History · Ch 4 — Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings — Cultural Developments
Can We “See” Everything?
Can We “See” Everything?
The section opens by acknowledging that while we have a rich collection of material remains—sculptures, buildings, and inscriptions—these represent only a fragment of the past. It cautions that what survives is often what was deliberately preserved or happened to be durable, while entire worlds of perishable art, oral traditions, and everyday life are lost to us. The text then poses a critical question: can we truly “see” the full picture of ancient cultural developments when our evidence is so incomplete and biased toward the monumental and the elite? This forces us to reco …
The sculptured panel from Sanchi shows a scene that is both a specific place and a symbolic statement. At the centre stands a stupa — the domed mound that housed relics of the Buddha. The stupa is shown with its characteristic features: a hemispherical anda (the solid dome), a harmika (a square railing on top), and a chhatri (an umbrella-like finial). Around the base runs a railing (vedika), and the panel clearly depicts a gateway (torana) — the elaborate stone structure that marked the entrance to the sacred enclosure.
What makes this panel remarkable is that it does not show the Buddha in human form. Instead, the stupa itself is the focus of worship. You can see devotees — both men and women — approaching the stupa with folded hands or carrying offerings. Some are shown in procession, walking around the stupa in a clockwise direction (pradakshina), which was the prescribed ritual of circumambulation. The panel also includes trees, lotus flowers, and animals (such as elephants and horses), which were common motifs in Sanchi’s art and often carried symbolic meanings — the lotus for purity, the elephant for royal power and the Buddha’s previous births.
The layout is not a realistic photograph but a narrative composition. The stupa is shown larger than the human figures, not because it was physically bigger in that proportion, but because it was spiritually more important. The panel compresses space: the gateway, the railing, and the dome are all visible in a single view, even though in reality you would see them from different angles. This is a deliberate artistic choice — the sculptor wanted the viewer to understand the entire sacred site and the act of worship in one glance. …
Timeline 1 — Major Religious Developments.
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| c. 1500–1000 BCE | Early Vedic traditions |
| c. 1000–500 BCE | Later Vedic traditions |
| c. sixth century BCE | Early Upanishads; Jainism, Buddhism |
| c. third century BCE | First stupas |
Timeline 2 — Landmarks in the Discovery and Preservation of Early Monuments and Sculpture.
| Year | Development |
|---|---|
| 1814 | Founding of the Indian Museum, Calcutta |
| 1834 | Publication of Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus by Ram Raja; Cunningham explores the stupa at Sarnath |
| 1835–1842 | James Fergusson surveys major archaeological sites |
| 1851 | Establishment of the Government Museum, Madras |
| 1854 | Alexander Cunningham publishes Bhilsa Topes, one of the earliest works on Sanchi |
| 1878 | Rajendra Lala Mitra publishes Buddha Gaya: The Heritage of Sakya Muni |
| 1880 | H.H. Cole appointed Curator of Ancient Monuments |
| 1888 | Passing of the Treasure Trove Act |
| 1914 | John Marshall and Alfred Foucher publish The Monuments of Sanchi |