Writing existed in ancient India for a very long time. The age of the first tablets with images that were found on the territory of Ancient India is more than 4000 years. Scientists believe that behind the signs on these tablets there is a real language. By the way, this language has not yet been deciphered. And for 130 years now, scientists have been trying to decipher this language. Currently, they are trying to decipher the symbols using computer technology. Through computer calculations, it was possible to find out that numerous squares, rectangles, and jagged patterns are not pictograms with unique meanings, but rather a language system. The signs used in writing are very diverse, and this makes deciphering difficult.
Undeciphered inscriptions
Writing of the most ancient civilization
What did they write in ancient india, and on what? So, the first tablets were made of clay, and they were written on them with a hard wooden stick. Many of the inscriptions found were made on stones, and "wrote" on them using a chisel. They also wrote on uncured clay, then fired the clay. The Vedic texts were written this way. Palm leaves were also used for writing. The sheet was dried, cut into strips, and then sewn together with twine. The result was a stack of narrow strips, somewhat reminiscent of a folded fan. Where it was difficult to obtain dry palm leaves, birch bark was used. The bark was soaked and processed. Cotton was also used. Book covers were made of wood and varnished. Important notes or documents were cut out on copper sheets. Later, paper may have been used that was invented in China.
Lettering on a palm leaf
Veda
In ancient India, charcoal or soot was used to make ink. The ink was applied with a reed pen. In the southern part of ancient India, a different method was used. First, the letters were applied with a stick with a sharp end, and then the sheet with the inscriptions was sprinkled with black soot. Thanks to this method, thinner letters were obtained; the method gave an accurate outline of the letters. It is believed that this method led to the emergence of the Tamil alphabet, which has angular letters.
A significant part of the primary sources on the history of ancient India has perished irretrievably. Many works of ancient Indian literature were written on birch bark or palm leaves and did not withstand the unfavorable conditions of a climate more humid than in Egypt (where such fragile material as papyrus could be preserved). On the other hand, fires, which could not destroy collections of clay books in Western Asia, turned out to be destructive for the archives of ancient India. Only those texts that were carved on stone survived in the original, and relatively few of them were discovered. Fortunately, Sanskrit, unlike most ancient Eastern languages, was never forgotten; the literary tradition was not interrupted for thousands of years. Those works that were considered valuable were systematically rewritten and came to us in later copies with additions and distortions.
The situation is worse with the ancient chronicles. Almost nothing remains of them, except for fragments included in later medieval chronicles.
The largest in volume and most abundant in content are poetic works: the Vedas (extensive collections of hymns, chants, magic spells and ritual formulas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda), Mahabharata (the epic poem about the great war of the descendants of Bharata) and Ramayana (the tale of the deeds of Prince Rama).
Besides the mythical and epic works, the collection “Laws of Manu” has also been preserved, the chronological fixation of which also presents great difficulties (c. 3rd century BC - c. 3rd century AD). This is a typical monument of sacred law, in which civil and criminal regulations are closely intertwined with ritual regulations and prohibitions.
A unique written monument is the Arthashastra, the composition of which is attributed to the outstanding dignitary, contemporary of Alexander the Great, Kautilya. This remarkable treatise on government contains a whole series of advice and instructions reflecting the conditions of the era when centralization and bureaucratization were established in the country.
For the study of early Buddhism, the main source is the collection of legends and sayings of the Tipitaka.
The edicts of King Ashoka (III century BC), carved on rocks, are most accurately dated. They report on the warriors and religious policies of this king.
Among the ancient authors, along with Herodotus, who gave a description of western India of his time (5th century BC), Arrian, who lived in the 2nd century, should be especially noted. AD In his “Anabasis of Alexander” he described the campaign of this king to India, in a special work - “India” - he gave a detailed geographical outline of the country11 Bongard-Levin T.M. “Ancient Indian civilization”, M., 1993.
The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, and the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of text transmission. The two great epic poems of Ancient India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are true encyclopedias of Indian life. They depict all aspects of the life of ancient Indians. The epic absorbed material that, emerging from the oral poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character and included religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent eras, many prominent Indian artists, including the famous Kalidas, drew their inspiration from these treasures of wisdom of their people.
In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the collection of stories and parables “Panchatantra”, based on folklore, gained particular popularity. It was translated into many languages, and they became familiar with it quite early in Russia.
Among the literature attributed to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (1-2 century AD) stands out clearly. The poem “Buddhacharita” written by him was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature. The Gupta era was the time of development of ancient Indian theater. Even special treatises on dramaturgy appeared. The tasks of the theater and the technique of acting were determined. The Indian theatrical tradition preceded the Greek one.
The theory reached a high level in Ancient India literary creativity, including poetry. The rules of versification and treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of “poetic science” are emerging, and there are debates about genres, the purpose of literature, and artistic language.
The concept of the divine character of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech lies at the basis of the sciences and arts. In Panini’s grammar “The Eight Books” the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scientists find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.
The first monument of the thought of the ancient Indians was the “VEDAS”, literally meaning “knowledge, knowledge” when translated from Sanskrit. The VEDAS, having emerged between the second and first millennium BC, played a huge, decisive role in the development of the spiritual culture of ancient Indian society, including the development of philosophical thought.
The VEDAS consist of hymns, prayers, spells, chants, sacrificial formulas, and so on. They are the first to attempt a philosophical interpretation of the human environment. Although they contain a semi-superstitious, semi-mythical, semi-religious explanation of the world around man, nevertheless, they are considered as philosophical, or rather pre-philosophical, pre-philosophical sources. Actually, the first literary works in which attempts are made to philosophize, i.e. interpretations of the world around a person could not be different in content. The figurative language of the Vedas expresses a very ancient religious worldview, the first philosophical idea of the world, man, and moral life. The VEDAS are divided into four groups (or parts). The oldest of them is Samhitas (hymns). The Samhitas, in turn, consist of four collections. The earliest of them is the Rig Veda, a collection of religious hymns (about one and a half thousand years BC). The second part of the Vedas - Brahmanas (collection of ritual texts). The religion of Brahmanism, which dominated before the emergence of Buddhism, relied on them. The third part of the VED is the Aranyakas ("forest books", rules of conduct for hermits). The fourth part of the VEDAS is the Upanishads, the actual philosophical part, which arose about a thousand years BC.
Already at this time, the first elements of philosophical consciousness arose, the formation of the first philosophical teachings (both religious-idealistic and materialistic) began.
Upanishads (“to sit near”, i.e. at the feet of the teacher, receiving instructions; or - “secret, intimate knowledge”) - philosophical texts that appeared about one thousand years BC and in form, as a rule, represented the dialogue of a sage - a teacher with his student or with a person seeking the truth and subsequently becoming his student. In total, about a hundred Upanishads are known. They are dominated by the problem of the root cause, the first principle of being, with the help of which the origin of all natural and human phenomena is explained. The dominant place in the Upanishads is occupied by teachings that believe that the spiritual principle - Brahman, or Atman - is the primary cause and fundamental principle of existence. Brahman and Atman are usually used as synonyms, although Brahman is more often used to designate God, the omnipresent spirit, and Atman - the soul. Starting from the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman become the central concepts of all Indian philosophy (and above all Vedanta). In some Upanishads, Brahman and Atman are identified with the material root cause of the world - food, breath, material elements (water, air, earth, fire), or with the whole world as a whole. In most Upanishad texts, Brahman and Atman are interpreted as the spiritual absolute, the incorporeal root cause of nature and man.
A common thread running through all the Upanishads is the idea of the identity of the spiritual essence of the subject (man) and the object (nature), which is reflected in the famous saying: “Tat tvam asi” (“You are that”, or “You are one with that”) .
The Upanishads and the ideas expressed in them do not contain a logically consistent and holistic concept. With a general predominance of the explanation of the world as spiritual and incorporeal, they also present other judgments and ideas and, in particular, attempts are made to provide a natural philosophical explanation of the root cause and fundamental basis of the phenomena of the world and the essence of man. Thus, in some texts there is a desire to explain the external and inner world, consisting of four or even five real elements. Sometimes the world is presented as an undifferentiated being, and its development as the sequential passage of certain states by this being: fire, water, earth, or gaseous, liquid, solid. This is precisely what explains all the diversity that is inherent in the world, including human society.
Cognition and acquired knowledge are divided into two levels in the Upanishads: lower and higher. At the lowest level one can only know surrounding reality. This knowledge cannot be true, since its content is fragmentary and incomplete. The highest is the knowledge of truth, i.e. spiritual absolute, this perception of being in its integrity, can be acquired only with the help of mystical intuition, the latter in turn being formed to a large extent thanks to yogic exercises. It is the highest knowledge that gives power over the world.
One of the most important problems in the Upanishads is the study of the essence of man, his psyche, emotional disturbances and forms of behavior. The thinkers of Ancient India noted the complexity of the structure of the human psyche and identified in it such elements as consciousness, will, memory, breathing, irritation, calm, etc. their interrelation and mutual influence are emphasized. An undoubted achievement should be considered the characteristics of various states of the human psyche and, in particular, the waking state, light sleep, deep dream, the dependence of these states on external elements and primary elements of the external world.
In the field of ethics, the Upanishads predominantly preach a passive-contemplative attitude towards the world: the deliverance of the soul from all worldly attachments and worries is proclaimed to be the highest happiness. The Upanishads make a distinction between material and spiritual values, between goodness, as a calm state of mind, and the base pursuit of sensual pleasures. By the way, it was in the Upanishads that the concept of transmigration of souls (samsara) and retribution for past actions (karma) was first expressed. This expresses the desire to determine the cause-and-effect relationship in the chain human actions. An attempt is also made, with the help of moral principles (dharma), to correct human behavior at every stage of his existence. The Upanishads are essentially the foundation for all or almost all subsequent philosophical movements that appeared in India, since they presented or developed ideas that long time"nourished" philosophical thought in India.
Speaking about the philosophy of Ancient India, one cannot fail to mention the extensive epic poem Mahabharata, consisting of eighteen books. The main source of philosophical thought of the later - epic period is the extensive epic poem "Mahabharata", which consists of 18 books telling about the struggle for power between two clans - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Along with the narration of this struggle, in various books of the Mahabharata there are texts of philosophical content. Of greatest interest from this point of view are “Bhagavad-Gita”, “Mokshadharma”, “Anugita” and some others (VII century BC - II century AD).
In terms of their content and orientation, most of the philosophical ideas of the Mahabharata represent a continuation and development of the views dominant in the Upanishads about Brahman-Atman or Purusha as a spiritual absolute and about its comprehension as a means of salvation and deliverance from the shackles of karma and samsara. However, unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented primarily in the form individual statements and provisions with unsettled, sometimes amorphous terminology, already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear in the Mahabharata, giving a more or less unified interpretation of the main ideological problems, ranging from ontological to ethical and sociological, and having a more strictly fixed and more unambiguous conceptual apparatus .
The main significance among these concepts in the epic is the teaching of Samkhya and closely related yoga, which were occasionally mentioned already in the Upanishads. True, these teachings various parts The Mahabharatas are presented in different ways, but everywhere they are based on the position of prakriti, or pradhana (matter, nature), as the source of all existing existence (including the psyche and consciousness) and the pure spirit independent of it and unaffected by its modifications - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman).
One of the books that is of greatest interest from a philosophical point of view is the Bhagavad Gita ( divine song). Unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented in the form of individual statements and provisions, already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear here, giving an interpretation of worldview problems. Of primary importance among these concepts is the teaching of Samkhya and the closely related yoga, which were occasionally mentioned in the Upanishads. The basis of the concept is the position of prakrit (matter, nature), as the source of all existence (including the psyche, consciousness) and the pure spirit independent of it - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman). Thus, the worldview is dualistic, based on the recognition of two principles.
The main content of the Bhagavad Gita consists of the teachings of the god Krishna. God Krishna, according to Indian mythology, is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. God Krishna speaks of the need for every person to fulfill his social (varna) functions and duties, to be indifferent to the fruits of worldly activity, and to devote all his thoughts to God. Bhagavad Gita contains important ideas of ancient Indian philosophy: about the mystery of birth and death; about the relationship between prakriti and human nature; about genes (three material principles born of nature: tamas - an inert inert principle, rajas - a passionate, active, exciting principle, sattva - an uplifting, enlightened, conscious principle). Their symbols are black, red and white colors that determine people's lives; about the moral law (dharma) of fulfilling one’s duty; about the path of a yogi (a person who has devoted himself to yoga - the improvement of consciousness); about genuine and non-genuine knowledge. The main virtues of a person are called balance, detachment from passions and desires, and detachment from earthly things.
in the discipline "Culturology"
"Cultural Monuments of Ancient India"
Introduction
1. Harappan Civilization
2. Buddhist art in India
Conclusion
List of used literature
The culture of the Ancient East attracts modern tourists with its exoticism. Abandoned cities and monumental temples speak volumes about bygone civilizations. But the heritage of the Ancient East is not only temples and monuments. Buddhism, the oldest of the three world religions (along with Christianity and Islam), originated in India 2.5 thousand years ago. The bulk of her followers live in the countries of South, Southeast and East Asia: India, China, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, Nepal. In our country, Buddhism is traditionally practiced by the residents of Buryatia, Kalmykia, and Tuva. It is difficult to determine the total number of Buddhists in the world, but it is very roughly accepted that there are about 400 million lay people and 1 million monks.
Buddhism is a religious and philosophical doctrine created on the basis of the ancient teachings of India, the cornerstone of which is the belief in reincarnation. The basis of Buddhist doctrine is a person’s inner desire for spiritual insight, or nirvana, which can be achieved through meditation, wisdom and the highest moral values. The main goal of Buddhism is human self-improvement, liberation from the chain of rebirths that bring suffering, which is based on selfish desires. The relevance of this topic does not need any justification other than the words: “The Mysterious East”!
Purpose This work is a study of cultural monuments of Ancient India.
In connection with this goal, the following research objectives can be formulated:
- talk about the dead civilization of Harappa, represented only by archaeological finds;
- consider Buddhist art as one of the sources of cultural wealth of ancient and modern India.
The abstract consists of 5 sections. The first formulates the purpose and objectives of the study, the second describes the civilization of ancient Harappa, the third provides an overview of Buddhist art and its main monuments in India, the fourth draws the main conclusions on the content of the work, and the fifth indicates primary sources on the topic of the work.
Back in the twenties of the last century, archaeologists discovered ancient mounds in this region of Pakistan with the remains of the largest Bronze Age cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. By the way, according to some publications, the ruins of Mohenjo-Daro contain traces of the incinerating flame that once destroyed this great city. They even said that the terrible flame was generated almost by a nuclear explosion.
Now the site of the disaster is occupied by the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. To date, here on a vast territory that could accommodate two states such as Mesopotamia or Ancient Egypt, the remains of one and a half thousand ancient settlements have been uncovered!
In 1985, Professor George F. Dales of the University of California at Berkeley founded the Harappan Archaeological Research Project, which has already passed its first exploratory stages. The earliest settlement at the site of Harappa dates back to 3300 BC. - the time when the ancient Sumerians were just beginning to build their first ziggurats (giant pyramids made of unfired clay with a cut off top for temples). The ancient inhabitants of the Indus Valley were then engaged in agriculture, in particular cattle breeding, and also grew barley, legumes and other crops. Archaeologists have discovered small villages in the north and south of Harappa along the banks of the Ravi River (the left tributary of the Chenab River). Terracotta trinkets and painted shells were found here. It is interesting that materials for decorations were brought 300-800 km away. The discovered remains of cotton and wool fabrics testified to the development of textile production.
Urbanization of Harappa began around 2600 and continued until 1900 BC. For seven centuries, Harappa was one of the largest and most powerful economic and political centers in the Indus Valley. During the spring and summer trading seasons, the city was flooded with hundreds of merchants and thousands of residents of the surrounding Villages. The number of permanent residents of Kharalpa ranged from forty to eighty thousand people. Archaeologists have found here beautiful pottery with images of religious scenes on them, as well as seals of sorts with carved images of unicorns and cubic stone objects, probably used as cinders for weighing. Traders brought goods here from Afghanistan and Central Asia. Among the imported items were items made of lapis lazuli, tin, silver, gold and textiles. Back to their homeland, visiting traders took grain, livestock, beautiful samples of textiles and, perhaps, even silk. At that time, the city occupied an area of 150 hectares—more than five kilometers in circumference.
The present Harappa occupies only a third former territory, and the population does not exceed twenty thousand people. In ancient times, local masons built multi-story (!) houses from baked bricks, located in a straight line from north to south and from east to west.
The main streets were 8 m wide, and in the central part of the city their width ensured two-way traffic for carts and carts. In and around the city, builders built wells, houses were equipped with swimming pools, toilets and a kind of sewage system. Wastewater through special channels were diverted to agricultural lands to fertilize the soil. Perhaps nowhere in the ancient world was there such an intricate sewer system. Even in the Roman Empire it appeared only two thousand years later!
During the heyday of Harappa, writing actively developed in the city. It consisted of four hundred symbols, although they had not yet been solved. But it can be assumed that several languages were used in them, and they were used for correspondence among traders, landowners and religious figures. This writing became widespread in all urban centers of the Indus Valley. Seals with images of animals and ritual subjects were widely used. More than 65% of known seals had images of unicorns, others featured elephants, Indian, humpbacked bulls, buffalos, bison, tigers and rhinoceroses.
The inscriptions on the seals indicated the names of local clans, the names of landowners, and the legal affiliation of individuals. Similar markings are also found on pottery. Examples of inscriptions on bronze and gold objects referred to the names of the owners or indicated the price of these products. Faience and clay objects were sometimes broken into two parts for the participants in a pair transaction. Copper discs may have been the beginnings of a coin system. Archaeological finds in 2001 indicate a new chronology for the development of Indian writing. Previously, scientists believed that the appearance of seals and "coins" was simultaneous, but it has now become clear that different types of these artifacts appeared and changed over the years.
Between 2300 and 1900 BC. The population of the cities of the Indus Valley grew rapidly. At the same time, the variety and perfection of cultural products increased. During this period, they show a combination of inscriptions with images of mythological scenes. Surely the spiritual leaders of those times used such objects to invoke the gods. Although archaeologists have not yet been able to find out the names of these gods, they have noticed a recurring motif on various items - men sitting in a yogic lotus position, with a headdress topped with a horn. One of the scenes shows a sacrificial buffalo in front of a seated god. On other objects, the god is surrounded by wild animals. Some seals show goddesses wearing horned headdresses fighting tigers. The clay tiles depict goddesses strangling two tigers or perched on the heads of elephants. Similar scenes were found in Mesopotamia (from the epic “Gilgamesh”), where the images show the hero fighting with two lions. The similarity of these motifs suggests cultural ties between the mentioned civilizations.
Previously, scientists believed that the ancient cities of the Indus Valley were suddenly abandoned by the inhabitants around 1750 BC. And in fact, by this time Harappa, if not completely deserted, then the urban economy had clearly fallen into decay. The weakening of power and loss of control over the life of the city was characteristic not only of Harappa, but also of other cities in the region. Similar degradation occurred in Mohenjo-Daro. The impending crisis of the state led to the gradual disappearance of signs of elite culture in the area.
Traditional square seals with unicorns and other animals disappeared. Stone weighing cubes began to fall out of use, and international trade faded away.
The flow of goods such as decorated shells and lapis lazuli products from Harappa ceased. There was probably more than one reason for the city's decline. The switching of trade routes and the emergence of settlements in the Ganges Valley (in the area of what is now the Indian state of Gujarat) undermined the political and economic life of Harappa. Around 1900 BC one of the largest rivers of the Indus Valley, Ghaggar (north of present-day Delhi), began to change its course and completely dried up, leaving many cities without water.
The relocation of residents to other fertile areas caused overstress in their new habitats. Absence from the authorities regular army deprived them of the opportunity to establish at least some order in the territories under their control.
The pace of such change varied in different regions. Most of the abandoned settlements were plundered, and the later inhabitants of these places buried the archaeological evidence of the past that still remained.
However, although many objects from the Indus Valley culture have disappeared, some relevant artifacts have survived. These included pottery, faience, and copper and bronze items. By the period around 1700 BC. refers to the appearance of the first examples of glass jewelry in the Indus Valley (two hundred years before the development of this material in Egypt). In subsequent centuries (from 1200 to 800 BC), glass bottles and glass beads appeared in northern India and Pakistan. Iron production also arose in the north of the Indus Valley and along the banks of the Ganges.
The excavations also revealed jewelry in the form of stone beads made during the earliest stages of settlement of the Indus Valley. The first samples of stone beads had small holes with a diameter of 1.5-3 mm. Some of the early examples were made from soapstone (a soft talc known as soapstone). Craftsmen knew how to drill holes in them with copper drills for hanging, about half a millimeter in diameter. After this, the beads were given the desired shape using grinding wheels. Finally, the craftsmen fired the beads in special kilns at a temperature of 850 "C. Harappan craftsmen used agate and jasper as materials for beads. Around 2600 BC, the Indus Valley craftsmen learned to make harder drills, the secret of which remained unsolved.
One of the most complex technologies was used to produce earthenware beads. The quality of the Indus Valley pottery was higher than that of Egypt or Mesopotamia, since it was made from crushed quartz. The elite classes of the Indus Valley used faience not only for decoration but also for ritual purposes. Faience items with images of various subjects were also used in special ceremonies, during which they were given as gifts to people bringing gifts or performing sacrifices.
Harappa is a great monument of Indian culture, arousing interest among researchers and tourists of all nationalities. The material culture of Harappa has been studied quite well, however, the death of Harappa still remains a mystery.
Buddhism, spreading over the centuries to vast neighboring territories, did not conflict with the primordial religions and culture that already existed there. There were many similarities with local deities, customs and rituals. Buddhism assimilated with them, absorbing many aspects of local cults, modified under the pressure of other religions, but fundamentally remained unchanged.
Architecture, sculpture, and painting contributed to the spread of the ideas of Buddhism. Initially, the art of Buddhism was a set of “reinforcements” or “reminders” that helped the believer in perceiving a doctrine that was often too complex for him. As religion spread, it was filled with new meanings and cast into completely new forms.
The contemplative Buddhist "art of living" required a fusion artistic forms with natural ones. Therefore, Buddhist architecture differs from European architecture: it is not a shelter from nature, but a dissolution in it. main idea Buddhist buildings - the creation of a visible resemblance of artificial and natural forms, harmony with nature, conditions for finding peace of mind. The architecture is based on a classic sense of organic, free-growing volume from the earth. Tibetan temples and Chinese pagodas seem to be natural formations; they echo the shapes of mountains, hills or weathered rocks, blooming on their slopes like strange flowers.
Two main types of Buddhist buildings can be distinguished. The first type is services designed to support the life of the monastery: temples, sometimes reaching enormous sizes, rooms for monks - vihara, a hall for believers - chaitya, libraries, towers for gongs and bells. The second type is a structure that is itself an object of worship: a stupa or pagoda. They are usually the center of the monastery in accordance with their role as guardian of sacred relics.
Stupas are not buildings, but solid monolithic monuments with small chambers - reliquaries and niches for sculptures. According to legend, the first stupas were erected after the burning of the Buddha's body according to Indian custom - to store his ashes, divided into eight parts according to the number of regions of India that claimed their rights to his relics. Stupas are hemispherical, tower-shaped or bell-shaped. In the system of Buddhist symbolism, the stupa is considered as a vertical model of the Universe. It symbolizes the “creative beginning of the Universe”, the “impulse of life”, nirvana. Architectural features Stupas in each country are determined by local traditions, but in plan they must be round or square.
The entire group of buildings of the monastery complex is organized according to a single plan. In East Asia, the monastery is surrounded by a wall and is usually oriented along a central axis with the main gate to the south, behind which stood a pagoda, followed by a temple. This line was completed by a preaching hall and a back gate. The location of the buildings could change due to the terrain, especially in the mountains, but Buddhist culture always involves a ritual walk around clockwise. In temples carved out of rocks, a special path was used for this. Over time, the temple displaced the pagoda from its central place, so it became less sacred and more decorative look, and often a second one was attached to one pagoda - for symmetry.
In Buddhist temples, on a raised platform - a kind of altar in the back of the hall - there are statues of Buddhas or bodhisattvas (saints who decided to leave the circle of reincarnations and achieve Buddhahood). The altar consists of several steps: the square step is a symbol of the earth, the round one is a symbol of the sky. In the wall niches there are statues of deities, on the walls there are paintings reminiscent of the previous deeds of the Buddha, pictures of paradise, figures of bodhisattvas, and countless decorative motifs.
The heyday of Buddhist sculpture dates back to the 4th - 5th centuries. During these years, a huge number of images of Buddha and bodhisats were made from gold, bronze, painted wood, ivory, stone, from small (2-3 cm) to huge figures 54 m high.
Often Buddhist buildings turn into giant pyramids of sculptures that completely cover the main volume. Reliefs and sculptures of temple and monastery buildings also include images not related to the philosophy of Buddhism, reflecting more ancient cults and beliefs, and sometimes simply the artist’s imagination.
Buddhism did not declare bans on images of living beings, encouraged independent thinking, and declared the principle of great complexity and continuous variability of the world to be the most important. The Buddha taught that the road to salvation lies through getting rid of illusions, so Buddhist characters have a clear and enlightened expression, they are beyond moral weaknesses and selfish passions.
Picturesque images of Buddha, bodhisats, Buddhist symbols (vase, scepter, begging bowl, bow and arrows, rosary, wheel of Samsara or wheel of the Law, etc.) can be seen in almost every Buddhist temple.
This is how he describes it interior decoration one of the Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, a European traveler who studied Buddhism in the East for many years, A. David-Neel in the book “Mystics and Magicians of Tibet” (M., 1991): “A mass of banners suspended from the ceiling in the galleries and attached to high supporting pillars, a great many images of Buddha and gods are displayed to the audience, and on the frescoes covering the walls, among cohorts of other heroes, saints and demons flaunt in threatening or benevolent poses. In the depths of the huge room, behind several rows of altar lamps, statues of great, long-departed lamas and jeweled arks of silver and gold, containing their mummies or cremation ashes, flicker softly. Having fixed their demanding or commanding gazes on people, overwhelming them with their numbers, all these creatures... seem to mingle with a crowd of monks. A mystical atmosphere envelops people and objects, obscures trivial details with a haze, and idealizes faces and poses. ")
In Tibetan Buddhist art significant place Tanka is occupied by images of Buddha, church hierarchs, characters of the Buddhist pantheon, hagiographic cycles, etc. They are made with paints on silk or printed on cotton fabric and are intended for meditation, religious processions, in temple interiors, and home altars.
Characteristic of Buddhist art is the desire for a contrasting combination of bright, colorful materials: gold and silver, red and black lacquer, inlay with colored glass, porcelain, foil, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. Buddhism became a school for several generations of masters in India, Persia, Burma, Thailand, and Indonesia. Many classical works of art from China and Japan and other countries are associated with Buddhism.
Buddhism flourished in India in the 5th-7th centuries. Mahayana promoted a return to hierarchical ideas, and Tantrism promoted the rehabilitation of the sensory world. From the 4th century Secular culture flourished under the Gupta dynasty. Along with temples in the treatise on architecture of the V-VI centuries. public buildings and palaces are described. The invasion of the Huns also contributed to the transition to a hierarchical organization of society. As in Europe, the collapse of the Hunnic state led to the formation of principalities and relations, which in Europe were called feudal. In the V-VII centuries. There were about 50 states on Indian territory.
The Gupta kings patronized various religions, but called themselves devotees of Vishnu. In the inscriptions of this time, Hindu names appear five times more often than Buddhist and Jain names. KV c. collections of Hindu myths and traditions are compiled. These codes were not intended for a select few, but for the entire population, to whom they were close and understandable. The basic idea of Hinduism was fully consistent with the spirit of a hierarchical society - the idea of personal service to God and boundless devotion to him. The most popular gods were Vishnu and Shiva.
Urban artisans of the main specialties were subordinated to corporations. The city, as the center of culture, was already sharply opposed to the village. There may also have been royal workshops: it is difficult to imagine that single artisans created the pillar of Chandragupta II in Delhi from stainless iron or the huge bronze statue of Buddha in Sultanganj. Craft guilds, like trade guilds, accepted cash deposits and carried out banking activities. There was also a separate corporation of bankers-money changers. However, little copper money was found; shells were used instead even in the capital.
The country was united not only by new religious ideas, but also by Sanskrit as a universal language.
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