A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.45

c8.45

The brick temple at Bhitargāon in the Cawnpore District, with an ‘Indo-Aryan’ curvilinear steeple, may possibly go back to the fourth century;¹ and certain minute shrines in the so-called ‘Gupta style’ may not be much later. But throughout India, except Buddhist remains, there is hardly anything standing which can be dated earlier than A.D. 550. No early examples of civil architecture exist, and after the date named Buddhist structures become scarce. The styles of Indian architecture from the sixth century to the present day, therefore, must be deduced from Brahmanical and Jain temples, and the numerous examples testifying to the skill and taste of Indo-Muhammadan builders. The Muhammadan styles will be dealt with in a later chapter; at present our concern is only with Jain and Brahmanical religious edifices.