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

ANCIENT

INDIAN MONASTERIES

79

Here
it is only the
usual collection of simple shrines and

primitivehermits'
hutswhich had existed in India from time

immemorial, but
some pious benefactoris superintending the

pavingof
theground with bricks, acartload
ofwhichis being

unloaded in the foreground. One
of the monks is bringing

water to pour on the sacred tree,
planted on a mound sur-

rounded by the Vedic rail,
which grows
beside one of the

shrines. The bhikku'swater-vessel

is the same

asthat used

by a

Brahman

sannyasin in the present

day,and thebullock-

cart is an exact rendering of the country
vehicle for which

modern invention has not yet found

a practical substitute.

This persistence of ancient types

need not alwaysbe takenasaproof

oftheimmobilityoftheIndianmind,

but rather to

indicate that certain

fundamental problems of

life

were

fullyresolvedinveryearlytimesby

the

pioneersof Indian civilisation,

and

cannot be radically altered

without

uprootingthewholefounda-

tion upon which

that civilisation

^

^,,,^ t

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c-^^u

r

Fig.32.—AModemIndianSadhu.

rests.

The two-^oried

monastic dwelling shown in the same

plate

isalso fromtheBharhutreliefs. Itresemblesingeneral

arrangement

some Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim, which

have a large

prayer-wheel fixedinaverandahon the ground

floor sothatpassers-bycan

turnit; the upperfloorcombininga

shrine

andliving-accommodationforthe

monkswho attend it.

An ordinary

wandering friar in

ancient India carried his

hutwith him inthe shape

of a palm-leafumbrella {chhattrd),

as the

sidhu of the presentday

does (fig.

32).

The umbrella

placed over a

Buddhist chaitya was a

mark ofroyalty in a

doublesense,asbelonging

bothtotheinsigniaoftheKshatriya