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JANUARY, 1986
93
The absence of caitya shrine at Udayagiri and Khandagiri is one of the remarkable features. This is in clear contrast to the contemporary western Indian Buddhist rock-cut architecture where it was indispensable for a complete monastic establishment. For the absence of caitya hall Fergusson13 argues that perhaps in this part of India the followers of Jainism used the wooden halls as caitya shrines. It is difficult to support the above contention and to explain why they did not copy that in the rock, while some of the prominent features of these caves are copies of structures already in vogue made up of perishable materials. Elsewhere, Burgess14 holds that "the nature of their religion did not require large assembly halls like the caityas of the Buddhists." This statement bears some credence when we mark the comparatively very small vihāras donated for the Jaina monks at Udayagiri and Khandagiri.
In summing up, this group of caves seems to adopt an independent course of development, with very little in common with the contemporary rock-cut activities of western India. It has been observed that's certain fundamental forms, both architectural and decorative, exhibit the same trend that was introduced by Asoka in the examples of Barabar Hill caves. At the same time it must be noted that though the artist had taken the inspiration from the earlier examples, they have retained their own identity in moulding their exercise with a number of new innovations traced only at Udayagiri and Khandagiri group of caves.
13 Ibid., pp. 92-93. 14 History of India and Eastern Architecture, vol. II, p. 9. 15 Brown, Percy., Indian Architecture, p. 35.
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