Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39: Chapter XXXII: Kashmir: The Buddhist and Brahmanical Remains (A.D. 200 to 1300)
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39
- Language
- English
Chapter XXXII: Kashmir: The Buddhist and Brahmanical Remains (A.D. 200 to 1300)
c39.1
KASHMIR
c39.3
THROUGHOUT its history Kashmir has experienced an art life very much its own The natural position of the country encouraged this condition—a valley at a height of six thousand feet above sea level, enclosed within snow-clad ranges, and approached only by long and tortuous routes, imposes an isolation which would normally tend to make its inhabitants self-supporting and self-contained. On the other hand, although itself remote, Kashmir lay within that part of Central Asia which at one period was the clearing-house of several separate civilizations and the influences of these found their way into this natural retreat. Moreover, there was a time early in the first millennium when it came into contact with the wide-spread eastern conquests of the Sassanid empire with its neo-Persian culture, to be followed not long afterwards by a period in which its own territories extended far beyond their natural geographical limits. Yet with all these events and powerful cross-currents, with the ebb and flow of great external movements on its borders, Kashmir continued consistently to maintain a certain indigenous and independent type of culture, as reflected in several of its activities, not the least of which was its form of expression in the field of art Much of the high quality of the latter was due to the inherent aesthetic sense and rare adaptability of its inhabitants.
c39.4
These artistic instincts were certainly stimulated by—if not actually derived from—the reactions of a receptive people to the exquisite natural scenery by which they were surrounded, and in the beauties of which their lives have been for ever steeped. Those who have been fortunate enough to dwell for any length of time in the valley of Kashmir can appreciate these conditions, which are not only produced by the superb formation of the country, of lake and river, meadow and forest, mountain and snow-clad peak, but by the atmospheric and other phenomena acting on such an enchanting environment, by its cloud and sunshine, its light and shade, its dawns and sunsets, its changes of season, its pageantry of colour and all those moving effects which nature so artistically stages with never-failing harmony. It can only be these that have given the inhabitants of this country that acute aesthetic understanding that has enabled them to design and create works of art of such a distinctive character. And combined with this natural gift is that of assimilation, that power to select extraneous elements and to absorb them so skilfully that they become an integral part of their own conceptions
c39.5
Of all the arts practised by the people of the valley in the pre-Islamic period, the greater part of which corresponds to what is ordinarily termed the Middle Ages, the building art was one in which they were notably proficient, as the remains of their large monuments in stone are a standing proof. Three phases of this architectural movement are discernible The first was an early or primitive form which developed about A D. 200, the records of which are merely foundational remains. This was followed by an epoch of building on such a grand scale that it may be defined as the classical period of their building art, and lasted from 700 A.D. to the beginning of the fourteenth century, after which date the country came under the influence of Islam This long period of some seven centuries is itself resolved into two phases, during the earlier of which the buildings were mainly of Buddhist attribution, while later they were entirely Brahmanical.
c39.6
The first phase, or early Buddhist period, is represented by bare foundations, but these are of the utmost significance, as they serve to explain the origins of the building art in Kashmir, with some of its influences and associations. These remains are the result of excavations, two sites having been thus explored, one at Harwan near Srinagar, and the other at Ushkar near Baramula. The former has yielded the more important material, from which the character of the building art at its beginning may be realized. Harwan occupies an ideal situation on the slopes of high ground overlooking the crystal waters of the Dal Lake, with a glorious range of mountains in the distance. Here, in the early centuries of the Christian era, on a series of terraces covering a large area, there grew up a prosperous Buddhist settlement, which included the usual group of buildings forming such a monastic establishment, as for instance a stupa within its courtyard, accommodation for the resident monks, several chapels, and a chaitya-hall, or temple. The stupa was square in plan, with its base in three tiers, and approached by a flight of steps on its western side, the whole being contained within an open quadrangle, an arrangement corresponding in every particular to the stupa courts of Gandhara, with which country Kashmir at this time was closely connected. As to the upper part of the stupa, this has entirely disintegrated, but fortunately by the aid of certain small terracotta plaques bearing miniature replicas in bas-relief, and found in the debris, its shape and character have been revealed. The stupa itself was the customary stilted ovoid surmounted in this instance by a disproportionately large finial in the form of an umbrella of thirteen tiers, the great size of the superstructure necessitating as supports a number of sloping struts, probably of wood, between the body of the stupa and its lowest rim, there also appears to have been a free-standing pillar of the Asokan type erected on each side.
c39.7
The other building of consequence on this site was the chaitya or temple, a large structure occupying a prominent position on the highest terrace with the remaining edifices grouped below. What is remarkable in this building is that it was a typical chaitya-hall with an apsidal end, a distinctive form of a Buddhist temple common in the rock-architecture of the more southerly parts of India, but rarely found elsewhere. Yet it should be noted that the remains of a chaitya-hall almost exactly similar in plan and dimensions to that at Harwan, with a circular apse separated from an oblong nave surrounded by a processional passage, and enclosed within a rectangular courtyard, were unearthed at the Indo-Greek city of Sirkap in Taxila (Chapter VII), dating presumably from about the first century B.C. There can be little doubt that the settlement in Kashmir was an outlying branch of that Buddhist movement which had its monastic establishments widely distributed over a great part of north-west India and beyond, at this period of its history.
c39.8
However interesting the plans and general arrangements of such early buildings were, the manner of their construction, and, above all, the character of their embellishment, were even more so. Three methods of building have been disclosed; the earliest, a curious and primitive process of walling consisted of embedding quantities of pebbles in masses of mud mortar. This was followed about A D. 300 by a process of reinforcing the wall of pebbles by the insertion at intervals of irregular blocks of stone, a system not unlike the large diaper masonry at Texila of the second century A.D., so that it has been designed "diaper pebble." Finally, about 500 A D., a third method appears resembling in some respects rubble masonry, the walls being composed of large untrimmed stones with the spaces between filled by smaller stones This has been called "diaper rubble." Such rough and rudimentary methods of construction naturally cried out for some system of surface treatment, and this took the form of a facing of terracotta tiles or panels, which were not only used to cover up the diaper pebble core of the walls, but also laid on the pavements of the courtyards, and applied so freely everywhere that as a stage in the development of the architecture of Kashmir, it may not inappropriately be referred to as the terracotta phase.
c39.9
These terracotta plaques at Harwan each of which was moulded with a design in bas-relief, are of a character which makes them unique in Indian art Pressed out of moulds so that the same pattern is frequently repeated, although spirited and naive in some instances, they are not highly finished productions, but their value lies in the fact that they represent motifs suggestive of more than half a dozen alien civilizations of the ancient world, besides others which are indigenous and local. Such are the Barhut railing, the Greek "swag," the Sasanian foliated bird, the Persian vase, the Roman rosette, the Chinese fret, the Indian elephant, the Assyrian lion, with figures of dancers, musicians, cavaliers, ascetics and racial types from many sources, as may be seen by their costumes and accessories. Moreover, as their size is approximately 18 inches by 12 inches, these terracotta facings are not exactly tiles, but slabs or small panels, and, it may be noted, of the same dimensions, and attached to their background in much the same manner as the *typos* or terracotta mural reliefs of the Romans, found in their *opus doliare* of the first century B C. The remains at Harwan indicate that the memorable impact of diverse historical cultures, which took place in this part of Asia in the early centuries of the first millennium, also had repercussions on the arts of Kashmir.
c39.10
Sometime after the close of this early Buddhist phase, the mediaeval movement comes into view, the beginning of a grand classical development of architecture, of which the first records emerge in the eighth century. And the difference between the two phases is remarkable. These subsequent productions are so vastly superior to the earlier, that the two appear to have no relation to one another, and so advanced are the later classical achievements that it seems to exemplify the phenomenon, which occasionally happens, of a movement born fully matured Such a manifestation recalls the almost spontaneous bursting into brilliant florescence of Gothic architecture in Europe in the latter part of the twelfth century; and in Asia that structural and sculptural perfection which presents itself so unexpectedly in the majestic stupas, temples and palaces of Java and Cambodia in the ninth to the twelfth centuries. Whether on such occasions finality was reached by practising with impermanent materials until exact results were obtained, or whether such aesthetic outpourings signify that all conditions conspired to create works of genius, can only be conjectured. But whatever were the circumstances which brought forth these great historical masterpieces of the building art without any evidence of gradual growth, few countries can show a more decisive leap forward in the materialization of its architectural ideals than Kashmir in the eighth century A D. It was a change from the productions of children or pigmies, to that of experienced giants. For, as already shown, the building technique of the early period was of an almost elementary description, consisting of walls formed of pebbles held together with mud Then, after a comparatively short interval, without any recorded transition, the face of the valley was transformed by the appearance of a number of monumental buildings on a grand scale, constructed of immense stones wrought with astonishing precision, their surfaces finely dressed, and bonded by exact and scientific means, all showing profound experience and patient skill In spite of the fact that the productions representing this development in its initial aspect are now in complete ruin, the remains are sufficient to prove that at this time there flourished in Kashmir a style of stone architecture, which for massive strength, simplicity of statement and expert technical accomplishment can have had few equals.
c39.11
Some of this sudden progress in the architectural evolution of the country was undoubtedly due to the inspiration and forceful personality of one of Kashmir's greatest rulers. Lalitaditya (724-760), who among other notable activities, encouraged with outstanding impartiality both Buddhism and Brahmanism by the foundation of imposing monuments dedicated to each creed It is scarcely likely, however, even with the incentive of this powerful monarch, that buildings in such a form can have been entirely self-originated, nor do they appear to have been derived from a similar movement in India proper although, at a slightly earlier date, under the Guptas, buildings of massive ashlar masonry had been erected in many parts of the adjacent plains of Hindustan. And in spite of indications of influence from such a direction having been identified in the sculpture of Kashmir, there is apparently little or no affinity between the two architectural styles; each is obviously the result of a different sequence of experiences Moreover, Lalitaditya's masons showed a much more profound knowledge of the building art than that ever acquired by the Indian craftsmen of the Gupta regime.
c39.12
From what source, then, did the master-builders of Kashmir obtain this extensive practical proficiency in the art of building, from whom did they learn how to quarry immense blocks of limestone, to dress them so evenly, to move them over broken country by river and road, to hoist them into position, to bind them into course, to dispose them coherently so that they form an architectural unity, and finally, to carve them into sculptured forms of such effective appearance and quality of breadth? Operations of this nature usually require a long term of preparation and practice before the results attain the high standard displayed by the stone monuments of Kashmir. An investigation of the aesthetic and technical characteristics of these buildings may throw some light on the points thus raised.
c39.13
The style of the architecture may be first examined. In its design the Kashmir temple is a conception which may be best described as of a classical order, one may go so far as to say that it recalls distant memories of the productions of the Graeco-Roman schools. Such a generalization is emphasised by the peripteral treatment of the composition, with its pillared porticos and peristylar arcades, thus by association of ideas bringing to mind the colonnades and columned perspective of the Parthenon, and other Hellenic buildings. The source of some of this classical character is fairly obvious, as it was most certainly derived from contact with the monastic buildings of Gandhara, for in a manner the Kashmir style was a continuation of that Graeco-Buddhist movement, which as already shown, penetrated into Kashmir in the early centuries of the first millennium. In addition to this attribution, however, there are distinct evidences of influences from a more distant origin, as is shown by the particular kind of capital, or order, employed almost exclusively in the temple architecture of the country.
c39.14
This capital bears no little resemblance to that known as the Doric order of the Romans Here it should be noted that in the Gandhara architecture another and equally distinctive type of Graeco-Roman capital called the Corinthian was invariably used, other examples of the classical orders being extremely rare Therefore the quasi-Doric capital found in the Kashmir temples could not, on this account, have been a contribution from Gandhara. On the other hand there are records that Lalitāditya's conquests carried his influence far and wide—for a period his power was absolute over a very extensive region in High Asia. Is it not possible, therefore, that some distant descendants of the Graeco-Roman schools, Asiatics no doubt, but still maintaining in their building practice reminiscences of the Hellenic-Latin traditions, brought to Kashmir certain architectural principles and precedents drawn from what remained at the fountain-head ? In their evident feeling for size, combined with breadth of treatment, and perfection of execution, the early mediaeval monuments of this country bring to mind, although indistinctly, recollections of some older architectural experiences, suggesting the final infiltration, towards the east, of the Graeco-Roman ideal.
c39.15
Support to this view is provided by the technical details of the construction, of which the method of bonding is an instance. This has been effected in two ways, by the use of cement, and by the introduction of dowels, neither of which methods has been found except on rare occasions, in the masonry of India proper. Yet mortar, perfected by the Roman was now in universal use in all the countries of the west. Similarly the other system, that of jointing by dowels had been in vogue with the Ptolemaic Egyptians (323 to 30 B.C.), the Achaemenid Persians (B C. 550-350), and by the Greeks (B C. 500-300), but had been largely superseded at this time by lime mortar, the advantages of which were obvious. It is more than probable, therefore, that failing to find an acceptable process of bonding within their own experience, the architects and builders had gone much further afield, to the more advanced countries of the west, for a solution of this particular problem of structural technique.
c39.16
The earliest monuments produced in this classical mode were Buddhist, the two principal sites being at Parihaspura, fourteen miles north-west of Srinagar, and at Puranadhishthana, now the modern village of Pandrethan Both these were the centres of important monastic communities, as their extensive remains plainly testify, but of the great buildings in which the priestly orders lived and worshipped, only the bases and foundations, exposed by excavation, have been preserved. The largest amount of material is provided by the ruins of Parihasapura, for on this site, in close proximity to one another, are substantial evidences of what at one time were three large and imposing monuments—a stupa, a monastery, and a temple or chaitya hall, with enough of their architectural construction and sculptured embellishment left to show the character of their style.
c39.17
The central structure of this group of buildings was the stupa, attributed to Chankuna, a minister of Lalitaditya, and occupying a square of 128 feet side with projecting stairways on each face directed towards the cardinal points Though we know it rose in two terraces, forming platforms for ambulation, yet the actual shape of the stupa cannot be determined, as it has entirely disappeared, but if in ordinary proportion to its base it must have been over 100 feet high A monastery adjoined the stupa, planned in the manner of similar buildings elsewhere in India, and consisting of an enclosure of 175 feet side with an open courtyard in the centre surrounded by twenty-six cells averaging 16 feet side. This enclosure was entered from the east by a flight of steps, and on the far side was a larger chamber for the residence of the abbot Although it may not have accommodated many monks, from its dimensions this monastery was obviously a large and sumptuous establishment, comparing favourably with the somewhat cramped quarters generally provided for the priestly brotherhood in the plains. The remaining building, the chaitya, was contained within a large quadrangle of 235 feet side surrounded by a wall and entered by a gateway on the east. Exactly in the centre of this open courtyard was the chaitya or temple, which took the form of a shrine or sanctuary for the reception of an image or its symbol rather than a hall of worship. This central structure was also square in plan, and stood on a double platform, the lower of which measures 95 feet across with a stairway on its eastern side ; within this building was the cella, a square chamber of 40 feet diameter Judging from these dimensions it is not improbable that the building rose to a height of over 100 feet. It will be seen from this account that the chaitya in no way resembled the traditional Buddhist chaitya-hall ; there was no attempt at a pillared nave and aisles with an apsidal end, or any of those features characteristic of this type of temple in the plains On the contrary it is an original conception, signifying the beginning of an indigenous style of religious architecture evolved by the people of the country in which it first appeared.
c39.18
The architectural treatment of these Buddhist buildings is on the same scale as their size. This is particularly noticeable in the immense bulk forming the plinth of the stupa which is divided into simple broad contours by bold string-courses, the structural principle employed being that of two heavy torus mouldings appearing like great girdles and holding the whole firmly in position Scattered about are ponderous fragments of architectural features, mouldings, capitals, and cornices, all of the same massive proportions Among these is a portion of a pillar nearly 4½ feet in diameter with sixteen shallow flutes, and also the remains of a Doric capital having an ovolo of 12 inches in depth, in its measure- [Figure: Fig. 1 Halebid, Mysore · Hoysalesvara Temple South wall, c. A. D. 1150]
c39.19
Fig 1 Halabid, Mysore · Entrance to Hoysalesvara Temple , 12th century A D
c39.20
Fig 2 Belur, Mysore . Channakesava Temple interior , 12th century A.D
c39.21
Somnathpur, Mysore Kesava Temple, A D 1268
c39.22
Somnathpur, Mysore Kesava Temple, South-west wall, A D 1268
c39.23
[Figure: Fig. 2 Belur, Mysore : Channakesava Temple, the Sukhanasi doorway ; 12th century A.D.]
c39.24
ments not very different from that of the same order brought to such perfection in the Parthenon at Athens. Another torus moulding, probably from the drum of the stupa and nearly 2 feet in diameter, has a simple spiral band raised on its surface which when in position must have been a very effective form of architectural enrichment. It is however from the nature of the masonry itself that the largeness of these buildings becomes most apparent This is composed of well-made ashlar with most of the stones of stupendous size, particularly those used in the stairways, while there is one colossal block forming the base of the chaitya sanctum measuring 16 feet by 14 feet by 5½ feet, and weighing approximately sixty-four tons Although this great stone is only one-seventh the size of one of the famous trilithons at Baalbek in Syria (second and third centuries A.D.), it implies that those who wrought and wielded such materials were both physically and intellectually of more than ordinary capacity.
c39.25
The stones forming the triad of structures at Parıhasapura were evenly dressed and united by means of lime mortar, or in some instances with metal dowels. The use of mortar in the building construction of India proper was practically unknown until the thirteenth century when it was introduced by the Muhammadans, all masonry previous to that date being of the dry order. The appearance of this adherent, freely and skilfully applied in the buildings of Kashmır as early as the eighth century A.D., as already remarked, is a matter of no little significance. As to the dowels none of these has been preserved, but they were almost certainly of metal, and from the appearance of the sockets, were of the usual flat section with expanded ends of hour-glass profile, in this respect not unlike the ebony cramps found occasionally in Egyptian masonry of the Ptolemaic era. But, in accordance with the scale of the Buddhist construction, they were of large size some of the sockets being as much as 18 inches in length. That there was a certain greatness, if not an appearance of supreme grandeur in these monuments there is every evidence, and no loss is more regrettable in the field of Indian architecture than their almost complete destruction.
c39.26
Appearing not much later than the first examples of the Buddhist structures, the other form of architectural development, consisting of the temples and shrines of the Brahmans, continued to be produced over a longer period, for at least five centuries. All these Brahmanical buildings are considerably ruined, but not to the extent of those of the Buddhists, so that their appearance, when intact, can be readily conjectured. From the design of these mediaeval temples of Kashmır, it is clear that the creed of that country differed in its ceremonial from that in most parts of India. The temple of the valley included in its scheme no assembly hall but consisted of a main central shrine, or sanctuary, and to this, with the divinity in its cella, the devout paid their homage. This central building was isolated within a rectangular courtyard surrounded by a cellular peristyle, with a large gateway giving admission to the sacred enclosure on its front side. It will be seen therefore that the composition, as a whole, appertains more to a central tabernacle, or sanctuary for the accommodation of the deity, than a place for congregational worship. In this respect and also in others, the conception of the Brahmanical temple in Kashmir seems to have taken some of its character and arrangements from the stupa-courts of the Buddhists monasteries of Gandhara Moreover, in its architectural treatment, it appears to have derived little from that important development of temple building which at this time was taking place in Hindustan. There is no sign of the Indo-Aryan mode in its structure, nothing of the sikhara nor of the columned hall ; the Kashmır temple, to all intents and purposes, is a manifestation of an independent ideal.
c39.27
In the conception of this architectural style, there are three structural formations of such a prominent nature that they go a long way towards shaping its character. These are, (*a*) a recess or niche composed of a trefoil arch within a high-pitched triangular pediment, (*b*) the pyramidal roof, and (*c*) the employment throughout of a variety of fluted pillar, with capital and entablature complete, resembling in some respects the Doric order of the classical mode. The most distinctive of these is the trefoil arch and pediment, introduced into the scheme in the manner of a *leit-motif*, or a theme which can be disposed or manipulated at will, and around which others can be added as required. The origins of both arch and pediment are fairly clear. The former was derived from the trefoiled cell of the Gandhara stupa court, as used for instance in the monastery of Takht-i-Bhaı (Plate XXXIII), while the pediment had its prototype in buildings of the same school, an illustration of which may be seen in a niche on the Shrine of the Double Eagle at Sırkap, Taxila, (Chapter VII). Such are the immediate sources, but both go still further back into the past, as for example the real origin of the trefoil motif is to be found in the conventional shape produced by the chaitya arch with its side aisles, a combination forming the facade of the early rock-cut temples of Buddhist India.
c39.28
Turning to the second characteristic formation in the design of the Kashmır temple, the pyramidal roof, this feature was obviously derived from a wooden expedient, such a structure composed of over-lapping planks of wood being most suitable to the climate, where a heavy fall of snow in the winter months is not unusual. The connexion of this class of superstructure with the gabled and pyramidal roofs of India has been already dealt with (Chapter XXVII). Although these stone roofs of the larger temples of Kashmır have fallen, their general character may be assumed from some of the smaller shrines, which are exact copies, and are intact.
c39.29
The third and remaining architectural element is the pillar, to the capital of which reference has been already made. It is not so much the application of this feature to every part of the composition, which is of consequence, although it is undoubtedly the keynote of the style, but it is the character of the pillars and specifically of its capital, and the supposed resemblance to a classical model, that is significant. On comparing the Kashmır example with, for instance, the Doric order of the Romans, there is a certain similarity of form, but this will be found to be more apparent than real Where the orders of the two styles do correspond is in the ovolo member, a conspicuous element in both types of capital, decorated in each instance with a typical motif, in the Roman example with an "egg and dart" design, and with a series of full-blown lotus petals in that of Kashmir. Above the capitals of both styles is an abacus having somewhat the same appearance in each, but here the similarity ends, for the range of mouldings over this in the Kashmır example does not compare with the Roman entablature There are moulded bases to each type of pillar, and the shafts of both are fluted, although as in all Indian building construction, these shafts are monolithic with their ends socketed into the capital and base the Indian stone-mason never learning to build these up in drums as did the Greeks and Romans.
c39.30
Certain other factors are also noticeable in the mediaeval temples of Kashmir, which affect their architectural style. Among these was the practice of placing some of them in the centre of a shallow tank of water as may be seen at Ludov, Pandrethan and elsewhere, thus denoting the prevalence of a form of Naga or serpent-worship, water being a symbol of the cult. Another striking feature, already referred to in connexion with the earlier phase of building in Kashmir, is the character of the masonry. Most of the temples are constructed of abnormally large blocks of stone almost megalithic in appearance. But these huge blocks are by no means crudely or incompetently worked, on the contrary although of immense size they are highly finished productions laboriously hammer-dressed into level faces and fitted together in horizontal courses of remarkable regularity Many examples may be studied of this fine stone-mason's work, notably in a retaining wall at Wangath, while the manipulative skill shown in the masonry as a whole recalls that in the Herodian buildings of the Roman Age The labour involved in such construction must have been considerable, and although now the preparation of stonework in this manner is almost a lost art, the tradition may still be traced in the large stone mortars for pounding grain, which are to the present day hammered out of natural boulders by the same arduous process.
c39.31
A further interesting feature in the Kashmir temples is the constructional principle applied in the production of the ceiling. In one of the earliest examples, that of the Rudresa in the village of Ludov, there are the remains of a semicircular dome of no mean dimensions formed of oversailing courses of stone, while there are other instances in which a similar system of roofing is discernible Any attempt at doming at such an early date is a matter of note, and that at Ludov, although not of the true variety in its technique, displays evidence of no little experience in dome construction. On the other hand most of the shrines are roofed by means of stone beams and slabs, seemingly the outcome of a wooden prototype But the appearance of the two systems of covering a space, that of the dome and of the cross-beam, the former evidently being relinquished in order to make way for the latter, introduces another minor problem into the origins of the building art of Kashmir.
c39.32
This mediaeval development of Brahmanical architecture in Kashmir is represented by two golden periods, or, to be more precise, rose to its greatest heights under two prominent building rulers, Lalitaditya, who as already shown, brought the style into being in the middle of the eighth century, and Avantivarman, under whom it attained its most refined form in the latter half of the ninth century. From certain buildings presumed to belong to the earlier stages of the movement, the growth of the style may be outlined. What is probably one of the oldest examples is the Rudresa temple at Ludov, situated sixteen miles south-east of Srinagar, a plain and simple square walled structure having every appearance of a primitive type. Its early character receives confirmation from the fact that it resembles in several respects one of the buildings of Gandhara, the vihara of Guniyar in the Swat Valley of the Frontier Province, which is hardly likely to be later than the fifth century A D., although the Ludov temple may have been built at least two centuries after that date. The next stage may be studied in the Sankaracharya temple on the Takht-i-Sulaiman, a building occupying a unique position on a hill overlooking the city of Srinagar and with the great loop of the Jhelum river at its foot. Although of unusual shape, as its plan is square with recessed chases and its interior is circular, the triangular headed offsets which project from each side of this structure suggest an embryo form of the high-pitched pediment and trefoil arch which characterize the following stage. This pediment and arch motif, in a further process of development, appears next in the temple at Narastan, situated some thirty miles south-west of Srinagar, where the flat offsets have been elaborated into moulded niches with triangular canopies and the sunk trefoil arch introduced. Around the shrine is also thrown an enclosure wall forming a courtyard entered by a prominent gateway. Here the style is seen to be approaching its final form.
c39.33
This completed form was attained with magnificent effect in the great Temple of the Sun at Martand which became the model for all subsequent Brahmanical temples in Kashmir. (Plate CXXXVI, Fig. 1) Occupying a superb site five miles from the ancient town of Anantnag, although now a crumbling ruin, it is still possible to understand readily its original appearance. Its design in the main followed that previously outlined, of a comprehensive central structure including the sanctuary standing within a rectangular courtyard surrounded by a cellular peristyle which is entered by an imposing gateway. In one particular however this temple is not exactly according to type, as in front of the central building is a detached portico with two chambers in each of its wings, additional compartments evidently especially provided for the accommodation and performance of some ceremonial connected with sun-worship. Even with this supplementary formation the whole scheme is comparatively simple and it is the skilful manner in which all its parts are adjusted and treated that gives this temple its supreme aesthetic and architectural character. In the central building itself the outstanding features are the great trefoil arched recesses under their angular pediments, one of these occupying each face, and separated by a massive pilaster at each angle The entire composition is raised on a high plinth and is terminated above by a pyramidal roof Where emphasis was required, this was provided by suitably devised and boldly-shaped mouldings, and richness was obtained by a considerable amount of carving in high relief, chiefly of figures in niches, such plastic decoration being applied in strict accordance with the ceremonial of the sun-worship, as well as with the aesthetic needs of the architecture. The great trefoils are not true arches, but are constructed by means of oversailing courses of masonry, the undersides of the stones being shaped to produce the necessary semicircular curves.
c39.34
Of the same character, although smaller yet similar in its proportions, was the entrance gateway to the temple, a substantial portal sufficiently large in size to balance the main shrine of which in appearance it was a modified replica It contained an inner and outer compartment with the doorway in between, the whole surmounted by a pyramidal roof, and its surfaces were moulded and carved As a contrast to the massive volume of both the central building and the gateway, the pillared arcade of the enclosure wall supplies the lighter values of the scheme, and quickened tempo with its fluent alternations of light and shade. The outward semblance therefore of the temple in its entirety is that of a well-balanced composition, the structural principles employed providing for an upward tendency in the lines and masses of the central building, areas of lateral space in its surrounding courtyard, equilibrium by the introduction of the gateway, and rhythm in the regular intercolumnation of the encircling peristyle. In spite of its appearance of largeness the dimensions of the whole are quite moderate. On plan the central structure occupies a rectangle 62 feet long and 35 feet wide, the projecting wings of the portico extending the width at the front to 56 feet. Although the main shrine is a square, the cella in its interior is an oblong of 18½ feet by 14 feet placed transversely, while the entire height of this central building was in the vicinity of 70 feet. The quadrangle measures 220 feet long by 142 feet broad, the pillars facing this enclosure being 84 in number, each 9½ feet in height with a space between of 6½ feet at the base. As an indication of its proportions it may be noted that the total area of the enclosure corresponds to that of the cloisters at Wells Cathedral, while the central structure itself approximates in its ground plan to the dimensions of its Chapter House.
c39.35
It will be seen therefore that the temple of Martand is a building of average size, but throughout a feeling of a large scale is consistently maintained, as there is nothing small or sparing in its composition. In its appearance of simple dignity, and in the solid nature of its masonry it has something of that power expressed in the amphitheatres and aqueducts of the Romans when these seem to form part of the landscape itself. In its prime in the eighth century, few spectacles can have been more enchanting than Lalitaditya's grey stone masterpiece, with its bold trefoil arches, stupendous walls, and elegant arcades, symmetrically elevated against its mountain background, and looking out on the solitary splendour of the everlasting snows.
c39.36
This sense of aesthetic agreement between the works of man and those of nature, as illustrated by such architectural achievements, introduces the subject of the relation of a building to its environment. Different surroundings ordinarily call for different methods of architectural treatment, and, as at Martand, a site encircled by majestic ranges of mountains demands a composition having features of a special order for it to be in harmony with conditions of such exceptional grandeur. In these circumstances a structural conception formed of a powerful central pile, and supported by lines of mass so devised as to emphasize the quality of horizontality, appears to be the motive principle on which to proceed The built-up forceful formation in the centre suggests by its volume the immense bulk of the adjacent mountains, while the implied parallelism with the ground conveys the impression of security and peace The Kashmiri builders, sub-consciously perhaps, appear to have conformed to these principles for some such ideal seems to underlie their temple compositions. That those concerned had the genius, and the requisite imagination and capacity to attain this ideal, is proved by the superb manner in which these monuments accord with the surrounding landscape.
c39.37
The temple at Martand was the supreme effort of Lalitaditya's builders, but there are other temples, not so large although in the same grand style, which belong to this period. Among them is a collection of buildings at Wangath, some thirty miles north-west of Srinagar, their size and position indicating that here was an important halting place on the pilgrims' way to the sacred waters of Gangabal, a solitary tarn cradled among the mountain peaks. (Plate CXXXVII, Fig. 1). The remains at Wangath are magnificently situated in the midst of a steep pine-clad gorge, with the white foaming river as its base. Three groups of buildings are discernible within a short distance of one another, the production of the whole probably extending over a considerable period and to have been begun at a relatively early date, one structure having been identified as the Jyeshthesa temple of the ruler Lalitaditya (eighth century). Two of the groups consist of temples and shrines of the typical Kashmir order, while the third was a large and substantial building of which only the plinth remains, but was probably a refectory. All are now ruined and deserted, their worn and rugged shapelessness giving them the appearance of being part of their wild and rocky environment rather than the work of human hands.
c39.38
The southern group comprises a central temple around which cluster several shrines, all poised on a terrace of partly a natural and partly a structural formation. Each edifice follows the conventional temple plan, the general proportions being good and the masonry well finished, but the surfaces are simpler and less ornate than those in the valley itself, probably owing to their more remote position The other range of temples towards the north of the site is contained within a walled enclosure with a fine revetment wall on the mountain side specially provided to protect the entire group from being overwhelmed by rock-falls or similar contingencies. Among the confused and shattered structures which now encumber the enclosure, the main temple is least ruined and consists of a building in the characteristic style but with several supplementary shrines attached to its front and sides. Such additional compartments were evidently required for a particular form of ritual, and that water was an essential accessory is shown by the presence in a prominent position of an immense cistern, eighteen feet long with its other dimensions in proportion, hammered out of one huge boulder, a work of astonishingly patient skill and stupendous labour.
c39.39
But the most original achievement at Wangath is the solid masonry plinth standing separate from the temples and evidently the remains of a building of a special type Measuring about one hundred and twenty feet long by seventy-five feet wide with a height of ten feet and approached by a stairway on its southern face, along its sides are over thirty massive monolithic bases or piers at regular intervals of some twelve feet. Enough therefore remains of this structure to indicate that it was a pillared pavilion of imposing dimensions and appearance, although it is not unlikely that its immense span or roof could only have been composed of some system of wooden construction. The pier bases each over three feet in width are boldly moulded in a characteristic style, and each contains a socket for the insertion of a large monolithic shaft. As with much of the architecture of the country its chief features are the size of the structural units and the resultant largeness of its parts, inspired possibly by the great scale of the natural surroundings.
c39.40
The second golden age of the mediaeval architecture of Kashmir was brought into being more than a century later by the patronage of king Avantivarman (855-883), and his immediate successors. As was not an uncommon procedure in India this ruler began to build a capital city according to his own ideas and requirements and selected a commanding site overlooking a bend in the river Jhelum, eighteen miles south-east of Srinagar, calling it Avantipur. All that now remains of this city are the ruins of two temples some little distance apart, one being the Siva temple of Avantesvara, and the other the Vishnu temple of Avantesvami The former is much the larger, and may have been intended for public worship, while the latter, which although smaller is lavishly planned, was probably for the use of the royal family and the court only. Of the great Siva temple little more than the foundations remain, but it must have been an imposing structure, as the exterior dimensions of its courtyard measure 218 feet by 200 feet, and the base of the shrine building in the centre of this was over 57 feet square, so that in size at least it was second only to that at Martand. An elaboration in the composition of the central structure took the form of four supplementary shrines, one projecting from each corner of the main platform, thus aggregating five shrines in all, and making it therefore into an example of the *panchayatana* or five-shrined type
c39.41
Much better preserved is the other temple, that of Avantesvami, which appears to have been a very complete conception, and embellished with many additional features. (Plate CXXXVII, Fig. 2) In its general scheme it reproduces to a reduced scale the arrangements of its predecessor or Martand, with a rectangular courtyard of 174 feet by 148 feet, and a central building 33 feet square, the latter approached by a double flight of steps on its front or western side. It is a temple also of the *panchayatana* class, but in this instance the four subsidiary shrines are not attached to the large central erection of which they were small-scale copies, as each is an independent structure standing by itself and occuping a space in one of the angles of the courtyard. In front of the flight of steps leading to the main shrine there was a square shallow tank for ablutions, and again, in front of this, a *kirti-stambha* or free-standing pillar so that with all these additions, this courtyard contained its full complement of structures connected with the ceremonial. Forming the enclosure wall were sixty-nine cells and these were fronted by a colonnade of seventy pillars, each shaft having sixteen sides, surmounted by a quasi-Doric capital and standing on a plain cubical base. On the western side of the enclosure was the entrance gateway, a large building having a square plan equal in size to that of the main structure within. Pillars, both detached and engaged, add to the architectural effect of this gateway, while a colonnade of these was continued along the entire external length of the front enclosure wall, thus providing the main approach with a handsome facade. Decorating the wall surfaces was a considerable amount of sculpture, not however applied with that profusion which characterises the architecture of other parts of India, but judiciously distributed, and contained within panels or other prepared spaces.¹
c39.42
¹ In the course of constructing the main road through the Valley, on a site between the two temples here described, some huge stones have become exposed, moulded and sculptured, which appear to have belonged to another and third temple at Avantipur A large mound nearby may contain the remains of this building, and further exploration might bring its foundations to light
c39.43
In endeavouring to appreciate the scope, appearance, and character of the temple of Avantesvami, it will be useful to compare these with the same qualities as they are shown in the temple of Martand for, the two buildings are the touchstones of the style An interval of over a century separates the two examples, and the advance made during this period, although not great, is instructive. Avantivarman's fine architectural effort repeats much the same technical procedure as the older building ; it illustrates no fresh experiences. During the hundred years that ensued, the art seems to have pursued its evolutionary course, without any notable innovations. But in a close study of the two buildings one does see in the later example an increased refinement of form, a more polished effect generally, evidently a reflection of that riper cultural atmosphere which prevailed during this ruler's reign, and of which there are definite records. The main lineaments of this building are pronounced and clear cut, and the essential parts are more finely adjusted, a fact specially noticeable in the disposition of the central structure and its relation to the subsidiary shrines, and in the insistent consonance of tonality provided by the surrounding colonnade, while the whole appearance of the building is one of sensitive grace. As a contrast to the embodiment of massive bulk expressed in the temple of Martand in which we see the working of first principles, the temple of Avantesvami displays an intellectual and reasoned application of these principles, with a finished architectural unity as the result. (Plate CXXXVIII).
c39.44
Yet in spite of the fact that there is much in both buildings that is rightly intentioned and thoroughly conscientious, there are certain features, not only noticeable in these two examples, but common to the style as a whole, which it is difficult to reconcile with what is ordinarily regarded as wholly good architectural design. One instance may be noted in the arched and pedimented recess, a motif repeated so frequently as to dominate the style. There is a lack of suavity in the rather inadequate curves of the trefoil, as they contrast abruptly with the acute angles of the pediment, neither of these elements flowing evenly by themselves, or with one another. But the least appropriate feature is the pyramidal roof, which the Kashmiri masons never succeeded in making really convincing Steeped in the tradition of the lap-jointed gable of their wooden structures, they copied this expedient ingenuously in stone, disregarding the fundamental principle that what is asked of stone construction is that it should look like stone, and so with regard to all the materials used in the building art. In addition to these particular inconsistencies in the Kashmiri style, there are other subsidiary architectural elements, not entirely satisfying. These include a certain immaturity in some of the forms, which give the impression of a combination of artlessness and experience, a paradox probably not unconnected with the isolated position of the country itself.
c39.45
After Martand and Avantesvami not very much remains of this style, nonetheless what there is reveals several interesting facts. There were other temples which may belong to Avantivarman's period, but as these are outside the actual limits of the valley, being on the route leading into it, they are inclined to be provincial in character, as distinct from the imperial quality of those in the capital. Such is a temple at Buniar, and another near Uri known as the Dhathamandir, both on the Jhelum Valley road. The former is by far the best preserved of the larger examples, and although the workmanship is slightly crude, its value lies in the fact that owing to its good condition it throws useful light on certain aspects of the style. This specially refers to the entrance gateway, always an important part of the composition, and the Buniar portal explains how the detached pillars were utilized in connection with the doorways and its trefoil arch.
First 44 of 60 passages. Read on