The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c14.12

c14.12

The earliest Indian Vishnu shrines yet discovered are the monolithic ones carved in miniature which have been dug up in great quantities on the site of Sarnath, the Deer Park where the Buddha preached the Law to his first disciples, and also at Bodh-Gayâ. They are found together with vast numbers of miniature stûpas, many of which are probably of greater age, as the stûpa was the most sacred emblem of the first disciples of the Buddha. But just as at the present day Hindus will often worship at Muhammadan shrines of great sanctity, so in early Buddhist times many who belonged to other schools of thought brought their pious offerings to the shrines of Sâkiya Muni. Then Buddhism seems to have gradually adopted the Vishnu symbol as a distinctive mark of the Mahâyâna school.