The influence of Indian artistic culture can be clearly traced not only in Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) art, but also in the Gothic-style churches of the Middle Ages. - E. B. Havel.
'Vastu' Etymology of the word Sanskrit language 'Vas' It is derived from the root meaning 'settling' it happens. Building is needed to settle down, so 'Vastu' Meaning of 'Building for Living' Is. 'Was' Words like habit, abode, abode, basati, basti etc. have been made from the root itself. 'Sthapati' Used to say 'Sthapati Since 'architecture' The word is made which means city and building construction art.
Architecture is called the queen of arts. The earliest development of architecture in India is seen in the Indus Valley Civilization. It was an urban civilization in which pucca houses were built. The Vedic and later Vedic civilizations were mainly rural and the Aryans of this period preferred to live in mud huts.
Although Puras have been mentioned in the Vedas, yet no remains of Puras of that period have been available. These were probably small villages surrounded by prakaras. The remains of the Mahabharata era civilization have been found in the excavations near Kurukshetra and Meerut. By this period the civilization had developed a lot and man had reached the stage of Chalco-civilization.
Evidence of architecture from Mauryan civilization to Gupta period, Harsh period, Rajput period, Delhi Sultanate period, Mughal period and British period is found in abundance. The history and various elements of this art have been discussed in detail in a separate chapter.
Ancient City Building Art
The names of the cities of ancient Aryans are found like Mahavan, Toran and Gopur etc., from which it is estimated that these settlements must have developed in forests and cowsheds etc. Because of this, the architectural remains of that period are not found. When the construction of pucca buildings started, the establishment of cities started on the basis of definite town-plan.
BC In the 8th century, Rajgriha, the capital of Magadha, was at the peak of progress. Although the pucca buildings of that period were also made circular on the basis of the map of the primitive huts, but their walls had square doors and windows.
According to the Buddhist author Dhammapala, in the fifth century BC, a sthpati named Mahagovinda prepared the vimanas (maps or city plans) of many capitals of North India. In the central part of the square cities, two main roads intersecting each other at right angles were built, which divided the whole city into four parts.
In one part there were palaces, whose detailed descriptions are available. There were town gates on all four sides of the roads. Many cities of Mauryan period (fourth century BC) such as Kapilvastu, Kushinagar, Urubilva etc. were built according to the same map or town-plan. Their city gates were also similar. The remains of the buildings found in these cities show the sentimentality of the Buddhist cities with the protruding balconies, ornate windows and pillars.
Like Ashoka, Kanishka was also a great builder. He built two cities. He built a city near Taxila, the ruins of which are still present today. This city 'Sirpak' It was established at a place called Kanishka had established another city in Kashmir which was named Kanishkapur.
Mauryan Architecture
The monuments of Mauryan architecture are found in five forms - (1.) residential building (2.) Rajprasad (3.) cave-griha (4.) pillar and (5.) stupa.
(1.) Construction of residential buildings: The residential buildings which were built before Ashoka were made of bricks and wood. During the reign of Ashoka, the use of stone in place of wood and bricks started in the construction of buildings. The work which was done on wood and bricks, during this period it was done on stone. The cities named Srinagar in Kashmir and Lalitpatan in Nepal were established during his reign.
(2.) Construction of Rajprasad: Megasthenes has described a beautiful palace built at Pataliputra. This palace was so beautiful that when Fahien saw it seven hundred years after its construction, he was astonished. He has written that seeing the palaces and buildings of Ashoka, it seems that the people of this world cannot build them. These must have been built by the gods.
The remains of this huge Mauryan royal palace have been found from Patna. According to Arion, this royal palace is an astonishing piece of workmanship. The palace of Chandragupta Maurya has also been found in the remains of the palace. Patanjali has described this Rajya Sabha. This assembly is in the form of a very huge pavilion. In the main part of the mandapa, there are 8 rows of 10 pillars from east to west.
According to Dr. Vasudevsharan Agrawal, this is the first huge relic of the historical era, seeing the divine form of which the viewer is mesmerized. The lasting impression of his majestic nature cannot remain without leaving it on the mind.
(3.) Cavity Architecture: Seven Mauryan caves have been found in the hills of Barabar and Nagarjuni near Gaya in Bihar. Four caves have been found from the Barabar mountain group - Karna Chopad Cave, Sudama Cave, Lomas Rishi Cave and Vishwa Jhanpri Cave. Three caves have been found from Nagarjuni hills- Gopi Cave, Vahiyaka Cave and Vadthika Cave.
These cave-houses were built during the reign of Maurya-Emperor Ashoka and Dasharatha. These cave-grihas were donated by the rulers to the Ajivakas. The walls of these caves still shine like glass.
(4.) Column: Thirty to forty pillars built during the period of Ashoka at Sanchi and Sarnath are still present. They have been constructed from the sandstone of Chunar. The polish done on these pillars shines like glass. These pillars are forty to fifty feet tall and are made of a single stone. They have been constructed in a conduit. These pillars are thick at the bottom and thin at the top.
The figures of animals inscribed on the top of these pillars are beautiful and alive. Underneath the animal figures of the top part, the icon of the turning of the wheel of Dharma of Mahatma Buddha is engraved. The top of these pillars is very beautiful, smooth and shiny polished, which is a special achievement of the Maurya period. A lion stands on the top of the Lauria Nandan Stambh. There is a huge elephant on the top of the Sankisa pillar and a Vrishabha on the top of the Rampurva pillar.
Among the pillars of Ashoka, the most beautiful and best is the title of the pillar of Sarnath. Four lions are sitting on the top of the Sarnath pillar with their backs to each other. According to Marshall, in the world of the pre-Century era, the best artwork like this is not found anywhere. There is no shadow of early art in the power displayed in the lions above, the naturalness in their swollen veins, and the tension in their muscles and the vital reality in the figures carved below them.
(5.) Stupa: The place of stupas is also important in Mauryan period architecture. The tradition of building stupas had started from the time of Iron Age and Megalithic settlements, but this tradition got special impetus during the time of Ashoka. Stupas are high mounds and domed monuments of bricks and stones. Some stupas are surrounded by stone, bricks or brick lattice fences.
These stupas were built to house the relics of Buddha or Bodhisattvas (truth-enlightened Buddhists). According to Buddhist literature, Ashoka had built about eighty-four thousand stupas. Some of these stupas were up to 300 feet in height. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang had seen these stupas standing in different parts of India and Afghanistan.
At present only a few stupas are visible. Among these, the Sanchi Stupa, located near Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is famous. Its height is 77.5 feet, diameter is 121.5 feet and the height of the fence around it is 11 feet. This stupa was built during the period of Ashoka and its expansion was also done in the later periods of Ashoka. The fence and archway of this stupa are attractive and alive from the point of view of art.
Sanchi, Bharhut, Kushinagar, Besnagar (Vidisha), Tigawan (Jabalpur), Udayagiri, Prayag, Karli (Mumbai), Ajanta, Ellora, Vidisha, Amravati, Nashik, Junar (Poona), Kanheri, Bhuj, Konden, Gandhar (present Kandahar) -Afghanistan), in the northwestern frontier of Taxila, the architecture from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD is unique in terms of art.
Sir John Marshall 'Archaeological Survey of India 1912-13' It is written in it that- 'Those buildings reflect the unique subtlety and perfection of the then architecture. If their craftsmen could come to the world even today, they might not have found anything special to learn in the field of their art.'
In South India, there are sightings of rock-cut architecture in Guntupalle (Krishna district) and Sankaran hill (Vijagapatam district). Sanchi, Nalanda and Sarnath have relatively later architectures.
Foreign Influence on Mauryan Art
Many scholars like Spooner, Marshall and Nihar Ranjan Ray have not considered the art of Mauryan period to be Indian. These scholars have considered the influence of Iranian art on the art of the Maurya period. Spooner has written that the palace of Pataliputra was a replica of the palace of Persia. Smith has written that the art of the Mauryas has been influenced by Iran and the Yavanas. At the time of Alexander's invasion, foreign soldiers and craftsmen had settled in India, through them Ashoka got the pillars built.
Smith believes that before Ashoka, stones were not used in building construction in India. This was made possible by foreign artists. Rejecting the notion of these scholars, Arun Sen has written that there is a substantial difference between Mauryan art and Persian art. In Persian pillars, the base was made at the bottom, whereas in Ashoka pillars no base was made.
The elongated side of the Maurya pillars is rounded and covered with shiny polish while the Persian pillars lack lustrous polish. Therefore, the point of Persian influence on Mauryan art cannot be accepted. Mauryan art itself is an art to be fully developed in India.
The foreign ruler of the 2nd century AD, Kanishka, built a 400 feet high wooden pillar and Buddhist vihara in his capital Pushppur. Here he built a stupa by keeping the relics of Buddha in a brass box. This stupa was built by Kanishka from a Greek craftsman.
Kanishka also built many viharas and stupas in other parts of his empire. The Chinese traveler Fahien had seen the viharas and stupas built by Kanishka in Gandhara. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang has described 170 viharas and stupas.