XVII.
The architectural remains of Kashmir are perhaps the most remarkable
of the existing monuments of India, as they exhibit undoubted traces
of the influence of Grecian art. The Hindu temple is generally a sort
of architectural pasty, a huge collection of ornamental fritters,
huddled together with or without keeping; while the "Jain" temple is
usually a vast forest of pillars, made to look as unlike one another
as possible, by some paltry differences in their petty details.
On the other hand, the Kashmirian fanes are distinguished by the
graceful elegance of their outlines, by the massive boldness of their
parts, and by the happy propriety of their decorations.
They cannot, indeed, vie with the severe simplicity of the Parthenon,
but they possess great beauty - different, indeed, yet quite
their own.
The characteristic features of the Kashmirian architecture are its
lofty pyramidal roofs, its trefoiled doorways, covered by pyramidal
pediments, and the great width of the intercolumniations.
Most of the Kashmirian temples are more or less injured, but more
particularly those at Wantipur, which are mere heaps of ruins. Speaking
of these temples, Trebeck says: "It is scarcely possible to imagine
that the state of ruin to which they have been reduced has been the
work of time, or even of man, as their solidity is fully equal to
that of the most massive monuments of Egypt. Earthquakes must have
been the cause of their overthrow." In my opinion, their OVERTHROW is
too complete to have been the result of an earthquake, which would
have simply PROSTRATED the buildings in large masses.
