Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c21.s10: Chapter XI. General Review of the Art of Suvarnadvīpa
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v2.c21.s10
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Chapter XI. General Review of the Art of Suvarnadvīpa
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A broad review of the art of the different regions which we have sketched above leads to some conclusions of a general nature.
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In the first place we find a general affinity in architecture and sculpture of these regions, an affinity which is undoubtedly to be explained by the fact that they had directly or indirectly derived their art from one common source.
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This common source is the Gupta art of India. By this expression I do not mean the art of any particular locality, but rather the classical phase of Indian art which is designated by that name, and which distinguishes itself easily from the ancient and mediaeval art of India, whether of the north or of the south.
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This statement will perhaps meet with a general acceptance in case of sculpture. Indeed this has been hinted at—though not worked out in detail—by eminent art critics, like Coomaraswamy. We have seen above that some images of Buddha in Malay Peninsula and Sumatra are unmistakably Gupta in character, and that those of Barabuḍur in Java are also to be ultimately traced to the same source.
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This is indeed what could be normally expected. The Hindu colonies in Malayasia can be definitely traced from about the fourth or fifth century A. D. The people who left India about that period, or even during the next two centuries, carried with them living traditions of the Gupta art, and these blossomed in their new homes, modified in varying degrees by the new influences and environments to which they were subjected.
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As regards architecture this view has not found any general expression so far. This is undoubtedly to be explained by the fact that we have no definite idea of the Gupta architecture, as very few important sanctuaries of that age have survived in a clearly recognisable shape. Still the proof is not altogether lacking that in architecture, too, the fundamental characteristics were already evolved in the Gupta age.
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In judging of the style of architecture we should primarily keep three things in view, *viz.*, (1) plan of the temple, (2) its roof, and (3) the decorative scheme.
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As regards the plan of temples we have seen above that the system almost universally adopted was that of a square chamber with projections on all sides, that in the front (generally East) serving as entrance.
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That this general plan characterised the temples of the Gupta period is amply evidenced by the temple of Bhitārgāon¹ which has exactly the same plan. Bhitārgāon is a village about 20 miles south of Cawnpore in U. P. Its brick temple is described by Vogel as a unique specimen of the architecture of the early Gupta period. The Gupta temple at Nachna² in Bundelkhand and at Deogarh³ on the Betwa have also a similar plan.
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¹ Cunningham in A. S. R., Vol. XI, pp. 40ff., Pll. XIV-XVI. Vogel in Ann. Rep. Arch. Surv. I. 1908-9, pp. 8-18 and plates.
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² Progr. Rep. Arch. Surv. W. Circle, 1918-19, Pl. XVI. A. S. R. Vol. XXI, Pl. XXV.
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³ A. S. R., Vol. X, pp. 100ff, Pll. XXXIV-XXXVI.
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The roof of the Bhitārgāon temple consists of a series of receding stages—each a replica of the main temple—with a hollow cone inside. As we have seen above, this forms the characteristic feature of the roof of the early temples of Java. That this method was generally adopted in constructing the roof of the Gupta temples is further evidenced by the extant portions of the roof of the Deogarh temple and the illustration of temple-roofs used as decorative devices in Gupta sculptures of Sārnāth¹. A careful examination of these will convince everybody that the principles of roof-construction which we find in Malayasia were based on the Gupta style. Dr. Coomaraswamy has rightly observed that the "Nāgara spire (i. e. śikhara of Northern India), however elaborately developed, really represents a piling up of many super-imposed storeys or roofs, much compressed²."
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¹ D. R. Sahni—Catalogue of the Museum of Archaeology at Sarnath, Pll. XXV-XXVIII. The Daśa-Avatāra temple at Mārkaṇḍa, 90 miles S. E. of Nagpur, offers a developed type of similar roof (A. S. R., Vol. IX, pp. 142ff. Pl. XXVIII).
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² Coomaraswamy, p. 83. Cf his remarks on p. 94 about the resemblance of the roof of Sirpur temple with that of Caṇḍi Bima.
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To the same Gupta style also belongs the general plan of decoration, such as carved panels and pilasters, arched niches with figures, scroll-work with figures of birds and animals, the Makaras etc. Even the most characteristic feature of the Javanese decorative art—the ubiquitous Kāla-Makara—has its prototype in the Gupta art³. I may add that the general plan of the mouldings of the Javanese temples has its counterpart in Gupta style⁴.
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³ The Kāla-Makara is undoubtedly derived from Indian Kirtimukha. Cf. e.g. the following illustrations; Memoirs A. S. I. No. 44, Pl. VIII-fig. 3; Bhattasali ( see f. n. 2 p. 351 ) Pll. 26, 34, 63, 64, 66); Indian Sculpture by Stella Kramrisch, fig. 96; Banerjee—Mediaeval Sculpture, Pll. XXXIII, XXXV; J. G. I. S. Vol. II, pp, 38ff.
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⁴ Cf. e.g. mouldings of a pedestal in a temple at Khoh (A. S. R. Vol. IX, Pl. III ) and Paraoli (Vol. XX, Pl. XXIII). For a developed form at Pathāri, cf. Vol. VII, Pl. XI.
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Dr. Vogel has already remarked that "the spire of the Bhitārgāon temple with its rows of heads peeping, as it were, out of so many dormer-windows, bears a curious resemblance to some of the so-called Raths at Māmallapuram near Madras, and also to the Caṇḍi Bima on the Dieng plateau in Central Java. ...Another Javanese temple which exhibits the same peculiarity...is the Gunung Gangsir...a brick temple on the border of the residencies of Surabaya and Pasaruan. It is the oldest temple known to exist in Eastern Java." It is, perhaps, not a mere accident that the oldest temples, both in Eastern and Central Java, should exhibit the characteristic Gupta style of decoration.
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Dr. Vogel’s reference to Mamallapuram deserves more than a passing notice. It has been too common a fashion to trace the architecture and sculpture of Java to a South Indian origin, as there are certain resemblances between the two. But it is seldom recognised that these south Indian specimens are themselves derived from the Gupta art, and that therefore such resemblances as we find may be explained very easily by the common parentage of the two. At the same time there are vital objections to the theory of South Indian origin. From the earliest to the latest period, pillars form a very prominent feature of the south Indian architecture, but they are conspicuous by their absence in temples of Java, which agree in this respect with north Indian architecture.
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All the evidences that we possess seem to indicate, that down to the seventh century A. D. the regular sea-port in India, which served as the port of embarkation for Malayasia, was Paloura near Ganjam, or Tāmralipti in Bengal. I-tsing definitely says about Tāmralipti that "this is the place where we embark when returning to China¹." Again we know from the same author, that the royal marine of Śrī-Vijaya plied regularly between that port and Tāmralipti, touching Malay Peninsula on their way². Besides, the famous monastery at Nālandā had grown into an international centre of Buddhism, and through it Indian culture spread to the Far East, where Śrī-Vijaya seems to have been the most important centre of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It is, therefore, no mere accident, that precisely in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula we find sculptures which exhibit clear Gupta influence. Through these regions traditions of Gupta art, mainly of Eastern India, must have reached the regions in the interior including Java¹. Both Dr. Bosch and Dr. Krom have justly remarked that South India exercised no influence of any importance on the art of Sumatra. This may be regarded as generally true of Malayasia, until the tenth or eleventh century A. D., when the Colas established an intimate and direct contact between South India and the Far East. Until then the main inspiration of Indian culture flowed from Eastern India rather than Southern. The influence of the latter was carried to a certain extent only indirectly through Ceylon.
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¹ P. XXXIV.
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² P. XXX.
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¹ Cf. the views of Dr. H. G. Q. Wales, as given on p. 344.
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The successive phases in the evolution of art in India must have also exercised great influence over the development of art in Malayasia. It is beyond the scope of the present work to enter into a minute and detailed discussion of this point, but a few broad facts may be stated.
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In sculpture the influence of Mediaeval Indian art introduced similar transformation in Java. In particular the influence of the Pāla school is to be clearly noted, and similar influences of other local schools may be detected on a closer scrutiny.
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In architecture, the recent discovery of the temple of Pāhārpur shows how a complex plan like that of the central temple at Sevu has its Indian prototype. In the miniature roof illustrated in Bengali sculptures of the Pāla period, we get an Indian prototype of the storied roofs in Java, Bali, and Pagan².
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² Iconography of Buddhist and Brahmanical sculptures in the Dacca Museum by Dr. N. K. Bhattasali, pp. XIIff. Pll. XIV, XLVIII.
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Lastly, we may notice the thoroughly Indian character of the conception and execution of art in Malayasia before it was modified by the local influence. The general grace and charm of the naturalistic figures, and the emphasis on their inner spirituality, make us feel at every step that they were direct offshoots of the art of India, which transcended all geographical limitations in its natural expansion and development. It has already been noted above that the fauna and flora represented in Javanese art are purely Indian, and there is absolutely no trace of local peculiarity in these respects.
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In course of time, owing to various causes, the direct contact with India grew less and less. It resulted in a gradual assertion of the local Indonesian element which ultimately dominated over the Indian. There was also a great decadence in the art of India, and the fountain having dried up, the stream that was fed by it ultimately ceased to flow. Thus the Indian period of art was succeeded by what may be called the Indonesian period. Nowhere can the nature and progress of this change be so clearly traced step by step as in Java, but we find exactly the same phenomena in other parts of Malayasia.
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In Java the two periods are roughly represented by the art of Central and Eastern Java. We may, therefore, conclude this general review by a recapitulation of the main features of the art of Eastern Java.
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While there is no doubt that it shows continuation of the old traditions of Central Java, there is equally little doubt that it indicates a gradual assertion of indigenous spirit over the purely Indian elements that dominated the earlier art. In sculpture, this gradual process of Javanisation is clear and unmistakable, and even he who runs may read it in the grotesque, clumsy, vulgar, and coarse reliefs in Caṇḍis Jago, Suravana, and Panataran. The divine images of Singhasāri, Jago, and other places, and some rare specimens of decorative sculpture indicate, however, that either the Indian influence had not died out altogether, or it was revivified from time to time by fresh immigration of artists from India. It also appears that the profane hands of the neo-artists did not yet dare to soil the figures of divinities. In architecture the influence of indigenous spirit is manifest from the absence of any symmetrical plan of a temple-complex. It is noticed also in the lack of clearly defined proportions of the different parts of buildings, and the maladjustment of decorations and architectural design. The decorations here are not accessories which emphasise and beautify the architectural parts, but really the dominant element which overshadows and distorts the architectural design, and merely uses it as a background for showing itself. The general design of the buildings also lacks that simplicity, refinement, and vigour which characterise the classic monuments of Central Java. We find complexity and vastness without either grandeur or vigour, and elaborate technical skill without refinement or beauty. There are, no doubt, exceptions, but they merely serve to prove the general rule.
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From a strictly historical point of view the art of Eastern Java has a great importance. If art is viewed primarily as an expression of nation's mind and character, and an index of its culture, faiths, and beliefs, the art of Eastern Java is more truly a Javanese art than that of Central Java, which is far more Indian than Javanese. Stutterheim and others have very rightly stressed this point, and we must divest our minds of all pre-conceived notions of æsthetic values and forms of art, if we are to judge correctly the meaning of East Javanese art and estimate it at its proper worth. It will not, for example, take us long to recognise that the grotesque forms of relief-figures reflect admirably the same mentality, and perhaps also the same belief in a theory of magic, which has led the people to take delight for centuries in the similar fantastic figures of Wayang.
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But if we are to judge the Eastern Javanese art by generally accepted notions of æsthetic values and forms, without which no abstract criticism or general appreciation of art, apart from ethnology, is possible, we cannot but regard it as a steady degradation from earlier traditions. The great gulf that separates the two gives us a fair measure of the immensity of the task that confronted the Indians when they undertook to civilise the people of Java.
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Further the wide gulf that separates the art of Central and Eastern Java, negatives, in my opinion, the theory of Dr. Bosch that the art of Java was the creation of indigenous people who followed the principles laid down in Indian Śilpa-śāstras. Reserving a fuller discussion of this topic for another volume, I need only point out here, that if the Indian Śilpa-śāstras were the only factor of importance, and Indian artists had nothing to do with the Javanese art, it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain the great and characteristic changes that came over this art with the shifting of the political centre to the east which was less amenable to Indian influence. As Śilpa-śāstras presumably remained a common factor, the changes can only be explained by the other, perhaps far more important, factor, viz., the human element, as has been admirably put by Dr. Stutterheim.