Page:The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana.djvu/15

Rh "ascetic. So strongly did the Hindoo believe in the efficacy of his ritual that he held a devotee could, through austere practices, develop supernatural powers that made him a rival and even a being superior to the gods. Obviously, the gods could not have this. To humble him through the symbolism of the sexual act was both pertinent and suggestive. . . . The figure behind the man may be another Apsaras who was sent along to make certain the reduction of an especially obdurate case, or it may have been intended to represent the god himself assisting at the rite. Or, again, the group may represent two proselytes accompanied by an instructor."

VI. A Naga from the Temple of Surya—

"The Nagas were another of the Hindoo's many races of a semi-divine character who had the same standing in relation to the universe as human beings themselves. The details of life in their world were fully described as known. Their element was Water, as that of the Yakshas was Earth. The capital city of the Nagas was under the sea. and was called Bhogavati, 'the city of enjoyment.' The name is derived from naga meaning either a 'snake' or an 'elephant,' and has the earlier connotations, a 'tree' and a 'mountain'. . . . This figure shows more definitely the influence of serpent worship. The substitution or confusion of the serpent with the lingam is more obvious. There is substantiation of this conjecture by the suggestion in the upper part of the pedestal that the figure is standing on the horned head of a great reptile."

VII. Monolithic Pillar from a Stupa—

"This stupa (burial mound of the ashes of some distinguished person) is at Bharahat, a village in the small State of Nagod. The excavations instigated by Alexander Cunningham in 1874 showed it to be one of the most important and handsome in India. The mound itself was found to be 70 feet in diameter, between 50 and 60 feet high, and was surmounted by an ornament shaped like the letter T. About this mound ran a circular balustrade, a hundred feet in diameter, the ground plan of which made a gigantic swastika. The whole of this stood toward the east side of a paved and walled quadrangle about 300 feet by 320 feet. . . . The pillar shown, which is 7 feet 1 inch high, came from the balustrade. The elaborate ornament and large number of inscriptions on this stupa have yielded valuable information in regard to the art and social conditions of the people of Buddhist India at that period. The subjects were taken from the Buddhist Sacred Books, more especially from the accounts given in them of the life of the Buddha in previous births. . . . The figure shown here (the motive is one very frequent in Hindoo art) has been taken for Maya, mother of the Buddha, awaiting his"