Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s3.24

c12.s3.24

GATEWAYS: The crowning glory of the Great Stūpa are its richly carved gateways. The first to be put up was the south gateway followed by the northern gateway which is the best preserved and retains most of its original features and ornamental figures as they may have appeared on the day of their first construction. The eastern and the western *toraṇas* were added later in succession. All of them were of similar design and 34' in height. Each gateway was composed of two square pillars surmounted by capitals, which in turn supported a superstructure of three architraves with voluted ends decorated beautifully by spirals. The architraves were separated from one another by four square blocks set in pairs above the capitals of the square pillars. Between each pair of square blocks were three short uprights, the open spaces between them being occupied by figures of horse- and elephant-riders to be seen from both sides The capitals are adorned with standing dwarfs or elephants or with the fore-fronts of lions set back to back. The most pleasing feature of these gateways are the female figures or caryatids standing under the dense foliage of trees and occupying the outer spaces between the lowermost architrave and the spring of the capital. In this festoon posture they are known as *toraṇa-śāla-bhañjikā* in Sanskrit literature, and it is usual for modern writers to designate them as *Vṛkṣakās* or *Yakṣīs*. Similar female figures of smaller proportions stand on the architraves immediately above them with lions or elephants placed on the volute on the two sides. The open spaces between the architraves, as said above, are occupied by figures of horsemen or elephants and their riders and lions winged or otherwise; a feature of the horses and riders being that they are carved on both sides so as to look on both directions. One of the small *Yakṣīs* is also carved on the two sides, so as to look Janus-like both on the front and the back side. On the top of the highest architrave were placed the special emblems of Buddhism, viz. Dharmachakra in the centre flanked by chawri-bearing Yakshas and Triratnas on the two sides. The scenes depicted on the gateways in bas relief follow in general the religious contents of the Bharhut Stūpa and are elaborate compositions illustrative of the many cults that were prevalent amongst the people. There are numerous representations of the sacred trees, Stūpas, scenes from Buddha's life and Jātaka stories. [Fig. 56].