The representation of the human form of Buddha is one of the most enigmatic

developments in Buddhism that has change the course of narrative of art in India.
The discovery of classically inspired images of the Buddha in Gandhara in
North-western India led to their association with the Indo-Greek rulers of the first
century. This discovery led Foucher to conclude that the image of the Buddha was
a Greek invention thus prompting an artistic revolution in India. His conclusion
followed from his argument that at Sanchi and other early sites, the Buddha was
represented symbolically. This assertion was challenged by the nationalist art
historian Ananda Coomaraswamy who cited a different set of Buddha images
produced in the same period at Mathura.

In the first century CE, northern India was ruled by monarchs of the Kushana
dynasty who were aware of the issues that could arise in an empire straddling with
a wide range of ethnic and cultural boundaries. Under Kushana patronage, the
anthropomorphic image of the Buddha became popular in art, the earlier
preference of a symbolic representation was now abandoned in favour of
embodiment. With far-sightedness and awareness of cultural differences, the
Kushanas sponsored the production of two distinct types of Buddha image, one in
western part of their empire and the other in the plains of India, the Gandhara and
Mathura schools of Art respectively. One has to also keep in mind the changing
nature of the Buddhist religion during this time.

Gandhara School

Images of the Buddha with youthful features and wavy hair, clad in a monastic
robe draped in heavy classical folds are reminiscent of the Gandhara School of Art.
The images of the Buddha were fashioned in a local grey schist, using
Greco-Roman Apollo type as the model. Thirty two signs of the Buddha’s
superhuman perfection, formulated in the Buddhist texts, which the artists drew to
create a visual lexicon of the Buddha. It is important to note that due to the
aesthetic sensibilities, sculptors disguised these signs, the ushnisha, a wisdom bump
on the head of the crown of the Buddha was transformed into a curly top-knot and
the urna, the curl of hair rests between his eyebrows is depicted merely as a dot.
Additionally, the artists gave a halo to the Buddha, a sign of divinity. It was
common place that the artists deferred to Buddhist sacred texts and depicted the
Buddha in different ways like with a webbed hand.
The Greeks had modelled their gods as examples of perfect male physique long
before Indians began to give human for to their gods. The changeover of the
image of the Buddha was facilitated by the Greco-Roman tradition that had always
been anthropomorphic. The creation of the Buddha image happened most likely
during the reign of Kanishka as confirmed by his coinage although dated images
have not been found.

To understand the origins of this eclectic art, one must look into the legacy of
Alexander the Great and the Seleucid empire. Bactria was an important Seleucid
province until around 250 BC when it broke away to establish itself as an
independent kingdom under Greek governor Diodotus. Excavations at Bactrian
cities like Ai Khanum and Surkh Kotal reveal Greek colonnades, Corinthian
capitals, sculptures and inscriptions. The Kushanas who had no monumental
artistic heritage of their own adopted the lingering Greek traditions of Bactria
when they captured it around 130BC. The emergence of Gandhara art coincided
with the expansion of Buddhist theology, which accommodated multiple divinities.
These, therefore, were ideal themes for sculpture and painting. As a result, images
of Buddhas and bodhisattvas were popular themes of this school of art, hence it is
sometimes referred to as Graeco-Buddhist art.

Upon encountering Buddhism, the Kushanas adopted it and began building

monasteries and stupas, the style being heavily adopted from its Bactrian
predecessor. The vibrancy of the Gandharan art was also influenced by the
imported craftsmen of the eastern Hellenistic empire and also possibly from Persia.
The Kushana emperors had an eye for the beautiful and were connoisseurs of art.
Excavations at their palace have Begram unearthed treasures including Roman
painted glass goblets, a bronze mask of Silenus and a weight shaped as Athena
from the Mediterranean, items of Chinese lacquer and ivories of Indian
manufacture.

Kanishka was an exemplary Buddhist devotee. He gave the Buddhist world one of
its wonders, the remains of which can be seen in Shahji ki Dheri today. Miniature
models of the Kanishka stupa created as souvenirs for visiting pilgrims are
conveyors of its erstwhile splendour.

Most of the sculptures of the Buddha made in the Gandhara style have similar
features.The facial features and curly/ wavy hair, muscular body, and finely
delineated folds and pleats of robes are the major elements of the Graeco-Roman
influence. Standing Buddha images are very common. Most of the standing
Buddha images of the Gandhara school have the following features: the Buddha is
barefoot and his robe covers both shoulders; his left hand seems to be holding his
robe; his right hand is raised in the protection-granting gesture or abhaya mudra;
his curly hair is piled on top of his head in a knot or ushnisha; a halo encircles his
head; and his elongated earlobes recall his early life as a prince, when they were
weighed down by ear ornaments.

In addition to these, there are also seated Buddha images. The gestures or mudras
of these figures include the dharmachakra mudra or teaching posture and the
dhyana mudra or meditative pose. Some of the Buddha images have a moustache.
Interestingly, in this school of art, Greek gods are shown paying obeisance to the
Buddha. Another fascinating, unique example of Gandharan art is the image of the
emaciated Buddha.

Apart from Buddha figures, the Gandhara school also produced bodhisattva
images. The figure of Maitreya with a vase in his left hand seems to have been a
popular theme and so was Avalokiteshvara or Padmapani who holds a lotus. The
bodhisattva figures, unlike the Buddha images, were usually heavily ornamented
and had elaborate hairstyles and/or turbans. Some of them wear sandals and sport
moustaches. The Gandhara artists depicted incidents connected with the present
and past lives of the Buddha in their sculptures and relief panels. However, they
handled the themes differently from the artists of the early Buddhist sites of central
India and Andhra. Thus, for example, in the Gandhara reliefs, the Buddha‘s birth is
represented by his mother, Maya, grasping the boughs of a sal tree, with the child
emerging from her right side or standing near her foot. Indra is shown receiving
the baby with his attendants.

Other popular themes of the Gandhara sculptures and relief panels are the yaksha
king, Panchika, and his consort, Hariti. Panchika was associated with wealth and
Hariti, according to Buddhist tradition, was a yakshi who was transformed from a
child devourer to a protectress of children by the Buddha‘s intervention.

Gandharan architects moved away from stupa of large circumference surrounded

by railing such as those at Sanchi and Amravati, their emphasis instead was on
verticality. Stupas consisted of a series of tall square bases upon which rested a
small circular dome. Railings were eliminated and the stupa was situated within a
rectangular court yard enclosed by a row of shrines containing Buddha images,
mostly clad in monastic robes but also portrayed as a price before departure from
the palace. The bodhisattava or the Buddha to be was visualised as handsome
figure sporting a twirled moustache, clad in elaborate turban rich jewellery and
elegant clothes.

Narrative relief panels narrating the life of the Buddha were placed along the base
of the main stupa of a monastery and occasionally around votive stupas erected in
the monastic compound.

As the Buddha image gained popularity, narrative reliefs increasingly gave way to
epiphanic presentation in which the figure of Buddha is enlarged beyond all
proportions to the other players in the story. Occasionally, the free large standing
Buddha image takes over totally from the narrative.

The dating of the Gandharan Art is a vexed problem. Dated images are few and
scholars have variously applied those dates to the Old Saka era (122 BC) and the
eras of Kanishka II (177AD). In addition, there is the theory of the dropped 100s.
It can be said with certainty that Hellenistic imagery became prominent during the
first century AD and some of the finest Gandharan images belong to the second
and third centuries.

Some art historians believe that the Gandhara school registered very little stylistic
change over time. However, it is possible that such changes did occur but have not
been properly identified. It has also been pointed out that Gandhara art should not
be taken as a uniform style due to the diverse influences affecting it and that it
should be analysed keeping this in mind.

Mathura school

Mathura emerged as a major centre of artistic activity during the Kushana period.
It was one of the prominent cities of north India, being the southern capital of the
Kushanas and an important centre of crafts, trade, religious activity and artistic
production. The Mathura school set the pace for much of the artistic style in north
India and images made here were exported to other cities like Kaushambi,
Ahichchhatra, and Sarnath, and even up to Mahasthangarh in the east. The
sculptors of this school used red sandstone quarried at Sikri.

There are stylistic similarities as well as variations between the Gandhara and
Mathura schools of art. The sculptures share iconographic similarities but the style
is different in that the Mathura school is wholly indigenous and shows no trace of
foreign influence. It can, in fact, be seen as a furtherance of the sculptural
traditions of Besnagar, Sanchi and Bharhut. Moreover, the craftsmen of Mathura
were particularly skilled at free-standing sculptures.The themes of the Mathura
school of art are varied, including yakshas, yakshis, nagas, nagis, Buddhas,
bodhisattvas, Jaina tirthankaras and Hindu deities.

A massive image of the Buddha found at Sarnath is considered to be typical of the

Mathura style. There are, in addition, separate images of the bodhisattvas,
especially Maitreya, Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara. The Mathura school also
produced narratives from the Buddha‘s life. The Mathura school also produced a
large number of Jaina images that were found at Kankali Tila. These include a pillar
fragment with four standing tirthankaras carved on its sides. In addition, there is a
seated tirthankara image with its head broken. There is some similarity between the
tirthankara images and those of the Buddha. Both sets have long earlobes and
some of them share an auspicious mark called urna between the brows. The
differences lie in their nudity, the emblems on their chests, and their postures,
gestures and attributes.

Along with Buddhist and Jaina images, the Mathura school also established the
iconographic traits of the images of Hindu deities in the early centuries AD. Stone
sculptures of Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Durga and Lakshmi have been discovered in
Mathura. A seated Surya image from Kankali Tila shows West Asian influence in
his moustache, tunic, boots and ringed crown. Shaiva images represent the god
either in anthropomorphic or in aniconic (linga) form, as well as in mukha-lingas
and vigraha-lingas. An architectural fragment found at Bhuteshvara near Mathura
shows a Shiva linga under a tree, surrounded by a railing and worshipped by
winged creatures.

Other early Shiva images from this area show him alone or with the Nandi bull or,
alternatively, with his consort Parvati. Shiva is also represented in different forms
such as the Chaturvyuha Shiva (Shiva with his three emanations), Ardhanarishvara
(the god who is half woman) and Harihara (a combination of Vishnu and Shiva).

When one turns to Vaishnava images, there is a tremendous increase in the number
and variety produced in the Mathura area in this period. In fact, Mathura was the
most important centre of Vaishnava art. There are many independent images of
Vasudeva Krishna and of Vishnu—four-armed, on garuda and in boar incarnation
form. Besides these, there are kinship triads of Vasudeva Krishna with his brother,
Baladeva, and their sister, Ekanamsha. The idea of the chaturvyuha (the four
emanations of Vishnu) crystallized in the late Kushana period. A colossal Narayana
image found at Mathura deserves to be noted here specially. Goddesses, too, form
an important part of the Hindu pantheon in the Mathura school. Apart from
nameless female deities, Matrikas and yakshis, there are images of Lakshmi and
Durga. Among the notable figures is a beautiful image, identified as Shri-Lakshmi,
which stands on two lotus buds that emerge out of a jar of plenty (purna ghata).
Mathura was also the centre of exquisite terracottas in the period c. 200 BC-AD
300. These pieces of art display a great variety of decorative motifs.

Please supplement with a suitable conclusion