Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c8.14

c8.14

Attached to the house in the first court were also the broad spaces for cows and horses, both of whom formed an essential part of the domestic economy in Vedic times (*Aśvāvatī Gomatī śālā*, 3.12.2., *Gobhyo Aśvebhyo namo yachchhalāyāṃ Vijāyate*, 9. 3. 13). A house is compared to a beautiful bride (*Vadhūmiva te Śāle*, 9.3.24) and the same is still current in the saying that the decoration of a house is similar to that of a bride. A Vedic house-holder (*Śālā-pati*) adored his house like a goddess, since it was the real place where the whole cycle of life was unfolded for him. He felt happy to think of the delightful home overflowing with stores of food and milk, free from hunger and thirst, and full of laughter and merriment.