Patna, Sept. 13: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today said recent archaeological evidences indicate that the ancient Nalanda University may have been established in the Before Christ (BC) era, and not fifth century AD as it is believed.
"The excavations at the ancient Nalanda University site involve just a small portion of its expanse," Nitish said.
"Excavations conducted by the state archaeology department at Telhara University (in Nalanda district) have revealed that it dated back to before Christ. We believe Telhara must have been a part of Nalanda University. The view that it was established in the fifth century AD is an illusion."
The chief minister was speaking at the 49th national conference on "Immortal Memories: Conservation and Management" organised jointly by the Indian Association for the Study of Conservation of Cultural Property (IASC), New Delhi, and Bihar State Archives here in the state capital.
If the revelations on Nalanda and Telhara are proved correct, it could lead to a rethink of an important section of the history of Bihar and India.
Nitish also lambasted the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for refusing to conduct excavations at Telhara despite several requests from the state and the Centre.
"We had to finally take permission from the ASI to excavate the mound at Telhara," Nitish said. "Its date has already gone back to BC. Now we are again taking permission from the ASI to excavate further."
He accused the ASI of creating obstacles every time the state government seeks permission for excavations. "It seems the ASI feels bad if it doesn't excavate and some new things are discovered in a state," he said.
"Many more things have to come out in the state because so far excavations here have been just perfunctory. Once things start coming out, people from the world will flock here," the chief minister added.
The chief minister also launched four books at the event: Documentation on Cinema in the Record of Bihar State Archives (three volumes); Documentation of the Record on Earthquake in Bihar, 1934 (three volumes); Speeches of Ramanand Tiwary in Bihar Legislature, and the seventh volume of Bihar Archives.
Cabinet secretariat department principal secretary Brijesh Mehrotra, Bihar State Archives director Vijay Kumar and IASC chairman B.V. Kharbade were present at the event. Vijay said more than 1 crore manuscripts have been digitised in the state so far.
Nitish also spoke on earthquakes, floods and man's meddling with nature.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170914/jsp/frontpage/story_173061.jsp
Nod to fresh dig in Telhara | Piyush Kumar Tripathi | Thursday , January 1 , 2015 | | Excavated remains of the ancient university at Telhara village in Nalanda district. Picture by Piyush Kumar Tripathi The New Year would add fresh chapters to the already rich history of Bihar.
Buried pieces of golden times of the ancient university at Telhara, considered to have been in existence even before erstwhile Nalanda University, would be unearthed in a fresh excavation to start from the first fortnight of January.
The state archaeological directorate has got an approval to continue excavation at Telhara from Archaeological Survey of India for another year. The excavation work at Telhara University, which is believed to be spread over 1sqkm and has three-storied structures, made in first century AD started in December 2009.
Atul Kumar Verma, the director at state archaeological directorate and who has been heading the excavation at Telhara, said they were waiting for a formal licence from ASI for further excavation.
"The ASI gives the annual licence for carrying out exploration and excavation at an archaeological site. The licence is for the period between January and September. A meeting in this regard was held in New Delhi on Tuesday and we are waiting for the licence to reach within a couple of days. Accordingly, we are intending to start the excavation work from the first fortnight of January," said Verma.
The archaeology director added that the buried remains of the ancient university have been found to be extending further east from the already excavated area. "Our next phase of excavation would thus be done towards east of the unearthed remains," said Verma. The notified site for the ancient university at Telhara is located around 33km south of Nalanda University.
The excavation site is 1sqkm and only 20 per cent of it has been excavated till date. The excavations have been done up to 30ft underground.
"Over the past five years, we have been able to excavate around two acres of the total expanse of the university. We estimate that the remains of the university are buried underneath seven mounds, out of which, only three are visible at present," said Verma.
In one of the latest findings, archaeologists in the directorate, which is looking after the excavations at Telhara have discovered the name of the university - Shri Prathamshivpur Mahaviriyaye Bhikshu Sanghas.
Chinese travellers Huen Tsang and I-tsing have mentioned about Telhara in their text. "We have found evidence that the remains excavated at Telhara till now belong to three periods, namely Kushan (first century-third century AD), Gupta (fourth-fifth century AD) and Pal (eighth-twelfth century AD)," said Verma.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1150101/jsp/bihar/story_6108.jsp
| Monday , March 16 , 2015 |
ASI licence brakes on Telhara digs | Piyush Kumar Tripathi | The state authorities are unable to undertake further excavations at the ancient Telhara University because the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has not yet issued a fresh licence.
Though the archaeological directorate submitted a detailed report seeking excavation licence, ASI has sought a fresh report from it according to the recommendation of a recently formed committee.
The excavated remains of the ancient university at Telhara village in Hilsa sub-division of Nalanda district. Picture by Piyush Kumar Tripathi "The ASI gives the annual licence for carrying out exploration and excavation at an archaeological site. We had applied to it for resuming excavations around the remains of Telhara University in November last year. Though we submitted a 55-page report along with the application, they recently asked for a fresh report according to the recommendations of the Wheeler Committee of 1965. They have not given any guidelines for the same and we are in a fix on how to prepare the fresh report," said Atul Kumar Verma, the director at the state archaeological directorate, who has been heading the excavations at Telhara.
The notified site for the ancient university at Telhara is located around 33km south of Nalanda University in Nalanda district. The excavation site is 1sqkm, which makes up only 20 per cent of the entire university and has been excavated for the past five years. Excavations have been carried out till 30ft under the ground.
"Over the past five years, we have been able to excavate around two acres of the total expanse of the university. We estimate that the remains of the university are buried underneath seven mounds of which only three are visible," said Verma.
The archaeology director claimed that the buried remains of the ancient university have been found to be extending further east from the already excavated area. "Our next phase of excavation would thus be carried out towards east of the unearthed remains," said Verma.
Senior ASI officials, including additional director-general B.R. Mani, was unavailable for comment.
Concerned over the possibility of damage to the already excavated part of the ancient university, the archaeology directorate is contemplating to go ahead with its conservation works from April.
In one of the latest findings, archaeologists in the state archaeological directorate, which is looking after the excavations at Telhara, have discovered the name of the university - Shri Prathamshivpur Mahaviriyaye Bhikshu Sangha.
"We have found evidence that the remains excavated at Telhara till now belong to three periods, namely Kushan (1st century-3rd century AD), Gupta (4th-5 th century AD) and Pal (8 th-12 th century AD) periods," said Verma.
The discovery of archaeological remains from the Kushan period has made Telhara the second oldest university in the world.
Takshila University (in Rawalpindi district of Punjab province in Pakistan) is considered to be the oldest seat of learning, dating back to BC 2nd century, while Nalanda University dates back to 4th century AD.
Various streams of Buddhist Mahayana studies, including medicine and Tantrism, were taught at the ancient university at Telhara. Sources claimed that the fall of this university started after Tantrism was introduced. Following misuse of Tantrism, locals called for Bakhtiyar Khilji, who destroyed this university as well as Nalanda and Vikramshila universities and another one at Odantapuri.
"Telhara was completely devastated by Khilji. We had found a layer of ash up to one foot deep on the excavated structures, which proves that this university was burnt down badly," said Verma.
The art, culture and youth affairs department is contemplating to landscape the site and develop a museum at the excavated remains at Telhara.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1150316/jsp/bihar/story_8864.jsp
TELHARA: A Forgotten Monastery Written by Administrator | Tuesday, 29 September 2009 10:27 | TELHARAA Forgotten MonasteryThe area surrounding Bihar Shariff for at least another ten kilometers has edifices of mostly Mahayana sites, though there were some belonging to the Theravada tradition. One of these was the Telhara Monastery. It was a Monastery which had a reputation of being a place of learning, and probably came into existence either as a rival to Nalanda or was an extension of this Institution and supplemented with specialized courses to Monks who were excelling in some particular field of study. As no records have been found, one is not sure of its curriculum. However, whatever little information we have been able to gather shows that this Vihara had a place of great standing. The village where this site existed, in ancient times, was named after the Monastery and was then known as Teledhaka or Telhara. Situated on a narrow strip of land between the Sona and Kattar river 13 miles south-east of Masaurhi railway station and about 21 miles west of Nalanda. The site was first discovered in 1872 by A.M. Broadley, the District Magistrate of Nalanda, who brought to notice the significance of the site and after having made a comprehensive survey of the area published a book outlining the history of all the Buddhist sites in the district of Nalanda especially Telhara. Later in 1875-78 Alexander Cunningham did a further exploration of the site. My personal observation of the site, when I visited it a month ago, gave me the impression that all traces of its Buddhist past were deliberately obliterated in a fanatic frenzy to establish the Islamic faith. Though there are not many muslin families living in the area presently, yet trying to talk to them is literally impossible when it comes to explaining that this was an important Buddhist site. They refused to even listen and kept on repeating that there were Muslim shrines here even before Buddhist and Hindu gods were even thought of. Well I knew better, for there in front of me was the site where Telhara Monastery existed and on top of it was a dilapidated structure known as a Dargha (Muslim shrine) where the remains of a wise man had been buried and the material used to build the shrine were taken from the rubbles of the Vihara. I saw pillars supporting this structure that had Buddhist symbols, defaced sitting Buddha's etc. Around the area there is nothing left that would indicate that the remains of a magnificent monastery existed here. It is a crying shame that in the last 60 years of India's independence that such a site of importance has not been properly investigated explored and excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India - the only Department in India that can undertake this project. Telhara, in the early 19th Century, was a large town with a population of about 10,000, mostly Muslim families. During the reign of the Moughals, this place was recorded as the Capital of one of the largest parganas of the region. As mentioned earlier that Broadley was the first person to point out that the site 'without doubt' could be identified with the Tilas-akiya ( Ti-lo-tse-kia) vividly mentioned by Huien Tsang who visited it and stayed there while travelling from Patliputra or Patna on his way to Nalanda. He recorded that there were seven Monasteries at Tilhara accommodating about a thousand monks studying the Mahayana texts. He described these buildings as; 'consisting of court-yards, three storeyed pavilions, towers, gates that were crowned by cupolas with hanging bells.' He mentions about the interior of the Monastery, " The doors and windows, the pillars and the beams are faced with bas-reliefs in gilded copper, mingled with rare ornaments. In the middle Vihara there is a standing image of Bodhisattva Tara, and to the right, one of Avalokitesvara. The images are beautiful and made of brass." From his description of the Monastery, one gets the impression that it was an important seat of Buddhist learning, as he observes that, 'eminent philosophers flocked here in large numbers.' The history of this Monastery could safely be dated to the beginning of the 7th Century or even earlier. During the partial excavation of the site, Cunningham discovered an inscription which clearly mentions the name of the place as Telyiadhaka or Teladhaka as will be seen below. It may also be added that the well-known Nalanda inscription of Baladitya of the 11th regnal year of Mahipaladeva also refers to Baladitya, a Jyavisa of Teladhaka. (cf. R.D.Banerji, Memoirs ASB, V, p.75). Along with his report, Cunningham gave a site plan of the ancient ruins. In the plan one can distinctly see the marked area covering about half a mile square with high mounds towards the south-east of the village, which itself is situated on a mound. Unfortunately, on visiting the village, I was not able to see only one mound which the people claim to be the palace of Baladitya. The rest of the mounds have been cut away by the villagers, flattened and are now fields used for cultivation of food grain etc. THE MOUND AT SOUTH-WEST OF THE VILLAGE: In his site-plan Cunningham shows a group of six mounds with the highest or largest of then at the centre, locally known as 'Bulandi' or 'high mound.' In his report in 1872, Broadley described this mound as an "enormous mound of irregular shape… about fifty feet high." On the other hand Cunningham differs with his measurement of the mound, and during his visit between 1875-8, refers to the height as only 24' high and 350' at the base. Another strange situation brought to light by Broadley was that Bulandi mound was literally covered with Muslim graves and thus it was impossible to undertake any kind of excavation whatsoever. But he continues to say that whenever Muslim died, the family members would have to dig a number of times as in the process of digging they would unearth numerous images of brass or basalt. It is only when they found a spot in which no images were found, would they bury the dead. This goes to show that Telhara had a great number of images both in brass and basalt. In spite of trying to procure some of the images from the villagers, he failed in the process as the local villagers had the brass images melted down to make ornaments. "The mound," Broadley wrote, "Is so rich in finds of this nature that there are few places in India that would yield more archaeological treasures than this great Tilhara mound." Cunningham in his report does mention observing some images inscribed with the Buddhist Creed. With reference to the mosque and the Dargha to the north- east of the village, Broadley mentions that these two buildings were built over the remains of a Buddhist temple. The village most definitely deserves a through survey and if possible an extensive excavation. The site has immense value and could easily be converted to a potential pilgrimage site provided the Government of India made radical changes in its laws pertaining to conservation of sites. At present the Archaeological Survey is governed by rules made by the British in 1861 and hardly any amendments have been made in these laws. There should also be an awareness campaign to educate its citizens to respect religions other than their own and if Cultural heritage properties are in their possession, they should easily give it up so that the site may be conserved and created into a venue for pilgrimage/tourism. Even if such a law was to be enacted, it would take decades before it would become a reality. I know that in my lifetime I will not see Telhara as a pilgrimage site having the same popularity as Nalanda has. Apart from Telhara, in the neighbouring villages there are sites where Buddha images dating from the 4th to 12th Century still exist. The sites I saw were; Ongari, Islampur, Dapthu and a few other sites of minor importance. These sites only go to show that Buddhism had a large establishment in the area and royal patrons who generously supported the cause. Ref: Broadley, JASB, 1872, pp. 250-53; Cunningham, ASI XI, p.65 and plate XLII; Personal views of the Author. Content specially created for this Website.
Images of TELHARA
Monastery mound turned into agricultural fields
View of the Dargha built on top of ancient Buddhist monastery
Ven. Pannyalinkara inspecting Buddhist images in Telhara village
Remains of mound at Telhara | Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 September 2009 08:15
The ruins of Telhara University older than Nalanda By Mystery Of India - 26/12/2014
Telhara is a village in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the site of a Buddhist monastery in ancient India. Located about 33 km from the ruins of the famous Nalanda University, Telhara could be ‘Tilas-akiya’ or ‘Tiladhak’, the place Chinese travellers Hiuen Tsang visited and wrote about during his travels through India in 7th century AD? So far, there were only vague references but recent excavations at the mound suggest that Telhara was indeed an ancient university, older than Nalanda and Vikramshila universities. Ruins of Telhara University were found in January 2014 during excavation of a 45-foot high mound. Based on previous findings archaeologists placed the Telhara University in the Gupta period between fourth and seventh century. But during a recent excavation at Telhara site archaeologists have discovered bricks that were used to lay the ancient university’s foundation. Bricks’ dimension 42x32x6 cm and dates back to first century AD to Kushan Empire. That is a strong evidence that the Telhara University is older than fourth century’s Nalanda University and seventh century’s Vikramshila University. The Telhara project that started on December 26, 2009, has so far come across over 1,000 priceless finds from 30-odd trenches — seals and sealing, red sandstone, ancient pottery, bronze and stone statues of Buddha and several Hindu deities, miniature bronze and terracotta stupas and statues and figurines that go back to the Gupta (320-550 AD) and Pala (750-1174 AD) empires. The government intends to set up a museum to display the antiques found from the site. Images Source But the 2.6-acre mound has now thrown up the most tantalizing find yet — evidence of a three-storeyed structure, prayer hall and a platform to seat over 1,000 monks or students of Mahayana Buddhism mentioned by Hiuen Tsang. Chinese traveller Heuen Tsang visited Telhara in the 7th century AD and he describes Telhara or Tilas-akiya as containing a number of monasteries or viharas, about seven in number, accommodating about 1,000 monks studying in Mahayan. These buildings, he says, had courtyards, three-storeyed pavilions, towers, gates and were crowned by cupolas with hanging bells. The doors and windows, pillars and beams have bas relieves (sculptures in guilded copper). Image Source A team of archaeologists has found four Buddhist monastery seals made of terracotta, which date back to thousand years and it is totally similar to the seals, which were found at the ruins of Nalanda University. The monastery seals are bearing the inscriptions – “Sri Prathamshivpur Mahavihariyaye Bikshu Sanghas” – in Pali language that indicated the university’s real name. Finding of northern black polished ware during the latest round of excavation suggests the monastery is much older and the findings of the excavation also suggest that the site might have been flooded and regained its importance during the Kushan period (1st century AD). “There was a 4-metre-thick layer of sand just above the layer in which northern black polished ware was found. It suggests flooding of the site and sprinklers made of clay, which were an exclusive specialty of the Kushan period, were found in the layer above the sand,” said Atul Kumar Verma, director of state archaeology, who led the excavation team at Telhara. Image Source It is said the mahavihara or university was built by one of the descendents of Magadha ruler Bimbisara. Nalanda University was set on fire by Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. During the excavation work, the team members stumbled upon a 1.5-foot-thick layer of ash, suggesting that Telhara University was also burnt by Khilji on his way. India has a long and venerable history in the field of higher education. In ancient times, the country was known to have been home to the oldest formal universities in the world. Takshashila university is considered as oldest known university in the world which date back to the 6th century BC. Source: Telegraph | The Hindu
| Thursday , January 16 , 2014 |Varsity ruins near Nalanda - Archaeologists find monastery seals and sculptures | SHUCHISMITA CHAKRABORTY | | | | (From top) A red sandstone sculpture and a monastery seal found from Telhara excavation site |
Patna, Jan. 15: Archaeologists have found remains of another ancient university at Telhara, near the ruins of Nalanda. According to historians, Telhara University’s reference has been found in the account of Chinese travellers Hiuen Tsang and Ithsing. Atul Kumar Verma, director, archaeology, said the directorate of archaeology had got firm evidence of the Telhara University, about 40km from Nalanda. “We have found the same monastery seal, which was found during the excavation carried out at the Nalanda University site. While we had discovered only two-three monastery seal then, we have found seven-eight similar seals this time. The monastery seals are made of terracotta and are in round shape. There is a wheel sign, flanked by two deer, on the seal also. The monastery seals, which we have found at Telhara, date back to thousand years and it is totally similar to the seals, which were found at the ruins of Nalanda University,” he added. He said the team, including conservator S.K. Jha, senior technical assistant Nand Gopal among others, had been carrying out excavation work at the site since 2009. The directorate runs under the state, art, culture and youth affairs department. “What makes us more confident about our claims is the finding of three Buddhist temples, which Hiuen Tsang briefed in his account. Besides, we have also discovered a huge platform, which has the seating capacity of nearly thousand people. This platform has also got mention in Hiuen Tsang’s account. He has written that around a thousand monks used to sit for prayer on this platform. Our another important discovery is the teacher compartments. This has also got mention in Hiuen Tsang account,” said Verma. The directorate has also got evidence that the varsity was equally popular in the Gupta period. “We have found sculptures made of red sandstone, which proves that the university was quite popular in the Gupta period. We have found pottery of different shapes and seals from the site of the Gupta period. There is a complete influence of the Gupta period in the strokes of writing, which we have found on the earthen pots. Another important finding is the 1ft layer of as — something similar found from the Nalanda University site. It is believed that Nalanda University was set on fire by Turkish Muslim army under Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. We have got evidence that Telhara University was also burnt by Khilji on his way,” Verma said. Verma added that the finding of directorate of archaeology is important as it acknowledges the fact that Bihar was once the centre of education. “After discovering the ruins of Nalanda and Vikramshila University, we have been able to discover the remains of another university in Bihar. It is definitely one of our big achievements and it also establishes the fact that Bihar was once the centre of excellence,” said Verma. Verma added that it would take the directorate at least 10 years to properly conserve the university. “It would take quite some time for conservation. At present, our directorate is facing manpower shortage. Most of the important posts, including assistant director, technical assistant, surveyor among others, are lying vacant. We have asked the Bihar Public Service Commission to fill up the vacant post. So far as my knowledge goes, they have initiated the process of recruitment,” said Verma. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who hails from Nalanda district, had visited the site several times to keep himself abreast about the progress of the excavation. He announced that relics from the site would be housed in the proposed International Museum coming up in Patna. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen also made a trip to the site last week on request of the chief minister to have a first-hand view of the excavations. Sources said the directorate of archaeology has recently been quite active. It is soon going to set up a pre-historic park at Chirand in Saran district. The pre-historic park would be set up at a cost of Rs 7 crore.
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A university under a moundSUMMARYRecent excavations show that Telhara, which is a few kilometres from the Nalanda ruins, could be a very old university as old as Nalanda.The excavation at the Telhara mound has revealed 11 cells that are believed to have been faculty quarters. (IE Photo: Ravi S Sahani) It was a useful mound, no doubt. A good vantage point where villagers occasionally relieved themselves. But who would have thought that deep beneath its golden brown earth would be stories of dynasties and empires that now suggest that this — Telhara, a village 33 km from the ruins of the more famous Nalanda University — could be ‘Tilas-akiya’ or ‘Tiladhak’, the place Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited and wrote about during his travels through India in 7th century AD? So far, there were only vague references but recent excavations at the mound suggest that Telhara was indeed an ancient university or seat of learning with seven monasteries. The Bihar government has been calling the Telhara project one of its biggest after the excavations that unearthed Nalanda and Vikramshila universities. The excavation at Telhara should have happened earlier, say experts, but the site lost out to the more famous Nalanda. The Telhara project that started on December 26, 2009, has so far come across over 1,000 priceless finds from 30-odd trenches — seals and sealing, red sandstone, black stone or blue basalt statues of Buddha and several Hindu deities, miniature bronze and terracotta stupas and statues and figurines that go back to the Gupta (320-550 AD) and Pala (750-1174 AD) empires. But the 2.6-acre mound has now thrown up the most tantalising find yet — evidence of a three-storeyed structure, prayer hall and a platform to seat over 1,000 monks or students of Mahayana Buddhism. The terracotta monastery seals — a chakra flanked by two deers — unearthed at Telhara are similar to those at Nalanda, suggesting Telhara or Tiladhak was another great seat of learning besides Nalanda and Odantpuri during the Gupta and Pala reigns. It was the discovery of a similar monastery seal that clinched it for Nalanda university. Former Archaeological Survey of India director B S Verma, who between 1971 and ’81 supervised the excavation at the site of the ancient Vikramshila university, says, “Telhara or Tiladhak has much more convincing epigraphical proofs — monastery inscriptions — than Vikramshila. The findings that match Hiuen Tsang’s account do more to convince that the place was a university or mahavihara similar to Nalanda.” In his book, The Antiquarian Remains in Bihar, historian D R Patil writes about Hiuen Tsang’s description of Telhara. “Hiuen Tsang describes Telhara or Tilas-akiya as containing a number of monasteries or viharas, about seven in number, accommodating about 1,000 monks studying in Mahayan. These buildings, he says, had courtyards, three-storeyed pavilions, towers, gates and were crowned by cupolas with hanging bells. The doors and windows, pillars and beams have bas relieves (sculptures in guilded copper). In the middle vihara is a statue of Tara Bodhisatva and to the right (is) one of Avlokiteshwar”. Other history books too talk of Tiladhak monastery, on the western side of Nalanda, as having four big halls and three staircases. It is said the mahavihara or university was built by one of the descendents of Magadha ruler Bimbisara. The monastery was decorated with copper and also had small copper bells that gently chimed in the breeze. For months now, the excavation has been unearthing these stories. Apart from the mound that is now being dug up, Telhara has six other mounds — five of which have settlements and one which is partially elevated. Atul Kumar Verma, director (archaeology) of the Bihar government’s Department of Art and Culture, says, “Since the excavations suggest that Telhara might have been a contemporary of Nalanda, it is quite possible that it was either an independent university for specialised education or that students graduating from Nalanda University would come here for specialised study. It is a great feeling to see the place emerging as the next big find after Nalanda. It has also aroused great curiosity and attracted even the likes of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.” Sen, who visited the site this January, wrote in the visitors’ book: “What a wonderful site, really thrilling! And so skillfully excavated and restored.” “We have found the courtyard that might have been an extension of the platform Hiuen Tsang had described,” Nand Gopal, camp in-charge at the Telhara site, says, peering into his optical line meter that’s mounted on a tripod. In more recent times, it was A M Broadley, then magistrate of Nalanda, who in 1872 wrote about “Tilas-akiya” as a university and site of learning. British army officer and archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham, who visited the place between 1872 and 1878, wrote about inscriptions describing “Teliyadhak” as a place that had seven monasteries and which matched Hiuen Tsang’s account. A statue of the 12-armed Avlokiteshwar Buddha found from a Tiladhak site is at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. Perhaps the best known Pala sculpture from Telhara is now in Rietberg Muzeum, Zurich. Though there was this and more proof that Telhara could be sitting on a glorious past, it wasn’t until December 2009 that the excavations finally began. Telhara panchayat head Awadhesh Gupta claims to have been the one who got things started. “We all knew Telhara was once a great seat of learning, but nobody did anything to prove it. In 1995, I approached the Congress government requesting that the place be excavated but got no assurance. When Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the site in 2007, I put up this demand once again. The villagers were not happy with me. They thought I should have demanded something more concrete than just the digging of a mound.” But the mukhiya may have had the last laugh. Villagers now talk about Telhara being part of the Nalanda-Rajgir circuit and how that could bring them jobs and better opportunities. “We hope the site is conserved and clubbed with Nalanda to attract tourists. The site has already given temporary jobs to 70 villagers,” says Anil Kumar, a villager. It was a useful mound, no doubt. MAJOR FINDINGS SEALS AND SEALING The recovery of over 100 terracotta seals and sealings from the Gupta and Pala periods provides strong evidence of this being a Buddhist university. Besides seals of the chakra flanked by two deers, other seals have inscription of Buddhist mantras. Seals of Gaj-Lakshmi and flying birds were also found. Some inscriptions that have not yet been deciphered would be sent to Mysore for deciphering. PLATFORM, TEMPLES Just above the ashen layer — said to be proof of Turkish general Bakhtiyar Khilji having destroyed the monastery — is the sanctum sanctorum of three Buddhist shrines, each measuring 3.15 square metres. A big platform, found just below this ashen layer, is said to have accommodated over 1,000 monks. CELLS FOR TEACHERS The excavation has so far revealed 11 cells of 4 square metres each. It is believed that these were faculty quarters. There is evidence of bricks from the Gupta and Pala periods. COPPER BELL CHIMES The excavation revealed several broken pieces of small bells. Parts of molten copper also suggest that the monastery was well-decorated. CAUTION INSCRIPTION A stone inscription in Sanskrit (early Nagari script), probably written just before the destruction of the Tiladhak mahavihara, says, “He who tries to destroy this monastery is either a donkey or a bull”. Below the stone inscription are images of the two animals. FASTING BUDDHA AND VOTIVE STUPA A miniature terracotta image of a fasting Buddha from the Pala period is a rare find. A six-foot-tall votive stupa from the Pala period suggests the prevalence of Buddhism. MAURYAN PERIOD Bone tools and pottery shards of Northern Black Polished Ware points to this being a settlement in the Mauryan period. STONE SCULPTURES Among the over 15 stone sculptures found at the site are a red sandstone sculpture of Bodhisatva, Avlokiteshwar, Manjusri and the Buddha in his ‘earth witness’ mudra. A black stone statue of Buddha in abhay mudra (fearless mode) from the Pala period has been found. The red sandstone Bodhisatva sculpture is believed to be from the Gupta period. Some sculptures of Hindu deities such as Uma Maheshwar and Ganesh and Vishnu from the later Pala period were also found. The presence of a Yamantaka sculpture is evidence of Tantric Buddhism at the monastery. Telhara, in the early 19th Century, was a large town with a population of about 10,000, mostly Muslim families. During the reign of the Moughals, this place was recorded as the Capital of one of the largest parganas of the region. As mentioned earlier that Broadley was the first person to point out that the site 'without doubt' could be identified with the Tilas-akiya ( Ti-lo-tse-kia) vividly mentioned by Huien Tsang who visited it and stayed there while travelling from Patliputra or Patna on his way to Nalanda. He recorded that there were seven Monasteries at Tilhara accommodating about a thousand monks studying the Mahayana texts. He described these buildings as; 'consisting of court-yards, three storeyed pavilions, towers, gates that were crowned by cupolas with hanging bells.' He mentions about the interior of the Monastery, " The doors and windows, the pillars and the beams are faced with bas-reliefs in gilded copper, mingled with rare ornaments. In the middle Vihara there is a standing image of Bodhisattva Tara, and to the right, one of Avalokitesvara. The images are beautiful and made of brass." From his description of the Monastery, one gets the impression that it was an important seat of Buddhist learning, as he observes that, 'eminent philosophers flocked here in large numbers.' The history of this Monastery could safely be dated to the beginning of the 7th Century or even earlier. During the partial excavation of the site, Cunningham discovered an inscription which clearly mentions the name of the place as Telyiadhaka or Teladhaka as will be seen below. It may also be added that the well-known Nalanda inscription of Baladitya of the 11th regnal year of Mahipaladeva also refers to Baladitya, a Jyavisa of Teladhaka. (cf. R.D.Banerji, Memoirs ASB, V, p.75). Along with his report, Cunningham gave a site plan of the ancient ruins. In the plan one can distinctly see the marked area covering about half a mile square with high mounds towards the south-east of the village, which itself is situated on a mound. Unfortunately, on visiting the village, I was not able to see only one mound which the people claim to be the palace of Baladitya. The rest of the mounds have been cut away by the villagers, flattened and are now fields used for cultivation of food grain etc. THE MOUND AT SOUTH-WEST OF THE VILLAGE: In his site-plan Cunningham shows a group of six mounds with the highest or largest of then at the centre, locally known as 'Bulandi' or 'high mound.' In his report in 1872, Broadley described this mound as an "enormous mound of irregular shape
about fifty feet high." On the other hand Cunningham differs with his measurement of the mound, and during his visit between 1875-8, refers to the height as only 24' high and 350' at the base. Another strange situation brought to light by Broadley was that Bulandi mound was literally covered with Muslim graves and thus it was impossible to undertake any kind of excavation whatsoever. But he continues to say that whenever Muslim died, the family members would have to dig a number of times as in the process of digging they would unearth numerous images of brass or basalt. It is only when they found a spot in which no images were found, would they bury the dead. This goes to show that Telhara had a great number of images both in brass and basalt. In spite of trying to procure some of the images from the villagers, he failed in the process as the local villagers had the brass images melted down to make ornaments. "The mound," Broadley wrote, "Is so rich in finds of this nature that there are few places in India that would yield more archaeological treasures than this great Tilhara mound." Cunningham in his report does mention observing some images inscribed with the Buddhist Creed. With reference to the mosque and the Dargha to the north- east of the village, Broadley mentions that these two buildings were built over the remains of a Buddhist temple. The village most definitely deserves a through survey and if possible an extensive excavation. The site has immense value and could easily be converted to a potential pilgrimage site provided the Government of India made radical changes in its laws pertaining to conservation of sites. At present the Archaeological Survey is governed by rules made by the British in 1861 and hardly any amendments have been made in these laws. There should also be an awareness campaign to educate its citizens to respect religions other than their own and if Cultural heritage properties are in their possession, they should easily give it up so that the site may be conserved and created into a venue for pilgrimage/tourism. Even if such a law was to be enacted, it would take decades before it would become a reality. I know that in my lifetime I will not see Telhara as a pilgrimage site having the same popularity as Nalanda has. Apart from Telhara, in the neighbouring villages there are sites where Buddha images dating from the 4th to 12th Century still exist. The sites I saw were; Ongari, Islampur, Dapthu and a few other sites of minor importance. These sites only go to show that Buddhism had a large establishment in the area and royal patrons who generously supported the cause. Ref: Broadley, JASB, 1872, pp. 250-53; Cunningham, ASI XI, p.65 and plate XLII IMPORTANT FINDINGS A large number of antiquities, including the basalt image of Yamantak, with seven faces and a stone figurine of Marichi have been found. A unique piece of Terracotta seals with inscription having the symbol of Chakra flanked by deer have been found indicative of monastic seals, besides this more seals with inscriptions, on top of which are the symbol of bull & lions are found. After decipherment of the seals, the date regarding monastery remains can be determined with exact chronology of the site.
However, during the course of current excavation some copper coins have also been encountered. Tentative Chronology of the site: 1. N.B.P. - (3rd Century B.C.) 2. Kushan (1st Century A.D. 3. Gupta Pd. (5th to 7 Century A.D) 4. Pala Pd. (7th Century to 11th Century A.D)
This site is going to be popular & famous like Vikram Shila & Nalanda University after the completion of the excavation.
Site Name: Telhara Alternative Name: Teliadhaka, Bulandi Mound Country: India Type: Ancient Temple Nearest Town: Patna Nearest Village: Telhara Latitude: 25.226000N Longitude: 85.183000E
2000 year Buddhist Monastery at Bulandi Mound, Telhara, Bihar State.
This Buddhist monastic study centre excavated at Bulandi mound, Telhara in Bihar State is thought to be almost 2,000 years old. It comprises a 34 metre long three storey building with a prayer hall containing numerous statues of the Buddha, one in basalt standing 4 feet tall. There are also residential cells for monks. Other finds include pottery, a stone plaque with an inscription in proto-Nagri, and a black terracotta seal. It is thought that this site may be the same prayer hall mentioned by Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India around 630 AD. He recorded that it was home to nearly a thousand monks at the time.
Excavated at a lower level a brick paved floor has been found and is estimated to date back to 100 AD which suggests it originated in the Kushan era.
Telhara is located some 45 kilometres south of Patna on NH110.
Reference:http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/india/Unearthed-2-000-yr-old-study-centre/Article1-532997.aspx
Comparison of some astronomical constants[i]Adapted from John Q Jacobs table in http://www.jqjacobs.net/astro/aryabhata.html | ASTRONOMIC QTY | Āryabhața (from Clarke and Kay) | Sūrya Siddhānta | 2007 (modern) | Years in Cycle ,MY | 4,320,000 | 4,320,000 | 4,320,000 | Rotations,R | 1,582,237,500 | 1,582,237,828 | 1,582,227,491 | Days in a MY, DMY=MY-R | 1,577,917,500 | 1,577,917,828 | 1,577,907,491 | Mean Rotations of earth in SiYr, R/MY=1+DSiYr | 366.2586805556 | 366.2587564815 | 366.256363634259 | Lunar Orbits one MY,LO | 57,753,336 | 57,753,336 | 57,752,984 | Days in a Sidereal month, DSiM = 1577917500/57753336 = 27.32166848 | | Kaye notes 57,753,339 Lunar orbits rather than 57,753,336 per Clarke. | 57,752, 984 | Synodic Months MSyn in a MY= LO-MY | 53,433,336 | 53,433,336 | 53,430,984 | | Days in a synodic month DSynM=DMY/MSyn = 1,577,917,500/53,433,336=29.53058181 days= | 29.530588 | Mercury orbits in MY= Nme | 17,937,920 | 17,937,060 | 17,937,033.867 | Orbital Period of Mercury =R/ Nme | 88.20631534 | 88.21054443 | 87.9686 | Venus Orbits in 1 MY=Nv | 7,022,388 | 7,022,376 | 7,022,260.402 | Orbital Period of Venus (days)=R/Nv | 225.3133589 | 225.313744 | 224.701 | Mars Orbits in 1 MY | 2,296,824 | 2,296,832 | 2,296,876.453 | Orbital Period of Mars daysYears= R/Nma | 688.88074491.880858089 | 688.87834551.880851538 | 686.21.88 | Jupiter Orbits in 1 MY= Nj | 364,224 | 364,220 | 364,195.066 | Orbital Period of Jupiter, Years= R/Nj | 11.86083289 years | 11.86096315 years | 11.86 years | Saturn Orbits in 1 MY= Ns | 146,564 | 146,568 | 146,568 | Orbital period of Saturn=R/Ns | 10795.54 days =29.47517807 yrs | 10795.24745 days =29.47437367 yrs |
| 10788.8503292 days=29.4571 yrs |
Aryabhata wrote Âryabhatiya , finished in 499 CE ( 2741 BCE), which is a summary of Hindu mathematics up to that time, written in verse. It covers astronomy, spherical trigonometry, arithmetic, algebra and plane trigonometry. Aryabhata gives formulas for the areas of a triangle and a circle which are correct, but the formulas for the volumes of a sphere and a pyramid are wrong.
Âryabhatiya also contains continued fractions, quadratic equations, sums of power series and a table of sines. Aryabhata gave an accurate approximation for pi (equivalent to 3.1416) and was one of the first known to use algebra. He also introduced the versine ( versin = 1 - cos ) into trigonometry. Incidentally both the words Geometry and Trigonometry are etymologically derived from Sanskrit
Aryabhata also wrote the astronomy text Siddhanta which taught that the apparent rotation of the heavens was due to the axial rotation of the Earth. The work is written in 121 stanzas. It gives quite a remarkable prescient view of the nature of the solar system as we know it today. Unlike Copernicus and Kepler , he did not stand on the shoulders of giants, but was figuratively speaking one of the giants that bestrode the ancient universe
Aryabhata gives the radius of the planetary orbits in terms of the radius of the Earth/Sun orbit as essentially their periods of rotation around the Sun. He believes that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight, incredibly he believes that the orbits of the planets are ellipses. He correctly explains the causes of eclipses of the Sun and the Moon.
His value for the length of the year at 365 days 6 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds is an overestimate since the true value is less than 365 days 6 hours.
References (4 books/articles) References for Aryabhata the Elder ------------------------------------------------------------------------ from Georges Ifrah Universal History of Numbers
1.Dictionary of Scientific Biography 2.Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica 3.B Datta, Two Aryabhatas of al-Biruni, Bull. Calcutta Math. Soc. 17 (1926), 59-74. 4.H-J Ilgauds, Aryabhata I, in H Wussing and W Arnold, Biographien bedeutender Mathematiker (Berlin, 1983). TheTheme of the RSA Conference 2006,San Jose,CA, February 2006 Every year, the RSA Conference is built around a different historical theme which highlights a significant use, or misuse, of information security. In 2006, the theme is centered on ancient Vedic mathematics, and a mathematical Sage named Aryabhata. Modern Codes in Ancient Sutras In 499 CE, in Kusumapura, capital of the Gupta Empire in classical India, a young mathematician named Aryabhata published an astronomical treatise written in 118 Sanskrit verses. A student of the Vedic mathematics tradition that had slowly emerged in India between 1500 and 900 BC, Aryabhata, only 23, intended merely to give a summary of Vedic mathematics up to his time. But his slender volume, the Aaryabhat.iiya, was to become one of the most brilliant achievements in the history of mathematics, with far-ranging implications in the East and West. Aryabhata correctly determined the axial rotation of the earth. He inferred that planetary orbits were elliptical, and provided a valid explanation of solar and lunar eclipses. His theory of the relativity of motion predated Einstein’s by 1400 years. And his studies in algebra and trigonometry, which laid the foundations for calculus, influenced European mathematicians 1,000 years later, when his texts were translated into European languages from 8th century Arabic translations of the Sanskrit originals. Today, the work of information security professionals affects the global business community in ways as profound and far-reaching as the seminal calculations of Aryabhata. Join us at the RSA Conference 2006 to celebrate the mathematical achievements of ancient India, and discover unprecedented approaches to securing your business and applications. |
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