Wildflowers of Kaas – Part IV

(Continued from)

After lunch, we are on our way to hills of Western Ghat mountains once again. This time we take a new route, which is still westwards but slightly to the south. This road actually leads to one of the famous forts from Maratha history “SajjanGadh,” called great not because of any epic battles fought here, but because it was the place of residence of one of the most revered saints of the seventeen century Maharashtra, “ Swami Ramdas.” This fort still is an important religious place and on two particular days of the Hindu calender, devotees throng here even today, to worship Lord Rama.

However, we have no plans to visit the fort. A after travelling a distance of about 10 or 12 Km, we leave the winding road, that would climb up to the “Sajjan Gadh” and push forward on a narrow mountain road, along the hills.

Geologists say that western ghat mountains are not mountains in their true sense. They are actually the faulted edge of the Deccan plateau formed during the break up of super continent of “Gondawana,” some hundred and fifty million years ago. After this break up, as Indian mainland kept drifting towards Asia, a huge volcanic explosion took place around 65 million years ago depositing huge amounts of lava that resulted into formation of the basalt rock here. All this upheaval, created vertical cliffs and deep valleys along the western edge of the mountains, creating a scary landscape of valleys as deep as 3000 feet and mountain tops carved out of black basalt rocks.

During the monsoon months (June to September), south-west monsoon winds bring moisture laden heavy clouds to India's west coast. They meet their first barrier, when mountain cliffs of western ghats present a formidable obstacle to them. This makes the clouds rise higher and while doing so, they let huge amount of moisture go off on the eastern edge of the mountains. At these places, the rain fall is extremely heavy, touching figures of 3000 to 4000 mm annually. Most of the rain water just flows away, forming hundreds of rivers and rivulets of various sizes. Because of the huge water flows in this terrain, consisting of deep valleys, it is possible to see many spectacular water falls along the entire ridge of Western Ghat mountains. The list of waterfalls here is very long, however some of the more famous falls can be listed as Palaruvi, Kedumari, Koosali, Jog, Magod, etc. One of these big waterfalls is nearby and we are on our way to visit it.

One of the largest reservoir of water in the western ghat mountains, has been formed at Koyananagar by damming the river Koyana. On the eastern side of the reservoir, rises another mountain ridge of about 3000 feet height. Because of the extremely heavy monsoon rainfall, hundreds or rivers and rivulets originate on this ridge and flow either westwards into Koyananagar reservoir or eastwards. “Tarlee” river is one such eastwards flowing river that originates on this ridge. This river has been dammed on the ridge itself and forms a small reservoir known as “Thoseghar Lake.” The river, further flowing east-southeast, encounters a deep gorge at a place that is roughly midway between two villages of “Chalkewadi” and “Thoseghar.” The river jumps down in this gorge of at least 500 meter depth in a spectacular fall, breaking down in several streams; out of these the two most prominent once have been named after “ Rama” and his brother “Laxmana.” The waterfalls are known by a general name as “Thoseghar Waterfalls.”

The bus stops and we all get down. There is a makeshift ticket booth, where visitors need to pay a nominal entry fee. As usual, few shops can be seen around selling cool drinks, tea and snacks. The tourism department has built us a nice paved path for the visitors to go deeper in the gorge so that they can view the falls in real glory. To start with the steps are small and distanced apart. Soon the path becomes narrow and steps become taller. The whole area is deeply wooded and is a regular forest. After climbing down around 100 to 150 feet, I can see a crowded platform full of visitors, with everyone making full use of the photo op. I reach the specially built observation platformr. Ahead of me is a deep gorge around 500 meter deep and the water oozing out from several streams on ridge top appears to be jumping down with a careless kind of attitude. Some of the falls are quite small; around 15 to 20 meters. The two big once however, appear to be jumping straight down.

The whole setting here is quite spectacular. The weather beaten, vertically cut, cliff faces in basalt, look super imposing and the deep gorge has some kind of eerie feel about it. The water releasing itself into the gorge has a non benevolent, “I don't care” attitude as it carelessly jumps down with a roar. After watching the falls for few minutes, it is time to return. On way back we visit another vista point, from where a better view of water just about to jump down can be had. I take photographs and relax a bit before the final climb up begins.

Soon I am back to the spot, where our bus has been parked and after a refreshing cup of tea, we start on our return journey. In just one day, I have managed to see two of nature's great wonders. My mind is filled with amazement and as I keep thinking about these two places, I doze off.

(Concluded)

4^th October 2014

Wildflowers of Kaas- Part I

About a fortnight ago, a friend suggested me that I join him for a day's excursion to see the wildflowers of “Kaas.” To be frank, I was quite apprehensive at first, perhaps because of my ignorance. I had imagined the place to be just acres of cultivated farm flowers like say tulips or roses, stretching before my eyes. I had felt that such farm acres, though no doubt looking stunningly beautiful, they were not worth a day's excursion. I however, did some browsing and research on the net. What I read and saw on net, was difficult to grasp fully, but nevertheless I realised that it was a different kind of a dish altogether and I booked my ticket for a bus for a round trip excursion along with a couple of friends.

“Kaas” is a plateau on mountain tops, located deep in the ranges of Western Ghat mountains that are spread north-south, along India's western seaboard. It is at a distance of roughly 115 Km from home town Pune and can easily be approached, since there is an excellent road leading right up to the plateau. After having taken the plunge, I am now off to see this plateau, popularly known as “ Plateau of flowers.” The bus has left my home town around 6.45 AM and we are cruising at about 80-100 Km/Hour on the busy Pune- Bengaluru Highway. “Kaas plateau” (17 d 43' N, 73 d 49' E) is situated about 25 KM west of the historic city of Satara and we need to pass through the town.

Meanwhile, everyone in the bus appears hungry, having started rather early from home. We stop at a highway food joint for our breakfast with a typical Maharashtra style fare; “Kandapoha” ( Flattened rice flakes, moistened and cooked after lightly frying with mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder and finely chopped onions ) and “VadaPau,” (round cakes of hash brown mixed with spices; dipped in gram flour paste; deep fried and inserted like a patty in two halves of a fluffy bread piece) and finally, sugary, milky tea- the way it is prepared all over India. While others are ravishing on the spicy grub, I have a look at our motley group- travelling together. There are four of us middle aged( with my exception being a senior citizen) and who have come to see the wildflowers. There is group of three families with full complement of kids of various ages, who probably have come for a picnic or an excursion. Then there is a group of IT guys wearing black rimmed frames, Bermudas, printed Tee shirts and above all, expensive DSLR cameras hanging from their necks and telling the world that they are on a serious photographic expedition. Then there is a group of young student type group of boys and girls, fun loving type. Finally there are couple of ladies travelling single, one of them very talkative.

I find out that I am the only senior citizen in the group, a black sheep or an odd man out. I feel slightly dejected, but I finish my Tea, buy some “Chikki,” ( A sugary sweet bar made from peanuts and sugar), share it with my friends and then slowly walk back to the bus. Soon, the bus leaves for Satara. Relaxed, I put on my iPod earphones and doze off listening to the music. I wake up to the hourly-burly noises of a city, which means that we have reached the Satara city. Soon the bus takes a diversion and we are on the “Kaas” road. The bus soon starts climbing uphill, which means that we are now climbing the ridge that connects the “Kaas” plateau with Satara city. This ridge consisting of several hills in tandem is fairly a long one; about 20 Km.

As the bus climbs up, I can see the landscape changing slowly to beautiful lush green meadows, interspersed with shallow valleys and small ponds, full of muddy water. This is natural because the south-west monsoon rains are just withdrawing. Within next two or three weeks all this will change, with lush green meadows changing over first to yellow brown and then disappearing altogether, exposing the reddish Lateritic soil underneath and patches of blackish basalt rocks. I, however leave the future scenario at bay and concentrate on the things around me as on the moment.

I also notice the change in weather, which is turning surprisingly pleasant with a cool refreshing breeze. The altitude of “Kaas” plateau is above 1200 meters (4000 ft). This is the reason for this sudden change in the weather, which ensures that our trip is likely to be a pleasant experience. We cross some wooded groves, perhaps with trees planted by forest department, but they make the environment soothing to the nerves and rather charming for the first time visitor like me. I see more green meadows ahead but now stretched longer and flatter.

The total area of “Kaas” plateau is huge, about 1800 hectares (4500 acres) and as we enter this pristine land , what could be a better welcome for us than the sudden appearance on both sides of the road of stunning beautiful clusters of golden yellow flowers, swaying with the breeze and dazzling on the widespread background of lush green grass. The yellow wildflowers are known as Sonki (Senecio bombyensis.) These are members of the large Asteraceae family to which many commonly known flowering plants like the aster or daisy belong.

The bus moves among the flower meadows of yellow wild flowers. Soon I see a barbed wire fence stretching on both sides of the road. I try to look beyond the fence, I can clearly see small dots of pink, white and purple in the greens. I know, we have arrived at “Kaas.”

(To be continued)

1^st October 2014

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

Hill of the Lamp; Amaravati (Part I)

During last year, I visited many of the Buddhist rock cut temples spread over mountains of the Deccan, to look for traces of the ancient Satvahana empire that had ruled over the Deccan plateau, around beginning of our era. My visits suggested one thing for certain, that the Satvahana empire had lost its days of glory somewhere around second or third century CE. The inscriptions at the rock cut temples of Karle'n and Nashik, mention the name of Vasisthiputra Pulumavi (c.110-138 CE), son of the great Satvahana king Gautamlputra as the ruling king. However, records end here and no mention of any other king down the line are found in any of the rock cut temples at least to my knowledge. I do not propose to go into the history of Satvahanas, but one thing is clear to me that my search must end now in Maharashtra or western Deccan.

The sway of the Satvahana empire was never limited over Maharashtra only and they had ruled all over Deccan, including Andhra. There is a belief that Vasisthiputra Pulumavi annexed the Andhra region to Satvahana empire. However, Maharashtra Gazetteer suggests that it is very likely that the province of Andhra was annexed to the Satavahana kingdom much earlier in the reign of Satvahana Kings Apilaka and Meghasvati by the middle of the 1st century CE itself, if not even earlier. This fact is well confirmed by findings of Satavahana coins at many places in Andhra. I therefore knew that I can now further continue my quest only in the eastern Deccan or in Andhra. While reading about the ancient monuments in Andhra, I came to know about the Buddhist Stupa at a place called Amaravati.

Amaravati is a tiny town, situated 35 Km north of the city of Guntur on the right or the south bank of river Krishna, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which has been bifurcated very recently. In local language it is known as “Dipaldinne,” which means a Hill of the Lamp. Amaravati and the adjoining areas have had been great seats of Buddhist learning and religion at the beginning of our era. The famous Chinese monk and pilgrim, Xuel Zang mentions in his travelogue from 7th century that at Amaravati, “ though many Buddhist monasteries were deserted by then, at least twenty were still in use with a thousand monks living there.” Few readers would be able to imagine that this obscure tiny town in the interior, once boasted of a grand monument that could be compared or perhaps was even grander than the famous Taj Mahal and was visited by thousands of Buddhist pilgrims every day. The monument in form of a great Buddhist Stupa, was however lost in the passage of time and all that remained was a mound of earth. This mound was eventually called the 'Hill of the lamp' by local people and the town got its name from this hillock.

In the year 1796, a local landlord wanting to shift to Amaravati, started quarrying rocks from nearby mounds of earth to build his house. He also attempted to dig the 'Hill of the lamp' and to utmost surprise of everyone around found stone slabs with sculptured bass reliefs. The news reached a British officer Colonel Colin Mackenzie, who was a passionate collector and student of antiquity. He visited the spot and immediately perceived that the mound of earth was in fact a great Stupa having about Ninety feet diameter and Twenty feet height. Mackenzie returned to the site in March 1816 armed with a team of draftsmen and surveyors. For next 2 years they made detailed plans and drawings of the monument. After the great Stupa was discovered, a mad rush began amongst British officers to acquire the stone slabs of the Stupa. Many slabs were also distributed by the officers to various museums within India. In 1845, another British officer carried out excavation in the south west part of the mound and found large number of fragments. He sent them to Madras, where they lay neglected and exposed. In 1856 a new museum was opened in Madras. Edward Balfour, officer-in charge of the museum, decided to collect all the pieces and catalogue them. Finally 121 stone slabs were sent to England in 1859. They were sent from a museum to museum and finally in 1880 they reached British museum, where they are exhibited since. In 1880, Duke of Buckingham, then Governor of Madras, ordered complete excavation of the site. The site not converted to a large pit. More than 400 fragments were recovered mostly from the outer railing and were sent to museum at madras, where they can be seen even today. A few balance pieces are exhibited at the site in a small museum. This is the sad story, how a great monument built by Satavahana kings, somewhere around first or second century CE, was totally destroyed, after discovery, instead of being renovated and rebuilt for the future generations. From whatever that is left of the great monument, one can easily imagine its grandeur and also the importance and glory that Amaravati must have enjoyed in the past, very well comparable to Taj Mahal itself.

 A model of the great Stupa

So, how this great monument really looked like? At the centre was a giant solid dome of a Stupa some one hundred and forty-eight feet in diameter. This was surrounded by two highly sculptured stone railings. The inner railing actually almost touched the drum of the Stupa and carried all the decoration on it. The outer railing constructed from limestone slabs, was One hundred and ninety two feet in diameter and was pierced by four gates provided in cardinal directions. The outer railing was also elaborately carved with bass reliefs depicting many scenes from Jataka stories and Buddha's life. It is not knows how such a great monument was slowly forgotten and became totally neglected. It soon became a pile of rubble and in a few centuries of time became a mound of earth and with its disappearence, the famous town of Amaravati also became a forgotten obscure town in the interior of 'Andhradesa.'

A stone slab from Amaravati Stupa; parhaps the 'Selfie' of the Stupa itself

Coming back to the Satvahana king Vasisthiputra Pulumavi , Maharashtra Gazetteer says that the discovery of the coins of Pulumavi in Andhra country and of an inscription of his at Amravati, afford clear evidence of his holding a firm sway over that province. This particular inscription etched on outer railing, informs that in Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi's reign, additions were made to the Stupa.

After reading about the present state of the Stupa at Amaravati, it became obvious to me that there was not much to see there except for a small museum, since almost all marble slabs with bass reliefs have beeen moved to either British Museum or the Government museum at Chennai. I also recollected that I had already seen few Amaravati stones in the National Museum at New Delhi. I therefore decided to postpone my visit to Amaravati to a later date and visit Government museum at Chennai first, to see the Amaravati stones.

Finally after much deliberations I am on my way to Chennai to seen the musum. My plane lands at Chennai airport around 8.30 in the morning. As I come out of the arrivals hall, a blast of hot humid air hits me hard. I know that it is going to be an incredibly hot day, so typical of Chennai. I take an air conditioned cab to go to the place I plan to stay; Hotel Palm grove, located on Kodambakkam High road; a distance of about 20 Km from the airport. I must be visiting Chennai after at least two decades but city has not changed greatly except for the overhead Metro line. I check in the hotel, freshen up and leave for the museum at Egmore.

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24^th July 2014

Where the hell was Dhenukakata?-Part III

(View of Karle'n valley from the Monastery)

(continued from)

Before we proceed further in our quest to locate Dhenukakata, which existed at the beginning of our era, let us summarize what we already know about this town. It was a prosperous trading community with many Greek ( or Roman)  settled in it as traders or mercenaries. They even had a traders association representing the traders. It was located on one of the trade routes leading to empires of the Deccan and it was in the vicinity of Karle'n monastery.

Based on these facts, it may not be erroneous to come to a conclusion that Dhenukakata traders probably handled the import-export trade mainly that took place between Empire of the Deccan on one hand and Greco-Roman empire on the other. This naturally brings up a question; was the trade volume that possibly existed at that time between Rome and Pratishthan (Today's Paithan), justifies the establishment of a prosperous trading town that too just only on one of the possible trade routes to the Deccan.

Gaius Plinius Secundus (CE 23 – CE 79), better known as Pliny the Elder ( a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire) has commented while remarking about the adverse balance of trade of the Roman empire: “This is the price we pay for our luxuries and our women. At the last reckoning one hundred million sesterces are taken away by India, Seres and Arabia.” Every year up to 40 ships carried luxury goods consisting of half the export trade of Rome between Rome and India. The imports from India included spices, pearls, muslin,ivory etc, while exports to India were very few and consisted mostly of wine, musical instruments, singing boys and dancing girls. The balance of trade was so adverse that Rome had to pay in Gold Bullion to India every year.

I have specifically given these details here, just to highlight the fact that trade volume with Rome was exceptionally high and fully justifies existence of booming trading communities like Dhenukakata on Indian soil. The next question that pops up is about the trade routes that were in existence at that time. If we could know about the trade routes, we might possiblly be able to locate trading communities like Dhenukakata. To trace the trade routes, the better idea would be to start from the sea ports from where obviously, the ships left for Rome and also arrived with their wine casks.

Claudius Ptolemy (CE 90 – CE 168) was a Greco-Roman writer of Alexandria, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet. He was the author of several scientific treatises, at least three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. 'The Geography' (also known as Geographia, Cosmographia, or Geographike Hyphegesis) is Ptolemy's main work. It is a treatise on cartography and a compilation of what was known about the world's geography in the Roman Empire of the 2nd century.

Ptolemy tells us that four major trading ports on India's west coast, carried bulk of the cargo to and from Rome. These included (The names in brackets are the names mentioned by Ptolemy), Bhadoch (Barygaza), Dounga (Salsette island), Sopara near Bassein or Vasai ( Suppara) and finally Choul or Chaul ( Semylla or Cemūla.) Taking these and also Kalyan, which we know was a trading port, as starting points, it should be easy to trace the routes up to the Deccan plateau as they have to pass through one of the mountain passes in the Western Ghat mountain range. Since the Buddhist monasteries were all located near the trade routes, these trade routes also have to pass through the vicinity of one of the monasteries.

Leaving aside the trade route from Bhadoch, which is in any case was far off from Karle'n monastery, the other trade routes must have started either from Kalyan, Salsette or Sopara and or from Choul in the south. Late Dr. D.D.Kosambi has outlined several such routes that might have existed and I quote:

 

"The northern feeder route starting from Kalyan, Sopara went right along the foot of the western Ghats and reached Junnar town through Naneghat. One possible route might have climbed up Sava or Kurvanda pass near present town of Lonavala and would have passed in the vicinity of Bedse monastery. .Another route came up the vally near today's hill station Khandala and passed in the vicinity of Kondane monastery. However all these routes were difficult and were not popular."

One more route existed in the south, which was most suitable for the port of Choul or Chaul. This route climbed up the Ghat near Mulshi lake of today (This is probably the same pass that is known as 'Tamhani Ghat' today.) and passed on through Pavna valley in the vicinity of Shelarwadi monastery and finally reached Bhaje and Karle'n monasteries. From here the route skirted the hills past the foot of Karle'n caves through Navlakh Umbar village, Chakan and then merge in the route to Junnar town. This also perhaps explains a solitary donation from a Dhenukakata resident to Shelarwadi Monastery.

I have tried to trace these two major routes on a Google earth map and it can be seen easily that the Naneghat route is much shorter for reaching Junnar, which any way was the main centre for commerce during those days. Any one would wonder then, why the route starting from Choul and passing by the Karle'n monastery was taken by the traders, when it was much longer and troublesome. It would have been almost impossible to find an answer to this but for a short explanation given again by another ancient Greek text “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.' This text was written between 1^st and 3^rd centuries CE and describes navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

I have mentioned above, that at the beginning of our era, the political situation in the Deccan had become highly turbulent with Satrap Nahapana's forces having captured major chunks of Satavahana empire including the areas near Karle'n monastery. Nahapana's forces also had gained control over coastal areas and the ports like Kalyan. Periplus text confirms this situation and says:

“The market-towns of this region are, in order, after Barygaza (Bhadoch): Suppara, (Sopara)and the city of Calliena (Kalyan), which in the time of the elder Saraganus (Satavahanas) became a lawful market-town; but since it came into the possession of Sandares (Kshatraps or Nahapana's forces), the port is much obstructed, and Greek ships landing there may chance to be taken to Barygaza (Bhadoch) under guard. Beyond Calliena there are other market-towns of this region; Semylla (Chaul)..…” A century later, Claudius Ptolemy again confirms the political situation when he does not mention the Kalyan port ( now unsafe because of the war like situation) at all, and mentions only Souppara (Sopara) mouth of the River Goaris, Dounga (Salsette island), mouth of the River Bêndas, and Semyla or Chaul.

(The trading ports and the Buddhist Monasteries of Satavahana period)

I think the readers would now appreciate the situation in the first century CE, when Greek or Roman ships were unable to load/ unload their cargoes at 'Kalyan.'  Sopara was to the north and inconvenient, so they were forced to use southern ports like Salsette island and Choul. This also made the shorter 'Naneghat' route to Junnar town no longer preferable as it was much to the north of the port of lading, Choul. The southern route from Chaul and through 'Tamhni' pass must have become suddenly popular for this reason and with it grew the importance of the largest monastery in the area, the one at Karle'n.

We shall now try and see if we can locate the Trading boom town of Dhenukakata, which was possibly situated somewhere on this trade route.

(To be continued)

21^st January 2014