STUPAS

STUPAS

The skills of our craftspersons are also apparent in the buildings that have survived, such as stupas. The word stupa means a mound. While there are several kinds of stupas, round and tall, big and small, these have certain common features. Generally, there is a small box placed at the centre or heart of the stupa. This may contain bodily remains (such as teeth, bone, or ashes) of the Buddha or his followers, or things they used, as well as precious stones, and coins.

Stupas like this one were built over several centuries. While the brick mound probably dates to the time of Ashoka (Chapter 7(ASHOKA, THE EMPEROR WHO GAVE UP WAR)), the railings and gateways were added during the time of later rulers.

This box, known as a relic casket, was covered with earth. Later, a layer of mud brick or baked brick was added on top. And then, the dome-like structure was sometimes covered with carved stone slabs.

Often, a path, known as the pradakshina patha, was laid around the stupa. This was surrounded with railings. Entrance to the path was through gateways. Devotees walked around the stupa, in a clockwise direction, as a mark of devotion. Both railings and gateways were often decorated with sculpture.

Amaravati was a place where a magnificent stupa once existed. Many of the stone carvings for decorating the stupa were made about 2000 years ago.

Other buildings were hollowed out of the rock to make artificial caves. Some of these were very elaborately decorated with sculptures and painted walls.

A Jaina monastery from Orissa is two storey building was carved out of the rock surface. Notice the entrance to the rooms. Jaina monks lived and meditated in these rooms.

Activity:

1.Find Amaravati on Map.

2. Look at the Sculpture 1,2 picture and describe what you see.

3. In what ways is the cave shown here different from the following cave?

4. Can you see how some of the caves may have been hollowed out?

5. List some steps that can be taken to make buildings and monuments accessible to differently-abled people.

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK

GARBHAGRIHA, SHIKHARA AND MANDAPA

GARBHAGRIHA, SHIKHARA AND MANDAPA

Some of the earliest Hindu temples were also built at this time. Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga were worshipped in these shrines. The most important part of the temple was the room known as the garbhagriha, where the image of the chief deity was placed. It was here that priests performed religious rituals, and devotees offered worship to the deity.

Often, as at Bhitargaon, a tower, known as the shikhara, was built on top of the garbhagriha, to mark this out as a sacred place. Building shikharas required careful planning. Most temples also had a space known as the mandapa. It was a hall where people could assemble. Some of the finest stone temples were built in Mahabalipuram and Aihole towns. Some of these are shown here.

An early temple at Bhitargaon was built about 1500 years ago and was made of baked brick and stone.

Each of these was carved out of a huge, single piece of stone (that is why they are known as monoliths). While brick structures are built up by adding layers of bricks from the bottom upwards, in this case, the stone cutters had to work from top downwards.

Activity:

1. Find Mahabalipuram and Aihole on Map.

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK