Buddhist
Architecture
Lord Buddha has not only given to the world the immortal
message of non-violence and truth, but the great preacher in the subcontinent
has left an undying legacy of innovation and absorption to Indian art and culture. Lord
Buddha and his life constitute a subject of immortal art and
painting as well as architecture in the annals of Indian Civilisation. Life of
this great saint has become a pivotal part of Buddhist painting, evolved even during his life.
Subsequently, his followers created some of the masterpieces of the great son
of the soil. His life and teachings are the focal points of a specific genre of
art style that evolved over a period of time as Buddhist
Art.
Buddhist art evolved
under the Great Kushanas during the first century AD in Mathura and Gandhara.
A realistic idealism,
combining realistic human features, attitudes and attributes with a sense of
perfection and serenity was the theme point of this art genre. The Buddha came
to be identified both as man and God and it laid the foundation for an iconographic
canon for subsequent Buddhist
art.
During the Golden Age
of the Guptas, Buddhist art took more concrete form with lot of refinement.
Subsequently, Buddhism
travelled to other Asian countries and along with the religion its art form
also spread its wings to these countries.
Viharas initially were
only temporary shelters used by wandering monks during the rainy season, but
later were developed to accommodate the growing and increasingly formalised
Buddhist monasticism. An existing example is at Nalanda (Bihar).
A distinctive type of fortress architecture found in the former and present
Buddhist kingdoms of the Himalayas are dzongs.
The initial function of
a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of the Buddha.
The earliest surviving example of a stupa is in Sanchi (Madhya
Pradesh).
In accordance with
changes in religious practice, stupas were gradually incorporated into
chaitya-grihas (temple halls). These reached their high point in the 1st
century BC, exemplified by the cave complexes
of Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra). The Mahabodhi
Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is another well known
example.
Buddhist architecture
emerged slowly in the period following the Buddha’s life, building on
Brahmanist Vedic models, but incorporating specifically Buddhist symbols.
Brahmanist temples at
this time followed a simple plan – a square inner space, the sacrificial arena,
often with a surrounding ambulatory route separated by lines of columns, with a
conical or rectangular sloping roof, behind a porch or entrancearea, generally framed by freestanding columns or a colonnade. The external profile represents Mount Meru, the abode of the gods and centre of the universe. The dimensions and proportions were dictated by sacred mathematical formulae. This simple plan was adopted by early Buddhists, sometimes adapted with additional cells for monks at the periphery .
In essence the basic
plan survives to this day in Buddhist temples throughout the world. The profile
became elaborated and the characteristic mountain shape seen today in many Hindu temples
was used in early Buddhist sites and continued in similar fashion in some
cultures (such as the Khmer). In others, such as Japan and Thailand, local
influences and differing religious practices led to different architecture.
Early temples were
often timber, and little trace remains, although stone was increasingly used.
Cave temples such as those at Ajanta have survived better and preserve the plan
form, porch and interior arrangements from this early period. As the functions
of the monastery-temple expanded, the plan form started to diverge from the
Brahmanist tradition and became more elaborate, providing sleeping, eating and
study accommodation.
A characteristic new
development at religious sites was the stupa. Stupas were originally more
sculpture than building, essentially markers of some holy site or commemorating
a holy man who lived there. Later forms are more elaborate and also in many cases
refer back to the Mount Meru model.
One of the earliest
Buddhist sites still in existence is at Sanchi, India, and this is
centred on a stupa said to have been built by King Ashoka . The original simple
structure is encased in a later, more decorative one, and over two centuries
the whole site was elaborated upon. The four cardinal points are marked by
elaborate stone gateways.
As with Buddhist art,
architecture followed the spread of Buddhism throughout south and east Asia and
it was the early Indian models that served as a first reference point, even
though Buddhism virtually disappeared from India itself in the 10th century.
Decoration of Buddhist
sites became steadily more elaborate through the last two centuries BCE, with
the introduction of tablets and friezes, including human figures, particularly
on stupas. However, the Buddha was
not represented in human form until the 1st century CE. Instead, aniconic
symbols were used. This is treated in more detail in Buddhist art, Aniconic
phase. It influenced the development of temples, which eventually became a
backdrop for Buddha images in most cases.
As Buddhism spread,
Buddhist architecture diverged in style, reflecting the similar trends in
Buddhist art. Building form was also influenced to some extent by the different
forms of Buddhism in the northern countries, practicing Mahayana Buddhism in
the main and in the south where Theravada Buddhism prevailed.
A realistic idealism,
combining realistic human features, attitudes and attributes with a sense of
perfection and serenity was the theme point of this art genre. The Buddha came
to be identified both as man and God and it laid the foundation for an
iconographic canon for subsequent Buddhist art. 
