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Mauryan art
is art produced during the period of the Mauryan Empire, the first empire to rule over
most of the Indian subcontinent, between 322 and 185 BCE. It represented an important
transition in Indian art from the use of wood to stone. It was a royal art patronized by Mauryan
kings, most notably Ashoka. Pillars, stupas and caves are its most prominent surviving
examples.

The Lion Capital of Asoka, National Emblem

of India, the most famous example of
Mauryan art

The most significant remains of monumental Mauryan art include those of the royal palace and
the city of Pataliputra, a monolithic rail at Sarnath, the Bodhimandala or the altar resting on four
pillars at Bodhgaya, the rock-cut chaitya-halls in the Barabar Caves near Gaya (including the
Sudama cave bearing the inscription dated the 12th regnal year of Ashoka), the non-edict-bearing
and edict-bearing pillars, the animal sculptures crowning the pillars with animal and vegetal
reliefs decorating the abaci of the capitals, and the front half of the representation of an elephant

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carved in the round from a live rock at Dhauli.[1]

Ananda Coomaraswamy, writing in 1923, argued that the Mauryan art had three main phases.[2]
The first phase is found in some instances of the representation of the Vedic deities (the most
significant examples are the reliefs of Surya and Indra at the Bhaja Caves).[2] However the art of
the Bhaja Caves is now generally dated later than the Mauryan period, to the 2nd-1st centuries
BCE.[3] The second phase was the court art of Ashoka, typically found in the monolithic columns
on which his edicts are inscribed and the third phase was the beginning of brick and stone
architecture, as in the case of the original stupa at Sanchi, the small monolithic rail at Sanchi, and
the Lomas Rishi Cave in the Barabar Caves, with its ornamented facade, echoing the forms of
wooden art.[2]

Most scholars agree that Mauryan art was influenced by Greek and Persian art, especially in
imperial sculpture and architecture.[4] Political and cultural contacts between the Greek and
Persian cultures and India were intensive and ran for a long period of time, encouraging the
propagation of their advances in the area of sculpture.[4]

Sculpture

Rampurva bull capital, detail of the

abacus, with two "flame palmettes"
framing a lotus surrounded by small
rosette flowers.

This period marked an imaginative and impressive step forward in Indian stone sculpture; much
previous sculpture was probably in wood and has not survived. The elaborately carved animal
capitals surviving on from some Pillars of Ashoka are the best known works, and among the
finest, above all the Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath that is now the National Emblem of
India. Coomaraswamy distinguishes between court art and a more popular art during the
Mauryan period. Court art is represented by the pillars and their capitals,[5] and surviving popular
art by some stone pieces, and many smaller works in terracotta.

The highly polished surface of court sculpture is often called Mauryan polish. However this
seems not to be entirely reliable as a diagnostic tool for a Mauryan date, as some works from
considerably later periods also have it. The Didarganj Yakshi, now most often thought to be from
the 2nd century CE, is an example.

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The Pataliputra capital, showing both

Achaemenid and Greek influence,
with volute, bead and reel, meander
and honeysuckle designs. Early
Mauryan period, 4th-3rd century BC.

The Pataliputra capital, dated to the 3rd century BCE, has been excavated at the Mauryan city of
Pataliputra. It has been described as Perso-Ionic, with a strong Greek stylistic influence, including
volute, bead and reel, meander or honeysuckle designs. This monumental piece of architecture
tends to suggest the Achaemenid and Hellenistic artistic influence at the Mauryan court from
early on.[6][7]

Single Lion capital at Vaishali

Emperor Ashoka also erected religious pillars throughout India. These pillars were carved in two
types of stone. Some were of the spotted red and white sandstone from the region of Mathura,
the others of buff-coloured fine grained hard sandstone usually with small black spots quarried in
the Chunar near Varanasi. The uniformity of style in the pillar capitals suggests that they were all

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sculpted by craftsmen from the same region. It would therefore seem, that stone transported
from Mathura and Chunar to the various sites where the pillars have been found and here the
stone was cut and carved by craftsmen[5] They were given a fine polish characteristic of Mauryan
sculpture.

These pillars were mainly erected in the Gangetic plains. They were inscribed with edicts of
Ashoka on Dharma or righteousness. The animal capital as a finely carved lifelike representation,
noteworthy are the lion capital of Sarnath, the bull capital of Rampurva and the lion capital of
Lauria Nandangarh. Much speculation has been made about the similarity between these
capitals and Achaemenid works.

Statuettes of the Mauryan era

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The two monumental Yakshas

discovered in Patna (size: 2 meters
tall), and thought to be 3rd century
BCE. The two Brahmi inscriptions
starting with ... ( for
"Yaksha...") are paleographically of a
later date, circa 2nd century CE
Kushan.[8] Left statue inscription:
"Yakhe Achusatigika". Right statue
inscription: "Yakhe Sanatananda".[9]
Indian Museum, Kolkota.

The work of local sculptors illustrates the popular art of the Mauryan period. This consisted of
sculpture which probably was not commissioned by the emperor. The patrons of the popular art
were the local governors and the more well-to-do subjects. It is represented by figures such as
the female figure of Besnagar, the male figure of Parkham and the whisk-bearer from Didarganj
(although its age is debated). Technically they are fashioned with less skill than the pillar
capitals. They express a considerable earthiness and physical vitality.[5]

The stone elephant at Dhauli was also probably carved by local craftsmen and not by the court-
based artists who were responsible for the animal capitals. The image of the elephant emerging
from the rock is a most impressive one, and its purpose was probably to draw attention to the
inscription nearby.[5]

Popular terracotta objects of various sizes have been found at Mauryan sites, and elsewhere, and

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are probably the most numerous Mauryan works of art. Made by local people who may not have
been specialists, but for example potters with a sideline, they are very difficult to date if not
recorded as coming from an identifiable archaeological context. Many are regarded as pre-
Mauryan, but a continuation of the tradition of making mother-goddesses in clay, which dates
back to the prehistoric period is revealed by the discovery of these objects at Mauryan levels
during the excavations at Ahicchatra.

They are found more commonly from Pataliputra to Taxila. Many have stylized forms and
technically they are more accomplished, in that they have a well-defined shape and clear
ornamentation. Some appear to have been made from moulds, yet there is little duplication.
Terracotas from Taxila consists of deity figures, votive reliefs with deities, toys, dice, ornaments
and beads. Among the ornaments were round medallions, similar to the worn by Roman
boys.[5] Terracotta images of folk gods and goddesses often have an earthy charm (some of
them are perhaps dolls). Many animal figures are probably toys for children.

Female terracotta figure, northern India, c. 320-200 BCE

Head of an Indian Village Deity, terracotta, 3rd century BCE

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Mother goddess (terracotta) from Mathura, 3rd century BCE

Elephant (terracotta) from Mathura, 3rd century BCE

Forepart of an animal (terracotta) from Mathura, 3rd century BCE

Monkey (terracotta) from Mathura, 3rd-2nd century BCE

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"Ringstone with Four Goddesses and

Four Date Palms", Metropolitan
Museum of Art (New York)[10]

Broken section with "goddess"

flanked by birds, probably geese,
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New
York)[11]

The ringstone is a distinctive type of artefact and miniature sculpture made in India during the
approximate period of the Mauryan Empire and the following Sunga Empire (187-78 BCE). They
are usually dated to the 3rd or 2nd centuries BCE.[12] They are shaped like a doughnut, but with
straighter sides, and flat and plain on the bottom. They are in stone, with the top side very finely
carved in relief with several circular zones of decoration running around the hole in the centre.
When complete, they are about 2.5 to 4 inches across.[13]

The designs vary, but all examples are finely carved, despite their small size. A number of
components appear in a variety of variations. Typically the innermost zone, which runs down the
sloping sides of the hole, has standing female figures, often nude or nearly so, but with jewellery
and elaborate hairstyles, with trees in between them.[14] These may be called "goddesses", or
"mother goddesses", and the trees, apparently of various species, as the tree of life, but these
interpretations are not universally accepted.[15]

Their purpose, and any practical function, remains unclear and "enigmatic". They may have a

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specific religious purpose, or a more general one promoting fertility, or been used to make
jewellery by hammering metal foil over the designs.[16] About 70 have been found, many only as
fragments, with a 2014 find in Thailand the first from outside the Indian subcontinent; it is
assumed this was imported from India.[17]

Painting

It is clear from Megasthenes that the Mauryans had painting of some quality, but no examples
have survived. Many centuries later, the paintings of the Ajanta Caves, the oldest significant body
of Indian painting, show there was a well-developed tradition, which may well stretch back to
Mauryan times.

Architecture

Lomas Rishi Cave in the Barabar

Caves, 3rd century BCE.

While the period marked a second transition to use of brick and stone, wood was still the
material of choice. Kautilya in the Arthashastra advises the use of brick and stone for their
durability. Yet he devotes a large section to safeguards to be taken against conflagrations in
wooden buildings indicating their popularity.

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Plan of the 80-columns pillared hall in

Kumhrar.

The Greek ambassador Megasthenes mentions that the capital city of Pataliputra was encircled
by a massive timber-palisade, perforated by holes or slits through which archers could shoot. It
had sixty-four gates and 570 towers.[18] According to Strabo, the gilded pillars of the palace were
adorned with golden vines and silver birds. The palace stood in an extensive park studded with
fish ponds. It was furnished with a great variety of ornamental trees and shrubs. Excavations
carried out by Spooner and Waddell have brought to light remains of huge wooden palisades at
Bulandi Bagh in Pataliputra. The remains of one of the buildings, an 80 pillared hall at Kumrahar
are of particular significance. Out of 80 stone columns, that once stood on a wooden platform
and supported a wooden roof, Spooner was able to discover the entire lower part of at least one
in almost perfect conditions. It is more or less similar to an Ashokan pillar, smooth, polished and
made of grey Chunar sandstone.[19]

Many stupas like those at Sanchi, Sarnath and possibly Amaravati Stupa were originally built as
brick and masonry mounds during the reign of Ashoka. Most were renovated many times, which
leaves us with hardly a clue of the original structures.

Pottery

Use of the potters wheel became universal. The pottery associated with the Mauryan period
consists of many types of ware. But the most highly developed technique is seen in a special
type of pottery known as the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP), which was the hallmark of the
preceding and early Mauryan periods. The NBP ware is made of finely levigated alluvial clay,
which when seen in section is usually of a grey and sometimes of a red hue. It has a brilliantly

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burnished dressing of the quality of a glaze which ranges from a jet black to a deep grey or a
metallic steel blue. Occasionally small red-brown patches are apparent on the surface. It can be
distinguished from other polished or graphite-coated red wares by its peculiar lustre and
brilliance.

This ware was used largely for dishes and small bowls. It is found in abundance in the Ganges
valley. Although NBP was not very rare, it was obviously a more expensive ware than the other
varieties, since potsherds of NBP were occasionally found riveted with copper pins indicating
that even a cracked vessel in NBP ware had its value.[20]

Coins

Silver punch marked coin of the

Mauryan empire, with symbols of
wheel and elephant (3rd century BCE)

The coins issued by the Mauryans are mostly silver and a few copper pieces of metal in various
shapes, sizes and weights and which have one or more symbols punched on them. The most
common symbols are the elephant, the tree in railing symbol and the mountain. The technique of
producing such coins was generally that the metal was cut first and then the device was
punched.[20] These symbols are said to have either represented the Royal insignia or the symbol
of the local guild that struck the coin. Some coins had (money changer) marks on them
indicating that older coins were often re-issued.

The alloy content closely resembles that specified in the Arthashastra. Based on his
identification of the symbols on the punch-marked coins with certain Mauryan rulers, Kosambi
argued that the Mauryan punch-marked after Chandragupta has the same weight as
its predecessor, but much more copper, cruder fabric, and such a large variation in weight that
the manufacture must have been hasty. This evidence of stress and unsatisfied currency
demand is accompanied by debasement (inflation) plus vanishing of the reverse marks which
denoted the ancient trade guilds.[21] This in his opinion indicated that there was a fiscal crisis in
the later Mauryan period. However his method of analysis and the chronological identification
has been questioned.[22]

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Gallery

The Lohanipur torso.

Head from Sarnath,

Statue of Matrikas found near Agam Kuan, Patna

2nd-century statuette

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Dharmek Stupa at Sarnath

Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edict of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstone, British Museum

Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar. Kabul
Museum.

Stone Sphere with Scenes of Rites at the Shrine of a Yaksha (male nature spirit) (Maurya period, 3rd
century BCE)

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Serpent Hood (Chunar sandstone) from Rajgir, ca. 3rd century BCE

Patna griffin

Masarh lion

Notes

1. Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). , New Delhi: Wikimedia Commons has
S.Chand, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6, p.348 media related to
.
2. (https://archive.org/details/Introdu
ctionToIndianArt) . 1923. p. 15 (https://archive.org/details/I
ntroductionToIndianArt/page/n28) .

3. Kumar, Raj (2003). (http

s://books.google.com/books?id=BT77yuqxGj4C&pg=PA12) .
Discovery Publishing House. p. 12. ISBN 978-81-7141-715-5.

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4. V.D, Mahajan (2016). (https://books.google.com/books?id=7TJlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27

0) . S. Chand Publishing. pp. 270–271. ISBN 9789352531325.

5. Thapar, Romila (2001). , New Delhi: Oxford University Press,

ISBN 0-19-564445-X, pp.267-70

6. Report on the excavations at Pātaliputra (Patna); the Palibothra of the Greeks by Waddell, L. A.
(Laurence Austine) (https://archive.org/details/reportonexcavat01waddgoog)

7. Hellenistic Elements in the Sculptural and Terracotta Art of Mauryan Period (https://elinepa.org/helle
nistic-elements-in-the-sculptural-and-terracotta-art-of-mauryan-period) by Vinay Kumar

8. Ramaprasad, Chanda (1919). (https://archive.o

rg/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532716) . pp. 25 (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532716/p
age/n296) -28.

9. Report of a tour in Bihar and Bengal, p.3 (https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gW8IAAAAQAAJ)

10. Lerner and Kossak, 50, their no. 2

11. Lerner and Kossak, 50, their no. 4

12. Lerner and Kossak, 48; Bennett (2017); V&A

13. Lerner and Kossak, 48-50; V&A. They may also be called "ring stones" or "ring-stones"

14. Lerner and Kossak, 48

15. Lerner and Kossak, 48; V&A; Bennett (2017)

16. Lerner and Kossak, 48 (quoted); Bennett (2019), 99; V&A

17. Bennett (2019), 95

18. Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). , New Delhi: S.Chand, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6,
p.281

19. Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). , New Delhi: S.Chand, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6,
p.349

20. Thapar, Romila (2001). , New Delhi: Oxford University Press,

ISBN 0-19-564445-X, pp.239-49

21. Kosambi, D.D. (1988). , New Delhi: Vikas

Publishing House, ISBN 0-7069-4200-0, p.164

22. Thapar, Romila (2001). , New Delhi: Oxford University Press,

ISBN 0-19-564445-X, p.289

References

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• The Wonder that was India' by A.L Basham, Picador India, ISBN 0-330-43909-X

• Bennett, Anna (2019), "Suvarnabhumi, "Land of Gold"", in , 2019,

GISDA, PDF (https://www.academia.edu/40998239/The_Golden_Land_UVARNABHUMI_S_Th
e_new_finding_for_SUVARNABHUMI_TERRA_INCOGNITA)

• 'The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical outline' by D.D. Kosambi, 1964
reprinted in 1997, Vikas Publications, New Delhi, ISBN 0-7069-8613-X

• Kumar, Vinay (2015). (https://elinepa.org/we

st-asian-and-hellenistic-elements-in-indian-art/) . New Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation.
p. 145. ISBN 978-9350501887.

• Lerner, Martin and Kossak, Steven,

, 1991, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.),
ISBN 0870996134, 9780870996139, google books (https://books.google.com/books?id=KVo
Kd9vDSxsC&pg=PA48)

• "V&A": "Ring stone" (https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O25059/ring-stone-unknown/) in

collection

• Thapar, Romila (1973). . Delhi: Oxford University Press.

ISBN 0-19-560381-8. OCLC 29809355 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29809355) .

• FocusCivil.online [1] (https://www.focuscivil.online/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/we

b/20221106081300/https://www.focuscivil.online/) 6 November 2022 at the Wayback
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