Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c15.6

c15.6

The great art movement released by Aśoka's creative powers reached the Andhra country along the Kaliṅga and South Kosala routes leading to the foundation of a number of Buddhist monuments at Saṅkārāma situated on the Kaliṅga route and at Guṇṭapalle on the Kosala route. Probably the influences coming to Guṇṭapalle preceded those towards Saṅkārāma, since the Magadha route through the Sone and Jyotirathā valleys was open much before the Kaliṅga war. The main architectural style at both places is rock-cut. The activity at Guṇṭapalle seems to have started about the middle of the 3rd cent. B. C. and at Saṅkārāma at about 200 B. C. The monuments at Guṇṭapalle are much better preserved and show a vigorous movement which brought into existence a local group of two rock cut Vihāras, one circular rock-cut chaitya-hall and several monolithic Stūpas in the beginning. An apsidal chaitya-hall of the Hīnayāna phase was built about 200 B. C. and finally in the 2nd cent. A. D. an apsidal chaitya-hall but with images of the Buddha in place of the Stūpa was built by the Māhāyānists.