Around 185 B.C., Pushyamitra Shunga, the
principal military officer of the last Mauryan
king, assassinated his ruler and assumed
control. Because the Shungas were the
successors to the Mauryans, the period
following Mauryan rule is often called the
Shunga period. However, except at the
beginning, Shunga was not as extensive as
the earlier realm but coexisted with other
polities throughout the subcontinent. The
period saw a flowering of the visual arts,
including small terracotta images, larger
stone sculptures, and architectural
monuments such as the chaitya hall at Bhaja,
the stupa at Bharhut, and the renowned Great
Stupa at Sanchi. Under Shunga patronage,
the core of the Great Stupa, thought to date
from the era of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka
(r. ca. 273–232 B.C.), was enlarged to its
present diameter of 120 feet, covered with a
stone casing, topped with a balcony and
umbrella, and encircled with a stone railing.
Four famous gateways, each about thirty-five
feet high, were carved during the first half of
the first century A.D. Decorated with images
of auspicious fertility spirits, known as
yakshas and yakshis, the gateways also
feature narratives depicting moments from
the past lives and final existence of
Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of
Buddhism. Motifs such as wheels, thrones,
and footprints are used to symbolize the
Buddha, who is not represented in human
form until later.
- (RP.051)
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