Mauryan Art and Architecture

1. Mauryan Art and
Architecture
By: Syed Mohammed Ibrahim Ahmed
Grade – 6D

2. 5 types
 Palaces
 Caves
 Stupas
 Pillars
 Rock Edicts

3. PALACES
• Mauryan Palace In Bihar (Site of
Mauryan Palace, Kumrahar, Patna)
• The archaeological remains of
ancient Pataliputra namely the
Eighty pillared hall and Arogya
Vihar are located at Kumrahar.

4. CAVES
• The Barabar Caves are the oldest
surviving rock-cut caves in India [1],
mostly dating from the Mauryan
period (322–185 BCE), and some
with Ashokan inscriptions, located
in the Jehanabad District of Bihar,
India, 24 km north of Gaya.
• These caves are situated in the
twin hills of Barabar (four caves).

6. STUPAS
• The 'Great Stupa' at Sanchi was
originally commissioned by the
emperor Ashoka the Great in the
third century BCE. Its nucleus was a
simple hemispherical brick
structure built over the relics of the
Buddha. It was crowned by the
chatra, which was intended to
honour and shelter the relics.

7. • Dhamekh Stupa at Sarnath is
one of the prominent Buddhist
structures in India. Dhamekh
Stupa was constructed by the
great Mauryan king, Ashoka.
• Dhamekh Stupa bears special
significance at Sarnath as it
signifies the “seat of the holy
Buddha”, as he proclaimed his
faith.Buddhist pilgrims belonging
to different countries visit this
place for circumambulation of
this sacred Stupa and to offer
worship to Buddha.

8. The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian
subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in
the 3rd century BCE. Originally, there must have been many pillars but only nineteen
survive with inscriptions. Many are preserved in a fragmentary state. Averaging between
forty and fifty feet in height, and weighing up to fifty tons each, all the pillars were
quarried at Chunar, just south of Varanasi and dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to
where they were erected. Here, four lions are seated back to back.
PILLARS

9. • The pillars of Ashoka bear inscriptions in
Brahmi script. Alexander Cunningham was the
first to study the inscriptions on the pillars.
An Ashokan pillar across from a stupa at Kolhua,
near Vaishali, in Bihar

10. The Major Rock Edict,
Ashoka's first rock
inscription at Girnar, an
example of Brāhmī script.
ROCK EDICTS

11. • Rock Edict of Ashoka
• about 250 BC
Dhauli, near Bhubaneshvar
• Dhauli is located in the ancient territory of
Kalinga, now the state of Orissa, which the emperor
Ashoka (reigned 272-231 BC) conquered with
appalling loss of life in about 260 BC. Thereafter the
emperor repented of the violence which he had
done, and converted to Buddhism. He expressed his
remorse, and his intention to govern the kingdom
according to the principles of his new faith, in a series
of rock-cut edicts which were inscribed on over 100
monuments throughout his vast kingdom.
• The Dhauli monument is seen in this photo. Its
sculpted elephant faces east. Ashoka's inscription is
cut into the north face of the rock, below the
sculpture. The hill temples in the background are
modern: a white "peace" stupa built by the Japanese,
and a reconstructed Shiva temple.

12. MONASTERIES
A Buddhist monastery at
Sanchi

13. PUNCH-MARK
COINS
• Silver punch mark coins of the Mauryan empire bear Buddhist symbols such
as the dharma chakara, the elephant and the tree under which the
enlightenment happened and the burial mound where the Buddha died.. 3rd
century B.C

14. Thank you!