Buddhist Architecture

INTRODUCTION
Aryans gave birth to elite class of merchants , artists and bureacrats.
Gave rise to new religion and Brahmanism - performing rituals and
sacrifices which some class of people were against .
By 500 BC, Vedic society was slowly stratifying into a rigid class system of
the familiar four Varnas which exist in some form in Indian society even
today - the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The former, being
the priestly class, were gradually assuming dominance over society with a
tenacious grasp over tedious rituals that controlled every aspect of life.
Off this speculation Prince Siddhartha Gautam renounced luxury and
pleasure of princely life .
Meditated for several years to reach the path of peace and happiness
Gave the middle path to all non Brahmins and laid foundation of new
religion BUDDHISM. (Buddha 563 BCE to 483 BCE)

INTRODUCTION

The religion taught non violence , oneness and humanity.

Birth place of Buddha- Lubini, Nepal. He was Price of Kapilvastu,
somewhere in Bihar.
Bodh Gaya tree of enlightenment in Magadha ruled by
Chandragupta Maurya , who claims to be the first emperor of India .
Capital of Magadha was Patliputra .
Patliputra stretched for a miles along Ganga .
Patliputra was a grand village with series of barrel vaulted timber
roofed huts supported by rows of stone columns instead of brick wall.

INTRODUCTION
After Chandragupta Maurya ,his son Bimbisara came to power and
then his successor was Ashoka .
Ashoka was a great warrior but victory of Kalinga turned him to be
follower of AHINSA , seeing the suffering and misery caused by the
war .
He adopted Buddhism whole heartedly and propagated the message
not only in India but in entire world.
For this his architectural manifestation was to give many rubble
structures which housed the relics and ashes of Budha .
Ashoka built 84000 stupas , 30 pillars and started the use of stone
instead of timber for religious structures .

MONUMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ANCIENT

ARCHITECTURE
Principle structure were built over a wide base with the super structure
decreasing gradually in size toward an apex to attain height ,
monumentality.
The non elastic materials like stone and brick were used for
construction .
Buddhist architects chose circle / square , the two purest geometric
form for monumental edifices .

Forms of Buddhist architecture

Superstructure- The earliest Buddhist construction of
significance was the stupa , but these were sculpture not structure.
Probably the most significant site is at Sanchi where as well as having
one of the best preserved Indian stupas, the full range of Buddhist art
and architecture from the third century BC to the twelfth AD can be
studied here.

Rock Cut-The other form of specifically Buddhist construction

that evolved quite early was the rock-cut monastery. For about six
centuries, beginning around 100 BCE, several monasteries were hewn
from the cliffs and rock walls of valleys.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
Main types of architectural buildings :

Stupa
Stambha
Chaityas
Viharas / Monastries

Buddhism rejected image worship , so represented Buddha by stupa ,

Bodhi tree indicating enlightenment , wheel of law , Buddha s
footprints .

STUPA
The stupas were large halls capped with a dome and symbols of the
Buddha.
Their purpose was to install awe into the minds of the common people
who, at that time, lived in small wooden houses.
But the stupa wasnt the only awe-inspiring monuments; it was
associated with a number of additional smaller structures such as
pillared gates, decorated railings , umbrellas and lion thrones.
All these were first made with brick, but when Ashoka realized that
they wouldnt stand the vigorous of time and weather, he switched to
stone.
The spherical dome symbolised the infinite space of the sky, adobe of
God

STUPAS

A stupa is a type of mound-like

structure found across the Indian
subcontinent, other parts of Asia,
and increasingly in the Western
World.
Also known as Relic Shrines .
Stupa was planned like a Vedic
Village.
Spherical dome symbolized the
infinite space of sky , adobe of

Shapes of stupas
"The shape of the stupa represents the
Buddha, crowned and sitting in
meditation posture on a lion throne.
His crown is the top of the spire; his
head is the square at the spire's base;
his body is the vase shape; his legs are
the four steps of the lower terrace; and
the base is his throne.
1) DHANYAKARA (paddy heap
shape)
2) GHANTAKARA (bell shape)
3) BUBBLAKARA (bubble shape)
4) GHARHAAKARA (pot shape)
5) PADMAKARA
6) AMALTAKA

Shapes of the stupas

goes on changing as
each one were having
its
own
way
to
represent

Stupa at sanchi

Stupa at myanmar
Stupa at islamabad

Stupa at chedi , china

Stupa at ruwanwelsia ,
srilanka

PARTS OF STUPAS
Dome is called Anda or Egg
as it contained the seed i.e. relic
of the monk .
Harmika: Top of dome is Harmika
(Heaven of 33 gods) , square balcony in
decorative form enclosing a pedestal .
Chattra: A 3 tiered stone / wooden
umbrella chhatrayasti raised over pedestal
which was the vedic alter of sacrifice and
represented the village shrine.
This in later period became inverted
stepped pyramid covered by an umbrella
rain vase (Varsha Sthala) at top.

STUPAS
Vedica: Stupa is enclosed with a
wooden / stone railing called vedica .
Toranas : They were cermonial
gateways placed at cardial point
similar to Aryan village gates .
Medhi : Medhi (predestrian Path) for
devotees to wave in homage to stupa.
Medhi was approached by double
staircase sopana .
Brick work , surface of dome finished
of with a thick layer of lime water .

The brick work surface of the dome was finished off with thick layer
of lime mortar. In some stupas , the dome was coloured and also some
recesses were left at the intervals for receiving small lamps to be lit at
the time of festivals
The dome represents the universe, also (as in later Hindu temples) a
world-mountain whose axis is defined by the mast, and finally the
symbolic body of Buddha himself, decorated (on gates and railings
only) with sculpted scenes from his life and Jataka stories of his
previous incarnations.

SANCHI
Sanchi became a pilgrimage
site when Ashoka Maurya
erected a stupa and column
there in the middle of the 3d
century BC. Later rulers
enlarged the complex.
The earliest stupas predated
Buddhism and were simple
funerary mounds which held
the ashes of the deceased.
Built of earth, they have not
survived.

THE GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI

In the 1st century BC, the Shungas built the
structure that we see today, which encases a 3rd
century BC Ashokan core. The toranas were
added by Satavahana kings in the 1st century
AD.
Its dome is made of solid brick work , 32.32 m
in diameter and 12.8 m high.
It is crushed at top to place harmika and
chhatrayasti.
Facing of dome is done with hammer dressed
stones laid in even courses .
Medhi is 4.87 m from ground to create 1.8 m
wide passage with double staircase on both
sides .
It has Toranas on four sides 3 m wide and 10.36
m high .

Each entrance gate is staggered from

the railing to form the swastika
plan

Life-sized sandstone statues of the

meditating Buddha were the final
addition to the Great Stupa.
A statue was placed at each of the four
cardinal points, just inside the entrances.
The east statue, shown here, is in
somewhat better condition than the
others. The postures and mudras of all
four Buddhas are identical. Each is
flanked by attendants,

BUDDHIST ORDER
About 19 surviving Stambha erected by Ashoka.
Averaging between forty and fifty feet in height, and
weighing up to fifty tons each These had generally,
bell shaped capitals surmounted by animals
sculptural such as lion , elephants carrying male and
females .
Columns are carved out of single block of sandstone
SARNATH PILLAR
Sarnath pillar is 15 m high .
Four lions surmounting capital; supporting metal wheel containing 24
spokes and called wheel of peace .
The wheel symbolizes Buddhism , which is also adopted as national
emblem of India .
Sarnath lion capital (restored) of monolithic column showing buddhist
symbols.

Sanchi

lumbini

vaishali

Ajivika and cave architecture

Ashoka though propagated
Buddhism he never entirely
intolerant of other sects

Ajivika s discarded
conventional timer structures at
that time and instead choose to
carve habitable caves out of the
eternally immoveable hillside for
their sanctuaries.
Popular example-- Lomas rishiarchitecture relates to vaulted
Aryan huts of Vedic villages.
Interior of circular hall- 19 in
diameter approached by 33 long
tunnel.

CHAITYAS
Temples cum assembly halls used to pay
homage .
Opened by small rectangular doorways to
vaulted hall with apsidal end .
Divided longitudinally by 2 colonnades
forming a broad nave in the centre and
two side aisles.
The roof is usually semi circular .
The chaityas resemble to that of church

Bhaje chaitya, karle

VIHARAS
They are residential places of
Buddhist priest.
Main halls entered by a
doorway , it has assembly
halls , dining chambers ,
meditation cells , walls depict
figures of Buddha .
In contrast to the elaborate
torans, the palaces residence
reflect bareness of monastic
life.

Viharas, ajanta caves

AJANTA CAVES

These caves are 60 km from Jalgaon.

The caves are situated in a horse shoe shaped valley and spread over a
length of more than 500 m from east to west wherein flows the small
rivulet Waghor .
There are 30 caves out of which 9 , on the face of almost vertical cliff
79 m high. The caves were excavated in different periods (2nd century
B.C. to 6th century A.D.) according to the necessity. Each cave was
connected to the stream by a flight of steps, which are now almost
obliterated, albeit traces of some could be noticed at some places.

AJANTA CAVES
The cave walls are filled with figures
of celestial beings , dancers and
deities of the buddhist pantheon .
In all, total 30 excavations were
hewn out of rock which also include
an unfinished one. Out of these, five
(cave no. 9, 10, 19, 26, and 29) are
chaityagrihas and the rest are
viharas.

ELLORA CAVES
These are situated at about 34 km
from Aurangabad at the foot of an
off-shoot of Sahyadri range .
Nagarjuna , founder of the Mahayana
school of Buddhism is said to have
had them excavated in 1st century .
They are all decorated with images
of Buddha seated on a throne and
flanked
by
two
attendants,
Padmapani and Vajrapani .
There are twelve Buddhist caves
here and only one chaitya and the
remainings of viharas.
In construction these are similar to