Art and Architecture during Gupta Period

Ancient Indian art was mainly inspired by religion. As in earlier times, Buddhism gavegreat impetus to art in Gupta period also. A life size image of Buddha made in copper is found from Sultanganj in Bihar. Beautiful images of Buddha were also created at Mathura and Sarnath.

The finest examples of Buddhist art during Gupta period are the paintings of Ajanta caves. Depicting the life of Buddha and the Jataka stories, these paintings with lustrous colors have not faded even after fourteen centuries. The Ajanta caves are now included in the list of the World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.

It is for the first time in the Gupta period that the temples in the form of structures were constructed in north India. These temples were made in the architectural style known as Nagara. Two of these temples, one made of bricks at Bhitargaon in Kanpur and the other of stone at Deogarh in Jhansi have been found in Uttar Pradesh. Here the images of Vishnu are placed in the center as a chief deity.

The Gupta coins are also pieces of art. They are well designed and meticulously crafted. They carry aesthetically impressive depictions of the activities of the rulers.

The lyrist type of gold coins issued by Samudragupta show him playing a lute. His interest in music can be detected from this representation. He also issued ashvamedha type of coins as mentioned above, In peninsular India also the worship of Vishnu and Shiva was becoming popular.

The Pallava rulers constructed stone temples in seventh and eighth centuries to house the images of these gods. The most famous are the seven rathas or temples each made out of a solid, piece of stone constructed by king Narasimhavarman at Mahabalipuram, 65 km from Chennai.

The Pallavas also built many structural temples. One of the most important among them is the Kailashnath temple, constructed in the eighth century.

The Chalukyas of Vatapi also erected numerous temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal. Pattadakal has as many as ten temples built in seventh and eighth centuries and Virupaksha temple. The southern style of architecture came to be known as Dravida.