A Brief Discussion on Buddhist Influence on Indian Religious Architecture

Great ancient civilizations often were associated with great built forms; it seems as if the latter validates the former. But there must be some compelling reasons to erect those structural and technological wonders (even for the modern men), besides mere daily sheltering. For the ancient Indian people, religious worship and pursuits fulfilled this requirement.

When King Asoka of the Mauryan Dynasty ascended the throne in 274 B.C., the course of the Indian history was set in a definite direction. Asoka, who was a faithful Buddhist follower himself, decided that his people should accept Buddhism as well. Already after over two hundred years of maturation, Buddhism had become substantial and profound enough to satisfy the religious needs of King Asoka’s countrymen. Therefore, the country was non-resistant to accept Buddhism as the state religion in 255 B.C. Throughout world history, different religions had used the same mediums to convey their sacred messages: the arts. Although ancient Indians had never given architecture the position parallel to that of other arts, it nonetheless faithfully described Indian religious culture and its civilization better than it was probably intended to. And Indian architecture together with its religious thought were later to permeate almost every corner of the Asian continent. In its own country, Buddhism of the Asoka period had produced several unique built forms: the stupas (or the burial mounts), the monolithic pillars (the capitaled columns), the rock-cut architecture (the Chaitya halls and the Viharas or monasteries).

The stupas, sacred mounds commemorative of the Buddha, took the simple form of a hemisphere with fence around it. Taking the Great Stupa of Sanchi as an example, though simple in form, its religious implication was profound. At the peak of the mound, the umbrella-stick-like Chhatrayashti penetrates through the entire volume of the mound, and then deep into the ground until it touches ground water, an element often symbolized as life in some Asian mythologies. Sacred ashes was placed on top of the mound, thus the Chhatrayashti connects death and life at the same time. Energy and power were believed to generate from this pole. Besides the pole, the layout of the four entrances (each defined by a Torana or gateway) also had Buddhist meanings. If connected, they would depict the sacred Buddhist symbol, the . Another object of interest, is of course the Lion Pillar that stands in front of the main entrance. The four lions that were featured on the capital, like the ox, were sacred in Buddhism. Supported by the lions, is the “Wheel of Order,” which “rolls in the Heavens,” according to Buddhist scriptures.

Another significant architectural achievement fostered by Buddhism was the rock-cut forms. This includes the Chaitya Halls and the Viharas. The Chaitya Halls, or the prayer halls, took the form of a large vaulted interior space having an curved end cut deep into the rock, and two colonnades on the longitudinal sides. A stupa was always placed at the curved end. Buddhist rituals were performed in the “nave” defined by the colonnades. The Viharas, or the monasteries, would typically consist of a square central court, and the individual cells were arranged around the court. The curiosity raised is then, given the technical difficulty and the laborious nature in this type of deductive construction, why didn’t the Indians instead erect freestanding buildings that would satisfy the same purpose? Maybe King Asoka thought that only an everlasting rock monument would help the newly inaugurated state religion to take root in his people.

Buddhism had made its Indian followers change their mind in selecting building materials, from wood to stone, from temporary to everlasting. It also fostered several unique built forms: the stupas, the pillars, and the rock-cut forms. If architecture tells the story of Indian civilization, then the discipline which it received from Buddhism could not be ignored.