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    -AIRAVATIFelicitation volume in honour oflravatham Mahadevan

    VARALAARU.COM3/241, S.R.P. Colony, 14th Street, Jawahar Nagar,Chennai 600 082, Tamailnadu, India.Tel : 044 2550 7221Email : [email protected]

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    RayaAsoko from Kanaganahalli: Somethoughts 1

    Thapar, Romi/aAsm all pieceofin form at ion has surfaced from the recent excavation bythe Archaeologica l Survey of India (AS I) ofthe stu pa at Kanaganah alli.This raises some in teres ting questions concerning the perception whichpeople at that tim e had oftheir recen t past and the articu lat ion ofthis perception, as well as its relationship to other perceptions fromapproximately contem porary tim es. M y attempt here is to su ggest thedirec tion in which someen quiries can be made.The site ofKanaganah alli lies on the left bank ofthe river Bhima fivemiles from the previously excav ated site ofSann ati in the GulbargaDistric t of Karnataka. Sannati was a large urban set tlement with afortif ied citadel dated to the early historical period. It has three stu pamounds in its vicinity 2 The stone slab for the pft ha, pedesta l, for animagein the Candralamba temple in its neighbourhood was found to havepartial tex ts ofthe M ajo r Rock Edicts XII and XIV and the SeparateEdicts I and 11 of Asoka inscribed in Aso kan briihm13 The slab wasdam ag ed by the cutting out ofa sec tion in the middle to hold the tenon atthe base of the im age. Sannati was therefore an im portant site in theM auryanperiod.This is also indicated by the presen ce of Northern BlackPolished W areand som e punch-m arked coins from theM auryan levelsatthe site.As a Buddhis t centre the geographica l linksof Kan aganahalli would havebeen with the stupas ofcentral India and the Deccan, with the manyBuddhist sites along the eas t coast, and wes twards with th e cavemonasteries ofthe W estem Ghats. Buddhist sites are loca ted seria timdown the east coast with a strik ing clu ster in the Krishna delta aroundAmaravati and further upstream. The Bhima valleywas also aroutegoingtowards the W es tern Ghats with their multiple passes down to the co as tand the location ofBuddhis t sites at virtually each one. Andhra would have had extensive contac ts th rough maritim e trade both across theArabian Sea and along the east coast. The location ofKanaganahal liwould probab ly have been along the route from the north going so uthperhap s themuch-m en tioneddaksinapatha.This would have continued tothe Raichur Doaband the Krishna valleywith its clu ste rofAsokan edictssu gges ting an area knownto Mauryan admin istrat ion. Votive insc riptionsfrom the Sannati stiipa indicate the presence ofwhat seem to be two

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    Thapar, Romila 251of Siitaviihana period inscriptions from western India, especially those atJunnar and Nasik8. The second panel (fig. 3), narrates a different eventbut carries a label that reads riiyii asoko.The first panel has been much publicized and is of course of considerableinterest if in fact it is not a depiction of a local ruler and is intended as arepresentation of Asoka Maurya. Given the many conventionalillustrations 6n the panels this may have drawn less attention but for thelabel intended presumably to identify the main figure. An unimportantlocal ruler is unlikely to have been singled out for a label. The other suchlabeled representations, although few, are nevertheless of establishedrulers ofthe Siitaviihana dynasty. The association of Asoka with this areais evident from the presence of his edicts, although it remains puzzling asto why the Separate Edicts should have been inscribed at this location.The other locations for these edicts are Dhauli arid Jaugada in K.alingaand the context would seem to have been the aftermath of the Kalingacampa1gn.The first panel (Fig. I), below the label (Fig. 2) shows a standing male andfemale couple flanked by three attendants. They appear to be a royalcouple since they stand beneath an umbrella held by one attendant andwith chauris, fly-whisks, held by another two, one on each side to the rear.The framing pillar to the right of the group has the usual motifs: a lioncapital, an inverted bell-like form often seen on such pillars starting withthose of Asoka Maurya, open lotuses and a base. The lower frame of thepanel has the frequently depicted row of hamsas.The male/raja, is depicted in conventional fashion. He wears anelaborately folded turban (Sirabhu$ana), large ear ornaments, arm-bandsand bracelets, a necklace from near which there hangs what seems to be aslim roll of cloth, a sash around the hips with one end hanging down heldtogether by a hip-belt and a diaphanous lower garment. At first glance theslim roll could be mistaken for a yajilopavita but it is thicker than thenormal and similar in thickness to the top of the waistband. Nor does it goacross the shoulder as a yajilopavita does. The second panel depictingAsoka does not show him with such a slim roll of cloth. In terms of castestatus the Mauryas were regarded as sudras or at any rate low from thebrahmanical perspective and as a ~ a t r i y a clan in Buddhist texts. Theyare unlikely to be associated with wearing a yajilopavita.The woman, (or is she the queen?), has ornaments in her hair, earrings, anecklace, arm-bands and bracelets, a hip-belt (mekha/ii) and anklets. Thewomen attendants have fewer ornaments. The adornments seem to

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    Thapar, Romila 253

    Fig.2 : Kanaganahalli - Label Inscription of Fig 0 I reading riiyii asoko

    Fig.3 : Kanaganahalli - Panel showing two male figures and a Bodhi-tree

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    254 Airavati

    Fig.4 : Kanaganahalli : Label Inscription of Fig 03 reading riiyii asokoThe identifying labels in both panels are stark in their simplicity. In hisedicts Asoka does refer to him self as riinno, lajinii /rajina, rano but this isgenerally together with his full titles of deviinampiya piyadasi riijii ... asat Gimar 9 In the Maski ed ict he refers to himself as devanampiyaasoka ... , the only occasion when he uses his personal nam e 10 Rudradam an in his inscription of150 CE refers to mauryasya riijna/:zcandraguptasya .... asokasya mauryasa. This is a different manner ofidentifying him - by name an d by dynasty - than in the Kanaganahallilabel inscription which could have been close in time 11 Rudradam an'sreference involves both a historical pointer to an earlier ruler and apolitical statement. Among the Bharhut inscriptions, reference is made tomembers of a royal family as the riijan Dhanabhiiti and the rano Giigzduring the reign of the Suizgas 12 The mention of suganiim riije wouldsuggest that the patrons of the inscriptions were in termediary rulers.Other inscriptions from Bharhut make mention of riijan(o) adhiriijaka ,riijiino, and riijii 13 The simple titleof riijii is reminiscent of Asoka describing himse lf in oneof his edicts, as liijii (riijii) miigadhe. It occurs only once and in theBhabhra ed ict which is addressed to the Sangha, and in which hereiterates his faith in the teachings of the Budd ha and men tions thoseteachings that he thinks are particularly importane 4 This might suggestthat the title riiyii asokowas used in a Buddhist context.Possibly the intention here is also to indicate that even a great king, onewho would otherwise have been given the status ofa ca kravartin, whenhe goes to worship the Buddha goes as a pilgrim, an upasaka, lay follower,and the label of riijii is virtually a professional description. This can becom pared for instance, with what is thoug ht to be the depiction of acakravartin at Amaravati which is more like what one might haveexpected from a representation of Asoka. The figure has the trappings ofmajesty, stands full frontally with his hands in afijali mudra. He haswomen attendants as well as a male standing beside him, all dressed inthe styleofthe court 15

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    Thapar, Rornila 255

    This visual image of Asoka differs from some of the Buddhist textual.descriptions where the context is the court or the palace as it also doesfrom the mandate for kingly governance in Kautilya's Arthasastra

    16InBuddhist texts such as the Asokavadana and the Mahavamsa, the

    associationof majesty and grandeur with Asoka is apparent. This is notmerely a difference between textual and visual representations, for atother sites such as Sanchi, royal figures - some thoug ht to be depictions ofPrasenajit, Bimbisara, Ajatasatru and Asoka, are shown going in aprocession to see the Buddha or to worship at a stupa or to the BodhiTree, generally mounted on a horse or an elephant and often accompaniedby courtiers and the army. The presence of the army seems unnecessaryunless it is meant to convey royal protection of the site. W ith such panels one would have to argue the rev erse that the emphasis is on the majesty ofthe king who despite this majesty is nevertheless a worshipper atBuddhist shrin es. The depiction of Asoka as accompanied by only a fewattendants as at Kanaganahalli is not unknown but generally uncommonfor a royal pilgrim.I t does however bring to mind a similar but not identical panel from Sanchi where a king is being supported by female attendants and thesuggested identificatio n b y M arshall is that ofAsoka.

    Fig.S : Sanehi : ASoka visiting the Bodhi-Tree?

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    256 AiravatiHere he has an attendant on each side reinforced by another two on eachside. One holds the umbrella, and the other holds the water-jar. On theedge of the frame on both sides there is a seated attendant. John Marshallstates that this was Asoka's visit to the Bodhi tree and that he was soemotionally moved that he had to be supported by two of his queens17. AtBharhut there is a depiction of what has been interpreted as Asokavisiting the Bodhi-Tree this time flanked by a man and a woman 18.Asoka mentions in his edicts that he visited the Bodhi Tree - ayiiyasa1J1bodhi1J'l - ten years after he had been reigning. 19Another relief fromSanchi interpreted as his visit to the Bodhi-Tree shows him with anelaborate entourage.20

    Fig.6 : Sanchi : ASoka visiting the Bodhi-Tree?The same is the case with what is believed to be a representation of hisvisit to the Riimiigrama stupa where he arrives in a chariot with possiblyhis queen following him on an elephant. These images emphasize hissplendour and are similar in style to other royal processions. Given theform of the elite culture of the times, and nature of its Buddhist input, theKanaganahalli panel almost suggests a local chief rather than acakravartin. As a political and administrative designation the term riiyiiwould generally suggest a chief rather than a king. Yet we know thatAsoka did use this term for himself even if in a particular context andvariations of the term were used at Buddhist sites referring to local kings.Even at Kanagal):ahalli kings are given the title of riiyii as are the-Siitaviihana kings mentioned in the inscriptions and none of whom werenoticeably patrons of Buddhism as was Asoka. It is interesting thathistorians today would distinguish between the Mauryas and theSiitaviihanas where the latter are the lesser rulers in comparison with theimperial power of the Mauryas. Such a distinction seems not to have beenmade or else was made through a different designation. A single mentionof riiyii cakavati satariijano may be to the mythical universal monarch

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    11

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    260 Airavati

    Notes1 I would like to thank the Archaeological Survey of India andparticularly Mr. K.P. Poonacha and Mr. R.S. Fonia for providing thephotographs included in this paper, and especially those from theKanaganahalli excavations, and for the discussions that I had with Mr.Poonacha who excavated the site. I would also like to thank ProfessorMichael Meister for discussions on the Kanaganahalli panels.2 M.S.Nagaraja Rao, "Brahmi Inscriptions and their bearing on the GreatStiipa at Sannati," in F.M.Asher and G.S.Ghai (eds.), Indian Epigraphy,New Delhi 1985, pp. 41-45. J.Howell, "Note on the Society'sExcavation at Sannathi, Gulbarga District, Karnataka, India," South AsianStudies, 1989, 5, pp. 159-63.3 K.V.Ramesh, "The Asokan Inscriptions at Sannati," Indian HistoricalReview, 1987-88, XN, 1-2, pp. 36-42; K.R.Norman, "AsokanInscriptions from Sannati," South Asian Studies, 1991,7, pp. 101-10.4 Nagaraja Rao, op.cit.5 Information from the Internet web-site of the Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI), at http://asi.inc.inlvsasi/album_kanganhalli.html; IndianArchaeology-A Review, 1 9 9 6 ~ 9 7 , p. 55; 1997-98, p. 96.6 Michael Meister, "Palaces, Kings and Sages: World Rulers and WorldRenouncers in Early Buddhism", (forthcoming).7 Indian Archaeology- A Review, 1996-97, p. 55.8 Plates in Epigraphia Indica, VIII, pp. 60-105; J. Burgess and BhagvanlalIndraji, Inscriptions from Cave Temples of Western India, Delhi 1976(rep.), Plates 42-53.9 Bloch, Les Inscriptions d'Asoka, Paris 1950, p. 110.10 Ibid., p. 145.11 Epigraphia Indica, VIII, p. 42 ff.

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    Thapar, Romila 261

    12 H.Luders, Bharhut Inscriptions, Corpus Inscriptionurn Indicarurn, 11,Ooty 1963, p.ll.13 1bid., A 130, A 3, B 39, B 56.14 Bloch, op. cit., pp. 154-55.15 R. Knox, Arnaravati, London 1992, pp. 178-79; Pl. 100.16 Arthasastra, 1.20.17 J.Marshall, Sanchi, Vol. Ill., Plate 18-b: 2.18 Buhler, op.cit. Pl. 33.19 Bloch, Les Inscriptions d'Asoka. p. 112.20 J.Marshall, Sanchi, Vol.III., Plates 11, 2, 40.3, 46, 3, 51, a and b.21 Mahiivamsa, 5.85, 20.2.22 J.Marshall, Sanchi, Vol. Ill, Pl. 18 b. 2; Divyavadiina, 397-98;Mahiivamsa, 15. 173-76.23 Bloch, op. cit., p. 159.24 Indian Archaeology- A Review, 1997-98, p. 96.25 DC.Sircar (Ed.), Select Inscriptions ... Calcutta 1965, p. 190,Epigraphia Indica, VIII, p. 94.26 A.M.Shastry, "Sataviihana Statue Gallery at Naneghat," Proceedings ofthe World Archaeology Congress, 1995. (Unpublished).27 D.Srinivasan, "The Mauryan Ganikii from Didarganj (Pataliputra),"East and West, 2005, 55, 1-4, pp. 345-63; Jataka, IV. 249; V. 134.28 Strabo, Geography, XV. 1. 55.29 Arthasastra, 2.27.1 ff.30 Vi.naya 1.231; Vinaya 11. 227.

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