Alexander Cunningham (1833-1885) and Buddhist Archaeology: A Study of

Archaeological eogra!hy and Buddhist "andsca!e #ith $eference to Ancient

Bodhgaya%
Buddhism has been one of the popular faith since its inception. It has provided scholars with one of
the interesting topics for research since the eighteenth century. There have been several works on various
facets of this religion and it continues to be one of the upcoming discipline (as a separate entity) of study.
However, most of the works have been based primarily on literary data, which might be attributed to the
ample availability of literary sources and translations, which initiated the early study of Buddhism since
mideighteenth century. However, with the deciphering of !sokan inscriptions by "ames #rinsep and
simultaneous surveys of !le$ander %unningham, a new vista was opened as it provided us with a wealth of
archaeological and epigraphical data. The new discoveries changed the perceptions of the early history of
India.
The new archaeological discoveries of &'()*s and &'+)*s were results of interests of certain persons
who took the initiatives. These results influenced the government of the time to initiate a few steps to bring
out the past of India. Between &'+',&, the -overnor-eneral appointed a few .urveyors to conduct
surveys in various regions and report on the remnants of the past in those regions. These surveys provided
the groundwork for further researches as well as appointment of %unningham as !rchaeological .urveyor
in &',&. /oreover, these developments changed the way in which history was to be studied afterwards.
&'(ecti)es of the study:
!le$ander %unningham was the father on Indian !rchaeology and his contribution to the history of India is
incomparable. There are very few among the early Indologists, whose contributions, both in respect of
0uality and 0uantity can compare favourably with %unningham whose works became indispensable for all
time. Though the data collected by him has been used on a regular basis by scholars, his contribution and
achievements have not yet received their due. 1eeping these facts in mind, I have decided to study the
works of %unningham to study the past. The pertinent 0uestions here are2
3hy does %unningham decide to focus on archaeology vis4vis Buddhism5
3hat were the ob6ectives for such a study5 The ob6ectives have to be analysed at
two levels firstly, on a longterm basis, how does this study affect the
understanding of early history of India and secondly, on a short7term basis, what
were his ob6ectives while carrying out his surveys and e$cavations5
8iftythree (&'((&''9) years of his work primarily in north India set a new trend
of study. He has discussed in detail the discovery of various sites, their remains
and their growth in the :+ volume reports of !.I. He has also published detailed
monographs on ma6or sites such as Bodhgaya, Bharhut, .anchi etc. In his work
Ancient eogra!hy of *ndia+ the Buddhist !eriod+ *ncluding the Cam!aigns
of Alexander and the ,ra)els of -#en-,hsang (18.1)+ he discussed the notion
of ;Historical -eography<. It meant collection of information such as
geographical features, ancient names, details, remains and ruins of the places
about the ancient places, for which he relied e$clusively on literary data. He also
gives a brief sketch of the historical background of the places. The main concern
of the book was archaeological identification of ancient places mentioned in a
variety of te$tual sources but principally in the account of HwenThsang. He
described the ma6or features of the places, gave an idea of the territorial units or
kingdoms of which these places were a part, and listed the distances and
directions involved in his movement from one place to another. This account
became the te$tual baseline of his ground investigations.
&
The results of his study vis4vis his data set a new trend and provided
archaeology in India with a new method and a way to look at the past.
!part from setting a trend for further researches, he provided the methodology
and basic data. His study on ma6or sites led to the growth of archaeology as well
as Buddhism as themes of research. The surveys and e$cavations helped him in
the identification of twelve ma6or ancient Indian cities and that was his prime
concern. Thus, the contribution of %unningham needs to be studied.
The themes of researches in Buddhist studies have broadened and various new
concerns=0uestions have been raised. Therefore, can we use the data of
%unningham to study these issues5 !t the same time, a comparative study of
present perceptions of Buddhist archaeology and that of %unningham in the
nineteenth century will be useful in comprehending the past of India.
The ancient sites survived for a very long time, for which they needed resources.
These resources were the result of continuing interaction between the sites and the
settlement areas around them, rather than 6ust the strategic location on the routes
and royal patronage. Therefore, a conte$tual analysis of the sites visited by
%unningham such as Bodhgaya, >a6gir, ?alanda, @aishali, 1osambi, .ravasti,
.ankissa, /athura, .arnath, and Ta$ila etc will form an important part of my
&
Ailip 1. %hakrabarti calls it a case of te$taided archaeology, with the identification of places in historical
terms being its only ob6ective. (:))&2 p9)
research work. The rigorous study of epigraphical data as done by Bpinder .ingh
and -regory .chopen has brought out new and interesting results that counter the
prevailing notion of growth of .anchi in conte$t of urban centres. The main
arguments of these two studies are the relative autonomy of the ancient religious
establishments from royal patronage and the endowments and donations recorded
at the sites (mostly private and less number of royal donations), the C%atchment
areas* from where most of these came, and motives for such donations.
This study also counters the various notions within Buddhism and intends to
discuss the active role of laity in building up sites like Bodhgaya, .anchi etc their
connections with the clergy and monastery and the proactive role of clergy in
spreading the religion, their donations to the religious establishments etc. Thus,
the study intends to bring out the interaction between the laity and clergy vis4vis
the religion.
Dastly, a study of the site of Bodhgaya will be taken up vis4vis various issues
raised earlier in conte$t of Buddhism. The reason for taking up the site of
Bodhgaya is its continuance over a long span of time. !t the same time, this is one
of the most revered sites for the Buddhist pilgrims. %unningham went to this site
and worked e$tensively at this site, including e$cavations and restoration of the
temple etc. He has also published an e$clusive monograph on his works at this
site, where he informs about the remains 7 temple, sandstone and granite railings,
Bodhitree, @a6rasana, !sokan pillars, stupas and votivestupas, railing stones,
@iharas, various sculptures and images, dedicatory inscriptions ranging from first
century B% to fourteenth century !A. 3e can only hope to understand the
symbolic meanings of these archaeological structures by viewing them in their
wider ritual conte$t, i.e. the way they were made, used, and e$perienced by men.
This site also has a ?eolithic village (!.1. #rasad, &EE)), recently e$cavated by
the Bihar circle of !.I. The location of Bakraur, .u6ata*s village, on the other side
of the 8algu river, the survival of the ancient village Bruvila on the river bank on
this side, the e$tensive mound (about & s0 km) which is clearly visible at
Bodhgaya and on the top of which most of the later constructions are located all
these make the site of Bodhgaya one of the most important archaeological
settlements of India. It is unfortunate that there is no plan of longterm
e$cavations at the site and vandalisation of the site has continued.

$e)ie# of "iterature:
Buddhism and study of !ncient History has grown over last two centuries with inclusion of archaeological
and epigraphical sources. /ost of the works have based themselves on the literary sources and the
archaeological data has been used within the same frameworks or models. .imilarly, the studies on
Buddhism, its origin, growth, popularity and spread to various regions have also been e$plained within the
framework of urbanisation and trade. This socioeconomic model has not been able to utiliFe the wealth of
archaeological data available and these have 6ust been used to corroborate such models.
:

!nother stereotype has been the study of Buddhism as the religion of monks and nuns. It is in this
conte$t that the monasteries have been studied as the secluded retreat of the monks to conduct their
meditations and religious learning. Dater it was also studied as one of the institutions, which promoted and
facilitated trade. The role of /onasteries in promoting agriculture in farflung areas and bringing about the
integration of such areas has also been discussed. /oreover, Buddhism and trade in Garly Historical India
have been perceived as promoting each other by various links.
The historiographical survey begins with the development of Buddhist studies since seventeenth
century and how the issues and concerns of scholars have changed over a span of two centuries.
The early studies of Buddhism were based mainly upon the studies of manuscripts in at least
four languages #ali, Tibetan, .anskrit and %hinese. The earliest known Guropean to come to the Gast to
study #ali was the Aanish scholar >. 1. >ask who reached %eylon in &':& where he studied not only #ali
but also .inhalese and ac0uired a rich collection of palmleaf manuscripts. In &':+, Ben6amin %lough made
a study of #ali grammar and vocabularyH following this, in &':, was the publication of Essai sur le Pali in
8rench by Gugene Burnouf and %hristian Dassen.
(
In &'(I, -eorge Turner published an Gnglish translation
of the first thirtyeight chapters of the #ali te$t Mahavamsa, which was the first such attempt. In
&'99,@incent 8uusboll of %openhagen prepared an edition and a Datin translation of Dhammapada, which
:
In case of the studies on Buddhism, most of the studies have used the same framework and all the
important phenomenon of the religion have been linked to it. The evolution and spread of religion has been
studied within the framework of agricultural growth, role of surplus production and trade in BrbaniFation,
and royal patronage. The rise of Buddhism has been portrayed as a reaction to the growing Brahamanical
ritualism at one level. !nother argued reason has been a social contest for supremacy between Brahmans
and 1shtriyas. .econdly, a religion or faith system needs mass support base to sustain itself. 8or this
support, the ma6or works have found the support base in the two lower @arnas, and of course 1shtriyas.
Then the money for the support came from urban centres from the lower @arnas and here it is invariably
related to growing urbaniFation. This urban support base has tempted scholars to consider it as an urban
religion. The growth of Buddhist sacred sites has been also linked to the presence of urban centres in the
vicinity or the location of sites on trade routes.
(
!ccording to Burnouf, the first to mention #ali was .imon de la Doubere who visited .iam in &,'I'' as
envoy of king Douis&+th. In the last 0uarter of the eighteenth century, 3illiam %hambers and ".#h. 3esdin
published a few notices in #ali. The later in his Systema brahmanicum (&IE&) 0uoted an Italian translation
of the Kammavaca made from original #ali in &II,.
was subse0uently rendered into -erman in &',). Between &',E and &''), a good number of te$ts
belonging to the Sutta and @inaya category were edited and translated by various scholars. In &'I9,
>.%.%hilders published the /ali-dictionary, which was an important advance, followed by publication of
Milndpanho by @.Trenckner in &''). In &''&, T.3.>hys Aavids founded the #ali Te$t .ociety. In his own
words2 CThe sacred books of the early Buddhists have preserved to us the sole record of the only religious
movement in the worlds history which bears any close resemblance to !hristianity" and it is not too much
to say that the publication of this uni#ue literature will be no less important for the study of the history and
especially of religious history than the publication of the $edas has always been.* The #T. brought about a
0ualitative change in the study of #ali and Buddhism by publishing critical editions of te$ts and their
commentaries as well as their dependable Gnglish translations and a good number of 6ournals containing
scholarly articles on Buddhism and on #ali language and literature.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, a modern critical study of Buddhism was introduced in
!sia by the "apanese scholar Tominage %huki (&I&9+9) and "iun .on6a (d.&')(). .on6a studied .anskrit by
himself in the pre/ei6i period, and having e$amined the fragmentary .anskrit /.. of the Horiyu6i and
other monasteries and having compared them with their %hinese versions, published the .anskrit editions
of a number of Sutras. The early scholars had to depend on Tibetan and %hinese sources as no complete
canon of .anskrit Buddhist works was found in India. !t the dawn of Buddhalogical studies, there ensued a
controversy between the 8rench scholar G. Burnouf and the >ussian scholar @. @asilev on the 0uestion
whether Buddhism could be better understood from the Indian or the %hinese or Tibetan sources.
!ccording to the former, only Indian sources provided evidence on genuine Buddhism while the latter held
that Buddhism in the totality of its development could be understood from only from Tibetan and %hinese
sources. The study of Tibetan sources began with 8rancesco JraFio Aella #enna, a %apuchin missionary
who lived in Dhasa from &I&, to &I(:, who compiled a Tibetan dictionary and translated Tsonkhapa*s
%am&rim&chen&mo and Pratimoksa' The study of %hinese sources was inaugurated with the publication of
%.". ?eumann*s work (&'(() on the Buddhist pilgrims who came to India, which was followed by !.
>emusat*s translation of 8ahsien*s account (&'(,). -abet and Huc*s publication of 8rench translation of
/ongol version of /atanga*s Sutra came out in &'+' and .t. "ulian*s translation of Hiuen Tsang*s work
and that of the %hinese version of the !vadanas came out between &'9( and &'9E. Te$ts from the %hinese
Buddhist canons were translated by .. Beal in a series of works done during the period between &'I& and
&'I'.
!part from the te$tual studies which formed the substratum of all subse0uent researches, the main
emphasis of the earlier writers of Buddhism was on clarifying various traditions, so different from one
another, in connection with the sourcesH on e$amining the distinction between the mythical and historical
elements contained in the legendary data in regard to the life and achievements of the BuddhaH and on
distinguishing a primitive Buddhism from the doctrines supposed to have been grossly altered at a later
period. The growth of different Buddhist sects and their doctrines, the rise of /ahayana with its increasing
emphasis on the e$treme form of philosophical idealism, and a corresponding mythological development to
this speculative approach were also brought to light. !ttempts were also made to prove that early Buddhism
was by its nature opposed to Hinduism and that its followers formed a congregation, the ob6ect of which
was to realise a perfect life into which members were admitted only after the performance of certain vows
and rites and from which they could not return without becoming renegades.
The historical process through which the geographical e$pansion of Buddhism in and outside India was
possible was also understood to a considerable e$tent. In &'(+, "ames #rinsep deciphered the !sokan
inscriptions, which had marked the beginnings of the studies in Indian paleography and epigraphy. The
!sokan inscriptions that were of great importance to the study of Buddhism were dealt with by Burnouf,
1ern, %unningham, .enart, Buhler, and HultFsch. The (nnual )eports of (rchaeological .urvey of *ndia,
which began to be published by %unningham since &'I&, and the Epigraphica *ndia, which was started by
"ames Burgess in &'E:, contained materials for Buddhist archaeology. In &'((, "ames Burgess published a
book under the title Buddhist !aves and *nscriptions. In &E&), H. Duders published a %ist of Brahmi
*nscriptions that documented the geographical distribution of the various sects of Buddhism. .imilar works
were done by scholars like .ten 1onow in his study on 1harosthi inscriptions and ".#h.@ogelKs study of
?aga6unikonda inscriptions. .uch works contributed a great deal to the understanding of the sectarian
history of Buddhism as we come across in the later works of ?. Autt, /. 3alleser, !. Bareau, G. Damotte
and others. .tudies in Buddhist archaeology were initiated by .ir %unningham and his colleagues of the
archaeological survey of India and in Buddhist art and iconography by >itter, %unningham, -runwedel,
8erguson, Burgess and others.

In the case of Indological researches, certain ideals have always predominated over others not
because their historical validity is conclusively established but because they are popular and acceptable to
the modern mind. Jne such idea is that there was the malignant growth of Brahmanical ritualism and the
corrupt practices of the priestly class of the later @edic age that created a social reaction out of which
evolved a new intellectual movement led by the sophists of that age known as the sramanas who re6ected
the @edas and the authority of the Brahmanas, ridiculed the complicated rituals and upheld the ideals of
personal purity, renunciation, asceticism and intuitional knowledge. The Buddha belonged to this new
movement of philosophy, and though apparently not the first, by far the most important and successful of
the Sramana schools was that founded by him.
This understanding of the rise of Buddhism has been widely accepted. To substantiate this view, its
supporters depended on the Bpanishads in which they found sparks of a new intellectual revolution
sponsored by the 1satriya kings and nobles who are supposed to have been disgusted with the Brahmanical
ritualism and sacrificial cults, and also on the post !sokan Buddhist and "ain te$ts which refer to the
wandering ascetics, the teachers and sophists engaged in conversational discussions on matters of ethics
and philosophy, and different schools of thought. But when the growth of this sramana culture in general
and Buddhism in particular is viewed in terms of a rationalistic philosophical movement arising out of the
irrationalism and commercialism of the e$isting Brahmanical tradition, the hypothesis cannot at once be
regarded as valid, so long as we do not make a thorough checkup of the real contents of the two traditions.
It should be pointed out that in most cases the vision of the historian is
circumscribed by the dominant outlook of his own age. The western scholars with the %hristian
preoccupations wanted to see in the @edic literature a transition from naturalistic #olytheism to a kind of
distinctive monotheism. .o did their Indian counterparts who under the influence of Brahmanism and
various forms of neo Hinduism wanted to prove that Hinduism at all periods of its long history was
basically monotheistic, devotional and ethical. The vast ritualistic literature was considered to be a
tumourous overgrowth created by the Brahmana priestly class, solely for the purpose of e$ploiting people
in the name of religion, and it was against this priestly e$ploitation of the masses in the name of ya+na that
the Bpanishadic thinkers raised their voice that 1rishna in the Bhagvad ,ita formulated his devotional
religion and that the Buddha and /ahavira introduced new systems based on humanism and rationalistic
morality. !ll this sounds very well, but until today, nobody has been able to say what ya+na was and what it
did really mean to its performers.
B./. Barua had identified si$ distinct stages in the development of early
Buddhism as a religion, each of which was related to different phases in the evolution of the .angha. He
did not deny the possibility that there was a lokottara or supra mundane conception of the Buddha from the
earliest period, which was meant for the layman. He has traced the Bpanishadic sources of the Buddhist
ideas at great length and considered it as an antiBrahamanic crusade.
>adhakrishnanKs approach was categorical. He found no difference between the Bpanishadic concept
of Brahman and the Buddhist concept of dharma, which he considered essentially an ethical value on the
empiric plane. !ccording to him, LBuddhism helped to democratise the philosophy of the Bpanishads,
which was till then confined to select few...It was BuddhaKs mission to accept the idealism of the
Bpanishads at its best and make it available for the daily needs of mankind. Historical Buddhism meant the
spread of the Bpanishadic doctrine among the people...such democratic upheavals are common features of
Hindu history.L He held that the Buddha belonged to the group of Bpanishadic teachers.
..?. Aasgupta, on the other hand, though admitted in a general way
the influence of the Bpanishads on Buddhism, subscribed to the general view of the historians that it was in
opposition to the Brahmanical sacrificial cults. !ccording to him, the Bpanishads prepared the ground for
intellectual freedom, which was cultivated with profit by the Buddha. 8or him, the original Buddhism was
based on sturdy universal rationalism and simple morality and it was only in the subse0uent stages that the
mystic beliefs were added to the religion.
@idhusekhar Bhattacharya tried to make an historical analysis of the earlier streams,
which influenced the teachings of the Buddha. He did not subscribe to the view that the Bpanisadic
Brahmavidya was developed in the hands of the 1satriya #rinces who were opposed to Brahamanical
ritual. ?or he was ready to accept the view that the original purpose of Buddhism was to raise emphatic
protest against the contemporary bloody sacrifices. He held that the Buddhist polemics against the
sacrificial cult and priesthood were only of secondary importance. He pointed out that the @edic ya+nas had
their own logic and their special mechanism was meant for achieving definite e$ternal purposes, the social
importance of which could hardly be minimised. He was probably the first to point out that the @edic
ya+nas had an altogether different implication. The concept that god has no mastery of worldly ob6ects and
is utterly incapable of bestowing them to the worshippers was probably borrowed by the Buddha from the
earlier ritualistic traditions. @idhusekhar insisted on the role of the ascetics and free thinkers who flourished
before and during the age of the Buddha and also on the influence of the Bpanishads and the .ankhyas on
the ideological formulations of the Buddha.
-.%.#andey argues that at the very outset we have to realise that even the earliest available
collections within the Buddhist canon are of uncertain date and heterogeneous content. They contain within
themselves seeds of multiform growth. 8rom what we know about the %hinese (gamas, it appears safe to
draw a similar general conclusion about them. !n historical approach to ancient Buddhism, therefore, most
certainly entails the stratification of the -ikayas and (gamas. !n e$amination of the Bharhut and .anchi
inscriptions shows that sometime before the second century B%, there was already a collection of Buddhist
te$ts, which were called Pitakas and was divided into five -ikayas, and that there were Suttas in which the
Dhamma was preached, that some of these agreed with those contained in our Triptika, and that .atakas of
e$actly the same kind as those contained in Triptika, already belonged to the stock of Buddhist literature. It
may therefore be asserted that the growth of -ikayas falls between the fifth and third century B%. He made
a stratification of -ikaya literature, as the stratification should appear as a sine 0ua non of future progress in
the direction of discovering ancient Buddhism. He made a distinction betweesn the earlier and later
portions of $inaya and -ikayas in his own way on the basis of internal te$tual analysis, the general
ideological trends, interpolations, vocabulary and linguistic features, historical background and
geographical considerations.
>egarding the 0uestion of the historical origins of Buddhism, #ande holds that in the
,th century B% the age of migrations and settlements was over, and that the territorial element had attained
preponderance over the tribes in the organisation of the state. ! trial of strength was taking place between
the monarchies and also between the monarchical and nonmonarchical forms of the government. The
contest plainly showed the decline of republics, the rise of absolutism and growing success of the
/agadhan imperialism. The growth of towns and commerce and the organisation of trade and craft into
guilds made the social landscape of the age 0uite distinct from that of the preceding period. The origins of
Buddhism and "ainism must have been linked with these changes. In the atmosphere of the town life much
of the symbolism of the older @edic religion, derived from the natural phenomena and pastoral and
agricultural functions, would become dim, the gods less convincing, and the ritual obscure and even
pointless. ! sharp contrast had developed between its prevailing tenancy, which was formalistic, ritualistic,
and 0uite worldly, and the new departure of the Bpanishads, which tended increasingly in an esoteric and
ascetic direction. >itualism was worsted in its struggle with ascetic renunciation and creed of a life of
virtue and devotion. Both Buddhism and "ainism derived their main impulses from this new trend. #ande,
however, holds that Buddhism and "ainism can hardly be looked upon as reforming movements.
Bndoubtedly these systems were to a certain e$tent influenced by their contemporaries social changes, but
the latter could not have been the cause of their origins. !s regards the 0uestion of the social origins of
Buddhism, the views of the scholars differ from one another. %ertain passages found in the Buddhist te$ts
pertaining to the social e0uality and social 6ustice led some historians, social and religious reformers and
even political activists view the Buddha as a social revolutionary, a crusader against Brahmanical ritualism
and an emanicipator of the oppressed. .uch an approach is found in the writings of the &Eth century Indian
intelligentsia. The theory, that Buddhism as a religion heralded a 1satriya revolt against the Brahmanical
theology, metaphysics and ritualism was Fealously supported by modern thinkers.
The origin of Buddhism has also been linked with the emergence of the trading
communities and the conse0uent rise of urbanism in the time of the Buddha. !mong the followers of the
Buddha, there were many business magnates, besides the royal converts, who liberally financed the
monastic organisation.
AA 1osambi held that the @aisyas and .udras had the task of
producing the surplus, which the priests and the warriors took away by natural right,
originally for the good of tribes, but soon for the good of the upper castes. The @edic
ritual was formulated in pastoral age where large herds, collectively owned, were the
main form of property. The new society had gone over to agriculture, so that the slaughter
of more and more animals at a growing number of sacrifices meant a much higher drain
upon producer and production, telling upon trading class and the new economic set up.
Herein lies the economic reason of the Buddhist and "ain emphasis on nonkilling or
ahimsa. Truth, 6ustice, not encroaching upon the property of others, and similar values
show that a totally new concept of private individual property had arisen. The doctrine of
karma was a religious e$tension of elementary concept of the agricultural economy.
Buddhism did not fight to abolish all castes from society even though the Sramana
himself renounced caste. However, the Buddhist monastic order functioned along the
lines of a tribal Sabha council, the Buddhist precepts were for a class society far beyond
the tribe, caste or cult.
The views of 1osambi were basically accepted and modified to considerable
e$tent by latter /ar$ist scholars like > . .harma, A # %hattopadhya who sought to
e$plain the origin of Buddhism in the light of the great social transformation, the rise of
class society and state power, that took place during the lifetime of the Buddha. > .
.harma held that the material life of Bihar was revolutionised around I)) B% by the use
of iron. The use of iron initiated plough agriculture with iron ploughshare, and
conse0uently created a new social setup, a class society marked by the rise of state
power, in which cattle in the form of private wealth, to be increased by commercial
activities, gained much importance, and senseless destruction for the purpose of non
vegetarian food and also for the purpose of Brahmanical sacrificial cults came to be
discouraged. The voice of protest was addressed by the trading class and was given
theoretical and moral support by the Buddha and his contemporaries. The most emphatic
protest against animal sacrifice is registered in the early #ali te$ts. The Brahmanical
attitude towards trade was not helpful. The traders were not encouraged and they were
assigned a lower place in society. The Buddha took up the cause of these emergent
classes, having something new to contribute during its rise to power, that is why traders
of the first rank became his associates, and Buddhism lent all moral support to the
financial and other interest of the trading class.
!D Basham argues that it was the region of Bihar and B# where
heterodo$y flourished most strongly, as arrival of !ryan civiliFation was recent at the
time. The people were little affected by !ryan class system, and the influence of
Brahman was by no means complete. G0ual attention was given to the local gods as the
deities of !ryan pantheon. %ities had arisen, where a class of well to do merchants lived
in comparative opulence while free peasants en6oyed a higher standard of living. The
development of organiFed states and advance of material culture were accompanied by
the rapid spread of new religious ideas which were soon to become fundamental to all
Indian thought. !nother possible reason, for him, seems to be rise of pessimism in all
strata of society due to breakup of old tribes, and their replacement by kingdoms where
ethnic ties and sense of security which they gave were lost or weakened, thus leading to a
deep seated psychological unease affecting all sections of people. !nother suggested
cause of change in outlook is the revolt of the most intelligent people of the times against
sterile sacrificial cults of the Brahmins. Buddhism re6ected the @edas completely and set
its own distinctive rules of conduct for winning salvation. 8inally, he argues that no
e$planation is wholly satisfactory, and we must admit our virtual ignorance of the factors
which led to this great change in the direction of religious thought.
The main sources for Bma %hakravarty*s work are the $inaya Pitaka the first
four -ikayas of the Sutta Pitaka, i.e., the Digha -ikaya" Ma++hima -ikaya" Samyutta
-ikaya" and the (nguttara -ikayaH and the Sutta -ipata. .he has also occasionally used
the "atakas, the commentaries on the #ali canonsH and the later chronicles, but this is done
with the utmost caution and each instance of their use is specifically pointed out. The
factor of internal unity is the ma6or clue to the dating of the te$ts. .he has also used the
earliest body of inscriptions available, although they belong to the period :))B% to :))
!A, to substantiate the conclusions on social stratification derived from the early #ali
literature. The regional spread of the te$ts takes account mainly of eastern B#, Bihar and
central India, while the inscriptions were found scattered over central and western India.

!n intimate connection between ideas and societies which give rise
to ma6or writings on Buddhism would be readily conceded, there is a lacuna in historical
writing, especially in the field of social history dealing with the ma6or concerns of the
Buddha, the society in which he lived, and the connection between the two. .he has
attempted to place early Buddhism against the background of the socioeconomic and
political changes occurring in India in the si$th century B%. .he has argued that
Buddhism originated and was nurtured in a period characterised by an e$panding
economy, political consolidation and the emergence of new socioeconomic categories.
!ll these features were not only reflected in early Buddhism but were crucial to the
shaping of its ethos.
The transition from the pastoralism of an earlier era to a surplus producing agrarian economy
generated the second phase of urbanisation in India and represented a process of considerable change. In
this process, the ganasanghas, which had a productive system centering on the communal holding of land,
began to collapse one by one. The gana sanghas gave way not merely to a process of political
consolidation but to the e$panding economy and an agrarian system based on the private control of land.
The productive system of the ganasanghas was organised around the clans and the labour performed by the
dasa & karmakaras. The social and economic system of the ganasanghas was comparatively simple, so in
contrast to an economy based on the individual holding of land and organised around the gahapati who
played a crucial role in the e$pansion of the economy elsewhere. The emergence of the gahapati as a
significant social category was a special feature of this period and was as important as the collapse of the
ganasanghas. The two developments must be seen together as they are interrelated and constitute two
aspect of the same phenomenon.
The social milieu of the ,th century B% was also reflected in the social origins of the early
Buddhists. The early Buddhists drew most of its support from the higher varnas, although it also drew some
support from occupational categories that had a low status in the Buddhist system of stratification. The
significant conclusion that emerges from the analysis of the background of the early Buddhists was the
absence of gahapatis from the .angha and their prominent representation among the lay supporters of
Buddhism. .he also argued that Buddhist recognition of the gahapati/s high status is also a recognition of
the significant economic function as being basic to any society, despite BuddhismKs advocacy of
renunciation as a means to salvation. The gahapatis/s support was vital for the sustenance of the sanghas.
Thus, she tried to e$amine the principles on which the Buddhist system of social stratification was based
and changing position of the gahapatis. In addition, she also analysed the role of power and the
conceptualisation of the ideal sociopolitical system as envisaged in Buddhism.
@ # @erma has worked comprehensively on the origins of Buddhism. He held that the
Buddha*s movement was primarily ethical and religious though it had its social, political and economic
conse0uences. !ccording to him, it is true that the Buddha obtained some deep and profound illumination
in state of mystic absorption. But the philosophical formulation of the Buddhist teachings can only be
studied with reference to the various currents and crosscurrents of IndiaKs religious history from about &)th
century B% onwards.
@erma holds that the stress on the situational background of a big religious movement does not imply
that we should neglect the determining influence of the worldmoving personality of the Buddha on the
genesis of early Buddhism. But the study of the situational background helps us to appreciate the forces
amidst which a great religious personality flourishes and with reference to which his teachings are oriented.
Hence, along with the study of the philosophy and ethics of early Buddhism, the historical evolution of
ancient Indian religion should also be shown true. !ccording to @erma, it is essential to apply the historical
method to the study of the growth of moral, philosophical and religious concepts and propositions from the
@edic periods onwardsH .econd, te$tual study of the early Buddhist scriptures for the determination of the
successive layers of the contents of the booksH and third, application of the historical method to early
Buddhism for analyFing the entire social, political and economic background of the movement and for
discovering the forces which helped to determine the crystallisation and growth of Buddhism as a religious
association and movement.
Buddhism has been represented as a revolt against the tradition of the @edas,
the Brahmanas and the Bpanishads. 8or @erma it is a mistake to represent early Buddhism as a
philosophical tradition carrying forward the streams of Bpanishadic thought. Buddha was an ethical teacher
who stressed dhyana" samadhi and nirvana but he also challenged some of the essential propositions of
Brahmanism. !lthough early Buddhism was critical in its attitude to contemporary Brahmanism, it had
solid positive teachings of its own. The ethical and pietistic element was dominant in its teachings. He
refused to accept Buddhism as another branch of the Bpanishadic thought.
?arender 3agle followed a new methodology to analyse the social structure
of the BuddhaKs time from the works of a relatively late period. He analysed the terms of address used by
different members of the society and thus outlined social groupings and rankings. Based on certain terms of
habitation, he tried to e$plain the patterns of settlement and economic life of the period.
>ichard -ombrich has worked e$tensively on Buddhism where he has used a variety of sources,
including ethnographical data from contemporary Buddhism of .ri Danka. He has dealt with various issues
of early Buddhism at great length, such as origin of the faith, contribution of the Buddha, social aspects and
socioreligious background etc. The period of Buddha saw urbanisation, beginnings of states, first use of
money and beginnings of organised trade. !ll these could arise when there was agricultural surplus. The
contentious issue is what produced this surplus. He counters the Irontheory of 1osambi on account of lack
of archaeological evidence. /oreover, there are 6ust a few references to iron tools in the te$ts of the period,
though they cannot be very precisely dated and give no clue to the prevalence or 0uality of iron. >. .harma
also supported 1osambi*s theory by arguing that there is evidence for use of iron in Bihar and Gastern B#
from c.I))B.%. But so far no ploughshare has been found, and iron tools for agriculture are not in good
numbers, for which .harma cites ecological reasons, like the acid, humid, warm alluvial soil of the region
was highly corrosive. -ombrich holds that it may indeed be that we find few iron tools of the period
because they have all rusted away, but this does make iron a friable foundation on which to build a whole
theory of cultural change.
! -hosh has also argued against this theory as he says that urbanisation can occur even without
any iron. "ungles can be cleared by burning, though .harma ob6ects that one still has to dig out the stumps,
which are not impossible with copperbronFe tools. .harma*s argument of wet paddy cultivation as
agricultural base of the new economic surplus has been supported by a few Buddhist te$ts. However, his
theory of beginning of transplantation in Buddha*s day seems to be a guess. -ombrich writes that we gather
from .harma himself, though he never spells out this conclusion, that the main reason for the production of
surplus was probably not a technical discovery but simply the spread of population into a region with better
ecological conditions for agriculture Mp9:N. Towns and cities arise primarily as settlements of people whose
main livelihood is not derived directly from agriculture. They are political and commercial centres. There
can be no trade without an economic surplus, but though trade seems to be a necessary condition for the
creation of town, it is not a sufficient one. Jn the other hand, it is easily forgotten that commerce itself
depends on organiFation2 on an infrastructure of communications and a certain level of legality and
security, both products of stable political conditions. The picture presented in literary sources of cities in
Buddha*s time is 0uite different from the one presented by archaeological sources (meager evidences,
earliest cities are 1ausambi and B66ain of ,)) B%G).
There is some evidence that the Buddha*s message appealed especially to town dwellers and
the new social classes. B- -okhale has analysed the social composition of the early .angha, basing
himself on two canonical collections of religious poems, the Thera& and Theri&gatha, which are ascribed to
monks and nuns respectively .It is the commentary on these te$ts which makes the ascriptions of
authorshipH in most cases it goes on to supply such biographical details as where the author was from and to
which varna he or she belonged. The commentary which we have dates only from the fifth century %G, but
we know that it rests on a far older tradition, so may be its information is authentic. 3e thus have plausible
information on a sample of over ()) monks and nuns. Half of them were from wealthy or powerful houses.
The Brahmin recruits were not the traditional priests but rather upper class urbanites (large towns:)), &I:
from + ma6or cities of this time = >eligious data2 Brahmin&(+, 1satriyaI9, @aisyaE', .udra&&,
Jutcastes&)). If these figures have any foundations, they show that Buddhism, though it admitted anyone
to sangha, was not primarily a religion of downtrodden.
-ombrich counters the notion which considers Buddhism and Hinduism as entities precisely
on a par with the monotheistic religions and conse0uently to regard Buddhist and Hindu as total and
mutually e$clusive identities. !nother notion he counters is that of seeing the Buddha as a social reformer.
%ertainly in consenting to preach and then in establishing an order of monks to do likewise, he showed his
great compassion and concern for mankind. /oreover, he was supremely kind and understanding towards
everyone. However, his concern was to reform individuals and help them to leave society forever, not to
reform the world. Dife in the world he regarded as suffering, and the problem to which he offered a solution
was the otherwise inevitable rebirth in the world. Though it could well be argued that the Buddha made life
in the world more worth living that surely was an unintended conse0uence of his teaching. To present him
as a sort of socialist is a serious anachronism. He never preached against social ine0uality, only declared its
irrelevance to salvation. He tried neither to abolish the caste system nor to do away with slavery. But there
was no caste or other form of social ranking within the order itself.
>! >ay has also countered the twotiered model of Buddhism where the religion is seen
as divided between the monastic and lay folk. He has tried to bring in threetiered model for a balanced
understanding of Indian Buddhism where there is constant interaction between the three types of forest
renunciant, settled monastic renunciant and the layperson. He has tried to bring out the interdependence of
the three and look at their respective needs of wealth for the settled monastics, basic essentials for the forest
renunciant and spiritual guidance for the layperson. The forest renunciant invokes more respect due to their
power, unpredictability, charisma, and meditational attributes, and there is a kind of sanctity and aura
around them. They give teachings as well as meditational instructions. The laity*s access to the unbounded
charisma of the saints is symbolised by the importance of blessings given by them and by the veneration of
ob6ects that embody their charisma. The spread of Buddhist stupaworship has been linked to the
enshrinement of remains of monks and their veneration by lay folk. The interrelation and interaction
between laity and monks comes out very clearly in this study.
! number of scholars have taken up the study of inscriptions at various Buddhist sites to
look into issues such as e$tent of royal patronage into construction of sites, locational analysis, and
development and continuance of religious establishments over a long span of time.
Bpinder .ingh in her paper on .anchi inscriptions has tried to point out the shortcomings of the
early studies. .he argues that less rigorous analysis of .anchi inscriptions have led to impressionistic
conclusions instead of accurate. .anchi has large collection of inscriptions, more than ')), which cover
around twelve centuries. The ma6ority of them belong to a period between .econd century B% to 8irst
century !A. The #ali te$ts, including Triptika" were written in the same period. Thus, there is some degree
of overlap between the earliest sacred te$ts of the Buddhists and .anchi inscriptions. Therefore the analysis
of the available data will help locate correspondences and divergences between the literary and epigraphical
evidences, keeping in mind the problems of dating the te$tual tradition precisely and also the differences in
the nature of the two sources 6u$taposed 7 one canonical and prescriptive, the other a record of the faith and
monetary endowments of hundreds of individuals who financed the building of the .anchi monuments. The
reason for taking up .anchi is it being one of the sites located on a trade route and was an important
political cum administrative centre. In this period it was capital of .unga dynasty, who are supposed to be
antiBuddhist and ardent supporters of Brahmanism. How is it possible for a Buddhist centre to come up on
such a large scale without the support of local ruling dynasty5 !nother fact to be noted is continuance of
the site despite the decline of @idisa the urban centre near by, which supposedly led to the coming up of
the site. The 0uestions raised in the paper are about the e$tent and importance of royal patronage in
construction and continuance of the site in the conte$t of political patronage and religious establishments in
ancient India. The number of private endowments is very high in comparison to royal ones and out of '+,
inscriptions of the main period, only two are imprecatory and rest are votive in nature. 1eeping these facts
in mind, she argues for the relative autonomy of the many ancient religious establishments from royal
patronage. The value of several arguments made on the basis of religious predilections of kings in the
ancient past becomes somewhat dubious. Thus, apart from its inception (role of king !soka), the growth of
.anchi Buddhist comple$ had little to do with kings and courts.
-regory .chopen in his study on .anchi inscriptions has
looked at issues such as the funding for the construction of the site, patterns of the
patronage at the site and something about the donors. !nother issue of importance has
been to determine the ;catchment area<, or the geographical area served by the monastic
comple$ at .anchi, and to establish links between .anchi and other sites. .anchi also
provides enough evidence that the monks and nuns themselves acted as donors and
financed the construction and decoration of stupas, which is in contravention to the
position in Buddhist te$ts.
He attempts at Conomastic change* to determine something about local
history and the degree of penetration of Buddhism in various parts of early India. He tries
a name analysis at .anchi stupa :, where only limited number of men had distinctly
Buddhist names and even a smaller number of women had such names. The number of
distinctly Buddhist names only about onefifth of the total at .anchi stupa : is
comparatively small and may indicate that the Buddhist presence in %entral India at the
time of these records was neither very old nor e$tensively rooted, although it must have
already been a presence for at least a generation. .uch a study may also show that a
significant number of individuals may have made donations to Buddhist establishments
without, however, ever being ;Buddhist< to the degree that they had been given or took
Buddhist namesH Buddhism, in other words, may never have been a significant
component of these individuals* selfidentity. It can also provide us with some indication
of a local %entral Indian conception of the Buddha, as opposed to the te$tual conceptions
provided and presented by canonical literature.
He has also attempted to determine how the donors might have understood the
value of their owns records immediately. ! placement analysis of inscriptions is done to
determine the intended readership of these records and a large number of these were
never intended even to be seen, leave alone to b e read. Then why so many donative
inscriptions were written and placed at the site5 The e$planation given by .chopen for
the above is that the people wanted to be placed near a powerful religious ob6ects as it
must have placed the person there as well, regardless of whether that person was
otherwise occupied, absent, or dead. This is precisely the purpose behind the early
donative inscriptions at .anchi when seen from the point of the view of the donor. They
did not intended to leave a record so it did not much matter whether it could be seen, or
read, or understood. They wanted only, it seems, to leave their presence in close
pro$imity to another more powerful presence, and in this, again it seems, they succeeded
7 they have all been dead for almost two thousand years, and yet are still encountered at
modern .anchi surrounding that other presence that we can only vaguely sense.
Therefore, the review of literature brings out various trends within which Buddhism has
been studied. There is a socioeconomic model, which looks at the growth of the faith in
terms of economic development in early historic India. There are others who have looked
from philosophical perspective. /ost of these are based on literary te$ts, where as the
studies of epigraphical data points to an entirely different picture. The contrast outcomes
of such studies necessitate a detailed study. This is where archaeology can help as it
brings out what really e$isted on the ground. The interaction between the people and the
religious establishments is reflected in the remains at the ground. Thus, ! study of
archaeological sources has been taken up here.
Beginnings of Archaeology+ and Cunningham:
%olin /ackenFie made a beginning of the study of anti0uities in .outh India through his collection of
inscriptions and manuscripts. However, it was not published. By the early &'()*s, "ames #rinsep became
the general secretary of !siatic .ociety and played a ma6or role in the initiation of field research. His
contribution to the history of India was immense as he deciphered two most important historical scripts of
India Brahmi and 1harosthi. Before him, %harles 3ilkins had deciphered the ninth century eastern Indian
inscriptions in the late eighteenth century based on his knowledge of medieval manuscripts of the region,
and then it became a case of proceeding Cknown from the unknown*. Thus, with the progress in the field of
epigraphy and numismatics studies, a proper understanding of the chronology of historical sites developed.
In the same period, the Buddhist stupas in the northwest part of India and !fghanistan were discovered
along with Indo-reek coins and sculptures by Guropean generals Dieutenant !le$ander Burnes and
%harles /asson. The .ikh regiment also e$cavated the site of /anikyala stupa in #un6ab. The military men
in active duty in these areas generally amused themselves by getting ancient sites dug up and ac0uiring the
socalled -recian remains.
+
%ertain settlement sites in north India were studied and reports on anti0uities
began to increase, as was the case of 1ukrihar, dug up by /arkham 1ittoe or megalithic sites of Aeccan by
%aptain /eadows Taylor who also published the results of his e$cavations with sections.
%unningham, a /ilitary engineer, came to India in "une &'(( and started surveying and e$cavating
sites in &'(+ out of his interest in Indian anti0uities Between &'(+(,, he conducted his first e$cavations at
.arnath. He published his first study in &'+( on the identification of .amkassam near 8arrukhabad in B#,
where he used the account of 8aHsien to determine the bearing of the site in relation to /athura. This was
followed by studying various historicalgeographical issues in 1ashmir and the northwest in &'+'. The
investigation of the ;Bhilsa topes<, his first substantive fieldinvestigation, was reported in &'9: and &'9+.
His first ma6or architectural study was in the conte$t of 1ashmir in &'+'. Between &'9+&',&, he did not
publish anything as he was on duty at Burma (&'9,&'9'). He was a wellgrounded scholar in
numismatics, epigraphcal, architectural and historicalgeographical studies. Before &',&, whatever he did
was on his own initiative, but he was appointed !rchaeological .urveyor by Dord %anning to work for
Indian !rchaeology. Dord %anning laid out the ob6ectives for the proposal by %unningham2
01hat is aimed at is an accurate description" illustrated by plans" measurements"
drawings or photographs" and by copies of inscriptions" of such remains as most deserve
notice" with the history of them so far as it may be traceable" and a record of the
traditions that are preserved regarding them2
There was a hiatus between &',,&'I) as he was posted as Airector of Aelhi and Dondon Bank in
Dondon. He took over as Airector-eneral of !.I in &'I& and worked until .eptember ()
th
&''9. In
retirement in Dondon from Jctober &''9 to his death on ?ovember ()
th
&'E(, he published many of his
works including the one on Bodhgaya.
+
%hakrabarti, A1., &EEE, pp I.
&'(ecti)es of Cunningham for ta0ing u! Buddhist Archaeology:
The ob6ectives have to be seen at two levels 7 why does he decide to work on Indian archaeology and how
does he go about it. He has listed various reasons for taking up Indian archaeology from his interest to
opportunity. He begins by writing2
;* have selected the Buddhist period or (ncient ,eography of *ndia" as the sub+ect of the present
en#uiry" as * believe that the peculiarly favorable opportunities of local investigation which * en+oyed
during a long career in *ndia" will enable me to determine with absolute certainty the sites of many of the
most important places in *ndia2' (#reface, !ncient geography in India, &'I&)
The basic argument was that the Hindu te$ts were silent about Buddhism and thus the
publication of Buddhist anti0uities would be as important for the reconstruction of the
political and religious history of India as the printing of the @edas and #uranas. In &'+',
while putting his first proposal for archaeological survey with the government*s help, he
writes2
0The discovery and publication of all the e3isting remains of architecture and
sculpture" with coins and inscriptions" would throw more light on the ancient history of
*ndia" both public and domestic" than the printing of all the rubbish contained in 45
Puranas'2
He does not discount the study of literary sources such as #uranas, but all his outbursts were because
archaeology was not getting its due share in scheme of things. /oreover, as he got his chance of going to
the field in search of the historical remains of India, he was honest enough to acknowledge the role of
te$tual scholarship in the understanding of the sites of ancient India. The architectural remains on the
ground also attracted the contemporary scholars including %unningham. He writes2
0*t is a duty which the government owe to this country' The remains of architecture and sculpture are
daily deteriorating" and inscriptions are broken and defaced6 the sooner" therefore" the steps are taken for
their preservation" the more numerous and conse#uently the more valuable these remains will be'2
He also writes with the broader issue of British supremacy while proposing this survey in &'+'2
0(n undertaking of vast importance to the *ndian government politically" and to the British public
religiously' To the first body it would show that *ndia had generally been divided into numerous petty
chieftains" which had invariably been the case upon every successful invasion6 while" whenever she had
been under one ruler" she had always repelled foreign con#uest with determined resolution' To the other
body it would show that Brahmanism" instead of being an unchanged and unchangeable religion which had
subsisted for ages" was of comparatively modern origin" and had been constantly receiving additions and
alterations6 facts which prove that the establishment of the !hristian religion in *ndia must ultimately
succeed2'
!fter a study of his ob6ectives, it is imperative to study the way in which %unningham
went on with his mission. He prepared a framework to work out his fieldresearches. He
divides the geography of early India into distinct sections (based on) each broadly named
after the prevailing religious and political character of the period, which it embraces as
the Brahamanical, the Buddhist and the /uhammdans.
The Brahamanical !eriod traces the gradual e$tension of the !ryan race over the ?orthern India, from
their first occupation of the #un6ab to the rise of Buddhism, and comprise whole of the prehistoric, or
earliest sections of history, during which time the religion of the @edas was the prevailing belief of the
country.
The Buddhist !eriod traces the rise, e$tension, and decline of the Buddhist faith from the era of Buddha,
to the con0uest of /ahmud of -haFni, during the greater part of which time Buddhism was the dominant
religion of the country.
The 1uhammdan !eriod or the 1odern eogra!hy of *ndia would embrace the rise and e$tension of
the /uhammdan power from the time of /ahmud -haFni to the battle of #lassey, or about I9) years,
during which the /usalmans were the paramount sovereigns of India.
The sources for this study were the campaigns of !le$ander in the +
th
century B%,
the accounts of #tolemy and the travels of the %hinese pilgrim HwenThsang in I
th
century !A. The %hinese pilgrim 8ahian was a Buddhist priest, who traveled through
India from the banks of the Bpper Indus to the mouth of the -anges, between the years
(EE and +&( !.A. Bnfortunately his 6ournal is very concise, and is chiefly taken up with
the description of the sacred spots and ob6ects of his religion, but as he usually gives the
bearings and distances of the chief places in his route, his short notices are very valuable.
The travels of the second %hinese pilgrim, .ungOun, belong to the year 9): !.A., but as
they were confined to the 1abul valley and northwest #un6ab, they are of much less
importance, more especially as his 6ournal is particularly meagre in geographical notices.
The third %hinese pilgrim, Hwen Thsang, was also a Buddhist priest, who spent
nearly fifteen years of his life in India in studying the famous books of his religion, and in
visiting all the holy places of Buddhism. !le$ander %unningham used /. .tanislas
"ulien*s translation, who with unwearied resolution devoted his great abilities for no less
than twenty years to the ac0uirement of the .anskrit and %hinese languages for this
special purpose (/a$ /uller*s ;Buddhism and Buddhist pilgrim<, p.()).
There were others also who conducted surveys in eighteenth century India.
Buchanan Hamilton*s survey of the country was much more minute, but it was limited to
the lower provinces of the -anges in ?orthern India and to the district of /ysore in
.outhern India. "ac0uemont*s travels were much less restrictedH but as that sagacious,
8renchman*s observations were chiefly confined to -eology and Botany and other
scientific sub6ects, his 6ourneys in India have added little to our knowledge of -eography.
Then he discusses about his own travels and what all he has done in last + years
when he was employed as archaeological surveyor between &',&&',9 by the -ovt. of
India to e$amine and report upon the anti0uities of the country. He visited whole of
?orthern India, Bombay (caves of Glephanta and 1anheri) in 3estern India and nothing
in .outhern India. 8or first thirty years, early History and -eography of India formed the
chief study of his leisure hours. He goes on to record his findings of ma6or ancient Indian
cities !ornos, Ta$ila, .angala, .rughna, !hichhatra, Bairat, .ankissa, .ravasti,
1osambi, #admavati, @aisali and ?alanda.
Sources:
The sources for the above study comprise :+ volumes of reports of field surveys between
&',&&''9 by !le$ander %unningham and his assistants. %unningham has also published
various other books, articles and monographs based on his e$cavations and survey works
at various sites. ?umerous papers of %unningham published in the "ournals of the !siatic
.ociety of Bengal and >oyal !siatic .ociety will be used for the study.
The sites visited by %unningham have been subse0uently worked upon by various
archaeologists in the :)
th
century and reports have been published in /emoirs of
!rchaeological .urvey of India (&E))&E()), !ncient India (&E9)&E,:) and Indian
!rchaeological >eview (&E9(&EE9).
There have been a number of works on Bodhgaya and the prominent scholars
have been !le$ander %unningham (&',&E:), >.D. /itra and ". Beglar (&'I&), ".
8ergusson (&'I,), T. Block (&E)')E), B./. Barua (&E(&(+), ". /arshall (&E::), D.
Bachofer (&E:E), !. %oomaraswamy (&E(9), #. .tern (&E9+) and %handra (&EI&). !ll
these scholars have primarily worked based on architectural and archaeological remains.
,
It will be interesting here to e$amine the different approaches of these scholars in dealing
,
%unningham, Bloch etc. were involved in the e$cavation of the site, 3hite /itra, Beglar etc. wre
involved in the restoration of the temple and other structures. Here it is necessary to point out the
incomplete e$cavation of Bodhgaya.
with various issues concerned with the study. !n e$amination of available research
studies by various scholars on related issues will provide us with new perspectives.
C-A/,2$*SA,*&3S:
%hapter Jne will discuss the contribution of %unningham through his surveys. It will also
try to analyse the method adopted by %unningham in conducting surveys and his goals
and the result of them.
In chapter two, the archaeological geography and sites e$cavated by %unningham will be
discussed. It will also discuss details of the sites, remnants and results of his works.
%unningham attempted to collect geographical data from the te$ts, which were followed
by his surveys at the sites. It helped him in placing the sites in their wider conte$t and he
further conducted his researches based on these details. He has reported all the remains,
ruins and location of the sites vis4vis ma6or markers.
%hapter Three will discuss subse0uent archeological works at ma6or sites visited by
%unningham such as .anchi, .ravasti, Bharhut, .arnath, @aisali and Bodhgaya to name a
few.
%hapter 8our, will discuss the archaeological geography, resource base and settlement
pattern of Bodhgaya. The site has a long history, beginning from ?eolithic to present. !
survey of the site will help in bringing out smaller sites. ! record of smaller sites is
necessary as there is no complete description of the site available. /oreover, these are
destroyed on mass scale due to population growth and agricultural intensification.
Therefore the site will be studied vis4vis its location, then historical linkages to
different areas, problems of ancient political geography
5
, and the ma6or routes passing
through the area. The study of settlement hierarchy around the place will also be taken up
as it provides the nature of the site and its occupation. The interaction between site and
people comes out through a study of settlement hierarchy, locational factors, routes,
landuse, economic occupations, for which an analysis of locations of settlements and
scatter of artifacts is must.
In chapter 8ive, the notion of sacred geography vis4vis Buddhism will be discussed.
The purpose of raising this issue of sacred geography is to e$amine the nature of the
9
#olitical geography means applicability of the ancient political boundaries and territorial names validated
by the study of the actual archaeological evidence of settlements in the area .
remains at the site and to see if that brings out the involvement of the lay people in the
growth of the site as well as with the religion. The analysis will also help in setting these
sites within their wider archaeological conte$t. The growth of the sites vis4vis
monuments and structures must have led to the development of a sacred comple$.
4
The
analysis of the sacred landscape helps in situating the sacred=ritual site within their broad
sociopolitical setting. The entire landscape has to be e$amined in order to bring out a
clear picture. It has to look at in its totality and focus on the total area rather than the
e$isting monuments. Therefore, it is necessary to look at other substantial, albeit
fragmentary, remains and structures. 3e shall also try to e$amine the issue of visual
e$perience, and in particular intervisibility within a site, as an important consideration in
e$amining ritual monuments within the landscapes. 3e can only hope to understand the
symbolic meanings of the archaeological structures by viewing them within their wider
ritual conte$t, i.e. i.e. the way they were made, used and e$perienced by man. There have
been attempts to e$plore the nature of the relics deposited in stupas and the rituals that
surround them. The works have helped to dispel the idea that the veneration of relics was
the e$clusive concern of the Buddhist laity. Trainer (&EE,2 &'(9) has discussed the way
in which a monument can, through the force of ritualisation mould, the way in which
people move around and Cread* its various parts. This brings in archaeology, which Coffers
a perspective on what people actually did, as opposed to what they were supposed to do.
"ulia .haw recommends that there is a need to reconsider these monuments from a
phenomenological angle, applying what can be gleaned from te$ts and inscriptions to
what can be found on the ground at specific places. The en0uiry she envisages goes
beyond scriptural te$ts and archaeological remains per se and attempts to make a
Csomatic* assessment of the ways in which people in the past respond to and interacted
with their surrounding. Thus, the focus of the en0uiry here will be to recover the ritual
dynamics at the site and the landscape in which they were set in. The issue of pilgrimage
and votive remains indicating the religious nature of site, in an archaeological conte$t,
will bring out the continuing interaction between the laity and the monastic
,
The sacred comple$ helped to propagate the power of the Buddhist religion (dharma) across the landscape,
and it also indicated a preoccupation with the protection of Buddhist relics and the control of the
monuments in which they were deposited. Jn an intrasite level, the importance of vision, surveillance and
availability of services (#oo6a, medical treatment etc.), may have been manifested in spatial terms within
sacred comple$.
establishments, which contributed to the continuance of this religion for more that
twentyfive hundred years.
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A''re)iations
!>!.I 7 !nnual >eport of the !rcheological .urvey of India.
H> 7 History of >eligions.
I!> R Indian !rcheological >eview.
IG.H> 7 Indian Gconomic and .ocial History >eview.
I"B. Indian "ournal of Buddhist .tudies.
I"B## Indian "ournal of Bihar #uravid #arishad.
"!J. 7 "ournal of !merican Jriental .ociety.
3! 3orld !rcheology.