Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
"...keeping the triumph of Islam in view, devout Muslim rulers should keep all
idolaters in subjection to Islam, brook no laxity in realization of Jizyah,
grant no exceptions to Hindu Rajahs from dancing attendance on 'Id days and
waiting on foot outside mosques till end of prayer ... and 'keep in constant use
for Friday and congregational prayer the mosques built up after demolishing the
temples of the idolatrous Hindus situated at Mathura, Banaras and Avadh."
Other Muslim authors than Mirza Jan also cite the work, which appears to have
been widely available in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then there is the evidence
of the three inscriptions at the site of the mosque itself, at least two of
which mention its construction by Mir Baqi (or Mir Khan) on the orders of Babar.
Babar's Memoir mentions Mir Baqi as his governor of Ayodhya. Some parts of the
inscription were damaged during a riot in 1934, but later pieced together with
minor loss. In any event, it was well known long before that, recorded for
instance in Mrs. Beveridge's translation of Babur-Nama published in 1926.
Discoveries at the site I: The Temple City of Ayodhya
While this evidence is strong, the archaeological evidence is still stronger.
This is what Dr. S.P. Gupta (former director of the Allahabad Museum), has to
say about recent excavations at Ayodhya: "At Ayodhya, Professor Lal [B.B. Lal.
Former Director General of ASI] took as many as 14 trenches at different places
to ascertain the antiquity of the site. It was then found that the history of
the township was at least three thousand years old, if not more... When seen in
the light of 20 black stone pillars, 16 of which were found re-used and standing
in position as corner stones of piers for the disputed domed structure of the
'mosque', Prof. Lal felt that the pillar bases may have belonged to a Hindu
temple built on archaeological levels formed prior to 13th century AD..."
On further archaeological and other evidence, Lal concluded that the pillar
bases must have belonged to a Hindu temple that stood between 12th and the 16th
centuries. What this means is that Lal had found evidence for possibly two
temples, one that existed before the 13th century, and another between the 13th
and the 16th centuries. This corresponds very well indeed with history and
tradition. We know that this area was ravaged by Muslim invaders following
Muhammad of Ghor's defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain
in 1192 AD. This was apparently rebuilt and remained in use until destroyed
again in the 16th century by Babar.
The Hari-Vishnu Inscription
The demolition on December 6, 1992 changed the picture dramatically, providing
inscriptional support to the traditional accounts--both Hindu and Muslim. The
most important of these is the Hari-Vishnu inscription. It is written in 12th
century AD Devanagari script and belongs therefore to the period before the
onslaught of the Ghorids (1192 AD and later). It was later examined by Ajay
Mitra Shastri, Chairman of the Epigraphical Society of India who gave the
following summary.
MORE NEWS
2. Archaeological Excavations at Sri Rama Janma Bhumi
New Delhi, June 16, 2003. A few days ago a news item allegedly supplied by the
Archaeological Survey of India was planted in the newspapers that no evidence of
a pre-existing structure under the disputed Rama Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid was
found. The said news item was definitely deceptive, groundless, misrepresented
and calculated to dupe the country. The misrepresented item was based on an
unfinished progress report of the ASI. Three-fourths of the report have been
concealed. The item was cooked up on the basis of the excavation report of a
spot that was about 50 feet away from the western wall of the Rama Janma Bhumi
structure. As such the inferences of the news item based on the report of this
pit is reckless. In spite of this, even these pits gave away two-thousand year
old molded bricks and ornate stone pieces of different shapes and sizes. The
news item dishonored these facts.
The excavations so far give ample traces that there was a mammoth pre-existing
structure beneath the three-domed Babri structure. Ancient perimeters from East
to West and North to South have been found beneath the Babri fabrication. The
bricks used in these perimeters predate the time of Babur. Beautiful stone
pieces bearing carved Hindu ornamentations like lotus, Kaustubh jewel, alligator
facade, etc., have been used in these walls. These decorated architectural
pieces have been anchored with precision at varied places in the walls. A tiny
portion of a stone slab is sticking out at a place below 20 feet in one of the
pits. The rest of the slab lies covered in the wall. The projecting portion
bears a five-letter Dev Nagari inscription that turns out to be a Hindu name.
The items found below 20 feet should be at least 1,500 years old. According to
archaeologists about a foot of loam layer gathers on topsoil every hundred
years. Primary clay was not found even up to a depth of 30 feet. It provides the
clue to the existence of some structure or the other at that place during the
last 2,500 years.
More than 30 pillar bases have been found at equal spans. The pillar-bases are
in two rows and the rows are parallel. The pillar-base rows are in North-South
direction. A wall is superimposed upon another wall. At least three layers of
the floor are visible. An octagonal holy fireplace (Yagna Kund) has been found.
These facts prove the enormity of the pre-existing structure. Surkhii has been
used as a construction material in our country since over 2000 years and in the
constructions at the Janma Bhumi Surkhii has been extensively used. Molded
bricks of round and other shapes and sizes were neither in vogue during the
middle ages nor are in use today. It was in vogue only 2,000 years ago. Many
ornate pieces of touchstone (Kasauti stone) pillars have been found in the
excavation. Terracotta idols of divine fugurines, serpent, elephant,
horse-rider, saints, etc., have been found. Even to this day terracotta idols
are used in worship during Diwali celebrations and then put by temple sanctums
for invoking divine blessings. The Gupta and the Kushan period bricks have been
found. Brick walls of the Gahadwal period (12th Century CE) have been found in
excavations.
Nothing has been found to prove the existence of residential habitation there.
The excavation gives out the picture of a vast compound housing a sole
distinguished and greatly celebrated structure used for divine purposes and not
that of a colony or Mohalla consisting of small houses. That was an uncommon and
highly celebrated place and not a place of habitation for the common people.
Hindu pilgrims have always been visiting that place for thousands of years. Even
today there are temples around that place and the items found in the excavations
point to the existence of a holy structure of North Indian architectural style
at that place.
So the excavation was to find the answer to the question as to whether Babur
superimposed the domed structure on a preexisting structure after demolishing it
or built it on virgin ground. The answer to this question has been found from
the excavations.
3. Archeological Society of India Says Temple Existed at Ramjanmabhoomi Site
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=145797
4. The Archeological Survey of India's Report on Ayodhya
August 27, 2003
In what could be a turning point in the Ayodhya dispute, the
Archaeological Survey of India has reported to the high court that its
excavations found distinctive features of a 10th century temple beneath the
Babri Mosque site. The Sunni Central Waqf Board, however, termed the report as
'vague and self-contradictory'.
The 574-page ASI report consisting of written opinions and maps and
drawings was opened before the full Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on
Monday morning.
The report said there was archaeological evidence of a massive structure
just below the disputed structure and evidence of continuity in structural
activities from the 10th century onwards up to the construction of the disputed
structure (Babri Mosque).
Among the excavation yields it mentioned were stone and decorated
bricks, mutilated sculpture of divine couple, carved architectural members
including foliage patterns, amalaka, kapotapali, doorjamb with semi-circular
shrine pilaster, broken octagonal shaft of black schist pillar, lotus motif,
circular shrine having pranjala (watershute) in the north and 50 pillar bases in
association with a huge structure.
The archaeological evidence and other discoveries from the site were
indicative of remains that are distinctive features found associated with the
temples of north India, the ASI report said.
The ASI report said there is sufficient proof of existence of a massive
and monumental structure having a minimum dimension of 50x30 metres in
north-south and east-west directions respectively just below the disputed
structure.
In course of present excavations nearly 50 pillar bases with brickbat
foundation below calcrete blocks topped by sandstone blocks were found, the
report said.
It said the pillar bases exposed during the present excavation in the
northern and southern areas also give an idea of the length of the massive wall
of earlier construction with which they are associated and which might have been
originally around 60 metres.
The centre of the main chamber of the disputed structure falls just over
the central point of the length of the massive wall of the preceding period
which could not be excavated due to presence of Ram Lala at the spot in the
make-shift structure, the ASI report said.
In a significant observation the report said towards east of this
central point, a circular depression with projection on the west, cut into the
large sized brick pavement, signifying the place where some important object was
placed.
The ASI report, however, said various structures exposed right from the
Sunga to Gupta period do not speak either about their nature or functional
utility as no evidence has come to approbate them. The report said during and
after the Gupta period up to late and post-Mughal period the regular
habitational deposits disappear in the concerned levels and the structural
phases are associated with either structural debris or filling material taken
out from the adjoining area to level the ground for construction purpose.
As a result of this much of the earlier material in the form of pottery,
terracottas and other objects of preceding periods, particularly of Kushan
period, are found in the deposits of later periods mixed along with contemporary
material, it said.
The area below the disputed site thus remained a place for public use
for a long time till the Mughal period when the disputed structure was built
which was confined to a limited area and the population settled around it as
evidenced by the increase in contemporary archaeological material including
pottery, the ASI said in its report.
It went on to state that this observation was further attested by the
conspicuous absence of habitational structures such as house-complexes, soakage
pits, soakage jars, ring wells, drains, wells, hearths, kilns or furnaces.
The report said the human activity at the site dates back to 13th
century BC on the basis of the scientific dating method providing the only
archaeological evidence of such an early date of the occupation of the site.
The ASI report said the northern black polished ware using people were
the first to occupy the disputed site at Ayodhya in the first millennium BC
although no structural activities were encountered in the limited area probed. A
round signet with legend in Asokan Brahmi is another important find of this
level, it said.
The report said the Sunga period (second-first century BC) comes next in
order of the cultural occupation at the site followed by the Kushan period.
The report said during the early medieval period (11-12th century AD) a
huge structure of nearly 50 metres north-south orientation was constructed which
seems to have been short lived as only four of the 50 pillar bases exposed
during the excavation belonged to this level with a brick crush floor. On the
remains of the above structure was constructed a massive structure with at least
three structural phases and three successive floors attached with it, it said.
The architectural members of the earlier short-lived massive structure
with stencil-cut foliage pattern and other decorative motifs were reused in the
construction of the monumental structure which has a huge pillared hall
different from residential structures providing sufficient evidence of
construction of public usages which remained under existence for a long time
during the period, the report said.
The report concluded that it was over the top of this construction
during the early 16th century that the disputed structure was constructed
directly resting over it.
10
11
12