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

CHAPTER III

FERGUSSON's classifications

of style—DIVINE WORSHIP

IN ANCIENT INDIA

THE VILLAGE SHRINE

IN ASOKA'S

TIME THE

INSPIRATION OF INDO-ARYAN ART

Beforeproceeding to

analysefurther thestructure andsym-

bolismofIndian

temple-architecture,it is absolutelynecessary

for the student

to make a clean sweep of all the labels and

systemsofclassificationbywhich Western

archaeologistshave

agreedtomystifythesubject.

Thereasons forrejectingthem

will,

I hope,becomeclearlater

on. The

"

styles

"

ofFergusson,

whethertheyarelabelledBuddhist,Jaina,orHindu,or

"

Indo-

Aryan,"

"

Chalukyan," or

"

Dravidian,"are classifications all

more

orlessfalse ashistoryand misleading as indications of

derivation.

Fergusson's

greatpioneer

work

was

fatallybiassed

by

the fundamental misconception that thehistoryof Indian

sculpture,

whichisthe historyofIndiantemple-building, from

thethirdcenturya.d.was

"

written indecay,"'and byhistotal

failure

to

readthesymboliclanguage

ofIndianart. Histheory

that the

distribution of the Hindu

temples with the typical

sikhara, or curvilinear

spire, may be taken to indicate the

limits

of "the Dasyu province'"

is grotesque; and to treat

Buddhism,Jainism,

andHinduismas

separatereligiousfactions

indicatingsomany

differentepochsofIndian

architectureisnot

lessopposed

to all historical

evidence.

Thehistory

ofIndiancivilisationisthe

historyofitsvillage

1 "

Historyof

IndianArchitecture"(2nd

edit.

19 10),

Introduction,

p.

36.

'

Introduction,

p.14.

3

33