Pratna SassaeE{sEam

A Journol of Archoeology

.:

Centre o{ Archoeological Studies & Training

Eostern lnd iq, Kolkoto
 INSCRIPTIONS

Image of a Saiva Teacher and an Inscription on Pedestal:

New Evidence for Bangarh Saivism

RANJUSRI GHOSH
The Asiatic Society, Kolkata

Arstnecr: This paper discusses an image of a Saiva teacher and an inscription on a pedestal
both in black
basalt' These throw interesting light on the Durvasa sect of Saivism which
flourisrr.i l" r""g".n ..gio' i'
Gangarampur block of Dakshin Dinajpur district. Although we come to know
about the i-ag;s oiviayasirr"
and Mnrtisiva,the acaryas who are referred to, in one insc-.iption from
Bangarh describing the line of acaryas
of Durvasa sect' none of them were found from Rangarh. The image ,ni th" inscription
under our study
are both fragmented and probably parts of a single iolptrrre, th..Jfor" ii.rt
of its iirrd for the history of
Saivism of Bangarh.

KEvwonos: Saiuacaryas, kotivarsa uisaya, Golakimatha tradition, Murti6iva.

The two stone pieces selected for discussion in
this paper are firsr of its kind for the history of
Saivism that flourished at Bangarh, a famous
historical site of north Bengal. Bangarh is situa_
frU ,.!d in{Gangarampur
'Sfest
block of Dakshin Dinajpur
disrrict of Bengal. The site is known to be
an important historical site to scholars and
researchers. It is considered as the headquarters
of Kotivarsa uisaya within pundravaidhana
bhukti of the Gupta empire as had'been evident
from the Gupta inscriptions from north Bengal.
Excavations of this site during the seasons of
1938-4I by Asutosh Museum bf Kolkat",
although a trial digging, under the supervision
/G*rr^o.*of K. G. Goswamrfrevealed that the site under-
A 'qeEJ went rhe r"-. .uliural stages till the Gupta
period that is to be found at other urban sites
of ancient Bengal. Still later, the discoveries of
cultural remains including epigraphs, structural
remains, and images from Bangarh region made
it clear that besides being a vety important
uisaya headquarters of the Gupta administrative
structure, its geographical location made it a
suitable transit point for commercial transport
and transaction because of its riverine facifities
and agronomic potentiality. The same facilities
perhaps induced the Pala kings to maintain here
a military.post ro protect the eastern part of their
kingdon{ The most characteristic feature of
Bangarh, however, was that the area around it,
Pratna Samiksha, New Series, vol. 1, 2010 (Kolkata: Centre for
Archaeologic,al St,'!ies & Training, Eastern India), pp. 135-9.
-Qrar th.'loB
Rudrani.
which was within Kotivarsa uisaya, developed
as an attractive settlement zone for people be_
longing to the Brahma+ical culture. This answers
why we get here the maximum number of
epigraphs recording land gifts to rhe Brahmanas
and Brahmalical religion during the Gupta and
Pala periods' Bengal. Sculptures discovered from
Bangarh locality with a few exceptions, belong
to the Brahmanical pantheon. These ur. ,rorI
scattered in different places and museums. A
good number of them are still to be found in
Bangarh locality itself in private collections,
police station treasur@ schools, etc. It is found
that presence of thi: Buddhist images in the
whole assemblage of sculptures is considerably
insignificant with total absence of the
Jain sculp_
ture. The picture that we derive from epigraphic
and sculptural evidences thus shows that both
the Buddhist and Jain monks did not find a
favourable environment at Bangarh although
they preferably chose urban environments when
they entered a new land for the propagation of
doctrines. Close scrutiny ol scutpiures again
reveals that Rangarh throughoui remained a
centre for the Saivas. The assemblage of
?tlong
Saiva sculptures include several deities .rhibit-
ing fierce features. The author encountered a few
forms which are unique for Bangarh. Besides the
1T,"9..,(row@. tave an epigraph throwing
Itght on a special Saiva sect known as Durvasa
loefr
- i
 1.36 RANJUSRI GHOSH
belonging to the Siddhnnta school of the Gola-
kimatha tradition, that flourished at Bangarh
(9i",o* rnluring the Pala period{ The epigraph eulogizes
one of the later iaiuacaryas, MurtiSiva by Rupa-
Siva, who became the next acarya after the
demise of the former. The Golakimatha tradition
may be traced as early as the first half of the
@q tenth century eo in this country.@know/
about two more Golakrmathas respectively one
in Jabbalpur and other in the Guntur district.
The Golakrmatha to which the Bangarh Saivas
belonged has not yet been located. It was headed
by VidynSiva. It is learnt that the acaryas of this
sect had sound knowledge in their own philo-
sophy and they possessed vast logical acumen to
establish its superiority over others belonging to
the sects of Brahmanical and heterodox reli-
gions. They won over other teachers in religious
discourses even in places outside the Pala terri-
tory (the epigraph says about a great achieve-
ment of the iaiuacarya Rupa6iva when he was
awarded by Bhojadeva identifiable with the king
of Malwa (eo 1000-1055) as he became victo-
rious in a philosophical debate against his oppo-
nents who followed the heterodox faith des-
cribed as pasdndtl. All these achievements must
have been secured at the cost of other sects. The
comparative larger share bf the Saiva sculptures
in Bangarh locality is thus a natural pheno-
(el*u*)menorf
-
The point which seemed disappointing
and scihewhat unnatural so far, however, was
the absence of any image of the laiuacaryas
especially of Murti6iva, perhaps the most erudite
of all the acaryas, from Bangarh. The said
epigraph tells us of an image of Murti6iva, that
Rupa6iva wanted to be sculpted. In actuality one
gets two images of Saiva teachers belonging to
the Bangarh Durvasa sect but none of them from
Bangarh. The find-spot of the image of the first
acaryaVidynsiva is not known.It is now preser-
t/ , - , ..-ved in the Pritzker Collection of Chicago and as
(($#rqfrs find-spot the name of Bengal onlyfs foun{
" The image of MIrtisiva discovered frorff
r', . Hooghly district is now in the Asutosh Museum,
h**f
WD
ill#4i in this respect ,r'. i-"f. "i;i' S;;
[each{'des€rves a very special place for the
history of Bangah Durvasa sect. The image (Fig.
1) is lodged in Balurghat College Museum in
Balurghat town of Dakshin Dinajpur district.
The stone is black basalt with the height of 84.5
cm. The broken part took the main figure's and
two accompanying figures' feet away. Except
the lower portion from the mid thigh, the main
figure is in round. His hands are in uyakhyana
mudra. He wears kaupina,the usual garment for
the iaiuacaryas.The short upauita hangs across
the belly. The left hand is damaged. He is mous-
tached and bearded like Vidyasiva and Murti-
Siva. He sports a tilaka as well. The jatas are
arranged in turban-like cap and bound in the
middle by a lace. Some jatas are hanging on
shoulders. His broad eyes and whole face
brightened with soft smile. The standing two
figures at right (Fig. 2) are fashioned in the same
manner with kauptna, beard, moustache, etc.
Their dwarfed figures, folded hands with slightly
forward-bending heads in paying respect pose,
indicate that they are disciples listening intently
while their teacher is explaining some philo-
sophical issues.
This image like all other antiquities in this
museum has been collected br- late Achintya
Krishna Goswami, Professor of the same college.
His list of collected objects does not mention it
clearly (this author got one copy of this list from
Goswami himself). The present Keeper of the
museum, and teacher of the same college,
Kamalesh Das told the author thar Goswami
told him that he found it along rvith a Carcika
image at the same place in Shibbari r-illage near
the Bangarh mound where the above-mentioned
epigraph was discovered. It may' be mentioned
here that two distinct places were marked out
within the Bangarh environs that developed as
two important Saiva temple complexes. One
was situated at Shibbari village and the other at
Keshavpur village both on the Punarbhava and
at straight line five hundred metres far from each
@r4 Shibbari village is very close to the Ban-
I g"rhf;ro.rnd. So thisls the first image of a iaiua'
! carya who should have attached to the Durvasa
Isect of Bangarh as it agrees with the practice of
Gf*,,^ z-oo9-t'ool)
 Image of a Saiua Teacher and an lnscription on Pedestal 137
tig.
Lin
:^-
ll L.
4.5
rnd
ept
ain
ina
for
OSS

us-
ni-
are
rhe
on
tce
i\-o
me

rtiV
is:.
Lrir
io-

W. t
--;, d ry?Ba lurghat Co llege IIu seum. Ftc. 2.Illustration of small fugures at the right of
-----@qA
S

u rhor t rhe saiuacarya image. gpftryl, Author) /11*-E

lrr*rr'
image-making as we come to know from the
enigraph mentioned above.
The pedestal along with the iaiuacarya's feet
is missrng. A fragmented pedestal (15 cm x 19.5
cm at the middle) made of the same black ba-
salt stone lvas found n'ith one damaged left foot
on the plain base along with a inscribed text
(Fig. 3) in the tenth-century script which contin-
ues in the frontal part (Fig. 4). This was found
rn rhe Mission Girls' School, in the Rajivpur
rtttti,l. The school is very near and to the west
of the Bangarh mound in the same mauja.In the
Murtisir-a image one gets a chance to see the
bare feet of the acarya as he is depicted in stand-
ing posture (Fig. 5 shows the fragmented lower
part of Murtiiiva). The foot in question is also
bare and depicted in the same manner, but the
difference is that here, it is not on the lotus.
Horvever, that does not prevent us in identify-
--nt
ing it as a fragmented part o{ a laiuacarya im-
age from its inscription. A part of the inscrip-
tion is missing, so one cannot get the full text.
\7hat survives may be read as:
Line 1. siddham (symbol) 5ri yogi...
Line 2. (o)!a surasurair-uandya rudrani (I)
Line 3. prauara prrtnaudtitAm s(i)aiuaca...
The meaning of the inscription is difficult to
make out as it is in corrupt Sanskrit and partly
missing. The author would like to interpret it as
that the foot belongs to a iaiuacarya who per-
haps is paying homage to the goddess Rudrali,
i.e. Durga, the consort of Siva, who is wor-
shipped by all, the gods (suras) and demons
(asuras)...
The inscribed pedestal with a fragmented left
foot, in all probability, belongs to the image kept
in Balurghat College Museum. Both are found
 138 RANJUSRI GHOSH

Frc. 3. Upper secrion of rhe pedestal wirh the Ftc. 4. Front section o{ the pedestal rvith rest
foot.(v ss on G i ri s' Sch oo l. ol tlre inse rrnlief ln *Lr-} ^Arw;n'
lo..,.rfo'6(Ph4t6 ["4!gft'
i i

' ke;.',1o it--a/n*"

,$Ew
in the same locality. Both are in black basalt and
both match each orher's missing parts. In that
case, the question may arise as to why this
acarya is not represented on the lotus. The an-
swer at this stage should not be regarded as
based on solid ground. But some points may be
put up for consideration. The images of Vidya-
6iva and Murti6ir.a both on the lotus perhaps
\yere not at all scr-rlpted ar Bangarh. These s-ere
meant for the Golakunafia. rher- relonged and
made rhere in. rhe e :tact ioc::ion oi ri hich still
remain unknou-n to us. \\'hrr ihe practrce of
image-making of Sair-a re ;rchi:s \1'as introduced
at Bangarh local ideas lerr r:. rnark on it. Here
the teacher is represented more as a personality
to be revered and not as a s,rj ro be r,vorshipped.
The subtle distinctron eirsures the deities like
Siva, Durga, etc. a higher podium than the laiua-
caryas in spiritual hierarchr of the Durvasa sect
of Bangarh.
Frc. 5. Pedestal of Murti6iva image:
after N. Goswami 1996,PL.19.2.

AcxNowreoGEMENTS: I remember with gratitude the advice I received from S. C. Bhattachan'a

and Gourishwar Bhattacharva as I was trying to read the texts of some image inscriptions I coi-
lected including this.
 lmage of a Saiua Teacher and an lnscription on Pedestal 139

NorBs

From rextual and archaeological evidences, this 150 missiles. (Goswami 1'948:25). Later A. K.
author has shown that Bakhtiyar Khilji who con- Goswami also discovered a good number of missiles
quered Laksmanvati made Bangarh (i.e. Deokot) his near the main mound (handed over to District Library
capital somerime before his Tibetan expedition in eo museum by Goswami). Recent exposure of two brick
12b5. Ir is known that his project of Tibet was too bastions by the Calcutta Circle of Archaeological
ambitious which ultimately brought about his doom. Survey of India belonging to Pala period (Newsletter,
Curses and abuses poured on him by the widows and Centre for Archaeological Studies 6c Training,
children of dead soldiers of Deokot made his failure Eastern India, 2009, no. 1.4, p. 24.) shows how the
much more painful. However, death brought relief to Pdla kings worked out for its defence. Traces of a
him perhaps shortly after his Tibetan disaster. Bakh- canal joining the two huge tanks, the Kaldighi and
rivar was buried in the Bangarh locality at Pirpal. The Dhaldighi in Bangarh region with the Punarbhava
Pirer Dargah of this place is surrounded with other river on which the main citadel of Bangarh is situated
imposing structures with good workmanship and a is found (personal investigation). The two tanks
tt lofty tank paved with stones on all sides. The place might have required for maintaining a naval fleet at
iao
|&'. ar once shows that the mousalium must be of an safe distance. The Pila records mention of royal navy
important person of high position. A tradition of its on several occasions and it was not impossible to
being of Bakhtiyar Khiiii"fio ir rrro"gly@n.rffi"intain a part of it at Bangarh. It may be -err-
"iso
land (discusseed in detail in a forthcoming-5-ook). The- tioned here that a section of Bangarh (the settlement
question is that before shifting his capital to Bangarh area around Dhaldighi) region is still known as
i6at Bakhtiyar musr have taken its srrategic potentiality Damdama. Muslim writers of the thirteenth century
f ttis
1""- and defence arrangements into account. Bangarh was called Devikot, i.e. Bangarh site damdama indicating
Pundra-
l"'
ly be
the most important administrative centre of
vardhana bhukti right from the Gupta period. The
that it was a military post. Such defensive arrangemets
must have developed much earlier rather to accept it
cir.v was fonified like other important cities of that a sudden phenomenon under the short Muslim
dva- time. We got terracotta missiles from different levels occupation.
!.pt {iom Srr{rga period onwards. K. G. Goswami found
tsere
[-d
irstill RrrERBNcrs
rof
nced Bhattacharya, G. (2000). 'Inscribed Image of a Goswami, N. (1995). 'A note on an inscribed
Saiv-charya from Bengal', Essays on Buddhist portrait-statue of MurtiSiva from'S7est Bengal',
FIere
Hindu lain lconography, Studies in Bengal Art Debala Mitra (ed.) Exploration in Art and
ulity Arcltaeology of South Asia: Essays Dedicated
pp. 309-1.3, Pl. 30.I, Dhaka: The
Series, no. 1,
ped. /o N. G. Maiumdar,pp.267-75, Pl. 19.I,
International Centre for Study of Bengal Art.
like Ghosh, R. (2006). 'Saiua Cult and Some Images at Calcutta: Directorate of Archaeology and
,iaA- Bairgad: Daksin Dinajpur', lournal of the Museums, Government of West Bengal.
Isect Asiatic Society 48: 44-64, no. 4. Sircar, D. C. (1980).'Nayapaler.Rajatvakalin
'second Report of Archaeological MurtiSiver Bangad Pra5asti', Silalekha
lnvestigation in Two Dinajpur Districts Tamraldsanadir Prasaiga (about the stone
-(2008-09).
(Dakshin and Uttar) of !7est Bengal', Journal and copperplate inscriptions, in Bengali),
of Bengal Art 1.3-1.4: 1.19-42, Bangladesh: The pp. 85-101, Calcutta: Sahityalok.
Internarional Centre for Study of Bengal e.d
ftUO"pU alfutoA^x n 4ofu) on il.f,1..4*t
Goswami, K. G. (1948). 'Excavations at Bangarh - plali tr s)
(1,938-4"1,)', Asutosh Museum Memoir, no. 1., ' '/
pp. 5 and 34, Calcutta: University of Calcutta.