Mahayana Buddhism and the Gandhara and Mathura Schools of Art

At a Glance

• Mahayana Great Vehicle; image worship
• Patron Kanishka
• Gandhara Graeco-Roman style Buddha
• Mathura Indigenous, red sandstone
• South Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Post-Mauryan Period and Early South India

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fifth topic of the category on the post-Mauryan period. The previous topic covered the cultural consequences of Central Asian contact, and this one covers religion and art. The next topic covers the Satavahanas. Previous topic: Cultural Consequences of Central Asian Contact.

How Did Mahayana Buddhism Originate?

In short: trade, urban donors and foreign converts changed Buddhism and produced the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle.

Indian religions changed in post-Mauryan times partly because of a great leap in trade and craft activity and partly because of the large influx of people from Central Asia. Buddhism was especially affected. Monks and nuns could not afford to lose the cash donations from the growing body of traders and artisans in towns, and large numbers of coins are found in the monastic areas of Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh. The Buddhists also welcomed foreigners who were non-vegetarians. This led to laxity in monastic life: they accepted gold and silver, took non-vegetarian food, wore elaborate robes, and some renunciates even left the sangha to resume householder life. The new form was called Mahayana, the Great Vehicle. In the old puritan Buddhism, symbols were used to represent the Buddha, and these were replaced by images at the start of the Christian era. Image worship began in Buddhism and was later followed on a large scale in Brahmanism. The old puritan school came to be called Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle. Kanishka became a great patron of Mahayana and held a council in Kashmir, whose members composed 300,000 words explaining the three pitakas; according to tradition he had these commentaries engraved on copper sheets and enclosed in a stone casket under a stupa. The earlier councils are in Buddhist Councils, Decline of Buddhism and its Significance.

What Is Gandhara Art?

The foreign princes became enthusiastic patrons of Indian art. The Kushan empire brought together masons and artisans trained in different schools and countries, which gave rise to several schools: Central Asian, Gandhara and Mathura. In Gandhara, on the north-western frontier, Indian craftsmen came into contact with Central Asians, Greeks and Romans. This produced a new form in which the images of the Buddha were made in the Graeco-Roman style, including his hair. Another account says the Gandhara school developed in the first century CE, and it is famous for the portrayal of the Buddha in a spiritual state with eyes half-closed in meditation. Statues, mostly sculpted at Taxila and in the north-west, show the Buddha in graceful garments surrounded by cherubs and leaves inspired by Greek tradition. This style combines Greek and non-Greek elements, as it came from Greek contact with non-Greek peoples after Alexander, as noted in Indo-Greeks in North-West India.

What Is Mathura Art and What Else Developed?

The influence of Gandhara spread to Mathura, which was primarily a centre of indigenous art. Mathura produced beautiful images of the Buddha, and it is famous for the headless erect statue of Kanishka whose name is inscribed at the lower end. It also made several stone images of Vardhamana Mahavira. Pre-Gupta Mathura sculpture and inscriptions ignore Krishna, though Mathura is considered his birthplace. The school flourished in the early centuries of the Christian era, its red sandstone products are found outside Mathura, and the Mathura Museum has the largest collection of Kushan sculpture in India. Beyond the Vindhyas, Buddhist caves were built in Maharashtra, and Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh became great centres of Buddhist art, with the life of the Buddha shown on many panels. The earliest Buddhist panels are at Bodh-Gaya, Sanchi and Bharhut, relating to the second century BC, but sculpture developed further in the early centuries AD. Another account adds that Buddhists carved rock caves with chaityas and viharas in western India, from Ajanta to Kanheri in Mumbai, with large Buddha statues in the Mahayana tradition.

As an analytical point, the two schools show two roads to the same image: Gandhara by foreign technique, Mathura by indigenous craft. They set the iconographic base for the Gupta Buddha. The roots of Mauryan stone art are in Mauryan Art and Architecture, and the Gupta continuation in Gupta Art and Architecture.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Standard Prelims topic Features of schools
• Religion and art link Image worship
• Foreign influence Greek and Roman style

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the Satavahanas and their political history. Next topic: Satavahanas – Political History.

Key People and Terms

• Mahayana Great Vehicle
• Hinayana Lesser Vehicle
• Gandhara art Graeco-Buddhist art of the north-west
• Mathura art Indigenous art in red sandstone
• Chaitya Buddhist prayer hall
• Vihara Monastery

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for features and influences. These points add depth.

• Religion Mahayana
• Gandhara Foreign influence
• Mathura Indigenous