RELIGION AND ART: NEW ISSUES IN INDIAN ICONOGRAPHY AND ICONOLOGY
Edited by Claudine Bautze-Picron
Volume 1 of the proceedings of the 18th conference of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists, London, 2005
The British Association for South Asian Studies . The British Academy, London
General Editor: Michael Willis AccoLmt of ,poli: Banca ANOTHER RELIQUARY VASE FROM WARDAK AND CONSECRATING FIRE RITES IN GANDHARA an)', Zinbun :2 Harry Falk 79', in Scavi 112), Roma: hanistan in 'Napoli 43, THE WARDAK VASE OF MASSON In, or shortly after 1833, Charles Masson had some stapas opened or reexamined in the district ology 1981, of Wardak at a place called Khowat, about 48 km to the west of Kabul. Although this place looks rather remote, it is situated near the entry to the only road leading directly east-west from in East and Kabul to Herat. The most remarkable find from that place is a metal vase now on display in the British Museum, surrounded by a number of coins found in connection with it. Some more finds from Wardak reached London only after Wilson's Ariana Antiqua, which contains Masson's report, had gone to the printer. Through the kindness of E. Errington I was given access to the catalogue of the complete Masson collection in the British Museum to be published by her. Masson's report (1841: 117-18) is rather short and lacking details. We only learn that he saw
five or six topes ... with numerous tumuli ... I found that three or four of these structures had been opened at some unknown period ... In the princial tope an internal cupola was enclosed, or rather had been; and one of those unexplained tunnels or passages led from it towards the circumference. I directed certain operations to be pursued, even with the opened topes , and pointed out a number of tumuli which I wished to be examined, as they were very substantially constructed; the results proved successful, in great measure, and comprised seven vases of metal and steatite, with other and various deposits. One of the brass vases was surrounded with a Bactro-Pali inscription.
If this report can be believed then Masson saw several big and small stupas. He saw that the most prominent one of them once had contained a 'cupola'. This short notice becomes clearer in the light of the survey conducted by Fussman at the site in 1974. He describes an older stiipa in all its details, completely covered by a new structure that enlarged the whole edifice three times in height and circumference. Some illegal diggers, who were responsible for the 'unexplained tunnels or passages' found by Masson, had to remove the old stupa completely in order to reach the deposit in its basement. Without such a removal the remnants of the old stupa would have fallen in on them. This fact may also explain why many other stupas are hollow, as e.g. Amlukdara in Swat. Masson had the principal stupa checked again together with some."i.mopened stupas. His men found 'seven vases of metal and steatite', and 'one of the brass vases' bore an ins<;:ripti911: This leaves us completely in the dark with respect to the place of origin of the preserved brass bowl. It may have come from any of the places examined. The report shows, in addition, that the inscribed brass bowl was not the only one of its kind unearthed by Masson's workmen.
H A RRY FALK 63 Moreover, there are remnants of at least three reliquaries made from ivory, probably found in from Wardak, now in the British Museum. Their exact provenance is, however, unknown. south -- The firs~ metal bowl from Wardak is presented in full in Zwalf 1996 as no. 680; the part showing the inscr\ption is depicted in Konow 1929, pl. XXXIII, who lists the full range of scholars of Kl (footnqtes on pp."165, 166) who devoted some attention to its inscription from 1858 onwards. To 178.' these must be added the important remarks in Fussman 1974a: 88 note 3. Recently, this vase was this c one of those studied by Dobbins (1989: 116), who noticed that Buddhist reliquaries were made THE In al acqu mon1 and l care site , rega
to tr mad sam Slm! that me2 cm. pro] a fe
dea to · Th, an wa sta pre hol Th an 9.S n
sil of lo Figure 1. The Wardak vase(© author). w
64 RELIGION AND ART: NEW I SSUES IN I NDIAN lcONOGRAPHY AND lcO NOLOGY nd in from different materials over the course of the centuries; a very similar metal reliquary pot from south of the Hindukush is described in Fussman 1974b: 58-61.
~ part The inscription reports on the foundation of a stupa in the name of Vagamarega, son 10lars of Kamagulya, in the year 51, during the i-eign of the Ku~ar.ia emperor Huvi~ka, i.e. in AD kTo 178. The place is called khavada, modern Kbavad. The Mahasanghikas are the caretakers of ,e was this donation. made THE NEW VASE In about 2002 anulher vase (Figure 1) from that very site found its way lo a collector who acquired it mainly because of bis interest in a folded piece of bLn:h b,ffk Lhat it contained . Only months later he discovered 1"11atthere are letters on the vase covered under thick layci- of dirt and accretions. I thank its owner for allowing me in 2004 to inspect the vase and its contents. His care for all parts of this donation makes it possible to glean many more insights into the Buddhist site of Wardak. Knowing of its contents deepens our reg,·et at the sciu,Ly information available regarding Masson 's vase. The text of the new vase is directly related to the one on Masson's vase. The donation was made by a member of the same family on the same day, at the same place. The vase is very similar. From Zwalf (1996, I: 356) we learn that the old vase is 17.6 cm high, its widest part measures 16.9 cm, and the rim opens to 9.7 cm. The new vase shows absolutely the same proportions; only the widest part is narrower by a few millimetres. None of the reports on Masson's vase deals with the nature of its underside. According to Zwalf the 'vase has a low, flat ring-foot'. The new vase shows that this flat part is not an integral part of the vase itself. The vase was turned and widened on a lathe, probably starting with a sort of pipe. This technique produces all sorts ofbellied bodies, but leaves a hole of about 7 cm in the bottom part (Figure 2). This hole was then covered by a plate soldered around it. This bottom plate has a diameter of Figure 2_ Bottom of the vase (© author). 9.9 cm in the new vase.
The new vase contained:
(a) A round relic container made from sheet silver (Figure 3) consisting of two tubes. One of the tubes fits into the other. Both are 7.7 cm long, but the slimmer one does not fit into the wider one completely. The ends are closed with Figure 3. Round relic container(© author).
HARRY FALK 65 a plate and simple decorations. Two loops, one on a C· on each end, keep the container closed by means seems1 of a cord and seal. An almost identical container are twc ~ ' ' - made from gold and without any loops - is The co known from MaI,J.ikiala (Zwalf 1996: 352 no. classifi 666). A much more elaborate container from differe1 Ahin Posh shows loops as well (Zwalf 1996: 351 clearly no. 668). The Mai:iikiala container was found to gro1 along with coins from Huvi~ka, so that we can obvers, be reasonably sure that our container too can be group dated to that time. Kabul. 515 an (b) A sealing made from fine clay. The cord Figure 4. Sealing (© author). dilutec that once closed the container is gone, but the the co sealing is preserved. Where the cord was, there do not is now a hole traversing the seal lengthwise; the therefc sealing shows a horse prancing to the right with the mi its rider stretching a bow (Figure 4), aiming at a lion standing on its heels. The seal seems to have coppe1 been uninscribed. to the Figure 5. Sheet of birch bark (© author). Similar scenes are well known from years: Sasanian silver plates. They are, however, not variou unknown in the 1st century AD: a roundel in the Eilenberg collection, similar but larger than the At M customary Gandharan compartment dishes, displays exactly the same composition, with the addition reliqu ; of a dog leaping in front of the horse (Lerner and Kossak 1991: 66 no. 26). Huvi~ Masson's collection from Wardak included a 'globular box of black steatite', to which 685 ai belonged 'two stamped pieces of clay' (India Office collection, European manuscripts E161/VII, 680-( f. 27), obviously used for a similar purpose. the lo· butm (c) A folded sheet of birch bark, which was originally tucked under the cord (Figure 5). From its them shape it becomes perfectly apparent that it was once squeezed in-between cord and container. The birch bark is still unopened; it is to be expected that it is inscribed. (f) Fo belon, (d) A few small broken parts of soapstone with no apparent shape inside the container. The major crack, content probably comprised some relics wrapped in a cloth. Only the cloth in the centre is preserved, most parts of it have dissolved into a very fine and sticky brown powder. It may be possible to find (g) A out if the cloth is made from silk, wool or cotton thread. Apart from these finds the container also anyw enshrined an almost weightless, porous and dark brown piece of about 1.5 cm in diameter, possibly parts burnt amber. The brown substance, in particular, has been found elsewhere (Errington 1998: 87a). The (h) A following discussion makes it perfectly clear that it is the product of the dissolution of some organic that t tissue matter. It is t, (e) Twenty-one coins outside the container (Figure 6). Nineteen of these are Ku~aI,J.acoppers, most of mate: them heavily corroded. Some, however, can be described as being those of Huvi~ka, shown reclining ismi
66 RELI GION AND A RT: N EW I SSUES fN IN DIAN lcON OGRAPHY AND lcONOLOGY s, one on a couch. One with a camel on the reverse neans seems to be of Kujula Kaclphises. Most surprising .tainer are Lwo si \ver coins of the Nezak huns (Figure 7). s - is The coins of this family have been most suitably i2 110. classified and elated by Alram (1999/2000: 132b; from different Kuwayama 1998), showing that they 16: 35] clearly fall into two groups. Our coins belong found to group ll becau:,e of the letter forms on the ve can obverse. This fits in perfectly with the idea that can be group I was minted in Ghazni and group 11 in Figure 6. Coins( © autho,). Kabul. Group Il was minted between around AD 515 and 650; its silver content was continuously e cord diluted with copper until, at the end of the period, Jut the the coins contained no silver at all. Our coins ,, there do not show any copper oxidations and should 1se; the therefore belong to the earlier issues minted until bt with the middl e of the 6th century. ng at a It is impossible that the mass of Ku~a1;a to have coppers and the two Nezak coins were added to the vase at the same time when about 300 1 from years separate the two groups. However, coins of ,er, not various times lrnve been found together elsewhere. lmn the At Manikiala in the Great Stnpa one of three 1dclition reliquary deposits contained one gold coin of Huvi~ka, one silver Sassano-Arabian from AD , which 685 and one coin of Yasovarman of Kanauj (AD .61/VII, 680-695). This reliquary was not found inside Figure 7. Silver coins of the Nezak huns the lowest deposit, dating to the time of Huvi~ka, (© autlw,). but more than a metre higher up. It must have been brought there from another Kusai:ia sti7pa when :1ro111 its the main sUlp a was enlarged in the 7th century (Errington 1998: 87b; 1999/2000: 201a). 1er. The (f) Fourteen finger rings (Figure 8). Their diameter is very small in all cases, so that they may have belong ed to children rather than adults. Some of the ring s clearly show the influence of fire having 1e major cracked or burst the stones. escrvecl, c to find (g) About a cupful of small items, which show the effect of fire (Figure 9). No wood ash is present ,ner also anywhere in the pot. Among these items are several small green pearl s from a necklace, burnt coral, possibly part s of ornaments, and a small golden bead with two leaves.
7a). The (h) A bracelet in bronze (Figure 8), about 2 mm thick; the widest inner diameter is 5.3 cm, showing : organic that the owner of this bracelet had very thin arms and was most likely a child .,-·
lt is to be assumed that Masson 's vase originally contain ed similar, and possibly even more pi·ecioLts ,. mo st of materi als. In particular, the corresponding relic container made from silver or, more Iikely from gold, 1·eclining is missing .
J-I A imY f; \L K 67 THE TEXT Three lines of text run around the shoulder part of the vase (Figures 10.1-22). On Masson's vase a reference to the handing over of the stupa to the Mahasarighikas follows in a fourth line below the shoulder in much larger letters. In our case this fact is mentioned in the first line and no fourth line was needed. The style of letters is very peculiar, very similar to the one on Masson's vase, but clearly not written by the same person . Without the deciphering of Figure 8. Rings (© author). the older vase it would have taken a long time to read and understand our parallel. The letters have been hammered into the metal as a row of dots with the help of a pointed instrument. The impact of the hammer here is much less pronounced than is the case with Masson's vase, resulting in letters more difficult to define. Many letters are so carelessly outlined that a whole range of readings were possible. Since the scholars who read Masson's vase have already paved the way, it is not necessary to deal here with all sorts of alternative readings. It will be shown that our text allows us to Figure 9. Small items (© author) . improve on the readings and the understanding of some terms on Masson's vase as well. In such cases comments will be added. Since Masson's text is longer, it precedes the new one in the following synopsis in Konow's own transliteration, headed by Wl for 'Wardak vase 1', whereas the text on the new vase is headed by W2. Then the Konow translation is given for Wl, in angular brackets when transposed, followed by my translation of W2 and a short gloss on the nature of the sentence, where required. Particularly difficult passages or terms are highlighted and will be commented upon under a subsequent heading.
The date Wla: sa111-20 20 JO 1 (51) masye arthamisiya sastehi 10 4 l (15) ime,:ia gai;f(r)ig(r)e,:ia W2a: sa111-20 20 10 1 (51) nia§e arthamisiya sastehi 10 4 l (15) Wl/2a: 'Anno 51, in the month Artemisios, when 15 had appeared, at this hour' Both vases were deposited on the very same day. The unusual term ime,:ia gai;fige,:iahas been left out in W2a.
The donor Wlb: kamagulya-pu[tra] vagramareg(r)a s(r)a isa khavadami W2b: isa khavadami kamagulya-putra-vagamar ega-vihara-(thu?)ba Wlb : 'the Kamagulya scion Vagramarega - he has made his abode here in Khawat' W2b: 'Here at Khavad, in the stupa of the monastery of Vagamarega, son of Kamagulya,' Thuva is written over viha, which was erroneously repeated.
68 R ELIGION AN D ART: NEW I SSUES IN I NDIAN ICONOGRAPHY AND JcONOLOC Y Figure 10.1-8. Inscription on the Wardak vase(© author) ,ulder ,son's 1f the 'ourth :tters. ! first style :o the ritten ing of Figure JO.I. ; time etters a row ment. h less sson's lefine. that a cethe lready 1 here Figure 10.3. s us to mding i's text teaded ~onow ofW2 ges or
Figure 10.5.
en left
Figure 10.7. Figure 10.8.
HARRY FALK 69 Wlc: kadalayig(r)a-vagramarig(r)a-viharami thu[ba]mi The head< . W2c: kadalyagre - viha
Benefits for others A Wl/2g: ime,:,,akusala-mule,:,,a W2n: Huvishka,' Benefits The daughter does not mention the political authority. Wlo: av; W2o:av Wli: madapidara me puyae bhavatu Wlo: 'A W2i: madapite,:,,a puyaye bhavadu W2o: 'S Wli: 'may it be for the honour of my mother and father,' This ser W2i: 'may there be honour through father and mother,' utvareiu
70 RE LIGION AND A RT: NEW ISS UES IN lN DrAN lcON OGRAPHY AND lc ONOLOGY The head of the family confers honour on his own parents; the little daughter obviously is not expected to be on a par with him in this respect. Instead, she refers to the honour transferred 1 astupa.' through her own parents .
.tter looks Wlj: bhradara me ha~thunii mareg(r)asya puyae bhavatu to read a W2j: ha~thw:,,a"f;zmarega§_a puyaye bhavatu Wlj: 'may it be for the honour of my brother Ha~thuna Marega,' W2j: 'may it be for the honour ofHa~thunar,1Marega,' Ha~thunar,1is the brother of Vaga Marega; the daughter therefore drops that reference from her text. The two overdots, transcribed as ii by Konow, are found also in W2. For a possible phonetic function cf. Glass 2000: 137.
Wlk: yo ea me bhuya ,:,,atiga-mitra-sarribhatig(r)a"IJ,apuyae bhavatu he family Wlk: 'and may it, generally, be for the honour of my relatives, friends and associates,' tis recalls The daughter drops any reference to this group. :ording to
Benefits for Vagamarega and the little daughter Wll: mahiya ea vagamaregas(r)a agrabhag(r)apaMathura Museum, very much misunderstood in I-AR 1994-5: 100.
Wlm: sarva-satva"IJ,a aroga-dak~i"IJ,aebhavatu W2m: maheya ea dhidae arogadak~i"JJ,aebhavatu agrabhaga sarvasatv _a"IJ,aea ed.' Wlm: 'may it be for the benefit of health for all beings.' :d several W2m: 'Also for me, the daughter, shall be the benefit of health, and a principal lot for all beings,' ~sent Skt. Mahiya of the preceding phrase is inserted here with incorrect spelling and health primarily devoted to the daughter.
Benefits for others B Wlo: avi ya "IJ,arag(r)aparyatayava bhavagra W2o: aviyaniraga paryata yava bhavaga · · · · Wlo: 'And moreover,< ... > from hell up to the culminating P
HARRY FALK 71 Figure 10.9-16. Inscription on the Wardak vase(© author) und b acc.],, this pl from: all bei
Wlp:: W2p:_ Wlp: '. W2p: Figure 10.9. Figure JO.JO. sweat sa§vat Konov freque derive, and de 'eterna droppc aruvi:, the for ova Figure 10.11. Figure 10.12. Wlq: s W2q: s Wlq:< W2q:' These, first wi \Vlr: m W2r: 11, Wlr: < W2r: 'i Figure 10.14. Wls: sc \Vls: ·a This se (my) un ai ·a~al/' ~iri fom '1.-lr: a~ Figure 10.15. Figure 10.16. W.2t: GQ 72 RELIGION AND ART:N EW IS SUES IN INDIAN I CONOGRAPHY AND lcoNOLOGY und bis oben an die Spitze der Existenz' [where (a) has to be understood as Skt. a, 'up to', with acc.], continuing with a phrase similar to the one below. I find another, although defective, use of this phrase in lndravarma's last sentence: aviye a hethi-majimami pratithava,:,,ami, '(these relics from a Mauryan stiipa have been established after a Pratiharya was performed) [to the profit of :ill beings] in the Avici [hell] up to the lowest and middle realm.' Wlp: yo atra arritara a[1rif4ajo jalayuga ya yetiga arupyata W2p: yo atra arritara ar;fajajalayuga §asvatiga aru[v]i ova W]q: sarviiia puyae bhavatu \\'2q: sarviiiaiia iiirva,:iaeda nirva,:iadae naye bhavatu Wtq: <'let it be for the honour of all,'> W2q: 'to all (of these) may be the state of nirvii,:,,a.' The sequence iiirva,:iaeda nirva,:iadae naye represents repeated attempts at writing /nirvii,:iadae/, first with a metathesis of letters, then correctly, then a last correction to nirva,:zaye, without the da. Wlr: mahiya ea roha,:,,a '\'2r: mahiya ea roha,:ia Wlr: <'and for my descendants,'> W2r: 'And for my mounted (horsemen).' Wls: sada sarvi,:ia avaJaef(r)iga,:ia saparivara ea Wls: 'always for all who are not heretics; and may also the surrounding structure' This sentence seems to refer again to people serving the family and I translate: 'together with all (my) umbrella-bearers and (other) entourage .. .' avaJatriga : read avaJa<;i(r)igaby Konow. The shape of the letter tri is clearly different from the r;lri found twice before. I see Skt. either *avar~atrika, 'umbrella,abearer', cf. avar~·a/varJa and varJatra, or a var~atrikanarri, i.e. ii with genitive. The girl drops this passage. Wlt : agrabhaga-pa HARRY FALK 73 Wlt: 'be for the sharing of the principal lot,' meditati W2t: 'May it be for bestowing pre-eminence.' relics Wt make thi Wlu: mithyagas(r)a ea agrabhaga bhavatu W2u: bahula-mithyaga~a ea agn;bhagadae bhavatu Figure 1 Wlu: 'and may there be a principal lot for the man of false belief.' W2u: 'Also to him who holds' many wrong views shall be the state of pre-eminence.' The donee Wlw: e~a vihara aearya1J,amahasa1Jighiga1J,a parigraha Wlw: 'This vihara is the acceptance of the Mahiisarpghika teachers.' For W2, see W2d above. FIRE AS PART OF THE DEDICATORY PROCESS This text shows that at Wardak several stupas were consecrated at the same time by members of the ruling family, including a girl. The reliquary also has an inside, preserved intact and Figure]( comprising a series of burnt objects. Particularly obvious are finger rings whose stones cracked due to the heat, and some burnt pearls. Two points need to be stressed: firstly, there are many places known where burnt objects have been observed with no attempt at explaining their state; secondly, here, as in those other cases, no wood-ash was found. It would be impossible to completely remove wood-ash from a series of burnt objects without washing them. From this I deduce that the combustible material was not wood and I opt for substances like camphor or resin such as bdellium, which was exported in great quantities from India in the times of the Periplus. These substances burn with lots of fumes and smell and would leave no ashy residue. Burnt objects were found in reliquaries before. In Taxila, for example, in stupa Tl Marshall (1951, I: 258) saw 'one heart-shaped bead of burnt lapis-lazuli'; at Bimaran Charles Masson found 'numerous burnt pearls' in the casket from stupa no. 2, 'burnt Figure JC pearls' in the reliquary of stupa no. 3, 'beads of cornelian, agate, crystal, &tc., sundry others of burnt coral' in a box in stupa no. 4, 'a quantity of earth and ashes, in which were mingled burnt pearls, ornaments of gold' etc. in the steatite vase found in stupa no. 5 (Masson 1841: 71, 72, 75, Th 76); at Hidda, Masson opened stupa 4 and found in it 'a small cylindrical golden case, containing of the me an apparently incinerated mass of unguents' (Masson 1841: 106). taken is L The burning must have taken place before the reliquaries were closed, and it need not of fire crn be emphasized that damaged pieces as such would not have been considered suitable for such 1Iuseum an offering. It is possible that the reliquaries that have come down to us were used for burning; women a1 however, some of them are so small and so thin they might easily have burst. Such a bursting fire is she would have been considered inauspicious, so that we have to look for another explanation of the from a hi1 burnt items they contain. A proposal can be made by turning to a group of panels on pedestals Tax.ila, nc from Gandhiira showing people standing opposite a small fire altar with flames rising. but again Such fire-stands with monks or laymen venerating it are found only with dedicated statues fig. 212). or panels and never in isolated contexts, so that a link seems to be obvious. In addition, it must be We emphasized that each and every scene on a pedestal of a Gandhiiran Buddha or Bodhisattva refers .-'\. Fouch, to the Buddha himself, be it his turban, his begging bowl or his human figure in any posture . It righr. sin, would be strange if the venerated fire were not also to refer to the Buddha. As Stache-Weiske Pnhawar (] 990) has shown, a fire in a fire-bowl with or without a stand can represent the fiery nature of the oorh sid~, 74 RELIGION AND ART: NEW ISSUES IN INDIAN ICONOGRAPHY AND lcONOLOGY meditating Bodhisattva or Buddha. We find these fire-stands depicted only where the Buddha's relics were consecrated and deposited; and it stands to reason that the fire was kindled in order to make the presence of the Buddha visible. Figure 10.17-22. Inscription on the Wardak vase(© author) oembers tact and Figure 10.17. Figur e 10.18. cracked re many ~ir state; : objects md I opt uantities 1d smell .xila , for ,-lazuli'; 2, 'burnt Figure 10.20. Figure 10.21. Figure 10.22. Jthers of ed burnt l, 72, 75, The step from fire used as a symbol of the meditating Buddha to fire as an evocation ntaining of the meditating Buddha seems small. At what stage of Gandharan iconography this step was taken is unclear; in any case it was not taken everywhere, but it culminated in a particular form 1eed not of fire container such as the one that is depicted in a wonderful panel on display in the Peshawar for such Museum (Figure 11; cf. Verardi 1994: fig. 12; Kurita 2003b: pl. 205). The panel shows men and burnin g; women approaching a fire-stand from two sides. Unlike ordinary fires on Gandharan friezes, this bursting fire is shown spreading out as would a camphor or resin fire; the fire-pot has a lid hanging down Jn of the from a hinge . A second example of a pot with lid is found on the so-called Asoraya-Buddha from ,edestals Taxila, now in the Hirayama Museum (Figure 12), where a third example can be seen, without lid, but again with widely spreading flames (Figure 13; for a possible further case see Kurit a 2003b: d statues fig. 212). : must be We have to state that these types of fires have, to date, never been satisfactorily explained. va refers A. Foucher (1918: 86) took the fire-stands to be incense-burners or lamps an~ he may have been Jsture. It right, since incense was certainly part of the combustible material. There is one panel in the :-Weiske Peshawar Museum from Sahri Bahlol, inv. 2919, obviously visualizing the smells emanating ·from · ire of the both sides of an 'ordinary' fire-stand on a table (Figure 14). The similarity to the Iranian fire altar HARRY FALK 75 led many scholars to interpret the Gandhiiran fire-pot on a stand as the expression of a syncretism (19 in which the Buddha took on the role of Ahura Mazda (Ingholt 1957: 36). Martha Carter in 1994 in I saw 'Indo-Scythian origins' for the Peshawar Museum piece, pointing to parallels present in the domeci turibula of Persi;;i (Goldman 1991). rd: The most extensive !reatment of these fire-stands was published by Giovanni Verardi in inr, 1994, who tried to outline a development from Vedic homa rituals into Buddhist fire-rituals. He the demonstrates that Jap'atiese Buddhists know of fire rituals named goma, definitely a loan-word pii! from the Indian 'homa'. Their fumigation handles continue the shape of such implements as his depicted on at least one Gandhiiran socle (Verardi 1994: fig. 14). I do not believe, however, in their rca supposed Vedic tradition. Vedic homas always keep the fire in an enclosure on the earth; there is never a fire in a bowl on a stand. Verardi realizes that there is nothing in the Buddhist literature 0f to sustain his interpretation. He overcomes this problem by maintaining that we are allowed to rel deduce from pictures even if there is nothing in the literature in favour of our deduction. There int, may be cases where such methods are justified, and they are definitely justified as long as there is no better explanation in sight. The better explanation, in my view, is provided by the many reliquaries with burnt gifts: thJ ,... ~. the gifts were given into the fire during an installation process and later poured into the reliquary ~1;,4 ~· .· without sifting. Burning valuables is an idea completely alien to Vedic thought. A hint as to the idea ui[ behind these burnings is found, I hope, on the famous reliquary of Indravarman, the Apraca king, in one of the last and very difficult sentences. It says according to Salomon and Schopen 1984: 108 _-\s ff: 'ime ea sarire muryakalil:,,ate thubute ki 76 RELIGI ON AND Atn: N EW ISSUE S lN INDIAN lc ONOGRAP HY AND lc ONOLOGY :retism (1917: 158, cited after Verarcli 1988: 1541) to explain the mahc7prc7tihc7rya,i.e. the Buddha sitting n 1994 in the sky spreading his glory as the rays of the sun. tin the According to the Pali tradition, there are three sorts of miracles, the first (iddhi-pa(ihariya) relating to the multiplication of one being into many, lhe return of the many into one, the immersion ardi in into and passing through solid material , the walking on non-solid material like water, the flying in als. He the sky touching sun and moon (e.g. A11guttara-Nikcrya 3.60.4). Closely connected is the yamaka 11-word pa(iharya, first shown in SravastI, i.e. the Buddha's ascension into the sky, emitting flames from cnts as his shoulders and water from his feet. The second miracle (c1desani-pti{ihariya) concerns the in their reading of minds and predictions, the third (anusasanf-patihariya) matters of teaching the law. there is Fortunately, there is one text that clearly links the yamaka-pc7(ihtirya with the foundation crature of a new sti7pa: Mahti vamsa 31, 96 ff describes how Du~tagamani at Anuradhapura tak es the 1weclto reliquary on his head and descend s into the re! ic chamber of the sf{lpa. There, the reliquary rises . There into the air seven t{i/as high (about 90 cm), opens itself and the Buddha appears oul of it with all Lhere is signs and insignia and performs the yamaka-pu(iharya, as he did in his lifclime. In the Mahc1vwJ1.sa,there is no mention of llre in a burner on a stand; however, we learn 1t gifts: that the king, his ministers and his entourage deposited all their ornaments within the relic liquary chamber (MahaVCll?I,rn31, 112). This shows that foundation ceremonies in Ceylon and Gandhara he idea differed in detail, as is to be expected. The main idea, however, is the same: the relics transform :a king, themselves visibly into a form of the Buddha and demonstrate his corporal and spiritual presence. 84: 108 As in Ceylon, the donor and his kin in Gandhara presented finger-rings, ear-pendants and other 0 vaiiami valuables. Numerous ornaments found in re! iquaries testify to this habit (cf. Kurita 2003b: 252, ;J> ·z 0 ·om the 272 ff, Salomon 2005: 389-98). The conspicuous lfower-shaped gold foils (Kurita 2003b: figs 826 :c ;,,, ff, Salomon 2005: 392) found in and with the re] iquaries may be compared to those on statues ;J>"" 5: 348) depicting a donor approaching a foundation with a bowl full of flowers in his hands (Kurita 2003a: but has figs 586, 592; 2003b : figs 113, 586, 609), those tah, i.e. flowers being both real and made of gold. r st17pa term is SUMMARY 1011 and The new Wardak vase must have been placed lclucing into a stnpa not too far distant from the C/Tec/Va one where Masson found the first one. The Gilgit. ancient buried town found recently at Wardak activity (precisely at 'Alghata hill at Dadil village, 50 ,sect by km west of Kabul', cf. http://paktribune.com/ Figure 13. Pedestal (© author, courtesy qf' the lSOll to news/index.php?id=l09133) might yield clues Hirayama Museum). :lcntical as to the exact provenance. t. The text helps us to understand some 1ihariya obscure phrases on the first vase and it presents '.iharya, us with evidence for the first time of a girl being versary co-donor with her royal father. The completely hus the preserved contents show that the burning of 11pouncl valuable s was part of the dedicatory process. l some Referring to other cases of burning, it is argued iharya). that such fires can be linked to some panels Figure 14. Pedestal, Sahri Bdhlol (© author, - Foucher on the socles of Buddha statues where people courtesy 1~/the Peshawar Mus eum) . HA1rnY FAu, 77 . . approach a fire in a pot on a stand, prepared to throw something into it. This fire is linked to B marvels called pratih arya where - according to an inscription from Gandhara and a description _.!\ from Ceylon - the Buddha appears during the rite of presenting a reliquary to a stupa. Comparing the fire~pots, we see that there are some without lids and others with a lid on a B hinge. The purpose _of_the lid must have been to put an instant end to the fire. It was not allowed to die down on its own. The supposed light miracle called pratihiirya is impressive only as long C as the flames fly high and wide. A dying fire would emit little to be admired , and I propose to I interpret the lids as a solution to the last phase of unspectacular smouldering flames. Most important is the smell emanating from the resin and camphor. We know that the f Buddha's presence is linked to smells in many ways. His place in a monastery is the gandhaku? i, E the 'smell cell'. The incense was kept in special containers. Two of them have been found: one - the misnamed Kani~ka casket - was a present found in a stupa at Peshawar. Its inscription calls E it a gandhakarm:u/.a, 'incense box'. That means that not only fire but smell as well can represent the Buddha . The deposit of two Nczak coins in the 6th century AD is very important in that it shows that there was a favourable attitude towards Buddhist monuments in the Kabul area, while in the Peshawar valley at the same time the Toramana Huns created 'a numismatic gap' for about 150 years (Errington 1999/2000: 201a). f I 78 RELIGJON AND ART:NEW ISSUES JN INDIAN lcONOGRAPHY AND lcONOLOGY to BIBLIOGRAPHY ion Alram, Michael (1999/2000) 'A hoard of copper drachms from the Kapifa-Kabul region' , Silk Road Ar t and Archaeology 6 (Papers in honour of Francine Tissot), 129-50 ,n a Bopearachchi , 0 et al. (eds) (2003) atalogue de /'Exposition de l'Jndu.1 c, Oxus -Archeologie de l'Asi e ved Centrale, Lattes: Association IMAGO - Musee de Latte s Jng Carter, ML (1994) 'Coins and kingship - Kanishka and the Kush ana Dynasty', Marg 45/4: 29-38 Dobbins, KW (1989) 'Bu ddhi st Reliquaries from Gandhara', in Handa , D and Agrawal, A (eds), Ratna ~ to Chandrika: Panorama of Oriental Studies (Shri R.C, Agrawala Festscl1rift), New Delhi, Harman Pub!. Hous e, 105-24 the Errington , E (1998) 'Gandharan Stupa Deposits', Arts of Asia 28, 80- 87 :11./i, Errington, E (1999/2000) 'Numismatic evide nce for dating the Bucldhisl remains of Ganclh ara ', Silk Road le - Art and Arc/weology 6 (Papers in honour of Francine Tissol), 191-216 :all~ Errington, E and Cribb, J with Claringbull, M (eds) (1992) Crossroads of Asi a - Tran.f orma tion in lmag e sent and Symbol in the Art of Ancient Afghani.I-tan and Pakistan, Cambridge: The Ancient India and Iran Trust ,OWS Falk, H (200~) 'T he introduction of stirpa-worship in Bajaur', in l3opearachchi, 0 and Bou ssac, M-F t the (eds), Afghanistan - lw .cien Carrefour entre /'Es t et /'Gue st. Acles du Colloque lnt ernat io11al 150 au Musee Archeologique Henri-Prades-Lattes du 5 au 7 mai 2003, Turnhout: Brepols , 347-58 (Indicopleustoi 3) Fouch er, A (1917) The /Jeginni ngsofBuddhi stArt and other Essays in Indian and Centrai-AsiunArchaeo!ogy, Paris/London: Geuthne1/Milford Foucher, A (1918) L'art Greco-Bouddhique du Gandhl?.ra II , !, Paris: Ecole Franc;:aisc d'E xlreme Orient Fussman, G (1974a) 'R uine s de la Vallee de Wardak', Arts Asiatiques 30, 65-130 Fussman , G (]974b) 'Documents epigraphiqucs kouchans', Bulletin de /'Ecole Frcm(:aise cl'Extreme Orient 61, 1-66 Glass, A (2000) A Preliminary Study of Kharosthf Manuscript Palaeography. MA Thesis, University of Washington l:-J1\Rl 80 RELIGION AND ART: NEW IS SUES IN INDIAN lc ONOGRAPHY AND lcONOLOGY