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

28

TOWN

AND VILLAGE

GATEWAYS

invertsthewholesequence

of their derivation. The

rail sur-

roundingaBuddhistor
Jain

stdpa,

and placed theretoprotect

it from the influence of evil spirits,

was not derived directly

from Buddhistor

Jain

ritual. Theriteof

pradakshina,which

Buddhist

andJain pilgrims

performedwithinthe

rails oftheir

sttlpas,

was theancient

Vedicritepractisedbyall

Indo-Aryans

within the walls of their

villages, and the rail was merely a

symbolicaladaptationtoreligiouspurposes

oftheheavytimber

fence constructed by the hereditary

village carpenters and

joinerswhich protectedthewholecommunity

fromits enemies

intheflesh.

Even the religious significance

which attached itself to

the railin connectionwith

Jain

and Buddhist

sttipas

was of

much greaterantiquitythan eitherJainism or

Buddhism,

for

thiswas

the identical fence—the vediki—

which enclosed

the

sacrificial

areapreparedwith the sacred kusha-grass in Vedic

sacrifices.

Similarly,

thetorans,orgateways,o'fBharhutand Sanchi

(PI.V)'are reproductions

of the four gateways of an Indian

villageortown whenthey

were

constructed of

timber. PI.VI

shows one from the Amaravati

sculptures, with part of the

railing. The subject of the sculpture

is Prince Siddhartha

quittinghisnativetown atthetimeofthe

GreatRenunciation,

the Princebeingrepresented symbolically

as aBodhisattva,

or

Buddha

that is to be, bya horsewithout

a rider attended

by

heavenly beings, one ofwhom holds

the royal umbrella

over

his head. Here

the toran is a plain,

businesslike

structure,

withoutanyofthe

elaboratesculpture

whichadorned

thegate-

ways of

Jain

and

Buddhist stdpasafter

the Mauryan

epoch.

1

Thepresentgateways of

Sinchiarelater than

thestflpaitself,

whichwas

oneof

thosebuiltbyAsokainthethird

centuryB.C. They

wereprobably

addedabouta

century

later,andthe sculpturerepresents

thetransitionfrom

thesevere

simplicity

oftheartof

HinayanaBuddhismtothegreat

elaborationof

theMahayina

school. Thetown

gateway

showninPI.VIgives

agoodideaoftheoriginal

Asokantorans

ofBharhut

andSanchL