DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27191#0305
Chap. I.
MARTAND.
259
where prevalent in Kashmir. Or, if we refer to Woodcut
No. 60 or to 72,1 the section of the cave at Ajanta, which it
represents, affords a similar outline ; and, as in Kashmtr and
everywhere else in India, architectural decoration is made up
of small models of large buildings applied as decorative features
wherever required, it is by no means improbable that the
trefoiled facade may have been adopted in Kashmir as currently
as the simple horse-shoe form was throughout the Buddhist
buildings of India Proper. All these features, however, mark
a local style differing from anything else in India.
Martand.
By far the finest and most typical example of the Kashmiri
style is the temple of Martand, situated about 5 miles east
of Islamabad, the old capital
of the valley. It is the archi-
tectural lion of Kashmir, and
all tourists think it necessary to
go into raptures about its beauty
and magnificence, comparing
it to Palmyra or Thebes, or
other wonderful groups of ruins
of the old world. Great part,
however, of the admiration it
excites is due to its situation.
It stands well on an elevated
plateau, from which a most ex-
tensive view is obtained, over
a great part of the valley. No
tree or house interferes with
its solitary grandeur, and its
ruins—shaken down apparently
by an earthquake—lie scattered
as they fell, and, unobscured
by vegetation, they are the
most impressive remains of early
Kashmir architecture; nor are
they vulgarised by any modern accretions. Add to this the
mystery that hangs over their origin, and a Western impress
on its details—unusual in the East—but which calls back the
145. Temple of Martand. (From a Draw-
ing by Gen. A. Cunningham.)
Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
1 See also Woodcut No. 80. On the
Toran attached to the rail at Bharaut
are elevations of chaitya halls, shown
in section, which represent this trefoil
form with great exactness. —Cunningham,
‘ Stupa of Bharhut,’ plates 6 and 9.
MARTAND.
259
where prevalent in Kashmir. Or, if we refer to Woodcut
No. 60 or to 72,1 the section of the cave at Ajanta, which it
represents, affords a similar outline ; and, as in Kashmtr and
everywhere else in India, architectural decoration is made up
of small models of large buildings applied as decorative features
wherever required, it is by no means improbable that the
trefoiled facade may have been adopted in Kashmir as currently
as the simple horse-shoe form was throughout the Buddhist
buildings of India Proper. All these features, however, mark
a local style differing from anything else in India.
Martand.
By far the finest and most typical example of the Kashmiri
style is the temple of Martand, situated about 5 miles east
of Islamabad, the old capital
of the valley. It is the archi-
tectural lion of Kashmir, and
all tourists think it necessary to
go into raptures about its beauty
and magnificence, comparing
it to Palmyra or Thebes, or
other wonderful groups of ruins
of the old world. Great part,
however, of the admiration it
excites is due to its situation.
It stands well on an elevated
plateau, from which a most ex-
tensive view is obtained, over
a great part of the valley. No
tree or house interferes with
its solitary grandeur, and its
ruins—shaken down apparently
by an earthquake—lie scattered
as they fell, and, unobscured
by vegetation, they are the
most impressive remains of early
Kashmir architecture; nor are
they vulgarised by any modern accretions. Add to this the
mystery that hangs over their origin, and a Western impress
on its details—unusual in the East—but which calls back the
145. Temple of Martand. (From a Draw-
ing by Gen. A. Cunningham.)
Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
1 See also Woodcut No. 80. On the
Toran attached to the rail at Bharaut
are elevations of chaitya halls, shown
in section, which represent this trefoil
form with great exactness. —Cunningham,
‘ Stupa of Bharhut,’ plates 6 and 9.