Historians often try to understand the meaning of sculpture by comparing it with textual evidence."" Evaluate the statement in the context of Sanchi Stupa.
Answers
Historians often try to understand the meaning of sculpture by comparing it with textual evidence so that they can gain an insight into why the sculpture was created.
Explanation:
The "Sanchi Stupa" is one of the oldest Buddhist Sculptures located on a hill top at Sanchi town near Bhopal. It was first commissioned by Samrat Ashoka in the "3rd Century BCE". It had been abandoned for nearly 600 years till it was discovered by the Europeans in 1818.
To understand the complex structure and its significance the historians minutely studied the textual evidence. They discovered several inscriptions which were slokas from the Rig Veda. Some were addressed to God Agni. The shape and architecture of the stupa was typically Buddhist. Some engravings disclosed the close meaning of the sculpture. Thus the historians gained a better insight to the meaning of the sculpture by comparing it with textual evidence.