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beautiful of all, has the typical upward flowing Gāndhära hair-style, highly conventionalized.-(Plate LXXXIX). A Terracotta Seal-Tablet :
One of the most important finds is the Seal depicting the complete Stūpa. Looking at the whole group of images, their drapery, hair-style, uşņiśa etc., it is possible to date this group to the Late Gāndhāra period ( 'Indo-Afghan School of Marshall ) or to the 4th Group of Ingholt. Some of the images with ribbed drapery and the Gāndhāra hair suggest Group III, which he dates from 300-400 A.D.. Since Group III of Gāndhāra is already acknowledged to show features of the Mathura school, we see here also Central Indian influences. Thus we have a phase of Art of the Late Kşatrapa period and showing blending of Gāndhāra and Early Gupta traditions.
It is difficult to be dogmatic at this stage, as these finds arouse profound questions of the relation between the Western Indian and Central Indian art-traditions. As Marshall put it in connection with the finds from Taxilā of the Indo-Afghan School, “Both in pure decorative beauty and in the expression of religious sentiment and in these spheres, it established new and far-reaching traditions, which profoundly influenced the character of the Gupta and the later Medieval art of India."-(Taxilā, p. 522).
In view of the chronological overlaps between the Late Kșatrapa, Late Gāndhāra with the Early Gupta, it is possible to visualize certain regional diversities and other affinities without any dogmatic assertions of origins. Thus we can see that this stūpa with its square platforms essentially belongs to the Gāndhāra tradition. Its nearest parallel is the one at Mohra Moradu at Taxilā.
For the sheer beauty of its terracotta and brick-work it is nearer to the stūpa at Mirpur Khās in Sind. Almost all the decorative motiffs on the bricks of Mirpur Khās are repeated here, but these are, possibly earlier in date. In Gujarat this represents the heyday of the Kşatrapas and the Maitrakas of Valabhi.
Vihara : The Vihāra, which is situated to the south of the stūpa, measures about 120 feet square. Unfortunately the vihāra has suffered tremendously at the hands of the brick-robbers and the entire outer walls have been more or less destroyed. The monastery contains eight cells each, on each of the four sides, with a brick-paved court-yard in the centre. On the southern side, the central cell has a platform with moulded bricks on all the four sides and it has a very fine stone-paved floor. This suggests the Shrine-room. Similarly, on the western side of the court-yard there is a small platform in the centre, probably to serve as a stage, as in other monasteries outside Gujarat. The bricks measure 16" X 10" X 3', and they fall within the known brick-sizes of the Kșatrapa and the Maitraka period.
Phases of the Vihara: In the first phase, the monastery was slightly smaller and it had a compound-wall in addition to the outer wall of the monastery. The main drain from the court-yard flowed out on the North-West corner of the monastery. In the second
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