Phase Iii Architecture and Sculpture from Taxila 6.1

CHAPTER SIX PHASE III ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE FROM TAXILA 6.1 Introduction to the Phase III Developments in the Sacred Areas and Afonasteries ef Taxila and the Peshawar Basin A dramatic increase in patronage occurred across the Peshawar basin, Taxila, and Swat during phase III; most of the extant remains in these regions were constructed at this time. As devotional icons of Buddhas and bodhisattvas became increasingly popular, parallel trans formations occurred in the sacred areas, which still remained focused around relic stupas. In the Peshawar basin, Taxila, and to a lesser degree Swat, the widespread incorporation of large iconic images clearly reflects changes occurring in Buddhist practice. Although it is difficult to know how the sacred precincts were ritually used, modifications in the spatial organization of both sacred areas and monasteries provide some insight. Not surprisingly, the use and incorporation of devotional images developed regionally. The most dramatic shift toward icons is observed in the Peshawar basin and some of the Taxila sites. In contrast, Swat seemed to follow a different pattern, as fewer image shrines were fabricated and sacred areas were organized along different lines. This might reflect a lack of patronage; perhaps new sites following the Peshawar basin format were not commissioned because of a lack of resources. More likely, the Buddhist tradition in Swat was of a different character; some sites-notably Butkara I-show significant expansion following a uniquely Swati format. At a few sites in Swat, however, image shrines appear in positions analogous to those of the Peshawar basin; Nimogram and Saidu (figs. 109, 104) arc notable examples. The phase III developments that occurred in the Swat valley will not be addressed in this book, as they so markedly diverge from what is observed in Taxila and the Peshawar basin. Further, this region has been the focus of archaeological investigation by the Italian Archaeological 1'Ession to Swat for more than half a cen tury, and their many publications effectively map this particular Buddhist tradition. 136 CHAPTER SIX Image shrines donated by individual devotees were placed along the edges of the sacred areas, and they were probably viewed in the process of circumambulating the main stupa; a good example is Takht-i-bahf (fig. 2) or Thareli sacred area D (fig. 69). Image shrines were also placed at points of access into the sacred area and were organized to form corridors, as seen in the approach to the sacred area at Mekhasanda (fig. 65) and at Takht-i-bahf (fig. 2, corridor between monastery II and court X). The newly created phase III sacred areas typically contained much smaller main stupas than those built in phase II, and they seem insignificant when compared to the massive round stupas of phase I; examples are the upper stupas at Takht-i-bahf, and Jamal Garh1 (figs. 2, 61). Another major phase III innovation was the construction of multiple main stupas at a single site, a characteristic present at Takht-i-bahf (fig. 2; stupas Pl, P2, and P36), Thareli (fig. 68, sacred areas C and D), and Ranigat (fig. 78, main stupas in the east, west, and southwest areas). During phase III, iconographically complex image shrines (figs. 27, 29) appear to have largely supplanted the earlier stupa shrines of phase II in quadrangular monasteries. This kind of gandhakuti iconography can be directly related to later monumental examples of monastic image shrines from western Indian sites like Ajai:ita (see section 6.6.3 Monastic Images: Late Phase III Gandhakuti Image Niches). Among the phase III mountain viharas, monastic small sacred areas (usually containing a small stupa in an enclosure with perime ter image shrines) appear to have served the devotional needs of the resident monks (figs. 68, 75) (see section 7.3.2 Thareli: Monastic Small Sacred Areas). The masonry sequence present in Taxila, as was the case with phase II, offers a means to order chronologically the common phase III structural types found in the sacred areas and monasteries of the Peshawar basin. The relevant Taxila sites include the Dharmarajika complex, Kalawan, Jauliafi, :\Iohra l\Ioradu, and Pippala (figs. 1, 20, 27, 32, 39), while in the Peshawar basin the largest phase III sites are Takht-i-bahf, Jamal Garhi, Thareli, and Ranigat (figs. 44, 61, 68, 78). The small Peshawar basin site of l\Iekhasanda can readily be compared to sites in Taxila because it is less structurally com plex and was occupied for only a short time, in phase II and the main part of phase III (fig. 65). Considerable evidence for the use and distribution of phase III schist devotional icons comes from loose finds recovered at the sites of Loriyan Tangai (figs. 85, 88, 89), Sikri, .

Load more