Footfalls of Indian history . nBehar. Here we have the enclosure built aboutthe sacred tree. Again we have a footprint, as atGaya itself, where that now worshipped as theVishnupada was almost certainly originally a Bud-dhistic symbol. Behar was at one time full ofstupas, but the very fact that these have beendefaced and treated as mounds or hills is testi-mony to the fact that they were probably as plainin the time of Asoka as that now at Sarnath or atSanchi. It is true enough that at its birth Bud-dhism found all holiness in that plain dome-shapedcairn of earth and bricks, which sometimes did
Footfalls of Indian history . nBehar. Here we have the enclosure built aboutthe sacred tree. Again we have a footprint, as atGaya itself, where that now worshipped as theVishnupada was almost certainly originally a Bud-dhistic symbol. Behar was at one time full ofstupas, but the very fact that these have beendefaced and treated as mounds or hills is testi-mony to the fact that they were probably as plainin the time of Asoka as that now at Sarnath or atSanchi. It is true enough that at its birth Bud-dhism found all holiness in that plain dome-shapedcairn of earth and bricks, which sometimes did, asat Rajgir, and sometimes did not, as at Sanchi,conceal a deposit of relics. Amongst the smallvotive stupas which it became the fashion forpilgrims and visitors to leave at sacred shrines,there are many of this phase of development. It was essential that they should have five parts,clearly d,istinguishable, and a system of philosophygrew up which connected these with the five ele-ments—earth, air, fire, water, and BUDDHAS LOTUS THRONE SUPPORTED BY NAGAS(Kenheri Caves) THE ANCIKNT ABBEY OF AJANTA 99 It must have been soon after Asoka that attemptswere made to evolve a portrait-statue of accordance with the Indian character as wellas with the severe truthfulness of early Hinayanadoctrines, the first efforts in this direction wouldalmost certainly be intensely realistic. They wouldbe filled with a striving after literal fact. In far-away Sanchi, even as late as 150 , we have thebas-reliefs on the great gateways representing any-thing and everything Buddhistic that could be wor-shipped save and except Buddha himself. Butthis is only what we might expect if, as we havesupposed, precedence in this matter really belongedto Magadha. At some later date we find atKenheri illustrations of the blending of the oldschool of art to which Sanchi belonged—in whicha story was told, in picture form—and this newidea of the supernatural personage appearing asheroic am
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