The Age of the Imperial Guptas c7.82

c7.82

Very little was known of the condition of plastic art in ancient Ḍabhāla, mediæval Ḍahala, Jubbulpur and Rewa in the upper Narmadā-Tons valley. The fortunate discovery of an inscribed image at Dhuan Dhar near the falls of the Narmadā at Bhera Ghat or the Marble Rocks has proved that in the 2nd century A.D., plastic art was yet in its nascent stage. One such image was introduced in later times into the circular temple of the Sixty-four Yoginis. This temple contains images of three different dates of which the inscribed images, described by me in my memoir on the Haihayas of Tripurī and their monuments, were dedicated by queen Nohalā, wife of Lakṣmaṇarāja.² Earlier than these there are several images in this circular temple all of which are standing and uninscribed.³ These images evidently belong to the Gupta period, when the Parivrājaka Mahārājas and the chiefs of Ucchakalpa ruled over the country between the rivers Tons and Narmadā. The evolution of the human figure in this country, as evidenced by the Dhuan Dhar images discovered by the late Mr. H. Panday and the 10th century images of the Cedī period, would point out that the intermediate images must belong to the Gupta period.