Indian sculpture from the mid 2nd century BC that decorated the great stupa, or relic mound, of Bharhut, in Madhya Pradesh, India.
It is now mostly destroyed; the railings and gateways that remain are in Kolkata's (Calcutta's) Indian Museum. The ornamental medallions depicting legends of the Buddha's previous births and events in his life are labeled and so are indispensable for an understanding of Buddhist iconography. The Bharhut style marked the beginning of a tradition of Buddhist narrative relief and decoration of sacred buildings that continued for several centuries.