How Buddhist Beliefs Were Reflected in Art and Architecture of Ancient India and Southeast Asia

Sculpture in Southeast Asia

The sculpture of Southeast Asia was heavily influenced by Indian religions and creative styles.

Learning Objectives

Describe the Buddhist and Indian influences on Southeast Asian sculpture from 300–600 CE

Primal Takeaways

Fundamental Points

• The communities and cultures of Southeast Asia were in direct contact with India through trade routes. Several Indic kingdoms competed for dominance in the region between the 1st and eighth centuries CE, particularly the Cambodian Funan and the Burmese Mon .
• Most of the Southeast Asian sculpture of the period 300–600 CE was heavily influenced by the manner of the Gupta Empire in India, which patronized Buddhist fine art in the Greco–Buddhist style.
• Southeast Asian Buddha statues of this menses were characterized by a purity of statuary and a effeminateness in portraying the folds of clothing. Somewhat less attention was paid to the realism of artistic details, and symbolic, shell-similar curls were used to return the hair of the Buddha.
• The Indic culture of Champa flourished forth the coasts of what is now central and southern Vietnam from 500 CE onward and left an impressive artistic legacy of sandstone sculptures, both in the circular and in relief .
• In later on periods, Chinese influences predominated in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Key Terms

• Indic: Pertaining to India or its people or culture; Indian.
• Mon: A people living primarily in Myanmar (also known equally Burma) and Thailand; one of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, they are responsible for the spread of Buddhism in Burma and Thailand.

Overview: Influences on Southeast Asia

A statuary standing Buddha: Sculpted in the Mon Dwaravati style, this bronze statue from the seventh century has an idealized rather than realistic physical class, including shell-like curls for hair.

The communities and cultures of Southeast Asia were in direct contact with India through trade routes and were heavily influenced by Indian religion and fine art. The Pali and Sanskrit languages, Indian script, and Hindu epic literature—such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata—were transmitted to Southeast Asia during this menses.

Hinduism and Buddhism were brought to the region and became the principal religions proficient from about the 1st century BCE to the 13th century CE. These influences played a considerable office in shaping the art and sculpture of Southeast Asia.

Sculpture in Southeast Asia

Between the 1st and 8th centuries CE, several Indic kingdoms competed for authorisation in Southeast Asia, particularly the Cambodian Funan and the Burmese Mon. Nearly of the Southeast Asian sculpture of the period 300–600 CE was heavily influenced past the way of the Gupta Empire in India, which patronized Buddhist art in the Greco–Buddhist mode.

Buddhist fine art in Thailand was shaped both by direct contact with Indian traders and the expansion of the Monday kingdom. In later on periods, Chinese influences predominated in Vietnam, Laos, and Kingdom of cambodia, and more wooden sculpture survives from across the region.

Buddhist Sculptures

Southeast Asian Buddha statues of this period were characterized by a purity of statuary and a delicacy in portraying the folds of clothing. Symbolic, vanquish-like curls were used to render the hair of the Buddha. Somewhat less attending was paid to the realism of artistic details. A number of votive tablets and Sanskrit inscriptions are too establish in the region.

Champa

The nascence of Brahma: This unfinished pediment is a fine instance of Hindu art in the manner of Champa. The relief sculpture shows the birth of the Hindu god Brahma from a lotus growing from the belly button of Vishnu.

The Indic civilization of Champa flourished along the coasts of what is at present central and southern Vietnam from 500 CE onward. This culture left an impressive artistic legacy of sandstone sculptures, both in the circular and in relief. These sculptures expressed religious themes and synthesized elements of Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous cults. They depicted common themes, such as Hindu and Buddhist deities and icons , every bit well equally scenes from daily life.

The Cham created freestanding sandstone sculptures in the round, as well equally high and bas-relief carvings of sandstone. In general, they announced to take preferred sculpting in relief, and they excelled at sculpture in high relief .

Cham sculpture went through a marked succession of historical styles, the foremost of which produced some of the best works of Southeast Asian art. The bailiwick-matter of Cham sculpture is drawn mostly from the legends and religion of Indian culture. Many of the sculptures are representations of particular Hindu and Buddhist deities, well-nigh prominently Siva but also Lokesvara, Visnu, Brahma, Devi, and Shakti. Such sculptures may accept served a religious purpose rather than beingness purely decorative.

Painting in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian painting from 300–600 CE mostly took the form of frescoes and reflected Hindu and Buddhist themes.

Learning Objectives

Compare and dissimilarity the Hindu and Buddhist art of Southeast Asia from 300–600 CE.

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Very little Southeast Asian painting from 300–600 CE has survived to the present day, owing to the rut and humidity of tropical and subtropical weather.
• Artists worked in many perishable mediums, painting generally on woods, cloth, and palm foliage . Frescoes , ordinarily executed on cavern temple or monastery walls, are the most common form of Southeast Asian painting to have survived.
• Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced to Southeast Asia during the 1st century BCE. At that place were besides several powerful Indic kingdoms in the region, which practiced Hinduism and Buddhism and produced art that reflected their religious beliefs.
• Hindu fine art commonly depicted figures from the Hindu pantheon that includes Shiva, Vishnu, and Shakti. Buddhist art depicted images of the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas or aware beings, apsaras or celestial dancers, and tales and parables from Buddhist lore, including the Jataka tales .
• The nigh famous surviving examples of Southeast Asian- style frescoes are found in the rock fortress and palace ruins of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. These date from almost the 5th–6th centuries CE and draw graceful female figures bearing flowers.

Key Terms

• pantheon: All the gods of a particular people or religion, considered equally a group.

Southeast Asian Painting from 300–500 CE

Very little Southeast Asian painting from 300–600 CE has survived to the present day, attributable to the heat and humidity of tropical and subtropical conditions. One can only hypothesize the styles and techniques that painters would have used based on bear witness gleaned from sculptures (which are far more than durable and have survived), contemporary painting styles in India (which played a large office in influencing Southeast Asian fine art), and literary texts that talk about painting. The few examples of painting that practise survive are frescoes on cavern or temple walls.

Approaches

Artists worked in perishable mediums, painting mostly on wood, cloth, and palm foliage, none of which have withstood the rigors of the Southeast Asian climate. The almost durable forms of Southeast Asian art are sculpture and architecture in rock.

It is likely that rock sculptures, both in relief and in the round , were originally painted in bright colors, but these take worn away over the course of time, leaving the underlying stone exposed. Frescoes, usually executed on cave temple or monastery walls, were the most common form of Southeast Asian painting.

Themes

The themes most commonly depicted would probably mimic those found in gimmicky Southeast Asian sculpture—primarily religious themes from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Hinduism and Buddhism, both of which originated in the Indian subcontinent, were introduced to Southeast Asia from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE.

Southeast Asia afterward came nether the influence of several powerful Indic dynasties , which established kingdoms, skillful and spread Hinduism and Buddhism through the region, and patronized art that reflected their religious beliefs.

Hindu fine art commonly depicts figures from the Hindu pantheon, including the gods Shiva and Vishnu and the divine female creative principle or Shakti. Buddhist art depicted images of the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas or enlightened beings, apsaras or angelic dancers, and tales and parables from Buddhist lore, including the Jataka tales—stories about the previous incarnations of the Buddha, both in human and in animate being form.

It is also possible that Southeast Asian painting would have depicted court and battle scenes, animals both real and mythical, and scenes from daily life. In Thai art, the virtually frequent narrative subjects for paintings included the Jataka stories, episodes from the life of the Buddha, the Buddhist heavens and hells, and scenes of daily life. Some of the scenes are influenced by Thai sociology instead of following strict Buddhist iconography .

Frescoes in Sigiriya

The most famous surviving examples of Southeast Asian-style frescoes are to be found in the rock fortress and palace ruin of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. These date from near the 5th–6th centuries CE and describe graceful female figures bearing flowers. These figures are hypothesized to be apsaras, or women of the king's court.

The paint is applied in sweeping strokes, using more pressure on one side than the other and results in deep colors toward the border. These frescoes are reminiscent of the contemporary frescoes in the Ajanta caves in Republic of india, which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art and draw figures from the Buddhist pantheon and scenes from the Jataka tales.

Sigiriya fresco: The frescoes at Sigiriya draw graceful female person figures bearing flowers.

Northern-Style Temples in Southeast Asia

North Indian temples are often simpler and less orthodox than those in S, and all people are permitted to worship within them.

Learning Objectives

Distinguish the simplicity of northern-style Nagara temple from the complication of the southern Dravida temple

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• Republic of india'due south temple architecture is adult from the creativity of Sthapathis and Shilpis, both of whom belong to the larger community of craftsmen and artisans chosen Vishwakarma .
• A small Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum; the garbha graha or womb-bedroom in which the idol or deity is housed; a congregation hall; and sometimes an antechamber and porch.
• In contrast to the elaborate appearance of South Indian temples, most temples in North India are very simple in design. This is thought to be due, at to the lowest degree in part, to the attacks that Hindus have historically suffered from Muslims in this region.
• Darśana is a Sanskrit term meaning sight, vision, apparition, or glimpse; N Indian temples have a specific hall where devotees can receive this blessing.
• Śikhara, a Sanskrit word that ways mount peak, refers to the tallest belfry in Northern Hindu temple architecture.
• The Somnath Mandir, a temple in Gujarat, is considered to exist one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva and has a history dating as far back equally the get-go of the common area.

Key Terms

• circumambulation: The act of walking around something in a circle, especially for a ritual purpose.
• Vishwakarma: A group that is sometimes referred to equally a caste and which comprises five sub-groups (carpenters, blacksmiths, bong metalworkers, goldsmiths, and stonemasons) who describe themselves every bit descendants of the Hindu god by the same name.
• sikhara: A Sanskrit word that means mountain peak, refers to the rise belfry in the Hindu temple architecture of North India.

Introduction

India'due south temple architecture was developed from the creativity of Sthapathis and Shilpis, both of whom belong to the larger community of craftsmen and artisans called Vishwakarma. A pocket-size Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum; the garbha graha or womb-bedroom in which the idol or deity is housed; a congregation hall; and sometimes an antechamber and porch.

The garbhagriha is crowned by a tower-similar shikara. At the turn of the first millennium CE, two major types of temples existed:

1. The northern or Nagara style .
2. The southern or Dravida type of temple.

The Northern Style

In contrast to the elaborate appearance of South Indian temples, most temples in North India are very elementary in design. This is thought to be due, at least in office, to the abiding attacks Hindus take suffered from Muslims historically in this region. Due north Indian temples likewise tend to exist less orthodox than those in the south. In many cases, all castes and categories of people are permitted to enter the innermost sanctum of these temples and worship the deity personally. However, in such cases, the deities are non adorned with valuable jewelry.

The innermost heart of this blazon of temple is a sanctum where a deity (unremarkably cast in fixed stone) is nowadays, followed by a big hall where lay worshipers can stand and obtain darśana, or divine audience.

Darśana is a Sanskrit term meaning sight, vision, apparition, or glimpse, and is most usually used for visions of the divine in Hindu worship. These visions are either of a deity, a very holy person, or an artifact . An private can receive darśana, or the approving of a particular deity, within the temple, or from a saintly person, such as a great guru.

Hindu temple at Tilla Gogian: A small Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, a congregation hall, and sometimes an antechamber and porch. It too contains the garbha graha, or womb-bedroom, in which the idol or deity is housed.

In this blazon of temple, there may or may non be a number of additional corridors and halls, in addition to these aforementioned worship rooms. Nonetheless, in all cases, there volition exist infinite for devotees to circulate the temple in a clockwise fashion. In Hindu culture , this kind of circumambulation is a mark of respect. Many of these temples were destroyed during the Islamic rule of India during the Mughal Empire .

Śikhara, a Sanskrit word that ways mountain peak, refers to the tallest tower in Northern Hindu temple architecture. Because the sikhara belfry is always situated over the sanctum sanctorum, where the presiding deity is enshrined, it is the most prominent and visible office of this temple's architecture. Originally, the sikharas were homogeneous in design only, over time, secondary sikharas, which are smaller and narrower, have been plated on to the sides of many of these main sikharas.

Notable Northern Temples

The Somnath Mandir, a temple in Gujarat, is considered to exist one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva and has a history dating as far back as the beginning of the common expanse. Delhi's Chhatarpur Temple, notable for its size, is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in India.

Kedarnath Temple: Kedarnath Temple dedicated to Shiva, in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand.

Adinath Jain Temple: Sikhara in Khajuraho.

Southern-Style Temples in Southeast Asia

South India gave rise to the Dravida way of compages and is where most of the largest Hindu temples are institute.

Learning Objectives

Place the primary temple styles of the various regions of India and southeast Asia

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The main architectural styles of Indian temples are the Dravida style of South India and the Nagara style of North India.
• The Dravida style of architecture consists primarily of temples with pyramid-shaped towers constructed of sandstone, soapstone, or granite.
• Most of the largest Hindu temples are found in Southward India, and specifically in Tamil Nadu. Many large bannabs (grand stone temples) still stand in South India.
• Temple ritual tends to be orthodox and elaborate, especially in the large vedic brahmincal temples, which follow the pan-Indian Sanskrit agama scriptural traditions.
• Apart from the chief fixed stone deities , processional deities made of panchaloha (an blend of aureate, silver, copper, zinc, and tin) are bathed, dressed, and decorated with valuables and then taken out in processions for festivals throughout the year.
• The richer the temple, the more than elaborate the festivals. However, many ancient temples in small villages with swell architectural and historical heritage value languish for lack of funds for maintenance.

Cardinal Terms

• murtis: Images that express a divine spirit.
• dravida: The main architectural style in South Bharat.

Introduction

A Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism . A characteristic of virtually temples is the presence of murtis (statues) of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are normally dedicated to one primary deity, the presiding deity, and other deities associated with the main deity. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities, and others are dedicated to murtis in an iconic class .

Many temples are in key geographical points, such as on a hilltop or nearly waterfalls, caves, and rivers. The primary architectural styles in Bharat are the Nagara manner of Northward India and the Dravida style of South Bharat.

Kapaleeswarar Temple: The tower (gopuram) of the Kapaleeswarar Temple, a typical South Indian temple complex in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The Dravidian Way

Dravidian compages was an architectural idiom that emerged in the Southern part of the Indian subcontinent, or South India. This style of architecture consists primarily of temples with pyramid-shaped towers synthetic of sandstone, soapstone, or granite.

Dravidian-style temples consist nearly invariably of the three following parts, arranged in differing manners co-ordinate to the historic period in which they were executed.

1. The porches, or mantapas, which always embrace and precede the door leading to the cell.
2. Gate-pyramids, or gopuras, which are the principal features in the quadrangular enclosures that surround the more notable temples.
3. Pillared halls (chaultris or chawadis), which are used for many purposes and are the invariable accompaniments of these temples.

In addition to these, a S Indian temple usually has a tank, called the kalyani or pushkarni, to be used for sacred purposes or for the convenience of the priests. Dwellings for the priesthood are typically fastened to this kalyani.

Rituals inside these temples tend to exist orthodox and elaborate, peculiarly in the large vedic brahminical temples that follow the pan-Indian Sanskrit agama scriptural traditions. Apart from the principal fixed stone deities, processional deities made of panchaloha (an blend of gilded, argent, copper, zinc, and tin) are bathed, dressed, decorated with valuables, and taken out in processions for festivals throughout the yr.

The richer the temple, the more elaborate the festivals. However, many ancient temples in small villages with great architectural and historical heritage value languish for lack of funds for maintenance.

The Brihadishwara Temple at sunset in Thanjavur, India: The large vedic brahminical temples of southern India follow the pan-Indian Sanskrit agama scriptural traditions.

Notable Temples in South India

Most of the largest Hindu Temples are found in S Republic of india, and specifically in Tamil Nadu. Many large bannabs (g stone temples) still stand in South India. Famous Southward Indian temples include the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh, the Guruvayur temple in Kerala, the Chettikulangara Devi temple in Kerala, amongst others.

Chettikulangara Devi Temple: The Chettikulangara Devi temple in Kerala is ane of the most famous examples of South Indian architecture.

Awe-inspiring Reliefs in Southeast Asia

Sculpture and compages were intimately connected in Southeast Asia, and monumental reliefs were used to decorate the walls of buildings.

Learning Objectives

Hash out the techniques, themes, and common subjects of the monumental reliefs of Borobudur and the Khmer temples

Central Takeaways

Central Points

• Relief is a sculptural technique that gives the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the groundwork airplane .
• Relief sculptures were used to decorate the walls of buildings, particularly Hindu and Buddhist temples, and were very large.
• In Southeast Asia, this style of sculpture was greatly influenced by Indian techniques and generally portrayed religious themes with loftier iconographic precision. Other themes included court and battle scenes, scenes depicting daily life and the customs of the people, and animals both real and mythical.
• Almost ancient Southeast Asian relief sculpture was done in bas-relief , where the projecting images take shallow overall depth; withal, the kingdom of Champa in southern and central Vietnam excelled in haut-relief sculpture, which was marked by much greater depth and undercut areas.
• The most famous examples of monumental relief sculptures in Southeast Asia are to exist found in the 9th-century Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia.
• The Khmer of Cambodia were also renowned for their monumental bas-reliefs, which usually took narrative form to draw stories from history and mythology. The virtually famous example of Central khmer sculpture is the 12th-century Hindu temple of Angkor Wat .

Key Terms

• iconographic: Related to the branch of art history that studies the identification, clarification, and estimation of the content of images, including the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do and so, and other elements that are distinct from artistic style.
• bas-relief: A low or mostly flat sculpture that is carved into a wall or is in the form of a tile mounted flat to a wall, rather than a fully three-dimensional, gratuitous-standing figure.
• sunken relief: A type of sculpture largely restricted to the art of Ancient Egypt, in which the image is made by cut the sculpture itself into a flat surface.

Overview: Relief Sculpture

Relief is a sculptural technique that gives the impression that the sculpted cloth has been raised above the background plane. This is achieved by cutting into a flat surface of stone or wood, thereby lowering the field and leaving the unsculpted parts seemingly raised.

Reliefs depicting figures that are at least life-size or bigger or are attached to monuments of some sort are termed monumental reliefs past art historians, thus distinguishing them from minor metal or ivory reliefs, portable sculptures, and diptychs.

Monumental Reliefs in Southeast Asia

Awe-inspiring reliefs correspond an important facet of ancient Southeast Asian art, where sculpture and compages were intimately connected with one some other. Every bit a event, relief sculpture was mostly used to decorate the walls of buildings—peculiarly Hindu and Buddhist temples—and was achieved on a very big scale.

It was profoundly influenced by Indian styles and techniques, and information technology more often than not portrayed religious themes with high iconographic precision. Courtroom and boxing scenes, scenes depicting daily life and the community of the people, and animals (both real and mythical) were other common subjects.

About of ancient Southeast Asian relief sculpture was done in bas-relief, where the projecting images have shallow overall depth, although the kingdom of Champa in southern and central Vietnam excelled in haut-relief sculpture, which was marked by much greater depth and undercut areas.

Notable examples of monumental reliefs include Borobodur in Java, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Sanchi case in India, and many South Indian temples, including the Unakoti group of sculptures at Kailashahar, Tripura, India.

Borobudur

The most famous examples of monumental relief sculptures in Southeast Asia are to be establish in the 9th-century Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia. Built during the rein of the Indic Sailendra Dynasty , the temple is constructed to reveal many different levels of terraces, many of which are heavily ornamented with intricate bas-reliefs.

In full, there are 2,672 individual bas-reliefs, 1,460 of which describe narratives from Buddhist lore, including the birth and life of the Buddha. The remaining 1,212 are solely decorative.

Lalitavistara Deva listening to Dhamma: Particular of carved relief from Borobudur, depicting a figure from the Buddhist pantheon.

Khmer Temples

The Khmer of Cambodia were besides renowned for their monumental bas-reliefs, which unremarkably took narrative form to depict stories from history and mythology. They decorated the tympana (semi-round arched spaces to a higher place a doorway), walls, and ceilings with circuitous scenes.

The earliest surviving example of Khmer narrative bas-relief sculpture comes from the 10th-century Hindu temple of Banteay Srei, which has carved tympana and towers that depict scenes from the bully Hindu epics—the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The most famous example of Central khmer bas-relief sculpture is undoubtedly at the 12th-century Hindu temple of Angkor Wat, which has 13,000 square meters of narrative bas-reliefs on the walls of its outer gallery.

The Churning of the Sea of Milk: This episode from Hindu mythology is depicted in bas-relief on the south of the e wall of Angkor Wat's third enclosure.

Themes

The reliefs take a diverse range of themes. They describe mythical, spiritual beings from the Buddhist pantheon such as bodhisattvas , apsaras (celestial dancers or musicians), gandharvas (male person nature spirits), and asuras (demons). They also depict images of people, such equally the king and queen, princes, priests, courtiers, soldiers, servants, and commoners.

Many of these reliefs provide glimpses of scenes of daily life; for example, the relief sculptures from Borobudur describe scenes from eighth-century Java, including courtly palace life, a hermit in the forest, commoners in the village, temple and marketplace scenes, native colloquial architecture , and flora and fauna. These bas-relief sculptures have served as a reference for historians in the report of ancient Javanese architecture, weaponry, fashion, and transportation.

Male monarch and queen with their subjects: The bas relief from Borobudur Temple depicts a palace scene of a rex and queen accompanied by their subjects. It is strongly suggested that the relief depicts an bodily scene of the Sailendran royal court.

In addition, a group of 160 panels of monumental relief sculpture provides a complete analogy of the law of karma or the principles of cause and effect. At that place are depictions of both praiseworthy activities (including clemency and pilgrimage) and blameworthy activities (ranging from gossip to murder), with their corresponding rewards and punishments. These panels provide particularly complex scenes of daily life, depicting the full panorama of samsara (the countless cycle of nativity and decease).

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Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/art-of-southeast-asia/

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