Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c56.71

v1.c56.71

Another motif serving as the model for the evolution of the temple in the architectural origin more particularly the shape, has come from the caves. The image of the mountain and the cave is known in nature and is given form by the architect. The caves as the abodes both for retreat and meditation, have been a very hoary institution in our land. It also throws light on the cult of caverns. Even to this day the Himalayas are full of natural caves, small or large and sacred. Moreover, the caves are ancient residences of gods. It was not only on the banks of rivers, that they loved to dwell but also in the caves. This institution is symbolic of man's return to nature and when given a concreate shape, the architectural treatises like Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra call them as Layana, one of the types of the Prāsāda. Another type is Guhādhara. Layana, etymologically a place of rest, is the name for rock-cut temples and Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra in its (59th Chapter 236-237) has given a vivid description and more will be said in a later chapter. Here it is enough to say that to the natural habitation, both of the gods and men—a happy union characteristic of the Satya-yuga that primordial age is remarkable for its revival and reconstruction for retreat and congregation to experience the self-same union. The rock-cut cave, for this purpose, is a comparatively modern institution. The Ājīvikas, a Jain sect and the Buddhists were the first to cut the rock for the purpose of cave habitation in peace and solitude, meditation and contemplation. Prof Stella Kramrisch rightly remarks "within Brahmanism, the substitution of excavated caves for natural ones took time to evolve".