Page:The Buddhist Antiquities Of Nagarjunakonda MASI 54 Longhurst A. H..djvu/22

Rh structure existed below, The roof had fallen in and filled the interior crushing the side walls in the process so that only the lower portion of the building remains intact. It faces the north and its moonstone is missing but its valuable inscription engraved on the stone pavement is in a fair state of preservation. The temple stands close to the eastern side of the Great Stupa.

Temple 2 is similar in style and dimensions to the last and is situated on the hillock known as Naharallabodu (the Lesser Dhammagiri of the inscriptions). Here, too, only the massive brick walls and stone pavement’ of the base of the structure remain. A long inscription on its stone floor records the pious works of the lady Bodhihisiri and states that this temple and Monastery 1 standing alongside of it were dedicated to the fraternities of Ceylonese monks settled at Nagarjunakonda. Like Temple 1, Bodhisiri’s temple contained a small stone-built dagaba as the object of worship and faces the west (Plate V (a) ).

At the lower or northern end of Niharallabodu hill is Monastery 2 which contains two smaller apsidal temples built facing each other. In one of these we found two broken statues of the Buddha (Plate VI (a) ) but nothing in the other. They are both standing, figures and the larger statue must have been about 8 feet high when complete and the smaller one is life size. Unfortunately, the head, hands and feet are missing but the torso shows’ that it must have been a well-executed statue of. semi-classical appearance (Plate VI (6) ).

The two life size heads illustrated in Plate VI (c) and (¢) were also found on Naharallabodu hill but as only the heads were discovered it is impossible to say to which buildings they originally belonged. The head (d) is a remarkable specimen and can hardly be meant to represent the Buddha, if so, it is the only example so far discovered portraying the Buddha wearing a draped cap. It seems more likely that it is a portrait image of some famous divine who lived in the adjacent monastery, perhaps the great Nagarjuna himself, who knows?

The temples were always built close to monasteries and often within the monastic enclosure itself, so that each monastery had its own temple. Every monastery also had its own stupa or dagaba as an object of worship.

At Nagarjunakonda, each monastic establishment was complete in itself and contained a vihara or dwelling place for the monks, an apsidal temple and a stupa. On plan, the vihara consisted of a rectangular open court-yard enclosed by a brick wall. In the centre was a square stone-paved hall with a wooden roof supported by stone pillars. All round the enclosure abutting onto the outer walls was a row of cells for the monks often with a verandah in front. Some of the cells were used as store-rooms, a few as shrines and there was usually one large room which served as a refectory. In Plate V (a) and (4) we have a general view of Monastery 1 and Temple 2, both built by the picus lady Bodhisiri for the use of the Ceylonese monks settled at Nagarjunakonda. The plan of Monastery 1 is somewhat irregular on the north-western side indicating that the builders of the structure were not particularly expert. Since no remains of stone pillars were found in the débris which filled the interior of the courtyard before excavation