Monumental principles of the Buddhist era

BUDDHISM
Based on the teachings of Lord Buddha, who was born in 563 BCE at Lumbini, Nepal (Sect founded in 7th century BC) Buddhism preaches the path of practice and spiritual development, thus, leading an insight into the truth of life The main objective of Buddhism is to end the suffering of cyclic existence or 'samsara' by awakening a being to the realisation of the truth and the achievement of liberation. Buddhism, which is considered today more of a religion than a thought, focuses on moral discipline or 'sila', meditation or 'samadhi' and wisdom or 'prajna' rather than that of idol-worship. In 528 BCE, when Siddharta Gautama achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at BodhGaya (Bihar, India) and became Gautam Buddha, He moved on further towards Banaras (Now Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), where at Sarnath.

 The Four Truths:I. The noble truth of Suffering II. The noble truth of Cause Suffering III. The noble truth of the Cessation IV. The noble truth of Cessation of Suffering The Eight-Fold Path:I. Right Belief II. Right Aspiration III. Right Speech IV. Right Conduct V. Right Means of Livelihood VI. Right Exertion VII. Right Mindfulness VIII. Right Meditation

Types of buildings Edicts inscribed on rock Monolithic pillars Stupas Monolithic accessories to shrines Castle and places Rock cut chambers Buddhist monasteries

Monolithic pillars
Boldly designed, finely proportioned, conceptually well balanced Monumental free standing pillars not part of architectural composition Shaft is circular piece of stone stone tapering upwards 40-50ft long Capital symmetrical design
capital shaft Inverted lotus or bell

Stupa
After many years of teaching Buddha died at the age of 80 .his body was cremated and ashes were divided in to eight parts the ashes were then deposited in several special mound shaped monuments called Stupas Umbrella were often mounted at the top of stupa as a sign of honor and respect Also known as thupa ,thope, pagoda ,dagoba

An Ashokan pillar across from a stupa at Kolhua, near Vaishali, in Bihar

Stupas-great stupa at sanchi

Sanchi is a small village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh.It is 46 km NE of Bhopal,Capital of Madhya Pradesh.It is famous for it houses Buddhist monuments called "Stupas" dating to 3rd century BCE."Stupa" in Sanskrit stands for "heap",Stupas are large hemispherical domes or mound like structure containing a central chamber, in which the relics of the Buddha were placed. A circular tumuli of earth covered with stone or brick which propagates the Doctrine Also known as Relic Shrines Spherical dome symbolises the infinite sky, the abode of God Top of dome is a small decorative balcony called Harmika At top is a rainvase or Varsha sthala

base of dome a terrace of Medhi with a Pradakshina path for worshippers

The upper pradakshina path was perhaps reserved for monks , the traditioanal one at ground level was open to all devotees .

Ambulatory passage with gateways called Torana Stupa is enclosed in a wooden or stone railing called Vedica

The reconstruction of the stupa was started in as early as 150 B.C.,when the existing stupa was enlarged nearly twice its previous size. The dome anda or egg is a solid brick work 32.32 in diameter and 12.8m high In some stupas , the dome was coloured and also some recesses were left at the intervals for receiving small lamps to be lit at the time of festivals The stupa was enclosed within a wooden or stone railing called as Vediaca leaving an ambulatory passage with a gateways called as Toranas ,at each end of the cardinal points.
The Great Stupa is 120 feet across (36.6 meters) and, excluding the railing and umbrella, is 54 feet high (16.46 meters).

There are four gateways known as Torana at each side of the stupa in four directions east ,west,north,south. The decorative relief portrays the world of ancient Buddhism. Outside the railing there stood once A 3-tier stone or wooden the famous Ashoka pillar. umbrella called Chhatravali

Canopy layers known as Chhatra at the top of the stupa represent Buddha s past, present and future.

East Gate On the east gate A Yakshi Goddess is carved on the Torana. She is a Goddess of the Forest worshipped long before Buddhism. North Gate

West Gate On west gate the Yaksha, a God of the Forest was carved . He is believed to be the origin of the later God figure, Vaisravana.There s an image of a wheel and people worshipping it in the centre of the West gate. The wheel is known as the Wheel of Law , which represents Buddha and his teachings. South Gate On the South gate shows how people fought over the Buddha s remains. After the war they were divided into 8 parts, and later divided into 84 thousand parts. This process allowed Buddhists to build numerous stupas throughout Asia

On the North Gate there are carvings of people worshipping the stupa . It depicts people making offerings, playing instruments and worshipping.

Northern gateway

Southern gateway

Pradakshina path is fenced by Railing or Vedica 3.35m high

Stupa and Asoka Pillar, Vaishali, Bihar. Emperor Asoka is believed to have redistributed the holy relics of the Buddha and enshrined them in vast stupas across his empire

Various forms of stupa

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Amravati,3rd centuryA.D. Sarnath,6th century A.D. Karli,2nd century A.D. Ajanta,6th century A.D. Barhut, 2nd century A.D. Bodh Gaya, 75 B.C.

STUPA AT AMRAVATI
Amaravati which also known as Amrawati or Amraoti is a popular ancient city, which lies on the bank of River Krishna at a distance of 65 kilometres from Vijaywada in Hyderabad ,Andhrapradesh One of the major attractions of Amravati consists of the remains of a 2000-year-old Buddhist settlement, along with the great Buddhist stupa. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Amaresvara in the city. Founded by an emissary of the great Emperor Ashoka, it is also known as the Mahastupa and Deepaladinne (the Mound of Lamps). The stupa is made of brick with a circular vedika and depicts Lord Buddha in a human form, subduing an elephant.

Dome (Upper) The main part of the Amaravati Stupa was a solid great dome which most likely stood about 18 metres high. The dome was made of pale green limestone which was probably painted with bright colours. The upper part of the dome was probably decorated with plaster garlands. Garlands made of real vines and flowers were used to decorate buildings for festivals and special occasions. By the end of the 1700s all that could be seen of the structure was a mound of rubble and some pieces of sculpture on the ground. Experts estimate the stupa, at around 35 m in height and diameter, to have exceeded the Sanchi Stupa in size.

Amaravati today In the late nineteenth century, most of the main Amaravati sculptures were taken from the site and sent to museums. Most of the sculptures are in a museum at Chennai, India and at Amaravati itself. Many are also in the British Museum.

There are various representations of Lord Buddha in the form of sculptures in the Amravati Stupa. There are beautiful carvings and sculptures which interpret the life of Buddha and his incarnations from the Jataka tales

Reconstruction of the Great Stupa, Amaravati Based on a drawing from Douglas Barrett's 'Sculptures from Amaravati in the British Museum' (1954)

Railing crossbar with monks worshiping a fiery pillar, a symbol of the Buddha, , Great Stupa of Amaravati

The Great Departure of Prince Siddhartha, Amaravati

Carvings from the Great Stupa at Amaravati, Andhra Pradhesh, founded 3rd C. BC Railing pillar with the Interpretatino of the Dream of Queen Maya, Great Stupa of Amaravati

Dome sculpture from the Great Stupa at Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh

Railing pillar with King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, parents of Prince Siddhartha, on an elephant

Upper left corner of a drum slab, Great Stupa at Amaravati

Drum slab from the Great Stupa at Amaravati, 3rd C. AD

Dharmekh Stupa, Sarnath, India

The stupa at Sarnath marks the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment.

The present stupa is 31.3 meters tall and 28.3 meters wide/ 128 feet high and 93 feet in diameter. Swastika and lotus wreath designs cover the lower portion.

Ruins in the nearby fields.

STHAMBAS-Ashoka
Sthambas or Pillars with religious emblems were put up by pious Buddhists in honour of Buddha or other great Buddhists. Fragments of sthambas belonging to Mauryan times and later were found at Sanchi, Sarnath, Amaravati and Nagarjunkonda. The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed by the Mauryan king Ashokaduring his reign in the 3rd century BCE. The first Pillar of Ashoka was found in the 16 century by Thomas Coryat in the ruins of ancient Delhi.

pillar

This Ashokan Pillar is one of several free-standing, highly polished sandstone pillars from the reign of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka found across northern India. The tall, heavy column isn't supported by a base or platform and is crowned by a capital with a single lion. The authoritative, open-mouthed lion is seated on a square dais that juts from the capital's base, which is decorated with an inverted lotus blossom. Similar to other pillars that have been discovered in the region, it is made of a single piece of light colored sandstone and transported from a quarry in Chunar, near Varanasi (Benares). The pillar, erected by Ashoka in Kolhua near a brick stupa (a domed memorial for the Buddha) and the ruins of a Buddhist monastery, commemorates the last sermon of the Buddha before he achieved enlightenment. Its lion capital faces north, the direction the Buddha took on his last voyage. Only ten pillars with intact inscriptions have been found, although many more were erected during the emperor's reign. The inscriptions describe edicts of ethical conduct, public and private, based on non-violence and the tenets of Buddhism, that were created and promulgated by Ashoka.

A portion of the Ashoka Pillar, 15.25 metres high, surmounted by the famous lioncapital and a dharma chakra above the heads of the four lions stands embedded near the Dharmarajika stupa at Sarnath. The pillar bears the edict of Ashoka warning the monks and nuns against creating a schism in the monastic order.

The broken fragments of the Pillar are now in the Museum at Sarnath.

The base of the Lion Capital pillar, in its original site in the Deer Park at Sarnath

The inscription on the surviving base of the pillar

Front view of the single lion capital in vaishali

Another Ashokan Pillar of note is the one at Lauriya Nandangarh in Bihar. Erected in the 3rd century BC it is made of highly polished Chunar sand-stone. Standing 9.8 metres high it rises from the ground and has no base structure. It is surmounted by a bell-shaped inverted lotus.

The abacus on it is decorated with flying geese and crowning it is a sitting lion. The pillar is an example of the engineering skill of the craftsmen of Mauryan times.