Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c16: Chapter IX: Buildings in Brick
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c16
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Chapter IX: Buildings in Brick
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THE opening centuries of the Christian era indicate that practically the whole of the architecture being produced in India was the outcome of the Buddhist faith. It will also be seen that the building art thus developed was being evolved, more or less independently, in three different parts of the country in the west, south and north. The particular form that the religion assumed in each region is plainly shown by the character and appearance of its monuments In the west, as exemplified by the rock-cut halls in the Western Ghats which, upto this time were entirely the result of the Hinayana system, this primitive phase of Buddhism was approaching the end of its course, the arid and almost sterile treatment of the Kanheri chaitya hall (c. A. D. 180) marking its decline. In the south, where the style reached its zenith in the Amaravati stupa (c. A.D 250), the life of the creed was prolonged by an infusion of the more advance Mahayana thought, but here too it was soon to be overwhelmed by the surrounding Hinduism. Only in the north, in spite of political vicissitudes, did it maintain its hold, its vitality being due very largely to its Mahayana character, as shown by the Gandhara monasteries with their marked Hellenistic attribution. This theistic form of the belief, with its classical iconography, had by now been conveyed across the Punjab to the ancient and sacred city of Mathura (Muttra), which became a stronghold of this later system of Buddhism for several centuries The Mathura of those days has however almost entirely perished, as it lay directly in the path of the invading Muhammadans, but Mahmud's own account of its architectural mangificence before he destroyed it, that it contained "more than a thousand structures, the greater number in marble" speaks for itself. What records have survived show that here two traditions met, the Hellenistic current from Gandhara passing into the deep pool of indigenous art, as represented by the remains of Barhut and Sanchi. It was the synthesis of these two very different but equally potent movements, as expressed in the monuments of Mathura, that enabled Indian art to maintain its continuity in the more northern regions throughout this period.
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From Mathura the Mahayana system of Buddhism was carried further into the Gangetic plain, where both the creed and the building art which served it, experienced a late but exuberant flowering in the famous monasteries, universities, and sancturaries of the Buddhist Holy Land. These numerous and vast aggregations of buildings which grew up on the sites sanctified by the Buddha, are now in most instances mounds of ruins, but investigations have shown that they were almost entirely constructed of brick. The skilled handling of much of this brickwork denotes that it was a method of building which had been in practice for a very long period, of which, there have already been notable examples. Its great antiquity has been proved by the advanced stage building in brick had attained as early as 3000 B. C. in the cities of the Indus civilization. Considerably later, although perhaps not so carefully prepared as the houses of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, were the stupas of Asoka, but they were compact serviceable structures built with large and strongly made bricks. Following this, the brick foundations of a Vishnu shrine at Besnagar in Bhopal of the second century B C., prove by the nature of the materials employed, and the manner of their laying, that the high quality of this method of construction was being maintained. From these various sources it seems fairly clear that an important phase of brick building was partly conterminous with and succeeded the period of wooden construction described in Chapter II. Moreover it has been found that buildings of this character were produced in different parts of the country, but more particularly in the north, culminating in a great development of brick architecture, which prevailed throughout most of the first millennium. It is only logical therefore that in any classification of the art of building in India the position of the brick phase, while following that of wood, should precede that of dressed stone
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As would be expected brick architecture flourished principally in the great alluvial plains of the country where good clay was easily obtainable, but the theory of the availability of material should not be pressed too far. Much depends on the human element, and the preference of a people, under certain conditions, for the particular type of building which would best suit their purpose. As an illustration of this choice of material immense buildings almost entirely composed of brick, were constructed during the early mediaeval period at Mathura and Benares, although the extensive sandstone quarries of Rupbas and Chunar were readily accessible. Brickwork, if properly prepared, and other things being equal, has durable qualities little inferior to those of stone masonry, besides it has the advantage of being composed of small units, the flexibility of which gives greater constructional possibilities. On the other hand the use of such small elements adds to the difficulties of bridging spaces, as in the case of roofs, doorways, and all openings The Indian builder endeavoured to overcome this disability by resorting to very large bricks, some of the earlier examples being over twenty inches long, several times larger than the modern article. There was a tendency to reduce the size as time went on, so that within limits it may be said that, the larger the brick the earlier its date. But the builders soon found that even by employing exceptionally large bricks spaces could not be readily spanned so that it became the practice to introduce beams of wood over the doorways and windows, many of the earlier brick buildings thus containing a moderate amount of timber. Later, when the properties of stone for such a purpose began to be recognised, instead of wooden supports, lintels of stone were used and a phase then ensued when brick buildings with stone stressings found favour. It does not, however, follow that in every locality the two phases, of brick with wood, and brick with stone, were in the above sequence. In certain parts this order may, for various reasons have been reversed, but as a whole, constructional evolution in the art of building progressed generally on these lines.
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Examples of brick architecture in India are of a somewhat miscellaneous order, but they may be resolved into four groups, (1) Buddhist Chaitya Halls, (2) Brahmanical temples, [Figure: BRICK ARCHES ① CORBELLING ② & ③ TEMPLE AT BHITAGAON CIR. 5TH CENT. ④ CTESIPHON, (IRAN) CIR 250 AD ⑤ & ⑥ BUDH GAYA CIR. 7TH CENT. ⑦ RESTORATION OF DHAMEK STUPA SARNATH. CIR 6TH CENT A D ⑧ CONJECTURAL APPEARANCE OF BUDH GAYA WHEN FIRST BUILT. ⑨ STUPA AT MIRPUR-KHAS, SIND (RESTD) CIR 6TH CENT ⑩ PLAN
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Fig 1 Budh Gaya
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Fig 2 Sārnāth Benāres : patterns on Dhamek Stupa ; c 6th cent A.D.
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CONJECTURAL RESTORATION OF THE STUPA, SHRINE, AND MONASTERY AT SARNATH, BENARES. ABOUT 7TH CENT. A.D.
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[Figure: FORMS OF EARLY TEMPLES (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
(1) UDAIGIRI BHOPAL C 400 A D
(2) GUPTA TEMPLE SANCHI. C. 415 A D [BUDDHIST]
(3) LADH KHAN AIHOLE C 450 A D.
(4) DURGA TEMPLE AIHOLE C 500 A D
(5) BHITARGAON NEAR CAWNPUR C 400 A.D [BRICK]
(6) DEOGARH NEAR JHANSI C. 500 A.D]
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(3) the Monasteries and Sanctuaries of the Buddhist Holy Land, and (4) the Stupas of Sindh. The buildings forming the first group are two only in number, and are relatively small structures possessing no outstanding architectural merit. They are important, however, not for what they are intrinsically, but for their significance, as they are Buddhist structural temples in their original condition, and the only surviving examples of their kind. Situated widely apart, although both are in the southern portion of the peninsula, one at Ter near Sholapur, but within the old State of Hyderabad,¹ and the other at Chezarla in the Kistna district of the Andhra State, they are presumed to have been built as early as the fifth century A. D. Both owe their preservation to having been at a later date appropriated to Brahmanical uses, as a rectangular hall, or *mandapam*, was subsequently added to make them suitable for the Hindu ritual. Buildings of this type were no doubt common about the beginning of the Christian era, when Buddhism had its adherents all over the country, but on the decline of the creed, particularly in the south, they were allowed to fall into decay. Both temples, excluding their mandapas, are of approximately the same dimensions, the exterior length of each being about thirty feet, the Chezarla example in its other proportions being slightly the smaller. In style they are singularly alike, both having apsidal ends, "keel" vaulted roofs, "chaitya" gable fronts, with a wide cornice moulding of the rock-cut order all round the building at the junction of the walls and the roof. A flat ceiling about 7½ feet from the floor conceals the construction of the vault at Chezarla, but at Ter the roof is quite open, showing that the vault was obtained by corbelling out each course of brickwork and covering the whole with a coating of plaster. The bricks in each instance are the same size, being 17"×9"×3", the large dimensions serving as additional evidence of their date, as they are less in dimensions than the Mauryan and yet larger than the Gupta. Although little more than a chapel the chaitya at Ter is a well-proportioned structure, the pilasters which form its principal exterior decoration being quite suitable for their purpose, while the sunk panels above the cornice and the treatment of the gable-end have all been carefully considered. (Plate XVI, Fig. 1.) The example at Chezarla is more florid in its ornamentation especially in the upper story, the plainness of the lower portion being relieved by a series of four windows with chaitya arched pediments. These two small buildings explain to a certain extent the external appearance of the structural temple of the Buddhists, hitherto only known through the rock-cut chaitya halls, which have no exteriors except their facades. In both these brick chapels and the rock-cut halls there are constructional features, inherited from the same primitive type, either wood or thatch, so that their inter-relationship is tolerably clear.
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¹ *Arch. Sur. Rep.* 1902-03
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The second group of brick buildings comprises a number of Brahmanical shrines, also widely distributed, and extending over several centuries of time. They may be divided into three sub-groups consisting of (*a*) a temple at Bhitargaon in the Cawnpur district, together with several shrines of a later date in its neighbourhood, (*b*) a series of temples at Sirpur and Kharod in the Raipur district of the Madhya Pradesh, and (*c*) two small Hindu shrines at Ter near Sholapur (Bombay State). The earliest and most remarkable of this group is the temple at Bhitargaon, probably built during the fifth century A.D., and on account of its unique character, standing in a class by itself. (Plate XLI, Fig. 5). On grounds of style the only other brick building to which it bears any resemblance is the Buddhist temple at Budh Gaya, which, in its original form appears to have been erected about the same date, but the size and intentions of the two structures are so different, that they have been referred to separate groups. It is worthy of note that a stylistic similarity also exists between the Bhitargaon temple and a number of Indo-Buddhist shrines constructed of stone on the Djeng plateau in Central Java, dating several centuries later, but manifestly of Indian extraction.² The temple at Bhitagāon³ is a tall tower-like edifice rising in diminishing stages to a height of about 70 feet, and standing in the centre of a fairly high plinth. It is a square of 36 feet diameter in plan, but has double recessed angles, and on the east side there is projected a porch approached by steps, and leading by a passage to an interior chamber or cella 15 feet square. Like the majority of early Brahmanical structures it was not a temple for an assembly of worshippers, but a shrine or repository for an image. The interior is quite plain but displays certain constructional expedients, which for a building of so early a date are of considerable interest, as the porch and cella are both covered over by domical vaults, and the passage connecting the two by a wagon-vault.
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² *Influences of Indian Art* (India Society) p. 166
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³ *Arch Sur Rep* 1908-09
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The exterior is much ruined but it seems not improbable that the upper part of the tower was finished by means of a short "keel" roof, not unlike that of the Vaital Deul temple at Bhubaneshwar (Plate XVI, Fig. 3), and also of the Telika Mandir at Gwalior (Plate CXVI, Fig. 2) both built several centuries later, but demonstrably survivals of an earlier type. Its proportions appear to have been quite good, but it is in the architectural treatment of its surfaces that the builder has shown his skill in overcoming the disadvantages of flatness and want of shadow, inherent in structures composed of small elements such as brick. Variety has been obtained by introducing at the right intervals prominent string-courses, broken by recessed planes with sunk panels all arranged in excellent relation, not only to one another, but to the scheme as a whole. Effective use has been made of a motif derived from Buddhist sources, consisting of a decorative adaptation of the chaitya-arch converted into a niche for the reception of figure-subjects of terracotta, and applied freely all over the building. The bricks of which this shrine is built are of a large size measuring 17½×10×3", and the general construction shows marked technical ability, so much so that there is little doubt that it represents a phase of the building art which was well-understood and had a long tradition behind it. As almost the sole surviving record of this early phase, which must have been of no little importance during the first centuries of the Christian era, the Bhitagaon temple has a special interest. There are other shrines in its vicinity, much later in date as they are presumed to have been erected in the tenth century, which although varying in style, are designed and constructed on the same simple principles, showing that this method of building persisted in these parts for a long period.
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The group of brick temples in the Raipur district,⁴ in spite of being some distance away, and also of a later date, as they are assigned to the tenth century, show a certain affinity to the example at Bhitagaon. In this locality there are the remains of several similar structures, but the one which is in the best condition, and retains most of its original appearance, is the temple of Lakshmana at Sirpur. (Plate XXXVII) It is a building having the same tower-like proportions, with a projecting porch leading to a single cell in the interior, and the whole stands on a high plinth. At its base it measures 22 feet side, and when complete was probably at least 60 feet high, although the upper part is much injured. In front there are the remains of a pillared hall (mandapa) which however appears to have been a later addition. The entire building is of brick with the exception of the inner entrance to the sanctuary, which consists of a wide doorway elaborately carved in stone and leading to a cella 9 feet 9 inches side Where this comparatively small structure excels—and the same qualities may be observed in other shrines of the group—is in the dispositions of its parts, the design and distribution of its decorative elements, and the character of its construction generally, all of which denote artistic and technical knowledge of no mean order. The attractive effects of light and shade obtained by the receding planes of its walls, intersected by the carefully adjusted horizontal lines of the deep string-courses also show considerable architectural experience. Equally pleasing is the relief ornament which is of a conventional type, applied in the best of taste, and in keeping with the composition as a whole. The most noticeable feature is a deeply recessed false window in the centre of each side; this is divided into panels by mullions, and each panel contains a carved pattern intended to represent open-work, evidently derived from a wooden lattice. Nearly all the ornamentation was chiselled out of the brickwork after the walls were built, the necessary parts having been left boasted for this purpose, and the carving carried over the joints as if the whole were in one piece The average size of the bricks is 17"x9"x3", and the surfaces of each have been laboriously rubbed down to a smooth finish, thus enabling the joints to be kept particularly fine. In all its aspects the Lakshmana temple definitely proves that it was the handiwork of craftsmen who had served a long apprenticeship to this method of building.
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⁴ *Arch Sur. Rep.* 1909-10
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Where the Indian builders were allowed free scope to work out large schemes of brick architecture, was in the production of the immense monastic establishments which, in the first millennium gradually rose upon a number of sites consecrated to the Buddha in the holy land of Bihar and the adjoining country. Chief among these were certain places of pilgrimage specially sanctified because they were intimately connected with the life of the Buddha himself, such as Kapilavastu, the place of the Nativity, and also of the "Great Renunciation", Budh Gaya, the scene of the "Enlightenment", Sarnath, where in the Deer Park (*Isipatana*) he "set in motion the wheel of the Law", and Kusinagara (Kasia) where he entered Nirvana. To these may be added the University of Nalanda, the Jetavana monastery at Saheth (Sravasti), and an important shrine and hermitage at Paharpur in the Rajshahi district of Bengal, besides many other Buddhist resorts of a similarly hallowed character. On all the religious centres there grew up in the course of time, large aggregations of buildings, such as stupas, shrines, temples, colleges, and monasteries grouped together within a spacious enclosure, and all constructed mainly of brick Of these vast sanctuaries, teeming with religious life and supporting thousands of monks, so large that they have been likened to university towns, which existed in such profusion in the Gangetic plain from the fifth to the twelfth centuries, nothing remains to mark each site but a shapeless conglomeration of ruins, save the great temple at Budh Gaya, now so restored that much of its original appearance is lost. But from a variety of sources such as excavation, literary records, and other data, some idea of their architectural style may be obtained
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The two Brahmanical shrines at Ter, dedicated to Uttaresvara and Kalesvara,¹ are small and dilapidated brick buildings, dating a little later, perhaps, than the chaitya hall of the same place and previously described, but they are valuable because they illustrate a stage in the evolution of the builders' art in which records are few and far between. Introduced into their brick construction are wooden beams and door-frames, a method presumed to antedate those in which stone was employed for the same purpose. In the Uttaresvara shrine these wooden supports are beautifully carved, rivalling in this respect the finely moulded bricks of the reminder of the building. Where wooden beams could not be used, as in some of the upper portions, the courses of brick were corbelled forward until they met, as already referred to in the neighbouring chaitya hall. The bricks measure 16" * 9" * 2½", so that it is possible these shrines may have been built as early as the sixth or seventh century, the style of their ancient woodwork marking them as rare examples of their kind.
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¹ *Arch Sur. Rep* 1902-03.
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The structural complexes comprising these sanctuaries appear to have been laid out on no generic plan, as in most instances they consisted of miscellaneous collections of buildings, added to from time to time according to the need. For instance excavations at Nalanda have disclosed a long sequence of buildings erected and re-erected on the same site after intervals of ruin and desertion, the entire period ranging from approximately the sixth to the twelfth century A. D. Many of the other sites show evidences of the same chequered history. Fundamentally they were immense conventual establishments brought into being by the remarkable expansion of monastic life that arose at this time, inspired originally by the eremitical tendencies of the Buddha himself, and developed by his followers. But what is significant is that their most flourishing period coincided with that great wave of monachism which swept across the whole of the then known world from Arabia through Egypt as far as the extreme west of Europe. The Buddhist monastic movement in its Mahayana phase was therefore an Eastern manifestation of the same ideal, which took the form of a desire on the part of large communities of all nations, irrespective of differences in their belief, to withdraw from the outer world and to seek seclusion in an inner one of their own. Whether in the east or in the west, the allocation, disposition, and general character of these early religious retreats suggest some connection or common inspiration. Enclosed within high walls with watch towers and a single massive guarded entrance to ensure internal discipline, these fortress-like conditions signify that, although their primary object may have been a religious one, they could readily be utillized as refuges wherein the priests and their following could retire on occasion, and bid defiance to an intolerant ruler or resist the antagonism of the supporters
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The buildings of brick described so far, although several have unmistakable artistic merit, are not remarkable for their size, and some have only been introduced here in order to represent certain stages in the development of this method.
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of opposing creeds. Such monastic strongholds were not unusual in several countries, a classical instance being that of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai built by Justinian in 530 A. D. the ramparts and embrasures with which it was provided belying its otherwise peaceful intention. Precautions of a similar kind were also necessary in the Buddhist monasteries of India, as the ruling power was ordinarily Brahmanical, and where moreover, in spite of their considerable following, the Buddhists were a minority community during most of their history The militant character of these ecclesiastical foundations was reproduced later in the Lamaseries of Tibet, several of which, such as that at Gyantse with its fortified walls and guarded gate-house, were evidently part of the same movement as that which produced the enclosed monastic sanctuaries of Bihar. In a like manner were prepared the temple-cities of the Jains on the western side of India, with their battlemented walls and formidable bastions, while the same apprehension existed to a lesser degree among the Brahmins, as some of the great walled temples in Southern India plainly testify. But an excellent example is the temple of Jagannath at Puri, with its outer and inner walls and guarded gateway. Except that it has no monastic establishment, a system which has no counterpart in Hinduism, Puri resembles in some of its main aspects the Buddhist sanctuaries of the early mediaeval period now being described, as it consists of a spacious sacred enclosure containing shrines and temples, around which has gradually grown up a large town to minister to its needs.
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or terraces of solid brick, heavily moulded, and decorated with stucco statutary in high relief. Some idea of their scale may be gathered from the dimensions and character of the large gatehouse to the monastic area at Sarnath, the plinth of which was 61 feet wide with a depth of 28 feet. On each side of the doorway were broad bastions of elegantly moulded brick, while the interior contained several rooms. Little more than the foundations of this building survive, but these are so large and solid that it is clear they carried a high superstructure presumably comparable to the lofty pyramidal *gopurams* of Southern India. (Plates LXXVII and XXXIX).
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That great height was a feature of the architecture of these sanctuaries is proved by the frequent remarks of some of the Chinese pilgrims who saw them in their prime. Fa-Hien¹ at the beginning of the fifth century and Hiuen Tsiang² in the seventh, were both much impressed by their tall proportions, one referring to "a great vihara some two hundred feet high", and the other to a shrine containing "a copper image more than eighty feet high in a six storied building";³ moved to ecstasy the latter writes that at Nalanda "the soaring domes reached to the clouds, and the pinnacles of the temples seemed to be lost in the mists of the morning". Through the charmed eyes of these adventurous monks we may envisage the glittering metal roofs, the glazed tiles of brilliant colours, the pillars of the pavilions richly chiselled in the form of dragons, the beams painted red or ornamented with jade, the rafters resplendent with all the colours of the rainbow and the balustrades of carved open work, all of which are set down in the picturesque accounts of their pilgrimages. Now, to adapt the words of Prospero, these vast conceptions are "like the baseless fabric of a vision, the cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, yea, all which it inherits is dissolved and, like the insubstantial pageant faded, leaving not a rack behind."
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¹ *Fa-Hien*. Translated from the Chinese by H. A. Giles, London 1880
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² *La Vie de Hiouen Thsang* by Stanislas Julien
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³ In Tibet, forming the central features of a Lamasary on the highway from India approaching the important Lamaistic city of Gyantse, there is an example of somewhat these dimensions, showing the manner in which this feat of the combination of sculpture with architecture was effected. The colossal statue of the seated Buddha in this instance not of metal but built up of composite structural materials is enclosed within a pagoda-like building in several stories with apertures at each stage from which a portion of the figure may be viewed, the uppermost bringing the spectator face to face with the immense sacred visage
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That these Buddhist sanctuaries were of an immense size is shown by the extent of their ruins, as is instanced by the wall surrounding the mound at Kasia, which forms a rhomboid 1,250 feet side and encloses an area of thirty-six acres while the site of Nalanda measures 1,600 feet long and is some 800 feet wide. Within these enclosures were three main essentials—a stupa or group of stupas, a temple and shrine combined, and hostels for the numerous orders of monks. Each sanctuary also included some sacred object special to itself, and generally of a spectacular nature in order to attract pilgrims, the colossal statue of the Dying Buddha at Kasia being a case in point. In every instance this central feature, together with the stupa and other religious monuments, occupied one portion of the enclosed area, where they were generally arranged in juxtaposition, either in axial relation to each other or side by side. Separated from this consecrated portion by a wall was the monastic enclosure, which itself was divided into an inner and outer ward having communicating entrances or a central avenue of approach as at Sarnath and Nalanda, the whole leading up to the main shrine Out of the immense mound which, for a thousand years has been the only visible record of Nalanda's greatness, several corner towers have been excavated and are a token of the style as a whole They depict a late flowering of the Buddhist architecture of India, and are composed of a series of well-proportioned stories and tiers divided by prominent cornices of the rock-cut type, decorated with chaitya-arched niches containing figures. (Plate CXXXII). The existing remains show that most of these buildings were of a very substantial kind usually standing on massive plinths
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From the bare mounds which for centuries have covered up the remains of these shattered structures, it is a relief to turn to the well-preserved shrine of Budh Gaya, the sole living example of the style. Yet, paradoxically, the very preservation of this monument has been its ruin, for so heartlessly and unintelligently has it been restored, that it now gives but a poor idea of its architectural character as originally designed. Fortunately there are a few records, illustrating it before it was altered, so that it is possible theoretically to restore it to something like its previous appearance. This material comprises a "scaling", and a few small ancient replicas, which show it as a building very different from its present reconstruction. Taking the general formation of the building it now consists of a high and broad terrace, or plinth, of 50 feet wide and some 20 feet high, on which rises a lofty pyramidal tower, square in section, and its summit about 180 feet from the ground. At each corner of the terrace is a turret, a copy to a smaller scale of the central tower, so that, as a whole, the composition corresponds to a panchayatana or five-shrined temple of the Hindus. Such is the existing appearance of the monument. (Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 1) On the other hand while the sealing and the models depict it as a tower not dissimilar in proportions, they represent it as distinctly different in its architectural treatment. For instance there are no smaller corner turrets, which were evidently introduced by the Burmese Buddhists through whose interest it was extensively rebuilt as early as the 14th century. Moreover the front of the building on the eastern side, (as according to legend the Buddha sat under the Bodh tree facing the rising sun) shows a commodious arched recess, apparently trefoil in shape, enshrining a large figure of the Buddha, seated in the preaching attitude. Approach to the image was obtained by means of a tall flight of steps, and the entire conception was enclosed by a railing entered also from the east through a torana gateway. Within the courtyard formed by the railing an Asokan lion pillar may be seen, and on each side stands a colossal statue recalling the two Asokan Yaksha figures from Patna, now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Outside the enclosure, on the north, there appears a monastery, while the area on the south is occupied by groves of trees, also another torana gateway, with numerous other details not possible to identify. (Plate XL, Fig 8)
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Just as the existing structure is in effect a misrepresentation of the original, so the accessories of the tower, and its embellishment, are but inferior imitations of the old work. It is true the main lines of the ornamentation appear to have been correctly followed, as each side of the building is divided vertically into five recessed planes, and horizontally into seven zones, both planes and zones diminishing upwards in order to conform to its tapering configuration Also the zone on each face contains a row of five niches, but where are now empty recesses, the sealing shows in each a statuette of the Buddha, the entire surface presenting a form of architectural enrichment not unlike that employed with such effect at Bhitargaon, where there are repetitions of the chaitya-arch motif enshrining figures A similar alteration is seen in the finial surmounting the whole structure, for originally there appear to have been prominent turrets at each corner of the apex while in the centre is what may be a stupa with a *harmika*, and a triple umbrella, with flags, festoons and banners.
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In spite of its alterations, however, from the general shape of the temple at Budh Gaya it is possible to gain some idea of the type of architecture that flourished in the Gangetic region during the first millennium, especially in the character of its towers, which were one of the features of the style So frequent were these tall structures, each marking a vihara or monastery, that they are credited with having given the country anciently known as Magadha, its name of Bihar (Vihara). Such fragments of the monasteries that have been excavated, together with the temple at Budh Gaya, show that they represent an architectural development of remarkable power and dignity, but very often of a picturesque and romantic order, in which the qualities of symmetry, regularity of planning, and balanced composition were not consistently observed. The almost complete disappearance of these immense sanctuaries was partly due to the somewhat impermanent nature of their materials and construction, which, under the severe climatic conditions, would need constant repairs But the main cause of their decay was undoubtedly brought about by the decline of the Buddhist faith, by which the monasteries were gradually deserted, and finally became empty ruins. From the number and extent of the mounds, now all that is left of these one time populous centres of religious life, it is clear that even the face of the country was very different from what it is at the present day. The multiple fanes of these great sanctuaries reared themselves majestically in scores of different places, and were a centre of attraction not only to the inhabitants but also to devotees from distant lands.
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The last group of buildings in brick is to be found not in the region of the Ganges but represented by a number of ancient sites near the lower Indus in Sindh, Buddhism, and the form its monuments assumed, having no doubt been conveyed by means of that great water-way from the country of Gandhara to this western territory. For the Sindh buildings appear to be a rather later development, in brick, of the "Graeco-Buddhist" stone structures of the northern frontier, the change in constructional method being due to the difference in the building material available in an alluvial plain, and that of a mountainous country. Yet in some respects the Sindh brick architecture, notably in its technical and decorative aspects, shows a certain affinity to that of the Gangetic plain previously described, and was no doubt indirectly influenced by the forceful nature of that style The monuments so far investigated in Sindh are all stupas, and date from about the fifth or sixth centuries A.D. Around these stupas were grouped monasteries, and the usual assembly of buildings associated with sanctuaries of this kind, of which however only the barest traces remain. Indeed the stupas themselves are in every instance in a very ruinous condition, but from two examples out of their number enough has been preserved to enable their general appearance to be conjectured. Like the Gandhara type they were raised on high square terraces, the domical portion mounting up in series of superimposed tiers its walls decorated with an ornamental arcade of quasi-Corinthian pilasters, much in the manner of similar structures in the frontier tract of the Upper Swat. This treatment of the dome may be seen in the remains of the stupa at Thul Mir Rukan, a fine dignified monument, one of the least ruined of the group, where it is apparent that the series of diminishing stages were disposed in agreeable relation to one another, each stage being defined by a cornice and plinth with a prominent roll-moulding as the chief member.
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The nature of the terrace on which the Sindh type of stupas was built, has been revealed by excavations on the site of another of its kind, that of Mirpur Khas. (Plate XL, Figs. 9 and 10). Rising 18 feet from the ground this has a side of 50 feet, and the base of the circular structure above measured 37 feet diameter, thus leaving ample space on the upper surface of the platform for a processional path. The domical portion has almost completely disappeared but from the dimensions of its plan, its total height, including the finial, could not have been less than 60 feet Three sides of the terrace were perfectly regular retaining walls divided up into shallow compartments by pilasters, each compartment being enriched with a conventional niche in the centre, a simple yet very effective form of decoration But the middle portion of the remaining side, that on the west, was projected so as to give place to a structural addition of an unusual character. Some kind of portico with flights of steps leading to the upper platform of the terrace was the principal exterior feature, thus forming the entrance to the shrine. In conjunction with this was a vestibule leading to three chambers, the whole comprising a small triple sanctum tunnelled out of the solid brickwork of the basement. Each of these cells evidently contained a statue of the Buddha, so that the monument as a whole was a combination of a temple below and a stupa above.
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[Figure: Fig 1 Jubbulpore Dist Temple at Tigawa, c 5th cent A.D]
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[Figure: Fig 2 Sanchi, Gupta Temple (No 17) c 5th cent A D.]
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[Figure: Fig 1 Sarnath near Benares , detail of Dhamek Stupa , c 6th cent A D]
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[Figure: LADH KHAN TEMPLE, AIHOLE. C 450 A D ① PROBABLE ORIGIN OF ABOVE PLAN SCALE OF 10 5 0 10 20 FEET SECTION SCALE OF 10 8 6 4 2 0 10 20 30 40 FEET ② PLAN OF DURGA TEMPLE, AIHOLE C 550 A D. SCALE OF 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 FEET CAPITAL OF PILLAR LADH KHAN TEMPLE.]
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Fig 1. View from South-west
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[Figure: Fig 2 Detail of Porch Aihoḷe, Dʰārwār, Lādh Khān Temple, c AD 450]
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The placing of an image within a dimly lighted chamber to satisfy a craving for something mysterious and mystical, in addition to the great dome rising above in the stark sunlight outside, is here apparent. How this desire grew and was met, is shown by the sombre interiors and darkened sanctums of the later Buddhist and Brahmanical temples of the mediaeval period.
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The decoration on all these brick buildings, whether in the dry zone of Sindh or the humid plain of the Ganges, was of the same general character, due largely to the nature of the material of which they were constructed. But there is something more than a difference in material between the architectural manipulation of brick and that of stone. The former has a technical procedure of its own, as the brick builders appear to have been a separate class of workmen carrying out their schemes after their own manner. This may be noticed in the type of moulding employed, and the practice of projecting or setting back the surface planes, as well as other effects readily obtained in brick construction. Various processes were employed to produce the relief ornamentation, some of its being moulded, some chiselled out of the bricks after they were placed in position while in some instances the patterns were carved in the clay when it was in a plastic or "green" state previous to firing. In addition to these methods which were used mainly in producing the repeating designs or "arabesques", much of the figure work was boldly modelled in high relief either in terracotta or stucco The terracotta panels at Bhitagaon and in the Kachchi Kuti at Maheth, both evidently belonging to the same school of the fifth and sixth centuries, are extraordinarily good examples of this form of decoration, and display a vigour and action which are most praiseworthy. Confronted with the actual finger-prints of the potter, burnt in the clay as seen in some of these panels, in spite of the intervening centuries, one seems in closer touch with the craftsmen of the past than in the case of any other process or at any other period.
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As to the actual quality of the materials employed in these structures, the bricks themselves were usually prepared of well-puddled clay with their beds so smoothed that they fitted very accurately. No specific system of bonding is observable, but the method of headers and stretchers was followed, care being taken that no two joints came over one another. Between the joints a mixture of clay was interposed as an adherent, but only a very thin layer, as the bricks were brought into close contact. Lime mortar appears to have been known at this time although but only two instances of it have come to light, one in the foundations of a temple at Besnagar (Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh) of the second century B.C.¹, and the other at Budh Gaya, where it was sparingly employed. The character of the brickwork excavated at Besnagar is very remarkable for so early a date, as the beds of the bricks were grooved to hold the lime mortar, which on being analyzed was found to be of a kind far in advance of the Phoenician and Greek varieties, and approaching more closely to that used by the Romans.
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¹ Arch. Sur Rep 1913-14, p. 205.
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The difficulty of bridging over spaces in brick buildings has been already referred to, as well as the fact that it was the Indian builder's practice to meet this difficulty by inserting lintels of wood or stone. Another method employed to span a void was by means of oversailing the courses of brick until they met, a serviceable but not particularly scientific form of arch found even as early as in the Indus civilization of 3000 B.C., (Plate XL, Fig 1). The next logical step of a people committed to brick construction would have been, in ordinary circumstances, some method of placing these brick units in juxtaposition, so that they would act as supports to one another, either on the principle of the true arch, or even in the form of the arch itself. This step, however, was never taken, the accepted explanation being that the Indian builder, from the first, mistrusted the stability of such a structural expedient, because, in his own words "the arch never sleeps." That he consistently adhered to this inhibition is proved by the fact that, with one or two relatively unimportant exceptions, the true arch is never found in any indigenous building in India, not appearing in the country until introduced by the invading Muhammadans in the thirteenth century. The few occasions in which the Indian builder experimented the arch, occur in the brick structures just described as for instance the temple of Bhitagaon, the stupa of Mirpur Khas, and the shrine of Budh Gaya. (Plate XL). At Bhitagaon there is a round arch in the porch composed of bricks in the form of radiating voussoirs, but placed edge to edge while the vault of the passage into the sanctum is a variation of the same system. In the three interior shrines at the entrance to the Mirpur Khas stupa, the vault of the central cella was corbelled, but those on each side were arched by means of a series of brick rings, the top and bottom edges of the bricks being curved to the contours of the vault, while the other edges radiate towards a centre.
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It was however in the entrance to the shrine at Budh Gaya that a form of brick arching was most boldly employed, two slightly different methods being noticeable. In one of these the bricks of the arch were placed edge to edge, as in the previous instance (Plate XL, Fig. 3) but in another, horizontal courses of brick alternated with others placed upright, as in Plate XL, Fig. 5 This portion of the building has now been completely covered up by subsequent restorations, and moreover it is just possible these particular arches were not in the original structure, but introduced by the Burmese masons during the process of reconstruction by them in the fourteenth century. In support of the Burmese attribution it may be mentioned that there are brick arches of exactly the same type in several early mediaeval buildings in Burma, as may be seen in the Pettuk pagoda at Pagan, dating from the eleventh century. All the instances in India of the use of the arch occur in brick buildings presumed to have been erected about the fifth century A D., and the arrangement of the bricks in each building is practically the same, that is those constituting the voussoirs were laid flatwise and made to adhere sufficiently to those behind to enable the ring to be completed without support. This method is precisely similar to that used in the Palace of Chrosroes at Ctesiphon, on the Tigris, built about A D., 250, and in view of the intercourse known to have been maintained between the Sasanian court and India at that time, it may have been then that it was introduced
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At Sarnath, near Benares, there is the Dhamek Stupa built with a substantial core of brick, but faced with a very solid "envelope" (achchaday) of stone masonry, which however is manifestly a later addition, a stupendous piece of work left unfinished but a reconstruction has been attempted on Plate XL, Fig. 7. What makes this ruined and rather shapeless monument of special interest is the unusual scheme for the decorative treatment of the stone facing, which includes ornamental elements some having significant implications. The remains of these are on the lower story of the structure—it may have been the intention to decorate in a somewhat similar manner the entire surface of the upper domical portion but this is too damaged to determine—and from the character of the stone carving it obviously dates from the early Gupta period, cir. A D. 350 This lower circular story is divided into compartments by eight projections, in outline curiously resembling the tapering tower or "*Sikhara*," the principal architectural feature of the Hindu temple style which followed, with an arched niche recessed in the centre of each to contain a statue of the Buddha seated in one of the eight conventional attitudes on a low moulded throne. Over some of the surfaces surrounding this scheme a diaper pattern carved in floral scrolls appears to have been contemplated a very rich and elegant idea. But the most original and striking designs are those forming a wide border carried around its lower circuit, one of which is floral and the other geometrical, each expressive of its own historical traditions. The floral one a spiral motif, typically Gupta in style is a combination of flowing wave-like curves simulating flower stems supporting at intervals a many-petalled sunflower medallion, an artistic conception of notable beauty and grace. Apart however from its intrinsic elegance it stands forth as the archetype of that distinctive border of spiral curves and foliated medallions which adorns the "screen of arches" forming the facade of the Qutub Mosque at Delhi erected many centuries later under the very different conditions that then prevailed during a Muslim regime. The other pattern, encircling the building contiguous with the foregoing, and in pleasing contrast to its rhythmic fluency, as it is devised on a geometrical system of straight lines, is a rare example of this form of treatment in the field of Indian decorative art. Each of the eight areas between the projecting niches, contains a running "fret" design, all different as each is based on a separate combination of lines, figures and angles, among which interpretations of the "swastika" and the "key" element may be identified. (Plates XXXVIII and XLIII).
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*Archaeological Survey of India*, Report 1908-09 Cousens, H, *Buddhist Stupa at Mirpur Khas* Arch Sur. of Ind An Rep 1909-10, Cal 1914 Cunningham A., *Mahabodhi, or the Great Buddhist Temple at Budhagaya*, London 1892 Mitra, Rajendralal, *Buddha Gaya*, 1878 Sahni, D R. *Guide to the Buddhist Ruins of Sarnath*, 1933