Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c12.10

c12.10

The style of architecture employed in the rock-cut monasteries was of a very significant and evocative character. It took the form of reproductions, as far as the unusual conditions admitted, of existing structural originals, the general shape of such wooden buildings as well as every detail, even to the joints and fastenings of the carpentry construction, being exactly imitated in the natural rock. And as a proof that, except for the excursions into the rock medium, those who produced this form of architecture were still living in a wood-building age, the rock work itself was supplemented by a substantial amount of wooden construction attached to its surfaces. These additions are shown in both the exteriors and interiors of the rock-cut work, for on the facades of the large halls there are numerous mortice holes for fixing elaborate wooden frontages, while inside in several instances an intricate falsework of wooden groins even now adheres to the rock-cut vaulted roof. There is every evidence, therefore, that the earlier examples of this process were practically half-timbered Although one cannot fail to be impressed by the technical ability displayed in the production of the rock architecture of the Hinayana period, such a servile imitation of one method in another and entirely different material postulates that those concerned were in an early stage of their architectural experience and in the field of building construction still had much to learn.