Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c19.6

c19.6

In its broad sense, and in the formation of its productions, this later phase of Buddhist rock-cut architecture displays no marked departure from that of the earlier period, as the Mahayana priestly community still adhered to the two types of religious institutions established by convention, namely, the chaitya hall, or temple, and the vihara, or monastery. It was, therefore, not so much in the content, as in the stylistic treatment of these that a dissimilarity is observable, such changes as were made being largely conditioned by the changes in the nature of the creed. The most noticeable transformation, and one which gives a key to the whole movement, may be seen in the presentation of its iconography, as the deification of the Buddha permitted the introduction of his image into the art, an opportunity for statuary sometimes of colossal proportions of which the Mahayana sculptors took full advantage. In its architectural arrangements, the most characteristic of these two types, of excavated halls, that containing the chaitya, was but little affected by the