This is the first of the 3 part story series on India's Painting/ Architecture & Sculpture which we plan to cover well before the Prelims 2015. For the old timers - take it as a revision tool, for the newbies - try to get a flavor of what's in store for you in terms of one of the most rigid topics of the GS1 paper!
What happened to the cave architecture after Mauryans?
Cave architecture witnessed some remarkable progress in the post Mauryan era. Caves were cut in both western and eastern part of India.
Western India –
- Ajanta
- Kanheri
- Junnar
- Karli & Bhaja near Pune (Maharashtra)
Eastern India –
- Khandagiri-Udayagiri (Odisha)
- Haathi gumpha, Ganesh Gumpha & Rani Gumpha
It is believed that most of the Khandagiri/ Udayagiri caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharavela. Udayagiri means “Sunrise Hill” and has 18 caves while Khandagiri has 15 caves.
How close were the Mauryans with Cave architecture?
Very close.
Mauryan age witnessed the first phase in the history of cave architecture. The caves found in the Barabar hills (4 caves) & Nagarjunakonda hills (3 caves) are a testimony to that!
Why were these caves built? Well, from what it appears – they were gifted to the monks of the Ajivika Sect. They used it for residential purpose.
Ajivikas, who?
- Ajivika, an ascetic sect that emerged in India about the same time as Buddhism and Jainism. The name may mean “following the ascetic way of life.”
- It was founded by Goshala Maskariputra and the Ajivikas supposedly held that the affairs of the entire universe were ordered by a cosmic force called niyati (Sanskrit: “rule” or “destiny”) that determined all events.
- After a period of acceptance during the reign of the Mauryan dynasty (3rd century bce), the sect declined. Bindusara was a proponent of the Ajivika sect.
Name a few caves located at the Barabar hills?
Lomash Rishi cave, Sudama cave and Karan Chaupar.
These caves were internationally popularised by E.M. Foster in his book “A Passage to India”.
Custom
Kalamkari to promote Buddhist Tourism. But, what is this style?
- A techie of Andhra Pradesh has come up with a Buddha series on hand-block Kalamkari textile to promote tourism to Buddhist tourist destinations of A.P.
- What is Kalamkari? It is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile.
- It flourished in Krishna District of A.P. and was patronized by the Mughals and the Golconda Sultanate.
- Vegetable dyes are used. Patterns are designed using blocks and kalam (pen) is used to draw finer details. Hence, the name.
- Usually, white ink is used on a red-ochre background cloth.
How are paintings at Ajanta different from those at Ellora?
We are putting a few points forward. Add to the comments section if you know more.
Done with Ajanta, onwards to Ellora!
- The Ellora caves, unlike Ajanta, have a distinction that they were never lost in oblivion, due to their close proximity to the trade route.
- The Ellora Caves were built at time when Buddhism was declining in India and Hinduism was beginning to reassert itself.
The Brahmanical movement was especially powerful under the patronage of the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta kings, who oversaw most of the work at Ellora – including the magnificent Kailasa Temple built in the 700s.
- There are 34 caves in all – 17: 12: 5 [Hindu: Buddhism: Jains]
- The most notable Hindu cave (Cave 16) is not a cave at all, but a magnificent temple carved from the solid rock, patterned closely on the freestanding temples of the time. That’s the Kailash Temple.
PS: This info is brought to you from the website of Archaeological Survey of India! Can you tell us under which Lord’s reign was ASI founded?
Were most of India’s wall paintings dominated by a Buddhist flavor?
Not necessarily!
- Ajanta caves were primarily adorned by Jataka Tales (Tales of Buddha’s past lives). But still there were some Brahmanical deities in some cave dwellings. There is a mention of Indra, the Hindu God in one of the murals.
- The earliest Brahmanical paintings so far known, are the fragments found in Badami caves – The so called Siva & Parvati is found somewhat well preserved.
- The paintings of Ajanta, Bagh and Badami represent the classical tradition of the North and the Deccan at its best.
- Sittannavasal and other centres of paintings are intimately connected with Jain themes and symbology. But mostly all of them draw the essence of painting from the Ajanta forms.
Can we expect a question on the multifaceted contribution of Ajanta Caves to the Indian wall paintings?Maybe, maybe not! But you sure have a few points to answer it with.
Let’s explore Ajanta Caves in peace, shall we?
The theme of Ajanta, as you would agree, covers a lot about the Buddhist culture. Take this as an opportunity to revisit the best of both world.
- These caves were discovered by an Army Officer in the Madras Regiment of the British Army in 1819 during one of his hunting expeditions.
- The location of this valley provided a calm and serene environment for the Buddhist monks. Hence, among these 30 caves – you will find Chaityas & Viharas. What are these? What is the difference between them?
Gautama Buddha (600 B.C.) was against painting and sculpture. He forbade image of himself. Why then did the monks paint pictures of the Buddha or monks images of him and potential Buddha’s?
3 striking features of Ajanta Caves –
- Centrality is one of the main features of the composition so that attention is at once drawn to the most important person in each scene.
- The subject matter of these paintings is almost exclusively Buddhist.
- They are mostly associated with the Jataka, collection of stories, recording the previous births of the Lord Buddha.
Similarity with Ajanta Paintings anywhere? - The paintings from Bagh caves in Madhya Pradesh correspond to those paintings of Ajanta.
- The paintings of Sittannavasal are intimately connected with Jain themes and symbology, but enjoy the same norm and technique as that of Ajanta.
Initiating you into the world of Indian Wall Paintings
We will study Miniature and Modern later – but first the most primitive of them all – The Wall Paintings.
The earliest examples of Indian painting, that we find evidence of, are on the walls of some of the caves in the Kaimur Range of Central India, Vindhya Hills and some places in Uttar Pradesh.
What exactly were the fine gentlemen of that era painting about? Nothing fancy – just old records of wild animals, war processions, hunting games!
Talking about wall paintings would automatically bring us to the Buddhist impressions & influences.
Cave temples of Ajanta situated in Maharashtra State near Aurangabad stand testament of the fact that early mural paintings were prototypes of the buddhist art.
Wait, what are Murals? A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface.
Anything else we might need to know about Murals at large? Murals are important in that they bring art into the public sphere. How so? Since these projects used to be huge and time consuming, they were commissioned by local govt. or patrons.
In the next posts – we will explore Ajanta paintings at length.
Tracing the origins of the cult of painting in India
- Among Indians, the love of colour and design is deeply ingrained – we have created paintings and drawings even during the periods of history for which we have no direct evidence!
The earliest examples of miniature painting in India (11th – 12th century) –
- Eastern India – Illustrations to the religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas
- Western India – Illustrations to the Jain texts
Then, during the 15th century the Persian style of painting started influencing the Western Indian style (Jain style) of painting. How can we say that?
The presence of Persian facial types and hunting scenes appearing on the border’s of some of the illustrated manuscripts of the Kalpasutra. Kalpasutra is a Jain text – considered the most sacred text. The book consists of a biography of Lord Mahavira in detail, and the lives of the other prophets (Tirthankaras).
You can imagine the influence of Persian art that it could get into the most sacred text of Jains!
Next in the series – we will build upon a small into on Mughal Miniature Art and then launch a full scale inquiry into wall, miniature and modern painting.
Indian art is not realistic – they are imagined and idealised. Why do we say so?
- No one had actually seen the major gods like Rama, Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva, etc.
- But according to their description in the scriptures the Indian artists visualised them as shown generally standing erect, signifying mental, physical and spiritual equilibrium.
Hence!
Indian Art occupies an exalted position in the realm of ancient world. How?
- The Greeks excelled in the portrayal of the physical charm of the human body;
- The Egyptians in the grandeur of their pyramids and
- The Chinese in the beauty of their landscapes.
We, the Indians? Well we were unsurpassed in transmitting the spiritual contents into their plastic forms embodying the high ideals and the common beliefs of the people!
There were 2 qualities about which the Indian artists cared more than about anything else:
- A feeling for volume – the larger than life pursuits!
- Vivid representation – A sense of narrative a taste for decoration, keenness of observations.
But why did our art have so much of religious/ spiritual connotation?
India is the birth place of 3 of the world’s great religions Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and these three faiths have inspired most of our Indian art. We use the word ‘most’ purposely for the simple reason that not all Indian art is religious.
Remember – The creation of art by the Indian artists are not “realistic” representations in the sense we understand the term on Greek or Roman Art (but they are imagined and are idealised).
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