A report on Ashoka and Sanchi

A c. 1st century BCE/CE relief from Sanchi, showing Ashoka on his chariot, visiting the Nagas at Ramagrama.

Ashoka's Major Rock Edict at Junagadh contains inscriptions by Ashoka (fourteen of the Edicts of Ashoka), Rudradaman I and Skandagupta.

Plan of the monuments of the hill of Sanchi, numbered 1 to 50.

King Ashoka visits Ramagrama, to take relics of the Buddha from the Nagas, but in vain. Southern gateway, Stupa 1, Sanchi.

The Major Rock Edict No.13 of Ashoka, mentions the Greek kings Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander by name, as recipients of his teachings.

The capital of the Sanchi pillar of Ashoka, as discovered (left), and simulation of original appearance (right). It is very similar to the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, except for the abacus, here adorned with flame palmettes and facing geese, 250 BCE. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.

The Aramaic Inscription of Taxila probably mentions Ashoka.

by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs

The Saru Maru commemorative inscription seems to mention the presence of Ashoka in the area of Ujjain as he was still a Prince.

The Great Stupa under the Sungas. The Sungas nearly doubled the diameter of the initial stupa, encasing it in stone, and built a balustrade and a railing around it.

Kanaganahalli inscribed panel portraying Asoka with Brahmi label "King Asoka", 1st–3rd century CE.

Foreigner on a horse, circa 115 BCE, Stupa No2.

Stupa of Sanchi. The central stupa was built during the Mauryas, and enlarged during the Sungas, but the decorative gateway is dated to the later dynasty of the Satavahanas.

Sunga period railings were initially blank (left: Great Stupa), and only started to be decorated circa 115 BCE with Stupa No.2 (right).

Illustration of the original Mahabodhi Temple temple built by Asoka at Bodh Gaya. At the center, the Vajrasana, or "Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha", with its supporting columns, being the object of adoration. A Pillar of Ashoka topped by an elephant appears in the right corner. Bharhut relief, 1st century BCE.

Sunga pillar No25 with own capital on the side.

The rediscovered Vajrasana, or "Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha", at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. It was built by Ashoka to commemorate the enlightenment of the Buddha, about two hundred years before him.

Ashoka and Monk Moggaliputta-Tissa at the Third Buddhist Council. Nava Jetavana, Shravasti.

A king - most probably Ashoka - with his two queens and three attendants, in a relief at Sanchi. The king's identification with Ashoka is suggested by a similar relief at Kanaganahalli, which bears his name.

Ashoka with his queen, at Kanaganahalli near Sannati, 1st–3rd century CE. The relief bears the inscription "Rāya Asoko" (𑀭𑀸𑀬 𑀅𑀲𑁄𑀓𑁄, "King Ashoka") in Brahmi script. It depicts the king with his queen, two attendants bearing fly-whisks, and one attendant bearing an umbrella.

Emperor Ashoka and his Queen at the Deer Park. Sanchi relief.

The Great Stupa at the time of the Satavahanas.

The word Upāsaka (𑀉𑀧𑀸𑀲𑀓, "Buddhist lay follower", in the Brahmi script), used by Ashoka in his Minor Rock Edict No.1 to describe his affiliation to Buddhism (circa 258 BCE).

Temptation of the Buddha, with the Buddha on the left (symbolized by his throne only) surrounded by rejoicing devotees, Mara and his daughters (center), and the demons of Mara fleeing (right).

Territories "conquered by the Dhamma" according to Major Rock Edict No.13 of Ashoka (260–218 BCE).

War over the Buddha's Relics, kept by the city of Kushinagar, South Gate, Stupa no.1, Sanchi.

Distribution of the Edicts of Ashoka, and location of the contemporary Greek city of Ai-Khanoum.

King Ashoka visits Ramagrama, to take relics of the Buddha from the Nagas, but he failed, the Nagas being too powerful. Southern gateway, Stupa 1, Southern Gateway, Sanchi.

The Kandahar Edict of Ashoka, a bilingual inscription (in Greek and Aramaic) by King Ashoka, discovered at Kandahar (National Museum of Afghanistan).

Ashoka in grief, supported by his two queens, in a relief at Sanchi. Stupa 1, Southern gateway. The identification with Ashoka is confirm by a similar relief from Kanaganahalli inscribed "Raya Asoko".

The Minor Rock Edict of Maski mentions the author as "Devanampriya Asoka", definitively linking both names, and confirming Ashoka as the author of the famous Edicts.

Bodhi tree temple depicted in Sanchi, Stupa 1, Southern gateway.

A c. 1910 painting by Abanindranath Tagore (1871–1951) depicting Ashoka's queen standing in front of the railings of the Buddhist monument at Sanchi (Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh).

Temple for the Bodhi Tree (Eastern Gateway).

The Ashokan pillar at Lumbini, Nepal, Buddha's birthplace

foreigners illustrated at Sanchi worshiping the Great Stupa

The Diamond throne at the Mahabodhi Temple, attributed to Ashoka

Mauryan ringstone, with standing goddess. Northwest Pakistan. 3rd century BCE. British Museum

Rampurva bull capital, detail of the abacus, with two "flame palmettes" framing a lotus surrounded by small rosette flowers.

Caduceus symbol on a Maurya-era punch-marked coin

Miracle of the Buddha walking on the river Nairanjana

A punch-marked coin attributed to Ashoka<ref>{{cite book |last=Mitchiner |first=Michael |date=1978 |title=Oriental Coins & Their Values: The Ancient and Classical World 600 B.C. - A.D. 650 |publisher=Hawkins Publications |page=544 |isbn=978-0-9041731-6-1}}</ref>

Procession of king Suddhodana from Kapilavastu

A Maurya-era silver coin of 1 karshapana, possibly from Ashoka's period, workshop of Mathura. Obverse: Symbols including a sun and an animal Reverse: Symbol Dimensions: 13.92 x 11.75 mm Weight: 3.4 g.

"The promenade of the Buddha", or Chankrama, used to depict the Buddha in motion in Buddhist aniconism.

Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha

Foreigners making a dedication at the Southern Gateway of Stupa No 1

Stupas and monasteries at Sanchi in the early centuries of the current era. Reconstruction, 1900

Temple 17: a Gupta period tetrastyle prostyle temple of Classical appearance. 5th century CE

Statue of Padmapani (5th c.or 9th c.) Victoria and Albert Museum.

Pillar 26: one of the two four-lions stambha capitals at Sanchi, with lions, central flame palmette and Wheel of Law (axis, stubs of the spokes and part of the circumference only), initially located at the Northern Gateway of the Great Stupa. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.

Pillar 26: lion pillar capital at time of discovery, with Dharmachakra wheel (reconstitution). Northern Gateway.

Pillar 35 column stump (right), and bell capital with abacus, positioned upside down.

Vajrapani statue of pillar 35, 5th c. CE. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.

Temple 18 at Sanchi, an apsidal hall with Maurya foundations, rebuilt at the time of Harsha (7th century CE).

The Great Stupa as breached by Sir Herbert Maddock in 1822. Watercolor by Frederick Charles Maisey, in 1851.

Ruins of the Southern Gateway, Sanchi in 1875.

Inscribed panel from Sanchi in Brahmi script in the British Museum

The last two letters to the right of this inscription in Brahmi form the word "dǎnam" (donation). This hypothesis permitted the decipherment of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1837.

General view of the Stupas at Sanchi by F.C. Maisey, 1851 (The Great Stupa on top of the hill, and Stupa 2 at the forefront)

The Great Stupa (Stupa No.1), started in the 3rd century BCE

Remains of the Ashokan Pillar in polished stone (right of the Southern Gateway), with its Edict.

Sanchi Minor Pillar Edict of Ashoka, in-situ (detail of the previous image).

Remains of the shaft of the pillar of Ashoka, under a shed near the Southern Gateway.

Side view of the capital. Sanchi Archaeological Museum.<ref name="p.25-28 Ashoka pillar"/>

Shunga vedika (railing) with inscriptions.

Lakshmi with lotus and two child attendants, probably derived from [[:File:Venus with two cupids 2.jpg|similar images of Venus]]<ref>An Indian Statuette From Pompeii, Mirella Levi D'Ancona, in Artibus Asiae, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1950) p. 171</ref>

Detail of the foreigners, in Greek dress and playing carnyxes and aolus flute. Northern Gateway of Stupa I (detail).

Foreigners holding grapes and riding winged lions, Sanchi Stupa 1, Eastern Gateway.<ref>"The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, 1993, p. 112 Note 91</ref>

Foreigners on horses, wearing headbands, caps and boots. Western gate of Stupa 1.

The Buddha represented by the Dharmacakra.

Bottom panel Dvarapala guardian deity or devotee.

Pillar 34 with lion.<ref>Marshall p. 52 Pillar 34</ref>

The winged lion capital of pillar 34 (lost).

It was originally commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE.

- Sanchi

Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India

- Ashoka

19 related topics with Alpha

Mahinda (Buddhist monk)

1 links

Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

Mihindu (Mahinda in Pali) Seya at Rajagala, the place where the inscription commemorating Arahat Mahinda was found

He was the first-born son of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka from his wife Devi and the elder brother of Sanghamitra.

The party left from Vedasagiri vihara, believed to be modern day Sanchi.

Bindusara

1 links

Bindusara ((r.

Territorial evolution of Magadha and the Maurya Empire between 600 and 180 BCE, including possible expansion under Bindusara prior to 273 BCE.

He was the son of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta and the father of its most famous ruler Ashoka.

A fragmentary inscription at Sanchi, in the ruins of the 3rd century BCE Temple 40, perhaps refers to Bindusara, which might suggest his connection with the Buddhist order at Sanchi.

Madhya Pradesh

1 links

State in central India.

Physical map of Madhya Pradesh village Tumen Ashoknagar

Matang was completely developed and manufactured by Vehicle Factory Jabalpur

Mesolithic rock painting, Bhimbetka rock shelters, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bateshwar temple complex, Padavli, Morena

Brahma statue with various deities at Amarkantak.

Langur monkey (Semnopithecus dussumieri), Orchha

Tigress with cubs in Kanha Tiger Reserve

Tickell's blue flycatcher, Bandhavgarh National Park

Male nilgais fighting, Lakeshwari, Gwalior district

The River Narmada flows through a gorge of marble rocks in Bhedaghat, Jabalpur

The Shri Ram Ghat on the Shipra River in Ujjain

Betwa in the Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh

Bagh Print Traditional hand block print craft in Bagh.

A man playing flute in Orchha, with a white tilak on his forehead, and holy saffron-coloured clothes.

Sand sculpture by Sudarshan Pattnaik at Bandrabhan near Hoshangabad

Rajiv Gandhi Technical University's main gate

St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School, Jabalpur, established in the year 1868 is among the oldest schools in India

Ashoka the greatest of Mauryan rulers brought the region under firmer control.

Three sites in Madhya Pradesh have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: the Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986) including Devi Jagadambi temple, Khajuraho, Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989) and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003).

Devi (wife of Ashoka)

0 links

Maharani Devi (full name: Vedisa-Mahadevi Sakyakumari) was, according to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the first wife of the third Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

She is also remembered for the Sanchi Stupa.

Kushan Empire

2 links

Syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century.

Yuezhi nobleman and priest over a fire altar. Noin-Ula.

The ethnonym "KOϷ ϷANO" (Koshshano, "Kushan") in Greek alphabet (with the addition of the letter Ϸ, "Sh") on a coin of the first known Kushan ruler Heraios (1st century AD).

Greek alphabet (narrow columns) with Kushan script (wide columns)

Early gold coin of Kanishka I with Greek language legend and Hellenistic divinity Helios. (c. AD 120).
Obverse: Kanishka standing, clad in heavy Kushan coat and long boots, flames emanating from shoulders, holding a standard in his left hand, and making a sacrifice over an altar. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΚΑΝΗϷΚΟΥ
Basileus Basileon Kanishkoy
"[Coin] of Kanishka, king of kings". Reverse: Standing Helios in Hellenistic style, forming a benediction gesture with the right hand. Legend in Greek script: ΗΛΙΟΣ Helios Kanishka monogram (tamgha) to the left.

Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan control under Kanishka the Great. The extent of Kushan control is notably documented in the Rabatak inscription. The northern expansion into the Tarim Basin is mainly suggested by coin finds and Chinese chronicles.

Map showing the four empires of Eurasia in the 2nd century AD. "For a time, the Kushan Empire was the centerpoint of the major civilizations".

Eastern reach as far as Bengal: Samatata coinage of king Vira Jadamarah, in imitation of the Kushan coinage of Kanishka I. The text of the legend is a meaningless imitation. Bengal, circa 2nd-3rd century AD.

Kumara/Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee, 2nd century AD

Kushan prince, said to be Huvishka, making a donation to a Boddhisattva.

Shiva Linga worshipped by Kushan devotees, circa 2nd century AD

The Ahin Posh stupa was dedicated in the 2nd century AD under the Kushans, and contained coins of Kushan and Roman Emperors.

Early Mahayana Buddhist triad. From left to right, a Kushan devotee, Maitreya, the Buddha, Avalokitesvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd–3rd century, Gandhara

The head of a Gandhara Bodhisattava said to resemble a Kushan prince, as seen in [[:File:KushanHead.jpg|the portrait of the prince]] from Khalchayan. Philadelphia Museum.

Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century

$Rishti or Riom<ref>{{cite journal |quote=The reading of the name of the deity on this coin is very much uncertain and disputed (Riom, Riddhi, Rishthi, Rise....) |last1=Fleet |first1=J.F. |title=The Introduction of the Greek Uncial and Cursive Characters into India |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1908 |volume=1908 |page=179, note 1 |jstor=25210545}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |quote=The name Riom as read by Gardner, was read by Cunningham as Ride, who equated it with Riddhi, the Indian goddess of fortune. F.W. Thomas has read the name as Rhea |last1=Shrava |first1=Satya |title=The Kushāṇa Numismatics |year=1985 |publisher=Pranava Prakashan |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1EaAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>$

Kushan Carnelian seal representing the "ΑΔϷΟ" (adsho Atar), with triratana symbol left, and Kanishka the Great's dynastic mark right

Coin of Kanishka I, with a depiction of the Buddha and legend "Boddo" in Greek script

Coin of Vima Kadphises. Deity Oesho on the reverse, thought to be Shiva,<ref name="sino-platonic.org"/>{{sfn|Bopearachchi|2007|pp=41–53}}<ref>Perkins, J. (2007). Three-headed Śiva on the Reverse of Vima Kadphises's Copper Coinage. South Asian Studies, 23(1), 31–37</ref> or the Zoroastrian Vayu.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Errington |editor-first1=Elizabeth |author=Fitzwilliam Museum |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |date=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=9780951839911 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Other areas of probable rule include Khwarezm and its capital city of Toprak-Kala, Kausambi (excavations of Allahabad University), Sanchi and Sarnath (inscriptions with names and dates of Kushan kings), Malwa and Maharashtra, and Odisha (imitation of Kushan coins, and large Kushan hoards).

Along with his predecessors in the region, the Indo-Greek king Menander I (Milinda) and the Indian emperors Ashoka and Harsha Vardhana, Kanishka is considered by Buddhism as one of its greatest benefactors.

Saru Maru

0 links

Archaeological site of an ancient monastic complex and Buddhist caves.

thumb|An inscription of Ashoka in one of the Saru Maru caves. It is a portion of Minor Rock Edict No.1.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sircar|first1=D. C.|title=Asokan studies|date=1979|others=Plate XVI|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.gov.ignca.67068/67068#page/n177/mode/2up}}</ref>

The site is about 120 km south of Sanchi.

In the main cave were found two inscriptions of Ashoka: a version of the Minor Rock Edict n°1, one of the Edicts of Ashoka, and another inscription mentioning the visit of Piyadasi (honorific name used by Ashoka in his inscriptions) as Maharahakumara (Prince).

Yona

1 links

The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue "Yavana" in Sanskrit, are words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers.

The Achaemenid name for Ionian Greeks: Yauna (Old Persian cuneiform: 𐎹𐎢𐎴) in the DNa inscription of Darius the Great, circa 490 BC.

Territories "conquered by the Dharma" according to Major Rock Edict No.13 of Ashoka (260–218 BCE).

The Khalsi rock edict of Ashoka, which mentions the Greek kings Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander by name (underlined in color). Here the Greek rulers are described as "Yona" (Brahmi: Brahmi yo 2nd century CE.jpgBrahmi n.svg, third and fourth letters after the first occurrence of Antigonus in red).

Dedication by a man of Greek descent on a wall of Cave 17 in the Nasik Caves (photograph and rubbing). Detail of the "Yo-ṇa-ka-sa" word (adjectival form of "Yoṇaka", Brahmi: Brahmi yo 2nd century CE.jpgBrahmi nn.svgBrahmi letter Ka.svgBrahmi s.svg), with Nasik/Karla-period Brahmi script for reference. Circa 120 CE.

Foreigners on the Northern Gateway of Stupa I.

Left pillar No.9 of the Great Chatya at Karla Caves. This pillar was donated by a Yavana circa 120 CE, like five other pillars. The inscription of this pillar reads: "Dhenukakata Yavanasa/ Yasavadhanana[m]/ thabo dana[m]" i.e. "(This) pillar (is) the gift of the Yavana Yasavadhana from Denukakata". Below: detail of the word "Ya-va-na-sa" (adjectival form of "Yavana", old Brahmi script Brahmi y 2nd century CE.jpgBrahmi v 2nd century CE.gifBrahmi n.svgBrahmi s.svg).

Vedika pillar with possible Greek warrior (headband of a king, tunic etc...) from Bharhut. Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, Shunga Period, c.100-80BC. Reddish brown sandstone. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

The façade of the Chaitya Hall at Manmodi Caves was donated by a Yavana, according to the inscription on the central flat surface of the lotus. Detail of the "Ya-va-na-sa" circular inscription in old Brahmi script: Brahmi y 2nd century CE.jpgBrahmi v 2nd century CE.gifBrahmi n.svgBrahmi s.svg, circa 120 CE.

250 BCE), in which the Emperor Ashoka refers to the Greek populations under his rule.

Some of the friezes of Sanchi also show devotees in Greek attire.

John Marshall (archaeologist)

1 links

English archaeologist who was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928.

He then moved on to other sites, including the Buddhist centres of Sanchi and Sarnath.

His work provided evidence of age of Indian civilisation, particularly that of the Indus Valley civilization and the Mauryan age (Ashoka's Age).

Alexander Cunningham

1 links

British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India.

Cunningham (fourth from the right) at an unknown date

Leh Palace, Ladakh. Illustration from Ladak: Physical, Statistical, and Historical

Letter dated 31 January 1862, appointing Cunningham as Surveyor General

In 1842 he excavated at Sankassa and at Sanchi in 1851.

Other major works included the first volume of Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum (1877) which included copies of the edicts of Ashoka, The Stupa of Bharhut (1879) and the Book of Indian Eras (1883) which allowed the dating of Indian antiquities.