CHAPTER 1

PRE-HISTORIC CULTURE AND REMAINS*

THE STATE OF MAHRASHTRA COMPRISES A LARGE PART OF W ESTERN INDIA. It extends between
22.1 and 16.4 degrees north latitude and 72.6 and 80.9 degrees east longitude. The Arabian sea
marks its western limit ; on the north-west, north, south and south-east lie. Gujarāt, Madhya
Pradeśha, Mysore and Āndhra Pradeśa respectively. The area of the State is 118279.9 sq. miles
which is about 9.64 per cent. of the area of the Indian Union excluding Goa, Daman and Div.
According to 1961 census the population of the State is 3,95,53,718 souls.
For the administrative convenience the State is divided into four divisions, viz., Bombay, Poo
ṇā, Aurangābād and Nāgpūr. Bombay Division comprises the districts of Greater Bombay, Thāṇā,
Kolābā Ratnāgirī, Nāśik, Dhuliā and JaỊgāṅv; while the districts of Ahmadnagar, Poonā, Satara,
Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur are included in the Pooṇa Division. The districts in the Marāṭhavāḍā
region, viz., Auraṅgābād, Parbhaṅī, Bīḍ, Nāndeḍ and Usmānābād are included in Auraṅgābād
Division, while the districts in the Vidarbha region, viz., Bulḍhānā, Akolā, Amarāvatī, Yeotmāl,
Wardhā, Nāgpūr, Bhaṇḍārā and Cāndā form part of Nāgpūr Division.
Physiography of the State may be considered first. For, it has determined the subsequent
political, economic, social and cultural development of the State. Mahārāṣhṭra consists of two main
divisions . (1) The Deccan Plateau, and (2) the Koṅkaṇ Plain. The plateau is one mass of basaltic
lava which erupted and spread over the ancient land surface some time during the Upper
Creatceous period. (Excluding MāỊvā and some part of Northern Karānṭak, its limit is almost
conterminous with the limits of the Marāṭhī language.) The lava spread in horizontal beds of great
thickness, having intercalated softer beds of ash. This particular feature, followed by a long period of
denudation and sub-aerial weathering have given a characteristic topography to the land. Residual
hills, often towering high into series of terraces, and punctuated by peaks, with luxuriant

* This chapter is contributed by Dr. H. D. Sankalia, M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. (London), Joint
Director, Deccan College Post-graduate and Research institute, Poona.
2 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

vegetation on their laterite covered tops, and basins forming river valleys, have sprung up. In the
drier parts of the region on the east have developed the famous black “regur” soil. This almost
uniform alternate occurrence of valleys and hills towards the west, and gently sloping plains towards
the east and south-east have contributed not a little to the peculiar culture of Mahārāṣhṭra.
The coastal strip of Koṅkaṇ (stretching from the southern limit of North Kānarā to
Damaṇgaṅgā in the north) is believed to be a platform of marine denudations raised to form a
narrow plain. It is neither uniformly level nor straight, nor equally fertile.
The plain is dissected by parallel and transverse sub-Sahyādri hills, some of which reach the
sea. The Kalyāṇ creek separates the plain into North and South Koṅkaṇ respectively. Both are
drained by parallel streams, but the former is more fertile with vast deposits of river silt. The latter is
cut up into parts by hills and rendered further useless by extensive occurrences of laterites.
There are two principal river systems, that of the Godāvarī, and of the Kṛiṣhṇa. Countless
streams and a number of rivers, which have their watershed in one or the other of the Western Ghat
hills, join these larger rivers and flow eastwards. Besides these, the region has a number of wells,
lakes, canals and natural springs (in hills).
Mahārāṣhṭra culture is comparatively homogeneous. Here there is comparatively less
admixture of peoples (though recent anthropometrical investigations tend to show an increasingly
northern racial element, comparable to that of other States, in the higher castes of Mahārāṣhṭra).
This has been due to the fact that the numerous trap ridges have formed an effective barrier to
outside influences and given to the inhabitants an isolated but independent outlook on life. The
ridges have been pierced, no doubt, by a number of ghāṭs (passages), which enable contact with
the Koṅkaṇ and Gujarāt coast, but these are at all times difficult to negotiate. In such a region the
centres of the earliest cultures and civilization once again have been the fertile river valleys,
particularly the confluences of two or more rivers, or in times of stress mountain fastnesses and
hollows. We had thus the early Āryan settlement in Vidarbha (Berār) and later on the Godāvarī, and
the Sātavāhana towns at Paiṭhaṇ (Pratiṣṭāna), Nevāsā, Nāśik, Kolhāpūr and Kṛiṣhṇa along the banks
of the Godāvarī, the Pravarā, the Pañchgaṅgā and confluence of the Kṛiṣhṇa-Veṇṇā. The Vākāṭakas
later chose the valley of the Vindhyas, Rāṣhṭrakūṭas, Mayūrakhaṇḍī while some of the Śhilāhāras
preferred the coastal strip of Koṅkaṇ the Yādavas first chose Chāndor (Chāndra-dityapura) in the
Nāś ik District, but later made Devagiri their capital.
The creeks and ports of Koṅkaṇ, like Chaul, Kalyāṇ, Sopārā, Rājapurī, have also played an
important part in the formation of the Mahārāṣhṭra culture, both by giving and letting in foreign
influence by way of trade and immigration.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 3

DECCAN.
The appellation ‘Deccan’ can claim a higher antiquity. It is apparently based on ‘Dakhan’
which is derived from ‘Dakṣiṇā -patha’, meaning ‘ the southern road’. Since the times of Yāska, this
seems to have been a general name for the country south of the Narmadā upto Kanyākumārī.
Several Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, and Baudhāyana and Kauṭilya refer to it. It is
also occasionally mentioned in the Buddhist Jātakas and early Jain literature. The Greeks and the
Romans knew it under the name of Dachinabdes. These are general terms from which the exact
limits of the country denoted by Dakṣhiṇāpatha cannot be deduced.
Two early epigraphical allusions, however, give a clue. Nāganikā and Rudradāman call
Sātavāhana Sātakarṇī as the lord of the Dakṣhiṇāpatha. A consideration of the countries ruled by
this emperor, suggests that ‘Dakṣiṇā’ included the country between the Narmadā and the Kṛiṣhṇā,
definitely excluding the far south (Malabār) and at times even the Koṅkaṇ. It would thus roughly
correspond with the modern Māraṭhī term ‘ Deś and the English ‘ Deccan’, implying the plateau
country only.
About the 5th-6th century, this term of wider significance began to be replaced by the name ‘
Mahārāṣhṭra’. How and when it originated first cannot be well ascertained at present. Four
explanations are offered by (i) Ketkar, (ii) Bhagwanlal Indraji, (iii) R. G. Bhandarkar and (iv) P. V.
Kane.
The first derives it from ‘Mahār’ the third from ‘Raṭhi’ or Mahāraṭhi’ and the rest from
Mahārāṣhṭra, a ‘vast country’ gradually being opened up for civilization and replacing the old ‘
Daṇḍakāraṇya’.
None of these theories is convincing, and none is supported by contemporary usage, either
literary or epigraphical.
But there is no doubt that when a Ceylonese Chronicle (Mahāvaṁśa) used the term in the 5th
century or when Ravikīrti described Pulakeśin II as the ruler of ‘ three Mahārāṣṭrakas’, the name
must have been current, at least for a couple of centuries earlier, if not from the 1st or 2nd century
B. C., as argued by Kane.
The limits of this early Mahārāṣhṭra are not easy to fix. The Mahāvaṁśa itself specifically
zones it off from Aparānta and Vānavāsa; so Koṅkaṇ and the lower Deccan (or parts of modern
Northern Karnatak or ancient Kuntala) seem to be excluded. We thus get back to the “ Deccan “
proper.
This would be perhaps one “Mahārāṣhṭra”; but what constituted the three of the AihoỊe
inscription? Possibly, Vidarbha, Kuntala and Mahārāṣhṭra, though it might be mentioned that
Rājaśekhara enumerates each of these separately. Briefly, the Deccan or Mahārāṣhṭra included
broadly the country from the Narmadā up to the Kṛiṣhṇā in the south. The furthermost limit in the
east was Vainagangṅgā or the river Bendī in Cāndā district, and in the west the Arabian sea. These
are co-extensive with the present spread of
4 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

the Marāṭhī language. If the language of the early Prākṛit inscriptions can be well determined and
the distribution of the Mahārāṣhṭri plotted, then perhaps the ancient Mahārāṣhṭra might be found to
extend still further.
The most ancient place-name in this country seems to be Vidarbha, probably the earliest
Āryan settlement. For, it is mentioṛned in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, and occurs later in the
Bṛhādāraṇyaka and the Jaiminīya Upaniṣhads. It along with Ṛiṣhīka, Aśhmaka, Daṇḍaka, Mūlaka,
Kuntala and Aparānta of early insitriptions and Brāhmanic, Buddhist and Jain literatures would
constitute the principal divisions of the ancient Deccan (as well as of modern Mahārāṣhṭra) Vidarbha
comprised the present Berār (Varhāḍ) and the eastern districts of Wardhā, Chāndā, Nāgpūr and
Bhaṇḍārā. Ṛiṣhīka Aśhmaka, Mūlaka and Daṇḍaka, between them covered the whole of the middle
and the upper Godāvarī valley. Kuntala, southern Deccan, included parts of Northern Karnāṭak; and
Aparānta, the present Koṅkaṇ, a portion of southern Gujarāt or ancient Lāṭa.
The most famous towns and cities of these divisions were Kuṇḍina (Kuṇḍiṇayapura) in
Vidarbha, Nāśik or Govardhana in Daṇḍaka (?), Pratiṣhṭhāna (Paiṭhaṇ) in Aśhmaka,- Mūlaka
(?),Karhāṭaka and Vanavāsī in Kuntala, Śhūrpāraka, and Kalyāṇa with the hill Kiṛṣhṇagirī in
Aparānta1.
The Arabian Sea forms the western boundary of the entire State. This seafront has several
ports : Sopārā, Chaul, Kalyāṇa, etc. These have, from early historic and prehistoric times, been used
mainly for commerce, but also for wars, and emigration to and from foreign lands. Thus the whole of
the Near and Far West, including Iran, Iraq, Africa, Egypt, and later Rome and other Mediterranean
countries were brought into contact with Western India Relations were also established with Ceylon
and other islands in the Indian archipelago.
What was the road system inside Mahārāṣhṭra cannot be indicated in detail. Numerous
Buddhist cave settlements seem to lie along the main lines of communications. Contact with the
plains below was maintained through several passes in the hills, known as Ghāts. Khiṇḍs, etc. Of
these, the most well-known seems to be the Nāṇeghāṭ between Junnar and Broach and Āmbāghāṭ
and Phoṇḍāghāṭ between Kolhāpūr and Ratnāgirī.
The latest survey* of Mahārāṣhṭra was made by Dr. Karve.
This survey2 reveals the following facts of the physical characteristics of the people of
Mahārāṣhṭra.

1
These countries are also mentioned in the present Bhīṣhmaparvan (c. 400 A.D.).
* This section—(pp. 4-5), is contributed by Dr. I. Karve.
2
Karve and Dandekar, Deccan College Monograph Series, 8, Poona, 1951, and Karve, “
Anthropometric measurements in Karnāṭak, and Orissā, etc.,” the Journal of the Anthropological
Society, Bombay, (1954).
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 5

The survey comprises over forty castes and tribes from Maharashtra.
The whole sample ranged in cephalic index from 72 to nearly 83 i.e. from dolicho-cephals to
the lower brachy-cephals.
PRE- AND PROTO-HISTORY.
The only dolicho-cephalic people in Maharashtra are the Katkari, Warli, Koli from the Western
Ghats; Konkan Kunbi, Agari and Karhada Brahmins from the coast, Gujar, Lewa from north
Khandesh and Povar, Kohali, Bacane Mahar, Khaire Kunbi, Mana Kunbi, Gond, Govari, Halbi and
Kolam from eastern Maharashtra. The Bhils of Maharashtra fall just outside this range. If one plots
these dolicho-cephals, one can see that they belong to the highlands and the peripheral region of
the Maharashtra.
The overwhelming population of Maharashtra (Central and partly coastal) belongs to meso-
cephalic people. In Maharashtra there is a good substratum of dolicho-cephals in hills, on the coast
and in eastern Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra region was known as Dandakaranya—the Dandaka forest—with a lot of
aboriginal people living in it. It seems that these were a long-headed, medium-statured people with
noses ranging from extreme broad to medium broad. This region exended southwards upto and
beyond the Krishna and northwards into the forest belt of Central India. Into this population came an
immigrant meso-cephalic people from north-west (?). The same population seems to have migrated
southward viz. the Konkan coast, then up on the Ghats. This movement of the meso-cephals seems
to have driven the Maharashtra dolicho-cephals westwards and northwards. Possibly it was this
immigration which drove the Gonds northwards. They pushed the Vraons who, in their turn, pushed
the Mundas to the east and north. This is only a surmise which needs to be investigated
anthropologically, culturally and linguistically.
Maharashtra coastal meso-cephals have less prominent noses and have lighter colour
complexion. The people on the central plateau of Maharashtra are darker-skinned.
Until 1940 only the archaeology of the historic periods was to some extent known. That of the
pre-and proto-historic periods was believed to be non-existent in Maharashtra, inspite of the
pioneer work of Robert Bruce Foote.
Since 1941 explorations and excavations, though on a small scale, have been started. These
help us to give some idea of the life during the pre-historic period.
From a survey of the foot-hills in Konkan, and along the Godavari, the Pravara, the Mula, the
Tapi and other rivers in Maharashtra, it can now be said that early man lived in these regions along
the river banks and on the foot-hills. All these rivers then flowed in a comparatively wider and higher
bed. The climate was initially hotter than today; it gradually became more dry. The period when this
happened cannot be definitely stated. But from the occurrence
6 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

of the fossil fauna of the Middle Pleistocene period in the gravels of the Godavari and the Pravara 1
and the Tapi and its tributaries and the typological tools from these rivers it would appear that the
first appearance of man in Maharashtra was not earlier than the Middle Pleistocene (Sankalia, 1946,
1952, 1956; Joshi 1955; Todd, 1939 and IAD, 1956-59).
We have no idea how this man looked and from where he came. The only artifacts which
have survived are his stone tools. He might have used tools of bones and wood, but these seem to
have perished. However, since highly mineralized bones and wood have been discovered from the
Deccan, it is possible that in future, these as well as skeletal remains of man himself will be found,
discoveries which will give a fuller picture of Early Man and his environment. Though the material is
stone, its nature differs according to the region. The tools of basalt material but generally called
dolerite, which form dykes in the basalt were used by man in the Deccan. An exception was made
by the Konkan man. He used quartzite chert and flint.
The tools can be classified as under :—
(1) Hand-axes (various).
(2) Cleavers.
(3) Scrapers.
(4) Discoids.
(5) Choppers.
It appears that the tools were on slabs taken out from the parent rock (basalt and dolerite).
Since the cruder-free as well as the finer—controlled-flanking techniques are found in tools
from the same horizon, this palaeolithic industry is called Abbevillio-Acheulian. It must have an
earlier beginning and further development which more extensive surveys in the State might bring to
light2.
Middle Palaeolithic Period.
What is described above belongs to the lower Palaeolithic Period. Quite recently work in the
Deccan showed that this culture was gradually replaced by another palaeolithic industry. It also
coincides with a wet phase. Clear stratigraphic and typological evidence is hitherto available from
the Pravara and the Godavari. Unlike the earlier tools, these later are comparatively small, and
made on different technique from quite different raw material. In the Deccan preference was given
to agate, jasper and chert. A few of the tools are now made on Levallois flakes, though a large
number are on cores and asymmetrical, irregular flakes. These tools include a large variety of
scrapers and points but a few blades and still fewer burins or gravers. (Sankalia, 1956).

1
Recently palaeoliths have been discovered at Kaundinyapura, district Amaravati, and at
Nagpur. See I. A. R., (1958-59), p. 68.’
2
A very recent (January 1960), discovery at Gangapur, five miles north-west of Nasik,
disclosed very small, finely made, ‘point-like’ hand-axes and cleavers. These recall the late
Acheulian of France.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 7

The exact geological age of this industry is not known. Since the lowest gravel bed yields
remains of Bos nomadicus, Elephant anticus, and other highly fossilized (silicified) bones, as well as
remains of wood, some of which are of the Middle Pleistocene Period, the immediately overlying
gravel bed might belong to the Upper Pleistocene at least, though the occurrence of Bos nomadicus
Falconer might indicate an earlier age.
There seems to have been a break in the sequence of culture after this. For, the gravels are
capped by a layer of brownish sandy silt, its thickness varying from 30 ft. to 10 ft. or so.
In the Deccan this layer is overlain by a layer of black soil which may be nothing but
weathering in situ under certain—humid—climatic conditions of the silt. Its thickness varies
considerably and is totally absent where the underlying rock forms the surface. Owing to summer
rains and wind activity hundreds of dunes or hillocks have been formed. Some of these enclose
small inundation lakes. Around these on the dunes grew up another stone-using culture. The
bearers of this culture used tiny stone tools, called microliths. The people lived on low sand-dunes
locally called timbas. They were hunters and lived on the flesh of sheep, goat, cow/ox, pig,
rhinoceros, deer, all probably undomesticated, tortoise and birds and fish. All these animals were
brought to the mound, where they were cut up and the marrow removed from bones. The microliths
were also manufactured here. Thus a four to six feet debris of bones and stones has accumulated
at the habitation site.
The tools were made from a coarse variety of chert, quartz, agate and carnelian and include
lunates, trapeze, triangles, burins and asymmetrical blades and various kinds of scrapers or flakes
as well as cores. Among the last occur a few fluted cores as well, whereas the rest have one, two or
many platforms, and are indeed amorphous. The use of ornaments is attested by the occurrence of
a flat round head of unidentified material and cut denatalium shell. The latter indicates contact with
the west coast.
The primitive hunters buried their dead right in their habitation debris, along with the dog,
which might have been domesticated. Hitherto some 12 skeletons have been found, all of which are
found placed in an extremely flexed posture, with the feet tucked up right under the buttocks. These
people were comparatively tall with thin legs, dolicocephalic heads and protruding lips. These
physical characteristics resemble those of the Hamitic people of Egypt. Towards the later phase of
this culture it appears that a pottery with red slip or incised criss-cross design and of coarse pale
yellow texture had come into use. These few sherds in association with hourglass-like made head or
ring-stone suggest an advanced stage of culture comparable to the ‘Neolithic (Sankalia, 1956, and
the references therein).
Microliths are found in Konkan and rest of Maharashtra. But except at Kandivali (Todd, 1939;
1950), their exact stratigraphical position
8 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

is not ascertained1. Hence it is not possible to assign them to any definite date. Nor do we know
anything about other aspects of the culture they represent. But there are great potentialities.
Recently near Badami the writer examined a cave called Shidlephadi. Here microliths are found
along with pot-sherds, but what their exact relationship is cannot be guessed without excavation.
In northern Deccan, microliths of a specialised kind persisted in the Chalcolithic or Copper
Age and definite traces of such a cultural stage are now available from that area, as in the Indus
valley or Harappa civilisation.
About the same time, Chalcolithic cultures had grown up in the Deccan, in the valleys of the
Tapi, Girna, Pravara, the Godavari and the Bhima and its tributaries. The Krishna has not yet been
surveyed, but sooner or later, Chalcolithic sites are bound to be found in this river-valley also.
The Deccan Chalcolithic cultures have certain common features, viz., a painted pottery, short
blade industry on chalcedony, a few tools and ornaments of copper or bronze and a consistent use
of beads of faience and burnt steatite [or chalk, as indicated by Dr. Lal’s (Archaeological Chemist)
analysis]. These cultures also seem to represent the earliest colonisation by a civilised man on the
black or dark-brown soil which forms the surface soil in the Deccan and Karnatak. However, the
pottery differs from valley to valley, though everywhere it is painted, usually in black, over a red, or
reddish slip. An exception to this general picture has recently been provided by Diamabad, about 15
miles east of Nevasa in Ahmadnagar district. Here the typical Jorwe-Nevasa culture is preceded by
two earlier ones. The differences are primarily in shapes and designs. At Prakase the designs
consisted “mainly of hutched diamonds horizontal or oblique bands, criss-cross and wavy lines,
ladder-patterns and also animal motifs”. No account of the Bahal (Girna) culture is yet published, but
its pottery has more affinity with that of the Tapi, which in its turn is basically related to the Narmada
valley (Maheshvar-Nagda) Chalcolithic culture. A better picture is available of the Chalcolithic
culture of the Godavari-Pravara basins. Though a number of sites in these valleys are located, only
three, Nasik, Jorwe and Nevasa, are partially excavated. It appears that the first inhabitants settled
on a black or brownish soil which had developed owing to a change in climatic conditions, and
consequent heavy vegetation on the aggradation deposits (sandy silt) of the Deccan rivers. From
the occurrence of workshops containing anvils, hammer stones, and fully or partially polished stone
axes of dolerite in their habitations, it appears that before these people came, there was a Polished
Stone-using Culture in the region of which no distinct stratigraphical occurrence is hitherto found; or
that they (the Copper Age people) had contact with this culture which seems to

1
A very recent survey (January 1960), of the Godavari and Pravara valleys revealed that a
loose, very late gravel covers the fringe of the oldest or first terrace. This contains microliths of
chalcedony.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 9

have flourished in a pure neolithic form on the south-east coast. Whatever it be, since no
development is visible either in pottery forms or fabrics, it must be presumed that this Chalcolithic
culture entered fully developed from without. The houses were of square or rectangular shape; their
floors made with lime and gravel, or lime and burnt black clay. The walls were supported on uncut,
round, timber posts. Possibly, these huts had had slanting roofs, made of reeds and grass. Most of
the pottery was fine, thin-walled, made of well levigated clay and uniformly baked. This was covered
with a red or reddish slip and painted in black. This painting is very regularly done with a thin brush,
but the designs are very monotonous. These are generally linear and geometric, and include many
zig-zag, lattice or criss-cross patterns. Animal designs, though few and extremely scarce, are
realistic and beautiful. The bodies of dog, antelope and unidentified animal were shown in solid
black.
The characteristic types are vessels for drinking or pouring with carinated shoulders, flaring
rims and a long side spout, so that it could be used as a ‘ drinking tube’, bowls with rounded
bottoms and straight or carinated sides, and small flasks. Dishes seem to be rare. There was also a
coarser, dull-brown, unslipped ware, used probably for preparing dough, and huge storage jars.
Light grey and pink, partly handmade, globular vessels with comparatively narrow necks, but broad
mouths with flaring rims were used for burying children. There was a fourth ware with thick, sturdy
wall and black glossy surface, the rims of which were painted with a red paint after firing. However,
hitherto an idea of the shapes in this fabric is not available. The storage jars were decorated with
applique finger-tip ornament.
Among the copper or bronze objects, so far flat axes, a chisel, a fish hook, small tubular as
well as large biconical beads have been found. Ground and polished axes, adze chisels of dolerite
were however, used and manufactured at Nevasa. But for most of the daily needs for cutting,
piercing, etc. blades were made of chalcedony. These include such types as parallel-sided flakes or
blades, pen-knife, blade-like shapes, lunates, triangles, trapezes, points, and borers and a few
scrapers on blade and on cores. The first two types predominate. Evidently, all these were hafted in
a bone or wood handle.
Racially these people seem to be dolicocephalic with well-developed jaw.1 They buried the
dead, right under the habitation floors. The adults were laid fully extended or in a slightly flexed
posture in huge storage jars horizontally. These jars were marked off by an inch thick lime border.
Some time an adult was laid right on the black soil, having a thin coating of lime. A fragmentation
burial was practised in the case of children. The remains—portions of skull, ribs, etc.—were kept in
the urns face-to-face horizontally or vertically.

1
Till March 1960, nearly 90 burials have been found. Of these six are of adults. For the three,
found in 1954-55, see the report by Dr. (Mrs.) Sophie Erhardt, in “From History to Prehistory at
Nevasa” (Poona, 1960), H.D. Sankalia, S.B. Deo, Z.D. Ansari, and S. Erhardt.
10 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Latest excavations at Nevasa (1959-60) indicate that these people not only knew cotton and
silk, but spun them on some cotton spinning appliance, and used the thread for stringing copper
bead (and other) necklaces. One of such necklaces was found round the neck of a child buried in
urn. Further the presence of millet, cells and epidermal hair besides fungel spores indicate the use
of cattle dung in burial rites, whereas the presence of oil globules in the material found surrounding
the string indicate the use of oil for anointing the human body during life and after death.
Who these Chalcolithic people were and what happened to them is not known. After a long
interval, as evidenced by a weathered layer of black soil at Nevasa, Nasik and Prakase, we meet in
the Deccan and elsewhere in India, an iron-using people. Since coins, sometimes bearing writing,
are also associated with the remains of these people, the period can rightly be called Early Historic.
This Early Historic period may be sub-divided regionally and dynastically according to the principal
coin types, and other evidence-literary or epigraphical.
Attention may be drawn to the existence of megaliths—over 300— at Mahurjari,1 near
Junapani, about 8 miles west of Nagpur, and Stone Circles at Chakalpet,2 Chanda District.
If these are of the same type as those found in Mysore and South India, it will be possible to
establish a link between pre-history and early history.
ARCHITECTURE.
Excepting the temples at Ter (in the Usmanabad District), no structural temples of the period,
contemporary with the Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Traikutakas or Early Calukyas have been found in
the Deccan. The Chaitya-like temples as well as other Brahmanic temples at Ter might have been
built during the Kalacuri regime. Whoever be the rulers, the fact that the temples of Uttaresvara and
Kalesvara are built with moulded or carved bricks indicates that these probably belong to the 5th-6th
century, when similar temples were being built in Rajputana, Madhya Pradesha and Bengal.
Remains of such a moulded brick temple, also called Uttareshvara, were partially excavated at
Kolhapur in 1946. The remains of two others, probably of the late 8th century, were discovered at
Harni and Parincha, in Poona District.3
Thus at present the long period of five to six hundred years seems to be a blank. Of the later
period, the earliest temples—the Aishvara at Sinnar, the Koppeshvara at Khidrapur—are in the
Calukya style. The latter developed in North Karnatak, in the temple cities at Aihole and Badami. It
is impossible to describe here even all the important temples at these places. Only the line of
development and the salient features are indicated. Fortunately, the few inscriptions from Aihole and
Pattadkal confirm the stylistic inferences.

1
I.A.R. (1958-59), p. 18.
2
Ibid., p. 21.
3
See I. A. R. (1957-58).
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 11

The Aisvara temple1 at Sinnar consists of a shrine, antarala (antechamber) and an open-
pillared-mandapa. The shikhara is lost. However, several decorative features such as Gaja-Lakshmi
on the door-lintel, the saptamatraka-frieze and ashtadikpala ceiling, with the exquisitely carved
makaratorana seem to be inspired by contact with the later Calukyas of Kalyana under the feudatory
Yadava king Parammadeva, about 1100 AD. The only element which is of Northern style is the
Kichaka bracket.
While this temple is the northern-most specimen of Later Calukyan style in the Deccan, the
Kopeshvara temple at Khidrapur provides a southern specimen by showing the prevailing Kadamba
influence also. It is definitely pre-Yadava as inscriptions on it attest. The temple consists of a
garbha-griha,antarala, a gudha-mandapa with three entrances, and a detached sabhamandapa. The
last is star-shaped and incomplete. The original shikhara is lost, but the miniatures carved on
various niched-panels indicate that it was like that of the Someshvara temple at Gadag. The
ornamentation is varied and mixed, as exhibiting Hoysala and Kadamba influences in its lion
brackets and pierced screens, but is not, however, of the best type.
Stylistically and also chronologically the later Deccan temples are divisible into six or seven
groups. In plan and decoration, the temples of the earlier groups are more elaborate, ornate and
artistic. Later, deterioration sets in, and ends in simple undecorated exteriors and interiors. The
causes for this decay were primarily political; the social and cultural were its offshoots. With the
Islamic conquests, and break down of the Yadava empire and its dependent kingdoms, royal
patronage was lost. And in face of iconoclastic zeal, image sculpture was better left out.
In all these six groups, one-shrined temples dedicated mostly to Shiva, but at times to Vishnu
or Surya or a Devi, predominate. But there are a few, double or triple shrined temples in each group.
Of the first group, the most noteworthy specimen is the temple at Ambarnath (Thana District). It
together with the Nilakantheshvara temple at Udaypur in Madhya Pradesa (in the old Gwaliar State)
and other temples mentioned here forms the early phase of the Deccan style. This seems to have
come into vogue, as pointed out before, because of Parmara-Rashtrakuta contact in the 10th
century2. The Shilahara inscription dates it at 1060 A.D. The other two are at Belsane (Dhulia
District). The temple comprises a sunken garbha-grha and gudha-mandapa with three porches. It is
tastefully decorated. As a result of skilful manipulation of the plan, the walls right upto the shikhara
from the the pitha (base) project and recede. These are further cut by deep horizontal mouldings.
Thus we have all the parts of a mediaeval temple, as noticed, except the ashvathara and the
narathara. The Jangha section of the wall proper has 70 figures of deities. Of these 40 are gods and
goddesses. Most of

1
This seems to have been missed by Sarasvati, op. cit., in his review of the Deccan Temples.
2
A recent inscription tells us that Bhillama III’s general, Sridhara-danda-nayaka’s great-
grandfather had served under the Paramara Vairisimha of Dhara, I. A. R. (1957-58), p. 56.
12 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

these are representations of Shiva and Parvati. The shikhara or the Vimana rises in four faces. The
corners between these bands are filled with miniature sikharas. At the junction of mandovara (wall
proper), and the base of the shikhara is a chaitya window ornament inset with an image of the deity.
The mandapa has pyramidal roof having cupola-shaped ornaments. There were three kinds of
pillars, all beautifully sculptured. However, the most conspicuous features of the temple are its
ceilings, the mandapa and the porches.
The triple-shrine at Belsane (temple No. 1) is not only the earliest of its kind in the Deccan,
but it is remarkable in the sense that it is not dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, but to Shiva
and a form of Parvati.
It is even more richly decorated than the Ambarnath temple. Cousent says “ We have here
the style in its fullest development, crystallized into its richest details and sparking with light and
shade from summit to basement.”.
All the temples of the Second Group are situated within the ancient Seuna-desa (Jalganv,
Dhulia and Nasik districts). That of Mahadeva at Jhodga was built by Indraraja of Nikumbha-Vamsa
and is dated Saka (1151 A.D.). Thus the temples of this style may be dated between 1100-1150
A.D. Of others the most well-known is the temple of Gondeshvara at Sinnar. It is a Panchayatana
type, and the shikharas, which cap the subsidiary shrines, are said to be quite unique in the Deccan
(Naik, p. 233).
To this group also belong the small Brahmanic and Jaina temples at Anjaneri. One of the
latter bears an inscription of Seunachandra, a Yadava prince of the minor branch, dated Saka 1093
(1171 A.D.). With the third Group of temples (1150-1200 A.D.) image sculpture becomes less and
less, and there is a corresponding increase of arabasque and geometric designs. Slender
ornamental pillars, a characteristic feature of the much later temples, appears first at Sinnar and
then at Anjaneri. However, some temples of this group, do bear images on the jangha. There are
some 15 temples of this group. These are situated in the Dhulia, Nasik, Ahmadnagar and Poona
Districts. As before, we have one-shrine, triple-shrine and many-shrine temples, of which special
mention should be made of the ten-shrined temple at Belsane. It consists of the main shrine, facing
north, in antechamber, a gudhamandapa, and a verandah porch in front. Around the sides of the
mandapa are arranged ten small shrines, each of which is fitted with a carved doorway and an altar
for the image against the backwall. This plan seems to follow the 5th-6th century Buddhist viharas at
Ajantha.
From several other features, it is inferred that this was a Dashavatara temple (Naik, 262).
While the Belsane temple presents a unique plan, that of Bhuleshvar at Yavat is quite singular
in a different way. In addition to the garbhagrha, mandapa and the Nandimandapa, it has a prakara
(a wall running all round). This bears on the inside figures of saptamatrkas, each shown individually
with her vahana, under
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 13

a beautiful semi-circular kirtimukha torana, together with the female forms of Ganesha and
Virabhadra. Inspite of so many devi figures, the temple was that of Shiva. It was not dedicated to a
devi. One such, of Mahalakshmi, is found at Tahakari. It is moreover a triple-shrine, and on the
dedicatory block of the shrine, there is a devi figure, instead of Ganesha or Surya.
In the Fourth Group of temples, not only the figure sculpture on the exterior disappears, but
even the mouldings become less, a greater inclination being shown for flat surfaces. Consequently
the plans undergo simplifications. Though the garbhagiha retains its angular shape, the mandapa is
mostly a square. The shikharas, wherever they are extant, follow the Sinnar-Jhodga pattern. Inside,
the carvings become less plain, or are trabeated into rhomboid shape, and the pillars have usually
cobra-brackets. There are a larger number of temples—all one-shrine—situated in the Districts of
Ahmadnagar, Poona, Satara, Solapur, and in the former Akkalkot State, while a two-shrine temple is
found at Ganjibhairav (Ganji-bhoyra), Ahmadnagar District, and three-shrined temples in the same
district, and one each in the Satara and Akkalkot Districts.
Of these the temple at Bahal, dedicated to Dvaraja or Bhavani, is dated. It was built by
Anantadeva, the chief astrologer of the Yadava king Singhana in Saka 1144 (A. D. 1222). This and
others may be considered as proto-types of the later Hemadpanti temples of the 14th century.
The double-shrined temple at Ganjibhoyra, Ahmadnagar District, is in a way unique. It is
dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, and is now known as Mahadeveshvara or Madhaveshvara, the latter
being the more appropriate name. It has a common gudha-mandapa, with a shrine each on the east
and west, facing each other, and open porches on the south and north.
Temples of the Fifth Group can be dated to 1300 A.D. or so, on the evidence of inscriptions in
the temples at Velapur (Solapur District). The decoration is now confined to the interior only. This is
found on pillars, pilasters and door-jambs in the form of floral and geometric patterns, kirtimukhas
and mithunas. The ceilings no longer bear cusp-shaped pendants. Instead may be found a lotus
motif, human figures or kirtimukhas.
Temples of this group, all one-shrined, are mainly distributed in large numbers in the districts
of Ahmadnagar (4), Solapur (7), and Satara (7). Of the three double-shrined temples, Ahmadnagar
(Sirur), Solapur (Velapur) and Nasik (Deosthan), have one each, while Pedganv and Karjat
(Ahmadnagar), and Velapur and Kandal ganv (Solapur) have triple-shrined temples.
Though from one point of view the temples of the sixth group bring this survey of temple
architecture to a close, from another they herald a style which remained in vogue for the succeeding
five centuries. Though plain, simple and uninteresting architecturally, through sheer cheapness of
cost, they became popular all over the Deccan. These are the true Hemadpanti temples, and are
found in
14 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Poona. (2), Satra (6), Khandes (4), Ahmadnagar (25), and Nasik (7) Districts, and also in Berar
(Akola, Buldhana, and Yeotmal Districts1) and Marathvada (Bid, Nanded, Usmanabad and
Parbhani2). Amongst these we have even triple-shrined temples at Vite (sangali), and Rashin
(Ahmadnagar).
The Deccan has a comparatively smaller number of Jaina temples. Though inscriptional
references indicate that Jainism was mostly Digambara and prevalent in south Deccan, Jaina
temples are found widly distributed all over the regions—Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, Nasik,
Thana, Solapur and Kolhapur Districts and that of Marathvada. Many of them are in a ruinous
condition. Epigraphically and stylistically it appears that none is earlier than 1100 A.D.
Of the surviving ones, the most important group is at Anjaneri, which was nothing short of a
Jaina town or colony. This included temples, mathas, (educational houses) and dharmashalas. The
earliest temple, dedicated to Chandraprabha, the 8th Tirthankara, seems to have been built in Saka
1063 (A.D. 1141). Like the one-shrined Brahmanic temples, it and others of the group consist of the
garbhagrha, antarala, and an open mandapa. Since the mandapa is small, it has no pillars. But
there are a couple of pillars and pilasters in the verandah, having brackets with Naga-heads.
Though less ornate, there is a fine sense of proportion in the various decorative features. Instead of
Brahmanic gods and goddesses the lintel-jamb etc. have the figures of Jinas.
The important cave temples of Karnatak provide a unique opportunity for understanding the
development of structural temples. The first phase of development covering nearly three centuries
(A. D. 450-750) is afforded by the temple cities of Aihole and Pattadkal. All these were built by the
early Chalukyan kings. To the second phase belong temples which were built during the later
Chalukyas, and their contemporaries the Hoysalas, between the 10th-13th centuries. The
Rashtrakutas who ruled between the two, perhaps, spent all their time and wealth in enriching
Ellora. Hence not many Rashtrakuta temples are found within Karnatak.
Archaeology of the historical period was hitherto thought of from the point of architecture and
sculpture only (Marshall, Majumdar). It would be more logical to have a much wider connotation,
and divide it into (i) Civil, (ii) Military and (iii) Religious. Of course, no remains of civil buildings—in
villages and towns—were known from the Maharashtra State, though names of several towns such
as Nasik, Govardhana, Kalyan, Shurparaka, are mentioned in cave-inscriptions of the 1st-2nd
century B.C.—A.D. According to Pliny, ‘ the Andhras had thirty fortified cities’. All these towns are,
therefore, most likely to have existed in Maurya times. (For they were not founded just for Buddhist
Bhikshus). These towns lay on or near the ancient highways, ports and rivers. Within the last 10
years, excavations

1
At Yeotmal, there are some Hemadpanti temples Yeotmal District Gazetteer p. 10.
2
The monuments in these districts have not been yet scientifically studied.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 15

have brought to light remains of ancient (built) habitations at Bahal, Nasik, Paithan,1 Ter, Nevasa,
Karhad, in the Deccan. These thus show that both these sources recorded but an existing fact, and
incidentally they give us some times the civil architecture, though at none of the above mentioned
sites the excavations were large enough to give us a clear picture of town planning. Still we can
have a glimpse of the houses at Kolhapur and Nasik.
The large mound overlooking the Godavari at Nasik contains the remains of early dwellings,
Chalcolithic and Early Historical, as shown by 1950-51 excavations (Sankalia and Deo, 1950). The
latter, were however, on a very small scale. So we have no full idea of the early dwellings. It would,
however, appear that the houses during the earlier historical period (c. 250 B.C.) were simple huts;
made with bamboo or wooden posts. The floors of these were made with sticky black clay,
interbedded with a layer of sand. Three or four such floors were exposed by the excavations. Such
a practice of making floors seems to have been common at this period in the Deccan. At Nevasa
and also at Ter the floor was made with lime and hemp or lime and black clay, often with a gravel
bed (Indian Archaeology, a Review, 1954-55, 1955-56). The use of bricks was also known. These
bricks were usually big. The roofs of these houses were covered with tiles, which had two holes at
one end. Iron nails were inserted in these holes, so that the tiles were firmly secured to the rafters.
The inhabitants were probably Buddhists at Nasik, and perhaps at Nevasa, as pottery and a seal
with Buddhist symbols would indicate. The inhabitants used principally three types of pottery (1) an
ordinary coarse red ware which included small and big storage jars, dishes and cups, (2) a black-
and-red ware for eating and drinking. This is of finer fabric, generally smooth with a black interior
and black-and-red exterior due to inverted firing. Usually bowls, dishes and small lotas or water-
vessels are found in this ware, (3) this was a highly specialised ware, known as the Northern Black
Polished (NBP) ware. It had its origin in the eastern Gangetic valley, and a few vessels seem to
have been brought in the Deccan by the migrants and less probably as imports.
During the succeeding period regular brick buildings appear at Nasik, Nevasa and Kolhapur.
From the associated coins the period may be called the Late Andhra or Satavahana (c. 1000 A. D.).
Though the excavations were nowhere very extensive, the Kolhapur evidence suggests that some
of the houses had three or four small rooms bounded by a verandah in front and in the rear
(Sankalia and Dikshit, 1952). The walls were about 12 ft. high and the roof made with tiles as
described previously. The foundation of these houses was well-made by laying large pebbles of trap
or basalt in sticky black clay. The kitchen-floor was paved with bricks, while storage jars were either
sunk into the floor or in the wall. Cooking

1
Paithan was excavated by the Department of Archaeology of the Ex-Hyderabad
Government. Unfortunately, no detailed report of this excavation is available, except a brief one.
16 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

was done on hearths (Chulas) made with three large stones, its front closed by a clay border in
which ash was collected. Each house, it appears, had one or two wells made with bricks or pottery
rings. These wells seemed to have served as refuse pits, all over India at this period.
The inhabitants were non-vegetarian, but rice, wheat, jvari, bajari, nachani or ragi, moong,
udid, gram and karadi oil were also used. Besides the black-and red ware, a fine red polished ware,
comprising mainly bowls, dishes and sprinklers and a blackish rouletted ware probably influenced
by Roman wares were also current, while Roman or Mediterranean wine was imported in large
amphoras. Grseco-Roman influence is visible also in the bronze dishes, bowls and human figures.
A goddess, apparently nude, seated in European style and possibly also a foreign import, was
worshipped all over the Deccan. There was also another goddess. She is shown headless but with
a lotus garland round the neck, a flower or other girdle, heavy anklets and seated in a pecular-birth
giving pose, with the pudenda prominently shown. Such figures may be in imitation of the Egyptian
goddess Bavbo, and introduced in India about the 1st-2nd century A.D. with Roman trade. Or as
shown by Stella Kramrishch, a representation of the goddess Aditi-Uttanapada. So far only small
terracotta and stone figures are found from Ter and Nevasa.
Figures of Poseidon and other Roman gods are also found at Kolhapur, but it is not known
whether they were worshipped. Iron was in general use. Plough-shares, socketed axes, tanged
arrowheads, hunting knives, daggers and swords, lamps or oil-fillers roasting pans, etc. are found in
these houses. Grain was ground in rotary querns, also of foreign origin, of a heavy, cruder type, with
two side slots running horizontally, through which probably a wooden plank with a hole for a vertical
handle was inserted. Saddle querns with or without legs were used for preparing spices, etc. (These
are indeed too small for grinding grains.). Bangles which were worn probably on wrists, arms and
ankles and necklaces and earrings constituted the chief ornaments. The bangles were made of clay
(rarely), chank shell, ivory, bones and glass, and at times inlaid with gold leaf. The necklaces were
made with beads of terracotta, semi-precious stones such as agate, carnelian, jasper, lapis-lazuli,
faience, burnt steatite and glass. The last were sometimes decorated with goldfoil. Among the toilet
articles occur combs of bone or ivory, collyrium sticks of bone, ivory or copper and skin rubbers of
burnt clay as well as of soft porous stone volcanic rock.
In the Deccan, we know little except the fact that many of the hills in the Deccan. might have
been fortified, as they definitely were, after the 14th century. Indeed they have not been examined
from this point of view. It is more than likely that the present fort of Daulatabad—the ancient
Devagiri now in the Aurahgabad District was selected by the Yadavas because of its impregnable
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 17

and strategic position. So this, and the forts like Rajamachi, overlooking the Konkan, Lohagad,
Visapur, Narnala1 (Akola District) and others may be cited as possible strongholds of the pre-12th
century period as well.
Amongst the religious architecture come Brahmanic temples and Buddhist and Jaina Stupas
and Viharas. No temple, earlier than 5th century, is hitherto known, barring perhaps the one at Ter.
The Stupas etc. are of two kinds : Rock-cut and Structural. Of these, the earliest belong to Ashokan
period (c. 250 B. C). The inscriptions include (i) Rock edicts, (ii) Pillar edicts, (iii) Cave edicts. A
fragment of an Ashokan rock edict was known from Sopara and another fragment of the Ninth edict
was discovered near Bassein (Vasai) (in January 1960).
No cave definitely of the Ashokan period is known to exist in Deccan, though it is possible that
some of the simple caves at Bhaja might belong to this period.
At the time it appears that a number of such structural Stupas and Viharas existed even in the
Deccan, which contains the largest number of rock-cut monuments in India. One of the largest
Stupa was at Sopara. Built of bricks, it measured 270 feet in circumference, and must have been
considerably high when complete. It had a pradakshinapatha and other essentials of a Stupa. Inside
was a large stone casket 17½ inches high and 23 inches in diameter. It had two lids, and within the
lower receptacle was a casket of copper which contained a smaller one of silver. The latter had one
of sandstone ; this contained that of crystal and the crystal that of gold. Within the last—the gold
casket—were found reddish burnt lumps of clay, and a piece of emerald and diamond and gold
flowers. The silver casket contained a gold plate with the figure of the Buddha in the
Dharmacakramudra, gold flowers and a silver coin of Gautamiputra Sri Yajna Satakarni. The copper
casket had 8 statues of Buddha—seven Manushi Buddhas and the eighth Maitreya. While the coin
of Yajnashri Satakarni would date the stupa to the end of the 2nd century A.D., the style of bronze
Maitreya is said to resemble those of Nalanda and therefore datable to the 7th-8th century 2. If so,
the stupa must have been re-opened at about this time. Douglas Barnett, apparently not aware of
Dikshit’s article, identified the Buddhas as Vipaseyi, Sikti, Vishvabahu, Kakuchanda, Kanakamuni,
Kashyapa and Shakyamuni and places them in the 9th century A.D. 3
Sopara had several other smaller stupas and viharas, but very little of these remains now. 4
A stupa, of perhaps the 2nd century B.C., existed at Kolhapur, near the site of Brahmapuri.
Within it was found a silver relic

1
Particularly the Sahnur entrance or gate. See Akola District Gazetteer,P. 58.
2
Dikshit, K. N., “ Buddhist Relics from Sopara Re-examined”, JGRS, I (Dr.Bhagwanlal Indraji
Commemoration Volume), 1939, pp. 1-5.
3
Lalit Kala, No. 3-4 (1956-57), p. 25.
4
Trial diggings last year brought forth early and late Satavahana objects, see Annual Report.
18 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

casket placed in a larger stone casket or box. The lid of the latter was inscribed in Brahml letters to
the effect that the casket was made by Dharmagupta and the gift of the casket was by Brahma. It
was possibly because of this that the site came to be known as Brahmapuri.1
Such structural stupas were built even in or near the rock-cut caves, as evidence from Nadsur
and Kanherl indicates. These enshrined the relics of Buddhist saints, as the one at Kanheri
contained the ashes, etc. placed in a copper urn, of one Buddha-ruchi from Sindh (Sindhu-Desha).
The record which mentions this fact was found with the urn, and is dated in 245 of the Kalacuri era
i.e. in 494 A. D. Such brick stupas provide the much-needed evidence of the survival of Buddhism,
even after the advent of Islam in Western India.
In the Deccan the rock-cut monuments can be counted in hundreds and spread over almost
the whole of Maharashtra.
Some of these contain inscriptions, the most important being those at Junnar, Kanheri, Karla
and Nasik. From these we learn that kings and queens, ministers, rich merchants as well as
ordinary people from different and distant parts of the Deccan, Karnatak, Gujarat (Broach), Sind
contributed towards the excavation of these caves. Depending upon royal and public support,
political and social conditions with varying fortunes, well-nigh over 1,500 years, the architectural and
decorative style of the caves reflect these conditions to some extent and enable us to study their
development.
There are two main types of early caves : (i) Chaitya a Grihas (i.e., halls with a chaitya or
stupa within for worship), and (ii) viharas (halls for meeting and residence of monks). These have
one or more cells, sometimes on two floors. Accordingly, in the inscriptions at Junnar, for instance,
the caves are called Dvigarbha (two-celled), Saptagarbha (seven-celled), etc.
The earliest chaitya caves were, it appears, simple rectangular, flat-topped rooms, with the
chaitya in the back wall. But the ritual required a slightly more elaborate arrangement. Thus came to
be carved out caves with the chaitya at the longer end of the room, but not forming part of the wall,
pillars separating the central hall— the nave—from passage (aisle) all round, and an apsidal roof.
The chaitya caves at Bhaja, Kondane, Pitalkhora and Ajantha cave No. 10 are of the type described
above. Their simple, octagonal, slanting pillars and wooden ribs testify that these caves imitate in
stone the Toda-like reed huts. The front of these caves were carved with a fine chaitya-arch having
a wide base, and resting on the pillars. These arches were further decorated with lattice-work in
wood. The rest of the front (facade) was decorated with chaitya-windows or Vedikas, Yakshas and
Yakshinis and at times with portraits of donors. The pillars bear Buddhist symbols, such as Triratna,

1
See JBBRAS. 14, 149. Collected Works of Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar, Luders, ‘ List of Brahmi
Inscriptions’, in EI. X, Appendix, p. 136; Indraji and Burgess, ICTWI, p. 39.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 19

Nandipada, Chakra, etc. The Chaitya or the stupa, at the apsidal end of the cave, has a low
pedestal. On this rests the drum over which separated by a Vedika is a hemispherical dome. Over
this is the harmika—a box-like member—surmounted usually by a wooden umbrella. The early full-
fledged chaitya was like this, though its parts might vary in individual cases. Until the Mahayanists
produced the Buddha image, the chaitya was the main object of worship, and a chaitya-grah a
veritable temple.
Slightly later caves of this group and period (2nd-1st century B.C.) are the Chaitya-caves at
Junnar (Manmoda), Nasik and Ajantha (Cave No. 9). Here the most noticeable features are the
pillars, which are now considerably straight, have pot-bases and square abacus.
This cave architecture is at its best at Karla. And this is closely followed at Bedsa. Indeed, the
Karla chaitya-griha was regarded as the finest in the whole of Jambudvipa by its donor, Shetha
Bhutapala of Vaijayanti (Vanavasi). Originally, near the entrance there was a tall, free-standing lion-
pillar on either side. Now only one survives. The hall itself was over 124 feet long, 45 feet wide, 45
feet high. Fifteen octagonal pillars with stepped pedestals, surmounted by pot-shaped bases, and
crowned with amalaka-like capitals, having a circular grooved member in a square frame, between
the latter, and an inverted pyramid above, separate the cave from the side aisles. Right on the top of
the pillars are carved, almost in the round, elephants seated back to back. Over them are seated a
pair of smiling mithunas (couples). At the end of this magnificent hall is the stupa, surmounted by a
wooden umbrella, having a beautiful lotus design. In front of the hall there is a verandah. Its sides
are filled with chaitya window decorations, and elephant in half relief, whereas the front wall has life-
size mithunas. The whole was covered by a huge caitya window opening and a stone screen. It has
been shown that the complete original excavation of the cave continued for nearly 60 years (circa
40 A.D.-100 A.D.).
Cave No 6 in the Ganesha group of caves at Junnar, though smaller and perhaps slightly
later in time, is again a perfect specimen of its type. Kanheri on the other hand, though modelled on
that of Karla, heralds the decadence in style. Its mithunas, though less sturdy, however, exhibit a
finer proportion.
Of this early period are four circular chaitya-grhas at Junnar, Kondivte, Pitalkhora and Bedsa.
These are perhaps modelled on those of the Ashokan period in Bihar. Even these caves show a
slight development. The earlier in the Tulja Lena at Junnar is circular in plan, 25 ft. 6 inches across
with pillars. These support the dome over the stupa. Later, a porch was added to the circular cell, as
at Pitalkhora and Kondivte.
The Hinayanists, before they were supplanted by Mahayanists, had also devised a simpler
chaitya-grha. Here, the stupa was placed In the central cell of the back wall of the vihara. Such
vihara-cum-
20 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

chaityas are found at Kuda, Mahad, Karad, Wai, Shelarvadi, Junnar, Kanheri and Pitalkhora. These
are dated in the 2nd-3rd century A.D.
In about the 4th-5th century the Mahayana got ascendancy in the Deccan, as elsewhere in
India. As a consequence, the figures of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and their attendants—Yakshas,
Nagas, etc. began to be carved. Some of the Hinayana chaitya caves, as at Karla, and Kanheri,
were tampered with. Fortunately, the chaityas themselves have been left untouched. Some
ornamental figures from the front wall of the verandah were chiselled out, and Buddha figures were
added instead. In course of time, however, purely Mahayana chaitya-grhas were also carved. Of
these there are specimens in caves Nos. 19 and 26 at Ajantha, and in the Vishvakarma cave at
Ellora. These caves practically follow the plan of the earlier chaitya-caves, but depart from them in
having huge figures of Buddha, carved out of the chaitya, and in having an elaborate and at times
artistic decorations of the pillars and the facade. No trace of the wooden proto-types is to be found
in these caves.
An invariable adjunct of the chaitya-grhas was the vihara. Most of the early viharas are simply
cells with a stone bed on one or two sides, a niche for a lamp, and mortices in the wall for a wooden
door or screen. But there are exceptions. The Bhaja vihara is not only unique in its figure sculpture,
but gives an idea of what a residential house of a rich man or a king of the period would have been.
The one at Pitalkhora has winged animals, some having camel heads at bracket capitals and stone
girders; that at Bedsa with vaulted roof, and apsidal back reminds one of the chaitya-grhas.
A pillared vihara appears for the first time at Kondane. The pillars have lost their bases,
whereas the shafts are octagonal in the centre and square on the top. At Nasik we see the gradual
development and final culmination in the vihara architecture. That of Kanheri, perhaps of c. 170 B.C.
has a hall, with three walls on three of its sides, and a verandah with pillars. This plan is elaborated
in cave No. 8, which was engraved nearly two centuries later in the time of the Kshaharata,
Nahapana and his family. There are 16 cells, all having beds, while the verandah is supported by six
pillars with bases bell-shaped and capitals. This vihara was followed by cave No. 3, as it contains an
inscription of Gautamiputra. Identical in plan, its central doorway and the friezes over the pillars are
more ornately executed, with mithunas, stupas and foliage design. The one excavated during the
reign of Yajnashri Satakarni is still larger, though essentially of the same plan. Later, it was taken
over by the Mahayanists who carved out a colossal figure of the Buddha.
Truly Mahayana Viharas are to be found at Ajantha, and Ellora. These belong to a period
between 5th-7th century or even later. These viharas exhibit not only Buddha figures with other
attendant deities but highly ornate pillars and capitals among which the “ Vase-and-foliage” design
is very striking. It is in these caves that we see for the first time in the Deccan the figures of the river
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 21

goddesses Ganga and Yamuna flanking the shrine-door, a motif which was introduced by the
Guptas. A further stage is indicated at Ellora and Aurangabad. The caves look like huge
monasteries. The caves Nos. 11 and 12 at Ellora are cut into three stories. These rise to a height of
nearly 50 feet, with a vast courtyard in front. In the absence of any structural buildings, these
provide good illustrations of how houses looked like at this period. However, it must not be forgotten
that this three storied cave was a temple as well and it is the only one of its kind in India.
At about this time a large Vihara—called Darbar hall—was excavated at Kanheri. But from the
point of view of sculpture, the cave No. 3 at Aurangabad probably possesses the finest of the lot.
The Buddhist caves at Wijasan, about a mile to the south-west of Bhandak (District Chanda),
seems to belong to a period between the last two groups. These differ from other groups in having
no large halls (viharas) and no chaitya-caves for the pradakshina. The three principal caves consist
entirely of long passages leading through small chambers up to small shrines of Buddha. They are
in the shape of the cross.1
In the 4th century, Brahmanism got a new fillip under the Guptas. So, imitating the Buddhists,
temples began to be built and caves carved for Brahmanic deities in Central India. Nothing of
comparable date has so far been found in Maharashtra. But two centuries later, probably inspired by
the Guptas, the Western Chalukyas cut the first Brahmanic caves at Aihole and later at Badami, and
soon after temples were also built at these places, turning these into veritable temple-cities. The
Pallavas followed suit in the extreme south, but after a purely Dravidian fashion. Inspite of the
frequent wars between the Chalukyas and the Pallavas, there was a continuous exchange of
cultural influence. When the Rashtrakutas replaced the Chalukyas they inherited this legacy, with
the result that under them the Deccan created some of the finest rock-cut temples in India.
The earliest cave at Aihole consists of a shrine, side chapels, each raised by 5 steps, a
mandapa on a lower level. The front is divided by two simple pillars with 16-sided shafts. Important
sculptures—the first of its kind in the south—include those of Shiva, Parvati and Mahishasurmardini.
This cave seems to be followed by the magnificent caves at Badami. Of the four, No. 3 is well dated.
It bears an inscription of Mangalesha (Saka 500 to 578-79 A.D.). The cave is nearly 60 feet deep,
70 feet long, and 15 feet high. It consists of a platform with moulded cornice, a beautifully decorated
pillared verandah, a simple hall, and a deep set shrine. On the ceilings there are figures of
ashtadikpalas, while beautiful sculptures of gods, goddesses, apsaras and mithunas, some in
roundels—dedicated :to Vishnu, the representations of his avataras predominate, so also stories of
Krishna. The pillars have cushion-shaped capitals.

1
Adapted with slight alterations from Cunningham, A.S.I.R., IX. p. 124 and Pl. XXI.
22 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

The Brahmanic caves at Ellora fall into two main groups, though each group is further
divisible into sub-groups. In the first fall the Dashavatara, Ravana-ka-khai and Rameshvara and in
the second the famous Kailasa. The Dashavatara is two storied, has a pillared portico and a shrine
behind. The Ravana-ka-khai has a pradaksinapatha round the shrine. Both these contain Shaiva
and Vaishnava sculptures.
In between these, other caves, now of comparatively less importance, either because they
are incomplete or not well preserved, are the caves of Poona (Patalesvara), Jogi Amba at
Mominabad and Karusa, and those at Wijasan.1
The small Shaiva temple at Elephanta having a mandapa with side chambers and a nandi-
mandapa opposite to the shrine also belongs to this period (c. 700 A.D.). Slightly later than the
above group is the Dhumar Lena. It has an isolated shrine within a crucifix mandapa. This style of
rock-cut cave finds its culmination in the main cave at Elephanta. Its vast mandapa with six rows of
pillars having fine ribbed-cushioned capitals, and eight great panels of sculpture prepare us for the
gigantic image, usually known as Trimurti, but now identified as Mahadeva representing the three
aspects of Shiva : in the middle the face of Tatpurusha, on the left that of Aghora, and on the right
that of Vamadeva.2
From those to Kailasa is a big jump. Instead of a cave-temple we have all the elements of a
temple cut out completely from the living rock. Coomaraswamy has summarized its main features
admirably :
“This famous rock-cut shrine is a model of a complete structural temple, and may be a copy of
the Papanatha at Pattadkal. The whole consists of a linga shrine with Dravidian Shikhara, a flat-
roofed mandapa supported by 16 pillars, and a separate porch tor the Nandi surrounded by a court,
entered through a low gopuram; five detached shrines are found on the edge of perambulation
terrace of the Vimana proper, and in one corner of the court there is a chapel dedicated to the three-
goddesses with their images in relief. There are two dhvaja-stambhas; these and all the columns
are Northern, everything else is Dravidian, characteristic of the Chalukyan style”.3
The Jaina caves are comparatively very late, none of the early Christian era. The earliest is
at Badami adjoining the Brahmanic. It is much smaller in size and not much different stylistically
from its neighbours, save that it contains the images of Parshvanatha and Gomateshvara. Slightly
later than the Badami caves are the ones at Aihole. These too resemble the Brahmanical ones.
Besides, sculptures of dvarapalas and others, one has the image of Mahavira seated on simhasana.

1
Cunningham, op. cit., p. 126.
2
Kramrisch, Ancient India, 1946, No. 2, p. 4.
3
Coomaraswamy, HHA, p. 99.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 23

In the Deccan, the caves of this period (600 A.D.) are at Dharashiva in the former Hyderabad
State. There were perhaps Jaina caves at Wijasan also.1 Those at Mangya-Tuhgya are
considerably late (860 A.D.). Two of these are richly decorated with figures of Tirthankaras and their
attendants.
It is at Ellora that Jaina art and architecture is seen at its best. Of the five caves, the Indra and
Jagannatha Sabha are two-storied, whereas the Chota Kailasa is an imitation of the Kailasa. These
caves are dated to a period between 750-1000 A.D. on stylistic grounds. The plan is elaborate and
the decoration very rich, but as remarked by Burgess these cave temples are not well-designed.
The authors were Digambara Jainas; hence the images of the Tirthankaras in the principal shrine,
and elsewhere—Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Shantinatha, Gomateshvara—are nude. Among the
attendant deities are Indra and Ambika and these are well-carved.
Other Jaina caves of this period are to be found at Karusa, Amba, while caves of a still later
period exist at Patne in Khandes, Ankai, Chandor, Chamarlena and Tringalvadi in the Nasik district.2
PURANIC ORTRADITIONALHISTORY.
Between the pre-historic culture mentioned above and the historic period to be described
below there exists a wide gap. It can be tentatively filled up by the Puranic or Traditional History.
Later research may make it historical.
Reference was made to the Yadava occupation of parts of Maharashtra. Its chronology
though not well-fixed and datable in absolute years, seems to be as follows :
In the Rigvedic period the Yadus with other Aryan tribes were in the Sapta Sindhu. Later,
Satvatas, Bhojas and others which belonged to this tribe spread to; the Ganga-Yamuna doab, and
even crossed the Chambal in Central India. Very soon or perhaps much earlier the Haihayas,
another branch of this tribe settled in the Narmada valley. Their capital was at Mahishmati, probably
Maheshvar, 60 miles south of Indore. One of their greatest kings was Kartavirya —Arjuna, also
known as Sahasrarjuna. He is credited with having fought with Ravana and other Asuras near
Broach. Later, because of his indiscretion he was killed by Parasurama, a Bhrgu.
Some of the Yadu branches, Vrishni, Andhaka, etc., who had lived in and around Mathura
later migrated to Saurashtra, owing to pressure from the north and east, of the Aryan and non-Aryan
tribes. They colonised around Dvarka. About the same time or perhaps, earlier, Bhojas and
Satvatas established kingdoms at Kaundinyapura in Vidarbha.
The Ikshvakus, another Aryan tribe, had in the meantime, come from the upper Gangetic
basin south-eastwards, and occupied the

1
Cummingham, op. cit, 127.
2
Very recently a few Jaina caves have been found at Mohida-tarf-hamli on the Canal in
Dhulia. I.A.R., 1958-59, p. 71.
24 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Godavari valley. Thus, in about the 8th-9th century B.C. the following kingdoms existed in the Indo-
Gangetic plains and north Central Deccan. King Brahmadatta ruled in Ashmaka. To his east, in
Kalinga, was Sattabha, and Vessabhu at Avanti, immediately north of Ashmaka. Beyond these in
Videha (Bihar) ruled Renu, and Dhritarashtra in Kashi and Anga respectively. In the west, in Sauvira,
was Bharata. Suratha (Saurashtra) was under Pingala and Lata and southern Sind under Bhiru.
A century or two later when Buddha and Mahavira preached in Bihar, the country was divided
into the following kingdoms governed by Aryan and non-Aryan rulers. To the east and north of
Gujarat-Maharashtra ruled the famous king Pradyota. Beyond it lay the equally famous kingdoms of
Kosala, Vatsa and Magadha ruled by Prasenajit, Udayana and Bimbisara, respectively.
EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY.
Bimbisara and his successors may in our present state of knowledge be regarded the first
historical dynasties, known as the Shrenikya or Haryanka and Shishunaga, respectively. The latter
was supplanted by that of the Nandas, sometime in the 5th century B.C. Several Puranas credit
these with the subjugation of the kingdoms mentioned above which ruled the Madhyadesha,
Kalinga, Madhyabharata, and Central Deccan. Later epigraphic evidence includes even Kuntala—
northern Karnatak—in the Nanda dominions. No archaeological data has come forth either to prove
or disprove these statements. Perhaps a loose sovereignty over Western India was established by
the Nandas.
When the Mauryas succeeded the Nandas in Magadha the things changed. Chandragupta
seems to have taken effective steps to consolidate the vast empire which he inherited. Saurashtra,
perhaps including Anarta and Lata, was placed under a Rashtriya (Governor). We do not know
definitely whether the Deccan and Karnatak formed part of the first Maurya’s dominions. Early Tamil
literature and late Mysore inscriptions speak of Chandragupta’s invasion of the south, through
Konkan, and rule in Northern Mysore respectively. Since Ashoka is never known to have conquered
these regions, whereas, his rock edicts are found at Girnar, Sopara and Brahmagiri in Mysore and
further his kumaras and viceroys were ruling also at these places, it is probable that the whole of
Western India formed part of the Maurya Empire. However, what the relations of the several
kingdoms,—of the Rashtrikas, Bhojas, Petenikas, Pulindas and Andhras—which occupied the
Central Deccan, and are expressly mentioned in his edicts were, is not clear. They ruled, it is
suggested, as semi-independent kings.
During Ashoka’s suzerainty Saurashtra was administered by a Yavana (Greek), Tushaspa,
with his capital at Girinagara. Broach and Sopara were important ports.
With the dethronement of the Mauryas in eastern India, the outlying provinces became
independent. The Shungas who followed the Mauryas do not seem to have reconquered them. The
nearest of the western provinces which passed under their rule was Vidarbha. And perhaps during
the ashvamedha-digvijaya Shunga
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 25

army had gone to the Sindhu (which is interpreted as the southern ocean at Saurashtra and
Patalena). But the rest, including Gujarat, Saurashtra and Sind, the Konkan, Kuntala and
Maharastra came under different powers. Henceforth their history has to be sketched separately.
SCULPTURE.
The Deccan, has some fine sculpture, human and animal, in the early period. The armed
warrior with unique head-dress in the Vihara at Bhaja is not only the earliest but unmatched later.
Equally remarkable are the full length figures of couples—supposed to be donors—at Karla and
Kanheri. Those at Naneghat, probably the earliest portraits (salika), in India, of the Satavahana
family are no longer preserved. The caves referred to above possess smaller portraits—busts of
men and women, who either look out from a window, as on a facade of the Chaitya cave at Bhaja or
sit on horses, elephants, etc., as on the pillars of the Chaitya-hall at Karla. These might not have
been anatomically correctly shown, but the facial expression of the elephant and other riders is
indeed worth noting. The same is true of the dancers and dancing couples from the Chaitya cave at
Kondane. (Yazdani, History of the Deccan, Vol. I, Part VIII, Fine Arts, pl. iv-v). These show a delight
in life that we miss completely in the later stylized figures. Attention may also be drawn to the figures
kneeling before the Buddha at Ajantha and Aurangabad (at the latter group of 14). Very thick
projecting underlips, short chin with long straight noses, elaborate head-dresses, in almost all these
figures might stand for certain racial or regional types. Portraits of this nature are to be found in the
mediaeval and the later periods.
To this already existing stock, very recent1 discoveries in the caves at Pitalkhora, which on
the evidence of the Buddhist text Mahamayuri is identified with Pitangalaya and Ptolemys’ Petrigala,
has added a very large number of human and animal sculptures, some of them finest in the entire
range of early sculptures. While all these cannot be described in this brief note, attention must be
drawn to the smiling, dwarf Yaksha from the courtyard of cave 3.
A sense of anatomical details, and delight in the work he is doing are readily conveyed by this
figure in the round. A small inscription on his palm dates it to the 2nd century B.C. Only slightly less
remarkable is another smiling dvarapala—also a Yaksha. His face was painted yellow and lips red.
The mithunas, apsaras, and the scene of the Great Departure in which Chandaka leads the horse
Kanthaka with a torch remain unique.
We have then scenes from life. That from the Vihara at Bhaja now believed to be a scene
from the Divyavadana relating the Mandhata’s visit to Sumeru Parvata, where he saw the Kalpa
Vriksha

1
Deshpande, M. N., “ The Rock-cut Caves of Pitalkhora in the Deccan “, I.A. No. 15, pp.63-
93.
26 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

and later drove out the Asuras1—and not a representation of Surya, Indra and others is perhaps the
earliest; those of figures worshipping the Buddhist symbols or the Buddha are later. But perhaps the
most natural and artistically remarkable are two sculptures, as noted by Naik (p. 862) from the cave
No. 1 at Ajantha. One represents the hunt of a wild ox and the other of a deer. The hunters are
armed with bows and arrows, lances and shields.
The mediaeval temples have to offer little in this line. The scene in the Godeshvara at Sinnar
seems to be in reality a Dadhi-manthana. At Jhodga one may see a fight between an amazon and a
man, and at Ambarnath men chastising women. In these, we see some naturalness, some different
kind of action though anatomically the figures might not be up to the mark.
Then there are the donors and dancers and amorous couples (mithunas). Of the latter the
cave at Kondane presents, perhaps the earliest, a scene from life, showing a man dragging a
woman by her hair (Yazdani, op. cit. and CTI. p. 221.). Then later we have them at Karla and other
caves and in mediaeval temples.
True dancers, however, do not appear until the 6th-7th century. Of these, the most
remarkable is a musical concert sculptured in cave No. 7 at Aurahgabad, (Classical Age, Fig-81,
ASWI 3. pl. liv, fig. 5, p. 78). The whole compartment is occupied by seven females rather scantily
dressed ; the central figure is dancing, the others are all engaged on different musical instruments “.
Recently Barrett writes : “ The significance of this scene, easily’ overlooked in the darkness of the
shrine, is unknown. Of its value as a work of art there can be no doubt. The grouping and subtle
recession of the musicians and the extraordinary beauty of the dancer, smiling and absorbed, make
this relief the finest thing at Aurangabad”. (A Guide to the Buddhist Caves of Aurangabad, Bombay,
1957, p. 21). A similar scene, more elaborate but crudely depicted, is sculptured in a 13th century
temple of Ramalinga at Gursalb, (Satara District). Besides, the central female dancer and the male
drummers are shown the audience—males and females— heavily dressed, sitting on sofas and
benches. The latter might represent royal personalities (Naik, p. 865).
Beautiful dancing figures illustrating various poses—Adhomukha, Bhramara, Svastika—from
the Natya-Sastra, (Naik, pp. 369-70) may be cited from the temples at Khidrapur and the temple of
Bhuleshvar at Yavat.
Dancers were invariably accompanied by musicians. The Dashavatara and other caves at
Ellora, and the temple of Koppeshvara at Khidrapur still preserve various forms of Mridanga (drum),
Venu (flute),

1
Gyani, R. G., “ Identification of the so called Surya and Indra Figures in cave No. 20, of the
Bhaja group”. Bulletin, Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, No. 1 (1950-1951), pp. 15-21. Or
according to E. H. Johnston (Marg. Vol. IX, No. 1, pp. 55-58), the scene perhaps represents a story
in the Kulavaka-jataka, where the asuras fled when Sakra suddenly retraced his steps; and another
from a story in the Marasamyuttas, according to which Mara created the form of a gigantic elephant
to frighten the Buddha.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 27

Vina (lute) and Zanja (pair of cymbals). Sculptures illustrating stories from the Ramayana and
Mahabharata first seem to appear in Dashavatara at Ellora.
The vihara at Bhaja gives us perhaps one of the earliest animal sculptures (barring, of course,
those of the Ashokan columns). The so-called ‘ Indra’ panel contains an elephant richly caprisoned,
and below in a corner figures of lions and a bird. The pose of the elephant is very similar to that on a
glass tablet from Maheshvar and early coins (JNSI. Vol. XV, pt. ii, pp. 5-8). Besides there are found
the horse, tiger, deer, ram, wolf, camel, and birds such as geese and swan. All these are carved
with considerable freedom in a variety of postures. Though we lose some of their naturalness, these
animals continue to figure in the later caves and medieval temples. Of these, one may cite the
hamsas and lions carved beautifully in the round on an architrave in the Aishvara temple at Sinnar.
Among vegetable forms, a few trees do appear in the ‘ Indra’ panel at Bhaja, while the pippal
(Bodhi) tree and the lotus plant are a common sight in Buddhist sculptures. Delicately carved trees
are found in the Jaina caves at Ellora. Here an attempt is made to isolate each leaf by deep cutting.
On the whole, these as well as creepers with leaves are throughout well depicted.
Mention may also be made of floral, geometric, architectural and composite designs. The
wooden umbrella in the Chaitya cave at Karla bears a carved lotus; lotus buds, leaves etc. are used
as ornaments in other caves. However, their best specimens are found at Ajantha and in the early
mediaeval temples of the Deccan.
Purely geometric designs, e.g. the circle and the rhomboid are a common feature of the
mediaeval monuments, but are generally absent in the earlier cave architecture.
Of the architecultural designs, the Chaitya-window and the Vedika are the earliest to appear
as they do at Bhaja. The former develops into infinite forms, adorns the shikharas of mediaeval
temples, but finally disappears after the 13th century. The Vedika (or the rail-pattern) is found
restricted to the Buddhist caves only. ‘Composite’ designs included several forms such as ‘ lotus
and beaded strings’ or ‘ scroll and kirtimukhas ‘ or ‘ Makara-toranas’. It is impossible to list all these
combinations. The tree, in the carving of which the early mediaeval artists excel, are the concentric
ceiling with pendants, the makara-toranas and the pot-and-foliage motif. The last two, first appear in
the Mahayana caves at Karla and later at Ajantha. The concentric ceiling with pendants are first
seen at Ambarnath, which is one of the finest in the Deccan.
Before closing the section, a reference must be made to small artistic objects of terracotta,
ivory etc. The terracottas are discussed separately. The ivory objects, so far were found broken, and
consisted of toys and household objects. Recently, however, a beauti-ful figure in the round of a
woman has been found at Ter. It recalls similar ivories from Afghanistan and Italy (Pompei) are of
Indian
28 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

manufacture and exported to the distant countries. The figure is above five inches in height and
locally carved, bespeaks indeed of a flourishing industry in wood and ivory.1
ICONOGRAPHY, Brahmanic.
In the Deccan we have no figures of Hindu (or Brahmanic) gods and goddesses until about
550 A.D. This is indeed regrettable, for there is no scope for the study of regional evolution. Then
suddenly Dashavatara presents us almost a complete Shaiva and Vaishnava pantheon, including
Brahma. Here we see the earliest images of Ganesha, though not yet as a cult image and displayed
so prominently, and the various manifestations of Shiva as Lingodbhava, Samhara-murti
(Andhakasuravadha, Tripurantaka), Havananugraha-murti, Ardha-Narisvara. The dancing (Nritya)
figures of Shiva are carved in other caves. But with Kailasa and, slightly later, Elephanta or (earlier,
if Elephanta is supposed to precede Ellora), we have not only a whole view of Shaiva iconography,
but its finest representation from the point of view of art. The great Mahesha, the Kalyanasundara
and Gangadhara at Elephanta need no description. Iconographically and artistically these are some
of the best known Deccan sculptures. The earliest image of Siva as Mahesha, it appears, is said to
be in the temple of Uttareshvara at Ter. Figures of Shiva as Lakulisa are rare in the
Deccan.(Lakulisha or Elephanta )
The mediaevel temples do not portray all these mythological stories. Those to be commonly
met with are Uma-Shiva, Samhara and Nitya-murtis, and at times Harihara (as the one from
Purandara in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay).
Vishnu also first appears in the Dashavatara as Varaha (human and animal), and
Anantashayi, but throughout, his position is inferior to that of Shiva. This feature persists at
Elephanta. Thus, though Vishnu was quite well-known, we do not see all his manifestations as at
Aihole or Badami, for instance. Besides, Varaha, we find Narasimha, Trivikrama, Vamana,
Govardhanadhari, Kaliyarnardan, Muralidhara, Venugopala. This deficiency is supplied by the
mediaeval temples. Vishnu as Kesava, Narayana, Govinda, Madhava, Madhusudana, in fact, in all
24 forms may be seen in the several temples mentioned previously.
Vishnu as Yogishvara, four-handed and seated in the padmasana, is found in the temple at
Khidrapur. Though now Vitthala is extremely popular in the Deccan, his earliest image standing,
with two hands only and bearing a sankha in the right and padma in the left, a kirita-high mukuta, as
it appears in the temple of Pandharpur, is not found earlier than the 13th century.
Ganesha imagesh first appear, as subsidiary figures in the various representations of Shiva
beginning with the Dashavatara; but not until the mediaeval period does it find an independent
place, as on the door-lintel of a temple. The images are usually seated ; but standing ones at
Belsane, Vagholi and slightly later at Karjat (Naik, A.D., pp. 731-32) are also sometimes found.
Dancing-Nritya-Ganesha—

1
For illustration, see Barrett, Douglas, Ter (Bhulabhai Memorial Institute, Bombay, 1960), pp.
10-11.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 29

which is very rare—is to be seen in the Saptamatrka panel in the temple at Aishvara at Sinnar. In all
these there is not much variation in tomographic details. It is only in the later mediaeval period that
Ganesha’s trunk is generally turned to the left.
Brahma throughout played a secondary part. His images first figure in the Shaiva panels at
Ellora, though according to a revised study of a four-faced image from the Elephanta caves, now in
the Prince of Wales Museum, it would be the earliest figure of Brahma, datable to c. 7th century
A.D.1 Later he is shown in niches around the temple, but never prominently. The early images were
four-faced (the fourth face being hidden behind). Later, in the temples along with the three-faced
images, those with one face are also found. The latter usually have a beard, while among the former
the central face has a beard. The images are generally four-handed. In later images, Brahma is
sometimes accompanied by his consort; while the early images have hamsa-vahana, the later are
usually shown without one.
The Deccan was believed to possess one of the earliest representations of Surya, viz., the
one at Bhaja, where a king with two women on either side is shown on a two-wheeled chariot. Gyani
and others have now identified this sculpture as a depiction of Mandhata’s visit to Sumeru. 2
The next in point of time is the image from Ellora, where Surya i.e shown standing in
samabhanga with two arms, holding lotuses, in each hand. A more elaborate figure with the chariot
is found in the Kumbharvada cave.
Later temples usually depict him in this way. But at Vagholi in the Mudhai Devi temple,
Jalganv, which was originally a Surya-temple, there is a figure of the deity in paryankasana or with
legs left hanging down from a seat, as in Western fashion).
Panels showing navagrahas and the ashtadikpalas are comparatively very rare.
Goddesses were worshipped and shown independently. Of such, we have figures of Shri or
Gaja-Lakshmi first at Pitalkhora (c.1st century B.C.3) and then in the Manmoda cave at Junnar and
later at Ellora and those of Sarasvati in the Buddhist caves 6 and 8, also at Ellora. On her left hand
is a peacock, while in cave 6, there is, in addition, a male figure reading some manuscript.
Sarasvati is beautifully represented in some of the mediaeval temples, for instance, in No. 1
at Belsane, Khidrapur, Patan, etc. In these she is seated in savyalalitasana or virasana, wears a
conical karanda-mukuta and is four-handed. Another goddess who deserves a separate mention is
Mahalakshmi. In her famous shrine at Kolhapur she is shown with a linga on head, and with Matu-
linga, Gada, Khetaka and Kamandalu.

1
Chakravarti, S. N., “The Image of Brahma from Elephanta”, Lalit Kala, No. 1-2 (1955-56),
Plates XXIX-XXIVA.
2
See above under “Sculpture”.
3
See Deshpande, M. N., N, A. I., No. 15, pp. 75 and 80, and Pl. LV,A.
30 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Parvati was worshipped in several forms. The goddess Durga is first found in the
Dashavatara at Ellora, but later she was most popular as Mahishasuramardini.
Perhaps the earliest Jaina images are to be found in the caves of Dharashiva, later at
Mungya Tungya,1 Ellora, Nasik, etc., and in the mediaeval Jaina temples. As a rule these are all
Digambara and figure only the images of Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Shantinatha and the
Yakshas and Yakshinis associated with these.
Buddhist.
Buddhist iconography does not show that development or evolution, and consequently
richness of iconographic forms, as it does in Eastern India—Bihar, Bengal and now Orissa. In
addition to the Hinayana and Mahayana, we have a trickling of the Tantrayana forms and perhaps
none of the Vajrayana.
In the Hinayana, the principal object of worship invariably met with is the Chaitya or the
Stupa. At Karla, pillar No. 30 in the chaitya cave is 16-sided, and on three sides facing the nave are
carved a wheel on a pillar with two deer at the base indicating the 1st sermon, a chaitya
(Mahanirvana) and a lion pillar (the Birth). Even the padukas (foot-prints) of the Buddha are not
depicted in the early caves at Bhaja, Ajantha, Bedsa, Junnar, Karla, Kondane Pitalkhora. Other
scenes from the life of the Buddha, so common elsewhere—Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati,
Nagarjunikonda—seem to be absent from Western India. To this Pitalkhora has recentl’y provided a
welcome exception. A beautiful panel showing ‘ the Great Departure’, it appears, decorated Cave
No. 4.2 Chandaka with a torch in his left hand is shown leading the fully caprisoned horse Kanthaka
out of the palace or town gateway, the presence of Siddhartha on the horse to be inferred by the
umbrella bearer behind the horse. The horse which is generally badly sculptured in ancient Indian
art is indeed well modelled.
These caves again have yielded very fine figures, of several types of Yakshas. Of them, the
finest3 is the one in Cave 3. It is inscribed and is probably the Yaksha Sankarin of the Mahamayuri.
Not less remarkable is the smiling Yaksha4 acting as a dvarapala in the same cave.
Cave 4 depicts a Yakshini carrying a karanda (basket)5 and Kinnaras and Vidyadharas6 of the
early Buddhist subsidiary pantheon.
With the emergence of the Mahayana came the Buddha figure, the Bodhisattvas and the
goddesses, Tara, Bhrikuti, etc. The Buddha is shown mainly in three ways :—
(i) Seated in padmasana,

1
This name might be due to the Tunga dynasty, one of whose inscriptions is recently found in
the Nanded district.
2
Deshpande, op. cit, Pl. LV, B.
3
lbid., Pl. LVI.
4
Ibid., Pl. LVII, A.
5
Ibid., Pl. LVII.
6
Ibid., Pl. LVIII, A. B.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 31

(ii) Seated in pralambasana (in European fashion with the legs dangling down),
(iii) Standing.
The hands are in the dharmachakra, bhumi-sparsha, abhaya or dhyana mudra. (The last only
when he is seated). Buddha is shown in parinirvana, that is lying down dead. It occurs but once at
Ellora, twice or thrice at Ajantha and once in Kanheri.
Among the Bodhisattvas we have Avalokiteshvara, Padmapani and Vajrapani, the seven
Manushi Buddhas (see above) and the future Buddha Maitreya.
Besides these, some incidents-like the Miracle of Sravasti or the eight terrible calamities—are
carved at Ajantha, Ellora and Kanheri (?). The largest number of scenes from the Jatakamala were
painted at Ajantha particularly in Cave XVII.
Though the above is a generalised picture, there are exceptions, showing how gradually even
the Mahayana was being transformed or being influenced by Tantrism, which first arose in Eastern
India. In the early form, the Buddha while seated in pralambasana, his feet resting on a lotus or a
simhasana, with a wheel flanked by a deer on either side and supported by Nagas and Naginis, he
has at times Bodhisattvas with chamaras as his attendants.
But in Cave 9 at Ellora, Buddha is shown in an unusual jatamukuta, holding his garment in the
left hand, while the right is in varadamudra. Further in Caves 11 and 12, which are supposed to be
later, large figures of Buddha are seated either in dhyana, dharmachakra or bhumi-sparsha mudra.
And “these may represent”, it is said, “five Dhyani Buddhas “1
The figures of Avalokiteshvara show the same development. An Avalokiteshvara is two-
armed, having a rosary in his right hand, and in his left a lotus which supports a lotus seat; he wears
ajina and is standing or sitting. But already at Karla a small figure of Dhyani Buddha is shown with
his head-dress. In Cave 11 at Ellora he is seated in Dhyanasana, is adorned with all ornaments, and
in his jewelled crown has a Buddha in varadamudra, and is flanked by Tara and Bhrikuti. In Cave 4
he is shown seated in Pralambasana which seems to be unique. Further in Cave 8 at Aurangabad
we have Avalokiteshvara with four arms, the right hand holding a rosary and in varadamudra,
whereas the left holds a lotus and a chamara.
The ‘ Miracle of Avalokiteshvara’ viz., the protection he affords from fire, sword, chains, ship-
wreck, lion, snake, elephant, and death-are finely depicted in Cave 7 at Aurangabad.
The Bodhisattva Manjushri first appears at Karla as chamara-bearer to the Buddha ; he holds
a rosary in his left hand and has a miniature stupa in his head-dress. It is also the same in the
earlier caves, but in later caves he is shown carrying a book or the lotus in his left hand.

1
Sen Gupta, Guide to Elura (Ellora), p. 4.
32 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

The Bodhisattva Vajrapani has a Vajra in his head-dress in Cave 6 at Ellora. But later he is
shown four-armed in Cave 10, having a Vajra in his lower left hand, and another set in his head-
dress.
A late Cave No. 11, at Ellora shows several Bodhisattvas, viz., with Maitreya with flowers in
his head-dress, Sthirachakra with a sword in his right hand, Manjushri with a book on a lotus and
Jnanaketu with a flag in his left hand.
The seven Manushi Buddhas—three of whom, Vipasyi, Shikti and Vishabhu belong to the
preceding Kalpa (epoch) and four, Kaku-chhanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa and Shakyamuni to the
present Kalpa— are sculptured both at Ellora and Aurangabad. But their representation differs in
each case. At Ellora some are in dhyanamudra, and some in dharmachakramudra, whereas at
Ajantha they are painted in Cave 22, each one having its representative Bodhi tree over him.
But the most important thing is that in the Buddhas from Cave XI-XII at Ellora, as well as in
the seven bronze figures of Buddha found from the Sopara Stupa, the hem of the upper garment is
drawn over the left shoulder and hangs in a short, pleated fold. Now this is a characteristic feature of
the Pala Buddha figures from Nalanda in Bihar. We can legitimately infer Tantric Buddhist influence
from this quarter at Ellora and even at Sopara.
There is, however, some difficulty in identifying the seven Buddhas from Sopara with the
seven Manushi Buddhas as Dikshit has pointed out,1 though Barrett2 perhaps not aware of this, has
definitely accepted this identification. If this is not correct, then as Dikshit has marked ‘Sopara finds
(figures) must be considered as unique and striking an eitirely original note’.
Jambhala, an early Buddhist god of wealth, is depicted normally with a citron in his right hand
and a book in his left and flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Mayuri in Cave 6 at Ellora, but later in
Cave 11, he is shown sitting on a man with citron in his right hand and a purse with coins in his left
hand, and on his either side are Prajnaparamita and Avalokiteshvara.
The female goddesses are comparatively few but they too herald unmistakably the advent of
early Tantrism. For instance, besides Hariti, we see Tara standing with a lotus in her hand (Cave 8,
Ellora), once with her miracles (Cave 9), Mahamayuri (Cave 6), Bhrikuti and Prajnaparamita.
However, the most remarkable is the occurrence of one female Bodhisattva in Cave 8, three in
Cave 11, 6 at Aurangabad, Cave 7, Group 1, and 12 in Cave 12 at Ellora on the side and back wall
of the antechamber. Each of the latter has her-right hand in Varada and is seated in lalitasana on a
lotus, supported by two Nagas. The first Bodhisattva holds a lotus and kamandalu in her left hand,
and a rosary in her right and wears ajina over her left shoulder and a curious chaitya-like object in
her Jatamukuta. No doubt about the Tantric form is left by a female Bodhisattva in

1
J. G. R. S., vol. I, No. 4, p. 5.
2
Lalit Kala, Nos. 3-4 (1957), 0-42.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 33

Cave 12, who is identified as Chunda. She is seated in dhyanasana, is adorned with ornaments and
wears a kaccha bandha and has four hands which hold a lotus in the back right hand and
Kamandalu in her back left, whereas, the front hands hold a bowl. She is the only feminine
emanation of Vajrasattva bearing the image of the Dhyani Buddha on the crown. And lastly there is
a female figure in Cave 11 which strides over a prostrate male, either in imitation of Mahisha-
suramardini of the Brahmanic pantheon or Aparajita of later Tantrayana.
PAINTING.
Most of the caves in Maharashtra, early or late, were at one time painted. Traces of these still
Remain at Junnar and Bedsa. in the Poona district. However, it is at Ajantha that these paintings
have remained comparatively more intact than anywhere else. And rightly have they received the
attention1 they deserve from the laymen, students of art as well as art critics. Instead of going into
details, it would therefore suffice to mention first that the paintings are not technically frescoes
(fresco buono). For in this technique the pigments are mixed with water without any binding medium
and applied on a fresh wet lime-plaster. At Ajantha, on the other hand, the binding medium is
supposed to be glue. Secondly, they range over a period of some ten centuries, and fall into two or
three periods, the earliest being in Caves 9 and 10 and dated to the 2nd-1st centuries B.C. Of the
later Caves, Nos. 16 and 17, called in the inscriptions ‘ magnificent dwellings’ were excavated by
Varahadeva and a feudatory respectively of the Vakataka king Harisena (c. 475—500 A.D.), while
some still later in the 8th-9th century. Thirdly, most of the paintings even in Caves 16 and 17 depict
incidents from the life of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva and the Jatakas (stories of the past life of the
Buddha), whereas the paintings on the ceiling are essentially decorative, showing varied patterns
with flowers, plants, fruits, birds, beasts and human and semi-divine beings, and not some
contemporary scenes as the embassy of an Iranian king at the court of Pulakesin II (in Cave 1, for
instance) as was generally believed. Nevertheless, it is also true that while the scenes might be
from the Jatakas, the artists might have and seem to have, introduced certain features in dress and
ornaments, furniture and household utensils, from the life around them. It is thus that we can explain
the occurrence of Iranian-looking head-dress of some people in Cave 1, people wearing beards and
striped shorts, and spouted pots. Even the use of lapislazuli as a colour, which is absent in the
earlier paintings, but present in the later paintings implies Iranian influence, as this is found in Iran
and Afghanistan.
However, it is the artistic aspect of the paintings, which has drawn world-wide praise, that
commands our attention. With only four colours—red and yellow ochre, terre verde, lime, lamp-black
and lapislazuli, the Ajantha artists have created masterpieces of art ‘ which throughout maintain an
exalted height and enthral the spectator by

1
For a brief bibliography, sec Debala Mitra, Ajantha (Department of Archaeology,
Government of India, Delhi, 1956).
34 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

their rich beauty, superb expressiveness, colour scheme, balanced and effective composition, fine
shading and high light bringing into relief a plasticity and sensitive modelling of the figures, bold but
faultless outline, delicate and idealised, but never unnatural, bodily features and women ever
beautiful in all conceivable poses and moods. In fact, the paintings have stood the highest art
standard of mural paintings’.
CULTS.
Regarding the cults, Shaivism was more popular in the Deccan. The temples of other deities
such as Vishnu, Surya, are comparatively very few. That of Brahma none at all, though there are a
couple of temples of other goddesses in the Deccan region.
Dr. Naik has ably pointed out the cult characteristic of the cave temples and later structural
temples in the Deccan. For want of space, all these cannot be separately given here. From his
studies, certain broad results emerge. These are as follows : —
(1) Cult Images.— (i) Shiva temples, both excavated and structural had a linga.
(ii) Temples of Vishnu had an image of some form of Vishnu.
(iii) Temples of Surya, had an image of Surya,
(iv) Temples of Devi had an image of Devi,
(v) Temple of Ganesha (only one and very late) had an image of Ganesha.
(2) Orientation.—(i) Shiva’s structural temples faced either the east or the west,
(ii) Vishnu even north,
(iii) Surya east or west,
(iv) Devi even south,
(v) Ganesha east.
(3) Ganapati is found in the centre of the door-lintel in most of the structural temples of Shiva.
Shaiva Goddesses and Ganesha may even be found in the temples of Surya and Vishnu. But upon
the lintels of the most of the temples of Vishnu and Vaishnava Goddesses is found an image of
Garuda.
(4) (i) Pure Shaiva temples have only Shaiva Parivaradevatas.
(ii) Ordinary Shaiva temples have a mixture of Vaishnava and other deities as well.
(iii) Pure Vaishnava temples have Vaishnava sculptures only.
(iv) Temples of goddesses have a preponderance of female sculpture.
(v) Temples of Surya have also the images of Shaiva and Vaishnava deities as well.
Generally the temples faced the east and except those of Ganesha (which are very few and
late), those of Shiva, Vishnu and Surya never faced the south. Ganesha acquired his present
popularity, an almost concomitant of all auspicious occasions, as attested to by a detailed
epigraphical survey, by the late 10th century. All these conclusions are in perfect accordance with
those obtained from Gujarat and point to a general crystallization of religious thoughts and practices
at this period.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 35

COINS AND BULLIE.

The numismatic and allied data brought to light in the excavations, explorations and treasure-
troves in Maharashtra can be divided into two groups, viz., coins and bullie.
Coins.
Punch-marked.
The earliest coins that are reported are the punch-marked coins of silver. Prior to the
excavations, finds of the hoards of such coins were found at Sinhi near Kolhapur (1871), Sultanpur
near Wai in Satara district (1876) and at Bahal in Khandesha (1943) which is the largest of the
three. All the three hoards have not properly been classified, and the dating of these remains
uncertain except the observation that the hoard from Sinhi was associated with a gold ring bearing
letters in Ashokan Brahmi. That from Bahal shows a variety of motifs which depict animals like the
bull, elephant, and the deer, aquatic animals like the frog and the fish, plants or trees with or without
railing, group of arches, human figures, and religious symbols like the taurine, etc. In the case of the
coins from Sultanpur, it is not evident whether these can be really called punch-marked as most of
them are impressed with a die rather than punched. The motifs on these square and round coins
have not been properly designated, but have a similarity to the taurus and quarter-foil motifs.
The excavations in Maharashtra have been neither many nor extensive. As such, punch-
marked coins recovered in these are few in number. Whatever such coins are reported are from
Paithan and Nevasa. Those from the first are as yet unpublished while the evidence from the latter
site restricts itself to two coins having the taurine and the solar symbols. Both these are of copper,
of which one is coated with silver and thus might belong to the Mauryan period.
The evidence as a whole hardly reveals any new features either in shape or motifs punched.
Square or rectangular in shape, the coins of this category as found in Maharashtra hardly reveal any
deviation from those which are more abundant in the north. In date also, the specimens from
Maharashtra might be later than those from north India.
Tribal.
The next in antiquity are the so called tribal coins which are die-struck and are made of
copper. These are still meagre in quantity whereas they are found in a fairly good number in
Madhya Pradesha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesha.
The tribal coins so far reported in Maharashtra are those from Nevasa. These are made of
copper and are rectangular in shape. Two groups can be discerned in these, viz., the Ujjain and the
Eran-like group. The former bears the Ujjain symbol and the arched hill, whereas the Eran group
has standing human figures, svastika, with triple tips, shadaracakra and a taurine. Such coins are
reported from Ujjain, Eran (Madhya Pradesa), Saurashtra and Gujarat. So far as the available
evidence goes, Nevasa seems to be at present the known southernmost limit for such coins.
36 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

The preceding two categories do not seem to have been indigenous to the Deccan and are
thus found in small quantities. The case with the coins of the Satavahanas is totally different. The
Satavahanas were the first emperors of the Deccan who belonged to this region. As such, the
coinage of this dynasty has been reported from a number of sites like Nasik, Nevasa, Kolhapur, Ter,
Karhad, Paithan, Chanda, Tarhala in Maharashtra.
Satavahana.
The metals used by the Satavahanas for their coinage were copper, lead and potin; silver
being restricted mainly to the coinage of only three kings who came in contact with the Kshatrapas.
Almost all the coins bear the animal motif (bull, elephant, lion, etc.), on the obverse with the legend,
and the reverse having a variety of motifs, like the tree-in-railing, fishes, taurine, river, nandipada,
Ujjain symbols and svastika. Portrait coins come only in imitation of the Kshatrapas. Along with this
the Ujjain symbol is also absent on the early coins of the dynasty,1 which thus shows that the
territories of the early rulers of the Satavahanas, did not come in contact with regions outside the
Deccan.
The excavations at Nevasa have brought to light five coins bearing the legend Shri-
Satavahana. The coins of this legend are also known from Hyderabad, which are different. This
points to two facts; firstly, there seem to have been more than one king who bore this name, and
secondly, all those early coins are from the heart of Maharashtra which points to the possibility of this
region being the homeland of this dynasty.
Besides this, the hoards at Tarhala and Chanda have brought to light certain kings whose
names do not occur in the traditional Puranic lists. The coins of these kings named as Kumbha,
Karna, Shaka, Skanda and others and bearing the motif of an elephant on the obverse and the
Ujjain symbol on the reverse belong to the later days of the dynasty when it lost its hold on the
mainlands.
The technique of coin-making as revealed by the coins of this dynasty shows that the die
used for stamping is normally bigger than the size of the coin with the result that the legend and the
motifs fall out and are incomplete. However, in clarity and motif they are remarkable, but more or
less stereotyped so far as the animal motif is concerned. The only exception is the ship-type coin of
Yajna Satakarni.
The influence of the Gujarat Kshaharata and Kshatrapa coinage on that of the Satavahanas
restricted itself only to the coinage of two or three kings. Those who came in conflict with these
foreigners either restruck their silver coins or adopted the portrait motif as in the case of
Gautamiputra.
Kura.
A number of coins of lead, round in shape, die-impressed, heavy in weight, with thick letters,
having a bow and arrow on the obverse, and tree-in-railing on the reverse, have been found in the
last decade or so at Kolhapur and Nerle (Satara district). These belong to three

1
The Ujjain symbol is clearly seen on the early coins of Satavahana. See Studies in Indology,
Vol. I, Pl. I. (V.V. M.).
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 37

kings, viz., Vashisthiputra, Gautamiputra and Madhariputra and are often restruck mutually. All the
three kings thus have metronymic names and have the suffix Vilivayakura, which has not been
satisfactorily explained. Some scholars take them to be the feudatories of the Satavahanas, while
others assign them to the Kura or Ankura dynasty. However, the latest study of the coins from the
excavations from Kolhapur has shown that the Kuras were a separate dynasty contemporaneous
with the early Satavahanas. They do not seem to be the feudatories of the latter and were deprived
of their dominions by either Shri Satakarni or Pulumavi.
Cutu and Maharathi.
These dynasties, which were the contemporaries of the Satavahanas, have been accounted
for by1 coins mostly from Kolhapur. As is well known, the; Maharathis had a matrimonial alliance
with the Satavahana dynasty.
The coins of the Cutus, whose rule seems to have been over regions near Kanheri, North
Kanara and Mysore, are of lead and bear the three-tiered hill on the obverse and the tree-in-railing
on the reverse. The former motif is also found on the Kshatrapa coinage.
The Maharathi coins belong mostly to regions of the periphery of the present Maharashtra
State. However, the lead ones as found at Kolhapur have an identity with those of the Kura dynasty
discussed above.
Kshatrapa.
As compared to the Gujarat region the Kshatrapa and Kshaharata coins reported from
Maharashtra are much less. Save the Jogalthembi hoard of Nahapana’s coins, no other collections
of these dynasties are reported. Stray coins do occur as at Poona and Nasik, both of which were
looked after by their governors. The excavations so far carried out in the present State have not
turned out Kshatrapa coins.
It has already been noted that the round silver coinage of the Kshatrapas had a passing
influence on contemporary Satavahana rulers. On the whole, the coinage of this dynasty bears the
head of the king on the obverse and the three-arched chaitya surrounded by legend in very fine thin
letters. The copper coins are rare, but the silver ones are after those of Nahapana whose
standardisation can be co-related to the hemi-drachms of the Graeco-Indian kings. The coinage of
the Kshatrapas in its turn influenced that of the Guptas and the Traikutakas of a later date.
From the point of view of workmanship, the silver coinage of Kshatrapas is distinctly
disciplined. The clarity of the letters, motifs and the profile of the king with hair-lock flowing over the
neck, a tight fitting head-dress and prominent nose are remarkable, for no contemporary dynasty in
this region or elsewhere had such portrait coins. The coins, mostly round, also give the date and
titles of the king in Sanskrit mixed with Prakrit.
Coinage from the Gupta to the Shilahara Period.
There is a great paucity of numismatic data from about the 5th century A.D. onwards till one
comes to the mediaeval period. This is because of the unsettled and changing political pattern of
Maharashtra. Even the great Rashtrakutas who arose and consolidated

1
[Coins of several Kshatrapa kings have been found in Vidarbha. See Studies in Indology, vol.
III, pp. 93 f.—V. V. M.]
38 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

their hold over this region, have not left for us any coins. Similar is the case of the Yadavas who
have left to us a few padmatankas. This being the case, the numismatic history suffers from a gap
of a little more than five hundred years.
The Shilaharas who came to power in the Deccan and North Konkan in about the 9th-11th
century A.D. have left some coins as the evidence from Kolhapur and allied region shows. However,
the data are not sufficient for a comparative study.
Shilahara.
The tiny gold coins about half an inch in diameter have the garuda emblem on the reverse
and the trisula on the obverse. It is well known that the copper plates of the dynasty refer to the
Suvarna-garuda-dhvaja as the emblem of the family. There is, however, no legend on these coins
and as such their attribution to the Shilaharas is not yet final.
Besides gold, silver coins also were issued by the Konkan branch of the dynasty.
Bullie. Roman.
In the first three centuries of the Christian era when the Deccan through the coastal ports,
came in contact with the Romans, a number of Roman coins seem to have entered India. Soon the
copies of such coins in terracotta, lead and gold started and were worn possibly as ornaments.
The Roman coins were remarkable for their precise delineation of the human and divine
figures. Their copies in terracotta and metal have been reported from a number of places in the
south and the western India. In Maharashtra they come from Kolhapur, Nevasa, Ter, Paithan and
Kondapur. These are usually circular pieces with perforations and depict royal heads, Roman
goddesses etc., in a dotted border. The bullies imitating the coins of Tiberius are numerous. Similar
metal pieces with the head of a goddess on it are even now used in rural Maharashtra. As such the
bullie represents an aspect of non-indigenous influence on Maharashtrian life.
BEADS, PENDANTS AND AMULETS.
In recent years, archaeological excavations at various sites in Maharashtra have yielded
thousands of beads and a few bead-pendants and amulets. These indicate not only the flair for
decoration and the artistic selection of indigenous and imported material, but also the ideas
connected with certain shapes on the basis of religion and superstition which formed a part and
parcel of the culture of the people in the past.
Materials.
Practically all the sites inhabited during the Chalcolithic and subsequent historical periods
have brought to light beads in different materials. Nasik, Nevasa, Prakashe, Bahal, Diamabad,
Kolhapur, Karhad, Ter, and Paithan have brought forth beads of agate, carnelian, chalcedony,
jasper, amethyst, amazonite, coral, glass, terracotta, crystal, shell, steatite, faience and copper. It
may be pointed out that most of the semi-precious stones in these occur as veins in the Deccan trap
area and as such seem to have been utilized for bead-making throughout the remote and the recent
past. Evidence for the local bead industry in the Deccan is
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 39

furnished by the excavations at Kolhapur and Nevasa where beads in various stages of
manufacture have been found. Apart from the use of local material like chalcedony, jasper and
carnelian, beads of non-indigenous material like lapislazuli bespeak of import from abroad
especially Afghanistan and Iran.
Method of Making.
A study of these various finished and unfinished beads shows the various stages in their
manufacture. Preparing the core, flaking it to a requisite shape, perforating the bead and polishing it,
were three stages as indicated by half flanked, semi-perforated and incompletely polished
specimens. It is likely that very fine drills of diamond were used. The perforation was never done
through from one end, but was done half-way from both ends so that it was asymmetrical and very
minute at the end of the double perforation from either side. The use of a lathe for polishing or that
of a pot for moving the beads briskly for polishing cannot be ruled out. That was the case so far as
the beads of semi-precious stones are concerned. The beads of material like faience and steatite,
which are one of the outstanding culture-criterion of the Chalcolithic period as at Nevasa and
Diamabad, demanded a different method. On a piece of string, cylinders of this material were
applied which were incised around the body to cut off discs from it later on. Such cylinders along
with the thread were set to fire which resulted in the burning away of the thread and the creating of a
perforation. Hundreds of tiny discs and cylinders have been found at Nevasa and Bahal in the
Chalcolithic levels. As against this, the biconical beads of pure copper at Nevasa show that they
were made by a process of hot hammering.
The glass bead industry of the later mediaeval period of the Deccan involved a number of
different techniques. These result in the beads being of drawn glass or wound or coiled or moulded,
composite or spirally wound glass. All these techniques have been evidenced at Nevasa and
Kolhapur. The latter site has given moulds of slate stone of the Satavahana period, which turned out
square beads in two parts which were joined together later on. The making of glass beads involved
a complete control over temperature and the mastery in fusing together different parts either of the
same colour or of differently coloured plastic glass. The industry of polychrome bangles seems to
have formed an important cottage industry in Maharashtra round about the 13th-14th centuries A.D.
That glass was locally prepared on a medium scale in small kilns has been recently evidenced by
the discovery of such a kiln along with hundreds of pieces of glass slag and waste slag in one of the
houses of the Muslim period in the excavations at Nevasa.
Shapes.
There is a wide range of shapes. As the earliest habitations of the Chalcolithic period have as
yet not been excavated on a large scale in the Deccan, the material associated with those appears
to be much less than that met with in the historical period. However, with the available evidence, it
appears that beads with geometrical
40 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

shapes predominated in all periods. In spite of this, some of the beads in semi-precious stones like
agate and carnelian show remarkable skill in facetting, in the early centuries of the Christian era.
As remarked above, some beads in all the ages, reflect ideas connected with magic, religion
and superstition. Thus, besides, providing evidence of the decorative patterns, beads at Nevasa and
other Chalcolithic sites like Jorve, Bahal and Diamabad were found to have contributed to the
making up of one of the items of funerary goods. At all these sites scores of beads of agate,
chalcedony, steatite and carnelian have been found in child and adult burials.
Bead-Amulets.
Bead-amulets and pendants of the historical period seem to go a step further. They definitely
give us an idea of the superstitions current in the contemporary society. For instance ‘eye-beads’
have been reported from a number of sites in the Deccan. These begin from the Chalcolithic times
and continue upto the present day. These beads were worn to protect one from the supposed bad
effect of an evil eye. Such beads made either of semi-precious stones like agate or of artificial
material like glass are so executed as to depict the pattern of the human eye by means of a black
dot on a white surface. In glass it was found to have been made by using differently coloured plastic
glass fused together. In the case of stones, either dotted or banded material was suitably chosen or
coloured pieces of stones were inlaid in another stone. However, these techniques were widely
adopted elsewhere outside the Deccan as well. As such, there is nothing distinct about them. Along
with such beads, amulets imitating the leg of a human being have recently been reported from
Nevasa in the late mediaeval levels.
Bead-amulets imitating the shape of some animals are also met with in the early historic
layers. These are widely reported from a number of sites in contemporary horizons outside
Maharashtra. The evidence from excavations in the Deccan in this regard is meagre. However,
mention may be made of the puissant lion amulet in pure crystal from Nasik, and the delicate Nandi
amulet in terracotta from Nevasa. Both these belong to the early centuries of the Christian era. The
former, perforated below the mane is remarkable for its workman-ship and excellent polish, whereas
the latter executed in double mould is exquisite in the details of the plump muscular outlines of the
Nandi and delicate details of the lotus petals on which the animal rests.
Amulets after weapons, fruits, flower (rosette) and religious symbols are very few. It may be
noted that whereas amulets like the eye-beads seem to have been current right from the
Chalcolithic period onwards in Maharashtra, the bead-amulets after the pattern of a dagger, or an
amalaka or triratna symbol are reported only prior to the Gupta levels in this area. Of all these, the
Yaksha amulet from the 1st-2nd century B.C. levels at Nevasa is remarkable. Executed in the
terracotta in double mould, the piece depicts a standing Yaksha wearing a dhoti and has a close
affinity to similar
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 41

figures in stone reported from the Pitalkhora caves where these are identified as the Yaksha
Sankarin.
Another set of bead-amulets and bead-pendants are the imitations of the Roman coins in
terracotta or metal. These have been reported from Kolhapur, Nevasa and Paithan. These came to
be in use in the first two or three centuries of the Christian era when contacts with the outside world
grew up on a large scale through trade. They depict the head of a king after the fashion of Roman
coins or the full-size figure of a Roman goddess. Somewhat similar things are even now worn by
womenfolk in rural Maharashtra which they call ‘putali’ depicting some goddess.
Bead-Pendants.
Besides the beads with regular geometrical shapes and the bead- amulets, a few pendants
have also been reported. However, these repeat the shapes—like drop pendant, double-capped
pendant, pillar-like pendant, along with spacers—found in earlier contexts elsewhere and as such,
cannot be credited to be local innovations. Moreover, they survive over a long period and as such,
are useless for dating purposes.
Summary.
In short, though the antiquity of beads goes back to the first millenium B.C. in Maharashtra,
and though they show a variety in the use of locally available materials, they fail to exhibit a
spectacular range of shapes and workmanship as is noticed in the early historical beads in the
Gangetic valley. It is only when one comes to the late mediaeval period that evidence of some sort
of an ‘industry’ of glass beads is met with.
METALLURGY AND OBJECTS. Antiquity.
Evidence from various excavations has indicated that the earliest use of copper or bronze
goes back to at least the first millenium B.C. in the Deccan. Iron started much later say about
second-third century B.C. and its use on a large scale is evidenced in the early centuries of the
Christian era.
Variety.
The objects of copper or iron show a vivid range of utensils and can be grouped into the
following categories :—(a) Tools, (b) Weapons, (c) Objects of household use, (d) Objects of toilet,
and (e) Ornamental objects.
Tools.
The tools comprise those used in carpentry such as chisels, nails, adze, drills, axes and
those used in agriculture like sickles and pick-axes.
Axes.
The antiquity of the axes goes back to the copper or bronze age dated to the first millenium
B.C. as evidenced by excavations at Jorve and Diamabad, both of which are situated on the river
Pravara. Besides these being of bronze or copper, they differ entirely from those of the succeeding
historical phase when iron axes came into use. The axes or the celts of bronze are rectangular in
outline with a convex edge. In section they are biconvex at the edge, but flat towards the butt.
Containing 1.78 per cent of tin, they represent a low grade alloy or bronze. In typology, these are
more akin to the Indus axes than those from the Gangetic valley or elsewhere. By virtue of their
shape which did not provide for
42 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

a socket for insertion of a wooden handle, such rectangular celts were tied to a wooden handle
possibly by means of roots or leather.
The tradition of such celts seems to have gone out of vogue with the disappearance of the
Chalcolithic folk. By about the second century B.C. the socketted axe of iron, which has continued to
this day, emerges. This has a round socket at one end while the blade tapers into a sharp edge.
Such iron axes have been reported from the early Satavahana levels from Nasik and Paithan, and
from the deposits of early centuries of the Christian era at Nevasa.
Socketted pick-axes with slightly curved blade with a pointed tip, which have not so far been
reported from Chalcolithic deposits from the Deccan are found in Indo-Roman levels at Nevasa and
continue even in Shilahara times at Brahmapuri (Kolhapur).
Chisels.
Earliest chisels in Maharashtra come from the Chalcolithic deposits at Nevasa. An intact
specimen made of copper has a long rectangular body with a flat square and a double-sloped edge.
That it was made by hot forging is evident from the overlapping edges. This shape is totally absent
in Indus Valley sites, where chisels with shanks or burned butts are common.
Similarly made chisels in iron appear in the second century B.C. levels at Nevasa, though
these differ in size which is more thick and stumpy. Another variety, belonging to the same period
but having a round body with sharp levelled edge is reported from Nasik. Similar chisels with a
round body and a pointed or spread edge are used by the masons even now.
Drill.
So far, there is not such an evidence about this type of tool as would warrant a general
statement regarding its typology. However, no drills of any metal have been reported from
Chalcolithic deposits from the Deccan. Drills appear for the first time, so far, in early historic levels.
These are made of iron. Nasik and Nevasa have given two different types. Whereas that from the
first consists of a spirally twisted thin strap of iron, that from the latter site shows possibly a grooved
shaft having a sharp tapering point. No wooden accompaniments of these have been so far found.
Adze.
Similar is the case with adze. Whereas in the Chalcolithic times adzes of polished dolerite
stone were used, those of the historical period are made of iron. The iron adze reported from
Nevasa of the early centuries of the Christian era, consists of a flat blade with a shaft. This shape
continues to this date.
Nails, Hooks and Clamps.
Along with the tools described above, hundreds of iron nails, hooks and clamps have turned
up in different excavations. None of these items have so far been found in any other material prior to
the third century B.C. in Maharashtra.
Of these, the nails show a wide range of shapes of which the most common seems to be that
with a round body and a spread head. These continue to be from the early historic to the end of the
Bahamani period as at Nasik, Prakashe, Kolhapur and Karhad. It may, however, be pointed out that
nails, besides being used in wood work
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 43

were also used for fixing tiles to the rafters below. As such, tiles and nails have been found in
abundant quantities in the early centuries of the Christian era when it was a practice of roof houses
with terracotta tiles, having perforations.
Ordinary hooks—to distinguish them from fish-hooks—and clamps are not many. Only
Nevasa and Kolhapur have yielded them so far. Here they occur from the early historic and continue
even during the Muslim-Maratha times. These are made of thin rods with curved sharp ends. Similar
is the case of clamps made of a horizontal rod of iron with two lower projections at both the ends.
These are restricted only to the Indo-Roman deposits.
Apart from the carpentry tools discussed above, several others of agricultural and fishing
usage have been found. These comprise sickles, fish-hooks and harpoons.
Sickles.
So far only Nevasa, Bahal and Kolhapur are reported to have yielded sickles of iron in the
Satavahana period. Prior to the advent of iron, the Chalcolithic people used sharp retouched
microliths set in a row close to one another in a piece of bone or wood. The sickles of the iron age
however, are mostly curved iron blades sharp on the inner edge and having a tang which was fixed
in a wooden handle.
Harpoons and Fish-hooks.
Objects which are probably harpoons and fish-hooks have been found only at one site in
Maharashtra and those too in the historical period. Though copper fish-hooks and harpoons are
reported from Chalcolithic times elsewhere, these are not found so far in any Chalcolithic site of the
Deccan.
The fish-hooks which consist of thin rods of iron with upturned pointed ends with no barbs,
and harpoons with barbs on top or which are leaf-like with slightly bent point, have been met with
from the early historic to the Bahamani period at Kolhapur, whereas they belong to the early historic
levels at Nevasa.
Weapons.
Along with the tools of technical use, a large number of tools of offence have been brought to
light in recent excavations. These comprise knives, arrow-heads, spear-heads, daggers, choppers
and caltrops.
Knife-blades.
Save in Diamabad, copper knife-blades have not been found any- where else. The Diamabad
specimen is a fragmentary piece which does not indicate its complete shape. Knives with tangs and
medium broad, straight, curved or plano-convex blades appear for the first time in c. 600-300 B.C.
levels at Bahal, and at Kolhapur, the latter having an exact parallel from Adicannallur. Abundant
varieties of these occur in the early centuries of the Christian era at Ter, Nevasa, Nasik, Paithan,
Karhad and Prakashe. All these are tanged and have been found associated with fragmentary
handles of ivory and bone.
Spearheads.
Unlike the knife-blades, no spearheads have been reported so far prior to 4th/5th century B.C.
Iron spearheads appear for the first time at Bahal along with dagger-heads assignable to the period
44 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

mentioned above. In later levels at Nasik and Nevasa, they reveal two types, e.g., socketted and
tanged. The former variety having a triangular blade is reported from Nasik where it is dated to the
early Satavahana period. Nevasa, on the other hand, has given both the socketted and the tanged
varieties assignable to the early centuries of the Christian era. These have an elongated triangular
blade. Though spears continued to be in use during the Muslim-Maratha period, none of them have
been traced in excavations so far.
Arrowheads.
The story regarding arrowheads is similar to that of the spear-heads. No arrowheads of either
copper or bronze have been reported from any Chalcolithic site, from Maharastra. It can be
attributed to two possible reasons. Firstly, no Chalcolithic deposits have been extensively excavated
so far, and secondly, the use of copper or bronze itself was on a limited scale due to the scarcity of
the metal itself. It is also well-known that tanged points of chalcedony, etc., were used as possible
arrowheads in the Chalcolithic period.
Coming to about the third century B.C., one comes across iron arrowheads of varied types,
some even corroborating the information as given in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The earliest evidence,
so far of iron arrowheads comes from Bahal where they occur in c. 600-300 B.C. levels. Nevasa,
Nasik, Ter, Karhad and Kolhapur have yielded arrowheads which are mostly tanged ones. The
socketted variety is on the whole rare. For want of limited evidence, no precedence or otherwise of
any one type over the other can be established at present.
The blades of these arrowheads show quite a range of shapes, such as leaf-shaped,
triangular, crescent-like, spiked, so on and so forth. These concentrate mostly in the Satavahana
and Indo-Roman levels, though their use was attested to even in the Bahamani period at Kolhapur.
Caltrop.
The most remarkable weapon of offence amongst all these has been reported from Nasik. It
is-called caltrop and can be equated with ‘trika’ of Kautilya. This is a four-spiked weapon which
when thrown on the ground rests with two spikes upwards. This was first traced at Shisupalgad in
Orissa in the c. 200-300 A.D. levels. At Nasik, on the other hand, it belonged to c. 300-200 B.C.,
deposits. Right from Kautilya’s times upto the first World War, similar caltrops were spread on the
ground to obstruct the attack of the cavalry.
Objects of Houseold Use.
Along with all these tools and weapons, several objects of household use have been
unearthed. These comprise lamps, ladles, bowls, dishes, frying shovels, pokers, etc.
Lamps.
So far the earliest lamps of the first millenium B.C. copper age are found to be oval-shaped
terra cotta pieces. However, by about the 2nd century B.C. lamps of iron in the shape of bowls with
slightly pinched lips seem to have come into use as at Nevasa and Ter. It is likely that they were
kept on some stand with support as their bases are round.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 45

Laddles, Frying shovels and Dishes.

Iron laddles in the shape of a bowl with either vertical or horizontal rod-holds came to be in use
in the early centuries of the Christian era as the evidence from Nevasa shows. Similar is the case
with frying shovels with a broad squarish blade and a straplike handle which are reported in the
Indo-Roman levels. However, the most notable object is a dish with a central boss recovered from
Nevasa in the same period..
It is significant that frying shovels, dishes with a boss, laddles and drills, etc., should be found
in association with other objects showing non-indigenous affinities. In this connection, it is to be
noted that all these objects having similar shapes with those found in Maharastra have been
reported for the first time at Taxila in the early centuries of the Christian era when the Indo-Romans
had a cultural influence, over the area. Literary evidence abounds in the information of trade
relations which the coastal Maharashtra and its interior regions like Junnar and Paithan, developed in
the late Satavahana period. As such, it may not be incorrect to hold that these domestic utensils
were the legacy of foreign contact. It is interesting to note that frying shovels and ladies continue to
have the same shape to this day.
Ornaments and Objects of Toilet.
Objects of toilet and ornamental objects of copper and iron are not many. They exhibit a
limited range and comprise bangles, and a leg-ring (called vala in Marathi). These go back to at
least the first millenium B.C. as evidenced by Jorve and Nevasa. Whereas the former was an
unstratified find associated with Chalcolithic assemblage, the latter was found around the leg part of
the skeletal remains of a child buried in urns. The former is a thick ring of copper and the latter a
thin specimen resembling similar valas used even today.
No bangles of metal are reported from the mediaeval period when glass and shell took the
place of metal.
Rings.
Rings of metal are very scarce in the Chalcolithic period. Plain specimens appear in a
remarkable quantity in the Satavahana period when they occur along with monochrome glass rings.
It is only in the first two or three centuries of the Christian era, when Roman contacts developed
through trade, that one comes across rings with ornamental bezels. A few of such rings with oblong
or circular bezels have sometimes the provisions of a depression for setting precious stone in them.
There is a remarkable similarity between these bezelled-rings from Maharashtra to the
contemporary specimens found at Taxila.
Metal rings seem to have given place to glass rings—monochrome and polychrome—in the
Muslim-Maratha period.
Beads.
Nevasa has been the first site to give beads of copper belonging to the first millenium B.C.
These were found in two sets, the first being a group of three biconical hollow beads made by hot
hammering and consisting of pure copper, and the second set consisting of fourteen barrel-shaped
beads forming a necklace around the neck of a buried child. These beads were woven in silk
46 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

and cotton thread. In no other site of the Chalcolithic period such biconical beads have been
reported so far.
Metal beads seem to have gone out of vogue in the early historic and subsequent periods, as glass
replaced metal.
Pins.
Pins with solid, coiled or bi-foil heads have a long history. They occur in the Chalcolithic levels
at Diamabad, though in a fragmentary state. Those with a solid loop and pointed end and made of
iron occur at Kolhapur. However, it is only in the Indo-Roman period that they are met with in an
elaborate form showing affinities to contemporary specimens from Taxila. It may not be incorrect to
hold that along with apparatus of domestic use like frying shovels, etc., pins of metal were also an
extension of foreign contacts.
Pins are not met with in the late historical or mediaeval period. The only specimen, so far
known, comes from Shilahara levels from Kolhapur.
Kohl-Sticks.
Along with pins, kohl-sticks or antimony rods for use in applying collyrium to the eyes, formed
an important article for toilet from at least the Chalcolithic times in Maharashtra.
Whereas these are made of copper in the shape of a rod with either one or both the ends
bulbous as in the Chalcolithic period, they continue along with elaborately decorated specimens of
bone and ivory in the early historical and subsequent periods, as attested to by Nasik, Nevasa, Ter,
Prakashe and Karhad finds.
Summary.
A short survey of the art of metallurgy in Maharashtra shows that its antiquity goes to the first
millenium B.C. whereas, only copper was in use round about the first millenium B.C, as the
evidence goes.
An elaboration in the preparation of iron objects of domestic and toilet use seems to be the
result of Indo-Roman period.
For want of extensive chemical analysis of copper and iron objects, no connected account of
the art of metallurgy can be had as yet.
GLASS AND GLASS OBJECTS.
NO specimen of glass or any glass object has been reported so far prior to the 3rd century
B.C. in Maharashtra. It is first introduced in the early historic period. The finest type of glass, i.e.,
Roman glass is met with in the early centuries of the Christian era. In the late mediaeval period a
sort of glass bangle industry seems to have been prevalent on a small scale.
Early glass specimens as found at Nevasa, Nasik and Kolhapur show thick, bubbly,
translucent structure while the late Satavahana period turns out fine, thin, transparent, bluish glass
in the finest Roman tradition. The mediaeval glass bangles are opaque and have variously coloured
bands of uneven thickness.
Objects of glass from the early historical to the late mediaeval period comprise bangles, rings,
kohl-sticks, vessels and pully-shaped ear-reels.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 47

Glass bangles of the early period are without exception monochrome made of black, yellow,
blue, red or green glass. These are plain specimens having no decoration, and have been found
both for the use of the adults and children. Along with these, bangles of shell were also current.
(See under ‘ Shell Objects’).
Bangles of the first three centuries of the Christian era, show the use of the fine glass
fashioned into thin rings with a grooved circumference. This type can be attributed to Roman import.
Rings.
As compared to the bangles, the rings of glass are few. In antiquity and technological
peculiarities they are similar to the bangles. Nasik and Nevasa have given monochrome glass rings
which are mostly plain though some have a flat biconvex or truncated pyramidal bezel. A few are
made by the wire wound process while very few are of cupreous glass.
Ear-reels.
Pulley-shaped discs which were used as ornaments in the ear-lobes are reported from Nasik,
Nevasa and Prakashe in the early and late Satavahana levels. In the same period similar ear-reels
in terracotta and bone were also in use. Similar ear-reels are also depicted in the frescoes at
Ajantha.
The ear-reels of glass are either of transparent white glass or red cupreous glass. Similar
reels made of agate and bearing high polish are reported from Bahal, while reels of black glass
were found at Ujjain. At Somanath such reels were coated with gold having decoration in repousse.
This type of ornament, thus, shows a wide regional distribution.
Kohl-sticks.
Kohl-sticks made of glass are extremely scarce and have been reported in a fragmentary
condition only from Nevasa. There they belong to the Indo-Roman period and are made of blue
translucent glass free from bubbles. It thus shows all the qualities of Roman glass and as such
might not be of local make.
The specimen is a rod tapering to a point with the other end thick, flat and having incised
hatched pattern which is a patent decoration on contemporary bone specimens (see under “Bone
Objects”).
Glass Vessels.
Glass does not seem to have been utilized for making small bowls, prior to the Christian era
in Maharashtra. Whatever fragments of such vessels are available are from Nevasa where the
evidence is meagre. However, these fragments show the use of clear, fine, bluish, thin glass free
from any bubbles. We have already seen that though glass was known and made prior to this period
in the Deccan, fine glass is the contribution of trade with the Roman empire.
Glazing.
The antiquity of the art of glazing goes back to the first millenium BC. This is attested to by
the find of glazed beads of faience and paste in Chalcolithic burials at Nevasa. However, no
analysis of this glaze has been made so far. In the early historic period also, the industry does not
seem to have made any headway, as only beads of glazed faience are available at various sites in
Maharashtra.
The art of glazing tiles and pottery seems to have been introduced by the Persian Muslims
into India, round about the thirteenth
48 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

century A.D. This is evidenced by glazed dishes and plates at Nevasa, Nasik, and Kolhapur. This
glaze is thick and rough and covers the painted designs on pottery.
Thus, though the art of glazing beads was known in the first millenium B.C., glass objects
were restricted only to the field of bangles which can be traced back to the early historic period. Fine
glass was introduced by the Romans, while the art of glazing pottery and polychrome glass bangles
flourished as a cottage industry in the late mediaeval period.
TERRACOTTA OBJECTS.
The terracotta is the materia for objects of worship like figurines and votive tanks,objects of
toilet like scrubbers, and household objects like lamps and toys.
Figurines.
The terracotta figurines can be classified into three main categories, to wit, female, male and
boyheads.
The first can be further grouped into (a) ageless’ or conventional, (b) mother or fertility
goddess, (c) dhatrl figurines, and (d) miscellaneous.
Female Figurines.
The antiquity of the terracotta female figurines goes back to the first millenium B.C. as they
are reported from Bahal in Khandesh and Nevasa and Diamabad in Ahmadnagar district. These
have given highly conventionalised female figures with pinched nose, slit eyes and mouth, and stiff,
short and horizontally spread hands. These are more or less featureless and occur in all periods
right up to the end of the Maratha period. These are thus ‘ ageless’ and being merely representative
of the idea of a female being, show absolutely no attempt at finer delineation of features.
Fertility Goddess.
The second category is not only more elaborate but also reflects the contemporaneous ideas
connected with fertility, prosperity and village deities. The first specimens of this category have been
found at Nevasa and Bahal in the first millenium B.C. chalcolithic levels. Whereas the one from
Nevasa is a nine-inch-high piece with broad, flaring bottom, stiff hands, prominent breasts and
depressed eyes, those from Bahal are applique figurines fixed to pots. Similar figures and couples
affixed to storage jars have been reported from contemporary levels from Malva area. Such
figurines either single or in pairs (Mithuna) might be connected with fertility and prosperity. All these
are handmade.
Divine-Woman figurines.
By about the third-second century B.C.-A.D. a group of female figurines is met with. Cast in
double mould, these specimens, so far reported from Kolhapur, Nasik, Nevasa, Ter and Karhad in
Maharashtra and Tripuri in Madhya Pradesa, form a group by themselves. They wear an elaborate
hair style and head-dress and have ornaments like bangles, girdles and necklaces. Shown always
in a squatting posture with legs apart, their private parts are apparent due possibly to their wearing a
diaphanous clothing. Since these figurines are invariably associated with the Satavahana levels,
these might as well be taken to be the gramadevatas’ which find mention in the Gathasaptashati of
Hala.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 49

Nude Figurines.
In the opening centuries of the Christian era are found a set of nude figurines, as at Ter, in
which an exaggerated emphasis is given to the depiction of the sexual members of the female
figurine. Headless, frog-shaped and made of fine clay, these figurines are the result of non-
indigenous influences, especially as they occur with the advent of the Roman contacts with India.
These are reported from a number of places outside India as well by about the first century B.C.
Dhatri Figurines.
By about the third-fifth centuries A.D., a set of female figurines which are cast in a single
mould and hence having a flat back, are met with in a fair number as at Ter and Nevasa. Outside
Maharashtra, they are reported from a number of sites in the Gangetic valley which formed the core
of the Gupta empire in about the same time mentioned above.
The specimens of this group are usually standing figurines with or without a halo behind and
features in a shallow relief. The patent head-dress is trefoil and the figures wear clothes which reach
below the knees. Usually these figurines hold a child and are shown as possessing a ball, etc.
Accordingly, these are classified as krida-dhatri, arika-dhatri, kshira-dhatri, etc., according to the job
they perform such as suckling, playing, fondling the child on the knees etc. These are usually met
with in Gupta levels and are often referred to in contemporary Indian literature.
Miscellaneous.
There is a large number of female figurines which do not fit in any one of the categories
referred to above. Such specimens usually come from the levels of the mediaeval period. These are
very crude with a mere semblance of a figurine, and are usually coated with lime and red ochre.
Almost all these are handmade, heavy and solid pieces of clay, and seem to have been used as
toys.
Male Figures.
Compared to the number of female figures, those of the males are less frequent. The antiquity
of these also goes to the first millenium B.C. on the basis of the evidence from Diamabad.
Male figurines, for which the evidence is too meagre for general study, remain crude in
workmanship till about the beginning of the Christian era. They remain stiff and stumpy figures with
a cold expression. The only exceptions to this are the male figures from Satavahana levels from
Kolhapur having girdles and wristlets, pendants in the ear-lobes and folded head-dress. The warmth
of facial expression is apparent on the Indo-Roman and Gupta specimens depicting in a few cases
the use of double mould. The use of red ochre for emphasizing decoration and ornament, becomes
a general feature of the figurines of the Muslim-Maratha period in which, however, the art
deteriorates.
Yaksha Figures.
The best specimens are reported from Ter which shows a wide variety in coiffure and dress.
Ter also shows the use of fine kaolin in preference to terracotta. Belonging to the first two or three
centuries of the Christian era, the figures are cast on a double mould with proportion and precision
of limbs. These figures show a variety of ornaments like girdles necklaces and wristlets, a warmth
50 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

of expression in facial features, and ornamental head-dresses. It is likely that these were cult-figures
or might be yakshas. (For yaksha amulets, see under ‘ Beads, Pendants and Amulets’).
Child Figures, Late Satvahana.
Fragmentary boyheads are reported from the 3rd century B.C. to the end of the 3rd century A.D.
levels from Nevasa and Ter. No boyheads or complete figures of boys prior to and after this period
have been obtained from excavations so far.
Those from the late Satavahana levels are generally made out of a single mould, while some
of these have a halo behind these. Such specimens, especially from Nevasa, are remarkable for the
depiction of innocent smile of the chubby-faced child. They have a remarkable similarity with
specimens from Sirkap, Taxila.
Kaolin.
The group of Kaolin and terracotta boy figures fashioned in double-mould and belonging to
the levels assignable to the first three centuries of the Christian era, are noteworthy for expression,
delicacy and dignified bearing. These have elaborate arrangement of hair similar to the ‘
kakapakshadhara’ of Raghuvamsha and are noteworthy for the selection of choice ornaments such
as the pendant right on the forehead. The lips are thick-set, nose a bit broad and eyes rather large
for the face. The cheeks are plump. Exactly similar specimens with their mould-copies in terracotta
are reported, besides at Ter and Nevasa, from Kondapur in Andhra Pradesha. It is possible that
these had a cult significance.
A general study of the terracotta and kaolin figures of the first few centuries of the Christian
era besides showing an affinity in facial expression to those from Taxila, also brings out another
feature. This consists of the arrangement of the hair which fails to have affinity with any indigenous
styles not only in terra cotta but even in contemporary sculptures. As such, it may not be incorrect to
say that Roman contacts which developed on a large scale during this period, might have influenced
the creation of such specimens in the Deccan.
Toys.
Along with the figurines and other objects described above, scores of toys made of terra
cotta have been found. These can very broadly be classified into two categories, viz., those which
are realistic and those which are conventionalised.
The latter merely representing the idea of a particular animal or a bird occur over a long
stretch of time, from the first millenium B.C. to the end of the late mediaeval period. These are
crudely made. The earliest specimens have some amongst them which have a flat base and a
perforation to pass thread through so that it can be held suspending. The mediaeval specimens are
mostly lime-coated and sometimes the eyes, beaks or horns are depicted by read ochre.
Among the toys of the first category are elephants, bulls, cows, horses, dogs, rams and
beaked birds. Most of these are solid handmade specimens, though some show the use of either a
single or a double mould. The use of the latter too seems to have restricted itself from the early
historic to the Gupta phases.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 51

So far the earliest terracotta figurines of a bull and a dog are reported from the Chalcolithic
levels from Diamabad; single and double-moulded elephants, bulls, rams, and cows from the early
historic to the end of Indo-Roman levels; beaked birds, some of which have holes for insertion of
feathers from Indo-Roman and late mediasval periods at Nevasa.
Wheels.
Scores of terracotta wheels which were possibly used for toycarts have turned up at several
sites in the Deccan.
The first millenium B.C. wheels found at Nevasa are rectangular in section with convex sides
and devoid of hubs. This evidence is contrary to earlier Chalcolithic sites of the Indus valley which
have hubbed wheels. The Nevasa specimens thus show a less advanced technological state as its
hubless wheels would suffer greatly from friction with the body of the carriage.
Hubbed terracotta wheels appear for the first time in the Satavahana levels at Nevasa while
they belong to the 1st century A.D. and all later deposits at Nasik. As against this, hubless biconvex
wheels occur in all periods from the first millenium B.C. to the end of the later mediaeval period. The
latter are coated with lime and spokes are shown in red ochre.
Masks.
Masks made of terracotta and applied to the outer surface of a pot as a decoration along with
a type of spout in the shape of a water-bottle held over its head by an applique human head, occur
for the first time in Maharashtra, at Nevasa in the 1st and 2nd century A.D.
Two such are human faces with very crudely executed features. The nose is eroded, lips thick
and the eyes extra-large for the face.One of the masks (measuring 11 mm.X 92 mm.) has a knob on
the forehead.
The affixing of lion-masks to pots is also reported from Taxila where they are supposed to
have been introduced by the Parthians. The Nevasa specimens, though probably made locally,
indicate the influence of a non-indigenous practice.
Objects of Household Use.
This category is not represented by a variety of objects. The only objects deserving attention
are the terracotta lamps.
Lamps.
Nevasa has been the only site, so far, in the Deccan to have yielded lamps of the first
millenium B.C. These are mostly oval shaped, flat based specimens with a wick-channel in the
centre and a projection for the wick. Because of raised edges of the periphery, oil could remain over
the wick in the channel. As these were flat-based, they could be kept without any support or stand.
A variety of the same period and of the same general pattern showed the provision of the
loop-hole over the wick channel. Such lamps could be held more comfortably and carried elsewhere
52 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

as compared to the former category which had to be kept on the palm of the hand. It may be noted
that similar lamps in terracotta or any other material are not met with in the Indus Valley or any other
Chalcolithic site so far.
The pattern of terracotta lamps of the early historic period at Nevasa remained unchanged,
while those of the 1st/3rd centuries A.D. show that they were mere bowls with pinched projection.
(For metal lamps, see sections on Metallurgy and Metal Objects).
Objects of Ritual Use.
The votive tanks which are reported from a number of sites in the Gangetic valley, occur, so
far, at Nevasa and Sopara in the Indo-Roman period or the 1st to 3rd century A.D.
These are either square or rectangular in plan with high walls, rounded corners with small
lamps on them. In one corner of the interior are small steps. The other category consists of bowls
with thin walls and thick top with fingertip depressions.
Votive tanks first occur at Taxila and are supposed to have been introduced by the Parthians.
This practice got elaborated with the addition of a terracotta goddess kept inside the tank. A similar
practice of worshipping such a goddess is still current in Bengal, where young maidens worship it.
Objects of Structural Use.
Tiles which were used for roofing structures have been found on a large scale at early and
late Satavahana sites in the Deccan such as Nasik, Nevasa, Kolhapur, Ter, Paithan, Karhad and
Prakase.
Tiles
These are rectangular pieces with grooved upper surface. The under-surface has a groove
along the length of the edge. This is fitted in the ridge of the adjoining tile. The tile was further
secured in position by means of two iron nails inserted through the perforations of the tile, into the
wooden rafters below.
At most of these sites lumps of tiles stuck together in firing were found. This indicated the
existence of local industry.
Objects of Toilet.
Besides the figurines, toys and masks, terracotta accounted for some objects of toilet as well.
These consist of skin-rubbers and combs.
Skin-Rubbers.
Skin-rubbers of terracotta emanate from the Chalcolithic levels at Nevasa datable to the first
millenium B.C. These are either punctured cakes, or oval with one surface punctured and the other
having a pinched hold, or circular pieces with roughened surfaces by means of fine silica.
The skin-rubbers of the early historic period at Nasik are mostly rectangular pieces with either
sandy or punctured surfaces. Sometimes, instead of pores, disciplined incisions like chevrons, etc.,
were executed. Along with these, Nasik and Karhad have given planoconvex hollow pieces
resembling the half cut mango seed. It may be incidentally noted that the latter are even now used
in rural Maharastra for cleaning the shaven head.
These specimens continue even in the early centuries of the Christian era along with circular
discs with roughened surfaces and pumice stones.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 53

Coming to the late mediaeval period, one finds skin-rubbers of metal (brass) with an elaborate
decoration, especially in the Pesva regime (called ‘vajri’ then). However, the occurrence of some of
the terracotta specimens described above along with the metal ones indicates the possibility of the
former being used by the poorer classes of the society.
Combs.
The antiquity of combs goes back to first millenium B.C. when combs with stumpy teeth and
rectangular body and made of terracotta were in use, as the evidence from Bahal shows.These
seem to have been fashioned out of potsherds with painting in black.
No terracotta combs have been reported in any succeeding period. In the early historic
period, combs were made of ivory and bone as at Nevasa and Prakase, while in the late mediaeval
period, wood was preferred. In the former the teeth are long and body of elongated triangular shape,
while the late mediaeval combs have stumpy teeth and biconvex section.
Ornaments.
Terracotta ornaments are rare and restrict themselves to bangles and ear-reels. This is
because of the brittleness of the material coupled with its low esteem in the society.
Bangles.
The bangles of terracotta are reported from Nevasa and Ter from the early historic to the late
mediaeval period. These are either plain or having impressed rope pattern in relief. Terracotta
bangles went out of vogue when exquisite polychrome bangles of glass came into use round about
the 14th Century A.D.
Ear-Reels.
Plain pulley-shaped discs with a groove abound the circumference and fashioned out of
semi-precious stones, shell and glass were in vogue from early historic times in Maharashtra. Ajantha
paintings in Cave Nos. VI and XVII also depict such discs worn in the ear-lobes. However, terracotta
ear-reels are reported from Nevasa in the early centuries of the Christian era.
Elaborate, highly polished reels of agate, crystal and glass are reported from Bahal and
Nasik, while gold-leaf coated discs are reported from sites in Saurastra. Similar reels are even now
used by tribes in South India.
OBJECTS OF BONE AND IVORY.
Bone and ivory account for a limited range of objects as probably both these were not
available readily in the interior regions of Maharashtra.
Bone.
Antimony Rods.
Bone seems to have been used for antimony rods in the early historic period. Whereas the
Chalcolithic people had such type of objects made of copper-rods with bulbous or tapering ends, the
early historic specimens are mostly slender rods of bone with one end tapered to a point. The other
end is either truncated and flat or having an ornamental elongated bulb. The former type bears
different incised ornamentation such as grooves or hutched lines. Caskets of steatite, found along
with antimony rods of bone which
54 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

are reported from almost all the excavated sites of Maharashtra and elsewhere, might indicate their
use as coilyrium caskets. (See the sections on Metal and Glass objects).
Ring and Pendants.
Besides antimony-rods, bone was utilised for making finger rings and pendants and beads as
well. However, the material is very meagre for a general study.
Bone Points.
The excavations at Nasik brought to light a collection of thousands of bone objects which
have been commonly designated now as Bone Points. At Nasik they were assigned to the 3rd
century B.C., but have been recently reported from a number of sites in and outside Maharashtra.
They occur from the Chalcolithic period onwards and their possible use is yet uncertain. These are
biconical, curved or flaked pieces, some having grooved points. It is likely that these were used
either as stylus or as arrowheads as the Ujjain evidence shows.
Ivory.
As compared to bone, the objects of ivory are rare, restricting, as they do, to bangles, rings
and dice. Thus ivory seems to have been used only for ornamental objects, which occur more or
less in the early historical and mediaeval period.
Bangles and Rings.
Ivory bangles have been reported from early historical period. However, the presence of a
bangle and ring-making industry on some scale has been attested to by Nevasa where ivory
cylinders marked with bangle outlines have been recovered in great numbers in the mediaeval
deposits.
The bangles are either plain or decorated, the latter showing designs of slanting lines, circles
and wavy lines.
The technique of making such bangles seems to have involved the use of marked cylinders
rotated on a lathe and the cutting off of the bangle rings.
Dice.
Pieces of ivory square cylindrical in shape and incised circles one to four serially on each face
occur for the first time in the early historical period. They are reported from outside Maharashtra in
deposits of the same period pointing to the standardised pattern of this type of recreation.
SHELL-OBJECTS.
Shell was used mostly for ornamental objects like bangles, rings and ear-studs from the
Chalcolithic period onwards. Especially, shell bangles have a long survival.
Bangles.
Shell bangles have been reported from Nasik, Prakashe, Nevasa, Diamabad, Bahal, Kolhapur,
Ter and Paithan. Of these only at Nevasa they occur in the first millenium B.C. levels and are plain
pieces with biconvex section. Plain bangles continue even in the early historic levels.
The decorated specimens appear in the late Satavahana period as the evidence from
Nevasa, Nasik and Kolhapur shows. The decorations comprise incised lines, segments, rope
pattern, panels and the heart-shaped knob in relief.
 HISTORY – ANCIENT PERIOD 55

Unlike bangles, shell rings occur from the early historical period onwards as the evidence at
present stands. These are mostly plain specimens with only a few having linear incisions as
decorations. (See under ‘Glass Objects’).
Rings.
Ear-Studs.
Pulley-shaped ear-reels also occur in shell as in terracotta and glass (See under ‘Terracotta
Objects’ and ‘Glass Objects’).
Though all these are more or less contemporary, those in shell mostly belong to the late
Satavahana period. Ear-studs of this period are more elaborate, as for instance those having a floral
pattern on the facing side. It is possible that these were fixed in ear-lobes or were fixed by means of
a projecting metal pin.
Nasik has yielded a big shell with copper revetments at two points opposite each other on the
periphery. Belonging to the early Satavahana period, it compares favourably with a type of
ornament put over the hair of the head as shown in a fresco at Ajantha.
OBJECTS OF STONE.
Stone was utilised in making objects mostly of household use like querns, mullers, mortars,
dabbers etc., and images and plaques. Most of the former are made of locally available trap stone,
while the latter are of softer varieties of stones like the slate stone.
Querns.
The querns fall into three categories, viz., saddle querns, legged querns and rotary querns.
Saddle Querns.
Saddle querns go back to the Chalcolithic period as at Nevasa. These are flat based
rectangular pieces with slightly concave upper surface. The use of such querns with the help of
cylindrical mullers turned out a paste of grain. For facilitating easier use, it is likely that the
Chalcolithic people might have been soaking grain in water overnight. The paste of such soaked
corn should be expected to give a rough bread.
Legged Querns.
In about the 4th/3rd century B.C. there seems to have been a further advance in the saddle
querns. The shape remained the same as in the Chalcolithic period, but four short legs, one each at
the four corners, were added. Besides this, one of the short breadthwise side was projected so as to
cover the dish placed below it so that the pounded material fell right into it. Sometimes the quern
bore Buddhist symbols like the triratna and svastika showing the religious affinities of the user. Such
legged querns have a wide regional distribution throughout India and a similar specimen is depicted
at Ajantha.
The legged querns are not to be found from the mid-Gupta period onwards. In the mediaeval
(Kolhapur, Nasik, Karhad and Nevasa) and modern periods flat based querns again come into use.
Rotary Querns.
The saddle querns, as seen above, turned out a rough paste of pounded grains. However, for
finer flour, rotary querns were needed. No rotary querns, however, are reported from any site in
56 MAHARASHTRA STATE GAZETTEER

Maharashtra or elsewhere, till about the beginning of the Christian era. Nevasa has been the
first site in Maharashtra which has given rotary querns in the 1st century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.
levels. These are not like the modern rotary querns in as much as the upper stone is very heavy,
concave-sided and having a damaru-like perforation through which grain was poured in. Along with
this, the upper stone has also two perforations one opposite the other in the upper part of the sides
through which a long wooden bar was inserted horizontally for giving rotary motion. The lower stone
was short and rather plano-convex, being at the bottom. The upper part of this stone had an iron pin
in the centre around which the upper stone was placed.
Similar querns have been reported from the Mediterranean and English sites in about the first
century B.C. when such rotary mills were worked with the help of animals yoked to the horizontal
bar. It is significant to note that this and a couple of succeeding centuries saw the development of
foreign—Indo-Roman—contacts with Deccan area.
Thus along with other relics of such a contact as evidenced in votive tank, bullie, iron utensils
etc., the rotary quern also is the outcome of Indo-Roman cultural contacts.
Gradually, however, the height and consequently the weight of the upper stone lessened, and
a wooden peg came to be fixed in a shallow hole at a point near the edge of the upper circular
stone-The width of the mouth through which grain was poured in was also lessened, and the mouth
ringed. That is how the modern rotary quern has come to be.
Mortars.
Mortars of trap stone are reported so far from Kolhapur and Nevasa in the late mediaeval
period. At the former site, mortars of Shilahara period have a square surface and a tapering base.
The Bahamani specimens show both a rounded and a flat bottom. It may be noted that those with a
rounded bottom have to be fixed in the floor as they cannot rest independently.
At present mortars fixed in the floor as well as those with a pedestal base are in use.
Plaques and Images.
Besides the querns and mortars, plaques and images are also reported mostly in sandstone
or slate stone. These, however, are mostly late mediaeval or might even be recent in date, and
comprise crudely executed Ganesha plaques, lingas and Nandi images. These are reported so far
from Nasik, Kolhapur and Nevasa.