(DAW)

DAILY ANSWER WRITING

Feb.’23

GS-I (Paper- II)

(Model Answer-3)
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 Sunya IAS – DAILY ANSWER WRITING (DAW) – FEB.’23
GS – I (PAPER – I I)
(Model Answer)

Q3. How do you justify the view that the sculptures of the Mauryan period were
influenced by Greek and Persian art? Substantiate your views with suitable
examples.

(150 words, 10 marks)

Approach

Introduction: Briefly describe Mauryan period sculptures.

Body:
 Explain the Greek influence in the Mauryan sculptures.
 Explain the Persian influence in Mauryan sculptures,
Conclusion: Conclude appropriately.

Introduction: Mauryan sculptures include the court art (Pillars and capital) and the popular
art (Yaksha, Yakshini, sculpture on gateway etc). Due to Maurya’s interaction with kingdoms
of Achaemenids of Iran and Greco-Macedonians, Persian and Greek influence can be seen in
Mauryan art.

Sculptures of the Mauryan period were influenced by Greek and Persian art in the
following ways

 Greek influence:
 Depiction of Human Anatomy: The Mauryan sculptures show a strong Greek
influence in the depiction of the human form, such as the modelling of the
muscles, bones, and overall anatomy.
o Example: statue of the "Fasting Buddha"
 Clothing and Hairstyles: The Mauryan sculptures also show the influence of
Greek clothing and hairstyles.
o Example: The statue of the "Standing Yakshi" from the Mauryan period
shows the influence of Greek clothing styles, with the depiction of the
draped garment and intricate hairstyle.
 Hellenistic style pillars: Some of the earliest pillars of Maurya's shows
similarities with Hellenistic style.
o Example: Pataliputra capital.
 Bell shaped capital: This is believed to be come from the Greek style.
o Example: Bell-shaped lotus in Saranath pillar.
 Animal figures: Some scholars believe facial features of animals in pillars is
inspired from the Greek sculptures.
o Example: Cheekbones and deeply imbedded eyes of lions in the Saranath
pillars.

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 Sunya IAS – DAILY ANSWER WRITING (DAW) – FEB.’23
GS – I (PAPER – I I)
 Greek inscription: A few of the Asoka’s inscriptions in the north-west region
were in Greek language.
 Persian Influence:
 Polished stones: Achaemenian pillars are highly polished and smooth, similar
style can be observed in Mauryan pillars.
 Motifs: Both Persian and Mauryan used common motifs such as Lotus.
o Example: Rampurva pillar.
 Animal capitals of pillars: Use of animals such as Lion, Bull etc on top of the
pillar is inspired by Achaemenians,
 Inscription of pillars: Persians used pillars to promote royal proclamations.
Similarly, Mauryan particularly Asoka used inscriptions to spread proclamation.
 Style of inscription: Inscriptions of both empires begin in the third person and
then move to the first person.
 Aramaic script: Asoka used the Aramaic script in his inscriptions in North-West
region.
o Example: Kandahar bilingual inscription in both Aramaic and Greek.

Conclusion: Mauryan sculpture are refl ection of cultural contact of India with Persian and
Greeks, which started even before Mauryan time. However, rather than blindly copying,
Persian and Greek features were used as an inspiration in the indigenous art.

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