The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

ART UNDER THE KUSHANS: MATHURA 63
Enlightenment. The Mahabodhi temple is a
rectangular structure supporting a tower in the
shape of a truncated pyramid ; smaller replicas
of this central mass echo its shape at the four
corners of the building [108]. When first constructed,
the Mahabodhi temple consisted of a
base or podium twenty feet high and fifty feet
wide that served as a support for a single tower
rising one hundred and eighty feet above
ground; the subsidiary turrets, according to
most authorities, represent a later addition.
Some idea of its original appearance may be
gained from a plaque discovered at Patna; 7 in
this one may clearly discern the arched niche
housing the miracle-working statue of Buddha.
The inscription in Kharoshthi script of the
second century a.d. is another bit of evidence
suggesting its foundation in Kushan times. 8 As
it stands to-day, the temple has been altered by
restorations by Burmese Buddhists - the last in
the eighties of the nineteenth century. The
architectural revetment of the facade, as well as
the statuary that filled the niches, belongs to the
Pala-Sena Period (a.d. 750-1200) of Buddhist
history. In spite of all these changes, it seems
reasonably certain that one of the most striking
features of its construction, a series of brick
arches and vaults in the main sanctuary, must
have belonged to the original fabric [109].
These arches were constructed of bricks joined
with mortar. The bricks constituting the
voussoirs were laid flatwise and made to adhere
sufficiently to those behind to enable the
builders to complete each arch or ring without
any kind of support or centering. This is a technique
that closely resembles the construction of
the great arch at Ctesiphon, dating from the
period of Khusrau I; it is just possible that this
method of vaulting, so completely un-Indian,
was introduced through the Kushan contacts
with Sasanian Iran. It might be noted further
that the original appearance of the Mahabodhi
108. Bodh Gaya, Mahabodhi temple 109. Bodh Gaya, Mahabodhi temple,
vaults before restoration