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

THE

ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL

ARCHITECTURE of INDIA:

A STUDY

OF

INDO-ARYAN CIVILISATION

CHAPTER

I

THE MAURYAN DYNASTY AND THE FOUNDATIONS

OF INDIAN

CIVILISATION

—INDIAN

VILLAGE AND TOWN PLANNING

Itis

almost as difficult nowas itwaswhen

Fergusson wrote

tocarrythe

starting-point

of

Indian

architecturalhistorymuch

fartherbackthan thereignofAsoka,263-226 B.C.,the famous

enlperor,missionary, and saint, who, after his conversion to

Buddhism,

thenonlyoneofmanycontendingschoolsof

Hindu

thought,

made it thestatereligion,andbeganthatzealous

pro-

pagandaofits

doctrineswhichspreadoverAsiato

the

farthest

east,

and as far westwards as Alexandria. Hisgrandfather

Chandragupta,

nearly sixty years earlier, had founded the

Mauryan

dynasty by consolidating the numerous republican

confederationsand petty

kingdoms

of

Northern India, whose

quarrels had made Alexander's opportunity, into an empire

strong

enough tobarfurtherinvasionsfromthenorth-westfor

manygenerations.

Seleukos,Alexander'sgeneral,whoseized

the

easternportionofthe

Macedonianconquestsafterthedeath

ofthe

latter,madeavainattempttorepeattheglorious

campaign

inwhichhehadassisted.

ChandraguptaMauryanotonlydrove

him

back across the Indus,

but extended the north-western

boundaryof

his own dominions so far as to include

Kab(il,

Herat, and

Kandahir,which formerlybelonged totheempire