English
My impression is that if, must have been a range of Trisuls, not unlike fleurs de lys; but this is only a guess. A portion of this Rail is restored in Plate LXXV., from fragments that un- doubtedly belong to it, and its vertical dimensions and arrangements are certain, so far as it goes; but I cannot feel certain how far the Dagobas were apart, nor whether the otlfer parts were arranged exactly as I have placed them. The arrangements ‘probably varied in parts, but could not have heen very different. from what is here: ‘ suggested. My impression is that there were twelve sopmsontauions of fie Dagoba in each quadrant, and that they were spaced about 10 feet apart from the centre, and that the same representations were repeated four times, or once in each quadrant. My reason for this supposition is, that in the Elliot and Mackenzie Collections we have thirty different representations of Dagobas, of which twenty-seven. or twenty-eight certainly belonged to this Rail, and the principal emblem on the front of each is’ repeated as follows :— Buddha seated on the Naga, with hood - - 3 times. Ditto, without Naga - a - a ae ee Ditto, standing preaching — - _— - - 4 4, Ditto, with Horse - - ~ - 2. Sy The Chakra or Wheel emblem “occurs - - 4 4, The Horse -. - - - - - 3.5, The Feet enfolded in the N scl - -- os 8) , The Tree - - - - - - 1s, The Relic Casket - ~ os Ee) say The Naga Raja, with attendants = - ns a ee The great five-headed Naga alone - ~ - 6: 4, 30s, It is with reference to the last alone I am in doubt. Some of. the Naga Dagobas do undoubtedly belong to this Rail; others in ‘the Mackenzie Collection may not. It is a little diffi@ult to judge from the drawings ; ; from the sculptures it is 198 THE TOPE AT AMRAVATI. | always easy to determine to which Rail any bas-relief belonged, or whether it formed part of the decoration of some other building. Looking at the above list, it will be seen that some subjects are repeated four times, several thrice, others, it is true, only once, and we miss one subject to make up our twelve. Still, considering how small a portion of.the Rail we have, and that the subjects were not selected, but picked up by accident, the inference seems fair that there may have been twelve subjects, and each was repeated four times.* ‘Whether the Chakras with their pillars, or the steles terminating in Dagobas, were placed exactly as shown in the restoration, must for the present be an open question, but one not of much importance. The frieze was certainly arranged as shown, but alas its metal crowning ornament is gone and cannot be restoréd. All these parts are repeated in the following Plates, where they will be again referred .to. The central object has not been repeated, being too much damaged to be of much artistic importance; but it is one of the most interesting fragments of the ‘Rail, and if it was repeated, as I suppose, in each quadrant, it would be interesting if another copy could be found. It contains the whole creed of Amra- vati. At the bottom we have the throne, with the relie Drona; behind that the Tree. In the central compartment the Wheel with garlands, upon or behind the throne, and men worshipping ; and the whole crowned by the Dagoba with its Rail, its five steles, its lions, and the five-headed Naga in the place of honour. The wor- shippers, both terrestrial and celestial, have been so defaced as to be hardly perceptible in the photograph, though plain enough in the marble. We miss both Buddha and the Trisul, except around the Wheel; but otherwise this one sculpture contains a fair epitome of the religious faith to which this gorgeous monument was dedicated. This inner circle has been so ruined that it is difficult to make out now where the entrances were, by which access through it to the interior was obtained. Judging from what we find at Sanchi and elsewhere, we may feel certain it could not be direct.. Care was taken to hide from those outside what was passing in the interior, so as to add mystery to sanctity. My conviction would be, that the entrance, was past the ends of the small advanced segment shown in front of the Southern Gateway, were it not that Colonel Mackenzie’s plan (Plate XLVII.) shows two slabs placed there, blocking the passage. I do not, however, gather from his descriptions that the stones marked red were actually standing im sitw when he was. there, but only that they were found lying about, and that their places could be recognized. Joining the two segments, as shown in the plan, is just such a suggestion as an over-clever draughtsman would make; -but if so, it is a mistake I am afraid there is now no means of rectifying. All I know of the subject would lead me to suppose that they did not exist there, and that the seven detached stones ‘originally stood alone in the centre of the peer path and ‘unconnected with the rest of the Rail. * If this theory is correct, the two standing Buddhas in the restoration in this Plate would not have appeared in the same quadrant. Unfortunately, they are the only two slabs in the collection which are perfect and of moderate width, so as to fit my scale. YY RY % ™m MAMMA BARA SCALE. ww VY aR AIA BAYVATI. (ght tet Loe MV AN RADA ION OF -% PORTION OF INNER tis I" oT Pera ris resol — PAs ie. imal Dili eae. ae FURS > Oe Base AMBAVATI. - PLATE LYXVIL. digree ooo Dee OT SP Ow ey, a ss Sea ne ane eon ty ; s ‘” — — ima ~ — = ‘ELEVATION OF & PORTION OF INNER ENCLOSURE, 7 : 4 FT. SCALE, Ee ae Se DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 199 PLATES LXXVI. ann LXXVII. Turse two Plates represent the two most perfect Dagobas from the inner Rail which are now in the India House Collection. They were sent home by. Colonel Mackenzie, and were among the principal ornaments of the old museum in Leaden- hall Street, which they reached about the year 1820. It is probable that other slabs of the same -description exist in the museums at Calcutta and Madras. As their details are so minute they have been photographed to twice the scale of the others, or 2 inches to 1 foot. © For reasons to be given hereafter, when describing the central building, I believe these Dagobas to be free copies, “mutatis mutandis,” of one which’ existed ‘in the centre of the circle, and which, having become pre-eminent for some reason or other, in the fourth century, these Rail’ were erected to enclose it ; but whether this is admitted or not, they are interesting as showing how Dagobas were orna- mented, or how at least the Buddhists thought they ought to be ornamented, at the time this enclosure was built. If we compare the very plain Rail at Sanchi . with the very elaborately sculptured enclosure at Amravati, we ought to expect the same progress towards elaboration in the Dagobas themselves. Even if we assume that the older Dagoba was as little ornamented as it- now appears, it seems natural to expect from comparison with the Rails, that in the fourth century the Dagobas may have been as richly pou panes as these representations would lead us to expect they were. All these sculptures represent the Dagobas as surrounded by a Rail four | discs in height, whereas the great Rail has only three. The Rail in these representations is surmounted by a frieze, sometimes of animals, sometimes of wreaths. Inside the Rail, and to the same height, the Dagoba is perpendicular, and ornamented by pilasters, between which are the usual emblems, terminating upwards in the Dagoba, the Wheel, the Serpent, or the Tree, as the case may be. Above this are two rows of sculptures, divided into panels, the lower generally single figures or emblems, but sometimes also groups; the upper always historical groups, generally. three on each quadrant.. Among these it is not difficult to recognize many of the’ scenes . described above. ..For instance, on each side of the five steles in Plate LXXVII. we recognize the subjects already depicted in Plates LXII. and LXV., and others may be made out. ‘The central right-hand upper panel in Plate LX XVI. represents a battle scene, which ought not to appear on a Buddhist monument, but seems the same as that on the small pillar, Plate LXI. The medallions, also, higher up in the dome, all contain subjects which are repeated over and over again elsewhere. One of the remarkable peculiarities of these sculptured Dagobas is the five steles. which occur ‘over the principal figure in each face, twenty in all. What they syinbolize it is difficult to say. It may be the five Buddhas of the present Kalpa, or the five DhyAni Buddhas, or the five Elements. Everything in Buddhism goes by fives. 200 THE TOPE AT AMRAVATL Generally the central one is crowned by a Dagoba, and on their lower parts are represented Wheels, Trees, Dagobas, and other emblems, sometimes singly, some- times in pairs. In Plate LXXVII. by an inscription recording the donation.* Inside the Rail are generally four other pillars or ats, bearing figures or emblems. The dome is always surmounted by a ‘Tee with. an umbrella and flags, and when the slab is perfect, floating figures, but without wings or griffins to ride upon, as is generally the case at Sanchi, are always represented as worshipping the Tee. That they are intended as celestial beings is certain, and this being 80, peer the best name to give them is Devas or Devatas. As before mentioned, the principal figure is generally aed On Plate LXXVI. it is Buddha seated on the folds of a great Naga, with an inner hood of seven and an outer of fourteen heads, with the usual worshipping figures. In Plate LXXVII. it is Buddha standing with his right hand raised. The worshipping figures on his left are Nagas, on his right a man and woman in the usual Hindu costume.