On Sirpur Excavations - Part I.

Hello Readers!

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a very scenic and historically relevant place called Sirpur, in the Indian state of Chattisgarh.  Sirpur excavations have yielded temples and monasteries and other artifacts dated as far back as 6 the century C.E and some even from the Gupta period (5 th C.E - 2nd C.E).   Raipur is the nearest major city to Sirpur (distance between the two is nearly 80 KM).  Through this blog, I'm putting forth photographs from my travels and comments.

(Images and content copyrighted by Urmila Duhan.  Kindly obtain permission before using them)



Photo 1:  Moss laden brick steps in an ancient Buddhist Vihara in Sirpur.  In museums one finds only black and white stone statues and other carved works, like black and white photographs of old times.  But when one sees the excavated items in their natural settings (as here) the same becomes a colored photo as here due to green moss and burnt red bricks.

There in Sirpur, I also got the opportunity to see artifacts and stone figures (excavated at Sirpur by Archaeological Survey of India) that so far have probably not been documented/published. 

I am showing some of those photographs below.

Photo 2: This stone figure (stone type locally available in Sirpur area) shows a male deity in a sitting posture.  Few lines in Brahmi script are written on top corner.  It is a diety is known from the fact that he is shown sitting on a lotus throne (the flower lotus is used as a seat or is held in hands by dieties as per hinduism) and has a halo around his head, is wearing a decorated crown besides other jewellery.  A smaller female figure has been carved on the side to accompany the diety figure.  Heavy adornment with jewellery by both men and women, is a hallmark of ancient Indian culture and is clearly seen in the photo. 



Photo 3:  This photo shows a female diety and her child.  The child is playing with the mother's hair while she is shown sitting in a calm, meditative pose.  Had it not been for the prominent display of breasts, it can sometimes become difficult to ascertain whether it is a male or a female figure as both are dressed quite similarly in the figures from ancient period including body adornment with jewellery. 

Photo 4:  This photo shows a common woman standing besides a half opened door.  What a beauty!  and so artistically depicted!  She is shown wearing a nose stud, large, rounded ear studs, armlet, bangles, and anklet.  As far as clothes go, she is shown wearing figure hugging half trouser shaped cloth with a waist cloth hanging in the front.  Her head dress is elaborate and beautiful, adding height to her short stature.  In general, I have noticed that the height of a doorway in ancient temples of Chattisgarh is pretty low.  Here, she seems to be peeping out of her home and the door height is low as well.  Perhaps a low door height was in vogue in those days. 

Photo 5:  These stone images show various scenes from the life of individuals.  The first plate shows one man with arms around a woman while the other stands by.  Polygamy was then widely practiced in the Indian culture and the women accepted it.  These images are unique in the fact that women are shown wearing turbans, just as the man.  In the next frame, had it not been for both being naked, one would think that they are physically fighting with each other, getting onto eack other's neck and using legs to push each one around!  But, it is definitely an erotic art work.  The third frame shows a couple and a child.  The flat stone slab lying flat on the floor has characters engraved in Brahmi script.

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