Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c13.s2.8

c13.s2.8

The remaining example of the three large viharas at Nasik, the Sri Yajna, may have been the last to be executed, but it was produced in much the same form as the others of the group. Then, several centuries afterwards, when the Mahayana priests took over these early monasteries, the interior of this particular vihara appears to have been considerably altered in order to make it suitable for the performance of the later theistic ritual. Such a procedure presented no special difficulties, as the floor was merely sunk so as to provide a square dais towards the middle of the central half, and a cella excavated at the far end with a pillared antechamber for the accommodation of a large image of the Buddha; the style of this alteration indicates that the seventh century was the date of its conversion.