Discovery of a Bone-Relic at an Ancient Centre of Mahayana
Nalinaksha Dutt
The Indian Historical Quarterly,
vol 5:4, Dec.1929, pp. 794-96.
p. 794
It has been recently announced by Mr. H.
Hargreaves, offg. Director General of Archaeology,
that a bone relic of Buddha has been discovered at
Nagarjunikunda, where excavations are now being
carried on under the direction of Mr. A. H.
Longhurst. The site is close to the famous Amaravati
stupa and is situated on the right bank of the Krisna
in the Palnad Taluk, District Guntur. In the course
of excavations on the northern side of the stupa, Mr.
Longhurst discovered a small round box of three
quarters of an inch in diameter, containing a
fragment of a bone of the size of a pea together with
some gold-flowers. This box was within a silver
casket shaped like a miniature stupa 2 1/2 inches
high. In it were originally pearls and garnets.
Since 1926, the excavations carried on at this
site have been yielding many important finds
including a few Brahmi inscriptions of the 3rd
century A.C. The importance of the discovery of the
bonerelic lies in the fact that it goes to confirm
the message of the inscription recording the gift of
a pillar by the sister of Maharaja Madhavi-putra Sri
Virapurusadatta to the Caitya, enshrining a dhatu of
Sammasambuddha.(1) The fact that this Caitya
enshrined a relic of Buddha is also mentioned in the
Manjusrimulakalpa.(2)
The excavations at Dhanyakataka and its
neighbourhood bear ample testimony to the existence
of an important Buddhist establishment ment in this
locality. One of the inscriptions of the 3rd century
A.C. found recently records that this sacred place
was visited by pilgrims from distant places such as
Gandhara, Cina, Aparanta, Vanga, Vanavasi,
Tambapannidvipa, and that for the convenience of the
pilgrims, some devotees dug well and constructed a
number of caityas and viharas.(3) The
Manjusrimulakalpa also says that there was a mountain
called Sriparvata, near Dhanyakataka, suitable for
Buddhistic practices.(4) Hence, no doubt is left as
to the great antiquity and importance of this place
as a centre of Buddhism.
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1 Annual Report of the S. I. Epigraphy, 1924, p. 97;
1926, pp. 70, 92-3 ; 1927, P.42
2 Manjusrimulakalpa, (Triv. Sans. Series)., p. 88:
"Sridhanyakatake caitye jinadhatudhare."
3 Annual Report of S. I. Epigraphy, 1927, pp. 43, 71.
4 Manjusrimulakalpa, p.88
p. 795
The inscriptions have further come to our aid by
indicating the Buddhist sects connected with this
centre. Many years ago, Burgess, on the authority of
Hiuen Tsang and the inscription No.12,(1) referring
to the Caityakas, whose branches were the Purvasailas
and Aparasailas, concluded that it was a centre of
the two Saila schools the offshoots of the
Mahasanghikas.
Hiuen Tsang informs us that in the country of
Te-na-ka-che-ka (=Dhanakechaka or Dhanakataka), there
was a monastery called Purvasaila (Fu-po-shih-lo) on
a hill to the east of the capital and another
monastery called Aparasaila (A-fa-lo-shih-lo) on a
hill to the west.(2) He also tells us that of the
many Buddhist monasteries, only twenty were inhabited
by monks and they belonged to the Maha-sanghika
school.(3) Among the recent finds in the
neighbourhood of the place, two inscriptions refer to
Puvaseliya (Purvasaila) and Avaras (Aparasaila).(4)
The Kathavatthu-atthakatha calls them "Andhakas" i.e.
the sects of the Andhra country. These various
evidences clearly show that the Buddhist
establishments at Dhanyakataka and its neighbourhood
belonged to the Mahasanghikas and their offshoots.
The Mahasanghikas, on account of docetising Buddha
and setting up Buddhahood as the goal of a Buddhist,
lowering thereby the status of the Arhat, are
regarded as the forerunners of Mahayana. It is
therefore quite natural that the Mahayanic
principles, at least the Buddhological speculations,
found favour with the monks residing at Dhanakataka.
From the archaeological reports also we notice that
there is in fact a locality called Nagarjunikunda,
where the bone-relic has been discovered. The
association of this place with Nagarjuna, the great
savant of Mahayana and the founder of the Madhyamika
school of philosophy, and the information furnished
by Taranatha(5) that Nagarjuna resided for some time
at Sriparvata (Sri- sailam) suggest that the
establishment became later on a centre of Mahayana.
Hiuen Tsang also refers to a resident of this
establish-
___________________________
1. Burgess, Amaravati and Jaggayapeta-stupas, p. 102.
2. Watters, Yuan Chwang, II, p. 214.
3. Watters, Yuan Chwang, II, p. 217: Julien read in
the `B' text ta-sheng=Mahayana, but the other
texts have ta-chung=Maha- sangha. Watters prefers
the latter view.
4. Annual Report of S. I. Epigraphy, 1924, p. 97; 1926,
pp, 70, 92-3 1927, p. 42.
5. Geschichte des Buddhismus, pp.73, 81.
p. 796
ment named P'o-p'i-fei-ka (=Bhavaviveka) as a great
scholar ("Sastra- master") and as "externally
displaying the Sankhya garb, internally propagating
the learning of Nagarjuna,"(1) and as the author of
the Prajna-Pradipasastra, a treatise dealing with
"transcendental wisdom." Wassiljew informs us on the
basis of the Tibetan work Siddhanta that the schools
of the Purvasailas and Aparasailas had a
Prajnaparamita in the Prakrt dialect.(2) In view of
the tenets attributed to the Saila schools by the
Kathavatthu and Vasumitra's treatise it is difficult
to accept the Siddhanta tradition that the Saila
schools possessed a Prajnaparamita text, for the
chief and only aim of a Prajna-paramita text is to
establish Sunyata and Advayam Advaidhikaram as the
final Truth. So if we have to believe the information
of the Siddhanta we must hold that the Saila schools
generally changed their tenets, and ultimately became
full-fledged Mahayanists. This was very likely the
case, and we hope that fresh evidences will be
forthcoming from the excavations at Nagarjunikunda
and its neighbourhood to throw light on this great
problem--the origin of Mahayana.
_________________________
1. Watters, Yuan Chwang, II, p.214
2. Wassiljew, Der Buddhismus.