted

as

domination in north-west

India.

The foimder of the

line,

Kujula Kadphises,

is

remem-

bered not only for his conquest of Gandhara and the Punjab, but also for the estabhsh-

ment of an intimate commercial and

pohtical relationship with the

Roman Empire of

Augustus.

Of far

Gandhara was Kujula's grandson, Kanishka,

Kushan sovereigns, who made Peshawar his
winter capital and extended his conquests from central Asia to Bengal. Kanislika is frequently referred to as a second Asoka for his efforts on behalf of the Buddhist rehgion.
greater import for the history of

the most powerful and

renowned of

the

70

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS: GANDHARA

His foundations included the great tower at Shah-ji-kl-Dheri, which, from the accounts of
the Chinese visitors of the fifth and seventh centuries,
ders of the Asiatic world.

was

It

in the ruins

must have been one of the won-

of this monument that the reUquary of King

Kanishka was recovered in 1908.' Although the Buddha himself never visited Gandhara,
the texts composed by Buddhist sages under the Kushans made of the region a veritable
holy land of Buddhism by the association of various

with events

sites

in the previous

incarnations of Sakyamuni.

Although coins are generally regarded

as

minor art,

for periods

hke that of the Kushan

Scythians they furnish evidence invaluable for the interpretation of the major

arts.

They

provide us with the complete evidence of the strangely syncretic character of Kushan art
and rehgion. Just as postage stamps to-day furnish the philateHst with symboUcal commentaries on the economic and cultural environment of the countries of

issue,

the

shan coins provide an advertisement of the rehgious and cultural relationships of

Rome

dynasty. Kujula Kadphises imitates the coins of Augustus; and deified

place

on

the

Buddha

divinities

(Plate 30, Figure

Greek

i),

of Iran and Greece

(Plate 30, Figures e-g), in the persons

Herakles, and Hehos,

all

by

identified

of Mithra

inscriptions in corrupt

letters.

Under Kanishka and

and

on the

of the Kushans included not only the

(Plate 30, Figure h), but, in addition to Siva (Plate 30, Figure d), representa-

of the

tives

this

has her

the array of deities to be found

money of Kanishka. Judging from

coins of Kanishka and his successors, the pantheon

Ku-

it is

his successors

to this era that the finest

Gandhara enjoyed

Gandhara sculpture

its
is

period of greatest prosperity,

The dates of
among scholars. Although

to be assigned.

Kanishka's reign have been the subject of considerable dispute

the years a.d. 78 and 128 have been suggested for the beginning of his reign, the most
recent evidence seems to point to the year 144 as the date of his accession.'*

The dynasty

of Kanishka lasted hardly a hundred years, since in a.d. 241 an invasion by Shapur I of
Iran brought to an end the rule of the last sovereign of Kanishka's line, Vasudeva.^
Thereafter a lesser Kushan dynasty maintained

century a.d. For the later history of Gandhara

accounts of Chinese pilgrims

who,

itself in

we

as early as the fifth

ney to the holy land of Buddhism. Fa Hsien,

north-western India until the

are dependent almost entirely

century, undertook the long jour-

who travelled through the Peshawar Valley

shortly after A.D. 400, describes the foundations of Kanishka

ishing and well cared for.

When

his successor.

Sung

and

his successors as flour-

Yiin, visited the region in 520, the

country had already been overrun by Mihiragula and the White Huns.
only a few years after Sung Yiin's

Buddliism in Gandhara by
tion.

When

visit that this ferocious

his destruction

later,

came

to north-west India a

he found the country in a ruinous, depopulated

Although

state,
all

Gandhara proper came to an end with the invasion of the Huns, the
in isolated

was indeed

of the monasteries and butchery of the popula-

the Buddliist estabHshments in a state of complete decay.

Kashmir and

It

barbarian virtually extirpated

the last of the Chinese pilgrims, Hsiian-tsang,

hundred years

fifth

on the

Buddhist estabHshments in Afghanistan

with most of

Buddhist

art in

style survived in

as late as the

seventh or

eighth century a.d.

Although the period of

its

florescence follows after the early Indian schools

71

of the

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
Maurya, Sunga, and Andhra Dynasties, the
tinuation of tliis indigenous tradition.

Its

art

of Gandhara

is

not in any

way

a con-

geographical position and the contacts between

Kushan rulers and the West made for the development of a style quite apart from the
main stream of Indian tradition, and in certain aspects almost entirely Western in form.
The subject-matter is, however, Indian. The repertory of motifs already known to the
early Indian schools and the technique of archaic Indian sculpture are to a hmited extent
the

on

carried

province of Indian culture. There never was any real fusion

in this outlying

of Indian and Western

Gandhara. The

ideals in

arts

of India and Gandhara advanced

along separate paths in different directions. Inevitably, the inappropriateness of the

humanistic Classic forms of Western art for the expression of the mystical and symbohc
behefs of Indian Buddliism led to the disappearance of this imported style with the de-

of the Gupta Period.

by the Kushans is actually no more difficult to understand than their espousal of Buddhism. Being foreigners in India, they could not be accepted into the Hindu faith, and presumably both their adoption of Buddhism and support of a foreign culture were parts of a poUcy designed to maintain their autonomy in

velopment of the truly Indian

The patronage of foreign

ideals

artists

the conquered land.*

The

art

of Gandhara

is,

properly speaking, the

The term Gandhara

Kanislika and his successors.

tecture, sculpture,

'

official art

art '

is

of the Kushan Emperor

applied to this school of archi-

and painting, which flourished in north-western India from the first

comes from the ancient name of the region,

to the seventh centuries a.d. This designation

and

is

to be preferred to ' Greco-Buddhist' a

distinctly misleading, since

it

term sometimes appUed to the same

impHes a derivation from Greek

art.

This

is

art,

but

the carving

visit to the Lahore Museum, wrote of as 'Greco-Buddone savants know how long since, by forgotten workmen whose hands

which Kipling, describing Kim's

dhist sculptures,

and not unskilfully, for the mysteriously transmitted Grecian touch'. Actu-

were

feeling,

ally,

the Gandhara sculptures have httle to

Hellenistic phase,

school

is,

Roman

do with Greek

and are much more closely related to

art either in its Hellenic or

Roman

art.

The Gandhara

indeed, perhaps best described as the easternmost appearance of the art of the

Empire, especially in

of the Gandhara carvings

is

its

late

and provincial

manifestations.'^

The

subject-matter

almost entirely Buddhist. Although Kanishka, through his

patronage of Buddhism, has rightly been regarded

as the

founder of the Gandhara

form of architecture and sculpture was introduced in north-western India during the reign of the Saka-Parthian
Dynasties, as may be illustrated by a number of temples and sculptured fragments from
school, there

is

ample evidence

that Hellenistic art in the

the city of Sirkap at TaxUa.*

In addition to great hoards of

have been found

Roman

at various points in the

coins, objects of unquestioned foreign origin

Gandhara region. These would include Alex-

andrian metal statuettes of Harpocrates and Dionysius, found at Sirkap in Taxila, a

bronze Heraklcs from Nigral, in the British Museum, and numerous

cosmetic dishes with erotic scenes. These

have been found

in large

numbers

latter objects are also

plaques or
origin,

and

An even more considerable treasure of imglass and Roman metal and stucco sculpture, was

at Taxila.

ported objects of art, including Syrian

steatite

of Alexandrian

72

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS: GANDHARA

unearthed at
tion

the

Begram

in Afghanistan.

of the intimacy of the

Roman

relations,

The importance of all

commercial and

these

cultural,

fmds was

a confirma-

between Gandhara and

West.

Although the presence of tliis material in a way provides a, properly speaking, Hellenistic background for Gandhara art, it was unquestionably the introduction of bands of
foreign workmen from the eastern centres of the Roman Empire that led to the creation
of the

Buddhist sculptures in the Peshawar Valley.

first

collections

periods,

It is

from the time of the

not

fmd

difficult to

in all

Roman workmanship of

of Gandhara sculpture fragments resembling

all

Flavians, Kanishka's contemporaries, to the very last style

of Roman sculpture of the fourth century, usually designated as Late Antique. It may certainly be assumed from this evidence that, from the days of Kanishka untd the end of
Buddliism and

art in

its

north-west India and the Punjab, the practice of importing

foreign artisans continued.

ity

It

must be necessarily supposed, however,

that the vast major-

of the sculptures are by native craftsmen following these successive waves of foreign

influence.

Although the subject-matter of Gandhara

art

is

predominantly Buddhist,

many of the

motifs discernible in the sculptures are of either western Asiatic or Hellenistic origin.

Such Mesopotamian motifs

tastic

as the

Persepohtan capital and merlon crenellation, and fan-

monsters like the sphinx and gryphon, had already been assimilated by the ancient

Indian schools. Other forms, such as the atlantids, garland-bearing erotes, and semi-

human

creatures like the centaur, triton,

of Hellenistic

Kushan

and hippocamp, were

introduced by the Romanized Eurasian

art

Buddhism - probably had

A.D. under the patronage

The

part of the repertory

the service of the

court.

What we refer to as Gandhara art - that is,

cated to

all

artists in

of the

its

first

the sculpture of the Peshawar Valley dedi-

beginnings in the

Kushan emperors

later

decades of the

first

century

to rule in north-western India.

earUer theory that a school of Hellenistic art in Bactria

was responsible

for the be-

ginnings of the Gandhara school has evaporated like the whole mirage of Bactrian civil-

As has been noted, no Greek art existed in Bactria beyond the coins.
The chronology of the sculpture of the Peshawar Valley still remains a vexing problem,
owing largely to the absence of any definitely datable monuments. A number of pieces

ization.

of sculpture do bear inscriptions with a reckoning in years of an unspecified

however, possible to arrive

the help of

era.' It

this material; especially

is,

with

datable by reference to the works of Roman art wliich they

Among the earhest examples is the famous rehquary of King Kanishka,

bears a date

primitives,

chronology for

monuments

closely resemble.

which

at a tentative

its

style

first year of the ruler's reign (Plate 38a). Like all Gandhara
mixture of the archaic formulae of the early Indian school com-

from the
is

bined with iconograpliical borrowings from the West, such

erotes circhng the

drum of the

casket.

The

as the

garland-bearing

stucco sculptures ornamenting the base of

Kanishka's pagoda, Shah-ji-ki-Dheri, belonged to the same style and period.

The earhest Buddhas datable by inscriptions belong to the second and third centuries
They reveal a style of drapery clearly derived from Roman workmanship of the
Imperial Period. The very latest examples from such Afghan sites as Begram, the ancient
A.D.i"

73

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
Kapisa, have the drapery reduced to a net of string-Hke folds, very

of the sculpture of Palmyra on the trade route

of the body have a

of

ratio

Buddha

statues gradually

in

school

soft,

is

Roman world from

the third to the fifth centuries a.d.

usually credited with the

first

anthropomorphic form. The portrayal of Sakyamuni

bol,

probably

is

Roman and

effeminate Apollonian facial type of the early

assumes the mask-like, frozen character of Late Antique sculp-

ture that prevails over the

The Gandhara

in the manner
The proportions

five heads to the total height, exactly as in late

The

Early-Christian sculpture.

much

to the Mediterranean.^*

Buddha

representation of the

man, rather than as a symlinked v^th the emergence of devotional sects of Buddhism at the time
as a

of Kanishka's Great Council. The quahty of bhakti or devotion

in the later

Buddhist

demanded a representation of the master in an accessible human form.*^ The earliest

Buddha images were a compound of iconographical and technical formulae adapted by
the foreign sculptors from the repertory of the Late Antique world. Images of this type
appear on Kanishka's coins (Plate 30, Figure h), one may imagine, as part of this sovereign's propagandizing of the Buddhist rehgion. These representations, Like those on
Kanishka's reUquary (Plate 3 8a), are in a way abstract or simplified by reason of their
sects

small

size,

so that

it is

impossible for us to say that they are

conventionaHzed deriva-

'

'

from some supposedly pre-existing naturaHstic or Greco-Roman type.

the translation of Buddhist iconography into ready-made foreign patterns
the same process that took place in the formation of Early Christian art, so
tions

surprising in the earhest

In

Gandhara

is

essentially

that

it is

not

Gandhara Buddhas to find Sakyamuni with the head of a Greek

Apollo and arrayed in the paUium or toga, carved in deep ridged folds suggesting the

Roman
tations

statues

of the period of Augustus. In exactly the same way the earhest represen-

of Christ show him with the head of the Greek sun-god and dressed

in the garb

of the teachers of the ancient world.*^

The

analysis

of any typical Gandhara image wdU reveal the indebtedness to prototypes

in the repertory

of

Buddha, formerly
31).

Roman

The resemblance of

Apollo Belvedere

art in the first

installed in the Guides'

is

the head, with

We

may

select the

adolescent features and

its

of the Greek sun-god

wavy

hair, to the

been disguised by an adaptation of the top-knot or

(Plate 32).

The only

magic marks or lakshand appropriate to a Buddha

is

reliance

on

the descriptions of the

to be observed in the elongated ear-

lobes and the definition of the urna or 'third eye' between the brows.
this

image of

Hoti Mardan, near Peshawar (Plate

at

immediately apparent. As in countless other Gandhara images, the

cranial protuberance or ushnisha has

krobylos

century a.d.

Mess

Even

the pose of

image with the Praxitelean dehanchement of the body beneath the robe might have

been borrowed from the Greek Apollo type. The over-garment

representation of the Buddhist mantle or sarighati,
gestive

of Imperial draped

ful realization

statues

of the mantle

body beneath, and

of the

first

is

century a.d. in

as a free-standing

itself,

recognizable as a

carved in a manner extremely sug-

Rome. The entirely success-

voluminous substance separate from the

the definition of the folds in a system of deeply carved parallel swags,

of such famihar Roman prototypes as the statue of Augustus

from Prima Porta in the Terme Museum at Rome. The statue from Mardan belongs to
the most Classic phase of Gandhara sculpture, and might be dated in the late second

are immediately reminiscent

74

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

GANDHARA

the process repeated in countless other Buddhist images and

which the foreign craftsmen responsible for the initiation of this
school adapted the Roman iconographical and teclinical methods to meet the requirements of their Kushan Buddhist employers.
The florescence of the Gandhara school, as far as stone sculpture was concerned, was

century a.d.

It illustrates

narrative rehefs, in

extremely short-lived, and there

is

reason to beheve that as early as the third century

stucco sculpture almost entirely replaced the earher carving in

of Gandhara Buddhas

in stone

survived the Sasanian invasion of a.d. 241.^*

Great Miracle, from

Begram

Some

slate.

late

examples

have been found, however, in centres where the school

A typical illustration

is

the

Buddha of the

in Afghanistan, a piece that reveals the transformation

of

the Classical style of the second and third centuries into an approximation of the stand-

Roman West (Plate 33).

The Oriental tendencies that are usually
credited with the breakdown of the humanistic style of the West are here represented
by Indian iconographical and technical concepts. The now completely un-Classical appearance of the Begram Buddha is to be explained by the replacement of foreign by
native Indian talent. The whole figure is more hieratically and less humanistically conceived, and so in a sense is more in conformity with the truly Indian ideals of the rehgious image. The Apollonian face of early Gandhara Buddhas has taken on the mask-like
character of the heads of Indian images of earher schools. The face is spheroid, and
ards and techniques of Late Antique art in the twihght of the

Probably

to

it

this is

an entirely parallel development.

the individual features are attached, with only a schematic suggestion of their

organic relationship.

The formerly voluminous drapery

strings or ridges. This reduction

of the

Classical

has been reduced to a system of

garment to

a linear

formula

is

perpetu-

ated in later Indian schools of sculpture and spreads even to the Buddhist sculpture of

China and Japan. '^ Iconographically,

this

rehef

is

interesting because

it

reveals the de-

velopment of a new tendency whereby the enormously erdarged figure of the Buddha
with appropriate gestures and attributes stands for the event
earher narrative treatment of such scenes.

Much more of a real invention than the standing image

tion

of ^akyamuni seated with

was no

liis

illustrated

and replaces the

_
of Buddha was the representa-

legs locked in the characteristic

yoga posture. There

Classical precedent for such a representation, so that, perforce, the conception

had to be based on the observation of actual models, combined with the Eurasian sculptor's

repertory of late Classical types and techniques.**

typical

example of the seated Buddha of the

monastery of Takht-i-Bahi, formerly

Classical type

in the Ethnological

is

Museum

the rehef

from the

at Berlin (Plate 34).

The word 'rehef here is advisedly used, because, even though they suggest the fuU
round when viewed frontally, neither tliis nor any other Gandhara Buddha is executed
Probably for the reason that they were meant for installation in the niches
of Buddhist chapels, Gandhara images are generally left entirely flat and unfinished at the
back. The present seated figure is styhstically the exact counterpart of the image at Marin the round.

dan. Here

is

the

same Apollonian

of Roman workmanship of the

is

some suggestion of

facial type,

first

and the deeply pleated drapery reminiscent

century a.d. Although in the present instance there

the presence of an actual

75

body beneath

the mantle, the seated

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
Buddha type

Gandhara quickly degenerates into

in

which the head and trunk of the

figure are placed

completely inorganic formula in

on top of a

bolster-like shape intended

to represent the folded legs.

Since even the best of the seated Gandhara

of a draped Greco-Roman adolescent

istic Classical

in

Buddhas

are

an unusual pose,

no more than

a representation

easy to see that the

it is

human-

formula was entirely inadequate to the task of portraying a personage im-

bued with the

of yogic

ecstatic inner serenity

The Gandhara

trance.

estabhshed the type and form of the anthropomorphic Buddha.

sculptor has only

remained for

It

later

by appropriately abstract and ideal means the

pent-up, dynamic force and self-contained power of the Enlightened One.
In addition to the origin of the Buddha image, the Gandhara school is probably to
generations of Indian sculptors to suggest

be credited with the invention of the Bodhisattva type (Plate

images were most likely

all

Buddha Sakyamuni while

intended

still

as representations

a Bodhisattva.

finery of a contemporary Indian Rajah

Maurya and Sunga

are

all

literal

The type of royal

essentially the

is

35).

at Taxila

same

skirts

the

as

the

had been used

in the

The Gandhara Bodhisattvas

- a costume that is certainly a

The jewellery of these

style

of these Bodliisattva images

is

mixture of teclmiques

origin, so that, for example, the stiff swallow-tail folds

of the dhoti are ob-

Rome

under Hadrian, and

viously an adaptation of the neo- Attic style that flourished in

the carving of the faces varies

from imitation of Roman models

to a rigid

and hard pre-

of the grave figures of Palmyra.

cision suggestive

Another

is,

all

be duphcated in the finds of Hellenistic and Sarmatian gold unearthed

and elsewhere. The

of Western

of these

figure arrayed in

adaptation of the actual dress of Kushan and Indian nobles.

may

first

Periods for representations of yakshas.

showoi wearing turbans, jewellery, and muslin

royal statues

The

of Prince Siddhartha; that

definite

borrowing from

Roman

art in the

Peshawar Valley was the method

of separate episodes, in much

way that the pictorial iconography of the Christian legend was based on the
approved Roman method of portraying the careers of the Caesars by a number of disof representing the story of the Buddha legend

in a series

the same

tinct

chmactic events in separate panels.

the device of continuous narration that

It

will be noted that

was

inevitably

tliis is

employed

a distinct break

from

in the ancient Indian

schools.

The Gandhara rehefs show no less

They reveal once again

Bodhisattvas.

different periods

against a plain

styhstic variety than the statues

dependence on

certain rehefs in wliich figures

Roman and

of definitely

of Buddhas and

Indian art of many

Classical type are isolated

background are reminiscent of the Augustan revival of the Greek

of the Great Period;

others, in

which comphcated masses of forms

style

are reheved against a

deeply cut, shadowed background, display the method of the early Andhra rehefs at

which in a way approximates the 'illusionism' of Roman rehef of the ConstantinGandhara rehef sculpture owes its rather puzzling character to the fact that
teclinically an impossible mixture of archaic and developed styles of carving the

Saflchi

ian Period.
it is

narrative

method and conceptual point of view of the old Indian

the illusionistic spatial experiments of

The

first

type of rehef

may

Roman

art

be illustrated by a

76

schools

combined with

of the Imperial Period.

steatite

panel of a stair-riser from a

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

Gandharan monastery

GANDHARA

The subject is presumably the Presentation of the

The carving is characterized by the isolation of the figures

(Plate 36).

Bride to Prince Siddhartha.

one to another
by their postures and gestures. These features, together with the fully rounded carving
of the mdividual forms, remind us of Augustan rehefs from the Ara Pads and other examples that are ultimately based on the Greek reUef style of the fifth century b.c.^'' It
may well be that this rehef and many others in the same style - some with actual pagan
against a plain background, although the forms themselves are related

subject-matter - should be considered the very earhest examples of the Gandhara school,

and that only somewhat

Roman

later

was

this

type replaced by imitations of the

more

typically

dlusionistic manner.^^

A typical Gandhara rehef that illustrates the more comphcated aspects of the style is a
large panel, nearly

two

feet high, representing the

Nirvana of Buddha

(Plate 37).

At first

might almost be mistaken for a Roman carving of the time of Septimius Severus.
The many tiers of figures emerging from the depths of the shadowed background are
obviously carved in such a way as to provide a very rich and dramatic contrast in hght
glance

it

and shade. The rehef is a perfect illustration of the strangely unhappy styhstic mixture
resulting from the combination of the technically advanced and reahstic methods of

Roman

craftsmanship and the essentially archaic and conceptual point of view of the

native Indian tradition.

The whole is

a strange

combination of the

illusionistic

depth and

dramatized chiaroscuro of Roman rehef combined with the old intuitive method of indicating spatial perspective

other that
feature
tions

is

we

by placing the consecutive rows of figures one above the

at Saiichi and elsewhere. Another distinctly non-Indian

have already seen

the violent expression of emotion, not only the gestures, but the facial contor-

of many of the

figures emphasizing their grief at the Lord's demise. This concern

with the expression of pathos and inner

sarcophagi of third-century
in the final or
cilable

may

'

feeling, suggestive

Roman art, comes

to

of the so-called barbarian

be exploited to an even greater extent

Gothic' phase of sculpture in Gandhara.

A final illustration of the irrecon-

mixture of Classical humanism and the iconographical demands of Buddhism

be discerned in the figure of the dying

principle

of

hieratic scaling, the figure

is

Buddha

himself.

According to the ancient

enormously larger than the forms of the

mourning disciples. This duahsm becomes the more apparent when we reahze that the
form is not really conceived of as a rechning body at all, but, hke Western medieval
tomb effigies, is simply a standing Buddha type placed on its side. This panel is probably
to be dated in the heyday of foreign workmanship in Gandhara, in the late second or early
third century a.d.^'

We are probably safe in concluding that, whereas in the early centuries of Gandhara
sculpture the favourite

medium

for carving

was the blue

scliist

and green phyUite of the

was employed for sculpture as early as the first century

A.D., and by the third century a.d. had largely replaced stone as the material for the
decoration of stupas and viharas. The malleable nature of this medium made for a freeregion, stucco or hme-plaster

dom

of expression that eluded the carvers of the intractable

slate.

images were originally embellished with polychromy and gold

for architectural decoration

had

its

origin in Iran, and

77

it

may

Both stone and stucco

leaf.

The

use of stucco

well be that the Sasanian

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
invasion of a.d. 242 was responsible for the

as a centre

fine

of late Gandhara sculpture,

it

almost universal employment of stucco

late,

Although the famous Afghan

in all Gandhara.

site

of Hadda has become world-renowTied

should not be overlooked that there are

specimens in stucco from such north-west Indian

Takht-i-Balii near Peshawar. In the

make any

last

centuries

of the Gandhara school

distinction in either style or technique

many
and

Taxila, Sahri-Balilol,

sites as

difficult to

it is

between the sculptures of the Kabul

Valley, the Peshawar region, and the rehgious estabhshments of Taxila in the Punjab.

The

sculpture of Gandhara seems to confirm the testimony of the Chinese pilgrims

the predominance of the Hinayana sect of Buddhism.^"

statues

is

and other

on

subject-matter of the single

most part restricted to representations of the mortal iakyamuni and the

The rehefs, with the exception of Bacchanahan scenes

for the

Buddha of the

The

Future, Maitreya.

subjects

Buddha and the

of Hellenistic origin, are devoted entirely to

legends of his earher incarnations.

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and rehefs with multiple

earhest examples

illustrations

of the hfe of

A number of statues identifiable as the

Buddha images may be taken

the

as

of Mahayana Buddhist sculpture.

Undoubtedly there was at one time a great corpus of Gandhara sculpture in metal, of
which only a few small statuettes survive.* There are, however, even more interesting
survivals in this medium: from the early decades of the nineteenth century, when treasure-hunters and amateur archaeologists first began to open the stupas or topes of northwestern India and Afghanistan, there have come to hght a number of reUquaries containing corporeal fragments of Buddhist saints, some of which are of considerable importance for the history of art in

this

no-man's-land between East and West. The

official

excavation of the ruins of the principal stupa of King Kanishka at Shah-ji-ki-Dheri, near

Peshawar, resulted in the discovery of what

is

beHeved by

rehc box deposited by this greatest of Kushan sovereigns.

made of an amalgam of precious metals

pyxis,

been interpreted

as referring to the first

the lower band of the

and

drum

consists

many
The

to be the actual metal

object itself

(Plate 3 8 a). It bears

year of Kanislika's reign.

of representations

is

round

an inscription that has

The ornamentation of

in rehef of garland-bearing erotes

Kushan sovereign, presumably Kanishka, between the divinities of the sun and
the side of the hd is a zone of geese or hainsa, emblems of the spread of Bud-

moon; on
dhism.

To

the top of the cover are fastened free-standing statuettes of the Buddha,

flanked by Indra and Brahma.

The

style

of these images

in the

round and of the

repousse

extremely crude, and more closely related to imitations of Gandhara sculpture

at the Kushan capital of Mathura; so that, actually, the rehquary might have been imrehefs

is

ported to Peshawar.2i

maker, Agesilas,

The most

who was

Classic feature

of the object

is

the Greek

name of the

probably a Eurasian in the employ of the Kushan court.

An even more interesting fragment of Gandhara metal-work is the so-called Bimaran

Museum (Plate 3 8b). It is a round box of pure gold repousse, in-

rehquary in the British

laid

with rubies. This also was a container for fragments of Buddliist rchcs.

enclosed in a stone box,

when

Masson, in the ruins of a stupa

that a

It

in turn

was

discovered by that pioneer in Indian archaeology, Charles

at

Bimaran near Jelalabad in Afghanistan.^^ From the fact

ruler, Azes, were found with the rehquary, it used to

number of coins of the ^aka

be assumed that the casket must be dated in the

78

first

century B.C. Deposits of coins,

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

however, are rather unreliable

for

of the

inserted long after the burial

were

GANDHARA

purposes of dating, since they could have been and often

reUcs. StyHstically, this httle piece

of metal-

provides very valuable evidence for the dating of the Gandhara style and

work

its

The decoration of the rehquary consists of a band of cusped niches enclosing

figures of Buddha, flanked by Indra and Brahma, just as on the Early Christian sarcophagi we find a trinity of Christ revered by Saints Peter and Paul. This combination of
figures and architectural setting, described by Focillon as 'homme-arcade', is not found in
origins.

Roman
istic

art before the

motif of Late

Sidamara sarcophagi of the second century A.D. This character-

Classical decoration

stupas in north-western India

is

repeated endlessly

on

the

drums and

of

bases

and Afghanistan. All these examples obviously can be no

The

earher than the third century a.d.

of the figures on the Bimaran rehquary,

style

with their voluminous Classical mantles, likewise corresponds to the most Western type

of Gandhara sculpture of the

closely related to

Roman

late

second and early

prototypes of the

tliird

centuries a.d.

- the

and second centuries A.D.

first

It

style

most

should be

noted, however, that the arches of the arcade are not in the least Classical, but have the

famihar ogee form of the chaitya window.

Probably owing to its poUtical isolation from India proper and the maintenance of con-

Roman

tinuous contacts with centres of artistic activity in the

joyed a greater longevity and

any other Indian school.

It is

also

maintained a

West, Gandhara

monotony of expression

art

en-

unlike that of

the very repetition of type and techniques over a period of

on

nearly five centuries that makes any kind of chronology

a styhstic basis so very diffi-

one can be didactic about this problem, it can be stated that the school
highest point of production and aesthetic effectiveness in the second and third

cult. In so far as

reached

its

centuries a.d., the period coinciding with the closest contacts

In the last centuries

of its existence the

production of the Eastern

frontaUty, abstraction,

style

Roman Empire,

and

hieratic scaling

becomes

with the

Roman

world.^^

closer to the orientahzed style

of

which the old Oriental tendencies towards

were beginning to assert themselves over the

in

humanistic Classical forms of earher times.

Presumably the disastrous invasion of the Wliite Huns

to

all

in the sixth century put

an end

Gandhara beyond the execution of repairs on such

The Chinese pilgrim Hsiian-tsang's account of the

further productive activity in

monuments

as

survived

this raid.

ruined monasteries that greeted

him everywhere

in the

Peshawar Valley

is

probably an

accurate description of the terrible desolation of this once flourishing Buddhist centre.

The fmal

chapters of Gandhara art have their setting, not in Gandhara, but in

and such remote centres

at least as late as the

as

Fondukistan in Afghanistan, where

the same

coration and technique as has been exemplified

that, like the sculpture, the history

the attempt of the deposed

the sculpture.

art.

Dar-ul-Aman near Kabul

villas

are a

79

It
is

Indian de-

must be remembered
in reahty a separate,

A twentieth-century parallel suggests

Afghan King Amanullah

country: his gutted palaces at Jelalabad, the

the flower-beds at

compound of Classical and

by

of architecture in Gandhara

foreign interlude in the development of Indian

his

Kashmir

continued

seventh century a.d.

The architecture of Gandhara reveals

itself in

artistic activity

to foist

on
amid
Kushan pohcy

European

styles

standing deserted and ruinous

modem repetition of the

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
of importing foreign

styles.

of Sans Souci and Swiss

Romanized

ideals the

The

Anyone who

architecture of

earhest examples

Saka-Parthian sovereigns
the

how strange and unacceptable

Gandhara must have appeared.

of arcliitecture

ancient city of Taxila, notably the

Ordy

has seen these melancholy rehcs of imitations

chalets can appreciate

who

in

tliis

region are the buildings in and around the

of Sirkap, which was the

site

to Indian

capital

of the Greek and

ruled in the Punjab before the advent of the Kushans.

ground plan of the royal palace

at Sirkap survives. It reveals

an arrangement

N
O 10 20

40
10

Figure
I.

Halls of Audience

2.

8.

60
15

80 FEET
20

METRES

Palace at Sirkap, Taxila: Plan

Women's

Quarters

3.

Private Court and Men's Quarters

not unlike that of the ancient palaces of Mesopotamia, with a division into the king's
apartments, audience chambers, and harem (Figure
structure

on

the

culture of the

main

first

street

century B.C. Tins

(Plate 39a). It consists

dome of a

stupa.

of Sirkap

The

of

is

principal facade
It is

pilasters are reliefs

8).

characteristic

The foundation of an

interesting

of the partly Greek, partly Indian

the so-called Shrine of the Double-headed Eagle

a square base that at

variety of porous sandstone).

between these

is

is

one time supported the hemispherical

faced with blocks of the local kanjtir stone

ornamented with

pilasters

(a

of a composite type, and

of architectural monuments, including a representation

80

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

GANDHARA

of a Classical pedimented aedicule, a torana or Lidian gateway, and a chaitya arch. On the
summit of the last is a double-headed eagle, from which the shrine derives its name. The
use of the engaged order is, of course, suggestive of Roman precedent. But the capitals
themselves are completely non-Classical, and even debased in proportion.

The only

building at Taxila with a plan remotely approximating a Classical shrine

the so-called Fire

Temple

at Jandial.

plan

were four Ionic

(Figure 9). Originally, there

room corresponding

The

is

that

pillars

of a peripteral temple

between the

antae;

is

in antis

behind

this,

and a second apartment corresponding to the inner

shrine of the Parthenon. The outer circumference of the temple consisted of rubble
masonry piers spaced at regular intervals in a marmer suggesting the colonnade of a
to the

cella,

Greek temple.^"* Actually, the plan corresponds much more closely to the plans of the fire
may have

temples of Iran in the Achaemenid and Parthian Periods. That the sanctuary

10

Figure

METRES
9.

Temple

been dedicated to Mazdaean worship

is

at Jandial, Taxila:

Plan

suggested by the absence of any kind of imagery

back of the shrine of a platform, perhaps originally supporting

a wooden fire-tower. The Ionic columns of the portico are built with drums in accordance with the Greek method (Plate 393). The capitals and bases approximate late Greek

and by the presence

at the

provincial examples of the order and confirm the dating of the temple in the time

Parthian supremacy at Taxila

The

{c.

of

50 B.C. to A.D. 65).

of Gandhara to architecture was in the development of

We may take as an example the viliara at

principal contribution

buUdrngs dedicated to the Buddhist reUgion.

Takht-i-Bahi, an isolated
capital

site

nected courts open to the sky,

monks

from Peshawar, near the supposed location of the

The basis of the plan is a series of consurrounded either by cells for the accommodation of the

not

far

of the Parthian Gondophares

(Plate 40).

or by niches to house the devotional objects ofthe monastery (Figure 10). Larger

chambers served

as

assembly

halls

or refectories.

Some of the outdoor

enclosures are

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
crowded with

stupas

of varying

sizes,

the gifts of individual donors, clustered around a

larger stupa that contained the principal reUc of the estabhshment.

The

buildings at

Takht-i-Bahi, Uke their counterparts at Taxila and elsewhere in Gandhara, are constructed

of stones of varying

sizes

arranged in a diaper fashion. Certain elements, hke the

heavy, overhanging cornices of the niches, are obvious imitations of prototypes in

thatch.

We must imagine that originally the entire surface of this stone fabric,

with the statuary

chromed and

it

gilded.

Figure lo. Monastery at Takht-i-Bahi

The
Saiiclii

Plan

known

at

and Bharhut. This elaboration takes the form of the all-over sculptural ornamenta-

drum, and hemispherical dome. Especially notable

superstructure.

like appearance,

and

stupa in Gandhara marks the gradual elaboration of the primitive types

tion of base,

on the

together

housed, was covered with a heavy layer of hme plaster, richly poly-

it is

Not

is

the greater emphasis

infrequently the Gandhara stupas have an attenuated, tower-

whereby the height of the

finial

dwarfs the

size

of the base and dome;

highly likely that from such models the earUest pagodas of China were devel-

oped. As an example of this architectural type in Gandhara, the Ali Masjid stupa in the
82

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

Khyber

Pass

may

GANDHARA

be taken (Plate 41 a). The illustration shows the

and before

ately after excavation

its

figural decoration

Pathan tribesmen. This monument, originally more than forty

istic

of even larger Gandhara stupas

in

its

monument immedi-

was demohshed by

elevation, consisting

feet high,

iconoclastic
is

character-

of two square

bases, a

drum, probably originally in two storeys, and surmounted at one time by the usual
superstructure of harmika and finial of tiered umbrellas. The ornamentation of the facade
is the combination of Indian and Classical elements so universal in every aspect of Gandhara

Supporting the second storey of the basement are caryatids in the shape of

art.

crouching yakshas and hons.

The principal scheme of decoration

consists

of a stucco

vetment of arcades attached to the facade. These arcades on bases and drums ahke
of chaitya arches supported on stubby balusters framed in debased Corinthian

The

ornamentation of the Bimaran rehquary, and

effect recalls the

from the engaged orders of Roman

is

architecture. This architectural

re-

consist

pilasters.

ultimately derived

ornament

is

carried

out entirely in lime plaster attached to the core of the stupa, which was constructed of
the usual mixture of boulders and small stones.

the

The

sculpture installed in the niches of

Masjid stupa comprised a heterogeneous assortment of Buddha and Bodhisattva

Ah

images - not arranged, apparently, according to any unified iconographic scheme, but
representing only different aspects of the deified Buddha of the Mahayana faith. This
reUc

mound

now

to the stupa,

height

is

is

characteristic

of Gandhara in the elaborateness of its decoration, apphed

and not to

its

surrounding

The

railing.

architect's interest in greater

suggested by the repetition of the storeys of the base and drum.

The most famous

stupa in Gandhara, a veritable Buddliist

the great tower raised

by King Kanishka

wonder of the world, was

in Peshawar. Excavations at the

site

of Shah-

ji-ki-Dheri have revealed a massive square platform richly decorated with stucco images

of the Buddha, and with

staircases leading to

of the Chinese pilgrim. Sung Yiin,

superstructure

was

rose to a height

built

who

an upper

level.

According

to the description

visited the site in the sixth century a.d., the

of 'every kind of wood' and the monument in thirteen storeys

feet; it was dominated by an iron mast supporting

of seven hundred

through its attraction of hghtning,

of the tower.^' One may gain some idea of its original appearance
from the miniature stupas of tower-like proportions foimd at Taxila and elsewhere

thirteen gilded copper umbrellas, an element which,

led to the destruction

(Plate

41B)."

Although,

as

we have

already seen, the Ionic order

Partliian period at Taxila, Corinthian

erected during the

prototypes in

Kushan

era.

is

was used

in buildings during the

almost universally employed in the structures

The Corinthian

capitals

of Gandhara have

their nearest

Roman provincial examples in Syria and Palestine. There is notliing organic

about the arrangement of leaves and hehces; even the calyx cups from which the
ling fronds

emerge in Classic Corinthian have disappeared. In

certain

spiral-

examples (Plate 42 a)

such an apphcation of acanthus leaves to a form recalling the ancient Indian bracket type

of capital

results in a

complete

loss

duced into the fohage,

Roman

of the basket-hke shape of the Corinthian. In many

of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are introcombination of elements suggestive of the Composite form of
order. Indeed, the predominance of the Corinthian order, together with an

examples of Gandhara Corinthian

capitals figures

83

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
almost total absence of the Doric and Ionic in Gandhara architecture of the Buddhist
period,

whole

is

one of the strongest arguments

in favour

of the entirely

Roman

origin of the

school.

Sir John

Marshall has attempted to estabhsh a chronology for Gandhara architecture on

the basis of the types of masonry found in buildings of consecutive strata at Taxda.
buildings of the Parthian Period, hke the temple at Jandial prior to the
tion in the

first

century a.d., have their

vi^aUs

The

Kushan occupa-

constructed of rubble, a heterogeneous

mixture of large and small stones (Plate 39B). This type was replaced in the earUest
Buddhist structures by a variety of diaper-patterned rubble with the

with small stones or snecks

(Plate 42B) . In the latest types

dating from the third century and

later, this

interstices filled

of Gandhara buildings

courses of precisely cut ashlar masonry alternating with layers of rubble.

different types

at Taxila,

method was improved by introducing

of construction was meant to be seen. They served only

core for an outer decoration of poly chromed stucco.

None of these
as a base

or a

CHAPTER 10

II.

The completely

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

MATHURA: THE INDIAN PHASE

Indian art created at Mathura

(modem

Muttra) on the Junma River in

the early centuries of the Christian era, unlike that of Gandhara, did not appear as a sud-

den outburst of creative activity inspired by Kushan patronage. It may be properly regarded as an outgrowth of the ancient Indian schools inscriptions and fragments of
sculpture take the history of Mathura as a centre of rehgious art back to c. 200 B.C.; a
:

number of dated fragments from

the early

first

ments, are the styUstic equivalent of some of the

century a.d., mostly from Jain

more advanced works

at

great period of Mathura's florescence coincides with the great century of

imder the reigns of Kanishka and

his successors

temporary with the school of Gandhara. The

(c.

a.d. 144-241),

city continued as

and

is

monuThe

Bharhut.

Kushan

rule

thus exactly con-

an important rehgious

Gupta Period. The sculptured decoration of the rehgious estabhshments at Mathura, from pre-Kushan times through the Gupta Period, was all carved
from the red sandstone quarried at Sikri, near the Kushan capital. This is an exceedingly
ugly stone, frequently marred by veins of yellow and white, so that streaks and spots of
and

artistic

centre in the

these lighter colours disfigure the surface. For this reason, there can be

the

or

whole carved

surface

was

originally covered

little

doubt

that

with a concealing layer of polychromy

gilt.

Before examining the specimens of purely rehgious

group of portrait

statues separated in style

art, it

will be useful to consider a

both from the Gandhara school and the native

techniques of Mathura. This group of statues consists of portraits of Kanishka, his predecessor,

Kadphises, and a Kushan satrap, Chashtana, who ruled in Sind. Given

connexion with the royal patrons of Buddhism in northern India and their

Wima

their intimate

autonomous

styHstic character, these effigies

make an

interesting starting point for the

consideration of the contribution of the school of Mathura.

AH

the portraits were found

together in the ruins of a structure that presumably was exclusively devoted to a royal
cult.i It

should be emphasized

first

rather than reahstic in character,

of portrait sculpture

known

of all

that,

although representations of donors, typical

do occur on Gandhara reUefs,

in ancient India.^

fluence behind their manufacture

and

these are the sole examples

This factor alone suggests a foreign in-

installation.

Probably

this influence is to

be traced

knowledge of the Roman practice of erecting hkenesses of the deified

Caesars or the Parthian commemorations of mortal sovereigns. From the styhstic point
of view, the latter possibihty seems more probable. The statue of Wima Kadphises,
to the Kushans'

dated in the sixth year of Kanishka's reign (a.d. 134 or 150), represents the ruler seated
on a Uon-throne, wearing the short tunic and heavy felt boots so famihar on the coinportraits

of these same Kushan kings

(Plate 43).

85

Only

the breadth of shoulders and

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
fullness

of the form suggest

of the Indian figure

a continuation

The image

style.

has a

massiveness and crudity immediately suggestive of fragmentary Iranian portrait-statues of

by

the Parthian Period pubhshed

Hcrzfeld.^

might be mentioned,

It

too, that the precise

carving of the ornamental border of the cloth draped over the throne reveals an almost

woven

exact copy of the designs of

close

silks

from Palmyra - one more indication of the

commercial and cultural hnks between the Kushan Empire and the West.

The companion

statue of Kanishka (Plate 44) is identified by an inscription cut across

bottom of the mantle: 'The great King, the King of Kings, His Majesty Kanishka'.
The statue shows the monarch standing rigidly frontal, liis hands resting on sword and

the

mace. The statue

on his coins is

is

we

invariably see in the coin-portraits (Plate 30, Figures

h). Kanislika in this official statue

a type

still

found

in Gilgit. Tliis

is

clad in a stiff mantle

a dress

it is

imported from the homeland

No effigy of an Assyrian king or Roman Caesar gives a stronger

impression of authority and

effect

and heavy, padded boots of

costume, so entirely unsuited to the heat of Mathura, was

perhaps assumed for ceremonial purposes, since

of the Kushan invaders.

of Kanishka

likeness

one could reconstruct the image by adding the massive beard-

ed head with peaked cap that

and

of the whole to the

headless, but the resemblance

so close that

power than

tliis

image of the conqueror from the

conveyed by the arrogant pose and the

hieratic,

steppes, an

almost idol-like rigidity of the

The image is rather like a rehef disengaged from its background with no suggestion
existence. It consists of hardly more than a stone slab car\'ed into the
silhouette of a cloaked figure. The whole emphasis is on the eccentric silliouette provided

form.

of three-dimensional

by

the sharp

and angular

the same ruler.

lines

of the mihtary mantle, exactly

as in

The indication of drapery consists only of crudely

across the front

of the

skirt,

and the

sole suggestion

the coin-portraits of

incised serpentine lines

of Indian workmanship might be

discerned in the careful rendering of the makara head of the sovereign's mace.

One

with the feeling that the primitive and crude quaUty of these portrait

is

statues

is

left

perhaps

due to the Indian workman's complete unfamiUarity and lack of sympathy with
form of art without the systems of proportion and tradition that determined his

partly
this

operations in carving

Buddha images, he could produce only

the crudest ideograph of a

portrait.

The

sculptors of Mathura undoubtedly deserve credit for creating the earUest, entirely

Indian representations of the Buddha.

exactly contemporary with the

cussed a great deal but

is

first

of Uttle

Whether

these statues are earher, or later, or

Gandhara Buddhas

real interest,

is

a question that has been dis-

except for those determined to estabhsh a

chauvinistic priority for the entirely Indian type evolved at Mathura.

What was presumably one of the very first images of Buddha to

is

more than

tion noting

its

life-sized standing figure

dedication

by a

erect, his feet firmly planted, the right

the

liip

at

certain Friar Bala

corresponding to either a.d. 131 or

on

found

147.'*

hand

supporting the folds of his robe.

and

The

is

Mathura

of Kanislika,

Sakyamuni standing

of reassurance, the
is

shown

left

as a

nude to the waist and wears the

this and related figures of the

The massive proportions of

86

at

bears an inscrip-

has been suggested that he

Bodhisattva, rather than Buddha, since the figure

characteristic Indian dhoti.

It

a date in the tliird year

statue represents

raised in the gesture

It

be carved

Sarnath (Plate 45).

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

same type,

hnk it to
drapery

its

Maurya

the colossal yaksha statues of the

much more

is

MATHURA

connotation of weight and expansive volume, as well

archaic technique

Period.

The

subtle; although greatly simplified

of incised

lines,

as the dress, clearly

carving of both flesh and

and

represented

still

by the

the carving of the drapery suggests not only texture

but the existence of the stuff as a volume separate from the form

it

The

clothes.

subtle

rounding and interlocking of the planes of the torso contrive to give a suggestion of the

warmth and

firmness of flesh and, as in the Harappa torso, a powerful feeling for the

presence of the inner breath or prana.

When

came

it

to the carving of the

Buddha image,

Indian sculptors were no longer

depend on the kind of loving reporting of surrounding nature that gives the early
Indian sculptures such an extraordinary vitaUty; the nature of the subject - the Buddha
already conceived of as a transcendant personage, one who had passed beyond Nirvana able to

almost forced a rehance on preconceived ideals of divine beauty and a dependence on

certain

superhuman proportions and

attributes wliich

would properly

assuming an appropriately iconic aspect of divine perfection.

of visuahzation that bestows such an awe-inspiring and

assure the image's

It is this

enforced method

hieratic character

on

the repre-

of the Great Teacher.

sentations

The making of an image of the Buddha involved much more than the mere carving
effigy and designation of it as Sakyamuni. While Western art sought to make

of a human

human

an aesthetically beautiful form by portraying

figures

which were models of

physical perfection and athletic vigour, Indian art started with abstract spiritual concepts

which had

show

to be translated into physical shape.

achievement of the

his

brium, and in addition

it

final

yoga

state

A proper likeness of the Buddha had to

of serenity and complete mental equiH-

had to incorporate aU the laksana or thirty-two major signs

of superhuman perfection distinguishing the body of a Buddha from those of ordinary

mortals.

As

ruler

of the universe, Buddha assumes the physical emblems or

signs, per-

haps originally of astrological origin, which characterize the body of a Mahapurusa or

Great Being and a Cakravartin or

World Ruler. These signs of physical and spiritual per-

on the skull and the uma or tuft of hair

body of Buddha is like that of a Hon, the legs
are like those of a gazelle, and on the soles of his feet appear two sliining wheels with a
thousand spokes. The carving of images on the basis of such descriptions was almost
hterally metaphorical, and necessarily imposed certain inevitable abstractions on the
fection include the protuberance, or ushnisha,

between the eyebrows;

in addition, the

conception of the form.

The

Indian

maker of images had

also to

reproduce the mudras or hand gestures that

very early came to be associated with various actions and events in the career of Sakya-

muni. The earth-touching mudra came to be identified

specifically

ment; and the so-called wheel-turning gesture stood for the

The most common of all

is

First

with the Eidighten-

Preaching

described as a gesture of blessing. Although in early Buddliist art the

mudras

is

at

Samath.

the abhdya mudra, the gesture of reassurance. This might be

number of these

very Hmited, the iconography of later esoteric Buddhism enlarged the reper-

tory to include an enormous

number of

these

hand positions to designate the mystic

powers of the countless members of the Mahayana pantheon.

87

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
made their
The unit of measurement, which has no reference

In the rendering of sacred figures certain fixed canons of proportion

appearance
to

at a relatively early period.

any actual physical anatomy,

human

rather than a

is

an entirely arbitrary one designed to produce an ideal

proportion. This modulus

is

the thalam, roughly a

tance between the top of the forehead and the chin,

total height

of the

figure.

which

dis-

divided nine times into the

These canons of measurement were

specifically designed to en-

sure an appropriately heroic stature for the representation

tem and the result of its use

anatomy for figures of gods

The

palm or the

is

are

of the

divinity.

Both the

sys-

comparable to the invention of a superhuman physical

Egypt and Greece of the Archaic Period.

Buddha may be foimd in numerous early examples from
specimen from Katra in the Curzon Museum at Muttra (Plate 46).
in

Indian type of seated

Mathura, such

as a

of the same rather vigorous, often crude type that distinguishes the group
of Friar Bala statues. The treatment of the body in broadly conceived planes, with the
suggestion of the pneumatic distension through prana, is at once apparent. The face is

The carving

is

characterized

by

its

warm,

'friendly' expression. Again, as in the standing images,

it is

evident that the sculptor has translated into stone the various metaphors or lakshanas:

he

is

very careful to represent the distinctive magic-marks on the hands and feet. Anis that it appears to be an early example of the

other interesting feature of this rehef

trinity in Indian art; the attendants

who

stems from a

literal

It

may

as Indra

and Brahma,
trinity

motif

from the Tushita Heaven, with the

gods of the Brahmanic pantheon; it needed only a

the great

of the three figures to produce the

wiJl be noted that, just as in the standing figures

examples, the

be identified

seems likely that in origin the

representation of the Descent

Buddha accompanied by
hieratic isolation

presumably

by Bodhisattvas.

later are replaced

Buddha

is

first

conception of the trinity .5

of the second century, so

represented clad only in a dhoti;

apparently under Gandharan influence, that ^akyamuni

it is
is

It

in the seated

only in the Kushan rehefs,

depicted with the monastic

robe covering the body; in these the drapery, conceived as a series of string-like ridges or
in overlapping shingle-hke pleats, is an evident imitation of the classical drapery of the

Gandhara school.

Nothing could be more

striking than the contrast

thura heads reproduced in Plates 32 and 47.

of the typical Gandhara and Ma-

Nor could

anything more emphatically re-

of the school of Mathura to Indian Buddhist art. If the ushnisha of

the Gandhara example was disguised by the krobylos borrowed from classical art, this
cranial extension is fully revealed in the Mathura head as a kind of tiered snail-shell strucveal the contribution

ture.

The Gandhara head

is

a curious mixture of abstraction

and reaUsm: the brows and

eyes are modelled with the hard dryness of carving characteristic of Late Antique

whereas the lower part of the face

definition

is

art,

sculptured with apparent concern for the realistic

of the structure of the mouth and chin, so that the result is at once mask-like and
The head of the Buddha from Mathura is, on the contrary, completely con-

inconsistent.

sistent in the sculptor's

self-imposed abstraction.

The

individual features are integrated

and no lingering over exactitude of anatomical detail interferes with the primary concern for the presentation of the solid
volume of the whole. No less than in the bodies of Kushan Buddhas is there a suggestion
into the essentially spheroidal mass of the head,

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

MATHURA

of expansive inner force achieved by the composition of the head

from

interlocking and swelling planes,

of subtly

as a collection

the curve of cheek and jowl to the related curva-

of eyelids and brows.

and often rather vapid expressions of the Gandhara Buddhas,
the faces of the statue dedicated by Friar Bala and other examples from the Kushan
tures

In contrast to the cold

school at Mathura are characterized by an open, radiant expression

open, the cheeks round and

This smile

is

the

full,

mouth ample, with Hps drawn

the eyes are fully

into a shght sniile.

probably the earHest appearance of the only possible device by which the

Indian sculptor could indicate the iimer contentment and repose of the Buddha's nature;
in later schools, like the

Cambodian

sculpture of the Classic Period,

of mannerism or cHche. The Indian sculptors employed

at

it comes to be a kind
Mathura were much more

Gandharan contemporaries in their representation of the various

Samath statue, although the individual curls are not shown, the hair is
indicated as cut short and forming a sort of cap on the skidl the lion-shaped torso, the
tapering arms and legs, all correspond to the textual descriptions of the Buddha's superhuman anatomy. In most Mathura images, like the seated figure from Katra, the
carvers scrupulously represent the marks of the wheel, trisula, etc., on the palms and
soles. The general impression given by the Samath statue - grandiose, weighty, and yet
characterized by a certain atliletic Htheness - marks the gradual development of the Indian ideal of physical beauty that reaches its mature expression in the work of the Gupta
orthodox than

their

lakshana in the
:

Period.

The architecture of Mathura was so thoroughly demoHshed by the

Northern India that

it is

Islamic invaders

of

impossible to select any one building as typical of Kushan

times. Characteristic types like the stupa

were presumably only an elaboration of earUer

Mathura the reHc mounds were surrounded with the usual railing, the uprights
of which were generally carved in high relief with representations of yakshis of a flamboyance and sensuaHty of expression surpassing anything knov^Ti in the art of earHer
periods (Plate 48 a and 485). In their provocative and frank display of the beauties
forms

at

and dehghts of the courtesan's

art,

these reHefs

mark

already noted in the carvings at Saiichi and Bharhut.

the culmination of a tendency

Not only

is

there a thoroughly

convincing suggestion of soHdity of form, but the articulation of body and

Hmbs

is

achieved with complete mastery and no suggestion of the mechanistic joining of individual parts that characterized the

work of the

tihty spirits are usually represented in attitudes

broken
as the

as

many

hist

on

its axis.

The

figures

contrapposto,

of the

fer-

with the body

This sinuous and moving type of pose,

as

well

eloquent and really flower-Hke gestures of the hands, suggest very strongly the

active imitation

tion

as three times

archaic schools.

of violent

by

the carvers of the poses and gestures of the Indian dance.

The

ques-

may well be asked: what is the purpose of such frankly sensuous figures on a Buddmonument ? The answer is that possibly they represent a pointed reference on the

exterior

of the sacred enclosure to the transitory hfe of pleasure outside the peace of the

world of Buddha;

again,

it

may

be

that, like the

mithunas of

later

Hindu

art,

they

represent an allegory of the desirabiUty of the soul's union with the divine in the forms

of these beautiful dryads that so actively suggest the

89

desirability

of sexual union.

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
Although

number of Buddha images

a certain

there

is little

indication of any strong Western influence in the art of the southern portions

of the Kushan realm. In the

found

early decades

and around Mathura

in

datable in the second and third cen-

crude imitation of the Romanized drapery of Gandhara,

turies A.D. clearly suggest a

of archaeological investigations there were

number of similar

reHefs

all

(Plate 49a).

Silenus;

it

These were

seems

of intoxication

state

at first identified as Indian representations

much more

man

representing a nude fat

being pHed with drink by maidens or supported in a complete

of the story of

reasonable to suppose, however, that they are intended to

portray the Paradise of the Yaksha Kuvera, in which eternal inebriation was beHeved to

be one of the dehghts of this Buddhist Guardian and

his entourage. Since it

had become

Kuvera's function to guard the estabUshments of Buddhism, the appropriateness of these

Dionysian representations of his kingdom becomes apparent.

At least one Kushan

ity,

rehef shows a positive imitation of a type of Classical divin-

pillar

probably for decorative rather than rehgious reasons (Plate 49B) This is the so-called
.

Herakles with the

Nemean

Lion, in the Indian

Museum,

Calcutta.

Although the theme

and the Praxitelean dehanchement of the body might be borrowed firom some

of the rehef is

source, the style

entirely Indian, distinguished

by

the

classical

same general

traits

of modelling employed in earUer examples of figure sculpture. Here the organic realization of the form as a whole is even more marked than in such figures as the Indra at Bodh
Gaya. The body

is

conceived in thoroughly sculptural terms, with the subtle ciurvature

of the planes of the muscular anatomy contributing to the wholly Indian feeling of
fleshly

warmth and

fullness.

Sculpture in rehef under the Kushans at Mathura

is

in

many

respects an

outgrowth of

same time it is undoubtedly influenced by

innovations from Gandhara, most notably in the inclusion of Buddha in anthropomorphic form. Both in the relation ofJataka stories and events from the life of Buddha
the styles of the archaic period, although at the

Mathura evolved what could be described as a shorthand manner of

which the various episodes are stripped of all details of action and setting,

the sculptors of
presentation, in

so that the event

is

often typified only

and mudra. In the example

by the

figure of the

illustrated (Plate 50), the

Buddha

the figure of the master in earth-touching gesture and surrounded

of Mara, typifying the Temptation. The Buddha's

An

in characteristic pose

Enlightenment

by

is

represented

by

the three daughters

Preaching shows the master

First

shows
symbohzed by the sun-god in his chariot. In the lower
register we see four of the seven Buddhas of the Past; and, as a Bodhisattva, Maitreya,
the Buddha of the Future. Generally, the panels carved at Mathura are not conceived
seated with his

hand on

a symbolical wheel.

interestirg iconographical detail

us the Nativity of the Buddha,

with that

fllusionistic

depth of cutting distinguishing the

setting, again suggestive

with

Httle or

of a Gandharan device, are

no overlapping.

It

Saiichi rehefs ; the figures

isolated against a plain

seems more likely that

this

and

background

method of rehef carving

is

continuation of the archaic style of Bharhut, rather than an influence of Gandhara rehefs
in the

Augustan

him in
Buddha

style. It will

be noted that the diminutive figures of the Buddha portray

the saiighati or Buddhist mantle in an evident imitation of the draped

figures

of Gandhara.
90

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

MATHURA

A hitherto entirely unsuspected phase of Kushan art was revealed in the course of the
excavations of the Kushan capital at
to

Begram

in Afghanistan, the ancient Kapisa,

known

both Classical writers and Chinese pilgrims. There, in the ruins of the palace of Ka-

nislika

and

his successors,

was uncovered

ficent collection

of Syrian

a great treasure

and stucco sculpture, Chinese lacquer, and, of special

Roman

glass,

interest to us at this point, a

of fragments of Indian ivory toUet-boxes. All

tliis

metal

magni-

was pre-

material

sumably buried when the Kushan city was destroyed by Shapur I of Iran in a.d. 241.
The ivories firom Begram consist of brittle carved plaques that were once attached to the

wooden

frames of boxes that have long since crumbled to dust.

The

and treatment is immense, and includes types of ancient Near Eastern,

variety of subjects
Classic,

and purely

Some of the largest of the ivory plaques, which originally formed the hds
of cosmetic boxes, are among the lovehest rehcs of Indian art. The technique is one of
extreme dehcacy and sophistication. The individual figures and decorative details are
Indian origin.

carved with deeply incised contours providing an enveloping line of shadow for the
forms.

The

carving

is

of

in a kind

rilievo schiacciato,

with the most subtle nuances of

modelling, conveying a feeling of roundness to the flattened figures. This exquisiteness of

definition
figures. In

is

(Plate sia), traces

border of
outside

this

this,

with the elegant and

entirely in keeping

aristocratic

of colour

panel

is

stiU

interesting, too.

The

inner frame consists of a Greek

which we may

is

The

fret;

a horse.

Ku K'ai-chih,

in the British

Museum.

carvings belong to the tradition of Kushan sculpture at

How

toilet

5Ib) with a yakshi

from

a raihng pillar at

Mathura

Mathura may be

(Plate 48B).

by

completely these ivory

illustrated

comparison of a female attendant from one of the larger plaques firom Begram
are nearly identical,

The

subject of the

kind of Indian counterpart of the scene of a court lady at her

the Chinese painter

and,

discern repre-

and a grotesque combination of a human head and

outer border consists of a clearly recognizable bead-and-reel pattern.

central panel

handmaid

remain on the eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth. The

a wider frame encloses a vine meander, in

sentations of a bird

conception of the

the rehefs, as in the beautiful group of a lady and her

some of

The pose and

by

(Plate

accessories

and only the fuUcr roundness of the rehef in the sandstone maiden

makes her appear heavier than the

light

and elegant figure of the ivory plaque. Both are

representative of an art that had reached the apogee of perfection both technically and

of a gently erotic mood and provocative sensuahty unmatched anywhere in the art of the world. All these figures are almost hteral translations into sculptural form of the descriptions of auspicious signs characterizing the forms of beautiful
women in the Brihatsanihitd, by the sixth-centur)- writer, Varahamihira. 'Broad, plump
and heavy hips to support the girdle, and navel deep, large and turned to the right, a
middle with three folds and not hairy breasts round, close to each other, equal and hard
... and neck marked with three lines, bring wealth and joy.' The trihhanga pose of the
two figures is one found repeated over and over again in countless examples of Indian
sculpture and painting. In both the ivory panels illustrated the whole conception of the
in the evocation

something of the exquisite artificiahty of the ballet. The gesture of the hand
of the standing figure epitomizes the studied interpretative beauty of the gestures of the
Indian dance. All these panels have a flavour of intimate erotic charm without the least

figures has

91

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
which prophesies the romantic genre scenes of the Rajput miniatures. They
how, when occasion demanded, the Indian sculptor, in his great versatihty,
could suggest form through effective moving contour by relief executed almost entirely
vulgarity,
illustrate

in terms of line drawing.

It is

we

only in the accounts of Chinese visitors like Fa Hsien and Hsiian-tsang that

can get any idea of the sumptuous splendour of Buddhist architecture in the days of

Kanishka and

his successors.

Mathura were reduced

As

has been already noted, the temples and monasteries of

to such a jumble

single structure remains standing or

beyond

ground

of destruction by the Islamic invaders that not

even

sufficiently intact to

provide a reconstruction

plan.

We have already discussed the famous tower of Kanishka at Peshawar in the previous
hnked to the Kushan
Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya that replaced a simple hypaethral
shrine erected by Asoka to enclose the bodhi tree. It was built to house an image of the
Buddha at his Enhghtenment. The Mahabodhi temple is a rectangular structure supportchapter. Another Buddhist skyscraper, the foundations of which are

Dynasty,

is

the

ing a tower in the shape of a truncated pyramid; smaller repHcas of this central mass echo
its

When

shape at the four comers of the building (Plate 52A).

Mahabodhi temple

consisted of a base or

podium twenty

tower

that served as a support for a single

rising

feet

first

constructed, the

high and

fifty feet

one hundred and eighty

feet

wide

above

ground the subsidiary turrets, according to most authorities, represent a later addition.
Some idea of its original appearance may be gained from a plaque discovered at Patna;*
;

in

tliis

one

may

Buddha. The

clearly discern the arched niche housing the

inscription in Kharoshthi script

miracle-working statue of

of the second century a.d.

is

another

bit

As it stands to-day, the temple

has been altered by restorations by Burmese Buddhists - the last in the eighties of the
nineteenth century. The architectural revetment of the facade, as well as the statuary
of evidence suggesting

its

foundation in Kushan

times.''

that filled the niches, belongs to the Pala-Sena Period (a.d. 750-1200)

of Buddhist

his-

of all these changes, it seems reasonably certain that one of the most striking
of its construction, a series of brick arches and vaults in the main sanctuary, must

tory. In spite
features

have belonged to the original fabric

bricks joined with mortar.

made

The

(Plate 52b).*

These arches were constructed of

bricks constituting the voussoirs

or ring without any kind of support or centring. This

sembles the construction of the great arch

Khusrau

I; it is

just possible that this

at

tlic

original appearance of the

to the full height of the

such structures
It

an

laid flatwise

and

is

a technique that closely re-

Ctesiphon, dating from the period of

method of vaulting,

so completely un-Lidian,

introduced through the Kushan contacts with Sasanian Iran.

that

were

to adhere sufficiently to those beliind to enable the builders to complete each arch

Mahabodhi temple, with

must have been

was

might be noted further

a great arched niche rising

distinctly reminiscent

of the

iwaiis

of

Ctesiphon and the grotto of Taq-i-Bustan.

as

can be stated in

artistic

fa(;:ade,

It

all fairness

that the

Kushans or Indo-Scythians themselves were not

people they had been nomadic in origin, and

:

when

they came to India they

were exliausted by centuries of almost continuous migration across the roof of Asia; if
they had any art at all, it may be assumed to have consisted of the metal horse-trappings
92

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS

MATHURA

and hunting gear that are generally the only and necessary form of expression in
such races.' All the art produced in the regions of India conquered by the Kushans was

made

for

them

in

Gandhara, by foreign

supervision; at Mathura,

artisans

by Indian workshops

native tradition of sculpture and architecture.

and Indians trained under Near Eastern

were a continuation of the ancient

that

The

of the Kushans

to

possible the flourishing

of

cliief contribution

Indian and Asiatic art liistory was the patronage which

made

two of the most important schools of Indian avt:^" the Gandhara school, with its development of the iconography of the Buddha image and the Buddha legend, and the
Mathura

school, that

form dedicated
and

marked the

to rehgious art.

styhstic, fuse in the

first

really Indian

As we

development of a mature language of

shall see, these

two

magnificent Renaissance of Gupta

93

contributions, iconographic
art.

CHAPTER

I I

AFGHANISTAN: THE ROAD TO CENTRAL ASIA

Afghanistan may

be described geographically and culturally

as a

no-man's-land

lying between India, Iran, and Central Asia. This land of towering ranges of mountains

and arid wastelands, populated by peoples of fierce pride and barbarous standards, has
for generations loomed as a beckoning and mysterious El Dorado for romantic and dangerous adventure and exploration. Afghanistan came to notice through Byron's contemporaries and spiritual confreres, the unsung adventurers and soldiers of fortune whose

romantic wanderlust took them to the court of the Amir before the days of the

First

Afghan War. The savagery of Afghan tribesmen has been immortalized by Kiphng's exaggerations in story and verse. Some of the early visitors, hke Lieutenant Burnes, in addition to their geographical exploration, discovered the archaeological wealth of the
Kabul Valley in the great hoards of Bactrian coins and occasional fragments of Gandhara
sculptures

but,

owing

to the unfavourable political conditions

and intense anti-foreign

no scientific excavation or exploration became possible until a French archaeological mission was able to secure the rights for excavation in 1922. On the results of the
work of such distinguished and devoted archaeologists as Alfred Foucher and the late
MM. Hackin and Carl is based all our knowledge of art on this threshold of Central
sentiment,

Asia.

Although the early remains belong

ment of Buddhist

art in

to

what we know

as

Gandhara

Afghanistan requires separate treatment.

The

art,

the develop-

region,

it is

true,

has always been intimately connected, both geograpliically and pohtically, with north-

western India, but

its

position in relation to Iran and Central Asia has

made

it

a kind of

melting-pot andacentre for the diffusion of Indian, Iranian, and Classical forms and techniques.

It is

important to note

at the outset that

southern Afghanistan, mainly the valley

of the Kabul River, belongs geograpliically to India; once across the continental divide
of the Shibar Pass in the Hindu Kush, however, we find ourselves in the watershed of
the

Oxus;

tliis

northern region of Afghanistan, in other words, belongs culturally

as

well as geographically to Central Asia.

Although Afghanistan, in the fourth century B.C. part of the Achaemenid Empire of
was overrun by the armies of Alexander and later garrisoned by Greek troops at
strategic points on the road to India, there is, up to the moment of writing, not the
slightest evidence that the Hellenistic successors of Alexandria in Bactria from the third
Darius,

to the

first

century B.C. ever produced any

tion: artistically the only contribution

coins that

work of monumental

of the Bactrian

came to the attention of European

The t)-pes of Buddhist architecture

first

art in the

Greek

tradi-

rulers remains the magnificent

scholars in the early nineteenth century

no different from
what may be seen in Gandhara proper. In the mountains near Kabul and along the Kabul
River by Jelalabad rise the ruined cores of stupas built in the same shape and of the same
(Plate 30).

94

in Afghanistan are

AFGHANISTAN
mixture of boulders and small stones used at Taxila. Originally,
vated at

Hadda and

the

AH

like the buildings exca-

Masjid stupa (Plate 41 a), they were briUiantly decorated

with polychromed stucco.

The earliest site of consequence that has been excavated is the ancient Kushan capital
of Kapisa, the present hamlet of Begram on the banks of the Ghorband River. Kapisa,
which over a period of centuries was the northern and summer capital of the Kushan
rulers,

was

also a site

famous

as a flourishing centre

in the annals

of Buddhism;

it is

described by Hsiian-tsang

of Mahayana Buddhism, with splendid and imposing stupas and

sahgharamas.^ Nothing could be

more appropriate

to the nature of the finds at

than Hsuan-tsang's remark, 'Here also are found objects of merchandise from

The fmds

in the early

Kushan palace included metal

statuettes

Begram

all parts'.^

of Greco-Roman (prob-

ably Alexandrian) type, ornamented stucco disks reminiscent of Pompeiian decoration,

and quantities of Syrian glassware, together with lacquered boxes from Han Cliina.
a complete record of the luxurious and international character of Kushan taste.

Here was

All these fmds antedate the Sasanian sack of a.d. 241. The Buddhist sculpture found at
Begram and the nearby sites of Paitava and Shotorak is of the usual Gandhara style.
Most of it probably dates from the third or fourth century: the Buddha images, like the
illustrated in Chapter 9 (Plate 33), have the folds of the robe conventionahzed in a
system of raised ridges giving the body the appearance of being caught in a network of

one

strings,

not unhke the drapery of Palmyran sculpture of the second and third centuries.

Near the

modem town

of Jelalabad are the rums of Hadda, the ancient Nagarahara.

Fragments of sculpture from

century, but

it

was not

this site

until the

made

their appearance as early as the nineteenth

French excavations of 1922 that the

full significance

The sculpture of Hadda differs from

being made entirely of lime plaster or

the remains could be appreciated.'

products already examined in

of

the Gandhara
stucco, single

material being affixed as decoration

figures, rehefs,

and architectural decorations

to the exterior

of the innumerable stupas and monasteries of the site.'*

httle doubt but that all the stucco sculpture both in Afghanistan and

in

tliis

There can be

north-western Lidia was originally briUiantly coloured. In the course of excavations of

Teppe Marendjan in Kabul, a number of specimens of hmewas found preserved in a pristine condition. The flesh parts were tinted

the ruined monastery at

plaster sculpture

a pinkish terra-cotta shade,

nostrils, etc.

The

Brovra

irises

with

lines

of deeper red to indicate the folds of the neck,

lips,

defined the eyes, which were outlined in blue and brown.

robes of these Buddhist figures were painted a deep cinnabar; various colours,

including a rich lapis-lazuli blue, were used to pick out the jewelled ornaments and
head-dress.

Hsiian-tsang in his description of Hadda says that 'the sahgharamas are

priests are

few; the stupas are desolate and ruined'.*

mains date from the third to the

were, probably,

made

right

up

fifth centuries

It

of our

many

but the

seems hkely that most of the re-

era,

although additions and repairs

to the time of the disastrous invasion

of the Huns

in the

sixth century.

The

repertory of sculpture at

Indian, Iranian, and

European -

Hadda
as

includes an

enormous variety of ethnic types number of styhstic variants

well as an equally great

95

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
ranging from seemingly Hellenistic to purely Indian techniques.
Classical pieces

is

Among

fragment of a figure holding a lapful of flowers (Plate

more
As was

the

53).

when the rchef was first discovered, this is no more nor less than a transferHadda of the Roman portrait in the Lateran of the Emperor Hadrian's favourite
Antinoiis as Vertunmus. Not only the type and the floral attribute, but also the conception of the form and modelhng appear entirely Roman to an even greater degree than
pointed out

ence to

the stone sculpture of Gandhara - perhaps for the reason that the malleable

medium of

lime plaster afforded the greater freedom in the desired reaUstic expression.

The sculpby French

ture

of Hadda has been made famous

between certain pieces from

scholars

Some

by

this site

the comparisons pubhshed

and

typical heads

of the Gothic period.

heads of Brahmin ascetics bear comparison with the 'Beau Dieu' of Amiens

many

(Plate 54b). In

is certainly a marked resemblance in the quaUty of

same modified reahsm found in thirteenth-century Gothic

cases there

spirituality in the features, the

art.

chiefly

This supposed anticipation of Gothic art in Asia a thousand years before the carving

of Chartres and Rheims

of Hadda

is

ultimately

not so remarkable if we pause to consider

that, just as the art

or Hellenistic in origin, with a strong suggestion of the

on passionate and

Hellenistic emphasis
especially the finest

is

Roman

pathetic expression, so, too, Gothic sculpture,

examples of the school in the carvings of Rheims and Amiens, are

unquestionably based on Classic prototypes.

There

is

also a spiritual explanation for the similarity: the emotional,

type of Buddhism, with

its

of this era came to demand an

sion, in

much

the

more

personal

emphasis on salvation, that developed in the early centuries

same way

artistic

emphasis on the individual, on individual expres-

of the thirteenth century

that the mystical Christianity

new and humanized style of artistic expression.

The stucco head of a devata in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Plate 54a), is a particularly fine example of this type of sculpture. It does not come from Hadda, but from
brought into being a

one of the countless ruin

sites

hunters for generations.*

It

around Peshawar that have been robbed by

should be noted at

this point, in

local treasure-

order to explain the great

preponderance of stucco heads from both Afghan and north-west Indian

bodies to which these heads were attached were

sites,

made of mud with only an

that the

outer shp of

Ume-plaster that has long since crumbled to dust. Examining the Boston head in

we find

that the

upper part of the face has apparently been made with a mould,

detail,

as is

sug-

by the sharpness and dryness of the planes. But the soft, wavy hair and the mouth
and chin were modelled free-hand with extraordinary vivacity and freshness. A shght
asymmetry in this and other examples adds to the ahveness and piquancy of expression.''
The collection of sculpture from Hadda and the later sites at Taxila is, in a sense, a persistence rather than a reappearance of the eclectic repertory of the Hellenistic-Augustan
period. In the same way the scores of typical Gandharan masks of Buddha are the pergested

petuation of a

more purely Indian

liieratic

mould.

In other words, while preserving the drily spirituahzed formula of early

for the

figures

Buddha image,

the sculptors of Taxila and

and grotesques, present

a style that

had

its

Hadda

hving array of types which

Gandhara

is

without doubt the end of

beginnings in the early, most Classical phase of Gandhara

96

art

in the fifth century, in lay

art.

The

AFGHANISTAN
of the

vitality

late sculpture

of north-western India

is

strongly suggestive of the dynamic

Hadda

character of Roman provincial art: the so-called 'Gothic' character of the

ture
is

is

far

from

with

difficult to reconcile

Roman

monuments made by the 'barbarians' on all the fringes

The 'reahsm' of Germanic carvings, like the heads in the Neumagen Memorial,

present in

empire.

for instance, differs

sionistic

from

Roman

early

portraits in

its

and heightened impres-

intensity

The quahty of pathos and

late Roman, Byzantine, and north-west Indian work of

treatment just like the similar heads from Hadda.'

dynamic reahsm

that

we note in

the fifth century a.d.

lenistic art,

is

really the modification

of a tendency already dominant

and not the sudden and simultaneous

asserting itself on aU the boundaries

One

sculp-

same quahty
of the Roman world

provincial art,^ since this

of some vague

result

in Hel-

aesthetic force

Roman world.

of the

could say in explanation of the expressiveness of

late

Gandhara

art that, just as

even supernatural, hfe into the art of the Late Antique Period in the Mediterranean world. Buddhism - especially the various Mahayana
cults emphasizing salvation - may in part have been responsible for the spiritual quahties,
neo-Platonism introduced

the 'soul', in

tliis

spiritual,

manifestation of the Late Antique in Asia.

Again, the persistence of an essentially reahstic tradition in sculpture with an emphasis

on the pathetic-dramatic type of Hellenistic art, side by side with the hieratic cult image,
is not too difficult to explain in a region whose popidation, especially the artist population, was until the very end of the school in part Western or Eurasian in character, having the same humanist heritage as the artists of Byzantium. It was no more strange for
the

dynamic

reahstic tradition

Buddhist cult image than

it

of Hellenistic

was

petuate, largely in profane art, the

same time

that the forms

art to survive

for generations

of artists

remembered

of Christ and

with the

official

in the Byzantine

and frozen

world

of Late Greek

reahstic style

remained frozen and abstract

his saints

appropriate golden world of mosaic. In the same

way

that the survival

to per-

art at the

of a

in the

realistic,

dramatic, and colouristic tradition in Byzantine neo-HeUenistic art led eventually to the

humanist

art

of the Gothic period, so the surviving Hellenistic

art

A.D. in north-western India culminated in the so-called Gothic art

site

important not only for Indian

to the art

of Iran and Central Asia,

art,

is

but even more for

its

of the

first

of Hadda

century

in the fifth.

intimate relationship

the great monastic establishment at Bamiyan,

fertile valley between the Hindu Kush range and the Koh-iBaba in north central Afghanistan. This beautiful and romantic site of former Buddhist
power has been described by the Chinese pilgrim Hsiian-tsang, who visited it in the
seventh century. Legend has it that Genghis Khan put the entire population of Bamiyan
to the sword. In the nineteenth century it was visited by many early adventurers in
Afghanistan, and it was here that the British captives were housed during the First
Afghan War. The monasteries and temples at Bamiyan are carved entirely from the face

dramatically overlooking a

of the sandstone
sanctuaries

cliff,

which

and assembly

for

more than

Parenthetically enclosing this vast

Buddha
5

statue.

At the

a mile

is

honeycombed with

a great series

of

halls.

eastern

end

complex

is

are cut

two

niches, each housing a colossal

the image a hundred and twenty feet high (Plate

a), wliich Hsiian-tsang designated as

^akyamuni, and

97

at the

west a colossus rising to

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
which the pilgrim described simply as a
'Buddha image '.^'' These two statues in themselves are extraordinarily interesting to illustrate the cosmopohtan nature of Buddliist art at Bamiyan. The smaller statue is simply
an enormous magnification of a typical Gandhara image with its voluminous drapery
a

hundred and seventy-five

feet (Plate 55b),

reminiscent of the style prevalent in north-western India in the second and third centuries
A.D. (Plate 55a).

The image at Bamiyan

not completely carved. Only the armature, a

is

rough approximation of the body and head, was actually cut from the sandstone cliff.
Over this the features and the folds of the drapery were modelled in mud mixed with

chopped straw, with a final coating of hme plaster to serve as a base for polychroming
and gilding. Traces of pigment may still be discerned on the robe and cliin. Hsiian-tsang
mistakenly described
visit it

was

About
trefoil

this statue as

entirely covered

a mile to the west

is

the larger of the

two Buddhas

mud

niche directly overlooking the miserable

Bamiyan. This colossus

is

made of metal, probably

is

because at the time of his

with gold-leaf and metal ornaments. ^^

(Plate 55B). It

is

set in a vast

modem

buildings of the

bazaar at

method of construction
of the Buddha's robe were

in quite a different style, although the

essentially the same. In this case the individual folds

modelled on ropes attached to wooden dowels driven into the stone core. This technical
expedient was doubtless intended to reproduce on an enormous scale a
statue in

which the Buddha's robe

of the body.

It

seems likely that

is

reduced to a

if the smaller

third or fourth century a.d., the larger

These two
Buddhist

statues present us

There are

art.

more than

first

is

to be dated in the
later in execution.

Roman

fashion

image

colossal

is

of erecting

styhstic

of the Great Teacher.

colossal

colossi

appearance of the colossal cult image in

cedent of the famous colossi of the Greek world, and,

later

Gandhara

one hundred years

number of reasons, both

life-size representations

late

of strings clinging to the surface

of the two

at least

is

wdth the

series

and iconographic, for these

We have,

more

of course, the pre-

nearly contemporary, the

images of the deified Caesars. The purpose of a

two-fold: to attract attention and

command

respect

by

its

gigantic

dimensions and, by the same token, to suggest the superhuman nature of the personage
portrayed. If the giant statues orConstantine were intended to represent that Emperor's

Bamiyan statues, no less, were meant to indicate the status of the

Brahma comprising all worlds within liimself The iconography of the paintings decorating the niches of the two colossi at Bamiyan leaves no
doubt that both were conceptions of Sakyamuni as Lokattara or Lord of the World.
The influence of these first colossi of Mahayana Buddhism on the Buddliist art of the
entire Far East is inestimable: one has only to think of the rock-cut colossi at Yiin Kang
and Lung Men in China; and even the great bronze Vairocana dedicated at Nara in

role as Kosmokrator, the

Buddha

as

Mahdpurusa, or as

Japan of the

Tempyo

Period (720-810)

is

an ultimate descendant of the giants at

Bamiyan.

The

rock-cut architectural remains at

Bamiyan

are interesting chiefly for the repro-

duction of various domical forms that are iconographically and styhstically derived from

Greco-Roman and

Iranian sources.

It

may be supposed that all these types existed in now

vanished structural buildings in Gandhara.

sanctuaries

and assembly

halls at

It is

Bamiyan were,
98

likely that these cupolas roofing the

in addition to their structural function,

AFGHANISTAN
symbolical embodiments of the sky.^^ In some of the grottoes of Bamiyan there
presentation of arched squinches
to the circle

making

of the cupola (Figure

ii).

This type has

four-columned fire temples of the Sasanian Period in

the distant cousins of such

roof that

is

fomid

in a

European churches

as St

number of caves at Bamiyan

primitive type of dome that

from

the transition
its

the square of the

is

a re-

chamber

true structural prototype in the

Iran.

These sanctuaries are

in a

way

Germain-des-Pres. Another type of

is

the lantern roof, a very simple and

more comphcated domical conwhich is known in modem wooden constructions hterally

from Armenia to Central Asia, was probably invented somewhere on the Iranian
plateau and introduced to both western Asia and Turkestan. It is a method of roofing
structions.

The

is

perhaps the ancestor of all

lantern roof,

0123

fEET

METRES

Figure 11. Cave G, Bamiyan: Plan and Section

whereby beams

are laid diagonally across the

peated in successive
this

tiers,

comers of

so that finally only a small

a square

and the process

opening remains

at the

is

re-

summit of

arrangement in diminishing squares.

A literal rock-cut copy of such a structure may be seen in one of the caves to the west
of the larger Buddha

at

Bamiyan

The whole was probably painted at one

The triangles left over, as each successive
provided room for sculptural decoration, so

(Plate 56A).

time with representations of Buddhist

deities.

was inscribed in the larger,

whole arrangement was not only a

smaller square

of mandala or schematized
Buddhas presiding over them.
Numerous examples of the lantern roof may be seen in the rock-cut architecture of
Central Asia. The form was reproduced in the stone temple architecture of Kashmir that
that the

roof, but a kind

representation of the celestial regions and the mystical

in

many respects was

to a completely

sand

flat

Buddha Caves

a prolongation

of the architecture of Gandhara.

It is finally

reduced

design and typifying a mandala painted on the ceilings of the

at

Tun-huang

in China.

99

Cave XI

at

Thou-

Bamiyan, immediately to the

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
east

of the one-hundred-and-seventy-five-foot Buddha, has a dome composed of an

elaborate coffering of triangles, diamonds, and hexagons around a central octagon in a

six-pointed star (Plate 56b). This central space, as well as the hexagonal compartments

and the niches

images, so that
tions

of space

ment of this

at the base
this

dome,

circling

ceiling

of the cupola, were originally fiUed with seated Buddha

too,

was a kind of mandala with the Buddhas of all the

about the Buddha of the zenith (Figure

comes

direct

be seen in the Temple of Bacchus

12).

surviving fragments of wall-paintings at

Bamiyan

direc-

styHstic arrange-

from the Roman West, where similar

at Baalbek and in Roman mosaics. ^^

Figure 12. Cave XI, Bamivan: Reconstruction of the

The

The

may

coffering

Dome

present

no

less interesting

and

even more comphcated problems than the remains of sculpture. Three categories or
styles

of painting

may

be found

at this site:

one pure Sasanian, one Indian, and

that can only be described as Central Asian in character.

essentially the

a layer

same.

The rock

The

paintings

still

all is

were covered with

A fmal tliin layer of Hme plaster provided the

for the actual painting in colours largely

minerals.

a third

actual teclinique of

walls and vaults of the caves and niches

of mud mixed with chopped straw.

ground

The

manufactured out of local earths and

decorating the top of the niche and the

soffit

above the one-hundrcd-and-rwenty-foot Buddha are entirely Sasanian

of the vault

in style.

The

massive figures of donors that alternate with figures of Buddhas on a level with the head

of the great statue are the pictorial equivalents of images in the Sasanian rock-cut
at

Naqsh-i-Rustam and Shapur. The same massive bulk and frozen

reliefs

hfeless dignity that

characterize the rehefs of the Iranian kings are here translated into painting. Typically

Sasanian, too,

is

the essentially

flat,

heraldic patterning of the forms that

is

particularly

AFGHANISTAN
noticeable in the

enormous decoration of the

divinity in a quadriga (Plate 57).

Gaya

(Plate 19A).

of the Buddha's

by Kanishka

dawn

we

Probably

It is

of the niche representing a

ceiling

of the

a pictorial version

relief

of Surya

are to recognize a representation of Mithra as a

solar character.^''

The

in his portrait statue at

central figure

Mathura

is

symbol

dressed in a mantle Hke that

(Plate 44)

round about are

of the

of the wind. The whole

The

colossus.

colours for

all

is

an

emblem of the sky dome over

portions of tliis ensemble are appHed in

worn

of the

figures

goddesses costumed Hke Pallas Athena, and, in the upper spandrels of the

position, divinities

solar

Bodh

at

com-

the head
areas de-

flat

marcated by hard outlines wdth no indication of shading.

The second of the two styles of painting at Bamiyan may be designated as Indian, since
it

bears a resemblance to the surviving examples of wall-painting in India proper

fifth

and

sixth centuries a.d.

that once clothed the entire niche

colossus. In so far as

it is

iconographical scheme.

of the

To this classification belong the fragments of the decoration

and vault of the one-hundred-and-seventy-five-foot

possible to

The

the whole concept was at one time a unified

of the niche fi-om top to bottom were painted

tell,

side walls

with row upon row of figures of seated Buddhas, each in a different and characteristic

mudra. Above

this,

nities scattering

theon of Bodhisattvas.
that

axis

The

significance

of the

of the mandalas of Mahayana Buddhism

the mystic

all

may be seen medaUions with flying divi-

under the cusp of the arch,

jewels and flowers, and finally, on the vault of the niche, a whole pan-

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

entire

scheme was probably not unlike

in Tibet

and Japan; that is, a figuring of

move around the magic

that, like constellations,

of the cosmic Buddha Vairocana. Whether or not the actual sculptured Buddha in

the niche can be identified as Vairocana

certainly a representation

of the Buddha

is

problematical.

As we have already

in his transcendental aspect, as

seen,

it is

he appears trans-

Mahayana texts as the Saddharma Pundanka and the Avatamsaka sutras.

complex have suffered not only from exposure, but from having
targets for generations of iconoclastic Afghan marksmen. Among the better

figured in such

The

paintings in this

served as

preserved sections are the medaUions at the springing of the vault, in which are represented flying deities or apsaras (Plate 58). Their jewelled head-dresses and striped muslin
skirts

bear a close resemblance to details of costumes in the cave-paintings at Ajanta

(Plate 90).

The

supple bodies depicted in positions of easy, even flowing

have no relation to the frozen

effigies

of the Sasanian

style at

movement

Bamiyan. The actual canon

of proportions and the metaphorical composition of the forms again suggest

parallels

with the paintings of Gupta India.

Examining

a single figure of

discern even further points

one of the Bodhisattvas painted on the vault, we may

(Plate 59). Not only do we find the same

of resemblance

sensuous fullness of bodily form and the same languorous, almost somnolent relaxation
that characterize certain figures at Ajanta, but also

same kind of abstract shading

that

is

we may note

so notable a feature

of the Bamiyan example this chiaroscuro

outUnes of the features and the parts of the body with

In the case

the

employment of the

of the painting of Gupta

consists in a thickening

India.

of the

deep orange pigment, which,

although obviously not recording any possible effect of lighting, gives a feeling of plasticity

and roimdness to the form. Both from the point of view of drawing and the handling

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
of the arbitrary chiaroscuro the Bamiyan paintings

much more

strike us as

conventionahzed than anything found in India proper. This quahty

result

is,

harsh and

of course, the

of that simphfication which always takes place with a transplanting of

and completely developed

sophisticated

between Ajanta and Bamiyan

difference

to the work of his followers

The completely Indian female figure

compared

style
is

of

a highly

provincial setting.

to a

art

of Simone Martini

like the style

in the Palais des Papes at

The

in Italy

Avignon.

(Plate 63 a) standing beside

one of the Bodliisat-

of the vault is probably a sakti or female counterpart of the divinity - a certain indication of the influence of Hindu concepts in late Buddhist art. The figure is entirely nude,
except for earrings and bangles. The elegance of gesture reminds us of the Begram
tvas

and the shading

ivories,

is

of the same arbitrary type described above. As

presently, this provincial Indian style at

tral Asia,

and examples of

it

Chinese Buddliist monastery

may

at

Bamiyan spread

be found even in the

Tun-huang.^' This

we

shall

fmd

to the Buddhist centres of Cenearliest wall-paintings at the

style in

Bamiyan cannot be described

as purely Indian because certain details, such as the foHate motifs

of the Bodhisattva's

throne, are ultimately of Gandhara origin, and the flying ribbons of the head-dress are
definitely Sasanian.

Although,

Buddha,

all

as

we have just seen in

the styles at

manner, which from

may

be described

as

its

Bamiyan

resemblance to paintings

The

We

pure Central Asian.

painted over the head of a

(Plate 6oa).

the analysis of the paintings in the niche of the Great

are hybrid in character,

now

ruined

represented seated

on

a rainbow.

conventionahzed Corinthian

On

capitals.

may

Buddha

figure of the Bodhisattva,

it is

at KiziJ

possible to find yet a third

and other

sites in

statue in the principal cave

of Group

hke the Pantokrator of Romanesque

either side rise slender colonnettes

The

Turkestan

take as an example the Bodhisattva

space behind the figure

is

art, is

with extremely

filled

with heraldic-

from the sky. In tliis particular style at Bamiyan there is a

mixture of elements drawTi from many sources, both Western and Indian, that results in
the formation of a really original manner, in much the same way that a coalescence of
Classical and Oriental forms produced the style of Byzantium in the First Golden Age.
Analysing the elements of this Central Asian style one by one, we note first of all that
the drapery of the figure, especially the drawing of the flying scarves, bears a marked really drawTi lotus

buds

falling

semblance to the neo-Attic drapery of the Gandhara Bodhisattvas. There are shght sug-

of the arbitrary shading of the Indian

gestions

and rather frozen quahty of the conception

is

tradition.

The completely

frontal, static,

immediately reminiscent of the completely

Sasanian paintings in the niche of the one-hundred-and-twenty-foot Buddha.

scheme
tiful

is

dominated by the lapis-lazuh blue of the robe and the background.

ultramarine presumably

pUed the Roman market with

the painting
ness. It

is

is

came from

the

famous mines

with no

Tliis

Badakshan that

beau-

also sup-

The most notable stylistic feature of

form by hard, wiry Hnes of even thick-

this precious mineral.

the definition of both contour and

the combination of line drawing and areas of flat, brilhant colour that gives the

composition such a heraldic appearance and most closely

tral Asia,

at

The colour

notably the paintings of Kizil.

interest hi the definition

relates

it

to the painting of Cen-

The same combination of line and

brilhant tone

of plastic form imparts an extraordinarily ghostly char-

AFGHANISTAN
of the Bodhisattva, and

acter to the figure

is

the prototype for

much of T'ang Buddhist

painting and the famous cycle of paintings at Horyiiji in Nara.

Akhough

Bamiyan arc perhaps the most famous and best

by no means the only examples of painting in Afghanistan from the
second to the seventh centuries a.d. In an isolated monastery at Fondukistan in the Ghorband Valley were found decorations of an almost completely Sasanian style. These, like
the fragments of sculpture found at the same site, probably belong to the very last period
of Buddhism in Afghanistan, approximately the seventh century a.d. At this time large
portions of the northern and central sections of Afghanistan were ruled by Hunnish or
Hephthahte vassals of the Sasanian Dynasty in Iran.'* The illustration of a terra-cotta
figure of a Bodhisattva from Fondukistan (Plate 6i) serves to show to what a remarkable degree a completely Lidian style has at the last replaced the earlier reHance on Classical and Iranian prototypes. This image is in a way a sculptural counterpart of the Indian
forms in the paintings at Bamiyan. The perfect realization of this entirely relaxed and
warmly voluptuous body, sunk in sensuous reverie, is as exquisite as anything to be
found in the art of Gupta India. The modeUing, in its definition of softness of flesh and
precision of ornament, is ordy the final and entirely typical accompHshment of a tradition
the surviving paintings at

preserved, they are

going back to the beginnings of Indian

fragmentary Buddha from

graphically (Plate 62 a).

As

become

will

sculpture in a later chapter, this figure

The head

art.

same

this

site is

clear

of interest both

when we

stylistically

in several respects a reflexion

is

and icono-

turn to the analysis of Gupta

of this great Indian

hara and the fullness

compromise between the dry, mask-like treatment of Gandof Kushan Buddhas, and, as in innumerable fifth-century Indian

Buddhas, the hair

represented

style.

is

a plastic

is

incised before the clay

by

was baked,

ceived with a suggestion of mass that

cal interest

is

for

one

the

who had

Buddha in

self to the host

the monastic

is

in the

entirely Indian.

What is of pecuhar iconographi-

the three-pointed, jewel-studded chasuble that the

monastic garment. This attribute,

is

The robe, indicated by grooves

Gandhara style, but the bodily form is con-

snail-shell curls.

is still

as

renounced worldly riches - are a symbohcal device to indicate that

his transcendent, glorified

of Bodhisattvas.

It is

'

into

Mahayana

seen in

many

statues

Hinayana

statues

of

and garments which in time came to be

from Fondukistan. The so-called 'bejewelled Buddha'
of the last phase of Mahayana Buddhism in India and in the art
Nepal, and Indonesia which were directly influenced by the

dressed

of regions hke Tibet,

this

icons of the transfigured Sakya-

up

'

in actual jewels

represented in statues like the one

is

the

form, the apotheosis in which he reveals him-

quite possible that originally

Buddha were transformed

muni by being

Buddha wears over

well as the heavy earrings - seemingly inappropriate

Buddhism of Bengal from

the eighth to the late twelfth century.

103

CHAPTER 12

BUDDHIST ART

TURKESTAN

IN

For

our purpose of indicating the spread of Indian art beyond the actual geographical
boundary of the Indian peninsula, the history of art in Central Asia can be said to begin
with the introduction of Buddhism to this region in the early centuries of the Christian

By Central Asia we mean the territory extending to the north and east of the Hindu
Kush and Pamir mountain ranges eastward to the Gobi Desert. It is a plain without outlet, bounded on the north by the T'ien Shan range, by the Pamirs on the west, and by
era.

the Altai and Kuen-lun mountains of Tibet to the south. Eastward hes China. In such a

region hfe was sustained on a chain of oases girdling the desert basin or along the courses
like the Tarim. Throughout the period in which we are interested - roughly the
millennium of our era - a northern and southern trade route skirted the edges of the

of rivers
first

Taklamakan Desert. The two routes join at Kashgar, and at this point east of the Pamirs
was the Stone Tower' [Lithinos Pyrgos) mentioned by Ptolemy as the meeting-place for
silent barter between traders from the two ends of the world. ^ It was along these arteries
'

that the Buddhist

kingdoms separating

the fringe of the desert.

India and

They provided both

China sprang up

a barrier

and

a link

at the isolated oases

on

between the two poles

of the Buddhist world.

As

early as the first century a.d. these territories

armies of Han China. Kanishka

Khotan. For the next four or

is

five

were disputed by the Kushans and the

beUeved to have extended

his conquests as far east as

hundred years the oases along the highway linking the

western world with China were dominated by a number of semi-independent kingdoms,

tributary in

some measure

to either India or China.

the importance of Central Asia for

Fa Hsien and Hsiian-tsang,

turies A.D.
astic

who

and seventh cen-

travelled over Turkestan in the fifth

Their descriptions of the courts of Kucha and Khotan are hardly

than their admiration for the great

The

We can get a remarkably clear idea of

Buddhism and its art from the accounts of the pilgrims.

sites

of Buddhism

less

enthusi-

in India proper.

by many
number of

extraordinary riches of Buddhist art in Central Asia were revealed

archaeological expeditions in the

German

expeditions headed

first

decades of the twentieth century.

by Albert von Le Coq brought

to Hght the wall-paintings at

KizO and Turfan. The most arduous and scholarly exploration of sites along those northern and southern trade routes was conducted by Sir Aurel Stein over a period of nearly
three decades.

Other expeditions sponsored by the Japanese under Count Otani and the
Government under Baron Oldenburg added further to our knowledge

Imperial Russian

of this once flourishing centre of Buddhist civihzation.

The

art

Shahr and

Turfan

of Central Asia divides

Kizil, at the

oasis.

The

itself into

two main

parts: one, centred

western end of the trade route, the other farther

paintings and sculptures of the former

sites

were

east,

located in the

for the

decorations of Hinayana Buddhist establishments, and should be dated

104

around Kara-

no

most part

later

than the

BUDDHIST ART
sixth century a.d.

century a.d.,

is

The work

at

IN

TURKESTAN

Turfan, some of which dates from

really a provincial

form of Chinese

art

It

of this enormous amount of material.

In Central Asia, as at Bamiyan, which

in itself in the

we

is

are confronted with a great variety

of styles

of them existing contemporaneously, and hkewise

international character

mains of Buddhist

of Central Asian civUization.

art in

Mir an on the southern

trade route about three

What

which

circular sanctuary, consisted

divinities

or Titus,

vinces of the

Roman

himdred miles to the west of Tim-huang.

and wall-paintings

winged
its

busts

of a

at

one time completely covered the

frieze

ofJataka scenes and

The

to light a consider-

interior walls

of the

dado painted with busts of

who was presumably a journeyman painter from the eastern pro-

Empire. The Jataka scenes are a translation into

and planetary

divinities

framed

origins

of

this

motif

are,

pictorial terms

of

The decoration of the dado with

in the

equivalent in Gandhara sculpture, most notably

Kanishka.

was brought

that are the easternmost extension

the same subjects as treated in Gandhara rehef sculpture.

the

are probably the earUest re-

and erotes supporting a garland. These paintings bear the signature of

a certain Tita

has

many

cosmopohtan or

style.

paintings at Miran,

winged

and painting,

Central Asia were discovered by Sir Aurel Stein at the oasis of

able collection of stucco sculpture

The

westernmost reaches of Tur-

in sculpture

testifying to the

In the ruins of a circular edifice enclosing a stupa there

of the Gandhara

ninth

will be possible to give only a sampling

remote connexion with Indian prototypes.

kestan,

as late as the

of the T'ang Period, with only a

swags of a garland

on

(Plate 6ob)

the famous reliquary of King

of course, to be sought

in the carving

of the

sarcophagi of the Late-Roman and Early-Christian worlds. As in the case of Gandhara

of Gandhara painting, the styHstic origins may

Roman Empire, where the Classical style underwent a considerable conventionalization in the hands of Oriental craftsmen. The heads of
the angels at Miran, with their enormous ghosdy eyes and a suggestion of plasticity
sculpture, so in the case

of

this cycle

be found in the painting of the Eastern

through the thickening of the contours, are immediately reminiscent of the grave-portraits of Roman Egypt. There are no comparable cycles of wall-paintings in India proper
or Afghanistan, but the third-century
nearest styhstic prototype

from both

Roman

mosaics at Shapur in Iran

may

serve as the

the geographical and chronological points of view.

Both may be dated in the late third century a.d.

The sculpture and paintings discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in the ruins of the oases ot
Khotan and at Kara-Shahr, between KizU and Turfan, reveal the same mixture of Classical
and Indian styles as we have already encountered at Bamiyan. The description of this
kingdom by the seventh-century pilgrim Hsiian-tsang leaves us with the impression of
its religious affiliations between Buddliism and
was from this Indo-Iranian principality that the culture of silkworms was
introduced to Byzantium in a.d. 552. The principal sculptural remains found at Khotan
were the hme-plaster reHefs decorating the Rawak vihara excavated by Sir Aurel Stein
in 1904.3 Tliis decoration, wliich consisted in Buddha and Bodhisattva figures apphed in

a very

cosmopohtan culture dividing

Mazdaeism.

It

high reUef to the base of the walls,

at

Hadda and

Taxila.

The same

recalls the

style

is

decoration of the monastic buildings

shown
105

in

our

illustration

from Kara-Shahr

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
(Plate 63 b).

The

lime plaster

is

cither

by

of figures moulded

teclinique

essentially identical.

mud

and then covered with a layer of

figures,

with the drapery represented

incised lines or string-like folds, corresponds to the late

the third and fourth centuries a.d. as

at

in

The style of the

Bamiyan.

A number

we have seen it in

Gandhara sculpture of

stone sculpture and in the colossi

of fragments showing a Buddha standing

with

in a halo filled

miniature Buddhas reveal the beginnings of the Maliayana concept of Vairocana and his
countless emanations.

Also in the Kdiotan

of Dandan Uiliq, where wall-paintings of quite

The charming detail of a water sprite or river god-

oasis are the riuns

another character were discovered.

an eastward extension of the provincial style of Indian painting observed in

of the Great Buddha of Bamiyan (Plate 63 A and b).
Although perhaps originally reinforced with shading, the drawing of the figure is so
sure that the linear outline alone suggests the form and fullness of the body and a perdess reveals

the niche

fectly articulated suggestion

of an Indian craftsman,

of movement.

since, unlike the

which we shall find at Kizil,

an elegant aliveness of pose

One

is

tempted

to think

of this

this painting reveals a sophistication

work

at Ajanta. It has

mixtures of Classical, Iranian, and Indian

style

of draughtsmanship and

that are unmistakably Indian, related to the

and the Gupta wall-paintings

as the

examples of a more typical Central Asian

Begram

ivories

nothing to do with those odd provincial

styles that

we have

seen at

Bamiyan and

shall

find again in Turkestan.

The
late

terra-cotta reUefs firom

Afghan

sculptural style

and Late Antique elements

group

is

set

Tumshuq

(Plate 64).

reminds us of the more

simplification

in the

Musee Guimet

are closely related to the

of Fondukistan, and are marked by the same fusion of Indian

of the Gandhara

The deeply recessed box

illusionistic style

Classical type

in wliich the large figure

of Gandhara reHef The drapery

with a continuation of the

is

characteristic

neo- Attic swallow-tail scarves already seen in the Gandhara Bodhisattvas and the paint'

ing of Cave

'

at

Bamiyan. The individual figures have the same sofmess, the relaxed

ease

and grace, that typify the Bodhisattva from Fondukistan (Plate 61). The resemblance to
this figure extends to such minutiae as the head-dress and type ofjewellery. The faces of

Tumshuq images have a dry, mask-like vapidity, with an endlessly repeated snriling
mouth that unmistakably reveals the use of moulds for these portions of the figures.*
The reUefs from Tumshuq were originally enframed in a wide border enclosing a vine
the

meander pattern of an ultimately Late Antique type. This is another instance of a transference to Central Asia from Gandhara of a motif universally employed in Roman architectural decoration. This last phase of the Gandhara style continues eastward to such sites
as KizU, and ultimately finds its way to the earUest centres of Chinese Buddhist sculpture
at

Tun-huang and Yiin Kang.

the Buddhist kingdoms of Turkestan, by

Of all

far the richest

and most famous was

Kucha, on the northern trade route. This principaUty, winch maintained its independence imtil it was overrun by China in the seventh century, was famed at once for the
beauty of its courtesans and the learning of its monastic estabHshments. Some idea of the
material and spiritual wealth of the

Kucha

the magnificent wall-paintings at the

site

visited

by Hsiian-tsang can be gained from

of Kizil discovered by von Le Coq.^ Like

106

BUDDHIST ART
Bamiyan, the

site

lowed out of the

of Kizil comprised

TURKESTAN

IN

a vast scries

of sanctuaries and assembly

caves', testifies to the vast

halls hol-

The later designation of Ming O'i, meaning thousand

number of cave temples honeycombing the mountain-side.
'

loess cM's.

Outside scattered pieces of stucco sculpture, the most interesting remains at Kizil consisted

of the acres of wall-paintings covering the

Bamiyan,

number of distinct

interior

of its countless sanctuaries. As

and there

styles are represented,

no

is

that they should be divided into a strict chronological sequence.

they were

executed

all

at

positive indication

It is

just as likely that

more or less contemporaneously by craftsmen of varying

styHstic

backgrounds.

The

of the

earliest

of the early

tion

may best be studied in

manner of painting. The

Indian

of the Painter
the

styles

more

Cave of the

sixth century, in the

(Plate 65 a)

svelte

the decorations, datable

Painter. This

is

by an

inscrip-

essentially a provincial

and languorous forms in the panel from the Cave

emanate the same sensuous warmth and grace that

truly Indian wall-paintings, such as the

medaUions

in the niche

we fmd

in

of the one-

Buddha at Bamiyan. The heavy, plastic shading, characof Indian painting, is largely absent in this technique, and the colour scheme,
limited to dark reds and browms and malachite green, lacks the richness and tonal range
of the famous Indian murals at Ajanta, but closely approximates to the colours of the
hundred-and-seventy-five-foot
teristic

Bamiyan

paintings.

second Indian manner - or a variant of the

emplified in the Bodhisattvas painted

five-foot
Kizil,

our

Buddha

such

as

at

Bamiyan,

the specimen

is

on

to be seen in

It is

characterized

by

- which

we

have already seen ex-

numerous examples of paintings from

The dancing figure in

Bamiyan (Plate
scheme of chiaroscuro, whereby the

from the Treasure Cave

detail presents the closest possible

63 a).

first

the vault above the one-hundred-and-seventy-

in plate 63c.

comparison with the

the use of an arbitrary

sakti at

contours of the figures and the interior drawing of the flesh parts are heavily reinforced

by broad
atic

lines

of orange pigment. In some figures

at Kizil the result looks like a

schem-

reduction to abstract terms of the heavily muscled anatomy of classical paintings of

Herakles (Plate 65B). This second Central Asian style has been defined by the
scholars as Indo-Iranian.* This phase

of Turkestan painting

is

distinguished

by its

German
strident

briUiance of colouring malachite green, orange, and lapis-lazuH blue are the dominating
:

hues in

have

this

completely non-reahstic palette (Plate 66a). Strangely inarticulated figures

their faces

and bodies outlined with

certain plasticity
effects

on

of niumination; in the dark figure

white highlights. Whereas

placid faces, the types

Sasanian Period.

An

tliick

bands of orange shadow that confer a

these mannikin-like forms without in

in

this teclinique

our
is

any sense recording actual

illustration this

shading

is

reinforced

by

presumably Indian in origin, the round,

of head-dresses and jewels are reflexions of the art of Iran in the

of the costumes, in

abstract flamess characterizes the treatment

which the pattern of the

shortening of the folds or

stuff" is

represented without consideration for either the fore-

form of the body beneath (Plate 65s). Frequently, as in the

example illustrated (Plate 66a), the figures appear as though standing on tiptoe or levitated in the air. This is the result of the ground having become completely merged with
the background, the same abandonment of spatial organization in favour of a completely
the

107

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
spaceless

and decorative conventionalization of figures and

with the Byzantine mosaics of Saint Demetrius

and pattemized elements

plastic

in the figures

forms of Byzantine mosaics of the

stanccless bodies, retain

The Central Asian

style that has just

The

may

be compared

strange combination of

themselves reminds us of the hieratic

Golden Age,

something of the solidly

Bodhisattva in Group E.

may

First

setting that

in Saloniki.

in

which the heads,

been described

represented at

is

on sub-

set

of Roman

reaHstic quahties

art.

Bamiyan by

the

An even closer stylistic approximation to the Bamiyan example

be seen in a variant of the Indo-Iranian style in

the outlines of the figure at the

are replaced

left

by

this

example from

Kizil, in

which

of an even tluckness and iron-

lines

hard quahty.''

worthy of note

It is

niques

may

be found

that paintings in both the provincial Indian

among

the sixth-century wall-paintings at

most China. In some of the Jataka scenes painted

interlocking chevron shapes

at Kizil the

wall

paintings at Tun-huang.

in a further state

The

site

of Kizil

of development

in

Romanized Indian manner

until such a late date

moulds. The arcliitecture of the cave-temples

way be compared
tainly the idea

in western-

divided into

many

in scale to the

essentially a landscape

is

some of the

also yielded a collection

obviously derived from the art of Gandhara.

atic sculpture,

is

each one of these conventionalized mountain silhouettes

frames an isolated figure or episode. This abstraction of what

backgroimd may be seen

and Indo-Iranian tech-

Tun-huang

is

at

earHest wall-

of highly polychrom-

The

perpetuation of this

probably to be explained by the use of

KizU

is

very simple, and cannot in any

grandeur of the grotto-temples of India, although cer-

of making such rock-cut sanctuaries

imitation of the caves at Bamiyan.

is

of Indian origin, most

The most common type of temple

at Kizil

likely in
is

either

square or rectangular in plan, usually with a small stupa in the centre of the chamber. In
a sUghtly

ment

more

also

elaborate type a porch or vestibule precedes the sanctuary, an arrange-

found

at

Bamiyan. Occasionally the shrine

narrow chamber with

ready seen

at

Bamiyan,

a barrel vault cut out

is

also

found

Buddha Caves at Tun-huang.

The paintings from the eighth to

at Kizil,

is

in the

form of a

single, long,

of the rock. The so-called lantern roof,

way

al-

to the

Thou-

from Bezeklik

in the

and from there found

its

sand

Turfan

oasis in north-eastern

the tenth century, recovered

Turkestan, are almost completely Chinese in style (Plate

was imder the rule of the Uighurs, a strong

whose civihzation was largely Western in character. It is evident from
both the types and costumes represented in the paintings of Turfan that this Turkish
culture with many elements of Western and Iranian origin was greatly influenced by its
contact with the Cliinese. The great series of wall-paintings from the monastery ofBezek66b).

During

Turkish

these centuries this territory

tribe,

Hk, divided between the

Ethnological

Museum

cipal panels consist

Museum

for Central Asian Antiquities in

in Berlin, bear inscriptions in Chinese

of enormous, almost

New

Delhi and the

and Brahmi. The prin-

identical compositions representing the

Buddha

Buddhas of these past eras.* The

figures themselves show exactly the same synthesis of Indian and Chinese elements as
distinguishes the mature art of the T'ang Period in Cliina. Both Chinese and Indian
types are represented: the draperies of the Buddhas are dravwi in a linear version of the

^akyamuni

in various earher incarnations, greeting the

io8

BUDDHIST ART IN TURKESTAN

Gandhara formula; the
pletely Chinese.

and the

architectural details

The heads of the Buddhas,

the head in a completely hnear technique,

floral patterns

in their suggestion

conform

of the frames are com-

of the spheroidal mass of

to Chinese Buddhist painting

of the

eighth and ninth centuries a.d.

Among

the archaeological finds in the Turfan region

manuscripts dedicated to the Manichaean

that

had foimd favour with the Uighur

book-illustrations has
It

many

The

style

a Sasanian style

of painting kept ahve by the

tradition.'

The Buddhist

art

hammedanism. As
by

chiefs.

reminiscences of Late-Antique and Near-Eastern art forms.

probably represents a perpetuation of

Manichaean

were numerous illuminated

rehgion of Iranian origin
of these briUiantly coloured

faith, a syncretistic

of Central Asia comes to an end with the eastward advance of Moof Kizil were devastated

early as the eighth century, the monasteries

the Islamic ruler of Kashgar, and

of Turkestan had escaped the

ization in this region

was

by

the tenth century only the easternmost reaches

of Mohammedan conquest. The Uighur civiloverwhelmed by the Mongol invasion of Genghis Khan

rising tide

finally

in the twelfth century.

109

CHAPTER

13

THE ART OF KASHMIR

The
mous

development of art

in

Kashmir presents

us with the evolution

of a

really

autono-

national idiom, in spite of the close historical and geographical connexions of this

region with the great empires of the

isolated at a height

of

six

thousand

classical

feet

Indian and Central Asian past. Seemingly

above

sea level in the foothills

of the Punjab

Himalayas, the Vale of Kashmir was intimately connected with the empires of Asoka

made for the development of a truly indigenous

became an almost complete poHtical isolation with
the advent of the Mohammedans in North India. Presumably, Kashmir was an independent kingdom by the time of Harsha in the seventh century a.d., when its territories
and Kanishka.

Its

geographical isolation

culture. This geographical separation

included not only the Punjab Himalayas but ancient Taxila and parts of the province of
Sind.

The

art in

by a number of Chinese pilgrims, including Hsiian-tsang,

were maintained with the court of T'ang China. The history of

region was visited

and diplomatic

relations

Kashmir may be divided between an

early period

from

c.

A.D.

century and the great period from the seventh century to a.d. 1339,

of a

Mohammedan

The

first

To

the accession

dynasty terminates the great era of Buddhist and Hindu building.

great era of artistic expression in

ditya (724-60).

200 to the seventh

when

this

Kashmir came under the reign of Lahta-

period belong the dedications at

cavations conducted at both these

sites

Harwan and Ushkur.^ The

ex-

have revealed the foundations of stupas located

the centre of a large surrounding courtyard. This plan

is

at

simply the enlargement of the

stupa court found in the monasteries of Gandhara, like the arrangement at Takht-ibahi.

The

pebbles,

as paving,

ployed

actual construction

combined with
seems

mud

of the masonry, varying from a mixture of

ashlar, to rubble walls faced

like a provincial variant

in the buildings at Taxila

with terra-cotta

tiles

also

and

employed

of the type of diaper masonry universally em-

and elsewhere

in

Gandhara.

Certain distinctive characteristics of architecture in Kashmir are present even in the

very earhcst examples. These characteristics are to be discerned in the tympana, consisting of a triangular pediment enclosing a

and the universal employment of fluted

trefoil arch, the

pillars, faintly

pyramidal roofs of the shrines,

reminiscent of the Classical Doric

and Ionic orders.

Among

the dedications of Lahtaditya

was an impressive Buddlaist foundation

at Pari-

hasapura, consisting of a stupa enclosed in a square courtyard one hundred and twentyeight feet

on

Avantipur.2

a side.

This plan

The plan of the

is

repeated in later structures at Martand (Figure 13) and

stupa at Parihasapura

is

of particular

described as a square with projecting stairways at the quarters,

interest. It

making

could be

a cruciform de-

The stupa originally had two platforms providing passages for circumambulation
on two levels. Both the plan and the elevation seem to bear a relationship to the enormously complicated stupa at Barabudur in Java. An actual influence is not beyond the
sign.

THE ART OF KASHMIR

bounds of

possibility, since in the fifth

century Gunavarman, a

introduced Mahayana Buddhism to Sumatra and Java.

monument

at

one hundred

Parihasapura with

its finial

monk from

Kashmir,

conjectured that the whole

of umbrellas must have

above the ground. The remains of

feet

It is

risen to a height

Buddhist chaitya have

also

of

been

discovered there. This temple, erected on a square double platform, consisted apparently
of a ceUa of massive proportions which, originally, was probably only a larger version of
the small Kashmir temples of a later period. The construction at Parihasapura is characterized by the hterally gigantic size of the blocks of ashlar masonry employed. These great

is

aa

a n a b b a m

JmbI

BaMMBBBaaaB

zn

n:

mm

4B

Bi

9 S B B B

f^llt-felftSiliSllfjlf

*^i
O

10

20

30

40

50 FEET

12

15

METRES

Figure 13. Sun Temple, Martand, Kashmir: Plan

stones

were apparently joined together by gypsum mortar and iron dowels. The largest
all was the great block, fourteen by twelve feet, that formed the floor of the

stone of

Buddhist temple.

Another phase of the

classical architecture

of Kashmir

is

represented

manical buildings dating from the eighth to the thirteenth century a.d.
tures the

most impressive

served as a

model

for

is

certainly the sun-temple at Martand,

all later

Brahmanical shrines

(Plate

by

the Brah-

Of these

which appears

67 and Figure

13).

struc-

to have

The

great

beauty of the setting on a high plateau framed by distant mountains contributes enor-

mously to the impressiveness of the temple. The

central shrine

middle of a rectangular court with a surrounding

is

again placed in the

cellular peristyle

two hundred and

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
twenty by one hundred and forty-two

feet in dimensions. It

ditya in the middle of the eighth century a.d.

Kashmir

in the addition

or cella

grilia

temple.

The

shrine

Lalita-

with the worship of the sun. Between the portico and the

another small chamber corresponding to the pronaos of a Greek

is

was

originally covered

close to seventy-five feet.

ally typical

by King

built

of a portico to the central building for the accommodation of

special rites in conjunction

garhha

was

The temple differs from other examples in

The massive

by

of the architecture of Kashmir.

supported on fluted pseudo-Doric

a pyramidal roof, and attained a height of

decoration of its exterior contains elements speci-

On

each of the four facades

pilasters enclosing a trefoil

is

a pediment

arch that originally held

the statue of a deity. This triangular pediment itself is undoubtedly another borrowing

from the Roman Orient transmitted by way of Gandhara.^ The trefoil is derived from a
shape already seen in the cella of the stupa courts of Gandhara and in the trilobed niche
at Bamiyan (Plate 55b); probably its ultimate origin is to be sought in the profile of
of the nave and

the chaitya-hall with a section

of the ornament. The

scale

and on the

effectiveness

rich pattern

side aisles representing the three lobes

of these temples depends on

their truly impressive

of chiaroscuro achieved by the varying depths of the

mem-

bers of the facades.

The original appearance of the

structed

from the small

shrine

ruined temples of the early period can partly be recon-

of the

t\velfth century, located in a

it is

open on

The temple

all
is

four

sides, it

Pan-

'

square in plan, seventeen and a half feet on a side, with projecting gable

with the

size

earher buildings.

The

more

cella

is

again of ashlar blocks on a scale

effective

is

in the shape

lapping squares, and the triangles

flying apsaras reminiscent

and

pilasters

lively chiaroscuro than has

covered by a pyramidal roof in two

entirely successful, imitation

this superstructure

is

of the temple. The bold projection of the

pediment makes for

and not

at

it

'

pediments on each facade. The construction

surate

willow grove

was dedicated to ^ivain A.D. 1135. Since

has been described as a mandapa or porch type of shrine.

drenthan near ^rinagar (Plate 68). Presumably

of wooden forms

in stone.

been observed in

tiers that is

The

commen-

supporting the

an obvious,

interior support

of

of a lantern dome (Figure 14): there are three overformed by their intersection are filled with reliefs of

of Gupta prototypes. This architectural form, probably of

Bamiyan (Plate 56A) and in

Iranian origin, has already been seen in the cave-temples at

the Buddhist grottoes of Kizil in Central Asia;

wooden architecture of modem

Afghanistan.

it

survives practically

unchanged

in the

The temple at Pandrenthan is distinguished

by the massive severity of its composition which, together with the regular employment of an ultimate derivative of Roman Doric, contrives to give the building a
distinctly

European appearance.

On

the exterior the pyramidal roof is undoubtedly an

imitation in stone of towered roofs consisting of overlapping

may

still

modem
The

be seen in the

shrines

architecture of

wooden

Kashmir and

planks, such as

in the relatively

of western Tibet.*

sculpture of Kashmir presents a development paralleling that of her architecture

in the derivation
sist

Mohammedan

of styles from Western and Indian sources. The

of fragments of stucco and

ruined stupa at Ushkur.

terra-cotta, originally parts

The technique of omamentation

earliest

examples con-

of large rehefs decorating the

in stuccoed rehef

is

entirely

THE ART OF KASHMIR

The heads of

reminiscent of the decoration of the monasteries at Taxila and Hadiia.

Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and lay personages from

style equivalent to the last phase

this

and other eighth-century sites are

of Gandhara sculpture,

in

which the

been endow^ed with a certain sensuousness and warmth by the

Gupta

monastery of Fondukistan in Afghanistan

in terra-cotta

Roof at

Siva

and the

softly expressive

is

to

be

METRE
:

is

typical

same rather

Indian ideals that has been noted above.

hair

of the Indian

from the seventh-century

Temple Pandrentlian Plan and

A head from Ushkur in the Laliore Museum

(Plate 69). It represents the

in a

have

(Plate 61).^

.5

Figure 14. Lantern

Kashmir

infiltration

Actually, the nearest equivalent for this phase of Kashmir sculpture

style.

found in the semi-Classical, semi-Indian figurines

in

Classical types

The

mouth remind

free

us

Section

of this early phase of sculpture

successful fusion

of Late Antique and

and impressionistic treatment of the

of the Gandhara stuccoes from Taxila

and Hadda, while the arching brows and lotiform eyes are certainly Indian and corre-

spond closely to the Kushan and Gupta

developments

is

styles.

Another resemblance to

late

Gandhara

perhaps the suggestion of a 'wistful' expression and a perfect serenity

and gentleness that characterize

this

whole phase of Kashmir

113

sculpture.

ROMANO-INDIAN ART
The sculpture of the later Brahmanical period of art in Kashmir is represented by
numerous examples of bronze statuettes of Hindu deities which present in varying degrees the same admixture of Classical and Indian elements notable in the architecture of
the same centuries.*

114

PART FOUR

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF

BUDDHIST ART
CHAPTER 14

THE LATER ANDHRA PERIOD

The

foundation of the Andhra Empire of South India goes back to the period of con-

fusion following the death of

Asoka

in 232 B.C.

Although for

art-liistorical

purposes

Andhra
Andhra (25 B.C. to a.d. 320), it must be noted that these
categories represent two different moments of artistic development in the history of
the same ruling house. At the height of their power the Andhras, a race of Dravidian
origin, were in possession of the entire region of the Deccan from sea to sea, and, as may
be gathered from certain inscriptions, this vast tract was united by a magnificent system
of roads in addition to the maritime communication possible between the ports of the
western and eastern coasts. As early as the first century a.d. these same ports were opened
the artistic achievements of the Dynasty are generally divided into Early

(72-25 B.C.) and Later

Roman Empire; indeed, as mentioned by such classical geographers

Roman trading posts estabhshed on both coasts. This fact,
coupled with the finding of hoards of Roman coins and pottery fragments, has led some
to look for actual Roman influence in the art of South India.^ The Later Andhra Buddto the trade

as

of the

Ptolemy, there were

hist

communities were

also in close contact

with

scriptions testify to their missionary activity in

their contemporaries in

commercial relationship was maintained with Indonesia, Burma, and

discover, a purely Indian tradition

by foreign

Cliina.

of art appears to have been stronger and

influences here in the south than

it

Ceylon; in-

Gandhara, Bengal, and China.

was

in the territories

As we

close
shall

less affected

of the Kushans.

We have already seen in the example of a slab from Jaggayyapeta considered in relation to the

iunga carving

in the eastern

at Saiichi, that

domains of the Andhras

of this early phase would include

Nasik on the west

The high
called Later

therewas a flourishing tradition of Buddliist

as early as the first

number of Buddhist

art

century B.C. Other dedications

chaitya-halls at Kanheri

and

at

coast.

point of development in South Indian Buddhist art was attained in the so-

of monuments dedicated by the Andlira

mouth of the Kistna River. Although this region had been
early as the third century B.C. and some of its remains actually

Andhra Period

in a collection

sovereigns at Amaravati at the

converted to Buddhism
date

as

from the Early Andhra Period, the dedications of the

115

first

and second centuries of

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

our era surpass

all

monuments. There are indications that the Buddhist estabby the queens of the ruling house, while the kings were

these earlier

lishments were supported

followers of Hinduism.

As exploration of the desolate region around the Kistna River has shown, there
must have been at one time hterally scores of stupas and chaityas gleaming white in the
sun.

The

sala, at

ruins

of great stupas with surrounding monasteries have been found

Nagarjunakonda,

important

sites.

Goh

as early as

ricliness in the

at

Ghanta-

and Gummadidirru, to mention only the more

Village,

The most famous of all

Amaravati. Begun

with great

at

the Later

Andhra

shrines

was the Great Stupa

at

200 B.C. the original structure was enlarged and embellished

second century a.d. As proved by inscriptions

Amaravati,

at

the railing and casing slabs of the Great Stupa were added at the time of the Buddhist

sage NagarJLUia's residence in the

Andhra

venerable

site.

it

was, hke Asoka's

bricks and earth, although already a

When first investigated by European archaeologists in the nineteenth cen-

tury, the stupa

largely demoUshed that only a conjectural idea of its original size

The diameter of the dome of the stupa at ground level was approxi-

was so

could be arrived

at.

mately one hundred and sixty

feet; it

region.^ Prior to this

mound of

stupa at Sanchi, presumably a simple

was surrounded by a

feet

and

its

over-all height about ninety to

railing thirteen feet

high consisting of three

one hundred

rails

and

heavy

coping. Free-standing columns surmounted by hons replaced the toranas of earher

structures at the four entrances to the pradaksina enclosure. Like Saiichi, the

stupa had an upper processional path

on the drum of the

structure

this

Amaravati

path also had an

enclosing railing consisting of uprights joined by soHd rectangular panels. Originally,

not only the parts of the two

railings,

but also the drum, were covered with elaborate

carvings in the greenish-white hmestone of the region. Because of the difficulty in fitting
a stone revetment to a curved surface, plaster rehefs supplemented the stone casing for

the decoration of the cupola.^

It

will be noted in the slab illustrated (Plate 70) that

another unusual feature of this stupa consisted of offsets or platforms located

at the

four

points of the compass and surmounted by five pillars carved with representations of
as the Wheel and Stupa.* In the decoration of the base a number
of images of the Buddha can be seen, a clear indication that, although probably originally
dedicated to Hinayana Buddhism, the shrine was, under the influence of Nagarjuna,

Buddhist symbols such

transformed into a Mahayana sanctuary.

In the centre

of the

frieze at the

top

is

a seated

Buddha which

is

type of bakyamuni in yoga pose already developed at Mathura.

representation

of the Temptation of Mara with the Buddha

in

clearly related to the

On

either side

of this

anthropomorphic form

of the empty throne beneath the Bodlii tree. It is as though the

Andhra Buddhists, even though followers of the Great Vehicle, were loath to give

are symbolical portrayals

Later

up the old Hinayana emblems, or perhaps attached a certain authority and appropriate
sanctity to the early forms of the art of their rchgion. To right and left of the main section of the rehef are vertical framing panels with representations of stambhas with lion
capitals

the

upholding the Wheel of the Law.^ At the foot of each

empty

chair signifying the presence

and Byzantine

art

of the Buddha,

pillar there

as the etimasia

again appears

of Early Christian

symbolizes Christ. These details are again a repetition of the type of

116

THE LATER ANDHRA PERIOD

aniconic symbol found in Early

of the Amaravati

lysis

Andhra

sculpture at Saiachi. In connexion with the ana-

should be called to the dense

relief style in this chapter, attention

crowding of the composition and the nervous activity and attenuation of the forms.
Although great numbers of these beautiful limestone carvings at Amaravati had been
burnt for Hme by the owner of the site in the nineteenth century, large collections of the
surviving fragments remain and are preserved in the Government Museum at Madras
and in the British Museum. They are datable from the time of the renovation in the

second century A.D. The subjects comprise purely decorative fragments,

medaUions of the

cross-bars, Jataka stories, scenes

like the lotus

from the hfe of Buddha, and, on the

coping, a procession of yakshas bearing a garland-hke purse. In addition to the

number of free-standing Buddha images were found

like similar statues at the Singhalese site

round the base of the monument

reliefs a

in the stupa precinct; probably,

of Anuradhapura, they were originally placed

(Plate 137A).

A single one of these statues will serve as a useful point of departure for an analysis of
the Amaravati style (Plate 71A and b).

The Buddha, excavated

at

Nagarjunakonda,

is

represented standing directly frontal, wearing the Buddhist robe or sahghdti with the
right shoulder bare.
finition

The heavy, massive conception of the

of the drapery by

combination of incised

cating the course of the folds and seams,

distinctly

is

of the Kushan school. Iconographically, the conception

presentation of the

Buddha wearing

is

related to

from

this

Gandhara

beyond this
centre of Greco-Roman

the monastic robe, but

cation of any direct styhstic influence

the drapery, unlike the folds of Gandhara statues,

with the de-

figure, together

and overlapping ridges indireminiscent of the Buddha images

lines

no longer have

art.

in the re-

no indiThe lines of

there

is

the rather dry, inert

character due to the mechanical copying of Late Antique formulae, but are organized in

an ordered rhythm of lines undulating obhquely across the body and imparting a feeling

of movement

as

well as reinforcing the sweUing expansiveness of the form beneath.

Peculiarly characteristic of the

Buddha images of the Amaravati region

billowing fold at the bottom of the outer mantle where

may

be derived from the heavy

it falls

is

the heavily

above the ankles. This

mantle edge of Kushan Bodhisattva statues

roll-like

(Plate 45).

Owing to its commercial and rehgious affiliations, the influence of the art of the Andhra
Empire was enormously widespread; not

only, as will be explained later,

of Amaravati extended to Ceylon, but Buddhist images

was the

style

Andhra style of the second

Dong-duong in Champa (mod-

in the

as far away as
Sempaga in the Celebes.
A typical head of a Buddha from Amaravati (Plate 72) reveals a certain relationship to
the heads of Kushan images in the general fullness and warmth of conception, but, in
contrast to the roundness of the facial contour of the Mathura Buddhas, the heads from
Amaravati are of a more narrow oval shape. AU the heads of Buddha from this site in-

and third centuries a.d. have been found

em

hido-China)'' and at

by snail-shell curls, following the scriptural account

of the Buddha's appearance. In many respects these Later Andhra heads are more softly

variably have the hair represented

and

plastically

Many

modelled, with

individual figures

less

rehance on linear definition of the features.

from the

rehefs

of Amaravati

117

also

show

a relationship to the

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

school of Mathura (Plate 73a): the Aniaravati figures with their attenuated, indolent

grace are in every case a refinement of the rather coarse and sensual concept of beauty

developed by the Kushan sculptors.

It

will be recalled that this fondness for elongated

Andhra rehef of a Cakravartin from JaggayAmaravati are iconographically much more com-

figures has already been noted in the Early

yapeta.'

The rehef compositions

at

of the Buddha legend than anything found

plicated in their illustration

many of them

hara or Mathura; in

in either

Gand-

the old device of continuous narration widely

used in the Early Andhra rehefs at Saiichi

rehef panels also differs from anything

is still

we

in evidence.

The conception of these

have hitherto seen in the

way

they are

organized as all-over patterns of dynamic movement, sometimes rising to a kind of

maenadic frenzy, and

also in the highly

dramatic character of some of the scenes like the

Submission of the elephant Nalagiri, with

its

surging

crowd of terrified

spectators,

con-

calm of the group of the Buddha and his followers (Plate 73b).
These two new factors - the way in wliich the whole composition is unified through the
rhythmic lines provided by the movements and directions of the figures and the dramatrasted

tic

with the

static

content - seem to lead direct to the rehefs of the Pallava and Chalukya Periods. These

later carvings give the

impression of being inspired by spectacular stage productions and

by dynamic movement. Presumably this hkeness is not entirely

Hindu dynasties of the Deccan continued the artistic traditions
that flourished in these same regions during the centuries of Buddhist domination.
Stylistically the Amaravati sculptors have a fondness for a very comphcated and perhaps un-Indian arrangement of figures and settings in a number of planes. This deep

are likewise integrated

accidental, since the later

cutting that transforms panels and medalhons into stage boxes might be regarded as a
natural

development out of the technique of the

Saiichi carvers: the frequent use

lapping figures and an equally confident handling of foreshortened forms

Roman influence.^" The ivory-hke delicacy and

basis for suspecting

ing, the languorous attenuated beauty

of the

figures,

make

is

of over-

perhaps a

precision of the carv-

the Amaravati reliefs

'

the

most voluptuous and the most dehcate flower of Indian sculpture'."

Buddhism apparently went into a decline at the same time that the Andhra Dynasty
collapsed in the early fourth century; already in the seventh century,
visited the region,

he describes the Buddhist estabhshments

ruined '.1^ This disappearance of Buddhism and

its

as

when

South India

art in

Hsiian-tsang

'mostly deserted and

is

probably to be

of Hinduism," always strongly entrenched in the

Deccan, and in part certainly by the dechne of patronage due to the inevitably diminished prosperity after the ending of the sea-borne trade with the Roman West.
The Great Stupa at Amaravati is only the most important monument of a great style;
explained in part by the gradual

other sculptural fragments no

jimakonda and

at

less

rise

distinguished in execution have been found at Nagar-

as late as a.d. 300.1*

The dimensions of the

great that they could not be constructed

mound of brick and

rubble.

Some interior

The

were carved
Kisma region were so
method of simply pihng up a

Goli Village, both in the Kisma region.

latter rehefs

Buddliist stupas of the

by

the usual

support or binding for these great mountains

of earth had to be supphed. Usually this was accomphshed, as in the stupa of Nagarjunakonda, by having an interior system of brick walls. The ground plan (Figure 15) of
118

THE LATER ANDHRA PERIOD

the stupa
cells

that

is

of a wheel with the hub represented by

formed by the

earth.

The

intersecting concentric rings

'Church Father', presumably

vati,

and

its

and

it

ground plan of the stupa

is

in the

It

dates

six feet,

sohd brick

takes

its

name from

from the same period

same

sculpture belongs to the

hundred and

mounds.

which

stupa at Nagarjunakonda,

pillar,

as the

filled

Great Stupa at Amarasanctuary

reached an original height of seventy or eighty

also

of

interest for the

mentioned

surrounded by concentric

axis

is

feet.

hidden symboHsm of these

will be noted that the plan suggests the idea - already

symbolism of all stupas - of the cosmic

with

the famous Buddhist

The diameter of tins

style.

and with the

and spokes of brick walls

as

one

The
relic

inherent

rings, just as

'&ii'

10

20

30

40
10

50

6o
15

70

8o feet

20

METRES

Figure 15. Stupa at Nagarjunakonda:

Ground plan

Meru of Indian cosmology is imagined to be girdled by successive

mountain ramparts, the Cakravala.^^ The presence of the axis was of course indicated on
the world mountain

the exterior

by

the harmika emerging

justifiable to assume, too, that the

from the dome typifying the

sky.i* It

would be

arrangement and the number of compartments formed

by the walls of the interior structure were disposed in the form of a mandala, just as
Hindu temples were raised on a foundation of such magic squares. The estabhshment at
Nagarjunakonda also included temples of the famihar chaitya plan, together with the
remains of palace structures and viharas.

The

forincr are certainly the earhest surviving

examples of actual structural buildings in the chaitya form. The monasteries include one
building specifically reserved for resident
a court

surrounded by individual

monks from Ceylon.

cells.

119

It

has the typical plan of

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

It is

unfortunate that the rehefs of Amaravati are not better known. Certainly from the

point of view of complex and yet always coherent composition, of massing of chiaroscuro, and ahveness of surface treatment they have

of relief sculpture. Even

the British

their crowded

seldom been surpassed

and haphazard

installation

on

the

in the history

main stairway of

Museum gives an impression of the great richness of the total decorative

wcU to reiterate in conclusion that, for the later history of Indian art, not

effect.''' It is

only for sculpture in the Gupta Period, but even more for the dynamic carving under

Hindu dynasties that succeeded

work at Amaravati is immeasurable.
the

the Andhras in the South, the importance of the

CHAPTER

15

THE GOLDEN AGE: THE GUPTA PERIOD

The Gupta Period takes its name from the founder of this dynasty, Chandragupta,
crowned King of Kings at Pataliputra in a.d. 320, who asserted his power over the
Ganges Valley. The conquests of this Kshatriya sovereign, Chandragupta I, and his successors,

notably his son, Samudragupta, came to include

Once more,

to Ujjain.

as

Qcntre of the Empire. Chronologically the

of northern India from Orissa

Gupta Period may properly be extended to

include the reign of Harsha of Kanauj (606-47),

who

following the interregnum after the invasion of the

revived the glories of the dynasty

White Huns

in the fifth century. Al-

Gupta sovereigns, the regions of norththe ancient Gandhara, were overrun by the White Huns, and even after

though temporarily under the

western India,

all

under the Mauryas, Magadha in the Bengal Valley was the

the death of the

of the

rule

first

of these inhuman conquerors one hundred years

last

later, these

pro-

from India proper. Neither the Gupta kings nor the mighty conqueror, Harsha, were able to extend their conquests to South India, which continued
to be governed by independent dynasties like the Pallavas and Chalukyas, who had

vinces remained apart

inherited the ancient

domains of the Andhras.

We gather from the accounts of the Chinese visitors. Fa Hsien and Hsiian-tsang, that
Buddhism, both

in

its

Mahayana and Hinayana forms,

Empire. Although some of the old centres,

flourished throughout the

and

like Kapilavastu

Sravasti,

had

Gupta

fallen into

decay and depopulation, and even Gaya was a ruinous waste, the monasteries and tower-

Mathura and Patahputra at Nalanda was the great

its cloisters so crowded as to tax the defences
and revenue of the Empire. These centuries of Gupta rule also marked the beginning of
a Hindu revival centring about a new cult of Vishnu, with emphasis on Krishna as the
ed stupas shone golden in the sun
university centre of Mahayana

at

Buddhism,

exponent and divine teacher of Vaishnava doctrine. Mahayana Buddhism

was hardly

different

from other

divisions in the

of intellectual absorption into Hinduism

hgion of Sakyamuni from India.
cess

Although often referred to

as the

Hindu

faith,

in this period

and was undergoing

that led to the final disappearance

Indian Renaissance, the Gupta Period

is

a pro-

of the

re-

not properly

speaking a rebirth, except in the pohtical sense as a reappearance of a unified rule that

had not been known

B.C.
if

since the extinction

Purely Indian ideals were never

more

of the Maurya Dynasty in the third century

fully expressed than in this span of centuries,

only by reason of the isolation from the Western world that ensued with the gradual

collapse

of the

Roman Empire

culminating in the appearance of the Gothiin 410: for-

eign contacts, cultural and religious, were

Asia,

and

Seldom
so fully

in this

now with

the Far East and with south-eastern

exchange India was the giver, the Far East the receiver.

in the history

of peoples do

and typically expressed

we

find a period in

in all the arts as in

Gupta

which the national genius is

Here was florescence and

India.

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

fulfilment after a long period of gradual development, a like sophistication

assurance in expression in music, literature, the drama, and the plastic

may

Period

well be^escrjbed as

'classic

Sanskrit

The Gupta

of the word describin g a norm nr

and in the perfect balancejmdJiaf-

in the sense

'

degree oF perfection never achieved before or

mony of all

and complete

arts.

since,

elements styhstic and iconographic - elements inseparable in importance.

became

Gupta

the official language of the

The

court.

great Indian epic, the

Mahahhdrata, underwent a final recension as a document of a unified India under a godly

Rdmayam

Imperial race; the

enjoyed a renewed popularity because

it

was regarded

as

emblematic of the virtues of the Kshatriya prince conquering in the service of Vishnu.

Western drama, traced

in this period that the Indian theatre, which, just like

It is

origins to the performance

of church

its

spectacles or miracle plays, reached the extraordin-

ary perfection of dramatic structure and richness of metaphor that characterize the Toy
Cart and the famed Kahdasa's rich and sensuous poetic drama, Sakuntah. King Harsha

himself was a dramatist and a distinguished grammarian. This

first

time

we find

maraswamy

has stated, this

is

a period

and the wall-paintings of Ajanta

was only

governing the

when

a period

when

finally

for the

As Coo-

works of the classic Sanskrit dramatists

same phase of luxurious aristocratic culVishnudharmot-

formulated in the Gupta Period, and that the various

of architecture and sculpture received

arts

arts.

the

'reflect the

We may be sure that the aesthetic of Indian art expressed in the

ture'.^
tarain

is

the amateur not only as patron but as practitioner of the

sdstras

their final codification in this

age of universal accomphshment.

As

in the

Maurya

Period, the very pohtical unity of India

made

for an artistic unity

transcending regional boundaries, so that examples in sculpture and architecture differ

on

the

whole only

we

Period onward

complete with their sculptural decoration. All

architecture,

From the Gupta

many more examples of
the arts are now so much

in the local materials used in their manufacture.

are fortimate in having preserved intact

a part of a single unified expression that a completely separate treatment

not only

difficult

We

but misleading.

related material

by

types, together

with

discussing

first

find

if

it is still

images and separate pieces of typical carving and,

;

In architecture

earher periods.

we meet with

Thus

a final

monuments by

in situ

we

XIX

have analysed in

(Plate 74A) at

will serve to reveal the changes that

at

Bhaja and Karli. The

essential basUican plan

sanctuary. Inside, the

round

of the shrines

in
its

^j^a

have taken place

Mahayana Buddhist

since the dedication

this

location and

then, free-standing cult

finally, painting.

for example, the rock-cut chaitya-hall that

work of the Gupta Period and

petuated in

would be
this inter-

development of many types already found

beginnings continues as an accepted architectural type. Cave

is

with

best, therefore, to deal

the chief architectural

ornament,

their plastic

it

shafts

of the

is

per-

pillars

of

the nave arcade are decorated with bands of foliate ornament, and at the jols3^ loti-

form member forming

necking under the bracket-shaped

clos^y spaced that they provide an almost continuous

capitals.
'

These

triforium

'

capitals are so

frieze

of deeply

ornamented with a kind of clerestory of deep

niches containing standing or seated Buddhas alternating with panels of foHate ornament. The whole effect is extremely rich and 'baroque'. This luxuriant carving of the

carved rehef

The haunch of the

vault

is

THE GUPTA PERIOD

complemented by the character of the stupa in the ambulatory. This stru cture is
m comparis on with the simple rock-cut hemispheres of Bhaja and Karli as
the pillarand frieze decoration of the nave is in relation to the un-oniamcnted interior
of theearly^haitya-hall. It is a richly carved monohth reaching almost to the summit of
nave

is

as elaborate

the vault. The original drum and Tiemispherical dome have been made into a
mche and canopy to accommodate the figure of a standing Buddha. Above

attenuated

now

fuiial, in

which one may stiUrecognize

hism with

its

emp hasis on

Buddha images
mentioned
tastic

is

"^ro

development of Mahayana Budd-

anthropomorphic nature of the Buddha; the multiple

symbohcal ot the myriad Buddhas of the Quarters

Punclmka, just

as the

is still

recognizable

pillars

stupa itself is reminiscent of the fan-

(Plate 74b). Thefairiil^rlptiform

below

of t he same order

of the facade around the window and on the

cession

it is

as those

side walls

win-

a free-standing portico sup-

of the nave. TheporflOTR

of the court' formed by the

'

of the cave-front are completely covered with niches of varying

size filled

re-

with

high-rehef statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. These images are more or

less symwhich iconograpliically

inayDeregarded as a kind of mandala or diagram depicting the host of the mystic Buddhas.
On each side of the chaitya window are two guardian figures or yahsha-dvarapalas; their

metrically balanced according to an all-over decorative scheme,

heavily muscled physique, a kind of abstract Ladian parallel for Michelangelo's

is

terribilita,

inten3e3~fo suggest_the power of these divinities to ward off the enemies of the

Buddhist Church. IconograpHIcally they are the descendants of the railing figures

at

Bharhut and Sanchi. Both these figures and, indeed, the whole arrangement of multiple

Buddha images covering

the entire wall surface are the prototype for the rock-cut

of China of the Six Dynasties (220-589) and T'ang Periods (61S-906).

In the Gupta Period the chaitya-hall makes its appearance as a free-standing temple of
permanent materials. One of these is a shrine located at Chezarla in Guntuf' District

sanctuaries

(Plate 75 a).

At present the building

is

dedicated to ^iva, but there

is

httle

doubt that

it is

an ancient Buddhist temple converted to Hindu usage. That free-standing chaityas were
built at a

very early period has already been mentioned. The foundations of such an

apsidal building

of the

temple of similar type

zarla, built entirely

first

proximately twenty-three

twenty-two
is

feet liigh.

century A.D. have been found in Sirkap (Taxila), and a

at Saiichi rests

of brick,

is

on very ancient foundations. The temple at Cheof modest proportions measuring ap-

in reahty a chapel

feet in

The most

length by nine in width.

striking feature

The

of the building

interior
is its

is

approximately

vaulted roof, which

constructed wholly of brick masonry, each horizontal course having a shght offset in-

ward

as it rises to the ridge.

corbelled vaulting.

form of

The

There

fac^ade

is,

There

is

in other words,

no true arching but only

of the building presents the

the rock-cut chaitya-halls

subject in relief

elaboration of the stupa, as well as

miraculous structures described in the pages of this sutra.

ported by two richly carv ed

The enormous

kalasa.

are undoubtedly

of the early chaityas

the direct result of the

No less elaborate is the decoration of the facade

dow

an

Ualc_<;

the

in the Saiidharma

rises

and umbrella?

surmounted by a vase or

the dec oration of the nav e,

the elements of harmika

pillared

which

a similar shrine at

form of

characteristic chaitya-arch

one time probably enframed a Buddhist

Ter (Figure 16), also dating from the Gupta

at

123

'
'

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

Period,

which

is

preceded by a walled-in porch or mandapa, an element that sccnis to

have come into general usage for sanctuaries of all types, both Hindu and Buddhist,

in

the fourth and fifth centuries.

I^|B|

r-T
4

5METPEJ

Figure i6. Trivikrama

Temple

still

persisted in~the fifth century; the

the right in Plate 75B. Probably this chaitya

Ter: Ground plan

at

on earher foundations, shows

free-Standing chaitya^ialLat Sanchi, probably built

that this type

H
!

'

t::::;:i

,;':.;i

'"'

columns

may

as restored

be seen to

was roofed with wood and thatch over the

stone columns of the nave.

A much

more

17. It consists

same famous Buddhist

significant structure at this

temple standing to the

of the chaitya-hall

left

of an enclosed

cella

in Plate 75B.

It is

mandapa

forms the nucleus of all

in front

temple-building in India both Hindu and Buddhist.

It is

flat

of wooden prototypes, but an

medium.

Among

deirv'.

Probably

the characteristics of Gupta temple architecture^ isjhe

cella consists

new and

as well.

fresh concept

As

so often in

Gupta

art,

we fmd

combination of an entirely

with elements of tradition. Thus the columns of the portico are

modification of the Asokan order the octagonal shafts of the columns

:

high square bases and are surmounted by both a

bell capital and,

pohtan

from

that, a

as in the

rather

massive

old Perse-

t\'pe.

would be impossible and unprofitable

specifically

fact

rise

above

abacus in which rather dryly carved hons are placed back to back

is

of entirely

and closely joined ashlar blocks; a continuous entablature embraces the sanctum

and the porch

It

not a

it is

entirely appropriate, not imitative,

roof with spouts to drain off rain-water. The exterior of the

plain

later

outgrowth of a necessity to

the

provide a suitable cnshrinement for a central cult image of the

use of the stone

Temple No.

preceded by a columned portico. This plan of the sanc-

tuary or garbha griha with the porch or

translation into stone

the small

site is

designated as

to attempt to

prove that the

chait)'a-hall

type

Buddhist and the ceUa-and-porchjt)'jpe of temple a Hindu invention: the

remains that both are used with modifications for

ritual

by both

sects

throughout the

Gupta Period.

Many varying examples of these t\'pes can be

the squahd

rounding

modem

it,

village

and

in the

found

at Aihole,

near Badami. There, in

overgrown wasteland of prickly-pear

forest sur-

are about seventy old temples, variously used for dwellings, storerooms.

124

THE GUPTA PERIOD

modem

and cowsheds. Only a handful have been reclaimed by

Gupta shrine of the chaitya type

It is

at Ailiole

is

the Brahmanical

archaeologists.

Durga temple

late

(Plate 76a).

an example of a modified s tructural chaitya-hall with the familiar basihcan plan of

nave,

aisles,

and apse (Figure

barrel vaults. In place

17).

A flat roof with stone slabs over the nave replaces the

of the ambulatory of the rock-cut

ning round the exterior of the

cella.

The

arcade are a type that reappears with variations in

These

later periods

all

capitals are in a sense a severe or rustic version

Ajanta. Another and even

more

chaityas,

it

has a pteroma run-

plain and very massive bracket capitals

interesting

new

XIX

of those seen in Cave

element

is

of this

of Indian architecture.
at

the hjtle spire or sikhar a

above the apsidal end_o/ th.e structure. The sikhara, which some writers see as a
North Indian development, becomes rnoi:e_and more prominoit in the
architecture of the Gupta and later periods. The origins of the sikliara have been
one~oF the great points of dispute in Indian archaeology. Some see in it a development
from the stupa, or a translation into stone of a wooden processional car. Others have
suggested an adaptation from primitive beehive huts or a figuration of the mukuta, the
towering head-dress of Vishnu. Coomaraswamy's proposal that the sikhara tower was
rising

specifically

developed by the piling up of successive storeys,

crowning dmalaka

at each level or roof,

is

as

suggested

10

Another example

masonry with
hcan plan

is

at

Aihole

(Plate 763)

is

the

METRES

Ground

Figure 17. Durga Temple, Ailiole:

of the town

by the representation of the

perhaps the best solution.^

plan

HucchimaUigudi temple standing

in the fields

north

In this temple the sikhara, constructed of successive courses of

rusticated lotiform quoins, rises directly

suggested outwardly by raising the

flat

above the garbha griha. The

nave roof above the

aisles.

basi-

In other

such as the unadorned ashlar masonry, the supporting podium, and the entabwhich embraces porch and cella, this Brahmanical chapel has points in common
with the Buddhist temple at Saiichi. The plan is that of a shrine surrounded by a pradaksina passage within the body of the hall.
respects,

lature

125

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

Still

site

another type of architecture

dating from

slabs.

Stone

porch.

The

ticed slabs

taining

c.

grills

wall

450 (Figure

18).

have been placed

Brown

is

by

the

The

posts,

interior consists

that provide a double aisle

Khan Temple,

points out, derives not

with a

all

is

of a

perpetuated, the

its

a pillared

single large hall

lat-

con-

round. This unusual plan,

pre-existing rehgious shrine, but

simply a

room

The

from

actual sanctuary

built into the

the interior of the hall, an arrangement suggesting the temple at

cussed below. Although

same

Aiholc: Plan and Section

from any

emblem of worship

at the

roof of stone

between which the

the arrangement of the Indian village meeting-hall or santhagara.^

for housing the Saivite

flat

and the eastern end opens into

sides,

like screens.

Ladh Khan temple

a rectangular building

of massive stone

in reality a peristyle

two groups of columns

Percy

represented

admit light from two

is

Figure 18. Ladh

as

is

This

back wall of

Bhumara

to

be

dis-

thoroughly unusual and inappropriate arrangement was not

Ladh Khan

is

important in furnishing us with the earhest example of

the massive bracket-like capital that continues in use throughout the

Hindu Renaissance

Period.
In so far as

one can

tell

Sarnath, the free-standing

attenuation that

ruins

of such structures

as the

reveal the

notable in the rock-cut stupas at Ajanta.

Dhamekh

stupa at

same tendency towards

The Dhamekh

stupa was

memorial erected to commemorate the Buddha's ordaining of his succesMaitrcya. Its sohd brick core consists of a high basement surmounted by a drum;

presumably
sor,

is

from the

monuments of this type

126

THE GUPTA PERIOD

dome and

the hemispherical

considerable height.

superstructure have disappeared, but must have risen to a

The most

notable feature of tliis ruin

coration surroimding the niches for images let into the

consists

of chevron patterns and the most luxuriant vine

dehcacy and feeling for

effective

shadow. This

is

is

the very elaborate rehef de-

drum

(Plate 78A)

patterns, carved

the ornament

with the utmost

the exact sculptural equivalent of the

magnificently painted ceilings of the Ajanta cave temples which will be considered

One of

the

few surviving gems of Hindu architecture of the Gupta Period

^n

later.
is

the

] i'flJ 1

^^

^^^TT
=#""

nr~*~*

20 FEET

15

Figure 19. Siva Temple, Deogarh:

temple of Siva
beautifully

at

Ground plan

Deogarh. This fragmentary building

composed examples of Gupta

architecture.

is

innermost enclosure of a mandala of nine squares (Figure

the fifth century.

The

shrine as

it

survives consists

This

cella

was

19).'* It

itself

occupies the

probably dates from

of a cubic block of finely joined

masonry, surmounted by a ruined pyramidal tower that

feet in height.

one of the most ornate and

The temple

originally surrounded

at

by four

aslilar

one time rose to about forty

porticoes,

one leading to the

sanctuary, the other three serving to set off and protect the reUefs of Brahmanic subjects
set in the

remaining walls of the edifice (Plate 77a). These panels are deeply simk in an

elaborate

framework of pilasters of the Indian order and

127

a frieze of foUate scrolls and

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

Hon heads. This omanaent is not far removed from the work on the Dhamekh stupa.
The carvmg of the frame complements the ricliness of the rehefs. Their baroque depth
in their box-hke scttmgs gives the effect of a spectacle on a stage and seems to prophesy
the dynamic cliiaroscuro of later Hindu sculpture. The voluptuous grace of the figures
and the already famihar metaphorical conventions of anatomy and features remind us
of the

style

of Gupta Buddliist sculpture

fifth

and sixth

centuries,

was taking place

at

Samath. But the richness and dramatic con-

more moving than anything

ception of rehef are far

found

to be

in

and are an unmistakable indication of the

Buddhist

art

of the

real renaissance that

of the Hindu Church. Originally the temple platform was

in the art

decorated with a continuous frieze representing events from the epic Ramayaim, a text

popular in Gupta times for

earHest

example of

its

heroic account of the triumph of a godly race. This

motif that

is

is

the

repeated over and over again in the architecture of

Java.

The main doorway of

the temple at

Deogarh may

tremely ornate type of portal that makes

found in almost

all

temple entrances

elaborate frame of the

doorway

is

proper.

its

serve as an example of the ex-

now

appearance

The main motif here

(Plate 77b).

the projecting lintel-cornice.

consists

It

feature

overhangs the

of richly decor-

ated pilasters, alternately square, octagonal, and sixteen-sided in section, supporting an

architrave in the shape of an elongated vesara or chaitya roof ornamented with chaitya

dormers. Within

this

framework

are enclosed

narrow

vertical

bands of decoration with

representations of mithunas or auspicious couples; in the centre of the over-door slab

a plaque

of Vislinu on the great naga. Around the frame of the doorway

is

itself are panels

with crisply carved fohate details. To right and left at the top and outside the main zone
of the frame are rehefs of the river goddesses of the Ganges and Jumna. This is a motif
that occurs repeatedly in this position in the buildings of Gupta times. At the bases of the
overlapping frames of the door are carvings of dvarapalas or door guardians and female
divinities.
set off

by

The

richness

of this sculptured portal

hke the rehefs of the

unique and important building of the Gupta Period

gaon near Cawnpore. The

is

is,

so ruinous that

its

structure, wliich

photograph (Figure

as a

feet square,

depends for

is

its

the brick temple at Bhitar-

effect

on

flat

wall decoration,

arrangements can be seen better in an architectural drawing than in

20).

It

the fifth century,

in brick. Originally a

sanctuary for images.

and contains

from

dates

examples of Indian architecture

tended

windows,

false

the plain surfaces of the ashlar masonry.

The

and

is

one of the few surviving

Brahmanical dedication,

it

was

in-

on a high plinth, is thirty-sixsmall vestibule by a barrel vault. Domical

brick tower, raised

a cella joined to a

brick vaults cover the sanctuary and porch.

On

the exterior

we

see a structure

with

doubly recessed comers ornamented by double cornices enclosing a recessed frieze of

carved brick. The superstructure, rising in diminishing stages with a decoration of
chaitya arches,

was

originally

shall see in the Pallava

crowned by a hull-shaped roof of the chaitya type that we

at Mamallapuram and GwaUor. The blind chaitya

examples

arches in the horizontal courses enframe heads of divine beings, the first appearance of the

gavaksha, an arclritectural motif that recurs in Pallava arcliitecture and in the

buildings of Indo-China. If only in

its

shape, the temple seems to bear

128

some

pre-Khmer
relation to

THE GUPTA PERIOD

-^bui>jnwwU'

Figure 20. Brick

Temple

at

Bhitargaon

Bodh Gaya, and it furnishes a remarkably close protomany later shrines in Java and Indo-China. The panels of carved terra-cotta from
the exterior revetment are among the most beautiful examples of Indian work in this
medium (Plate 78b). The panel illustrated, representing Vishnu reclining on the great

the original tower sanctuary at

type for

snake, Sesha,
ness

is

characterized

by

the extreme beauty of finish, softness of form,

and

crisp-

of detailed defmition.

Closely related to this type of temple and plan

Nagod

is

the shrine of Siva at

Bhumara

State (Figure 21). This sanctuary, dated in the late fifth century, consists

square cella or garbha griha, wliich was

itself originally

in

of

contained in a larger walled

chamber, so that an indoor processional path was formed around the holy of hoUes.
This enclosure in turn was preceded by a mandapa.

arrangement

is

It is difficult

the origin of the typical late Indian temple plan, but

by linking

hist

temple of the Gupta Period was completely evolved.

129

it

whether

this

can easily be seen

form of the Hindu and Budd-

that

the porch direct to the holy of hoUes, the

to say

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

Gupta temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, the decorative carving was effectively
ornament of the doorways, windows, and panels let into the otherwise

In

crov^rdcd into the

plain wall-surfaces, so that the resulting contrast

the expanse of unadorned ashlar

ment

in Spain.

illustrate the

is

of small

areas

of sparkling rehef against

not unUkc the effect of Plateresque architectural orna-

single red sandstone panel

from the

shrine at

Bhumara

will serve to

exuberant richness of this type of architectural carving in the Gupta Period

uganas or goblin cUmbing the stem of an enormously comphThe frond-like motifs belonging to no botanical species vnrithe and
vigour. The repetition of the curling motifs large and small creates

(Plate 79). It represents

cated foHate growth.

twist with explosive

tt

10

Figure 21.

an

effect

suming

Temple

at

Bhumara: Ground plan

of constant uneasy movement over the

itself

One

METRES

surface, the

movement of a flame con-

has the feeling that in the very exuberance of this rococo fantasy the

and freshness still far from the exhaustion and dryness of

Hindu periods of Indian art.
period of Gupta supremacy, like the aUied arts of painting and archi-

creative invention has a vigour

expression found in the late

Sculpture in the
tecture,

must not

in

any sense be regarded

as a revival

culmination of several continuous traditions.

are

The

or rebirth, but rather as the logical

traditions out

of wliich

it

developed

mainly the entirely Indian school of Mathura, and the Greco-Roman

the north-west frontier. All Gupta sculpture, regardless of

marked by

a finished mastery in execution

seldom been equalled

in

and

its

art

place of manufacture,

a majestic serenityjn expression that

of
is

have

any other school of art.

We may take as a typical example, to illustrate what we might call the processes leading to the emergence of Gupta sculpture, any one of the images of Buddha carved at

130

THE GUPTA PERIOD

Mathura from the fourth century onwards (Plate 80). From Hsiian-tsang's description
of this former Kushan capital there can be no doubt that the city continued as a flourishing centre of Buddhism. The fifth-century Buddha from Mathura differs from the early
Kushan effigies of Sakyamuni in showing the Teacher entirely covered^y^ the monastic
garment. This in itself may be regarded as an iconographical borrowing fr omjpand -

h^aT The

style

of the drapery bears

Buddhas; what were once

series

marked resemblance

to certain late

reahstically represented Classical folds

of strings, symbolically representing the ridges of the

a net of pardlel loops following the

median

line

of the

Gandhara

have been reduced to a

body in
Mathura Buddhas

folds, that clothe the

figure. In the

the rather hard conventionahzation of the late Gandhara drapery formula has been re-

worked

into a rhythinicjjattem quite apart

petition

of the loops of the string-hke drapery provides

coluinnar mass of the body. This

the

Bu Jdhas of tTie

Later

Buddhajs_entirely^Indian.
early

Kushan Buddhas:

is

from

its

descriptive fimction
a

Andhra Period. The conception of

the actual

We note a perpetuation of the heaviness

quahty, together with the

this

that

is,

the_restatic

the final development of a formula already noted in

the archaic crudeness of the prototype has disappeared.

It is

form of the

and volume of the

commanding

conveys a feehng of awesome dignity and power.

figures,

kind of rehef to the

height of the

notable, however, that

We may be reasonably sure that

were carved according to a fixed set of proportions intended to guarantee

the more than mortal ideahty of the conception likewise, individual parts of the body
these figures

continue to be fashioned in accordance with the entirely metaphorical description of the

Buddha's person contained in the lakshanas.

The head of

this typical

Gupta Buddha from Mathura

coalescence of the Indian and Gandharan traditions.

for exarhpte, the raz or

edg e

that_scparates the

The

reveals essentially the

same

sharp de finition of the plane s,

brow from

the eye-socket,

is

as,

similar to the

hard precision of the Gandhara Buddhas, with the difference that the Mathura types
avoid the mask-like coldness of the Gandhara Buddha head by the swelling roimdness of
the interlocking planes
face a feeling

which

of warmth and

metaphorical manner and

than an organic, manner.

mang o

the hair

is

in

an almost geometric fashion combine to impart to the

fullness.

still,

T he

represented

The

individual features are again

as in archaic sculpture,

combined

the snail-sheU convention wliich

summit of the

fashion the marks of wheel,

etc^ are engraved

most

beautiful features

ally this final evolution

tremendous and

have seen in the

and in similarly orthodox

on the palms of the hands.
of the Mathura Buddhas arc the carved haloes, the

fish, trisiila^

ornament consisting of concentric

we

at pains to represent the ushnisha as

a definite protuberance growing from the

the

in a

eyes are jotiform; the hps have the fullness of the

by

example from Amaravati. The sculptors are always

Among

composed

in an additive, rather

skull,

rings of floral pattern about a central lotus. Aesthetic-

of the Buddhist

cult

fully reahzed sculptural

image

is

extremely moving in the feeling of

mass and the awesome

spiritual dignity

of form

and features that is achieved by their combination of Late Antique convention and Indian
metaphor and feeling for plastic volume.
'The figure of their Great Master they

stealthily class

with that of Tathagata;

it

differs

only in the point of clothing; the points of beauty are absolutely the same. '^ This accurate
131

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

observation by Hsiian-tsang on the dependence of Jain art on Buddliist prototypes

may

be applied to any number of Jain images of all periods.

thankara in the Curzon

Museum

at

Muttra

colossal statue

of a Tir-

(Plate 8ia) could be mistaken at first glance

were it not for the complete nudity of the figure. The probody and the technical aspects of carving are identical with Buddha
images of the Gupta Period, down to such details as the lotiform eyes and the representation of the hair by snail-shell curls. The impression of hieratic stiffness and austerity in
for a

Buddha

in dhydna mticJra,

portions of the

this

and other Jain images

is

due not only to the

rigid geometrical construction

of the

column on the base of the locked legs, but to the emphasis on the abstract
treatment of surface and volume inherent in the entirely unadorned body. Looking back
to the earhcst example of Indian treatment of the nude, the Harappa torso, it is interesting to see how for very good reasons all suggestion of muscular structure has been
suppressed in favour of an entirely abstract conception of the body in smooth and

body

set like a

unencumbered curved planes, which in their entirely generahzed treatment impart a

feeling of tremendous volume and are intended to connote the perfection of a great man
in yogic trance, a spiritual state of being in which the body becomes immaculate
purified of the dross of material existence.
In the Gupta Period, as at all other moments of Indian art history, no distinction in
style

made between works of art produced

can be

for the various rehgions.

Brahmanical fragment from the Mathura workshops of the

same
This

tradition
is

and

styHstic

idiom

as the

Buddha images from

fifth

the

typical

century reveals the

same

site (Plate

8ib).

fragment of the fiindu deity Vishnu with the heads of a Hon and a boar placed

human head to indicate the Narasimha and Vardha avatars

of the god. The body is represented with the same herculean proportions as employed
for the icons of Buddha; the carving in smooth, very simplified planes is the fmal perfection of the style of the early Kushan school. The human face in the centre in its roundness and in the character of the individual features could scarcely be distinguished from a
to left and right of the central

Buddha mask. A distinctive Vishnu

or mukuta which reveals the same

attribute

is,

of course, the elaborate jewel head-dress

luxuriant fancy in decorative invention as

is

typical

of all Gupta ornament.

Very

close in feehng

Museum

(Plate 82b).

and

detail

is

a magnificent Bodhisattva torso in the Muttra

We notice here how the Indian sculptor, following a device going

back to the archaic periods, exploits to the

full the contrasts

between the

precisely carved

jewellery and armlets and the unadorned expanse of the nude torso. In the Buddhist
sculpture of the Pala-Sena Period this insistence

mentation becomes a kind of end in

aspect that

is

totally absent in the statues

perfect balance

serving

by

between the massive

their

on

the definition of the jewelled orna-

and the carving assumes a dry, mechanical

of the Gupta Period, in which there is always a

itself,

plastic reaUzation

of the form and the surface

very delicacy of execution to reUeve the

statues'

details

almost overbearing

heaviness.

One of the most

great monastic

flourishing centres of Buddhist sculpture in the

complex

at

Gupta Period was the

Samath. The material that the sculptors used for carving the

innumerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that once decorated the stupas and viharas was
132

THE GUPTA PERIOD

the cjbunar sandstone that

had served the craftsmen of the Maurya Period. One

of the standing Buddha type evolved

the many images recovered in the course of excavation

choose

as

typical

at

Mathura Buddha

in the

style

may

any one of

site

82 a).

(Plate

shows an even further departure from any adherence to the

the

this

The

statue

of Gandhara than

complete disappearance of any indication of the structure

of the folds of the drapery; itTFaniiough the mesh of strings typical of the Buddhas

ofMathura had fallen away, leaving the Buddha clothed in a smooth sheath-Uke garment
that completely reveals the form of the body beneath it. Another immediate difference
is the position of the figure
in marked contr ast to the columnar rigidof the Buddhas of Amaravati and Mathura, the body is shghtly broken on its axis in
a kind of Praxiteleari ilehdhchement, a device that imparts a certain htheness and moving
quahty to the Sarnath type. Very possibly this is an adaptation for Buddhist usage of the

that strikes us

ity

cTiaracteristic

pose of the bidian dance, the tribhanga, in which,

it

will be

remembered,

body is similarly broken on its axis. It is perhaps not too bold to think that this posture was intended to suggest to the worshipper that the Buddha image was actually
moving or walking towards the suppUant, its hand raised in the gesture of reassurance.
Like their counterparts at Mathura, the Sarnath images are certainly composed according to a fixed system of proportion from what we know of later compilations of the
sastras in the Hindu tradition, some such ratio as seven, or even nine, thalams (the distance from brow to chin) to the total height of the image would have been employed.
The ratio varied according to the stature both physical and hieratic of the deity to be
the

'

'

represented.

Buddhas of the Saniath workshops the planes have been so simplified

on an almost abstract character; it is as though, by the very
perfection and unbroken smoothness of the subtly swelling convex surfaces which comIn

all

the

that the sculpture takes

pose the modelling of the body, the sculptor strove not only for a beautifully refined
statement of form and volume, but for an expression of the ineffable perfection of
body of the Buddha as well.
One of the great masterpieces of Gupta sculpture and, indeed, of Indian art of all
periods is the high-rehef statue of Buddha preaching the First Sermon, discovered in the
ruins of Sarnath (Plate 83). It is, as usual, carved of chunar sandstone which retains
traces of red'pigment on the robe. The Teacher is represented seated in yoga posture,
plastic

the

his

hands in the wheel-turning or dharmacakra

rniidrd;

below, on the plinth,

cognized the figures of Sakyamuiai's earhest followers who,

after a

may

be re-

period of apostasy,

returned to liim at the sermon in the Deer Park. Between the two groups of kneeling

monks is the symbol of the preaching, the Wheel, and, to give the setting, two badly
damaged figures of recumbent deer. The back-slab, representing a throne, is carved with
hybrid monsters or

ydlis

and makaras. Iconographically the rehef is the

final step in a

development that transformed the events from the Hfe of the Buddha into
bols, rather

the First Preaching, as in the rehefs

an actual event, with the

same

hieratic

sym-

than mere stories of Sakyamuni's mortal career. In early representations of

scale. In the

of Gandhara, the Deer Park sermon

Buddha surrounded by

Sarnath relief it

is

his disciples,

with

is

all

represented as
figures

the enormously enlarged figure of the

133

on

the

Buddha

in

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

dharmaccikra mudra that stands for the event; the narrative elements

of the episode have

been relegated to the base. Both the svelte attenuation of the Samath Buddhas and the

quahty of sensuous elegance that distinguishes them are a kind of development out of
the Later

Andhra

with the head

as

The

style.

of five thalams to the

total

seated

Buddha

presumably carved according to a system

is

height of the figure, and the image

apex and the

legs as the base.

is

The rehef shows

composed

in a triangle,

the development of the

Mahayana point of view: it is the eternal aspect of the turning of the wheel, typified by
the Buddha and liis gesture, that is important, rather than the actual episode from the
hero's mortal career that appealed to the Hinayanist Church.

There could be no more

appropriate nor beautiful illustration of the metaphorical conception of the cult image

and

its

Indian

separate parts than this icon: the

bow;

once again

is

hne of the brows follows the

curve of the

body

a combination of the various allegories of great strength and beauty con-

One of

tained in the lakshanas.

Buddhas from Samath

ment of the nimbus

is

the

most

beautiful features

of

tliis

and other Gupta

the carving of their haloes. In the present example the orna-

consists

of a wide band of deeply cut foUate forms framed

border with flower-bearing apsaras on either

Not

tensile

the eyes are lotiform; the face has the perfect oval of the egg; and the

in a pearl

side.

Samath school of Buddhist sculpture is its great

on Buddhist art outside India. The earhest Buddha images to be carved in Siam
and Cambodia are all provincial variants of the Samath types, and a fmal and beautiful
development will be seen in the Buddhas ornamenting the great shrine of Barabudur in
the least important aspect of the

influence

Java.
In rehef sculpture the

and Kushan elements

steles

Gupta workshops of Samath achieved

for each episode as evolved in

are themselves miniature repHcas

Gandhara

A number

of

The figures in the reUefs

The style of the rehef carv-

(Plate 84).

of the monumental

statues.

ing with the forms outlined against a deeply shadowed background

a

of Gandharan

with scenes from the hfe of Buddha very clearly show the perpetuation of the ico-

nography

a synthesis

development of the Buddha image.

paralleling the

development of the archaic

scenes the story

is

found

style

ous narration, so that

panel.

The

all

is

may be

First

as

manner, with the inclusion of only

a perpetuation

of the manner of continu-

the events related to the Buddha's Nativity

Seven Steps, and the

regarded

Sanchi and elsewhere. In the individual

related in a very clear shorthand

those figures necessary to the action. There

^al tree, the

at

(Maya under the

Bath) are included within the confines of the same

reduction of the narrative to the most essential figures

is

already prophesied in

Kushan Period at Mathura.

Some mention must be mad e of sculpture jnjnetal, which at one time certainly
existed in a quantity approximating that of the surviving examples in stone and stucco.
The only remaining metal statue of any size is the colossal copper image of Buddha from
Sultangaiij, in the Birmingham Museum (Plate 85). StyUstically, the figure is the equivalent of the fifth-century stone Buddhas of Samath in the smoothly rouiided attenuation of body and hmbs, and in the way that the drapery entirely reveals the form beneath. Parallel incisions on the surface are all that indicate the presence of folds in front
the relief style of the

of the body. Modelling

in the

shape of the archaic chevron pattern connotes the fullness

134

THE GUPTA PERIOD

of the garment

at the borders.

The

and majestic hke the Sarnath

figure, standing erect

feeUng of animation imparted by the unbalanced

statues, has a

staiice

and the movement

suggested by the sweeping silliouette of the enveloping robe. Indeed,

prcssiveness

of

of the body

either side

from the position of

giant wings outspread.

this figure derives

like

much of the im-

the arms unfurling the mantle

on

Buddha and
Gandhara and the Ganges

Just as important aesthetically and historically are the small figures of

Buddhist

divinities in

bronze that have been unearthed both

Valley, if only because

into Cliina

it is

in

highly hkely that such small portable statues were imported

by Buddhist pilgrims hke Hsiian-tsang and served

as

models for the rehgious

sculpture of the Far East.*

Among the statuettes in bronze that have been

they might have been

M.

made from

Pierre Jeannerat (Plate 86a).

the

found in Gandhara - some so aUke that

same mould - is an example in the collection of

represents the

It

Buddha

standing in abhdya mudra. In a

general way, the figure, with the voluminous folds of the mantle indicated

but conceived

lines,^

stone Gandhara

as a

volume

separate

from the body,

Buddhas of the second and

third centuries.

however, wliich point to the image's having been made

when

the Classical influence was being replaced

by

by

incised

a miniature rephca of the

is

There are

at a

certain features,

somewhat

artistic ideals

of a

later period,

definite Indian

nature; the round fullness of the face, prominent ushnisha, and snail-shell curls are positive hallmarks

of the Gupta

style at centres like

Mathura, so that the object should prob-

ably be dated no earher than the fourth or fifth century. Characteristic of the Gandhara

metal figures

typical

is

the rayed

example of a

firom Dhanesar Kliera,

nimbus and aureole or body

now

in the

halo.

of the Gupta Period

statuette

museum

at

is

the bronze figure

Kansas City and dated

c.

400

of Buddha
(Plate 86b).

The head

is a reduction to a small scale of the heads of fourth- and fifth-century Buddha

from Mathura. The proportions of the body beneath the drapery hkewise correspond to the Gupta type, but the robe itself is still modelled more in conformity with
the semi-reaUstic style of Gandhara. Again, the halo, with its projecting rays, is typical

statues

of these small metal images both

Sculpture in the Gupta Period

in

Gandhara and

later Indian examples.^

of course not hmited

to the production of the atehers

Mathura and Sarnath; there was, on the contrary, an enormous amount of carving of
Hindu and Buddhist images all over India, and many of these can vie in quahty with the
masterpieces of the famous centres in the north. A great many images and rehefs, Hindu,
Buddhist, and Jain, have been collected in the Museum at Gwahor. Among these the
enormously monumental Narasiriiha from Besnagar, several rehefs of flying apsaras, and
is

at

a Nativity rehef, either

temple

at

The

Arts.

Besnagar

is

Hindu or

Jain, are

worthy of special mention. Also from

a reUef of the goddess Gariga,

now in

figure reveals the attenuated sensuous grace

the Boston

Museum of Fine

of the Sarnath

style,

and the

foUage and water patterns are carved with that combination of convention and inventive fancy that characterizes

Gupta carvings
State. All these

nath that
;

is,

is

all

Gupta ornament.

Among

the most

monumental of

the colossal rehef of the boar avatar of Vishnu at Udayagiri in

Bhopal

work

at Sar-

examples from western India are in the same

style as the

the sculptural conception, the proportions of figures, and their metaphorical

135

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

composition are

parts

all

of the unified Gupta

clude

Buddha images of considerable

continued as a Buddhist

tradition. Saiichi

centre well through the reign of Harsha of Kanauj, and

some of the

later dedications in-

We

dignity and plastic significance.

have already

studied the later cave-temples at Ajanta as examples of rock-cut architecture;

the sculptural decoration, notably the fine panel of a Ndgaraja

and

his

some of

queen, outside

Cave XIX, deserve to rank with the great examples of the period (Plate 88a). The
figures have the same feeling of elegance and repose which, as we shall see presently,
distinguishes the Gupta wall-paintings at the same site. It will be observed that all the
reliefs

mentioned have

hke frame. There

no

is

common classic quality in being rigidly contained

indication of the baroque quahtics

of later Hindu

within a box-

reliefs, in

wliich

the figures are disposed without any confining enclosure.

A beautiful slab from Sondani near Gwahor illustrates the mature development of figure
sculpture in the

Gupta Period

(Plate 87).

Represented are ugandharva and an apsaras -

supernatural aerial beings - divinities of fragrance and music, once the attendants of
Indra. Appropriately, the .dwinities^je^shgwn flying through the

noted that the

effect

of weightless,

endless, soaring

motion

is

air,

and

should be

it

imparted not,

as in

Chris-

by the unconvincing addition of wings, but by the direction of the legs and
upward swirling lines of the billowing scarf that supports the divine pair like a

tian angels,

by the

celestial parachute.

As

Krgjnmch

Stella

has pointed out, the device of the upturned feet,

brushing against, but not supported by, the steps in the frame at the right adds to the
illusion

of the

ness

of the angels.'- Again, the very heaviness of the massive,

worthy of Fuseh's courtesans, seems to add by contrast to the light-

effortless flight

intricate coiffures,

of the simply modelled bodies. The female gandharva

in this

group

is

the Saiiclii

yakshi in Gupta terms, a fully modelled form in rehef, but suggesting the possibility of
existence in the round.

Note

the wonderful contrast of the close-pressed roundness of

globular breasts and almost abstractly.JiiliuLit-lLaibs and, as in

sculpture, the expansive swelling roundness that

makes

all

great Indian figure

these beings appear 'as if

breatliing'.i"

Gupta Buddhist sculpture

in

western India

may be illustrated by a panel carved on the

when tliis sanctuary was trans-

narthex screen of the chaitya-hall at Karh at the time

formed into
theosis

Mahayana temple

of Buddha

as

(Plate 88b). This reHef could

he appears transfigured in the Lotus

siitra.

be described

The Buddha

is

as

an apo-

enthroned

on

a lotus in the sky at the

To

complete the representation of the old Vedic concept of the division of the cosmos

into

air,

earth,

may

summit of an

axis supported in the nether waters

and nether waters, the level of the earth and

Wheel and

a reference to the

by

nagas.

Buddha's

The
Buddha is flanked by the Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Maitreya, the principal
members of the celestial congregation who were vouchsafed a vision of the Body of
Bhss or Sambhogakaya. Above the Buddha's head are angels supporting a stupa, symbol
of his fmal Nirvana. The style of the individual figures, like the Gupta sculptures at
Ajanta, is a rough, even crude provincial derivation from the fifth-century school of
Samath, a resemblance to be discerned in the smooth tubular bodies and limbs and expreaching

be discerned in the

tending to such details

as the

the deer, emblematic of Samath.

wheel and the flanking deer.

136

THE GUPTA PERIOD

Painting in the Gupta Period, like architecture and sculpture,
tion,

of all periods

literature

Maurya, and

as early as the

may

it

and traditions had been formulated long before the Gupta

an understanding of the aesthetic of Indian painting
classifies

and

is

merely the culmina-

not the renewal, of a very ancient tradition. References to Indian painting occur in

is

be assumed that techniques

era.

The

principal source for

which

the Vishmidhannottaram,

the types of paiiating appropriate to temples, palaces, and private dwellings,

between

differentiates

'true', 'lyrical',

and

'secular' painting. Great stress

is

laid

on

the necessity of following canonical proportions and, of even greater import, the expression of

Six

emotion through appropriate movement."

Limbs or

on the Kama
stood

of Painting are enumerated

Essentials

si'itra,

work

essentially

as a reference to standards

Six

Canons of the

That

the

whole

practical injunctions,

fifth-century Chinese painter Hsieh

a certain trompe

I'ceil

hinted at

by

shows

and lowness while

ignorant.'
It is

and have nothing to do with the

Ho.
specifically intended in

is nothing of the sort in it ... it is

no depression or elevation as imagined by the

(in reality) there

canvas on which there

is

^^

mentions the impossibihty of at-

significant indeed that the Vishnudharmottaram

taining a proper expression of emotion without a

comment

They

certain passages in the Lankavatara sutra: 'As a picture

is

liigliness

be under-

ideal proportion, as well as

through the suggestion of relief was

Indian painting

like the painter's

mood,

may

necessarily observe.

and the preparation of colours and use of the brush. These

attention to proper pose,

on

commentary of Yasodhara

which every painter would

include the proper representation of inner feeling or

Indian canons are

in the

of the Gupta Period. These canons

in itself serves to explain that

knowledge of the

art

of dancing. This

wonderfully vibrant gesture and pose that char-

forms of Ajanta and invests them with a kind of swaying,

movement. Painting in the Gupta Period came to be a social accomphshment no longer Hmited to ecclesiastical use but practise d by amateurs as well asO

acterizes the great painted

flower-like grace and

professional craftsmen. ^^

I, II,

XVI, XVII, and XIX),

at

Bagh, in the Gupta caves

at

Badami, and

in a Jain

sanctuary at Sittanavasal near Tanjore.

Nowhere
divisible

Indian art but at Ajanta do

else in

union of what in the West

poetry, the music, and the

the

mind by

'

India, this

refined.

become an

which

art, in

is

an

art

so admirably phrased

of the Ajanta wall-paintings the 'Bodhisattva

world luxuriously

such a complete statement of in-

and secular

is

bom

it,

the ultimate

by divine

meaning of hfe

is

Like the

of a luxurious

in the splendid settings

right as a prince in a

The sorrow of transience no longer poisons

. .

art.

of 'great courts charming

different yet united reflexions

all

As Coomaraswamy

we find

referred to as sacred

is

drama of Gupta

noble routine

their

aristocratic culture.

life itself; life

not forgotten

. . .

has

but a cul-

mination and a perfection have been attained in which the inner and outer Hfe are indivisible ;

it is

this

^^V^

"^Tlenialns of Gupta and post-Gupta or Early Chalukya wall-paintings exist at Ajanta

(Caves

psycho-physical identity that determines the universal quality of Gupta

painting '.i"*
In the Ajantajw^l-gaintings

we feel a

definite

137

change from the

art

of early Buddhism,

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

with

emphasis on the symbolic quite apart from the world of reahty. Here

its

to a sort

of religious romanticism of a

really lyric quahty, a reflexion

every aspect of life has an equal value in the

Sensuous physical beauty

Hindu god Krishna and

is

liis

as

an

spiritual sense

emblem of spiritual

scriptures, in

which

it is

and

as

beauty.

written

all

is

a turn

of the view that

an aspect of ihe divine.

One is reminded of the

men and women are his

forms.

The

technique of the Ajanta wall-paintings

is not markedly different from that deBamiyan. The rough surface of the wall or vault is first
covered with a layer of clay or cow dung mixed with chopped straw or animal hair.
When tliis has been smoothed and levelled, it is given a coating of gesso (fine white clay

scribed in the paintings at

Figure 22.

or gypsum), and

it is

on

this

Cave

ground

I,

Ajanta:

10 15 20

Ground plan

that the actual painting

is

done. Although Indian

wall-paintings can never be described as fresco in the true sense of the word,
that the plaster

position

was

first

entirely outlined in cinnabar red

sponding to the terra verde of medieval

next came an under-painting corre-

Italian practice.

appUed and the painting was fmished by

notable

it is

ground was kept moist during the apphcation of the pigment. The com-

The various local tints were then

a general strengthening

of outlines and

accents.

burnishing process gave a lustrous finish to the whole surface.

The most famous paintings at Ajanta are in Cave I, and date either from the late
Gupta or Early Chalukya Period roughly, that is, the late sixth or early seventh century.
The cave has the form of a square hall with the roof supported by rows of pillars (Figure
22). At the back of the shrine is a deep niche containing a rock-cut image of a seated
;

Buddha. Originally, of course, the

entire interior surface

138

of the cave, even the

pillars,

THE GUPTA PERIOD

was covered with paintings among the most unusual details from this cave that we shall
examine are parts of the complete decoration of the flat ceiling. Although the painted
decoration does not form a complete or unified iconographic scheme, large portions are
;

thought of as parts of a single concept: the two colossal painted figures of Bodhisattvas

on each

side

of the niche

back of the

at the

hall

may

be regarded

with the sculptured image of the Buddha in the sanctuary

these Bodhisattvas are

of the carana type of composition in which

and guide

serves as stabilizing factor

hand

wall, the

enormous

teeming with forms of all

moment

of a Trinity,

Both

a principal figure

arrangement; for example, on the

to the entire

left-

figure of a Bodhisattva with a Blue Lotus stands in a landscape

not by any laws of spatial composition but by

of their veneration, the Deity of Compassion represented at

sorts, related

their relation to the object

the

as parts

as the central figure.

that he manifests himself to this

group of devotees. The spectator does not

take in the entire huge composition at a single glance, but his eye, following the directions suggested

by

movements of the forms, and always returning

the gestures and

dominating shape-f-th&-Bodhisattva, comes gradually

to explore

to the

and apprehend the

entire arrangement.

The

figure of the Bodhisattva

lowing the principle of hieratic

this
__axis

is

worthy of detailed analysis (Plates 89 and 90). Folit is enormously larger than the attendant figures;

scaling,

device not only serves an iconograpliical function but provides a dominant vertical

around which the composition

just like the sculptured

We may

literally revolves.

be sure that the form,

Buddhist images of the period, was composed according to a

system of canonical proportion, probably nine thalams to the total height of the figure.

The pose of the body with its pronounced dehanchement contrives to impart a feeling of
swaying grace and movement that is carried out in the exquisite tilt of the head and the
gesture of the hand. As an example of that metaphorical rather than organic composition of human forms, this figure has few equals. We may see how feature by feature
the parts of the face and body are drawn with reference to the shape of certain forms in
the animal and vegetable world, which by their beauty and fmahty recommended
themselves as more fitting than any traQsliory human model for creating the imagined
suggcLor and eternal anatomy of a godv^ the face has the perfect oval of the egg; the
brows curve as an Indian bow the eyes are lotiform. We recognize again the elephantine
shoulders and arms, the leonine body, and, perhaps lovehest of all, the hand, which in
;

its

articulation suggests the phant

It

parts appear to be

do with

lotus flower

of the Bodhisattva and

modelled in hght and shade. Actually

the recording of

of Trecento painters such

any

effects

as Giotto,

plasticity to the forms. In a

sides

growth of the

will be observed in the figure

of illumination

its

sole function

completely arbitrary

is

it

holds.

his attendants that the flesh

this

chiaroscuro has nothing to

like the

highly similar modelling

to impart a feeling

of sohdity and

way areas of shadow are placed on both

of the bridge of the nose of the Bodhisattva, and

in

some of the dark-skinned atbody further to

tendants bold highhghts are painted on the sahencies of features and

enliance the feeling

of existence

India this abstract shading has a

in the round. In the examples at Ajanta

much

and elsewhere

in

softer sjumato effect than in the provincial Indian

painting at Bamiyan, where the teclmique

is

139

in process

of becoming

a convention.^*

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

Here

is

'

an art that reveals

an intricate

life ... as

ritual fitted to the

consummation of

every perfect experience'.*'' In a marvellous reconcihation of beauty, physical and

tual, the

Great Bodhisattva

is

spiri-

reahzed as the very embodiment of that compassion and

tenderness that his mission of allaying the miseries of the world imphes.

The

flawless

opalescent smoodiness of the skin, Hke the gcneraUzed modelling of Gupta statues, the
eyes half closed in reverie, the physically unreal proportions of the face suggest a beauty

beyond reahty; this is a loveliness so refined away from transitory human appearance
it becomes a symbol of celestial beauty and purity. The head, almost like a heavy
flower on the strong stalk of the neck, bends shghtly Torward an Olympian majesty sits
on the tensile arc of the brows. The face ^veiled in a lyric" pensive abstraction that almost reminds one of the half-sensual, half-spiritual ghostliness that animates the faces of

that

Michelangelo's demi-gods.
ness

of the

The

figure as a

whole

in

its

tranquil suavity

the perfect realization of this deity of salvation and refuge.

is

qualities

inspiration;

of a Bodhisattva

it is

is

the result of the

and

virile

The proper

sweet-

expression

no happy accident nor solely the result of any aesthetic

knowledge and possession of the entire body of

artist's

the painter's tradition - proportion, drawing, technique - together with an understand-

ing of the drama of pose and gesture which, as in the dance, conveys the essential nature

of the

deity.

tranquillity
statues

The

moment between

figure gives an impression of being arrested in a

and movement, an impression that

of the Piindu Renaissance;

is

also given

by some of the

suggestion of the potentiahty of

tliis

though the figure were about to 'come to Hfe

'

is,

great bronze

movement

of course, the express

result

as

of the

wonderfully rhythmic disposing of pose and gesture.

At the right, among the companions of the Bodhisattva, we recognize a beautifully

drawn female figure of dusky complexion who wears a towering head-dress that closely
resembles the elaborate mukuta, crowning the Bodhisattva himself. This
tation

of the

sakti

the intrusions of Hindu concepts into Buddhism.

It is

ultimately led to the reabsorption of Buddhism into

The

many

or female energy of the Bodhisattva, one of the

would be absurd

mountain forms

to look for

in Early Christian

any influence
'

'

of

in the

Hindu

Renaissance.

the Bodhisattva and support the

shapes of kinnaras and peacocks praising his manifestation might be

similarly block-like

a represen-

only the beginning of a trend that

Hinduism

loom behind

strangely cubistic rock-forms that

is

indications

compared

and Byzantine

art.

to the

Actually

it

in this or other details that bear a resem-

blance to the forms of Western art; these conventions for rocks are simply an outgrowth

of the already conceptual, ideographic treatment of geological formations

rehef scidpture and in the
paintings in

The

Cave

'

stage sets

that

painting of the ceihng of

Cave

number of contiguous

at

work on

repeated no

less

Ajanta

is

executed in a more

the walls of the vihara.

The

panels square and rectangular in shape,

with figure subjects and ornamental motifs.

is

in early Indian

form the backgrounds of the

earhest wall-

X at Ajanta.

speaking decorative, style than the

into a

'

properly

flat,

space

which

is

divided

are filled

A composition, which with sHght variation

than four times, shows a bearded personage dressed in a peaked cap,

mantle, and boots, attended by musicians and cup-bearers (Plate 9ia). Although at one

time

this

group was

identified as a representation

140

of Khusrau

II

of

Iran,

who

actually

THE GUPTA PERIOD

sent an
that

embassy

it is

to the

Dcccan,

it

seems more reasonable,

and the silhouetting of the figures against

rosettes, give the

panel a very

flat,

Coomaraswamy

The extremely

already encountered in the sculpture of Mathura.

here,

as

god of riches, whose Dionysian

a representation of Kuvera, the

aspect

suggests,

we

have

restricted palette used

Hght background sprinkled with

textile-like character.

This

is

even truer of the

floral

and vegetable forms that fill the panels surrounding this figure composition (Plate 9Ia).
These are perfect examples of the Indian artist's abihty to abstract the essentials of

them

natural forms and turn

to decorative organization without in

any way losing the

sense of growth and proper articulation of the plant structure.'*

Scarcely
I,

more damaged than the paintings of Cave

in the porch of Cave XVII. This shrine
of the fifth century, which may be assumed to

important, but unfortunately

less

are the fragments

of wall decoration surviving

bears an inscription of the

last

quarter

correspond with the period of the wall-paintings.

of the verandah represents Indra and

the

Buddha

at the

time of his

visit to

his

One of the

Heaven

the Tushita

beautiful detail bears comparison with the sculpture

(Plate 87).

The

subjects

on the back wall

entourage of celestial musicians flying to greet

suggestion of endless, effortless flight

(Plate 9ib). In

many ways this

at Gwahor

of flying gandharvas

is

imparted by the direction of the

bent legs and by the jewels sweeping backward over the breast of the god,
differentiated

from

his

companions by

liis

light colouring

who

is

and magnificent crown. In

addition to the noble beauty of the god, one should note particularly the wonderfully

animated figure of a flute-player

at the right, half turning to glance at Indra.

Behind Indra

and liis train are towering clouds, conventionaHzed by striated curving lines of ultramarine
blue of varying thickness against a nacreous white background. This detail illustrates
with what great breadth and sureness the figures arc drawn. Note
features,

hke the nose and

eyes, appear to be defined

how

the individual

with a single sweep of the brush,

the thickness of the line providing a plastic reinforcement.

Although

parts

of the design

may now appear flat, it is apparent that originally there was a suggestion of reUef through
shading and liigMights. In the figure of the dusky apsaras at the right there are traces of
the highlights that originally gave saliency to the features,

stroke of hght pigment

on

Another part of the wall of the court

tarajataha (Plate 92), in
his

which

hmb

emphasizes her

for example, the sharp

is

illustrates a

portion of the Vi'svan-

shows the princely hero announcing to

his father's

pavihon with orange walls and red

ing consort; her drooping pose

every

Cave XVII

in

the chief episode

wife the news of his banishment from

position, in a

as,

the nose.

kingdom. At the

pillars, a

right

of the com-

swarthy lord clasps

liis

swoon-

accented by the bend of her head, and the relaxation of

distress.

This detail of the fresco

is

an

illustration

of how

in

Indian painting states of mind or

gesture and glances.

tioned above and in

is

revealed by the

by

his ofiiering

who

way in

wliich she clings to her lord for support; the prince's sohcitude,

of the cup of wine. The atmosphere of concern

the figure of the

carafe

moods are, as in a play, precisely indicated by pose and

This is exactly what is impHed in the Six Limbs of Painting menall later treatises on the art of painting. The anxiety of the princess

dwarf glancing upward

hovers behind the couple.

It

at the

will be

141

is

further heightened

by

couch and the maid servant with the

noted

how

the directions of the glances

THE GOLDEN ACE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

of the principal actors are fixed on the figure of the hapless prince.

He and

appear again with umbrella-bearing attendants in the part to the

of this

one should
crooked

also notice the

staff.

Behind

in the rich variety

The

this

left

the princess

detail,

where

wonderfully characterized figure of a beggar with bowl and

group

a boldly pattemized

is

background of exotic

foliage,

of its greens suggesting European tapestry design.

of the whole composition

in its employment of dramatic and emotional

of continuous narration, and the feeling of stirring movement that
leads across the shallow stage and animates the individual figures, is hke a translation of
effect

gestures, the device

the technique of the Amaravati reUefs into terms of painting.

in

connexion with

cornice supported

this

by

It

should be noted further

wall-painting that the representation of the palace with

slender colonnettes

is

its

heavy

probably a reasonable approximation of the

domestic architecture of the period.

Among

most important surviving examples of Gupta wall-painting

the

are the

damaged fragments of decoration in the verandah of Cave IV at Bagh. In so far as one

can tell from their present condition, the style is identical with the work at Ajanta. Represented are an elephant procession and what appears to be a dancing scene with beautifully rhythmic figures of young girls moving in a circle aroimd a personage in Kushan
or Iranian dress.

Hindu
at

wall-paintings with a date corresponding to 578 decorate the porch of Cave

Badami. The

style

is

and to

closely related to the later Ajanta paintings

a cycle

III

ofJain

wall-paintings at Sittanavasal.''
In

its

relation to the

Buddhist

of aU of south-eastern and eastern

art

Asia, the

import-

ance of the Gupta Period can scarcely be over-estimated. In the iconography and style

of painting and sculpture

tion in the hands

we find

the estabUshment of a

of aU the peoples

who

norm

that lent itself to adapta-

followed the Buddhist religion.

The

and sculptures of Gupta India are more than prototypes for the rehgious
they occupy a position corresponding to that of Greek and

Roman

art in the

perfection and balance achieved in India of the fourth and fifth centuries

themselves

as the final solution

could not be improved on, just

a

norm

in the

European

of problems of form and content

as the perfection

tradition.

Wherever

firm basis for the evolution of original

it

artistic

essential plastic quahties

of the Indian

sculpture in Further India.

plastic

realization

of Asia

West. The

recommended

rehgious art that

and authority of Classic

was introduced, Gupta

art persisted as
art

provided a

expression. Exact imitation

models of the school of Samath marked the beginnings of Buddhist

Siam and Cambodia, but the quick

in

paintings

art

of Gupta

art in the jungles

of

and assimilation by native sculptors of the

originals

produced some of the greatest works of

The wonderful conjunction of

serenity

of expression and

majesty survives in Singhalese art to the end of the Buddhist tradition. Javanese

Mahayana

by the carvings of the Great Stupa at Barabudur,

ideal. The impact of Indian art on Central Asia
has already been examined; it was through the intermediary Buddhist kingdoms of
Turkestan, as well as through the importation of actual models by Chinese pilgrims,
marks

sculpture, as exemplified

a final crystallization

that the

Gupta

style

of the Gupta

was introduced

to

China and Japan of the

142

sixth

and seventh cen turier

CHAPTER l6

LATE BUDDHIST ART IN INDIA,

NEPAL, AND TIBET
1.

By

Late Buddhist Art in Bengal: The Pala-Sena Period

the seventh century a.d., as

we

have already learned in

had largely disappeared from northern

In the south the

Only

in

Buddhist

as

an important force until the

Mohammedan

chapter of Buddhist history in India

tradition.

Buddhism

of the Wliite Huns.

of Hinduism had gradually supplanted the religion of sakyamuni.

rise

Bengal does Buddhism survive

of its establishments by the

Gupta

earlier chapters,

India, following the invasion

is

at

art in this last

final annihilation

invasions of the twelfth century. This fmal

once a prolongation and

degeneration of the

phase of its development in India was produced

under the patronage of the Pala and Sena Dynasties (730-1197) that were the heirs of
Harsha's Empire in the Ganges Valley.'

The Buddlaism of the

Pala Period represents that outgrowth of Mahayana described as

Tantrism, a syncretic assimilation into

concept of the

as the
spells

and

ritual.

sakti or

Buddhismof many elements of Hindu

The worship of the

mystical Dhyani

of the mortal Buddha.

It is tliis

Buddhas of the Four Directions and

Brahma, completely

the creator, Adi-Buddha, a kind of Buddhist

to the person

Nepal

in the eighth

of

Buddhism

and ninth

replaces

any devotion

phase of Buddliism, usually described

Vajrayana, that, together with the paraphernaUa of

century.

origin, such

female energy of the Bodhisattva and the reliance on magic

its art,

centuries. Progressively until

finds
its

its

way

as the

to Tibet and

extinction in the twelfth

on the aspects of Saivism and Vaislmavism. The principal site

centre of Indian Buddhism and its art was the great university city of Na-

this last

takes

landa.

Among

the inscriptions found at Nalanda

is

one recording

a dedication

by

a certain

Baladeva, ruler of Sumatra and Java, in 860, a clear indication of the intimate relations
existing

between

Indonesia.

them

The

at the

this last

stronghold of Indian Buddhism and the Sailendra Empire in

description of the monasteries of Nalanda

height of their splendour in the seventh century,

by Hsiian-tsang, who saw

worth quoting in extenso

is

The whole establishment is surrounded by a brick wall, which encloses the entire convent
from without. One gate opens into the great college, from which are separated eight other
halls, standing in the middle of the Sangharama. The richly adorned towers, and the fairy-like
turrets, like pointed liill-tops, are congregated together. The observatories seem to be lost in the
vapours of the morning, and the upper rooms tower above the clouds.
All the outside courts,
in which are the priests' chambers, are of four stages. The stages have dragon-projections and
.

coloured eaves, the pearl-red

and the roofs covered with

the beauty of tlie scene.

pillars,

tiles

. .

carved and ornamented, the richly adorned balustrades,

that reflect the light in a

thousand shades, these things add to

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

The

actual monasteries or viharas excavated at

other like so
viharas

is

many

is

sides

under the Bodlii

by

about three hundred

small cells

feet.

With respect

it, it

To

'
:

to

its

the north

in
. .

magnificence,

resembles the great vihara built

tree.'^

actual excavations at

Nalanda have revealed

httle

of the magnificence described

Hsiian-tsang. Certain buildings are sufficiently preserved to give an idea of the archi-

of

tectural character

stronghold of Indian Buddhism.

this last

engaged from the masonry of a larger structure

style that

on

many

of an open courtyard, an arrangement already found

dimensions, and the statue of Buddha placed in

The

plan of the individual

examples of the type. In another place Hsiian-tsang observed

a great vihara, in height

its

The

nearly identical in the structures excavated, and consists of

grouped around the four

earlier

Nalanda are ranged one next to an-

adjacent colleges in a university complex.

is

a continuation of

Gupta

built

around

it

stupa that M^as dis-

at a later

architectural forms (Plate 93 a).

podium. The elevation of the base

consists

has and Bodhisattvas in niches separated

of two

period reveals a

The

building rests

storeys, the first filled

by columns derived from

with Budd-

the Gupta order;

Above this is
The drum of the
stupa is octagonal, with its faces alternately plain and decorated with Buddha statues in
niches. The whole is surmounted by a saucer-hke dome. The treatment of the facade is
not unlike that of the Mahabodhi temple as we see it to-day (Plate 93 b). As the view of
the ground storey reveals, the revetment of the Mahabodhi shrine dating from the Pala
Period consists mainly of multiple niches separated by square engaged pillars ringed by
the second zone

an

attic storey

decorated with chaitya arches framing smaller images.

is

separated into

two

levels

by projecting

roll cornices.

garland collars and surmounted by lotiform capitals. This arrangement was repeated on

every successive level of the shrine proper and the pyramidal tower. Originally these
recesses contained

Directions

Dhyani Buddha images, probably placed with reference

at present, the niches are filled

to the

covered in the course of the nineteenth-century restoration. The wall space,

stupa at Nalanda,

is

repeatedly divided into horizontal zones

and above the band of niches

is

Four

with a haphazard collection of sculpture reas in the

by projecting string courses;

a massive frieze of lion heads supporting a continuous rib-

bon-like garland. If the reader will turn to the plate of the temple as a whole (Plate 52a),
as on the sikharas of the late Gupta temples at Aihole, the storeys of
marked by lotiform quoins at the comers of each level, and the finial of
the spire comprises a complete amalaka that is repeated at the lower stages. The style of
the figure sculpture in stucco at Nalanda is a dry repetition of the Gupta statuary of Sarnath, as may be seen by comparing the statue in the topmost niche with the famous
preaching Buddha (Plate 83). Since these statues are so much in the style of early Maha-

he will note that just

the tower are

yana imagery before the development of Tantric forms,

may be dated as early as the seventh century.

It

this structure

and

its

decoration

seems liighly likely that the original form

of the great vihara described by Hsiian-tsang was only

a larger version

of this same type

of monument.

What must have

been one of the greatest reUgious estabHshments of the Pala Period

to be seen in the ruins at Paharpur in Bengal (Figure 23).

The remains

consist

is

of a vast

square court nearly a thousand feet on a side, surrounded by an enclosing peristyle

144

INDIA, NEPAL,

AND TIBET

i^AAAiii\^hk^^AAA^iuuimmkkk^Aint^kki^iihhi^

a^

m
Figure 23.

consisting

at

64

10

20

form of a Maltese

tw^een the arms. In elevation this

and

at the

summit

30

40

iO METKES

Paharpur: Ground plan

of more than one hundred and seventy-five individual

shrine in the

terraces

Temple

32

96 128 [60 FEET

O
O

cells.

In the centre

is

with a number of recessed projecting comers besanctuary consisted of a pyramid of three superimposed

cross

a square ccUa

shrine can be described as a prasada or

with projecting porticoes on

Meru
145

all

four sides.

The

type of temple, in which the dimimshing

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

symbolize the steps and peak of the world mountain. The decoration

terraces magically

of multiple

consisted

Gupta temple
Since there

no mention of this imposing monument by Hsiian-tsang, it has been

it must be dated in the late seventh or eighth century. The indications

is

conjectured that
are that

it

was

terra-cotta rehef plaques attached to the brick facades, as in the

Bhitargaon.

at

originally a

unique

is

among

Brahmanic

may

over by the Buddhists. As

which

installation

some

at

later

period was taken

be seen by a glance at the ground plan, the arrangement

Indian temples, although

shrine at Parihasapura in Kashmir.

its

general disposition

ActuaUy the

closest

reminiscent of the

is

approximations to the temple

at

Paharpur, both in plan and in the elevation in successive levels for circumambulation,
are to be

nam

found in Java in such temples

as

Loro Jongrang and Candi Sewu

and, ultimately, the vast temple-mountain at Barabudur.

It

Praniba-

at

furnishes the clearest

between Bengal and Java already suggested by

possible evidence for the close relations

the Nalanda inscription.

Characteristic

of the sculpture of the Pala and Sena Periods are the numerous examples

of images carved

in hard, black stone

All of them are characterized

icons give the impression
case the sense

Boston

The Buddha

(Plate 94a).

gesture of the Enhghtenment.

strange anachronism

Nalanda and many other

is

be explained

Buddha wears

the

crown and jewels of a

crown and jewels not only proclaim

but are intended to suggest that

the supreme

state

liis

power

as

in

is

much more

the same as in the

is

an earhcr chapter.* The actual

fifth

of the carving

is

a
it

plastic significance

of the bodily form that seems to

exist as a

for these attributes.

likely an exceptional masterpiece

torso in the Indian

Museum

graphic points of view

gal in the centuries

method

at

Buddha

sixth centuries; in

style

and

very famous example of Indian sculpture, generally accepted

more

cal

Mahayana Buddhism;

conscious of the precise and sharp definition of the detail of jewelled

ornaments than of the

framework

in

of radiant splendour or transfiguration attained

kind of desiccated perpetuation of the Gupta school of the

one

royal person-

Cakravartin or universal sovereign,

moment of Enlightenment. The iconography

from Fondukistan discussed

Arts,

of the renunciation. This can best

of the process of the Buddha's deification

as part

detail.

Museum of Fine

represented in the yoga pose and earth-touching

age, the very worldly attributes discarded at the time

the

of the

in the collection

Bengal.

Many of these

in almost every

under the intricacy of surface

lost

Buddha
is

sites in

and precision of execution.

A feature that might at first strike the observer as a rather

that the

is

at

of being stone imitations of metal-work, and

the seated

is

found

a great fmesse

of plastic conception

example

typical

by

it

by

London

(Plate 95).

this

From both

is

as

of Gupta date,

is

the so-called Saiichi

the styhstic and icono-

seems to correspond closely to the sculptural teclinique of Ben-

of Pala domination. The firagment serves

practised in

flesh in stone

in

of the Pala Period

all

as

an illustration of a techni-

periods of Indian sculpture: the suggestion of the nature of

the contrast between the hard, cold definition of the metal accessories

with the rounded smooth planes that interlock to give the structure of the body; the
sofmess of the flesh

is

suggested again by the device of the constricting belt raising a welt

of flesh below the navel. In addition to the exquisite refinement

146

in the

carving of details,

AND TIBET

INDIA, NEPAL,

the torso has a certain athletic Htheuess imparted

a pose already familiar to us in

many

by

the breaking

earHer examples.

of the body on

Not only

its

technique to other examples of Pala sculpture, but the attribute of the antelope skin
as a scarf across the

body point

to the Pala Period; since this

the esoteric deity Khasarpana Avalokitesvara,

cepts, does

not begin before the

rise

emblem was

whose worship,

of Tantric Buddhism. The

datable between the seventh and ninth centuries,

is

worn

used to identify

related to Saivite conSaiaclii torso,

a masterpiece

emphasis on technical finish and virtuosity of carving and

axis,

the similarity of the

plastic

of its kind,

probably
in

which

modelling arc main-

tained in perfect equihbrium; whereas in the vast majority of Pala sculptures the elaboration

of surface

detail mihtates against the

properly sculptural conception of the whole.

Of greater aesthetic as weU as iconographical interest than

gal in the last centuries
at

Nalanda and elsewhere

(Plate 94b). Like the stone images, they reveal a

reflecting changes in the character

all

development

of Buddhism from Mahayana types to purely Tantric

Many of these

forms of Saivite and Vaishnavite derivation.

dedication

the stone sculpture of Ben-

of Buddliist power are the large numbers of bronze images found

over south-eastern Asia in the centuries

images were exported for

when Nalanda was

with the Srivijaya and Sailendra Dynasties in Malaya and Java. Indeed,
uncertain whether these metal statuettes were

made

at

in close

one time

in India or in Java, so exact

touch
it

was

was the

correspondence and so large the numbers of examples found in the two regions.

Some examples of Nalanda bronze images

appear to be close imitations of carher

it may well be that some of these were

more or less faithful rephcas of famous images venerated at the
holy sites of Buddhism. The vast majority of them, hke their stone counterparts, perpetuate the Gupta style of Sarnath. They are characterized by the same kind of styhzed

types of the Gandhara and

Gupta Periods, and

specifically intended as

elegance and fondness for precise definition of detail that characterize the stone figures.

This fmicky and often 'rococo' manner

than stone.

It is

on

Nepalese and Tibetan sculpture

was

is,

of course, more

suited to malleable metal

the basis of the Pala style of metal imagery that the

also translated to

is

whole of later

founded; and there are indications that

this

manner

Kashmir.

2.

Nepal

As has already been noted, the last phase of Buddhist art in India has enjoyed a prolongation of nearly a thousand years in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. For this
reason

it

seems logical to deal with

proceeding to the account of the

The beginnings of art

as

this aspect

last stages

of provincial Indian Buddhist

of development of Hindu

art before

art in India.

well as history in Nepal are so obscured in legend that noth-

ing can be said with any certainty of early civilization in the so-called Valley of Nepal,
that beautiful httle tract

of ground, surrounded by the peaks of the Himalayas, which

has supported an extremely interesting culture for

original settlers
cestors

more than two thousand years. The

who became the an-

of Nepal were presumably immigrants from Tibet

of the ruling Niwar race and contributed

147

a distinctive Tibetan character to the

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

temperament, and appearance of the people. Although pious legend
Buddha himself to Nepal, it is unhkely that the religion of ^akya-

religion, language,

records a visit of the

muni was introduced

Himalayan fasmess before the days of the Emperor Asoka.

to the piety of Asoka, and it is quite possome of the surviving stupas were originally dedicated by the great Dharmato this

Persistent tradition ascribes

sible that
raja.

The

many monuments

entire later history

of Nepal has been linked with

India, especially after the

foimdation of a feudal dynasty by the Licchavis from India in the second century a.d.

Nepal and Tibet perpetuated the forms and the

art

of Indian Buddhism

after the extinc-

tion of the religion in India.

According to
legendary

visit

tradition, a great

of Asoka, and

many of the

it is

surviving stupas in Nepal are rehcs of the

quite possible that the essential structure

these goes back to the third century B.C. Traditionally, the oldest stupas in

monument
were

built

at

Sambhunath and

the

Bodhnath

around tumuh of Mauryan

typically Nepalese

form

(Plate 97A).

tumulus, suggestive of the

mounds

which very possibly

form the Bodhnath has a

shrine near Patau,

origin. In

On a square
at

of some of

Nepal are the

its

present

platform

rises

a rather

Lauriya-Nandangarh. This

is

flat,

saucer-like

surmounted by

box-hke construction, equivalent to the harrruka of the Indian rehc mound. The
four sides of this member, at Bodhnath and elsewhere, are decorated with enormous pairs

square,

of eyes painted or

inlaid in ivory

and metal. This

ing feature of Nepalese stupa architecture.

is

perhaps the most distinctive and strik-

Now interpreted as representing the all-seeing

Buddha of the Nepalese pantheon, it is hkely that in origin the symbohsm referred to the eyes of Prajapati or Purusa, who, as Universal Man and world axis,
properly had his eyes at the summit of the sky-dome. Above the harmika at Bodhnath rises
eyes of the supreme

a stepped

pyramid

in thirteen storeys typifying the thirteen

heavens of the devas. This

is

by the finial of the mast or ht'i, which in Nepalese stupas was hterally
a single tree rising from the foundations of the stupa and here supporting a final parasol
and kalasa finial. On the Sambhunath stupa is a range of thirteen parasols representing the
heavens of the devas.* Around the drum of that monument are rehef sculptures representing the mystic Buddhas of the Four Directions and Vairocana, executed in a style
ultimately derived from the Pala school of sculpture in Bengal.''
An even more characteristic form of Nepalese architecture is to be seen in the many
wooden temples erected in the ancient capitals of the realm. It is quite possible that some
of these structures preserve now lost styles of early Indian construction. A typical example
is the Bahavani temple at Bhatgaon, which, although in its present form dedicated ordy
in 1703, probably repeats the shape of earHcr prototypes. The sanctuary proper is raised
on a stone pyramid in five stages, and itself consists of a five-storeyed wooden tower
surmounted

in turn

with sloping roofs supported by wooden brackets.

One

pagodas of China and Japan. The explanation for

this

fact that the

types in

by

immediately reminded of the

Nepalese towers and their Far Eastern equivalents have

now lost wooden

architectural

forms

stone roofs of a similar type in Kashmir.

scribed

is

resemblance probably hes in the

Hsiian-tsang, or even the famous

in India.

common

proto-

We have already seen pyramidal

The skyscrapers of ancient Nalanda, as dewooden pagoda at Peshawar, may well have

furnished the ijispiration for this and similar Nepalese temples.

148

INDIA, NEPAL,
The

AND TIBET

eighteenth-century temple at Patan in our illustration (Plate 96)

Nepalese

ecclesiastical architecture,

not only in

its

is

typical

of

high podium and in the form of the

of sloping roofs supported by elaborately carved wooden struts or brackets, but

combination of an underlying brick fabric with an overlay of intricately

tiers

also in the

carved woodwork.

Another type of Nepalese building is the Krishna temple which may be seen
of the Durbar Square in Bhatgaon (Plate 97B). Roughly

right in the illustration

copy with Nepalese modifications of the Indian sikhara mounted over a

many

perpetuating

details

of the Indian prototype, such

fluted finial. Nepalese temples

the typical

Hindu

shrine,

were not meant

were intended only

Indian prototype, the temple was

itself an

to

as the

accommodate

for the housing

object of worship.

at the
it is

single cell

and

attached turrets and

a congregation and, like

of images. Also,

like its

The present example has no

is surrounded on the ground-storey by an arcade with monohthic octagonal columns branching into elaborately carved bracket capitals characteristic of the

mandapa, but

Nepalese order '.

'

The same illustration also shows another typical Nepalese monument, a memorial
column of the eighteenth-century ruler, Bhupatindra, which is a distant descendant from
the pillars of Asoka. The kneeling bronze image of the king overlooks the Durbar HaU
like

an Himalayan Famese Palace - with

This building
in

is

characteristic

its

heavy cornice overhanging the severe facade.

arcliitecture in the brick masonry used

of Nepalese secular

combination with windows of elaborately carved wooden frames and screens with

tooled metal

sUls.

Among the earhest examples of Nepalese sculpture are a number of bronze statuettes in
the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Plate 98). These figures very clearly
reveal the derivation

mapani

in the

Pala Period.
ally

of Nepalese sculpture from

Boston collection has the

The

belt

late

svelte elegance

Gupta or Pala models. The Padof the carved Bodhisattvas of the

and armlets of tliis and other early Nepalese figurines were origin-

studded with turquoises. Another interesting characteristic

is

the persistent archaism

of the swallow-tail convention of the drapery scarves, a mannerism ultimately derived

from the Gandhara Bodhisattvas, which, as we have seen, also enjoyed a great longevity
in Central Asia and found its way at last into the earhest Buddhist sculpture of China at
Yiin

Kang and Lung Men.

Of definitely Indian inspiration,

ing.

too, are the scanty fragments

manuscript, also in the collection of the Boston

reveals an hieratic linear style which, in the character

Museum

of early Nepalese paint(Plate 99A) dated 11 36,

of the figure drawing and orna-

extremely close to the surviving examples of Pala painting. The manuform of a palm leaf prayer book enclosed in painted wooden covers and
contains invocations of the divinities in the Tantric pantheon with illustrations of the
principal beings in the hierarchy. The miniature illustrated is of Tara, offspring of the
tears Avalokitesvara shed for the miseries of the world. It is completely characteristic of

mental frame,
script

is

is

in the

the style of later Buddhist painting. Although the figure preserves something of the

sensuous elegance of the Ajanta manner, the entire conception has

decorative, with the figure

become

flat

and

of the divinity of no more importance than the ornamental

149

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

accessories.

The conception

is

entirely linear

with an employment of

flat,

jewel-like

colours - a close imitation of the surviving fragments of manuscripts from the Pala

school in Bengal.*

3. Tibet

The

art

of Tibet

is

in certain respects only another

example of the prolongation of the

rehgious art of Bengal under the Pala and Sena Dynasties.

factors that influenced Tibetan art

may

be summarized

The

briefly.

social

and

historical

Before the introduction

of Buddhism the Tibetans were followers of Bonpo, an animistic rehgion including

many elements of sorcery and sexual mysticism. Perhaps the most important single hishappening

torical

in

Tibet was the marriage in a.d. 630 of the

first

king to a Nepalese

same sovereign formed shortly afterwards with the

daughter of the Chinese Emperor T'ai Tsung. These unions in a sense arc a symbol of the
whole Tibetan civilization which forever afterwards has been composed of elements
princess and the alHancc that the

drawn from

India and China. The coimtry had already been converted to Buddhism by the

Nepalese queen in the seventh century, but the real foundation of the rehgion dates from
the missionary activity of the priest, Padmasariibhava,
stan in the eighth century.

He

is

remembered

who came

for his introduction

to Tibet

from

Kafiri-

of Tantric Buddhism

and mysticism, based on

and sexualism. The fmal form of Tibetan Buddhism was estabhshed by the holy
man, Atisa, as a mixture of Buddhist magic and animism. Beginning as early as the ninth
that appealed particularly to the Tibetan tendencies to sorcery

terror

century,
tinies

when Tibetan

of Tibetan

art

conquests included Tun-huang in north-western China, the des-

had been largely determined by contacts with the Far

East. In the

Buddhism was officially accepted

in China. A sculptor named A-ni-ko is reputed to have worked for Kublai Khan.
There is not much to be said on the subject of Tibetan architecture from the Indian
point of view, beyond the rather interesting fact that various types of Tibetan stupas
dedicated to great events from the Buddha's life, such as his Nativity and Nirvana, are
perhaps originally derived from famous prototypes in India. The most usual form of
Tibetan stupa or chortcn has a bulbous dome set on one or more square bases and, hke the
Nepalese type, is surmounted by a square harmika, and a mast upholding a tier of telescoped umbrellas surmounted by a flame finial (Plate 99b). A large monument at Gyanperiod following the invasion of the Mongols, Tibetan

'

'

tsc

(Figure 24) shows a rather unusual plan and elevation:

it is

erected in five stepped

on a polygonal plan with multiple recessions or step-backs ;' on this pyramid or

prasada was built the actual stupa dome; circumambulation was possible at each succesterraces

The interest in this monument from our point of view lies in its resemblance
Mahayana sanctuary of Barabudur in Java. Both may derive from a comprototype. A more original form of Tibetan architecture is represented by the

sive level.'"

to the great

mon

Pala

fortress-style

of monasteries and

palaces, perhaps ultimately derived

from ancient Near-

Eastern prototypes. These skyscraper structures, like the Potala at Lhasa, are built of
stone and sun-dried bricks with the white-washed walls thicker at the

150

bottom

so that

INDIA, NEPAL,
their sloping lines

AND TIBET

echo the contours of the surrounding mountain peaks. Doors and

windows repeat this rhythm in becoming narrower at the top.

Our main interest in the art of Tibet lies in the perpetuation of the forms and iconography of the last phase of Buddhist art in India. The almost unbeUevably conservative
nature of Tibetan art enables us to discern these survivals even in

Tibetan

we

art,

fmd

can

periods.

made

either at Lhasa or in the

the perpetuation of the

Any number of gilt

Lama temple

which the

modem

examples of

Peking. In Tibetan sculpture

form and iconography of Indian images of the

early

bronze images dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth

century faithfully reproduce the drapery formula of the

hara, in

at

folds are reduced to a

25
5

30
10

facial types,

Buddhist statues of Gand-

affixed to the surface

of the

100 FEET

75
15

20

25

Figure 24. Chorten at Gyan-tse

body. The actual proportions,

late

network of strings

METRES

Ground plan

and ornaments of these and other Tibetan

images are invariably reminiscent of the sculpture of Bengal from the seventh to the
twelfth centuries.

The

earhest

covered

at

this site in the

lokitesvara,

knowm

Tun-huang

examples of Tibetan painting are a number of fragments

that

dis-

presumably date from the period of Tibetan occupation of

tenth century.

We may choose as a typical illustration the banner of Ava-

surrounded by forms of the goddess Tara and scenes from the htany of the

Bodhisattva of Compassion (Plate iooa).

The

central figure

immediately reminiscent of the types of Bodhisattvas found

manuscripts from Bengal and Nepal,

as

may

The surrounding

from which this Bodhisattva dehvers

costumes, setting, and execution.

151

is

fragments of Pala

be seen in the sensuous elegance of the

proportions and the dry, linear definition of form.

trating the perils

of Avalokitesvara

in the

httle scenes illus-

the devotee are entirely Chinese in

THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART

A comparison of this

painting with a banner of the goddess Tara in the author's col-

lection (Plate ioob), dating

century, reveals

semblance

is

how

little

presumably from the

change has taken place

late

eighteenth or early nineteenth

in nearly a

thousand years. The re-

almost unbehevable between the two figures, in pose and attributes as

well as drawing. Both are of course ultimate derivations from the late Buddhist school

of Bengal,

as seen also in the

Nepalese manuscript in the Boston

Museum

(Plate 99a).

In the illumination of Tara only the painting of such accessories as the clouds, flowers,

and the waves beneath Tara's lotus throne reveal an assimilation of Chinese decorative
forms. It is this admixture of Chinese motifs that more than anything else distinguishes
the late tankas

The

from

their age-old protot^'pes.

of the votive banners are scenes from the life of Buddha, the
Dhyani Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Taras, etc., local saints and heroes, and Bonpo themes.'^
principal subjects

As has often been said, there is no variety, even styhstic, in Tibetan painting beyond that
which comes from the multiphcity of subjects and the riclmess of the Buddhist pantheon. Indeed, Tibetan art furnishes us with the supreme example of how
effort

without any freedom or

the rigid control imposed

real vitahty

is

all

creative

reduced to a merely mechanical process by

by an unchanging traditional society; it reduces the ideal of

from Marco PaUis in our Introduction, to a

traditional art, as defined in the quotation

meaningless and repetitious formula.!^

152

PART FIVE

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

CHAPTER 17

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

J. Introduction

The

term 'Medieval', which

fortunate one

first,

because

is

universally

of art

signate the historical periods

it

employed in all books on Indian art to deof the Gupta Empire, is an extremely im-

after the fall

invites

comparison with the Medieval Period in the West,

and secondly, because the word, in its European usages a synonym for the Middle
Ages, implies an interregnum - between two moments of supreme cultural achievement, the Classical and the Renaissance. The

art described

by 'Medieval'

in India has

nothing to do with the European Middle Ages except perhaps in a parallel iconographic

and it can

sense,

in

no way be regarded

as

an interlude or interruption.

and inevitable development out of the maturity of Gupta

art.

apply the names of European periods to the East, the

like to

description and a parallel

is

much more

It is

rather the fmal

Actually, for those

who

word Baroque both

'

'

as a

appropriate for the character of this fmal phase

of Indian culture from the point of view of its tremendous power and dynamic richness
of expression.

What above

all

determines the character of Indian art for the

last fifteen

power of the Hindu rehgion, which, as has been noted

above, entirely ousted Buddhism as a universal Indian faith. For our purposes, therefore,
it is proposed to use the title 'Period of the Hindu Dynasties' to describe this final phase
hundred years

of art

is

the revived

in India.

The amount of material for study is so enormous that some arbitrary division in the
analysis is imperative. The greater portion of the chapter will deal with the most important works of Hindu architecture, sculpture, and painting. In so far as is possible, the
treatment will be chronological, with sub-divisions by
cal location.

sculpture

Rajput
terial

is

Even more than

possible, so that

significant

late periods

on

final

art

some cases

and geographi-

of architecture and

separation

Only a

relatively small portion

of the ma-

can be treated in our chapter, and only the most

medium can be discussed. The

their intrinsic

in Further India. In

styles, dynasties,

strict

developments in painting, culminating in the

treatment.

of Indian

examples in every

lysed has been based

Gupta Period no

only the

style, will receive a separate

from the

ments

in the

selection

importance for Indian

art

the choice has had to be hmited

of monuments actually available to the author.

153

of those to be ana-

and for

by

later

develop-

the photographs

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

Late Hindu Art and Architecture

2.

As we have already seen

our consideration of the architecture of the Gupta Period, the

in

temple form was actively in process of evolution. This was only the beginning of the
final

estabhshment of types of buildings that

persist for all the later tradition

of rehgious

architecture in India.

Besides the evidence of the

standing of later

Hindu

are late compilations

for

many

tion

and

centuries

of apprentices
rituals as

were

of far

is

because the

their lore entirely

the guild. In

some

of architects.

class

silpins

or initiated craftsmen

by word of mouth

in the instruc-

cases the sastras contain only such dimensions

be forgotten, since the

likely to

the Mdnasdra, a

themselves, our chief sources for the under-

earlier oral tradition,

handed down

and knowledge of the

tion

monuments

architecture are the various builders' manuals or sastras. These

Among

essentials

were the

common

heritage

the sastras existing in English transla-

compendium of architecture and

sculpture for the silpins

who

are

god of craftsmen.* An Orissan document is the Bhuvanipradipa, a text devoted entirely to the methods for constructing religious edifices.^ Many of the observations in this book, which is ascribed to Visvakarman
himself, hold good not only for Orissan buildings but for Hindu architecture in general.
These works, and the many documents cited by Stella Kramrisch in her monumental
work on the Hindu temple,^ deal with such matters as the types of structures suitable for
designated as the descendants of Visvakarman, the

various deities or secular use, the selection of an auspicious

with proper magical

and the most

rites,

site,

the laying out of the plan

specific instructions for

every

last detail

of the

shrine's elevation.

Throughout the entire consideration of this last phase of building activity, it must be
remembered that every work of Indian architecture, Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain, must first
and foremost be regarded from its metaphysical aspect, that is, as a kind of magic rephca
of some unseen region or sacred being; and that it was precisely this metaphysical factor
and elevation, rather than any

that determined the plan

sideration.

The temple

or vimdna

is

at

aesthetic or functional con-

once the house and body of the deity,

its

fabric the

very substance of the divinity.

The

plan

security

is

by

prescribed

the

most elaborate geomantic

of the shrine on the earth upon which

proper microcosm which

its

it is

built

rites

designed to ensure the

and to make

it

in

plan and shape are intended to reproduce.

every

The

way

plan

is

the
laid

out in a square, the perfect magic diagram repeating the imagined shape of the world.
This square or mandala

is

divided into a

number of smaller

gods concentrated around the central Brahma, and with

fluence and positions

of the earth and the heavenly bodies

squares dedicated to the

specific reference to the in-

in the eight directions

of space.

This whole aspect of Indian architecture, so vast and so comphcated in origin and
history, can

never be disregarded in a consideration of its

scends and determines

what we

call style.

The only

essential nature, since

possible

comparison

building entirely for metaphysical rather than physical needs

tecture of the

Middle Ages,

in

which we know
154

is

in the

it

tran-

West

for

the Christian archi-

that a similar concern for reproducing

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

image of the world or of God

in architecture prevailed, combined with a regard for

magic of numbers and proportions, to ensure the harmony of the structure with the
cosmos that it reproduced. In such an architecture as that of India an emphasis on the

the
the

vertical

is

not determined by any aesthetic or structural necessities

but because this vertical, the sikhara or spire,

very embodiment of that magic axis that

is

literally

pillars

meant

as in the skyscraper,

to point to

God,

apart heaven and earth and

is

to be the

variously

symbohzed by the mountain, the tree, or the Universal Man, Purusa.

Every shghtest measurement in the temple is determined by the most specific laws of
proportion, in a manner comparable to the employment of the Golden Mean, since the
dimensions of the building were designed not only for security and appropriateness, but
to put the structure in harmony with the mystical numerical basis of the universe and
time

itself.

The measurements of the temple

form of a mandala appropriate

to

it

plan, precisely

drawn with

after the auspiciousness

of the

site

gnomon

mined, were co-ordinated with the measurements of the elevation. Putting

we

as possible,

in the

had been detersimply

it as

can say that the architectural modulus was generally the outer width of

the wall of the shrine enclosing the garbha griha

cube, so that the height

is

the

this shrine is

same as the width; the sikhara

height or width of the temple.'* In the same

chance but was determined by

way

is

always in the form of a

made

to

measure twice the

the curve of the sikhara

was not

left to

system of geometric progression taking into account the

intended height and width of the base of the tower. In parts of India the same effect

is

achieved by making the width of the shoulder of the tower three-quarters the measure-

ment of the

base and the total height twice the width.^ Ritual and dedication extended

to the selection

and laying of every piece of material of which the temple was

this fabric itself was

or

wood came

the mystic equivalent of the

Hindu pantheon. The word

imphcit in temples designated by names

intended

built, since

types of stone

to be regarded as especially appropriate for the shrines dedicated to the

multiple gods of the

fically

body of Purusa. Various

as

like

sikhara

Mcru and

means 'mountain-peak'.

Kailasa that the building

is

It is

speci-

an architectural facsimile of the world mountain or the sacred peak

of iiva, so that the worshipper might, by thus having the mountain

him, receive the beatification and merit that would be
abodes of the gods. The temple

is

in

his

literally

through an actual

more ways than one heaven on

brought to

visit to these

earth.*

Unlike the Christian cathedral or the Buddhist chairya, the Hindu temple was never
designed for congregational worship. Like the Greek temple,
object of devotion, the dwelling-place of the gods

above,

it is

not surprising that

buted to the builder's

art.

all

Many

on

earth.

it

was

itself a

From what

concrete

has been said

tlirough Indian history magical properties were attri-

temples are traditionally ascribed to semi-divine beings

or to the design of the architect of the gods, Visvakarman.

In the history
guild, the

of Indian

arcliitecture the Hfe

of the craftsman has always been within

maintenance of which was often upon an hereditary

basis,

with whole famihes

and generations of one family dedicated to the profession. As in the guild system of
medieval Europe, learning was entirely by practice and reiteration.
laws governing
learned

by

site

and structure were, properly speaking, the

the builder's apprentice.

He had
155

The metaphysical

first

for his guidance those

principles to be

compendiums of

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

canonical recipes, the

sastras.

to preserve the integrity

They were intended

of the

art.

known

ing to the writings of Vitruvius, are

although very probably they consist

That

practice.

this

as

grammars of the

These books of architectural

craft

and designed

tecliniques,

correspond-

Gupta Period,
of a codified body of material based on immemorial
go back

to

at least as far as the

seemingly rigid control of an architect's imaginative faculty did not

lead to complete uniformity the temples themselves are eloquent illustrations. Like

Indian

art,

they demonstrate what

is

so often forgotten in

all

modem times, that true origin-

ahty and creation can flourish under discipline of mind and hand.

The

of types of temple architecture

classification

mously

intricate

problem
division

is
is

problem

that can

comphcated further by the

we

an enor-

kind.

geographical or

The

stylistic

most ancient surviving sources mentioning

in another category. In the

temple architecture

strict

is

work of this

belonging to one traditional type borrow elements

possible, so that temples

from buildings

no very

fact that

Hindu Period

in the later

be only briefly outlined in

find that the sanctuaries are classified as nagara, dravida, and

Geographically, these types are assigned respectively to northern India from the

vesara.

Himalayas to the Vindhyas, to southern India from the Krishna River to Cape Comorin,

and to

central India

from the Vindhyas

to the Krishna River.

ferences in these types extend to the orders

poses of clarity

we may

and the smallest

them by

differentiate

their

Although

most

actually the dif-

of ornament, for pur-

details

salient feature ;

namely, the

treatment of the spire or superstructure.

The

type, or nagara, sometimes

first

known

as

Lido-Aryan,

be not only the earhest but most important temple form.

is

generally conceded to

dominant feature

Its

the

is

which in many later examples forms the entire roof of the sanctuary
conical and convex in form and is usually crowned by a vase-shaped mem-

spire or sikhara,

proper.

It is

ber or kalasa.

Whereas the

profile

of the nagara temple

is

emphasis on the continuous verticahty of the

temple

is

that

of a tower ascending

of Dravidian India the term sikhara

in a series
is

always convex and curvilinear with an

spire, the effect

of horizontal

apphed only

to the

of the dravida

crowning member of the

fice, a

conical cap also designated as the stupika or miniature stupa. This

ber

repeated

is

on

is

both symbohcal and

or bhtlmis, each one of wliich, in an hieratic

The

third type

crowning

of temple building, the

structural. It

scale,

vesara,

is

edi-

mem-

is,

is

on

the successive terraces

assigned to a different divinity.

as

we

have already seen, largely re-

western India and the Deccan. This type of building with

its

barrel

obviously derived from the old Buddhist type of chaitya-hall, and, although
in

of

the comers of the successive levels of the structures. In Dravidian

architecture the emphasis

stricted to

t)'pe

terraces. In the architecture

monuments of comparatively

late date,

it

roof is

survived

never enjoyed the widespread popularity of

the nagara and dravida types.

Throughout the later period of Indian architecture it is not possible to make any diviof styles on any sectarian basis. Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus all used the same style
with slight modifications of structure to meet their rituahstic needs. In the same way
sion

Dravidian types of buildings are

found

known

in the south, so that actually

it is

in

northern India and the Indo-Aryan type

better to think

156

of the three

t)'pes in the

is

same way

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

that

we

designate the Greek orders

by geographical names, without implying any geo-

graphical limitation to their usage. In describing later Indian temples there

number of terms
as the

that

vimana the
;

garbha griha.

must be used

spire

is

known

for convenience.

The

as the sikhara ; the actual cella for the cult

The sanctum proper

is

a certain

is

sanctuary as a whole

known

is

image

is

the

preceded by one or more porches or mandapas

dedicated to the performance of music and dances in honour of the gods.

Stone continues to be the principal building material throughout the later periods of
Indian architecture. Usually the masonry

dry, and iron dowels

is

were employed

to hold

the blocks together, although there are occasional notices of the use of resinous lacquer

and other materials

is

universally

as a

employed

of altars and tombs

in

cement. Brick, both in combination with stone and separately,

as a

building

medium. The

particularly appropriate fabric for the building

most comphcated
tions in
plaster

use of brick goes back to the

making

Vedic times, so that a certain sanctity became attached to

rituals

were employed

of sacred

in the setting

edifices.

it

as a

Needless to say, the

of both stone and brick founda-

conformity with the magic ground-plan or mandala of the shrine. In some cases

was used

be noted that

white to

for

ornament

in addition to carved stone

many of the great shrines, hke

stress their

and

terra-cotta,

the Kailasa at Ellura,

were

and

it

should

originally painted

symbolic relationship to the sacred snow-capped peaks of the

Himalayas.''

We have dwelt at such length on the iconographical and

Indian forms in art so that the reader
pect in a traditional

art,

may

be warned

that,

rituahstic determination

although, as one

Hindu temples and images exphcitly follow

such a conformity to sacred texts

not in

of

would ex-

the recipes of the

of the aesthetic
worth of the monuments, any more than a glassy-eyed and simpering saint by Carlo
Dolci is a work of art, however exactly it may have met the anti-aesthetic requirements
ofJesuit propaganda. For the same reason, works of Indian art - especially for the Westem student - must be subjected to an analysis from the point of view of their final aessastras,

thetic as well as

values

is

iconographic effectiveness. As

of the seemingly

rigid prescriptions

itself the final criterion

we

of the

have tried to

sastras

was

the magical appropriateness of an icon or a temple, they

maintain a

norm of aesthetic and

canons arrived

at

technical probity

stress,

one of the great

that, in addition to

were

ensuring

certainly intended to

by the estabhshment of methods and

and found right through generations of experience in workshop

tradition.

From

the historical point of view the great period of Hindu architecture

various dynasties that succeeded to the Gupta

Empire

i:i

is

that

of the

the seventh century. In western

Dcccan the Chalukya Dynasty was in power until 750, when it was overthrown by the Rashtrakiitas. In eastern India, meanwhile, the Pallavas ruled in the ancient domains of the Andhras. These were Hindu kingdoms, and it was, as we have seen,
only in the Ganges Valley that Buddhist art survived under the Pala and Sena Dynasties.

India and the

157-

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

The Genesis of Later Hindu

J. Pattadakal:

We

have already considered some of the buildings

Gupta Period, notably the

in the
at

late

Styles

in the territories

cave temples

of the Chalukyas

Ajanta and the earher shrines

at

Aihole. Another great centre of temple-building was at Pattadakal, near

Aihole,

where

there

is

an immense outcrop of temples dating from the

late

Badami and
seventh and

early eighth century.

hills near Badami. Above
modern mud houses one sees the splendid temple towers of what must
once have been a great stronghold of Hindu worship. At this one site we can see standing side by side four or five examples of Indo- Aryan and Dravidian temples.

Pattadakal

is

an insignificant httle village in the sandstone

the roofs of the

Of these

the most pretentious

the Virupaksha temple, dedicated to ^iva in 740

is

monarch Vikramaditya II, who died in 746 or 747. It has

been surmised that this king was so much impressed with the architecture of Kaiicipuram, which he had conquered, that he persuaded architects and workers from that site
to return with him to Pattadakal. An inscription on the Viriipaksha seems to confirm
this, since it speaks of the shrine's having been built by the most eminent siltradhari of
(Plate

01).

It

was

built

by

the

'

the southern country'.^

roofs
order.

It is

of the typically Dravidian type, with

above the sanctuary, dominated by the

The main

shrine

is

a series

characteristic stQpika

preceded by an assembly

hall

and

porch

a small

of terraced

of the Dravidian
;

in front

is

Nandi (Figure 25). The horizontahty of these structures is

emphasized by the employment of heavy overhanging cornices, which are evidently an
imitation in stone of some earher thatched construction. The same type of entablature
crowns the individual panels with reliefs of Hindu deities that are let into the walls of the
separate shrine for Siva's bull

temple proper and the Nandi porch. Light

the walls of the enclosed

or

hall.

podium ornamented with

admitted through pierced stone

is

Each one of the buildings

reliefs

of lions and

fantastic monsters.

is

the superstructure of the

one

main temple,

repeated in

its

is

structure. This effect

so that

echoed

The

thatch-hkc en-

gets the impression, as so often in In-

component of many

is

grilles in

supported on a high basement

repeated in each of the higher levels of

tablature decorated with blind chaitya arches

dian architecture, that the whole

is

cell-hke organisms infinitely

also in the repetition

of the shape of the

terminal stupika in smaller rephcas at the comers on the successive levels of its terraced
spire.

The many Indo-Aryan temples which may

city

of Pattadakal are

sikhara.

typical

all

example

is

the Saivite Galaganatha temple that dates

period of building activity in the

late

seventh century (Plate I02a).

massive, closely joined blocks of ashlar.

curvilinear in profile, with the angles

cated amalaka form,

Gupta

is

essentially the

shrines at Aihole.

hara was installed

as a

be seen in the nearly deserted temple-

still

of the early development of the northern

perfect examples

Whereas

The

actual

of alternate
same

as the

in buildings

It is

tliis

same

constructed of

form of the spire proper, convex and

storeys marked by the heavily rusti-

towers over the sanctuaries of the

hke the Durga temple

kind of cupola on the roof of the ccUa, here,

158

from

at

late

Aihole the sik-

at Pattadakal, the

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

tower has grown

to

on the four
quoins was repeated

directly

form

complete roof over the sanctuary, so that

walls of the garbha griha.

in the

The

its

four sides rest

shape of the channelled amalaka

now

bulbous shape of a crowning amalaka -

lost

- so that

here again the unified effect of the whole building results from the repetition of the
shapes of

its

structure. False

Deogarh, decorate three

sides

doorways containing images,

of the tower base;

as in the

at the fourth

is

Gupta temple of

the entrance to the cella

Figure 25. Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal: Half-plan and Section

preceded by a shallow porch. The employment of the high podium,

files

of the encircling cornice, are hardly

in so-called Dravidian temples,

at least, the

the

same

different

from the

which may be taken

well as the pro-

of these members

as a clear indication that in origin,

Indo-Aryan and Dravidian types of temples were constructed

repertory'

in part

from

of architectural motifs.

The most simple type of Dravidian

shrine

is

represented at Pattadakal by an old Jain

temple (Plate I02b) that stands about a mile to the west of the

as

disposition

159

village.'

The

elevation of

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

the surviving tower sanctuary shows the regular

The

method of stepped diminishing storeys

is crov^Tied by an elaborate stupika.

of the Dravidian order. The whole

characteristic

general shape and flaring profde of its silhouette are repeated in the profiles of the

cornices of the successive terraces.

4.

Ittdo-Aryan Architecture: Orissa

stated in the introduction to Late Hindu architecture, the term IndoAryan or nagara style of architecture is used to designate the temple-building characteristic of northern India in the dynasties that succeeded to the power of the Gupta
Empire. This is a type already anticipated in some of the Gupta temples at Aihole and
Pattadakal. One of the chief sites where Indo-Aryan temples were built as early as the
eighth century a.d. is the holy city of Bhuvanesvar in Orissa.

As has already been

In our study of Orissan temples

body of sastras,

we

are fortunate in having preserved a considerable

furnishing the most precise directions for the laying out and erection of

the temples. In these Orissan texts the temples are classified under the designations rekha

and

hhadra.

The rekha

The rekha is the conical, beehive-shaped

bhadra a terraced pyramid.

spire ; the

divided into elements entitled shin, trunk, neck, and

is

skull, analogies that

suggest that the temple was regarded as a microcosm of Prajapati, the

rekha

is

further divided into stages or bhumis, each one of which

specific deity.

Not infrequently,

these

same

is

Cosmic Man. The

presided over by

its

sikharas are designated as mountains to certi-

Kailasa.
fy that they were regarded as architectural repHcas of Mount Meru or
The earhest example of Indo-Aryan architecture at Bhuvanesvar is the Parasurames-

vara temple of 750 (Plate 103A).

It

consists

an attached enclosed porch. This tower

at Pattadakal. The sucmarked by heavy corner quoins in the lotiform amalaka

capped by a complete amalaka supporting a metal trident of

seen in the sanctuaries of the

cessive storeys or

shape, and the

^iva.

bhumis

tower

is

of a tower sanctuary of the rekha type with

simply an enlargement of the types already

is

Gupta Period and the Galaganatha

are

Although the tower clearly

towards the summit, neither

this

consists

of identical repeated storeys diminishing

emphasis on horizontal division nor the heavily

cated character of the exterior decoration in any

linear profile

masonry,
dwarfs.

is

of the

spire.

The

porch, which

decorated with pierced latticed

The

raised courses

is

way

detracts

in stone

rusti-

from the soaring curvi-

covered with corbelled

windows

in size

slabs

of heavy

and low rehefs of dancing

of masonry framing the corners and dividing the

faces

of the

by ribs converging in the crown or

amalaka. The precise curvature of these members was carefully regulated by the sastras.
Just as the ascent and meeting of these members symbohcally connoted for the worshipper the aspiration and ultimate absorption of all in the godhead, their presence in an
sikhara give the impression of the tower being tied in

architectural sense provided the strongest impression

horizontal hnes of the porch and spire

The

latest

example of the Orissan

of

verticality to offset the static

itself.

style

of architecture

the Lihgaraj temple of a.d. iooo (Plate 103B).

160

The

at

sikhara

Bhuvanesvar
is

may

be seen

in

now a completely beehive-

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

shaped structure in which the original or cubical form of the

ribs

of the

of the tower

spire are turrets repeating the shape

more

Orissan version of the umsringas that appear as

Khajuraho.

It

is

merged

entirely

in alternate

as a

into

converging

whole: these are the

salient projections in the

temples of

should be pointed out that even the most elaborate of the Orissan temple

towers are extremely primitive in construction.

They

of corbelled vaulting, so that in section we would

see a

courses of masonry roofed

Lirigaraj

cella

of the tower. Inserted one above another

the curvilinear profile

by the terminal cap of the

on

are built entirely

the principle

hollow pyramid with overlapping

The sikhara

structure.

shrine

of the

temple was preceded by a number of porches of the bhadra type reserved for

accommodation of worshippers and the performance of religious spectacles.

final achievement of Orissan builders is the Surya Deul or Temple of the Sun at
Konaraka (Plate 104A). This sanctuary was erected in the reign of Narasimhadeva (1238the

The

64). It stands to-day a desecrated

struction
to us

and impressive ruin on

a lonely stretch

of

sea-coast

The temple was never finished, perhaps because the problems of con-

north-east of PurL^"

proved too much for the

from examples

at

builders, so that the rekha or

Bhuvanesvar

is

assembly hall or jagainohan that precedes

it.

of arrangements found

pected, a repetition

tower already familiar

only a stump of masonry behind the massive

The

plan of the temple

is,

as

would be ex-

in earher Orissan shrines: the holy

of hohes

or garbha griha was to have been located in the sanctuary tower, and was entered

through the frontispiece already mentioned. This shrine was originally a dedication to
the sun-god Surya.

One of the most

the entire sanctuary

was conceived

striking features
as

of the design of the temple

is

that

an architectural likeness of the god's chariot or

vimana around the circumference of the basement platform on which the temple pro;

per rests are affixed twelve great wheels intricately carved in stone (Plate 104B), and, to

complete the

illusion

stalled in front

of the

solar car, colossal free-standing statues

of the main entrance,

of horses were

in-

though actually dragging the god's chariot

as

through the sky.

The

principal fragment

ceremonial

hall. It is

entire

as a great

at

Konaraka

consists

of the

ornamented

of the base

is

first

to a height

of a himdred

porch or
feet

feet.

with the stone wheels standing

free

of the

fabric ; in the lowest

a continuous frieze representing a great variety

;

separate friezes,

is

a series

this,

of niches separated by widely projecting

and two

distinct friezes

Three

hall

proper

by heavily accented and repeated

courses (Plate 104B); above this rises the pyramidal roof that
the bhadra types at Bhuvanesvar.

arranged in

pilasters filled

with sculpture of a very interesting and highly erotic type; the facades of the
are divided into a base

zone

of genre scenes dealing

mainly with the hunting of elephants and other wild animals above

two

lofty

cube of masonry measuring a hundred

The incomplete spire presumably

a height of nearly two hundred feet. The exterior decoration is in
harmony with the line and mass of the building as a whole. The basement storey

on a side and rising

would have attained
is

which survive

conceived

we

string

have already found

distinct terraces recede to the

in

crowning member

in the shape of a gigantic stone lotus of the amalaka type. The terraces are emphasized
- in ascending order - by six and five separate string courses. These string courses follow

the various setbacks or recesses of the plan so that a distinct impression of a kind of

161

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

wavy

or curvilinear

movement

relieves

any

of straightness or

feeling

rigidity in the

mass.

Returning to the subject of the sculpture,

Pagoda has achieved

we must

be aware of the

fact that the

Black

of notoriety through the frankly obscene nature of

most of the carving decorating the basement and also the exterior of the porch. This
a great deal

carving might be described

Sutra

it

represents

as a hteral illustration

numerous couples engaged

of the

erotic recipes

in a great variety

of the Kama

of amorous

some

antics,

of them of a defmitely perverse nature. These figures are representations of mithunas or

auspicious pairs, which in less extreme forms were employed in Indian art from a very
early period.'' Their embraces have been interpreted as typifying the idea

o moksha or

union with the divine, the achievement of that primordial unity broken

time

at the

Purusa divided himself to create the world. Numerous quotations from the texts support
such an interpretation,*^ but

it

seems that

at

Konaraka the function of

these endlessly

repeated pairs in dalliance must have had something to do with actual orgiastic

ducted in association with a special cult of the sun

rites

as universal fructifying force.'^ It

con-

is

un-

fortunate that, for obvious reasons, none of these mithunas can be reproduced in detail;

each
as

a separate masterpiece

is

well

as the

of rehcf composition

which the

in

feeling

of movement,

marvellous suggestion of the participants melting with love, transcends the

character of the action.

In

some of the

niches of the arcade are representations of fantastic hybrid monsters,

notably a combination of elephant and Hon or gajasimha, that are

powerful and d)'namic reahzations of the

among

fantastic that Indian art has

given

the
us.

most
These

hybrids, possibly, are allegories of the sun's (lion's) triumph over the rain (elephant), or
possibly symbols of the soul's wandering

from one shape

to another in the endless

process oi samara.

On
statues

the terraces of the roof, as interruptions to the lines of cornices, are

of female musicians

keeping with their function of serving

monumental

They have

a massive heroic beauty quite in

as architectural

ornaments meant to be seen from

(Plate 105A).

a great distance. These figures are the yakshis of Saiichi translated into the artistic lan-

guage of late Hindu

art.

In addition to this sculpture, the shrine at

reliefs

god

is

of the sun god

Siirya,

Konaraka

originally included a

carved in green chlorite (Plate iojb).

The

figure

number of
of the sun-

represented standing in a static frontal position in the samahhanga pose used for

divinities in a state

of spiritual equilibrium, inviting the prayers of the devotees.

chariot with Sur)'a are the twin figures of his charioteers and the kneeling

These pendant figures are

dawn

On

miniature stiapikas, and Surya himself is framed

by an apotropaic monster mask or kirtiwukha. Below, on

set off against

in a trefoil chaitya arch capped

the phnth, in very small scale, are the horses of the quadriga, deployed to right and

of a central charger
tion that
'

we

in frontal view, in accordance

have seen used for

this

same theme

'

among

the last examples of Indian sculpture in

between the reahzation of the form

as a plastic

162

left

with a conceptual method of presentaat

Bodh Gaya

archaism that enhances the hieratic effectiveness of the

arc

the

maidens.

idol.

which

(Plate 19A).

These carvings

a perfect balance

at

is

It is

an

Konaraka

maintained

mass and the extreme dcHcacy and

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

precision in the carving

of the ornamental

fuUness and sculptural character of the

The carving

they are strung.

has, to

be

but the general conception of the figure

tradition

of sculpture

in the

enhance the

of the semi-nude body on which

certain dry and hard quality about it,

surfaces

sure, a
is still

of descent from the great

in a direct line

Gupta Period.

Central India: Khajuralw

5.

It

accessories which, as so often,

smooth

could well be said that the culmination of the Indo-Aryan genius in architecture was

attained in the extraordinary

group of temples erected

Khajuraho

at

in central India.

These magnificent shrines were dedications of the Chandella Rajput sovereigns,

remembered chiefly

Only twenty of

takings of a utilitarian character.

now

and

who

are

of reservoirs and other under-

for their enterprise in the construction

the original eighty-five temples are

of these are out of worship. They

arise like mountains of buflf

masonry above the dusty plain. Although the surviving shrines are dedicated to Siva,
Vishnu, and the Jain patriarchs, there is no essential difference in their architectural
character. This is simply another illustration of what we have seen so often in the
history of Indian art, that it is impossible to make any sectarian difference with regard
to style in the art of a given period.

standing,

We

may

all

take as a typical example of this magnificent architecture the temple of

Kandariya Mahadeo (Plate 106), which was dedicated

most ancient

1000. Like the

c.

Indian stupas and earUer Mesopotamian citadels, the temple proper

is

elevated

on

a high

Quite different from the Indo-Aryan temples of Orissa, the shrine

masonry

terrace.

compact

architectural unit, not a

group of connected separate buildings

is

so that, for

example, in the Mahadeo temple the successive mandapas, leading to the garbha griha,
share a

common

cessive

mountain peaks are

high base or podium, and the contours of their domical roofs hke suchieratically designed to culminate in the highest sikhara

above

the cclla.
In general,

it

could be said that the enormous effectiveness of the shrines at Khajuraho

depends on their beauty of proportion and contour and the vibrant texture of their surface ornamentation.

The

plan

is

generally that of a cross with the entrance at the east

and one or two transepts radiating from the

mandapas

are only cells

juraho shrines

is

that

of

cella.

a urufied organism.

impression of the Kha-

of a number of separate superstructures, each with

building up to a great mountain of masonry.

from

In this plan the garbha griha and

The dominant

the high base through the successive walls

peaks that constitute the main

spire.

The

vertical

and roofs

These temples

may

its

amalaka fmial

emphasized throughout,

is

to the ultimate range

of lesser

be regarded as a perfect

also

balance of vertical and horizontal volumes with the vertical ascent interrupted by friezes

of dynamic figure sculpture girdling the

entire structure.

In comparison with the towers of Orissa, the spires at Khajuraho are domical rather

than pyramidal in contour.

pelling than those

juraho

is

of eastern

The curvature of these

Lidia,

and

sikharas

a refinement

to be seen in the turrets or tmisriitgas let into the

163

is

more

accelerated and

im-

pecuhar to the arcliitecture of Kha-

masonry of the main tower

at

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

successive levels
these

the

of its construction; so that

towered shapes there

summit of a

rising crescendo

is

in the dupUcation,

and even

almost the effect of the eyes travelling from

distant mountain.

The whole mass of the

of curves, the curves of the

lesser turrets

sikhara

and the

is

a kind

ribs

of

triplication,
lesser

ranges to

of wonderful

of the main tower

having their separate points of intersection, and yet leading inevitably to the amalaka
that at once

crowns and

girdles the

The symboUsm of these

whole.

of the Indo-Aryan

final buildings

architects

only an en-

is

largement of the metaphysical meaning inherent in the simplest structures of Vedic

tain

The temple is no more than an arcliitectural rcpHca of the imagined world mounMeru which as a pillar separates heaven and earth, or, anagogically, an equivalent of

the

body of Purusa,

times.

the Universal

Man, whose body comprehends

Ac-

this universe.

cordingly, the final amalaka, in shape like a lotus flower or a solar halo with rays, typifies

the passage to heaven, the sun-door at the

summit of the world mountain, or

the

dome of the skuU of the Universal Man. As we have already seen, the stressed verticaHty
of every architectural member leads the worshipper upward to that centre of magic
union with the divine. And,

way

points the

in like

marmer, the sculptural decoration of the temple

to that desired union. This

sentation in the friezes of mithunas or

ecstasy typify the ultimate

human and

the

meaning impHcit
in erotic

in the multiple repre-

embrace, which in their

union of the soul with the divine, the reconstitution of the

primordial wholeness that was destroyed

separating

is

men and women

when

Purusa divided himself into a

polarit).'

divine.

Seen from the exterior, the temples of Khajuraho impress the beholder with the same
grandeur of unified design that

we

recognize in a Gothic cathedral, whether or not

we

The magnificent balance of horizontals and verticals is maintained throughout. The eye travels upward from the successive
levels of the base divided by string courses and shallow friezes to the level of the principal
rooms of the shrine. There open porches with overhanging eaves provide a temporary

are acquainted with

its

iconographic significance.

horizontal interruption to the successive levels of the

main tower

constituted of the re-

peated shapes of the smaller sikharas building up to the dominant profile of the main
tower.

Typical of the veritable flowering of temple sculpture during

Hindu

architecture in Central India

Khajuraho

illustrated in Plate 107.

celestial chorus,

is

We

the ornamentation of the

look upon a double

vaunting their voluptuous charms in an

playing a languid and calculated eroticism

'

trast

',

tier

this final

period of

Vamana Temple

at

of naked apsaras

in a

of attitudes

dis-

infinite variety

rendered the more provocative by the con-

between the shm bodies and the towering comphcation of the head-dresses. These

dancers

i:i

the heaven of Indra are, according to legend, creatures not

but constituted rather of the

they are here

as

air

and the movements that compose

made of gross

their

flesh

heavenly dances;

appropriate 'entertainers' in the reconstructed heaven that

is

the fabric

of the sanctuary.

Although ostensibly only so many spots or accents

they have an

beholder a

irresistible

new

perspective

in the total decoration

of the facade,

'With every movement of the eye of the

shows the images from a different angle; to avoid being

individual attraction:

164

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

bewildered he has to concentrate on each of them
next.'**
is

. . .

and then give

Each figure carved almost in the complete round stands on

his attention to the

its

own platform and

shaded by an individual canopy. In addition to their separate fascination for the eye,

the figures perform the function of contributing so

of the

many

vertical accents in the ascent

maidens possess a great vitaUty expressed in

sikhara. Individually these celestial

movements and the provocative warmth and fullness of the modelling of

As in some of the very earhest examples of Indian sculpture, the roundness
and softness of the breasts and belly are emphasized by the contrasting exaggerated
straightness of the arms and hmbs.
their tortuous
their flesh.

6.

In the days of the great

plains

Brahmanic

Rajputana

revival during the eighth

and ninth centuries the

of Rajputana must have flowered with temples. Most of these temples were

tinguished

by

their pillared

appropriated by

Moslem

dis-

mandapas, and the fragments of scores of such porches were

builders

of the Qutb mosque

at Dellii, wliich in its four

hun-

dred and eighty separate columns includes the material of nearly thirty temples.

number
would be impossible even
best of Indo- Aryan archi-

In spite of the ravages of time and the iconoclasm of the Islamic invaders, the

of ancient temples
mention them

to

still

all.

standing in Rajputana

We may

is

so great that

it

take as representative of the

group of temples erected from the eighth to the tenth century at Osia, near Jodhpur. All these shrines, in what once must have been a flourishing
rehgious community, now stand deserted and in ruins. The sanctuaries include both
tecture in northern India the

Brahmanic and Jain

dedications.

Most of the temples belong

designation meaning that four extra shrines (making five in

by

cloisters to the

main sanctuary. Most of the temples

juraho, are raised

on

plinths or

Orissan type, as exemplified

mandapas, in almost every

lintels

typical

by

of the Sun temple

The

origuially attached

temples at Kha-

the Parasuramesvara temple at Bhuvanesvar.

case, take the

at

The

form of an open pillared hall. The jambs and

at Osia are ornamented with a ricliness equal-

Konaraka.

example of the Indo-Aryan

(Plate io8a).

were

at Osia, like the

podiums. The sikharas follow most closely the early

of the doorways of the sanctuaries

ling the carving

to the pancha yatana class, a

all)

style in

Rajputana

is

the Surya temple at Osia

four lesser shrines surrounding the sanctuary have disappeared and

its open porch survives. The building presumably dates from the
The cella and the open mandapa are erected on a raised platform. The
colonnade of the mandapa is augmented by two pillars rising from the ground level.
The spaces between the pillars on the porch were originally fiUed with elaborately
carved stone screens like the pierced decoration to be found in some of the Chalukya
temples at Pattadakal. The rather squat sikhara with its heavy rustication and massive
amalaka quoins is also reminiscent of Pattadakal. The columns of the Osia temples be-

only the

cella

with

tenth century.

long to the same order that

hammedan

shrines

of Delhi

is

seen in the countless examples appropriated for the

(Plate io8b).

The

carving

bands of tracery interrupting the shaft of the column.

165

is

Mo-

concentrated on the base and

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

These

most part of a high square

the

pillars consist for

base,

from which grows an

octagonal shaft that supports a richly carved capital. Both shaft and capital have a
repeated motif of a vase or kalasa wreathed in fohate detail. This order

simply an

is

elaboration of the columns of the Gupta Period, with every face of the pillar richly
embellislied with a veritable lace-work
in this afterglow

perfumed descriptions of the

Sahiintala.

The

of figural and fohate motifs. Some have discerned

of the Gupta Period a reflexion of that sensuous love of nature, the

principal

floral

bowers

doorway of

in wliich

temple

this

graphy of the portals of the Brahinanic temples

is

is

enacted the love-poem of

typical in

at Osia.^^

The

its

lintel

and icono-

richness
is

decorated with re-

presentations of the planetary divinities or navagriha, together with representations of

The jambs are covered with different avatars of Vislinu and lesser
members of the Hindu pantheon. The river goddesses which flanked the lintel of Gupta
temples have been moved to the base of the jambs. The other Brahmanic temples at

garudas and nagas.

Osia, such as the shrines of Hari-Hara, present only sUght variations of the

Indo-Aryan

style.

The same could be

only in the character of the sikhara.

responds

more

Tliis

special richness

though some of these

at

echoing

typically

that differs

its

shape cor-

Khajuraho.^^

Gujarat and Western India

and delicacy are the ruined Indo-Aryan temples of Gujarat. Alshrines

and

also those

Mahmud of Ghazni's iconoclastic raid on

region by the Delhi Sultans in 1298.

due not only

lesser turrets

of architecture seen

of Kathiawad and Kach were begun

tenth century, the majority of the structures

is

same

of the Jain sanctuary of Mahavira

tower with

closely to the special type

7.

Of a

said

to the fury

The

may

in the

be dated between 1025, the year of

Somnath, and the fmal conquest of this whole

present ruin of most of these splendid structures

of the invaders but to

a cataclysmic earthquake that devastated

western India in the nineteenth century. The magnificence of these shrines was

made

of Gujarat under the Solanki Dynasty, a period when

the ports of western India were a clearing-house for the trade between the Eastern and
Western worlds. These originally jewel-encrusted temples were not entirely the result of

possible

by

the commercial wealth

royal patronage, but were

communal

dedications in the true sense of the word, in that

they were erected through voluntary subscriptions and contributions of skilled labour

of all kinds.

further parallel to the

communal interest in the Church in the Gothic

work of builders' guilds under the direction ot

period hes in the fact that they were the

master masons

of apprentices

Almost

all

who transmitted their knowledge of the

down to modern times.

the western Indian temples are so ruinous that

example of the

was

sastras to successive

style to illustrate their character.

the ^iva shrine at Somanatha-Patan that

it is

difficult to select a single

The most famous of the

was the

generations

special object

Gujarat temples

of

Mahmud

of

Ghazni's fury and rchgious zeal against idolatry, when, in 1025, he smashed the jewelled

lingam and put the temple to the

tion,

was

totally

sack.

The

wrecked by the fmal

shrine,

although restored

Mohammedan
166

after this desecra-

invaders at the end of the

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

thirteenth century.

consisted

The

of a closed

which

approximated in other examples

in

Kathiawad,

pillared hall, octagonal in shape, preceding a square cella

surmounted

plan,

is

by a sikhara.
Something of the same arrangement

originally

Sejakpur and Ghumli.

cella set in the

The polygonal

is

hall

found
with

in the ruined temples

its

of Navalakha

at

multiple step-backs in plan precedes a

core of an attached sikhara. These pillared porches in western India were

covered with low terraced roofs, some of them perhaps originally in several storeys.*^

On the exterior the temples of Gujarat and Kathiawad arc generally divided into three
zones of horizontal ornament and mouldings including the base, the main body of the
wall up to the cornice, and the roof or attic; over the

by the

sikhara.

each specifically
differ

cella,

of course, the roof is replaced

These divisions are in turn separated into numerous horizontal courses,

named and

The sikharas
composed of clustered turrets or urusmain tower, and almost free-standing from the fabric of the
its

exact measurement prescribed in the sastras.

from the usual Indo- Aryan type

rihgas, each a rephca

The
very good

of the

in being

principal spire.

reconstruction of the temple of Nilakantha at Sunak (Figure 26)

gives us a

idea

of the

J^ -'

013345

10

original elevation

of these

sanctuaries.

^'^-^^ -^^^- :SrT:3fe3-fT"^-

15

FEET

051

Figure 26. Nilakantha Temple, Sunak

167

Elevation

^fr-tML.

METRES

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

Among

the better-preserved examples

(Plate I09a).

splendour
neath

its

It is

built

of the

eastern approach.

and other Gujarat

shrine to the

shrines

whole and

reUgious worsliip.

narrow passage
.

Modhera

the Surya shrine at

is

in Gujarat

golden-brown sandstone of the region, and

its

derelict

romantically reflected in the disused tank or pool for ablutions that hes be-

is

(Figure 27)

soft

is

its

One of the most

impressive features of the

Modhera temple

the entirely organic plan in the relation of all the parts of the
functional arrangement of all the architectural accessories of

The Surya temple

of an open

consists

pillared

to a building containing an assembly hall

porch connected by a

and the garbha griha

The seemingly separate portions of the structure arc

related

itself

by the horizontal

Hues of the mouldings that follow the usual tripartite division of the wall.

division in the proportion and decoration of the pillars of the interior brings

them

similar

into

unity with the whole scheme.

Figure 27.

The

Temple

at

Modhera: Ground plan

carving typical of the Solanki Period

is

at

once extremely luxuriant and ex-

of detail. Special attention should be

quisitely refined in the rendering

called to such

tympana to the
entrances and also linking the summits of the columns in the interior of the porch. Always there is such a depth to the relief that the effect is almost that of pierced and apphed
metal-work rather than stone. In the technique of this extremely delicate carving, which
certainly must have been done by laborious abrasion rather than direct cutting, the
sculpture at Modhera is not far removed from the famous carved domes at Mount Abu.
beautiful ornamental motifs as the toranas or cusped arches introduced as

The renowned Jain sanctuaries of Mount Abu in Rajputana,

favourite tourist attractions in

all

for generations

India, are in a sense the final

among the

baroque culmination of

the Gujarat style. These buildings - the Dilwara shrine of the tenth century and the thir-

teenth-century Tejpal temple (Plate

brought up from the valley below

be counted

among

no) -

are constructed entirely

of white marble

their lofty setting. In their ovny. ornate

the architectural

wonders or
168

curiosities

way

they can

of the world. Although the

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

exterior

dome

of the temple

is

many

rising in

joined by cusped arches.

tite

hung

in

no way

distinguished, the interior

of the

The dome
of the

in the centre

culminates in a richly carved pendant, like a stalac-

vault. Placed athwart the

lower rings of the

wisdom.

brackets with representations of Jain goddesses of

adequate account of the effect of tliis extraordinary decoration.

detail.

The very

is

lost

texture

dome

arc

In their semi-detached

projection they appear like struts actually upholding the cupola.

tectural construction

pillared hall reveals

concentric circles supported on a circular arcade of dwarf pillars

It is difficult

Any

to give an

real sense

of archi-

beneath the intricacy of the carving and the profuseness of

of the stone

destroyed by the elaborate fretting. There

is

is,

to

be sure, true beauty in the pearly radiance reflected from what seems hke a huge and

up at this ceiling is to behold a dream-like vision

some marvellous underwater formation in coral and
mother-of-pearl. The deeply pierced working of the figures and the unbehevably delicate
weightless marble flower. Looking

looming, in the

foliate motifs

Brown

half-light, like

have the fragihty of snowflakes. Writing of the

observes, 'There remains a sense

of perfection

with an over-refinement and concentration on

cline

'.^^

At

the

same time

this

detail

monument of Jainist

consistence in that every portion

exuberance of surface ornament.

of each dome,

but

Mount Abu temples, Percy

it is

mechanical perfection,

implying the beginning of a de-

rehgious zeal possesses a complete

and

arch,

one of those

'It is

pillar is covered with the same

where exuberance is beauty. 'i'
the city of Gwahor, on the main

cases

A centre of Indo-Aryan building in western India

Bombay. A httle group of disused and largely ruined temples
is

railway between Delhi and

and fragments of shrines crowns the plateau of Gwalior Fort. The earhest of these
better described as a shrine than as a

eighty feet and

Not only

is

is

in the shape

necessitated: the

crowning member

a plan repeated in the cella

and the porch.

architecture, but so, too,

the roof that

Hindu

in the shape

is

sun-windows of the old Buddhist type

is

plauily indicated at each end

the rare vesara type of temple

lateral facades.

which we

shall

it

of a barrel-vaulted chaitya with the

;

the resemblance to

the Buddhist basilica type extends to the representation of arcades in

nave columns of the chaitya on the

the

(Plate iiia).

of an oblong,

design unique in later

this

is

The structure as it stands to-day is

complete temple. The building rises to a height of

Teh-ka-Mandir of the eleventh century

This

note again

is

one of the

memory of the

last

appearances of

among the rock-cut

sanctuaries

Mamallapuram. The deeply sculptured panels on either side of the main entrance, although badly damaged by iconoclasts, are magnificent examples of later rchef carving

at

(Plate iiib). In

attendants,

we

both

see a female personage, possibly a river goddess,

one of whom holds an umbrella over her;

in the subtly

with three

swaying movement

of the elegantly attenuated figures and the contrast between the broadly reahzcd forms
and exquisitely defined

Gupta workmanship

details

of ornament, the

in western India

style

is

a prolongation

of the magnificent

which we have already examined

hi a relief from

Gwahor region (Plate 87).

Also at Gwahor are the remains of two buildings known as the Great and the Small
Sas Bahu temples. Only the former of these, dedicated to Vishnu in 1093, need detain us

the

not

complete sanctuary, but only the porch or

(Plate 1095). It

is

now

Viewed from

vanished.

the exterior, the temple

169

is

hall in front

of one

divided into three storeys of

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

open loggias separated by massive

architraves.

The

penetration of the mass of the build-

ing by these deep balconies provides a feeling of lightness and elegance; the design

is

helped by the alternation of accents of light and shade provided by the columns

set off

cnshadowed porches.

against the

also

On the exterior the building terminates in a rather flat-

tened terraced pyramid which continues to the very summit of the structure the eccentric
is

and picturesque plan with

that

of a

its

multiple set-backs and recesses. Inside, the impression

single large hall rising to the full height

of a cathedral. The

effectiveness

of the building, rather

of this motif has been

crowding introduced through the

partially spoiled

much

massive stone beams in an all-over fohate design does

members, an

intricacy

of its

effect

of hghtness and delicacy continued

fretted carving

is

of

to reUeve the heaviness

dome, which

in the

of

in the

suggestive of fan vaulting.

greatest significance for the later

shrines dedicated

Andhras

effect

Dravidian Architecture. Eastern India: The Pallaua Style

8.

Of the

and an

necessity for four gigantic stone piers to support the

of masonry of the superstructure. The carving of the under-surfaces of the

great mass

these

like the crossing

by the

rulers

from the

in eastern India

most important contributions

development of Dravidian

who were

of the Pallava Dynasty

fifth

arcliitecture are the

the successors of the

century through the ninth. For our purposes the

in the genesis

of the

style

were made under the Mamalla

Dynasty (625-74) and the Dynasty of Rajasirhha (674-800). Whereas the earlier dedications consisted of rock-cut shrines, the later activity was devoted entirely to structural
buildings.

From the Mamalla Period there

puram or Seven Pagodas on the
'

'

date the remarkable rock-cut temples of Mamallasea-coast

the patronage of the king, Narasiriiha.

of five temples or
are

of the

later

(Plate

I3a).

It

Dravidian form

is

raths at

on

is

pre-existing types

of the

style

It

is

the

which

has been rightly suggested that

an adaptation of a Buddliist vihara, in which successive

for the

a bulbous stupika,

of the terraced

of a

style

accommodation of the monks.^i The terminal member of the

which is repeated in smaller scale on each of the lower levels
superstructure. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this and the other

were added

structure

Hindu

has a square ground storey with open verandahs,

forms the base of the terraced pyramidal sikhara above.

storeys

consisted

of contemporary

from the granuhtic outcrops on the shore (Plate 112). These

later development of Dravidian archi-

architecture. Especially revealing for this latter aspect

Dharmaraja rath
this typical

monuments

of the greatest importance for the

tecture because they reveal the dependence

of Buddhist

below Madras. The work here was under

principal architectural

that are really free-standing sculptural rephcas

raths^'^

structural buildings carved

monuments

The

Mamallapuram

lies

in the

distinctive Pallava type

open verandahs on the ground-storey. The

with the

shafts

pillars are

of the columns supported by the bodies of

seated Hons.

Quite a different type of structure

classified as a vesara

is

temple (Plate iijb).

represented by Bhima's rath, which must be

It is

170

a longitudinal building

with a barrel roof

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

of the

so-called elephant-back type, faithfully reproduced in the carving. This vault, ter-

minating in the semi-dome of an apse and with the chaitya motif at

very obviously a survival of the Buddhist chaitya-haU
in such structural temples as the

Gupta example

at

that, as

its

opposite end,

is

we have seen, had persisted

Chezorla.

A later structural development of the form of Bhima's rath may be seen in the Vaital
Deul

Bhuvanesvar

at

in Orissa.

distinctive clement

we

has been suggested that

It

type for the gopuras or porch-towers of the

of the Pallava

style

later architecture

may

are to see here the proto-

of southern

India.

Another

be seen in the gavaksha motif of chaitya

crown the entablature. These framed protomes, albecome a regular feature of Dravidian architecture and may
earliest Hindu and Buddhist shrines in Cambodia.

arches framing busts of deities that

ready seen

Bhitargaoh,

found in the

also be

at

third type

of building represented among the

in Draupadi's rath (Plate 112).

It

raths at

MamaUapuram may

of a one-storey square

consists

overhanging, curvilinear roof, suggestive in

its

shape of the

cell

be seen

surmounted by an

modem Bengah huts. There

many forms of structural Indian architecture,

is an imitation of a protot)'pe constructed of bamboo and thatch. The resemblance to the
stupika suggests that this most characteristically Dravidian element may also have had its
origin in the form of a bamboo hut or temple car.
is

every reason to beheve that

so

this, like

In the consideration of the art of the

sculpture apart

from

Hindu Renaissance

it is

impossible to treat of

architecture, since to an even greater degree than in the earUer

periods the carving literally melts into the arcliitectural enframement that supports it.

adornment of the

of images of Hindu

The

on the exterior of the shrine, and also of panels illustrating legends of Hindu mythology ornamenting the interior of the sanctuaries. The figures appear to be a development from the
style of the Later Andhra Period, rather than from the Gupta school. They retain the
extremely graceful attenuation of the forms at Amaravati, and are animated by the same
plastic

feeling for

raths consists

movement and emotionally

deities set in niches

expressive poses and gestures.

A new

canon of

proportion is notable in the heart-shaped faces^^ with their high cheekbones and the almost
tubular exaggeration of the thinness of the arms and legs. In the reUefs decorating the
as in the Andhra
from the matrix of the stone.
The greatest achievement of the Pallava sculptors was the carving of an enormous
granite boulder on the seashore with a representation of the Descent of the Ganges from
the Himalayas (Plate 114). To give the reader an idea of the scale of this gigantic under-

raths the

forms are not so completely disengaged from the background

Period, but seem to be emerging

taking,

it

may

be pointed out that the scores of figures of

those of the family of elephants, are represented in

that

of all creatures great and

all

its

animals, including

subject

of the reUef is

men on

the Descent of the

Ganges from

of that dualism

was

the banks of

waves, and the members of the animal kingdom,

giving thanks to Siva for his miraculous gift to the Indian world.

the centre of the giant boulder

tration

The

small, the devas in the skies, the holy

the Ufe-giving flood, the nagas in

one and

men and

life size.

at

one time an actual channel

a basin at the

top of a rock.

persistent in Indian art

The

cleft in

for water, simulating

Wc have here a perfect illus-

between an intensive naturaUsm and the

conception of divine forms according to the principles of an appropriately abstract canon

171

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

of proportions.

We have,

the earthly as

noticeable in El Greco's 'Burial of the

is

figures in the celestial

in other

words, the same distinction between the divine and

Count of Orgaz',

in

which the

zone are drawn according to the Byzantine canon of attenuated

forms for supernatural beings, whereas the personages in the lower, earthly section of the
panel are painted in a reaHstic manner. In the rehef at

moving like clouds across

dei'as,

the top

elegance of the art of Amaravati.

Mamallapuram

of the composition, have the

the shapes of the

svelte,

disembodied

By contrast, no more perfect realizations of hving ani-

mal types are to be found anywhere

in the sculpture

of the Eastern world. This

vast,

denselypopulatedcomposition, liketheChalukya pain tings of the Ajantacaves,is no longer

confmed by any frame or

available surface

the rehef as a

artificial

boundary, but flows unrestrained over the entire

of the boulder from which

whole

is

it is

carved (Plate 115A). Just

as the space

of

untramelled and, indeed, seems to flow into the space occupied by

the spectator, so the individual forms in it are only partiaUy disengaged from the stone
which imprisons them. One has the impression, indeed, that they are in continual process of emerging from the substance of the rock itself. There is the same suggestion of the
birth
late

of all form from Maya that was so apparent

Dr Zimmer

expressed

in the

^unga

rehefs at Bhaja.

As the

it

Here is an art inspired by the monistic view of life that appears everywhere in Hindu philosophy and myth. Everything is alive. The entire universe is alive; only the degrees of life vary.
Everything proceeds from the divine Hfe-substance-and-energy as a temporary transmutation.
All is a part of the universal display of God's Maya.^

The very epitome of the

ing group of a

monkey

art

of the Pallava sculptor

is

to be discerned in the free-stand-

family in front of the tank below the great rehef (Plate 115B).

Although separate from the great composition, it was certainly intended to be considered
a part of it. The understanding of the essential nature of the animals and the plastic

form could scarcely be improved upon. This piece of sculpembodiment of the quahty of cctana, the vitahzing principle mentioned
in relation to the Indian canons of painting. The shapes, although only partially adumbrated, connote the finished form and proclaim the nature of the glyptic material from
reahzation of their essential
ture

is

the very

wliich they are hewn. 2''

A separate rehef of Durga^s in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,

of the Pallava

The goddess

is

a splendid

example

on
buU head of the demon Mahisha, an episode from the Puranic legend. She is
eight-armed, and holds the weapons such as the bow, discus, and trident lent her by
Siva and Vishnu for the epic struggle. Her ornaments include a towering head-dress
style in a single figure (Plate 116).

is

represented standing

the severed

[harana mukuta), necklaces,

like those

and jewelled

belt;

and her arms arc covered with

of the Dancing-Girl from Mohenjo-Daro

lava sculpture, belongs to the earhest and at the

Ultimately

it is

bracelets

(Plate 4a). Tliis figure, like

same time

classic

all

phase of Dravidian

Palart.

an outgrowth of the Later Andhra figure style in the elongation of the

form with long tubular limbs, but the whole conception is invested with a pecuharly
dynamic quahty that is always characteristic of Dravidian Hindu art. We can see once
more in this single figure the suggestion of the emergence of the form from the stone 172

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

achieved here by the gradually more saHent disengaging of the successive planes of relief

with the

details

of the ultimate plane being

entirely

merged with the background.

Certain aspects of the figural canon differ from earUer practice,

as

may

be discerned in

Mamallapuram. The figure of the triumphant

goddess has a militant energy conveyed by the moving pose and the deployment of the
arms in a kind of aureole. This is combined with a suggestion of complete serenity and
the heart-shaped face already noted at

feminine sofmess, as

The death of the

is

entirely appropriate to the conception

Pallava

monarch

of the

divinity.

Narasiriiha in a.d. 674 brought to an end

all

work

on the five raths and other sculptural undertakings at Mamallapuram. The dedications
of his successor, Rajasiriiha, were all structural buildings. One of these was the so-called
Shore Temple (Plate 11 7a), erected on the beach not far from the great relief of the
Descent of the Ganges. The temple was planned in such a way that the door of the
sanctuary opened to the east, in order to catch the first rays of the rising sun. This in itself resulted in a rather

mandapa and

pecuhar arrangement, since

it

raced spires crowning both shrine and porch very clearly

form of the Dharmaraja

vihara type

is

necessitated the placing

of the

main sanctuary. The terreveal a development from the

the temple court at the rear or west end of the

less

rath. In the

marked, owing to the

Shore Temple, however, the dependence on the

new emphasis on the height and slenderness of the

tower, like an attenuated version of the Dharmaraja rath. Actually, the characteristic

Dravidian form of a terraced structure with the shape of the terminal stupika echoed in
lesser

repUcas on the successive terraces stiO prevails, but these recessions are so ordered

as to stress the verticaUty

as

of the structure

as a

whole. Such hallmarks of the Pallava

style

the pilasters with the rampant Hons persist in the decoration of the facade of this

structural

monument.

Another building of the Pallava Period

(Conjeeveram), which must date from
tuary, a connecting pillared hall or

c.

is

the Kailasanath temple at

700 (Plate wjb)?^ In plan

it

Kancipuram

consists

of a sanc-

mandapa, and a rectangular courtyard surrounding

The pyramidal tower of the main shrine is again very obviously a

rath. The storeys are marked by heavy cornices and
echoing the shape of the cupola. Around the base of this central spire are clus-

the entire complex.

development out of the Dharmaraja

stupikas

tered a group of supplementary shrines that again rhytlnnically repeat the

terminal stiipika. This shape

parapet of the courtyard.

is

repeated once

more

The gateways of the

in the

form of the

row of cupolas crowning

enclosure,

the

surmounted by hull-shaped

members of the vesara type repeating the form of Bhima's rath at Mamallapuram, suggest the form of the temple-towers or gopuras of the last phase of Hindu architecture at
Madura. As in the Shore Temple, pillars rising from rampant leonine forms are cmployed throughout.

p.

Closely related to these Pallava shrines

art: the Kailasanath

temple

at

was a dedication of Krishna

EUura

The Deccan

is

one of the

in the

Deccan

greatest

monuments of Dravidian

(Plate 118). This

monument to ^iva
The Rashtrakutas

(757-83) of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty.

173

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

were the

of the Chalukyas

successors

in central India

power

in the eighth century. This great sanctuary,

as that

of the Parthenon and one and

and were

half times as high,

is

not a structural temple, but

an enormous monolithic rock-carving in architectural form.^^

cluding the temple,

monumental

all

hewn

directly out

amount of labour

that

went

less

expenditure of

the entire

into such a gigantic carving,

for trans-

Described

it.

sanctuary and

the carvers of the temple of Ellura

basement storey, but

its

columns and the

to cut three great trenches

enshadowed

The

tliis

at the

Kailasa temple

is

iimermost sanctuary. As
replica

The

two

their shrine

the halls and subsidiary shrines cut in the

name impUes,

who

the

is

is

central spires

is

intended
is

as

an architectural

Siva's eternal

somewhat above

The dependence of the

of the

replicas or refrains

Mamallapuram.
finial

Characteristic

on the lower

levels

of

home.

In-

the summits of

architectural

Virupaksha temple

at Pattadakal, so that,

this

its

form on Pal-

model

ultimate

Dravidian style are the

of the terraced pyramid. Actually, the

arrangement of sanctuary, porches, and Nandi pavihon

is

distinctly reminiscent

of the

by the same token, the Kailasa temple

is

descendant of the shrine at Kaiicipuram.

As has already been noted, the main elements of the Kailasa temple

podium twenty-five
above the

east

compen-

enshrined as a giant lingam in the

monument

especially evident in the terraced spire that has for

the Dharmaraja rath at

of a

to

mandapa, and Nandi porch, seems to follow the actual contour of the

Kailasa in the Himalayas.

lava prototypes

its

that the temple

is

At Ellura the carvers sought

on an enormously high base.
pit.

dedicated to iiva,
its

deed, the profile of the building, with

Mount

the isolated

free-standing stambhas or

of the sacred Mount Kailasa, on the summit of which

the roofs of the

from

not only for the main

disadvantage of this technique

bottom of a deep

by placing

defect

left intact,

also for the

main temple with

surrounding 'walls' of the quarr)-.

lineal

was

carving of an elephant on the floor of the surrounding court-

lifesize

yard. Bridges connect the

real

as briefly as possible, the technical

into the quarry of rock and carve the free-standing buildings

sate for

should

it

complex from the mountain-side than would have been required

block of stone remaining. Masses of rock had to be

left

work

quarrying

method followed by

is

well as the

as

in literally

porting the cut stones necessary to build

down

entire precinct, in-

of the great quarry of rock. Although

be pointed out that there was probably

the

The

mandapas, a pillared shrine for Siva's bull Nandi,

its

portico, are

we may marvel at

height of their

at the

occupying an area roughly the same

cella

level

of the courtyard. The

preceded by

and west (Figure

Nandi.

feet high, so that

Two

lesser

a spacious hall

28). In front

are

all

placed on a

they appear to stand on an upper storey raised

essential plan

of the Kailasa temple proper

with pillared mandapas extending

of the porch on the main

axis

is

is

that

as transepts to

a shrine for Siva's bull

portions radiating from the main narthex give the temple a roughly

cruciform plan. Around the sanctum are carved five

lesser shrines, like chapels in

an

ambulatory. The exterior decoration of all these structures and of the Nandi porch preceding the main complex consists of niches enclosing statues of deities and engaged

columns of the Dravidian order

nettes supporting an

by

a finial in the

(Plate 118).

These niches consist of slender colon-

overhanging cornice of the Bengali roof type, surmounted

shape of

chaitya arch.

The same type of heavy convex

174

in turn

cornice

is

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

AU

repeated in the entablature of the main buildings.

of the central

spire, are

Mamallapuram. Although
foliage' capital typical

these elements,

hke the formation

completely Dravidian in character and clearly derived from

at Ellura

we fmd

occasional examples of the 'jar-and-

of Indo-Aryan buildings, the vast majority of the columns reveal

Figure 28. Kailasanath Temple, Ellura: Plan of

the Dravidian order almost entirely evolved.

Upper Storey

The pillars have a square or polygonal base,

succeeded by an octagonal shaft; at the summit of the shaft the reeded neck of the
is

constricted beneath a bulbous cushion type

channeUing on the neck.

pillars in

the court, and, in

modification of

its

this

usual form, in the

spectacular feature of the Kailasa temple

of

175

is

capital

which continues the

pillar

lines

of

type can be seen in the free-standing

columns of the mandapa.

the deeply carved frieze of the podium,

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

consisting

of very

freely disposed lions

and elephants

porting the massive superstructure on their backs.

lasa

temple

is

that appear to

The

be

effortlessly sup-

architectural carving

of the Kai-

not hmited to the almost incredible achievement of the main shrine, but

includes lesser sanctuaries dedicated to the river goddesses and other

Hindu pantheon, forming an almost continuous cloister around

great pit in which the principal temple is isolated.
Iconographically and structurally part of the Kailasa temple

members of

the

the circumference of the

the sculpture of Saivite

is

themes and episodes from the Ramayana that almost entirely clothes

it. The most dramamonumental in scale, is one illustrating a famous legend of

Mount Kailasa (Plate 119). On a deeply shadowed stage we see a block-like representation of the mountain peak itself and, seated on the summit, the divine lovers, ^iva and
Parvati. We have here an illustration of the moment in the Ramayana when the Sin-

tic

of a number of rehefs,

all

ghalese giant, Ravana, attempts to uproot the sacred mountain in order to use

kind of dynamo of magic spiritual energy in his war against

Rama and

it

as a

his alhes. In the

upper part of the composition the figure of ^iva, in an elegant pose of effortless com-

mand,

is

set off by the plain

the ground, imprisons the

Parvati clutches her lord's

back wall of the

stage.

His outstretched foot, barely touching

demon giant in the bowels of the mountain. The shrinking

arm as she feels the mountain quake. She reclines before the

darkness of the background, into which rushes the terrified figure of a maidservant.

Below,

in a

cavern of almost Stygian gloom, appropriate to his nature and purpose,

is

the trapped giant. In writing of this reUef Stella Kramrisch states: 'Depth and darkness
are parcelled out according to the

which

demands of

the psychological suggestiveness with

the artist invests each single figure.'^*

Space and light and shade have been employed to heighten the emotional effect in the
same way that these elements were used in a Baroque tableau, like Bernini's Saint
Teresa. We have here a new type of rehef composition, in which some of the figures
are carved completely in the round,

deed, the whole effect

is

and the whole action takes place

achieved in the performance and setting of the Indian theatre. In

this

rehef sculpture there seems to be no longer any hmitation in space.

that

we are

not looking

at a

general space or atmosphere

is

co-extensive. This

is

in a

deep box. In-

not unlike that of some of the elaborate dramatic

rehef in the usual sense, but

as seen

new

effects

conception of

We have the feeling

taking place in the same

which we occupy and with which the space of the carving

quahty vaguely suggested by the Amaravati rehefs and

partially

reahzed by the great carving of the Descent of the Ganges at Mamallapuram. But the

dynamic conception of the Kailasa relief as a whole and the dramatic

emotionahsm of the individual forms are creations of the Dravidian imagination in its
finest hour of artistic expression.
From the styhstic point of view, the figures of Siva and Parvati, with their long,
pointed faces and attenuated grace of proportions, are closely related to the shapes of
the gods at Mamallapuram. The communication of emotional tension through pose
and gesture, rather than through facial expression, was, it will be remembered, already
highly developed in some of the Later Andhra rehefs, wliich were, of course, the artistic
extraordinarily

prototypes of the Pallava

style.

Not the least important element in

176

this gigantic theatrical

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

tableau

is

the figure of the giant Ravana. His multiple arms, indicative of his manifold

powers, are spread out

like the

commoun-

spokes of a wheel, their arrangement effectively

municating the idea of the superhuman pressure that he

is

exerting against Siva's

tain throne.

The

last

great achievement of arcliitectural sculpture in western India

is

the cave

temple on the island of Elephanta in the harbour of Bombay. This sanctuary was ruthlessly

desecrated

inscription,

by the Portuguese

in the sixteenth century.

A stone panel with a lengthy

presumably including the date of dedication, disappeared

so that the age

of the temple remains a matter of conjecture, but

its

at the

date

same time,

is

no

earlier

than the eighth or ninth century.

Figure 29. iva Temple, Elephanta:

Ground plan

The temple proper is a pillared hall roughly ninety feet on a side with six rows of six
columns 'supporting' the roof of the cave. The arrangement of the sanctuary is an outgrowth of such earher plans as the temple at Bhumara in which space was provided for
an interior circumambulation of the shrine (Figure 29). Actually, since at Elephanta the

main object of worship

is

attached to the back of the hall, the arrangement

resembles the interior of the

position and pradaksina

is

Ladh Khan temple, where

more

nearly

the shrine occupies a similar

impossible (Figure 18).

As in many cave temples, the pillars show the greatest irregularity not only in ahgnment but in individual details of carving; in many the comers of the bases are not even
true right angles. These imperfections,
these

members

in the process

due

to the

enormous

of hollowing out the

177

difficulties in

interior,

disengaging

might be regarded

as

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

architectural accidents

nelled neck

which add aUvencss

of a Dravidian type, with

are essentially

surmounted by a

of the form already seen

The

to the conception.

a high, square base

growing

individual columns
into a round, chan-

ribbed, cushion-shaped capital, the final

flat,

at Ellura.

Between the

capital

development

and the roof-beam are an abacus

block and a bracket-like member, which, in structural examples, supported the weight

of the

rafters.

The interior
of Siva

no less than ten enormous and spectacular carvings of the legend

Most awe-inspiring of all, at the end of the nave, opposite the

contains

(Plate i20a).

northern entrance to the temple,

a gigantic carving of a Saivite Trinity. This triune

is

conception presents the supreme form of Siva Mahadeva

at the left, in profile,

and, balancing

it

is

of Uma, the beautiful wife or

at the right, the face

member of the Brahmanic Trinity. As

in

some of the

enormously deep, box-like niche, so

in an

as the central

of the three

faces;

the skull-crowned head of Aghora-Bhairava, ^iva the Destroyer;

that they

sakti

of the third

reUefs at Ellura, the figures are set

seem to emerge from an urdimited

and nebulous darkness. The three gigantic heads are perfect embodiments of the iconographic concept they signify: the impassiveness and august serenity of the supreme Siva

made

manifest; the moving, satanic countenance of the wrathful Aghora-Bhairava; and

the youthful peace

The

and beauty of the

face

of Uma.

subsidiary tableaux at Elephanta are arranged like so

each dedicated to a significant aspect of ^iva Mahadeva.

a perpetuation of the Ellura style.
murti

The treatment of the

and such dynamic conceptions

as the

many

They

Stations of the Cross,

are, like the great Trinity,

subjects,

ranging from the Tri-

Nataraja (^iva as Lord of the Dance) to a

panel like the Betrothal of Siva and Parvati (Plate i20b), reveal the extraordinary ability

and scope of the Dravidian sculptor

representation of Siva's

Wedding

cavern of the heart, 'wherein the

ardour of its eternal source and

This

is

is

in presenting

fire

set off against

its

of hfe, the energy of the

at the

same

a scene of complete tranquilhty

spouse are

themes both

a timeless scene of bhss,

instant throbbing

creator,

that typifies the

lyrical.

The

deep grotto, the

is

quick with the

with the pulse of time '.^'

and peace. The columnar figures of Siva and

his

a recess of darkness, in which hover the forms of countless air-

borne devas come to praise the cHmax of the god's union with

wedding

and

terrible

setting a

world and

all its

his

Himalayan

bride, a

myriads proceeding from the reunion of the

One who was never divided. The mood of untrammelled, ideal love is enhanced by every
aspect of pose and gesture - the tenderness with wliich Siva turns to his consort, and the

gentle swaying of Parvati's youthful body. Like the rehefs at EUura, the colossal panels
at

Elephanta suggest spectacular presentations on a stage, their dramatic effectiveness en-

hanced by the bold conception

to the unreal

philosophy,

in

world of the theatre

all

hfe,

even the

life

terms of light and shade. Probably such a resemblance

is

not entirely accidental; for in Indian

of the gods,

background of eternity.

178

is

art, as in

Indian

a Ula, an illusion or play set against the

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

10. Southern India

The

great period of Dravidian structural architecture in southern India culminated uiider

the Chola Dynasty,

which became paramount

Ganges and extended

the

sway

its

Chola monarchy reached

Hke

all

the

at

its

one time

in

cUmax under

of the great temple

jesvara temple, erected

This building

and ninety

is

He

is

recorded his conquests in an inscrip-

a.d. iooo (Plate 121 a).

c.

one hundred and eighty

feet in the air.

The

feet

long and has a tower rising one hundred

elevation comprises a pyramidal structure rising

by

covered by a single stone weighing eighty tons.

required for

its

colossal nature

India as far north as the

that he raised to Siva at Tanjore, the Rajra-

square base about fifty feet high and surmounted

spire

all

Ceylon and Burma. The history of

Rajaraja the Great (985-1018). This ruler,

Chola kings, was a devotee of Siva.

tion girdling the base

power over

as far as

installation. Far

more important than

domical

from

The top of

this

A ramp four miles in length was

these dimensions testifying to the

of the achievement and the labour that went into

aesthetic effectiveness

finial.

of the monument. The steep tower

is

its

making

is

the actual

not only enormously im-

empty sea of courtyards around it, but extremely beautiful in its

The width of the apex is one-third that of the base. The form of the tower

pressive, rising above the

proportion.
is

that

of the Dravidian

sikhara, but the horizontal dividing lines

have been suppressed so

as

not to interfere with the

effect

of its thirteen storeys

of soaring verticaUty achieved

by the converging lines of the truncated pyramid in profile. The massiveness of this
pyramid and its composition in straight Hnes is offset by the curvature and hghmess of
the dome. This member is of course an enlargement of the usual Dravidian stupika.
Attached to

it

at the points

corresponding to the sloping faces of the tower are chaitya

arch-shaped 'horns', composed of an ornament formed of nagas and a terminal

mtikha or

demon-mask,

a shape that

is

rhythmically repeated

mentation of both the tower and the base that supports

Like so

many

many

it.

temples of the Hindu Renaissance, this structure proves upon close in-

spection to consist of the repetition of many identical elements, comparable to the

in a biological

kirti-

times in the orna-

organism.

cells

We notice here, for example, the reiteration of the shape of the

Between these
on every level of the terrace are aedicules with hull-shaped roofs, clearly reminiscent of
this form at Mamallapuram. Indeed, not only in such details but in the employment of
the roll cornice, on the basement storey and on every successive level of the superterminal cupola in lesser repHcas at the comers of all the tliirteen storeys.

structure,

The
filled

it is

not

difficult to discern the survival

decoration of the basement, divided into

two

levels, consists

Mamallapuram and, imder the lowest row of niches, is a

of hons, and beneath this a wide band of masonry given over
;

origin.

of deep-set niches

with free-standing figures of deities, an arrangement that again has

raths at

busts

of elements of Pallava

its

frieze

origin in the

of unfinished

to an inscription

of

Rajaraja's campaigns.
It

should be noted that the plan of the Rajrajesvara temple, consisting of the garbha

griha under the central spire preceded

by

a pillared

179

mandapa,

is

only an enormous

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

enlargement of the very simplest form of Indian sanctuary. The wonderful balance
between architectural mass and verticaUty, together with the subordination of enormous
detail to the

complete form, makes

creation of the
ters,

temple

this

Dra vidian Hindu craftsman

at

Tanjore perhaps the

the importance of the Chola style in architecture,

not hmited to the actual domains of the Chola emperors, but was to exert a

tails, is

powerful influence on

The

finest single

As we shall see in later chapfrom its plans to its smallest de-

in architecture.

all

the arcliitecture

of south-eastern

stone sculpture of these Chola temples

great period of South Indian civiHzation.

the images

on

the temple facades are

still

is

Although

Asia.

of the creative vitaUty of this

typical

parts

last

of a vast iconographic scheme,

worthy of analysis

works of art.

as individual

The main themes arc, of course, the various manifestations of the great gods of the
Hindu pantheon. As on the gateway of the Great Temple at Tanjore, we find the gods
set in niches,

The

framed

in

engaged columns that repeat the order of the Rajrajesvara temple.

Dancing ^iva in our Plate 122A, are characteristically

individual figures, like the

movement and the massive conception of the

The iconography of this most dramatic aspect of Siva is one that we shall find
again in the magnificent bronze images of the Nataraja of the Chola Period.^" The bronze
medium by its very nature afforded the craftsman greater freedom to express the movement and passion of Siva's Dance; but even in this stone figure, which is actually a high

Dravidian in the suggestion of dynamic

form.

of the boundless, whirhng energy of the cosmic measure.

effortless movement is conveyed by the contrapposlo of the
figure and by the co-ordinated rhythm of the left leg and arm.
rehef, there

The

sense

is

a suggestion

of violent and yet

11. Vijayanagar
It

could be said that if the temple at Tanjore

sance of

Hindu

suggests die

paUty

is

may

be described

architecture, then the fantastic architecture

as typical

of the

of the Renais-

city at Vijayanagar

most florid phase of European Baroque. The romantic history of this

linked up with the final stand of

Hindu

India against the

princi-

Mohammedan

in-

vaders. According to tradition, Vijayanagar, the City

of Victory, was founded by rethe rocky wilderness on the banks of the

from the Mohammedan invaders in

Kisma River. The accounts of Arabic, Portuguese, and Itahan visitors present a picture
of the fabulous wealth and luxury of this bulwark against Islam. The capital of this
chivalric Dravidian dynasty was located in a landscape of a wild and desolate character,
dominated by huge fantastic boulders, so that probably even in the days of the glory of
Vijayanagar the effect was that of a city rising on a dead planet. The picturesque irregularity of the terrain not only aided the builders in erecting fortifications that repelled
fugees

the

Mohammedan

for

more than two

centuries, but perforce

made

tion between the buildings and their sohd rock foundations, so that
cult to

tell

where nature

leaves off

and the work of

man

begins.

for a close associa-

it is

sometimes

When

the

diffi-

Moham-

medans finally conquered Vijayanagar in 1565, the victors devoted an entire year methowith fire, gunpowder, and crowbar, so that to-day only
the broken skeleton of the mighty fabric remains.
dically to destroying the city

180

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

In contrast to

what we have seen

Tanjore and elsewhere, the architecture

at

at Vija-

yanagar consisted of groups of small structures rather than single large temples. Perhaps

begun by Krishna Deva in

The structure consisted of two mandapas and a garbha griha, two hundred and
thirty feet long and twenty-five feet high. The most striking feature of this edifice is the
immense pillared hall of fifty-six columns, each twelve feet in height. Each one of these
the most famous single temple was the Vitthala sanctuary,
A.D. 1513.

piers

is

really a

of such motifs

complete sculptured group rather than an architectural order, composed

as rearing chargers,

gigantic piUars flowering into

Portuguese

visitor,

Doiningo

trampling barbarians, and fantastic monsters. These

immense
Paes, as

brackets and entablatures

'Romanesque' and

were described by the

'so well executed that they

appear as if made in Italy '.^^

The Vijayanagar
City of Victory.

style

of sculpture

notable example

tury temple at ^rirangam, where

we

persisted in

is

the

see

South India long

after the fall

of the

mandapa of the enormous seventeenth-cen-

an entire colonnade of rearing horsemen, each

steed nearly nine feet in height (Plate I22b). These charging cavahers are in a sense the
final fantastic

evolution from the column supported by a rampant animal, which begins

in Pallava architecture. It here attains

of the grotesque and

fanciful

an extravagance that has an inevitable suggestion

quahty of some European medieval

art.

This motif, sug-

of St George and the Dragon, was, according to Percy Brown, inevitable for a
civihzation Hke that of Vijayanagar, which in so many respects parallels the chivalric
gestive

period in the West.^^

stone
it

is

The precision and sharpness with which the highly poHshed chlorite
make

carved into the most fantastic and baroque entanglements of figures almost

appear

as

though they were wrought

in cast steel, rather than stone. This extraordinary

dexterity in the working, or, perhaps better, torturing, of the stone

a sign of decadence in sixteenth-century India as

12.

it is

in Italy

medium

is

as

much

of the Baroque Period.

Madura

The final chapter of Dravidian architecture is the building activity of the Nayak Dynasty
who were established with their capital at Madura in the seventeenth century.
The temples of this last Dravidian dynasty, exemplified by the shrine at Tiruvannamalai
(Plate 123A) and the Great Temple at Madura (Plate 123B), are distinguished first of all
of kings

by

a great expansion

This expansion

is

of the temple precinct.

It is

veritably a city in itself (Figure 30).

due to the corresponding enlargement of the Hindu

ritual

with

specific

The immense courtyard surrounding the central shrine was designed to accommodate the crowds who would
gather to see the processions, when the gods, like temporal rulers, would be taken from
their shrines and displayed to the multitude. The temple grounds are now surrounded
by a liigh boundary wall with immense portals surmounted by towers or gopuras
reference to the spiritual and temporal aspects of the deity.

located at the cardinal points. These structures can best be described as rectangular

towers, concave in profile and surmounted

by hull-shaped

roofs of the vesara type.

The

gopuras in their immense scale completely dwarf the central shrine within the temple
enclosure.

181

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

These immense structures are covered from top to bottom with a vast number of
heavily stuccoed images of the

Hindu pantheon.

hard to beheve that each of these

It is

hundreds of drily carved and vulgarly finished images was the work of a
in the

same regard by

Gupta Period. This

of the stultifying

their

makers

as

we consider

sculpture, important only in

effect

its

silpin

and held

the few surviving masterpieces of the

iconographic aspect,

is

an

illustration

of adherence to technical recipes and systems of canonical pro-

portion in a period of mass production.

Figure 30. Great Temple, Madura:

Witliin the outer walls of the temple

Ground plan

compound we

finally

come

to the central shrine

through a maze of covered courts and colonnades. The whole purpose of this huge complex is to stir the emotions of the devotee. It has been pointed out that the plan is not
unlike that of the temples of ancient Egypt, in that the worshipper enters

mspiring pylon or gopuram, and through a

series

of immense hypostyle

by an awehalls

is

ulti-

mately led to the innermost ghostly gloom of the holy of holies. At Madura the mandapas of the early Dravidian style have been

number of individual columns

clement

is

at this

expanded to vast pUlared

a tank or basin for ritual ablution

halls.

Indeed, the

more than two thousand. A new

surrounded by a columned cloister. For all

famous

182

slirine

is

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES

the novelty of

its

huge but unsystematic

of Madura represented

plan, the architecture

only an exaggeration of already estabUshed forms in every detail of its structure, rather

new development.

than a

Thus
a

it

might be appropriate

our consideration of Dravidian architecture with

to close

more charming example of

the style. Tliis

the Subrahmaniya temple

is

which was

erected in the enclosure of the Rajrajesvara temple at Tanjore as late as the eighteenth

century (Plate i2ib).

Its

plan

very simple, consisting of a garbha griha preceded by a

is

completely enclosed mandapa.

Great Temple which adjoins

Its effect is

it.

on

is

dependent not so

more

ornate than that of the

works of Dravidian

archi-

Rococo, since the architectural impressiveness

tecture the style can best be described as

of the temple

considerably

In comparison with earher

much on

whole

the proportions of the structure as a

the animation of the entire surface through very dehcately carved sculptural

architectural detail.

very pleasing hghmess

is

as

and

achieved through the character of the

sculptural decoration

of the tower and cornice and the attenuated engaged columns that

are affixed to the wall

more

The immense
effect

as

decoration than as part of an organic architectural scheme.

quantity of dehcate carving

which seems

to

that has been well described as

is

part of that insatiable desire for richness

sometimes regarded

as

architects

of this

last

of

period, the period

one of brilUant decadence.

ij.

What

is

have overwhelmed Indian

Mysore

an intermediate type of temple building related both to

the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian traditions

is

represented

by

a large

group of shrines

erect-

ed under the Hoysala Dynasty in Mysore between the years 1050 and 1300. These sanctuaries,

of which the Kesava temple

at

Somnathpur may be taken

have certain features that separate them from the

main

styhstic

rest

developments of the North and South.

as a typical

Among

such pecuharities are a

star-shaped plan with three shrines grouped around a central pillared hall.

towers over each

acteristic are the

turned

temple

pillars,

cella carry

all,

The

sikhara

the indentations of the ground plan. Also char-

high podium, intricate

and, above

Somnathpur

at

upward

example,

of India and yet partake of the

grille

windows, pohshed and apparently

lathe-

an almost incredible richness of sculptural decoration.

(Plate 124), erected in 1268,

of the type with the radiating

stellate

plainly visible in the illustration.

It

is

The

a small but perfect illustration

plan of three shrines attached to a central hall

will be noted that the sikharas

do not have the con-

tinuous parabohc siUiouette of the northern type, but are constructed in well-defined
horizontal

tiers,

of horizontaUty is carried
compromise between the Aryan and

so that even in the spires the general effect

through. These towers could be described

as a

Dravidian types.

The most

extraordinary feature of the Hoysala temples, and one that makes

extraordinarily photogenic,

from top

to bottom.

grained stone

The

is

the incrustation of sculpture that covers

material of most of these shrines

much more

is

them

chloritic schist, a

tractable to the chisel than sandstone or granite.

183

them

so

Uterally

very fineIt

has the

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

added virtue of being
ness

on exposure

temples

is

installation

buUt

work when

Churriguercsquc

exuberance there

plastic

bid,

soft to

is,

riot

quarried and turning to adamantine hard-

of carving that defeats description. Underlying

of course, a

of divinities and epic

in

first

hands of the Mysore craftsmen the exterior of the

to the air. In the

strict

narratives.

141-82 and surpassing

all

this

iconographical framework governing the

A detail of the Hoysalesvara temple at Hale-

others in the prodigality of

its

sculptural

em-

bellishment, shows the fixed order of decoration for the base (Plate 125): in the lowest
tier is

an endless

defile

of elephants, symbols of stabihty; next,

row of lions, emblems

of valour; above, a tier of horsemen for speed, and, in still higher horizontal registers,
makaras, and hamsa, the geese, or birds of Brahma. Above this, as may be seen also at
Somnathpur, is a frieze of divinities conceived like so many separate panels or bibelots
set side

by

side,

and each,

mous enlargement of a
mire the

skill

amazing virtuosity of the carving, suggesting an enor-

in the

small sculpture in sandalwood or ivory.

of these craftsmen, but

late architecture at

at the

same time

as

Percy Brown has observed, might better be described

should be remarked, however,

what we would

and does not

not to adas in the

Tanjore, a kind of Rococo over-ripeness and decadence, a style that,

It

carving,

It is difficult

we must recognize here,

that,

call this

interfere with, the

as

apphed

art

than as architecture.

even though the architecture seems smothered

'wedding-cake' embelUshment actually

main

structural lines

184

of the building

it

in

carries out,

ornaments.

CHAPTER

l8

SOUTH INDIAN BRONZES

The final,
work

and

in

many ways the finest, chapter of Dravidian art is the lustory of metalThe art of southernmost India, the home of the Tamil race, has

in southern India.

been dedicated entirely to the Hindu reHgion and, especially, to the

The popularity of the great Yogin, at once creator and destroyer, began
in the eighth century, when bands of Saivite holy men, real troubadours of Hinduism,
journeyed through the country singing hymns with reference to every shrine they
in historical times

worsliip of ^iva.

visited.

Their success in conversion was so great that by the year looo

all

traces

of

Buddhism and Jainism had practically disappeared.

The South Indian metal images were made of bronze with a large copper content,
and the method of casting them was essentially the cire perdue or lost wax process.^
The South Indian icons were made according to just such canons of proportion as
determined the forms of Buddha statues of earher days. The total height of the statue in
proportion to the number of thalams or palms that comprised it depended on the hieratic
status of the deity represented. Likewise, three distinct poses were employed to express
the spiritual quaHties of special deities. These varied from a directly frontal, static position reserved for gods in a state of complete spiritual equihbrium, to poses in which the
'

'

image was broken more or

less

violently at

two or

three points of its axis, a pose reserved

gods personifying cosmic movement or function. In addition to these poses

there was also, as in Buddhist art, a great repertory of mudras, the enormously formalized and cultivated language of gesture, in which the worshipper might read not only
for the great

the special powers and attributes of the god, but also the particular ecstatic
feeling that the deity personified. Also rigidly prescribed

mood

or

were the types of head-dresses

and jewellery appropriate to the deities of the Hindu pantheon.

Typical productions of the South Indian school of the eleventh century and later are
the images of iva saints. One of the most popular of these is Sundaramurtiswami, whom
Siva claimed as his disciple on the youth's
126)

is

typical

of the personifications of

sudden ecstasy

arrested in

at the vision

wedding day. The example illustrated (Plate

Hindu psalmist, showing him as though

this

of Siva and

his court. It will

be noted that the

which we have seen so many times in images from the

Sunga Period onward. It is the moving line of the silhouette provided by this dehanchement, together with the exquisite gestures of the hands, that imparts such a feeling of

figure

is

cast in tribhanga pose,

tremulous
such

movement

as the

more than

to the form.

The actual

exaggerations of features and proportions,

lotiform eyes and leonine torso, are the same that had been employed for
a

millennium of Indian

art.

The

peculiar combination

of all these

elements, subordinated to a kind of elegant attenuation and Utheness,

acteristic

is

traditional

moving char-

of all the great South Indian bronze images.

Like some of the masterpieces of the Gupta Period, the icons of

185

this

type appear as

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

moment between movement and tranquillity, together with
of a quahty of breathless rapture denoted by the gestures and the tension of
the form. These statues of Siva saints might be regarded as personifications of thequaUty

marvellous realizations of a
a suggestion

of devotion. They reveal the

of the devotee for

ecstatic readiness

his divinity, the

figure seemingly vibrating in response to the divine communication.

entiated as types

Hindu
as a

seers as

and by

is

by the lugs for the

of nine thalams to

insertion

the

statues, this

of poles

image of Parvati

was

at the base.

is

in the Freer Gallery in

a processional image, as

The

air

of aristocracy and

may

be seen

figure has an extreme attenuation

grace, suggestive

Mannerist style in Europe, for the reason that

exaggeration of bodily proportions. As

may

this

of the refinement of figures

quahty

is

achieved by a similar

be seen by an examination of the torso, the

animated by the same inner torsion that imparts such a feeling of dynamic ahve-

ness to the classic figures

of the

Safichi tree-goddesses.

responding to the traditional description

passes

is

dated in the eleventh or twelfth century a.d. Like

it is

the total height; this svelteness, together with the elongated hmbs,

give the goddess an

body

differ-

of individual

not a likeness but a symbol of dedication to God.

extraordinary South Indian bronze

Washington (Plate 127B), where

many of the South Indian metal

in the

'portraits'

whole

they are concrete presentations of the idea of bhakti in plastic form, just

Byzantine mosaic of a saint

An

much

they are really not so

attributes,

Although

as

'

The roundness of the breasts, coris emphasized by the cord that

golden urns ',

through the narrow channel between them. In

spite

of the

hieratic proportions

and

the archaic rendering of the features, this statue has the' same feeling of hghmess and

animation that characterizes

A quite different type

all

the great masterpieces of South Indian metal- work.

of bronze

the statuette of Kali

is

Gallery at Kansas City (Plate 127A). Kali the 'Black

spouse Parvati. She

is

as a dreadful,

from Tanjore,
is

in the

Nelson

the terrible aspect of Siva's

the goddess of destruction and death, worshipped at the noisome

Kali temple at Calcutta,

shown

One'

who claims

the blood

of miUions

in pestilence

and war. She

is

emaciated hag, squatting in the burning-ground and holding the

cymbals which clash the measure of her ghouhsh dance. The same suggestion of tension

and imminent movement observed

statue.

of her enormous
liar

in other

South Indian bronzes

is

present in this

Protruding tusks specifically proclaim her demoniacal aspect, and the modelling
eyes, scored

with

lines repeating their

outhne under brows in the fami-

shape of the bow, emphasizes their strange and burning intensity. There

is

in this

figurine an appropriately horrid suggestion of the famine victim and, in the spider-like

made cripples that flail their broken legs in every

The rendering of the emaciated figure has nothing to do with the reahstic

limbs, a reminder of those artificially

Indian bazaar.
definition
statuette

of wasted anatomy

of a

sick

man :^

as

we know it in such Hellenistic works as the Alexandrian

the very abstraction of the tubular

hmbs and

the exaggerated

attenuation of the torso, especially in the great distance between pelvis and thorax, not

only emphasize the nature of the famine-racked body, but impart a certain grandeur to
the seated figure
firightful

by

thus increasing

its

height and bestowing a regal bearing on this most

of Indian goddesses.

The most famous and dramatic of the images of the South

of Nataraja, or ^iva

as

Lord of the Dance

(Plate I28a).

186

To

Indian school are those

the Dravidian imagination,

SOUTH INDIAN BRONZES

diva's dance, the Nadanta,

is

the personification of all the forces and powers of the cosmic

movement of energy within the universe. In him they have their

dayspring and in him their death.* This plastic type, more than any other, expresses the
unity of the human consciousness, for it represents equally rehgion, science, and art.
This unity has illumined the imagination of the philosophers of many races but the
system in operation, the

'

Indian Nataraja

may well

be claimed as the

ment of the conception of hfe

as

from

[^

their courses

and

most

logical,

and impassioned

an eternal Becoming '.^ Siva's dance personifies

verse in action and destruction. Tliis

stars fall

clearest,

all is

is

his

dance in the

last

night of the world

state-

liis

uni-

when

the

reduced to ashes, to be ever rekindled, ever renewed

power of the Lord,

personified as the universal flux of energy in

by

the boundless

all

matter and the promise of ever-renewed creative activity.*

his

whirling dance presents a symbohc affirmation of the eternal, unseen spectacle of the

dynamic
second

disintegration

as in

forms that

It

is

The

dionysian frenzy of

and renewal, birth and death, of aU cosmic matter in every

- the same illusion of endlessly appearing and vanishing

every kalpa of time

is

imphed

One of the
I28b).

^iva

in great

monuments of Indian

greatest Nataraja images

was found

in the ruins

is

art

from Bhaja

preserved in the

museum

of one of the Hindu temples

at

to
at

Mamallapuram.

Colombo

(Plate

Polonnaruwa, and

may

have been imported from the workshops of Tanjore in the eleventh century. The figure,
a perfect fusion of serenity and balance, moves in slow and gracious rhythm, lacking the
is a cadenced movement communicated largely
by the centrifugal space-embracing position of the arms and the suggestion of the figure's
revolving in space. The turning effect that comes from the arrangement of the multiple
arms, one behind another, and the torsion of the figure, emphasized by the directions of

usual violence of the cosmic dance; this

the hmbs, give something of the effect of the figura serpentinata in Mannerist sculpture
that seems to coerce the beholder into a consecutive inspection

of the image from every

angle.

In their canon of absolute, rather than

human, beauty, and the almost mathematical

purity and clarity of form, these images are the perfect symbols of the Indian ideal. Al-

though
give

cast in

them

tions,

the

human

shape, the abstraction

not descriptions, of a deity that the worsliipper had always in his heart and mind.

Indeed, the art of these South Indian icons

one

of modelling and iconograpliic exphcimess

power of a diagram. Like aU Indian images, they were emblematic evoca-

place,

is

not the language of any one time or any

but a language that can be understood everywhere and eternally in the hearts

of spiritual men.

187

CHAPTER 19

PAINTING OF THE PERIOD OF THE

HINDU DYNASTIES: WALL-PAINTINGS AND
MINIATURES
Although

probably

many of them
tuaries

deed.

at

one time the great temples of the Hindu Renaissance were

decorated with wall-paintings both on the interior and exterior of sanc-

and mandapas, the actual remains of late painting

Among

the

in India are

few remnants of post-Gupta wall-painting

Jain temple at Sittanavasal, near Madras. These pictures

grapliic reproduction, so a

composition represents a

drawing of the main

celestial

of a
do not lend themselves to photo-

ceiling

reproduced in Figure

is

31

bihties

is

late

Gupta and

early

Chalukya

types,
intri-

portrayed with the greatest clarity and a feeling for the decorative possi-

of the multiple lotus-flowers and buds

set off against

the

direction of the lines in the composition inevitably suggests a

panel, as

The

of enormous lotus-blossoms and fronds. The

Ajanta wall-paintings of the

both in drawing and colouring. As even the line-drawing shows, the fanciful and
cate setting

region in the form of a pond in which apsaras, geese,

elephants, etc., are sporting in a thicket

style perpetuates the

fragmentary in-

are the decorations

enormous

leaves.

movement

The

across the

though a wind were bending the heavenly blossoms.

These Jain paintings are not

the Kailasa temple at EUura.

mandapa of the

far

removed

Two

Kailasa temple.

layers

The

in date or style

of painting

exist

from the
on the

earhest paintings in

ceiling

of the western

earher paintings are almost certainly datable to the

period of the temple's dedication. These fragments, especially the decorations in the
spandrels aroimd the carved lotus boss in the centre of the ceiling (Plate 129A), are very
close in style to the decorative panels

and the subject of

celestial

on

the roof of Cave

at Ajanta.

almost a duphcation of the Jain fresco at Sittanavasal.

Kailasa temple (Plate 129B), datable

The upper

trace

layer

no earher than the late eighth or

contains a representation of Vishnu and Lakshmi surrounded

may recognize some

Both

the technique

beings and elephants playing in a gigantic lotus

of the Ajanta paintings

pond

of paintings

are

in the

early ninth century,

by Garudas. Although we

in the general

composition and colour

scheme, certain changes have taken place, particularly in the figure drawing, that proclaim these paintings as a defmitely individual

style.

This

is

to be discerned in the

way

drawn with extremely sharp features, typified by beak-like noses and

mannerisms which definitely suggest the style of the later Jain miniatures

that the faces are

bulging eyes,

of Gujcrat.i
Certain later fragments of painting at Ellura are, on the contrary, a direct continuation

of the Gupta

tradition, as represented

by the Ajanta

the earlier style, but are distinguished

from

it

The

wall-paintings. These are the ninth-

figures of apsaras are reminiscent of

by an almost Manneristic exaggeration of

century Jain paintings in the Indra Sabha cave.^

WALL-PAINTINGS AND MINIATURES

by an even more marked employment of entirely abstract plastic shading.
Among the few examples of ancient wall-painting in South India are the decorations
of the Bridesvara temple at Tanjore.^ The figures in this cycle are devoted to the hfe of
the canon of the feminine form, as seen at Ajanta, and

Figure 31. Wall-painting, Sittanavasal

Sundaramurtiswami

in a

completely Chola

style, in

which the

poses, gestures,

and

facial

types are the pictorial equivalents of the great South Indian bronze images.

Although no example of wall-painting has survived from the Bengal Valley, a very
few surviving specimens of illuminated manuscripts give us some idea of the type of
painting that flourished under the Pala Dynasty The illustrations consist of scenes from
."^

the hfe

of Buddha and portrayals of Buddhist

divinities.

The

latter, like

the subject-

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

matter of Pala sculpture,

is

completely Tantric. Although the technique and composi-

tions frequently reveal a perpetuation

paintings and their

Gupta models

is

of classical prototypes, the difference between these

same

the

as that

masterpieces of the fourth and fifth centuries.

and nervous

There

in outline.

is

between Pala sculpture and the great

The drawing

has

become more

delicate

the same combination of elegance and sensuahty, to-

gether with a loss of really plastic modelling, that distinguishes the late Buddhist statuary

of the Ganges Valley. These Pala manuscripts are perhaps

mate prototypes of all later painting in Nepal and Tibet.
If the Pala paintings are the fmal

cient Eastern school

later,

or the Kalpa

are

development of what Taranatha described

of painting, the

found in the Jain painting

century and

at Gujarat.

of them

all

chiefly important as the ulti-

final

evolution of his

'

These illuminations, which date from the

ofJain

illustrations

sutra. Invariably, these pictures are as

texts,

such

borrowed from

by

an-

to be

is

tliirteenth

stereotyped as the texts they illustrate

traditional arrangements in earher Jain or

scripts generally are characterized

'

hfe of Mahavira,

as the

They consist of square panels set into pages of text, and

(Plate 130).

as the

Western school

their brilHant,

the compositions are

Buddhist

art.

The Jain manu-

even jewel-like colour, and by the

The individual
drawn in three-quarters view, with long pointed noses and protruding eyes. The curious mannerism whereby the cheek farther removed from the
spectator is made to project almost beyond the nose is only an exaggeration of a formula
already seen at Ellura. Although many individual Jain manuscripts have a certain charm
in their wiry drawing and brilHant colouring, there is a monotony of execution that is
type of accompHshed linear decoration of every element in the drawing.
figures invariably are

of Mount Abu.
The fmal chapter of Indian painting is in the work of the Rajput schools. Rajput painting is the work of artists attached to the courts of the Rajput princes reigning in
paralleled in the elegant but entirely mechanical Jain figure sculpture

Rajputana and the Himalayan foothills in the Punjab from about the sixteenth to the nineIt is a style of painting that is apart in subject-matter and conception
from the exactly contemporary work of the artists attached to the courts of the Moguls.'
Whereas Mogul painting is modem in its recording of subjects pecuhar to the courts of
Akbar and Jehangir, Rajput painting always remains entirely traditional in its illustration
of the Indian epics, romantic Vaishnava Hterature, and musical modes. The development

teenth centuries.

of the Rajput school of painting

The Rajput

Hindustan.

same way

is

the pictorial counterpart of the vernacular Hterature of

miniatures are derived from earHer classic styles in exactly the

that Hindi vernacular writing stems

Rajput art might be presented

The Rajput

as a

ship of Vislinu

lar

art

classical Sanskrit. In this

with

hieratic

and

regard

classic traditions.

paintings are in a sense the product of the development of popular Vaishna-

vism centred particularly on the devotion to

hieratic

from

merging of folk

form

in

and ^iva

in their

more

Rama and

accessible

Krishna

who

typified the

and loving aspects rather than

which they were venerated according

to Vedic ritual.

The

rise

wor-

in the

of popu-

Vaislinavism coincides with the renaissance of Hindu Hterature and the beginnings of

Rajput painting in the

scale,

although

late sixteenth century.

many of them

Rajput paintings are usuaUy on a smaU

are very obviously reductions of themes originaUy

ployed in mural compositions.

190

em-

WALL-PAINTINGS AND MINIATURES

Actually, the tecliiiique

is

much

not

different

from

that

of classic wall-paintings,

though the pictures are done on paper. The elements of the composition were

first

al-

out-

hned with the brush in hght red, possibly over a preliminary hard pencil outline. After
the entire surface had been covered with a white priming of starch paste, the main lines
were re-drawn in black. The background was coloured and the underpainting of the
figures then covered

The

hnes.

Over and above

many

with appropriate local pigments and a

words,

teclinique, in other
this

perpetuation of

technique the Rajput school continues

classical

motifs and the rhetoric of the ancient schools. There

drawing from

Hfe,

of the out-

final definition

exactly the same as that of the Ajanta frescoes.

is

is

in

no

sense

any

but rather a presentation of elements according to formulas imparted

by workshop tradition which, as in earher Indian art, are designed in heroic ideahzations
beyond the accidentals of ordinary existence. Rajput painting has probably never been
better defined than in the words of the late Dr Coomaraswamy
and tender,

Sensitive, reticent,

dian

life,

and the

itself to the

The

perfectly reflects the self-control and sweet serenity of In-

it

definitely theocratic

and

aristocratic organizarion

of Indian

society.

It

lends

utterance of serene passion and the expression of unmixed emotions.^

history of Rajput painting

early seventeenth centuries)

may

and a

be divided into an early period (sixteenth and

period from

late

may

geographical division, the miniatures

c.

1630 to 1825. According to a

be assigned to the schools of Rajputana and

central India, generally designated as Rajasthani,

and the work done in the Punjab

The

Pahari group, although comprising

Himalayas and Garhwal, referred to

the

work of many

artists at

Jammu

local schools,

as Pahari.

may

we

The

work of

and Kangra.''

All Rajput painting, both early and

represented.

be generally subdivided between the

first

of these

is

may

late,

be considered according to the themes

the illustration of Ragas and Raginis. In this category

find the illustration of the thirty-six musical

modes

months, days, and hours and are actually regarded

of love, or various emotional

situations in

pression in one of these modes.

human

that are associated

as personifications

with seasons,

of different phases

experience that find their perfect ex-

The second category comprises

the illustrations of the

Indian epics and romances, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramdyana, as well as the

of Rajput chivalry.

epics
texts,
as

A third group of subject-matter

and includes such subjects

as the

well as pictures of saktis of the great gods.

class
class

is

based on Puranic and Tantric

Birth of Bralima, the Churning of the Sea of JVIilk,

One might

include as a subdivision of this

of illustration the innumerable paintings dedicated to the legend of Krishna. A final

of Rajput paintings is concerned with the theme o Srii'igdra, 'the flavour of love',

with pictures representing in rhetorical fashion the various phases of love and types of
heroines and lovers.
In our consideration of Rajput painting

examples to

One of the
ably
It

it is

illustrate the

main

very earhest miniatures

will be possible to discuss only a

and

few notable

styhstic

to be dated in the early sixteenth century

represents the Ragini as a kind

is

it

development of the whole school.

the Asdvarl Rdgiiii illustrated in Plate 13 lA. Prob-

liistorical

and assigned to southern Rajasthan.

beasts of the

of Indian Orpheus charming the cobras and

191

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

wild with music. The picture

and

relation to folk art.

with such
patterns

is

characterized

with conceptual

setting are treated

The

by

its

pattemized

flatness, in

which figures

directness, a quality that inevitably suggests a

colours have the opacity of gouache, a factor which, together

drawing of the eyes en face and the attention paid to minute

and foHage, suggest the derivation from Jain miniatures of Gujerat.

details as the

of textiles

From a somewhat later period, c. 1600, is the illustration of the Vibhdsa Rdgim, in which
we see Kama Deva loosing an arrow at the cock whose crowing announces the end of
love's daUiance (Plate 13 ib). This represents the purest style of Rajput painting. The
aim of the

illustrator

the most direct and legible presentation of the theme, with Uttle

is

thought for any graces of draughtsmanship or composition. The treatment, again, could

The figures and the architecture of the bower

The cock in the plantain tree is enormously
enlarged, so that he may be easily recognized. The background is a dark bluish-black,
except for a wavering band of white that symboUzes the coming of the dawn. The drawbe described

as

conceptual or popular.

are presented as completely

ing, again,

The

is

flat silhouettes.

entirely freehand

and even crude in the abbreviated definition of forms.

from the moving

lyricism of pages like this derives

directness

of presentation and

the abstract pattern of the enamel-like colours.

As an example of the northern

many

style

of early Rajput painting

the Siege of Larika (Plate 132). This large page, like so

impression of a reduced mural composition.

drawing and compositional arrangement,

Rajasthani painting. There
freshness

though

is

select

one of

and

is

The

many

Rajput paintings, gives the

from the point of view of figureenormously more compHcated than that of

style,

an almost Persian quality in the dehcacy of drawing and

of colouring which may be

still

a reflexion

of contemporary Mogul

styles.

Al-

essentially conceptual in their presentation, the seventeenth-century artists

ofJammu reveal
bears,

we may

miniatures painted at Jammu, in illustration of the Ramdyana, such as a page from

remarkable

in integrating

facility for

animating single figures of men, monkeys, and

whole armies of these

creatures with the entirely decorative

conception of the landscape they inhabit.

No consideration of Rajput painting could omit the cartoons for mural paintings made
A typical example is the Krishna Dancing, a large
coloured drawing in the Metropolitan Museum at New York (Plate 134A). This is a perat Jaipur in the eighteenth century.

fect illustration

of the timeless quahty of Hindu

art.

In

its

traditional aspect

it

might have

been made for one of the Ajanta wall-paintings. The metaphorical treatment of such
details as the fish-shaped
art. It is in

eye and the

transfigured face of the hero that

tion.

The

faint

as well as to

of the

bow of the eyebrows belong to all periods of Indian

the pecuhar refmement of linear definition and in the simple and yet strangely
tliis

picture

is

especially expressive

of Rajput civUiza-

blue-grey shading in the face, which serves to give a suggestion of rehef

impart a kind of translucency to the complexion,

entirely abstract chiaroscuro

employed

is

orJy the

last

in the ancient classic schools

refinement

of Indian

painting.

The
capital

final florescence

of Rajput

art

is

to be seen in the paintings

done

in the Pahari

of Kangra. This magnificent development took place largely under the patronage

of Rajah Samsar Cand,

who

ruled in

Kangra from 1774

192

to 1823. Frequently, the setting

WALL-PAINTINGS AND MINIATURES

of events from the Krishna legend and the epics is in the fantastic palaces and gardens at
Nadaun. We may take as a typical example the beautiful page of the Hour ofCowdust,
representing Krishna returning with the
gop'is (Plate 134B).

cows

to Brindaban,

welcomed by

the adoring

We notice in the first place that in this school of Rajput painting the

intention of the artist

is

rcaUstic.

The

entirely intuitive attempts at rendering

cated effects of perspective and foreshortening are based

on observation.

Tliis

compUpoint of

view, together with a suggestion of a kind of atmospheric perspective in the hazy outlines

of

trees in the

background,

may

even European, painting on the Kangra

very possibly
style.

The

reflect the influence

of Mogul, or

question of possible foreign influences,

beyond making for a more effective expression, is vmimportant beside the real, and in
many ways new, beauty of the Kangra style. The Kangra miniatures can best be defined
as coloured drawings, since their pecuharly lyric quahty depends almost entirely on the
exquisite, meaningful definition of forms in lineal terms. The female figures are imbued
with an attenuated, moving grace. Although conceived as types, they have an entirely
individual quahty of voluptuousness and attraction, imparted perhaps most of all by the
rhythmic elegance of their pose and
ful in

its

gestures.

The drawing of the herd of cows is master-

suggestion of the animals pressing towards the village gate and in the

artist's

and movement of individual beasts. The colours

are only incidental to the perfection of the brittle, linear skeleton. There is a soft, powdery harmony in the pattern of the chrome-yellow and vermihon notes of the women's
realization

of the

essential articulation

by the chalky whiteness of the architecture which is pecuhar to the

So animated and natural in terms of everyday hfe is tliis presentation of
an event from the legend of Krislina that it may be described as a kind of loving ideaUzation of the village hfe of Hindustan, a transfiguration of day-to-day experience in much
garments,

Kangra

set off

school.

the same

way

that Duccio's

'

Entry into Jerusalem

'

commemorated

terms of the hfe of fourteenth-century Siena. This illustration

Indian art in the

way in which the realm of sacred

sented as contemporary experience.

It is

legend is,

is

a sacred event in

completely typical of

as in the

Ajanta frescoes, pre-

but one more example of the endless variety

which could be achieved within the set themes of Hindu art, themes within which the
artist was expected to express his originahty. Hindu art, both hieratic and vernacular, has
always been more or less a national art, determined by the wish to have certain groups of
ideas constantly represented.

That Kangra painters were no less successful in the presentation of epic themes of a
more dynamic nature may be illustrated by the magnificent page representing Krislina
overcoming the Naga KaHya in the wliirlpool of the Jumna River (Plate 133). The central group, with the Herculean Krishna standing on the hoods of the naga, surrounded by
the supplicating forms of the naga-maidens,
ballet.

No

less

is

like a

magnificent tableau from the Indian

expressive in the variety of their postures and gestures, indicative of their

concern for Krishna's

fate, are

the figures of cowherds and gopis

on

the banks

of the

The whole composition is arranged as a harmony in moving, curvilinear

rhythms. The curve of the prostrate nagims is echoed in the bending of the flowering
bushes on the banks, and taken up again as a melody in the endlessly moving volutes
stream.

that

connote the disturbance of the whirlpool.

193

THE HINDU RENAISSANCE

Many of the Kangra
colour, so that they can

paintings have come down to us partly, or entirely, devoid of

more properly be described as drawings. Many examples of this

type, such as the beautiful detail

and yet intensely

sweeping
figures,

lines that

Lila (Plate 13 5a), reveal the

extremely simple,

The painter is fond of long,

movement and grace to the

not only impart a feeling of gentle

but have an entirely abstract aesthetic appeal in the beauty of their rhythmic

organization.

The draughtsman

of varying thickness

As

of a Ras

character of the draughtsmanship.

lyrical,

always entirely sure of his capacity, and employs

of Rajput painting,

in all masterpieces

linear definition

is

to emphasize or suppress the position

of form, without the

tliis is

of forms or

a completely sopliisticated

least necessity for

lines

objects in space.

method of

any indication of

plasticity

through chiaroscuro.
It is difficult

of portraits

to think

as entirely typical

of Rajput

art,

concerned

as it is so

on themes of epic and romantic character. A large number of

Rajput portraits do exist, however, and do not, to any marked extent, reveal the
influence of this type of painting in Mogul art. Early examples, like the 'Rajah of
Jodhpur '8 have a certain monumentahty and hieratic quahty that strongly suggest the
derivation from some earher, and now lost, tradition of portraiture. Although, as in all
largely with variations

Rajput painting, the profile rendering

conceptual, and there

is

is

retained, the treatment cannot be described as

every indication that actual likenesses are presented within the

definition. One of the most exquisite drawings of this type is the Kangra
of a young warrior kneeling with liis shoulder resting on a sliield. It has all the
purity of execution of a Greek vase-painting (Plate 135B). The definition of the form is
limits

of linear

portrait

of various types are employed only to indiof the garments, and no more than a faint reinforcement of the contour

restricted entirely to hne. Cross-hatchings

cate the textures

is

employed

to give an

added sense of rehef to the

face.

We have followed the course of Indian art for a period of more than three thousand
years. In that span

of centuries

we

senting the divine in artistic terms

have seen hardly any deviation from a way of prewhich was already fixed in that immemorial time of

the Indus civihzation. If there has been deviation firom the tradition,

much change
acquisition

as variety,

of a greater and greater technical skiU in

gions. Just as the essentials

it

has been not so

imposed by new iconographical demands and the gradual

all

the crafts serving the Indian reU-

of the Indian temples of the Gupta Period and the Hindu Re-

naissance are iconograpliicaUy and technically present in the ashlar dolmens of prehistoric

times and the Vedic altars of brick, so that final triumph of the Dravidian genius, the
Nataraja, is only shghtly removed from the mysterious dancingfigurefromMohenjo-daro.
In architecture either the simplest or the

and the body of God, just

as the

most baroque

fabric can

symboUze the world

elementary ideograph of a dancer in sandstone and the

dynamic image of the Chola metal-worker's

art

can symboHze the endless change within

the cosmic scheme. These similarities, this continuity in a tradition spanning

thirty centuries,

of

its

do not constitute monotony or

expression has only the limitations of

what was

to be expressed, and, as an art

both hieratic and popular, has perforce repeated themes from the
194

more than

repetition. Indian art in the great variety

epics, the

romances,

as

WALL-PAINTINGS AND MINIATURES

well as the incarnations of the great gods that are a part of the race,

its

heritage and

its

desire.

We are apt to forget that anything like art can be a necessary part of a racial or national
heritage.

It is this,

together with the gradual growth of methods of

making icons and

temples appropriate to Indian needs, that makes for a sense of unity and continuity in
the art of India

unmatched

in

any other

racial tradition.

of the survival of the tradition of technical

and image-making even

in

modem times.

skill

Many

Sometliing of this continuity

the constitution of the Indian flag, dominated

by

Asoka hon

capital at

less

Samath

happy,

is

India's

as a national

union with the Great Beings that

it

time, nor patience could ever be too

be seen in

composed of three
number three in Indian

adoption of a 'restored version' of the

emblem.

The concern of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain

to

in building

may

the dharmacakra and

bands of colour typifying the various mystic meanings of the

metaphysics. Similar, but

instances could be cited

and iconographic observance

art has

always been the directing of men

reveals in tangible form.

To

that

end no

much. The works of art were guide

skiU,

nor

posts to lead

men by slow apprehension or sudden intuition to find the treasure hid in the shrine of
their own hearts, the seat of the Buddha, of Vishnu, of Siva. In our ovm. quest, rehgious
or aesthetic, they may discover for us a similar treasure.

195

PART SIX

INDIAN ART IN CEYLON AND

SOUTH-EAST ASIA
CHAPTER

20

CEYLON
The

known only by the legend

from the Ganges country espoused a native
princess and estabhshed a Singhalese dynasty. It is only with the accession of DevanamPiyatissa (247-207 B.C.) that we may speak with any certainty of the history of the island
beginnings of civilization in the island of Ceylon are

that in the fifth century B.C. a Prince Vijaya

and

its art.

The

reign of this king witnessed

event in Singhalese culture: the

introduction of Buddhism
capital

of the

island,

by

visit

this

what was perhaps

the single

most important

of the son of the Emperor Asoka, Mahinda, and the

missionary prince. Anuradhapura was then

and there a shp of the original bodhi

made

Gaya and the

tree at

the

religion

typified, introduced by Mahinda, took root. One other early Singhalese king is
worthy of mention, Duttha Gamani (101-77 B.C.), who is knov^Ti as the Asoka of Ceylon for his zeal in the propagation of Buddhism.
In the period of more than twelve hundred years, from the times of Duttha Gamani
until the final renaissance of the thirteenth century, the inspiration for both sculpture and
architecture came from India; especially, as we shall see, from the Later Andhra civilization of the eastern coast. In the second century Singhalese monks were in residence at
it

period the Singhalese were almost continuously

Nagarjunakonda.^ Also throughout

this

engaged

of the Tamils of South India

in repelling the incursions

as early as the eighth

century Anuradhapura had finally to be abandoned to these invaders from the mainland

Poloimaruwa, which succeeded

as the centre

of government and rehgion, was taken by

the Tamils in the fifteenth century. There ensued a melancholy period, in wliich the

older capitals and, indeed, the

whole

fertile

portion of the North gradually reverted to

jungle. There, the ancient temples and palaces have slept

their ruins

were gradually recovered

in the course

amid the

forest greenness until

of excavations

in the last

hundred

years.

Ceylon provides

a setting particularly congenial to the study

of Buddhist

art,

not only

because of its great beauty and the amiabiHry of its people, but also because there, in the
great veneration accorded the ancient

monuments by

unfortunate extremes of renovation - the student

the people - sometimes carried to

feels that

the subject

is

much more part

of a hving tradition than in the deserted Buddhist foundations of India, only a very few
of which, such as the famous temple at Bodh Gaya, are maintained in worship to-day.
197

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Wc

are in a remarkably fortunate position in the study of art in

Ceylon

in

having for

our reference the Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Ceylon, which, based on earhcr
recensions, gives a precise accoimt

of the reigns and building

kings through the fourth century.

activities

of the Buddhist

later chronicle, the Ciilavaihsa, carries the history

into the eighteenth century. Often these descriptions are invaluable in enabling us to re-

construct the original appearance of temples almost totally destroyed or remodelled;

no

important are the accounts of the methods of building and the ceremonies attend-

less

ing the dedication of the shrines.

of the

In the green darkness

Anuradhapura there

forest at

the ruins of nearly a

rise

thousand years of Singhalese history. Palaces, monasteries, and stupas, once completely
engulfed by the jungle waves, have been reclaimed in half a century of conservation, so
that

some

idea of the extent and grandeur of tliis Buddhist capital

If he finds these ruins rather austere

has only to

remember

that at

- in some cases

one time,

is

afforded the visitor.

more than stone skeletons - he

ancient monuments of Taxila and

httle

like the

by Hsiian-tsang, they shone with a splendour only faintly

echoed in the tawdry decor of the modem temples of Colombo and Kandy. Dominating the landscape at Anuradhapura are the great stupas or dagobas,'^ some still so covered
Nalanda

in India as described

with vegetation that they appear hterally

Ceylon the dagobas

In

terms

are classified

(anda),

typical Singhalese

we

dagoba

and no

less rigid

is

etc.

divided into the threefold base (trimala), the

strictest ritual

yasti or mast.

As

dome

in Indian

governed the laying of the magical foundation

proportions fixed the dimensions of these monuments. As far as

can rely on a rather corrupt text dealing with such instructions to the builders, the

height of the cupola, which

three-fifths

is

of the diameter of the groimd plan, represents

one-third of the total height of the dagoba, and

ing

its

parts

is

base)

is

and to the height of the threefold

equal to the height of the spire (includbase.^

The

essential division into three

probably no accident, but a purposeful incorporation of the number three, with

symbohcal

its

rising above the forest.

dome, designated by such poetic

mountains

and the superstructure comprising the harmika and

reHgious architecture, the

stones,

like small

the shape of the

'bubble-shaped', 'lotus-shaped',

as 'bell-shaped',

The

by

and concepts such

allusion to the Buddhist Trinity

as the three planes

of

number in Buddhist philosophy.'*

ruined tumuU were founded in the reign

existence and other similar magical properties of this

According to the Mahavamsa, some of the

of Devanam-Piyatissa in the third century

remodelled
in

244

at later periods.

An

example

B.C. (Plate 13 6a). In its present

is

B.C.,

the

form

although probably

Thuparama,

it is

said to

all

were enlarged or

have been dedicated

a characteristic Singhalese dagoba: the

monument is dominated by a bubble dome of brick, which rests on three circular bases
'

'

or 'bracelets'

by

set

upon

a balcony-like

all, is

roimd paved foundation (Figure 32); the cupola is surmounted

corresponding to the harmika of the Indian stupa, and, over

member

the traditional ringed spire with a series of seven umbrellas telescoped together,

so that in profile this

member resembles an inverted child's top. Leading to the round

dome were staircases, and the monument was surrounded by

platform supporting the

three concentric rings of stone pillars

wood-and-metal domical

which were probably intended as supports for a

by wooden rafters and entirely enclosing the

roof, sustained

198

CEYLON
whole
texts,

stupa.' Structures

of this type,

and presumably have

known

as thupagharas, are referred to in

Singhalese

a relationship to ancient circular shrines in India proper, the

may

appearance of which

be divined from occasional rock-cut rephcas.* Here, as in all

main approach was from the south, the direction associated with
the Sim at its highest point in the heavens and with the supreme moment of the Buddha's
career, his Enhghtenmcnt. Although, obviously, no trace of them has been found, it has
Singhalese stupas, the

been assumed that the dagobas were originally surrounded by wooden

railings

and

toranas patterned after Indian originals in stone.

One of the

largest

of all the stupas

pura, which, in origin at

20

60

40

Ceylon

RuwanweU dagoba

at

Anuradha-

goes back to the time of Duttha Ganiani. Tliis

monument

in

is

the

50 FEET

80 FEET

20

15

least,

25

15 ^.ETaES

METRES

Figure 33. Thuparama, Anuradhapura

Ground plan and Elevation

has undergone such a complete renovation in the course of the

last

seventy-five years

of its original elevation may be had from a miniature stupa found on

the platform of the great dagoba (Plate 13 6b).
that a better idea

The monument
vati: the
finial

is

roughly one and a half times the

diameter of the

more than

and other dagobas

pyramids.^ As in
tained in a

dome

is

two hundred and

of the Great Stupa

at

Amara-

and the height of the

hundred and eighty feet above the ground. The dimensions of this
at Anuradhapura are as great as all but the largest of the Egyptian

many of the

chamber

Singhalese dagobas, the rehcs in the

built in the interior

Ruwanweh were con-

of the soHd brick dome. This chamber, according

to the Majiavamsa, contained a jewelled

bodhi

tree

of precious metals and was origin-

with 'rows of fourfooted beasts and geese ',^ probably the same directional

ally painted

beasts as

size

fifty-four feet,

we

shall

encounter in Singhalese sculpture.

terraced basement platforms.

Tlris stupa

is

built

on two square

A typical element of Singhalese dagoba arcliitecture is pre199

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

sent in the four altar-frontispieces or ivahalkadas situated at the cardinal points

of the

monument. These sculptured platforms bear the strongest resemblance to the similar
offsets on the Later Andhra stupas of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda,' although the
five ayaka pillars
altars,

of the Indian stupas are never found

in Ceylon.^" It

is

hkely that these

together with most of the sculpture found at Anuradhapura, date from the second

or third centuries a.d. All the ancient dagobas were originally covered with chunam
plaster painted white,

of them, such

as

and

this

technique has been recreated in the restoration of many

the Thuparama.

Figure 33. Viliara near Thuparama, Anuradhapura:

Sijighalese Buddliist temples,

dagobas

at

known as

Anuradhapura, have a

vihares,^^

such

Ground plan

as those attached to all the great

characteristic rectangular plan, generally

entrance on the long side of the building (Figure 33).

The

walls

were

with a single

originally of brick,

and, together with the rows of pillars inside, supported a roof of wood and metal.

The

on the platform of the Thijparama and the 'vihares' of Anuradhapura, belong

to an order that is pecuhar to Ceylon. The columns have square or octagonal shafts at
the top, below a constricted neck, is a carving of garlands held by hon heads, and, above, a
lotus capital, square or eight-sided, crowTied by a band of beast-forms or yaksha caryatids.
Among the most ancient and famous monuments at Anuradhapura is the Lohapasada
or 'Brazen Palace', built by King Duttha Gamani. Unfortunately all that survives is the
pillars,

seen

CEYLON
some sixteen hundred granite pillars standing in an
The account of this building in the Maluluaiiisa'^enables us to reconstruct this royal monastery as a nine-storeyed structure in which the
monks were accommodated hicratically on the different floors according to their level
of enlightenment. The entire superstructure was built of wood and precious fittings of
jewels and ivory and roofed with sheets of copper. Destroyed by fire in the fourth century, the building was reconstructed in five storeys. As has been suggested above (p.
foundation, consisting of a forest of

area

two hundred and fifty

i8o),

feet square.

seems possible to see a reflexion of this type of terraced building or prasada in the

it

Dharmaraja rath

at

Mamallapuram.

Although the Buddliism of Ceylon can

acter, there

were

certain periods

these times differ

from the usual types of Hinayana

positively be identified as Mahayanist

at

in general

be designated

as

Hinayana

in char-

of Mahayana penetration. The buildings erected during

is

structures.

A monument

that can

the Indikatusaya dagoba in the jungle-clad

hills

Mihintale above Anuradhapura. Excavated copper plates, inscribed with invocations

of Prajiiaparamita, the Supreme Wisdom, by the nature of the epigraphy confirm

affiHation

and the date in the eighth century.^^ The stupa proper

that the brick

type, possibly with a high

dome of the monument was

drum, found,

Something has already been

architecture

A.D.

said

for example, in the

rests

in the fragments

is

around the base of the

perhaps

an awe-inspiring

more hkely

liieratic

rather archaic rigidity

halese adaptation

at

originally

of the elongated
stupa at Samath.

Amaravati. This relationship

third, traditionally identified as a likeness

The Buddha

the Bodhisattva Siddhartha.

(Plate 137A). It needs

even

statues

scale

of Duttha

figures

have

of proportions and the

but a glance to see in them a Sing-

of the type of Buddha image fashioned

Andhra Dynasty. To an even

is

RuwanweU dagoba.!* Xwo of these dolomite

quahty induced by their massive

of pose

be-

of sculpture dating from the second and third centuries

images are standing Buddhas, and a

Gamani,

it

Dhamekh

Chief among these examples of Singhalese carving are a number of Buddha

originally arranged

this

on

of the coimexions between the earhest Singhalese

and the Later Andhra foundations

more apparent

Mihintale

basement faced with stone. During the course of excavations

raised quadrangular

came apparent

at

greater degree than the

at

Amaravati under the Later

Andhra prototypes

these statues

have a heaviness and grandeur immediately suggestive of the very earhest Indian Buddha
effigies

ghati,

made imder

the Kushans at Mathura.

The treatment of the drapery of the

with the folds represented in a combination of incised

lows the

style

of the Amaravati workshops, and another

south-eastern Indian style

is

the

lines

and

mark of this

characteristic trade

volumuious billowing fold

sah-

raised ridges, fol-

bottom of the robe.

Anuradhapura, which

at the

We may further mention a bronze Buddha, probably made at

was found in the ruins of Dong Duong in Champa. This is by far the most perfect example of the style known (Plate I37b).15 A certain attenuation and a nervous elegance in
the hands differentiate the image from the true Amaravati type and anticipate later
Hindu metal images in Ceylon.
In connexion with these earhest Singhalese Buddha images it is well to mention the
relations

between Ceylon and China

in the first centuries

of the Christian era an em-

bassy bearing a jade image arrived in China between 405 and 418

later, in

428, the king

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

ofCeylon dispatched a Buddha

statue

from the temple of the Tooth Rehc.^* Presumably

were of the Anuradhapura type, and

these statues

it is

possible that they

may have exert-

ed some influence on southern Chinese sculpture during the Six Dynasties

Period.'''

Although no exact precedents exist for it at Amaravati, the so-called Duttha Gamani
statue (Plate 13 8a) is a combination of the fuUiiess of Mathura sculpture with a certain

may

stiffness that

be the result of inexperience in the carving of portrait-statues in

Ceylon.'^

The
As
the

seated

more

thing,

Buddha images from

interesting

in the statues at the

Buddha

in

and

this early

aesthetically

RuwanweH dagoba

yoga pose has been

period of Singhalese sculpture are, if any-

moving than

the examples of the standing type.

already discussed, the style of the figures of

to a large extent conditioned

by the nature of the

granuhtic stone, wliich does not permit any special refinements of carving.

The

resultant

of form and surface and the largeness of conception bestows upon these
figures a particularly moving dignity and serenity.
The massive statue of a Buddha in dhyani mudra in the Colombo Museum - formerly,
abstraction

our illustration shows, more picturesquely and appropriately located in a grove at

Anuradhapura - is a perfect example of the type (Plate 139A). Although some seated

as

Andhra models, the Indian prototype

Kushan images as the Buddha firom Katra (Plate
46). We note the same herculean physical proportions and the complete revelation of
the form by the sheath-like mantle. In this later aspect and the employment of the snailBuddhas from Anuradhapura

are related to Later

to be sought in such

for this statue

is

shell curls the

Anuradhapura image approaches some of the masterpieces of the Gupta

Period at Samath, although, probably,

A.D. In

it is

to be dated

few other representations of the Buddha

in

the complete self-absorption and serenity of the

the perfect

embodiment of the

of the conception

idea o( samddhi

is

no

later

than the third century

yoga trance do we get such

a sense

of

Enhghtened One. This impression of

conveyed through the very simphcity

the perfect material equilibrium of the figure coimotes the perfect

mental state of Sakyamuni through the massive stability of the triangular

by the locked legs, surmounted by the erect columnar body which supports

base

formed

the perfectly

impassive mask-like face.

It is

important for us to examine in connexion with these Buddha images the method

of manufacturing
antiquity.

statues in

modem Ceylon, a technique which is very probably of great

According to Coomaraswamy,'' the icon is made as one would expect, accord-

ing to die traditional proportions of five thalams to the total height of the seated figure.

For the actual carving of the image from the block of stone, the sculptor employs a kind

of pointing machine or

lainha tatuwa, a

wooden frame from which plumb

pended to indicate the exact amount of cutting necessary

such features as the tip of the nose, the
itself

and the suspension of the cords

ears, shoulders, etc.

in front

of an

lines are sus-

at various points to

actual

disengage

The diagrams of the frame

image

are self-explanatory

(Figure 34). Although the use of such a mechanical device might appear to result in

complete deadness,

it

must be remembered

proportions were merely aids which the

expected to

utilize to the full

that machines like this

artist's

and the system of

particular inspiration

and

measure of his technical and aesthetic capacity.

skill

was

CEYLON

-A

Level of frimc (lamba tatuwa) from

which plumb

lines are

>r%

suspended

A}k Aih,A\ ^^

-^^^^ '^ ^^ '^

^ Aii.A\ /\.

j(K

XK x\ aS^ J^

is<^wmis^<mmf^sm>^.i'Mmi!i

Figure 34. Diagram of

Buddha Image and 'Pointing Frame'

203

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Common subjects

iii

the early sculpture at

and elegant proportions again

svelte

Anuradhapura are the

rehefs

of gate guard-

of nagas with nine-headed cobra hoods

ians or dvarapalas, usually in the shape

work

recall the

at

Amaravati

elaborate jewelled accessories and conical head-dresses are close to

their

The

(Plate 13 8b).

Gupta representations

of Bodhisattvas.

The

visitor to

tliis

from

fmd

ancient capital will

many of the

placed at the entrances to

a characteristic type

of threshold-stone

shrines (Plate 140A). Usually called

their semi-circular form, these rehefs are

moon

stones

extremely interesting from both the

styUstic and iconographic points of view. The decoration consists of concentric zones
of ornament, comprising the four beasts of the cardinal points - horse, Hon, ox, and
elephant - exactly as figured on the Asokan column at Samath, together with a row of

haihsa enclosing a central lotus boss. Although these carvings are presumably no earher

than the third or fourth century a.d., the style

originals. Iconographically there

pHcit in the pillar at

Samath

can be

little

represented on the

tion or zenith, so that the

strangely reminiscent of the

that the

Mauryan

same cosmic symboHsm im-

intended here, with the beasts standing at once for the

is

points of the compass, the great rivers

hariisa,

is

doubt

Maurya

of India, and possibly the seasons as well the

were the symbols of the fifth direc;

pillar at Saiichi,

whole forms

complete cosmic diagram.^"

The unbroken cultural relationship between Ceylon and south-eastern India is revealed by a number of sculptures at the Isurumuniya Vihara, near Anuradhapura. There,
carved on the face of a low cliff of granuhtic boulders overhanging a partly artificial

we may

tank,

pure Pallava

see carvings in a

of the sage Kapila, seated on the

medha

sacrifice (Plate 139B).

plains

at

is

a reUef

are the proportions of the figure of the holy man

Mamallapuram, but the suggestion of the form's emer-

gence from the matrix of the rock

styles

kind of niche

Not only

remarkably close to the work

account of the

style. Isolated in a

of hell watcliing the horse destined for the asva-

is

in the

same technique

that

we

have analysed in the

of the Hindu Renaissance. Presumably these works date from the

period immediately before the final retreat from Anuradhapura in the eighth century.

Although no actual examples earUer than the

that the tradition

architecture

structures at

of painting

in

Ceylon

is

sixth century survive,

it

just as ancient as that

may be assumed

of sculpture and

fragments of decorative painting were discovered on some of the early

Anuradhapura, and the Mahdvamsa describes

lost cycles

of wall-painting

ornamenting the stupas and viharas.

The only

considerable cycle of early painting in Ceylon

is

the decoration in the hiU

of Sigiriya. These paintings are located in a pocket of the great rock at

Rock') that was the fortress of the parricide, King Kassapa, from 511
time
leries

('

Lion

to 529; at that

now isolated cave must have formed part of a system of apartments and galwhich completely clothed the face of the cUff. The subject of the frieze of wall-

this

painting

and

Sigiriya

is

a parade

of opulent

in pairs (Plate 140B).

indicated only

by

The

celestial females, apsaras

divinity

the clouds that veil

or devatas, advancing singly

of these almost oppressively sensuous queens

them below

the waist and

by

a sort

is

of urna on the

forehead, a device regularly used to designate divine beings in India.

In studying these

works we are struck

at

204

once by the robust strength of both the

CEYLON
drawing and colouring. That die draughtsmanship was
apparent

when we note the many corrections,

becomes

entirely freehand

changes not only in the contours but com-

of the positions of the hands of certain figures. The sweUing, nubile

- hardly greater than the girth of the neck - the shapely tapered

plete alterations

breasts, the tiny waist

arms and exquisitely poised flower-like hands - these are

that

all

elements of the same canon

determined the types of physical beauty in the wall-paintings of India proper. Here

charms are rendered even more provocative through

these

their exaggeration.

The

re-

semblance of these figures to the maidens of the Amaravati rehefs suggests their derivation

from

a lost school

of Andhra painting.

If the boldness

of the drawing and the brilhance

of the colours are recognizable as typically Singhalese, the actual physical types represented, with heavy-hdded eyes, sharp aquiline noses, and full Ups, may be taken as direct
of actual Singhalese types.

reflexions

rather distinctive technical feature

ing the noses.

Of these there are two

tions the nose

is

the second

of the

Sigiriya paintings

distinct types: in

represented in profile, although the face

method shows

is

the

method of draw-

one of these conceptual presenta-

may

be in three-quarters view;

the nose in three-quarters view, with the farther nostril clearly

defmed.^i Another interesting technical aspect

is

brush-strokes, as in the painting of the breasts,

make

the

manner

in

which the individual

and at the same

a surface pattern

time reinforce the form.

As has already been noted, the continued

raids

by

the Tamils of South India finally

forced the abandonment of Anuradhapura in the eighth century.

capital

was located

at

wewa in the deep jungles

see

growing

nium

ago.

of north-eastern Ceylon;

at the water's

The

781 to 1290 the

there, at certain seasons,

edge the enormous red

great period

Parakrama Bahu

From

Polonnaruwa. The ruins are situated on the beautiful Lake Topa-

of artistic

(1164-97), the

last

activity at this site coincides

notable

one can

still

lotuses, originally planted a millen-

with the reign of

monarch of the Singhalese dynasty.

One of the principal sculptural dedications of this

Gal Vihara (Plate 141A). The most impressive

is

period

is

the group of images at the

a colossal rock-cut Parrnirvana

image

nearly fifty feet in length; the style, as seen particularly in the rendering of drapery folds
in a series

of parallel ridges with the

characteristic billow at the

lower hem,

is

simply an

enormous enlargement of the standing Buddha images of Anuradhapura, here, for the
purposes of a Nirvana image, placed in a recumbent position. More unusual and of great
impressiveness is the standing figure of Ananda, nearly twenty-five feet high, which is
carved from the rock next to the head of the Nirvana Buddha.

The figure has very much

form

the same feeling of grandeur, through the massive plastic reahzation of the
characterizes the
liis

Buddha

arms folded, one leg

and strength, quahties which,

as

we

have already seen, are always notably present in the

Singhalese sculptor's reahzation of the peace of Enlightenment. There

istic

quahty in

effort to revive

all

the later

work

at

Polonnaruwa, probably the

what was then considered the

of Parakrama Bahu himself, that

205

a certain archa-

is

result

of a conscious

great period of Buddhism and

Of similar nobihty and magnitude is the colossal figure

identified as a portrait

that

of the earher period; the representation of the disciple,

shghtly bent at the knee, has an extraordinary feeling of serenity
statues

of a Buddliist

is

sage,

its art.

sometimes

carved from a large boulder

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Topawewa

overlooking the waters of Lake

ed holy

man

of sculpture

(Plate 142A). This representation

looking up from the reading of his palm-leaf book

Ceylon.

in

is

one of the

of a beard-

finest pieces

combnies a feeling for volume and weightiness comparable to

Maurya Period and with them it shares a feeling for pent-up

It

the great yakshas of the

inner energy reaHzed in the swelling convex planes of the construction of the body.
the same time the image

and by the sUght

is

animated by the seemingly momentary

contrapposto; in this respect,

and

in spite

of its great

At
of the head
and weight, it

lifting

scale

has something of the feeling of the bronzes of the Chola Period - the suggestion of a

moment of suspended animation, and

may at any moment stir into action.

the communication of the idea that the figure

Perhaps the most notable group of later architectural monuments

the reign of Nissanka Malla

(i

198-1207); this

is

is

associated with

the collection of temples and viharas

what at one time must have been the centre

few can be selected for analysis, but they are among

located in the so-called Great Quadrangle, in

of the

Only

capital (Figure 35).

the most beautiful and satisfyingly proportioned buildings in the entire Indian world. In
the extreme north-east
a stupa,
sastras

known

comer of tliis precinct is the pyramidal shrine, perhaps originally

Mahal Pasada (Plate 142B). Its shape conforms to what in the

as the Sat

would be designated

Meru

as a

temple, with the seven successive storeys of the

world mounmuch closer in style to many of the pre-Angkorean shrines

San Mahapon at Lamphim in Siam^^ than any structure known in

terraced structure representing the imagined hieratic configuration of the

tain. Actually,

the building

of Cambodia and the

India proper.

It

may well

is

be that

Cambodian mercenaries of the

this

temple was put up expressly for the benefit of the

Singhalese kings, so that

explained as an intentional imitation of one of the

Nearby

is

the Hata-da-ge, or

more

its

unique elevation could be

familiar

'House of the Eight Rehcs'

Khmer

types.

(Plate 141B). Tliis structure

built entirely of finely cut and fitted blocks of ashlar masonry. It rests on an encircling
podium ornamented with panels of seated Uons. The walls proper are left bare, except
for two rectangular areas on the facade enclosed in a sunken rehef pattern of hariisa and
containing inscriptions incised into the face of the wall.^^ x^g effect produced by these
large areas of wall surface, reheved only by the most dehcate surface ornament, is not
unlike that produced by the similar contrast of plain ashlar surface and sharply shadowed
frieze in the Ionic Treasury of the Syplinians. The doorway is unomamented, save by
the mouldings of almost Attic simplicity. At the top of the wall is a continuous entablature with a dehcately carved band of liamsa, which provides another accent for the undecorated wall surfaces.^** The entrance is flanked by two makara balustrades which are
preceded by reliefs of naga guardians. These can hardly be distinguished from the
is

dvarapalas of Anuradhapura.

Immediately adjoining

this

sanctuary

is

one of the loveHest examples of Singhalese

which may perhaps be identified as the Wata-da-ge - 'round temple of

the tooth relic' - built by Parakrama Bahu I, mentioned in the Culavainsa (Plate I43a).^5
arcliitecture,

entire structure was at one time covered by a roof of wood and tOes, supported in
by the row of pillars. The resemblance of the plan (Figure 36) is so close to that of
Thuparama at Anuradhapura that the connexion between these two thilpa-gharas is

The
part

the

206

CEYLON
probably more than coincidence. Indeed, in thirteenth-century
also referred to as a

The

texts, the

Thuparama

is

'Wata-da-ge'.

circular sanctuary rests

on an undecorated

base;

on the inner circumference of

podium carved with superimposed

pilasters. Above this rises the railing of the

the wide platform rises the wall of a second terrace,

its

of lions and dwarfs separated by short

upper processional path, divided uito panels with a dehcate lotiform ornament;

friezes

this

Figure 35. Great Quadrangle, Polonnaruwa: Plan

1.

Hata-da-ge

2.

Wata-da-ge

3.

Thuparama

4.

Nissanka Malla Mandapa

wall originally supported a succession of stone

rounding the early stupas

level

of the shrine

pradaksina

is

is

at

pillars,

5.

Sat

Mahal Pasada

intended, like the columns sur-

Anuradhapura, for the support of the domical roof This

reached by stairways

at the

by the
low stupa with images of Buddhas

four cardinal points; girdled

the inner round brick shrine enclosing a

As in the adjoining Shrine of the Eight Rehcs, the beauty of

Wata-da-ge depends on the subdety of its proportions and dehcate contrasts of plain
and ornamented surfaces. Special attention must be called to the loveliness of the
facing the four directions.-*
the

rhythmically repeated curvature of the mouldings and raihngs and central shrine,
particularly well in Figure 36

and Plate 143 A.

207

as

seen

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Another unique type of Singhalese

same quadrangle

(Plate 143B). This

is

arcliitectural

monument

the Nissaiika Lata

is

also to

Mandapaya;

it

be found in

consists

of a

this

rect-

angular stone enclosure patterned after the ancient stupa railing or vedika within, on a
;

clump of columns

raised platform, rises a granite

capitals in the

form of opening buds. The

in the

visitor has

shape of curling lotus stems with

an immediate and curious impres-

sion of beholding Bernini's baldaccliino suddenly transported to the jungles

Figure 36. Wata-da-ge, Polonnaruwa

Although
tion

these

columns may have upheld

was purely and simply

wooden

a figuration in stone

of Ceylon.

Ground plan

superstructure, their primary func-

of the great symbohc flower of Budd-

hism, appropriate to a shrine intended for offerings to the deity of the same flowers sold

The

outside every temple to-day.

that has

no

rival in

any Indian

effect

is

one of extreme chastity and Baroque fancy

shrine.

Another contemporary structure

is

the

so-called

Northern Temple from

location in that quarter of the city of Polonnaruwa (Plate 144A).

rectangular brick edifice

was

originally completely

208

The

ornamented

exterior

in stucco,

its

of tliis large

with a

series

CEYLON
of niches housing

statues

of deities and separated by attenuated

Of even

pilasters reminiscent

of

were the paintings of Jataka

scenes, which at one time completely covered the interior walls of the sanctuary unfortunately these have deteriorated to such an extent that no photograph can give any
the style of Chola architecture.^^

greater interest

adequate idea of their

flavour that

may

style.

Like the earher Sigiriya paintings, they have a provincial

be the Singhalese equivalent of a South Indian

Examples of Singhalese metal-work

Buddhist

Somewhat

art.

brass in the British

later in date

Museum

is

known from

are

a splendid female statue

(Plate 145A). This

is

style.

the very earhest period of

one of the

of pale, gold-coloured

finest

specimens of Sing-

Hindu metal-work. The figure is traditionally identified as Pattini Devi, and is

said to have come from the north-eastern part of the island. The great beauty of the
modelling of the nude torso and the clinging drapery of the dhoti is reminiscent of Gupta
halese

workmanship. Coomaraswamy has noted

Bahu statue at Polonnaruwa,^^ but

is

in the apsaras

breasts

certain parallels to the so-called

actually the closest styhstic

of the Sigiriya frescoes

we

Parakrama

comparison for

this figure

note the same exaggerated fullness of the

and narrow waist combined with an elaborate towering head-dress as in the

nymphs. On the basis of this comparison it seems justifiable to assign the image

Sigiriya

to the sixth to eighth centuries.

Mention should be made of the various Hindu temples or Siva Devales, uncovered in
were probably erected during the period
of Chola occupation in the eleventh century and were desecrated by Parakrama Bahu II
in the thirteenth century. As might be expected, shrines like the Siva Devale No. i are
the jungles of Polonnaruwa. These sanctuaries

no more nor

em

less

than miniature constructions in the style of Chola architecture in south-

India (Plate 144B).

The

building illustrated

and the exterior ornamented with a

series

is

constructed of massive ashlar blocks

of niches and

pilasters that are

unmistakably

from the same workshop as the Great Temple at Tanjore.^'

In the ruins of this and other Hindu shrines were recovered some of the finest bronzes
of the Hindu Renaissance, earlier than any specimens known in India proper. It is likely
that these were cast by Tamil silpins in accordance with the techniques and canons employed in eleventh-century Tanjore. The date of the temple's desecration furnishes a
terminus ante quern for their manufacture.

Nataraja in the

Colombo Museum,

Among the fmest of these statues is the beautiful

already discussed in our chapter

on

the metal images

of the Chola Period.

The statue of Sundaramiirtiswami from Polomiaruwa

close

our account of Singhalese

art (Plate 145B).

is

a fitting object

Probably made by

with which to

artisans

imported

same wonderful ecstatic radiance and is animated

by the same suggestion of complete balance and imminent movement that characterizes
the great examples of Hindu metal images in South India.

from the Tarml country,

With

reveals the

the final conquest of Polonnaruwa

halese art

vives

it

fell

on

evil days ; scarcely a

from the various

by

the Tamils in the fifteenth century Sing-

monument worthy of serious

later capitals, including the final

the old architectural forms and a debased sculptural technique

state

consideration sur-

stronghold at Kandy.

do

survive,

Some of

and

so, in a

of considerable degeneration, does the tradition of painting; but beyond a certain

209

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

felicity in

the carving of architectural details on

real artistic
It is

worth was produced

with regret that

of more than

fifteen

ture, sculpture,

where
have

in the

we

some of the Kandy

after the Renaissance

temples, notliing of

under Parakrama Bahu

I.

leave the subject of art in Ceylon, an art which, over a period

hundred

and painting,

years, reveals great

vigour and exquisite

taste in arcliitec-

a marvellous integration that can scarcely be

matched any-

Buddhist world. The best of the architecture and the best of the sculpture

a truly classic quality

technical probity.

of balance and perfection and constitute

final

models of

CHAPTER

21

CAMBODIA: THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE

OF THE KHMERS
stirred by natives' reports of empty
onward into the great forests of the Mekong River, until,
one burning tropic dawn, he looked upon the incredible spectacle of the towers of Angkor rising like some fantastic mirage of mountain peaks above the sea ofjungle. There
had, to be sure, been discredited tales of vanished cities by Spanish missionaries as early
as the seventeenth century,^ but Mouhot's discovery was the first the modem Western

In i860 Henri Mouhot,

cities lost in

French botanist in Siam,

the jungle, pushed

world knew of one of the great civrhzations of Asia.

Even

until quite recently, after

more than eighty

years

of research had largely

solved the problems of the history of the builders of Cambodian civihzation,

it

re-

used to

be fondly beheved - and the legend probably survives in 'science-fiction' - that the
colossal ruins in
its

Indo-China were the work of a race whose origins are

we

disappearance. In this chapter

Cambodia, culminating

shall

in the great

as

mysterious as

be concerned with tracing the history of art in

monuments of Angkor.

The Pre-Khmer Period

According to Chinese legend, Funan, the most ancient kingdom in present day Indofirst century a.d., when a Brahmin adventurer, Kaundinya,

China, was founded in the

espoused a native princess according to native variants of the story,

;

nagini,

one of those half-human, half-serpentine beings,

the waters.^ This earhest

who

tliis

princess

was

in India are the spirits

of

kingdom comprised the territory of Cambodia, Cochin China,

it marked a development from the earhest settlements

and southern Siam. Presumably

by peoples of Sino-Tibetan
mouths of the Mekong and
tory there

is

origin, who even earher had occupied the land around the
Menam rivers. From this earhest period of Cambodian his-

abundant evidence, both in the form of

visitors, to coirfirm the close relations

There are

indications, too, that during these

many

finds,

and of reports of Chinese

between the kingdom of Funan,

same

India,

and China.^

centuries Indian colonists estabhshed

of Cambodia and the Malay Peninsula; indeed, the finds of

of the Later Andhras in Java and even the Celebes indicate the extent of the spread of Indian Buddhism and its art over all south-eastern Asia. The kings
of the earhest dynasty had already adopted the Pallava patronymic -varman (protector),
a very sure indication of the origins of their culture. All the monuments of this prethemselves in

parts

sculpture in the style

Khmer

civihzation of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries point to the Indian origin of

this earhest style.

the

first

Pre-Klimer or Indo-Khmer

to the seventh century.

is

the

name given

to this period firom

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The earliest architecture of Cambodia, hke the population of the region, is a mixture
of indigenous elements and forms imported by Indian cultural invasions. The temples
consist invariably of an isolated sanctuary, a form determined by the necessity for individual shrines to house the cult images of the deified ancestors of the royal house.*

The largest centres of what is properly called Pre-Khmer civihzation are located at
Sambor and Prei Kuk, the ancient capitals of Funan, in the almost impenetrable jungles
near Kompong Thom on the road from Saigon to Angkor. There one may see hterally
dozens of to veered shrines in brick and stone, most of them covered with vines or crushed
in the

octopus grasp of giant banyans rooted in the

spires.

Forecasting a technique of

iri

;?

V''

Figure 37. Shrine at Sambor: Elevation

later

Khmer temple

planners,

closure are grouped around a

ally containing a cult

numbers of the individual

cells set witliin

more impressive central edifice. These

image or lingam,

a walled en-

towers, each origin-

are either square or rectangular in plan.

The

superstructure rises in gradually diminishing stages so that the buildings are conical in
profile.

The only ornament is massive

stone lintels with a frame of makaras and carved

main wall faces. These panels generally represent a miniature
rephca of the shrine itself. The sanctuaries at Sambor, overgrown with

brick panels set in the

prasada, perhaps a

vegetation and scarcely visible in the green half-hght of the jungle, cannot be adequately

photographed: the drawing

in Figure 37 will give the reader

an idea of the general

appearance of most of them.

Both the

use of brick as a material and

its

employment

for carved exterior decoration

ployment of brick ornament may be seen

in the early

temple

at

similar

em-

Bayang (Figure

38).

suggest Indian precedents, such as the temples at Sirpur and Bhitargaoii.

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

The main temple of Mva,
the seventh century.

It is

dramatically crowning a hilltop, was built in the

a rectangular shrine

- a plan occasionally found

- surmounted by a keel roof of the vesara type that

rath at

MamaUapuram

(Plate 113B).

The

building

calls to

mind

rises in

the

at

first

years of

Sambor, too

form of Bhima's

three diminishing storeys

demarcated by cornices with blind chaitya windows. These storeys, unlike the similar
of Indian temples, are not functional but entirely decorative - evidently borrow-

terraces

ings

from

such Indian

Gupta

type.

monuments

The employment of the

as the

vesara roof as a fmial

porch of the Kailasa Temple

Figure 38.

Phnom Bayang:

at

is

anticipated in

Kaiicipuram (Plate 117B).

Elevation

The ground plan of the Bayang temple is again an adaptation of an Indian model, such
as the shrine at Bhumara (Figure 21) it shows an interior ceUa separated from the outside
wall by a passage intended for ritual circumambulation. These earliest Khmer shrines at
Sambor and Bayang are a parallel, though not directly related, to many Javanese
temples. Both are derived from the same Indian prototypes.
Although the majority of pre-Khmer temples are of brick, a few constructed entirely
of sandstone have been found at Sambor and elsewhere.' One of these is a small ceUa
at Prei Kuk (Plate 146A)
rectangular in form, it has plain walls subdivided by
pilasters and a monoHthic flat roof which is girdled by a roll cornice ornamented by the
;

device of chaitya arches. These arches enclose heads of deities, as

them

in

Gupta and PaUava

preceded by a

architecture.

It is

we

have already seen

possible that this stone cell

wooden mandapa.
213

was

at

one time

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The sculpture of the pre-Khmer Period reveals an indebtedness to Indian models even
more obvious than in the buildings surviving from these centuries; indeed, many of the
Buddha images found at the centre of the earUest Indian settlements in Siam and Cambodia are so closely related to types of Gupta sculpture that one might well mistake them
for v^orks of actual Indian origin (Plate 153). The possibihty of their having been carved
by imported craftsmen can of course not be disregarded. The Buddha images that have
been found at Takeo and Prei Krabas have the same gentle dehanchement and transparent
sheath-hke robes as those which characterize the Gupta Buddhas of Samath and some
of the late Gupta rock-cut images in Cave XIX at Ajanta.
One of the most beautiful examples of the type is a specimen from northern Siam,
now in the Seattle Art Museum (Plate 154). The head alone, in the beautiful ordering of
its parts, is one of the lovehest in Buddliist art. The arching swallow- wing eyebrows are
made in conformity with the injunction of the sastras, suggesting the leaves of the
neem tree as a metaphor for the arched brows. The lotus-petal shape of the eyes is
echoed

in the

curve of the

full hps.

Body and head

soUdity of Gupta Buddhas, but the whole

is

have the simphcity and

alike

imbued with

new

feeling

plastic

of inner tension

makes it a veritable emblem of serenity and ecstasy.

Throughout the history of Cambodia we fmd a continuous alternation, sometimes
from reign to reign, between Buddhism and Hinduism. This is true of the very earhest
period, and some of the most remarkable pieces of sculpture in Further Indian art date

that

from one of these periods of Hindu supremacy, presumably the seventh century, when
the kingdom of Funan was divided, with one capital at Sambor.
The most often reproduced of these images is a free-standing statue of Harihara from
Prasat Andet near Sambor (Plate 156A).* Although certain details, notably the cylindrical head-dress and piercing of the ears for earrings, are reminiscent of Indian sculpture

Andhra and Pallava Periods, the statue, perhaps more than any other
work of Cambodian sculpture, gives the impression of an original autonomous
creation. As Coomaraswamy puts it, The Cambodian figure exhibits a miraculous confrom

the Later

single

'

centration of energy

Works of this kind

combined with the

are individual creations

subtlest

- not,

and most voluptuous modelling.

that

is

to say, creations ot personal

moment. '^

genius unrelated to the racial imagination, but creations of a unique

this

suggestion of energy
'

'

is

imparted by the

way in which

the weight

Partly

distributed, so

is

god seems about to move into the steps of a dance; it is in a sense very much the
same type of balance and alternation of thrust that characterizes the Diadoumenos of
PolycUtus. Not only the shape of the head-dress, but even more the minimal working
of the sculptural surface, the suggestion of plastic volume in almost abstract terms, remind
that the

us

of the perfection of the carvers of ancient Egyptian

art.

Early Brahmanic figures, like

the Hariliara and the torso of either Krislina or Lokesvara in the Stoclet Collection in
Brussels (Plate 155), have a wonderful atliletic litheness about them, a feeling

inner vitahty. In contrast to the general simplification of the surface

finition

of details of drapery and

Cambodian

textile patterns.* Characteristic

of

sculpture are the eyes, represented entirely open, and the

a shght suggestion

of the smile so

typical

is

tliis first

full

period of

hps with ordy

of Khmer sculpture of later periods.

214

of resilient

the precise de-

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

The

2.

In so far as
first

it is

Classic Period: Early Phase {800-1000)

possible to conclude

kingdom of Funan

eighth centuries.

two

spUt into

It

and Chen-la of the

Sea.'

on

the basis of contemporary Chinese accounts, the

disintegrated in a period of warfare during the seventh

There are mentions for the

first

presumably were the Cambodian people from northern

autonomy during
art as

this

and

now as Chen-la of the Land

time now of the Khmers, who
Indo-China who asserted their

principahties designated

period of upheaval. Hereafter

something replacing the earHer

styles

it

proper to speak of

is

Khmer

with their heavy dependence on Indian

models.

The Khmer building tradition is composed of elements derived from an earher inwooden architecture and forms and techniques imported from India. Accord-

digenous

ing to the French scholar, Parmentier, the original timber bmldings consisted of halls or
galleries

surmounted by angular tUed

fashion, as

may be

distinction

is

seen in the

also to

roofs, often

modem architecture

multipHed or piled up in pyramidal

of Cambodia, Siam, and Burma.^

be made between northern and southern elements. In the earher

southern style of architecture based ultimately on

the tower, either singly or in groups,

wooden

prototypes in ancient Funan,

the most important feature of temple-building.

is

Northern architecture, derived from indigenous timber construction of Cambodian or

origin in Chen-la, contributed the concept of towers joined by walled galleries.

Khmer

All these elements, native and Indian, northern and southern,

architectural

There are

development

at

merge

in the last phase

of

Angkor.

many monuments

that could be chosen to illustrate the successive steps to-

But within the Hnlitations of this book we can mention only the
dedications by Yasovarman at Lolei (Roluos) near Angkor, remarkable for the concept
of grouping a number of individual cellas on a single terrace and for the new cruciform
wards

this solution.

plan of the individual towers (Plate 146B). This arrangement of many separate towers

containing statues of divinities in a sort of mandala has

cincts at

stage in

its

its

origin in the very earhest pre-

Kuk. By the ninth century the tower form had reached a new
development, already considerably removed from any dependence on Indian

Sambor and

Prei

prototypes.

At Lolei

the sanctuaries dedicated to ^iva and Parvati are cruciform in plan with mas-

sive projecting porticoes, real

square of the building.

The

and

false,

forming the arms of a cross aroimd the central

superstructure rises in successively diminishing storeys in a

of Dravidian temples; it was crowned by a stupLka or finial

from the same source. Miniature rephcas of the whole shrine stood
at the comers of each level. The construction of these towers is brick, with sandstone
for the doorways and niches, with stucco also employed for rehef decoration. A distinctive feature for later Khmer architectural sculpture is the door lintels that are now heavily
carved with fohate motifs framed in a reversed U, terminating in makara heads. Above

manner

faintly reminiscent

ultimately derived

tliis lintel,

and supported by

massive tympanum,

its

pilasters

framing the whole doorway,

is

an even more

shape suggesting a flattened trilobed chaitya arch.

215

Beyond

the

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

fact that

they stand together on an

tural relationship

platform, the shrines have no real architec-

artificial

one to another.

In the begiimings of the Classic Period of Khmer art, we notice the appearance in archi-

of other completely new types of building methods and ornamentation. Most

is the elevation of the cella of the pre-Khmer type to the summit
stepped pyramid. The form of this type of sanctuary and its lofty stepped base are

tecture

important and typical

of a

theresult ofthecult of the temple-mountain and of the Devaraja or 'God-king'."

temple-mountain, simulating the imagined shape of either

Kailasa,

is,

Mount Meru

or

The

Mount

of course, the importation of the old Indian concept o(pratibimba, the making

of either sacred mountains or unseen

With regard

to the cult

celestial

of the Devaraja*^

even in their hfetimes, were regarded

Lokesvara, to

it

regions in architectural constructions.

must be explained

as incarnations

of

that the

Khmer

kings,

a deity like ^iva, Vishnu, or

whom the well-being of the realm was confided. The ritual and cult of the

Devaraja centred around a sacred

hngam which was imbued with the essence of divine

many inscriptions as being

kingship and installed in a temple-mountain, described in

located in the centre of the capital and the

Universe.

The

were designed

around

it

security

of the

Empire - and magically

in the centre

of the

consecration of this symbol and the continuance of a cult in perpetuity

magic essence of kingship

to ensure the

essential to

the

state.

Of extreme importance to us in its relation to the cult of the temple-mountain and the
development of Khmer architecture

famous

is

the question of the chronology of the successive

of Angkor. Summarizing the

results of brilhant reby generations of French archaeologists on this vexing problem,i^ it can be
that the first capital was founded by Yasovarman I (889-910). It used to be be-

capitals established at the

site

searches
stated

lieved that this city had as

Phimeanakas
took

its

in the city

name from

its

centre either the B'ayon temple or the shrine

of A ngko r Thom. Actually, the

the king, Yasovarman,

heng between Angkor

was

built

Watand Angkor Thom

city

known

as the

of Yasodharapura, which

around the temple of Phnom Bak-

(Figure 39); this sanctuary

was the

two miles on a side, and bounded on the East by the

Siemreap River artificially deviated from its course to form a moat. Presumably this site
remained the capital of the KJimer Empire until the founding of a new capital at Angkor
Thom by Jayavarman VII (1181-1201), with the Bayon as its centre and templecentre of a vast quadrangle, nearly

mountain. i'*

The temple-mountain in its simplest form may be illustrated by the shrine of Baksei
Chamkrong, dated 947, and standing in the shadow of Phnom Bakheng (Plate 147).
Here a tower of the type seen at Roluos and Lolei is placed on the summit of a pyramid
of five storeys with staircases on all four sides. Originally there were sedent Hons flanking these approaches at each level of the ascent. This temple was not, of course, the
'

official

'

temple-mountain of the realm, but a

lesser dedication,

perhaps to a deified royal

ancestor.

The Phnom Bakheng

a true

itself,

sometimes designated

as 'the resting place

of Indra', was

temple-mountain dedicated to the worsliip of the Devaraja, Yasovarman, in the

magic centre of his

capital

and realm

(Plate I48a).i5 It

216

is

located at the intersection of

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

great avenues leading to gates in the city walls.
flaging

of a natural

in five levels. Five sandstone

The

the
is

is

made

reaUy an artful camou-

into a terraced

pyramid

towers stand on the upper terrace, with smaller rephcas on

the lower stages of the elevation. Presumably at

auxiliary shrines

sanctuary

This eminence has been

hill in stone.

one time the

grouped around a vanished central building,

god -king was worshipped. The most important

Moat of

the

which

architectural aspect

the location of a group of still isolated individual towers

on

top were

spires at the

in

the

the

of

symbol of

this

building

summit of a pyramid.

first city

N
Western causeway

.1

r'

(Ben Tho

D'

Q\

Baklieng

Phimeanakas

Baphuon

Bayon

11

ANGKOR
WAT

!
i

:
j

Eastern causeway

J
!

il

Deflected channel of

Figure 39. Yasodharapura and

Angkor Thorn, Angkor: Plan

Before the solution of the riddles of the Bayon and

maintained that the sanctuary

known

temple-mountain of Yasovarman

as the

Phnom Bakheng,

Phimeanakas or

(Plate 1485). This

was presumably

century as a subsidiary temple within the walls of Yasodharapura.

accessible ever to

to-day, the

have served

monument

as

consists

it

used to be

'celestial palace'

It is

was the

biult in the tenth

too small and in-

As it exists
of a three-storeyed pyramid faced with sandstone and
the chief temple-mountain of the Empire.

its topmost storey by a fenestrated stone gallery (Figure 40). Stairways

with hon guardians on each landing lead to the summit on all four sides of the massive
base. The repetition of multiple horizontal mouldings arotmd each terrace is a device

surrounded on

adding to the sense of height that reappears in

217

many

later buildings.

Probably the super-

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Structure

of the sanctuary was originally of wood.

What

is

of chief import

for us

is

the

presence here of concentric galleries connecting the tower pavilions at the comers and

over the entrances of the quadrangle on the top storey. This

is the beginning of the employment of an element of northern architecture which was to be one of the most dis-

development of Khmer arcliitecture. Probably here, as in

many later and more grandiose temples, the galleries were intended either for the accomtinctive aspects in the fmal

modation of pilgrims or for the storage and distribution of grain as alms. The openings
Phimeanakaswere originally filled with slender stone balusters, such as

in this peristyle at

were universally employed

in later

Klimer buildings.

Figure 40. Phimcanakas,

In

Khmer

architecture

from

its

Angkor Thorn: Plan

we fmd a struggle between the

was conditioned by the primitive
and by the demand for large sanc-

earHest beginnings

horizontal and vertical elements of the structure. This

character of the vaulting available to the builders,
tuaries

with

many chapels.

Since

it

was impossible with corbelled vaulting to cover any-

thing but the narrowest spaces, edifices covering a large area under one roof could not be

The result was the development of a plan with many small individual units joined
by narrow corridors or galleries. Opposed to this tendency towards horizontal distribution was the desire for verticahty which arose from the need for buildings symbolizing
the world mountain. The struggle was finally resolved by placing the small sanctuaries
all together on the top of one central pyramid and, as at Angkor Wat, linking them by
an elaborate system of connecting galleries.
Among the many steps in the resolution of this problem is one of the largest and most
built.

important

Khmer

temples of this transitional period: the unfinished Saivite sanctuary of

Takeo, founded in a.d. 889 (Figure 41). In

this structure

218

we fmd

a collection

of eight

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

separate towers located

on the uppermost platform of a stepped pyramid. These sand-

stone spires were perhaps dedicated to eight manifestations of Siva. As in the Phimeana-

of the lowest terrace, but the towers remain

on the topmost level. It required only the joining of these individual shrines and
separate levels of the structure to produce the final and most comphcated development

kas, fenestrated galleries link the angle spires

isolated

of Khmer architecture.

Figure 41. Takeo,

Angkor Thorn: Plan

This brings us to the task of analysing the grandest and most famous

Khmer civihzation,
ruins

the shrine of Angkor

wrote of his

fond des forcts du Siam,

Angkor.' Whether

we

j'ai

visit

vu

see the

(Plate 149,

A and

b).i*

monument of

Every writer on the

convey to his readers an adequate

above the jungle. Even Pierre Loti in Le
to Angkor as the greatest experience of his hfe: 'Au

of Angkor has complained of

his inabihty to

impression of this vast dead city rising

Pelerin d' Angkor

Wat

silent

I'etoile

du

monument

at

soir s'elever sur les ruines

de

la

mysterieuse

dawn, when the towers seem consumed by

219

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

orange

fire,

or in the light of the

ible silvered peaks against the

on

the visitor

tecture; to an

is

is

that

of a range of incred-

this

fabulous ruin makes

full

incomparable. This effect

even greater degree

plete isolation

moon, when

dark sky, the impression wliich

is

the effect

only in part due to the beauty of the archi-

caused by the immensity of the scale and the

it is

of this great temple-mausoleum

in the jungle stilhiess. Perhaps

it

com-

might be

compared to the impression that would be produced on a wanderer in another millennium coming suddenly upon the ruins of Manhattan rising silent and empty above the
Hudson.

The city of Angkor Wat was the creation of Suryavarman II (i 112-52), at once a
monument to the Devaraja and the sepulchre of its founder. The monument is orientated towards the west and laid out on a rectangular plan, surrounded by a

two and a half miles in circumference

lined on either side by balustrades in

(Figure 42).

The main

entrance

is

moat nearly

over a causeway

the shape of giant nagas that rear their

enormous
monumental portal on a cruciform base forms
the frontispiece to the temple proper. The foundations of the sanctuary are a vast stone
platform, over three thousand feet on a side. After passing through the portico, the visitor finds himself in a vast gallery, more than half a mile in circumference, decorated for
some two thousand five hundred feet of its length with reHefs from the legend of Vishnu
and the Land of Yama, the Lord of Death. This cloistered arcade forms the outer perimeter of the entire plan. A stairway rising from the main portico leads to a square,
crossed by galleries and containing four small open courts. From this level another staircase on the main axis brings us to the second level of the temple in the form of a great
courtyard surrounded by colonnades and with towers at the comers. From the centre of
hoods

this

at the

beginning of this avenue.

platform

Khmer

rises

the mountainous turreted pyramid, itself the size of

steep declivity

of this tremendous mound, with stairways on

cipitous angles, serves to increase the illusion of height.

topmost
arcades.

many

earlier

temples, that supports the innermost shrine of the sanctuary (Plate 150A).

spire,

At

all

The

four sides rising at pre-

the very

summit looms the

joined to the galleries surrounding the uppermost level by cruciform

At the angles of this highest

crowned by

storey lesser silchara towers echo the shape of the

central spire, originally

above the ground. Under

this central

golden lotus which rose over two hundred

feet

tower which contained the image of the Devaraja

was discovered a well, more than one hundred and twenty feet deep, in which a deposit
of gold objects was found. It is likely that this shaft symbolized the world pivot that was
the pestle

Here

at

employed by the gods and giants in the churning of the Sea of Milk.
Angkor Wat the whole temple is in reahty a vast, stepped pyramid, with

terraced levels completely unified

temple marks a culmination of

buildings.

More

than anything

all

by connecting

and

staircases.

its

Indeed, the

the architectural refinements contained in earUer

else, it is

enclosing galleries at each level, that

galleries

the cruciform plan, with

made possible the architectural

its

arms joining the

unity of this

new and

grandiose ensemble, a plan that, like another Versailles, was calculated to suggest die
universal radiant

power of a Roi

of Indian origin, the

most tower

scale

Soleil or

Devaraja (Plate I49b). Following a principle

of the central mass

at successively

lower

levels

is

enhanced by

on the comers of the

lesser

repUcas of the inner-

galleries.

Again

typical

of

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

Figure 42.

Angkor Wat: Plan

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

rhythm of the Khmer

the originality and the sense of

tained
leries

by

subtle

methods of transition from one

builders

the effect of scale ob-

is

level to another: the roofs

of the

gal-

overlap or telescope one another, so that each lower level becomes progressively a

smaller replica of the upper segment.

The monument marks

the fnial successful inte-

gration of vertical and horizontal elements wliich had alw^ays troubled the

of parts to the whole,

architects. 'As a correlation

Khmer

measured movement of the

word in the cadency of its articulation, it has few equals.'^^

Angkor have a bombshell or pine-cone profde, only faintly

entire conception, in a

The

in the

individual spires at

suggested in the towers of earlier structures (Plate 150A). Ultimately, of course, the

prototype

is

the Indian sikhara, but the towers of

haras of Bhuvancsvar as a spire

Angkor

Wren

by Christopher

The bases of the towers at Angkor are square, but a

made at the beginning of the curvature. Although
tempting to see a cormexion with the favourite
it is

towers are built in

divisions

transition to a star-shaped plan

stellate

of the soaring

Just as the temple in

in

Cambodia,

its

acroteria, their shapes

Khmer

this

form.

vaguely suggestive of the

way

single type

of details comprising
of Khmer

its

of moulding and

struction; each individual 'tile'

on the

first

level

and

is

all

Again, the develop-

fenestration could be traced step

earliest

by

examples of Cambodian
is

cut in the shape of a lotus petal.

the

and col-

fabric are individually

arcliitectural decoration.

Among the multiple elements worthy of special notice

slender balusters

with the

interfere

the

mamier

the curved roofs of the galleries are carved in imitation of earlier overlapping

cloister

The

plan and elevation marks the high point of architectural design

so the hundreds

through an evolution beginning with the very

tecture.*^

it

profile.

lectively the ultimate refinement

ment of each

windows of the temple were

The

step

arclii-

in wliich
tile

opcnijigs

con-

of the

originally filled with

m continuation of a technique already observed at the Phimcanakas.

should be noted that there

the structure of Angkor

is

might be
plans of the temples of Mysore,

in this latter regard

chaitya arch form. All these projecting details, however, in no

verticality

sik-

Gothic prototype.

its

or rings of masonry, and each one of these horizontal

i:ine levels

by sharply pointed

girdled

is

from

any one Indian antecedent to

really impossible to assign

from the

are as different

differs

is

no

Wat:

distinctive

KJimer order in the

these are for the

pillars

It

used for support in

most part square posts with a very simple

no way comparable with the ela-

lotiform necking at the top of the individual shafts in

borate pillars of the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian orders in Lidia.

kor

Wat

displayed the greatest

terior in terms

of the

roofs;

lieving,

of the

and

skill

of light and shade;

and

it is

at the

and

we

same time strengthening by

Even

kor

Wat

is

all its

of Ang-

in the carving

and number of torus mouldings re-

these bold horizontal accents, the facades

of these mouldings

in such details as the individual profiles

the architectural motifs appear to be original Klimer inventions in

Indian models. As in

builders

have already seen evidence of this

especially notable in the depth

central pyramid.

The

providing tcxtural variety to the ex-

taste in

predecessors, the vaulting

of the

galleries

no way

related to

and towers of Ang-

constructed entirely on the corbel principle, with iron dowels used to hold

together the superimposed courses of masonry.^'

supported by weight and gravity. At Angkor

The

structure

Wat we

is

mortarless and

have what

is

is

only a more

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

complicated

combmadon of many

small elements to

form

a larger

building which, as has already been explained, was necessitated

by

whole, a method of

the

Khmer

architects'

ignorance of any but the most primitive types of vaulting.

What most
of plan

is

only the

impresses the visitor to

Angkor Wat beyond

its

gigantic scale and clarity

the great beauty and variety of sculptural ornament. This decoration

finest

of the iconography of the monument

for an understanding

The development of rehef sculpture

Wat, follows

is

not

achievement of the Cambodian sculptors, but of tremendous significance

by

step

step the

Cambodia, which

in

growth of KJimcr

architecture

beginnings to the final explosive Baroque style of the

by

tecture, as illustrated

as a

last

whole.

attains

these buildings that are so closely derived

from

late

apogee
its

in

Angkor

strongly Indian

period. In early

Sambor, sculpture plays

the temples at

its

from

Khmer

archi-

a subordinate role; in

Gupta or Pallava models the carving

and tympana and the insertion of figures in

niches let in the walls. Some of the structures at Sambor arc ornamented with medallions
filled with reliefs, a type that almost certainly stems from the employment of this form
is

hmited to the decoration of the

lintels

Buddhist sites hke Amaravati.^"

During the next three hundred years there is a marked increase in the amount of
sculptural ornament and in the richness of its carving; lintel and tympanum panels are
filled to overflowing with deeply carved floral motifs or subjects from the Rdmayana and
at later

the Mahabhdrata

particularly well
figures
as

the wall

more and more broken up by

is

every pinnacle and crenellation

deities;

by

case

still

niches containing images of

As may be illustrated
Baphuon (Plate 159A), the

bristhng with carving.

the tenth-century decorations of the

and rehef compositions are

was the

is

confined to the hmitation of panels and frames,

with reHef sculpture of the Gupta Period. The

the legend of Vishnu

on

this

monument is not

effect

unlike that of the

of the scenes from

Gupta

stelae at Sarnath,

with separate episodes enacted by relatively few figures located in a number of super-

imposed individual

When we come

panels.

to the sculpture of

Angkor Wat,

the rehefs have completely burst

and arc extended over the entire surface of the wall: even the figures of
sometimes still placed in niches, for the most part stand free of any encompassing

their boundaries

apsaras,

framework

nymphs

many details of costume, gesture, and pose, these celestial

immortal sculptural counterparts of the dancers in the modem Cam-

(Plate i6ob). In

are the

Phnom

Penh. The individual forms could be described

bodian

ballet at

Khmer

ethnically as well as stylistically.

lips are

seen in the Klimer

smile, the

wistful

The

Buddha type

completely

as well.

This combination of the stereotyped

dehcacy of proportion, and the affected elegance of gestures lends a certain

charm and piquancy

to the conception quite different

frankly sensuous Indian conception of female beauty.

tively flat in carving,
foil for

as

square faces with wide eyes and enormous

rehefs

from the much more

individual apsaras are rela-

and the rendering of details of costume and ornament provides a

the generahzed treatment of the

The famous

The

of the

cloister at

nude portions of the

bodies.

Angkor Wat extend hke

tapestry around the entire lower circumference

of the building

a continuous stone

(Plate i6oa).

They

are

executed in a few planes of very low rehef, with some of the elements no more than

223

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

incised

on the

may

more permanent
generally unomamented

have been intended

as a

It has been supposed from the

- in contrast to the richness of exterior decoration - that

paintings.

shrines

with their strongly

surface; this teclinique, together

suggest that they

it

pictorial character,

substitute for wall-

of

interiors

ary to decorate the insides of sanctuaries with paintings that have not survived the
ness

of the cUmate and the ruin of the

The iconography of the

building and

its

destination can be understood partly

from an

On

entering

we

the gallery through the western entrance,

is,

the visitor

was expected

to

damp-

fabric.

examination of the rehefs which cover the walls of the basement

that

Khmer

was probably custom-

perform

cloister.

find the rehefs reading

from

right to left;

a counter-clockwise circumambulation.

The

from the Ramayana, legends of Vishnu and Krishna, the Churning

of the Sea of Milk, and scenes of heavens and hells. These representations are partly
historical, symbolizing events from the king's hfe that bore a resemblance to episodes in
subjects include scenes

the legends portrayed. Tlais, together with the counter-clockwise arrangement of the
rehefs, indicates that the

temple was a funerary monument, dedicated in Suryavarman's

Hfetime to the powers of death.

The

dual character of the temple

nature of the statues originally installed in

its

is

completed by the

towers: the central spire housed a statue of

the king - the Devaraja - in the guise of Vislinu; the statues of other avatars of Vishnu

which were

originally placed in the subsidiary towers

ministers, the nineteen lords

of Yama
It

in

as

were presumably

likenesses

gallery.

that the bas-rehefs

of Angkor

Wat were

ornaments magically appropriate to the palace of a god than

specially chosen,
as didactic scenes

destined for the edification of men. Their arrangement was certainly determined

we do

magic principle of orientation, wliich

of his

marching with the king to the realm

are represented

one of the rehefs of the south

must be remembered

more

who

by

not know, rather than by a desire to

instruct the visitors to the sanctuary.

3.

The

Classic Period: the Last Phase [looo-circa 1450)

Khmer buUdijig can well be described by the term 'Flamboyant',

word in its apphcation to Late Gothic architecture imphes, it is characterized
at once by an almost overwhelming exuberance of sculptural methods. The great moment of this period is the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1201), but significant monuments on a somewhat reduced scale continued to be built well on mto the fourteenth

The

final

phase of

since, as this

century.

One of these

later constructions

is

a great

gem of Khmer architecture.

This

is

the sanc-

tuary of Bantcai Srei, the ancient Isvarapura, which was founded by the teacher and
relatives

of King Srindravarman in 1304.^^ The group

to Siva, placed

on a basement platform. There

generally identified as temple libraries. This plan

arrangement of separate towers placed

The whole

precinct

is

in

of three

consists

are, in addition,
is

essentially

shrines dedicated

two other

buildings

only a prolongation of the

we have seen at Sambor and Lolei.

groups that

surrounded by an enclosure with gopuras, a concept that seems

ultimately related to South Indian architecture.

224

The

individual towers have the usual

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

false

doorways repeating the form

They have

the steep pyramidal elevation

cruciform ground plan and are equipped with three

cella (Plate 150B).

of the actual entrance to the

Khmer towers,

topped by a kalasa finial of earher

but here the profile

is

much steeper and

elegantly pointed. Small turrets at the comers of each level serve to cover the transition

of the separate terraced

It is

storeys.

monument that gives it such a definite

the sculptural decoration of this

and elegance. Every wall-space of the base has

of fohate carving. The

ate scrolls

shrines at

portals, following a

Sambor, are crowned with

hntels,

and

refinement

niche with a divinity framed in elabor-

its

scheme going back to the earhest

in addition there

is

a massive

tympanum

framed in an omega-shaped border terminating in upraised naga hoods. Not ordy this,
but the tympanum, in reduced scale, is repeated at every successive level of the supersuitable entrances to the devalokas personified in these

though to provide

structure, as

These tympana are only the

storeys.

development of

final

Khmer form

evolved

as

early as the seventh century.

One of these pediments from

analysis (Plate 161 a).

It

Ravana shaking Mount

Kailasa.^^ Here, as in

was evidently done

the carving

the eastern library building

after the sandstone blocks

comparison with the Chalukya version of this theme

as original

Cranach

is

is

particularly

worthy of

we have already seen at EUiira: the giant

coimtless other Khmer architectural rehefs,

represents a tableau that

and far-removed from

its

precedent

from the great Itahan versions of the

the illustrative point of view the composition

as,

let us say,

subject

is

of the

fabric

were

in place. In

conception

at Ellura, the

a rechning

by Giorgione and

entirely clear, but

it

about the representation,

of an elaborate

ballet.

as

though the

The pyramidal shape of

figures

the

about

Titian.

From

completely lacks

the dynamic, awe-inspiring character of Indian rehefs of the Ramdyana. There

ful feeling

is

Venus by

were moving

is

a play-

in the measures

main compositional elements, of

form of the tympanum. The

course, lends itself remarkably well to filling the chaitya

interior

of the serpentine border framing the panel and surrounding

a luxuriant floral
like the

ornament

that has as

its

areas

is

covered with

basic design a curling fern frond motif,

cloud and water patterns of Chinese T'ang sculpture. But

this

not un-

resemblance

is

cer-

tainly to be regarded as accidental.

This same basic

(Plate i6ib).

floral

These reUefs

in the evolution

design

is

even more noticeable in the

are, as in the case

of a member

typical

position with a single deity

reliefs.

lintels at

last

Bantcai Srei

and most florid stage

of Cambodian architectural decoration from

beginnings. Indeed, in this final example

the arrangement of carhcr

of the tympana, the

many of the

essential features are

its

copied from

These borrowings would include the general comBrahma on a hamsa - set in a kind of fohate

in this case,

polylobed embrasure, and the curling garlands in the shape of an ox-yoke or omega that
run across the field of the panel. Every available space is filled with twining leaf-forms
with inverted calyx cups suspended firom beaded stems forming vertical divisions in the
ornament. The carving is of a crispness and extravagant ricliness that are typical of this
final

'

Rococo phase of Khmer

The most

'

art.

spectacular arclaitectural achievement in this last chapter

tory was the laying out of the

new

capital at

225

Angkor

Thom

of Cambodian

by Jayavarman

his-

VII. This

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

foundation and the earlier capital of Yasodharapura were not
sense

of the word

walls and

as centres

cities in

of population. The vast enclosure

moat was reserved only

for temples,

our, or the Indian,

witliin the

encompassing

and the palaces of the king and nobles,

The

together with buildings for the military and judicial branches of government.

body of the population serving

ficial reservoirs

The

^^

themselves

inner galleries built in the

primary

state

The four

hved

outside,

around the various

or harais and the banks of the Siemreap River. Vatican City, or the

lin in Tsarist days, offer

^H

these institutions

of the

as

remote European

parallels for this

great
arti-

Krem-

type of capital

form of cross with recessed corners. This first stage corresponds

of which only a fragment of the basement has been recovered.
i\

to a

central block

angles of the inner galleries

commenced

at the

same

level as the preceding galleries but at a

later date.

^^
I

The

outer galleries.

The

si.xteen passages

or chapels, which afterwards were intentionally demohshed, and the

Figure 43.

these,

libraries.

The Bay on, Angkor Thorn: Plan

planning; in India, one can think only of the great temple

Madura, but

two

cities

of South India such

of course, were sacred enclosures not comprising any

as

secular

buildings.

The

last

Khmer

in the early years

Thorn

building of any size to be dedicated at

of the thirteenth century

(Plate 151).

(Figure 43).

It

leries survive.

was

The Bayon,
first

as

planned

it

Angkor was

as the centre

of the new

the Bayon, erected

capital

of Angkor

stands to-day, represents four different remodellings

as a horizontal

temple: of this stage only the outer gal-

There followed the erection of an inner gallery system,

226

raised

on

podium

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

and connected by sixteen chapels to the outer system.

were

subsidiary spires

built

Finally, the central

over the original structures. At a

later

tower and

its

(Hindu) period the

were entirely demohshed. Probably the temple was finished and conMahayana Buddliist usage by Jayavarman VII to celebrate his restoration of the
capital following its sack by the Chams in 1177. The thirteenth-century Clainese pilgrim
Chou Ta-kuan, who visited Cambodia in 1296, says of the royal city of Angkor Thom:
sixteen chapels

verted to

The city wall is twenty It in circumference. Outside the wall there is a wide moat, beyond
which there are causeways with bridges. On either side of the bridges there are fifty-four stone
demons, like stone generals, gigantic and terrible. The five gates are identical. The parapets of
the bridges are of stone, carved in the shape of nine-headed serpents. The fifty-four demons
hold the serpents in their hands.
On the city gates there are five stone heads of Buddha, their
faces turned to the west, the middle one being adorned with gold. The two sides of the gates
are carved as elephants' heads. The wall is entirely built of superimposed blocks of stone. ...
The stones are carefully and sohdly joined, and no weeds grow on them.^^
.

We shall presently recognize all the elements

by

Chou Ta-kuan

mentioned

in

tliis

precise account. Refer-

'The centre of the realm is marked

tower of gold surrounded by more than twenty towers of stone and a hundred

ring specifically to the Bayon,

writes:

stone chambers', a succinct description of the sanctuary with

maze of galleries.
In its present form

monument has

the

its

multiple spires and

the essential pyramidal elevation of many earher

examples (Plate 151). The most distinctive feature is the carving of gigantic masks of the
Bodhisattva Lokesvara - 'the Lord of the World' - on the four sides of each and every

one of the towers.^"* Similar heads are repeated on the towers of the chapels,

of the

city wall, and, as

the compass.

Chou Ta-kuan

The Bayon

is

in the centre

at the

comers

noted, over the gateways at the four points of

of the square

city plan,

from which

avenues radiate to the portals in the walls (Figure 44). These walls

may

intersecting

be regarded

the outer enclosure of the sanctuary and symbohcally intimately related to

as

it.

The temple proper was the central mountain or Meru, like the centre of earlier Khmer
symbohsm extends to the city walls, wliich stand for the cakrauala, the

capitals ; here the

circumambient mountain ranges around the mythical world mountain; and the outer

moat completes

the magic

image

as a

hkeness of the ocean that girdles the world.

The

import of this vast complex in architecture is completed by parallel rows of the colossal
figures of gods and giants - the 'demons' of Chou Ta-kuan's description - holding the
coils

of a great serpent, so that they appear to be hterally using the Meru - the

city

of

Angkor Thom itself- as the pestle for their churning of the Sea of Milk (Plate 152A).
Not only the four faces on each of the towers of the Bayon (Plate 158A), but also the
head of the Buddha image found in the ruins of the central tower (Plate 1583) are probably to be interpreted as ideal portraits of the king as an mcamation of the Bodhisattva
Lokesvara. Tliis Buddha statue, hke the central deities or lingas of Hmdu Devarajas, was
the very palladium of Empire. The multiplication of the masks of Lokesvara at every
pomt of the compass was mtended to indicate and magically to ensure the radiation of
the Devaraja's power to every comer of the realm. There were not fifty Lokesvaras but
one deity everywhere manifested. The chapels of the Bayon were all inscribed with
227

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

from various provinces of die Empire, and had
or Buddhist, which were locally worshipped in these places,

dicm images, Brahmanic

proclaim by this
concentration in the central temple of the Empire that Jayavarman was king, not only
at Angkor, but in every region of his Empire. It was the magic function of the masks of
dedications

in

in order to

Lokesvara and of the chapels of the provinces to maintain the essence of sovereignty, the

power of the Devaraja, in every quarter of the realm.

The Bayon, transformed into a temple-mountain by Jayavarman VII, illustrates an
arrangement of horizontal and vertical elements only somewhat different from that
divine

NGKOR
WAT

Figure 44.

Angkor Thorn Plan

:

which determined the form of Angkor Wat. The galleries are all roofed with corbelled
vaults; the exterior of these roofs, as at Angkor Wat, is carved in imitation of tiling. The
towers, constructed as usual without any mortar, maintain their stabihty only through
the sheer
trates the

ates

downward

enormous mass of masonry. The monument

pressure of the

and overwhelms the architecture that supports

The

quantity of carving on the

Bayon

is

decorated with

reliefs

it.

so great that

individual details of sculpture for special analysis.

The

it is

difficult to single

how

of scenes of peace and war within the Empire and

background of the

we can

subjects

from

our

illus-

see in

by first incising the design on the surface and then

low rehef The compositions are even more densely

the sculptors proceeded

chiselling out the

out any

outer walls of the precinct are

the Rdiiiayatm (Plate 159B). Tins carving remains unfinished, and

tration

illus-

fmal stage in a process whereby the sculptural ornament completely domin-

228

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

crowded than those of Angkor Wat, and, although the narration
actual workmansliip is cruder and more summary.
This

last

monument of Khmer

arranged

building, the Bayon,

one of sculpture, with the towers,

architecture as

as a great

mandala

in stone.

is

is

extremely hvely, the

really not so

like so

many

much

work of

round,

statues in the

Here, as at Angkor Wat, circumscribed panels are

not sufficient for the accommodation of the narrative reUefs: the whole building and the
outer wall of

The

enclosure provide the background for the endless defile of

its

moving

overwhelmed the building, unconfmed by

any space or hmitation. This development from a hmited, almost classical, conception
of rehef to an overflowing Baroque manner exactly parallels the transition we have alfigures.

sculpture has, in other words,

ready studied in the evolution from the technique of Gupta relief sculpture to the dyna-

mic conception of the medium under the Pallavas and

said,

later

Hindu

dynasties.

could be

It

perhaps, that the immensely comphcated and rich type of this late sculpture was

exactly appropriate to the complexity of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Without the walls of Angkor Thorn is a small dedication of the

known

on

stands

Neak Pean

as

(Plate

152B and Figure 45).

a stepped lotiform plinth circled

of water. From

The

by two nagas

single

in the centre

of a square basin

four smaller tanks fed from the main reservoir

this font radiate

gargoyles in the shape of the heads of a horse, a lion, an elephant, and a

Iconographically this

a perfect reconstruction

is

human

the spirits in heU.

The

central

The

tanks were intended for ritual ablution and the

by

face.^'

of the concept of that magic lake

in the

men and

Himalayas, the waters of which pour out through the four great rivers to solace

was dedicated

century,

late thirteenth

tower of the sanctuary

whole complex

to the merciful Bodhisattva Lokesvara.

tower was erected on the usual cruciform plan.

It

was formerly

entirely

crushed and hidden in the network of roots from a banyan tree that grew from its summit,

but has

now

been freed of this entanglement to reveal a tower culminating in a lotiform

fmial and in profde suggesting the fourteenth-century spires of Banteai Srei.

The

false

doors of the Uttle building are carved with rehefs of the same Lokesvara enshrined at the

Bayon. The whole has

hghmess and dehcacy of conception, combiiied with an exis entirely typical of this last period of

tremely complex iconographical meaning, that

Khmer rehgious architecture.

One has the feeling, in studying tliis and aU the vast architectural dedications of these
fmal centuries of Khmer liistory, that these enterprises were the result of the patronage of
the nobiUty and entrenched priesthood with the collaboration of a privileged class of
silpins

Once

and the enforced

this entire

upper

assistance

and

class

of what must have been whole armies of slave labour.

patronage disappeared with the mihtary defeat by

its

the Siamese in the fifteenth century, the culture

Although the history of rehef sculpture

discussion

of the architecture

it

in

decorates, the

up

in the so-called

penh

which

development of the

of the

part

cult image, generally

as a separate topic.

Indian influence, and a

(Plate 156A), in

supported vanished forever.

We have already examined the types

Pre-Khmer Period, works under the stronggroup of statues typified by the Harihara of Plmom-

free-standing, can be taken

of scidpture that flourished

est possible

it

Cambodia must properly form a

signs

of a completely native originahty are apparent.

229

It is

in

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

the period following the establishment of Khmer supremacy in the eighth, ninth, and

tenth centuries that types of Buddliist and

Hindu images completely Khmer

in character

are gradually evolved.

During

period Brahmanic figures prolonging the style of the pre-Khmer Period

this

continued to be carved, but, as early as the tenth century, in the sculpture found at the
sites

of Phnom Bakheng and

traits that

remain more or

ample a four-armed

statue

fixed for the entire later development. Taking as an ex-

from Plinom Baklieng

20

30

40

generalization.

is

modeUing of the body

of the

strictly

vital surface

Neak

Pcan,

in Saivite apotheosis

There

a certain rigidity

is

Angkor Thorn: Plan

we

notice

of

first

and heaviness about the

all

a tendency towards

plastic conception.

The

now Uttlc more than a definition of the main architectural mass

columnar form with

a disappearance

of the extraordinary

quahty that distinguished the pre-Klimer

The costume

- probably the royal

METRES

Figure 45.

donor Yasovarman

(Plate 156B)

100 FEET

50
10

Koh Ker there are signs of the evolution of definite Khmer

less

sensitivity

and

statues.

has undergone certain modifications, too

instead

of the dhoti of the

we have a pleated skirt supported by a belt and characterized by

hanging down in front Hke a sporran. The figured design of the

seventh-century images

an anchor-shaped fold
cloth

is still

indicated

by

incision,

but has become rather obtrusive and lacking the deh-

cacy of the carving of such details in the earhcr

230

statues.

CAMBODIA: THE KHMERS

of images

In the Early Classic Period the heads

is

retain the essentially block-like

tempted to say Poly cUtan '- form typical of the very

'

sculpture,

tion

of the

brows

on

however, begins to assume a more hard,

a defmite

Buddha,

by the

fact that

flat

The

of the eyes and hps. The

The

features also take

many of them,

although ostensibly representations of

of the Devaraja. This

etlinic flavour

noses with flaring nostrils and the voluptuous fullness of the hps.

The snail-shell curls of the Buddha heads and the hair and beards of heads of men,

Koh Ker in

example probably from

of cutting that gives

cision

- one

(Plate 157A).

degree of reahsm probably to be explained

racial character, a

Siva, or Vislinu, are ideal portrait statues

manifests itself in

lines

an almost straight horizontal line across the face.

Cambodian

in part, at least,

works

linear character in the incised defini-

example, in the double contour

features, as, for

now form

earliest

like the

our Plate 157A, are rendered with an engraved pre-

a certain hardness to the carving. This

same laborious

treat-

ment of detail extends to the representation of the jewelled intricacies of head-dresses.

The effect of these sculptures of the ninth and tenth centuries is already one of dryness
and

hieratic severity, lacking the feeling

of vitahty that distinguished the works of the

Funan Period.

The Khmer heads of the period of Angkor Wat continue the rather hard style of the
The outline of the mass of the hair is separated from the face - sometimes by a broad band or edging - as though it were a cap
pulled over the skull and ushnisha. The precise lineal defmition of the features is someprevious period of development (Plate 157B).

what

marked; the eyebrows are invariably carved

less

these heads

show

lowered hds and the

set

smile of the thick and broad

tude becomes a chche of

all later

Khmer

meaningless and aesthetically displeasing

The
ture

lips.

sculpture.

as the

painting, through the upward-rolling eyes

Reni and

in raised rehef; but,

above

all,

tendency in the direction of sweemess of expression, accented by the

This suggestion of inner beati-

It is

manner

that can be just as

expression of piety in European Baroque

and gaping mouths of the

saints

by Guido

his followers.

tendencies towards generahzation and formalized hardness persisting in the sculp-

of Angkor

Wat reach a culmination in

thirteenth centuries.

Not only

the style of the

Bayon of the late

the giant heads of Lokesvara (Plate 158A),

might explain the lack of feeling, but aU sculpture of this period

mask-like fixity of expression enhanced

by

the exaggeration of the

even more mechanical execution (Plate 15 8b). There

is

no longer

tion of that striving for the rendering of the vitalizing structure

is

characterized

Khmer

in the

and

twelfth and

where

scale

by

smile and an

end any indica-

essential nature

of

human body that marked the magnificent efforts of the sixth and seventh centuries.
The heads from the period of the Bayon in certain respects have a dreamy, soft quahty

the

which

is

due to the abandonment of that precise

work of the

Early Classic Period.

parts affixed to the block

is

The

of details typical of the

do not stand out as separate
mass, so that to some degree there

linear defmition

individual features

of the head, but melt into

this

Funan Period. Many of the heads, howBayon, are so much alike that they might

a return to the strong plastic conception of the

ever, notably the collection

from

of masks on the

same mould. There

have been

cast

the peace

of the Buddhist soul wliich

the

is

monotony in

totally lacks the

231

tliis

formula for expressing

wonderful feehng of individual

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

creation and fierce striving for the solution of plastic

form

as

we see it in the great master-

of the sixth and seventh centuries.

pieces

Examples of Cambodian metal-work of all periods are preserved

in

in various collections

Indo-China and the West.^* They are reasonably exact counterparts on a small

of the monumental sculpture of the

different periods

high order of fmeness of casting and craftsmanship.

time most unusual specimens, said to have
the

Museum of Fine

brum

Arts, Boston.

wonder

representing a

It

One of the loveUest and at the same

come from

the Bayon, is in the collection of

was probably part of a kind of flowering candela-

of which consisted of

tree in Indra's Paradise the fruit

beautiful maidens for the pleasure

scale

of development and are of a very

of the gods. The fragment

in

our Plate 162 shows an

on an open lotus pod, while another celestial girl emerges from a bud at
of Klimer sculpture do we find such a wonderful realization of the
quahty of styUzed rhythm that is at the basis of all Cambodian design - in the dance, in
architecture, in sculpture. The lines of the ogee-shaped floral enframement repeat the
sinuous outline of the arms and legs of the dancer. The gesture of her upraised arms continues the wonderful suggestion of pUant growth in the supporting vine. Although badly
corroded, enough of the origmal surface is visible for us to see the great refinement in
modelling and in the rendering of the chased details of the floral accessories. The Httle
apsaras dancing

the

In

left.

no

is

This

which

is

so close to the representation

hesitation in dating this piece

of apsaras on the Bayon

itself that

the late twelfth or early thirteenth century.

period of Khmer civihzation was one of gigantic architectural programmes,

way imposed mass production. One has the feehng that the labour involved

final

in a

in the erection
else

pieces

of the dancer

figure

there

few

of the vast complexes of the

exhausted not only the

against the Siamese,

of Angkor came

who

Khmer

for long

last

century of Angkor more than anything

genius, but the strength for

any kind of resistance

had been threatening the western

in the fifteenth century

frontiers.

The end

with a disastrous Siamese campaign. Although

shadow of a Cambodian monarchy continued for some centuries at Plinom-Penh,

epic ends with this debacle. Another reason that nught be advanced for the
disappearance of Khmer civihzation is that, with the sweeping away of the Cambodian
the

the

Khmer

aristocracy

and priesthood, folk-art replaced the grandiose dreams of a cosmos created

in

stone.
It is

commentary on

the failure of the last century of Khmer rehgion that the people

apparently were quite eager to abandon the complexity of Vajrayana

fantastic

their

symbohc

arcliitecture in

Siamese conquerors

Buddhism and

its

favour of the simple philosophic Pali Buddhism which

oflercd.'^^

232

CHAPTER

22

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Although

in the early periods

differentiated

from the

of

development the

its

Cambodia,

tradition in

IN SIAM

it is

art

of Siam can scarcely be

worthy of a

separate consideration,

not only for certain unquestioned masterpieces of Oriental sculpture, but for the lesson
contained in the decline of a traditional

art,

with which Siamese work of the

later

cen-

turies furnishes us.

In so far as

dom

and

it is

possible to be definite about the hazy begirmings

its art, it

of the Siamese king-

can be said that probably in the early centuries of the Christian era

Mon people from lower Burma gradually settled themselves in

where they merged with the Lao-Thai, originally from Tibet and
South China. About a.d. 550 the Mon invaders were able to assert their superiority and
to found the Empire of Dvaravati with themselves as the ruling class. This first Siamese
dynasty maintained its sovereignty until c. 1000, when the territories around the Gulf of
Indianizcd groups of the
the

Mekong

Valley,

Siam were reconquered by the Klimers. Although scientific excavation has been limited
few sites, a considerable amount of material, sculpture in both stone and metal
and fragments of architecture, has been brought to light and enables us to form some idea
to only a

of the character of this earhcst Siamese

culture.

Like the contemporary Buddhist sculpture of Cambodia, the Siamese images of the
sixth century reveal

an unquestionable dependence on the prototypes of the Gupta

Period in India, but even these statues from ancient

emergence of certain
is

Ayudhya and Romlok show

to be discerned particularly in the type

of heads and

features.

The heads are more

than not too large for the bodies, so that there cannot have been any

strict

suggestion of a Siamese ethnic type in the broad face with a relatively

mously

full Hps.

Another

characteristic

and prominence of the individual

actual carving

robe,

is

Ajanta.

of the body, which

is

derived from the style of the

The extremely

image
that

be regarded

as a

a definite

entirely revealed

The

through the simplified sheath-hke

Buddha images of the Gupta Period

art. It

the

is

cover the head like a cap.

is

has certain characteristics in

in Seattle, specifically the very pattcmized flower-like shapes

may

is

nose and enor-

of the Buddhas of the Dvaravati Period

snail-shell curls that

beautiful head reproduced in our Plate 164

dianizcd phase of Siamese Buddhist

flat

often

observance of

the Indian canonical systems of proportion. In the example illustrated there

size

the

definitely recognizable Siamese characteristics (Plate i63a).^ This

at

Sarnath and

typical

of this In-

common with the

of the eyes and Hps

Siamese interpretation of the Indian metaphorical method of

representing the Buddha's features. Although the arched

brows and lotiform eyes

are

here entirely integrated with the thoroughly sculptural conception of the head, this ten-

dency to pattemize the features - treating them

inorganic mask - was to end, many centuries
sculpture into an

empty ornamental formula.

233

as parts
later, in

of

a decorative

appHque

to an

the disintegration of Siamese

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Cambodia of

Pre-Khmer Period, Indian missionary activity included the

number of Brahmanic images
of the sixth century are extremely interesting, and quite different from contemporary
work in Cambodia. A typical example is the standing image of Vishnu in the National
Museum at Bangkok (Plate 163 b). Certain teclinical factors relate this statue to the
As

in

the

introduction of Hindu as well as Buddhist ritual and art; a

Pallava style of the sixth and seventh centuries.

Not only

the conception of the figure in

terms of mass and simplified planes, but the manner in which the form appears to

emerge,

as

though not entirely disengaged, from the plain background of rock

diately reminiscent

of the masterpieces of Pallava carving

pointed face with high cheekbones

the contemporary

One of the

is

again

Buddha images of this

more

at

is

imme-

Mamallapuram. The rather

closely related to Indian originals than

period.

is a bronze torso of a Bodform of Avalokitesvara, preserved in the National Museum at

Bangkok (Plate 165). The term Srivijaya has been appHed to this and a few related
images to indicate that they date from a period of Javanese dominance of the Malay

hisatr\'a,

great masterpieces of early Siamese sculpture

most

likely a

is very closely related to the late Buddhist art of Bengal, as repreby the bronzes of Nalanda and the ninth- and tenth-century sculpture of the Pala
Dynasty. The exquisite precision in the comphcated details of jewelled accessories and
the way the sharpness and hardness of these features contrast with and enhance the softness of the flesh parts are not far removed from the style of the Safichi torso of the Pala

Peninsula. This object

sented

The

Period (Plate 95).

figure

was

cast in the

body

sinuous twist of the

The end of the Dvaravati Empire comes with

and the estabUshment of a viceroyalty
Kilmer

is

a phase

of art

in

of the Angkor Period

style

cult to distinguish

by

earHest icons,

from

actual

is

at the capital

complete, the
is

almost

Khmer

invasion in the tenth century

of Lopburi, about eighty miles north

Siam that is simply a local off-shoot of the developed

(Plate 166). The Buddha heads of this period, diffi-

Cambodian work,

are characterized, as

certain very definite Siamese traits: the

brows, pointed noses, and broad, prominent

as

when

of aU periods.

universal in Indian images

of Bangkok. This

indicates that,

pose of the three bends (tribhanga), the dehanchement that

cliins are all

were the very

very straight overhanging

hall-marks of the Lopburi

As

early as the ninth century, groups

China had again begun

to

of the Thai people of Yiinnan

move westward

into

what

is

in south-western

to-day northern Siam.

By

thirteenth century these invaders had so strongly established themselves that they
able to expel the

Khmers and

(Chiengsen) in the northern

first

definite

to

found the

Menam

first

Valley.

national Siamese dynasty at

The Buddhist

emergence of what can accurately be described

art

Buddha type

is

distinguished

double-upward curve

modeOed Hps

by

as a

Siamese

the arched eyebrows, the exaggerated

in the lids, the

(Plate 167).

Bronze

hooked sharp nose and

now

the

were

Chiengmai

of this period marks the

although influenced to a certain extent by Pala prototypes from Burma.

style,

the fondness for a particularly elaborate conical uslinisha.^

st\'le

and

ideal,

The Cliiengmai

almond

eyes with

rather small and delicately

almost entirely supplants stone

as a material for

sculpture.
In the last seven

hundred years of Siamese history

234

it is

possible,

of course,

to difleren-

SIAM
among many

date

styhstic evolution
terial

is,

different local schools

of scidpture, but the

most of it,

and to trace the gradual transformations in the

aesthetic value

of this enormous amount of ma-

so insignificant that such an analysis need not detain us.

The later history of sculpture in Siam is one of decadence towards the evolution of the
Buddha image manufactured during the Ayudhya Period. The statues
made during the Suk'ot'ai Period (thirteenth to fourteenth centuries) are marked by a

final stereotyped

gradual simplification of the formulas of the

attractive

from

head

Khmer

in the

Museum of Fine

Khmer and Cliiengmai

types.

A particularly

Arts, Boston, belongs to this period

to a purely Siamese expression (Plate i68). In this head,

of

transition

which is of stone

covered with gold lacquer, the shape of the brows and the mouth, sharply defmed by
linear incision,

is still

suggestive of the

Khmer

type, but the elongation

of the face and

the appearance of an indefmable sentimental quahty - a softness partially due to the gilt

appHque - unmistakably mark the evolution towards the sculpture ofthe Ayudhya Period.
and

In the bronze images of the fifteenth century

tion

of the

linear definition

of the

tive rather than a structural

The

features.

later

parts

we find a pronounced exaggera-

of the

face are treated in a decora-

manner, so that the area between the eye and eyebrow

modelled continuously with the

side

of the nose

(Plate 169A). Tliis dry, decorative

ner extends to the treatment of the hands with fingers often of equal length, and the
formless bodies are set off by meaningless

Rococo

is

manstiff,

of drapery sometimes heavily

swirls

encrusted with gold reUef in imitation of embroidery texture (Plate 169B).

Siamese architecture in

its

development exactly

the analysis of sculpture in the historical periods;

parallels

we find,

as

what has been revealed by

is

to be expected, a kind of

Indian colonial architecture in the early periods, succeeded by structures,

Kilmer, and

later a

tecture, like that

Burmese

style

of sculpture, is

of building the
;

in the direction

tive rather than functional consideration

final

first in

a purely

development of Siamese archi-

of Rococo richness of detail and a decora-

of structure. The

earliest sanctuaries in

Siam

proper, like the temples at Sri Dcva, are the exact equivalents of the sixth- and seventh-

The form of the sikhara tower and the employment of the

window are, hke the pre-Khmer spires at Sambor, at once

century buildings in Funan.

roll

cornice and protome

reminiscent of the Pallava style.^

The

shrines at Lopburi, the capital

of the Klimer Period, are closely related to the

Wat Mahadhatu

(Mahat'at) at Lop-

example of the Siamese temple of the Khmer Period

(Plate 170). In plan

tenth- and eleventh-century buildings at Angkor.

buri
it

is

a typical

consists

of a sikhara preceded by

a closed

mandapa, so

that the resemblance to Indian

is obvious. Both elements are set on a common basement storey in the

manner of some of the shrines at Pattadakal. The sikhara itself bears a certain resemblance
to the towers of Angkor Wat. Although constructed in diminishing storeys, the division
into horizontal rmgs of masonry is not present, as in the great Khmer sanctuary. On the
spire of Wat Mahadhatu the comers of each level are marked by spiky acroteria, which
serve to make a vertical transition from level to level. Plainly derived from Klimer

temple plans

prototypes are the richly carved

lintels

and flame-shaped pediments.

It

will be noted that

the successive stages of the sikhara have diminishing repetitions of the pediment shape,
as in

some of the towers of the Late

Classic Period in

235

Cambodia.

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

A

rather puzzling but interesting

Lamp'un, erected by the

principal

tower

Mahal

Sat

is

that

Mon

monument of Siamese

King

of a terraced pyramid,

Prasat at Polomiaruwa. Probably

buildings should be inferred, but, rather, a

of the Kilmer temple-mountain,

architecture

Dittaraja (1120-50) (Plate 171).

immediately

a shape that will

no

direct relationsliip

common

derivation

is Wat Kukut at
The form of the

recall the

between these two

from the simplest form

Baksei Chamkrong. At

Lamp'un
Cambodian shrine has become the temple proper, and
the form of the tower shrine at the summit of the Khmer prasada is suggested only by
the spire at the topmost level of the building.'* At Wat Kukut the niches on every level
of the structure are filled with Buddha images that represent an archaistic revival of the
as seen in a shrine like

the stepped pyramidal base of the

Dvaravati

style.

Near Chicngmai

northern Siam

a dedication

is

us with yet another illustration of the kind

on uninterruptedly through every phase of Siamese

a massive brick structure that

A and

172,

b). It

was

temple city by King

clearly a

most

built,

Meng

is

of the Thai Period, which presents

of borrowing from foreign models that went

architecture. This

Bodh Gaya. Copying famous

at

new

site,

Pagan

iOustration

act

is

(Plate

Burmese
a repHca

Indian shrines, like

of merit that was beheved

through such imitations, something of the essence

of the Buddha attached to the prototype

bodies the

at

likely, shortly after the visit paid to this

making of rcphcas of venerable Indian images, was an

magically to transport to the

Examining the

Wat Chet Yot,

Rai in 1290. Ultimately, of course, the sanctuary

of the original Mahabodhi temple

the

is

copy of the Mahabodhi temple

in India.'

of Wat Chet Yot,

main masses of its prototypes

in the

we

notice that the rephca closely

form of the

lofty

em-

basement surmounted

by a central truncated pyramidal tower with four auxiliary turrets. The figural sculpture
on the exterior was added at a later period, but, in its arrangement, attempts to imitate
the Mahabodhi shrine as it was in the Pala Period. Certainly the Great Temple at Gaya
was the most copied edifice in the Buddhist world, but its rephcas in Burma, Siam, and
in the Far East are always in a sense original creations, just as the different versions of the
basilica

The

of St
ruins

Peter's are original architectural designs.

of Ayudhya, the

Burmese, present us with

the stupa

form

(Plate 173).

the ashes of Buddhist holy

series

from 1350

to 1767,

when

it

was destroyed by the

characteristic Siamese

development of

These monuments or prachedis were intended

men and

They

round

as shrines for

in plan,

with a

of diminisliing rings leading up to the bell-shaped dome, from wliich

rises a

tapering, onion-hke finial.

ings

capital

many examples of the

the Siamese kings.

The Siamese

prachedis are

are

composed of a

variety of borrow-

from Singhalese and Burmese models: the ringed base and bell-dome suggest the

Burmese examples.
by the numerous palaces and
temples erected in Bangkok since 1782.* The hots or sanctuaries are built largely of
wood with elaborately carved barge-boards and gables. One of the most distinctive
features of these modem buildings is the projecting 'ox-horns' on the gables. These
are actually stylized representations of nagas. The decorative accessories of these later
dagobas of Ceylon, and the peculiarly pointed form

The

last

phase of Siamese architecture

structures are a

is

is

related to

represented

hodge-podge of borrowings from ancient Siamese and

236

modem

Cliinese

SIAM
Although often verging on the garish

in the variety of materials and colours

employed, they are extremely pleasing in the contrast between the white walls and
columns and the richly inlaid gables and tiled roofs. The overlapping or telescoped roofs

sources.

that are such an inevitable part

in actuahty

early

of these

structures recall the galleries

of Angkor Wat, but

both are ultimately descended from the employment of

wooden

Cambodia and Siam.

including work in lacquer, survives only from

this

technique in

buildings both in

Siamese painting,

the

Ayudhya Period

mainly in illuminated manuscripts, with occasional wall-paintings and temple banners.

The

development in sculpture, reveals onlv

mannered and ornate decorative tradition, in which the inreduced to the same pattemized emptiness that characterizes the

archaistic style, exactly paralleling the final

the exhaustion of a highly

dividual forms are

Buddhist statues of the seventeenth century and

The end of art

craft

now

in

Siam

predominates'.^

fication, are

later.

decadence; whereas 'art and craft were once indivisible, the

is

The

traditional formulae, exhausted

by meaningless simpU-

reduced to an unhappy combination of archaism and sen timen tab ty, just

the panels of the Sienese painters of the early fifteenth century reveal only an
decorative repetition of the

work of Duccio and

237

Sinione Martini.

as

empty and

CHAPTER

23

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF BURMA

Although

for

most Europeans the idea of

elaborately carved

Road to Ahndalay,

palaces

art in

Burma

and gilded pagodas,

conjures up a vision of

as a suitable

background

for

the classical period of artistic achievement

must be sought in
earher epoch of the history of the region. The history of Burmese art may be

Kipling's
a far

wooden

rouglily divided into three periods.

ninth centuries a.d. This

is

The

first

followed by a

extends from the second to the eighth or

classical,

or truly Burmese, period from the

ninth to the thirteenth centuries. After the disastrous invasions of Kublai

Khan and

Burmese art in its last period, completely

severed from its connexions with Buddhist and Hindu India, assumed the character of a
folk art, typified at once by exuberance and poverty of expression.
The original races of Burma in the first mUlennium B.C. comprised the Pyus of Central Asian origin, who had settled in the North, and the Takings of Mon-Khmer stock,
the Siamese in the thirteenth century,

settled in the South.

in

Burma

when the Takings

new capital at Pagan. Indian colonies

This division continued until the eighth century,

conquered the northern provinces and estabhshed a

and Buddliism was firmly

by the fifth century, with the country divided between Mahayanist centres
North and Hinayana Buddliism flourishing in the South.'
certainly existed as early as the first century a.d.,

established
in the

The

monuments of architecture date from the tenth century. PerNat Hlaung Gyaung at Pagan, a temple traditionally dated in
93 1 and one of the few Hindu monuments in the history of Burmese architecture.
Even this structure has certain characteristics of Burmese architecture of all periods.^
The construction is of soHd brick-work with mortar as a binding medium, and only a
sparing use of stone. It is square in plan, with enormously thick walls. Above the basement storey the building ascends by terraces marked by string courses to a conical superstructure that is suggestive more of terminal members of Singhalese stupas than any
monuments in India proper. Other temples of this early period at Pagan, such as the
Ngakye Nadaun of the tenth century, recall the form of Gupta stupas, such as the
earhest surviving

haps the

first

Dhamekh

shrine

is

the

stupa at Samath.^

The most

distinctive Burmese structures date from the period of unification under

King Anawrata of Pagan and his successors, a period when no fewer than five thousand
pagodas were erected in the capital. The buildings may be roughly divided between
stupas and temples that in varying degrees represent a Burmese assimilation and reworking of many famihar foreign elements.
The most typical example is the Mingalazedi stupa of A.D. 1274 (Plate 174A). The
monument consists of three stepped terraces surmounted by a stupa consisting of a cir-

cular basement, likewise arranged in terraces or rings,

finial.

This shape, which

is

and a drum supporting a tapering

is echoed in

suggestive of the terminal stupa of Barabudur,

238

BURMA
smaller replicas at the four comers of the uppermost terrace. Smaller members, shaped

on the comers of the terraces of the basement. Charof the Burmese stupas are the stairways at the four points of the compass,
giving access to the upper portions of the monument. Perhaps the most distinctively
Burmese aspect of the Pagan Period is the emphasis on verticality, stressed by the terlike the Indian kalasa, are located
acteristic

raced recession culminating in the tapering slendemess of the superstructure of the stupa
proper.

The

relationship

shrine as a

of square

buildings, such as
races at

whole bears

terraces

a certain resemblance to Javanese

monuments

and circular superstructures. Like some Javanese

Barabudur and the Siva temple

at

Prambanam,

in the

classical

the walls of the ter-

Mingalazedi were decorated with rehef sculpture leading the pilgrim to the sum-

mit of his circumambulation.

The

closest

of relations between Burma and the

late

Buddhist kingdoms of Bengal are

evident not only from the style of early Burmese sculpture, but from an actual copy of
the

Mahabodhi temple

peats such features

at

at Pagan in 121 5 (Plate 172B). The copy reenormously high and sohd basement and the

Gaya, dedicated

of the original

as the

shape of the truncated pyramid or central tower with

lesser

rephcas of tliis spire at the

angles of the podium.'*

The most famous temple at Pagan is the Ananda temple, rising hke a great white
mountain of masonry topped with pinnacles of gleaming gold (Plate 174B). This sanctuary is the first to strike the eye of the visitor to the ancient city of Buddliist ruins. It is
one of the most venerated and popular temples in Pagan, and has been in worship since
was first constructed by
from India during the reign of King Kyanzittha (1084-1112). Legend has
it that the temple was intended to reproduce the general appearance of the cave where
the Indian monks dwelt on Nandamula Hill.^ Although probably greatly restored, the
temple preserves the plan and essential fabric, dating from its dedication in a.d. 1090.
The plan is that of a Greek cross (Figure 46), the arms formed by massive porticoes
radiating from the centre of the structure. The central portion of the building consists of
the day of

Buddhist

its

dedication. According to tradition, the temple

friars

an immense solid block of masonry that

terior are

two

rises to

support the central sikhara. In the in-

concentric narrow corridors that enable the visitor to perform a circum-

ambulation around the thirty-foot statues of Buddhas.

the central core.

windows

The dim illumination

set in recesses at the

that filters into these galleries

gives the effect of a deep natural grotto, and lends

regarding the derivation from the Indian cave temple.

The

some support

elevation

is

ation of earlier buildings with an enormously high basement storey

terraced
at the

pyramid supporting the

central spire. Smaller rephcas

comers of the terraced platform, serve to enhance

its

scale

four sides of

through small lancet

to the legend

simply an elabor-

surmounted by a

of this member, placed

and to give an

interest-

ing variety to the silhouette. Although extended to a very thin and tapered fmial, the
essential

shape and construction of the terminal stupa at Pagan, with vertical ribs and

horizontal bhumis, are not unlike those of characteristic Orissan temples.

tion of this

enormous

pile,

over one hundred and sixty

feet

The

construc-

high and three hundred feet

is, as usual, almost entirely of brick with walls of great thickness and true vaidts
and arches of the type described above, employed in the porticoes and interior corridors.

wide,

239

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Much of the
Although

exterior decoration

a great deal

of

modern embclhshment,

is

of an almost incredible extravagance and

this carving, typically

way as do the

in

work of the

gives the impression of a

at

temples of the Classic Period in Cambodia.

and the elevation

tically

in a series

of Burmese

plastic unit in

be a

much

art.

the

same

The only possible Indian protoit is

Paharpur in Bengal (Figure 23). The plan of this temple

Figure 46.

cross

floridity.

may

exuberance,

Classic Period

compact

type for the Ananda temple and Burmese structures related to

temple

its

the terra-cotta decoration of the exterior terraces and the stone

rchefs of the interior corridors represent

The Ananda temple

Burmese

the great Brahmanical

in the

shape of a Greek

Ananda Temple, Pagan: Ground plan

of terraces leading to

adapted in the Burmese reworking.

The

a central spire arc features

decoration of the

fi(;-adcs

drama-

of the successive

with countless rehef plaques is another feature repeated in the shrine at Pagan. In
view of the close connexions between Burma and Bengal throughout the Classic Period,
terraces

it is

not

by such

The

at all surprising that the

shape of the great temple should have been determined

North Indian prototype.

liistory

of sculpture

in

Burma

is

marked by an

models towards the formation of a Burmese

architecture. Little or nothing

fragments

as

is

original derivation

from Indian

style that exactly parallels the evolution

of

kno\vn of the sculpture of the early periods. Such

have appeared are only provincial variants of the Gupta

240

style.

Among

the

BURMA
earliest

style

examples of relief sculpture are the panels decorating the Nat Hlaung Gyaung. The

of these carvings, which

illustrate the avatars

of Vishnu and date presumably from

the tenth or eleventh century, has something of the hieratic elegance and refmement of
detail characteristic of Hindu and Buddhist sculpture under the Pala Dynasty in Bengal.
The most frequent subjects for illustration in the Burmese reliefs of the Classic Period are

the Jataka stories. These evidently enjoyed an

tion

enormous popularity

of Singhalese Hinayana Buddhism to Pagan

in a.d. 1057.

The

after the introduc-

style

of the rehefs

decorating the Mingalazedi pagoda seems to have httle to do with any Indian or Sing-

key episode is presented in a conceptual,

which direcmess and conciseness of portrayal were the sculptor's

halese prototypes. In each panel the principal or

archaic manner, in
principal aim.*

Most

typical

of Burmese sculpture of the Classic Period are the countless rehefs

and the hfe of Buddha

trating the Jatakas

interest

in the

Ananda pagoda

at

illus-

Pagan. Perhaps in the

of directness and the opportunities for picturesque elaboration of detail, the

abandoned the traditional method of continuous narration, in

sculptors have entirely

favour of a system in which each episode of the story

panel.

These rehefs also have a certain

stiff,

is

presented in a separate

archaic quahty, but are characterized

by

quahties of clarity, animation, and grace, together with a fondness for the elaboration of

decorative minutiae, that are typically Burmese.

The remains of painting of the

early period in

Burma

are so scanty that httle can be

of its development. Such fragments of thirteenth-century wall-paintings as survive

various shrines near Pagan are clearly derived from the style of Tantric painting of

said

in

Bengal.''

After the disastrous invasions of the twelfth century,

all art

in

Burma

falls

to the level

enormously elaborate wood-carving of the declining centuries of the dynasty. At the very end of this last period - the nineteenth century - were produced the hideously sentimental and miserably carved alabaster Buddhas,
of a folk

art that

is

images that are a

known mostly

final,

in the

sorry degeneration of sculpture in

Burma and

the older Indian

from which it stems.

The setting of the last chapter in the artistic history of Burma is that romanticized in
Kipling's Road to Mandalay, the fantastic architecture of wooden palaces and gilded

tradition

pagodas in the capital of Mandalay, founded in 1857. The palace structures are supported

by whole

forests

ated with the

of gigantic teak pUlars and crowned by multiple roofs and

most

lavish inlay

of gold and lacquer. The towers

rise in

spires

decor-

storeyed slender-

of soaring elegance and attenuation enhanced by the wavering flamemake these structures appear like something out of a fairy-land of
fancy. The multiple overlapping roofs are perhaps an indication of an ulti-

ness, the sensation

shaped acroteria that

architectural

mate

relationsliip to the primitive

which

this

same device was adapted

Just as these buildings, for

all

northern Cambodian
to the stone sanctuaries

wooden

architecture

from

of Angkor.

their elaborateness, are the ultimate descendants

of old

Burmese technique of lacquer decoration goes

at Pagan in the thirteenth century. Actually, this

Indian palace architecture, the typically

period of florescence

back

at least to the

final

phase of Burmese culture, because, rather than in spite

241

of, its provinciahty, reveals

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

a truly

indigenous expressiveness in the native genius for exuberant wood-carving and

inlay that has the vigour and imagination

folk art,

of what might be described as a sophisticated

no longer consciously dependent on any outside traditions of style or icono-

graphy.

242

CHAPTER 24

JAVA
The

history of religion and art in the island of Java

ments took place

as early as the fourth

century a.d.

inscriptions in western Java, although

this

was determined by the continuous

India. That some of these settle-

of immigrants from eastern and southern

infiltration

period survive.

The

of reUgious pilgrimages

first

no

by

attested

great period of Javanese art

Middle Java

in

is

the presence of Sanskrit

architectural or sculptural

and eighth

in the seventh

monuments from

comes with the estabhshment

centuries.

The

great

complexes of temples on the Dieng Plateau were not located within the precincts of the
Javanese capital, but were isolated rehgious centres inhabited exclusively

by

priests.

The

majority of these temples are dedicated to Vishnu, and in their resemblance to Gupta,
Pallava,

and Chalukya prototypes are actually more Indian than Javanese.

typical

box-Uke

example of the Dieng temple

cella

is

Candi Bhima

with a small projecting porch. Above the

terraces repeating the

form of the base

(Plate 175). It consists

cella rises a

in progressively decreasing scale;

higher levels are projecting amalaka quoins recalling

this

form

in

of a

pyramidal tower of

on some of the

Indo-Aryan temples.

Presumably the structure was crowned with a complete styUzed lotus of the same amalaka type.

The

storeys

heads and busts of

of the tower are

deities,

also decorated

ornaments that

with chaitya niches enframing

puram. The individual heads are carved with a primitive vigour and
fication (Plate 176A).

ness

The mask-hke

of MamaUa-

recall the Pallava architecture

fine plastic

simpH-

character of these heads, seen especially in the

of the definition of the planes of the

face,

is

quite un-Indian, and

is

flat-

perhaps to be

an early indication of the Indonesian genius in the fashioning of theatrical masks

taken

as

in the

modem period. The principal arcliitectural and truly Javanese elements of the build-

ing are the placing of the entire structure on a raised base or podium, and in the construction of the walls in small blocks of local stone without mortar.

always erected on the corbel principle. Neither in

pillars

this

nor in

The

later

superstructure

was

Javanese temples are

or columns employed, and the entire structure has a completely plastic and closed

appearance.

distinctive Javanese

the shape of a kirtimukha

lintel.

mous decorative comphcation.

The great period of building

form of ornament appears on the Dieng temples

in

This motif was to reach in later architecture an enor-

activity in

Middle Java came luider the reign of the

when Java, Sumatra, Malaya, and

iailendra Dynasty in the eighth and ninth centuries,

Indo-China were ruled by a race of kings of East Indian origin. This period

is

marked by
was
cella of the

the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism, and one of the earUest temples at Kalasan

The

plan is that of the cubical

by the addition of four subsidiary chapels.
The temple is only an elaboration of the box-hke form of Candi Bhima with the same
emphasis on the horizontal in the form of repeated string courses and projecting
dedicated to Tara in A.D. 778 (Plate 176B).
early

Dieng types converted

into a

Greek

cross

243

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The sculpture is marked by a greater elaboration of the characteristic Javanese
kirtimukha pediment and by the employment of figure sculpture in shallow niches as a

entablatures.

much

part of the exterior ornamentation. Actually this temple seems

temporary building in Cambodia than to any Indian

closer to con-

originals; and, together

with

eighth- and ninth-century buildings at Angkor, might be cited as the beginning of a

truly Indonesian style.

somewhat

different type

of the temple complex

represented

is

by the ninth-

century shrine of Candi Sewu, in which a central temple of roughly the same plan and

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Figure 47. Candi Sewu: Ground plan

elevation as at Kalasan

repeating

whole

its

is

surrounded by no

less

than two hundred and

shape in smaller scale (Plate 177A and Figure 47).

collection

of buildings was designed

as a

It is

fifty small chapels

highly hkely that the

kind of arcltitectural mandala with the

separate chapels dedicated to the deities comprising the esoteric cosmic diagram or

mandala.

The

individual shrines at Candi

Sewu are small

square ccllas (Plate 177B).

They appear

of the Dravidian temple, with a bell-shaped stupa

crowning a terraced superstructure with small rephcas of the terminal member on the
lower levels. The recessed cruciform plan of the main temple of Candi Sewu is extremely
to be adaptations for Buddhist usage

similar to the plan

of the Pala temple

at

Paharpur (Figure

244

23).

The

close relations

JAVA
between Java and Bengal
in Java,

in the eighth

of the Javanese Baladeva

scription

confirmed again by

is

at

this

and ninth

centuries, already suggested

by the in-

Nalanda and the presence of Nalanda bronze images

very obvious architectural connexion between Candi

the architecture of Buddhist India. As will be revealed in greater detail pre-

Sewu and

sently, there

is

every reason to believe that the Buddhism ofJava in the eighth and ninth

was the same esoteric phase of the rehgion known as Vajrayana as spread from
Gangetic India of the Pala Period to Tibet and Nepal, and ultimately to the Far East.
The supreme monument of mystic Buddhism in Java, a building which in its style and
iconography is one of the great masterpieces of rehgious art in Asia, is the stupa of
centuries

Barabudur. In

supreme

this

fmal chapter on Indian art

illustration

of how here,

we

as in all the great

shall analyse this

one monument

examples of rehgious

as a

art in the Indian

world, the iconography or reUgious purpose of the temple ultimately determined

its

and form, from the conception of the whole to the least detail.
Barabudur - the very name has a majestic and mysterious soimd - could well be described as the most important Buddhist monument in greater India, a monument which
particular shape

holds locked within

This sanctuary

is

its

hidden

really a

situated in the plain

hill,

of central Java,

terraced and clothed in stone, and

rising like a

peaks that frame the horizon (Plate 178).

been a source of dispute

fmal development of Buddhist art in Asia.

galleries the

roimded

among

scholars

mountain to

rival the

The name of this famous

:

is

marvellously

towering volcanic

building has always

by Paul Mus - the

deep mysteries it holds. As puzz-

the translation offered

vihara of the secret aspect' - seems best to describe the

'

meaning of its name are the origins of the temple: the consensus of present
it was raised during the reign of the dynasty foimded by Sailendra, the mysterious 'King of the Mountain and Lord of the Isles' who, setting out from
southern India, made himself an Empire of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java in
the middle of the eighth century a.d. From the time of the decline of the Sailendra
ling as the

opinion seems to be that

power

in the ninth century, until the rediscovery

of Barabudur

in the nineteenth,

knovwi of the history of the temple - beyond the usual story of decay and
neglect that has been the lot of so many great sanctuaries of the Eastern world. There is
nothing

is

no need

to linger over the details

of the restorations and depredations that went on dur-

by Sir Thomas
made in 1885 that the ground immediately
some time been filled in to cover a whole series

ing the nineteenth century, following the excavation of the shrine

Raffles,

except to mention the discovery

around the foot of the monument had

at

of reliefs decorating what was the original basement storey of the building.
Let us at tliis point examine the architectural arrangement of the temple and then the
reasons for this arrangement.

It

consists

of five walled-in

galleries or terraces

on

a rect-

angular plan (Figure 48, a and b) above these are three round platforms open to the sky,
;

on which

are seventy-two bell-shaped stupas

and a sealed terminal stupa at the very sumis present, though imseen, in the form

mit and centre of the monument; a ninth storey

of the hidden basement.

A great many scholars have busied themselves trying to prove that the Barabudur we
the result of innumerable alterations and architectural refinements, and that

see to-day

is

we must

therefore assume the existence of a primitive Barabudur, limited to three

245

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Figure 48. Barabudur: (a)

Ground plan and

246

(b) vertical section

JAVA
galleries. One of the proponents of this theory points out - among other things - that
the rehefs illustrating scenes from the hfe of Buddha were dehberately terminated with

the portrayal of Sakyamuni's First Preacliing, and that the later master-builder arbitrarily

decided to devote the subsequent gallery to a different legend: actually the Buddha
legend at Barabudur ends with the
the Lalita Vistara sutra
for

First

Sermon, because the rehefs are

which concludes with

this

illustrations

of

event in the Buddha's career and not

If space allowed, it woidd be possible Likewise to refute all

on the remodelling of Barabudur. These arguments constitute a
those who, with no knowledge of the details, attempt to approach the Bud-

any architectural reason.

the other arguments

warning

to

of this period only through the architectural technique, forgetting that we have
here an art and a rehgion of great complexity and based entirely on values of rehgious
symbohsm and not on teclmical expedients. What would seem to be the one contradhist art

diction to this rule

is

basement storey was

at the

same time

later filled in to

superstructure, but there

is

its

confirmation.

make

It

has been suggested that the

a buttress for the crushing

good iconographical

weight of the

necessity for such an expedient as

its entirety is a magic rephca of the universe, with a regular and

and progress symbolized in its galleries so the basement, with its representations of hell scenes and episodes from the world of desire - the first stage which
the mystic has to traverse - was covered up - buried - to symbohze the suppression of

well: Barabudur in
definite hierarchy

world of desire. The presence of that world - even though unseen - was, however,
symbohsm of the monument its metaphysical mechanism
demanded this basement as an integral part, just as much as the simplest magic diagram,
the

magically necessary for the

number of fixed lines or circles.

on the outward form of Barabudur have been most eloquently and conclusively set forth by Paul Mus.i The total mass is a dome cut by galleries - trenches open
to the sky (Plate 179 and Figure 48) - wliich disappear from view when the monument
in order to 'work', requires a certain

The

is

opinions

looked

at in profile.

The

outline then

becomes that of a

stupa.

What we

have

is

form of the Indian rehc mound; this is an

exact and accurate architectural representation of the concept of the sky as a sohd vault
covering the world mountain, Meru. The number of storeys - nine - corresponds to the
pyramid or prasada

levels

inside a stupa, the famihar

of the Indian Meru and the number includes the subterranean Meru which was
to extend underground to the foundations of the world - here eloquently re-

beheved

presented by the hidden basement. Barabudur

rephca of the world structure and the

fixed

by

this

is,

then, once again an architectural

number of storeys was

definitely

and unavoidably

conception.

On entering Barabudur, the pilgrim penetrates the world of Buddha to read in its rehefs
the story of man's journey

down the long night of birth and death to

ultimate enhghten-

ment with the culmination of the career of the Bodhisattva in the realms of the mystic
Buddhas. The whole plan and elevation of Barabudur as a sealed world apart seems
were not to be grasped at once nor hghtly taken, but
At first the monument seems completely sohd
and impenetrable - one has to hunt for the entrances opening like caves in a magic
to state plainly that

its

secrets

rather to be apprehended

by

degrees.

mountain.

247

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The

heavily garnished and massively constructed balustrades cloak the galleries in a

of stone. At the bottom

is the buried and inaccessible basement gallery with its reHef

of the Kamadhatu. The bas-rehefs of the galleries, like these passages themselves, are

veil

completely invisible from the exterior. Even the Dhyani Buddhas in their niches are

On

only half-seen, so masked are they in their deep architectural grottoes.

upper terraces

seventy-two Buddhas under stupas which are really stone

the three

and
which again veil them from view (Plate 183). Finally, at the very zenith, is the supreme
Buddha, completely hid under the soUd stone bell of the terminal stupa.
The reUefs of Barabudur are divided as follows: On the now concealed basement, the
world of desire and the ceaseless action of karma. On the chief wall, top row, of the first
gallery the story of Buddha who showed the way of escape from karma. On the bottom
sit

row of the back

grilles

wall are illustrated Jatakas and Avaddnas - the acts of faith by which the

Bodhisattva prepared himself for his task. These continue around the inner wall of the

on the second

balustrade and

Maitreya, the

Buddha of the

gallery.

The

balustrade of the third and fourth galleries.

Samantabhadra, the

last

third gallery illustrates a text devoted to

on

Future. Less important Maitreya texts are pictured

Buddha of the

The

the

wall of the fourth gallery deals with

Future, and

is

based on a text evidently connected

with the Dhyani Buddhas and thereby directly related to the mysterious upper reaches

of the sanctuary.
In walking around the

monument

in the rite

of pradaksina - that

is,

describing a sun-

wise turn with the right shoulder to the wall - the pilgrim dynamically enacted a
ual experience, following in the footsteps of him

of the primitive type,

stupas

like the

famous tope

who had

spirit-

already entered Nirvana. In

at Saiichi, the

worshipper performed a

metaphysical journey through a mandala of a very simple type; the psycho-physical pilas in Hinayana Buddhism one hfe is one step
At Barabudur the architecture provides for a spiral ascension to the very
summit of the pyramid and to the very zenith of hfe. ^ Barabudur was dedicated to a
phase of Buddhism in which all men were beHeved to have the quaUty of Bodhic mind
and could attain Buddhahood in one Ufe. The physical chmb through the architecture
magically symbohzes and effects the escape from the materialism and change of the
world of the flesh to the final absorption in the Void or Absolute, which is symbohzed in

grimage there was only on one plane, just

towards

release.

that strange mirage in stone that greets the worsliipper

of the mandala

in the

empty

spaces

of the upper

when he emerges

terraces.

Thus each

into the centre

floor

of Barabudur

could be said to represent a separate world or plane of life.

The

differences in style that exist

between the reUefs on the

levels

of Barabudur are

not due to the aesthetic urge of various craftsmen nor the desire for decorative varia'

'

'

'

by the nature of the

texts the reliefs Ulustrate. The carvings of the covered basement representing scenes from
hell and the world of men are, as was appropriate for these episodes from the real world,
carved with evident reahsm and a wealth of circumstantial detail reminiscent of that

tion

these styles, as will be noted in further detail, are determined

'

vigorous direcmess of true popular art that

we find in early bidia. None of these abstract

canons of physical beauty reserved for images of Buddha and the gods
in these figures

'

of men and demons.

248

is

here evident

JAVA
The same

style

is

evident in the Jataka rehefs of the

gallery (Plate i8o). In the

first

deahng with the Hfe of Buddha, however, the informality of arrangement and
crowding of picturesque details give way to a more ordered, one might say, more
scenes

composition (Plate i8i)

classic

we

are conscious that the figures are enacting an heroic

and universal truth and not participating

world of men. In

these rehefs the

in the changeable

Buddha appears

and unreal actions of the

appropriately as an abstractly con-

ceived form in marked contrast to the persisting reahsm of the setting and figures that

surround him.^

The Maitreya

story of the third gallery consists of a seemingly endless repetition

of a

scene representing the disciple Sudhana interviewing one or another of his teachers

human and
in setting

divine (Plate i82a). Sometimes the variations consist only of shght changes

and

in the attributes

of the personages involved. The regular stock

canopy, under which the teacher

we

is

seated with the pilgrim

set is a rich

Sudhana kneeling

in front

of

empty style in comparison with the rich reliefs of

the Jatakas and the Buddha story which are so filled with movement and genre detail.
In comparison with the crowded more Indian panels of the lower galleries, these rehefs
are even more classic and depopulated.
Finally, with the rehefs given over to the Samantabhadra text on the fourth level, the
compositions assume a yet more abstract and hieratic quahty rigid groups of numerous
him. Here

find a curiously static,

'

'

Buddhas around a

central figure

with the formahty of a mandala

composition seemingly endlessly repeated, arranged

(Plate i82b). Certainly the

be illustrated conditioned the character of these rehefs; that

is,

very nature of the texts to

their generally

more meta-

physical nature did not lend itself to anything approaching the hveliness of narrative

treatment which

we

see in the

lower

galleries.

We

have a change from exoteric to

esoteric doctrine, suggesting the similar division in the text

of the Lotus Sutra [Saddharma

for it is on leaving the

The change coming here at the fifth level is significant,

Putidarika).

fourth and entering the fifth level of his trance that the yogin begins to
grated with the One. Moreover,
ally

more empty and

cyclorama

in stone

static in

it

does seem probable that what

we

become

inte-

describe as gener-

the compositions of these fmal rehefs in the Barabudur

may be dehberate in another way

the great emptiness of the upper terraces

where

sit

they are preparing the pilgrim for

the

Buddhas of the world beyond

form and thought. These images on the last platforms, isolated against die sky, are the
most eloquent and dramatic representation that art could devise of the great void which
is the Creator and the last home of the soul that has wandered down the worlds so long
and wearily.

The
terity

idea

of this fmal emptiness and absence of form

is

already prophesied in the aus-

of setting, the frozen and solenm formahty of the rehefs that

esoteric texts

of the fourth

gallery.

illustrate the

more

The transition from the square terraces of the pyramid

of the upper terraces really imphes the transition from exoteric to esoteric,
from the material world to the spiritual world. The hmited, fixed square is expressive of
the world of experience and material phenomena. The circle has no comers, no directions, it imphes an infinite radiation from its centre - without hniit - the realm of boundless spirit, the empyrean. With the pilgrims to Barabudur we, too, have emerged from

to the circles

249

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

the long stone corridors girdling the pyramid, and are

now

face to face

with the

last

great mysteries.

The imiermost secrets of Barabudur are linked up with the identity and function of
Dhyani Buddha images that cover the monument from top to bottom: Aksobhya,

the

Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi

who

associated with the four directions,

mudras and
galleries

are placed in niches

on the

East, South,

all

Buddha

of the balustrades of the

exterior

in teaching

are also seventy-two

On

who

mudra,

Buddhas

in

is

And

lastly there

is

four

first

the fifth gallery

on

all

to be identified as a

dharmacakra mudra,

hidden from view under their lattice-work stupas on the upper terraces
184B).

Buddhas

recognizable by their characteristic

West, and North respectively.

four sides are images of another

form of Vairocana. There

on the

(Plate 1S4A); these are the mystic

are

half-

and

(Plate 183

the image originally enshrined under the closed stupa in the

exact centre and at the very zenith of this vast cosmological machine in stone.

Before attacking

and

art,

we may

derivation.

tliis

most comphcated and

difficult

problem in Oriental iconography

momentary respite in analysing the style of these images and its

These Buddha statues in the refinement of their abstraction may be comseek a

pared with the great masterpieces of Gupta art in India - as for example the famous

Buddha of Samath and

This resemblance

is

certain images

found

at Lalitagiri in Orissa (Plate 184,

particularly interesting since Orissa

A and

b).'*

immediately adjacent to

is

Kahnga, which was the original home of the Sailendra kings. The Buddhas of Barabudur
are

made with

great

mathematical nicety of measurement firom

regular systems of proportion for sacred images

known and

one

of those

followed in the Indian

world.

The

finest

of them represent such a beautiful reahzation of plastic mass and volume

and breathing hfe and such a transcendent

rank

among the

greatest

spiritual clarity

of expression that they

examples of the sculptural genius in the world. There

any longer the suggestion of real

flesh,

but these figures seem to be

made of an

is

may

scarcely

imperish-

able and pure spiritual substance - the incorruptible and radiant and adamantine nature

of the Diamond, of the Buddha's

The curious

eternal body.

perforated construction of the stupas of the upper terraces

is

not a decora-

on the part of the arcliitect (Plate 183). It has been proposed that the seventytwo Buddhas are half-hidden in these latticed domes to suggest the fact that they are
beings in a world without form, the realm of the Dharmakaya which may be appretive caprice

hended but not seen by mortals.

Returning to the problem of the Dhyani Buddhas and the meaning of the whole
it is evident first of all that we have to do with a mandala - a sohd mandala

monument,
in stone

- and that these images represent a mystic liierarchy clustered

around the mysterious figure which

to that portrayed

by the Buddha

is

their Pole Star

statues

on

the

first

and sovereign.

five galleries,

the fourth gallery v^th Vairocana in the centre surrounded

Buddhas. In addition to

this

we may

by

is

like a constellation

mandala, similar

shown

in a reHef of

the four other mystic

think of a second mandala, separate and yet in-

magic diagram, consisting of the Buddha in the terminal stupa

surrounded by the seventy-two Buddhas under lattice-work domes. The two mandalas
separable, joined to this

250

JAVA
could be said to be joined like two concentric
essentially the Ryobil matidara

mandalas are
las

of the material and

shells of a

Russian Easter egg. These

of Shingon Buddhism

two

- the manda-

in Japan

world, each presided over by a form of Mahavairocana

spiritual

the creator. In other words, the

express the mandala of the material

first five galleries

world, and the mandala of the upper terraces

is

the diagram of the spiritual world.

of this problem in the briefest possible terms, the latter symbohze

Dharmakaya - Law Body or Logos - of Vairocana, whereas the Buddhas of the
fifth terrace stand for the Rupakdya or form body, the manifested shape of the same
Stating the solution

'

the

'

supreme Buddha, hke the Mahavairocana of the Kongokai mandara

in contrast

with the

Vairocana of the Taizokai mandara.

Why

Buddhas

are there seventy-two

in stupas? Possibly this

a selection

is

of the

famous mystic number and represents the building of the quality of time into the monument. Every seventy-two years,

as

was well known

to the ancients,

marked

a change of

one degree in the precession of the equinoxes, and so the presence of seventy-two
Buddhas - the number present in all the reckonings of the great cycles - would be a
plastic-architectural representation

of the existence of the Buddha

the past and future kalpas of Time.

It is

Law

throughout

all

probably no accident that the number seventy-

two corresponds to the total of the principal deities in the Kongokai mandara.
And what of the fmal riddle - the Buddha of the chief stupa? There has been a great
deal of controversy about the Buddha actually found in the ruins of the main stupa:
whether

it is

the original

finished condition

why

image intended

holy of hohes above Vairocana.

self what sort

What would

why

in such

it is

be more to the point

an un-

placed in the

is

to ask one-

is

installed in the central

dome

The interpretaof the whole monu-

see if the actual statue fits these requirements.

tion of the idol of the terminal stupa is

really

of an image might appropriately have been

of the monument and then

ment -

for this place or not

image, which seems to represent Aksobhya,

this

and indeed the interpretation

intimately related to the cult of the Devaraja centring aroimd such replicas

of the world scheme in architecture

In Java, there

is

Bayon

as the

at

Angkor

Thom in

Cambodia.'

evidence that the Devaraja in the form of a lingam was worshipped as

early as the sixth century.

later inscription reads

Having set up with due devotion the statue of the king who was consecrated in the shape of
Mahaksobhya ... I his humble servant have prepared this description by order of the priest
Vajrajnana.6

In other words, the great kings

were regarded

as manifestations

of the Buddhas, too.

This leads us to the conclusion that the statue of the chief stupa, following

Cambodian

would have been that of a diviaaized king - a Devaraja or Buddharaja the great ^ailendra or King of the Mountain. The seventy-two Buddhas, like the
multiple heads of the Bayon towers - in addition to their time symbohsm - stood for
the extension and emanation of the royal and divine power to every part of the Sailendra Empire; that is, there are really not seventy-two Buddhas, but one Buddha everyprecedent,

where manifested. The whole shrine

succession of points visited

by

then the complete world and

is

the sun in

its

251

its

order, the

round, the cycle of time materiahzed in

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

space constituting the

Law

rendered visible in the geograpliic, pohtical, and spiritual

centre of the realm.

The

may have

chief statue

statue there at

all,

been another Vairocana.

What

it

was, or if there was any

does not matter materially. This central highest point

is

important

as

summit of the hierarchy, and the terminal stupa, empty or with an image in it,
would stand for the Supreme Buddha and the apotheosis of the sovereign. The image or
symbol at the highest and innermost point represents - like the highest form in the two
the

mandalas - the reduction of multipHcity into

One.

It is

wheel,

the Universal

sets it in

motion and

is

essential unity, since in

Vairocana

Perfect Sage

represent at once the universal rule and the extension of that rule to every

world of the cosmic system and,

the divine essence of kings.
Vairocana

of the

Law

is

as at

actually the historical

or Logos.

The Jataka

atom

in

every

Angkor, the magic centre where was enthroned

Buddha ideahzed in Dharmakaya, the eternal body

and the Buddha legend carved in the galleries of

tales

Barabudur are of course properly part of the

way

all is

who, placed at the centre of the cosmic

liimself unmoved as the Pole whereon he reigns. It would

King and

esoteric teaching, as they illustrate at

once

Buddhahood and reveal Sakyamuni as the material earthly appearance of

Vairocana. The whole monument with its hundreds of reUefs and statues is a vast man-

the

dala that

to

shows every phase of existence

at all times

and

in all places as so

many corporeal

manifestations of the divine and indescribable and yet universal essence of Vairocana,

with which the essence of the king has been merged

in

supreme apotheosis. Every

detail

of sculpture and every aspect of the architectural form have been dedicated to the expression of this vast hieratic scheme what we generally refer to as the style of both the
'

'

and the sculpture has been completely determined by the nature of the

architecture

magical conception that the

monument was

Just as the general architectural

destined to express.

form of Barabudur shows an obvious dependence on

Indian protot^'pes iconographic and arcliitectural, so, too,

reveals an ultimate

dependence on the

plastic tradition

its

sculptural ornamentation

of India proper. But, just

as the

plan and elevation of the building dedicated to the exposition of a phase of esoteric

Buddhism seem

to

mark an

entirely

new and

different

employment of the

Indian forms of the stupa and prasada, so, too, the style of the sculpture

is

traditional

re-made

Javanese terms to meet the requirements of what was essentially a complete plastic

bodiment of

many,

styles

in

em-

cosmic diagram. As has already been suggested, there are not one, but

of rehef carving. The piquant naturahsm of the Jataka and Avadana panels

in some ways reminiscent of the carvings of Saiiclii. The relief has an orderliness, both
from the point of view of the composition of the main elements of figures and settings
and its inevitable presentation in not more than two distinct planes, that is at once very
rich in a decorative sense and also architecturally appropriate. This is a quality that peris

haps

may

be recognized

as distinctly Javanese, since the description

equal validity to the sculpture of many other

The

reliefs

of the upper

against a plain

galleries in their greater

background seem hke

could apply with

monuments of the Middle Javanese

Period.

simpUcity and the isolation of forms

development out of the Gupta rehefs of the Sar-

nath workshops (Plate 84).

252

JAVA
The

great temple of Barabudur

Java. Indeed,

it

was not long

after

is

the final

its

monument of Mahayana Buddhism

in

completion that the worship of iiva became the

One of the principal monuments of this final phase of art

was the temple at Loro Jongrang near Prambanan that was apparently
intended as a Hindu rival to Barabudur (Plate 185 and Figure 49). There are three main
shrines dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, surrounded by no less than one hundred
official

rehgion of the realm.

in eastern Java

and

fifty individual chapels, all

repetitions

placed

on an

artificial terrace.

The

principal shrines are

of the cruciform plans of some of the earUer temples. The Siva Temple

at

Loro Jongrang, datable a.d. 860-915, consists of a shrine with projecting porches placed
at the summit of a steep truncated pyramid stairways at all four sides convert the plan
;

into a cruciform shape.

The

elevation

is

immediately suggestive of the

Khmer temple

aO GDaQGD GGGGG GG C
G GGGGGG QGGGGGG
aa G DGGGG G DGDG GDC
DDD
aa a
DDD
GDD
DDD
DDD
DD
DDD
DDD
DDD
DDD
DGG GGGGG 'GGGGGGDD
a a n gdggg GGGGGGGD
a G n GGGGG GGGGGGGC
a

Figure 49. Loro Jongrang, Prambanan: Plan

mountain and the plan appears

as

an ultimate derivative from the shrine

at

Paharpur in

Bengal (Figure 23). The most notable feature of the decoration of this sanctuary is the
frieze of rehefs illustrating the Ramayana on the exterior of the balustrade of the upper
terrace (Plate 186).
life

of Buddha

at

The

style

of carving corresponds to that of the panels devoted to the

Barabudur.

actual compositions are

more

Owing

perhaps to the nature of the subject matter, the

dramatically conceived and

Belonging to the same period

as

Barabudur

is

more dynairuc

in execution.

the Buddhist shrine of Candi

Mendut,

notable for the magnificent trinity of Buddha with attendant Bodhisattvas (Plate 187).

Like the Buddhas of Barabudur these images reveal a marvellously plastic translation of
the Indian
ticularly

is

Gupta formula into Indonesian terms. What

the wonderful sense of form combined with

distinguishes these statues para reduction

of the volumes of

heads and bodies to interlocking spheroidal and cylindrical shapes that imparts a feeling
253

CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

of almost architectural simplification and makes them such moving symbols of the
of samadhi.

serenity

The end of the great

of the Dieng Plateau

The next

eastern Java.

power and

period of art in central Java comes with the unexplained desertion

in 915

and the removal of the centre of government and rehgion

marked

centuries

to

the emergence of Java as a great commercial

the development of a maritime trade linking the island with the entire Far

Eastern world.

The fmal

revival or renaissance in Javanese art begins in the thirteenth

The monuments of tliis final period

more Indonesian than Indian and more

century with the Singasari and Majapahit Dynasties.

belong to

a post-classical, picturesque style that

ornamental than

structural.

example of this

typical

is

taram, completed in

c.

final

phase of Javanese architecture

1370 (Plate 188).

It

of the princes of the ruling house. The individual

originally erected to enshrine the ashes

sanctuaries are erected in a style purely Javanese

architecture of the

the temple at Pana-

is

of a group of unrelated buildings

consists

and only remotely related to the Indian

Middle Javanese Period. These buildings

still

retain the essentially

cubic form of the very earliest shrines, but in every other respect the elevation has

assumed a

distinctive Indonesian character.

The doorways

and weighty kirtimukha masks. The superstructure

its

stages

member

of these

motif of earUer

in

reUefs

The most characteristically

on the platform supporting the

sanctuaries.

the reUef sculpture

the Ramayana and the legend of Krishna (Plate 189). The technique
shows not the shghtest resemblance to the classic Indian styles of the

and clouds are only

form

is

it illustrates

Middle Javanese Period. The

trees

surmounted by immense

of a heavy pyramidal tower,

emphasized by massive string courses and surmounted by a square box-like

that replaced the kalasa

Javanese feature of this late temple

shrines:

are

consists

to the

entirely

parts

flat

figures in a setting

most famous expression of

Wayang shadow

of fantastically pattemized

of a decorative scheme. These carvings are closely related

play. This last phase

of art

later

Javanese folk art

in Java,

now

precedent, can be described as a true Indonesian style,

the puppets of the

removed from Indian

characterized at once by its savage
entirely

vigour and decorative expressiveness.''

We may very fittingly end our account of art in Java and the Indian world with one
of the

from

examples of Buddhist sculpture the head of a

finest

Caiidi

Sewu

(Plate 190).

tional art, a presentation

fully abstract

Here

is

of spirit that are the Buddhist

plicity, this
it is

or a divinized king

of inward reahty rather than outward appearance. As

and teUing embodiment of the ghostly

beside the great masterpieces not only of Indian

tions

monk

the final perfect example of the portrait in tradi-

portraits

art,

in

human

form,

more

terrible, as

it is

ofJapan. In

its

fmaHty and

so unadorned: truly,

254

takes

wonderits

place

but of those supreme personificacrystalline sim-

more genuine, as
an axe hewing the rock!

icon recalls the words of St Augustine on Eloquence: 'The

so simple; the

it

NOTES
CHAPTER
I.

As

CHAPTER

an illustration of the probable influence of

climatic conditions

on Indian

culture and art,

it

the reader

has

Sir John MushM, Mohenjo-daro and

ization, 2 vols.

Furtlier Excavations at

2.

Although

of the Indus Valley.

among

disrepute

in

anthropolo-

linguistic

grouping, that

it

from

may

point of view they

2.
3

3.

4.
it

This script consists of pictographic signs some

86 in number. There are too

like Chinese.

(London, 1939),

show

In further explanation of the practice of yoga,

could be said

first

of all

that

it is

superficial sensory preoccupation in order to

upon

centrate his entire being

from

these signs,

tempted to

relate the Indus pictographs to the writ-

ing of Easter Island.

all

con-

For the

3.

latest discussion

of the date of the Indus

culture, see

yoga, through the

and breathing exercises designed to concentrate stores of vitality in the
nerve-centres of the body, is enabled to perform
great feats of physical endurance and to raise his
mental efficiency to an almost supernatural level.
In advanced yoga meditation the practice of con-

don, 1948),

centrational discipline lessens the attachment to self

Charles Autran {Mithra, Zoroastre,

and emotion and enables the yogin to concentrate

widi tremendous and undiswrbed intensity upon

isnie),

The

initiate in

practice of certain calhsthenics

that single being or idea

which

unencumbered mind. In

this state the

is

the focus of his

mind

is

no

longer distracted by any perceptions or idle curiosities,

but draws to

fmal form of the icon to

was
a

from
which

itself as

originally directed.

a vasty

deep the

the concentration

We have,

suggests a
that
it,

he

'

Western

cannot draw

it'.

paint a figure,

This

is

if

he cannot be

only one of

many

indi-

cations in the writings of the Medieval Period in the

West

that

European

artists

and mystics intuitively

discovered a process which had for ages been the

A. K.

Indonesian Art

(New York,

History of Indian and

1937), 178.

Hymns

p.

14

to the

under the leadership of the god

as references to the

violent

vaders.

5.

theory proposed by the French scholar,

et le

Christian-

identifying the peoples of the Indus culture

with the Phoenicians

is

suggestive rather than con-

vincing. This proposition

is

based mainly on the re-

semblance of certain Dravidian and Aegean place

names, a similarity which, although striking,
sufficient

is

in-

evidence for identifying the Indus people

with the great traders of the Mediterranean world.

Percy Brown, History of Indian Architecture,

6.

(Bombay,

n.d.),

i.

Unless otherwise noted, the remains of the In-

7.

museums
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. The

dus culture are in the local archaeological

established at

from Chanhu-daro were divided between the

Government of India and the Museum of Fine Arts,

finds

Boston, U.S.A.
8.

Coomaraswamy,

12

subjugation of the Indus capitals by the Aryan in-

property of Indian sages.

5.

cities

Indra might be regarded

parallel in Dante's observation

who would

allusions in the Vedic

storming of

in other words,

kind of identification of subject and object that

The

4.

p.

Mackay, Early Indus Civilization (Lon146 if. and Piggott, 207 ff.

a single crystalhzed

object or idea.

and cer-

romantically minded investigators have at-

tain

an effort on the

mind of

signs

that certain letters in later In-

dian alphabets are derived

part of the practitioner to clear his

many of these

was phonetic, and too

that it was an ideograpliic language

Attempts have been made, largely un-

convincing, to

xvii.
.8

(Harm-

few to suggest

not accurately describe the

MarcoPalhs,Pe(3fe5<3H(fL(i()ias

Mohenjo-daro, 2 vols. (Delhi,

Excavations at Harappa, 2 vols.

S. \a.ts,

to conclude that this script

the ethnic

character of the early races of India.

,6

(London, 193 1); E.J. H. Mackay,

(Delhi, 1940); S. Piggott, Prehistoric India

seems desirable and con-

venient to retain them, even if

p. 1

the Indus Ciuil-

ondsworth, 1950). A useful short account is E. Mackay 's The Indus Civilization (London, 1935 and 1948).

Aryan are so generally used to describe the two main divisions of

Indian culture, beyond the universally accepted
the terms Dravidian and

gists,

M.

1937);

civilization,

referred to the following publications:

is

vince of Sind was responsible for the disappearance

civilization

complete report of the Indus

been suggested that the shifting of the monsoons

leading to the desiccation of what is to-day the proof the early

10

For

One of these

is

reproduced in the Journal of the

Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Dec. 1937, opposite

9.

247.

These holes

may have had something

with the support of the arms which,

255

like the

to

do

missing

p. 15

NOTES
p. 15

head, were separately attached to the torso. (Illus-

ary

tration in Vats, Plate Ixxx.)

istic

heart,

and

arteries, in place

10. It

is

only

fair to state that

some

authorities

have questioned the date of this figure which has

been placed in the period of the florescence of the
Indus culture in the late tliird millennium B.C. Actually, there is nothing comparable to it in the art of

The

ancient world.

closest stylistic

comparisons to

Harappa torso are to be found in the yaksha

of the third century B.C. wliich unmistak-

the

statues

ably

ditional

the recipient

to ex-

naturalistic

form

in

16. Some scholars, notably the late N. G. Majumdar, have made a distinction between different
types of Indus pottery that is not without its im-

portance for our conclusions on the whole problem.

As one would expect in such a traand isolated civilization as that of India,

ware described
Mohenjo-daro and
Chanliu-daro, there is a thin ware with a buff slip
painted with designs in black and reddish-brovni
that is found mainly at Amri on the Indus. This
type is considered to be earlier, and shows very de-

Harappa

might well be explained

In addition to the 'black-figured'

above, characteristic of finds

mere

as a

torso. Vats {Excavations at Harappa, 76)

implicitly defends

its

prehistoric origin

on the

basis

and Jemdet-Nasr
scribes this ware

(London, 193 1), Plate xciv, 6-8.

Civilization
12. Seals

but with the pottery of Susa

Marshall, Mohenjo-daro and the Indus

II. Sir Jolin

Indus culture.

of Indus Valley origin have been found

Asmar

in Iraq at a level datable

c.

2500

at

not only with finds in Baluchistan,

finite affinities

of the circumstances of discovery, material, technique, and style.

this

B.C.

in

I in Iran and Al-Ubaid

Mesopotamia. Majumdar de-

as

an 'intrusive element' in the

It is

interesting to speculate

whether

does not offer a parallel to the Sumerian ele-

ments

and sculpture of the Indus civilwhich again could be described as 'intru-

in the seals

(H. Frankfort, 'The Indus Civilization and the

ization

Near

Annual Bihliography of Indian Archaeo-

sive' or foreign in relation to the truly Indian fac-

from

media of expression. Since the Mesopotamian concepts in the seals are present in objects
found at all levels, it would be impossible to draw
the conclusion that the Sumerian types represent

East',

losyfor 1932 (Leyden, 1934), 1-12); imports

Sumer

in the shape

known

at

of

and beads are

Mohenjo-daro (Mackay, 639).
3
The
motif
bears
a
curious resemblance to cer1
tain bronze forms that have been discovered in
large numbers in Luristan, the mountainous region
of south-western Iran. Very little is known about
the Lurs, but

well

as

it

seals, vessels,

tors in these

the earhcst phase of the Indus culture. (For

were

Civilization', Revealing India's Past

of the great religious traditions of Mesopo-

tamia.

The

Luristan culture flourished

600

B.C. to as late as

from

The motif of

B.C.

on the Indus

seals

c.

17.

G. Glotz, Aegean Civilization (London, 1925),

245.

2200

the poly-

18.

The Atharva Vedas

garment

as a long-life

which

bovine creature

is

CHAPTER

Further evidence for the cult of a 'Proto-Siva'

of phalhc emblems sug-

15. In speaking

and what

of what

is

real to the traditional

real to the naturahstic artist

of the

Renaissance, an analogy suggests itself in the

form

artist

of the heart on
as

is

a Valentine

all

The

earhest

commentary on
about 500

the Vedas (Yas-

B.C., contains

p.

19

p.

20

some

speculation on the anthropomorpliic nature of the

gods: 'Some say they resemble

human

beings in

form, for their panegyrics and their appellations are

gesting the lingani of later Saivism.

17

1.

ka's Nirukta), written

his fertile flanks.

14.

p. 18

shown with animal

heads or vegetable forms literally springing from

exists in the discoveries

specifically refers to this

charm.

occurs fre-

quently in the bronze cheek-pieces from Luristan,

in

(London, 1939),

106.)

sur-

vivals

Majum-

account, see 'Prehistoric and Protoliistoric

dar's

appears that their religious behefs, as

the stylistic character of their art,

cephalic bull found

p.

was meant

it

tween non-representational and

ends and means that actuated the carver of the

Tel

from the thought

traditional or rehgious art.

continuation in Indian sculptural tradition of the

at

auricles, ventricles, veins,

of the accepted symbol; the

Exactly the same parallel can be drawn be-

press.

torso.

this similarity

p. 16

complete with

the very qualities revealed in the

exhibit

Harappa

received a card with an anatomically real-

medically accurate heart would obviously distract

period either in India or in any other part of the

this

we

of us can recognize

appropriate and understand the bright red

of sentient beings'.
Chanda, 'The Beginnings of Art in Eastern India',
Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, No. 30
like those

(Calcutta, 1927),

em-

blem on the Valentine as a symbol of the site of tender feelings; we would be horrified if on 14 Febru-

(See Ramaprasad

2.

I.)

This term describes the Buddhist

in

256

its

anglicized

relic

mound

word will be written

form - stupa - tliroughout.

or tope: pronounced stupa, the

NOTES
\ 21

3.

p.

p.

Percy Brown, History of Indian Architecture,

E. B. Havell, The History of Aryan Rule

3.

4.

(New York,

India

4.

venience to describe the autochthonous, pre-Aryan

in

religion of India.

n.d.), 33-4.

2.

Beal, Buddhist Records of the Western World,

5. S.

n (London,

1906), 165.

(It is

necessary also to point

its

beginnings the Aryan or Vedic rehgion

of course, identical with the Aryan re-

ligion in Iran.

gradual transformation that took

Maurya

place long before the time of Zoroaster in the

Period, Patahputra, had a rampart of teak logs

seventh century B.C. changed the Iranian religion

joined by iron dowels.)

into a cosmic

out that even the great capital of the

Beal,

7.

Archaeological Survey of India,

119
22

duahsm of Good and Evil dominated

by Ahura Mazda (the Holy Wisdom), who is en-

6.

loc. cit.

(Hereafter referred
ff..

Plates

to

xxxix and

as

Annual Report

A.S.I.A.R.) (1906-7),

xl.

The symbolic aspect of these masts is suggested

the words of the Rig Veda (x, 18); 'May the

8.

in

manes hold
9.

159

G. Jouveau-Dubreuil, Vedic Antiquities (Lon(1911-12),

ff.

The dating of these 'hollow stupas* in the

Vedic Period has been questioned by some scholars;
10.

Hiranda Shastri in A.S.I.A.R. (1922-3), 133.

Jouveau-Dubreuil, Figure i.

i.e.

Jouveau-Dubreuil, Figures 7 and

(London, 1872), 474, Figure 215.

14. Indian sculpture of all periods

but

is

so

many

early period, for, already in the Brahmanas, the

word

means 'god', and asura, 'demon'. They

from the same original terms that in

deva

had come to signify the exact opposite:

Holy Wisdom and 'daeva' for demon.
3. The word Veda means 'knowledge'. It is the
general name given by European scholars to four
collections of rehgious works, which contain the
sacred knowledge necessary for the performance by
Iran

'ahura' for

much

be de-

body

is

fimctioning unit,

as a biologically

composed of

rift

rites

parts individually

use the

word Veda

4.

The names of

be recognized in the 'Aryan'

Hittite inscriptions at

Boghazkeui dating from the

5.

Earher, Siva and Vishnu were separately

wor-

mate

the Sanskrit

these parts of

so that the eyes are shaped

It is as

though the often extrava-

gant metaphorical descriptions in the Song of Songs

were literally translated into a sculptural or pictorial representation
15.

A.

K.

of the female body.

Coomaraswamy,

Bulletin

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Dec.

16. Compare, for example, the
Susa and in Luristan, illustrated in
sian Art, ed.

of

the

and Destroyer. The

6-

by A. U. Pope (New York,

1938), iv,

Sir

Brahman,

is

corruption of

one to de-

or Brahma, the first member of the Hindu trinity.

The word Brahmanic is occasionally used as a synonym for Hindu, and Brahmanism for Hinduism.
7. By definition a Buddha (Enlightened One) is

who

has in countless earher incarnations

his store of merit by which in his ultimate

on earth he becomes etJightened, possessed of
supreme wisdom, and endowed with superhuman
powers enabling him to direct all creatures to the
life

path of salvation. This definition does not apply to

the so-called 'Pratyeka Buddhas'

1.

a convenient

who

seek salva-

tion only for themselves.

CHAPTER 4

8.

of
24

The word

'Dravidian', regardless of

guistic or etlinic implications,

is

29

compromise

It should not be confused

with the words Brahmarja, an early liturgical text,

added to

74 A-D, and 45B.

17. For the finds at the Bhir mound, see
John Marshall, Taxila, i (London, 195 1), 87-11

signate the highest caste.

types found at

Plates

I.

p.

development of the Trin-

The word Brahmin, although

a being

Survey of Per-

final

Brahma was probably

to resolve sectarian disputes.

1927.

27

fourteenth century B.C.

ity including

body resembled,

p.

the principal gods of the

all

may

words, the individual parts of the anatomy are not

copied from their counterparts of any human
model, but are metaphorically made to approxithe

26

in a

shipped in the triune aspects of Creator, Preserver,

like lotus petals.

p.

of the Brahmanical rehgion.

and mechanistically joined to form a symbol and

not a realistic representation of a deity. In other

which

25

broader sense to include other collections of

Vedic pantheon

fashioned according to manuals of artistic procedure

certain shapes in nature

p,

sacred writings such as the Brahmanas and Sutras.

may

scribed as 'additive', in the sense that the

not conceived

The

The Hindus themselves

8.

James Fergusson, Rude Stone Monuments

13.

with the powers of evil or

between the two branches of the
Aryan rehgion must have taken place at a relatively
in eternal conflict

Daevas.

the priests of the

11.

12.

gaged

are derived

pillar for thee'.

tliis

don, 1922), Figures 3-5; A.S.I.A.R.

23

In

in India was,

its

lin-

used here for con-

As an

illustration

far earher

of the survival or reworking

concepts in Buddhism,

pointed out that the 'Eightfold Path'

it
is

may

be

no more

than an analogy based on the Eightfold Path of cir-

257

p.

29

cuiiianibulation

plan of the hido-Ar\-an

the

in

p.

31

in the tier

and

of

paradises or devalokas rising

above the sky,

residence of the Thirt)--three

Gods presided over by

the

is

rehef sculpture at Bhaja, the Vedic gods

and Indra appear as symbols of the Buddha's
spiritual and temporal power.

One

deification

liis

identification

torical Quarterly,

cause

Indian concept of the universal ruler or Cakravartin: his 'royal' character

was

his possession

mic

implicit in the cir-

1935, opposite 136.)

was

was, as

selected

we

8.

One

is

by Asoka

have seen, the

possibly be-

site

of a royal

date.

reminded of

St Patrick's practice

Wecanform some idea of its

stambha with a lion capital supporting the

10.

occasional representations of Cakravartin with

universal

power may be

the

of
from

example, the

relief

relative 'realism' or 'abstraction'

of the Evangelists and four

China are only variants of this
geomantic symbolism. The Siamese ceremony is
described in Margaret Landon, Anna and the King
of Siain (New York, 1944), 299 ff.
12. We find them again as gargoyles attached to a
tank at Neak Pean in the ancient Khmer capital of
Angkor; here, they were associated with the worship of Lokesvara, the merciful Bodliisattva, who
causes the water of the sacred lake to flow downward for the rehef of souls in hell. In Ceylon, they
are invariably represented on the 'moon stones' at
the entrances of sanctuaries the excavation of actual metal effigies of these beasts buried at the four
quarters around a stupa lends further support to

of the

multiple representations of Buddhas at Barabudur

in Java are so qualified in accordance

with

tliis

con-

The crowned and bejewelled Buddhas of

cept.

Pala-Sena times have been interpreted

sentations of the
13.

as

repre-

body of bliss.

Vajrayana Buddhism was introduced to Japan

as early as

Wheel of

John Marshall, The Monuments

beasts

the ninth century, and survives there in

the Shingon sect.

CHAPTER

their identification as directional symbols. (See

36

Since, as the Buddhist texts

I.

inform

us,

37

ford, 1930), 18, n. 2.)

Bcal, IV.

4.

The Achacmenid Period of Iranian

son',

15.

Architecture

the classical Ionic

Aeolic

...

still

in-

is

an adaptation of the

of timber construction,

6.

R. E.

Plate xxix

258

modem

buildings.'

M. Wheeler, Iran and India in Pre-Islamic

No. 4, July 1947-Januar)' 1948,

Times, Ancient India,

capitals

form

to a special type

the "bracket-capital" so often found in

wood

tals

39

sometimes applied to Buddlia.

Andrae, Die lonische Saule (Berlin, 1933).
D. S. Robertson, A Handbook of Creek and

W.

(Cambridge, 1939), 60, suggests

a theor)' related to this problem: 'It may be that

architecture and sculpture are dre ruins of the capi-

p.

42

p.

43

is

14.

history ex-

from the establishment of the d)'nasr\- by

Cyrus in 538 B.C. to the invasion by Alexander the
Great in 331 B.C. It is famous for the reigns of
Xerxes and Darius I. The principal remains of

p.

Sakyaprihgava, meaning 'bull, hero, eminent per-

tends

of Perscpolis and Susa.

5. Examples with their sculptured

The bull, of course, is an emblem of Siva; the

his consort, Durga. The epithet

13.

Hon, sacred to

Roman

3.

Vin-

cent Smith, History of Art in India and Ceylon (Ox-

the

superman designated by the thirr\'-two laksanas or

magic marks has before him at his birth the choice
of becoming a Cakravartin or adopting a career
leading to Buddhahood, the concept of the universal rider is a kind of temporal complement to the
spiritual idea of the Buddha.
2. Aelian, Nat. Anim., xxn, 19.
p.

p. 41

seasonal animals of

York, 1929), Plate 107.)

The

Sir

The four

11.

Jaggayyapeta of the Early Andhra Period reproduced in L. Bachliofer, Early Indian Sculpture (New
12.

Law. (See

original appear-

of Sanchi, n, Plate xxvii.)

as allegorical representations

(See, for

40

Beal, u, 46.

9.

The

liis

p.

in Ireland.

ance from a relief at Safichi that portrays a similar

the Buddha.

p.

of

monuments

honours on his remains; the umbrella, emblem of

royalty and of the sky, crowned his rehc mounds.

simply interpreted

34

man and woman

carving Christian sentiments on pagan

of the cos-

tree

the Seven Jewels of

p.

it

site

cemetery of pre-Maurya

and the solar wheel, typif^-ing his Enlightenment and Preaching. Asoka conferred royal

p. 33

This

7.

with the ancient

cumstances of his birth, in

us a

accorded such memorials. (Illustrated in Indian His-

factor that led to the Buddha's ultimate

was

of the Sunga Period in the Provincial

relief

circumambulating a free-standing column of the

Maurya type - a clear indication of the veneration

10. In a

II.

Museum, Lucknow, shows

Sur)'a

32

Ram-

Sanclii.

6.

Indra.

p.

at Sankisa, Basarh,

purva, Lauriya Nandangarh, Salempur, Samath,

The Tushita Heaven, lowest

9.

have been discovered

tact

village.

B.

p.

p.

NOTES
example from Parkham,
fragment of
from Baroda that originally must

17. In addition to the

the
a

museum

Muttra

at

yaksha statue

also contains a

have been more than twelve

feet high.

Two

other

yaksha figures found near Patna are in the Indian

Museum

at Calcutta.

same

in the

style include a colossal

yakshi from Didarganj in

Pama Museum and

another image of the same

the

from Besnagar

They

all tilings

4.

The concept of

the Cakravartin stems

from

ravartin

latter

them

Art, 48

Maurya

all illus-

author seriously questions the dating of

ff.).

to the

The

were claimed by many Indian

p. 53

6.

Some of

p.

54

Sunga Period [Maurya and Sun^a

that

p.

55

Art, j}.

p.

56

Yaksas (Smithsonian

p.

57

dating of

of these

all

somewhat

statues in

insecure basis

of

more

the reliefs

a yakshi

fully

on

the uprights, such as

climbing into her

tree, are

much

modelled and suggestive of the figure's

found at Bharhut

existing in space than anything

columns,

from the work of

has been suggested that possibly the yaksha

as

Manibhadra.

The

hofer, History

the protective deity of a guild.

The inscription may contain the name of the yaksha,

19.

7.

figure of a female divinity

Maurya

from Didar-

yakshas, been a

...,

the

Kushan Period. See Bach-

Plate 34.

Certainly even in primitive Buddhism, Sakya-

muni had come

and

ganj has, like the so-called

his nativity

For a

to be identified with the sun-god,

likened to the rising of another sim.

of this iconography see my

'Buddha and the Sun-god', Zalmoxis, I

full discussion

article,

subject of considerable controversy. Actually, only

(1938). 69-84.

was found near Pama, the Maurya

capital, and the fact that the stone has the same high
poHsh of the Asokan colunms lend any conviction

ism connotes the old gods doing homage to the

Buddha. Indra's bringing of the strews has a deeper

the fact that

it

to a dating in the

Maurya

Period.

From

the point

of view of styhstic development, the statue

ally in

is

actu-

advance of any of the figure sculpture, not

only of the Maurya but also of the Sunga Period

(185-27

B.C.).

The

comparison is with the

on the gateways of the
which were carved in the closing
closest

representations of yakslils

stupa at Saiichi,

decades of the

first

century B.C.

is

Andhra

Period.

I. It

for this reason

its

In

its

most

symbol-

practical explanation this

metaphysical interpretation, in that

it

offers a corre-

spondence between the spreading of the

straw on the Vedic

altar, to

sacrificial

be kindled by the

fire

god, and the Bodhisattva's sitting on the grass to

rise

crJightcned to the

of Vedic

Buddha

sacrifice.

at the

column
Agni and the

skies, like the fiery

Both

the fire of

moment of

transfigured Illumina-

tion literally ascend the axis of the

world and

are

equivalent to the universal pole or tree.

Although there is some dispute about the premeaning of this iconography, it seems clear
that such representations of Lakshmi as the present
example came to symbolize the birth of Buddha.
Lakshmi, who was the very personification of existence and maternity, was by association identified
with Maya, the mother of Buddlia.

should be suggested

cise

as a possibilit)' that, just

the funeral customs of peoples in

the ancient world, the burial place

parts

of

was intended

to

all

simulate the surroundings of the deceased in

life,

the domical forms of both the rock-cut Vedic

tombs and the earliest tumuli may have been conscious replicas of the shape of the Vedic hut. This
does not of course exclude the possibilit)' that over
and beyond its practical function the form of the
original hut, the cave, and the burial mound was
also a symbolical or magic reconstruction of the
imagined shape of the sky, like a dome covering the
earth.

8.

9.

CHAPTER
as in

postponed to the chapter on the Early

analysis

52

kings.

and Saiichi. Indeed, the sensuous definition of the

form and its articulation seem but a step removed

i.e.

p.

prefers to

Maurya Period and

times rests on the

was worshipped

48

'Airavata' means, literally, 'hghtning-cloud'.

of their generally archaic quality and the presence

of the same Maurya polish found on the As'okan
18. It

p.

5.

these figures in the

assign

are

46

the ancient Babylonian idea of the Universal King.

N. R. Ray's Maurya and Sunga Art (Calcutta, 1945).

in Calcutta.

p.

to birth.

These yaksha guardians are the ancestors of the

Guardian Kings of Far Eastern art.
3

Although the idea of the Cakravartin as temporal

ruler was mythical, the title and power of the Cak-

The

45

ning of the world, brought

trated in Bachhofer's Early Indian Sculpture and in

deity

44

Female figures

2. Mahapurusa or Prajapati was that great being

whose body comprised the universe and who, by
the sacrifice and division of that body at the begin-

CHAPTER

1.

N. R. Ray, Maurya and Sunga

2.

A. K.

Institution,

Coomaraswamy,

Wasliington, D.C., 1928), 33.

A num-

ber of passages in the classic text are the literary

equivalents to the conception at Saiichi. Asvaghosa
in the Buddhacarita (rv, 35) describes

259

women who

NOTES
p.

57

'

leaned, holding a

mango bough in fiill flower,

playing their bosoms like golden

In

jars'.

the

Mahdbharala (m, 265) one of the heroes challenges

a tree spirit, 'Who art thou that bending dovra the

branch of the kadamba

tree, shinest

lonely in the

hermitage, sparklii^ like a flame at night, shaken

by
p. 59

the breeze,

O fair-browed one?*

In the rehef of the Buddha's Return to Kapi-

3.

forms in Iranian

of the Parthian Period.

Sir

8.

John Marshall,

Guide

to

Taxila (Cal-

and below. See also Marshall,

Taxila, I, II2-2I6, and n, 517, 518, etc.
9. Following ancient Oriental custom, it was the
practice in India to date events in years reckoned
from accession of a Hving ruler or from the first
cutta, 1936), 78-100,

d^Tiast)'. In Gandhara it remains an unanswered question whether a Saka era of 1 50 B.c.or

place

a daring

on the northern jamb of this same gateway,

Maya, an event that had taken
many years before, is by this principle in-

cluded in the composition with perfect propriety

(Plate 26).
4.

John Irwin

5.

in Indian Art, ed.

(New York,

Winstedt
60

art

the Conception of

lavastu

p.

Seleucia, as well as in the Classical

dis-

The gorge

who

Nagaraja

Sir

Richard

formerly sacred to a

at Ajanta,

had

by

194.8), 72.

his seat in the waterfall at the

valle)-, was taken over by communiof Buddhist monks as early as the second centur\- B.C. These Buddhist settlers began the work
of hollowing out the twenty-six cave-temples
and assembly halls that was not completed until

The

the sixth century a.d.

Cave

early

paintings

in

and damaged that the

are so darkened

73

p.

74

year of a

from 58 B.C., the regnal date of Azes I, is

apphed to the inscribed Gandhara fragments.
For many reasons the former of these two s^'stems
is preferable, because it serves to place some of the
best or most classic examples of inscribed sculpture
in the great period of Kushan power; that is, before
the Sasanian invasion of a.d. 241.
to be

head of the
ties

p.

10. See, for

example, the Buddha images from

Loriyan Tangai (Indian Museum, Calcutta) and

Hashtnagar, dated in the 318th and 384th years of
the era of 150 B.C., or a.d. 168 and 234 (illustrated
in Bachhofer, n, Plate 142). Presumably the finest

specimens from Charsada, Takht-i-Bahi. and Sahri

Bahlol also belong to

composition can be studied better in a tracing than

The

a photograph.

sponds to the

this

period of florescence.

of the masomy

character

at these sites corre-

t%-pe assigned to the

second and third

cenmries a.d. by Sir John Marshall on the basis of

CHAPTER

his excavations at Taxila.

1 1. For comparisons, see B. Rowland, Gandhara

and Late Antique Art ', American Journal of Archaeo'

p.

70

The most famous

of the Saka D^iiasty

was Gondophares or Gunduphar. He is known by
an inscription at Takht-i-Bahi datable in a.d. 45.
I.

known in Christian legend as

by St Thomas the Apostle on

This sovereign
ruler visited

niler

is

2. It is

Buddha

Roman deification of the Emperor in

the same way that the aspiration to a creed promising salvation may be discerned in later Buddhism,
Roman Uterature of the Imperial Period, and in

important to note, however, that the era

by the Saka ruler Azes, conmethod of dating by the Kushans and

B.C., established

tinued as a

12. It has

his

mission to India.

of 58

Peshawar region.
AS./.AiJ. (190S-9), 48 ff.
4. R. Ghirshman, Fouilles de Begram (Afgbanistan)' Journal Asiatiqtie, Annees 1943-5, 59-71.
3.

'

Mahavana creed

Chrisrianit)-.

B. Rowland, 'Gandhara and Early-Christian

13.

Art:

Buddha

logy,

XLtx (1945), No.

PaUiatus', American Journal ofArchaeo4,

445-8.

These foreign invaders,

Whatever the effect of the Sasanian conquest

on the Kushan D\"nast}", there seems no reason to
beheve that the Buddhist establishments of Gandhara, or the art they sponsored, came to an end
with this catastrophe. The testimony of the Chinese
pilgrims. Fa Hsien (f .400) and Hsuan-csang (seventh

excluded from the national religions of China, be-

cenmr)), informs us that the monasteries continued

5. Ibid.,

p. 72

to divine sutus in the

parallels the

their successors in the

p. 71

XXVI (1942), No. 2, 223-36.

been suggested that the raising of the

logy,

the

Both

63.

the position and the

pohcy of the Kushans in India have a close parallel in the history- of

the T'o-pa Tartars who conquered northern China
6.

in the fourth centuiy a.d.

came

fert'ent propagandists

ported

artisans

from

the

of Buddhism, and im'Western Countries'

(Turkestan) to decorate their religious foundations.

7.

In

many

cases the closest

comparisons for

Gandhara sculpture are to be found not

itself,

but in such centres

as

in

Rome

Palm\Ta, Antioch, and

14.

to flourish for centuries after Shapur's

1

5.

The fact

triumpL

that a Chinese or Central Asian imi-

of
t)pe of draper}- is to be seen
of the figures in the Buddhist temples
tation

this

in

some

at

Yun

Kang (a.d. 460-94) should make it possible to

the Begram protot)-pe no later than a.d. 400.

260

date

p. 75

NOTES
l6. It has

been argued by some authorities

representations

the

'Greeks and Sakas in India',

of seated figures on the Indo-

Asiatic Society (1947), 16-17.)

Parthian or Saka coins of the

first

century B.C. (Plate

30) are representations of the Buddha.

however, these are no more than

themselves

rulers

grapliicaliy,

in

seated

of course, there

for the seated

is

tliat

More hkely,

portraits

position.

of the
Icono-

a remote precedent

Buddha type in the

on seals of

Siva in yoga pose

representations of

the Indus Valley

Period.
17.

77

The closest

Classical parallel to

be found in the

hoop of

silver

Treasure in Turin, but since

tliis is

our rehef is to
the

Marengo

a late second-

century derivative from Augustan sculpture, the

comparison

illustrates

not a true in-

parallel,

The curious

variety of goblets depicted in one

of the carvings in
silver vessels

this style

corresponds to actual

as

early as the

(For an illustration of the

relief,

first

that

may

was

it

supporting the theory

Zoroastrian dedication. (See Philo-

25. Beal, p. civ.

26. This

p.

famous building must have exercised

Tlie

Eastern pagoda type; see, for example, such early

Cliinese pagodas as the Pei t'a at Fang-shan hsien

ing vessels A.S.I.A.R. (1926-7), Plate xxxvii, 6.)

li) and
the Sung-yiieh-ssii on Sung-shan
(Honan) reproduced in O. Siren, History of Early
Chinese Art, iv, Architecture (London, 1930), plates

might be pointed out that the cornice of serpentine dragons at the top of the panel is almost a
duplication of a band of decoration on the Roman
19. It

(Cliih

75 and 105.

sarcophagus from Melfi, dated a.d. 170.

20. Cf. S. Beal, Buddhist Records of the

78

CHAPTER 10

Western

World, London, igo6.

21.

It

may

1.

of course,

be,

as has already

been sug-

gested above (p. 73) that the style is a mixture of

the archaic teclmique ot the Early Indian Schools

combined with borrowings from Classical sources.

22. H. H. Wilson, Ariana Antiqua (London,
1841), 71.

school of Gandhara sculpture

came

end with
the Sasanian invasion of Shapur I, when 'Buddhism
was deprived of the influential support extended to
it by the early Kushan Emperors, and for the next
140 years ... Buddhist art in this part of India
ceased virtually to exist. He believes that only with
the re-estabhshmcnt in Gandhara of the Kidara
Kushans from Bactria in the late fourth century did
to an

'

new

period of

artistic activity

begin. Tliis final

was characterized entirely

seems difficult, however, to

florescence, he tells us,

by work

in stucco.

conceive of such an
because

some of

It

divine character of Kanishka

his coins

tion with the deities of sun and

3.

4.

and
5.

E. Herzfeld,

Am

Tor

i>on

Asien (Berlin, 1920),

Another statue of the identical type and dediby the same Friar Bala was found at Sravasti

now in

is

There

the Indian

arc,

Museum at

Calcutta.

of course, many examples of such

p. 88

quary.

Coomaraswamy, History ..., Figure 62.

The Mahabodhi temple was very widely

copied not only in India but also in

even Cliina

earher Gandhara tradition. (See Sir Jolin Marshall,

86

Gandhara art, and even the representation of Kanishka between the sun and moon on liis
casket might be regarded as a primitive form of the
composition which is echoed in the group of three
free-standing figures on loti that crown the reh-

7.

is

p.

trinities in

6.

of the

drum

cated

the inscribed stone statues appear

respects a direct continuation

p. 85

associa-

the

Plate xxv.

to be datable in the period after the Sasanian con-

many

suggested

liis

moon on

quest, but also because the later stucco sculpture

in so

is

and

of the Peshawar rehquary.

2. Groups at Karli and Kanheri, near Amaravati,
have been identified as donors. Belonging to the
same period, they are entirely Indian in style.

interregnum, not only

artistic

The

by the shoulder flames on

23. Sir Jolon Marshall maintains that the early

79

83

powerful influence on the development of the Far

AnBuUetiii,xvm (1936), Figure 12, and for the drink-

Revised Chronology ofGandhara Sculpture',

p. 8r

well have

edifice at Jandial.

stratus. Vita Apollonii, n, 25.)

century a.d.

see B. Rowland, 'A

visited Taxila in

'And they saw a temple,

they say, in front of the wall which was not far
short of 100 feet in size, made of porphyry; and
there was constructed within it a shrine somewhat
small as compared with the great size of the temple
which is also surroimded with columns, but deserving of notice.' ApoUonius goes on to describe
some bronze tablets engraved with the exploits of
Porus and Alexander, adorning the walls of tliis
chamber. Actually, no figural sculpture of any kind
was uncovered in the ruins of the Jandial temple, a
been the

excavated at Taxila under conditions

suggesting a date

who

temple which

fact usually interpreted as

fluence.
1 8.

ApoUonius of Tyana,

24.

A.D. 44, describes a

of the Royal

yciHniii/

show

in

Ming

the shrine as

it

times.

these rephcas

appeared after the addition of

the four buttressing turrets.

261

Most of

Burma and

p.

92

p.

92

8. Cunningham
argues, however, that this
masonry was an addition at the time of the Burmese reconstruction of the thirteenth century. (See
Sir Alexander Cunningham, Mahabodhi (London,

1892), 85.) Similar construction

Burmese temples

ruins of

et

93

r Extreme-Orient

The

I'liide

(Paris, 1944), Plate xv.)

circular

Although the invasion of Shapur I of Iran in

first Kushan dynasty founded by Kanishka in north-western India,
there is no indication that this mihtary debacle produced any kind of an interregnum in the development of art in these territories. Development and
production went on iminterruptcdly until the
invasion of the Wliite Huns in the sixth century
laid the monasteries of Gandhara in ruins.

CHAPTER
Beal,

I,

55

2. Beal,

I,

54.

I.

The

II

ff.

from Sasanian

divided between the

Musee de Kabul

Dar-iJ-Aman. Before proper

surviving fmds from

at

of excavated sculpture were

the iconoclastic

by

ruthlessly destroyed

Hackin and
15.

by

96

Moslem population of Jelalabad

medium.

5.

Beal,

This piece belongs to a group of sculpture

91.

originally advertised as having been excavated at

Tash Kurgan in Centra] Asia. Actually, this claim
is a complete fabrication intended to lend greater
interest and importance to objects acquired in the
market at Peshawar.
7.

This asymmetry

was

the head
side

was

may

be due to the

fact that

of a rehef, so that one

against the back wall of the com-

originally part

flattened

position.
p.

97

8.

One

Danubio (Milan, 1933), 305, n. i), describes the

sculptures of Hadda as stylistically situated bet\vecn
archaic Greek and the Romanesque of Toulouse.
p.

98

9-

99

p.

100

p.

loi

p.

102

p.

103

G. Rodenwaldt, Die Kimst dcr Aiitike [Pro-

heads and birds

J.

Carl, Nouvellcs Recherches ^

J.

Bamiyan

earUest sculpture and painting in the

(Les

The

Grottes

de

Touen-Houang,

Paris,

were dedicated in a.d.

366. At least one dated inscription of the year 538
in Cave 120N serves to date the srj'le of the wallpaintings closest to the murals at Bamiyan and Kizil
in Turkestan. Coloured photograplis of the sixthcentury paintings at Tun-huang reveal that the
same colour scheme with a predominance of lapislazuh blue and malachite green, employed at Kizil,
was followed by Central Asian artists at Tunff.).

earliest caves

huang.
16.

mous
writer, Silvio Ferri (L'Arte roinana sul

The

PeUiot

1914

6.

I,

p.

Thousand Buddha Caves (Ch'ien Fo-tung) at Timhuang on the north-western border of China is in
reality only an eastward extension of the styles of
Turkestan. No pubUcation of this site exists, beyond a collection of illustrations pubhshed by Paul

4. Stucco had been employed for architectural

ornament as early as the first centur\' a.d., but it
was not until about the third century that it largely

p.

by

(Paris, 1933), Plate x.

the hostile Mullahs.

replaced stone as a

textiles like boars'

holding necklaces in their beaks. Illustrated in

protective measures could be taken, vast quantities

incited

golden hues sparkle on every

decoration of medaUions, exactly imitating designs

Hadda are equally

Musee Guimet in Paris and the

3.

'Its

We have already seen how the dome, an anNear Eastern symbol of the sky covering the
eardi, was incorporated into the symbolism of the
stupa (see the defmitive article on the dome by
A. C. Soper, '"The Dome of Heaven" in Asia',
The Art Bulletin, Dec. 1947, 227 ff.).
13. T. Wiegand, Baalbek, u, Plate 45, and Karl
Lehmann, 'The Dome of Heaven', The Art Bulletin, xxvn, March, 1945, Figure 9. Not far from
Bamiyan is the Valley of Kakrak, where a number
of domed rock-cut chapels were investigated by the
French Archaeological Mission. The cupolas contained paintings of Buddhas in contiguous circles
around a central Buddha. These painted mandalas
are presumably a later development from the architectural schemes at Bamiyan.
14. Other paintings of an entirely Sasanian character are to be found in the vestibule of Group D,
a complex immediately adjoining the smaUer colossus. There the entire ceiling was painted with a

10.

95

cient

A.D. 241 brought to an end the

p.

51

precious ornaments dazzle the eyes

11. Idem.

and square plaques forming the

belts on the portrait statues of Kanishka and Chashtana are perhaps an indication of the continuation
of this Kushan craft in India.
9-

I,

its

12.

Pagan and Prome.

at

and

their brightness.'

be seen in the

V Architecture coinparee dans

(See H. Marchal,

P-

may

10. Beal,
side,

Most Ukely

datable in this period

is

the enor-

ruined wall-painting of an enthroned king at

Dukhtar-i-Noshirwan that is in every way the pictorial equivalent of die rock-cut memorials of
the
in J.

Sasanian

kings

in

Iran

proper.

Illustrated

Hackin, A. and Y. Godard, Les Antiquites

Bouddhiques de Bamiyan (Paris, 1928), Figure 25.

pylaen Kunstgeschichtc, m), Berlin, 1927, 652-5.

262

NOTES
CHAPTER 12

For an account of the remains

wan,
104

Ptolemy, ed.
105

Ancient

McCritidle's

I.

S.

M.

India

as

Sastri (Calcutta 1927), 12

ff.

Fragments of painting in a Late Antique

2.

have been found in Gandhara, notably

and

by

described

at

style

Hadda

Bamiyan, but none of tlicse cycles is as comas that of Miran (see

Hackin, L'CEuvre de la
J.

at

plete

Delegation

archeologique fran^aise

en

Afghanistan,

1922-32 (Tokyo, 1933), Figures 27 and 34).

3. For illustrations of the sculpture at the Rawak

M. A.

vihara, see

Stein, Ancient Khotan,

106

Many moulds

4.

vast

part at

mcnted temple
headed Eagle

all

The

6.

Dome

in Mittelasien.

Cave of

the

Red

contain inscribed portraits of three kings of

are known to have reigned in the late

and early seventh centuries a.d. Actually, most
of the paintings must date from c. 500-50, since
they are in exactly the same style as the frescoes at
Tun-huang, dated in the middle of the sixth censixth

tury.

in

Central Asia (London, 194S), Plates xii-

xxx.
9.

See A. von Le Coq, Die Manichdischen Minia-

turen, Buddhistischc Spatantike,

CHAPTER
no

I.

the

See above, p. 103.

See

Kak,

Plates

xlv,

i;

Coomaraswamy,

P-

113

p.

114

p.

115

p.

116

p.

117

CHAPTER 14
1. In this connexion, see the account by R. E. M.
Wheeler of the discovery of a Roman trading post
at Arikamedu in Ancient India (July, 1946), 17-125.
For the problem of Roman trade with India, see
E. H. Warmington, The Commerce between the
Roman Empire and India (Cambridge, 1928).
2. Nagarjuna, one of the 'Church Fathers' of
Mahayana Buddhism, was active in the Andhra
Empire in the second century a.d. He is specifically
remembered as the fotmder of the esoteric Vajrayana branch of the Great Vehicle. It is natural to
suppose, therefore, that aO the Later Andhra monuments were dedicated to the Buddliism of the Great

Vehicle. For Nagarjuna, see K. R. Subramanian,

art historians

B. Rowland (Baltimore, 1943), 196 ff.)

8. See F. H. Andrews, Wall-paintings from Ancient

109

5.

Buddhist Remains

of the late T'ang Dyn7.

asty, in describing the style of the seventh-century
painter, Wei-ch'ih I-seng, who came from either
Tokhara or Khotan, speak of his line as hke 'bent
and coiled iron wire', a definition that could be
very well apphed to the KizU wall-paintings
analysed above. (See T. Naito, The Wall-paintings of
Horyiiji, trans, and ed. by W. R. B. Acker and

Shrines

Ixx,

History, Figure 272.

Kucha who

108

Ixiii, Ixiv,

Antiquities of Indian Tibet (Cal-

6.

by von Le Coq and

wall-paintings in the

Chinese

112

Taxila (Plate 39A).

See A.S.I.A.R., 1906-7, Plates

the Ethnological

Die Buddhistischc Spatantike

title

at Sirkap,

p.

of the Double-

shrine

cutta, 1914), Plate vi.

to

Museum in Berhn
were destroyed during the Second World War.
Some idea of their brUhance can be gained from the
colour plates in his publications and the small fragments of actual wall-paintings preserved in various
American museums. For coloured reproductions
sec the volumes pubhshed by vonLe Coq imder the
107

on the

of the himdreds of examples of

wall-paintings brought back

installed in

fronts

and A. H. Franke,

Spdtantihe in Mittelasien, v (Berlin, 1926), Plate 6.)

Almost

a haunting suggestion of the

Palmyra and its Iranian coimterKangawar. For the plan of Avantipur, see
at

Kak, Ancient Moiniments of Kashmir, Plate Ixviii.

3. See, for example, the representations of pedi-

Central Asia. (See A. von Le Coq, Die Buddhistischc

5.

at Ushkur and HarChandra Kak, Ancient Monuments of

open court has

temple of Baal

4.

for individual details of sculp-

were found by the German expeditions

ture

Ram

Kashmir (London, 1933), 105-10, 152-4.

2. This plan with the sanctuary in the centre of a

(Oxford,

1907), Figures 61-6.

see

11

(Berlin, 1923).

13

Ushkur is the ancient Huvishkapura, built by

Kushan king Huvishka, Kanishka's successor.

3.

great

in

many

Andhra (Madras, 1932), 53-63.

reUefs representing the stupa as

whole have been found at all the Later Andhra

Probably they were intended to stress that the
monument, incorporating a rehc of the Buddha,
was itself an icon as worthy of adoration as the
images of the divinity.
4. These are referred to as Ayaka pillars, and,
since they are always in groups of five, may have
symboHzed the Five Dhydni Buddhas, but the presence of the Buddhist emblems suggests a Hinayana
a

sites.

origin.
5. Coomaraswamy {Elements of Buddhist Iconography (Cambridge, 1935), Plate i) identifies these
subjects as figurations of the Buddlia as Supernal

Sim, the columns themselves representing the Axis

of the Universe.
6. Although it is difficult to point to any exact
prototypes, this treatment of the lower hem of the
Sanghati has a certain resemblance to

263

Roman draped

NOTES
p.

117

may

how

borrowing direct from

Western tecluiiques through the intermediary of
cameos or gems brought to Roman trading posts in
Andhra.
statues, so that

it

7.

Coomaraswamy,

8.

Annual Bibliography

(Leiden, 1935), Plate

p. 118

be

See above,

9.

10.

p.

originals,

oj Indian

site

Archaeology, 1933

52 and Plate i6b.

of a palace building

'Indian Images in Chinese Sculpture', Artihus Asiae,

X,

Roman

11.

from

8.

t)pe

p. 119

15.

said

at

Goh

Village',

Compare

i,

Bulletin

part

of the

the plan and section of the stupa at

With

Antiquities (Madras, 1894), Plate xiv).

sembles in

Vishnu and Brahma

suggested that the cupola sym-

at the

Paul Mus, Barahudur,

120

17.

At

least

Museum

D. Bamett,

fifth

Antiquities of India

CHAPTER
122

I.

p.

125

2.

p.

126

3.

Coomaraswamy,
Coomaraswamy,
The absence of a

(London,

History, 6, n.

sikhara

127

4. It

is

5.

and the rugged and

12.

as

13.

magisterially treated

by

Stella

book, The Hindu Temple (Cal-

cutta, 1946).
p. 131

5.

Bcal,

135

6.

In the Hfe

I,

The term

(Beal,

I,

Indian

Sailpture

(Calcutta,

p.

r36

Chapter

p.

137

43.

(movement of life) seems to

for endowing living things with

cetana

of the East Series (London, 1939), 47 ff).

A. K. Coomaraswamy, 'The Painter's Art in

xx)

we

read

the

Indian

Society

This appearance of the talented amateur

China

of

is

in the

spired' traditional products

of the professional

14.

A. K. Coomaraswamy, History, 90-1.

15.

This method has

its

artist.

exact equivalent in the

of the Middle Ages in Europe: the

twelfth-century aesthctician Witelo remarked that
almond eyes were preferable to the actual shape of
church

art

any human eye

145.

of Hsiian-tsang

History, Figure

T'ang Period. In the Far

East the work of the non-professional 'gentleman
painter' comes to be preferred over the 'imin-

of the Eight Directions of Space, Uke planets

grouped around the central axis of Siva. The whole
immensely comphcated subject of these magic
temple plans, of which there are Lterally hundreds

p.

Coomaraswamy,

Kramrisch,

paralleled in

surrounding squares were dedicated to the Regents

in her

body beneath.
which it re-

general form, this statuette must be

Ancient India', Journal of

Oriental Art (1933), 28.

the

perhaps possible to assume that the eight

Kramrisch

Sultangaiij,

Wisdom

i.

from a cave prototype, such

of variants, has been

how

imply the necessirv

a feeling of vitahzed existence with attention to
their specific growth and articulation that is to be
understood by the first of Hsieh Ho's Six Principles
of Painting (see S. Sakanishi, The Spirit of the Brush,

n.d.),

vihara at Ajanta.
p.

its

century. See

11.

simple 'cave-like' appearance almost suggest a

derivation

difficult to see

10. Vishmidharmottaram, Part in.

dis-

15

History, 90, n.

from

the figure

9. S.

255.

p.

not

1933). 171-

plaster casts!

as

It is

159-

beginning of time. See

reliefs

in India.

figure repeats the formula

assigned to the high point of Gupta sculpture in the

(Paris, 1935), 109.

one Sanskrit scholar was able to

miss the British

L.

natural that this

in a robe that completely reveals the

bohzes the anda or cosmic egg containing all elements and from wliich all worlds were created by

p.

made

tliis

Ghantas'ala (Alexander Rea, South Indian Buddhist

16. It is sometimes

it is

of the stone
sculpture at Samath in such particulars as the smooth,
rather attenuated proportion and limbs sheathed
closely

(1929), 21-2.

by

frequently found in

Another metal image of a somewhat different

is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This is
to have been found in Burma, but was almost

certainly

T. N. Ramachandran, 'Buddhist sculpture

a stupa near

is

statuette.

History, 71.

Madras Gouernment Museum,

of

method would have been used in preparing the

equally malleable wax mould for the metal

12. Beal, n, 221.

14.

indicating drapery folds

stucco images in Gandhara;

An-

13. Legend has it that the Buddhist monuments

Amaravati were wrecked by Hindu fanatics.

particularly the 'copies'

found in China.

The method of

7.

of Nagarjunakonda', ^45/ Memoirs, No.

X (c) and (d).

Coomaraswamy,

statues

lines incised in the surface

prototypes,

perhaps gems or cameos. See 'The Buddhist

Note

(1947), 5-20.

Gandhara

Nagarjunakonda and

at

suggest possible copying of

54, Plate

silver,

introduced to the Far East. See also B. Rowland,

viii.

t)'pe

tiquities

copies of famous Indian cult images.

and sandalwood. This passage is often cited as one

of the means whereby styles of Indian art were

of helmet and another panel of a

Dionysian figure with a rhyton were discovered on
the

some

His collection included examples in gold,

History, Figure 342.

ReUefs of a Scythian personage wearing

Roman

this famous Chinese traveller brought back to

China from India a small collection of images, some

saints.

264

for representations

of the Virgin and

p.

139

NOTES
was this effect of relief in painting that never
and confound the Cliinese, when
this manner was introduced in the Six Dynasties
Period (a.d. 220-589). See the many quotations on
l6. It

p.

140

p.

141

the Liang Period painter,

Chang Seng-yu,

Naito, The

of Horyiiji, 199

A. K.

17-

IVall-Paiiitiii^s

Coomaraswamy,

IV,

set great store

of circumambulation, which

up merit

for the future, rather in the

that the separate tiers

History, 90.

were

by

the

believed to store

is

manner of the

granting of Indulgences from Purgatory.

ff.

identified

It

appears

with Buddhist

As an indication of tlie essential unity of

Gupta India, it may be mentioned that
the same compositions of fantastic animals and

virtues so that the ascending pradakshina provided

may

be found in the sculptured decoration of Cave

11. These same subjects are to be seen in examples

of wall-paintings in Tibetan lamaseries. For illustra-

XIX.

tions,

For the BadamI paintings, see Rowland and

Coomaraswamy, Plate 23, and S. Kramrisch,

Rome, 1932-41.

18.

forms

floral

142

G. Tucci, Indo-Tibetica,

The Tibetan Buddhists

10.

in T.

illustration, see

(Rome, 1941), Figures 119-20.

iii

rite

the pilgrim with a kind of vicarious exposure to the

the arts in

p.

For an

9.

failed to surprise

as seen in these ceiling-paintings

chief spiritual powers of the Buddha.

19.

Bidlmi' Journal of the

'Paintings at

152

p.

154

p.

155

p.

157

Architecture (Calcutta,

p.

158

taken from the porch

p. i55>

see the plates in G. Tucci's Indo-Tibetica,

See above, p.

12.

6.

Indian Society

of Oriental Art, iv, I (June 1936), 57. The Sittanavasal decorations are discussed in A.B.I.A., 1930, 9.

CHAPTER 17

Coloured reproductions of details of the Bagh

are to be found in Rowland and

P. K. Acharya, Manasara on Architecture and

1.

Sculpture (London, 1933-4).

paintings

Coomaraswamy,

p.

2.

Plates 21-22.

N. K. Bose, Canons ofOrissan

Architecture (Cal-

cutta, 1932).

The Hindu Temple (Cal-

Kramrisch,

3. Stella

CHAPTER 16

cutta, 1946).
p. 143

I.

Taranatha, a seventeenth-century Tibetan his-

torian of

of Buddhist
states,

art

included

artists,

5. Ibid.,

Dhiman and

century (see Vincent Smith, History of Fine Art

India and Ceylon (Oxford, 191 1), 304-7).

nesses

in

The Life of Hiuen-lsiang (London,

Beal,

3. S.

Beal, Buddhist Records, n, 173-4. This

is

Law

at

only

146

4-

See above, p. 103.

p.

147

5-

See A.

p.

148

J.

Bemet Kempers, The

Temple, 123, n. 78).

H. Cousens, Chalukya

8.

1926), 61.

(Idem, 47-8).

p.

accommodated in heaven, so are they accommodated on earth.

7. 'The temple resembling a mountain shines
white' (quoted by Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu

are

Samath

of the chariots Brahma created for the gods

them on their heavenly ways. As the gods

to carry

number of mentions by Hsiian-tsang of

copies of the great temple at Bodh Gaya; another
similar tower was described by the Master of the

The view

9.

Bronzes of

iUustrated

a feature

of many Jain sanctuaries.

is sometimes referred to

The temple

Imbedded in the foundations of the Nepalesc

stupas was a square stone chamber divided, like the
mandala of Hindu temple plans, into nine compartments in the centre of which was fixed the
wooden mast. In Nepal this axial member is

skippers of the Indiamen

known

(Plate i6a)

10.

6.

as

the lingam, a clear indication of the Hin-

'Black Pagoda', a

title

given the

as the

monument by

p.

161

p.

162

the

who used it as a landmark

in steering for Calcutta.

11. Cf. the

du character of late esoteric Buddhism.

7. Presumably all the chaityas in Nepal were dedicated to A di-Buddha, the Creator and Preserver,
and the five mystic Buddhas of his creation.
8. These manuscripts are discussed and illustrated
by A. Foucher in Iconographie bouddhique de I'Inde

at

(Paris, 1900).

It

is

roof and shows the opening to an upper shrine that

was

Nalaitda and Hindu-Javanese Art (Leiden, 1933).

150

the classical definitions of the nagara

type of temple specifics that these shrines are hke-

one of

p.

ff.

Bitpalo, painters and sculptors, active in the ninth

2. S.

144

architecture, see Ibid., 207

208.

One of

6.

1911), 111-12.
p.

Hindu

portion in

under the Pala Dynasty, which, he

two famous

For a complete account of the systems of pro-

4.

Buddhism, speaks of an 'Eastern school'

Deogarh
12.

'A

panel from Stupa

No.

2 at Saiichi

and the doorway of the Gupta temple

(Plate 77B).

man embraced by a beloved woman knows

nothing more of a within or without.' [Brihaddranyaka Upanishad,

13.

sakti

265

The
is

practice

iv. 3. 21.)

of sexual intercourse with a

classes of adepts in yoga.

permitted certain

has been suggested that an esoteric

Magian phase

NOTES
p.

162

of sun worship, perhaps originating in the famous

temple at Muhan, was followed at Konaraka.
14. Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, 370.

p.

165

p.

166

16. Idem, Plate xl(b).

p.

167

17.

15.

Some

169

Paes, the

idea of their original appearance

mandapam of

may

not

the Sas-Bahu

art

at

[Biiddliist

either

180

p.

181

Baroque or Antique

and

use of the term to designate the

of the pre-Gothic period

32.

p.

word 'Romanesque' meant work he had

Rome
the modem

seen in

Gwahor.
18. VeTcy Blown, Indian Architecture
Hindu) (Bombay, 1942), 149.
temple

See below, p. 186.

SewcU, The Story of a Forgotten Empire

(London, 1904), 240-1. Presumably for Domingo

See A.S.I.A.R., 1908-9, Plate xh.

be gathered from the

p.

30.

31. R.

in western

Europe.

Percy Brown, 113.

and

CHAPTER 18

Coomaraswamy, History, 112.

The term rath means a chariot or a processional
used to transport the idols of the Hindu gods on

19.

20.

car

festal days.

probably stems from the concept that the sanctuary

was

a reproduction

of the

celestial chariots

of the

deities.

21. The famous Lohapasada at Anuradhapura in

Ceylon was a structure of nine storeys, in which
the accommodation of the priesthood was arranged
on an hieratic basis, so that the highest storeys were
reserved for arhats, and the lower floors for novies
and those who had acquired higher grades of
sanctity.

22. In the usual metaphorical

way, the shape of

185

p.

186

(London, 1929), Plate Ixxvu(a).

4. The legend or story of the Dance of Siva has

p.

187

contour of the face in

images. The tale relates to Siva's dispute with a

group of heretical rishis who endeavoured to destroy
the Lord by their incantations and magical devices.
They first loosed against him a tiger which he
caught and flayed with the nail of his httle finger.
A monstrous serpent of their production was
placed around his throat as a garland. A final monstrosity in the form of a dwarf rushed upon the god

earlier periods.

H. Zinimer, Myths and Symbols

in

Indian Art

(New York, n.d.), 119.

group is a perfect illustration of the words
of the American sculptor, John Flannagan: 'To that
instrument of the subconscious, the hand of the
24. This

sculptor, there exists an

The

creative act

25.

Durga

is

image within every rock.

of reahzation merely

frees

it.'

another manifestation of Devi or

of Siva. Like Siva himself,

the Absolute in action, manifestation,

as

do with the metaphysical meaning of these

he began the measure of his dance. This emblem

Parvat!, the sakti or wife

of evil Siva crushed beneath

'The Devi is
and variety; Nature in all her multipHcity, violence,
and charm, dispersing impartially birth and death,
illusion and enhghtenment.' (A. K. Coomara-

with

swamy, Museum of Fine

10.

Arts Bulletin

(Boston,

April 1927), 23-4.)

26.

As noted above

(p. 158),

there

is

evidence that

the Viriipaksha temple at Pattadakal was a 'copy'

of this temple
27.

It

at

Kaficipuram.

should be stated that the Kailasa temple

is

only the most grandiose and impressive of a whole

of rock-cut temples and cave sanctuaries,

Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain, that were carved at
EUura over a period of many centuries. The reader
series

is

referred to Percy

Brown's Indian

(Buddhist and Hindu), 86

179

p.

httle to

and Civilization

p.

a personal

the leaf of the pipel tree comes to replace the ovoid

23.

p. 176

men recommended

faith based

use to designate a type of temple

Its

These holy

on devotion, rather than on ritual and

formula, a doctrine that lent an air of cathohcity to
the Saivite faith, and invited to its creed all classes
of persons without distinction of caste.
2. A wax model was prepared and over this was
fashioned a clay mould. When this mould had
hardened, the wax was melted out and the amalgam poured into the clay mould. When the metal
had cooled, the mould was broken and the image
was given its fmal chasing and burnishing.
3. Winifred Lamb, Greek and Roman Bronzes

1.

ff.

Architecture

Zimmer,

his foot

and proceeded

performance of which convert-

ed the heretics.
5.

A. K. Coomaraswamy, Bronzes from Ceylon,

Chiefly in the Colombo

Museum (Colombo,

6. The attributes of the Nataraja

drum in the upper right hand, which

1914),

include the
in

its

vibra-

symbohzes the god's creative activity. The fire

on the left hand both destroys and cleanses the impurity of the soul. The lower right hand is in the
gesture of reassurance, and the lower left points to
the god's foot as the place of refuge and salvation
for the worshipper. The dwarf is Illusion and the
sense of the Ego which the devotee must overcome.
tion

The flaming halo

in

28. Kramrisch, Indian Sculpture, 88.

29.

his dance, the

199.

266

all

matter.

represents the informing energy

NOTES
ghalese dagobas

CHAPTER 19

town
1.

The

from

different

may

they

many ways

in

are

frescoes

EllCira

the cycles at Ajanta

known

be the earhest

and Bagh

so

feet

that

The Mahauaihsa, trans, by Willielm Geiger,

Pali Text Society, 1912, 203. For

illustrations

above, p. 152, n. i.
2. Karl Khandalavale, Indian Sculpture and Paint-

leaf lotus rehquary,

(Bombay,

of actual metal objects, including a goldfound at the Ruwanweli dagoba,

London News,

see Illustrated

n.d.), Plate viii.

11 Jan. 1947, 52-3.

See above, p. 116.

9.

Plate xxxvi, 100.

3. Ibid.,

to build a wall ten

Oxford, The

Taranatlia described as the 'Western school'. See

ing

sufficient to construct a

Coventry or

high from London to Edinburgh.

8.

specimens of what

would be

the size of

octagonal columns, similar to

10. Single

V iconograpbie

Andhra pillars,
some early Singhalese

of Mogul and Rajput

5.
painting are well summarized by J. V. S. Wilkinson

these yupas, descended

in Indian Art, ed. Winstedt, 140-1.

repUcas of the Axis or Tree of the Universe.

4.

htide

Foucher,

A.

See

stir

have been found

houddhiqiie de I'lndc (Paris, 1900).

The

6.

essential qualities

were

A. K. Coomaraswamy, Rajput Painting (Ox-

are

smaO group of miniatures from the Deccan

discussed by Wilkinson, 146 f (in Indian Art, ed.

association to

Basil

Gray

Ashton (London, n.d.), 92 ft..

Plates 141-3, 145-8. The style reveals an odd, often
incongruous, mixture of Hindu, Mogul, and Per-

Pakistan, ed. Sir Leigh

sian elements.

Coomaraswamy,

History, Figure 264.

four-sided,

The word dagoba

p. 119.

its

combination of the

of the

structure, exert

fluence

on

3.

that the

womb

an eternal animating in-

all

time and

all

power of the Buddha.

A. B. Govinda, 'Some Aspects of Stupa Symthe spiritual

boUsm', Jonnw/ of the Indian Society of Oriental Art,

There is some question as

n, 2 (Dec. 1934), 99-100.

to whether this division

modem

based on a relatively

system, only partly reflecting the canon

employed
4. Ibid.,
5.

is

community

See

These

statues

the Arcliaeological

Survey of Ceylon, v

6.

See Percy Brown, Plate

The

largest

of

all,

vi, 7.

the Jetavana dagoba,

proximately three hundred and seventy

has been conjectured that the

bricks in the fabric

of a

single

is

ap-

feet in di-

number of

one of the larger Sin-

at the

For an

202

Maha-

time of

illustration

have been 'restored' with such

to study

them

it is

necessary

in old photographs to get an idea

of

their original quaUties.

15.

Another metal image of the same type has

been found in East Java. See Choi.x de Sculptures

hides
16.

des

(The Hague, 1923), Plate x.

For these references to relations between Cey-

Ion and Cliina, see A. C. Soper, 'Literary Evidence

for Early Buddhist Art in China', Oriental Art,

Summer,

1949,

ff.

See also L. Bacliliofer, 'Die

Anfange der buddhistischen

36.

Paranavitana, 'The Stupa in Ceylon',

7.

It

14.

Ostasiatische Zeitschrift,

S.

247) mentions a

Anuradhapura

loi.

(1947), 81 ff

ameter.

at

for the oldest dagobas.

Memoirs of

p.

Palace".'

execrable taste and insensitiviry that

seemingly dead mass of masonry,

generating and perpetuating for

men

is

see Paranavitana, Plate xx(a).

(womb,

planted like a quickening seed in the

this

name "Brazen

his visit in the seventh century.

is

chamber, or receptacle). The imphcation

relics,

side a

yanist

2.

Geiger, trans., 184-5. 'Thepasada

on each

13. Hsiian-tsang (Beal, n,

Sanskrit words, dliatu (reUcs) and garbha

by

the various religious edifices in the

and provided with four gateways the pasada gleamed in its magnificence like
the haU of the thirty-three (gods). The pasada was
covered over with plates of copper, and thence

came

See above,

201

Sanskrit vihara,

applied indiscriminately

beautiful enclosure

CHAPTER 20
1.

is

hundred cubits, and

even so much in height. In this most beautiful of
Surrounded by a
palaces there were ninestoreys.

was

India and

The Art of

in

all

12. Ma/i5f<jm5a,

schools at Vijayanagar and Bijapur, are further

8.

and

stupa precinct.

Winstedt). These iUumiiiations, associated with

by

p.

conjectured that

n. This word is derived from the

analysed

It is

200

of

from Vedic sacrificial posts,

within the masonry of the dome as magic

a monastery,

ford, 1916), 4.
7.

set

stupas.

p.

the

in the ruins

New

Plastik

in

China',

Series 10, 1/2 (1934),

remains of early South Cliinese sculpfew rather crude gilt bronze images of the
fifth century that have only a remote resemblance
to Indian prototypes. See O. Siren, History of
Chinese Sculpture, n (London, 1925), Plate 15.
17. All that

ture

is

Coomaraswamy, History, Figure 294.

A. K. Coomaraswamy, Medieval Singhalese
Art (Broad Campden, 1908), 152 ff.

267

18.

19.

NOTES
p.

204

20. In the course

of excavations around the early

intrusion of Indian influences.

directional animals, leading us to the inevitable con-

when,

same geomantic magic imphcit in

the laying out of the Indian stupa was scrupulously
followed in Ceylon. Sometimes the animal statuettes, together with the reHcs, were deposited

Ta-kuan, the king

clusion that the

205

Thus
in

with the

Han

for instance

settlements have been

Armani, and, testifying to trade relations

Roman world

Roman lamp

as well, a

Annual

See

jects at

Oc-Eo in Cochin China [Annual Bibliography

hand

Plate vii.

These formulas of drawing reappear

in the

eighth-century wall-paintings of Hdryuji

use of inscriptions to provide a kind of

may come from

employment of
as on the base of

the

24.

A continuous haihsa frieze may be seen on the

basement of the Rajrajesvara temple at Tanjore and

may well be the protot^'pe for this ornament.
25. Citlavaihsa,

26.

11,

trans. Geiger,

The presence of these four

39

ff.

statues

These images could be described

of the kings

as Siva,

need not be

at

Asram Maha

Rosei.

Temple

at

a s\Tithesis indicated in this statue

As may be seen

Hinayana Buddhism

the association of various events of the Buddha's

life

with the points of the compass would explain

the dupUcation of images of

the four directions.

is strikingly suggestive of the exornamentation of such monuments as the

Rajrajesvara temple at Tanjore.

28.
29.

Musee Albert

Pojonnaruwa shows

were

by the

it

9.

Related to Chen-la

at

is

the

its

stabihty.

modern word. Cam-

reigned in the northern portions of present-day

was, in other words, the Kambujas

It

who

Coomaraswamy,

name

importation of Chola

History, Figure 303.

overran Funan and gave their

to the coimtry.

H. Parmentier, The History of Khmer Archi'

tecture', Eastern Art, ra (193 1), 147

if.

an

The pyramidal terraced form of structures like

Baksei Chonikrong was intended as an architectural
rephca of the supposed shape of the world moimtain Meru. The installation in the centre of the capi-

of Indian origin, where

a similar legend is attributed to the founder of the
Pallava Dynasty. At all events, a cult of nagas ap-

tal of such a facsimile of the mountain at the centre

of the world was designed magically to transfer the
navel of the world to the Khmer capital and to ensure the dominance over all the Empire.

11.

San Antonio,
Spanish

who was

conquest

Most hkely

engaged

tliis

Quiroga de

in preparing for a

of Cambodia,

account of the ruins

2.

father, Gabriel

pubhshed

in 1604.
tale

is

216

once a nimbus and a

which stems from Kambuja, 'bom of Kani-

or Kilmers

The Dominican

p-

ap-

precaution to prevent the breaking off of

Indo-China.

I.

215

examples preserved in

Sarraut at Phnom-Penli,

the arms of the deity and to ensure

10.

211

p.

differentia-

bu', the founder of the dynasty that originally

at

CHAPTER 21
p.

214

the Shore

originally enclosed in a horse-shoe

motifs, used here to decorate a Buddhist shrine.

a similar

p.

vaguely reas

History, 183.

in other

shaped frame, which was

bodia,

Coomaraswamy, History, 167.

The exterior decoration of the Thuparama

213

pears Ukely that both the Harihara and the Stoclet

teclinical

The decor

27.
terior

the

statue

Sakyamuni himself at

p.

of the two halves of the head-dress. The present

image was found in a vesara temple of the type seen
at Bayang.

Coomaraswamy,

in

212

tion

8.

Dhyani Tathagatas: even

is

of Indian Archaeology, 1935 (Leyden, 1937), Plate xi.

6. Harihara is a combination of Siva and Vishnu,

7.

elevation

monuments

p.

etc.

Mamallapuram. See Annual Bibliography

Mahayana

was

tliis

Its

miniscent of such Pallava

temple and the Buddhas representations of die

taken as an indication that

as 'portrait

Vishnu, Harihara,

5. A stone temple in the shape of a pyramidal

tower surmounted by a kalasa finial has been found

(Japan). See Naito, Horyuji, Plates 50-3.

22. Paranavitana, Plate xxi.

The

4.

statues'

at

at

of Indian
Archaeology, 1927 (Leyden, 1929), Plate viii. See
also the fmds of Indian Classical and Sasanian obBibliograpliy

in architecture.

the great temple at Tanjore.

209

3.

mos

21.

Chou

a nagini,

of Indian Archaeology, 1940-7 (Leyden, 1950),

such decor in Chola architecture,

p.

every night with

they were hterally reconstructions of the cos-

23.

207

Angkor

historian,

tliat

rustication

p.

civilization at

by the Chinese
slept

the

survived into the

kind of magic renewal of the power of king-

in a

P'ong-tuk.

Nara
206

It

ship.

(See Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, xn (1896),

16 and Plates xii-xxv.) Many passages in the

(lost)

p.

related

it is

found

Mahavaihsa confirm the semi-magical nature of

these Buddhist relic mounds and the hypothesis

Khmer

great days of the

nine-compartmented receptacle or yantragara

beneath the foundation stone of the monument.
in a

p.

Cambodia before

pears to have been native to

Ceylon there have been found buried at

the cardinal points small bronze figures of the same

stupas in

268

NOTES
This concept was introduced byjayavarman II

12.

(802-53), wiio

came from

802 reads in part, 'Tlie

Java.

An

Brahman Hiranyadama

Orient,

pada because H. M. Paramesvara invited him to

the destruction, have gained a foothold everywhere,

Cambodia's independ-

ritual to insure

in

Gilberte de Coral

14. It

known

is

as

Rcmusat

Chou Ta-kuan,

describing
is

tliis

whole kingdom.

It

on

sleep. If the

night

some misfortune takes place.'

Angkor is a corruption of the Sanskrit

'city';

Wat

is

king

fails

to be there

8.

of these has wrought havoc on the stability

of the structures. Occasionally one finds attempts
to 'dovetail' adjacent blocks of stone in imitation
of a method suitable only for building in wood.

Khmer

20. Gilberte

21

de Coral Rcmusat, Plate xxiv, 87-8.

The temple is built on an

human

earhcr foimdation of

art. Tliis culture,

modern Annam,

located in the region of

until the ninth century A.D.

The

architecture

with

forms
sources.

The

some

brick tower sanctuaries of Mi-son

are a prolongation

dian

of the

floridity

and barbaric vigour of decoration, such

often distinguishes the best in folk

especially interested in

tliis

art.

subject should turn to

Paris,

Angkor Thom.

some
relation

to the

269

head

authorities believe the

to be a reflection

rehef is in the shape of a stepped pyramid.

de

l'

Annam,

1909; Parmentier, 'Les Sculptures chames

au Musee de Tourane', Ars Asiatica,

concept of the temple-moimtain that the Kailasa in

this

as

Readers

Philippe Stern, L'Art du Champa, Toulouse, 1942;

Henri Parmentier, Les Monuments cams

interesting to note in

of pre-

isolated sikliaras

The sculpture, although cast in Inand Cambodian mould, is characterized by a

times.

which used to be accepted as the date of

complex as it now stands. The site of Banteai
Srei is about twenty-five kilometres north-east of
is

and

Cambodian
borrowings from Chinese

sculpture are a provincial reflection of

the

It

Buddha
on the

flourished for nearly 1000 years

A.D. 969,

22.

or

The present work omits any consideration of

27.

of the Khmer style, see H.

Marchal, L' Architecture Comparee dans I'lnde et
r Extreme-Orient (Paris, 1944).
19. There is evidence at Angkor Wat and in many
other Khmer buildings of a practice of introducing
wooden beams into the masonry for purposes of
further reinforcement. Obviously the disintegra-

224

232

person.

liis

the exception of the

1931).

Cham

223

p.

an esoteric form of Avalokite-

is

Samath column and on the moon stones of Ceylon.

26. SeeG. Grosher, 'Les Collections Khmeres du
Musce Albert Sarraut', Ars Asiatica, xvi (Paris,

For an admirably detailed treatment of all the

p.

229

used to be

head, these are the same creatures foimd

nagara,

tion

225

With

25.

Percy Brown, 220.

p.

it

himself creates or radiates the five

Dhyani Buddhas from

architectural features

p.

who

svara,

a single

temple

imder the main tower,

Lokesvara

5iva.

king

or - better - 'Temple of the Capital'.

17.

in a well

thought that these faces were representations of

Siamese for any Buddliist building.

translated, then, as 'city

p.

By

monkeys gathered

Before the discovery of the central Buddha

24.

image

is

appears every

must

The name may be

hke big shadowy holes that give you pause.

not be broken.'

structure,

woman with whom the

hour, in the

and who had been squatting in a

though holding a council, scamper off in a
leisurely fashion and without their usual chattering:
it is as though, in a place hke this, the silence must

the spirit of a nine-hcadcd serpent, master of the

16.

this rather late

there for shelter

golden tower, on the

top of which the king sleeps. In the tower there

night in the form of a

At

circle, as

the centre of a capital in the tenth and

writes, 'In the palace there

as its

hke so many an-

of hair, countless roots drape them with

the nearest entrance, a troop of

sometimes suggested that the building

Baphuon within the present walls of

earth and of the

to the gates:

are

27-33.

clevendi centuries.
15.

of the towers that serve

darkness shed by the trees and the cloudy sky, they

in her splendid book,

the

Angkor was

to the top

You come

a diousand fringes.

L'Arl Khmer, Les Graiides Etapes de son Evolution

(Paris, 1940),

up

cient locks

summary of this problem by

See the excellent

227

his visit (1901) to

pedestal.

right

land a Cakravartin.'

tliis

13.

p.

Pierre Loti has left us an

fF.

reach the Bayon,

ence from Java and to the end that there might be

222

(1902), 141

account of

sastras,

full

perform a

p.

Coutumes du

Angkor Thom: 'To

you have to cut your way with a
stick through a jumble of brambles and trailing
creepers. On all sides, the forest hems it in narrowly,
smothers and crushes it; huge fig-trees, completing

with

219

II

sur les

Bulletin de I'Ecole Fran^aise d' Extreme-

knowledge and experience of the mysteries, established for the increase of the prosperity of
the world the magic rites of the Devaraja. This
Brahman, learned in magic lore, came from Jana-

having carefully extracted the essence of the

p.

'Memoires

23. P. Pelliot,

Cambodge',

inscription ot

of the cham

iv, Paris,

1922,

in plate 157B

style.

NOTES
CHAPTER 22
p.

233

image

vati
p.

234

The

235

p-

236

(Plate 154).

conical ushnisha

as

duplications of

don, 1937), 100.

and arches used in die interior of the Mahabodhi temple at Pagan and other Burmese sanctuaries of the Classic Period correspond so closely
to

4.

Mamallapuram,

itself is

which

in

5.

toration that

Buddhist cave temples

at

same

Lung Men

in

Pagan, pubhshed by Henri Marchal, Plate xv.

hasbeen suggested that the name of the
temple - Ananda - is a corruption of the name,
5. It

Nandamula, or that the name derives from the

Ananta cave at Udayagiri in Orissa. (See Charies
Duroiselle, 'The Stone Sculpture in the Ananda
Temple at Pagan,' A.S.I.A.R. (191 3-14), 66.)
Plate

stupas,

were geo-

Buddliist influences.
original to

p.

much from Brahmanic

The Meru idea of course

as

Bralimanism

has at various times in

history been tinged with

Brahmanic

237

Coomaraswamy,

7.

see

A.S.I.A.R.

(1912-13),

History, 172, Figures 311

p.

241

and

312.

CHAPTER 24

as

Paul Mus, Barabudur (Hanoi, 1935).

2. This extension of the processional path to
more than one level as well as the indented ground
1.

is

Siamese Buddhism - hke

Cambodian Buddhism -

illustrations,

Ivi.

Coomaraswamy,

7.

mantically laid out according to the concept of the

four directions around the world mountain Meru.

These ideas spring

For

6.

to be altered, although the foundations

were already laid.

and

one on top of the other. These

should be emphasized, are not laid face to

at

man-

governing the laying out of buildings that

whole orientation of the palace being built for

Palaces, as well as temples

it

face, but edge to edge. The method is particularly

well illustrated by photographs of ruined structures

traditions

him had

method of vaulting the

composed of courses of

bricks mortared
bricks,

made buildings. Even in the nineteenth century, the

German arcliitect-scholar Dohring tells us, King
Chulalongkom was so unwilling to depart from the
the

before the ninteenth-ccntury res-

it

voussoirs of the arch are

Lotus sutra, overlooked ancient Rajagriha.

6. It should be noted that even late
Siamese
architecture is, Uke all the reUgious architecture of
the East, based on the principle of pratibimba - the

of the image of the great world

The

fourteenth century. In this

China were

oriented to overlook die capital of Loyang, just as

the Vulture Peak, sacred to Buddlia's preaching the

reflexion

four corners.

temple was introduced into the fabric by the Burmese craftsmen who went to repair the shrine in the

principle, the
in

at the

seems possible to believe diat the

vaulted construction of the original Mahabodhi

tlie

the shrine and not merely

In accordance with the

Bodh Gaya

at

base.

its

shape

the fragments of this type of construction existing

The Lamp'un temple might be described as a

form of prasada, like the
at

its

vaults

return to the Dravidian

Dharmaraja rath
terraced pyramid

239

IS

falhble

P-

p.

valuable in showmg the appearance of the original

in the thirteenth century. This replica agrees
with
the various small models of the shrine at Gaya
in
showing the main tower surrounded by smaller

is by no means an inmeans of identification, since in Cambodia,

well as Siam, such terraced top-knots were special
emblems of Lokes'vara.
3- H. G. Quaritch Wales, Towards Angkor (Lon-

2.

Coomaraswamy, History, Figure 306.

The Burmese copy of the Mahabodhi temple

3.

4-

Possibly the statue in the Seattle Art Museum,

discussed under Pre-Khmer sculpture, is a DvaraI-

its

plan of Barabadur

ideas,

from

History, 178.

is

p.

247

p.

248

p.

249

p.

250

p.

251

p.

254

perhaps ultimately derived

die temple at Paharpur in Bengal. See above,

p. 144.
3.

CHAPTER 23
p.

238

1.

Burma

The panel

showing

The

carhest examples of Buddhist art found in

arc a number of metal objects, including a

in Plate 181

a detailed

view of

is

also

of

interest in

a Javanese ship

under

full sail.

4.

Devaprasad Ghose,

'Relation

between the

silver

rehc casket discovered in a stupa at Promc.

Buddha images of Orissa and Java', Modern Review,

They

are almost certainly importations

LTV, 500.

from India

proper and arc dated in the sixth century a.d.

(Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology, 1928
(Lcyden, 1930), Plate x.) A number of unpubhshed
stupas

from

this

Nanpaya, dedicated to Brahma.

See above, p. 227.

See B. R. Chatterjee,

Greater India Society Bulletin,

period also exist at Prome.

7.

Coomaraswamy, History, Figure 305. There

other early Hindu temples at Pagan, such as the

2.

are

5.

6.

Generally speaking,

Javanese art that

is

it is

'India

(Calcutta, 1933), 78.

diis last

phase of East

perpetuated in the architecture,

painting, and sculpture

of the mixed Hindu and

Buddhist culture of the island of Bali.

270

and Java',

GLOSSARY
noimccs

Abhaiiga. Stance, pose.

Abhaya
hand

The

Gesture of reassurance.

tmidra.

tended upward.

Vedic

Agtii. Fire,

Agmdhr'iya.

the place

The

Temple (Siamese).
The absolute creator of all things. Chief of
the Hindu Trinity with Vishnu and Siva.

Bot.
fire

Brahma.

god.

sacrificial fire

where

goal in favour of acting as a minister-

emanation of a dhyana
Buddha; a Buddha before Enlightenment.

held pahii outward and the fingers ex-

is

this

ing angel to humanity

right

it is

of the god Agni, or

Brahmanas. Ritual texts of early Hinduism.

kindled.

Airavata. Elephant, the vehicle

of Indra and symbol

Hindu

Brahitdii.

priestly caste.

of the clouds.
Amalaka. Crowning lotiform

member of

s'ikhara

Anda. Egg, the hemispherical

dome of

the

Bud-

dhist stupa.

Nymph of the sky or atmosphere.

Apsaras.

The wheel, emblematic of the sun and the

dominion of the Buddha's law.
Cakravala. The successive rings of mountain ranges
wliich in Hindu cosmology are believed to encircle the world mountain, Meru.
Cakra.

temple.

Courte-

san of Indra's heaven.

Carana. 'Pillar', 'Motion', 'Force'. In Indian paint-

Asana. Seat, throne.

Asiira.

ing a type of composition in which the pictorial

Demon, enemy of

the gods in

Brahmanic

elements are centred or rotated around a main

epics.

axis or pillar that stabilizes the

sacrifice', the ceremony performed by kings to ensure the welfare of the

Asvamedlm. 'Horse
realm.

A selected stallion, after being allowed

mitted to

the

and

sentience.

sanctuary or shrine.

Cliannauira.

acts.

harness of crossing scarves

as seen in early statues

worn

of fertility

goddesses.

of Mercy.

Chatta. Umbrella,

Chatra,

emblem of dominion

and of the heavens of the gods on mast of Bud-

the descents or incarnations of Vislinu in animal

dhist stupa.

or human form in each of the great cycles of time.

Term

above the waist,

life

Avatar. 'Descent', term usually applied to one of

Ayaka.

movement of life,

Chaitya.

ritual sacrifice.

Avadands. Legends of the Buddha's

Avalokite'svara. Bodhisattva

In Indian painting the representation of

Cetatia.

to

wander under the guardianship of royal youths

for a number of years, was brought back and com-

whole arrange-

ment.

A Tibetan stupa, generally in a distinctive

Chorten.

applied to pillars placed on platforms

shape, symbolizing the five elements in the di-

attached to stupas and sometimes to these altar

projections themselves.

visions

Chunatn.

of the

Lime

base,

dome, and

superstructure.

plaster or stucco used for sculpture

and architectural decoration.

Barais. Artificial lakes or reservoirs constructed

Khmer

ruler at

Angkor and

by

elsewhere.

Bhadra. In Orissan architecture a structure with a

roof in the form of a terraced pyramid.

Bliakti.

Devotion to

a deity.

Da^oba. Singhalese stupa.

Deva.

Source of theistic de-

teen in number,

velopment and imagery.

Bhumi. Literally, the ground on wliich

all

of a Dravidian temple or the horizontal

courses of a sikliara.

Devata.
Dev'i.

from

the paradise of Indra to the

divinity.

Consort of ^iva in her benevolent form.

Dharani.

Bhumisparsa imidra. Earth-touching gesture. Used

by the Buddha to call the earth goddess to witness

his right to take liis seat beneath the Tree of

thirty-three Vedic deities.

highest heaven of Brahma.

things are

founded. In architecture the successive planes or

divisions

One of the

Devahkas. The worlds or heavens of the gods, thir-

magical prayer or collection of mystic

syllables for casting spells in

Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Wheel of the Law, emblem of

Buddliist Dharma or Law, derived from an

Dharinacakra.

the

symbol and intended

Wisdom.

ancient solar

Mahayana Buddliism a being who,

although capable of attaining Buddhahood, re-

domination of all by the Buddha's Law,

Bodhisattua. In

271

dominates

all

space and time.

to suggest
as the

sun

GLOSSARY
Buddhism with emon the doctrine, rather than on the worship
of the Buddha.

Hitiayana. Small vehicle. Early

Dharmacakra mudra. Gesture of teaching or turning

Wheel of the Law. The

the

right

fore the chest with the tips of the

hand

is

held be-

phasis

thumb and index

fuiger joined to touch one of the fingers of the

left

hand, wliich

is

turned palm inwards.

Supreme

I'svara.

deity, lord.

Dliarinakaya. In the Trikaya doctrine the abstract

body of the Law, conceived

as

an invisible essence

Yoga

meditation;

of

visualization

Jainisfit.

enclosed

an assembly

founded by Mahavira

sect

solicitude for all life as a

One of

in the sixth

century B.C. preaching a rigid asceticism and

mental image.

Buddhas of the Four

Directions in Mahayana Buddhism.
Dhydiia mudra. Gesture or pose of meditation. The
hands rest in the lap, the right above the left with
Dhyaiia Buddha.

all

as

hall.

A skirt such as is worn by modem Hindus.

Dhyaiia.

an

architecture

porch preceding thesanctuary used

DhaiH. Relics.
Dhoti.

Orissan

Jagamohan. In

permeating and animating the Universe.

the

means of escaping the

cycle of transmigration.
Jatakas. 'Birth stories.' Tales

of the Buddha

tions

of previous incarna-

in either

human

or animal

form.

fingers extended.

Jitia.

See Tirthamkara.

Dohada. Longing of budding plants for the touch of

foot or mouth, used to describe the quickening

Kalasa. Rain vase, container of eli.xir of life, fmial

embrace of a yakslil and her tree and to the motif

of the woman-and-tree itself.
Dravida. Southern or Dravidian style of archi-

Hindu
Kalpa.

incalculable cycle of time, sometimes

day or kalpa the world is destroyed by Siva, and

at the dawn of the next it is recreated with the rebirth of Brahma from the navel of Vislmu.

tecture.

Door

An

described as a day of Brahma. At the close of each

Durga. Consort of Siva in her terrible form.

Dvdrapala.

guardian.

Kanjur. Local
Gaja. Elephant.

Demigods, attendants of

whereby

presented as obese dwarfs.

the musi-

of the gods.

room of a temple.

A blind window or niche in the shape of

on sikhara

towers and on the cornices of Vesara temples.

Ghats. Mountains, or steps
the

Ganges

at

on

a river

half

man, half

bird.

Kirttimukha. Grotesque mask.

vehicle of Vishnu.

the chaitya-arch, used as an antefix

beings,

Celestial musicians.

Garuda. Mythical sunbird; part man, part bird; the

Gavaksha.

of good or bad incar-

nations in later lives.

Kimiaras. Fabulous

Garbha griha. Sanctuary, inner

in the life cycle,

acts in previous existences lead to in-

evitable results in the shape

air,

Ganga. Goddess of the River Ganges.

emblem and

a soft limestone used at

Karma. The idea of retribution

Siva, usually re-

Gandharvas. Divinities of the sky and

cians

name of

Taxila.

Gajasimha. Monster; part lion, part elephant.

Cartas.

of

temples.

bank

as

on

Kougokai Mandara. See Vajradhatu Mandala.

Krishna. The Black One. Incarnation of Vishnu.

Hero of the Mahabharata.

The princely or warrior caste in Hinduism.
Kshetra. The 'field' or paradise of one of the
Dhyani Buddhas of the Four Directions.
Kshatriya.

Kuvera. Chief of the yakshas and guardian of the

Benares.

Gopis. Milkmaids, the special loves of Vishnu.

north.

Gcpuram. Towers surmounting gates of South hiLaksana.

dian temple enclosures.

Chief property or characteristic of all created

things; goodness, passion, and darkness.

Guru.

spiritual preceptor

min youth

who

initiates a

Brah-

dhism of the

emblem of Brahma, and

flight

in

dome of stupa.

attribute.

Lakshmi. Goddess of fortune.

tatuwa. A pointing machine consisting of a
frame with suspended cords to indicate depth of
cutting, used by sculptors in Ceylon.

Bud-

of Buddhist doctrine to

all

Lat. Pilfar.
Lild.

realms.

Harmika. Pavilion.

Railed

of the tliirty-two superior marks disanatomy of a Buddha ; symbol,

Lamha

prior to his investiture.

Hathsa. Goose,

One

tinguishing the

Gurta.

balcony surmounting

A semblance

Lingam. Phallic
Lota.

272

Brahmin

or illusion as in a play or dance.

emblem of Siva.
water-bottle.

GLOSSARY

who

source and substance of the universe,

body

of a terraced pyramid, generally char-

in the shape

for the creation of all things.

of South Indian or Dravidian archi-

acteristic

tecture.

Pratihimha. Representation. Reflexion or counter-

part of real forms. In Indian art the term describes

Bodhisattvas.

Makara. Crocodile,

emblem of water.

the mirroring or reconstruction of the imagined

shape of the cosmos or

ManAala. Magic diagram of a Buddhist hierarchy or

Mandapa. Porch.

Pujd. Ritual

Maya. The creation of any illusion or artifice, the

power of the gods to assume different shapes. The
gods in all existences are generated from one ori-

Pitrdnas.

ginal undifferentiated universal substance,

the inexhaustible and eternal font of

all

epic.

of devotional service.
sacred books of mythology and

Hindu

There

are eighteen Puranas

maya,

Hero of the Ramayana.

Theory of beauty as experience communicated by the artist.
Rath. Temple, car. Term applied to Pallava shrines.
Rekha. In Orissan architecture the s'ikhara type of
Rdina.

Rdsa.

of the hands of deities,

signifying various actions or powers.

temple.
Rishi. Patriarchal

heretical rishis in the forest

Nagara.

number of

and the Mahdbhdrata.

migration.

as

being.

Moksha. Release from worldly existence or trans-

The dance of Siva

and

secondary Puranas which include the Rdmdyana

Mem. The world mountain of Indian cosmology.

Mithuna. Amorous couple.

ritual gestures

celestial regions in archi-

tectural form.

the imagined shape of the cosmos.

Nadanta.

of temple building

Prdsdda. Literally, palace; type

his

Mahayana. 'Great Vehicle.' Later theistic form of

Buddhism, with emphasis on divine Buddhas and

Mudrd. Mystic

a rectangular or

polygonal base.

at the

beginning of the world sacrificed and divided

form of stupa with

Prang. Siamese

Mahaptimsa. Great person, epithet applied to the

Buddlia. In Brahmanic belief the cosmic man, the

poet or sage, composer or seer

of the Vedic hymns; a

Nataraja before the

of Taragam.

saint or anchorite in

general.

The northern or Indo-Aryan type of

Rupakdya. 'Form-body', the manifest or visible

temple, characterized by the sikliara tower.

shape of a divinity or Buddha.

Nagara. City or capital.

Nagas. Mythical serpent gods, symbols of water.

serpentine

Nandi.

The

tail

one of the

bull of Siva.

The

Sakti.

Lord of the Dance.

Indian astronomy the nine

mansions of the planetary

'

'

great books of

of the doctrine of the

Great Vehicle.

Nataraja. Siva as

Navagriha. In

first

ture, containing the essence

of legs.

in place

The Lotus of the Good Law

Mahayana litera-

Saddharma Piindarika.

Ndgim. Female naga or water-spirit usually represented as a mermaid with a human body and

active

mythologically

as his

god and thought of

consort or feminine

plement; the creative force in

stellar

divinities.

power of

Sdla.

Nirmanakdya. In the Trikaya doctrine the noumenal

its

com-

feminine aspect.

An Indian timber tree with red flowers

Vatica

robnsta).

body or the illusion of a mortal body wliich the

Buddha assumed for the benefit of men.
Nirvdna. Death of the Buddha. Extinction of
worldly desires and escape from transmigration.

Samddhi.

The

deepest

form of yoga meditation.

Sambhogakdya. In the Trikaya doctrine, the body of

splendour, that transfigured shape in which the

Buddha

reveals himself to the Bodhisattvas.

The monastic robe worn by the Buddha

and the members of the Order.
Saihsara. The unending cycle of life and rebirth.

Sai'iighati.

Pancha Yatana.

Type of temple with four

grouped around
tached to

it

by

a fifth

shrines

main sanctuary and

at-

Sanghardma. Buddhist monastery.

cloisters.

Sannyasin.

Pdsdda. See Prdsdda.

Consort of

Pdrvati.

Prachedi.

Siamese

stijpa,

tapering

from

to an attenuated fmial.

Sdstra.

Circumambulation of a sacred site.

Breath or breath of life, regarded as an inner

text or

principles

Prdiia.

sculpture.

air

pneumatically or spiritiuUy

expanding and sustaining the

religious mendicant.

fleshly

form of a

flat-roofed edifice without walls.

round base

Pradakshind.

body of breath or

Hindu

Santhaghdra. Village assembly hall in the

Siva.

of a

manual devoted

Sikhara. Spire, tower. Typical

body.

architecture.

273

to the rules

and

craft, i.e. architecture, painting,

or

form of Indo-Aryan

GLOSSARY
Silpa iastra.

Manual of architecture,

Urusringa.

Simhasana. Lion throne.

The

Siva.

third

cessive levels

member of the Hindu Trinity, em-

blematic both of destruction and procreative

power.
Stambha.

as

structure

resembling

crowning member of

Dravidian temples and repeated in smaller scale

the

lower

levels

of the structure.

liimself.

Sutradhara. Architect or carpenter.

on head of the Buddha emmore than mortal knowledge and

Diamond, thunderbolt. Destroying but inemblem of Buddhist and Hindu

Vajra.

destructible
deities.

Mandala. In esoteric Buddhism, the

magic diagram of the Spiritual World.
Vajrasana. Adamantine throne of the Great Enlightenment.

Term applied to the four religious books con-

taining the sacred

knowledge for the performance

The most famous of

ing-grounds, emblematic of his cosmic function

of Brahmanic

priestly ritual.

of creation and destruction.

these works,

composed

Tapas.

The

Tibetan banner or sacred picture.

it

B.C.,

generation of concentrated energy by

the gods for creation.

exercise

yogic practice the

In

of ascetic wUl power so concentrated that

dissolves or melts all resistance to

lift

the

human

Vedika. Railing or fence

as the

Vesara.

India

A palm, or the distance from brow to chin,

used in systems of proportion for determining the

millennium

of a sacred enclosure, such

Buddhist stupa.

Type of temple characteristic of Central

in the form of a Buddhist chaitya-hall.

Vimdtta.

in the first

the Rig Veda.

is

Vihdra.

to the divine or cosmic level.

Thalam.

shape

Uslmisha. Protuberance

Veda.

Tanddva. Siva's dance in the cemeteries and burn-

Tanka.

its

Vajradhatu

Sacred text, usually one attributed to the

Buddha

and duplicating

mound.

domical

employed

stupa,

s'ikhara

consciousness.

Pillar.

Stupika. Small

on

of a

in miniature.

blematic of his

Stupa. Buddhist relic

Sutra.

Whorl of hair on the brow of the Buddha.

The small turrets clustered on the suc-

Urna.

etc.

Craftsman.

Silpiii.

Buddhist monastery.

Term applied to a temple as a whole, com-

prising the sanctuary

and attached porches.

The Preserver, second member of

Hindu Trinity.

Vishnu.

height of Indian images.

One of the twenty-four Jain sages or

patriarchs who attained perfection in earlier cycles

Tirthaihkara.

the

IVahalkada. Frontispiece or platform attached to

of time.
Torana. Gate of the enclosure

of a Buddhist

stupa.

Singhalese stupa or dagoba.

Tribhanga. Pose of the three bends in the dance and

Yajiia.

in art.

Trikaya. Doctrine of the three bodies of the

Maliayana Buddhism.
Trimurti. Having three forms or shapes,

Buddha

ated with

in

as

Brahma,

Vishnu, and Siva. Sometimes applied to the triune

aspect of Siva Mahesa.
Triratna.

Trident symbol of the three jewels: the

Buddha, the Law, and the Order.

TrisCila.

Trident

emblem of

Sacrifice.

Yaksha and Yaksht. Dravidian nature

Yalis.

Fantastic monsters

Yasti.

Mast or pole of Buddhist

Yoga.

Communication with

stupa.

universal

of ecstatic meditation.

Yapa. Sacrificial post.

274

made up of parts of lion,

horse, and elephant.

practice

Siva.

spirits associ-

fertility.

spirit

by

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THE PLATES

Limestone bust from Mohenjo-daro. Central Asian

Antiquities Mnseuni, Ncti' Delhi

Limestone torso from Harappa. Central Asian

Aiitiqniiics Mtisciini, Nc\i' Delhi

Limestone statuette of

dancer from

lar.ippa. (.\ntral

Ncu' Delhi

Asian Antiquities Museum,

(isj

Scil uith tlircc-iKMdcd

animal

trom Mohenjo-daro.

(c)

Seal

with

troni
(a)

Copper

statuette

of a

(.i.inccr

till. c-lica Jed

Mohenjo-daro.

y.-d

from

Molienjo-daro.

Central Asian Antiquities Mtisetiin,

New

Delhi

(d) Seal with representation

from Mohenjo-daro.

of bull

Storage jar from Chanhu-daro.

5

Museum of Fine

Arts, Boston

"^
V-

(a) Tcrra-cotta statuette

MuKum

from

of Fine Arts,

(c)

Sari Dhcri.

b)

Terra-cotta statuette troni Mathura.

Museum of Fine

Boston

Gold plaque trom Lauriya-Nandangarl'

6

Arts, Boston

(a)

Excavations of palisade

(b)

Lomas

Rislii cave.

at Pataliputra

Barabar

Lion column. Lauriva-Nandana;arli

Lion

capital. Arcluicological Miist'iun, Saniath

Detail ot lion capital in the Aniuicological Mtisenin, Samath

Bull capital from Ranipurva.

IiidiiVt

Museum,

Cnlciilta

Yaksha from Patna.

India Mtiscuiii, Calcutta

13

(a) Yakslii {Chuhikokii Dciuihl

(b)

from Bharhut.
Iiuliivt Museum, Calailta

Kuvera, King ot the Yakshas,

trom Bharhut.
Museum, Calcutta

hhi'um

14

(a)

Medallion with
Iiiditvi

(b)

Medallion with

Riiiii

Jruaku from Bharhut.

Museum,

Cnlaittu

Yaksh'i Assiiimikhi.

15

Stupa

2,

Sanch?

KL:^..jm

.ij.
aitrr-

(a)

Cakravartin from Jaggayyapcta Stu[

Government Museum, Madras

(b)

16

Railing pillar. Stupa

2, Safichi

'

'^W^W"'^^^

L
L_

U
U

L _ U

.U.
-L'
-L^

C
_____L _ L

L^
L.

llic pai-adiic ot India troin lihrirliiu.

17

L-

///,//,//(

Ll_

Mii.iiiiii,

L-.

Cilailhi

t-..

i8

(a) Railing pillar

with

Sur\'a.

Bodh Gava

(u)

19

Railing pillar with Indra. Bodli

Gava

(a) C.rc.it

Stupa

at Safichl

from North

East

ff^-

East gate ot Great Stupa. Sanclu

^^m^

Y.ikshI trcnn East ^atc. Sanclii

Yakslii

from South

gate. Sanchi.

23

Mnscuin

oj

Fine Arts, Boston

w
Yakslii lr(Mii Dkiarganj (Fama). An-lidcolo[<ical

Mii.<ctiiii,

Patiia

(a)

The Great Departure.

25

East gate. Sanclii

Tlic Return to K.ipilavastu. East gate. Safichi

26

The Conversion

ot the Kasyapas. East gate. Sanelii

27

t.

Facade of chaitya-hall. Bhaja

29

tm

Bactrian and Kusliaii Coins

(a)

Euthydcimis, King of Bactria,

second century B.C.

late third to early

(c)

tury B.C.
(d) Kanishka, coin with Siva, second century a.d.
(e)

Kanishka,

coin

with

moon

second century a.d.

Kanishka, coin with wind god Vado, second
century a.d.
(c) Kanishka, coin
with Ardoksho, goddess of
fortune, secoiid century a.d.
(h) Kanishka, coin with Buddha, second century A.n.
Kanishka, coin with Mithras, second century a.d.
(i)
(f)

King of Bactria, c. 190-160 B.C.

Antiniaclius, King of Bactria, early second cen-

(b) Dcnictreus,

goddess

Nanaia,

Standing Buddha. The Guides' Mess. Hoti-Manian

31

Head

ot

Buddha.

I-oriiicrly Spiiih

32

&

Son. Loiuio

liuddlia

nf the Great Miracle

froiii

Bes^ram. Museum, Dar-uI-Atudii, Kdhul

33

Seated Buddlia from Takht-i-Bahi. l-oniwrly

34

Miisciiiii tin'

olkcrkiiiith-,

Bcrlu

Standing Bodhisattva. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

35

36

37

38

(a) shrine

of the double-lieaded Eagle.

(b) Ionic capital

and

Sirkcsp, Tci.xilii

base. Jivuiidl Temple, Ttixila

39

40

41

h^

(a) Coriiuliian capital

(b)

from Jamalgarhi.

Stupa mint

at

42

British Mnsriiiii,

lakht-i-Balli

Londo

Statue ot

Wima

Kadpliises. Curzoti

43

Museum

oj

Anluwology, Muttra

Statue ot Kanislika. Curzoii

Miisciiiii

44

of Arch neology, Miittra

Bodliisattva dedicated

by

Friar Bala. Arcluwoloi^iciil

45

Museum,

STiniiUli

Seatcil liiuldha

hoin

K.itia. Ciirzoii

46

Museum

oj Arcluicoloj^y,

Muttra

Head

ot

Bui-ii-llia. CJiii:oii AIiisciidi of

47

Arclhwoloi;}',

Muttra

48

49

-fl

50

(a)

Ivory plaque with

toilet scene

from Begram. Miiscc

Ciimici, i'uns

Ivory plaque with female attendant trom Begram.

Mtist'e Giiiwet, Paris

\^joiv*.f^5^: ^

^>6#

.-r

::..

-^,

52

Iran

hJ

So-called "Antinoiis'

from Hadda. Miiscc

53

Gtiiiiict,

Pa

54

m im
-4:

55

[n)

)oiiic of

Cave XI. Baniivan

56

Sun

goci.

Fainting on vault of niche of 120-foot Buddha.

57

Bannyan

58

59

(a)

Bodhisattva. Painting on vault ot

(ii)

Cave

E.

Detail ol painting iMi tlatlo of shrine at

60

Bamiyan

Miran

Bodhisattva from Fondukistan. Mtisee Guiinet, Paris

6i

62

j^j^t

63

64

65

66

67

Siva temple. Pandrcnthan, Kaslimir

68

Head

ot a "irl

trom U^likur.

69

Ctiitial

Mi

View of tlic Great

Stupa. Casing slab from Aniaravati stupa. Govcniiiiciit Musciiiii, Madras

70

(b)

the Tusliita Heaven. Rehet from

Na^arjunakonda or Gummadidirru. Metropolitan

The Descent horn

MiiscHiii of Art,

(a)

New

York

Standing Buddha from Nagarjunakonda

71

Head

oi:

Buddha from Amaravati.

72

Mtiscc Giiimct, Paris

i^^jjSiJaSitts^

(a)

Adoration ot the Buddha's alms bowl. Railing medallion from

the Amaravati stupa. Government

(b)

Museum, Madras

Subjugation of the elephant Nalagiri. Raihng medallion from

the Amaravati stupa. Government
73

Museum, Madras

74

a) Chaitya-liall at Chczarla

(b)

Temple

17. Sauclii

(A

(li)

)iiii;ri

temple. Aihole

Uicclilinalligudi temple. Aihole

76

77

(a) Detail ot carving,

(i))

Vishnu on

Scslia.

nhamckli

stupa. Sarnatli

Tcrra-cotta relief from Bhitar^aoii. Indian Museum, Calcutta

78

9^

'oor jamb with

rior.il

scroll

from Bhuniara.

79

hitiian Mtisciiiii. C.alaitta

Staiuliiig

Buddha

troni

Mathura.

80

hiiiiaii

Museum,

Calcutta

^^m^:'

t-5

(a)

Standing Buddha.

Arcluuolof^ictil

Museum, Sarnath

(b)

Bodhisattva. Ciirzon

82

Museum

of

Archaeology, Muttra

^N^-::

Buddha preaching

the First

Sermon.
83

Arcluicological

Museum, Sanulth

'iit'^

Relict witli scenes

from

lite

ot

Buddha.

84

Archacolcg^ical

Museum, SarnCuh

^Miti

Copper Buddha

troni Sultanganj. Birmingham Mil:

85

86

87

Great Bodhisattva. Wall-painting

in

Cave

I.

Ajanta

CilCat lioJIlls.llU.l.

^vV

all-

itlllti

90

luiUll Ij

111

Cave

1.

Ajj

91

92

s^-'.

93

(a)

Buddha from Bengal. Mtiscwn of Fine

(b)

Arts, Bos

Bronze Buddha
94

in

Abhaya Mudra. Museum, Nalanda

Torso of

Bodhisattva from Sanchi. Indian Museum, London

95

Ikklilhist temple. Patau,

96

Nepal

a) Bodluiath stiipa. Kathniaudii,

(b)

Nepal

Durbar square. Bhatgaon, Ncp

97

Padniapani. Bronze.

Museum
98

cj

Fine Arts, Boston

(a)

Tara trom Ncpalcse manuscript dated a.d. 1136.

Miisciiw oj Fine Arts, Boston

(r)

Chortcn. Western Tibet

99

pw

PFj

1'

-,

^
:J

..

'^^7^^
'
'

-f

'

r'-'"

103

A; NiiiN.i

(lij

Deal temple. Konaraka

Surya temple, detail ot basement storey. Konaraka

104

105

^bBh4! Wl

I
:

il

^f^^

^JB^F^^^Iiwa

gE^^j^
|RgfeaJ!^

H^^^fe
^^
s^s-iNSSSBRSS

Ww
I?

tt^^^Ajjt

itj^

>fn

f''^

j'l^;;

K.indanya M.ili.idco temple. Khajuraho

1 06

i^^-^AL

Apsaras.

Vamana

temple. Khajurahc

107

(a)

(b) Pillars

Surwi temple.

Osi.i

from Hindu temples. Qutb mosque, Delhi

a) Surya temple.

(b)

Modhera

Great Sas Bahu temple. Gwalior

109

Interior

of dome. Tcjpal's temple. Mount

Abu

yv
m.

(b)

Bhinia's Ratli.
113

Mamallapuram

114

[Aj

(b)

rhc descent of the Ganges

Monkey

(dctailj.

Maniallapurai

tannK- troni the Deseeut ot the Ganges. N'laniallapurani

115

Durga. Museum of Fine

116

Arls, Boston

i-.,,.

(a)

shore temple. Mamallapiirain

(b) Kailasanatli

temple. Kancipuram

117

...M-.ji

KaiLisanath temple. Ellura

Ii8

Ravana shaking Mount

Kailasa. Kailasanath temple, Ellura

119

(li)

Marriage ot Siva and Parvati. Elcphanta

120

a>

-'^**^'f^.v

a)

is)

Temple

at Tiruvaiinaiu.ilai

View of Gopiiram from

tank. Great temple,

123

Madura

124

Hoysalcsvar,! temple (detail). Halebid

125

Siva Saint, perhaps Sundaraiiuirtiswanii. Bronze.

Collection

James BaUhvin, Kansas City

126

(a) Kali.

Bronze. \eIson Gallery

of Art,

Kansas City

Parvatl. Bronze. Freer Gallery of Art,

Wasliitigloii,

127

D.C.

129

iJJXJ^ "

'

XCt JL*J{-^

^^E fBTfis
130

'-

"

rsr cirB'

131

132

133

134

.^

135

(a)

b)

Thuparama Dagoba. Anuradhapura

Dedicatory stupa. Ruwanweli Dagoba. Aiiuradhapura

136

Ruwanwcli Djgob.i.
Anuradhapura

[a) BiRkllici tioin

(b)

137

Bronze Buddha from Dong Duong.

Museum, Hanoi

139

(a)

Moonstone, 'Queen's

Pavilion'.

Anuradhapura

(Bj Aps.iras. W.ill-p.untnig. Sigiriya

140

(a)

Gal Vihara.

(b) Hiita-da-gc.

141

l'uk)iiiiru-uv\a

Poloniiaruwa

4^

Poloimaruwa

a) Wata-da-<;c.

^f

m
M ^H

-Ik,

P^

"^S^BI

^ ^

gb
t^SfS

,,,

K.
^j4
bjdMPn.^HEt^ W^mBv'
^H
-s^
*..
f r
\\
>
|.l nK I 11 ^H
kV

^"j

.^^

'

^.^^^v-\^ll^

iJ

^^-

'

'/

^'^^

<''i-l

^Bljidi^^^^l

<5 -

H^ i

"

;-*

iJi

fl.

^1

i.
.

^a^H^i^ita

1'
1

aioiil
(b)

Nissanka Lata Mandapaya.

143

00

"^
ipimii
I'l

Ill

(li)

Siva Dcv.ilc No.

144

1.

rolonnaiuwa

(a) Pattini

Devi. Hiass. Biiiish

Miisfiiiii.

(b) Siiini.ir.iimiilisw anil.

London

Miisvuni. Coloniho

145

Bronze

(b)

Towers

at Lolci

146

(Roluos)

m
,

147

_'kor

(li)

I'liiiiK-anakas.

Angkor

148

Tlioni

[B)

Air view ot

149

Angkor Wat

^;^

ii

^
i

lie

B.uiMi. AiiL^kcu'

151

honi

(a) Ciatc

(d)

of Victory.

Ncak Pcan.

Aii;4k<ir

Aiii^kor

152

Tlmni

Thorn

Buddha from

Prei Krabas. Miiscc Albert Sivraul,

153

Phnom Penh

Ikidilli.i

(pnli.ips

from

iiortlicrn

154

Sinm). Art

AIiisciiiu, Scaltlc

Lokesvara. Stoclet Collection, Brussels

155

156

157

158

^^i._^;?^,~:r:^J^:^^^
159

;><r-

(a)

>

Vishnu: The Churning of the Sea of Milk. Gallery of Angkor Wat, Angkor

y\'.]

A^'^,ll,l^.

Angkor Wat, Angkor

l6o

^^'''^
(A;

'^^.'-.'

:s\>^ Vis
1

\inp.iiunii. l\d\aHa sli.ikiun

Mount

Kailasa. Banteai Srei

WM

'^^^^^^^^^^H
''.((^^^[^pHH

myiii^^^^

^^m

^H^^^mmP

^ ^^^^
^m
g
H^ ^^^91 1

Wv'j

'^^^^ fCKi^ ?r^PW||[JrJ

w*^ ^P^^mij ^1^^

^l^c HK. '-mm^^^^ ^PoE

(b) Lintel.

Brahma on Hamsa.

i6i

E^^KS
JK'-Jfn' 5^E;ii6j^^2ltrTi

wM

Banteai Srci

Apsaras. Bronze.

Museum
162

of Fine Arts, Boston

i63

Head of

Biuiaiia. Collcclioii C. S.

164

Ledum.

Schicciwi, Holland

yt*"

sL^^.wr.,

Torso of Bodliisattva troiu Jaiya.

165

>

Xatioiidl

Museum, Bangkok

Biiddlia

from

Wat

Mali.ulliruu, Lupburi. Ndiioiuil Muscutii,

66

Bangkok

Head of Buddha from Chicngmai.

167

Ndtioiuil Miisciiiii,

Bangkok

Head

ofBiRkllia.

Museum
i68

of Fine Arts, Boston

69

Wat Mahadhatu.

170

Lopburi

Wat

Kukut. Lamp':

171

172

173

(a)

(is)

Mingalazcdi. Pagan

Aiianda temple. Pagan

174

Candi Bhima. Dieiig, Java

175

176

a)

Temple

Miimc

at

.11

Candi Sewu. Middle Java

c:,iiKJi

ScWLi. MkIJIc

177

|.

178

179

i8o

(a) Illustration

from

the

Sudhana legend, Maitreya

text.

Second

gallery,

Barabudur

viT>^^.uM

^- -^'^
^'*^j"

J:j^'

(li)

Illustration

from Saniantabliadra

text.

Fourth gallery, Barabudur

I83

i85

i86

i87

Siva temple. Panataran, Eastern Java

Sitd aiul altciul.mt. Relief tnuii the ivJ/oJj'.o/.J. rcin.itar.iii

lead ot a

monk from

Candi Sew

190

u. Minciiiii, BctlaviiJ

INDEX
Names and

other matters in the notes are indexed only where

such cases

is

is

Numbers

the note, are given, thus: 257(3)'^.

in

italics

refer to plates.

A-ni-ko, 150
Animals, addorsed, 20, 40, 43, 48

Abhaya Mudra, 87
Abu, Mount, 168-9; no

Antinoiis, 96

Achaememd

Anuradhapura,

197,

i98fF.,

266(17)^1; ij6, 137a, 138-I40a

Additive sculpture, 22-3, 257(3)^^

33, 143

Chamkrong, 216; 147

Bala, Friar, 86, 88, 89, 261(10*; 45
Baladeva, 143, 245

Baksei

Bah, 270(24)'

Antioch, 260(9)'

empire, 35, 37, 39,

63, 69, 94, 258(5)^

Adi-Buddha,

some matter

of special importance or is not evident from the main text: in

the page on which the note appears, its chapter, and the number of

referred to that

Apadana, 37
Apollo, 74
ApoUonius of Tyana, 261(9)^^
appUque technique, 18

Balkli,

70

Baluchistan, 11, 12

Bamiyan, 97-102, 105-8; S5-6oa;

63a

Afghanistan, 71, 94ff.

reUgions, 24

apsaras, loi, 164, 223

Bangala Motta Paramba, 22

Bangkok, 41, 237-8
Bangkok National Museum, 234

Agamic

Ara Pads, 77

bangles, 16

Agesilas, 78

arch, 13

Banteai Srei, 224-5; 150b, 16

Aghora-Bhairava, 178
Agni, 25, 30
Agnidriya, 22

Arhat, 32

Baphuon, 223 Jjpa

Arikamedu, 263(14)'

Barabar HiUs, 38; 76

Arrian, 12

Barabu(lur,

Ahura Mazda,

Arunas, 25
Aryans, 4-5,

Aelian, 36
AeoHc order, 43, 258(5)1^

25, 257(4)^

Aihole, 124-6; 76
Airavata, 53, 259(6)^
Ajanta, 60-1, 122, 136,
260(5)^; 74,

SSit,

137-42,

Sg-gz

Ajivikas, 38

Alexander the Great,

12, 35, 39,

Alexandrian objects, 72, 95

AU Masjid stupa, 82-3, 95; 41a
Al-Ubaid, 256(2)i
amalaka, 160, 164

AmanuUah, 79
Amaravati, 22, 45, 115-20, 201;
73

Aniiens, 96

Amitabha, 32, 33
Amri, 256(2)'*
Ananda, 205
Ananda temple (Pagan), 239-40;

Bayang, 212-13

Begram, 73,75, 9i,95;33

'Bejewelled Buddha', 103

Asura, 257(4^^

bell capitals,

Atlsa, 150

Berlin, Ethnological

39

Museum,

Augustus, 70, 71, 74

Autran, Charles, 255(2)*

Besnagar, 135, 259(5)"

Betrothal of Siva and

ParvatI

(Elephanta), 178

avadanas, 248
Avalokitesvara, 32, 78, 136, 147,
151, 234; 100a

Bezekhk, 108; 66b

Bhadapugarin Gomitaka, 44

Avantipur, 110

bhadra, 160

avatars, Vishnu's, 26, 31

Bhagavad Gila, 26

ayaka

pillars,

156b
148b, 151, 152, 158, 159
zigff.,

231;

149,

75,

108, 263(12)*

Atlantids, 73

200

233, 236; 163a, i6g, 173

Bhaja, 53, 64-5, 258(4)1";

iS,

28

bhakri, 24, 26, 74

Bharhut,

8, 20, 45,

48-50. 52-3.

64; 12b, 14, 13a, 17

Angkor Thorn, 216-17, 225 ff.;

II

Rosei, 268(21)^

Baalbek, 100

Bhatgaon, 148, 149

Bhima's rath, 170-1; 113b
Bhir mound, 23

Bactria, 35. 7, 73, 94

Bhitargaoii, 128-9, 146; 7Sb

Badakshan, 102
Badami, 137, 142
Bagh, 137, 142
Bahavani temple (Bhatgaon), 148

Bhumara, 129-30, 177; 79

Andhra period, 45, 56ff., Ii5ff.

Angkor, 215 ff.,258(5)i''; 147, 1480,

ISO, 160

216, 226-9, 231-2;

'5'

bead-and-reel pattern, 91

56

anda, 46, 264(14)'^

Angkor Wat,

Bayon temple,

Assamukhi, 53

Azes, 78

Anavatapta, 41
Anawrata, 238

Baroda, 259(5)^'
baths, 14

Ayudhya,

174b

igff.

Asavari RaginI, 191; 131a

Asoka, 30, 32, 35ff., 45,69, 92, 148
Asoka's Visit to Bodhi Tree
(Saiichi),

245 ff.,

150,

258(4)'^; 1S0-4

Asariga, 34

Asram Maha

09.94

7". 72,

110,

bhumis, 156
Bhupatindra, 149
Bhute^ar, 48a

INDEX

Candi Mendut, 253 1S7

Can(ii Sewu, 146, 244, 254;

Bhuvanesvar, i6o, 171; loj

Bhiwanipradipa. 154

Biniaran reliquary, 78-9; jSb

J77,

Daevas, 357(4)^
dagobas, 198, 267(20)^

igo

Birmingham Museum, 134

Carl, 94
caryatids, 83

Birth of Brahma, 191

Bisutun inscription, 39, 69

Black Pagoda, see Surya Deul
Bodh Gaya, 29, 36, 54, 92, 100,
236, 270(33)''; ip, S2, gjb
Bodhisattvas, 32, 34, 76, 102-3
Bodliisattvas (Ajanta), 139-40; Sg,

Dancing, 137

27-8
Cave of the Painter (Kizil), 107
Cave of the Red Dome, 263(12)'
Cave temples, see Rock-cut
temples

Dandan

Celebes, 117

caste,

Uiliq, io6; 6j

Darius, 69, 94

Dar-ul-Aman, 79
Dar-ul-Aman, Muscle de Kabul,
363(11)3

go
Bodhisattvas (Muttra), 132
Bodhnath shrine, 148; gya

Centaur, 73

Dasyus, 4
Dating, Gandhara, 360(9)'

cetana, 172, 364(15)"

dehanchement,

Ceylon, 117, 197 ff.

Deity,

Boghazkeui, 257(4)''
Bonpo, 150
Boston Museum of Fine Arts,

chaitya-hall,

20,

21,

38,

52, 60,

232, 235

chaitya

window,

38, 65, 67,

79

Chalukyas, 121, 157

Champa, 117

bots, 236

Chandellas, 163

Brahma, 26, 3
Brahmana, 257(4)

Chandragupta I (Gupta), 121

Chandragupta Maurya, 35, 69
Chanhu-daro, 5

Brahmins, 28, 257(4)'

use of,

brick,

157;

in

Ceylon,

212
Bridesvara temple, 189
BrilhitsiWihitil,

Britisli

91

Museum,

see

London

Brussels, Stoclct Collection,

Buddha,

29fF.,

214

45-6, 53, 257(4)',

f'

passim

Buddha

of the Great Miracle

(Bcgram), 75 jj
Buddha images (Ceylon), 202
Buddha images (Gandhara), 73 ff.
Buddha images (Mathura), 86 tf.
Buddha's headdress, Veneration
;

of,

52

Buddhas of the Past (Sanchi), 56

Buddhism, 27, 29-34, 43
Buddhism, development, 31-3,63
Buddhism, and Hinduism, 31,
33-4

Buddhism, Kushans and, 71-2

Buddhism, decUnc, 118, 143
bull, as

symbol,

17,

42

Burma, 238 ff.

Byzantine art, 97

Departure of Bimbisara

Descent of the Ganges, 171;

Charmavira, i8, 49
Charsada, 260(9)^
Chashtana, 85

Devanam-Piyatissa, 197, 198

Devaraja, 216, 251

Chatras, 46

devas, 25, 257(4)^

Chen-la, 215
Chezarla, 123; 75a

Dhamekh

devata, 96

Cambodia, 21 iff.
Candi Bhima, 243; 175, i/^a
Candi Kalasan, 176b

stupa (Sarnath), 126-7;

7Sa

Cliiaroscuro, loi

Chien Fo-tung, 262(11)'^

Chiengmai, 234, 236; i6y, 172a

Dhanesar Khera, 135

China,

Dharmakaya, 32
Dharmaraja rath,

264(1

104,

143,

123,

202,

5)' '^

Chola dynasty,

6,

114,

115

15-16, 179-80

Chunar sandstone, 39, 133

Churning of the Sea of Milk,

dharanis, 34
170, 173

iija

dhoti, 44, 76, 86, 88

dhvaja stambhas, 42

Chorten, 150; ggb

Chou Ta-kuan, 237
Chulalongkorn, 41, 270(23)'
Chunam plaster, 300

Dhyani Buddhas,

33,

143,

248.

250
Didarganj, 259(5)"-

Dieng

'; ^4

plateau, 243

224, 237
circumambulation, 46, 64

Dilwara, 168
Diodotus, 70
Dionysius, 73

Cire perdue casting, 185

Dittaraja,

cUmate, 4

Dohada, 48
dome, 262(11)'^
Dong-duong, 117, 301; 137b
Double-headed Eagle, Shrine of

191,

Coins, Bactrian, 70; ^0

Coins, Kushan, 71, 74; jo
Coins from Afghanistan, 94
187, 203,

309

Columns,
Composite order, 83
Conjeeveram, see Kaiicipuram
see Pillars

Calicut, 22

(Sanclii),

57

Colossi, Buddhist, 98

259<5)", 260(9)', 261(10^

8-9,

of,

25
Delhi,

77

Colombo Museum,

Cakravala, 119
Cakravartin, 30, 36, 42, 46, 52,
87, 258(4)", 258(5)', 259(6)^
Calcutta, Indian Museum, 48, 90,

90

Museum for Central Asian

Antiquities, 108
Demetrius, 70
Deogarh, Siva temple, 127-8;

63, 64-5, 123

18,

57. 96, 135. 146, 149, 152. 172.

54, 74,

representation

Contrapposto, 89
Conversion of Kasyapas, 57, 59
Corinthian order, 83
Cross, cosmic, 27

236

(Sirkap), So-i;^piJ

drama, 132
Draupadi's rath, 171 112
Dravida temples, 156
Dravidians, 4, 19, 24, 257(4)*
Dryads, 62
Dukhtar-i-Noshirwan, 262(11)"
;

Durga, 27, 173, 266(17)''^; 116

Durga temple (Aihole), 125, 158;
76a

Ctesiphon, 92
Culavamsa, 198

Curzon Museum,

see

Muttra

Duttha Gamani, 197, 201, 202

Dvarapalas, 204
Dvaravati, 233

Cyrus, 12

284

"

INDEX
Gwalior, 169; logb, 111
Gyantse, 150
Edict

pillars,

J
Jaggayyapeta, 52, 115, 118; 16a
Jain images, 132
Jain temples and viharas, 67, 169
Jain paintings, 188-90

Asoka's, 39-40

Eightfold Path, 29, 257t4>*

Elephanta, 177-8; 120

Elephants, 61, 67

EUura, 157, 173-6, 188, 266(17)";

iiS, 119, 129

Enlightenment of Buddha,

56, 57,

90

Hackin, J., 94
Hadda, 78, 95-7; 5J.54&
Haiebid, 184; J 23

Jainisra,

Hamsa, 78

Jammu,

28-9

Jaipur, 192

Jamalgarhi, 42a
191

Temple,

Harappa,

1 1 ff.

2, 3
Harihara, 214, 268(2i)

Jandial,

Eras, chronological, 26o(9)-'

Erotes, 73
Eucratides, 70

Harmika,

22, 46, 83

Japan, 142, 258(4)"

Jatakas, 20, 31, 50, 59, 90, 241

Harsha, no, 121, 122

Jaulian, 41b

no

Fertility goddess, 17-18,

Heaven of Brahma

First

Hehos,

133-4.247
Fondukistan, 79,
61, 62a

103.

106,

113;

Foucher, Alfred, 94
Funan, 211, 215

(Saiidu), 57

54, 71

Hellenistic

Flag, Indian, 9, 195

39ff-.

influences,

54.

70,73
Herakles, 71, 72, 90, 107; 49b

Hermaeus, 70
Hinayana Buddhism, 32, 77
Hinduism, 25ff.
Hinduism, and Buddhism, 33-4

Hippocamp, 73
Hiranyadama,
Gajasiriiha, 162

Gal Vihara, 205; Hia

Galaganatha temple, 158; 102a
Gandhara, 69 ff., 94. I05

Hoti Mardan, 74
193

Mount, 174

kalasa, 156

Kalasan, 243

temple, 184; 125

Hsieh-Ho, 137

Kali, 17. 27. 186

Kahdasa, 122

Hsuan-tsang, 21, 40. 71. 79. 92,

no, 118,
95. 97-8. 104. 105,
264(15)''
121, 131, 132, 143. 144.

Hucchimalligudi temple, Aihole,

Genghis Khan, 97, 109

Geography, 3

125; y6b
hut, Vedic, 259(6)!

Geomancy, 46

Huvishkapura,

see

Kaliya, 193
kalpa, 26

Kama

stitra,

137, 162

Kamadhatu, 248
Kaiicipuram, 158, 173.;

"7b

Kanclariya Mahadeo, temple of,

Uslikur

Ghantasala, 116

163; 106

Kandy, 209-10

Ghumli, 167

Kangra, 191, 192-4

Gilgamesh, 16
Gilgit, 86
Giotto, 61, 62

Kanheri, 115
Kanishka, 70-3. 78, 85. 86, loi,
104; 44; see also Reliquary

Idolatry, 8-9

'lUusionism', 76-7

Goli, 116, 118

81, 260(9)^

gopuras, 171
Great Departure, 56, 58-9
'Grcco-Buddliist' art, 72

Gryphon, 73
Gudea, 14
guilds, 20, 155, 166

Gujarat, 166-7, 190

Gummadidirru, 116; 71b

Gunavarman, iii
Guntupalla, 22

Guru, 28

173-6, 188; nyb-nga, 129

Kakrak, 262(1 1>"

Gedrosia, 12

Gondophares,

194

Kailasanath temple (EUura), 157.

Hoysala dynasty, 183

Bodh Gaya

of,

Kailasa,

HourofCowdust,

see

29
Jodhpur, Rajah
Jinas,

HSryuji, 102

Ganga, 135
garbha griha, 157
Garhwal, 191
Gautama, see Buddha
Gaya,

Jetavana dagoba, 267(20)'

Jewels, Seven, 52
Jhukar period, 12

Kabul, 94
Kach, 166

269(21)^'^

Gandharvas, 136; 5/

gavaksha, 128, 171

Jelalabad, 79. 94
Jemdet Nasr, 256(2)^^

horse, 41, 54
horseshoe arch, 21

Hoy sales vara

84,

Java, 128, 142, 146, 147, 243 ffJayavarman VII, 216, 224, 227-8

Hashtnagar, 260(9)1"
Hata-da-ge, 206; 141b

22
Preaching of Buddha, 90,

81,

Harpocrates, 72

Harwan,
Fa Hsien, 37. 7i. 92. I04. i-i

Fire

261(9)'*; 39b

images,

8,

9; cult, early,

20

Lidikatusaya dagoba, 201

Hi

Indra, 25, 31, 53. 54.

Indra Sabha cave, 188

Indra's Paradise (Bharhut), 64

Intoxication, 90

Ionic order, 43. 83, 258(5)''*

Iran, 5, 37. 39.

44

Iranian reUgion, 257(4)^

Isurumuniya Vihara, 204; 139b

Isvarapura, 234
Ivories,

Begram, 91

285

51

kanjur stone, 80
Kansas City Museum, 135

Kansas City, Nelson Gallery, 186

Kansu, 70
Kanthaka, 59
Kapila, 204
Kapilavastu, 121
Kapilavastu, Buddha's return to,

36
Kapisa, see

Begram

Kara-Shahr, 104, 105, 106; 62b

Karli, 65-7, 136; 29

INDEX
Mathura, 23, 69,

karma, 26, 28, 29

Kashmir, lioff.
Kassapa, 204
Kathiawad, 166

Licchavis, 148

Katra, 88, 89, 202; 46

Kauiidinya, 211

Lion, 40,

Kesava temple, 183

Lokattara,

Khafaje, 18

Lokcsvara, 227-9, 231, 258(5)^^;

Khajuraho, 161, 163-5; 106, toy

Khandagiri, 67
Khasarpana Avalokitesvara, 147

Lolei, 215; 146b

KJmicrs, 2i5ff.

London,

temple, 160-1; 10jb

lingham, 24, 27, 174, 216,256(2)",
265(16)*
Liiigariij

Kliorsabad, 13

Kliusrau

140
Kidara Kushans, 261(9)-'

Kipling, R., 72, 94

kirdmuklia, 179, 243
Kish, II
Kizil,
65,

Buddha

as,

98

Rishi cave,
British

38

Museum,

72, 78,

103,

104, 106-8, 112; 6jc,

66a

Lopburi, 234, 235; 166; 170

Loriyan Taiigai, 260(9)'; 37

157a

Lorojongrang, 146, 253; 1S5, 1S6

Lota, 65
Lotus Sutra, see Saddharina Putida-

Lucknow,

Provincial

212
Konaraka, 161; 104, lO}
Kosmokrator, 98

Museum,

Krishna I, 173
krobylos, 74, 88

M
Government

Modhera, 168; loga

Moga,

Museum,

Madura, 181-3 123b

Magadha, 35, 45
Mahabharata, 26, 122, 191
Mahabodhi temple (Gaya),

Kushan

54,

92, 144, 270(23)^; 52, gjb

69 ff., 85ff.

Kuvera, 48, 90, 141; 4ga

Kuvera, Paradise of, 90
Kyanzittha, 239

Mahapurusa, 25, 46, 87,

Mahavamsa, 198, 204
Mahavira, 28-9

98, 259(6)^

Mahayana Buddliism, 32-4,

97,

Maitreya, 31, 78, 90, 136, 348, 249

Majapahit dynasty, 254
(Aihole), 126,

no,

Majumdar, N.

G., 256(2)"

nff

1,

Monsters, 20
stones, 204, 258(5)'^

Mother, Great,

121, 201

Ladh Khan temple

109,

Mons, 233
Monsoons, 255(1)'

moon

Mahinda, 197
Mahmud of Ghazni, 166
lacquer, 95, 241-2

Maues

Mohenjo-daro,
moksha, 162
Mongoloids, 4

rulers, 32,

see

Mohammedan conquest,
181

Kucha, 106-7
Kujula Kadphises, 70, 71
K'ai-cliih, 91

Mihiragula, 71
Ming Oi, 107
Mingalazedi, 338-9; 174a

mithuna, 51, 89, 138, 163, 164

Mitra, 25

117

Kurdistan, 43

Mihintale, 201

Mithra, 35, 71, 100

98

Ksetras, 33

Ku

Metalwork, 78-9, 134-5, 147, 149,

185 ff, 209, 232

56,

Luristan, 256(2)''

Madras,

164, 227,

13, 14, 16, 18,

Miran, 105 60b

Lung Men,

Krishna, 26, 117, 138, 191, 192,

193

Rai, 236

Mennapuram, 22
Merlon crenellation, 73
Meru, Mount, 41, 119,

20, 39, 41

258(5)'
1

25, 54, 172

247, 368(21)"
Mesopotamia, 11,

rika

Koh Ker, 230, 23

Kompong Thom,

121,

MedalUons, 50-1, 54
Megasthenes, 35, 36

Meng

155, i5Sa

91, 117, 120, 209

II,

ff.,

Maues, 70
Maya (Mother of the Bud(iha),

Maya,

London, India Museum, 146

Khotan, 104, 105

KJiusrau I, 92

85

259(6)'

Lohapasada, 201, 266(17)^1

Lomas

78,

13 1-2; 6b, So, Si

17, 22-3,

24

Mother Goddess, 17-18, 22

Mouhot, H., 211
Mounds, see Tumuli
Mudras,

87, 185

Muttra,

Curzon

Museum,

43,

SS, 132,259(5)"
Mysore, 183-4

Makara, 86

177

Lahore Museum, 113

Laksana, 74, 87,88, 89, 131,258(5)^

Malvva, 45
Mamalla dynasty, 170

Lakshmi,

Mamallapuram,

55, 56, 259(6)'

Lahtaditya,

no, 112

250
Lalita Vistara, 247
Lamba tatuwa, 202-3
Lalitagiri, 67,

Lamp'mi, 236;

lyi

landscape, 61-2
Lankavatiira

siitra,

137

17(5-3; 112-1 17a

ManasSra, 154
M<3(/u/<j, 33,99-101, 119, 154,244,

Nadaun, 193
Nagara temples,

250
Mandalay, 241
Man(dapa, 112, 124, 157, 165
Manichaeanism, 109

Nagarahara, see Had(la

Nagaraja, 136
Nagarjuna, 116, 363(14)^
Nagarjunakonda, 1 16, 1 17, 11 8-19,

Mardan, 74

156, 160, 265(17)'

197; 7i

lantern roof, 99, 108

Marengo

Lats, 39, 42, 65

Marshall, Sir John, 84

Lauriya Nandangarh, 21, 23, 39,

42, 45 6c, 8
Le Coq, Albert von, 104, 106

Martand, 110-12; 67
masons' marks, 48
Masson, Charles, 78

Lhasa, 151

masts, 22, 46, 257(3)'

N
Nadanta, 187

treasure, 261(91"

286

Nagas, 34, 30, 62

Nalanda, 121, 143-4,

W
Nandamula

146,

245;

Nandi

Iiill,

239

bull, 17, 27, 158,

174

Naqsh-i-Rustam, 63, 100

I47>

INDEX
Nara, 98, 102
Narasiriiha, 135, 170, 173

Parkliam, 43, 58; 12a

Partliians, 70, 86

Narasiihhadeva, 161

Parvati, 27, 186

Pushyatnitra, 45
Pyus, 238

Pasada, 20

Nasik, 115

Nat Hlaung Gyang,

PataUputra, 35-7, 42-4, 58, 121,

238, 241

Nataraja, 178, 180, 186-7, 209

257(3)5; 7a

Qutb mosque,

Nativity of Buddha, 56, 90, 134

Naturalism, 7, 8

Patan, 149; g6
Patna, see Pataliputra

Nature, and Indian

Navalakha, 167

Patna

59-60

art, 7,

Nayak dynasty, 181

Neak Pean, 229-30,

Museum,

259(5)^'

Patrick, St, 258(5)*

Ragas, 191

Pattadakal, I58ff.; 101, 102

258(5)'^; 132b

Negritos, 4

Pattini Devi, 208

railing, 46, see also

l4Sa

Nepal, 34, 147-50

Pei

Neumagen Memorial, 97

New York, Metropolitan

of Art, 192

Museum

t'a,

Rajaraja, 179

261(9)''

Rajasiiirha, 173

Peking, 151
Peoples of India, 4-5
Persepohs, 37, 43, 51

Rajasiihha dynasty, 170

Rajasthan painting, 191; iji

Ngakye Nadaun, 238

Persepohtan

Nigrai, 72

73
Persepolitan order, 40, 42, 43

Nilakantha temple, 167

Nirmanakaya, 33
Nirvana, 26, 30, 32, 77
Nissanka Lata Mandapaya, 208;
143b

Rajput painting, 190-4

Rajputana, 165-6
Rajrajesvara temple, 179;

capital, 20, 40, 43, 48,

RamSyana, 122, 128,

208; 144a

136b

Ras

Phyllite, 77
Pillars,

Maurya, 40;

Rawak, 105

Oldenburg, Baron, 104

Orders,

Polonnaruwa, 187, 197, 205. 207,

43

rehgion,

209; 141-4

Otani, Count, 104

period,

i05;_5iJiJ

repetition, 10

repousse work, 22, 78

Rig Veda, see Vedas

RiUevo

Prachedis, 236

Paitava, 95
Pala dynasty, 189-90

143

ff.,

258(4)12
Pallavas, 121, 157, I70ff.

PaUis, M., quoted, 6

paUium, 74
Palmyra, 74, 76, 86, 95, 260(9)'
Panataram, 254
Pancha Yatana, 165

28
rock-cut temples, 21, 63

Prajapati, 148, 160, 259(6)^

ff,

98fr,

108, 123, 174

Prambanam, 146

rock

edicts,

39
Roll cornice, 67

Prana, 15, 44, 49, 87, 88

Prasat Andet, 214; 156a

Roluos, 215
"

Pratibimba, 41, 216, 270(22)'

Pratyeka Buddhas, 257(4)'
Preaching of Buddha at Sarnath,
56

Roman

influences, 70-7, 83-4, 85,

91,96-7, 115, 263(14)', 264(14)!"

Romlok, 233
Rudras, 27

RuwanweU

Prei Krabas, 214; 15J

Prei Kuk, 212-13; '4^"

dagoba,

199,

201;

136b, ij7a, ijSa

of Bride to Sidd-

Presentation

Paniirenthan, 112; 6S

hartha, 77
Prithvi, 22, 23

Pantokrator, 102

Prome,

Parakrama Bahu I, 205, 206

Parakrama Bahu II, 209; t42a

proportion,

Parasurames vara temple, 160; loja

Puja, 19

Parihasapura, iio-ii, 146

Paris, Musee Guimet, 106,262(11)'

schiacciato, 91

ritual, 19,

pradaksina, 248

Prasenajit, 36

132,

Reliquary, Kanishka's, 73, 74, 78,

Porus, 35
Potala, 150
Pottery, Indus Valley, 17-18

Pagan, 238-40, 262(10)*; 172b, 174

pagodas, 82, 148
Pahari painting, 191
Paharpur, 144-5, 240

5,

Reliquaries, Buddhist, 78-9

portraiture, attitude to, 7

portraiture, Rajput, 194

Padmapani, 149; pS
Padmasarhbhava, 150

Pala-Sena

Reincarnation, 30
Reklia, 160

portrait sculpture, 85-6

Osia, 165-6; loSa

194

Ravana, 176, 177, 225

chaitya-hall,

65
Piprawa, 39

Orissa, 160

Lila,

jj

Rasa, 9
Rashtrakutas, 157, 173-4
Raths, 170, 266(17)2"

raut, 268(21)*

Phoenicians, 255(2)^

176, 191, 192,

224, 253

Rampurva, 42;

Phnom-Penh, Musee Albert Sar-

Northern Temple, Polonnaruwa,

121a,

122a

Peshawar, 70, 71, 96

Plumeanakas, 216, 217-18; i4Sb
Phnom Bakheng, 216-17, 230;
14811,

Nissanka Malla, 206

vedika

Rajagriha, 21

peacock, 57

classical,

165; loSb

Sacrifice, 25

262(10)*, 270(23)'

canons

of,

74,

133. 139, 171, i85> 202-3

88,

Saddaiilajataka, 60-1

Saddharma Pimdarika,

32, 123, 24

Sahri-Bahlol, 78, 260(9)1"

Puranas, 27
Purusa, 14S, 155, 162, 164

287

Sailcndra, 245, 251

Sailendra dynasty, 143, 147. 243

INDEX
Saisunaga-Nanda period, 19
Salcas, 70

Siva, 6, 15, 16, 26, 27, 174, 176,

Saktmtata, 122, 166

Siva Devales, 209; 144b

Solanki dynasty, 166, 16S

178, 180, 185

Sikyamuni, see Buddha

Samantabhadra, 248, 249
Saihbhogakaya, 33
Sambhunath, 148
Sambor, 212-15, 223
Sainsar Cand, Rajah, 192
Sariisara, 26
Samudragupta, 121
San Mahapon, 206
Sanchi,

123,

56ff.,

124,

Somanatha-Patan, 166
Somnath, 166
Somnathpur, 183-4 '^4

Temptation of Mara, 116

Teppe Marendjan, 95

Sondani, 136; 5/
Sphinxes, 48, 73

terra-cotta figurines, 22-3

Sravasti, 121,

51-2,

136, 259(5)";

iSb, 16b, 20-j, 25-7, 7}b, 9J

Sanchi torso, 146-7; pj

Ter, 123-4

Thalam, 88

261(10*

theatre, 122

ri Deva, 23 5
Srindravarman, 224

Thousand Buddha Caves,

Sringara, 191

Thupa

Srirangam, 181; 122b

Thiiparama, 198-9, 206-7; 136a

Tibet, 6, 34, 147, 150-2

Srivijaya,

234

gharas, 199

Tirthahkaras, 29, 132

Tiruvarmamalai, 181; I2jb
Tita, 105

Stein, Sir Aurel, 104, 105

Sannyasin, 28

stone, use of, 21, 157

T6-pa

Santhagara, 126

stone-carving, introduction, 39, 44

stucco sculpture, 77-8, 95, 96
Stupa, 20, 21, 22, 45 ff., 82-3, 89,

Todas, 19
Toga, 74

Sari pheri, iS; 6a

Samath,

29, 40-3, 86-7, 89, 127,

i32ff.;7S
Sas

Bahu

Sastras, 7, 154, 156,

Sat

schist, 77,

script,

142b

183

Indus valley, 255(2)''

Scythians, 70
seals, Indus Valley, 16-17, 38
Seattle

Art Museum, 214, 233, 237

Sejakpur, 167
Seleucia, 260(9)'

Seleucus Nicator, 35, 37, 69, 70

Semiramis, 12

Sempaga, 117
Seven Pagodas, 170
Shading, abstract, 101
Shahbazgarhi, 69

.,

see

Torana, 20, 36, 48, 56, 168

Tower, Kanishka's (Taxila), 83
Toy Cart, The, 122

Suk'ot'ai period, 23

Tradition, in art, 6

Transmigration, 26, 30, 33

Treasure Cave (Kizil), 107

Sultangaiij, 134-5; ^5

Sumeria, 11-12

Sundaramurtiswami,

185,

189,

16

tree-spirits,

Sung-yiieh-ssu, 261(9)^^

tree-worship, 48
Tribhanga, 98, 133
Trikaya, 32
Trimurti, 26, 188 ;

Siirya, 25, 53, 54, 162

Trinity, 26, 88, 257(4)^, 261(10)*;

209; i4Sa

Sung Yiin, 71, 83

Sunga period, 45 fF.

Siirya Deul, 161-2, 265(16)^"; 104,

see also

57

Shah-jI-ki-Dheri, 71, 73, 78, 83

Sakri, 17, 27, 34, 102, 140

Susa, II, 256(2)1'

Shapurl, 71,91,261(9)23,262(10)"'
Shapur, 100, 105
Shiiigon, 258(4)"
Shore Temple, 173; li/a
Shotorak, 95
Siam, 10, 134, 233 ff.
Sidamara, 79

Swastika, 46

Tumuh, 21-2
Tun-huang, 99,

T'aiTsung, 150
Takeo, 214, 218-19

Siddliartha, 29, 76; 5ee also Bud(iha

Takht-i-Balii,

Siege of Lanka, 192

260(9)'; 34> 40, 42b

Talaingo, 238
Tanjore, 1751-80, 189; 121, 122a
Tantra, 6, 27, 34, 143, 150

Sikri, 85

Silenus,

90

silkwforms, 105
silpins,

154
Sind, 12
Singasari dynasty, 254
Sirkap, 72, 80, 123; jpa

Sistan,

70

Sittanavasal, 137, 142, 188, 189

Siirya

see also Trinity

Trimurti

Trisiila, 16,

103

Triton, 73

sikhara, 125, 155, 156, 157, 222

Lake, 205, 206

Subrahmaniya temple, 183; 121b

Sudhana, 249

1 1

^-

,,v

Stupa

temple (Osia), 165; loSa

Siiryavarman II, 220

Sigiriya, 204, 209; 140b

Toilet-boxes, 91

Tope,

StupLka, 156

Submission of Nalagiri,

157

Mahal Pasada, 206;

Tartars, 260(9)'

Topawewa,

119, 150, 256(3)^

temples, 169-70; logb

99, 108,

262(11)15

Srivijaya dynasty, 147

stambhas, 65-6, 258(5)1

Sandstone, red, 85
sanghati, 14, 74, 90

I54tf.,

164
temples, classification, 156

7, 8, 20, 36, 39, 45,

TeU-ka-Mandir, 169; j/i

temple building, principles,

Tumshuq,

106; 64
102, 106, 108, 150,

151, 262(11)1*

Syria, glass from, 72, 91, 95

Turfin, 104-5
Turkestan, i04ff.

75,

Turkish elements, 108

Tushita heaven, 31, 88,141,258(4)'
78,

81-2,

Udaya, 41

Tapas, 29

Udayagiri, 135
Uighurs, 108, 109
ultramarine, 102

Taq-i-Bustan, 92
Tara, 149, 152; gga, loob
Taranatha, 190

Unia, 178
umbrella, 22, 46, 83
Upanishads, 25

Taxila, 14, 23, 70, 72, 78, 80-4,

uma,

74, 87

urusringas, 161, 163

96;j9
Tejpal temple, 168; 110
Tel Asmar, 11,18

288

Ushkur, 110,

1 12-13; 6g
Ushnisha, 55, 74, 87, 88, 131

INDEX
Virupaksha
266(17)2*

Vairocana, 33, 98, loi, 106, 148,

250-1, 252
Vaital Deul, 171

Vajrayana Buddliism,

33, 143,151,

VisvaiitarajLllaka, 141

W
Wahalkadas, 200

religion,

ff.,

257(4)'

24 tf.

vedika, 20, 22, 46-8, 56

Vertumiius, 96
Vesara temples, 156
Vibhasa Ragiiii, 192; ijib
Viharas, 53, 67, 81, 144
Vihares
do
'

jaya, .^17
"'"jayan gar, 180-1

jcram^ditya

11,

158

Village, Indo-Aryan, 21

Vimana, 157

so,

148

Yajria, 19
Yaksha-dvarapala, 123
Yakshas, 24, 43, 44, 48,

259"-

Varuiia, 25
Vedas, 19, 22, 25

buildings,

worship, 24-5

Vishmidliarmollaram, 122, 137

Visvakarman, 154, 155

temple, 164; 107

Vasudeva, 71

wooden

Vishnu, 26-7, 31, 121, 135, 190,234

Vishnu, Mathura, 132

Varahamiliira, 91

Vedic

158-9,

101

Vitthala temple, iSi

258(4)^', 263(14)^

Vamana

temple,
;

Yakshis,

52, 76,

18

7, 16,

18, 22, 24, 30, 48,

57-8,
62,
49.
53.
256(2)1", 259(5)i''

"

89,

wall-painting, early, 60-1

Yaso(ihara, 137

Washington, Freer Gallery, 186

Wat Chet Yot, 236; 172a
Wat Kukut, 236; 171
Wat Mahadhatu, 235; 166; 170
Wata-da-ge, 206-8; i^ja

Yasodharapura, 216-17, 226

Wayang

play,

254

Wei-chih I-seng, 263(12)'

Westmacott, Prof., i
Wheel, 9, 42
White Huns, 71, 79, 121, 262(10)^

Wima

Kadphises, 85-6; 43
Witelo, 265I6

Yasovarman

I,

91,

215, 216, 217

Yasti, 46

Yoga,

8, 9,

26, 30, 75, 87, 255(1)*

Yiieh-chih, 70
Yiin Kang, 56, 98, 106, 260(9)1*

Ziggurut, 46
Zimmer, H., 172
Zoroaster, 257(4)^

MES ON THE ART OF THE

DY PUBLISHED

OTHE'
EAST
/

The Art ana Architecture of the

Ancient Orient
HENRI FRANKFORT
Late Director, Warburg

Institute, University

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of London
$5.50

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ROBERT TREAT PAINE

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of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.

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Architecture in Britain:

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Ages
GEOFFREY WEBB
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Greek Architecture
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Carolingian and Romanesqtie

Architecture: 800 to 1200

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EACH VOLUME

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SOME VOLUMES ALREADY PUBLISHED

The Middle Ages
LAWRENCE STONE

Sculpture in Britain:

r*
'

Mr Stone has brought to his

of great learning and

resulted in a

importance.

task an

full critical

bibliography

excellent

It is

which
.

is

is

most learned and

Altogether, this

the least

of

its

merits

is its

extreme

beauty

never

adequately

hitherto

photographed.' - Professor

and

The Birmingham Post

book

and stimulating.

an excellent book. Not

is

pages.

Thomas Bodkin

in

in Britain:

original in a

at all points scholarly

two hundred

the illustrations represent objects of

and

perhaps in the period 1350-1425 that Miss

Rickert

nearly

filling

Many of

The Middle Ages

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Painting

'

reproductions

book of superlative
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historical

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gathers up for the edification of professionals

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three great centuries of our architectural history

looks for from

with a mastery and

chester

precision that

it

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The whole complex

Mr

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Art and Architecture in France: 1300

ANTHONY BLUNT
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Professor Blunt's treatment of

artists like

Bel-

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are masterpieces of historical analysis,

and the

chapter on Nicholas Ponssin will long remain

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presented with that clarity and grace that one

is

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lyoo

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ideas

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He describes the monuments with lucidity

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Byzantine elements of medieval Russian

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.

which influenced

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its

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