Lauria Nandangarh

Coordinates: 26°59′54.52″N 84°24′30.52″E / 26.9984778°N 84.4084778°E / 26.9984778; 84.4084778
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Lauria Nandangarth
City/town
lauriya ashok pillar
Vidhan Sabha
constituency		Lauriya Yogapatti
Close-up of the Capital of the Lauria Nandangarh pillar (jaws of the lion broken).

Lauria Nandangarh, also Lauriya Navandgarh, is a city or town about 14 km from Narkatiaganj (or Shikarpur) and 28 km from Bettiah in West Champaran district of Bihar state in northern India.[1] It is situated near the banks of the Burhi Gandak River. The village draws its name from a pillar (laur) of Ashoka standing there and the stupa mound Nandangarh (variant Nanadgarh) about 2 km south-west of the pillar. Lauriya Nandangarh is a historical site located in West Champaran district of Bihar.[1] Remains of Mauryan period have been found here.[1]

History & Archaeological Excavations

Nandangarh stupa which dates back to the 3rd century BCE

Lauriya has 15 Stupa mounds in three rows, each row upwards of 600 m; the first row begins near the pillar and goes E to W, while the other two are at right angles to it and parallel to each other.[1]

Buddha were enshrined.[3][4]

In 1935–36, archaeologist

Vedic theory of Block, are according to observations of archaeologist Amalananda Ghosh
, nothing but mud bricks, husk and straw being a common ingredient in ancient brick.

Frontal view of the pillar.

Excavation of the Nandangarh site was started by Majumdar in 1935 and continued by Ghosh until 1939.

Kushans times.[1]

On excavation, Nandangarh turned out to be stupendous

polygonal or cruciform base;[1][5][6] with its missing dome which must have been proportionately tall, the Stupa must have been one of the highest in India.[7]

The walls of the four

cardinal directions
at the base (only the W ones and partly the S ones were excavated) are each 32 m long and the wall between each has a zigzag course with 14 re-entrant and 13 outer angles. The walls flanking the first and second terraces following the polygonal plan of the base; those pertaining to the upper terraces were circular. An extensive later restoration hid the four upper walls and provided new circular ones; the polygonal plan of the walls of the base and the first terrace were left unaltered. The top of each terrace served as a pradakshina-path (South facing pathway), though no staircase to reach the top was found in the excavated portion.

The core of the stupa consists of a filling of earth with a large number of animal and human figurines in the

Kushana idiom, a few punch marked coins and cast copper coins, terracotta sealing of the 2nd and 1st century B.C. and iron objects.[1]
As the earth was brought from outside, obviously from a part of the habitation area to the south of the stupa where the resultant pond is still visible, the objects are understandably not stratified.

In a shaft dug into center of the mound an undisturbed filling was found at a depth of 4.3 m the remains of a brick altar 1 m high; it has previously been truncated, perhaps by one of the explorers of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Further down at a depth of 4.6 m from the bottom of the altar the top of an intact, miniature stupa was found, complete with a surmounting square umbrella.[1] This stupa is 3.6 m high and polygonal on plan.[1] An examination of its interior yielded nothing meaningful, but beside there lay a tiny copper vessel with a lid fastened to it by a wire. Inside the vessel was a long strip of the birch leaf manuscript, which having been squeezed into it was so fragile that it was impossible to spread it out and examine thoroughly without damaging it. The bits that could be extricated showed Buddhist text (probably the Pratītyasamutpāda since the word nirodha could be read a few times) written in characters of the 4th century A.D. No excavations were made at a further depth.[1]

Pillar of Ashoka

See also: Pillars of Ashoka

Less than half a kilometer from the village and 2 km from the mound, stands the famous pillar of

Brahmi geese supporting the statue of a lion.[9]

The pillar is inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka in clear and beautifully cut characters.[10] The lion has been chipped in the mouth and the column bears the mark of time just below the top which has itself been slightly dislodged. Signs of vandalism over the years are clearly visible.

  • Photographed in 1911.
    Photographed in 1911.
  • Close view of the inscriptions.
    Close view of the inscriptions.
  • Edicts.
    Edicts.
  • Edicts.
    Edicts.
  • Frontal close-up of the lion (jaws broken). The geese of the abacus are clearly visible.
    Frontal close-up of the lion (jaws broken). The geese of the abacus are clearly visible.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Archaeological Survey Of India; Excavations - Important - Bihar". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  2. ^ Report of Tours in North and South Bihar in 1880-81. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. 1883. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  3. ^ "Lauria NandanGarh'". Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2006.
  4. ISBN 9788184301748
    .
  5. ISBN 9781317329398
    .
  6. ISBN 9788187586241
    .
  7. ISBN 9004092641
    . Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  8. ISBN 9788170994107
    .
  9. ^ "Lauria Nandangarh". Retrieved 9 September 2006.
  10. ^ Ray, Niharranjan (1975). Maurya and Post-Maurya Art: A Study in Social and Formal Contrasts. Indian Council of Historical Research. p. 19.
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