Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s2.t1.87

c12.s2.t1.87

The Stūpa was both a picture full of aesthetic surfaces (c h i t r a) as rendered by the artists and a narrative (Ā k h y ā n a) which relates to meanings which should be understood both in their literal and symbolical senses. The Stūpa monument was considered both a beautiful (*dassanīyam*) and deeply-moving play (*samvejinīyam thānam*). It was a thing of beauty and the first reaction it produced on the mind of the visitor was that of being beautiful or sight-worthy. It was in every sense delectable to the eye which in our modern terms signified the syle or the aesthetic quality of the craftsman's art; but, important as this element of 'manufacture' is, of greater significance to all the world of Buddhist worshippers and others was the meaning of the Stūpa which was *samvejinīya*, literally, stirring or thrilling of understanding and heart by which the inner soul was fired (*yoniso padahanti*)—those who grasped the flavour of the meaning (*attharasascha labhino*) are few than many others who look to the outword disposition of the shrine. The real spiritual shock consists in the transformation of the soul by an understanding of its deep cosmic meaning. The narrative content of the Stūpa induces in the spectator an interior activity which leads to ecstacy of realisation and *Nirvāṇa*. As we have pointed out earlier the departure of the Mahāpurusha which the Stūpa symbolises was an event not of grief but of radiating joy which was aggressive and penetrated through all the regions of space. The Bharhut Stūpa is truly a great possession—great for its beauty of sculpture and depth of meaning.