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Sarasvatī Pratimā and Sarasvatī temple in Dhar: literary

and archaeological context

--British Museum should return two Sarasvatī Pratimā (sacred

sculptures) for puja in Sarasvatī temple in Dhar, India

This monograph is in two parts:

Part 1 deals with the specific demand for restitution of two Sarasvatī Pratimā (statues) to where

they belong -- the Sarasvatī Mandiram (temple) in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Part 2 focuses on the location of and architectural aspects of Sarasvatī Mandiram (temple) in

Dhar.

This monograph refutes the following two implied grounds of the British Museum which may

have been used as the arguments for not so far returning the Pratimā to Dhar:

1. There never was and there is no Saravati Pratimā (sculpture) in British Museum.

2. That the particular sculpture referenced in the British Museum is to be identified as

that of Jaina divinity Ambikā of Jaina Pratimā tradition.

The publications and other data apparently relied upon by the British Museum can be viewed via

the British Museum online collection database: here is the relevant link:

http://tinyurl.com/34de2dc

It will be demonstrated, in this monograph, using the very same publications and online

collection database of British Museum, that both premises assumed by British Museum are (1) in

error – not borne out by evidence – and (2) unfair, untenable – not in conformity with the tenets

of jurisprudence.

We expect that British Museum as a repository of cultural heritage will respect the sentiments

and faith of millions of devotees and if need be, retain replicas as museum exhibits, after

returning the sculptures to the temple in Dhar. We earnestly hope that British Museum will

consider fairly and diligently, the arguments presented herein.

We earnestly urge and hope that British Museum will return the two, specific, over-1000 year-

old, ancient sculptures for worship in the temple in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. By such a voluntary

act, taken suo moto, British Museum authorities will earn the gratitude of millions of

worshippers who will be happy to invite them to witness the auspicious moment of

prāṇapratiṣṭhā (i.e. consecration or dedication in a temple), the two sacred Pratimā of Ambā and

Vāgdevi as divine forms in the temple according to āgama (puja vidhānam, procedures of

worship) traditions..

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Using the same inscription referred to by the British Museum in their online database, this

monograph establishes that the specific sculpture http://tinyurl.com/34de2dc is the sculpture of

Sarasvatī as Ambā form of Durgā divinity.

Given the archaeological context in which Williak Kincaid has acquired this particular sculpture

from Dhar, it is clear that the sculpture relates to the temple and school set up by Raja Bhoja.

There are textual and epigraphical evidences to point to the establishment of Sarasvati temple in

Dhar and it is logical to infer directly that the sculpture is a form Sarasvatī as Ambā. Jaina

traditions venerated Sarasvatī.

There is an unambiguous difference between Ambikā and Ambā in Indian tradition. British

Museum’s reference to Ambikā as yakṣī is a flight of imagination ignoring the views of many

scholars and the sanatana dharma

temple traditions, which will be

demonstrated in this monograph

that the particular sculpture in the

British Museum is a Saravatī

Pratimā. Ambikā is one of the

mothers in Skanda’s ( )

retinue. Ambā (Durgā when

shown in association with the

attribute of ‘lion’) is Saravatī.

Yakṣi "dedicated attendant deity"

or Śāsana Devī "protector

divinity" of the

22nd Tirthankara, Neminath. She

is also known as Ambai, Amba and Amra Kushmandini. The popular worship of female principle

as the "Mother", representing fertility and protection against the demonic powers, was adopted in

Jaina tradition of Yakṣi, Bahúputrikā "Having many children", who towards the end of 6th

century CE was transformed into Ambikā. See image at Ellor cave:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ellora_cave34_001.jpg Ambika idol from Orissa carved during

1150-1200 CE

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/India%2C_orissa%2C_dea_ambika

%2C_1150-1200.JPG/220px-India%2C_orissa%2C_dea_ambika%2C_1150-1200.JPG

The sculpture in British Museum is not a representation of Ambikā, because the inscription on

the base of the sculpture does NOT refer to the divinity as Ambikā. It will be an error to assume

that because of association with Jaina traditions, this particular sculpture represents Ambikā.

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The inscription on the base of the sculpture, refers to her as Ambā (trans. Mother Supreme,

Mother Divine). Many eminent scholars have affirmed that the divinity identified in this

particular sculpture is Sarasvatī as Ambā.

The reference in the inscription to the sculpture as that of Ambā is a millenial sanatana dharma

tradition, which identifies this form of Sarasvatī as Ambā. Right from the days of Rigveda,

which the Indian tradition holds to be very ancient, apauruṣeya forms of cosmic inquiry,

Sarasvatī is venerated as Ambā. In Rigveda, Rishi Grtsamada prays to her specifically referring

to her as Ambā. There are many instances of Jaina pantha worship of Ambā in many parts of the

world.

This monograph also establishes that this Ambā form of Sarasvatī is what is referred in the

British Museum link http://tinyurl.com/34de2dc for one sculpture. This is the sculpture of Ambā

mentioned in the said inscription.

This monograph further establishes that there is a second Pratimā (sculpture) of Sarasvatī also

held in British Museum. This is the second Pratimā mentioned in the inscription itself attributed

to Vararuci who says that he had two pratima made: one of Vāgdevi and another of Ambā. The

second sculpture is of Vāgdevi (Vāk + Devi). Vāk is also a form of Sarasvatī , again venerated

from the days of Rigveda which adores her as Vāk. British Museum link for the second

sculpture: http://tinyurl.com/8xm2zz6

Both the Pratimā (sculptures) of Sarasvatī in the British Museum belong to the Sarasvatī temple

in Dhar. Both Pratimā (sculptures) of Sarasvatī are sacred mūrti which were being worshipped in

the temple and deserving of continued worship in the temple, for, in the Sanatana dharma

tradition, a temple is a temple, is a temple forever. This has been well-settled principle of

jurisprudence in the Lodon Nataraja case. http://webster-

smalley.co.uk/ArchyWiki/London_Nataraja (Mirror in Annex B). Even assuming, without

conceding, that one of the two sculptures is that of Ambikā of Jaina worship traditions, the form

is also a sacred, worshipped form from the temple at Dhar and should, therefore, be returned to

the temple. Our argument is that both Pratimā (sculptures) are divine forms of Mother Supreme,

of Sarasvatī: one as Vāk and the other as Ambā, in the two sculptures, now in the British

Museum, precisely as evidenced by Vararuci in his inscription. They do not belong in a Museum,

but are sacred and belong in a temple to be worshipped by worshippers. Vāk (Vāgdevi) sculpture

of the Museum was said to have been acquired from Malwa (Dhar was the ancient capital) and

Ambā sculpture was said to have been recovered by William Kincaid from the palace in Dhar.

We now examine the nature of and evidences related to the temple to which these two sculptures

belong. The temple was of extraordinary magnificence dedicated to Sarasvatī as Vāgdevi and

Ambā (respectively, Divinity of Speech/Learning/ Knowledge; and Mother Divinity). King

Bhoja’s temple has been renowned, celebrated in literature and arts, for nearly one-thousand

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years, since c. 1034 CE, as Sarasvatī Mandiram (Sarasvatī Temple). There were three kings

named Bhoja: Mihira Bhoja I (836–885 CE), the most prominent emperor of the Gurjara-

Pratihara Dynasty; Bhoja II (910–913 CE), a king of Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty; and Bhoja,

Philosopher king (1000–1050 CE) and polymath of the Paramara Dynasty.

Part 1. Evidences are presented that the two pratimā held in the British

Museum belong to Sarasvatī mandiram (temple) in Dhār and this is a

demand that the British Museum should return the pratimā to the temple

in Dhār, Central India.

Left: Ambā. Right: Vāgdevi

Major Gen. William Kincaid had recovered the Ambā sculpture from the site of the old city

palace at Dhār in1875 and entered the collection of the British Museum in the 1880s. British

Museum has not provided acquisition details of Vāgdevi sculpture which is said to be

unprovenanced but as belonging to Malwa region of Central India (Dhār was the capital of

Malwa region of the period when the sculpture was made – according to the British Museum

website database information).

Major Gen. William Kincaid in 1866 was Assistant political agent, Bundelkhand; small cause

court judge and cantonment magistrate, Nowgong, in 1876 (August) Political Agent, Bhopal1879

(October) was Political Agent, Bhopawar, and commandant, Malwa Bhil Corps and in 1881

(June) was Political Agent, Bhopal. This information is recorded in British Museum website:

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http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId

=164557

How to recognize divinities in pratimā?

In the Indian tradition, śilpaśāstra details specific attributes (Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇam) to be exhibited

to identify a particular pratimā for a particular devatā (male or female divinity). One example is

provided by two ancient texts titled: Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/97739151/Prati%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%ADh%C4%81lak%E1%

B9%A3a%E1%B9%87as%C4%81rasamuccaya

A version of Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya was edited by Buddhisāgar (Parājuli)

śarmā/Dāmodara śarmā/Bābukṛṣṇa 2 vols. Kāṣṭhamaṇḍapa: Vīrapustakālaya 1966-1968. Two

manuscripts of this ancient text were found in Nepal and juxtaposed, together with a critical

review of the texts and drawings, by Gudrun Bühnemann (2003, The Hindu pantheon in

Nepalese Line drawings – Two manuscripts of the Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya, Varanasi,

Indica Books). Some manuscripts have been preserved in the Kaiser Library Kathmandu (=

Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project, reel no. A 517/116)...(cf. Compilation by

Gudrun Buhnemann, 2003, The Hindu pantheon on Nepalese line drawings: two manuscripts of

the Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya, Varanasi, Indica Books.)

The text, Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya, details the construction and installation of lingas

(pratimā = f. an image , likeness , symbol RV.; f. a picture , statue , figure , idol Mn.Hariv.Ragh.)

ccording to āgamas and is tentatively dated to later part of the eleventh century. Chapter 9 of the

text is Vāhanāyudhavartana describing the shapes of the following attributes held by the

divinities: triśūla, vajra, śakti, daṇḍa, khaḍga, paṭṭiśa, pāśa, dhvaja, gadā, padma,

sudarśanacakra and ghaṇṭā; the animals bearing the divinities. Postures and hand gestures also

communicate very specific messages, for example mudrās denoting: explanation (vyākhyāna-),

knowledge (jñāna-), meditation (dhyāna-), protection (abhaya-), palms facing upwards

(purottāna-), salutation (añjali-), threatening (tarjanī-), wish-granting [vara(da)-]and yoga-.

Varied are the associated attributes: banner, betel, bilva fruit, broom, chisel, chopper, citron,

cock, conch, corpse, cotton wool, dart, drum, firebrand, fish, flowers, fly-whisk, hair, hide, jack-

fruit, javelin, knife, lance, lotus, mango, manuscript, mirror, missile, mountain, noose, peacock

feather, plough, scissors, serpent hood, shield, skull, snake, spear, staff, stylus, svastika, trident,

tusk, umbrella, vessel, vīṇā, wheel, winnowing fan. Depiction of multiple heads or multiple

hands are depictions of multiple associated attributes of divinities…

pratiṣṭhā - ( √ ) P. A1. - , ° to stand , stay , abide , dwell RV. the performance

of any ceremony or of any solemn act , consecration or dedication (of a monument or of an idol

or of a temple &c ; cf. * - °) , settling or endowment of a daughter , completion of a vow ,

any ceremony for obtaining supernatural and magical powers Var. Katha1s. Ra1jat. Pur.

(Monier-Williams, p. 671)

Durgā 47 Seated, right foot on lion, R. sword, arrow, trident; L. shield, bow, tail (of buffalo);

Ambikā 51 Lotus, R. Rosary, L. Spear; Sarasvatī 67 Seated, Lotus, R. rosary; L. manuscript

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These attributes are generally seen in many sculptures in many temples in all traditions of

Sanatana dharma. A review has been made of over

100 pratimā of Sarasvatī which have been found in

many temples all over the world. (cf. Sarasvati in

Art and Literature, a compilation:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/116953358/Sarasvatī -

in-Art-and-Literature-(March-2012).) It is seen from

these examples, that it is easy for a devotee to

recognize and identify a particular form of Sarasvatī.

For example, on Page 90, Sarasvatī is shown in

Khajuraho as carrying a sutra (thread) on her right

hand, which is comparable to the part of sutra visible

on the British Museum sculpture. Association of

Brahma (bearded person) with his śakti, Sarasvatī is

also shown on another frieze of Khajuraho (Page

100). A sculptural composition in Haḷebīḍu shows

Sarasvatī carrying a sutra (thread) cf.

Natya Sarasvatī, Haḷebīḍu Museum, 12th cent. (Page

116).

Sarasvatī sculpture in Jinanāthapura,

Śravaṇabeḷagoḷa, 12th Century (Page 119) is shown

carrying a sutra on the left hand and a stylus on the right hand, comparable to the stylus carried

on the sculpture in British Museum.

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As shown above, the particular sculpture of British Museum has attributes which identify the

divinity form as Sarasvatī (Ambā, Mother Supreme).

That the British Museum sculpture is NOT Ambikā is clear from the absence of a rosary or a

spear as attributes. Instead, we find that the sculpture shows a Durgā form associated with a lion.

This is a clear confirmation that the pratimā of Sarasvatī is in the form of Ambā which is

another name of Durgā.

(Figure 60, from Hampana Nagarajaiah, opcit., Bedecked seated, Śrutadevī, Jinanāthapura,

Śravaṇabeḷagoḷa, 1200 CE.)

The stylus associated with

Sarasvatī (Ambā) is also shown

in the sculpture at

Gangaikondacholapuram, Tamil

Nadu. (See right-hand corner

above the sculpture)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Gkcp1.jpg

It will be disingenuous to assume that the sculpture represents Ambikā, a yakṣiṇī form.

The accountability and culpability of the British Government is thus direct and well documented.

Dr. Gautam Sengupta, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India has stated that a

formal process is ongoing through UNESCO intervention to have the pratimā of Sarasvatī

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returned to Dhar. (Annex A) The arbitrary cut-off date of 14 Nov. 1970 per UNESCO 1970

Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing illicit import, export and transfer of

ownership of cultural property does NOT apply to these sacred pratimā which have been stolen

from the temple in Dhar.

In the Indian tradition, a temple is a temple forever. This legal position has been upheld by the

British judicial system in the “London Nataraja case” (Annex B). After protracted litigation in

British courts, the pratimā was ordered by the House of Lords to be returned to the temple in

Tamil Nadu. The pratimā was returned in 1990. (Annex shows an article detailing the court

case).

In Bhojaśālā (School of Bhoja) Sarasvatī was worshipped as a divinity of learning. This was not

only a school but also a temple of Sarasvatī as evidenced by an inscription from the days of Raja

Arjunavarman.

K. K. Munshi notes the importance of Raja Bhoja’s contribution to Hindu cultural legacy: '...

during Bhoja’s rule civilization in Mālwā had risen to a magnificent pitch. Our appreciation of

Bhoja for having portrayed a faithful picture of the most glorious period of medieval Indian

History [in the Śṛṅgāramañjarīkathā] is heightened when we take into consideration that he

worked and stood for all that was glorious in Hindu Culture’. (K. K. Munshi, ed.

Śṛṅgāramañjarīkathā, Siṅghī Jaina granthamālā, no. 30 (Bombay, 1959): 90.)

An inscription on the base of a pratimā notes that Vararuci, an official in Paramāra kingdom, had

made two pratimā, together with the pratimā of 3 Jīnas (tirthankaras): one of Vāgdevi and

another of Ambā. Both both forms Vāgdevi and Ambā represent the divinity Sarasvatī.

The two pratimā of Sarasvatī , are both of over 1000 years’ antiquity and are now held in the

British Museum. British Museum should return the pratimā for puja (worship) in Sarasvatī

mandiram (temple), Dhar, Central India. A pratimā is a sculptural representation of divinity.

After Prāṇapratiṣṭha, a process including vedic recitations, the pratimā comes alive, in a temple,

as sacred murtii for worship, for offering daily puja by devotees. Such a murti renders the Hindu

shrine sacred and inviolate.

In the 13th

Jaina Studies Workshop at SOAS held on 18 March 2011in Brunei Gellery Lecture

Theatre, Michael Willis a Curator of the British Museum made a presentation: New Discoveries

from Old Finds: The Sculpture of Ambikā in the British Museum and its Relationship to Jain

Narrative in Medieval India.

An abstract of this paper is as follows (Newsletter of the Centre of Jaina Studies, SOAS, Univ. of

London, CoJS Newsletter, March 2011, Issue 6, p. 8):

“This paper examines a sculpture of Ambikā in the British Museum and presents a new

reading of the inscription on the pedestal. The inscription is dated 1034 in the reign of

King Bhoja, the celebrated ruler of the Paramāra dynasty. The sculpture was recovered

from the site of the old city palace at Dhār in 1875 by William Kincaid and entered the

collection of the British Museum in the 1880s. Attempts to understand the inscription

culminated in the 1980s with the reading of H. C. Bhayani, the well-known Sanskrit and

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Prakrit scholar. He showed that the inscription records the creation of an image of

Ambikā. Interestingly, the inscription also records the making of three Jinas and Vāgdevī

(i.e. Sarasvatī) prior to the Ambikā. This shows that the Sarasvatī of King Bhoja at Dhār

was, in fact, a Jain form of the goddess. This is confirmed by the testimony of

Merutuṅga. A fresh examination of the British Museum inscription has shown that the

donor’s name is given in the inscription as Vararuci. There are a number of Vararucis in

the history of Indian literature, the most famous being the author of the first Prakrit

grammar. In the eleventh century, Vararuci appears in a number of narrative contexts,

from the Kathāsaritsāgara to Hemacandra’s Pariśiṣṭaparvan. These narratives were

composed in a dialectical environment, a reconstruction of which shows that the Vararuci

mentioned in the British Museum inscription was probably a courtly pseudonym for

Dhanapāla, the author of the Tilakamañjarī. He adhered to Jaina pantha and served as a

minister in the court of King Bhoja.”

http://www.soas.ac.uk/jainastudies/newsletter/file66850.pdf

That the sculpture was obtained by William Kincaid is recorded in British Museum website:

Acquisition name

From: Maj Gen William Kincaid (official; British; Male; 1831 - 1909; Died Bournemouth 11

February 1909)

Bibliography

Arun Tikekara, The Kincaids: Two Generations of a British Family in the Indian Civil Service

(New Delhi, 1992)

The Times, Obituaries, 15 Feb 1909

Biography

Born 30/10/1831

1849 (March) Ensign, Madras army

1864 (March) Appointed to adjust boundaries disputes, Bhopal agency

1866 Assistant political agent, Bundelkhand; small cause court judge and cantonment magistrate,

Nowgong

1876 (August) Political Agent, Bhopal

1879 (October) Political Agent, Bhopawar, and commandant, Malwa Bhil Corps

1881 (June) Political Agent, Bhopal

1886 Returned to Europe

1889 (October) To US list (unemployed)

1890 Major-General

1891 Moved to Italy; deposited Sanchi Torso at V&A (date of return from Italy not traced)

11/2/1909 Died, Bournemouth

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId

=164557

The key fact conceded by the Curator of the British Museum is that William Kincaid had

recovered the sculpture from the site of the old city palace at Dhār in1875 and entered the

collection of the British Museum in the 1880s.

In a subsequent article in JRAS, a further attempt is made to obfuscate the fact that the specific

sculpture in the British Museum was taken from the Sarasvatī mandiram (temple) in Dhar.

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The article concedes that the sculpture is taken from a temple.

The citation made in this article of March 2012 and in the presentation made by Dr. Michael

Willis in March 2011, however, erroneously refers to the name of the deity in the sculpture as

Ambikā. The inscription on the sculpture itself is clear and emphatic that the divinity is Ambā,

NOT Ambikā. Ambā in Indian traditions, dating from the Rigveda, perhaps the oldest human

document is a reference to Sarasvatī who is worshipped by the Rigveda Rishi Grtsamada in three

forms: Ambā (Mother), Nadī (River) and Devi (Divinity).

Michael Willis, Curator, British Museum, is in error stating that the current location of the

Sarasvatī from Dhār remains an interesting mystery implying that it is not located in the British

Museum.

Willis is also in error referring to the divinity mentioned in the inscription as Ambikā. (See title

of the British Museum statue: Standing figure of the Jain goddess Ambikā. [Michael Willis,

2012, Dhār, Bhoja and Sarasvatī: from Indology to Political Mythology and Back, in: Journal of

the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) (2012), 22 : pp 129-153. DOI:

10.1017/S1356186312000041 (About DOI) Published online: 2012. Full text cited at

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/03/Dhār-bhoja-and-Sarasvatī -from-indology.html See

also: Trivedi, H. V., Inscriptions of the Paramāras, Chandellas and Kachchapapaghātas and two

Minor Dynasties. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, volume 7, 3 parts. (New Delhi, 1979–91). .

The name mentioned in the inscription is Ambā, NOT Ambikā.]

Proof that Ambā is Sarasvatī comes from what is perhaps the oldest

human document, Rigveda.

In Rigveda, Devi Gangā is mentioned only once while Devi Sarasvatī is lauded no less than

seventy-two times. In a famous hymn, S'aunaka Gritasamda, the Rishi of the second Mandala in

Rigveda lauds Sarasvatī as ambitame, naditame, devitame Sarasvatī: (RV II.41.16).

इ

ambitame naditame devitame Sarasvatī

apraśastā iva smasi praśastim Amba nas kridhi (Translation: Mother (Ambi) Supreme, River

(Nadi) Supreme, Devi Supreme, Sarasvatī , consider me without recognition; Ambā, give me

recognition).

This, Ambitame and Ambā in the Rigveda is the same Ambā mentioned on the inscription of

Bhojśālā Sarasvatī pratimā.

That she is divinity of learning and arts is evidenced by what is perhaps a writing stylus carried

on her unbroken right hand (out of four hands) -- a writing stylus used for creating inscriptions.

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The object carried on her left hand is not of high resolution on the photograph and may be a

portion of a measuring thread (sūtra) used by sthapati (sculptors, masons) artisans. A gandharva

is seen above the right shoulder of the pratimā perhaps with a flower-garland venerating the

divinity. The lady riding a lion at the bottom right of the pratimā – as attribute determinant --

confirms the form as divine Durga form of Ambā. The standing bearded person on the bottom

left of the pratimā is Brahma, often associated with Sarasvatī. Q.E.D. [quod erat

demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated)].

Location of ancient Sarasvatī mandiram

The hall precincts are located adjacent to the tomb of Kamāl al-Dīn Chishtī in the town of Dhār.

Chishtī saint, Kamāl al-Dīn Mālawī lived circa 1238–1330 was so-called because he lived in

Malwa, central India. A mosque built on the tomb primarily of reused temple parts, as seen in the

prayer-hall colonnades in the quadrangle.

The word śāˊlā not only refers to a hall but also to a workshop or school: śāˊlā f. ʻ shed,

stable, house ʼ AV., śālám adv. ʻ at home ʼ ŚBr., śālikā -- f. ʻ house, shop ʼ lex. Pa.

Pk. sālā -- f. ʻ shed, stable, large open -- sided hall, house ʼ, Pk. sāla -- n. ʻ house ʼ;

Ash. sal ʻ cattleshed ʼ, Wg. šāl, Kt. šål, Dm. šâl; Paš.weg. sāl, ar. šol ʻ cattleshed on

summer pasture ʼ; Kho. šal ʻ cattleshed ʼ, šeli ʻ goatpen ʼ; K. hal f. ʻ hall, house ʼ;

L. sālh f. ʻ house with thatched roof ʼ; A. xāl, xāli ʻ house, workshop, factory ʼ; B. sāl ʻ

shed, workshop ʼ; Or. sāḷa ʻ shed, stable ʼ; Bi. sār f. ʻ cowshed ʼ; H. sāl f. ʻ hall,

house, school ʼ, sār f. ʻ cowshed ʼ; M. sāḷ f. ʻ workshop, school ʼ; Si.sal -- a, ha° ʻ hall,

market -- hall ʼ (Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages 12414).

Dhār. Interior of the Mosque at the tomb of Kamāl al-Dīn. Unknown photographer, 1902.

Courtesy of the British Library, Photo 2/4(90), item 4303212.

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Source of map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dhar_Plan.jpg

Three Fragments of the Iron Pillar, set in position in the

1980s by the

Archaeological Survey

A pillar or lāṭ a monolith

cast in iron lies outside

Lāl masjid built in the

mosque in 1045.

(Balasubramaniam, R.,

“A New Study of the

Dhār Iron Pillar,” Indian

Journal of the History of

Science 37.2 (2002), pp. 115–151. Cf. Cousens, Henry, “The

Iron Pillar at Dhār” Archaeological Survey of India, Annual

Report, 1902–03. (Calcutta, 1904), pp. 205–212.) The lāṭ

was about 13.5 m in length, and was broken when the Sultan

of Gujarāt attempted to move it in the 1500s.

Sarasvatī mandiram in Dhār

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Location of the spot where the Sarasvatī pratimā was discovered.

C. B. Lele, reported that the sculpture had been found in the debris of the old city palace in 1875.

[Lele, C. B.], Parmar Inscriptions in Dhār State, 875–1310 AD (Dhār, [1944]): iii.] The city

palace was being rebuilt and is now used as a school.

The pratimā now in the British Museum is this sculpture found in the debris of the old city palace

of Dhār in 1875. This is clearly attested in the British Museum record: Accession Number:

AN180732001 Place (findspot): Found/Acquired Dhār, Found in the ruins of the City Palace in

1875.

It will be seen that this pratimā belonged to the Bhojaśālā, the school of Bhoja and to the temple

which had the murti of Sarasvatī .

Bhoja Raja of Paramāra dynasty (1000 to 1055 CE) was a scholar, a poet-king, to whom a

number of works in Sanskrit have been ascribed including a work on poetics, Śṛṅgaraprakāśa

(Raghavan, Venkatarama, Bhoja's Śṛṅgaraprakāśa, 3rd rev. ed. (Madras, 1940). One of the

works attributed to Bhoja is a work in poetics and grammar titled: Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa or

'Necklace of Sarasvatī'. (R. Birwé, ‘Nārāyaṇa Daṇḍanātha's Commentary on Rules III.2, 106-121

of Bhoja's Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa’, Journal of the American Oriental Society84 (1964): 150-

62.) Hence, the reference to the building in Dhar as Bhojaśālā (School of Bhoja) located in

Sarasvatī mandiram (temple) in Dhār.

Dr Alois Anton Führer (1853–1930), of Archaeological Survey of India noted: “The dargâh of

Maulânâ Kamâl-ud-dîn, built during the reign of Mahmûd Shâh Khiljî I., in A.H. 861, has a

15

spacious quadrangle with a colonnade of very fine Jaina pillars on each side within the square,

and some are very elaborately sculpted in a similar style as those in the Dailwârâ temples at Abû.

The floor is formed of black stone slabs from which Sanskrit inscriptions of the 12th century

have been effaced. The mihrâbs and mimbar of the masjid proper are very handsome. On two of

the columns supporting the central dome of the masjid are inscribed a couple of grammatical

sûtras, which show that they were probably part of a scholastic building”. (Führer, A., “Progress

Report of the Epigraphical Section for the Working Season of 1892–93” in Annual Progress

Report of the Archaeological Survey Circle, North-western Provinces and Oudh, for the year

ending 30th June, 1893 (Rourkee, 1893), p.21).

Captain Ernest Barnes, I.C.S., who served as the political agent at Dhār from 1900 to 1904,

collected available information on Dhār and Māṇḍū and communicated his findings to the Royal

Asiatic Society, Bombay Branch, in June, 1902. (Barnes, Ernest, 1903, “Art. XI. Dhār and

Mandu,” JRAS Bombay Branch 21, pp. 339–390.) Barnes established a small archaeological

department in September, 1902 and placed the Superintendent of State Education, Mr. K. K.

Lele, in charge. Luard notes that the buildings of Dhār were Bhoja's school. (Luard, C. E.,

Western States (Mālwā). Gazetteer, 2 parts. The Central India State Gazetteer Series, vol. 5.

(Bombay, 1908), p. 401.) It should have been more approrpriately called Sarasvatī-mandiram.

Historian, K. M. Munshi noted: “Close to Sarasvatī-mandira was a large well, still known as

‘Akkal-Kui’ or the ‘Well of Wisdom’”. (Munshi, K. M., Glory that was Gūrjaradeśa: A.D. 500–

1300 (Bombay, 1955), p. 284; also recorded in: Kincaid, William, (ed.) History of Mandu, The

Capital of Malwa. By a Bombay Subaltern, 2nd ed. (Bombay, 1879), note XXVI, p. 102.) That

Akkal-kui means ‘well of wisdom’ attests to the meaning of the Arabic word AKL to be

Sarasvatī.

The sculpture of Sarasvatī (Ambā) was recovered from the site of the old city palace at Dhār in

1875 by William Kincaid and entered the collection of the British Museum in the 1880s, as

attested by Dr. Michael Willis. (http://www.soas.ac.uk/jainastudies/newsletter/file66850.pdf

CoJS, Newsletter of the Centre of Jaia Studies, SOAS, Univ. of London, March 2011, Issue 6,

page 8).

Ājaḍa, circa 1089CE, refers to Bhoja’s scholarship in the still-unpublished

Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇavṛtti titled Padakaprakāśa. Raja, C. Kunhan, Raghavan, V. et al., New

Catalogus Catalogorum, 14 vols. (Chennai, 1949–2000) 2, p. 240; Gandhi, L. B., A Descriptive

Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Jain Bhandars at Pattan, Gaekawad Oriental Series, no. 76

(Baroda, 1937), pp. 37–39.)

Tawney translated Prabandhacintāmaṇi in 1901 and records King Bhoja's visits to the temple of

Sarasvatī at Dhār. [Tawney, C. H., The Prabandhacintāmaṇi or Wishing-stone of Narratives

(Calcutta, 1901), pp. 48–49].

Barnes noted: “Finally, a recent close inspection has brought to light the fact that the reverse side

of two of the great black stone slabs which form the lining of the ‘Mehrab’ are covered with

similar inscriptions, which happily by their position have escaped destruction, but which owing

to that same position, it has only been possible up to the present to take fragmental impressions.

These impressions seem to show that the inscriptions are a dramatic composition probably on an

16

historical subject, written in the reign of a successor of Bhoja”. (Barnes, 1902, “Dhār and

Mandu,” pp. 351–352). Archaeological investigations at the mosque next to Kamāl al-Dīn's tomb

revealed two serpentine inscriptions giving the alphabet and grammatical rules of Sanskrit.

(Barnes, 1902, “Dhār and Mandu,” p. 360).

While Hindus consider the shrine a Sarasvatī

temple, the Muslims refer to it as the Kamāl

Maula Masjid. The Archaeological Survey of

India (ASI) has worked out a compromise by

allowing Hindus to worship at the temple on

Basant Panchmi while the Muslims congregate

here for prayers every Friday.

A vigil is on with Hindu devotees burning an

Akhand Jyoti (eternal flame), awaiting the

restitution of Sarasvatī pratimā in the temple.

Dr. Gautam Sengupta, Director General of

Archaeology, India announced in the Cairo

Conference held in April 2010 that Government

of India has sought the intervention of UNESCO

for restitution of Sarasvatī pratimā to the temple

in Dhār.

In a function held in July 2006 to bestow the first

Dr. Vishnu ShriDhār Wakankar National Award

to Dr. S.P. Gupta, Archaeologist, Former Deputy

Prime Minster Shri Lal Krishna Advani said the

state government must take an initiative to

retrieve the idol of Divinity Sarasvatī once

enshrined in the historical Bhojaśālā of Dhār

from Britain.

http://organiser.org/archives/historic/dynamic/modulese083.html?name=Content&pa=showpage

&pid=141&page=11

Sarasvatī pratimā was taken by the British from the palace in Dhār. This pratimā together with

another pratimā obtained from the Malwa region are today in the possession of the British

Museum.

Both the Sarasvatī pratimā do not belong in a museum but in a temple, for a Hindu temple is a

temple for ever. This legal position has been reaffirmed in the famous London Nataraja Case by

the British Privy Council.

17

Yale University of USA has set a good example of restitution of artifacts to the region where

they belonged; the University returned to Peru, 4,000 objects found in excavations of Machu

Picchu in Peru. British Museum authorities should follow this Yale University example and

arrange, suo moto, for the restitution of the two Sarasvatī pratimā to India to be installed in the

temples in India where Hindu worshippers can restore worship of the pratimā as murti in

temples.

A pratimā of a divinity is sacred and NOT a museum or art piece. There should be a modicum of

respect for the culture and traditions of people who worship Sarasvatī as Divine Mother, Ambā.

Let us look at the two pratimā of Sarasvatī in the British Museum.

Details of the first Pratimā (sculpture) of Sarasvatī as Ambā

British Museum Acquisition Number (Acquired in 1880):

AN180732001 Place (findspot)

Found/Acquired Dhār, Found in the ruins of the City Palace in 1875 (scope note | all

objects)(Asia,South Asia,India,Madhya Pradesh,Dhār)

Date 1034 Period/Culture Paramara (dynasty)

The divinity, originally four-armed, is carved in high relief

against the plain ground of the slab; the base has been given

offsets and is inscribed. The divinity wears a tiered crown of

the beehive (karaṇḍa) type with her long hair tied into a small

bun on one side. Two arms of the divinity have been broken

away; in the remaining arms, she holds a writing stylus and

what seems to be the bottom of a noose or the stalk of a plant.

On one of the stepped faces of the base is a small incised figure

of a kneeling female donor with a inscribed label above.

Dimensions--Height: 1285 millimetres (50.6 in.) Width: 586

millimetres Depth: 265 millimetresWeight: 250 kilograms

(estimated weight)

Curator's comments: The inscription demonstrates that the

Vāgdevī at Dhārā was dedicated to the Jaina form of the

divinity.

Registration number: 1909,1224.1

Additional IDs

1880.19 (tracking number assigned in the 1970s)

18

Dhār. Interior of the Mosque at the tomb of Kamāl al-Dīn. Unknown photographer, 1902.

Courtesy of the British Library, Photo 2/4(90), item 4303212.

Niche in this Bhojaśālā (School of Bhoja) which were set up to provide for learning in Sanskrit

and other subjects and now found to be vacant, are likely to have held the pratimā of Sarasvatī .

Bibliographic reference

Mankodi 1981 Willis 2012

Koezuka (1994) Cat. no. 28 L'Art

de la Devoció 2007 no. 148

Blurton 1992 p.175, fig.111

Chanda 1936 Pp. 46-7, pl. X

Location: G33/Ind/Free

Incription

Inscription Script: Nāgarī.

Inscription Position: Base.

Inscription Language: Sanskrit

(corrupt)

Inscription Transliteration:

(1)

auṃ |

srīmadbhojanāreṃdracaṃdranagarīvidyāDhārī[*dha]rmmadhīḥ yo ----- [damaged portion] khalu

sukhaprasthāpanā

(2) yāp(sa)rāḥ [*|] vāgdevī[*ṃ] prathama[*ṃ] vidhāya jananī[m] pas[c]āj jinānāṃtrayīm

ambā[ṃ] nityaphalā(d)ikāṃ vararuciḥ (m)ūrttim subhā[ṃ] ni-

(3) rmmame [||] iti subhaṃ || sūtradhāra sahirasutamaṇathaleṇa ghaṭitaṃ || vi[jñā]nika sivadevena

likhitam iti ||

(4) saṃvat 100 91 [||*]

Inscription Translation: Auṃ. Vararuci, who is intent on the Dhārma of the Candranagarī and

VidyāDhārī [branches of the Jain religion] of srīmad Bhoja the king, the apsaras [as it were] for

19

the easy removal [of ignorance? by...?], that Vararuci, having first fashioned Vāgdevī the mother

[and] afterwards a triad of Jinas, made this beautiful image of Ambā, ever abundant in fruit.

Blessings! It was executed by Maṇathala, son of the sūtradhāra Sahira. It was written by

Śivadeva the proficient. Year 1091.

Inscription Comment: The inscription records the making of the image of Ambā by Vararuci

after he had made a divinity of speech (Vāgdevī ) and three Jinas. This Vararuci may be

identified as Dhanapāla, the author who enjoyed a prominent place in the court of king Bhoja.

Source:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.as

px?objectid=182355&partid=1&searchText=Ambikā&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpage

s=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=1

Historian Gangoly and Dikshit, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India noted

that this sculpture was Bhoja's Sarasvatī from Dhār. (Gangoly, O. C. and Dikshit, K. N., “An

Image of Sarasvatī in the British Museum,” Rūpam 17 (January, 1924), pp. 1–2.) Sivaramamurti

who was also Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India, endorsed this identification

((Sivaramamurti, C., Indian Sculpture (New Delhi, 1961), p. 106.)

This clearly showed that inscription records the making of a sculpture of Ambā after the making

of three Jinas and Vāgdevī.

K. M. Munshi and V. Raghavan, have also asserted that the British Museum sculpture was

Bhoja's Sarasvatī from Dhār. [Munshi, K.M. Glory that was Gūrjaradeśa, p. 284; Raghavan, V.,

Bhoja's Śṛṅgaraprakāśa, front matter (no pagination).]

H. C. Bhayani, Sanskrit and Prakrit scholar and Kirit Mankodi detailed their reading of the

inscription on the pratimā of Sarasvatī . (Mankodi, Kirit, “A Paramāra Sculpture in the British

Museum: Vāgdevī or Yakshī Ambikā?” Sambodhi 9 (1980–81), pp. 96–103.) Presence of

elephant goad and lion lead some scholars to identify the pratimā as Ambikā (Tiwari, M. N. P.,

Ambikā in Jaina Art and Literature (New Delhi, 1989.)

The inscription records that Vararuci made an image of Vāgdevī and three Jinas before he

commissioned the image of Ambā.

This indicates that Vararuci was a follower of Jaina tradition and, by extension, that the Vāgdevī

at Dhār was dedicated to a form of the divinity worshipped by Jinas. This is confirmed by the

Prabandhacintāmaṇi. In this text there is a story that Dhanapāla, the celebrated Jain savant and

author, showed King Bhoja some eulogistic tablets in the Sarasvatī temple engraved with his

poem to the first Jina. ( Tawney, Prabandhacintāmaṇi, p. 57.) This text survives as the

Ṛṣabhapañcāśikā. (Warder, Indian Kāvya Literature, 5: §4210.)

Merutuṅga's account shows that the Vāgdevī at Dhār was indeed the Jain form of the divinity,

just as the British Museum inscription attests. Acharya Merutuṅga'sPrabandhacintāmaṇi was

20

completed in the early years of the fourteenth century. The presence of the inscription shows that

the Vāgdevī and Ambā at Dhār were indeed forms of Sarasvatī divinity.

This also attests that Sarasvatī temple existed during the regime of King Bhoja.

In the dying days of the Paramāra regime, Solanki and Vāghelā rulers transferred some libraries

to their own cities where Paramāra texts were copied, studied and preserved. (Pollock, Language

of the Gods, p. 181.) The inscription of Vīsaladeva from Kodinar dated 1271 records the creation

of a pleasure garden (ketana) and college (sadas) sacred to Sarasvatī. [A. S. Gadre, Important

Inscriptions from the Baroda State (Baroda, 1943) no. 10]. Jinaprabhasūri (d. 1333) states that an

image of the Jina Candraprabha came to Somnāth from Valabhi along with figures of Ambā and

Kṣetrapāla. [U. P. Shah, Jaina Rūpa Maṇḍana (New Delhi, 1987): 142; Richard Davis, Lives of

Indian Images (Delhi, 1999).]

The second Sarasvatī Pratimā now in the British Museum is the Pratimā mentioned by Vararuci

as Vāgdevī in the inscription described above. The portion of the inscription reads: “…Vararuci,

having first fashioned Vāgdevī the mother [and] afterwards a triad of Jinas, made this

beautiful image of Ambā…” This is an emphatic epigraphical evidence referring to the

sculpture as Ambā. There is a second Pratimā (sculpture) of Sarasvatī as Vāgdevi which is also

in the British Museum, which will be detailed.

Details of the second Pratimā (sculpture) of Sarasvatī as Vāgdevi

Description

Standing figure of the Jaina goddess Sarasvatī carved in white marble.

The goddess is four-armed, holding a rosary (akṣamālā) and a small book (pustaka) in her

upraised and lower left hands respectively; her right hands are broken. She wears a beehive-

shaped crown (karaṇḍa) and her hair is arranged in a large bun. She had an elaborate pearled

necklace with loops passing under breasts. Her girdle has a long pendant down to her ankles and

festoons draped over her thighs. The goddess is framed by an elaborately moulded niche carrying

seated Jinas. Above are flying celestials and below donor figures and female attendants holding

flywhisks. Beside the attendants are subsidiary goddesses set in small niches displaying the

gesture of granting boons (varadamudrā). Lotus tendril in the base.

Note: It is surprising that unlike the Ambā sculpture of Sarasvatī which has been clearly

identified as acquired by William Kincaid and submitted to the British Museum, there is

no acquisition detail excepting that the sculpture is from ‘Malwa, Central India, early 11th

century CE’. Since the sculpture is said to be of ‘unrecorded provenance’, British Museum

either should do additional research to identify the details of acquisition of this sculpture,

for example, if it was part of Capt. George Stuart Collection or give the benefit of doubt to

the claimants of the sculpture that it is taken from the Dhar temple which is a principal

landmark of Malwa region of Central India by all historical standards. Moreover, the

sculptural features, such as the crown worn by the divinity, facial expressions, compare

with the features of the Ambā sculpture, pointing to the fact that this second sculpture

21

seems to match the description on the inscription of Ambā sculpture where Vararuci refers

to two sculptures: one of Ambā and another of Vāgdevi. It will be demonstrated that this

second sculpture is the Sarasvatī form of Vāgdevi (Divinity of Speech,

Learning/Knowledge).

Height: 66.100 cm (26 in.) Asia OA 1880-349

Room 33: Asia

From Malwa, Central India, early 11th century

CE

AN509475001 Place (findspot)

Department: Asia Registration number:

1880.349

Location: G33/Ind/case19

Found/Acquired India, Unrecorded provenance,

probably Gujarāt or Rājasthān (West)

Note the broken sutra (thread) and rosary on the

two left hands.

Note the manuscript (pustaka, ‘small book’) on

one of the right hands. (The second right hand is

broken and may have carried a stylus).

Note the three jīnas surrounding the face of the divinity, exactly consistent with the inscription of

Vararuci which refers to three jīnas (tīrthankaras).

Inscriptions

Inscription Type: inscription

Inscription Script: Nāgarī

Inscription Position: Pedestal

Inscription Comment: Later two-line inscription on the pedestal.

Dimensions

Height: 66.1 centimetres

Associated names

Representation of Sarasvatī

Source: http://tinyurl.com/8xm2zz6

Biographical details: Sarasvatī (deity; Hindu; Buddhist; Female)

Bibliography

Dowson, 'A Classical Dictionary of India', New Delhi 1999, pp.528-9.

22

Biography

Goddess of wisdom, education and learning; fair and four-armed. Daughter of Śiva and Pārvatī,

wife of Brahma. Usually depicted sitting on a lotus (representing knowledge) and holding in one

of her right hands a flower, which she offers to her husband, and in the other a book of palm

leaves indicating her love of learning; in her left hand a string of pearls which serves as a rosary

and in the other a damaru or small drum. Her mount is most often the swan or sometimes the

peacock. She is the font of learning and imparts knowledge to all those who study. Therefore she

is regularly worshipped in schools, universities and libraries.

In Japan, Shinto deity, associated with music and water, appears popular culture as one of the

Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin).

Also Known As Sarasvatī; Vāgdevi; Sarasvatī ; Vagishvari; Benzaiten (弁財天); Sarasvatī

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId

=137412

Sarasvatī, a divinity of knowledge

Sarasvatī worship is equally popular among the adherants of Jaina pantha and all panthas of

Hindu sanatana Dhārma. Sarasvatī is celebrated all over India in two annual festivals: Basant

Panchami (February) and during Navaratri (Dussehra, September. Vijaydaśami day is the day for

akṣarābhyāsam, day to start alphabet learning for a child.).

Sarasvatī is a benign divinity associated with knowledge, music and learning. Originally

associated with the river Sarasvatī , this divinity now has the epithet, 'Vīṇā-pustaka Dhāriṇī' or

bearer of the musical instrument (Vīṇā), and a book. The latter is visible in her lower left hand,

and she probably also held her other representative feature, a lotus, in one of her hands. She can

is often also shown on her mount, the swan. Since knowledge (jñāna) plays a fundamental role in

Jain pantha as a means to salvation, this divinity has an important place in their pantheon. She

features frequently in the vast Jain libraries filled with painted manuscripts that have been found

in Western India.

Although a relief, the main image has been very deeply cut, and looks three-dimensional.

Sarasvatī stands in an architectural frame, the arch over her head bearing three small enshrined

tirthankaras. Two more tirthankaras can be seen flanking the image level with her hips. Other

attendant figures, and perhaps the patrons can be seen in the lowest register of the framing arch.

The inscription on the base gives the name and family of the donor.

Source: http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/ps185355_m.jpg

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/m/marble_relief_figure

_of_sarasv.aspx

Indian Images (Delhi, 1999)]. There is no record, no mention of any Sarasvatī pratimā being

relocated to Gujarat from Dhar or any other place in India.

23

Candraprabha is 8th

of the 24 Jinas (‘victors’) (tirthankaras). British Museum AN145234001

granite Place (findspot): Found/Acquired Deccan (Asia,India,Deccan) Date 1050 (samvat) 993-

994 (CE)

Description

Jina (Candraprabha). Seated figure of the tirthankara Candraprabha carved in

a greenish-grey ganite with black speckles. The image has tight curling hair

and a srivatsa in the centre of the chest; the pupils of the eyes are shown. The

base, shown in the form of a cushion, has decorative pendants in the centre

and on the sides. Inscribed.

Inscriptions

Inscription Type: inscription

Inscription Script: Nagari

Inscription Language: Sanskrit

Inscription Comment: Inscription gives the date 1050 and name of the tirthankara as

Candraprabha.

Dimensions: Height: 82 centimetres Width: 67 centimetres

The pratimā of Ambā and Kṣetrapāla mentioned by Jinaprabhasūri (d. 1333) as brought into

Somnāth from Valabhi have to be identified. Valabhi was a place where there were many

temples and there should have been sculptors making many pratimā for temples.

http://tinyurl.com/78wau3g

Hundreds of sculptures of Sarasvatī have been celebrated in Art and Literature and have been

documented in http://www.docstoc.com/docs/116953358/Sarasvatī -in-Art-and-Literature-

(March-2012).

What is being demanded are the return to the Sarasvatī temple in Dhar, the two specific pratimā

(sculptures) now held illegally by the British Museum and which rightly belong to the temple in

Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.

Views of the temple precincts:

24

Dr. Balram Misra: "The famous Raja Bhoja of Parmar dynasty constructed the Bhojaśālā temple

at Dhār in 1034 A D for worshipping Goddess Sarasvatī . The temple served as a centre of Hindu

philosophy and Sanskrit language , and a great residential University. About 1400 great scholars

, poets and theologians like Maagh,Vaanabhatta,Kalidas,Bhavabhooti,Maanatunga,

Bhaskarabhatta and Dhanapal got patronage at Bhojasala where many famous scriptures like the

Avani Koormashatakam , Sarasvatī Kaṇṭhābharaṇa, Rāja mārtāṇḍa, and Tithisaaranika were

written . The Bhojasala was a great centre of learning of almost all prevalent Indian religions and

disciplines . Raja Bhoja was well versed in 72 types of arts and 36 models of military sciences.

He wrote books on various subjects like Astronomy, Ayurveda, Grammar, Politics,

Sculpture,Philosophy,Chemistry, Vāstu, etc ." Source:

http://madhavajja.sulekha.com/blog/post/2011/05/vyaakarana-chakra-in-lat-

masjid/comment/2081364.htm

Dhār: ‘city of sword blades’ and metallurgical traditions

Dhār is located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. The

circular ramparts of Dhār, unique in north India and an important legacy of the Paramāras. They

were built beginning in the 9th

century. The earthen ramparts at Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, India.

One of the few surviving portions from the exterior, on the south west side of the town may be

seen in the following photograph:

25

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ramparts_at_Dhar,_Madhya_Pradesh,_India.jpg

Fragments if the cast iron pillar of the 11th

century seen in front of the Sarasvatī mandiram

shows that Dhar artisans were expert smiths. (V. A. Smith, 'The Iron Pillar of Dhār', Journal of

the Royal Asiatic Society (1898): 143-46; Amitava Ray, S. K. Dhua, R. R. Prasad, S. Jha, S.

Banerjee,' The ancient 11th century iron pillar at Dhar, India: a microstructural insight into

material characteristics', Journal of Materials Science, Letters 16 (1997): 371–375.) Dhar is

shortened from Dhārā Nagara ('city of sword blades'). dharajala [dhârâ-gala] n.

blood dripping from the blade or edge (of a sword). dharancala [dhârâ½añkala] m. edge (of an in

strument). f. ( √2. ) margin , sharp edge , rim , blade (esp. of a sword , knife , &c ;

fig. applied to the flame of fire) RV. S3Br. MBh. Ka1v. &c. (Monier-Williams Lexicon, p. 515).

Dhār as centre of metallurgical excellence

Excerpts from: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~bala/journalpaper/journal/journalpaper_34.pdf Corrosion

resistance of the Dhar iron pillar by R. Balasubramaniam and AV Ramesh Kumar, Corrosion

Science 45, 2003, pp. 2451-2465.

Abstract

The corrosion resistance of the 950-year old Dhar iron pillar has been addressed. The

microstructure of a Dhar pillar iron sample exhibited characteristics typical of ancient Indian

26

iron. Intergranular cracking indicated P segregation to the grain boundaries. The

potentiodynamic polarization behaviour of the Dhar pillar iron and mild steel, evaluated in

solutions of pH 1 and 7.6, indicate that the pillar iron is inferior to mild steel under complete

immersion conditions. However, the excellent atmospheric corrosion resistance of the

phosphoric Dhar pillar iron is due to the formation of a protective passive film on the surface.

Rust analysis revealed the presence of crystalline magnetite (Fe3�xO4), a-Fe2O3 (hematite),

goethite (a-FeOOH), lepidocrocite (c-FeOOH), akaganeite (b-FeOOH) and phosphates, and

amorphous dFeOOH phases. The rust cross-section revealed a layered structure at some

locations.

Total length of the iron mass is 42

feet. It currently lies in three broken

pieces as shown on the photograph.

The history of the pillar has been

described in detail elsewhere [R.

Balasubramaniam, A new study of the

Dhar iron pillar, Indian J. History Sci.

37 (2002) 115] and briefly

summarized below. Dhar, situated

near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was

founded as capital of Malwa

by Bhoja (1010–1053 AD). Local

tradition holds that Bhoja constructed

the pillar. The achievements of the iron industry in Malwa during Raja Bhoja’s reign have been

well documented [ S.V. Sohoni, Historical background of iron industry in Malwa of Bhoja’s

period, Soc. Sci. 10 (1990) 104]. Bhoja was well versed in iron metallurgy as he, in his

Yuktikalpataru, discusses the manufacture of iron weapons and refers to earlier texts on

iron metallurgy like Louharnava, Louhadspa and Louhapradipa [A.K. Biswas, Minerals and

Metals in Ancient India, vol. II, D.K. Printworld, New Delhi, 1996]. Dhar first came

into Muslim hands around 1300 AD when Allaudin Khilji subdued Malwa as far as

Dhar. In its original condition, the pillar, topped with a trishul (trident) capital, was

located in front of a Shiva temple. This temple was located at the very site where the

present Lat Masjid stands. The masonry basement topped with stone boulders, in

front of the Lat Masjid, was the original erection site of the Dhar iron pillar.

After being thrown down, its shaft was broken into at least two pieces, which lay

about for a hundred years. One smaller piece (most probably without the currently

missing fourth piece of the pillar) was planted at the Dilawar Khan�s mosque in

Mandu (in a position similar to that of the Delhi iron pillar in the Quwwat-ul-Islam

mosque). The greater length was erected before the Lat Masjid mosque built by

Dilawar Khan at Dhar in 1405 AD out of the remains of Hindu and Jain temples.

Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, in 1531 AD, captured the area and wished to carry the

pillar to Gujarat. In attempting to do so, the pillar fell down and broke into two

pieces of lengths 22ft.and 13ft. The largest broken piece remained in the same sloping

position against the masonry terrace in front of the mosque from the time of its fall

in 1531 AD till the time it was removed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

around 1980 AD and placed horizontally on a platform adjoining the mosque.

27

In the Indian tradition, Sarasvatī is the divinity of knowledge, learning, arts and crafts in all

forms -- grammar of language or drama as literary art, or metallurgical skills. This is the reason

why an annual festival celebrates the worship, in the name of Sarasvatī, of artisans’ tools,

implements and equipment. This is called ayudha pūja during Navaratri (Dussehra). This

tradition is exemplified by the very name of the settlement -- Dhār, the ‘city of sword blades’ and

metallurgical traditions. In some regions, for example, in Tamil Nadu, Sarasvati Puja is

conducted along with the Ayudha Puja (the worship of weapons, tools, and implements including

machines). On the ninth day of Navaratri, i.e. the Mahānavami day, books and all musical

instruments are worshipped with special prayers.

28

Annex A

Govt. of India bids to get back lost treasures

From:

Business Ghana

India bids to get back lost treasures

News Date: 20th May 2010

India is seeking UNESCO support for an international campaign to recover its priceless

antiquities that were once taken away from the country through foreign invasions, a senior

official of the Archaeological Survey of India said.

“As efforts so far to reclaim stolen treasures have proved futile, UNESCO support is required for

launching an international campaign to achieve the end,” ASI Director

General Gautam Sengupta told PTI in the eastern metropolis.

Sengupta, who attended the Cairo conference of Archaeological heads of countries last month,

said India had expressed its wish to get back the stolen treasures like the exquisite Kohinoor,

taken away by the British and now in the Tower of London, besides Birmingham Buddha,

Amravati railings, Sarasvatī idol (stolen from Bhoj temple) and many other lost valuables.

He said the whereabouts of fabled Peacock throne, looted during raid by Nadir Shah and taken to

Persia, were not immediately available.

“Information is that most of the precious antique, which we lost through raids, attacks or looting

during foreign invasions in the pre-independence period are spread over museums, mostly in

European countries,” he said.

Sengupta said the Cairo conference called for a suitable international law to ban export or

ownership of stolen antiquities acquired after 1970.

This would help in preventing acquisition of stolen treasures of any particular country.

The ASI chief said Egypt had incurred huge loss in terms of stolen antiquities, which it

desperately seeks to get back.

“Not only India, various other countries like Mexico, Peru, China and Bolivia, Cyprus and

Guatemala also voiced the same concern to get back their stolen and looted antiquities and to

join the international campaign,” Sengupta said.

The Peacock throne inlaid with precious stones was created in the 17th century for Mughal

emperor Shah Jahan, who had placed the Kohinoor diamond and kept it at the Diwan-i-aam in

his imperial capital of Delhi.

It was taken away by invader Nadir Shah to Persia in 1739 and after his assassination in 1747 the

original throne was lost in the chaos that ensued.

29

The Sarasvatī image is believed to have been at a temple at Bhojsala set up by Raja Bhoj (1010-

1053), a Parmar king who spent his life institutionalizing culture, creating knowledge banks and

developing centers for art and spirituality, in the town of Dhār in Madhya Pradesh.

The image is now at the British Museum in London.

The Birmingham Buddha, the largest surviving Buddha image of ancient India, was discovered

in 1861 from the site of a monastery at Sultanganj in Bihar during a railway construction. It is

now at the City Museum and Art Gallery in Birmingham.

The Amravati railings belong to the Amravati stupa of Andhra Pradesh built between the second

century BC and third century AD.

In the late 19th century most of the main Amravti sculptures were taken away from the site and

sent to museums.

Many are in the British Museum.

Source: GNA

http://www.elginism.com/20100815/2947/

30

Annex B

The ‘London Nataraja’

R.Smalley, January 2010.

Siva Nataraja.

Source:http://dustysojourner.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/siva-

nataraja-one-leg-zhanzhuang-and-quantum-mechanics/

Introduction

In August or September 1976 an Indian labourer who lived near

the site of a ruined Hindu temple at Pathur (Arul Thiru Viswanatha

Swamy Temple), in the state of Tamil Nadu, uncovered a metal

object (the ‘Pathur Nataraja’) while excavating foundations for a new cow shed. This object was

known locally as a Siva Nataraja and was shown to belong to a family of bronze Hindu idols

called the Pathur Bronzes. It was subsequently dated to the Chola period (9th to 13th Century)

and was probably buried to prevent discovery by invading Muslims. The farmer sold the idol to a

dealer in religious artifacts and eventually it ended up with a Bombay dealer (who was

untraceable at the time of court proceedings).

State officials in Tamil Nadu had learnt of the various sales associated with the idol and had

begun their own investigations but by 1982 the whereabouts of the object was still unknown. In

June of that year Robert Borden, of the Bumper Corporation of Canada, bought a Nataraja in

good faith from a London dealer called Sherrier (who later produced what was found to be false

provenance documents for the object). Bumper obtained a permit to export the bronze from

England but did not do so as they were advised it required conservation. The ‘London Nataraja’

was taken to the British Museum for assessment and conservation but later seized by the

Metropolitan Police as part of an operation to return stolen religious objects to their rightful

owners. Bumper then brought a claim against the Police for the return of the object and damages.

The Trial

There were five claimants in the case: 1. Union of India 2. State of Tamil Nadu 3. Thiru R.

Sadagopan, claiming as the fit representative of the Temple 4. Arul Thiru Viswanatha Swamy

Temple 5. Sivalingam. This was another surviving object of religious worship from the Temple.

It is a sculptured stone phallus and in a temple of its period would have been positioned in the

sanctum to be the focus of worship. It was restored as an object of worship at the Temple after its

rediscovery

There were two main issues: 1. Identity – that the ‘London Nataraja’ was the one and the same as

the ‘Pathur Nataraja’ 2. Title – If they were the same, who of the claimants had the superior title

to the object

Identity

31

The case stating that they were the same object was supported by expert evidence on stylistic

grounds of similarity between the ‘London Nataraja’ and the Pathur Bronzes and expert evidence

of a metallurgical, geological and entomological nature.

Bumper’s case was supported by Dr. Presencer (considered an honest witness) who stated that

he’d seen the antique object (note that it was agreed that the item was antique and showed signs

of having been buried for many centuries) in London in May 1976, before the other was

unearthed, and therefore they could not be the same. Metallurgical evidence was also produced

to show dissimilarities between the ‘London Nataraja’ and the Pathur Bronzes.

The English trial judge, Mr Ian Kennedy, found that the ‘London Nataraja’ was the same as the

one uncovered in India in 1976. He believed Dr. Presencer to have been mistaken to the date on

which he’d seen the antique Nataraja.

Title

The Judge concluded that the institution comprising the Temple (the 4th claimant) had title to the

Nataraja. If it had not been the 4th than the 5th, then the 3rd had good claims for title and the 2nd

would have also had title under provisions of the Treasure Trove Act and/or Tamil Nadu law

(H.R. and C.E. Act).

The precedent for this was in a case from India in 1925 – Mallick v Mallick. The legal principle

says “A Hindu idol is according to the long established authority founded upon the religious

customs of the Hindus and the recognition thereof by the courts of law in India and the Privy

Council, a juristic entity. It has judicial status with the power of suing and being sued.” This had

been an English decision – that a Hindu deity is a personality of its own and can sue or be sued

in a court of law. They applied the principle that once a deity always a deity and so the principle

continued to be relevant in the 1980s.

The Judge concluded “the pious intention of the 12th century notable.. who built the

temple…remains in being and is personified by the Temple itself, a juristic entity which had title

to the Nataraja superior to that of the defendant.”

The 'London' Nataraja. Source: Ghandhi & James, 1992.

The Appeal

Bumper appealed against both findings and wanted the Court of

Appeal to consider if Mr Justice Kennedy was entitled to make the

assessments that he made. The Court of Appeal stated that the

Judge “was fully entitled to come to the conclusion which he

reached on each aspect of… the case.”

Identity

Further evidence was admitted by Bumper which had not been previously available. An

American dealer, Robert Ellsworth, testified that an antique Nataraja was being offered for sale

in London in Easter of 1974. He had examined it briefly and he identified it as the disputed

object bought by Bumper. They also included evidence of soil analysis showing that the size and

32

colour of soil particles on the object differed from samples taken at the excavation pit at the

Temple. The Court upheld Kennedy’s findings on the issue of identification.

Title

The Court held that the Temple was acceptable as a party to proceedings and as such entitled to

sue for the recovery of the Nataraja in the English courts through the 3rd claimant, although he

himself was not a competent party.

It considered whether a foreign legal person who would not be recognised as a legal person by

our own law, could sue in the English courts? Here we had what was essentially little more than

a ‘pile of stones’ wishing to sue. The Courts used Salmond in Jurisprudence (12th ed, 1966) as a

reference, where it was considered possible that a foreign Roman Catholic Cathedral could have

a legal personality in its own country and maybe given the ability to sue for the protection and

recovery of its contents. “The touchstone for determining whether access should be given or

refused is the comity of nations… - the courteous and friendly understanding by which each

nation respects the laws and usages of every other, so far as may be without prejudice to its own

rights and interest”. It would only enhance public policy to allow a Hindu Temple to sue here for

recovery of its property to which it was entitled to recover by the law of its own country.

Note that the Court accepted that the Sivalingam would be recognised in Tamil Nadu as a juristic

entity which could also sue through its representative at the Temple. However as the Court had

decided in favour of the Temple it was not necessary to decide if the Sivalingam would be

considered a juristic entity in the eyes of English law.

It was considered that the public policy of promoting the return of stolen artifacts, and those

exported in breach of regulations, at least where the country is a friendly state and a member of

the Commonwealth, was to be applauded and helps ensure the courts make a contribution to the

international protection of cultural property.

Note that the Court found that the Treasure Trove Act did not apply – contrary to Kennedy’s

decision – because it could only apply to items that were ‘ownerless’. As the Temple was

determined to have remained in existence and that the bronzes had been hidden to prevent

removal by invaders, it followed that the bronzes had never left the possession of the Temple and

therefore had never been ownerless.

Post Appeal

The Court of Appeal and the House of Lords awarded the Temple damages of £1000 and

awarded the plaintiffs, jointly, costs totalling £303,489.67. The Nataraja was entrusted to the

Indian High Commission in London and later returned to India.

Bumper then appealed to the Canadian courts. Bumper resisted enforcement saying that the

judgement was contrary to the public policy of Canada, as reflected by its accession to the

UNESCO Convention. Bumper counterclaimed for compensation from India for the loss of the

bronze and for the English costs.

Bumper had five defences to the registration of the English judgements in Alberta: 1. that the

judgements of the English courts were obtained by fraud on the English courts 2. that India could

33

not, as a co-signatory of the UNESCO Convention, pursue its claim for costs and damages 3. that

the English judgements were contrary to public policy 4. that one of the named Indian plaintiffs

(the Temple) had no status in Alberta 5. that the Indians are not entitled to interest on the English

judgement debts

Fraud

The Alberta court felt there was no newly discovered facts which were not before the foreign

court and from which it could be deduced that the foreign judgement has been obtained by fraud

Equity

The Alberta court rejected Bumper’s claims

Public Policy

This point is of interest to cultural property lawyers due to Canada’s status as a signatory to the

UNESCO Convention. Although the UK was not a signatory the courts were able to justify the

return of the object under common law principles – although at the cost of the innocent purchaser

being left without the right to claim for compensation (it could have if the UK had been a

signatory and had implemented the Convention).

Bumper argued that by bringing proceedings in England the Indian claimants should not be able

to enforce their award in Alberta. The Court rejected this on the basis that there was good reason

for the claimant to go to the English courts – not least the location of the item. The provisions of

the UNESCO Convention don’t allow for a situation where property is returned by one state

when its innocent purchaser resides in another.

Standing

Bumper argued that the Temple had no legal status in Alberta. The Court stated it was likely they

would have dealt with the issue in the same way as the English courts did.

Interest

The Court dismissed this argument too. So long as the foreign

judgement stipulated payment of interest, then interest was

payable.

Siva Nataraja. Source: Wikipedia

Conclusion

The UK Courts decisions caused apprehension in the antiquities

market because if a religious artefact found in the UK could be

traced to a ‘living temple’ then that Temple could pursue a claim to

ownership.

34

The novel question was whether a foreign legal person who would not be recognised as a legal

person by our own law could sue in the English courts. This was a first in the UK – where a

Hindu Temple could sue for stolen property in England.

Also of interest is that the Sivalingam (a phallic stone idol) was ruled as having greater title than

the Bumper Corporation.

The results show that the English courts will do what they can to ensure the return of cultural

property to its rightful owner. The arguments themselves, the principle of comity and the

criterion of public policy will ensure a wider application of the decision. It was therefore a

welcome development in the arena of the international protection of cultural property.

'Sources'

BENNETT, W. 1990 Statue of Siva in landmark case for religious artifacts. The Independent, 5

July

CASEBY, J. 1991 Hindu temple wins back stolen God. Press Association, 14 February

GHANDI, S. & JAMES, J. 1992 The God That Won. International Journal of Cultural Property,

Vol.1, Issue 2, pp.369-382

HERBERT, S. 1991 Law report: Hindu temple can sue for return of stolen property. The

Guardian, 5 March

HUTCHESSON, P.(ed.) 1991 The all England law reports 1991. Volume 4. London:

Butterworths

PATERSON, R.K. ? The 'curse of the London Nataraja'. Case notes from unknown publication -

International Journal of Cultural Property?

RAKESH, M. 1991 British courts free Siva icon. Press release from unknown publication

35

Part 2. Lat ki and Kamāl Maula Masjids are of unusual architecture;

evidences of earlier Siva, Sarasvatī temples at the location

Evidences that Lat ki Masjid and Kamāl Maula Masjid, Dhar were constructed using materials

from an earlier temples for Śiva and Sarasvatī.

The conclusive literary evidence for the existence of Sarasvatī temple in Dhār during the

days of Raja Bhoja, is in the work of Ācārya Merutuṅga, who wrote

Prabandhacintāmaṇi (tr. By C.H. Tawney, Calcutta, Asiatic Society, 1901),-- in the year

1361 of the era of Vikramāditya. This work records that Bhoja visited the temple of

Sarasvatī. Merutuṅga calls the temple the Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa or Necklace of

Sarasvatī. (Full text of Tawney’s translation is at:

http://archive.org/stream/bibliothecaindi04indigoog#page/n8/mode/1up)

The most conclusive epigraphical evidence that a Sarasvatī mandiram existed at this

place which now stands as a mosque is provided by an in situ inscription of

Arjunavarman documented by K. K. Lele in 1903 which refers to Sarasvatī temple in

Dhār. The inscription of Arjunavarman also records that the Pārijātamañjarī drama was

performed in the temple of Sarasvatī.

Bhojaśālā (School of Bhoja) in Dhar refers both to the centre of Sanskrit studies and the temple

of Sarasvatī.

King Bhoja’s successor was Arjunavarman (1210-15 CE), who claimed that he was an

incarnation of Bhoja himself. (E. Hultzsch, No. 9.‘Dhār Praśasti of Arjunavarman:

Pārijātamañjari-Nāṭika by Mandana’, Epigraphica Indica 8 (1905-06), Archaeological Survey

of India: 96-122.) The text of the inscription includes part of Pārijātamañjari-Nāṭika by Madana,

the king's guru (Rāja-Guru), also called Bāla-Sarasvatī. The inscription is now displayed inside

the entrance. (S.K. Dikshit (ed.), 1968, Pārijātamañjarī alias Vijayaśrī by Rāja-Guru Madana

alias Bāla-Sarasvatī, Bhopal, p. xviii.) The inscription reports that the play was performed before

Arjunavarman in the temple of Sarasvatī. This a priori suggests that the inscription could have

come from the site of the temple, upon which a mosque was constructed sometime in the 14th

century. (Zafar Hasan, EIM (1909-10): 13-14, pl. II, no. 2; Annual Report on Indian

Epigraphy (1971-72): 81, no. D. 73.)

K. K. Lele, Superintendent of Education in the Princely State of Dhār, discovered a Sanskrit and

Prakrit inscription from the time of Arjunavarman on the walls of Kamāl Maula mosque. [Lele's

report dated 30 December 1903: Summary of the Dramatic Inscription found at the Bhojaśālā

(Kamāl Maula Mosque), Dhār, Central India, in November 1903]. Pischel also recorded this

“discovery of the two long inscriptions and several fragments found in the Bhojaśālā at Dhār”.

(Pischel, R., Inscriptions from Dhār, Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India for

1903–04, Calcutta, 1906, pp. 238-240). Barnes noted: “Finally, a recent close inspection has

brought to light the fact that the reverse side of two of the great black stone slabs which form the

lining of the ‘Mehrab’ are covered with similar inscriptions, which happily by their position have

escaped destruction, but which owing to that same position, it has only been possible up to the

present to take fragmental impressions. These impressions seem to show that the inscriptions are

36

a dramatic composition probably on an historical subject, written in the reign of a successor of

Bhoja”. (Barnes, 1902, “Dhār and Mandu,” pp. 351–352).

The Prakrit inscription was a text of the Prakrit poem Kūrmaśataka (Kūrma refers to the Viṣṇu avatar of tortoise); the text is ascribed to Bhoja.

Archaeological investigations at the mosque next to Kamāl al-Dīn's tomb revealed two

serpentine inscriptions giving the alphabet and grammatical rules of Sanskrit. (Barnes, 1902,

“Dhār and Mandu,” p. 360.) One of the serpentine inscriptions found by K. K. Lele at Kamāl

Maula mosque.

A Sanskrit Vyākaraṇa (grammar) was written (inscribed) as Chitra Kavi on the temple walls. It

shows grammar in wheel shaped diagrams or pictures. Vyākaraṇa chakra (grammar slokas

written in circular diagrams)are in the mosque itself which was the Sarasvatī Mandiram.

Vyākaraṇa Cakra (Wheel of Grammar)

"King Bhoja built a temple for Goddess Sarasvatī at Dhar . There was a large wheel depicted on

the wall on which were written many verses . These were all on Vyākaraṇa ( grammar ) . The

entire Vyākaraṇa Shastra had been written in verse and charted in the form of a wheel . The

intention of the original sculptors and builders are obvious , that in the temple of Sarasvatī, the

goddess of speech and learning , the science of language should be always present through

Vyākaraṇa which is the mouth of the Veda Purusha . It is claimed that a mere glance at the giant

wheel would make the Vyākaraṇa clear . Since Vyākaraṇa has the status of an object of

reverence and worship , the wheel of Vyākaraṇa was installed in a temple .

"This temple , the Temple of Sarasvatī, now stands as a Mosque in the present day town of Dhar

in Madhya Pradesh .

37

http://madhavajja.sulekha.com/blog/post/2011/05/vyaakarana-chakra-in-lat-

masjid/comment/2081364.htm

Vyākaraṇa (Grmmar)

There was a kingdom called ‘Dhar’ in the old Central Provinces which under independent India

has come to be known as Madhya Pradesh. This ‘Dhar’ was none other than ‘Dhara’, the capital

city of King Bhoja, the celebrated patron of all arts, who was a byword for generosity and

philanthropy.

There is a mosque Dhara. It came to light that some Sanskrit inscriptions were visible inside a

niche in the mosque. Since the place belonged to Muslims and without their consent one could

not get in and examine the writing, the Epigraphical Department itself could not get at it for a

few years. Then some years after the attainment of Independence, men from the Epigraphical

Department obtained the permission of the authorities of the mosque and investigated the writing

in the inscriptions.

There was a huge wheel depicted on the wall on which were written many verses. These verses

were all on Vyākaraṇa. The entire Vyākaraṇa śāstra had been written in verse and charted in the

form of a wheel. What was during the days of King Bhoja the temple of Sarasvatī apparently has

now become a mosque. The intention of the original sculptors and builders was obvious; that in

the temple of Sarasvatī , the goddess of speech and learning, the science of language should be

always present through Vyākaraṇa which is the mouth of the Veda Puruṣa. It is claimed that a

mere glance at the giant wheel would make the whole of Vyākaraṇa clear.

Since Vyākaraṇa had the status of an object of reverence and worship, the wheel of Vyakarana

was installed in a temple.

Many years after the temple became a mosque we have been able to get the Chakra through the

grace of the Goddess of Speech. The Department of Epigraphy has published the wheel in print.

It has also been translated into English. From this, it is evident that sciences like the Vyākaraṇa

had not been relegated to the background as mere disciplines by Kings and Governments in

those days but elevated to a level where they became objects of worship. You can realise from

this how purity and refinement in language was considered very important in old times in our

country.

http://www.bhavans.info/heritage/echoes11.asp

Images of Lat Masjid, Dhar

38

North gate

Inside southern part of north gate

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/03/lat-ki-masjid-asi-bhopal.html

http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/dhar_dhar_lat%20kimasjid.html

39

Southwest corner of domed chamber

Viewing Zanana in the northwestern part of a dome from southeast

40

Viewing east from domed chamber

Viewing north from domed chamber

FtX63XeI/AAAAAAAARYc/mFwz7IsBnhw/s320/Dhar-Lat%2BMasjid-1.jpg" />

41

42

43

The Lat Masjid or Pillar Mosque derives its name from a pillar made of iron which is supposed

to have been set up in the 11th century. According to the most recent assessments, the height of

the pillar is nearly 13.2 m. The pillar was fallen and broken into parts. The three surviving parts

are displayed on a small platform outside the mosque. The pillar s original stone footing is also

displayed nearby. The pillar carries a later inscription of visit of the Mughal emperor Akbar in

1598 while its movement towards the Deccan. http://www.hoparoundindia.com/madhya-

pradesh/dhar-attractions/lat-masjid.aspx

LAT -KI MASJID Viewing the courtyard from the southwest.

Its common name "lat" is said to come from either "lat" (old) or "lath" (Pillar). It is called "Lat

Masjid" as well. With the former word, it can mean "old mosque", and with the latter it may

mean "mosque with pillars", as multiple pillars are significant in the west prayer room and in

corridors. However, in general, it is a more convincing theory that the name comes from a

monument for victory that Raja Bhoja of the Paramara Dynasty built nearby. (Matsuo Ara)

This mosque, as well as Kamāl Maulah Masjid, consists of the west prayer room surrounding a

large courtyard, and corridors on three sides. It shows similarities to mosques remaining in Dhar

and Mandu dating back to the early 15th century. Judging from a remaining inscription, it is

viewed as being built in 807 AH (1404/5) by Dilawar Khan. What is specially important in this

mosque is the darwaza (gate), having a square plan and cronwned by a dome on the east side. Its

majestic structure and style are outstanding among the early mosques remaining in Dhar and

44

Mandu. (Matsuo Ara)

This is a structure that Dilawar Khan Ghori converted from the palace of Raja Bhoja, named Raj

Martand Palace, into a mosque. Outside the east gate of the mosque, there remains an iron pillar

of about 6 metres in height, which is considered to have been either a victory pillar for Bhoja or a

flaming torch. It is called Rat（Iron pillar）.

(Naoko Fukami)

Exterior from east-southeast

Inscription East side

45

Inside

Kamāl MAULA MASJID Viewing the prayer room from the east.

This mosque was very similar to Dilawar Khan and Malik Mughith of Mandu. Both these

mosque and Lat-ki Masjid seem to have been built in the early 15th century. They have

similarity in structure and style. Also, there are similarities with a mosque from the Sultanate

period remaining in Delhi. The common name of this mosque " Kamāl Maula" seems to come

from a tomb of a Muslim saint Maulanah Kamāl al-Din. (Matsuo Ara)

In the west prayer room surrounding a large courtyard, and the corridors on the three sides, there

still remain pillars of the Hindu style. From these, we can determine that materials of a Hindu

temple were converted into this building. In fact, looking at the arch-shaped mihrab at the centre,

one may feel that the area between the lines of pillars in this west main prayer room would be the

Hindu temple. Inside the ceiling and the top of the pillars are the same. It is an important relic

showing that a direct influence of traditional Hindu workmen and craftsmen of this hilly region

of central India is observed in a mosque, which is the most important building among Muslim

constructions. (Matsuo Ara)

46

The antecedent of this architecture was Bhojshara, a school that was built by Raja Bhoja (reign

1010-1055) of the Paramara Dynasty. This school worshipped Sarasvatī, the goddess of the

earth. The well, considered to be relic of that time, still remains near the mausoleum of Maulana

Kaml al-Din. It is called Akkal Kui (well of knowledge). Also, a few Sanskrit inscriptions have

been found. As an inscription of Islam period, there is one dated in 1392 written with the name

of Dilawar Khan Ghori. Mahmud Khilji I worshipped Maulana Kamāl al-Din and he executed

a major remodeling to mosque in 1457. A few years ago, the Muslims contended against the

Hindus in this mosque, thus it is not currently used as a mosque. It is hard to go inside the

building. (Naoko Fukami)

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/03/dhar-lat-ki-masjid-kamal-maula-masjid.html

Viewing the back of prayer room from nouthwest

Viewing courtyard from the southwest prayer room roof

47

Viewing prayer room from east

Kamāl Masjid prayer room viewing from northwest

Kamāl Masjid prayer room viewing from southeast

48

Kamāl Masjid Domed chamber southwest coner in front of Mihrab

Kamāl Masjid Dome

49

Kamāl Masjid Mihrab and Mimbaru

Mihrab

50

Mihrab

http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~islamarc/WebPage1/htm_eng/dhar-eng.htm

In Indian Parliament, among the famous panels, there is one depicting Raja Bhoj:

"Paramara Bhoja with Bhojasala (Kamāl Maula Mosque) in the background (12th Century A.D.).

Artist--Shri G. M. Solegaonkar, Bombay." http://alfa.nic.in/intro/p8.htm

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Dhar : Bhojaśālā Kamāl Maula Mosque

http://asibhopal.nic.in/gallery/dhar_dhar_bhojshala_kamal_maula_mosque.html

Lat ki masjid

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Description

Photos

Facilities

Tickets

Notification

Location

Approach

Photo

Description

This mosque was constructed by using materials of earlier temple. It has two gates one each on

the north and east of which one is in the Jaina style. Within the precincts of the Mosque lies a

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"Lat" or pillar made of iron, after which the mosque takes its name.

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Gallery Go to Gallery

Approach

By Air : Indore

By Bus : Dhar

By Train : Indore

Facilities

PNB, CNB, Other signages

Parking

Tickets

No Entry Fees

Notification

Preliminary Final Page No. PDF

Act No. LXXI of 1951,

dt. 28/11/1951

Act No. LXXI of 1951, dt.

28/11/1951

P-61/92;F-

61/92

View

Location

Locality Tehsil District State

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Dhar Dhar Dhar M.P.

LAT -KI MASJID / DHAR

※ Click the title to enlarge the photo ※

Courtyard

Viewing the courtyard from the southwest.

Left;North gate Right;East gate

Viewing the prayer room and the south corridor

from the southeast corner of a courtyard.

Left; Domed chamber Right;North gate

Prayer room-Interior-

The southwest corner of domed chamber

Viewing north from domed Viewing east from domed Viewing zanana in the

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chamber chamber northwestern part of

a dome from southeast

East gate

Inside

Exterior from east-southeast Inscription of the east side

North gate

From northeast This side is north gate

The right back is a north entrance to zanana

The southern part of north gate, inside

LAT -KI MASJID / DHAR

Kamāl MAULA MASJID / DHAR

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※Click the title to enlarge the photo ※

Exterior

Viewing the back of prayer room

from nouthwest

Viewing courtyard from

the southwest prayer room roof

Viewing prayer room from east

Prayer room -interior-

From northwest From southeast

Domed chamber

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Domed chamber southwest coner

in front of Mihrab

Looked up at from the bottom

Mihrab

Mihrab and Mimbaru

under the domed chamber

Mihrab

Kamāl MAULA MASJID / DHAR

Royal Geographical Society

The Kamāl Maula exterior - Dhar - Madhya Pradesh - Central India

The Kamāl Maula interior - Dhar - Madhya Pradesh - Central India

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The Bhojaśālā Mosque interior view - Dhar - Madhya Pradesh - Central India

The Bhojaśālā Mosque interior - Dhar - Madhya Pradesh - Central India

The Bhojaśālā Mosque interior views - Dhar- Madhya Pradesh - Central India

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