Jain Journal 2001 04

SR No.: 520142
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 92
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India
File Size: 4 MB

Page 91

NEWS ON JAINISM AROUND THE WORLD
235 seat of Tansen-has also been partially dug up in the process to reveal the exact nature of the underground chambers.
It is under the small quadrangle in sandstone, set in the middle of a water tank and connected on all four sides by narrow corridors, that the subterranean chambers have been found.
"It's an effort that forms part of a larger endeavour to unearth older, pre-Mughal inhabitations at Fatehpur Sikri for which we found other material evidence," Sharma said.
While on the job, the eager archaeologist's eyes fell on two thingspieces of a massive stone jar, which has been described alternately as a sundial and a perfume jar, and the structure under 'Anup Talao'. On both counts, Sharma's explorations have yielded evidence of immense importance.
Asked what had set him on this path, Sharma claims he "came across Jain, Shakta, Vaisnavite and Shaivaite scriptures in the vicinity, which set me wondering." He found corroboration for his deductions in Ain-i-Akbari, the travelogue of Abul Fazl, the Persian who visited Akbar's court.
In fact, Fazl mentions a unique cool palace which was constructed for Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri. It is also mentioned in Spanish travel writer Peter Munde's accounts.
Besides the underground chambers, a huge stone vessel was also unearthed. Built in three-four pieces and plastered with white cement, it is said to have been used by Akbar for storing Ganga water for drinking. Says Sharma, “Peter Munde tells how Akbar used to get Ganga water in sealed copper and brass containers from Saron in Etah on camels and horses."
However, this venture has its critics. A section of the archaeologists feel that the excavations under the 'Anup Talao' were originally carried out with the intention of finding evidence of a Jain temple, said to have been demolished to build the fort.
Says MC Joshi, who was ASI's DG in the '80s : "It is not that we did not know about the underground pavilion. But there is something called ethics which forbids us to dig around established antiquity in the name of exploration."
Indian Express 14.3.2000