The Mauryan Empire – Art and Architecture

The history of art in ancient India virtually begins from the reign of Ashoka. Whatever we find in Indus valley is isolated, its continuity is broken. We find for the first time, buildings and structures of permanent materials like stone, rock and brick during the Mauryan period. During the Vedic and later Vedic period buildings were made of impermanent materials. It was Ashoka who substituted stone for wood the common material for the construction of the buildings. This change from impermanent to permanent material was due to the desire of the emperor under whose patronage the Indian art flourished considerably. From circa 2500 BCE to 250 BCE is a long period of which we have hardly any record in the matter of artistic expression. The architecture of this period was mostly of wood and has perished without leaving a trace behind.

Mauryan Architecture

Ashoka was a great builder. The legend which ascribes to Ashoka the erection of eighty four thousand stupas within the space of three years proves the depth of impression made upon the popular imagination by the number, magnitude and magnificence of the Mauryan architectural achievements.

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

  1. Remains of the places
  2. Remains of the stupas
  3. Rock-cut caves.

1. Remains of Palaces

Megasthenes gave a detailed description of the Mauryan palace where the king resided. It was magnificent and famous for its artistic excellence. According to Megasthenes, the entire palace was made of wood and in splendour and magnificence it was better than the palaces of Susa and Elbatana. So imposing was the structure that it was universally believed to have been erected by supernatural agency.

Fa Xian (Fa-Hien) who visited India during the Gupta period, was so much impressed and surprised to see this palace, its skill and work magic that he thought that it was not the work of men, but of spirits. The Royal palace and halls in the midst of the city (Pataliputra), which exist now as of old and which piled up the stones, reared the walls and gates, and executed the elegant carving and inlaid sculpture work in a way which no human hands of this world could accomplish.

Similar residences must have been built for the establishment of Kaushambi and other places and also for the Kumaras serving as viceroys. The excavations of Bulandi Bagh and Kumrahar near Patna have been carried out and remains of this palace have been actually discovered. Remains of some pillars of very huge size have been found, particularly a hall built of high pillars. Thus the accounts of Megasthenes and Fa Xian (Fa-Hien) are very well supplemented by the archaeological evidence.

2. Remains of Stupas

A stupa was usually destined either to enshrine a casket containing the relics of Buddha or other saint or simply to mark permanently the reputed scene of some incident famous in the history of Buddhist church. Generally a stupa was erected in honour of a Buddha. Origins of the stupas are to be found in the Vedic and later Vedic ‘chitas’. The stupas, are in purpose, similar to the Egyptian Pyramids. It is possible that architecture and designing of Pyramids must have influenced these stupas. It is significant point to note that stupas of huge bricks were made in India only after Ashoka when Sindh and Western Punjab had been in possesseion of Persia for hundred years and when Egypt was also a province of Persia. Hence, it is possible that the architecture of the stupas might have been influenced by the Persian art like other artistic monuments of the Ashoka.

A stupa was a nearly hemispherical mass of solid masonry either brick or stone, resting upon a plinth which formed a perambulation path for worshippers, and flattened at the top to carry a square alter shaped structure which was surmounted by a series of stone umbrellas one above the other. The base was frequently surrounded by stone railing. Sometimes the entrances through the railings were equipped with elaborate gateways (toranas)

As stated in Divyavadana Ashoka got built eighty four thousand stupas all over his empire. Yuan-Chwang who travelled in different parts of India visited these stupas in Afghanistan, Sarnath, Sanchi and Taxila in Northern India; Tampralipti and Pundravardhan in Eastern India and Kanchi in South India. Now we shall discuss the art of stupas erected during the Mauryan period.

Stupa of Bharhut

The stupa is situated at Bharhut a village in Nagod state of Baghelkhand, about ninety five miles south west from Allahabad. It is a stupa made of bricks having a moderate size nearly 68 feet in diameter, surrounded by an elaborately carved railing bearing many dedicatory inscriptions. The stupa has wholly disappeared and its sculptures were principally devoted to the illustration of Buddhist Jatakas or Birth stories. As at Sanchi the buildings were of different stages the stupa itself probably dating from the time of Ashoka while one of the gateways is known to have been erected in the Shunga period.The more or less similar railing, fragments of which exist at Bodhgaya has been generally designated as the ‘Ashoka Railing’ but in fact belongs to Shunga times like the Bharhut gateway.

Stupa of Sarnath

The Dharmarajika stupa of Sarnath was possibly erected during the Ashokan period. Here we only find the ground plan. Mauryan polish is still visible on its railing. The stupa was erected at a place where Buddha gave his first sermon to his five Brahman companions.

Stupa of Sanchi

The principal stupa at Sanchi which stands on the top of a hill at a distance of 25 miles from Bhopal is built of red sandstone. Its diameter is 121 feet and its total height is 77 feet. It is enclosed by a massive plain stone railing having four gates in four different directions, 34 feet in height, covered with a profusion of relief sculptures. The railing too is covered with sculptures depicting either scenes from the life of Buddha or incidents from his legendary past lives. The art is essentially of folk art with an intense feeling of nature. The method is that of continuation narration suggesting everything. The stupa is one of the important monuments of Ashokan period. Other stupas in the neighbourhood are more or less alike in form.

3. Rock-cut Caves

The Ashokan age is also note worthy in the history of Indian art from the point of view of cave architecture. There are seven rock-cut caves of the Mauryan age. Four caves are to be found on a hill named Barabar in Gaya district. All these caves were excavated for the residence of the monks of Ajivaka sect and these were places of shelter during the rainy season. The cost of such work must have been enormous and the expenditure of so much treasure on the Ajivakas is an evidence of their influential position and the catholic spirit of Ashoka for the Ajivakas were extreme fatalists having nothing in common with the Buddhists. Three other caves are to be found on Nagarjuni hill. These caves too were dedicated by the grandson of Ashoka – Devanamapriya Dasaratha to the monks of Ajivaka sect.

These rock cut caves are important because of two reasons; firstly, they are the first examples of buildings in rock-cut architecture, and secondly these are the excact imitation of former wooden buildings. The cost, labour and skill in turning these huge rocks into residential places is remarkable in reality. The interiors of these caves are highly polished. Thus the cave architecture in the age of Ashoka seems to have attained a high standard of workmanship and excellence.

Mauryan Sculpture

The figure sculpture of the Mauryan period is important not only in the history of India but also in the world sculpture due to its workmanship, beauty and artistic magnificence. We shall first discuss the pillars of Ashoka. Since these are standing independently and upon them we find animal sculpture, these can be placed among the sculptural work.

1. Pillars

Ashoka took special interest in erecting monolithic pillars, inscribed and uninscribed, in great numbers and designed on a magnificent scale. No less than thirty pillars set up by Ashoka have been found so far. Xuan Zang (Hiuen-Tsang) mentions specifically sixteen of such pillars, four or five of which can be identified with existing monuments more or less convincingly; and, on the other hand most of the extant pillars are not referred by the Chinese pilgrim. These pillars have been found in Bakhira, Lauriya-Nandangarh, Rampurva, Sanchi, Sarnath, Kaushambi and Allahabad. It is important to note that these pillars are distributed over a large area stretching from the northern bank of the Ganges to the Nepal border and were erected at the places connected with Buddhism. A Mauryan pillar consists of a shaft, surmounted by the capital. The shaft, plain and circular has a slight taper upwards is made out of a single block of stone (monolithic). Over the shaft is the capital being another piece of stone and fixed to the top of the shaft by means of a coper-dowel. The capital consists of an inverted lotus design, abacus (platform) and carved animal sculpture in the round. The surface of both the shaft and the capital has the Mauryan polish.

The perfect uninscribed pillar at Bakhira near Basar, the ancient Vaishali in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, is a monolith of fine sand stone highly polished for its whole length of 32 feet above the water level. A square pedestal with three steps is said to exist under water. The shaft tapers uniformly from a diameter of 49 inches at the water level to 38 at the top. The total height above the level of the water is 44 feet. Including the submerged portion the length of the monument can not be less than 50 feet and its weight is about 50 tons.

The inscribed Lauriya Nandangarh pillar in the Champaran district of Bihar resembles that at Bhakhira in design but is lighter and less massive and therefore appears graceful. The polished shaft diminishes from a base diameter of 35 inches to a diameter of only 22 inches at the top. The entire monument is nearly 40 feet high.

Two mutilated pillars exist at Rampurva in the Champaran district of Bihar. One Pillar was surmounted by a finely designed lion and the other uninscribed pillar had a bull capital.

The Ashokan pillar found at Sarnath is the most famous among all Ashokan pillars. The abacus has an originality in having four animals – elephant, horse, bull and lion – separated from one another by figure of wheels. These wheels and animals have been carved out in moving position. The pillar represents the high watermark of the evolution of the capital. The whole pillar is gracefully united and indeed it ranks among the best sculptures of which our country is proud.

Sixteen centuries later in CE 1356, the two Ashokan pillars which now stand near Delhi on Firoz Shah Kotla and the Ridge near Bara Hindu Rao Hospital were transported by Sultan Firoz Shah, the one from Topra in the Ambala district and the other from Meerut. Their transportation and errection bear eloquent testimony to the skill and resource of the stone cutters and engineers of the Mauryan age. No pillar has yet been discovered in the distant provinces, where the Rock Edicts were incised.

2. Figure Sculpture

A few huge figure sculptures are ascribed to the Mauryan period on the basis of two facts; first they have the Mauryan polish and second they are made of sand stone of chunar. These figure sculptures are mostly the portraits of Yakshas and Yakshinis. Two such Yakshas have been found at Patna having Mauryan polish. However the ascription of these figures to the Mauryan period is by no means all certain.A fragmentary relief on a piece of stone belonging to Mauryan period is remarkable. It is intensely lyrical and subtle figure of a young surrowing woman.

3. Terracotta Heads

Terracotta is a material combined of sand and mud. A few male heads from Sarnath and Rajghat are also ascribed to the Mauryan period because they are carved out of the chunar sand stone and have the Mauryan polish. It is very likely that they are parts of portrait figure. Their special feature is their headdress.

4. Rock-cut elephant at Dhauli (Orissa)

This rock-cut elephant at Dhauli coming out with fore parts of the body from the natural rock is artistically far superior to many Mauryan Sculptures.

5. Monolithic railing at Sarnath

This railing was found at Sarnath. It is made of sand stone of chunar having Mauryan polish. It is artistically excellent and smooth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *