The next important stage in the growth of art is associated with the name of Gandhara in the north-west. By this time the worship of the image of Buddha had become common. After the Greek invasions and during the period of the Kushanas, many artists from West Asia had settled down in the north – west of India. They were deeply influenced by the Graeco-Roaman art. Mahayana Buddhism encouraged image worship. The Kushana kings, particularly Kanishaka, encouraged the Gandhara artists to sculpture themes from Buddha’s life and the Jatakas. The distinctive school of art which grew here is called the Gandhara school of art. A large number of the images of the Buddha and the Bodhisattavas were produced.
Another school of art to develop in the early centuries of the Christian era is that of Mathura. From the beginning of the Christian era, Mathura became an important center of artistic activities and the figures of the Buddha and the Bodhisattavas were produced there. The fine qualities of indigenous art traditions were preserved and improved upon by the Mathura sculptors. The images produced here became the models for the succeeding generations of artists.
This was also the period of the growth of art in developed under the Satavahana kings. Like the stupa at Sanchi, there was a great stupa in Amaravati in the lower Godavari valley. The stupa has disappeared but many of its fine pieces are still intact in various museums. Many bas-relief medallions and paneled friezes decorated the stupa. These, like the stupa at Sanchi, depict events from the life of the Buddha and the Jataka stories. One of these depicts the story of the taming of the elephant by the Buddha. A rogue-elephant was let loose to kill the Buddha while he was walking along the streets of Rajagriha. The panel shows the elephant rushing through the streets, the panic it caused, the reactions of men and women and finally the elephant kneeling before the Buddha. The climax, is portrayed subtly and Pallavas of the Deccan and southern India added magnificent monuments, both caves and structural temples.
Both the rock-cut and structural monuments of the Pallavas are magnificent specimens of architecture. The Mandapas at Mahabalipuram are excavated halls with finely carved pillars and panels.
The splendid panel called the ‘Descent of the Ganga’ in Mahabalipuram is a unique rock-cut sculpture. The story of Bhagiratha’s penance to bring down the Ganga is the theme of the panel. The Rathas of Mahabalipuram are well known. The ‘Ratha’ is a shrine carved out of a single rock and it looks like a structural temple. These Rathas are named after the Pandavas. When you look at these Rathas, you find that each one of them is different in shape and size.
