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LARGE WATER TANK, MOHENJO-DARO, c. 2600-1900 BCE. This could be a public or ritual bathing area constructed of bricks. 

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During the Indus valley civilization, Stokstad and Cothren explain this  “city included drainage systems that channeled away waste and rainwater, had technical and engineering skills of this civilization were highly advanced...[and] political control.” Although the authors believe there may be political control, there aren’t any clear “political or religious structures” that can make it a fact. Although, the picture does show how advanced the Indus valley civilization people were. To have a bathing area this large, there needed to be proper drainage. Plus, their intricate building skills with bricks and making it into this large water tank.

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Good vs. evil: reference to the Mahabharata, this painting is an epic battle between gods and humans. 2000 BCE-300 BCE

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During the Vedic period, throughout centuries changed tremendously. According to Stokstad and Cothren, the "earliest sacred writing was known as the Vedas, [containing] hymns to various gods including the divine kind Indra." Later during this period, around 800 BCE, Upanishads were composed and written by the Brahmins. Stokstad and Cothren define the texts as them attempting "to reform the Vedic ritual by emphasizing the unity between the individual and the divine." By 300, The Mahabharata, "the longest epic in world literature" related to the good and evil, and the histories of gods and humans.

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Shakyamuni Buddha, 500 BCE-400 BCE. This is a statue of Buddha made of stone, representing him meditating under a tree and then reaching enlightenment. 

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According to Stokstad and Cothren, "A buddha is not a god, but rather one who sees the ultimate nature of the world and is therefore no longer subject to samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that otherwise holds all in its grip, whether they are gods, humans, animals, demons, tortured spirits, or hellish begins." This quote can be contradicting because many saw Buddha as a form of god and Buddhism as a religion. Buddha has the Four Noble Truths as the foundation of Buddhism that included what he believed in which was suffering and death were common among all mortals.

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LION CAPITAL, 250 BCE, From Ashokan Pillar at Sarnath, Utter Pradesh, India. Made out of sandstone. 

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According to Stockstad and Cothren, "Buddhism expanded from a religion largely localized in the Maurya heartland." In the statue above, "the lion may have served as a metaphor for the Buddha's preaching, but prior it was a symbol of kingship, and the elephant, horse, and bull were similarly potent as emblems of worldly and military power." The lion can be interpreted as many things, but during the Maurya period, it was considered the "Wheel of the law" because the bottom portion looked like a chariot wheel and that is the set of wheels that rolled across the world.

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SANCHI STUPA made of bricks, 185-72 BCE (second century BCE and the early centuries CE including both dynasties) 

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The period of the Shunga and Early Satavahana

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The period of the Shunga and Early Satavahana

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During the period of Shunga and early Satavahana, India returned to rule by regional dynasties. During these two separate dynasties, religious monuments were being made called stupas. According to Stokstad and Cothren, "the form, size, and decoration of stupas differ from region to region, but their symbolic meaning remains virtually the same, and their plan is a carefully calculated mandala or diagram of the cosmos as envisioned in Buddhism." The stupas made were different when it came to the stories carved on the wall, sculptures, and the format of the building. In the picture above, the Sanchi Stupa was one of the first stupas made to spread the ashes of Buddha.