id1756359 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com MONASTERIES SHRINES& SOCIETY First Edition 2011 Published by · Buddhist and Brahmanical Religious MANAK ~ PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD ,, Institutions in India in their B-7, Saraswati Complex, Subhash Chowk, l Laxmi Nagar, New Delhi 110092 f ;j: Socio-Economic Context Phone:22453894,22042529 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] USA Office Editedby 8145 KOLB AVE, ALLEN PARK, M.I. 48101 USA Birendra E-mail: [email protected] All nghts reserved © Editor, 2011 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher . ISBN 978-81-7831-231-6 Layout by I<HUSHNUMA l.Aser Typeset by T. ALI, Hamdard Nagar , New Delhi Printed in India by Nice Printing Press, New Delhi Buddhism in a Regional Perspective 85 zone has considerably high plains and hills, except in the nuclear portion of the Purna valley. The Eastern Vidarbha comprising the remaining districts primarily has a landscape of low elevation and irregular hills and slow-moving streams. Previous Researches 3 The excavated sites from Vidarbha, for which published data is available, are Kaundinyapur, 6 Paunar,7 Takalaghat­ Khapa, 8 Pauni,9 Mahurjhari, 10 Mandhal, 11 Nagara, 12 15 16 17 BUDDHISM IN A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE Khairwada, 13 N aikund, 14 Bhagimohari, Tharsa, Arni, 21 22 Arambha, 18 Adam, 19 Shirkhand, 20 Pachkheri, Bhawar, A Glance at Early Historic Vidarbha 25 Hamlapuri, 23 Mansar,2 4 Bramhapuri (district Chandrapur), 27 Bhon 26 (district Buldhana), Kholapur (district Amaravti) and others. As far as Buddhist presence in Vidarbha is concerned, REsHMA SAwANT 28 which is the main focus of this paper, excavations at Pauni (Bhandara district), Adam 29 (Nagpur district), Mansa~, 30 and recently at the site of Bhon 31 (Buldana district) have unearthed the evidence of stupa structures. New discoveries in the form Maharashtra can be divided, archaeologically, into two zones­ of Buddhist sculptures or rock-cut caves have also been (a) Vidarbha (extreme eastern part of the state of Maharashtra) reported .32 These studies notwithstanding, Buddhism in early and, (b) Rest of Maharashtra. 1 In Vidarbha protohistoric human historic Vidarbha has never been a main object of any detailed settlement began around the beginning of first millennium study. But a few researches are worth mentioning, such as, an BCE at the Chalcolithic levels, as evidenced at sites like article by S.B. Deo 33 focusing on Hinayana Buddhism in Tulajapur Garhi,2 Adam,3 Arambha, 4 and Shirkanda.s But at Vidarbha. Pradeep Meshram 34 has also looked into various majority of si.tes of Vidarbha, human occupation started from aspects such as the architecture of Buddhist caves, sculpture, Iron Age penod characterized by megalithic burial. In rest of and reading of inscriptions. ~aha~ashtra, ~ft~r the decline of Chalcolithic cultures, early his~or~cal habitation began during the Mauryan period but Before the advent of Buddhism: Early Iron Age Megalithic maionty of ~own sites belong to the Satavahana period. culture (700 - 300 BCE) The Vidarbha region forms the eastern part of Maharashtra and presently comprises eleven districts of Vidarbha is located on a very strategic position forming Maharashtra, viz., Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amaravati, a link between northern and southern India. This locational advantage seems to have proved very useful for cultural Yevatmal, ~a~dh.a, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gondia diffusion from north and south in Vidarbha. Numerous cultural and Gadchiroh (Fig. 1). The river Wardha forms a natural line currents passed through vidarbha which cultivated reciprocal of division for Vidarbha, creating two zones, viz. the Western relationship and induced developments in various fields. This Vidarbha and the Eastern Vidarbha. Western zone includes the districts of Amravati , Buldhana, Yevatmal and Akola. This brought Vidarbha in political orbit of India from the very early stages of historical peri:ld. It has also been observed that the Buddhism in a Regional Perspective 87 86 Monasteries, Shrines and Society BCE. They, thus, help in assigning the Megaliths and habitations to a period between 7th and 5th centuries BCE. The early Iron Age in Vidarbha witnessed a great progress in craft specialization in metal art , lapidary or pottery. The relative progress in the use of metals suggests that the n 2 ed for these was becoming quite considerable and the reason behind this may be related to either military, agricultural, or increasing exchange needs. The same phenomenon applies to the period of early Iron Age in Vidarbha . The wide range of iron and copper implements and variety of ornaments in gold, lapidary art of excellent artistic skill support this observation. The grave goods associated with megalithic burials of the early Iron Age of Vidarbha exhibits their artist's skill. On the basis of numerous and variety of artifacts, there seem to be distinct classes of artisans and craftsmen like blacksmith, coppersmith, -- - goldsmith, potter, cobbler, carpenter, highly skilled craftsmen in lapidaries, etc. It is interesting to note that at Naikund three Fig. 1: Vidarbha region and important Early Historic Sites copper bells are recovered from one of the stone circle having domical body which is made out of thick sheets of copper, Chalcolithic and the early Iron Age-Megalithic sites are located and the clappers of iron riveted to them internally. In another in the districts of Nagpur, Chandrapur, Bhandara and instance, the copper tongue has been attached with iron Gadchiroli. A very large number of megalithic burials (burial rivets. 36 This bimetal technological advancement in types: stone circles, menhirs, and sarcophagus) as well as craftsmanship is noteworthy. habitation sites occur in the eastern part of Vidarbha from 7'h Apart from craft specialization, the archaeozoological - 6th centuries BCE onward. Within Vidarbha, a particular evidences furnished use of cattle, sheep and a unique evidence heavy concentrations of sites with numerous megaliths are of horse (as status symbol/ transportation facility), which noticed in the district of Nagpur. Most of the sites are located show significant importance of animal husbandry. Along with in a 50km radius from Nagpur city. They include Kamptee this, a few more important developments are noticed at the (21 ° 14 N; 71 ° 15'E), Junapani (21° 12· N; 79° 00' E), Mahurjhari sites like Adam and Bhagimohari, indicating agricultural (21° 14'N; 79° 30'E), Takalaghata Khapa (20° 54' 40" N; 78° 56' intensification. Bhagimohari, a burial-cum-habitation site of 30" E), Naikund (2I° 20' N; 79° 10' E), Borgaon (21 ° 20'N; 78° Iron Age, has yielded cultivated species like barley, lentil, 55' E), and Bhagimahari (21° 24' N; 78° 51' E), Raipur (21° 5'N; common pea and grass pea as winter crop and rice, common 78° 58' E), excavated in varying degrees over the years. Of bean, horse gram, and black gram among the monsoon these, Takalaghata-Khapa, Naikund, Bhagimahari, and (summer) crop, suggesting that the early Iron Age inhabitants Mahurjhari have habitational mounds. The rest are exclusively not only knew and developed the agricultural skill, but also burial sites. Some sites are only habitation sites: Kaundinyapur carried out their farming operations during both summer (20° 55' N; 78° 05' E), Arni (20° 4' N; 78° 57' E), and Tharsa (21° (khari.f) and winter (rabbi) seasons. Rice had perhaps become 15' N; 21° 15' E). The dates for the middle levels of megalithic the commonest ingredient of the staple during the pt habitations at Takalaghat35 are 615 ± 105 BCE and 465 ± 90 88 Monasteries, Shrines and Society Buddhism in a Regional Perspective 89 millennium BCE.37The site of Adam yielded domestic rice h s been observed during early historical period of western grass pea, leguminous cotyledons, weed species, Indian juju be' ~ccan. 43 Though shell remains from excavated sites of the beleric myrabolan, etc. from the early Iron Age levels. Of th~ rotohistoric and early historical period from Vidarbha are two early Iron Age megalithic sites, Naikund and Khairwa da ~ot studied in specific, the archaeological evidences from these the former has yielded evidence for rice, wheat, barley, black sites indicate similar nature of procurement of shells by the gram and Indian jujube and latter furnished the evidence for communities. The sites like Adam, 44 Shirkanda, 45 and rice, weeds of cultivation. 38 These evidences definitely indic ate Bramhapuri 46 have yielded the evidence of marine shell objects fairly de_veloped agricultural economy during the early Iron in the form of bangles or beads, indicating long distance Age penod. The gradual spread of iron technology is giv en exchange. as the one of the reasons for intensification of agriculture whi ch The period of circa 500-300 BCE witnessed the use of also made it possible the necessary surplus for the productio n punch-marked coins in limited scale as very few coins are of commodities for exchange. 39 reported from Vidarbha region. Coins are reported from: 47 48 The wide range of iron implements found in the buri als unknown place in Vidarbha ; Bramhapuri (district 49 and the habitation sites and the discovery of iron-smelti ng Chandrapur); Akola, Bhandara and Yevatmal ; Umrer5° furnace led the scholars to experiment and to check whe ther (district Nagpur) etc. Naikund was producing iron implements and had exchang e In my doctoral research, I have attempted to show that with ot~er site~. It yielded an interesting results suggesti ng Asmaka mahiijanapada was situated in the Wardha-Winganga that the iron obJects from Mahurjhari, Khapa, Gangapur, and valley and its cultural material can be identified with early Borgaon had been produced at Naikund.