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Indian art is an expression of Indian life and thought
attuned to its vast natural background and its socio-religious
traditions. Its style, technique or general tenor has
nothing to do with any particular religious outlook.
The term Hindu, Jaina or Buddhist art is but a popular
nomenclature to distinguish one group of monuments,
including painting, cave-temples and architecture, etc.,
from another. Hence, by Buddhist Art we mean those monuments
and paintings, which were built for the main purpose
of popularizing Buddhism. In India there are innumerable
monuments representing different phases of Buddhism,
which help us to visualize the trend of Buddhist art
through the ages.
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| In
the earliest art forms of Buddhism in India, the Buddha
was not represented in human form. He was indicated
by a symbol associated with some of the important events
of his life. There are six symbols, namely, Elephant
for birth of Buddha, Lion and Footprint as representation
of Buddha, an Empty Throne as representation of royalty,
Horse for renouncement of worldly pleasures, Tree for
enlightenment and a Stupa. Buddhist Art of Bharhut,
Sanchi, Bodh-gaya and Amaravati and other places shows
no anthropomorphic representation of the master. |
| A
new school of art flourished in the Gandhara region,
i.e. Peshawar and its neighboring districts. This period
(1st-2nd century A.D.) is remarkable in that it produced
the first figurative representation of the Buddha. The
artists of this region have produced a large number
of Buddha and bodhisattva images along with other Buddhist
deities. The main centers of Gandhara art were the cities
of Peshawar and Taxila, and also Afghanistan where a
large number of stupas, monasteries and sculptures have
been unearthed by the archaeologists. |
| Mathura
also was a great center of art and culture during this
period. It is believed that the first Buddha images
were carved at Mathura simultaneously if not earlier,
with the Gandhara school. Mathura has produced Buddha
images of various dimensions. The Kushana Buddha or
bodhisattva images of Mathura served as the prototypes
of the more beautiful specimens of the Gupta period.
The workshop of Mathura exported several Buddhist images
to various other places, such as Sarnath and even as
far as Rajgir in Bihar. |
| The
Gupta period (4th - 6th century A.D.) marks the bright
period of art in India. The main centers of Buddhist
art during this period were Mathura, Sarnath and Nalanda
in the north. The Buddhist images of Mathura and Sarnath
are some of the best specimens of Indian art, never
equaled by any art creations of later period. The Gupta
artists showed an equal ingenuity in the carving of
metal images also. |
| Buddhist
Art evolved gradually over the centuries to incorporate
a pantheon of deities, including Maitreya or the future
Buddha, bodhisattvas and Dhyani Buddhas. Buddhism continued
in its esoteric form in the countries like Nepal and Tibet
when it declined in India during the 12th century A.D.
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