The Forbidden Art

Presented by : Abhijeet kumar BArch xth sem Kits ramtek.

 Introduction History
o Origin of buddhist architecture o Form, shapes & architectural

elements used

Present scenario

Initials in Buddhist Architecture

Indus valley civilization have its great impact on every emergence of architectural style in India and so on Buddhist architecture. Though there is no evidences of temles in Indus valley civilization but buddhist architecture has its resmblance with the architectural elements used during vedic period.

Distinctive Features of Buddhist Architecture

Stambhas
Viharas

Lats
Monasteries

Chaityas

Caves

The square base represents earth The hemispherical dome/vase represents water The conical spire represents fire The upper lotus parasol and the crescent moonrepresents air The sun and the dissolving point represents theelement of space.

Stupas .

Stupas typical layout

Outer terrace
Paved terrace Dome

Elements of stupas
Chhatravali or Umbrella sticks Harmika Anda or Egg Stambha or Pillar Torana or Gateway

"The shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace; and the base is his throne."
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

(paddy heap shape) GHANTAKARA (bell shape) BUBBLAKARA (bubble shape) GHARHAAKARA (pot shape)
DHANYAKARA

PADMAKARA AMALTAKA

Shapes of the stupas goes on changing as each one were having its own way to represent Stupa at sanchi Stupa at chedi , china

Stupa at myanmar
Stupa at islamabad

Stupa at ruwanwelsia , srilanka

Stambhas or Lats .

In the second century b.c. a standard plan for a vihara was established. It could be either structural, which was more common in the south of India, or rock-cut like the chaitya-grihas of the Deccan. It consisted of a walled quadrangular court, flanked by small cells. The front wall was pierced by a door, the side facing it in later periods often incorporated a shrine for the image of the Buddha. The cells were This basic layout was still similar to fitted with rock-cut platforms for beds that of the communal space of an and pillows. The unwanted rock was ashrama ringed with huts in the excavated, leaving the carved cave early decades of Buddhism structure.

In the early decades of Buddhism the wandering monks of the Sangha, dedicated to asceticism and the monastic life, had no fixed abode. During the rainy season (cf. vassa) they stayed in temporary shelters. These dwellings were simple wooden constructions or thatched bamboo huts.

Viharas originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season.

Architecturally they show similarities to Roman design concepts of column and arch. The monks built many structures which were carved out of a single massive rock, done with hammer and chisel, bare hands. These were known as cave temples. About 1200 such cave temples were built throughout India. The most important are at Karle, Ajanta, Ellora, Udaigiri, Aurangabad and Nasik. They were rectangular halls, with finely polished interior walls. There were a number of well proportioned pillars, generally around 35, and a semicircular roof. Opposite one entrance stood a stupa. All the pillars have capitals on them, with carvings of a kneeling elephant mounted on bell-shaped bases.
The earliest rock-cut chaityas, similar to free-standing ones, consisted of an inner circular chamber with pillars to create a circumambulatory path around the stupa and an outer rectangular hall for the congregation of the devotees. Over the course of time the wall separating the stupa from the hall was removed to create an apsidal hall with a colonnade around the nave and the stupa.

Chaityas were the sacred spots ,temples as well as assembly halls created out of particular demand of Buddhist religion..