[222] In Beal’s introduction to ‘Fa Hian,’ p. 18, he mentions, on Chinese authority, which is much more reliable than Indian, that a statue of Buddha was brought to China from Kartchou (?) in B.C. 121. On asking Mr. Beal to look carefully into the authorities for this statement, he reports them to be hazy in the extreme, and not to be relied upon.

[223] I believe it is generally admitted that the rédaction of the ‘Mahawanso,’ and other Ceylonese scriptures made in Buddhaghosha’s time, A.D. 408-420, is the oldest authentic Buddhist work we now possess. They, like the ‘Lalita Vistara,’ and other works, are founded on older works of course, but the earlier forms have been lost, and what we have is what the writers of the 5th and subsequent centuries thought they ought to be.

[224] Unfortunately no Indian list of these patriarchs has yet come to light. Those we have are derived from Japanese or Chinese sources, and are all tainted with the falsification which the Chinese made in Buddhist chronology by putting Buddha’s date back to about 1000 B.C., in order that he might have precedence of Confucius in antiquity! for so it is that history is written in the East. For a list of the twenty-eight known patriarchs, see Lassen, ‘Indische Alterthumskunde,’ vol. ii., Beilage ii. p. 1004.

[225] The capitals of these pillars are so ruined that it is difficult to speak very confidently about them. I have drawings of them by Col. Yule and by Mr. W. Simpson, and latterly Gen. Cunningham has published drawings of them, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. v. pl. 24. None of them are quite satisfactory, but this must arise from the difficulty of the task.

[226] No complete history of the ivories has been published which is sufficient for reference on this subject. Gori’s are too badly engraved for this purpose; but the first twelve plates in Labarte’s ‘Histoire de l’Art’ are perfect as far as they go. So are the plates in Maskell’s ‘Catalogue of the South Kensington Museum,’ and those published by the Arundel Society; but it is to the collection of casts in these two last-named institutions that the reader should refer for fuller information on the subject.

[227] I purchased from his artist, Mr. Nicholl, and possess all the original sketches from which the illustrations of his book were engraved.

[228] When the present governor was appointed hopes ran high that this unsatisfactory state of our knowledge would be cleared away. The stars, however, in their courses have warred against archæology in Ceylon ever since he assumed sway over the island, and the only residuum of his exertions seems to be that a thoroughly competent German scholar, Herr Goldsmidt, is occupied now in copying the inscriptions, which are numerous, in the island. These, however, are just what is least wanted at present. In India, where we have no history and no dates, inscriptions are invaluable, and are, in fact, our only sources of correct information. In Ceylon, however, they are, for archæological purposes, comparatively unimportant. What is there wanted are plans and architectural details, and these, accompanied by general descriptions and dimensions, would, with the photographs we possess, supply all we now want. Any qualified person accustomed to such work could supply nearly all that is wanted in twelve months, for the two principal cities at least; but I despair of seeing it done in my day.

[229] Beal’s translation, p. 157.

[230] The artist who made the drawings for Sir E. Tennent’s book, not knowing what a serpent-hood was, has in almost all instances so drawn it as to be unrecognisable. The photographs, however, make it quite clear that all had serpent-hoods.

[231] The cubit of Ceylon is nearly 2 ft. 3 in.

[232] In the photographs it is called an altar, which it certainly was not.

[233] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ pl. 19. In some respects it resembles the Woodcuts Nos. 34 and 35.

[234] Since the drawing was made from which this cut is taken, it has been thoroughly repaired and made as unlike what it was as can well be conceived.

[235] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal’ for March, 1847, p. 218.

[236] ‘Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 474, and ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. xiii. p. 168.

[237] I am afraid this is no longer true. From what I learn, I fear it has been repaired.

[238] ‘Mahawanso,’ Turnour’s translation, p. 163.

[239] Loc. cit., p. 235.

[240] At Amravati the Zoophorus (Woodcut No. 36) consisted of the same animals, I believe, but it is not complete, no fragment of the horse having been brought home, and generally, it seems that this limited menagerie is to be found in all Buddhist works.

[241] Any architect of ordinary ability could in a week easily make the plans and drawings requisite to give us all the information required respecting these halls in Anuradhapura. I am not sure that Capt. Hogg has not already done all that is wanted, but he was sent off so suddenly to St. Helena that no time was allowed him to communicate his information to others, even if he had it.

[242] Singularly enough, the natives of Behar ascribe the planting of their Bo-tree to Duttagaimuni, the pious king of Ceylon.—See Buchanan Hamilton’s ‘Statistics of Behar,’ p. 76, Montgomery Martin’s edition.

[243] According to Mr. Rhys Davids, the proper name of the city is Pulastipura (‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. vii. (N.S.) p. 156), and its modern name Topawœwa or Topawa. As, however, that here given is the only one by which it is known in English literature, it is retained.

[244] ‘Christianity in Ceylon,’ Murray, 1850; ‘An Account of the Island of Ceylon,’ 2 vols., Longmans, 1859. Since then Mr. Lawton’s and Capt. Hogg’s photographs have added considerably to the precision but not to the extent of our knowledge. Not one plan or dimension, and no description, so far as I know, have reached this country.

[245] Among Capt. Hogg’s photographs are two colossal statues of Buddha, one at Seperawa, described as 41 ft. high, the other at a place called Aukana, 40 ft. high; but where these places are there is nothing to show. They are extremely similar to one another, and, except in dimensions, to that at the Gal Vihara.

[246] They occur also on Asoka’s pillars in the earliest known sculptures in India (Woodcut No. 6). It was the cackling of these sacred geese which is said to have saved the Capitol at Rome from being surprised by the Gauls.

[247] The preceding woodcut, from Sir E. Tennent’s book, is far from doing justice to the building or to Mr. Nicholl’s drawings, which are before me; but among the half dozen photographs I possess of it not one is sufficiently explanatory to convey a correct idea of its peculiarities, and, after all, without plans or dimensions, it is in vain to attempt to convey a correct idea of it to others.

[248] ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. iii. p. 31, et seqq., plates 13 and 15. As neither photographs nor even drawings of these figures are yet available, we are still unable to speak of their style of art, or to feel sure of their authenticity; nor has the era from which these dates are to be calculated been fixed with anything like certainty. The evidence, however, as it now stands, is strongly in favour of their being what they are represented to be.

[249] Vol. i. p. 359, Woodcut No. 241.

[250] The antiquities of Java will probably, to some extent at least, supply this deficiency, as will be pointed out in a subsequent chapter.

[251] Vol. i. p. 212, et seqq.

[252] Vol. i. p. 213.

[253] Ibid., p. 334.

[254] Fully illustrated in vol. ii. of the Dilettanti Society’s ‘Antiquities of Ionia.’

[255] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 1, et seqq.; ‘Madras Journal,’ vol. xx. p. 78, et seqq.; ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iii. p. 206, et seqq.

[256] ‘Archæological Reports,’ 1874, pp. 41 and 42.

[257] Loc. cit., plate 54.

[258] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 270, vol. xvii. p. 285.

[259] ‘Hiouen Thsang, Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 253, et seqq.

[260] See Woodcuts Nos. 99, 112, 122, 124, 127, 172, 177 and 178 of vol. i. of this work.

[261] In his work on the ‘Antiquities of Orissa,’ Babu Rajendra Lalâ Mittra suggests at page 31 something of this sort, but if his diagram were all that is to be said in favour of the hypothesis, I would feel inclined to reject it.

[262] No really satisfactory translation of these Asoka edicts has yet been published. The best is that of Professor Wilson, in vol. xii. ‘Journal of Royal Asiatic Society.’ Mr. Burgess has, however, recently re-copied that at Girnar, and General Cunningham those in the north of India. When these are published it may be possible to make a better translation than has yet appeared.

[263] ‘Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. viii. p. 120.

[264] Ibid., vol. vii. p. 124.

[265] Lieut. Postans’ ‘Journey to Girnar,’ ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. vii. p. 865, et seqq. This, with most of the facts here recorded, is taken either from Mr. Burgess’s descriptions of the photographs in his ‘Visit to Somnath, Girnar, and other places in Kathiawar,’ or Lieut. Postans’ ‘Journey,’ just referred to. Col. Tod’s facts are too much mixed up with poetry to admit of their being quoted.

[266] Mr. Burgess visited this place during the spring of the present year, and has brought away plans and sections, from which it appears these caves are old, but till his materials are published it is impossible to state exactly how old they may be. I am afraid this work will be published long before his Report.

[267] Ram Raj, ‘Architecture of the Hindus,’ p. 49.

[268] Burgess, ‘Visit to Girnar,’ &c., p. 3.

[269] ‘Ferishta,’ translated by General Briggs, vol. i. p. 72. Wilson, however (‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xvii. p. 194), is clearly of opinion that it was a lingam. One slight circumstance mentioned incidentally by Ferishta (p. 74) convinces me as clearly it was Jaina. After describing the destruction of the great idol, he goes on to say, “There were in the temple some thousands of small images, wrought in gold and silver, of various shapes and dimensions.” I know of no religion except that of the Jains—and the very late Buddhists—who indulged in this excessive reduplication of images.

[270] A view of this temple, not very correct but fairly illustrative of the style, forms the title-page to Col. Tod’s ‘Travels in Western India.’

[271] See ‘Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ by the Author, p. 30, from which work the plan and view are taken.

[272] See ante, p. 221.

[273] ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 357.

[274] Ibid., plate 90.

[275] The only person who has described these temples in any detail is Gen. Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 412, et seqq., from which consequently all that is here said is taken. I am also indebted to the General for a very complete set of photographs of these temples, which enables me to speak of their appearance with confidence.

[276] General Cunningham hesitates to adopt its extreme simplicity and rudeness as a test of its age, because it is built of granite, the other in the exquisite stone of the neighbourhood. Its plan, however, and the forms of its sikras, induce me to believe it to be exceptionally old.

[277] For plans of similar Jaina temples, see Mr. Burgess’s Report on Belgâm and Kuladgi, pls. 2, 10 and 45. These, however, are more modern than this one.

[278] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ by the Author, plate 5.

[279] Impey, ‘Views in Delhi, Agra, and Rajpootana,’ London, 1865, frontispiece and plate 60.

[280] Sri Allat, to whom the erection of this tower is ascribed, is the 12th king, mentioned in Tod’s Aitpore inscriptions (‘Rajastan,’ vol. i. p. 802).

[281] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hindostan,’ by the Author, pl. 8, p. 38.

[282] The dome that now crowns this tower was substituted for the old dome since I sketched it in 1839.

[283] Burgess, ‘Sutrunjya,’ p. 20. A plan of this temple is given by him and several photographs.

[284] Burgess, loc. cit., p. 25.

[285] Tod’s ‘Travels in Western India,’ pp. 280, 281.

[286] L. Rousselet, in ‘L’Inde des Rajahs,’ devotes three plates, pp. 396-8, to these temples. I possess several photographs of them.

[287] ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ pl. 17.

[288] Burgess, ‘Report on Belgâm and Kuladji Districts,’ 1875, p. 25, plates 36 and 37.

[289] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. p. 7; ‘Madras Journal,’ vol. xx. p. 78, et seqq.

[290] Tod’s ‘Rajastan,’ vol. i. p. 778, and plate facing it.

[291] Unfortunately the census of 1872 did not extend to the Mysore, where the principal Jaina establishments are situated, nor to any of the native states of southern India. The figures thus given do not consequently at all represent the facts of the case.

[292] ‘Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 201, et seqq., vol. iii. p. 146, et seqq.

[293] Sir Walter Elliot and others have told me there are Buddhist remains in the south, and I know the general opinion is that this is so. I have never myself seen any, nor been able to obtain photographs or detailed information regarding them. When they are brought forward these assertions may be modified. They, however, express in the meanwhile our present knowledge of the subject.

[294] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 285.

[295] These three were engraved in ‘Moor’s Pantheon,’ plates 73 and 74, in 1810. I have photographs of them, but not of any others, nor have I been able to hear of any but these three.

[296] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. ix. p. 285; ‘Indian Antiquary,’ vol. ii. p. 353.

[297] Moor’s ‘Pantheon,’ plate 73.

[298] Burgess, ‘Archæological Reports,’ 1875, p. xxxvii., plate 25.

[299] The artist who drew the lithographs for the ‘Indian Antiquary,’ vol. ii. plate on p. 353, not knowing that serpents were intended, has supplied their place with an ornamentation of his own design.

[300] Among the photographs of the ‘Architecture of Dharwar and Mysore,’ plates 74 and 75, there labelled Hirpouhully. When writing the descriptions of these plates, I was struck with, and pointed out, the curiously exceptional nature of the style of that temple, and its affinities with the style of Nepal; but I had no idea then that it was below, and not above, the Ghâts, and far from being exceptional in the country where it was situated. In fact, one of the great difficulties in writing a book like the present is to avoid making mistakes of this sort. Photographers are frequently so careless in naming the views they are making, and mounters frequently more so, in transferring the right names to the mounts, that in very many instances photographs come to me with names that have no connexion with the subjects; and it is only by careful comparison, aided with extraneous knowledge, that grave errors can be avoided.

[301] ‘Travels in the Himalayan Provinces and in Ladakh and Kashmir,’ London, Murray, 1841.

[302] ‘Travels in Kashmir, Ladak,’ &c., two vols. 8vo., London, Colburn, 1842.

[303] ‘Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab.’ Translated by Major Jervis, London, 1845.

[304] ‘Illustrations of the Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ &c., prepared, under the authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council, by Lieut. H. H. Cole, R.E., quarto, Allen and Co., London, 1869.

[305] I cannot make out the span of this arch. According to the rods laid across the photograph, it appears to be 15 feet; according to the scale on the plan, only half that amount.

[306] Lieut. Cole’s plates, 1-68 to 4-68.

[307] See drawing of mosque by Vigne, vol. i. p. 269; and also ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ 1848, p. 253, containing General A. Cunningham’s paper on the subject, from which this woodcut is taken.

[308] On the Toran attached to the rail at Bharhut are elevations of chaitya halls, shown in section, which represent this trefoil form with great exactness.

[309] Josephus, ‘Bell. Jud.,’ v. v. 4, Middoth, iv. 6. I have written a work I hope one day to publish, ‘On the temples of the Jews,’ in which all these dimensions will be drawn to scale.

[310] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 267.

[311] Cunningham in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 269.

[312] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 273.

[313] Cunningham, loc. cit., p. 263; Vigne, ‘Travels in Kashmir,’ vol. i. p. 384.

[314] It is not a little singular, however, that the only temple I know of in India that resembles this one, either in plan or arrangement, is the smaller temple of Conjeveram in the Chola country, near Madras; and it is curious that both the ‘Raja Tarangini,’ the Kashmiri history, and that of the Chola country, mention that Ranaditya of Kashmir married a daughter of the Chola king, and assisted in forming an aqueduct from the Cauvery—showing at least an intimacy which may have arisen from that affinity of race and religion, which, overleaping the intruded Aryans, united the two extremities of India in one common bond. True, the style of the two temples is different; but when I saw the one I did not know of the existence of the other, and did not, as I now should, examine the details with that care which alone would enable any one to pronounce definitely regarding their affinities.

[315] Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. iii., v. 462.

[316] Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. iv., v. 126-371.

[317] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 49.

[318] ‘Tree and Serpent Worship,’ p. 47.

[319] ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xv. p. 61. Troyer’s ‘Translation,’ lib. v., c. 128.

[320] Plans of these temples with details are given by Cunningham, plates 17 and 18, and by Lieut. Cole with photographs, plates 20 to 27, and 2 to 5 for details. Mr. Cowie also adds considerably to our information on the subject. The dimensions quoted in the text are from Lieut. Cole, and are in excess of those given by General Cunningham.

[321] Lieut. Cole, ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ p. 23, plates 37 and 38.

[322] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ 1866, p. 101, et seqq.

[323] ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ p. 11, plates 6 to 11.

[324] Cunningham, ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Sept. 1848, p. 256.

[325] ‘Raja Tarangini,’ vol. i. verse 170.

[326] ‘Vie et Voyages,’ vol. i. p. 96.

[327] Nepal is fortunate in having possessed in Mr. Brian H. Hodgson one of the most acute observers that ever graced the Bengal Civil Service. At the time, however, when he was Resident in the valley, none of the questions mooted in this work can be said to have been started; and he was mainly engrossed in exploring and communicating to others the unsuspected wealth of Buddhist learning which he found in Nepal, and the services he rendered to this cause are incalculably great. Nor did he neglect the architecture. I have before me a short manuscript essay on the subject, only four sheets foolscap, with about one hundred illustrations, which, if fully worked out, would be nearly all that is required. Unfortunately there are neither dates nor dimensions, and the essay is so short, and the drawings, made by natives, so incomplete, that it does not supply what is wanted; but, if worked out on the spot and supplemented by photographs, it might be all that is required.

[328] A curious mistake occurs in Buchanan Hamilton’s ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal.’ At page 57 he says: “Gautama, according to the best authorities, lived in the sixth century B.C., and Sakya in the first century A.D. The doctrines of Sakya Singha differ most essentially from those of Gautama.” In the writings of any other man this would be put down as a stupid mistake, but he was so careful an observer that it is evident that his informers confounded the founder of the Saka era—whether he was Kanishka or not—with the founder of the religion, though they seem to be perfectly aware of the novelty of the doctrines introduced by Nagárjuna and the fourth convocation. He adds, page 190, that Buddhism was introduced into Nepal A.D. 33, which is probably, however, fifty years too early—if, at least, it was consequent on the fourth convocation.

[329] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ p. 12.

[330] Ibid., p. 49.

[331] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ p. 190.

[332] Ibid., p. 22.

[333] Ibid., pp. 35 and 211.

[334] A view of this temple from the frontispiece of Buchanan Hamilton’s volume.

[335] ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. v. (N.S.) p. 18.

[336] ‘Nepaul,’ p. 187.

[337] Buchanan Hamilton, ‘Account of the Kingdom of Nepal,’ pp. 29, 42, 51, &c.

[338] The following particulars are taken from a paper by Major Austen in the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xliii. part i., 1874.

[339] ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xxiv. p. 1. et seqq.

[340] Ibid., vol. xx. p. 291, et seqq.

[341] Capt. Turner, it is true, who was sent to Teeshoo Lomboo by Warren Hastings, has published with his interesting narrative a number of very faithful views of what he saw, but they are not selected from that class of monuments which is the subject of our present inquiry.