During the centuries immediately following the Mauryan period, religious, particularly Buddhist, communities in central and southern parts of the peninsula were actively engaged in creating and adorning sculptures representative of their respective faiths.Several free-standing statues or “relievo-figures” principally associated with early Buddhist funerary monuments (stupas) have been discovered throughout India, which go back to 2nd-3rd cent. BCE, and include many Buddhist, Jaina and Brahmanical images and sculptures.
Gandhara is located in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent. Together with adjacent Bactria and Swat Valley, this region was occupied by Mauryas, Greeks, Shakas, Parthians and Kushanas at different points of time. Being located at a cultural crossroads of sorts, Gandhara has yielded a great deal of important archaeological evidence, including a hoard of treasure. The objects include Hellenistic plaster casts of metal-work designs, glassware, Roman and Alexandrian sculptures. The main centres from where the art pieces belonging to the Gandhara School have been found are Jalalabad, Hadda, Bamara, Begram and Taxila. Its art was mainly Buddhist and heavily influenced by Hellenistic styles, giving rise to what Susan Huntington calls “Asian Hellenism”. Inspired by Greeks and Iranians, a culture thus developed, which had both Asiatic and European elements.
The age of Gandharan buildings may be estimated from the character of its sculptures. The more Hellenistic the culture, the earlier was the date. Blue-gray schist stone was usually used to make idols. In later periods, mud, lime, plaster and stucco were used. Besides idols, carving on reliefs depicting the life of the Buddha can be found in the drum of the Chitra Stupa at Taxila, which is decorated with images of bodhisattvas. Such reliefs narrate stories in stone, drawn on canonical texts like Divyavadana, Lalitavistara and Buddhacharita. Important sculpturally depicted events from his life include his birth, taking of 7 steps, first meditation, departure from palace, victory over Mara (the personification of evil), first sermon, and mahaparinibbana.
Chinese representations of the Buddha depict him with his hands folded in anjali (respect and devotion) mudra, flanked on either side by the Gods Brahma and Indra, a unique moment of convergence between Brahmanical Hindu and Buddhist faiths.
The bulk of Gandharan sculpture was executed during the rule of the Kushanas. Much of the work of this time was of a commercial character, but the monasteries (viharas) and stupas,with their Buddhist figurines, were the result of a remarkable current of religious fervour and passion. Indeed, the frequency with which such reliefs occur on monuments does not fail to impress one about their hold on people’s religious lives. The exterior of the stupa at Takht-i-Bahi, for instance, depicts a relief of 8 scenes from the life of the Sakyamuni (Buddha) along with a row of seated Buddhas, cherubs and plants.
The depiction of a transparent garment draped in Graeco-Roman fashion and curly hair in Buddha idols is, according to Percy Brown, common. The seated Buddhas reflect a slightly varied stress on the position of the hands (mudra) and muscularity of the body. Other depictions of Buddha show him in a cross-legged sitting posture (vajraparyankasana), his body blemished all over by auspicious marks (lakshanas), such as the circle in the centre of his forehead (urna), and the knot in his hair (ushnisha).
Next, the bodhisattva images were clearly Mahayana creations that had set out on a quest to attain Buddhahood themselves often helping other devotees along the way to reach this singular aim, also known as mahasattva bodhisattvas. Unlike the Buddha, these wear jewellery like the jatamukuta(crown of matted hair) coiffeur. In the Kushana period, the Maitreya bodhisattva at Takht-i-Bahi deserves mention. Ornaments befitting its regal station are accompanied by elaborate hair-dos and other typically Hellenistic features like heavy drapery, contrapposto pose and muscular torso. Other avatars of the bodhisattva, such as Avalokiteshwara, also existed.
Meanwhile, local cults within Buddhism also came to be recognized and represented. These included the Paradise Cult, where Buddha is visualized as Amitabha (or Buddha of the Immeasurable Light), presiding over Sukhavati (Full of Joy), and the cult of Panchika, a yaksha king, and his consort, Hariti, seen as a protector of children, the epitome of empathy and compassion. Elsewhere, Hariti is shown with fangs and multiple arms, one of the earliest representations of anger, which later came to be associated with Tantricism.
The figure of Indraas enshrined on the coins of Indramitra in the Panchala series, and the same deity appears veritably in the garb of Zeus on the coins of Eukratides and a number of Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian rulers to the extreme north west of India. In the numerous sculptural representation of the same god in Gandhara, however, he appears in the role of a worshipping attendant of Buddha.
The icons no doubt became, to a certain extent, stereotyped, but it should never be forgotten that they were not being made for art connoisseurs or critics. Their primary purpose was to serve as aids to the religious efforts of the innumerable devotees and not only as drawing room or museum specimens to be judged chiefly for their artistic merits or demerits. Banerjea himself says, “Like all art, the Indian iconoplastic art also has to be judged from the standpoint of its motive. To those who cannot appreciate this motive, the very ideal of the art remains hidden and inexplicable.”
Thus, as Huntington puts it, “Pictorial space is generally implied by the volume of the figures or other forms and their relationship to one another rather than by deliberate linear, architectural or atmospheric devices.”
Mathura was one of the pre-eminent cities of north India. It was a thriving city on the Yamuna producing work in quantities rivaled only by Gandhara. Unlike other important sites not a single early building or monument has survived even in excavated form. The origin of Mathura art is traced back to the 2nd century BCE. Related sites include Kaushambi, Sarnath and Ahichhatra. There was awareness about art activities in other parts of the subcontinent among Mathura artists, yet they retained the distinctive quality of Mathura sculptures, i.e., Sikri red sandstone. Local raw material was in use because until fairly recently, sculptor-stonemasons were more apt to migrate than sculpture to travel. An important point to note about this art is that it depicted various patterns of life and beings in their natural state, e.g. scenes from forests, gardens etc., on votive pillars.
J.N. Banerjea refers to the Mahamayuri(Peacock Wisdom Queen in the Buddhist framework) list of Yakshas, which gives us the names of the tutelary divinities of particular Indian cities. Worshippers of Purnabhadra and Manibhadra, the Yaksha brothers, form another sculptural cult. The statue of Mansa Devi at Mathura is associated with Kunika and her sister Yakshini in the inscription present here, and is dated to the early Shunga period.Also belonging to this period is a huge statue of a standing male figure at Parkham near Mathura (alongside). it is considered by some as a yaksha. Several Naga figures, snakes in coils and hoods attached to the backs of human bodies, are a part of the Mathura Museum collection. Indeed, there is a naga temple at Sonkh near Mathura. Naga images usually show much the same plastic treatment: some stand in the usual samapada position, some display a marked torsion.
Shaka sculpture in this area (c. 1st century BCE) was characterized by a flattened style of relief similar to the Parthian style. But this work is more strictly based on previously established Indian traditions of sculpture, and there is no influence from external sources, which, however, did not diminish the universal appeal of this art school. For example, in the image of the Buddha shown praying at the foot of Mount Meru, the latter represents a cosmic mountain seated on the World Axis.
Under the Kushanas, Mathura was the southern capital of the empire. Sarnath images of standing bodhisattvas, such as Bhikshu Bala bodhisattva (8ft 3 inches high), installed in the period of Kanishka, were made at Mathura. The important images are Buddha sitting under the bodhi tree with his right hand in the abhayamudra. Made of white spotted redstone, these idols were fashioned in round shapes, so that they could be seen from every side, and in order to accentuate the curves of the body, dresses were always made tight. Many trends similar to those in Gandhara School are visible in Mathura Buddhas. Apart from Gandharan influence, there are also signs of direct contacts with the west. One famous statue, the Herculean and the Nemean lion is indisputably based on a famous Greek or Hellenistic statue extant in dozens of Roman copies.
Also, images of Brahma and Indra on either side of Buddha are of an ascetic and a royal prince, respectively.
Mathura was also a sacred centre for Jain followers. Kankalitila was the main Jaina site at Mathura, which has revealeda large number of stone slabs with Jaina figures in the centre, pillars, capitals, crossbars, etc. The representations of tirthankaras (Jaina spiritual figures who helped others cross the river of existence), like Parswanatha and Rishaba, are famous. These included a pillar fragment with 4 standing tirthankaras with long arms carved on 4 sides. Like the Buddha they have long earlobes. Their differences lie in their nudity and the emblems on their chest. Intriguingly, there are also demonstrations of feminine beauty at Kankalitila.
The early centuries CE marked an explosion in the no. and variety of Vaishnava images in the Mathura region. Doris .M. Srinivasan points out that during this period, Mathura became the premier centre of the dissemination of Vaishnava sculptural art. As regards Shaivism, Brahmanical images of Shiva, Lakshmi, Surya and Sankarshara were found on Huvishka’s gold coin, as described by Gardner. This has a type of Shiva figure on the reverse, which is of outstanding interest from the iconographic and cult points of view. He is describes as “Shiva facing, 3-headed, nimbate; clad only in waist band, has 4 arms and hands, in which are goat, wheel, trident and thunderbolt.”Trishul, vajra and chakraare recognizable.Here, Shiva began to be carved in the form of the chaturmukha (wise-mouthed) andurdhvalinga (phallus). Shiva is shown alone or accompanied by Parvati or the Nandi bull or different forms of Shiva.
Colossal statues of Kanishkaand his father, WimaKadphiseswere installed at the shrine at Mat near Mathura. The site provides interesting insights into the Kushana notion of divine kingship. The features, drawn on a mélange of foreign and local cultures, reflect 2 broad phases of construction at the shrine: the Wima-Kanishka phase, succeeded by refurbishment under Huvishka.
The site of Amravati, part of the Satavahana capital city of Dhanyakataka, is nestled in the lower valleys of Krishna and Godavari, saw art forms patronized by Satavahanas and Ikshvakus. The most productive phase of this art has been dated between 150 BCE and 300 CE, after the Great Stupa was built. Carved stone decorations were added to it after the Mauryas evacuated the throne.
The proverbial icing on the cake, here the stupa, was achieved during the period of Satvahana efflorescence in the 2nd century, and was highly impacted by Roman art as a result of contact with Roman trading colonies at Arikamedu and Maisolia. The reliefs represent traditional narrative art, making themes from Buddha’s life and Jataka stories their subjects. For e.g., a relief medallion at Amravati depicts the story of the taming of an elephant by the Buddha. Most of the figures are carved out of white marble. They are well modeled, with long legs and slender frames, radiating physical beauty. The central characters are human beings, especially kings and princes in palaces.
But there were non-Buddhist sculptures available from here as well. One of the best examples is the Gudimallamlinga(alongside) in the Shiva temple here. Shiva stands dressed in a cloth folding between his legs, atop Apasmara the dwarf, who symbolizes the evil of ignorance. The linga forms the background.
Thus, Amravati art,under its Satavahana patrons and master craftsmen, produced some of the most spectacular art pieces ever seen in ancient India.
Later, under the Ikshvakus, the site of Nagarjunakonda rose to prominence. Its sculptural style is known from the carved stone slabs at major stupas, and from free-standing images. Greater animation in composition of reliefs, sophisticated spatial arrangements and lithe, slender figurines characterise this art. Hindu sculpture in temples seems to have dominated this space and period, one of the most important of which was the 8-armed Vishnu sculpture. A late 3rd century Kondamatu sculpture from near Nagarjunakonda carries the image of a large seated lion surrounded by 5 male heroes, most probably the Pandavas. The production of “shade pillars”, called viragals (hero stones) commemorating important dead people, is a unique feature of this art.
Other sites with prominent sculpture in the post-Mauryan period include Besnagar in the Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh. The pillar of Heliodorus here, dated to 120-100 BCE, is seen as a monument of worship to Vishnu, given the existence of a Vishnu temple before this pillar, and the figure of Garuda, the vehicle-bird of Vishnu, atop the pillar, adorned with lotus leaves. Another pillar carved in the form of a banyan tree here depicts the treasures (nidhis) of Kubera, the God of wealth. The stone mason Shivamitra was responsible for the early Kushana image of bodhisattva discovered in 1908-09 at Shravasti by Marshall and Dinna,
A profusion of exquisite terracottaswere in existence at sites such as Mathura, Chandraketugarh and Kaushambi. The most frequently appearing of these are the yakshas, yakshis, nagas, and nagis.
Sites such as Mathura, Kaushambi and Tamluk give evidence of further refinement of terracotta art as time progressed. The reliefs became deeper than before with detailed human portraiture with varying facial expressions. In the later Kushana period, monumental hollow terracotta started being made in moulds. The Deccan terracottas are different stylistically from those of the northern and eastern in their distinctively delicate portrayal of the human figure. The great majority represent women. Moulded figures usually females were used to decorate the handles of vessels. Female figurines associated with plants, flowers, fish, etc. may have been goddesses associated with fertility and prosperity.Lakshmi is prominent and another important deity is Vasdhara.
These differences in style could be traced to a number of factors, the vast area under consideration, its heterogeneous cultural heritage, specific chronological developments, religious sectarianism and individual artwork being among them. The reputed art centres of ancient India, Mathura, Gandhara and Amravati, were thus the homelands of the master artists who served standards on which these canons appear to have been based. The images fashioned by their chisels were in great demand in other parts of India as well, given their exquisiteness and picturesque quality. This is proven by early epigraphic and monumental evidence. But we need to also keep in sight the parallel regional trends in sculpture which, though not as widespread or iconic, were nevertheless important.