,4 FOUNDATIONS OI INDIC
,\TION
warc techniqrles,utilizine thc polish of the gtcy
ancl the rccluction firirrg of the black-and-red.
Sincc it is found at both P:rintcd Grey Were
ancl bjack-and-red warc sites,it nav represenra
mingling of thc tr','o cLrlturesdurinq dris pc'riod.
This fusior-rsuggcstsa broaclcr cultural mcrqer
that is also sccn rn linguistics,for in this seme
period a massivcinfux of Draviclien rvorclsinto
Orrrll INrrcExous
This cliscussiorrhas cenrcrccl primarily on
northern India. Horvcvcr, archaeologists
idcntificdnumcrorrssitesthroughoutthe Dcccen
and southcrn Inclie thrt havc riso yicldcd rratc-
rirl rcr-nlinsfronr an earlv pcriorl, some ol rvhich
may be cocval rvith thosc of thc oorth. Others,
rvhich mey bc slightly larcr in dxtc, arc liLely
to rcilcct oldcr traclitions rhat hacl dcvcloped
contemporarv to those of thc north. The cxact
rclationship of these Dcccan end southcrn
trlclitious to thosc of the Stone Agc cultr,rres,
thc civilizationsof the northwcst,inciLrrlinsthc
Harappa ud Arvan c.rltr,rcs rncl thc bhck-
and-rccl tvare and Gl.rgetic peoples, is not
knorvn. They nrey bc totallv independcntcoul-
plexes tlut rvill be r-rnclcrstoodcvcntually for
thcir rnique contribution to Indic cnlture.
Horvcver, visu:ri ancl conceptu:il tics bct\l.ccrl
son-re o{ thcsctraclitionssuggcstthet a link cloes
exist ar-iclthet thc I)ccc:u antl soutirerndevclop-
Drentswcrc r11lnlportallt elerncnt in thc spcc-
tr[rl of crr]y Inclic culture.
Itr various parts of south lrrclia.e nurlbcr of
stone strllcturcsknorvn ls uregalithsliave bccn
t ^ r . r , , 1 |. | c . i n p . c . t r y p c . , f r r , g, . r l ir. . i l r c
nenhir. consistsof a n-ronolithor single rock
5 ( t t P . r l , ' r r r . . , r . b, r . r . r . i r e . l r . I - . ' . r i , .r r ' - i
be the sonlce lor thc lirogal, or hero stoncs,
and the -rdt stoncsthet proliferlrc iD thc l)eccur,
and in wcstcnr enrl sourhclnIndia lltcr alouml
thc sixth century a.l. Other typcs oi mcurliths
inclnde rurnuli, mouncllikc br,rrial structr.rrcs
thrt suggcsta relatiorrshipto thc.rllp.l-rcrcctccl
by thc tsLLddlistsand Jains (Fig. 6.r). ft is
difiicLrltrt this stagcof our krorvlcdgc to dctcr-
nrine thc basisof this rcl:LtionsLip.since the
rclativc chronologicsfor thcscclcvclopments
CIVILIZ.
Aryan Sanskrit occurrccl. Furthcr, the Aryans
sccur to have adoprccl the rccluction firing
tcclnique of thc Gangctic peoplc in one of
thcir ritcs.15While the Indo-Aryan and inclig-
enoLrs strancls remain iclentifiablc throLrqhout
South Asien bistorv, rllcy hrd bcsun to mesh
into thc qcreral labric of Indic civilization.
T R E N - D S :M E G A L r r r r r c I l . n u a r r q so r S o u r u E t N Iulra
not esteblishccl. It could bc thc rcsult of dircct
havc borrolviug, l linkccl substratun-ior cvcn thc
prevalencc of plr-L-lndiccor-rcepts.
lleceusc thcy bcel sin-iilaritiesto tbc cave
cxca\rations of thc lluddhists,J:rins, ancl othcr
hctcroclox sccts,perhapsthe nrost illtcrcsting of
the soLrthcrn ncgalirhs :ue tllc subtcrrxncan
chambcrs.hr p:rrticulirr,two typcs fould in
Kcrala clcscrvcmel1tioD.The tlrst consistsof a
sraircasclelclinq clourr into thc rock to :r ccnrral
courtyard froru rvhicb acccssis gainecl to a
roughly circullr cherubcr l'ith onc or nrorc
stonc bcncl,es,as scenin rhe plan of e niegllith
et Kanclanisseri (Fig. 3.r). Thc benchcsare of
intcrcst trccausesimilar oncs arc an importalt
{Llture in Bucldiristand Jain cavcs.l6A second
typc of subterrancan cxcavatiorlfbunclin I{erala
has en opcn court bclos' the surlacc of thc
stoue. witli sevcral ch:rmbcrsopeninq out fron-r
i r . , . ' ,1 r1 . r r ' r r g' . t o r r ' b r I c r r . . , . s L t li . r l . . r \ e
at Kittrkxmpal (Fis. 3.2).This plerris sosrriking-
lv siruilarto thc cor)nol1 lbrnrat ofearly Bud-
dlrist rock-cur yiltaras tl.nc it is cliilicult to
inraqinc that some rcl:rtionshipclocsnot cxrst-
IlLrt sinccthe tlateof rhc Keralacxcevationsend
thc prcccclcnts lor thc Buddhistlnorlrlnlellts.re
sti1l unknorvn, anrv sr.lggestiolrs legardinc thcir
rel:rrionshiprcmain speculetivc.
Othcr clemcntslound in the ucgllithic cavcs
of Kcrlla cannot bc lrnked so1c1yto one latcr
IDdic rcligioLrstraclition. For crlDrple, some
nLcgalithic c:rves inclu,:lc a central rvooden
pill:rr t,hich ruight prrallei thc ccntrel "axis of
thc Llniversc" s1'nrbohcalll- or actually prcscnt
irr Lluddhist-{tripa.\. Yc pillars and a pill.rr.cult
arc elso rssociatcclrr-ith Vcclic conceprs.Thc
are pl:rns oI thc cxcavationsarc aenerellysrrictly
 THE VEDIC AND UPANI9ADIC ?ERIODS
J5
l':Iiens
=ing
oc of
dig-

rcesh

0 I 5 in
Fr'rl | | / I I | | / t-

01 4
| | | | | |
Mr

;ave
-*er
r.,aOf

ln
a
3.r. Plan of subte[aneal charnber at Kandanisseri.
Kerala, India. Probably pre-Christianera.
:oa
aore

re of

rrond
f,rra1a
rr rhe
rom

Bud-
, 0 , , , , 1, , ? , , , , , 5
to
asst.
and
are
rheir

iaves
mr later
!ome
r'.oden
-.-ris
of
I<sent
cult
lhe
3.2- Plan of subterraneanchamber at Kattakaftoal.
=ictly Kerala, India. Probably pre-Chrisrianera.
 rNDrc crvEIzATroN
36 rounoatrons of
in them to the megalithic-peoples,not the lndo-
oriented (asare most later rcligious buildings
Aryans.2oHindu temptesof later periods are
i."A 4"i"1. The general emphasis on the
to tne senerallysquareor recungular,suggeshngme
entrancefurthe eastsuggestscomparrsons
in s"treng*,of the orthodox-or Vedic tradition in
eastemlentr"nce to thi soddhitt ma4(ala
that ievelopment. Again, how-ever,the evidence
l"t"r tlieory, yet the east is also the common for many of the
is not witirout
."it*." tit" i-or Hindu temples' Some of the "-big"ity,
form.
caveshavea square
;; i"." south, perhapsrefecting the-sub-
character' for in If these megalithic structurescan be ProYen
i".r*."n .*."u.,ioo', fottttt"l
to be irnpoiant link to someBuddhist archi-
i"r.t r"al" religion. Yama. the god of.death' "n
tlctur"l for'ms, they may also provide insight
presides over the southemquarter'l?Again' this
into Buddhist practices.It might be suggested
ioo..o, ."n be relatedto both the heterodox
the that io their desireto overcome attachmentto
o"aii'oo. ,o"tt asthat of the Buddhists' and
life and fear of death(a main asPectof Buddhist
orthodox, essentiallyVedic strandof Hinduism'
es- meditation), the Budclhists developed specific
The purpose of the southern megaliths'
be forms from rypesthat were clearly
o""idlv the subterraneancaves, may only "rchitectural
funerary in nature. In Buddhism, t well-known
i*-itia t}lis point, although their general
place was in a charnelor crema-
Aro"r"A
", clear' Somemay have been 'tion for rne&tating
"Ua"",atis into eroorrd, *hei", by meditating on one's
secondaryratler than primary burial sites
self ai the deceased,one could achievevictory
-fri"fr U.atl" remains-were introduced only
over the concems of the flesh, mortality, and
after initial burial, cremation' or exPosure'
of saritslra
iirrl., i" --y cases,objectsoriginally placed tlre realm
tne As the megalitls of southem India are in-
within the caveswere removed Prlor -to
,i
relatively limleis known creasinslvunJerstood,it is expectedthat tbey
arrival of ^rchaeologists,
It is will sf,ed important light on litde known
i about the rnateriai goods placed inside'
Indian of eariy Indic civilization- If some of
,roi"**rtt", '"r" ho*",,"l, thai the south "rp."t, the caves'are found to
;;it,il with a black-and-red the meqaliths,especially
made earlierthan the third century
oo,?.ry createdby invertedfiring'r8 have bien
"rro"i"t"d
"pp"r"tt,ly u."., *tt* the heterodox cave tradition of
ifr;. t:"gi;t" connectionswith the indigenous
northem India became evident, a previously
iiT""a culruresin other Partsof India'
"tlttit to with the Indo-Aryaru' rurtner' unrecoqnized,indigenous source for thc cave
as oDDosed
p.""ti.i -ight b. ,e"en.Sucha conclusionwould
p"ios" it the SatopathaBtdhma4atelatestltat of
" (the i"4.",. ,nl, the non-Indo-Aryan peoples
,fti-."ifi". inhabitantsof ancient lndia played a much greater role in
;"r""i"tt") used round relic chamberswhile the subcontinent
the overall development of tndic religion and
most ProD-
the Indo-Aryans 'ot had four-comered' art tlpn had been thought previously' An
tot"t rectangular, structures for the
"lin if ,heit kings.lisince the circular form orrd.rlvine association betweenthe black-and-
i*il including the megalithicpeo-
."d *"r. i"opl.t,
i, us"d in both the tumuli and subterranean While- thesecultures
ples,might be suggested'
chambersof the southern megalith producers' or identical' each might
sug- ir.r. nJt* uniFli
ties to non-Indo-Aryan developmentsare of one hranch of an
in representa manifestation
eested.The heteroiox Buddhists and Jains highly assimilated cultural
essentiallyburial mounds' .iiy iodig.nout or
lrrli, ,taoor,*hi"h
t, "" form, which seemstd link complex.
irt"
"i"ti"i "it"tt"r
it
Corcr.usloll

pretations of regioiral developments, chrono-

A study of the Prehistoric and protohistoric
seems
c.rltures of the South Asian subcontinent
Inter-
to raise more questioff than it answers'
iogical dat", anJ the evolution of important
are
olilorophi."i, religious, and social beliefs
 THE VEDIC AND UPANIIADIC PERIODS Ji7

hdo- issues,but to a large degree they amination of the early periods. Buddhism,
t are in tle realm of speculation. Literary Jainism, and-significant portions of Hinduism,
g th" archaeological evidence, and infer- particularly Saivism, show indebtednessto the
on ln tcd on the study of later periods of developments which grew up on Indic soil
-idence rivilizatiou all have their places in an beginning in pre-Harappe times, as well as
of the to assessthe true significance of the thosewhich arosein oppositionto Vedic society.
of these periods, yet none of these Hinduism not only drew heavily upon tbese
r Proven the exclusive key to understanding. traditions but on Vedic culture itself for some
:.5st archi- strandsarerefectedin the literary of itr gods, social structures,and religious liter-
:r-rje insight ical materials from these early ature. Thus, it is not surprisingto find that many
$ $ggested revealing both a rich, indigenous of the basicpresuppositionsand practicesof the
'=--$rnent to comolex as well as the introduction of major Indic religions, whether orthodox or
ofBuddhist pcoples and ideas. As these strands heterodox, are remarkably similar. Each is
.:-d specific to develop, interact, :rnd merge, the indebtedin large measureto the still little-known
: were clearly Indic civilization was formed- Many of cultureswhich flourished before ancient Lrdia's
: rsell-known significant developmentsof later Indic historicperiod.
Frl[el or $ema- cmot be understood without an ex-
diadng on one's
ld achieve victory
$. mortaliry, and

[m India are in-

xpected that they
on licle known
rn- If some of
ses. are found to
riird century
: aadition of
: a previously
t-or the cave
conclusion would
Ar.an peoplesof
: greater role in
;c religion and
-iriously. An
=e black-and-
=e*alithic peo-
ii iese cultures
r-- each might
branch of an
ed cultural

pcos, chrono-
rc of imPortant
r.xial beliefs are
 PART T'WO

PERIOD OF THE EARLY DYNASTIES

BAClR
TO THE
S I T E SR E L A T I N G
E A R L YM A J O RD Y N A S T I E S
t
'"**"^z C I R C A3 R DC E N T U R B
3 F D C E N T U FA
Y, D .
Y. C .

4r' o adokai oeioErhsor drb6

(mosit suddhiso
o Fock{d c*6
SFE6 A5SOCIAIEO V'ITH IHE LIFE OF
THE BUDDIIA I BOLDFACE

,' (
4
Y
4
S
:eet"f
!o
S$"'"i

,&?$1x",'

'!1iffi"
i""l;""'*".,
."st
^..i"
, <o-
6Y

oh
 ]F
.,iTIES
D ? a t i la l 4 . : .
C H A P T E RT O U R
The MauryaPeriod
(ca.3z3to r85 n.c.)
:. rhe fourth century 8.c., the social,political,
-1 cconornic developments that had been
:.-urring in Magadha since Upanisaclic times
.chcd fiuition when the Maurya dynasty was
-.rred. llising to power when its founcler,
: rdragupta Maurya, overtlrrelv Mah:rpadma,
: last Ling of the Nanda family, which had
.:r in control of Magadha,thc Maurya iruperial
::-' cstablished a state of a scopc and unity
.r'iously unknorvn in ancicnt India. For the
:.: timc, large portions of the subcontincnt
:: unified politically, not sin.rplytied togcther
: ;he cultural patterDsor archaeologicalcon-
.r;rtions by which the earlier periods secm
:-.tnt1y bcst defined.1
, -rc cn-rergenceof Matadha asa lelder an-rong
: rir.tee[ Grcat Communitics, visiblc as early
re tirne of Sakyan.runiBuddha anclMahavira,
. rhc rcsultofthe naturalprocesses ofcultural
.Lrtion,acceleratccl by the bold pcrsonality
: idcas of kingship of Candragr"rpta.Extcrnal
41
factors also contributed grertly to the successof
thc Mauryas and thc eventual dominance of the
subcontinent by thc kingdom of Magadha.
First, the Achacrncnid Persians,whosc cmpire
had amrexedportions of the northwcst frontiers
of the Sourh Asian subcontinent, must have
provided a r.nodcl of sophisticatcdstatccraftfor
the kings or rulers of tirc small monarchies,
tribal rcpublics, and autononolrs statesthat hxd
been formed throughout much of the northern
Indic lands. Second, when Alcxander of Mace-
don, better known as Alexander the Great,
deleated thc last of thc Achaemenicl kings,
DariusIII, in 33o 4.c.,anclthen seto!1tto conquer
the former Achacmenid holtlings in the north-
\r,cst poftions of the South Asiatr subcontinent,
h i s f o r ,t r r r l p e r ' n n . r l i r y. , r r d d . , r i r r g. t r a r , g i c '
must i-ravcscrved to stinrulatc the embitions of
lndic kings, cspccially Candragupta himself,
rvho rvas around that time establishing his
control of Magaclha.2
42 ?ERIOD OF THE EARLY DYNASTIES
who had depended on Megasthenes
Althoush Alexander eventually abandoned writers
from an original
his efortito accession the Indic lands,tLe eJfects for information rather than
be manuscript, Megasthenes' account,provides im-
of his advanceinto the ln&c spherecannot recon-
oortant Jescriptionsthat are useful in
ignored.Not only wereGreekcolonies,suchas
of the buildings
faxila, established in the northwest,but Greek itructine the oiiginal appearance -"nd
for at Palipurra. th.r.. the archaeological
influence may have reachedthe eastaswell,
remains ihernselves, indicate that the Maurya
examplesof Greek ciry planningfrom around
kings, and perhaps their immediate predecessors,
this oiriod havebeenfoundasfar easrasOrissa'3
Ne.ri trade routes and other channelsof com- h"ib".tt ittflo.o".d by foreign modelsin their
munication between the Indic regions' western choice of forms and artistic techniquesto be
at their courts.The ambitiousbuilding
Asia, and even the Greek world were opened' emploved
,"hi-"r, r""o at PefaliPutra, and in the large-
and somethat alreadyexistedwere strengthened'
scale stone projects carried out elsewherein the
Thus. contactswith the cultures to the west of
under the Mauryas. reflect rhe
the South Asian subcontinent, active since subcontinenr
misht of the imperial line and mark the first
prehistoric times, wele renewedand intensified,
oha'se of lndic ari in which paronageby the
Lavins the way for the extensivearristicand
line is identifiable.
iol ur""l in-flu"o..t of the Saka,Panhian' and imperial
A.co.ding to Megasthenes' the ciry of Paali-
Kuga4a periods several hundred years late!
putra was ibout fifteen kilomerers long, two
(Chaps. z, 8) There is some evidencethat
and a half in width, and was surrounded by a
lr"f,io"n lefi .tnemployedat the fall of the meters
moat that measured about two hundred
Achaemenid empire,-which resulted from Al-
found new at the wide and fifteen meters deep.The ramparts of
exander'scampaigns, Patlons
Maurya court, thus instituting aPPalenflydra- the city had sixty-four gates and some five
matic changesin both techniques and art sryles' hundred and seventytowers. However, because
This is pa"nicularlyto be -inferred from the the ancient site is occupiedby the modem city
hiehlv developedstoneworkingmerbodsthat of Pama, only portions of these descriptions
excavations'
muchof Mauryaperiodarchitecture havebeenverified by archaeological
many of the structureswere made
and sculpture,and that seem to be partially In addition,
"h".r".,..it.
of wood and were thus susceptible over time
basedon Achaemenidtechniques' decay'
wrought by fire, fooding, and
Thoueh the effectsof Alexander'scampaigns to damage
were sig"ni{icantin helping to bring about cul- Thus, the city, describedby Megasthenesas
trrral artirtic developmentsin ancientIndia' having gilded pillars, large artificial ponds
"n? lands {ish, and extensive grounds where
his actual control of the conqueredIndic "oo,"iiniol
t"-. pe"lo"k, strutted, today revealslitde of
was short-lived. All claims by Alexander's
by 3o5 its original grandeur'
officersin the region were extinguished
when Candiagupta defeated Seleucus Nica- In ih" p-"1".. area, a iarge room has been
n.c.,
to reclaimsorneof the identified a'stheaudience hall(Fig.4.r). Although
tor, who had
"n"ipi"d its Maurya-period date seems certain,it is un-
Greek territories that Candraguptahad recently of Can-
empirewas wcll known whithe. it was a product
won. By then, Candragupta's king' Its
reign, or that of another
esbblished and he had considerably increased drasupta's basesof
is indicated by the surviving
his holdinesin the Indic lands'A matrimonial e.";d'r..I. heights have
stone pillars, whose original
agreemenF was efected between the Greeks Jiehw 'ertilt
apProPriate gifts exchanged' bi"en to have reachedapproximately
,h" M"oty"r, "t.d
"id named Megasthenes ten meters, and which weresetabout{ive meters
and a Greek ambassador
The pillared arrangement is suggesive-of
was dispatched to the Maurya capitalat Paqali- apart.
A.h"emenii structures, like those at Persepolis'
in Magadha'
'putr" (irodem Patna) both in scale and in the abuadance of thepillars'
Forttately, Megaitheneskept a record-of whether
However, if ties exist, it is unclear
his life at Caudragupt"t court. Although today between
resulted from centuries of contact
it is known oniy fiom the works of other ancient they
 THE MAIJRYA PERIOD 4J

IL-:asthenes
= original
cr:iiJ€s im-
= fecon-
--uildings ao oo o
oo oo o
:nr Maurya to oc 6
::efessors, oa oia o
- in their oo o
:r-s to be o
,rs :ulding
--- large- o ooo
ooo
in the
hl md EEr
:=ect the ]I
]I # HH=srffil
,ir
ie first
by the
A, frti4f"d
fii

r:Eg, two

- ,--
=::arts of
i;ne five 4r. PIan of the audiencehall. Pagaliputra @atm), Bihar, 4.2: Capial, From Bulaodibagh, Palaliputra (Patna),
hdia. Maurya period. Ca. fourth o! thitd century B.c. Bihar, India. Probably Maurya period. Ca. fourth ot
thitd century B.c. Buf sardsto[e. H: 86 cm. Pama
@r:€efo clty Museum. Pama.
rs.=iptions

r=: made India and her neighbor, or whether they direct influence with rhe westem Asiatic world.
:'i1= time an influence introduced only after Al- Associationswitfr western Asia are. further
rl: decaY. rs campaign,or perhapsa combinarion substantiatedin a pillar capitalfound at Bulandi-
as bagh,a subsiteofPataliputra(Fig.4.2).Although
- ponds The format of the pillared hall is not the only its surfacebearsno traceofpolish,eits form and
s n'here that suggests associations between motifs resemblewestemAsiatictypes.Rectangu-
inle of Indic and Achaemenid spheres.The high lar in shape,the capital has two main faces,
of the finish on the sufaca of the pillars is eachwith a oalmettein the main field and four
rs been cSaracteristic of Achaemenid art, and rnay horizontal bands above. From the top, these
- ,t4ough been a techniqueintroduced into the In- bandsinclude a row of eightletaled rosettes,a
t! 15 rm- regions from Persia,along with other lapi- bead-and-reelmotif, a meanderingspiral, and a
= Can- methods.sIndeed, the use of stone on so lotus petal design.Thesefeatures,together with
Fg. Its a scale as visible in the Maurya the volutes on the sides,betray an Achaemenid
iasesof both in architecture and in sculpture, is sourceand are themselvesAchaemenidadaota-
have y thought to have been stimulated by tions of Hellenicmotif.

: =Ieters
of EDrcrs AND PrLrARs
!:=epolis,
m:illars. Eost illustrious of the Maurya kings was among which are the numerous epigraphs he
Tirrher grandsonof Candragirpta. A(oka'sreign had inscribed in stone throughout his vast
a-seen z7z-2.3! a.c.) is notable for many reasons, empire.Carvedin caves,on*rocks,and ol pllbll,
44 PERTODOF THB EARIY DYNASTTTS

these records comprise the earliest intelligible a cutting ofthe origpal ptpal tree under which
corpus of written documents from the Indic Sakyamuni3'rd.ll'r had attained his enlighten-
regions. Furthermore, they provide important ment in order to servein the transmissionof the
hbtqric.a!.in{o,1q}a1ioqa,!ggth.gpe4o{,glimpses religion, thus corroborating his Buddhist lean-
of rhe personalityof the ruler, and insightsinto lngs.
thi stateof religionat the time. The insiriptioni A(okan inscriptions are found in a wide-
are composed in thd veriiacular language of ranging area, extending from Afghanistan on
IAlg"dhr, a form of Preklt, and reflect the the west, vrhere the emperor's messagewas
actualthoughtsof the emperorhimself.who is translatedinto Greek and Aramaic for the local
called Priyadarfin (Beloved of the Gods) in the populace,to Orissaon the east,from the Nepal
epigraphs.?One of the most poignant of the borderland in the north, into Kaqaqaka in the
inscriptions8 claims that Abka, after having south. There is evidencethat throuEh ambas-
seensome one hundred fifty thousandpeople sadorshe also spread the dharmabeyond the
carried away as captives, some one hundred frontiers of South Asia to the courts of the
thousandmore slain, and many more deadafter kingsof Syria,Egypt, Macedonia,and northern
his conquestof Kaliirga (Orissa),wasstruck with Africa.lo
remorse at the suf,ering he had caused,under- As a group, the pillars are perhapsthe most
went a conversion(to Buddhism), and spentthe intriguing ofthe objectsgenerallyassociated with
remainder of his liG and energy carrying out A6oka and his inscriptions.Approximately fo_rry
what the inscriptions call the dhnna (law).s "ASokqrl pillaq 4re mentione{, i4 Buddhist
The idea of inscribing imperial edictsand de- literatureof later periods,ahhoughportiorx oF
creesin stone was undoubtedly modeled after leis than half this-many have been identified
Achaemenidpractices,aswere the wording and in modem times. Of ,g!ese,no-t-a! bear A6okan
epithets used in many of them. However, the inscriptions.and even somethat do were pio-
thoughts expressedreflect the spirit and per- bably erected prigr t9 {i9k1'ql reign. A6oka's
sonaliw of Aioka himself. and have eamedhim own words confirm the Dre-existenceof some
a repuiation for benevolenceand tolerancethat pillars, for in one of his edictshe recordsthat he
'wasnever again matched by any South Asian had erected"Pillarsof Law" (dhdnna-thanbaxl
monarch. In particular, he is remembered in to propagatehis message and requested that hi,s
Buddhistliterarureas a greatproponentof the words alsobe inscribedor e_xisting.stqng
-i-
pillars
Biddhist religion. lndeed, it was probably (anddabs).lrFuriher.the survivingexamplesdo
A6oka'spropagationof Buddhismthat gavethe not present a uni{ied picture, but vary greatly
religion its first major thrust, gaining popularity in type of stone, polish or lack of polish, pro-
for it, and distinguishingit from the numerous portions,treatmentof sculpturaldetails,dowel-
other compefing religious movements of the ing techniques,and eyen methods of insertion
day. His dhamd, although perhapscontaining into the earth. From this, it is evident that
elementsnot exclusiveto Buddhism, wasclearly ASokadid not innovate the practice of erecting
basedon the principles of the Btddlist dhatua. pillars, although he may have been the first to
Many of the actionsperformed by A6okain the place inscriptions on them and may have
name of dharma,such as planting shadetrees, modfied their form and symbolism. His use of
limiting animal slaughter, or commuringprison pillars instead representsthe culmination of a
sentences, were congruentwith Buddhisttheory, period of pillar development,probably having
although the inscriptions do not propound the origins in a wooden tradition. The surviving
complex philosophical or metaphysical aspects pillars and pillar fragments may thus be cate-
'gorized
of the Buddhist religion. Suddhist texts lecord into A6okanand pre-A6okan(perhaps
that Aioka made pilgrimages to nany of the even pre-Mauryan) monuments,in spite of the
Buddhist holy sites, erected numerous shrines fact that all have been traditionally ascribedto
and memorials in honor of Buddhism, and A5okaandhis religiouszeal.
sent his daughter to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) with Originally, eaqh pillar coruistedof a long
 THE MAURYA PERIOD 45

monolithic shaft, the heaviest and certainly most

difficult portion to quarry and erect, and a
stone capital. Scholarshave traditionally studied
the motifs of the capitals, believing that these
held the key to the meaning and iconography of
the pillars. However, John Irwin has demon-
strated that the primary symbolism of these
creationswas in the concept of the pillar itself,
the capital decoration being of secondary
importance.l2
It is likely that the pillars representthe World
Axis, seen in many ancient cultures as the
instrument usecl to separateheaven and earth
during the creation qf the urtiverse.The earliest
record of such a belief in ancient India occurs
in the {g Vedd, wherc it is revealed that the
god Indra slew a demon, thus releasing the
cosmic ocean and causing the separation of
heaven and earth by "pushing them asunder"
and "propping" the sky.13 The pillar thus
conceptually rises from the cosmic ocean,
emerges from the navel of the earth, and reaches
toward heaven where it is touched by the sun, 4.3. Bull capital.From Ramputva,Bihar,India.Prob-
ably Maurya period.Ca. third centurys.c. Polished
In light of this, it is interesting that the extant sandstone. H: zo5crn.President's New Delhi.
Palace,
pillars appear to rise directly from the earth's
core, for they do not have platforms at ground
level. Furthermore, as a probable allusion to
thet conceptual source in the cosmic ocean, at cle structure, and other Gatures of its anatomy
leastsome of the pillars reachedbelow the earth have been so carefully rendered by the sculptor
ro the water table. that the urrcarved matrix beneath the body left
Inherent to the World Axis symbolism is a for structural purposes does not detract from
model for earthly kingship. Indra's remarkable the efect of naturalism. In contrast to the Indic
actions eamed him the position of king of all naturalism, however, the palmettes, "honey-
rhe gods. He then sanctionedthe first terrestrial suckle,"rs and rosettes on the drum of the
king by giving him a portable pole to worship. capiral speak more of stylized westem Asiatic
It is possiblethat A6oka and his probably royal plototypes, like those presumed for the capital
predecessorswho had erected pillars, whether from Bulandibagh (Fig. a.z). The lowermost
in wood or in stone, were symbolically re- element of the capital is the "lotus bell," a
::ie enacting Indra's primordial deed. h this way, srylized rendering of a lotus that assumes a
they may have secured their own kingship by bell-like shape. This motif also shows ties to
iarmonizing it with the cosmic order.14 westem Asiatic sources.It must be reasserted,
_ -,ag A bull capital found at Rampurvr may have however, that the relationship between ancient
lelonged to one of the pre-Aiokan stone pillars India and the western Asiatic world was ongoing
I :.,::- Fig. +.:). The animal is renderednaturalistically and continuous, and that the appearance of
i a manner reminiscent of seal carvings frogr wistem Asiatic forms in Indic art doesnot neces-
ie Indus civilization, suggestinga continuity of sarily imply a new infusion.
:r'adition.As in the Indus seals,the speciesofbull, The general appearanceof an Aiokan pillar
= lhis casethe Bosindicus,is easily identifiable. is visible in the still intact example at Lauriya
Tle proportions ofthe animal, its bore and mus- Nandangagh, a site on the uttardpathatrade to:ute
46 ?ERIOD OF THE EARIY DYNASTIES
placedon platforms, following the older practice
of erectins wooden pillars. Since the srone
pillars *e ,i so heauy (someweighed as much as
thirty-rix thour"nd kilogrem$. the absenceof a
ol"tfor- c"ured the earlier examplesto sinl
into th. g.ound or fall due to imbalanceand
lack of support.
Like other imperialmonunrentsof the Maurya
period. this pillar revealsa blend o[ lndic and
i",t"rn Asiaii. traditions, The lustrous surface
oolish and the lotus bell clearly relate to the
i"estem Asiaric.and specifically the Achaemenid'
tradition. However. unlike its lranian cousins,
the Maurya pillar does not have a futed shaft,
and the pillar is free-standing rather than an
eng"ged a.chirectural mcmber. A stricrly Indic
-J,ii i, ,h. row of geese cawed as iF moving
in a clockwise fashion around the axis of the
pillar, on the drum directly beneath the lion'
ih. Rinh. o[ the goore (liarisa)is seen in
"[ndic
ancient thoughi as a link between rhe
earthly and heavenly spheres, and thus the
of these creatures on the pillar is
"pp""r"o"" apt.
especiallv
'Aooth",
l"t" addition to the pillar tradition,
perhapspopularizedby A5oka.is the useof the
iion ,, p"ti of the sculpruralprogram ln this
case. a single lion appearsas the crowning
oith" c"pitr1. while other animals
"l.ment
found on early pillars, sucl.r as the bull and
elephanr.are deepty rooted in rhe symbolic
r..,"ruoirofrnci.ni India,the lion is not lnstead'
it seemsto have been imported into the Indic
4.4.Pillar.LauriyaNandangaJh, Bihar,India Maurya regions as a royal symbol from wcstem Asia'
i"f,od. orou"blvreign of Asoka Cr' rnid-rhirdcen- po"ssiblyalong with developingideasof king-
i*v *'-a'rorreH: cr' rz rn 'bovcground lhip. It funh-"tevidenceo[a foreignsourcefor
".lp.ritr,.a
lion svmbolismin Maurya art. the A{okan lions
are s;nerally depictedin a stiff' heraldicmanner
,e-i.,ir."nt'of Achaemenidtypcs tnore than
connectinq the eastem Gangetic basin with
westernAsia (Fig. + q). This pillar. which bears the naturalistic animal renderings of earlier
six of A5oka's edicts, extends approximately Indic art.16
twelve meters above ground and its shaft con- Another of A6oka's rnajor contributions to
tinues below to a dePth of about three meters, oill:rr iconographymay have beena convcrsion
the whole resting o; a square stone platform Lfrhir royrl"rnd Vedic"ymboJto a form suitable
on a side' for Buddirist use. The spiendid pillar at Sarnath
measuring -ofmore than two netels
The use such a stone foundation may have mav have been one such example An ASokan
been an innovation of A6oka's reign, or at least, inrcriptionon the shaft of t)re pilJar.srill in siru
a late development in the evolution of the rt Srrnath. makes a plea for unity within the
pillar. Apparently, earlier stone pillars were not Buddhist monastic community (sakgha), a
 THE MAURYA PERIOD 47

messagealso appearing on a pillar with a nearly

,--;e
identical capital at the Buddhist site of Saici in
:: ae
north-centlal India.1?As important as A6oka's
:15
message,however, is the apparentsymbolism of
,: a
the surviving capital, which consistsof a lotus-
: :rk
bell basesurmounted by a sculpteddrum, above
:=d
which are four addorsed lions (Fig. 4.t. The
crowning element was originally a large wheel
(cakra) that is now lost. As a well-known solar
symbol in ancient India, the wheel at the top
would have been an appropriate sign of the
pillar's heavenward thrust. However, the ccftrc
is also an important symbol of the cosmic order
in Upanisadic thought, which was incorporated
into Buddhism at an apparently early date. In
fact, a more appropriate symbol can hardly be
imagined for the site of Samath, where this
capital stood, for it was at Sarnath that Sekya-
muni Buddha preachedhis first sermon, thereby
"tuming the wheel of the law" for the first time.
The Buddhist messageof this capital is also
::, fhe
probably incorporated into the symbolism of
, rhe
the lions.for not only is the lion an appropriate
early symbol of royalty, and thus a reference
to A6oka himself, but the Buddha's clan, the
Sakyas,had the lion as its totem, so the lions
may refer to him as well. The Buddha is often
calle! a "lion," and his words, "the voice of the
lion," or sithhagho;a.It is tempting to suggest
that the four addorsed lions, with their open
mouths, may have served as a dual metaphor,
referring both to A6oka, whose words were
inscribed on the pillar and were to be spread
throughout the land, and to Sakyamuni and 4.5. Lion capital. Fron Sameth, Uttar Pradcsh,India.
Maurya period, probably reign of A3oka. Ca. mid-
his teachings,some of which were first revealed
third century o.c. Polishedsandstone.FI: 213.5 cm.
at Jamatn_ Sam,th Site Museum, Sameth.
Buddhist symbolism may also be inferred
frorn the four animals proceeding clockwise
around the drum of the capital, between which
are depictions of cakras.'fhe cakrasarc probably although they may have had directional sig-
not accidentally placed directly beneath the ni{icance.18
feet of the four lions as if again referring to the The pillar, apparently still iz sirr, was seenby
wheel of the law (of Aioka and Sakyarnuni). the seventh-century Chinese traveller, Hsiian-
The animals on the drum, consecutively the tsang, who described it as "bright asjade . . .
t-:.- -:.:ble
bull, horse, lion, and clephant, almost appearto glistening and (sparkling) like light."1e Indeed,
- ::=arh
be puliing an invisible vehiclc set inro rnorion the crisp carving, smooth polish, and high
-.: '-.:kan
-:- ': :itu by the enormous cakrasas if to perpetuate the quality of craftsmanshiphave eamed this work,
wheel of dharma(dharmacakra). The symbolism particularly the capital, a reputation as one of
. -:the
of the four animals themselvesremains unclear, ancient India's greatest artistic achievements.
 48 PEPJODOF THE EAILY DYNASTIES
The crowning lions are somewhat stylized in
contrastto the drum anirnals,whosenaturalism
suggeststhe Indic sensitivity to living creatures
found early as the lndus civilization. In
"s
particular, the bull relates strongly to forms
ieen on Harappan seals.Preciousgems may
Rocr-cur ARcHITBcTURE
A6oka's reign, justly famous for the pillars and
otJrer monuments that served as vehicles for
transmitting the dharma, also saw tfrc firm
establishment of one of the most imPorta[t and
characteristic art traditions of South Asia-rock-
cut architecture, The practice may have been the
result of indiqenous developmens. for ancient
Indian mendifants asceticshad used natural
"nd
caves for centuries as had certain other segments
of the Indic populace. The man-made exca-
vations may simply refect the next step in a
logical development. The megalithic traditions
of-southIndia(Figs. 3.r, j.z) might also have had
some bearing on the Maurya-period excavations,
although the chronology of the megalitls re-
rnains uncertain. But it is also likely that the
In&c predilection toward a cave and rock-cut
tradition was stimulated by an Achaemenid
model, such as the royal tombs at Naksh-i-
Rustam.?0 Thus, like other aspects of Maurya
culture, the cave excavations may have been the
4.6. Exterior of Lomai {9i cave. Badbar Hills, Bihar,
hdia. Maurya period, probably reign of A6oka. Ca.
mid-third century B.c.
:it ,
havebeenplacedin the eyesofthe four addorsed
lions and the rough wheel hubs may have been
cappedby copper or another metal. Indeed,
the pillar and its capitalmust havebeensplendid
achievementsof Aiokan art.
result of both indigenoui and foreign elements.
Seven caves were excavated during the
Maurya period in the Barabar and Nagerjuni
hills near Gaya, in the Magadha homeland of
the Mauryas. The caves date from the reign of
A3oka, and the subsequent reign of Aioka's
own grandson, Daiaratha. Of the four caves in
the Barabar Hills, three were dedicated by
Aioka. who is identi{ied in the irxcriptions as
Priyadariin (Beloved of the God$, while the
three in the Ndgerjuni Hills bear inscriptions of
Daiaratha. Unforrunately, the most interesting
from the artistic point of view, the Lomei Rli
cave in the Bardbar range (Fig. 4.6), does not
contain a Maurya inscription. However. be-
cause of its association with the other three
Barabar caves,especiallythe Sudama cave, with
which it is identical in form except in the treat-
ment of the facade, the Loniai $1i must be
considered a monument of the Aioka period,
and not a work of a later date.zr
4.7. Plan and elevation of Loma( !.9i cave. Barebar
Hills, Bihar, India. Maurya period, probably reign
of A6oka. Ca. mid-third centurv s.c.
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 5O PERIODOFTHEEARIYDYNASTIES
andsymbolofauspiciousness, a commonelement
in later SouthAsianart.22
As intriguing as its exterioris the interior of
the cave, consistingof two chambers(Figr 4-7,
4.9),a long rectangular hall,anda smaller,nearly
circular room that recreates in stone the form
of a thatchedhut. While this particular interior
was never finished, that of the nearly identical
Sirdamacave nearby was completed. From the
similarities of the two excavations,including
their sizes.it mav be assumedthat the walls of
the Lomii Bd cave would have had the high
polish typical of Maurya stonework and present
in the Sudamacave. The fact that the wall sur-
faces were not completed is important for
another reason.It has often been statedthat the
artisanswho createdtlfs cave were so carefirl to
representwooden forms that they eveninciseda
pattem imitating wood grain on the walls of the
cave,asif to preciselycopy a wooden building.
Careful examination of the interior shows that
thesegrooves were merely the result of rough
stonework that had not yet been finished to a
fine polish.
The "room within a room" effectofthe round
hut in the longer chamber is problematic.
Thatched huts may have been usedas meeting
halls,dwellingsfor religiouspersons,or shrines,
and this may be simply a permanentrepresenta-
tion of a p-opular form. The rourded shape
appears laterat Kondivte (Figs.5.r9, 5.zo)where
it enclosesa stup6 that is also carved out of the
living rock and where it is meant to serve as a
shrine.Whether the Lomai g.9icavewould have
once containeda cult object cannot be deter-
mined sinceno trace of one has been left and
Ornrn Ai orar MoNur',rrrrs
ASoka'sgood works for his kingdom, for Bud-
dhism, and for humanity apparently went far
beyond proclamations to his subjects and per-
formance of the deeds mentioned in the edicts,
He is said to have distributed huge amounts of
gold to the poot at Buddhist sites,to have made
pilgrimages, and even to have erected, with
the help of geniis, eighty-four thoasand stnpas
ovemieht.
because the interior of the chamber was
completed.
'What
was the ourooseof thesecaves?
does the eleohant frieze on the facade of
Loma6Rri caveimply? Why were the
so careful in their imitation of free-standing
architecturalstructuresand why did they carve
theseformsinro stoneat all?Thesequestions are
di{ficult to answer,but a clue to the purpose
the caves,at least, may be derived from
conteirtsof the six inscriotionsoresentin them-
While the inscriptionsof the three Barabar
are somewhat vague, those at the
Hill site clearly statethat the caveswere
so that the Ajivikas might havean abodeduring
the rainy season"as long as[the] moon and srm
(shallendure)."2:glearly, thesecaveswere meant
to be permanent, or at least as permanent as
sun and the moon, and were intended as re-
sidencesduring the rainy seasonfor use by the
Ajivikas, a severelyasceticreligious sect of the
heterodox (non-Vedic) type that came ulto
edstenceout of the sameintellectual and philo-
sophical environment that fostered the growth
of Buddhisrn andJainismin about the sixth and
fifth centuriesr.c. While Buddhist monks, and
apparendythe Jain and AjMka ones as well,
vowed to be homelesswanderers,they took
shelter during the rainy seasonin natural caves
in the mountainsisolatedfrom the life ofthe city.
Later, however, cavessuch as the Loma( !.si
apparentlybeganto be excavatedfor their use.
The Ajivikas were prominent during the time
of Aioka, but apparentlynever had a wide
following and were gradually overshadowed
bv the Tainsand the Buddhists.
A6oka is further credited with having e,rected
a shrine at Bodh Gaya. on the spot where Sakya-
muni Buddha is believed to have attained his
enlightenment. Although the present temple at
Bodh caya, the Mahabodhi (Fig. ro.4r), is clearly
a monument of a much later period, credence is
lent to this traditional view by the large pol-
ished stone platform, the uojrasana (uajra-seat),
beneath a large pipal tree at Bodh Gaya, which
 THr MAURYA PmIOD 5t

iof
::the

into
, :rilo- 4.ro. Vajtasand.Bodh Geyi, Bih:r, India. Maurya period, prob-
:: : wth ably reign of A6oka. Grey sandstone.Ca. mid-third century n.c.
-- and 24OX r4r X rO.5cm.
'- - and
-.;ell, is held to be the descendcntof the original trce early Brahmi characters(the script used in most
a: :Jok under which Sakyamunisat (Fig.4.roJ. Found A(okan inscriptions), which may record its
in r88o during the coursc of renovations and donation. The letter forms, along with the polish
repairs to the ternple, the platforn is only of the stone and the geeseand palmette motif,
16.5 cm thick and today rests upon a more suggest formal associationswith Maurya art
recent base. Its original context and usc are and seem to verify a Maurya-period date for
unknown; recently, it has been suggestcdthat the work. Its relationship to any Maurya-period
the slab was an altar-top, originally contained temple, however, remains unclear. On the upper
within the temple itsclf2a The Maurya slab surfaceof the platform is a design composed of
bears a now illegible inscription on thc side in circles and squares.

M a u n y a - p r n r o o S c u r p r u n r F R o MP A T A L I p u T R A

Several stone sculptures of human figures de-
monstrating characteristics of Maurya-period
art have been found. Unfortunately, these
carvingslack signifrcantinscriptionsor rncaning-
ful archaeologicolconrcxr), and thus. whether
they were nade in the Maurya period remains
a subject of controvcrsy. However, since they
shrre technical end srylisric features in
"ccn
Maurya pillars, capitals, and caves, and have
been found at sites within the limits of the
ancient city of Petaliputra, it n.ray be argued
that they were products of ateliers serving the
Maurya regime.Thesesculpturcsare impressive
in scale,generally made life-size or larger, and
suggestthat monumental art was produced under
the Mauryas for reasons other than A6oka's
propagation of dharma.Generally, it is assumed
that these figures must have had religious con-
 52 TERIOD OF THT XARIY DYNASTIES
4.rr. Male figure. From Lohtnipur, Paralipurn (Patna),
Bihtr, India. Maurya period. Ca. third century o.c.
Polishedsandstone.H: 67.3 cm. PatnaMu.seum,Patna.
texts but norhing more specific is known about
their original purposes.Technically, each sculp-
ture was executed with the same care and skill
evidenced generally in Maurya monuments.
While cerrain of rheir features du noc seem to
persist into later artistic styles, such as the high
polish of the surface,others serve as a basis6r
thr- art of later periods. These include aspects
ol the costumes, attributes held in the hands. and
tri"r-ent of the human body. Sincethe human
figure asa motif becomesthe single major theme
of Indic art through the centurles, tliese early
examples of monumental figures are vital to an
understanding of the art oflater periods.
A torso of a nude male (Fig. 4. rr) found ar
_
the section of PaLalipurrakroi. I-ohantpur
is carved our o[ LheChunar sandstone ",
frequenLlv
usedin Maurya works; irs glossypolish ii com-
parableto rhar found in the Aiokan pillarsand
the Barabar and Nagarjunr hills caves. Also
excavatednear the findspot ofthe sculpturewere
-type,
bricks of the Maurya earf, type of
"n
silvercoin,a secondsimilarbut smallersculpture,
and the foundationsof a smallshrine.25 ihese,
a.longwith two polishedsandstone pillar frag-
ments recoveredfrom Lohaniour, seemao cor-
roborate a Maurya date for thi torso. But they
tell lirde aboutis originalcont.*r and purpose.
It is possiblethat this nude fig.rre represents
a member of the Digambaraor "Sky Clad',
sect of Jains who weai no clothes, rn conrast
ro the Svetdmbaras ("White Dressed';).zo 1;1.
naturalismand sensitiviryto the living form
recallsthe animal sculptureof the Mauryi period
(excluding the lion), iuch as those on th" dt,:-
of the Samath capital; the soft, fleshy forms of
the body almost seemto contradict the nature
of stone itself Xach side of the sculpture has
beencarefullyrenderedso that from everyview
it is a convincingentiry,alrhoughit wasprob-
ably inrended,o- b. ,..n from"the Front.'The
nudiryof thisfigureandthatof the smalltorso
recovered from Harappa(Fig.2.4) is striking.
However, the conception of the body, the
polishedsurfaceof the Maurya piece,and other
Gaturesindicatethatthe resemblance is orobablv
rheresultofarristiccontinuityoverrhecenruries
rather than anv similariw in date.
The records of the Patna Museum relate that
the well-preserved statue of a female caun (fly
whisk) bearer was found when villagers at D-rdii-
ganj, Petaliputra, chased a snake into a hole.
Upon starting to dig for the snake,the villagers
instead came upon this approximarely liG-iize
statue (Fig.4.r2). Becausethe technique, surface
refinemenr.and high polish relateir io Maurya-
period works. some scholarscontend that rhe
sCulpturebelongs ro the Maurya phase; others,
noting the voluptuous forms of the body, the
distinctive clump of hair in the center of the
forehead.and rhe heavyankletsrelaterhe image
to,second century A.D. sculptdres, such as the
rail figures from Bhuteivara (Figs.8.35,8.36)
or rhe verandafiguresat Karli (Fig.9.4). The
Maurya features, however, seem to override
the other considerations, especially since the
work relatesso closely to others of the Maurya
atelier at Petaliputra, and it may be accepted
as a product of that oeriod.
The figure wears a hip-hrgging garmenr over
her lower body; its diaphanousfolds are depiGil
 THT I{AURYA PIRIOD J'

'',v

:IS
.i'
t.r.st
tr-

:111
-l

:111
.-c
::re
ras

l^

:q,
l1e

.:ics

:hat
ifly
,lc.

-'ize 1.12. Cdt l bc,rrcr. Florrr l)idrfsrrlj, l)tralipurrr (t:rtr:r), llihar,

i n c l i r . N l ; r L r r v r p e r r o d . C r . t h i r d c c u t L r r - iB c P o l i r h c d s i L n ( l s r o r l c .
H: t62.5 cnr, rot irlclLrlilr* L:r\c P:rtru i\,ructm, r-rura.
: )'a-
: tlle
: 'ars,
thc I l r ' ^ r c r o . \l r c r i . q . l l . r v y is most advantlqcouslyvicrvcclfrom the hont.
rhe r:rclLrrlinga .jcrveled or beeocct Hcr risht harrclholds the cdurl, ^ rvhisk usccl
'1!lc ' . I r r d . .t t ,r | ' ' , c r . . r n d
...rnir3. to kccp flics alev {rom distirrguishcd pcrsons,
llle .I . rip. .r ,n,ir,ir'. rrr. anclis thus a synbol of hcr subservientrolc in
: : : l r o L r g h o u t t h c c l c v c l o p m c nor f thc prcscrlccof a hishlv rcspcctcdinclivrdLral
Thc :_ i.rllc laliation, btt csscntially, l-ho tniglrt h,n'c bccn a rcligious or secular
- rridc I i,.r qxflll(lltr bare torso, and lcadcr. In later ludic iconoeraphy. such at-
:-. dre ' 'll.\ l r. r'orl l. [l'. r. Lrrc
. teud;rntsoccur in p:rirs,end it may be sugscstcd
'li1L1r)/a : r- .:.ll frcccl1i-orntbc lretrix of thrt r siurilar scrlpturc oncc scrvccl as hcr
:.Ptccr -r'_-..,.roLln(1 thc lcgs, u'herc stone rrxtc, thc t$'o porsiblv HankiDga doorrvay or
i'l.(-rr'rllas bccn ceDtorrll:rgccl bv lrlothcr, probxblvlarter irtmgc.Tirc usueliclcnti-
a ovcr :: .irrpcrv fillins Lctrvccrrthc fication of this frellrc es e yalsr, or lcmalc
'-'ictcd . r rr l ' r , ' r r J . I ' t r - r r . . rreturcspirit, is untcnlblc sirrccshc hes none of
 OT THE IARLY DYNASTIES
54 IERIOD
clearly
thc usual accoutrementsof a /akJt atrd
is an attendant
Two male statueshavc bcen found 'lt Petali-
putra and, on evidcnce similar to-that citcd for
to
il.r" fe-al" from Diderganj, nay be ascribed
Since tl-re two rnale statues
the Maurya pcriod.
be
sharc rnany characteristics,only one necd
(Fig. 13) with the weight
ii,.o,r"d it detail 4
feet'
oi his ,ieid bodv iiiJy plt"ttd on lis two
frontal attitude As
thc fie;e is in a strictly
utrt be,eret' the stone
,".n ilo tlt. Dtdrrganj
-",ti" i, most no"tic;able in thc area of thc
fcet, and is a concessionto structulal conccrns'
Thc drapcry ovcr the lower body rcsemblcsthat
'Diiarqarrj
of thc femalc, in technique if not
"",
ihe double-incisedlines parallel
"rr"ng"nt"n,, of the folds of the garment' and
,i- a?..,io"
,tt" costulllc sctsthc norn for ]atcr naie
"n"i", f e n r u r cw s ill
n l r U i , t t , , . t , .a r f . . l t l l o r r g l rc c ' r ' ' i t r
r l t c f o rm'
i . , r v . T l ' . q L r i c t L r d' tct d ' r i l l n e * o f
*,,ik ron.,h". with thc size and voiume to
rypicrl
creatc an imposing, powcrf''rl cffect Like
stone carvings, this sculpture was
Malrrya-pcrilcl
'rn'l-
r br''wnrJt-rcd
.lthorrgh
irIlti p.r'.t'.a.
*i,,"'lt,t, b.ert rt'ed in cortrr'r't lo th( llrore
The corpulency.of
fop.,lo, C1t.,"ar-typc stonc
ih;', f,nu.., which may connote abundancc' has
[i aift" t]ut hc is a yaksa'-or 'rale
"r,.,rttptio'.t thc ren-rains of t caurt
natr,rrespirit. Ho*'ett"t,
th't he' like drc Didar-
in l.risrigit hart.i srrggcst
r P r I r ' r 'B i h r r ' l r ' t v e b c c n r n x t t (ndxrri
4 . i i . M r l e f i s u r e l r ' ' r r rI ' x r r l i p u r r ' e . , n i G i t r l . . , , ' , , , ,l ' '
r l r r d s ' I'uri'hed r v . . ' ' r l d' 1 " ' l t ' v c b'cn
i"J:: ; ,' t,-p..'"d e. "rrorrl i*','. 'n'r I'rct'ttt''bl)
salditonc- H: 162 crl lndian Muscutn'
brotnish one of a pair.
Calcur*t.

Maunva-pnnrop Tann'L-corrl ScULPTLiRE

usc to
South Asie from thc timc of its exrlicst
Alongsidc thc impcrial Maurya stonc-cervrng APp'rently'
a thc prcscnt rvithout intcnttption
tradiion, which must have touchcd otrly
Indir' botli hand-mo,leling and molding technrclues
minority of the inhabitants of ancicnt ot
wcrc uscd simtlltancotsly ovcr the coLrrsc
it"t-tt, of d"ily ,-tll"and objccts in morc cphen-reral of a iow-
likely ccttt,.lries.The w:rres were ecncrally
n.ratcrials.verc widely mantlacturcd lt is Thus'
'ncl firc typc, rvhich is ttnfortturately lragilc
ii", *o.,.:i, bone, ivory, cloth, tcrra cottrl' the traclition' tl.rc
ir., ,pit'" of rhc contir.Luityof
possibly nrctal and othcr n.rcdie had ncver tcrra-cotta art tn
history end clevclopnrcntot
i""r".l in b" uscd sincc Herapp- timcs; pcrhaps rvcll cstablishcd
^,rcic,]t In,]i" lt"s not btcrr
obiccts ir-r thcse naterials served as prcceclents
can Furthcr, Inclic terra cottxs ere rerely inscribcd
f.,i wo.k, in stonc. As far :rs archaeologists the
and their tcchrlolog,v chansed little ovcr
a",".-in", terra cottx has been e nlcdiun-r for the probleuis oi
orname[ts, and toys il1 ccrturies,furthcr compounding
sculpturc, pottcry,
 TIIX MAURYA ?ERTOD 55
identification and chronology. When molds
were used,a designcould have persistedover
long periods of tirne. Even carefui recordins of
the circumstancesof the archaeolosic"lfirrdias
not proved usefulin establishing ih. dev.lop-
mentsoflndic terracortas.Therefore.at prese;q
the most reliableindicesof this art ari found
in the historyofa givensite,its main periodsof
occupation,and rhe correlationro stylisricand
iconographicdetailsof works in other media,
suchasstone.
Of the terra-cotta figurines excavated at
Bulandibagh,Pelaliputra,a number of female
statuesare outstanding.One exampleshowsa
: fot rathernaruralisdcally depictedwomangarbedin
- -- tJ an elaboratedressandheaddress (Fig.a. ra). The
:rrd vrta.liryand na-ruralism of the figuie. especially
=ale visiblein the facialstructure,sliqhrturn of the
$ill head, and naturalisticpor", t"lok this work
amongthe finest of ancientIndian terra cottas,
and demonstrare its aestheric and formal as-
sociations with the hieraticstoneconceptions of
the Mauryaperiod.The full skirt, which bulses
out at_thehipsasiFsupporred by hoops,andihe
10re complicated headdress, with its two lotesjutting
-::-r_of out from the sidesof the head as if to-reoeai
::. has the form of the skirr beiow, may documenta
: :rale contemporarycosrumerype.The clothingcon_
. :alttr trastssharply wirh the garmentsoIthe Didirgaaj 4.r4. Female figure. From Bulandibagh, -Ca.paraliputra
:oar- .4riribearer. thoughat present (Patna), Bihar, India. Maurya period. third cen-
suchdiscrepancies
rury B.c. Terra cotra.wirh rracesof sJip.H: 27.3 crn.
;.:dant cannotbe explained.
Patna Museum, Patna.
: Oeen

Corcrusror.r

The Maurya period marks the initiation of a
continuous,traceablehistory of works of art
ia stonefrom the South Asian resion. While
$e presenrstareof krowledge iridicaresthar
\{eurya stone productions were largely the
-
rsult of royal patronage,the artisticevidence
iaelf deponstratesthat the Maurva works
reflect what must have been an active, long-
standing rradition of art and architecture usiris
wood or other easiJyperishable materials.perl
haps stimulated by foreign models, the Maurya
kings have rhus preservedsome information
about ancient India's early material culture.
 DetailoJ5.8.

CHAPTER FIVE

The SungaPeriodand RelatedDevelopments

(ca.SecondCenturyto FirstCenturys'c')

In approximately r85 I'c'. violent upheaval kins was deposedin 73 B.c' in a turbulent
-"it., of
..rnirrir..tt of the initial accession
,,rrr.L-th. Maurya empire. Pu5yarnitraSuirga,
the principal niilitary ofiicer of the last Maurya the dynasty.
kins. Brhadrrtha, assassinated the king and Becausethe Suirgas were the successorsto
assu"m.d his imperial prerogatives' Ruling until the Mauryas,the periodfollowing Maurya rule
rJr 8.c.,?urya;itra probably maintained much is often calledthe 6ungaperiod. However,the
although his (uuga empire(exceptperhapsat the beginning)'
oi th. .-pir. of the Mauryas
authoriw ivas contested. It is believed that *as-not nlarlv asextensiveasthat of the Mau-
I
P.,,urmitru performedthe Vedic horsesacrifice rvas.Therefoie,while works of art producedin
indicat- .,rriousresionsof SouthAsiaduring the second
Q!)'anedha)iurice during his reign; thus
inq his politicalstrength' for the ceremony rs a and fir.t clnturiesr.c' may be saidto belongto
de-monrir"tionof rhe king's dominacion over the "Sungaperiod," the,useofthis designation
""li"y,
do", oot imply Sungadominationof a
neishborine kingdoms. Besidesthe obvious
pol"lri.ali m-pli."tiJnsof Pusyamitra's asvamedhas' region or p"r-rrrg" by -the dynasry'.lndeed,.if
rituals suggests a renewal -i kn.* ih. ,r"-., of ruling familiesin the
ih" o.rforrri"n.. ofthe
of i."hmaoism that may have been related to variousregionsof SouthAsiaduringthisperiod'
the persecutionof Buddhists sometimes said to their nam-esmight more apProPriatelybe as-
chaicterize the Sungaperiod. The last Suiga sociatedwith the artisticremains'

Madhya Pradesh'
s.r. "Heliodorus" pillar. Vidi(a (Besnagar)'
inA". Sutig, period. Ca. l2o too B c' SandstoneH: about 6 5 m'

56
 TI{r SUNGA PERTODAND RILATED DEVEIopMENTS
JZ
Vrnrlia rw rna 5uftce prnroo

Although Pataliputra was the principal adminis- ing the wesrern coastof krdia with the Gansetic
trative center of the Mauryas and the home of plain, at leasrsinceLhetime of Sakyamuni_dud-
ouch Maurya art, other ciries gabed consider_ dha. lts in-fluencegrew with rhe A(oka regime
able.importance during the Sungapcriod. Vidiia and, under the later Suirgas,it becamea cipital
(modern Besnagar)in north-central lndia, Forex- city, a great religious center- and the seat of a
ample, had been an important mercantile center school of monumental art. Numerous archaeol-
on the southern aad e rctte(dak5i4apatha)connect- ogicalremainshavebeendiscoveredinits viciniw.
bur sysematicand comprehensivee*plo.arion
remalns to be done,
Included among the discoveries at Vidiia is a
large stone pillar bearing a seven-line Brahmi
inscription staring rhar the pillar was a Garuda
dhvaja(standard)setup in honor of Vasudevaby
a man from Ta-tila named Heliodorus, the
ambassadorof the Graeco-Bactrian kins An_
tialkidasto Kirg Bhagabhadra. in the fourieenth
year oF rhe-larter's reign (Fig. 5.r).i Several
rmportant tacts may be gleancd from these
words: first, lhe northuesr region of ancienr
India, or at least Taxila, was siill occupied bv
Greeks: second. contact was m"inrained b"_
tween the courts of the northwest and central
India; and third, an Indic cult was apparently
strong enough to attract foreign ,uai,
as Heliodorus, who is describid "o*itr,
as a blngauata
---rulent (devotee)in. the inscription.The specificiulr is
usuallyconsldered_to be a rype of proto_Vai14a_
sion of
vrsm, lor one of the namesofthe Iater popular
Hindu.god Visnu (Virhlu) is Vasudeva.iurther,
Viggu hasashis vehicle (vihana)the bird Garuda,
who was probably represented in the now_
missing crowning element of this Garuda
srandard.The dare oF the dcdicarioni, siven in
the inscriprion. bur is probiematic, ,i"n.. ,h.
probabie dates of rhe Graeco-Bacrriankins
Antialkidas.the identificarionof Kine Bhaga]
rug to
(who is rhoughtro b. th. ninih (uiga
ffad5a
king),,and paleographicevidcncehave nor y"et
Deen Dfougnt rnro agreement.However, rhe
range of rzo-roo B.c. seemsreasonablefor the
dedication ofthis pillar, and it may be seenasan
as-
importanr link between the art of the Maurya
f€
period and that of the first century c.c.
The pillar displays superficial iies to Mar,.ya
and pre-Maurya precedenrs. parricularlyin rhe
, ::adesh, capital.but.it is bareJyhalfthe ,ize ofa rypical
.i i: o.J m. 'Jtone
A(okan pillar. Further, the unpolished
 J8 PERIODOF THE EARLYDYNASTIES

surface and increased articulation of the shaft

indicate a significant departur-e from Maurya-
period worki The presentplatform surrounding
lh. b"t" of th. pillar is not original: as in earlier
exarnoles, the shaft would have appeared to rise
dir"crjv f.om the interior of the earth'
The decoration oFthe shaft strongly contrasts
with earlier examples. Instead of the smooth'
round form of earlier pillars, the Heliodorus
shaft is divided into four unequal sections:
starringat the bottom. the lower three are faceted
into eight, sixteen, and thirty-two sides respec-
tlvely,"while the top sectionis round A garland
in Io'* ,.li.f it carved between the second and
third .""tio*, perhaps in imitation of a fresh
q"rl"nd that -"y h""" been used to adom such
#ith
iilUrr. ftt" lotos-bell capital is decorated
ioio, 1""t", at the top, while above is a cable
the
necking and a square form carved with
"honey'suckle" motif and geese lf indeed' the
oill"r supportedthe man-bird Garuda' it would
iodi."t.iit..orrtir,uation oI the practiceof using 5.2.BanyantreecaP.ital.
Ma-
From Vidi(i (Besnagar)'
an animal as a crowning element, although the it u" p.ra.th,t-tdl".S,ligaperiodCa roooc Brownish
Garudais apparentlynoi includedin the earlier H: aboutr5o cm.IndianMuseum,Calcuru'
,l
,il ."o.r,oir.. ln l"te, lndic and Nepali art' Garuda
.r.idscone.

ll1 sta'ndards(/lruajas)are crowned by such figures:

a wish-fulfilling tree (kalpadrunaor kalpav1h5a),
they are often placedbeforea VaisnavitetemPle'
ii r*J"rr",ioo,
"ioood
th" pillar did reveal tbe
foundations of an elliptical structure' although
which serves as a gene."l symbol of the boun-
tifirlness of nature.z In style, the sculpture
tir little information about the building besides
its contrasts with the meticulously executed Maurya
examples, but the rnore freely conceived forms
il olan and the nature of the enclosure walls was
are chlracteristic of Suirga monuments and give
ietermined. Possibly, it was a Vasudeva(proto-
ilri them a lively and spontaneous effect'
Veisnavite) temple.
Ston" ."pr"r"ot"iion of human ligures on a
lir fuid.rr." of other stone pillars having been
erectedat Vidi(d is found in a pillar capitalcarved
monument^al scale are also known from this
rl:ll by oeriod at Vidi6a. None were found under con-
in the form ofa banyan tree, easilyrecognized
irl ih. ,h"p. of the leau.s and roots' which have irolled archaeological conditions, nor do they
bear revealing inicriptions, and therefore they
b..rr r., do*n by rhe limbs (Fig' 5 z) Although
must be dateJ by stylistic means. Although these
lrl it bearsno inscription,it may be dated to
Sunga period on- the b"sis of its style'
tne

-Below'
works are sometimes ascribed to the Maurya
period, their strong stylistic and technical as-
I form rests on a sacred railing' or
".b"rk"tlik" i."i"ti""t -ith of the Sungaperiod
uedika,o{ a type known to bwe beenconsrructed "riatti,
suqgestthat rhey were products of that period,
r""a"i ffees, mounds, or other sacred
".oorrd oJaos havinq been made around roo s'c'
soots known as caityasirr ancient India' A series '
Mort i-pr"rrive among the Vidiia figures is a
Jf obje.ts. including bags of riches' coins' by the bag of riches he
standins r;le identiFred
flo*".i, conch shell.and a lotus occur around
" These may rePresent the nidhis (trets- holds ii his left hand as Kubera, lord of the
tle tree. and king of rhe yak5a
an north, sod o[ wealth.
ures) particularly characteristic of Kubera' are believedto have
therreeis probably (Eig s i). Such Taksa statues
r"ai'.Joaof *""t,tt. Further.
 THE SUNGA I,I]TIOD ANI] RELA.IID DIVI]-OPi,IINfS 59

5.4. Fcrnalehgurc. From Vidii. (Besnagar),

Madhya
Pradcsh,India.Surigepcriod.Ca. roo B.c.Brounish
sandstonc.H: 2o3.5cm. Archaeological Muscum,

t1-

ii0

:,'11

::lls bcars no ffxcc of a polish. Ilorvcvcr, thc cor-

I l\'c pulency, rieitl stance, ancl {iontality are char-
, : ' : r r . F r o n l V i d i i t ( B c s n a i j a r ) ,M a c l h y . l P r a d c s h , rctedstics that persist frorn thc carlier epoch.
:.::gr pcriod. Cr. roo B.c. Srorvnish sanclstonc. As bcilts a lord of rvc:rlth, I(ubera is hcevily
:ris . . : : r ( ; . 1 u sb a s e ) .A r c h a c o l o g i c a l M u s c u l l , V i d i i . . adorncclrr.ith jervelry. Thc prcscnccofjelvelry
r1l- on both rn:rle rncl fcruale figLrresin Inclic ert is
thc rule rathcr than the exception.:rnclin itsclf
-:..:.J at village sacredsPotstlrroughout is rrot r symbol of t yah;a, horvever. Typical
i:_--ircprcscntdevotion to x cult of nxturc of the male clrcsscomlr-ronlysccn over the ncxt
'.,,1,.,r-.),usually comotitrg rveelth and several ccntrrrics is Kubera's plcatccl ,y'/rori-like
1a1':!
: : :i of nltnre. Unlike the .drli bcarers lou''cr gatntent and hcavy sash at the t'aist.
: :o d : r:.-.lioutrx(Figs.4.r:, .1.r3), r'"'hichrvcrc His torso is n[dc cxccpt for a picce of cloth
.,1 i .rrtcndantfigurcs, Kubcra must h:tvc placecldiagonalll.ecross ln carly Indic
tirc cl.rcst.
.: nrrin ollect of dcvotion. Tl.risis sus- scr,rlpturc,the tr,rrbanis an inportant lcaturc of
,is:r .:. drc sizc and n-ronuncntllity of thc for, almost rvithout cxccption, the
the costtrr-r-rc,
l.- ' '.rich rcachcs:r jreieht ol.ovcr thrce prcscnceof male l-rcadgcar colmotesin inclivic'lrral
illc ::-l is cervccl lroru e sirrglc piece of of rlnk, and nnnlcro!1sst)'listic variations on thc
' r ' . r . t ^ M . ' u yr J - Pr(l o d ( \ r r n P l c . turban rvill bc sccn.
:-ills
:: :t o1' this ancl other Sunea carvings A female figurc, uruch smallcr in scalc, is
 6o pnnroo oF TrlE BARLYDYNAsrrrs

approximately life-size (Fig. J'4)' Carved out
# ,h. ,"-" brownish sandstone as many other
obiects fiom Vidiia, the figure must also have
belna localprodtrct.Although their meaningsare
still unclear. the two attributesheld in her hands
orobablv provide important cluesro her identi6-
.rtion. ir,'the lefr hand is a bunch of fowers or
fruits hanginq downward with the stemsgrasped
in her haid'iin her right is a stiff object of un-
cedain nature. hr style, the {igure is similar to
the Kubera irnage but revealsa decided attempt
bv the carver to break away from the confines
oi the block of stone, unfortunately to dis-
advantage, for the legs and arms of the figure
were weakenedby the removal of the matrix
and eveutuallycollapsed.Apparently,the space
betweenthe iegt wis pi.rced througb and the
less and small amount of remaining manix
*i.. oot .oough to suPPorttbe figure' A rather
e*.roor rp"." betweenthe left arm and the
6odv futther indicatesthe freeingof this figure
f.om th. matrix, The roundedcontoursof the
bodv rvpify the volupruousfemalefigure that
b.""-" ti*d".d in many phasesof Indic art'
"
The forms of her body are highlighted by the
minimal dressand abundantjewelry, including
a beadedgirdle, heavy anllets, bracelets,neck-
laces,and earrings.

T H B M A T H U R AR r c t o N D u n t w c r x r S u r t c a P e l t o o

BesidesVidi6a, other centersof Sunga-period

art included ?ataliputra, Mathurd, Ahicchattra,
Avoclhva,and Kauiambi Sculpturesrecovered
fro* th.r. ,it", r, *ell asmany othersin north-
ern India indicate considerableartistic activiry
from that period.Someof the remainsfrom the
Mathura aieaareespeciallyinteresting'A colossal
statue of a standing male figure was found at
Parkham, twenry-two kilometers south of
Mathura (Fig. 5.5). Nearly three meters in
heisht. the fiqot" pt.t"tttt a monimental ap-
p.ir.r,.. b".rir. oi its size.frontality, and the
'h"^rriness
of the body forrns. The date and
identificationoF the {igure are controversial'
At one rime, its rnuch worn inscriptionwas
read to include the name of a king of the Sai-
sunagadynasty, which precededthe Nandasin
I4"eldh", i*age was given att extremely
""dih"
d.t.. But stylistically,the figure showsa
""riv
,ro*b., of featuresthat indicatethat
"dn"ttied
ti
i it is a product of the Sungaperiod' The full
I form of the bodv is, without doubt,partiallyan
I iconographicfe"tore.perh"pssuggestingwealth
as in the caseof yak5aimages,
"nd "tundatt"",
althoushthe identiJicationof the figure is not
certai;fte is usuallycalleda yah;a)'3However,
. a strikins difference between this statue and
.a.li"r e*'amplesis the dight relaxation of the
J.J. Male frgure. From Parkham, Uttar Pradesh,India'
left les, bestseenin a side view of the figure' Sotig" p.;oa. Ca. second-firsccentury B c Pinkish
This iuseesrionof easeof movement' while beis; sandstone.Hr 264 cm. Matburt Museum, Ma-
hardly rielating the effectof stiffness and front- thura.
 THE SUfiGA PERIOD AND REIATED DTVELOPMTNTS 6'
lrElx aliw. indeed demonstrates some of the freedom
E Sace ani animation characreristicof Suriga carvings,
{l: the and contrasts with the more formal conceptions
=Illx of the Maurya period. Unlike the thick garments
! ::ther depicted in Maurya art, this figure wears nearly
nc the diaphanous drapery that is primarily visible in
fgure
-.f the
: that B u D D H I S TA n r o r r n r S u t c a P n n I o o :
hric art. F n r r - s t . t u l r NG A R c H I T E c r u l a r M o N u 1 4 E N r s
:r' the
o:ading Sakyamuni Buddha founded the Buddhist
neck- monlhood (sakgha) and, according to some
Buddhist texts, accepted property and other
donations from the laity on its behalf. While it
might seem incongruous for the leader of a
mendicant order to accept property, the senti-
ment behind this sanction was not to acquire
wealth. krstead, it may have been partly a means
of setting aside a special reserve where the
monls (6lrll;r.rs) could attend to their daily
activities, undisturbed by the concerns of t}e
material world, and a way of providing a resi-
dence and means of sustenanceduring the rainy
rason. when it was difiicult for them to live as
homeless wanderers. Thus, Sakyamuni himself
is credited with justifying the establishment of
senledcommunities ofmonks, although perhaps
only in a limited season.
Sometimcssiresfor such communitieswere
rlected becausethey were related to an impor-
tant event in the liG of Sakyamuni. But often
dey were chosen becauseof their proximiry to
secr:lar capitals and trade routes. This is not
orprising, since the monks, although they did
not pursuethe businessand agricultural activities
of the laity, needed to reside where they could
rvail themselves of the generosiry bf the lay
people. In this way, a symbiotic relationship
could exist: the lay person could gain religious
nent (1tut1ya) without joining the monastic
order while at the sametime the monks gained
&eir sustenance.Tbis vital relationship is the
aux of the creation of much Buddhist art and
erchitecture, since the idea of sustaining the
monkhood soon began to exceedthe minimum
h.rs- India rcessities of food, shelter, a cloth robe, and
r:- Pinkish were
e beggingbowl, and elaboratemonasleries
16er*=, Ma-
boilt and decorated. These monasteries and
the zigzagfolds betweenthe legsand alongthe
sidesofthe legsin a typicallySungaconvention.
Since the arms have been broken oft, their
original positions are not known, and any
identi$ing attributeshave been lost.
their contents are the principal subject of the
history of Buddhist art.
Several architectural forms were apparendy
already in use by the sathghanot long after the
time of Sakyamuni. However, very little
remains of early Buddhist monuments4 until
the Suirga period, from which a number of
extremelv imoressive monuments has survived.
These constinrte the first significant body of art
that has been preserved and that can be tied to
the Buddhist relieion.
- One of the mosr important of the remaining
Suirga-period Buddhist communities is Saici,
a hilltop monastic complex near ancient Vidi(a.
Althoueh it is not associatedwith an event in
the liG-of Sakyamuni Buddha, it grew to great
prominence, as suggestedby the physical re-
mains at the site, Its history almost exactly
parallels that of Buddhism itself in the Indic
iegions, for it became important during the
reisn of Aioka and continued to llourish almost
continuously for about thirteen centuries until
the virtual demise of the religion in South Asia.
One of the oldest significant structures at
Saici is Stnpa II (Fig. 5.0). A stipa is a type of
reliquary mound, and is a form of caitya. Orlgi-
nally, the tetm caitya denoted either a mound of
earth or a sacredtree,.generallyenclosedwithin
a wooden railing, which designated the spot
where there had been a funeral pyre and con-
secration.In Buddhism, sflpas contained relics
and came to serve as symbols of a Buddha and
his parinirvana,or final extincdon. According
to Buddhist texts- Sakvamuni Buddha's relics
were divided into eight portions and distributed
to dift-erentkingdoms where slilpaswere erected
over them. These were later redistributcd by
A6oka, who may have enshrineda portion in the
6z ltnlol or rHE rARIY DYNASTIES
e
'. .::,
j.6. SrrrpaIL S.nci, Madh)a Pr:dtsh. InJr.r.S|rnqrpcriud. C.r.
roo B.c,
Grext Stapr rt Sarlci(Fig.6. r). Eventually,thou-
sanclsof other srrpdJwcrc raiscd in thc naruc of
Iluddhism, ili.".t rcfcrcncc to Sakyarnuni
", "
hir.nsclf,, asr,vcllasto all pastand future lluddhas,
inclrrclir.rgthc individual rvhose remains might
bc cnshrincclin any perticular exarlple.
Inscriptions lbuld on rcliquiLdcscotrtaincclir
Sarlci Stup;r lI indicatc that thc bonc relics
within drem belongcd ro fiinous Buddhist
saints and teachcrs who hacl livcd cluring thc
Mar.rryr periocl, so111cof who[r apparcntly
participatedin A6oke'sThird Buddhist Council
and othcrs rvho travclccl to thc Hinrilayes to
prc.rclr.horvcrcr. tlrc stupa .-r.rrc .cL it rod.ry
d o c . r r o t d . , t r 'f i . , n r t l t c M r r t r y . , p e r i o , l .b u t
radrcr, thc rclics rvere collecteclxt a letcr time
arld x rtrld built lor them. On palcoeraphic
:rml stylistic grouncls,,St[pa II, as scen today,
rrrey be cletedto thc Sungx period, ca. roo l.c.
TLc forrrr of tle .r,ra rnd its frrncti.rtr.-rsr
Budclhist objcct o[ dcvotion erc iucxtricably
rclrtcd, for the solicl, circnlar nnss cnclosed
rvithin a rriling (ucdika\is ncant to be circunl-
anrbulateciby Buddhist devotccs,tot lncrcly
vicrvccl. Circnlnatrb::ltton (parikranra) rcmaitrs
tlrroughout thc centurics one of thc lnost
irrportant neans of performing worship in thc
Indic rcligions.At Sanci Sr[pa II, it is believed
that the rvorshiper rvould circun-rambulatethe
cxtcrior of tl.re railing a prcscribcd number of
t i r r r c . . l c e p i n g l l ) ( l ) r o n L r n r c nrro l r i s r i g h r
(pradaksina),thus moving in a clockwisc dircc-
tion, ancl then rvould entcr onc of thc four
opcniugs in thc railir.rg. In this casc, althouglr
not rvitl.r every strpa, it is presun.ierlthat the
dcvotee rvonlcl cntcr on the exst so that at lcast
onc fr-rll rcvolution could be conplctcd rvithin
the enclosurc railing bcfore motnting thc stairs
o n t h . r t. i d e o f r l r es u 1 . at o c o n r i n r e t h e p r o c c , -
sio11o[ l low terrace srrrrouncling the central
domc. Althoush conccptually the railing should
L. . . . . . . . . , : . . l . t . - : - : | : - r r i c . :t ol t h l r
the bulgc crcatcd by the staircaseon tl.Ie east
was accoinmodated by incrcasing thc east-lvcst
axis of thc cnclosure. The four enrrances rn
the railing arc aligned to the cardinal directions
and the pattern of cntr.nccs thus produced
cre:rtcsa cosrDologicalcliagram in the form of
t spastika,
Iloth thc intcrior end exterior surfacesof the
railinq are carved rvith shallorv reliefs and
medallions to bc vicrved by the worsl.iper
pcrforrrring the pratlaksi4aitcs.In iatcr Bucldhist
r r r o n . l r n ( r r l,r .c o r n p J c t ac n J r y . t c r r , - t i ci c o n o -
 THE SUNGA PERIOD AND RELATED DEVTIO?MENTS O?

more garlands, gens, and other riches, is held

in the trunt of an elephant. The majority of
oillars on the Saffci StnDa II vedika are not so
elaborately decorated. Most simply have a
carved halGroundel at the top, another at the
bottom, and a full medallion in the center (Fig.
5.7, righQ. These roundels are filled with an
enormous array of motifs, however, including
the popular lotus, and other Buddhist and
related subjects.
. hr style, the reliefs of Stupa II rypify much of
Sunga-period art in their flatness and in the
way that the figures and other carved elements
seem to be set against a two-dimensional back-
ground, with little suggestion of naturalistic
space or progression into depth being implied
fiom the raised level to the more recessed
one. The figures generally lack individualiz-
ing characteristics based on plysiognomy;
instead, they are types, either male or female,
sharing essentialfeatures of body forms, facial
features, costumes, and jewelry. A similar use
:r::eved of stylized human forms occurs throughout
the the spectrum of South Asian art; frequently,
-.er of these selve as a major means of identifying one
5-7. Vedika pillar, nortb gate, St[pa II. Saffci, Madhya school of art from another. At StEpa II, the
rn rrght
hedesh, India. Sunga period. Ca. roo o.c. figures are rather awkwardly conceived,having
:.lrec-
:c four angular contours to their bodies, oversized feet
xE-rJugh that are oftcn posed in anatomically impossible
grephic program is often visible, but here, the positions,bulging shoulders,and roughly carved
; least iiividual depictions do not seem to form a facial features.They wear large, bulky earrings,
'Ihe
-ithin coherent pattern. uedika appears to be a necklaces, elaborate headgear (turbans, in the
tgE tta[s &ect imitation in stone of a wooden prototype, case of the males), and clinging garments that
:roces- rd it is probable that its form and decorations cover the lower parts of their bodies while the
_--:ltral
lad a long tradition in woodcarving prior to upper parts are generally bare. Thcir lively
=ould ir translation into stone. poses provide a senseof animation and spon-
i-. that Especially elaborate carvings appear on tle taneity that had been lacking in the more formal
=e east flanking the entrances.At the north gate, art remaining from the Maurya period. Spatial
a{-west &e inner face, an A6okan-type pillar is relations are unsystematicand are created more
!:i:L_:s ln with addorsed lions that suDDor.-a as a by-product of the juxtaposition of elements
or*uons caka surmounting a lotus capital and in the comoosition than bv deliberateint€nt on
riuced shaft, the whole enclosed in a sacredrailing the part of-the artists.
i:ro of 5-7)- On the adjacent face, ^ pipal tree rs At Bherhut, also in north-central India, the
within a similar railing and above, remains of a large stupa(nahastnpa)were found-
of the ftearersof wisdom) bring garlands, Its location along a major trade route of an-
i.r= and oF transcendent success,ro decorare cient India enabledit to benefit from the ap-
-':r-.hiper tree. Below, dwarflike figures support parent wealth ofthe region, as indicated by the
: l,:idhist r.jling, and an elaborate vine, perhaps a numerous inscriptions on the wdika that reveal
vine (kalpalata),adomed with that various portions were the gifts of lay
i:
t, .-
 THE SUNGA ?ERIOD AND REIATID DEVEIOPMENTS 65
persons who hoped to obtain religious merit
for their contributions. Alexander Cunningham,
who discovered the monument in r 873, esti-
mated that the original diameter of this once
impressive structure was more than twenry
meters, although it was in a ruined condition
at the time.
Built of bricks, it was surrounded by a stone
rcdika approximitely three meters in height.
In contrast to Stnpa II at Sefrci, where simple
openings in the uedika setved as entrances to
the sacred compound, the vediba at Bharhut
was adorned witJr monumental stone gateways
(tora4a). OnIy the eastem torct1a has beert
found (Fig. 5.8), but rwo other pillars with
fragmentary inscriptions containing the word
tora4am led Cunningham to conclude that there
rere originally others at the site, probably four,
oriented to the cardinal directions.sAn inscrip-
tion on the easremlor4adstatesthat it was made
during the dominion of the Sufrgas,c although
precisely when during their one hundred and
twelve year rule is not indicated. The paleo-
graphy of the inscription is later than that of
&e Heliodorus pillar, and generally,the Bharhut
xliha a:nd torotre are dated around roo-8o B.c,
However, the stupa itself may havc been
fumded at a much earlier date since it was
@mmon for a small stupa of one period of
Gonsmrction to be enlarged and have additions
nade to it (including uedikas and tora1as) durng
obsequent times.
LlLe $e uedika, rhe toranais a copy in stone
of a wooden architectural form, even to the
rthods of joinery used (Fig. 5.8).? It consists
of nvo upright pillars supporting three archi-
Eves that frame an entry space through which
*c devoteegainedaccess to the Jttp4 cornpound.
AftLough the torulld is badly damaged, an ap-
lnrenr iconographic program can be discerned.
Cln.ed on both the exterior and interior faces,
ic motifs of the rorarTa consist of figures and ani-
rel plant, abstract,and architectural elements.
Rcconstruction drarvine of e$tetr. torafia, Fro]..,
Madhya Pradesh,India. Sunga period. Ca.
r-c- Reddishbrown sandstone.H: about 6 n.
iiral rora4anow in Indian Museunl Calcutta.
The end beams of the cross-barstake the form
of makans, symbolizing auspiciousness and the
orirnal life source. Their bodies seem to unfurl
hom the spiral tails while the wide open mouths
appear to disgorge the forms representedon
the architraves. Crowning the toratla, plant
forms reminiscent of those seen in Maurya art
emerge from a lotus disc, and the whole was
topped by a cakta, symbolizing the Buddhist
teachings.The quadruplc pillar uprights of the
tarufia ^te indebted to Maurya art in thcir lotus
capitals and addorsed lions, although the sur-
facesare not oolished and thev lack the refine-
ment of many Maurya works.
The general appearance of the richly sculpted
pillars, crossbars,and coping stones of the
Bharhttt uedika is more lavish than the railins
of Stupa II at Serici. for the Bharhut uediktr
bears a carved design on every element of its
structure (Fig. J.9). Iach horizontal bar bears
a carved roundel, some containing human
forms emerging half-length from the centers
of lotuses and others showing popularly re-
presentedsubjectssuch as Gajalaksmi,a goddess
being lustrated by a pair of elephants(top left
roundel in Fig. S.s). The majority of pillars
have roundel and half-roundel motifs (Figs. J-9,
J.rJ, j.r6), while corner or terminal uprights
bear rectangular (Fig. 5.r7) or single-figure
designs(Figs. J.ro r4). A continuous motif, the
so-called kalpalata, or wish-fulfilling vine, ex-
tends the Iength of thc coping. issuing srrings
of gems, fowers, and fruits, and carrying
depictions of narrative subjects.In spite of the
fact that the format of the vedika is strictly
controlled,the diversiry of fornrs is extensive,
and it is therefore fortunate that many of the
subjectsare identifiedby accompanyinginscrip-
tions.
Ingeniously arranged on two sides of the
rectangular pillar to the side of the e st torana
is a royal procession bringing relics to the stupd
(Figs.5.9, 5.ro). An equestrianfigure depicted in
orofile on one side of the oillar seemsto fall
in step with the royal entouiage atop elephants
emerging full front from the adjacentface. The
figure riding the centlal elephant carries a goad
in his right hand while steadying the reliquary
casket with his left. Alonsside him and his
 66 pEnrol or rHE EARIY DYNASTTES
cornpanions, the rider of the horse holds a
port;ble pillar-standard (dhvaja staubha) related
io the stitionary tyPe secn since Maurya and
pre-Maurya tirnes, hcre probably intended as a
iov"l inrigrria. It is interesting to note the
,"."n.rbl"tJ" between this standard with its
square abacus, lotus capital, and bird-man
' sophisticatedand re{ined. Whether this is due
cieature called a &iimara and what was probably
the original concept of the Heliodorus Garu{a
I pill", vidii" (Fig. 5.r). Sincc rhis particu)ar
"i
,.rlptur. of rhe Bharhut lelil;r wls dedicated
by ln individual frorn Vidiia, as indicated by
js
an inscription,Sthis rc.emblancc even more
rernark"ble and may indicate drat the Bharhut
form was basedspecificallyon the Vidiit Pillar,
or a common prototypc.Bcne.rrlttlte procession'
a miniarure ,.,/i/,2,ii tuppo.t.d by e plinth oF
elephants on one side and potbellicd dwarves
on the orher. ln.r literal and figuracivescnse'
these powcrfut beinqs seernto bear aloFt the
,oo.rr,ru.,ur. of tf,i. rcligious ediflce The
purpor. of thi. sculpted processionmay hrve
5.9. Secion of rediA;. Frorn
Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh'India
Suriga period. CL Ioo-8o B.c.
Reddish brown sandstone. H:
about 3oo crn. Indian Museum,
Calcutta.
been to record a cerenony in rvhich a king
parricipated.perhrps even the consecrationof
ih. Bli"thut ir,ipo the burial of its relicsi
"nd,
it mav, however, be a referenceto the original
distribution of Sakyamuni Buddha's relics
Compared to the renderings at Sancl St[pa
II, the Bharhut formulation appears remarkably
to chronological, regional, or other factors is
not known. The Bharhut sculptures are more
deeply carved than their Safrci counterParts,
i-paiting a greater senseof presenceand three-
dimensionality to them. However, compared to
later Indic forms, a relative fatness Pervades
the Bhtrhut reliefs. The line used to define the
forms of drapery, jewclry, and other features
in the Bharhut carvings is crisper than that
visiblc at Stupa II at Sanci, although this may
be a partial result ofthe more weathered condi-
tion of the Saici reliefs.
Apparent discrepanciesin scalemay be hier-
itt potpot". In the procession composi-
"t.hi"
 ]lTE SUNCA PFII]OD AND RILA ]I,i) ]]F,V]:I-OI]\,1LNTS 6/

ll:

illrg
rof
ics;
:il1.ll I r , l i l a p r 1 1 : r rLu t h c i c p h r n t \.1r. I ilill. pillrr rvith Grcck 5 . r ' 2 . 1 1 , d i l : ap i l i x r w i h , , r ! , i r t l d .
.,r,,,r ln]lr llh1rhu'. \4:1- werrlor. Ffonr Bhrrhrrr, Mi- Irrom Bhalhut. Mllhvr Prrdcsh,
. , . 1 . ' . , .\ ' l. | ,,. ,. S ri .l I n d i e . S u r i c : 1p c r i o d . C a . r o o N o
::uPx :-.r tro r.c. ltccL{ish L,rorvr pcriod. C.r. roo lo r.c. licd- l.c. ltrddlsl! bronn srrdsronL:.
rL,lv , , , . I ; r d i . r , r \ 4 u s c ' u n r ,C l l - dislt brLr*r srrrdrtolc. Indirn Indir Nluscunr, Calcutt:r.
.luc Murclur, C}lrLrrrr.
'' is
lorc
_.trts, : ro. cxaDrplc (Fig. S.ro), the trvo side clistinctivc postuie and charactcrizcd by rncli-
,.:r atop clcph:rntsarc strikinglv small in vidualizingattributcs(Figs.J.1r r4). A war or
:!l to :: -,.ison to the ccntral fir'ure. While this in Grcck dress may be a rcprcscntetive of
:.'lc1cs r , ' . . r r h , r r L - 1 ' 1 , ''l" o L o o ' ' . -, \ ' rr ( Y o l l l l g thc rvcstcrn outposrs of the BLrddhistworld
thc r r . l i r t ! r l o l ' r h , i r y n r r l r [ r r,l J , 1 ' h ' r r r ' . (Fiq. j.rr); his costr.urcis coniplctervith boots,
-ircs : :,cl thiit the aninralsappc:lr too small iD iul itcm rarelv scenin Indic art whctc bilre fcct
:11:lt ::.rn to dicir riclcrssugqcststhat tlic arrisrs . r r i r l r er ' o r ' n . \ 1 . . ,. ' n c x r L p r i , ' ir rr r . r t o n r r l
:)ry - . 1 . i r r ,n , l , . l I o , r , l h - \ r , / .1 1n , i r lp u r - whcrc uralc figures are generally clcpicteclrvear-
lili- :. ii their compositiolls by rnanipul:rtinu ing loincloths or sarnents covering only their
lorver boclies,the tunic furthcr bctrays e rvestern
iier- '. . r ' f l . r s r r( , . r ( g " n , .o t - b , i r r v . ' p p c " r fasliion.Thc hair style of short curls cncirclcd
_ :-i:rs lroni thc Bharhut i,€/iAa,cach in a by e headband,thc tails of rvhich fly outward,
: Llosi-
68 ?ERroD oF THE EARIY DYNASTIES
strongly contrasts with the heavily turbaned
high-ranling men of ancient India. A double-
handed sword is held at the side by the left
hand of the figure asa guard might standwhile
on duty. But slippedinto the ties around this
weapon is a needlelikeform surmounted by a
circle and trident-the Buddhist wheel and triple
gem (trirdtna)signifying the Buddha, Buddhist
law (dharna), and the entire Buddhist com-
rnurlrty (sairyha).Its presencesgggeststhe role
of this warrior protector'of the Buddhist
"s "
f:;ith (dharwapala).The plant, possibly a grape
leaf and cluster,held in his right hand may be
an offering or a meansof identifying the {igure
and his role. In Indic iconography, attributes
held in the hands of various figures usually
provide important clues to tleir meaning and
identi{ication and are meant to be "read."
Their presenceat this early date heralds devel-
opments that eventually culminate in the
codified iconography of figures such as door
guardians,attendants,and bodhisattvas.If this
object is indeed part of a grape plant, this
migbt indicatefurther the westernassociations
of the figure. The figure is fiontally conceived,
although his feet are splayedto the sidesand his
head is tumed to his left. As in most Bharhut
sculptures,the carver has achieved a delicate
balance between the three-dimensionalform,
half-releasedfrom the pillar, and the linear
surfacedetails,such as the drapery.Thus, the
cascading folds of the garmentvisiblebetween
his legs form a lively but restrainedPatten
againstthe smoothvolumesof the legs.
From another realm comes a serpent king
(nagar-aja; Fig. :.rz). His handsarejoined with
palms together acrosshis chest in a variant of
afijdli nu&a (two-handfulspose),a gestureof
respectand devotion.Although humanin form,
he is identified as I nagaby his serpenthood.
An inscription specifically refers to him as
Cakavaka,King of the Nagas.Nagar are serpent
deitieswhoserealm is the v/aters.Like l4A{4r,
they carry connotatioru of wealth, fertility, and
the abundanceof nature. In Buddhism, they
serve as Drotectors of the "treasure" of the
religion, that is, the Buddhist teachings.Early
Indic cults, apparendypre-Vedic in date, grew
up around serpentswho appear, for example,
on Harappsnseals(Fig. z.r4). At an
early date, the nagas were considered to
been converted to Buddhism and nagas
imoortant elements in manv Buddhist
as devoteesand protectors of the religion.
This figure, like the preceding one,
subtly renderedin three-dimensionalas
linear'form and smoothsurfaces are olaved
against linear pattems such as that of the
The figure -wears an elaborate turban,
square-shaped earrings, and neck and
omaments, including a triple Gather
shared with his neighbor on the adjacent
of the pillar. Originally,the flagetujo
atop sculpted rock forms that had faces
out of cavesand a lotus pond below, as
from early photographs, but there has
defacement in recent times, The
eyes.slight smile on the lips, and flat
to the face and body typify the hgure
Bharhur.
Another pillar shows a gracefully
female figure, standing atop a horse-he
makara-teiled animal, while she grasps
nunk andbrancho{ an alokatree(Figs.5.r
In Indic iconography, there are two
explanations for representations of
"standingatop" animalsor other creatures.
first is as a veh)cle(vahara),as in the case
Viggu mounted on Garu{a. The secondis
the mamer of a victor trampling his
or standing atop the defeatedfoe. It is
which meaning is intended here. The
is identified in an inscription as the 1l
Candra. Ya&gis(or yah.sinis), like their
counterparts.the yaksas,arld like nAgas,
part of early lndic cults that were
incorporatedinto the fold of Buddhism.
figures are clearly associatedwith fertility
abundanceand may connote both their
procreativity and that of nature in
In this case, the 1a&si is in the form of a
deuata(tree goddess),and specifically, an
dohada, that is, a dohddawho grasps the
of at aloka tree. (When grasping the jal
suchfiguresare calledlalabhaftjikal)
a Prakpt word that means "two-hearted
and reGrs specilically to the longings of
pregnant woman, whose body contains her
 THI SUN'GA ])I]RIOD ANI) RLi-A'tI]D ])FVtLO]"\]]]NTS Oq

-t-.

i:'

:l rl:
'.cs

i-c

a;
.ti.
igc
!f 11r
''.1141

:.14c
-.od
Llrg
'n'n

:acll

PClr
: l.us
.a 1lt

'.)scd
:.icrl,
thc
_T,t).
rl1xin r. r4. 1)ct.ril oi l'alliri C.udra.
I.r3. I ililt priJ.rrrvith ltrlsiTi
Fl,m Lllrrrhut. Nl:rclhlr Pradcsh,
lLlrcs C . r , r J r r . l i , , r r r 1 ] h , r l , L r t \ 1 . r L l h \l
I n d i r . S u r i g : Lp c r i o d . C r . r o o S o
:. I ne l ' ] r . r r l c s hl., , d i r . S L , L i g :pt c t i o c l . { ) .
r.c. llctILish brou r smdstolc.
--isf of roo 50 r.(:. ]tr,Ll'sh bLonrt sand-
Lxliln Mlr\!'urn, C:rlcutta.
s t u , , : . 1 , r c 1 i a n , U , , s t L 1 ,C , )i,r l c u r r a .
i is irr
a11Cn1y
-lI1clc:lr
''. oil1illl .: :hr,t of hcr unborn child. The terrn rhvdrrl and srv:i,vto th.r position ol hcr boclv,
1'dL'-rii1i
Lss stifl_ncss,
f r c l , .r r . p l ' r , t 1 ' t . ' d t r t r r r, . anclgrcltcr ov.'r'torlcs oi scusualiry
: - 1r lrtle :- !ii.l to lotlg for thc toitch of a bc:Lrl- then sccn in othcr cxarnplesof lcnrllc figurcs
- . :,:r. :rs this cxr.lscsthcnl to blooln. lionr Bharltrt, slrggcstillgthet it rvescrcetcclb,v
1 , 1 - i .w c r e
. -'ntually , rr:. rhc r/ola,1amighr bc s:rid to cn- a rllxstcrh.r[(l. In hcr hair is a scarl]ilc form.
:rr. S,.rcir .-. r' I lr^ rr.c lil r,r. Pirr'Her l,-rng,tlick br.riclfalls ec.osshcr shotrl<ler
l:v and --..a!\ :r ticc or lls ] \\'ili mcct\ and bchirrcLhcr hip ir-L:l sirrLrousnrlllllcr lllxt
llct
\, rioubjc referclrcc to fruit bcrng .,lo r l , l . r r r ro f r l r I I ' r ' r ' r ( ' \ ' . . \ r r l rI I I

:ancr:11. :- :ir occurs in thc blossottring trcc anclour ofthc cmbr:rccoihcr lirlbs.'lrr'o lelvcs
, ' tL-.n- :..:Lr. of thc dolra,la's lcft ttano, rcsr:nrbiirrq thosc of th.r prpal trcc enrl r ccnirel
:1 ,r-(rrl.1 | - r- 1 .' ' . r'L l r o ll r r , rlcllelliorrl irh rriralrra-likc fbrms ir hcr ncckhcc
5t luch - L: ench lionr thl-- a.'ofo trec es tl sugqcsr llndJhist s,vnrbolisru. Thc cxclttisitc
_, r:n hcr lvornb. carving of detailsof rhc trec, thc fiaturcsof thc
,;i trce,
irrda ts . .. rhcrc is vcry littic "clcacl specc" facc, and othcr clcnlcnts of thc surf:rcctuark
- -i ol-ie" r:r anntr:Lstto tllc Prcvious c'xalr-rPles, this scLLlpturcas onc of thc rrilstcrpicccsof
- rt,rncLagainst thc ll:rt backgroulld lJharhLrt. Thc faciel clccoration Irrll rcPreseit
, c,f the
: r!-I OlVn a
: fi:rs irgurc has grcater scnsc, of fattooinq or lice paintirre, prxcticcs that xrc
7O PFRIOD OF THE EARIY DYNASTIES

stil] crlrrcnt in sornearcasof SoutJrAsil tociay. : '-.,: ,: ., ,

.
As in other figures fron Bharhut, hcr cyes l-ravc
an elmond sl.rape atrd apperr wicle opcn, aithoush
it is possiblethat thcy, along rvith those of other
fiqurcs at llharhut, lvcle once paintccl.
A variety of subjectsis clepictcdwithin the
nnnlcrolrs roundels and rcctanqularplnels on
rlr, ,1ila. :^nrr .(ct)(\\(( rr ro rLli ,llr(\rly
to Sekyarr,-rniBudclha, although hc is trot
shown it audrropomorphic form in thc rclicfs.
T l r e - p p . , r c r .r'tb . c r ' , ^, f ' r r , r r ' , . ' g . '' , f i ' k 1 . ' -
n r t r r r io. r o f a n y o r l r e rB u d J r r . l o r r l ' n r t t , . , i t c r .
in thc ertant early Buddhist monuments of
ancicrrtIndie hls long beenassumedto rcflect re-
ligious rcstrictions applying to such dcpictions,
and argumeuts for an aniconic pirasein thc art
h a v c b e c n p . r r F o r t l ra n d u i d c l v r c c c p t c d . l 0
This belief has been basedto a grcat extent on
thc assrllrlptionsthat the early surviving Bud-
S.rs. Vedikarorrndcl shorvhg Mahakapijataka. Fron
dhist nonuments of India wcrc made by Hina- Bharhur, Madhya Pradcsh,lndia. Suillr period. Ca
yana Buddhists, that the Hinayena tradition of roo-8o E.c. lleddish brorvn sandstonc.Indian Mr.rsculn.
Buddhisn prcccdcd thc Mahayana develop- Crlcufta.
ments, and that Htniyanists did not emPloy
imagcs in their lvorship u'hile Mahayanistsdid.
Ilcccnt researchinto the nature of carly Bud-
dhisrn has demonstrated that tl.ris scquential desirablc, their use may havc bcen reservedfo:
arrangcment of thc Hinayana and Mahayana certain portions of the n-ronun-rent, perhaps nc:
devclopnents is inaccurate ancl that the trvo the railing or gateways,which are generally wha:
traditions of llucldhisn developed in a parallel remain. It nay also be suggestedthat the subjec:
n r . r n nr. l r o n ) r r c - r l y d . , r c . l lI r t r ' . i t i . t t o r mattcr clcpiccd in the early rcliefs ernphasize:
necesslril,vtrue that any carly Budclhist monu- aspectsof the Buddhist relieion other than th.
ment from lndia bclongs to the HinayaDa tyPc persons of Sakyamuni arcl other Buddhas.r:
of Bu.ldhisru. Furthcrt'norc, a survey of the Pali Thus, tire absenceofBuddha inages in tirc rclic::
canon, the religious tcxts of the Thcravaclins,a may not have bcen duc to a purposefulavoidanc:
leading Hinayana scct, docs not rcveal cvcn a or a restrictivc anicouism but may rcllcct simpl-
' p e c i f i ct r r r r r . r pl r n l r i b i t i o r ro . r i t t . itr r t . . r-g , t h c p r c v . ' i l i n gc t t t p r t a . c 'r v i r ) t i nt l r c r e l i g i o r :
"irrglc
n-raking,so that cvcn if such early Indic nronu- For examplc,the cmphasison the perfection.:
nlelts rvcrc Hin:lyanist, it does not fol]olv thet virtues is cvidcnt from the popularity of depic-
thc abscnccof extrnt Buddha in-rlges lvas duc tions of jataAd stolies. Sakyaniuni, like otlrr:
to rcligiousinterclictions.l? enlightenedbeings,could remenber his previor
It is thcrclore cvicicut thet the rcasotrsoften err\r(nc(..,l,rring $lrrch l)e \vir. .r Poten!:
cited to exphin thc lack of Buddira irnases in Buddha (bodhisattva). Tl.resestories, rvhich rt-
early BLrclclhist art:uc laulty, ancl that othcrs c o u n rb o t h h i ' . r t r dh r r r t r . rinn c r r n n t i o t
"nimal
n l L l . tb ( . o t l g ] l fi o e r p l . , r rtl r c p ' t r c r t vo f r . - are krrown s jatakas (birrh stories), ancl t'cr:
r r r . r i r r ' . l1n3 l l ) , c . r \ co f r r r / p dd c c o r' t i . , t ' .t r r t l . , y s,-rpposedlyrcvqalcd by Sakyan.runito his disc
ha-'e bccn unnecessaryto use Buclclha iurages plcs to tcac)rthen.rccrtain lessotsby his cxampi:
becauscof the emphasison the rclic inhercnt in The Mahakayijatuka (Fig. J.rJ) dcrnonstra!.
such nronurncnts in the carly phasesof tsucl- the perfornrance of sood works tolvxrd one
dhisn.la Or, if Buddha inraqcs rvcrc deenecl relatives. Sincc the stoty conccrns an atrimal i
 THI SUNCA I)FjIIOD AN]] RILATED 1)EVELOIT]\,1EN'I
S 7I

keys rlonq thc rinr of thc rourrrlcl, all llcins

left, lcarlsthc vicrvcr'scyc arounclthc circum-
\, l c r . r ' . . .r r l ' i l , . r r i r r r r c,ri r ,l c r , I r r . n I , 1 r l r c
nonkcy king's outstrctchcrl llorrn:urclthc {igurcs
reprcscnte(l bclorv. The totel c6i'ct is a livcly
r',
d r . r . . ' r '^ r ' ^ r r ' . r r ' , l l . r i r - l r , , r | . . i r . . r l . , r
-1 format. Enrphasisis on kcy cvcrrtsin thc nxr-
--- . .1- i ralivc rathcr rh:rt logic in tcrms of tinre, specc,
or scalc.thc lattcr,llilr.hich is acljustcclso rlrt rhe
-rJl
tlecsand thc rivcr appcarsrnal1corrrpalccl to the
1-." figrrcs rrrci nronkcvs.Thc rivcr js snrnnurizccl
by a narrow strip witir lish ancl r,vaves,provicl-
i n g . ' L " c k d r o pf o r t h c 5 \ c r cw i r l r n r .rr' 1 ' . t . ' g i r r g
\,t'.
thc r-naincharacters.
,//, This crnpJrasison tllc colnnlrlricetion of thc
rcligior-rsuressagc:rt thc cxpcnsc o1ir,vhatmight
b , c . ' l r . dr c T l i . r rir. o r r c o f t l . , r r r . i n p o r t u r r
charactcristics ofthe relief scr.rlpturcs lt Bharllut
and other sitesofthc Sirneapcriocl.Furthcrmorc,
I lr/i^raroundcl sirorvinq purchasc ofJctalanir-rle
it Lemaiusonc of thc dorninarrrfcaturcsof Inclic
: Cla. )::!.rsti. Frorn lShirhur, Mrdhya Practesh, iDdir.
:: p c ' r i o d . Ca. roo 8o B-c. tlccidish bro*.n sand-
art throughout its dcvelopmcnt.Such:rn ertistic
i. In.litLrl Musclrr, CxlclrrriL. choicc must rellcct the civilization'sbasic ap-
proach to art. which wls not epparently ail-rccl
at capturirrg tlic likcncss of the physical rvorld
withall its pcrnrutationsin a systeuratic, cohcr-
:d for : ::.:,tion, thcaeis no feasonto cxpcct aDantluo- ent, anclconplehensivc fashion.
:.s not . :: orphic clepiction of thc Bucldha. C)nce, Often, a consistcnt vicrvpoint and pictorial
. rvhat .:l hc rvas king of eighty thousand monkcys, loeic arc frecly acljLrstccl to suit drc reeds of drc
,-Lb.ject , :nolkey-boclhisattva stletched his body narrativc or composition, es sccn in a rclief
t,lslzcs : lr c tlec to anothcr acrossa rivcr so tlut , l e I ' c r i n gt l , c ; , r r r .r . . . co f r l r ,J c t . r ' r J r . l r r . .: r o v .
:.11thc ::hcr monkcys coulcl useit asa bridge and at Sravxstifron.r llharhut (Fig. 5.16).Hcrc, thc
_ll:ls.-" -' rttrck tion r humau king anclhis cntour- cletrcnts of the conrpositionarc shoq'n a]nost
fcliefs ,ho had comc to find :l fanous rna[go :rsif in dcfirr.iccof spatial loeic and thc larvs of
r.l rce ::-.,.rborc cxtraordirurilylusciouslruit. The erevity. Instc:Lcl,thc builciings, pcoplc. encl
,inlPly :::nilkc)'r i.vho u'as the inclrnltion of thc trccs arc set eskcrvarrtl arc arrlngecl 1[ore to sllit
.rg1on : .:.r'scvjl cousitr,Dcvaclattx,stonrpcclon thc clcnmnclsof thc cilcular folnrat than thc
: : t o no f .-hisattvx'sbrck and brokc it. Irlpressecl cllrracteristicsof thc physical rvorlcl. Furthcr, as
.1cptc- . n . r ^ , r \ o I t r r cr r r ^ n k c l)i r r r ' . . . ' c r i f i c c . in thc casc of th,cMahakapi jata,la, more thar
other :.:::r.-rrs carcclftrl him, anclthc nonkcy king one nronrclrt in ti1r1cis clcpictcclrvirl-rinthe singlc
r,viotls : .:::lrt tl,c humen king thc virtue ancln-rc:rn- corlposition. For cxanrplc,thc iabcl bclorv thc
!cnrixl - : ._-rio\\'11actlons. rounclcl inclicetesthat tl.Lcrclicf illLrstratcsdre
::ah re- .::, iocicle'nts,skillfully rrrange.l, sLrn.L- story ol thc purchrseof r grove by Anathepin-
'.-,1tiol1s, : '.:'-,s jntaka in thc lJl-rarhut roundcl, dlda. uho \{l11tcdto donerc it to Sakyanruli
-] \vere ::a monkcys cscepinqacrossthc out- BLrcldheend thc IJudclhistcornrr.runit),. Tliis
:. clisci- : r..r.lvofthc nLonkcyking, thc scrvants event is dcpictedil thc right half of thc coru-
:.rrrrPLe. ,:::r: hoicling e cloth in rvhich ro catch position by thc s,orkcrs who lLrc covcring thc
Iri!IateS : ::,:.'',king,;rnd thc monkcy anclhnnan gronnd rvith picccsof qolclin oldcr to nrcct thc
: onc's . j.:j-l o1rsrnlll stoolsrvhilc tlre monkcy oLltrilgcoLis pricc rcclucstccl bv Princc Jcta,
:rel in- :..-_--.'r. The errengcmctrtof scvcralmon- os,trer ofthc qrove. Holvcvcr, thc tlvo buiiclings
72 PTRIOD OF THE EARLY DYNASTIES
in the left half of the composition, identi{ied
by inscriptions as a gandhaku1i(fragrant hall) a-nd
a ko5anbakuli(treasurehall),16were built after
the ourchase of the land, and therefore must
,"o."r.ot dif,erent time frame,
" used.
bther inconsistencies with the laws of the
ohvsical world include the fact that scaleis used
io'.mphasiz. celtain aspectsof the narrative,
not to' create the illusion of pictorial depth'
The figure in the center of the composition
holding a ewer is probably Anathapi4{ada, who
is emphasizednor only becauseof his position in
the relief but becauseof his large size compared
to most of the other figures. The smaller sizes
of the frguresat tLe leFt rear oF the composition
and the workers at the right were determined not
by their positions in space but because they are
of lesserimportance than Anathapi4dada' This is
suggested because the worker at the front right
of the scene is as small as the two at the right
rear. (The large figure at the right center and
the other below Anathapindada are unidentified,
but are apParently also given emphasis through
scale.)In addition, the buildings and the bullock
and cart in the lower center are small in relation-
ship to the figures while the square coins being
rpriad on the ground are large. Such use of a
hierarchic and selective scaling remarns an es-
sentialfeatureof most schoolsofSouth Asian art.
The lack of individuality accorded to human
{iqures in the art is another characteristicpresent
dJring the Suirga period at Bharhut and other
sites. Again, it is one that becomes one of the
basicfeaturesof Indic art. In general,the figures
from a particular school of Indic art are char-
acterizedbv broad swlistic traits that include the
manner of depicting facial features,body types,
and manv asDectsofcostume and omamentation.
Such charaiteristics are often central to the
definition of the school of art itself, for it is rare
that a wide variety of physiognomies occurs in
a given art school or that figures are consistently
shown with portraitlike individuality. Instead,
figures are depicted as types, a fact that rein-
fo.c.r the suggestion that the principal aim of
Indic art was not to capture the likeness of the
phvsical world or its permutations.ln this relief.
Ljy -"1. figures appear. Each wears a turban
with a prominent knotlike element, though the
workers at the right do not wear the
costumes of the other figures. The
virtually indistinguishable fiom one
all beinig essentially of the "Bharhut
though both a full front and profile
In this relief, as in others at Bharhut, it i
to explainthe absence
necessary ofa depi
Satyamuni nuddha by a theory of ani
for he was not a ParticiPant in the events
recorded. As in the case of jatakt tales that
ohasize virtue and unselfish behavior, the
mary meaning of this relief is
lated to the generosity of
not aneventin theliG ofthe Buddha.
Similarly, there is no reasonto assume
relief usuallv identified as SakvamuniB
descent from the Trayastrirhia heaven,
preachedto his deceasedmother, would
of him, for tbe subjectis
representation
likelv a depiction of the site where'the ever
curred and devotions that later took Place
rather than a narration of the event
5.r7). It is well known in Buddhism,
and other Indic religions that holy srtes
are accordeda positionof supremei
related to religious devotion and pilgri
Emphasis on tifihas rr:^y be traced to an
date and Abka himselfis creditedwith
visitedthe sitessacredto Buddhismin
century B,c. Sankasya,where the
descent from Trtyastrifiia is believed
taken place, became a major pilgrimage
Buddhistsandwasapparentlyprominent
bv Maurya times, for it was one of the si
cluded in ASoka'spilgrimage itinerary.
dhist textsrevealthat Sakyamunidescende
Treyastrirh6a on a ladder, and that he
companiedby the Vedic godsIndra ,nd
whoie ladders flanked that of the
The lowest seven stepsof these
believed to have been preserved at
and upon them, early devout kings
to have erected new ladders that served
focus oF religiousdevotion at the site.
In the Bharhut relief, the three sacred
along with a sacred tree and a)tar,
main obiectsof devotion. Surroun&ng
are rows of human male figures with
 THE SUNGA PERIOD AND RELATED DXVELOPMSNTS 7'

3:
-:rirlcely
E -ces are
.{l:frer-

tew ls

r]: l. is not
!€l.tion of

being

re-
and

that a
::ddha's
o:ere he
:: bear a

:t:nt OC_
:";!= there

j::.luism,
ttftn4s) S.r7. Vedika per'el showing worship -at Saikasya. From
Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India. Suriga period. Ca.
roo-8o B.c. Reddish bror,r'n sandstone,Indian Museum.
!r-::1mage, Calcutta.
i-e early
ravmg
=e third ing figures, probably uidyadharus or orher celes- were being porrrayed, there would be no ex-
::ddha's tial beings, hovering above. The male figures planation for the absenceof imaqes of lndra
:o have ere clearlydevotees, asindicatedby the position and Brahma, since the presumedieligious an-
site for of their hands(when visible) in the afijali nudra. iconisrn would not have extended to Brahmanic
elready All the figures are alike in costume, facial deities. The sacredtree in the relief mav reoresent
ites in- Gatures, and expression,in keeping with the one planted at Sailasya to co*-"-orit" the
;. Bud- Bherhut style, but here,none is distinguishedby Suddha's visit to Trayastrirh(a, where he
:C from :ize, placement, or any other artistic device. preached to his mother while seated under a
je -.\_asac- Tbe principal distinction between the figures tree. It is possible, then, that this relief and
: Jranma, i ttrat some are depicted as if front-facing, odrers often given an aniconic inrerpretarion
::Jona.'' cl'o's are shown from the back, and two, at are not aniconic at all. Rather, it might be
were 6e lower left of the composition, are in profile. suggested *rat the Buddhological mesage of
:;ikasya, Tbis arrangement of the figures suggeststhat many of the subjectsdepicted in early Buddhist
-:re said @ ruy be part of a clockwisecircumambula- art was not an emphasison SakvamuniBuddha
i as the ry processionaround the stairs and sacred or his life but rathir related to other aspects of
ree aad *rat the {iguresare devoteesperforming the religion. The depiction of n ha, or more
- iadders, w$ip at the site, after it had already become specifically, the devodons made at nrthas, was
::rm the nowned, and not rvihessesto the descentof probably associated with the concept of the
rr them *e Buddha, Indra, and Brahma. It misht be mertt (pxrya) the devotee acquires by making
:wo fly- rggested that if the acrualeventof the Jescent sucl1P gnmages,
 74 PNRIODOF THX EARLY DYNASTIES

In this relief, as in others at Bharhut, the

artistshave not shown concern with the ohvsical
world or its characteristicsfor their own sake.
Therefore, while the overlapping of forms
suggestslayers of space,the overall impression
is flat and the spatialrelationshipsare somewhat
contradictory. the Get of the forward-facing
figures at the front right, for example, rest on
the lower edge of the composition; however,
these figures scem to be further back in space
than the figures seen fron the back at the front
left.
A common motif on the Bherhut uedika is
the lotus medallion. Sometirnes. the ooen
biossom is shown alone as if from so rhat
a symmetrical, regular design is "bov.
created (Fig.
J.9). But a number of lotus roundels also bear
representationsof the faces or upper halves of
humans or humanlike figures (Figs. j.9, j.r8).
It is unclear whether these individuals are meant
5,r8. Vedika ro.undel. From Bherhut, Madhya Pradesh,
to be seenas if emerging from the lotus or have India. Suiga period. Ca. roo-8o s.c. Reddishbrown
; another associationwith the blossom. However, sandstone.Indian Museum, Calcutta.
the lotus is a symbol of transcendenceor trans-
cendent birth from an early date in Buddhism
(although it has other meanings as well), and it
is possible that the beings who peek out of the jatahos and other narrative depictions,the style
centers of these fowers are individuals who is more easily observed.The eyes are alrnost
ii
._!
have achieved a transcendentstate. In general, diamond shaped and have sharply defined
ll the figures are of princely or noble rank, as double outlines.The noseis somewhatflattened
,i may be inferred from theirjewelry and headgear but has prominent nostrils. The face is rather
It (Fig. 5.r8). Often, they hold anributes in their two-dimensionally conceived,with little atten-

li
hands and these may sorne day help to unravel
the meaning of these conigurations. The figures
reveal many of the same stylistic features seen
in other contexts at Bhtrhut, although because
{i the Facesare generally larger than those in
tion givento the sculpturalqualityofthe cheeks,
eye sockets,chin, brow ridge, or other three-
dimensionalmodulations.Like other fisures at
Bharhut. thesecarvingsrevealrhat the Sufrga-
period artistswere mastersof their craft.

R o c K - c u r A R c H r r E c r u R Eo r r n r S u n c a P r n r o o : T n r ' W r s r r n N Drccan

The tradition of rock-cut architecture such as
that seen in the Ajivika caves in the Barabar
and Nagarjuni hills grew and developed over
the centuries,gradually becoming highly elabo-
rate in concept and execution. A nurnber of
Buddhist cave complexeswere excavatedin the
second and first centuries r.c, in the western
Ghats (steps),a mountain chain in westem
India forming a nearly unbroken wail more than
a thousand rneters high and varying from about
forty-{ive to ninety kilometers from the Arabian
Sea. These Buddhist settlements generally in-
cluded at leastone worship hall, calleda car4,ahall
becauseit contained a stupa (caitya)as the main
object of veneration, as well as numerous other
excavated cells that comprised the living
quarters for the monks, called uiharcs. General
characteristicsattributable to the aesthetic and
 THE SUNGA pERroD AND RELATTD DEVnropMrNTs 7i
srylistic preGrences of the period as well as
religious requirements account for certain simi-
larities among the sites.But each.cavecomplex
was unique, pardy becauseof rhe necessiryof
adapting forms to the given shape and form
of the landscapeout oF which the cavesryere ro
be excavated.and partly. of course, becauseof
sectarianand personal diferences between the
individuals who oversaw and executedthe work.
Because its architectural form seems to be
rransitional between that seen in the lomad !.9i
and related caves of the Barabar and Ndgarjuni
hill5 3nd d1q more developed caitya halls-ii dte
westem region of tndia, the caitya -roohall at Kon-
divte is generally dated around n.c.ls The
cave consists of a long etrtry hall and a small
circular area that is nearly filled by a snpa that
hasbeencarved out ofthe living rock (Fig. 5.r9). Skelcn Plaf Not To Scat€
The simjlarity of the ground plan to ih"i of il"
5.r9. Plan of caitfa hall. Kondivte, Mahara$tra,India.
Loma6f.si cave(Fig.4.7) is obvious, but the Kon- Ca. roo B.c.
divte hall is entered on the short side rather than
the long side of the hall. Therefore, the devotee
enters facing along the main axis of the excava-
tion, as in the case of all later cairya halls. All
traces of the original facade, whecirer of stone
the style or another material, have fallen awav. but the
ere almost round chamber conraining the stupa (Fjg.
5.2o)
:.. defined seems to be an imitation of structurJ form
with wood lattice windows. There "
flattened is just enough
i= is rather roo-m fo1 a person to walk around the srtrpc
r ::rle atten- within the cell, creating a circumambulatoiy
;i::e cheeks, Passage.
:.=er three- One of the best-preserved early Buddhist
iqures at rock-cur monasteriesis *rat at Bheja, in westem
=e- Suirga- India. On the basis of the paleojrapha of in-
=:ii. scriptions found at the site -a A. ,tyt. of *r"
moluments, the major phase of excavation at J,2o. View of rltpa chamber in rai4la hall. Kondivte,
Mahar,stra, India. Ca, roo B.c-
Bhaja is believed to have taken place around
t@-7o B.c. A large caitya hall dominates the
site and was probably the worship center of the
:rm about coar:nunity (Fig. 5.zr). Other caves,rectangular structural wooden entranceway complemented
ae fuabian or square in shape with numerous small cells, the rock-cut portions and closed off the now
ln- vete the uihtuw, or monastic dwellings. Typical open view into the cave. The most dominant
'nlaja
z -ityahall of Sunga-period rock-c:t cditya halls, the element of the rock-cut facade is the larse
- maln Fr.rnple seems to imitate a presumed free-
horseshoe-shaped arch. Seen in an ear[er foim
:cs other rending wooden protorype in ihe detailing of at the Loma6 f;.9i cave, this desisn must have
lor living 6e facade and interior- gamed grear currenry *roughout ancient lndia,
General The original appearance of the damaqed for_it appears almost ubiquitously in early
ic and 6cade is unknown. but ir is possiblethai a Buddhist monurnents, framinq thc marn en-
76 PTRIOD OT THE EARLY DYNASTIES

|
,rS@"
'
I .:-rz ,&! $.
j

5.2r. Caitla ha1l.Bhaja, Mih,ratlra, Indix. Ca. roo-7o n.c.

J.22. Detail, facadeof rairyahali.

Bhaja, Maharastra, India. Ca.
roo 70 B.c.
 THE SUNGA PERIOD AND REIATED DEVELO?MENTS 77
ooo.o
j.23. Plan of caitya hell- Bhejd, Mahd-
raglra,India. Ca. roo-7o D.c.
tranceways into caitya halls and repearing in
miniature, blind arcadeslike those fanling the
central arch at Bhaja. Care has been taken to
render the rafters and beams as they would
occur in wooden buildings. Human figures
carved on the facade leat over mock balconies
and peer through false windows (Fig- 5.zz),
giving a senseof actuality to the scene. In style,
these figures strongly relate to terra-cotta
sculptures of the Suirga period with their elabo-
rate headdressesand jewelry and their rather
awkwardly conceived bodies and poses.
In contrast to the Lomai Rli cave and Kon-
divte caitya hall, the Bhaja excavation consists
of a single hall rather than two chambers (Fig.
J.23). Its rounded end, containing the caitya,is
reminiscent of the circular room in the earlier
examples but the enclosing wall is absent.
A row of pillars, not seen in the earlier exam-
ples, extends around the pedmeter of the hall,
thus dividing the interior space into a cen-
tral area and a U-shaped aisle surrounding it,
a feature that both imitates a structural ele-
ment of the wooden prototype and provides a
circumambulatory passagefor ritual devodon to
tAe stnpa. The central hall has a high barrel-
vaulted-wpe roof while the side aisles have
ooooo
oooooooo
much lower, half-vaulted-typeceilings.Wooden
dbs that copy the interior appearanceof a free-
standing wooden model have been appended
to the ceilings of the central hall and side aisles,
although they serve no structural purpose in
rock-cut architecture. In the same way, the
inward leaning pillars refect a sound architec-
tural principle in a wooden building but have
little function here.
As is rypical of this early phaseof Buddhist
architecture, sculptutal decoration is minimal
within the cave, although painting may have
oncecompletedthe decorativeand iconographic
scheme.The octagonalpillars lack capitalsor
basesand the stupa is devoid of embellishment
other than the double railing that enclosedthe
chattrafumbrella\ that once oowned it.
Bhaja is perhapsbest knowa for one of its
viharas,r'lumber rq, which contains a number
of sculpturalscenes and an elaboratedisplayof
architectural forms. Approximately contem-
poraneouswith the larger caityahalI, this cave
consistsof a rectangularveranda with a cell at
one end and a seriesof chambersat the other,
adjoining an inner square room off of which
are two smallercellson eachof two walls (Fig.
5.24). The irurer square room correspondsto
78 PERIOD OF THE EAXLY DYNASTIES
J.24. Plan of Vihere 19. Bhaje, Mahereitra,
India. Ca. roo-7o B.c.
the open courtyard around which monks' cells
would be grouped in free-standitg vihard archi-
tecture; the asymmetry of the arrangementof
cells is a characteristicof the early date. On the
facadeas well, an asymmerical grouping is
usedas two pillars are placed io the left, of the
entrance while five appear at the right (Fig.
s.2s).
Belying the plain exterior of the uihara, the
interior is elaborated with sculptural forms.
Simulating wooden architecture, the roof of
the veranda is carved into a halGbarrel vault,
with curved ribs and beams (Fig. 5.26). The
careful mortising copied into the stone version
of wooden architecture refeats an advanced
degree of technical development in wooden
architecture an'd considerableskill in carpentry.
'tll.ter-
In the sofiit below, seven voirle stupas,
spersed with atlantid-type {igures, represent the
se'vefl nafiuti Buddhas, who are the earthly
Buddhas of the past, including Sakyamuni.
Flanking the entrance to the chamber at t}te
right end of the veranda are rwo intriguing
sculptures commonly identified as Surya, the
Hindu sun god, in his celestial chariot on the
left, and Indra, the Vedic god of thunder, atop
his elephant mount on the right (Fig. 5.27).
However, this identification raises more ques-
tions than it answers, not the least of which is
the purpose of prominently displaying Brah-
manicalsubjectson the wall ofa Buddhist cave.
While Brahmanical gods, especiallyIndra and
Brahma, do appearin Buddhist literature and
art, Suryais more rarely includedin the Buddhist
repertoire. Furthermore, when Brahmanical
gods do occur in Buddhist,contexts, as when
Indra and Brahma escort Sakyamuni Buddha
to earth after his visit to Trdyastrirh6a,their
rolesare clearly subservientto the centraltheme.
The prominence of these two relieG in the
Bhaja viharu would seem to contradict this
-----^l -^.i--
It is possiblethat the reliefsdepict unidentified
jatuhas otother Buddhist stories,or perhapsa
procession of royal figures.1e But thesesugges-
tions, too, fail to ftrlly explain the numerous
peculiarities of the reliefs. For example, the
horsesand chariot in the relief at the left (Fig.
5.28)ride over the body of a demonof gigantic
proportions,while the meleeofforms surround-
ing the elephant scene (Fig. 5.29) includes
sacredtrees enclosedby railings, one of which
is hung with garlands,the other, with dangling
human forms, while more humans seemto be
dropping from the uprooted tree held in the
trunk of the elephant.Llaborately dressedmale
{iguresseatedin posturesof royal ease,dancing
girls, and animalssuchas the lion attackinghis
 THE SUNGA PERIOD AND RELATTD DTVELOPMENTS 70

j.rJ. F.lcrdc,ofVrh.rr] 19. Bhej..

_\rrnarlstra.
lnclle.La, IoGTo B.c.

r'.:6. Detaii, verandaroof of Vi-

,::.r r9. Bhaje,Mah,ra9gra,IDdia.
::. roo To B.c.
 60 ?ERroD oF THE rARLy DyNAsr.tES

I l r _i
i

J.22. View toward entrance to cell at right end of

Viham r9. Bh,jt, Mahar:stra,India. Ca. too-7o n.c.

t23. Horse-charior group. on verrnde of Vihrra r9.

J.29. Croup uiLh elephanr and ridcr. on verandr
Bhija. Maherastrr,lndir. Ca. roo_7oa.c. ot
Vrhara r9. Bhjja. Maharasrra.India. Ca.
r u u _7 0 B . c .
 THE SUNGA PIRIOD AND RTTATED DTVTIOPMENTS 8I
prey between the hind legs of the elephant are
also included in this scene.
One basic similarity between the two re-
liefs, the depiction of trarnpling some type of
figure, rnay provide a clLrero their mernings.
The small figure seated on the back of the
elephant holds a standard that bears a symbol
similar to tlre Buddhist cakraand triratna,possibly
indicating that he and his companion are sup-
porters of Buddhism. The personagesriding in
the chariot and atoP the elephant rnay be
"trampling" the enemies of Buddhism, while
the uprooting oftrees may relateto pre-Buddhist
cults (such as that of the yaksas) that the Bud-
dhistshad to ovcrcome. Support for this sugges-
tion is found in ASvaghoga'sBuddhacarita,a
text of the late first or second century ,t.o.,
which expressesideas that probably had been
in existencefor a long time. In it, there is great
concern over the Buddha's subjugation of
demons, yaft;as, and minor divinities that had
been plaguing the Buddhists.
The compositionsare freely executedand have
an unplanned, random appearance,Elements of
the horse-and-chariot relief spill ovcr onto the
adjacentwall of the veranda; thc composition
actually turns the comer as if the figures were
truly converging in total disregard of the
definitions of the architectural form. As in
other Sunga-period reliefs, thc carving is fairly
shallow and seems to create a texture on the
surface of the rock. Naturalistic scale is not
observed and a hierarchic order is imposed so
that the most important elements of the com-
position are the largest. No consistent ground
line or unified perspective is used as it is ap-
parently not the sculptor's intention to simulate
tle experience of the real world. Typical of
Suirga art, the figures have rather flat faces,
exrremely elaborate headdresses, heavy ear
ornaments, garlands, and jewelry. Their simi-
larity to the figures on the facade of the Bhaja
caitya hall (Fig. 5.zz) suggeststhat they were
approximately contemPoraneousworks.
A rock-cut platform (reinforced in modern
times by blocks of stone) attached to the front
wall ofthe cave (Fig. 5.27) n y have been used
for an image or other object of worship or may
have been a platform used by a rnonk during
5.3o.Wdl of imrerchanberof Vihara19.Bhaja,Ma-
India.Ca. roo-7oB.c.
haraSga,
meditation or teaching. Shelvescarved into the
walls of the inner central chambcr of the cavc
may also have bome devotional objects, a
suggestion reinforced by thcir nichelike ap-
pearance,createdby the horseshoe-shaped arches
above (Fig. J.3o). These "shrines," however,
would be too small for a monk to useasa seat.
Another important group of early Buddhist
cavesis at Pitalkhora, also in western India. In
their original state,the cavesmust have presented
a spectacular appearance! for they were ex-
cavated along a curved mountain wall with a
river bed below and a waterfall at one end.
Today, however, many of the caves are rn
ruined condition. Misjudgmcnt on thc part of
the original excavatorsregarding the limitations
of the stone accounts in part for their cunent
ruined condition, for when the artisans ap-
parently attempted to translate the fonns of
wooden architecture faithfully into stone, they
neglected to modify featuressuch as the thick-
ness of the walls. The result was that some of
them collapscd. This is clcarly visible in Cave
6, where the wall between two narrow cells
was only severalcenrimetersthick.
Like many other cave sites in western India,
Pitalkhora underwent more than onc phase of
architectural and sculptural activity. On archi-
tectural grounds, Caves rz and 13 seem to
predate the l*ge caityahall, Cave 3 (Fig. i.3r),
 62 PERIOD OF TI{E EARI,Y DYNASTIES

JI
l J

0,40 190 -\
0 l0 q0
La Many Fallenwalls Fosiored Forclariiv ol
[,1

India'
5.3r. Site plan. Pitalkhora,Maharatlra,
Second and {irst centuries s.c.

which may have beenexcavatedalound roo*7o singlearchitecturalconcePtion (Figs.5.31, 5;2)-

n.c.. roushly contemporaneous with the Bhaja They may be considered approximately con-
excav"tiJns.' a,,ogg"rt"d by paleographic and temooraneous, around roo-7o B'c,, on the basis
itylistic and architectural form and the
stylistic evidence. Cave rz at Pitalkhora takes of
paleoqraphy of the inscriprions in Caves 3 and
the shapeof the developedrairya hall in its
continu;us contour, but is devoid of pillars i. rtri L.!" caityahall is in a much ruined
Cave r3 haspillarsbut its shapeseemsto refect condition: many pillars are missing and the
the consciousmerging of two earlierforms, that rttpd is almost completely destroyed.Like the
is, the long hall and the round chamber,into a BGis hall, this cavewas enhancedby wooden
unit, and thus, the rounded form seemsto bulge additions to the curved ceilingsand its inward-
at one end. Since these caves bear features of Ieaningoctaqonalpillarsare without basesand
both the earlier and later types, they may be ."oit"i.. Alsolh"lf-tarrel-vaultedsideaislesflanl
considered to rePresenta transitionalphase. thi ,o".". The stzpawasfound to contain
""rrtr"l that
Originally facinga commoncourtyard,Caves crvstal reliqirariesset inio chiseledsockets
"and, were then plugged with fitted stone slabs,indi-
f. +, pottibly, z probably belongedto a
 ]]tE SUNGA PERIODAND RELATEDDIVELO?MENTS 6J

'lt
t

j . 1 2 . V i e u , ' , n r a i n l y C a v c s 3 a n d 4 . Pit.lkhora, Mx-

l3rastr3, India. Ca. too-7o B.c. J.31.Entranccto Cavc4. Pitalkhora,
Maharasrra,
hdia. Ca. loo 70 B.c.

..32).
'_on-
,i.rsis
r the
: and
'-tl1ed
- the
: the
rden of thc cave (Fig. :.::). f'hc transition from
--_l
the oute. courtyrrd through the dark stairwell
:lnd nay havc been intcndcd to instill a changc of
,ank nood, a quictuclc, il thc devotee. Circular
::lain sockcts iuside the door jarnbs rmy have bccn
!hat used for attaching rvooden doors. Extcnding
:ndi- to thc glrt ofthis cntranccis e plinth cornposed
8l ?ERroD oF THB BARrY DYNAsrrEs

5.35. Dwarl From Pitalkhora, Mahadstra, hdia. Ca.

roc-?o B.c. Greyish stone. H: 106.8 cm. National
Museum. Nev,r Delhi.

in their carving than the rather awkward figures

at Bhej5, thesesculpturesare also more three-
dimensional, for the figures almost appear to
lean back againstthe wall rather than form part
of it. Their finely-pleated lower garments,
large turbans,and earringssuggestties to other
costumesof the period but the armor they wear
is unusual(Fig.S.:+).A repeating{loral motif
consistingmainly oflotus blossoms and"honey-
suckle" fiamesthe doorway while two elephants
proceedingtoward a centralform that is now
J.34. Detail of draftpala flanking entnnce to Ceve 4. destroyed (undoubtedly a sculprure of Gaja-
Pitalkiora, MahtrSglra,Ldia. Ca, roo-7o D.c. laksmi) appearabove.Becauseof the elaborate
entranceto Cave4, it may be assumed that this
was an important vihdra, eventhough its dam-
aged state today revealslittle of its original
of life-size,carvedelephants(Figs.5.32, 5.33). grandeur.
Visually and symbolically, theseseemto support A number of sculpturesrecoveredfrom the
the caves. Two door guardians (duarupalas) debrisat Pitalkhoraaugmentour knowledgeof
fanl< the doorway to Cave 4. With gently the range of subjects and forms at the site.
smiling expressions,the figures look outward, Arnong these is a corpulent, smiling dwarf
etemally wide-eyed and awake, with their standingwith arms upraisedin apparentsupport
iavelins and shieldsat their sides.More refined of a bowl (Fig. s.:s). His eyes are carefully