MAURYAN ART

The Maurya Empire was built on the foundation laid by the Nandas. The Mauryas established an empire that extended over almost the entire subcontinent and even beyond it in the North- West. With the coming of the Mauryas in the latter part of the fourth century BC, the historical scene is illuminated by a relative abundance of evidence from a variety of sources. Among the material remains of the Mauryan period, we have a considerable amount of numismatic evidence, some artefacts from archaeological excavations and art objects. Similar to archaeological evidence is the related material, termed by some historians ‘art remains’. The Mauryan period is an important period in the history of Indian art and architecture, with the foundations for Indian art being laid, which would later reach their height during the golden age of the Guptas. Our main pieces of evidence and material come from the time of the great Mauryan king Ashoka.

The art remains of the Mauryan period have been so overshadowed by their closeness in style to those of the achaemenid art. Coomaraswamy distinguishes between court art and a more popular art during the Mauryan periods. Many of the surviving remains of art and architecture were the direct result of the patronage of the Maurya Kings, especially Ashoka, and fall within the category of ‘court art’. It is represented by the pillars and their capitals. There are also stone sculptures and terracotta figurine, ring stone and disc stone, which represent what, may be called ‘popular art’.

Mauryan art represented an important transition in Indian art from use of wood to stone because stone is the symbol of imperial power. The decline in the use of wood may have been in part due to influence of contact with Achaemenid Persia but in more practical reason was probably the denudation of the forests in the Ganges plain. The pillars are of two types of stone. Some are of spotted red and white sandstone from the region of Mathura, and other of buff- coloured fine grained hard sandstone usually with small black spots quarried in Chunar near Banaras. Chandragupta’s palace in Pataliputra consisted of halls whose glided pillars were adorned with golden vines and silver birds; indeed fragments of golden vines have been discovered in the excavation of Kumrahar.

Ashoka’s reign is notable for many reasons, among which are the numerous epigraphs are he had inscribed in stone throughout his vast empire. Carved in caves, on rocks, and on pillars, these records comprise the earliest intelligible corpus of written documents. The idea of inscribing imperial edicts and decrees in stone was undoubtedly modelled after Achaemenid practises. D.B. Spooner discovered 72 pillars arranged in a neat chessboard pattern, and 8 more were later discovered by A.S. Altekar and V.K Misra. The pillars were made of buff-coloured Chunar sandstone and had a smooth polished surface. As no complete pillars were found, their dimensions can only be estimated. Their slight tapering shaft may have been about 9.91m long and their diameter of their circular cross section probably ranged from 75cm near the base to 55cm near the top. All of them had a hole on top clearly for metal dowels that connected a shaft to a capital, which in turn supported the roof. The pillars were originally fixed on square wooden basements which were laid on a compact layer of clay. The pillar represents the World Axis, seen in many cultures as the instruments used to separate heaven and earth during the creation of the universe. The columns that bear the edicts Of Ashoka include those of Delhi-Mirat, Allahbad, Lauria- Araraj, Lauria- Nandangarh, Rampurva(with lion capital), Delhi-Topa, Sankisa, Sanci and Sarnath; the non-edict bearing columns known up till now include those of Rampurva (with bull capital), Basarh- Bakhira (with single lion capital), and Kosam.

The pillar at Lauria- Nandagarh reveals a blend of Indian and Western Asiatic tradition. The flight of the goose is seen in ancient Indic thought as a link between the earthly and heavenly sphere, and thus the appearance of these creatures on the pillar is especially apt. In Basarh- Bakhira the crowning lion though a free and independent figure, is not only rough and crude in execution, but has not yet evolved a form and appearance so as to make of itself an integrated whole together with the shaft, the capital and the abacus. The next milestone is furnished by the elephant-crowned Sankisa column which is earlier than the artistically mature Dhauli elephant.

The stone elephant at Dhauli does not appear to belong to the same tradition as the animal capitals. The image of the elephant emerging from the rock is a most impressive one, and its purpose was probably to draw attention to the inscription nearby. The Rampurva bull fails to harmonise with the capital on which it stands. The proportion of the animal, its bone and muscles, and other features of its anatomy have been so carefully rendered by its sculptor that the uncarved matrix beneath the body left for structural purposes does not detract from the effect of naturalism. The animal is supposed to stand with its full weight on the ground in quiet and restrained dignity, and the artist has rendered the idea with remarkable clarity and perfect naturalism.

The last stage in evolution is marked by the Sarnath and Sanchi pillars, both crowned by four semi-lions joined back to back at the shoulder and carrying the Buddhist symbol of the wheel. The Chakra (wheel) at the Sarnath capital has generally been identified as a Buddhist symbol, representing either of the Buddha or the first sermon. The Buddhist message of this capital is also probably incorporated into the symbolism of the lions, for not only is the lion an appropriate early symbol of royalty, and thus a reference to Ashoka himself, but the Buddha’s clan , the Sakyas, had the lion as its totem, so the lion may refer to them as well. Buddhist symbolism may also be inferred from the four animals proceeding clockwise around the drum of the capital, between which are depictions of chakras. The animals on the drum, consecutively the bull, horse, lion, and elephant, almost appear to be pulling an invisible vehicle set into motion by the enormous chakra as if to perpetuate the wheel of dharma. The sanchi counterpart of Sarnath belongs to the same style and is equally conventional and stylized.

The motifs associated with the Ashokan pillars, have a rich and varied symbolism with resonance in many different Indian religious traditions. The sculptural motifs must have been considered to be in harmony with the Dhamma message. The Lotus is a symbol of purity and fecundity in the Indian tradition. Later Buddhist texts tell us that lotus flower sprang up when Siddhartha took seven steps soon after he was born. The lion is a solar symbol in many ancient traditions, but it must be noted that Buddha is known as Sakya-simha in Buddhist tradition. Taken together, all the symbols associated with the Ashokan pillars had a special Buddhist significance, but they also blended into a wide fabric of cultural meaning.

The Maurya period saw the beginning of rock- cut architecture. Seven caves were excavated during the Maurya period in the Barabar and Nagarjuni hill near Gaya, in the Magadha homeland of the Mauryas. Three caves in the Barabar hills have dedicative inscriptions of Ashoka, and three in the Nagarjuni hills have inscriptions of his son Dasharatha. The most interesting from the artistic point of view, the Lomash Rishi cave in the Barbara range does not contain a Maurya inscription. However, because of its connection with the other three Barabar caves, especially the Sudama cave with which it is identical in form except in the treatment of the façade, the Lomash Rishi must be considered a monument of Ashoka period. The doorway leading to this massive rock is modelled after wooden architecture, translating the façade of a free-standing building into stone. Over the entrance, framed with a carved finial, are two bands of relief carving. The upper one has a latticework design; probably of a type used at the time for admitting air and light in free-standing architecture. The lower one has a finely carved frieze showing elephants approaching stupas. The interior of the Lomash Rishi cave consists of two connected chambers. The rectangular one leads into a round, unfinished room which resembles a thatched hut of rock- cut architecture.

The inscription at the Nagarjuni Hill sites clearly that the caves were donated so that the Ajivikas might have an abode during rainy season. While Buddhist monks, and apparently the Jain and Ajvika ones as well, vowed to homeless wanderers, they took shelter during the rainy season in natural caves in the mountains isolated form the life of the city.

The traditions of making stupas- originally funeral mounds- may be pre-Buddhist, and stupas did not have an exclusively Buddhist significance. There is quite a bit of evidence to show that Ashoka played an important role in popularising the stupa cult. Ashoka’s reign marked an important stage in the history of Buddhist stupa architecture. Old mud stupas were rebuilt or enlarged with bricks, as evident from excavations at Vaishali. There is an Ashokan pillar at Sarnath, and the Dharmarajika and Dhamekh stupa at this place seem to have originated in the Maurya period. An important stupa site of Ashoka’s time was Sanchi. The brick core of the largest stupa, known as stupa no.1 or the great stupa, was built in Ashokan times. The stupa was about 60ft in diameter at the base, and was a low dome mounted on a low cylindrical drum.

Quiet a considerable number of independent figure sculptures in the round, and of various sizes and proportions, and a few fragments of relief have been ascribed to the Maurya period, mainly because of their having the so-called Maurya polish on them and their being carved out of grey sandstone from Chunar. The two Patna Yakshas, almost identical in form and appearance, conception and treatment, and dress and ornament, comes first in the list of alleged Mauryan sculptures. The other important example includes a torso of a nude male found at a section of Patliputra known as Lohanipur is carved out of Chunar sandstone frequently used in Maurya work. It is possible that this nude figure represents a member of the digambara or “Sky clad” sect of Jains who wears no clothes, in contrast to the Svetambaras or “White Dressed”. The other sculpture is the ‘Didarganj yakshi’ found at didarganj in Patna. The figure actually seems to be an attendant and not a Yakshis. Because the technique, surface, refinement, and high polish relate it to the Maurya period of work, some scholars contend that the sculpture belong to the Maurya phase. The figure wears a hip-hugging garment over her lower body; its diaphanous folds are depicted by double- incised line across her legs. Heavy ornaments, including a jewelled or beaded girdle, anklets, armbands, necklaces and earrings adorn the figure. Her right hand holds the cauri, a whisk used to keep flies away from distinguished persons, and is thus a symbol of her subservient role in the presence of a highly respected individual who might have been a religious or secular leader.

Terracotta art flourished with the expansion of urban trade. Many have stylized forms and technically are most accomplished, in that they have a well-defined shape and clear ornamentation. Some of them may have been toys, but others, especially certain female figurines, may represent religious icons. A continuation of the tradition of making mother goddesses in clay, which goes back to the prehistoric times, is revealed by the discovery of these objects at Mauryan levels at Ahicchatra. Of the terracotta figurines excavated at Bulandibagh, Pataliputra, a number of female statues are outstanding. One example shows a rather naturalistically depicted woman garbed in an elaborate dress and headdress.

The imperial power of the Mauryas was visible in monumental stone sculptures and structures, and important beginnings were made in rock-cut and stupa architecture. Maurya stone productions were largely by the result of royal patronage, the artistic evidence itself demonstrates that the Maurya works reflect what must have been active long standing tradition of art and architecture using wood or other easily perishable materials.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Huntington, Susan ; The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain ; 1985: Weather Hill, New York
  • Ray, Niharranjan; Maurya and post Maurya Art: A Study in Social and Formal Contacts; 1975: Indian Council of Historical research, New Delhi
  • Singh, Upinder; A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the12th Century; 2009: Pearson Longman, New Delhi
  • Singh, Upinder; Texts on Stone: Understanding Ashoka’s Epigraphy-Monuments and Their Changing Contexts; 1997-98: Indian Historical Review 24, New Delhi
  • Thapar, Romila; Asoka and The Decline of The Mauryas; Oxford University Press, Delhi