DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2371#0182
1G0 EASTERN CAVES.
thomselves, and are, in some respects, of almost equal importance for
tho general history of architecture in India, as their rivals in the West.
Notwithstanding their comparative insignificance, the evidence de-
rived from the Behar caves, proves more distinctly than anything
else that has yet come to light, at what time, and in what manner,
caves were first excavated in India for religious purposes. They also
afford direct and positive proof, that before Asoka's time, in the
middle of the third century before Christ, all the caves used by
Buddhists were mere natural caverns very slightly, if at all, im-
proved by art. They also tend, by inference, to confirm the postulate,
that before Asoka's time stone was rarely, if at all used in India
for purely architectural purposes. If what has been said above, is
borne out by subsequent investigations, it results that the Pipala
cave at Rajgir, and its accompanying BalfSak, are not only the
oldest buildings known to exist in India, but the most characteristic
of the state of architectural art in the pre-Mauryan age. If this is
sustained, its importance can hardly be overrated, as affording a
firm basis for all further investigations into the origin of stone
architecture and cave excavation in India. On the whole from the
evidence, on these points, obtained from an examination of the Eastern
caves is more complete than any derived from those in the "West.
The Orissa caves are not so important in a historical point of view,
but they seem to illustrate Buddhist art at a period when such
illustrations are most valuable, and they supplement what is found
in the Western caves in a manner that is most satisfactory. Taken
together they afford a picture of the arts of architecture and sculp-
ture as they existed in India immediately before and after the
Christian era, which is full of interest, but which could hardly he
considered as complete without the information to be derived from
these Eastern examples.
The greatest interest, however, of these explorations among the
Eastern rock-cut temples, arises from the discovery at Mahavalh-
pur of what may fairly be called a petrified Buddhist village. The
great difficulty that has hitherto been experienced in investigating
the history of Buddhist architecture in India has arisen from the
fact that though wre have hundreds on hundreds of caves and rock-
cut examples, we have—with the exception of one or two topes—no
one single structural example in the length and breadth of the lane,
and it consequently was most difficult to realise the external appear-
thomselves, and are, in some respects, of almost equal importance for
tho general history of architecture in India, as their rivals in the West.
Notwithstanding their comparative insignificance, the evidence de-
rived from the Behar caves, proves more distinctly than anything
else that has yet come to light, at what time, and in what manner,
caves were first excavated in India for religious purposes. They also
afford direct and positive proof, that before Asoka's time, in the
middle of the third century before Christ, all the caves used by
Buddhists were mere natural caverns very slightly, if at all, im-
proved by art. They also tend, by inference, to confirm the postulate,
that before Asoka's time stone was rarely, if at all used in India
for purely architectural purposes. If what has been said above, is
borne out by subsequent investigations, it results that the Pipala
cave at Rajgir, and its accompanying BalfSak, are not only the
oldest buildings known to exist in India, but the most characteristic
of the state of architectural art in the pre-Mauryan age. If this is
sustained, its importance can hardly be overrated, as affording a
firm basis for all further investigations into the origin of stone
architecture and cave excavation in India. On the whole from the
evidence, on these points, obtained from an examination of the Eastern
caves is more complete than any derived from those in the "West.
The Orissa caves are not so important in a historical point of view,
but they seem to illustrate Buddhist art at a period when such
illustrations are most valuable, and they supplement what is found
in the Western caves in a manner that is most satisfactory. Taken
together they afford a picture of the arts of architecture and sculp-
ture as they existed in India immediately before and after the
Christian era, which is full of interest, but which could hardly he
considered as complete without the information to be derived from
these Eastern examples.
The greatest interest, however, of these explorations among the
Eastern rock-cut temples, arises from the discovery at Mahavalh-
pur of what may fairly be called a petrified Buddhist village. The
great difficulty that has hitherto been experienced in investigating
the history of Buddhist architecture in India has arisen from the
fact that though wre have hundreds on hundreds of caves and rock-
cut examples, we have—with the exception of one or two topes—no
one single structural example in the length and breadth of the lane,
and it consequently was most difficult to realise the external appear-