In the later Vedic Age, a number of small kingdoms or city states had covered the subcontinent, many mentioned in Vedic, early Buddhist and Jaina literature as far back as 1000 BCE. By 500 BCE, sixteen monarchies and “republics” known as the Mahajanpadas_Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha,Vajji or Vrijji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa or Vamsa, Kuru, Panchal, Matsya or Machcha, Surasena, Assaka, Ananti, Gandhara, and Komboja_ stretched across the Indo Gangetic plain from modern-day Afghanistan to Bengal and Maharastra. This period saw the second major rise of urbanism in India after the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Mahajanapadas were the sixteen most powerful kingdoms and republics of the era. Many of the sixteen kingdoms had coalesced to four major ones by 500/400 BCE, by the time of Gautam Buddha. These four were Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha. This period saw the second major rise of urbanism in India after the Indus Valley Culture.
No artistic remains have survived after the Indus culture. This is not to say, that there was no art in this period. The fact is, only perishable material was used such as wood and perhaps ivory. These got destroyed in hot and humid climate of India without any trace. But this period is important in the sense that there developed the Indian concept of the world and thought which was to find expression later in plastic arts of India.
Art in India was decked by long traditional experience and technical skills practiced for thousands of years from Vedic times. Chronologically the last phase of the stone age culture was drifting towards the historical period with a two fold intervening cultural sequence viz. the chalcolithic phase of the Indus Valley and the Vedic phase – mainly of the Gangetic valley. The Indus Valley culture by itself presents an intensive phenomenon both in space and over time wherein a higher type of material civilization was fully developed. All main types of arts and crafts evolved in a higher degree in the form of pottery, terracotta figurine, jewelry, shape of beads, hair pin, ornaments, shell, seal, copper tablet, amulet, coins etc.
A blank period (1700-500BC, Janapada period) between Indus Valley and historical beginning is only evidenced by a new type of pottery called PGW and NBP with many designs found in archaeological sites of that time. While there is absence of specimens of monuments representing several phases of pre-Mauryan art, yet there is enough evidence in literature to indicate that art in India had a long history even before the Mauyran period.
Scriptures like Brahamana, Srauta Sutras, Pali Tripitaka, Jaina Agamas and Ashtadhyati of Panini give a detailed picture of the cultural features of Janapada units. During this period a tradition of shilpas was established eg. architecture, town planning, building and decorating royal palaces, wood carving, metal casting and carving, stone carving and making of clay figurines and painting.
Expert professions and crafts began even in the Vedic age as shown by Sata Rudriya chapter of Yadur Veda. Some of them are referred to as kutala –potter, karmara – blacksmith, Vastavya or vastuka – architect (vastuvidya), vayatri – weaver, hiranyakara – goldsmith, manikara – jeweler, vidala – basket maker and pesitri or pesaskari – embroidery all these show the development of several branches of art and crafts under general name of silpas.
During this period shilpa received wide attention and were cultivated as so many professions by expert craftsmen for which a new word –janapadi vritti – was introduced in the language (Panaini, 4.1.42). Both in palace and town, allied arts and crafts were patronized in Janapada age. Their actual remains were almost destroyed because of the perishable nature of material used.
Most of the Jaina and Buddhist texts were written just before the Christian ear. Mythical beliefs and motifs/ symbols are actually mentioned both in Buddhist and Jaina literature. The rich repertoire of the carved figures on railing pillars, panels and cross bars listed in Jaina texts are almost the same as we find on the stone railing and gateways of Bharhut and Sanchi, pointing to preexisting wooden prototype.
The purans were written between 2nd. And 11th. C. ADF Therefore the religion of the Purans and the scenes of the Puranic life carved in stone of the 3rd c. AD. In the Brihat Samhita of Varah of the 5th c. detailed descriptions are given regarding the construction of various gods and goddesses. The artists of Sanchi, Amaravati and Ajanta and their descendant utilized their knowledge of art in the creation of the Hindu deities.
Throughout these periods a river of folk art was flowing side by side Folk and tribal art flourished in villages since the stone age. In parallel, over a large time continuum, there emerged the Harappan , Mauryan and finally the Ajanta art. It can safely be said that these three had interchange of ideas with folk art and tribal art and there is definite evidence to substantiate this.