A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c11.s1.6

c11.s1.6

In the early centuries of the Christian era Mathurā on the Jumna (27° 30′ N., 77° 41′ E.), a city of immemorial antiquity, and prosperous to this day in spite of many disasters, was sacred in the eyes of the adherents of all the three indigenous Indian religions—Jainism, Buddhism, and Brahmanical Hinduism. The abundant supply of excellent red sandstone at Rūpbās and other quarries in the neighbourhood favoured the development of an active school of sculptors, whose workshops supplied all parts of Northern India with idols, much as Jaipur does now. The craftsmen, of course, were prepared to supply whatever was wanted by their patrons of any religion. The character of the local stone is so distinct that the products of the Mathurā studios are easily recognized wherever they may be found. Wealthy worshippers did not hesitate to undertake the cost of transporting heavy, even colossal, statues for hundreds of miles. For instance, unmistakable Mathurā images of large size occur at Sārnāth, some four hundred miles distant.