Unit 2 Indian Art from Ashoka to Gupta Periods

South and Southeast Asia

The following slides provide a brief history of the life of the Buddha in visual art as well as some of the iconography used to identify certain aspects of Buddhism.

Brief History of the Historical Buddha’s Life and Teachings

Birth of the Buddha

Renouncing Royal Life

Meditation in the Forest

Attack by Mara

Enlightenment under Bodhi Tree

Setting Wheel of Law in Motion

Parinirvana

The life and death of the Buddha, frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Schist, 2’ 2 3/8” X 9’ 6 1/8”. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (a) birth at Lumbini, (b) enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, (c) first sermon at Sarnath, (d) death at Kushinagara.

Mudras in Buddhist Art

Mudra meaning

Abhaya mudra

(fearlessness)

Bhumisparsha mudra (touching the earth)

Dharmachakra Mudra (Turning the Wheel of Law, Setting the Wheel of Law in Motion)

Dhyani mudra

(meditation)

Varada mudra

(blessing,

fulfilling wish)

Bodhi-sri mudra (supreme wisdom)

Vitarka mudra (gesture of debate)

Karana Mudra
(Gesture with which demons are expelled).

During the aniconic period of Buddhism, he never appears.  Symbols or objects easily understood to represent the Historical Buddha are used instead.

Following the 1st century, images of the Historical Buddha begin to emerge and can be identified using the characteristics to the right.  There are many more than what are listed, but these are the most important.  (Many deities show mudras, but there are several that are specific to the Historical Buddha that you have already seen.)

thing on the head - Usnisa (unishisha)

dot on the forehead - Urna

Hand gesture - Mudra

more info -

Maurya Dynasty: Ashoka Controlled India

more info on Edicts of Ashoka, the First Buddhist King of India - not available

Lion Capital.  Polished Chunar Sandstone.  7’ (213cm).  Ashoka Column, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Maurya Period, c. 274-237 BCE.  Museum of Archaeology, Sarnath.

Four animals walk around the base of the Lion sculpture.  An elephant, a bull, a lion, and a horse.  It is still not clear precisely what these animals are meant to represent.  However, they are occasionally identified with the cardinal directions, four rivers, and Hindu deities.

Lions are an important animal in early Buddhist art.  Lions are a symbol of royalty which serves the dual purpose of acknowledging the Buddha as well as the king who commissioned them.

The wheel is also an important symbol in Buddhist art because it refers to the Wheel of Law.
The lotus flower at the base of this sculpture is also an important Buddhist figure as it represents the Buddha’s teachings.  Lotus flowers are beautiful flowers that typically grow in murky, dirty water.

the middle of the flag on the statue

Bull Capital.  Polished Chunar Sandstone.  8’9” (267cm).  Rampurva, Bihar, India.  Maurya period, c. 274-237 BCE.  National Museum, New Delhi.

Lion pillar, Lauriya Nandangarh, India, ca. 245 BCE.

Yaksha.  Sandstone.  8’8” (264 cm).  Parkham, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Late Maurya or early Shunga period, 2^nd century BCE.  Museum of Archaeology, Mathura.

Yakshi holding a fly whisk, from Didarganj, India, mid-third century BCE. Polished sandstone, 5’ 4 1/4" high. Patna Museum, Patna.
Chauri Bearer.  Polished sandstone.  64” (162.5 cm).  Didarganj, Patna, Bihar, India.  Maurya period, c. 3^rd century BCE.  Patna Museum.

Shugna Empire

Chaitya Hall.  Bhaja, Maharashtra, India.  Late Shunga period, c. 1^st century BCE.

Cross-section and ground plan of Chaitya and Vihara Halls, Bhaja, 2nd-1st c. BCE. India.

Chaitya Halls, Bhaja,  India, 1st cent BCE. India. Lee 111.

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Video Explanation of Stupa by Asian Art Museum

Stupas

Stupa at Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India.  Shunga period, early 1^st century BCE.  Indian Museum, Calcutta.

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Monkey King

King of the Deer

Shalabhanjika.  Pillar relief of stupa, red sandstone, 7’ (213 cm).  Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India.  Shunga period, early 1^st century BCE.  Indian Museum, Calcutta.

The Great Stupa.  Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India.  Shunga-early Andhra perods, 3^rd cent. BCE-1^st cent CE

north gate

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Shalabhanjika on Torana at Sanchi Stupa.  These figures are common in early Buddhist sculpture.

These figures are identifiable through their poses.  They will rest their feet on the roots of the tree and then hang from the branches.  It is believed that they are fertility figures associated with flowering trees.  They are meant to evoke the idea of Queen Maya giving birth to Siddhartha Gautama while holding the sala tree.

South view

The worshipper would circumnavigate the stupa using these stairways completing two full orbits.

Great Departure,

relief panel in sandstone,

Great Stupa at Sanchi,

Madhya Pradesh, 1st cent. BCE

The Monkey jataka, relief panel in sandstone,
Great Stupa of Sanchi,
India, late 1st cent. BCE. 

Great Chaitya Hall.  Karle, Mahrashtra, India.  Andhra period, early 2^nd cent CE.

Interior of the chaitya hall, Karle, India, ca. 50 CE.

Slab depicting stupa at Amaravati. Marble. 6’2” (188 cm). India.  Late Andhra period.  Late 2^nd century CE.

more info - https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/india-amaravati#virtual-tour

Buddha taming the maddened elephant

mor info but on a bit different object. includes a brief explanation of this jataka at the Seattle Art Museum- https://www.google.com/url?q=https://art.seattleartmuseum.org/objects/6387/buddha-taming-the-wild-elephant;jsessionid%3D8267A3A083C20EAD5290FF4255356FF5?ctx%3Db17215d9-bd73-4a09-80f5-ab540782fc07%26idx%3D212&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1741159380929956&usg=AOvVaw3UVf7B7952fWGX9k9Mr34i

Cushioned throne with the assault of Mara

Kushan period (late 1^st-3^rd century CE)

Kanishka I.  Red sandstone.  64” (162.6 cm).  Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Kushan period, c. 120 CE.  Museum of Archaeology, Mathura.

Yakshi with a bird cage.  Railing Pillar, red sandstone, 55” (139.7 cm).  Bhutesvara, near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Kushan period, 2^nd century CE.  Indian Museum, Calcutta.

The previous Yakshi is part of a group of Yakshi figures discovered at the remains of a stupa in Bhutesvara, which is close to Mathura.

These figures reveal a new approach to the body in terms of pose, volume, and expression.

It is likely the result of new aesthetic preferences introduced by the Kanishka kings.

Bodhisattva of Friar Bala.  Red sandstone, 8’1 ½” (248 cm).  Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Kushan period, c. 123 CE.  Museum of Archaeology, Sarnath.

This sculpture is one of the earliest examples of a shift away from aniconic Buddhist art to iconic.  This means that the Kushan period is the first historical period where we see figural representations of the historical Buddha.

This practice was likely introduced as a merging of cultural practices between the Kusha, who had close contact with the Mediterranean world where the worship of sculpture was common practice.

Seated Buddha with attendants.  Red sandstone, 36” (93.3 cm).  Mathura region, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Kushan period, c. 124 CE.  Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth.

more info on Buddahs -

Seated Buddha, sandstone,
Mathura, Mathura Museum,
India, 70 cm.

Mathura sculpture is generally distinguished by its soft, fleshy appearance.  Typically, these sculptures will represent the historical Buddha smiling.  You will often see the Buddha’s robe falling over his left shoulder and falling over his left arm in pleats leaving the right side of his chest exposed.  The robe also tends to have a gauze-like appearance revealing details of his body.

Kanishka reliquary. Metal, h. 7 ¾” (19.7cm). Shah-jiki-Dheri, near Peshawar, Pakistan. Kushan period, c. 120CE. Archaeological Museum, Peshawar.

Reliquary. Gold, h. 2 ¾”(7cm). Bimaran, Afghanistan. Early 3^rd century CE. British Museum, London.

Buddhist Triad.  C. 182 CE, gray schist, 24 3/8” (62 cm).  Gandhara region, Kushan period. Collection of Claude
de Marteau, Brussels.

Gandharan sculpture is where we generally see a fairly strong influence from the Mediterranean world.  Figures tend to be somewhat idealized in terms of the physicality of their bodies.  We also see less expression on their faces and more detail in the work.

Meditating Buddha, from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Gray schist, 3’ 7 1/2” high. National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Standing Buddha, from Gandhara, Pakistan, second to third century CE. Gray schist, 3’ 3” high. Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin.

Standing Bodhisattva. Stone, h. 43” (109.2cm). Gandhara. 2^nd century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Standing Buddha 

Red sandstone Mathura

Kushan period

c.2nd CE

Right

Standing Buddha

Black Schist Gandhara,

Kushan period

c.2nd-3rd CE

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Gupta period

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Temple no. 17 & 18.  Stone.  Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India.  Gupta period, 5^th century CE.

Standing Buddha.  Red sandstone, 63” (160 cm).  Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Gupta period, early 5^th century CE.  National Museum, New Delhi.

Standing Buddha,

Red sandstone, Mathura. Gupta period.

Early c. 5th CE.

Standing Buddha,

Cream-colored sandstone,

Sarnath

Gupta period

dated 473 CE

The First Sermon.  Stela, Chunar sandstone, 63” (160 cm).  Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India.  Gupta period, c. 475 CE.  Museum of Archaeology, Sarnath.

Ajanta Caves

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Interior of cave 19, Ajanta, India, second half of fifth century.

Cave 10

Cave 19

Vihara Hall, Ajanta, Cave 1, 5th-6th c., India. 

Cave 26

Nagaraja and his Queen. Exterior niche, cave 19, Ajanta, Maharashtra, India. Gupta period, late 5^th century.

Bodhisattva Padmapani, wall painting in Cave 1, Ajanta, India, second half of fifth century.

Sibi Jataka, painted mural, Ajanta Cave 1, India, Gupta, late 5th century