Bhavavarman I (d. c. 600 c. e.) Bhavavarman I, an early king of a Chenla polity in Cambodia, is referred to in an inscription as the son of a king Viravarman and grandson of Sarvabhauma.
A further text from Roban Romas mentions him as the overlord of Narasimhagupta, the king of Indrapura. It appears likely that his court was located at or near ISHANAPURA. He was succeeded by his brother, Mahen-dravarman.
Bhir mound at Taxila The Bhir mound at taxila is the first of three major cities at this strategic site in northern Pakistan. It was a provincial center of the maurya empire and flourished from the fourth to the second centuries B. C.E.
Bhita Bhita is a fortified settlement with an area of 19 hectares (48 acres) located close to the Jamuna River near
Allahabad in central India. Originally named Vichigrama, it was initially used by railway contractors as a quarry for ballast. It was examined scientifically by sir Alexander CUNNINGHAM in 1872. He excavated two trenches, one of which sectioned the ramparts, where he found highly polished black ware and many bone arrowheads. It is best known as a result of excavations by sir John marshall early in the 20th century. He opened a substantial area in the eastern part of the town against the defensive wall and smaller exposures in the center and the northwestern quarters. His examination of the town wall revealed a base 3.3 meters (11 ft.) thick incorporating a bastion, dating to the early Mauryan period or slightly earlier (fourth century B. C.E.). The excavation offered a rare opportunity to appreciate the planning of a Maurya and Gupta period settlement, while the many artifacts recovered open a window on the lives of the citizens during a period of more than six centuries. The excavations of Bhita provide a unique glimpse into the life of a city that flourished, albeit with periods of destruction, from pre-Mauryan times to the heyday of the gupta empire. Similar large-scale excavations employing modern techniques would add immeasurably to the understanding of early Indian history.
EXCAVATIONS OF THE CITY’S HOUSES
In the eastern area, Marshall excavated in a road down to the base of the site, reaching the earliest layer at a depth of 7.5 meters (25 ft.). There were sherds of what he described as fine black ware with a highly burnished surface, clearly the northern black polished ware, which dates the initial occupation well back in the first millennium B. C.E. At the higher levels, he uncovered a series of streets and lanes. The main street was lined with rows of shops, behind which lay a series of large houses. The preferred plan involved rooms grouped around a paved courtyard. Walls were constructed of well-laid fired bricks, and some walls were thick enough to suggest that a second story was present. This idea has been supported by inspection of the stratigraphy of burning layers, which are compatible with material falling from the upper level.
Marshall was able to delineate and trace the history of a number of town houses, each of which he named on the basis of possible owners. The house of the guild is called after a Mauryan-period seal die bearing the text, Shahijitiye Nigamasa. The word nigama means “guild,” and this house, interestingly adjacent to the city gate, might have been the office of a guild of merchants or the house of a guild member. The house itself has a square plan, 10.5 by 10.5 meters in extent. Twelve rooms are grouped around a courtyard, the largest measuring 4.2 by 3 meters. Two entrances give access to the courtyard, which is flanked on one side by a verandah. Excavations uncovered the wheels of a toy cart and three steatite caskets on the floor. The former were delicately ornamented with floral designs and included their spokes.
This MAURYA EMPIRE residence was leveled, and the area was incorporated as a courtyard of the new house built next door, which is known as the house of Navadeva because the name was found on an ivory seal; Navadeva may well have been the owner of the property His house dates to the early second century C. E. on the basis of coins of the KUsHAN kings KANIsHKA I and Huvishka found on the floor. Navadeva might have been a prosperous merchant, for many clay sealings were found in the house, and it was linked with a row of shops that lined the main street outside. It followed the preferred plan of the Mauryan houses, with rooms grouped around a courtyard. A small room on the northern side of the house contained an image of sIVA, his wife, and Nandi and a shrine containing seven seated female figures. These had been damaged, and a slingshot was lodged among the deities. Given the fact that many other missiles were found at this level, both in houses and in the streets, and that there is evidence for a major burning, Marshall suggested that the town was sacked, and the owners fled without taking the household gods or their copper tableware.
The house of Navadeva was separated from the adjacent house of Jayavasuda by a narrow lane. An ivory seal bearing the inscription, Sresthi Jayavasuda, “the banker, Jayavasuda,” has given the house its name. The seal incorporated a tortoise, an avatar of Vishnu, perhaps indicating that the banker worshiped this god. The property was square, measuring 13.5 meters along each outer wall. Once again, rooms were grouped around a court, in this case equipped with a well. On the southwestern corner of the house, there is a small underground vault or strong room, almost four meters below the ground floor level. The building also yielded many clay sealings, indicating the opening of trade goods.
One probably imported item was a clay medallion of considerable sophistication, showing King Dashyanta on a four-horse chariot, with two antelopes in the foreground being hunted. Close inspection of the medallion reveals aspects of life in India during the Kushan and early Gupta periods, including a lake with a woman collecting lotus blossoms, a house from which a woman emerges holding a basket, and a bridge or walkway with travelers. A peacock with its tail feathers on display stands in front of the chariot, which has been stopped by a person probably pleading with the king to spare the antelopes. Marshall has suggested that this medallion was made with an ivory die, while the scene recalls those seen at SANCHI. This house, too, suffered burning and destruction, which fortuitously left a deposit of charred rice on the verandah, illuminating at least part of the agricultural round in the surrounding fields.
The house of Pushyavriddhi lies opposite the shops of Nagadeva, on the other side of the main street. Again it takes its name from an ivory seal found within. This property was begun in the Mauryan period and had additions during the first century b. c.e. It was abandoned and destroyed during Kushan times and then reoccupied in the early Gupta empire. Excavating north from this house, Marshall encountered a second road that he named Bastion Street, because it ran in an easterly direction toward the city wall, where a bastion was located. Beyond Bastion Street lay two further substantial town houses, then a lane, and finally part of another residence.
All these thoroughfares ran parallel with one another. Neither was fully excavated, and only their later history has been uncovered. One house fronting Bastion Street contained seals and sealings with the names Dharadasa, Guri-dasa, and Manoratha, probably successive owners of the property, and Marshall named it the house of Dharadasa.
About 150 meters to the northwest of this house, further excavations encountered a long building sequence beginning with the Mauryan occupation. The house in question had been abandoned, but the remains of wooden beams and roof tiles under the later reconstruction indicated the robust nature of Mauryan domestic buildings. The recovery of a crucible used by a goldsmith indicated the likely occupation of the owner. The next house probably belongs to the first century c. e. It included a deep well of ceramic rings and yielded a fine stone relief featuring a recumbent woman in front of a tray of fruit and a leaf, while a man holding a shield stands beside her with his left arm on her thigh. The woman has an elegant hairstyle and wears heavy earrings and an elaborate necklace. The third building level belongs to the Kushan period, on the basis of a sealing found just below the floor level.
SEALS AND SEALINGS
One of the most interesting aspects of the building phases at Bhita is the strong evidence for continuity of design and building techniques. This community seems to have continued through various changes in political dynasties and regimes, engaging in the trade encouraged by its strategic position on the Jamuna River. Such trade is best seen in the evidence of the 210 seals and sealings recovered. These are found in all the phases examined and represent 120 varieties. They were owned by individuals of high status or authority, and one of their uses was to authorize travel documents. This is clearly illustrated in a passage from the Mahabharata, which stated that nobody could enter or leave a besieged city without a stamped passport. The back of the clay sealings often incorporates an impression of the string that was passed around an object or letter. Others sealings have holes through the clay, indicating that clay was placed around the string before being impressed with the seal. The inscriptions on the Mauryan and Sungan seals are usually written in the PRAKRIT language, while the Gupta seals preferred SANskrit. The seals represent religious foundations, kings, officials, districts, and guilds. One of the district seals refers to Vichhi and presumably represents Bhita itself. Five seals are from religious foundations or temples that worshiped Siva. Indeed, Sivaism was clearly favored, as religious symbols on seals included the linga, trident, and bull. Some of the seals provide the names and religious inclinations of the inhabitants of Bhita. One Dharadasa was the son of Samddhiyasas (Famous for peace), and the presence of a conch shell and a wheel on his seal proclaims him to have been a follower of Vishnu. On the other hand, a bronze signet ring carries the image of a bull and the caption, Rudracharya. Rudra is an alternative name for Siva, and the bull was his symbol.
The surviving sealings originated in letters or consignments from rulers, guilds, officials, and individuals. In some instances, they also provide evidence for offerings to gods and give an unusual insight into local affairs and government, particularly during the period of the Gupta empire. One example bears the text, Kalesvarah priyatam, “May Kalesvarah [a Siva lingam] be pleased.” It was probably presented to a shrine to Siva in Bhita. Some particularly fine sealings include the names of rulers. One was referred to as the illustrious Maharaja Gautamiputra Vrishadhvaja. Another ruler is named as the illustrious Raja Vasishthipu-tra Bhimasena. Gupta period officials are well represented in the sealings, which indicate a wide range of titles and functions. One seal was from the office of Kumaramatya, the councillor of the heir apparent. There was a sealing of a senapati, a military general. Another mentions a man who was both a cavalry officer and chief of police. The minister Dharmadeva’s sealing was recovered, as was that of a mahadandanayaka, the police chief. The word for “guild,” nigamasa, is found on sealings dating to the Kushan and Gupta periods. Most sealings, however, were stamped by private individuals, many of whom were probably traders of the Gupta period. Their names emerge from anonymity: Bhutaka, Bhubhula, Gagasa, and Chuchaka. These personal seals usually include the image of an animal; the bull, lion, and peacock were popular.
It is also most useful that the expansive excavations at Bhita have yielded a large sample of coins, on which the Kushan kings Kadphises, Kanishka I, and Huvishka are well represented. Many terra-cotta figurines were found, and these illustrate the appearance of the populace at Bhita. Women had sophisticated hairstyles and wore a quantity of jewelry The ornaments themselves include gold beads and amulets and copper bangles and rings. Beads were also fashioned from shell, glass, coral, crystal, lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian, and topaz. The smiths forged iron arrowheads, axes, and chisels.
Further reading: Allchin, E R., ed. The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995; Marshall, J. “Excavations at Bhita,” Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India 1911-1912 (1912): 29-94.
Bhumara Bhumara is a notable Hindu temple of the GUPTA EMPIRE located in northern Madhya Pradesh state, India. It was dedicated to siva and contained an eka-mukhalinga (a lingam with a single face of Siva carved on it), which is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Gupta art. Formerly the temple was embellished with other superb sculptures, including Ganesha, Indra, Surya, and other gods of the Hindu pantheon.
World History
