decessors of Gautama, the buddhas of antiquity, have
been incorporated in the iconographic program of the
four toranasand are represented either by stupas or
bodhi trees. Apart from scenes related to Gautama’s
life, there are others depicting everyday life, music,
dance, sports, and the like. These three early stupas, of
seminal importance in the formation of early Indian
sculpture, exemplify two opposing facets of early Bud-
dhist art: On the one hand, there is the strict adherence
to aniconic representation of the Buddha; on the other
hand, there is the unstoppable, exuberant flow of nar-
rative. The last addition to SañcStupa I occurred in
the fifth century C.E. when four Buddha images in
teaching MUDRAwere placed against its walls, facing the
entrances. Each figure is flanked by attendants.
Western Deccan
An interesting development occurred during the sec-
ond and first centuries B.C.E., when a number of Bud-
dhist cave complexes were excavated in the Western
Ghats (e.g., Bhajaand Bedsa). These consisted of one
or more caitya halls, pillared apsidal halls that con-
tained a stupa, and rock-cut cells, some of which served
as accommodation for the monks and nuns. This ar-
chitectural innovation brought the recluses into closer
contact with the stupa, which had to be included in
their daily ritual, and eventually became the focus of
worship.
An early example of this type of architecture is the
monastic complex at Bhaja(Maharashtra), which con-
sists of a large caitya hall with a monolithic stupa and
a substantial number of smaller cells. On epigraphical
and stylistic grounds, it is probable that the main phase
of the works took place between 100 and 70 B.C.E. This
is possibly the earliest caitya hall of this region. It is di-
vided into three naves by slightly inward-sloping oc-
tagonal columns, thus providing a circumambulatory
passage around the stupa. The light penetrates from the
door above, which opens a horseshoe window, one of
the many elements that derive from wooden architec-
ture (the horseshoe window is part of the door). This
basic model was followed in Buddhist rock-cut archi-
tecture of Western India until the seventh century C.E.
Gandhara region
Buddhism was introduced in the Bactro-Gandhara re-
gions at the time of As ́oka. By around 130 B.C.E. the
S ́akas took control of this area in present-day Pakistan
and Afghanistan, and at the turn of the common era,
the Parthians moved in from Iran. One of the legacies
of the S ́aka-Parthian domination was the terrace-
stupa. The circular base disappeared, to be replaced by
a square terrace whose basement was adorned with
classical elements inherited from the Hellenistic world:
columns, pilasters, entablatures, and niches. In the first
century C.E. the Kushan dynasty established its power
over the territory of the S ́aka-Parthians, and in the
wake of their political influence Buddhism spread, not
only throughout their territory, but also to adjacent
countries, including Central Asia and China. By this
time the MAHAYANAdoctrine had introduced a new
conception of the Buddha, in which he was seen as the
epitome of wisdom, truth, and compassion, and as
such, his person was worthy of worship. This led to a
crucial artistic development: the almost contempora-
neous creation of the Buddha image in the two main
cultural centers of the Kushan empire, the Gandhara
region, and Mathura(Uttar Pradesh), the southern
capital of the empire.
Among the numerous stupas and monastic estab-
lishments built in this period is the second-century
terrace-stupa at Guldara in Afghanistan, a massive con-
struction resting on an imposing square base adorned
with pilasters, and a substantial superstructure now ru-
ined. Also from this period is the large monastic estab-
lishment at Takht-i-Bahi in Pakistan, whose stupa is
completely destroyed but for its base. Its elongated ap-
pearance, however, can be reconstructed by examining
smaller stupas found in the region.
By this time the primordial hemispherical stupa had
developed into a towerlike monument by way of mul-
tiplying the layers of the base, elongating the andainto
a domelike cylinder, and stretching the chattravalito
a considerable length, either by multiplying the chat-
tras or compressing them into a compact conical spire.
Another innovation was the tower-stupa, which
plays a determinant role in the evolution of the stupa
into the East Asian pagoda. The massive cross-shaped
foundations of the famous Kanishka tower-stupa at
Shahji-ki-Dheri, near Peshawar, are still preserved. Ac-
cording to the reports of Chinese pilgrims, this build-
ing was characterized by superimposed wooden
“stories” with cornices, windows, and niches, as well
as a copper mast carrying thirteen copper umbrellas.
It was probably from this model that the Chinese
pagoda evolved.The Deccan: Amaravatland Nagarjunakonda
In most of peninsular India and Sri Lanka, the stupa
kept its hemispherical shape and continued to be
erected on a circular platform. Among the numerousSTUPA