Buddhist Monuments in South-Eastern India: A Study of Forms and Patronage

Abstract

Abstract The advent of Buddhism in India is usually dated back to 6th century BCE. Siddhartha Goutama, a Sakya Prince left for quest of truth and reality of life. He was showered with the divine light of enlightenment, then, instead of keeping it to himself, Gautama preferred to enlighten others. The teachings preached and propounded by Gautama Buddha were warmly accepted by a large number of people and emerged as a new school of thought i.e. Buddhism which later turned into a major religion of the world and the Buddhist remains discovered through archaeological investigations help us to reconstruct our past. (Chakrabarti, 2006: 315) It is a well known fact that various the kings of different kingdoms like Magadha, Vaisali, the Sakayas, the Bullis, the Koliyas, the Mallas, the Moriyas and Kalinga (Ancient Odisha) sought for the relics of the Buddha after the parinirvana. (Kern, 1989: 46) The emperors, kings, traders and commoners extended patronage and built monuments, kept relics, offered gifts to pay ovation to the Master Teacher. This historical phenomenon is known from various forms of Buddhist monuments built across India. Odisha, a geographical orbit of South Eastern India, is fortunate to have received a good deal of Buddhist monuments and relics. This paper is intended to present an account of different forms of Buddhist monuments that have been discovered so far, such as Stupas, Chaitys, Monasteries under the possible patronage of Buddhism in this part of India from third century BCE to sixth-seventh century CE.