1. What are the Ajanta caves and why are they important?

2. Who was Jayavarman II?

3. Describe Theravada Buddhism.

4. How does Angkor Wat reflect the glory of king Suryavarman II?

5. How is Borobudur unique in its Buddhist appearance?

6. Who was Ashoka?

7. How does the Hindu temple relate to the Hindu belief system?

8. What is the meaning of the Shiva Nataraja?

9. Discuss the similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism.

10. Name the three most important Hindu deities and their attributes.

Slide questions:

1. Buddha Seated on Lion Throne, Mathura

(Figure 6­12) and Seated Buddha, Sarnath

(Figure 6­13) a. How does each work define the visual vocabulary of its respective period? b. What is the date of each work? c. What does the deer represent? d. What does the hand gesture mean? e. What is the medium of each work?

2. Chaitya Hall, Karle

(Figure 6­1) and Aerial view, Borobudur, Java

(Figure 6­27) a. What was the function of each? b. How do they differ?

3.Dancing Shiva, Badami

(Figure 6­17) and Shiva Nataraja

(Figure 6­25) a. How do these images reflect the essence of Shiva? b. How are they different? c. What is the medium of each? d. What is the date of each?

4. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

(Figure 6­30) and Towers of Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia

(Figure 6­32) a. What was the purpose of each structure? b. What do they have in common stylistically and religiously?

5. Yakshi, east gate, Great Stupa, Sanchi

(Figure 6­8) a. How does the Yakshi mirror its subject matter? b. How does the Yakshi represent pan­Indian symbolism?

6. Lion pillar

(Figure 6­6A) a. What is inscribed on this pillar? b. What is the significance of the lion atop the pillar? c. Why are there geese depicted in the frieze below the lion ?

7. Descent of the Ganges River

(Figure 6­21A) a. What aspect of this relief's design connects it to the idea of flowing water such as that from the Ganges river? b. What is the story conveyed in this relief? c. What is the alternative interpretation of this relief?

8. Ananda Temple

(Figure 6­26A) a. Which religion is represented in this temple and why? b. What is the material used in the construction of this temple? c. What design features seen here underscore the eclecticism of Buddhist architecture of this era?

Short answer, answer key:

1. correct: Answers will vary. These caves retain many of their original murals and provide a visual record of early Indian painting, they provide the same format as the sculptural tradition, and the painters have modeled the figures with the same sensuous forms. Page 167

2. correct: Answers will vary. Khmer king who sponsored major construction of monuments throughout the country and the founder of the Angkor dynasty (Cambodia) in the 9th century, this dynasty ruled for the next 400 years. Page 175

3. correct: Answers will vary. It is the oldest form of Buddhism stressing the worship of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni; it follows the Four Noble Truths. Page 174 4. your answer:

4. Khmer king's personal god. The temple mirrors the sacred mountain at the center of the universe, and the king and the god are as one. Page 176

5. correct: Answers will vary. It is a representation of the cosmic mountain on earth. It is a three­dimensional mandala presenting the path for the worshiper to follow in order to reach ultimate enlightenment. The unique quality of Borobudur is that nowhere else does a similar structure exist. Pages 174­175

6. correct: Answers will vary. He is considered the greatest Maurya Dynasty ruler. He converted to Buddhism and spread its teachings throughout India, he formulated a legal code based on Buddhist principles, and he inscribed his law on pillars throughout his kingdom. The pillars also indicate the king, Ashoka, had divine authority to rule as the holder of the Wheel of the Law. Page 161

7. correct: Answers will vary. The temple is considered the home of the god or gods, and it is here that the deity or deities make themselves visible to the worshiper. The core of the temple is the womb chamber, which houses the statues or symbols of the god/gods. Only the Brahmin priests can enter into this chamber, but the worshiper can stand at the threshold and see the deity as it is manifested in the image. Page 172

8. correct: Answers will vary. He is the "Lord of the Dance", balanced on one leg atop a dwarf, ignorance, which Shiva stamps out as he dances. He creates the universe to the rhythm of the drumbeat, while the small fire represents destruction. He points to his raised foot as a place of refuge for the worshiper; the worshiper can also find enlightenment at the foot of the god. His hand gesture indicates acceptance, telling the worship to come forward without fear. Page 173

9. 10. correct: Answers will vary. Buddhism and Hinduism are both religions that worship multiple gods. Spirituality is gained through varying paths which allows mutually tolerated differences. Page 169

10. correct: Answers will vary. Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. Vishnu is the Preserver of the Universe. He is usually portrayed with four arms holding a conch­shell trumpet and discus. When evil becomes too strong, he descends to earth in order to restore the balance. Shiva is the Destroyer, but he also has a regenerative nature as well. He is usually depicted with multiple arms and three heads; he has the "third eye", a symbol for his all­seeing nature. Devi the Great Goddess also has the dual natures of destruction and creation, in one manifestation. She rides a lion or is sometimes accompanied by a lion. Page 168

Slide questions: answer key

1. a. The Seated Buddha on Lion Throne is an earlier version of the Sarnath figure and describes the Mathura preference for the more sensuous representation of the male body; the Sarnath figure combines the Gandharan monastic robe with the soft, full­bodied Mathura form, it becomes the canonical image as described by the Guptas. Page 166

b. 2nd C. CE and c.450­500 CE. Page 166

c. Deer Park, Sarnath, site of the first sermon. Pages 166­167 d. Abhaya, have no fear and the Wheel­turning gesture. Page 166 e. Red Sandstone and Tan Sandstone. Page 166

2. a. The interior is a Buddhist assembly hall, allows the worshiper to circumambulate the stupa in the tradition of enlightenment, and the aerial view represents cosmic mountains and presents the same philosophical idea of circumambulation. Pages 164 and 174

b. One worship form takes place inside and the other is outside. Pages 164 and 174

3. a. Both images illustrate the duality of nature that Hindu gods carry, creation and destruction. Page 168

b. One is two­dimensional, relief and sways rather ponderously; while the other image is three­dimensional and captures the elegance and grace of the "Lord of the Dance". Pages 169 and 173

c. Rock­cut relief and bronze. Pages 169 and 173

d. Late 6th c. CE and c.1000 CE. Pages 169 and 173

4. a. Both structures were temples associating the king with the gods. Pages 176 and 178

b. Both religious structures promote the rule of the kings as sanctioned by the respective gods, and both structures illustrate the marriage of religion and politics. Pages 176 and 178

5. a. The image presents the idea of fertility and abundance in a visual format. Page 164

b. The Yakshi was worshipped throughout India and adapted by the Buddhist tradition as part of their iconographic vocabulary. Page 164

6. a. Inscriptions on the columns recorded the law code Ashoka had formulated based on the Buddha's teachings.

b. The lion was a Mauryan royal motif. Texts refer to the Buddha as the lion of the Shakya clan.

c. The relief frieze of geese below the lion's paws is a distinctly Indian motif. The Indic peoples believed that flying geese were a link between Heaven and Earth. Their presence on an axis mundi is therefore highly appropriate.

7. a. This extraordinary relief depicts scores of lifesize figures to either side of a natural cleft into which water flowed from a cistern above, vividly bringing to life the story of the Ganges River's descent from Heaven. b. According to the Hindu myth, an ascetic named Bhagiratha deprived himself for a thousand years so that the gods would permit the Ganges River to flow down to earth from Heaven in order to purify the ashes of his ancestors and fertilize the earth with its water. The Mamallapuram relief depicts the final chapter of the story, when the Ganges' waters reach the earth's surface.

c. An alternative interpretation of the relief is that it represents the Penance of Arjuna, one of the legendary Pandava brothers, who begged Shiva to provide him with weapons in the war between his family and their rivals, the Kurus. Arjuna performed his penance beside a river. It is also possible that the Pallavas intended the tableau to have a double significance.

8. a. Buddhism spread from India to Myanmar at an early date, and Yangon's Schwedagon Pagoda

(FIG. 26­13) is one of the most famous and luxurious Buddhist shrines in Asia. Centuries earlier and of more complex design is the Ananda temple in Bagan, dedicated to the Buddha's favorite disciple.

b. The structure is of stucco­coated brick, the favored building material in medieval Burma.

c. The exterior takes the form of six terraces with a stupa at the four corners of the uppermost level and, at the center, a colossal central beehive­shaped spire that resembles the shikhara of a northern Hindu temple, underscoring the eclecticism of Buddhist architecture in Myanmar.