Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/204

 164 CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. BOOK VI. CHAPTER V. CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. CONTENTS. Cenotaphs Palaces at Gwaliar, Chitor, Amber, Dig Ghats- Reservoirs Dams. CENOTAPHS. As remarked above, one of the most unexpected peculiarities of the art, as practised by the inhabitants of southern India, is the absence of any attempt at sepulchral magnificence. As the Dravidians were essentially builders, we might expect that they should show some respect for the memories of their great men. It is, however, even uncertain how far the cromlechs, dolmens, or sepulchral circles found all over the south of India can be said to belong to the Dravidians in a ruder stage of society, or whether they belong to some aboriginal tribes who may have adopted the language of the superior races without being able to change the instincts of their race. Even after they had seen how much respect the Muhammadans paid to departed greatness, they failed to imitate them in this peculiarity. It was otherwise in the north of India not among the pure Aryans ; but in the Rajput states, where blood is less pure, they eagerly seized the suggestion offered by Muhammadan magnificence in this respect, and erected chhatris on the spots where their bodies had been burnt. Where, too, their widows, with that strange devotion which is a trait in the Hindu female's character, had sacrificed themselves to what they conceived to to be their duty. In Rajputana every native capital has its Mahasati, or place where the sovereigns of the state and their nearest relatives are burned with their wives. Most of these are appropriately situated in a secluded spot at some little distance from the town, and, the locality being generally chosen because it is rocky and well-wooded, it forms as picturesque a necropolis as is to be found anywhere. Of these, however, the most