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 one of the thoroughfares—a long and tortuous one, it is true, but nevertheless a line of communication—connecting India with the Chinese Empire. To the constant intercourse between these two different countries, and the influences at various times exercised from the one or the other, is due the general character of the architecture of Nepal. During the Buddhist period, the inhabitants of the Valley looked to India for inspiration and guidance, and the buildings of this early time are of the solid stone order, in the manner of the "Chaityās" and "Stupās" of the Great Teacher's native country. It is possible that in Nepal in the third century B.C. Asoka himself introduced this style when he visited the Valley and built the four large Buddhist temples at Patau, one opposite to each of the cardinal points of the compass. These are still in evidence at the present day, and are slightly different from those subsequently built in Nepal, as they more nearly resemble the "topes" of the country from which they originated. In other words, the Newars when accepting this Indian construction, instead