Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39.17

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.