History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c16.74

v1.c16.74

So strongly marked is all this that it may become a subject of an interesting investigation to enquire whether the Greeks were not the first who taught the Indians idolatry. There is no trace of images in the Vedas or in the laws of Manu, or any of the older books of the Hindûs. As repeatedly mentioned, there is as little trace of any image of Buddha or Buddhist figures being set up for worship much before the Christian Era. But the earliest, the finest, and the most essentially classical figures of Buddha are to be found in Gandhâra, and, so far as we at present know, of an earlier date there than any found in India Proper.