Indian Art History

BUDDHISM AND INDIAN ART

GURVIR BHULLAR
PROFESSOR- PATRICK MCDONALD
HIST 134

Imperial India is many great aspects that we can learn from, and Buddhism and Indian art
has a big role in the imperial India. Buddhism is a path and spiritual development to insight into
the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in
order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed
within Buddhist traditions over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all
those who wish to follow a path.
In ancient India Buddhism spread very fast and became one of the strongest religion.
Buddhism was founded in the fourth or fifth century in the northern India by Buddha
Shakyamuni (Siddhartha). He was born as royal prince in 24 BC in place called Lumbini. In his
early years he lived as a prince in his royal palace but when he was 29 years old, he retired to the
forest where he followed a spiritual life of meditation. Buddha rose from meditation and taught
the first wheel of Dharma. These teachings which includes the sutra of the four noble truths and
other discourses, are the principal source of the Hinayana, or the lesser vehicle. Of Buddhism.
Later, Buddha taught the second and third wheels of Dharma, which include the perfection of
wisdom sutras and the sutra discrimination the intention respectively. Both traditions flourished
in Asia, at first in India and then gradually in other surrounding countries.
Buddha quoted in the article the spread of Buddhism by Alexander Berzin, You will
not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
In all Buddha gave righty four thousand teaching. His intension in founding Buddhism
was to lead living beings to permanent liberation from suffering. He realized temporary
liberation from suffering and difficulties is not enough. Motivated by love and compassion his
aim was to help living being peace or nirvana. The Buddha died in 483 B.C.E., after 45 years of
traveling and teaching. Upon his death, the Buddha passed into a state of nirvana, the ultimate

release from suffering in which the self no longer exists and salvation is achieved. Included in his
last breaths were four words of inspiration: "Strive on with awareness." And his followers did.
Small communities of monks and nuns, known as bhikkus, sprung up along the roads that
Buddha traveled. Devoted to his teachings, they dressed in yellow robes and wandered the
countryside to meditate quietly. For almost 200 years, these humble disciples were
overshadowed by the dominant Hindu believers. But the rise of a great empire changed all that.
John Bowker in his book said, one particular battle resulted in such loss of life that
Asoka was filled with remorse for what he had done. This event caused him to undergo a
spiritual transformation that would be instrumental in the spread of Buddhism.
In the 3rd century B.C.E., several ambitious leaders built the expansive Mauryan empire
and fought many bloody battles were fought to extend its boundaries of control. One king,
named Ashoka, was so troubled by the effects of the conquests on humanity that he converted to
Buddhism. Adopting a code of nonviolence, he renounced all warfare and incorporated principles
of Buddhism in his ruling practices.
Ashoka promoted Buddhist expansion by sending monks to surrounding territories to
share the teachings of the Buddha. A wave of conversion began, and Buddhism spread not only
through India, but also internationally. Ceylon, Burma, Nepal, Tibet, central Asia, China, and
Japan are just some of the regions where the Middle Path was widely accepted.
According to R. Mookey in the article in the edicts of king Ashoka Ashoka said, to do
good is difficult. One who does good first does something hard to do. I have done many good
deeds, and, if my sons, grandsons and their descendants up to the end of the world act in like
manner, they too will do much good. But whoever amongst them neglects this, they will do evil.
Truly, it is easy to do evil.

In his efforts to propagate Buddhism, Ashoka built shrines and monasteries and inscribed
Buddhist teachings on rocks and pillars in many places. He sent missionaries to countries as
remote as Greece and Egypt; his own son, a monk, carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka, where it is
still the major religion. Despite Ashoka's vigorous exertions of faith, he was tolerant of other
religions. The empire enjoyed remarkable prosperity during his reign.
Some Indian historians think that his policy of peace led to the downfall of the Mauryan
empire, which fell apart after his death. He was soon largely forgotten by Indian tradition and
only remembered in Buddhist circles as a great patron of the faith. With the deciphering of his
inscriptions during the 19th century, he took his rightful place in world history as one of the most
benevolent rulers of antiquity.
With the great spread of Buddhism, it traditional practices and philosophies became
redefined and regionally distinct. Only a small minority practiced the earliest forms of
Buddhism, and Buddhist influence as a whole began to fade within India.
Indian sculpture flourished during the Mauryan dynasty (about 321-184 B.C.). Much of
the surviving art of this age is Buddhist. Among the most important monuments of the Mauryan
period are large stone pillars that stood at crossroads and important sites. A pillar often had a
lotus-shaped top bearing the figure of a lion. The lion was a symbol of imperial rule borrowed
from Iranian art. Many pillars also featured important Indian symbols. These included the
elephant, the bull, and the lotus itself. Bharat Mehta in article ancient Indian art and
architecture said, You have to create your life, you have to curve it, like a sculpture.
Each era is unique in its distinctive culture. In the same way Indian art forms have
continuously evolved over thousands of years. In ancient India, various art forms like paintings,
architecture and sculpture evolved. The history of art in ancient India begins with prehistoric

rock paintings. Such rock paintings can be seen in the Bhimbetka paintings, belonging to the
prehistoric age. Thereafter, an advanced town planning is seen in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro,
with their centrally planned cities indicating a highly developed architecture. Another remarkable
example of sculpture from Harappa civilization comes in the form of the dancing girl from
Mohenjo-Daro.
The use of symbolic forms in India is as old as the Harappa seals. The fire altars of the
Vedic period, with their astronomical and mathematical significance also play an important role
in the evolution of the later temples. It was followed by a period in the history of Indian art that
is important for rock-cut caves and temple architecture. The Buddhists initiated the rock-cut
caves, Hindus and Jains started to imitate them at Badami, Aihole, Ellora, Salsette, Elephanta,
Aurangabad and Mahabalipuram. The rock-cut art has continuously evolved, since the first rock
cut caves, to suit different purposes, social and religious contexts, and regional differences.
Alongside the art forms like architecture, paintings and sculpture, there have been
evolving, changing, transforming, folk and tribal art traditions in India. These art forms are
expression of people belonging to different cultural and social groups of India. It is the
expression of people whose life is tuned to the rhythms of nature and its laws of cyclic change
and whose life is knotted with natural energy. It's been a tradition in India that gods and legends
are transformed into contemporary forms and familiar images. Fairs, festivals and local deities
play a vital role in the development of these arts forms.
It is an art where life and creativity are inseparable. The tribal arts have a unique
sensitivity, as the tribal people possess an intense awareness very different from the settled and
urbanized people. Their minds are supple and intense with myth, legends, snippets from epic,

multitudinous gods born out of dream and fantasy. Their art is an expression of their life and
holds their passion and mystery.

BibliographyBerzin, Alexander. "The Berzin Archives." The Spread of Buddhism in Asia. N.p., June
1996. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

John Bowker, ed., The Cambridge Illustrated History of Religions (Cambridge UP, 2002),
p. 80
R. Mookeyi, Asoka. Delhi, 1962; S. Dhammika, The Edicts of King Asoka. Kandy, 1993.
Mehta, Bharat. "Ancient Indian Art and Architecture - Important India." Important India.
N.p., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.