Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c14.17

c14.17

One of the most representative examples of this type of monastic sanctuary is that at Takht-i-Bahai, which, although ruined, is still understandable. In spite of the varying levels of the rocky spur to which it so picturesquely clings, it has been designed on an axial plan with all its parts logically arranged. The principal buildings are contained within a rectangle of approximately two hundred feet in length, and consist of (*a*) the stupa court on the south, (*b*) the monastery on the north, and (*c*) an intervening terrace for the reception of votive stupas, small chapels, and similar structural contributions. To the west of the monastery is a conference or assembly hall, the remainder of the site being taken up by various subsidiary edifices, their exact uses at present not having been determined, but they were probably, a refectory, vestment chamber, kitchens and servants quarters. Of these structures, the court (*a*) with its stupa, was the main feature and was accordingly most artistically treated (Plate XXXIII). The court-yard was an open quadrangle measuring 45 feet by 55 feet, and in the centre, on a platform of 20 feet side and 8 feet high, rose the tall tapering stupa, which with its six-tiered umbrella, reached a total height of 50 feet. An elegant stairway on the north side gave access to the platform for circumambulation, but the ordinary processional path was around the quadrangle at the base. Enclosing the court on three sides was a range of small chapels, each containing a cell or niche, not as in the Hinayana examples for the accommodation of the priests, but, in accordance with the reformed system for the reception of either a statue of the Buddha, or a votive stupa. The roofs of the chapels were so designed that a cupola alternated with a trefoil vault, each an architecturally decorative motif and depicting a separate constructional tradition, for the former was derived from the anchorite's bee-hive hut, and the latter from the conventional shape of the chaitya hall. These particular roofs over the miniature chapels of the monastery are a distinctive feature of the Gandhara style; in their construction no true arches are found, as the method invariably employed was that of corbelling.