Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c5: Chapter I: 1. Introductory

Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c5

Language: English

Chapter I: 1. Introductory

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PURPOSE—Indian art is a mirror of the thought, religion, philosophy, cults and culture of India. It is a rich commentary on the life of the Indian people. How they lived, how they felt, what were their ideas about the Divine, how they worshipped and what they created on the plane of matter is documented in the creations of Indian art. The material is extensive as now available in the form of architectural monuments, sculptures, images, paintings, bronzes, clay-figurines, pottery, ivory figures and other minor arts. Each part of the country has been the arena of art production. The tempo of creative activity changed from centre to centre during successive periods but the overall stream of Indian æsthetic endeavour belongs to the whole country.

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Each region has taken its due share in this session of beauty (*Rūpa-sattra*). The genius of many a people has contributed to this enrichment, but the inspiration and the meaning throughout are essentially Indian. With the extension of Indian culture beyond the seas and across the mountainous frontiers the monuments of Indian art took root in other lands carrying with them the original inspiration in the matter of ideas, and to a large extent in form also. Fortunately, the monuments exist to this day as proof of the expansive art movements that originated in the home-land and took shape outside. The depth and intensity of the colossal æsthetic flood which once engulfed the inter-continental regions from Indonesia to Central Asia extract our admiration. An integrated study of all the varied creations of Indian art necessitates an interpretation in the light of the philosophy, religion and cultural patterns that flourished on the Indian soil and are preserved in her sublime literature from the Vedas up to the Purāṇas and Kāvyas.

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CHRONOLOGY—This art material is not only vast in space but also extensive in time. The story begins in the Indus Valley in the third millenium B. C. and covers about fifty centuries. The sequence of this long chronology is more or less settled for a working basis, as follows :

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(vi) Śuṅga Period C. 184 B. C.—72 B. C.
(vii) Kāṇva Dynasty C. 72 B. C.—27 B. C. (viii) Bactrian (Bāhlīka-Yavana) and Indo-Greeks (Madraka-Yavana) C. 250 B. C.—150 B. C.
(ix) Kṣaharāta Śaka-Kṣatrapa C. 1st century B. C.—C. 390 A. D.
(x) Sātavāhanas C. 200 B. C. upto 200 A. D.
(xi) Śaka-Kuṣāṇas C. 80 B. C.—2nd century A. D.
(xii) Ikṣvākus of Āndhradeśa C. 3rd century A. D. (xiii) Gupta Period C. 319 A. D.—600 century A. D.
(xiv) Cālukya Period C. 550 A. D.—642 A. D.
(xv) Rāṣṭrakūṭa Period C. 753 A. D.—973 A. D.
(xvi) Pallava Dynasty C. 600 A. D.—750 A. D. (xvii) Chola Dynasty C. 900-1053 A. D. (xviii) Pāṇḍya Dynasty C. 1251 A. D.—1310 A. D.
(xix) Hoysala Dynasty C. 12-13th centuries
(xx) Vijayanagara Dynasty C. 1336-1565 A. D.
(xxi) Gaṅga Dynasty and also Kesarīs of Orissa C. 11-13th centuries (xxii) Pālas of Magadha and Senas of Bengal C. 9-12th centuries (xxiii) Gurjara Pratīhāras 750—950 A.D. (xxiv) Chandellas 900—1000 A.D.
(xxv) Solaṅkīs 765 A.D.—1200 A.D. (xxvi) Gahaḍavālas 1085—1200 A.D.

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Art movements originate, gather strength and continue so as to mingle their strands with the successive ones and, therefore, one need not insist on the fixity of political dates, which only offer a satisfactory working basis. The period from about the sixth century B. C. to the beginning of the era may be termed as ‘Pre-classical’; that from the first century A. D. to the time of Harṣa (seventh century) as the ‘Classical age’, which forms the most important of the formative periods of Indian culture in its multiple facets of art, literature and life. This was followed by what is known as the ‘Medieval period’ (700-1200 A. D.), which may be divided into ‘Early’ (700-900 A. D.) and ‘Late’ (900-1200 A.D.).

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On this long road of time, Indian art travelled with steady strides leaving behind glorious foot-prints as demonstrated by the numerous monuments spread in all directions. The story of this art may be regarded as being both simple and complex—simple because a thread of unity permeates it, complex because it is a skein of many strands. An art historian of India should have the discriminative insight to unravel the tangled yarns of local, regional and national forms, styles, decorations, influences and contents.

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PROVENANCE—Provenance and chronology form the main rafters of art edifice. They are rooted in factual data which should be carefully collected and considered in a study of Indian art. The find-places of most of the monuments and objects under study are usually known and recorded. In the case of sculptures and architectural pieces, the colour and formation of stone is a reliable guide. For example, in the Indus Valley white limestone of the Kirthar hills was used for making statuettes; in the Mauryan art hard-grained buff Chunar sandstone; in Kushāṇa art of Mathura red sandstone; in Gandhāra art bluish schist or slate-stone; in Gupta art reddish sandstone of local varieties; in Pāla art usually black basalt; in Chālukyan art yellowish sandstone; in the stūpas of Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda etc. local whitish limestone of the Andhra country which has often been described as marble.

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DATES—The problem of dates is to be based on the data supplied by the Inscriptions engraved on the monuments, e. g. a Stūpa, a temple, śilāpaṭṭa, or on the pedestal of an image, or statue. When such information is lacking, the style becomes our guide for assigning a date to an art object. In the case of systematic archæological excavations, the relative strata as defined by the inscriptions, coins and associated finds indicate the sequence of chronology. The lever of an objective study is to settle the period or dating of an art object, and to place it in its proper historical and cultural background when that particular object was produced. Thus, the find-place, date and style give us the full cultural interpretation of an art object.

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MEANING—The formal study of art as outlined above reaches its fulfilment in the discovery of the meaning of which an art object stands as concrete symbol. According to the Indian theory of æsthetics, art as well as poetry is comprised of four elements, namely, (i) Rasa, (ii) Artha, (iii) Chhandas and (iv) Śabda. Rasa is the soul of all art, a spiritual quality enshrining its permanent value. It is the basic, essential and inscrutable Divine element in creation as well as art. Rasa is the aggregate of human emotions (Bhāva). Both art and poetry aim to express the emotional contents of the human mind. The theorists speak of eight or nine Rasas with their respective sentiments or emotions. All high art evokes an emotion in the heart of the connoisseur. The poet and the artist begin by conceiving an emotion to be expressed through word or a material medium (Rūpa).

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The next step is to select a meaning or theme (Artha) as the vehicle of the particular Rasa intended to be expressed. The extent of meaning of Indian art comprises the vast pantheon of gods and goddesses, each one of whom is the symbol of celestial and earthly powers that are in the Universe, and really stand for the manifestations of one Divinity. The great Purāṇic legends or myths are cast in the pattern of a conflict between the powers of light and of darkness. Indian art and poetry illustrate these themes. Great Beings (*Mahāpurusha*) like the Buddha, Mahāvīra and other heroic kings of heavenly charater stand for the principle of light contending against the forces of evil described as Māra, Vṛitra, Tripura, Mahisha, etc. Without its meaning Art is blind. It is eloquent with its sense and purpose when properly understood as those who created it and for whom it was created both understood it. Meaning has great value to appreciate fully the cultural purpose of Indian art. The quest of meaning leads us to the study of art symbolism, e. g. in the case of *Chakra*, *Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa*, *Svastika*, *Garuḍa*, *Nāga*, *Yaksha*, etc.

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Having fixed the subject or theme the artist makes a choice of his rhythm (*Chhanda*, *Tāla*, *Laya*), or measure (*Mātrā*) which determines the various elements of beauty as symmetry, harmony, grouping, proper relationship of the main figure with its constituents and composition (*Sampūrṇjana*). An important branch of Indian art thus relates to iconometry (*Tālamāna*). The cosmos with its individual objects presents a measured model for the artist which he accepts to be imaged not so much objectively as through his mind (*Chitta*) or meditation (*Dhyāna*), each art object thus becoming an individual creation.

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The last element of art is the expression of an idea in a concrete form on the plane of matter. What the artist has thought takes form in art. This is *Śabda* for poetry and *Rūpa* for visual arts. Sculpture, painting, architecture, etc. have their several media, but they are similar in being concrete symbols of ideas. Their language is direct, making an appeal to the mind through the senses.

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VALUE OF MIND—Herein lies the supreme value of art, viz. that it is a bridge between the worlds of mind and of matter. Art may be defined as the expression of an idea in visual form in a beautiful manner. Art is mind made manifest in matter. It is this quality which makes art so human and so intimate to the soul of man. As music through the ear, so visual arts through the eye reach the inner heart and generate sublimating vibrations of a subtle nature. The true connoissuer (*Rasika*, *Sahṛidaya*, *Vichakshaṇa*) lives in the aroma of art and sips deep of its ambrosia. This faculty of the heart to register an æsthetic shock from art is called *Saṃvega*.

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True art is ever fresh as a recurrent session of beauty. Its charm does not fade and its æsthetic appeal comes back to the mind in ever rolling waves. Art is a human creation (*Mānushī Śilpa*), but nearest to the Divine creation (*Deva Śilpa*).

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It is the divine inspiration in the heart of the artist which invests works with heavenly beauty of both Meaning (Artha) and Form (Rūpa).

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DECORATIVE ELEMENTS — An objective analysis of the contents of Indian art acquaints us with its decorative elements and the themes depicted. From the very outset Indian artists took delight in decorative designs and formal elements both taken from nature and invented by man. Geometrical (Rekhākriti), floral (Patra-vallari), and animal (Ihāmṛiga) designs were freely introduced in natural and conventionalised forms. Sometimes they are used with great effect as accessory figures, or framing borders, or for filling space, or for the sole purpose of lending beauty to an object. Pottery decorations especially were an important element of protohistoric ceramic art. Later during the historical periods the symbols on punch-marked and tribal coins and sealings draw upon a rich repertoire of designs. In the Gupta period, scroll work (Patra-latā) made very intricate and deeply engraved when on stone as on the Dhamekh Stūpa at Sarnath, became almost universal. It was believed to have the efficacy of warding off evil and plain surface was considered to be ugly. A panel with conventionalised scroll (Patra-rachanā) was taken to be as sacred as a Divine Image (Archā). This attitude bore its rich fruit in the development of the decorative element in Gupta art, painting, architecture and sculpture.

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CULTURAL LIFE — A second feature of Indian art is the place taken by the cultural life of the people including both royalty and common man. Indian art offers a commentary to its literature in depecting the material life of the people in a rich and vivid form. It is possible to reconstruct a whole history of Indian costumes and hair-styles from sculptures, paintings and clay figurines; especially the last, which, owing to their special democratic nature, present a rich typological cross-section of the society. The great Stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi, of Amarāvatī and Nāgārjunikoṇḍā, stand out as monuments on which the Life of the community is faithfully depicted in its manifold aspects. It should be recognised that Indian art has moved close to its literature and to the actual life of the society through the ages. Its value as a record of the culture of the people is being now recognised.

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CULT MATERIAL — Further, the great religious movements which inspired and moved the lives of the people at different periods from one end of the country to the other, have found a rich documentation in the art panels, which sometimes are more informative than even literary records. For example, the Yaksha and Nāga cults on the early Stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi, and also in Mathurā art, speak an eloquent language. A precise analysis of the elements of folk-art is needed to grasp the full scope of the art forms inspired by them. Another instance is the Uttarakuru tradition depicted with zest at Bhājā, Bharhut, Sanchi, etc. With it are linked several motifs, such as, *Mithuna*, *Kalpa-vriksha*, *Kalpa-latā* of which the carved panels are illustrative of the epics and the *Jātaka* descriptions. Various ornaments, costly fabrics, superior wines, toilet articles, and Man and Woman, are shown coming out from the tendrils or low bent boughs of trees or meandering creepers. These were Wish-fulfilling motifs which fired the imagination of the people. The *Kalpa-vriksha* became the arch-symbol of the cult of Tree-worship or the adoration of arboreal deities (*Rukkha-devatā-maha*).

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SYMBOLICAL THEMES—Indian art truly reflects the deep relationship between ideas and life. It fulfilled a real need. If the wide gamut of life is mirrored anywhere it is truly so in the case of art. A special feature which enriches the meaning and purpose of art was to present a synthesis or mingling of the cults dear to the common man with the higher religion of the Buddha, Mahāvīra, Śiva or Viṣṇu with all the details of their lives and deeds of glory. Here metaphysical ideas were freely invoked to inspire concrete forms.

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BUDDHA—The story of Buddha in stone and colour is woven out of a series of symbolical patterns, irrespective of the fact whether they would hold good for a historical person. His descent from the Tushita heaven, dream of Māyā seeing a white elephant, Buddha's oblique birth from the mother's side, his seven steps, the first bath, presentation of the four cups, miracle of fire and water, taming of the elephant Nalagiri, vision of Thousand Buddhas, *Dharma-Chakra*, visit of Indra, ascent to the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (*Trayastriṃśa-Deva-svarga*) and coming down by the three ladders of gold, silver and copper—these appearing as part of art are in reality symbols of the metaphysical pattern of Buddha's life, pointing to the concept of the Superman (*Mahāpuruṣa*).

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ŚIVA—Similarly Śiva was depicted from the Indus Valley to historical times either as an emblem (*Liṅga-vigraha*) or in human form (*Puruṣa-vigraha*) and both are deeply rooted in the metaphysical thought of the religious tradition of India. The folk-elements have been freely accepted but transformed. Sublimation of forms as a vehicle of ideas gives delight both to the Indian seer and artist. For example, Śiva is shown as Paśupati, Ardhanārīśvara, Naṭarāja, Kāmāntaka, Gaṅgādhara, Chandraśekhara, Yogeśvara, Yamāntaka, Harihara, Dakṣiṇāmūrti, Jyotirliṅga, Nandīśvara, Umāmaheśvara, Daśamukhānugraha, Pañchabrahma, Aṣṭamūrti, Mṛituñjaya etc. These are verily the alphabet of a religious language at its best. Its key is preserved in Indian tradition and the secret of art as that of religion may be found to be the same, when rightly unveiled.

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DEVA—Indian art may be said to be a dedication at the feet of the Divine (*Deva*). All the Devas abide in the *Stūpa* and the Temple (*Deva-Griha*). The *Harmikā* on the top of the dome and the cella (*Garbha-griha*) both are alike the seats of the gods (*Deva-sadana*). Forms may differ but the meaning is the same. An array of subsidiary deities (*Vyantara-Devatā*) like Gandharva, Apsaras, Kumbhāṇḍa, Nāga, Yaksha, Nadī-Devatā, Siddha, Vidyādhara etc., stands integrated in each religious pantheon as the differentiated manifestations of an ultimate and supreme Divine Power (*Deva*).

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UNITY OF FORM AND MEANING—A study of Indian art is thus possible at several levels—fixing of the archeaological context, technique of production, style, chronology, culture, and above all, its meaning. As in Plato, so in Indian æsthetics, idea or meaning (*Artha*) is of sublime value; the form (*Rūpa*) no less important from the æsthetic point of view is the vehical of ideas. Form is the body and meaning is the soul of art. Kālidāsa has paid the loftiest homage to both by comparing them with the Cosmic Creator and the Divine Mother, the Universal Parents, who preside over creation, and also inspire human art, both being inseparable:

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वागर्थाविव संपृक्तौ वागर्थप्रतिपत्तये ।
जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ ॥ (Raghuvamśa 1. 1)

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The meaning (*artha*) belongs to the region of the unmanifest (*amūrta*) and the form (*rūpa*) to the manifest (*mūrta*). Both are the two aspects of Divine Viṣṇu. The one called a higher (*arūpa = paramarūpa*) and the other a lower (*viśvarūpa = mūrtarūpa*, *Viṣṇu P.* 6. 7. 54). The whole cosmos with its created objects is governed by the higher principle of meaning, defined as *Bhāvanā*, i.e. the emotions, feelings and sentiments in the hearts of men. Such emotions exist at three levels, viz. (1) a cosmic transcendental meaning (*Brahma-bhāvanā*); (2) the feelings and emotions of the highest gods upto human beings and lower beings (*Karma-bhāvanā*), which is the same as ‘life’ or culture; (3) a union of the above two (*Ubhaya-bhāvanā*), in which divine knowledge (*Brahma*) and human activity (*Karma*) are revealed, as in Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Mahāvīra.

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The discovery of the subtle meaning of art forms only leads to full æsthetic enjoyment according to the Indian theory, which holds the form without meaning (*adhyātma-bhāva*) to be unholy. The human mind cannot remain without applying itself to one or the other of the manifest forms. It is therefore redeeming to concentrate on the spiritual or divine purpose underlying the form. Just as fire entering a house burns it, so does thought inspired by the beauty of the image removes darkness and fills the mind (*Chitta*) with light (*Viṣṇu P.* 6. 7. 74). Both the artist and the critic of art (*Rasika*) can approach real art only through meditation (*Dhyāna*) in order to have the proper aesthetic response.

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An Icon, primarily and in completeness, intended for its religious, i.e. spiritual purpose, is a symbol of the divine or supreme reality.

Linked texts (7)

Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Raghuvaṃśa — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit
Sārnāth
Sāñcī
Bharhut
Nagarjunikonda
Bhâjâ