Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c43.16

c43.16

And in the same manner that an appreciation of art and beauty entered so fully into the rhythm of their lives so did their religious belief, for not only are the majority of their buildings dedicated to the prevailing divinity, Buddhist or Brahmanical, as they worshipped at the shrines of both, but they embodied in these structures the same thought, piety, spirituality, and workmanship that moved the builders of the Gothic cathedrals in Europe at a slightly later date. For the meridian of the architecture of the Khmers was attained towards the 12th century, so that at this point such a significant movement appears to merit reference to outstanding building accomplishments in other lands, in order that the architecture of Cambodia may be compared to, or related historically with, correspondingly great phases of the building art.