The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c21.11

c21.11

It is the architecture of this decadent period, labelled “Puranic” or “Hindu” by antiquarians, which the European student has been taught to believe is most typical of the Indian mind. The art of every country has passed through the same phase of deterioration when its vital creative energy begins to wane. The undiscerning critic is unable to see that the defects of the qualities of Indian art do not represent its highest ideals. Most of the great temples of India with which Europeans are more or less familiar belong to the period of decadence, either before or after the Muhammadan invasions. Though many of them certainly can stand by themselves as splendid monuments of art, it is impossible to appreciate them rightly without a careful study of the classical models which furnished the motifs of their design. From about the eighth or ninth century, until the time of Akbar, the creative energy of the Indian master-builder kept to the beaten track of Hindu tradition and did little but elaborate upon old ideas.