Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings

The One Thing

Between c. 600 BCE and 600 CE, urbanisation, state formation, trade and social change encouraged new religious and philosophical developments. Buddhism, Jainism and changing Brahmanical traditions expressed ideas about ethics, devotion, karma, rebirth and liberation through texts, rituals, monuments, images and inscriptions.

Chronology

Who and What

• Brahmanical tradition: Religious traditions centred on the authority of the Vedas, Brahmanical rituals, social duties and ideas of sacrifice, karma and rebirth. These traditions adapted rather than disappearing, incorporating philosophical reflection, devotional worship, temple building, new religious narratives and local deities.
• Upanishadic thought: Philosophical ideas concerning the self, ultimate reality, knowledge, rebirth and liberation. The Upanishads often questioned the importance of external rituals.
• Karma: The belief that a person’s actions influence future experiences and rebirth.
• Samsara: The continuing cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
• Moksha: Liberation from samsara, understood differently by different philosophical traditions.
• Buddhism: A tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, teaching the causes of suffering and the path to its end.
• The Four Noble Truths: The Buddhist teachings that life involves suffering, suffering has causes, suffering can end, and the Noble Eightfold Path leads to its end.
• Noble Eightfold Path: The path of right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.
• Nirvana: In Buddhist thought, the extinguishing of desire and freedom from suffering and rebirth.
• Sangha: The Buddhist monastic community of monks and nuns, and more broadly the community of followers. The sangha followed disciplinary rules and depended substantially on lay supporters for food, clothing and other necessities.
• Vinaya Pitaka: The collection containing rules and procedures for the Buddhist monastic community.
• Jainism: A tradition teaching liberation through strict ethical discipline, non-violence, self-control and the removal of karmic bondage.
• Mahavira: The twenty-fourth tirthankara in Jain tradition and a major teacher who strengthened Jain ideas and practices.
• Ahimsa: The principle of non-violence towards all living beings, particularly important in Jainism and influential in Buddhism and Brahmanical traditions.
• Tirthankara: A Jain spiritual teacher who shows the path to liberation.
• Stupa: A mound-like Buddhist monument, usually containing relics or commemorating the Buddha or important events. Early stupas were burial mounds; Buddhist stupas became sacred monuments associated with relics, memory and pilgrimage.
• Relic: A physical remain or object associated with a revered person, often placed inside a stupa.
• Anda: The hemispherical dome forming the main structural mass of a stupa and symbolising the burial mound.
• Harmika: A small square enclosure placed above the stupa’s dome.
• Yasti and chhatra: The central pillar and umbrella-like discs above a stupa, often symbolising spiritual authority and protection.
• Vedika: A railing surrounding a stupa or sacred area.
• Torana: An elaborately carved gateway leading into a stupa’s sacred enclosure.
• Pradakshina: The ritual practice of walking clockwise around a sacred object or monument, keeping the stupa on the right.
• Chaitya: A Buddhist prayer hall, often containing a stupa and sometimes cut directly into rock.
• Vihara: A residence or monastery for Buddhist monks and nuns, commonly arranged around cells and a central courtyard or hall.
• Rock-cut architecture: Buildings and sculptures carved directly into natural rock rather than assembled from separate materials.
• Temple: A sacred building associated with a deity and worship. Early temples developed into more elaborate structures during this period.
• Garbhagriha: The innermost shrine or sanctum of a temple, where the principal deity’s image was placed.
• Bhakti: Personal devotion to a chosen deity, expressed through worship, prayer, offerings, songs and emotional attachment.
• Deities and iconography: Representations of gods and goddesses through recognisable forms, symbols, gestures, objects and stories.
• Patronage: Financial, political or material support for religious institutions and buildings from rulers, merchants, guilds, officials and devotees.
• Donative inscriptions: Written records identifying donors and describing contributions to monuments, monasteries or religious communities.
• Ashoka: A Mauryan ruler who supported Buddhism after the Kalinga war and used inscriptions to communicate dhamma, moral conduct and respect for different religious groups.
• Dhamma: Ashoka’s ethical policy, emphasising non-violence, compassion, respect for elders, proper treatment of servants and tolerance among religious communities.
• Gandhara and Mathura schools: Important artistic traditions producing images of the Buddha and other figures through different materials, regional styles and cultural influences.
• Sanchi: One of the best-preserved Buddhist sites, containing stupas, gateways, railings, monasteries and sculptures developed over several centuries.
• Amaravati stupa: A stupa in the Krishna valley decorated with detailed relief sculptures and associated with important Buddhist activity in the Deccan.
• Karle: The location of a major rock-cut chaitya with a stupa at the end, a vaulted roof and rows of pillars.
• Ajanta caves: Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls decorated with paintings and sculptures, many associated with the Vakataka period.

Causes and Consequences

• The rise of cities, states, long-distance trade and social differentiation created new social conditions.

These developments encouraged questioning of established religious and social practices and supported the growth of Buddhism, Jainism and other religious-philosophical traditions.

• Brahmanical traditions had traditionally emphasised Vedic authority, ritual and sacrifice.

Buddhism and Jainism challenged the exclusive importance of costly Vedic sacrifices by stressing ethical conduct, personal effort, renunciation and liberation. Jainism particularly emphasised truth, non-stealing, celibacy, non-attachment and ahimsa.

• The Upanishads explored the self, ultimate reality, karma, rebirth and liberation.

This philosophical reflection contributed to changing understandings of religious knowledge and often questioned whether external rituals were sufficient.

• The Buddha’s teachings explained suffering through the Four Noble Truths.

The Noble Eightfold Path—right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration—was presented as the means of overcoming suffering and attaining nirvana.

• The sangha provided an organised Buddhist monastic community.

Monks and nuns followed rules recorded in the Vinaya Pitaka and relied substantially on lay supporters, linking monastic life to wider communities of merchants, craft workers, householders, rulers and other donors.

• Jain teachings presented liberation as requiring strict ethical discipline and the removal of karmic bondage.

Mahavira, identified as the twenty-fourth tirthankara, strengthened Jain ideas and practices, while ahimsa became a central principle.

• Brahmanical traditions adapted to changing religious conditions rather than disappearing.

Devotional worship, or bhakti, became increasingly important, with Vishnu, Shiva, the Goddess and other deities represented through developing forms of iconography, worship, prayer, offerings, songs and emotional attachment.

• The growth of pilgrimage and sacred memory encouraged the construction of stupas.

Their components commonly included the anda, harmika, yasti, chhatras, vedika, toranas and a circumambulatory path. Relics placed within stupas connected monuments with revered persons, memory and pilgrimage.

• The practice of pradakshina shaped the experience of Buddhist monuments.

Devotees moved clockwise around the stupa, keeping it on their right, so architectural design supported ritual movement as well as symbolic meaning.

• Sanchi developed over several centuries as a major Buddhist site.

Its stupas, gateways, railings, monasteries and sculptures included scenes from the Buddha’s life, Jataka stories, symbols, animals, plants, worshippers and everyday life. Early Buddhist art often represented the Buddha through the empty throne, footprints, wheel, tree and stupa rather than a human figure.

• Buddhist activity expanded through trade routes and regional networks.

The Amaravati stupa in the Krishna valley was decorated with detailed relief sculptures, while rock-cut chaityas and viharas developed in western India along routes connecting inland settlements with ports and trading centres.

• The chaitya at Karle demonstrates the relationship between religious architecture and rock-cut technology.

Its stupa, vaulted roof and rows of pillars created a major prayer hall directly carved into rock.

• The Ajanta caves combined monastic and devotional functions.

Their Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls were decorated with paintings and sculptures, many associated with the Vakataka period.

• The development of permanent shrines encouraged temple-based worship.

Early temples were often organised around a central shrine, or garbhagriha, and gradually acquired gateways, halls, platforms and towers. Temple images and permanent shrines helped establish sacred centres and support devotional worship.

• Religious monuments depended on substantial resources and organised labour.

Their construction and decoration required skilled artisans, access to stone and economic support from rulers, merchants, guilds, craft workers, monastic communities and individual devotees.

• Donative inscriptions reveal broad participation in religious patronage.

Women, merchants, artisans, officials, rulers and ordinary devotees could act as donors. However, inscriptions must be interpreted carefully because they may emphasise wealthy or powerful donors more than the entire community.

• Ashoka’s support for Buddhism followed the Kalinga war and was expressed through dhamma.

His major rock and pillar edicts provide evidence for moral conduct, administration, non-violence, compassion, respect for elders, proper treatment of servants and tolerance among religious communities.

• Religious traditions spread through several connected mechanisms.

Pilgrimage, monasteries, trade routes, teachers, stories, images, inscriptions and royal or local patronage carried religious ideas across regions.

• Interaction among traditions produced both competition and shared ideas.

Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanical practices were diverse and changing rather than uniform. They interacted with local beliefs and shared themes including karma, rebirth, renunciation, ethical behaviour and the search for liberation.

• Buildings and sculptures had meanings beyond decoration.

Layout, symbols, images, inscriptions and ritual movement reveal religious beliefs as well as the political authority, economic resources and social participation of makers, donors, visitors and worshippers. The meaning of a monument could change when it was enlarged, repaired, reinterpreted or incorporated into new religious and political settings.

What Gets Asked

• How did urbanisation, state formation, trade and the growth of new social groups contribute to religious change between c. 600 BCE and 600 CE?
• How did Buddhism and Jainism challenge, and how did Brahmanical traditions adapt to, the authority of costly Vedic sacrifice?
• Compare Buddhist ideas of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and nirvana with Jain ideas of ahimsa, ethical discipline and liberation from karmic bondage.
• How do Sanchi, the Amaravati stupa, the chaitya at Karle and the Ajanta caves demonstrate the relationship between religious belief, architecture, patronage and trade?
• What can stupas, temples, sculptures and donative inscriptions reveal about ritual practice, political authority, economic resources and social participation?
• How reliable are inscriptions, literary sources, sculptures and architectural remains as evidence for religious communities, given that each source type presents only part of the historical picture?