STUDY OF THE BUDDHIST VIHARAS DURING PALA DYNASTY IN BENGAL KHONDKER TAUFIQ ELAHI Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE DECEMBER 2018 DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY DHAKA, BANGLADESH STUDY OF THE BUDDHIST VIHARAS DURING PALA DYNASTY IN BENGAL KHONDKER TAUFIQ ELAHI 0411012004 Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE DECEMBER 2018 DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY DHAKA, BANGLADESH DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE I hereby declare that the work in this thesis is the result of my own work and that to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial portions of the material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree at this university or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the main body of texts. Any contribution made by others, either in the form of literature or diagrams, is duly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that this thesis or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree or diploma. (Signature of the Candidate) Khondker Taufiq Elahi 0411012004 Department of Architecture Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am thankful to the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh for giving me the opportunity to participate in the master degree program and to carry out this thesis. I offer my sincerest gratitude to my research supervisor Dr. Md. Shahidul Ameen, who has supported me throughout my study with his patience and knowledge, and allowing me access to his resources in my own way. His clear vision on the subject, which he heartily bestowed upon me, helped the formation of the research. This thesis would not have been completed without his selfless effort and encouragement. I owe deep sense of appreciation to Mr. Swadhin Sen of the Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka; with whom I had frequent consultations throughout the entire process of the study. His experience and insight provided me with a wider grasp on the subject matter. The seminar library at their facility had been a heaven for me whenever I needed to concentrate in my pursuit. And I am also thankful to Dr. Nasreen Hossain, Dr. Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed and Dr. M. Zakiul Islam of the Department of Architecture, BUET for their kind support. I am indebted to my colleagues at the Department of Architecture, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet for helping me out with all the grueling surveys at the field level and in preparation of the drawings. With every philosophical debate I engaged with them, newer dimensions opened up and I could dig deeper into the problems of my study. I am especially thankful to my parents Dr. Sabiha Sultana and Dr. K. Maudood Elahi, my mother-in-law Mrs. Nazmun Nahar, my wife Anzum Anowar, daughter Charu and son Che for sharing the pain of my wearied moments in many ways throughout the years of this research. I am grateful to them. KTE December, 2018 ABSTRACT The Buddhist monastic establishments in Bengal are the glorious testimony to the prosperous janapada of Pundrabardhan that once dominated the social, political and economic milieu across the entire South and Southeast Asian territory. Throughout c.750-950 AD a significant number of viharas and mahaviharas served as the earliest known religious, intellectual and educational institutions having distinctive architectural merit and systematic functional disposition. These mega-monuments – from Nalanda to the Somapura mahavihara at Paharpur – are considered to be the concluding signature that not only represent Buddhism during the Pala Rajas in their final years, but also accommodate features that are readily identifiable as the architectural traits of the previous religious and monastic terms in the region. However, built entirely of locally available building materials, this volume of unique architectural heritage now stands in utter ruin while little initiatives are there to protect them from the threats of local geo-climatic forces and unwarranted human intervention. While these viharas and mahaviharas bear distinctively comparable dimensions in their form and spatial arrangements, they represent the process of experimentation and adaptation in each successive development phases; where dissimilarities prevail in many instances. The ground plans in the Bhoja vihara and Ananda vihara at Comilla shared organizational principles typical of their later representatives – the Somapura mahavihara at Paharpur and the ruins of Salban mahavihara at Mainamati. The Vasu vihara, on the other hand, represents architectural characteristics similar to the practices in Nalanda, India and other earlier examples of Buddhist religious edifices across the region. Evidences suggest that before the practice of Buddhism was almost entirely uprooted from the deltaic landmass of Bengal the evolution was complete and the basic spatial and morphological properties in these monuments became archetypal to the cultural bearing of the region as a whole. This study highlights the distinctive artistic and architectural endeavor that marks a significant development in the concept of the Buddhist viharas and mahaviharas in Bengal. An overall pattern of development in the Buddhist building art has been scrutinized in the light of behavioral attitude, geometrical configuration and spatial articulation (within the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent); and by doing so, some of the features corresponding towards the formulation of conjectural image have been discussed. The study also addresses to the unanswered discrepancies in their arrangement, pattern, and purpose that still shroud these treasured mega-monuments. Keywords: Built heritage, Buddhist architecture, Bengal, mahavihara, architectural manifestation. CONTENTS Declaration I Acknowledgements II Abstract III Contents IV List of Plates VIII List of Figures VIII List of Tables IX <> Chapter 1: Background of the Study 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1 1.3 Literature Review 3 1.3.1 On Social-Political and Cultural History 03 1.3.2 On Philosophy and Religion 04 1.3.3 On Archaeological and Architectural History-Criticism 05 1.3.4 On Archaeology 6 1.4 Research Gap 6 1.5 Objectives and Probable Outcome 7 1.5.1 Objectives of the Study 7 1.5.2 Probable Outcomes 7 1.6 The Defining Parameters 8 1.6.1 Reality Setting 1 – Buddhism 8 1.6.2 Reality Setting 2 – Social-Political Contexts 8 1.6.3 Reality Setting 3 – Architectural Style 8 1.7 Methodology 9 1.7.1 Organization of the Research 9 1.7.2 The Methodology Diagram 13 1.7.3 Quality Considerations 13 1.8 Limitations of the Study 14 1.9 Framework of the Report 15 1.10 Concluding Remarks 16 References 17 Chapter 2: Ethno-religious Backdrop – A Historical Overview 2.1 Introduction 19 2.2 The Birth of Buddhism 19 2.2.1 The Early Buddhism 20 2.2.2 Buddha and the Order of Monks 20 2.2.3 The First Two Councils and the Two Sects 21 2.3 The Continuity of Buddhism through the Political 22 Frontiers 2.3.1 Buddhism during Asoka and the Third Council 23 2.3.2 Buddhism during Kanishka and the Fourth Council 25 2.3.3 Buddhism during Gupta Supremacy 25 2.3.4 Buddhism during Harshwardhana 26 2.4 Buddhism during the Palas 27 2.4.1 Vajrayana Buddhism in Bengal 30 2.5 The Fall of Buddhism in the Indian Subcontinent 31 and Bengal 2.5.1 The Philosophical Paradox 31 2.5.2 The Practicality Paradox 31 2.5.3 The Political Paradox 32 2.6 Implications – Development of the Buddhist 33 Philosophy 2.7 Concluding Remarks 35 References 36 Chapter 3: Contexts for the Buddhist Monastic Architecture in Bengal 3.1 Introduction 37 3.2 The Physical Realities of the Indian Subcontinent 37 and Bengal 3.2.1 Defining ‘Bengal’ in the Study 39 3.2.2 The Geo-Context of Bengal 40 3.2.3 The Climate of Bengal 42 3.3 Implications – The Physical Realities of Bengal 43 3.3.1 On Political Aspects 43 3.3.2 On Ethno-religious Aspects 44 3.3.3 On Built Heritage 44 3.4 Settlements during Ancient and Medieval Bengal 46 3.4.1 The Major Janapadas and Mahajanapadas 47 3.5 Assimilation of Contexts – Its Necessity 49 3.6 Concluding Remarks 50 References 51 Chapter 4: Stylistic Evolution of the Buddhist Monastic Architecture 4.1 Introduction 53 4.2 Selection of Buddhist Monuments 53 4.3 The Primary Manifestations of Buddhism 54 4.3.1 The First Functionalities – from Caves to the Sangharamas 54 4.3.2 The First Symbols – of Toranas and Stupas 57 4.4 Buddhist Architecture in India – Through the 59 Formative Stages 4.4.1 Stylistic Context – the Formative Stages 60 4.4.2 Asoka, and the Rise of Buddhist Formalism 61 4.4.3 The Post-Asokan Transitory Stage 66 4.4.4 Kanishka, and the High-Style Formalism 71 4.5 Buddhist Architecture in India – Through the 78 Transformative Stages 4.5.1 Stylistic Context – the Transformative Stages 79 4.5.2 The Guptas, and the Resurgence of the Cave-Communities 80 4.5.3 Harsha – the Last Revivalist in India 83 4.6 Probable Externalities in Buddhist Architecture 90 4.7 The Concept of Evolution – Synthesis 92 4.8 Concluding Remarks 97 References 98 Chapter 5: Buddhist Monastic Style in Bengal 5.1 Introduction 99 5.2 Buddhist Monastic Style in Bengal – The Defining 100 Parameters 5.2.1 The Social-Political