Maurya and Shunga Art c6.6

c6.6

We may add to this the stylistic evidence afforded by the columns and capitals themselves. So far as columns are concerned a definite starting point is furnished by the one at Basarh-Bakhira which is probably pre-Asokan Compared with the other columns of known Asokan dates the shaft of this column is heavy and of shorter proportions, and its workmanship crude and rough. The plain square abacus which is by itself an almost sure indication of an earlier date has no integral relation with the bell-capital below, and is moreover heavy in proportion. The crowning lion ‘recouchant’, though a free and independent figure, is not only rough and crude in execution, but has not yet evolved the form and appearance so as to make of itself an integrated whole together with the shaft, capital and the abacus. The next milestone is furnished by the elephant-crowned Sāṅkāśya column. The clumsy and heavy workmanship of the animal, its plump shape, and the sense of form seem to suggest a near parallel with the Dhauli elephant which has to be dated in the twelfth or thirteenth year of the reign of Aśoka. The filling up of the depth between the legs by rock-designs and the decorations of the abacus framed only at the lower border are both primitive and are presumably translated from wooden designs; the border decoration is particularly reminiscent of wood. But already the abacus has changed from square to round and has been given a form that keeps rhythmic balance between the animal above and the capital below. The bull-crowned Rampurva pillar seems to form a pair with the one just described so far as stylistic chronology is concerned or comes not very long after. The crowning bull though rendered with energy and evident naturalism indeed fails to keep harmony with the abacus and the capital, and the rosettas and honey-suckle decoration on the abacus itself is a little bit heavy and rough in execution. But it cannot be far out in date from either the lion-crowned Rampurva column or the similarly crowned Lauriya-Nandangarh column. In both instances the abacus which is artistically integrated and harmonised with the capital below is decorated with a row of pecking geese; but while the Rampurva lion is entirely contained within the abacus, the Nandangarh lion finds it difficult to fit itself into the round abacus; its rump and part of its hind legs project beyond the abacus in an unbalanced manner. The last stage in the evolution is marked by the Sarnath and Sanchi pillars, both crowned by four semi-lions joined back to back at the shoulders and carrying the Buddhist symbol of the wheel, instead of by a big single animal as had hitherto been the practice, and that without any crowning symbol. The Salempur column crowned by four semi-bulls joined back to back must also belong to this stage of evolution.