Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond: Re-exploring Buddhist Art in Asia

Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond: Re -e xplo ring Buddhist Art in Asia Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond: Re -e xplo ring Buddhist Art in Asia Edited by Gauri Parimoo Krishnan Papers delivered at a conference held in Singapore at the Asian Civilisations Museum (2008) in conjunction with the special exhibition On the Nalanda Trail: Buddhism in India, China and Southeast Asia. © 2016 National Heritage Board, Singapore; text and photographs © authors, photographers, archives, institutions, and publishers as indicated in the book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the National Heritage Board. he views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of the publisher, the National Heritage Board and its ailiated institutions, or the Singapore Government. ISBN: 9789810999124 National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data Name(s): Krishnan, Gauri Parimoo, editor. Title: Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond : Re-exploring Buddhist art in Asia / edited by Gauri Parimoo Krishnan. Description: Singapore : Asian Civilisations Museum, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identiier(s): OCN 950860553 | ISBN 978-981-09-9912-4 (paperback) Subject(s): LCSH: Buddhist art and symbolism–India. | Buddhist art and symbolism–China. | Buddhist art and symbolism–Southeast Asia. | Buddhism–India–History. | Buddhism–China–History. | Buddhism–Southeast Asia–History. Classiication: DDC 704.948943–dc23 Published by: National Heritage Board c/o Asian Civilisations Museum 1 Empress Place Singapore 179555 Distributed by: University of Hawai'i Press Project Management: Siti Asmah A. Karim Copyediting: Binghao Wong Indexing: Sarah Lee Type-setting & Design: Fable Printing: Oxford Graphic Printers Pte Ltd Supported by Co nte nts Foreword 3 Alan Chong Acknowledgements 4 Contributors 5 Intro ductio n 9 Gauri Parimoo Krishnan 1. Transm issio n o f Buddhist Ide o lo gy, Mo nastic Organizatio n, and Artistic Expre ssio n in Asia 15 Gauri Parimoo Krishnan 2 . Xuanzang at Nalanda 27 Frederick M. Asher 3 . Mainam ati: An Enigm atic Ce ntre o f Buddhism in So uthe aste rn Banglade sh 37 Suchandra Ghosh 4 . Writing and Re pre se ntatio n: Inscribe d Obje cts in the Nalanda Trail Exhibitio n Peter Skilling 51 5 . Buddhism in the Bujang Valle y, Ke dah (5 th to 10 th Ce ntury) 101 Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman 6 . Buddhism in the Straits o f Me laka and the Archae o lo gy o f Srivijaya 129 John N. Miksic 7. The Ro o ts and Le gacy o f the Art o f Nalanda as se e n at Srivijaya 153 Gauri Parimoo Krishnan 8 . The Chine se Assim ilatio n o f Avalo kite svara 201 Teoh Eng Soon 9 . Ho using the Co lo ssal Im age s o f Avalo kite svara Bo dhisattva in 10 th Ce ntury China 223 Ho Puay-Peng 10 . Kizil, The Ho spitable Halt o n The Silk Ro ad 243 Rajeshwari Ghose Biblography 268 Index 292 THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 153 KRISHNAN Introduction his paper acknowledges the continuous scholarly involvement in the study of art historical material between South and Southeast Asia in general, as well as the cultural and political links between the regions of Pala (750–1174) and Srivijaya (seventh to thirteenth century) dominions in particular.1 In recent decades, due to archaeological inds and interpretation of the excavated materials2, focus on regional centres of trade, religion, and culture have taken primacy over dynastic and imperial connections, thus evoking institutional and monastic agency as carriers of stylistic kinship and exchanges. Recognition of art styles at monuments associated with dynastic rules and interconnections, and overlaps of inter-regionality based on excavated materials is also beginning to gain credence acknowledging the fact that centres of power have kept shiting so has the courtly and lay patronage of religious art throughout Southeast Asia. Recent exhibitions, conferences, and publications have also contributed to the understanding of how Indic underpinnings of the Southeast Asian cultures have assimilated and evolved their own cultural trajectories in the irst millennium of the Common Era.3 Here, I focus on stylistic exchanges and cross-pollination that may have occurred between the monastic centres of Nalanda Mahāvihāra and other ancient religious centres in Bihar, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Bangladesh during the Pallava (sixth to ninth century) and Chola periods (ninth to thirteenth century) in Deccan and South NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 154 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia India, and the Pala-Sena period (eighth to thirteenth century) in Eastern India with loosely connected cultural centres thriving in geographically indeterminable Srivijaya in Sumatra, java, peninsular hailand, and Malaysia. he following discussion will reveal that there are many ‘roots’ and ‘legacies’ of artistic languages inspired by Indic style and iconography in the art of Srivijaya beyond just Nalanda, and that the roots of post-Gupta period art at both regions have beneitted from cross-pollination as well as localized patronage and artistic genius. Certain iconographies4 during the Srivijaya period have gained popularity and developed independently, with few antecedents in India projecting their own ‘roots’ and ‘legacies’ with strong regional responses in Srivijaya as well as Southeast Asia in general. Most studies on the arts of Central and Eastern India and Indonesia have focussed on the archaeological material from the perspective of the local or the regional traditions, acknowledging the obvious interaction between the two regions.5 However, a more detailed analysis still needs to be carried out to dissect the stylistic elements and cross-pollination of sculptural styles through monastic centres such as the Nalanda Mahāvihāra, among others, as catalytic carriers of artistic and iconographic exchanges.6 his paper acknowledges sources of Nalanda sculptural styles through Buddhist sculptures of the earlier Kushana (irst to third century) and Gupta (circa. 320–550) periods, as seen at centres such as Gandhara, Mathura, and Sarnath, to its legacy that can be traced as far as the regions of Srivijaya and Śailendra dominion in Sumatra and Central java in Southeast Asia (seventh to thirteenth century). Besides Nalanda, it acknowledges many other centres of education, worship, and production for votive image-making that played a part in the dissemination of Hindu-Buddhist iconography and style in the Śailendra-Srivijaya kingdoms.7 he possibilities of prevalence and adaptation of stylistic elements from Southeast Asia have also been acknowledged and identified wherever possible (ig. 1). Present study presupposes that many centres of production contributed to the stylistic assimilation at Nalanda itself. Hence, stylistic features and qualities vary considerably through the dynastic arts of Pala, Sena, and later kings of Eastern India and Bangladesh. It also assumes a parallel difusion approach to the identiication of stylistic features from multiple monastic and trading centres in the regions of Andhra, Tamil, Kalinga, Bengal, and Sri Lanka on the South Asian side, and the Malay and Southern hai Peninsula, Cambodia, Sumatra, and javanese regions in Southeast Asia, which collectively and individually contributed to the development of the Srivijaya styles over centuries.8 It also acknowledges that Srivijaya is no longer a sub-style of Central java, but has its own distinct identity in difuse production centres and hence merits exploration THE ROOTS AND LEGACY KRISHNAN 155 NEPAL Mathura BANGLADESH Sarnath Nalanda Maniyar Math Rajashahi Mainamati Bay of Bengal INDIA THAILAND VIETNAM Amaravathi Nagarjunakonda Nagapattinam SRI LANKA BORNEO Kedah Aceh Kota Cina Sambas MALAYSIA SUMATRA Palembang JAVA 1. General map of South and Southeast Asia with major sites discussed in the essay Kota Bangun NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 156 South China Sea Straits of Melaka Samudra Pasai Aceh Langkasuka Kedah Lamuri MALAYSIA Perlak Barus Lubuk Tua Kota Cina Panai Padang Lawas Muara Takus SUMATRA SRI VIJAYA Muara Jambi Kota Kapur Palembang Tanah Abang Telaga Batu Bukit Seguntang Kedukan Bukit Japara Java Sea Palas Pasemah Indian Ocean Sunda Straits 2. Map of Srivijaya with important archaeological sites (ref. Suleiman 1980, p.13) Taruma Nagara THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 157 KRISHNAN and recognition.9 A heterogeneous model of cross-cultural exchange throughout Asia is thus suggested here as a means of grouping many strands of inluences, which were assimilated selectively and adopted with local interventions across the widespread Srivijaya kingdom. he agency of monks, scholars, sthapati architects, artists, and cratsmen has been underscored to highlight their contribution in the transmission and selective appropriation of philosophical, artistic, and technological knowhow. It is generally accepted that the Srivijaya kingdom (ig. 2) spanned the seventh to thirteenth century in Southern Southeast Asia. Its cultural impact has been discovered in the regions of Southern hailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and parts of java, Borneo, and Sulawesi in the form of archaeological, artistic, and scant but signiicant epigraphic evidences. he attempt here is to cross-examine based on the political interactions, inscriptional records, followed by stylistic and iconographic characteristics which perhaps travelled in both directions between the regions of Magadha (Bihar) and Srivijaya through vanga (Bengal) and Samatata (Bangladesh), that have contributed to the bringing about of the characteristic Pala-Sena and Srivijaya sculptural styles over time. Notices of this interaction have been acknowledged by many scholars but needs to be further examined and interpreted. Hundreds of Burmese, Chinese, and Tibetan monks and pilgrims travelled to Nalanda and other monastic centres in Eastern India and across other regions of India too. he records let behind by the three well-known Chinese monks – Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, among others – between the fourth and eighth centuries are signiicant for providing meticulous accounts of the nature of the Buddhist doctrine, location, and signiicance of the monastic centres, socio-political condition of the time, remarkable cross-cultural perceptions, account of arduous journey, commercial exchanges, and relations of business community with monastic centres.10 his paper emphasizes the role played by travelling images such as bronze casts, votive plaques, and cratsmen-monks with their moulds, casting tools, and palm leaf manuscripts between the two regions that brought about cross-pollination between Eastern and Southern India (Bay of Bengal and the Coromandel Coast) and the Malay Archipelago between seventh and thirteenth centuries. A number of Buddhist images and historical data point to the fact that there was tremendous movement between the two regions, especially with Nalanda, Nagapattinam, and Palembang among other monasteries as centres of learning and intellectual discourse that paved the way for the transfer of knowledge through monks, nuns, devotees, artists-cratsmen, and merchants during the Pala and Chola dynastic periods, among other periods.11 NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 158 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Trade, art, and monastic centres Before delving deeper into art and monastic centres, a note needs to be made of the trade that existed between the Arab world and Canton in China, in which Srivijaya with its northern outpost and centres such as Kedah, Srivijaya-Palembang, Malayu-jambi, and other smaller islands lourished, as outlined by O. W. Wolters.12 Yijing himself observed the rise of Srivijaya-Palembang and its occupation of Kedah between his two visits in 671–72 and 685. he Kota Kapur inscription of Bangka also mentions the disobedient rebels of java, which suggests that Srivijaya expanded in that year. More inscriptions will need to be found to know more details about the Srivijaya 3. Nalanda Mahāvihāra, India. © Asian Civilisations Museum, dominion. However,13 Arab, Singapore Kunlun, Malay, and Indian ships plied on the waters of the Arabian Sea, South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, and the Straits of Melaka and Sunda on their way to Canton, carrying natural goods such as camphor, guggulu (resin), frankincense, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg. With them travelled monks, merchants, and priests. A large network of organizational and sporadic communication existed to allow for the exchange of ideas through oral traditions, manuscripts, votive plaques and moulds, sculptures, and paintings. Ancient universities in the Indian subcontinent were fertile grounds for the exchange of knowledge and skills, philosophy and scriptures, language and literature, iconography and art styles, as well as rituals, which in totality made it possible for a thriving culture to endure, traces of which have survived to this day. he Pala rulers supported ive Mahāvihāras that included Nalanda (ith to twelth century, Nalanda district, Bihar), along with Odantapuri (eighth century, present-day Bihar Sharif, Bihar), vikramashila (late eighth to twelth century), Somapura (eighth to eleventh century, Paharpur, Bangladesh), and jagaddala (eleventh to twelth century, Naogaon district, North Bengal) (igs. 3, 4, 5). hese were centres of learning where Hindu, Buddhist, and jain scriptures were taught. hey had royal patronage but independent management and a large network of learned monks and students who circulated between these centres THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 159 4. Vikramashila Mahāvihāra, India. © Saurav Sen Tonandada 5. Somapura Mahāvihāra in Paharpur. Bangladesh. © Khan Tanvir KRISHNAN NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 160 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia of learning. Archaeological surveys of these sites in the early decades of the twentieth century have yielded terracotta and stone religious icons, seals, plaques, inscriptions, as well as precious metal objects. Extensive annual reports of the Archaeological Survey of India, based in Calcutta then, record the excavation, restoration, and conservation work undertaken by the enthusiastic oicers as well as the cost and conditions under which they worked. hey also describe the “treasure trove” of newly discovered acquisitions of diferent archaeological museums where these inds are inally deposited.14 It is from these annual reports that we glean the presence and signiicance of Buddhist monastic networks, and how knowledge and images may have travelled through the agency of the monastic organizations. An important publication by A. j. Bernet Kempers in 1933 actually listed more than one hundred images found at Nalanda, and illustrated a few key examples that were believed at irst to have been produced at Srivijaya and deposited at Nalanda.15 Other notable monasteries in this period were Mainamati (Comilla, present-day Bangladesh, eighth to twelth century, patronized by the Chandra dynasty),16 vallabhi (present-day vala, Gujarat, ith to twelth century, built by the Maitraka rulers), and Taxila (present-day Pakistan, 600BCE to tenth century, supported by major powers of antiquity), visited by monks from present-day Burma, Tibet, Nepal, Indonesia, hailand, as well as China and Korea. here was a coexistence of monks and pupils, āchāryas and mahāpaṇ ditas of heravada, Mahayana, and Brahmanical philosophy, as well as vajrayana and Tantric texts at many of these centres. Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit were taught, and many more languages would have been spoken as well. here is a strong possibility that monks also prescribed iconography through sādhanās to the sculptors, and monks and lay worshippers commissioned the making of votive icons and sculptures for meritmaking at these universities. he interaction of cratsmen, artists, monks, and lay patrons, as well as itinerant traders, could have led to certain stylistic and technological exchanges between regions, leading to certain regional features and attributes being widely shared throughout Asia, and possibly in Srivijaya, and its monastic centres around Palembang in particular. Hence, a maritime network of commercial and religious institutions with a few unifying languages and political structures may have existed, in which many types of exchanges were possible. Scholars have studied how the inluences of both Hindu and Buddhist iconographies reached the Srivijaya region and were metamorphosed and completely localized, which manifested through its monuments and art styles.17 Attention needs to be drawn towards Mahayana and Tantrayana (vajrayana) deities and their representations to highlight the role of votive images and their exchange that led to introduction of Srivijaya features back into Eastern India and Nalanda. Further research is required to THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 161 KRISHNAN study the impact of the relationship of Palas and Cholas with the Srivijaya rulers, their presence at Kedah (Malaysia), Chaiya (hailand), Palembang (Sumatra), to name a few, in particular from the eleventh to thirteenth century, and the state of trade and cultural exchanges through Hindu-Buddhist practices at monastic centres through the agency of monks and lay worshippers. Nalini Kanta Bhattasali writing on the Dhaka Museum collection of Brahmanical and Buddhist sculptures and iconography from as early as 1929 observed that no ŚilpaŚāstra texts have come to light from the region of Bengal even though the sculptors were proliic in producing votive images that may have travelled far and wide. his suggests that the artists-cratsmen could have followed the sādhanās, dhyānas, or invocations from Buddhist texts, which could have been learnt, recited, or referred to by sculptors and their overseers. Hence, if the Bengali artists could refer to the invocatory sādhanās, giving details on how the deity is to be visualized and worshipped, and produced images in stone and metal based on them, why would sculptors in Suvarṇabhumi and Yavabhumi not be able to do the same?18 hey could have received this knowledge by studying travelling images, which may have served as models, or learned it through oral and art training in various monasteries. Art at Nalanda Let us refer to the site of Nalanda, which is a complex of many stupas, vihāras, temples, and other structures built over time, and its key sculptures to understand the development of sculpture there and how it evolved from the post-Gupta idiom into a more classicized and elegant sculptural style during the Pala-Sena period. Echoes of post-Gupta and Pala period sculptural styles can be noted in Śailendra, Srivijayan, Nepalese, and Tibetan sculptures for the next several centuries, as rightly pointed out by Susan and john Huntington, making them international and widely recognizable.19 I would like to highlight at this point how monastic centres such as Nalanda played a key role in the internationalization of certain art styles. I recognize the large terracotta sculptures on Stupa Site 3 (ig. 6), the stone and bronze sculptures in the site museum excavated from the various monasteries at Nalanda and those 6. Nalanda monastery ground plan. © Archaeological Survey of India Annual Report scattered around museums in Patna, NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 162 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Kolkata, New Delhi, and overseas, need to be studied collectively because stylistic crosspollination also happens across diferent media. Nalanda lourished during the Gupta times, but more speciically, the identiiable style of sculpture emerged from the postGupta period, precisely in the seventh century. However, not many pre-Pala dated images have been found on site, which makes stylistic features, and their recurrence or variations thereof, the only basis to date some of them. Between stucco, stone, and bronze, the production quality and quantity were staggering at Nalanda; votive plaques and bronze icons in particular seem to have circulated far beyond its borders as votive images or as models carried by monks and lay worshippers. Nalanda also received a signiicant number of votive bronzes (possibly also in wood, which may have perished) from other centres with visiting monks, merchants, and lay worshippers. hus, stylistically, Nalanda was like a conglomerate: many sculptural styles coexisted side-by-side and at times coalesced into one another. 7. Nalanda copper-plate, 9 th century, Pala period. © National Museum, New Delhi THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 163 KRISHNAN his is one site where royal patronage did make a diference, with support from the Guptas and many contemporary North Indian rulers such as Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa (circa. 600–50), Harshavardhana of Kannauj (circa. 606–47), and the Maukharis of Doab (end ith to early seventh century).20 Of the Pala royalty, besides Gopala and Dharmapala21, it was Devapaladeva who was the most notable, followed by his not so signiicant successors. Nalanda had the status of an international university of repute that drew many scholars from China, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Many of its teachers came from distant lands, including Kashmir, Gandhara, and Sumatra. Siladitya, the principal of Nalanda Mahāvihāra, was from Samatata in Bangladesh. It was also a centre for international, political, and religious ‘diplomacy’, as evidenced by the copper-plate (ig. 7), datable to circa 860, recording the charter of ive villages in Rajgir and Gaya area for the maintenance of a monastery built at Nalanda by the Srivijaya King Sri Maharaja Balaputradeva, grandson of the jewel of the Śailendra dynasty, through an envoy, with the kind support of the Pala King Devapaladeva that demonstrates his devotion to Lord Buddha.22 he famous Nalanda copperplate discovered by Hirananda Shastri in 1916 at Monastery Site 1 (ig. 8) played a central role in the coming together of the Nalanda Trail exhibition that I curated for the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore in 2007–8.23 he copper-plate with the Nalanda Mahāvihāra emblem soldered onto the top edge of the plaque is beautifully etched on both sides with the Sanskrit and proto Bengali 8. he Nalanda copper-plate displayed at the Nalanda Trail characters, partially in prose and exhibition. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore partially in verse form. he seal with a dharmachakra and two gazelles lanking it reads “Devapaladevasya”, of Devapaladeva. It documents the intentions of the donation of some villages from the Rajgir and Gaya areas in the Srinagara (Patna) division, which was for the provision of comfort and medical aid for the monks of the four quarters, the writing of the dharmaratna (religious texts), upkeep of the monastery building, and other worthy causes. he metaphoric language that describes Balaputradeva’s lineage relects the classical Sanskrit proiciency at Nalanda as well as Srivijaya in the mid-ninth century.24 It also relects the prevalent practice of sending ambassadors across the seas to establish bilateral relations in the ancient premodern Indic world. he inscription mentions the dûtaka, or ambassador Balavarmman, NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 164 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia who was the heroic mandalādhipati for the king of Srivijaya, and grandson of the king of Yavabhumi, java and the ornament of the family of Śailendras. Lineage of mother Tara, who was the daughter of King Dharmasetu, is also eulogized here and compared with heroic Indian mythological characters. he site of Nalanda Mahāvihāra has yielded some very signiicant artefacts from its monastic precincts, airming the production, as well as conceptualization of some unique and signiicant images of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities, some of which could be identiied as created at Nalanda itself. here have been a number of Hindu images, as well as Tantric deities, seals, and votive tablets found, which have a number of inscriptions of the Buddhist creed, as well as donatory inscriptions that relect the social and religious climate of the period between the ith and ninth centuries. Buddhism and Tantrism had lourished in Bihar, Bengal, and Orissa way before the Palas came to power, supported by lay and royal patrons who may or may not have been Buddhists. For example, one of the seals of Sri Harsha of Kannauj found at Nalanda mentions the names of his parents, King Prabhakaravardhana and Queen Yashomati, 9(a). A miniature bronze stupa with four niches in which the Buddha is shown in the dhyāna, bhūmisparśa, dharmachakra, and abhaya mudras, 7 th– 8 th century. © Archaeological Survey of India 9(b). Bronze stupa rom Monastery Site 1, 7 th– 8 th century, Devapala stratum portraying eight scenes rom the life of Buddha. © Archaeological Survey of India THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 10(a). Votive stupa, 9 th century, Khuhaphimuk Cave, Muang District, Yala Province, Collection of Wat Khuhaphimuk, Muang District, Yala KRISHNAN 165 10(b). Seated Dhyāni Buddha Akṣobhya, 9 th century, Khuhaphimuk Cave, Muang District, Yala Province, Collection of Wat Khuhaphimuk, Muang District, Yala while another mentions his brother Rajyavardhana, who also supported Buddhism. hese are dated 605 and 606 respectively.25 It is important to note that Xuanzang mentions extensively in his writings the reign of Sri Harsha of Kannauj, and his support of Buddhist learning. he pre-Pala structures at Nalanda could possibly be attributed to his time. However, more documentary evidence is required. At Nalanda and Bodhgaya, one cannot help notice the miniature stupas depicting four or eight niches with aśtamahāsthānas, the eight miracle sites, or the Dhyāni Buddhas depicted in them even today. Many more would have existed when the sites lourished with donors and worshippers. A bronze votive stupa with elaborated details was excavated from Nalanda Site 1 and another from Chaitya Site No. 12 (igs. 9a, 9b)26. What needs to be highlighted here are two objects that are stylistically similar to the Nalanda Site 1 ind – the Seated Dhyāni Buddha Akṣobhya, and a votive bronze stupa on a square terraced base with double lotus and a chattra with four Dhyāni Buddhas in the four cardinal directions, discovered in the Khuhaphimuk Cave in the Muang district of Yala province. hey are datable to the ninth century, and belong to the collection of the Wat Khuhaphimuk in Yala (igs. 10a, 10b).27 It is worth exploring through inscriptions or other records if this monastic centre had any connection with Nalanda through lay patronage of exchanging votive ritual objects or scholarly monastic partnership. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 166 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia What strikes as most signiicant at the present Nalanda site is its stucco sculpture. A signiicant group of Nalanda Buddhas and bodhisattvas with a unique style and identity were possibly produced by one guild of artists in “recognizable” style. he presence of stucco images on Stupa Site 3 at Nalanda is not oten repeated in the later period, but found bearing similarity and elegant classicism at Maniyar Math at Rajgir in Bihar, Aphsad, and Ahichchhatra in Uttar Pradesh, which collectively come to the fore as magniicent examples of stucco art (igs. 12, 13). It is also acknowledged by scholars that this stylistic phenomenon draws direct link with the stucco images in Gandhara, which were made as late as 11. Stupa Site 3, Nalanda. © Asian Civilisations the ith century, and that there was Museum, Singapore movement of monks and scholars between Magadha and Taxila in Gandhara. Due to weathering, these stucco images are fast deteriorating. However, they can still be studied to observe how the Sarnath classicism is preserved at Nalanda and given a fresh aesthetic uplit while assimilating newer stylistic idioms. Ater examining all the stucco sculptures from the site of Nalanda, a group of ive stone sculptures of bodhisattva and Manjuśri drew my attention. hey are currently seen on Site 3 temple niches, ine stone, and bronze sculptures at the site museum, Nalanda; Patna Museum, Patna; Indian Museum, Kolkata; National Museum, New Delhi, and museums overseas. hey are worthy of being highlighted for their aesthetic and plastic qualities, as well as iconographic uniqueness, which characterize the transition from postGupta classical stylization of the Sarnath style to the uniquely Nalanda style of elegant attenuation of late seventh- to early eighth-century Pala period patronage. hey represent the mastery and achievement of the Magadhan masters. Possibility of Srivijayan stylistic and iconographical inluences on these sculptures cannot be ruled out as well. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 167 12. Avalokiteśvara with Buddhist deities, 7 th– 8 th century, stucco, Nalanda. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore KRISHNAN NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 168 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 13. Stucco Nāgīni, 7 th– 8 th century, Maniyar Math cylinder, Rajgir, Patna District. © Archaeological Survey of India THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 169 14. Standing Manjuśri, 9 th century, black basalt, Bodhgaya. © Patna Museum, India KRISHNAN NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 170 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia he sculptures exhibit Sarnath idiom in the treatment of the physical form and posture, vegetal motifs, and rendering of ornaments and accessories. A standing Manjuśri in black basalt28 from the Nalanda Museum (ig. 14) is seen holding a tall lotus stalk growing out of thick foliage while the right hand is held in varada gesture. Comprising the tightly tied dhoti with circular folds tucked at the centre like warriors, a looped chain waistband, a neckpiece with circular chakra-like pendant and two symmetrical tiger claws vyāghranakha, round ear plugs, and a headband holding three tuts of hair, triśikha is an adaptation from the Sarnath style which would soon be revised a couple of decades later by the Nalanda masters and rendered in the most elegant form of the bodhisattva. Another standing Manjuśri29 from the National Museum, New Delhi (ig. 15), also identiied as a Siddhaikavira30 form of Manjuśri and conceived as a young warrior-like hero, exhibits the attenuated but leshy form, with transparency and folds of the dhoti and the sash rendered with stylized naturalism. Here, one cannot miss noticing the asexual rendering of the bodhisattva’s physical form, which is also an adaptation of the Sarnath school. here are two more important and similar renderings of Padmapāṇi31 or Lokanāth/Lokeśvara, which quite certainly belonged to the same tradition or artistic guild (ig. 16). he twelve-armed Avalokiteśvara32 is the epitome of elegance and grace, conceived as a relief panel in three parts surrounded by twelve arms wielding implements, gestures, and attributes, accompanied by Bhrkuti and Tara (ig. 24). here are Dhyāni Buddha Amoghasiddhi (abhaya gesture) and Ratnasambhava (varada gesture) above, while two goddesses in the middle seated beside his feet are Tara with Suchimukha and Bhrkuti with Hayagriva. No text or inscription has been found that establishes the identity of this bodhisattva. However, Debala Mitra has tried to interpret it as the Bodhisattva Amoghapāśa.33 Debjani Paul declares this sculpture as “evidently an original creation of the Nalanda convent…Like the aesthetic charm, the iconography of the piece remains yet without parallel.”34 However, she noticed a manuscript illustration of a twelvearmed bodhisattva labelled as varendra-Tulakshetra-Lokanātha (not Amoghapāśa) in Cambridge University Library’s Aśtasāhasrika Prajnāpāramitā manuscript. (varendra refers to the region of East Bengal, now Bangladesh.) he stucco Avalokiteśvara on Stupa Site 3 (ig. 12) may have inspired the stone twelve-armed Avalokiteśvara (ig. 24), which in turn may have inspired the eight-armed Avalokiteśvara Amoghapāśa from Bidor in Perak (ig. 23), as suggested by john Guy. He also attributes the making of such images at Srivijaya to the dissemination of religious imageries along with philosophy to inluential monks. As Guy notes, “he famous propagator of vajrayana teaching, vajrabodhi (671–741), received his theological education at Nalanda and is known to have spent ive months in Srivijaya teaching his Tantric system before reaching China in 720.”35 However, the Dipamkara Bodhisattva depicted here is also closely linked with the other standing bodhisattva images at production centres in and around Nalanda and Srivijaya. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 171 KRISHNAN 15. Khasarpana Lokeśvara, 9 th century, Pala period, stone, Nalanda, National Museum, New Delhi. © Hyougushi NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 172 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 16. Lokanāth, 9 th century, Pala period, sandstone, Nalanda. © National Museum, New Delhi he use of the lotus base in many varieties has common presence in Hindu, Buddhist, as well as jain sculptures. he oval-shaped halo with its central emblem is a unique feature of the Nalanda sculptures, which emerged over time and changed shape and detailing where sometimes stupas or jina Buddhas are placed interchangeably. his feature evolved at the hands of many artists at many centres between Magadha and Srivijaya, and took many shapes and details throughout the Pala and Srivijaya periods at various sites. Since the placement of the Dhyāni Buddha or the parent Buddha’s eigy in the crest had not been ixed by this time, the more perfected and standardized iconographic traits of the bodhisattva can be corroborated by referring to the texts of Niśpannayogāvali and Sādhanamāla.36 THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 173 KRISHNAN Nalanda and Srivijaya Around the same time as the Nalanda Mahāvihāra (seventh to thirteenth century), lourished the kingdom of Srivijaya, covering a vast area in the Southern hai Peninsula, from Chaiya to Songkhla and the Northern Malay Peninsula in the Bujang valley. It conquered several territories of Sumatra, including the Malayu and Bangka islands, occupying a strategic position near the Straits of Melaka. Its capital was for a long time believed to be at Palembang, however, it could have moved based on political and economic considerations. George Coedes identiied the Shi-li-fo-shi from the Chinese sources and Zabag from the Arab sources as Srivijaya. he Arab and Chinese sources mention Srivijaya as a prosperous and mighty kingdom that included Sumatra and the Northern Malay Peninsula, besides parts of java. Until the mid-twentieth century, it was included as an Indo-javanese kingdom, part of the Central javanese kingdom of the Śailendras. However, politically as well as culturally, it has now been clearly distinguished.37 As summarized by Satyawati Suleiman: In 671, Yijing, a Chinese pilgrim, let Canton for Fo-Shih [Shi-li-foshi]. He recorded that in this walled city, thousand monks lived and learnt Sanskrit grammar. He stayed there for six months then sailed to Malayu where he remained for two months before taking a ship to Tamralipti and onwards to Nalanda. Ater ten years, he returned to Fo-Shih [Shi-li-fo-shi] in 685 and translated some manuscripts there before departing for Canton in 689 and returning again with four assistants to Srivijaya and inally leaving in 695 ater producing two books. He recorded that many countries of the Southern seas followed Mūlasarvāstivād Nikāya. he religion practiced in Srivijaya was Mahayana Buddhism, along with Tantric practices, which lourished alongside Hinduism. Many maritime and riverine sites have been excavated in Sumatra, and through inscriptions it is found that in the ancient days there was a practice of pilgrimage. Many sites have yielded votive tablets and stupas in clay which devotees and monks would prepare as part of their merit-making ritual. References to Siddhayātrā and Śrikşetra around Palembang even allude to the resting place for pilgrims on a pilgrimage from as early as the seventh century. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 174 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia It has been acknowledged through inscriptions and images that Tantrism originated in India and had reached Srivijaya via a well-known monk from Nalanda, vajrabodhi,38 who, on the way to China had stopped at Palembang for the right winds and was also initiated into a distinct vajrayana practice there. He was received honourably by the king of Srivijaya and then sent further on to China on a ‘Malay’ ship accompanied by Persian vessels. However, there is also a strong possibility that aspects of vajrayana Buddhism were reintroduced into Eastern India through the Srivijayan visitors. With more research and evidence, this detail might prove clearer. Northeastern and Southeast Asian Buddha sculptures As early as 1933 and in 1959, Bernet Kempers wrote in support of the direct contact between Nalanda and Srivijaya, and on the basis of inding a large number of bronze images from the same ind spot as the copper-plate, concluded that they were Pala objects which eventually inluenced javanese art, and that they were javanese products taken along to Magadha by pilgrims as oferings.39 At that stage however, presupposition of Srivijaya style as distinct from javanese was probably not so clearly identiied, although it was soon revised. Based on the established political alliance between the Pala and Srivijaya rulers around the mid-ninth century as stated in the Nalanda copper-plate, it has been accepted that there is a strong possibility that an exchange of artistic and iconographic knowledge, and actual images of votive igures may have existed between the two regions, especially up to the tenth century, ater which the focus shits to the Chola dominion in the Tamil region. his exchange was multi-directional and went beyond Southeast Asia. However, strong Pallava stylistic features in Sumatra, java, Southern hailand, and the Funan region were recognized in the sixth to eighth century period, the post-Gupta inluence of the early Pala period, and before that, the Amaravati style from the Andhra region can also be noticed across the same regions. Hence, the inluences are not one of or from one region alone, but continue across several centuries from various coastal regions, and need to be examined in waves or phases. here are divergent views expressed by scholars on whether the inluence went from the Pala region to the Srivijaya region or the other way around. Ater debating for over half a century, many scholars are now open to the idea of accepting a two-way, rather than a one-way, exchange. However, in the absence of historical records or inscribed bronzes, one has to rely on stylistic similarities to base certain possibilities of exchange of iconography, style, and casting technology. Furthermore, I am of the opinion that even though assimilation of Nalanda and other Pala ‘roots’ may be over-arching at Srivijaya, the artists there were highly selective in their adaptation and transformation of the stylistic elements, bringing forth the Srivijayan lavour to the fore. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 175 KRISHNAN Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer prepared a catalogue of ancient Indonesian bronzes, mainly from java, but also containing few examples from Sumatra and Sulawesi, for the Rijksmuseum’s 1988 exhibition, Divine Bronze. It followed stylistic analysis as its main basis for dating, and described the sculptural qualities of many ine pieces from the Dutch collections, supporting the view that the sculptors in Central java had their own inspiration and adaptation of the Indian models, which was very javanese in character. In this catalogue as well, some examples of bronzes were identiied as Srivijaya, acknowledging a sub-school or an independent school of sculpture making.40 In any case, as it became clearer with more material examined from the collection in the region and scholarly research, the distinct stylistic interaction between inter-regional and intra-regional centres is certainly a strong possibility. his is supported by the ‘visual text’ or the stylistic similarities of the artefacts. Be it the iconography, physical features, accessories, postures, and gestures-the similarities can be visually perceived even in the absence of donatory or denotative inscriptions or other epigraphical, archaeological, and historical contexts. Scholars have noted stylistic similarities in bronzes and votive tablets found at Srivijayan sites of Bujang valley, Sumatra, and Central java with Nalanda and Kurkihar. I would like to further suggest looking at Comilla and Rajshahi in Bangladesh as potential difusion centres within the Pala-Sena dominion and its linkages with Srivijaya needs to be explored. his possibility can add credence to the contact and exchange between the regions by land and sea as well as selective adaptation by patrons and artists. It is important to note that although Pala artistic styles and iconography may have served as prototypes for Indonesia and Burma, the artists in these regions developed their own aesthetic standards, iconography, gestures, and postures to depict the HinduBuddhist imageries. Hence, the word ‘inluence’ is used in a cautionary manner without implying ‘copying’. It should also be emphasized that there is an awareness of the fact that the Pala-Sena artistic style has itself undergone many changes over four hundred years, through many centres of worship, monastic organizations, and artistic guilds, supported by various royal, monastic, and lay patrons. In this regard, the assimilation of iconographic and stylistic traits has been generally selective, and localized regional idioms have usually dominated. It is absolutely possible to believe contribution of travelling bronze images between the regions discussed above have contributed to this phenomenon. I would now like to draw our attention to a few important examples from Sumatra and Borneo for comparison below, with the sculptural material found so far in Central java, Southern hailand, and the Malay Peninsula from the eighth to eleventh century. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 176 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Srivijaya sculpture in Sumatra and Central Java Based on Bronson and Wisseman’s identiication of Palembang as Srivijaya41 and on seven inscriptions found from sites in Southern Sumatra and Bangka, sherds and other architectural remains, and human debris, and their case in support of a maritime, mobile, urbanism on the island of Southeast Asia, I am convinced that this region was a thriving centre of Hindu-Buddhist practices and was well connected with maritime ports in the Bay of Bengal and the Coromandel Coast. he Palembang region has yielded two magniicent stone Buddhas in Amaravati style and an Avalokiteśvara in Pallava style from the Srivijaya period, making them critical to the study of Srivijaya style. he 277 centimetre tall, highly mutilated 17. Standing Buddha, 9 th–10 th Buddha found from the Bukit Seguntang hill and century, bronze, Kota Bangun, Borneo. kept in the Sultan Mahamud Badaruddin II Museum © Harvard University Press in Palembang, is an amazing Amaravati style Buddha of around seventh to eighth century. It is discussed and argued at length by Devaprasad Ghosh,42 furthering the signiicance of Amaravati style and connection with the AndhraIkshvaku dynasty and Srivijaya besides the Gupta. Another signiicantly large and intact stone Buddha found at village Tingkip, Musi Rawas, South Sumatra, and displayed at Museum Balaputradewa in Palembang, standing in samabhanga (equipoise) holding vitarka mudra (teaching) with the right hand, are both localized adaptations of the classical Indian renditions of Kushana, Gupta, Andhra, or Pallava styles of Buddha images draped in sanghati covering both the shoulders and forming rows of semi-circular folds across the torso from the neck to the feet. It has been rightly argued by Ghosh that the Srivijaya style has assimilated many sources of sculptural styles and techniques from India, not simply those of the Gupta. he standing Avalokiteśvara from Sarang Waty, and three Hindu sculptures from Takuapa in localized style with Pallava features further strengthen the Srivijaya connection with the Tamil region as early as the eighth century. Backed by historical records of Yijing’s and vajrabodhi’s stay at the Buddhist monastic centres in Palembang before visiting Nalanda, I have explored here stylistic comparison between Nalanda and Srivijaya bronze sculptures from various sites in Sumatra to draw some comparisons based on purely visual terms that underscore a strong possibility of THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 177 KRISHNAN 18. Standing Buddha, 9 th–10 th century, bronze, Palembang, Sumatra. © Museum Nasional, Jakarta oral, textual, and sketched references on cloth or palm leaf being exchanged by monks, teachers, and sculptors in these two centres. It can be clearly stated from observation that both variations of Buddha images have been in circulation here, for instance the one where sanghati is draped to cover both shoulders and has semi-circular folds, or the other where it covers only the let shoulder, and where the inner dhoti or antaravastra is tied tightly around the waist forming an incised line around it.43 Is it possible that the Standing Buddha from Kota Bangun, Borneo, was produced at Palembang as the other standing Buddha before being transported to its current ind spot? Both have incised lines for eyebrows and eyes, no urna, outlined lips, long earlobes, a cap-like hairdo with round curls and a bun-like uśnīśa. here is however, a major diference between the two. he Palembang bronze is standing in samabhanga while the Kota Bangun is bent slightly to the let with the right leg relaxed. he let hand holds an object or the edge of the sanghati held near the torso, which is shown facing diferently, while right hands hold the vitarka and abhaya gestures respectively (igs. 17, 18).44 NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 178 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Another comparison that is less challenging is between Maitreya from Komering and eight-armed Avalokiteśvara, both presently in the Museum Nasional, jakarta (igs. 19, 20). Even though the bronzes are quite badly damaged, one can still assess the ine workmanship in the rendering of the ornaments, the transparent sash or the uttariya, matted hair, and the headgear with stupa inset for Maitreya and seated Amitābha for the Avalokiteśvara. he representation of stupa and Amitābha in the crown, the half-closed eyelids like lotus petals, smiling lips, and aquiline nose, are features that can be attributed to the post-Gupta idiom being completely absorbed by the Sumatran master sculptors via Eastern India. he Sumatran artists have exercised great maturity in absorbing iconography and style creating a distinct Srivijayan artistic idiom here. 19. Maitreya, 8 th–9 th century, bronze, Komering, Palembang, South Sumatra. © Museum Nasional, Jakarta THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 179 20. Eight-Armed Avalokiteśvara, 9 th–10 th century, bronze, Palembang, Sumatra. © Museum Nasional, Jakarta KRISHNAN NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 180 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia he widespread presence of Manjuśri images from Kushana, Gupta to post-Gupta, and even across to Śailendra and Srivijaya periods, holds special signiicance of this deity and the deep respect this bodhisattva commanded across Hindu-Buddhist cultures. It is especially signiicant for Nalanda as this deity embodies wisdom and knowledge, retentive memory, youthfulness, and the bravery of a warrior. he mention of this bodhisattva appears at a very early stage in Mahayana. Texts such as the Arya Manusri Mulakalpa and Sādhanamāla describe this deity in detail, according to S. K. Saraswati “In the Sādhanamāla, forty one sādhanās describe a number of distinctive forms of the god; some of these may be seen to owe their origin to Tantric ideas.” It was translated into Chinese between 384 and 417, and Gautama Buddha is believed to have entrusted Manjuśri with the duty to turn the Wheel of Law for the salvation of the Chinese people and chose the Panchasirsa (五台山 Wutai Shan), the ive-peaked mountain in Shanxi province as his place of manifestation.45 Both the texts bring out the ailiation with Kumara-Kartikeya of the Brahmanical pantheon. he emergence of its iconography, such as the vyāgracharma (tiger skin) and triśikhā (three pigtails) motifs, is a feature that carries on at Central javanese sites as well. he inest example of Central javanese Manjuśri is a seated vajraparyankāsana image holding a lotus stalk with let hand and varada with the right cast in solid silver. he benign expression and physiognomy with a youthful body of beautiful proportions resembling, even in its stylistic rendering, Nalanda and postGupta images from Eastern India, has been identiied by Bernet Kempers as originating in Eastern India and found at Ngemplak Semongan, near Semarang, dating to the early tenth century.46 It is hard to identify its origin with certainty, but the slight bulge of the torso above the tightly-worn waistband and the round discal earplugs in the shape of a wheel give away an Indian origin, or point to the strong iconographic and stylistic link with Eastern India. However, this piece is most unique because we have yet to come across such images in solid silver from anywhere in India of this period, except one from Churain of the four-armed viśnu, now in the Indian Museum, Kolkata, dating to the early tenth century.47 Furthermore, Lunsingh Scheurleer also recognizes the similarity in the rendering of a bronze Manjuśri seated in mahārājalilāsana wearing a patterned dhoti on a double lotus pedestal surrounded by a lamed parikara backslab, which reminds her of “the idiom of the Southeast Bangladesh”, including the facial features and the rendering of a slight bulge of the tummy above the waistband.48 Hence, the possibility of Bangladesh rather than Eastern India as the stylistic reference for this Manjuśri seems convincing. As to where it was made, one can possibly consider a location in Central java. he other noteworthy point is the widespread application of this Manjuśri49 iconography (for example, Nalanda, Great Stupa, Stupa Site 3 in stucco; two stone standing ones from the National Museum, New Delhi50, and the Nalanda Museum51; and a headless standing image from the British Museum52) for the depiction of Chakrapurush THE ROOTS AND LEGACY KRISHNAN 181 (Bodhgaya)53, Kumāra (Mundeshvari hill, Shahabad district54; vaishali, Muzzafarpur district55; of unknown provenance from the British Museum56), and in one case Krishna (Paharpur, Rajshahi district)57 in Hindu sculptures from Eastern India (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bangladesh). his clearly shows how combined denotative iconography introduced by the artistic directors or visualizers and guilds of sculptors relected upon the acceptance of Hindu-Buddhist syncretism at a deep level, which equally appealed to followers of both practices. Srivijaya sculpture in the Malay Peninsula and Southern hailand Let us shit our attention to the Malay Peninsula, speciically to sites in the Bujang valley in South Kedah, and Southern hailand, that have yielded many religious structures, including foundation deposits, small bronze sculptures, and terracotta plaques. Historians have agreed that Kedah, Perlis, and Perak were the centres of religion and artistic production during the Srivijaya period. Gulf of hailand Chaiya Ligor Ta Kua Pa Wiang Sa Nakhon Si hammarat Phattalung Sathing Phra Songkhla he Malay Peninsula and Yala Southern hailand have served as land routes to connect India with China, and because of maritime routes many trading and religious centres lourished on both the East and West coasts of hailand between the eighth and tenth 21. Map of Srivijaya sites in peninsular hailand (ref. Krairiksh centuries. With the emergence 1980, map 5) and proliferation of the Buddha images at Nalanda and related monastic sites with far reaching inluence in Burma, hailand, java, Sumatra, and Cambodia, one is not surprised to see many localized representations and interpretations in these regions. What is more unique, and not yet widely acknowledged, is the interpretation of the Buddhist deities and their iconography during the Srivijaya period and its circulation within Southeast Asia. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 22(a). Standing Buddha, 7 th century, bronze, Nalanda. © Nalanda Museum, India 182 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 22(b). Standing Buddha, 7 th– 8 th century, bronze, (back), South Kedah. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore 22(c). Standing Buddha 7 th– 8 th century, bronze, ( ront), South Kedah. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Besides architectural remains of Buddhist and Hindu temples at sites such as Candi Bukit Batu Pahat and Candi Pendiat among others, and artefacts found from known ind sites in Kedah, one thing is clear: even if this region had direct contact with traders, monks, and other sojourners from South Asia, the artistic styles reveal that the artists had adapted these inluences and localized them. he small bronze standing Buddha found from Site 16A at Lembah Bujang, now in the collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum,58 closely resembles another similar size bronze from the Patna Museum which stands with a slight bend, holds varada hasta in the right hand while the let hand clasps the edge of the sanghati. he uttarsanga or the upper cloth covers the let shoulder just like the Kedah Buddha while the matted hair is diferently arranged, as is the urna (ig. 22). Small objects such as these could have been easily transported, suggesting they were possibly used as models and not necessarily meant for worship. Besides this, another standing Buddha with the sanghati covering both shoulders relates more to the Palembang Buddha than the eight-armed Avalokiteśvara (igs. 22, 23) from Bidor, Perak, whose physical presence and volume of its full thighs and leshy torso relates more to the Nalanda model of twelve-armed bodhisattva (ig. 24). However, the Bidor Avalokiteśvara’s rendering of the jatāmukuta, matted hair with a little alcove to place the Amitābha and the serene facial THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 183 KRISHNAN features render a uniquely Malayan lavour of the Srivijaya period in the ninth century. Stylistically, it also has other relatives in Central java and Southern hailand. 59 As john Guy notes, “Ultimately, this group of images can be traced to workshops aware of artistic production both in Bihar (as at Kurkihar and Nalanda) and in Bengal during the eighth and ninth centuries. he Bengali legacy is perhaps most evident in the distinctive conical jatāmukuta.”60 23. Eight-armed Avalokiteśvara, 8 th– 9 th century, Bidor, Perak, Malaysia. © National Museum, Department of Museums, Malaysia NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 184 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 24. Twelve-armed bodhisattva with attendants, 9 th century, stone, Nalanda. © Nalanda Museum, India THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 185 KRISHNAN One particular iconography that I would like to highlight here is that of the two-, four-, eight-, ten-, and twelve-armed Avalokiteśvara, made popular during the Srivijaya period, possibly by the seafaring merchants, monks, and teachers. here is a strong possibility that the iconography may have evolved in Eastern India at one of the monastic centres such as Nalanda, but its interpretation and popularization can be attributed to the Srivijaya artists and patrons. Subhadradis Diskul has discussed many well-known examples from the National Museum, Bangkok and other hai private collections. Bernet Kempers and Lunsingh Scheurleer have discussed the rare examples from Central java, probably Sumatra, and Sulawesi. john Guy has also discussed a number of these signiicant Avalokiteśvaras in his exhibition catalogue for Lost Kingdoms, and made 25. Avalokiteśvara, 9 th–10 th century, the point that they conirm “in a startlingly direct way, bronze, probably rom Sumatra. © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore the degree to which Mahayana Buddhist iconography was indebted to Saiva imagery”.61 I have discussed some examples from the Museum Nasional, jakarta in the Nalanda Trail exhibition catalogue from Sumatra, while one unique piece of each also exists in the Asian Civilisations Museum (ig. 25) and Musée Guimet’s collections (ig. 26). his group of Avalokiteśvaras shows consistency of iconographic features, such as the presence of Amitābha Buddha in the matted hair jatāmukuta, presence of tiger skin around the waist and deer skin around the shoulder. Most of them stand straight in samabhanga with a skirt-like dhoti reaching up to the ankle, depicted usually with curving or diagonal pleats. Sometimes, they wear sashes with loops in the centre, ends lowing on both sides of the legs, and a belt over the torso above the waist called udarabandha. hese are Southern Indian Pallava, or Chola features, which are oten seen as assimilated in 26. Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, 8th– 9 th century, Central Javanese period, bronze, Indonesia, exact Central java and Srivijaya. provenance unknown. © RMN-Grand Palais, Musée Guimet, Paris / Jean-Gilles Berizzi NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 186 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Attributes usually seen in the multiple hands are rosary, book, water pot, lotus, abhaya, and varada gestures. Many have missing arms and hence these attributes are not always identiiable. he popularity of Avalokiteśvara becomes further intriguing when it also shows similarities with Hindu god Śiva’s representation, especially in the matted hair, jatāmukuta, third eye on the forehead, deer skin worn like an upavita around the torso and across the shoulder, and tiger skin, vyāghracharma, tied around the waist. Many such examples have come to light from Central java, where one assumes it was invented in Srivijaya with javanese inluence. Further research needs to be done to understand the syncretism of the Śiva-Bodhisattva interrelationship during the Srivijaya period, and how this may explain the syncretic adaptation of Hindu-Buddhist ritual practices in these regions. Piriya Krairiksh provides a clear classiication of the Nalanda ‘roots’ or Palainluenced style at Chaiya and other sites in Southern hailand into the “third Chaiya style”, where he locates the Srivijaya kingdom’s capital at Chaiya.62 He discusses two groups of sculptures, which clearly demonstrate an assimilation or adaptation of Nalanda and Central javanese styles, whose inspirations are drawn widely from Kurkihar in Bihar to Candi Banon in java, speciically in the case of the celebrated Bodhisattva Padmapāṇi from Wat Wiang in the National Museum, Bangkok (ig. 27).63 Another masterpiece in the same collection is an eight-armed Avalokiteśvara standing erect from Wat Phra Barommathat from the late eighth to early ninth century of courtly workmanship (ig. 28). He further states: If its identiication as Padmapāṇi is indeed correct, it could well have been one of the three images housed in the three brick ediices built by King Dharmasetu of Srivijaya mentioned in the dedicatory inscription of 775 also found at Wat Wieng, Chaiya.64 Another group which he highlights as having direct contact with Nalanda and Northeastern style comprised seated bronzes of Dhyāni Buddha Akṣobhya in bhūmisparśamudrā, Padmapāṇi, eight-armed Tara, six-armed Cundā, and several votive tablets found across the Srivijaya kingdom from Chaiya to Songkhla, Trang to Yala in Southern hailand. He also connects the seated Buddhist deities with circular to oval backplates, lames, an umbrella, and double lags with the “Indo-javanese” bronzes from ninth to tenth century from the Leiden Museum, as well as bronzes found at Achyutarajapura in Orissa.65 All these bronzes share common Northeastern stylistic and iconographic features assimilated at Central java and widely distributed throughout the Srivijaya monastic centres in Southern hailand as well. he above examples broaden the scope of Srivijaya stylistic traits to Southern hailand as well as explain their connection with Nalanda and Central javanese styles. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 187 KRISHNAN 27. Bodhisattva Padmapāṇ i, 775, removed rom Wat Wiang, Chaiya District, bronze with silver inlay. © Fine Arts Department, National Museum, Bangkok 28. Eight-armed Avalokiteśvara, late 8 th or early 9 th century, removed rom Wat Phra Barommathat, Chaiya District, bronze. © Fine Arts Department, National Museum, Bangkok NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 188 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia More examples can be cited in this context, for example, from Surat hani of Avalokiteśvara holding a lotus of circa tenth century from the Kronos Collection,66 where the halo with lames is seen tapering towards the top almost to a point, which in some cases may also have a makara face or umbrella and luttering lags. hai features in the physiognomy as well as the crown could possibly have been created by a hai sculptor based on a Srivijayan model. It closely resembles a Lokanāth from Sylhet in the Dhaka Museum67 of eighth to ninth century, which also has curled locks of hair on its shoulder just like the hai Avalokiteśvara. Another noteworthy example is a standing Buddha found at Sambas, Borneo, and now in the British Museum (ig. 30), possibly made in Central java around eighth or ninth century in solid silver with gold inlay. his piece has a beautiful laming parikara halo with makaras very summarily delineated at the base with an umbrella at the top. he base is possibly not original, and the parikara is ixed to the main sculpture. Another seated Manjuśri from Khong District, Khorat (Nakhon Ratchasima) province of circa ninth century in Central javanese style from the Asia Society68 also bears very strong Srivijaya features. However, for a bronze of this date, its Pala features have been underscored by Susan and john Huntington, who go on to identify Mainamati, Bangladesh features in the base of this bronze, bearing four lions and an umbrella and luttering lags atop the halo, which is noteworthy of the inluences that a Srivijaya bronze could possibly assimilate. All of the above examples discussed suggest multiple stylistic currents that were assimilated by the Srivijayan artists in Malaya and Southern hai Peninsula. Tara also found a place of primacy at Nalanda, irst as part of the retinue of the Buddha along with Avalokiteśvara in the Triśarana images. Soon she was also depicted in stone and bronze independently. Xuanzang saw a great image of Tara at Nalanda being worshipped in religious assemblies and special ceremonies. 29. Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, late 7 th–early 8 th century, schist, Bihar, India. Mr and Mrs John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. Photography by Lynton Gardiner, Asia Society. © Asia Society of New York THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 189 30. Standing igure of the Buddha, 8 th– 9 th century, silver, bronze (base), Sambas, Borneo, probably rom Java, Indonesia. © he Trustees of the British Museum, London KRISHNAN NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 190 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia South Indian and Indonesian Buddhist sculptures his paper cannot overlook the impact of the Pallava and Chola styles on Srivijaya sculptures from the eighth century onwards. he entire eleventh century was a period of close contact with the Chola kingdom and many sites and ports have been located and excavated by archaeologists, uncovering inscriptions, built structures, stone and bronze statuary on the Western and Eastern coasts of Sumatra, Northern Malaysia, and Southern hailand. Possibilities of Buddhist learning and worship centres, connected with bronze casting and stone carving workshops to meet the demands of oferings for worshippers, are very strong. here was a spread of Brahmanical beliefs and representation of images of Hindu gods such as Śiva, viśnu, and Gane ṣa, Mahayana philosophy, and Hindu Tantric worship. Hence, vajrayana practice certainly lourished in Srivijaya. A cordial Chola-Srivijaya diplomatic connection in 1006, which unfortunately did not last very long, was recorded on a copper-plate, now in the Leiden University Museum. It was issued when a three-storeyed Buddhist temple was built at Nagipattana (Nagapattinam)69 on the Coromandel Coast called Chudamanivarmma-vihāra, in memory of Śailendra King Chudamanivarma, by his son Maravijoyttungvarman, king of Srivijaya and Kadaram (Kedah in Malay Peninsula). Rajaraja I of Tanjore supported the building of this temple and pledged revenue earned from a large village for the temple’s maintenance. he Srivijaya rulers were also focussed on China and maintained relations with them. However, in 1017 and 1025, the successor of Rajaraja I, Rajendra I lodged sea raids against Srivijaya, Pannai, jambi (Malayu), and Kataha (Kadaram or Kedah), as mentioned in the 1030 inscription of Rajendra Chola I at Tanjore.70 his brought an end to the diplomatic relations between the Cholas and Srivijaya rulers. It is believed that trade and religious connections may have continued regardless of the breakdown of royal connections. Notably, many characteristics of the Chola votive bronzes can be observed at Srivijaya, including three images or more sharing one pedestal as discussed below. Reiteration of the Buddhist triad – Buddha with Maitreya and Padmapāṇi or Avalokiteśvara standing on a long pedestal, each on an inverted lotus pedestal – can be found in a bronze group from Sumatra or Southern hailand in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art datable to the second half of the eighth century, where Buddha is shown lanked by Maitreya and Avalokiteśvara (ig. 31). However, its stylistic quality, dating to the second half of the eighth century, and the placement of images, is similar to viśnu lanked by his consorts standing on lotus pedestals sharing a long horizontal pedestal of the Southern Indian Pallava bronze tradition, and suggests an assimilation of inluences from both Nalanda and Nagapattinam, or the Coromandel and Bengal coasts at Palembang. hus the “roots and legacy” of Nalanda as well as THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 191 KRISHNAN Nagapattinam are clearly identiiable at Srivijaya. he Metropolitan Museum’s online caption suggests that “the iconographic coniguration in this Buddhist triad was favoured in the Mon territories of hailand and widely propagated in the Srivijayan regions of peninsular hailand and Sumatra”. By the ninth century, this iconography inds major favour in Central java as principal cult images preserved at Candi Plaosan and Candi Mendut. One can safely assume Palembang emerging as a centre of production with varied inluences, creating its unique style as can be seen in the above-discussed bronzes. john Guy also cites this observation in his Lost Kingdoms exhibition catalogue.71 31. Buddha attended by Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Maitreya, second half of 8 th century, Central Javanese period, Git of John and Evelyn Kossak, he Kronos Collections. © he Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 192 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia Yet another centre of production in South India or route of stylistic network centred in Nagapattinam is worth mentioning here. A close examination of seated stone Buddhas in dhyāna gesture with both hands placed in the lap of a seated Buddha in lotus position, wearing sanghati covering the let shoulder with the pleated edge falling over the right breast, from Nagapattinam, Tanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Pudukottai districts,72 and the two almost similar seated Buddhas found at Kota Cina in Medan73 (igs. 32, 33), presuppose either transportation of images from India to Sumatra, or the making of new ones following the Southern Indian model very closely. Southern sources from the Andhra, 32. Seated Buddha, granite, Kota Cina, Museum Chola, Pandya styles, as well as the Sri Negeri Medan, Medan Municipality, Sumatra. © E. Edwards McKinnon Lankan style of form and gesticulation, especially for the Buddha images, can be noticed on the sanghati, lame-like uśniśa, as well as the hair curls. he inverted question mark shaped urna, folded edge of the sanghati covering one shoulder with single exposed nipple and all other iconographic features are strikingly similar.74 A number of stone seated Buddhas from the Chola and Pandya regions come close to these two Buddhas, which came to light from the Chinatown area along with Chinese sherds, coins, and other objects of Chinese make. his goes to suggest that Indian and Chinese Buddhist art and ritual objects and votive images were in circulation at the same time in the region of Kota Cina, near Medan in the period of eleventh to thirteenth century and that centres of Buddhist worship around Medan in North Sumatra had contact with Nagapattinam as well. Exploring “roots and legacy” of Srivijaya at Nalanda and Eastern India, the shape of the parikara halo, its patterns, as well as the inlaying of metal, can be identiied as key features worth exploring. he technique of using full parikaras with lames as seen on Kurkihar bronzes75, inlaying them with precious stones, for standing images of Buddhas and Buddhist deities, and inlaying their igures with gold and silver to highlight facial features such as the eyes, lips or textile patterns, can be attributed to Srivijaya cratsmanship, dated as early as the mid-eighth century. It has been irst noticed on a sculpture dated 775, the life-size Bodhisattva Padmapāṇi (ig. 27) from Wat Wiang, THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 193 KRISHNAN Chaiya (National Museum, Bangkok), which Krairiksh believes “was commissioned by royal command and modelled by one of the leading sculptors in the kingdom.”76 he use of precious metal inlay for the eyes, lips, and the urna, a feature generally attributed to Indian cratsmanship, should be reviewed as it has been brought to newer heights by the Srivijayan artists. More detailed study on sites such as Kurkihar, for example, needs to be undertaken to explore the regions beyond Nalanda in Eastern India and Bangladesh which exerted stylistic as well as iconographic inluence on Myanmar and Sumatra. Metal analysis also needs to be conducted in a systematic manner to see how many metals were used to create these ‘bronzes’, which are more likely to be brass or copper-based. Conclusion his paper began by exploring the post-Gupta roots of Nalanda sculptures and clariied there is no single or predominant Nalanda style, save for the stucco sculptures on Stupa Site 3. It has also received donatory bronze sculptures produced elsewhere and donated to the various monasteries that lourished there over time, one in particular being the Balaputradeva’s monastery from which over one hundred bronzes were excavated. he difusion of Mahayana iconography across Bihar, Bengal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, hailand, java, and Sumatra by land and by the maritime routes from the Eastern and Western coasts of India need to be examined systematically. It has become most apparent that the Buddha images and Buddhist deities such as Maitreya, Avalokiteśvara, and Tara, among others, were very popular in East and Southeast Asian countries. However, the representation of narratives from Buddha’s life or the commemorations of the eight mahāsthānas associated with his life were not popular. he donatory stupas, plaques, and reliefs representing Buddha’s life story were celebrated through art on the Indian subcontinent rather than in Southeast Asia. his goes to show the selective adaptation and popularity of Mahayana and vajrayana iconographies transmitted through sādhanās, invocatory verses and illustrations in Southeast Asia, and symbolic worship of Buddha and Buddhist deities as saviours during perils especially for seafarers as well as 33. Headless Buddha statue, granite, Kota Cina, private shrine, granters of boons and prosperity for Pasir Siombak, Kecamatan, Medan Marelan, Sumatra. © E. Edwards McKinnon everyone. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 194 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia As mentioned in the Nalanda Trail exhibition catalogue in 200877, at Srivijaya, three kinds of major inluences were at work and seemed to converge: the Sarnath style through Nalanda and later Pala-Sena, the styles of Amaravati and related Andhra and Tamil sites through the centuries, including Nagapattinam, and Sri Lanka with its strong Anuradhapura and Polonnaruva styles. he artists of Srivijaya have assimilated these inluences and created their own forms. Oten, bronzes cast in Central java have also circulated to Sumatra, Southern hailand, Borneo, and other sites within Southeast Asia, catalysing stylistic inluence in the regions where they were found, even at the behest of agencies that were not directly royal or courtly. Many of the religious practices were ingrained in the polity through monastic centres and courts, keeping the practice of image making active beyond the court patronage, which is why it probably survived. Stylistically, many sources of ‘Indian’ inluence can be identiied at Srivijaya or Śailendra monuments and sculptures, clearly diferentiating the period before the tenth century as leaning towards the Northeast, and the period ater tenth century as leaning towards the Southeast of India. A large body of sculptures was examined through a special Nalanda-Srivijaya ‘lens’, drawing my attention in many directions, with each turning out to be an important lead. Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Denisonde Simbol (Senior Library Oicer) and Soh Gek Han (former Manager, Research & Publication Unit) of the Asian Civilisations Museum, and Ms. Siti Asmah Abdul Karim (Manager, Fellowship & Research, and Culture Academy) of the National Heritage Board for their research support in writing this paper. T. K. Sabapathy has given his valuable time to critique the paper with many useful suggestions. However, I take full responsibility for errors or omissions, if any. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 195 KRISHNAN NOTES 1 Right from the beginning of the twentieth century, scholars such as N. j. Krom, W. F. Stutterheim, Bernet Kempers, F. D. K. Bosch, D. P. Ghosh, A. K. Coomaraswamy, and R. C. Majumdar, among other, had noted the signiicance of inluence of Gupta as well as Pala art on the art of Srivijaya and Śailendra. However, it was D. P. Ghosh who further clariied the various strands of inluences, in particular, from South India such as the Andhra-Iksvaku and Pallava-Chalukya that let their imprint on “Indo-javanese and Indo-Sumatran art”. Kwa 2013, pp. 223–35. 2 Recently, acknowledging the ancient historical networks, as well as symbolically evoking the “Nalanda and Sriwijaya ideas” in the Globalising Asia today, the Nalanda-Srivijaya centre was started within the Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore supported by the Ministry of Foreign Afairs to provide a forum for dialogue, cooperation, research, and exchange between the countries of the East Asia Summit. It has fellowship, archaeological research, and publication programmes. 3 New York 2014 and Manguin et al. 2011 to name a few. 4 See for example the extensive research undertaken by Nandana Chutiwongs on Avalokiteśvara in mainland Southeast Asia which goes to demonstrate that “in spite of the diversity of cultural patterns in these regions, we may discern many similar features, resulting from the undercurrents of the same type of Indian tradition, and from their own mutual exchanges of cultures.” Chutiwongs 2002. 5 See Robert L. Brown’s essays on Indianization models and ‘rules’ of transfer of art ‘styles’ from India to Southeast Asia as tools to understand the art of Southeast Asia and its process of Indianization; as well as his discussion on the process, possible relationship, and the importance of Gupta-period sculpture in the history of Southeast Asian and Chinese arts which he clearly demarcates have diferent trajectories, periods and geographical connections ranging from the north and south of India as well as Sri Lanka, which however need further research. He also argues in favour of the sixth century over seventh to eighth century for inluence to come from the North while seventh century for the inluence to come from the South to Southeast Asia. As for China, the inluence comes directly from India and not via Southeast Asia. Manguin et al. 2011, pp. 317–31. 6 Based on the Archaeological Survey of India 1936 (annual report of 1930–34), a number of Buddhas and Buddhist deities were found at the various monastic sites at Nalanda, which makes it one of the largest repositories of bronzes besides Kurkihar and Paharpur in the regions traditionally known as Magadh, vanga, and Samatata where Buddhism and Hinduism lourished side by side. 7 For example, the stylistic inluence from Buddhist sites in Bangladesh may have played a greater role in the exchange of styles than from Bengal and Bihar. 8 Robert Brown discusses many models of stylistic change and development within India and Southeast Asia and proposes various ways to understand how style and iconography are transferred in the Southeast Asian context from many centres in India which should not be misconstrued as ‘Sanskritization’ of Southeast Asian and consider art styles also as historical records in the understanding of the Indianization of Southeast Asia. Brown 1994, pp. 10–22. 9 When I curated the Nalanda Trail exhibition in 2007–8 and examined the various museum collections to make a coherent selection, the stylistic and iconographical connection between Nalanda and Srivijaya became very obvious and hence this paper began as an exploration which has subsequently branched out into further mapping of many more strands making the tracts more circuitous than direct. 10 Sen 2006, p. 24. Also on exchange between ancient India and ancient China, see Liu 1988 and Sen 2003. 11 As the focus of this paper is on the interaction from the post-Gupta period (seventh century) onwards, no references to Gupta, Andhra, and Sri Lankan inluences of the previous centuries have been discussed here but it is assumed that readers are aware. An interesting paper in the context of movement of monks, monastic ordination lineages, and cross-pollination of ideas and patronage by Anne Blackburn on Sinhalese inluences in later Pre-modern Southeast Asia needs to be mentioned here. It explores routes of dissemination (one through Burma and another directly through hailand) which supports my enquiry regarding art styles and their development along monastic and royal patronages. She points out the lack of knowledge and research regarding “how Buddhist authors expressed textually memories of ailiation, and ways of identifying collective belonging locally and trans-regionally” for which she also provides concrete textual examples. It is hoped that further indings from this type of research will help explain with certainty artistic developments along Buddhist networks across well-known monastic centres in South and Southeast Asia. Blackburn 2015. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 196 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 12 Wolters 1967. 13 Ibid., p. 241. 14 he relevant Archaeological Survey of India Annual Reports referenced for this article are ASI annual report of 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–34 part I and II. List of Monuments Protected Under Act vII of 1904 in the Province of Bihar and Orissa, 1931a. 15 Bernet Kempers 1933, p. 9. 16 Govindachandra (r. 1020–45), the last known ruler of the Chandra dynasty was overthrown by the Chola King Rajendra Chola I between 1021–24. 17 Bernet Kempers 1959; Diskul 1980; Krairiksh 1980; Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988; KathirithambyWells and villiers 1990; Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1994; Chia S. and Andaya B. W. 2011. 18 Bhattasali 2001, p. II. Bhattasali along with Binaytosh Bhattacharyya and MM Sastri obtained many manuscripts of Sādhanās to develop an authoritative text of the Sādhanamāla. 19 Huntington and Huntington,1990. 20 Archaeological Survey of India 1931, p. 161 (annual report of 1927–28). 21 Ibid., p. 159. jA Page in his report of the new acquisitions of the Nalanda Museum in the 1927–28 period refers to the inding of two copper-plates from the North verandah of Monastery Site No. 1 at the Devapala level among the burnt debris. He further elaborates that one of them is a spurious one of the Gupta King Samudragupta, but the second one belongs to the second Pala King Dharmapala who reigned through the last quarter of the eighth century and the irst quarter of the ninth. “his charter grants some villages in the Gaya district of the Nagara division, presumably for the upkeep of the monastery in which it was found, and it is interesting to note that this copper-plate was recovered from the ruins of the same monastery and at the same level as the similar grant of Devapala found in 1919–20 from monastery I.” 22 his is the famous grant for the upkeep of the Balaputradeva, the Srivijaya king’s monastery at Nalanda. Epigraphia Indica XvII, pp. 310–27 and Seoul 2006, pp. 116–19. 23 Krishnan et al. 2008, p. 64. 24 Sanskrit vocabulary, language, and its usage are well attested to by the Srivijaya inscriptions datable to late seventh century from Kota Kapur, Kedukan Bukit, and Talang Tuwo, as well as from Yijing’s notes regarding learning Sanskrit grammar at Palembang before going to Nalanda to study Buddhist philosophy. 25 Archaeological Survey of India, New Imperial Series 1931a, p. 99. 26 Figure 9a is taken from Archaeological Survey of India 1931(annual report of 1927–28), pl. XLIv, ig. (a). Figure 9b is taken from and Archaeological Survey of India 1936 (annual report of 1930–34) Part II, pl. CXXXvI, ig. (c). 27 Figures 10a and 10b are taken from Krairiksh 1980, pl. 48, 53. 28 Paul 1995, pl. 5. 29 Paul 1995, pl. 6. 30 his 3’ 9” tall stone statue then identiied as just bodhisattva was excavated from Monastery Site No. 8 east side, close to the main central shrine, while from its varendah, one of the later constructed cells, six important bronzes were found. It is important to notice that all the six, four of them seated and two standing, are in completely diferent styles revealing various guilds or artists working simultaneously at Nalanda or from other regions brought votive bronze images as donation to the various monasteries. Archaeological Survey of India 1935 (annual report of 1929–30) pp. 136–37, 201, pl. XXXIII and XXXIv. 31 Paul 1995, pl. 7, 34. 32 Paul 1995, pl. 8. 33 Paul 1995, p. 99; Mitra 1978. 34 Paul 1995, p. 99. 35 New York 2014, pp. 250–51, Cat. no. 157, ig. 145. 36 Krishnan et al. 2008, p. 61. 37 Suleiman “History and Art of Srivijaya” in Diskul 1980, p. 2. 38 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vajrabodhi. THE ROOTS AND LEGACY 197 KRISHNAN 39 Bernet Kempers, in foreword to the book on Nalanda written in May 1991. Paul 1995, p. XIv. 40 Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988. 41 Bronson and Wisseman 1975, pp. 220–39. 42 Ghosh 2013, pp. 231–35. 43 See Bernet Kempers 1959, pl. 97, pl.176; Krishnan et al. 2008, p. 92. 44 Bernet Kempers 1959, pl. 174, 175; Krishnan et al. 2008, pp. 91, 98. 45 Saraswati 1977, p. XvIII. Saraswati also discusses in detail the identiication of the panchachirakam with the three tuts or locks of hair, identiied with all Manjuśri images and thus helps to clarify the distinction of Siddhaikavira form from Lokanātha form of Avalokiteśvara Manjuśri. See p. XIX. 46 Bernet Kempers 1959, pp. 51–52, pl. 110. 47 Bhattasali 2001, p. 84, pl. XXIX. 48 Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988, p. 73, pl. 21. 49 Asher 1980, pl. 71. 50 Ibid.,164. 51 Ibid.,166. 52 Ibid., pl. 165. 53 Ibid., pl. 153–54. 54 Ibid., pl. 51. 55 Ibid., pl. 95. 56 Ibid., pl. 203. 57 Ibid., pl. 224. 58 Krishnan et al. 2008, p. 85. 59 Diskul 1980, p. 23, 28. 60 New York 2014, p. 261, Cat. no. 167. 61 john Guy attributes the iconography of this multi-armed image to a six-century rock-cut depiction of an eight-armed Śiva at the early eighth-century Durga temple in Aihole, Northern Karnataka, in Deccan. New York 2014, p. 250, Cat. no. 157. 62 It is however widely accepted today that Srivijaya’s capital was at Palembang in Sumatra. 63 Krairiksh 1980, p. 46, pl. 30. 64 Ibid. Frederic 1965, p. 145. 65 Krairiksh 1980, p. 53. 66 Huntington and Huntington 1990, p. 236, pl. 80. 67 Bhattasali 2001, p. 25, pl. Iv, I A (ii) a/[1]. 68 Huntington and Huntington 1990, p. 232, pl. 74. 69 Archaeological Survey of India 1931, pp. 149–51. A large hoard of ity-nine Nagapattinam style bronze Buddhist images were recovered by the Tahsildar G. Ramasamy Ayyangar from a large ground where once the three-storeyed pagoda stood and was described also by Sir Walter Elliot of the jesuit College of Saint joseph. Rai Bahadur Ramprasad Chanda in the above volume on the acquisition of four bronzes datable to the twelth century from Nagapattinam in Indian Museum, suggests that the three-storeyed structure now known as the Chinese pagoda was probably the Chudamanivihāra while by twelth century the declining monastery may have received the last patronage before going into total disuse. he four bronzes illustrated in this report of three Buddhas and one Maitrya on pl. XXXvIII are in Southern Indian Chola style, with characteristic of Sri Lankan style uśnīśa with an encrusted jewel. 70 Quoted from earlier sources of George Coedes who classiied the periodization of the arts in hailand, by Krairiksh 1980. NALANDA SRIvIjAYA AND BEYOND 198 RE-exploriNg BuddhiSt art iN aSia 71 New York 2014, p. 255, Cat. no. 162. 72 See jambulingam’s article on “A Resurvey of Buddha Statues in Pudukkottai Region (1993–2009)”, 2008. 73 hese objects were kept in the provisional oice of the Ministry of Education and Culture at Medan and a private home in Kota Cina. 74 See Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988, p. 54, pl. 2, Seated Buddha, early ninth-century Central java, considered to be made inspired by the Amaravati style from the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden. Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988, p. 53, pl. 1, Standing Buddha with Golden Uśnīśa from Kota Blatar, South jember, East java considered to be made in java, Sri Lanka, or Amaravti region in South India datable between seventh and ninth century. Krairiksh 1980, p. 187, pl. 54, Buddha in meditation discovered at Sathing Phra district in Songkhla National Museum, considered inspired by the artistic style of Nagapattinam. Lunsingh Scheurleer and Klokke 1988, p. 110, pl. 58, Seated Buddha from tenth century found at the main temple of Pamutung, Padang Lawas, Sumatra supposed to be imported from Sri Lanka to Sumatra. 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