The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c11.43

c11.43

Now, the sikhara, or spire of Vishnu’s shrine, which has been the subject of so much erratic archæological conjecture, is only an application of the water-lily symbol to the roofing of the The flower and fruit in combination were used as the decorative motif of the cross-brackets (fig. 26A) placed as a super-capital above the lotus-flower capital. Thus the temple pillar stood, like the flowering tree climbing round the cedar or pine, as a symbol of life and death. The datura is also the