Glimpses of Asian Art Heritage

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Indian culture multifaceted form, such religion and philosophy, art and architecture, language and literature, society, economy and so on. This book contains various aspects of Indian culture such as ancient Indian trade route, trade and commerce, human rights and women's status in the society, ancient Indian agriculture, social and religious traditions, language and literature, numismatics, various aspects of North-East India etc. The book is supported by literary as well as archaeological evidences along with maps and illustrations. Hope the book will be beneficial for the students of Indology.

Dr. G. K. Lama, Professor, Department of AIHC & Archaeology, Centre of Advanced Study, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, having specialization in the field of Archaeology, Buddhism and South-East Asian Studies, has sixteen books in his credit namely Tibet Men Buddha Dharma Ka Itihas-2004; Samyak Darshan -2004; Cultural Heritage of South-East Asia-2009; Indus to Ganges-2009; Pakkakot: Some New Archaeological Dimensions of Mid-Ganga Plain-2012; Buddhist Cave Temples of Ancient India-2013; A Buddhist Universe-2016, An Archaeological Journey of Nalanda- 2018; Art Heritage of Nalanda-2018; India: A Journey from Lithic to Iron- 2019; Footprints of the Buddha on the Roof of the World-2020, Glimpses of North-East India-2021, Indian Culture through the Ages-2021, Revealing India's Past-2021, Buddhism on the Silk Route-2022 and The Cult of Adamantine Path-2022. He has presented 67 research papers in various National and International seminars and 103 research papers have been published in various reputed journals, edited books, conference proceedings and felicitation volumes. He has completed a Major Research Project entitled Archaeological Investigation in and around Nalanda, granted by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, which was submitted in 2014. The author has also completed 16 projects regarding archaeological investigations in Sikkim, Eastern and Western UP and Bihar with the kind permission of Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi. He has invited twice to Sri Lanka and once to Thailand to deliver special lectures.

Art and Architecture is an interesting subject and at the same times a difficult subject too. It requires not only a deep knowledge of art and architecture, but of widely dispersed literatures both secular and religious. Images are mute spectators of the past ages. Their fine craftsmanship, beauty and polish convey much more than their values. To identify architectural remains is also a difficult task. India is very rich in both the fields. Art historians have tried their best to identify all the excavated and explored remains of not only our country but findings of other Asian countries too. Apart from Gandhara, Mathura, Sarnath, Amaravati and Magadha Schools of art some new centres of art like Kausambi, Kurkihara, Nalanda, Sirpur, Akota etc. have also made attention of the art historians. Indian art has not only covered the territory of India but its influence is also noticed on other Asian countries like Nepal, Tibet, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka etc. Art historians like A.K.Coomaraswamy, Debjani Pal, Pratapaditya Pal, K, Krishnamurti, N. J. Krom, Stella Kramrisch, A.J.B. Kempers, Debala Mitra, S.L Huntington, F.B. Havel, M. Hallade, A. Grunwedel, A. K.Gordon, A. Getty, C.P.Fitzerald, G.C. Chauley, Lokesh Chandra, Percy Brown, N.K.Bhattasali, and many more have done a great job in this field and their works are path-finder for the new generation.

Art and Architecture, especially which are related to Buddhism has always fascinated me. In this book I have tried my best to cover all the aspects of Brahmanic and Buddhist art and architecture. Among eighteen topics of this book five topics are based upon the archaeological investigations done by the author himself in Bihar and UP. I have given some archaeological data supported by illustrations to make attention of art historians to rethink about the art form developed in the region of Nalanda. I have also tried to compare and find out the impact of Hindu iconography on Buddhist sculptures. Focus was also given on the art and architecture of Nepal, Tibet, China, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Definition of a few technical terms used in the book is also given in the glossary. In this way the book gives a holistic vision on Brahmanic and Buddhist art and architecture of Asian countries. Hope the book will be beneficial for the students and art lovers. G.K. Lama