Architecture and Sculpture

Maurya Art

Clear evidence of the progress of art in Bihar begins to become available from the Maurya period (around 4th century BC). From the point of view of historical/ archaeological evidence, the Mauryan period is considered to bring the historians from darkness to light. The artistry of architecture and sculpture had reached a developed stage during the Maurya period. Ashoka’s pillars, which have lifelike animal figures and stone carvings, are evidence of a mature art form. The statue of Yakshini found from Didarganj is the best example of sculpture art of this period.

• In the Maurya period, the stone was polished and made smooth. This type of glass-like shine on a stone is not seen in any other period.
• About 20 monolithic pillars were established by Ashoka in different parts of the country for the propagation of Dhamma. Some parts of their top part are in the shape of bell, which Indian scholars call inverted lotus. Round Aand or Circular throat are marked on it and four animals and four small Chakra are marked on some posts. Lion, horse, elephant and bull are sitting on the post.
• Samples of Mauryan architecture have been found in the ancient ruins of Pataliputra in Patna, in which impregnable methods of rampart- protection with 80-pillared assembly hall and amazing workmanship of woodwork have been adopted.
• The samples of stone art can be prominently seen in the hills of Barabar located in Jehanabad district near Gaya.
• The remains of a huge hall with eighty pillars have been found from Kumbrar in the southern part of Patna. It was probably part of an auditorium or palace. Statues of two naked men have been found from Lohanipur (Patna), which may have been the statues of Jain Tirthankaras. It is built in the Kayotsarga posture of the Jain style.
• On the stone pillar discovered in Rampurwa, the Natua bull (Saand) is standing in Lalit mudra.
• The monolithic pillars of Ashoka have been found in Bihar from Lauria-Nandangarh (West Champaran), Lauria-Areraj (East Champaran). Rampurva (West Champaran) and Basadh (Kolhua) at Muzaffarpur.
• The most famous specimen of Mauryan art is the statue of Didarangaj Yakshi which is currently preserved in the ‘Bihar Museum.
• These circular pillars left in the form of remnants have been made by cutting a single rock of stone and they have been made smooth and shiny by bright polish.

 Gupta Arts

• The development of art continued in the Shunga and Kushan periods, but the samples of this period do not reveal the artistic quality of the Mauryan period. In the Gupta period architecture again developed on a large scale, inspired by the style developed in the region of Sarnath and influenced by Mathura art. Along with this, many forms of architecture and sculpture have come into existence from
• In Nalanda, a huge statue (about 75 feet) of stucco (Gachchkari) made of lime and clay is a sample of Gupta-era architectural art, which is seen in temple number-3 here.
• The 7.5 feet high bronze statue of Buddha found at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur is one of the earliest masterpieces of the Gupta period. There are transparent clothes on this idol, which are sticking to the body. Presently this idol is in the museum of Birmingham (England). This idol is an excellent example of Gupta metal craft, Many Gupta period clay idols have been found in Bihar, whose beauty is unmatched.
• Samples of Gupta sculpture art have been obtained from places like Rohtas, Bhojpur, Nalanda, Rajgir, Gaya, Vaishali, Sultanganj, Patna etc. The Gupta art was influenced by the Mathura style and shows more influence of Hinduism than Buddhism.
• Prominent among the Gupta temples are the Great Temple of Nalanda, the brick-built Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya and the Mandaleshwar Temple, also known as the Mundeshwari Temple, situated on a hill at Paura in Kaimur (Bhabhua) district.
• The best example of the Mughal architectural style is the tomb of Shah Daulat at Manet, built in 1617 AD. The construction of this mausoleum was done by Ibrahim Khan Kakar, the governor of Bihar, during the reign of Jahangir, The main building of this mausoleum follows the Char Bagh style of the Mughal period mausoleums.
• With the arrival of European traders in India, the influence of European architectural style was also felt on Bihar.

Pala Art

In the Pala era (ninth to tenth centuries), an advanced style of black basalt stone and bronze sculpture developed in Bihar, which can be traced to Bengal. Special carvings were also done on the front part of the body of the idols.

A decisive contribution to the development of this style of making bronze images was made by Dhiman and his son Vithal.

He was a resident of Nalanda and a contemporary of Dharmapala and Devapala, the two great Pala rulers of the 9th century.

The Pala era bronze statues are cast in the mould itself. Many of their samples have been obtained from Nalanda and Kukrihar (near Gaya).

The samples obtained from Nalanda mainly belong to the time of Devpal, while the sculptures obtained from Kukrihar belong to the later period.

The Pala period statues obtained from the hill of Munger district are an excellent specimen of artistic beauty which are made of black basalt stone. There is predominance of Buddhist idols in it. After that there are idols of Vishnu. Such idols were mainly made for decoration on the walls.

A classic example of artistic beauty is a panel on which a woman is shown in a sitting posture, in this, her right foot is placed on the left foot and the body is bowed. With a mirror in one hand, she is looking at her form and with the fingers of the other hand, she is filling vermilion.

Some excellent pottery of this period has been obtained from the remains of Vikramshila Mahavihara at Antichak near Bhagalpur.

Medieval Art

At the end of the 12th century, Bihar was occupied by the Turks. The specific contribution of Turk. Afghan and Mughal rulers remained in the field of architecture. The most important building of the Ottoman period is the mausoleum of Malik Ibrahim or Malik Baya at Biharsharif,

The Afghan style is represented by the tomb of Sher Shah at Sasaram. Sher Shah’s tomb is one of the best examples of Afghan architecture in India. Its construction work was completed in 1535 1545. This octagonal shaped mausoleum situated in the middle of the lake is built on a square platform. This is the last and best example of a series of octagonal mausoleums.

The best example of Mughal style in Bihar is Shah Daulat’s mausoleum at Maner, built by Ibrahim Khan Kakar, the governor of Bihar in 1617 AD It is built of red stone and is influenced by the synthetic style developed under Akbar.

The buildings of Patna Collectorate and Patna College are influenced by the Dutch style. Padri ki Haveli and Bankipur Church buildings in Patna City reflect the Gothic style.