Deur Kothar

Last updated

Deur Kothar
Ancient Stupa East Deur Kothar MP Jan24 A7C 08870.jpg
Stupa at Deur Kothar
Religion
Affiliation Buddhism
DistrictRewa
StatusPreserved
Location
LocationFlag of India.svg  India
State Madhya Pradesh
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Shown within India
Geographic coordinates 24°55′57″N81°39′47″E / 24.932388°N 81.663045°E / 24.932388; 81.663045
Reconstructed stupas at Deorkothar Recent Stupas South Deur Kothar MP Jan24 A7C 08859.jpg
Reconstructed stupas at Deorkothar
Rock paintings in caves at Deorkothar Deorkothar painting.jpg
Rock paintings in caves at Deorkothar

Deorkothar (also: Deur Kothar) is a location of archaeological importance in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. It was discovered in 1982 and is known for Buddhist stupas credited to the Mauryan emperor Ashoka.

Contents

The discovery and excavations

P.K. Mishra (Archaeological Survey of India) discovered Deorkothar in 1982 along with Ajit Singh, sarpanch of village Barhat. It was declared a monument of national importance in 1988 by the Govt of India and is being preserved and conserved by Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal. [1]

Realising the importance of the site, and its likely international bearing on Buddhism, the Archaeological Survey of India decided to carry out extensive, but controlled, excavations at the site. The excavations were started at the site in 1999 and continued up to 2000. The site is marked by four stupa mounds built out of brick out of which two stupas No. 1 and 2 were subjected to archaeological excavations. Stupa no. 1 is about 9 m (30 ft) high. There are remnants of 30 stupas made of stones or bricks. In the surrounding area there are 63 rock shelters with old rock paintings. Some rocks have inscriptions in Brahmi language. [1]

Deorkothar inscription

The six line Brahmi inscription on the Deorkothar pillar is considered to be the earliest evidence of the historic Buddha. [2] It is given below, transliterated into Devanagari script. [3]

भ ग व तो बु ध
उ त र मि त्रो उ त र मि त्र स अ
भ ड्‍ भ ड्‍ स आ ते वा सि ना दि नु
उ पा स क स आ ते वा सि स व ज य स व
ध म द वे न के क डी के न ब स ति ये
उ स पि तो भं भो आ आ च रि ये न क सि

The inscription mentions Buddha on the first line. The gist of the inscription, pertains to the erection and dedication of stone pillar by an unnamed Upasaka and his disciples in memory of the Buddha, the enlightened one. The inscription speaks about an Acharya, named Dharamdev, and his three disciples – Uttarmitra, Bhadra and Upasaka, who used to reside in the monastery. They installed this pillar, dedicating it to the Buddha.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarnath</span> Historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India

Sarnath is a place located 10 kilometres northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahabodhi Temple</span> Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

The Mahabodhi Temple or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an ancient, but restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya is 15 km from Gaya and is about 96 km (60 mi) from Patna. The site contains a descendant of the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment and has been a major pilgrimage destination of Buddhists for over two thousand years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanchi</span> Buddhist complex in Madhya Pradesh, India

Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen town, district headquarter and 46 kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stupa</span> Mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, used as a place of meditation

In Buddhism, a stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhist temple</span> Buddhist place of worship

A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent the pure land or pure environment of a Buddha. Traditional Buddhist temples are designed to inspire inner and outer peace.

The Rañjanā script (Lantsa) is an abugida writing system which developed in the 11th century and until the mid-20th century was used in an area from Nepal to Tibet by the Newar people, the historic inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, to write Sanskrit and Newar. Nowadays it is also used in Buddhist monasteries in China, especially in the Tibetan Buddhist areas within the Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu; Mongolia, and Japan. It is normally written from left to right but the Kutakshar form is written from top to bottom. It is also considered to be the standard Nepali calligraphic script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shravasti</span> Historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India

Shravasti ; Pali: 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, romanized: Sāvatthī) is a town in Shravasti district in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala and the place where the Buddha lived most after his enlightenment. It is near the Rapti river in the northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh India, close to the Nepalese border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bharhut</span> Archeological site in Madhya Pradesh, India

Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut stupa was King Dhanabhuti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piprahwa</span> Village in Uttar Pradesh, India

Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety of rice is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homeland and is 9 miles from the world heritage site of Lumbini that is believed to be the place of Gautama Buddha's birth.

Kanganahalli, situated about 3 km from Sannati, is an important Buddhist site where an ancient Mahastupa was built. It is on the left bank of the Bhima river in Chitapur taluk, Kalaburagi district in Karnataka, India. Nalwar is the nearest Railway station about 19 km from Sannati. The Buddhist site about 2.5 km from Chandrala Parameshwari temple of Sannati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalitgiri</span>

Lalitagiri is a major Buddhist complex in the Indian state of Odisha. The complex is home to stupas, 'esoteric' Buddha images, and monasteries (viharas), which is the oldest site in the region. Significant finds at this complex include Buddha's relics. Tantric Buddhism was practiced at this site.

Shravasti Airport is a domestic airport, which serves the city of Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is near an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where The Buddha is believed to have spent 24 monsoons in this city. Numerous stupas, monasteries and several temples near the archaeological site of Sahet-Mahet establish Buddha's association with Shravasti. The airport is being developed by upgrading the existing airfield, which was used only by the Government and VIPs, in three phases. It covers an area of 57 acres, and has a terminal building, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, an apron for parking of two 19-seater Dornier 228 aircraft, a fire station and a runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kushinagar</span> Historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India

Kushinagar is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Located 53 kilometres east of Gorakhpur on National Highway 27, Kushinagar is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha died and attained parinirvana.

Ña or Nya is the tenth consonant of Indic abugidas. It is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Srughna</span> Ancient city or kingdom of India

Srughna, also spelt Shrughna in Sanskrit, or Sughna, Sughana or Sugh in the spoken form, was an ancient city or kingdom of India frequently referred to in early and medieval texts. It was visited by Chinese traveller, Xuanzang in the 7th century and was reported to be in ruins even then although the foundations still remained. Xuanzang described the kingdom as extending from the mountains to the north, to the Ganges river to the East, and with the Yamuna river flowing through it. He described the capital city on the west bank of the Yamuna as possessing a large Buddhist vihara and a grand stupa dating to the time of the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka. Srughna is identified with the Sugh Ancient Mound located in the village of Amadalpur Dayalgarh, in the Yamunanagar district of Haryana state of India. To this day, the ancient Chaneti Buddhist Stupa, probably dating to the Mauryan period, stands in the area, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest of Sugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bairat Temple</span> Buddhist site near Bairat, Rajasthan, India

Bairat Temple is a freestanding Buddhist temple, a Chaityagriha, located about a mile southwest of the city Viratnagar, Rajasthan, India, on a hill locally called "Bijak-ki-Pahari". The temple is of a circular type, formed of a central stupa surrounded by a circular colonnade and an enclosing wall. It was built during the time of Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, and near it were found two of Ashoka's Minor Rock Edicts, the Bairat and the Calcutta-Bairat Minor Rock Edicts. It is the earliest circular Buddhist shrine and therefore, Bairat temple is an important marker of the architecture of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Indian architecture</span> Architecture of India from the Bronze Age to the 9th century CE

Ancient Indian architecture ranges from the Indian Bronze Age to around 800 CE. By this endpoint Buddhism in India had greatly declined, and Hinduism was predominant, and religious and secular building styles had taken on forms, with great regional variation, which they largely retain even after some forceful changes brought about by the arrival of first Islam, and then Europeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhanabhuti</span> Buddhist King

Dhanabhūti or Vatsiputra Dhanabhūti was a 2nd or 1st-century BCE Buddhist king in Central India, and the most prominent donor for the Bharhut stupa. He appears in two or three major dedicatory inscriptions at the stupa of Bharhut, and possibly in another inscription at Mathura. Dhanabhuti may have been a feudatory of the Sunga Empire, or a ruler in a neighbouring territory, such as Kosala or Panchala, or possibly a northern king from Sughana in Haryana. or he may have also been part of the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi.

Ḍa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ḍa is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . As with the other cerebral consonants, ḍa is not found in most scripts for Tai, Sino-Tibetan, and other non-Indic languages, except for a few scripts, which retain these letters for transcribing Sanskrit religious terms.

Ra is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ra is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . Most Indic scripts have differing forms of Ra when used in combination with other consonants, including subjoined and repha forms. Some of these are encoded in computer text as separate characters, while others are generated dynamically using conjunct shaping with a virama.

References

  1. 1 2 Mishra, P.K. (June 2001). "Excavations at the Buddhist site of Deorkothar, Madhya Pradesh, India" (PDF). Circle of Inner Asian Art Newsletter (13): 3–13.
  2. Deur Kothar, the earliest evidence of Buddhism, The Island, May 19, 2017
  3. P.K. Mishra: Deorkothar (Barhat), Rewa, A Unique, Recently – Excavated Buddhist Site in Central India; Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal.