Fergusson, James: History of Indian and Eastern architecture (Band 1) (London, 1910)

Chap. V.

WESTERN CHAITYA HALLS.

i3S

small repetitions of it, not only here but in all these caves, shows
not only its form, but how universal its employment was. The
rafters of the roof were of wood, and many of them, as may be
seen in the woodcut, remain to the present day. Everything,
in fact, that could be made in wood remained in wood, and
only the constructive parts necessary for stability were executed
in the rock.

60. Faipade of the Cave at BMja. (From a Photograph.

It is easy to understand that, the first time men undertook
to repeat in stone forms they had only been accustomed to
erect in wood, they should have done so literally. The sloping
inwards of the pillars was requisite to resist the thrust of the
circular roof in the wooden building, but it must have appeared
so awkward in stone that it would hardly be often repeated.
As, however, it was probably almost universal in structural
buildings, the doorways and openings naturally followed the
same lines, hence the sloping jambs. Though these were by