The classic Gupta proportions and spiritually
charged detail appealed to patrons of Buddhist arts
throughout India. Art and artists from Sarnath were
exported especially to the Deccan and southern India,
as well as to Orissa and northeastern India. From there
the style spread to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Art
and artists from Mathura, the northernmost center of
the Gupta style, were exported north toward Kashmir
and the Gandhara region. From there the style spread
through Central Asia along the silk routes into west-
ern China, where it ultimately influenced Buddhist arts
of the Tang dynasty (618–907).
Painting and sculpture at Ajanta(fifth century
C.E.) and related sites
New rock-cut architecture was excavated beginning in
the fifth century, serving both Buddhist and Hindu
worship needs. The best-known group of Buddhist
caitya halls and viharas is at Ajantaon the eastern
Deccan (Maharashtra, latter half of the fifth century).
Dry-fresco murals on many of the walls portray the
previous lives (jatakas) of the Buddha, as well as Bud-
dhist saints and divine beings. Figures seem to glow in
the dark interior because of the use of brilliant color
and white highlights. Although the images use courtly,
sophisticated compositions, they evoke a strong spiri-
tual presence. Remarkable for their rich modeling and
palatial imagery, these paintings also provided models
for designs in Sri Lanka and especially for the murals
of rock-cut halls in Central Asia and China for the next
three centuries.
Imitations of wooden facades and high-relief sculp-
tures at Ajantacut into the caitya halls and vihara walls
also carried forward the Gupta opulence into ever
more elaborate displays. The style and skill of the
painting and sculpture at Ajantacontinued to flourish
in India in works dedicated to Hinduism, Jainism, and
Buddhism. Auran ̇gabad, also in Maharashtra, was an
important site for both rock-cut and structural Bud-
dhist architecture, as well as relief sculpture. Buddhist
and Hindu rulers excavated the long cliff at Elloraon
the Deccan from the seventh to the ninth centuries.
Final phase of Buddhist art in India (sixth to
twelfth centuries C.E.)
Buddhist structural architecture, sculpture, and
manuscript illumination continued in India until
the twelfth century. Two major sites were
Nagarjunakonda on the Deccan plateau and Nalanda
in the northeast. Both rock-cut and structural com-
plexes served as universities for Buddhist scholars
from all over Asia and as monasteries for monks and
nuns. The Gandhara region and Kashmir in north-
western India remained strong producers of distinc-
tive arts that combined the humanistic Gandhara ideal
with Gupta spiritual sensibilities.Buddhist stone and metal-cast sculptures, as well as
manuscript illustrations, of the Pala and Sena dynas-
ties in northeastern India (eighth to twelfth centuries)
are well known for their supreme elegance and fine de-
tail. Usually called the Pala style, this lithe and refined
tradition was exported to Burma, Java, Nepal, Tibet,
and China, especially in service of the Mahayana and
VAJRAYANABuddhist traditions. By the beginning ofINDIA, BUDDHISTART INBuddha S ́akyamuni Becoming Enlightened,Bodh Gaya, India,
about 850, black schist. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Re-
produced by permission. This Pala style sculpture illustrates the
moment when the Buddha became enlightened as he sat beneath
the Bodhi tree—notice the leaves arranged at the top of the
throne—and touched the earth (bhumispars ́a-mudra) to affirm that
through his many lives he had achieved moral perfection. This
style influenced the Mahayana and Vajrayana arts throughout
South, Southeast, and East Asia.