Early Buddhist Art: An Overview

This article is a humble endeavour to provide an overview of the Early Buddhist Art. Buddhism has been one of the earliest religions in India to have inspired art. The purpose of art in Buddhism was to propagate the ideals of Buddhism. Beginning with the aniconic stage, we see an evolution in the art where comes the anthropomorphic representation of Buddha. Early form of Buddhist art has been divided into categories according to the dynasties that ruled during those times. Thus, the article looks into the characteristics of Buddhist art during Mauryan Empire, Kushana and Gupta Period.