Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.t2.11

v1.c28.s8.t2.11

The Gupta Period or Magadha bronze tradition reached Kashmir. A huge bronze Buddha was taken on an elephant’s back all the way from Magadha to Kashmir during Lalitāditya’s reign (first half of the 8th century AD). (Pal, 1975) Down South, the Amarāvatī school of bronze sculpture had been boosted by the brass tradition of the Sātavāhanas in the second century AD initiated by Nāgārjuna who might have lived in the Bhamragarh area of the Satmala Hills (Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Andhra Pradesh border, vide Beal, 1884, 1969: Book II, pp. 214-15). Not very far from this area, Sripura (modern Sirpur, 21° 20' N, 82° 11' E, 53 miles from Raipur) was the capital of Pāṇḍuvaṁśis of South Kosala during sixth-seventh century AD. This site has yielded many Brāhmaṇical and Buddhist bronze images. It was evidently a centre of bronze-casting; Droṇāditya was the name of one of the bronze-casters. One of the images obtained from this site was gilded; another had ‘large eyes inlaid with silver and lips of red copper’. A crystal stūpa, a gilt vajra and a Chinese copper coin (of the period AD 713-41) showed that it was a famous centre of pilgrimage. (Mitra, 1971, 1980: 103) We have indicated earlier the discovery and analysis of brass Buddha images from East Nimur, Madhya Pradesh, belonging to this period.