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

82 THE GAUTAMi-PUTRA

MONASTERY

nectar-jarupontheirwings. Thehorse,

guardingthenorthern

quarter,was the noble steed upon which the

Aryan warriors

rodeto
victoryin

India from theirancienthome

inthe north.

This
early Buddhist sculpture is

purelyand intensely Indo-

Aryan: itisthejoyousnature-symbolism

oftheVedascarved

in
woodandstone.

ThereisaslightdifferencebetweentheVedic

altar?ofthe

Gautaml-putracapitalsandthoseatKarl^: inmost

ofthemthe

four legs of the altar which enclose the water-lily

fruit, or

amalaka, are carved into dwarf figures, the pisdchas—little

demons or trolls of the nether-world
who

arethe servantsof

theShiningOnes,theDevasofthehigherspheres. Thepillars

haveno
bases, but stand upon another stone

benchprovided

for the monks in
the

verandah. In front of the pillars is a

Vedicrail, supportedbypisachason
acolossal

scale. Another

sculpturedrail forms
theentablaturesupportedbythecapitals.

Nosun-windows,either

asdecorativesymbolsorforgiving

light,
appear on the front of this monastery. The hall is

lightedthrough
two

doorways

andtwooblongwindows. The

headofthecentraldoorwayis
sculpturedwithatoranlikethose

atBharhutandS^nch!, and
twoguardiandeities{dwdra-pdlas)

on eithersideprotectit. Over
the door are placed the three

symbolsofthe Illumination(thebodhi
tree),the Preachingof

the Law(thewheel), andofPari-Nirvina
(thestrlpa).

Fergusson'scritical judgment

upon the sculpture ofthe

Gautaml-putra Monasteryisverywide
ofthe mark. Hecom-

pares itwiththatoftheadjoiningNahapana
monastery,
which

may be

somewhat

earlier in date, and

praises the "graceful

bell-shapedPersiancapitals

"

ofthelatter

tothedisparagement

of the "pudding-forms

"

of theother.

Herehewas betrayed

into the misconceptionwhich with other
modernwriters
has

become an obsession, that all that
was finest in
Indian art

alwayscamestraight

from

westernAsia,

and that the

history