Maurya Art and Sunga Art

Maurya Art
Maurya art thrived from the Maurya Dynasty which was founded by
Chandragupta Maurya by overthrowing the Nanda dynasty in 323 B.C. He ruled in
Magadha kingdom from 323 B.C to 187-85 B.C. The art and architecture of this period
is known as Maurya art. Maurya art is divided into 2 categories and that is:
1. Court or Royal Art

2. Folk or Popular Art
1. Court Art
Court art of Mauryan period is represented by it’s pillars and capitals. Some of the
examples of Court Art during Maurya period are:
a. Royal Palace and the city of Pataliputra
The city of Pataliputra was surrounded by a wall. The gates and drains
were built outside the wall. Such structure would hold good defence against the
attacks towards the city. The ruins from Pataliputra can be found at a place
called Kumhrar, an area in Patna.
b. The Great Stupa
The great Stupa is the oldest structure from the Maurya Dynasty. It was
originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C. It is a
simple hemispherical brick structure and is built over the relics of the Budhha.
c. The Pillar of Ashoka
The pillar of Ashoka is 40 to 50 feet high and weighs 50 tons. It is made

with 2 types of stones: spotted red stone and chunar sandstone. Spotted red
stone was transported from Mathura and chunar sandstone was transported from
the site of near Varanasi. It has got fine polish and is erected in the Gangetic
plains that reside between India and Nepal. It is the symbol of state and
declaration of victory. It is inscribed with edicts of Ashok Dhamma. Various parts
of the country consider these pillars as important sites of Buddha’s life and
pilgrimages.
The Ashok pillar can be divided into four parts. The top part of the pillar
consists of a lotus that faces downwards and is in bell shape. The abacus is
square and circular. Animal is the masterpiece of the pillar. They are either
seated or in standing posture. The animal can be single, double, or have four
animals and is joined back to back. The animal, abacus, and lotus is supported
on the ground by a plain, smooth pillar with a circular shaft. The height of the
pillar is around 12m to 14m. 4 types of animals can be seen in Ashoka Pillar. For
example, Gotihawa and Vaishali have lions, Rampurva has a cow, Dhauli has a
lion and 2 elephants, whereas Lumbini has a horse.
Sarnath pillar is the finest art and latest pillar. It is free standing and is
monolithic. The lotus is bell shaped and the abacus is circular and is decorated
by 4 animals and wheels. The lion faces north, the elephant faces east, the horse
faces south, and the bull faces west. The 4 wheels intermediate directions. The 4
lions on top are joined back to back. The wheel is on the top of the pillar.
Most of the shapes and decorative forms of the pillar are influenced from
Greek, Persian, and Egyptian cultures. The bell-shaped capital is influenced from
Achaemedin’s pillar. Motifs of Abacus and polished pillars are influenced from
Iranian and Persian structures. Where Maryan pillars are monolithic, the
achaemenid pillars are made from different stones.
Features of Mauryan Pillar
All the pillars are the uniformity of Mauryan Art. The pillars are monolithic
and animals are used. The abacus can be of different shapes like round or
square which can be plain or decorated. The pillars can be inscribed or plain. All
the pillars are the mixture of Persian and Indian elements. The achaemenid
influence on the pillars is the bell shaped lotus. Iranian or Persian influence are
the motifs on the Abacus and highly polished pillars.
d. The Rock Cut Cave
The rock cut caves are of 2 types and they are Vihar cave and Caitya
cave. Vihar cave is a residence or a place for the monks to rest. The Caitya
caves are prayer rooms. There are 7 rock cut caves in which 4 rock cut caves
reside in Barball hills whereas 3 caves reside in Nagarjuna hills.
The rock cut caves of Barbar hills are:

Barber cave
Barbar cave is the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India. It mostly dates
from the Mauryan period given the Ashokan inscriptions. It is located in Gaya
district of Bihar. It dates around the 3rd century B.C. It is used as ascetics from
the Ajivika sect. The cave has 2 chambers. The internal surface is highly
polished and produces an exciting echo effect. The 1st chamber is made for
worshippers and is a large rectangular hall. The second chamber is a small,
circular, and doomed chamber for worship. The inner chamber has a small stupa
which is empty now.
Karan Chaupar
Karan Chaupar has a single rectangular room with polished surfaces. The
inscriptions are dated around 245 B.C.
Lomas Rishi Cave
Lomas Rishi Cave is beautiful and has an arch-like shape facade. Row of
elephants are kept in the doorway. The cave consists of a rectangular, partly
polished mandap and an unfinished barrel vault.
Sudama Cave
Sudama cave was dedicated by King Ashoka in 261 B.C. It’s of bow
shape. It has a circular vaulted chamber with rectangular mandap. The entrance
is simple. There are two rooms. The first mandap is 10 by 6 m large. The barrel
vault is upto 3 to 5 m in height.
Visva Zopri
The entrance of Visva Zopri is simple and square cut and the walls are not
polished. There are 2 chambers of cubical form and are connected through a
doorway. The cave has 2m long sides and consists of several lines of Brahmi
inscription. They were granted to the Ajivakas by the king Ashoka.
Nagarjuna Hill Cave

Nagarjuna hill cave is located in Mahasamunda district. It has several
important inscriptions. King Dasaratha donated it to Ajivaka.
Karle Caitya
Karle caitya is the largest caitya. It has huge lion pillars in front of caitya
known as griha. The stupa is cylindrical in shape. The octagon shaped pillars are
behind the stupa and are placed without any decoration.
Stupa
Seven out of eight original stupas were erected over the body relics of
buddha. Buddhist texts were inscribed on the erected 84000 stupas to
commemorate various events of the Buddha’s life.
2. Folk art or Popular art
Folk art or popular art consists of potteries, sculptures, terracotta figurine, and
wells from the Mauriyan dynasty. The potteries consisted of northern black polished
ware.
One example of sculpture of Folk art is Yaksi Didarganj. It is of 64 inches and is

carved out on a single piece of sandstone. She is holding a fly whisk in her right hand.
The sculptor of Yaksi Didarganj was created in 300 B.C and was excavated in 1917.
Sunga Period
The art of the Sunga period was found in the railways and gateways of Bharut,
Sanchi, and north of Bodhgaya. It is also found in the stupa at Amaravati and
Nagarjunkonda in the South. The relief sculptures have gotten carved with the symbols
of Buddhism and animals and plants like lotus, elephant, bull, lion, and horses. Some of
the Jatak stories are carved on the railways and gateways of the stupa.
Example:
The Great Stupa of Sanchi

The original great stupa of Sanchi was destroyed by Pusyamitra Sunga but
Agnimitra rebuilt it. The great stupa of Sanchi is expanded with stone slabs to almost
twice it’s original size. The ground plan is made with swastika shape. The vedika of
plinth is of circle shape. The dome is of high circular shape whereas hermika is of cubic
shape. It consists of 3 chatras. The building consists of a double staircase. The 1st one
has a stone pathway. The second one has pathway at the ground level. It is enclosed
by a stone railing with four monumental gateways (toran) facing the cardinal directions.
The gateways and railings are commissioned by the satvahana. It is made of
stone-gateways that were covered with narrative relief sculptures. The reliefs depict the
scenes from the life of the buddha and his previous lives.
Features of Sunga Art
Sunga art has no direct royal patronage. It has never depicted god as human
figure and he is represented by certain symbols along with pictures of horse, royal
umbrella over a vacant space, footprints, bodhi tree, wheel, and stupa. Their names are
inscribed to it.

Maurya Art and Sunga Art

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Maurya Art

1. Court or Royal Art

a. Royal Palace and the city of Pataliputra

b. The Great Stupa

c. The Pillar of Ashoka

The pillar of Ashoka is 40 to 50 feet high and weighs 50 tons. It is made

Features of Mauryan Pillar

d. The Rock Cut Cave

The rock cut caves of Barbar hills are:

Lomas Rishi Cave

Nagarjuna Hill Cave

2. Folk art or Popular art

One example of sculpture of Folk art is Yaksi Didarganj. It is of 64 inches and is

The Great Stupa of Sanchi

Features of Sunga Art

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