815 



INDIA, ARCHITECTURE OF. 



INDIA, ARCHITECTURE OF. 



846 



standing near the river in Tirhut, and are each surmounted by a seated 

 lion. One which has been removed and set up on a pedestal at 

 Allahabad, is 47 feet high, and the shaft is 3 feet in diameter at the 

 base, diminishing to 2 feet 2 inches at the summit. It is noteworthy 

 that " the necking immediately below the capital represents, with con- 

 siderable purity, the honeysuckle ornament of the Assyrians." 

 (Fergusson). They were most probably always erected in front of 

 temples and sanctuaries, where some are still found. 



The topes properly so called are spacious circular domical buildings, 

 erected as reliquaries of Buddha or some of the more eminent 

 Buddhist saints. They occur in groups near the Indus and the Ganges, 

 at Behar and Tirhut, around Bhilsa in Central India, and in Aflghan- 

 istan. These topes will be found fully described in the valuable works of 

 Mr. Fergusson, and in the elaborate treatise of Major Alexander 

 Cunningham, ' The Bhilsa Topes ; or Buddhist Monuments of India,' 

 8vo. 1854. The oldest of these topes are little more than tumuli ; later 

 the hemispherical cupola was supported on a cylindrical basement ; and 

 eventually they assumed the character of a tower surmounted with a 

 cupola. In size they vary from a few feet up to 150 or 200 feet in 

 diameter. The great Sanchi Tope, near Bhilsa, the finest and most 

 perfect in India, will serve as an example of this class of buildings. 

 It is situated on the western side of a lofty hill, and is inclosed 

 within a great court-yard which averages 150 yards in length, and is 

 100 yards broad. " The great tope itself is a solid dome of stone and 

 brick, 106 feet in diameter and 42 feet in height, springing from a 

 plinth of 14 feet, with a projection of 6J feet from the base of the 

 building, and a slope of 24 feet. The plinth or basement formed a 

 terrace for the perambulation of worshippers of the enshrined relic ; 

 for on the right pillar of the North Gateway there is a representation 

 of a tope, and of two worshippers walking round it with garlands in 

 then- hands. The terrace was reached by a double flight of steps to 

 the south, connected by a landing ten feet square. The apex of the 

 dome was flattened into a terrace 34 feet in diameter, surrounded by a 

 stone railing of that style so peculiar to Buddha monuments, that I 

 will venture to call it the Buddhist Railing." This terrace formed 

 the basis of the tee or capital (a square box-like ornament probably 

 intended to serve as a relique-case or a symbol of one) with which 

 these structures were always crowned, "The total height of the 

 building, including the cupolas," continues Major Cunningham, "must 

 have been upwards of 100 feet. The base of the tope is surrounded 

 by a massive colonnade, 1444 feet in diameter from east to west, and 

 1614 from north to south." The entrance is by four gateways, each 

 formed by two square pillars, 18 feet high, covered with carvings, and 

 crowned with elephant capitals. These support three elaborately 

 carved lintels slightly curved upwards in the centre, and terminating 

 in Ionic scrolls and surmounted with emblems : in all the gateways 

 are 334 ieet high. On all sides are ruined temples, fallen columns, 

 and broken sculptures ; while 30 or 40 smaller topes combine to form 

 the group of which the great tope is the centre. 



With respect to the character and arrangement of the topes, it will 

 be enough to quote what Major Cunningham says of those of Bhojpur : 

 " The topes occupy four distinct stages or platforms of the hill. The 

 largest topes, six in number, occupy the uppermost stage, and were, I 

 believe, dedicated to Buddha ; that is, either to the celestial Buddha, 

 Adindlk, or to the relics of the mortal Buddha, Sdtya. This viuw is 

 borne out by the facts that the largest tope contained no deposit ; 

 and that the second and third sized Topes yielded crystal boxes, one of 

 which, shaped like a tope, contained only a minute portion of human 

 bone smaller than a pea I The second rate topes, sixteen in number, 

 stand on the second stage. According to my view, these topes con- 

 tain the ashes of those who had reached the rank of Bodhisatwa. We 

 discovered relics in five of these topes, but there were no inscriptions 

 of any historical value. The third stage of the hill is occupied by 

 seven small topes, all of which I suppose to have been built over the 

 remains of the third grade of Pratyeka Buddhas. Of the eight topes 

 which stand on the lowest stage of the hill, one is m ich larger than 

 any of those on the third stage. These topes were, I believe, built 

 over the ashes of the lowest grade of the Buddha community, the 

 Srawaka Buddhas." 



Very splendid examples of Buddhist temples, topes, an i dagobas occur, 

 at Anuradhapoora, the ancient capital, and in several >ther places in 

 the island of Ceylon. These, from their having escapee the destructive 

 hand of adverse religious bodies, serve to elucidate a. any interesting 

 points hi the history of Buddhist architecture which the remaining 

 monuments of the peninsula leave in obscurity. Our space will not, 

 however, allow us to notice them here : they will be found described 

 in the works of Mr. Fergusson and Sir Emerson Tennent. In Bunnah 

 also occur numerous costly Buddhist edifices, some of them on a scale 

 at great magnitude, as the great pagoda of Pegu a comparatively 

 modern structure the diameter of whose base is 395 feet, while its 

 height is 331 feet above the artificial terrace on which it stands. At 

 Java again are several vast Buddhist temples, as that of Boro Buddor, 

 which is a square nine-storied many-pinnacled pyramid, the base of 

 which is 400 feet across. In style, however, these last are far more 

 barbaric than the older buildings of Hindustan. 



Bamd on the Buddhist style, but much more highly ornamented, are 

 the temples erected by the Jamas, the great sect which sprang up at 

 the decline of the Buddhists. [JAINAS.] Some of these temples are 



distinguished alike by chasteness, symmetry, and beauty of design, and 

 by rich and exquisite finishing. That at Ajmeer, in Rajpootana, is 

 remarkable for the elegance and slenderness of its columns, so very 

 different in their character from those in the excavated works, and 

 which seem therefore to indicate a totally different period of art. They 

 are about forty in number, and partake somewhat of a candelabrum 

 shape, although no two are exactly alike. The ceiling is highly 

 enriched with square panels or coffers, containing others in the form of 

 lozenges, enriched with foliage and sculpture, in style not very much 

 unlike the dnquecento of the Italians. This temple is surrounded by a 

 superb screen of Saracenic architecture, assigned by Tod to the first 

 dynasty of the Ghorian Sultans'. The same writer dwells upon the 

 analogy observable between the details of the columns in this temple 

 and the ornaments of Gothic buildings ; aud it would hardly be 

 fanciful to designate Jaina architecture the Decorated Buddhist style. 

 Some of the oldest and finest examples of the style are found about 

 Mount Abu in Gujerat, but they occur over a wide space, though often 

 altered, like the temple at Ajmeer, by Mohammedan additions. The 

 temples appear always to include a sanctuary, lighted only from the 

 door, and terminated upwards by a pyramidal spire-like roof. In this 

 chamber is placed a seated figure of the saint to whom the temple is 

 dedicated ; and attached to it is a spacious portico, which is sometimes 

 surmounted by a cupola. These porches are often extremely rich in 

 ornamentation : that of the temple of Vimalah Sah at Abu (described 

 and figured by Mr. Fergusson) has 48 elaborately carved columns ; yet 

 the exterior of the temple is perfectly plain. The Jainas were the 

 first to erect hollow cupolas in India, those in the Buddhist topes being 

 all solid. The cupolas of the Jaina temples are formed by placing the 

 stones so as gradually to project one beyond the other, the apex being 

 closed by a circular key -stone. The principle therefore is that of a 

 horizontal or vertical instead of a radiating pressure, and the edges of 

 all these projections being rounded off, the spectator sees, on looking 

 up, a vault composed of gradually diminishing circles or annular 

 courses of masonry. Brackets and struts are occasionally employed 

 with great skill to assist in bearing the superstructures. According to 

 Mr. Fergusson, some of these Jaina cupolas are " the most exquisite 

 specimens of elaborate roofing that can anywhere be seen." Usually 

 the octagonal cupolas are carried on eight thick pillars; but the 

 base is always made square by the addition of four other pillars at 

 the angles ; while in smaller buildings two more are added on each face, 

 making twenty in all. " Sometimes, however, the same system of 

 aggregation is carried on till the number reaches fifty-six, which is the 

 largest number I ever saw surrounding one dome ; but any number of 

 these domes may surround one temple, or central dome, and the 

 number of pillars consequently be multiplied ad injinitum." (Fergusson.) 

 The variety, picturesqueness, and splendour of effect, and the rich 

 play of light and shade, thus produced, however impure the style of 

 architecture may be in itself, can readily be imagined. Many of the 

 most superb of the Jaina temples have been converted into Mohammedan 

 mosques. 



The Jainas appear to have also wrought out cave-temples ; among 

 others the Subba caves of EUora have been attributed to them ; but 

 there is nothing in their works of this class sufficiently distinctive to 

 call for a particular description. 



Following their Buddhist predecessors, the Jainas showed a great 

 partiality for erecting towers ; and their towers, though less sub- 

 stantial, were little less rich than their temples. Few of them however 

 are left now. Two of {hem still stand within the fort of Chittore. 

 The older and smaller is of the 10th century, A.D. ; the larger is of 

 the 15th. This last is 30 feet wide at the base; 120 feet high; 

 and is formed hi nine stories, the whole being covered with archi- 

 tectural and sculptural ornament. The body, or shaft, of the tower 

 is smaller than the base, but it swells out again towards the summit, 

 which is surmounted with a small dome, and which was probably 

 crowned with a tee. It is fully described and figured in Mr. Fergusson's 

 ' Illustrations of Indian Architecture,' and ' Handbook of Architecture.' 

 This class of dagoba is the immediate prototype of the Chinese nine- 

 storied pagoda. 



Brahman Architecture is best studied in the temples of Southern 

 India. In Northern India the style is a good deal varied and less pure. 

 What may be considered as the normal type of a Brahman temple con- 

 sists of the rimana, a tower square in plan and pyramidal in form, 

 built over the sanctuary or cell in which is the image or emblem of 

 the god ; a mantapa, or porch, placed before the principal entrance to 

 the sanctuary; gnpia-as, or pyramidal gate towers, which serve as 

 entrances to the enclosures in which the vimanas are placed ; and a 

 c/wultrie, or spacious pillared hall. 



The Vimana, or inner temple, has a perpendicular base of granite or 

 stone, which is always decorated with pilasters, niches, and other 

 architectural ornaments. From this rises in distinct stages the 

 pyramidal roof, usually constructed of brick and covered with stucco, 

 and crowned with a small dome-like termination, evidently borrowed 

 from the older Buddhist builders. The most splendid example of one 

 of these buildings is the great temple at Tanjore, from the annexed 

 representation of which their general character may be understood. 

 The base of this temple is 82 feet each way, and the pyramidal roof 

 rises in 14 stories to a height of about 200 feet. 



The porch, or Mantapa, is in plan usually similar to the temple itself, 



