Bubddhist architecture

1. • BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE

2. 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
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
ANIMAL SCULPTURE.
INITIALLY THE ANIMAL SCULPTURE, SIGNIFYING ROYAL
AUTHORITY, WAS OF AN ELEPHANT, THEN A BULL, A
HORSE, A SINGLE LION, 2 LIONS BACK TO BACK AND THEN
THE 4 LIONS THAT WE FIND ON THE SARNATH PILLAR.
HE ALSO ENLARGED EXISTING MUD & BRICK STUPAS AND
BUILD MONASTRIES.
SARNATH IS THE SITE OF
BUDDHA’S FIRST SERMON.
THE SARNATH PILLAR
CAPITAL HAS A LOTUS BASE
DRUM ON WHICH IS THE
WHEEL OF LAW
INTERSPERCED BY 4 RACING
ANIMALS – THE BULL, THE
HORSE, THE ELEPHANT AND
THE LION. THIS CAPITAL HAS
BEENADOPTED AS THE
SYMBOL OF THE MODERN
INDIAN CITY STATE.
SARNATH CAPITAL

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

4. DHARMARAJIKA STUPA, TAXILA
FURTHER AWAY ON ANOHTER PLATUE, IS A LARGE
DHARMARAJIKA STUPA. THE MOUND ON WHICH IT
SITS IS SURROUNDED BY MONK’S CELLS.

5. 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.

6. 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 EMBELLISHED BY
OGEE-SHAPED ARCHES AND PILASTERS.
THE ENTIRE BASE & STUPA IS DIVIDED
INTO PANELS BY PILASTERS OF DISTANT
HELLENISTIC DERIVATION.
FLAT SLABS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK WAS PILES IN EVEN, HORIZONTAL
ROWS, WiTH THE DECORATIVE ELEMENTS, SUCH AS THE PILASTERS AND
THE CAPITALS, FORMED BY PROTUDING CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED
ROCKS BEYOND THE MAIN SURFACE. THE INTERIOR, HOWEVER, WAS
PRIMARILY FILLED WITH RUBBLE.

7. THE OLDEST SURVIVING BUDDHIST STUPAS WAS
ENCIRCLED WITH SUCCESSIVE COVERINGS OR
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.
ASHOKA THE GREAT (250 BCE)
BUILT AROUND 84,000 STUPAS
THE RICHLY CARVED TORAN (GATEWAY) AT THE SANCHI STUPA

8. 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.

9. 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.
TEMPLE 45 BUILT
WITH A VIHARA VIHARAS
TEMPLE 40TEMPLE 17 TEMPLE 18GREAT STUPALITTLE STUPA
SANCHI STUPA

10. 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.
THE GREAT STUPA, SANCHI, 250 BCE – 250 CE

11. PLAN OF THE
GREAT STUPA,
SANCHI
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
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS.
ITS BASE IS ENCIRCLED
BY A 2 TIERED
AMBULATORY. STAIRS
TO THE SOUTH SIDE
LEAD TO THE ELEVATED
CERCUMBULATION
PATH USED BY PRIESTS.
VERDICA OR FENCE
9’ HIGH
CIRCUMAMBULATORY
PATH
CHHATRA
HARMICA OR RAILING
TORAN OR GATE
THE 4 GATES ARE SET IN FRONT OF THE ENCIRCLING
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.

12. SYMBOLISM
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.
THE VERDICA AND TORANA, SANCHI, AS SEEN FROM THE INSIDE.
THE SPACE FOR CIRCUMAMBULATION IS SCREENED FROM THE
OUTSIDE WORLD BY THE STONE RAILS OF THE FENCE

13. 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 .

14. 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, 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.
CHAITYA HALL AT
KONDIVTE
CHAITYA HALL AT
GUNTUPALLI
CHAITYA HALL AT
TULIJA LENA, JUNNAR
CHAITYA HALL AT
AJANTA
ENTRANCE TO THE BHUTA LENA
CAVE, JUNNAR

17. 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
N

18. AT THE GREAT CAVE-TEMPLE AT
KARLI, WHICH DATES FROM THE
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
BUILDINGS OF THE PERIOD. THE
HALL IS 45’ WIDE – A DIFFICULT
SPAN TO ACHIEVE IN TIMBER, BUT
THAT PRESENTED NO PROBLEM
TO THE EXCAVATIONS. STARTING
FROM THE CLIFF FACE, WHICH
WAS SMOOTHENED AND SHAPED
TO RESEMBLE THE FASCADE OF A
CHAITYA HALL, WORKERS DROVE
2 TUNNELS 150’ INTO THE CLIFF
TO ESTABLISH THE LENGTH OF
THE TEMPLE, THEN ENLARGED
THE EXCAVATION TO CREATE THE
BARREL- SHAPED CEILING WITH
THE ARCHED RIBS.
2 ROWS OF 15 COLUMNS
7 CIRCULAR COLUMNS
FORMING THE APSE
STUPA
SIDE AISLE
NAVE
VESTIBULE
X
X
40 M
12 M
LARGE PILLAR CARVED
FROM THE SAME ROCK
BODHISATVAS
CARVED LATER IN
THE 5TH
CENTURY CE

19. SECTION X-X ELEVATION OF
ENTRANCE
KARLI CAVE
HORSE SHOE SHAPED
ARCHED BUILDING
MOTIFS
MITHUN COUPLES
HOLDING EACH OTHER
AFFECTIONATELY
HERMICA-
RECTANGULAR
BASE
CHHATRA –
TIERS OF
HORIZONTAL
BANDS
STAMBHA OR
POST
FINAL TIMBER
CHHATRA
14M(45’)

20. INTERIOR OF THE KARLI CAVE

21. 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
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.
AREA PLAN,
BOROBODUR
PLANPARTIAL SECTION SHOWING THE 3 LEVELS

22. ONE OF THE SCULPTURE PANELS ON
THE LOWER SQUARE TERRACE
ALIGNED GATEWAYS
BETWEEN THE VARIOUS
LEVELS
ONE OF THE
SEATED BUDDHAS
ON THE UPPER
CIRCULAR
TERRACE
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.
THE BUILDING IS
NEITHER A TEMPLE
NOR A MONASTRY.
RATHER IT IS
SOMETHING OF AN
EXPERIENTIAL
UNIVERSITY.
THE BUILDING IS
NEITHER A TEMPLE
NOR A MONASTRY.
RATHER IT IS
SOMETHING OF AN
EXPERIENTIAL
UNIVERSITY.SEATED BUDDHA, BOROBODUR

23. • WRITE SHORT NOTE ON FOLLOWINGS WITH
EXAMPLE -
• CHAITYA HALL
• VIHARAS
• STUPAS
• STAMBHAS