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Eternal India
encyclopedia
ART
ART
Dynasties and their contributions to Indian art.
Mauryas
(320-185 B.C.)
The Mauryan emperor Ashoka built stupas
to house the relics of the Buddha. He also
erected pillars crowned with animal figures.
Sungas
(85-72 B.C.)
The Sungas who succeeded the Mauryas in
the north embellished the stupas by construct-
ing railings and gateways. The embellished
railing around the stupa at Bharhut is attributed
to the Sungas.
Satavahanas
(2nd C B.C - 2nd C A.D.)
The Satavahanas (also known as Andhras
who came to power in the Deccan) built the
carved
toranas
(gateways) to the Sanchi stupa.
The stupa near Amaravati in the Krishna valley
is attributed to them. The railing round the stupa
was built under the supervision of Nagarjuna, the Buddhist phi-
losopher who was a close friend of the kings of the dynasty.
Kushans
(l-3rd Centuries A.D.)
They were contemporaries of the Satavahanas. The Kushana
empire extended from Central Asia in the north to beyond Mathura
in the east. Two schools of
art developed — the Gand-
hara school in the north-west
(in the region now called Pe-
shawar and Rawalpindi in
Pakistan and Kabul) and the
Mathura school. The former
was strongly influenced by
the art of Greece and Bactria.
The Buddha images of Gand-
hara are realistic while the
Mathura images are abstract
with the features moulded
gently into the smiling round
face.
Guptas
(4th-6th C A.D.)
The classical period of Indian art when sculpture, architecture
and painting reached their highest perfection. Although a period of
Hindu revival, both Buddhism and Jainism flourished throughout
the Gupta empire. The Dasavatara temple at Deogarh is one of the
most famous in India. Gupta art appears also in the Ajanta caves,
in some reliefs at Karle and in the Udaygiri caves near Bhopal.
Vakatakas (3rd-6th C A.D.)
Most of the paintings in the Ajanta cave temples are by the
Vakataka artists.
Eastern Gangas
(8th-13th £ A.D.)
This dynasty which ruled Orissa from Kalinga, modern Mukhal-
ingam, in the Ganjam district, built the Jagannatha temple at Puri,
the Sun temple at Konark, the Lingarju and Muktesvara temples at
Bhubaneshwar.
Palas
(8th-10th C A.D.)
The Palas brought peace
and stability to Bengal after
the
disintegration
of
the
Gupta empire. Dharmapala,
the most renowned Pala ruler,
was a Buddhist and enriched
the monastery at Nalanda.
The stupa at Paharpur was
built during this period. Since
there is little rock in Bengal
the artists excelled in terra-
cotta monuments with inter-
spersed stone carvings.
Western Gangas
The greatest monument of
the Western Gangas who
ruled from their capital at Ta-
lakad (Karnataka) on the
Cauvery is the colossal image
of Gomatesvara (10th C) at
Sravanabelagola.
Western Chalukyas
(6th-8th C A.D.)
The Chalukyas of Badami succeeded the Vakatakas in the
Deccan. Their art is seen mainly in the cave temples and structural
temples of Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Alampur.
Rashtrakutas
(8th-10th C A.D.)
A feudatory of the Chalukyas of Badami they rose to suprem-
acy under the leadership of Dantidurga defeating the Chalukyas
around 726 A.D. Krishna I, the successor of Dantidurga, is credited
with the creation of the Kailasa temple at Ellora, one of the highest
architectural achievements of Indian art, a monolithic temple carved
out of a hill of solid rock.
The Pallavas
(6th-9th C A.D.)
The kingdom of the Pallavas extended from the Krishna river to
the Cauvery river. Their capital was Kanchipuram, near Madras in
Tamil Nadu state, their innumerable temples can be found all over