Evolution of Buddhist Stupas along the Trade Routes of Early South Asia(With Special Reference to India and Sri Lanka)

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In the present book, the author attempts to examine the evolution of Buddhist Stupas along the ancient maritime and overland trade routes connecting India and Sri Lanka. The work highlights a close association between trade routes and the centers of Buddhist institutions, which are predominantly located along the trade routes. Along with the caravans of the traders, Buddhism and Buddhist artistic influences, primarily represented by stupas, travelled from India to Sri Lanka.

An interesting aspect of the stupa architecture is that it is definite and clearly identifiable, irrespective of the period or the country of its origin as it is produced as per the definite illustrations prescribed in ancient Buddhist literary sources. With time and space, the Buddhist art and architecture established an "Indian model," which with the expansion of Buddhism along the trade routes, came to be imitated by the other cultures of South Asia, such as Sri Lanka. Over a period of time, some local cultural attributes were also added to the Buddhist art and architecture to cater to aspirations of the varied cultures of South Asia. The stupa, the most archetypal object of veneration by the Buddhist devotees, is the first art form that developed in the Buddhist tradition. In this book, an attempt has been made to analyse the concept of Stupa with regard to its origin, development and symbolism in time and space in South Asia, particularly India and Sri Lanka.

Dr. Rewant Vikram Singh (b. 1975) is the Head, Department of History and an Assistant Professor of History at Maharshi Dayanand College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, India. He completed his graduation (B.A. History Honours) and post-graduation in History (with specialization in Ancient India) from Hansraj College, University of Delhi in 1996 and 1998 respectively. He secured first position in Hansraj College in M.A. Previous (1997) and Μ.Α. Final (1998). He obtained his M.Phil. degree of the University of Delhi in 2001.

Dr. Rewant Vikram Singh was awarded the Ph.D. degree from the University of Mumbai in 2017 for his study on "Settlement Archaeology of Trade Routes of Western Maharashtra (600 BCE to c. 300 CE)." He is deeply involved in the study of various aspects of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology and has several books and research papers and projects to his credit. He also has close to ten years of professional Senior Management experience in international e-Learning and analytics industry.

For the purpose of this research, the term 'South Asia' has been used in the context of India and Sri Lanka'. The geographical proximity of India and Sri Lanka and the resultant impact of India on Sri Lanka, is such that G. C. Mendis has gone to the extent of calling the period up to the advent of the Portuguese in 1505 CE in Sri Lanka as the Indian period of Sri Lankan history (Mendis, 1948:16-17). Mendis further classifies the Indian period as the North Indian and South Indian Periods as Sri Lanka was largely influenced by North India up to the Chola conquest of 1017 CE, and by South India from that period up to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505 CE. Therefore, political, economic, social and cultural influences of India on Sri Lanka cannot be undervalued, though sometimes these influences have been overestimated in the past.

Again for the purpose of this research, the focus is on the art of making stupa as the stupa is the most quintessential object of veneration by the Buddhist devotees. It is the first art form that developed in the Buddhist tradition. It is for this reason that in the present study an attempt has been made to analyze the art of the making of the Buddhist Stupa with regard to its origin, development, and symbolism in time and space in South Asia, particularly India and Sri Lanka.