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Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s1.t2: The Stūpa Architecture

Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s1.t2

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The Stūpa Architecture

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The Stūpa was built on the foundation of stone blocks called pāṣāṇa-kuṭṭima. On this foundation a hemispherical dome called aṇḍa was raised. In the earlier period the ratio between the diameter and the height of the Stūpa was less than in the case of the Stūpas of the later period. The drum of the earlier Stūpas resembled a bell (ghaṇṭākāra). In the later Stūpas the drum became more elevated and elongated becoming cylindrical in form described as Mahā-bubbula shape, i. e. a giant water bubble. The top of the hemisphere was truncated and on its flat surface a modest plat-form enclosed by a railing was added known as *harmikā*, literally, mansion of the gods which exactly corresponded to Vedic *deva-sadana*, of which the position was on the third ridge above the earth. In the centre of the *harmikā* was fixed a post, *Yaṣṭi*, surmounted by a series of three parasols (*trichhatra* or *Chhatrāvalī*) of which the number was later on raised to seven. [Fig. 54].

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In course of time a natural development in the architecture of Stūpa was the desire to enclose it on all sides and this enclosure was called *vedikā* a term taken from the architecture of the Vedic *Yajña*. It was derived from the sacrificial altars called *Vedi* and seems to have originally signified the structure erected round the fire altar. The same form was later extended to an enclosure round any sacred object of worship; e. g. the word is used in the Rāmāyaṇa for a railing round a *chaitya-vriksha*. In the Rummindei Inscription of Aśoka a stone enclosure was erected round the stone-pillar by Aśoka under the name of *silā-vigaḍa-bhicha*. In the Ghosuṇḍī Inscription of Nārāyaṇa Vāṭaka the enclosure is called *prākāra*, i. e. a wall-like railing round the tablet of worship (*pūjā-śilā*). The same architectural feature was adopted for the Stūpas. In the case of the Bharhut and other Stūpas the *Vedikā* consisted of a series of upright pillars (*stambha, thambha*); each pillar was fixed to the ground by inserting its lower part in the socket of a stone basement (*ālambanapiṇḍikā*), buried under the earth to serve as the foundation. Between each pair of upright posts were fixed three transverse bars (*sūchī*) of which the ends were inserted in the sockets cut into the narrower sides of the pillars. The sokets were lenticular in shape and the cross-bars were of the form of flat pillows on account of which they were later on known as *takia*. The top of the pillars was bonded together by a series of coping stones (*uṣṇīśa*) which had on the bottom sidesocket holes (*chullī*) to receive the tenons (*chūḍā*) of the upright poles. The copings were round on the top and provided enough space on the two vertical sides for carving of decorative motifs and narrative scenes which became a very pleasing feature of Stūpa sculpture. Thus the four constituent parts, viz. the basement, upright pillar, cross-bar and the coping were bonded together into stable structure. [Fig. 55]. The great railing, *mahāvedikā* at Bharhut was profusely carved but the one at Sanchi was plain without any decoration. The railing was provided on four sides with four gateways called *toraṇa* facing the four cardinal points. [Fig. 56]. This was an important architectural feature of which the roots lay in the traditional philosophical conception of the fourfold pattern of creation symbolised in the four regions of space round a central fixed point or mount of gold called *Meru*. This became a religious cult of wide-spread popular belief known as *Diśamaha*. The Stūpa with its gateways and railings was a complete symbol of the tetradic pattern of the cosmos as evolved in Buddhist religious tradition.

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The path of circumambulation (*pradakshiṇā-patha*) ran round the Stūpa on its ground level inside the railing. Besides the ground railing another *pradakshiṇā-patha* was provided about the middle of the dome by erecting a raised platform round the Stūpa which was known as *medhi*, a terrace. This high terrace for the second *pradakshiṇā-patha* was also provided with a railing of smaller pillars. The third railing of which the pillars were even smaller was built at the top round the *harmikā*.

Cites (4)