BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE

HOA SEM I
LECTURE -5
BUDDHISM WAS STARTED BY SIDDHARTH GAUTAM IN THE
6TH CENTURY BCE.

THE MOST FAMOUS OF THE MAURYAN KINGS WAS ASHOKA

(AROUND 250 BCE), WHO EMBRACED BUDDHISM AFTER
THE BRUTAL KALINGA WAR. HE LATER ESTABLISHED IT AS A
STATE RELIGION. IN HIS MISSION TO SPREAD BUDDHIST
TEACHINGS, HE HAD THE EDICTS CARVED IN STONE.
CARVED IN CAVES, ROCKS AND PILLARS, IN THE SARNATH CAPITAL
VERNACULAR LANGUAGE OF HIS KINGDOM, PALI.

THE PILLARS CONSISTED OF A SINGLE PIECE OF SMOOTH

CIRCULAR TAPERED COLUMN SHAFT UNTO 45’ TO 50 HIGH
WITH A MORTOISE AT ITS TOP. INTO THIS WENT A COPPER
DOWEL THAT SUPPORTED A CAPITAL CARVED OUT OF
ANOTHER SINGLE PIECE OF STONE UPTO 7’ HIGH. THE
CAPITAL COMPRISED OF A BELL / INVERTED LOTUS MOTIF
WITH A CIRCULAR CARVED ABACUS SURMOUNTED BY AN SARNATH IS THE SITE OF
BUDDHA’S FIRST SERMON.
ANIMAL SCULPTURE. THE SHAFT WAS INSCRIBED WITH
THE SARNATH PILLAR
DHAMMA.
CAPITAL HAS A LOTUS BASE
DRUM ON WHICH IS THE
INITIALLY THE ANIMAL SCULPTURE, SIGNIFYING ROYAL WHEEL OF LAW
AUTHORITY, WAS OF AN ELEPHANT, THEN A BULL, A HORSE, INTERSPERCED BY 4 RACING
A SINGLE LION, 2 LIONS BACK TO BACK AND THEN THE 4 ANIMALS – THE BULL, THE
LIONS THAT WE FIND ON THE SARNATH PILLAR. HORSE, THE ELEPHANT AND
THE LION. THIS CAPITAL HAS
HE ALSO ENLARGED EXISTING MUD & BRICK STUPAS AND BEENADOPTED AS THE
BUILD MONASTRIES. SYMBOL OF THE MODERN
INDIAN CITY STATE.
 SHAKAS

SUNGA

SAT
VAH
AN
AS

THE KUSHAN
EMPEROR KANISHKA
CONVENED THE 4TH
DEVELOPMENT OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM BUDDHIST COUNCIL IN
KASHMIR IN 100 CE.
INITIALLY THE BUDDHIST MONKHOOD WAS STRICTLY MENDICANT. ITS MEMBERS LIVED THE DOCUMENTED
ITINERANTLY IN POVERTY AND SURVIVED BY BEGGING. THEY WERE NOT TO ERECT TEXTS BECAME THE
SHRINES, ACQUIRE PROPERTY OR DEITY THE BUDDHA. MENDICANT BUDDHISM WAS BASIS OF MAHAYANA
SUBSEQUENTLY REFERRED TO AS HINAYANA (THE LESSER VEHICLE). IN TIME AS BUDDHISM, WHICH
BUDDHISM BEGAN TO RECEIVE ROYAL PATRONAGE AND ITS PRACTITIONERS BECAME NOW BEGAN TO
MORE DIVERSE, A MORE MONASTIC AND POPULIST KIND OF BUDDHISM KNOWN AS FLOURISH AND SPREAD
MAHAYANA (OR GREATER VEHICLE) EMERGED IN WHICH INSTITUTIONS WERE INTO CENTRAL ASIA,
ESTABLISHED WHERE BUDDHIST MONKS COULD LIVE, PRAY AND LEARN. BY ASHOKA’S CHINA, KOREA AND
TIME THE MAHAYANA BUDDHISM HAD BEEN FIRMLY INCORPORATED INTO BUDDHISM. JAPAN. TODAY THERE
ARE AROUND 13
BY THE 2ND CENTURY BCE, ASHOKA’S MAURYAN EMPIRE BEGAN TO DISINTEGRATE, BUDDHIST SECTS IN
LEADING TO A SERIES OF KINGDOMS AND DYNASTIES. THE SUNGA IN THE WEST, THE THE WORLD.
SATVAHANAS TO THE SOUTH AND THE SHAKAS IN THE NORTH CAME INTO
PROMINENCE.
DHARMARAJIKA STUPA, TAXILA
FURTHER AWAY ON ANOHTER PLATUE, IS A LARGE
DHARMARAJIKA STUPA. THE MOUND ON WHICH IT
SITS IS SURROUNDED BY AMILTITUDE OF MONK’S
CELLS.
THE BAMIYAN BUDDHA STATUES,
4TH & 5TH CE
KUSHANS OF BAMIYAN

BAMIYAN WAS THE CENTER OF THE 5TH CENTURY

EURASIAN TRADE. TRADE ROUTES FROM CHINA, INDIA
AND WEST ASIA CAME TOGETHER IN THIS VALLEY,
LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF CONTEMPORARY
AFGHANISTAN. THE SITE WAS PROTECTED BY A LARGE
BUDDHIST MONASTERY, WITH MORE THAN A HUNDRED
CAVES OF VARIOUS SIZES CARVED OUT OF THE SHEER
CLIFF FACE OF THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS.

IN THEIR MIDST, SEPERATED BY ABOUT 1 KILOMETER, THE

KUSHAN EMPEROR , KANISHKA, INITIATED THE
CONSTRUCTIION OF TWO GIGANTIC BUDDHA STATUES,
KNOWS AS THE BAMIYAN BUDDHAS. THEY WERE
COMPLETED IN THE 4TH AND 5TH CENTURIES, UNDER THE
SESSANIANS. COLOSSAL BUDDHAS, NEVER BUILT IN INDIA,
WERE A KUSHAN INVENTION THAT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY
WIDELY IMITATED THOUGHOUT CHINA, KOREA AND JAPAN
FOR CENTURIES TO COME. IN MARCH 2001 THEY WERE
DESTROYED BY THE TALIBAN GOVERNMENT OF
AFGHANISTAN AS IDOLS.
 VIEW OF BAMIYAN

THE BODIES OF THE TWO BAMIYANS WERE FIRST CUT DIRECTLY FROM THE STONE AND THEN MOLDED WITH A
MIXTURE OF MUD AND STRAW TO CREATE THE FOLDS OF THE ROBES, THE HANDS AND THE DETAILS OF THE FACE.

THE DRAPERY WAS MADE BY SUSPENDING ROPES FROM THE STONE SURFACE OF THE UPPER BODY. AT THE BASE THE
ROPES WERE HELD IN PLACE BY WOODEN PEGS AND THEN COVERED OVER WITH MUD PLASTER.

THE ENTIRE SURFACE WAS ORIGINALLY PAINTED IN GOLD AND OTHER BRIGHT COLORS. THE OUTWARD EXPRESSION OF
THE STATUES, IN PARTICULAR THE FOLDS OF THE GARMENTS, HAS A HELLENIC CHARACTER. MOST OF THE SMALLER
CAVES AT BAMIYAN WERE COVERED WITH PAINTINGS, VERY SIMILAR IN STYLE TO THE ONE FOUND AT AJANTA. BUT THE
ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF BUILDING COLOSSAL STATUES IN AS YET UNKNOWN. THE ONLY KNOWN PRECEDENTS OF THIS
TYPE ARE FROM PHARAONIC EGYPT.
STUPA AT GULDARA,
NEAR KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
IN THE AFGHAN REGION TO THE NORTH,
THE KUSHAN CONSTRUCTED LARGE
NUMBERS OF STUPAS & BUDDHIST
MONASTRIES, ONLY A FEW SURVIVE. A
STUPA AT GULDARA (2ND CENTURY CE),
NEAR PRESENT DAY KABUL IN
AFGHANISTAN, HAS SURVIVED LARGELY
INTACT.

ORIENTED TO THE EAST AND ACCESED BY

A LARGE STAIRWAY, THE ROUND STUPA IS
RAISED ON A VERY HIGH RECTANGULAR
BASE, UNLIKE THE STUPAS FURTHER
SOUTH, SO THE EMPHASIS ON THE BASE
BECOMES EQUIVALENT TO THE STUPA
ITSELF. THE CARIDNAL DIRECTIONS ARE
MARKED BY DEEP NICHES WITH
ROUNDED ARCHES, WHICH ARE FURTHER
FLAT SLABS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK WAS PILES IN EVEN, HORIZONTAL
EMBELLISHED BY OGEE-SHAPED ARCHES
ROWS, WiTH THE DECORATIVE ELEMENTS, SUCH AS THE PILASTERS AND
AND PILASTERS. THE ENTIRE BASE &
THE CAPITALS, FORMED BY PROTUDING CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED
STUPA IS DIVIDED INTO PANELS BY
ROCKS BEYOND THE MAIN SURFACE. THE INTERIOR, HOWEVER, WAS
PILASTERS OF DISTANT HELLENISTIC
PRIMARILY FILLED WITH RUBBLE.
DERIVATION.
 ARIAL VIEW
OF TAKHT-I-BAHI,
NEAR PESHAWAR,
PAKISTAN

JUST NORTH OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN, ON THE CRITICAL TRADE ROUTE OVER THE KHYBER PASS, ON THE SPUR OF A
HILL OVERLOOKING THE ROUTE, LIE THE RUINS OF THE KUSHAN MONASTIC COMPLEX TAKHT-I-BAHI (2ND CENTURY CE).
BUILT ON LEVELS, TAKTH-I-BAHI COMMANDS A DRAMATIC VIEW OF THE VALLEY BELOW.

THE MAIN COMPLEX CONSISTS OF THE SOUTH STUPA COURT, WHICH FACES, ON AXIS, A VIHARA CLOISTER, ALSO
CLUSTERED AROUND A COURTYARD. THE STUPA IS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL AND IS ENCLOSED ON THREE SIDES BY
ALTERNATING LARGE AND SMALL NICHES. THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS LOCATED ON THE 4TH SIDE & IS PLAIN.
 MONASTIC COMPLEX OF TAKHT-I-BAHI
THE STUPA AND VIHAR COURTS
ARE CONNECTED BY FLIGHTS OF
VIHARA COURT
STAIRS TO A CENTRAL
NN INTERMEDIATE COURT WHICH
SPLAYS OUT IN AN EAST-WEST
DIRECTION AND IS MOSTLY
INTERMEDIATE
COURT
COVERED BY A SERIES OF
PLATFORMS OF VARIOUS SIZES
STATUES, THAT ORIGINALLY WOULD HAVE
SHOPS OR
STORAGE HELD SMALL STUPAS AND
SHRINES. THE EDGES OF THIS
INTERMEDIATE COURT ARE
DEFINED BY NICHES OF VARIOUS
SIZES THAT MAY HAVE
ORINIGALLY HELD STATUES OR
MAY HAVE FUNCTIONED AS
SMALL SHOPS OR STORAGE
N COMPARTMENTS
LARGE & SMALL
STUPA COURT NICHES ON 3
SIDES
SATVAHANAS THE AMRAVATI STUPA BUILT
OUTSTANDING TRADERS, THE SATAVAHANAS CALLED THEMSELVES BY THE SATVAHANAS
PROBABLY BEGAN AS A
DAKSHINPATH-PATI. I.E., RULERS OF THE SOUTHERN TRADE ROUTE THAT MOUND UNDER THE
LINKED EGYPT, CONTROLLED BY THE ROMANS, WITH THE HAN RULERS MAURYAS, BUT IT WAS
OF CHINA. UNDER THE SATVAHANAS, PORT CITIES FLOURISHED ON SIGNIFICANTLY ENLARGED
BOTH THE EAST AND WEST COASTS OF PENINSULAR INDIA. AND ADORNED UNDER THE
MERCHANT PATRONAGE.
BUDDHIST MONASTIRES WERE CATALYSTS OF THIS MERCANTILE TURBAN WEARING PEOPLE
DEVELOPMENT AS THEY WERE OFTEN LOCATED ALONG TRADE ROUTES, FILL EVERY SCULPTURE PANEL.
SERVING AS RESTING PLACES AND TRANSITION POINTS FOR THE MUSICIANS PLAY FOR WELL
ENDOWED DANCERS. RICHLY
TRADERS. THUS. STARTED AS ASETICISM AND WANDERING ADORNED WOMEN LEAN
MENDICANTS LIVING ON ALMS, BUDDHISTS LATER HAD ROYAL SUPPORT, FROM BARREL VAULTED
BUT THEN THEY FLOURISHED IN LARGE PART DUE TO THE PATRONAGE BALCONIES. HORSES,
OF THE MERCHANTS WHO PAID FOR THE HELP THEY RECEIVED IN THEIR BULLOCKS & ELEPHANTS
TRANSIT. CROWD THE STREETS ALONG
WITH OX CARTS. IN THE
DISTANCE LARGE SHIPS WITH
OPEN SAILS ARE READY TO
TAKE TO THE SEA.

PICTORAL VIEW - AMRAVATI STUPA

CARVED SLABS FROM AMRAVATI STUPA, NEAR GUNTUR, SOUTH INDIA
 ASHOKA THE GREAT (250 BCE)
THE OLDEST SURVIVING BUDDHIST STUPAS WAS
ENCIRCLED WITH SUCCESSIVE COVERINGS OR BUILT AROUND 84,000 STUPAS
CONSTRUCTED A NEW DURING THE REIGN OF
ASHOKA, THE EARLY INDIAN EMPEROR WHO WAS
CONVERTED TO BUDDHISM. THROUGH HIS CONTACTS
WITH PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE & THE HELLENISTIC
WORLD, ASHOKA BROUGHT TO INDIA BUILDERS
PROFICIENT IN THE ART OF STONEWORK, WHICH
UNTIL THIS TIME HAD NOT BEEN USED IN
CONSTRUCTION. HE ALSO CAUSED THE ROADS
LEADING TO BUDDHIST SHRINES TO BE MARKED WITH
TALL COLUMNS INSCRIBED WITH BUDDHIST
TEACHINGS, KNOWN LATER AS ASOKA COLUMNS.
THESE FEATURED ORNAMENTAL CARVING CLEARLY
MODELED ON PERSIAN ORIGINALS. WHEREAS THE
COLUMNS IN PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE SUPPORTED A
ROOF, IN INDIA THEY WERE FREESTANDING ELEMENTS
USED AS COMMEMORATIVE MARKERS IN THE
LANDSCAPE.

UNDER ASOKA’S PATRONAGE THE ORIGINAL SIMPLE

STUPAS WERE ENLARGED & NEW SHRINES WERE
CREATED. ALL WERE REGULARIZED INTO
HEMISPHERICAL FORMS, REFLECTING THE SIMPLICITY
OF THE CIRCLE IN PLAN, SECTION AND ELEVATION AND
CREATING A SYMBOLIC LINK TO THE CYCLICAL NATURE
OF EXISTENCE. TO PROVIDE GREATED PERMANENCE,
THE STUPAS WERE FACED WITH BRICK OR STONE. THE RICHLY CARVED TORAN (GATEWAY) AT THE SANCHI STUPA
ASHOKA PILLARS
• THESE ARE THE PILLARS ERECTED BY THE EMPEROR ASHOKA
PRIYADARSHI- THE BELOVED OF THE GODS (274-237 B.C) THESE HAVE
IMPORTANT PLACE IN BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE . THESE ARE STURDY,
FINELY PROPORTIONAL AND PROPERLY BALANCED RELIGIOUS SIGN
POSTS.
• THE PILLARS AT SRNATH MORE THAN 15M HIGH HAS A GROUP OF
FOUR ADDORSED LIONS WITH FLOWING MANES, SURMOUNTING THE
CAPITAL.
• THESE LIONS ORIGINALLY SUPPORTED A MASSIVE METAL WHEEL WITH
24- SPOKES CALLED ‘WHEEL OF THE LAW’- DHARMA – CHARKRA
WHICH AS PER ‘RIG – VEDA’ ROLLS AROUND THE HEAVEN OF COSMIC
ORDER.
• THE CAPITAL MORE THAN 2M HIGH RESEMBLES THE SHAPE OF ANN
INVERTED BELL OR LOTUS BUD WITH SERIES OF FLUTED PETALS.
ABOVE CAPITAL IS AN ABACUS WHICH IS CIRCULAR AND HAVING
ORNAMENTAL BORDERS WITH FOUR FIGURES OF ANIMALS(ELEPHANT,
BULL, HORSEAND LION) THAT ALTERNATE WITH FOUR SMALL WHEELS.
THESE ANIMALS SYMBOLISE THE GUARDIANS OF FOUR QUARTERS OF
THE UNIVERSE. ELEPHANT IS THE GUARDIANS OF THE EAST, BULL
(SOUTH) , HORSE (WEST) , LION (NORTH). THE PILLARS DISPLAY THE
SKILLED WORKMANSHIP . THE CIRCULAR SHAFT IS FINELY POLISHED
SUCH THAT IT SHINES LIKE A MIRROR.
 TEMPLE 45 BUILT SANCHI STUPA
WITH A VIHARA VIHARAS

LITTLE STUPA GREAT STUPA TEMPLE 17 TEMPLE 18 TEMPLE 40

RECONSTRUCTION VIEW OF THE TEMPLE COMPLEX, SANCHI

THE MONASTRY WAS BUILT BY ASHOKA AT THE SITE OF A SMALL EXISTING STUPA (ONE OF 10). ENLARGED OVER 500
YEARS, IT INCLUDES 3 STUPAS, VIHARAS (THE RESIDENCES OF MONKS) AND TEMPLES. AT THE CENTRE IS THE GREAT
STUPA, AND TO THE RIGHT IS THE SO CALLED TEMPLE 40 – AN EARLY CHAITYA HALL. THE RECTANGULAR PLAN BUILDING
AT THE UPPER LEFT IS A VIHARA, A RESIDENCE FOR MONKS OF WHICH ONLY THE FOUNDATIONS REMAIN.
THE GREAT STUPA, SANCHI, 250 BCE – 250 CE

THIS ELEVATION- LIKE VIEW SHOWS A TORANA (GATE), A PORTION OF THE VERDICA (FENCE), AND ON TOP OF THE
MOUND, THE CHHATRA (STYLIZED BODHI TREE), WHICH SYMBOLIZES THE TREE UNDER WHICH THE BUDDHA
RECEIVED ENLIGHTENMENT.

ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED AS A MOUND ~ 70’ IN DIAMETER, GREW TO BECOME A DOME THAT WAS ALMOST 120’
IN DIAMETER AND 54’ IN HEIGHT.
 TORAN OR GATE VERDICA OR FENCE
9’ HIGH
PLAN OF THE
GREAT STUPA, CHHATRA
SANCHI
HARMICA OR RAILING
THE PLAN SHOWS THE
FOUR GATES & THEIR
BENT-AXIS ENTRY
DESIGN THAT CREATES A
SWASTIKA, PERHAPS
LINKED TO ANCIENT
SUN SYMBOLS.
OPENINGS
CORRESPOND TO THE CIRCUMAMBULATORY
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS. PATH
ITS BASE IS ENCIRCLED
BY A 2 TIERED
AMBULATORY. STAIRS
TO THE SOUTH SIDE
LEAD TO THE ELEVATED
CERCUMBULATION THE 4 GATES ARE SET IN FRONT OF THE ENCIRCLING
PATH USED BY PRIESTS.
FENCE, AND THEY ARE PART OF A STAGGERED OR BENT-
AXIS APPROACH DESIGNED TO REDUCE DISTRACTIONS
OUTSIDE THE SACRED ENCLOSURE FROM DISTURBING
THE MEDIATIONS OF PILGRIMS CIRCUMAMBULATING
THE STUPA.
 THE VERDICA AND TORANA, SANCHI, AS SEEN FROM THE INSIDE.
THE SPACE FOR CIRCUMAMBULATION IS SCREENED FROM THE
SYMBOLISM OUTSIDE WORLD BY THE STONE RAILS OF THE FENCE
TO INDICATE THEIR SACRED CHARACTER THEY WERE PROTECTED
BY A VEDICA, OR ENCLOSING FENCE, THAT DELIMITED THE PATH
FOR CIRCUMAMBULATION. AND TO MARK THEIR SPECIAL
ASSOCIATION WITH THE BUDDHA, THEY WERE COVERED WITH A
HARMICA, OR SQUARE RAILING, AND A CHHATRA, OR 3 TIERED
UMBRELLA FORM, STYLIZED STONE VERSIONS OF THE SACRED
ENCLOSURE FENCE AND FAMOUS BODHI TREE UNDER WHICH
THE BUDDHA RECEIVED ENLIGHTENMENT.

THE TRIPLE PARASOL WAS EMBLEMATIC OF ROYALITY, AND ITS

SUPPORTING STALK SYMBOLIZED THE AXIS OF THE WORLD
PASSING THROUGH THE PRECISE CENTER OF THE HEMISPHERICAL
FORM OF THE STUPA, SYMBOL OF THE HEAVENLY DOME.

THE VERDICA COMPRISING OF UPRIGHT OCTAGONAL POSTS AND

ROUNDED HORIZONTAL RAILS MIMICS WOODEN CONTRUCTION,
REINTERPRETED HERE ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE.

THE ELABORATE TORNAS, OR ENTRANCE GATES (ADDED IN

ABOUT 25 BCE) REFLECT BAMBOO PROTOTYPES. WHEN BUILT IN
STONE, THE SIZE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO EMBELISH THE WORK
WITH CARVED FIGURES REPRESENTING BUDDHIST LEGENDS,
SYMBOLISM THAT MAY BE SIMILAR TO THAT ON ASOKAN
COLUMNS. THE FIGURES HOWEVER ARE FLAT AND REFLECT
WOOD CARVING.

VIHARS WERE CONSTRUCTED OUT OF WOOD AND ONLY THEIR

MASONRY FOUNDATIONS SURVIVE., WHICH ARE ENLARGEMENTS
OF THE COURTYARD HOUSE.
 VIHARAS OR MONASTERIES
• THESE ARE RESIDENTIAL PLACES OF BUDDHIST PRIESTS. THESE ARE 25
ROCK-CUT VIHARAS AT AJANTA AND 11 AT ELLORA. THEY CONSIST OF A
MAIN- HALL ENTERED BY A DOOR- WAY. THEY ALSO CONTAIN THE
ASSEMBLY HALL, DINING CHAMBERS. FROM THE HALLS DEEP INTO THE
ROCKS, CELLA ARE PROVIDED FOR MEDITATION . THE SHRINES CONTAIN
BEAUTIFUL FIGURES OF BUDDHA AND WALLS OF THE ANTECHAMBER
DEPICT THE STORIES BASED ON BUDDHA’S LIFE .
 CHAITYAS
• CHAITYAS (FROM SANSKRIT CHITA- A PYRE) OR ‘SACRED SPOTS’ ARE THE TEMPLES
AS WELL AS ASSEMBLY HALLS CREATED OUT OF THE PARTICULAR DEMANDS OF
BUDDHIST RELIGION. THESE BECAME NECESSSARY TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE
WHO CONGREGATED TO THEIR HOMAGE.
• THESE HAVE A SMALL RECTANGULAR DOOR- WAY WHICH OPENS TO A VAULTED
HALL, WITH APSIDAL END AND DIVIDED LONGITUDNALLY BY TWO COLONNADES
FORMING A BROAD NAVE IN THE CENTRE AND TWO SIDE AISLES. AT END IS A
STUPA ALSO CARVED IN NATURAL ROCK WITH ENOUGH SPACE AROUND IT FOR
CIRCUMAMBULATION. THE ROOF IS USUALLY SEMI-CIRCULAR . THE CHAITYAS
RESEMBLE TO THAT OF CHURCHES OF CHRISTIAN.

• FAMOUS ROCK- CUT CHAITYAS AT BHAJA,NASIK, KARLI, AJANTA, AND ELLORA.

 LOMA RISHI CAVE
BARARA HILLS, NEAR BODH GAYA

FASCADE
PLAN & SECTION
BELONGING TO THE MID 3RD CENTURY BCE, IS THE EARLIEST KNOWN ROCK-CUT BUDDHIST CAVES, THE LOMAS RISHI
CASE, IN THE BARABAR BILLS OF BIHAR. THEY WERE USED BY THE BUDDHIST MENDICANTS, OR ITINERANT TRAVELLERS,
DURING THE MONSOON SEASON, WHEN ROADS AND PATHS WERE UNUSABLE. THIS IS THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO MAKE A
CAVE INTO A PERMANENT DWELLING. ITS ENTRANCE IS CARVED TO MIMIC THE OUTLINE OF A HUTLIKE STRUCTURE,
COMPLETE WITH A BENT WOOD ROOF, SUPPORTING COLUMNS, AND AN ORNAMENTAL ELEPHANT FRIEZE.
CHAITYA HALL AT CHAITYA HALL AT CHAITYA HALL AT CHAITYA HALL AT
AJANTA TULIJA LENA, JUNNAR KONDIVTE GUNTUPALLI

THE TULIJA LENA (100 – 25 BCE) IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE ITS CHAITYA HALL IS
COMPLETELY ROUND IN PLAN , AS IF THE PARIKRAMA PLAN OF THE STUPA
CHAMBER AT KONDIVTE HAD, FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, BECOME A COMPLETE
CHAITYA ITSELF. BY WAY OF COMPARISON, A CIRCULAR CHAITYA, BUT
WITHOUT PARIKRAMA PILLARS WAS ALSO EXCAVATED IN GUNTUPALLI, IN THE
KRISHNA RIVER BASIN OF CENTRAL INDIA. THESE 2 CAVES DEFINE THE BRIEF
MOMENT WHEN BUDDHISTS CONSIDERED ADOPTING AN ALTERNATE
EXPRESSION OF THEIR MAIN WORSHIP SPACE, EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES
OF THE CIRCULAR SPACES EXCAVATED IN THE EARLIEST CHAITYAS.

ENTRANCE TO THE BHUTA LENA

CAVE, JUNNAR
 N

BUDDHIST MONKS LIVED IN SIMPLE CELLS THAT WERE

GROUPED AROUND A SQUARE OR RECTANGULAR
OPEN COURT CONTAINING COMMUNITY FACILITIES,
INCLUDING WATER SUPPLY. SANCHI ALSO FEATURED
SEVERAL ENCLOSED CHAITYA HALLS, BUILDINGS
PERMITTING YEAR- ROUND DEVOTIONS BY
ENCLOSING A SMALL STUPA AT THE END OF A
RECTANGULAR HALL. THE END OF THE HALL
EMPRATING THE STUPA WAS CURVED TO REFLECT
THE SHAPE CONTAINED WITHIN, AND THUS CREATED
AN ARCHITECTURAL FORM THAT COULD BE ERECTED
AS FREE-STANDING STRUCTURE RAISED ON A BASE,
OR PLINTH, AS IN THE SANCHI TEMPLE OR EXCAVATED
FROM SOLID ROCK AT AJANTA, ELLORA AND KARLI.

PLAN OF THE CHAITYA HALL, KARLI, MAHARASHTRA (100 BCE)

EXCAVATED IN A ROCK CLIFF, THIS TEMPLE CONSISTS OF A CHAITYA HALL
WITH AN AMBULATORY AROUND THE STUPA SHRINE A THE REAR. 2
FREESTANDING COLUMNS (ONE SHOWN HERE) FLANKED THE ENTRANCE,
WHILE STONE AND TEAKWOOD CARVINGS SCREENED THE OPENING OF THE
CAVE
 BODHISATVAS
AT THE GREAT CAVE-TEMPLE AT CARVED LATER IN
KARLI, WHICH DATES FROM THE THE 5TH CENTURY CE
1ST CENTURY BCE, THE CHAITYA
HALL FAITHFULLY REPLICATES THE
FORM & DETAILS OF WOODEN
ARCHITECTURE THAT PROVIDED
ITS PROTOTYPE, INCLUDING THE
SEMICIRCULAR ARCHED CEILING
PATTERNED AFTER FLEXIBLE
BAMBOO STRUCTURES. KARLI’S
DIMENSIONS HOWEVER,
EXCEEDED THOSE OF WOODEN LARGE PILLAR CARVED
FROM THE SAME ROCK 2 ROWS OF 15 COLUMNS
BUILDINGS OF THE PERIOD. THE 7 CIRCULAR COLUMNS
HALL IS 45’ WIDE – A DIFFICULT FORMING THE APSE
SPAN TO ACHIEVE IN TIMBER, BUT X
THAT PRESENTED NO PROBLEM
TO THE EXCAVATIONS. STARTING
FROM THE CLIFF FACE, WHICH
WAS SMOOTHENED AND SHAPED 12 M
TO RESEMBLE THE FASCADE OF A NAVE
CHAITYA HALL, WORKERS DROVE
2 TUNNELS 150’ INTO THE CLIFF VESTIBULE
TO ESTABLISH THE LENGTH OF THE
TEMPLE, THEN ENLARGED THE
EXCAVATION TO CREATE THE
X STUPA
SIDE AISLE
BARREL- SHAPED CEILING WITH
THE ARCHED RIBS. 40 M
 HORSE SHOE SHAPED

KARLI CAVE
STAMBHA OR FINAL TIMBER
ARCHED BUILDING
MOTIFS

POST CHHATRA
CHHATRA –
TIERS OF
HORIZONTAL
BANDS

HERMICA-

14 M ( 45’ )
RECTANGULAR
BASE

SECTION X-X MITHUN COUPLES

ELEVATION OF HOLDING EACH OTHER
ENTRANCE AFFECTIONATELY
INTERIOR OF THE KARLI CAVE
 BOROBODUR TEMPLE, INDONESIA
SINCE NIRVANA IS NOT A PLACE OR THING, IT HAS NO DESCRIPTION. RATHER IT IS A STATE
THAT MUST BE ACHIEVED BY THE PILGRIM THROUGH A PERSONAL JOURNEY. AS GOVERNED
BY THE MANADAL, THIS JOURNEY MUST BE COMPLETED BY A PILGRIM IN 60 CONCEPTUAL
STEPS.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS BY CIRCUMAMBULATING THE 4 LOWER GALLERIES, WHICH HAVE 2

ROWS OF SCULPTED PANELS ON EACH SIDE, ORGANIZED SEQUENTIALLY TO TELL STORIES
FROM THE LIFE OF BUDDHA. THESE NARROW GALLEREIS ARE STAGGERED SO AS TO BLOCK
ALL LINES OF SIGHT AND FOCUS THE PILGRIMS ON THE PANELS. ONLY AFTER THEY HAVE
CLEARED THESE 4 LEVELS CAN THEY ASCEND TO THE ROUND UPPER LEVELS, WHERE THERE
ARE NO ENCLOSING WALLS. INSTEAD, THEY ENCOUNTER THE BELL SHAPED HOLLOW
STUPAS, EACH ONE CONTAINING A DIFFERENT SCULPTURE OF THE SEATED BUDDHA
AREA PLAN,
BOROBODUR DISPLAYING ONE OF THE MUDRAS – THE CHARACTERISTIC SYMBOLIC GESTURES OF
BUDDHISM.

THE OPENINGS ON THE LOWER

STUPAS ARE DIAMOND SHAPED AND
LARGE, WHILE THOSE ON THE ONES
ABOVE ARE SQUARE, SMALLER AND
FEWER IN NUMBER. WHILE EACH SIDE
OF THE LOWER LEVEL IS ONE STEP,
EACH BELL SHAPED STUPA TAKES A
WHOLE STEP UPTO THE END. AT THE
FINAL STAGE, PILGRIMS ARRIVE AT
THE STUPA WHOSE SOLIDITY
SYMBOLYZES THE SHUNYATA OR NON
PRESENCE THAT IS ASPIRED BY THE
BUDDHIST WHO SEEKS NIRVANA.
PARTIAL SECTION SHOWING THE 3 LEVELS PLAN
 ONE OF THE
SEATED BUDDHAS
ON THE UPPER
CIRCULAR
TERRACE

THE BUILDING IS
THE BUILDING
NEITHER A TEMPLEIS
NEITHER A TEMPLE
NOR A MONASTRY.
NOR A MONASTRY.
RATHER IT IS
RATHER IT ISOF AN
SOMETHING
SOMETHING OF AN
EXPERIENTIAL
SEATED BUDDHA, BOROBODUR EXPERIENTIAL
UNIVERSITY.
UNIVERSITY.

ALIGNED GATEWAYS BETWEEN

THE VARIOUS LEVELS

THE ‘COSMIC MOUNTAIN’ AT BOROBODUR (790 – 850 AD) IS APPROXIMATELY SQUARE IN

PLAN 122M N-S AND 116 M E-W. IT IS ROUGHLY ALIGNED TO THE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS.
THE PLAN FOLLOWS A TYPICAL BUDDHIST MANDALA DIAGRAM WITH A BIAXIALLY
SYMMETRICAL ORDER. BOROBODUR IS AT ONE LEVEL A QINTESSENTIAL STUPA, HAVING
BEEN BUILT ONTO A SOLID MOUND, AND AT ANOTHER LEVEL, IT IS A 3-D PEDAGOGICAL
PROCESS.

ONE OF THE SCULPTURE PANELS ON

THE LOWER SQUARE TERRACE
• WRITE SHORT NOTE ON FOLLOWINGS WITH
EXAMPLE -

• CHAITYA HALL
• VIHARAS
• STUPAS
• STAMBHAS