The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c9.11

c9.11

There are many representations of village shrines in Asokan sculptures. Pl. IX, A, shows a typical one from Bharhut, which proves that the Indian village shrine of the third century can be easily traced. The familiar name *kuti*, or house, given to such a shrine is sufficient indication. It was originally the hut or cell of some holy man, a hermit, yogi, or rishi of great fame in the village, in which his staff, water-vessel, and begging-bowl would be venerated as memorials after his death. The sanctity of the man would cling to his hut, but the name given to it in the Asokan sculptures originally meant nothing more than that it was the house of a particular hermit or yogi. As, however, hero-worship gradually developed into definite religious cults such as Buddhism and Jainism, the house of the saint came to be regarded literally as the House of God.