The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c14.10

c14.10

In this relief (fig. 40) the palace itself is evidently the group of flat-roofed buildings on the right. To the left of this are three domed buildings which I have no doubt are meant to be royal tombs; they are prototypes of the stûpa—Siva's symbol—which was the royal tomb of ancient India. The two conical buildings behind these are temples—shrines of the holy mountain which appears in the background. To make the symbolism clearer, the flowering tree, the Tree of Life, and the pine or cedar, the Tree of Eternity, are planted close to the tombs and on the slopes of the mountain.