Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c5.20

c5.20

CULT MATERIAL — Further, the great religious movements which inspired and moved the lives of the people at different periods from one end of the country to the other, have found a rich documentation in the art panels, which sometimes are more informative than even literary records. For example, the Yaksha and Nāga cults on the early Stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi, and also in Mathurā art, speak an eloquent language. A precise analysis of the elements of folk-art is needed to grasp the full scope of the art forms inspired by them. Another instance is the Uttarakuru tradition depicted with zest at Bhājā, Bharhut, Sanchi, etc. With it are linked several motifs, such as, *Mithuna*, *Kalpa-vriksha*, *Kalpa-latā* of which the carved panels are illustrative of the epics and the *Jātaka* descriptions. Various ornaments, costly fabrics, superior wines, toilet articles, and Man and Woman, are shown coming out from the tendrils or low bent boughs of trees or meandering creepers. These were Wish-fulfilling motifs which fired the imagination of the people. The *Kalpa-vriksha* became the arch-symbol of the cult of Tree-worship or the adoration of arboreal deities (*Rukkha-devatā-maha*).