This week I would like to step into an area Beyond
Borders has not yet covered. BB has posted on China & the Middle East during
the Western Middle Ages, but we have yet to discuss the subcontinent of India. As I am not specialist on Indian art and architecture, I’d like to give an analysis from the
Western perspective. In this post I will examine cosmological features in
Indian architecture at the Vimala Temple and Fatehpur Sikri. The cosmological ideologies and publications of Hipparchus, Pythagoras, Plato,
and Aristotle had made their way to this region and as a result, there are cosmological symbols at Vimala and Fatehpur Sikri
that are also seen at Western sites.[1] Although
these features embody some Western qualities, they are prime examples of Indian
mandalas.
Vimala Temple, Mandala Ceiling |
As touched upon in previous posts, mandala is an Eastern term used to
describe the intermingling of shapes as a means of representing the cosmos. The
Vimala Temple, a fourteenth century Jain sanctuary, is home to many decorative
mandala forms, the largest being that which covers the centre most part of the
ceiling.[2] The
Vimala mandala is a true monad, starting with a seed of one and branching into
petals of four, six, eight, & twelve. The centre is the seed of the monad,
which instead of representing the Christian God like in cathedral rose windows, possibly represents the twenty-fourth
tirthankara, Mahavira.[3] The next layer consists of four petals. The
four-lobed form encompasses the one "seed" much like the pattern known as the Breath of the Compassionate, a symbol
for universal balance.[4]
Knowing that India was in possession of Greek philosophies, elemental theory
can also be applied to this pattern; the four lobes/petals represent each of
the elements, while the centre represents the impermeable aether.[5]
The number four can also be a reference to the four cardinal directions. The
four-lobed form is then surrounded by six, a number affiliated with the
six-faced cube, the Platonic Solid symbolizing Earth.[6]
The layer of six is followed by a layer of eight. I often
interpret the number eight as a symbol for infinity as the figure 8 turned upon
its side is the symbol for infinity. Being that the Vimala ceiling is a
mandala, a symbol of the universe, the eight-lobed layer may represent the
infinite life of the cosmos. The number twelve is represented differently than
the others discussed. Four, six, and eight are all flower-like in form, while
the number twelve is represented as twelve individual linga-like forms atop a
four-lobed shape. My first assumption would be to
consider twelve as a reference to the months of the year, but with this change
of format, there is potential for cultural symbolism.
Close-Up of Akbar's Throne |
Axis Mundi of Fatehpur Sikri |
Fatehpur Sikri is a sixteenth century Mughal mandala
with a strong emphasis on the patron. Although this image implies that this is
simply a column and supporting beams in the centre of a room, this is actually
the throne of the great Mughal king, Akbar.[7] The
column is topped with a large, up-turned linga form. It is atop this form that
Akbar received visitors who stood below. The use of a column in a cosmological
representation in India dates back to the third century BCE in figures like the
Ashokan Pillar.[8]
Figures such as these are axis mundi,
a means of connection between heaven and earth.[9] At
Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s throne placed him between the two, potentially making
him a great communicator for both heaven and earth, god-like, or a king
ordained by the heavens over earth. The four beams that cross the room are
aligned in the four cardinal directions, extending his rule across the globe. The
column then acts like the centre of a monad, with the beams reaching out into
the world.
Ashokan Pillar |
Comparing the two, I find the mandala at Vimala to
be the more recognizable, perhaps because it is two dimensional. Despite their
different architectural styles, both the Vimala Temple and Fatehpur Sikri have
potential Western symbolism within their mandala forms. Although there is
much to be said on the Indian cosmological references in these mandala forms, the Western philosophies suggested in this post are fitting in comparison to
Western designs of the medieval period. What I can conclude from this brief
study is that there is much to uncover in my future studies concerning
the exchange of ideas between medieval Europe and the great subcontinent.
~Emily
[1] North,
John David. Cosmos: An
Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology. Chicago: University of
Chicago, 2008. 174-77. Print.
[2] Huntington,
Susan L., and John C. Huntington. The Arts of Ancient India: Buddhist,
Hindu, Jain. New York: Weatherhill, 1985. 291-94. Print.
[3] Glasenapp, Helmuth Von, and Shridhar B. Shrotri. Jainism: An Indian Religion of
Salvation. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1999. 74-75. Print.
[4] Daud
Sutton, Islamic Design: A
Genius for Geometry (Somerset:
Wooden Books, 2007), pg. 8.
[5] Richard
Foster, Patterns of Though:
The Hidden Meaning of the Great Pavement of Westminster Abbey (London: Butler and
Tanner, 1991), pg. 155
[6] Foster,
134.
[7] http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/255
[8] Huntington.
[9] Mircea Eliade
(tr. Philip Mairet). 'Symbolism of the Centre' in Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. Keep in mind
that Western axis mundi were also in creation in these early centuries and very
similar to the Ashokan Pillar. Such structures include Trajan’s Column, dating
2nd century CE. The Ashokan Pillar greatly predates the dedication
to Trajan, but perhaps this is another example of global artistic exchange.
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<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">www.Hypersmash.com</a>
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