The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

40

ANTIQUITY OF HINDU

CRAFT

TRADITIONS

conception

of

law and order

than that which

they

seek to

establish.

The Manasira, as summarised by

Rim Raz,

contains

several

directions

regarding theplacingof

village

shrines, but

the

question arisesas to

whether it is permissible

to

assume

thatthispartofHindu craft-tradition

isasancient

astheBud-

dhistsculptures ofBharhutand

Sanchi. Rim Riz

infersthat

itcannot be, because among these directions

aresome

which

place

"

theobjectsworshippedbyJainasand

Bauddhas"

outside

the village. But I venture to think that he

is mistaken

in

assumingthat

there

isanysectariancontemptor

disparagement

implied in this passage.

Itsimply records the

fact that the

principalobjectof

veneration for

Jains

and

Buddhistswasthe

stdpa which originally belonged

to the cremation

or burial

ground,outsidethe

villagepale. Theprovision made

for

Jain

and Buddhistworship in

this Silpa-sastra, and the

fact that

shrinesofDurgiareplacedin the

same category,are

sufficient

proof thatthereis

no

sectarianfeeling intheinjunction.

One of Fergusson's most fatal errors was his conclusion

thatthesymbolismofBuddhistartwasmoreancientthan

that

oforthodoxBrahmanism,insteadofbeing,asweshall

presently

see, entirely derived from it. Brahmi, Vishnu, and Siva

are

philosophical concepts which have their root in the

earliest

religiousideasoftheAryan race, andtheblunderofdatingthe

historyofHindutemplesfromabouttheseventh centurya.d.,^

insteadof

from

theearliestoriginsof Indianreligiousbuilding,

has putarchaeologicalresearchonthewrongtrackeversinceit

wasacceptedasatruismon Fergusson's authority.

Primdfacie,itiswhollyimprobablethatthephilosophical

speculationsconnectedwith the three positions

of the sun

in

the heavenswhich arefundamentaltoallIndo-Aryan religious

belief

shouldhave

remainedwithoutconcrete

artisticsymbols

^

Fergusson,vol.ii.

p.89.