THE ANCIENT ABBEY OF AJANTA loi
The plain stupas all round show the contempo- rary development of that symbol. Now there was a moment when, by the simultaneous modification of all its five parts, the stupa was transformed into something very like what we now recognise as a temple. Specimens of this phase abound in the neighbourhood of Nalanda, and indeed some hand has gathered a quantity of representative examples together and placed them on the bathing ghdt at Baragaon. Except in the instances of this clay seal figured by Griinwedel and a stupa which is to be seen in the Sonar Bhandar Cave at Rajgir, however, I do not remember ever to have seen this phase of the stupa associated with an image. The panelled example at Rajgir would seem to be old because of the stiffness with which the standing Buddha is portrayed. He stands with feet apart, as in the drawings of children. But never have I seen a work of art which was equal to this in the depth and strength of the personal conviction which it found means to convey. The Buddha is clad in the usual invisible clothing of the period. He is stiffly and awkwardly posed, and conveys the idea of gigantic size. Outside the sunken panel on which he is carved, above him and to right and left, appear branches of trees of recognisable species, and each such branch half conceals a hand with pointing finger. The whole effect is extraordinary. The words " This is the man ! " are almost to be heard. This vividness of feeling combined with the stiffness of the work would incline one to place the statue
