The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c14.21

c14.21

published in 1910, observes that the date of the erection of the “chaitya” is still obscure. When all the misconceptions of Fergusson and his followers regarding the origin and symbolism of the stûpa and sikhara are cleared away, General Cunningham’s contention that the Bodh-Gayâ temple was built in the reign of the Kushan King Huvishka, or in the first century B.C., may after all prove to be nearer the mark than any other conjectures. Moreover, there need be no hesitation in believing that the arches in the interior (Pl. XXV) belonged to the original structure and were not, as Fergusson supposed, placed there by the Burmese restorers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.