Buildings, Paintings and Books

The iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi, is a remarkable example of the skill of Indian crafts persons.
It is made of iron, 7.2. m high, and weighs over 3 tonnes.
An inscription on the pillar mentioning a ruler named Chandra, who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty.

There is a small box placed at the centre or heart of the stupa.
- This may contain 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.
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.
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.
Example: Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh.

Some of the earliest Hindu temples were also built at this time.
Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga were worshipped in these shrines.
General features
The most important part of the temple was the room known as the garbhagriha, where the image of the chief deity was placed.
A tower, known as the shikhara, was built on top of the garbhagriha, to mark this out as a sacred place.
Most temples also had a space known as the mandapa.
- It was a hall where people could assemble.
Example
- Monolithic temples at Mahabalipuram.
- The Durga temple at Aihole, built about 1400 years ago

Usually kings or queens decided to build these as it was an expensive affair.
Kings and queens probably spent money from 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.

Paintings found in Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra).
- Buddhist caves with beautiful wall paintings.
- Scenes from the life of Buddha and Jataka tales.
- The colours were made of plants and minerals.

The Silappadikaram, a tamil was composed by a poet named Ilango.
It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi.

Purana literally mean old.
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.
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.

The Mahabharata is about a war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.
This was a war to gain control of the throne of the Kurus, and their capital, Hastinapura.
Both the Puranas and the Mahabharata have been compiled by Vyasa.

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

Aryabhata, a mathematician and astronomer, wrote a book in Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam.
He stated that day and night were caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis.
He also found a way of calculating the circumference of a circle.
Varahamihira, Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya were some other mathematicians and astronomers who made several discoveries.

Ayurveda is a well-known system of health science that was developed in ancient India.
The two famous practitioners of Ayurveda in ancient India were
- Charaka (1st-2nd centuries C.E.)
  - Charak Samhita, written by Charak is a remarkable book on medicine.
- Sushruta (c. 4th century C.E.)
  - Susruta Samhita, Sushruta speaks about elaborate surgical procedures.