who introduced arch and dome architecture in india
Architecture of India The Buddhist stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used in India as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.[5] The stupa architecture was adopted in Southeast and East Asia, where it became prominent as a Buddhist monument used for enshrining sacred relics.[5] Fortified cities with stūpas, viharas, and temples were constructed during the Maurya empire (c. 321–185 BCE).[6] Wooden architecture was popular and rock cut architecture became solidified.[6] Guard rails—consisting of posts, crossbars, and a coping—became a feature of safety surrounding a stupa.[6] Temples—build on elliptical, circular, quadrilateral, or apsidal plans—were constructed using brick and timber.[6] The Indian gateway arches, the torana, reached East Asia with the spread of Buddhism.[7] Some scholars hold that torii derives from the torana gates at the Buddhist historic site of Sanchi (3rd century BCE – 11th century CE).[8]