Cultural Heritage of India: Sculpture and Architecture
India is known worldwide for its rich cultural heritage. The diversity of sculpture and architecture has given a new identity to the history of India. It can be proudly noted that the ancient Indus Valley Civilization town planning of India was superior to the town planning of the contemporary world.
Sculpture
Sculpture is the art of carving various kinds of mental images into stone, wood, or metal with a chisel and hammer, using the artist's skill and talent.
Architecture
Architecture simply means construction. In Sanskrit, the word 'Vastu' is used for architecture, which is very popular. In this sense, the construction of houses, cities, wells, forts, minarets, temples, mosques, tombs, etc. is called 'Architecture'. The skill of 'Architect' is used in the art of architecture.
Town Planning of Ancient India
India has been an expert in town planning since ancient times. Many such towns have been found during archaeological excavations. These towns fall into three main divisions: (1) The citadel of the ruling officials (2) The upper town containing the residences of other officials (3) The lower town containing the residences of the common people.
The fortress of the ruling authorities is built on a height. The upper town is also protected by defensive walls. Houses with two to five rooms have been found here. The houses in the lower town are mainly made of hand-made bricks.
The people of the Indus Valley Civilization developed some of the most beautiful and well-organized cities of all the civilizations of that time in terms of architecture. Among them, the cities named Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were important. (1) Mohenjo-daro: In 1922, under the guidance of Sir John Marshall and Colonel Mackay, Indian archaeologists named Rakhaldas Banerjee and Dayaram Sahani discovered the remains of a large city civilization during excavations at Mohenjo-daro in the Larkana district of Sindh (in Pakistan). Mohenjo-daro means “mound of the dead”.
(1) Town planning: Mohenjo-Daro was the best in terms of town planning. The houses were built on high plinths (pithikas) to protect them from floods and dampness. The houses of the rich were two-storeyed and had five or seven rooms. The houses of the common people were one-storeyed and had two or three rooms. The wall structure around the entire town The doors of the houses faced inwards (into the street) instead of the public road. Here, the remains of a barn, kitchen and bathroom have been found in each house. There was a system of windows and doors for ventilation.
(2) Roads: The distinctive feature of this city structure is the roads here. There were mostly 9.75 meters wide roads here. The small and big roads met at right angles and were wide enough for more than one vehicle to pass. It is believed that there were pillars for night lighting on the side of the road. The city had straight and wide highways. They went straight without taking any turns. This is considered a specialty of ancient times. There were two main highways. One road went from north to south and the other from east to west. Both the roads intersected at right angles in the middle.
(3) Sewerage plan: A distinctive feature of this town structure is the sewerage plan. Such a sewerage plan is not found anywhere in contemporary civilizations except on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Sewers were built to drain the sewage from the town. Every house had a cesspool. Such a well-organized sewerage plan suggests that there would have been some efficient system like sanitation at that time and therefore it can be said that they must have had high concepts of cleanliness and health.
(4) Public Bath: A large bath has been found here. There was a system for entering clean water into the bath tank and taking out dirty water. There would have been a system for hot water and rooms for changing clothes have been found. People here would have used this bath on religious occasions.
(5) Public buildings: Two buildings of public utility have been found at Mohenjo-daro. They may have been used as meeting or entertainment halls, administrative halls or state storehouses. A row of buildings has been found here which may have been barracks for soldiers.
(2) Harappa: Under the leadership of Sir John Marshall and Colonel Mackay (in 1921 AD), Dayaram Sahni discovered the most ancient remains of Indian civilization at Harappa in Montgomery district of Punjab. Remains of Indus Valley civilization have been found at places like Ropar in the Himalayan region, Alamgirpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Lothal in Dholka taluka of Gujarat, Deshalpur-Shikarpur in Kutch, Dholavira and Rangpur near Limbdi in Saurashtra, Shrinathgarh (Rozdi) near Gondal, Kuntasi near Morbi, Somnath etc.
The region of the Sapta Indus Rivers is the cultural region of our country. The culture that flourished in this region is called the Indus Valley Civilization. The remains of this culture were first found at the Harappa site, hence it is called the Harappan culture. Stone and copper tools, objects, etc. have been found from this site. Hence it is also called the Chalcolithic Age culture. The planning of the towns during the Harappan period was well-organized. Its large granaries and fortifications are remarkable. Evidence has been found that they were fond of wearing ornaments.
(3) Dholavira: A large and well-organized and ancient city of contemporary Harappan has been discovered, located two km from Dholavira village in Khadirbet, Mota Rann, Bhachau taluka, about 140 km from Bhuj. The Gujarat State Archaeological Department also surveyed this mound. After that, the officials of the Archaeological Survey of India took up the research. (AD 1990) Special excavations have been carried out under the guidance of Ravindrasinh Bista.
The remains of the Dholavira fort, palace and the main walls of the city, which may have been painted white, have been found. The city's fortifications have a strong security system. These walls are made of mud, stone and Made of bricks. From here, a system was made to purify drinking water, which we have not been able to do even in the modern era. This system of water purification was amazing.
(4) Lothal: Lothal is in Ahmedabad district.
It is located in Dholka taluka. Lothal is located in the region between two rivers, Bhogao and Sabarmati, in Dholka taluka. It is 18 kilometers away from the Gulf of Khambhat. Three layers of human settlement have been found from it. At the low tide at the eastern end of the town, a large dockyard was built for anchoring ships. This is the uniqueness of Lothal. This dockyard shows warehouses, shops, evidence of import and export, etc. Lothal must have been a prosperous port of India at that time. This is a matter of pride for Gujarat. Lothal gives pride not only to Gujarat but also to the history of India.
Stupa: A stupa is a semi-circular structure built over the remains of Lord Buddha, placed in a container. It is known as a stupa.
Five stupas of Ashoka's time are known: (1) Sanchi Stupa (2) Sarnath Stupa (3) Berat Stupa (4) Nandangadh Stupa and (5) Devni Morin Stupa in Gujarat. In addition, Chaityas, Viharas, and Mathas have been built. The time of Emperor Ashoka was the era of the glory of Buddhism and the era of sculpture and architecture.
In the field of architecture, Buddhism has given the gift of cave monasteries, chaityas (houses of worship), and stupas.
Sanchi Stupa: Built during the Mauryan era, the Sanchi Stupa is located in Madhya Pradesh. The original Sanchi Stupa was made of bricks. It was half the size of the present stupa. This Buddhist stupa is a priceless example of architecture.
The pillars were made from a single rock. The pillar inscriptions carved by Emperor Ashoka on his edicts are excellent examples of sculpture. They were carved from a single rock, polished and polished. Such pillars were erected at Ambala, Meerut, Allahabad, Nandangadh near Loria in Bihar, Sanchi, Kashi, Patna and near the Bodhi tree in Buddha Gaya. They are engraved in Brahmi script.
Pillar of Sarnath
It is a fine example of Indian sculpture. On the top of this pillar is the figure of four lions standing facing each other. Since Sarnath is the place of the teachings of Lord Buddha, four Dharma Chakras are inscribed on all sides below the lions. This chakra is called Dharma Chakra as it shows the victory of Dharma. In addition, there are sculptures of elephants, horses and bulls. This chakra has been given a place in the national flag of the Republic of India and the figure of four lions has been given a place as the national symbol of India. This is considered one of the finest sculptures in the world.
Inscription
In the inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka, the inscriptions engraved with religious precepts are important. The wooden sculptures, stone sculptures etc. architectures are impressive examples of art. Beautiful arches are carved on the doors by making wooden and stone fences which emphasize the practice of religion. These inscriptions have been found in places like Peshawar, Dehradun, Thane, Mumbai, Pauli and Jogda (Odisha) and Chennai etc.
There is such an inscription on the road (at the foothills) towards Girnar mountain in Junagadh in Gujarat. Apart from this, in the Jain temples on Shetrunjay mountain in Palitana in Gujarat, in the Jain Derasar of Hathisingh in Ahmedabad (1847 AD), inscriptions giving all the information are engraved in Sanskrit and Gujarati languages.
Dravidian style of South India
Many Buddhist stupas were built during the reign of the Satavahana kings in the area around the Krishna and Godavari rivers in India. These stupas were hemispherical, oval and bell-shaped with a peak. The Nagarjuna Konda Stupa and the Amaravati Stupa are the best examples of the Dravidian style. The Chaula kings took the Dravidian style of architecture to a higher level.
The Gupta era witnessed the best development of sculpture, architecture, painting, dance, music, etc. The Parvati temple of Jabalpur (Ninava), the Shiva temple of Bhumra (Nagoda), the Narasimha temple of Eran (Madhya Pradesh), the Gosha temple of Jamnagar, stupas, chaityas, monasteries, viharas, flags, pillars, etc. are examples of the art of the Gupta era. In addition, in sculpture, the Buddha statues of Sarnath, the Vishnu statue of Mathura and the statue of Mahavir Swami, the statue of the Udayagiri cave, the statue of Vishnu in the form of Varah, etc. are the best examples of the Indian Gupta era art. The Gupta era art is called the "Golden Age".
Cave architecture (caves)
The cave architectures of India are considered to be man-made beauties. The Ajanta-Ellora caves near Aurangabad, the Elephanta caves near Mumbai, the Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves west of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, the Bath caves of Madhya Pradesh are famous examples of Gupta period cave architecture. In Gujarat, three cave groups have been found at Khambhalida (Gondal), Dhank (Rajkot), Junagadh, Talaja, Sana etc.
Caves have been found at places like Ashoka's cave inscriptions are engraved on the walls of three caves in the Barbar mountain, 16 miles away from Gaya. They contain details of the charitable works done by Emperor Ashoka during his lifetime. The Darjeeling cave in Assam, the Sudama and Sita caves in Bihar etc. are famous cave architectures.
(1) Junagadh Caves: There are three groups of caves in Junagadh.
(1) Bawapyara Cave Group: This cave is located near the Bawapyara Monastery. These caves are spread in three rows and are connected to each other at right angles. There are four caves in the first row, seven in the second row and five in the third row, making a total of 16 caves. It is likely that they were carved during the early centuries of Christianity.
(2) Uparkot Caves: These caves are in two levels, with a series of steps leading up and down. Uparkot Caves must have been constructed between the latter half of the second century AD and the first half of the fourth century AD.
(3) Khapra Kodia Caves, Caves above the tank: It can be said from the remains found that these caves must have been multi-storeyed. The caves are damaged. There are a total of 20 pillars. This cave is likely to have been excavated in the third century AD.
(2) Khambhalida Cave: These caves were discovered (in 1959 AD) in Khambhalida near Gondal, 70 km from Rajkot. Three caves are notable. The middle cave has a stupa-equipped Chityagriha, large figures of Buddhas standing under trees on both sides of the entrances and some worshippers, all of which date back to the 2nd-3rd centuries.
(3) Talaja Cave: Talaja hill is located in Bhavnagar district at the mouth of Shetrunji river. It is famous as 'Taldhwajgiri' pilgrimage site. 30 caves have been carved out of stones.
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