window space, and the arch then serves as the glory or aura of the image. And when the chaītya hall turned towards the west, the crocodile-dragon of Varuna, the ruler of the cosmic ocean into which the sun sinks every evening, was carved at the springing of the arch,[1] and a lion's or dragon's mask, with gaping mouth as if swallowing the whole arch, was carved at the crown.
But in the earliest rock-cut Assembly halls of the Buddhist monasteries, where this arch is the main motif of the severely restrained decorative scheme, one can hardly realise the symbolism behind it, for it is simply a copy of the window over the entrance. And certainly the rules of the Sangha did not tolerate any traffic with the despised Vedic fire-worshippers. They only prescribed the patterns which were lawful for the bhikkus to use as decorations, and gave them a metaphorical interpretation in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.
The carved entrance to one of the rock-cut hermitages in Bihar, near Gāyā, known as the Lomas Rishi cave, is an exact reproduction of the roof-end from which the sun-window is derived. The hermitage was one of those which were dedicated by Asoka for the use of a certain sect known as the Ājivikas, and dates from about 257 b.c. The interior consists of a hall 33 feet long and 19 feet wide, with a semi-cylindrical roof. The walls, floor, and ceiling are quite plain, but have a very fine polish. At one end of the hall a narrow door opens into a domed chamber, or shrine, nearly circular in shape, like a hollow stūpa. In a similar adjacent hermitage, known as the Sudāma or Nyagrodha cave, the rock is cut over the entrance so as to
- ↑ Horus, the Egyptian sun-god, was also represented in conflict with the crocodile-dragon.
