Devnimori, or Devni Mori, is a Buddhist archaeological site in northern

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, about from the city of

Shamlaji Shamlaji, also spelled Shamalaji, is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Aravalli district of Gujarat state of India. The Shamlaji temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Several other Hindu temples are located nearby. The present temple dedicated to Sham ...

, in the

Aravalli District Aravalli district is a district in the state of Gujarat in India that came into being on August 15, 2013, becoming the 29th district of the state. The district has been carved out of the Sabarkantha district. The district headquarters are at Modas ...

of northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The site is variously dated to the 3rd century or 4th century CE, or circa 400 CE. Its location was associated with trade routes and caravans in the area of Gujarat. Site excavations have yielded Buddhist artifacts dated prior to 8th-century in the lowest layer, mixed Buddhist and Hindu artwork from the Gurjara-Pratihara period in the middle, topped by Muslim glazed ware attributed to the 14th century. The site was excavated between 1960 and 1963. The site became flooded by the Meswo reservoir, a project started in 1959 and completed over 1971–1972 over the nearby Meshwo River.

Archaeological finds

Buddhist sculptures

The site of Devni Mori included numerous terracotta Buddhist sculptures (but no stone sculptures), also dated to the 3rd-4th century CE, and which are among the earliest sculptures that can be found in

. The remains are located in the

Shamlaji Museum Shamlaji, also spelled Shamalaji, is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Aravalli district of Gujarat state of India. The Shamlaji temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Several other Hindu temples are located nearby. The present temple dedicated to Sham ...

and

Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery The Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery in Vadodara was built in 1894 on the lines of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum of London. Major Mant in association with R.F. Chisholm who refined some of Mant's finest works to make genuin ...

Viharas

Devni Mori has a specific construction pattern for a monastery, with an image shrine built opposite the entrance. This kind of arrangement was initiated in northwestern sites such as

Kalawan Kalawan (originally meaning "The caves") is the name of an archaeological site in the area of Taxila in Pakistan, where it is one of the largest Buddhist establishment. It is located about 2 km from the Dharmarajika stupa. Kalawan has a vih ...

(in the

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

area) or

Dharmarajika The Dharmarajika Stupa ( ur, ), also referred to as the Great Stupa of Taxila, is a Buddhist stupa near Taxila, Pakistan. It was built over the relics of the Buddha by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. The stupa, along with the large monastic c ...

. It is thought that this architectural pattern then became the prototype for the later development of monasteries with shrines in Devni Mori, Ajanta,

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

, Ellora,

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Ratnagiri, Odisha and others. The viharas in Devni Mori were built from fired bricks. Devni Mori also has residential caves with water cisterns, as at

Uparkot Uparkot is a fort located in east side of Junagadh, Gujarat, India. History A fort and town was established at the foothills of Girnar hill during reign of the Maurya Empire and continued to be used during Gupta period, but it lost its importanc ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

Stupa

Devni Mori also has a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

where stacked relic deposits were found. This is the only case of a free-standing stupa in the area of Gujarat. Nine images of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

were found inside the stupa. The Buddha images clearly show the influence of the

Greco-Buddhist art The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara. The s ...

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

,The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Volume 4 1981 Number
An Exceptional Group of Painted Buddha Figures at Ajanṭā, p.97 and Note 2
/ref> and have been described as examples of the Western Indian art of the

Western Satraps The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India ( Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh ...

Dates and influences

Three relics caskets were retrieved from the stupa. One of these caskets bears an inscription which mentions a date: the 127th year in the reign of

Western Satrap The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajastha ...

ruler Rudrasena: As Western Satraps dated their coins in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

, this date would be 204 CE, and the ruler would be Rudrasena I. If reckoned with the Kalachuri Era, the date would be 375 CE, and the ruler

Rudrasena III Rudrasena I may refer to: * Rudrasena I (Saka king) () * Rudrasena I (Vakataka king) Rudrasena I () was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He was the grandson and one of the successors of Pravarasena I. ...

A second casket included 8 coins of

rulers, one of them being a coin of Western Satrap ruler

Visvasena Viśvasena (Middle Brahmi: ', r.293–304 CE) was a ruler of the Western Satraps, and the 22nd ruler of the Kshatrapa dynasty. He was the last Kshatrapa ruler of the Chastana family, brother and successor to Bhartrdaman and son of Rudrasena II. ...

(294-305). The coins are worn, but the coins of two other rulers have been found in the group: one coin of Rudrasena I (203-220 CE) and a nearly unworn coin of

Rudrasimha file:Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha Saka year 103.jpg, 300px, Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha, Saka year 103. Rudrasimha I was a Western Kshatrapa ruler, who reigned from 178 to 197 CE. He was son of Rudradaman I, grandson of Jayadaman, and gran ...

(305-313 CE). Overall, and because of these different dates, the site of Devni Mori is sometimes dated to the 3rd century, and sometimes to the 4th century. The absence of later Western Satraps coins and the various dates could however suggest that the stupa was rebuilt at one point, with a final construction date not long after 305–313. According to Mehta and Chawdhary, the art of Devni Mori prove the existence of a pre-Gupta era Western Indian artistic tradition. This tradition, they suggest may have influenced the art of the

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures des ...

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

and other places from the 5th century onward. As a matter of fact, Devni Mori represents the extension of Gandharan influence to the subcontinent, which persisted locally with the sites of Mīrpur Khās, Śāmalājī or Dhānk, a century before this influence would further extend to Ajanta and Sarnath. Shah disagrees and states that instead of this "so-called pre-Gupta influence", the Gandhara arts influenced these, while Gupta art was influenced by the pre-Gupta era Western tradition. According to Schastok, the significance of the finding here is that there were multiple centers involved. According to Williams, it is difficult to accept either these theories because "any number of the features had been in use too long to have chronological significance" and the Western Indian tradition could very well have been a combination of local innovation combined with influences from the Mathura school.

Gallery

File:Devnimori Stupa.jpg, Devnimori Stupa File:Devnimori Buddha statues.jpg, Terracotta Buddha statues, possibly 375 CE. File:Devnimori Bronze figure of Atlantes.jpg, Bronze figure of Atlantes, Devnimori. File:Devnimori Kshatrapa coins.jpg, Devnimori Kshatrapa coins

References

Sources

External links

Gujarat tourism - Devni Mori
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215172406/https://www.gujarattourism.com/destination/details/6/69 , date=15 December 2018 Cities and towns in Aravalli district Stupas in India Buddhist monasteries in India Buddhist sites in Gujarat