An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s12.t2.4

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.