BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE (B.C. 250-A.D. 750).

The monuments can be divided into :

1. Stambhas
2. Topes (or Stupas).
3. Rails.
4. Chaityas (or Temples).
5. Viharas (or Monasteries).

1. Stambhas, were columns on which were carved inscriptions, the

top being crowned with emblems, such as the elephant and lion,
often reminiscent of Persepolitan architecture. The best known
is the Lat at Allahabad, B.C. 250.
2. Topes, or Stupas (Sanscrit sthupa = a mound), were mounds
erected (a) to commemorate some sacred spot ; (b) to contain
sacred relics and then known as dagobas or receptacles for
relics. The principal group is that known as the Bhilsa Topes,
north of the Nerbudda River, and the best known of the group is
the Sanchi Tope (B.C. 250-A.D. 100). It is a solid mound of
brickwork, faced with stone and cement, and contains the relic
near its base. It is 106 feet in diameter, 42 feet high, crowned
by a "Tee" or relic casket, and is placed on a platform 14 feet
high, surrounded by a procession path, railing and four
gateways. An excellent model is in the Indian Museum, South
Kensington. Other groups are at Sarnath (near Benares), Buddh-
Gaya, Amravati (remains in the British Indian Museums), and
Jarasandha.
3. Rails were often used as inclosures to the Topes. They
clearly indicate a wooden origin and were elaborately ornamented
with sculpture. The rail and gateways (of which there is a full-
size cast in the Indian Museum) surrounding the Sanchi Tope are
the best known, and date from the first century of our era. The
height is 35 feet and width 30 feet. The symbolic sculpture is
of historic interest : it tells the life story of Buddha, and
illustrates the worship of relics, trees, the law, and battle
scenes. These gateways are the prototypes of the numberless
pailoos.
4. Chaityas, or Temples (B.C. 250-A.D. 750), are all excavated
out of the solid rock, thus presenting only one external face.
They recall the rock-cut tombs of Upper Egypt. The normal type
resembles in plan an English three-aisled cathedral with
circular apse, containing the shrine, at the end furthest from
the entrance. The roofs are hewn to a semicircular form, and
have ribs resembling timber work. In many, the frontal screen of
horse-shoe form, through which the only light was admitted, was
of wood. The principal groups are hewn in the face of the
Western Ghats, to -the east of Bombay, at Bhaja'(B.c. 250),
Nassick (B.C. 129), Karli (B.C. 78), Ellora, Ajunta, and
Elephanta. The cave at Karli, resembles the choir of Norwich
Cathedral in general arrangement and dimensions. It is 126 feet
long, 45 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The columns separating
nave and aisles are octagonal, with elephant capitals, which
support the circular roof.
5. Viharas, or Monasteries. The rock-cut examples are in
proximity to the Chaityas. The normal type is a central square
space, with or without columns, surrounded by chambers for the
priests, and occasionally containing a sanctuary for the
shrinje. In Gandhara (North-West India), General Cunningham has
opened out some structural monasteries, probably of the fourth
century A.D., some of which contain courts for shrines. Their
details show Greek and Byzantine influence, the acanthus leaf,
the Byzantine cube-capital, and the Corinthian capital being met
with. In Ceylon are numerous remains of topes, chaityas and
viharas, principally at Anuradapura, the capital from B.C. 400-
A.D. 769, and Pollonarua.