Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s18.4

c12.s18.4

Much less known than either the Patna Yakshas or the two other colossal polished sandstone standing statues from Parkham and Didarganj are the two torsos of naked Jaina images, both recovered from Lohanipur near Bankipur, Patna, and now in the Patna Museum. The larger torso, a free and round sculpture carved out of Chunar sandstone, has the high Maurya polish on it ; while the smaller one, identical in appearance and style and of the same material has no polish on it. They have both been found together on the same level underground along with a silver punch-marked coin which Jayaswal says ‘precedes Maurya coinage’. He ascribes the larger torso to the Maurya period and the unpolished smaller one to the ‘Sungan or later’, on what grounds he does not state¹. If one is to go by style and appearance, both the torsos must belong to the same period which may not be far out of date from the Patna Yakshas on the one hand and the Parkham Yaksha on the other. In their tight and stiff modelling, in their fully rounded arms and thighs and in their general earthy heaviness of form they have a kinship with the Patna statues; both pairs are characterised by a smooth and lifeless inertia, and by a comparatively flat surface treatment of their backs. The Lohanipur statues, moreover, are more primitive and archaic in outlook and appearance, heavy and a little bit unbalanced in proportion which seem to link them with the Baroda and Parkham Yakshas to be discussed later.