Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/233

 CHAP. VI. SALSETTE. 199 With one exception, no man or woman has any covering on their heads, and the men generally have the hair cropped short, and with only very small moustaches on the face. Some half-dozen are as dark as the Hindus of the present day. The rest are very much fairer, many as fair as Spaniards, and nearly all wear coloured dresses. 1 We are not at present in a position to say, and may not for a long time be able to feel sure, who the races are that are represented in these frescoes or in those at Ajanta. Certain of the figures are doubtless imaginary superhuman beings Rakshasas, Yakshas, and the like, and the scenes are more or less ideal. The style of art, especially at Bagh, is very similar to that of Persia at about the same date. So far as the materials yet available indicate, the earliest of this group of caves could not well have been commenced much before A.D. 500 ; the date of the latest, if our chronology is correct, could not well be carried down much beyond 600, but a complete survey of them is required before we can decide with confidence. SALSETTE. One of the most extensive of all the groups of Indian caves is that generally known as the Kanheri Caves on the Island of Salsette between Bombay and Thana. The great chaitya cave there, as mentioned above, is only a bad copy of the Karle cave, and was excavated in the end of the 2nd century, and none of the viharas seem to be much earlier. It may have been be- cause it was an island that it remained undisturbed by the troubles of the mainland, and that the practice of excavating caves lasted longer here than in any series above described. Be this as it may, the caves here go straggling on till they fade by almost imperceptible degrees into those of the Hindu religion. The Hindu caves of Montpezir or Mandape^var and Joge^var, and other Buddhist caves at Magathana and Kondivtd, are so like them, and the change takes place so gradually, that it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between the two religions. Although, therefore, we have not at Salsette any viharas that can compare with those of Nasik, Ajanta, or Bagh, yet because they range from the 2nd century to far into the gih, and fade so gradually into the next phase, are they worthy of con- siderable attention. As these caves are so near Bombay and Bassein, and so easily accessible, they early attracted attention, and were 1 It is much to be regretted that no attempt has yet been made to secure faithful copies of these interesting wall- paintings, which are fast perishing. Some notes respecting them are given in ' Notes on the Bauddha Rock-Temples of Ajanta,' etc. (Bombay, 1879) pp. 94, 95-