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Post-Mauryan Trends in Indian Art and Architecture
Start here: why this chapter matters
Chapter 3 ended with Mauryan pillars and the first stupas. This chapter — the longest in the book — follows art from the second century BCE to about the sixth century CE and beyond, region by region: Bharhut and Sanchi in central India; the Mathura, Gandhara and Sarnath schools of sculpture; the Buddhist monuments of Andhra; the rock-cut caves of western India, especially Ajanta and Ellora; Bagh and Elephanta; and the caves of eastern India. It ends with six feature pages on single works.
- Links in this book: Chapter 3 (Mauryan pillars, early stupas); Chapter 5 (Later Mural Traditions) continues the painting story after Ajanta; Chapter 6 takes up Ellora’s Kailasha temple and structural temples.
- Links to Themes in Indian History: Theme Four (Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings) covers the same Sanchi, Amaravati, Gandhara–Mathura and Ajanta material from the historian’s side — read it for the history of discovery and the meaning of symbols.
- UPSC: one of the most-tested art chapters — Ajanta (1979, 1980, 1984, 1992, 2014, 2016, 2017), chaitya vs vihara (1992, 2013), Gandhara (1986, 1998, 2001; Mains 2014, 2019), Ellora (1994, 2013), Amaravati (2006, 2026), Bagh (2010), Elephanta (1979), Kharavela (2004), rock-cut architecture (Mains 2020).
| Word | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Torana | A gateway of a stupa: two pillars carrying three cross-bars |
| Vedika | The railing round a stupa’s path |
| Medhi | The raised drum on which the dome rests; at Sanchi it carries an upper path |
| Pradakshinapatha | The path for walking round the stupa, clockwise |
| Shalabhanjika | A woman holding the branch of a tree — a gateway bracket figure |
| Chaitya hall | A Buddhist worship hall with a stupa at the back |
| Vihara | A monastery: a hall with cells for monks |
| Chaitya-vihara | A vihara with a stupa or shrine added at the back |
| Apsidal | A plan with one rounded end, like a horseshoe |
| Tribhanga | A pose with three bends — at neck, waist and knee |
| Ushnisha | The cranial bump or hair-knot on the Buddha’s head |
| Abhaya / dharmachakra mudra | Hand gesture of reassurance / of teaching (‘turning the wheel’) |
| Tempera | Paint whose pigments are bound with a medium and applied to a dry prepared surface |
| Avadana | A Buddhist story of noble deeds, similar to a Jataka |
At a glance — the six ideas to carry away
- Bharhut (2nd c. BCE): tall, low-relief figures, flat folded hands, tilted perspective; Queen Maya’s dream; Ruru Jataka with events clubbed by place.
- Sanchi Stupa-1: upper + lower pradakshinapatha, four toranas (south first), high relief, symbols for the Buddha; Stupa-2 relief earlier; Stupa-3 relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana.
- Mathura (yaksha-like, round smiling faces, robe on left shoulder), Gandhara (Hellenistic, Bactrian, Parthian), Sarnath (5th c., transparent robe on both shoulders, plain halo).
- Andhra: Amaravati mahachaitya with relief slabs, tribhanga, intense emotion; Nagarjunakonda, Goli; Guntapalle, Anakapalle (biggest rock-cut stupas); Sannati.
- Western caves: chaitya (worship hall with stupa) vs vihara (cells for monks); Karla biggest chaitya; Junnar 200+ caves, Kanheri 108; Ajanta 29 caves, Vakataka patrons, Padmapani.
- Ellora (34 caves, three faiths; Kailash Cave 16), Bagh tempera murals, Elephanta Maheshmurti; Udayagiri-Khandagiri Jain caves (Kharavela).
1. New rulers, new sects, many centres
From the second century BCE, the Shungas, Kanvas, Kushanas and Guptas ruled in the north and parts of central India; the Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Abhiras and Vakatakas in southern and western India. The same period saw the rise of the main Brahmanical sects, the Vaishnavas and Shaivas. Fine sculpture of the second century BCE survives at Vidisha, Bharhut (Madhya Pradesh), Bodhgaya (Bihar), Jaggayyapeta (Andhra Pradesh), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Khandagiri-Udayagiri (Odisha), Bhaja near Pune and Pavani near Nagpur (Maharashtra).
- The Shungas followed the Mauryas c. 185 BCE; the Kushanas ruled the north-west and Mathura in the 1st–3rd centuries CE (Kanishka, the best known); the Satavahanas ruled the Deccan; the Vakatakas (Harishena, late 5th c.) were Gupta contemporaries in the Deccan.
- UPSC 2006 asked the order of invaders: Greeks → Shakas → Kushanas (see Theme Two).
2. Bharhut: stories in low relief
Bharhut figures are tall like Mauryan yakshas and yakshis, but modelled in low relief with an emphasis on line; images stick to the picture plane. In narrative panels, a sense of depth comes from tilted perspective. Clarity comes from choosing the main events: early panels have few characters; later, other figures fill the space; sometimes several events at one place are combined in a single frame, sometimes a single main event is shown. Space is used to the maximum.
Learning to carve. Folded hands — in narratives and on yaksha figures — are shown flat against the chest; only later do hands project naturally. NCERT explains: artisans working collectively first concentrated on dressing the stone surface; with shallow carving, hands and feet could not project, hence the folded hands, awkward feet and general stiffness. Gradually deeper carving, fuller volume and naturalistic bodies appear — at Bharhut, Bodhgaya, Sanchi Stupa-2 and Jaggayyapeta. A common feature of male figures of the first–second centuries BCE is the knotted headgear. Some Bharhut sculptures are in the Indian Museum, Kolkata.
Two narrative examples. In Queen Mayadevi’s dream, the queen reclines on a bed and an elephant descends from above towards her womb. In the Ruru Jataka, the Bodhisattva as a deer rescues a drowning man on his back; in the same frame the king stands with his army, about to shoot the deer, and the rescued man points it out — he had promised secrecy but betrayed the deer for the king’s reward. The events are clubbed by place rather than shown in sequence.
- Jataka panel: a round medallion with trees across the top; a deer carries a man across water at the bottom left, while at the right a standing king with a raised bow and attendants faces the deer — two moments in one frame.
- Queen Maya’s dream: a round medallion framed by lotuses, with an inscription in Brahmi letters above; the queen lies on a couch, a large elephant floats over her, attendants sit below, a lamp stands at one side. What to notice: the labelled story (inscriptions name scenes at Bharhut), and tilted perspective — the bed is tipped up so we can see it.
3. Sanchi: the gateways of Stupa-1
The next phase appears at Sanchi Stupa-1, Mathura and Vengi (Andhra). Stupa-1 has an upper and a lower pradakshinapatha and four richly carved toranas with events from the Buddha’s life and the Jatakas. Compositions are in high relief, filling the space; postures are natural, without stiffness; heads project; outlines loosen; figures move. Narratives grow longer, though Maya’s dream is still shown simply. Historical scenes — the siege of Kushinara, the Buddha’s visit to Kapilavastu, Ashoka’s visit to the Ramagrama stupa — are carved in detail. The Buddha is still shown by symbols.
The feature page (pages 46–47). Sanchi, about 50 km from Bhopal, is a World Heritage Site with three main stupas: Stupa-1 is presumed to hold relics of the Buddha; Stupa-2, relics of ten less famous arhats of three generations, named on the casket; Stupa-3, relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana. Stupa-1 began as a small brick structure, later cased in stone with vedika and toranas. An Ashokan lion-capital pillar with an inscription stands on the south side. The south gateway came first. The upper path is unique to the site. The Buddha appears as an empty throne, feet, chhatra, stupa. Toranas stand in all four directions; style differences suggest dates from the first century BCE. Although Stupa-1 is the oldest stupa, the carvings on Stupa-2’s vedika are earlier than Stupa-1’s. Guardian figures stand on pillars, and shalabhanjikas support the ends of the lowest bar. Each torana has two pillars and three horizontal bars, carved front and back.
- Page 30: a deep-cut panel: an elephant with riders and a figure on its back, crowded with detail — the deeper, fuller carving that sets Sanchi apart from Bharhut.
- Page 46 (printed sideways): the great hemispherical dome with its harmika and umbrellas, the stone railing, and a gateway in front.
- Page 47: close views of a gateway — three curved architraves with spiral ends, small elephants, horsemen and lions between the bars, and every surface crowded with scenes; and a frontal gateway against the sky with bracket figures.
- Stupa-1 is the oldest stupa, but Stupa-2’s vedika carvings are older than Stupa-1’s gateways.
- Stupa-3 holds relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana; Stupa-2, of ten arhats.
- At Sanchi the Buddha is shown by symbols, not in human form; the south gateway is the earliest.
- Sanchi is known for sculpture, not mural paintings (UPSC 2013’s murals question — Ajanta and Lepakshi, not Sanchi).
4. Mathura, Gandhara and Sarnath: the Buddha in human form
From the first century CE, Gandhara (now Pakistan), Mathura and Vengi (Andhra) became major centres. The Buddha, earlier shown by symbols, got a human form at Mathura and Gandhara. Gandhara combined Bactrian, Parthian and local traditions; Mathura’s tradition was strong enough to spread across north India — the best example being the stupa sculptures at Sanghol (Punjab). The Mathura Buddha is modelled on earlier yaksha images; the Gandhara Buddha has Hellenistic features. Mathura also produced early Jain tirthankara images and royal portraits, notably the headless Kanishka.
Mathura in detail. Vaishnava (Vishnu and his forms) and Shaiva (lingas and mukhalingas) images occur, though Buddhist images are most numerous; Vishnu and Shiva are identified by their ayudhas. Carving is bold; volume projects from the surface; faces are round and smiling; flesh is relaxed; the garment is clearly visible and covers the left shoulder. In the second century CE images grow sensual and fleshier; in the late fourth century the flesh tightens and drapery thins; by the fifth and sixth centuries drapery merges into the body, with a transparent quality. In this period Sarnath and Kosambi emerge beside Mathura. Sarnath Buddhas have plain transparent drapery covering both shoulders and a little-ornamented halo; Mathura Buddhas keep drapery folds and a richly decorated halo. Devnimori (Gujarat) is an important stupa site outside the Ganga valley; slender images with transparent drapery remain the dominant taste.
- Meditating Buddha: a dark grey seated figure, hands in the lap (dhyana), a heavy robe covering both shoulders in deep, regular folds, wavy hair and topknot, a large plain halo; a small panel of worshippers and lions on the base.
- Bodhisattva: a warmer-toned seated figure with a turban-like crown, jewellery and a bare chest — princely dress marks a Bodhisattva, unlike the monk’s robe of the Buddha.
- Gandhara art developed under the Kushanas, especially Kanishka (UPSC 1986, 2001) — not under Ashoka.
- Gandhara shows Hellenistic influence, but it did not produce Hinayana; Mahayana favoured images (UPSC 1998 A true, R false).
- Mathura robe: left shoulder, folds, decorated halo. Sarnath: both shoulders, transparent, plain halo.
- NCERT here gives Gandhara’s mix as ‘Bactria, Parthia and local’ (page 30) and ‘Achaemenian, Parthian and Bactrian’ (page 51). Mains 2014 and 2019 add Roman, Greek and Central Asian — combine them.
- Gandhara: grey-blue schist and stucco (UPSC 1996); Mathura: red (spotted) sandstone (UPSC 1988) — NCERT’s chapter does not name these materials, but the photographs show them.
- Gandhara Buddhas keep Indian iconography (mudras, ushnisha, urna) in a foreign style (UPSC 1992).
- The headless Kanishka statue is from Mat (near Mathura) and is in the Government Museum, Mathura.
5. Buddhist monuments of South India
Vengi in Andhra Pradesh has many stupa sites — Jaggayyapeta, Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Nagarjunakonda, Goli. Amaravati had a mahachaitya; its sculptures are now in the Chennai Museum, Amaravati Site Museum, National Museum (New Delhi) and British Museum (London). As at Sanchi, its path is enclosed by a vedika carved with narratives; uniquely, the dome itself was covered with relief slabs; its torana has disappeared. Building began in the third century BCE, but it was best developed in the first and second centuries CE. The early phase has no Buddha images; in the second and third centuries CE Buddha images appear on drum slabs and elsewhere. Depth is created by figures turned in many directions — back, semi-back, profile, frontal, semi-frontal, side.
Style. Intense emotion; slender figures with much movement, bodies in tribhanga; compositions more complex than Sanchi; flexible line; depth through pronounced volume, angular bodies and complex overlapping — yet clear forms. Many Jataka scenes are not yet identified. In one birth scene the queen reclines among attendants with a small elephant above; another relief shows four events of the Buddha’s birth. At Nagarjunakonda and Goli (third century CE) movement calms; lower relief still suggests rounded bodies. Independent Buddha images occur at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda and Guntapalle. Guntapalle (near Eluru) has small apsidal and circular chaitya halls of the second century BCE; Anakapalle (near Visakhapatnam) has rock-cut stupas; Sannati (Gulbarga district, Karnataka) is the largest stupa site excavated so far, with an Amaravati-like carved stupa.
- Outer wall carving: a pale slab divided into scenes crowded with slender, twisting figures — some seen from behind, some reclining, standing groups below — the overlapping, emotional style.
- Drum slab: a carved slab showing a whole stupa in miniature — dome covered in patterned panels, a gateway and railing, a standing Buddha figure at the entrance, flying figures above. What to notice: a stupa carved on a stupa, and the Buddha now in human form.
Structural buildings and new images. Many stupas does not mean there were no structural chaityas or viharas — but few survive. Examples: the apsidal chaitya, Temple 18 at Sanchi (front pillars, hall behind), and similar shrines at Guntapalle. Bodhisattva images — Avalokiteshvara, Padmapani, Vajrapani, Amitabha, Maitreya — appear; with Vajrayana many more Bodhisattvas personify virtues.
- Amaravati is in Andhra Pradesh (UPSC 2006); its dome was covered with carved slabs; its gateway is lost.
- UPSC 2026: Amaravati was in the lower Krishna valley and its school deeply influenced later South Indian and Sri Lankan art — but it was not ‘next only to Sanchi in size’ (key b: two statements correct). The first and third points are Beyond NCERT; the chapter supports the influence point only indirectly (its style spreads to Nagarjunakonda, Goli, Sannati).
- Sannati (Karnataka) is the largest excavated stupa site; Anakapalle has the biggest rock-cut stupas.
- Amaravati’s carvings are in a pale limestone often called ‘Palnad marble’; patrons included the Satavahanas, and Nagarjunakonda flourished under the Ikshvakus.
- Padmapani (‘lotus-in-hand’) is a form of Avalokiteshvara (UPSC 1997); Maitreya is the future Buddha (UPSC 2018).
6. The cave tradition of western India
Many Buddhist caves from the second century BCE onwards were excavated in western India, in three main types: (i) apsidal vault-roof chaitya halls (Ajanta, Pitalkhora, Bhaja); (ii) apsidal vault-roof pillarless halls (Thana-Nadsur); (iii) flat-roofed quadrangular halls with a circular chamber at the back (Kondivite). The front of a chaitya hall is dominated by a semicircular chaitya arch with an open front and a wooden façade; some, as at Kondivite, lack the arch-window. Every chaitya cave has a stupa at the back.
Changes. In the first century BCE the hall becomes rectangular with a stone-screen façade (Ajanta Cave 9; also Bedsa, Nashik, Karla, Kanheri). Karla has the biggest rock-cut chaitya hall: an open courtyard with two pillars, a stone screen against rain, a veranda, a stone-screen façade, an apsidal vault-roof hall with pillars, and a stupa at the back; its heavy human and animal figures seem to move. Kanheri Cave 3 elaborates the Karla plan; though unfinished inside, it shows how carving progressed. Later the quadrangular flat-roofed type became most popular.
Viharas occur at every site: a veranda, a hall, and cells round the hall — e.g. Ajanta Cave 12, Bedsa Cave 11, Nashik Caves 3, 10 and 17. Early viharas carry chaitya-arch and vedika motifs over the cell doors. The Nashik façades, with pillars on ghata (pot) bases and capitals bearing human figures, are a distinct achievement. A similar vihara at Junnar is called Ganeshleni because a later Ganesha image was installed in it. A stupa added at the back of a vihara made it a chaitya-vihara; in the fourth–fifth centuries CE the stupas carry Buddha images. Junnar has the most caves — over 200; Kanheri (Mumbai) has 108. Key sites: Ajanta, Pitalkhora, Ellora, Nashik, Bhaja, Junnar, Karla, Kanheri; Ajanta, Ellora and Kanheri continued to flourish.
- Kanheri: a two-level rock façade with a row of heavy octagonal pillars below and window openings above, steps leading up — a large hall cut straight into a cliff.
- Karla: the interior, lit in purple tones: two rows of close-set pillars with pot-shaped bases and capitals carrying animal figures lead the eye to a stupa at the rounded far end under a ribbed vault. What to notice: the apsidal plan, aisles behind the pillars, and the stupa as focus.
- Nashik Cave 3: a vihara veranda with six pillars on pot-shaped bases, capitals topped by animals and riders, and a carved railing band — the ghata-base, ghata-capital façade NCERT praises.
- Bhaja Cave 12: a tall horseshoe arch opening in a dark cliff, small people at its foot; around it carved rafters and railing patterns copying wooden buildings. What to notice: an early, open-fronted chaitya façade that once had a wooden screen.
- Chaitya = place of worship (with a stupa); vihara = dwelling for monks (UPSC 1992, 2013).
- Earliest western caves: Bhaja, Pitalkhora, Kondane and the earliest at Ajanta are 2nd–1st c. BCE. See the answer-key note on UPSC 1993 is disputed between (c) and (d) — see ‘Exam strategy’.
- Biggest chaitya hall: Karla. Most caves at one place: Junnar (200+). Kanheri: 108.
- Karla (Karle) is a chaitya — UPSC 1989 matched it so.
7. Ajanta: caves, patrons and paintings
Ajanta, in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has 29 caves. It has four chaitya caves: Caves 10 and 9 of the early phase (2nd–1st c. BCE) and 19 and 26 of the later phase (5th c. CE). It has large chaitya-viharas with sculpture and painting, and is the only surviving example of painting of the 1st century BCE and the 5th century CE. Western Deccan caves lack dated inscriptions, so the chronology is approximate. Caves 10, 9, 12, 13 are early; 11, 15, 6 (upper and lower) and 7 precede the late fifth century; the rest belong to the late fifth to early sixth century. Caves 19 and 26 are elaborately carved apsidal chaityas with Buddha and Bodhisattva figures on their façades; Cave 26’s hall is full of Buddha images, the largest being the Mahaparinibbana. The rest are vihara-chaityas: pillared veranda, pillared hall, cells, and a Buddha shrine on the back wall with grand images. Unfinished viharas: 5, 14, 23, 24, 28, 29. Patrons: Varahadeva (Cave 16), prime minister of the Vakataka king Harishena; Upendragupta (Caves 17–20), local king and Harishena’s feudatory; Buddhabhadra (Cave 26); Mathuradasa (Cave 4). Paintings survive mainly in Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17.
- View: a curving wall of dark rock above a wooded gorge, a line of cave openings along its face — the horseshoe setting.
- Cave 2 panel: a painted-over relief of a seated central figure with attendants, traces of red and white colour remaining — sculpture and painting worked together.
Paintings — phases and style. Early paintings (Caves 9 and 10, 1st c. BCE): broad, heavy figures in a linear arrangement, sharp lines, limited colours, naturalism without over-stylisation; events grouped by place, tiers of figures, architectural bands to separate places; figures like Sanchi sculpture, with the same frontal headgear knot — painting and stone developing together. A second phase shows Buddha figures on the walls and pillars of Caves 10 and 9. Then come Caves 16, 17, 1 and 2. Painting was done alongside excavation, so paintings are dated by their caves. Fifth-century painting uses outward projection; lines are defined and rhythmic; body colour merges with outline to suggest volume. Varied skin tones — brown, yellowish brown, greenish, yellow ochre — suggest a mixed population. Caves 16 and 17: precise, elegant, rhythmic, with brown thick contours and highlights. Caves 1 and 2: orderly, naturalistic, well integrated with sculpture; figures arranged in circular groupings for depth; half-closed elongated eyes. Different guilds worked here. Themes: the Buddha’s life, Jatakas and Avadanas; the Simhala Avadana, Mahajanaka Jataka and Vidhurapandita Jataka cover entire walls. The Chhaddanta Jataka in Cave 10 follows the Pali text, events separated into jungle and palace; Cave 17’s version differs — the Bodhisattva elephant removes his own tusk for the hunter Sonuttara. Famous: Padmapani and Vajrapani in Cave 1. Some Cave 2 figures relate to Vengi sculpture, some to Vidarbha.
- Buddha, Yashodhara and Rahul, Cave 17 (p. 37): a towering haloed Buddha holding a bowl leans towards a small woman and child at a doorway below — scale shows importance; warm reds and ochres.
- Apsara, Cave 17 (p. 38): a dark-skinned woman’s face under an elaborate head-dress, pearl jewellery, eyes lowered — fine line and soft shading.
- Painted ceiling, Cave 10 (p. 38): the ribs of the vault painted with rows of seated Buddhas in haloes and decorative roundels.
- Paintings, Cave 9 (p. 39): a damaged wall with a row of tall, haloed standing figures — the early, linear arrangement.
- Part of the Mahajanaka Jataka, Cave 1 (p. 40): crowned figures and attendants in a palace scene, warm colours, faces in three-quarter view.
- Who? UPSC 1980 and 1992 keyed Ajanta (caves; frescoes) to the Guptas. NCERT names Vakataka patrons for the late caves and dates the early caves to the 2nd–1st c. BCE. Tick ‘Guptas’ only if it is the sole period-type option (the Guptas were contemporaries); in Mains say Satavahana-era early caves, Vakataka-era later caves.
- Ajanta paintings depict Jatakas (UPSC 1984); Padmapani is at Ajanta (UPSC 2017); the grand Mahaparinirvana image is at Ajanta (Cave 26) (UPSC 2014).
- ‘Frescoes’ is the popular word; technically Ajanta’s murals are painted on a dry lime-plastered surface (tempera / fresco secco) — Beyond NCERT.
- NCERT says Ajanta is the only surviving painting of the 5th century — yet it also describes Bagh. For exams: Ajanta and Bagh are the two surviving Gupta-period cave-painting sites (UPSC 2010).
- Ajanta lies in a horseshoe gorge of the Waghora river (UPSC 2021); it is often counted today as 30 caves, including a small cave (15A) found later; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
- Ajanta and Mahabalipuram share only rock-cut monuments — not period or faith (UPSC 2016).
8. Ellora, Bagh and Elephanta
Ellora, also in Aurangabad district, about 100 km from Ajanta, has 34 caves — Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jain — from the fifth to the eleventh century CE (NCERT). It is unique for monasteries of three religions at one site and for stylistic eclecticism. The 12 Buddhist caves carry Vajrayana images (Tara, Mahamayuri, Akshobhya, Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, Amitabha); they are single, double and triple-storeyed with massive pillars — the triple storey is unique to Ellora. All caves were plastered and painted, but nothing visible remains. Shrine Buddhas are guarded by Padmapani and Vajrapani. Cave 12 (three storeys) has Tara, Avalokiteshvara, Manushi Buddhas, Vairochana, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Vajrasattva and Vajraraja. Cave 14 is the only two-storey Brahmanical cave. Pillar designs grow ornate by the ninth-century Jain caves.
The Brahmanical caves are mostly Shaiva but show both Shiva and Vishnu: Ravana shaking Mount Kailash, Andhakasuravadha, Kalyanasundara, and Vishnu’s avatars. Sculptures are monumental, with deep recession; guilds came from Vidarbha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, making Ellora the most diverse site in sculptural style. Cave 16, Kailash leni, is a rock-cut temple carved from a single rock (Chapter 6). Important Shaiva caves: 29 and 21; Cave 29’s plan is almost that of the main cave at Elephanta.
- Courtyard, Kailash Temple, Cave 16: a life-size elephant carved from the rock in the courtyard, trunk lowered — the scale of a whole temple cut from one hill.
- Seated Buddha, Chaitya Hall, Cave 10: a seated Buddha before a stupa under a ribbed vault that imitates wooden rafters.
- Gajasura Shiva, Cave 15: a many-armed Shiva dancing in triumph over the elephant demon, its hide stretched behind him — deep recession, monumental volume.
Bagh (Madhya Pradesh): NCERT places the caves 97 km from Dhar, cut into a perpendicular sandstone face across the seasonal Baghani stream; of nine caves, five survive, all viharas with a quadrangular plan and a small chamber at the back serving as the chaitya. Cave 4, the Rang Mahal (‘Palace of Colours’), still shows wall and ceiling paintings; remnants of tempera murals survive in Caves 2, 3, 5 and 7. The ground was a reddish-brown gritty mud plaster, then lime priming, then paint. Most paintings were removed in 1982 and are in the Archaeological Museum, Gwalior.
Elephanta near Mumbai is mainly Shaiva, contemporary with Ellora; its sculptures are slender with stark light and shade. The rock-cut tradition continued in Karnataka (Badami and Aihole, under the Chalukyas), Andhra (around Vijayawada) and Tamil Nadu (Mahabalipuram, under the Pallavas). After the sixth century, art depended more on political patronage than on the collective public patronage of the early historic period. Terracotta figurines everywhere form a parallel tradition — toys, religious figures and healing figurines.
- Entrance: a broad, dark opening under an overhang, with massive pillars on cushion-like capitals and a group of visitors for scale.
- Maheshmurti (early 6th c. CE; printed sideways): a colossal three-headed bust on the south wall of the main shrine. The central face is Shiva — calm, round, heavy-lidded, thick lips; the profile face on one side is Bhairava (angry, bulging eye, moustache); the other is Uma (feminine). NCERT adds that shilpa texts describe five faces, the top and back being invisible; each face has its own crown. Nearby are Ardhanarishvara and Gangadhara panels; Ellora Cave 29 copies this arrangement.
- Ellora and Ajanta were inscribed by UNESCO in 1983, Elephanta in 1987.
- Ellora’s Kailasa (Cave 16) was made under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the 8th century (UPSC 1983) — Chapter 6.
- The standard division of Ellora is Buddhist 1–12, Brahmanical 13–29, Jain 30–34 (UPSC 1994: ‘Hindu, Buddhist and Jain’).
9. The cave tradition of eastern India
Buddhist caves were cut in coastal Andhra Pradesh and in Odisha. At Guntapalle (Eluru district) caves, structural stupas and viharas occur together — a rare combination. Its circular chaitya cave has a stupa in the round hall and a chaitya arch at the entrance; it is small compared with western caves. Its viharas, decorated with chaitya arches outside, are rectangular with vaulted roofs, single or double-storeyed, without a large central hall, dating from the second century BCE; later additions were all viharas. Rampaerrampallem has small excavations and rock-cut stupas. At Anakapalle near Visakhapatnam a huge stupa was carved out of a hillock in the fourth–fifth centuries CE — the biggest rock-cut stupas in the country — with many votive stupas around.
Odisha. The earliest caves are at Udayagiri-Khandagiri near Bhubaneswar, scattered and bearing inscriptions of the Jain king Kharavela; they were meant for Jain monks. Many are single-cell excavations, some carved into boulders shaped like animals. A large cave has a pillared veranda with cells behind, decorated with chaitya arches and narrative friezes of stories still told in local folklore; its figures are voluminous and free. Some caves were added in the eighth–ninth centuries.
- Overview: a two-storey row of cave cells cut into a low sandstone hill, with pillared verandas on both levels around an open court.
- Veranda detail: a long veranda with doorways topped by chaitya arches and a carved frieze above, a bench running along the wall. What to notice: monks’ cells, not a worship hall — residential caves for Jain ascetics.
- Udayagiri-Khandagiri is in Odisha (near Bhubaneswar), Jain, linked to Kharavela — UPSC 2004: ‘Jainism enjoyed the patronage of the Kalinga king Kharavela in the first century BC’ is correct. Do not confuse it with the Gupta-period Udayagiri caves near Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh) — UPSC 2006 rejected ‘Udayagiri Caves : Maharashtra’.
- NCERT writes ‘inscriptions of Kharavela Jain kings’; Kharavela was one Chedi king of Kalinga, best known from the Hathigumpha inscription (Beyond NCERT).
- A layout slip in the reprint places the end of this paragraph (‘…narratives that still continue in the folklores…’) after the exercise box on page 45.
NCERT exercise — answer outlines
Four analytical questions. Try each first.
Q1. Describe the physical and aesthetic features of Sanchi Stupa-I.
Q2. Analyse the stylistic trends of sculpture in North India during the fifth and sixth centuries.
Q3. How did cave architecture develop in different parts of India, from cave shelters to the monolithic temple at Ellora?
Q4. Why are the mural paintings of Ajanta renowned?
What to remember
Numbers
One-liners
- Bharhut: low relief, flat hands, tilted perspective; Maya’s dream; Ruru Jataka.
- Sanchi Stupa-1: upper + lower paths, 4 toranas, symbols for the Buddha.
- Mathura: yaksha-type Buddha, round smiling face, left shoulder covered.
- Gandhara: Hellenistic + Bactrian + Parthian; wavy hair; Kushana.
- Sarnath: transparent robe over both shoulders, plain halo centre, Chunar sandstone.
- Amaravati: carved dome slabs, tribhanga, intense emotion, complex overlapping.
- Chaitya = worship hall with stupa; vihara = monks’ cells.
- Karla = biggest chaitya hall; Junnar = most caves; Kanheri = 108.
- Ajanta: Vakataka patrons (Varahadeva, Upendragupta); Padmapani, Cave 1; Mara Vijaya, Cave 26.
- Ellora: three faiths; Cave 12 three storeys; Cave 16 Kailash; Cave 29 like Elephanta.
- Bagh: Rang Mahal, tempera on mud plaster + lime; Elephanta: Maheshmurti.
- Udayagiri-Khandagiri: Jain caves, Kharavela, Odisha.
Traps to avoid
- Stupa-1 is the oldest Sanchi stupa, but Stupa-2’s railing carvings are earlier.
- Sanchi shows the Buddha by symbols; Mathura and Gandhara give him human form.
- Mathura robe: left shoulder; Sarnath: both shoulders, transparent.
- Gandhara is Kushana (Kanishka), not Mauryan; it did not cause Hinayana.
- Ajanta’s later caves are Vakataka-patronised, though UPSC keys say ‘Guptas’.
- Bagh: NCERT says ‘Satavahana period’; standard dating and UPSC 2010 say Gupta age (5th–6th c.).
- Elephanta ‘Trimurti’ is Maheshmurti — three aspects of Shiva, not Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh.
- NCERT: ‘Brahmanical Caves 13–28’ but Cave 29 is Shaiva; standard: 13–29, Jain 30–34.
- Udayagiri-Khandagiri (Odisha, Jain, Kharavela) ≠ Udayagiri near Vidisha (Gupta).
- Amaravati: not ‘next only to Sanchi in size’ (UPSC 2026).
- NCERT’s ‘Plan of Stupa-1’ is a perspective drawing, not a plan.
How to strategise
Prelims — what UPSC asks
- Ajanta: location (1979), period (1980, 1992 — keys say Guptas), Jatakas (1984), Mahaparinirvana image (2014), Padmapani (2017), common features with Mahabalipuram (2016); Waghora (2021, Beyond this chapter).
- Caves: chaitya vs vihara (1992, 2013), earliest western caves (1993), Karle chaitya and Amaravati stupa (1989), Ellora three faiths (1994, 2013), Elephanta ‘Trimurti’ (1979), Bagh as the other Gupta-period painted caves (2010), Udayagiri-Khandagiri and Kharavela (2004, 2006).
- Schools: Gandhara and Kanishka (1986, 2001), Hellenistic influence (1998); Amaravati statements (2026). Materials (schist 1996, red sandstone 1988) and iconography (1992) are taught in Theme Four, not here.
- Answer-key notes: 1993 (earliest western caves) — disputed. Our stored key is (c) ‘Ajanta, Bhaja and Kondane’; several published keys give (d) ‘Bhaja, Pitalkhora and Kondane’ (‘Bhala’ is a misprint for Bhaja). Both are defensible — Bhaja, Pitalkhora and Kondane are 2nd-century-BCE sites, and so are Ajanta’s earliest caves (9 and 10). Remember: Bhaja, Kondane and Pitalkhora are among the earliest western caves, and Ajanta’s first phase is equally early. 1980, 1992 (Ajanta ‘Guptas’) — debatable; keep for exam purposes. 1979 (Elephanta ‘Trimurti’) — the answer is right, the description is not (it is Shiva’s Maheshmurti).
Mains — where it appears and how to answer
- GS1 2014 (Gandhara owed as much to Rome as to Greece) and 2019 (Central Asian and Greco-Bactrian elements): use section 4 — Bactrian, Parthian, Achaemenian and local strands; the Taxila head; Indian iconography in foreign form; compare with Mathura.
- GS1 2020 (rock-cut architecture as a source of early Indian art and history): the cave typology, Karla, Ajanta’s patrons and paintings, Ellora’s three faiths, Udayagiri-Khandagiri’s Jain inscriptions; the shift from collective to royal patronage.
- GS1 2016 (stupa art, folk motifs and narratives): Bharhut’s and Sanchi’s narratives, shalabhanjikas, yakshis, Jatakas, Amaravati’s slabs; symbols for the Buddha.
- Frame: region → patrons → form and technique → style (with one named work) → change over time.
Self-check
Tap an option. NCERT's own exercise questions come first; the rest test the figures and common confusions.
1. Which statement about Sanchi is correct according to NCERT?
2. A Buddha image with a transparent robe covering both shoulders and a plain halo centre most likely belongs to:
3. In Buddhist rock-cut architecture, a vihara is:
4. The biggest rock-cut chaitya hall, according to NCERT, is at:
5. Varahadeva, patron of Ajanta Cave 16, was the minister of:
6. The Maheshmurti at Elephanta shows:
7. Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves near Bhubaneswar were made for:
8. Which describes the Amaravati stupa?
UPSC questions from this chapter
Open any question to attempt it in the Question bank — your attempt is saved to your progress.