Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c38: Chapter XXXI: The Brahmanical Buildings of Bengal (8th to 17th Centuries)
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c38
- Language
- English
Chapter XXXI: The Brahmanical Buildings of Bengal (8th to 17th Centuries)
c38.1
THE BRAHMANICAL BUILDINGS OF BENGAL
c38.3
IN view of the large extent of country represented by Bengal and the territory adjacent to it, the extreme eastern position of India is not rich in buildings of an architectural character. There are the records of more than one great civilization, which flourished within this region, but the structural remains of these are extremely scanty. For this the nature of the soil and the climate are mainly responsible : both conditions encourage the rapid growth of jungle vegetation, and once a building ceases to be cared for, the creeping shrubs and trees speedily take charge, soon to tear it to pieces so that before long it becomes merely an unrecognizable mound of ruin. At the same time the destruction brought about by the hand of man cannot be omitted from any account of the architecture of this portion of the country, as the remains of some of the finest buildings amply testify. In no part of India are the two great cultural movements, the Hindu and the Muhammedan and the manner in which the one superseded the other more vividly illustrated than in some of the ancient remains of Bengal, as for instance in the ruined Adina Masjid, built by Sekander Shah (1358-89) at his new capital of Pandua, as this great congregational mosque was constructed almost entirely of materials taken from the demolished city of Lakhnauti, the capital of the Hindu dynasty of the Senas.
c38.4
It is however the character of the country itself, and the nature of the building material most readily available, which have mainly conditioned the architecture of these parts. In those rare places where there is an outcrop of stone, this material has been employed, as in the case of a few laterite temples towards the south-west, and in the basalt buildings of the Malda district, situated more in the middle of the State. On the other hand as the country is deltaic and composed mostly of alluvium, everywhere there are deposits of clay suitable for the manufacture of bricks. Therefore much of the construction is produced in this manner. In addition a good supply of timber was procurable in many parts, as well as heavy growths of bamboo, the plaint nature of the latter giving that curvature of cornice characteristic of the building art of Bengal.
c38.5
In spite of the destruction brought about by the various forces mentioned above, it is possible to identify from the remains of these productions, three separate movements illustrating the course of architectural development in this region. The first of these assuming more or less an end in itself, was confined mainly to the Southern area, and resolved itself into two distinct phases. What may have been the older of these phases was an offshoot of that very virile movement, already described, which flourished in Orissa in the early mediaeval period, as shown at Bhubaneswar. The other, of ancient origin, but represented by examples of a more recent date, was an indigenous style of building, appertaining to a form of folk architecture, notable on account of its sectarian and sociological aspects. The second of these movements, but one destined to have important implications, was part of that powerful Hindu-Buddhist development responsible for those immense monastic settlements, previously referred to, which flourished in Bihar and the Gangetic plain towards the end of the first millennium. The third was the outcome of that "Eastern School" of art and architecture, which under the patronage of the Pal and Sena rulers of Bengal, influenced greatly the arts of the surrounding countries until it ended with the Muhammedan invasion in the thirteenth century. It will be shown that the two latter movements coalesced in the course of time to form the chief inspiration of that powerful current of Hindu-Buddhism which, carried eastward, stimulated the creation of the magnificent monuments of Greater India.
c38.6
Taking the first of these movements, that which found favour in the southernmost portion of the Bengal area, and was in some respects a provincial phase of the Orissa School, this may be studied at various places but principally in Mayurbhanj State, and in the Bengal districts of Bankura and Burdwan. In Mayurbhanj is the ancient site of Khiching, now a small village near the western portion of the State, but at one time comprising the capital of a principality, its ruined shrines and sikharas indicating that in the eleventh and twelfth centuries the Bhanja rules maintained a school of architecture and sculpture of no mean order¹ Obviously a derivative of that great group of monuments at Bhubaneswar, although there are remains of an earlier date, the most significant example is the unfinished temple of Khandiya Deul, the fine doorway of which is still preserved. A feature of the Khiching shrine is that none of them possesses a *mukhamandapa* or portico, and most of those of the same class built in Bengal follow a similar plan, which has led a Hindu authority to observe that "a richly ornamented temple without a portico appears a more pious structure than one with a portico, for in the former the lamp of sacrifice burns with greater brilliance."² Apart from the style of this small group as well as in other respects Khiching forms a connecting link between the development in Southern Bengal and that of Orissa.
c38.7
¹ *Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society*, June 1927
c38.8
² Dr Ramprasad Chandra in "*Note on the Ancient Monuments of Mayurbhanj*" (*Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society*, June 1927.)
c38.9
As already mentioned the Southern Bengal development, chiefly illustrated by temples in the districts of Bankura and Burdwan, resolves itself into two distinctive types, one of which is allied to the Orissan movement, and the other is a self-originated mode, expressive of the people and their environment. The former are built mainly of stone masonry and, as in the Khiching pattern are isolated towers or sikharas enclosing a cella for the image or symbol. Designed on the same principle as those of Bhubaneswar, but usually smaller in size, their height is approximately three and a half times the diameter of their square plan, while their elevation is in two stories, divided by a decisive double cornice, the relation between the lower and upper portions being in pleasing proportion On three sides of the lower story are openings in the shape of elegant niches, while the front has a projecting doorway, but no outstanding portico In one or two instances however a *mukhamandapa* may have been provided but which in the course of time has disappeared. As the scheme of these sikharas is one of verticality, mouldings of a lateral order provide the principal decoration, the skilful combination of the two contrasting elements presenting an attractive appearance to the entire composition. These shrines are sometimes found in groups as at Barakar in the Burdwan district, one of which, enumerated IV, owing to its outline and proportions bearing a resemblance to the sikhara of the Parasrameswar temple at Bhubaneswar is presumed to be of somewhat the same date, namely the eighth century, but is more likely much later. Locally known as the Begunia group owing to a fancied resemblance to the fruit of the egg plant, (*begun*), they are probably of the Pala period and therefore of the ninth and tenth centuries.¹ Among other examples of this class is the temple of Telkupi in the Manbhum district of Bihar, but undoubtedly the most ornate, is the Siddheswara Temple at Bahulara in the Bankura district of the tenth century Built of brick enriched with terracotta reliefs carried over its entire surface, yet this profusion of pattern does not offend, it serves to emphasize its graceful lines Numerous other temples of this order are to be found distributed throughout South-Western Bengal and in the Manbhum district of Bihar, all apparently built while the Pala Dynasty was in power and therefore dating between the eighth and eleventh centuries
c38.10
¹ *The Begunia Group of Temples*, S K. Saraswati, *Journal of the Indian Society*, Dec 1933
c38.11
The other phase of architectural development in the Southern region of Bengal has been defined above as an indigenous form of the building art peculiarly expressive of the inhabitants of these parts. Constructed sometimes of laterite, but generally of brick, and so actually moulded out of the very composition of the earth from which these agriculturists wrested their living, it speaks of the soil itself, and few things can be more fundamentally influential than the nature of one's native soil Obviously originating from a somewhat primitive and cabin-like structure it gradually evolved into a system derived from the wooden houses and bamboo thatched huts of the ancestral forest dwellers. This is shown specifically in the sloping roof, curved eave, and other similar features, which could only be the result of long years of building in timber and bamboo Such expedients are the logical outcome of a mind ingenuous yet practical, a consciousness which concerned itself mainly in dealing with the elements or powers of nature as these affected the course of daily life by the profound reality of their existence.
c38.12
This mode of building, although superior to what may be termed folk-architecture, never rose to classical heights, but it possesses a freshness and spontaneity, and makes an appeal as it is a reflection of certain racial characteristics. The population being largely rural there are no outstanding monuments in this mode, but there are a number of temples of moderate proportions most of which display formations common to all These temples are designed on the principle of a main structure, square in plan, its walls vertical, but the lines and planes which in most buildings are ordinarily horizontal, in this type are carried across its front in a series of parallel curves, bent in the form of a bow Such a distinctive application of curves specially affects the form of the roof and its cornice or eave, which, in contour, are parabolic, and clearly inherited from a bamboo framework given this shape in order to throw off heavy monsoon rain. Huts with thatched roofs built on similar lines are common in most parts of Bengal, and the somewhat indeterminate curved effect of the upper portions conveys the impression of a people bending before the elements, of yielding to them rather than defying them in view of their relentless power As an instance of the persistence of this tradition in the building art of Bengal, the principle of the curve is reproduced in modern roofs of corrugated iron, a material which, in spite of its intractable nature, is forced to follow the shape of the bent bamboo.
c38.13
Such is one of the characteristics of the later temples of Bengal, but there are further features, individual in their treatment, which differentiate this style of architecture from that of other parts Over the curved roof a tower is erected, and according to the number of these the temples were classified, for instance that with a cluster of five towers or turrets, was referred to as a *puncha-ratna*, literally five gems, meaning towers, or *nava-ratna*, nine towered and so forth Wherever there is a cornice to these towers or turrets, it is also curved in keeping with the regional practice, while the upper portion of the tower forms itself into a kind of sikhara, with horizontal courses of moulding. The facade usually consists of three arched openings comprising the entrance, each opening separated by a substantial pillar, the arches themselves being of the pointed variety often engrailed with numerous prominent cusps The pillars are remarkable, as they are not only exceptional in their proportions, but these massive supports found favour in most of the different phases of architecture as developed in other places in Bengal. In no part of India have such ponderous piers been employed, so that this abnormally wide and often short type of pillar is specially characteristic of the building art in this eastern region.
c38.14
As to the interior of these temples a single hall or *thakurbari* is the main feature, on one side of which is the *vedi* or altar for the image, while above is an upper story in the shape of a continuous gallery around the circuit of this compartment One of the attractions of these temples, particularly those constructed of brick, is the external decoration, which is in terracotta relief, and resolves itself into a diaper of square panels repeated over the entire surface of the facade, each panel containing a picture in relief, and to a relatively small scale, of some subject of peculiar interest. Many of these represent episodes taken from the ancient epics, while others are incidents in the daily life of the people, some of which are of no little sociological significance. (Plate CXXXIII).
c38.15
There are many examples of this class of structure distributed throughout the townships and villages of Bengal, but a typical group may be seen at Vishnupur in the Bankura district due to the encouragement given to temple building by the Malla Rajas, a dynasty which held sway in these parts for several centuries Of this group the principal temples date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and include the Laljıı which is a single towered structure in laterite and dated 1658, and the Madan Mohan, built of brick also with one sıkhara, erected in 1694. Temples of the pancha-ratna type, or those with five towers are the Shyam Raı constructed of brick in 1643, and the laterite example of Madan Gopal dated 1665.
c38.16
A variation in design is a form of double temple, and thus known as a *jor-bangla*, which differs but little in its interior plan, although it has a distinctive exterior. As its name implies, it is a “ twin ” (*jor*) shape, resembling two thatch and bamboo huts joined together but constructed of brick and surmounted by a single tower. A good example is the Kestaraya built at Vishnupur in 1726, a temple of fair size as it is a square of forty feet side, and the roof is thirty-three feet high, with its tower rising to nearly fifty feet from the ground. The sanctuary, or *thakur barı*, is a square cell of eight feet side occupying the centre of the structure, and there are surrounding side-chambers, one of which leads by a staircase to an upper gallery carried, rather like a clere-story, around the building. Another temple of this type is that of Chaitanya at Guptapara in the Hughlı district
c38.17
Of the other movements in this region, that referred to as the Hindu-Buddhist development which produced the great monastic settlements in the Buddhist holy land towards the end of the first millennium, this also extended its influence into Bengal. For at Paharpur in the Rajshahi District excavations have revealed the remains of a monumental edifice of such stupendous proportions, that although now a mound of ruins, it appears to have been the largest and most important of its kind Founded by the Pala ruler Dharmapala towards the end of the eighth century, it was known as the Great Vihara or Monastery of Dharmapala. Constructed very largely of brick, some idea of the plan and arrangements may be gained from the inset on Plate CLIII, where it will be seen that on the ground it took the form of a cross measuring 361 ft by 318 ft., and it is calculated that it attained a height of well over one hundred feet. Its elevation shows that it rose up into terraces with the central core of the building resolving itself into a square cell en-shrining an image or symbol of exceptional sanctity. The approach was by a stairway on the northern side leading to a corridor carried round the entire structure and communi-cating with four supplementary cells, one in each arm of the cross. Each of these cells presumably contained a large statue of metal, one of which may have been that fine figure, a product of the famous Varendra foundry, discovered at Sultanganj and now deposited in the Birmingham Art Gallery. For the instruction and edification of the multi-tudes of devotees who paid homage to this shrine, as it is recorded that it was venerated by the followers of all creeds, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain, the exterior faces of the terraces were embellished with a continuous series of terracotta plaques illustrating in bas-relief the mythology and folklore of the country. Among the subjects depicted incidents have been identified relating to the life of the god Krishna, said to antedate the emergence of this cult by several centuries. In addition to this great central structure it was enclosed by an extensive range of monastic dwellings sufficient to accom-modate a large establishment of priests. That such a grand monument, a landmark in the religious and architectural history of the country should have been almost entirely effaced is regrettable, but it is a matter of satisfaction to know that recent research and modern scientific methods have rescued what remains, and brought to light a building, which it is recorded formed at one time the cultural centre of eastern India.
c38.18
There now remains the last of the great movements enumerated above, which brought into Bengal a phase of the building art of considerable beauty and consequence. This may be described as an extension of the “ Eastern School ” of architecture and art, which, due to the incentive of the Pala and Sena dynasties appears to have flourished with great effect at Lakhnauti, the capital of the Senas, now almost a lost site near Malda, but originally comprising a large complex of basalt buildings of a particularly substantial and ornate description. It was, however, completely de-spoiled by the Muhammedans after its capture in 1197, in order to provide materials for their own capital at Gaur. From the remains incorporated in the mosques and tombs of the conquerors, it is possible to obtain sufficient evidence for the character of the style of the Sena architecture to be conjectured. Situated as Lakhanauti was on the banks of the Ganges, yet within easy reach of the Rajmahal hills, it was not difficult to obtain from this rocky range a fine textured grade of black basalt, of which stone the principal buildings were constructed. Records of two kinds of buildings are recognizable, one religious, consisting of tem-ples and shrines, and the other secular, apparently a royal palace and fortress.
c38.19
That there was a certain class of religious structure produced in these parts and which has been referred to as the “ lost temple type of pre-Islamic Bengal,” seems more than probable, yet concrete evidences of such a development are rare and fragmentary No complete example has survived, as all the ancient Hindu sites became convenient quarries from which the Moslems extracted the ready-made masonry required for their own purposes. As in the mos-ques at Ajmır and the Qutb at Delhı, so from the great con-gregational mosque of Adına at Pandua, and other Islamic buildings in this area, some idea of the regional type of temple architecture, as it existed in the twelfth century, may be abstracted. Out of the masses of sculptured stones incorporated in these Islamic structures, it is not difficult to envisage the manner in which the Hindu buildings were decorated, but their architectural appearance can only be a matter of inference Two structural factors however emerge from this miscellaneous collection of material, and these supported by other circumstances, indicate that there was a sıkhara over the temple shrine, a tall structure in tiers of a very ornate, almost florid character, and that a distinguish-ing feature of the style as a whole was the invariable use of a trefoil arch. Even with such slender data thus provided, it is possible to conceive that in general shape and treatment the Brahmanical temples of Varendra (Nothern Bengal) were not dıssımılar from the Buddhist temple at Budh Gaya, a monumental building of more than ordinary significance, and which lay in the course of the art current as it was carried eastward into Bengal.
c38.20
As to the manner in which the temples of Bengal were architecturally decorated, there is ample evidence provided in the mosques of Gaur and Pandua, for these Islamic buildings are rich repositories of sculptured remains. From the carved stones indiscriminately built into the later mason-ry, it is unmistakably apparent that under the Sena kings there flourished a school of plastic art, which for variety of design and skilled execution, could have had few equals in India There is little doubt that this was the grand and final flowering of that art movement which three centuries before had taken form under the previous regime of the Pala dynasty. For on the authority of Taranath,¹ the Buddhist historian, it is known that at Varenda under these rulers in the ninth century, there lived the famous and versatile artists, Dhiman and Bitpalo, father and son, the Lorenzo Ghibertis of India, as, like the celebrated Florentine they were accomplished, not only in the arts of sculpture and metal work, but also in mural design and colouring. And so powerful was the influence of their productions that from them emerged that eastern school of sculpture with its ultimate development under the Senas at Lakhnauti, and now visible, embedded in the subsequent structural schemes of the Moslems.
c38.21
¹ *Indian Antiquary*, Vol. IV, p 101.
c38.22
Among the many carved fragments within these buildings, there is one example more complete than any of the others, and from which a fair conception of the style may be obtained. This is a small subsidiary doorway on the west and back wall of the Adina mosque at Gaur, evidently torn from a Vishnu temple of the eleventh-twelfth centuries and inserted into its present position Originally forming the entrance to the cella, it shows clearly the architectural character of this feature, and from it the quality of the whole may be estimated. It represents a square-headed opening, with pilasters on either side and a cornice above, showing that its designers favoured a structural framework for their doorway design A moulding formed of the rope-like convolutions of Sesha, the "endless serpent," surrounds the jambs, with a close and realistic cluster of the same coils comprising the "keystone." Outside this is a series of trefoil niches, and, wherever required, are scrolls of foliage, enclosing various symbolic forms, among which an interpretation of the "vase-and-foliage" of the Guptas may be identified.
c38.23
In addition to the rich beauty of the design and workmanship of this doorway, it exhibits a singularly interesting expedient employed by the Hindu masons for bonding their stone construction Within the lintel, exposed by fracture, it revealed a system of channels, vents, and plug-holes, for the purposes of enabling molten metal to be poured in, and for the courses of stone to be joined in this manner. Bonding by means of metal such as bronze dowels and copper cramps, is part of the builder's equipment; but the process shown in this example, and probably freely employed in their architecture, is unusual, and appertains more to the workshop practice of the foundry than to that of the stoneyard Can it be that the influence of that forceful school of metal-casting brought to such perfection by Dhiman penetrated into the technique of the building art, so that the Pala builder was a metal-worker first and a mason afterwards? In the hard metallic manipulation of the carving, in the bronze-like texture of the basalt itself there is implied the sharp incisive touch of the chiseller and chaser of cold metal
c38.24
As with the temples of old Bengal so with the secular architecture, the style of this is also mainly speculative. But a large rectangular space on the site of the ancient Hindu capital is still called Ballalbari, no doubt referring to the palace of Ballal Sena, the last but one of his line, and who reigned in the twelfth century. *In situ* nothing remains, but in the mosques there are scores of huge black basalt piers and pillars, certainly not wrought for their present purpose, and hardly likely to be part of any temple-scheme. The inference, therefore, is that they are spoils from Ballal's grand palace and fortress, removed bodily from the columned halls, and accordingly representative of the temporal architecture of that ruler's time. Whatever their original function was, these pillars are remarkable productions, not monolithic, as were nearly all the pillars of this period, but built up of stone masonry in the most expert manner. Some of the shafts are round, but the majority are executed on a square or octagonal basis, strong, solid constructions averaging nine feet in height and three feet in width, such unusually thickset proportions being evidently so devised in order to support a heavy load, presumably a building in several stories. The style of the capitals is in keeping with the shafts, which are also massive but simple and severe in their design consisting of plain mouldings and chamfers with brackets of leaf scrolls. If the remainder of the architecture of which these pillars formed a part was of the same substantial and dignified character, then the building art of the Hindu kings of Bengal must have been of a standard equal to that of any other part of India Except in the rockcut temples there are no other pillars with such strength and stability combined with a stolid purposeful grace, as the black basalt piers from Lakhnauti; those who produced them built them to last, little thinking that in a few short years an unexpected force would sweep through the land, to destroy and afterwards readjust them under entirely different conditions.
c38.25
Much of the foregoing is confirmed by the remains on another site, that of Tribeni. Now merely a straggling village, Tribeni, originally Saptagrama or Satgawn in the Hooghly district, has a long history, but considerably obscured by the passage of time and events. Owing to its position at the junction of three streams—hence its name—it acquired great sanctity, and many religious buildings grew up in its neighbourhood. Among them there appear to have been some in the same style as those at Lakhnauti, and therefore of the Pala-Sena period, chief of which are two buildings now converted into a tomb and its adjacent mosque, known as the Mazar of Zafar Khan Ghazi. In the aisles of the mosque are the same square solid masonry pillars as at Gaur, evidently dismantled from a similar palace or fortress, although one of the columns, different from the others, seems to have formed part of a chaitya or shrine, as it was carved with Buddhist images The tomb-structure itself, however, tells its own story. It is a rectangular enclosure formed of two roofless compartments built of black basalt, and in spite of the whole having been materially damaged in adapting it to its present purpose, its two compartments have been identified as the vestibule or *antarala*, and the assembly hall or *mandapa*, of a Vaishnavite temple. Most of the sculpture has been defaced, and portions of the structure are a mere jumble of stones, but it is quite clear that this temple was a finished example of the building art, its ashlar masonry is precise and orderly, and the architectural treatment of the parts still in position show knowledge and experience. There are four doorways to the compartments, one facing each of the cardinal points, and from these, and the design of the wall surface between, [Figure: INDIA PRINCIPAL JAIN AND CHALUKYAN SITES Jain ----- x Chalukyan -- o [Modern names within brackets] English Miles 100 200 300 400 R INDUS [Lahore] [Delhi] Gwalior Ranpur Sonagarh Mt Abu x x Chitor x Khajuraho Parasnalh R GANGES [Calcutta] Gyaraspur Girnar Palitana NARbADA TAPTI x Muktagiri Ellura x Udayagiri & Khandagiri [Bombay] R GODAVARI R KISTNA Badami Gadag xIttagi Lakkundi Balagami Halebid ARABIAN SEA Mudabidri Belur Sravana Belgola Somnathpur [Madras] BAY OF BENGAL the style may be judged. The doorways are square-headed openings, contained within mouldings, among which that of Sesha, or the snake emblem, may be recognized, and above the centre of the lintel is the customary dedicatory block. Where the builders of the structure have shown notable restraint is in their treatment of the wall-spaces between these openings, which have been conceived and carried out in a simple refined manner. At intervals plain flat buttresses having little projection, were imposed, intersecting both the mouldings of the cornice above, and of the basement below. This procedure divided the surface into a series of shallow sunk panels, within each of which was placed an ornamental foliated arcade. Such an appreciation of plain spaces and their value in emphasising the structural proprieties of a building are rare in Indian architecture, and in this instance are further proof that the building art under the Pala-Sena patronage was produced with more than ordinary intelligence and good taste.
c38.26
Fig 1 Jain Temples at Girnar, Kathiawar
c38.27
Fig 1 Mount Abu , View of Temples from S E
c38.28
Fig 2 Palitana, Kathiawar
c38.29
Kathiawar. Satrunjaya Hill, Jain Temples
c38.30
VIEW FROM S.E., CHAUMUKH TEMPLE OF ADINATHA AT RANPUR, NEAR SADARI, JODHPUR STATE, c. 1450.
c38.31
Apart from the intrinsic quality of the art and architecture of two of the movements described above, namely that which expressed itself in the great Hindu-Buddhist monastic monuments on the one hand, and that which produced the temples and palaces of the Palas and Senas on the other, in a word the Eastern School, these two movements together were destined to affect profoundly the advancing tide of Indo-Buddhist civilization which was already beginning to overflow into the wide range of countries comprising Greater India. While the medium by which this Indian religio-culture was conveyed eastward was fundamentally the dynamic power of Hindu-Buddhism, which carried all before it, towards the later centuries of the first millennium, the form it eventually assumed took its source from the movements which grew up and were so firmly founded in the holy land of Buddhism on the Gangetic plain. Changed in outward appearance by their change of environment and other influences the architectural achievements of such countries as Burma, Cambodia, Java and, to a certain extent Ceylon, in the mediaeval period, were basically of Indian extraction So much so that the building art of the various civilizations which comprise Greater India may be regarded as belonging to one broad school, each of the races concerned working out its architectural conceptions according to its own individual ideals, but with the whole evolution created, developed, unified and to a certain extent standardised by an intellectual, religious and physical awakening which originally proceeded from India.
c38.32
An analysis of some of the decorative effects found in these more distant architectural productions reveals similarities which cannot be coincidences but are actual facts. There are reproductions, both in design and in relief, of patterns which might be the identical handiwork of the stone carvers of Lakhnauti in Bengal. The same applies to some of the constructional features, as for instance in Java where the arch motifs and pilasters appear to be derived from the same source. But it was in the aims and intentions of these architectural achievements in Burma, Cambodia and Java, that the growth of the Indian conceptions is most significantly expressed. While the stupa still held its place as the premier Buddhist symbol, it was too abstract in its nature to appeal to the physical senses Something was required endowed with more humanistic qualities, and such qualities were represented by the great monastic monuments of mediaeval India, of which the Dharmapala Vihara at Paharpur previously described was a notable example. In all the countries therefore which drew inspiration from this movement there evolved, in addition to the stupa, magnificent architectural creations in the form of temples, or similar religious edifices, enclosing chambers or cells in which were enshrined images, often colossal in size, invested with halos and aureoles, emblazoned with gold, glorifying the creed to which they gave concrete form. Through the spiritual power thus generated, man's imaginative faculties were so stimulated that he felt impelled to express himself in some substantial manner, worthy of himself and his belief. By some such means the grand monuments of Greater India were conceived, such as Angkor Vat and Borobudur. In these immense works of architecture we see the spirit of the monastic movements in India further materialized, taking its shape from the "Eastern School" of India, and not a little from the building art of Bengal.
c38.33
Mitra, J. N, *The Ruins of Vishnupur*, Calcutta 1940. French, J. C., *The Art of the Pal Empire of Bengal*, Oxford 1928.