Tree and serpent Worship, or illustrations of mythology and art in India in the 1st and 4th cent. a. Chr - Tapa blanda

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1868 Excerpt: ...29 feet north and south, by 19 feet 4 inches. Beyond this is a, choir 27 feet by 19 feet, surrounded by a wall 4 feet thick, though at present only about 2 feet high; but the photograph reveals to us the fact that the last pillar was evidently built into a wall to its whole height. "In the centre," Colonel Maisey says, "of the curved end is a mass of debris "which seems to have been the remains of a Chaitya, or relic shrine, Plan Of Chaitya « such as is seen in the Buddhist Caves." "Round the exterior of the Hall. Scale,oft.toiin. " circular part," he adds, "are traces of masonry at some distance. There can be no doubt but that this is just such a hall as we meet so frequently at Karlee, Ajanta, and elsewhere. It must originally have had a wooden roof, of a form it would not be difficult to restore, and it was surrounded by an aisle, but whether entirely free, or supported by wooden pillars, is not quite clear. The fact of its internal pillars being of stone and of the slender masonic shape shown in the photograph, proves it to be much more modern than the Cave at Karlee or the oldest at Ajanta, which it is nearly certain date from about or before the Christian era. These, though in the rock, retain in every feature their original wooden constructive form. Here, where wooden pillars would have been admissible, stone takes their place. This could hardly have happened before the fourth or fifth century. It may be even more modern than that date. It would be extremely interesting, if it could be ascertained by excavations what the width and form of the outer aisle were in this example, as enabling us to understand what is now obscure in those cut in the rock. In all those the ornamental pillars extend on each s...