Early Buddhist Narrative Art is a pictorial journey through the transmission of the narrative cycle based on the life of the historical Buddha. Karetzky, while demonstrating the various evolutions that the image of the Buddha underwent, maintains that there is an underlying homogeneity of the tradition in the cultures of India, Central Asia, China and Japan. The author, while focusing on the visual representation of the Buddhist narrative, goes into some detail regarding the importance of scriptures in each society, and how the written tradition informed the pictorial. Over seventy photos fill this book, which will be of interest to scholars of art history, Eastern religion and Buddhism in particular.

Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: Story-telling is an ever popular activity that occurs across space and time. Which child has not sat enthralled by the magic of story-tellers, and which adult has not succumbed to the seduction of reenactments of great legends? India's ancient Buddhists capitalized on the lure of stories, portraying them visually in stone reliefs and painted murals, to introduce viewers to the Buddhist faith and to confirm them in their belief. Commencing in the first century BC, Buddhist monasteries across the Indian subcontinent were extensively decorated with visual narratives of varying sizes, from a mere twelve inch panel to an extensive fifty foot wall. This book is a pioneering exploration of the manner in which stories are told. It identifies seven modes of visual story-telling used by the artist in early India, considers the reason for one mode being chosen over another, and explores how the effect of a story on the viewer varied according to the manner chosen to portray it. The book is a contribution to the expanding sphere of art, historical investigation and also to the field of Buddhist studies. Contents Preface Photographic Sources Discourse and Story 1. On Modes of Visual Narration 2. The Multivalent Sign in Early Buddhist Art 3. Text and Image II. Sites Of Narrative 4. Towards Narrative : Sanchi Stupa 5. Emergence of Visual Narrative : Bharhut Stupa 6. Narrative Achieves Assurance : Sanchi Stupa 7. Variations in Narrativity : Lesser Monasteries 8. Maturity of Narrative : Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda 9. Narrative Cycles at Gandhara 10. Ajanta's Painted Murals 11. The Narrative Tradition Recedes 12. Concluding Remarks

Mithuna signifies as a couple- a male and female. It symobolises the procreative duality. All the creation emanates from the union of this couple, be it any being. Mithuna figures distinctly appear in the buddhist art from the 2nd C. B.C. onwards at a number of buddhist sites. In Andhra, Mithunas predominantly appear in Amravati, Goli and Nagarjunakonda site sculputed panels. Though some effort was made to unravel the significane of Mithuna art by hostorians, proper analysis was not made and hence the inadequacy. This endeavour Nagarjunakonda and Amravati art has the richest depiction of the Mithuna art. The Andhra art was studied as a whole by several scholars but emphasis was not given for studying the Mithuna art.

This Book Traces The History Of The Growth And Development Of The Art That Flourished At Sanchi Bharhut, Bodh-Gaya, Karla, Bhaja, Pithalkhora, Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Etc. Which Later Culminated In The Classical Art Of The Guptas.