Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c8.30

c8.30

Asoka was by principle averse to warfare, and India, under the greater part of his rule, enjoyed a profound peace, through the suppression of the rivalry and jealousy of the numerous petty states, then consolidated into one great empire. There was, therefore, less occupation for those who manufactured and ornamented weapons of war, but a great demand for skilled craftsmen in decorating the sacred shrines of Buddhism. The artist-monks, also, now that Buddhism was the state religion, under the patronage of a powerful sovereign, were not satisfied with humble *stupas* and monasteries of brick or clay, decorated with fresco paintings on plaster; they faced them with stone, and made painted *relievos* instead of frescoes.