Brahmajism and Buddhism adopted symbol and image worship almost simultaneously in the pre and early centuries of the Christian era. With the passage of time, the forms and plethora evolved and despite several distinctive features common elements between the two religions continue and fructified. The fact is revealed both at the philosophical and artistic levels. The present volume is the outcome of the well discussed theories by the experts, assembled in an International meet on the subject in February 2003 at Jnana-Pravaha, Varanasi, organized in the joint collaboration of Acharya Narendra Dev International Research Institute for Buddhist Studies, Lucknow. The book incorporates a good number of papers dealing with philosophical and artistic interaction between Brahmanism and Buddhism for more than a millennium years. The interaction was largely peaceful but there were certain phases in the medieval period when clash also surfaced. It was most profound in the region of art and architecture, as a result of which some similarities as well as unique features between the two had emerged. All these aspects have been brilliantly discussed and specific references to famous places associated with Brahmanical and Buddhist arts in Asia as well as textual references to unravel basic iconographical principles have been adequately reflected in the present volume. The book besides being useful to scholars and students researching on ancient Indian art and architecture would appeal to general readers interested to know more about India’s glorious art traditions.
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