Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings (Cultural Developments) (c. 600 BCE-600 CE) — NCERT Solutions

Knowledge of Buddhist literature helps a great deal in understanding the sculpture at Sanchi.

• Many sculptures at Sanchi illustrate stories from the Jatakas; without the texts, these scenes may look like ordinary rural or decorative images.
• Buddhist texts and hagiographies explain important symbols: the empty seat stands for the Buddha’s meditation, the stupa for his mahaparinibbana, and the wheel for the first sermon at Sarnath.
• The Mahaparinibbana Sutta explains why stupas were worshipped and why relics were enshrined.
• Texts help historians identify the meanings of motifs such as the Bodhi tree, worshippers, and symbolic representations of the Buddha.
• They also help interpret whether a scene is Buddhist, or whether it includes popular traditions such as the shalabhanjika motif or symbols of fertility and auspiciousness.

However, textual knowledge is not enough by itself. Some images are not described exactly in texts, and art historians must also study the sculpture itself, inscriptions, and local traditions. So Buddhist literature is essential, but it must be combined with other evidence.

In the two Sanchi scenes, one can notice differences in the setting, architecture, plants and animals, and the activities shown.

• The rural scene would show features such as trees, huts, fields, and animals, with people engaged in everyday or forest life.
• The urban scene would show more built structures, such as houses, gateways, streets, or crowded human activity, with fewer signs of open countryside.

In both scenes, artists at Sanchi often used trees, birds, elephants, horses, monkeys or cattle to create lively surroundings. The activities may include people walking, worshipping, carrying things, or living in groups.

The scene with more natural landscape, huts, and vegetation is rural, while the one with more constructed buildings and denser human settlement is urban. The reasons are the amount of built architecture and the kind of daily life represented.

The rise of Vaishnavism and Shaivism brought important developments in sculpture and architecture.

Sculpture

• Deities came to be represented through images and symbols.
• Vishnu was shown through his avatars or incarnations, while Shiva was often symbolised by the linga, though he was also shown in human form.
• Sculptures depicted divine attributes through head-dresses, ornaments, seating posture, and ayudhas or weapons.
• The stories of these gods, preserved in the Puranas, helped devotees understand the images.

Architecture

• Around the time stupas were developing, the first temples were built to house images of gods and goddesses.
• The early temple consisted of a small square chamber called the garbhagriha.
• Later, a tall tower called the shikhara was built over the shrine.
• Temples later became more elaborate, with assembly halls, large walls, gateways, and water arrangements.
• Some temples were also carved out of rock as artificial caves, a tradition that later culminated in huge rock-cut temples such as Kailashnatha at Ellora.

Thus, Vaishnavism and Shaivism encouraged the growth of image worship, symbolic sculpture, and increasingly elaborate temple architecture.

Stupas were built to house and honour the relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him. They were also built at sacred places connected with the Buddha’s life, such as Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kusinagara.

How stupas were built

• The earliest stupa was a simple semi-circular mound of earth called the anda.
• Over it were added the harmika, the yashti, and often a chhatri.
• A railing surrounded the mound, separating the sacred space from the secular world.
• Gateways were placed at the four cardinal points.
• Later stupas were decorated with sculptures and carvings.

Why stupas were built

• According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha’s relics were preserved in stupas and therefore the entire stupa became a symbol of the Buddha and Buddhism.
• Worshippers offered garlands, perfume, and salutations there.
• The building of stupas was also a way of making donations and earning merit.
• Kings, guilds, monks, nuns, women and men all contributed to their construction and decoration.

So, stupas were both relic mounds and objects of worship, built and decorated through collective religious patronage.