Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c17.9

c17.9

It is instructive to compare the Brahmanical temple at Tigawa with the Buddhist temple (No. 17) at Sanchi,² both of which were probably erected in the first half of the fifth century, and are situated not 150 miles apart. (Plate XLII). Their proportions are practically the same, and they both conform to the general characteristics of the Gupta style. Where they differ externally is in the design of the pillars which, in the Sanchi example as would be expected, are in the Buddhist tradition descended from Asoka's bell and lion monoliths. But the difference between these two buildings is something more than one of form, significant though this may be. Each is a statement of a separate experience. On the one hand the Sanchi temple, although clearly a departure from any previous architectural conception, is a precipitation of several ancient traditions displaying the classical art inspired by Buddhist thought in its final mood. There is much to admire in the manner of its composition, in the application of the principles of good building, and the adjustment and interdependence of its parts to form a coordinated whole. But in spite of its original appearance, it is not the beginning of something new, it is in itself an end, the last expiring effort of the "primitives", revivified for the moment by an infusion of the new spirit around it Nowhere is this shown more plainly than in the bell capital, an arid attempt at a refinement of the full-blooded campaniform capital of the Asokan monoliths. On the other hand the Tigawa example displays no marked architectural perceptions, there are crudities in its composition, but its forms ripple with a refreshing vitality, and pulsate with the nervous energy of exuberant youth. These Gupta shrines are something more than a symbol, they reflect that "sudden glory" which comes with a fresh inspiration, the capital, or "order", providing the keynote No longer does this present the whitening bones of a dead tradition as in the Sanchi bell example, but a living, growing organism. For the Gupta capital is the *purna kalasa*, the "bowl of plenty", typifying a renewed faith, the water nourishing the plant trailing from its brim, an allegory which has produced the "vase and flower" motif, one of the most graceful forms in the whole range of Indian architecture.