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

6 ASOKA'S PROPAGANDA

employedbydififerent sectstoexplainthe specialtenetsoftheir

respective cults. When a great ruler

like T^soka exercised

supremepoliticalpoweroverthegreaterpart

ofIndia,thewealth

of thestatewas naturally devotedtomaking the

buildings

of

his

especial

sect

of

betterand

more expensive materials

than

thoseofothers,andconsequently

therecordofBuddhist

building

which survives to this dayis morecomplete

than thatofthe

rivalschoolsofreligiousthoughtwhichhad

tobecontentwith

lesscostlyandlesspermanent buildingmaterials.

Butatown

orvillageand the buildings therein, inhabited by Buddhists,

Jains,

or Brahmans,wereneveratanytime in Indian history

entirely differentiated by special' characteristics of style.

Buddhist art was at the same time and place also

Jain

art

and Hindu or Brahmanicalart. India has never knownany

style that can be called architectural but one—and that is

Indo-Aryan.

Asoka's religious propagandawas no violent disturbance

oftheestablishedcustoms and beliefsof his subjects: itwas

a policy of

peaceful

penetration in strict accordancewith

the

spiritof Aryan

philosophy, which proclaimed Truth to be a

temple open on all sides to devout worshippers, who might

choose

the approach most

accessible to them. Whatever

Buddhismmight

havebeenasaschoolofphilosophic

specula-

tion,IndianartofAsoka'stimeshows

thatasapopular

religion

itwasa synthesisofcontemporary

Hinduism, ascomplete

for

theagetowhich itbelonged as

medievalHinduism was

forits

own time. Butas religion has

always been

essentiallyapart

of Indian daily life, we must

begin an account

ofthe great

religiousarchitecture of India

bytrying to

reconstruct, out of

the meagrearchitectural records

of the third

century B.C.,

the

practicalplanningandbuildingofa

typicalIndian

village;

This

can bedone to someextent by

making useof

the clues

given

intheHinduSilpa-s^stras,andinthe

sculptured

representations