page_title: Pataliputra capital
section_title: Parallel with Bharhut pillar capitals
hierarchical_section_title: Pataliputra capital / Construction / Parallel with Bharhut pillar capitals
caption_attribution_description: English: Relief with pillar at Bharhut (detail)
context_page_description: The Pataliputra capital is a monumental rectangular capital with volutes and Classical Greek designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient Mauryan Empire capital city of Pataliputra. It is dated to the 3rd century BCE.
context_section_description: According to architectural historian Dr. Christopher Tadgell,  the Pataliputra capital is similar to the capitals which are visible in the reliefs of Sanchi and Bharhut, dated to the 2nd century BCE. The Bharhut pillars are formed of a cylindrical or octagonal shaft, a bell capital and a crowning capital of trapezoid shape crisscrossed with incisions to achieve a decorative illusion (or a floral composition in more detailed examples), and often ended with a volute in each top corner. To him, the main characteristic of the Pataliputra capital would be that it has vertically arranged volutes, and clear motifs of west-Asiatic origin.
  An actual Bharhut capital, used to support the main Bharhut gateway, and presently in the Kolkota Indian Museum, uses a similar, if more complex arrangement, with four joined pillars instead of one, and incumbent lions on the top, sitting around a central crowning capital which has much similarity in design to the Pataliputra capital, complete with central palmette design, rosettes, and bead and reel motifs.
caption: Another similar pillar arrangement from a relief in Bharhut (detail).
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