Attachment Maurya Empire Part 3 Lyst9014
Attachment Maurya Empire Part 3 Lyst9014
What to focus?
• How was the Architecture, how it is divided?
• Speciality of Architecture.
• Foreign influence on Mauryan architecture.
• Comparative study of Architecture.
Palaces
• Greek historian, Megasthenes, described the palaces of the Mauryan
empire as one of the greatest creations of mankind and Chinese
traveler Fa Hien called Mauryan palaces as god gifted monuments.
• Persian Influence: The palace of Chandragupta Maurya was inspired by
the Achaemenid palaces at Persepolis in Iran.
• Material Used: Wood was the principal building material used during the
Mauryan Empire.
• Examples: The Mauryan capital at Pataliputra, Ashoka’s palace
at Kumharar, Chandragupta Maurya’s palace.
Pillars
• Ashoka pillars, (usually made of chunar sandstone), as a symbol of the
state, assumed a great significance in the entire Mauryan Empire.
• Objective: The main objective was to disseminate the Buddhist
ideology and court orders in the entire Mauryan empire.
• Language: While most Ashoka pillar edicts were
in Pali and Prakrit language, few were written in Greek or
Aramaic language also.
• Shaft: A long shaft formed the base and was made up of a single piece of
stone or monolith.
• Base: On top of shaft lay the Base, which was either inverted lotus-
shaped or bell-shaped.
• Abacus: Above the base, there was a circular or rectangular base known as
the abacus.
• Capital Figure: All the capital figures (usually animals like a bull, lion,
elephant, etc) are vigorous and carved standing on a square or circular
abacus.
Similarities with Persian (Achamenian) Pillars
• Polished Stones and Motifs: Both Maurya and Achaemenian pillars, used
polished stones and have certain common sculpture motifs such as the
lotus.
• Proclamations: Maurya’s idea of inscribing proclamations (related to
Buddhist teachings and court orders) on pillars has its origin in Persian
pillars.
Popular Art
• Apart from the court art or royal patronage, cave-architecture, sculpture,
and pottery took the expressions of art by individual effort.
• Cave Architecture: During the Mauryan period, caves were generally used
as viharas, i.e. living quarters, by the Jain and Buddhist monks.
• Key Features: The caves during the Mauryan period were marked by
a highly polished finish of the interior walls and decorative gateways.
Caves
• Example: The seven caves (Satgarva) in the Makhdumpur region of
Jehanabad district, Bihar, were created by Mauryan emperor Ashoka for
the Ajivika Sect:
• Barabar Caves (4 caves): Karna Chaupar, Sudama Cave, Lamarshi (Lomas
Rishi) Cave, Vishwamitra (Vishva Zopri) Cave
• Nagaragunja Caves (3 caves): In Bihar were formed during the time of
Dasharath, grandson of Ashoka, Gopi Cave, Bahayak Cave and Vedantika
Cave.
Pottery
• Pottery: Pottery of the Mauryan period is generally referred to as
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW).
• Mauryan pottery was characterized by black paint and highly lustrous
finish and was generally used as luxury items.
• Kausambi and Patliputra were the centers of NBPW pottery.
Sculptures
• Two of the most famous sculptures of the Mauryan period are those
of Yaksha and Yakshini.
• They were objects of worship related to all three religions – Jainism,
Hinduism, and Buddhism.
• The earliest mention of yakshini can be found in Silappadikaram, a Tamil
text.
• The torso of the nude male figure found at Lohanipur at Patna.
• Didargunj Yakshini was found at Didargunj village at Patna.