Sculpture

The sculpture at Sanchi was not merely decorative. When European collectors saw these carvings in the 19th century, they found them beautiful and valuable enough to remove entire sections from the stupa and transport them to Europe. But to understand what these images actually mean, you have to look past the first impression and learn the visual language the sculptors used.

Stories in stone

Look at a panel like Figure 4.13. At first glance it seems to show a simple rural scene — thatched huts and trees. But art historians who have carefully studied the sculpture at Sanchi identify it as a scene from the Vessantara Jataka, a story about a generous prince who gave away everything to a Brahmana and went to live in the forest with his wife and children.

How do historians know this? They compare the sculpture with textual evidence. The Jataka stories were written down, so by matching the visual details with the known story, the meaning becomes clear. This is a key method: sculpture is often a visual retelling of a text, and you need to know the text to read the image.

Symbols of worship

Early Buddhist sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form. Instead, they represented his presence through symbols. To understand these symbols, historians must first become familiar with the hagiographies (sacred biographies) of the Buddha.

• The empty seat (Fig. 4.14): indicates the spot where the Buddha meditated and attained enlightenment under a tree.
• The stupa (Fig. 4.15): represents the mahaparinibbana — the Buddha's final passing away.
• The wheel (Fig. 4.16): stands for the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath. This is the dharmachakra — the wheel of dharma being set in motion.

These symbols cannot be taken literally. The tree does not simply mean 'tree' — it symbolises the enlightenment event. The seat is not just a piece of furniture — it signifies meditation. To read such art, you must know the tradition that produced it.

Popular traditions

Not all sculpture at Sanchi was directly inspired by Buddhist ideas. Some motifs came from pre-Buddhist or non-Buddhist popular traditions that were absorbed into Buddhist art.

• The shalabhanjika (Fig. 4.17): a beautiful woman swinging from the edge of a gateway, holding onto a tree. This image seemed odd to early scholars — what did it have to do with renunciation? But literary traditions outside Buddhism describe a shalabhanjika as a woman whose touch causes trees to flower and bear fruit. It was regarded as an auspicious symbol and was integrated into the decoration of the stupa.
• Animals: some of the finest animal carvings at Sanchi include elephants, horses, monkeys, and cattle. While the Jataka stories contain many animal tales that are depicted here, it is also likely that animals were carved simply to create lively, engaging scenes. Beyond that, animals were used as symbols of human qualities — elephants, for instance, signified strength and wisdom.
• The serpent (Fig. 4.21): found on several pillars, this motif seems to come from popular traditions that were not always recorded in texts. Interestingly, the early art historian James Fergusson, who was not familiar with Buddhist literature (most of it had not yet been translated), concluded from studying the images alone that Sanchi was a centre of tree and serpent worship.

Paintings from the past

Stone sculpture survives the ravages of time best, but other visual media were also used. The most famous surviving paintings are on the walls of caves at Ajanta (Maharashtra).

• They depict stories from the Jatakas. …