Early Architecture

Key Concepts

Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic Culture, Megaliths, Mauryan Empire, Ashoka, Achaemenid Empire, Persepolis, Rock-cut architecture, Ajivikas, Stupas, Indo-Greeks, Hellenistic influence, Capitals (architectural).

Indus Valley Civilization (Bronze Age)

• Time Period: Middle of the Bronze Age in the northwest of undivided India. Divided into early, mature, and late phases. Declined around 1700-1500 BCE due to environmental changes (floods, climate change).
• Key Features:
  • Uniformity: Standardized measures and weights across a large area.
  • Urban Planning: Large urban centers built with uniform-sized bricks. Grid iron layouts (streets at right angles). Sophisticated drainage and sewage systems.
  • Examples: Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Rakhigarhi (India), Lothal (Gujarat - port site).
  • Architecture: Modularity and massive scale. Bricks of standard size. Centralized control.
  • Drainage Systems: Neatly laid out, brick-lined, often concealed with inspection points (manholes).
  • Artifacts: Toys with wheels, red ware with black slip, characteristic seals with undeciphered script, depictions of local fauna (rhinos, elephants, buffalos), sacrificial posts with bulls.
• Governance: Theories suggest a republic-like system with broader participation than a monarchy.
• Connections: Strong connections with the Iranian Plateau (Elamites) and the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Vedic Culture

• Origins: Indo-European nomadic peoples who migrated from the Caucasus mountains in Europe into the Gangetic plain (North India) in multiple waves after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Characteristics:
  • Linguistic Group: Primarily defined by linguistic connections across Europe and India (Indo-European languages).
  • Nomadic Lifestyle: Itinerant pastoralists whose wealth was measured in cattle.
  • Religion: Worshipped gods in the heavens, appeased through sacrifices.
  • Architecture: Limited architectural record due to their nomadic lifestyle.
• Shulba Sutras: Texts detailing the construction of altars of various shapes for sacrifices. These texts contain the beginnings of Vedic geometry.
• Interaction with Autochthonous Cults: Interaction with pre-existing cults worshipping serpent deities (Nagas) and forest deities (Yakshas). Johannes Bronkhorst's "Greater Magadha" explores these interactions.

Megaliths (South India)

• Time Period: 1500 BCE to 300 BCE.
• Location: Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
• Types: Menhirs (free-standing rock columns), dolmens (uprights supporting a flat slab).
• Threat: Under threat due to encroachment and disappearing rapidly. Shree Kumar Menon has done extensive research on these sites.

Rise of Kingdoms and New Religions

• Janapadas/Maha Janapadas: Small republics in the Indian subcontinent around the 6th-5th century BCE.
• Emergence of Buddhism and Jainism: Birth of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira in eastern India during this period. Depictions of both figures emerged several centuries later, sharing a common source.

Achaemenid Empire (Iran)

• Key Figures: Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes.
• Capital: Persepolis.
• Apadana: Large hall at Persepolis used for receiving people from different parts of the empire during Nowruz.
• Destruction: Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenid Empire in 327 BC, burning down palaces. Only stone platforms and columns survived.
• Legacy:
  • Stone-cut Architecture: Tradition of rock-cut funerary monuments (e.g., Naqsh-e Rustam).
  • Monumental Writing: Royal edicts on stone in prominent places (e.g., Behistun inscription).
  • Columns with Animal Capitals: Distinctive architectural feature.

Mauryan Empire

• Chandragupta Maurya: Founder of the Mauryan Empire, contemporary with the remnants of the Achaemenid Empire and the new Greek colonizers (Indo-Greeks, Seleucids, Bactrians). Known as Sandrocottus in Greek sources.
• Ashoka: Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, embraced Buddhism after the war of Kalinga.
• Ashoka's Influence:
  • Edicts and Columns: Erected pillars across India with inscriptions (e.g., Lauriya Nandangarh, Lumbini).
  • Borrowing from Achaemenids: Adopted monumental writing and column design with animal capitals. The four lions capital is now the Emblem of the Republic of India.
• Inspiration: Mauryan columns were inspired by the columns at Persepolis.

Rock-Cut Architecture (Mauryan Period)

• Barabar Caves (Bihar): Excavated caves for Ajivika ascetics, commissioned by the Maurya dynasty.
• Inspiration: Rock-cut architecture likely inspired by Achaemenid tombs.
• Lomas Rishi Cave: Most celebrated cave with an entrance resembling a thatched hut, featuring curvilinear roof line and wooden dentals. Interior surfaces are polished. Contains a small round hut inside the living rock.
• Significance: Replication of a hut housing a holy man, a theme that persists in later Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monuments.
• Kondivate Caves (Maharashtra): Similar arrangement with a long assembly hall and a hut built in stone containing a stupa (symbolizing the presence of the Buddha).

Post-Mauryan Period

• Indo-Greeks: Embraced Buddhism, influenced by Ashoka's missionary efforts.
• Hellenistic Influence: Greek coinage, deities, and architectural elements (e.g., columns with ornate vegetal capitals).
• Stupas: Construction of stupas and bilingual inscriptions of Ashoka in Greek and Aramaic/Kharoshti.
• Ai Khanoum (Afghanistan): Bactrian site with Greek settlement, featuring hybrid column capitals.
• Patliputra: Excavation of similar capitals in a palace, likely a Mauryan palace.

Conclusion

The early architecture of India was shaped by a complex interplay of indigenous developments and external influences. The Indus Valley Civilization established a foundation of urban planning and standardized construction. The Vedic culture introduced new religious practices and geometric principles. The Mauryan Empire, particularly under Ashoka, adopted elements of Achaemenid architecture, including monumental writing and column design, while also pioneering rock-cut architecture. The subsequent Indo-Greek period brought Hellenistic influences, further enriching the architectural landscape. These early phases laid the groundwork for the diverse and sophisticated architectural traditions that would flourish in India in later centuries.