Unit-I, B.A.-I Dr.Guneeta Chadha, Associate Professor, Head of Dept. of Fine-Arts, P.G.G.C.G-11

 The most magnificent feature that the later Andhara Period has given to the Indian Art is the Amaravati Stupa.  The original structure was started in the second century B.C.  The foundation and the Stupa were originally in bricks but later renovated in the second and third century A.D.  The Stupa was a centre for religious activity and worship for hundred of years.

 The Great Stupa of Amaravati was the most splendid and the largest of the Andhara stupas in the Deccan.  Its dome was 162 feet in diameter, and was encircled at a distance of 15 feet by an outer railing, making a total diameter of 192 feet.  The entrance to the lower Pradikshina Path is marked by a cluster of free standing pillars or stambhas.  Similar to the Sanchi stupa, it also had four main gateways.

 The inside and the outside railings are decorated with beautiful narratives from Jataka stories along with leaves and floral patterns.  The themes are related with the stories on Sakyamuni and about Buddha.  One such important narrative is the Great Departure.

 It is the story narrative which depicts the Great Departure of the Bodhisattava from his palace, his wife and son. The Buddha-to-be leaves his wife and son sleeping in the palace.  The Great Departure is also symbolic of his departure from materialistic pleasures in pursuit of spiritual experience.

 The relief is on the inner side of a railing pillar of the stupa.  In the relief we see Buddha-to-be on his horse Kanthaka, conducted by his faithful charioteer.  Once Siddhartha had seen the sufferings in the world outside the palace, he vowed to leave the palace to get a better understanding and find a reason for those sufferings.  In this relief panel he is shown leaving the palace on his horseback.  The horse is held up high by the dwarfs or the ganas so that the sound of its hooves may not wake up anyone in the palace.

 Limestone relief panel depicting the Great Departure of Prince Siddhartha  From the dome of the Great Stupa at Amaravati, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India, 2nd century AD  When Queen Maya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha (the future Buddha) it was prophesied that the child would become either a chakravartin (Universal Emperor) or a Universal Saviour. His father, King Shuddhodhana, preferred the former but was afraid that Siddhartha would become an ascetic. He therefore surrounded the young prince with luxury, sheltering him from all suffering in the world. However, on a visit outside the confines of the palace, the sensitive young prince was deeply moved by the misery that he saw people endure, by old age, sickness and death. According to legend, in the middle of this suffering, the prince saw a beggar who exuded a sense of detachment and peace. This incident is said to have so influenced the prince that he became determined to leave home and take up the same kind of life himself.

 The style is simple and full of energy in its depiction of the movement and expression of the faces of the figures.  The influence of the Kushan style, in accordance with the Mathura-Gandhara manner of representation is visible in the bodily form.  The sculptors of Amaravati have shown great skill in giving unity to composition, in depicting lively scenes.

 The mature art of the Amaravati region is one of India’s major and distinct styles, considered by many critics to be the finest school of Indian Sculpture.