The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t11.34

c5.s1.t11.34

This central castle or citadel, with its open courtyard surrounded by costly buildings, I take to have been the palace of the king, with the usual temples for private worship. At the north end I traced a wide flight of steps leading down to a second plateau, which I presume to have been the outer court of the palace or citadel. The upper courtyard is 270 feet long and 100 feet broad; and the lower courtyard, including the steps, is just half the size, or 130 feet by 100 feet. These open areas were covered with broken statues of all sizes, and in all positions. Many of them were figures of Buddha the Teacher, either seated or standing; some were of Buddha the Ascetic, sitting under the holy Pipal tree; and a few represented Mâyâ, the mother of Buddha, standing under the sâl tree. But there were fragments of other figures, which apparently were not connected with religion, such as a life-size male figure in chain armour, a naked body of a man with the Macedonian *chlamys*, or short cloak, thrown over the shoulders and fastened in front in the usual manner, and a human breast partly covered with the *chlamys* and adorned with a necklace of which the clasps are formed by two human-headed, winged, and four-footed animals, something like centaurs. All these figures are carved in a soft, dark-blue clay slate, which is easily worked with a knife. It is exceedingly brittle, and was therefore easily broken by the idol-hating Musalmans. But as the surface was capable of receiving a good polish, many of the fragments are still in very fine preservation. The best piece that I have seen was a head of Buddha, with the hair massed on the top of the head, and worked in a peculiar manner in wavy lines, instead of the usual formal curls. It was found at Jamâl Garhi, and is by far the best piece of Indian sculpture that I have seen. The calm repose of the finely chiselled features is not unworthy of Grecian art, but the striking beauty of the face is somewhat marred by the round projecting Indian chin.