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________________ 388 Homage to Vaisali At every Vaisali Festival (celebrated every year since 1945) the organisers of the Vaibali Sangba bave boen emphasising the need for furthor excavation at Vaisali in the form of a resolution. As a result of this, Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler, the Director-General of Archaeology in India, paid a visit to Vaibali on 21st June, 1947. He was accompanied by Diwan Bahadur Radha Krishna Jalan, the Archaeological Survey Superintedent of Central Circle (Patna) and the Secretaries of the Vaisali Sangha (Sri Digvijaya Narayan Singh, B. A., Sri Jagaonath Prasad Sah, Visharad, and Prof. Yogendra Mishra, M. A., Sahityaratna). His visit to the actual spot convinced Dr. Wheeler of the necessity of the resumption of excavation at Vaisali and he has written to the Vaisali Sangha that if the Sangha is able to collect six thousand rupees locally, the Government of India would surely resume the excavation work. So far as excavation here is concerned, Vainali has immense possibi lities for the following reasons : 1. It is a very ancient site going back to pre-Buddhistic ages. It figures very prominently in ancient liteerature. 2. It has big mounds still unexcavated and awaiting excavation. These mounds are sure to give amazing results. The biggest mound is known as Raja Vitala Ka Garh (Fort of King Visala) so called after the mythical founder of the city. It must have been the palace of the Vaisalian Kings, and later on the Parliament House (Samstbagara) of the Liccbavi Republic also might have been here, because the AbhisekaPaskarini of Coronation Tank (modern Kharauna Pokhar) is very close by. 3. Many sculptures especially of the Pala times (8th to 12th centuries A. D.) have been found at the surface or while ploughing the fields or digging the earth. This is a clear proof to show that this area abounds in archaeological materials. Every year in the rainy season a good number of archaeological finds, especially small finds including coins and seals of Hindu times, comes out and flows away never to come under human possession in future. Thus a great source of knowledge is being gradually destroyed and the more delay in the resumption of excavation work, the more harmful it is to the cause of knowledge, especially of Indology. Vaisali made a distinct contribution to art and iconography and this contribation must be preserved. 4, Excavation work was done here in 1903-4 and 1913-14 and many things were found. The area taken up for excavation was not even one-twelfth of the big mound known as Raja Vissala Ka Garb. If the
| SR No. | 012088 |
| Book Title | Vaishali Abhinandan Granth |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Yogendra Mishra |
| Publisher | Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology and Ahimsa |
| Publication Year | 1985 |
| Total Pages | 592 |
| Language | Hindi, English |
| Classification | Smruti_Granth |
| File Size | 17 MB |