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

52

BUDDHIST SYMBOLISM

symbolofthesun,asrepresentingthecosmicsoul-force,butevery

Aryanin performingtheriteofpradakshini roundhis native

village—starting fromtheeastern gateandfollowing the path

of the sun along

the Roadof Auspiciousness toits zenithat

the southern gate,its

setting atthe western gate, its descent

intothe netherworld untilitreached its nadiratthenorthern

gate, whitherthesonsof KingSagara'pursued thesacrificial

horse which had escaped from their charge, and, finally,re-

j

turningto his

starting-point in the east

—

was symbolically

turning thewheel of the

divinelaw

and

meditating

uponthe

mysteryoflifeand

death.

TheFourthEvent,representedbyasculptureofthesttipa

(Plate XI, fig.d), was the Deathofthe Buddha, andthecom-

pletionofthecycleofrebirths in hisPari-Nirvana, Reincarna-

tionwas symbolised bythe serpent, which periodicallysheds

itsskinandappearswithanewbodytoresumetheturningof

thewheeloflife.

TheBuddhistLawwasonlythespiritualstaffwhich

should

helptheAryanvillagerovertheobstaclesandpitfalls

oftheway

oflife. Itwasnotanydogmaticsolutionof theriddle

of the

universe, but a practical way of salvation

which appealed

strongly to the

deep religious instinct

of a people oppressed

bytheburdenof

theextravagantritualof

Brahmanicalsacrifices.

The inspiration

of Buddha would hardly

have touched

the

imaginationofall classes

sodeeplyhad

his teaching

cutacross

the mostcherished

religiousconvictions

ofIndia.

Thealmost

instantanduniversal

successofAsoka's

missionary

effortsmust

1 KingSagara

preparedahorse-sacrifice,

butthehorse

wasstolenbythe

sageKapila.

Theking'ssixty

thousandsonswho

hadchargeofit

searchedforithigh

andlow,andat

lengthdiscovered

it intheregions

belowtheearth,

grazingbythe

sideofthesage,who

waswraptin

meditation. When

attacked,

Kapilaburntthem

alltoashesbythefirewhich

flashedfrom

histhirdeye—the

eyeofspiritual

consciousness.

Adescendantof

Sagara,by

turning

thewatersofthe

Gangesontotheir

ashes,

obtainedtheadmission

oftheirsouls

intoheaven.