Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c10.22

c10.22

It is however in the massive Buddhist composition poised above the abacus that the greatest imagination has been shown, and symbolism utilized to its utmost extent. Most of the superstructures consist of figures of animals, each of which has a mythological meaning. Together they symbolise the four quarters of the universe, the elephant being the guardian of the east, the horse of the south, the bull, as at Rampurva, of the west, and the lion, as in the Nandangarh example, of the north. All four animals are carved in relief on the abacus at Sarnath, by far the finest of the entire group, evidently signifying that, although this pillar was primarily associated with the north by its position and the conventional group of lions above, it was also intended to commemorate by the addition of the great wheel which these beasts support, the proclamation of the Good Law of the Church of the Four Quarters.¹ Such were the Buddhist interpretations, but not a little of this animal symbolism was drawn, in the first instance, from Vedic sources. The Rig Veda gives the place of honour among all wild beasts to the lion, which roamed the jungles of India until comparatively recent times, while a swift or galloping horse represented the sun, and the bull Dyaus or Indra the sky-god, all of which are illustrated on the abacus of the Sarnath capital. From this and other evidences it is clear that much of the primitive Buddhist symbolism as expressed in its art was a continuation of the Vedic mythology, (Plate VII).