Historical Geography of Ancient India c10.369

c10.369

By excavating the ancient site of Vairāṭ many archaeological remains of the Maurya period and immediately later have been found out. The principal monuments brought to light are numerous remnants of two Aśoka pillars similar to the other known memorial pillars of that emperor, a temple of an entirely new type, and a monastery erected by Aśoka himself. The best preserved portion of the monastery was that on the east side where a double row of six to seven cells has remained. Portable antiquities recovered from these cells included pottery, jars of different shapes and ornamented with various patterns. Some punch-marked coins of silver and some Greek and Indo-Greek silver coins have also been discovered. The discovery of a piece of cotton cloth throws interesting light on the kind of clothing used in the 1st century A.D. Among the portable antiquities found at the site mention may be made of a terracotta figurine of a dancing girl or *yakṣī* having no head and feet. The left hand rests on the hip while the right arm is laid across the chest to support the left breast. The figure is almost naked. Similar figures are found on railing pillars of about the 1st century B.C. at Mathurā. The circular temple discovered at the site is found to be a most interesting structure contemporaneous with the Aśoka pillars. It was destroyed by a big fire. Daya Ram Sahni has pointed out that an interesting feature of the excavations at Vairāṭ is the total absence among the finds of anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha of any form or material, which is in full accord with the view that the Buddha image was not evolved until about the 2nd century A.D. (D. R. Sahni, *Archaeological Remains and Excavations at Bairāṭ*, published by the Department of Archaeology and Historical Research, Jaipur State, pp. 19ff.). Vide also *Matsyadeśa*.