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

64 THE DATURA

SYMBOL

Theflowerandfruit in
combination

were usedas the

decora-

tive motif
of the cross-brackets (fig.

26a) placed as a super-

capital
above the lotus-flowercapital.

Thus the templepillar

stood, like the flowering tree climbing round

the cedar or

pine, as a symbol of life and death. The datura

is also the

Fig.26a.—

Cross-bracketsusedasSuper-capital

ofTemplePillar.

motif of the brackets supporting balconies and

chhajas in

Indian

houses(PI. Ill, b).

When the symbolic and structural significance of the

Indian

"

orders

ofarchitecture"isunderstooditiseasytotrace

thederivationofmedieval
forms and combinations,and their

later Muhammadan
modifications, from their Asokan proto-

types, for the tradition
remained unbroken throughout the

Mogulperiodandhas
continuedtothepresentday.