Mauryan Art and Architecture

The art and architecture of the Mauryan Empire constitutes the culminating point of the progress of Indian art. The period was marked by mature use of stone and production of masterpieces.

Classification: 

The Mauryan period art and architecture, except that of the relics of the palace of Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra, is mainly Asokan. It can be classified into Stupas, Pillars, Caves, Palaces and Pottery.

Mauryan Stupas: 

• The Stupas were solid domes constructed of brick or stone, varying in sizes.
• Samrat Ashokabuilt numerous stupas scattered over the country. But most of the stupas have not survived the ravages of time. The Ashokan stupas were constructed to celebrate the achievements of Gautama Buddha.
• The Sanchi Stupa as a hemispherical dome, truncated near the top, surrounded at the base by lofty terrace to serve as gate for procession.
• The special point of stupa architecture was the dome. Inside the stupa, in the central hall was preserved some relics of Buddha in a casket. The inner wall of the stupas was built either by terracotta bricks or by sun-burnt bricks. The top of the dome was decorated by a wooden or stone umbrella denoting universal supremacy of Dharma. There was a parikrama encircling the stupa.
• One of the most notable and vast stupa was built at in Ceylon.
• The Amaravati Stupa was built in the Lower Krishna Valley in 200 A.D. Besides there were  Nagarjunakonda, Ghantasala stupas built in later ages in South India.

Mauryan Pillars: 

• The most striking monuments of Mauryan art are the celebrated Pillars of Dharma.

These pillars were free standing columns and were not used as supports to any structure. They had two main parts, the shaft and the

• The shaft is monolith column made of one piece of stone with exquisite polish. The art of polishing was so marvelous that many people felt that it was made of metal.
• Some of the Pillars mark the stages of Asoka’s pilgrimage to various centers of Buddhism.

The Sarnath: 

• The Sarnath column has the most magnificent capitol. It is a product of a developed type of art of which the world knew in the Third Century B.C.
• It has been fittingly adopted as the emblem of the Modem Indian Republic. It is seven feet in height.
• The lowest part of the capitol is curved as an inverted lotus and bell shaped. Above it are four animals, an elephant, a horse, a bull, a lion representing the east, south, west and north in Vedic symbol.
• The four animals engraved on the abacus have been variously interpreted.

Mauryan Caves Architecture: 

• The pillars are not the only artistic achievements to Ashoka’s reign.
• The rock cut caves of Ashoka and that of his grandson Dasaratha Maurya constructed for the residence of monks are, wonderful specimens of art.
• The caves at Barabar hill in the north of Gaya and the Nagarjuni hill caves, the Sudama caves, etc. are the extant remains of cave architecture of the Mauryan era.
• The Barabar hill cave was donated by Asoka to Ajivika monks and the three separate caves at Nagarjuni hills were by Dasharatha to them.
• The Gopi cave was excavated in the reign of Dasaratha in a tunnel like fashion. The caves are chaste in style and their interior is polished like mirror. The pillars inside these caves appear to be superfluous.
• They perhaps are legacies of wooden architecture that preceded the stone or lithic architecture. Mauryan Palaces and Residential buildings: 
  • The gilded pillars of the Mauryan palace were adorned with golden vines and silver birds.
  • The workman-ship of the imperial palace was of very high standard. Fa-Hien remarked that “no human hands of this world could accomplish this.”
  • Probably there were similar palaces in other cities. All towns were surrounded by the high walls with battlements and ditches with water, bearing lotuses and other plants and the whole was surrounded by railings.

  Mauryan Pottery: 

  • The Mauryan pottery consisted of many types of wares.
  • The black polished type found in North India is important. It has a burnished and glazed surface.

  The centre of North Indian pottery manufacture is presumed to be Kosambi and Pataliputra.

Indo–Islamic Architecture

• In so far as building material is concerned the Hindu masons and builders learnt the use of mortar as a cementing agent from the Muslims.
• Another feature was the influence of theIslamic architecture on the Hindu building in the form of extensive use of domes.
• It was an amalgamation of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Due to this two-way impact a new architectural style was involved in India which can be called Hindu-Muslims architecture.
• • Asian and Persian styles. This amalgamated style may be called Indo-Islamic architecture.
  • The influence of Mughal styles of architecture were seen at the capitals of the Hindu rulers.
  • The palaces at Amber are quite similar to the palaces of Shahjahabad and Agra.A new style of Indian architecture developed especially under the Mughals, from the time of Akbar onwards, due to the amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic styles. The latter was chiefly based on Central
  • The Mughal style was followed in the construction of the temples. Specially, its influence on Jain temples is quite evident.

Dravidian Temple Architecture

• Mainly found in Temple architecture of south India.
• It developed in the late mediaeval times and came to be noted for its enormity and design.
• It was propagated by kings in the south who succeeded one another. This last style came to be cultivated by the kings of thePallava dynasty, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Vijayanagara Kings and by the Nayaks of Madura.
• Mahabalipuram (also Mamallapuram) struck out altogether a new line by raising structures, called the rathas: the five Pandavas and the Draupadi.
• Among the five Pandavas Trimurti, Varaha and Durga are the most important.
• Likewise the Shore Temple, raised in the 8^th century by Rajasimhesvara at Mahabalipuram or Kailasanathar Temple at Kanchi have no parallel.

Chola Architecture

• The Cholas were equally great builders and the stupendous vimana at Tanjore built by Rajaraja Chola Iand by his son Rajendra Chola at Gangaikonda Puram are some of the wonders of the style.
• The vimana is of an enormous size: a pyramid of tiers rising up to fourteen storeys, each decorated beautifully, and the entire unit surmounted by a dome.
• The temple proper has two gopurams.
• A large abacus, simple brackets, plasters between niches and makara-toranas with foliated tails fill the prospect at this stage of the Dravida style.

Pandya Architecture

• The Pandya temples are about as great.
• Those at Srirangam, Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, and Tirumala Manai possess gigantic towers and vimanas as large as the Chola temples.
• But the actual Pandya shrines are dwarfed by the walls and gates.

Vijayanagara Architecture

• Vijayanagar during its hay day became a great centre of worship and gigantic temples were erected to the glory of its kings.
• At Kanchipuram, the Ekambaranathar temple there are great pillared mandapas.
• At Vijayanagar itself there stands the great Vittala-swamy temple. Magnificent shrines, now deserted, were erected by kingKrishna Deva Raya and Achuta Raya.

Nayak Architecture

• The Nayakas of Madura established their kingdom and became the leading builders in the land.
• The most important kind and builder among them was Thirumalai Nayak. Temples now came to be erected in the pure Dravidian style and tradition unaffected by outside influence.
• The well-known Vasanta and Padu Mandapam is front of the Minakshi temple has flat-roofed corridor with three aisles.

The Minakshi temple is an amazing specimen of Dravidian architecture. Its decorating pilasters now become a kumbha. The Subrahmanya shrine at Tanjore has adorable

• It is like a goldsmith’s handiwork executed in unresponsive inert stone.
• The greatest of the temples is Brihadisvara at Tanjore. The verandah at Rameshwaram is about 4000 ft long.
• The Brahmanical caves of Ellora came to be dug out and formed into shrines as theRashtrakutas succeeded the Chalukyas in western Deccan in A.D. 753. This series of shrines struck out a distinct plan of their own.

Temple of Kailasa

• The spectacle of the famous Brahmanical temple of Kailasa is unprecedented in temple history.
• It is a double-storied structure with Dravidian Shikhara and is flat-roofed. There is a mandapam with a flat-roof supported by sixteen pillars of exquisite carving and a separate porch for the Nandi.
• It is surrounded by a court entered from a low gopuram. There are two dhwaja stambha, the northern columns done elaborately in the Dravidian style.
• The temple of Kailasa is a wonder in stone workmanship. It is decorated with some of the most exquisite sculptures in India. The most conspicuous in Ravana’s attempt to throw down Mount Kailasa. ‘Parvati grapples with Shiva’s arm in fear, her maid takes to flight. But Siva is unmoved. He holds all fast by pressing down his toe’.
• The scene of Gangavataranam and Siva Tripurantaka are vivid.
• The pillars are fascinatingly decorated and it seems that when the stone-dressers were at a loss to find the use of the quantity of pearls saved from decking the celestial damsels, they scattered them over these pillars.

Pallava Architecture

The caves and temples of the Pallava days have a very refined stone-cutting and engraving. The temples of Kanchi are the best examples of the art of architecture of the Pallavas. 

• The five chariots of Mahabalipuram have been named after the five Pandavas which are Shiva temples. The Sahadeva, Dharma Raja and the Bhima Rathas have a roof like that of a pyramid having three stories and window niches.
• The Arjuna Ratha in very simple and has the influence of southern architecture. The Draupadi ratha is in the square shape and appears to be like the modern temple built of ordinary bricks. All these rathas are said to belong to the Mamalla style which was in vogue between 625 and 674 A.D. Narasimhavarman is said to have founded the Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) city.
• The Mahindra style of 600 to 625 is the first style of the cave temple of Mahendravarman I. Mahindra had introduced the cave style after having borrowed it from Krishna district.
• A few paintings of the Jaina Pallava have been found at Sittanavasal but they were later on given up.
• The third style of Pallava architecture is known as the Raja Singha style which is evident from some temples of Kanchi and Mahabalipuram. The Kailash temple of Kanchi with its tower like a pyramid and the mandapam having a flat roof is the best example of this deviation.
• The fourth and the last known style of the Pallavas is Aparajita style of 900 A.D. This art has a close relationship with the Chola style.

Dr. Smith opines, ‘the work begun by the Pallavas was continued by the Cholas and the art of the Chola period was the continuation of that of the Pallava times.’

Vesara Style of Architecture or Early Chalukya Architecture

• A combination of the Nagara and the Dravidian architecture.
• It has slowly evolved into its own gigantic proportions.

It is also referred to as Early Chalukya architecture.

• The old brick temples of Uttareshvara and Kalesvara represents the Early Chalukyan style, even more than the temples at Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami.
• Badami  Chalukya Architecture represents the peak of the bunch.
• Its Malegitti Shivalaya is a marvel executed in style and stone. Exquisitely proportioned and magnificently situated it readily governs the prospect.
• The Pallava influence was responsible for the most important temple at Pattadakal probably built in the first half of the 8^th
• The great Virupaksha temple of Shiva at Lokesvara was erected in about 740 AD by the Queen of Vikramaditya II in imitation of the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.
• Its cella is separately executed from the mandapa but it has an ambulatory path, the mandapa being supported by pillars.
• Its sikhara is clearly marked which stately rises in storeys.
• Sculptures of Shiva, Nagas and Naginis and scenes from the Ramayana run around. Like the Dravidian temples this too is built largely with closely joined blocks of stone without mortar.
• The noble structure, indeed one of the noblest in India, is thronged with adorers and is still in use. Its architect, Tribhuvan-Charya, too finds a mentioned in the relics of stone.

The most characteristic style of the Chalukya is a fusion between the Dravidian and the Aryavarta of Nagara styles of architecture. It is represented by the famous Papanatha temple built about 735 AD. It has a true Aryavarta Sikhara with amalakas on all the ancillary towers beside the main.

Kushan Period: Gandhara and Mathura Schools

• The Kushan period of imperialism, at its grandest moment, reigned over the region covering present-day Afghanistan, north-west Pakistan and north-western India. The rise and growth of the Kushans as a political power (1st century to 3rd century AD) coincided with a great cultural ferment in the region. The age of maturity in Indian classical art began now.
• Kanishka I, the third member in the Kushan royal line who developed the empire to its fullest extent, was a great patron of the Buddhist religion and under him Buddhist art production received a significant stimulus.
• Artistic activities were fairly widespread and two main spheres of Kushan art are generally recognised—the broader Bactria-Gandhara region in the north-west lower Kabul Valley and upper Indus around Peshawar where strongly Hellenised and works of Persian influence were produced, and northern India, particularly the Mathura region, the winter capital of the Kushans, where works in the Indian style were produced.
• An important aspect of Kushan art is the emphasis on the emperor himself as a divine persona. This is visible in a number of contexts, including the coinage of the Kushan rulers and in important surviving shrines from which a cult of the divine emperor may be inferred.

While the early Buddhist artists used symbols to represent the presence of the Buddha, beginning with the Kushan rule, the Buddha was represented in human form. It is not yet quite clear where the first images of the Buddha were produced. Most Indian scholars believe that the Buddha image originated in Mathura and not in Gandhara.

Gandhara School of Art:

• The Gandhara School of Art (also Gandharva School of Art) occupies a high place in the history of the Indian Art. This art form has played an important part in the development of the Indian art.
• It is even believed that this school of art produced far reaching effects on the art of such distant countries as China, Japan and Central Asia.
• Some historians call this school of art, as “Greeco-Buddhist.” or Indo-Greek” because the Greek technique was employed to illustrate Buddhism and depict Indian personalities (e.g. Lord Buddha).

Features of the Gandhara School of Art

The Gandhara style might have been originated under the Indo-B­actrian and Indo-Parthian rulers but it was under Kanishka that made a rapid development. Some of the chief features the Gandhara style are the following:

1. Unlike the older schools of art, under Gandhara school of art there was dominance of lively statues of Gautama Buddha.His existence was shown only by symbols such as foot-prints, the Bodhi-tree, a vacant seat or the umbrella.
2. In this school a great care was taken to show the physical features, muscles and moustaches, etc. of a figure in as natural a way as was possible.
3. A great importance was attached to refineness and polish in the Gandhara School of Art.
4. The technique and forms applied were Greek in nature but the ideas, inspirations and subjects were all Indians.

The Gandhara art was mostly used to make statues and images of Lord Buddha. But from a study of certain speci­mens of this school that are now placed in Lahore, Calcutta and Peshawar museums, we can say that sometimes this art was used to depict certain scenes from Buddha’s life and also to make statues of the Kushan rulers.

1. Most of the specimens of this school were executed in stone but the discovery of a large number of images in stucco, cement, terracotta and clay, show that along with stone, sometimes stucco, cement, terracotta and clay were also used for making statues, images and sculptures concerning the Buddhist faith
2. The chief centre of the Gandharva School of Art was no doubt Gandhara itself but the discovery of Gandhara specimens from Afghanistan and Taxila goes to prove that this Indo-­Greek art flourished over a vast region.

Gandhara School of Art, compared with Sanchi and Bharhut Schools of Art

• The Gandhara School of Art was diffe­rent from the Sanchi and Bharhut Schools of Art.
• In the older schools the dress and ornaments were seldom used but in the Gandhara School of Art an excessive use of dress and ornaments was made and every attempt was made to show each and every fold and turn of the dress.
• Again, in the Bharhut and Sanchi Schools of Art not much attention was paid to refinement and polish but these were the chief characteristics of the Gandhara School of Art.
• Thirdly, the earlier school, portrayed scenes from Buddha’s life but he himself was never carved in stone. His existence was shown by symbols like Bodhi-tree, foot-prints, a vacant seat or the umbrella. Hence-forward the lifelike statues of the Lord began to be made in large numbers by the Gandhara artists.

Fourthly, under the earlier schools not much attention was paid to portray the physical features of the human being very accurately but now every attempt was made by the Gandhara sculptors to show the physical features (muscles, nerves, nails, moustaches) as naturally as was possible.

• While everything can be said in favour of the Gandhara School of Art, we have to admit that it lacked the grace and vigor of the art of the Gupta period.

The Various Mudras of Buddha in Gandhara Art:

• Abhayamudra: Don’t fear
• Dhyanamudra: meditation
• Dharmachakramudra:a preaching mudra
• Bhumisparshamudra:Touching the earth

Mathura School of art

• At Sanchi, Barhut or Gaya, Buddha was never depicted in a human form but was represented only as a symbol of either two footprints or wheel.
• Artisans from Mathura initially continued the Mauryan sculptural forms of the Yaksha and Yakshi, until a human image of Buddha appeared, which was independent of other schools of art, but later influenced by the Gandhara School.
• The representations of the Buddha in Mathura, in central northern India, are generally dated slightly later than those of Gandhara.

Period and Center of Production

• Mathura School of art is purely indigenous style. Mathura art developed during post Maurya peiod (mainly during Shunga period) and reached its peak during theGupta period (AD 325 to 600).
• The traditional centre, Mathura, remained the main art production site whereasSarnath and Kosambi also emerged as important centres of art production.Spotted red sandstone has been used in this school.

Type of Sculpture:

The Mathura School of Art, noted for its vitality and assimilative character, was a result of the religious zeal of Brahmanism, Jainism and Buddhism. Images of Vaishnava and 

• Shaiva faiths are also found at Mathura but Buddhist images are found in large numbers. The images of Vishnu and Shiva are represented by their weapons. Images of the Buddha, Yakshas, Yakshinis, Shaivite and Vaishnavite deities and portrait statues are profusely sculpted.
• Theme may vary from Buddhist to Brahmanical to sometimes secular. Several Brahmanical Deities were first crystallized by this school.
• In these sculptures, Buddha was depicted as Human and the main theme was Buddha and Bodhisattavas. Both sitting and standing posture of Buddha’s statues were carved out in the Mathura school. Buddha image at Mathura is modelled on the lines of earlier Yaksha images whereas in Gandhara it has Hellenistic features.
• The Jina Image and Indigenous style of Buddhas image was a remarkable features of Mathura art. The Sarvatobhadrika image of 4 jain Jinas standing back to back belongs to the Mathura school.
• The Standing Buddhas of the Sravasthi ,Sarnath and Kausambhi belong to the Mathura School.
• The sitting Buddha of Mathura School is in padmasana and soles of the feet have been decorated with Tri ratna and Dharmachakra signs.
• The presences of the two attendants by the side of Buddha who hold Chanwars is a feature of the Mathura school and this figure has been later inspired the images of Indian Deities.
• The art of Mathura features frequent sexual imagery. Female images with bare breasts, nude below the waist, displaying labia and female genitalia are common.