Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s25.273.1

v6.c41.s25.273.1

So far as the Persian architecture in Persia is concerned it is necessary to observe, as pointed out before, that not a single monument of recognizable condition was ever seen by even the earliest historians, although some objects have been cleverly restored from scanty materials and fertile imagination. It has been shewn in detail in Appendix I, quoting from Herodotus (I, 121), that the Persian had ‘neither images, nor temples, nor altars.’ There is in India nothing like the Persian tombs divided into three portions of almost equal size. The middle and longer compartment, in conjunction with the other two, forms what is called the Greek cross. It is carved architecturally into four engaged columns and a lofty double-recessed doorway, surmounted by an Egyptian gorge and a row of dentels, so as to reproduce a palace façade. The upper portion of this doorway is solid rock, but the lower section is cut away to provide an entrance to the vault excavated in the mass behind. Upon a stage the king is seen on a pedestal. Between the king and the altar floats the image of Ahura-Mazda, borne on huge wings, behind which a solar disc is roughly suggested. The Indian *stūpas*, *chaityas* and *dagobas* are entirely different monuments in appearance, measurement, and architectural details.