Picturesque Nepal/Chapter 9

by Percy Brown

CHAPTER IX

THE ARTS OF THE NEWARS

Art and Religion—Indian and Chinese Influences—Nepalese Architecture—The "Chaitya"—Buddhist Temples—Bodhnath and Shambu-Nāth—Symbolism of the "Chaitya"—The "Pagoda"—Origin of the Pagoda.

The Art of the Newars is essentially a religious art, ordained and consecrated to the service of the country's creeds. A brief description of these creeds is given in a previous chapter—the religious state of the country, with a special reference to its artistic aspect, being defined as a coalition of the two faiths of Brahmanism and Buddhism. To the student of theological systems, this definition of the religious conscience of Nepal may be open to objection, and Hodgson goes as far as to deny the possibility of an identity "between two creeds, the speculative tenets of which are as wide asunder as heaven and earth." The explanation of the frequent juxtaposition of the emblems of both cults in the same temple is said to be due to these images and symbols having been borrowed from Brahmanism, and being adopted "into Buddhism—just as the statue of a Capitoline Jupiter became the very orthodox effigy of St. Paul, because the Romanists chose to adopt the Pagan idol in an orthodox sense." Svlvain Levi, in a learned treatment of the subject, suggests a compromise, and endeavours to explain that the situation is almost impossible for the Westerner to comprehend, except that as the Catholic Church can enrich itself indefinitely with new saints, so "l'Inde peut s'enricher de nouveaux dieux." In this way Buddha, who long passed as a kind of Brahmanical Antichrist, was eventually absorbed into the cult of Vishnu, while Buddhism, in order to keep its hold on the people, accepted many of the more popular beliefs of the Hindu Pantheism. To the ordinary observer, the temples of Nepal display a religious tolerance, which is a striking contrast to the communities of the West, but at the same time this system of a combination of all creeds,

Black and white photograph of metal work on a temple front at Katmandu.

METAL WORK ON A TEMPLE FRONT AT KATMANDU.

In Nepalese art there is no "unmeaning ornament." Every detail is full of religious symbolism.

whereby one place of worship is enabled to embrace three or four different cults, may not be altogether disinterested in its motive. For no devotee visits one of these buildings without contributing his mite towards its maintenance, and "No penny, no paternoster" is the business motto of those to whose special care the holy edifice is consigned. In putting into effect this precept those responsible for the policy naturally cast their nets as widely as possible, and in most temples, therefore, the Vishnuvite, the Buddhist, and the Lamaist find their wants supplied, and their own particular images and attributes awaiting their obeisance.

Not only is Nepalese art of an intensely religious character, but hand in hand with this it is also supremely symbolic; there is no "unmeaning ornament," almost every element in its composition being emblematic of the creed it adorns. In other words, art was utilized by the priesthood to catch the eye of the illiterate many, to put before those who could not read a visible tangible object which illustrated a legend or emphasized a dogma. And to do this it required to be powerfully dramatic, to depict to the masses the Good and the Bad in its most graphic and forceful interpretation, so that the Nepalese artist either elevates the observer by the transcendental nature of his celestial conceptions, or terrorizes him into docility by his suggestions of purgatory. It is an art, therefore, as far as the people themselves are concerned, which inspires awe and veneration more than pleasure, and is worshipped rather than admired.

From the point of view of the æsthetic, Nepal was until a few years ago a terra incognita, and even now, although specimens of Newar handiwork have filtered down through the devious mountain passes from Katmandu, little is known of its general character. The examples alluded to are usually sacerdotal utensils of brass, or temple accessories, to be seen in private collections or in museums, which, removed from the religious edifices they are devised to serve, dethroned as it were from Olympus, have lost much of their sentiment and prestige, and, instead of being regarded with fear and reverence, have degenerated into

Black and white photograph of the Durbar Square at Bhatgaon.

IN THE DURBAR SQUARE AT BHATGAON.

The flight of steps in the foreground is guarded by five pairs of grotesque figures and animals.

objects of curiosity. Torn from their picturesque setting in shrine or temple, they are robbed of much of the religio loci, and now, obviously out of place, are collected in small groups "like monks turned out of their cells into the public streets." In the strange surroundings of a private room or art collection, although beautiful pieces of craftsmanship, they give but a faint conception of the unique quality of the complete art of the Newar. To understand this correctly it must be studied in situ, and in conjunction with the atmosphere of deep religious sincerity in which it was first nourished and developed. The original artists were upheld and stimulated by their implicit faith; they accepted the wildest legends and traditions, hence the earnest and honest nature of their compositions, a quality which still survives and is observable in a degree at the present day.

A reference has been previously made to the great religious and political storm-wave of Mohammedanism which swept over Hindustan during the "Middle Ages," and the effect this had on the institutions of the peninsula, including that country's art. The tenets of the victorious faith not only encouraged the destruction of the Hindu temples, but regarded iconoclasm as a sacred duty. As in another instance, the order went forth to "destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire" (Deut. vii.). To correctly understand the situation in India at this period, it must be realized that the religion of the country was a Pantheism, and that the sacred edifices of the Hindus rioted in sculptured representations of the deities and their attributes, the thousand and one gods of the national creed, in all their various forms and incarnations. Natural and living creations were introduced into all ornamentation, in wood, stone, or metal, and "graven images" were the chief feature of every temple and shrine. The old religion of the Aryans was based on a worship of Nature in its most sublime aspects, and the influence of this reverence for the supreme forces is evident in their sacred art wherever it was applied. The country of Hindustan was rich in buildings, sheltering divinities of every shape and size, and whose decorations palpitated with the natural and floral forms so closely associated with the fundamental principles of the creed. This was the state of art in India before the Mohammedan invasion, and if it is possible to conceive the diametrical antithesis of this, the subsequent artistic condition of the country can be imagined. Not that the conquerors were blind to the æsthetic—a glance at the buildings of the Moguls at the present day will at once disprove this suggestion—but their art, as originally understood, was as far removed from that of the Hindus as the poles are asunder. For Mohammedanism brought with it all the leading convictions of that forceful cult which planted its indelible mark on the art and architecture of the world from Cordova to Canton. And in place of the unrestrained thought of the Hindu and his picturesque mythology, we have the stern conventions of Islam, and an art bound by the canons of a religion whose doctrine forbade representations of living objects, just as the early Christians abhorred the graven images of Pagan gods. Mohammedanism, states Waddell, "is practically devoid of symbolism, and its sanctuary is a severely empty building, wholly unadorned with images or pictures." But Nepal, secure in Himalayan fastness, remained untouched by this epoch-making current which permanently changed every aspect of the great countries with which it came into contact, and therefore its value to the student of Oriental history is incalculable. In the words of Fergusson, Nepal "presents us with a complete microcosm of India as it was in the seventh century Hieun Tsiang visited it—when the Buddhist and Brahmanical religions flourished side by side; and when the distinctive features of the various races were far more marked than they have since become under the powerful solvent of the Mohammedan domination."

The situation represented by the foregoing would tend to indicate that Nepal, especially the Valley, lay in a secure "pocket" in the mountains, and, entirely undisturbed, "heard the legions thunder past," but such is not exactly the case. Through the kingdom runs

Black and white photograph of a window of carved wood at Bhatgaon.

A WINDOW OF CARVED WOOD AT BHATGAON.

A peacock forms the centre, from which radiates a remarkable design of tangential bars.

one of the thoroughfares—a long and tortuous one, it is true, but nevertheless a line of communication—connecting India with the Chinese Empire. To the constant intercourse between these two different countries, and the influences at various times exercised from the one or the other, is due the general character of the architecture of Nepal. During the Buddhist period, the inhabitants of the Valley looked to India for inspiration and guidance, and the buildings of this early time are of the solid stone order, in the manner of the "Chaityās" and "Stupās" of the Great Teacher's native country. It is possible that in Nepal in the third century B.C. Asoka himself introduced this style when he visited the Valley and built the four large Buddhist temples at Patau, one opposite to each of the cardinal points of the compass. These are still in evidence at the present day, and are slightly different from those subsequently built in Nepal, as they more nearly resemble the "topes" of the country from which they originated. In other words, the Newars when accepting this Indian construction, instead of slavishly copying it, adapted it slightly to their own ideas, and thus produced this typical architectural feature with a special character of its own. There are numerous buildings of this type in various parts of the Valley, all fundamentally Buddhist in origin, and all of an early, or comparatively early, date. They comprise what may be referred to as the "Chaitya" style of Nepalese architecture. Side by side with these solid stone structures will be observed buildings of an entirely different nature and of a less antique appearance, but dedicated to somewhat the same religious purposes. An entire contrast to the severe form of the stupa, in design, construction, and general character, these temples present what may be termed the "Pagoda" style of architecture in the Nepal Valley. A glance at these buildings will at once reveal their origin, which is obviously Chinese in almost every particular. The explanation of the introduction of this very distinctive style, from an entirely opposite source to the "Chaitya," may be found by observing the

Black and white photograph of the dome of Bodhnāth.

THE DOME OF BODHNĀTH.—Page 139.

course of events, both religious and political, which affected Asia during the "Middle Ages." History tells us that the establishment of Buddhism in China was contemporaneous with its decline in India, its original seat. Buddhist Nepal, no longer able to look to Hindustan for its inspirations, naturally turned to the Celestial Empire for religious impulse, where the Newar's national creed was a living fact, and becoming more powerful day by day. A parallel case is to be observed in the story of the Christian Church. The modern student of Christianity would hardly look to Jerusalem for enlightenment on the principles of this religion, and in the same way, although Kapilavastu—the Buddhist Bethlehem—is on the confines of Nepal, the whole country around lay under the sway of the Brahman, just as the Holy Land at the present time lies in the hand of the Turk. The succeeding centuries tended to still further narrow the intercourse between the Valley and Hindustan, until eventually in 1204 a.d. the disused doorway was hermetically sealed by the Mohammedan conquest of Behar and Bengal. From this time, religiously, and in consequence æsthetically, Nepal had no real sympathies with India, and became almost unconsciously more closely associated with the great and growing Buddhist communities of Tibet and China. In these circumstances it is natural that the later temples of the Valley should show strong Chinese influences, and that the ornamentation of the two countries should display features which are most strikingly similar in motive and method of expression.

The architecture of Nepal may therefore, be broadly consigned to two great styles, the "Chaitya" and the "Pagoda," but there is one other form occasionally present which may be briefly referred to. A few religious edifices are to be seen of the typically Hindu character, as found in India, and described by Fergusson as "a square tower-like temple, with a perpendicular base, but a curvilinear outline above," which this authority suggests are originally of "Daysu" or aborigine source. This style of building is, however, not common, and merely serves to indicate the spiritual link which has at different times connected this independent State with the neighbouring Empire of Hindustan.

In the "Chaitya," or earlier and more purely Buddhist style of building, there are several interesting examples in the Valley, the two most famous being the temples of Shambu-Nāth and Bodhnāth, both situated near Katmandu. The former is the richer and more popular shrine, besides being built on a hill in a very picturesque and commanding position, but the latter, standing alone and in the centre of the open plain, has an impressive character of its own. Its main feature is the great pairs of eyes, figured high up on each face of the toran or square base of the spire, which gaze serenely over the smiling fields of the Valley, as they have done for a thousand years and more. For Bodhnāth is the largest and one of the oldest temples in Nepal, and before those impassive enamelled eyes has passed the ebb and flow of the country's history, its tribal battles, alien horsemen trampling down the golden grain growing up to its very wall, survivors from a local outbreak at Katmandu a few meadows away fleeing to the Bodhnāth cells for sanctuary, and all the events which have thrilled and stirred the seething bazaars of the neighbouring capital. At the present time, in peace and security, the husbandman tills his fields under the watch and ward of this silent sentinel, while mothers point to the great gold face, and restrain their children with stories of the god who is looking down day and night at their doings, good or bad. To us, from the outside world of the twentieth century, the calm eyes seem to regard our advent with a mild stare of supercilious contempt, a mere incident in the passage of time, while we, on our part, endeavour to read some story in this inscrutable metal mask of the Buddhist Sphynx.

According to Waddell, this building is one of the most celebrated places of Lamaist pilgrimage outside Tibet. Immense numbers of Tibetans, both Lamas and laity, visit the stupa every winter, and encamp in the surrounding field for making their worship and offerings, and circumambulating the sacred spot. Its special virtue is reputed to be its power of granting all prayers for worldly wealth, children, and everything else asked for. A copy of a printed booklet sold at this shrine to the pilgrims indicates the manner in which the building is brought into intimate relation with the chief legendary and historic persons of early Lamaism. It also states that Bodhnāth "enshrines the spirit of the Buddhas of the ten directions, and of the Buddhas of the three times (i.e. the present, past, and future), and of all the Bodhisats, and it holds the Dharma-kāyā."

But to properly understand the Chaitya style of Nepalese architecture, the student must toil up the steep flight of over five hundred steps leading to the gorgeous temple of Shambu-Nāth, and there examine the sacred shrine dedicated to Swayambhu Buddha—the Self-Existent. This edifice stands about a mile to the west of Katmandu, on a richly wooded detached hill, and consists of a masonry hemisphere surmounted by toran and umbrella of burnished gold. The majestic size, and severe simplicity of outline of this temple, with its gilded cone, set off by the dark garniture of woods, constitute a very beauteous composition. Ascending the stone stairway, which by its perpendicularity loses itself among the overhanging tree-tops, one emerges breathless on to the plateau at the top, where the first striking object which confronts one is a colossal metal thunderbolt of Indra, resting on a stone pedestal (dharm-dhātu-mandal), with representations of twelve animals in bold relief carved around it. These are said to depict the twelve months of the Tibetan year. Beyond this feature, amidst a forest of smaller structures, stands the body of the main temple—a solid dome of earth and brick about 60 feet in diameter and 30 feet in height. This supports a lofty conical spire, the top of which is crowned by a richly decorated pinnacle of copper-gilt. The square toran or basement of this spire is covered with plates of metal, and, like Bodhnāth, has the two eyes of Buddha, painted in crimson, white, and black colours, on each of its four sides. Springing from the tops of the four sides of the toran are four large pentagonal slabs or escutcheons, also of copper-gilt, on each of which are riveted five metal figures of the Dyani Buddhas. Round the base of the hemisphere, and built partly into its plinth, are five large shrines, four of them facing the cardinal points of the compass. They are plated with copper-gilt, and each contains a metal figure of a Buddha rather larger than life-size. The whole design is, of course, supremely emblematic, and fully bears out the axiom that those people who are endowed with artistic sense tend to clothe their religion with symbolism. The cone or pyramid surmounting the dome is divided into thirteen tiers, and is typical of the thirteen Budhisatwa heavens of Buddhist cosmography. Above this is a finial in the form of an umbrella, the whole of which represents the highest heaven, or that of Adi Buddha. The five spokes of the umbrella refer to the abodes of the five Dharma Buddhas, while the great eyes on the toran signify omniscience.

Such is a bald description of this wonderful monument, but no account can do justice to the wealth of art, colour, and Oriental feeling with which this temple is surounded, and its romantic position. With the Valley interlaced by its rivers, and the city of Katmandu shimmering below, it presents a picture full of interest and beauty. To the student of art this collection of shrines and temples, encrusted with carved ornament and metal figures, is a complete museum of the æsthetic handiwork of a golden age when priest and craftsman collaborated in the glorification of their gods. Signs of earnest belief in the national faith are in strong evidence at this popular shrine, and indications of religion, being an important part of the life of the people, are not wanting at any hour of the day. Groups of brightly clad Newars, and their still more gaily dressed womenfolk, are constantly moving about among the carved lotus pillars and metal images, circumambulating the great Chaitya, or paying their respects to the image of some favourite saint, while the droning of the priestly ritual near the "holy of holies" is never silent. At this sacred spot is an upper room, "dark to all the world," except for one small pale blue lambent flame floating on a surface of oil, "just as the light of Adi Buddha

Black and white photograph of the Buddhist Temple of Shambu-Nāth.

THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF SHAMBU-NĀTH.—Page 142.

in its lotus-shrine floated in days of yore on the surface of the lake of Naga Vasa." The opening verse of Buddhist philosophy says, "Know that when, in the beginning, all was perfect void and the five elements were not, then Adi Buddha, the stainless, was revealed in the form of flame or light," and the similarity to the first verses of another Holy Script is somewhat remarkable. The flame at Shambu-Nāth is this sacred and everlasting light, regarded as a symbol of the Supreme Deity, and is believed originally to have been derived from heaven. It is popularly supposed to be perpetual and never, since the beginning of time, to have been extinguished.

Of the age and history of this great building there is nothing really authentic, except records of restorations commencing from the sixteenth century, but tradition relates that the first Chaitya was built by Gorades, a raja of Nepal, between two and three thousand years ago.

A more joyous style of Nepalese architecture than the Chaitya is the "pagoda," whose fantastic forms and rippling golden roofs are found in great exuberance all over the Valley. These buildings may be regarded as more essentially characteristic of Nepal than the foregoing, and not only in composition and construction, but also in detail, show their decided far-eastern origin. The richest and most remarkable example of a Nepalese pagoda is without doubt the temple of Changu-Narain, while the most dignified and monumental is the Nyatpola Deval or "Temple of Five stories." It is interesting to note that the latter has its almost exact counterpart in the Pagoda of Horinje in Japan, constructed at least ten centuries earlier than the Bhatgaon building, but both edifices are obviously based on the same architectonic principles originally derived from China. Almost every street and square in the Valley produces one or more of these quaint edifices, and some of the smaller pagodas are complete specimens on a miniature scale of this fanciful style of Nepalese architecture. It has already been indicated that the pagoda does not pretend to rival in antiquity the Chaitya, as none of these buildings date earlier than the

Black and white photograph of doorway of a small temple at Bhatgaon.

DOORWAY OF A SMALL TEMPLE AT BHATGAON.

fifteenth century, but the method of construction utilized in these edifices is, without doubt, based on forms of a very early period. The suggestion has been made that they reproduce many features directly traceable to the primitive wooden erections of India, which preceded the ancient structures of stone. Apart from the Japanese prototype already alluded to, there is an authentic document preserved containing a reference to a "tower" of nine stories which excited the admiration of a Chinese envoy to Nepal towards the middle of the sixth century. Sylvain Levi is inclined to believe that the pagoda design, ordinarily accepted as of Chinese invention, was a form common in India previous to the Mohammedan invasion, and concludes this theory with the pregnant sentence, "Le Nepal, ici encore, est l'image authentique d'une Inde disparue." On the other hand, Fergusson's researches indicate that the pagoda, whether of Burma, Nepal, or Siam, had undoubtedly a common origin, and that it is probably in China this must be looked for, but information on this aspect of Asiatic art is surprisingly meagre. While on this subject, however, a reference must be made to a remarkable design over an archway in the Nan-kau Pass near Pekin, having the well-ascertained date of 1345 A.D., and it is interesting to observe identically the same motif employed over the door of the Durbar at Bhatgaon, constructed nearly four centuries later, the two buildings being in a direct line 2000 miles apart. By this and other signs it appears evident that some centuries ago there was a closer intercourse between the various countries of the Far East than is even observable at the present day, and the main impetus which produced this communication was a desire for interchange of religious ideas. Art naturally followed in the immediate wake of this movement—records of artists being sent for from one country to another are not rare in the "Middle Ages" of the East, and it is therefore not difficult to account for examples of decoration and architecture which are geographically far apart bearing distinct evidences of a common source of derivation. The pagoda is one of these interesting features, and a clue to the origin of this characteristically Buddhist construction may certainly be forthcoming in the Valley of Nepal. As developed by the Newar builders, the design of the pagoda is comparatively simple, and needs but little description. The plan is ordinarily square, and the ground floor is generally the only one put to any practical use, the upper floors, which may be several in number, being often "blind stories." The lower room, built on a stone plinth, is the chamber of the temple, or sanctuary of the deity, and contains little but the idol and a few religious accessories. Outside, however, this room is sometimes lavishly decorated by the artistic contributions of individuals desirous of showing their devotion in a practical manner. Naturally there is no preconceived plan in connection with these voluntary decorations, but, like some of our Gothic cathedrals which were added to on somewhat the same principle, the general effect is singularly picturesque. Above this careless profusion of ornament arises the red-tiled roof of the sanctuary chamber, and surmounting this are progressive stories, which go up to make the pagoda form. The roof of the highest of these is plated with copper-gilt, and the whole is crowned by a gilt finial and umbrella. The individuals who subscribe to the support of the temple or shrine seem to vie with one another in their donations of artistic accessories, and it is not unusual to see in very richly endowed edifices one dragon or banner placed in front of another in the order in which these objects have been received by the custodian of the building. A very attractive addition to the gilded roof of the pagoda is a kind of pendant escutcheon of embossed metal hanging from the pinnacle over the cave, and which can only be described as bearing a strong resemblance to an ancient watch-fob of giant proportions. But the effect of this conception, bearing in its centre a medallion with the particular divinity worshipped at the shrine, hammered out in high relief, is opulent in the extreme. Although the pagoda is embellished with much decoration that is pre-eminently symbolic, it does not appear that the general

Black and white photograph of details of a temple doorway at Bhatgaon.

DETAILS OF A TEMPLE DOORWAY AT BHATGAON.

design of the building has the fanciful emblematic meanings which the Buddhist religion has associated with the various architectural elements composing the Chaitya. The umbrella, or attribute of royalty, usually surmounts the whole, but the different parts of the construction do not constitute an allegory as in the older and more classic style of Newar architecture.

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