Art, Culture and Tourism of UP
- 01Architecture of Uttar Pradesh
- 02Heritage Conservation, Museums and Tourism in UP
- 03Culture of Uttar Pradesh
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Contents
Architecture of Uttar Pradesh
Ancient Architecture: Buddhist, Mathura School and Gupta Temples
Chapter Overview
Uttar Pradesh has historic buildings from almost every period of Indian architecture. Buddhist stupas and pillars, the Mathura school and Gupta temples, the Sharqi mosques of Jaunpur, the Mughal monuments of Agra, Nawabi Lucknow and colonial Prayagraj are all found here. The state has four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and, since 2026, Sarnath.
The chapter goes in order of time. It starts with ancient stone and brick buildings. Next come the arch and dome of the Sultanate, their Sharqi form at Jaunpur, and the Mughal buildings of Agra. It then covers the Nawabi style of Awadh, and ends with colonial Gothic and Indo-Saracenic buildings and today’s Nagara temples.
- 1Ancient Architecture: Buddhist, Mathura, Gupta
- followed by the arch and dome of
- 2Sultanate and Sharqi Architecture
- led on to
- 3Mughal Architecture of Agra
- followed by
- 4Nawabi Architecture of Awadh
- followed by
- 5Colonial and Modern Architecture
UP’s ancient architecture runs from Mauryan Sarnath (3rd century BCE, Varanasi district) and the Kushana-era Mathura school (1st–3rd century CE) to the Gupta temples of Deogarh (Lalitpur, Bundelkhand) and Bhitargaon (Kanpur, lower Doab). In 2026 the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath became UP’s fourth UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ashokan Pillars and Buddhist Stupas
- Ashokan pillars: monolithic pillars of highly polished Chunar sandstone were raised at Buddhist and royal centres across the Ganga plain; e.g. pillars at Sarnath, Kaushambi, Sankisa, Allahabad and Meerut (now in Delhi).
- Sarnath Lion Capital: four back-to-back lions stand on a drum abacus carved with an elephant, horse, bull and lion between dharma wheels, over a bell-shaped lotus; e.g. dug up by F. O. Oertel, 1904–05; State Emblem from 26 January 1950, without the lotus and with Satyameva Jayate from the Mundaka Upanishad.
- Stupas: brick and stone stupas at Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti and Piprahwa mark events of the Buddha’s life and were enlarged several times; e.g. Dhamek Stupa at the Rishipattana deer park, site of the first sermon (c. 500 CE, 43.6 m high, 28 m wide); Ashoka’s Dharmarajika Stupa, razed in the 18th century, its relic casket now in the Indian Museum, Kolkata.
- Gupta and later additions: Gupta builders added fine floral and geometric bands; later rulers built over the old mounds; e.g. Chaukhandi Stupa, where the Buddha met his first disciples: a Gupta mound with an octagonal Mughal tower (1588).
The Mathura School of Sculpture
- Period and material: the school grew under the Kushanas in the 1st–3rd centuries CE and used local red spotted sandstone; e.g. red sandstone from the Sikri area near Agra.
- Indigenous idiom: it grew from the local Yaksha tradition and gave the Buddha a smiling, fleshy, Indian form; e.g. seated Katra Buddha with a shell-like top-knot.
- Three faiths and royal portraits: the same workshops carved Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical images and statues of Kushana kings; e.g. headless statue of Kanishka from Mat; Jain finds of Kankali Tila.
Gupta Temples: Deogarh and Bhitargaon
- Dashavatara temple, Deogarh: a stone Vishnu temple of about 500 CE on a raised platform, among the earliest Panchayatana plans in North India; e.g. Deogarh, Lalitpur district, on the Betwa.
- Beginning of the shikhara: Deogarh shows one of the earliest towers over the sanctum, though only its lower part survives; e.g. an early step towards the Nagara style.
- Narrative panels: side-wall panels show Vaishnava myths, and river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna guard the carved doorway; e.g. Gajendra Moksha, Nara–Narayana and Sheshashayi Vishnu panels, not repeated elsewhere.
- Bhitargaon brick temple: the oldest surviving brick Hindu temple with a tall pyramidal shikhara, built on a square plan with recessed corners; e.g. Bhitargaon, Kanpur district, 6th century CE; east-facing, terracotta panels of Shiva, Vishnu and water demons; porch seen by Cunningham has since fallen.
How Original Was Ancient UP Art?
Scholars differ on how home-grown this art was. Mathura and Gandhara made Buddha images at about the same time, and Mauryan polish shows Persian contact.
- Indigenous case: the Mathura Buddha grows out of local Yaksha sculpture and Indian symbols rather than Greek models; e.g. Ananda Coomaraswamy’s case for an Indian origin of the Buddha image.
- External influence: the polish and bell capitals of Mauryan pillars echo Achaemenid Persia, while Gandhara added Greek-style drapery; e.g. bell-shaped lotus base of the Sarnath capital.
Present Status and State Initiatives
- UNESCO status: the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 48th session; e.g. 2026, under cultural criteria (iii) and (vi).
- Circuit and access: Buddhist sites gain from theme-circuit funds and a new international airport for Asian pilgrims; e.g. Swadesh Darshan Buddhist circuit (2016–17); Kushinagar airport (2021).
- Protection and display: ASI protects Deogarh, Bhitargaon and Sarnath under the AMASR Act, 1958, while Mathura sculpture is kept in a state museum; e.g. Government Museum, Mathura, founded 1874.
The pillar, the stupa, the Buddha image and the shikhara all took early shape in UP; these sites need regular ASI care and site museums (SDG 11).
Based on NCERT, Standard Books references, Keywords from Syllabus and Previous Year question Papers
Sultanate and Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur
Indo-Islamic building reached UP with the Delhi Sultanate after 1194. At Jaunpur (Purvanchal, on the Gomti), the Sharqi Sultans (1394 to the late 15th century) built mosques in a regional style, and the city was called “Shiraz-e-Hind”.
Arch and Dome Reach UP under the Sultanate
- Arcuate technique: Sultanate builders brought the true arch, the dome and lime mortar in place of the older post-and-lintel system; e.g. Shamsi Jama Masjid, Badaun, built under Iltutmish.
- Provincial tombs and mosques: governors and later dynasties left domed tombs and mosques across the Doab and Bundelkhand; e.g. Chaurasi Gumbad at Kalpi (Jalaun), Lodi period.
Features of the Sharqi Style
- Massive propylon: a very tall arched screen with sloping sides stands in front of the prayer hall and takes the place of the minaret; e.g. central propylon of the Atala Masjid, completed 1408.
- Tughlaq and Hindu elements: sloping Tughlaq-style walls stand with square pillars and brackets cut by local craftsmen; e.g. pillared cloisters of the Jama Masjid, Jaunpur.
- Women’s galleries: screened upper-storey zenana galleries beside the central bay let royal women attend prayer; e.g. Lal Darwaza Masjid of Bibi Raji, c. 1447.
Sharqi Style: Original or Borrowed?
Historians differ on whether Jaunpur was a new school or a provincial copy of Delhi. Its forms are borrowed, but the way they are combined is its own.
- Originality: a front with a giant propylon and no minarets is not found elsewhere in India; e.g. Atala, Jhanjhiri and Jama mosques of Jaunpur.
- Derivative base: its sloping walls and heavy masses follow Delhi’s Tughlaq idiom, and many pillars came from earlier structures; e.g. reused pillars in the Atala Masjid cloisters.
Present Status and State Initiatives
- Central protection: the main Sharqi mosques are protected monuments of national importance under the AMASR Act, 1958; e.g. Atala, Jama and Lal Darwaza mosques, Jaunpur.
- Tourism Policy 2022: the state policy promotes lesser-known heritage towns, giving Jaunpur a place on Purvanchal heritage routes; e.g. Shahi Bridge over the Gomti, built under Akbar (1564–68).
Jaunpur shows how a regional court gave Islamic building forms a local shape; its mosques, still in use, need steady upkeep and a place on heritage routes.
Based on NCERT, Standard Books references, Keywords from Syllabus and Previous Year question Papers