RAMAJANMA BHUMI: AYODHYA -
NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISC
RAMAJANMA BHUMI: AYODHYA - NEW
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
ON THE 18TH OF JUNE 1992, when the ground near the Ramajanma Bhumi
was being levelled, a most startling archaeological discovery was
made at Ayodhya. At a depth of about 12 feet from the ground level
near the Ramajanma Bhumi temple, towards the south and beyond the
fencing, a big hoard of beautifully carved buff sandstone pieces
was located in a large pit, dug down below the old top level.
A careful study by a group of eight eminent archaeologists and
historians found that all these objects are architectural members
of a Hindu temple- complex of the 11th century A.D.
The group comprised Dr. Y.D. Sharma, former Deputy Director
General, Archaeo logical Survey of India, Dr. K.M. Srivastava,
former Director, Archaeological Survey of India, Dr. S.P. Gupta,
former Director, Allahabad Museum, Prof. K.P. Nautiyal,
Vice-Chancellor, Avadh University and former Head of the Ancient
History and Archaeology Department, Garhwal University, Prof. B.R.
Grover, former Director, Indian Council of Historical Research,
Shri Devendra Swarup Agrawal and Dr. Sardindu Mukherji of the
Delhi University, and Dr. (Mrs.) Sudha Malaya of Bhopal.
The Temple: The experts who visited the site on behalf of the
academic organization, "The Historians' Forum", on the
2nd and 3rd of July 1992, are unanimously of the view that the
temple, to which these fragments belong, is of the developed
NAGARA style of ancient temple architecture which was current in
northern India during the later part of the early medieval period
i.e. the period after 900 A.D. and before 1200 A.D. The temples of
this style are characterized by a distinctly imposing Shikhara,
which is a tall and tapering spire over the Garbha-griha or
sanctum sanctorum, which houses the main deity.
The Shikhara Amalaka: The developed Shikhara is like a mountain
with several tiers of subsidiary Shikharas, rising one above the
other and projecting partially from the main Shikhara. The
Shikharas are crowned with a very distin- ctive circular piece of
stone, called amalaka, which is shaped like a cogged wheel, with
bead-like mouldings along the periphery. It is so very typical of
the tepmles of northern India that no one in the world who knows
even a little about the Hindu temples can cast any doubt about its
position in the temple structure. There are two examples of half-amalakas,
in the present hoard of objects, evidently used on the top of the
subsidiary Shikhra, called Shikharas of Karnas, i.e. fringe
spires.
The Shikhara Jala: The second most significant find is the
curvilinear part of the Jala mouldings present on the Shikharas.
It is beautifully decorated with scrolls. It also belongs
exclusively to the north Indian temples of the period after 900 A
D. since the technique of its carving involves the method of
scoop- ing out of the areas around the floral elements so that the
art-motifs are framed with surface absolutely plain. It is called
'Stencil' technique.
The Capital: The third most noteworthy sculptured piece of stone
in this collection is a rectangular capital of a piller with
beautiful mouldings in the form of highly stylised lotus petals
arranged as narrow parallel strips carved in low relief around the
capital.
The Cornice: The fourth example of stone sculptures belongs to the
most characteristic member of the Nagara style of temples -it is
called Chhadya, and in Hindi Chhajja, sun-shade, where the
straight wall over the high plinth meets the base of the Shikhara.
It is carved and shaped like rectangular Mangalore tiles to serve
not only as a sun-shade but also allow the rain water to run off
quickly and protect the structure. It is a corner-stone of the
cornice.
Floral frieze: There is one frieze of continuous leaf- moulding
which decorates one of the top lines of the plinth of the temple.
Door-Jamb: There is one example of a door-jamb or dvara- shakha of
the main entrance of the temple. It is decorated with a meandering
floral design, carved in 'Stencil' style.
Images of Vishnu's Incarnations: There is also a fragment of a
stele embellish- ed with the most significant sculptures of a
number of Vaishnavite gods, viz. a Chakrapurusha, i.e. a youthful
male figure standing gracefully at an angle (tribhanga) and
holding vertically in the palm of the right hand the character-istic
wheel or Chakra of Vishnu.
Another image is that of Parshurama, sitting cross- legged and
holding a battle-axe in the left hand. Below him is the image of
Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, with a canopy of
serpent-hoods and having a wine-cup in his hand. Still below him
is the image of a mother godess (matri-devi), the bestower of all
good luck.
As per the iconographic stipulation, there should have been an
image of Dashrathi Rama, i.e., the son of Dasharatha, above the
image of Parshurama, in order to complete the trio of three Ramas
in the full set of ten incarnations of Vishnu. Evidently, the
temple to which this stele belongs has necessarily to be a
Vaishnabite one.
Shiva-Parvati: Besides the above, there are several other images.
One is of Shiva-Parvati, also called Uma- Maheshvara. It was found
from a shallow mound called Nala, located some 200 meters away
from the site of the above hoard of art and architectural pieces.
Though Shiva's head is now lost, his hand hold- ing a Trishula or
trident is fully intact. Similarly, although Parvati's face is not
extant, her hand from behind Shiva's neck is found resting on his
right shoulder in an embracing position. Stylistically, it is also
datable to the 11th century.
Terracotta Figurines: Art objects of burnt clay belonging to the
earlier periods, such as the Kushana (1st-3rd century) have also
been found. These images belong to various Hindu gods and godesses.
EXPLORATIONS -From 4th July through 18th July 1992, Prof. B.R.
Grover camped at Ayodhya, during the period when the ground
acquired by the UP Government was being levelled up. It is during
this operation that he came across towards the east and south of
the Ramajanma Bhumi, large floor-areas, in the pre-Islamic levels,
which were carefully paved with burnt bricks. These places were
then systemati- cally exposed and photographed in situ for
permanent record. He located some brick-walls as well. He noticed
similar flooring and also brick-walls at the so-called Janmasthan
area, across the modern road, built by the British after cutting
the Rama Kot mound. The floor covered with burnt-bricks spreads
over thousands of square metres now largely encircled by the newly
constructed Rama Divar. During that period Prof. Grover had
released as many as three reports of his findings to the press
which prompted the Historians' Forum to send two eminent
field-archaeologists to examine the reported discoveries.
FRESH EXCAVATIONS Huge Brick Walls: On the 22nd and 23rd of July
Dr. K.M. Srivastava and Dr. S.P. Gupta went to Ayodhya and scraped
the section facing east and also dug at least two feet still
deeper in a small area along this section. They discovered a huge
burnt-brick wall of more than a dozen courses running along the
section and beyond it. Below this, after a little break, the
remains of another brick- wall have been found. At two different
pre-Islamic levels, there are the remains of brick-laid floors.
Mass Destruction: There are clear cut marks of massive destruction
of the huge wall mentioned above since brick- debris and large
pits have been located here. Further, there are two hard rammed
floors of Chunam and Kankar, laid one above the other with a
significant break in between but over the level of the brick-
wall.
There is therefore, enough new archaeological material which
conclusively proves what Prof. B.B. Lal, the previous excavator of
this site, has been repeatedly saying that here at the Ramajanma
Bhumi there was an impressive structure of the 11th-12th century
built on pillers standing on a series of parallel burnt-brick
bases which was destroyed in the early 16th century, in all
likelihood the bases carried on them the same temple- pillers
which are fixed in the 'mosque'.
These new archaeological findings also confirm the views expressed
earlier in 1990 by Dr. S.P. Gupta that the 16 black stone pillers
and one piece of door- jamb with carvings of gods and godesses
existing in the so-called 'Babri Mosque structure' and also the
adjoining areas, belong to a 11th century Hindu temple, possibly
Vaishnavite.
Muslim Testimony: The new discovery further confirms the claims of
all early Muslim authors, like the grand- daughter of Aurangzeb
whose writing was cited in Sahifa- i-Chihal, Nasaih Bahadur Shahi,
Mirza Jan, the author of Hidiqa-i- Shahada and a large number of
other 18th, 19th, and even 20th century scholars like Shri Abdul
Hai, have repeatedly mentioned that anciently here, at this very
site, called 'Janmasthan', there was an imposing Hindu temple
which was destroyed by the Muslims and a mosque was built over its
debris.
Mir Baqi's Claim: Indirectly though, the newly acquired
archaeological evidence also equally confirms the statement made
by Mir Baqi in his inscriptions, still found fixed in the
structure of the 'mosque', that at this very place he built a
structure for the angels to descend, specifically at the command
and permiss- ion of Babar.
The Hindu Testimony: And finally, it lends full support to a long
standing Hindu tradition of the Valmiki's Ramayana, the Vishnu and
other Puranas and a host of other works of the Sikhs, Jainas and
Buddhists as well as the Sanskrit classics like Kalidasa's
Raghuvamsham, according to which for thousands of years this
ancient settlement with Rama Kota was occupied and reoccupied
following desertions and destructions, the story of which has,
however, been recollected in two important monographs, one is
entitled Ayodhya by Hans Bakker and the other is Ram Janmabhoomi
vs. Babri Masjid by Koenraad Elst published in English in recent
years.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CONTROVERSY
Babar Stayed at Ayodhya: The so-called 'Babri Mosque' was built in
1528 A.D. The Babarnama, Babar's diary of everyday events and
autobiography, mentions that on March 28 in the year 1528 Babar
came to Ayodhya, called 'Oudh' in those days, and camped on the
river-side of a tributary of the Saryu, flowing near the township.
Here he stayed for a few days, till April 2nd, 1528, after defeat
ing the then Afghan ruler of this place who had rebelled against
him. He may have stayed longer, but no one knows exactly how long
since the original pages of his hand-written diary pertaining to
the period between April 2nd and Sept. 18 of 1528, were lost in a
storm that overtook Babar's tents in 1529.
After Aurangzeb: The successors of Babar continued to rule over
this place till the early 18th century. After Aurangzeb's death
(1707 AD), the territories of Awadh were marked by lawlessness.
During the reign of the Mughal Emperor Md. Shah and the tenure of
the governorship of Burhan-un-Mulk Saadat Ali Khan, a serious riot
took place between the Hindus and the Muslims (1735 AD), the
former claiming their right over Ramajanma Bhumi. This is the
earliest judicial reference available in this regard so far.
What the Europeans Saw and Wrote?:In 1767 itself, a Jesuit
missionary, Joseph Tieffenthaler, who stayed at Ayodhya for a
number of days and left behind his account written in Latin, found
that in spite of the Mughal Kings' efforts to prevent them, the
Hindus had re- occupied the courtyard, raised a 'Rama Chabuta- ra'
thereon and worshiped there by circumambulating it three times and
finally prostrating before it. On the Rama Navami day they
congregated here in lakhs. Significantly, they continued to
worship under the domed structure as well. More details are
available in the accounts of Montgomery Martin, Edward Thorn- ton,
P. Carnegy and others.
Serious Riots: In 1855 once again a big clash took place in which
scores of men were killed; such riots and killings never subsided:
there are several historical, judicial and revenue records to
prove their occurrences.
During the British Raj: After the establishment of the British
rule in Avadh in 1856, the battle for Janmabhumi was primarily
fought in the courts of Law. How- ever, in 1934 a very serious
riot took place in which the domes were destroyed to a very large
extent. After this, it is common knowledge that the authorities
repaired the structure and closed it down for some time. However,
it was opened in favour of the Hindus, step by step, after 1949
under various judicial orders
New Evidence: In continuation of its earlier efforts, the
Historians' Forum feels happy to place in the hands of the public
and the government this new uncontrovertible archaeological
evidence which proves that there did exist at this very site a
magnificient temple, from at least the 11th century, which was
destroyed to build a mosque- like structure over the debris of the
temple in the 16th century. There is every possibility that there
existed at this site one or more temples of still greater
antiquity, some of which were built with burnt-bricks in which
images of gods and goddesses made of terracotta were installed.
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