Types of Buddhist buildings
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Mainly
5 types
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Ajanta,
Kanheri, Karle etc., in Maharashtra
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Viharas
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Residential
quarters for Monks
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Stupas
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Satvahan renovated Amaravati Stupa
Amaravati Stupa is largest in
Marbles used instead of bricks and stones ;
inner side has engraving of Buddha’s life
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Chaityas / Chatiyagriha
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This is the word used for:
Worship place
Assembly halls with a stupa
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Sangharamas
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Buddhist monastery and school
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Satvahana
kings were Hindus but patronized Buddhism as well & built Buddhist rock cut
caves in Western India , particularly the
Pune-Nasik-Mumbai region.
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Largest
Chaitya-griha among all Buddhist monuments in India
·
Has
a huge lion pillars in front of Chaitya-griha. (only two caves have this
design- Karla and Kanheri)
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Stupa
has cylindrical drum shape
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Octagone
shaped pillars behind Stupa, without any decoration
.jpg)
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Second
largest Chaityagriha in India
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Lion
Pillars at the Entrance. (Just like Karle caves)
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Podhis:
water cisterns for rainwater harvesting
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Images
of both Standing Buddha and sitting Buddha flanked by Bodhisattvas
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Famous
Satvahan king Gautamiputra Satakarni’s name mentioned in the inscriptions here.
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Vihara
for resting monks with rock cut seats and benches.
.jpg)
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Hinayana
faith
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Has
Wooden ceiling over Chaitya-griha.
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Stupa
has a hole on top, for inserting wooden umbrella.
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Verandaha
has wooden reliefs showing royal women driving chariots over a demon.
.jpg)
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Also
known as Pandava’s caves
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Inscriptions
mention King Gautamiputra Satakarni’s mother Gautami Balasri had financed the
construction of third cave.
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Contains
a panel depicting Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana
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Carved
on a Horse shoe shaped rock pillar
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Paintings
depict Jataka stories.
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Cave
no. 9 and 10 attributed to Satvahan Kings
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Hieun
Tsang did not visit them but mentioned in his journal.
Chola and Buddhism
Copper plates
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Since
1st Century AD, South Indian kings had been using Copper plates to preserve
their charters, genealogy and other official records.
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Some
of these copper plates are preserved in Leiden University of Netherlands, hence
called “Leiden
Sailendra Kings
·
These
Mahayan Buddhist kings ruled over the straits of Java, Sumatra, Bali , Cambodia
and Malaya . They had good relations with Pala
(Bengal ) and Chola (Tamil Nadu).
·
They
had constructed a Buddhist Vihara at Nagapattinam, Tamilnadu. (area under Chola
control)
·
Name
of this Vihara: “Chulamanivarmavihara”.
Chola Copper plates
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King
Rajaraja Chola I had issued a Charter to provide money to this Vihara (recorded
in copper plates, language: Tamil and Sanskrit.)
·
Accordingly,
taxes from 26 villages, were given to this Buddhist Vihara. These taxes
included, tax on water, marriage, grazing, textile, pottery etc.
Conditions on Vihara
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For
this tax sharing, Rajaraja laid following conditions on the Vihara
administrators:
Ø Will have to work on
canals, wells and irrigation of those villages.
Ø Will have to plant
trees, groves & other civic amnesties
·
This
charter is unique because:
§
Historians
believed that Chola kings patronized only Shaivism, Because of the
Shiva-temples they constructed around Thanjavur.
§
But
this charter proves Chola kings had tolerance towards other religions as well.
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Is Karle one really a cave?
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty big and well constructed for a cave.
But seeing many buddhist monk statues I think it's quite beautiful and ancient,