Hill of the Lamp; Amaravati (Part IV)

(Continued from)

What makes Amaravati sculptures stand apart from the other contemporary works in the Deccan plateau, as displayed in rock cut temples of Karle'n, Bhaje, Nashik, earlier works at Ajanta and Pitalkhore, is the great attention paid to detailing and subtle suggestions conveyed to the spectator. When compared to Amaravati sculptures, the sculpturing in the other contemporary rock cut temples with possible exception of Karle'n, appears much inferior without any doubt. One of the reasons could be the material used. Unlike the basalt stone available in most of the rock cut temples of Deccan, Amaravati sculptors have used stones available in quarries near Nagarjunkonda. Whatever may be the reasons, the fact remains that Amaravati sculptures clearly suggest that by the time this great Stupa was finished and completely decorated in 200CE, sculpturing had come of age in the Deccan. No wonder that Mr. C.Sivaramamurti, former curator of the Chennai museum says and I quote.

“There is a freshness here, which invites study of the material with greater joy and zeal. The hackneyed theme, which has to be repeated is given an artistic twist to make it appear lively. Everywhere the sculptor has devised his own way of presentation. When one knows the mind of the sculptor and the way of his portrayal it becomes easier to understand and follow his method of approach. The charm of his effective language has compelled the attention of subsequent schools not only in India but even in far off places.”

Floral garland being pulled out of a Yaksha's mounth

Let us begin with the motif of floral garlands supported by bearers. This motif became popular when Mahayana school of Buddhism became prevalent in India. The Avatamsaka Sūtra (Sanskrit: महावैपुल्यबुद्धावतंसकसूत्र >Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvatamsaka Sūtra) is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture. No one knows, if this Sutra is the reason for the garland motif, initially picked up from Greco-Romans, to become popular, over a large area from India to China where Buddhism was practiced. In Amaravati, floral garland motif appears at least at two places; on the frieze encircling the Stupa itself and on the coping of the outer rail. The outer rail coping pieces are about 2 feet high and are curved on one side. As we have seen, the outer rail is pierced at four cardinal directions by gates. This means that the floral garland would break at the gates and could not form a continuous chain around the Stupa as seen everywhere else. Amaravati sculptors came out with a really ingenious solution for this anomaly. They placed special coping pieces carved with images of a floral garland being pulled out from the mouth of an either a colossal Yaksha (a divine dwarf) or a Makara (Crocodile), meaning thereby that at the places, where railing was pierced by gates, the garland can not be seen because divine dwarfs or Crocodiles had swallowed it and it was being pulled out from their mouths. Further, the dwarfs appear towards left in the coping pieces, whereas, the crocodiles appear to the right side. This indicates that the coping pieces with dwarfs were carved towards the right side of the gate and ones with crocodiles, were carved towards left of the gate. ( Remember that the sculptures on the coping were on the inside surfaces (towards Stupa drum) and not on outer surfaces.)

King Bandhuma and his daughters

Now we turn to a wonderfully detailed bass relief that appears on a cross-bar of the outer rail. The sculpture depicts the story of the presents of king Bandhuma who was the king of Bandhumati. He received two presents, consisting of a costly wreath and a precious sandal-wood. He distributed them to his two daughters. They in the turn, offered them to the Buddha, in his previous incarnation Vipassi. As a result of this, in their later rebirth, the elder of the two princesses was born as Mayadevi, the mother of Gautama, and the younger attained sainthood. In the sculpture the king is shown on a throne, attended by chauri-bearers. To his right are his two daugthers, the first seated and attended by maid servants and the second standing near the throne. Below the king's throne are pages offering the presents. Some men are shown on the right coming through an arched gate adjoining the palace. A horse and an elephant are also seen. The king's throne with rearing lions, the pages in tunic with curly hair, the coiffure of the maid servant at the feet of the seated princess and the archway are all noteworthy.

Mayadevi's dream

Another equally detailed panel is known as Mayadevi's Dream and Interpretation given to the king. Here on the left panel, Maya is shown reclining. Below the couch four women attendants are shown half asleep. Four turbaned men of rank stand as guards at the four corners of the couch. In the right panel, Maya is seen seated on a small wicker seat in front of the King while a Brahmin is seated to the left of the king. The Brahmin holds up his two fingers suggesting two possibilities regarding the future of the child to be born. The two possibilities are that either he would be a monarch, if he adopted the life of a house-holder or he would become the Buddha, if he renounced the world.

 Buddha meditating near a Stupa

This panel is from the last phase of construction, when Buddha's image was allowed to be shown in human forms. The broken slab is from the Stupa casing and shows the Buddha seated on a lion throne opposite the gateway of a miniature Stupa. Below him are two Naginis worshipping him. A group consisting of a standing nobleman, a seated lady and a dwarf carrying a tray is seen on either side of the gateway.

 Deaparture of Goutama from Kapilavastu

This fragment is from earlier period, when Buddha's image was not allowed to be shown. It is known as the departure of Sidhartha from Kapilavastu (Mahabhinishkramana). The arched gateway in the sculpture indicates Kapilavastu. The horse, Kanthaka comes out of the gateway. An umbrella is held over it by a man, suggesting the presence of the prince. Above them are the Devas who opened the gateway. There is a rail pattern below.

 Gods infatuated with  Rohini fight each other

Lastly we come to another detailed panel depicting the story of a celestial nymph Rohini Khattiyakanna from the Buddhist work of 'Dhammapadatthakatha.' In this panel the nymph is seen with four Devas or Gods, who are infatuated with her and trying to press hard and even coerce her in accepting one of them and are also quarreling amongst themselves. Finally one of them carries her to the super God Sakka, shown seated in his palace 'Vaijayantiprasada' with a lovely damsel behind.

These and other sculptured panels from Amaravati were copied and repeated by many artists in the subsequent and later periods. The beauty and glory of Amaravati is that, it was here that the art of story telling by means of sculptures seems to have taken birth. I can well imagine thousands of devout Buddhists walking along thirteen feet wide processional circular path paved with slabs of grey limestone that lay within the outer rail and monks explaining to them the stories embedded in stone by the Amaravati sculptors. It was perhaps world's first audio-video show.

There is however some confusion regarding the exact role of Satvahana kings in the construction of this great Stupa. Two historical inscriptions have been found on the fragments of the Stupa. The first one mentions the name of king Sri Pulumavi (c.110-138 CE) and the second mentions the name of the King-

Shivaskanda Satkarni (c.145-175 CE) meaning thereby, their active support to the construction in the last phases. However, if Satvahana kings had annexed Andhra in as late as first half of the first century CE, or during the reign of Satvahana Kings Apilaka and Meghasvati, the Stupa was already under construction then as archeologists believe that work on Stupa had began much earlier, around second century BCE. If that was the case, question remains as to who actually started the construction of Stupa in the first place? Shunga Kingdom or King Kharavela of Odisha? Perhaps we shall never know the answer.

After having spent few hours with the Amaravati stones, my mind as well as my legs are really tired. I decide to call it a day and return to the hotel for some hard earned rest. Later, reflecting upon my visit to the museum, I come to the decision that I have to visit the site of the great Stupa at Amaravati, even when there is not much to see there. The stones tell their own stories but the big picture can emerge only at Amaravati. Till then there will be no real closure for me.

To be continued

28^th July 2014

Hill of the Lamp; Amaravati (Part III)

(Continued from)

The stone slabs displayed in the special Amaravati enclosure of Chennai Museum are all sculptured with finest bass reliefs. Such good is the workmanship, that it becomes quite apparent that the job has not been done in a decade or even a century. The work must have continued for a much longer period. The designs, themes also change, from which we can estimate the time, when these must have been created. As an example, one can consider the famous theme of a continuous string of garlands carried by bearers, a theme that is influenced directly by Gandhara art, which clearly shows its later sculpturing. However, before I go into some finer details of some of the bass reliefs, I think that it might be worthwhile to know, how the Stupa actually looked like.

From the history of the site, which we have seen earlier, when Mackenzie discovered the Stupa, it was covered completely with earth. He however made detailed notes of what he saw. As I have explained earlier, in the subsequent period there were repeated excavations at the site, further demolishing the structure. It was Mr. Percy Brown from Indian Educational service and former curator of Victoria memorial hall in Kolkata, who first managed to reconstruct the great Stupa on paper using three sources, Detailed notes left by Machenzie and Sewell, other Stupas excavated carefully in Andhra region and finally the most authentic source, 'Selfie' kind of bass reliefs sculptured on the stone slabs of the Stupa itself. Here is how the Stupa was constructed.

A fragment of outer rail coping; the scene is known as Mayadevi's dream

At the outermost perimeter, the Stupa was enclosed by a circular railing constructed out of stone, measuring 192 feet in diameter. Along the four cardinal directions, this railing was pierced by gates, which consisted of stone pillars about 9 feet high and 3 feet wide. The pillars had on top of them stone copings 2 ½ feet high and a foot thick. The entire perimeter of the Stupa was covered with 136 pillars and about 800 feet of coping resting on top of it. To support the vertical pillars, three rounded crossbars of about 3 feet diameter were joined to the pillars. All stones were joined with perfect Mortis and Tenon joints. The coping on top of pillars was carved on both faces throughout. The decoration of the outer face consisted of a continuous floral garland carried on the shoulders of bearers. The inner face of the coping was reserved for scenes from the life of Buddha and from stories of his previous births. Thus as the devout circumnavigated the Stupa within the rail, the texts of their faith were unfolded in stone. The vertical pillars were mostly decorated with Buddhist motifs like a blown lotus, Bodhi Tree, Wheel of Dhammachakra and Stupa. The round cross bars also were carved on both outer and inner sides. Outer sides mostly with lotuses and inner surfaces carved with some great events from Buddha's life. Experts consider the bass reliefs on cross-bars as the best specimens of sculptor’s achievements. At the four gates, the coping was crowned with four seated lions at each gate, two facing each other and two facing outward.

 A fragment of a frieze; floral garland with bearers

Within this outer rail lay the processional circular path thirteen feet wide and paved with slabs of grey limestone; Along the inner circle of this path, stood another circular rail about 4 feet high and 162 feet diameter along the drum of the Stupa with entire circumference covered with stone slabs carved with some of the finest sculptures. 

  

A fragment of a pillar: Asitas visit Syuodhana

Between the slabs, Pillasters with elaborate carvings were placed and a circular frieze adorned the top of the stone slabs. Two copings, one between the stone slabs and the frieze and another one above it also were provided around the circumference to separate out the stone slabs, frieze and the dome wall. Burgess describes these in following words and I quote.

 A fragment of Stupa casing slab; king with is two consorts

“ The slabs composing the inner circle are remarkable for the beauty of the sculptures upon them, which are small and consist of figures, festoons and a variety of ornaments very neatly executed. On the side are the pillars. On the sides are pillars, which are either finished with figures of lions and horses, or of men and women; and over the top is an entablature replete with figures in various acts of devotion or amusement. These inner slabs have been cemented to each other with strong mortar, and supported by a wall of masonry rising to a moderate height (4 feet) in the rear. Slabs are either 6 or 9 inches thick and of rectangular shape. Most of the slabs are at British Museum, yet a few finest in Madras.”

 A fragment of a pillaster; Yakshini

The drum of Stupa was about 6 feet in height and along the perimeter were placed the 4 feet high stone slabs described by Burgess. Above the drum, the dome wall rose vertically to a height of 20 feet or 14 feet above the drum, totally cased with large sculptured slabs surmounted by two friezes. The lower of running animals and the upper with “Trishula” symbols. Above the dome slabs began the curve of the dome, which was stucco plastered and decorated with friezes of lotus filled vases and dwarfs carrying garlands. At the top there was another square railing with each side measuring 26 feet. From the centre of the railing rose an octagonal pillar and some smaller pillars. The entire dome was probably painted white with friezes painted gold making a splendid show.

 A fragment of a frieze; running animals

At the four cardinal points and facing the gates were projections to the drum about 32 feet long and 6 feet wide. On these projecting platforms stood five pillars, about 10 to 14 feet high with rectangular bases and octagonal shafts. The slabs here were decorated with Buddhist motifs like arches and stupas.

 A Model of the great Stupa

I sincerely hope that readers would be able to imagine in their minds, how grand and spectacular, this monument must have looked in its glory days. I shall now try and describe few of the stone carvings, which once decorated the mighty stupa of Amaravati. 

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26^th July 2014

Hill of the Lamp; Amaravati (Part II)

(Continued from)

Egmore, located on the northern banks of Chennai's so called Cooum river (Considered as the the most polluted river of India) is one of the busiest neighbourhoods of the city. My three wheeler 'Autoriksha' keeps moving through unfamiliar small roads and lanes with one common factor. They are all jam packed with late morning traffic. Soon, I can see a board declaring that we are on Pantheon Road. I really do not know why this road has been given a Roman name but I am told that this is probably so because of the presence of a large estate known as Pantheon Complex, that once existed along this road. The Egmore Museum was one of the first notable monuments to be constructed in this Pantheon Complex in 1854. The Connemara Library, which still functions, was created as an annex housing the Museum's vast book collection and became operational in 1896. Many additions to the original museum building were constructed between 1864 and 1890.

The Autoriksha stops near the gate and I get down, directly in front of me, is a large complex consisting of several buildings. I buy entry tickets for my self and my camera, which requires an entrance fee of Rupees 200 against entrance fee of Rupees 10 for myself. There is cloak room nearby with lockers. You are not allowed to carry anything inside the museum. I slowly walk towards front building. A red coloured circular building with Pillars all around. The facade is superb and reminds of the federal parliament building in Delhi. A building on the left has a facade, reminiscent of a typical Mughal architecture structure, unbelievably grand. The grandeur of the front building looks completely spoiled because of a large billboard hung from two pillars. The billboard is in Tamil but I do recognize the smiling face of the chief minister. I can see number of old cannons used in historical wars all along the perimeter of the main building.

In a typical bureaucratic way, the grand front entrance to the front building is locked and sealed. The building carries only a small section on Indus civilization, which can be approached from a small gate at the rear and which mainly consists of replicas of original objects, displayed in National museum New Delhi and another wing, which consists of some arms and guns displayed. The present day museum entrance is further to the right of the front building, but eventually leads to the main museum building, located right behind the front building (Reads highly confusing but it is not.) The facade of this building has a huge red coloured wall with white painted animal and birds on it, creating a garish kind of appearance. The entrance again has metal detectors and security guards, however things appear quite lax. There is a book shop right at the entrance and it leads to the Archeology wing, which is divided in number of individual wings with displays of Hindu Sculptures, Buddhist Sculptures, Jain Sculptures, Hero Stones, Memorial Stones, Sati Stone, Inscriptions and Copper plates, quite a mouthful I feel.

 The facade near the entrance; bold and garish

I walk along a long corridor with many stone sculptures, adorning otherwise a drab corridor. At the end of the corridor is the wing that displays the Hindu sculptures. I walk through and the next wing consists of Buddhist sculpture displays. In this wing, there is a separate enclosure made with polished wooden panelling. This enclosure consists the Amravati Stones. I have come all the way really to seen them.

There is an interesting bit of history, how these stones finally landed in this museum. I quote from the museum handouts.

“The collection of the early Buddhist sculptures includes the large group of sculptures received from the ruined stupa at Amaravati in the Krishna valley in the Andhra country wherein an excavation was conducted in the 1801 and later. Colonel.Colin Mackenzie of the Trigonometrical Survey of India first heard of the mound in the area and visited the site and found it was very interesting as it had specimens of early Christian era art. Then he drew sketches of the site and left. Later in 1830 some of the sculptured slabs were brought to Masulipatnam to beautify a square named after Robertson, the District Collector. During the course of his visit to this place in 1835, Sir Frederick Adam, Governor of Madras, saw the slabs and ordered that these to be sent to Madras for preservation in the Museum of the Madras Literary Society. Dr.Balfour, soon after taking charge of the Madras Central Museum, began his efforts in getting the aforesaid slabs and the first batch arrived here in 1856. Other batches of sculptures were secured during Dr.Bidie's time and they were set up in their present location in the Museum. On the question of the arrangement and display of these Amaravati marbles in the Madras Museum in 1884-85, Dr.Bidie had to cross swords with no less a person than Burgess of the Archaeological Department of the Government of India, but while the distinguished archaeologist demonstrated more of dogmatism and heat, Dr.Bidie showed himself that he was the master of the situation and what he did was only practicable way of dealing with the sculptures.”

 Departure of the Buddha( shown symbolically by a horse without a rider) from Kapilavastu

I feel like thanking Dr. Bidie, because only his efforts had made the marble slabs removed from grand Stupa at Amaravati, remain at Chennai and we can see them even today. There was every possibility otherwise that these would have been sent to England as was done with a few others. (Actually the number is not a few but a huge quantity of 121)

So how did the great Stupa looked like? Just like the Taj Mahal, it could be described as a poetry in marble. Standing tall, this ninety feet high marble-encased cupola surmounted by big stone umbrellas, the series of tall slender marble columns on the platforms marking four cardinal points, the four festooned gateways flanked by lion-topped columns and the fourteen feet high, sculptured railing round the stupa, all of which, together, must have been a sight of glory! The Stupa perhaps was the biggest symbol of the grandeur and wealth of the Satavahana empire.

The sculpturing around the central cupola and the fourteen feet high railing were done in four periods that can be roughly put in a time span as Period I - 200 to 100 BC; Period II - 100 AD; Period III - 150 AD and Period IV - 200 to 250 AD. This means that it covers both the Hinayana and Mahayana periods and that is why, images of Buddha appear only at certain places, probably sculptured during Mahayana phase.

A king on his throne

Museum had arranged the display of Amaravati stones rather well, There are number of glass enclosed show cases on pedestals as well as those mounted on the walls. There is also a huge partition that touches the sealing, with number of open gaps. Many of the smaller stones have been displayed in these open gaps.

Looking at the exhibits from the entrance, I feel sad because such a fabulous monument was destroyed by the over enthusiastic British officers, keen of excavating the stones and sending them to other places instead of rebuilding the Stupa to its past glory. It could have been as glorious a monument as Taj Mahal is considered today.

I heave a sigh and start walking towards the first exhibit. 

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25^th July 2014