SSC CGL History · Ancient India
Art, Painting and Sculpture
Ashoka's pillars and their capitals, the Persian touch in Mauryan art, and the Gandhara and Mathura schools of sculpture with the early Buddhist sites that came before them.
Why this matters
Eleven questions in the bank, nine of them from the 2025 shifts alone. Those papers asked statement and comparison questions, Mathura against Gandhara above all, so learn the differences between the two schools, not just their names.
Concept 1 of 2: Mauryan pillars and court art
Definition
The facts:
- The Lion Capital found at Sarnath has four lions back to back; it is India's National Emblem.
- Pillar capitals carry a lion (Sarnath, Sanchi), a bull (Rampurva), an elephant (Sankissa) or a horse.
- Pillar sites by state: Lauriya Nandangarh in Bihar, Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh.
- Persian (Achaemenid) influence: the monumental size, the mirror polish, the bell-shaped capital and the bold, realistic animal figures.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Ancient India · Art, Painting and Sculpture
Sanchi has a lion capital too
Concept 2 of 2: Gandhara, Mathura and the early Buddhist sites
Definition
Order of the early Buddhist sculpture sites: Bharhut (Shunga, 2nd century BCE), then the gateways of Sanchi Stupa 1 (1st century BCE), then Mathura (Kushana, from the 1st century CE).
Mathura school:
- Spotted red sandstone, in the indigenous Yaksha tradition: a full, strong body and a smiling face.
- Made Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical images, such as Kartikeya, Vishnu and Kubera, mostly in the Kushana period, for Indian and foreign patrons alike.
- Rich in nature motifs: women with trees, lotuses, creepers and animals.
Gandhara school:
- Grey-blue schist, with Greco-Roman (Hellenistic) features: wavy hair and heavy drapery. Mainly Buddhist.
- Beyond stone: the gold Bimaran reliquary and the carved ivory plaques of Begram, both in Afghanistan.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Ancient India · Art, Painting and Sculpture
Do not swap the stones
Gandhara is the foreign one
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Watch out for (3)
- Sanchi has a lion capital too→ Mauryan pillars and court art
- Do not swap the stones→ Gandhara, Mathura and the early Buddhist sites
- Gandhara is the foreign one→ Gandhara, Mathura and the early Buddhist sites
Test yourself on Ancient India
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.