Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c38.32

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.