Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c40.4

c40.4

This triad of capitals accounted for by the division of the kingdom in the fifteenth century into several different and separate states, each of which had its own royal residence or Durbar. And the groups of buildings which grew up around these Durbar palaces, each eventually to form a moderately sized and picturesquely planned township, were the work of the people who at that time, and up to the eighteenth century comprised the original inhabitants of the country. These were a race known as the Newars who occupied the country from a very early date, and although of indeterminate origin, appear to have entered the country from the north, probably from the direction of Tibet But whatever their derivation, their productions in the field of architecture are proof, as the capitals of Nepal amply testify, that they possessed an artistic sensibility of a particularly exuberant nature. That this indigenous aesthetic tendency was stimulated and influenced at intervals by currents from sources exterior to the country is clearly shown in the character of their creations during the course of their history. And that at certain periods they received ardent patronage from their own rulers is also obvious from the number and style of their buildings and monuments. But the fundamental fact remains that the consistent standard of art maintained throughout the whole of the mediaeval era was due to the natural aspirations of the Newars for an artistic environment, which found expression not only in their architecture, but in all the accompaniments of their daily lives.