Post-Mauryan Trends in Indian Art and Architecture

2.1 Core concepts

NCERT frames the post-Mauryan period (c. 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE) as a multi-dynastic mosaic that produced an extraordinarily rich and stylistically diverse body of Indian art. In the north and central regions, the Shungas, Kanvas, Kushanas and Guptas succeeded one another, while in the south and west the Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Abhiras and Vakatakas held sway. Out of this geographical and political plurality emerged a constellation of important sculpture sites — Vidisha, Bharhut, Bodhgaya, Jaggayyapeta, Mathura, Khandagiri-Udaigiri, Bhaja and Pavani — that anticipate the major schools of the next centuries (NCERT §Intro, p. 27).

NCERT begins its detailed study with Bharhut. The Bharhut sculptures are tall, recalling the proportions of Mauryan Yaksha and Yakshini images, but they are carved in low relief, with figures that cling to the picture plane and a tilted perspective device that gives the impression of depth. Folded hands rest flat against the chest. Narrative panels include Queen Mayadevi's dream — in which a descending elephant heads toward her womb, the first sign of the Buddha-to-be's conception — and the Ruru Jataka, in which a Bodhisattva-deer rescues a man. Knotted headgear is a consistent male feature of the first–second centuries BCE at Bharhut (NCERT §Bharhut, pp. 27–29).

The next major monument is the Great Stupa at Sanchi (Stupa-1), which crystallises post-Mauryan stupa architecture. NCERT prescribes the canonical anatomy: anda (the hemispherical dome), harmika (the square railing-like structure crowning the anda), chhatri (the umbrella above the harmika), medhi (the drum that supports the anda), vedika (the railing enclosing the pradakshinapatha), pradakshinapatha (the circumambulatory path) and torana (the decorated gateway). Sanchi Stupa-1 carries upper and lower pradakshinapathas and four decorated toranas illustrating Buddha-life and Jataka scenes. The figures are in high relief with naturalistic posture and no body stiffness, marking a clear advance over the low-relief Bharhut style (NCERT §Sanchi, p. 29).

NCERT also distinguishes the three Sanchi stupas: Stupa-1 is the largest and main monument; Stupa-2 contains relics of ten arhats; Stupa-3 contains the relics of the Buddha's two chief disciples, Sariputta and Mahamougalayana. The south torana was the first to be carved; the Ashokan lion-capital pillar inscription is on the southern side of the complex (NCERT §Stupa-1 Sanchi, p. 47).

From the first century CE, three regional centres rose to dominance: Gandhara (in present-day Pakistan), Mathura (in north India) and Vengi (in Andhra Pradesh) (NCERT §Mathura-Sarnath-Gandhara, p. 30). The Gandhara school shows pronounced Bactrian, Parthian and Hellenistic influence, producing wavy-haired, classically draped Buddhas whose physiognomy is essentially Greco-Roman. The Mathura school, by contrast, develops the Buddha image out of indigenous Yaksha prototypes, producing robust, fleshy figures with a powerful frontality. Mathura is also a major centre for Vaishnava (Vishnu) and Shaiva (linga, mukhalinga) images, identified by their characteristic ayudhas or weapons. By the second century CE Mathura images become noticeably fleshier and more sensual; by the fifth and sixth centuries CE the drapery is integrated into the sculptural mass, producing the great mature Gupta-Mathura type (NCERT §Mathura, pp. 30–31).

The Sarnath school of the later fifth century CE is distinguished from Mathura by its plain transparent drapery covering both shoulders and by a halo with very little ornamentation. Mathura Buddhas of the same period, in contrast, carry folded drapery and a profusely decorated halo — a stylistic contrast that recurs in CUET in Assertion-Reason format (NCERT §Sarnath, p. 31).

NCERT devotes a careful section to the Amaravati Stupa in Andhra Pradesh, whose pradakshinapatha is enclosed by a vedika. The most distinctive feature of Amaravati is that the domical anda was covered with relief sculptural slabs — a unique feature among the major stupas. The torana has now disappeared; the surviving figures show pronounced tribhanga (three bends in the body) and intense emotional expression. Sannati in Gulbarga district of Karnataka is the largest stupa site so far excavated, and Guntapalle near Eluru is a rock-cut site preserving apsidal and circular chaitya halls of the second century BCE (NCERT §Buddhist Monuments of South India, pp. 32–33).

The western Indian Buddhist caves are then organised into three architectural types: (i) apsidal vault-roof chaitya halls (Ajanta, Pitalkhora, Bhaja); (ii) apsidal vault-roof pillarless halls (Thana-Nadsur); and (iii) flat-roofed quadrangular halls with a circular chamber at the back (Kondivite). Karla has the largest rock-cut chaitya hall; Kanheri Cave No. 3 elaborates the Karla plan; the flat-roofed quadrangular vihara becomes the most preferred design in subsequent centuries (NCERT §Cave Tradition Western India, pp. 34–35). Junnar has more than 200 cave excavations — the largest single cluster; Kanheri near Mumbai has 108 excavated caves. Junnar's Ganeshleni vihara was renamed after a later-installed Ganesha image.

Ajanta — the centrepiece of NCERT's cave tradition discussion — has 29 caves in Aurangabad district. Four of them are chaitya caves: Caves 10 and 9 belong to the earlier phase (2nd–1st century BCE), and Caves 19 and 26 belong to the later phase (5th century CE). Cave 26 contains the famous colossal Mahaparinibbana image of the dying Buddha. The patrons whose names are inscribed include Varahadeva, Upendragupta, Buddhabhadra and Mathuradasa (NCERT §Ajanta, p. 36). Ajanta is the only surviving example of Indian painting from the first century BCE and from the fifth century CE — a fact that elevates the site beyond Buddhist art into a cornerstone of world art history. The paintings of Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 are the best preserved. Themes include the Jatakas, the Avadanas, the Mahajanaka Jataka, the Chaddanta Jataka and the Simhala Avadana (NCERT §Ajanta, pp. 36–39).

Ellora, 100 km from Ajanta, has 34 caves with monasteries of three religions — Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jain — dating from the 5th to the 11th century CE. Cave No. 16, the Kailash leni (also called Kailasa), is a monolithic rock-cut temple carved from a single rock; Cave No. 14 is the only double-storey Brahmanical cave at the site (NCERT §Ellora, pp. 40–42). The Bagh Caves, 97 km from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, are Buddhist viharas; only five of the original nine caves survive. Bagh Cave No. 4 is called Rang Mahal (Palace of Colours). The paintings were physically removed in 1982 and are now housed in the Archaeological Museum at Gwalior (NCERT §Bagh, p. 42).

Elephanta near Mumbai is Shaivite and contemporary with Ellora. Its Maheshmurti shows three visible faces of a five-faced Shiva conception: Shiva-Bhairava in profile (angry, with bulging eye and moustache), the central Shiva, and Uma (his consort). The shilpa texts speak of five integrated faces, of which only three are visible (NCERT §Elephanta, pp. 42, 58–59). The eastern Indian cave tradition is represented by the Udaigiri-Khandagiri caves near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, which bear inscriptions of the Jain king Kharavela and were meant for Jain monks; Anakapalli (also in the south-east) has the biggest rock-cut stupas in India (NCERT §Cave Tradition in Eastern India, pp. 43–45).

NCERT closes with three close-study sculptures. The Katra Mound Mathura Buddha (2nd century CE, Kushana period) shows the Buddha in padmasana with the right hand in abhayamudra, an ushnisha with a vertical projection, a lion throne, and two attendant figures identified as Padmapani (with lotus) and Vajrapani (with vajra). The Sarnath Seated Buddha (late 5th century CE, Chunar sandstone) is in dhammachakrapravartana mudra, with a chakra and two deer below the throne, transparent drapery and a plain central halo. The Gandhara Buddha Head from Taxila (2nd century CE) shows hybridised Greco-Roman and Hellenistic features — thick curly hair, large forehead, half-closed eyes and sharp linear outlines — assimilating Achaemenian, Parthian and Bactrian traits (NCERT §Close studies, pp. 48–53).

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

The Plan of Stupa-1 at Sanchi (p. 29) is the single most-tested diagram in this chapter: candidates should be able to label chhatri, harmika, anda, medhi, vedika, pradakshinapatha and torana in their correct positions. The Yakshini relief from Bharhut (p. 27) demonstrates the low-relief, tilted-perspective style that contrasts with the high-relief Sanchi toranas. The Queen Maya's dream panel and the Ruru Jataka panel (p. 28) anchor early narrative iconography. The Sanghol stupa railing fragments (p. 30) show the spread of the Mathura tradition into Punjab. The Meditating Buddha (Gandhara, 3rd–4th c. CE) and Gandhara Bodhisattva (5th–6th c. CE) plates (p. 31) demonstrate the wavy-haired classical Greco-Roman head type. The Amaravati stupa-drum slab (p. 32) demonstrates the unique relief-clad anda.

Cave plans students should recognise include Chaitya Cave 12 Bhaja, the Karla chaitya hall, and Nashik Cave 3 (pp. 34–35). The Padmapani Bodhisattva from Ajanta Cave 1 (p. 54) is the most-reproduced Ajanta painting, recognised by the calm half-closed eyes, the lotus held delicately, and the rich pearl jewellery. The Mara Vijaya panel in Ajanta Cave 26 (pp. 56–57) is the largest sculptural panel at the site, showing the Buddha's victory over Mara's army. The Maheshmurti at Elephanta (pp. 58–59) is identified by its three colossal visible faces — the central Shiva, the angry Bhairava in profile, and Uma in feminine profile. The Katra Mound Buddha (Mathura, p. 49) is identified by the lion throne, abhayamudra and flanking attendants. The Sarnath Seated Buddha (p. 53) is identified by the chakra and deer below the throne.

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• Sanchi Stupa-1 vs Stupa-2 vs Stupa-3: Stupa-1 is the largest and main; Stupa-2 has relics of 10 arhats; Stupa-3 has Sariputta and Mahamougalayana relics. Students often swap.
• Mathura Buddha (folded drapery, decorated halo) vs Sarnath Buddha (transparent drapery covering both shoulders, plain halo) — frequently confused.
• Gandhara school = Greco-Roman / Hellenistic origin; Mathura school = indigenous Yaksha origin — NTA tests origin and lineage.
• Cave Nos. 19 and 26 at Ajanta are chaitya caves of the later phase; Cave Nos. 9 and 10 are chaitya caves of the earlier phase. Cave 10 also preserves paintings.
• Kailash leni / Ellora Cave 16 is a monolithic rock-cut temple, not a regular cave — and is Brahmanical, not Buddhist.
• Junnar has 200+ caves — the largest cluster; Kanheri has 108 caves. Do not confuse "largest cave hall" (Karla chaitya) with "largest number of caves" (Junnar).
• Sannati in Karnataka (Gulbarga district) is the largest stupa site so far excavated — not Amaravati.
• Amaravati's distinctive feature is that the dome itself is covered with relief sculptural slabs — unique among stupas.
• Bagh Cave 4 is called Rang Mahal — not Cave 1 or 2.
• Elephanta's Maheshmurti shows three visible faces of a conceived five-faced Shiva. NTA distractors say "all five faces are visible."
• Udaigiri-Khandagiri caves are Jain (Kharavela inscription), not Buddhist.
• The four chief patrons of Ajanta named in NCERT are Varahadeva, Upendragupta, Buddhabhadra and Mathuradasa.

2.5 Key artworks / artists