The Age of the Imperial Guptas c8.9

c8.9

The original outline of the Mahābodhi temple was of a different shape, which was changed when it was encased in fresh masonry at the time of its repairs (1880–92). This slim outline of the Śikhara can be seen in earlier photographs.³ The outline of the original Śikhara along with the absence of particular decorative *motifs* of the Gupta period proper prove that the Mahābodhi temple could not have been erected earlier than the 8th century A.D. There are two other temples of the same type and probably of the same date in South Bihar, one of which, though not repaired, is still in better preservation than the original Mahābodhi temple. These are the temple of Śiva at Konch, near Tikari, in the Gaya district and the great Buddhist *Vihāra* at Nālandā in the Patna district. The latter was excavated and partly destroyed by the late Mr. A. M. Broadley, I.C.S., when most of the carved stones were removed to the Museum founded by him at Bihar whence they were removed to the Calcutta Museum in 1897-98. The ruins have been re-excavated recently by the Archæological Survey of India. In this temple the *Śikhara* collapsed long ago. According to an inscription discovered on the door-jamb of this temple it was rebuilt in the 11th year of the reign of Mahīpāla I of Bengal *i.e.*, towards the close of the 10th century A.D. The *motifs* employed here and at Konch prove that the present Mahābodhi temple can not be earlier than the 8th century A.D.