Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c8.s1.1

c8.s1.1

MANY efforts have been made to express in a few words the precise meaning of Architecture and its relation to human experience. Lethaby has approached the subject most nearly in stating that "Architecture is the matrix of civilization".² To such a definition it may be added that viewed historically architecture remains as the principal visible and material record, through the ages, of man's intellectual evolution. Each great cultural movement has made its own particular contribution to the art of building so that the aspirations of the people and even their way of life stand revealed in substantial form for all to see. And in India man's ideals have found expression in numerous noble monuments showing that few countries possess a richer architectural heritage. To the student the value of these productions needs no emphasis, for from such achievements it is possible to reconstruct much of the past and to visualize the social and political conditions of the country as phase succeeded phase, and one period merged into another.