Copyright by Matthew David Milligan 2010 The Thesis Committee for Matthew David Milligan Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: A Study of Inscribed Reliefs within the Context of Donative Inscriptions at Sanchi APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Oliver Freiberger Janice Leoshko A Study of Inscribed Reliefs within the Context of Donative Inscriptions at Sanchi by Matthew David Milligan, B.A. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August 2010 Dedication In memory of Dr. Selva J. Raj, and for all of my teachers, past, present, and future. Acknowledgements I’d like to begin by thanking my two co-supervisors, Dr. Oliver Freiberger and Dr. Janice Leoshko. Their comments, insights, and--most of all, patience--have given me the opportunity to learn much during this process. I am grateful to other professors at the University of Texas at Austin who have taught me much these past few years, including the arduous task of teaching me Sanskrit. For this, I am indebted to Dr. Edeltraud Harzer, Dr. Patrick Olivelle, and Dr. Joel Brereton. I extend much appreciation to those in India who have helped me research, travel, and learn Prakrit. First, I thank Dr. Narayan Vyas (Retd. Superintending Archaeologist, ASI Bhopal), for helping to arrange my research opportunity at Sanchi in 2009. Also at Sanchi, S.K. Varma--who may yet prove to be the incarnation of Emperor Aśoka-- assisted a great deal, as well as P.L. Meena, and the kind staff of the ASI Archaeological Colony and the Gateway Retreat. From a previous visit to Sanchi, I must thank Subodh Kumar of Bodh Gaya who willingly accompanied me on my first trip. I am grateful to Rajashree Mohadikar and Vimal Bafana for their language assistance while I studied Prakrit on the AIIS Pune program. Elsewhere, I thank Dr. Lars Fogelin for kindly nudging me in the right directions years ago. More recently, I thank Dr. Julia Shaw who helped me gain access to Sanchi. At home, I could not have done this without Amanda Boundy--who has read much more of this thesis than she probably would have liked--and all of my family and close friends. Finally, I must say thank you again to everybody for illuminating my experience. 8/13/2010 v Abstract A Study of Inscribed Reliefs within the Context of Donative Inscriptions at Sanchi Matthew David Milligan, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2010 Supervisor: Oliver Freiberger Inscribed relief art at the early Buddhist archaeological site of Sanchi in India exhibits at least one interesting quality not found elsewhere at the site. Sanchi is well known for its narrative reliefs and reliquaries enshrined in st ūpa s. However, two inscribed images of st ūpa s found on the southern gateway record the gifts of two prominent individuals. The first is a junior monk whose teacher holds a high position in the local order. The second is the son of the foreman of the artisans of a king. Both inscribed st ūpa images represent a departure from a previous donative epigraphical habit. Instead of inscribing their names on image-less architectural pieces, these two particular individuals inscribed their names on representations of st ūpa s, a symbol with a multiplicity of meanings. In this thesis, I use two perspectives to analyze the visual and verbal texts of these inscribed reliefs. In the end, I suggest that these donations were recorded as part of the visual field intentionally, showing the importance of not only inscribing a name on an auspicious symbol but also the importance of inscribing a name for the purpose of being seen. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... ix List of Images ..........................................................................................................x List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................1 1.1 The Sanchi Landscape and Geography ...................................................3 1.2 Sanchi's Archaeological History .............................................................6 1.3 Viewing Stūpa Images ...........................................................................10 1.4 Towards a Grammar of Representation ................................................16 Chapter 2 Reading the Southern Gateway ............................................................18 2.1 Structure of a Gateway ...........................................................................19 2.2 Location of the Stūpa Images ...............................................................27 2.3 Inscriptions in the Reliefs .....................................................................35 2.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................39 Chapter 3 Reading the Inscriptions at Sanchi .......................................................41 3.1 The Anatomy of a Donative Inscription ................................................42 3.2 Architecture and Donation .....................................................................49 3.3 The Placement of a Donative Inscription...............................................57 3.4 Gifting Power and Monastic Buddhists .................................................64 3.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................68 Chapter 4 The Stūpa s on the Gateways ................................................................70 4.1 The Features of the Stūpa s .....................................................................71 4.2 Types of Stūpa s ......................................................................................78 4.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................89 Chapter 5 Conclusion ............................................................................................92 vii Appendix 1: All Thirty St ūpa s and their Features Discussed in Chapter 4 ..........96 Appendix 2: St ūpa s on the Four Gateways ...........................................................97 Bibliography ........................................................................................................127 Vita .....................................................................................................................131 viii List of Tables Table 1.1: Construction Periods of the Sanchi Hill..............................................8 Table 2.1: Location of the Stūpa Images ...........................................................28 Table 2.2: Location of the Stūpa Images according to Gateway .......................29 Table 2.3: Architectural Composition of Mānushi Buddha Scenes ...................31 Table 3.1: Palaeographic Groupings of the Inscriptions at Sanchi ....................41 Table 3.2: Donor Communities on the Ground Balustrade of Stūpa no. 1 ........47 Table 3.3: Number of Donations Compared to Number of Donors ...................47 Table 3.4: Types of Architectural Pieces with Donor Frequencies ...................49 Table 3.5: Architectural Pieces Compared to Volume and Inscribed Number ..49 Table 3.6: Inside Facing Architectural Pieces....................................................59 Table 3.7: Outside Facing Architectural Peices .................................................60 Table 3.8: Local vs. Non-Local Inscriptions Facing Inside ...............................64 Table 3.9: Local vs. Non-Local Inscriptions Facing Outside ............................64 Table 3.10: Major Non-Local Towns Compared to Donated Pieces ...................64 Table 3.11: Monastic Titles and Donors ..............................................................65 Table 3.12: Types of Monastic Donors................................................................69 Table 4.1: The Location of the 30 Stūpa Images ...............................................83 Table 4.2: Mānushi Themed Stūpa Images ........................................................84 Table 4.3: Parinirv āṇa Themed Stūpa Images ..................................................85 Table 4.4: Historical Themed Stūpa Images ......................................................86 Table 4.5: Unidentifiable Stūpa Images .............................................................88 ix List of Images Image 1.1: Sanchi St ūpa no. 1 and Gateway from the North................................1 Image 1.2: Inscribed St ūpa Image and a Non-Inscribed Image on the South Gateway ..............................................................................................2 Image 1.3: Parinirv āṇa Themed St ūpa from the North Gateway .......................11 Image 1.4: An Unidentifiable St ūpa Image from the East Gateway ...................16 Image 2.1: Location of the South Gateway's Narratives .....................................20 Image 2.2: Three Architraves on the Outside Face from the South ....................22 Image 2.3: Location of the West Gateway's Narratives ......................................25 Image 2.4: Location of the North Gateway's Narratives .....................................26 Image 2.5: Location of the East Gateway's Narratives .......................................27