Buddhist Art and Architecture in Southern India

Since references to Buddhist construction and artistic production in the western Deccan are discussed in another entry, this article focuses on scholarly resources on the Buddhist art and architecture in the Āndhra region (which largely overlaps with the modern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and northern Karnataka), and the regions further south, covering the current states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Buddhism, founded around the fifth century bce in the lower Gangetic valley, may have spread to these regions around the third century bce under the rule of the Mauryas (c. 321–187 bce), although the conclusive archaeological evidence that proves this movement is scarce besides the Aśokan inscriptions. Unequivocal epigraphic, art-historical, and architectural evidence of Buddhism started appearing in coastal Āndhra and the Deccan plateau around the second century bce, as represented by relic casket inscriptions from Bhattiprolu and early narrative sculptures and inscriptions from Amaravati. Buddhist artistic production and monastic construction further developed in these regions, particularly between the first and the early fourth centuries ce under the rule of the Sadas, Sātavāhanas, and Ikṣvākus in coastal Āndhra. While the Buddhist construction work in the western Deccan attained the second high period between the late fifth and seventh centuries CE, that of the eastern Deccan, including coastal Āndhra, declined after the demise of the Ikṣvākus in the early fourth centuries ce, although a few celebrated sites, such as Amaravati, continued as the Buddhist pilgrim centers through the fourteenth century ce. Textual evidence indicates the presence of Buddhism in southern Āndhra from around the fifth–sixth century ce. Despite the rule of powerful Hindu dynasties, such as the Pallavas and the Cholas, this region, particularly Tamil Nadu, preserves a remarkable number of Buddhist artifacts from between the seventh and thirteenth centuries ce and even later, as represented by the hoard of Buddha images from Nagapattinam. The Buddhist material culture developed in the Āndhra and Tamil regions influenced Sri Lankan and Southeast Asian Buddhist Art, as indicated by several exported Āndhra and Tamil sculptures found in these regions