Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c11.21

c11.21

The building activities in the neighbourhood of Sanchi immediately previous to the Christian era were not however entirely confined to the stupa and its accessories, nor even to the Buddhist religion Besnagar the nearest town was a prosperous and important centre, the capital of the western dominions of the Sungas, with a considerable Hindu population. Here was a Brahmanical shrine of some prominence dedicated to the divinity Vasudeva, and apparently a temple, but only a few fragments of which have survived. In close proximity to this building there were erected several votive pillars one of which is still standing, and the remains of others have been found (Plate X). These pillars, particularly the one in situ, have a threefold significance. In the first place they appear to be the earliest known monuments of stone associated not with Buddhism but with the Hindu religion, secondly they show in their decorative treatment an increased understanding of the principles of design, and thirdly the one still in position bears an inscription which not only fixes the date with certainty but records on incident of some historical importance. The inscription states that it was a Garuda pillar raised in honour of the god Vasudeva by Heliodorus, son of Dion, who was a resident of Taxila and had come to the court of the local prince Bhagabhadra as an envoy from the Indo-Bactrian king Antialkidas In these few lines a whole chapter of early history is condensed pointing to the relations that existed between this part of India and the Greek kingdoms of the Punjab, as well as to the fact that Heliodorus, a Greek, had adopted an Indian faith, and the inclusion of the name Antialkidas gives 140 B.C., as the approximate date of its erection