History of Indian and Eastern ArchitectureFergusson, James
History
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture
Fergusson, James
Architecture -- India; Architecture, Asian
When we know more of the forms and ages of the Gandhara monasteries
(_ante_, pages 169, _et seqq._), they may supply some of the missing
links required to connect the Kashmiri style to that of the outer world;
but till the temples in Salt Range, and other little-frequented parts of
the Punjab are examined, we shall not know all that we desire.
Meanwhile the annexed woodcut (No. 169), representing a temple at Mûlot,
shows how nearly the Punjabi style resembled that of Kashmir. There are
the same trefoil-headed openings; the fluted pillars, with
quasi-classical bases and capitals; and a general similarity of style
not to be mistaken. There is another temple very similar, but smaller,
at Kathwai; both are near Pind Dadan Khan, and from what I can learn
there are others which may form a connecting link between the Gandhara
monasteries and the Kashmiri temples. It may be that Mahomedan bigotry
has defaced them all; but, looking at the immense strides that have been
made during the last few years in this direction, I feel confident that
so soon as they are looked for all that is still wanting will certainly
be found.
[Illustration: 169. Temple at Mûlot, in the Salt Range. (From a
Photograph.)]
* * * * *
So many and so various are the points of interest connected with the
style of the ancient buildings in Kashmir, that they deserve much fuller
illustration than is compatible with the scope of the present work.
Though not magnificent, they are very pleasing and appropriate examples
of art, and they have this advantage over most of the Indian styles,
that Kashmir possesses, in the ‘Raja Tarangini,’ what may be said to be
the only Indian history in existence. Any one familiar with that work,
and with the actual buildings, could without much difficulty fix their
dates, and from the buildings illustrate the history. This has not yet
been accomplished, but there is no doubt that it can be done.
Another point of interest connected with this style is the strange but
undoubted affinity which exists between it and the architectural forms
of ancient Greece. This, when fully investigated, may reveal to us
relations between the two countries or their outlying dependencies which
are not now suspected.
But the greatest point of interest is that arising out of the connexion
which at one time seems to have existed between Kashmir and Cambodia,
which will form the subject of a subsequent chapter. Between the two we
shall probably be able to gather up the threads of the long-lost form of
Serpent superstition, and learn to know what were the arrangements of
the temples, and what the worship addressed to that mysterious deity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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