Studies in Indian Art c10: IV. Mauryan Art

Studies in Indian Art c10

Language: English

c10.s1 9. Mauryan Art — 12 parts

IV. Mauryan Art

9. Mauryan Art

The Mauryan Palace at Pāṭaliputra

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Remains of the ancient Indian palaces are few and far between. We have, however, found the material remains of the Mauryan palace at Kumrahar, the site of ancient Pāṭaliputra. There Dr. Spooner made excavations in 1912 and explored the remains of that particular portion of the Mauryan palace which must have been its *Asthāna-Maṇḍapa* or the hall of public audience (also called *Sabhā*). There is a reference of the *Chandragupta-Sabhā* and *Pushyamitra-Sabhā* in Patañjali’s *Mahābhāshya*. Now the word *Sabhā* according to the *sūtra* of Pāṇini denoted both an assembly and assembly-hall (also called *Śālā*). Megasthenes has left behind a factual discription of the assembly-hall of the king Chandra Gupta Maurya.

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What we have actually found in the excavations is a magnificent big hall originally supported on 80 pillars distributed in 8 rows of 10 pillars each, with two extra pillars at one end which probably marks the spot of the royal throne. The pillars when complete were 18 feet high but unfortunately all of them, excepting one or two, have been broken into numberless fragments. The one which is well preserved is about 14 ft. high, tapering from the bottom towards the top and without a basement (having a plain shaft). On the bottom are engraved several symbols including crescent and Chaityas and the triangle-headed standard (*Indrayaṣṭi* or *Dhvaja*). The Crescent or Chaitya or Meru, as it is called, was a typical Mauryan symbol associated with the reign of Chandra Gupta. One of the most distinguishing features of the pillars and their fragments is the bright polish as found on the Aśokan Pillars. It is, therefore, easy to assign them to Mauryan period when this characteristic polish on stone was a regular feature of stone art. It appears that the super-structure was entirely of timber as recorded by the Chinese pilgrim. The whole building probably caught fire at some period of its existence and the result was its utter distruction as evident by the fragments.

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We may draw the attention to the *Sabhā* of king Yudhishṭhira as described in the *Sabhā Parvan* of the *Mahābhārata*. It was built by the architect Maya Asura. That *Sabhā* is described as *Divyā Maṇimayī* and *Prabhayā Sampannā* (polished). The *Sabhā* was rectangular (*Ayatākāra*) and spacious (*Vipulā*). The *Mahābhārata* actually mentions that the *Sabhā* was beautified by creepers of silver and birds of gold. Its total perimeter is mentioned as 8750 yds. The basement of the palace was supported on the head of Atlantes dwarfs (*Kiṅkra*) with pricked ears (*Śaṅku Karṇa*).

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During the Mauryan period two art traditions can be clearly distinguished, namely,

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(1) The court art exemplified in the monuments of Aśoka for which the emperor was directly responsible.

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(2) The tradition of folk art may be recognised in a group of free-standing statues which have been found at many places in north India, in Bihar and in Orissa. They are mostly figures of Yakshas and Yakshīs and they carry with them a distinct plastic tradition which it is not possible to connect with the finished products of the court art. The material as observed about the images has been found over a very extensive area, thousands of miles in length and breadth, which establishes in an undisputed manner the existence of a far flung style.

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The following images are noteworthy:—
(1) Yaksha statue from Parkham village in Mathura district (inscribed).
(2) Yaksha from Baroda village in Mathura district.
(3) Yakshī from Jhing Kā Nagarā in Mathura district.
(4) Yaksha statue found at Noh, village in Bharatpur district.
(5) Yakshī from Besnagar near Bhopal; now presrved in Indian museum.
(6) A Yaksha statue from Pawāyā ancient Padmāvatī, now preserved in the Gwalior Museum (inscribed).
(7) A Yaksha statue from Patna, now preserved in the Indian Museum (inscribed).
(8) Yaksha statue from Patna (inscribed), now preserved in the Indian museum.
(9) A Yakshī statue at Besnagar locally known as the Telin.
(10) Trimukha Yaksha statue—trifaced image (Fig. 41) found at the site of Rajghat (ancient Banaras), now preserved in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, B.H.U.
(11) A Yaksha image found somewhere in western India and now preserved in National museum.
(12) A Yaksha image found at Bhilsa in bed of the river Betwa (Vetravatī).
(13) Several big statutes of Yakshas found recently in excavations at Shishupalgarh in Orissa.

Identification

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The question of the identification of the remarkable group of statutes is of paramount interest for understanding the history of early Indian art both in the Mauryan and Sunga periods. Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, K. P. Jayswal and Ram Prasad Chanda had worked on this problem and taken part in the controversy regarding the proper identification of these images.

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Prof. Jayswal was the first to suggest on the basis of his reading and interpretation of the inscription on the Parkham image, that it represented the statue of King Ajātaśatru of the Śaiśunāga dynasty. He read the name Kuṇika which according to the Jaina tradition was a second name of Ajātaśatru. Subsequently when two more Yaksha statues were found at Pāṭaliputra Dr. Jayswal again identified them as the portrait statues of two Nanda emperors, Nanda and his son Mahānandi. Ram Prasad Chanda, however, controverted this view with cogent arguments developed in his monograph entitled *Four Yaksha Statues*. There he has conclusively shown that these statues can not be taken as those of Magadha emperors but represent figures of Yakshas and Yakshis who were worshipped as part of the folk cults prevalent in ancient India. Dr. Coomarasawamy was at first inclined to agree with Jayswal but later on convinced that these statues represent Yakshas and Yakshis. He wrote about the Parkham Yaksha (*Fig. 37*), "In view of the recent criticism it is impossible to adhere to Jayswal's view and it is necessary to revert to the opinion that the statue represents Yaksha and must date from the third century B.C."

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The question should be decided on the basis of the firm fact. In the first instance, the short inscription on the female statue found at Jhing Kā Nagarā calls it a Yakhi (in Prakrit, Sans. Yakshi). The statue from Pawāyā (Padmāvati) (*Figs. 36, 38*) also is mentioned as that of Maṇibhadra Yaksha which was installed by the members of a *Goshṭhī* at Pawāyā. The image found at Noh in Bharatpur district was traditionally known as that of a Jakhaiyā i.e., Yaksha.

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Fig. 36. Pawāyā Yaksha (Front View)] [Figure: Fig. 37. Parkham Yaksha (Mathura)] [Figure: Fig. 38. Pawāyā Yaksha (Back View)

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As regards the Parkham image which Dr. Jayswal identified with that of Kuṇika, the fact is that the inscription mentions the name of a teacher called Kuṇika, and his pupil Kuṇikāntevāsī had established that image. At the beginning can be read three letters निभाद which obviously form part of the name Maṇibhāda (in Prākṛit) or Māṇibhadra. So the Parkham image (Fig. 37) undoutedly represented the Yaksha Māṇibhadra.

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Fig. 39. Yaksha from Baroda Village (Mathura). (Back View)

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As regards the two Patna statues (Fig. 40) inscription on one of them reads भ गे अ च छ नी विक which may be rendered into Sanskrit as Bhagavān Akshaya Nivika i.e., of inexhaustible wealth; the inscription on the other is सवट नन्दि i.e., in Sanskrit Sarvatra Nandi. Both of these are apparently good Yaksha names. Dr. Vogel has (in his Catalogue of Mathura Museum) mentioned that the statue obtained in the Baroda Village of Mathura district (Fig. 39) was also being worshipped under the name of Jakhaiyā.

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We thus see on the basis of both the inscriptions on some of the statues and also local traditions obtained on the spot with respect to some of them, these were the statues of Yakshas and Yakshīs whose worship at one time was extremely popular.

Style

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Stylistically the above group of Yaksha images is distinguisded by the following characteristic features :—

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(1) They are of colossal size (Mahākāya, Mahā Pramāṇa) and massively built with pronounced emphasis on muscular strength.

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(2) They are usually carved in the round (Chaturmukhadarśana) and therefore free-standing ; the main effect is frontal as if they were intended to be seen from the front side only.

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(3) The drapery consists of a turban on the head and upper scarf thrown on the shoulders and arms, or tied round the chest and a dhotī hanging below up to the ankles and fastened with a girdle.

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(4) The ornaments consist of heavy ear-rings, heavy torque (Kaṇṭhā) and a flat triangular necklace and also armlets with feathered projections.

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A. Yakshi. Didarganj.

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B. Facade of Lomas Rishi Cave.

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C. Elephant. Dhauli.

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D. Lion pillar. Lauria Nandangarh.

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Fig. 40. Patna Yaksha

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Fig. 41. Trimuksha Yaksha statue (Rajghat)

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Fig. 42. Yakshi from Besnagar

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(5) There is also a tendency to depict the figure as slightly protuberant or pot-bellied as in the case of the Parkham Yaksha (Fig. 37) and Māṇibhadra Yaksha (Figs. 36, 38) from Pawāyā. These images are marked by the distinctive style which is the earliest in the history of Indian sculpture as known from historical sites. We have no earlier specimens to connect this style with preceding traditions or to throw light on the origin of this art. But its dominant character and almost country-wide extension, as for example from Mathura to Orissa and Pāṭaliputra to Bombay, furnish certain indications that this art must have had a long history, most probably rendered in perishable material like clay or wood. As regards their position in the evolution of Indian art the most natural suggestion is that they were executed during the Mauryan period (third century B.C.). It was just the time when stone was being used for architecture and sculpture under the direction of the Mauryan emperors Chandra Gupta and Aśoka. The polished specimens of Mauryan art represent a court style whereas the Yaksha images are examples of folk art.

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With the making of these images a style of art became established which the artists of the subsequent periods were bound to regard as their model. This is what we actually find in the art of the Sunga period. The Yaksha images carved in the monuments of Bharhut and Sanchi are the proof of the continuity of the Yaksha tradition both in iconography and in the style of art. The Bharhut and Sanchi Yakshas appear in the direct line of their ancestors, namely, the Yaksha images found at Parkham in the Mathura district and nearer home at Bhilsa and Pawāyā. The Yaksha tradition, as we shall see later, was very strongly dominating the art of the Sunga period in which we actually find a number of images of Yakshas and Yakshīs carved on various pillars and gateways (see Stūpa of Bharhut). The images are inscribed with the names of these cult deities, for example, Kupira Yaksha (Kubera Yaksha) or Sudasanā Yakhi (Sudarśanā Yakhi) etc.

Mauryan Art Under Aśoka

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The monuments of Mauryan art under Aśoka as preserved up-till now comprise the following:—

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(1) Monolithic stone pillars.
(2) Monolithic stone railings preserved at Sarnath.
(3) Fragmentry parasol found at Sanchi.
(4) Miscellaneous male heads found during the excavations at Sarnath.
(5) Rock-cut Chaitya halls in the Barabar hills in Bihar.
(6) An elephant carved on the rock at Dhauli.
(7) A few stūpas of brick and mortar which have gone subsequent enlargement.

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Aśoka may be said to have been a great builder on the basis of the surviving monuments but tradition very much exaggerates his building activities and credits him with the building of the cities, innumerable stūpas, Vihāras or monastries, pillars and railings of stone bearing inscriptions of artistic sculpture. Tradition ascribes to Aśoka the foundation of two cities, namely (1) Śrīnagara, the capital of Kashmir and (2) Devapattana, a city in Nepal. Aśoka is said to have opened original eight stūpas containing the relics of the Buddha and redistributed them over 84 thousand stūpas which, it is said, he built. Archaeological evidence acquaints us with only the few stūpas, the stūpas at Sanchi and Bharhut for example, built by Aśoka. Form his own words in the Edicts, we learn that he enlarged to twice its size the stūpa of Kanaghamana (Kanaka Muni), the previous Buddha at Niglivā, and built for the sect of Ājīvikas three sets of cave-valleys (Chaityas) in the Barabar hills of Bihar.

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Asoka is best remembered by the monolithic pillars. A few of which have survived, rather been discovered at Allahabad, Lauriā Ararāj, Lauriā Nandangarh (with lion capital), Rāmpurvā (with lion capital), Sanchi (Capital with four lions), Sarnath (with a capital of four lions, originally surmounted by a Dharma Chakra), Rummindei (with horse capital?), Niglivā and two pillars removed to Delhi by Sultan Firoj Tuglak in 1356, of which one originally stood at Meerut and the other at Topra in Ambala district.

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All the above ten pillars are inscribed. There are three uninscribed pillars which are also taken on the basis of their bright polish and style to be Mauryan, namely (1) at Bakhirā (Vaiśālī, with the lion capital), (2) Sankisā (with elephant capital), and (3) Rāmpurvā with a bull capital.

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Recently one inscribed pillar has been discovered without its capital at Kausāmbi which also has characteristic Mauryan polish. Fa-hien noticed only six pillars but Huen-Tsang, who travelled extensively, noticed fifteen of Asokan pillars of which only four or five can now be identified, for example, the pillars at Sankisā, Lumbini, Niglivā, Sarnath and In his inscriptions Asoka mentions stone pillars already existing before his time.

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The pillars represent the high water-mark of Maurya achievement in the domain of fine arts. They generally consist of a round and monolithic shaft tapering from the base with a diameter ranging from about 35.5" to 49.5" to a total height of between 40 and 50 feet, diameter at the top ranging from 22" to about 35".

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A study of the style of capitals of these pillars reveals some kind of chronological sequence which may be roughly arranged as follows:—

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(1) The earliest one is marked by the lion capital at Bakhirā (Fig. 43); the elephant of Sankisā (Fig. 44) pillar and the rock cut elephant of Dhauli also belong to the crude style.

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(2) The next stage is represented by the Rāmpurvā bull capital (Fig. 45) followed closely by the lion capital at Lauriā Nandangarh (Fig. 46). In both of these we find the dignity of conception and balance in the execution of the different parts.

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(3) The final stage is represented by the lion capital at Rāmpurvā (Fig. 47) and the lion capital at Sanchi following closely the lion capital at Sarnath (Fig. 48).

The Bakhira Lion Capital

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The lion figure is clumsy and crude in style; the shaft of the column is heavy and dwarfish in proportion. The animal is uncomfortably placed on its abacus. It is rather wooden in appearance and lacks in natural expression. The whole attitude is artificial and primitive (*Fig. 43*). Though the sculptor betrays his capacity to handle the mass before him and to bring out a living form, there is no plastic feeling in the body of the lion. The abacus, the inverted lotus and the standing shaft all point to an inferior workman who had not the ability to integrate all the three elements of the pillar with its capital. We miss here that essential majesty which is associated with the Mauryan pillars.

The Elephant Capital at Sankisa

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The capital consists of three parts, namely (1) an eleppant on the top, (2) a round abacus in the middle and (3) an inverted lotus below. The decoration on the abacus consists of the honey-suckle design and lotus, and a reel border. Here the abacus and the inverted lotus are much better but the elephant is rather plump and static. It does not show any motion and its front legs are fitted like pillars (*Fig. 44*). The attitude of the body fails to harmonise with the abacus and the lotus capital below.

Rampurva Bull Capital

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It consists of an animal sculpture at the top, a round abacus in the middle and an inverted lotus below seperate by a corded design in between them. The bull stands in a graceful manner harmoniously poised on the abacus. Its weight rests on its base in a natural way (*Fig. 45*). The three elements of this pillar are symmetrical and rendered with remarkable clarity. The body of the animal is muscular and the plastic treatment is of natural character.

Lauria Nandangarh Lion Capital

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This capital consists of a sejant lion, a round abacus decorated with pecking-geese-pattern similar to that in Rāmpurvā lion capital and finally an inverted lotus below. The lower most portion is covered with overflowing recurved and stylised petals. It shows the cord design both above and below. In this example the expression in the figure of the lion is much more vigorous and intense (*Fig. 46*). The details of the nerves and the veins are more sharply defined, yet the whole figure is marked by a good deal of stylising.

Rampurva Lion Capital

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It is similar to the lion capital at Lauriā Nandangarh. In that it consists of three elements, namely, a sejant lion, a round abacus with row of Haṁsas and a lotus with overflowing leaves and petals seperated by a plain round moulding. The lion figure is well executed and displays all those qualities that are associated with the master-pieces of Mauryan sculpture (*Fig. 47*), namely, a perfectly natural form, dynamic expression, technical perfection in the precision of cutting and chiselling ; and above all a harmony of its component parts, the abacus adequately ballances the animal figure, it supports. Some have regarded the lion figure of Rāmpurvā capital to be even superior to those of the Sarnath lion capital, the latter being slightly on the side of greater stylization.

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Fig. 43. Lion Capital from Bakhirā

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Fig. 44. Elephant Capital from Sankisā

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Fig. 45. Bull Capital Rāmpurvā

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Fig. 46. Lion Capital, Lauriā Nandangarh

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Fig. 47. Lion Capital, Rāmpurvā

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Fig. 48. Lion Capital, Sārnath

Sarnath Lion Capital

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This famous monument (*Fig. 48*) represents the highest perfection of Mauryan art under Aśoka. The capital should be studied from two points of view, namely, the nature of its component parts with special reference to the source of the motifs, and the meaning of its symbolism.

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The capital consisted of four component parts, viz. (I) the inverted lotus, (II) the round abacus or drum, (III) the surmounting animal figure consisting of four lions seated back to back, and (IV) a crowning Dharma Chakra supported on the heads of the four lions.

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(I) The Inverted Lotus

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Its lowermost portion is similar to that we have in the other pillar capitals of Aśoka. There is some controversy about the exact nature and nomenclature of this motif. Western scholars generally interpret it as a bell and regard the parts as bell-shaped or campaniform. There are several cogent objections in accepting this interpretation:—

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(1) In a bell design there is hardly any place for the over-flowing conspicuous leaves which form the decoration of the exterior suface.

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(2) The smaller sepals—Even upto now the traditional artists in rendering the flowers depict both the petals (*Pankhaḍi*) and sepals (*Bachheḍi*).

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(3) If we explain the motif as a bell there is no point in the corded or rope design or plain moulding which we see in the neck of the object. It is only in the case of the pot and the foliage or vase and flower motif that we get a consistent explanation of these various decorative features.

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Firstly, the idea of *Pūrṇaghaṭa* or *Maṅgala Kalaśa* had been known since the time of Ṛigveda for which continuous literary evidence is available. The Buddhist literature refers to it as *Puṇṇghaṭa*. More than literature actual religious as well as art tradition is full with this motif of the *Maṅgala Kalaśa*. It is universal in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. It is popular with all ranks of people, both rich and poor, and there is practically no festive occasion in which the *Pūrṇaghaṭa* is not installed either as religious symbol or for its beautifying purpose. This can really be said to have been a universal, accessible and readily understood of the symbols. Its auspicious character is so obvious and patent as hardly to need any argument. Moreover, there is another fact to be considered. A motif does not suddenly appear in art and disappears without leaving any trace in subsequent art. It is not an exotic phenomenon which is introduced for a while and then discarded. It is rather a natural thing which grows from inside the tradition and is the fruit of an intelligent acceptance by the people.

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Its appearance in art in subsequent years is linked in a perfect manner with the tradition that follows. In the case of the *Pūrṇaghaṭa* motif this condition is perfectly satisfied, for in the couple of centuries after the Mauryan art under Aśoka we find this motif forming a very natural element of the pillar decoration in the Buddhist art at Bharhut, Sanchi, Karle, Kanheri, etc.

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Thus it will appear that this element of Aśokan capital is more naturally explained and understood in the contest of Indian art tradition. Of course, there is the element of stylization, so far as artistic rendering of the motif is concerned. That also can be properly appreciated when we see that even in the rendering of the lion figures in this capital the artist did admit a certain amount of conventional treatment as in the case of the moustaches and manes of the lions.

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(2) THE ABACUS (*Phalaka*):

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The next component part in the making of the lion capital consists of an abacus or round drum of pleasing proportion which is decorated by four running animals alternating with four smaller *Dharma Chakras*. The animals are an elephant, a horse, a bull and a lion. Each *Dharma Chakra* has 24 spokes. The animals are depicted in a running posture going round and round the supposed central axis. Quite obviously both the animals and the wheels possess a symbolic character and cannot be taken to be merely decorative. The full significance of the symbol will be discussed later.

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(3) The Four Lions

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The third constituent part of this Aśokan capital or Sarnath capital consists of four majestic lions seated on their hind legs in an addorsed position.

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They supported on their heads a *Dharma Chakra* (*Fig. 49*) of bigger size which forms the fourth part of this capital. The total height of the lion capital without *Dharma Chakra* is 10 ft. and its breadth across the abacus is 12' 11". The *Dharma Chakra* on the top was about twice as big as the smaller *Dharma Chakras* on the abacus. It had 32 spokes and its base was inserted in a mortise hole 8" in diameter with a depth of 4". During the excavations at Sarnath about half a dozen fragments from the spokes and the rim of this *Dharma Chakra* were found which bear the same bright polish as the rest of the capital.

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All authorities are agreed that the Sarnath lion capital represents the perfection of Mauryan art and testify to the undisputed mastery of the Mauryan stone-cutters of technical execution. Sir John Marshall considers it as the finest carving that India has yet produced and unsurpassed by anything of its kind in the ancient world. Dr. V. A. Smith has observed, "The skill of the stone-cutter may be said to have attained perfection, and to have accomplished the task which would perhaps be found beyond the powers of the 20th century. Gigantic shafts of hard sand stone, 30 ft. or 40 ft. in length, were dressed and proportioned with the utmost nicety, receiving a polish which no modern nation knows how to import to the material".

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Fig. 49. Sarnath Lion Capital with Dharma Chakra

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Commenting on the art of lion capital Sir John Marshall has observed, "The Sarnath capital, on the other hand, though by no means a masterpiece, is the product of the most developed art of which the world was cognizant in the 3rd century B.C.—the handiwork of one who had generations of artistic effort and experience behind him. The masterful strength of the crowning lions with their swollen veins and tense muscular development and in the spirited realism of the reliefs below, there is no trace whatever of the imitations of primitive art so far as naturalism was his aim. The sculptor has modelled the figures direct from nature and has deleted, therefore, with bold faithful touch, but he has done more than this, he has consciously and of set purpose infused the tectonic (related to architecture) conventional spirit in to the four lions, so as to bring them in to harmony with the architectural character of the monument. Equally mature is the technique of his relief work. In early Greek sculpture it was the practice to compress the relief between two fixed planes, the original front plane of the statue and the plane of the background. In the reliefs of the Sarnath capital there is no trace, whatever of this process, each and every part of the animal is modelled according to its actual depth without a reference to an ideal front plane, with the result that it presents the appearance almost of a figure in the round which has been cut in half and then applied to the background of the abacus".

Meaning of the Symbolism of the Sarnath Lion Capital

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It may be said at the outset that the Sarnath lion capital is the product of a supreme religious symbolism in which each part is a conscious conception in the aggregate. It also appears that this symbolism was the result of an attempt to illustrate Aśoka's own outlook and philosophy of human relationships.

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The grand architect of the idea underlying this capital was Aśoka himself, as exemplified by the following three facts of his outlook on life and administration.

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The first fact relates to his close contact with the masses of people which he realised in his own person and also by organised tours of his officers throughout the kingdom. The nature of this mass contact is laid down in one of his edicts—जानपद जनस दसनस धम्म पलिपुछा धम्मानुसिट्ठि.

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This, in fact, is the innovation of policy by the emperor aiming at mass contact through direct visits to the people, holding discussions with them on the problems of Dhamma or moral life, and finally enlightening them about the new ideas and definition of Dhamma as formulated by the emperor. This then announces a new respect for the people, hitherto unknown and unthought of in the ancient annals of the country by any monarch.

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The second dominant fact about Aśoka was his paramount position as the emperor of a vast empire ( महालक विजित ), extending right from Bactria to Mysore and from Saurāṣṭra on shores of the western ocean to Kaliṅga on the eastern sea-coast. His authority was unchallenged and almost unparallelled. All that he did was in the capacity of the supreme head of the secular state and also as the spiritual guide, friend and philosopher of the strongly organised spiritual church of Buddhism. Whatever the emperor would think, plan and do, the effect of the emperor's power as the supreme ruler of his people would primarily dictate action and had to be taken into account.

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The above two factors were shared by other kings also before and after him, but what was unique as a force in shaping the policies of Aśoka was his new outlook of *Dhamma* or the law of moral piety which served as the main spring of his actions. The edicts are eloquent about his ideal of *Dhamma Vijaya* which was a moving passion with him.

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These three facts, therefore, demanded adequate expression in the symbolism of art created for him or at his instance by his workmen. If we apply these three ideals to the various parts of the capital, we may readily discover that the crowning *Dharma Chakra* symbolises the policy of *Dharma Vijaya*, the four seated lions represent the majesty and power of the emperor as the supreme ruler of the land. The next constituent part comprising the decoration on the abacus falls in line with the ideal of serving the masses through *Dhamma*. The four animals represent the divinity in the various orders of social organisations and the *Dharma Chakra* illustrates its underlying unity as actually happened in the life of Aśoka. These three orders of reality were integrated and combined into a supreme manifestation of all the resources and availability of the ruler and his kingdom. These three things together represent the emotional integration of the personality of Aśoka himself who dedicated his life and his kingdom to the welfare of his people through the ideal of *Dhamma*.

Origin of Mauryan Art

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The question of the origin and the sources of inspiration behind the monuments of Mauryan art is of considerable importance. As is well known there is absence of specimens of monuments representing the several phases of pre-Mauryan art but there is enough evidence in literature to indicate that art in India had a long history even before the Mauryan period. For example, we have literary references to royal palaces built on a thousand pillars (सहस्त खंभ पासाद), assembly halls (*Sabhā*, *Samthāgāra*), pillars (थंभ, स्थूणा), towns (पुर) and cities (नगर), gateways (गोपुर, द्वार) and city-walls (प्राकार), stūpas, Chaityas, railings (वेदिका), caves (शैलगुहा), temples of gods (देवगृह, देवायतन), images (प्रतिमा, रूपक) and to a number of subsidiary crafts such as wood-carving (काष्ठकर्म, तक्षण), weaving, lapidary's art (मणिकर्म, मणिशिल्प), jweller's art (सुवर्णशिल्प) etc. There is no doubt that actual archaeological evidences of any specimens preceding Mauryan art are few and far between, but there were rich artistic traditions which found expression in one or more of the above classes of art objects which undoutedly existed. So far as architectural buildings are concerned they were almost exclusively rendered or made of wood as shown by the remanents of the wooden palisade of Pāṭaliputra. The stylo of the earliest Chaitya halls in the Barabar hills provides ample proof of early wooden prototypes. In the Chaitya halls in western Indian caves elements of wooden constructions as vaulted ribs and Kirtimukha screen have actually survived. There are the minute details in the railings of Sanchi and Bharhut which cannot be explained except with reference to the requirements of wooden architecture. The ancient Yaksha statues, a few of which have been preserved, also furnish evidence of the existence of the art of image-making in the pre-Mauryan times.

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But the question, which concerns us, directly relates to the origin of such finished art as that of the lion capital of Aśoka, which displays the climax of technical perfection and a complete mastery of the secrets of modelling and carving in the round. The Mauryan polish itself is without any traces of its existence either in the succeeding or preceding periods. What then was the source of the unprecedented artistic activity during the reigns of Chandra Gupta and Aśoka? In the words of Sir John Marshall, "What is the explanation of the gulf which separates these two sculptures (1) the primitive unifacial image of Parkham and (2) the richly modelled capital of Sarnath?". He himself gave an answer to this question, namely, that it was the Achaemenian art of Iran which served as the model for the Mauryan art through the intermediary agencies of the Hellenistic artists of Bactria. According to him the Aśokan edicts were inspired by the Achaemenian inscriptions and the Mauryan palace at Pāṭaliputra by the palaces at Susa and Persipolis built by emperor Darius in the hey-day of that most glorious empire of antiquity. According to him it was in Persia that the animal-crowned capitals of pillars were evolved. The smooth shafts of the Mauryan pillars were copied from Persian originals of which specimens are still existent in the plain of Murghat at Istakhr, Naksh-i-Rustum and Persipolis. It was from Persia again that craftsmen of Aśoka learnt to give a lustrous polish to stone of which abundant evidence survives at Persipolis and elsewhere. Sir John Marshall belives that the Persian influence came to India through Bactria in which area there were great centres of civilisation under the Selucids with whom political and cultural relations were established by the Indians. He has emphatically stated that the Sarnath capital is alien to Indian ideas in expression and in execution. So far as the contents of the lion capital, i.e. the ideas of expression, are concerned, we have already seen from a two-fold approach how these ideas are wholly indigenous. On the other hand, they are completely in accord with the tradition of Indian art both preceding and following the reign of Aśoka. Secondly the Dharma Chakra, the four lions and the figures on the round abacus are eloquent expressions of the personal ideas and ideals of Aśoka, with respect to the love in the Law of Piety inculcated by the Buddha; they illustrate his mighty authority as the sovereign of a vast empire, and his keen anxiety to establish living contacts with his people as no crowned head had done before.

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So far as the problem of the technical execution of the lion capital is concerned (the lion capital in particular and the Aśokan art in general) it may be conceded that Western Asiatic forms as well as Achaemenian influences were at work to some extent at the Maurya court. According to the established practice of the times reputed artists and expert workmen were summoned from distant places and commissioned with large-scale undertakings to carry out the architectural programmes of ambitious emperors. Fortunately, both in India and in Iran we come across evidence of this international partnership in architectural experiment. The best known historical example is that of Darius who built the famous palaces at Susa and Parsipolis by following an ambitious plan of extending invitations to expert workmen in many countries and ordered the import of material from numerous places outside Iran. In the foundation charter of the palace at Susa is stated that the emperor Darius invited adepts in various crafts to come from many distant provinces of his empire including Gandhāra and Sind; the latter named fact clearly points to the knowledge of the Indian people that foreign workmen were employed in such big undertakings. Chandragupta Maurya and his successors Bindusāra and Aśoka seem to have followed the normal practice of the time and may have invited workmen from Iran just as Darius had invited them from India. As Marshall has himself admitted Iranian workmen assisted by a rich team of Indian artists and architects who should be credited with the taking of a responsible share in the execution of the work. On the Indian side also we have the explicit evidence of the *Mahābhārata* where it is stated in the Sabhā Parvan that the services of the architect Maya (who was of the Asura race) were employed by the royal court of Indraprastha for building the assembly hall (*Sabhā*). Naturally, Maya as superintending architect was allowed complete freedom to plan and execute the important architectural commission entrusted to him in accordance with his own artistic talents as well as Indian traditions. The descriptions of the *Yudhishṭhira-Sabhā*, as recorded in the Sabhā Parvan of the *Mahābhārata*, leave no room for doubt that both traditions, Iranian as well as Indian, were drawn upon by Maya so much so that we find there is a definite mention of the bright polish on the surface of the walls and on pillars of that assembly hall. Although set in a semi-mythical mould the story of the architect Maya is clearly eloquent with historical implications; as more than one scholar have already appreciated the fact, the description of the *Yudhishṭhira Sabhā* in the Sabhā Parvan may be ascribed to the Mauryan or post-Mauryan period.

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We may thus imagine that the Mauryan art was the result of a fusion of what was best in the past tradition of India and Iran. An exact parallel may be pointed out in the creations of the Mughal art under Akbar in which Indian painters of established tradition were working side by side with the master painters of Persia and the emperor, naturally, was keenly desirous to utilise without a distinction the services of the most talented artists living in his time.

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A similar phenomenon was witnessed in the Mauryan period in that the finished products of Mauryan art possessed certain features taken from abroad, but are at the same time distinguished by the Indian elements of form, theme and decoration. Such motifs as the row of pecking geese, lotus creepers, the four traditional animals, the Dharma Chakra etc. are entirely of Indian tradition.

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In speaking of the foreign influences on the form and style we cannot forget to note the differences between the pillars and capitals of Achaemenian art and of Mauryan art. Here are some of those features:—

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(1) Stone columns of the Mauryan hall at Pāṭaliputra (Chandragupta Sabhā) do not show any capitals where as the pillars in the palace-hall at Persipolis are provided with figured capitals.

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(2) The Iranian pillars stand either on bell-shaped bases or on plain circular mouldings, whereas the independent Mauryan columns had no base at all. Secondly the bell-form used in the base of the Persian pillars is a part of the capital in the Mauryan columns and produces an altogether different aesthetic effect.

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(3) In form and appearance the so-called Mauryan bell is a long way off from the Iranian bell. The latter consists of a ring of petals or reels on the upper end, but has no bulge in the middle portion from which the so-called Mauryan bell derives so much beauty. Moreover the so-called Mauryan bell is made to approximate as nearly as possible the Indian traditional designs of pot and foliage (Pūrṇa Ghaṭa) rendered in a stylised manner. The Pūrṇa Ghaṭa motif was known from the time of Ṛigveda. Moreover it was associated with Indian pillars made of wood both to make it look more beautiful as well as to preserve it from decay. A plain circular pillar fragment made of wood resembling the plain shaft of the Aśokan pillar has been actually found in a mound at Lauriā Nandangarh. In the early Buddhist literature as well as in the Epics there are references to pillars standing independently in religious buildings and public places. Aśoka himself has mentioned the existence of such pillars. Similarly with respect to the animal capitals on the top of the Mauryan pillars, it was an ancient practice of providing pillars with animal capitals as shown by such references as Garuḍadvaja, Vṛishadhvaja, Makaradhvaja etc. Therefore the upper component part of the Mauryan capitals fitted very well with the literary and artistic traditions of pre-Mauryan India.

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(4) The shaft of the Iranian columns is fluted in all cases except in the facade of the tombs or the Nechropolis (इमशान) and also the single column that remains from the palace of Cyrus (करूष). This latter pillar dates from the time when the Iranian art had not evolved its classical forms. The style of the plain unfluted columns was discarded by the Achaemenians themselves. It would be wrong to suggest that the Mauryan sculptors ignoring the fluted shaft of the time of Darius went back in search for their models to the primitive designs of Cyrus. In the case of the pillars of Nechropolis they form part of the rock-cut tombs of the time of Darius and Yorks. In these tombs the shaft was kept plain because the vaults stood at a considerable height above the ground and if the pillars were made fluted it would have further reduced the columns and diverted them of a frank and clear aspect, if viewed from a distance. The Persian sculptor modified the form as the Greeks often did in similar cases. We may thus justifiably search for the original model of the plain Mauryan columns in such wooden pillars as found at Lauriā Nandangarh.

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(5) There is one more difference of a conspicuous character. The Achaemenian shaft when erected independently is made up of several segments while the Mauryan pillars are monolithic. The Persian columns show the requirements of stone while the Mauryan pillar is connected with the originals of timber construction which were made of entire logs of wood.

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(6) The Persian and the Mauryan capitals also show marked difference. The former are crowned with a cluster of stylised palm leaves and consist of two human-headed bulls or lions seated back to back, by an inverted cup and the whole shows projecting double volutes. These elements do not find exact counterparts in the Mauryan capitals which show animal figures but not human-headed and the so-called bell form is covered by a stylised lotus petals. The crowning abacus and its decoration as found in Mauryan capitals are absent in Achaemenian art.

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(7) Lastly, the Persian columns were introduced to form part of elaborate architectural construction. But the Aśokan pillars were intended to serve as independent monuments and designed to produce their effect as such. They are simpler, more harmonious and give a better feeling of stability, dignity and strength. The Mauryan column is no doubt an original construction of indigenous art of that period.

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The bright lustrous polish is a distinctive feature of Mauryan (Aśokan) art. We should, however, remember that specimens of pre-Mauryan art in stone have not survived and it is difficult to be positive on this point whether this polish was produced in India for the first time in the Mauryan period. We should draw attention to literary evidences which refer to such polish. Firstly, there is the description of a palace-hall built on the bank of the Gaṅgā bearing such polish on its walls and ceiling in the *Mahā Ummagga Jātaka*; and secondly in the description of the assembly hall of Yudhiṣṭhira.

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In the latter case the architect is *Maya Asura* who was a foreigner employed at the royal court of Yudhishṭhira and it is quite possible that the idea and technique of imparting this kind of polish to the surface of the stone was borrowed from outside, sometimes before or during the early Mauryan period.

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The question remains open for final judgement until some more archaeological evidence comes forth.