Indian art and architecture, a great part of the knowledge that exists at present is vitiated by the fact of the subject having been approached from a very unsympathetic point of view. The fundamental of Indian art is symbolism and foreign students and critics have ignored this fact altogether. As a matter of fact, efforts have been almost altogether directed toward disproving the fabulous antiquity claimed for Indian art by tradition. It is only in very recent times that sympathetic critics have attempted to treat the subject from the right point of view. There is no doubt that the oral traditions in India have built up an absurd halo about the age" of the temples; but, to a student of art, age must be a secondary consideration.

Twenty centuries of internecine warfare, the sweeping of the country by foreign hordes, and the several conquests, have naturally contributed to reduce all vestige of art to buildings that cannot be easily destroyed. We have very few examples of the development attained in comparatively ancient periods in the country. Of ancient paintings, we have only a few frescoes in the cave temples of Ajanta, Karli and Ellora. The literature abounds with descriptions of magnificent paintings, carved works in wood and ivory and all the paraphernalia of artistic expression, Ancient Indian history shows that there were cities which could well vie with the magnificence of modern cities, and possessing all the expressions of artistic luxury.

We must judge of ancient Indian art by the temples the mammoth structures that have existed for centuries. Whether these temples existed before the Christian era, or whether they owe anything at all to ancient Greek, Persian or Roman, are points not worth discussing. All that we know is that the inspiration is not foreign, and that the principles upon which they have been constructed were unknown to any other people. As a matter of fact, some of these structures that exist to-day are marvelous from an engineering point of view. The art of construction of some structures is not only lost, but baffles the engineering science of Europe and America.

There is general agreement on the point that Indian art owes its existence to Buddhism (q.v.). Ancient Brahminism had no temples, and the idea of any worship, but that of God in the form of nature was contrary to the interpretation then put on the Vedic texts. Buddhism was the religion preached by Buddha, hence there arose the necessity for deifying Buddha and worshipping him. The Brahmins fought such deification, and the erection of temples as being unholy. When the country turned away from Brahminism, and when more than 75 per cent of the people became Buddhists, under the powerful proselytizing influence of Asoka, the Brahmins retained their positions by practically incorporating the latter religion into their own. In that process, they took also the temples and developed them. Within a few centuries, they made sure that no Buddha was left in the temples and the images were renamed. In that manner, the worship of the countless Hindu deities became the vogue. To-day, there are at least a thousand mammoth temples in the country, while there are hundreds of thousands of small temples.

It would take too much space to detail the evolution of the temple. The Buddhists began with the construction of topes, in order to commemorate some event or to show that the spot was sacred. Most of these topes were constructed in the form of towers. The most notable of them being the Sanchi tope-the diameter of which is 106 feet. In the ancient Buddhistic period, there were besides topes, temples and monasteries. We have very few examples of monasteries at present, because with the downfall of Buddhism in India, the monastic order died out, and the buildings allowed to go to destruction. The earliest extant temples are the rock-cut cave temples-the date of whose construction is variously put from the 2d century B.C. to the 8th century A.D. There are three notable examples of these, at Karli, at Ellora and at Ajanta. The most wonderful of these are at Ellora. They are a series of caves sunken in the solid rock, extending a distance of three to four miles. The most notable caves are simply halls supported on massive piers, with level epistyles. The piers are richly carved with figures and friezes, and have a sort of cushion capitals and square abaci, and stand round forming a kind of atrium. The Indra court, the court dedicated to that deity, is open to the sky; within the court is a small shrine or temple in the solid rock are two hallsone larger than the other. The Visvakarma cave is a quadrangle open to the sky and surrounded by pillars. It leads into the atrium with three aisles and an apse. The most magnificent of all existing structures and significant as a purely Hindu work, is that part called the Kailas, which means literally, Heaven. The Kailas chambers and halls are sunk into the rock, and occupy a space 270 feet deep and 150, feet wide. The roofs are solid rock, supported by pillars, or rest on the walls or on the divisions of the assemblage of chambers. There is a porch, on each side of which, are two columns. This leads into the hall supported on 16 such columns, leading into a sort of adytum, around which is passage space and five chambers. The whole forms a temple with its usual appendages, exactly like one built on the ground, and around this is a wide open space with a colonnade or cloister encircling the whole. A great part of it is open to the sky for the sake of light and air but the work is entirely cut out of solid rock.

A distinctive architecture was that of the Jains. The Jain temple has a distinctiveness of its own, and the most famous example of an ancient temple is the Vimala-Sah on Mount Abu. The Jains, the Buddhists and later on, the Brahmins, all adopted the tower as the essential of the temple. The tower developed out of the dome, and the Indian dome has no boussoirs radiating from the centre, as in European architecture. The courses are all horizontal, and the domes are necessarily pointed in section, for they would not stand if circular. It requires no abutments and has no lateral thrust.

Although, the principles on which these temples have been reared are more or less the same, there is a marked distinction between the temples of southern India, and those of the north. At present, south India has more magnificent structures than the north. This is due probably to the fact that owing to the lateness of the Mohammedan incursion, the temple

The Great Hall in the Hindu Temple on the Island of Rameswaram

buildings were saved from destruction. The most famous of the southern temples are the temple at Tiravalur, the one at Tanjore and the one at Ramasvaram. The one at Ramasvaram has a hall 700 feet long and 150 feet wide, and it is so built that, although the light enters through one opening, there is not a dark corner in the whole of the building. The Tanjore temple has a tower 200 feet high, and resting on a base 83 feet square, and it is so constructed that it throws no shade. All the pillars of the southern temples, as well as the towers, are richly ornamented with carvings in relief. Among the most notable of northern buildings is the Black Pagoda of Kannaruc. The temples at Barolli and at Benares also need particular mention. The designs are great and the ornamentation profuse.

It is curious that, perhaps the most inspiring, and the greatest specimens of Indian art should be found outside of India. The Aughor Wat in Indo-China, and the temple at Mathura in Java are known to be the wonders of the world, and even those who have no appreciation of Indian art are inspired by the vastness of the structures, the greatness of the design, and the profuseness of ornamentation. These two structures cover very wide areas, and are now in ruins. They were reared by the Hindus when they ruled over those territories; and the temples fell into ruins when the Hindu conquerors had to leave those countries and come back to India.

The

The architecture of Siam and China, as well as that of Japan is wholly Indian. The Siamese wats and temples were reared by the Indian architects and resemble more closely the temples of India than those of Burma. Chinese, who were great painters, never developed architecture, as their buildings were almost altogether in wood. The introduction of Buddhism into China was followed by the introduction of temple architecture, and the Chinese took to building with great avidity. The Japanese architecture has been purely employed in building temples to Buddha, and is still preeminently Indian.

It should not be imagined that there was only temple architecture in ancient India. There have been magnificent buildings, great from the point of view, both of size and height. Very few of them, however, are left, and such buildings as exist to-day have all been of a later date. The one notable building which is now in ruins is the University of Nalanda, near Patna, which flourished before the 11th century. The ruins are still to be seen, and it is stated that the university housed 20,000 students, Later Indian art of the best kind is to be seen only in southern India. The hall in the palace at Madura is an example of pure Indian architecture. In the north the Mohammedans brought with them the Saracenic art; and in course of time, the native Hindu and the Saracenic art blended well and produced a new type. The most noted example of this blending is the Taj Mahal (q.v.) said to be one of the nine wonders of the world. It is built of the purest marble on the banks of the River Jumna, and is described as a dream in marble. The Jumma Masjid in Delhi, and the several palaces that exist in different parts of the country also exhibit the result of the blending of the two styles. The basis of all architecture in India

has, however, been the old Indian style, and the craftsmen have always been Hindus.

There are some buildings of distinctive Saracenic architecture, which are mostly mosques, or the places of worship of the Mohammedans, who form one-fifth of the population of India. The Indian mosques have, however, a very distinct touch of the Hindu craftsmen, especially with respect to capitals and the ornamentations. Saracenic architecture is distinctive for the elaboration of detail, and the Hindus took it and developed it. Possibly as the effect of Saracenic influence, later Hindu. temples have almost a surfeit of detail work. In the temples of southern India, it is a common sight to see columns 15 feet high and 4 feet square, having as many as 10,000 figures carved in relief. every figure being distinctive. A column in the temple of Kumbakonum has the whole story of Ramayana carved in relief.

The secular buildings of later date are mostly halls and palaces. The Mohammedans revived the art of the dome, which had perished shortly after the Buddhistic period. A hall at Bijapur has a dome with a diameter of 100 feet, resting on columns without any support. There is not a piece of wood or steel in the whole structure, and it is constructed out of brick and mortar. The dome has been standing for at least 400 years, and is as good and strong as if it were built yesterday. Except in the wealth of detail, which varied with different centuries, the principles of India architecture have undergone no modification.

The art of statuary in India consists principally of casting the figures of the deities in bronze and similar alloys, and cutting the figures in stone. An elaborate science of statuary was built up, and at one time it appears to have been a serious study; but craftsmanship in India has always been a tradition, handed down from father to son. With the elaborate developments of the caste system, artistic knowledge became the possession of a body of people whose claim was based on birth. The technique of the art was considered a secret and kept in the family, as it were. As the religion allowed free play to the art of statuary, and as the kings and people of wealth considered building temples a passport to heaven, there was room for any number of images of deities. Later Hindu texts, especially the Puranas, gave room for the infinite play of fancy. Gods and goddesses in all shapes and forms were introduced, and imagination had the freest play. For instance, Siva, the favorite deity of the south, is represented with several hands and feet. Art critics of Europe have considered these statuaries →→ monstrosities; but recently the symbolism is being better understood. The Hindu considers his gods as being without human limitations, and the only way in which he could express this thought was by the creation of extraordinary attributes. Once this symbolism is understood, statuary in India will take a very high place in art. The making of alloys was known in India long before it was known in other parts of the world. The Iron Pillar at Delhi is a striking example of the engineering skill of ancient India.

Ancient works show that in ornamental work in gold and silver ancient Indians were adept. We have, however, not many examples of these at present, principally because the jewelry of the

temples in the north has been looted by the invaders. Even the tools appear to have been lost, although at present, some of the works done by gold and silver-smiths are in no way inferior in design and finish to those made in Europe or America.

For a number of centuries, painting in India has remained a lost art. The frescoes in the cave temples are recognized by art critics as representing a very high stage of development of the art of painting. There is a very long gap until we arrive at the Mohammedan period, during which time, noteworthy paintings saw the light. The special characteristic of Indian painting has been its magnificent detail, although some consider it a fault that a great number of subjects and figures should be crowded in a single canvas. It has also been customary to paint, on the walls of temples, the mythological stories. As a rule, these paintings have not been of high order.

Recent developments in painting have been very satisfactory. A distinctive school has sprung up in Bengal, and it shows traces of European influence. The most noteworthy painters are Nandalal Bose and Ganguly, who have also gone for their principal subjects to Hindu mythology. Most of the principal centres have native India artists, who are successfully developing a new school. Owing to the want of support, and the ignorance about Indian art, progress is very slow at present.

Bibliography.- Coomarasamy, Dr. A., Visvakarma) (London 1914); Elwin, E. F., 'India and the Indians' (London 1912); Ferguson, T., "History of Architecture (London, new and revised edition, 1911); Hall, H. F., "The Soul of a People (London 1902); Havell, E. B., 'Indian Painting) (London 1913); and Indian Architecture (London 1913); Hunter, Sir W. W., 'History of British India' (London 18991901); Quatremère, 'Dictionnaire Historique d'Architecture (1825); Smith, Vincent, History of Fine Art in India' (Oxford 1911).

SRINIVAS R. WAGEL.

INDIA, Educational Progress in. The work of engrafting a system of modern education, essentially of an English standard, on the Indian Empire could not be hurried in view of the enormous labor involved and the vast population to be reached. The original Hindu system imposed upon every one of the higher caste the obligation to teach, primarily instruction was oral. Separate schools of law, of religion, astronomy, astrology and medicine came later. The villages were centres for schools in industrial art for which the Indian natives were adapted. The village boys were taught the vernacular and received ethical foundations in proverbs, stories and verses from the lips of the teacher. The Buddhists were no less exacting in their schools. It was the province of the Mohammedans as early as the 11th century, by their more democratic educational methods, universally established in the shadow of the mosque, to modify the rigid caste notions of India, their power being aided by the establishment of the Mogul Empire in the 16th century. With the rise of Christian influence in the 18th century and for a century later the missionary was the teacher. In 1813 on the renewal of the charter of the East India Company, an educational grant was included, although in 1780 and 1791 two private institutions

were founded in Calcutta and Benares. A greater impetus was given to education in 1835 on Lord Macaulay's arrival, to promote the knowledge of European literature and science through the English language, and all agencies, missionary and private, municipal, provincial and governmental, were quickened in their activities. In the following decades, however, it was realized that the movement failed to prove popular-it seemed to be utilized by natives who desired government offices, but not by the masses of the people. Hence special commissions were appointed in 1882 and 1894 to improve the system from a practical point of view with the best results. While before the new century primary education reached the mere fringe of the population, in 1908 a marked advance was made. In 1907-08 the primary pupils in all the 10 provinces numbered 5,708,138, a 22 per cent increase over the previous year, and similar growth was noticed in every grade from the highest to the lowest.

The government's wisdom was shown in 1901 when an inspector-general of agriculture, with a staff of experts, was appointed. In 1903, a gift by Mr. Henry Phipps made possible the Imperial Agricultural College and Central Research Institute at Pusa in Berar. In 1905 the government set aside 20 lakhs of rupees ($644,000) was devoted to agricultural research and instruction. In a few years 60 experimental farm schools, in addition to demonstration plots, were established. Schools were begun and a state technical school, with scholars to be sent abroad for thorough instruction. A further evidence of progress in education is the national awakening toward the need of universities for Indian young men and women under their own auspices. Early in 1916, the University of Mysore was opened, the first of its kind in that part of India which belongs to the Indians and is ruled by them. It is significant that education is compulsory and free throughout this state, in which at latest reports with a population of six millions were 5.436 insitutions, six colleges for men and one for women. The school pupils numbered 214,397, with 26,371 secondary and 934 collegiate. The new university is not an examining body but has a regular university lecture and tutorial system, with the Maharaja as chancellor. Instruction is given in the vernacular current in the state. The course is for three years. In February 1916 Lord Hardinge laid the foundation stone of the new Hindu University at Benares. No candidates are debarred on the score of religion. Instruction in the Hindu religion is compulsory for Hindus. The central Hindu College of Benares organized by Mrs. Annie Besant in 1898, was the nucleus of the new institution. Its aim is to promote the study of the Hindu Shastras and of Sanscrit literature generally as well as to advance technical, scientific and professional knowledge, with practical training, to encourage the industries and develop the resources of the country. Large sums were collected from all classes of educated Hindus, with the capitalized value of the recurring grants reaching £675,000. Women will be admitted. The Mohammedans at Hydera have founded a university called Nizamia after the Nizam or prince of that province, to teach the literature and science of Islam. The Mohammedans of Aligarh expect to have a charter