Mauryans built several buildings, palaces and monuments.
They used wood, bricks and stones as building materials.
Stupas: The stupas were dome like mounds of brick or stone, built in honor of Buddha. The purpose of erecting stupas was to enshrine some of the relics of Buddha. It is believed that Ashoka built about 84,000 stupas all over his Empire, The best of them are still surviving at Sanchi, Barahut and Saranath. Sanchi stupa is the biggest Stupa.
Rock-cut halls or Caves: Ashoka and his grandson Dasharatha built caves for meditation for the Buddhist monks. The Sudhama cave which was dedicated to the Ajivika monks and Lamasha Rishi Cave at the Barabar hills near Gaya (Bihar) were built by Ashoka. The largest cave of Dasaratha’* time was the Gopi cave at the Nagarjuna hills.
Monolithic Pillars : Stone pillars of various designs were erected during the reign of Ashoka. Such pillars were generally installed in front of places of worship. Each pillar weighs about 50 tons and measures 30 feet in height. The pillars consist of a base, a shaft and on top of these pillars there are figures of animals such as lion, elephant or horse on an inverted lotus called Capitals.
The most important among them is the pillar at Saranath. It consists of an inverted lotus, the Dharmachakra and on the abacus four lions which are seated back to back. The Chakra and the Animals all have a deep symbolism and are connected with the life and teachings of Buddha in some form. The Saranath Capital was adopted as our national emblem by the Indian Government on 26th January 1950.
Palaces: The palaces in Pataliputra were renowned for their beauty. Megasthenes has given a good description of this city. According to them, the Royal Palace was one of the best in the world. The ** pilgrim Fa-hien has also given us a good description of that *****.
