The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c33.24.1

v1.c33.24.1

With the rise of the Śuṅga power in Hindustān during the second century b.c. and the simultaneous extension of the Bactrian dominion to the Punjab, the national art of India underwent a rapid development. Foreign and especially Hellenistic ideas now flowed eastward in an ever-increasing volume, and from them the Indian artist drew new vitality and inspiration for his work. At the same time stone more and more usurped the place of wood for architectural purposes, and by reason of its greater durability tempted the artist to expend more pains upon its carving, while it naturally lent itself to more perfect technique. Of the monuments of this period, the most notable is the Buddhist *stūpa* at Bhārhut in Central India, erected about the middle of the second century B.C. Before its discovery by Sir A. Cunningham in 1873, the body of this *stūpa* had been almost destroyed by the neighbouring villagers, but portions of the eastern gateway (*toraṇa*) and of the railings which encircled the monument were found beneath its ruins and are now deposited in the Calcutta Museum. The *stūpa* itself was of brick, and apparently of much the same design as the Great *stūpa* at Sānchī, described below.