MAURYAN ART AND

ARCHITECHTURE
Presented by,
V. KRITHIK RAGAVENDHRA,
Grade 6-A
Mauryan Architecture:
• Mauryan Pillars Single Lion Capital at Vaishali
 Free standing columns were not used
as supports to any structure
 Two main parts: the shaft and the
capital
• Mauryan Stupas
 Solid domes of brick or stone
 Constructed to celebrate the
achievements of Gautama Buddha
 The Sarnath An example of a Stupa
• Adopted as the emblem of the
Modern Indian Republic
• World knew in the Third Century
B.C.
 Mauryan Palaces and Residential
Buildings
• Glided pillars adorned with golden
vines and silver birds
• Fa-Hien remarked that “no human
hands of this world could accomplish
this”
MAURYAN ART - SCULPTURES,
COINS, POTTERY
Mauryan Sculpture
• This period marked a transition from wood to stone as a medium
• The art work can be broadly classified into
1) Court art
2) Popular art
• Court art was done mostly in the form of Pillars
• Materials used
1) white sandstone from Mathura
2) buff-coloured black spotted sandstone from Varanasi
Ashoka Pillar
• Placed by emperor Ashoka at buddhist
site of Sarnath in about 250 BC
• Carved in single block of polished
sandstone
• Four Asiatic lions are mounted on an
abacus featuring elephant, bull, horse
and lion separated by chariot wheels
with everything sitting on a lotus
• Symbolizes spread of dharma and the
extent of Mauryan empire in all
directions
Pottery
 Use of the potters wheel became universal
Coins

• The coins issued by the Mauryans were mostly silver and a few copper pieces of
metal in various shapes, sizes and weights
• The most common symbols were the elephant, the tree in railing symbol and the
mountain
 PATALIPUTRA
• Pataliputra was the ancient name of the city Patna
• Capital of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires
• Population of 150,000-300,000
• Situated on the Ganges River
• Architecture influenced by Persian Achaemenid style

Major economic centre and trade hub

Contd.
• surrounded by wooden walls, 22 miles on each side
• 570 towers and 64 gates
• university, library, palaces, temples, gardens, parks etc..
• state-controlled mines, forests, large farms, granaries, shipyards, cloth-making
• 5th fastest growing city in India and 21st fastest growing city in the world
• In June 2009, the World Bank ranked Patna as the second-best city in India
to start a business, after Delhi
Notable Works

Female terracotta figure, Northern

Yakshi Didarganj
India, 320-200 BCE
THANK YOU