Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/111

 CHAP. III. BODH-GAYA. 79 distinctly of Burmese type, though some few of them appear to be of about the 6th century and the sculptures he mentions find no place in the present design ; the amalakas of gilt copper that crowned the whole, as he saw it, have also disappeared. 1 The changes in detail, as well as the introduction of radiating arches in the interior, must belong to the Burmese restorations in the beginning of the I2th and end of the I3th centuries. Though these, consequently, may have altered its appearance in detail, it is probable that, until the "restoration" in 1 880-81, we still had before us a straight-lined pyramidal nine-storeyed temple of about the 6th century, retaining all its essential forms anomalous and unlike anything else we find in India, either before or afterwards, but probably the parent of many nine- storeyed towers found beyond the Himalayas, both in China and elsewhere. Unfortunately, instead of carefully preserving this very interesting monument, the Government of Bengal was advised to " restore " it, and this was carried out under the superintend- ence of General Cunningham and his assistant, by which as might have been anticipated it was materially modified, and from an archaeological point of view seriously injured. 2 Eventually we may discover other examples which may render this noble tower less exceptional than it now appears to be. At Kesariya in Champaran, about 20 miles south- east from Lauriya-Araraj, where one of the pillars of A^oka mentioned above is found, are the ruins of what appears to have been a very large tope. It is, however, entirely ruined externally, and has never been explored, so that we cannot tell what was its original shape or purpose. 3 At Piprahwa also in the north of Basti district, on the Nepal frontier, a mound containing the remains of a stupa was excavated in 1897-98, but, apparently, more attention was given to the discovery of the relic casket, than to the construction and dimensions of the stupa. It seems, however, to have been about 90 feet, in diameter at the base, and about 13^ ft. from the ground level ; the dome began with a diameter of about 62 ft. 4 The inscription 1 Beat's 'Buddhist Records,' vol. ii. pp. 118 and 136, note 2. 2 Cunningham's 'Mahabodhi,' preface, p. ix. The restoration cost the Govern- ment somewhere about 200,000 rupees ; and then the Mahant of the neighbouring monastery appropriated the renovated temple for his Vaishnava followers and consecrated the image by applying to it the "tilak" or frontal mark of Vishnu, so that it might be worshipped as that divinity, whilst he set both the Buddhists and Government at defiance to re-occupy the shrine. 3 Cunningham, 'Archaeological Re- ports,' vol. i. pp. 64ff. and plate 24. 4 'Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,' 1898, p. 577 ; and ' Report on a Tour of Exploration of the Antiquities in the Tarai, Nepal,' by Babu P. C. Mukherji, 1899, pp. 43-47, in which the "approxi- mate total diameter of the whole stftpa " is given as 9p ft. ; but both illustrations and descriptions are very unsatisfactory.