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An Archaeological and Art- Historical Examination
Introduction
As we approach the 'Babri Mosque', located at the site popularly called
'Ram Janmabhoomi' we see a simple and modest structure with three domes,
the central one bigger than the two side ones, It is surrounded by two
high-rising walls, running parallel to each other with large open space
in between.
I.2- On the high entrance of the domed structure are fixed two stone tablets,
side by side, which bear two inscriptions in Persian informing us that
this structure was built by one Mir Baqi on the orders of Babur.
I.3- There are 14 pillars of black stone fixed in this domed structural
complex-two are located at the small entrance in the outer boundary wall
on the east, while four are located in the main door opening into the
central part of the domed building; four each are located in the two walls
which separate the central domed area from the southern and northern domed
areas.
I.4- The walls of the Babri Mosque are made of coarse-grained whitish
sandstone blocks, rectangular in shape, while the domes are made of thin
and small burnt bricks, Both these structural items are plastered with
thick chunam paste mixed with coarse sand.
I.5- The 14 pillars, on the other hand, have been carved out of dark schistose
stone with fine silica grains. The surface is now blackish with bright
sheen, as if polished.
I.6- While the coarse sand and the bricks used in the mosque are generally
of local origin, found nearly regions, the dark stone, called locally
'Kasauti' or 'touch stone', is found in far off places only, such as the
Himalayan foothills or 'terai' in U.P. and Nepal.
I.7- It may be mentioned here that while apparently the mosque does not
bear any decoration with figures of Gods and Goddesses, the dark stone
pillars have several of them, besides other sacred motifs.
I.8- It may also be mentioned that under a national archaeological project,
called 'Archaeology of the Ramayana sites', a team of archaeologists headed
by Prof. B.B.Lal, former Director General, Archaeological Survey of India,
excavated this site from 1975 through 1980 on the immediate south and
west of this monument.
We, are, therefore, faced here with a peculiar situation while the domed
structure shows some architectural features which are peculiar to Muslim
architecture, the pillars show features which are peculiar to Hindu architecture.
In order to understand this apparently odd situation, archaeologists undertook
a detailed examination of the domed structure as well as the black stone
pillars, They have then supplemented this study with the examination of
the material remains which have been unearthed in the trenches laid in
an area which is adjoining the southern boundary wall of the mosque.
II. The Pillars
II.1. In the so-called 'Babri Mosque', built in the 16th century
(1528 A.D.-1530 A.D.), there are at least 14 stone pillars of a pre-existing
structure. The pillars support the super-structure of some vital parts
of the mosque, such as the arches of the entrances. These pillars are
of dark schistose stone which is of the slate variety. Locally it is called
'Kasauti' stone or 'touch stone' because, as the tradition goes, against
this the purity of gold could be tested. This stone is found in nature
as rock formations in the lower Himalayas; in the Nepal Terai and the
Terai of Uttar Pradesh. Out of this stone, temple images alone were carved
in the early times. Many of them are still found in the temples of these
very regions, and many others are housed in Museums such as Lucknow and
Allahabad. These images of the so-called Kasauti stone are dated from
the 9th through the 12th century A.D. In other words, till the 11th century
no temple was ever built in the around Uttar Pradesh where this stone
was used for pillars of any monument, religious or secular, and Hindu
or Buddhist, or even Jain. Muslims, of course, did not at all use it here.
It is significant to note that this stone is entirely different from the
black basalt stone, generally used for one kind of Pala sculptures in
eastern India, which is an igneous rock.
II.2- There are two more similar pillars of the black schistose stone.
These are found placed upside down by the side of the grave of one Muslim
saint, Fazle Abbas alias Musa Ashikhan. In the local tradition, he is
generally blamed for inciting the then authorities, headed by one Mir
Baqi, to demolish the temple at Janmasthan and build a mosque there. It
has been mentioned by different authors, including Hans Bakker, the writer
of the famous book entitled Ayodhya. II.3- In addition, there is a door-jamb,
resting against a wall in the courtyard of the modern Janmasthan temple
built in the late 18th century, across a road that separated the 'Janmabhumi'
from 'Janmasthan'.
II.4- There are also nearly half-a-dozen Vaishnav images located at various
places in the cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad, besides a number of other
images.
II.5- The pillars are carved at the base with a sacred water-pitcher,called
purnaghata or kalash. It has overhanging creepers with rich foliage, arranged
in a highly stylised form. From this, in one example, a devkanya is seen
emerging and standing on a lotus flower. In another example, at the place
of the devkanya, there is a picture of hamsa with elaborate tail. From
this Kalash, sometimes a decorative lotus rises up on one of the octagonal
facets of a pillar a female figure, standing in tribhanga mudra, is still
visible, although it is found heavily mutilated by the iconoclasts.
II.6- These columns have sixteen facets, passing into a square at the
bases. On all the four corners of the base of a column we see load- carrying
or bharavahaka Yakshas, sitting with hands down. These are semi- divine
beings in human form shown supporting the kumbhas or vessels out of which
the shaft of the pillar is shown rising.
II.7- The door-jamb is of the same stone as of the columns, i.e., schistose.
It is 115 cms. long and is decorated with sculptured figures from top
to bottom. At the base, there is a small arch recess in which one can
see a standing male figure. The image is wearing a Karanda mukuta (or
tiara) on the head, and a vanamala on the bare front body. While the right
hand is in vyakhyana mudra, the left hand is carrying a weapon, trishula.
Above the niche are the two vertical bands of decoration, the rightone
shows the rising creeper motif, divided into two vertically running friezes.
The left one contains three figures of devkanyas or apsaras, i.e., nymphs
off heavenly female beings, alternating on the top with gana i.e., demi-divine
male in the dancing pose. These are arranged one above the other, the
uppermost figure is in fact of a salabhanjika i.e.a female (nymph) figure
holding and bending the branch of a blossoming tree. The other apsaras
are also shown standing in simple niches.
II.8- These columns or pillars can easily be dated on the basis of what
we call the science of Art style, if we carefully look at the forms of
various elements of the above mentioned decorations and also other decorations
on them. We will date them in the early 11th century. Floral and geometrical
motifs such as intersecting garlands and creepers (the leaves and flowers),
and diamonds and triangles, the globular form of the water pitchers with
moulded mouths, the long hanging garlands, the female figure (body,eyes,nose,and
face) and the architectural features, such as the form of the arch and
the pilasters as well as thin transparent dhotis, conclusively prove that
these pillars were definitely carved in the early 11th century. These
forms belong to what we sometimes call in art- history 'Late Pratihar'
or 'Gahadval' style. We have several examples of similar forms occurring
in temple decorations from different ancient temple- sites in northern
India such as Jamsot.
Evidently, these black stone pillars or columns belong to an old Hindu
temple, these could not belong to any other religion including Buddhism,
since no Buddhist temple has been built anywhere in India during the 11th
century in which Buddha or a Bodhisattva or Tara or some other God is
not present.
III. Archaelogical Excavation
III.1- Besides the excavations conducted by Alexander Cunningham
in the 19th century at some Buddhist places in Ayodhya, other than Janmabhoomi,
Prof. A.K.Narain of the Banaras Hindu University excavated Ayodhya in
1969 by laying three trenches at three different places in the city, considerably
away from Janmabhoomi. From 1975 through 1980, Prof. B.B.Lal, Director
General, Archaeological Survey of India, also laid trenches at 14 different
places at Ayodhya, but including one at Janmabhoomi. Some trenches were
taken just behind the Babri Mosque in the west, and some by the south
side of the mosque for detailed archaeological survey of India. The scheme
was a part of a large national project launched by the Central Government,
when Prof. Burul Hasan was the Minister of Education and Culture. It was
called 'Archaeology of the Ramayana Sites'. These 17 trenches yielded
the following select data which have direct bearing on the problem.
III.2- Firstly, the earliest habitational layer in these trenches, laid
directly above the natural soil, yielded the most beautiful pottery of
Indian material culture, called Northern Black Polished Ware(early period)
with silvery and golden hues. It is fired uniformly at a very high temperature,
more than 1000 degree C, which produced not only unique polish, but also
unique metallic sound. It is a dated pottery and it belongs to the 7th
century B.C.
III.3- Secondly, there has been almost continuous human habitation in
the Janambhoomi-Masjid area from the 7th century B.C. unto the 3rd century
A.D. Then there occurred some break in the habitation in the Janmabhoomi
area.
III.4- Thirdly, in the 11th century some people constructed a series of
rectangular 'bases' or short pillar- like structures of burnt-bricks,
each about 3ft. tall. This was done by cutting the debris of the earlier
periods. These 'bases' were meant for the pillars of a super-structure.
These 'bases' have been found arranged in parallel rows. It is significant
to note that the directional alignment of the 'bases' is the same as that
of the several pillars of black stone found in the mosque.
III.5- Fourthly, a well laid thick floor, made of pinkish white chundam
or like and small kankars was found running over and across a 'base'.
It was found running even beyond the excavated area, towards the mosque.
It is conclusively proved by the floor material in the section of the
trenches. This is the original 'mosque floor' level.
III.6- Fifthly, below this topmost floor a thick deposit was found which
has yielded Islamic Glazed Ware shards of various types and colours including
blue, red and green, which may be dated between the 13th and 15th centuries.
It includes a White Glazed Ware with blue paintings which was prevalent
in Persia in the 15th century, i.e. much before the date of the mosque
which was built in the 16th century.
III.7- Sixthly, there was a well-laid chunam and kankar floor below this
layer, but it was found running against the 'bases'.
III.8- Seventhly, there was one more similarly laid floor below this floor,
also running against the 'base'.
III.9- According to the science of 'Archaeological Stratigraphy', while
the top-most floor belonged to the level and period of the mosque, the
lower two floors belonged to the earlier pre-mosque structure. The fact
that instead of one, there are the remains of two floors of this pre-mosque
structure is interesting since it shows that the floor of the structure
was restored almost completely and at least once.
III.10- Eighthly, at least in one example the 'base' records the fact
of destruction upon the foundation. It is the evidence of a rectangular
pit without its 'brick' base. It must have been done anciently by laying
a 'robber's trench' by some one interested in demolishing it and removing
its bricks for constructing some other structure.
IV Results Of Archaelogical Work
These kinds of art and archaeological
evidences establish two things:
IV.1- one, the antiquity of the site of Ayodhya goes back at least to
700 B.C.
IV.2- Second, in the 11th century a large structure on pillars was erected
at the site now popularly called 'Janmabhoomi'. At this very place, now
a 16th century mosque stands. It has 14 black stone pillars, decorated
with beautiful floral, faunal and human carving, largely mutilated. The
carvings on them show that they were carved in the early 11th century.
When compared with similar carvings on the pillars of structures of the
11th century elsewhere in U.P. we find that these are used in temples
made of other stones, generally buffish sandstone. It is, thus, clear
that the black stone pillars at Janmabhoomi also belonged to a temple.
No secular structure in and around Uttar Pradesh used this stone for pillars.
IV.3- Further, most of the pillars of the 11th century temples were removed
at a later date, in the early 16th century, although a few of them are
still in their original placement, others are displaced. Originally, there
may have been 84 pillars and the area covered by them must have been around
seven times more than that covered by the domed structure of the mosque.
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