Chapter-2. Finding spot of Terracotta and the Historical Geography

Transcription

1 Chapter-2. Finding spot of Terracotta and the Historical Geography Terracottas or clay sculptures occupy an important place in the history of plastic art of India. Bihar is one of the most important Indian states which has yielded various types of terracotta figurines beginning at least as far back as third millennium B.C down to end of the Pala period around 11 th 12 th century A.D. and the study of these terracottas is essential to complete the history of plastic art in Indian. In fact Bihar s role in making terracotta art is very important. District wise the various find spots describes here. The most important and prolific centers of Bihar terracottas are : Chirāṇḍ and Manjhi (Saran district), Belwa (Gopalganj district), Balirajgarh (Madhu-bani district), Katra (Muzaffarpur district) Chechar, Hajipur and Vaiasli (Vaiśālī district) Lauriya NandAṅgarh (West Champaran district) Kumrahar, Bulandibagh, Mahavirghat in Pataliputra (Patna district) Rajgir and Nalanda(Nalanda district), Oriup, Champā and Antichak (Bhagalpur district) Tārādih, Sonpur, Dharwat (Gaya district) Chausa and Buxar (Buxar district) and many other sites in Bihar. These terracottas include both surface collections and those discovered from the stratified layers. Majority of the significant terracotta figures are accidental finds. In fact, no accurate data with regards to the strata of their discoveries are available. So we have to rely upon their style and technique, Coiffure and costumes, physical features, facial expression and the quality of the clay used and by comparative study with the stratified objects found in other sites. And the terracottas from the stratified layers pose no problem with regard to their date. 19

2 pages:- Details of these archaeological sites are given in the following Buxar The archaeological potentiality of Buxar is well known. The ancient mound of Buxar, the headquarters of the district of the same name is situated on the left bank of the Gangā. It has a historic past. The name Buxar is derived from Vyāghrasara (Tiger Tank) also known as Aghasara, bathing in which removed all the sins of bather. It is also traditionally associated with rshis and was known as VedaGarbha 1, where many ṛṣhis performed Vedic Sacrifices and composed Vedic hymns. It was because of this that it was also referred to as Siddhāśarma or Mahāśarma, as adobe of realised souls (Saints). In the Rāmāyana Rāma and Lak ṣmaṇ a come to Siddhāśarma to protect the Vedic sacrifices against the rākshasas, Tādikā, Subāhu and Māricī. Viśvāmitra had brought these Ikshavāku Princes from Ayodhyā.. It is also known as Citravana or Caritravana 2. Traditionally it is associated with Viśvāmitra, Rāma and Rāmeśwara 3. The archaeological explorations and excavations at Buxar, carried on by different agencies have brought to light a long antiquity of the site. In a small trial excavation (at a spot on the river bank between the Rāmarekhā ghāt and Churitravana) was carried out by Banerji-Shastri who discovered two inscribed seals, in early Brahmi characters, and a number of terracotta head with characteristic head dresses. The seals have been assigned by him to 3 rd or 4 th century B.C., their headings being (i) Sadusanasa (ii) Hathikasa respectively. He has also attempted comparison of the head-dress of the terracotta figures with those mentioned in some of 20

3 Vedic hymns. A complete report of his excavation has, however, not been published so far. In , L. A. Narain excavated it and its short report was published in Indian Archaeology , A review 4. The excavation conducted by the archaeologists brought to light a lot of terracotta figurines and other antiquities of archaeological importance. Some inscribed seals in early Brāhmī and a number of beautiful terracottas with characteristic female terracotta with peculiar coiffure were recovered. These terracotta have been rightly placed in the pre-mauryan and Mauryan periods. Since then Buxar terracottas have a special niche in the history of Terracottas in India. However, the site is famous all over world for producing human terracotta figurines with varieties of head dresses and head gears 5. The fragment of human terracotta figurines of Buxar can be grouped under two heads conventional and time bound. The former is characterised by a modelling that defuses the form to a simple description of the main volumes of the figure corresponding to the principal part of the body, such as the head, the torso and the hands and the feet. The human figurines are fashioned entirely by the hand, eyes, lips, ear, navel; hairs are indicated either by mere scratches or incisions or by strips and pallets separately fashioned and applied on the modelled form. Some human terracottas in archaic style with incised eyes, punched nose, and earlobes and split lip, and perforations on the head for hair, suggesting of pre- Mauryan date, were found. Then some animal figurines very well made and painted with yellow lines were met with this was a new discovery as such painted terracottas in pre-mauryan layers were not reported from any other site. But it is also borne in mind that at Śringaverapura and at Champā a thin layer with black burnished ware and grey ware without N.B.P. is met with. So Buxar IA period with painted 21

4 animal figurines and archaic human terracotta may be placed in pre-n.b.p. period. Buxar archaeology takes its cultural history from 600 B.C or even earlier to 2 nd 3 rd Cent. A.D. The site appears to have been abounded, but resettled in medieval times. Chirāṇḍ Chirāṇḍ or Chiran is a small village, situated about 11km away south-east of Chapra town, the headquarters of the district of Saran in north Bihar. Not long back, this district town was locally called Chirāṇḍ Chapra. Thus, it is clear that Chirāṇḍ was once quite an important place in the locality. Chirāṇḍ was first noticed by Hunter in the year , which he found existing on the bank of the river Gaṅgā. Carllyle 7 had visited this place in According to him Chirāṇḍ was situated on the junction of an old river channel with the Gaṅgā. Here he noticed an old mound which he thought represented the ruins of an ancient city. In the centre of the mound he had seen an oblong square shaped mosque. This mosque was constructed by Sultan Abdul Mazaffar Hussain Shah of the Sharqui dynasty of Bengal, in Haizri 909(A.D. 1508) as is evident by three double-line inscriptions in Kufic character 8 or in Tighra character 9.This black stone slab bearing the inscription adorns the doorway of the mosque. Eight Hindu pillars, square in shape, are reused in this mosque. This evidence proves, beyond doubt, that an ancient Hindu temple existed here. The materials of that temple were reused freely in the construction of the mosque 10. This is also supported by Altekar 11, who visited the site on the 14 July 1954 at the special request of the Archaeological Society of India and he noticed, after taking in cross-section on the roadside of the mosque, a layer of ash about 1.75 meter below the ground and he writes It is clear that before the mosque was built, the earlier structures were burnt and destroyed but some 22

5 pillars of the earlier structures were utilized in the construction of the present mosque. The style of the pillars is of the 12 th to 13 th century A.D. in the vicinity of the mosque, toward north-west, there are three pillars, almost entirely buried under the ground. They are square in section and measure about 80cms.square. The height is believed to be about 2meter. The colour of the stone is blue-black. These pillars probably belonged to the temple 12. In 1960, Dr. B. P. Sinha has visited the pillars in situ. As regards the temple, it is not clear whether it was Buddhist temple or a Hindu shrine? There is not any specific reference to the Hindu image, identified, as such, in Carllyle s report. As far as Buddhist association of this shrine is concerned, he has not mentioned any Buddhist antiquities, like images on the spot, but he mentions that on the mosque he discovered some fragments of bricks having a convex curve on one side, as if they had belonged to a stupa 13. Dey 14, who visited the site in about 1902, however, states that the Buddhist images, discovered from the site from time to time, were seen by him, collected at a modern temple named Aini-Ram-Ka- Mathia. A thorough exploration of the area was made in June 1961 by a team of Directorate of Archaeology. In course of the exploration some black basalt sculptures were collected by a local resident. In his collection was noticed a black basalt water-channel with gargoyle mouth, immensely decorated with Kirtimukha, a Purṇaghata, a broken Śiva-Pārvatī image all belonging to the Pala period. A basalt image of a lady with hairs arranged in two tiers was seen lodged at one of the ghats of the river Gaṅgā. Another very important image of the Pala period is of an Ekmukha Li ṅga, having the face of Pārvatī, installed in a temple at the site. 23

6 Hoey 15 had identified this site with that of Vaiśālī, but this theory has been finally discarded after the Vaiśālī excavation, as at that place terracotta sealings referring the name of Vaiśālī has been discovered. At present, the southern portion of the Chirāṇḍ mound is being cut year after year, by the river erosions, showing high tufts of earth and remnants of building or structures, represented mostly by their foundations at several places. Bricks of different sizes were found at the site spread all over the mound indicating that the mound was containing structures of different periods. During exploration, several soak-pits and ring-wells having diameter of 55cms or more were noticed. Keeping in view, the archaeological potentiality of the site, the archaeological excavations on scientific lines were taken up in the year , which continued with interruption till There are several traditional stories related with the origin of the name of the place Chirāṇḍ. Some of them are very interesting and deserve to be mentioned here. As the story goes, the place was once ruled by the Cheros, a ruling race and hence, it was called Chirāṇḍ 16. The other version of its origin is narrated by Hoey 17 which is as follows: Ananda a disciple of Buddha left Pataliputra for Vaiśālī and when he reached the other side of the Ganges, his followers had come out to meet him, as they came to know that he was about to die here being pursued by Ajatsatru s army to embrace death. Ananda, therefore entered into samadhi and his body was divided into two, so that the rival claimants may obtain equal parts. Thus the name of Chirāṇḍ was derived from Chhitraṅga, i.e. the divided body. Likewise Nandalal Dey 18 attempted to derive the name Chirāṇḍ from Chira (portion cut off) and (the abbreviated from the name of Ananda, the famous Buddhist disciple of the Buddha). He then connects this derivation with the famous Buddhist story of how Ananda died and how his body remains 24

7 place. 19 The other local tradition gives a different story. According to it were divided or cut into two portions, over one of which was erected a stupa by the Licchavis. The site of this stupa according to him is represented by these ruins at Chirāṇḍ. The most popular traditional about the name of Chirāṇḍ is based on a Hindu mythological story, Mayuradhvaja, a mythological king, who professed great devotion of God Sri Krishna. The latter, in order to test the devotion of the king, came once to his palace dressed as a poor Brahmana and demanded the right half of his body for some religious sacrificial purpose. He put forward the conditions that when his body was to be sawed into two, the two ends of the saw must be held by his wife and son respectively and that the king should not shed tears during the operation, otherwise the gift will not be accepted by the Brahmana. The operation was accordingly finished, but some tears rolled out of the king s left eye. The Brahmana reminded the king that the professed gift was liable to rejection. Then the king explained to the Brahmana that the tears had not appeared in the left eye due to pain, instead the left eye was sorry that only the right eye along with the right portion of the body was going to be used for a pious purpose that is why the tears are in the left eye. Lord Krishna, was overwhelmed by the reply, restored the body of the king by his divine power. It is said that the saw was flung to the other side of the river Gaṅgā and where it fell, the place was called Ārrāh (saw) capital of old Shahabad district; and Chirāṇḍ is supposed to be the place where this incidence took Chirāṇḍ was once the capital town of the king Mayuradhvaja of the Puranas and to fulfill their words given to an old Brahmana, Lord Śiva in disguise saw to it that the king and his queen sawed their son 20 into two portions. 25

8 A Sanskrit work called Chirāṇḍ Mahātmya 21 is also said to exist to glorify the religious importance of the place, which according to the other local tradition, is reported to be the site of the hermitage of the ancient sage Chyavana. The Mahātmya mentioned two tanks called Jiach Ku ṇḍa and Brahma Kuṇḍa as existing at the place. These are still located in different areas of the site. Thus, from the different traditions set forth above regarding the origin of the name of Chirāṇḍ, it is quite evident that the place every year on the Kārtika Purṇimā, the day on which the famous Sonpur fair of Bihar on the north bank of the river Gaṅgā commences to commemorate the memory of Rishi Cyavana 22. Further, the name Mayuradhvaja also signifies another tradition which might be interpreted with archaeological importance. Mayuradhvaja being the name of a sage can otherwise may be interpreted as Mayuradhvaja, i.e., Mayura pillar. From the excavation so far conducted at the site have indicated that the place very much flourished during the Mauryan period. Considering its importance and the situation, king Aśoka might have erected a pillar there and thus the place became famous as Mayuradhvaja. In course of time, this place was associated with the name of Puranic sage Mayuradhvaja. Actually remains of Aśokan pillar in the form of the mouth of a bull in red sand stone with Mauryan polish have been found 23. In the previous works done by the earlier explorers, Chirāṇḍ 24 was reported as s site related to the Buddhist activities as evident by the remains of stupa, images etc. About Chirāṇḍ, Altekar observed If excavations are carried out here, they are likely to throw considerable light on the history of the place and Bihar. Carllyle has conjectured that the site of Kumbha or Drona stupa may be found under the mound of Chirāṇḍ. The tradition 26

9 about the Kumbha stupa says that after the death of Buddha his seven royal disciples wanted to take the remains of his ashes and to settle who would possess it, they were ready to fight with one another. It is said that a Brahmana distributed equally the ashes among the seven kings kept in the seven Kumbha or Drona. The Brahmana managed some of the ashes to remains struck to the wall of the vessel inside and brought the Kumbha at Chirāṇḍ and erected a stupa over that which was known as Kumbha stupa. Another significant fact is the Buddha in his last journey from Vaiśālī to Kushinagar passed through Kotigama, Nadia and Belwa, about 5 kms. northwest of Chirāṇḍ. Commercially it commanded the river traffic of the Gaṅgā and Saryu and must have been an important place of trade in ancient times. But its archaeological importance was clear when in June 1960; B. P. Sinha discovered sherds of black-and-red were in course of exploration of the site at Chirāṇḍ. These sherds were similar to the black-and-red ware pottery of period I of Sonpur 4 in the Gaya district of Bihar. At Sonpur, this pottery was found in the post-cremation burials which are referred to in the Satapatha Brahmana 5 and whose date is believed to be cir B.C. This date reconciles with the period of the traditional story with the people ascribe to these villages Sonpur and Chirāṇḍ with the Puranic age. Besides, during explorations, many ring-wells, terracotta objects and potteries were also found belonging to the early historical period. So, keeping in view all these evidences, an excavation was started here in with the hope of getting a sequence right from the Chalcolithic times to the modern period. The excavations proved the site a promising one from the archaeological point of view. During excavations it was noticed that due to unknown reasons, during the Gupta period, all kinds of activities had come to a halt. During the Kuṣana period the site 27

10 was a flourishing town and prior to that the evidences of a Chalcolithic culture were brought to light. But the most important discovery came in when the remains of a well developed Neolithic culture deposit was found right on the virgin soil, and with this unexpected discovery Chirāṇḍ became one of the most important archaeological sites, not only in India, but in the world. Its archaeological importance increased many fold. The reasons of its increase archaeological importance were many. From the earliest levels we start getting well developed ground stone tools. As the material was not available in the locality, so it was obvious that the material had been brought from outside. Bone tools were found in great number and variety. This material was available locally in plenty, and the tools were being manufactured locally, but the developed technique of manufacturing the bone tools indicated that atleast the technique could have been brought from somewhere else. So, these intriguing features, related to the Neolithic strata of Chirāṇḍ, raised its archaeological importance in the eyes of the archaeologists. For example, some of the potteries found here were akin to the potteries found from the Neolithic or Neolithic Chalcolithic sites of south India, viz., Utnur, Piklihal, Tekkalkota, Saṅgankallu, and Brahmagiri etc. There are some similarity in the bone tools of Chirāṇḍ and Burzoham in Kashmir. From the Chalcolithic levels, a miniature sarcophagus has been found at Chirāṇḍ. This again is a trait of the south Indian Megalithic, no doubt, of a late date. All these and many others raised many questions about the importance of Chirāṇḍ in archaeology. 28

11 Belwa Belwa is a village in the district of Saran. It is another important archaeological site where archaeological excavation was conducted by Pandey in This place is situated about 8 kms. to the north west of Gopalganj town. Near the village is a mound, locally known as Bhairo-Kā- Asthana. It has yielded, besides antiquities of the Gupta and Śunga periods, ruins of a large temple, with smaller shrines attached to it and enclosed by a compound wall. On the evidence of sculptures and other datable antiquities found here, the temple has been assigned to late mediaeval period, but underneath it, was discovered a much earlier temple which cannot be later than the 6 th centuray A.D. The later temple consists of two shrines placed side by side, one dedicated to Vishnu and other to Shiva. This earlier temple according to Pandey was destroyed by the Chinese General Wang- Hiue-Tse, who ravaged the country in 647 A.D. The other mound near the village is attributed by the local people to the Bhars. It was also partially excavated by Pandey in From there, many terracotta seals have been found. The antiquities are in the Patna Museum. Maner The site of Maner representing a large village is located at a distance of about 32 kms. west of district headquarters of Patna (Lat ; Long ) 25 on the Patna-Arrah road in the Danapur sub-division of the Patna district. Visually, the Maner site is marked by a high mound overlooking the dry bed of river Sone which covers an area of 1.5 km from north to south and east to west. The high mound now occupied by the present day 29

12 inhabitants of Maner village has to its south a large tank whose northern, eastern, western and southern sides are marked by the presence of numerous tombs containing the corporial remains of Muslim saints and other nobilities belonging to the Muslim and late mediaeval period. The most famous among the tombs are those of two Muslim saints namely Sheikh Yahay Maneri and Shah Daulat or Makhudum Daulat which are respectively called as Badi Dargah (the large tomb) and Chhoti Dargah (the smaller tomb). They are so called because of the fact the Sheikh Kamaluddin Ahmed yahya was a more reputed ancestor of Shah Daulat or Makhdum Daulat who according to the known information was his grandson. The situation of Maner 26 and Chirāṇḍ, opposite to each other across the Gangā, suggests that some links between the two culture sites could be expected, and excavation by Patna University team had picked up black and red ware, stems of dish-on-stand, and microlithic tools suggesting parallel with Chirāṇḍ. Excavation of the Maner site began in and was concluded in The excavations revealed a continuous cultural sequence from Neolithic to the Palā Period. Archaeological Survey of India Patna circle also excavated this site two year back. The Neolithic phase at Maner 27 is succeeded by the Chalcholithic phase without copper, through it is marked by the occurrence of black and red ware and other antiquities like microliths, bone tools, terracotta and pottery discs etc. as noted in other Chalcholithic sites associated with copper. A notable discovery of this period is the terracotta model of copper hoard double edged axe type which closely resemble with copper hoard double edged axe type preserved in Patna Museum. Among the other antiquities found from Maner terracotta male and female figurines, terracotta horse rider, terracotta elephant in seated 30

13 posture, terracotta bird figurines, terracotta and stone bead is also reported from excavation. Pataliputra The second capital of Magadha was Pātaliputra 28 with Latitude: 25 35' 11" N & Longitude: 85 16' 31" E (modern Patna). Its ancient Sanskrit name was Kusumpura and Puṣpapura which derives from the numerous flowers which grew in the royal enclosure. The Greek historians call it Palībothrā and the Chinese pilgrim, Pa-lin-tou. Hiuen Tsang the great Chinese traveler gives an account of the legendary origin of the name of the city 29 (Watters, on Yuan Chwang, vol II, p. 87). According to Jaina tradition Udaya, the son of Darśaka, built this city. The first beginnings were made by the Magadhan monarch, Ajātaśatru. The Buddha, while on his way to Vaiśālī from Magadha, saw Ajātaśatru s ministers outside the town (vide, modern Review, March, 1918). Pātaliputra was originally a Magadhan village, known as Pātaligrāma, which lay opposite to ko ṭigrāma on the other side of the Ganges. The Magadhan village was one of the halting stations on the high road extending from Rājagṛha to Vaiśālī and other places. The fortification of Pātaligrāma which was undertaken in the Buddha s life-time by two Magadhan ministers, Sunīdha and Varṣakāra, led to the foundation of the city Pātaliputra 30 (Dīgha, II, 86ff.; SumAṅgalavilāsinī, II, p. 540). Thus it may hold that Ajātaśatru was the real founder of Pātaliputra. However Udaya or Udayi was the ruler who made this town his capital. 31

14 Names of Patna (Pataliputra): Etymologically, Patna derives its name from the word Pattan, which means port. It may be indicative of the location of this place on the confluence of four rivers, which functioned as a port. It is also believed that the city derived its name from Patan Devi, the presiding deity of the city, and her temple is one of the Śakti peethas. One legend ascribes the origin of Patna to a mythological king, Putraka, who created Patna by a magic stroke for his queen Pātali, literally Trumpet flower, which gives it its ancient name Pātaligram. It is said that in honour of the first born to the queen, the city was named Pātaliputra. Gram is the Sanskrit for a village and Putra means a son. Patna, by its current name or any other name, finds no mention in the ancient Indian texts like the Vedas and the Purāṇas, or the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. The first reference to the place is observed about 2500 years ago in Jain and Buddhist scriptures. Recorded history of the city begins in the year 490 B.C. when Ajataśatru, the king of Magadh, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rājgriha to a more strategically located place to combat the Lichivis of Vaiśālī. He chose a site on the bank of Ganges and fortified the area which developed into Patna. From that time, the city has had a continuous history, a record claimed by few cities in the world. During its history and existence of more than two millennia, Patna has been known by different names: Pātaligrām, Pātaliputra, Palībothrā, Kuṣumpur, Puṣpapura, Azimābād 31, and the present day Patna. 32

15 Gautama Buddha passed through this place in the last year of his life, and he had prophesized a great future for this place, but at the same time, he predicted its ruin from flood, fire, and feud 32. Pātaliputra was built near the confluence of the great rivers of Mid- India, the Gaṅgā, Son and Gaṇḍ ak, but now the Son has receded some distance away from it. This city was protected by a moat of 600 ft. broad and 30 cubits in depth. According to Megasthenes it was 80 stedia in length and fifteen in breadth 33. At a distance of 24 feet from the inner ditch there stood a rampart with 570 towers and 64 gates 34. This city had four gates, Aśoka s daily income from them being 4, 00,000 kahāpanas. In the council (sabhā) he used to get 1, 00,000 kahāpanas daily 35. Fa-hien, who came to the city in the 5 th century A.D., was much impressed by its glory and splendour 36. He says that the royal place and halls in the midst of the city were magnificent. There was in this city a Brahmin professor of Mahayanism named Rādhāsāmī. There was a Hīnayāna monastery by the side of Aśhokan tope. Their inhabitants were rich, prosperous and righteous 37. Fa-hien further gives an interesting description of a great Buddhist procession at Pātaliputra 38. According to Hiuen Tsang, who visited it in the 7 th century A.D., an old city lay to the south of the Ganges above 70 li in circuit, the foundation of which were still visible, although the city had long been a wilderness. This old city, according to him, was Pātaliputra 39. The poet Dandin speaks of Pātaliputra as the foremost of all the cities and full of gems 40. Pātaliputra was the capital of later Śiśunāgas, the Nandas and also the great Mauryan emperors, Chandragupta and Aśhoka, but it probably ceased to be the ordinary residence of the Gupta sovereigns after the completion of the conquests made by Samudragupta 41. During the reign of 33

16 Chandragupta Vikramāditya it was a magnificent and populous city and was apparently not ruined until the time of Hūna invasion in the 6 th century. Harsavardhana, who was the paramount sovereign of North India in the 7 th century A.D. made no attempt to restore it 42. Śaśāṅka Narendragupta, king of Gauḍa and karṇasuvarṇa destroyed the Buddha s footprints at Pātaliputra and demolished many Buddhist temples and monasteries 43. Dharampāla, the most powerful of the Pāla kings of Bengal and Bihar took steps to renew the glory of Pātaliputra 44. The Buddha was invited by the lay worshipers of Pātaligārma on the occasion of the opening ceremony of a living house (āvasathāgāra 45 ). A monastery was built at Pātaliputra by an influential Brahmin householder of Benares for a Buddhist monk named Udena 46. A monk named Buddha dwelt at Kukkutārāma near Pātaligārma and had conversations with the Buddha s famous disciple named Ānanda 47. King Pāṇḍu of Pātaliputra was converted to Buddhism 48. Sthulabhadra, who was the leader of the Jaina monks, summoned a council at Pātaliputra, about 200 years after the death of Mahāvīra, to collect sacred Jaina literature. Bhadrabāhu refused to accept the work of this council 49. Interesting discoveries have been made by the Archaeological survey as well as the other agencies of India at the site of Pātaliputra. Some may be mentioned here ; (1) remains of wooden palisades at Lohanipura, Bulandibagh, Mahārājganja and Mangle s Tank; (2) Punch marked coins found at Golakpur; (3) Didarganj statue of female Chauri bearer; (4) Two Jain Tirthankaras from Lohanipur; (5) Durukhī Devī and Waddel s capital; (6) Śālbhanjikā from Rajendranagar; (7) The 80 or 84 pillared hall of the time of Mauryas; (8) coins of Kusanā and Gupta kings; (9) votive clay tablet found near purabdarwāzā; (10) remains of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna monasteries; (11) Arogya Vihar at Kumrahar of Gupta Period; the temples 34

17 of Sthūlbhadra and other Jain temples, and temples of Choti and Bari Patan Devi 50. Sonpur Sonpur is also known as Sonitpur (Lat ; Long North) was first explored by Sri V. K. Mishra. It is a small village consisting barley of about twenty five houses and is situated in Belaganj police station district Gaya, Bihar. Just to the west of this village lies the well known ancient mound which is locally known as the BĀNĀSURA KĀ GARH, the mound of Bānāsura. The mound about 1.52m to 3.05m (five to ten feet) high above the surrounding fields is about 4.80km west of Bela railway Station and about 24 km east from Gaya town. In the Matsya Purāna 51 it is stated that the capital of Bānā Rājā was at Tripura. A ruined fort at Damdema on the Bank of river Punarbhava, km to the south of Dinajpur, is called Bānā Rājā kā Garh and it is said to have been the abode of Bānā Rājā from where they say Ushā the daughter of Bānā was abducted by Aniruddha, the Grandson of Lord Krishna 52. Various arguments are brought forward to prove this assertion. Cunningham 53 has identified Masar in Arrah district as the ancient Sonitpur on the basis of a local tradition and stated that it was the residence of Bānāsura, whose daughter Ushā was married to Aniruddha, the Grandson of Lord Krishna. He has tried to identify a large statue that existed on the top of a mound in Masar with Bānāsura 54. Even Sonpur of the present report cannot claim to be the actual fort of Bānāsura. The excavations have not yielded anything which may prove its identification with that of Sonitpur. But it is true that the date of the site has been determined to c B.C. and moreover it is a Chalcholithic site corresponding to the period of Epic-Puranic Age. 35

18 A large number of terracotta objects have been unearthed from almost all levels. Majority of them are human and animal figurines. The other objects were beads, Naga Figurines, Bird, skin-rubbers, ear-lobes, wheels, dabbers, feeding cups, reels, votive tank etc. On a careful analysis, it has been found that the bulk of the terracotta objects have come from the period III (Kuṣana Period). Period II (N.B.P.W, 600 B.C.) has yielded comparatively less number. No terracotta object has come from period IA & IB (Chalcholithic Period). These terracotta objects no doubt, have thrown a significant light on the creative art of the people of the period. Tārādih Tārādih- Bodh Gaya 55 (Lat N., Long E) is a small village located in the Gaya district Bihar. The ancient mound covers an area of 600 mts. from east to west and 500 mts. from north to south and rises to a maximum height of about 8 mts. above the river bed of Falģu. The mound is divided into two parts by a metalled road running west east and leading to the world famous Mahabodhi Temple of Bodhgaya. The mound of Tārādih is situated about 11 km from the south-west of Gaya, the district headquarters of Gaya District. Just on the south-west of the Mahabodhi Temple is the Tārādih mound excavated by the Directorate of Archaeology, Bihar. The excavation have revealed 7 cultural periods. The earliest culture found on the natural soil is Neolithic and continued cultural sequence with antiquities from the Neolithic period down to the Palā period 56. The important finds of terracotta were represented by balls, animal figurines, die human figurine, beads, bangle, earlobes, dabber, and toy cart, amulets etc. 36

19 Vaiśālī The village Basarh situated about 35 km south-west of Muzaffarpur and about 29 km north of Hajipur, was identified by Cunningham with the ancient city of Vaiśālī, the capital of the republican ṛjji state V contemporary of the Buddha. His identification of Basarh with Vaiśālī (Lat N Long E) beyond all reasonable doubt was at first not universally accepted. Rhys Davids doubted the identification and Hoey identified Vaiśālī with Chirāṇḍ ruins 57. Inscriptions found from excavations here refer to Vaiśālī by name 58. It is the city Viśālāpuri, reffered to in the Purāṇas as founded by the king Viśāla of the Ikshavāku dynasty. The large mound is still known as Rājā Viśāla kā Garh. The city had a glorious history according to the ṇas Purā and the Epics. Rāma is said to have visited it on his way to Janakpur. However, with the beginning of the historical period, we find Vaiśālī a flourishing capital-city under the rule of the Licchavis with large building and chaitya. It was a favorite residence of the Buddha and Tīrtha ṅkara Mahāvīra 59 is said to have been born in the neighboring village at the Brahamanical part of the Kuṇḍagrāma (māhanakuṇḍa-grāmeayare) 60. The excavations laid bare a sequence of cultures from the Pre NBPW ( B.C.) to the Gupta & post-gupta periods (600 A.D.). Unfortunately no terracotta figurines are found from pre NBPW period. From NBP level few terracotta were discovered. A hand modeled figurine with hands and portion below the waist was missing. It had eyes, breasts, naval and centre of forehead delineated by punched circles. The girdle coiffure with double lock hanging is shown by appliqué. It is a hand modeled figure may be pre-mauryan. The makings of terracotta art continued up to 600A.D. here. 37

20 Chechar Chechar is situated on the north bank of the Gaṅgā, almost north to Patna, on the northern bank. Chechar lies about 20 Km east of Hajipur on Hajipur Mahnar road and south of the Chak- Sikandar railway station. The village and the neighborhood came into prominence due to many villagers including Sri Rampukar Singh, who had collected large number of antiquities in form of pottery, teracottas and sculptures not from the village only but from neighboring village like Bidupur. It was also obvious that the mound on the bank was under constant cutting by the Gangā and antiquities were picked up from the bed of the river near the bank. B. P. Sinha had visited the site long before the excavations and seeing Chalcholithic pottery, not much different from Chirāṇḍ, had held that it is an extensive ancient site under which lie the Chalcholithic cultural remains. It was, therefore, gratifying that the Archaeological Survey of India under the Superintending Archaeologist Mr. R.S. Vist excavated the site in One session excavation of this, one of the key-sites of Bihar, did not do full justice to it. Nevertheless, the small limited excavations laid bare a sequence of cultures from the Neolithic to the Gupta periods. A terracotta figurine of an apsarā may also be noted. A yaksha image without head but with heavy necklace (kaṇṭhā), kuṇḍala in the ears, and plaited dhotī in lower part of the body deserves notice. It may belong to the Kushāṇa period. Another Lakshmī, figurine with side female - attendents, in a terracotta plaque attracts our attention due to well- moulded body, full breasts, wide waist and beautiful ornaments. Another damaged figure of a yaksiṇī shows the plaited sārī tied with waist band, ornaments on the feet and wrist, wide waist; yaksha worship appears to be popular in 38

21 the region in the Kushāṇa period. Many female terracottas belonging to the Gupta period have been found in Chechar and its neighborhood. The faces do not appear to be very clear, but head-dress, developed breasts, narrow waist, long ear- ornaments, necklace and wide thighs are important features common for the Gupta period. Many standing Apsarā figures are in exquisitely modelled female form, in half smiling pose and the ladies are touching their breasts with left hand. We find healthy body, with sensual beauty and spiritual tension in these terracottas of the Gupta period. It is interesting to note that usually Vidhyādhars and Apsarā from a subsidiary part of an image of god or goddess in terracottas and stone, but here independent images of Apsarās in all their physical beauty and spiritual essence have been well modelled. Another notable image is of a mother and child; the mother holding the child on her left side. Mother has simple necklace, heavy kaṅgan on her wrist and a thick sārī covering her lower part. The child has his left hand on mother s breast. It is a beautiful figure of a common mother and child depicting social life of the period. Some of the clay beads may have been used as a string of ornaments round the neck of the women or even of animals as seen in villages even today. Then we have here many terracotta skin- rubbers of various shapes for cleaning the body. Many lockets emulating figures of fish, wheel, puṅgiphal, must have adorned the chest of male or female figurines. Bone pins, antimony rods, bangles, lamps, ear-ornaments speak loudly about the aesthetic taste of the people, who loved to put ornaments on their bodies and used unguents and other materials to beautify their eyes or head-dress. Pins might have been used for fixing the hair. Terracotta toys having some religious import have been found in a large number. We have birds and animal-figures of lion, elephant, and horses. On one terracotta plaque from Chechar there are four elephants. In 39

22 another with the elephant, the elephant-rider (Mahāwat) with hook (aṅkuśa) may be seen. The elephant s skin-folds have been well delineated. Dogs, monkeys, sheep and fish figures have been well moulded. A sitting monkey with a hole in the lower part must have been an ornamental piece. Terracotta figures of bull reminds us of bull on Aśoka pillars. Even boar is represented, but alligator, as an independent figure, is unknown so far, though a drain-pipe with alligator-mouth has been found in Vaiśālī. Many ram-carts with two spoked wheels as in Pāṭaliputra and Vaiśālī have been picked up from Chechar. Many terracotta plaques depict some scene or legend showing royal procession, deva or devīpariwāra, mithuna figure, elephant playfulness, etc. One cannot miss mentioning a large number and variety of clay seals found at Chechar. Some bear inscriptions in Brāhmī, Gupta and proto- Nāgarī scripts. On some, names such as Sāgaramitasa, Śivadāsasa, Kaonikasa (Kanishka?), Dharmapālasya, Gurumitra have been deciphered. On these seals svastikā, nandipada, conch, peacock, serpent, goose, creepers may have some symbolic importance. One seal bears Chinese script as well. It is quite significant. If it is the Śvetapura of Hsuan Tsang, then it is not impossible to find some seals in Chinese script here. There are only very few terracottas that could be placed in the Pāla period. It needs some explanation. We have numerous examples of terracotta-plaques of the Period in Bihar (Antichak) and Bangladesh (Paharpur). There can be no two opinions, about the archaeological importance of the Chechar group of villages on or near the river front. High and low mounds abound in this area. Antiquities from the surface astound the visitor. Whether it was or not a royal city from the 6 th to 10 th Century A.D. as suggested by Late Dr. Yogendra Mishra, there is no doubt that the area around was an important Buddhist centre for centuries. In our opinion 40

23 Chechar may be as important as Chirāṇḍ and Vaiśālī in north Bihar and deserves an intensive and extensive probe by archaeologists. Excavation at the site has been started by Directorate of Archaeology, Bihar, which may throw new light on the history of this area. Antichak (Vikramaśilā) Antichak (Lat N; Long E) is located near Kahalgaon Railway Station of Eastern Railway and comes under Patharghata post Office in Bhagalpur District of Bihar State. To the North of the village Antichak the holy Ganges is flowing at a distance of about 2 km; to the south at about 2 km lies Govardhana hill; to the east the village Lallapur is situated at distance of 0.5 km and to the west the village Madhorampur lies at about a km away from site. The latter is another ancient site having sculptures carved in rock and rock-cut caves belonging to the Gupta period. To the east of Patharghata village and towards the west of the site, the village Oriup is situated from where the remains of Chalcholithic culture were reported. The exact location of excavated remains is towards the east of the village Antichak. It is surrounded on three sides by cultivable field and to the south lies Govardhana hill of the Rajmahal group constituting one of the most conspicuous features of the landscape. An erosional water course of a Barasātī Nālā traverses the monastery from south-to-north and has caused considerable damage to the south-west as well as the north-west corner of the monastic-complex. At Patharghata also called Bhateshwarasthana, some ancient rock carvings, rock-cut caves and inscriptions in shell character engraved on a rock were noticed. They are ascribed to the Gupta post Gupta period on 41

24 stylistic ground. Some ancient remains of brick structure are also found at the top of the hill. Hiuen-Tsang in the first half of the 7 th Cent. A.D. made a reference to a hillock. About 48 km away towards east of Bhagalpur. Perhaps, he referred to Patharghata hills. Beside a number of high mounds are visible on the east, north and west of the site. The excavation yielded a large number of antiquities of different materials like terracotta, stone, iron, gold, silver, bronze, ivory, bone, shell etc. The most important among these are the images in stone and bronze. With this view a horizontal excavation was started by the Archaeological survey of India in 1972 and the work continued till Although, no epigraphic evidence in the form of seals, sealing or copper plate etc. bearing the name of Vikramaśilā was found during the excavations, yet on the basis of geographical, circumstantial and material evidences so far discovered from the excavations, it can now safely be said beyond doubt that this site is none other than the site of the ancient Vikramaśilā Mahāvihāra. The archaeological finds so far discovered from the remains of the famous Vikramaśilā Mahāvihāra which according to the Tibetans was situated on the bank of the river Ganges in Magadha. This fact is further corroborated by the statement of Bromton, a Tibetan monk (a contemporary of Sri Dipaṅkara Śrījn āna) who has stated that Nag-Tsho after crossing the Ganges late at night reached the monastery immediately and took shelter in a guest room meant for the Tibetans. This is the most authentic evidence to establish the location of the mahāvihāra on the bank of river Ganges. The Antichak excavation yielded a sufficiently large number of terracottas showing two distinct types such as terracotta plaques and figurines. When the central shrine was fully exposed, it was found a large 42

25 number of terracotta plaques ranging in a row on its exterior walls at a height of about 1.55 m from the ground level. These terracotta plaques originally decorated the main temple building. These plaques represented a variety of subjects. Many of them are still in situ and some loose terracotta plaques were discovered in course of excavations in and outside the monastic-complex. The individual terracotta figurines from the outside complex of monastery include the figurines of animals, birds and human beings. Among the animal figurines dogs are comparatively greater in number. Besides the figurines of elephants, horses, bull and ram were also found. A fairly good number of human figurines were also discovered from outside the monastic complex. Most of the animal and bird figurines were prepared in moulds while those of the human beings are appliqué type being modelled by hand. Champā Champā or Champānagar, the modern village 5 km west of Bhagalpur, divisional headquarters, represents the ancient city of Champā, the capital of Aṅga of the Epic and the kingdom of Aṅga in the Buddha s time. The name Karṇagarh in Nathnagar associates i t with the Epic hero Karna who was offered the kingdom of Aṅga by Duryodhana. We have Karṇagarh in Sultaṅganj and within the Monghyr fort a mound is also associated with Karṇa. It may be no ted that all this region was part of the ancient kingdom of Aṅga. It was concurred by Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha who appointed his son Ajātaśatru as the governor of Aṅga. Buddha and Mahāvīra are said to have visited Champā. It was the birth place of Vasu Pūjya, the 12 th Jain Tirthankara

26 Buchanan had noticed the large mound of ṇagarh; Kar a square rampart surrounded by a ditch and refers to ancient stone and bronze sculptures recovered from a tank dug in the vicinity of the mound. However, first archaeological activities at the site were started in by the department of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology of Patna University and these continued till The excavations have revealed a history of culture in chronological sequence from 600 B.C. to 500 A.D. A terracotta nāga-figurine with the head of a serpent with human-body in stylised from appears to be one of the earliest examples of such humanlike nāga-figurine. This may conform the antiquity of nāga-worship in the area traditionally associated to Chand saudāgar and Behulā. From the late N.B.P. phase ( B.C.) were discovered stone beads, stone bangles, ivory disc, glass objects terracotta animal figurine of lion, and bone points. A winged female figurine in terracotta is an interesting finds. The Śunga period is well documented with good bricks-walls and fine qualities of terracotta-plaques, one of which represents the mother-goddess with āyudhas being depicted on the top. Another plaque has the goddess with a peculiar west (west-asiatic) headdress. Remains of the Kushāna and the Gupta structures and some characteristic terracottas have also been found 63. Reference:- 1. Sahabad District Gazetter, p Thakur, Jai Narayan; Prachin Bihar Ke Van. Parishad Patrika-95, p.150. Bihar Rastra Bhasa Parisad, Patna, C A S R, III, pp Indian Archaeology- A review, , pp

27 5. Gupta, P.L.: Patna Museum Catalogue of Antiquities, p. 188, Hunter, W., Statistical account of Bengal, Vol. XI, p Carllyle, A.C.L. A.S.I. Report of Gorakhpur, Saran and Ghazipur Dists. In & 80, Vol. XXII, 1885, p.p Ibid. 9. J.A.S.B., 1874, pp Roy Chaudhary, P.C., Bihar District Gazetteer, Saran, p Altekar, A.S., Exploration Report Mss on Chirāṇḍ, preserved in the K.P.J.R.I., Patna. 12. Altekar, A.S., op.cit. 13. Carllyle, A.C.L. op.cit. p Dey, N.L., J.A.S.B., 1903, p. 90ft. 15. J.A.S.B., 1900, Vol. I.XXX, p Roy Chaudhary, op.cit. p J.A.S.B., 1900, p Patil, D.R., The Antiquarian Remains of Bihar, p J.A.S.B., 1903, p Ibid. 21. Patil, D.R., op.cit. p Roy Chaudhary, P.C., op.cit. p See plate no. XC VII. 24. Ashok Bendre and P.C. Pandey, Introductory Botany, pp Patil, D. R., The Antiquarian Remains in Bihar p JPASB, 1922, p. 81 and IA, XVIII, p Indian Archaeology, A Review, , p Patil, D.R., The Antiquarian Remains in Bihar, p Watters, On Yuan Chwang, Vol. II, p

28 30. Dīgha, II, 86ff.; SumAṅgalavilāsinī, II, p Ghosh, Manoranjan; Pataliputra, p Mahāparinirvanasutra, Rock-Hill s Life of Buddha p McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, p cf. McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, p Samantapāsādikā, I, p Legge Travels of Fa-Hien, p.77 Appendix- IV. 37. Legge, Fa-hien, pp Ibid.,p Watters, on Yuan Chwang, vol II, p Daśakumāraceritam, Ist Ucchvāsa, śl. 2, pūrva-pīthikā. 41. Smith, V.A., Early History of India, 4 th ed., p Smith, V.A., Early History of India, 4 th ed., p Vidyābhūṣaṇa, S.C., History of Indian Logic, p Smith, V.A., Early History of India, 4 th ed., p Vinayapiṭaka, I, pp Majjhima, II, 157ff. 47. Saṃyutta, V , Dāthāvaṃsa, Law, Intro., and XII-XIV. 49. Stevenson, Heart of Jainism, p Pātaliputra by Manoranjan Ghose, pp Dey, N. L. The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India P. 189 (Martsya Purāna, chap. 116). 52. ibid 53. A. S. I. Report for the year vol. III, p.66 46

29 54. It is a massive stone image of lord Vishnu of Gupta Period. It is one of the rare acquisitions of Patna Museum. 55. Buchanan, F., An Account of the District of Bihar and Patna, , p Sinha, B. P., Directory of Bihar Archaeology 2000, p Patil, D. R., Antiquarian remains in Bihar p J R A S, 1902, pp. 167 ff. 59. Chatterjee, A. K., Comprehensive History of Jainism. P Ācharaṅga Sutra SBE Vol. XXII, p Sinha, B. P., Archaeology and Art of India, pp. 87 ff.; 62. Sinha, B. P., Archaeology in Bihar pp.92ff; 63. Ghosh, A., Encyclopaedia of Indian archaeology Vol. II p. 90; IA , pp. 3-4;