Studies in Indian Art c7.s2.35

c7.s2.35

The Buddha image introduced a revolutionary change in Indian sculpture and architecture. The images of gods and goddesses began to be executed in increasing numbers according to the dictates of an expanding pantheon. With the main attention focussed on the image, the railing receded into the background, and in the Gupta period the railing was absorbed or assimilated in the pattern of the raised platform or temple plinth, the *Jagat-pitha*, such as we find at Devagarh in which upright pillars with male and female figures carved on them illustrating scenes from Krishna's life and the Rāmāyana were fixed against a masonry wall.