Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39.12

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.