Indian Architecture Timeline

Indian Architecture Timeline

The art of building is known as 'architecture.'

In India, the story of architecture begins with the Harappan Civilization (Indus Valley Civilization).

Harappan Architecture

Important Buildings of Harappan Civilization (in descending order of their sizes)

• Burnt bricks were used as a base material for the construction of the buildings of the Harappan civilization (absence of stone building).

• The burnt bricks were joined with the help of mud (in most cases), gypsum (in drainage), and bitumen (in the Great Bath).

• They had no knowledge of sand, cement, and red lime in joining the bricks for the construction of buildings.

Harappan people had made their buildings solid and durable rather than beautiful. A.L. Basham rightly remarks,

"The utilitarian brick buildings of the Harappa Culture, strong and competent as they were, had apparently little aesthetic merit."

With the exception of the wall of Rajgrih (modern Rajgir, Nalanda district, Bihar), we have no significant architectural remains between the Harappan period and the Mauryan period. This is due to the fact that few buildings were made of stone during this time interval.

Mauryan Architecture

• Since the pre-Ashokan architecture was mostly made of wood and other perishable materials, they had no remains.

• The general use of stone in architecture began with Ashokan times.

• The replacement of wood by stone in architecture may have been partly due to the influence of contact with the Achaemenid Empire of Persia (where stone was extensively used) and partly due to the denudation of the forest in the Gangetic plains.

The architectural remains of the Mauryan period are found in three forms—palaces, stupas & caves.

1. Palaces

• Contemporary Greek writers (Megasthenese & others) refer to the magnificent palaces and halls in the capital city of Patliputra and regard them as the finest, like those of Susa & Ecbatana (two famous cities of Persia).

• Chinese pilgrims (Fahien and Hiuen Tsang) who visited India were wonderstruck by Mauryan architecture.

• All of them had perished, but 20th-century excavations have laid bare their ruins, the most wonderful being those of the 80-pillared hall from Kumharar (a block of modern Patna, Bihar).

2. Stupas

• A stupa originated in India prior to the 5th century BC as tombs of holy men and evolved afterwards into sacred sites dedicated to the Buddha.

• The clay-built stupa of Lauriya Nandangarh (West Champaran district, Bihar) and the brick-built stupa of Piprahwa (Siddharthnagar district, U.P.) are specimens of pre-Mauryan stupas.

• In other words, these stupas were the forerunners of Mauryan Buddhist stupas.

A stupa is one of the three major forms of Buddhist architecture (the other two forms are chaitya, i.e., worship place, and vihara, i.e., monastery & learning center).

Meaning of Stupa: Stupa literally means a heap (mound) of clay. Initially the stupa was built of clay but later of bricks and stones over the grave or residues (like ash, bone, tooth, nail, hair, etc.) of a holy man (Gautam Buddha, Buddhist monks).

Basic Features of a Stupa

1. A stupa is a hemispherical dome-like solid structure into which one cannot enter.

2. A stupa is built over the residues (like ash, bone, tooth, hair, etc.), which are kept in a casket at the base of the dome.

3. There is a circumambulatory passage or walkway (Pradakshina Patha) around the Stupa, which is enclosed by a railing (Vedika) running around the base of the dome.

   • It usually bears low-relief inscriptions depicting protective deities, mythological events, and other religious iconography.

   • Vedika (railing): The Sanskrit word "vedika" refers to the outer railing around a sacred monument or object in architecture. It often encloses a space for a walkway around the central monument.

4. There are four gateways (toranas) for entrance located at the four cardinal points.

   • In Sanchi stupa, there are four gateways in four directions, namely east, west, north, and south.

   • Torana (gateway): The Sanskrit word "torana" refers to a gateway for ceremonial purposes in architecture. The origin of Toran has been traced to the gram-dwar (village gateway) of the Vedic period village, which later evolved as a popular adornment for cities and sacred places.

5. At the top of the dome is a square-like structure called 'Harmika.' From the Harmika rises a stick (Yashti), which holds the triple umbrella (Chhatras), a sign of royalty and dignity.

Parts of a Stupa:

• Chhatra – umbrella-like structure

• Harmika – small square fencing

• Anda – semi-circular dome

• Pradakshina patha – circumambulatory passage of walkway

• Medhi – circular lane

• Vedika – railing

• Torana – gateway

Sanchi Stupa

• According to Buddhist tradition, 84,000 stupas were built by Mauryan ruler Ashoka, but it is an exaggerated figure.

• Chinese pilgrims Fahien and Hiuen Tsang are said to have seen a considerable number of these stupas, the majority of whichperished in course of time.

• However, a few of these stupas have survived. The stupas of Sanchi, Sarnath, Bharhut, Taxila, etc. were originally built by Ashoka, and they were extended and enlarged by the Buddhist patrons of post-Mauryan rulers.

• Sanchi Stupa is a typical example of such a structure.

3. Caves

• The Mauryan caves are the earliest examples of rock-cut architecture, in which Sudama Cave is the oldest.

• These caves are hewn from solid rocks. Their interior walls are so well polished that they appear smooth and shiny as mirrors.

• These caves were built by Mauryan rulers Ashoka and his grandson Dasharatha and donated to Ajivikas (the followers of Makkhali Goshala) and Buddhist monks.

• These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (4 caves, built by Ashoka) and Nagarjuni (3 caves, built by Dasharatha), located in the Jehanabad district of Bihar.

Caves of the Barabar Group:

1. Sudama Cave (donated to Ajivikas)

2. Vishwa Jhonpari Cave (donated to Ajivikas)

3. Karna Chopar (donated to monks)

4. Lomash Rishi Cave

Caves of Nagarjuni Group:

1. Gopi Cave (donated to Ajivikas)

2. Vadathi Cave (donated to Ajivikas)

3. Vapia Cave/Mirza Mandi (donated to Ajivikas)

The details of two famous caves (Sudama Cave & Lomash Rishi Cave) display a clear-cut influence of wooden architecture on rock-cut architecture.

The rock-cut architecture of the Mauryan period marks the beginning of a great tradition that would span the next 1,000 years in the years of Indian art.

Post-Mauryan Architecture

Post-Mauryan architecture is divided into 3 phases: Sunga, Satavahana, and Kushan.

1. Sunga Architecture

• Though Buddhist texts depict Sunga rulers as persecutors of the Buddhist faith, they were not so.

• Architectural remains of Sunga period the construction of Bharhut Stupa, stone-built Stupa & railing in the place of brick-built Stupa & railings of Sanchi, railing at Bodhgaya Stupa, and the construction of Stupa, chaityas & viharas at Bhaja (near Pune), etc.

2. Satavahana Architecture

• The stupa, chaitya, and vihara are 3 main forms of Buddhist architecture.

• Buddhist architecture was remarkably developed during the Satavahana-Ikshawaku period (Ikshawaku—the successor dynasty of the Satavahana dynasty in Andhra Pradesh).

• Architectural remains of the Satavahana-Ikshawaku period are the finest examples of Buddhist architecture.

Stupas:

1. Amaravati Stupa, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh

2. Nagarjunikonda Stupa, Krishna district

3. Bhattiprolu Stupa

4. Goli Stupa

5. Jagayyapeta Stupa, Krishna district

6. Ghantsal Stupa

7. Peddaganjam Stupa, Prakasham district

Note: Nagarjunikonda Stupa was built during the Ikshawaku period. The rest of the stupas were constructed during the Satavahana period.

Chaityas & Viharas:

1. Bhaja, Bedsa, Junnar & Karle Chaitya & Viharas, Pune dist., Maharashtra

2. Kanheri Chaitya & Vihara, Mumbai dist., Maharashtra

3. Kondana Chaitya & Vihara, Kolaba dist., Maharashtra

4. Nasik Chaitya & Vihara, Nasik dist., Maharashtra

5. Pitalkhora & Ajanta Chaitya & Viharas, Aurangabad dist., Maharashtra

Note: There are very few inscriptions mentioning the names of artisans such as Kanha at Pitalkhora and his disciple Balaka at Kondana Cave.

3. Kushan Architecture

• Kushan ruler Kanishka was a great patron of art.

• The architectural remains of Kushan period are Purushpur (modern Peshawar) Stupa (nowadays identified as Shahji ke Dheri), Kanishkpur town (in Kashmir), Sirmukh (a part of Taxila city), Devkula temple & Naga temple of Mathura etc.

Final Thoughts

Architecture in India has had a long journey, beginning with the Harappan Civilization, where people built strong and durable structures like the Great Bath, granaries, and reservoirs using burnt bricks.

Unlike modern constructions, they joined bricks with mud, gypsum, or bitumen instead of cement. After Harappa, the real shift came in the Mauryan period, especially under Ashoka, when stone replaced wood in architecture. The Mauryas gave us magnificent palaces, stupas like Sanchi, and rock-cut caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni, known for their polished interiors.

Later, the Post-Mauryan period saw three major phases—Sunga, Satavahana, and Kushan. The Sungas worked on stupas like Bharhut and Bodhgaya, while the Satavahanas enriched Buddhist art with the famous Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda stupas and caves at Ajanta, Karle, and Nasik. Under the Kushans, with Kanishka as patron, grand monuments like the Peshawar Stupa and temples at Mathura came into existence.