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

6o THE WATER-LILY

openingbynight,had adifferentshape

(fig.

24)

and

asomewhat

differentsymbolicimplication. Itwasthejar

whichcontained

the
amrita, or

elixir

of

immortality, the nectar

of the gods

;

and
thus itsformwasadapted not

onlytosacrificial

vessels,but

totheordinaryIndiandomesticwater-pot,the

lota. Theshape

ofitwasasadmirablyadaptedformakinga

firmbasetoa

pillar

or column(fig.
21)

as the form of theNelumbium

fruit was

suitableforthe structuralpurposeofthecapital.

Thesection of thewater-lilyfruit given in fig. 24

shows

howitssymbolicusewasassociatedwithformaswell

ascolour,

forwithin

it isthe

mystic

wheelcontaining

the seeds of life.

Fig.24.

—

FruitofWater-lily{Nymphaa)and

Sectionshowing

the

MysticWheel.

whicharescattered over

the

watersinwhichitgrows like

stars

floating in

the

cosmic ocean. Afresco

atAjanta^

seems to

suggest thatwooden poles of garden pavilions

were actually

insertedintometallotasfirmlyfixedina
stone,brick,or
wooden

base—

a

practice which might have arisen

from the

use of

domesticwater-vesselsin street decorations for

fixing up

and

keeping fresh young plantainand palmtrees.

The

following

passagein the Ummagga Jitaka, describing

thepreparations

made foraroyal procession,isinteresting

inthisconnection

:

"

Healso.strewed the groundwithwhite

sand and

flowers of

various kinds,

and

put brimmingjarsof

water on

eitherside

1

SeeGriffiths,

"

Ajanta,"vol.i.pi.

17.