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Historians Display Evidence From Debris
Indian Express
December 20, 1992
New Delhi - Some historians and archaeologists who have all along maintained
that a Vaishnav temple existed until the early 16th century at the disputed
site in Ayodhya came up on Saturday with "fresh and conclusive evidence"
in support of their claim.
At a press conference here, the Historians Forum - chaired by Prof K.
S. Lal - released photographs and played videotapes to show "the
conclusive evidence which was discovered during the night of Dec. 6 and
the next morning when debris of the demolished disputed structure was
being cleared."
Their most important "evidence" is an inscription engraved
on a rectangular buff sandstone slab about 5 ft x 2 ft in size. They said
epigraphists have confirmed
that the inscription is composed in Sanskrit and written in Nagari script
in 11-12th century.
"The inscription clearly mentions Janamabhoomi and also records
the fact that it was at Ayodhya, located in Saket Mandala, a sub-region,
that an extremely beautiful and magnificent temple with the spire (shikhar)
of stone and pinnacle of gold (hiranya) was built which was dedicated
to Lord Vishnu-Hari who had humbled King Bali and defeated the wicked
Dashanan," claimed Prof B. R. Grover, Dr S. P. Gupta, Prof Devendra
Swaroop and Dr Sudha Malaya.
They said that Vishnu-Hari in the inscription referred to Ram (considered
an incarnation of Vishnu) and that Dashanan was Ravana. The sandstone
slab bearing the inscription has a crack and the word Janamabhoomi appears
on the fourth line next to it (the word preceding it is missing). They
said that in line 17 there is mention of Ayodhya in the subregion of Saket
(. . . Ayodhyam Adhyasya tena Saket-Mandalam . . .) while line 15 records,
. . . shaila shikhara sreni shilasamhativyuhair Vishnu-Hari hiranya kalasha
Sri sundara Mandiram . . .
Dr. Sudha Malaya, an art historian from Bhopal who was camping
in Ayodhya since Dec. 4 -- and had admitted being a kar sevak -- was apparently
the first of the lot to photograph the "new findings". The quality
of photographs she could click was not good and so Dr Gupta and others
rushed to Ayodhya on Dec. 13 and "and took some stampages, made several
transparencies and photographs, as well as video film of the inscription
and other archaeological remains which were practically dumped in the
Ram Katha Kunj located near Kubera Tila."
According to the historians and archaeologists, the "evidences"
were found in some sort of a compartment between two walls behind the
left and central dome of what used to be the disputed structure. "When
the structure was being built after destroying the temple remnants were
left in the gap and plastered between the walls," they claimed.
Other findings include an intact marble image of Ram (painted black),
clad in a gold-red dhoti, which Dr. Gupta claimed was a "pre-Babri
image dating back to the 4-15th century"; parts of the amalaka which
once crowned the pinnacle of the temple of the temple; the top most part
of the jala, which was placed below lata which, like a creeper, decorated
the elevation of the spire or shikhara; and goddesses; and more than half
a dozen sandstone temple pillars with carved brackets.
Decipherment of the inscription was still on but the historians and archaeologists
who presented the findings appeared to be satisfied with the objects have
thus finally vindicated our stand that at the very site of Janamabhoomi
at Ayodhya there existed a Vaishnava temple from at least the 11-12th
century which was destroyed by Babar's men in order to build a mosque-like
structure around 1528-29 AD," they maintained.
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