Indian Buddhist Monasteries After the Gupta Era

Project Title: Indian Buddhist Monasteries After the Gupta Era

Description: In association with Digital Initiatives, Scholarship, and Collaboration (DISC), Abishek Singh Amar, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, established an online database dedicated to cataloging and mapping Indian Buddhist monastic sites — shrines, temples, and monasteries in various conditions — founded or maintained after the end of the Gupta period in the mid-sixth century CE. As the website explains, when Buddhist monasticism started to decline in the Indian subcontinent, many religious sites deteriorated, and resulting holes in the archaeological and historical record have never been completely filled. Descriptive information, including site name, location, architectural type, works of art, types of inscriptions, and small finds (copper and lead coins, seals, beads, pottery), serves to illustrate the cultural milieu and historical context of each site. The website also features a zoomable map: click on a pin, and a picture of the holy site appears. In total, the website curates a collection of symbolically and historically potent monuments, offering viewers a glimpse into a thriving religion and the holy art it has inspired, whose manifestations include rock-cut caves filled with rows of soaring pillars; red brick domes; carved and decorated caverns scattered among grassy hills; and intricate Buddha and bodhisattva statues.

Deliverables: Digital Archive

Date: 2021 - Present