Chapter LVIII: Part II: sect. i., et passim (1)

[214] One curious peculiarity of these Gandhara sculptures is that they generally retain the sloping jamb on each side of their openings. In India and in a structural building this peculiarity would certainly fix their age as anterior to the Christian Era. In Gandhara it is only found in decorative sculpture, and retained apparently from association. It does not, at all events, appear as if any argument could be based on its use as there employed.

[215] Assuming that his age has been correctly ascertained, which I am beginning, however, to doubt exceedingly.

[216] I possess photographs of about 300 objects from the Lahore and other museums, and have had access to about as many actual examples--of an inferior class, however--in collections in this country, but even they barely suffice for the purpose.

[217] ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v., Introduction, p. vi. See also Appendix to the same volume, pp. 193-4.

[218] Texier and Pullan, ‘Byzantine Architecture,’ London, 1864, pls. 22-25 and pl. 44.

[219] De Voguë, ‘Syrie Centrale,’ _passim_.

[220] By a curious slip of the pen General Cunningham (‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v. p. 193) places “These Roman examples in the baths of Caracalla in the beginning of the first century of the Christian Era, almost contemporary,” he adds, “with that which I assign to the finest Indo-Corinthian examples just described, namely, the latter half of the first century B.C.” This is so evidently a mere slip that I would not allude to it were it not that much of his argument for the early age of these sculptures is based upon this coincidence.

[221] There is a capital at Siah, in Syria, on which a bust is introduced, which may be as early as the Christian Era, but it is a solitary example not repeated afterwards, so far as I know. See ‘Syrie Centrale,’ by De Voguë, plate 3.

[222] In Beal’s introduction to ‘Fa Hian,’ p. 18, he mentions, on Chinese authority, which is much more reliable than Indian, that a statue of Buddha was brought to China from Kartchou (?) in B.C. 121. On asking Mr. Beal to look carefully into the authorities for this statement, he reports them to be hazy in the extreme, and not to be relied upon.

[223] I believe it is generally admitted that the _rédaction_ of the ‘Mahawanso,’ and other Ceylonese scriptures made in Buddhaghosha’s time, A.D. 408-420, is the oldest authentic Buddhist work we now possess. They, like the ‘Lalita Vistara,’ and other works, are founded on older works of course, but the earlier forms have been lost, and what we have is what the writers of the 5th and subsequent centuries thought they ought to be.

[224] Unfortunately no Indian list of these patriarchs has yet come to light. Those we have are derived from Japanese or Chinese sources, and are all tainted with the falsification which the Chinese made in Buddhist chronology by putting Buddha’s date back to about 1000 B.C., in order that he might have precedence of Confucius in antiquity! for so it is that history is written in the East. For a list of the twenty-eight known patriarchs, see Lassen, ‘Indische Alterthumskunde,’ vol. ii., Beilage ii. p. 1004.

[225] The capitals of these pillars are so ruined that it is difficult to speak very confidently about them. I have drawings of them by Col. Yule and by Mr. W. Simpson, and latterly Gen. Cunningham has published drawings of them, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v. pl. 24. None of them are quite satisfactory, but this must arise from the difficulty of the task.

[226] No complete history of the ivories has been published which is sufficient for reference on this subject. Gori’s are too badly engraved for this purpose; but the first twelve plates in Labarte’s ‘Histoire de l’Art’ are perfect as far as they go. So are the plates in Maskell’s ‘Catalogue of the South Kensington Museum,’ and those published by the Arundel Society; but it is to the collection of casts in these two last-named institutions that the reader should refer for fuller information on the subject.

[227] I purchased from his artist, Mr. Nicholl, and possess all the original sketches from which the illustrations of his book were engraved.

[228] When the present governor was appointed hopes ran high that this unsatisfactory state of our knowledge would be cleared away. The stars, however, in their courses have warred against archæology in Ceylon ever since he assumed sway over the island, and the only residuum of his exertions seems to be that a thoroughly competent German scholar, Herr Goldsmidt, is occupied now in copying the inscriptions, which are numerous, in the island. These, however, are just what is least wanted at present. In India, where we have no history and no dates, inscriptions are invaluable, and are, in fact, our only sources of correct information. In Ceylon, however, they are, for archæological purposes, comparatively unimportant. What is there wanted are plans and architectural details, and these, accompanied by general descriptions and dimensions, would, with the photographs we possess, supply all we now want. Any qualified person accustomed to such work could supply nearly all that is wanted in twelve months, for the two principal cities at least; but I despair of seeing it done in my day.

[229] Beal’s translation, p. 157.

[230] The artist who made the drawings for Sir E. Tennent’s book, not knowing what a serpent-hood was, has in almost all instances so drawn it as to be unrecognisable. The photographs, however, make it quite clear that all had serpent-hoods.

[231] The cubit of Ceylon is nearly 2 ft. 3 in.

[232] In the photographs it is called an altar, which it certainly was not.

[233] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ pl. 19. In some respects it resembles the Woodcuts Nos. 34 and 35.

[234] Since the drawing was made from which this cut is taken, it has been thoroughly repaired and made as unlike what it was as can well be conceived.

[235] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal’ for March, 1847, p. 218.

[236] ‘Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 474, and ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. xiii. p. 168.

[237] I am afraid this is no longer true. From what I learn, I fear it has been repaired.

[238] ‘Mahawanso,’ Turnour’s translation, p. 163.

[239] Loc. cit., p. 235.

[240] At Amravati the Zoophorus (Woodcut No. 36) consisted of the same animals, I believe, but it is not complete, no fragment of the horse having been brought home, and generally, it seems that this limited menagerie is to be found in all Buddhist works.

[241] Any architect of ordinary ability could in a week easily make the plans and drawings requisite to give us all the information required respecting these halls in Anuradhapura. I am not sure that Capt. Hogg has not already done all that is wanted, but he was sent off so suddenly to St. Helena that no time was allowed him to communicate his information to others, even if he had it.

[242] Singularly enough, the natives of Behar ascribe the planting of their Bo-tree to Duttagaimuni, the pious king of Ceylon.--See Buchanan Hamilton’s ‘Statistics of Behar,’ p. 76, Montgomery Martin’s edition.

[243] According to Mr. Rhys Davids, the proper name of the city is Pulastipura (‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. vii. (N.S.) p. 156), and its modern name Topawœwa or Topawa. As, however, that here given is the only one by which it is known in English literature, it is retained.

[244] ‘Christianity in Ceylon,’ Murray, 1850; ‘An Account of the Island of Ceylon,’ 2 vols., Longmans, 1859. Since then Mr. Lawton’s and Capt. Hogg’s photographs have added considerably to the precision but not to the extent of our knowledge. Not one plan or dimension, and no description, so far as I know, have reached this country.

[245] Among Capt. Hogg’s photographs are two colossal statues of Buddha, one at Seperawa, described as 41 ft. high, the other at a place called Aukana, 40 ft. high; but where these places are there is nothing to show. They are extremely similar to one another, and, except in dimensions, to that at the Gal Vihara.

[246] They occur also on Asoka’s pillars in the earliest known sculptures in India (Woodcut No. 6). It was the cackling of these sacred geese which is said to have saved the Capitol at Rome from being surprised by the Gauls.

[247] The preceding woodcut, from Sir E. Tennent’s book, is far from doing justice to the building or to Mr. Nicholl’s drawings, which are before me; but among the half dozen photographs I possess of it not one is sufficiently explanatory to convey a correct idea of its peculiarities, and, after all, without plans or dimensions, it is in vain to attempt to convey a correct idea of it to others.

[248] ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. iii. p. 31, _et seqq._, plates 13 and 15. As neither photographs nor even drawings of these figures are yet available, we are still unable to speak of their style of art, or to feel sure of their authenticity; nor has the era from which these dates are to be calculated been fixed with anything like certainty. The evidence, however, as it now stands, is strongly in favour of their being what they are represented to be.

[249] Vol. i. p. 359, Woodcut No. 241.

[250] The antiquities of Java will probably, to some extent at least, supply this deficiency, as will be pointed out in a subsequent chapter.

[251] Vol. i. p. 212, _et seqq._

[252] Vol. i. p. 213.

[253] Ibid., p. 334.

[254] Fully illustrated in vol. ii. of the Dilettanti Society’s ‘Antiquities of Ionia.’

[255] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 1, _et seqq._; ‘Madras Journal,’ vol. xx. p. 78, _et seqq._; ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 206, _et seqq._

[256] ‘Archæological Reports,’ 1874, pp. 41 and 42.

[257] Loc. cit., plate 54.

[258] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 270, vol. xvii. p. 285.

[259] ‘Hiouen Thsang, Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 253, _et seqq._

[260] See Woodcuts Nos. 99, 112, 122, 124, 127, 172, 177 and 178 of vol. i. of this work.

[261] In his work on the ‘Antiquities of Orissa,’ Babu Rajendra Lalâ Mittra suggests at page 31 something of this sort, but if his diagram were all that is to be said in favour of the hypothesis, I would feel inclined to reject it.

[262] No really satisfactory translation of these Asoka edicts has yet been published. The best is that of Professor Wilson, in vol. xii. ‘Journal of Royal Asiatic Society.’ Mr. Burgess has, however, recently re-copied that at Girnar, and General Cunningham those in the north of India. When these are published it may be possible to make a better translation than has yet appeared.

[263] ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. viii. p. 120.

[264] Ibid., vol. vii. p. 124.

[265] Lieut. Postans’ ‘Journey to Girnar,’ ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. vii. p. 865, _et seqq._ This, with most of the facts here recorded, is taken either from Mr. Burgess’s descriptions of the photographs in his ‘Visit to Somnath, Girnar, and other places in Kathiawar,’ or Lieut. Postans’ ‘Journey,’ just referred to. Col. Tod’s facts are too much mixed up with poetry to admit of their being quoted.

[266] Mr. Burgess visited this place during the spring of the present year, and has brought away plans and sections, from which it appears these caves are old, but till his materials are published it is impossible to state exactly how old they may be. I am afraid this work will be published long before his Report.

[267] Ram Raj, ‘Architecture of the Hindus,’ p. 49.

[268] Burgess, ‘Visit to Girnar,’ &c., p. 3.

[269] ‘Ferishta,’ translated by General Briggs, vol. i. p. 72. Wilson, however (‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xvii. p. 194), is clearly of opinion that it was a lingam. One slight circumstance mentioned incidentally by Ferishta (p. 74) convinces me as clearly it was Jaina. After describing the destruction of the great idol, he goes on to say, “There were in the temple some thousands of small images, wrought in gold and silver, of various shapes and dimensions.” I know of no religion except that of the Jains--and the very late Buddhists--who indulged in this excessive reduplication of images.

[270] A view of this temple, not very correct but fairly illustrative of the style, forms the title-page to Col. Tod’s ‘Travels in Western India.’

[271] See ‘Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ by the Author, p. 30, from which work the plan and view are taken.

[272] See _ante_, p. 221.

[273] ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 357.

[274] Ibid., plate 90.

[275] The only person who has described these temples in any detail is Gen. Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 412, _et seqq._, from which consequently all that is here said is taken. I am also indebted to the General for a very complete set of photographs of these temples, which enables me to speak of their appearance with confidence.

[276] General Cunningham hesitates to adopt its extreme simplicity and rudeness as a test of its age, because it is built of granite, the other in the exquisite stone of the neighbourhood. Its plan, however, and the forms of its sikras, induce me to believe it to be exceptionally old.

[277] For plans of similar Jaina temples, see Mr. Burgess’s Report on Belgâm and Kuladgi, pls. 2, 10 and 45. These, however, are more modern than this one.

[278] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ by the Author, plate 5.

[279] Impey, ‘Views in Delhi, Agra, and Rajpootana,’ London, 1865, frontispiece and plate 60.

[280] Sri Allat, to whom the erection of this tower is ascribed, is the 12th king, mentioned in Tod’s Aitpore inscriptions (‘Rajastan,’ vol. i. p. 802).

[281] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindostan,’ by the Author, pl. 8, p. 38.

[282] The dome that now crowns this tower was substituted for the old dome since I sketched it in 1839.

[283] Burgess, ‘Sutrunjya,’ p. 20. A plan of this temple is given by him and several photographs.

[284] Burgess, loc. cit., p. 25.

[285] Tod’s ‘Travels in Western India,’ pp. 280, 281.

[286] L. Rousselet, in ‘L’Inde des Rajahs,’ devotes three plates, pp. 396-8, to these temples. I possess several photographs of them.

[287] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ pl. 17.

[288] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgâm and Kuladji Districts,’ 1875, p. 25, plates 36 and 37.

[289] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 7; ‘Madras Journal,’ vol. xx. p. 78, _et seqq._

[290] Tod’s ‘Rajastan,’ vol. i. p. 778, and plate facing it.

[291] Unfortunately the census of 1872 did not extend to the Mysore, where the principal Jaina establishments are situated, nor to any of the native states of southern India. The figures thus given do not consequently at all represent the facts of the case.

[292] ‘Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 201, _et seqq._, vol. iii. p. 146, _et seqq._

[293] Sir Walter Elliot and others have told me there are Buddhist remains in the south, and I know the general opinion is that this is so. I have never myself seen any, nor been able to obtain photographs or detailed information regarding them. When they are brought forward these assertions may be modified. They, however, express in the meanwhile our present knowledge of the subject.

[294] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 285.

[295] These three were engraved in ‘Moor’s Pantheon,’ plates 73 and 74, in 1810. I have photographs of them, but not of any others, nor have I been able to hear of any but these three.

[296] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 285; ‘Indian Antiquary,’ vol. ii. p. 353.

[297] Moor’s ‘Pantheon,’ plate 73.

[298] Burgess, ‘Archæological Reports,’ 1875, p. xxxvii., plate 25.

[299] The artist who drew the lithographs for the ‘Indian Antiquary,’ vol. ii. plate on p. 353, not knowing that serpents were intended, has supplied their place with an ornamentation of his own design.

[300] Among the photographs of the ‘Architecture of Dharwar and Mysore,’ plates 74 and 75, there labelled Hirpouhully. When writing the descriptions of these plates, I was struck with, and pointed out, the curiously exceptional nature of the style of that temple, and its affinities with the style of Nepal; but I had no idea then that it was below, and not above, the Ghâts, and far from being exceptional in the country where it was situated. In fact, one of the great difficulties in writing a book like the present is to avoid making mistakes of this sort. Photographers are frequently so careless in naming the views they are making, and mounters frequently more so, in transferring the right names to the mounts, that in very many instances photographs come to me with names that have no connexion with the subjects; and it is only by careful comparison, aided with extraneous knowledge, that grave errors can be avoided.

[301] ‘Travels in the Himalayan Provinces and in Ladakh and Kashmir,’ London, Murray, 1841.

[302] ‘Travels in Kashmir, Ladak,’ &c., two vols. 8vo., London, Colburn, 1842.

[303] ‘Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab.’ Translated by Major Jervis, London, 1845.

[304] ‘Illustrations of the Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ &c., prepared, under the authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council, by Lieut. H. H. Cole, R.E., quarto, Allen and Co., London, 1869.

[305] I cannot make out the span of this arch. According to the rods laid across the photograph, it appears to be 15 feet; according to the scale on the plan, only half that amount.

[306] Lieut. Cole’s plates, 1-68 to 4-68.

[307] See drawing of mosque by Vigne, vol. i. p. 269; and also ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ 1848, p. 253, containing General A. Cunningham’s paper on the subject, from which this woodcut is taken.

[308] On the Toran attached to the rail at Bharhut are elevations of chaitya halls, shown in section, which represent this trefoil form with great exactness.

[309] Josephus, ‘Bell. Jud.,’ v. v. 4, Middoth, iv. 6. I have written a work I hope one day to publish, ‘On the temples of the Jews,’ in which all these dimensions will be drawn to scale.

[310] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 267.

[311] Cunningham in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 269.

[312] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 273.

[313] Cunningham, loc. cit., p. 263; Vigne, ‘Travels in Kashmir,’ vol. i. p. 384.

[314] It is not a little singular, however, that the only temple I know of in India that resembles this one, either in plan or arrangement, is the smaller temple of Conjeveram in the Chola country, near Madras; and it is curious that both the ‘Raja Tarangini,’ the Kashmiri history, and that of the Chola country, mention that Ranaditya of Kashmir married a daughter of the Chola king, and assisted in forming an aqueduct from the Cauvery--showing at least an intimacy which may have arisen from that affinity of race and religion, which, overleaping the intruded Aryans, united the two extremities of India in one common bond. True, the style of the two temples is different; but when I saw the one I did not know of the existence of the other, and did not, as I now should, examine the details with that care which alone would enable any one to pronounce definitely regarding their affinities.

[315] Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. iii., v. 462.

[316] Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. iv., v. 126-371.

[317] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 49.

[318] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ p. 47.

[319] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 61. Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. v., c. 128.

[320] Plans of these temples with details are given by Cunningham, plates 17 and 18, and by Lieut. Cole with photographs, plates 20 to 27, and 2 to 5 for details. Mr. Cowie also adds considerably to our information on the subject. The dimensions quoted in the text are from Lieut. Cole, and are in excess of those given by General Cunningham.

[321] Lieut. Cole, ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ p. 23, plates 37 and 38.

[322] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ 1866, p. 101, _et seqq._

[323] ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ p. 11, plates 6 to 11.

[324] Cunningham, ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 256.

[325] ‘Raja Tarangini,’ vol. i. verse 170.

[326] ‘Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 96.

[327] Nepal is fortunate in having possessed in Mr. Brian H. Hodgson one of the most acute observers that ever graced the Bengal Civil Service. At the time, however, when he was Resident in the valley, none of the questions mooted in this work can be said to have been started; and he was mainly engrossed in exploring and communicating to others the unsuspected wealth of Buddhist learning which he found in Nepal, and the services he rendered to this cause are incalculably great. Nor did he neglect the architecture. I have before me a short manuscript essay on the subject, only four sheets foolscap, with about one hundred illustrations, which, if fully worked out, would be nearly all that is required. Unfortunately there are neither dates nor dimensions, and the essay is so short, and the drawings, made by natives, so incomplete, that it does not supply what is wanted; but, if worked out on the spot and supplemented by photographs, it might be all that is required.

[328] A curious mistake occurs in Buchanan Hamilton’s ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal.’ At page 57 he says: “Gautama, according to the best authorities, lived in the sixth century B.C., and Sakya in the first century A.D. The doctrines of Sakya Singha differ most essentially from those of Gautama.” In the writings of any other man this would be put down as a stupid mistake, but he was so careful an observer that it is evident that his informers confounded the founder of the Saka era--whether he was Kanishka or not--with the founder of the religion, though they seem to be perfectly aware of the novelty of the doctrines introduced by Nagárjuna and the fourth convocation. He adds, page 190, that Buddhism was introduced into Nepal A.D. 33, which is probably, however, fifty years too early--if, at least, it was consequent on the fourth convocation.

[329] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ p. 12.

[330] Ibid., p. 49.

[331] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ p. 190.

[332] Ibid., p. 22.

[333] Ibid., pp. 35 and 211.

[334] A view of this temple from the frontispiece of Buchanan Hamilton’s volume.

[335] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. v. (N.S.) p. 18.

[336] ‘Nepaul,’ p. 187.

[337] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ pp. 29, 42, 51, &c.

[338] The following particulars are taken from a paper by Major Austen in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xliii. part i., 1874.

[339] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xxiv. p. 1. _et seqq._

[340] Ibid., vol. xx. p. 291, _et seqq._

[341] Capt. Turner, it is true, who was sent to Teeshoo Lomboo by Warren Hastings, has published with his interesting narrative a number of very faithful views of what he saw, but they are not selected from that class of monuments which is the subject of our present inquiry.

[342] ‘Voyage dans le Thibet,’ vol. ii. p. 289. The monastery referred to is that of Séra, in the neighbourhood of Lassa, the capital.

[343] It is found currently employed in the decorative sculpture of the Gandhara monasteries, but never as a constructive feature.

[344] Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v. p. 178, _et seqq._, from which the following particulars are abstracted.

[345] I hope no one will mistake the elevation, pl. 44, vol. v. of Cunningham’s ‘Archæological Reports’ for a representation of this temple. It does not in the least resemble it.

[346] Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v. p. 183.

[347] ‘Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages,’ London, second edition, 1875, p. 42.

[348] ‘Grammar,’ p. 44.

[349] The best account of the Pandyan kingdom--the Regio Pandionis of the classical authors--is Wilson’s historical sketch in the ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 199, _et seqq._ 1736.

[350] Besides the account of this state given by Professor Wilson, in vol. iii. of the ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ there are many scattered notices found in Taylor’s ‘Analysis of the Mackenzie MSS.,’ and elsewhere.

[351] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 40.

[352] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. viii. p. 5.

[353] Ibid.

[354] Ibid., vol. iv. p. 10.

[355] The particulars are abstracted from Sir Walter Elliot’s paper in the fourth, and Mr. Dowson’s paper on the Cheras in the eighth, volume of the ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.’

[356] The documents collected by Colonel Mackenzie are full of the disputes which ended in the persecution, and these extended apparently from the 5th to the 7th century.

[357] See Dr. Babington, Plate 4, vol. ii. of ‘Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ for the sculpture at Maha Balipuram.

[358] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 270, and vol. xvii. p. 285.

[359] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgam and Kaladgi,’ 1875, plates 39, 40.

[360] Most of these were copied by Dr. Babington, and published with the papers above referred to, but others are given in the volume on the Mackenzie collection in the India Office.

[361] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. vii. plate 13.

[362] Sir Walter Elliot in Lieut. Carr’s compilation, p. 127.

[363] Ibid.

[364] Among the recently discovered ruins at Bharhut is a bas-relief representing a building so exactly like the long rath here, that there can be no doubt that such buildings were used in the north of India two centuries at least before Christ, but to what purpose they were applied is not so clear. The one at Bharhut seems to have contained the thrones or altars of the four last Buddhas.

[365] Among the sculptures of the Gandhara monasteries are several representing façades of buildings. They may be cells or chaitya halls, but, at all events, they are almost exact reproductions of the façade of this rath. Being used as frameworks for sculpture, the northern examples are, of course, conventionalised; but it is impossible to mistake the identity of intention. They may probably be of about the same age.

[366] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgam,’ &c., p. 24.

[367] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ p. 73.

[368] If it were possible to rouse the Madras Government to take any interest in such matters, it might be hoped they would replace the head of the great Naga on his body before it is destroyed by being made a cockshy for idle Britishers.

[369] In Daniell’s plates, No. 16, the upper part of this is shown. Being cut in the rock no addition or alteration could afterwards have been intended.

[370] ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. ix. p. 314, _et seqq._

[371] ‘Report on Belgam and Kaladji,’ 1874, p. 31, _et seqq._

[372] There are four photographs of this temple in the ‘Architectural Antiquities of Dharwar and Mysore,’ plates 54-57. One of these is repeated in Mr. Burgess’s book, plate 38.

[373] Several photographs of it will be found in Capt. Lyon’s collection.

[374] Capt. Lyon was employed by Government for this purpose, and made 276 photographs of these temples. Fourteen sets were furnished to Government, but, owing to difficulties which occurred in bringing them out, they can hardly be said to be published--in this country at least.

[375] As the plan is only an eye-sketch, and the dimensions obtained by pacing, it must not be too much relied on. It is sufficient to explain the text, and that is all that is at present required.

[376] Inscription on gateway.

[377] The dimensions of this image are 16 ft. from muzzle to rump, by above 7 ft. across, 12 ft. 2 in. to top of head, 10 ft. 4 in. to top of hump, and 7 ft. 5 in. to top of back. It is composed of a single block of stone, I believe granite, but it has been so frequently and so thoroughly coated with oil, which is daily applied to it, that it looks like bronze. I tried to remove a portion of this epidermis in order to ascertain what was beneath, but was not successful. No other kind of stone, however, is used in any other part of the temple.

[378] Though so very important in Dravidian history, we have not even now a correct list of the Chola kings from the year 1000 downwards. There certainly is not one among the Mackenzie MSS. The late Mr. Ellis, it is said, had one, but he determined not to publish anything before he was forty years of age, and before that time he swallowed a bottleful of laudanum by mistake, and was found dead in his bed one morning. His papers served his successor’s cook to light fires for some years afterwards.

[379] Except this dimension, which is from a survey, and those of the gopuras, the dimensions above quoted must be taken _cum grano_. They were obtained only by pacing and eye-sketching.

[380] A drawing of it was published in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture.’ It has since been frequently photographed.

[381] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindustan,’ p. 60.

[382] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. viii. p. 7.

[383] ‘Madras Journal,’ No. 20, p. 15.

[384] Its dimensions, as nearly as can be ascertained from my paces, and Admiral Paris’ plans, are 340 ft. by 180 ft.

[385] The plan of this temple (Woodcut No. 200) is taken from one in the ‘Journal of the Geographical Society of Bombay,’ vol. vii., and may be depended upon in so far as dimensions and general arrangements are concerned. The officers who made it were surveyors, but, unfortunately, not architects, and photographs since made reveal certain discrepancies of detail which prove it to require revision by some one on the spot.

[386] There is a view of it in the Atlas of plates that accompanies Lord Valentia’s travels; not very correct, but conveying a fair idea of its proportions.

[387] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 202.

[388] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 230, _et seqq._

[389] Fortunately this choultrie is also one of the best known of Indian buildings. It was drawn by Daniell in the end of the last century, and his drawings have been repeated by Langles and others. It was described by Mr. Blackadder in the ‘Archæologia,’ vol. x. p. 457; and by Wilson, ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 232. Volumes of native drawings exist in some collections containing representations of every pillar. A model in bronze of a porch exists at South Kensington Museum, and it has been abundantly photographed.

[390] In the description of Tripe’s photograph this dimension is given as 117 ft.

[391] Most of these particulars, with those that follow regarding the temples, are taken from Capt. Lyon’s description of his photographs of the places. He devotes twenty-six photos. to this temple alone.

[392] The view in this temple in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ No. 21, is taken from the corner of this tank.

[393] There is a native plan of this temple in the India Museum, which makes it very much more extensive than my inspection of the part I was allowed access to would have led me to suppose. I do not know, however, how far the plan can be depended upon.

[394] It is supposed, erroneously, I believe (‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ (N.S.) vol. vi. p. 265), to be the Kanchipuram visited by Hiouen Thsang in 640. Nagapatam was more probably the place he indicated.

[395] I was too unwell when I visited Conjeveram to make so careful a survey of its temples as I would have wished to have done.

[396] I have never been able to ascertain even approximately its dimensions. Hundreds visit it, many have photographed, some written descriptions, but to measure dimensions and make even a sketch plan seems beyond the educational capacity of our countrymen.

[397] When I was in Madras, and indeed up to the present year, the temple on the hill of Tripetty or Tirupetty was reputed to be the richest, the most magnificent, as it was certainly the most sacred of all those in the Presidency. So sacred, indeed, was it, that no unbelieving foreigner had ever been allowed to climb the holy hill (2500 ft. high) or profane its sacred precincts. In 1870, a party of police forced their way in, in pursuit of a murderer who had taken refuge there, and a Mr. Gribble, who accompanied them, published this year (1875) an account of what they saw in the ‘Calcutta Review.’ As he exclaims, “Another of the illusions of my youth destroyed.” The temple is neither remarkable for its size nor its magnificence. In these respects it is inferior to Conjeveram, Seringham, and many others; and whatever may be done with its immense revenues, they certainly are not applied to its adornment. It is a fair specimen of a Dravidian temple of the second class, but in a sad state of dilapidation and disrepair.

[398] What I know on this subject I have already said in my work on ‘Rude Stone Monuments,’ p. 455, _et seqq._

[399] Some money was, I believe, expended during Lord Napier’s administration on the repairs of this court and its appurtenances, but it was quite beyond the purview of an Anglo-Saxon to make a plan of the place. It is, consequently, very difficult to describe it.

[400] Description attached to Tripe’s Photographs.

[401] Vol. i. (N.S.) p. 247, _et seqq._

[402] Professor Eggeling tells me he has great reason for suspecting the date 411 for Palakesi I. (‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 8) to be a forgery. There is something certainly wrong about it, but how the error arose is not yet clear. It seems at least a century too early. See the ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 12; ibid., vol. iv. (N.S.) p. 93.

[403] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 10, _et seqq._

[404] Prinsep’s ‘Useful Tables,’ re-edited by Thomas, pp. 267-268.

[405] If all the quadrants of this portico were equal the numbers ought to be 300, or 75 in each, but I fancy a considerable portion of two of them was cut off by the site of the temple. As I have nothing but photographs to go by, and they only show the exterior, even this is uncertain, and the dimensions I cannot even guess at. They are very large, however, for a Hindu temple.

[406] These dates are taken from a list of this dynasty among the Mackenzie MSS., quoted by Prinsep, ‘Useful Tables,’ xli., and are confirmed by the architectural evidence and other indications.

[407] I regret that I have been unable to get a plan of this temple or, indeed, of any triple temple. That at Girnar (Woodcut No. 127) belongs to another religion, and is too far distant in locality to assist us here. An imperfect one might be compiled from the photographs, but I have not even an approximate dimension.

[408] In a very few years this building will be entirely destroyed by the trees, which have fastened their roots in the joints of the stones. In a drawing in the Mackenzie collection in the India Office, made in the early part of this century, the building is shown entire. Twenty years ago it was as shown at p. 398. A subsequent photograph shows it almost hidden; a few years more, if some steps are not taken to save it, it will have perished entirely. A very small sum would save it; and, as the country is in our charge, it is hoped that the expenditure will not be grudged.

[409] Plates 1 and 32-40. Published by Murray, 1864.

[410] In 1848 Gen. Cunningham applied the term Aryan to the architecture of Kashmir, apparently on the strength of a pun (‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ September, 1848, p. 242). This, however, was limiting a term that belongs to two continents to an insignificant valley, in one of them. It was, besides, wholly uncalled for. The term Kashmiri was amply sufficient, and all that was wanted for so strictly local a style.

[411] ‘Historical Sketch of Tahsil Fyzabad,’ by P. Carnegy, Lucknow, 1870. Gen. Cunningham attempts to identify the various mounds at this place with those described as existing in Saketu by the Buddhist Pilgrims (‘Ancient Geography of India,’ p. 401, _et seqq._; ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. i. p. 293, _et seqq._) The truth of the matter, however, is, that neither Fa Hian nor Hiouen Thsang were ever near the place. The city they visited, and where the Toothbrush-tree grew, was the present city of Lucknow, which was the capital of the kingdom in Sakya Muni’s time.

[412] ‘Sacred City of the Hindus,’ London, 1868, p. 271, _et seqq._; ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xxxiv. p. 1, _et seqq._

[413] Curiously enough they make their appearance on the stage about the same time, and both then complete and perfect in all their details.

[414] ‘Hunter’s Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 233.

[415] I regret very much being obliged to send this chapter to press before the receipt of the second volume of Babu Rajendra Lala Mittra’s ‘Antiquities of Orissa.’ He accompanied a Government expedition to that province in 1868 as archæologist, and being a Brahman and an excellent Sanscrit scholar, he has had opportunities of ascertaining facts such as no one else ever had. Orissa was the first province I visited in India for the purposes of antiquarian research, and like every one else, I was then quite unfamiliar with the forms and affinities of Hindu architecture. Photographs have enabled me to supply to some extent the deficiency of my knowledge at that time; but unless photographs are taken by a scientific man for scientific purposes, they do not supply the place of local experience. I feel confident that, on the spot, I could now ascertain the sequence of the temples with perfect certainty; but whether the Babu has sufficient knowledge for that purpose remains to be seen. His first volume is very learned, and may be very interesting, but it adds little or nothing to what we already knew of the history of Orissan architecture.

I have seen two plates of plans of temples intended for the second volume. They are arranged without reference either to style or dates, so they convey very little information, and the photographs prove them to be so incorrect that no great dependence can be placed upon them. The text, which I have not seen, may remedy all this, and I hope will, but if he had made any great discoveries, such as the error in the date of the Black Pagoda, they most probably would have been hinted at in the first volume, or have leaked out in some of the Babu’s numerous publications during the last seven or eight years.

Mr. Hunter, who was in constant communication with the Babu, adds very little in his work on Orissa to what we learnt long ago from Stirling’s, which up to this hour remains the classical work on the province and its antiquities.

[416] These particulars are taken, of course, from Stirling, ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. pp. 263, 264. The whole evidence was embodied in a paper on the Amravati tope, ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. (N.S.), p. 149, _et seqq._

[417] Hunter’s ‘Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 238.

[418] This dimension is from Babu Rajendra’s ‘Orissan Antiquities,’ vol. i. p. 41, but I don’t like it.

[419] This and the dimensions in plan generally are taken from a table in Babu Rajendra’s work, p. 41. I am afraid they are only round numbers, and certainly incorrect, but they suffice for comparison.

[420] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ plates 48-98.

[421] Hunter’s ‘Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 237.

[422] It is to be hoped that Babu Rajendra’s book may to some extent remedy this deficiency. In the part, however, now published, he does not promise that this will be the case.

[423] Cunningham’s ‘Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 416.

[424] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 327.

[425] Myself included in the number! but, as explained above, I had no knowledge of the style when I visited Orissa, and had no photographs to illustrate the architecture of temples to which I was not then allowed access.

[426] When I visited Orissa in 1837 and sketched this temple, a great part of the tower was still standing. See ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ part iii. It has since fallen entirely, but whether from stress of weather or by aid from the Public Works Department is by no means clear.

[427] ‘Ayeen Akbery,’ Gladwin’s translation, vol. ii. p. 16.

[428] Hunter’s ‘Orissa,’ Appendix vii. p. 187, _et seqq._

[429] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. vii. p. 557.

[430] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xvi. p. 25.

[431] In his ‘Antiquities of Orissa’ (p. 151), Babu Rajendra sums up exhaustively the argument for and against Vishnu being considered the same as the Sun in the Vedas, and, on the whole, makes out a strong case in favour of the identification. Even, however, if the case were much less strong than it appears to be, it by no means follows that what was only dimly shadowed forth in the Vedas may not have become an accepted fact in the Puranas, and an established dogma in Orissa in the 9th century, when this temple was erected.

[432] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 330.

[433] These discrepancies arise from the fact that the beams lie on the floor buried under the ruins of the stone roof they once supported, and it is extremely difficult to get at them so as to obtain correct measurements.

[434] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 316.

[435] Loc. cit., p. 265.

[436] Tournour’s abstract of the Dalawanso in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. vi. p. 856, _et seqq._

[437] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ v. 1. xv. p. 320.

[438] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 315.

[439] The plan is reduced from one to a scale of 40 feet to 1 in., made by an intelligent native assistant to the Public Works Department, named Radhica Pursâd Mukerji, and is the only plan I ever found done by a native sufficiently correct to be used, except as a diagram, or after serious doctoring.

[440] Hunter, ‘Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 128.

[441] News has just reached this country of a curious accident having happened in this temple. Just after the gods had been removed from their Sinhasan to take their annual excursion to the Gundicha Nûr, some stones of the roof fell in, and would have killed any attendants and smashed the gods had they not fortunately all been absent. Assuming the interior of the Bara Dewul to be as represented (Woodcut No. 124), it is not easy to see how this could have happened. But in the same woodcut the porch or Jagamohan of the Kanaruc pagoda is represented with a flat false roof, which has fallen, and now encumbers the floor of the apartment. That roof, however, was formed of stone laid on iron beams, and looked as if it could only have been shaken down by an earthquake. I have little doubt that a similar false roof was formed someway up the tower over the altar at Puri, but formed probably of stone laid on wooden beams and either decay or the white ants having destroyed the timber, the stones have fallen as narrated.

A similar roof so supported on wooden beams still exists in the structural temple on the shore at Mahavellipore, and, I have no doubt, elsewhere, but it is almost impossible to get access to these cells when the gods are at home, and the places are so dark it is equally impossible to see, except when in ruins, how they were roofed.

[442] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 367.

[443] Ibid., p. 335; Hunter’s ‘Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 266.

[444] ‘Ayeen Akbery,’ Gladwin’s translation, vol. ii. p. 13.

[445] These dimensions, except those of Kanaruc, are taken from a table in Babu Rajendra’s ‘Antiquities of Orissa,’ vol. i. p. 41, and are sufficient to give an idea of the relative size of the building. So far as I can make out they are taken from angle to angle of the towers, but as they all have projections on their faces, when cubed, as is done in the table referred to, they are much too small. I may also observe that I know of no instance in which the two dimensions differ. The four faces are always, I believe, alike. The dates are my own; none are given, except for the great temple, in the Babu’s first volume.

[446] The two works on this subject are the ‘Architectural History of Dharwar and Mysore,’ fol., 100 plates, Murray, 1866, and Burgess’s ‘Report on the Belgam and Kuladgi Districts,’ 1874. Considering the time available and the means at his disposal, Mr. Burgess did wonders, but it is no dispraise to say that he has not, nor could any man in his place, exhaust so vast a subject.

[447] For architectural purposes the three places may be considered as one. Aiwulli is five or six miles north of Badami, and Purudkul or Pittadkul as far south. Ten miles covers the whole, which must have been in the 6th or 7th century a place of great importance--possibly Watipipura, the capital of the Chalukyas in the 5th or 6th century. See ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 9.

[448] ‘Histoire de Hiouen Thsang,’ p. 255; ‘Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 280.

[449] ‘Report on the District of Belgam and Kuladgi.’ 1874.

[450] When I originally wrote on the subject I thought I had the 9th and 10th centuries at my disposal. It now appears they must be blotted out as non-existent for any historical or artistic purpose.

[451] This is the date given by Mr. Burgess in his description in ‘The Caves at Elephanta,’ Bombay, 1871, p. 5.

[452] ‘Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. ii. pl. 4.

[453] Loc. cit., pl. 6.

[454] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgam,’ &c. pl. 31.

[455] Loc. cit., pls. 20, 23, 40.

[456] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ pl. 76.

[457] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgam and Kuladji,’ pl. 31.

[458] A view of this was published in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ pl. 5.

[459] Tod’s ‘Annals of Rajastan,’ vol. ii. p. 734.

[460] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindostan,’ pl. 6, with description. Gen. Cunningham (‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 264) agrees with me as to the date, but inadvertently adds a scale to his plan which makes the building ten times larger than I made it, or than it really is.

[461] Tod (loc. cit.) gives several plates of the details of the porch by a native artist--fairly well drawn, but wanting shadow to render them intelligible.

[462] Tod’s ‘Annals of Rajastan,’ vol. ii. p. 712.

[463] A view of this temple will be found in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ pl. 4.

[464] We are indebted to Gen. Cunningham for almost all we know about this place, and it is from his ‘Reports’ and photographs that the following account has been compiled.

[465] Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p 420.

[466] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. ix. p. 548. The date is given from four different epochs, so that there can be no mistake about it.

[467] A portion of the casts are in the South Kensington Museum. Transcripts from the drawings were published in the ‘Indian Antiquary,’ vol. iii. p. 316.

[468] ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. ix. p. 219.

[469] Ibid., vol. ix. p. 221.

[470] Both these temples are illustrated to a considerable extent in Lieut. H. H. Cole’s illustrations of buildings near Muttra and Agra, published by the India Office, 1873, to which the reader is referred for further information.

[471] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Eastern India,’ edited by Montgomery Martin, 1837, vol. ii. p. 628.

[472] Frontispiece to Buchanan Hamilton’s ‘Eastern India.’

[473] A view of this temple is given in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindostan,’ pl. 14.

[474] _Ante_, vol. i., Woodcut No. 241.

[475] A view of it is given in Tod’s ‘Rajastan,’ vol. i. p. 267. Some parts have been misunderstood by the engraver, but on the whole it represents the building fairly.

[476] A view of one of these is given in my ‘Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in India,’ plate 15. Other illustrations will be found in ‘L’Inde des Rajahs,’ p. 187, _et seqq._

[477] Erskine’s ‘Memoirs of Baber,’ p. 384.

[478] These particulars are taken from Cunningham’s ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 346, _et seqq._, plates 87 and 88.

[479] How far anything of all this now exists is by no means clear. We occupied the fort during the mutiny, and have retained it ever since. The first thing done was to occupy the Barradurri as a mess-room: to fit up portions of the palace for military occupation; then to build a range of barracks, and clear away a lot of antiquarian rubbish to make a parade ground. What all this means is only too easily understood. M. Rousselet--no unfriendly critic--observes:--“Les Anglais sont très-activement occupés à simplifier la besogne de l’archéologue, et à faire disparaître ce précieux document de l’histoire de l’Inde; déjà toutes les constructions à la gauche de la porte de l’est sont livrées à la pioche et le même sort est réservé au reste” (‘L’Inde des Rajahs,’ p. 362). And, again: “Mais, hélas! l’Ourwahaï lui aussi a vécu. Quand j’y revins en Décembre, 1867, les arbres étaient coupés, les statues volaient en éclats, sous les pics des travailleurs, et le ravin se remplissait des talus d’une nouvelle route construite par les Anglais--talus dans lesquels dorment les palais des Chandelas et des Tomars, les idoles des Bouddhistes et des Jainas.”--Loc. cit. p. 366.

[480] A plan of it is given in Lieut. Cole’s ‘Report on the Buildings near Agra’--correct as far as it goes, but not complete.

[481] Egypt showed little taste for architectural display till she fell under the sway of the Memlook Sultans, and Saracenic architecture in Persia practically commences with the Seljukians.

[482] ‘Architecture of Beejapore. Photographed from Drawings by Capt. Hart and A. Cumming, C.E., and on the spot by Col. Biggs and Major Loch, with text by Col. Meadows Taylor and J. Fergusson.’ Folio, Murray, 1866.

[483] ‘Architecture of Ahmedabad. 120 Photographs by Col. Biggs, with Text by T. C. Hope, B.C.S., and Jas. Fergusson.’ Small folio, Murray, 1866.

[484] Brigg’s translation, vol. i. p. 61.

[485] It is very much to be regretted that not a single officer accompanied our armies, when they passed and repassed through Ghazni, able or willing to appreciate the interest of these ruins; and it is to be hoped, if an opportunity should again occur, that their importance to the history of art in the East will not be overlooked.

[486] The sketch of the tomb published by Mr. Vigne in his ‘Travels in Afghanistan,’ gives too confined a portion of it to enable us to judge either of its form or detail. The gate in front is probably modern, and the foiled arches in the background appear to be the only parts that belong to the 11th century.

[487] The tradition that these gates were of sandal-wood, and brought from Somnath, is entirely disproved by the fact of their being of the local pine-wood, as well as by the style of decoration, which has no resemblance to Hindu work.

[488] An excellent representation of the gates will be found in the second edition of ‘Marco Polo’s Travels,’ by Col. Yule, vol. ii. p. 390.

[489] See translation of the inscription on these minars, ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ No. 134, for 1843.

[490] Two are represented by Dubois de Montpéreux, ‘Voyage autour du Caucase.’

[491] _Vide ante_, vol. ii. p. 444, _et seqq._

[492] _Vide ante_, vol. i. p. 387, _et seqq._

[493] I do not know why Gen. Cunningham should go out of his way to prove that the Ajmir mosque is larger than that at Delhi (‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 260). His remarks apply only to the inner court at Delhi, which may have been the whole mosque as originally designed; but before the death of Altumsh, who was the real builder of both, the screen of arches at Delhi had been extended to 380 ft. as compared with the 200 ft. at Ajmir, and the courtyards of the two mosques are nearly in the same proportion, their whole superficial area being 72,000 ft. at Ajmir, as compared with 152,000 ft. at Delhi.