Different Types of Capital: Bull, Mauran and Sarnath for Competitive Exams
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Different Types of Capital
- a Lotus Column (Bell) b Lotus Column (Bud) c Papyrus Column (Bud) d Papyrus Column (Bell)
- 3rd B. C.
- mixture of Persian and Indian elements
- lotus capital
- The motifs on the abacus are beautiful decorative elements like the rosette, palmette, and the acanthus ornaments none of them is Indian.
Bull Capital of Rampurva, Bihar
- Bull
- Masterpiece of Indian Craftsmanship.
- A humped bull is well modelled
Features of Mauryan Pillar
- Uniformity in all pillars of Mauryan art
- Chunar sandstone was used.
- Monolith shaft
- Use of animal
- Different types of abacus round, rectangular, square etc.
- Edicts were inscribed generally on abacus, sometimes on the shaft, too.
- Achaemenian influence Bell shaped capital.
- Iranian/Persian influence clusterous/Highly polished pillars
- Difference between Mauryan and achamanian pillars
- Mauryan pillars are monolith
- Achamanian pillars are made from different stones
Sarnath Pillar
- Most remarkable
- Highly polished monolithic lion capital , which is now the Emblem of the Government of India.
- Represents four roaring lions back to back facing the four cardinal directions.
- The round abacus is decorated with four dharmachakras or wheels of law, alternating with an elephant, a bull, a horse, and a lion.
- Alternating with an elephant, a bull, a horse, and a lion, all carved with masterly skill.
- The abacus is supported by a bell-shaped base consisting of a lotus with dharma chakra.
- Invested with a great power and dignity, and reveals the aristocratic and international nature of Mauryan art.
- It was only Asoka who started making extensive use of stone for sculptures and great monuments whereas the previous tradition consisted of working in wood and clay.
- The animals on the abacus will reveal that these animals are not static or rigid.
- They have been very keenly and lovingly observed in nature and are very naturalistically represented, full of life.