Tales of Bharhut is part of my PhD dissertation project for the University of Virginia, McIntire Department of Art.
The railing of Bharhut is a major monument for the study of South Asian art. Because of the excellent quality, the generally good state of preservation, and the quantity of surviving sculpture from its now-scattered sections, Bharhut is the type-site for second century BCE sculpture in India: if you study art of the second century BCE, you are probably going to study Bharhut. The monument at Bharhut was originally a large stupa: a great mound like a solid dome (tumulus), surrounded by a large, carved stone railing (the Great Rail) with four gates.
Ancient inscriptions identify many of the narratives and figures of the surviving Great Rail, making Bharhut useful for tracing iconography and motifs while affirming their antiquity. Bharhut is often cited to demonstrate the typical depiction of Jataka narratives (stories of the previous births of the Buddha), early divinities, and decorative motifs. The scholarship on this monument has been substantial, but not without debate.
In this project, I will consider the issues raised by the Great Rail since its discovery in the nineteenth century, and the problems scholars face in studying this important monument. I will attempt to collect the known surviving fragments of the Great Rail and attempt a reconstruction and analysis of the monument (to be made available on this website).
The Tales of Bharhut project is made possible by: