Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s3.t6.2

c12.s3.t6.2

In size and construction Stūpa II was almost a replica of Stūpa I, the main difference between the two being the decoration of the ground railing. Its diameter exclusive of the processional path and enclosing balustrade, was 47'; its height to the top of the dome 29' and to the top of the crowning umbrella 37'. In the four quadrants of the ground railing there were 88 pillars. There were three railings, the one as the ground balustrade, the second the berm railing approached by stairways and the third on the top round the harmikā. But the ground railing is carved with many reliefs which give the balustrade its unique value and make it an outstanding landmark in the history of Indian art no less than of Buddhism. The subjects portrayed are generally similar to those on the gateways of the Great Stūpa. Among them, the four chief events of the Buddha's life are conspicuous: his birth (Jāti), his enlightenment (Sambodhi), his first sermon (Dharmachakra-pravartana), and his death (Parinirvāṇa)—each represented by its own peculiar symbol: the lotus, the Pīpal tree, the Wheel and the Stūpa. Then there are the familiar figures of Yakshas and Yakshiṇīs, many-hooded Nāgas and a host of real and fabulous animals, sometimes with riders and sometimes without, like those which adorn the false capitals on the gateways of the Great Stūpa: elephants, bulls, horses, deer, winged lions, makaras and griffins and other creatures of the fancy, also that do not occur on the gateways, such as horse-headed and fish-tailed men or centaurs with women on their backs (kinnara mithuna). Among plants, the favourite one is the lotus—magic symbol of birth and life and giver of bounteous gifts to mortals—sometimes quite simply treated, sometimes in rich and elaborate devices; among birds, the peacock, the goose, and the Sārasa are prominent; and among characteristic Buddhistic emblems other than those already mentioned, the triratna, nandipada, and śrīvatsa, and pillars crowned by lions or elephants. (Marshall).