THEME-4
THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS
(C.600 BCE-600 CE)
(LESSON NOTES)
____________________________________________________________
v INTRODUCTION
Ø As
you know that in Indian subcontinent during 600 BC to 600 CE many thinkers and
ideology emerged. It led to development in the many religious belief as
Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism etc. This chapter discusses the major religious
developments in early India focusing on Buddhism. We will also see how their
ideas were compiled as oral and written texts as well as expressed in
architecture and sculpture. The best preserved monument of the time was the
stupa at Sanchi which is a major focus in this chapter.
v CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT IN WORLD HISTORY
Ø The
mid-first millennium BCE (500 BCE) is
often regarded as a turning point in world history specially in religious and
cultural development.
Ø During
these period many thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in china,
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha in India
emerged.
Ø They
tried to understand the mysteries of existence and relationship between the
humans and cosmic order.
Ø In India this was also the time when cities
and kingdoms were developing and social and economic life was changing in a
variety of ways in Ganga valley.
Ø These
thinkers of India attempted to understand these developments as well.
v THE
SACRIFICIAL TRADITION
Ø We
get the information about many religious beliefs and practices from the earlier
book Rigveda.
Ø The
Rig Veda was compiled between c.1500 and 100 BCE and consists of hymns in
praise of a variety of deities, especially Agni, Indra and Soma.
Ø These
hymns were chanted when the sacrifices were performed and people prayed for
cattle, sons, good health, long life and other things.
Ø The
Sacrifices earlier were performed collectively. Later (c.100BCE-500 BCE
onwards) some were performed by the heads of households for well being of the
domestic unit.
Ø More
elaborate sacrifices, such as the Rajasuya and Asvamedha were
performed by chiefs and kings who depended on Brahmana priests to conduct the
rituals.
v NEW
QUESTIONS IN THE EARLY PERIOD
Ø During
this time many thinker started to raise many question which were compiled in
the earlier book Upanishad.
Ø They
were curious about the meaning of life, the possibilities of life after death
and rebirth.
Ø People
outside the Vedic tradition asked whether there was even a single ultimate
reality.
Ø People
also began speculating on the significance of the sacrificial tradition.
v DEBATES
AND DISCUSSIONS
Ø As
you know that many thinks raise questions on the sacrificial traditions, Vedas,
about ultimate reality. So live debates and discussion took place among the
various thinkers.
Ø These
discussion were took place in Kutagarashala- means hut with a pointed
roof or in groves where travelling mendicants halted.
Ø In
these Kutagarashala philosophers tried to convince one another ,If anyone
succeeded in convincing one of his rivals, the followers of the latter also
became his disciples. In that time nearly 64 sect were there.
Ø Many thinkers like Mahavira and Buddha
questioned the authority of the Vedas. They emphasized on individual agency.
Ø They
suggested men and women could strive to attain liberation from trials and
tribulations of worldly existence. While Brahmanical text believed that
individual’s existence was determined by his or her birth in specific caste or
gender.
v THE
MESSAGE OF MAHAVIRA (JAIN PHILOSOPHY)
Ø Jainism
is an ancient religion. The Rishimbhdev was the first thirthankara. The
thirthankara are teachers who guide men and women across the river of existence.
Ø Vardhamana
Mahavira was 24 thirthankaras. The main teachings of Mahavira are:
§ The
entire world is animated: even stones, rocks and water have life.
§ No-injury
(Ahimsa) to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and insects.
§ The
cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.
§ Asceticism
and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma.
§ This
can be attained only by renouncing the world; therefore, monastic existence is
a necessary condition of salvation.
§ Jaina
monks and nuns must take five vows.
·
To abstain from killing.
·
To abstain from stealing
·
To abstain from lying
·
To observe celibacy
·
To abstain from possessing property.
v THE
SPREAD OF JAINISM
Ø Gradually,
Jainism spread to many parts of India.The teachings of Mahavira were recorded
by his desciples.
Ø Jaina
scholars produced a wealth of literature in a variety of languages such as
Prakrit, Sanskrit and Tamil and preserved in libraries attached to temples.
Ø Many
stone sculptures connected with the Jain traditions have been recovered from
several sites.
v THE LIFE OF BUDDHA
Ø Buddha
was one of the most influential teachers of his time. His message spread across
the subcontinent and beyond-through central Asia to China, Korea and Japan, and
through SriLanka, across the seas to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.
Ø We
come to know about Buddha from the Buddhist text and the hagiographies which
were compelled and written by their followers
Ø According
to the traditions Buddha was named Siddhartha at birth and was the son of the
chief of Sakya clan. He led a sheltered upbringing in the palace
detached from the harsh realities of life.
Ø One
day he undertook a journey into a city which was a turning point in his life.
He was deeply anguished when he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse.
Ø It was at the moment that he realized that
decay of human body was inevitable.
Ø He saw a mendicant who had come to terms with
old age and disease and death and found peace.
Ø Soon after, Siddhartha left the palace in
search of truth. He explored many paths including bodily mortification.
Ø He
abandoned the extreme path and meditated for several days and finally attained
enlightenment and came to be known as Buddha or the enlightened one. For the
rest of his life he taught dhamma or the path of righteous living.
v MAIN
TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM
Ø Teachings
of Buddha have been taken from Sutta Pitaka in the form of stories. Few
stories describe his miraculous powers and others suggest that Buddha tried to
convince people through reasons and persuasion rather through displays of
supernatural power. His main teaching were as follows-
§ The
world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing.
§ It
is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.
§ Within
this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.
§ It
is by following the middle path between severe penance and self- indulgence
that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.
§ In
the early forms of Buddhism whether or not God existed was irrelevant.
§ Buddha
regarded the social world as a creation of humans rather than divine origin and
thus advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and ethical.
§ The
Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape
from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation
§ Buddhism
emphasizes nibana literally the extinguishing of the ego and desires and thus
ends the suffering of those who renounced the world.
§ Buddha’s
last words to his followers were:”Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work
out your own liberation”
v THE
BUDDHIST SANGHA
Ø The
followers of Buddha held themselves in an organisation that was known as
Sangha. It included all the disciples
who left their home and become teachers of dhamma.
Ø The
followers of Buddha came from many social groups as kings, wealthy men and
gahapatis, workers, slaves and crafts people etc. But all were regarded equal
after join sangha
Ø They
lead a very simple life possessing only the essential things for survival, such
as a bowl to receive food once a day from the common people. They lived on
alms, so they were known as Monk or bhikkus.
Ø Initially,
only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also admitted on the
request of Buddha’s dearest disciples, Anand. Mahaprajapati Gotami (Buddha’s
foster mother) was the first woman to be included in sangha known as Nun or
bhikkuni.
Ø After
that many women join sangha and became teachers of dhamma theris, or
respected women who had attained liberation.
Ø All
Bhikkus and bhikkuni have to follow the rules of Sangha which were mention in
the book Vinaypitaka.
Ø In
sanghas consensus were arrived based on discussions. If discussions failed to
bring about harmony then decisions were taken by a vote on that subject.
v WHY
BUDDHISM BECOME POPULAR
Ø Buddhism
grew rapidly both during the lifetime of the Buddha and after his death.
Ø People
were dissatisfied with the prevailing religions and were confused by the social
changes that were occurring.
Ø Buddhism
emphasized on the importance of conduct and values rather than claims of
superiority based on birth.
Ø The
emphasis was laid on metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion) especially
for those who were young and weaker than oneself. These were ideas that drew
men and women to Buddhism.
v CHAITYAS
Ø The
Certain places with special trees or unique rocks, or sites of awe inspiring
natural beauty with small shrine attached were regarded as sacred sites which were
known as Chaityas. It may also have been derived from the word chita, meaning
a funeral pyre.
Ø Buddhist
literature describes places connected with the life of Buddha. These places are
§ Lumbini-
where he was born
§ Bodh
Gaya -where he attained enlightenment
§ Saranath
-where he gave his first sermon
§ Kushinagara-.
Where he attained nibbana
v STUPA:
Ø The
sacred place or mounds where relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or
objects used by him were buried were known as stupas.
Ø According
to the text Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s
relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over
them.
Ø The
stupas at Barhut, Sanchi and Saranath were built by the second century BCE.
v WHO
BUILT THE STUPAS
Ø Through
the inscriptions we come to know that to built the stupas the donations was
given by the kings like Satvahanas , Mauryas etc.
Ø Some
donations was given by the guilds(Association of traders) like the gateway of
sanchi staupa was given by ivory workers.
Ø We
also find that donation was also given by many ordinary men and women bhikkus
and bhikkunis for building and decorating these monuments.
v STRUCTURE
OF STUPA
Ø Stupa
is a Sanskrit word meaning a heap. The structure of stupa originated as a
simple circular mound of earth called anda.
Ø Later
on stupas developed into different structure as circular, square, etc.
Ø Arising
from the harmika was the mast called the yashti surrounded by a chhatri
or an umbrella.
Ø Around
the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space from the secular
world.
v THE
EARLY STUPAS
Ø The
early stupas were built at Sanchi and Burhat
Ø They
were plain except for the stone railings, which resembled a bamboo or wooden
fence and the gateways, which were richly carved and installed at the four
cardinal points.
Ø Later
on the stupas were elaborately carved with niches and sculptures like stupas
at Amravati and Shah-ji-Dheri in Peshawar.
v THE
FATE OF AMRAVATI
Ø The
Mahachaitya at Amaravati is now just an insignificant little mound, totally lost
of its former glory. The following factors were responsible for the present
fate of Amaravati.
§ In
1796, a local raja stumbled upon the ruins of the stupas at Amravati using its
stone to build a temple.
§ In
1854, Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), visited
Amravati and collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras.
§ Colonel
Colin Mackenzie also visited the site but his reports were not published.
§ By
the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amravati had begun to be taken to different
places: to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta, to the India Office in
Madras and some even to London.
§ Many
of these sculptures were seen adorning the garden of British administrators.
v VIEW
OF H.H. COLE, ON THE PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS
Ø Though
in 1850s it come to know that Amaravati was one of the largest and most
magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built. But the authorities could not stop the
.
Ø An
archeologist H H Cole wrote: “It seems to me a suicidal and indefensible policy
to allow the country to be looted of original works of ancient art.”
Ø He
believed that museums should have plaster-cast facsimiles of sculpture, whereas
the originals should remain where they had been found.
Ø Unfortunately,
Cole did not succeed in convincing the authorities about Amaravati, although
his plea for in situ (in the original place) preservation was adopted in
the case of Sanchi.
v THE
FATE OF SANCHI STUPA
Ø Sanchi
stupa is the best preserved monuments of ancient time. It is the most important
Buddhist centre which helped to understand of early Buddhism.
 |
| Sanchi stupa |
Ø Sanchi
stupa is found in good condition even today but Amaravati not because of these
reasons-
§ Amaravati
was discovered before scholars understood the value of the finds and realized
but Sanchi was discovered later on.
§ An
plea of archeologist H H Cole for in situ (in the original place)
preservation was adopted in Sanchi but not adopted in Amarvati.
§ Sanchi
Stupa also had good luck in escaping the eyes of railway contractors, builders,
and those looking for finds to carry away to the museums of Europe but Amravati
did not have.
§ The
authorities did not take any step to preserve the Amaravati stupa but the
rulers have taken many steps to preserve the monument of sanchi.
v ROLE
OF THE BEGUMS OF BHOPAL IN PRESERVING THE STUPA AT SANCHI
Ø Sanchi
stupa was discovered in 1818. At that time mound and three gates were in good
condition only fourth was lying on the spot.
Ø In
the 19th century, Europeans, first the French and later the English were
interested to take away the eastern gateway of the stupa to Paris and London
museums.
Ø Shajehan Begum of Bhopal took a wise decision
to make plaster cast copies to please Europeans. This resulted in the original
remain at the state.
Ø The
rulers of Bhopal, Shajehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum, provided
money for the preservation of the ancient site.
Ø The
rules also built Museum, guesthouse and funded the publication of the volumes of John
Marshall
Ø Today
it stands testimony to the successful restoration of a key archaeological site
by the Archaeological Survey of India.
v TEXTUAL
EVIDENCE OF SCULPTURES
Ø The
sculptures were transported to Europe because these were very very beautiful. Historians
find out the many textual evidences of these sculptures.
Ø The
sculptures at Sanchi are scrolls of stories which depict scenes from Jatakas.
Ø There
were stories of Vessantara Jataka where the prince gives up everything
to the Brahmana and goes to live in forest with his wife and children.
Ø In the same way historian did not find the
sculptures of Buddha in early time. Instead of that they found many symbols. They
found the meaning of these symbols through textual records.
§ An
empty seat represents meditation of the Buddha
§ Stupa
represented the mahaparinibbana.
§ Wheel
stood for the first sermon delivered by Buddha at Saranath.
§ Tree
symbolizes an event in the life of the Buddha, where he got enlightment.
Ø Some
other sculptures found at Sanchi were not directly inspired by Buddhist ideas.
These included in popular tradition as-
§ These
include beautiful women known as shalabhanjika swinging from the edge of the
gateway, holding onto a tree.
§ According
to popular belief, the mere touching of the tree by her would make the tree to
flower and bear fruit.
§ Many
people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even
non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas.
§ Many
animals were also carved to create lively scenes to attract viewers. For
example elephant was carved which signified strength and wisdom.
§ Another
figure found at Sanchi stupa is that of Maya the mother of Buddha or popular
goddess Gajalakshmi.
§ The
motif of a serpent was found at Sanchi.James Fergusson, a modern art historian
considered Sanchi as the centre of tree and serpent worship.
v THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
Ø By
the first century CE, there were changes in Buddhist ideas and practices. This
new way of thinking was called Mahayana-literally; the “greater vehicle” as
older Buddhism consider as Hinayanaor Theravada Or lesser vehicle. Many changes
were occurred in Mahayana Buddhism
§ Early
Buddhist teachings(Hinayana) had given great importance to self-effort in
achieving nibbana.
§ Buddha
was regarded as a human being .The idea of Buddha as a saviour emerged.
§ It
was believed that he is the one who could ensure salvation.
§ Simultaneously,
the concept of the Bodhisatta also developed. Bodhisattas were perceived as
deeply compassionate beings that could help others to attain nibbana.
§ The
worship of the images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas became an important part of
this tradition.
§ The
followers of Mahayana Buddhism described the older tradition as Hinayana or the
“lesser vehicle”.
v GROWTH
OF PURANIC HINDUISM
In Hinduism in this
time idol worship developed. This idol worship creat a bond of love and devotion
between devotee and the God which was known as Bhakati.There were two important
traditions that developed within puranic Hinduism.
Ø Vaishnavism
is a form of Hinduism within which Vishnu was worshipped as the principal
deity. In the case of Vaishnavism; cults were developed around the various
avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism there are ten
avatars of Vishnu.
§ Avatars were forms that the deity was believed
to have assumed in order to save the world whenever the world was threatened by
evil forces.
§ Different
avatars as Ram, Krishana, Varaha. Meen, Vamana etc.were popular in different
parts of the country.
Ø 2.
Shaivism is a tradition within which Shiva was regarded as the chief god.
§ Shiva
was symbolized by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in the
form of human figure too.
§ Some
of these deities were represented in sculptures by different symbols.
§ To
understand the meaning of these sculptures historians have to be familiar with
the Puranas.
v PURANAS
Ø Puranas
contained stories about gods and goddesses. They were written in simple
Sanskrit by brahamans nearly 500 CE.
Ø Puranas
can be read by all men including women and shudras who were not allowed to read
Vedas.
Ø Puranas evolved through interaction amongst
people-priests, merchants, and ordinary men and women who travelled from place
to place sharing ideas and beliefs.
Ø For
example, Vasudeva-Krishna was an important deity in the Mathura region. After
that, his worship spread to other parts of the country as well.
v GROWTH
OF TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
Ø When
the stupas at sites such as Sanchi were taking their present form, at the same
time the first temples to house images of gods and goddesses were also being
built.
Ø Gradually,
a tall structure, known as sikhara, was built over the central shrine.
Ø Temple
walls were often decorated with sculpture.
Ø Assembly halls (Mandapa), huge walls, gateways
and arrangements for supplying water made the later temples far more elaborate.
Ø One
of the unique features of early temples was that some of these were hollowed
out of huge rocks, as artificial caves.
v PROBLEMS
FACED BY THE EUROPEAN SCHOLARS WHILE STUDYING THE SCULPTURES.
Ø The
Europeans scholars were not familiar with the local traditions and beliefs.
Ø Many
of these sculptures were destroyed and lost over the centuries.
Ø It
is not always that the historian understood the same as the mason, artist who
built these around 2000 years ago.
Ø European
scholars horrified by the images of half human and half animals. They
considered the Indian sculptures inferior to that of European sculptures from
Greece with which they were familiar. This was because they compared the Indian
sculpture to the images of Greece with which they were familiar.
Ø The
art historians used textual traditions to understand the meaning of sculptures.
While this is a better strategy than comparing the images found in India with
that of Greece but it was not always easy to use. For example, to identify the
sculpture along a huge rock in Mahabalipuram, art historians have to search
through the Puranas.
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