UNIT II

INDIAN KNOWLEDGE TRADITION, ART AND CULTUR

Introduction
Human beings are knowledge seekers. They gain knowledge and store it for
future generations. Knowledge is stored in various forms, such as, literature, art, and
architecture. Since the Stone Age, human beings have sought knowledge and stored it
in some form or the other. They made different types of tools, implements, structures,
and paintings with their experience. But with the invention of scripts, it became easier
to store knowledge in the form of literature. So, all great ancient societies, such as the
Egyptians, the Babylonians, Chinese, Greek, Roman or the Indians developed some
form of script or the other. Earlier scripts were in the form of picture. They were
known as pictograph. They continued to develop and today they are in their present
forms. In fact, only with the coming of scripts the progress of civilisation took a big
stride because it facilitated the storing and dissemination of knowledge. Ancient
Indians also stored their knowledge gained through experience in various forms such
as in literature, art and architecture which are still available for us.

Objectives
After reading this unit you will be able to know about and analyse the Indian
knowledge system such as
- Evolution of Indian languages and scripts
- Different types of art and architecture such as paintings, architecture, and
sculpture
- Indian education system, and ancient institutions, and
- Ethics of Indian valour as described in our ancient literature

Evolution of languages and scripts

India is a country of cultural diversity which is seen in the religious practices,
faiths and beliefs, life-pattern of Indian people, and above all their languages. The
first linguistic survey of India was done during the British period by George Abraham
Grierson in 1928. He identified 364 languages and dialects spoken in India. Later on,
further researches went on, and on their basis at present more than four hundred
different languages have been identified in India which makes it the fourth largest
country in term of linguistic diversity. Indian languages can be divided into four main
categories or language families, such as Indo-Aryan language, Dravidian language,
Austro-Asiatic language, and Tibeto-Burman language. It is also important to know
that names of these language families are also the same for the racial identification of
the people.
Among them, the speakers of Indo-Aryan family are the largest in number. It
is considered as one of the branches of the great language family known as the Indo-
European family because of the similarities of languages such as the Latin, Greek,
Persian and Sanskrit. The Aryan language, the basis of which is Sanskrit, has an
uninterrupted history of 3500 years in India. It developed in different stages. Most of
the modern Indian languages have originated from the Indo-Aryan family, having
either Sanskrit or Persian at their roots. Some of them are, for example, Assamese,
Bangla, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya,
Panjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi and Urdu.
Second largest number of speakers belongs to the Dravidian family in which
the main languages are Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. These languages are
spoken in the southern states of India respectively in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
and Andhra Pradesh. Dravidian languages are supposed to be very old and native to
India, spoken even in the 4th millennium BCE. After thousand years they were
separated into various branches, such as Konkani, Tamil, Telugu and others. Among
all of them the history of Tamil language and literature is very old.
Most of the languages of north-eastern states come under the Tibeto-Burman family,
except the Khasi languages spoken in the State of Meghalaya which belong to the
Mon-Khmer sub-family of Austro Asiatic family. The Tibeto-Burman family of
languages suggests that they have roots either in Tibet or in Burma. The term Tibeto-
Burman was made popular by James Logon in 1850s while he was studying the
languages of Southeast Asia. However, the present Northeast as a whole has
considerable number of speakers of other language families including Indo-Aryan and
Austro Asiatic. For example, Assamese is considered as an Indo-Aryan language, and
Khasi and Jaintia languages spoken in Meghalaya are Austro Asiatic. The other native
languages which differ from one another and spoken in the states of Assam,
 Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are grouped in some
branches or the others of the Tibet-Burman languages. The Ahom language is one of
the major languages of Assam which is placed in the Tai family of Southeast India.
The Nicobarese language of Andaman and Nicobar Island is also a language of the
Austro Asiatic family. Besides them there are hundreds of dialects which are also
spoken in scattered areas. In the historical, cultural and philosophical development of
India all languages had key role to play. They mingled with one another, adopted
vocabularies of one another and thus a mixed culture was founded in India on the
linguistic basis.

2.0.1 Sanskrit
Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages of India. It was first used in the Vedas
and other Vedic texts in 2nd millennium BCE. In the beginning, as believed, Vedas
were composed orally. Their written form appeared much later. Since then, Sanskrit is
being used in India uninterruptedly, mostly in observance of Vedic rituals. It was
considered as the Deva Vani that is the voice of the God by the Vedic people.
The literal meaning of Sanskrit is ‘that which is perfect, well prepared and sacred.’
Probably the term was first used in the Valmiki Ramayana. The origin and
development of Sanskrit as a language has taken place in three stages. First stage the
Vedic Sanskrit (1500 BCE to 500 BCE) when Sanskrit was in its earliest form, and all
the Vedic texts, the four Veda, the Brahmanas, Aranyaka, and some of the early
Upanishads were written. The second stage of its development took place in the
middle of first century BCE. At that time a Sanskrit grammar was written by Panini
(c. 500 BCE). It was known as Ashtadhyayi. It was the first complete grammar book
of Sanskrit. Panini is also regarded as the Father of Linguistics. Before him Patanjali
(author of Mahabhashya), Katyayana and other ancient scholars had also written
books on Sanskrit grammar but they were incomplete. Panini had standardised it with
set rules of words and composition. His Ashtadhyayi has been highly praised by
scholars of languages and it has been called as ‘the wonder of intellectual world.’
Since then, a new age of Sanskrit writing started. It is known as the Age of Classical
Sanskrit. The two epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, and several other works
including those of Kalidas were written in classical Sanskrit. The Classical Sanskrit
made rich the Sanskrit literature.
During the period of Sunga, Satvahana, and Gupta dynasties Sanskrit was
enjoying status of state language and patronage. Most of the popular works in Sanskrit
were written during this period, for example, Buddhacharita of Ashvaghosa,
Mrichchhkatikam of Sudraka, Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, Kiratarjuniyam of Bharavi,
Mudra Rakshasa of Vishakhadatta, Narada Smriti, Brihaspati Smriti, and works of
Kalidas. Sanskrit had connected the whole subcontinent in a common cultural
bonding and had brought scholars of the whole region together. As has been
mentioned in the previous unit, Sanskrit did not remain the language of Hindu texts
alone. In the later period, Buddhist and Jain texts were also composed largely in
Sanskrit.
But Sanskrit could not develop as the language of common men. It
predominantly remained as language of the intellectuals. Its decline began to take
place since the invasions on India by the Turkish, Afghan, and Mughal riders, and
subsequently after the foundation of their rules in India. Western scholars, too, have
commented that Sanskrit declined from the first millennium BCE and had become a
dead language, as other languages such as Pali and Prakrit. However, their allegations
have been challenged by many. Moriz Winternitz, a Sanskrit scholar and a former
associate of Max Muller, is of the opinion that ‘Sanskrit was never a dead language
and it is still alive.’ In fact, Sanskrit has been in use in all Hindu’s religious activities
which kept it alive since thousands of years. Sanskrit continued to flourish in all
generations, and new texts continued to be written. So, Robert Goldman and Sally
Sutherland have written that “Sanskrit is neither dead nor living in the conventional
sense. It is a special, timeless language that lives in the numerous manuscripts, daily
chants, and ceremonial recitations.” Even today, hundreds of universities all over the
world have Sanskrit in their language course. Most particularly, the Indologists
(means scholars who study Indian languages and culture) are very fond of learning it.
During the British rule, there was a deep interest among Indologists to study Sanskrit.
This task was started with the foundation of the Asiatic Society by William Jones in
1784 at Calcutta. Thereafter the search for handwritten Sanskrit manuscripts began.
Sir William Jones and Lady Jones got published first time the list of ancient Indian
texts in 1807 from the Royal Asiatic Society in England. It speeded up study of
oriental languages and culture, and several translations of Sanskrit books were
brought out. Some of great works and such translations were done by, for example,
Henry Thomas Colebrook (translated ‘Digest of Hindu Laws’, and wrote Sanskrit
Grammar), Charles Wilkins (translated Bhagavat Gita into English), Colonel Colin
Mackenzie (collected thousands of manuscripts), Horace Hayman Wilson (translated
 Rig Veda, and Kalidas’s Meghadutam into English, also brought translation of the
Vishnu Purana), James Princep ( deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts of ancient
India), Sir Monier-Williams ( translated Kalidas’s Shakuntalam and other Sanskrit
works, and prepared A Sanskrit-English Dictionary), Friedrich Max Muller (a
German, translated Hitopadesh in German, brought out as editor a multi- volume book
The Sacred Book of the East), and by many other Indologists. Thus, a new era of
Sanskrit learning started in modern times which unearthed several new concepts and
realities on Indian culture and civilization.

Prakrit
Prakrit is the name given to the group of ancient Indian languages of Indo-
Aryan family that originated from the Sanskrit. Grammarians like Hemachandra,
Dhanik, Markandeya and many others have written that the source language of Prakrit
is Sanskrit. They were actually vernacular dialects spoken by the natives. Some of the
Prakrit languages are Pali, Sauraseni, Magadhi or Ardhamagadhi, Maharashtri and
Gandhari. They were in use in different parts of India between 3 rd century BCE and
8th century CE. However, modern philologist Monier-Williams suggests its derivation
from the work ‘prakriti’ which means “original, natural, normal.” In this sense it can
be said that it was existing much earlier than the primary source. But one fact is clear
that Prakrit term was merged with the region in which it was spoken, such as in
Magadh, Gandhara, and Maharashtra or in Sri Lanka. Thus, references can be made of
some of the literature in Prakrit, for example, the inscriptions of Ashoka at Girnar,
Sopara, Shahabazgarhi, Dhauli, and Jaugada; Gatha Satsai (love-poems) of Hala
composed in Maharashtri Prakrit; Hari-Vijaya of Sarvasena; Lilavati of Kautuhala.
Several scholars have suggested that Prakrit was spoken mostly by the people of
lower strata. They give example of the play of Kalida’s Shakuntala in which he uses
two languages, Sanskrit for the upper-class speaker, and Prakrit for the lower class.
But in fact, Prakrit might have been the lingua franca during those periods.

Pali
As has been mentioned above Pali was one of the Prakrit languages which was
treated as sacred a language as the Sanskrit since it was mostly used in the Buddhist
literature. Its main centre was the Magadha region of ancient Bihar. Because of this it
was also called as Magahi. Theravada Buddhist literature also mentions Pali language
as Magadhi. Buddha preached in the vernacular languages most particularly in the
Magdhi Prakrit that was actually Pali. The whole of Tripitak or the Buddhist
 canonical texts were compiled in Pali. It also shows that the Pali had acquired a
privileged position during the Mauryan period. Emperor Ashoka’s edicts were also
written in the Pali language. Not only in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka) but in
Southeast Asian countries, too, Pali inscriptions have been found in large number
which reveals its prevalence in the whole region.
The meaning of Pali is ‘a line or row’ but it is also taken in the meaning of ‘series of
books.’ Its origin and development took place from the dialects prevalent in the region
at that time. It was also written in the Brahmi script. Later on, several other scripts
were also used to write in Pali language, such as the Sinhala, Khmer, Burmese, Thai,
Mon Script and even Devanagari.
Similar to Pali language was the Ardhamagadhi ,menas half-Magadhi, which
was spoken in Bihar and eastern Utter Pradesh. It has also been in wide use in the
Buddhist and Jain literature most particularly in dramas. Jain canonical texts, Jain
Agamas, were written in Ardhamagadhi.
One another form of Prakrit was the Shauraseni Prakrit spoken chiefly in
ancient Saurasena (present day Mathura region in U.P) during 2nd century BCE. It was
a vernacular language and was closely related to classical Sanskrit. It largely
influenced the development of Hindi in later period.
The term Apabhramsa is also used for a number of dialects spoken between 6 th and
13th century CE. Its literal meaning is ‘corrupt’ or ‘non-grammatical languages’. Later
on, a number of modern Indian languages evolved from Apabhramsa. Amir Khusro
and Kabir who wrote in the early form of Hindi supposed to have written actually in
Apabhramsa.

Script
Script is the medium in which a language is written. In absence of a script, it is
very difficult to express the full meaning of a language. We have come to know that
in the beginning most of the societies did not have any script. They communicated
orally. But they could not store their knowledge for future generations. With the
coming of script this problem was solved. Now they could store their knowledge, and
they could develop their thoughts as well. As has been mentioned earlier, in the
beginning Sanskrit, too, has no written form. It was preserved and its knowledge was
transmitted orally. It is not sure when was Sanskrit first written down in a script form.
Panini, the author of Ashtadhyayi, mentions about lipi, which is a Sanskrit word for
script, but which lipi, it was not known. According to a Buddhist tradition, there were
 sixty-four lipior scripts at that time among which the Brahmi script was the most
prevalent one. Another popular script was the Kharosthi script. In these two scripts
most of the early Hindu, Buddhist and Jain literature were written.

The Brahmi
Brahmi script was one of the earliest scripts of India which fully developed in
3rd century BCE. Butit was already in use in the 6 th century BCE. This fact is
confirmed on the basis of a Mahayana Buddhist text Lalitvistara Sutra which
mentions about several scripts prevalent at that time. It is also learnt that Buddha in
his childhood knew many of them including the Brahmi. The Jain text also mentions
about eighteen scripts out of which the Brahmi was the first one. In this system of
writing vowels and consonants symbols are associated together.
The Brahmi script was most popular in the sense that it was used in the whole
South Asia with variations. Even Asoka also used Brahmi script for Prakrit language
in his inscriptions. It was written from left to write. Its origin is disputed as two types
of opinions are there, one supporting its origin in Semitic culture, whereas the other
view supports its indigenous origin. It has several variations in India, such as the
Ashokan Brahmi or the earliest Brahmi, the Kushana Brahmi or the middle Brahmi,
and the Gupta Brahmi or the Gupta script, each suggesting their uses in a particular
period of time. The late Brahmi script of the Gupta period evolved into the Nagari
script which in turn took the form of Devanagari script in which most of the modern
Indian languages are written. The Sharada script, which was prevalent in the north-
western part between 8th and 12th century, was also evolved from the late Brahmi.
James Prinsep, an Orientalist scholar and founder of the Journal of Asiatic Society of
Bengal is credited with the decipherment of Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts in which
Ashokan edicts were written.
So, the earliest scripts for writing Prakrit and Sanskrit languages had been the
Brahmi script, and later on its other variations, such as Nagari, Devanagari, Gujarati,
Bangla, Odia and also the Dravidian scripts. Not only in texts but also in inscriptions
it was frequently used since the 1st century BCE. A few examples of Sanskrit
inscriptions are Maghera Wall Stone Inscription (Mathura), Ayodhya Inscription of
Dhana, Nasik Inscription of Ushavadata, and Junagardh Rock Inscription of
Rudradaman I.
Kharoshthi Script
 This script was popular in the ancient Gandhara region (Northwest Pakistan, in
the Peshawar) and used also in Bactria in Central Asia by the Saka, Scythian,
Kushanas, and Tartars. It was mostly written from right to left. It was in use between
3rd BCE and 3rd CE. Philologists are of opinion that Kharoshthi script developed from
the Aramaic alphabets of the Ara means who themselves had derived it from the
Phoenicians. It came to the Northwest frontier after the conquest of Cyrus the Great
(535 BCE), the Persian ruler, and the foundation of the Achaemenid empire. The
Gandharan Buddhist Texts discovered from Hadda in Eastern Afghanistan were the
earliest Buddhist texts written in Kharoshthi script. Ashoka’a Major Rock Edict found
at the places at Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi in Khyber region of present Pakistan are
also written in Kharoshthi script. It shows its prevalence in the north-western region
during that period. However, by the 2 nd and 3rd century CE the Kharoshthi script was
becoming out of use and its place was taken by the Brahmi script. The Indo-Greek
ruler of north western region, Menander (155-130 BCE), who had adopted the
Buddhist faith and new name Milind, had also issued his bilingual coins having both
the Greek and the Kharoshthi scripts.
Kharoshthi script was overshadowed by the Brahmi by the 3 rd century CE, as
it is said that it died in its own place of birth.

Sharada script
It was one another type of script of the Brahmic family which was also
prevalent in the north western region, mainly in Kashmir, during the 8 th and 12th
century CE. It was used in writing the Sanskrit and Kashmiri languages. It was named
after the Hindu Goddess of Learning, Sarasvati who is also known as Sharada.

Tigalari script
It was an important script of south India in which the Dravidian languages
such as Tulu (spoken in some parts of Karnataka and Kerala) and Kannada, and also
Sanskrit was written. Sometimes it is also called as the Tulu script or lipi in the region
of Tulu speakers. It was a form of southern Brahmic script. It evolved from the
Grantha script (7th -14th century CE) which was in use in Tamil Nadu and Kerela to
write Sanskrit and Dravidian languages. It is very similar to Malayalam. A number of
temple inscriptions of Karnataka and Kerala from 12th to 15th century have been found
written in Tigalari and Tulu scripts. Several Sanskrit texts such as Vedas, Upanishads,
and Puranas are also available in these scripts. In this sense it remained as the script of
sacred books. The 17th century Tulu epics known as Sri Bhagavato and Kaveri; Devi
 Mahatmyam (15th century), Mahabharato (15th century) and Kaushika Ramayana (16th
century) are good examples of medieval classics.

2.1 Salient features of Indian Art and

Culture
Indian had a rich tradition of art and architecture since ancient times which are
reflected in different art forms such as paintings, architecture, sculpture, music, songs
and dance. In fact, they are integral parts of cultural life of a social group. It is
concerned with beauty of life reflecting inner feelings of an individual or a group of
people.
We all have known that India is a multicultural country. Here cultural
traditions of a number of social groups mingled with one another and thus a common
Indian culture was born. By living together in close relationship and sharing one
another’s ideas Indian people developed endurance to one another. They learnt to live
life of peaceful co-existence. This is the reason that Indian culture is so strong and it
is continuing with little interruption since ancient time. We have today world’s all
religions in our country; people here speak numerous types of languages; they follow
different traditions and social values. They are culturally different but, they live
peacefully amidst such diversity. This unity in diversity is one of the startling features
of India culture. The cultural traditions of Indian people are best represented in their
art forms.
Here, we shall study about some aspects of ancient Indian art such as
paintings, architecture and sculpture.

Rock and Cave Paintings

Painting is such an art work which is as ancient as human civilizations. The
earliest examples of paintings have been found from the sites of cave-dwellers. It
shows that the people of all ages have aesthetic sense. They spent their leisure time in
creative works.
Rock Paintings: Traces of Ancient Indian painting can be seen in prehistoric age,
about ten thousand years back. The earliest example of Indian painting has been
discovered from Bhimbetka, a place near Bhopal in the Raisen district of Madhya
Pradesh. The whole site is situated in ten kilometres range having 750 caves which
were once shelters of the people of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It was
discovered by an Indian archaeologist Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar in 1957. Out of 750
rock shelters, 500 have paintings inside the wall. The paintings are in the natural red
and white pigments made of essence of flowers and leaves. The main subjects of their
 paintings are hunting, drinking, dancing, child-birth, and burials which are all related
to their activities at that period of time. They also reveal about one of the earliest
human settlements in India, and are compared with Aboriginal Rock Art of Australia
and Lascaux Cave Paintings of France, both of which are as ancient as the Bhimbetka.
One of the main attractions of Bhimbetka is an auditorium like cave which was the
largest rock shelter.
The rock paintings of Bhimbetka depict the pictures of animals like bison,
tigers, rhinoceros; and hunting weapons like barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and
arrows. Similarly, some of the paintings depict scenes of wars, and community life
activities of hunter and gatherer periods. The mode of paintings belongs to petroglyph
in which ‘an image is created by removing a part of rock surface by incising, picking,
carving, abrading’ and then filling it with natural pigments. The name Bhimbetka is
mythologically associated with Bhima, one of the Pandavas of Mahabharata who
rested there during his period of exile.
Cave Paintings: Some more advanced type of cave paintings can be seen from 2 nd
century BCE, from the Satavahana dynasty to the Gupta dynasty, at more than twenty
locations. They are made in pattern of murals. In this type of paintings first a wall,
ceiling or a permanent surface is selected for the purpose and then fresco paintings are
done over them. So, its canvass is very large. The best examples of cave paintings
can be seen in the caves of Ajanta, Bagh, Sittanavasal, Armamalai, and Kailasanath
temple in Ellora caves. Let us see them one by one.

The Ajanta caves painting

The Ajanta caves, dating between 2nd century BCE and 5th century CE are
situated in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. There are thirty-six caves which have
some most beautiful paintings of all times. These paintings are mostly belonging to
the Buddhist tradition since they depict Buddha’s previous births and rebirths and
tales from Jataka. These caves are combined master-piece examples of architecture,
sculpture and painting. In this project, first rocks were cut in the Deccan plateau and
then with extreme delicacy the pillars, roofs, walls and idols were carved out inside
the caves. Next, they were decorated with paintings. The whole art work in those
caves were commissioned and patronised by the then ruling dynasties and the
Buddhist patrons. It reached maturity during the Satavahana period and to the climax
during the Gupta period.
 The technique and style in these cave paintings suggests that there must have
been a group of artists who were regularly being trained for the purpose. The artists
had mastery over their work. Here the fresco technique was used in the paintings.
They used vary vast canvass rather than a shorter one to depict scenes on the walls
and ceilings. Thus, large scenes are spreading in all directions, and projecting a full
life history or a full story of the subjects. Cave ceiling has also been decorated with
elegant style and motifs. Walter Spink, an American art historian who tirelessly
studied Buddhist art in India has prepared a multi-volume book on Ajanta art named
as ‘Ajanta, History and Development.’ He brought out the chronology of the Ajanta
caves according to their creations. He writes that some of the early caves (100 BCE-
100CE) had been abandoned and it was during the period of Harisena, the ruler of
Vakataka Dynasty in fifth century CE that some of them were revived or new caves
were carved out. Harisena was a great patron of artists who further developed Ajanta
art. An important feature of Ajanta art was that in the later period it picturised both
Hindu and Buddhist gods in the same manner. Some of the best paintings can be seen
in the caves numbering 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 19, and 22.

Bagh Cave Paintings

Rock cut monuments at Bagh town of Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh have
several mural paintings of the Buddhist period from 5 th to 7th century CE. They are
popularly known as the Bagh cave paintings. Here paintings, similar to Ajanta caves,
have been done on the walls and ceilings of Viharas. Before painting, the walls were
plastered in thick brown mud, over which lime-priming was done. This technique is
known as the tempera technique. Of its nine caves the cave number 4 has the best
paintings. It is known as the Rang Mahal, i.e. Palace of Colours. Subject matters of
paintings are from Buddhist mythology.

Sittanavasal cave paintings

Situated in present Tamil Nadu, it is a rock cut cave with monastery which is
credited to the Jain tradition. It was built between 2 nd century BCE and 9th Century
CE. However, fresco paintings made on the walls and ceilings are from 7 th CE, during
the Pandya, Pallava and Chola periods. The artist here adopted the same technique
similar to the Ajanta painting. In fact, the Ajanta art influenced all other art forms in
India. Here paintings are done on wet surface of lime plaster with natural pigments
extracted from plants and minerals. The most beautiful of all paintings is the Lotus
Tank on the ceilings which depicts a tank with lotus flowers. It is surrounded by the
 devotees, elephants, fishes, and the Pandyan king and queen who have been seen
offering great regards to the maker of painting, Gautama. The theme represents Jain
tradition and suggests growing popularity of Jainism in the south India.

Armamalai Cave painting

Situated in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu this cave painting on the wall is
dedicated to Jain tradition. It is a Jain temple belonging to 8th Century CE. Here mural
paintings have been done on the walls of the cave.

Ellora Cave paintings

Situated in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra the Ellora Caves have been dated
from 600CE to 1000CE. The temples here belong to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
traditions. Combinedly, they are marvels of architecture, sculpture and paintings at
one time. However, paintings in the Kailash Temple are only in best condition. They
were made over in several centuries. The painting of Vishnu and Lakshmi is the most
famous one.

Architecture
In this section we shall learn about different types of architecture of ancient
India. Ancient Indian architecture can be divided into various sub-sections, for
example, pre-Mauryan architecture, the Mauryan architecture, Buddhist architecture,
post-Mauryan architecture, and the Dravidian or south Indian architecture.

Pre-Mauryan Architecture
In the pre-Mauryan period we have literary references of architectural styles as
mentioned in the Vedic literature and Epics. However, long back during the Indus
civilisation we find material remains of Indus architecture at a number of places. The
Indus civilisation represents a grand urban phase of civilization roughly dating from
2600 BCE. It is best remembered for its cities and town planning. Some of the
urbanised centres of this civilization were at Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Chanhudaro,
Banwali, Kalibangan and Lothal. The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro is a fine example
of brickwork. It is a tank measuring 11.88 metres in length and 7.01 metres in
breadth, with steps leading to surface on two sides. It is completely made of burnt
bricks, including the floor. Water was supplied to the bath from a well, dug in an
adjoining room. A similar bath is at Dholavira.
The Indus architectural style is simple, but it looks modern in planning. The
cities were made in planned manner with amenities like proper arrangement of streets
and sanitation facilities. A very important feature of town planning is its uniformity of
 construction which is almost the same at all towns. This uniformity can be seen in use
of burnt and dried bricks of standard sizes, a citadel, large complexes like Great Bath,
granaries, elaborate drainage system, and lower cities surrounding the citadel. The
architectural design does not find any resemblance elsewhere in later sites so it can be
said that it was a peculiar Indus architecture style. The Indus people had great
knowledge of building materials and engineering. They used lime and gypsum mortar
for cementing, and bitumen for waterproofing.
The second phase of urbanisation starts roughly in 1025 BCE in the pre-
Mauryan period. Discovery of a stone architecture from Kaushambi (near Prayagraj
on the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna) reveals the concentration of an urban
culture in the region. It is a palace like structure with several rooms and hall made of
brick and stones and lime mortar. It was built in many phases since 8th Century BCE.

The Mauryan Architecture

From the Mauryan period we find monuments of very high quality in large
number and at many places. Centre of political power under the Magadh kingdom
shifted to the eastern region, Pataliputra being the capital of the Mauryan kings. It was
first centralised government under which all round development took place. Likewise,
the Mauryan kings also devoted their interest in the art and architecture. The Mauryan
architecture was mostly patronised, and individualistic in nature. It set examples for
the next generations.
The Mauryan architecture is represented in various types such as stone pillars,
viharas, chaityas, stupas, temples, caves, and palaces.
During the rule of Ashoka, the use of stone in architecture increased to a great
extant. The influence of Buddhism can also be seen on architecture of different types
such as pillars, stupas, caves, palaces and terracotta objects. Coomaraswamy, a
popular art historian, has divided the Mauryan art in two parts, the court art and
popular art. The court art was the work of high technical skill of stone cutting and
polishing, whereas popular art was the work of local sculptors.
The Mauryan king Ashoka is best remembered for his numerous royal decrees.
He got erected stone pillars with messages inscribed on them at strategic locations of
his empire. Engineering skills of the period can be proved by considering weights and
sizes of those pillars. Each pillar weighs about 50 tons and it is about 50 feet high.
They are made of red and white sandstone (of the Mathura region) and others of buff-
coloured (near Banaras). The middle portions of pillars are highly polished. Pillars
have three parts- the base, middle, and the capital part. The capital part of the pillars
has some animal figures such as lion or elephant, or the dharmachakra and inverted
lotus. The Sarnath pillar inscription is the best example of Mauryan architecture. Its
capital has figures of four lions standing back-to-back. It shows the artistic marvel of
the period. The figure has been adopted as the national emblem of independent India.
The Stupas are other examples of Mauryan architecture. Stupa is a dome-like
structure made of brick or stone. It was built to keep in its inside relics of the Buddha
or great monks. Ashoka got constructed about eighty-four thousand stupas all over
India and Afghanistan. Among them, the Sanchi stupa (near Bhopal) is massive. Its
diameter is 121.5 feet and height 77.5 feet.
One of the main features of the Mauryan architecture is rock-cut architecture.
The best examples rock-cut architecture of this period can be seen in the Barabar hills
near Bodh Gaya. Here two caves namely Sudama and Lomas Rishi caves were
donated by Ashoka to the monks of Ajivika sect, one of the various heterodox sects of
that period.
Pataliputra, the capital city of the Mauryan kings had a magnificent palace. It
has been mentioned by the contemporary Greek writer Megasthenese who was the
Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya. He had written extensively
about the Mauryan state and society in his book known as Indica. About the palace of
Pataliputra mention can also be found in the travel account of Fahien (4 th Century
CE), a Chinese Buddhist monk who visited India at the time of the Gupta king
Chandragupta II. But physical presence of this palace in not available, barring a few
ruins.
Buddhist Architecture: With the coming of Buddhism a new era of Indian
architecture started. The main Buddhist architecture were viharas, stupas and chaityas
which were made according to the requirements of Buddhist organisation and
practices. They were built under the patronage of followers of Buddhism, wealthy
merchants, guilds and royal donations.
Buddhist Viharas: Viharas or monasteries are the dwelling places for Buddhist or
Jain wandering monks. A vihara is normally a hall-like structure with small cells
connected to it. The Buddhist and Jain literature often mention about their teachers
and followers living and meditating in caves. So, caves were the earliest shelters for
them. Even the first Buddhist council was also held in a cave near Rajgir in Bihar.
However, the earliest vihara like structures were made during the Mauryan period. As
has been mentioned earlier, Ashoka had donated a cave vihara to Ajivikas. Since then,
need for making shelter place was being felt which came in the form of viharas. They
were built and supported by village revenue, the reference of which is found in the
Karle inscription of 1st century CE. Karle, near Lonavala in Maharashtra, is known for
cave architecture. It has 22 inscriptions which give information on doners of the
individual structures.
In the beginning viharas were carved out in the rocks of mountains. Several
such rock-cut caves, as in the Bhaja Caves (near Pune), the Karla Caves (Lonavala,
Maharashtra), and the Ajanta Caves, dating back to 3 rd century BCE had a number of
viharas. They are the earliest viharas. Later on, cave viharas were also excavated in
the Ellora and Kanheri caves. They were constructed as a rectangular hall like
structure with rock-cut cells having platforms for beds and pillows. Often a vihara has
one or more entrances and a veranda that is an outer porch with a roof. They are
decorated with images and paintings. As the popularity of Buddhism was growing the
need for new viharas were felt for various purposes. The viharas also became centres
of higher learning. Many viharas were constructed during the Pala period in Nalanda,
Vikramshila, Somapura, Odantpuri, and Jagaddla which served also as the centres of
education. The Tibetan sources refer to them as five great mahaviharas.
Stupas: In Buddhism, stupa has a special place. It is considered as a sacred place of
the Buddhist. It is a mound like or hemispherical structure for storing relics of Buddha
or Buddhist monks. According to the Buddhist tradition, after Buddha’s parinirvana
his body was cremated and ashes were buried under eight mounds which became the
earliest stupas. Those stupas were at Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilvastu, Allakappa,
Ramagrama, Pava, Kushinagar, and Vethapida. Piprahwa stupa in Siddharthnagar
district in U.P. is perhaps the oldest stupa which was discovered in 1898 by William
Claxton Peppe, a British engineer.
The construction of stupas, rather Buddhist structure, got a boost with the
adoption of Buddhism by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. He is credited with
construction of 84,000 stupas all over India which extended up to the North West
Frontier. Some other stupas, such as at Sanchi (near Bhopal), Bharhut (near Satna,
M.P), Amravati (Guntur, Andhra Pradesh), Dharmarajika (Taxila or Takshashila,
Gandhara) are also very old. The Great Stupa of Sanchi was made of bricks. Its
construction started during the Mauryan period. Construction of many other stupas
continued at Sanchi even for many centuries under the Shunga, the Satvahana and the
 Gupta. The central part of stupa, the hemispherical part, is surrounded by a stone
railing and a Toran or gateway. Similar arrangement is there at Bharhut stupa, built
during the Shunga period. Alexander Cunningham excavated the Bharhut stupa in
1874. He was a British Army engineer who was appointed as archaeological surveyor
in 1861. Construction of Amravati stupa continued from 1 st century BCE to 3rd
century CE, and even in later period. Takshashila stupa was constructed under the
patronage of Kushanas. This stupa was excavated by John Marshall in 1913. He was
the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928. His
main contribution is in the excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro during this
period. The stupa of Takshashila has a passage way for pradakshina (means, to move
round the relic which was a traditional practice followed by devotees).
Chaityas: Chaitya is another form of Buddhist architecture. A chaitya refers to a
prayer hall which is normally attached with a vihara. The earliest chaityas are found
in the cave-viharas, but there are many free-standing chaityas, too. The Bhaja cave
has a chaitya which is the oldest surviving one, constructed in 2 nd century BCE. It is
attached with a stupa. Its roof is propped with wooden like columns and walls are
highly polished. Similar chaityas are also found in the cave monasteries of Ajanta,
Karla and Ellora.
The hall like structure, similar to chaitya, known as mandapa, can also be seen
in all Hindu temples. It can be due to the influence of Buddhist architecture.

Post-Mauryan Architecture
Although the trends started during the Mauryan period in architecture styles
continued, some new experiments were also made in the later period. Rather, art and
architecture flourished in the in the post-Mauryan period. They got some distinctive
features, which have been described as schools of art, for example, the Gandhara
School, the Mathura School, and Amravati School of art. Their contributions are
mainly in the field of sculpture; however, they also influenced the architecture. A
number of Buddhist monasteries, particularly of the Mahayana branch, built in the
early centuries of the Common Era belong to the Gandhara School. They were
influenced by the Greek style of architecture. For example, the monasteries at
Takshashila, Mohra, Marada and Jaulian of the Gandhara region were influenced by
the Greek art forms. Here copy of the Corinthian capital and triangular pediments of
Greek art can be seen in stupas. The Corinthian-style had slender fluted columns and
elaborates capitals decorated with acanthus leaves (a decorative plant) and scrolls. It
was developed by Callimachus, a Greek sculptor in the Greek city of Corinth. In
Indian architecture, often images of Buddha were placed on the structure. The
Amaravati stupa represents the Amaravati School of art.
The Gupta Architecture: The Gupta period (4th -6th century CE) is known for all
round development. Because of this reason this period is often known as the ‘Golden
Age’ of ancient India. Two new forms of styles in art and architecture developed
during the period, namely the Nagara style and the Dravida style. They could be seen
in the rock-cut caves, temples and stupas. You have learnt about the rock-cut caves of
Ajanta and Ellora previously. Their other examples are the Bagh caves and the
Udaygiri caves (Odhisa). Caves were shelters of Buddhist monks for meditation.
Even Buddha is believed to have meditated in the Indrasala cave near Rajgir. Since
then, the tradition followed. The Ajanta caves have a number of decorated
monasteries along with big halls and surrounding cells for the monks. They are
supported with strong pillars. Some of the caves have special features of architecture.
For example, in the Cave number six there is a two-storey monastery. Cave number
ten has a vast chaitya or prayer hall supported by a row of 39 octagonal pillars. They
are extra-ordinary examples of Indian craftsmanship.
Monuments at Ellora caves belong to the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions.
The Hindu monuments were largely constructed during the Kalchuri and Rashtrakuta
periods. Rameshwar temple, the Kailash temple, and Dashavatara temple are famous
among Hindu temples at the site. The Kailash temple (Cave number sixteen),
dedicated to Shiva, is [Link] is very massive and entirely carved out of a single
rock. It has an entrance, an assembly hall, a multi-storeyed main temple surrounded
by a number of shrines dedicated to various Hindu Gods and Goddesses, a spacious
place for circumambulation, a garbhagriha (or sanctum sanctorum) wherein lies the
linga-yoni, and a spire-shaped like mount Kailash. This pattern of temple construction
has been followed in all other Hindu temples. Among the Buddhist caves at Ellora,
the Vishvakarma cave (cave number ten), also known as the “Carpenter’s Cave” is
notable one. Its rocks shine like wooden beams, and thus they give impression of
being a wooden structure. Caves 30 to 34 are credited to the Jain monuments. Some
of important Jain shrines here are the Chhota Kailash, the Indra Sabha, and the
Jagannatha Sabha.
Hindu temples were constructed in different styles. In the north India the most
popular style was the Nagar style, which followed a special pattern- there is a garbh-
 griha where idol of main deity is placed, surrounded by corridor and hall, and a
shikhar or tower over the garbh-griha. A few examples of Nagar style temples are
Tigawa temple (5th century CE, M.P), Dashavatara temple at Deogarh, U.P (6 th
century CE), Nachna Hindu temples at Panna district, M.P (5 th-6th century CE),
Bhitargaon temple at Kanpur, U.P (5th century CE, the largest and oldest brick temple
to survive since the Gupta period).
The Dravidian style: The Dravidian or South Indian style of temples has a large
gopuram, means, a very big tower at the entrance; in the middle the garbh-griha and
its towering roof known as vimanam, which is the tallest structure in the temple.
Temples in this style were constructed during the dynasties of Satavahana, Chola,
Chrea, Kakatiya, Reddis, Pandya, Pallava, Ganga, Kadamba, Rashtrkuta, Chalukya
and Hoyasala. Among them, the Pallava and Chola rulers contributed the most for
temple construction in South India. The group of monuments at Mamallapuram or
Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu during 7th-8th century CE were built during the rule of
the Pallava king Narasimha Varman I who was also known Mamalla or the great
wrestler. This temple city has forty monuments of different types- the Rath or Chariot
temples, Mandapa or Cave temples, Rock reliefs, free standing temples, and
excavations. Each temple is dedicated to a Hindu deity belonging to Shaiva,
Vaishnava or Shakti faith. More than hundreds of Hindu temples at Aihole were
constructed under the patronage of the Badami Chalukya kings between 7 th and 10th
century CE. Some other examples of Dravidian temples are the Meenakshi temple at
Madurai built by the Pandya ruler, Nataraja temple at Chidambaram and
Brihadishvara temple at Tanjore both constructed by the Chola kings.

2.1.1 Sculpture
Sculpture is a special form of art in which an artist makes a solid object, for
example a statue, pot, or seal,out of a material such as wood, clay, metal or stone, and
he puts his idea in it. It is a very old art form all over the [Link] of ancient
India can be divided into three main categories, namely stone, metal and terracotta
sculptures. Artistic objects of various kinds such as statues, pottery, inscriptions,
jewellery, seals and sealings were crafted out of these materials. They can be further
divided by the age wise and by the schools.

Pre-Mauryan Sculpture
In the pre-Mauryan period the best examples of sculpture can be seen from the
discovery of material remains of the of Indus civilisation. The people of this
 civilisation had a good taste for artistic designs. They made different types of statues,
pots, seals, ornaments, and toys. Their pots are of various shapes, such as vessels, jar
and bowl, which are either hand-made or made on potter wheels. They are painted in
red and black colours and decorated with floral and arithmetic designs. Some of them
have paintings of animal figures. Their sizes also differ from miniature pots to normal
size pots. Terracotta images are not very artistic. However stone statues unearthed
from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are realistic. The most popular of them is the
bearded man made of soapstone. Sculptors also had the knowledge of high-class
metal works. They made human and animal figures of bronze and copper. A small
bronze statue of ‘Dancing Girl’ is much acclaimed image of the Indus civilization.

Mauryan Sculpture
The Mauryan art is best represented in their pillars and inscriptions. Ashoka
had got erected hundreds of stone pillars at strategic locations through which he
wanted to connect to his people. They are as huge as 50 feet in height and about 50
tons in weight. Stone pillars are made of either spotted red and white sandstone (as in
Mathura) or of buff-coloured hard sandstone with black spots (as in Chunar near
Banaras). Pillars have three parts- foundation, column and capital. The foundation
part is under the ground to support the pillar. Column is the middle part which is
round and highly polished. The capital, the apex part of pillar, has figures of an
animal such as a lion or an elephant, the dharmachakra, and inverted lotus. A
complete pillar is a high example of craftsmanship like cutting and chiselling the
stone, its polishing and crafting of figures. Uniformity of styles in Ashokan pillars
suggests that they were the work of craftsmen of a particular region. The best example
of Ashokan pillar is the Sarnath pillar with figures of four lions back-to-back. It is
known as the Lion Capital of Ashoka which has been adopted as national emblem of
India. Some other pillars are at Vaishali, Lauria-Nandangarh, Lauria-Araraj,
Allahabad (Prayagraj), and at various locations of Delhi.
Another feature of art form was Ashokan edicts which were inscribed on his
pillars, boulders or on cave walls. Their purpose was to spread the message of
Dhamma, the new social and religious policies which Ashoka had initiated in his
empire. They have been categorised into major and minor rock and pillar edicts,
mostly written in Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts. There is an edict in Kandhara
inscribed both in the Greek and Aramaic languages. Maski Minor Rock Edict
(Raichur, Karnataka) is important in the sense that is has reference of
 “Devanampriya” which was the title of Ashoka. In one another minor rock edict the
title “Devanampiya Piyadasi” is mentioned. It helped in the identification of Ashoka
while edicts were being deciphered. James Prinsep, a British scholar and orientalist is
credited with deciphering the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts. Ashokan edicts have
been found on several pillars such as Sarnath pillar, Kaushambi (Praygraj), Lauriya-
Araraj, Lauriya Nandangarh, Rampurva and Delhi-Topara pillar.

Post-Mauryan Sculpture
In the post-Mauryan period art, particularly sculpture is identified on the basis
of certain distinctive features which developed into schools. Thus, we find three
distinct art forms such as the Gandhara School, the Mathura school and the Amravati
school.
The Gandhara School: A certain type of art form flourished between 1 st century
BCE and 5th century CE in the Gandhara region of North West frontier, so it was
named as the Gandhara School. Here the foreign influence on art is quite discernible
as the region is on close proximity with Chinese, Iranian and Greco-Roman cultures.
But the influence of Bactrian Greek is more dominant so it is also called as Indo-
Greek art form. It was brought to India, in the north-west, by the Shaka and Kushana
rulers, most particularly by Kanishka.
The influence of Mahayana Buddhism was very deep on the Gandhara art. The
Mahayana Buddhism started worshipping Buddha as deity and so they evolved his
images taking inspiration from the Greek sculptors. It also developed the concept of
Bodhisattavawhich means ‘an enlightened being’. It can be achieved by anyone after
deep meditation. The Mahayanists were in a large number in Gandhara, so they
adopted Hellenistic art methods (means the Greek art from) and made images of
Buddha and other divine figures.
Takshashila was one of the main centres of the Gandhara art. Here, images of
Buddha and relief sculptures worked out on stone and terracotta have been found in
large number. They were made according to the scenes described in the Buddhist
texts, such as the life history and works of Buddha. They were executed in a life-like
form on materials. Thus, a few main features of the Gandhara School of art can be
outlined here-
1. There was Greco-Roman influence on art form of the Gandhara school in
style and methods and some adaptations from Greek mythology.
 2. Human figures, of Buddha and Bidhisattvas, and even of princes, were
replicated on stones, stucco or terracotta with accuracy of physical details,
such as bare chest, muscles, hairs style, eye-lids, and dressing.
3. Statues are highly ornamented and surrounded by deities and animals and
flowers.
The Gandhara School of art also influenced, as it is believed, the art forms
at other places such as at Sanchi and Bharhut. This is indicated by the use of
Kharoshthi script in the Bharhut gateways. However, this similarity has been
contested by scholars of art as they find native elements in north Indian art
form more than the foreign elements.

The Mathura School

A special type of art form developed in the Mathura region of present U.P
since the 2nd century BCE because of which it is known as the Mathura school of art.
The materials such as spotted red sandstone, used in crafting statues in this art form
were procured from Agra and Mathura. A very important aspect of this art form is that
its influence was not restricted to Buddhism alone, but images of Buddhist, Hindu and
Jain deities, and Yakshas (male nature deities), Yakshinis, and Nagas were also made
by the sculptors. Though influence of the Gandhara School on Mathura art cannot be
overlooked completely, it is considered as the true Indian art from, the examples of
which are available from Bharhut, Sanchi and Gaya. This school of art spread to the
whole of India and even still being followed in the statue making. It flourished during
the Shunga, the Kushana and the Gupta periods.
A very important feature of the Mathura school is that in the statues of
Buddha, both in sitting and standing positions, the mark of facial grace and
spirituality are depicted along with physical masculinity and energy. He is seen in the
Abhaymudra position, right hand raised upright and palm facing outwards, which
means granting fearlessness to the devotees. This position became a common feature
in statues of deities of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain. Spiritual power of deity is reflected
by creating a halo behind the faces of images. In this way Mathura sculptors were
having inspirations from various traditions of Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanism.
Statues of Brahmanical gods and goddesses like Shiva, Vishnu, Parvati, Lakshmi,
Brahma, Surya, Balaram, Kartikeya and many other deities are also found in large
number made in this art form.
 With the foundation of Kushana dynasty in the Mathura region this art took a
new turn. The Kushanas promoted making of royal portraiture. Thus, we find
monumental sculptures of Kushana rulers, particularly Vima Kadphises and Kanishka I
in the ruins of Temple of Mat in Mathura. Mathura was the winter capital of the
Kushans. In one headless standing statue of Kanishka he is seen in his royal attire, and
with sword and mace. His name is inscribed in Brahmi script below. Apart from the
Buddhist statues, the statues of Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Shakti and
Ganapati were also given their standard forms during this period. Under the Gupta
dynasty the Mathura school flourished further. There was use of pink sandstone in the
sculpture with more refined style. It is quite clear that the foreign influence was
reducing.

The Amaravati School

This school of art was seen in the region between valleys of the Krishna and
Godavari, the main centres being at Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda and Jaggayapeta.
Though its early form can be traced back from 2 nd century BCE, it matured during the
Satavahana period in 2nd and 3rd century CE. This form of art could not continue beyond
4th century.
The main feature of this school is the use of white marble. Its examples can be
seen mostly in the great stupa of Amaravati where scenes from Buddha’s life in the
reliefs, and in free-standing Buddha’s statues have been magnificently depicted. Apart
from figures of religious nature, naturalistic and sensuous images of human figures,
male and female, are also in abundance and in beautiful styles.
As has been mentioned previously, the cave monasteries and temples are also
replete with works of sculpture. In the Ajanta caves, most particularly in cave number
nineteen which is known for sculptures, several images of Buddha and other entities can
be seen. Similarly, temples of south India are decorated with numerous images of Hindu
gods and goddesses. They all are ample examples of high class works of India’s
sculptors.