The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c16.s2.115

v2.c16.s2.115

⁵³ Mr. Fergusson adverting to the religion of the Udyagiri and the Khaṇḍagiri caves, observes : “On reviewing these caves and their sculptures, the first question that arises is, why are they called Buddhist ? The Aira of the great inscription seems to have oscillated between Brahmanism and Buddhism, and the other old inscriptions translated by Prinsep are Buddhist in form, though it can hardly be said they are so in doctrine ; and when we turn to the sculptures it is hard to find any traces of Buddhism in them. Budda himself nowhere appears either in his conventional form or as an ascetic. That we might expect from our experience at Sāñchī. But there are no Degobas, no Wheels, and only by the most careful inspection can we detect any of those Buddhist symbols we are now familiar with." Again, "it is, so far as I know, the only other place in India where Buddhism without Buddha is found in the same or even greater completeness than at Sāñchī." (*Tree and Serpent Worship*, 2nd Ed., pp. 268, 269). After what has been said above, it is not at all necessary to comment seriatim on these remarks. The oscillation of Aira between Buddhism and Brahmanism has already been shown to be due to a mistranslation by Prinsep, (*ante* p. [20]). The expectation of meeting with images in mounds which contain the relics of the founder of Buddhism, is unreasonable; the proper places to look for images of the saint are temples and not solid mounds like the Sāñchī Tope. And the Buddha of the Ananta Cave is, I believe, enough to explode the theory of "Buddhism without Buddha" as regards the caves under notice.