An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s12.t2: 14.12.2 Buddhist
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s12.t2
- Language
- English
14.12.2 Buddhist
v1.c19.s12.t2.1
The history of the Buddhist monastic settlements in India covers a time-span of about two millennia. It began with the idea of the wandering life and culminated in the emergence of permanent establishments almost as large as townships.
v1.c19.s12.t2.2
In Buddha’s life-time itself some of his devotees offered *ārāmas* or parks to the community. These had not only enclosures but also structures inside as is evident from the reliefs of the Jetavanārāma in the sculptures of the 2nd century B.C. from Bharhut and AMARAVATI. The Jetavanārāma of ŚRĀVASTĪ and the Ghoṣitārāma of KAUŚĀMBĪ have been identified on the basis of epigraphical evidence, while excavation at the site of the Jīvakāmravaṇa at RAJGIR have disclosed the full plan of one of the earliest settlements datable to the 6th-5th century B.C. Consisting of a few halls, mostly elliptical on plan, the Jīvakāmravaṇa monastery has no *stūpa* or any other place of worship within it.
v1.c19.s12.t2.3
Aśoka was responsible for the propagation of Buddhism and for several monastic establishments at sacred places like Lumbini, BODH-GAYA, SARNATH, KUŚINAGARA, SANKISA, VAIŚĀLĪ, etc. He also built innumerable *stūpas*. The brick *stūpa* inside the stone casing of Stūpa 1 at SANCHI and the core of the Dharmarājikā *stūpas* at SARNATH and Taxila may be attributed to him. Usually a monolithic column of Chunar sandstone, like the ones at LAURIYA-NANDANGARH, Lauriya-Araraj, SARNATH and SANCHI, stood in front of his *stūpas*. Aśoka also built apsidal and circular structures at SANCHI and BAIRAT respectively. Of the rock-cut caves the ones at Nagarjuni and Barabar in Dt Gaya were excavated by him for the Ājīvikas.
v1.c19.s12.t2.4
Aśoka's effort to propagate the ideals of Buddhism in India and abroad yielded tangible results in the next five centuries when popular participation transformed the character of the Buddhist faith and the pattern of architecture. The railed *stūpas* at Bharhut, AMARAVATI and SANCHI, the quadrangular rail around the Bodhi tree at BODH-GAYA and the various rock-cut *caitya-gṛhas* at the cave-resorts like Ajanta (Caves 9 and 10), Bedsa, Bhaja, Kondane, Nasik (Cave 18), Pitalkhora (Cave 3), Karla, Kanheri, Kondavite, Junnar, etc., in Maharashtra and Sana, Talaja and others in Gujarat came up, as the donative inscriptions show, largely on the contributions of lay devotees belonging to different social strata. These *caitya-gṛhas* were mostly apsidal on plan and were copies of timber architecture. There are however quadrilateral (Kuda, Karad, Sailarwadi, etc.) and circular *stūpa* chapels (Cave 3 of Junnar and Kondavite) also. The *vihāras* were situated close by but not as an integral unit of the *caitya-gṛha* or the place of worship.
v1.c19.s12.t2.5
Significantly, with the rise of various organized sects during the early Christian centuries, the monastic establishments, specially of Gandhāra, evolved into well-knit units, both the *vihāras* and the places of worship, including image-chapels, forming an inseparable whole. This tradition of combining the place of worship with the *vihāra* or *saṅghārāma* can be noticed as early as the 3rd century B.C. in Andhra. The early phase of the *stūpas* at AMARAVATI, Bhattiprolu and Kesanapalli, all in Dt Guntur, belongs to the 2nd century B.C.; it gave rise to a rich tradition of sculptural art comparable to the art of Bharhut and SANCHI. Belonging to the same phase is the circular *caitya-gṛha*, with *vihāra* close by, at Guntapalli—the entire complex being cut out of rock. In course of time more than 30 settlements sprang up along the coastal route and in the plains of the Krishna and the Godavari basins. By and large these establishments are examples of brick construction. A developed monastic unit here consisted of a principal *stūpa*, two apsidal *caitya-gṛhas*—one for the *stūpa* and the other for the image—besides a three-winged *vihāra* enclosing a pillared hall. More than 30 monastic establishments, accommodating about 450 monks, grew up at NAGARJUNAKONDA itself during the 3rd century A.D. Datable to the 4th century the settlement at DEVNIMORI in Gujarat is also a large brick-built complex the like of which came to light also at VANAVASI, Dt N. Kanara, and SANNATHI, Dt Gulbarga, in Karnataka.
v1.c19.s12.t2.6
A gradual increase in the monastic population may also be noticed on the w. coast. For instance Junnar has 140 caves of which 131 are *vihāras*. Similarly out of 112 caves at Kanheri 107 were meant exclusively for residence. This influx might have begun in the 5th century, when the Vākāṭakas and the Guptas held sway over different parts of India. In most of these establishments a square image-shrine was integrated with monk-cells arrayed on either side, and with these was generally associated a fine tradition of sculptural art and murals. The later caves of Ajanta and the excavations at Aurangabad, Ellora and Bagh belong to this period.
v1.c19.s12.t2.7
With the advent of the Gupta rule many older settlements like MATHURA, SARNATH and BODH-GAYA regained their prominence while new ones like those at RATNAGIRI in Orissa and CHANDRAKETUGARH in W. Bengal also cropped up. Fa-Hien saw Buddhism undoubtedly in a flourishing state in the 5th century. By about the 4th-5th century, as the excavation of a monastery at KĀVERĪPAṬṬINAM reveals, Buddhism had reached the heart of the Tamil country. In Kerala the evidence ranging from the 7th to the 10th centuries is rather sporadic.
v1.c19.s12.t2.8
When Hiuen Tsang visited India in the 7th century many monasteries in different parts of India had fallen into disuse. At the same time this was the period when *saṅghārāmas* were transformed into seats of learning and these were generally larger settlements with Buddhist temples as the main place of worship. NĀLANDĀ, which was founded in the Gupta period, rose to great fame, thanks to the efforts of Harṣavardhana (606-47). Excavations here have yielded no less than 11 monasteries, all of them at least double-storeyed, besides a number of towering Buddhist temples. This township must have accommodated 3000 inmates and attracted pupils from other Buddhist countries. By I Tsing's times who landed at Tāmralipta in 773, Valabhī in Gujarat had gained as much importance as NĀLANDĀ as a seat of learning.
v1.c19.s12.t2.9
However the idea of the *saṅghārāma* as a seat of learning took its final shape under the Pālas (8th to 12th centuries). The Somapura-mahā-vihāra (Paharpur in Bangladesh), founded by Dharmapāla (770-810), having a tall terraced edifice surrounded by a quadrangular monastery, was the largest of the Buddhist settlements. Other *mahā-vihāras* including Vikramaśilā (Patharghata-ANTICHAK area), Odantapuri (Bihar Sharif) and Jāgaddala (in n. Bengal), the last one built by Rāmapala (1077-1120) sprang up. By this time the Vajrayāna cult along with the Tantric esoteric rites became popular throughout India.
v1.c19.s12.t2.10
Aiyappan, A., & Srinivasan, P.R., 1960, *Story of Buddhism with Special Reference to s. India*, Madras. Barua, B., 1931 & 1934, *Gaya & Bodh-Gaya*, 2 vols. Calcutta. Beal, S., 1884, *Buddhist Record of the w. World*, London (for Fa-Hien & Hiuen Tsang). Burgess, J., 1883. *Report on the Buddhist Cave Temples & their Inscriptions*, London Cunningham. A., 1962, *Stupa of Bharhut*, reprint, Varansai, Deva, K., 1964, in *Archaeological Remains, Monuments & Museums*, ASI, New Delhi. Dutt, S., 1962, *Buddhist Monks & Monasteries of India*, London. Fergusson, J., & Burgess, J., 1880, *Cave Temples of India*, London Marshall, J., *Taxila*, 3 vols., Cambridge. Mitra, D., 1971, *Buddhist Monuments*, Calcutta. Sarkar, H., 1966, *Studies in Early Buddhist Architecture*, Delhi.—H. SARKAR