Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 61
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications
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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ OCTOBER, 1932
up to this path were found, but it is possible that they may have existed. No steps are depicted in the bas-relief representations of stupas, so perhaps there were none to any of these monu. ments. The ayaka-platforms are 22 feet in length and 5 feet in width, and the bases of the five stone pillars were securely built into the brickwork. In the stone-faced stapas, the ayaka-platforms were the most highly decorated features of the stúpa. Here the Andhra sculptor exhibited his best works of art, partly because these platforms were regarded as very holy structures resembling altars on which votive offerings were placed, and mainly perhaps, because they faced the four open gateways of the stupa, so that they were the first objects seen by anyone entering the sacred precinct around the stúpa. The stúpa was surrounded by a processional path 13 feet in width, and enclosed by a wooden railing standing on brick foundations, which still remain. The gateways were formed by extending the railing outwards, so as to form a screen on each side of the entrance, but there were apparently no transoms spanning the entrance, like those of the Sâñchi toranas. No traces of stone rails or toranas were found at Nagarjunakonda, and it is quite clear that none existed there.
As a rule, the rails and gates were constructed of carved woodwork, no doubt resting on brick foundations, to protect them from damp and the ravages of white ants. It was only in very special cases that they were ever executed in stone, and then they were merely stone models of carved wooden originals.
When first discovered, the Great Stúpa at Nagarjunakoṇḍa was a large mound of earth and broken brick overgrown with grass and jungle, with two ayaka-pillars standing erect, the remaining eighteen pillars having fallen. As the whole of the dome of the stupa had been demolished, the ayaka-pillars and platforms thrown down and broken by treasure seekers, the chances of finding any relics in the edifice appeared very remote indeed. The first thing was to remove the debris and trace out the plan of the structure and recover the broken pillars. When this work was finished and the excavations completed, the appearance of the Great Stupa may be gathered from Plate II, fig. 1.
Fortunately, instead of placing the relics in the centre of the Great Stúpa, they were deposited in one of the outer chambers on the north-western side of the stupa, where they escaped the notice of the treasure seekers who wrecked the monument (Plate III, fig. 1). As the stúpa contained 40 chambers, all of which had to be excavated down to the natural ground level, the excavation of this monument was a very laborious task that took a month to complete. At last, when we had given up all hopes of finding anything of interest, one of the coolies noticed a small broken pot in the north-western corner of the chamber marked with a cross on the plan (Plate III, fig. 2). The pot had been crushed when the chamber was filled with earth by the Buddhists, and all that remained is shown in Plate IV, fig. 1. On the surface were a few white crystal beads and a tiny gold box. After carefully sifting the contents of the pot the following objects were found:-a fragment of bone placed in a small round gold reliquary three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This was placed in a little silver casket, shaped like a miniature stúpa, 24 inches in height, together with a few gold flowers, pearls, garnets and crystals. The three large crystal beads and the round earornament were placed in the pot and not in the casket. The latter unfortunately was very corroded and broken, but a replica was made, which appears in the photograph showing the finds recovered from the tomb (Plate IV, fig. 2). The earthenware pot containing the casket and reliquary was placed originally in the corner of the chamber, which was filled up with earth as soon as the consecration ceremony was over. The brick dome was then built over the remains, and the plastering and decoration of the stúpa completed. No traces of ornamental plaster were found in the debris round the monument, except portions of simple mouldings that once decorated the plinth and cornice of the drum. It must have been a perfectly plain structure like those of the Asokan age before the ayaka-pillars were added in the second century A.D. (Plate II, fig. 2).
