MAINS 2016
GS1
12.5 marks
Early Buddhist Stupa-art, while depicting folk motifs and narratives successfully expounds Buddhist ideals. Elucidate.
WRITE IN
9 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Show how folk motifs and narrative panels on early stupas (Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati) carried Buddhist teachings to lay devotees.
ElucidateExplain the statement clearly and bring out its meaning with examples.
Demand-wise check
- 1Folk motifs absorbed: yakshas and yakshis, salabhanjika on toranas, nagas, animals, trees, fertility symbols from pre-Buddhist cults≈35 words
- 2Narratives: Jataka tales and life of the Buddha carved as continuous narration on railings and gateways (Bharhut medallions, Sanchi toranas)≈35 words
- 3Ideals conveyed: aniconic symbols (Bodhi tree, empty throne, wheel, footprints, stupa) for enlightenment and dhamma; dana, karuna and sacrifice through Jatakas (Vessantara, Chhaddanta)≈35 words
- 4Patronage: donative inscriptions by monks, nuns, guilds and lay people show the faith reaching the masses≈35 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Stupa as relic moundFolk motifs adoptedJataka/life narrativesAniconic symbols of idealsPopular patronageConclusion on art as teaching tool
Where marks usually go
- Describing stupa architecture (anda, harmika, chhatra) without linking it to ideals
- Bringing in Gandhara Buddha images, which belong to a later, iconic phase
Draw this
- Labelled sketch of a Sanchi torana marking a Jataka panel, a yakshi bracket and an aniconic symbol
Value addition
- ExampleAn inscription on the southern gateway of Sanchi Stupa 1 records that it was carved by the ivory-workers of Vidisha, showing guild patronage.Sanchi gateway inscription
- ExampleBharhut railing panels carry label inscriptions naming the Jataka depicted, making it the earliest 'captioned' narrative art in India.Bharhut stupa, c. 2nd century BCE
- FactSanchi monuments were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989.UNESCO
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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