first-hand account of ancient India was that of Megasthenes by way of later Greek and Latin authors. Unfortunately for students of Buddhist history, Megasthenes had stumbled onto the Indian scene in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka’s grandfather;he was thus just two generations too soon to witness the rise of Buddhism under royal patronage. Now, by an equally circuitous route, a Buddhist account of India at the beginning of the fifth century AD was brought to light; and it was soon followed by another from the mid-seventh century. These were the travelogues of Fa Hsien and Hsuan Tsang, Chinese Buddhists who journeyed through India insearch of sacred manuscripts and to visit the scenes of the Buddha’s life. The travelogues were acquired by French orientalists, translated in Paris and expounded by Prinsep’s old boss, Horace Hayman Wilson, who was now the first professor of Sanskrit at Oxford.
As befitted monks on pilgrimage, the two Chinese were reticent about temporal affairs. But it was significant that Fa Hsien’s visithad coincided with the Gupta period to which so much in the way of sculpture and architecture (including Cunningham’s Dhamek stupa) was being ascribed. Evidently Buddhism was still very much in the ascendant under the Guptas, 700 years after Ashoka, although Hindu beliefs were also widespread. Most impressive, too, was the fact that the whole of north India was then at peace. Crime and repressionwere equally unknown, and Fa Hsien could travel from one end of the country to the other without let or hindrance. Compared with the state of the Roman Empire at that time, it looked as if India under the Guptas was the most congenial place in the world.
By the time of Hsuan Tsang’s visit things had changed. In the seventh century Buddhism appeared to be on the retreat; many of the shrines werein ruins and Buddhists were actually being persecuted in Kashmir and Bengal. The roads were no longer safe and though Hsuan Tsang had great respect for King Harsha, who was trying to restore some of the lost glory of the Guptas, there had clearly been a social and cultural decline.
All this was of the utmost interest to historians; but to Alexander Cunningham the main point was that BuddhistIndia had been brought to life. ‘It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of these travels’; he wrote, ‘before, all attempts to fathom the mysteries of Buddhist antiquities were but mere conjecture.’ The purpose of the stupas was unknown, as was their significance, and even the names of the shrines and cities they had adorned. Now all was made clear. These eye-witness accounts explainedthe nature of the sites and described their locations and lay-outs so clearly that they amounted to a map of Buddhist India and site plans of all the main shrines.
Sarnath, for instance, was indeed a notable spot. It was none other than the deer park where the Buddha had preached his first sermon. Fa Hsien found four stupas there and two monasteries. By Hsuan Tsang’s time it had grown considerably.There was a vast monastery, 1500 monks, lakes and gardens and, amongst the stupas, one 300 feet high. Hsuan Tsang also noted the sculptures and recorded that the oldest stupa and the pillar had been set up by Ashoka.
Cunningham could only fantasize, but what might he have achieved if he had had all this information a couple of years earlier? More important, what of all the other Buddhist sitesmentioned by the Chinese travellers? ‘With what joy would not one trace Fa Hsien’s route from Mathura to his embarkation for Ceylon?’ There was now the possibility of identifying so many of the mounds and ruins that littered India. Indian archaeology had a chance to begin at the beginning, and the idea filled Cunningham with exhilaration.
CHAPTER SIX
The Old Campaigner
Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the last British director of India’s Archaeological Department, singled out three men as pioneers in the study of India’s history and
As befitted monks on pilgrimage, the two Chinese were reticent about temporal affairs. But it was significant that Fa Hsien’s visithad coincided with the Gupta period to which so much in the way of sculpture and architecture (including Cunningham’s Dhamek stupa) was being ascribed. Evidently Buddhism was still very much in the ascendant under the Guptas, 700 years after Ashoka, although Hindu beliefs were also widespread. Most impressive, too, was the fact that the whole of north India was then at peace. Crime and repressionwere equally unknown, and Fa Hsien could travel from one end of the country to the other without let or hindrance. Compared with the state of the Roman Empire at that time, it looked as if India under the Guptas was the most congenial place in the world.
By the time of Hsuan Tsang’s visit things had changed. In the seventh century Buddhism appeared to be on the retreat; many of the shrines werein ruins and Buddhists were actually being persecuted in Kashmir and Bengal. The roads were no longer safe and though Hsuan Tsang had great respect for King Harsha, who was trying to restore some of the lost glory of the Guptas, there had clearly been a social and cultural decline.
All this was of the utmost interest to historians; but to Alexander Cunningham the main point was that BuddhistIndia had been brought to life. ‘It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of these travels’; he wrote, ‘before, all attempts to fathom the mysteries of Buddhist antiquities were but mere conjecture.’ The purpose of the stupas was unknown, as was their significance, and even the names of the shrines and cities they had adorned. Now all was made clear. These eye-witness accounts explainedthe nature of the sites and described their locations and lay-outs so clearly that they amounted to a map of Buddhist India and site plans of all the main shrines.
Sarnath, for instance, was indeed a notable spot. It was none other than the deer park where the Buddha had preached his first sermon. Fa Hsien found four stupas there and two monasteries. By Hsuan Tsang’s time it had grown considerably.There was a vast monastery, 1500 monks, lakes and gardens and, amongst the stupas, one 300 feet high. Hsuan Tsang also noted the sculptures and recorded that the oldest stupa and the pillar had been set up by Ashoka.
Cunningham could only fantasize, but what might he have achieved if he had had all this information a couple of years earlier? More important, what of all the other Buddhist sitesmentioned by the Chinese travellers? ‘With what joy would not one trace Fa Hsien’s route from Mathura to his embarkation for Ceylon?’ There was now the possibility of identifying so many of the mounds and ruins that littered India. Indian archaeology had a chance to begin at the beginning, and the idea filled Cunningham with exhilaration.
CHAPTER SIX
The Old Campaigner
Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the last British director of India’s Archaeological Department, singled out three men as pioneers in the study of India’s history and
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