An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c45.333

v2.c45.333

Sarnath has yielded an extremely rich crop of sculptures. Apart from the capital of Aśoka, which is now the State Emblem of India, and a colossal Bodhisattva image of the reign of Kaniṣka from Mathura, an immense number of sculptures of Buddha and Buddhist deities, many of them of Gupta date, form a notable series. In fact the Gupta sculptures from Sarnath have been primarily responsible for raising Gupta art to the place of honour that it now occupies in the art history of India.