CHAPTER 12

BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS AND BOOKS

Marutasami and the iron pillar

Marutasami was so excited. His brother had propelled
his wheelchair all along the dusty, stony path, past the
towering Qutb Minar, and up the metal ramp. It had
been tough, but now he was here, in front of the famous
iron pillar. It was an unforgettable experience.

The iron pillar

Metallurgy
The iron pillar at
Ancient Indian metallurgists made major
Mehrauli, Delhi, is a
contributions to the metallurgical history of the
world. Archaeological excavations have shown remarkable example of
that the Harappans were master craftsmen and the skill of Indian crafts
had knowledge of copper metallurgy. They even persons. It is made of
manufactured bronze by mixing copper and tin. iron, 7.2. m high, and
While the Harappans belonged to the Bronze Age, weighs over 3 tonnes.
their successors belonged to the Iron Age. India It was made about
produced highly advanced types of iron-forged 1500 years ago. We
iron, wrought iron and cast iron.
know the date because
there is an inscription
The iron pillar on the pillar mentioning a ruler named Chandra,
who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty
(Chapter 11). What is amazing is the fact that the
pillar has not rusted in all these years.

Buildings in brick and stone

The skills of our crafts persons are also apparent
in the buildings that have survived, such as
stupas. The word stupa means a mound. While
there are several kinds of stupas, round and tall,
big and small, these have certain common
features. Generally, there is a small box placed at
n 122 the centre or heart of the stupa. This may contain
OUR PASTS–I bodily remains (such as teeth, bone or ashes) of
the Buddha or his followers, or things they used,
as well as precious stones, and coins.

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 This box, known as a relic casket,
was covered with earth. Later, a layer
of mud brick or baked brick was
added on top. And then, the dome
like structure was sometimes
covered with carved stone slabs.
Often, a path, known as the
pradakshina patha, was laid around
the stupa. This was surrounded with
railings. Entrance to the path was
through gateways. Devotees walked
around the stupa, in a clockwise
direction, as a mark of devotion.
Both railings and gateways were
often decorated with sculpture.
Find Amaravati on Map 7
(page 113). This was a place where
a magnificent stupa once existed.
Many of the stone carvings for
decorating the stupa were made
about 2000 years ago. Top : The Great Stupa at
Other buildings were hollowed out of rock to Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh.
Stupas like this one were
make artificial caves. Some of these were very built over several
elaborately decorated with sculptures and painted centuries. While the
walls. brick mound probably
Some of the earliest Hindu temples were also built dates to the time of
at this time. Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga Ashoka (Chapter 8), the
railings and gateways
were worshipped in these were added during the
shrines. The most time of later rulers.
important part of the Left : Sculpture from
temple was the room Amaravati.
known as the Look at the picture and
describe what you see.
garbhagriha, where the
image of the chief deity
was placed. It was here
that priests performed
religious rituals, and 123 n
devotees offered worship BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS
to the deity. AND BOOKS

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Top : An early temple at
Bhitargaon, Uttar
Often, as at Bhitargaon, a tower, known as the
Pradesh. shikhara, was built on top of the garbhagriha, to
This was built about 1500 mark this out as a sacred place. Building
years ago, and was made shikharas required careful planning. Most temples
of baked brick and stone.
also had a space known as the mandapa. It was
Top Right : Monolithic a hall where people could assemble.
temples at
Find Mahabalipuram and Aihole on Map 7
Mahabalipuram.
Each of these was carved (page 113). Some of the finest stone temples were
out of a huge, single built in these towns. Some of these are shown
piece of stone (that is here.
why they are known as
monoliths). While brick
structures are built up by
adding layers of bricks
from the bottom
upwards, in this case the
stone cutters had to
work from top
downwards.
List the problems that
stone cutters may have
faced.
Right : The Durga temple
at Aihole, built about
1400 years ago.

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How were stupas and temples built?
There were several stages in building a stupa or a
temple. Usually, kings or queens decided to build
these as it was an expensive affair. First, good
quality stone had to be found, quarried, and
transported to the place that was often carefully
chosen for the new building. Here, these rough
blocks of stone had to be shaped and carved into
pillars, and panels for walls, floors and ceilings.
And then these had to be placed in precisely the
Left : A Jaina monastery
right position. from Orissa.
This two storey building
was carved out of the
rock surface. Notice the
entrance to the rooms.
Jaina monks lived and
meditated in these
rooms.
In what ways is the cave
shown here different from
the illustration on p.15?
Below : A sculpture from
the National Museum,
New Delhi.
Can you see how some of
the caves may have been
Kings and queens probably spent money from hollowed out?
their treasury to pay the crafts persons who
worked to build these splendid structures.
Besides, when devotees came to visit
the temple or the stupa, they often
brought gifts, which were used to
decorate the buildings. For
example, an association of ivory
workers paid for one of the
beautiful gateways at Sanchi.
Among the others who paid
for decorations were merchants,
farmers, garland makers, perfumers, 125 n
smiths, and hundreds of men and

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 women who are known only by their
names which were inscribed on
pillars, railings and walls. So when
you get a chance to visit any of these
buildings, remember how several
hundreds of people probably worked
to construct and decorate them.
Make a diagram like the one on
page 88 (Chapter 9) to show the stages
in the building of a temple or stupa.

Painting
Find Ajanta on Map 7 (page 113). This
is a place where several caves were
hollowed out of the hills over
centuries. Most of these were
monasteries for Buddhist monks, and
some of them were decorated with
paintings. Here are some examples.
As the caves are dark inside, most of these
paintings were done in the light of torches. The
Paintings from Ajanta. colours, which are vivid even after 1500 years,
Describe what you see in were made of plants and minerals. The artists
each of these paintings.
who created these splendid works of art remain
unknown.

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The world of books
Some of the best–known epics were written during
this period. Epics are grand, long compositions,
about heroic men and women, and include stories
about gods.
A famous Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, was
composed by a poet named Ilango, around 1800
years ago. It is the story of a merchant named
Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with
a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife
Kannagi. Later, he and Kannagi left Puhar and
went to Madurai, where he was wrongly accused
of theft by the court jeweller of the Pandya king.
The king sentenced Kovalan to death. Kannagi,
who still loved him, was full of grief and anger at
this injustice, and destroyed the entire city of
Madurai.

A description from the Silappadikaram

Here is how the poet describes Kannagi’s grief:
“O witness of my grief, you cannot console me. Is it right that your
body, fairer than pure gold, lies unwashed here in the dust? Is it just that
in the red glow of the twilight, your handsome chest, framed with a flower
wreath, lies thrown down on the bare earth, while I remain alone, helpless
and abandoned to despair? Is there no god? Is there no god in this country?
Can there be a god in a land where the sword of the king is used for the
murder of innocent strangers? Is there no god, no god?”

Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai was

composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago.
This describes the story of the daughter of
Kovalan and Madhavi. These beautiful
compositions were lost to scholars for many
centuries, till their manuscripts were
rediscovered, about a hundred years ago.
Other writers, such as Kalidasa, (about whom 127 n
you read in Chapter 11) wrote in Sanskrit. BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS
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 A verse from the Meghaduta
Here is a verse from Kalidasa’s best-known poem,
the Meghaduta, in which a monsoon cloud is
imagined to be a messenger between lovers who are
separated from one another.
See how the poet describes the breeze that will
carry the cloud northwards:
“A cool breeze, delightful as it is touched
With the fragrance of the earth
Swollen by your showers,
Inhaled deeply by elephants,
And causing the wild figs to ripen,
Will blow gently as you go.”
Do you think Kalidasa can be described as a lover
of nature?

Recording and preserving old stories

A number of Hindu religious stories that were in
circulation earlier were written down around the
same time. These include the Puranas. Purana
literally mean old. The Puranas contain stories
about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva,
Durga or Parvati. They also contain details on
how they were to be worshipped. Besides, there
are accounts about the creation of the world, and
about kings.
The Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit
verse, and were meant to be heard by everybody,
including women and shudras, who were not
allowed to study the Vedas. They were probably
recited in temples by priests, and people came to
listen to them.
Two Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata and
Ramayana had been popular for a very long time.
Some of you may be familiar with these stories.
The Mahabharata is about a war fought between
n 128 the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.
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This was a war to gain control of the throne of the
Kurus, and their capital, Hastinapura. The story
itself was an old one, but was written down in the
form in which we know it today, about 1500 years
ago. Both the Puranas and the Mahabharata are
supposed to have been compiled by Vyasa. The
Bhagavad Gita, about which you learnt in Chapter
10, was also included in the Mahabharata.
The Ramayana is about Rama, a prince of
Kosala, who was sent into exile. His wife Sita was
abducted by the king of Lanka, named Ravana,
and Rama had to fight a battle to get her back. He
won and returned to Ayodhya, the capital of
Kosala, after his victory. Like the Mahabharata,
this was an old story that was now written down.
Valmiki is recognised as the author of the Sanskrit
Ramayana.
There are several versions (many of which are
per for med) of the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana, popular amongst people in different
parts of the subcontinent. Find out about a
version in your state.

Stories told by ordinary people

Ordinary people also told stories, composed
poems and songs, sang, danced, and performed
plays. Some of these are preserved in collections
of stories such as the Jatakas and the
Panchatantra, which were written down around
this time. Stories from the Jatakas were often
shown on the railings of stupas and in paintings
in places such as Ajanta.
Here is one such story:

129 n
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 The story of the monkey king
Once upon a time there was a great monkey king,
who lived on the banks of the Ganga in the
Himalayas, with 80,000 followers. They fed on the
fruit of a special mango tree, which were very
sweet. Such exquisite mangoes did not grow on
the plains. One day, a ripe mango fell into the
river and floated all the way to Varanasi. There
the king of the city who was bathing in the river
found it, and was amazed when he tasted it. He
asked the foresters of his kingdom whether they
could find the tree for him, and they led him all
the way to the Himalayas. There, the king
and his courtiers had their fill of
mangoes. At night, the king
discovered that the monkeys
were also feasting on the fruit,
and decided to kill them.

However, the king of the

monkeys worked out a
plan to save his followers.
He broke off branches of
the mango tree, and tied
them to form a ‘bridge’
across the river, and held
on to one end till all his
followers crossed over.
Exhausted with the effort, he
fell down and lay dying.
The human king saw what had
happened, and tried unsuccessfully to
revive the monkey. When he died, the king
mourned his death and paid him full respect.

This story is shown on a piece of sculpture

found from a stupa at Bharhut in central India.
Can you identify which parts of the story are
shown in the sculpture?
n 130
n 130 Why do you think these were chosen?
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Writing books on science
KEYWORDS
This was also the time when Aryabhata, a stupa
mathematician and astronomer, wrote a book in temple
Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam. He stated
painting
that day and night were caused by the rotation of
epic
the earth on its axis, even though it seems as if
story
the sun is rising and setting everyday. He
developed a scientific explanation for eclipses as Purana
well. He also found a way of calculating the science mathematics
circumference of a circle, which is nearly as
accurate as the for mula we use today.
Varahamihira, Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya
were some other mathematicians and astronomers
who made several discoveries. Try and find out
more about them.

Zero Ayurveda
While numerals had been used
Ayurveda is a well-known system of
earlier, mathematicians in India
health science that was developed in
now invented a special symbol
ancient India. The two famous
for zero. This system of counting
practitioners of Ayurveda in ancient
was adapted by the Arabs and
India were Charaka (1st-2nd centuries
then spread to Europe. It
C.E.) and Sushruta (c. 4th century C.E.)
continues to be in use
Charak Samhita, written by Charak is
throughout the world.
a remarkable book on medicine. In his
The Romans used a system
treatise, Susruta Samhita, Sushruta
of counting without using zero.
speaks about elaborate surgical
Try and find out more about it.
procedures.

Elsewhere
Paper has become a part of our daily lives. The books
we read are printed on paper, and we use paper for
writing. Paper was invented in China about 1900
years ago, by a man named Cai Lun. He beat plant
fibres, cloth, rope and the bark of trees, soaked these
in water, and then pressed, drained and dried the
pulp to create paper. Even today, hand made paper 131 n
is made through a similar process. BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS
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 SOME IMPORTANT The technique of making paper was a closely
DATES guarded secret for centuries. It reached Korea about
1400 years ago, and spread to Japan soon after. It
u beginning of stupa was known in Baghdad about 1800 years ago. From
building (2300 years Baghdad it spread to Europe, Africa, and other parts
ago) of Asia including the subcontinent.
What were manuscripts in early India made out
u Amaravati (2000
of ? (Hint: See Chapter 1)
years ago)

u Kalidasa (1600 years

ago)
Imagine
u Iron pillar, Temple at
You are sitting in a mandapa of a temple. Describe the
Bhitargaon, Paintings
scene around you.
at Ajanta, Aryabhata
(1500 years ago)

u Durga temple (1400

Let’s recall
years ago)
1. Match the following

Stupa Place where the image

of the deity is installed

Shikhara Mound

Mandapa Circular path around

the stupa

Garbhagriha Place in temples where

people could assemble

Pradakshina patha Tower

2. Fill in the blanks:

(a) ————————
was a great astronomer.

(b) Stories about gods and goddesses are found in

the ————————

(c) ————————
is recognised as the author of the
Sanskrit Ramayana.

(d) and ———————— are two Tamil epics.

n 132 ————————

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 Let’s discuss

3. Make a list of the chapters in which you find mention

of metal working. What are the metals objects
mentioned or shown in those chapters?

4. Read the story on page 130. In what ways is the

monkey king similar to or different from the kings
you read about in Chapters 6 and 11?

5. Find out more and tell a story from one of the epics.

Let’s do

6. List some steps that can be taken to make buildings

and monuments accessible to differently abled people.

7. Try and list as many uses of paper as you can.

8. If you could visit any one of the places described in

this chapter, which would you choose and why?

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 A quick look at dates

Throughout the book, we have used approximate dates to give you a

rough idea of when events/processes took place, using the year 2000
as our starting point. Generally, the letter c., which stands for the
Latin word circa, meaning ‘approximate’ is used for such dates.
You will find dates written differently in other books that you
may use.

u For instance, for the Palaeolithic period (Chapter 2), dates may
be mentioned in terms of millions of years ago, written as mya
u The beginning of farming and herding at Mehrgarh (Chapter 3)
dates to c. 6000 BC/ BCE
u The Harappan cities flourished between c. 2700 and 1900 BCE
u The Rigveda was composed between c. 1500 and 1000 BCE
u Mahajanapadas and cities developed in the Ganga valley and
new ideas associated with the Upanishads, Jainism and
Buddhism emerged c. 500 BCE
u Alexander invaded the northwest c. 327-325 BCE
u Chandragupta Maurya became king c. 321 BCE
u Ashoka ruled between c. 272/268 to 231 BCE
u The composition of the Sangam texts, c. 300 BCE-300 CE
u The reign of Kanishka, c. 78-100 CE
u The establishment of the Gupta empire, c. 320 CE
u The compilation of the Jaina texts at the council at Valabhi, c.
512/521 CE
u The rule of Harshavardhana, 606-647 CE
u Xuan Zang comes to India, 630-643 CE
u The rule of Pulakeshin II, 609-642 CE.
In some cases, for example, the date from when Ashoka began to
rule, you may find that more than one date is shown. This is because
historians have not been able to agree on which is the correct date.
Dates with question marks after them indicate that these are uncertian.

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 Next year
You will be studying more about Our Pasts, looking at
the history of the next thousand years, beginning from
the eighth century CE. You will:

u Find that while manuscripts, inscriptions and

archaeological evidence, especially from buildings,
remain important, there are other kinds of sources.
u Learn about new kings and kingdoms, including an
empire, that of the Mughals.
u Discover more about architecture — about temples,
mosques, gardens, forts and other buildings.
u See what was happening in cities — learn about
crafts persons and traders, and about urban
culture.
u Find out about hunter-gatherers, herders, and
farmers.
u Learn how religious beliefs and practices changed.
u And discover how new languages were used to
compose songs, poems and other literary works.
In all of this, you will find that while there were
several new developments, there were also continuities
with the past. Look out for what changed, and what
remained the same!

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 MAP : 8
Political Map of India

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