<P> Mathura art refers to a particular school of Buddhist art, which centered on the city of Mathura, in central northern India, during the period in which Buddhism flourished in India . The art of Mathura is usually contrasted with the Greco - Buddhist art of Gandhara . In particular there is a debate about the origin of the Buddha image and the role played by each school of art . Before the creation of an image of the Buddha, probably around the 1st century CE, Indian Buddhist art had essentially been aniconic, avoiding representation of the Buddha, but rather relying on its symbols, such as the Wheel of the Law or the Bodhi tree . </P> <P> Mathura was an important city of central northern India for the Maurya Empire, whose capital was in eastern India at Pataliputra . Mauryan art flourished during that period . Following the demise of the Mauryan Empire and its replacement by the Sunga Empire, numismatic, literary and epigraphic evidence suggest that the Indo - Greeks, when they invaded India, occupied the area of Mathura for close to a century from the time of Menander I until approximately 70 BCE, with the Sungas remaining eastward of Mathura . From numismatic, literary and epigraphic evidence, it seems that the Indo - Greeks had control over Mathura at some time, especially during the rule of Menander I (165 - 135 BC). An inscription in Mathura discovered in 1988, the Yavanarajya inscription, mentions "The last day of year 116 of Yavana hegemony (Yavanarajya)", suggesting the presence of the Indo - Greeks in the 2nd - 1st century BC in Mathura down to 70 or 69 BC . On the contrary, the Sungas, are known to have been absent from Mathura (no epigraphical or coin remains) and only located eastward of the Mathura region . </P>

Mathura school of art flourished during the reign of