mauryan art & architecture

7/30/2019 Mauryan Art & Architecture

1/6

MAURYAN ART & ARCHITECTURE

DESCRIBE THE MAURYAN CONTRIBUTION TO ART

AND ARCHITECTURE

The Mauryans constituted a notable epoch in the field of art and architecture. The history of

art in ancient India virtually begins from the reign of Ashoka. Whatever we find in Indus

valley is isolated, its continuity is broken. We find for the first time, buildings and structures

of permanent materials like stone, rock and brick during the Mauryan period. During theVedic and later Vedic period buildings were made of impermanent materials. It was Ashoka

who substituted stone for wood the common material for the construction of the buildings.

This change from impermanent to permanent material was due to the desire of the emperor

under whose patronage the Indian art flourished considerably. From Circa 2500 B.C. to 250

B.C. is a long period of which we have hardly any record in the matter of artistic expression.

The architecture of this period was mostly of wood and has perished without leaving a trace

behind.

The art remains of the Mauryan period have been so overshadowed by their closeness in style

to those of the Achaemenid period of Persian history that they tend to be regarded more as

ammunition in the battle between those art historians who treat them as products of Persiancraftsmen, and the opposing school which regards them as purely indigenous. Art remains of

the Ashokan period are found in association with the inscriptions. The inscriptions were

placed either in sacred enclosures or else in the vicinity of towns. The most commonly found

remains are the animal capitals of the pillars.

The archaeological evidence suggests that in the Pre-Mauryan period, Indian architects

worked in wood but during the Mauryan period they started experimenting with rock-cut

architecture. A tradition in wood or some other perishable medium existed previous to the

stone work of the Mauryas. Since wood was used extensively for the building of cities, its use

in sculpture and for decorative purposes generally would be normal. Excavations at the

Mauryan level at Sisupalgarh have revealed wooden remains.

Ashoka was a great builder. The legend which ascribes to Ashoka the erection of eighty four

thousand stupas within the space of three years proves the depth of impression made upon the

popular imagination by the number, magnitude and magnificence of the great Mauryas

architectural achievements. He raised numerous stupas, pillars, monasteries, irrigation work,

and cities. The engineer king had taste for innovation, design, decoration. Under his

patronage, stone was substituted for wood and brick, decorative arts received touch of

elegance and the art of dressing, chiselling, and shaping stone was perfected.

Mauryan architecture can be divided into three categories for the sake of convenience:

Remains of the places; Remains of the stupas; and Rock-cut caves.


2/6

REMAINS OF PALACES

Megasthenes gave a detailed description of the Mauryan palace where the king resided. It

was magnificent and famous for its artistic excellence. According to him, the entire palace

was made of wood and in splendour and magnificence it was better than the palaces of susa

and Elbatana. So imposing was the structure that it was universally believed to have been

erected by supernatural agency.

Fa-Hien who visited India during the Gupta period, was so much impressed and surprised to

see this palace, its skill and work magic that he thought that it was not the work of men, but

of spirits. The Royal palace and halls in the midst of the city (Pataliputra), which exist now as

of old, were all made by spirits which he employed, and which piled up the stones, reared the

walls and gates, and executed the elegant carving and inlaid sculpture work in a way which

no human hands of this world could accomplish.

Similar residences must have been built for the establishment of Kaushambi and other placesand also for the kumaras serving as viceroys. The excavations of Bulandi bagh and Kumrahar

near Patna have been carried out and remains of this palace have been actually discovered.

Remains of some pillars of very huge size have been found, particularly a hall built of high

pillars. Thus the accounts of Megasthenes and Fa-Hien are very well supplemented by the

archaeological evidence.

REMAINS OF THE STUPAS

A stupa is a tumulus under which are enshrined the remains of the dead. The relics of theBuddha which according to the legends Ashoka secured from the 8 stupas in which these had

been originally enshrined by their first claimants; he got enshrined in several others. In

Ashokas age, a stupa was nearly hemispherical mass of a solid masonry, either brick or

stone, resting upon a plinth which formed a perambulation path for worshippers, and

flattened at the top to carry a square altar-shaped structure, which was surmounted by a series

of stone umbrellas one above the other. In order to decorate the Stupas, the artists carved

many scenes which they observed in nature along with religious ideas which is an example of

Secular art forms.

The Sanchi stupa and the Bharhut stupa are the most important stupas during the Mauryan

period. Both were made of bricks and have a hemispherical dome placed on a low circularwall which is further crowned by a parasol. The structures are surrounded by a passage of

circumambulation fenced off by a railing wall.

The stupa of Bharhut has wholly disappeared and its richly sculptures were principally

devoted to the illustration of Buddhist Jatakas or Birth stories. The stupa is situated at

Bharhut a village in Nagod state of Baghelkhand, about 95 miles south west from Allahabad.

Gateways or toranas which are imitations in stone of wooden gateways. Railings spreading

out from the gateways. They also are imitation, in stone, of post and rail fence, but the stone

railings of Bharhut have, on top, a heavy stone border (coping).Uprights or posts of these

railings have carvings of Yakshas, Yakshis and other divinities who come to be associated

with Buddhism.


3/6

The principal stupa at Sanchi which stands on the top of a hill at a distance of 25 miles from

Bhopal is built of red sandstone. The railing too is covered with sculptures depicting either

scenes from the life of Buddha or incidents from his legendary past lives. The art is

essentially of folk art with an intense feeling of nature. The stupa is one of the important

monuments of Ashokan period. The northern gate and the panels depict stories from the

Jatakas. Representation of birds and animals are abundant. Lotus and wishing-vines havebeen prominently and beautifully carved out as ornamentation. Unique representation of

forest animals in a manner which looks as if the whole animal world turned out to worship

the Buddha.

ROCK-CUT CAVES

The Ashokan age is also note worthy in the history of Indian art from the point of view of

cave architecture. There are seven rock-cut caves of the Mauryan age. Four caves are to be

found on a hill named Barabar in Gaya district. All these caves were excavated for theresidence of the monks of Ajivaka sect and these were places of shelter during the rainy

season. The cost of such work must have been enormous and the expenditure of so much

treasure on the Ajivakas is an evidence of their influential position and the catholic spirit of

Ashoka for the Ajivakas were extreme fatalists having nothing in common with the

Buddhists. Three other caves are to be found on Nagarjuni hill. These caves too were

dedicated by the grandson of AshokaDavanamapriya Dasaratha to the monks of Ajivaka

sect.

These rock cut caves are important because of two reasons;

Firstly, they are the first examples of buildings in rock-cut architecture Secondly, these are the exact imitation of former wooden buildings

The cost, labour and skill in turning these huge rocks into residential places are remarkable in

reality. The interiors of these caves are highly polished. Thus the cave architecture in the age

of Ashoka seems to have attained a high standard of workmanship and excellence.

SCULPTURE

The figure sculpture of the Mauryan period is important not only in the history of India but

also in the world sculpture due to its workmanship, beauty and artistic magnificence.

PILLARS

Ashoka took special delight in erecting monolithic pillars, inscribed and uninscribed, in great

numbers and designed on a magnificent scale. Ashoka raised more than thirty columns of

heights varying between 4050 ft., at numerous places. Hiuen Tsang mentions specifically

sixteen of such pillars, four or five of which can be identified with existing monuments more

or less convincingly. These pillars have been found in Bakhira, Lauriya-Nandangarh,

Rampurva, Sanchi, Sarnath, Kaushambi and Allahabad. These pillars are distributed over a


4/6

large area stretching from the northern bank of the Ganges to the Nepal border and were

erected at the places connected with Buddhism.

A Mauryan pillar consists of a shaft, surmounted by the capital. The shaft, plain and circular

has a slight taper upwards is made out of a single block of stone (monolithic). Over the shaft

is the capital being another piece of stone and fixed to the top of the shaft by means of acopper-dowel. The capital consists of an inverted lotus design, abacus (platform) and carved

animal sculpture in the round. The inverted lotus has the longitudinal petals with gentle

curves of rhythmic proportion presenting an effective contrast with the chaste and elegant,

plain and smooth, tall and tapering shaft that it crowns. The abacus, either circular or

rectangular, is often carved on its sides with elegant floral designs or figures of birds and

animals. It supports the crowning figure or figures of animals which are sometimes of the

highest workmanship ever known in the animal sculptures anywhere in the world. The

surface of both the shaft and the capital has the Mauryan polish. The accuracy in proportions

of and carving make it clear that these were manufactured by very mature and sophisticated

artists. According to Smith no modern masson knows how to impart to the material the

mirror like polish so dazzling and reflecting. The pillars are made of chunar sandstone. Theuniformity of style in the pillar capitals suggest that they were all sculpted by craftsmen from

the same region.

According to Havell, the pillars are designed according to the prescription of the Silpasatra. It

has also been suggested that these columns were raised under the West Asian, especially the

Iranian inscription. Yet, the differences between the Mauryan and Achaeamenian colums are

distinct.

The animal capital pillars of Ashokan period are found in very large numbers and are very

important from architectural point of view. The capital was divided in 3 parts: the invested

lotus; a locus; and the crowning animals. The crowning animals include elephant, lion, and

bull. The magnificent capital of the Sarnath pillar has revealed the finest example of the

Mauryan art known to exist. The figure of a bull at Rampurva in Bihar has been appreciated

for its naturalness and the four lions set back to back on the Sarnath pillar for its execution.

These wheels and animals have been carved out in moving position. The pillar represents the

high watermark of the evolution of the capital. The Allahabad pillar is decorated with a

graceful scroll of alternative lotus and honeysuckle, resting on a beaded astragalus moulding.

Marshall notes that the muscles and thews of the beast are vigorously modelled, and though

conventionalized in certain particulars, it is endowed with a vitality and strength which ranks

it among the finest sculptures of the Mauryan period.

The movement of the pillars, from the place of their preparation to the site of their installation

speaks highly of the engineering skill of the people. V. Smith has rightly observed that their

fabrication, conveyance and erection bear eloquent testimony to the skill and resource of the

stonecutters and engineers of the Mauryan period. The symbolism in the Mauryan capital

is purely Indian and the lustrous polish is Mauryan speciality.

FIGURE SCULPTURE

A few huge figure sculptures are ascribed to the Mauryan period on the basis of two facts;first they have the Mauryan polish and second they are made of sand stone of chunar. These


5/6

figure sculptures are mostly the portraits of Yakshas and Yakshinis. Two such Yakshas have

been found at Patna having Mauryan polish. However the ascription of these figures to the

Mauryan period is by no means all certain. A fragmentary relief on a piece of stone belonging

to Mauryan period is remarkable. It is intensely lyrical and subtle figure of a young surrowing

woman.

TERRACOTTA OBJECTS

Terracotta objects of various sizes have been found at Mauryan sites. Terracotta is a material

combined of sand and mud. A few male heads from Sarnath and Rajghat are also ascribed to

the Mauryan period because they are carved out of the chunar sand stone and have the

Mauryan polish. It is very likely that they are parts of portrait figure. Their special feature is

their headdress.

Rock-cut elephant at Dhauli (Orissa) coming out with foreparts of the body from thenatural rock is artistically far superior to many Mauryan Sculptures. The image of the

elephant emerging from the rock is a most impressive one, and its purpose was probably draw

attention to the inscription nearby.

Monolithic railing at Sarnath is made of sand stone of chunar having Mauryan polish. It is

artistically excellent and smooth.

CONCLUSION

The Mauryan architecture and sculpture thus symbolises long tradition and history. It brings

to the fore the technique and engineering skill of the period. The Mauryan art is, however,

essentially official. Its massiveness, superb execution of design and brilliant impressiveness,

however, lacks in social appeal. It appears to have been as much distant from the society as

do these columns with their crowns stand today, away from the centres of social activity. Yet,

the symbolism they bear and the majestic grace they reflect, point so clearly to the proud

heritage and history.

The art specimens certainly give us a glimpse into the social and economic life of the period.

There was gradual development of art forms and thematic representation. For e.g., the earlier

creative expressions like rock paintings, terracotta figurines, etc. developed into mature

sculptural forms. Stone sculptures, both in relief and in the round, were being produced in

large numbers in this period. The symbolic representations ultimately gave way to images

and the images of the Buddha are the best examples of this change.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A History of Ancient and Early Medieval IndiaUpinder Singh

Ancient IndiaVijay Kachroo

Ashoka and the decline of the MauryasRomila Thapar


6/6

Indias Ancient Past R. S. Sharma

Mauryan IndiaIrfan Habib

mauryan art & architecture

Documents