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.s8.3

v6.c41.s8.3

The temples of Kashmir ‘form a complete and homogeneous group,’ as declared by Cunningham, Fergusson, and others,³ ‘extending through about five centuries (A.D. 600 to 1100), singularly uniform in their development and very local, being unlike any other style known in India.’ This statement, however, does not mean that there is any structure in Kashmir whose origin cannot be traced to Hindu architecture or to the monuments of Brahmanical, Buddhist, or Jain faith. In fact Fergusson himself has admitted that ‘in Kashmir we have a Buddhist period, developing by the eighth century into an original quasi-classical style that lasted till it, in its turn, was supplanted by that of the Muslim in the fifteenth century.’¹ Further, in describing the peculiarities of the Kashmir style, he takes the model of a small temple and says that ‘such miniature temples are common in India and are copies of their larger prototypes ’² Like this model instance, Kashmir temples are generally surmounted by roofs varying from two to four. ‘All these roofs are relieved by dormer windows, of a pattern very similar to those found in mediaeval buildings in Europe, and the same steep, sloping lines are used also to cover doorways and porches, these being virtually a section of the main roof itself. The pillars which support the porticoes are by far the most striking peculiarity of this style, their shafts being so distinctly like those of the Grecian Doric, and unlike anything of the class found in other parts of India. Generally they are from three to four diameters in height, diminishing slightly towards the capital, and adorned with sixteen flutes, rather shallower than those of the Grecian order. Both the bases and capitals are, however, far more complicated than in the Grecian examples, though similar features are noticeable in Rome and Paestum.’³ Another peculiarity is the trefoiled arch,⁴ which is also noticed in Ajanta caves. Regarding this and other peculiarities Fergusson concludes by saying that, ‘as in Kashmir and everywhere else in India, architectural decoration is made up of small model of large buildings applied as decorative features wherever required, it is by no means improbable that the trefoiled façade may have been adopted in Kashmir as currently as the simple horse-shoe form was throughout the Buddhist buildings of India proper.’⁵