Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c56.4

v1.c56.4

Again in the words of Dr. Coomarswamy—vide Mr. Smith ‘A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylone’: (page 5): “All that India can offer to the world proceeds from her philosophy—a mental concentration (Yoga) on the part of the artist and the enactment of a certain amount of ritual being postulated as the source of spirituality of Indian Art”. Temples and tīrthas are indispensible companions in the life journey of the mass of humanity (though originally only for those who were uninitiated to the highest knowledge—the transcendental knowledge, the Ajñyas; but later on no such distinction persisted) in India. The institution of pilgrimage to the sacred places of worship, the temple and tīrthas, was an outcome of the reoriented Hindu Dharma of the Purāṇas and Āgamas to which I have drawn attention several times. Dr. Kramrisch (vide H. T. p. 6) is simply relating the truth: "Temples are built where Tīrthas are; their towering shapes to the last point of their height teem with forms which have the urge and fullness of Indian nature; step by step, level by level they lead the eye and mind of the devotee from this world to the world above. The temples rise from a broad base: differently built according to specific types, they have their variation in time and place and their shapes were elaborated in many a school. As they are today in Southern India, their high super-structures ascend in pyramidal form, while in Northern India they fling their curvilinear faces towards a meeting point above the sanctuary." From the point of view of architecture, the temple architecture, does not offer us a fascinating story like the one we had in a previous part of this Study (cf. Part III—the Origin of the First House on Earth). Temple architecture in India is symbolic of the spiritual outlook of its people. It is the principal, visible and material record of the invisible and spiritual evolution of our civilisation. It is a concrete manifestation, not only of the aspirations of the people, but also a way of life. It was equally true of those who built it—the long line of the Sthapatis and Sthāpakas. To every one it was a religious dedication to evolve out a spiritual way of life. Numerous noble monuments of this class of devotional architecture are a testimony of our rich architectural heritage, the parallel of which can not be found in other countries.