Imperial Decline Political Monarchies Buddhist Stupas

Imperial Decline
After Ashokas death 232 BC: political decline set in and the empire began to break up Continuance of the metropolitan area evolving of core regions into independent states Ganges Plains remained the nucleus of the successive kingdoms

The reasons assumed for this decline include: A revolt from the Brahmans due to Ashokas pro-Buddhist policy His obsession with non-violence led to the emasculation of the of the army laying the country open to invasion Strain on the treasury due to the need for maintaining vast armies, and finance salaries of bureaucracy and cost of establishing settlements A record of famine in eastern India, with the revenue from agrarian areas not being sufficient to maintain the entire empire.

Multiple centres of political ambition emergence of regional states

The immediate heirs: Shungas, (Brahman family) officials under the Mauryas Occupied with wars: campaigning against the southern neighbours in the Deccan, Hellenistic Greek inroads from the north-west and Kalinga to the south east Within hundred years, the kingdom dwindled to the boundaries of Magada and it fringes Monarchical systems were more widespread Secondary states: Kalinga under Kharavela associated with Jaina monasteries,Tosali developed as Buddhist site Attributes of royalty such as conquest, patronage and the welfare of the subjects were accentuated, royalty being emphasised in the sculptures and reliefs in the surrounding caves

Multiple centres of political ambition emergence of regional states

Shakas, Parthians, Kushanas and Kshtrapas Nomadic pastoralists in the interaction with existing kingdoms evolved into a pattern with the nomads dominating sedentary societies giving rise to kingdoms Raids and control over grazing grounds changed to control over and administration of resources Shakas of central Asia: acquired sophistication reflected in their burial chambers graves constructed in timber, variations in size and content based on social differentiation Population impacts in central Asia (building of the Great Wall of China, famines and continuing raids) led to migrations and movements impact on northern India Nexus between Roman trade and central Asia seen as an avenue to prosperity similar to trade between the Mediterranean as part of the Roman empire and western India Kushana dynasty: may have reaced the middle of the Ganges plains important cities like Purushapura, Mathura The terrirtorial span, intermingling of peoples led to royal patronage extending to various religions Buddhism, Jainism, Bhagvata and Shaiva sects, Zoroatrianism and the Hellenistic cults Kushana governance gradually diminished central Asia intervention with conquests, migrations and commerce shakas pushed southwards in the regions of Kutch, Kathiawar and Malwa

Multiple centres of political ambition emergence of regional states

Satavahanas 1st century BC: Satavahana dynasty established in western Deccan sometimes called the Andhra dynasty family originated in the west and later extended its control to the eastern coast with the name Andhra Pattern of chiefdoms and kingdoms - the newly established kings performing Vedic sacrifices as an act of legitimization The west coast was becoming a contested area aggravated by the trade from Roman Egypt The Deccan became the connecting link not only in politics, in trade and significantly in the spread of Buddhism and Jainism The weakening of the Satavahanas corresponding increase in the power of local governors claiming independent status 3rd 4th century BC: Shalankayanas, Brihatpalayanas and Ikshvakus arose south in the peninsula Ikshvakus: located further south of the Krishna valley showed a gender division of patronage the kings performed Vedic sacrifices and women were generous donors to Buddhist Sangha

Network of routes and Trading centres

Evolution of trading centres of various kinds - by the development of far-reaching routes Greater dispersal of craftsmen, with many gathering in centres where there were markets Smaller exchange centres located in the proximity of sources, while larger markets were in towns Coastal shipping was common water routes being cheaper than land routes but the danger of pirates also made it expensive Mauryas had built a Royal Highway from Taxila to Pataliputra continuously rebuilt at the time of Shershah, the Mughals and the British (Grand Trunk road) with its current revival as National Highway no. 1 The Deccan became a hive of market centres, production centres and Buddhist monasteries where majority of the megaliths, the stupas and fortified settlements evolved The activity in central Asia paralleled in the historical emergence of the Silk Route and the trade that it carried not a single linear route incorporated number of branches that led off from oasis towns. Oases were places where animals for the caravans could be replaced or replenished and armed escorts recruited to overcome bandits and severe climatic conditions Indian traders were establishing trading stations and merchant colonies remote regions were being opened up by the merchants as well as Buddhist missionaries. Indian merchandise was copper, sandalwood, teak and ebony and exports to India included pearls, dyes, wine, dates, gold

Rise of the Mercantile Community c. 200 BC AD 300

Economies of Exchange Through all the political vicissitudes of the Shungas, Kanvas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas, Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, there was an increasing visibility of the merchant and the artisan although with regional variations in its presence. Indo Greek kings strengthened contact with western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean The Shakas, Parthians and Kushanas brought central Asia into the orbit of the Indian merchant, which in turn encouraged commerce with China Gahapatis, generally the large landowners, are met within votive inscriptions as donors to Sangha Production and exchange were facilitated through the institution of the shreni. These organisations enhanced production essential to commerce - an important factor in urban life Artists joined a shreni it was difficult to compete as individuals with professional organisations and it offered a status and degree of security. (Arthashastra artisans of any craft constitute a guild) The shreni fixed rules of work and the quality of the finished product, its price in order to safeguard both the artisan and the customer. Banners and insignia of the guilds were carried in processions, depicted on sculptural panels associated with some Buddhist Stupas as well as honouring the guilds for their donations to religious institutions recorded as votive inscriptions.

Rise of the Mercantile Community c. 200 BC AD 300

Education, Literature and Systems of Knowledge Apart from their role in the economy, the guilds provided education, although formal education remained largely in the hands of the Brahmans and the monks of the Buddhist and other monasteries. By restricting membership to artisans of a particular craft, the guilds became centres of technical education.

Buddhists contented themselves with tumuli surrounded by gateways and railings, or else caves of a simple kind cut into hillsides.The architecture of free standing monasteries was an extension of domestic architecture.

This period also saw astronomers and cosmologists began a dialogue that enriched theories of time. The shift was from knowledge based on experience alone to an inclusion of experiment and analyses, derived from practice and from formal knowledge.

Rise of the Mercantile Community c. 200 BC AD 300

Social forms Expansion in trade and commerce also meant an increase in guilds, with employment of many more artisans and greater access to wealth.

**the post Gupta period saw the rapid emergence of new jatis, cults and states, challenging set ideas, which again produced a crop of normative texts and commentaries.

Votive inscriptions recording donations at stupa sites such as Sanchi and Bharhut complement the bas relief panels in presenting a picture of the reasonably well-off. With few exceptions, these inscriptions record donations from guilds, artisans, small landowners, monks and nuns.

Architecture and Visual expression

Buddhist religious architecture consisted of viharas, monasteries, stupas, chaitya halls, some free-standing and some cut into rock at hillsides.

The new architecture would have been determined in part by religious requirements and the need to distinguish these buildings from the domestic architecture.

Votive inscriptions also had to be clearly displayed, narratives in the life of the Buddha made accessible together with the message they carried, and the occasional congregations of worship on particular days had to be accommodated, all of which required the structure to be impressively large. Size was also a pointer to power and prestige demonstrated in the increasing size of the stupa

Architecture and Visual expression

The free-standing complex had early beginnings at Kaushambi, Sanchi and Bharhut, but with the spread of Buddhism monastic complexes gradually became more elaborate, as with the magnificent monastery at Takht-i-Bahi near Peshawar. Cave monasteries probably grew out of the initial attempt at seeking isolation. Where the location was on a trade route in a hilly area, the rock cut complex was natural, particularly in the western Decca with its layered volcanic rock, relatively easier to excavate. The ground plan of the vihara, monastery, was based on its being the residence for a group of monks and therefore, evolved from domestic architecture. A large courtyard space was surrounded by rows of small rooms the cells for the monks. The courtyard sometimes had a votive stupa which was used for convocation of monks. It could also be used for community meals.

Architecture and Visual expression

The origin of the Buddhist stupa, traced to pre-Buddhist burial mounds, was a hemispherical mound built over a sacred relic either of the Buddha himself or of a sanctified monk or saint. The relic was generally kept in a casket that was placed in a smaller chamber in the centre of the stupa. A circular platform provided the base for semi-spherical drum or tumulus. This was flattened at the top to accommodate a small square platform from which a shaft ran down for the relic casket. At the centre of the square was a post with a series of superimposed umbrellas. Encircling the drum was a fenced path symbolically separating the sacred from the profane.

Unlike the temporary sanctification of the location of an area for the sacrifice, the stupa was a permanently demarcated sacred place. The relics symbolized the presence of the Buddha or the person being venerated, and the stupa became an object of worship.

Underlining the separation of the sacred and the profane areas was the spilling out of daily life, as depicted in the bas reliefs carved on the railings and gateways.

LOCATION
1. 2. 3. Bimbisara, King of Magadha > contemporary of Buddha He built a monastery near his capital > a shelter during monsoons for the Enlightened one and his disciples What is a suitable location not too far from city also not within easy reach of people. A place concealed from the general view and well suited for a secluded life. Why proximity to city? >Buddhist monks were obliged to go begging for half of everyday Why detachment from city? > Rest half of day comprised of religious duties seclusion was important Why Sanchi? > near the trading route of Vidisha; situated at the confluence of two rivers a significant meeting point of two caravan routes, one running from N-S and other from E-W

4. 5. 6.

DEVELOPMENT
1. 2. Under Mauryan dynasty > Small monastery situated at the mountain ridge at Sanchi Under Shungan dynasty (post decline of Mauryan dynasty) > Vidisha became the royal residence one of the most powerful cities in central India. Under Gupta dynasty > Decline Sanchi deprived of its economic basis of its existence 13th Century AD > Sanchi was abandoned by the last monks

3. 4.

SANCHI (3rd cent. BC 11th cent. AD)

1. 2. 3. 4. Most monuments located on flat top of hill Flat plateau surrounded by a stone wall > added during last phase of occupation 10th 11th century. This zone is occupied by the majority of features > largest monument (Stupa I) and a smaller replica (Stupa III) Other edifices > basements of smaller stupas, apsidal-ended shrines, structural temples and monastries; also free-standing columns. These are laid out in 3 groups An ancient path descends to the plain from the NW corner of the plateau Beneath the hill to the west is another monastery and a stupa

5. 6. 7.

chatrayashti vedika

Pradakshina patha

SANCHI (3rd cent. BC 11th cent. AD)

1. 2. Four entrance gateways - N,S,E and W North and North western area The northern entrance leads to Stupa 3; surrounded by Temple 31 and series of free standing pillars. Towards NW stands Stupa 1 Southern area occupied by a structure (building 43) which differs in plan from others on site; a cruciform building of uncertain purpose has round bastions at the corners all this within ruins of monastic establishment

3.

STUPA I (3rd to 1st cent. BC and 5th cent. AD)

1. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. MAIN TERRACE Consists of a solid hemisphere 36.6m (120ft) in diameter. Shortened at top and crowned with triple stone umbrella set within a square railing. High circular terrace approached by double staircase (S side) built against the base Stone paved processional pathway at ground level is defined by encircling balustrade Access to this passage is through four gateways Present Stupa encases an earlier one of about half the dimension, built of burnt bricks and from the 3rd century BC. Century later the stupa was enlarged and faced with stone to produce the plan and form largely visible today. The unrelieved fabric of the stupa contrasts with the posts and railings of the encircling balustrade

i. j.

k.

These are carved with medallions displaying motifs of flowers, animals, birds, human figures and mythological beings The balustrade is divided into four quadrants by L-shaped projections of the railing at the cardinal directions > Lead the devotee clockwise in the processional path Throughout the balustrade there is reproduction of remarkable wood techniques on stone

2. GATEWAYS
1. Next embellishment are four elaborately carved gateways added in 1st century BC > imitate techniques of wooden construction There are four gateways in N,S,E and W Each gateway consists of two square posts crowned with a set of four lions, elephants or pot-bellied dwarfs. These support three architraves with scrolled ends to achieve an overall height of about 8.5 m (28ft). Between the architraves are carved elephant-riders and horse-riders Projecting from the tops of the posts and notched into the ends of the lowest architrave are brackets carved as graceful maidens clutching trees.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

2. GATEWAYS
6. a. b. c. Other ornate features > smaller figures carved between the ends of architraves. scroll ends have lions and elephants with riders Crowning the whole composition are wheels flanked by yakshis and decorated tridents > symbolising Buddha, the Dharama and Sangha All the elements are best preserved in N gateway The post and architraves are covered with sculptures with range of subject matter illustrating episodes of Jataka legends

d. 7.

3. STUPA 3 (2ND CENTURY BC 1ST CENTURY AD)

1. 2. 3. Modeled on Stupa I but smaller in dimension Only one gateway Dome is more hemispherical, crowned with single umbrella and was built together with its staircase not long after the reconstruction of Stupa I Railing and carved gateway are similar to Stupa I but inferior in workmanship and probably belong to 1st century AD The solid domes houses relics of Buddhas two foremost disciples

4. 5.

4. STUPA 2 (2nd CENTURY BC)

a. b. c. d. Stands on an artificial terrace further down the hill from monastery Resembles Stupa 3 in size and shape, but there is no gateway nor any other external features Well preserved balustrades with four \l-shaped entrances that define the processional pathway Posts of the balustrade are adorned with medallions decorated with both floral and plant designs and with real, mythical, and composite animals, birds, fish, nagas, human figures, yakshas and kinnaras The workmanship is crude unlike Stupa 1

e.

5. OTHER STUPAS (2ND CENTURY BC 7TH CENTURY AD)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Other Stupas in the vicinity have round or square basements Stupa 4 2nd century BC exists only as a heap of loose stones Stupa 5 had an image of Buddha on a moulded pedestal built against the southern side Stupas 28 and 29 have high square bases with moulding characteristics of Gupta era Stupas 12-16 have square plinths and belong to 6th 7th century Stupas 6 an 7 are from later than 7th century

6. COLUMN (3rd -2nd CENTURIES BC 5th CENTURY AD)

a. b. c. d. There were many free standing columns of which Column 10 stands near S gateway . This was erected by Ashoka with an edict for Buddhist monks to avoid schisms (division of groups due differences in thinking) The column was surmounted by a capital with sculpture of four lions Other columns belong to periods varying from 2nd century BC to 5th century AD

7. TEMPLES (5th century AD to 11th century AD)

1. a. b. c. 2. a. Temple 17 (5th cent AD) important example of early structural architecture during the Gupta period Small plain building comprises a square sanctuary and a n adjoing porch with four free standing pillars The columns have petaled capitals, surmounted by blocks carved with seated double-headed lions The doorway has foliate bands which is roofed with flat slab Temple 18 (7th cent AD) Built on foundation of an earlier Chaitya hall, this temple consists of an apse defined by circular walls and columned nave with side aisles; all contained within a wall of rectangles Several tall sandstone columns are decorated with part circular incisions framing octagonal sections (a design familiar from cave architecture) In 10th and 11th century the floor levels were raised and richly carved door jambs were added Vestiges of small solid stupa stood in middle of the apse (now disappeared)

b.

c. d.

7. TEMPLES (5th century AD to 11th century AD)

1. a. b. c. d. e. Temple 31 (5th and 11th cent. AD) Rectangular shrine Entrance from S Contains an image of seated Buddha with an elaborately carved halo The platform and pedestal of the structure belong to the early period Rest of the structure, except for two Gupta columns that stand in the middle, are from a later period

8. MONASTERIES (7th century AD)

MONASTERY 51 (7th cent. AD) a. Situated on W slope b. Entrance from E through massive buttresses c. Brick paved courtyard is separated from verandah by regularly spaced column footings d. A spacious chamber in the middle of the W side may have functioned as a chapel but was later converted into a passageway

Torana

Torana

Pradakshina patha

Stairs

Vedika

Inner face of east torana and portion of vedika

Torana, inner face, west end of lower architraves and west pillar capital

Devotional scene West torana, south pillar, north face

Staircase at the south torana

Bharhut stupa,Torana

Bharhut stupa, section of vedika

Architecture and Visual expression

The barrel vaulted roofs of buildings, some more than one storey, are a recognised feature.

Buddhist narrative art became a genre, with the narratives of the life of the Buddha and illustrations of the Jataka stories.The latter drew on folk tales that were cleverly woven into the biography of the Buddha and stories of his previous births.These depictions are infused with a liveliness and occasional humour that make them a pleasure to view, while providing incisive vignettes of daily life.

At each of the four cardinal points there was a break in the railing for a large gateway, giving the sculptors further scope to show their skill. (One survived at Barhut -2nd century BC - dismantled and lodged at the Indian Museum at Calcutta.

Because the stupa was an object of worship maintained by a monastery, its location was generally at places where people collected an existing sacred site, a place of pilgrimage, or a nodal point along a route for travellers. Among the more interesting of these is the supa at Amravati, close to a impressive megalithic burial.

Architecture and Visual expression

The gateways were based on wooden prototypes used in villages and towns. The adherence to the themes of wooden architecture was carried through into cave-architecture. Huge caves were dug into hillsides, following the plan of a monastery or of a chaitya hall.

The use of the word chaitya is suggestive of the pre-Buddhist sacred enclosures that were a regular part of the ritual of worship in the early gana-sanghas.Where the excavation of a cave was accompanied by a huge donation by a patron, ambitious attempts were made to simulate in a series of caves the entire complex of a stupa, a hall of worship and a monastery (eg: Karle & Bedsa in the Deccan). Interestingly megalithic rock cut caves containing burials and grave furnishings are found south of Deccan in Kerala.

Rock-cut monasteries and chaityas occur with remarkable consistency at sites controlling trade routes and the passes of the Deccan, such as at Bagh, Nasik, Junnar, Kanheri, Bhaja, Kondane and Karle. A chain of largely free standing stupa sites and monasteries along the eastern coast also suggests a route.

Bedsa: Plan of the Chaitya cave

Portraiture had its patrons among royalty, where depictions of kings moved from the coins of the Indo-Greeks to the life-size statues of the Kushanas.

In the earlier stupa sculptures there is no image of the Buddha, his presence being indicated by symbols such as the horse to represent enunciation, a tree (ficus religoisa) to suggest his enlightenment, a wheel indicating the first sermon he preached, and a stupa to evoke his death and nirvana.When the image came to be established as a part of worship, it took on local styles, such as in the portrait statues of the Buddha from Gandhara, Mathura and Amravati.

Sculpture during this period began as an adjunct of architecture, being essentially ornamental on gateways, railings and entrances, where deep relief was mixed with free standing sculpture. Among the latter were the figures of yakshas and yakshis earyh spirits of the staus of demigods and widely worshipped.

The Buddha had opposed deification, yet, by the first century AD, his image was carved on stone, engraved on rock or painted, and worshipped. The bodhisattva was another new idea, defined as the one who works for the good of humankind in an unselfish manner and is willing to forego nirvana until such time as his work is completed.

Architecture and Visual expression

Improved communications led to an increase in pilgrimages that opened new places and new practices. The original doctrine was re-interpreted, a process that led to its split into two schools the Hinayana of the Lesser vehicle and the Mahayana of the Greater vehicle.

The more orthodox Buddhists maintained that the Hinayana preserved the original teaching of the Buddha, and that the Mahayana had incorporated new ideas not consistent with the original teaching leading eventually to a geographical division, but with some overlap.

Hinayana Buddhism found its strongholds in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and countries of south east Asia, whereas Mahayana had its major following in central Asia, Tibet, China and Japan.