6.3 The Tamil Kingdoms · Part 2

intricate carving produced near Mathura. The Buddhists began to carve out rock caves in the hills of western India, which served as religious centres with chaityas and viharas , stretching from the Ajanta caves to the Kanheri caves in Mumbai. Large statues of Buddha were sculpted in these caves as a part of the Mahayana tradition, and in later centuries, they were further embellished with murals of extraordinary beauty, as seen in the Ajanta caves. Kanishka was the patron of Buddhist philosophers such as Asvaghosha, Parsva and Vasumitra, as well as the great Buddhist teacher Nagarjuna. Asvaghosha is known for his Buddhacharita and is celebrated as the author of the first Sanskrit play, Sariputraprakarana , in nine acts. The great dramatist Bhasa, whose plays were re-discovered only about a hundred years Gandhara Art : Situated in the cross- roads of cultural influences, Gandhara region was influenced by Greek and Roman culture. Gandhara school of art developed in the first century Common Era. During the time of Kushana Empire, in view of its contact with Rome, the techniques of Roman art were assimilated and applied in north- western India. The Gandhara art is famous for the portrayal of Buddha in a spiritual state, eyes half-closed in meditation. Gandhara Art XI History - Lesson - - Polity and Society in Post-Mauryan Period Further, this also meant that the overland route could be circumvented completely, since traders on that route were also vulnerable to attacks by Parthians in Iran. The ultimate result of the combination of the growing demand from Rome and the opening of the direct sea route to western India was a increase in the number of ships sailing to India from about twenty ships a year to almost one ship a day.