Question

Collect at least five pictures of sculpture or painting, belonging to different periods and regions, on the religious traditions described in “Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings Cultural Developments.” Remove their captions, and show each one to two people, and ask them to describe what they see. Compare their descriptions and prepare a report on your findings.

Answer 1

The purpose of this project was to analyse how modern people interpret ancient religious sculptures and paintings without knowing their historical titles or backgrounds. Five pictures representing different periods and regions from Chapter 4 were selected. These images were shown to two individuals: Person A (a college student) and Person B (a homemaker).

(1) Lion Capital of Ashoka (Sarnath, 3rd Century BCE)

• Historical Fact: A Buddhist symbol representing the first sermon of the Buddha and cosmic law (Dhamma).
• Person A’s Description: They immediately recognised it as the National Emblem of India found on currency notes. They noted the majestic posture of the lions and the wheel beneath them.
• Person B’s Description: They described it as a historic government symbol showing strength and unity through four lions standing guard in all directions.
• Comparison: Both individuals focused entirely on its modern political identity as India’s emblem rather than its original Buddhist spiritual meaning.

(2) The Great Renunciation (Ajanta Cave Painting, c. 5th Century CE)

• Historical Fact: A Buddhist wall painting showing Prince Siddhartha leaving his palace luxuries behind in search of truth.
• Person A’s Description: They saw a royal court scene filled with beautifully dressed people, attendants, and a central royal figure looking deep in thought or sad.
• Person B’s Description: They described it as an ancient scene of a king or prince holding a meeting, noticing the elegant jewellery and traditional hairstyles.
• Comparison: Without captions, neither person could tell this was Siddhartha leaving his palace. They both interpreted it simply as a general decorative depiction of royal palace life.

(3) Tirthankara Parshvanatha (Mathura, c. 1st-2nd Century CE)

• Historical Fact: A Jain sculpture depicting the 23rd Tirthankara meditating peacefully under a canopy of a multi-headed serpent.
• Person A’s Description: They guessed it was Lord Shiva or a yogi meditating, assuming the snake canopy was connected to Hindu mythology.
• Person B’s Description: They described it as a peaceful saint or a holy man doing deep meditation with a protective cobra over his head.
• Comparison: Both people correctly recognised the act of deep meditation and peace. However, due to a lack of specific iconographic knowledge, both assumed it was a Hindu deity or general yogi rather than a Jain Tirthankara.

(4) Varaha Avatar of Vishnu (Eran/Udayagiri, c. 5th Century CE)

• Historical Fact: A Puranic Hindu rock-cut sculpture showing Lord Vishnu as a boar rescuing the Earth Goddess from the ocean.
• Person A’s Description: They described it as a powerful, hybrid human-animal warrior figure rescuing a smaller person from danger.
• Person B’s Description: They instantly identified it as the Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu saving Bhudevi, recognising the story from traditional religious television shows.
• Comparison: There was a clear generational gap here. Person A analysed the visual elements purely as a heroic or mythological rescue scene, while Person B immediately linked the specific visual traits to familiar Puranic stories.

(5) Mahaparinibbana of Buddha (Gandhara/Ajanta, c. 2nd-5th Century CE)

• Historical Fact: A sculpture depicting the death or final liberation (Nirvana) of Gautama Buddha, surrounded by mourning disciples.
• Person A’s Description: They thought it was the Buddha resting or sleeping peacefully on his side, while people stood around him out of respect.
• Person B’s Description: They noted the sad expressions of the surrounding figures and correctly guessed that the central holy figure was either passing away or severely ill.
• Comparison: While Person A saw it as a peaceful rest, Person B successfully picked up on the emotional cues of mourning from the smaller figures surrounding the bed.

Conclusion: This project reveals how people view ancient art depends heavily on modern symbols, media, and personal backgrounds. Famous state symbols (like the Lion Capital) are recognised for their modern national identity rather than their ancient roots. Highly dramatic or specific storytelling pieces (like the Varaha avatar) are easily identified by those familiar with religious media, while abstract meditative poses (like the Tirthankara) are often generalised into generic holy figures.