The Gupta rulers were great patrons
of art and architecture and encouraged in producing magnificent temples, sculptures and paintings that reflected philosophical, religious and
artistic values. The Gupta art and architecture is very much diverse in its design, style and characteristic features. Gupta period can be
referred to as the Golden Age of Indian Architecture. Though Gupta rulers followed Hinduism, they even supported Buddhist and Jain cultures.
They were the first rulers to build Hindu cave temples in India. The rock cut cave temple architecture in India reached its peak during Gupta
period.
The Gupta period provided the base for classical art and architecture in India, influencing the style of architecture of later dynasties.
Architectural developments like temple designs of regional dynasties also made use of Gupta innovations. The styles of Gupta architecture and
sculpture also had an influence on Southeast Asian architecture, as can be seen in Angkor Wat temple and many other temples in this region.
This demonstrates the widespread influence of Gupta's craftsmanship.
Gupta Architecture
The Gupta architecture made a transition from wooden temple structure to stone temple structure that shows the advancements in
construction techniques and materials used, which in turn laid the foundation for future Indian temple architecture styles. The main deity
in the temple is depicted large at the centre, surrounded by smaller subordinate deities. The Gupta architecture mainly includes rock cut cave
temples, structural temples and Buddhist Stupas.
Cave Temples
- Buddhist rock cut temples of Gupta period are located at Ajanta, Maharashtra and at Bagh, Madhya Pradesh.
- Guptas also built first Hindu cave temples at Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh. These are Vaishnava temples.
Structural Temples
- In North India, Guptas were first to build Hindu structural temples. In India, Ikshvakus were first rulers to build Hindu structural
temples at Nagarjunakonda (Vijayapuri).
- Some of the temples of Gupta period are given below
- Kankali Devi temple at Jabalpur
- Vishnu and Varaha temples at Eran, Madhya Pradesh
- Parvati and Mahadeva temples at Nachna Kuthara, Madhya Pradesh
- Dasavatara temple at Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
- Ruined temple at Bhitargaon near Kanpur
- Shikhara (or Nagara) style temple architecture got emerged during Gupta Architecture period. Sikhara, which represents a vertical
axis, symbolised a link between the earthly and the divine.
Buddhist Stupas
- Some of the famous Gupta period Buddhist Stupas are Chaukhandi Stupa and Dhamek Stupa, both located in Sarnath, UP, Ratnagiri Stupa in
Odisha and Mirpur Khas Stupa, also called Kahu-Jo-Darro, in Sind province of Pakistan.
Gupta temples and sculptures are famous for their detailed carvings, which reflect the artistic sophistication of the period.
These carvings demonstrated graceful human figures, symbolic images and complex patterns that captured mythological and spiritual themes.
The carvings frequently represented celestial beings, mythological stories and scenes from sacred texts, gods and goddesses that describe the
religious and cultural narratives of that time.
Gupta Sculpture
The naturalistic modeling of human figures in sculptures of Gupta period depicts calm expressions that symbolize divinity and spirituality.
The symbolic hand gestures, called Mudras, are important features in the spiritual figures and the religious deities. These Mudras convey
different meanings like peace, blessing, protection or enlightenment. The Gupta sculptures are mainly found in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
- We can find a huge stone made man-boar (Varaha) image at Udayagiri hills, Madhya Pradesh in which Vishnu is shown as Varaha.
Guptas were Vaishnavites, who worshipped the Boar.
- We can find Copper statue of Buddha at Sultanganj in Bihar. The height of the image is seven and half feet and weight is of 1 ton. Right
now it is found in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
- Seated Buddha of Sarnath, UP is one more sculpture that depicts Buddha preaching his First Sermon.
- Standing Buddha of Mathura, UP is made of red sandstone.
- The Garhwas temple complex in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, consists of many Gupta period sculptures and relics, which also
includes a notable figure of 10 avatars of Hindu god Vishnu.
Gupta Art
Gupta Period Art mainly includes Paintings, Clay Figurines, Red Ware and Pottery of which Paintings are very important. The Paintings
demonstrated a high level of technical skill and spiritual depth. The Gupta artists were exceptionally good in fresco painting using
bright colors, fine lines and delicate shading to describe the scenes from the life of Buddha and Buddhist Jatakas. The legacy of Gupta
period paintings had an influence on the art traditions of India as well as Southeast Asia for centuries.
- Gupta empire paintings are found in the cave of Bagh in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
- Paintings of Gupta period are also found at Ajanta caves (World Heritage Center) in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.
In
Ajanta caves, we can see unique combination of architecture like monuments, sculpture, paintings all belonging to Buddhism. 31 caves are cut
off in a hill of horseshoe shape within a range of 500 m. Some of them are Viharas and some are Chaityas. In some caves, we find beautiful
Fresco or Mural paintings, which are painted on walls and ceilings.
The paintings of Ajanta were taken from Jatakas (500 in number, literature), part of Sutta Pitaka. The caves were not built in one
period. Earliest caves, 9 and 10, belong to Satavahana period. The last caves that were built,
belong to 8th Century AD. Some of the caves belong to the Gupta period and shows the magnificence of Gupta empire art and architecture.
Quiz
- The Buddha statue belonging to Gupta period found at Sultanganj in Bihar, is made out of?
- Bronze
- Copper
- Iron
- Gold
Answer
Ans: B
- The Gupta architecture of Rock cut cave temples at Bagh in Madhya Pradesh belongs to which religion?
- Buddhism
- Hinduism
- Jainism
- Ajivika Religion
Answer
Ans: A
