Abstract
The reliefs on the railing and the gateway at the Bharhut Stupa and those on the four gateways at Stupa No.1 in Sanchi are representative of the early ancient art of India. The reliefs at Bharhut and those in Sanchi, however, are different in style. In the former, the individual figures are clearly represented, attached to the ground and separated from one another. Hence their composition is based upon a plane, not a space. In the latter, the figures are overlapped and joined together in an organic and spatial relationship. It is generally accepted that the Bharhut reliefs were made prior about a century to the Sanchi ones. Accordingly, many scholars have hitherto explained the difference in style by that of the dates. But from our view point the gap between them in terms of style is too great to be explained by the hundred years distance ; rather, they belonged to the two quite different schools. Such an interpretation will lead to a clearer comprehension of later development in the ancient Indian art following that of the Bharhut and the Sanchi.
