Page:The Buddhist Antiquities Of Nagarjunakonda MASI 54 Longhurst A. H..djvu/24

Rh (G of Dr. Vogel’s List) found engraved on one of the pillars shows that it was a monastic hall erected a little later than the monuments previously noticed. The vihara to which it belonged must have been a large one and contained a fairly big stupa and two apsidal temples built facing “each other as in Monastery 2. The pillars are of limestone, nicely cut and stand about 8 feet above the floor: level which in the more important buildings was paved with stone. The upper and lower portions of the shafts are square in section and ornamented with semi-circular medallions carved with the lotus emblem, while the central of the pillar is octagonal m section, The tops of the pillars are provided with rectangular grooves for the reception of the main beams of the roof which was of wood covered with thatch. The pillars are merely stuck into the ground without any proper foundations and could never have supported a heavy tiled roof or an upper storey. The roofs of these halls seem to have been built in much the same manner as they are to-day (Plate VIII (5) ). Sometimes, in fact frequently, structures of this kind were converted into buildings containing a number of separate small apartments by filling in the open spaces between the groups of stone pillars with mud or rubble walls covered with plaster. So long as the roof was kept in good repair these partition walls remained intact, but as soon as the roof decayed and disappeared so did the walls of the rooms. So when we meet with ruined buildings of this kind where the structure is represented merely by a group of standing or fallen pillars and perhaps the remains of a stone pavement, it is impossible to say whether it represents the ruins of an open pillared hall or a closed building containing a number of small apartments.

In the central part of the valley, where the ancient city of Vijayapuri once stood, the ruins of a large mandapa was discovered and five very handsome stone pillars were unearthed (Plate VIII (c)). All are damaged and the pavilion must have been wantonly destroyed. From the style of ‘their elaborate ornamentation and curious semi-classical subjects portrayed on their shafts, the pillars appear to have supported the wooden roof of a hall belonging to some royal palace. No pillars of this kind were found at any of the other sites. Those belonging to the monastic halls are usually plain, or else decorated with lotus medallions on the cubical portions of the shafts, but are never carved with bas-relief scenes or figures like those portrayed on these ornate pillars (Plates IX and X). Two of these pillars are particularly interesting, one represents a bearded soldier, apparently a Scythian wearing a Roman-like helmet, a quilted long ‘sleeved tunic and trousers, and holding a heavy spear. The figure is quite un-Indian and the style of the clothing indicates a Northern origin. Two figures of this kind were found, both carved on the shafts of pillars from this site. The other sculpture portrays a male figure nude down to the waist and holding « drinking horn (rhyton) in his left hand. Standing on the ground near his left foot is a wine jar covered with an inverted drinking cup. The figure seems to be meant for a crude representation of Dionysus. The very active sea-borne trade between the Roman Empire and Southern India in the second century A. D., may account for the presence of this figure which was obviously copied from some classical example (9 and 10) (Plate X (c) and (d)).