Stretching such evidence as we at present have, as far as it will bear, we can hardly bring the Takht-i-Bahi monastery within one century of Boro Buddor. It may be two—and Jamalgiri is still one or two centuries more distant in time. But, on the other hand, if we had not these Gandhara monasteries to refer to, it would be difficult to believe that the northern system of Buddhism could have been so completely developed, even in the 8th century, as we find it at Boro Buddor. It is this wonderful progress that has hitherto made the more modern date of that monument probable—it looks so much in advance of anything we know of in Indian Buddhism. But all this we must now revise by the light these Javan monuments throw on the subject.
Being merely a pyramid, situated on the summit of a hill, there were no constructive difficulties encountered in the erection of Boro Buddor, and it is consequently no wonder that it now remains so entire, in spite of its being, like all Javan buildings, erected wholly without mortar. It is curious to observe, however, how faithfully its architects adhered to the Indian superstition regarding arches. They did not even think it necessary to cut off the angles of the corbel-stones, so as to simulate an arch, though using the pointed-arched forms of the old chaitya caves of the west. The two systems are well exemplified in the preceding Woodcut (No. [366]), but it runs throughout. All the niches are surmounted by arch forms—circular, elliptical, or pointed—but all are constructed horizontally, and it may be added that, in nine cases out of ten, the keystones are adorned with a mask, as in this last example.
Mendoet.
At a place called Mendoet, about two and a half miles from Boro Buddor, there is a temple of a very different class, which, though small, is of extreme interest for the history of Javan architecture. It stands on a basement 70 ft. square, and 15 ft. to 16 ft. high. The temple itself is about 45 ft. square, including a projection on each face, which gives it a slightly cruciform shape. Inside is a cell, about 20 ft. square, roofed by an inverted pyramid of steps, in which are three colossal images seated, and about 11 ft. high each. The central one is Buddha, curly headed of course, and clad in a diaphanous robe.[615] The two other colossi, though having only two arms each, are almost certainly intended for Vishnu and Siva. On one of the faces, externally, is Laksmi, eight-armed, seated on a lotus, with attendants. On another face is a figure, four-armed, seated cross-legged on a lotus, the stem of which is supported by two figures with seven-headed snake-hoods. It is in fact a slightly altered repetition of a group inserted among the older sculptures on the façade of the cave at Karli.[616] That insertion I have always believed to be of the 6th or 7th century; this group is certainly slightly more modern. The curious part of the matter is, that the Mendoet example is so very much more refined and perfect than that at Karli. The one seems the feeble effort of an expiring art; the Javan example is as refined and elegant as anything in the best ages of Indian sculpture. The same remarks apply to the sacred tree under which the figure is seated. Like all the similar conventional trees at Boro Buddor, they are complicated and refined beyond any examples known in India.
The great interest, however, of this little temple arises from the fact that it almost certainly succeeded immediately to Boro Buddor. If it is correct to assume A.D. 650-750 as the period during which that temple was erected, this one must have been built between A.D. 750 and A.D. 800. It shows, too, a progress in design at a time when Buddhist art in India was marked by decay; and it exhibits such progress in mythology, that though there can be no doubt as to the purity of the Buddhism of Boro Buddor, anyone might fairly argue that this temple belonged either to that religion or to Hinduism. It is in fact one of those compromises that in India would be called Jaina; in other words, one of those transitional examples of which we have many in Java, but the want of which leaves such a gap in our history of architecture in India.
Brambanam.
At a distance of twenty miles south-east from Boro Buddor is a group of temples, marking the site of the old Hindu capital of the island, which are almost as interesting as that great temple itself. They are unfortunately much less known, or, at all events, have not been illustrated to anything like the same extent. They are, however, so much more ruined, that it may be owing to this that their details have not been so completely made out; but from whatever cause, we cannot speak of them with the same confidence as of Boro Buddor.
The oldest group at Brambanam seems to be that known as Loro Jongram, consisting of six larger temples, enclosed in a wall, and surrounded by fourteen smaller cells.[617] They may be of the age of Deva Kosuma, or of the beginning of the 9th century, and possibly are not the earliest Hindu temples here, but till we have more illustrations it is impossible to speak of this with confidence.
The great interest of the place centres in a temple known as the Chandi Siwa, or, “thousand temples,” which is, or was, when complete, only second to Boro Buddor in interest. The general character of the great temple will be understood from the annexed plan of a smaller one at the same place ([Woodcut No. 367]). Both consist of a central temple, surrounded by a number of smaller detached cells. In this instance there are only sixteen such, each of which is supposed to have contained an image—Buddha—Jaina, or Saiva, according to the dedication of the central cell.