The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c16.24

v2.c16.24

Minor traces of western Asiatic influence may also be seen in the early sculpture of the Deccan, for instance in the winged animals at Pitalkhorā, Aurangābād District, the crenellated or stepped parapet carved at Koṇḍāṇe, Kārle, Ajanta, and other early Buddhist sites, and the bell-shaped capitals of the pillars of many ancient monuments in the Deccan. Among these, the winged animals have a close resemblance to their prototypes in Assyria; the stepped parapet which is so common in North African Islamic monuments has recently been discovered on the monuments of Ur (Chaldaea) and must have come to India from the latter place. The bell-shaped capitals have a striking affinity to their prototypes at Persepolis, and this form may have been introduced into India by the early Parthian (*Pahlava*) converts to Buddhism. Such similarities are, however, few, and it would be a sad mistake to conclude from them that the architecture or sculpture or other arts of the Deccan are wholly or even largely of foreign origin.