It is not clear what this mixed script is.

Yashwant

-------


Unique seal pendant discovered in Orissa
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA


BHUBANESWAR: Two archaeologists have discovered a unique seal matrix
engraved on a pendant made of red jasper from an early historic site
of Budhigarh in western Orissa.

The seal is considered significant from the archaeological point of
view as it is the second of its kind, a mixed script of Kharoshit and
Brahmi, found from Orissa.

According to Pradeep Mahanty and Baba Mishra of the archaeology
department of Deccan College, Pune, the seal was discovered during
excavations at the Budhigarh site, located close to Madanpur village
of Kalahandi district.

The artefactual evidence from the site indicated that it was occupied
from the early historic to the medieval period. The site has already
revealed a rich ceramic industry, terracota, enormous quantity of
cast and punched marked coins, iron implements, faunal remains, brick
structure and lavish use of beads made of precious and semi-precious
stones.

According to Mahanty the diamond-shape centimetre long seal matrix
was unearthed from Budhigarh surface. The proximal end of the seal
bears a floral motif. It is well-polished, attractive and
aesthetically appealing.

He claimed that the legend in the seal was written in well-known
mixed script of early AD century which consisted of Kharoshit and
Brahmi letters. The script, the archaeologist said, was in popular
use in lower Bengal in the early centuries.

The inscription, Mahanty said, was the second instance of writing in
the mixed script found from Orissa. Earlier, a similar type of seal
was also discovered from Manikpatna, an early historic port site in
Puri district on the Bay of Bengal.

He said the seal matrix belonged to a person who was a patron of
Brahmanical sacrifice. The perforation in the top region of the
matrix suggested that it was used as a pendant of a string garland.

It was probably worn by the owner who used the matrix whenever
necessary. This also indicates how Brahmanical religion had
percolated into the upland region of tribal principality. Both
Mahanty and Mishra, recently got the license from the Archaeological
Survey of India to excavate the early historic site of Orissa.

As part of some transport research I am involved with, does anyone
have other examples of pre-Roman tricycles other than the mid second
millennium clay chariot tricycle draw by water-birds from the Dubovac-
Zuto brdo culture?

Many thanks for any help you can provide,


Keith
Keith Armstrong

Writing materials in Ancient India

Today the most common writing materials are pen and paper. Typewriter has been in use for some 150 years. But now it is the computer-machine that is being used more and more for writing, publishing and disslmination. The day is not far when humans world be conversing directly with the computers. In the twenty-first century the responsibility of carrying and conveying human thought will rest mainly with the computers.

Writing materials have played a very prominent role in the development of cultures. They have helped not only in preserving the history and culture of mankind, but have also deeply influenced the scripts, languages as well as man's mode of thinking. To understand ancient writing materials, therefore, is to understand ancient cultures in a better light. In this article I will discuss mainly Indian writing materials.

Today paper is the main material used for writing, but its origin is not in India. Modern paper is a Chinese invention and the word 'paper' is from Greek papyros, the tall paper-reed plant once very common in Egypt. The Hindi word Kagaja (paper) is of Persian origin. Paper is has been used in India only for about a thousand years. Before that the main writing materials in our country were birch-bark, palm-leaves and copper-plates. Besides these, agaru-bark, bricks, earthenware, shell, ivory, cloth, wood, etc. had also their uses as materials for writing. Today all the inscribed materials from the past are in the custody of museums, both Indian and foreign. But we should always keep in mind that these ancient writing materials have served Indian literature and science for more than two millennia. Therefore, I will first discuss the ancient writing materials before taking up the history of paper.

Prehistoric rock paintings have been discovered at Bhimbetka, Pachmarhi, Adamgarh, Mirzapur and many other Indian sites. Here the paintings, in vivid and panoramic detail, depict the day-to-day life of the cave-dwellers. These paintings, which can be called the early pictorial writing, are done mostly in red and white and occasionally in green and yellow. The colours were taken from local minerals and were mixed with water and a fixative resin of some local tree or animal tallow. The brushes used were made of twigs or, for fine work, quills. Along with the rock paintings short Brahmi inscriptions have also been found at Bhimbetka and some other such sites. It is, thus, evident that in ancient India stone and natural colours were used as writing materials for thousands of years.

Indus inscriptions, usually short and numbering about 4000, are found on a variety of objects : (1) steatite seals, (2) sealings on clay, miniature stone, terracotta or faience tablets, (3) copper tablets, (4) bronze implements, (5) bone and ivory rods, (6) pottery graffiti, and (7) miscellaneous objects, such as the unique inscription found at Dholavira lying face down on the floor in front of a crumbled gate and made of a white, crystalline material. We do not know the writing material the Indus people used in their mundane affairs or for composing their 'books'. The Sumerians and Babylonians, contemporaries of the Indus people, used clay tablets for their cuneiform script, which scholars are able to read. But the Indus script, unfortunately, still remains undeciphered!

Before the discovery of the Indus Valley civilization (c. 2500-1800 BC) in 1921-22, many orientalists believed that the Vedic Indians did not have a writing system and they transferred their scriptures from generation to generation by the process of learning by heart. Thus, Max Muller says : "There is no mention of writing materials whether paper, bark or skin at the time when the Indian Diaskeuasts (= compilers) collected the songs of the Rishis; nor is there any allusion to writing during the whole of the Brahmana period." Much evidence has since been obtained to show that writing was known in the Vedic period. Shatapatha Brahmana refers to the Rishi Vamadeva 'obtaining the Rig-Veda hymn by seeing it'. Aitareya Brahmana says, the Rishi 'read the hymn' after he looked at it. Marking of the ears of cows (e.g.,'8-marked cows') is also mentioned in the Rig-Veda. These and several other references prove that the oral tradition was available also in writing. It is, however, true that in those days teaching was oral and study from manuscripts was not considered as the proper method of learning.

In the Buddhist Jatakas there are many references to the art of writing. Panini (c. 500 BC) in his Ashtadyayi refers to granth (book), lipikara (writer) and Yavanani lipi (Greek script). In Panini's grammar writing was an essential element in the technical arrangement of his rules. Several times he asks the reader to 'see' other rules of his composition. It is, thus, certain that this grammatical work of Panini was available in the form of a manuscript. But we have no definite knowledge of the writing materials used in those days.

Stone was the principal writing material in use in ancient India. Engravings on stone, as emperor Ashoka himself expresses, are "such as to endure for a long time". Such engravings were made on rocks, slabs, smoothed or rough pillars, images, caskets, vases, etc. Stone slabs or columns used to be inscribed with grant-deeds, royal eulogy, proclamations, agreements between individuals or kings and even with literary works. For example, the Kurmashataka, a poetical work in Prakrita by the scholar-king Bhoja of Dhara (Malwa) is engraved on stone slabs.

Before inscribing or engraving, the stone used to be dressed by chiselling and polished by rubbing it with another stone having a smooth surface. Engraving on rough surface was not uncommon. The letters were then written on the surface of the stone with ink or a piece of chalk or painted with brush. Finally, the engraver incised the letters on the inked or painted portion. Any damage in the course of inscribing was immediately filled up with some sticky material.

Putting inscriptions on stone pillars is a very old tradition. Emperor Ashoka (272-232 BC) got his edicts inscribed on rocks and also on stone pillars. Made of sandstone quarried from Chunar (UP), the pillars are monolithic and highly polished. Some of the pillars are 15 m high and weigh nearly 50 tons. These Ashokan pillars can be seen in Delhi, Allahabad, Lumbini and several other sites.

There are also other kinds of Pillars. The Dwajastambha, which often carried an inscription, was erected in the courtyard of a temple. The Jayastambha carried an eulogy of a victorious king. The Kirtistambha was erected to commemorate some pious deed. Virastambha was put up in memory of a warrior who died fighting the enemy. The sacrificial pillar, called Yupastambha, also carried inscriptions.

Bricks, Gold, Silver, Wood, etc.

A large number of inscribed bricks have been unearthed from different places and are preserved in archaeological museums. Some inscribed bricks are related to the Ashwamedha sacrifices performed by various kings. Most of the early inscribed bricks carry Buddhist sutras, the letters having been scratched on the moist clay, before it was baked. Inscribed clay seals have been obtained from Nalanda and several other ancient sites.

Specimens of some inscribed ivory bars and conch-shells have been discovered. Precious metals, gold and silver have been used for engraving and casting with characters. The Buddhist Jatakas often mention the use of gold-plates for recording royal letters and grant-deeds. The Kanha Jataka states, "He (Kanha Kumar) took in his hand a golden plate, and reading upon the golden plate the lines inscribed by his kinsmen of the former days, 'so much of the property gained by such one, so much by another,' thought he ...". A gold plate with a Kharoshthi inscription has been found in a Stupa near Taxila. Likewise, a number of inscriptions on silver have also been obtained, one among them being from the Buddhist Stupa at Bhattiprolu. Also, there are inscriptions on a large number of coins made of gold and silver.

Wooden board, called phalaka, was widely used for writing in ancient India. On it characters were written with ink or chalk (pandu-lekha). Phalaka was used by the students for learning to write alphabets and also for doing elementary calculations. Later on the term pati came to represent a wooden board and the word patiganita, i.e. calculation done on a pati, came into use. Alberuni, the Central Asian savant, writes, "They (Hindus) use black tablets for the children in the schools and write upon them along the long side, not the broad side, writing with a white material from the left to the right". Mathematical calculation was also called dhuli-karma (dust-work), because the figures were written on dust spread on wooden board or on the ground. A finger of the hand or a piece of reed was used to write on the layer of the dust.

Cloth :

Cotton cloth (called karpasika-pata or simply pata in Sanskrit) was also used as writing material in ancient India. Nearchos (c. 326 BC), an admiral of Alexander's fleet, has mentioned that the Indians wrote letters on well-beaten cotton cloth. Cloth was prepared for writing by putting on it a thin layer of wheat or rice pulp and polishing with a conch-shell or a smooth stone after the same was dried. Writing on the pata was done with black ink. In Rajastan, almanacs and horoscopes were prepared on scrolls of cloth. In Kerala till recently cloth was used by traders for maintenance of accounts of a permanent nature. In Karnatak a till the last century processed cloth known as kaditam was in use. It was covered with a paste of tamarind-seed and afterwards blackened with charcoal-powder. Chalk or steatite pencils were used for writing on this black cloth.

At times silk cloth was also used for writing. Alberuni writes, "I have been told that the pedigree of this royal family (the shahiyas of Kabul), written on silk, exists in the fortress of Nagarkot, and I much desired to make myself acquainted with it, but the thing was impossible for various reasons".

When it became difficult to procure papyrus from Egypt, the Greeks in the second century BC developed parchment, a prepared but untanned animal skin, as a medium for writing. It was a commonly used writing material in western Asia and Europe in early and medieval times. In India, animal skin, being considered impure, was not very often used for writing. However, in some Buddhist texts, skin is mentioned among the writing materials. From a passage in Subandhu's Vasavadatta (c. 600 AD) it is possible to infer that skin (ajina in Sanskrit) was used for writing. On this point Alberuni writes, "The Hindus are not in the habit of writing on hides, like the Greeks in ancient times". But during the Muslim period a very thin parchment called charba was used for copying, drawing, etc.

Metals :

Only a few inscriptions on iron have been discovered, the most famous among them being on the iron pillar at Mehrauli, near Delhi. This Sanskrit inscription in Gupta Brahmi letters of the 5th century AD consists of six lines and mentions a king whose name is 'Chandra'. In the courtyard of the Gopeswar temple of Garhwal there is the five-metre high iron Trishula which has a 7th century Sanskrit inscription incised on it.

Of all the varieties of metals, copper was the most commonly used material to write on in ancient and medieval India. The copper-plates were known as tamrapata, tamrapatra or tamrashasana. Fahian (c. 400 AD) records the existence of copper-plates in the Buddhist monasteries dating back to Buddha's time. Another Chinese pilgrim, Yuan Chwang (629-45 AD), asserts that King Kanishka got the sacred books of the Buddhist faith engraved on copper-plates. One of the earliest copper-plates, the Sahgaura plate, dates back to the Mauryan period.

Two methods were followed in preparing copper-plates : (1) by hammering, and then engraving; (2) by casting in a mould of sand. Most of the copper-plates have been fashioned with the hammer into the required shape and size. The contents were then written with ink and then the coppersmith or goldsmith engraved the letters or incised them with a chisel. Sometimes the letters were inscribed with a punch in the form of dotted lines.

The other method of preparing a copper-plate was to cast it in a mould of sand, in which the letters and the emblems had been previously scratched with a stilus or a pointed piece of wood. These, therefore, appear on the plate in relievo. The Sahgaura plate, the oldest tamrapatra known, has been cast in a mould of sand.

When the document was lengthy, more than one plate was used and held together with copper rings. For protecting the writing, the rims of the plates were usually thickened and slightly raised. The first side of the first plate and the last of the last plate were left blank. Usually the number of plates in a decree or grant varies from two to nine.

Palm-leaf :

Till paper was introduced in India sometime in the eleventh century, palm-leaf was one of the most important materials used for writing purposes. The palm tree, which gives palm-leaves for manuscripts, is of two types -- Shritala or talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) and Kharatala or tad or palmyra palm (Borassus Flabelliformis). The former gives leaves that are long, smooth and supple. This species of palm grows abundantly on the Malabar coast, in Bengal, Myanmar and Ceylon. The Kharatala or tad leaves, on the other hand, are thick and they have a tendency to break very easily. The fibres of the Shritala leaves are more resistant to decay than the Karatala leaves. It is because of these reasons that Shritala leaves have been preferred to Kharatal leaves for writing manuscripts.

To prepare palm-leaves for writing they were first dried, boiled in water and then dried again. Then they were smoothened and polished with a stone or conch-shell. The leaves were then cut to size, which varied from 15 cms to 1 metre in length and 2 to 10 cms in breadth. In South India a pointed stilus was used to incise letters on the palm-leaf, and then lamp-black or some colour pigment was rubbed into the incised letters. The other method, followed mostly in North India, was to use pen and ink. Palm-leaves could not be bound. One or two holes were bored in the leaves and then cords were passed through them. The manuscripts were generally placed between two wooden boards and the cord passing through the holes were wrapped round the boards.

In a hot and humid climate the palm-leaves can not be preserved for a very long time. Therefore, earlier palm-leave MSS of Indian origin have been obtained mostly from Nepal, Tibet and Central Asia. According to a reference in the Life of Yuan Chwang, the Buddhist Canon was written on palm-leaves at the first council held soon after the passing away of the Buddha.The oldest palm-leaf manuscript was found in Sikiang, China. It is a drama by Ashavaghosha and belongs to the second century AD. An old Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscript belonging to the sixth century AD is preserved in the Horiuzi temple in Japan. Several palm-leave MSS are preserved in the Darbar Library at Kathmandu. Mahapandita Rahul Sankrityayan (1894-1963) has discovered a large number of palm-leave MSS in Tibet. Numerous palm-leave MSS of 10th and later centuries have been obtained from Nepal, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Birch-bark :

A very popular material for writing purposes in ancient India was birch-bark, called Bhurja-patra in Sanskrit. The birch is moderate-sized tree growing in the Himalayas at a height of nearly 14,000 feet. The inner bark of this tree was used for writing. The Greek writer of Alexander's time Q. Curtius mentions the tender inner bark of trees as serving the purpose of writing material. Kalidas in his Kumarasambhava mentions bhurja-tvak, birch-bark. Alberuni states that people in India use for writing the bark of Bhurja, a kind of tuz tree. He also records the method of preparation of Bhurja-patra : "They take a piece one yard long and as broad as the outstretched fingers of the hand, or somewhat less, and prepare it in various ways. They oil and polish it so as to make it hard and smooth, and then they write on it. The proper order of the single leaves is marked by numbers. The whole book is wrapped up in a piece of cloth and fastened between two tablets of the same size. Such a book is called Puthi." Birch-bark leaves used to be written upon with a reed pen and specially prepared ink.

Most of the birch-bark MSS have been obtained from Kashmir and Orissa. The oldest Bhurja MS is the Dhammapada in Kharoshthi script from Khotan (Sikiang) and dates back to the second century AD. Birch-bark MSS have also been obtained from Gilgit, Central Asia and some stupas in Afghanistan. The Bakshali MS deals with mathematics and the Navanitakam MS with medicine, both written on birch-bark and belonging to the 4th century AD.

Agaru-bark :

The bark of Agaru tree, which is called sanchipata in Assamese, has been extensively used in north-east India for writing and painting. Preparing the Agaru-bark for writing is a laborious process. Even then a large number of sanchapati MSS have been found, some of them also in foreign collections.

Gunakar Muley

From: http://www.vigyanprasar.com

New excavations show an older Lucknow

THE TIMES OF INDIA NEWS SERVICE

UCKNOW: Lucknow's antiquity has officially been established at 1500 BC (pre-Buddhist) following radio carbon determination of the findings excavated at Dadupur near Banthra, 22 km from here. The earlier date of Lucknow's archaeologically historicity had been pegged at 600-1000 BC (coinciding with the Buddhist-Jain periods) on the basis of excavations carried out at Hulas Khera in Mohanlalganj. The fresh light on the city's antiquity was the outcome of extensive excavations carried out by UP's archaelogical department at the Dadupur site on the basis of circumstantial evidence that some kind of activity had been prevalent in the region. The core area of habitation, however, could not be located in the earlier excavations. The fresh excavations showed the presence of iron along with ill fired distinct red ware, fine red ware, black slipped ware and black and red ware in shapes mainly of bowls, dishes and storage jars etc. Charred bones were also found in large quantities. The burnt terracota nodules with reed marks recovered from the deposit indicated that the huts were made of wattle and duab. Also discovered was a big oven full of ash with its outer limit strengthened with kankar nodules. The recovery of a number of antlers with sharp cut marks along with finished and unfinished artifacts indicates that the area could have been a factory producing bone artifacts. What merited particular attention, however, was the presence of iron in this region. In Chandauli and Sonebhadra, the iron date had gone back to 1600 BC but that could also be explained by the presence of iron ore deposits there. Getting iron in the alluvial area of the mid-Ganga valley in 1500 BC shows that it was being supplied from some core area to this region. This itself calls for a review of the earlier theory of migration which showed that the Aryans had migrated in the later Vedic period from west to east and brought iron with them. A new site 25 km from Dadupur may show evidence of human existence even before that of 1500 BC.

From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/   Also see:

Decrepit monuments digest homilies

Jagmohan to protect neglected monuments

Dear friends in the dharma,
I am pleased to inform that Nagarjuna Institute has recently created Ranjana
script font for writing manuscripts, monogram,dharanis and mantras.Pls.
visit www.geocities.com/ranjanafont and look for sample text.
Best wishes,

Min Bahadur shakya
Nagarjuna Institute
www.niemweb.com

Title: Nirvana and Ineffability

                     Author: Asanga Thilakaratne

                     Reviewed by Dr. Keerthi Jayasekera

                     Among the publications of the Post Graduate
Institute of Pali and Buddhist
                     Studies of the Kelaniya University is a book in
titled "Nirvana and ineffability" by
                     Asanga Thilakaratne, a member of the staff of the
Institute. This book is the
                     research work submitted by the author for his Ph.D.
to the University of Hawaii
                     in the United States.

                     This book is on display at the Institute with its
other publications for the benefit of
                     those students both foreign and local in pursuit of
their post graduate studies. This
                     book looks unique in that so far no Buddhist scholar
seems to have tried to prove
                     that Nirvana can be explained. However Thilakaratne
inspired by western
                     empiricism seems to give the impression that he had
done this with the help of
                     concepts burrowed from others.

                     Having read this book several times I wish to quote
relevant sections from this
                     book with reference to this question of Ineffability
of Nirvana which I am afraid
                     Thilakaratne conjected to be Non-Ineffable, or in
other words engages himself in
                     a vein attempt to explain Nirvana to the academic
world.

                     Bhikkhu Nanananda writes, "Samma ditthi (right view)
may be regarded as
                     unique among all forms of ditthis owing to its
peculiar dialectical element. A
                     dramatic illustration of this unique character is
reflected in the apparently drab
                     and uninspiring opening of the Madhupindika Sutta.
There we found Dandapani
                     the Sakyan, questioning the Buddha in order to
ascertain the 'theory' he preached.
                     Dandapani would have expected, like most of us to
get a reply in the form of
                     some short lable of a dogma.

                     Dandapani was dissatisfied with the Buddha's reply
which might have appeared
                     to him as a piece of verbal papanca; and so he shook
his confused head, raised
                     his puzzled eye brows, grimaced and went away. One
might be tempted to show
                     a similar response to the Buddha's reply if one
fails to appreciate its deeper
                     implications. The Buddha had no theories to be
declared other than that he had
                     put an end to all theories, and all proclivities
towards him. His purpose as a
                     teacher was to indicate the path to the same goal
that he had attained.

                     "One of the most important among those suttas which
offered us a deeper insight
                     in to the enlightened attitude towards concepts, is
the Mulapariyaya Sutta. It
                     portrays for us the following types of individuals.
1. The uninstructed average
                     person, 2. The monk who is a learner, not attained
to perfection, but who lives
                     striving for the incomparable security from bondage,
3. The monk who is perfect
                     and free from cankers. 4. The Tathagatha, the
perfected one, fully
                     self-awakened.

                     In this sutta, the Buddha sets out to preach the
fundamental mode of all
                     phenomena. He enumerates a list of twenty four
concepts and explains the
                     attitude of the above mentioned individual types
towards those concepts. The list
                     includes the following: earth, fire, air, beings,
devas, pajapati, Brahma, the radiant
                     ones, the lustrous ones, the Vahapphala (Brahmas),
the over lord, the realm of
                     infinite space, the reals of infinite consciousness,
the realm of nothingness, the
                     realm of neither perception nor-non-perception, the
seen, the heard, the sensed,
                     the cognised, unity, divesity, universality."

                     For all the apparent diversity among these terms,
they are all of a piece as
                     'concepts'. The average person uninstructed in the
Dhamma, with mere sensory
                     perceptions to guide him, cognises those twenty four
concepts as objects of
                     thought. Having so cognised, he proceeds to imagine
in terms of them in
                     accordance with the flexional pattern and delights
in those concepts. This is
                     because he lacks clear comprehension. He is mislead
by naive sense-experience
                     and by his tendencies towards
'tanha-mana-ditthi-papanca'.

                     Having evolved a concept, he proceeds to make it
flexible. He resorts to inflexion
                     which is an elementary feature in language. By
establishing a correspondence
                     between the grammar of language and the grammar of
nature, he sets about
                     weaving networks of 'papanca'.

                     "The aim of the Buddha in preaching this sutta is to
point out the elementary
                     modes in which all phenomena present themselves to
the mind of the four types
                     of individuals.

                     The grammatical structure of the language is the
most elementary mode of
                     presentation. It is here that the concepts are
invested with the necessary
                     flexibility and set on their tracks to proliferate
as tanha-mana, and ditthi-papanca.
                     The uninstructed average person succumbs to it; the
disciple training on the
                     Aryan-Path resists it; and the emancipated one
transcends it. The commentary
                     tells us that the immediate purpose for which the
Buddha preached this sutta was
                     to dispel the conceit of five hundred monks who were
proud of their theoretical
                     knowledge ('pariyatti') of the Dhamma. It also says
that their conceit was due
                     largely to the fact that they were formerly
Brahamins well versed in the three
                     Vedas."

                     "Thus we arrive at the uncompromising position that
as a concept 'Nibbana' is no
                     more real or absolute than other concepts. It merely
symbolises conceptually the
                     transcendental experience in negative terms. All the
definitions of Nibbana have
                     validity only from the wordling's point of view and
takes the form of negations of
                     various aspects of wordly existence either
explicitly or implicity. Now, if the most
                     predominant and pervasive characteristic of the
world is prolific
                     conceptualization, it follows that the
transcendental experience of Nibbana could
                     be defined as the 'non-prolofic' (nippapanca) or the
cessation, the appeasement,
                     of conceptual proliferation (papanca-niridha;
papanca-Vupasama).

                     It is that very often in those suttas which refer to
the consciousness of the
                     Arahants, we are baffled by a string of negations in
some form or other. The
                     consciousness of the Arahants is said to be so
ineffable that even the gods and
                     Brahmas are incapable of discovering its basis or
support. He has the ability to
                     attain to a unique samadhi in which he has no
recourse to any of the data of
                     sense-experience normally considered essential for a
jhana or samadhi".

                     Labuduwe Siridhamma Thera, a close associate of the
late Professor K. M.
                     Jayathilaka from his days at the Peradeniya
University, after five years of
                     research and study carried out at the Oxford
University, under Professor. R. F.
                     Gombrich was awarded the Ph.D. degree for that
brilliant thesis 'The Theory of
                     Kamma in Early Theravada Buddhism' in 1976. On the
subject of Nirvana,
                     ineffability, and empicism, this is what the
brilliant scholar monk has to say:

                     "Language has a static structure although we have to
use it to describe a dynamic
                     world. Once we see the reality for what it is and
see the limitations of language,
                     we can still employ the conventional terminology
without being misled by the
                     erroneous implications of language and the
assumption we make because of our
                     distorted view of reality. Though language is a
necessary tool of thought and
                     communication, we have to guard against the
linguistic sources of error in
                     describing and understanding the nature of reality
referring to the limitations of
                     ordinary language, the Buddha says,"

                     They are expressions, turns of speech, designation
in common use in the world
                     which the Buddha makes use of without being led
astray by them". Because of
                     the above mentioned characteristics Buddhism becomes
a form of Empiricism.
                     But between Buddhism and the normal western
understanding of 'Empiricism'
                     there is a notable difference."

                     'Empiricism' involves merely sense-experience. But
perception in Buddhism is
                     used in a wider connotation to include both sensory
and extra-sensory forms of
                     perception such as telepathy, clairvoyance and the
recall of prior lives.
                     Nevertheless, the extra-sensory powers taught in
Buddhism are merely products
                     of the natural development of the mind. So, these
powers are not mystical
                     experiences derived from some supernatural source.

                     Five types of super knowledge (pancabhinna) are
taught in Buddhism. But what
                     they do is merely to extend the sense functions of
the ordinary sense-faculties
                     (indriya) to a certain degree. Therefore, the
difference between sense-perception
                     and extra-sensory perception is merely a degree of
penetration. Early Buddhism,
                     therefore adopts an empiricist theory of knowledge.

                     'The necessity for extra-sensory perception is
emphasised in Buddhism for two
                     reasons. One is that, the understanding of reality
of verification, which according
                     to Buddhism is the most important factor in
reversing the wheel of existence
                     (bhava cakkha), is impossible with the mere help of
ordinary sense-faculties, for
                     some complications connected with causality, karma
and rebirth are too subtle
                     and complex to be within the range of ordinary
sense-organs. On the other hand
                     the human mind is luminous and radiant (pabhassara)
in its instrinsic nature.
                     Removal of such sankharas from one's process of
consciousness means returning
                     the mind to its natural position.

                     Such a mind is penetrative and is endowed with all
powers which Buddhism
                     describe as higher knowledge.

                     Therefore, clearing one's mind and letting it shine
in its natural lustre is, in a way
                     not a supernatural process, but merely a restoration
of mind to its natural state.
                     Some extra-sensory powers are the natural result of
the suppression of mental
                     defilements". "This suppression was achieved even by
some pre-Buddhistic yogis
                     such as Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. Under
their instructions the
                     recluse Gothama learned those techniques and
practised them.

                     Then he went further, discovering new techniques on
the same lines. Having the
                     yogic method as basis he developed control of his
mind up to the stage where
                     there is cessation of perception and sensation
(sannavedaita nirodha). But he
                     understood that all these methods give merely
temporary satisfaction and that any
                     time the dispositions (Sankharas) temporarily
suppressed might emerge and
                     overcome man, subjecting him to the miseries of
life. So, he abandoned some of
                     them as preliminary steps towards attaining
enlightenment. What he adopted as
                     the efficient means of eliminating all sankharas
without residue is the three fold
                     knowledge (tissovijja)."

                     The three fold knowledge is purely Buddhistic and
with which the Buddha not
                     only was able to verify the doctrines of karma and
rebirth but also to bring them
                     to an end. The highest aim of the Buddhist way of
life, the state of enlightenment
                     or arahantship, rests on the three-fold knowledge.

                     The first two of the three-fold knowledge verify the
phenomena of rebirth and
                     karma respectively. The third arises as a result of
eliminating all sankharas or
                     karmic forces which are the causes of rebirth. The
attainment of these three-fold
                     knowledge is the final stage of a gradual discipline
(anupubbasikkha), a gradual
                     mode of action (anupubbakiriya), and a gradual mode
of conduct
                     (anupubbapatipada). This gradual way of eliminating
all sankharas or passions
                     (asavakkhaya) is found in various places in the
early Buddhist texts. The
                     Samannaphala Suttanta of the Dighanikaya sets out
the way in great detail.

                     The following passage in Dr. Siridhamma Thera's book
is of particular relevance
                     to 'papanca pundits'. The purpose of developing a
dialectical consciousness is not
                     to play intellectual hide and seek but to be alive
to the unsound facts of
                     experience within and without oneself. Hence the
dialectician has to realise the
                     fact that he is at the mercy of concepts even in his
dialectical attempt to demolish
                     concepts.

                     A dream may be proved false in the light of waking
experience, but all the same,
                     it is relatively true as a fact of experience.
Similarly the deluding character of
                     concepts is a fact of experience and must not be
ignored on that ground.
                     Concepts, for all the vicious potency to delude us,
are not be blamed per se, for
                     they are merely objectifications or projections of
our own tanha, mana, and ditthi -
                     our cravings, our conceit and our views.

                     Hence in the last analysis concepts have to be
tackled at their source. They are
                     not so much to be demolished, as to be comprehended,
and transcended. The
                     attempt to dislodge concepts at the purely
intellectual level leads to infinite
                     regress in thought."

                     "According to the early Buddhist standpoint, the
middle path consisted neither in
                     the confrontation of every thesis with its
antithesis, nor in their synthesis, nor
                     again in their total reputation, but in the balance
understanding of the relative and
                     pragmatic value of concepts. Dialectical
consciousness, therefore as an
                     intellectual experience of the ultimate futility of
concepts, is a necessary but not a
                     sufficient condition for the attainment of the goal.
Nor is it a panacea for the all
                     pervasive dukkha. It is no doubt an essential
ingredient in samma ditthi, which is
                     but the first step in the path. Middle path lies
right through conceptual
                     formulations as a steps of training, which are to be
made use of with
                     circumspection and detachment".

                     Way back in the nineteen fifties few years after
independence, Socialism was the
                     fashion of the day. Scholar monk Narawila.
Dhammaratana in trying to keep up
                     with the joneses, wrote a book titled 'Buddhism and
Marxicism' in Sinhala,
                     showing the many socialist features in the Buddha
Dhamma. Many years
                     thereafter, with greater understanding of life and
reality, he undid what he did in
                     this book by writing another book titled 'Discovery
of Buddhism' again in Sinhala
                     in which he corrected his position with reference to
the unique nature of the
                     Buddha Dhamma, which does not need any 'ism' for
support for its wisdom.

                     Thilakaratna if he still calls himself a Theravada
Buddhist, then he has the option
                     of correcting his position with reference to Nirvana
by disproving all what he has
                     said in his book 'Nirvana and Ineffability' and
writing another book under same
                     title "Ineffability of Nirvana" on second thought";
and perhaps present it to a
                     University of International repute in Oriental
philosophy, for a second Ph.D.
                     which I am sure he is capable of doing with samma
ditthi! The Buddha is
                     reported to have said immediately after his
enlightenment that his mind was free
                     from sankharas. For those with minds endowed with
sankhara, let alone explain,
                     can they ever aspire to know a mind free of
sankharas!

                     How far could Sita lift the bow?

                     "Building Women's Capacities" is a book that deals
with the empowerment of the
                     marginalised;i.e., women. Though it focuses on women
in India, many of the
                     ideas given can be used as a source of inspiration
by donor agencies and NGOs,
                     and students in the field of gender studies, no
matter where in the world they be.
                     "Why Capacity Building of Women"? Asks Ranjani K.
Murthy in the
                     Introduction. The answer, in simple terms - because
women "continue to occupy
                     a subordinate position in all spheres of life -
economic, social and political.

                     Why they are subordinated is visible in the response
shown by ten men who were
                     asked to choose from three underlying reasons for
women's marginalized status
                     in today's society.

                     (i) Women's oppression is God-ordained (ii) Women's
oppression is due to
                     biological factors (iii) Women's oppression is due
to social structures. Of the ten
                     men present six had perceived that gender
differences were God-ordained. They
                     had used the following arguments to support their
choice (i) God has created this
                     society. If women occupy a subordinate position in
society, it is His creation (ii)
                     In Ramayana, Rama alone (not Sita) could lift the
bow and break it during the
                     swayamvara. Therefore, God has made men superior to
women.

                     The book attempts to dispel such myths, to make men
sensitive to gender issues
                     and to strengthen the capacities of women. The first
part, therefore, presents six
                     case studies focusing on specific issues confronted
by women in present day
                     India i.e., how self help methods could be used by
women to gain control over
                     their bodies, fertility, sexuality and their
identities.

                     The next three chapters highlight experiences in
strengthening the capacities of
                     women to earn a livelihood for themselves and to
keep control of what they had
                     earned.

                     The second part focuses on training women to
negotiate with the outside world.
                     The third deals with strategies, other than
training, that could be used to help
                     women expand their capabilities. The concluding
essay which forms the fourth
                     part brings together the lessons learnt from the
other three and provides insights
                     into helping women overcome subordination in a
"patrilocal system of residence".

                     Men, doubtless have "male-specific advantages such
as freedom of mobility,
                     speech and interaction, easier access to leadership
positions as opposed to
                     "female specific disadvantages - unequal access to
education, double burden of
                     work, male violence within the family, oppression by
in-laws after marriage and
                     the over all low status accorded to women by the
society." But, if donor agencies,
                     NGOs and governments are to heed the ideas given in
this volume, the day would
                     not be far when women would be equal with men, when
their arguments about
                     the subordination of women would be opposed with the
following counter
                     arguments.

                     (i) There are goddesses as well. (ii) This is just
one version of Ramayana. Sita
                     could lift the bow as well (according to another
version). But that day may be far
                     to come for the men would surely argue back "Sita
may have lifted the bow, but
                     only a little bit above the ground level, while Rama
could lift it to above his
                     shoulder and break it."

                     Literary surveys on post colonial literature

                     Post colonial literature - obviously English -
creative works of those who have
                     mastered the language of their colonial masters.

Some pieces from the Kabul Museum (in 1969) can
be seen on my website :
     http://www.thewalt.de/afghanistan/index_e.html
Regards,
Volker

At 14:36 29.11.01 -0800, you wrote:
>Heritage erased
>
>Kabul museum opens to reveal rich history reduced to rubble
  >>>>>>>>snip>>>>>>>>>

bY KON ICHIKAWA

EXTRAORDINARY ANTIWAR DRAMA

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL, SAN GIORGIO PRIZE

--- In IndianCivilization@y..., vishalagarwal@h... wrote:
Unique museum on the banks of Dal Lake soon
Times of India
23 November 2001

JAMMU: A state-of-the-art museum housing the rich repository of
antiques from different periods in Kashmir's glorious history, would
soon be set up on the banks of the world renowned Dal Lake in
Srinagar, an official spokesman said here on Thursday.

With the Centre having released an installment of Rs 2 crore, work on
the prestigious project is set to begin on December 5 this year, the
birth anniversary of Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the
spokesman said.

Models for the proposed 'House of Heritage' have already been
shortlisted following a countrywide contest.

Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and an expert committee led by I.M.
Chisti - a Delhi-based Kashmiri architect - visited the models
recently, the spokesman said, adding Abdullah made several
suggestions regarding the layout of the complex.

Built in the lap of the famous Shankracharya Hills at Boulevard, the
museum would have sections housing jewellery, paintings, decorative
art, papier machie, wood carving and latchi.

Also on display would be daily use items made of straw and wood,
copper and silver ware, Tibetan art and serpentine stone utensils,
the spokesman said.

The textiles section will include shawls and dresses, floor covering,
manuscripts, numismatics, anthropology, arms and armoury.

The archaeological section, meanwhile, will display stone and bronze
sculptures, terracotta and pottery, he added.

Separate spaces for natural history and geology have also been
earmarked, the spokesman said.
( PTI )
--- End forwarded message ---

--- In IndianCivilization@y..., vishalagarwal@h... wrote:
Remains of Roman ship off Gujarat
Times of India
Date: 23 November 2001

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

VADODARA: A Roman period shipwreck off the Gujarat coast? It may have
taken place, if the recent discovery of historic remains during
marine archaeological investigations off Bet Dwarka in Gujarat is
confirmed by further exploration.

"Recent offshore explorations near the present jetty have brought to
light a few amphora shards and a lead ingot of the Roman period
suggesting a possible Roman period shipwreck," say marine
archaeological experts here.

According to a paper to be presented by A S Gaur and Sundaresh of the
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, "If further
exploration confirms this, then this will be the first evidence from
the Indian Ocean about the Roman period shipwreck."

Gaur and Sundaresh say that onshore and offshore archaeological
explorations in Bet Dwarka have revealed an interesting cultural
sequence, which commenced from the Proto-historic to the modern times.

"During medieval period, a major portion of the island was occupied
and active trade activity has been noticed. A large number of
triangular and grapnel stone anchors from Bet Dwarka waters have been
recorded. Local fishermen opined that stone anchors were used till
very recently," says the paper.

"The presence of a large number of iron canons suggests that the
island also witnessed invasions. The explorations in Bet Dwarka
island indicate sea level fluctuations since Proto-historic period
and perhaps it continued till recent past at a historical site which
submerges during high tide at present," the paper adds.

Pot shards from Bet Dwarka indicate that continuous habitation
commenced from Proto-historic period and lasted till the present
times. The evidence suggests that Bet Dwarka island has played a
vital role in trade and commerce of Okhamandal region of Gujarat
since Harappan times, say Gaur and Sundaresh.

Two sites of Proto-historic period have been identified near
Nilkantha Mahadev Temple and Balapur village. The important
antiquities of this period recovered from the island so far include a
seal, three pot shreds with Harappan graffiti, shell artifacts and
Harappan and late-Harappan pottery.

The important antiquities of historical period include Kushana coins,
amphora shards and other pottery.
--- End forwarded message ---

--- In IndianCivilization@y..., vishalagarwal@h... wrote:
Certain arrogant western scholars have hurled wanton abuses at anyone
who disagrees with them, if they are renowned scholars in their own
right, and even if they advance purely academic reasons for
challenging the Aryan invasion theory and its various euphemistic
versions. The Harvard Linguist Michael Witzel has demonized even
Professor B. B. Lal, one of the doyens of Indian archaeology, and an
internationally respected archaeologist. Perhaps Witzel would have
been more careful in lampooning Lal had he been a westerner and a non-
Hindu.

LAL [1998:439-440] responds to such mud-slinging in a very
gentlemanly manner-

QUOTE BEGINS
"However, the most regrettable part of this debate is that, more
often than not, pride and prejudice have played a significant role in
it. So much so that certain scholars who are expected to be sober
have not hesitated from slinging mud on others. For example, in a
recent (1995) paper, Michael Witzel of the Department of Sanskrit,
Harvard University, has dubbed two of the publications of the present
writer, one dealing with the excavations at Hastinapur (Lal 1954-55)
and the other relating to the historicity of the two Indian epics,
viz. the Mahabharata and Ramayana (Lal 1981) `as examples of modern
Hindu exegetical or apologetic religious writing; even if they do not
come with the requisite label warning us of their real intentions'
(Witzel 1995:117, n. 81). The present writer would have greatly
appreciated if Witzel would have come forward with his arguments for
not agreeing with the former's views. Instead, all that Witzel does
is merely impute motives to the former's writings, and that too in an
unbecoming manner.
	 Witzel would be well advised to read, on this very topic, the
writings of two renowned non-Hindu scholars, one from his own country
and the other from across the Atlantic/Pacific. They are
respectively: Van Buitenen of the University of Chicago and A. L.
Basham who was earlier at the University of London and later moved on
to the University of Canberra, Australia. Sure enough, they are not
Frawley, a Westerner, who Witzel suspects of being a Hindu agent and
fifth-columnist, as evidenced from his using such expressions as `a
view adopted by some western scholars as well' (ibid: 116, n. 79).
Does Witzel hold that all Western scholars must toe his line of
thinking and refrain from expressing his own views? Anyway.
	 A great Sanskritist as he was, Van Buitenen took upon himself
to translate the Mahabharata. In his Introduction to the first volume
(Van Buitenen 1979:9, n.12), he acknowledges: "The easiest source of
information on the identity of epic sites is B. B. Lal's book-length
article "Excavation at Hastinapur and other explorations in the Upper
Ganga and Sutlej basins 1950-52….". Ancient India 10-11 (1954-55)'

	 Reviewing the Hastinapur Report (in Journal of Economic and
Social History of Orient I, 3, 1959), Professor Basham observed:
SUBQUOTE BEGINS
<<<`The historian must thank Mr. Lal for his excavations, his well
reasoned conclusions. We believe that the latter provide the most
probable hypothesis at present available to us. It seems, in fact,
that the remains of Period II do show us something of the way of life
of the people remembered in the epic (Mhabharata) story. These, if we
are to believe Mr. Lal's very reasonable hypothesis, are the people
whose priests composed and orally transmitted the enormous later
Vedic literature.'>>>SUBQUOTE ENDS

The present writer has quoted these authorities just to remind Witzel
that not all (Western) non-Hindu scholars look at the scholarly
writings of others with the tinted glasses that Witzel apparently
wears. May God give us all the good sense not to stoop so low in
academic contronversies."
QUOTE ENDS

Reference -

LAL B. B. 1998. Rigvedic Aryans: The Debate Must Go On. In 'East and
West', vol. 48, pages 439-448
--- End forwarded message ---

Frequently Asked Question about Immigration to Canada

Please pass this FAQ to as many people as possible, who want to
immigrate to Canada.

1. In case if I could not find a job, what is the situation after that?

           After you spent the money you brought to Canada you can go on
welfare. A
           person on welfare gets about $500 per adult and $200 per
child. A family
           with two adults and two children will get about $1200 per
month. It will be
           enough for some one to live with basic needs. If you are ready
to do any job
           at the beginning, about 98% of the time you can find
employment when you
           are in Canada. Any job will pay you decent pay and other
benefits to pay your
           bills.

2. What are the benefits I get in Canada?

           After three months residing in Canada you will get free
Medicare

           If you are unemployed you will get about 60%of wages up to one
year. To
           qualify for this benefit you have to work about 700 hours in
your
           employment.

                You will get retirement pension when you are 65 years
old. At present
                you will get about $1200 per month for retirees.

           You will get free education up to grade 12. At the Colleges
and Universities
           you will get student loans and grants to pay your tuition
fees. You will get
           free books and transportation until grade 8.

           If you have children they will get child bonus about $200 max.
(Depends on
           your income) per month till they are 18 years old.

3. How do I find an apartment in Canada? How much do I have to pay?

           Find an apartment in Canada is not that hard. You can find
apartments by
           Internet, even when you are in SL. Normally the apartments in
the web are
           expensive ones.

           You can stay with a friend or in a motel for two or three days
till you find an
           apartment. Most of the apartment owners put apartment for rent
signs in
           front of their buildings. If you walk around in the
neighborhood you might
           see an apartment up for rent.

           The average rental rates from about $400 to $1500

           The cheaper rental apartments you can find in the newspapers,
College or
           University rental information centers and from friends.

           Some bachelors share apartments with a "room mate" to save
money.

4. What is the minimum wage in Canada? What is the average pay in
Canada?

           The minimum wage in Ontario is about $7per hour. This may be
different in
           other provinces. In most of the jobs you will get good wages.

           The average pay in Canada is about $15,000 to about $70,000
per year. You
           can go to Canadian newspaper classified sections and do a
research to find
           out the present market rate of pay in your occupation.

5. How long do I have to wait to get Canadian citizenship?

           At the present time you can apply for Canadian citizenship
after three years
           living in Canada.

6. Can I work in the USA if I have landed immigrant status in Canada?

           If you have a job offer from a company you can work in the
USA. If you have
           a Canadian citizenship it is much easy to find an employment
there. A lot of
           people in border cities like Windsor work in the USA but live
in Canada. If
           you are professional with good work experience it is easy to
find
           employment in USA than in Canada.

7. What is the quality of living in Canada?

           United Nations quality of living index Canada was the #1
country in the
           world in last five years. This explains every thing. This
country is sixth
           largest producer of automobiles in the world, third largest
producer of
           aircraft, lot of other industries and rich in natural
resources. There for
           getting immigration to Canada is like dream comes true.

8. How much do I have to pay to apply as an independent immigrant to
Canada?

           At the present time you have to pay $500 per applicant. You
can find most
           recent information about fees in www.cic.gc.ca website. This
is the official web site of
           immigration Canada. There is important information about
immigration to Canada in
           www.lankawa.com/slaw and www.aradana.com web sites.

9. If I do not have a friend or a relative in Canada is there any one to
help me?

           About 80% of the population in Canada are recent immigrants or
descendents of immigrants,
           there for they are helpful to the other immigrants.

           Try to find a temple or a church in your area from the
Internet and get help from the priest.

           If you do not have any one to help please send us an e-mail.
We will share our knowledge
           with you in successfully establishing in Canada.

10. What advice can you give me in successfully establishing in Canada?

           Strive for excellence is the key for your success, there for
what ever you do try to do a good
           job.

           Continue your studies and try to get North American
qualifications.

           Keep contact with other friends and other people whom are
already established in Canada.
           They can give you a better advice in your future plans.

           Help at least ten more others to start life in Canada.

           Unity is strength therefore help your community, friends and
neighbors to develop. When
           you work together you can achieve more.

Disclaimer

SLAW is not responsible for the content of any material at any World
Wide Web site to which we establish
links. All opinions expressed here in are those of the individual
authors only and do not necessarily
represent the opinion of SLAW. There fore the viewers readers are
cautioned to rely on information
contained here in at their own risk Some of the information in this FAQ
may be compiled with small surveys
and old information from web sites. The author does not take any
responsibility for this information. If you
want most recent information in any topic please do your own research in
the relevant field.

A group of hindu farmers who told British missionaries that  they had nothing
aginst Christinity but could not accept a  BIBLE written by a meat -eater.The
conversion effort failed.

--- In IndiaArchaeology@y..., ymalaiya@y... wrote:
> Archaeology in India is a very closed field, it is expected to be
the
> exclusive preserve of a few. I thought I'll share these two items.
>


The listers may be interested to know that there's an excellent
introduction to the Indus Valley Civilization available to Indian
school kids (The Secrets of Indus Valley Civilisation by R
Rajagopalan, publ by the Children's Book Trust, New Delhi).

It's a slim 75 page volume. It narrates the entire story as a voyage
of discovery of a fictional schoolboy called Anand who starts
daydreaming in History class! It ends appropriately with the
following exhortation "Is there a 'Rosetta Stone' for the Indus
Script somewhere in India? Find it and you will become eternally
famous!"

I have not found such inspiring books on other topics concerning
Indian history.

Lakshmi Srinivas

Anand M. Sharan asked:

"I have had discussions with some one who was not accepting that King
Ashoka's missionaries reached Egypt. I have read it in history books,
including one authored by Bell.How would any one prove it ?"

Ashoka did send some monks to Egypt.

In his Rock Edict 13 he declares (Trans by Ven. S. Dhammika):

"..Now it is conquest by Dhamma that Beloved-of-the-Gods considers to be the best conquest. And it (conquest by Dhamma) has been won here, on the borders, even six hundred yojanas away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule.."

The five kings are Antiochos II Theos of Syria (261-246 B.C.), Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285-247 B.C.), Antigonos Gonatos of Macedonia (278-239 B.C.), Magas of Cyrene (300-258 B.C.) and Alexander of Epirus (272-258 B.C.).

This is a very important inscription since it allows us to estimate the years of his coronation (269 BCE) with a very small margin of error. This date serves as a reference point in history. 

The complete edict is given below. It is one of his most quoted edict.
The original text can be see at http://depts.washington.edu/ebmp/Asoka.txt. Note "turamaye" = Ptolemy.

Yashwant

-------------------------

Rock Edict 13 (Trans by Ven. S. Dhammika):

Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation.[25] One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma and for instruction in Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas.

Indeed, Beloved-of-the-Gods is deeply pained by the killing, dying and deportation that take place when an unconquered country is conquered. But Beloved-of-the-Gods is pained even more by this -- that Brahmans, ascetics, and householders of different religions who live in those countries, and who are respectful to superiors, to mother and father, to elders, and who behave properly and have strong loyalty towards friends, acquaintances, companions, relatives, servants and employees -- that they are injured, killed or separated from their loved ones. Even those who are not affected (by all this) suffer when they see friends, acquaintances, companions and relatives affected. These misfortunes befall all (as a result of war), and this pains Beloved-of-the-Gods.

There is no country, except among the Greeks, where these two groups, Brahmans and ascetics, are not found, and there is no country where people are not devoted to one or another religion.[26] Therefore the killing, death or deportation of a hundredth, or even a thousandth part of those who died during the conquest of Kalinga now pains Beloved-of-the-Gods. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods thinks that even those who do wrong should be forgiven where forgiveness is possible.

Even the forest people, who live in Beloved-of-the-Gods' domain, are entreated and reasoned with to act properly. They are told that despite his remorse Beloved-of-the-Gods has the power to punish them if necessary, so that they should be ashamed of their wrong and not be killed. Truly, Beloved-of-the-Gods desires non-injury, restraint and impartiality to all beings, even where wrong has been done.

Now it is conquest by Dhamma that Beloved-of-the-Gods considers to be the best conquest.[27] And it (conquest by Dhamma) has been won here, on the borders, even six hundred yojanas away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni.[28] Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dhamma. Even where Beloved-of-the-Gods' envoys have not been, these people too, having heard of the practice of Dhamma and the ordinances and instructions in Dhamma given by Beloved-of-the-Gods, are following it and will continue to do so. This conquest has been won everywhere, and it gives great joy -- the joy which only conquest by Dhamma can give. But even this joy is of little consequence. Beloved-of-the-Gods considers the great fruit to be experienced in the next world to be more important.

I have had this Dhamma edict written so that my sons and great-grandsons may not consider making new conquests, or that if military conquests are made, that they be done with forbearance and light punishment, or better still, that they consider making conquest by Dhamma only, for that bears fruit in this world and the next. May all their intense devotion be given to this which has a result in this world and the next.

---

The report misspells Divyavadana.

DOES NEWLY EXCAVATED BUDDHIST TEMPLE PROVIDE A MISSING LINK?

Major Stupa under excavation (Courtesy P.K. Mishra)

he Buddhist firmament is abuzz with word of amazing discoveries at the newly excavated site of Deorkothar in Madhya Pradesh, India. Situated on the ancient Dakshinapath (southern trade route), Deorkothar lies between Bharhut and Sanchi, two major Buddhist centers established in the third century B.C. It is surprising that Alexander Cunningham, the nineteenth-century doyen of Indian archaeology who did extensive work in the area, missed the site. Excavations at Deorkothar--which seems to predate the late Mauryan-Sunga period (fourth through first centuries B.C.), when most early stupa (temple) complexes were built--promise to throw light on the genesis and spread of Buddhism in Central India, providing missing links in the history of Buddhist art and architecture.

   The Deorkothar complex, nearly two miles in extent, boasts four brick stupas, the most ever found at a site of this period. The varying sizes of bricks used in construction point to an early date. Such motifs as twirling lotus, conical lotus bud, and a simple flower pot on a three-tiered pedestal--the carving of which foreshadows early Buddhist art--can be seen on the railing posts of the largest brick stupa, which rises to a height of nearly 30 feet. The stencil-cut effect of the friezes, along with their simple ornamentation and the paucity of human and animal figures, suggests these are early attempts at stone railing art. It would therefore seem that the stupa at Deorkothar was built before the famous early free-standing stupa at Sanchi.

Deorkothar's Minor stupas (Courtesy P.K. Mishra)

   The site of Deorkothar also comprises monasteries, a water channel system, an ancient pathway, and 30 stone stupas, many of which contained sherds of high quality northern black polished ware, the pottery of everyday use between 700 and 300 B.C. Such sherds are absent from Sanchi, further indicating that Deorkothar predates that site.

   Dotting the site of Deorkothar are 63 rock-shelters, many with art dating to the first century B.C., that were likely used by monks for meditation. One painting depicts a stupa and a tree surrounded by a railing. Others show social or hunting scenes; men, women, and animals; weapons; and designs.

Left, railing pillars[LARGER IMAGE] Right, twisting lotus carved on railing pillar[LARGER IMAGE] (Courtesy P.K. Mishra)

   Excavation also recovered pieces of a pillar with a six-line inscription in Brahmi, the precursor to modern Indian alphabets, the earliest examples of which date to the rule of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (273-232 B.C.). Although the pillar bears the trademark Mauryan polish, it is made not of the Chunar sandstone characteristic of Ashokan sculpture, but of local sandstone. Also found at the site were pottery, pieces of stone caskets and bangles with exquisite polish, some copper fragments, a lead strip coiled ear stud, iron nails and clamps, few coins (one punch-marked), pieces of terra-cotta toys, and beads. Worthy of particular mention are several pieces of Mauryan polished chattra (the multi-tiered "umbrella" at the top of a stupa) with evidence of radial ribs. To the west of the main stupa, iron slag, a lump of iron ore, and white nodules of lime indicate the presence of an iron-smelting furnace nearby.

   The ancient Buddhist text Divy Adanam speaks of the death and destruction brought about by Pushyamitra Sunga, who ruled in the first quarter of the second century B.C., in a bid to glorify Hinduism. During his reign, Buddhist monuments were wantonly destroyed. Although archaeological evidence is meager in this regard, it seems likely that the Deorkothar stupa was destroyed as a result of Pushyamitra Sunga's fanaticism. The exposed remains at Deorkothar bear evidence of deliberate destruction datable to his reign. The three-tiered railing is damaged; railing pillars lie, broken to smithereens, on stone flooring. Twenty pieces of pillar have been recovered, each fragment itself fractured. The site offers no indication of natural destruction.--P.K. MISHRA, Archaeological Survey of India

http://www.archaeology.org/

One of two Hindu statues stolen from a 12th century temple in the
eastern Indian state of Orissa over the weekend has been found inside
a well.


Authorities said it was still unclear how the statue, thought to be
worth more than $200,000, came to be in the well in the temple
complex.

The statue depicts Madan Mohan, believed to be the "living"
representative of the temple's main Jagannath deity.

Police said on Sunday they suspected that burglars looking for gems
and jewellery stored in the temple in the town of Puri had had to
make do with the statues.

The recovered statue is made of eight precious metals, including
silver and is normally taken out every morning for religious
ceremonies.

Investigation

The second statue that also disappeared on Sunday has yet to be
recovered.

The AFP news agency reported that the Madan Mohan statue was found by
fire brigade personnel who pumped the water out of the well.

The government has suspended the police officers who were guarding
the temple complex.

State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced the investigation
will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Orissa has been hit by a number of temple thefts in the past few
weeks.

Last Monday silver and gold was stolen from the Lingaraj temple in
the capital Bhubaneshwar, and a month ago three statues were stolen
from another temple in Orissa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Archaeology in India is a very closed field, it is expected to be the
exclusive preserve of a few. I thought I'll share these two items.

Yashwant

====

Introducing Kids to the Past
A Project Takes Archaeology to School
and Puts Youngsters in the Field

Mixing the curiosity and enthusiasm of kids with archaeology is a
natural, and the new Montana-based P.A.S.T. Foundation (Partnering
Anthropology with Science and Technology) is doing just that.

The nonprofit foundation — financed by federal, state, and private
grants — promotes, sponsors, and participates in excavations around
the world. And it brings schoolchildren into local projects as hands-
on participants, as with the recent excavation of an 1842 Red River
steamboat by the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Institute of
Nautical Archaeology, and P.A.S.T.; and the National Park Service's
planned excavation of the first hotel built in Yellowstone National
Park.

P.A.S.T. is also working with teachers and archaeologists on the
Archaeology Curriculum Project to develop a curriculum and multi-
disciplinary teaching aids to bring archaeology into the schools.
P.A.S.T. will likely help grow a new generation of archaeologists,
and it will certainly give some of tomorrow's adults an appreciation
for the science of the past.

http://www.discoveringarchaeology.com/

----
Schoolboy deciphers mystery of mummy's identity
By Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent

22 October 2001

A schoolboy who taught himself to read hieroglyphics has outwitted
experts in Egyptology by identifying a 2,600-year-old mummy that had
baffled museum curators for more than 100 years.

The ancient writing on the mummy's casket had confounded
archaeologists at Sheffield Museum since it was donated to the city
by a private collector in 1893.

But 17-year-old Adam Cadwell, an A-level student from Sheffield who
was on work experience at the museum, translated the intricate
inscription covering the mummy's casket to reveal the identity of the
embalmed Egyptian inside.

Adam discovered the mummy was a young woman called Djema'at, the
daughter of a wealthy upper middle-class family from Thebes, who was
aged 14 when she died.

His translation revealed the inscription contained lists of offerings
that her family hoped the gods would provide for their daughter,
including 100 jars of beer, 100 jars of wine and 100 wheaten loaves.
He also discovered a spell for charming the gods written on her
casket. Djerma'at's family would have believed that she could use
this in the after-life to win over the gods.

He found that she lived during the 26th dynasty, about 650 BC.

Adam, who hopes to become an Egyptologist, said: "This is all I have
ever wanted to do. When you mention archaeology people imagine that
you must be like Indiana Jones running around with a Stetson and a
whip rather than being on your hands and knees all day with a trowel.

"My interest is in language so I'm not really an Indiana Jones-type
figure – but if Lara Croft from Tomb Raider ever needs an assistant
I'll be there."

The museum's curators started to research the mummy's identity in
earnest in 1992, using X-rays and CT scans to determine her origin.
But until Adam came to the museum they had been unable to translate
the hieroglyphics covering the casket.

Adam first became interested in ancient Egypt after learning about
its history at primary school. His fascination with the country
prompted his parents to take him on holiday to Egypt when he was nine
years old.

"I came home [from school] reeling off useless facts I learnt that
day," he said. "My parents were looking for a place to go on holiday
and they said, 'Why don't we give Egypt a try?' So I ended up in
front of the temple of Karnak, and that was it. It all spiralled from
there."

Adam first achieved national acclaim in July when he discovered a
rare ancient Egyptian burial figure lying forgotten in a dusty drawer
at a museum in Harrogate. He read the inscription and realised the
six-inch figure had been removed from the tomb of an Egyptian Queen
who had died 3,000 years before. It had been left to Harrogate
musueum by a private collector but curators had been unaware of its
value and rarity.

Anne Murrey, chairwoman of the North Yorkshire Ancient Egypt Group,
which boasts Adam as its youngest member, said: "Adam is an extremely
clever young man. He reads hieroglyphics like you or I would read a
newspaper.

"We have been going through the storerooms of the local museums
looking at objects that have been forgotten for decades. Adam has
been translating the inscriptions and we are delighted that he has
found some real treasures."

Gill Woolrich, Sheffield Museum's curator of archaeology, said: "We
are really pleased that Adam has been able to finally identify the
mummy. We have done a lot of work to find out more about its identity
but until now we never had anyone who could read these
hieroglyphics."

http://news.independent.co.uk/
---

‘Bhikkhuni order restored’

  Sri Lankan academic, Hema Goonatilake has told the eighth international
  conference on Sri Lanka Studies in Jaipur, India that the Bhikkuni order was
  accepted in Sri Lankan communities they live in, the ‘Times of India’ was
  quoted yesterday by the Press Trust of India (PTI).

  PTI quoted Goonatilake as saying that the Bhikkunis now performed religious
  functions hitherto performed only by nuns.

  The Jaipur datelined PTI report said: ‘Bhikkhuni’ - the Buddhist nuns’ order -
  is slowly making its presence felt in Sri Lanka and is now performing religious
  functions hitherto done only by monks, the eighth International Conference on
  Sri Lanka Studies was told here.

  The Buddhist nuns’ order, established in Sri Lanka in the third century BC -
  just six months after the introduction of monks’ order, has been restored in
Sri
  Lanka after a millennium, thanks to a silent revolution brought about by
  women’s groups.

  However, it disappeared in the 11th century after the Chola invasion from
  South India, a paper presented by a scholar Hema Goonetilake said at the
  four-day meet that concluded here on Saturday last.

  Although the monks’ order too disappeared after the Chola invasion, it was
  restored later. However, restoration of nuns’ order took almost a thousand
  years, the paper said.

  Goonatialke, who herself participated in the movement to restore Bhikkhuni
  order, said it was finally restored in 1998.

  "The order had not (not) been restored but is being accepted in the
  communities they live in," she said.

  The Bhikkhunis now perform religious functions, hitherto performed only by
  monks, she added.

  The paper said it took almost a century for women to assert themselves and
  restore the Buddhist nuns’ order.

  A movement of female renunciation, known as ‘dasa-sil matas’ emerged way
  back in 1905 observing ten precepts instead of the 311 prescribed precepts
  for a Bhikkhuni.

  The restoration of Bhikkhuni order became a part of discourses among local
  women’s groups by 1984 and an international women’s issue by 1988.

  Tracing the process, including the support and opposition by monks and
  laymen, through which it was finally restored in Sri Lanka in 1998, the paper
  said, the key feature was the return of Bhikkhuni lineage transmitted in the
fifth
  century to China by Sinhalese Bhikkunis.


  FEATURES | OPINION | BUSINESS | EDITORIAL | CARTOON | SPORTS |
  MIDWEEK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1646000/16469
07.stm

               Archaeologists in eastern India have
               discovered two rare statues of Asoka, one of
               India's best loved warrior kings.

               The sandstone relics -
               dating back to the
               third century BC - were
               unearthed in Langudi
               Hill, a historical site in
               the Jajpur district of
               Orissa state, about 85
               kilometres from the
               state capital,
               Bhubaneswar.

               The discovery, which
               may shed light on what
               the king actually looked
               like, follows the recent release of a Bollywood
               epic on Asoka's life.

               'Auspicious hands'

               One of the two finds is the first individual
               statue of Asoka bearing an inscription ever to
               be discovered in India.

               Dr DR Pradhan, secretary of the state-run
               Institute of Maritime and South East Asian
               studies, told the BBC the ancient inscription
               translates as: "The statue was unveiled by the
               auspicious hands of Asoka".

               Dr Pradhan said the
               second statue,
               depicting the king with
               two of his queens, bore
               the simple inscription:
               "The King Asoka".

               The statues are two of
               the earliest examples
               of sculpture ever found
               in Orissa, which was
               invaded by Asoka in
               the third century BC,
               when it was called Kalinga.

               Asoka is believed to have been so horrified by
               the loss of life in that war that he renounced
               violence and vowed to spread the message of
               peace far and wide.

               Archaeologists describe Langudi Hill as home to
               eastern India's oldest Asokan stupa - tombs
               constructed by Buddhists over the remains of
               Lord Buddha and his leading disciples.

               The hill, which the institute has been
               excavating for many years, has since been
               recognised as one of the country's most
               important Buddhist sites.

naga_ganesan wrote:

> What happened to the old postings in this forum?

It seems that there was some malfunction at the yahoo server. I am
planning to locate them and perhaps put them in the files  area.

Yashwant

--- In IndianCivilization@y..., vishalagarwal@h... wrote:
Man falls into ancient cellar
Source: Times of India, 9 November 2001

AMIT MUKHERJEE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

AHMEDABAD: All Praveen Mehta, a retired bank employee of Ahmedabad,
can think of these days is a dark underground chamber, guarded by
three disfigured statues of dancing girls.

The chamber, with six hidden air ducts, was discovered after the
January 26 earthquake of Gujarat. Believed to be a secret cellar of a
bygone era, the chamber could have been used for performing secret
yagnas. It could even be the outer chamber of a secret treasure trove.

The house, which was purchased by Mehta's grandfather Giridharilal in
1898, suffered considerable damage in the quake. Portions of the
floor developed cracks and the foundation was damaged as well.

Towards the end of August, one night Mehta woke up thirsty. Half
asleep, he was fumbling for the switchboard, when he felt the ground
sinking under him. Before he realised what happened,
he found himself standing waist deep in soil.

Subsequent efforts to repair the living room floor led to the
discovery of the small chamber underneath. It is connected to a
tunnel, suggesting the existence of a catacomb below.

"It was an interesting co-existence — living with the mysterious
history beneath you," remarks Mehta.

The main chamber is about 10 feet high and can be accessed through a
staircase, big enough to accommodate a grown person.
The wall opposite has a carved facade in limestone about a foot wide.
At its bottom, just above the floor, is the figure of a dancing
apsara. At her feet lies the mouth of the tunnel.

The construction has elements of ancient temple architecture with
arched cavities on the walls. The design reveals the influence of
Hindu culture. "The experts from the Archaeological Survey of India
have already made a detailed assessment," says Mehta. Though they
have not come to any conclusion, the 14 such slots, which normally
have statuettes placed inside them, are empty, suggesting intrusions
into the area.
--- End forwarded message ---

What happened to the old postings in this forum?

Regards,
N. Ganesan

--- In IndiaArchaeology@y..., YMalaiya <ymalaiya@y...> wrote:
>
> I include a photo of the Hindi classic Padmavata, by Sufi poet
Jayasi, dated between 1520-1540 A.D. Padmavat is a story of Padmavati
and Ratansen.
>
> http://www.asiatica.org/publications/jsaws/vol5_no2/abstract.asp
>
> This rare 17th manuscript is in State Museum Lucknow.
>
> There is sometimes a question about use of Devanagari before the
British period. This manuscript serves as a nice example.
>
> Shobha Mudgal's album Rita-Ritu includes verses from Padmavat.

btw, is there any study of the influence of Sanskrit literature on
Jayasi esp., Ramayana and the old Sanskrit dramas?

Appreciate references (Hindi or English)

Thanks and Regards,

Lakshmi Srinivas

I include a photo of the Hindi classic Padmavata, by Sufi poet Jayasi, dated between 1520-1540 A.D. Padmavat is a story of Padmavati and Ratansen.

http://www.asiatica.org/publications/jsaws/vol5_no2/abstract.asp

This rare 17th manuscript is in State Museum Lucknow.

There is sometimes a question about use of Devanagari before the British period. This manuscript serves as a nice example.

Shobha Mudgal's album Rita-Ritu includes verses from Padmavat.

Yashwant

From http://www.statemuseumlucknow.com/

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/071101/detNAT07.asp

Valuables worth Rs 15 lakh stolen from Lingaraj temple Himansu S.
Sahoo (Bhubaneswar, November 6)

Ornaments  and other valuables worth about Rs 15 lakh were stolen
from the 11th century Lingaraj temple on Monday night. The temple
complex  has  been  classified  as  a  'protected  site'  by  the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Despite  the presence of two-armed securitymen of the ASI and two
constables of the local police, miscreants broke open four wooden
doors of the temple with the help of iron rods.

Revenue  and  Law minister  Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, who visited
the  spot  accompanied  by  the district  magistrate  and  senior
officials of the ASI, has ordered a probe into the incident.

The  police  and district  administration have sealed the complex
for investigations. One of the stolen items, a silver face of God
Damodar,  worth about  Rs 1 lakh, was recovered from an abandoned
well  in the  backyard of the temple. The police remains clueless
about the other items. No arrests have been made so far.

The  stolen items include 9 kg of silver ornaments, nearly 150 gm
of  gold  ornaments,  costly  garments  of  the  deities  and  an
American-diamond  attached  to a  half-moon  metal  plate on  the
Shivalinga  of  Lord  Lingaraj.  Four other  temples  inside  the
complex,  the  Bhubaneswari temple,  Kashi Viswanath, Parvati and
Sivakali  temple,  from where the  miscreants have taken away all
the ornaments, were also sealed.

"The  involvement of Sevayats (temple priests) in the crime could
not be ruled out, " SP Arun Sarangi said.

DGP  N.C.  Padhi, who  visited  the  spot  to direct  a  thorough
inquiry,   said  that  interrogation  of  various  officials  and
Sevayats of the temple was being done.

Speaking  about the vulnerability of the temple to thefts as well
as  terrorist  attacks,  executive  officer  of  Lingaraj  temple
management  Ramakant  Mishra said  that  there  was no  permanent
security arrangement for the temple, except the deployment of two
ASI  constables.  This when  there is a  requirement for at least
three  assistant  sub-inspectors and about 15 armed constables to
guard all the temples in the premises, Mishra said.

_________________________________________________________________
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The Queen's Edict: ALLAHABAD PILLAR

Translation (by Thapar with assistance from Basham, based on Hultzsch and Bloch):

On the order of the Beloved of the Gods, the officers everywhere are to be instructed that whatever may be the gift of the second queen, whether a mango-grove, a monastery, an institution for dispensing charity or any other donation, it is to be counted to the credit of that queen ……the second queen, the mother of Tivala, Karuvaki.

Princep had translated it as:

By the mandate of Devanampiya thc ministers everywhere are to receive notice. These also (namely mango trees ) and other things are the gift of the second princess (his) queen, and these for * * * of Kichhigani, the third princess the general (daughter's * *? ). Of the second lady thus let the act redund with triple force."

The Allahabad pillar has several editics on it including by  Asoka, Samudragupta and Jehangir. Asoka's edicts on it include Pillar Edicts I-VI, the Queen's Edict, and the Kausambi Edict. The pillar was probably originally at Kosam from where it was moved by Jehangir.

Note: I am not sure what sources of information M N Das is using. I am aware of Asokan inscription mentioning the second queen Karuvaki, but nothing else about her.

The "Queen's edict" does not say what Mr. Das is saying.

Yashwant

----

Asoka stirs up the historians

Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar

Historians in Orissa -- formerly known as Kalinga -- were unanimous in criticising actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan's Friday (October 26) release Asoka.

"Asoka is a vulgar film. Calling it historical is an insult to the term historical film, because it portrays a story at variance with the reality of those days," says eminent historian M N Das.

The film has Shah Rukh Khan playing the title role while Kariena Kapoor portrays Kalinga princess Kaurwaki.

Director Santosh Sivan, say experts, has ignored history and, instead, concocted a romantic story which is a distortion of the actual history of that period.

"There is enough evidence to show that Kaurwaki was never a Kalinga princess," says Das. "Rather, she was a fisherman's daughter who converted to Buddhism. She became a sanyasin. Following Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, he married her and made her his queen."

Kaurwaki, points out Das, has, in fact, been immortalised in the Queen Edict (one of Ashoka's many edicts carved on pillars throughout his kingdom), wherein the Mauryan emperor clearly states that he was changing his lifestyle "on the advise of my queen Kaurwaki." Ashoka further states, says Das, that on her advise, he was embarking on a series of welfare measures for the people.

Blasting the filmmakers for not doing adequate research and for trivialising the history of the period, Das said that the objective of a historical film should be to educate even as it entertains. "Look at the historical films from Hollywood, which while dramatising the events, makes it a point to stick to the facts," the historian says.

Das points out that Ashoka is no ordinary historical figure, but one whose relevance to India today is pronounced, not merely in the message of non-violence that typefies his life, but also in the fact that his symbol, the wheel, has a permanent place on the national flag while his lion seal is the national emblem.

Thus, argues the historian, taking liberties with his story should be condemned strongly.

Das, who is a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, says he is surprised that the Censor Board approved the film. "I would like to know from Prime Minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee, from Home Minister (Lal Kishinchand) Advani and from Information Minister Sushma Swaraj how this film was passed by the censors."

http://www.rediff.com/

I have always known about the Barakhamba Road in Delhi, but never
heard about the monument.

There are many monuments in India that have turned into "ragpickers
godown" etc.

Yashwant

--
HC notices to Centre, ASI, Delhi govt on encroachment

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has sought replies from the Centre,
Archaeological Survey of India and Delhi government on encroachment
in the areas of 16th century Barah Khamba monument here - the
surroundings of which have virtually been turned into a slum.
The court issued notices to Union ministries of home, human resource
development, Delhi government, ASI, Delhi Police and Municipal
Corporation of Delhi in an order passed last week.
All these agencies had been directed to file their affidavits by
August 10, following a petition by Heritage and Culture Forum.
HCF president told the court that despite being a protected monument,
the authorities had failed to maintain Barah Khmaba which was built
during the Lodhi dynasty and protect it from the encroachers.

``Encroachers have occupied every inch of the monument and the entire
area has been turned it into a slum cluster. The inhabitants are
washing clothes in its premises and the main structure is being used
as godown by ragpickers,'' said HCF in a public interest litigation.

The stone plaque put up by ASI to provide information about the
historic importance of the structure, is missing while a considerable
portion of another protected monument, Tilangani tomb in the vicinity
had also been encroached upon by slum dwellers, the PIL said.