Miracle of Shravasti Depicted in the Art of Kanheri and Kondivate

4

Suraj A. Pandit

Miracle of ShravastiDepicted in the Art of

Kanheri and Kondivate

Gautama the Buddha has left his footprints on

the soil of India and his mark on the soul of

humankind. The Buddhist non-theistic

tradition gives us masterpieces of art not only

throughout India but also in what usually is

called the greater India. In a real sense

Buddhism crossed the physical and political

boundaries of India and became an important

force for the spread of Indian culture in the

world. In this essay we will discuss a theme

very significant in the Mahayana art of India,

namely the ‘Shravasti Miracle’. In the art of

the fifth-sixth century CE, in the rock-cut caves

at Ajanta, Aurangabad, Nasik, Kanheri, Kuda,

Kondivate, etc., we can see the depiction of

this story. In this essay, however, we will

restrict our study area to the caves at Kanheri

and its peripheral sites like Kondivate.

Kanheri is one of the important monastic

sites in the vicinity of Mumbai (East longitude

72º 59' North latitude 19º 13'). Its peripheral

sites, which were probably dependent on it,

are cave sites such as Kondivate, Magathane,1

Lonad,2 Jivadhan (Virar) and settlements like

Sopara, Kalyan,3 etc. As a monastery Kanheri

was quite famous in the ancient world, as we

know from the extensive epigraphical data

received from the site. Among Kanheri and its

peripheral sites, the Shravasti miracle is

depicted in sculptural panels only at Kanheri

and at Kondivate.

The context of the Shravasti miracle is

the emergence within Buddhism of the

concept of eight great sacred places

(Ashtamahasthanas). Before his great

Miracle of ShravastiDepicted in the Art of

Kanheri and Kondivate

Miracle ofShravastiDepicted in theArt of Kanheriand Kondivate

45

departure (Mahaparinirvana), Buddha spoke

to Ananda about four places, which a pious

believer should visit with faith and

reverence.4 They are the Lumbinivana5 where

the Tathagata was born, Gaya (Bodhagaya)

where he attained enlightenment (Bodhi), the

Deer Park of Isipatana (Sarnath) where he

proclaimed the law for the first time, and

Kushinagar6 where he reached the

unconditioned state (Nirvana).

In Buddhist sacred literature, there are

four other places which, with the above four,

makes the number of these sanctified spots

eight. These places are Shravasti, Sankisa,

Rajagriha and Vaishali. These are the places

where the Buddha is believed to have

performed various miracles. Out of these,

Shravasti and Rajagriha were the capitals of

two Mahajanapadas, namely Kosala and

Magadha respectively, when the two were

commercial centres in ancient India. At

Shravasti Buddha gave a display of miraculous

powers and multiplied himself. After this he

went to heaven to preach to his mother

Gautami; then he descended to earth at

Sankisa. At Rajagriha, the famous episode of

the Nalagiri elephant took place. In the mango

grove at Vaishali, monkeys offered him a bowl

of honey. In the miracle at Sankisa he is

depicted as a link between the human world

and the divine world. His descent from heaven

is in the company of Brahma and Shakra

(Indra). The depiction of this in art reminds us

about the concept of the cosmic pole or

Merudanda in Hinduism. In the miracle of

Rajagriha, he is depicted as filled with the

grace of compassion and as suppressing the

anger and the wildness of the animal kingdom.

At Vaishali monkeys are shown worshipping

the Buddha out of natural inspiration. Of these

four episodes from the life of the Buddha, the

miracle of Shravasti is the most significant

one. We can see the depictions of this miracle

in Indian art from the second century CE

onwards.7 However, its real popularity was in

the rock-cut art of western India in the fifth-

sixth century CE.

In brief, the story of the Shravasti

Miracle is as follows:

King Prasenajit, who had embraced the

Dhamma and who regularly visited Buddha at

Jetavana, was challenged by his former co-

adherents of the Jaina and Ajivika faiths to

prove that Buddha excelled them in

miraculous powers. Buddha accepted the

challenge on the king’s behalf and fixed the

place and time for an exhibition of his powers.

Buddha caused a mango tree to sprout up in a

day and under it he created a huge array of

representations of himself, seated and

standing on lotuses and causing fire and water

to emanate from his body.8

This is one of the miracles performed by

the Buddha and it took place at Shravasti. This

is known in the Khuddaknikaya as

‘Yamakapratiharya’.9 The word Yamaka

literary means double or twin, and pratiharya

means wonder or miracle. The term is used in

literature for the miracle of double

appearance. It consisted of the phenomena of

opposite character in pairs, as for example the

streaming forth of fire and water. This story is

not available in the Buddhacharita, a famous

biography written by Ashvaghosha. This is a

text, which can be dated to the beginning of

Christian era while the depiction of this

miracle can be seen in the art from second

century CE as mentioned earlier. A few events

of the miracle are emphasized in the story and

its representations in art. Firstly, King

Prasenajit is shown as a follower of the

Tathagata; secondly, the story clearly

mentions rivals of the Buddha; and thirdly it

focuses on the exhibition of miraculous

powers of which, in fact, Buddha was strongly

against.

The episode of the mango tree in the

story relates to Buddha as having the power of

Art, Icon andArchitecture

in South Asia

46

creation. This reminds us of the concept of

Adibuddha in later Buddhism. However, one

cannot transplant the terminology of a theistic

system of a creator god into a non-theistic

system, which denies the divine origin of

things and talks about the doctrine of

universal momentariness and the doctrine of

dependent origin. From such a confusion of

terminology arises the mistaken idea that the

Adibuddha of the later Tantras is nothing but

another version of the creator god, which

would be a complete reversal of the Buddhist

point of view. In fact, Adibbuddha is a symbol

of universality, timelessness and

completeness of the enlightened mind.10 The

Shravasti miracle story further tells us that

under this mango tree Buddha created a huge

array of representations of himself, seated and

standing on lotuses and causing fire and water

to emanate from his body. This description

suggests to us the omnipresence of Buddha

and the reference to fire and water or of the

lifting up of himself in the air reminds us about

the five basic elements in nature according to

ancient Indian philosophical tradition of

Sankhyas. This story of the Buddha creating a

huge array of himself makes us to think about

an episode in the Mahabharata, namely of the

Vishvarupa Vishnu. Probably all the above-

mentioned non-Buddhist concepts were

popular among the masses who patronised

Buddhism and they reflect ideas from

contemporary sacred and secular literature.

In the art of Kanheri and Kondivate, we

can see great variations in the depiction of the

theme of the Shravasti miracle. One can

question whether the variety is because of the

liberty taken by artists in depicting the theme,

or it is due to philosophical and conceptual

developments, or are some of these panels,

which are thought to be depicting the

Shravasti miracle, in fact depicting other

themes, but have been wrongly identified as

Shravasti miracle panels. Before dealing with

these controversies, we should survey some of

the depictions at Kanheri, which resembles the

literary description given above.

In the hall of Cave no. 89 at Kanheri, we

can see variations in the depictions of the

theme. One of the panels gives us details of the

story (Fig. 4.1). This is on the back wall of the

inner hall facing the antechamber. In this

panel Buddha is shown seated on the lotus in

European posture (pralambapadasana) and

in the hand gesture of the turning the wheel of

law (dharmachakrapravartana-mudra). He is

attended by two Bodhisattvas, namely

Padmapani and Vajrapani, as chauri bearers;

they also stand on lotuses. The stalk of the

main lotus is held by two nagas, Nanda and

Upananda, attended by two nagis, one on

either side of the naga pair. According to Prof.

Walter Spink, the presence of Nanda and

Upananda, supporting the stem of the lotus,

the cosmic axis, on which Buddha is seated, in

depictions of this story is appropriate, for they

figure prominently in the Buddhist textual

description of the miraculous event.11 Two

devotees can be seen in the lower corners of

the panel beyond the figures of the nagis.

Behind the seated Buddha, above his halo, a

mango tree is depicted with its leaves and tiny

mango fruits and also with a bird and a

monkey on it. In the upper corners, two flying

dwarf figures can be seen. The traces of paint

that survive on the panel suggest that the

depiction of fire may have been in paint, while

water is suggested by the presence of nagas.

In this panel, except for the episode of

multiplying himself, all the other details of the

story of the miracle performed by Buddha at

Shravasti are found. From the presence of the

mango tree, it is clear that this panel can

surely be identified as a rendering of the

Shravasti miracle. It must be noted that the

depiction of a mango tree is very rare in

sculpture in the cave art of Western India. In

the Ajanta painting of this miracle, both the


47

Fig. 4.1.Fig. 4.1.Fig. 4.1.Fig. 4.1.Fig. 4.1. A Shravasti miracle panel in Cave 89, Kanheri.


in South Asia

48

mango tree and more than one figure of

Buddha in various postures, seated and

standing on the lotuses, are prominently

emphasized. Though it is difficult to show all

the minute details in sculpture due to the

constraints of space and finance, artists have

tried their best to depict this miracle

accurately. In most of the panels in sculptures

of the Shravasti miracle, nagas are depicted

and in a few, the Buddha figures are more than

one. The presence of both these features or

even of one of them can be fixed as an

identification mark of the Shravasti miracle

panel.

Before going into the variations of this

story in the sculptural art of Kanheri and

Kondivate, we should discuss the significance

of the presence of nagas and lotuses in the

panels that depict this story. Naga worship is

a common ritual in India till today. Nagas can

be seen in the Indian art from the very early

period. We can trace back the antiquity of

naga worship to the Indus age. In Buddhist

art, nagas appear from a very early period.

Buddhist literature also gives us the details of

the affiliation of various nagas with Buddha;

for nagas are closely related with Buddha in

mythology. One is Muchalinda naga, who gave

protection to Gautama Buddha from the

stormy rain created by Mara at the time of his

attainment of Bodhi. Two other nagas are

Nanda and Upananda.12 Not only are these

two nagas depicted in the representations of

the Shravasti miracle, but according to

Buddhist tradition these are the two nagas

who anointed the Buddha after his birth at

Lumbini.13 In Burma there is a tradition of

offering votive figures of Buddha with a naga

hood canopy above his head. It is also

mentioned by Chinese pilgrims who visited

India that monks (shramanas) used to

worship nagas.14 It is interesting to know that

in Indian tradition, sometimes nagas are

related to fertility rituals apart from their

representations as symbols of water and

prosperity.

The lotus is known for its purity and it is

related to divine powers and divinities in

Indian tradition. In Buddhism it becomes an

attribute of the Bodhisattvas and Taras in the

later period. According to Foucher, the old

school used the lotus only to symbolize the

miracle of Buddha’s nativity. Later on, when

the Gandharan artists began to depict the

various personages of Buddhist mythology,

the lotus appears only in the case of

Bodhisattvas seated in their heavens. It is

probable that the turning point was reached in

the compositions of the ‘Great Miracle at

Shravasti’. From the second century CE, not

only the Buddha is seated on the ‘thousand-

petalled lotus’ as described in the texts, but a

lotus is shown under the feet of the numerous

celestials who, floating in mid-air, witness the

master’s victory over the heads of the rival

sects.15

This Shravasti miracle is depicted in

rock-cut art with great variety. There are a

number of Shravasti miracle panels at

Kanheri. Though they have few variations,

their general presentation is similar. They can

be grouped into different categories on the

basis of the number of Buddha and

Bodhisattva figures in the panel, attendants,

etc. These panels can be dated to the sixth

century CE. In all of them the central scene

shows Buddha seated on the lotus in European

style (pralambhapadasana) and in the gesture

of the turning of the wheel of law

(dharmachakrapravartana-mudra).

Bodhisattvas such as Padmapani, Vajrapani,

Maitreya (?) and Manjushri (?) appear as

attendants of the Buddha. Usually the

Bodhisattva Padmapani can be seen to the left

of Buddha and the Bodhisattva Vajrapani or

Maitreya (?) can be seen on the right of

Buddha. Nanda and Upananda are also

present, generally attended by nagis.


49

In Cave no. 73 at Kanheri, the main panel

is framed by two rows of standing Buddhas,

comprising two Buddhas one above the other,

one row on either side. Though these figures

are not on lotuses, they are all part of the main

scheme. In the lower corners of the same

panel are Buddha figures, one in either corner,

in standing posture with boon giving hand

gesture (varada-mudra). In the verandah of

Cave no. 67 (Fig. 4.2), we can see a similar

panel but with Maitreya (?) in the place of

Padmapani. In the interior of the cave, we can

see a similar panel but with two female

attendants. These females are Taras of the

Buddhist pantheon who later attain status of

independent deities.

One more variation of this story is seen in

the art, not only of Kanheri but also of Ajanta

where we can trace its roots. That is of Buddha

attended by two standing Buddhas in the place

of Bodhisattvas. Such a panel can be seen in

the courtyard cell of Cave no. 67 at Kanheri.

In Cave no. 89, in the inner chamber, one

Shravasti miracle panel is depicted with

Bodhisattva attendants and with a row of

seated Buddhas above the main panel seated

on lotuses in padmasana and with their hands

in different gestures such as

dharmachakrapravartana-mudra, varada

and dhyana.16

Another interesting panel is in Cave no.

90. In the hall of this cave we can see two

major panels on the opposite walls facing each

other. One is of the litany of Avalokiteshvara

(Dashamahabhayatrana Avalokiteshvara)

and another is a panel resembling the

Shravasti miracle panels that have been

described above. Interestingly, this last panel

has been identified as Pancha Jina Mandala

by Huntington (Fig. 4.3).17 In this panel we

can see the story of ‘Shakra’s visit to Buddha’

included in the depiction of the episode of the

Shravasti miracle. Shakra (Indra) and his

vajra in the human form (Vajrapurusha) are

Fig. 4.2.Fig. 4.2.Fig. 4.2.Fig. 4.2.Fig. 4.2. A Shravasti miracle panel in Cave 67, Kanheri.


in South Asia

50

visible. Shakra and Vajrapurusha can be seen

on one side of the lotus shaft on which the lord

Buddha is shown seated, while the two figures

on the other side of the lotus shaft are a

gandharva and apsara. Shakra can be

identified by his kirita mukuta, while the

Vajrapurusha is shown with folded hands and

with a vajra in his crown. The core part of this

panel is similar to the Shravasti miracle panel

already discussed (namely the one in the hall

of Cave no. 67). Similar to that, this panel also

has Bodhisattvas (namely Padmapani and

Vajrapani) as attendants who can be identified

from their attributes and because of two

female attendants (Taras). Shakra’s story is

depicted below the trinity. Below that are the

figures of Nanda and Upananda. The number

and placement of Buddha figures in this panel

force us to accept that this must be a mandala.

In the panels of the Shravasti miracle at

Kanheri, the artists maintained the balance of

the figures. Among all the figures, the central

figure of Buddha is in the highest level while

his attendants are depicted in descending

order. Most of the panels were carved

Fig. 4.3.Fig. 4.3.Fig. 4.3.Fig. 4.3.Fig. 4.3. The Shravasti miracle panel with figures of Shakra

and Vajrapurusha in Cave 90, Kanheri.


51

delicately and the artist has tried his best to do

justice to each and every figure in the panel.

At Kondivate there is only one Shravasti

panel; it is in the main Chaitya Cave

(Fig. 4.4).18 Though the date of this cave is

controversial, the panel can be dated to the

sixth century CE, which makes it

contemporary to the panels at Kanheri. This

panel follows the scheme one can see in the

Cave no. 73 at Kanheri. This panel comprises

the figure of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas on the

lotuses and nagas (i.e. Nanda and Upananda)

with attendant nagis. There is one standing

Fig. 4.4.Fig. 4.4.Fig. 4.4.Fig. 4.4.Fig. 4.4. A Shravasti miracle panel in the chaitya cave at

Kondivate.


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52

figure of Buddha adjacent to this panel, which

appears to be part of the same panel but is not.

Now the question is about the correct

identification of the Shravasti miracle panels

and about its conceptual development. As

mentioned earlier, we can identify the

Shravasti miracle panel on two basic criteria,

namely the existence of more than one figure

of Buddha and the presence of the nagas

(Nanda and Upananda). Besides panels having

one or both these criteria, which make it clear

that they are depicting the Shravasti miracle,

there are other panels that are fairly similar in

nature. In the latter, the seated Buddha is

flanked on either side by a standing

Bodhisattva. Though these panels can be

mistaken to be representations of the

Shravasti miracle, they are in fact simple

trinity panels.

Trinity panels gained great popularity at

Ajanta, and continued in the later caves. Most

of the later caves have trinity panels in the

main shrine. But a few early caves at Kanheri

like Cave nos. 3, 50, 56, 67, 92, etc. also give

evidence of such panels in their verandahs. In

this type of panel we have the seated Buddha

in the centre with two Bodhisattva attendants

one on the either side, as chauri bearers. We

can see this tradition in art at least till the

seventh century CE at the site of Kanheri. We

can identify one of the Bodhisattva attendants

as the Bodhisattva Padmapani. Mostly we find

Vajrapani, Maitreya or Manjushri on the other

side. We can identify these Bodhisattvas on the

basis of their attributes. In the Sukhavati

Vyuha version in Chinese translation,

Avalokiteshvara is described as an assistant to

Amitabha, lord of the western paradise.

Among his various functions, he guides

devotees from their earthly deathbed to

rebirth in the spirit land. This text was first

translated into Chinese around 148-170 CE19

and it shows that this concept of the

Bodhisattva as an attendant is quite old and

can be traced back at least to the second

century CE. Most probably its origin was in

North India and it later spread throughout the

Buddhist world.

In Cave no. 3 at Kanheri, we can see two

attendants with Buddha in a carving that can

be dated to the second century CE, but these

are simple chauri bearers and not

Bodhisattvas. This reveals that the concept of

the Bodhisattva as an attendant was not so

popular in the second century at the site; it

developed later in the course of time.

Thus, at Kanheri and its peripheral sites

the Shravasti miracle panels and the simple

trinity panels were popular. However, their

prevalence was mostly during the second

phase at these cave sites and not in the first

phase (namely the Theravada phase, first

century BCE to the fourth century CE). In the

later period of Buddhist art, i.e. second phase

at Kanheri and Kondivate (Mahayana phase,

fifth-sixth century CE), the excavation of caves

was on a very small scale. Various intrusive

sculptures (i.e. sculptures that are later

additions) were commissioned during this

phase. In this period, Buddhism was not as

popular as in the Satavahana period and it was

mostly restricted to the upper class of society

and not to the masses. In other words, these

later caves have a different socio-economic,

political and cultural background than the

early caves. To gain the benefit of the donation

of Buddha figures, people must have started

donating trinity panels. The carving of a

trinity panel in the main chamber of a cave

was necessary before the formal consecration

of the cave just as in the case of a temple it is

necessary to install an idol of the main deity in

the sanctum in order to sanctify the temple

after its construction and before its use.

People, who were not able to donate a rock-

cut cave, must have donated these intrusive

figures to gain a part of the benefit of the

donation to the monastery. The monastery at


53

Kanheri itself must have played some

significant role in this in order to meet its

expenses after the decline of the royal

patronage. These trinity panels were confused

with the Shravasti miracle panels when this

theme became popular. Some of the intrusive

Ajanta paintings are of the Shravasti miracle

with the trinity in the centre. These two

popular themes must have come together,

because of which we find such panels which

are a combination of the above two.

We are discussing about a period in

which various developments took place in

Buddhism. Development of various cults can

be seen in the Buddhist art during fifth-sixth

century CE. We can see the spread of the

Bodhisattva cult in the Western Indian art

during the period, though the antiquity of the

Bodhisattva sculptures can be traced back to

the early period. We can also see sculptures in

the caves emphasizing various aspects of the

Bodhisattva. Especially at Kanheri we find the

emergence of Tara in art as an attendant deity.

These figures can be seen as attendants in the

Shravasti miracle panels in the early phase.

The Shravasti miracle panel gives us

sculptures of various deities, around whom

later semi-independent cults developed. This

panel not only gives us the Buddha figure but

also provides us with the figures of

Bodhisattvas, Taras and nagas. It is worth

repeating that the Chinese pilgrims who

visited India have mentioned that monks

(shramanas) used to worship nagas also.20

The donation of a Shravasti miracle panel

would give the donor the benefit of the

donation of figures of Bodhisattvas, Taras, and

nagas along with Buddha; hence its

popularity. This may account for the greater

appeal to donors of the Shravasti miracle

panels than the trinity panels.

Why did the theme of the Miracle at

Shravasti become more important than any

other theme in Buddhist literature, especially

from among the stories of the eight sacred

places of Buddhism? The spread of Buddhism

was along the trade routes in the ancient

period and based on mass contact. After the

decline of trade and trade routes, to make

people visit and travel to the Buddhist centres

for the survival of the Buddhism, Buddhists

might have spread this concept of eight sacred

places. Shravasti was the capital of the Kosala

Mahajanapada. The site of Shravasti is

identified with the ruins called Sahet-Mahet

(East longitude 82º 01' North latitude 27º 31'),

covering an extensive area partly in Gonda

and partly in Baharaich districts of Uttar

Pradesh. The site can be divided

chronologically into six phases as:

Period I : 8th to 7th century BCE

Period II : 6th to 4th century BCE

Period III : 3rd to 1st century BCE

Period IV : 1st to 3rd century CE

(Kushana period)

Period V : 4th to 6th century CE

(Gupta period)

Period VI : 7th to 10th century CE

(Post-Gupta)

The urbanisation at the site can be seen

till the Gupta period. The fifth period

witnessed its decay.21 Hiuen-Tsang, a Chinese

pilgrim who visited it in seventh century CE,

has recorded that Shravasti was in ruins and

he had to search for the Buddhist remains in

the region.

In the ancient period, Shravasti was not

only a major political centre, but also an

economic and religious centre. The trade

route from the north to the southwest went

from Shravasti to Paithana or Pratishthana

and back. The principle halts were at

Mahishmati, Ujjain, Vidisha, Kosambi and

Saketa.22 We can know from literature that

Shravasti was a centre of the Jaina and Ajivika

sects. Mahavira, the twenty-fourth

Tirthankara, gathered here a great number of

followers particularly among wealthy


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54

merchants and bankers. Shravasti was also a

birthplace of two other Tirthankaras,

Sambhavanatha and Chandraprabha, facts

which added to its attraction for the Jainas. In

the Buddha’s time, the city was the stronghold

of Ajivikas. There were two Ajivika spiritual

leaders, namely Goshala Mankhaliputra and

Purna Kashyapa, of whom Purna Kashyapa

was unable to bear the shame of defeat at the

hands of Buddha in religious disputation and

he committed suicide.23

By the display of his miraculous powers,

Buddha proved his supremacy over all his

rivals at Shravasti. Because of this, the above-

mentioned miracle was one of the most

significant episodes from the Buddha’s life.

Apart from this event, Shravasti is also known

for the story of Anathapindaka, Migarmata and

Angulimala. In the story of Vishakha

Migarmata, the conversion of her father-in-law,

who was a follower of the Jaina doctrine earlier,

is clearly mentioned. Buddha himself had spent

most of the rainy seasons in his life at Shravasti

at Jetavana or Purvaramain Shravasti.24

Because of all these reasons, this theme of the

Shravasti miracle must have gained great

importance in the period when Buddhism was

losing its popularity among the masses.

As we can see in the art of Kanheri, this

popular theme lost its basic conceptual

background and ultimately even developed

into a sort of mandala, an example of which

can be seen in the Cave no. 90 at Kanheri.

While concluding we should note a few things:

firstly, this concept of the great eight sacred

places emphasised on Buddha’s miraculous

powers in the four newly added places of

which Shravasti was the most important. We

can also see that Buddha, who had earlier been

shown as an ascetic, now began to be

portrayed as a great king or chakravartin.

Therefore, Buddha in the Shravasti panel is

depicted on a lion throne and with chauri-

bearer attendants. In other words, the

kingship aspect was emphasised.25 With

reference to the city of Shravasti, we should

note that when this panel was popular with the

masses, the city of Shravasti was dying. Behind

the popularity of this panel more practical

reasons are there. The carving of this story

looks like a tool used by Buddhists to

emphasise Buddha’s kingship aspect,

miraculous powers, his superiority over all

rivals, his omnipresence, Buddha as a creator

and his popularity among all the strata of

society.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1 . Reference of Magathane can be seen in one of

the inscription, dated to second century CE at

Kanheri in Cave no. 21 (S. Gokhale, Kanheri

Inscriptions, Deccan College Post Graduate

Research Institute, Pune, 1991, p. 75). Few

votive stupas also have been recorded from

the village of Magathane.

2 . Sixth-century caves in the Bhiwandi taluka

near Kanheri; they were originally

Buddhist caves having some affiliation to

the art and architecture of Ajanta but were

later converted into Shaiva shrines.

3 . Reference of these two commercial centres in

ancient India occurs frequently in the

epigraphical evidence from the site of

Kanheri.

4 . Dharmananda Kosambi,

Buddhalilasarasangraha (Marathi),

Manoranjaka Granthaprasar Mandali,

Mumbai, 1914, pp. 305-06.

5 . The identification of which is possible

because of the Ashokan edicts from

Rummindei. S. Gokhale, Purabhilekhavidya

(Marathi), Maharashtra Sahitya Samskruti

Mandal, Pune, 1975, p. 98.

6 . This is in the Gorakhapur district of Uttar

Pradesh. One mile from a taluka place

Kasaya and locally known as Mathakunvar

Ka Kot. (Dharmananda Kosambi, op. cit.,

p. 306).

7 . A. Foucher, (Reprint), On The Iconography

of The Buddha’s Nativity, Memoirs of


55

Archaeological Survey of India, Vol. 46,

Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi,

1999, p. 21.

8 . See, M. Venkataramayya, Sravasti,

Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi, 1991

p. 6. Hiuen-Tsang refers to a stupa at

Shravasti as marking the site where

Buddha worsted his opponents, but

strangely enough states that it was

(Boddhisattva?) Sariputra, the disciple, who

was challenged and who excelled.

9 . Khuddaknikaya, Patisambhiddamaggapali,

1.116. Also in Attakatha, 2.1.116, Pali Text

Society and also by Vipassana Research

Institute.

1 0 . P.V. Bapat, (Reprint), 2500 Years of

Buddhism, Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting, New Delhi, 1997.

1 1 . Walter Spink, ‘Ajanta to Ellora’, Marg,

Vol. XX, p. 29.

1 2 . Nanda and Upananda are mentioned as the

students of Devadatta in Ashvaghosha’s

Buddhacharita. Canto 19.39. See

S. Chaudhari, (Reprint), Buddhacharita

(Hindi), Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1995,

p. 231.

1 3 . M. Joshi, Bharatiya Sansruti Kosha

(Marathi), Bharatiya Sansruti Kosha

Mandal, Pune, 1967, pp. 739-40.

1 4 . Ibid.

1 5 . A. Foucher, op. cit., pp. 21-22.

1 6 . Though these Buddha figures are giving

different postures, one cannot identify

these as mortal (Manushi) Buddhas. The

postures given are very random and not in

sequence.

1 7 . S. Huntington, (Reprint), The Art of Ancient

India, Weather Hill, New York, 1995. The

number of Buddha figures in the panel does

not allow us to call this as a mandala of five

Buddhas. Though the reference has not

given by Huntington (p. 263), we can’t

accept this identification.

1 8 . Fergusson dates this cave to Mauryan

period. On the basis of architectural

features, other scholars have dated it to the

1st century CE: James Fergusson and J.

Burgess, Cave Temples of India, W.H. Allen

and Company, London, 1880, pp. 37-43.

1 9 . F. Max Muller, (Reprint), Sacred Books of

the East, Vol. XLIX, Motilal Banarasidass,

Delhi, 1995, See Introduction.

20. M. Joshi, op. cit.

2 1 . T. Takahira, Y. Taizo, Y. Funitaka and

U. Akinori, ‘The Ancient City of Sravasti: Its

Significance on the Urbanisation of North

India’, Puratattva, Vol. 30, Indian

Archaeological Society, Delhi, 2000, pp. 74-

9 2 .

2 2 . T.W. Rhys Davids, (Reprint), Buddhist India,

Motilal Banarasidass, 1997, Delhi, p. 103.

2 3 . M. Venkataramayya, op. cit., p. 7.

2 4 . P.V. Bapat, op. cit., p. 190.

25. The Buddha is referred as

Dharmachakravartin in early literature.

Miracle of Shravasti Depicted in the Art of Kanheri and Kondivate

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