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Jainism in Mathurā
devoted excessive importance to inscriptions, and completely ignored the architectural aspect.70
Buhler died in a boating accident in Europe in 1898.71 Due to his sudden death the possibility of a synthetic account of the evidence from Mathurā, which he alone of scholars in Europe knew thoroughly, ceased to exist.72 To make the matters worse, Fuhrer abruptly resigned from his job in the Archaeological Survey of India in 1898.73 Fuhrer had announced a monograph on the Jaina remains at Mathurā.74 But he left behind only one hundred two plates, 15 and these too without explanatory notes,76 when he resigned from service in 1898.77 Unfortunately, no record of operations was published; therefore, no proof exists as to the exact find-location of most of the objects of Kankālī Tīlā.78 Without any systematic account by Buhler, and without Fuhrer's personal rememberance of what had been done at Kankālī ļīlā, scholars do not have any idea of the actual find-location of most of the antiquities excavated from this site, and it appears that Fuhrer did not maintain a record of his operations.79
The task to prepare a book on the archaeological material excavated from Kankāli Țilā was undertaken by V.A. Smith. He had not been associated with the excavation work that had been conducted at this site. Owing to Fuhrer's indifference and negligence, the materials on the basis of which he had to produce a book on the subject, were sketchy and imperfect. However, after
70. ASIAR, 1906-7, p. 140. 71. MCH, p. 108. 72. Ibid. 73. Ibid., MI, p. 41. 74. MI, p. 41; JS, Preface. 75. Ibid. 76. Ibid., JS, Preface. 77. Ibid. 78. Ibid. 79. MCH, p. 109.
