The Monuments of Sanchi (Set of 3 Volumes)

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The Buddhist stupas and monuments on top of a low hill at Sanchi present a picturesque view from afar. The main stupa was built by Asoka Maurya who also erected a pillar here. Sanchi is also hallowed by another stupa which enshrined the mortal remains of Sariputta and Mogallana, two of the greatest propagators of the creed. From Asoka Maurya in the 3rd century B.C. to the 13th century A.D. successive generations of ruling dynasties have made additions and alterations to the monuments, monasteries and temples here. Sanchi thus affords immense material evidence for a comprehensive study of the origin, development, flowering and decacy of Buddhist art and architecture.

The well-preserved and perfect stupas and other monuments bearing several figural and decorative carvings are at once most valuable and instructive for a study of early Buddhism in this region.

Since its discovery in 1818 by General Taylor, several well intentioned pioneers including Maisey, Cunningham and others have attempted to unravel the art treasures here. But it was Marshall in the first quarter of this century and Hamid in early thirties laid bare a larger area and exposed several complexes.

The Monuments of Sanchi the magopus of Marshall and Foucher is the result of painstaking exposition of the monuments, their assessment and description -a signal service rendered to Indian culture in general and Buddhist art and architecture in particular.

This monumental work by Marshall and Foucher is in three volumes; the first being texts and the rest plates. The first one is in four parts with Marshall dealing with the history of Sanchi, the description of monuments and discussing their sculptural wealth which offers an insight into the contemporary Indian culture, racial types, beliefs and superstitions, arms and armaments, musical instruments, etc. Foucher offers an interpretation of the sculptures and the complexity of iconography of the images. Majumdar has edited, translated and annotated the inscriptions found here.

But the work of these great savants suffered from a serious handicap. It was bulky, large in size, clumsy and difficult to handle and stack.

The present reprint, reduced to almost two-thirds of the original size without impairing in any manner its original quality and readability is extremely handy, occupies less space and hence easy to stack and retrieve. This would prove to be a real boon to students of Indology and Indian culture, art historians, critics and archaeologists as well.

Few words are needed by way of preface to these volumes Their purpose is F to supply a complete and fully illustrated description of the famous group of Buddhist monuments at Sanchi, which have now been known to the world for more than a century, but of which only brief and inadequate accounts have. as yet, been published. The need of such a description has long been felt and often voiced: for. leaving aside other remains included in this group, the stopas of Sanchi, with their wealth of figural and decorative carvings, are by common consent the most valuable and instructive, as they are also the most imposing and best preserved, of all the monuments that early Buddhism has bequeathed to India.

The idea of publishing these carvings in their entirety was first taken up by the Government of India nearly forty years ago and an admirable series of photographs was prepared for the purpose by the late Mr. Henry Cousens of the Archaeological Survey nearly all of which have been utilized in the present volumes. There, however, for lack of funds, the project was allowed to rest, and no further action was taken until I visited Sanchi in 1912 An examination of the site which I then made satisfied me that many structures and antiquities might still be lying buried beneath the heaps of accumulated debris to the south and east of the Great Stupa, and that these areas ought to be thoroughly excavated before attempting to publish the already known remains With the ready approval and active help of the Bhopal Darbar, to whom Sanchi and all its treasures belong, this excavation was carried out by me in the course of the next eight years and resulted in discoveries even more fruitful than I had anticipated, many fresh and interesting buildings being brought to light and a large array of sculptures added to the already existing collection. At the same time I was able to take radical and comprehensive measures for the preservation of the whole of this remarkable group of monuments, and to erect a museum on the spot, in which all the moveable sculptures and other objects are now housed.

Consequent on these new discoveries the scope of the projected publication had to be much enlarged. As now designed, it comprises four parts. In the first of these I have sketched the history of Sanchi and described the site and its remains; in the second 1 have discussed the art of the early sculptures and the place they occupy in the Early Indian School: in the third part Mons. Foucher has dealt with the interpretation of the sculptures and the many complex questions of iconography arising out of them; in the fourth Mr. Majumdar has edited, translated and annotated the inscriptions. Besides these four parts, the book also contains detailed descriptions of the Plates, which for the convenience of the reader are printed opposite to them. The majority of these descriptions, namely, those of Plates X-LXVI, LXXIV-XC and XCV-CIII have been written by M. Foucher; the remainder by myself.

**Contents and Sample Pages**