Kanaganahalli, 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[1] in Chitapur taluk, Kalaburagi district in Karnataka, India. Nalwar is the nearest Railway station about 19 km from Sannati. The Buddhist site is about 2.5 km from Chandrala Parameshwari temple of Sannati.
The excavation remains at Kanaganahalli can be dated to between the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD.
In circa the 1st century BC, the stupa at Kanganahalli was constructed as per the inscriptions referred to as Hama Chaitya, and it was patronized by the Mahayana division of Buddhism during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. During the Satavahana period, the Amaravati School of art made a deep impact on the sculptural and architectural forms of the Kanaganahalli region. This was indeed a period of great artistic efflorescence that gave the maha chaitya an impressive form "unsurpassed" in the history of stupa architecture in the south India.[2]
The sculptured panels of the medhi (circular terrace), two dimensional sculptures and typical animal motifs are of an indigenous nature. They exhibit a transition phase between the early Amaravati sculptural art and the later, more elaborately sculptured panels of Nagarjunakonda.
The artistry of Kanaganahalli reveals fascinating differences from its Amaravati counterparts. At Kanaganahalli we can see carvings that reflect the geometric patterns, floral motifs, dress and ornamentation, and a stacked composition of the subject matter in the large sculptured panels that creates a flat illusion of depth.
A portrait of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka is depicted at Kanaganahalli, known through an inscription found during excavations of 1994-1998 (see below). Portraits of Shatavahana kings Simuka and Vasishthiputra Pulumavi are also represented.
At Kanaganahalli, the anda or dome portion of the stupa is partially in view, although the majority of the architectural members and sculptural panels are not in their original position.
ASI Excavation Site
Ashoka with his Queen, at Sannati (Kanaganahalli Stupa), 1st-3rd century CE.The words "Rāya Asoko" (𑀭𑀸𑀬 𑀅𑀲𑁄𑀓𑁄) in Brahmi script inscribed on the relief identify king Ashoka as the subject matter.
During these Kanaganahalli excavations, the remains of a massive stupa, many brick Chaitya-griha structures and other memorial stupas were brought to light.
Architectural fragments of the stupa were found, including carved veneer slabs, railings, pillars, capitals, stone padas (footprints of the Buddha), four images of the Buddha, and sculpted yakshas (protective nature spirits).
The sculptured panels depicts various Jataka tales of Lord Buddha and the portraits of several Shatavahana kings.
Inscriptions
In addition to one long inscription, 145 short inscriptions were discovered, dating from between the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE ("common era"). One of the most important discoveries was the relief-portrait of Maurya emperor Ashoka, identified by an inscription that says, "Raya Asoko".[7] Written in brahmi script, "Raya Asoko" reads as "King Ashoka."[8][9]
Excavation during 2000 to 2002
During the excavations, the bare and ruined remnants of a number of brick structures connected by paved and sheltered passages were found. This includes part of a possible monastic complex to the north-west of the main stupa.
Lead coins bearing the names of Shatavahana kings like Satakarni, Pulumavi and Yajnasri were discovered.
Kanaganahalli aniconic relief of the empty throne of the Buddha
The oldest Satavahana inscription is the one found on a slab of the upper drum (medhi) of the Kanaganahalli stupa mentioning "year 16" of Vasisthiputra Sri Chimuka Satavahana's reign, which can be dated from ca. 110 BCE.[11][12][13][14]
𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀸 𑀲𑀺𑀭𑀺 𑀙𑀺𑀫𑀼𑀓 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀯𑀸𑀳𑀦𑀲 𑀲𑁄𑀟𑁂 𑀯𑀙𑀭𑁂 𑁛𑁗 𑀫𑀸𑀢𑀺𑀲𑁂𑀓
Rano siri chimu(ka) sātavāhanasa soḍe 10 6 mātiseka
"In the year sixteen 16 of King Siri Chimuka Slilaviihana"
—Kanaganahalli inscription of the 16th year of Simuka.[15]
On another stone slab at Kanaganahalli, the king is possibly shown together with a Nagaraja, and the inscription reads:
𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀸 𑀲𑀺𑀭𑀺 𑀙𑀺𑀫𑀼𑀓𑁄 𑀲𑀸𑀤𑀯𑀸𑀳𑀦𑁄 𑀦𑀸𑀕𑀭𑀸𑀬 𑀲𑀔𑀥𑀸𑀪𑁄 Rājā Siri Chimuko Sādavāhano nāgarāya Sakhadhābho "Lord King Simuka the Satavahana, Nagaraja Sakhadhābho"
↑ Michael Meister, "Early Architecture and Its Transformations: New Evidence for Vernacular Origins for the Indian Temple," in The Temple in South Asia, ed. Adam Hardy, London 2007
↑ Ollett, Andrew, (2017). Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India, University of California Press, Okland, p. 194.
↑ Poonacha, K.P., (2013). Excavations at Kanaganahalli, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi
↑ Nakanishi, Maiko, and Oskar von Hinuber, (2014). Kanaganahalli Inscriptions (Supplement to the Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2013, Vol. 17., Tokyo.
↑ "Looking at that one slab from Kanaganahalli (fig. 14), 40 in the upper panel, we see a king. We do not know exactly what the lower part showed because its large part is missing; in any case it is a male person of rank. The label of the inscription reads: rājā Siri Chimuko Sādavāhano nāgarāya Sakhadhābho (?). The inscription lets us believe that it is the historical person of Śrī Simuka founder of the Sātavāhana dynasty who is depicted here, and that he was portrayed on the slab together with a nāgarāja." in Zin, Monika (2012). "The Buddha's Relics and the Nāgas an Attempt to Throw Light on Some Depictions in the Amaravati School". South Asian Archaeology and Art. 2: 763, and fig.14.
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