Mathura School of Arts

Mathura School of Arts

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The Mathura school of art, one of the three great schools of sculpture that flourished under the Kushans — alongside the Central Asian and Gandhara schools — represents the most important indigenous tradition of ancient Indian art, producing among the earliest human images of the Buddha independent of foreign influence. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, Mathura art is essential both in its own right — for its distinctive Brahmanical, Jaina, and Buddhist sculpture, its evolution across the Kushana and Gupta periods, and its portrait statues of Kushana rulers — and for its frequently compared, contrasted relationship with the Gandhara school, a comparison that features prominently in Mains-style questions. This article examines the origins and development of the Mathura school, its centres of production, its sculptural themes across the Brahmanical, Jaina, and Buddhist traditions, its stylistic evolution, and its portraiture of rulers, before presenting a structured comparison between the Mathura and Gandhara schools.

Kushan-Era Schools of Art

• The foreign princes became enthusiastic patrons of Indian art and literature, displaying the zeal characteristic of new converts.
  • The Kushan empire brought together masons and other artisans trained in different schools and countries, giving rise to several schools of art: Central Asian, Gandhara, and Mathura.
  • Pieces of sculpture from Central Asia show a synthesis of local and Indian elements, influenced by Buddhism.
• During the same period, beautiful works of art were created at several places south of the Vindhyas.
  • Wonderful Buddhist caves were carved out of rock in Maharashtra; in Andhra Pradesh, Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati became great centres of Buddhist art, with stories associated with the Buddha portrayed on numerous panels.
  • The earliest panels dealing with Buddhism are found at Bodh Gaya, Sanchi, and Bharhut, and relate to the 2nd century BC; however, further development in sculpture occurred in the early centuries of the Christian era.

The Mathura School of Art

• At Sanchi, Bharhut, or Gaya, the Buddha was never depicted in human form, but was represented only symbolically — through footprints or the wheel.
  • Artisans at Mathura initially continued the Mauryan sculptural forms of the Yaksha and Yakshi, until a human image of the Buddha appeared — one that was initially independent of other schools of art, though later influenced by the Gandhara school.
  • The representations of the Buddha at Mathura, in central northern India, are generally dated slightly later than those of Gandhara.
• The school of art that developed at Mathura, in modern Uttar Pradesh, is called Mathura art; it flourished from the first century AD, and in its early phase developed along indigenous lines.
  • The Buddha images exhibit a spiritual feeling in the face which was largely absent in the Gandhara school.
  • It is also famous for the headless erect statue of Kanishka, whose name is inscribed at its lower end, and it also produced several stone images of Vardhamana Mahavira.
  • Its pre-Gupta sculpture and inscriptions ignore Krishna, although Mathura is considered his birthplace and the scene of his early life.
• The Mathura school also carved images of Shiva and Vishnu, along with their consorts Parvati and Lakshmi.
  • The female figures of yakshinis and apsaras of the Mathura school were beautifully carved.

Period and Centre of Production

• The Mathura school of art is a purely indigenous style; it developed during the post-Mauryan period (mainly the Shunga period) and reached its peak during the Gupta period (AD 325–600).
  • The Mathura school of art flourished in the early centuries of the Christian era.
• The traditional centre, Mathura, remained the main site of art production, while Sarnath and Kausambi also emerged as important centres.
  • Spotted red sandstone was used in this school.

Type of Sculpture

• The Mathura school of art, noted for its vitality and assimilative character, was a result of the religious zeal of Brahmanism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
  • Themes vary from Buddhist to Brahmanical, and sometimes secular; several Brahmanical deities were first crystallised by this school.
  • The images of Vishnu and Shiva are sometimes represented by their weapons. Images of the Buddha, Yakshas, Yakshinis, Shaivite and Vaishnavite deities, and portrait statues are profusely sculpted.

Brahmanical Images

• Quite a few Brahmanical images have been found in Mathura.
  • Up to 300 AD, the earliest representations were of Shiva, Lakshmi, Surya, and Sankarshana (or Balarama).
  • During the Kushana period, Karttikeya, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Kubera, and certain other gods — including Naga images — were represented in sculpture.
• Some iconographical features that characterise each deity are present in the images of this period.
  • For example, Shiva, though represented in linga form, began to be carved as the Chaturmukha linga — a linga bearing four human faces of Shiva on all four sides.
  • Surya in the Kushana age is shown riding a chariot driven by two horses; he wears a heavy coat, a dress on the lower half of the body resembling a salwar, boots, a sword in one hand, and a lotus in the other.
  • Balarama has a heavy turban on his head.
  • Saraswati is seated with a rosary and manuscript in her hands; dressed simply, she wears no ornaments and is attended by two other figures.
  • Durga, in her Mahishamardini form, is depicted as the slayer of the buffalo demon.

Jaina Specimens

• Mathura was a sacred centre of the Jains, as it was of the followers of the Brahmanical and Buddhist faiths.
  • It has yielded a number of inscriptions referring to lay followers of Jainism, to Jaina monks and nuns, and to donations and dedications made by them.
  • For example, as early as the middle of the 2nd century BC, an inscription (pasada-torana) was dedicated by a Jaina sravaka (lay follower) named Uttaradasaka.
• Kankali Tila was the main Jaina site at Mathura, and it has yielded an overwhelmingly large number of sculptures, including:
  • ayagapatas — stone slabs bearing Jaina figures at the centre along with auspicious marks, or representations of Jaina stupas (these were objects of worship);
  • various architectural fragments, such as pillars, capitals, crossbars, and railing-posts.
• The representations of the Jainas, or Tirthankaras, on the ayagapatas date from before the Kushana period, but regular images become common only from the Kushana period onward.
  • Of these, Parsvanatha is recognisable from his canopy of snake hoods, and Rishabhanatha from locks of hair falling on his shoulders, but other Tirthankara images are not so easily identified.
• The Jina image, and the indigenous style of the Buddha image, were remarkable features of Mathura art; the Sarvatobhadrika image, of four Jain Jinas standing back to back, belongs to the Mathura school.

Buddhist Images

• Buddhist images are found in far larger numbers than those of other faiths.
  • The earliest images of Bodhisattvas and the Buddha were perhaps made at Mathura and sent to other regions as well; for example, the Sarnath image of a standing Bodhisattva, installed in the reign of Kanishka I, was made at Mathura.
  • The Buddha was depicted in human form, and the main theme was the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Both sitting and standing postures of the Buddha’s statue were carved in the Mathura school.
• Among the sitting idols, the one found at Katra is among the oldest; its characteristics include:
  • the Buddha sitting under a Bodhi tree;
  • the right hand in abhaya posture;
  • the Dharmachakra and tri-ratna chiselled onto the palms and the soles of the feet; and
  • the head shaven except for a single lock of hair.
• The Buddha image at Mathura is modelled on the lines of earlier Yaksha images, whereas in Gandhara it has Hellenistic features.
  • The standing Buddhas of Sravasti, Sarnath, and Kausambi belong to the Mathura school; the sitting Buddha of the Mathura school is in padmasana, with the soles of the feet decorated with tri-ratna and Dharmachakra signs.
  • The presence of two attendants beside the Buddha, holding chanwars (fly-whisks), is a feature of the Mathura school, and this motif later inspired the images of Indian deities.
• The art of Mathura features frequent sexual imagery; female images with bare breasts, nude below the waist, and displaying labia and female genitalia, are common.
• Some of the general characteristics of the Buddha idols of this age are:
  • they are made of white-spotted red sandstone;
  • images started being fashioned in the round, so that they could be seen from every side;
  • the head and face are shaven;
  • the right hand is shown raised in abhaya posture;
  • there is no mark on the forehead;
  • the dress is always tight on the body, and the left hand holds the frill.
• A number of Yaksha and Yakshini images have been discovered in Mathura; they are associated with all three religions — Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahmanism.
  • Kubera was another deity shown with a bulging belly; he is associated with wine and with festive gatherings where participants indulge in drink, and he bears a resemblance to Bacchus and Dionysus, the Roman and Greek gods of wine, respectively.

Sculpture Features and Its Evolution

• More stress is given to inner beauty and facial emotions than to bodily gesture, and there is boldness in carving the large images.
  • The first Mathura image-makers never intended to sculpt an anatomically correct human Buddha; their images were a composite of the 32 major and 80 minor lakshanas (auspicious marks).
  • Later, the human Buddha images evolved to reflect human beauty and heroic ideals; the early images of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva are happy, fleshy figures with little spirituality about them.
• A block-like compactness and a smooth, close-fitting robe, almost entirely devoid of folds, characterise the earliest standing Buddha image belonging to the Mathura school.
  • The volume of the images projects out of the picture plane; the faces are round and smiling, and the heaviness of the sculptural volume is reduced to relaxed flesh. The garments are clearly visible on the body and cover the left shoulder.
• However, in the 2nd century AD, images became more sensual, with increased rotundness, and grew more flashy.
  • This extreme fleshiness was reduced by the 3rd century AD, and the surface features also became more refined.
  • The trend continued into the 4th century AD, but later the massiveness and fleshiness were reduced further, and the flesh became more tightened; the halo around the head of the Buddha was profusely decorated.

The Images of Rulers

• The Mat village in Mathura yielded large images of Kushana kings and other notables, such as Kanishka, Vima, and Chastana.
  • The idea of building reliquaries, or structures for housing portrait statues of rulers and other dignitaries of the state, possibly came from Central Asia; this was done to give the rulers a divine status, and the dress worn by these dignitaries was also of Central Asian origin.
• Many heads of Scythian dignitaries have also been found at Mat.
  • These discoveries indicate that Mathura was the most important centre of the eastern part of the Kushana empire, and they also forcefully suggest interaction between the Gandhara and Mathura art forms.
  • In due course, Mathura art forms contributed significantly to the development of Gupta art forms.

Mathura vs Gandhara: A Comparative Answer

Question: “Mathura school of arts differed from the Gandhara school not only in origin and material used but also in several other features.” Elaborate.

• The Mathura school of art is a purely indigenous style, developing during the post-Mauryan period (mainly the Shunga period) and reaching its peak during the Gupta period (AD 325–600).
  • The Gandhara school of art, by contrast, developed during the reign of the Kushana emperor Kanishka; both the Shakas and the Kushanas patronised the Gandhara school, which shows strong Greco-Roman influence.

Difference in Origin

• Mathura School:
  • No foreign influence initially, though it later cross-fertilised with the Gandhara school; its development took place entirely indigenously.
• Gandhara School:
  • Strong Greek influence; it was based on Greco-Roman norms, encapsulating foreign techniques and an alien spirit, and is also known as the Graeco-Buddhist school of art.
  • A hallmark of the Gandhara style is its assimilation of various traits from the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Bactrian traditions into the local tradition; it was initially inspired by Hellenistic features.

Difference in Material Used

• Mathura School: spotted red sandstone.
• Gandhara School: blue-grey mica schist / grey sandstone.
  • Other materials used were mud, lime, and stucco; marble was not used in Gandhara art, and terracotta was used only rarely.

Difference in Image Features

• Mathura School:
  • Themes may vary from Buddhist to Brahmanical to sometimes secular — Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Jainism, Buddhism, Yakshas, Yakshinis, and so on.
  • Buddhist images are found in large numbers, in both sitting and standing postures.
  • The Buddha image at Mathura is modelled on the lines of earlier Yaksha images, whereas in Gandhara it has Hellenistic features; more stress is given to inner beauty and facial emotions than to bodily gesture, with boldness in carving the large images.
  • Early period: light-volumed, fleshy figures with little spirituality about them.
  • Later period: flashiness reduced and surface features refined; the Buddha carved in various mudras; not much attention paid to detailed sculpting; the Buddha appears stout.
• Gandhara School:
  • Finer details and realistic images, with great detail paid to the exact depiction of body parts.
  • The theme is mainly Buddhist, depicting various stories from the life of the Buddha (hence also known as the Graeco-Buddhist school); the Buddha is carved in various mudras, and the images of the Buddha resemble the Greek god Apollo.
  • Curly hair, anatomical accuracy, spatial depth, and foreshortening are characteristic; more stress is given to bodily features and external beauty, and the Buddha is sometimes shown thin.

Difference in Halo

• Mathura School: the halo around the head of the Buddha was profusely decorated; images are less expressive.
• Gandhara School: the halo is generally not decorated; images are very expressive.

Though the two schools differed in these respects, they also influenced one another: many Mathura sculptures, for instance, incorporate Hellenistic elements such as idealistic realism, along with key design elements like curly hair and folded garments.