Distinctive Beads in Ancient India 9781841710679, 9781407352015

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BAR S864 2000  JYOTSNA  DISTINCTIVE BEADS IN ANCIENT INDIA

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India Maurya Jyotsna

BAR International Series 864 9 781841 710679

B A R

2000

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India Maurya Jyotsna

·~.

~

am. BAR International Series 864

2000

Published in 2016 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 864 Distinctive Beads in Ancient India © M Jyotsna and the Publisher 2000 The author's moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9781841710679 paperback ISBN 9781407352015 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841710679 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2000. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2016.

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CONTENTS

Pages Acknowledgement ....................... Abbreviations ...........................

. ..

List of Figures and Maps .....................

.

Chapter - 1.

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India ....................

.

1

Chapter-2.

Obsolescence of Beads ..................................

.

5

Chapter-3.

Beads in Literature ......................................

.

10

Chapter-4.

Beads in Sculpture .......................................

.

15

Chapter-5.

Sites mentioned in the text .............................

.

22

Chapter-6.

Amulets in Ancient India ..............................

.

36

Chapter-7.

Pendants in Ancient India ..............................

.

64

Chapter- 8.

Eye Beads in Ancient India ............................

.

70

Chapter-9.

Etched Beads in Ancient India ........................

.

87

Chapter - 10.

Gemology in Ancient India .............................

.

101

Chapter - 11.

Prophylactic And Therapeutic Qualities of the Stones

Chapter - 12.

Conclusions .................................................

105 .

109

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

115

Index..........................................................

120

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

One of the lesser-known aspects of Archaeology is the importance of beads. Here I have dealt with distinctive beads like Amulets, Pendants, Eye-beads, and Etched beads of Pre-historic to Medieval period from India. As a student of Archaeology I owed it to the specimens from archaeological excavations. The study of beads is useful in a variety of ways. It is the visible expression of the evolved aesthetic sense of humanity through successive millennia. The cultural interpretation of distinctive beads has been resolved into religious, medicinal, social, technological, economic, and various other aspects. Let me thank my Guru, late Professor S. B. Dea, with a deep sense of gratitude, who had introduced me to this subject and constantly encouraged me. It has been my privilege to study under his guidance and direction. He initiated me in bead studies and more important I benefited from his immense knowledge. He was extremely cordial and helpful in the course of my work. I am grateful to Professor M. S. Mate, and Dr. G. L. Badam who have taken keen interest in the progress of my work and have provided me encouragement and help. Discussions with my friend Peter Francis, Director of Bead Research Center Lake Placid, was extremely illuminating. I am also thaniful to Shri S. C. Purandare and R.R. Shigavan of Deccan College Library, Pune, staff of Asiatic Library, Mumbai and my photo-copier Mr. Sanjay Sathe, for their friendly assistance. Prof V. K. Sharma Trustee of National Ecology and Environment Foundation gave every support required. I am indebted to him. It is a pleasure for me to record here my gratefulness to all the people who have indirectly contributed towards this work. This study is based on the publications by the Archaeological Survey and by different universities for which grateful thanks are due. I will never be able to express my gratitude to my niece and nephews for managing on their own and not troubling me when I needed to concentrate the most. Last but not least important is the patient support of my family members and my very special friend Vinod. I don 't have adequate words to thank them. Comments and suggestions from the readers are most welcome and would be incorporated in the next edition of this book.

21 st January, 2000.

MAURY A JYOTSNA.

DEDICATED TO BABLI

ABBREVIATIONS AB

Art Bulletin.

ABIHI

Annual Bibliography of Indian History and Indology.

ABORI

Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Poona.

AI

Ancient India. New Delhi.

AJA

American Journal of Archaeology.

AMM

Asutosh Museum Memoir. Calcutta.

ARADGS

Annual Report of the Archaeological Department of Gwalior State. Bhopal.

ARADND

Annual Reports of the Archaeological Department H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions. Calcutta.

ARASI

Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India. Delhi.

ASI

Archaeological Survey of India Reports (published Cunningham) Varanasi.

BBMFA

Bulletin of the Museum of Pine Arts. Boston.

BDCRI

Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute_. Pune.

BIS

Bharatiya Itihasa Ani Samskriti. (Marathi) Bombay.

BMAUP

Bulletin of Museums and Archaeology in Uttar Pradesh.

BMGM

Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum.

BMPG

Bulletin of Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery.

BPWM

Bulletin of Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay.

HAS

Hyderabad Archaeological Series. Calcutta.

HOS

Harward Oriental Series.

IAR

Indian Archaeology: A Review. New Delhi.

IHQ

Indian Historical Quarterly. Calcutta.

1MB

Indian Museum Bulletin.

JAOS

Journal of American Oriental Society. U.S.A.

JAS

Journal of Asiatic Society. Calcutta.

JBBRAS

Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Bombay.

JGRS

Journal of Gujarat Research Society. Bombay.

JGS

Journal of Glass Studies.

JIH

Journal of Indian History.

JISOA

Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art. Calcutta.

JOI

Journal of the Oriental Institute. Baroda.

JUB

Journal of University of Bombay. Bombay.

MASI

Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India. Delhi.

ME

Man and Environment.

SBE

Sacred Books of the East. Delhi, Varanasi, Patna.

VIJ

Vishveshvaranand lndological Journal.

VSMV

Vidarbha Samsodhaka Mandala Varshik. Nagpur.

under the superv1s1on of Sir Alexander

LIST OF MAP AND FIGURES Map - 1. Sites in India.

1.29 - Crocodile Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

Figure -1.

1.30 - Makara Amulet, Raj ghat, Terracotta.

1.1 - Bird Amulet, Piprahwa, Carnelian.

1.31 - Monkey Amulet, Dharmarajika, Gamet.

1.2 - Bird Amulet, Taxila.

1.32 - Ram Amulet, Sirkap, Carnelian.

1.3 - Bird Amulet, Taxila, Agate.

1.33 - Cock Amulet, Taxila, Carnelian.

1.4 - Bird Amulet, Taxila, Chalcedony.

Figure - 2.

1.5 - Bull Amulet, Ter, Terracotta.

2.1 - Tortoise Amulet, Prakashe, Shell.

1.6 - Bull Amulet, Nevasa, Terracotta.

2.2 - Tortoise Amulet, Ujjain, Metal..

1.7 - Bull Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

2.3 - Tortoise Amulet, Ter, Faience.

1.8 - Bull-head Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

2.4 - Tortoise Amulet, Kaundinyapura, Green faience.

1.9 - Dog Amulet, Kausambi, Agate. 1.10 - Elephant Amulet, Sirkap, Steatite. 1.11 - Elephant Amulet, Sirkap, Carnelian.

1.12 - Elephant Amulet, Piprahwa, Gold. 1.13 - Tooth Amulet, Bhokardan, Blue faience. 1.14 -Tooth Amulet, Bhokardan, Chalcedony. 1.15 - Tooth Amulet, Nevasa, Shell. 1.16 - Fish pair Amulet, Sopara, Beryl. 1.17 - Fish Amulet, Kosam, Quartz. 1.18 - Fish Amulet, Raj ghat, Jade. 1.19 - Fish Amulet, Kosam, Banded Agate. 1.20 - Fish Amulet, Kosam, Quartz.

2.5 - Tortoise Amulet, Bhokardan, Shell. 2.6 - Tortoise Amulet, Prakashe, Shell. 2.7 - Dagger Amulet, Nevasa, Faience. 2.8 - Dagger Amulet, Nasik, Copper. 2.9 - Fragmented Eye Bead, Kaundinyapura, Glass. 2.10 - Eye Bead, Brahmapuri, Terracotta. 2.11- Human Amulet, N evasa, Terra cotta. 2.12 - Human Amulet, Brahmapuri, Shell. 2.13 - Human Amulet, Ahichhatra, Serpentine. 2.14 - Human Amulet, Piprahawa, Gold. 2.15 - Human Amulet, Piprahawa, Gold.

1.21 - Fish Amulet, Madhuri, Carnelian.

2.16 - Double Spacing Pendant Kondappur, Terra cotta.

1.22 - Frog Amulet, Dharmarajika Stupa, Quartz.

2.17 - Foot Amulet, Dharmarajika stupa, Coral.

1.23 - Frog Amulet, Kosam, Glass.

2.18 - Fist Amulet, Taxila, Faience.

1.24 - Frog Amulet, Taxila.

2.19 - Female Head Amulet, Bhita, Crystal.

1.25 - Frog Amulet, Kosam.

2.20 - Altar Amulet, Kondapur, Chalcedony.

1.26 - Lion Amulet, Taxila, Quartz.

Figure - 3.

1.27 - Lion Amulet, Sambhar, Faience.

3.1 - Casket Amulet, Paunar, Calcite.

1.28 - Lion Amulet, Nasik, Crystal.

3.2 - Conch Shen Amulet, kaundinyapura, Shell.

3.3 - Heart Shaped Amulet, Paunar, Chalcedony.

4.5. - Club Pendant, Bhokardan, Glass

3.4 - Pipal Leaf Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

4.6 - Conical Pendant, Nasik, Terracotta.

3.5 - Pipal Leaf Amulet, Bhokardan, Ivory.

4.7 - Conical Pendant, Nevasa, Bone.

3.6 - Leaf Amulet, Piprahawa, Crystal.

4.8 - Crescent Pendant, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

3.7 - Srivsta Amulet, Kondapur, Terracotta.

4.9 - Double Capped Pendant, Nasik, Crystal.

3.8 - Stupa Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

4.10 - Drop Pendant, Jasper, Nevasa.

3.9 - Swastika Amulet, Kondapur, Lapis lazuli.

4.11 - Drop Pendant, Chalcedony, Paunar.

3 .10 - Swastika Amulet, Piprahawa, Gold.

4.12 - Mallet Pendant, Prakashe, Glass. *

3.11 - Nandipada Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

4.13 - Pyramid Pendant, Taxila, Agate.

3.12 - Comb Amulet, Sirkap, Carnelian.

4.14 - Rectangular Amulet, Brahmapuri, Terra cotta.

3.13 - Cylindrical Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta. 3.14 - Cylindrical Amulet, Kondapur, Terracotta.

4.15 - Fragmented Tabular Pendant, Brahmapuri, Terra cotta.

3.15 - Double Cylinder Amulet, Bhokardan, terra cotta.

4.16 - Scabbard Pendant, Prakashe, T.C.

3.16 - Hexagonal Cylindrical Amulet, Sopara, Blue glass.

4.17 - Sword Pendant, Tilaura-kot, Crystal. 4.18 - Spacer Pendant, Brahmapuri, Terracotta.

3.17 - Cowry Amulets, Taxila, Carnelian.

4.19 - Triangular Pendant, Nasik, Carnelian.

3.18 - Cowry Amulets, Tripuri, Shell.

4.20 - Tabular Triangular Pendant, Nasik, Crystal.

3.19 - Vase Amulet, Taxila, Terracotta.

4.21 - Triangular Pendant, Nevasa, Coral.

3.20 - Cylindrical Amulet, Bhokardan, Terracotta.

4.22 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Nevasa, Chalcedony.

3.21 - Spacer Bead, Karad, Terracotta.

4.23 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Nevasa, Ivory.

3.22 - Dumb Bell Shape Pendant, Nevasa, Copper.

4.24 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Paunar, Terra Cotta.

3.23 - Chain Bead, Nevasa, Glass.

4.25 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Bhokardan, Carnelian.

3.24 - Chevron Bead, Prakashe, Terracotta. 3.25 - Cylindrical Amulet, Kaundinyapura, Terra cotta. 3.26 - Faggot Beads, Ter, Terracotta. Figure - 4. 4.1 - Bell Pendant, Taxila, Glass. 4.2 - Boat Pendant, Kondapur, Ivory. 4.3 - Bud Pendant, Kaundinyapura, Shell. 4.4 - Bullae, Terracotta, Kondpur.

4.26 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Ter, Terracotta. 4.27 - Miscellaneous Pendant, Porkala, Metal. Figure - 5. Beads Making of Stone - CementedEye. Figure - 6. Eye-Beads. Figure - 7. Beads Making of Glass - Stratified-Eye. Figure - 8. Eye-Beads. Figure - 9. Etched Beads. Figure - 10. Etched Beads.

DISTINCTIVE BEADS IN ANCIENT INDIA

India is a land of variety - in culture, languages, behavioral nomenclature, besides this, India encompasses a lot of hidden treasures, such as amulets, pendants, etched and eye beads - distinct beads. Besides being used for decoration distinctive beads also have religious, therapeutic, superstitious reasons behind their use. While often regarded as the smallest object of civilization, beads in general were always an integral part of any culture. In sculptural depiction they appear realistic and not just an imaginary work of a sculptor. Even when a story is narrated either mythological or religious and social, the authors and poets have elaborated the beauty of these ornaments in length. They are found in large quantity in archaeological excavations. This tradition of various items of ornamentation, which India posses are both varied and typologically numerous. These are made of various materials.

and technology which is different in different periods. They can be designated the degree of mercantile, technological and cultural sophistication. Their ornamentation in no small degree corresponds with that of other objects of the same period. Hence they can be regarded as a tool for relative dating to fix chronology of a strata. In addition to this it intends to bring out regional factor in their distribution, relations between their typology and chronology, cultural connections between contemporary society references to the use of specific amuletic beads in Indian literature and its concordance with the archaeological data. Further a proper study of beads not only makes one acquainted with the artistic taste of those who made and wore them, but it also can help to clear many obscure points in the relationship of different regions, their trade, migration and religious belief. A study of beads reveals the interesting fact that many types once common and popular soon fell into disuse, but were introduced again centuries later, when they were, however, manufactured by a different technique which permits us to distinguish readily the older from the later examples. The technique of the beads is thus the most important point in their study.

As it is today even in the past, men, women, and children used beads to ornament themselves. In tribal cultures still, certain beads are often worn from birth until death and then are buried with their owner for the afterlife. Beads possess the desirable characteristics of every collectible: they are durable, portable, available in infinite variety, and often valuable in their original cultural context as well as in today's market. Pleasing to look at and touch, beads come in shapes, colours, and materials that almost compel one to handle them and to classify them. Beads are such intriguing objects that one must ask the basic question of what where, when, and how whenever to be revealed: their history, technology, cultural context, economic role, and ornamental use are all points of information one hopes to unravel. Even the most mundane beads may have traveled great distances and been exposed to many human experiences. Here we aspires to take stock of the distinctive beads, as recovered in archaeological excavations carried out all over India, and specimens in private collections. Their parallels are found at sites of different cultures all over the world.

There are several viewpoints from which beads might be looked at. This book attempts to observe them primarily from cultural than the decorative angle, to understand their importance in lives of people through a region and to account for the striking similarities and differences in bead culture between geographic areas and historical eras. An important issue that recurs throughout bead history is the impact of trade on indigenous styles. Over the centuries, cultures have expressed their own decorative styles in locally made beads. The great variety of materials, forms, and technology was used to create finished beads, together with their portability and their range of cultural information. The special attractions of beads contribute to the uniqueness of bead research. While often regarded as the "small change of cultures," beads are a part of every civilization; and they can often be used to date sites. Beads are kaleidoscopic, combined and recombined in an astonishingly wide range of materials; they express social circumstances, political history, and religious beliefs. Beads have frequently been enlisted as symbolic repositories of sacred knowledge, been deemed to have curative powers, served as the fees for passage to the afterlife, and used as prompters to insure the proper conduct of ritual and prayer. Beads have been the medium

The excavations in India have yielded a large number of distinctive beads. The study of these will include typology, the source material, the literary and sculptural parallels, foreign parallels, successive changes in their shapes, their impact on the cultural life of a particular region, and also the ideas associated with them. In a sense, therefore this is a cultural study of distinctive beads. This work may bring to light the importance of distinctive beads, which are regarded as minor antiquities without much attention. As an aid in dating excavated material beads occupy a very important place due to their structure 1

Distinctive Beads of exchange in barter and the standard units of value in market systems. Beads so often mirror the culture of which they are a part that they tell us a great deal about the social, political, economic, and religious lives of the people who have made and worn them.

pendant has an amuletic value or was used for aesthetic convenience. An amulet is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as anything worn on the person as a charm or as preventive against evil, mischief, disease, witchcraft, etc., its derivation is the latin word, Amuletum.

Beads and the raw materials to make them have been important trade items for millennia. Discovering the origins of finished beads, as well as bead styles and technologies, and tracing their subsequence travels provide an interesting picture of intercultural relations. The movement of bead makers, bead technology, bead styles, and beads themselves are each complicated stories. A major task in bead research is identifying which combination of these process accounts for the spread of bead knowledge at a particular time and place. The earliest materials used for beads came from the immediate environment and included seeds, berries, coal, and other vegetal matter, as well as shells and animal bone.

The subject has received very scanty attention in India. Accurately dated specimens are comparatively few and are inadequately published. The subject has three main aspects: i) archaeological; ii) techno-cultural and typological study of dated specimens; and, lastly iii) references to the use of distinctive beads in Indian literature and sculpture and its concordance with the archaeological data. Unless these are marshaled fully no accurate picture of the use of amulets or pendants in India can be obtained. In the Atharvavedic times, amulets were widely used for a large variety of purposes. But it is the Atharvaveda that has abundantly employed the amulet to secure the immediate fulfillment of each and every desire. In fact, there was hardly any trouble, which the amulets and spells could not cure or avert. Hence the whole of the Atharvaveda is teeming with spells addressed to or invoking amulets.

Distinctive beads are not only decorative but they also reflect the curative, magical and superstitious ideas, prevalent in a society and therefore they have a social background, which is interesting to study. From the Mauryan period to the Medieval period, a variety of distinctive beads have been found from the excavations and surface finds on Indian soil.

They were worn by the ill round the necks or arms. They were made effective by uttering of charms. They were both offensive and defensive. They drove away and protected the wearer from demons. They brought prosperity and expelled poverty. They gave long life to the wearers and cured them of all diseases. They frustrated the hostile charms of the sorcerers. The Atharvavedic poets gave them a respectable ancestry by regarding them as known to the gods and Brahmanas of yore. The Grihya Sutras mention them in a considerable portion. The most tangible evidence of these amulets is available from objects of various descriptions obtained from the excavations of various ancient sites in India and surface pickings, housed in various museums.

Human belief in magical symbols contained in geometric or other designs is a very old one. In course of time, these designs came to be incorporated probably in portable charms and amulets, so that the potent in them could be easily carried on persons. This gave rise to their coming into jewelry and forming part of it. Most of these designs are associated with some common belief, magic or religious ideas and many have deeply significant meanings. It is clear that the people of different periods and cultures always believed in the superhuman potential of some stones to ward off the evil effects of various planets and diseases. These stones also conferred health, wealth, fame, fortune and longevity on the possessor. It is again quite clear from the number and variety of these that there was no single amulet, which was believed to be capable of protecting man from every danger.

For an in-depth study the author restricts herself to the specimens recovered from India. In case of data from India, these studies must also be supplemented with various aspects of the problem such as contacts with other regions in India, which were responsible for the occurrence of different shapes in different periods.

Coming back to distinctive beads, they have been worn by men and women on their persons set within necklaces, girdles, bracelets and anklets. In general, they were used mostly in necklaces. It is possible that they have been used individually for various reasons. It is more so in the case of amulets.

The present study surveys all the data pertaining to the various aspects mentioned above. In archaeological record we find the use of beads from the Upper Paleolithic times. Amulets and pendants were commonly used in the Neolithic cultures and their use was followed in the successive Chalcolithic, Megalithic and early historic period. These are in use even today. During the early historical period quite a variety of distinctive beads were in vogue. A large number of them have been reported from excavated sites, datable to circa the 3rd c. BCE to the 13th c. CE. Beads are the visible expression of the evolved aesthetic sense of humanity through successive millennia.

A pendant is a hanging jewel, or a member of ornament, especially one attached to a necklace, bracelet, etc. Pendants are of simple and conventional shapes generally without any special importance. On the contrary, amulets have been found to possess definite shapes, so designed for some magico religious or superstitious reasons. In some cases, it is rather difficult to assert whether a particular

2

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

that the painstaking minute work done by the craftsman and the creation of the various forms by the artists is no mean work. It was a craft of great skill and was confined to a special class of workers, as is today. The process of making distinctive beads involves division of labour and specialization in the various stages of manufacture, for a single artisan could not work through all the stages in its making, such as bringing the material, shaping rough-outs, cutting, polishing, drilling, etc.

The Cultural Importance of Distinctive Beads

The cultural interpretation of distinctive beads can be resolved into religious, medicinal, social, technological, economic and various other aspects. The study of forms and ornamentation of Distinctive beads of a particular period discloses man's curious fascination for the unusual, the rare, the shining, the colorful metals, stones and other materials. It also helps us to understand the belief, the customs, the economic conditions, and the set up of the society. Thus, such a study opens up the book of life.

The art of valuing precious stones and gems was a difficult science and was respected accordingly. Some of the distinctive beads have dating value as the manufacture and use of some special shape of distinctive bead was confined to a particular period, for example, spacer pendants seem to have been popular in the Satavahana period.

It is evident that the study of distinctive beads, is not only a

study of the superficial tendencies of luxurious habits of man, but is important in understanding the development of successive stages of change in shape, if any. Why certain objects were chosen as amulets is quite clear in some cases, but in others we can only make a guess.

The materials, which are not indigenous to India like, Lapis Lazuli, being mostly found in Afghanistan, must have reached some sites by way of trade. It is not only the cultural influence infiltrating the country from outside which forms useful basis for the study of distinctive beads, but within the country itself the trade-routes and the geographical peculiarities go a long way in establishing the wide-spread distribution of certain types of distinctive beads.

Inferences regarding foreign cultural and or trade contacts can in many instances, be drawn from the study of the materials from which the distinctive beads were made. So Distinctive beads go a long way in establishing certain decorative or religious norms in a particular geographical region. Such distinctive beads were possibly carried by travelers to wider and distant regions and thus throw an interesting side light on typological migration and contact.

The abundance of a material might indicate - as for instance, agate and carnelian, - the proximity of the source and the possibility of a local industry working on it. Paucity, on the other hand, might indicate the difficulty in obtaining the material, the higher cost of production and the restricted use of the material by only the affluent classes.

Certain medicinal properties are attached to distinctive beads, which were supposed to cure some ailments; sometimes they were used also as charms. Close resemblance of distinctive beads and their typology from many sites in northern and southern India demonstrates that cultural intercourse was common between these regions.

On the other hand, it is also possible to surmise that the material was not much favoured or was perhaps out of fashion.

The Religious Importance of Distinctive Beads

The Social Importance of Distinctive Beads

The religious significance of certain distinctive beads is evident in many cases. Religious symbols have played no insignificant part in the shaping of certain pendants and their cultural importance needs no emphasis. Several symbols show the magnitude of the hold which religion had on contemporary society. This is clear in Buddhist context, for example, the casket amulet from Bhokardan in carnelian. A man carried the claws and teeth, of lions and tigers and other savage and powerful animals because he believed they would add to his strength in fighting wild beasts and human foes.

Distinctive beads also help to interpret certain aspects of social life in the past. This is true of societies not only in India but also elsewhere. In India, such an interpretation gains an enhanced tempo owing to the corroborative evidence met within ancient literature and sculpture as for instance, Makarika amulet. Material used for pendants may also indicate the social status of the user. Only affluent people could import the non-indigenous material from distant lands. Certain types of beads seem to have been made of common materials of a cheaper variety such as terra cotta, and copied after the specimens made of relatively expensive material. Terra-cotta specimens may be regarded as the poor man's possessions and therefore have great value as sources of social and religious history. It is usual for the

The Economic Importance of Distinctive Beads

The study of such may provide an insight into the progress of lapidary art in a particular period. It must be realized 3

Distinctive Beads poor classes to imitate the fashions of the rich within their standards. This can also point to higher demand of the type as it is possible to produce it on large scale in a short span of time.

Such pendants give us inkling into the class structure of the then society. Thus the archaeological and the literary evidences open a vast field for understanding the role of distinctive beads in the cultural life of the Indians. After realizing the importance of these beads it is quite obvious to ask when this started. The next three chapters will trace the history of beads in general as evident from archaeological, literary and sculptural evidences.

The rarity of a pendant found in the course of limited excavation may not enable one to give a complete picture of the life style in a particular period but it indicates its use by a certain class whose demands were above the levels of an ordinary artist. It is such special type that enables us to know more of the technological expertise of the times.

4

OBSOLESCENCE OF BEADS

The most durable object of great obsolescence first possessed by man was certainly bead. Being among the most common items unearthed from ancient graves, beads reflected their intimate relationship, which they had with their owners. It is necessary to study the chronological and other aspects of beads to place the various specimens in their proper context. However, the history of distinctive beads in ancient India has not been studied fully. A few attempts have been made on different lines. To list a few these are Deo, Dikshit, Margabandhu, Francis and Niharika. The main point of observation here is the continuity of the stone bead industry, whose materials, techniques, and styles have remained to some extent unchanged for thousands of years.

In India, Beads are recovered from Paleolithic to Mediaeval culture sites. India's great fame as a beadmaking center stems from the countries abundant and accessible supplies of a wide range of semi-precious quartz minerals like chalcedony, agate, onyx, jasper, and rock crystal. Gravels in some Indian rivers yield agate nodules. Shallow underground bedrock agate sources are easily mined. This abundance of high-quality raw materials gave rise to the ancient Indian agate bead industry. The obsolescence of distinct beads in India can be conceived through two different origins, archeological and literary. The archaeological data is more precise both from the sequential and instructional points of view. The literary data suffers from ratiocination and skepticism in chronology. In some cases, both these types of evidences are conjointly appendable and confirmatory. As such, it would be worth while to state in these three chapter, both the archaeological and literary data and further to evaluate the obsolescence of the distinctive beads in India.

The beads first appear with the advent of Homo sapiens, the modem man, approximately around forty thousand years ago. And they have continued to be made and used by every human being in every culture all across the world. As the beads are often of durable materials, and they have always been treated as important personal possessions they therefore frequently taken to the grave with their owners. Due to this practice the beads are well represented in the archaeological records. La Quina in France has yielded the oldest known beads. Here these are associated with Neanderthal man and dated to the 38,000 BCE (Moore, 1979: 135). The early beads too reflect the sophisticated mentality of Upper Paleolithic people, who were able to develop abstract forms and symbols. These forms and symbols increased their capacity to cope with an often perilous environment. Beads were suppose to be selfconscious expressions of superior ability in hunting. They symbolically give the numinous support to the owner in obtaining recourses that they found difficult but necessary to have.

As far as archaeological data is concerned it is well known that distinctive beads have been reported from prehistoric sites in India (Bednarik: 1998). We get evidences of beads from Paleolithic period onwards however the amulets, pendants and eye-beads make their appearance later. Some of the oldest beads in the world have been found in India. Disk beads of ostrich egg shell and aii olivia shell bead from Patne in Maharashtra date to 23,000 BCE, and a bone bead and several cattle incisor teeth grooved for stringing, found at the Kumool Cave, date to 17,000 BCE (Francis, 1982: 18-14). With the emergence of Chalcolithic urban complexes one comes across the spectacular evidence of distinctive beads indicative of an established local industry e.g. site of Prakashe where tortoise amulet is dated back to 1700 BCE. It is rather unfortunate that the antecedents of such a fullfledged industry cannot be studied due to the lack of proper explorations. Thus what we have till the end of the Indus Valley Culture is scattered pieces of evidence rather than a complete story.

Some of these were talismanic - beads, made from derivatives of the hunt: bone, teeth, tusks, and shells. By wearing parts of the animal's body, the wearer and creator of the beads was suppose to have acquaired the power of that particular animal and gained a measure of control over its spirit. The appearance of ornaments can also be associated with the ever-growing need of men for personal identity. When the human population expanded and large - scale communities evolved 30,000 to 20,000 years back, beads came to be utilized as identity objects.

With the appearance of Indus stimulus, the Chalcolithic settlements that are found over the wide regions of Saurashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the central

5

Distinctive Beads

Deccan present a somewhat confused picture. Therefore, even though the basic cultural traits at all these places are more or less of an identical character, the beads from these centres do not exhibit any special traits or an uninterrupted comprehensive link. This is as it should be for these settlements show isolated, independent and regional developments probably after having lost touch with the parent source of stimulation.

Besides indicating the religious significance the wearing of the precious metals and jewels obviously added to the owner's prestige, prominently declaring the ability to afford additional protection. Poor people who could not own precious stones themselves, worshiped the bejeweled temple deities to gain the stones protective powers. However beads of humbler materials-seeds, glass, carnelian etc. are of equal importance to a number of India's present day tribal cultures. The jewelry of Nagaland, evolved into a complex bead iconography tied to ritualistic ceremonies. Tribals combine beads in highly imaginative and powerful designs expressing remarkable creativity. Specific meanings are assigned to colors, forms, and materials.

From the days of the Indus Valley civilization (2600-1600 BCE) to the present, Indian craftsmen have produced exquisite beaded jewelry often using precious or semiprecious stones. Quantities of beads from archaeological sites, as well as reliefs on friezes, early icons, and literary texts, affirm that beads have always been important to all classes of Indian society irrespective of their economic of religious status. Ancient clay figures, often represented the groups of the common people. They were depicted in typical daily use dresses wearing beaded necklaces, earrings, girdles, and bracelets. Sculptures of Buddha from seventh - to tenth-century Himalayan monasteries are carved or cast with beaded necklaces, as are images of the Buddha as the princely Boddhisattva before his enlightenment.

Bead making was sufficiently developed by the early Neolithic period (7000-5000 BCE). Now the beads were shaped and not just simply grooved or pierced. Beads of softer stones, such as steatite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and alabaster were produced and traded in the early Indus Valley site of Mehrgarh. The Mehrgarh excavation also revealed that pump or how drills with a chert bit were used to perforate stone beads (Kenoyer, 1986: 18-19). These discoveries are the first examples of an uninterrupted industry of stone bead making within India that remains important even today.

This strong relationship between beads and religion still exists. Worshipers of certain Hindu gods wear special beads to differentiate themselves from members of other branches of the faith as well as from non-Hindus. Followers of Siva, for example, wear Rudraksha, beads made from seeds of the Eleaocarpus ganitrus tree, since at least CE 1000, and the Vishnu worshipers wear little wooden beads made of tulsi, the holy basil Ocimum sanctum (Francis, 1982: 18). The continued importance of wooden beads in India for religious purposes may reflect parallel preferences for wood, clay, and stone.

Bead making became increasingly specialized in the Chalcolithic period (c. 4500 BCE). These people employed longer cylindrical stone drills made of chert or jasper. The drills were more efficient for perforating long agate and carnelian beads. This was a necessary development as with the settled life the hierarchy system developed and in return the demand for larger beads grew. The Indus Valley culture was of the great ancient civilizations. This has considerably affected the later Indian cultures. Bead makers of Harappa, which along side Mohenjo Daro was one of the twin capitals of the Indus civilization, mastered stone bead-cutting by 2600 BCE, and they probably traded carnelian and agate beads to Sumer, 1,600 miles to the west.

As else where in India too the poor have traditionally worn beads made from seeds, clay, copper and silver. The use of gold and precious stones remained restricted to the affluent classes. Besides being as indicator of a person's economic status, precious stones and metals were also considered almost holy and believed to have protective powers (Latif, 1982: 4). Gems were often considered as a means of gaining divine assistance and therefore offered to deities in abandance.

Harappan bead working technology is well understood, due to the discovery of large beadmaking facilities at two other Indus Valley sites, Lothal and Chanhu Daro. This technology is surprisingly similar to practices used today in the manufacturing center at Cambay (Possehl, 1981: 39). The Harappans may also have invented the technique for "etching" carnelian subsequently used in Mesopotamia and later in Iran.

In the earliest Indian religious text, the Rig Veda, the jewels of the gods are described. The later Sanskrit treatises state that even the gods pray to images studded with precious stones Vishnu worships sapphires; Indra, the ruby; Agni, diamonds. "It is by constantly worshiping a goddess studded with pearls that the moon attained his 'divine effulgence, and by worshiping one made of crystal that Varuna gained mastery of all the waters' (Brijbhushan, 1979: 5). The Indian astrological system prescribeds diffirent precious stones for each month. Hence these have beeen attributed some talismanic and religious importance.Gold and silver represent the sun and the moon, respectively; and the sacred river Ganges (Latif, 1982: 42).

From 2600 to 1600 BCE, Indus Valley craftsmen at Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Lothal, and Chanhu Daro created a vast display of bead shapes, many of these are identical to those found in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Crete, and Egypt from the same era. Carnelians and agates were highly prized; but there were also beads of bone, shell, pottery faience, steatite including glazed variety, onyx, amethyst, feldspar; turquoise, lapis 6

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India lazuli, copper, bronze, silver, and gold. The discovery of many terminal spacer beads shows that, as in Egypt, strings of beads were combined into necklaces, bracelets, and girdles (Chandra, 1964: 57-110).

introduced the technique of granulation and the faceting of beads into Indian bead making. These practices are seen only rarely in the earlier Indus Valley and Sumerian civilizations. Beads were fluted, collared, and elaborately decorated in all the familiar spherical, cylindrical, barrel, and disk shapes, using quartz, carnelian, lapis lazuli, faience, and glass for example specimens from Taxila. Animal amulets, especially lions, also appeared, a concept perhaps derived from Crete, Egypt, or Iran (Chandra, 1979).

Typical Indus Valley beads include disk, spherical, biconical, cylindrical, tubular, barrel, and lentoid shapes, as well as more elaborate gold-capped agates. The various shaped animal figure amulets are also a peculiar feature of this culture. Red-painted clay figurines depicting the contemporary women of Mohenjo Daro show them wearing three necklaces: a choker, a necklace descending to the collarbone, and a third one falling over the breasts. This custom persisted till the Mogul period, four thousand years later.

Towards the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE and in subsequent centuries a full-fledged maturity is seen in the urban revolution. It culminated in an exuberance of contemporary material assemblage including the beads, which are no exception to the general richness of the cultural pattern of the times. This is evident from the beads found at Hastinapura, Ujjain, Pataliputra, Rajghat, Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kausambi, Kaundinyapura, and Paithan. The specimens from several of these sites throw light on the artistic patterns of beads and of the materials out of which they were made.

Actual proof of direct contact between Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Indus Valley civilizations is debatable, but some links appear certain. A third-millennium BCE clay tablet from the Mesopotamian site of Nippur documents the presence of Indian merchants in Babylonia. Indus merchants are known to have visited foreign lands to sell beads and pots and to collect raw materials (Chandra, 1964: 57-110). Lapis lazuli from the Badakhshan district of Afghanistan has been identified in early dynastic Egypt and it is believed that Harappan traders acted as middlemen in the lapis trade between Afghanistan, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Furthermore, many Mesopotamian and Indus Valley beads - the long, biconical carnelians and gold-capped agates, closely resemble one another. The faceting of stone beads also occurs in both the Indus Valley and Sumer, although it is rarer in the Indus culture.

Raw agate beads were once again moved on a large scale the second century BCE when once again trade contacts were developed with the Roman Empire. By the beginning of the Christian Era, India was once again involved in long-distance bead trade. Beads of onyx, sardonyx, and other valued stones flowed west to the Romans and Persians, and last to the Chinese. Roman mariners had direct access to the rich gem fields of southern India and Sri Lanka (Ogden, 1972: 90). Pliny, the Roman historian (CE 23-79), wrote that Indian beads were not greatly esteemed in his time, although they had been earlier (Ogden, 1972: 109). Evidence of the great worth of Indian beads in Rome, however, is noted in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, written about CE 88. In this it is observed that "the beads so popular in Rome were sold from the port of Broach at the mouth of the Narmada after being cut at Ujjain and floated down the river" (Ogden, 1972: 90). This account can be regarded as authentic as it is well known that Broach was an important trading port during this period, and archaeologists have excavated a bead workshop at Ujjain dating to the even earlier Mauryan period (c. 322 - 185 BC) (Ogden, 1972: 90).

Perhaps the best evidence for trade between the two civilizations are the etched carnelian beads that were made with similar techniques and sometimes display identical etched patterns. These beads have been found in Indus Valley site from 2500 BCE and in the contemporaneous royal Sumerian graves of Ur (Reade: 1979). With the collapse of the Indus Valley civilizations about 1600 BCE long-distance trade in Indian beads diminished. For the next thousand years beads were primarily made for local use in large quantity. Bead historian Peter Francis has observed: Many agate localities exist in India and many villages made beads. It is important to recognize that the Indian agate bead industry was mostly decentralized yet simultaneously supported key centers. Villages supported an industry for local markets. The large centers where big business was handled created beads to export as an item of trade. This relationship existed in the historic times and when the great centers collapsed, bead production and consumption continued at the village level. Following Alexander the Great's invasion of the Indian subcontinent in the late fourth century BC, Greeks ruled Bactria for over a hundred years and influenced the rise of an important Indo-Hellenistic jewelry style. The Greeks provided Indian craftsmen with new motifs: acanthus leaves, palmettes, eglantine flowers, animals, and figures of Eros and the sphinx. They are also said to have

The source of the stones cut at Ujjain and exported from Broach to Rome must have been probably Ratanpur, a village near Ujjain where raw agate is still dug. The Ratanpur area is also a possible source for the carnelian exported to Sumer about 2,500 BCE. Mining stones at Ratanpur, cutting them into beads at Ujjain, and exporting them from Broach became a system that lasted from the early Christian Era for nearly one thousand years. It was not until the business-minded Solankis shifted the center of bead making to Limodra, closer to the Ratanpur mines, in the twelfth century and eventually to Cambay at the head of the Gulf of Cambay in the sixteenth that the RatanpurUjiain-Broach manufacturing-export system finally broke down (Ogden, 1972: 90). Cambay is still known for its 7

Distinctive Beads stone beads, particularly carnelian and agate.

about the beginning of 3rd century CE till the advent of the Muslims in India. Though the mighty Guptas raised India to the pinnacle of glory, yet the archaeological evidence for the mode of everyday life of the common people has not as yet been tapped on a sufficiently large scale. So is the case with the well known subsequent dynasties such as the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Palas and a host of others in different parts of India. The days of large unified empires extending over vast geographical areas were over and with them the characteristic richness and homogeneity oflife.

Glass beads appear about five hundred to a thousand years later in India as compared with Mesopotamia and Egypt (Dikshit, 1962). Glass beads occur in Baghwanpura about 1000 BCE. At Alamgirpur and Maski they are attirbuted to approximately 800 BCE. Quantities of glass beads have been found at the trading center of Taxila dating to the sixth century BCE and later. It is speculated that the abundance of beads at Taxila indicates they were also made there, although no waste glass had been found (Francis, 1982: 2-4).

With the creation of Constantinople in CE 330, in the eastern Roman Empire bead making in the West, particularly of glass beads - was dispersed among small, localized industries usually situated in former Roman territories. Beads from Byzantium, heir to Roman traditions, were made of precious stones. Bead making continued on a limited scale in the formerly great manufacturing centers of Syria, Egypt, and Persia. As the Islamic religion spread from Spain to India between the seventh and tenth century; Muslim craftsmen within these countries working with techniques passed down from Egyptian and Roman jewelers, still created beautiful and distinctive beads.

Roman gold-glass and eye beads were imported between CE 1 and 200. Despite this and other evidence of trade in Roman glass beads, the Roman Empire appears to have had little influence on the Indian glass bead industry (Francis, 1982: 2-4). Beginning in the second century BC, glass beads were made at different locations throughout India using indigenous techniques, like the drawing of glass. In the northern India, quantities of glass beads, some made in imitate of etched beads of agate, onyx, and carnelian, have been found at the sites of Kausambi, Talakad and Ahichchhatra (250-450 CE) (Francis, 1982: 2-4). In the south, glass beads and bead material excavated at Arikamedu range from opaque red to hues of black, green, yellow, translucent blue, green, and violet (Francis, 1982: 2-4).

The decline in Western bead making provided India with the opportunity to become a major manufacturer of both stone and glass beads. Between CE 500 and 1500, Indian merchants greatly expanded their efforts to trade beads, shipping quantities of agate and glass beads into East and West Africa, the Middle East, Egypt, and South-east Asia (Francis, 1982: 2-4).

There was a bead making center at Brahmapuri between 200 BCE and CE 200. Small beads made by the drawn technique, similar to those from Arikamedu, were most common; melons and square blue tubes with white centerlines occur in great numbers. Beads with gold foil between two layers of glass are rare, and they most probably were Egyptian imports. Small, orange drawn-glass beads are common from 300 BCE onward at Taxila and are found at many other Indian sites. The small drawn-glass beads appear to have originated in India and were used for centuries in beadwork and there is use still very commin (Francis, 1982: 2-4). Following the earlier routes of agate and carnelian beads Indian glass beads traveled both to the East and the West. The beads appear in East Africa between CE 200 and 1600, in Malaysia and Vietnam about CE 1000, and in Sumatra beginning in the first century CE (Francis, 1982: 2-4). They have been referred to as "trade wind beads," since they were carried by ship via routes determined by the seasonal ocean currents and monsoon patterns (Vander Sleen, 1973: 13). In medieval India, glass beads appear to have been manufactured at Arikamedu till the twelfth century CE and in Brahmapuri through the sixteenth century CE (Francis, 1982: 2-4).

The Persians traded Indian carnelian and onyx beads to China and Oman respectively. Indian agate beads from antiquity have been identified at Kilwa in East Africa and in the West African countries of Senegal and Mali. Duarte Barbosa, a sixteenth-century Portuguese traveler to India, noted that Indian agates were sold at Brabia, Persia, Egypt, and Europe (Francis, 1982: 2-4). Indian agate beads are also common in the Philippines and throughout Southeast Asia, reflecting a trade relationship that reached its zenith between CE 1300 and 1800. Carnelian beads also traveled great distances and have been found in graves of slaves in the West Indian island of Barbados (Handler, 1979: 15). Under the Muslim ruler in the northern India in the early sixteenth to the eighteenth century jewelry became very sophisticated. The Mogul dynasty was founded by Babur (1485-1530), great-grand son of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. Babur overran Agra and Delhi, and he eventually captured all of northern India. Under strong central rule and stable political situations, the new empire's trade and creativity flourished. Great wealth was concentrated in the hands of the Mogul rulers and their courts, and they desired elaborate personal ornamentation. Exquisite craftsmanship, with lavish displays of precious metals and stones, were hallmarks of imperial Mogul jewelry. During this period Persian jewelers are said to have been invited to establish workshops in India. This gave birth to an lndo-

The beginning of the Christian era witnessed the ushering of foreign cultural elements in Indian life. This is reflected not only in new shapes, but also in the introduction of new materials like the Mediterranean fine-grained corals and glass. The story of Indian beads suffers from a handicap when we come to the Post-Satavahana period i.e., from 8

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

Persian style that even today remains unique (Brijbhushan, 1979:14).

with necklace like scarves" (Brijbhushan, 1979: 18). In the Mogul period experimentation with new designs and fine craftsmanship was essentially reserved for the rich. In contrast to this ornaments used by ordinary people tended to remain simple and traditional. In times of economic crisis, it was often melted down and the stones sold; so it was important that there be no loss in the intrinsic value of the metal and stone, making ordinary jewelry more valued for its material than its workmanship.

With the establishment of Mughal power at Delhi one witnesses superb craftsmanship brought about by the planned import of artisans from far off lands. From this time new artistic trends dominated the cultural life of India. Absorption and diffusion of new elements struck an important note in this cultural heritage which left a permanent impression on the life especially in northern India.

After the decline of the Mogul power toward the end of the eighteenth century, much of their jewelry was broken up for sale as separate items or taken to other countries. Today, only a fraction of the Mogul court jewelry remains intact in India.

The Moguls epitomized the idea that "the glory of a prince is made more tangible by his buildings, his library, and his jewels". With this motto, they presided over one of the great creative ages of Indian civilization, patronizing painters, architects, and jewelers. The Mogul emperors used their economic power to subsidize mining operations for rare minerals, then encouraged artisans to create new forms of jewelry utilizing these materials. Bead making with precious stones flourished. Even the most valuable stones like emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, were made into beads, despite the risk of diminishing their value by piercing them.

In the Mogul period there was shift to tile making and bead making industries started declining. This was the period when other countries like Germany and Venice established themselves as bead making centers. These started an encroachment on Indian market. India's role as a big exporting producer declined. Initially, both Venice and Idar-Oberstein copied the popular and successful Indian beads. The German center concentrated on agates, while the Venetian glassmakers, using drawn glass techniques, began manufacturing the small seed beads that Indians had been supplying to international markets for centuries. At least one early Venetian imitation can be identified: the long, opaque redover-green tubes (and later a red-on-white version) of cornaline d' Aleppo that copied a fifteenth-century Indian bead (Francis, 1982: 34).

Mogul beads made of precious stones were usually cahoclion-cut, accentuating color rather than light. In this period a jeweler did not want to reduced the size of the gem by making beads out of them. This may also explain why using gemstones as beads are rare; only a few examples from Rome, Byzantium, and China are known outside of India. Moghuls acquired a great quantities of perals from the Persian Gulf In 1658, the Frenchman Frairancois Bernier observed that even the orthodox and puritanical Emperor Aurangzeb also adorned himself by wearing a necklace of immense pearls suspended from his neck which reached his stomach in the same manner as many of the Gentiles wear their beads.

The Indian bead industry also declined as the new industrial techniques employed by the Europeans could produce large quantities of beads in uniform sizes, shapes, and colors. These qualities could not be achieved with Indian manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the New World market, with its immense demand for glass beads, which had not been previously available to Indian bead makers and traders, greatly strengthened the European bead industry. By 1805, the British government formulated economic policies obliging Indians to buy European goods, and by the end of the nineteenth century India herself was importing vast quantities ofbeads (Francis, 1982: 34).

The clothes and jewels of Mogul women also reflected the status of their men. Manucci, the Venetian physician at the court of Aurangzeb, states that the women generally wore four or five rows of pearls hanging from their necks, in along chain hanging till the the lower part of their stomach. At the parting of the hair they wore a bunch of pearls which hung down the center of the forehead. This was a valuable ornament of costly stones formed into shapes of the sun, the moon or stars, or, at times, even of flower. They wore gold girdles studded with with precious stones. They also used strings of pearls to tied their trousers at the ends. On their legs they wore ornaments or strings of costly pearls while the shoulders were covered

In the Deccan, with the establishment of the Sultanates, the country withnessed the rise of many bead industries, as evidenced by the discoveries at Kolhapur, Nevasa and Maski in Maharashtra and Sirpur in M.P.

9

BEADS IN LITERATURE

Traditionally in an Indian's life jewelry plays a particular significance at every stage. Manu -The Law Giver who codified Hindu customs states that adornment was a necessity even for the poorest person. It was believed that distinctive jewelry had to be worn on various occasions. Jewelry was an inseparable part of dowry. It was obligatory on part of the bridge's parents to include jewelry in the gifts given to their daughter. Jewelry symbolized marital status for a woman. It was worn at the time of her wedding and removed only when is became a widow or she died (Brijbhushan, 1979: 3).

Atharvaveda are meant to accompany the rituals wherein an amulet plays an important part. The amulet naturally possessed some power and the ceremony and spell rendered it superhuman. The hymns themselves now and then recount the achievement of tasks due to use of an amulet. The Atharvavedic charms offer good examples of the symbolic treatment to cure different diseases. The Vajasaneyi Samhita and the Panchavimamsa Brahmana mentions the artisan by the name 'Manikara' (beadmaker). This appears to indicate a definitive evidence of lapidary industry. When one talks of the beads the Grihya Sutras does not go any further. However, they do refer to golden pellets set within manis, as also pellets of Badara-wood. From this evidence one can assume that it was a fashion to tie jewels around the neck, together with precious stones, like the ones mentioned in Harshacharita in later period.

While considering the literary data one notices that there is a lack of clear-cut differentiation between various types of ornaments and beads. The authors of the ancient literature have generally used the not-specific terms while referring to them. The word "Mani" means both a 'jewel' as well as a 'bead'. Haras, Ekavalis, etc. words are used to mention the Necklaces. The exact nature of the beads comprising these necklaces always remains obscure.

In so far as the literary evidence is concerned, the Arthasastra of Kautilya is generally accepted as a source, which reflects the conditions of life, which prevailed in the Mauryan age. However there is the diversity of opinion in dating this particular work. Here it is taken as an ancient work, antiquity of which can be pushed back to the 3rd BCE.

Distinctive beads have a very early history in India. Their origin can be traced as far back as the Chalcolithic period and Vedic times. Rigveda, the earliest Indian literature does mention a few precious stones but for describing the ornaments it takes help of generalized terminology like golden anklets, bracelets, earrings, garlands etc.

The Arthasastra of Kautilya makes interesting indirect reference related to the subject. Kautilya mentions a Superintendent of Mines who was in possession of all the details regarding the mines and mineral product in the kingdom (Majumdar & Pusalkar, 1968: 64). He was said to have the knowledge of the Sulba-dhatushastra and Mani-ragakara. He devoted a whole chapter for the examination of gems fir for the royal treasury. For a good King the knowledge of gems and their study is considered as constitutive art and a mandatory requirement.

One comes across several types of beads and amulets in the Atharvaveda, a work copiously devout to charms and magical ritual. Hence in the Atharvaveda, naturally numerous references to different kinds of amulets and their properties are given (Whitney: 1905). In this period the amulets were chosen from every sort of material like wood, herb, shell, gold, pearl etc., belonging to the vegetable kingdom, animal kingdom, minerals, manufactured objects and others. The designations of the plants are generally quite obscure in the amulets, which are derived from the vegetable kingdom. Universally speaking, hairs, teeth, claws, shells, coral, animals and stone products have a place in the list of amulets and charms derived from the animal world.

The Arthasastra gives a list of articles, which are worth depositing in the Government Treasury. The Superintendent of Treasury was expected to know which precious metals and jewels were to be accessioned to the treasury. It describes various kinds of ornaments and their gold contents. These accounts give us the various processes in the manufacture of ornaments, none of which are mentioned by name. The work, however, is valuable because it gives us various processes used in the making of

The Atharvaveda has abundantly referred to the amulets that were supposed to secure the immediate fulfillment of each and every desire. The word for amulet in the Atharvaveda is also 'mani'. Some of the charms of the

10

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India delicate ornaments. This is the first exposition of this kind.

used most frequently were gold and precious stones like corals, rubies, sapphires, agates, and crystals. Pearls too were used and beads of all kinds were plentiful including those made of glass.

The Superintendent of Mines was required to be very cautious in respect of size, value, species, form, utility, treatment and repairs, adulteration and wear and tear due to lapse of time. The work gives many details not only regarding the formation and size of pearls, but also enlightens us about the varieties of necklaces, which can be made out of them. In Kautilyas work shows aptitude for precision.

Two varieties of necklaces were worn in this period. The short, broad and flat one, which was called kantha, usually had gold inlaid with precious stones. The long one was designated as the lambanam. These bead necklaces generally had three-to-seven strings and were so-named, after the number of strings of which they were composed of To ward of the evil forces each string of beads had an amulet at the centre. In addition to this women wore girdles called Mekhala (a hip belt of multi-stringed beads). Originally it was made from the red see kaksha but now day made of gold and silver beads in the shapes ranging from round to square and oval.

It is interesting to note here that from the time of Kautilya a very precise terminology for ornamental necklaces such as Haras, Ardhaharas, Manavaka, Indrachchhanda, Kuberachchhanda Ekavalis, etc., came into practice. This terminology became standard for the subsequent period and is used in all later scientific works till the medieval period.

Many classical writers have very well documented the Satavahana period in the Deccan. They have given an elaborate description of the cultural life of this period. These foreign writes are Ptolemy, Pliny, Cosmos and the anonymous writer of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, belonging to the early centuries of the Christian era (Majumdar, 1927). All these writers talk about the spectacular wealth, which India possessed. Pliny mentions several varieties of precious and semi-precious stones like diamonds, quartz and opals, agates, carnelian, sard, onyx and bloodstone. Besides this he also mentions the use of diamond-splinters by gem engravers.

For example, the Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira (505 CE), a precisely dated work, confirms this terminology. Amongst the pearl necklaces, the Indrachhanda is a necklace of 1008 strings of pearls. The variant for this in Varahamihira and other works is Induchhanda. The gems are described as hexagonal, quadrangular or circular and possessed of dazzling glow, pure, smooth, heavy brilliant, transparent and illuminative. Besides these, Kautilya gives various qualities of gems, such as diamonds and rubies. Sirshaka is a pearl necklace of uniform size with one big pearl in the centre. Upasirshaka is with five big pearls of equal size in the centre. Prakandaka is necklace of graduated pearls with one big pearl in the centre. Avaghataka is with all the pearls of uniform size. And tarala pratibandha is necklace of pearls with a diamond in the centre, are some of the varieties, which have been mentioned by Kautilya.

In the Satavahana period indigenous jewelry however, consisted of Lambana. Strands of pearls were the main motif in all forms of jewelry particularly in the late period of the Satavahana Empire. Necklaces or hara were mainly strung with pearls, sometimes consisting of only a single string called ekavali. A necklace of gems and gold beads was called yashti. In the Yashti the central bead was often larger than the others. Several of these necklaces could be worn together. Sometimes three or five slab-like gems, phalaka (spacer), were inserted at regular intervals. These spacers held together the several strings of which a necklace was composed of, and the whole was called a Phalakahara.

The Arthasastra refers to the following pearl strings (Shamasastry, 1956). Indrachhanda 1008 pearls; four hasta (distance from elbow to the finger tips) in length, Vijayachhanda half of the former, Ardhahara; Apavartaka; Rasmikalpa; Guchhaka; Ardhaguchhaka; Manavaka; Nakshatramala; Manisopanaka; Ardhamanavaka; Phalakahara; Uashti; Ekavali; Ratnavali; Siddhahara.

The text of Kautilya is obscure in respects of the text relating to the use of glass and various processes employed in the manufacture of glass, it is now fairly clear that the use of glass was also well-known to Kautilya in about 3rd century BCE (Dikshit, 1961: 122-29).

A simple perfumed cotton-thread necklace was known to have been in use. To protect children form the malicious effects of the evil eye tiger claws were strung around their necks. When the yajnopavita (a sacred thread) was made of pearls it was called the muktayajnopavita. Kantha (the shorter from of necklace) continued to be in use and was often of gold set with rubies and emeralds. The gold-coin necklace nishka strung on silk thread or plaited gold cord was worn in almost the same design as the modem putali of Maharashtra and the malai of Tamil Nadu. Sometime mango-shaped pieces of gold or gold set with gems, like the contemporary mangamalai of south Indian were used instead of the gold coins.

In the Arthasastra of Kautilya, and in the sculptures of the period we find references which show us that the materials

Gold was much in use and was called hiranya and suvarna, silver was known as rupya, and copper as tamra, and these

The details as found in the case of pearl ornaments missing in Arthashastra when one talks about ornaments made of semi-precious stones. Although process of setting, polishing and the various forms of Koshtas (bezels) are noted by Kautilaya.

are the the the

11

Distinctive Beads continued to be used for making jewelry. Gold and silver were often encrusted with ratna or jewels. These included carnelians, agates, lapis lazuli, amethysts, garnets, coral, and pearls.

tarahara. If a gem was added in the centre of the pearl it was known as suddha ekavali. V ijayantika, a necklace made from a successive series of pearls, rubies, emeralds, blue stones and diamonds, was the most glorious and much sought after. The nishka or coin necklace also continued to be popular.

Certain early works such as the Gathasaptasati of Hala Satavahana makes occasional references to gems like diamonds, cat's eyes, rubies and emeralds. Joglekar also mentions the emerald-drills capable of drilling pearls (1956: 394). Sapphires, topaz, diamonds and cat's-eyes were embedded or sometimes strung in various ways and worn as ornaments.

In the Gupta period the works of classical writers like Bhasa, Kalidasa, Bhatti, Bana and others throws flood light on the subject (Upadhyaya, 1967: 202-4). Their works elaborately describe the wealth of common people and exclusive class like royal people and the courtesans etc. The work of Bana and this patron Harsa present an elaborate and gorgeous picture of the time and show a deep acquaintance with precious stones and their qualities (Motichandra, 1950: 202-4).

The various ornaments mentioned in the Gahasaptasati (Jogalekar, 1956: 264-69) are the following: Hara, Haralata, Indanila, Jalavalaa, Kanthia, Kanaadora, Kannaharana, Kannaurauppala, Mehala,Omalia, Sithilavalaa, Valaa,

In the Gupta period the ornamentation tends to become simple, in the form of ekavalis, but the post-Gupta period marks a wide departure from the early simplicity. The subsequent centuries show that the beads were no more individualistic but form themselves into intricately worked padakas of ornamental plaques, which as the literature shows, bear independent names.

In the Kushana period along with the lapidary work, the art of enameling as well as inlay work in shell and mother-ofpearl was also known. Gold beads were beautifully filigreed or filled with lac, while others had cores of jasper and turquoise paste and were strung on thread or wires and worn as short necklaces called kantha, or long ones worn between the breasts known as hara. As in the earlier period stinging coins to be worn as necklaces, called nishka, was also in vogue. Foreigners wore the torque, a simple necklace of gold wire. It was a characteristic ornament of the Scythian and Celtic people and was worn as a mark of distinction by the Persian and Parthians. All these belonged to the same stock, as were the Sakas and Kushanas. Shell and terracotta beads continued to be stung and worn by the poorer classes.

Just like the Buddhist texts in the Jaina canonical literature and non-canonical texts also (Jain, 1947: 99) different kinds of precious and semi-precious stones, such as the zircon, ruby, quartz, emeralds, cat's eye, serpentine and other precious materials like coral, etc., are mentioned. Here also, obscurity and vagueness in identification very much exists. Besides these costly necklaces of pearls are also mentioned. One also come across references to expert stringers and bead-makers. This confirms that the art of bead making was practiced on a large scale and in ancient times it was patronized by the kings and merchants.

In the Buddhist J ataka stories beads and ornaments are often referred as the works of the manikaras and goldsmiths. Various precious stones like diamonds, pearls, crystals, emeralds, rubies, etc are also mentioned (Mehta, 1939: 193-7). The Jatakas also mention the art of polishing and cutting of hard stones. During this period craftsmen specialized in making certain types of ornaments such as ear-ornaments. One also comes across the various references to the art of inlaying. In the general information, certain specific instances, such as the Kunda/as shaped like lion's heads or makara-shaped spouts are added (Kunala Jataka) (Jamkhedkar, 1990).

In the 5th century Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira mentions various types of pearl necklaces. These are: Arahaguchha, Ardhamanavaka, Ardhara, Catukara, Devechhanda, Ekavali, Guchha, Hara, Haraphalaka, Induchhanda, Mandara, Manavaka, Manisopanaka, Naksatramala, Rasmikalapa, Vijayachhanda, and Yasti. The Skanda Purana (Awasthi: 1966) mentions the following types of necklaces: Hara, Hemakankana, Kunda/a, Karnabhusana, Kataka, Kanchi, Nasabharana, Nishka, Suvarna-nishka, Valaya, etc.

In Gupta period gold or hirana was more commonly used than in the earlier periods, especially in the Deccan where there were gold mines. Gold ornaments for both men and women were exquisitely made, acquiring a new delicacy as beaten work, filigree work and twisted wire was skillfully combined with jewels - particularly pearls.

The ih century CE book, Nisitha Curni (Madhu, 1975: 172-73) lists the following types ofnecklaces: Addhahara, Egavali, Hara, Galolaiya, Muktavali, Palamba, Rayanavali, Tisaraya, Ulamba. In literature, the Harshacharita of Banabhatta refers to the asta-malgala-mala worn by goddess Prithivi. The Srivatsa as an auspicious emblem, is seen in many a sculptures and occurs at the beginning of many inscriptions.

The sutra was a chain for the neck. When made of gold with precious stones in the centre, it was called hemasutra. But this was the era of the pearl necklace or muktavali. Here again one finds details of the different kinds of pearl necklaces. A single strand of small pearls was termed as the haravasti. The necklace of big pearls was called the

The various kinds of necklaces mentioned in the Yasastilaka of Somadeva of 10th century CE (Jain, 1967: 12

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India 140-151) are: Ekavali, Ghargharamalika, Hara, Harayasti, Kanci, Karnapura, Karnotpala, Kanthika, Mauktikadama, Mekhala, Rasana.

specialized study received a setback. In the period prior to the conquest by Mughal invaders, there were still a few writers like Alberuni who honoured the Indian lapidary art and took keen interest in some of the texts related to this subject. In the Mughal period the knowledge of the precious stones crossed the boundaries of India and spread across the world specially in the Arab world. In the 15th or 16th century CE one finds the well known work based on the Ratnasastra texts by Mansur. It has reproduced certain details found in Indian texts. Under the patronage of the Persian emperors important works like Tansukhnama and Jawaharnama were composed in this period.

According to the Chola inscriptions (Shastri: 1955), a large number of precious stones were employed in the make up of the ornaments for the head and the neck, variously termed from their individual patterns. The number of stones, gold, and other details regarding their constituent are stated both by weight as well as by the number of pieces employed. Hardly a few of these can be identified, though they are indicative of the fabulous wealth.

One gets surprised to know that this subject got so much of importance that even when Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah and he was retrieving for safety, his retinue and followers take out time and write a small treatise on the jewels for him, to carry with himself to Iran. The travel accounts by Bernier, Tavamier, and Chardin, give the details of the extravagance, lavish and kaleidoscopic decoration used in the courts of the Mughal Emperors.

In the mediaeval period one finds many treatises specifically devoted to the study of gems. These are termed as "Ratna-Sastra". Traditionally a sage named Agastya is suppose to have written these (Motichandra, 1953). However in the later period many writers like Varahamihira (Shastri, 1969: 230), Buddhabhata and a host of others, wrote on the subject. Although the later writers have given a new treatment to the subject by supplying minute details as regards the qualities and defects of precious stones, their findspots etc., in some way or the other they are always influence by the accounts of Buddhabhata. In some instance these also give the prices of the gems. This tradition of the Ratnasastra continued indiscreetly till about the 14th century CE.

From the accounts of Sir Thomas Roe, Du Jurrac and others we get information about the achievements in the fields arts and crafts during the period of Jahangir. This splendour is exhibited in many instances by the specimens, which have survived to present day and still rouse approbation and applause from the connoisseurs of art. The details found in Ain-I-Akbari by Abul Fazl, in Akbaranama and a large number of historical works give information about the art and skills for the period of Akbar.

One finds a very refined treatment of the subject in the works of the Chalukya emperor Someswara of early 12th century CE. The contents of his encyclopedic work (Sama Shastri, 1926) the Manasollasa or Abhilashitartha Chintamani, follows a general pattern that embodies details taken from earlier works. Here we do not find much advancement made when compared with the earlier studies. However this gives us the idea that the writers were alive to the study of Ratnasastra. This in itself is a revelation.

The Mughal splendour reached its zenith during period of Shah Jehan who was supposed to be best connoisseur of jewels. During the period of Aurangazeb this art did not get much of the royal support. However the court proteges and vassals, still engaged in these work to meet their personal ends. The Alamgir-nama, the works of Badauni and the Tawarikhs, throw sufficient light on this subject, however the artists in this period did not restrict himself to the objects of art alone, but also created other the smaller goods for nobles and masses. Hence in the later Mughal period also one finds literature and materials related to our field of study.

The Manasollasa, (Mishra: 1966) gives such names as Mrinali, Ravimanadala, Samjnaka, Hamsatilaka, Vardhamana and Dalaka, for the garlands and their component parts. Details are given of interesting arrangements of the pearls and precious stones studded in different patterns; but the halo of obscurity is still attached to them.

During the Bahmani and the other sultanates one does not find lavish art industries in the Deccan. One also finds information about the wealth of the Bahmani and Bijapur Sultans from the Takht-1-piroja and other work of the contemporary period. During the Adilshahi from Master, Tavernier and other travelers account one gets some important information about the diamond mines at Golconda. In the Maratha period due to the unsettled political situation the information on art is very scanty (Deshmukh, 1973: 160-72). The wealth remains accumulated in the temples at various places in their territory. In the Peshwa period also one does not get information related to our subject. Only one reference states that craftsmen from Jaipur were invited to prepare

Thakkar Pheru, a versatile writer's treatise on Ratnasastra is the only one written during the time of Allauddin Khaliji. In the early mediaeval times also this study continued very much the same is evident from the twelve works entitled "Pahana Pariksha" produced during this period. This clearly indicates the interest taken by the writers in educating the pubic in the subject. These works shower in many monotonous conjectures and oft-repeated details, which seem suspicious for the modem scientific approach to the study of geology and glyptic arts. With the advent of the Muslims in India this period of 13

Distinctive Beads small images of sapphire and to work on jewels.

to the Maratha period. In the next chapter we shall try to get this information from sculptural depictions.

This description culled from literature has given in general an idea of the ornaments used by Indians from pre-historic

14

BEADS IN SCULPTURE

In Indian sculpture various forms of beads are represented. In these sculptural representations one has no means to know about the material of the beads. Hence in the following pages we shall give more importance to the shape than the material. For the sake of convenience they have been classified according to the conventional terminology of different periods. These are naturally representative of the region in which the sculpture is situated. The chronological limits are quite broad. In several of them the minute details, as we require for the study could not be distinguished.

shape can not be identified. From the archaeological sites of the Mauryan period a very valuable material has been brought to light. Just like the actual specimens from Indus Valley period here also one finds them in abundance from sites like Taxila, Pataliputra, Rajghat, Hastinapura, Kausambi, Ujjain, and many other sites. However the prolific material and the superfine quality which these specimens exhibit is not found in the sculptures. Here also, the data is less definitive and equally poor.

From the sculptures we find there was a richness and profusion in the jewelry worn by both men and women. Earlier, it had a massive quality to it and the workmanship was coarse. A little later, around 1st c. BCE - 1st CE, the jewelry becomes somewhat refined and acquires its former quality in the early mediaeval period.

Mauryan period in general does not contribute much as for as sculptural depictions are concerned. A string of "beadand-reel" is seen below the bell shaped capital, at the column at Basarh. Here the beads are the familiar barrelshaped, collared ones. This continued in Indian art for a considerable length of time, particularly at Bharhut and Sanchi. The motif occurs on the lion pillar of Lauriya Nandangarh. The abaci of a few pillars such as in Sankisa, Rampurwa, and Sanchi have provided the honey-suckle and water lily motifs, which recur on the Tri-ratna pendants seen on the garland, depicted on the gateway pillars at Sanchi. The motif, though common enough at Taxila, very rarely repeats itself in post-Mauryan Art. The exact shaped of the penants worn by the Parkham Y aksha is not very clear but the twisted gopha around the neck of the same figure follows the style which commonly occurs at Bharhut, Sanchi and in the post-Mauryan art.

In the Indus Valley and allied cultures, the sculptural depictions are comparatively meager. Here one finds a large number of actual specimens. The stone sculptures are not many and the terra cottas not definitive. The human figurines of terra cotta and stone found at Lothal and Kalibangan are devoid of ornaments. The period next to the Indus valley is virtually a blank, as no figures have survived in Jhukar, Jhungar or in Rangpur. On the specimens from Chanhu Daro distinctive beads are absent. Only some times simple pellets represent them and very rarely incisions on pendants can be seen (Mackay: 1943).

When one talks about the Didarganj Yakshi, which is polished in the same way also made of from the Chunnar sandstone, of which the pillars are made, the overall effect is totally different. The drapery shows that it should be assigned to a late period, possibly 1st century BCE if not later. The figure wears a simple string of pearl around the neck and a two-stranded necklace, pendulous and set in between the breasts. The Mekhala or the girdle on the waist consists of lenticular square-collared beads in four strands, equipped with a peculiar shield-shaped terminal or clasp shown at either end.

The terra cottas from Mohenjo Daro appear to have pellets hanging in their necklaces. In some, the beads are shown as roundels with an incised with depression in the middle (Mackay: 1938). The same types of pendants in the form of pellets occur at Harappa, but some times they are slightly elongated (Vats: 1941). The famous statue of the bearded man at Mohenjo Daro has depiction of a crescent-shaped fillet on the headband. This can be regarded here as a pendant (Marshall: 1931). Actual specimens of this shape are recovered from Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Lothal, Kuntasi etc. The famous bronze statue of the nude-dancing girl wears a necklace having three pendants. These are very crude and their

One of the Patna Y akshas shows a kind of torque, which is decorated with rosettes, and other are twisted pearl strings (Lashti). Both the Parkham Yaksha and the Patna statues are ascribed to the Mauryan period on stylistic grounds and the very high polish characteristic of the Mauryan age.

15

Distinctive Beads The terra cottas of the Mauryan period are dated on the basis of the stratigraphy at Pataliputra. The other characteristics to date these were the archaic qualities and simple embellishments, such as eyes of applique pellets, etc. However the terra cottas of the Mauryan period do not throw any light on the ornaments used in this period. One gets ample material for the understanding of the beads actually worn in the Sunga period from the various large sized sculptures at Bharhut, Sanchi and Bodh Gaya. Here the ornaments are depicted in their natural grace around the body. Beads were principally employed in both, the necklaces around the neck, in girdles around the waist. Occasionally they are also used on the wrists in the shape of bangles.

beads with lug-collar (Barua: 1937). The Madhyamakoka Y akshi figure (Barua: 1937) wears a Phalakahara of seven strands over a gopha. The yanopavita thread consists of granular beads with lugcollars. The waist girdle comprises of flat, square and square bicone beads with collars. She also wears a prakara-vapra-kundalas Sirima Devata wears a cube-shaped square pendant. She also wears a seven-stranded necklace with trapezoid terminals without spacers. Around the neck she has a fivestranded long gopha reaching the breasts folded, with spacers, Karna-veshtana of curled ends, and a Phalakahara of six strands. On the top of this she wears a garland of amulets consisting of a spherical granulated bead in the centre, flanked by two Tri-ratnas. The waist girdle consists of flat, square and spherical beads with lugcollars in five strands (Barua: 1937).

Bharut sculptures give a lot of references with regards to the use of beads in the ornaments of the Sunga period. Principal figures showing ornaments in great details are mentioned below. The head of Alakananda Y akshi is covered with a net of pearls drawn over the forehead (Barua: 1937). The ornament in the neck consists of strings of pearls arranged with pendants, a graiveyaka of pearl strings over which hangs the usual string of Tri-ratna amulets with an amalaka-shaped bead in between. She wears a Prakara Vapra Kundala. Her Mekhala consists of square plaques linked together with chains. The pendulous border of the garment consists of ten strings with long spacers in between them at regular intervals.

The Sudarsana Yakshi figure (Barua: 1937) bears a Phalakahara with graded beads of different shapes and a gopha with rectangular panel attachments in the neck. She has a cog-wheel type of chatula on the forehead and simple prakara-vapra-kundalas in the ears. The waist girdle consists of a five-stranded girdle with square lug-collared beads, alternately placed with circular lenticular lug-collar beads. Y akshi riding a horse with a banner wears a five-stranded necklace of globular beads with Phalakas in the centre and trapezoid terminals, over a long gopha, folded with spacers between them. Here the ornaments are of Prakaravapra Kundalas type. Her girdle consists of four strands of barrel shaped, lenticular beads of lug collars, partially hidden by the tunic (Barua: 1937).

The Chanda Yakshini (Barua: 1937) wears heavily ornamented headgear with floral patterns. In this the four petalled lotus and champa flowers are predominant. The necklace consists of a six stranded hara with spherical and rectangular panel beads and broad criss cross terminals. On this hara she wears a garland of amulets with a Srivatsa in the centre flanked by two ankusa-shaped pendants. Two leaf-shaped pendants are at both the ends. Below the hara is the herring-bone-pattern gopha with a pair of twinplaques with four petalled-flowers. The Yajnopavita string contains a number of long cylindrical beads with notched lug collars. The Mekhala is four stranded with a fringe of kinkinis. The forehead chatula is a lotus pendant with cogwheel border. The figure has an utpala and mango-leaf in her ears. She wears the prakara-vapra-kundalas. The cloth eventuates in a globular beaded border. The representation of the ornaments is very graceful.

Yakshi standing over a makara and holding a mirror in her right hand, has a folded gopha with spacers. a hara of globular beads, on top of this a necklace with Tri-ratna; a barrel-shaped, lug-collared bead with hatched designs in the centre; Prakara Vapra Kundalas in her ears; and a waist girdle of barrel-shaped, lenticular bends with lug collars (Barua: 1937).

Chulakoka Yakshi has a Phalakahara in the neck. The usual chatula is almost hidden in the hair. She wears prakara-vapra-kundalas in the ears, and Vaikakshaka ornament. The Mekhala consists of a five-stranded girdle with square lug-collared beads, alternately placed with circular lenticular lug-collar beads (Barua: 1937).

An Unknown Y akshi is wearing a string of four-stranded granulated pearls with hexagonal or square cylinder-beads in the centre. Below this, she wears another necklace consisting of a rectangular panel bead in the centre. Over this appears a circular plaque with the lotus design in the centre. The amulets carved here are a pair of parasu and Srivatsa-shaped on either side. One string below it consists of Tri-ratna ornaments with a granulated bead in the centre. She wears prakara-vapra-kundalas. This figure gives us the most intricately carved ornament at Bharhut (Barua: 1937).

Mahakoka Devata wears a large Prakara-Vapra-Kundalas. Her folded gopha is provided with spacers. A close fitting necklace of globular beads and a torque encircles her neck. The six stranded waist girdle is of barrel-shaped, lenticular

The figure of a lotus nymph with a lyre is badly mutilated. She wears a graiveyaka of circular beads over an entwined gopha. She has the usual waist girdle of square and circular beads with lug-collars (Barua: 1937). 16

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

A mutilated Y akshi figure, now in the Allahabad Museum, shows the usual Phalakahara and a string of amulets and a waist girdle with the usual collared beads. A impressive characteristic of this figure is a custard-apple pendant in the centre as the amulets.

The coping-stone of the railings at Bharhut is decorated with garlands and other ornaments, and the principal ornamental motifs are individually portrayed. These depictions give us the idea as to how they must have appeared when worn by a person.

The beams and the coping stones of the Bharhut railing also give us various samples of the patterns of ornaments, used in decoration. These ornaments are generally enclosed within a sinuous border of entwining lotus stems. The ornaments are generally shown emerging from the Kamalalata - lotus creeper. To get more information about the ornamental representations in sculptures of Sunga period a few panels from Bharut (Barua: 1937) are described here.

In these sculptures one also gets detailed about individual ornaments. The necklaces or the Haras comprised of barrel-shaped beads, circular cylinder beads, globular beads, lug collared cornerless cube beads with chamfered sides, granulated beads, lug collared gadrooned beads, lugcollared barrel shaped beads having lenticular section, lugcollared rectangular square beads, square plaques decorated with lotus patterns, etc types of beads. Necklaces made of these beads were joined with chains and had hooks at the back.

Panel 9 (Barua: 1937) illustrates Tri-ratna amulets with granular decoration and a convex barrel, a circular bead studded with zonal bands with mustard seed decoration. Herring bone pattern chain and a three stranded necklace with rectangular panel beads, decorated with bands on the margins in between graded pearls and lotus pericarpshaped terminals.

One sees a number of patterns when these beads form a component of the necklaces. When used for the waist girdles one finds only few types like small square discs with lotus designs and beads with lug collars etc. In the case of the discs, the thread cord portion is rarely seen. Each disc had a loop at the back and these were joined together by silver or gold wire. The girdle always comprised of several strands. In a girdle mostly the lug collared or the chamfered cube beads of same size are used. In case of the use of beads in a necklace of a single strand or as breastplates the beads tend to gradually become smaller towards the ends. The square discs are also occasionally employed as decorative plaques (Padakas) in the necklaces.

The Panel 9b (Barua: 1937) depicts a zone with square, lug-collared beads. Panel 9c shows a necklace consisting of cornerless cube beads with lug-collars and small jack-fruit-shaped beads. One more strand depicted here consists of gadrooned beads. Panel 10 (Barua: 1937) depicts a chatula with three concentric rings studded with pearls and a circular panel in the centre, and a four stranded Phalakahara. Panel 10a Phalakahara.

(Barua:

1937) depicts

three

Usually Six strands formed a Phalakahara, however a necklace could have any number of strands. Some of the necklaces bore one strand each of globular, gadrooned, lug-collared and cylindrical beads. Any number of individual strings were worn without any specific order during the Sunga period. Rectangular, square spacing beads and the barrel-shaped circular beads are occasionally found decorated with finely worked zones in the centre or serve as borders. The combination of four strands, each having beads of globular, gadrooned, chamfered cubes, and granulated variety, is of very common occurrence in Sunga sculptures.

stranded

Panel 24g (Barua: 1937) illustrates a hexagonal cylinder bead with hook rings and a four stranded herring bone chain with rectangular panels. Panel 24h (Barua: 1937) has two Tri-ratnas with heavy ornamentation of ferrules on the sides with a square cylinder bead with triple zonal bands and a square plaque with a lotus design in the centre and a border of pearls.

Another peculiar beads depicted in the sculptures are Bharut are the spherical ring beads. These were threaded in a very thick strand having the diameter of approximately the size of the bead (Barua: 1937). Bhita has yielded a gold specimen of this type of bead.

Panel 24j (Barua: 1937) shows Prakara-vapra-kundalas and a Phalaka-hara of four strands with karnika terminals. A Panel 38 (Barua: 1937) shows a gopha and square beads with lug-collars.

Other variety of necklaces are also peculiar to the the Sunga period. One necklace consisted of a single string with two Tri-ratna-shaped amulets with a central bead of barrel-shape or rectangular zonal bead or an amalaka-shape bead. In rare instances, the Tri-ratna necklace is studded with circular discs of repousse work imitating lotus designs and is flanked by smaller amulets shaped like the Parasu and the Srivatsa (Barua: 1937). This necklace which generally reached the navel was superimposed over the rest

Phalakahara with graded rectangular or circular beads with bands at ends and large pearls with lotus pericarpshaped terminals are shown in the Panel 97 (Barua: 1937).

Panel 119 (Barua: 1937) contains a curious hemispherical cap with a hook at the top, decorated with close set horizontal bands from which seven bells are hung. 17

Distinctive Beads of the bead strings in the neck. Some of these are decorated with small ferrules or had a pimpled surface.

The ornament is generally very visible and on account of its heaviness tends to form a characteristic fold, which is carefully depicted in every Sunga sculpture and is, therefore, considered as a characteristic of the Sunga School.

These Tri-ratna were either made in various sorts of semiprecious stones or in gold and even copied in terracotta, as some specimens found at Ter, Paithan, Kaundinyapura and Bhokardan. The actual specimens of tri-ratna amulets are generally quite small. In the sculptures their size was increased probably to indicate the importance of these amulets of to make them stand out.

In the case of ear ornaments, the sculptures at Bharhut show two predominant varieties. The most commonly noticed form shows a square or cube-shaped disc, decorated with a floral pattern, and ending in a spiral of serpentine shape and the other is disc-shaped circular. This ornament is seen on the Parkham Y ahksha and a yakshi figure from Amaravati (Sivaramamurti: 1912).

In the Sunga period on these Tri-ratnas amulets one finds various other designs too. A study of sculptural depictions at Bharhut makes this evident. Here in many cases the Triratnas are decorated with a granular surface with the circular plaque at the top, decorated as a lotus (Barua: 1937). Necklaces round the necks of a Yakshi holding a mirror of Y akshi Alakananda, Sirimadevata and yet another Yakshi (Barua: 1937), show that in between the Tri-ratnas a gadrooned or collared, granulated bead was always present. The same mode of decoration is obtained in a Yaksha figure, from Pitalkhora in National Museum (Deshpande: 1959). In the necklace of the Pitalkhora yaksha the Tri-ratnas have been changed to a comic figurine in each instance to heighten the effect of the grotesque subject. The necklace also contains many amalaka-shaped beads spaced by small spherical ones on between them. In this necklace an amalaka bead is used as a terminal at the back.

Tatanka is the other variety of ear ornament seen in Bharhut sculptures. This is a large disc-shaped circular ear ornament having distinctive large circular rings at edges. This tatanka was in vogue in the Pre-Mauryan period. It is seen depicted in many of Mauryan sculpture and its use continued in the same manner in the Sunga period also. In the headdress of the Sunga sculptures also one notices the use of a number of amulets. In the turban these various amulets were made to stand erect on the right-hand side of the sirobandhana. The amulets depicted here are the goard, tri-ratna and a sickle. All these amulets are heavily covered with pearls. These ornaments are also seen two terracotta figurines from Tamluk, which are ascribed to about, 3rd - 2nd century BCE (IA-R: 1954-55). Figurines made of terra cotta recovered from Ber-champa (IA-R: 1955-56) in the 24 paraganas at Chandraketugadh (IA-R: 1957-58) and Rupar (IA-R: 1954-55) also show these amulets very prominently. All these amulets are known through actual specimens.

During this period it was a common practice in Indian art to depict a Tri-ratna or a Srivatsa symbol in the form of a human figurine (Sivaramamurti: 1961). A female figure wearing a necklace of Tri-ratna beads with an oval bead between them is depicted in a sculpture belonging to Mauryan or early school ofSarnath (AR-ASI: 1914 - 15).

At Sanchi two interesting garlands are portrayed in a sculptured panel. These show a number of amulets (Marshall, and Foucher: 1983). One string contains eleven auspicious symbols and the other has thirteen. These are identified as forming part of the ashta-mangalika mala comprising of the following: Ankusa, Darpana, Kamala, Minamithuna, Padmasara, Pankaja, Parasu, Srivtsa, Surya, Sukra, and Vaijayanti (Agrawala: 1958). The necklace consisting of 13 units has symbols of Ankusa, Chakra, Darpana, Kalpa, Kamala, Mina-yugala, Pankaja, Parasu, Pushpapadma, Srivatsa, Vaijayanti, Vriksha, and two other are not identified.

A necklace of four or six strands contained a rectangular panel bead in the centre. This necklace generally has small graded spherical or rectangular beads. This is depicted frequently in the Sunga sculptures (Barna: 1937). The centre beads are widely distributed and their shape is different then the one used in in Phalakahara. The most common form of a necklace consists one, two, three or four beads with a trapezoid or a panel-shaped ornament in the centre. In ancient times this central trapezoid piece was known as Phalaka. At the ends also triangular or trapezoid plates were used as a terminal and all the strands were joined together with the help of these. One generally get the necklaces having four, six or more strands. In the necklaces the beads are either threaded in simple threads or are entwined in a herring-bone pattern chain. Due to the Phalakas in the central portion the necklace gets a triangular shape, broad at the base and tapering at the top.

All these amulet shapes can be seen in the actual specimens recovered at various sites. The Srivatsa is again a favourite symbol to found in (Dikshit: 1952) terracotta specimen from Kondapur, or a gold bead (Sankalia, et. al., 1960) from Nevasa. An Ankusa specimen made of a carnelian, is seen in the Allahabad Museum. A carnelian specimen of sickle is seen in the collection at Allahabad. Mina-yugala very common at many sites like Taxila and Sopara. Taxila has yielded one in copper or Bronze (Marshall, 1953: 35) and Sopara specimen is of beryl.

The Phalakahara generally rests loose in between the breasts. Below the Phalakahara is usually found a long, four or five strands entwined in herring-bone fashion. This rests flat on the body and it is usually long - till the navel.

Jewelry in the Satavahana period had a massive primitive 18

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

character in strong contrast to that worn in the later Satavahana period. Only women wore jeweled girdles Mekhala, of one or many strings. These were made in several varieties with bells, linked chain or strung with pearls, beads or precious stones.

acquaintance with the Gandhara country. The Makarika ornament is also profusely used. A figure of Maitreya in the Lahore Museum (Ingholt, 1957: 289) shows that the amulets carried on a string is of five distinct varieties. Two of them are rectangular boxes, square in section with two suspension loops at the top. One is a rectangular box with a criss-cross pattern. The fourth one is a tiger claw amulet. The cylindrical circular amulet is absent. The Maitreya from Karachi (Ingholt, 1957: 290) shows the circular amulet.

In relation to the Mauryan-Sunga period, we notice a tendency towards greater refinement and simplicity in Kushana period. Due to the spread of Buddhism in the region of Gandhara, the Gandhara School of sculpture developed, and therefore the majority of the sculptures from here are Buddhist. When compared with the art of the Mauryan period, which bear witness to the excellent craftsmanship and quality, the sculptural representations of the Gandhara school are very indigent. This school in the beginning i.e. before CE 25 tried to incorporate the foreign and local elements. The results of these were often not very pleasing. With the emergence of the Saka-Parthians on the Indian soil one sees the revival of the Hellenistic art.

A central jewel with two makarikas by their side, bending in 'Hockey-stick' loops is seen in the necklace of the Lahore Maitreya (Ingholt, 1957: 289). A multi-threaded cluster of pearl necklaces is enclosed in these loops. This type of crocodile amulets are seen in many other sculptures. One also finds varients of these crocodile amulets where in lotus design (Ingholt, 1957: 293), Nagas (Ingholt, 1957: 299), flame-like appendages (Ingholt, 1957: 308), or petals of full blown lotuses (Ingholt, 1957: 326), Vidyadharas are seen This is undoubtedly, the Vijjadharaka ornament, mentioned by the Anga-vijja. In 300, the outlines are rough. indicating certain flowers. In 308, 311, 317, the terminals of the gophas are ghatashaped. These are damaru-shaped or appear as flowers placed alongside (Ingholt, 1957: 326).

The actual style of the Gandharas having stylistic development and exceptionally fine workmanship developed only towards the end of 2nd c. CE. In this mature phase one finds the evolution of the Buddhist pantheon and the concept of the figures of Boddhisttavas and other deities. As a result of this one finds elaborate depiction of ornaments in tis phase. The ornaments are profusely depicted on the images of Maiterya, Panchika, Hariti, Avalokiteshwara, Vajrapani and others. A few of the sculptures are discussed in the following paragraphs.

The central jewel is generally a hexagonal cylinder in several cases, or is simply a rectangular box. In some instances, these appear to have capped ends (Ingholt, 1957: 318). The Yajnopavita worn by the Maitreya figures consists of pearl strings (Ingholt, 1957: 289, 290, 291, 294, 295,296,297,306,308,311,313,314,315,316,317,326, 328) or gophas (Ingholt, 1957: 318), occasionally interspersed with hexagonal or rectangular panel beads, sometimes collared. Single flowers as terminals and leech shaped beads are seen in a figure of Hariti (Ingholt, 1957: 340). The chatula or the forehead ornament in the form of a circular lotus (of the type seen in terracotta counterparts) is observed on the forehead of a rare figure of Hariti from Lahore (Ingholt, 1957: 340).

It may, in general, be stated, that some new traits begin to

appear in the phase of late maturity and consequently devolve on the change in its religious outlook. For the first time in the figures of Maitreya and Avalokiteshvara, one finds a large number of amulets (Taviz) occur in the scared string. This feature is peculiar to this phase of Indian Art. An important addition to the decoration of the neck is the Vijjadharaka ornament, mentioned in the Anga Vijja. Here the central jewel is held by two vidyadharas who either adore it or hold it suspended between them. The ornament appears in a number of sculptures, (Ingholt, 1957: 290, 292) and is clearly represented by figures found at Taxila (Marshall, 1953). The figures are shown in the attitude of obeisance (Ingholt, 1957: 290) and as bearers in the specimens cited above.

The torques in the necks of many of the figures cited above, show ornamental padakas in the form of flat slabs, decorated with lotus and chain designs occasionally with intertwining knots (Ingholt, 1957: 301) and have a very heavy appearance. The Padakas appear to be studded with jewels in filigree or in beaded borders. The panel beads generally indicate the quartefoil lotus (Ingholt, 1957: 313, 314, 315, 318, 326, 338, 339) or simple, four petalled flowers (Ingholt, 1957: 340).

The Anga-vijia mentions another ornament called Tipisachaka. It is worn round the necklace. It has not been possible to identify the ornament in sculpture but it could be taken as an ornament consisting of three-goblins, which were perhaps worn in the same manner as the Vijjadharaka ornament described above. The Vijjadharaka ornaments are depicted in the Gandhara sculptures only. Hence one can say that the author of Anga-vijja was familiar with certain foreign gods and goddesses, who were known in this region only, and thus shows

The later Gandhara art discards the use of stone and plastic representations of stucco, terracotta and the like, gained prominence. But in these sulptures we do not find material related to our field. When one comes to the Gupta phase of Indian art the grace and the form of the human body attained a high aesthetic standard in the sculpture representations. Inspite of the 19

Distinctive Beads great variety and love for detailed ornamentation, we find that the Gupta sculptures do not give importance to the decoration of the neck. The diversity and aptitude of the Sunga, and Mauryan sculptures are absent here, even if it is the Indian genius like the earlier ones in this period the artists concentrates on the precious materials.

simple single string of pearls, though the coiffeur is very artistically designed. The famous (Ingholt: 1957) sandstone torso of the Bodhisattva from Sanchi wears a heavy torque profusely decorated with lotus and fourpetalled flowers and has a number of small bell shaped pendants at the lower end. An extremely well executed figure of Vishnu (Ingholt: 1957) wears a simple single string of pearls and a twisted haralashti on the necklace.

The few sculptures that we finds, however are distinctive and outstanding in quality. An examination of the Gupta sculpture shows that it leads to various tendencies, which are peculiar to the different regions.

The terracotta figurines from the Mirpur Khas stupa (ARASI, 1924-25) illustrates various ornaments. The Dvarapala figure holding a flower shows a simple single string of pearls. The terra cottas recovered from Rajghat are adorned with various types of ornaments. The pendants in the necklaces are of usual types as seen in the earlier sculptural panels (Agrawala: 1942).

In the Mathura school, the images, especially the Buddhist, emphasize the drapery and the folds, but as regards the ornamentation, the subject matter precludes them from usefulness to our study. There are two out-standing images of Kartikaya in the Mathura School, one preserved in the Bharat Kala Bhavan at Varanasi and (IA-R, 196061) second from Kanauj, at the Allahabad Museum. The Banaras figure has a chakraka or a circular lotus pendant in the neck and is flanked by two tiger-claws. The claws are noticed in the Kanauj figure also, but the central pendant is claw-shaped. The amulets seem to be peculiar, necessitated by iconography. Similar chakra pendants are seen in the Govardhanoddhara figure from the Mathura Museum, and the one, discovered at Deogadh (IA-R 195859).

In the images from various temples of the Chalukya period in the Deccan (CE 670 to CE 900) one notices an important departure in the representations of ornamentations of the necklaces and girdles. With the mature phase of the Chalukyan art one finds increase in the ornaments and it becomes more coarser. The ornament is visualized as a cluster of heavily studded one and not as an individual article. Among the sculptures at Aihole, the well known image of Vishnu Anantanayana wears Sarika torque consisting of nishkas - a garland of coins which was in use in the 8th CE (Stella Kramrisch: 1954). The Sarika was a kind of torque with the clasps in front. Turquoises are seen on several other figures of the period. The simple ornaments like torques and necklaces are also seen on the deities at the Pattadakal temples also show. The celestial figures like the Gandharvas and the Kinnaras are adorned with thickly studded ornaments (Panchamukhi, 1947: 60-72). The figure of Siva in the Durga temple at Aihole has a simple necklace of large barrel beads (Stella Kramrisch: 1954). The figure of Brahma has a torque (Stella Kramrisch: 1954) with four beads as a clasp and multiple loop pendant necklaces. The pot bellied supporting figures and dwarfs on the architrave of some temples at Aihole wear simple necklaces of spherical pearls. At Lakundi, Dambi, Chaudadamapura, Haveri and Niralgi the most elaborate type of necklace are illustrated (Cousens: 1926). The tendency for thick studding of ornaments is more on the increase as we go southwards in the territory governed by the Kadambas of Hangal and the Hoyasalas of Dvarasamudra. One needs to point out a figure a/Vishnu from Bhatkal and Banavasi. At Alampur, a number of deities show the love for heavy ornamentation (Stella Kramrisch: 1954).

In the sculptural panel of Naranarayana at Deogarh, the Gandharvas and the apsaras adore themselves with simple single string of pearls and torques (Vats, 1952). The Vamanakas depicted in this temple wear a Chakraka. The Dvarapalas at the entrance are shown wearing large simple single string of pearls and torques and a bejeweled Chakraka as a central ornament. The waist girdle in the Gupta period comprised of the usual barrel shaped lenticular beads with lug-collars. It was fastened to a central circular lotus. The ladies generally wear the simple single string reaching the navel. The simple single string of large cylindrical circular beads with lug-collars, in the center to keep the string between the breasts (Desai, 1958). The figure of a Bhairava has a Srivatsa in the central part of the necklace. The Ganga and Yamuna figures from Besnagar (Coomaraswamy: 1956) wearr the simple single string of pearls. In the Dasavatara temple bas relief showing Rama and Lakshmana, the ornamentation similarly consists of ekavalis and Vaikakshas. In the Anantasayana panel (Vats: 1952), the heroes at the base show ekavalis on the warriors and Vaikakshas with a floral device in the centre.

The bas-reliefs at Badami (Banerji: 1928) reveals that the main ornament is a string of globular beads, followed by a torque below with suspended loop of pearl chains. Some of the figures wear Vaikaksha ornament. This has a lotusshaped bead in the center. In these figures one does not get details due to their small size, yet one finds a few examples of distinctive beads in these sculptures. The figure of Mahishasuramardini has claw amulets in her necklace

The Siva temple at Bhumara of Gupta period is devoid of ornamental depictions (Banerji: 1924). The chakraka medallion figures prominently in the neck of the dwarfs at Bhumara (Banerji: 1924)" The Bhairava wears a necklace of bells (Banerji, 1924). The Gandharva figures at Sondani (Ingholt: 1957), and the vidyadhara from Sarnath show 20

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

(Banerji: 1928). The dvarapala in Cave II has globular and spacer beads in his necklace (Banerji: 1928). The girdle in the figure of Varaha consists of four plaits of spherical beads put together (Banerji: 1928). The Viratapurusha in Cave III has an elaborate torque and a girdle with lotus designs (Banerji: 1928); the figure of Garuda on the cornice wears coin-pendants (Banerji: 1928). The necklace in the neck of Trivikrama is of extraordinarily thick pearls but the girdle has prominent lotus pellets (Banerji: 1928). In the figures of Narasimha, Harihara, Vishnu and Varaha figures in Cave III, one finds very heavily ornamented torques and a very heavy necklace at the top (Banerji: 1928). The bracket figures are also bejeweled with thick pearls (Banerji: 1928)'

In the monolithic rathas at Mahabalipuram, we get many illustrated panels. This Mamalla sculptural style has depicted the Brahmanical Pantheon. In some sculptures the depiction of beads has no distinguishing features for example the panel of Arjuna's penance and Krishna as Govardhanadhari (Longhurst: 1930). In the Bhu-Varaha panel in the Varaha Mandapa, the Trivikrama panel, the details of the ornaments are very broad. The other three panels depicting Anantasayi Vishnu in the Mahishasuramardini mandapa or even in the Mahishasuramardini panels, the Gajalakshmi panel in the Adivaraha temple, have ignored elaborate ornaments (Srinivasan: 1958).

The Contemporary to the sculptures of the Chalukyas of Badami, are the Pallava sculptures in South India. They also covered roughly a period of 400 years, CE 550 - 950. As the cave temples of the early Pallavas are cut in hard rocks like granite and gneiss, the minute carvings which the representation of beads require are absent. Due to this factor one does not get a real picture of ornaments used in the early Pallava period.

In the structural temples of the Pallavas the haras, channaviras and torques are depicted indifferently. One also notices a uniform pattern of arrangement for the portrayal of necklaces. The Bahur temple at Pondicherry exhibits this peculiar later style by a dancing figure. An elaborate depiction of ornaments is seen in the sculptures of the post Gupta period. In the Post Chalukyan period one finds too many sculptures carved in the temple. The number of sculptures associated with temples of the early and mature medieval periods is too vast and hence it requires a detailed study of each of these temples. Therefore the study of the sculptural data in respect of beads has been restrained to the period ending with the Chalukyas.

The Human figures are only those of the Dvarapalas on the facades of the shrine doors in the caves and these figures hardly show any detailed depiction of jewelry. The Dvarapala in the Mandagapattu Cave shows a thick torque clustered with beads and rosettes. The satrumallesvaralaya at Dalavanur has two figures at the cave front without much details, but the dvarapalas at the entrances of the shrine show circular (Longhurst: 1930) pendants in a necklace overlaid on a string of pearls. The necklaces or pearl lashtis round the necklaces of the dvararpalas on the door of the Tiruchirapalli cave are not distinctive (Longhurst: 1930). In the Gangavatarana scene the necklaces are simple with one large bead in the centre (Srinivasan: 1958). A very fine panel of Mahishasuaramardini at Sivagavaram (Srinivasan: 1958), shows only three pearl strings around the neck of the goddess.

So the study of the beads as depicted in sculptures roughly up to the end of the 9th century CE discloses that the individual beads were an important element in making of the necklace, waist girdles, chatula and other ornaments. In the sculptures of the Sunga period these beads are used in a very monotonous way forming a distinguishable part of the necklace. In the Medieval period one finds a profuse depiction of ornaments. One can say these are lover loaded with ornaments in which beads of different types are employed. In the images overburdened with ornaments it is often difficult to distinguish and study the intricately carved specimens with any amount of precision. At the same time these details mostly become repetitive and monotonous. The depiction of beads in sculptures certainly presents an interesting study.

The royal portraits at Mahabalipuram the queens of Mahandravarman and the queen of Simhavishnu wears simple single strands of pearls. Wall carvings in the Tiruttani temple (Longhurst: 1930), in the Matangeswara and in Tripurantaka temple at (Rea, 1909) Kanchi of the ninth century show ornaments like torques and crescent - shaped pendants.

21

SITES IN ANCIENT INDIA

Excavations which have yielded cultural remains belonging from the Mauryan to the Medieval periods are those at Adam (Maharashtra), Ahar (Rajasthan), Ahichchhatra (Uttar Pradesh), Bangarh (Bengal), Besanagar (Madhya Pradesh), Bhagwanpur (Haryana), Bhir Mound (Taxila), Brahmapuri, Chanhu Daro (Sind), Chirayya Kot (Uttar Pradesh), Daimabad (Maharashtra), Dharmarajika Stupa (Taxila), Dwarka, Harappa (Sind), Jandial (Taxila), Kalibangan (Gujarat), Karad, Kolhapur, Kaundinyapura (Maharashtra), Kausambi (Uttar Pradesh), Kondapur (Andhra Pradesh), Lothal (Gujarat), Machad, Maheshwar (Gujarat), Mohenjo Daro (Sind), Nagal, Navda Toli, Narhan (Uttar Pradesh), Nasik, Nevasa, Paithan, Paunar, Pauni, Prakashe (Maharashtra), Patna (Bihar), Porkalam, Rajghat (Uttar Pradesh), Rairh (Rajasthan), Sanghol, Sirkap (Taxila), Sonpur, Sopara, Sravasti (Uttar Pradesh), Surkotada (Gujarat), Tilaura Kot (Nepal), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), and Ter (Map: 1).

hundred and eighty-six beads in Agate, Bone, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Chert, Copper, Glass, Ivory, Terracotta, etc., were unearthed. Two multi - grooved sandstone slab fragments of bead-polishers and lead spools have been recovered, but their period is not mentioned. Ahicchatra,

lies in the Bellary district of Uttar Pradesh and was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India during 1940-44 (Ghosh and Panigrahi, 1946). Divided into nine periods, it spans from the late centuries BCE to CE 1100. Beads are made of agate, carnelian, chalcedony, quartz, crystal, garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, shell, serpentine, faience, bone, glass, copper. Alagankulam

is situated near Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu opposite the Jafna region of Sri Lanka. The Directorate of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu, excavated it. The site yielded Northern Black Polished Ware, red-polished ware, probably made in Tunisia, punch-marked coins, early square coins, late Roman coins (CE 380), stone beads of various materials and conch shells and is dated between 3rd - 4th centuries BCE to the 6th century CE.

The reports of most of these are published except of a few. A glance over the archaeological investigations carried out in respect of the early historic to the early medieval period in India has given an insight into their material culture. However, the description will necessarily be sketchy in parts where no or very little information is available. It will be somewhat detailed in case of certain sites where the data is abundant. The site wise data is as follows:

Appukallu,

is in the North Arcot district, Tamil Nadu, and was excavated by Madras University (IA-R, 1976-77, 47-8; 1979-80, 70). It is divided into three periods - Megalithic, Early Historic, and period where mixed deposits of Early and Late Medieval Period are obtained. One radiocarbon date is available for the megalithic phase, which is 350 BCE (IA-R 1977-78: 89). An important recovery is rouletted ware. Beads belong to the early centuries of the Christian era.

Adam

(21° OO'N: 79 ° 27'E) is situated on the left bank of the Waghor river of the Wainganga drainage system, in Kuhi taluka of Vidarbha region. This site is about 60 kilometers South East of Nagpur (IA-R, 1988-89: 50 - 62). Three

trenches were taken by Amarendra Nath of the Excavations Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India, Nagpur, with the objective to ascertain 1) the culture sequence and chronology of the site, 2) its interrelationship with other contemporary cultures of the region, 3) the nature and formation of the Stupa, the rampart and the moat, and 4) to understand the settlement pattern within the rampart. The excavation has revealed five cultural periods beginning with 1) Mesolithic and followed by 2) Neolithic, 3) Chalcolithic, 4) Mauryan and 5) Satavahana. Four decorated ivory pendants and some copper ones, four

Arikamedu

a well known site is located on the eastern bank of the lagoon, locally known as die Anyankuppam river, on the outskirts of Pondicherry. This was first excavated by Brother C. Faucheux in and after 1941, but more systematically by Wheeler in 1945 (Wheeler et al., 1946) and Casal (1949). The effective occupation of the site was dated to between 151 century BCE and 2nd century CE Recently, its age has been extended back to the 3rd century BCE (Begley, 1983). Arretine ware, rouletted ware, amphorae and a Roman lamp were important evidence of 22

Sites in Ancient India

Indo-Roman trade. It was identified by Wheeler as an Indo-Roman trading station and was probably Podouke of the Periplus and Ptolemy. About 200 beads of glass and stones were obtained from Wheeler's excavation. But many more were recovered from Casal's (1949) excavation and were studied by Francis (1982b, 1987, 1991).

The excavation brought to light five periods, with breaks, beginning with 1) the Chalcolithic and followed by 2) the Mauryan and 3) the Satavahana. Beads of Agate, Carnelian and Crystal were found in the Mauryan level. One appears to be a tooth pendant. After a long gap of twelve centuries, the site was re-occupied during the Y adava and the Muslim times. Details about material typology of beads are lacking, as a full report has not been published.

Amreli, (21° 31'N: 71° 31'E) is the headquarters of the district of the same name in the Gujarat State. It is situated one and a half-kilometer west of the Amreli town, between the rivulets Vadi on the west and Thebi on the east. Excavations conducted in 1952-53 by the Archaeological Survey of India revealed that Amreli was a flourishing town of substantial importance from the 1st c. BCE to the 6th c. CE (Rao, 1966: 12-13). The material assembled throw welcome light on the social and economic conditions of the people and their religious practices during the Kshatrapa and Gupta periods in Indian civilization, especially because Amreli was an important political and religious centre in the domain of the Western Kshatrapas. Terra cotta pendants are a notable feature at this site.

Bangarh, Is situated on the eastern bank of the Punarbhava about 29 kilometers to the south of Dinajpur in west Bengal was excavated in the year 1937-41 and 1951 by K. G. Goswami. The excavation has revealed five periods of occupation - Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana and Gupta and Medieval. A good number of beads of various materials and shaped from Mauryan to Pala period were recovered. The materials used are terra cotta, carnelian, chalcedony, quartz, marble, agate and jade. The common shapes are globular barrel, flat round, flat barrel, oblong and diamond cut form.

Arni,

Besnagar,

(20° 4'N: 78° 57'E) in Darwa Taluka, Yeotmal district is situated on the left bank of the Arunavati river, a tributary of the Penganga, in Vidarbha. It provides extensive remains of ancient habitations. AM. Shastri of Nagpur University excavated this site for two seasons, 1978-79 and 1981-82 (IA-R 1978-79: 71-72; IA-R 1981-82: 55-56). The excavation was conducted at the northern side of the habitational mound locally known as Pancha-Pandava Tekadi. The excavation uncovered three periods of occupations, beginning with 1) Megalithic and followed by 2) Mauryan and 3) Satavahana. These diggings were on small scale and therefore very little are known about the total personality of this site. A 'Tri-ratna' amulet 1s reported from Satavahana period, which is noteworthy.

is situated on the confluence of the rivers Betwa and Bes in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. The place is famous for many archaeological objects including the Heliodorous pillar. There is a massive mound excavated by Bhandarkar (1913-1915) and later on by Khare (1963-64, 1965-6 and 1975-77). Excavation has revealed Chalcolithic, Microlithic, Pre-Mauryan and Mauryan cultures dating between 1800 BCE to 200 BCE. Terra cotta beads with incised decoration are remarkable from here. Bhagwanpura, (30° 04' N: 76° 57' E) is situated at a distance of 24 km North East of the Dist., headquarter at Kurukshetra in Haryana. The mound is situated on the right bank of river Sarasvati. During the course of his explorations, Shri R. S. Bisht discovered the site in 1979 the then Deputy Director of Archaeology Govt. of Haryana. The horizontal excavation at Bhagwanpura revealed a two fold culture sequence: Late Harappan 2350 BCE - 1750 BCE, PGW 1500 BCE - 1300 BCE. Two hundred and twenty three beads of terracotta, agate, carnelian, faience, steatite, serpentine, lapiz lazuli, glass, copper, jasper, crystal, quartz, chalcedony, bone and shell.

Atranjikhera (20° 35'N: 75° 5'E) is located in district and tehsil Etah in Uttar Pradesh. 62 kilometers east of Sankisa. The mound of Atranjikhera lies on the western bank of the Kali Nadi, a tributary of Ganges. Archaeological Survey and exploration was undertaken by the Dept of history, Aligarh Muslim University by Pro£ R. C. Gaur. The excavation uncovered four period of occupations, beginning with OCP culture (first half of second Millenium BCE) and followed B and R Ware (1450 to 1200B.CE), PGW culture (1200 to 600 BCE), NBPW (600 to 50 BCE). Hundred and fifty beads were recovered of terra cotta, agate, carnelian, quartz, jasper, marble, soapstone.

Bhita, Lies 56.32 kilometers downstream from Kausambi in the district of Allahabad (AR ASI 1911-12). The site was superficially excavated by John Marshall in 1909-10 and 1911-12 (ASI Rep. III: 46). This has yielded a five fold cultural sequence ranging from pre-Mauryan to Gupta period.

Bahal, (20° 35'N: 75° 5'E) in east Khandesh is situated on the Girna river. The site was excavated by M. N. Despande of South-Western Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (IA-R, 1956-57: 17-18). This was done in continuation of the earlier trial excavation in 1952, which had established the Chalcolithic nature of its earliest level.

Bhokardan, (20° 16'N: 75° 46'E), ancient Bhogavardhana, is in the Aurangabad district of Marathawada region (Deo/Gupte: 23

Distinctive Beads

1974). The ancient town of Bhogavardhana stood on the ancient trade route from Ujjain to Pratisthana (Paithan). It lies half way between Ajanta and Aurangabad. Bhogavardhana is mentioned very frequently in early Brahmi inscriptions. Bhogavardhana was an important centre of Brahmanical worship as corroborated by a cave here which is assigned to the 8th c. CE. The history of Bhokardan in Kalachuri-Rashtrakuta, Yadava and Khilji periods is well known from literary sources. Excavations were undertaken by S. B. Deo and R. S. Gupte of Nagpur and Marathawada universities respectively, to know the history and life of the people of ancient Bhogavardhana (IA-R: 1972-73: 20-21; 1973-74: 20). It has revealed three periods beginning with 1) Mauryan and followed by 2) Satavahana and 3) post-Satavahana. All the mounds at Bhogavardhana were found to have been extremely rich in the yield of beads. Not only the excavated trenches but surface explorations also gave a fairly rich collection of beads. In all, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-three beads were recovered. As many as eighteen different materials contributed to the make up of Bhokardan beads. These are Agate, Amethyst, Calcite, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Coral, Crystal, Faience, Gamet, Glass, Ivory, Jade, Jasper, Lapis lazuli, Opal, Shell and Terracotta. The material wise distribution shows that terra cotta contributed to the make-up of one third of the collection. As compared to any other Satavahana site, Bhokardan has yielded a reasonably good amount of ivory beads. In the Satavahana deposits, two soapstone moulds for beads have been found. The intact one has channels for lift- up. The two-halves, in both cases, could be joined later when in leather-hard condition. The nodules of crystal, carnelian and agate, unfinished beads and bead-mould in the deposit of this period of occupation indicate that like the shell bangle and ivory industry, Bhokardan also had a flourishing bead-making industry during the Satavahana and the post-Satavahana periods.

Chandraketugarh

is situated about 37 km north-east of Calcutta and was excavated by K. G. Goswami and other of the University of Calcutta (Goswami, 1966; IA-R, 1956-57, 2-30; 195758, 51-2; 1958-59, 5-6; 1959-60, 5-2; 1960-61, 3 - 40; 1961-2, 62-3; 1962-3, 4-7; 1963-4, 63-5; 1964-5, 52-3; 1965-6, 5-60; 1966-7, 48). It has revealed five cultural period ranging from pre-Mauryan to Gupta period. Period IV (Sunga-Kushana) yielded glass and semi-precious stone beads along with the rouletted ware. Important surface finds include a terracotta female figure having Roman drapery with five folds and a diademed female similar to the Hellenistic head found at the Sirkap mound at Taxila (Das Gupta, 1960: 390). This site is believed to be Ptolemy's Ghange, since it lies to the east of Tamralipti (modem Tamluk) (Das Gupta, 1960: 391). Chanhu Daro,

lies 128.75 kilometers south of Mohenjo Daro and about half a kilometer from Jamal-Kiris, a village near Sarkand in Sind. Majumdar discovered it in 1931 and trial excavations conducted during the year confirmed that Chanhu Daro was a Harappan town. A large scale excavation of the site was undertaken in 1935 by Mackay. It has brought to light three fold cultural sequence of Harappan, Jhukar and Jhangar cultures. The materials used for making beads are agate, carnelian, bronze, shell, lapis lazuli, jasper, crystal, quartz, amazon, chalcedony, limestone, onyx, fuchisite-quartzite, hematite, breccia and plasma. Chirand,

(18° 21 'N: 70° 16'E) is situated about 11 kilometers south east of district head quarter of Chhapra in north Bihar. The huge ancient mound lies on the confluence of the rivers Ghaghara and Ganges. Son and Gandaka flow in the West and East. Archaeology and Museum Dept of Bihar and Dept of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology of Patna University excavated it. It has yielded antiquities belonging to the Kushana, Gupta, Chalcolithic and Neolithic periods i.e., from 2500 to 200 BCE.

Brahmapuri,

(16° 41 'N: 74° 71'E) is situated on the Right Bank of the Panchaganga river, in the western part of the city of Kolhapur. From the inscriptional evidences and archaeological excavations, Kolhapur appears to have flourished under the Satavahanas, the Silaharas, the Y adavas and the Marathas. The immediate cause of the excavation was the discovery of a bronze statuette of Poseidon, a bronze toy cart, etc. by K. G. Kundangar, Director of the State Archaeological Department, in trial digging on the site (Khandalwala, 1960: 29-75). H. D. Sankalia and M. G. Dikshit, of Deccan College conducted large-scale excavations in 1945 (Sankalia/Dikshit, 1952: 111; See also Gupta 1963:38). The excavation has revealed four cultural periods beginning with 1) the Satavahana, and followed by 2) the Late Satavahana, 3) the Bahmani and 4) the Mughal. Brahmapuri has yielded more than a thousand beads. The material of the beads comprises of Agate, Amethyst, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Crystal, Faience, Gamet, Glass, Green Jasper, Gold, Lapis Lazuli, Seeds, Shell, Steatite, and Terracotta.

Dhulikotta,

a Satavahana mud-fort, is in the district of Karminagar, Andhra Pradesh and is about eight km away from the site of Peddabankur. It was excavated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Andhra Pradesh (IA-R, 197475: 3; 1975-76: 2; 1976-77, 4-5; AR. D.A.M. AP., 197475: 7; 1975-76: 7-8; 1976-77: 15-7). On the basis of a Buddhist stupa, it is dated to not before the last quarter of the 3rd century BCE. However, the Satavahana Period constitutes its main occupational levels (IA-R, 1978-79: 103). The carbon 14 dates are 15 BCE, 320 BCE, 70 BCE. Among the important recoveries are included semiprecious stone beads. Evidences of manufacturing are found at the site. Other important finds are Satavahana potin coins, a Roman silver coin of Emperor Augustus, a terracotta figure probably of a Roman trader wearing a hat with a rosette at the top, an ivory button shaped seal and comb. 24

Sites in Ancient India

Pre-Mauryan, Mauryan Sunga and Post NBPW. The excavation has yielded seventy-seven beads from various trenches. The most favoured material is terra cotta, which accounts for 43% of the total collection. Other materials are carnelian, crystal, agate, opel, glass, copper, bone, shell and jasper.

Harappa,

is situated on the ancient bed of the river Ravi, a tributary of the Indus. It lies nearly 25 kilometers west-south-west of the district town of Montgomery in Pakistan-Punjab. Madho Sarup Vats conducted the excavation at Harappa between 1923-34. In 1946 Sir Mortimer Wheeler undertook systematic excavation at this site. It has yielded beads made of steatite, copper, agate, chalcedony, carnelian, chert, jasper, lapis lazuli, limestone, serpentine, faience, terra cotta, shell, ivory, silver, and gold.

Kalibangan,

in Rajasthan was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India from 1960-61 to 1968-69. This gave evidence of habitations of pre-Harappan to Harappan period, which were well dated on the basis of a series of C14 dates.

Harinarayanpur

T. Kallupatti

is situated in the 24 Pargana district, West Bengal. Explorations had yielded evidence of rouletted ware and about 2000 semi-precious stone beads (IA-R, 1958-59: 77). On numismatic grounds, the site is dated to between 3rd century BCE and 1st century CE and its harbour probably served as a mooring station for vessels on their way to Tamralipti on the coast of Bengal (Das Gupta, 1960: 39). It was also regarded as a bead making centre (Singh, 1983: 154). A few beads are collected from the surface of this site and are housed in the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal, Behela, Calcutta.

is located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and was excavated by the Archaeological Survey oflndia (IA-R, 1976-77: 46-7; 1979-80: 69). Period I is associated with microliths, Period II with megalithic black-and-red ware, russet coated painted ware, beads of glass and semi-precious stones. This site was also occupied during the Early Historical Period. Kanchipuram

(29° 9' N: 78° 3'E) is located in Mawana tehsil of Meerut District in Uttar Pradesh. It was excavated by B. B. Lal. The five fold cultural sequence ranges from 1200 BCE to 15th CE. This has yielded two hundred and eleven beads of copper, gold, ivory, bone, carnelian, agate, chalcedony, onyx, crystalline, quartz, amethyst, green jasper, faience, glass and terracotta.

lies in the Chingleput district, Tamil Nadu and was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India and Madras University (IA-R, 1962-3: 12; 1969- 70: 34-5; 1970-71: 33; 1971-72: 42-3; 1972-73: 30; 1974-75: 37-8; 1975-76: 39). The three periods begin from Period IA dated to between 200 and 100 BCE and continuing until Period III (CE 800-1500). Arretine and rouletted ware were found in Period 1B (100 BCE-CE 300). Two radiocarbon dates on charcoal are available, 195 BCE (IAR, 1972-73: 66) and 480 BCE (IA-R, 1974-75: 75).

Jokha

Karad,

is a small village in Kamrej Taluka, of Surat district. It is situated at a distance of about six kilometers to the south of the Tapi. The site was excavated by R. N. Mehta in the year 1951. It has yielded a three fold cultural sequence. Period III belongs to 1st millenium, Period II 00 BCE - 6th BCE , Period I c. 1500 BCE - 1st CE. Thirty-three bead are recovered of glass, terra cotta, faience, carnelian, steatite, chert, garnet, and agate.

(17° 17'N: 74° 13'E) is located on the junction of the rivers the Krishna and the Koyana, in Satara district. This place was of considerable importance from a remote past and was esteemed with high sanctity (BISM 1949: 1-3). The earliest literary evidence for the antiquity of Karad is from the Mahabharata. Moreover, in the vicinity there are about 63 Buddhist caves datable to the 1st half of the 2nd c. BCE. Karad figures in old inscriptions as Karahataka, which are dated to 1st - 2nd c. CE. In the 6th century, this came under the rule of the early Chalukyas of Badami. In the 10th c. CE the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas of Trikalinga ruled here. They were succeeded by the Silaharas, later by the Chalukyas of Kalyani, the Vijayanagara rulers, the Muslims and the Marathas. The Bharata ltihasa Samsodhaka Mandal, Poona carried out explorations, in 1948 at Pantacha Got in Karad. Karad has yielded Satavahana remains. Forty beads were found. These are made of the following materials: Carnelian, Crystal, Glass, Red Jasper, Shell and Terra cotta. One shell bead has the shape of a thunderbolt. It is flat on both sides and its edges have been cut with a very sharp instrument. It bears two holes along the horizontal axis and was perhaps used as a spacer. One of the terra cotta beads has a rare shape, viz. that of a hubbed wheel.

Hastinapura,

Jorwe,

(19° 33' N: 74° 17'E) is situated on the left bank of the Pravara river in Ahemadnagar district. The site, as the excavation showed, is a single culture - Chalcolithic - site. There is no debris oflater period (Sankalia/Deo 1955: 147148). Only one bead was found. It is of smoky chalcedony with long tubular shape and with the outer surface well polished. Kakrehta,

(80°2'N: 23°37'E) lies on the left bank of river Suhar in the Bahorobund development Block of Jabalpur Dist., of the state of Madhya Pradesh. The excavation was conducted under the joint auspices of the Dept. of A. I. H. C and A., R. D. University and Directorate of Archaeology and Museum between 1983-86. It has revealed six fold cultural sequence: Mesolithic, Chacolithic, Pre-NBPW, 25

Distinctive Beads Karaikadu

Kausambi

is in the district of North Arcot, Tamil Nadu, about 30 km south of Arikamedu. A trial excavation was made by the Archaeological Survey of India (IA-R, 1966-67: 21; Ramachandran, 1980: 111-2). No regular structure was found. Red slipped ware, black-and-red ware and rouletted ware were the main pottery types. The evidence of a large number of finished and unfinished glass beads as well as vitreous slags of amorphous shapes implied evidence of manufacturing glass. Semi-precious stone beads were also found. Like Arikamedu, this was regarded as another IndoRoman trading station.

is located on the left bank of the Yamuna, about 51 km southwest of Allahabad in the gangetic valley, Uttar Pradesh, and was excavated by G. R. Sharma of the Allahabad University (Sharma 1969). Chronologically, it is divided into four cultural periods. Thus, Kausambi I is dated from c. 1165 BCE to 885 BCE, Kausambi II from c. 885 BCE to 605 BCE, Kausambi III from c. 605 BCE to 45 BCE and Kausambi IV from C. 45 BCE to CE - 580 (Sharma, 1960: 22). Bead material consists of carnelian, agate, chalcedony, crystal, quartz, garnet, amethyst, blue stone, beryl, jasper, lapis lazuli, faience, shell, bone, sundry stone, copper gold, glass and terro cotta.

Karur

Khairadih

was excavated by the Directorate of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu. It is located in the Trichy district of Tamil Nadu and known as the capital of the Cheras of the Sangam age. Rouletted ware, red polished ware, most probably of the North African type and several Roman coins were unearthed from this site and the occupation of the site continued from the 2 nd century BCE until the present with a gap between the 6th and 12th centuries CE Period II (early centuries CE).

lies in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh on the right bank of the river Ghaghar and was excavated by the Banaras Hindu University (IA-R, 1980-81: 6-70; 1981-82: 67-70; 1982-83: 92-4; 1983-84: 8-7). It is divided into three cultural periods dating between c. 1100 BCE and about CE 300. Period I is associated with black-and-red ware, blackslipped ware and black-burnished ware. Period II is characterized by Northern Black Polished Ware and iron industry. It has two sub-divisions - Phase I representing the early level and Phase II representing the upper level of the N.B.P. Period III is associated with a spurt in building activities and with the Kushana coins and the Kushana and Gupta style seals and sealings. Two radiocarbon dates on charcoal are available (IA-R, 1984-85: 159). They date 1030 BCE associated with the black-and-red ware and 170 BCE associated with the Northern Black Polished Ware.

Kaundinyapura, (20° 55'N: 78° 05'E) in Chandur taluka of Amaravati district is situated on the western bank of the Wardha river. It is one of the few places which retains its traditional name along with archaeological remains (Dikshit, 1968: 17; IA-R 1961-62: 29-30). The antiquity of Vidarbha in which Kaundinyapura is situated can be traced to the Brahmanas, the Upanisads and the Mahabharata. It appears amongst the countries subdued by the Satavahana ruler Vasishthiputra Pulumavi. Copper plates belonging to the V akatakas, the Kalachuris, the Rashtrakutas and the Y adavas of Devagiri give information about the region around Kaundinyapura. The Brihatsamhita of V arahamihira, Vasudevahindi, Thananga Sutra, Nayadhammakahao and the Panhavagarana Tika also allude to this place (See Dikshit: 1968). Vertical excavations were carried out by M. G. Dikshit, (1968) of the Nagpur University for two seasons in 1962-64. The excavations revealed six periods of occupation, beginning with 1) Megalithic and followed by 2) Pre-Mauryan, 3) Mauryan, 4) Satavahana, 5) Late Satavahana and 6) Muslim. Inspite of the very limited extent of the excavation, the total yield of beads was quite high, being 395 in number. The period wise distribution of these was as follows: Megalithic - 54 beads in a necklace; PreMauryan - 20; Mauryan - 103; Satavahana - 105; Late Satavahana -17; and Muslim - 14 beads. A small-scale industry for the manufacture of beads existed at the site during the Satavahana period as evidenced by several unperforated specimens. The material of the beads comprises of semi-precious stones like Agate, Amethyst, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Crystal, Garnet, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Quartz, Steatite, and materials like Glass, Shell and Terracotta. Copper is used scarcely. Glass seems to have been introduced during the Mauryan period.

Kodumanal located a few km away from Kangeyarn in Tamil Nadu was excavated by the Tamil University, Thanjavur. This is known as Pathitruparhu in the Sangam literature. The site is dated to between the late centuries BCE and the early centuries of the Christian Era. The material recoveries include punch-marked coins, rouletted ware, and pottery with Tamil inscriptions, iron and copper objects, terracotta and semi-precious stone beads.

Kondapur (17° 33'N: 78° 0l'E) is situated in the Kalabgur Taluka of the Medak District at a distance of 69 kilometers WestNorth-West of Hyderabad. The Archaeological Department, Government of Hyderabad in 1942, carried out the excavations at the Kotagudda Mound. The large amount of bead-material found in these excavations is perhaps unequalled by any other single site in India, except Kosambi in Uttar Pradesh. It is a very important Andhra center. It has revealed three fold cultural sequence dating between 3rd C. BCE to 2nd CE. This site has yielded a total number of 23,391 beads. The most characteristic form is the lenticular collared bead - a form, which is repeated in almost all the materials available at Kondapur. The Kondapur specimens show a preference for pentagonal barrels in amethyst and crystal. The tablet beads so common in South India is also fairly

26

Sites in Ancient India well represented. Beads made of lapiz-lazuli carnalian onyx, jade, rock crystal, amethyst, glass, sheil and cla; have been found.

Malhar, is situated in Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh. Bajpai excavated the site in the years 1974-78. The excavation revealed the antiquities belonging to c. 1000 BCE to 350 BCE. Beads ofterra cotta and semi-precious stones.

Kotalingala is situated on the south bank of the river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and was excavated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Andhra Pradesh (AR. D.AM. AP., 1981-82, 19-22). Glass beads were associated with Period II which mainly belong to the Satavahana period, and dated to between c. 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE on the basis of early Satavahana coins. Other evidence includes rouletted ware, black polished ware, red polished ware, black and red ware and beads of terracotta, semiprecious stones, and gold. The site is regarded as a manufacturing centre for semi-precious stone beads, but the few 'gold-foil' glass beads are thought to have been imported from Egypt (Francis, 1986a: 54).

Mallapadi excavated by the Madras University, lies in the Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu (IA-R, 1977-78; 50). Beads are associated with the Early Historic Period, which was associated with russet coated painted pottery.

Maski (76°39' E: 15° 57'N) is situated in the lingsugur taluk of Raichur district, Karnataka. It was first excavated by the Hyderabad State during the 1930s when most of the glass was recovered, and subsequently in a more systematic manner by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1954 (Thapar, 1957). To the north of the village flows the Maski nullah, a tributory of the Tungabhadra. The site is divided into four periods: Period I is Chalcolithic and dates between early and mid-first millennium BCE, Period II is Megalithic (between 200 BCE and the middle of the 1st century CE), Period III is Early Historic (between the mid1st century and 3rd century CE, and Period IV Medieval (between CE 1000 and 1600). Three hundred and twenty seven beads of crystal, amethyst, carnelian, gate, chalcedony, jasper, lapis-lazuli, garnet, coral, shell, whitepaste, glass and terra cotta are recovered from here.

Kumrahara, Lies in Patna district of Bihar. K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna carried out excavation here. It has yielded four fold cultural sequence starting with Sunga period dated between 150 BCE - 100 CE, and ending with Gupta period dated between 450 - 600 CE.

Lothal, (22° 31' N: 72° 14' E) is situated four miles away from Bhurkhi, a small station on Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar section of western Railway. It is 52 miles away from Ahmedabad. Lothal lies between two ranns (salt-wastes) namely Rann of Cambay and on the south the little rann of Kutch, with Nal lake in the center. It has yielded a two fold cultural sequence of Mature and Late Harappan ranging between 1600 and 1900 BCE. The eye beads ofagate, etched beads of carnelian and wafer disk beads from here are interesting. This excavation has brought to light the beads of carnelian, agate, jasper, chalcedony, opal, onyx, chrysoprase, plasma, crystal, lapis lazuli, sard, and amazonstone.

Mathura, A small-scale excavation of the site was take up by M. Venkataramayya and Ballabh Saran in 1954-55. M. C. Joshi and C. Margabandhu carried out extensive excavation under the supervision of B. K. Thapar from 1973-76. It has revealed five cultural periods. These are pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga, Saka Kushana and postKushana periods.

Maheshwar,

Mohenjo-Daro,

(22° 11' N: 75° 36' E) lies 96 kilometers away from Indore. The excavations were carried out in 1952-53 by the Deccan College Research Institute, Poona, with the collaboration of the University of Baroda.

In Larkana district of Sind lies 640 kilomters south of Harappa. The sire was excavated by Sir John Marshall and his colleagues between 1922 and 1934 and again by Mr. Ernest J.H. Macky between 1927 and 31. In 1950 Sir Wheeler excavated the granary and Mr. George F. Dales in 1964 and 66.

This excavation has yielded a six-fold cultural sequence beginning with 1) Proto-Neolithic, and followed by 2) Proto-historic, 3) Mauryan, 4) Indo Roman and Late historic period, 5) Muslim and 6) Maratha. This excavation has yielded one hundred and twenty-six beads. There is absence of beads from the second period here. The beads in third and fourth period are most of terra cotta, agate, carnelian, amezonite, chalcedony, garnet, opal, quartz, shell, soapstone, crystal, glass, jasper etc. Those of faience, being almost negligible in period 3 to 6, show their popularity during the proto-historic period. Maheshwar thus brought to light a series of human settlements right from the prehistoric to the Muslim Maratha times.

Nagda, Situated on the Chambal in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh. Excavation was carried out be Archaeological Survey of India in the years 1955-7 under the direction of N.R. Banerjee. It has revealed three fold cultural sequence, beginning from 1500 BCE and ending around 200 BCE. A total of one hundred and eleven beads are found made of terra cotta, carnelian, agate, jade, steatite, jasper, amethyst, garnet, chalcedony, crystal, quartz, glass, coral bone, ivory, gold, and iron.

27

Distinctive Beads

(71° 41' E: 23° 20'N) is situated in Surendranagar Dist. of Gujarat. Two distinct periods of Chalcolithic occupation are reported from here. A single radiocarbon date from the upper levels ofNagwada shows a date c. 2200 BCE. The excavation has yielded interesting evidence to supprt the observation that semi-precious stone beads and shall bangles, bead, inlay and pendant manufacturing craftsmen worked at Nagwada. Beads are made of agate, amazonite, steatite, faience and shell.

finally the Marathas. H. D. Sankalia of Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute carried out vertical excavations, in 1950-51. The excavation revealed seven periods of occupation beginning with 1) Chalcolithic, and followed by 2) Early historic, 3) Satavahana, 4) IndoRoman, 5) Early Muslim, 6) Mughal and 7) Maratha. Total yield of beads was 170. The material of beads comprises of Agate, Amethyst, Bloodstone, Bone, Carnelian, Crystal, Glass, Gold, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Opal, Quartz, Shell, Soap stone and Terracotta. Out of the total yield, 53% are made of Terra cotta. The absence of unfinished beads shows that Nasik was not a bead industry site at any time. A minute differentiation in the Arecanut shape is found at Nasik like that at Kosam. The shapes of the carnelian beads of Nasik are common and the single etched bead (Sankalia/Deo 1955: fig. 45.18; Beck, 1941: PL II.21) is exactly similar to the one found at Taxila. The dates of both these tally well. Besides this, the absence of unfinished beads or large cores of these stones at Nasik also point towards trade-contacts. Two Lapis Lazuli beads have been found. This material is not indigenous to India. It is therefore, likely that these came to Nasik from outside. Along with tabular-triangular shapes and drop pendant, two peculiar pendants found in Period II are outstanding for shape and polish. One has a hexagonal body with two caps and two others are lion-shaped pendants.

Narhan

Navda Toli

(26° 19'N: 83 ° 24'E) lies on the left bank of the Ghaghar river in Gola tehsil of the district of Gorakhpur, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and was excavated by the Banaras Hindu University (Singh, 1988; Singh and Lal, 1985, Singh et al., 1986-7). This has yielded a five fold culture sequence ranging in date from the later half of the second millenium BCE to the 7th c. CE. Period I 1300 - 700 BCE, Period II 800 - 600 BCE, Period III 300 BCE - 1 CE, Period IV 200 BCE - 300 CE, Period V 300 CE - 600 CE. Period I is Narhan Culture, Period II is post - Narhan Culture. Period III is associated with red ware, Northern Black Polished Ware, black slipped ware. Period IV is the Sunga - Kushana period. Period V is Gupta period. Four hundred and fifty three beads of agate, amethyst, carnelian, chert, faience, glass, jasper, quartz, steatite, terra cotta are recovered.

(22° 10' N: 75° 35'E) lies 96 kilometers away from Indore. The excavations were carried out in 1952-53 by the Deccan College Research Institute, Poona, with the collaboration of the University of Baroda. This excavation has yielded a four-fold cultural sequence beginning with 1) Proto-Neolithic, and followed by 2) Proto-historic, 3) Early historic, and 4) Muslim. Hundred and ninety-six beads have come to light. The beads in early historic period are most of terra cotta, agate, carnelian, crystal, glass, jasper, opal, lapis lazuli, faience, amezonite, chalcedony, paste, shell, zeolite, sandstone, etc. Those of faience, being almost negligible in period 3 and 4, show their popularity during the proto-historic period. Navdotoli thus brought to light a series of human settlements right from the prehistoric to the Muslim - Maratha times.

Nasik,

Nevasa,

(20° N: 73° 5l'E) is an ancient town situated on both the banks of the Godavari (See Sankalia/Deo 1955: 1-9). Literary, epigraphical and monumental evidence supplies almost an unbroken history of Nasik for nearly 2,500 years. This pre-eminent position it held probably because it lay on the best route between central India and the West Coast. The earliest well authenticated mention ofNasik is by Patanjali who flourished inc. 150 BC. This town in the Deccan was known to several writers like Varahamihira (550 AD), and the authors of the Atharvavedaparishishta, Vayu and the Varaha Puranas, Avasyakacurni, and Nandisutra. Between 200 BC-AD 300, Satavahanas, Sakas and Ahiras governed this region. It was definitely under the territories of the Traikutakas, the Kalachuris, the Western Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Muslims and

(19° 31 'N: 75° E) is situated on the Pravara, a major tributary of the Godavari, 56 km northeast of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. The town ofNevasa is located on both the banks of the river. Traditional accounts regarding Nevasa are very few. A section called Mahalaya Mahatmya in the Skanda Purana tries to explain the name as originating from Nidhivasa. The earliest literary references to Nevasa are found in Lilacharitra and some manuscripts of the Jnaneshwari. Nevasa is again mentioned as Nidhivasa in Ratnamalastrotra of Kesiraya Vyasa. Inscriptional reference to Nevasa is so for only one. This is in a record of Yadava Ramachandra of 1278 AD Explorations of Chalcolithic sites in the Godavari-Pravara valley was undertaken and thus N evasa and other sites were brought to light (Sankalia, et. al. 1960: 1-13; IA-R 1959-60: 25-28).

Nagara, (70°38' E: 22° 41 'N) is located in the Cambay Taluka, Kaira District of Gujarat State. This village lies at a distance of about 3 kilometers to the north of Cambay. It is situated on the tip of the gulf of Cambay, in the coastal plain of Gujarat, on the junction of Bhal and Charotara. It was excavated by the Dept. of Ancient Indian Culture and History in the year 1963-65. This has unearthed a four fold cultural sequence: Iron Age Mid 1st millenium BCE , early hisrotic period 3rd c. BEC to 00 CE, Indo Roman 00 CE to 8th/9 th CE, Sultans and Moghuls 14th to 18th c. CE. Four hundred and eight beads of terra cotta, glass, paste, chert, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, garnet, crystal and lapis-lazuli have been recovered from the excavation here.

Nagwada,

28

Sites in Ancient India

A horizontal excavation was carried out by H. D. Sankalia of Deccan College, Poona in 1954-56 on the Ladmod mound. The main periods at the site and its neighbourhood are the following: 1) Early Paleolithic, 2) Middle Paleolithic, 3) Chalcolithic, 4) Early Historical, 5) IndoRoman, 6) Muslim and 7) Maratha. Nevasa has yi~lded one thousand, six hundred and fifty five beads. Peno~ 4 and 5 yielded about two-thirds of the total quan_t1~. Steatite was the most favourite material of the Chalcohth1c period (3), while faience, glass and terra cotta were extensively used for bead making in the Indo- Roman period (IA-R 1955-56: 8-11; 1959-60: 25-28). Incomplete specimens indicate local manufacture of beads. As glass beads were found along with scores of pieces of glass slag, it becomes certain that Nevasa was a glass bead making and bangle-producing site at least in the lndo- Roman, Muslim and Maratha periods. Paharpur (25° 2' N: 89° 3'E) is a village three miles to the west of the Jamalganj railway station. It lies in the midst of the flat alluvial plain in North Bengal. It lie sat a distance of 29 miles to the North-West of Mahastan and 30 miles to the South-East of Bangarh. This first preliminary attempt at the excavation of this site was made in February-March 1923. It has yielded a five fold cultural sequence belonging to Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana, Guptas, Palas, Gurjaras, Muhammadan and Sultans. Paithan, (19° 28'N: 75° 24'E) is situated on a meander of the Godavari river, in Aurangabad district (AS IA-R WI 1876 mrd Vol). Paithan, famous in ancient Indian literature as Pratishthana a town of self-importance, is referred to in Jaina, Buddhist and Brahmanical literature. The Jaina literature especially, and more so the Brihat-KalpasutraBhasya, associates it with the Satavahanas and the Nag~s. Periplus of the Erythrean Sea and Ptolemy also refer to it. During the Satavahana rule, it was the capital town connected by trade route to Bharoch in the North-West, Naneghat in the West and Ter in the South-East. In the Y adava period it seems to have developed as a sacred place. Inspite of its long history and apart from the legends and the myths associated with it, Paithan has not been systematically excavated on a large-scale. In 193637, G. Yazadani, of the Archaeological Department of Nizam's Dominion, excavated at Paithan. But full details of the dig were not adequately published (Syed Yusuf, 1936: 39-42). M. G. Dikshit, of the Department of Archives Maharashtra State, conducted some trial excavati~ns at Kausan near Paithan. The full report of this excavation is not yet published. (IA-R 1965-66: 28-29). This excavation has yielded a four-fold cultural sequence beginning with 1) Mauryan, and followed by 2) Satavahana and Late Satavahana, 3) Rashtrakuta and 4) Muslim- Maratha. The Satavahana period finds include glass beads with lug-collars, cobalt-colored melon or gadrooned beads, and terra cotta bullae in imitation of Roman coins.

Paunar, (20° 4 7' N: 78° 41 'E) in taluka and district Wardha, is situated on the Right Bank of the river Dham, a tributary of the Wardha (Deo/Dhavalikar 1968: 1-7; IA-R 1966-67: 27). Paunar has been identified with ancient Pravarapura, the capital of the Vakatakas who ruled over Vidarbha, from the 3rd to the 6th c. CE. About the beginning of the Christian era, this region, no doubt, formed part of the Satavahana Empire. In the 3rd c. BCE Paunar, along with other parts of Vidarbha, was included in the Asokan Empire as is eloquently borne out by the existence of a fragmentary inscription of the famous emperor at Deo_tak. S.B. Deo of Nagpur University carried vertical excavations out here on the Quilla mound in 1967. The excavations have shown that the antiquity of Paunar can be stretched back to at least the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The excavation has unearthed four cultural periods beginning with the 1) Chalcolithic and followed by 2~ Satavahana, 3) Vakataka, 4) Vishnukundin, 5) Kalachun and 6) Muslim. One hundred and seventeen be~ds representing thirteen materials like Agate, Calcite, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Coral, Crystal, Garnet, Glass, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Marble, Shell and Terra cotta were collected during the excavation. These show the use of mostly local material except coral, marble and Lapis Lazuli. The distribution of beads shows that no bead could be had from Period 1. The bead-making activity seems to have increased in the subsequent periods, the largest collection belonging to the horizons of Period 3, which was the period of maximum prosperity in the history of Paunar. There is a decline, not only in the number of beads but in the range of materials used for beads, in the subsequent period. Pauni, (79° 39'N: 20° 48' E) in Bhandara district is about three kilometers SE of Wainaganga, one of the most sacred rivers of the Vidarbha region. It has a perennial flow. H. Cousens noticed Pauni as an ancient fort in 1897. Marshall, Hargreaves, Cunningham, have also referred to the fortifications at Pauni. In 1935, a stone inscription was discovered at Pauni belonging to the Bharashivas. Later, in 1964, a pillar inscription of Mahakshatrapa Rupiamma was noticed who belonged to the Saka race. Mauryas, Sungas, Satavahanas and Kshatrapas ruled over this region. In the post- Satavahana period, Vidarbha passed under the Vakatakas. S. B. Deo and J. P. Joshi carried out vertical excavations. The excavations were spread over two working seasons 1969-70 on the Jagannatha Tekadi, Chandakapura Tekdi and Hardolala Tekdi (IA-R 1968-69: 14-16; 1969-70: 20-21 ). The excavations revealed three periods 1) Mauryan, 2) Sunga and 3) SatavahanaKshatrapa. The yield of beads was not much as only 25 beads have been recovered. The period wise distribution was as follows: Mauryan - 1 bead; Sunga- 4; SatavahanaKshatrapa- 16; and 4 unstratified beads. These are made of Agate, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Crystal, Garnet, Glass, Jasper and Terracotta. In these, glass and terracotta beads predominate. Quite a quantity of chipped nod_u~esof agate, carnelian and garnet were found. In add1t10n to

29

Distinctive Beads these, a few unstratified beads were also available. These together indicate that beads were made locally at Pauni, at least in the early centuries of the Christian era. The collared barrel bead of glass and the granulated white glass bead are in consonance in respect of their dating here as at other sites as well.

etched on three types of shapes i.e. long barrel circular, elliptical circular or spherical circular and circular and circular tabular. Prakashe,

(21° 30' N: 74° 21' E) lies in Shahada taluka of Dhulia district and is situated on the confluence of the rivers Tapi and Gomai. It is enclosed within the sharp meander of the latter (Thapar 1967: 1-17; IA-R 54-55: 13). Explorations at the site indicated that the Dark Age after the fall of the Indus Civilization and the beginning of early historic period could be filled up and so it was excavated. B. K. Thapar of the Archaeological Survey of India did the vertical excavations during the months of February- April 1955. The excavation exposed an occupational deposit of orderly stratification relating to four cultural periods beginning with 1) Chalcolithic and followed by 2) Mauryan, 3) Satavahana and 4) Kshatrapa period. In the Chalcolithic period, along with other lapidary finds, were beads, variously of carnelian, shell and paste, including a distinct spacer and a chisel-ended toothpick or pendant. Beads, bangles and styli bespeak of a sedentary life with leisure for such arts and workmanship. In the Mauryan levels, a cluster of twelve standard bicone hexagonal beads in rock crystal, five chevrons or chain beads in carnelian and a scabbard-type pendant in terra cotta are particularly noteworthy for workmanship. Personal ornaments and domestic equipment's show development and sophistication. Satavahana period did not introduce any revolutionary change in typology or material. Twenty-four beads were recovered from this period. Of these, the clawshaped pendant in carnelian and mallet-shaped one in glass were outstanding. In the Kshatrapa levels, 51 beads were found. In this period glass industry showed an impulse towards large-scale production. The materials used for bead making in Prakashe include: Agate, Bone, Carnelian, Coral, Glass, Jasper, Rock Crystal, Quartz, Shell, Paste and Terra cotta.

Pazhayannur and Machad

is situated in the Talppally taluka, of Trichur dist. in Kerala state. Excavations were conducted by R. N. Mehta of M.S. university. This has yielded culture of 2nd BCE to 2 nd CE. One hundred and 175 beads are made of agate, carnelian, chert, jasper, orthoclase-felspar, crystal. Ninetyeight of these beads were etched with seven different patterns. These belong to Megalithic period. Peddabankur

is situated about 29 km away from Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh. This site was excavated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Andhra Pradesh (IA-R, 196667, 2-3; 1967-68, 2; 1968-69, 1-2; 1970-71, 2; 1972-73, 2; 1974-75, 5; A.R. D.A.M. A.P. 1970-71, l; 1972-73, 45; 1974-75, 2-3). The earliest levels belong to the Megalithic Period of 4th -3 rd century BCE. The succeeding Early Historic Period is divided into two phases with Period Ila yielding red ware, coarse varieties of black and red ware, a punch-marked coin and beads of glass, terracotta and semi-precious stones. Period lib contained Satavahana coins and a Roman silver coin of Augustus Caesar. Four radiocarbon dates on wood charcoal are available for the Early Historic Period (IA-R, 1972-73, 63 and 1978-79, 103). They are: 35 BCE, 10 BCE, 25 BCE and45 BCE. Perur

is situated on the river Noyyal, a tributary of the Kaveri, in the Coimbatore district and was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India, Madras (IA-R, 1970-71, 33-4). This site shows a continuous occupation for about 1000 years. Period I (1s t -3 rd centuries CE) is associated with megalithic black and red ware; Period II (3rd -4 th centuries CE) is associated with russet coated painted ware and glass beads; and Period III (6th - 9th centuries CE) had unslipped pottery.

Rajghat,

(25° 04' N: 83° l'E) representing part of the ancient settlement of Varanasi is still locality of the city. In 1937 BHU conducted small-scale excavation at the ancient mound ofRajghat in 1957-58 and 60-69. It had yielded six fold cultural sequence ranging between 800 BCE - 1800 CE. Two thousand four hundred and seventy two beds of agate, amethyst, bone, carnelian, chalcedony, chert, copper, coral, crystal, faience, garnet, glass, granite, ivory, jasper, Lapis-lazuli, paste, quartz, terracotta and topaz.

Piprahwa,

Lies in Dasti district of Uttar Pradesh. It was excavated by K. M. Srivastava from 1970 to 1977. It has yielded occupational deosit belonging to four periods, 8th c. BCE to 6th C. BCE, 6th to 2 nd C. BCE, 2 nd C. BCE to the beginning of the Christian Era, 1st c. CE to 4th c. CE.

Rajgir,

was excavated by A. Ghosh of Mid-Eastern Circle of Archaeological Survey oflndia in 1950. The total deposit is divided into four periods, Pre-Mauryan dated to 5th c. BCE, Mauryan period, Sunga and Kushana period dated between 1st C. BCE to 1st C. CE.

Porkalam,

Lies 2½ miles to the north of Kinnamkulam in the Talapalli taluka ofTrichur Dist. Shri. R. Anujan Achan of the state archaeologist to the Cochin govt. conducted some excavation which was more in the nature of a summary digging. Urn burials from here belong to 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE. Excavation has yielded forty-eight beads. Out of these forty-one are made of carnelian, and other are of terra cotta and indeterminate metal. Here there are nine patterns

Rojdi,

Situated on the Bhadar river, fifty-five kilometers south of Rajkot in central Saurashtra, reflects thecondition of the life, in the Harappan villages immediately after the decline 30

Sites in Ancient India

of the urban prosperity. A team from Gurajat State Depart of Archaeology and University Museum University of Pennsylvania carried out excavation. The excavation by Panday and Dhaky has revealed two fold cultural sequence.

a great trade. He describes it as one of the emporia of India where Pearl fishing was practiced. Under the Portuguese, Sopara was a fortified port with four wooden stockades (Ghate: 1975). Western Indian Cave inscriptions contain six references to Sopara. The author of the 'Periplus of the Erythrean Sea' notices Sopara as a local mart. These references prove that Sopara was one of the leading cities and trade-centres on the Western coast of India. Bhagawanlal Indraji carried out vertical excavations on the Buruda Rajacha Killa mound in April 1881. This mound gave remains of a Mauryan stupa, which yielded a relic box of yellow tranchytic trap. Thirty-one beads made of Amethyst, Beryl, Crystal, Gold and Malachite were recovered. Distinct among the beads are 'Tri-ratna' made of white-purple amethyst, undrilled hexagonal cylinders (to be held in metal caps) of deep blue glass and malachite and beryl fishes.

Sonkh,

The site lies about 30 kilometers south-east of Mathura city. It was excavated by H. Haertel of the Berlin Museum of Indian Art from 1966 70 73. This site has yielded PreMauryan, Mauryan and Kushana antiquities. Sonpur,

The site of Sonpur in Bihar was excavated by V. Mishra in 1956-57, Varma, B. S. in 1959-60 and by Sinha, B. P. and Narain, L.A. in 1970-71. These excavations have brought to light two cultural periods - Chalcolithic and Mauryan. This has yielded six hundred and thirty-two beads made of agate, amethyst, bone, ivory, carnelian, chalcedony, shell, copper, crystal, glass, jasper, soapstone and terra cotta. Terra cotta alone accounts for three hundred and twentythree beads.

Sravasti, It was excavated in 1958-59 by K. K. Sinha. This has brought to light the objects belonging to the time period between 600 BCE to 600 CE, i.e. Pre Mauryan, Mauryan, Kushana and Gupta periods. One hundred and sixty nine beads of terra cotta, agate, crystal, glass, amethyst, quartz, lapis lazuli, carnelian, limestone, bone, shell, claw and copper have been unearthed.

Sanur,

(12° 33' N: 79° 55'E) in Madurawtakam Taluk of Chingleput dist. Lies to the west of the Madras Trunk Road. Excavation was carried out in 1950 and 52, by the Southern Circle of the Dept. of Archaeology. This has yielded Megalithic material.

Surkotada,

(23° 37' N: 70° 50' E) is situated at a distance of 12 kilometers North-East of Adesar in the district Kutch of Gujarat state. The excavation was carried out by J.P. Joshi of the West Circle branch of Archaeological Survey of India. It has yielded three folded cultural sequence, ranging between 2055-1660 BCE. Beads are noted for variety in shapes and diversity in materials. 1062 beads of terra cotta, sandstone, agate, jasper, faience, serpentine, lapis lazuli carnelian, steatite, bone paster, crystal, chalcedony, chert, copper have come from excavation.

Sisupalgarh,

(20° 13'N: 85° 51'E) is located about 1½ miles to the eastsouth-east of the town of Bhubaneshwar, Dist., Puri in Orissa. Excavation branch of Archaeological Survey of India dept. carried out excavation at this early historical site. It has yielded four fold cultural sequence ranging from 300 BCE - 350 CE. This excavation has yielded one hundred and eighty beads of carnelian, onyx, agate, chalcedony, amethyst, glass, terra cotta, and copper.

Talakad,

Sopara,

(12° 11'N: 77° 2'E) is a popular town well known as the capital of the western ganges. It is located in T. Narasipur taluk of Mysore district and is about 60 kms to the SE of Mysore. On the left bank of the river Kaveri. This ancient and important town of South India and particularly of Karnataka. Though had a hoary antiquity its history was known only from the 6th c. CE onwards. Exploration of the township was conducted by a team of archaeologists from the Post-graduate department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore and Directorate of Archaaeology in 1992. The city appears to have been under the rule of the Western Gangas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagar and Mysore rulers from 4th CE to 10th CE. The Beads are made of glass, terracotta, bone, ivory, shell, stone-paste, agate, amethyst, amber, beryl, carnelian, chalcedony, crystal, fuchsite, quartzite, jasper, jade, limestone, lapiz lazuli, babrodorite, malachite, quartz, ruby, serpentine, soap-stone and talk.

(19° 25' N: 72° 45'E) lies on the western bank of Vasai creek, 37 miles north of Bombay, in Thane district. It appears as a holy and wealthy city and an emporium in Aparanta (North Konkan) from BC 250 to about AD 1500. It was a chief city as early as the times of Asoka as here were engraved his rock edicts. Like several other places, Sopara is honored in Buddhist works as the birthplace of Gautama Buddha in one of his previous births (Cowell, et. al.: 1907). The Mahabharata also mentions Surparaka (Sopara) (Bhagawanlal 1883: 304-5). The Jaina writer Jinaprabhasuri, who flourished in the beginning of the 14th century, mentions Sopara as one of the eighty-four holy places of the Jainas. Sopara finds mention in various foreign writings, for example, Ptolemy (AD 150) mentions Sopara between Nausaripur (Navasari) and Simylla (Chaul). At the beginning of the 10th c. Al Masudi mentions Sopara along with Thane and Saimur as coastal towns. In 1049 Sopara is mentioned as a port in a Silahara grant. Al Idrasi, in the middle of the 12th century, describes Sopara as a mile and half away from the sea with 31

Distinctive Beads calcified wood, coral, faience, feldspar, lapis lazuli, limestone, glass, granite, garnet, iron Pyrites, ivory, jasper, pearl, pottery, quartz, serpentine, shale, shell, steatite.

Ter, (76° 12'N: 18° 19'E) in the district and taluka of Osmanabad, is situated on both the banks of the river Terna. Ter village, however, has long earned reputation as a site of archaeological interest owing to the richness of surface finds and a large number of important antiquities in local private collection. It has been identified with the ancient trade-centre Tagara (Chapekar 1969: I-VII, 1-7; Fleet 1901: 537-552; IA-R 57-58: 23-24). The earliest literary reference is to be found in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written in the 1st century of the Christian era. Ptolemy, the Greek geographer writing about the middle of 2nd c. AD places Tagara in the region called Ariake. Epigraphical evidences testify to the existence of . city . from the 7th to 17th century AD. The city appears th is to have been under the rule of the Chalukyas, Silaharas and perhaps Muslim (AR ASI 1901-02: 1; 1903-04: 21). So Ter seems to have been consistently occupied since the dawn of the Christian era. P. M. Joshi, Director of Archives and Historical Monuments, Government of Bombay, had in his view, the immense and promising archaeological potentialities of the site of Ter. Hence, at his instance, K. D. Banerjee and B. N. Chapekar carried out excavation in February 1958. The excavation revealed that the site has been under occupation from circa 3rd c. BC to 3rd c. AD i.e., in 1) Early Satavahana and 2) IndoRoman periods. This excavation yielded one hundred and ninety seven beads. Of these, 47 came from Period 1 and 144 from Period 2. These are made of Agate, Carnelian, Chalcedony, Crystal, Faience, Glass, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Shell and Terra cotta. Routes connected Ter with other flourishing indigenous trading centres viz., Bharoch, Kondapur, Nevasa, Paithan and Nagarjunikonda. Trade contacts are also evident from the Kaolin figurines and Lapis Lazuli beads since these materials are not locally available at Ter. Of the varied shapes ofbeads, 'the faggot' shape appears to be new at Ter. The Director of Archives and Museums resumed further excavation (IA-R 1967-68: 35; 1968-69: 17-18). This revealed the cultural sequence from pre-Mauryan to modem times. Both vertical and horizontal diggings were undertaken. This yielded a lion carved in shell, beads of various shapes in agate, carnelian, Lapis Lazuli and shell. S. B. Deo and T. V. Pathy of Deccan College and Marathawada University undertook the third and the most recent excavation, respectively. This ~as done to confirm the cultural sequence of the site, to assign the date of the Kaolin and terra cotta figurines, and to know the nature of pre-Satavahana habitation, if any. This has given evidence of what was possibly a formidable wooden palisade around the city (IA-R 197475: 32).

Tripuri, Situated on the bank of Narmada river in Jabalpur district, about 15 kilometer to the west of Jabalpur city. The present village is called Taiber, identified with ancient Tripuri. Dikshit (1952) first excavated the Tripuri. The trench was laid on the mound known as 'Hathiya-garh Mound' on which the earliest settlement is dated about 1000 BCE. This excavation has revealed beads of different materials datable between c. 500 BCE to 300 BCE.

Ujjain situated on the bank of river Sipra and identified with ancient Ujjaiyini, was an important centre famous for its political, commercial, religious and cultural activities for centuries together. Garde (1938-39) first excavated it. The excavation has brought to light two fold cultural sequence ranging between 700 BCE to 200 BCE. Notable antiquities are human shaped pendant and beads of ivory datable to 500 BCE to 200 BCE.

Uraiyur situated on the bank of the Kaveri, and lying in the district of Tiruchchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Uraiyur is regarded as the capital of the Cho las of the Sangam age. This site was excavated by Madras University (IA-R, 1967-8, 3-7; 19645, 25-6; 1965-66, 26; Ramachandran, 1980, 119-20). It was divided into three periods, Period I, associated with megalithic black-and-red ware, rouletted ware and Arretine ware, is dated to between 3rd and 2 nd centuries BCE and 1st and 2nd centuries CE and Period II is dated between 2nd 3rd centuries and 5th -6 th centuries CE which yielded evidence of floods. Then there was a hiatus and Period III is dated between 8th and 14th -15 th centuries CE. This period contains two sherds of celadon ware, glass beads, bangles and semi-precious stone beads. This site is also identified as Aragarn of the Periplus, which was famous for the manufacturing, and export of muslin (Ramachandran, 1980: 12-7). Two tanks unearthed from excavations are regarded as the dyeing vats of cotton Muslims (Ramachandran, 1980: 127).

Vaisali, Archaeological Survey of India excavated the site for the first time in 1903-04 and later by D. B. Spoonar in 191314. Krishna Deva of the Archaeological Survey of India excavated the site on the larger scale in 1950. These and the subsequent excavations have brought to light four periods of occupation dated from c. 500 BCE to 500 CE. Two hundred and fifty one beads of amethyst, coral, soapstone, chalcedony, jasper, steatite, glass, shell, terra cotta, chert, carnelian, agate, opal, pearl, bone, and slate stone have come to light.

Taxila is situated about 32 km northwest of Rawalpindi and was excavated primarily by Marshall (Ghosh, 1948; Marshall, 1951; Allchin, 1982; Dani, 1986). It is one of the richest sites in South Asia for the recovery of both indigenous and foreign types (for details see Dikshit, 1969, 4-11, 14-15, 17-23, 27-36 and Beck, 1941: 20-31). Nine hundred and thirty five beads of agate, amethyst, beryl, bone, carnelian,

Veerapuram, (78° 45' N: 16° 00'E) is situated two kilometers north-west of the present village of Veerapuram in Nandikotkur taluk 32

Sites in Ancient India

of Kurnool district. It is a type site in the Krishna Valley in Andhra Pradesh. The Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh Govt. Dept. of Archaeologyand Birla Archaelogical and Cultural Research Institute carried out excavation. It has yielded a four fold cultural sequence beginning with Neolithic (1800 - 1000 BCE) and followed by Chalcolithic (1000 - 500 BCE) Megalithic (500 - 300 BCE) and Early and Late Maharathi (300 - 400 CE) periods. Concentration of beads is in the Maharathi period. A total of three thousand and thirty-five beads of seventeen materials were unearthed. The materials are agate, amethyst, bone, carnelian, chalcedony, crystal, faience, garnet, glass, gold, jasper, lapis lazuli, shell, silica, steatite, and terra cotta.

excavations and exploration are not published adequately. Publication of such reports in future will bring to light many more specimens. An overview of these excavated sites of India tells us that bead making was concentrated in the early historic period. Coming back to specific beads it is clear that human belief in magic symbols contained in geometric and other designs is very old. In course of time, probably, these designs came to be incorporated in portable charms - so that the potent in them could be easily carried on persons - and distinctive beads like amulets, pendants, etched and eye beads, came into being. While beads of geometrical designs and shapes are most abundant, they are essentially decorative in nature. It is not the case with distinctive beads. These are not only decorative but reflect the curative, magical and superstitious ideas prevalent in a society. The amulets reflect the religious and social beliefs of contemporary times. They are worn to ward off bad luck or such influences as the evil eye, mischief, disease, witchcraft, etc. It is a mean of defense and protection. On the contrary pendants are of simple and conventional shapes without any particular importance, i.e., they are basically for decorative purposes. They exhibit a variety of shapes in various materials. In the following chapters distinctive beads are classified under different headings and arranged in alphabetical order to have a look at detailed data as recovered from sites all over India.

Y elleswaram

site lies in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, and was excavated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Andhra Pradesh (IA-R, 1957-58: 9.10; 1958-59, II; 1962-63, 2-3; 1963-4, 4). Except in the case of one trench, which yielded stone age tools, this site primarily dates from the Megalithic Period and continued until the late Pallava Period after which it declined. Period III included a coin of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. Total of one hundred and forty five beads has been unearthed. Terra cotta was most popularly used material and crystal and carnelian come next in frequency. Many other sites have been partially excavated or explored known to yield cultural remains. However, reports of the

33

Distinctive Beads

84"

•13 .14 •20 • 94

• 84 • 83

• 21

.

20

4

0

Kilometers

34

Sites in Ancient India

Key to the Site Names Mentioned in the Map

1

TAXILA

39

SINGHBHUM

77

VEERAPURAM

2

SAHRIBAHLOL

40

SONPUR

78

PIKHLIHAL

3

MANIKYALA

41

BHARHUT

79

MASKI

4

HARAPPA

42

KAKAREHTA

80

BRAHMAPURI

5

RUPAR

43

BESNAGAR

81

CHANDAV ALLI

6

BANAWALI

44

SANCHI

82

NAVADATOLI

7

RANGAMAHAL

45

TRIPURI

83

NAGDA

8

BHAGW ANPURA

46

MAHESHWAR

84

AHAR

9

KALIBANGAN

47

UJJAIN

85

KUNTASI

10

MOHANJO DARO

48

BHAYATRAV

86

PRABHASPATAN

11

KOTDIJI

49

CAMBAY

87

SATANIKOTTA

12

CHANUDARO

50

LOTHAL

88

PERAMBUR

13

BAIRAT

51

AMRELI

89

PEDDABANKUR

14

SAMBHAR

52

ROJDI

90

KONDAPUR

15

SONKH

53

RANGPUR

91

SISHUP ALGARH

16

HASTINAPURA

54

SURKODATA

92

YELLESW ARAM

17

AHICHHATRA

55

DHOLAVIRA

93

KANEWAL

18

ATRANJIKHERA

56

RAIPUR

94

SONAR

19

MATHURA

57

PRAKASHE

95

DHATWA

20

RAIRH

58

BARAL

96

KAUSAMBI

21

PAWAYA

59

BHOKARDAN

97

HAMPI

22

KOSAM

60

KAUNDINY APURA

98

MALHAR

23

BRITA

61

ARNI

99

DWARKA

24

RAJGHAT

62

PAUNAR

100

ARIKAMEDU

25

PIPARAWA

63

PAUNI

101

KHAIRADIH

26

SAHETMAHET

64

MAHURJHARI

102

PEDDABANKUR

27

SRAVASTI

65

NASIK

103

KOTLINGALA

28

NARHAN

66

NEVASA

104

DHULIKATTA

29

TILAURAKOT

67

PAITHAN

105

APPAKATTU

30

VAISHALI

68

TER

106

MALLAPADI

31

PAT ALIPUTRA

69

JUNNAR

107

KANCHIPURAM

32

KUMRAHARA

70

SOPARA

108

URAIYUR

33

BANGARH

71

KARAD

109

KODUMANAL

34

PAHARAPUR

72

KOLHAPUR

110

PERUR

35

MAHASTHANAGHAR

73

SALIHUNDAM

111

KARUR

36

CHANDRAKETUGHAR

74

JAGGAYYAPETA

112

KARAIKADU

37

TAMLUK

75

AMRAVATI

113

T. KALLUPATTI

38

HARIY ANPURA

76

NAGARJUNIKONDA

114

ALANGANKULAM

35

AMULETS IN ANCIENT INDIA

Amulet is an object, which is endowed with magical powers. Amulet of its own accord uses these powers ceaselessly on behalf of the person who carries it. Or causes it to be laid up in his house, or attaches it to some one of his possessions, to protect him and his belongings from the attacks of evil spirits or from the Evil Eye.

"amulet" by its inventors or by those who first used one shall remain obscure. Universality of Amulets In most ancient times amulet formed an important part of the magical practices, mostly vigilant and sometimes belligerent. The use of the amulets was never confined to any one place or period. They can be traced in ornaments from a very early age. This practice was prevalent all over the world. The great mass of the evidence about these now available justifies the statement that the use of amulets was, and still is, universal.

According to Sir. C. A Wallis Budge (1970: 180) an Egyptologist, an amulet exercises its protective powers continuously and in general over its owner. Pliny uses the word amulet to describe an object, which preserves a man from some trouble; medical or prophylactic treatments; and a substance used in medicine. Seligmann (1920: 26) is of the opinion that an "Amulet" is a means of defense. Amulet is a material object worn generally around the neck by a person for some magicoreligious reasons, for example, to cure disease, to give strength, 'luck' or general protection to the possessor or to defend him or her from specific danger or misfortunes.

In primitive societies, it was most rampant. The use of Amulets was popular both in the west and in the east. We do not know what it was called in pre-historic days. In the Rig Veda it was named Mani and continued to be called so down to the beginning of the historical period. After the invasion and conquest by Muslim rulers a mixed culture began and the amulet cases were being called Tabil, and the word 'Mani' went out of use. The word Tabil got corrupted into tait in Marathi. This is the word used for it even today in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In some interior part ofRajasthan it is called Mandalia.

Hence amulet is made to bestow on the wearer long life, safety from disease and demons, protection from the attacks of sorcers, and enemies. So the amulet naturally possessed some power and the ceremony of wearing it and the supposed spell rendered it superhuman. In order to be clear and also to emphasize their importance, these are dealt with separately on the basis of typology.

Amulets in Rig Veda

The amulets worn by primitive men and women were made of simple natural substances. At first they were of unusual form and/or distinct color. Sometimes they were worn because the material was new to them. The oldest amulets were such objects or material, which roused man's curiosity, or excited his wonder and admiration.

The consensus of the scholars of history is that Rig Vedic period is antecessor to the Indus Valley Civilization. Some even argue that this was posterior. The magical hymns are very few and do not dominate the life of the Rig Vedic people. Magic at that time was probably not accepted and was considered a sign of low culture. However, a very few magical spells are found in the Rig Veda. The herbs and forest trees were invoked and were asked to be gracious (Rig Veda, 7.35, line 5).

Stones of unusual colors or having markings on them or with veins of different colors running through them, were promptly taken possession of by him. He especially prized a stone, which had natural perforation. His natural love of possession led him to make these his property. The credit of having introduced the wearing of amulets in the world belongs to the first man who threaded such a stone on a thong cut from the skin of some animal, and then hung it round his neck. The perforated stone suggested to him the boring of other stones which he used as amulets and which he could then hang on his body. We shall never know fully what primitive man expected his various amulets to do for him, or how he thought they worked for his good. Similarly, what meaning was attached to the word

Indra is requested to counterbalance the recitation voiced with the power of demons and it is desired that the unprompted might sustain harm (Rig Veda, SI 8. lines 1314). It is said that a charm was pronounced over an amulet and it was desired that every evil dream and disease may be driven away by it (Rig Veda, 10. 37, line 4). Amulets are used to so protect a lady's husband from the ghost which might slay him (Ibid., 10.55, line 44).

36

Amulets in Ancient India

Amulets in the Indus Valley Culture

diseases and demons. It was addressed or charmed for following reasons.

In India the Indus Valley people made profuse use of it. This is reflected by a large number of clay seals discovered in the excavations at Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Kalibangan, Kuntasi etc. The layer, in which these seals have been found is believed to be roughly as old as 2500 years BCE. This is suppose to be the mature phase of this culture. As Indus Valley culture, which extended right up to the middle of the Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, its beginning should go perhaps to a very hoary past. We can, therefore, safely suppose that the use of amulet is as old as seven thousand years.

1. Long life and great delights forever unharmed and vigorous, 2. An amulet destructive of the demon,

Vishkandha

3. From convulsion, from tearing pains, from Vishkandha (demon), 4. Conquers the Vishkandha demon and smites the devouring demons. 5. Protect from adversity.

The variety of seals bearing different marks, signs, figures and letters indicate that the amulets were employed for a large variety of purposes, and they were mostly made of steatite. The letters inscribed on them have not yet been deciphered, hence we do not know the words or syllables used as spells. When these letters are deciphered we will be able to know the nature of the spells therein used. As mostly there are few alphabets, we can safely suppose that at distant period a spell consisted of a very few words and like the spells, which came to be used in the early and late mediaeval times. They had probably no clear means and had simply mysterious sounds and suggestions just as even the modem spells have. Besides these seals which may or may not have been used as amulets we have definite evidences in the form of eye-beads which were profusely used during this period all around the world. One also finds amulets carved in the shape of different animals.

6. Conquer in battle. 7. Is suppose to protect against all two footed and four-footed creatures, 8. This is suppose to render the bereft of strength to 53 sorceries and 100 performers of sorcery who have lost their force, 9. The seven debilitating charms are rendered bereft of strength, 10. Driving away all poverty, 11. As a destroyer of witchcrafts and also a destroyer of hostile powers. 12. As a fierce slayer and a happy refuge. 13. Indra is supposed to have at first placed strength in this.

Amulets in the Atharvaveda

14. To render devoid of force, the breaking disease and the tearing disease, the pain in the limbs and the takman (fever) that visits us every autumn.

By the time, the Atharvavedic hymns were composed two antagonist cultures are said to have mingled together. This confluence took place in the Gangetic plain. By the compulsion of circumstances, therefore, the two human races had to live together and came closer to each other. This led to the admixture of the two different cultures. The primitive beliefs and ideas of the first group began to penetrate the thoughts of the other on account of closer and perpetual contact. Their beliefs penetrated the thought imperceptibly and surreptitiously of the other group. Due to this the Demon worship, the magical spells, and use of amulets became too tempting to repel. Along with the numerous spells, imprecations and incantations, came the amulets. In Atharvavedic times the Amulets were widely used for a large number of purposes. In fact, there was hardly any human trouble which the amulets and spells could not cure or avert. Hence the whole of Atharvaveda is teeming with spells addressed to or invoking amulets. It would be sufficient to quote a few relevant spells to illustrate how widely the amulet was in use in the Atharvavedic times.

An amulet is compared to a tiger in the following spell pronounced over it: (Ibid, 2.29.26) (Brahma Muni: 1941).

1. Made of herbs. It is a saviour and the protector against hostile schemes, drives far away from human beings, all the diseases and demons, 2.

It is said that at the roar of a lion, they start with fright, at the roar of fire, they tremble before the plants, that have been brought formerly,

3.

The disease of cattle and men have been driven out by the herbs.

Sankha amulet is made of pearl or its shell 1948).

An amulet, made of ten kinds of wood, is mentioned (Atharvaveda, 2.9.34) to relieve the man wearing it from who is seized by the demon and fits, and suppose to lead him forth to the world of the living (Brahma Muni: 1941).

(Shende:

1.

The amulet of pearl-shell is born of the wind of the atmosphere, out of lighting and from gold.

2.

It is said to be both on the top of the bright

space and from the ocean.

An amulet made of the Gaginda tree (it is an amulet of 1000 virtues) was believed to be efficacious against

3.

37

It is said to be born in the heaven, in the

Distinctive Beads ocean and brought here from the river. 4.

It is said to be also born of Vrtra (could make the day).

5.

It is said to be one of the hiranyas.

6.

It is said to be born out of Soma.

7.

It is said to be pout on for securing long life of hundred years and overpowering disease and misery.

5.

It is besmeared in ghee, rich in milk, having 1000 vital breath. 100 fold strength, imparting vigour, blissful, delightful and rich in food and milk.

6.

The amulet is thus tied on for securing long life and protection from rivals, haters and enermes.

The amulet of Parna tree, also called Palasa tree is tied for securing luster, strength, life, wealth and prosperity.

It affords protection from the missiles of gods andAsuras.

1.

The amulet of Pama tree contains vigour of the gods and milk of the herb.

Sankha is mother of pearls. The amulet described as bright one must be pearl produced in shell and developed in the water of the ocean.

2.

The amulets dear to the gods, who kept it concealed in the trees.

3.

It is said to have the formidable luster of Soma. It is given by Indra and is controlled by Varuna.

4.

Its tied in for securing splendor, for securing wealth, domain and superiority in the sphere of the kingdom, for long life of hundred autumns and for becoming superior in patronage and knowledge.

5.

The amulet is invoked to make submissive the fishermen, the chariot makers, the smith all people round about, the kings the makers of the kings such as ministers, Pama is an armour for protecting the body.

6.

It is a hero. It is tied on with the lustre of sun.

8.

An amulet made of pearl was also used, and it was believed that it bestowed long life and prosperity. They are addressed on the following way (Ibid, 2.19.26).

1.

As the horn of the wind and the lightning and gold, protecting human beings from the strains,

2.

With the help of horn in the sea at the head of bright substances, human beings slay the devouring demons and conquer disease and poverty,

3.

They are universal remedy,

4.

They are life-prolonging amulet,

5.

They will protect on all sides from the missiles of the demons.

Sraktya amulet is used to counteract witchcraft.

Parihasta amulet is a bangle shaped amulet tied on a woman for securing the conception of a male child (Shende, 1948). 1.

It is put on both the hands to drive away the demons and to secure wealth.

2.

The amulet is involved to hold apart the womb for the conception of a male child. Aditi tied this amulet for securing the birth of a son. Tvastri ties it on her, saying that she may give birth to a son.

3.

2.

The hymn points out that the amulet of sraktya tree is krtya (witchcraft) to counteract other witchcraft.

2.

It is a missile and a weapon.

The amulet of Satavara tree is a golden bull. 1.

It generates hundred heroes.

2.

With its two horns it thrusts away the demons, with its roots the female witchcraft makers and with its middle Y aksma which is small, great and noisy. All these are destroyed by this amulet.

3.

It expels all demons by means of its splendour.

4.

It removes the disease called durnama, a skin disease and hundreds of the Gandharvas and Apsarasas.

5.

Satavara has been explained by Sayana as a herb, which cures hundred diseases. It is tied on the arm of a person.

Parihasta is said to be the amulet, which encircles the hand.

Prajapati tied astrta amulet for performing heroic deeds. 1.

1.

It is invoked to protect the wearer of the amulet ceaselessly so that neither the Panis nor the sorcerers can ever harm the wearer. In this amulet, there are hundred and one heroic deeds. In its area thousand breaths.

3.

It is said to be a tiger attacking the rivals and enemies.

4.

It is said to be never conquered by anyone.

The amulet of lead (sisa) is blessed by Varuna, favoured by Agni and bestowed on by Indra.

38

Amulets in Ancient India

1.

The amulet smites Viskandha, Atrins (devourers) and the host of the pisachas.

2.

It affords protection against danger to the life

northern pillar of the western torana at Sanchi (Marshall, 1936: PL XXXVII), in half-relief showing these in two garlands, hanging on a peg their antiquity can be taken back to the Sunga period (2nd BCE - 150 BCE). One of them depicts eleven emblems and the other one has thirteen emblems represented in it.

of a cow and horse or man in the family of the person, who wears this amulet. 3.

Sisa is used in a magical rite to remove Y aksma, caused by the flesh-eating fire from cattle and men.

The asta-mangalas also appear portrayed on the Ayagapattas ofKushana date at Mathura (Shastri, 1922: PL V). These objects are of Satavahana date. In literature, the Harshacharita of Banabhatta refers to the asta-mangalamala worn by goddess Prithvi. Treating these symbols independently, we find that the Srivatsa as an auspicious emblem, is seen in many a sculpture and occurs at the beginning of many inscriptions.

An amulet made of triple (gold, silver and copper/iron) metals is used for protection all around. As 3 metals are used in making this amulet, all triple things such as 3 heavens, 3 earth, 3 atmospheres, 3 oceans, 3 bright ones, 3 stomas, 3 waters, 3 summits, 3 Matarisvans, and 3 suns are called upon to protect the wearer of the amulet.

The details and the identifications of the actual specimens as recovered from archaeological excavations will be presented alphabetically in different groups in the following pages.

The triple amulet gives long life and protection all round. The descendants of Daksa bound an amulet of gold on Satanika, securing for him the life hundred years, splendour and strength. The golden amulet is the first born force of the goods. Neither demon nor paisachas can over come to. It contains brilliancy strength of waters and heroic deeds of the plants. Gold, the immortal was born out of fire.

Amulets with Represented:

It is said to have born from fire.

2.

It is immortal, one who wears it lives up to an

The antiquity of bird amulets can be traced back from Indus Valley Culture. The long tradition associates the unidentified simulating birds of various types with this Civilization. The early specimens are generally carved in flying posture having outstretched wings. This feature is conspicuously absent in all the specimens recovered from the historic sites. This must have been due to the change in the material, as in the early historic period hard stones were preferred to the softer materials like terra cotta and faience, which were commonly used in the specimens of earlier periods. Amulets of the historical period are invariably in semi-precious stones. Due to specific sacrificial significance behind these all the bird-shaped specimens in India are hung by perforations through their legs. The practice of wearing bird-shaped beads is fully worn out by Indian literature. The Mahavastu (II, 317) refers to hamsa (goose) shaped.

long life on him. The wearer of this becomes long-lived.

5.

It maintains itself over of morals.

Components

BirdAmulets:

It envelops the wearer in luster and bestow

4.

Their

Two unperforated beetle-shaped terra cotta amulets are reported to have been found at Paharpur (Dikshit: 1938).

old age. 3.

and

BeetleAmulets:

An amulet made of gold was believed to bestow long life. 1.

Animals

Thus, we see that the amulets were made of various materials, wood, herb, shell, gold, pearl etc. They were worn by the patients round the necks or arms. They were made effective by uttering charms on them. They were both offensive and defensive. They drove away and protected the wearer from demons. They brought prosperity and expelled poverty. They gave long life to the wearers and cured them of all diseases. They frustrated the hostile charm of sorcerers. The Atharvavedic poets gave them a respectable ancestry by regarding them as known to the gods and Brahmans of yore. In this way they Aryanised the tribal beliefs. The tribals are said to have continued to follow the Dravidian beliefs in their original forms.

In Mohenjo Daro bird amulets with outstretched wings of faience have been found (Mackay, 1938: PL LXXIV.9-10). Identical specimens occur at Harappa (Vats: 1941).

As stated earlier amulets are worn to ward off bad luck or such influences as the evil eye, mischief, disease, witchcraft, etc. It is a means of defense and protection. During the historical and the medieval periods, a variety of amulets have been found from the excavations. These are made of various materials.

In historical times, the earliest known specimens are from the relic casket of the Piprahawa Stupa (William, 1898: 869-70) (Fig. 1.1). Two fine carnelian birds amulets were found here in the casket along with the corporal relics of the Buddha. At Taxila, eight specimens of birds in different types are dated between 5th c. BCE and 5th c. CE. One of them is a bird perched on a conventional tree with a pedestal (Beck, 1941: PL VII.14) (Fig. 1.2). Another one is a crow-shaped bead, similar to the specimens found at Kausambi and Rajghat (Narain & Singh, 1976: PL VIII.2, 3), an exquisite specimen of art. Here the bands in agate

While discussing amulets one has to mention the garlands of the eight auspicious symbols (Asta-Mangalika-mala). These symbols are Srivatsa, and Swastika, Nandyavarta, Meenayugala, V ardhanmanaka, Drapana, Bhadrasana and Purnaghata. These asta-mangalas are depicted on the 39

Distinctive Beads

Amulets with Animals and their Components Represented

Beetle Amulets

Bird Amulets

Bull Amulets

Cat Amulets

Tiger Claw Amulets

Dog Amulets

Elephant amulets

Fish Amulets

Frog Amulets

Horse Amulets

Lion Amulets

Lizard Amulets

Makara Amulets

Monkey Amulets

Ram Amulets

Scorpio Amulets

Squirrel Amulets

Tortoise Amulets

Amulets With Religions Symbols

Altar Amulets

Cowry Amulets

Andyavarta & Vardhamana

Casket Amulets

Comb Amulets

Nandipada Amulets

Vase Amulets

Ankusha Amulets

Heart-shaped Amulets

Mirror Amulets

Swastika Amulets

Pipal-leaf Amulets

Stupa Amulets

Srivatsa Amulet

Conch-shell Amulets

Vajra Amulets

Tri-ratna Amulets

Arrow Head Amulets

Amulets with Artifactual Represented

Axe & Dagger Amulets Amulets with Human Body and its Components Represented

Eye Beads

I Human-figure Amulets Miscellaneous

Cylindrical Amulets (Taveez)

are used very skill fully to use the natural colors (Beck, 1941: PL VII.15) (Fig. 1.3). The specimen is dated to 1st c. CE. A very early specimen (Beck, 1941: PL VII.16) (Fig. 1.4) of chalcedony identified as the duck is dated 1st c. BCE.

& Singh, 1978: PL VIII.7). A jade bead showing a perching bird from Rajghat is preserved in the Central Asian Antiquities Museum at New Delhi (Dikshit, 1954: PL XV.b.21). Three bird-shaped amulets from Madhuri are preserved in the Allahabad Museum. With the introduction of glass, many small amulets, roughly shaped like birds were made and they form a class by themselves. Few beads of this shape in opaque green glass are known from Kausambi and Rajghat.

A pendant of faience (Beck, 1941: VII.21) with outstretched wings is dated 1st c. CE. There is a very curious specimen of garnet which resembles large beads in the same material, identified (Beck, 1941: PL VII.17) as goose. The goose has a special connotation and connected with life in the next world (Know: PL XVII. I). A goose amulet in crystal found by Cunningham (Cunningham, ASI-AR XIV: PL 11.142), is also known from Pind. In the beads from Sirkap, there is a cock amulet of bone of 1st c. CE (Beck, 1941: PL VII.18). At Manikyala Cunningham (ASI-AR XIV: PL VI.9) obtained a very beautiful specimen of a cock pendant in carnelian. In the excavations at Sravasti, six carnelian bird shaped beads were found in Stupa 18 dated about the Kushana period (ASI-AR 1910-11: 15; PL XII, a-b). a broken specimen of bird amulet come from 1st -3 rd c. level at Rajghat (Narain

Postel (1989) mentions one carnelian specimen from private collection at Kausambi.

BullAmulets: It is a popular motif reported from a number of sites in

India and shows a very wide distribution. All these show humped bull in a sitting posture and have a cord around the neck and the hump. A decorated pedestal is provided for each of them. It is sacred to both the Hindus and the Buddhists. For Buddhists, it stands for 'asterism taurus' on which the Buddha was born. It is well known to the Brahmanic faith as the vehicle of Siva, and it was always

40

Amulets in Ancient India

depicted in therimorphic form. From the Rigvedic time the bull stands for virility and power. The amulets take different shapes, the earlier ones being in semi-precious stones; but later, popularity for comparatively larger specimen is evidenced by numerous specimens encountered at Satavahana sites in the Deccan. On these sites, the bull assumes larger dimensions in a crude material, such as terra cotta. It is likely that these amulets represent Nandi, the well-known vahana of Siva.

period (IA-R 1958-59: PL XB). Postel has illustrated two standing bull amulets. These belong to north India. In the Deccan one generally finds seated bull amulets. Excavations on the Satavahana sites in the Deccan have yielded eight specimens. Ter specimens (Chapekar, 1969: Fig. 30.52-4; Deo Ter: Fig. 50) (Fig. 1.5), are dated to the Satavahana period. All these show humped bull in a sitting posture. The bull is facing right and has a cord around the neck and the hump. A kind of decorated pedestal is provided for each of them. One of them has a lotus pedestal. The perforation runs horizontally through the pedestal. Due to the weight of the body and the basal perforation, the animal would always be placed upside down when the amulet was hung round the neck of the wearer. These are made in double moulds.

These are made of a variety of materials, but popularity and larger shape is evident by the terra cotta specimens encountered in Maharashtra. Nine specimens have been reported from sites in this region. They are Bhokardan, Nevasa, Paithan and Ter. Nandi amulets at Taxila (Beck, 1941: 18, PL VII-9) and Rairh (Puri: PL XVI. 7) are handmade with humps depicted realistically. They are datable between c. 3rd and 2nd BCE. A number of bull amulets in seated posture are known from Kondapur (Dikshit: 1952) and Vaishali (Deva & Mishra: 1961). The similarity in representation places suggests their popular use of the Christian era. A crystal from Kosam is preserved in (Dikshit: 1954).

Nevasa specimen (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 170-8) has larger dimensions but it is quite similar to the Ter specimens. It is dated to the 1st c. CE (Fig. 1.6).

of bull amulets at many during the early centuries bull amulet is recovered the Allahabad Museum

Paithan amulet is dated to the Satavahana period (Dhavalikar, 1966: PL XXV.16). Here a bull made of kaolin and executed from a double mould is shown sitting on a platform. It has two large chains around the neck; of these, one is around the neck and the other passes behind the hump. The bull is of the short horn variety and the dewlap is indicated realistically. Its size and the horizontal perforation near the base suggest that it be used as an amulet. The pedestal is oval with a corded rim.

A carnelian bull amulet from the Bhir mound is dated to 3rd c. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL VII.9). This specimen has a transverse hole across and the figure hangs by its tail and the hind parts of the body. This device is very rarely met with in Indian amulets. Another carnelian specimen was unearthed at Kausambi excavations. Several bull amulets with a transverse hole at the base occur amongst the finds from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 264-273). Here some of them show the humped bull in a sitting posture with its face turned to one side. By far the most common form seems to be the animal-facing front. Exactly identical prototypes of the latter variety occur in a large number at Ter and Paithan. At Nevasa (Sankalia et. al., 1960: Fig. 107.9, 171.3), a fairly large-sized specimen belonging to the Satavahana period was unearthed in the excavations.

The Bhokardan specimen (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.180) (Fig. 1.7), which is dated to 3rd c. CE is different from the above. This is a humpless bull without a pedestal. It is of a very simple execution and is broken. It has a dewlap and a long cabled neck ornament. Two bullhead amulets are reported from Ter and Bhokardan. Ter specimen is dated between 1st c. BCE and 1st c. CE. The head of the bull is similar in execution to the other specimens. Bhokardan terra cotta bullhead (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.179) (Fig. 1.8), amulet is dated to 3rd c. CE. It is a triangular piece with crescentic horns and slit mouth. It is hand made and perforated at the forehead.

A bull specimen at Lothal with its body in profile and head in front-view is shown in a crouchant position with its legs double-folded and head raised high. The horns are clearly visible but the ears are damaged. The mouth of the animal is indicated by a slit. This figure was used, as an amulet is evident from longitudinal perforation from end to end (Rao, 1979: 534). Similar figures are found in silver, lapis lazuli and copper in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Al'Ubaid and Susa.

CatAmulets: This animal finds a rare portrayal in Indian sculptures and is considered as a bad omen in the Indian household. Thee are also absent in amulets from Indian sites. It is believed that the cat has the same symbolism, as the feline terra cotta figurines found at Ahichchhatra (Agrawala, 1947-8: PL XLVIII, 134-5). Bana's Harshacharita (Agrawala 1956: 89) mentions Jata-matri Devata or Charchika, a cat headed deity was worshipped at childbirth & the Bhilsa inscription of Paramara Naravarmadeva (CE 1104 - 43) has devoted a few verses in praise of Charchika, whose temple existed there. The former name occurs in. Kadambari described (Agrawala 1958: 77-78) it under the title Marjaranana.

One carnelian specimen of bull comes from unstratified level at Bhagwanpur (Joshi, 1993: PL XXV & L.2 6). Another specimen from here is of faience, belonging to the 6th to 4th c. BCE level, both these specimen are of standing bulls with a hump. Two bull shaped amulets have been found from excavations at Vaishali, in gold with tabular attachments at the back. These are probably intended as amulets or pectorals, and assigned to the Kushana-Gupta

41

Distinctive Beads DogAmulets:

An early gold sheath of tooth amulet at Taxila (Marshall, 1951-53 II: 504-5; III PL 142.e; 191.o; Beck, 1941: PL IV.17) has been decorated with fine filigree work in crisscross pattern. This is attributed to c. 6th - 5th BCE bracket. While another has a lead core with similar thin sheath of gold at the point. In the front the gold is decorated with a granulated design of small hexagons enclosed in beaded borders. This is attributed to the c. 3rd BCE.

Dog is one of the rare animals figured in Indian amulets. An unstratified specimen in agate, said to have come from Kausambi is preserved in the Allahabad Museum (Fig. 1.9). Postel (1989) has illustrated an interesting barking dog amulet with raised tail from Kausambi.

A green glass specimen of green glass, representing a tooth or claw of animal and elliptical in cross-section has come from Tilaura-kot. Nagda has yielded one from c. 2nd - 1st BCE level, in chalcedony. Sirkap (Marshall, 1951-53 II: 665; III: PL 199.17) has yielded one in bone or ivory in the form of crude buckranium consisting of a pair of animal teeth bound up with strips of copper. Sambhar has also yielded one. One of them at Amreli (Rao: PL XLI.5) is in the shape of a tiger's nail decorated with pallets in re lie£

ElephantAmulets: All the elephant amulets have come from North India. Sirkap has yielded an elephant amulet of glazed steatite (Beck, 1941: PL VII. 11) (Fig. 1.10), It probably belongs to 1st c. CE. He has drawn our attention to the enormous size of the eye, which is cemented with a carnelian pallet and has no doubt apotropaic properties. Another carnelian specimen from the same site is dated 3rd c. CE (Beck, 1941: PL VII.12) (Fig. 1.11). Two specimens of green jasper and banded agate are kept in the Allahabad Museum and the Bharat Kala Bhavan. An elephant in gold leaf has come from Piprahawa Stupa (William: 1898) (Fig. 1.12).

Bhagwanpur has yielded one specimen in carnelian. It comes from surface. In Maharashtra, only one claw specimen has come from Prakashe (Thapar, 1967: Fig. 38.36). This carnelian specimen is dated between 2nd c. BCE and 6th c. BCE .

It is an indispensable motif in Indian sculpture. Here one finds various forms of elephants depicted. As in sculpture in amulets also it symbolizes majesty, and personifies sovereignty.

Rajghat has yielded a cream-colored glass tooth pendant from the surface (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.8). This has some resemblance to the curved pendant of glass from Ahichchhatra. These are attributed between c. 2nd - 3rd CE where as specimens in Maharashtra belong to 2nd BCE to 1st CE level. Marshall aptly infers that these are credited with specific apotropaic and other powers (Marshall, 195153: II 665).

ClawandToothAmulets: Claw amulets were popularly used as protection from wild animals or to avert the evil eye. They are known from Amreli, Nagda, Sambhar, Tilaura-kot and Taxila made in Bone, Chalcedony, Faience, glass, Ivory, Marble, Shell and Terra cotta.

Six specimens made of faience, chalcedony, shell and terra cotta have come to light from the excavations at Bhokardan, Prakashe and Nevasa.

The claws have a hoary antiquity in India and due to their talismanic value enjoys a very wide popularity through out India even to this day. They are suppose to avert the evil eye. They are also considered as an aid in dentition for children when worn round their neck. Probably tooth amulets were also for witchcraft purposes. The literary tradition for the wearing of the tiger claws can be traced back to the period of Harshavardhana and is mentioned in many works of later periods. The Harsha Charita (Agrawala 1956: 92) mentions that the children's necks were decorated with rows of claws. Bana also refers to this practice in Kadambari (Kadambari: 420). A 10th c. work Vikramankadeva Charita of Bilhana also refers (Agrawala 1956: 92-3 Fig. 43; Canto, 3.13) to buds of tiger claws worn around the neck.

Four specimens recovered from Bhokardan are made of chalcedony, faience, shell and terra cotta. These are from the strata dated between 1st c. BCE and 3rd c. CE. Bhokardan terra cotta specimen is tapering downwards, the upper end is flat and bears a perforation (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.174). The second specimen is made ofblue faience. This is also tapering. It has a truncated flat top with two incised grooves (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 22.74) (Fig. 1.13). The third specimen of chalcedony is thin, well executed tapering and perforated at the broader end (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 22.5) (Fig. 1.14). The fourth specimen in shell is a very simple one (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 24.147).

Lilacharita dated to the 13th c. CE also mentions tiger claws as an ornament (Nene 1936: 178). Through the literary tradition is at present limited to ih c. CE onwards, the ornament seems to have gained popularity during the Gupta period. In the sculptures and bronzes of Gupta period it is prominently carved (Coomaraswamy, 1980: PL XLVI.17 5). This ornament is a peculiar feature on images of Kartikeya, Krishna, Balarama, amongst Brahmanical images and those of Manjushri and others in the Buddhist pantheon. Pliny mentions the various uses to which different teeth are used. The human tooth as an amulet is rarely used except for sorcery in India.

The last specimen from Nevasa is of shell. It is slightly curved and tapering. On the surface there are three incised dots possibly for inlay. It has a breath wise 'L' perforation. Its top is flat and truncated (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 373) (Fig. 1.15). Three claw shaped amulets unstratified are mentioned by Postel (1989) from Kausambi. FishAmulets& MinaYugala: Like tortoise, frog, and the crocodile, another aquatic being well represented is fish. Only a few fish amulets have 42

Amulets in Ancient India been found and most of them are reported from North India (Dikshit: 1954), excepting a few at Taxila, Tripuri and Ujjain.

Bhavan (Fig. 1.17). One tiny carnelian specimen has come from Madhuri (Fig. 1.21). Another one is known in jade from Rajghat (Fig. 1.18). A specimen of jade is known from Rajasthan. In the excavations at Ujjain, a very simple fish-shaped, flat amulet was found. Similar unstratified specimen comes from Kausambi in carnelian (Postel: 1989).

Indian literature is replete with references to the fish described as the emblem on the banner of the God of Love. Its shape is compared with the eyes of a woman. In historic times, the fish has been the symbol of several dynasties like Pandyas, Saindhavas, etc. Fish is chiefly considered as a symbol of fertility. In about the 5th c. CE. Kalidasa mentions the fish emblem as a part of the girdle worn by court ladies (Kumarasambhava, 9.26).

A stylized representation of the fish occurs on certain amulets of a very fine variety of glazed quartz (Marshall, 1952: II 738). The most common shape is a sort of an irregular barrel, roughly collared at one end and adorned with crude cross-hatching. Marshall remarks that such amulets were extremely rare and confined to the Bhir mound only, no specimen having been known from the later site of Sirkap at Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL V.1-2). A large number of amuletic beads are reported from Ahichchhatra (Dikshit, 1952: PL XII.72) probably belonging to 1st-2nd c. CE. At Bhita (unstratified), Raj ghat, Tripuri (Dikshit, 1952) and Kausambi these date to 1st c. CE. Nasik specimen is attributed to the 2nd c. CE. Another specimen is known from Kondapur dated to 1st c. CE (Dikshit, 1952: PL 11.61).

In the Brihat-Kalpa-Sutra Bhashya (Jain, 1947: 236), the fish is considered to be an auspicious symbol. The Vasudevahimdi 4th -5th century work has mentioned an amulet called 'Machchhapada' (Jamkhedkar: 1984). It was held sacred as the Avatar of Vishnu. It is an auspicious symbol and depicted in pair (Minayuggla). In historic times, the fish was the symbol (lanchhana) of several mediaeval dynasties. A pair of fish is one of the ashtamangalas - eight auspicious signs - of the Jaina ideology (Jain, 1947: 236) and is of well known amuletic value. The fishes are depicted in both the garlands represented at Sanchi, and curiously actual copper specimens of this shape are known.

Copper pendants of this shape are known from two sites. The earlier one comes from Taxila (Marshall, 1952: II Pl. 179.e) dated in the Saka-Parthian period. It would be of interest to note that the fish in another form was employed for repossess work in gold and pressed out from thin gold sheets. These amulets assume the shape of a comma-shaped bead with a fish amulet. The copper cores on which these are made have been found in the excavations at Taxila (Marshall, 1952: II, 583; PL 179-80 Figs. 95, 97, 151-162).

Pliny in natural History refers to a kind of fish that prevented premature birth and attracted gold (XXXII.6; IX.80). The specimens represented at the Indus Valley sites can not be considered with certainty as amulets (Marshall, 1931: PL CXXXII.19-20, 32, 40; Mackay, 1938: PL CXLL.48; Vats, 1941: PL LXXVIII.20). Several other specimens in ivory and bone do not have any holes on them and so these may not necessarily be amulets. The common motif is a pair of fishes with a common tail having transverse perforations through the heads and one hole in the tail. Most of the times two fishes are attached together with their heads. In Taxila, we find fish designs employed in many ways in gold jewelry.

Fish depicted as amulet at Taxila (Marshall, 1952: II, 558; III PL 179.f) is made in copper and consists of a pair of them hanging side by side on a tiny string. Tripuri (Dikshit, 1952: 105, PL XXXIX.7) has yielded one in copper, designed in the shape of double-fish, datable to c. 4th-3rd BCE. One unstratified specimen from Prakashe can be seen in a private collection there. One specimen comes from the Mauryan period Stupa at Sopara. It is a fish pair (Mina-Yugala) made of beryl (Fig. 1.16), (Bhagawanlal, 1883: PL XV.3). Although it is called as Mina-Yugala the shape of this specimen is very dubious. Similar specimen occurs at Kausambi (Postel: 1989).

Inspite of its wide popularity the number of amulets so far recovered whether from stratified excavations or in surface collections does not exceed a dozen. Amongst the stratified specimens the earliest known example is associated with Mauryan layers excavations at Mathura and Rajghat (IA-R, 1975-76: 53-55; Narain & Singh, 1976-8: PL VII.17). one specimen was recovered in the remains of the Jaina Stupa at Mathura. This smoky gray color specimen is made in a mould and has a perforation from head to tail. Next is a fish-shaped amulet in carnelian, doubtfully identified as a "dog's head" bead attributed to about 1st c. CE from Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL VII.13). Unstratified specimens, however, are many (Dikshit, 1951: PL XV A.6-8, 10-12) and show a very wide variety both in shape and material. A few fish-shaped amulets has come from Kosam (Dikshit: 1952). One specimen of banded agate and another one of glazed quartz are preserved in the Allahabad Museum (Fig. 1.19-20). Two quartz amulets from Kosam are in the Bharat Kala

Fish is also found in girdles of gold from Taxila (Marshall, 1952: II 630) attributable to c. 1st CE. They consist of three rows of fishes joined by clasps. Another specimen from Taxila dated in the Saka-Parthian period shows two fishes in union, suspended by a ring loop (Marshall 1952: II 581; PL 172.h). These were quite common in Egypt in the VI-VIII Dynasties. In Mesopotamia, Queen Shubad's grave at Ur yielded two amulets of this shape, one in gold and another in lapis lazuli.

43

Distinctive Beads FlyAmulets:

Chattisgarh and Arikamedu (Fig. 1.24-5). A large number of diverse materials were employed for their manufacture.

A fly shaped amulet from Harappa (Mackey 1938: 642) is reported. In Egypt the fly is supposed to be symbolic of swiftness or activity and the fly shaped amulets occur from the pre-Dynastic times to XVII th Dynasty. These are also known from Mesopotamia and Iran.

In the excavation at Sambhar two frog-shaped amulets of glazed faience and one of white glass were found. The frog amulets have different shapes and show varying degrees of skill in their manufacture, depending on the materials. Some are very crude but others show all the details very faithfully portrayed. The frogs found in the Gangetic Valley are shapelier and assume a prominent head, and are well pronounced, while the specimens in the Deccan and at Arikamedu are more or less stylized.

FrogAmulets: Amongst Indian amulets, another submarine animal, which finds place in several forms, is the Frog. In Indian society just like fish it was also considered as a symbol of fertility. However in the countries outside India, the frog is associated with various different meanings. In the earliest hymns of the Atharvaveda, the frog charm is said to be efficacious against fever. The frog was also hung upside down like the birds, i.e. by its legs in the early historic period. All the specimens due to their weight, will also hung this way when they are threaded. Pliny (XXXII.38) also refers to the use of a chilly frog against the chill of fever. The commentators, Kausika and Darila explain that the frog having stripes like reeds on the body is to be tied by means of a blue and red thread passing through the armpits to a yellow couch upon which a having fever patient should be made to recline.

Frog amulets are found at Bahal and Bhokardan. Out side India these are found in Mesopotamia and Babylonia in 23rd -10 th c. B.C.

HareAmulets: The hare amulet is known from two specimens only. A small amulet representing this animal from Kosam. Another of pale red carnelian is come from Madhuri. Hare is one of the animals frequently represented on Indian punch-marked coins, and is probably a symbol of fertility too.

Kshemendra in his Kala Vilasa (IX.12) points to a popular belief that a man applying frog's fat became the beloved of heavenly maidens. All over the world frog is assume to be the harbinger of coming rain (Edinburgh, 1955: 516-7).

In Egypt it is found in the VI-X th Dynasties.

HorseAmulets: Only one specimen of crystal was collected at Kosam and is now in the Allahabad Museum. Another specimen was found at Indorkhera in the Bareli District (Dikshit: 1952). It is surprising that the horse is scarcely represented amongst Indian amulets. So commonly represented in Indian sculpture and already a familiar animal from the earliest times in India.

In Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, the frog does not seem to have been used as an amulet. They were always represented as toys or animal model. The earliest specimens are from Taxila Here in the excavations (Marshall, 1952: II, 748), as many as nine frog amulets have been found. Beck illustrated (Beck, 1941: PL VII.2733) seven specimens, three of them from the Dharmarajika Stupa (Beck, 1941: PL VII.29-31) (Fig. 1.22) are dated 1st c. BCE, and are made of glazed quartz, garnet and amethyst. One agate bead from Sirkap (Beck 1941: PL VII.27) is dated to 1st c. CE. Another from Sirkap is unstratified (Beck, 1941: PL VII.28). The excavations by Ghosh has yielded one fine carnelian frog shaped amulet (Agrawala, 1947-8: PL X.22), probably dated later than the 1st c. CE. The extent of distribution seems to be limited to the early centuries of the Christian era at Taxila. A copper specimen comes from Atranjikhera (IA-R 1968-9: 37-8, PL XLII.A). This specimen prepared from the mould is dated to c. 250 - 200 BCE. Col. Gordon's collection contains one such bead from Sahri Bahlol. Cunningham obtained one crystal specimen from Baoti Pind. While another in beryl was found from the excavations at Manikyala. The excavations at Sambhar have yielded two frog shaped beads in glazed faience (Sahani - PL XV.i). Yet another specimen from the same place is of glass with traces of gilding. All these are roughly dated about the early centuries of the Christian era. A lot of specimens are from Kosam (Fig. 1.23).

Lion occupies a very prominent place as an amuletic symbol. Not only does it symbolize power, but is sacred to the Buddhists as it represents the Buddha, who is reckoned as the 'lion of the Sakya race' (sakyasimha). All the amulets represent the full figure of the animal (Dikshit, 1954: 94). In the Kuna/a Jataka (No. 536) a queen is described as wearing earrings of the shape of lions head. This meager literary evidence is compensated by a large number of actual specimens found at a number of sites in India. In Maharashtra stratified specimens are found at Nasik and Ter. All the amulets represent the full figure of the animal (Dikshit, 1954: 94).

Though the stratified specimens are comparatively few, the number of surface find is very large. They are found in the region round Taxila, Kausambi, Tripuri, Maski, Belapur in

Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL VII.3, 4, 5, 6, 7) has yielded the best of them in addition to other sites such as Besanagar

Lion Amulets:

Lion amulets differ from region to region in respect of their typology. Some specimens show the full figure of the lion with rounded back. Some specimens have their terminals ending in a series of scales all over the body; but the simplification of this is seen in the crystal specimen from Nasik. The garnet specimen from the latter place shows the figure in a couchant attitude, which is also the pose of the lion amulet from Sambhar.

44

Amulets in Ancient India and Sambhar. These are dated between 1st c. BCE and 1st c. CE, when this shape seems to have been much in fashion.

well known as Makarakundalas (Khare 1939: 133), which are prescribed for many images in Indian iconography. In Anga-Vijja 'Makarika' is mentioned amongst ornaments used by men and women (Punyavijaya: 1957) and is seen on a Gupta figure. Bana too frequently refers to the 'Makarika' in his Harshacharita. Makara is the vehicle of Varuna, symbol on the banner of Madan, the god of Kama, and vehicle of various Y akshas and Y akshis and of the river goddess Ganga. When used as a forehead ornament it is designated as Simanta-Makarika.

At Taxila they are made in glazed quartz, carnelian, Lapis Lazuli and garnet. The museum at Allahabad has preserved a few specimens, which are all unpublished. Many of them are stated to have come from Kausambi. One of them at Sambhar, (Sahani - : PL XV.j) (Fig. 1.27) is in green glazed faience representing a couchant lion. Ter has yielded one such in shell. It is assignable to the late Satavahana period, c. 1st -2nd CE (IA-R 1967-68: 35).

Only a few specimens of Makara amulets have come down to us. In Maharashtra, two specimens are reported, one each from Bhokardan and Nevasa (Fig. 1.29). These are assigned to the 3rd c.CE

In the Deccan a very fine polished crystal amulet, shaped like lion and ending in a curved tusk-like tail, was obtained in the excavations at Nasik (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 88 PL XXI.2) and was associated with layers attributed to circa CE 50-2nd • This specimen depicts a couchant lion, with (Fig. 1.28) perforation near the chest. Delicately made, it is dated between 2nd BCE and 4th CE. Its tail is curved and broken. The other end shows the foreleg, the mouth, the eyes and the mane. This site has also yielded one specimen in garnet. In addition to this, a private collection at Nasik contains two lion amulets of garnet, very elegantly made and bearing a very high polish. The workmanship of the Taxi la specimens appears to be rather inferior in quality, but the North Indian amulets aim at a faithful reproduction of the natural forms and show a superior technique in their manufacture. The Nasik specimen also is very elaborately worked, and is striking in effect.

Both the specimens, made of terra cotta, are fashioned in a mould. Makara-Mukha is at either terminal with open mouth. Perforation is along the shorter axis and through one Mukha only. Makara has also been reported from Kondapur. Here (Dikshit, 1952: PL. V. 251) it consists of two pieces, one face has Makara and other is in the form of a pillar like spouts made in double mould. It is attributed to the Satavahana period. One of agate, somewhat less defined, was found in the excavation at Rajghat (Dikshit, 1954). The sea-monster form is seen on a fine-banded agate amulet, preserved in the Allahabad museum (Dikshit, 1952: Pg. 96). An unstratified stone specimen is known from Kausambi (Postel: 1989). Among the major groups of animals represented in Indian art, the Makaras are depicted on pottery, sculptures, amulets and terra cotta plaques. The important ancient sites yielding such depictions are Hastinapura (early 2nd c. BCE), Kausambi, Kumrahar, Vaishali (c. 1st to 3rd CE) and Rajghat (0 to 3rd CE) in the Ganga valley. Nagarjunikonda, Rajghat and Hastinapura depiction is on a spout, which bears at the luting point a decorative mould design of a makaramukha. The earliest Rajghat specimen is dated from 2nd c. BCE to the beginning of the Christian era. But from 3rd CE onwards the figures become rough and conventionalized (Fig. 1.30).

An unstratified ceramic specimen is known from Kausambi (Postel: 1989). The Indian specimens are generally dated between the 3rd c. BCE and 2nd c. CE. Specimens from Maharashtra belong to the 1st to 3rd c. CE.

Lion amulets differ from region to region in respect of their typology. The specimens at Taxila show the full figure of the lion with rounded back. Some specimens have their terminals ending in a series of scales all over the body; but the simplification of this is seen in the crystal specimen from Nasik. The workmanship of the Taxila specimens appears to be rather inferior in quality, but the north Indian amulet aim at a faithful reproduction of the natural form and show a superior technique in their manufacture.

It is portrayed several times in the sculptures of the

Chalukyan period in Karnataka and the Deccan. Many images are specified as having these kundalas. As a decorative motif, it is displayed in architecture. It is also used as a decorative motif for painting the body. It appears in the plant style as the source of lotus vegetation from which evolves the Makara torana.

LizardAmulets: The lizard amulets are extremely exiguous. These amulets have invariably a V-shaped perforation at the back. A stratified specimen from Ujjain (Banerjee, 1959: PL V.29) belongs to 5th -2 nd c. BCE All these specimens show delicate carving and superior workmanship. Interestingly all the specimens so far recovered are made in carnelian only.

These amulets were used, as a pair of adores makaras emitting pearls, which formed a necklace. A similar type of ornament is also found generally depicted on the crown in vogue in the Gupta period. It has a central perforation through which possibly the central gem was kept in position.

MakaraAmulets:

The depiction of crocodiles also continued in other forms. In one of the interesting sculptures of Bharhut stone railing, on the obverse we find a makara figure along with an inscription.

Among the major groups of animals represented in Indian art, the makaras are found rarely as amulets. The shape assumed is that of an alligator whose tail in a coiled form is fitted in the lobes. As a motif in jewelry, the animal is

45

Distinctive Beads

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14

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21

27

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46

31

Amulets in Ancient India

In Gandhara period the figures of Maitreya and Avalokiteshwara have a large number of amulets in a string. The necklace of the Lahore Maitreya shows a central jewel with two Makarikas by their side bending in 'hockey stick' loops, which in turn encase a multi threaded cluster of pearl necklaces. This form of Makarika ornament is quite common. In general the Makarika ornament is profusely used (Sharma: 1994).

very carefully. In Egypt scorpion amulets occur in V-VIIth Dynastic periods. These amulets are said to have been connected with the asterism Scorpio and its evil influences (Deo: In Press). Virabhadra images are attributed as wearing a necklace of Scorpio (Rao, G.T.: II PL B.96). A figure of Siva is shown wearing a scorpion garland around his neck in a terra cotta panel from Ahichchhatra (Marshall, 1952: II 722).

MonkeyAmulets:

However, the exact significance of the Scorpio amulets is not known.

The monkey is one of the rare animals represented in Indian amulets. Monkey-shaped amulets are known from Mohenjo Daro kept in the National Museum. The Dharmarajika Stupa at Taxila has yielded a specimen, dated to about 1st c. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL VII.2) (Fig. 1.31). This is the only specimen from a historical site. Another amulet of this type in garnet was recovered from the Manikyala Stupa.

SnailAmulets: Two small specimens from Kosam are preserved in the Allahabad Museum. SquirrelAmulets: The squirrel amulets are known from the Indus Valley Sites only. Interesting specimens in blue faience with purple stripes on the body are found in large numbers both at Mohenjo Daro (Marshall, 1931: PL XCVI.7; Mackay 1938: Pl. LXXVII.20) and Harappa (Vats, 1940: 304; Pl. LXXVIII.28-30). The perforation appears between the mouth and the forepaws.

In Egyptian amulets the monkey figures in the VI-Vll th Dynasties. RamAmulets: A fairly good number of ram amulet specimens occur at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. Due to the tiny size of these it is very difficult to separate them between the sheep and the ram. All the faience specimens from Harappa are laterally perforated (Vats 1940: 305; PL LXXVIII.42-45). A beautiful figure in bronze and other two made of vitreous paste and yellow faience with a blue glaze comes from Mohenjo Daro (Mackay, 1938: 285; PL LXXIX.5; 303; PL LXXVIII.13; 285, 316; PL CXI.10). These amulets continued to be in vogue till about the beginning of the Christian era. Sirkap produced a carnelian specimen dated to circa 1st c. CE (Beck, 1941: PL VII. I 0) (Fig. 1.32). Manikyala also produced a small crystal specimen described as 'Sheep' (Cunningham, ASI-AR XIV: PL IV.9). Marshall (1952: II 749) thinks that the Ram's head was indicative of hospitality as considered by the Romans and probably also by the Greeks.

In the Indian context the Squirrel amulets do not have any particular significance. TortoiseAmulets: Tortoise shaped amulets is very common all over India. It has a timeworn antiquity. Tortoise-shaped amulets are very common all over India. It has a time worn antiquity. The specimens in the Deccan are exclusively of shell and exhibit inferior workmanship. Dikshit, (1968: 97) states that during the early centuries of the Christian era it was in vogue. Among the Jainas it serves as the lanchhana of Santinatha, Ara and Muni Suvrata, the 16th , 18th and 20th Tirthankaras respectively (Ferguson & Burgess: 1880). Among the subsidiary Yakshas tortoise is the vehicle of Yaksha Ajita, of the 9th Tirthankara Suvidhi; of Y aksha Kinnara of the 15th Tirthankara Dharma and of Parsva Y aksha Dharanendra. From the earliest time Kasyapa is identified with the sun, and the amulets and charms handled by them are said to be powerful (Max Muller 1897: 403). In the Mahabharata it is associated with wisdom and longevity. The Brihatsamhita of Varaha states that the king should keep a tortoise as an auspicious sign (MHB, Vanaparva, Ch.149; Brihatsamhita, LXIV.3).

CockAmulets: Amulets taking the shape of a cock are very rare. So far only three specimens are known. Carnelian specimen from Taxila is dated to circa 3rd c. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL VII.18) (Fig. 1.33). Kosam has yielded two unstratified specimens made of carnelian and banded agate, these are kept in the Allahabad Museum. Unfortunately these specimens are not dated accurately. One beautifully carved unstratified cock specimen comes from Kausambi (Postel, 1989). It has been fashioned in such a way that the head of the cock was carved where a red spot occurred in the stone. All these amulets are perforated near the bottom edge of the bird. Three bird specimens made of grey stone and a pair of birds is know from Kausambi (Postel: 1989).

In the historic times it is reported from many sites like, Amreli, Maski, Sambhar, Taxila, Ujjain. Some unstratified specimens have been recovered from Aundh, Balapur, Manikyala, and Sahri-BahloL In the Gangetic valley a few sites are Ahichchhatra, Kosam, Madhuri, Patna and Rajghat. A great variety of material is used such as copper, garnet, agate, carnelian, chalcedony, crystal, mother-of-pearl, malachite, faience, shell and terra-cotta. In central and western India most of them are prepared of faience and shell. The great diversity of material talks a ton about its popularity. The earliest specimen is reported from Maharashtra. It belongs to Chalcolithic period and is assigned to c. 17th BCE, at Prakashe (Thapar, 1967: Fig.

Scorpion Amulets: The scorpion is represented by a few specimens. A doubtful scorpion amulet is obtained from Taxila (Marshall, 1952: 748). Kosam has yielded two specimens and one of these clearly delineates the parts of the body 47

Distinctive Beads

37.31). Tortoise amulet in terra cotta is reported from Ujjain (Thapar, 1967: 110; Banerjee, 1954: PL V-7; Dikshit, 1968: 97).

Like Ter, Sambhar (Sahani: 39, Pl. XV.K) has also yielded one in green glazed faience. Many shell amulets have been found in the private collection from Ter.

Six tortoise amulets have been reported at Taxila (Marshall, 1952: II 748). Five are illustrated by Beck (Beck, 1941: Pl. VII.22-26). These are made of various materials like garnet, faience, glazed quartz and mother-ofpearl. One each of garnet and mother-of-pearl comes from Dharmarajika Stupa (Beck, 1941: Pl. VII.25, 26) datable to the 1st c. BCE Rest of the specimens is from Sirkap, made of glazed quartz, green faience and malachite (Beck, 1941: Pl. VII.22, 23, 24; Dikshit, 1968: 97). These are dated to 1st c.CE. Identical specimen in copper has been recently found in a megalithic burial at Raipur, near Nagpur (Deglurkar & Lad: 1992). These from Taxila are dated to 1st c. BCE and continues well into 1st c. CE.

The tortoise shaped amulets were no doubt symbolic of longevity. All the specimens so far recovered are generally confined within the early centuries before and after the Christian era. In the Deccan they seem to indicate a late survival down to the Satavahana period. A glazed faience amulet from Sambhar belongs to the same period. In the Deccan, specimens are known from Prakashe and at Ter belonging to the Satavahana period. Several specimens in shell at Nevasa also belong to the same strata. While this is the case with the stratified examples of tortoise shaped amulets, the number existing in different Museum and private collections is large, which attests to its popularity (Beck, 1941: Pl. VII.22-26, Sahani Pl. XV; Dikshit, 1968: 96).

Kosam has given a terra cotta specimen which is attributed to the 1st c. CE. Dikshit, (Dikshit, 1954) states six tortoise amulets from Kosam, made of chalcedony, agate, rock crystal, banded agate and carnelian. Postel (1989) has illustrated five specimens from private collection at Kausambi.

From the above description it is clear that this type of amulet has been found to be more popular and widely used during the period 2nd BCE - 2nd CE. However, in Maharashtra from Chalcolithic period it prevails till Satavahana period. In the early historic period it appears on Punch Marked coins (Allan: 1936). In Indian, iconography tortoise is the vehicle of the river goddess Yamuna. Pottery models (but not amulets) were in vogue at the Indus sites (Marshall, 1931: 73; Mackay 1938: 295,312; Vats 1940: 303). Quite significantly tortoise as an iconographic concept does not seem to have been reported after the 2nd c. CE. It completely goes out of fashion after 3rd c. CE. A male figure in a sitting posture from Paithan has a tortoise pendant or rather a spacer in his necklace (Dhavalikar 1975-76: Pl. XXIV.10). A female figure (Dhavalikar 1975-76: Pl. XXIV.6) again from Paithan consists of a tortoise amulet in the shortest necklace.

Two carnelian tortoise amulets are recovered from Kumrahar. Excavation at Rajghat has yielded two tortoise amulets in terra cotta (Narain & Singh, 1978: Pl. VII.14). Tortoise amulets of navy blue glass and shell at Rajghat belongs to 1st -3 rd c. CE bracket (Narain & Singh, 1978: Pl. VIII.9, 11). Another specimen from here of faience belongs to early medieval period (Narain & Singh, 1978: Pl. VIII. IO). Madhuri contributed a carnelian amulet. One specimen is reported from Ahichchhatra in garnet (Dikshit, 1952: 48). Five specimens have been reported from excavated sites in Maharashtra. These specimens are from Prakashe, Ter, Bhokardan and Kaundinyapura. The materials used are shell and faience. Two specimens in faience from Ter (Chapekar, 1969: Fig. 30.7) (Fig. 2.3) and Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Pl. XLVIII.G) (Fig. 2.4), are attributed to the Satavahana period. The Kaundinyapura specimen is a very fine piece and speaks of its quality. It has a perforation across the body in between the pair of legs.

Though tortoise is a favourite animal in sculptural depictions of the early school of Indian art, it assumes importance only from the Gupta period (Agrawala, 1947: 8). It starts occupying the front doorway of the temple as the vehicle of Yamuna from this time (Agrawala 1947: Pl. XVII. V) and continues to gain added significance in the later historic period. It is one of the incarnations of Vishnu.

Shell specimens belonging to the Satavahana period are flat and very simple, exhibiting inferior workmanship. They are prepared from a thick concave shell piece and show triangular head and short legs, as for example, the Bhokardan specimens (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 24.144, 145) (Fig. 2.5). In course of time, it appears to get conventionalized; hence in later period we get flat specimens without much workmanship.

Pottery models were in vogue at the Indus sites (Vats 1952: 303). Recently a stone model has been recovered from the excavation at Balathal, Rajasthan, in Chalcolithic period (Mishra et.al. 1992). In Indian temples the representation of the tortoise in the mandapa of Saiva and Vaisnava temples is a common sight. These amulets were no doubt used as symbols of longevity and other sacred associations. It is however interesting to observe that in some medieval (11th c. CE) images of Karttikeya from Orissa, the tortoise pendant is displayed prominently (Kramrisch 1933: Pl. 9,10). The photograph of an image of Karttikeya from the Kedarnath

Several specimens have been reported from N evasa attributable between c. 150 BCE and 2nd CE (Dikshit, 1968: 97). The Prakashe specimen is made from the core of the shell, as it is very thick. The head of the specimen is very long and pointed as compared to other specimens (Fig. 2.6). As stated above, it is attributed to 17th BCE

48

Amulets in Ancient India and ivory. A similar one at Hathial, dated C. 1st-3rdCE has two small holes near the blade and incised parallel lines on hilt and blade (IA-R 1958-59: PL LX.4).

Temple at Bhuaneshwara in the Nagpur Museum shows a tortoise in the necklace. In medieval times we get representations in metal as at Ujjain (IA-R 1959-60: PL CVII) (Fig. 2.2). From the point of view of their typology it appears that these amulets were generally flat and their snouts less pronounced. They are hung by their neck. In the Gangetic Valley, this snout is very prominent specimens were occasionally provided with pedestals (Fig. 2.3).

Amulets of this shape in carnelian are known from Sravasti (IA-R 1958-59: PL LX.4). It is associated with 5th c. BCE level. The same shape is represented in axe shaped carnelian amulet 3rd c. BCE at Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL IV.19). The shell specimens at Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL VIII.26) are dated to 1st c. BCE. But the shape, somehow or the other, does not seem to have gained popularity.

Axe& DaggerAmulets:

At Sravasti (IA-R 1958-59: PL LX.12-3), the dagger shaped pendants take the same triangular cross section, and a pair of carnelian specimens are dated about mid-3 rd c. BCE - 150 BCE Exactly identical dagger-pendants occur at Vaishali (Deva & Mishra 1961: PL XXIX.B.15) in 3rd 150 BCE levels. The dagger assumes different shapes with a curved blade or long, tapering point during the Satavahana period in the Deccan. Many specimens are known from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 68,1 st,132) and the typical ones are in lapis lazuli, chalcedony and faience. At Nevasa (Sankalia et. al. 1960: Fig. 167.17), a faience dagger attributed to 150-50 BCE takes an indeterminate shape like a tapering point. The shell specimens (Sankalia et. Al. 1960: Fig. 169.3) from the same place is intended as spacers and assumes a characteristic shape, which is repeated also at Nasik. The second specimen is made of copper (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 167.1) (Fig. 2.8). It is heavily rusted, the tip is broken and it has a flat broad hilt. Dagger amulets have wide distribution in Maharashtra. Four specimens have been reported from excavated sites. Two of these have come from Nevasa. Both are assignable to 2nd c. BCE. One specimen is made of blue glazed faience (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 195.14c) (Fig. 2.7). It is a small dagger-like amulet with an indeterminate shape with a tapering point. Its one end is pointed and the other bulbous and perforated. At Nasik, a dagger-shaped amulet of glass, having a lion head at the top, was found associated with the Satavahana stratum. The shell specimen from N evasa is intended as spacer and assumes a characteristic shape, which is repeated also at N asik. Dagger amulets seem to have been more popular during c. 3rd BCE - 3rd CE at sites like Arikamedu, Maski, Ahichchhatra, Kondapur, Maheshwar, Taxila, Tripuri, Kausambi and Vaishali. A dagger pendant of carnelian at Rajghat belongs to the ih -12 th c. CE (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.6). A very late dagger in carnelian from Maheshwar (Sankalia & Subbarao & Deo, 1958: Fig. 102.18) is dated in the Muslim-Maratha period.

Perhaps due to the particular shape many amulets take the shape of an axe or a dagger. These are by far the largest among the specimens recovered so far. This is the shape of a weapon-like motif found both in plain and decorated forms. The dagger in another variety takes the shape of a curved blade. The curved blade is generally lenticular in section and the perforation appears at the top, but is occasionally provided with a suspension ring at the top. The most characteristic Indian shape for the axe, however, was the Parasu and it is surprising that only a few specimens of this description are found. The latter are by far the largest among the specimens recovered so far. From the Vedic times, the axe amulet was used to restore an unjustly slandered man to honour. The Anga-Vijja mentions garlands with daggers as asi-mallika in the AngaVijja (Punyavijaya, 1957: 163-64). In the early amulets it assumes a triangular form, broad at the base and tapering at the apex. Many early historic sites have yielded them in agate, bone, carnelian, chalcedony, copper, faience, glass, ivory, lapislazuli, shell and terra-cotta. We know a Parasu with a broad blade and a crescent edge through some unstratified specimens in carnelian from Kausambi. Unfortunately, the specimens though found in large numbers are inaccurately dated. A large collection of beads from Kosam, Ahichchhatra, Madhuri and other sites can be had in the Allahabad Museum and the Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi. An axe pendant of lapis lazuli comes from surface finds at Rajghat (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL Vlll.15). Dagger pendants in agate, carnelian and faience have been reported from Taxila in horizons belonging to the 4th and 3rd c. BCE. A long leaf pattern, triangular in section, coming from Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL 111.11), is made of agate and is dated 4th c. BCE. A similar one in carnelian has come from Maheshwar. This early historic specimen has a triangular cross-section (Deo, 1955: Fig. III.4). A similar one in carnelian (Beck, 1941: PL IV.7) is dated 3rd c. BCE. A broad and a beaded-top characterize it.

One ivory dagger amulet from Ujjain (ARADGS 1938-39: PL XXV.C) is decorated with pellets over the blade and has two perforations at the joint of the blade and thehilt. One of them, at Jokha (Mehta & Chowdhary 1971: 51, Fig. 22.5; PL VII.A), is made of a splinter of a long bone. It is attributed to c. 5th -3 rd BCE. It is a small dagger with horizontal lines and dots in rows of three and two. On terra cotta figurines from Ahichchhatra three symbols are worn in the long-necklace namely a dagger on the left, Srivatsa in the centre and on the right a Vajra with a pointed angle (Agrawala, 1947: Fig. 1.1). This type of

One in ivory is decorated on the blade-side with parallel lines and a circle, and another one, in bone, has decoration made on the entire body with a perforation made on the handle. At Sirkap, bone dagger amulets were found decorated with incised lines on handle and blades, datable to c. 1stCE. Taxila has thus yielded both plain and decorated specimens made in agate, carnelian, bone, glass 49

Distinctive Beads

necklace is found on all the female figures of the Mithuna sub-types, and it is a regular feature on the archaic terra cottas of the modeled-cum-moulded variety from Mathura, belonging to the Sunga period.

connections with some eye goddess. These are dealt in details in the chapter on eye-beads.

HumanAmulets: Human amulets are quite common in sculptural representation. But use of the human figure as a decorative motif in amulets and pendants is comparatively infrequent in India. A ram headed human figure has come from the excavations at Mohenjo Daro. This is Mongoloid features (Mackay, 1938: 523, PL LXXXII.7). This specimen in faience is described as an amulet, but has no suspension holes or perforations of any kind. Due to this we can not consider this specimen as an amulet or pendant.

The dagger appears to be the most exclusive shape favoured by the Indians in all periods in an elongated form. This may have been due to the particular shape i.e. a leaf with prominent median, which was easy to make. The specimens are generally horizontally perforated at the top. Some times one finds two perforations when the specimen was intended as spacers. From the Harappan times they appear as the terminals in many a necklaces. The type seems to have been a favourite one from about 4 th c. BCE to 1st c. CE. A large number of similar daggers are knows in shell from Maski (ANADNA: 1935-36). The dagger assumes a leaf-shaped outline with a constricted centre, in the Kushana-Gupta specimens at Vaishali (IA-R, 1958-59: pl. XI.A). Here, silver amulets are provides with a spiral tennon and are looped with tubular holes. On account of the efficacy of the shape, the dagger continues in some form or the other even during the Muslim- Maratha period.

Human amulets are known from Taxila and Ujjain. One specimen in gold coming from Ujjain is datable to c. 5th 2nd BCE (IA-R 1957-58: 36). The chalcedony specimen from Taxila is dated to c. 3rd - 2nd BCE (Beck 1941: PL VII.I). This represents a headless human figure. A rare one at Taxila, datable to c. 1st CE, is in ivory adorned on either side with a bearded Greek head of philosopher Socratestype (Marshall, 1951-53: II, 666: III, PL 203).

Human body and its components represented as Amulets:

Ahichchhatra has yielded a small serpentine amulet showing a pregnant woman in a squatting posture with bent legs (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 4.83). This was probably used as a charm against difficult labour (Fig. 2.13). It may be said to belong to the Sunga period. At Ahichchhatra a tiny copper-bead probably forming part of a girdle chain, representing a human figure. The legs of this figure are spread wide apart and the feet are joined together (Dikshit, 1952: PL XII.B; Fig. 6.129).

Eyebeads: Eye beads have a hoary antiquity and have been worn to defend oneself from evil eye and to avert diseases of dangerous kinds. Eye beads from Maharashtra have several parallels from Taxila, Sirkap, Kausambi, Sravasti, Ujjain, Rajghat, Ahichchhatra and Kondapur. These specimens are made in glass. Terracotta eye bead similar to Brahmapuri specimen has been reported at Besanagar. These belong to 5th c. BCE to 2nd c. CE time bracket. The eye beads from Maharashtra are attributed to the upper level of this time bracket. Associated with the concept of 'Evil Eye', they have a wide provenance.

Vaishali has yielded a standing male figure in gold 'repousse' work (IA-R 1958-59: PL X.B). This specimen belonging Mathura-Kushana style was found fitted with hollow tubes at the back, and was probably used as a pedant. It is attributable to the Kushana period. In the excavations at Ujjain, a gold bead in human shape as well as few human-shaped pendants in bone are reported to have been discovered (IA-R 1957-58: 36).

Three eye-beads are recovered in Maharashtra from Kaundinyapura, Brahmapuri and N evasa. Kaundinyapura specimen is a stratified eye bead of blue glass and has blue dots surrounded by white rings. Only two of the blue rings with white saucers around are now preserved and it seems to have been manufactured by superimposing of different colored glasses one over the other (Fig. 2.9). This stratified 'eye' bead is one of the most sophisticated and distinctive types of beads for the Mauryanperiod (Dikshit, 1968: 99).

Piprahawa Stupa has yielded two human shaped specimens (William: 1898). One is made on gold leaf (Fig. 2.15) and the other one is a female in gold with aureole (Fig. 2.14). At Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL VII. I), a human figure with its leg in a good state of preservation has been recorded. Chalcedony figure is dated 3rd c. BCE It is of chalcedony. Some Quasi-human figures from Taxila (Marshall, 1952: 654) are dated 6th -5th c. B.C., but the tradition continues till the 4th c. BCE at Ujjain (IA-R 1956-57 PL XXXII.A.7) (Fig. 2.12), a fragmentary amulet of this variety occurs in Pre-N. B. P. layers. At Prabhas Patan (IA-R 1956-57: PL XVIII.A. 7), a similar 'plaque' occurs in Mauryan period. Similarly at Nagda (IA-R 1955-56 14; PL XXIV.B) in central India, pendants of this description occur in 2nd c. B.C., levels. We have a similar figure, somewhat differently styled in the excavations at Nevasa (Sankalia, et. al. 1960: Fig. 169.11) and shell is the material for it. From the "queer" mode of decoration and the unusual patterns made by these pendants, it is likely that these had

The Nevasa specimen (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 168.3) belongs to the Indo-Roman period. It is made of glass. The use of such an eye bead shows the prevalence of the superstition about the evil eye current even now in India. Terra cotta eye-bead occurs at Brahmapuri (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVI-6). It is a small, square, eye bead with a bright red slip and bears the representation of the eye in high relief It is prepared out of a mould with extremely well levigated clay. It has attrition marks at one of the edges and potter's finger impressions on the other side. It is assigned to c. 1st -3rd CE (Fig. 2.10). The use of such pendants was probably amuletic implying

50

Amulets in Ancient India

the significance to some cult and represents an unknown folk tradition.

the Gandhara sculptures the figure of Maitreya is often represented as wearing a necklace in which the central gem is supported by winged females (Agrawala, 1947: PL LXIV 301). This seems to corroborate the description of the Anga-vijja.

A group of female figurines occur at a number of sites in north and north western India (Dhavalikar, 1965: 533-40). They are made in shell, bone and ivory. They represent an outline of human figures with decorations comprising of several incised circles or dots on the outer surface all over. They occur in the time span of c.2nd B.C.- 2nd CE at Nagda, (IA-R 1955-56: 14, PL XXIV.B), Prabhas Patan (IA-R 1956-57: PL XVIII.B.5), Taxila (Marshall 1951-53, II; 654-5; III, PL 199.12; IA-R 1956-57: 36), Ujjain (IA-R 1956-57: 23), Chandraketugarh (IA-R: 1957-58), Sonepur (IA-R: 1956-57), Sravasti (IA-R: 1958-59), Somanath (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 373), Singh Bhagwanpur (IA-R: 1980-81) and Sanghol (IA-R: 1987-88).

Sometimes the figure of Maitreya is represented as wearing a necklace in which the central gem is supported by winged females or Apsaras (Marshall, 1952: II 722). Such depiction of human shaped amulets are restricted to the Gandhara School of art. According to Arabic medical sources, a stone called "Yashma" Gade or jadeite), if worn as a figure of a man when the Moon enters the star "BuriAtusi", ensures relief from bodily pain (Tagore, Manimala, 11891). Parts of the Body:

These figures are earlier, while at Nevasa they belong to early Christian era, like Sanghol specimen.

A foot shaped amulet made of coral has come from Taxila. This specimen from Dharmarajika Stupa is dated to the 1st c. BCE and represents a shape, which is rarely met with (Beck, 1942: PL X.31) (Fig. 2.17). The hand represented by a fist amulet is of green faience depicting the "fica" posture (Beck, 1941: PL X.1) is datable to the 1st c. CE (Beck, 1942: PL X.l)(Fig. 2.18). The best example of this type is obtained in an aquamarine specimen, preserved in the Bharat Kala Bhavan at Varanasi. It shows the lower part of the human body with a dhoti tucked in between the loins. The leg portion is indicated by suspension holes. The specimen cannot be dated accurately being a surface find, but on the stylistic grounds we can place it to about the Kushana-Gupta period. It is undoubted that the head, the torso, the arms and the legs were made separately and fitted to together like the modem counterparts, which work, as flexible toys.

Two human figure amulets are recovered from Brahmapuri andNevasa. Brahmapuri specimen shows a human figure in a seated posture with its head upraised. This lapis-lazuli specimen is attributed to the Satavahana period. It is prepared out of a fine - mottled stone and the limbs are fashioned by saving with a sharp instrument, particularly to be noticed in the fashioning of the nose. It is about 1 & 2 inch in height (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: 92). Nevasa specimen is the outline of a human figure with several incised circles on the surface (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 169.11). This shell specimen is dated between 1st c. BCE and 3rd c. CE. It is made of shell. Several incised circles were possibly made for inlay and the entire idea of this specimen must have been amuletic implying connection with some eyegoddess or for warding of small pox (Fig. 2.12).

Finally, mention may be made of a very fine and delicately carved crystal pendant, shaped in the form of a female head, found in the Kushana-Gupta levels at Bhita (Marshall, 1911-12: PL XXXII.9). The figure depicted her hair spread in an enormous canopy ending in short conical locks and the facial expression has a very cynical look (Fig. 2.19). There is a short horizontal bar with perforation for suspension. As exact replica of this pendant was found in the same material at Rajghat and Sonepur and the resemblance of these pendants is so perfect as to make one feel that they were the works of the same craftsman.

N evasa has yielded one Y aksha amulet in terra cotta that is assigned between the 1st c. BCE and 2 & 3rd c. CE (Sankalia, et.al. 1960: Fig. 170.8). It is a standing human figure with the head broken and perforated through the shoulders and the neck. This figure is wearing a dhoti with ends hanging, and a loose bunian like garment covering the body. The hands are folded and hold a round object over the belly. Navel is shown by a depression. There are amulets on arms and pendant on the chest. The reverse shows its back covered with a loose bunian (Fig. 2.11).

Andyavarta andVarchamana:

Stone amulet from Kausambi is in the shape of a naked hunchbacked man with legs bent as if seated on an invisible support. The man is either grinning or he has a beard. His hands rest on his knees, the left hand holds some object and the right hand is held with the plam in abhaya mudra. Two neat perforations pass under the arms, but they are slightly below the centre of gravity, hence evidently some hard spacers were placed on either side of this amulet to keep it from tilting over (Postel: 1989).

One does not find actual specimens of these. These symbols are known through sculptural representations only. ArrowHeadAmulets: Here again the number of stratified specimens in respect of the arrow head type of beads is comparatively small. It is often difficult to distinguished between a leaf-shaped bead and the arrowhead. The form taken by these is a spacer with two or more holes, widely spaced. These were strung on torques.

In the Anga-Vijja one finds mention of a necklace decorated with three goblins and Vidyadharas. Rundamala or a garland of skulls is an attribute of Siva, Kali and other deities in Brahmanical pantheon. This concept is borrowed in the Buddhist pantheon too (Rao, G.T.: II PL B.96). In

In Taxila, the spear and drop pendants occur in gold (Marshall, 1952: II No. 628), copper (Marshall, 1952: 56451

Distinctive Beads 583) and in terracotta (Marshall, 1952). The gold pieces are about 1" in length and Marshall in PL 197, D NO. 62 illustrates a fine necklace made up of these. The date of this necklace is about 1st c. CE. In the terra cotta variants, the drop in these spacers is embellished with additional features such as the minute ferules. It is the terra cotta specimens, which predominate and generally bear a date around the early centuries of the Christian era. They are very common on Satavahana sites in the Deccan. A large number of them have been found at Ujjain. At Kolhapur (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952), one stratified and several unstratified spacers of this shape have been encountered. At Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL V.256) many specimens of Satavahana date have been found. They are also known from Nevasa (Sankalia et. al., 1960: Fig. 107.4). In central Indian they are known from Tripuri (Dikshit, 1955: PL XXXII.A.4-5) in 2nd c. CE levels. In Bihar they are found in 50-3 rd BCE level at Sonepur (IA-R 1956-57: PL XXIII98). Unstratified specimens occur at Chandravalli, andKosam.

Conches have a special place in Indian culture. Its use as an amulet is evidenced as far back as the period of the Atharvaveda (Max Muller 1897: IV.IO). From the Mahabharata (MBH Dronaparva 82.20) we learn about its sacred associations in coronation ceremonies. The Buddhist literature includes Sankhas amongst the auspicious objects (Mahavamsa XI.30-31; Dipavamsa XI.32-33). A conch with its clouts on the right is regarded as the most valuable object (Cowell & Neil Divyavadana: 116.8 210). As an auspicious symbol it is represented in Mauryan sculpture and painting (Yazdani, 1931-55: II PL XL VII). In the Gupta period, the Sankha was considered as a sign of regality (Raghuvamsa IX.3). The carving of a conch on the door was regarded as highly auspicous (Meghadutam II.20). The sounding of a Sankha foretold the beginning of a war and also the victory (Meghadutam 1.63). Varahamihira (CE 505) classifies the conch shell as one of the twenty-two gems (Brihatasamhita LXXX.5). Even the Harshacharita states that the elephants were decorated with conch motifs (Agrawala, 1969: 40). Literar references to conch shell, used in as jewel pendants are comparatively rare and the only one traced so far is in the literature of early mediaeval period. The Rajatarangini of Kalhana (Stein Rajatarangini VIII.1741) (1148-9 CE), mentions the Sankhakriti-ratna-kundalas.

AnkushaAmulets: The Ankusha or elephant gourd is a sacred symbol venerated by the Buddhist. During the Sunga period, a large number of terra cotta figurines are shown to have worn Ankusha shaped beads in the hair knots, as at Bharhut. Though common enough in sculpture and terra cotta figurines, the only pendants of this shape are preserved in the Allahabad Museum. These are in carnelian and are supposed to have come from Kausambi. Two Ankusha are depicted in the garland worn by Y akshini Chanda at Bharhut.

In Maharashtra, two specimens of shell used as pendants have been reported from Kaundinyapura (Fig. 3.2). In these, (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXXIV-3) the bivalve of a shell was used as a pendant by drilling a small hole at its apex. These are attributed to the Mauryan periods.

Amulets with religious symbols:

Coral imitations of conches are recovered from the Vajrasana at Mahabodhi, (Cunningham, 1897: PL XXII.28). Similarly Kondapur has yielded several terra cotta imitations of conches belonging to Satavahana date (Dikshit, 1952: PL V.241). A gold specimen shaped like a Sankha is known from Bhita. This probably belongs to the Kushana or Gupta period (Marshall, 1911-12: PL XXII.6). At Ahichchhatra, a copper specimen is attributed to CE 8th - 11th (Dikshit, 1952: PL XIIIB.128).

AltarAmulets: Altar-shaped beads are not very common. Three examples of chalcedony are known from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL II.IO 1) (Fig. 2.20), where they imitate the shape of the symbols found engraved at the beginning of some cave inscriptions in western India (ASWI X).

CasketShapedAmulet:

Unstratified specimens in terra cotta are known from Bairat, Rajghat and Kosam, the latter having yielded a shell pendant of this shape. Glass specimens from Maski are still unpublished. The Rajghat specimen is of smokygrey colour and seems to have been made in a mould. This is dated between 1st to 3rd c. CE (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VII.18).

One casket shaped amulet is recovered from Paunar; this calcite specimen is attributed to the 3rd c. CE (Deo & Dhavalikar 1968: PL XXVII.4) (Fig. 3.1).

ConchShellAmulet: The conch (Sankha) as an amulet is used in two ways, either by perforating the shell for stringing or by making amulets of diverse materials carved in imitation of the conch. To use conch-shells as amulets, their tops were either ground or pierced or it was capped with metal cap.

In the Harappan period one notices that actual conches were used as amulets. This continues in later period also. Their tops were either ground or pierced. From Mohenjo Daro, seven specimens have been illustrated (Mackay, 1938: PL CXI.65, 70, 83). A specimen from Ujjain (Banerjee, 1959: PL V.30) belongs to the 5th - 2nd BCE bracket. Another specimens is known from Brahmagiri (Wheeler: 1947).

Easy availability of the shell on the seashore or on the river bank and possibility of a quick perforation by rubbing on the file and further, the delightful range of colors, must have been the main reasons for the choice of a conch as a material for amulets. Man has been using them as ornaments from the Aurignacian period and its use as a bead material continues even to this day in many parts of the world (Beck, 1933: Fig. 25A).

Sanur (Banerjee & Rajan, 1954: PL XXA) and Perambur (AR ASI 1908-09: PL XXXIII) in South India has yielded 52

Amulets in Ancient India

~

3

2

1

6

5

8

4

-

&

~

-

a,.

JJ 7

12

13

17

14

~ 19

18.

16

Figure-2.

53

20

Distinctive Beads large Conches with their apexes removed and surfaces decorated with incised decorations. These are probably used for ritualistic purposes as they are too large to be worn as amulets. Similarly Nagarjunikonda has given shells with Inscriptions.

Bhokardan had yielded amulets made in terra cotta (Deo & Gupte 1974: 135, 139-40; Fig. 23.128, 25.178). It is produced by putting together two pieces with a small stick in between them. It bears horizontal perforation at the junction of the bulb and prongs.

Shell used, as an amulet is evident as far back as the period of the Atharvaveda (Privrajak: 1941). One specimen has been reported from Sanghol datable to the Kushana period (IA-R: 1987-88). Another one comes from Dwarka ascribed to the medieval period (Ansari & Mate: 1966).

Eighteen Nandipada amulets are mentioned by Postel (1989) from private collection at Kausambi. A large number of depiction are found belonging to the Mauryan period. These are on the ring stones from Murtaziganj, Sankisa, Mathura, Rajghat, LauriyaNandangarh, Kausami, and Bhita (Postel: 1989).

A specimen from Ujjain belongs to the period 5th -2nd B.C. A pendant of brown agate from Kuntasi is cowry shaped datable to 28 th -25 th BCE. In ancient Egypt cowry shaped gold beads were strung in a necklace as a symbol of fertility (Dhavalikar, et. al. 1996: Fig 7.10.76, 74).

In the Sunga-Satavahana period it is profusely depicted as an amulet in various images. It is one of the amulets depicted in the astamangalamala at Sanchi. Various yakshis and yakshas wear it in their necklaces for example, Mehrauli Y akshi, Y akshi from Batanmara, Sirima Devata from Bharut, and Pitalkhora Y aksha (Postel: 1989).

A shell with the lower end perforated comes from 28 th -25 th BCE level (Dhavalikar, et.al. 1996: Fig. 7.10.77).

In the Kushana period is is depicted in the necklace of the Maholi yaksa and on the pot belly of a seated terra cotta yaksha from Kausambi (Postel: 1989).

A unique shell pendant in Sankha from Sanghol has an inverted bell shaped cover soldered to fit in for hanging. It belongs to the Kushana period (IA-R: 1987-88).

PipalLeafAmulets:

Single specimen of conch shell is reported from Nasik is bored at the top and dated from 2 nd to 4th BCE (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: No. 5188).

Pipal leaf is another important symbol having great religious importance to the Buddhists. It is sacred to the followers of Buddha on account of its association with Buddha's attainment of enlightenment under a Pipal tree. The necklaces with Pipal leaves is mentioned in the AngaVijja (Punyavijaya 1957: 71). In modem days, it exists in as use an ornament called 'pimpalamala', use primarily by Maharashtrian ladies. It seems probable that it is derived from an identical motif This ideas of leaf-shaped pendants is quite old and it is very well represented at various sites. Due to the tiny shape of these specimens the identification of the leaves with precision becomes difficult.

HeartShapedAmulet: A very interesting heart shaped chalcedony amulet is recovered from Paunar (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 24.18). This vertically perforated specimen bears the figure of a seated Buddha on one face and incised decoration on the other. Heart shape may be considered as a leaf, which will give this particular amulet immense importance (Fig. 3.3). A fragment of an amulet, unique shaped like a flat leaf or a heart with sides rounded, is found at Talakad in the light blue glass. The perforation is lengthwise (Devraj, et. al. 1996: PL XCVIII-11). A bone specimen comes from Taxila made in a cloisonne- like technique. It is divided into round cloisonne's in, each of which is a minute disc of mica fixed into a bed of lack, and once probably backed by some color.

These are reported in large numbers during c. 2 nd BCE 2 nd CE made in copper, chalcedony, glazed quartz, gold, shell, iron and terra-cotta. Three specimens have been reported from Maharashtra and two are from Bhokardan, of which one is made of terra cotta. It is moulded. It has a heart shape with an attached loop, dated to 3rd c. CE (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.175)

Nandipada Amulet:

(Fig. 3.4).

The Nandipada or taurine symbol is commonly associated with Siva worship but was specially adopted by the Buddhists as a symbol of their trinity. Both Tri-ratna and Nandipada are indistinguishable in their main features and are similar in shape when they appear as amulets.

The second specimen, made of ivory, is a simple leaf shape with perforation at the broader end. This is attributed between 3rd c. BCE and 1st c. CE (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 23.127) (Fig. 3.5). A small crystal amulet from Nasik shows the stylised talaleaf is attributed to the early Christian era (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: Fig. 45.7).

Not many amulets of this shape have been reported so far. Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL 111.19) has yielded this amulet in agate. It is datable to the Mauryan period. A few of them are reported from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1954: PL V.20) made in terra cotta. Pressing two decorated pieces together with a small stick in between also makes the Bhokardan specimen. This stick helped in creating a horizontal perforation.

Outside Maharashtra, these are reported from Amreli, Kondapur, Mohenjo Daro, Taxila and Tripuri. The use of Pipal leaf amulets can be traced back to the Indus civilization as known from Mohenjo Daro (Mackey, 1938: PL CXXXIV.4) and Harappa (Vats, 1940: PL CXXXIX.5), but these gained importance with the rise of 54

Amulets in Ancient India

StupaAmulet:

Buddhism. Leaf pendant with a stem occurs at Harappa (Vats, 1941: PL CXXXIX.3). Another one from the same place has been identified as belonging to the lemon tree (Vats, 1941: PL CXXXIX.4). A small crystal amulet is attributed to the early centuries of the Christian era. In the excavations at Taxila (Marshall, 1952: 631), three gold Pipal leaf is dated to the last quarter of the 3rd c. BCE. A pendant dated 1st c. CE, showing a stylized leaf and a tennon is known in shell from Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL VIII.22). Two amulets described as 'Butterfly nut amulet (Beck, 1941: PL V.23-4) are in reality Pipal leaf amulets, since the butterfly has never been taken notice of in Indian sculpture or literature. Two glazed quartz beads dated 1st c. CE have a prominent ridge in their center for perforation. This is also the shape of a chalcedony amulet of Satavahana date from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: II. I 02). This shape is repeated in a number of terra cotta pendants at Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL V.225). A few specimens from here have the veins and the stem of the leaf carved over them in imitation of the actual leaf. A bead similar to this shape is also known from Arikamedu. Tripuri terra cotta specimens are decorated in high relief with a flat underside. A few specimens come from Piprahawa Stupa (William: 1898) executed in crystal and other substances (Fig. 3.6).

Two specimens resembling the shape of a Stupa have been recovered from Bhokardan. These are made of ivory and terra cotta. Ivory specimen is a tiny amulet with four shallow grooves around the base. It is perforated breath-wise just above the dome. The top is domical. It is datable to 1st c. BCE - 3rd c. CE (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 23.128) (Fig. 3.8). The second specimen, made of terra cotta (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.178), has a channeled base and an elongated dome. It is horizontally perforated near the base of the dome. This is attributed to the 3rd c. CE. SwastikaAmulets: The Swastika is a well known universally ausp1c10us symbol. In many parts of the world it has been used as an amulet. This symbol is found in the earliest Indus Valley Cultures in Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. The Buddhist (Lalitavistara XVIII 268) and the Jainas (Jain 1947) too consider this as lucky. In the Mahabharata (VII.29, 30), the swastika is shown to be amongst several lucky objects which were touched by Yudhisthira at the time of Rajasuya. In literature, references to Swastika amulets are comparatively few. Sathiga amulets have been mentioned for the neck in Anga-Vijja (Punyavijaya, 1957: 65). A later Buddhist text mentions Swastika amulet (Jones, Mahavastu II. 317).

At Kondapur, some of them are also made in chalcedony with fine carving and a medial ridge at center forming the stem ofleaf. Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL V.23, 24) has yielded them in glazed quartz and shell. Amreli (Rao, 1966: PL XLI. 7, 9, 11) has given them in terra cotta datable to c. 2nd - 3rd CE. A copper leaf-shaped amulet at Dharmarajika Stupa, datable to c. 5th CE, has been decorated with dots.

A fragmentarily preserved swastika amulet was found in the Saka-Parthian levels at Taxila (Marshall, 1953: PL 191.V). This emblem is also noticed on a small coral bead found on the temple site at Boddhagaya. This specimen is dated to about CE 2nd (Cunningham, 1892: PL XXII.28). A tiny specimen of this shape in lapis lazuli is preserved in the site Museum at Maski (Dikshit, 1952). One glass specimen is reported from Rairh (Puri - 41: PLXXIII.39). At Rajghat Swastika amulet belongs to the Mauryan period (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.16) whereas at Kondapur it belongs to the Satavahana period. This lapis lazuli specimen has the design appearing on both the sides of the bead with the arms of Swastika in the anti-clock-wise direction. Two specimens in gold leaf come from Piprahawa (William: 1898) (Fig. 3.9-10). It is also found painted on a bowl of the PGW at Hastinapura.

From the contemporary sculpture, the figure of Yakshini Chanda at Bharhut shows the use of Pipal leaf around the neck (Cunningham, 1962: PL LIi). Leaf-shaped amulets are also common in a few Gandhara sculptures (Marshall, 1960: PL 61). SrivatsaAmulets: Srivatsa is one of the ausp1c10us symbols. Srivachha amulets have been mentioned in Anga-Vijja among the garlands worn round the neck (Punyavijaya, 1957: 64, 163). A gold specimen of Srivatsa, dated between c. 50 BCE - 2nd CE, is known from excavations at Nevasa (Sankalia et. al., 1960: 423, Fig. 171.10). A Srivatsa amulet of terra cotta has been recovered at Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL V.220) (Fig. 3.7).

Tri-ratnaAmulets: Tri-ratna is one of the earliest motifs adopted by the followers of the Buddha for veneration and worship. It represents the triad of Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Shaped like a globular bead with three pronged attached to it, the central one is short. Many of the sites, where this amulet has been reported, were also important centers of Buddhism, where many Buddhist monuments were erected and which became place of pilgrimage. The largest amulet of this shape measures about five Cms in height but smaller ones seem to have been preferred. The smallest yet known is about 0.5 cm in length. These amulets are found in various materials on several sites in India- like Nasik, Ter, Bhokardan, Nevasa, Prakashe, Paithan, Peddabankur, Satanikota, Dhulikatta, Besanagar,

Postel (1989) mentions two unstratified srivatsa amulets from Kausambi. Together with the gem Kaustabha Srivatsa adorns the chest of Vishnu who is Srivatsangitavakshas for his chest is the abode of Sri his spouse. In the 8th mandalas of Jains, Srivatsa has an honourable place. It adorns the chest of Jain Tirthankaras to give them the status of Purushotas (the best of all). It is one of the auspicious symbols of the Buddhist they show it on the feet of their master, as his chest is covered with cloth. It appears that the amulets of this shape were very popular during the early centuries of the Christian ear. 55

Distinctive Beads

Bhokardan, Kondapur, Maski, Nagara, Nagarjunikonda, Sopara, Taxila and Tripuri, etc. in the Deccan and south India. The range for this type of amulets, is confined to circa 5th c. BCE to about 3rd c. CE roughly corresponding to the period of prosperity of Buddhism in India and shows that the type was fairly well distributed both in North and South India.

Tri-ratnas are also known from Nasik, Nevasa, Prakashe, and Paithan. It is quite striking that Tri-ratna as an object of jewelry has been depicted in a number of sculptures of the Early School of Indian Art (Barua, 1979: PL LVX.82; Cunninghum 1966: PL L.3-6, PL XXI, 35-6).

The practice of wearing Tri-ratna amulets was very common, as number of sculptures of this period show depict them. In the Alakhananda Yakshi's neck ornament are seen two Tri-ratna amulets (Barua, 1979: PL LXVI. 72). In the finest Sunga sculpture of Sirima Devata a similar ornament adorns her neck (Barua, 1979: PL LXV.78). Two Tri-ratna amulets hang in the neck ornament of Simhika Yakshini (Barua, 1979: PL LXIII.82) and by two other Y akshis among the sculptures from Bharhut. In the pillar at Batanmara Tri-ratna adorns the neckl~ce (Cunningham, 1966: PL L.3-6; PL XXI, 35-6). The P1talkhora Yaksha wears a necklace with two Tri-ratna wi~h grinning human f~ces (Deshpande, 1959: PL LVI 81). Tn-ratnas are shown m the ornamental penals of the rail coping (Barua, 1979: PL XXXVII.32). Bodhi tree is flanked by Tri-ratnas being worshipped (Barua, 1979: PL XVII.13.a). Apart from its ornamental value it has been an object of worship from very early times. It profusely decorates every part of the pillars, gateways and also the sculptural themes themselves at the Stupas of Bharhut Sanchi, Amaravati, western Indian caves, Nagarjunikonda: Sarnath, Mathura, etc. The earliest sculptures at Bharhut date to c. 2nd c. BCE, later sculptures at Nagarjunikonda belong to about the 3rd c. CE. But the material evidence goes back to the beginning days of Buddhism. At Taxila, Tri-ratna amulets are known as early as the 4th c. BCE

The earliest Tri-ratna amulet of carnelian comes from the Bhir Mound made of carnelian (Beck, 1941: PL IV.21) and datable to the 5th - 4th c. BCE. One of them has also been reported in the Mauryan levels. It is of ferruginous clay stone (Marshall, 1953: III PL 142.n) engraved with a spiral form pattern all over its front surface. It has a plain flat back. Two others come from Dharmarajika Stupa made of shell and garnet (Beck, 1941: PL IV.21; Marshall 1951-53: PL 142.m). These are attributed to the 1st c. BCE A number of specimens come from Sirkap. These are made of carnelian, (Beck, 1941: PL IV.22) serpentine (Beck, 1941: PL 1.25), terracotta and ivory (Beck, 1941: pl. X.14) belonging to the 1st c.CE. The shape is repeated amongst the reliquary of the Piprahawa Stupa (William, 1898: 86970) and from Buddha Gaya (Cunningham, 1892: PL XXII.28). The farmer one is in carnelian and the latter in mother-of-pearl. The exact date of a specimen from Lauriya Nandangarh (AR ASI 1934-35: PL XXII.m) is not known. Jasper Tri-ratna amulet was found at Tripuri (Mackey, 1938: 643) amongst stratified deposits dated to c. 2nd c. CE. Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL 1.17) has also yielded carnelian amulet of Tri-ratna shape and probably belong to the same period, i.e. 2nd c. CE. There are a number of specimens, mostly in carnelian, from Kausambi and Rajghat belonging to 1st -3 rd c. CE bracket (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.17).

A female figure from Sarnath ascribed to the Kushana period (AR ASI: 1907-08), also shows Tri-ratna amulet in her garland. Two Tri-ratnas flank arch of eastern gateway at Sanchi. Relief of an upright showing representation of the worship of Vajrasana, flanked by two beautiful Triratnas (Munshi, 1957: PL 14.a). Prasenjit pillar shows the worship of Tri-ratna with Vajrasana (Barret, 1954: PL XX.65). Three Tri-ratnas (Barret, 1954: PL 20) flank Amaravati dome slab's top. Tri-ratna adorns Buddhapada on the palm (Sivaramamurti, 1977: Pl.XXI.2, 20, 169). In Mahaparinirvana worship scene is flanked by rows of three Tri-ratna (Saraswati, 1957: 44). In some stray sc~lptures_at Amaravati datable to the 3rd c. CE worship of Tn-ratna 1s seen (Saraswati, 1959: PL 13). Lion capital of the queen ofRajubala, Kushana period shows Tri-ratnas.

M~ski .and Kondapur have yielded the finest specimens (D1ksh1t:1952). Two Tri-ratna amulets made in amethyst and beryl are known from Sopara Stupa (Bhagwanlal, 18~5: 273, PL XV.4). This is attributed to the Mauryan penod. Nagara (Mehta, 1968: Fig. 61.B, 143) has yielded a terra cotta specimen. At Nagarjunikonda, a few coral amulets come from levels of the early Christian era (Sankalia, et. al.: 371-72). A copper amulet is known from Besanagar (AR ASI 1914-15: PL LV.41, 86). It is dated between 1st -2nd CE. One of copper from Besanagar belongs to the Gupta period. Those made of terra cotta occur at Bhokardan (Fig. 3.11 ). These are ascribed to c. 1st BCE - 2nd CE bracket (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 25.176,177). But these are classified as Nandipada.

Representations of Tri-ratnas are met with at the beginning of some inscriptions at Kuda, Mahad, Bedsa, Junnar and Nasik (Burgess: 1964). A terra cotta figurine from Pauni shows Tri-ratna in the center (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: ~ig. 27.7). The necklace of the lady from Pauni depicted ~n_terracotta figure has three strings. The central pendant 1s m the shape of a Tri-ratna with the horns up (Deo, 1972: Fig. 7; 234).

A terra cotta specimen is known from Paunar (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1960: 85, Fig. 25.48) too from surface scatters. One specimen in glass is discovered from Ter (B.I.S. 1972: VoL9 No. 33-34: 29). This is also attributed to Satavahana period. This amulet is made by rubbing the glass. It is a note-worthy specimen. ~othe~ specimen is known from Arni (IA-R 1984-85: 55). It 1s attributed to the Satavahana period.

CombShapedAmulets: The comb is a decorative motif, rarely represented in amulets in India. Comb-shaped amulets occur at Taxila a ' 56

Amulets in Ancient India

double-comb of carnelian being known from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL IV.24) (Fig. 3.12). The only specimen so far recovered does not go beyond 1st -2nd c.CE. The comb is said to have a long history in India. It has been found in Mohenjo Daro (Marshall, 1931: 377) and Harappa. These specimens most probably did not have any amuletic properties. The comb stands as a symbol of love amongst the aboriginal tribes in Bastar (Elwin: 1943).

given ivory handles with elaborately carved female figures on them. When one talk of the amulets Sirkap has yielded only two examples of mirror amulets. Unfortunately, both these specimens are unstratified. The copper pendant (Marshall, 1953: III PL 179.e) depicts the mirror with a prominent tennon in the center and a handle is provided with a loop for suspension at the top. It can be compared with the foreign specimens of Roman date. The second specimen (Marshall, 1953: III PL 172.j) is a smaller one and has a flat polished surface. The top of this mirror pendant is decorated with two birds perching and with lobes at the base. Mirror pendants are absent from other site in ancient India. Mirror is represented in the Sanchi garland (Marshall & Foucher, 1983: II, PL XXXVII). Here mirror is represented as a flat rectangular slab and the circular glass or the polished surface embedded on a six-pointed shield. The antiquity of its auspiciousness can not be traced.

CowryAmulets: The study of conch shell amulets has to be coupled with another variety of shell viz., the Cowry. If the Sankha has a religious significance among the present day amulets in India, the cowry has various meanings and universal character explained differently in many parts of the world. The shell is supposed to represent the human eye and is chiefly used as a homeopathic charm against an evil eye; it has a sexual meaning too, on account of its resemblance to the female sex-organ (Murray: 1940). There is also much to be said about it as a decorative motif It is almost certain that before the cowry came to have any monetary value, its use both as an amulet and as a decorative charm had become universal. References to cowries in ancient literature are comparatively few. There is a specific reference to a necklace consisting of ivory and cowries in the Nisitha Churni (Jain: 1947), but the shells mentioned in the Jataka, appear to be bi-valve shells instead of cowries (Mehta, 1939: 235). In the Harshacharita we find that camels were decorated (Ep. Ind. XIV 161-66) with bands of cowries, but it appears that already by the end of the Gupta period, the value of cowries as units of currency was recognized. Though the practice of wearing cowries seems to be very ancient, it is surprising that only one cowry shell was found at Mohenjo Daro (Mackay, 1938: 582, 665), where it is not regarded as an amulet. One cowry shell with its top cut off has been noticed at Chanhu Daro (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXXVI.B.2). Cowry pendants are seen on the necklaces of terra cotta figurines at Mehi in Southern Baluchistan (Stein, 1930: PL XXXI.III.2.2). In Taxila the total number of cowry shaped amulets so far known is eighteen (Beck, 1941: PL IV.26; VIII.13; Ghosh 1947: 75) (Fig. 3.13). As remarked by Marshall, "it was not until the 1st c.CE that we find the natural cowry shell imitated in semi-precious stones" (Marshall, 1952: II 748). At Kosam, one agate specimen was found, which is now in the Allahabad Museum; another unstratified specimen from Rajghat in carnelian is preserved in the Bharat Kala Bhavan at Varanasi. Actual specimens have been recovered at Tripuri (Dikshit, 1955: Fig. 36.47) (Fig. 3.14) and elsewhere.

Vase& GhataAmulets: The vase is a very common shape for amulets in India It is represented in a variety of ways in diverse shapes and materials in amulets as well as sculptures. The amulets of this shape are always restricted to the early historical period. Even to this day Pumaghata or the "Jar of plenty" is considered auspicious in Indian household. The first germs of the sacred association with the vase are reflected in the early Brahma literature. The Satapatha Brahmana, (II, 5; 229) and the Taittiriya Samhita, (I, 6,5,1) quoted in Asvalayana (I, 11,6) allude to the Puma-patra. According to the Taittiriya Samhita, (I, I, 10, 2) it stands for abundant progeny (Deo: In Press). The Aupapatike Sutra of the Jainas includes Kalasa or the vase amongst the eight auspicious signs; while the Ovavaiya Sutta (Sutra 2) mentions that full vessels were placed at the entrance of the Pumabhadra shrine at Champa (Jain, 1947: 223). The Mangala Kalasas is again mentioned in the Gathasaptasati of Hala (Joglekar: 1956). Pumaghata is represented in many a sculpture of the early historical period, as at Bharhut (Barua, 1937: PL XXX.23), Amaravati (Sivaramamurti, 1977: PL XLV.1) and Sanchi (Marshall & Foucher, 1983: PL LXXV-VII). It is also commonly noticed in the Saka-Kushana art of Mathura (Agrawala: 1965). Amongst the variants of vase amulets, the Ghata is characteristically Indian-shape. There are two types of Ghata amulets. One has a flat base with a humped body and grooved neck. The second type has a tapering body with a very shallow neck-groove and a pronounced lip. These amulets are known from many sites Northern India. Beads of the first type, which is generally made of wellburnt terra cotta. These are invariably wheel-made and preponder in large numbers. The amulets of second variety are found in other materials such as glass, lapis lazuli and even steatite. On the basis of specimens found at Hastinapura and Kausambi the first type made of terra cotta can be given a very early date. This type chiefly persists in the early centuries around the Christian era. The

MirrorAmulets: The mirror is one of the eight auspicious symbols. The mirrors are known from the Harappan times in India. The early specimens were undoubtedly flat polished, copper pieces. With the Roman and Parthian contacts the mirrors with tennon or a protuberance in the center were introduced in India. Specimens of these are known from Taxila, Patna, Rairh, Kolhapur and Ter. One does not get any information regarding the shape of Indian mirror in the early literature. Ter and Bhokardan in Maharashtra have 57

Distinctive Beads

evidence for South India is very meager and the data is generally unstratified.

as many as hundred specimens. The shape varies for example some has a disc-like rim, a constricted neck and a truncated conical profile, others have the concave rim-end. Still others have a disc-like rim and a truncated conical profile without a neck (Mitra, 1972).

These have been recovered from Taxila made of terra cotta and attributed to the 1st c.CE (Beck, 1941: PL X.11) (Fig. 3.15). Another terracotta specimen from here is dated to the 1st BCE - 2nd CE bracket (Ghosh, 1947: PL XI.43-46). One terra cotta specimen from Kausambi is dated between 5th BCE - 2nd CE. Hastinapura terra cotta specimen is attributed between 8th BCE -5 th BCE (Lal, 1954: PL LVI.41-43). A steatite amulet of this shape comes from the Satavahana layer at Brahmagiri (Wheeler, 1947: PL CXX.45). Baroda has yielded a terra cotta specimen from Kshatrapa level (Subbarao, 1953: Fig 30). Ahichchhatra has yielded a terra cotta specimen (Dikshit, 1952: PL XIII.B). Terra cotta specimen from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: 96, 98, 103) and lapis lazuli specimen from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL 11.69) has been attributed to the Satavahana period. Last specimen comes from Vaishali. This terracotta specimen is attributed to 3rd BCE - 6th CE bracket (Deva & Mishra, 1961: PL XXIV.26-31).

The Puma-ghata motif is associated with sacredness in the Gupta period too. Kalidasa also refers to them in his works; they are also found on the doorjambs of the temples at Nachna (Banerji, 1933: PL III) and Bhumara (Banerji, 1924: PL III), and are common enough in the Gupta architecture as a decorative motif. In V arahamihira, BrihatSamhita, the auspicious aspect of the Puma-ghata is emphasised. The Brihat-Kalpa-Sutra-Bhashya also mentions to full vessels. Bana's Harshacharita, gives a detailed description of the auspicious vessels. These are said to have been garlanded with white flowers, and decorated with marks on the body and mango sprouts were placed in them as it is done today (Agrawala 1953: 36). This is apparently the motif in which the Puma-ghata is met with in sculptures and in a gold bead from Sravasti (AR-ASI 1910-11: 15; PL XXII.28).

Amongst the specimens from Taxila, Beck illustrates eight stratified vases shaped beads (Beck, 1941: PL IV-15, 30; V-5; VI.8, 14, 23; IX.25, 35). In addition to the specimens mentioned by Beck Marshall includes three more unstratified amulets of this shape. The earliest in the series is a carnelian bead from the Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: IV.15), dated about 3rd c. BCE The rest of the specimens from Taxila are all dated to about the 1st c.CE and occur in a very wide range of materials such as carnelian, glazed quartz, amethyst, malachite, lapis lazuli and green and white glass. These are from Sirkap and show a large variety in their design. A high or constricted neck, having a ringed or a flat base distinguishes them. These are apparently copies of the vessels then in use by the SakaParthian population in Taxila.

VajraAmulets: The Vajra is a well-known scared symbol of the Buddhists and the Hindus. In Brahmanical iconography it appears as the weapon oflndra. Taxila has contributed the earliest specimens shaped like a Vajra belonging to the 3rd BCE (Marshall, 1952:11, 462). Eleven specimens in gray and buff-red terra cotta were found. These have double concave sides, and resemble the shape of Vajras portrayed in Gandharan sculpture. Excavations at Vaishali (IA-R, 1959-60: PL XA) have yielded eight gold Vajra spacers from the 2nd c. BCE levels. It is a regular feature in Mathura terra cotta figurines. Four terra cotta figurines from Ahichchhatra datable to circa 2nd - 1st BCE depict Vajra pendants (Agrawala, 1947-8: Fig. 12-14).

Besides Taxila, some other sites in India have also produced vase amulets, but it is significant to note that none of them can be attributed to a period beyond 5th or 6th c.CE. The most noteworthy is a large gold amulet complete with foliage and garland around the neck, found in Stupa 18 at Sabet Mahet (AR-ASI 1910-11: 15; PL XII). It is attributed to the Kushana period and may be said to represent the true Purnaghata motif in the characteristic Indian fashion. Cunningham in his excavations at Bodhgaya came across certain vase amulets, which belong to the same age (Cunningham, 1892: PL XXII.28). The Bharat Kala Bhavan at Banaras preserves a very fine large crystal vase-shaped amulet obtained at Kosam. In south India only two vase-shaped beads are known to have come from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL 11.69;V.229). Both of them are of Satavahana date. One has a tapering bottom and its material is lapis lazuli. The other is the usual ghata in terra cotta with a suspension ring at top, a shape common enough at Taxila.

Miscellaneous:

Cylindrical Amulets(Taveez): These consist of cylindrical shaped amulets with capped ends or with loops for threading. These are decorated with heart-shaped motifs, dots and circles, beading, parallel lines and flower designs. Seven specimens are known from Bhokardan, Brahmapuri, Sopara, Kaundinyapura, and Ter in glass and Terra cotta. These are all attributed to the Satavahana period. Specimens are also known from Kondapur and Taxila, in glass, gold, silver and terra cotta. Terra cotta specimens are made from moulds. Gold and silver specimens are known from Taxila (Beck: 1941). These are attributed to c. 3rd - 2nd BCE level. Another specimen from Sirkap dated to c. 1st CE with two strings each for suspension and decorated with parallel circles round the center of the amulet. Another one is a rare amulet of glass with bulging center upon which is the perforation. At Kondapur (Dikshit, 1954: PL V.148) cylindrical amulets bear bands or ribs over them. These were hang by the use of metal caps over them above, which are loops fitted.

Fourteen ghata amulets of terra cotta have come from Narhan (Singh: 1994). These belong to the bracket of 6th BCE to 6th CE. Bhagwanpur has yielded ten specimens of ghata amulets from 6th to 4th c. BCE level (Joshi, 1993: PL XXVIIB.5-15). At Tilaura-kot this shape is represented by 58

Amulets in Ancient India

The specimen from Rajghat is made of terra cotta and painted red. This earlier medieval specimen has a star design impressed on it (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VII.16).

A female figurine from Pauni made of terra cotta wears cylindrical amulets held by gold catches at either end like the middle jewels in the Bharhut Stupa sculptures (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 27.7).

Except blue glass Sopara specimen the material used is terra cotta, which may point towards its wide prevalence. As the poor could not afford these amulets in metal or stone, they possibly copied it in a cheaper material like terra cotta.

These parallels from other sites and references in literature, sculptural depiction, showing typological similarities give some inclinations of contact and trade between these sites. We find that in the early centuries of the Christian era the patterns divide themselves into cultural centers at many places. Some specimens from the adjoining areas in Maharashtra are lacking, except some sporadic one's on contact sites. In the Satavahana period a different picture of the bead industry emerges. This in the Indo-Roman period reached at the zenith and as a result we find many new types.

Two specimens attributed to the Satavahana period, one each from Ter and Brahmapuri, are typical amulets with a number of ribbings on the cylindrical body. These unperforated cylinders have convex ends. Therefore these must have been equipped with capped ends with two rings attached on both the sides for suspensions, as is evident from the specimen recovered at Dwarka (Mate & Ansari 1966: Fig. 9.145). Several of these have been found at Kondapur in Andhra Pradesh (Dikshit: 1952) (Fig. 3.14).

Clay imitation of Roman coins makes appearance for the first time. The abundance of arika-nut shape beads also points to trade routes as its concentration is on tradecenters like Ter, Prakashe, Brahmapuri, Arikamedu, Nasik, Nevasa, etc.

Four cylindrical amulets have come from Bhokardan excavation (Deo & Gupte: 1974). One of these ascribed to 1st c. BCE to 3rd c. CE is an interesting piece. It is a beautiful specimen of a collard cylinder with cut granules in relief(Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 24.157). It is banded at the ends and collars are short, circular and projecting. It is perforated off center and horizontally (Fig. 3.20).

Faience beads in India appear only after the beginning of the Christian era. Faience beads belonging to the IndoRoman levels in Maharashtra has its counterpart in the same material from Charsada, Chandravalli, Kondapur and Sirkap. This points towards grand-trunk road.

Other three specimens from Bhokardan have some common features. They are solid cylinders with raised collars and loops for passing a thread through the perforation. One of these has only one cylinder with double ribbed ends. It is attributed to 3rd c. CE (Deo & Gupte 1974: Fig. 24.148) (Fig. 3.13). The other two are cylinders with double ribbed ends. One has incipient (Deo & Gupte 1974: Fig. 24.152) collared terminals and the other has ringed (Deo & Gupte 1974: Fig. 24.150) terminals with horizontal perforation. These (Fig. 3.14) fall between the 1st and the 3rd c. CE.

Due to the impact of Indo-Roman trade we find glass appears to be used on a large scale. The beads with, yellow-matrix, gold foils are found in the early centuries of the Christian era mainly from trade emporiums like, Karad, Kolhapur, Kondapur, Paithan and Ter. Same is the case with small pillar-like (Fig. 3.21), pendant of terra cotta prepared out of double-mould. Exactly similar spacers are reported from Ujjain, Kolhapur, Karad, Kondapur and Tripuri. Roman contact is amply compensated by a large variety of types both hybrid and of foreign origin. Some of these unique specimens without any parallel in India are Dumbbell shaped-pendant made of copper from Nevasa (Fig. 3.22). The molded chain bead of green glass from Nevasa (Fig. 3.23). The Naga-hood bead though similar to the Srivatsa motif in outline is distinctly a serpent bead, which depicts the vertebra minutely and clearly. The Chevron bead from Prakashe (Fig. 3.24). It is presumably copied from a metal proto-type. The teeth of the chevron are so ingeniously fashioned as to dovetail into each other for the purpose of threading in a chain. Another unique specimen is the faggot bead made ofterra cotta from Ter (Fig. 3.26).

One specimen from Sopara is made from blue glass. It is a six-sided cylinder datable to the Satavahana period, (Bhagawanlal, 1883: PL XV.3) (Fig. 3.16). It is undrilled, at either end. Specimens from Maharashtra are dated between 2nd BCE to 3rd CE whereas outside Maharashtra it belongs to 3rd BCE to 1st CE. One circular cylinder of terra cotta comes from the Satavahana level at Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXXV.3) (Fig. 3.25). It is decorated with five bands of pellets set within small pelleted zones and pressed from a mould. It is very hard baked, made with well levigated reddish clay, and it has given a light yellowish clay wash. A cylinder-square specimen of lapis-lazuli, recovered from early historical period show a perforation in the center, suggesting its use as a pendant (Sarkar AI-22: L 73). Apart from the finds of amulets and pendants from excavations, they have also been found depicted in contemporary sculptures of central and western India. They have been represented invariably as part of the neck ornaments. It could also be an ear-ornament as seen depicted in the Yakshi figures at Bharhut (Barua: 1979).

It is quite possible that these specimens came from bead making sites like Taxila in the north and Kondapur in the south, etc., or from a foreign land, as we have not been able to establish a bead-making site in Maharashtra. Compare to other sites the data is negligible.

Besides large-sized sculptures in which the ornaments are depicted in their natural grace, the coping stones of many a railing at Bharhut and Pauni are found decorated with garlands and other ornaments, where the principal

59

Distinctive Beads

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60

22

Amulets in Ancient India

ornamental motifs like pendants individually portrayed (Barua: 1979).

and

amulets

proof against their swords. A similar marvel is related in, "The Travels" of the Voracious Marcopolo in an attempt of Kublai Khan to make a conquest of the Island of Zipan qux. A jealousy arose between the two commanders of the expedition, which led to an order for putting the whole garrison to the sword. In obedience to this order the heads of all were cut off except of eight persons, who by the efficacy of a diabolical charms, consisting of jewels or amulets introduced into the right arm, between the skin and the flesh, were rendered secure from the effects of iron, either to kill or wound. Upon this discovery being made and they were beaten with heavy wooden club and presently died. By these examples it is obvious that the use of amulet was popular in all the countries during the middle ages.

are

Sculptural representations are also found at Sanchi (Marshall: 1955), Amaravati (Bachhofer: 1954; Barret: 1954; Sivaramamurti: 1977), Nagarjunikonda (Longhurst: 1939), Madhuri, Sarnath and caves of Western India. These are Hindu, Buddhist or Jaina. It is quite evident that these amulets have some definite religious significance. Most of the depictions in sculptures belong to the Early School of Indian Art, assignable from about the 3rd c. BCE to the 3rd C. CE Some of the symbols became famous iconographically and attained importance from about the Gupta period. Therepresentations in sculptures clearly indicate the way in which the amulets and pendants have been worn vis-a-vis those available from the excavations.

Amulets for Curing Fever

In order to cure fever a feather of an owl, tied with white thread should be worn on the left ear. Another amulet of 16 Trisula, Y antra, written on a Pepal leaf is tied round the neck of the patient suffering from Malaria. This amulet is still very popular in interiors of Rajasthan.

Amulets for Particular Diseases

Various types of amulets are used for curing different kinds of fever, jaundice, bleeding and headache of a severe type, which has lasted for a long period of time. To same a victim of snakebite cases they are tied red thread, in front of the deity, their neck. Some times it is claimed that spell amulets also stop the effect of snakebite, which is hurriedly prepared and tied round the patient's neck by magician. After the elapse of sufficient time to snake bite it is removed and stowed to a well, tank or river.

Amulets of Curing Piles

A special spell is recited 21 times on a red thread and a knot is made on it. In this way three knots are made. This thread is tied on the toe of the patient of piles. It is believed that his disease does not recur so long as this amulet is worn on the toe. Amulets for Evil Eye

An amulet also serves an important purpose of protection against demons and witches, evil eyes and also enemies. With a well prepared amulet, around the neck or on the arm, a person can pass through a cremation ground without any fear, and haunted places without any harm from demons. An amulet serves as an effective defence also against evil designs of witches and of those possessing evil eye. If an attack or assault from an enemy is feared, the amulet prepared specially as a protection against such eventuality is worn and it is believed that the enemy's efforts will be frustrated and if an actual fight takes place the wearer's victory is ensured.

For a child a peculiar type of amulet is prepared. It is a sort of garland consisting of several articles like a counch, nails of a tiger, hair of a bear, teeth of a fish, certain kinds of beads, effigy of a deity etc. and a spell written on some paper and encased in a tiny box. It is believed that it serves as a protection against many potential troubles. Amulets in Todays Society

The amulets are more popular in villages than in towns and cities. An amulet has a great psychological effect on a wearer if he is credulous and weak minded. In depression even educated people use them. The constant use of an amulet strengthens the belief of the wearer in its effectiveness. With the increasing progress of education, people are turning more and more to medicine. Their belief in demons and ghosts and witches is decreasing fast. Still superstitions and credulity are lingering on, though their strongholds are now only the villages and rarely the towns and cities. There are persons in cities also who use amulets on their person to avoid possibility of certain diseases.

Wrestlers use an amulet encased in tiny leather bag with the belief that it helps them in over-throwing their rivals and saving them from any physical injury. An amulet is regarded as a sort of armour, not only against the onslaughts of the demons or diseases, but also against human enemies. The following examples of an amulet serving as a defence armour are interesting. Elihurich says, (Redgrove, H. Stanley, by Gone Beliefs, 84) "In 1568 the Prince of Orange condemned a Spanish prisoner to be shot at Juliers. The soldiers tied him to a tree and fired but he was invulnerable. They then stripped him to see what armour he wore, but they found only an amulet bearing the figure of a lamb. This was taken from him and he was then killed by the first shot". Deparos relates - (Elihu Rich, The Occult Sciences P346) ' that the Portuguese in like manner vainly attempted to destroy a Malaya so long as he wore a bracelet containing a born set in gold, which rendered

It is believed that if a person with an amulet on his person joins a funeral-procession it looses its effectiveness hence. So before attending such a ceremony he sould take it out temporarily and place it carefully at an appropriate place and put it on again after he has taken his bath. It is said that an amulet should not be burnt along with the dead body. If it is done by mistake, one of those performing the cremation is very likely liable to suffer or the members of the deceased household would be harmed.

61

Distinctive Beads It is believed that if an amulet is put off for very long, it would lose its effectiveness. When it has been worn long enough and the purpose for which it is used had been served it should be stowed to a well or a river. The amulet for ordinary ailments is worn for about two months. For the purpose protection against demons or witches it is worn for a pretty long time but after a year or two it is replaced by a new one. A child requires it for four or five years.

then tying directly round the neck of the patient without placing it on the ground. The amulet is itself regarded as a sort of deity and, therefore, it is a practice to bum incense before it. Some magicians, however, invoke a Shakta deity to lend it power and force and go through rituals, and write the name of the deity on the paper or a leaf and use as an amulet. Sometimes, some arabesque squares are used as spells for the amulets. There are several such squares. Of them one, the most known to the magicians, is the Chautisi and a few others. They are used for many purposes and curing diseases. There are squares for averting ill influences of the nine planets (Nakshatras).

Amulets and Black Magic

From the Atharvaveda to the early mediaeval period the transition was rational. The Sraut Sutras and Grahya Sutras and the Mahayan Buddhism adopted the earlier magical practices and amended and reshaped them according to the trends of the time. In the seventh century the Raj puts made their appearance and founded kingdoms in the area around Rajasthan. They gave to themselves or their priests gave them very supernatural origin. The Rajputs were superstitious people and derived their strength and reputation from popular deities and ghosts. Under their patronage magic flourished very well and amulets received encouragement. Besides, before the appearance of Rajputs, Rajasthan was peopled by the aborigins, the Bhils, the Saharias etc., who were of the tribal stock. Their beliefs were naturally assimilated in the main stream by the Rajputs on account of their own superstitious and credulous tendency. The priests of the Rajputs like the priests of the Atharvavedic period dressed up these beliefs in Sanskrit and thus lent them respectability.

The amulets are generally prepared for defensive purposes and in a very few cases for offensive purpose. Today some magicians do not know spells but only pronounce the name of the deity, which they worship on the amulet and wave it on the sacrificial fire burnt before the image of the deity and give it to the patient to wear. This amulet mostly consists of a simple red or black thread, though some times a tiny case is also used for the purpose, but the case contains no written spell, only a small quantity of ash taken from the sacrificial fire. Sometimes the name of the deity or a prayer to the deity is inscribed on paper and put inside the case. Other amulets for curing disease are prepared by the second class magicians who claim to have under their control the demons called Bhutas and Rakshashas, and female demons called Apsaras in the Atharvavedic period and Y oginis in the mediaeval period and Chudels in the Modem age. They prepare amulets in a more elaborate manner. They derive their strength from the spirits whom they have tamed and ask them to lend strength and effect to the spell they write and also to the. amulet in which it is encased. Sometimes, when the trouble is very serious the magicians go to the cremation ground and there summon the spirits or retire to the place which is believed to be haunted by the spirits, or the deserted houses which are supposed to be the abodes of spirits. They secretly perform the ceremony there and prepare the amulets, then secretly tell their clients that such and such spirits have been contacted and ask to make the amulets effective. This sort of amulets are used for driving away the demons of disease and for casting out evil spirits and also protecting the wearers from any possibility of harm by any spirit who might have been set on to inflict injury by a hostile sorcerers. The person who is suspected to be the patient of a 'Mooth' is made impervious against its effects by an amulet. if the 'Mooth' has not yet taken effect the amulet would repel it. If the injury have started the patient would be healed. Really speaking, the hostile missiles and the counter charms are both psychological devices, which work on the weak-minded and superstitious persons. If they fail be would say that the Y ogini or the Bhutas helping the sorcerer of the other party is stronger.

It seems that the spells, magical rites, amulets and the

formulae of the Mohanjo-daro period reappeared in the form of unintelligible beliefs and spells like Hrim, Phat, Shrini, Sah etc. The words in the Mohanjo-daro amulets have not yet been deciphered and the short spells given in the books of magic of the ninth and tenth century are also unintelligible. In this respect the two categories of spells separated from each other by thousands of years, are strikingly similar. Hence, many people think that the ancient inscriptions of the Mohnjo-daro period appeared with slight changes in the Shakta period and were used in their magical rites and were used as spells on the amulets, which also reappeared with greater force and strength in the modem age. As stated earlier the material used in the Atharvavedic period consisted of the herb, wood, gold, iron, pearl, hair, etc. The same material came down by tradition to the early mediaeval age. Along with these many more articles came to be used for making amulets in this period all over the world. In India the new amulets are tiny boxes mostly one inch by one inch, made of gold, silver, brass, copper, and iron. They are also prepared with stout cloth. They enclose in it a spell written on a piece of paper or bark or betel lea£ After writing the spell on the material it is to be put inside the tiny case. Some spells are further pronounced on it, and to make it strong and effective certain rituals are performed. Then it is encased and worn round either the neck or the wrist. Hair and nails are put in the amulets without any written spells. The ritual usually consists of burning incense or pouring cow urine on burning fire and waving the amulet over the smoke and

The magician who succeeds in his attempt is able to exonerate his power and to illustrate the competency of the charms employed. On account of the activities of this class of magicians or sorcerers certain cases inside or outside a

62

Amulets in Ancient India village are regarded as the usual haunts of the spirits, and are, therefore, avoided by the villagers. The amulets contain certain charms inscribed on some paper or Bhoja patra and put in tiny cases. They are worn by patients round their necks and on their arms. Some amulets are made of simple red or black thread also, on which the spells are muttered.

performed for returning the seeds back to its sender. Therefore, either they do never pierce the head of the contemplated victim or if they do they will drop down, as a result of the spell and the amulet, through his nostrils. The spells pronounced are simple sentences like "O amulet, become strong and powerful, drive away the demons of diseases, cast away the demons who have seized the patient or the witch who is harassing and tormenting the child or the young mother". These spells are used according to the purpose for which amulet is to be put. If it is to keep the demons and the ghosts away the spell is "The demons shall not come near thee. The witches shall be frightened away. The hobgoblin shall be sacred". If the amulet is meant for a wrestler the spell pronounced is, "O amulet, you will be a shield to the wearer. He will not he vanquished by a rival. No limb of his shall he injured. His rival will sustain defeat and will be crushed". Almost similar spells are pronounced on the amulets, which are prepared for soldiers. "The wearer shall parry the blows. He will strike effectively and successfully. His enemy shall not injure him. His weapon shall have no effect on him. His enemy will be subdued".

The third class of magicians also prepare amulets but they do it independently of some deity or the spirits. It is also supposed that they have once perfected their spells with the help of either some deity or the spirit and then become independent of their influence and find it unnecessary to invoke the deity and the spirit again and again to help them in their attempts. They just write the spell on a suitable material, place it in a tiny case of some metal or cloth, again pronounce some spells on it and ask the person concerned to wear it for averting evil eye or resisting the death-causing spells called 'Mooth or Maran' which propel the seeds of missile into the head of the patients for whom the amulets are prepared. They also instruct the patients to wave the amulet on some incense before tying it round their necks. They are not to place the amulet on ground or touch some filth and untouchable person. They should not go, with an amulet on, in a funeral procession. Spells are also supported by certain rituals, some of which are

So it appears that from the pre-historic to the present day the belief in amulets has become stronger.

63

PENDANTS IN ANCIENT INDIA

As stated earlier pendants are of simple and conventional in shapes and exhibit a variety of shapes. A pendant can be regarded as an amulet if it is heirloom.

exception of a few from Bhokardan, Chandravalli, Kaundinyapura, Nagar and Tripuri. These are made in green glass, carnelian and shell. Taxila specimens belong to c. 4th -2nd BCE. The other specimens are known from the Satavahana period. Specimens from Maharashtra correspond to those from Chandravalli and Tripuri and belong to the same period.

BellPendants: The bell is used as a pendant in the necklace or in the girdle or even in the anklet on the feet. The most common form for a bell is tulip shaped inverted cup with a flaring rim. A suspension loop or ring is attached at the top and sometimes it is also provided with a tongue. Ancient literature cites various ornaments with "Kinkini", an onomatopoetic word, indicating the jingling sound (Deo: In press).

Four specimens of bud pendants are reported form Kaundinyapura and belong to the Satavahana period. Three specimens are made of shell (Fig. 4.3), (Dikshit, 1968: Pl. XXXIV.7, 8, 9) and one is made of steatite (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 32-15). 'L' shaped perforation characterizes these specimens. These pointed bud pendants may have been used as terminals at the lower end of the necklaces. This is the reasons why they bear "right angled" perforation.

One finds numerous references to the a garland of bells (ghantamala), worn by numerous deities of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina pantheon. Actual specimens of bell pendants appear in yellow glass (Marshall 1952: 243; Beck, 1941: PL IX.36) (Fig. 4.1) and shell (Marshall 1952: 242) at Taxila. From this same site a canelian specimen of bell pendant (Beck, 1941: Pl. IV.28) is dated to the 1st c. CE. At the base it has a diamond-shaped profile. The Bharat Kala Bhavan at Varanasi preserves an unstratified specimen of green jasper.

Bullae: This is a class of pendant in which coins or their imitations are used for the necklaces. In such cases these are called Bullae. These pendants, sometimes, have two holes for the suspension with a string through them. Sometimes simply a tube or merely a loop is attached to a coin by which it is suspended. These pendants were extremely popular in India in the early centuries specially during the Satavahana times in the Deccan and the Kushana-Gupta period in North India.

Although not very accurately dated some metal specimens are found from many excavations. As stated earlier that due to the small size of these pendants the tongue is not always present in the actual specimens. Due to the absence of these some times these pendants are incorrectly identified. One comes across a great diversity in the shapes of the bells.

It is mainly divided into two distinct groups (Lal, 1949).

In the first group the coins were used as pendants either with suspension hole or a loop, attached to the coin (Fig. 4.4).

BoatPendants: In the second variety the coins are imitated in clay. These bear either human heads, closely imitating those on Roman coins or Kushana coins or are decorated with humped bull, elephant or other animal figurines or the floral decorations. Both the types of imitation bullae are more or less coexisting.

Amulets are very rarely designed in a shape of a boat. The specimen known from Kondapur excavations is the one known at present (Dikshit, 1952: Pl. 111.124) (Fig. 4.2). This shell specimen has cross marks on the concave side. As it was left unfinished a portion of the shell-core still clings to the base. The Kausika Sutra, (52-11), stated that an amulet in the form of a ship guarantees unharmed sailing (Dikshit, 1952: Pl. 11.101).

The antiquity of the practice of wearing coins as pendants can be traced as far back as the epic period. In the Ramayana, Sita is said to be wearing the Nishka (Ramayana V.5.25) as a pendant-jewel. The Kumarashambhava of Kalidasa also mentions Nishka. The Mahavastu (11.68) insinuate to Kanthanishka. In the

BudPendants: Bud pendants are mostly known from Taxila with the 64

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

Classical times, dinara, the current coin of the period, was strung in necklaces, and insinuations to it under the name dinara-mala, are found in the Dhammapadatthakatha (Burlingam, 1915: I, 394), Kalpa-Sutra (SBE XXII 233), the Vasudevahimdi and other works.

top is truncated and has a hole (Fig. 4.6). Some times the base has a pair of incised lines forming a plus sign as seen in the N asik specimen. Conical pendants occur at Nagda, Jokha, Kuntasi, Nagar, Nasik, Nevasa, Salihundam and Veerapuram. These are reported in terra cotta belonging to 3rd BCE to 4th CE Nasik specimen belongs to the lower level of this time bracket i.e., 4th -2nd BCE Twenty-four conical pendants in terra cotta were found at V eerapuram. They belong to 501st CE time bracket (Shastri, 1984: PL XXIV.6-10).

Excavations at several sites in India have brought to light actual gold coin pendants. In the Vajrasana throne at Mahabodhi (Cunningham, 1892: PL XXII.11 ), a gold coin of Huvishka used as a pendant was found. In the excavations at Kumrahar and Shaha Kamal Road in the Patna city gold coin pendants of Huvishka were found (Altekar & Mishra, 1969: PL LIX.B.1-2). The Shaha Kamal specimen has two holes for suspension (IA-R 195556: PL XXXIV.B). The Kumrahar speciment is damaged. At Taxila (Marshall, 1952: 631-32, PL 191.n), four specimens of bullae were found. These are in imitation of the gold coins of late Kushanas. One of them has a gold tube fitted at the top. It is studded with carbuncle. The others have the holes for suspension.

Two conical pendants have been reported one each from Nasik and Nevasa. Nasik specimen of terracotta belongs to the medieval period. Nevasa specimen (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 194.6) is a piece of horn, triangular in outline, with a perforation at the apex. Another partial perforation is at the base. It is datable to 2nd c. BCE (Fig. 4. 7).

In the excavations at Sisupalgarh (Lal 1949: 97, PL XLVIII.A), a gold coin with a loop pendant was discovered. This 3rd c. CE specimen has a Roman bust on the obverse and a legend along with a figure in imitation of Kushana coins. Attributed to the same period, two medallions in imitation of Roman coins with two holes on top have come from Nagarjunikonda. One of the interesting feature here was the discovery of even the mould for such coins in goldsmith's equipment.

A pendant of black granite from Kuntasi, cylindrical in shape with tapering sides, bears a hole near the top (Dhavalikar, et. al., 1996: Fig. 7 .10-11). This specimen has been ascribed to the 28th -25th BCE period. CrescentPendants: Some amulets are crescent-shaped ending in points leaving small gap in between. These have a crescent like form, pendulous and thick in the middle and tapering at the ends. This ornament was probably hung at the parting of the hair, as is done today. When depicted in sculpture the ends of the crescent appear to have been joined together. This was generally achieved by means of a wire. It is furnished by a large number of examples found on various sites. These are recovered from Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVI.2), Nagarjunikonda (IA-R, 1956-57: PL LXI.1), Sisupalgarh (Lal, 1941: PL XLVII, 13-19) Taxila, Kondapur, Brahmapuri, Ter, Bhokardan and Vaishali associated with 2nd c. CE (Kushana-Satavahana) level. The specimens from Maharashtra are also attributed to the Satavahana times.

The sites at Kondapur and Nagarjunikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tripuri, Garh, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Sisupalgarh in Orissa, Junagadh in Saurashtra, Karhad, Kholapur, Kolhapur, Nasik, Paithan, Ter in Maharashtra, Kosam, Rajghat, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Chandravalli in Mysore (Wheeler, 1954: PL XXVIIIXXIX, Lal, 1949: 90) etc. have given clay bullae with Roman bust. It was a very common practice to copy the bust of a Roman king in the clay bullae. These clay imitation occur very frequently. ClubPendants: It is cylindrical with tapering sides. The broader end is perforated and the narrow one has a broad base (Fig. 4.5). Most of them are known from Taxila, Bhokardan and Nagara. These specimens are made of carnelian, glass, gold and terra cotta and attributed to c. 5th -1 st BCE time bracket. One bubbly glass specimen of club pendant, attributed to the 3rd c. CE, comes from Bhokardan (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 23-lst; 131-2).

Taxila excavations have yielded gold specimens belonging to the Kushana period. The ornament, though encountered in terra cotta in large numbers, it is undoubted that these were clay copies simulating the form in precious metal. Ter has unearthed moulds for the making of the crescent in soapstone. Bhokardan has yielded a few with decoration, such as semi-circular lines, floral designs stepped up pellets and dots, beaded lines etc. (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig 29.1-12; 154-5) (Fig. 4.8). The surface of the crescent is variously decorated with linear designs, dots, circles, pallets and cords, etc. The design on Nagarjunikonda specimen is similar to that ofBhokardan specimen.

It is quite probable that this shape traveled from Taxila to the Deccan, but it cannot be stated with certainty until and unless more specimens are found from 1st BCE to 3rd CE level.

At Taxila (Young, 1946: 32, PL IX) these were made in gold and terra cotta. The gold ones have been decorated with a double border of bosses in repousse arranged crescent-wise around a circular gap. There are two small

ConicalPendants: It is a conical, flat based pendant with smooth base. The

65

Distinctive Beads holes in the gap reinforced by wire-rings in which perhaps hook-like arrangement was made for use as a pendant. Specimens with same width and design along with moulds in terra cotta have also been found at Taxila (Marshall, 1951-53 II: 461; III PL 136.6, 136.4). At Sisupalgarh, designs comprise of raised bands at ends, rows of beads, spiral patterns, etc. Here (Lal, 1941: PL XLVII.13-19) twenty-nine crescent-shaped pendants have come to light belonging to 2nd c. CE levels. A gold specimen of Kushana period has been found in the excavation at Vaishali (IA-R, 1958-59: PL X.B). The finest specimens are known from the Satavahana sites. Most of them were prepared from double moulds and profusely decorated. Brahmapuri has yielded a crescent shaped pendant belonging to the Satavahana period. (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVI.B.2, 96-7). It is made of terra cotta, cast from a mould and decorated with two bands of beading arranged in the shape of a cross-superimposed by a small deeply incised pellet in the central portion of the specimen. Kondapur (Dikshit, 1952: 24-25, PL V.252, VI.262) has yielded them in simple and elaborate decorated types. Simple ones bear several thread marks or ladders ending in a point. The elaborate decorations consist of a series of raised platforms on top, on which there is a rosette with a central knob. The whole area is included in a crescent shaped platform surrounded by dots, near the margin. These also belong to the Satavahana period.

perforated at the base of the upper cap and bears polished surface (Fig. 4.9).

DropPendant: They possess a bulbous lower portion, of the shape of the drop of water, with a perforated top and tapering sides. Drop pendants are of very wide occurrence and have been reported from Ahar, Ahichchhatra, Arikamedu, Besanagar, Bhir-Mound, Bhokardan, Brahmapuri, Cambay, Jandial, Kaundinyapura, Kondapur, Kosam, Maheshwar, Maski, Narhan, Nasik, Nevasa, Paunar, Rangamahal, Rajghat, Sambhar, Tilaura-kot, Tripuri, Taxila, Timbarva (Gujarat), and V aishali. They were made from a variety of materials like agate, amethyst, carnelian, chalcedony, crystal, blue faience, gold, granite, glazed quartz, glass, ivory, jasper, lapislazuli, opal, shell and terra cotta. Taxila has yielded specimens in agate, carnelian, gold, lapis lazuli, shell and terra cotta. They are attributed between 5th BCE and 1st CE (Beck: 1941). A gold specimen from Timbarva is dated between c. 1st 3rd CE (Mehta: 1955). A drop pendant of rock crystal having hexagonal crosssection comes from Tilaura-kot and it is dated to the Mauryan period. Drop pendants made in gold have a ringed projection for suspension. They are attributed to c. 1st CE. At Taxila, agate and carnelian pendants belong to c. 5th_3 rd BCE , while those in lapis lazuli belong to the strata dated between 3rd BCE and 1st CE. Ghosh (194 7) mentions two shell pendants from Taxila datable from c. 4th BCE - 1st CE.

One crescent shaped pendant of bone has come from the late level of Period 1B at Bhagwanpur (Joshi, 1993: PL XXV.5). Two specimens in smoky quartz and banded agate have come from Kausambi (Postel: 1989). Crescent shaped pendants are clearly seen on a ninth c. wall carvings in the Tiruttani temple, (Longhust, 1924: Pl.XI) Matangeshwara and Tripurantaka temple at Kanchi (Rea, ASI 1909: PL XCVI). The famous statue of the so-called priest at Mohenjo-Daro shows a crescent-shaped fillet on the headband, which may be taken as a pendant (Marshall, 1931: PL XCVII). The early literature mentions various ornaments used for the decoration on the forehead, at the parting of the hair (Ganguli, 1940: 140-149). It is quite prominently portrayed in the art of Kushana, and Satavahana period in North and the Deccan respectively. The Kushana period sculptures found from Mathura depict these profusely (Agrawala, 1939: PL IX.21). Their use as ear-ornaments are evident from the contemporary sculptures at Amaravati (Sivaramamurti, 1977: PL VII.7, 10). The ornament, therefore, seems to have been in vogue in the Kushana age. It is strange that we do not notice it on sculptures in the Gupta period. It, therefore, appears to have gone out of fashion after the Kushana period and made a come back in the later medieval period.

Kondapur has also contributed one specimen in banded agate. The material for this pendant is very carefully selected. The horizontal bore at the top of the piece is extremely small and is very carefully drilled (Dikshit, 1952: PL 1.19). Two-drop pendants in green glass are attributed between c. 4th BCE and 1st CE. Brahmapuri and Sambhar have yielded it in carnelian dated to 2nd -3rd CE. Tripuri has yielded it in glass attributed to c.1st-2nd CE. Shell specimen at Maski belongs to the early centuries of Christian era. Terra cotta specimens come from Abar, Besanagar, Maski, Rangamahal, Sambhar, Taxila and Tripuri. These are dated to c. 2nd BCE - 3rd CE. At Taxila they occur inc. 5th BCE to 2nd CE bracket. Narhan has yielded four specimens. Two-drop pendant of red carnelian with mid rib in the center on one face is dated to 3rd to 6th c. CE (Singh, 1994: Fig. 57.35-36).

Double-Capped Pendant: Two more specimens of ivory are decorated with geometrical designs all over the body (Singh, 1994: Fig. 57.37, 38). One of them comes from 2nd BCE to 3rd CE.

A unique double capped crystal pendant is reported from Nasik (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: Fig. 45.7). It bears slightly hexagonal sides, with a number of slanting lines incised on both surfaces to give the effect of decoration. It is

Rajghat has yielded two flattened hexagonal drop pendant 66

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India of transparent and milky quartz crystal from early Mauryan period (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.1, 14). Similar agate specimen comes from surface (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.19). An inverted drop pendant of carnelian belongs to the 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE level (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.5). Another specimen dated to the same period is made of green jasper with a black band near the perforated edge (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.12). One more pendant from here is made of slate and dated to 7th to 12th c. CE (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL VIII.13). One specimen of topaz is from an unstratified context.

A single one in ivory at Nevasa (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 198.1) with flat base and truncated top is the only specimen known in ivory.

Seventeen specimens have been reported from Brahmapuri, Bhokardan, Nasik, Nevasa and Paunar excavations in Maharashtra. The earliest specimen is assignable to the 2nd c. BCE from Nevasa. Two specimens each from Bhokardan and Paunar are from surface scatters.

The drop pendants are dated between c. 2nd BCE and 3rd CE whereas in Maharashtra these are attributed to 5th BCE to 3rd CE bracket outside it. Though the drop pendants in Maharashtra seem to have survived till the medieval period, but they seem to have, been more popular in the Satavahana period.

A specimen from Nevasa (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 16711) of pale blue faience is an inverted drop pendant. It is dated between 1st c. BCE and 3rd c. CE. It bears two shallow grooves at the broader end. The other end is very pointed. Similar specimens are reported from Sirkap in carnelian and quartz (Beck: 1941).

MalletShapedPendant:

Two-drop pendants have been recovered from Brahmapuri in carnelian (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 30.11 ). These are identical specimens with bulbous body and flat top where it is perforated. The carnelian one belongs to the Satavahana period, whereas the amethyst one is attributed to the Bahmani period. This shows that they were popular for quite a longer span of time.

A mallet shaped iendant has been reported from Prakashe, assignable to 6 -2nd BCE levels. Made from green copper-colored glass, this translucent specimen is cylindrical but tapering at one end. The tapering end culminates in a small circle in which there is a perforation (Fig. 4.12) (Thapar, 1967: Fig. 38.34).

Another specimen from Nevasa (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 168.25) is of red jasper. It is assigned to the 2 nd c. BCE . It is a very beautiful specimen with a more rounded form (Fig. 4.10).

Another specimen, which could be called as a mallet shaped amulet, is found at Talakad. It is a round cylinder specimen in opaque bright yellow glass, which tapers slightly to one side and a small head on the other end (Devraj, et. al., 1996: PL XCIX-2).

Four specimens have been recovered from Bhokardan. Out of these, two in banded agate are from surface collection (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 20.12-13). The material is very carefully selected. The third specimen is of carnelian (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21-4) and assigned to the 3rd c. CE. It is similar to the Nevasa red jasper specimen.

PyramidPendants: Three pyramid-shaped pendants of banded agate are found in the Mauryan strata at Taxila (Beck, 1941: PL 111.7-9) (Fig. 4.13). The brilliant polish and careful finish compels one attribute thee to the Mauryan age. These have either square base or rectangular and triangular ones. The reliquary of the Piprahawa Stupa has unearthed a specimen having triangular base (William, 1898: 869-70).

Opal specimen from Nasik (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: Fig. 45.15) is assigned between 2 nd BCE and 4th CE bracket. Two identical drop pendants of terra cotta have been found at Paunar (Deo & Dhavalikar 1968: Fig. 28.4). They are complete pendants with cylindrical shape, tapering sides, and flat circular faces and with perforation near the top of the tapering end. The third specimen from Paunar (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 24.12), in carnelian is a fragmentary one.

Rectangular TabularPendant: Three specimens of rectangular tabular pendants have come from Brahmapuri. These specimens made from well levigated clay, belong to the Satavahana period. The first specimen (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVIA3) is rectangular in shape and decorated with a number of beading in high relief enclosed within borders. This pattern is executed in a mould and the design is the same on both the sides (Fig. 4.14).

The fourth specimen in chalcedony is a complete one. It is a tapering cylinder with convex ends. It bears perforation near the narrow end and comes from surface scatters (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 24.17) (Fig. 4.11). Bhokardan has yielded a similar one in glass. It is attributed to c. 1st2nd CE Carnelian specimen from Paunar is attributed to the 3rdC. CE.

The other two (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XIX) are fragmentary and trapezoid in shape. They are decorated with heart-shaped motifs and beading. This design is in high relief. On the reverse, fingerprints of the maker indicate that they were cast from a mould (Fig. 4.15).

A crystal specimen from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 32.25) has 'L' perforation.

67

Distinctive Beads

ScabbardPendant:

Triangular Pendant:

A terra cotta scabbard pendant (Thapar, 1967: Fig. 38.41) (Fig. 4.16), is reported from Prakashe from a late level of the Mauryan period. This is a delicately moulded specimen bears a neat perforation through the hilt. An interesting specimen of sword amulet comes from Tilaura-kot from Mauryan level. This rock-crystal specimen is lenticular in cross-section (Mitra, 1972) (Fig. 4.17).

Nasik has given a fine, smooth, tabular pendant of deep red carnelian (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: Fig. 45.19). This slightly worn out specimen is perforated near the truncated top (Fig. 4.19). Another specimen, made of shell (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: Fig. 46.5) is also a tabular triangular pendant. This polished and smooth pendant is thicker at the top where it is perforated (Fig. 4.20).

SpacerPendant: These two triangular pendants reported from N asik are dated between 4th and 2nd BCE .

It is an ornamental devise in the shape of horizontal and vertical flutings or ribbings at top and an elongated tapering body below. This type occurs at Kondapur, Taxila, Tripuri, Karad, Brahmagiri and Ujjain. It occurs predominantly from Satavahana sites in central India and the Deccan and is made in terra cotta.

A third specimen has been recovered from N evasa. This coral specimen is in its natural state (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 166-151). It is ascribed to the 2nd c. BCE. (Fig. 4.21). Miscellaneous Pendants:

Another popular type consists of a pillar-like pendant with a fluted device at top and elongated tapering body below with two perforations. These are mostly made from double moulds and decorated in different designs. Kondapur (Dikshit: 1954) has the lower register is decorated with a fluted amalaka or clustered beads. They occur also at Ujjain. At Tripuri (Dikshit: 1952) they are made from moulds. They consist of three unequal parts divided by short zonal bands near the ends and usual ribbing on the top. The underside is flat and each one has lateral perforations decorated with dots and pellets, and some are even painted.

A few specimens are unclassified. These are recovered from Nevasa, Bhokardan, Paunar and Ter and are made from Carnelian, Chalcedony, Ivory and Terracotta. The chalcedony specimen from N evasa is a neatly perforated natural nodule recovered from Chalcolithic levels (Fig. 4.22). Perforation from both the sides has resulted in a hole of hourglass section (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 166.14). The second specimen, datable between C. 1st c. BCE and 2nd & 3rd c. CE, from Nevasa is made from ivory (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: Fig. 198.11). This is a flat-based specimen of ivory with truncated top bears a neat perforation near the head (Fig. 4.23).

A rare specimen from Kondapur appears to have been made in imitation of some leaves and served the function of a spacer in between two beads. The top hole shows that it may have been used as a pendant also (Dikshit, 1954: PL V.224).

An unclassified terra cotta specimen with vertically ribbed cylindrical body, having sideways projections from Paunar is dated to the 3rd c. CE (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 25.47). This is horizontally perforated, and has concave base (Fig. 4.24).

One spacer pendant is reported from Brahmapuri (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVI-A.2), (Fig. 4.18). Recovered from Satavahana stratum, it is a specimen in pottery with a deep brown slip. It bears an ornamental device in the shape of horizontal and vertical flutes or ribbings at the top, and an elongated tapering body below. The lower portion of this pendant is broken and the underside is flat. Two holes in the upper portion show that it was a spacer bead-pendant.

Another unclassified carnelian lenticular specimen with a hump, from Bhokardan is a surface find (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21.39). This bears high polish and perforation through the hump (Fig. 4.25). The fifth specimen is from Ter and made of terra cotta (Fig. 4.26). It is a bell-shaped pendant with some decoration within a border.

A specimen of spacer bead is reported from Talakad. It is a cylindrical spacer pendant and its shaped is not very attractive and elegant.

Four specimens from Porkalam are plumb-bob type of indeterminate metal (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.12) (Fig. 4.27). These specimens are dated between the 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE. Terra cotta counterparts of this pendant are known from Rajghat, Kausambi and Arikamedu.

This type of bead-cum-pendant seems to have been popular in the Satavahana period. Several pendants of the same description are known from Kondapur in Andhra Pradesh. One such from Karad is deposited in the Bharatiya Itihasa Sansodhan Mandal, Pune.

These were basically for ornamental purposes, rather than some specific socio-religious significance. These are 68

Distinctive Beads in Ancient India

cultural contact. In some instances these are also considered as amulets if they were heir loomed.

included due to their distinctive shapes, which make them unique. This uniqueness is very helpful in tracing the

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69

24

EYE-BEADS IN ANCIENT INDIA

Man was generally always superstitious before being social or political. In his struggle for life very often he resorted to magical practices / devices and even believed that these will enable him to overcome all obstacles and give him success. Very often he though magic was stronger than physical force for gaining certain objectives, like defeat of enemies or averting evils. This primitive nature of man acquired in the remote past has made him consider eyebeads as one of the means of averting evil eye. To direct the evil eye or to nullify its effects in many cultures across the world eye-beads are worn (Maloney, 1976: 5-16).

The earliest written references to the evil eye are said to occur on Sumerian clay tablets dating to the 3rd millennium BCE (Budge, 1970: 358). Stone beads with incised eye designs and banded agates cut to produce an eye effect and etched carnelian beads with eye pattern are known from Mesopotamian sites of the same period. The latter also occur in mid - to late third-millennium BCE sites in the Indus valley and Afghanistan. Identical polyhedral beads with eye like dots on each facets were recovered from Lothal and Kalibangan in the Indus Valleys. Agate eye beads of superb quality were also found in the royal Sumerian graves at Ur. Bead amulets called udjat-the eyes of Horus- were widely used in ancient Egypt from the Fifth to the Twelfth dynasties 2494-1786 BCE. The enormous quantities of udjat found in Egyptian burials indicate they must have been of great importance (Dubin: 1995).

Evil eye dogma is very conglomerate. Every culture had its own way to explicate its effects. Similarly medicament and counteractive measures also vary from culture to culture. The power of the eye is generally regarded as harmful, yet the gaze of some gods for example, Horus in Dynastic Egypt is considered beneficial. Eyes are often painted onto amulets and buildings or tombs to counteract the harmful gaze (Dubin, 1995). In parts of India and Africa, due to the resemblance of shape, the Cowry shell is believed to represent the human eye and hence it is highly valued as protection against the evil eye.

The ancient Hebrews also feared the evil eye and in return employed protective measures against it. During the 3rd century BCE at Sura it was claimed that ninety-nine out of one hundred human deaths were the work of the evil eye (Melony, 1976: 7-9). To protect buildings, particularly houses of worship, a symbol known as the 'much-enduring eye " was painted on the buildings (Schienerl, 1984: 28, 52).

Eye beads were used to meet people's age old need for protection against maliciousness - the "evil eye". Eye beads became "eye that can see in all directions" and thereby served as protective amulets against the evil eye. In unscrupulously, the viewer is drawn to look at eye beads, but because of their realism, they disturb rather than charm, and therefore encourage the viewer to look away from them and the susceptible esophagus they encircle.

The belief in the evil eye and the wearing of protective eye beads has the strongest representation in the Islamic faith. In all periods of history, Arabs have had a profound fear of the evil eye. It reached to the point where to avoid the damaging effects and make it happy they called it "the beautiful eye" (Budge, 1970: 359). According to Muslim beliefs say that "the evil eye empties the castles and fills the graves". It is believed that no one can be saved from the indignant gaze of the evil eye. From birth till death people wear different kinds of protective amulets including eye beads (Budge, 1970: 355-359).

In many societies there is still a widely held belief that eye contact with a particular human, god, or malevolent force, such as an illness, can cause sudden harm to people and their property, or it can afflict them with evil emotions, like jealousy and hatred. Belief in the evil eye might have originated in stone age period and continues to exist in various manifestations throughout history.

By 3000 BCE, goddess figures displaying large, staring eyes, accentuated breasts, and prominent bead necklaces appeared at the site of Tell Brak in eastern Syria, called "Eyes Goddesses". These figures are interpreted as representations of an

The "eye bead", a common bead type that corresponds the form of an eye, was fabricated in many early cultures and perseveres to be made today. An eye bead is one ornamented with one or more spots resembling eyes, which however may be circular, oval, triangular or square. The circular round spots on beads if not prominent may be called spots or circular dots, but if prominent had to be called eye. These may be simple, or surrounded by rings, the widest of this may be called a zone.

infant's early view of the world (Erikson, 1969: 170-172). These protective, maternal eyes are used as the main source of security. The neck beads in these figures symbolize the protective force, which acts against the evil eye. These are said to protect the child when the mother's eyes are diverted from him. Eye Goddesses figurines ascribed 70

Eye-Beads in Ancient India to 5th to 2 nd century BCE are profoundly found in the Narmada region of India (Dhavalikar, 1965). These were extremely common in the West Asia and Egypt in the 3rd 2 nd millennium BCE (Crawford, 1957). The concept of the evil eye is said to have appeared first with groups of shepherds who domesticated animals and competed for land and livelihood with settled farmers-circumstances typical of western Asia and the Mediterranean region beginning in Neolithic times. By contrast, less complex hunter-gatherer societies do not seem to have placed particular importance on the protective eye (Meloney, 1976: 143). All these archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the concepts of eye bead to protect oneself developed in western Asia.

made by the Chinese from 400 to 200 BCE (Dubin, 1995). In the latter half of the first millennium, many types of glass eye heads were both imported into and manufactured within various centers in the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and Russia. These included beads with raised spiral eyes, presumably produced in Celtic workshops between 200 and 1 BCE. With the decline of the Celts and the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE, European glass bead made shift to the Rhineland. Eye Beads, however, do not seem to have been part of that region's production (Venelova, 1983: 16) The magic of eye beads still exists. In the Banjaras, the nomadic people, they still work for several days to obtain a fine stone to make eye bead. A journey beings only when each man and animal has worn around their neck eye bead or substitute amulet to protect them from the evil eye. In Mauritania, mirror like glass beads are considered excellent protection against the evil eye as they reflect images (Delazoire, 1985: 25). In Central Asia favorite design for dZi heads among Himalayan peoples are the eye patterns.

The historical distribution of eye beads would appear to support this observation. The earliest and greatest quantities of eye beads appear in western Asia, India, and Egypt. By the middle of the first millennium BCE, they occur in Europe and in certain localities with in China, presumably reflecting recent Western influences (Erikson, 1969: 176). It is believed that the older the bead the greater its protective powers against the evil eye (Lamb, 1965: 121).

There was always a preference for blue eye beads to avert evil spirits. This appears to be of historical and crosscultural significance, for examples stratified bead from Kaundinyapura. The majority of ancient glass eye beads have a blue matrix with white, yellow, or blue eyes. Even today it is used in for the cattle in part of Orissa and Rajasthan. In Greece, Donkeys mules, and cows often have protective blue beads and tassels on their bridles or across their foreheads (Meloney, 1976: 50). Blue beads of turquoise, glass, faience, or plastic are also frequently pinned to children's clothing in Yugoslavia, Turkey, and Greece (Kennedy, 1986: 52).

With the invention or introduction of glass into western Asia, Egypt, and Europe, in the early centuries of Christian Era, one of the first objects created was the eye bead (Dikshit, 1959). This is not surprising, as there is a visual similarity between rounded, shining human eyes and most glass beads. With a lot of stylistic variations between glass eye beads, many different forms were produced over long periods of time. To assign correct dates and places of manufacture to specific varieties of eye heads, it is necessary to identify the manufacturing techniques employed in each case.

The gaze of the evil eye has always been thought particularly harmful to pregnant women and children, possibly since it threatens the very existence of the human population (Budge, 1970: 354). A good example of this has come from Ahichhatra in the form of sitted lady figure amulet. The starving Ethiopian children are invariably seen with eye beads in the form of strands of blue glass beads around their neck and/or wrists.

In 1916 Gustavus Eisen studied, and divided glass eye beads into three basic categories based on the techniques used to produce the eye. The processes often succeed one another within a culture. Eisen's categories are simple eye spots, stratified eyes, and mosaic eves (Eisen, 1916: 1-24). This work is still considered the most comprehensive work to date on the subject as far as glass eye beads are concerned. Here the present author goes a step further and includes stone and terra cotta eye beads also in this study, but again restricts herself to the specimens from Indian sites.

There is a belief that these beads have apotropaire powers in averting the evil eyes. Spells were used to cure the injury caused by an evil eye and as stated above amulets were used to avert it. The belief in evil eye was worldwide. Among Greeks and Romans certain gesture were regarded as prophylactic on meeting the dreaded individual. Among the Turks and Arabs it was a practice to hang amulets on camel and horse's neck in order to make them immune from the evil eye to which they were subjected. In tribal areas oflndia even today it is a practise to hang such amulets on cow's neck to save them from 'evil-eye'. No belief is perhaps so universal among mankind as that of the evil eye. With ancients it was almost a religious belief. In India the belief in the evil eye is a part of popular Hinduism. The best remedy for the prevention and cure of the evil eye is said to be the Drishtamani - Eye Beads. These beads are strung together and worn by children as a necklace, it is believed that if a

Eye-spot beads were the earliest type made in most regions. They appear as glass drops impressed into the bead matrix in New Kingdom Egypt (Eighteen and Nineteenth dynasties, 1567-1200 BCE). This inlays did not always adhere well to the matrix, and many times fell out. Stratified eyes were popular with the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Chinese through at least the first millennium BCE and in India in the 1st millennium CE. Mosaic rod eyes appeared by the 5th century BCE but were not common until about 200 BCE. At this time they were replaced by stratified eyes and this process was completed by late Roman times around 1st/2nd c. CE. Multi layered eye beads of remarkable complexity were 71

Distinctive Beads

child, wearing the charm, falls under the malignant influence of the evil eye, the bead either breaks or changes its colour.

confined to certain geographical pockets and specific time brackets. The present study intends to bring out this factor in their distribution, relations between their typology and chronology, dating value, cultural connections between contemporary societies.

The history of eye beads reminds us once again that beads always had more significance than mere adornment. W om by people for over five thousand years, this particular class of beads, perhaps more than any other, reaches across a wide range of cultures and a greater span of time. These were pure used for the purpose of protection. They never expressed the wealth or the status of the user.

Eye beads have been used as protective amulets to deflect the evil eye or nullify its effects since the third millennium BCE in most of the part of Asia. The specimens of onyx, chalcedony, and banded-agate beads were made mostly between the third and first millennium BCE. Each has been cut and polished to look like an eye. Most of these beads were acquired in the Middle East as Bakshesh, and the North west frontier regions oflndia with the Indus Culture.

The study of eye-beads is not only a study of the superficial or superstitious tendencies or luxurious habits of man, but also important in understanding the development of successive stages of change in shapes and magico-superstitions beliefs. Close resemblance of beads, in their typology, from many sites in northern and southern India, demonstrates that cultural intercourse was common between different regions. Terracotta specimens have great value as a source of social and religious history, since these are regarded as the poor man's possessions.

In India the antiquity of eye-beads goes back to the 3rd millennium BCE and its use is universal. Beads with eye pattern were very prominent in Indus Valley culture. Beads of this type were often produced by banded variety of agate by skillfully arranging color bands on the bead's surface. Apart from the findings of eye-beads from excavations, they also have been found, described in contemporary literature. This tradition appears to have continued through proto- historic, historic and medieval times to the present day with a major change in shapes, indicating the continuity of a superstition which seems to have formed part and parcel of Indian life through ages. The making of stone eye-beads for protection against various forms of evil dates back to a remote antiquity. One of the simplest and earliest kinds is cut out of onyx. Such beads, called "cameo beads" were made in Mesopotamia and Persia from before 30th BCE (Beck: 1941); very similar ones are still being made in India and worn as charms against small pox.

The different varieties of etched eye-beads can be assigned a bracket of almost eighteen centuries i.e., 1J1h c. BCE to 5th C. CE. The stratified eye-beads appear to have been imported in the country through foreign cultural contacts. Eye-beads go a long way in establishing certain decorative and religious norms in a particular geographical region. Such amulets were possibly carried by people to wider and distant regions and thus throw an interesting side light on typological movement. In the present work an attempt has been made to study eyebeads as recovered on sites of different cultures in India. These are known to occur in the ancient civilizations of the Middle East at the sites like Ur, Kish, Nineveh (Beck, 1931: 435), Tell Asmar (Mackay, 1933: 384) etc., and have a long duration in India. In India the number of eye-bead specimens remains limited to little less than two hundred.

A consideration of the specimens of cemented eye beads recovered from Taxila and other sites indicates that cemented variety of eye-beads were popular till the Mauryan period and definitely had an earlier origin, as the cutting of the facets or the cemented patches required great skill and practice. The patches were cemented with an adhesive. This indicates that the ancient people knew the art of joining stones. This art has its origin in imitation of natural stones such as onyx or banded agate, but the use of quartz plated on a white materials, such as shell, which hardly show themselves, were probably due to the apotropaic qualities attached to them. This may probably intended to avert the effects of evil eye and distract the attention.

In many instances beads are used to escape the evil eye, and such beads naturally take the form of the "eye" on the body of the beads. The Atharvaveda (Max Muller (Ed.). mentions the practices to avert the spell of the evil eye. In the hymns of the Atharvaveda where various traditional practices intended to save a person from the effects of the evil are mentioned. Images of eyes are used to avert evil on the grounds of sympathetic magic. To cite some specific examples, eye-beads from the 'Sub-Indus' deposits at Lothal and Bhagwanpur can be mentioned here. The Lothal bead (IA-R, 1955-56: PL XII) is elaborately made by inserting a jasper corona inlaid with a shell and a black pupil showing a careful attempting to copy the human eye. Similarly Bhagwanpur glass eye-bead (Joshi, 1993: Fig. 34-22) is truncated barrel shaped with a black pupil fixed on it.

During early historic period glass was very commonly used for making distinctive and sophisticated type of eyebeads. The occurrence of stratified eye-beads is a distinctive feature of the Mauryan Period on several sites in India and therefore it appears to have been imported in the country through foreign cultural contacts. The earliest date for such beads at Taxila is circa 5th c. BCE . Stratified eye-beads of glass found in India, though not very accurately dated in all the cases, belong to 5th c. BCE - 1st c. CE group. Spot eye-beads can be said to belong to Mauryan and Satavahana/Kushana period in general.

Different methods are employed for making these beads. A careful study reveals that these methods are more or less

72

Eye-Beads in Ancient India

MATERIAL: (table 1) C

~A Site Adam Ahar Ahichchhatra Arikamedu Banqarh Besanaaar Bhaqwanpur BhirMound Brahmapuri ChanhuDaro ChiravvaKot Daimabad Dharmaraiika Dwarka Harappa Jandial Kalibanqan Kaundinyapura Kausambi Kondapur Lethal Machad Maheshwar MohenjoDaro Naqal Navdatoli Narhan Nasik Nevasa Patna Porkalam Rairh Rajqhat Sanghol Sirkap Sonpur Sravasti Surkotada TilauraKot Ujjain Total

Ca

F

G

I

J

Q

s

TC

U/M

s 1 1 5 1 1 2 31 1 17 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 2 11 2 8 3 3 3 1 2 4 1 1 1 1 3 42 1 16 1 5 3 8 1 184

1 1 3 1

2

1 12

3

2 11

2

1

2 1

17 1 1 1

2 2 1

1

1 2 1 1

1 1

9 2

2

3 3 1

3 2

1

2 1 1

1 1

4

24 1 1

1 1 3 14 3

4

9

3 1

2 5 52

3 1 8

3 1 74

1 1 36

1

1

5

2

1

2

A-Agate, C-Chalcedony, C-Carnelian, F-Faience, G-Glass, I-Ivory, J-Jasper, Q-Quartz, S-Shell, T-Terra Cotta, U/MUnknown/Mix

73

2

(Table2)

-..l

.j::,.

Shaoes Stte Adam Ahar Ahichchhatr Arikamedu Bonnam Besanaaar Bh.,..,,,noll' BhirMound Brahmapuri ChanhuDaro Chir.,wa Daimabad Dhannaraiik Dwarka Har'""'" Jandial Kalibanaan Kaundinva Kausambi Kondaour Lolhal Machad Maheshwar Mohenio Naaal Navdatoli Naman Nasik Nevasa Patna P()O(alam Rairh Raiahat Sanahol Sirkao Sonour Sravasti Surkotada Tilaura Kot Uiiain Total

1

2.1

2.2

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.9

5

6

7

8

1

1 3

3

TYPOLOGICAL CLASS/FICA TIONOFEYEBEADS

1

1. CEMENTED EYEBEADS

1 7

6

3

1

1

4

2

4 1 11

1 1 1

3

2 2

3 1

1

2 1 1

1

3

1

1

3

2 4

2

3

1 2 1 1

1 1

1 1

2

1

2

2

2

1

1

1

2

1

.11 1

1

2

1

24

1

2

1 2

3 3

24

2

2

4 1

8

1 11

2

3

1

4

10

24

6

10

2

2

1

1

23

47

2

1

1

2. STRATIFIED EYEBEADSOFGLASS 2.1Barrelshaned stratified eve-beads 2.2Spherical ShaDMStratified EveBeads 3. SPOTEYEBEADS 3.1BarrelSh!EedRaisedSootEveBead 3.2Soherical Sha.....t raisedsooteve-bead 3.3Spherical shapeflushsoo1eve-bead -1.ETCHED EYEBEADS 4.1Bioone BarrelShaoed EtchedBead 4.2Spherical BeadsYfflhEtchedDols 4.3Soherical EveBeads\fflh Re-etched Dols 4.4Soherical beads\fflhcirclesetchedonthem 4.5Circular Tabular Shal'IA'f EtchedEveBead 4.6Ellictical Bead\fflh EtchedEvePattern 4.7OblateBead\fflhEtchedEvePattern 4.8BarrelShm...tBeads\fflh EtchedDols 4.9EtchedEveBeadsv.lthFlaure'8', Clltlels,Guilloche, TreblePatterns 5. EYEBEADSOFNATURAL STONES 6.SQUARE-TABULAR EYEBEADS 7.ELLIPTICAL BARREL EYE-BEAD 8. BOATSHAPED EYEBEADOFIVORY

CJ f;;· .....

s· ~

~b;i

~

~

Eye-Beads in Ancient India

B

D

E

Figure-5.

The etched eye-beads can be assigned a bracket of almost eighteen centuries i.e., 1]1hc. BCE to 5th c. CE. These can be broadly classified into two groups. 1) Etched Eye Beads with Figure '8', Circle/sand Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns belonging to the 17th c. BCE, 2) other etched beads ascribable to 5th c. BCE to 5th c. CE bracket.

Bangarh (Bengal), Besanagar (M.P.), Bhagwanpur (Haryana), Bhir Mound (Taxila), Chanhu Daro (Sind), Chirayya Kot (U.P.), Dairnabad (Maharashtra), Dharmarajika Stupa (Taxila), Dwarka, Harappa (Sind), Jandial (Taxila), Kalibangan (Gujarat), Kaundinyapura (Maharashtra), Kausambi (U.P.), Kondapur (A.P.), Lothal (Gujarat), Machad, Maheshwar (Gujarat), Mohenjo Daro (Sind), Nagal, Navda Toli, Narhan (U.P.), Nasik (Maharashtra), Nevasa (Maharashtra), Patna (Bihar), Porkalam, Rajghat (U.P.), Rairh (Rajasthan), Sanghol, Sirkap (Taxila), Sonpur, Sravasti (U.P.), Surkotada (Gujarat), Tilaura Kot (Nepal) and Ujjain (M.P.).

SITES YIELDING EYE BEADS: (table 1)

The Harappan post-Harappan and the Early historical sites have given eye-beads. These sites are - Adam (Maharashtra), Ahar (Rajasthan), Ahichchhatra (U.P.),

75

Distinctive Beads

~ 2

@ 7

6

• e-

5

4

3

8

(:) 10

~

0 9

~ ~ 14

€11iO 12

11

18

17

19

20 -:..

22

24 26

23 27

Figure-6. patches of stone, plano-convex in shape and of contrasting colours are stuck on (Fig. 5) the bead. In this only a portion of the entire surface is covered with small patches of contrasting material cemented at intervals or in saucered layers. This method of making eye-bead is peculiar to the Mauryan period in India. Cemented eye beads are peculiar

CEMENTED EYE BEADS OF SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES: (Fig 5)

Cementing of beads is a process in which two different kinds of materials are cemented together with an adhesive. To make a cemented eye-bead a large bead is selected and

76

Eye-Beads in Ancient India to the Mauryan period in India.

This bead was associated with a central groove for different stones from Kausambi (IA-R, 1954-55: 20) are dated C. 1st - 2nd C. BCE.

The earliest specimen of the cemented variety of eye beads, as differentiated from inlaid stone eye-beads, comes from the Mauryan strata at Bhir Mound, Beck (1941) has illustrated four specimens coming from Bhir Mound. The most perfect specimen is a circular bead of whitish chalcedony (Fig. 6.1) from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 1.8). This has many patches of bright carnelian, cemented in such a way that the surface forms into a dodecahedron. Only eight of the patches now remain. In appearance it is quite similar to spherical raised sports eye-beads of glass. It is dated to the 3rd c. BCE.

Deo mentions (Deo, In Press) that this form of a notched leech beads in steatite is represented at many unstratified finds at Kosam, and preserved in the Allahabad Museum. Number of 'base' beads can be seen in the Allahabad museum, Allahabad University Collection and Collection at the Banaras Hindu University coming from Kausambi and Rajghat (Deo, In Press). Three of them have agate matrix and small patches of carnelian and jasper. The Indian Museum, Calcutta, has a specimen (No. 10052) from Taxila, which has carnelian plates cemented on an agate matrix (Deo, In Press).

A similar bead from Bhir Mound is the one made from chalcedony with carnelian eyes affixed on it (Beck, 1941: Pl.11.38) also of the same date. This spherical bead has chalcedony as the base and the plano-convex plates are of carnelian.

Another bead had a shell core with large patches of crystal cemented on both of its sides. Marshall's list of beads from Taxila (unpublished) includes four such beads, with agate core and crystal or carnelian plates cemented on them. Three of these specimens are from the Bhir Mound and the fourth is probably a stray one from Sirkap (Deo, In Press).

Another important specimen is of black (Beck, 1941: PL II.36) agate with chalcedony eyes (Fig. 6.3). This spherical bead had six patches of chalcedony cemented on it. Four of these still remain, and like all the other patches that have survived, they are of such a shape that they must have been ground up and polished separately before being cemented on.

From the Mauryan Stratum at Pataliputra, two cornerless cubes of chalcedony are reported and they are cemented with carnelian eyes (Patna Museum SBK 35.396; SK 35.74) (Deo, In Press).

The agate base is spherical and the ground surfaces on which the patches are cemented are so arranged that if continued until they meet, they would form a cube. This bead is of the same date as the precious one.

At Ujjain, the Mauryan stratum has yielded a carnelian bead with agate saucers, having a cemented carnelian eye on it (Banerjee: 1959). It is very rarely that all the plates or patches cemented on these beads are preserved, as the binding material tends to flake off with the passage of time or long wear. Only in rare instances we find all the cemented portions left intact. Beck while describing some beads from Taxila speaks of four specimens from the Bhir Mound and three from Sirkap, which are described as bases for cemented beads. These have ground 'flats' on their surfaces and in one or two specimens the binding material is still seen on them.

The fourth specimen is a more elaborate one (Beck, 1942: PL 11.41). It has four octagons and four squares around the perimeter (Fig. 6.5). This is made from agate with jasper eyes on it. It dates from the 3rd c. BCE. Only one of the jasper plates is still sticking to it. Another lot consists of fifteen barrel-shaped beads (Marshall, 1952: Taxila II, 746) of shell sawn longitudinally and fixed with plano-convex quartz plates on either side in conformity with the shape. The simplest, though not quite the earliest, specimen, referable to the 3rd c. BCE, consists of a barrel bead of shell which has had two large flats ground on it and pieces of quartz cemented on. The quartz and shell beads were found in layers attributed to the 6th -5th c. BCE and three more are attributed to the Mauryan period. Best example of this is (Beck, 1941: PL II.34) shell base with hollow ground in it to insert pupil (Fig. 6.2). It is dated to the 4th c. BCE It is stated that this bead is identical to the Persian bead dated from about 25th BCE It is a circular lenticular bead of shell with a hollow space in the Centre. This probably took an 'eye' of some contrasting material. Only the base plate has been found. This feature of using contrast materials together is manifested in a different way at Tamluk (Deo, In Press). Here the bead takes the shape of the socalled leech. The portion of the apex is provided with a deep circular groove. In this groove, a precious or a semi-precious stone is fitted to conform to the shape.

One of the Bhir Mound specimens is dated to the 3rd c. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL II.37). The surfaces have been ground larger. This (Fig. 6.4) has a white base but all the patches are missing. This would have been a spherical eye-bead. Another specimen is an agate barrel with flats ground at each end; in one case these (Fig. 6.7) are so arranged that if continued they would make a twisted square (Beck, 1941: PL II.39). This specimen dates from the 4th c. BCE; another similar specimen of chalcedony is from (Beck, 1941: PL 11.45)the 1st c. CE level and, except that it has six flats meeting at each end and comes from Sirkap. Third base specimen is oblate in shape. This has a white base of oblate in shape. This has a white base of chalcedony (Beck, 1941: PL 11.40)coming from Bhir Mound it dates to the 4th c. BCE Fourth specimen is a much more elaborate bead of pale 77

Distinctive Beads STRATIFIED EYE BEADS OF GLASS: (Fig. 3)

carnelian. This has six octagons. This dated to the 4th c. BCE One specimen from Sirkap is quite similar to the previous one. It has six hexagons. This elaborate base for cemented eye-bead of chalcedony is attributed to the 1st c. CE. Another specimen from Sirkap made of chalcedony dates to the 1st c. CE. This has no patches remaining but several surfaces show signs of cement.

Super imposing one colour glass on another made stratified eye-bead. The eyes were produced by a drop of glass placed on a matrix. The glass was pressed in while the matrix was still soft. Another drop was later placed on the first drop. This process was carried on indefinitely, so that eye with a great number of rings around them was produced. The bead was then ground into its final cone form with the outer edge of each layer exposed, giving the appearance of a series of rings. By this means the different layers of glass became like saucers resting in one another. If the drops were properly sized when applied, no grinding was necessary. One way of recognizing this technique is that eyes made of transparent glass are thick and dark in their center. In some instances, multilayered eyes were made separately. Then pressed into the matrix. New Kingdom Egyptian glassmakers of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties made distinctive and beautifully, complex eye beads using a combination of stratified-eye and inlaid-coil techniques. Mosaic rods were made from glass rods dipped in molten glass of alternating colours, a technique that produced compound glass. When coil, the multilayered rods were cut into sections or disks, each disk representing a ready-made eye with rings. These eyes were then attached to a core, or fused together so that the eye pattern ran through the entire bead. In both the stratified and mosaic varieties. Patterns ranged from simple spots to more intricate designs composed of multiple eyes surrounded by additional dots, rings, and bars (Eisan, 1916: 1-24).

At Kondapur a twisted hexagonal bead (Dikshit, 1952: PL 11.103) of chalcedony has its facets ground in such a way as to represent spot flats all over the surface. Another one is a bi-cone pentagonal bead of chalcedony with rounded flats (Dikshit, 1952: PL 11.104). A similar specimen is noticed at Nasik (Fig. 6.6). A truncated, Bi-conical hexagonal bead with rounded flats in a stone with rounded with opalescent and translucent layers which divides the bead into two halves, one half being milky white (Sankalia/Deo, 1955: fig. 45.13). It is attributed to 3rd c. BCE. Two similar specimens of quartz have come from Maheshwar. The specimen belonging to Mauryan period (Deo, 1955: Fig. 111.9) is a truncated biconical bead of milky white quartz with rounded flats. The other specimen, which is a surface find, is also (Deo, 1955: Fig.IV.14) a truncated biconical bead ofchalcedonic quartz with rounded facets. Half of the bead is dull black and the other half is Pinkish white. Tilaura-kot has yielded four specimens of cemented eye-beads. An agate and a chalcedony (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.24) specimen attributed to the 6th c. BCE to 3rd c. BCE are a short truncated bicone pentagon. It bears twelve ground circular flats. One of the flats (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25. 25) still has a red agate roundel cemented on it. Another specimen of agate similar in shape bears two connected rows of five ground elongated U- shaped flats (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.23). It is dated to the 2nd c. BCE The fourth specimen of agate is a standard double chamfered cylinder, octagonal in shape. This base of cemented eye-bead has twenty-four facets. This has been attributed to the 2nd c. BCE (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.26). In beads of this type, a cornerless cube or a hexagonal bicone bead, having several flat ground surfaces, is a favourite one, and the patches are shaped as plano-convex discs. Alternately they have the same shape as the facetted bead in the form of thin, flat plates.

In regularly spaced eye-beads the eye appears to have been rolled in glass of required colours and the entire coil was then inserted in the matrix sometimes reaching only halfway into the thickness. Beads with eyes made in this way are called Stratified Eye-Beads or Flush Stratified Eye-Beads. Prepared in either of the two ways, the charm of the stratified eye-beads lay in the selection of deep shades for the eye itself and the pleasing circles spread irregularly in varying thickness as well as the use of white glass for heightening the contrasts. During early historic period glass was very commonly used for making distinctive and sophisticated type of eyebeads. These glass eye-beads can be classified according to the technique use in producing them. These are Stratified Eye-Beads and Spot Eye-Beads.

As several specimens of this type exist in Kondapur Museum. Dikshit feels that in all these beads no attempt was made to cement any other material over these 'flats' (Fig. 6.8) in order to convert them into cemented eyebeads.

Techniques Used To Produce Eye-Beads: It is quite possible that due to the popularity of this

amuletic-bead it became conventionalized and flat surfaces were probably regarded as eyes and it was not felt necessary to cement a contrast colour plano-convex roundel on it as it happened in case of glass eye-beads. Spot eye-beads of glass took place of stratified glass eyebeads.

When the eye consists of a single drop of glass or other material, more or less deeply pushed into the matrix it is called simple eye-bead. This can be obtained either by adding a semi liquid drop of glass, or by pressing a cut or broken fragment of glass into the soft matrix.

78

Eye-Beads in Ancient India

When the eye bead is obtained by pressing a single of composite coil of glass, forming the ring, into the matrix it is called Inland Coils.

Other two specimens from Taxila of stratified beads are dated to the 6th - 5th c. BCE (Dikshit, 1968: 5). The most interesting specimens are three exqms1te spherical eye-beads of stratified glass from Sravasti.

The eyes are produced by placing upon the matrix a drop of glass and rolling it in while the matrix is still soft (Fig. 7.C) and then another spot of a different colour was inserted into the centre of the soft glass of the original matrix (Fig. 7.D). When the eye received the required drops, the sides of the cone were ground off in order to make the lower layer to appear on the surface as rings.

One bead bears eight stratified eyes on the surface (Sinha, 1967: Fig 18.12) whereas the other shows only three eyes (Sinha, 1967: Fig. 18.13). These two beads are recovered from 2nd;3 rd c. BCE level. The third unstratified specimen from Sravasti bears seven stratified eyes on its surface. In these eye-beads, two circles surround central dots (Sinha, 1967:Fig.18.11).

Stratified eye-bead was also made by dipping a rod of glass in different coloured glass liquids and when cooled, hacked off into discs, each disk forming a ready made eye which could be pushed into the soft matrix of a bead to form an eye with rings.

An eye-bead with pale blue base and three eyes of stratified layers of cobalt blue and white glasses come from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: 30 No.607; Dikshit, 1968: Fig.3.11) (Fig. 1.13). It is attributed to the 1st c.CE. Beck suggests that this is a Mediterranean type. Almost identical with those from the Bhir Mound therefore this bead must either have been an old bead when buried at Taxila or else the manufacture of these elaborate beads must have been continued to a much later date when we did not have any direct evidence from elsewhere. It has been attributed to the 1st c. of Christian era.

Twenty-seven specimens of stratified eye-beads have come to light from Bhagwanpur, Bhir Mound, Kaundinyapura, Kausambi, Rajghat, Sirkap, Sravasti and Ujjain. The earliest specimens are from Bhagwanpur (Joshi, 1993: 168). The largest number of stratified eye-beads are reported from Bhir Mound. These stratified eye-beads can be further classified on the basis of their shapes.

One broken spherical stratified eye-bead is reported from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XV.B). Like majority of the Bhir Mound specimens this bead is also attributed to the 3rd c. BCE. Only two of the blue rings with the white 'saucers' around are now preserved and seems to have been manufactured by superimposition of different coloured glasses one over the other.

Barrel shaped stratified eye-beads:

Six barrel shaped stratified eye-beads has come from Bhir Mound. A bead (Beck, 1941: PL 1.17) (Fig. 6.15) bears three sets of merging eyes on its surface with 3 lines around the corona. Another bead (Beck, 1941: PL 1.16) bears four sets of merging eyes with two surrounding circles. The third specimen (Beck, 1941: PL 1.18) from Bhir Mound bears two sets of merging eyes with two circles around along with a big eye in the centre with two circles (Fig. 6.16). These are attributed to 3rd c. BCE

At Ujjain stratified eye-bead appears to have large eyes in pairs spread over the surface. It is dated between 5th - 2nd c. BCE (Banerjee, 1959: PL V.35). A fragmented bead at Rajghat (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 4) has ultramarine base with four blue eyes and rings in double rows. Another one has pale sky blue matrix with four sets of double eyes of blue colour (Fig. 6.9). Similar one is reported from Kausambi (Dikshit, 1968: 20-22).

Three (unillustrated in Beck's report) specimens of stratifies beads are mentioned by Dikshit (1968: Fig. 3.2,4 (Fig. 6.12), 9). Two of these specimens are dated to the 4th c. BCE The third unillustrated specimen (Fig. 6.14) is attributed to the 3rd c. BCE

Stratified eye-beads are a distinctive feature of the Mauryan period on several sites in India. These appear to be imported through foreign cultural contacts. Their distributions are exclusively limited to the Mauryan period in South India and are known from a few sites only. At Taxila due to the continuo impact of foreigners such beads continued to occur even at later period also.

One unique barrel shaped double eye (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 3.14) (Fig. 6.17) specimen from Sirkap has been assigned to the 1st c. of the Christian era. One specimen of barrel shaped stratified eye-bead has come from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL 1.19). This is an eyebead with two eyes on its surface. Three concentric circles surround each of these two eyes. It is dated to the 1st c.CE.

Stratified eye-beads of glass found in India, though not very accurately dated in all the cases, belong to 5th c. BCEI st C. CE group.

Spherical Shaped Stratified Eye Beads:

SPOTEYEBEADS: Bead shown in (Beck: 1941) PL 1.15 bears two eyes with one surrounding circle. Spherical in shape it is dated to 3rd c.BCE.

These are the simplest forms of glass eye-beads. They consist of one or more large spots of coloured glass attached to a matrix of another colour. The spots may have 79

Distinctive Beads been left standing above the surface of the matrix, in which case they are called Raised Spot Eye-Beads. When the spots are flattened down to the level of the surface of the matrix they are called Flush Spot Eye-Beads. Spot eyebeads are reported from N evasa, Dwarka, Bhir Mound, Navdatoli, Rajghat and Sirkap.

Satavahana / Kushana period in general. In glass beads we also get some stray specimens which do not have any parallel. One specimen of glass coming from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 1.15) has no parallel. It is an impressed eye-bead, where in on the spherical shaped bead two circles have been pressed (Fig. 8.25). It is attributed to the 3rd c. BCE.

Raised Spot Eye-Beads:

Bhagwanpur specimens are of peculiar types. One the two specimens are of segmented eye-bead. It has been attributed to the mid level of the Harappan culture i.e. 14th - 10th BCE. Each of the three segments has a dot in the Centre (Fig. 8.22) (Joshi, 1993: Fig. 34.21 ).

Barrel Shaped Raised Spot Eye Bead: Nevasa has contributed one barrel shaped bead with white dots affixed later as eyes (Sankalia, 1960: fig. 168.3). This belongs to the Indo-Roman period. Bhir Mound has also contributed a spot eye-bead (Beck, 1941: PL 1.13) (Fig. 6.10). Unlike the spots on the beads from N evasa and Dwarka these are bigger in shape and less in number. These are left standing above the surface. This specimen is dated to the 3rd c. BCE.

Second specimen also belongs to the same time bracket. It is a short concave-convex shaped eye-bead with cloth impression (Joshi, 1993: Fig. 34.22). The base is of white glass with a black circle stuck on it. It is one of the best attempts to copy human eye in glass (Fig. 8.24) (Joshi, 1993: Fig. 34.22).

Spherical Shaped Raised Spot Eye-Bead: Sirkap has produced a peculiar type of eye-bead of blue and yellow glass (Beck, 1941: PL IX.30) (Fig. 8.23). This is an unusual type of bead.

Two spherical raised spot eye-beads are reported from Rajghat. These eye-beads of black glass are recorded from 1st - 3rd CE strata (Narain/Singh, 1978: PL IV. 27, 28). In both the specimens white dots have been affixed to the black surface giving effect of an eye.

Eye beads of glass show concentration in the Mauryan period and their use extended upto Satavahana/Kushana period.

A similar specimen of spherical raised spot eye-bead comes from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL 1.20) (Fig. 6.11). This specimen is dated to the 1st c. CE.

The problem regarding the authorship of the stratified eyebeads in India cannot be settled easily. The very fact that only a few specimens are known in India and the comparative abundance of similar material in far off countries shows that these tiny objects must have travelled to India and that these products are not indigenous.

FlushSpotEye-Bead:

Spherical Shape Flush Spot Eye-Bead: The only example of spherical flush spot eye bead comes from Navda Toli. This is a spherical bead with dark-blue body having round and solid white "eye" like dots (Deo, 1955: Fig. 1.26). This has been ascribed to the Chalcolithic period.

The late Mr. H.C. Beck (Beck, 1941: 24) after examining the specimen from Taxila, commented that stratified eyebeads are virtually identical with beads found around the Mediterranean where they date from 9th to the 3rd c. BCE. He says that "there resemblance is so much that I'm convinced that these beads were either actually made in the Mediterranean area, or at least by men who came from Mediterranean countries". Beck compared some of the Taxila specimens with certain beads from Corsica, Cyprus and from the Etruscan tombs in Italy and he suggests the possibility of Mediterranean beads coming from Persia. From a careful study of the Indian materials, Dikshit (1968) opines that there is greater possibility of these stratified beads being imported into India from Persia then the comparable materials obtained in the Mediterranean. From a small collection made by Dikshit and from the study of the material preserved in the Etruscan Museum in Rome, he feels that amongst the Etruscan examples there are only a few which bear that characteristic vitreous polish which is seen on Indian specimens. Moreover during the Mauryan period India was constantly in touch with ancient Persia under the Achemenids than was the Mediterranean area. Since the date when Beck wrote about these specimens more material from Persia has been

Barrel Shaped Flush Spot Eye-Bead: Two similar specimens have come from Dwarka (Mate/Ansari, 1960: Fig. 3.157,196) (Fig. 6.18). Like N evasa specimen these barrel shaped beads are flushed with white spots which are spirally arranged on an opaque black background. These two are dated between 10th - 17th c. CE. Dikshit from Sirkap and Bhir Mound (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 3.13, 3) has mentioned similar specimens of flush spot eyebeads. Sirkap specimen is attributed to the 1st c. of the Christian era and Bhir Mound specimen is attributed to the 4th c. BCE. Both these specimens are barrel shaped. From the foregoing description one can safely ascribe the glass eye-beads to the bracket 3rd c. BCE to 1st c.CE and spot eye-beads can be said to belong to Mauryan and 80

Eye-Beads in Ancient India

brought to light and there is no reason to suppose that these stratified eye-beads were less common as supposed by him. As these stratified eye-beads of glass are confined to the Mauryan strata in India one can accept Dikshit's opinion that these reached on Indian sites through contacts from Persia. It appears that these beads occur in places like Taxila and Ujjain, which were administered by Asoka; and that they have lingered on at the former place with its influx with the foreigner. With the spread of Mauryan Empire stray pieces infiltrated in the interior also, notably in the Gangetic Valley and far off places like Navda Toli and Kaundinyapura. These places were either on trade route or were flourishing trade centres in the Mauryan period.

specimen is dated to 25-1st c. CE. One circular cylinder of carnelian (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.11) is an unstratified specimen. Two etched agate beads have come from Lothal. One specimen (Rao, 1985: Fig. 132.2 Vol. II) is a deep yellow, short truncated convex-cone, plano-convex barrel bead. Etched in black with eye design. It is a unique specimen. It has been attributed to 1555 BCE. Second specimen is olive grey in colour (Rao, 1985: Fig.130.6). This agate specimen is short truncated convexcone, plano-convex barrel. This eye-bead is etched with two circles resembling cat's eyes.

ETCHEDEYEBEADS:

Spherical Beads with Etched Dots:

Carnelian appears to be one of the materials most favoured for making etched eye-beads. A few of agate beads are also etched. Forty-nine specimens have come to light.

Twenty three spherical specimens with etched dots have come from Sirkap, Bhir Mound Dharmarajika Stupa, Chirayya Kot, Patna (Bihar), Kosam and Tilaura-kot. These beads can be further divided in two groups on the basis of etching method.

Bicone Barrel Shaped Etched Bead:

Ahichchhatra has contributed two etched specimens decorated with eyes in compartments. One specimen is long circular bicone barrel (Fig. 8.10) in shape with a somewhat rare etched pattern (Dikshit, 1952: fig.1.3). It is decorated with three small eyes probably intended as protection against the 'evil eye'. The decoration is very truthful; the corners of the eyes are indicated beautifully and the central dot represents the corona. Dikshit (1952) mentions an identical bead from Kausambi in his collection.

To the first group belong the beads with small white etched dots on the natural surface. In the second group the beads are etched with bigger white dots and these dots are reetched with black dots. The earlier one forming a concentric circle around the later one. Rajghat (Narain/Singh: 1978) has contributed eleven beads which can be put in the first group. On these bead small white etched dots are arranged in rows on natural light surface (Fig. 8.1). At Rajghat these beads were in vogue for many centuries as we find them from 2nd c. BCE to the medieval times. Two specimens are attributed to 2nd/3 rd c. BCE. One belongs to the 3rd c. BCE to 1st c.CE time bracket. Four specimens are placed in 1st - 3rd c. CE bracket. One each belongs to 3rd - 7th c. CE, 7th -12th c. CE, 12th - 14th c. CE and surface scatter.

A similar one is said to exist in B.M. Vyas collection (Dikshit: 1952) at Allahabad, but in this the four eyes assume the shape of an elongated circle occasionally without the central dot. It is attributed to 3rd - 2nd BCE time bracket (Dikshit, 1949: PL XII). Two similar specimens in carnelian with four elongated eyes at Machad have been attributed to 2nd c. BCE to 2nd c. CE (Mehta/George, 1978: Fig. 1.254-5).

Sirkap has contributed two carnelian specimens with white dots (Beck, 1941: PL 11.26, 27) etched on the natural surface. Both these spherical specimens are attributed to the 1st c. CE (Fig. 8.2).

Another specimen from Ahichchhatra is bicone circular barrel (Fig. 8.9) in shape. Although it has been attributed to 850 -11 th c. CE. There is a possibility of its being reused in this period (Dikshit, 1952: fig. 1.2). It is decorated with zonal bands and three eyes are formed by circles.

A similar specimen has come from Dharmarajika Stupa (Beck, 1941: PL 11.29). It is attributed to the 2 nd c. CE. Two more specimens of agate and chalcedony have come from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 11.5, 16). These are attributed to the 3rd c. BCE.

Rajghat has yielded one specimen from surface scatters. This is a long barrel plano-convex bead elliptical in shape (Narain/Singh, 1976-8: PL 111.9). The 'eye' pattern is etched over natural red surface. Compared to the above specimens it is a very simple one.

Two specimens of this type have come from Rairh (Puri, PL XXIII.10, 17). This is attributed to the early historical period. Small-etched dots are arranged in rows. One spherical spotted bead has come from Sonpur (Fig. 41.19). It is attributable to 2 nd BCE - 2nd CE bracket. Another one comes Kausambi (Sharma, 1969: Pl.LXI.28) ascribable to 1st C. BCE 1st C. CE.

One etched bicone barrel specimen comes from Rairh. It is decorated with circles in the centre and two zonal bands at the ends (Puri: PL XXXII.5). One specimen from Kausambi is barrel shaped (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.18). It is attributed to 100-175 CE. Another barrel shaped

Two specimens of this type have come from Bangarh 81

Distinctive Beads

(Goswami, 1948: PL XXXII) and Sanghol (IA-R, 1988-89: PL XXXII.A). Bangarh specimen belongs to the Mauryan period and Sanghol one is from 2nd c. BCE to 6th c. CE.

One specimen of this type comes from Tilaura Kot with eighth dotted concentric circles. It is attributable to the 3rd - 2nd c. BCE bracket. Sankalia and others mention a similar specimen from Ahar (Sankalia, at. el., 1969: Fig. 98.6).

Tilaura-kot has contributed two agate specimens of etched eye-beads. One of the specimens is etched with a dotted spiral (Mitra, 1978: Fig. 25.2). The other one is etched with eight dotted concentric circles (Mitra, 1978: Fig. 25.1). These have been attributed to the 2nd c. BCE.

Other specimen of this type has come from Navdatoli. It is a small deep-red, globular bead having three roughly perashaped etching in white (Deo, 1955: Fig. 1.2). This well made specimen is attributed to the Mauryan period.

It can be said that this type of eye-beads was prevalent in

early historic and early Medieval Period.

Circular Tabular Shaped Etched Eye Bead:

Spherical Eye Beads with Re-etched Dots: (Dikshit, 1949)

One specimen of circular etched eye-bead comes from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX.B.24). This carnelian specimen is tablet shaped, etched with adjacent diamonds with dash line strokes in their centres, in imitation of eyes and pupils, appearing on both sides. This specimen is attributed to the 1st -3 rd c. CE.

These Beads are decorated with large white spots etched by the first process. These spots are again re-etched in black closely following the outline of the white concentrically. This has the effect of 'eyes' all over the bead and the pattern is very pleasing (Fig. 8.3).

One specimen from Kausambi is flattened hexagon in shape (Sharma, 1969: PL LXl.18). It is not dated. One of the unillustrated examples is said to bear double eye near perforations. This bead is now fractured due to heating which has turned it into an opaque white substance resembling chalcedony.

Seven specimens of this category have come to light. Incidentally all of these belong to Ganges plain. In Kosam collection at Allahabad there are three beads, two agate and one carnelian, of this type. One specimen is seen in the Lucknow Museum (Dikshit, 1949: PL IV.5).

Elliptical Bead with Etched Eye Pattern:

One specimen from Rajghat is kept in the Bharat Kala Bhawan.

The only specimen, attributable to the historical period, of this type has come from surface collection at Rajghat. This is a long plano-convex elliptical with 'eye' pattern etched in white (Narain & Singh: 1978).

Another one is seen in the Patna Museum No. 1005 from Pataliputra. One specimen is in Shah collection from Chirayya Kot.

Another specimen is a standard elliptical circular, etched in white with three circles on the body has come from Porkalam (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.6). These circles enclose oval circles in imitation of the eye. This is the only specimen, which has come from the megalithic period. This indicates towards their contacts with the people of other culture.

Spherical Beads with Circles Etched on Them: It is a more usual way of producing an 'eye-bead' just by

etching a series of rings and sometimes adding a dot in the centre. Bhir Mound has contributed three-specimen -one of agate and two of carnelian.

Oblate Bead with Etched Eye Pattern:

An oblate carnelian specimen from Machad is etched with three horizontally concentric circles on the body enclosing oval in imitation of the eye, indicates the pattern of an eyebead (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 3.21). This specimen is placed between 2nd C. BCE to 2nd C. CE.

One specimen of carnelian from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 11.8)has one circle etched on the natural surface with a dot in the centre. It is attributed to the 4th c. BCE Similar specimen is from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL 11.24) (Fig. 8.4). It is attributed to the 1st c. CE. Two similar specimens are from Bhir Mound of agate and carnelian dating to the 3rd c. BCE.

Barrel Shaped Beads with Etched Dots:

The only specimen of this type comes from Adam (IA-R, 1988-89: 56). Short barrel shaped bead is etched with white dots. It is attributed 10th c. BCE- 5th c. BCE.

Two specimens one each from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 11.2) (Fig. 8.6) and Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL 11.19) (Fig. 8.8) in agate have three parallel zones etched round a spherical bead and the perforation is put through the middle zone, and this way it becomes an eye-bead. Bhir Mound specimen is dated to the 3rd c. BCE where as Sirkap specimen belongs to the 1st c. of Christian era.

Etched Eye Beads with Figure '8', Circle/sand Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns:

Chanhu Daro had contributed 13 beads, which can be called as eye-beads. 82

Eye-Beads in Ancient India 1943: PL LXXXIV.12) (Fig. 6.25). This is also a lenticular bead. This is identical with some beads from the Royal Tombs at Ur (Woolley, Royal Cemetery: PL 133.220). One specimen (Mackay, 1943 PL LXXIX.8) (Fig. 6.26) has a guilloche pattern. A (Fig. 6.27) similar specimen comes from Surkotada (Joshi, 1987: Fig. 76.78). Both in shape and etched pattern it shows a total similarity. This also bears guilloche or what may be called treble eyes on its surface. The only difference is that these hollow circles are filled in with three concentric circles.

Four specimens of etched beads have the most popular pattern i.e. the figure of '8' (Mackey, 1943: PL LXXIX.4 (Fig. 6.23), 5, 6 (Fig. 6.22), 7). These are lenticular beads with two parallel sides and one concave and the other convex end. Mr. Majumdar found another example in his early work at Chanhu Daro (Explorations in Sind: PL XVII.25). These lenticular rounded beads have same pattern etched on both the sides. The two joined circles composing it are generally empty. One specimen with a figure of eight with empty circles has been yielded from the excavation at Nagal (IA-R, 1961-61: PL XXVIII.C). This specimen has been ascribed to the 2nd c.CE. This specimen has white etching.

Kalibangan has yielded a specimen of treble eye (IA-R, 1960-61: PL XLIX.B). This specimen also belongs to the Harappan period and almost identical to the one mentioned from Surkotada.

Two specimens decorated with this pattern have come from Surkotada (Joshi, 1987: Fig. 76.79,80). Here the figure (Fig. 6.24) of eight is filled with small circles. These are lenticular in shape. One similar specimen having the figure of eight filled with concentric circles comes from Kalibangan (IA-R, 1960-61: PL XLIX.B). This has also been ascribed to the Harappan period.

These etched eye-beads of carnelian are one of the important characteristics of Harappan culture. As mentioned earlier both in shape and etched pattern they shows a total similarity. In the excavations at Harappa, an eye-bead is reported but it has got only a single pattern of an eyeball (Vat, 1940: 401 PL CXXXI Fig. 4.9). Similar beads are noticeable at Lothal too (Rao, 1956-57: PL XXXVII Fig. 28; Rao, 1961: PL X Fig. 27.5).

Three similar specimens have come from Lothal (Rao, 1985: Fig. 131.5; IA-R, 1955-56: PL XII). These are deep red, standard lenticular bead with diamond shaped section with axial perforation. Three white concentric band ingroups of two are etched on both the sides forming the figure of '8'.

The etched eye-beads can be assigned a bracket of almost eighteen centuries i.e., 17th c. BCE to 5th c. CE. These can be broadly classified into two groups: 1) Etched Eye Beads with Figure '8', Circle/sand Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns belonging to the 17th c. BCE; 2) other etched beads ascribable to 5th c. BCE to 5th c. CE bracket.

Slightly elaborate pattern is seen on three other beads from Chanhu Daro (Mackey, 1943: PL LXXIX.9, 10 (Fig. 8.11), 11 (Fig. 8.13). Here the figure of eight is filed with small circles. These three specimens are barrel shaped.

EyeBeadsof NaturalStones: In most of the beads great care has been taken in cutting many of the stones so as to get special effects from the natural structure of the stone. Coloured bands are arranged to form 'eyes', which may have had special meanings. From the careful way in which the colours are selected it can be supposed that they had talismanic/therapeutic properties.

A variation of this pattern is seen on another specimen (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXIX.14) where in the same pattern is carried out in very fine lines. This figure of eight device is still in use in parts of India at the present day. It is said to be a protection against the 'Evil eye' and on this account it is sometimes employed as a brand for cattle in Orissa and Rajasthan. This also occurs on beads from Tell Asmar, Kish and Ur (Beck, 1933).

Several eye-beads made in this way have come from Bhir Mound, Sravasti, Rajghat, Ahichchhatra, Narhan and Dharmarajika Stupa, Arikamedu. Twenty-four specimens of spherical natural eye-beads have come from Rajghat. These are made of banded variety of agate in such a way that sometimes the bands produce 'eyes'. These have come from different stratas. One from 3rd C. BCE -1 st C. CE, four from 1st -3 rd C. CE, three from 3rd - J1h c. CE three from J1h - 12th c. CE and three are from surface scatters. A similar single eye bead has come from Arikamedu (Wheeler, 1946: Fig. 41.62).

Harappa has yielded one specimen in carnelian (Vats, 1974: PL CXXXI.4.9) (Fig. 8.26). This is an elaborate broken eye-bead, very similar to the one from Chanhu Daro (Fig. 8.12) (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXIX.14) and Ur. However Ur specimen has one less ring round the eye and is circular in section (Beck, 1933: PL LXVII, Fig. lh). The pattern is carried out in very fine lines. Other three specimens have only one circle etched on them (Mackay, 1943: LXXIX.1-3) (Fig. 6.19-21). These are also lenticular.

Sravasti has contributed two specimens of agate. One is convex bi-cone in shape (Sinha, 1967: Fig. 18.10 Fig. 8.20). It is dated between 200 - 125 BCE Another one is short and oblate in shape. It is ascribed to 6th - 5th c. BCE time bracket (Sinha, 1967: Fig 18.9 Fig. 8.17).

Another specimen from Chanhu Daro is so skilfully cut that it has natural white line round its margin (Mackay,

83

Distinctive Beads specimens this is also attributed to 15th BCE.

One specimen of this type in carnelian comes from Dharmarajika stupa. This carnelian specimen is dated to the 1st C. BCE.

The third specimen is short barrel and ovoid in shape. It has (Rao, 1985: Fig. 130.2) bluish white and grey (Fig. 8.16) bands forming eye pattern on the face of the bead. It is attributed to 1555 BCE.

One from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: Pl. I. I 0) is referable to the 5th c. BCE, as are the two others (Beck, 1941: PL 111.24, 26 Fig. 8.15) from the same site. One specimen (Beck, 1941: PL III, 25) from Bhir Mound is dated to the 3rd C. BCE.

This type of eye-beads is found from 16th c. BCE - 1]1h c. CE

Two similar beads come from the Dharmarajika Stupa (Beck, 1941: PL 1.12 and PL 111.33Fig. 8.18). The former is a beautifully coloured specimen dating from the 1st c. BCE whilst the latter, in brown and white is of the same date.

Square-Tabular Eye Beads: These are found in terracotta from Brahmapuri and Besanagar. These are small square eye-beads. Brahmapuri (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PL XXVI.A.6 fig.31.33) (Fig. 8.27) specimen is prepared out of a mould from extremely well levigated clay. This bright red slipped specimen bears the representation of the eye in high relief. It has attrition marks at one of the edges and while pressing into the mould the potter has left his finger impression on the reverse. Though recovered from the Bahmani stratum considering the numerous pendants and other small finds emanating from the late Satavahana levels which are very closely allied to the fabric and the general makeup of the bead. Dikshit considers it as originally belonging to late Satavahana levels.

Beads with somewhat similar effects are (Beck, 1941: PL 111.17)of the 3rd c. BCE and (Beck, 1941: PL 111.38)from Jandial, which must be later than the 1st c. BCE. These are all spherical beads. Ahichchhatra has contributed two spherical beads (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.11,12). Both these specimens are attributed to 3rd -2nd BCE. Four long barrel circular eye-beads have come from Narhan. Three specimens have come from late level of period II-10 th B.P. The fourth specimen belongs to the 2nd B.P. (Singh, 1994: Fig. 57.2,4,9,10).

Second specimen (ASI-AR, 1913-14: PL LX.48) has come from Kham Baba locality of Besanagar. This buff clay specimen has one side perforated right through. On the obverse a circle is embossed in high relief and on the reverse a slight depression is seen in the centre. These can be attributed to the 2nd c. CE.

An interesting bead comes from Ahichchhatra (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 7.22). It is a plano-convex bead having the appearance of a seal- stamp. It has an oval base and a natural 'eye' of two lines in the rounded portion at the top. This specimen from Ahichchhatra belongs to 750-850 CE.

Elliptical Barrel Eye-Bead: An elliptical barrel bead of faience has come from Harappa (Vats, 1940: Pl.CXXXIII.9.m). It has a circular eye design consisting of two concentric circles, in the centre of which there is a dot. The other side is plain (Fig. 8.21).

Dikshit (1952) mentions beads of this shape from the surface collections at Kausambi and Rajghat. Mohenjo Daro has yielded three specimens of natural eyebeads. One of them is spherical in shape (Marshall, 1931: PL CL.H.22). This specimen has differently coloured riband-like bands, (Fig. 8.19) which alternates regularly with each other.

Boat Shaped Eye Bead of Ivory: A unique boat shaped specimen has come from Daimabad. It has been very well ground and smoothened. The horizontal hole in the middle of the flat concave upper surface has been so skillfully drilled obliquely from two sides, as the direction of shallow skimming flake scars in the depressions at either end suggest that when hung this eye-bead remains in a perfectly horizontal position. The U-shaped skimming flake scars bored in this artifact by a chisel-ended tool rather than a drill (Sali, 1986: Fig. 112.9 PL CXLV.14) (Fig. 8.28).

Third specimen from Mohenjo Daro is of moss agate (Marshall, 1931 : PL CLG .17). This bead is convex barrel with the presence of green enclosures. It has taken form of long hairs and fibres, which are intertwined. Lothal has contributed three specimens of Jasper. One of these brick red jasper specimens (Rao, 1985: Fig. 132.5 Fig. 8.14) bears three circles on one side. It is attributed to 15th c. BCE It is short truncated, convex-cone, circular in shape. Arikamedu has contributed a elliptical planoconvex double-eye eye-bead.

This unique specimen is attributed to the late Harappan level i.e. 2110.1250 BCE. The other unique etched bead is a fragmented eye-bead from Jandial (Beck, 1941: PL I. 7). This appears to be made by a variation of the second process. The material has been whitened right through the perforation and then,

Second specimen is of variegated deep red and greenish yellow jasper. It is short triangular cylinder. It has two circles on one side (Rao, 1985: Fig.132.6). Like the earlier 84

Eye-Beads in Ancient India

instead of a black, a pale brown colouring matter has been used and the greater part of the surface has been coloured

with it. This specimen is dated to the 1st c. CE.

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Distinctive Beads

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21

26

23

25

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. 27

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Figure-8.

86

~

ETCHED-BEADS IN ANCIENT INDIA

The decoration of ancient agate and carnelian beads with designs produced by chemical process in white and sometimes in black is very fascinating as this involved skilled and steady hand. This type of bead is called etched beads.

Carnelian appears as one of the materials most favoured for making etched beads. A few of agate beads are also etched. SHAPES: On the basis of shape, etched beads can be broadly grouped under two groups - Barrel shaped beads and Circular & spherical & globular beads.

Etched beads of various shapes form a distinctive group with a wide distribution ranging from the Indus Valley region, south India and to Iran and Mesopotamia. The main forms are square, round, oblong, elliptical or barrel shaped, and they all have a round or elliptical cross-section. The geometrical patterns are always engraved on both sides of the beads, obviously for the sake of symmetry.

Barrel shaped beads can be further grouped into truncated long barrel circular, short barrel and long cylindrical barrel shaped. Circular beads can be further classified into oblate, spherical, globular, elliptical, and tabular.

The variety and popularity of certain pattern vary at different sites, but this is undoubtedly due to their rarity and to their relatively infrequent occurrence everywhere. Etched beads, with a number of patterns executed on them, are known to occur in ancient civilization of the world and are found in India from Chalcolithic period to the Medieval period indicating that there use was prevalent over a vast span of time. Later on these were imitated in glass beads which had decoration done by applique work.

TRUNCATED LONG BARREL SHAPED:

TWO ROWS OF CONNECTEDPENTAGONSARRANGED WITHIN MARGINAL BANDSONEITHERSIDE:(FIG.9.1) This is one of the most favoured designs etched on barrel, circular and also spherical beads. Sixteen specimens of this design have been found from Ahichchhatra, Atranjikhera, Hastinapura, Kausambi, Nasik, Rajgir, Rajghat, Sambhar, Sonpur, Tripuri, and Tilaura-kot.

The etched agate beads were commonly worn by all classes ofTibetians, leh, and Darjeeling people, in the 20th century (Codrington: 1932). Imitation of these old beads in glass are very common, as found at Talakad and are known as Szi-dzun in Tibet.

Four agate specimens with this design in white have come from Kausambi (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.15). Tripuri (Dikshit, 1955: Fig. 35.7), Rajgir (IA-R 1961-62: PL XIII.D). Nasik specimens of carnelian bearing etched pattern in white have been attributed to the 3rd c. BCE (Sankalia, 1955: Fig. 45.18).

Dikshit has exhaustively dealt with these beads in his monograph published in 1949. Even if the technique of making etched beads remains the same in last 5 decades many more specimens and a few new patterns have come to light.

Kausambi specimen belongs to 1250-50 BCE where as Sonpur specimen (Sinha & Verma, 1977: Fig. 41.12) belongs to 200 BCE - 200 CE bracket. Two specimens from Hastinapura belong to 6th-3rd c. BCE and 2nd c. BCE to 3rd c. CE bracket (Lal, 1954-55: Fig. 29.22). Sravasti specimen (Sinha: 1967) is attributed to 275-200 BCE.

In accordance with the techniques employed in the engraving, the beads may be divided into three groups of which the first is the most common and the third extremely rare. By the first method, a pattern was etched on the red carnelian background by means of an alkali solution causing permanent white designs.

Excavation at Rajghat has yielded two similar unstratified specimens in agate (Singh & Narain, 1978: Pl.1.1, 2). This has black etching like the carnelian specimen from Sambhar (Sahni - PL XV.K). The only difference is that of material. Another unstratified agate specimen with this pattern has come from Ahichchhatra (Dikshit 1952: Fig. 1.8). At Atranjikhera two truncated barrel circular beads of agate are decorated with this pattern (Gaur: 1983).

By the second method, the stone was whitened completely through flooding by an alkali, before a black pattern was etched on the surface. In the third method, the natural red of the surface of the carnelian formed the background for the pattern in black.

87

Distinctive Beads

Adam

4

Ahar

7

Ahicchatra

1

Bahal

1

Banahalli

1

Bangarh

9

Bhirmound

17

Bhokardan

5

Brahmapuri

4

ChanhuDaro

16

Coorg

5

Dharmaraj ika

1

Hastinapura

4

Jandial

2

Jaugada

1

Jokha

1

Junapani

24

Kakrehta

1

Kalibangan

2

Kaundinyapura

29

Kausambi

8

Khapa

5

Kondapur

3

Kumrahar

2

Lothal

14

Machad

117

Maheshwar

1

Mahurjhari

3

Maski

2

Mathura

1

Medhak

1

Nadner

1

Nagarjunikonda

1

Nagal

5

Nagwada

1

Narhan

4

Nasik

1

Navdatoli

4

Paunar

2

Pazhayannur

9

Porkalam

42

Raipur

45

Rairh

12

Rajgir

2

Rajghat

48

Rojadi

1

Sambhar

1

Sanur

1

Sanghol

4

Sirkap

16

Sisupalgarh

1

Sravasti

7

Sonpur

2

Surkotada

3

Takalghat

2

Taxila

2

Tilaura-kot

4

Tripuri

2

Tuljapur Garhi

2

Ujjain

2

Vaishali

3

Veerapuram

2

Y elleswaram

1

Total

535

This pattern is also seen on long truncated circular barrel specimen from Hastinapura (Lal, 1950-52: Fig. 29.22) attributed to 6th C. BCE to 3rd C. BCE and 2nd C. BCE to 3rd c. CE. Two 3rd & 2nd c. BCE long convex shaped beads are etched with connected rows of five pentagons each with a marginal band near the ends at Tilaura-kot (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.12).

Mahurjhari. This can be provided with a time bracket of five centuries, i.e., 3rd c. BCE to 2nd c CE. Nasik as known from other sources was a trade-center during this period, therefore this specimen can be attributed to trade-contacts. This also indicates some interaction between different cultures i.e., Megalithic people and Historical people. VERTICAL BANDS:

A barrel shaped bead attributable to Mauryan period at Kausambi bears same pattern (Sharma: 1969).

Beads with vertical band pattern are found from Ahichhatra, Bhita, Jaugada, Jokha, Kaundinyapura, Khapa, Machad, Maheshwar, Mahurjhari, Maski, Narhan, Navda toli, Pazhayannur, Raipur, Rajghat, Sravasti, Tulajagarhi and V aishali.

Carnelian specimen from Abar is a very crude one (Sankalia, et. al. 1969: Fig. 98.9). This has pentagonal linear panelling etched in white. This specimen has been attributed to 1275-1550 BCE. Parallels are known from Kosam (1949: PL 111.2,XII.1), and Taxila (1949: PL IX.3).

A long truncated barrel bead of carnelian from Takalghat is executed with three parallel bands in white grouped in the center. Similar beads have been reported from Khapa.

At Sonkh eight truncated barrel circular beads of agate are etched with this pattern in white (Hartel 1993: 299). Three of these beads are attributed to the Mauryan period and rest to the Kushana period. Parallels are known from Kosam (EBI PL 111.2,XII.1) and Taxila (EBI PL IX.3).

Five carnelian beads from Megalithic Pazhayannur have vertical bands etched on them. These bands range between 1 - 4. One long barrel circular carnelian bead is decorated with four zonal bands (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.5) (FIG. 9.14). Two beads bear three vertical bands grouped in the center (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.1, 2). Other

This pattern appears to be confined to the northern part of India, with three exceptions from Nasik Kosam and 88

Etched Beads in Ancient India two beads have bands arranged on the either end and one in the center (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.3, 4) (FIG. 9.13).

Raipur has yielded twenty-six small-truncated barrel from Megalithic level, etched with vertical bands (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.8) (FIG. 9.33).

Truncated barrel bead of carnelian attributed to the Mauryan Period with three bands has come from Jaugada (IA-R 1956-57: PL XLV.56) (FIG. 9.18).

Takalghat carnelian specimen with three black zonal bands etched in the center is attributed to the Megalithic period (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.12).

Extremely tiny beads of carnelian having four longitudinal bands at regular intervals have come from Mauryan level at Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX.B.25).

Rajghat has yielded two long barrel specimens with zonal pattern belonging to 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE and 3rd to 7th c. CE period (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL 111.8). Parallels have come from Kosam and Ahichchhatra (EBI: II.15, XI.9).

Narhan has yielded four truncated barrel shaped carnelian specimens. One specimen bears four etched rings in white (Singh 1994: Fig. 57.15). In one specimen the design is executed in black and then encased within white on both the sides (Singh 1994: Fig. 57.16). On one specimen design is executed in white and another specimen bears decorated pattern in black.

ZIGZAGPATTERN: Carnelian beads belonging to Megalithic period with chevron pattern have been collected from Machad, Pazhayannur, Yelleswaram, Raipur, Kaundinyapura, Mahurjhari, Coorge, Porkalam and Sanur.

A small-truncated barrel of carnelian belonging to Mediaeval period from Raipur is designed with close and short etched vertical lines (Lad Deglurkar 1992: Fig. 73.9) (FIG. 9.30).

A short truncated barrel shaped carnelian specimen from Megalithic Mahurjhari bears zigzag band etched in white (Deo, 1973: Fig. 14.1). Another unillustrated cylindrical specimen from the same place is decorated with a zigzag band in the middle.

At Kaundinyapura ten truncated barrel beads of carnelian etched in white have three zonal lines forming a group of band in the center of the bead (Dikshit 1968: PL XXIX.A.3-12) (FIG. 9.17).

A small tubular cylindrical bead of carnelian from Megalithic Raipur has been etched in black with three bands of chevrons (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.11) (FIG. 9.4).

Another specimen again from Kaundinyapura bears three zonal lines spaced at regular intervals all over (FIG. 9.15). A similar specimen in carnelian has come from Khapa attributed to the Megalithic period (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.12).

A long barrel cylindrical bead of carnelian from Y elleswaram bears a wavy design inlaid in whitish substance (Khan, 1963: PL XIV.35). One carnelian specimen from Megalithic Porkalam (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.3) (FIG. 9.26) is also truncated long barrel circular in shape is etched in white with longitudinal zigzag lines in four quadrants along the periphery.

One short cylindrical carnelian bead with convex ends from Kausambi is decorated with zonal bans in the center and belongs to pre -structural period (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.3). A large fragmentary truncated barrel circular carnelian bead is etched with two zonal bands (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. XXIV.9).

Barrel shaped carnelian specimen from Megalithic Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 31.9) (FIG. 9.5) has two zigzag lines at the ends etched in white. Thirteen small-truncated barrels of carnelian from Raipur are decorated with a close etched chevron pattern in a central horizontal band (Deglurkar & Lad, 1992: Fig. 73.7) (FIG. 9.6).

Two circular beads of carnelian have come from Rajghat with Zonal pattern. One of these specimens belongs to 2nd 3rd c. BCE and the second one 1st - 3rd c. CE. One from Vaishali has one band (Sinha & Roy, 1969: Fig. 54.12).

Six long cylindrical beads of carnelian with circular section are etched with two chevrons at Megalithic Machad. One of these specimens from Machad (Mehta & George 1978: 25; Figs. 9.10-14) is rectangular at one end, and the other end is circular cylindrical (Mehta & George 1978: 25; Figs. 9.15).

One specimen from Sravasti belonging to 275-200 BCE is decorated with four zonal bands (Sinha, 1959: Fig. 18.3). Two similar specimens have come from Vaishali (Sinha & Roy, 1969: Fig. 12.15,16). Two specimens from Jokha (Mehta et. al., 1971: Fig. 27.2) (FIG. 9.16) and Sravasti (IA-R 1958-59: PL LX.18) are etched in white. Instead of three bands here one finds four bands spread at regular interval all over. Similar beads of carnelian have come from Navdatoli (Deo, 1955: Fig. 1.5) (FIG. 9.34) and Maheshwar. Navda Toli specimen is attributed to the Mauryan period, where as Maheshwar specimen belongs to the Indo Roman period. Sravasti has yielded a long barrel circular specimen with four zonal bands. This belongs to 275-200 BCE (Sinha, 1967: PL XXI.3).

This zigzag pattern is confined to the Southern part of India and attributable to the Megalithic Period.

BICONEBARRELSHAPEDETCHEDEYEBEAD: Ahichchhatra has contributed two specimens decorated with eyes in compartments. One specimen is long circular bicone barrel with a somewhat rare pattern (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.3) (FIG. 8.10). It is decorated with three small eyes probably intended as protection against the 'evil eye'. The decoration is very truthful; the comers of the eyes are 89

Distinctive Beads indicated beautifully and the central dot represents the corona. An identical bead from Kausambi is in Dikshit (1952) collection.

A short truncated barrel shaped carnelian specimen from megalithic Mahurjhari bears zigzag band etched in white (Deo, 1973: Fig. 14.1).

A similar one attributed to 300-200 BCE time bracket, is said to exist in B.M. Vyas collection (Dikshit 1952) at Allahabad, but in these the eyes assume the shape of an elongated circle occasionally without the central dot.

A small tubular cylindrical bead of carnelian has been etched in black with three bands of chevrons (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.11) (FIG. 9.4). This has come from megalithic period.

Another specimen from Ahichchhatra is decorated with zonal bands and three eyes formed by circles. This circular bicone barrel has been attributed to 850-1100 CE but there is a possibility of its being reused in this period. (Dikshit, 1952: fig. 1.2). It is decorated with zonal bands and three eyes are formed by circles (FIG. 8.9). Rajghat specimen from surface scatters is a long plano-convex barrel bead elliptical in shape (Narain & Singh: PL 111.9).

A long barrel cylinder bead of carnelian bears a wavy design inlaid in whitish substance (Khan PL XIV.35) has come from Y elleswaram. Carnelian specimen from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 31.9) (FIG. 9.5) is barrel shaped. This bead has two zigzag lines at the ends, etched in white. Thirteen small-truncated barrel of carnelian from Raipur are decorated with a close etched chevron pattern in a central horizontal band. These have come from megalithic period (Deglurkar & Lad 1992: Fig. 73.7) (FIG. 9.6).

The 'eye' pattern is etched over natural red surface. Compare to the above specimens it's a very simple one. Rairh specimen decorated with circles in the center and two zonal bands at wither end (Puri, PL XXXII.5).

One specimen from Porkalam (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.3) (FIG. 9.26) is also truncated long barrel circular in shape.

Barrel shaped specimens from Kausambi are attributed to 100 - 175 CE and 25 - 100 CE (Sharma 1969: PL LXI.18). One circular cylinder of carnelian (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.11) is an unstratified specimen.

This bead is etched in white with longitudinal zigzag lines in four quadrants along the periphery. This carnelian specimen is attributed to the megalithic period.

CHEVRON PATTERN:

Two etched agate beads have come from Lothal. One specimen (Rao, 1985: Fig. 132.2, Vol. II) etched on black with eye design is a deep yellow, short truncated convexcone, plano-convex barrel bead. This unique specimen is attributed to 1555 BCE

Carnelian beads belonging to megalithic period with chevron pattern have been collected from Machad, Pazhayannur, Yelleswaram, Raipur, Kaundinyapura and Sanur.

Second specimen olive grey in colour (Rao, 1985: Fig. 130.6) is short truncated convex-cone, plano-convex barrel. This eye-bead is etched with two circles resembling cat's eyes.

Six long cylindrical beads of carnelian with circular section are etched with two chevrons at Machad. These beads belong to the megalithic period. One of these specimens from Machad (Mehta & George, 1978:25, Figs. 9.10-14) is rectangular at one end, and the other end is circular cylindrical (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.15).

VERTICAL SPIRALDOTPATTERN: (FIG.9.2) One long circular barrel specimen of carnelian attributable to megalithic period has been etched with vertical spiral of dots, with a short horizontal stroke in the centre from Pazhayannur (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.7).

OBLIQUE STROKES IN MARGINAL BANDS: Five long barrel carnelian beads from megalithic Porkalam are etched in white with oblique strokes enclosed in marginal zonal bands (Thapar, 1952: Fig.5.2) (FIG. 9.29). Parallel has come from Taxila (1949: PL IX.4).

A tapering cylindrical carnelian bead at Kaundinyapura is decorated with continuous dotted lines running spirally over the surface like the thread of a screw (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 31.8).

VERTICAL BANDS:

DIAMONDS ENCLOSED INZONALBANDS:(FIG.9.3)

A long truncated barrel bead of carnelian from Takalghat is executed with three parallel bands in white grouped in the centre. Similar beads have been reported from Khapa.

Two truncated barrel specimens of carnelian attributed to Mauryan period has come from Bangarh (Goswami 1948: PL XXXI) and Ahichchhatra (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.10). It has diamonds enclosed in two zonal bands in black.

Five carnelian beads from megalithic Pazhayannur have vertical bands etched on them. These bands range between 1-4. One long barrel circular carnelian bead is decorated with four zonal bands (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.5) (FIG. 9.14). Beads with vertical band pattern are found from Machad, Pazhayannur, Takalghat, Khapa and Mahurjhari.

A long barrel circular bead of carnelian belonging to 1st -3rd c. CE from Rajghat bears diamond shaped designs and zonal bands (Narain & Sinha: 1978). Parallels have come Kosam (1949: Pl.XII.14).

ZIGZAGPATTERN: Beads with this pattern have come Mahurjhari, Pazhayannur and Porkalam.

from

Out of remaining four beads of long barrel shape from Pazhayannur, two beads bear three vertical bands grouped in the centre (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.1,2). Other

Coorg,

90

Etched Bead's in Ancient India

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16

22

25

23

24

26

27

29

30

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31

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33 34 Figure-9.

91

17

Distinctive Beads two beads have bands arranged on the either end and one in the centre (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.3,4) (FIG. 9.13).

Two specimens from Jokha etched in white (Mehta et. al., 1971: Fig. 27.2) (FIG. 9.16) and Sravasti (IA-R, 1958-59: PL LX.18). Instead of three bands here one finds four bands spread at regular interval all over.

Truncated barrel bead with three bands has come from Jaugada (IA-R 1956-57: PL XLV.56) (FIG. 9.18). This specimen of carnelian has been attributed to the Mauryan Period.

Raipur has yielded twenty-six small truncated barrel is from megalithic level, etched with vertical bands (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.8) (FIG. 9.33).

Similar specimens have come from Takalghat, Maski, Ahichchhatra, Bhita. The specimens found in South Indian Megaliths are said to have travelled from Taxila via Gangetic valley.

Two long cylindrical barrel beads of carnelian have come from Navda Toli (Deo, 1955: Fig. 1.5) (FIG. 9.34) and Maheshwar. These have four equip distant bands in white around the body. Navda Toli specimen is attributed to the Mauryan period, whereas Maheshwar specimen belongs to the Indo Roman period.

Extremely tiny bead of carnelian having four longitudinal bands at regular intervals has come from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Pl.XXIX.B.25). It has been attributed to the Mauryan period.

A similar specimen has come from Takalghat (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.12). This carnelian specimen with three black zonal bands etched in the centre is attributed to the megalithic period.

Narhan has yielded four truncated barrel shaped carnelian etched beads. One specimen bears four etched rings in white (Singh, 1994: Fig.57.15).

A truncated carnelian barrel etched with four zonal bands in white, in the centre has come from Tuljapur Garhi (IA-R 1984-85: PL 18.6). This belongs to Chalcolithic period.

In one specimen the design is executed in black and then encased with in white on both the sides (Singh, 1994: Fig. 57.16).

Sravasti has yielded a long barrel circular bead with four zonal bands. This belongs to 275-200 BCE (Sinha, 1967: PL XXI.3).

On one specimen design is executed in white and another specimen bears decorated pattern in black. A smalltruncated barrel of carnelian from Raipur is designed with close and short etched vertical lines. It belongs to megalithic period (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.9) (FIG. 9.30).

Rajghat has yielded two long barrel circular specimens with zonal pattern belonging to 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE and 3rd to ih c. CE period (Narain & Singh 1978: PL 111.8). Parallels have come from Masam and Ahichchhatra (1949 PL II.15, XI.9).

Ten truncated barrel beads of carnelian etched in white have three zonal lines forming a group of band in the centre of the bead (Dikshit, 1968: Pl.XXIX.A.3-12) at Kaundinyapura. (FIG. 9.17)

VERTICALLINESAND DASHLINE BANDSENCLOSEDIN ZONALBANDS: At Nagal a truncated barrel circular bears two vertical bands and a dash line band in the centre are etched in white. This specimen has been attributed to the 2nd c. BCE (IA-R 1961-62) (FIG. 9.31).

One more specimen again from Kaundinyapura bears three zonal lines spaced at regular intervals all over (FIG. 9.15). A similar specimen in carnelian has come from Khapa (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.12). This has been attributed to the megalithic period.

A long truncated circular carnelian barrel bead from surface collection at Ahichhatra is decorated with convex lines and rows of four short strokes between two lines (Dikshit, 1952: Fig.1.4) (FIG. 9.19).

One short cylindrical carnelian bead with convex ends from Kausambi is decorated with zonal banding the centre and belongs to pre-structural period (Sharma, 1969: Pl.LXI.3).

HEXAGONS ENCLOSED WITHIN PENTAGONS AND MARGINAL BANDS: A complete whitish specimen of agate from surface collection at Ahar (Sankalia et. al., 1969: Fig. 98.1) (FIG. 9.20) bears an etched design in black. The pattern consists of two rows of empty hexagons with row of pentagon on either side enclosed in marginal bands.

A large fragmentary truncated barrel circular carnelian bead is etched with two zonal bands (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. XXIV.9). This has been attributed to the Satavahana period. Two truncated long barrel circular beads of carnelian have come from Rajghat with zonal pattern. One of these specimens belongs to 2nd & 3rd c. BCE and the second one 1st - 3rd c. CE. One long truncated circular barrel from Vaishali has one band (Sinha & Roy, 1969: Fig. 54.12).

A barrel circular specimen of carnelian from Maski is quite similar to this. It belongs to early historical period i.e., 1st3rd C. CE. This pattern is quite common on beads recovered from sites in north India, notably Bhita, Kosam Masan, Mathura, Rairh and Bahal (1949 PL V, Pl.111.4,XI.2, XII.3).

One long barrel circular carnelian bead from Sravasti belonging to 275 - 200 BCE is decorated with four zonal bands (Sinha, 1959: Fig. 18.3). Two similar specimens have come from Vaishali (Sinha & Roy, 1969: Fig. 12.15,16).

A more complicated version of this is seen on Bhokardan specimen from surfaced collection. This carnelian truncated barrel bead is etched with pentagons on either 92

Etched Beads in Ancient India side of a row of hexagons with a dot in the centre (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21.46) (FIG. 9.22). Zonal bands on either side flank this decoration.

been found on the site in the previous excavations (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952). Porkalam has yielded fourteen long circular barrel carnelian specimens from megalithic period. These are etched in white with double zigzag lines enclosed within two marginal lines on either side (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.1) (FIG. 9.9).

TWO ROWS OF HEXAGONSWITH DOT ENCLOSEDIN ZONALBANDS: Hastinapura has yielded a truncated barrel bead with two rows of diamonds with a dot in the centre of each diamond enclosed in two zonal bands on either side (Lal, 1954-55: Fig. 29 .21). It has been dated between 11th - 15th c. CE (FIG. 9.23).

Thapar states that similar beads have been reported from Brahmanabad, Brahmapuri, Maski and Sanganakallu. Therefore he is of the opinion that this pattern was in use for a very long span of time i.e., from the 1st c. CE to 6th c. CE.

DOUBLE ARCHIN BANDS: A truncated barrel bead is decorated with double arch design and zonal bands flank on the either side at Mahurjhari (Deo, 1973: Fig. 14.8) (FIG. 9.24). This carnelian specimen is dated to megalithic period.

Another long barrel circular carnelian specimen from Porkalam bears etched pattern in white with single zigzag line enclosed within two marginal lines on either side (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.5).

HOLLOW SQUARE WITHA DOT:

A similar barrel circular carnelian specimen has come from megalithic Maski (Thapar, 1957: PL XXVIII.8) and Brahmapuri (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 30.9).

A truncated carnelian barrel from Nagal (IA-R 1961-62: 12 PL XXVIII.C) belonging to the 2nd c. BCE bears white hollow square with a dot in centre (FIG. 9.25). Parallel has come from Brahmanabad (1949 PLX.18).

Specimens with one zigzag line enclosed within single marginal line on either side (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.3,13) (FIG. 9.7) have come from Khapa, Kondapur, Maski and Chandravalli.

OBLIQUE STROKES INQUADRANTS: Truncated long barrel specimen from Megalithic Porkalam is etched in white (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.4) bears oblique strokes enclosed within four longitudinal quadrants resembling herringbone pattern (FIG. 9.28).

Exactly similar pattern has been observed on long bicone circular barrel from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX.A.19). Slight variation of this can be seen on the specimens from Adam (IA-R, 1989-90: PP. 62). These specimens are attributed to the megalithic period.

ZONALBANDSWITHZIGZAGPATTERN: Beads decorated with this pattern have been recovered from Bhokardan, Chandravalli, Khapa, Kondapur, Nagal, Porkalam, Raipur, Yelleswaram, Kaundinyapura, Brahmapuri, Maski, Paithan, Bilikambe, Kallur, Paravaim, Sanur, Ahichchhatra, and Sanganakallu.

Carnelian specimen comes from Megalithic period at Khapa (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.14) (FIG. 9.12) has a zonal band in centre flanked by zigzag lines on either side and all these three bands enclosed in marginal bands.

Two barrel shaped carnelian beads are decorated with two rows of chevrons and one vertical band etched in white one the either side at megalithic Pazhayannur (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.8-9).

At Kaundinyapura some of the carnelian beads are extremely tiny and show a fair amount of accuracy and firmness of hand. One (Dikshit 1968: Fig. 31.11) of these carnelian specimen from Kaundinyapura bears two zigzag lines in the centre enclosed by two zonal bands on either side, etched in white. Parallel comes from Megalithic Sonur (Banerjee, 1959: PL XX.C.2).

Barrel shaped carnelian beads from megalithic Coorg are decorated with one or two rows of zigzag parallel bands in the centre with two marginal bands at the either end. A 2nd c. BCE long truncated barrel specimen from Nagal bears two marginal zonal bands and a zigzag band etched in white (IA-R, 1961-62: PL XXVIII.C).

A similar specimen of carnelian has come from Brahmapuri. The surface is covered white all over and the lines etched in black (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 30.12 1949 PL 111.15).Although found in Bahamani period the attrition marks at its edge indicate that the bead was an ancient one and put to use at a later period.

This same pattern is drawn on an agate-truncated barrel twice and then it is enclosed in zonal bands on either side. This unstratified fragmentary specimen is from Bhokardan (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 20.17).

Bhokardan has yielded a barrel shaped carnelian etched bead with a delicate centrally placed thin wavy line flanked by a group of three straight lines on either side (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21.45) (FIG. 9.10). This has come from surface.

Another long barrel shaped specimen bears single zigzag band enclosed within two marginal lines on either side. Specimens bearing similar pattern are known from Kondapur, Maski and Chandravalli. Cylindrical barrel bead etched in black with two zonal bands and a zigzag band in the centre has come from Brahmapuri and belongs to Satavahana period (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 30.9). A similar bead is said to have

MULTI FACETEDOCTAGONALSQUARESCONNECTED WITHZONALBANDS: One multi faceted-octagonal carnelian specimen from 93

Distinctive Beads

·6

1

13

2

8 (Ill) ro (j 7

8

9

4

5

12

17

28

30 27 Figure-IO.

94

34

35

Etched Beads in Ancient India

HORIZONTAL STROKES WITHINMARGINAL BANDS:

Kausambi shows three zonal bands spread all over the surface with the end bands having squares connected with a zonal band (Sharma, 1969: Pl.LXI.6) is dated between 150 - 100 BCE. This pattern also appears on beads from Rairh (Puri: Pl.XXIII.3) (FIG. 9.32).

Fourteen carnelian spherical beads are etched in white with horizontal strokes enclosed in marginal zonal bands at megalithic Porkalam (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.7).

Three spherical carnelian beads from megalithic Machad bear two vertical bands enclosing horizontal strokes (Mehta & George 1978: Fig. 9.71.73). Dikshit mentions a TWO ROWS OF CONNECTEDPENTAGONSARRANGED parallel from Paravai (EBI, PL XVIII. I 0). WITHIN MARGINAL BANDSONEITHERSIDE:(FIG.10.1) This can be considered as a southern pattern attributed to Carnelian specimens with this pattern and attributable to Megalithic period. Mauryan period have come (one specimen) from Rajgir HORIZONTAL STRIPE: (TA-R 1961-62: Pl. XTTT.D),(three specimens) and Bangarh (Goswami, 1948: PL XXXI). Thirteen spherical carnelian specimens are decorated with

SPHERICAL BEADS:

horizontal stripes at Machad (Mehta & George 1978: Fig. 9.58-70) (FIG. 10.4). Two small globular carnelian beads with an etched central horizontal band have come from Megalithic Raipur (Lad & Deglurkar 1992: Fig. 73.10). However this pattern is not very common at other megalithic sites in India.

Agate specimens from Ahichchhatra belongs to Mauryan period (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.5), Banghar has contributed a specimen of milky quartz from Mauryan level (Goswami, 1948: Pl XXXI, XXXII), Sanghol (IA-R 1988-89: PL XXXII-A) and Tilaura-kot (Mitra 1972: Fig. 25.13). Rajghat specimen of agate belongs to

ih -12 th c. CE

A parallel comes from Taxila, also attributed to 1st c. BCE (EBI: IX.10).

Another agate specimen from Ahichchhatra (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.6) belongs to 100-350 CE bracket. One more agate specimen from here is unstratified (Dikshit, 1952 Fig.1.7) (FIG. 10.25).

OBLIQUE STROKES: A spherical carnelian bead with slant etching strokes has come from Ujjain (Banerjee, 1959: PL V.24). This is dated between 2 nd c. BCE to 13th c. CE bracket.

A jasper specimen attributed to 2 nd & 1st c. BCE has been recovered from Kakrehta (Sharma & Mishra, 1992: PL XXXVIII.16).

Another specimen decorated with oblique dash and dot pattern along the vertical axis of the bead is reported from Brahmapuri attributable to Satavahana period. It is covered white all over and then etched in black (Sankalia & Dikshit: 1952) (FIG. 10.6).

A spherical bead of agate etched in white showing pentagons with common sides. It belongs to I-3 rd c. CE. The etched pattern is, however, very common on beads recovered from sites in north India notably Kausambi, Bhita, Mathura, Rajghat, Sankisa, Bangarh and Ahichchhatra.

PARALLEL BANDS: One spherical bead of carnelian at Mahurjhari is etched with equi-distant short parallel bands along the axis and bounded marginally by another band on either side (Deo, 1970: Fig. 14.2) (FIG. 10.7).

Another specimen from Tilaura-kot is spherical in shape is decorated with connected pentagons but without marginal bands.

Agate specimens have been collected from Atranjikhera, Hastinapura, Kausambi, Sravasti and Tilaura-kot.

This specimen confined to northern part of India was in vogue from 3rd C. BCE to 3rd C. CE.

Sravasti has yielded only one unstratified belonging to the Mauryan period.

specimen

ZIGZAG WITH ZONAL BANDS:

CONNECTED SQUARES WITHINZONALBANDS:

Two slightly crude specimens have come from Abar. One of the specimens dated to 1725 is etched in white has no zonal bands (Sankalia et. al., 1969: Fig. 98.7). Similar specimens have come from Khapa (Fig. 23.11), Kaundinyapura (PL XXIX.27), Taxila and Kausambi. Another unstratified specimen has a zonal band on one side (Sankalia et. al., 1969: Fig. 98.8) (FIG. 10.2). Unstratified parallel comes from Paunar (Deo, PL XXVII.23) (FIG. 10.27), Allahabad and Kosambi. The specimens found at Khapa is the only one found in South Indian Megaliths. This design has a long chronological range, from Mauryan times to 16th c. CE.

At Ujjaiin carnelian bead of 2nd c. BCE is decorated with centrally placed band of connected squares enclosed in a zonal band on either side (Banerjee, 1959: Pl.V.21) (FIG. 10.8).

DOTS:(FIG.10.8-10) Spherical agate beads decorated with dots have come from Atranjikhera belonging to the Mauryan level. Two agate beads decorated with dots arranged spirally have come from Mauryan levels at Tilaura-kot. Other three beads have dots arranged in concentric circles. One spherical specimen is etched with dots.

95

Distinctive Beads

ZIGZAGBANDS:

SQUARE WITHA DOT:

Thirty-five carnelian beads from megalithic period at Machad bear a single zigzag band in the centre (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.22-56) (FIG. 10.12).

A tabular specimen of carnelian at Kaundinyapura is decorated in white with a square having a dot in the centre (Dikshit, 1968: Fig.31.3) (FIG. 10.15). It is attributed to the 3rd C. BCE.

Two beads with zigzag band are reported at Tilaura-kot from Mauryan level (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.4). One is a fragmented spherical bead with the etching on its perimeter closely following the natural white band (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.5).

RADIATING STOKES: Twenty-one tablets shaped carnelian beads with white etched short radial lines near the periphery have been reported at Machad (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.76-79) (FIG. 10.16) and four from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX-A.13-15, B.28). These have come from megalithic level.

One carnelian beads from megalithic Khapa is etched with a centrally placed zigzag band (Deo, 1970: Fig.23.11). A carnelian specimen from Kaundinyapura is decorated with wavy lines running through central portion longitudinally. It belongs to the Satavahana period (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX.B.27).

Paunar has yielded a similar specimen (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: Fig. 24.7) from surface. This type also occurs at Khapa and Takalghat (Deo, et. al.: Fig. 23.10). Here the strokes are bold, long and prominent. Banahalli specimen is decorated with short radial lines etched in white along the circumference (IA-R, 1986-87: 45).

Three small globular beads with etched zigzag band in the centre have been reported from Raipur from Megalithic level (Lad & Deglurkar, 1992: Fig. 73.7). A parallel comes from Bhir Mound (EBI VIII.2). This appears to be the earliest specimen attributed to the 5th c. BCE.

A slight variation is seen on twenty-two other specimen from Machad. These bear the same pattern with stokes in the other direction (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.97-188) (FIG. 10.17).

ZIGZAGWITHZONALBANDS: A globular carnelian bead with centrally placed zigzag band enclosed in two zonal bands has come from surface collection at Paunar. This pattern is etched in white (Deo & Dhavalikar, 1968: PL XXVII.23).

To the same pattern a few more strokes are added on other three specimens. The short radial lines are divided in two sections with an addition of two longitudinal lines (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.119).

In agate specimen from surface collection at Ahichchhatra the three bands are so closely etched that the pattern appear like having two rows of connected triangles enclosed in zonal bands (Dikshit 1952: Fig. 1.9) (FIG. 10.13).

A fragmentary carnelian bead with white etching with similar pattern has come from Maksi. It belongs I-3 rd CE (Thapar, 1957: PL XXVII.33). The etched pattern is quite common on beads recovered from sites in south India. Thapar mentions that Foote recovered similar specimens from some cairns in the Nilgiri Hills.

Similar specimen comes from Kuala Selinsing (Malay) belonging to 9th & 10th c. CE although this pattern is also found in Mesopotamia and Russia due to very few specimens we can just say that there countries did have some contacts.

Two of the carnelian beads from Machad (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.122-3) one each from Takalghat (Deo, 1970: Fig.23.10) and Khapa (Deo, 1970: Fig. 23.10) have a dot in the centre (FIG. 10.18).

TABULAR BEAD:

BULLBEFORE A TREEIN RAILING:

Two carnelian beads from Machad have a square in the centre (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig.9.124-5).

An interesting tabular bead depicting bull before a tree within railing is reported from Adam (IA-R, 1988-89: 59). This is dated between 150 BCE and 200 CE.

Another bead from Machad has a cross in the centre (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.126). Carnelian specimens with same pattern have also come from other megalithic sites like- Salem, Vellalur, Parvai, Motapalle, Maski, Kupgal, Wynnad and Phalgarh.

DOUBLESQUARE: Two tabular specimens of carnelian from Nagal and megalithic Mahurjhari (Deo 1973: Fig. 14.3) are decorated with double squares, in black on either face (IA-R, 196162: PL XXVIII.C) (FIG. 10.14). Another specimen from Nagal is etched in black and the other one in white. Nagal specimens have been attributed to 2nd c. BCE.

Carnelian beads etched with a dash or a sqaure in the centre has been reported from Maski, Paravai, Chandravalli, Salur and Vellalur (Dikshit, 1949: PL XVII.4,5; XVIII.3-5,11,16).

A carnelian bead from Veerapuram (Rao, at. el., 1984: PL XXX.6) is etched in white from Early Maharathis level.

A variation of the above pattern is seen at Bhokardan. An etched carnelian tabular bead bears peripheral dots on both the faces etched in white (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21.44) (FIG. 10.21).

96

Etched Beads in Ancient India Two small tabular beads of carnelian with tiny spot closely etched at periphery is recovered at Coorg and Wynnad from the megalithic period. One carnelian specimen from Megalithic Takalghat is etched in white with slanting strokes along the periphery (Deo: 1970).

OBLATE BEADS:

ZIGZAGBAND: Four oblate beads of carnelian from Machad are etched with a single wavy band. (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.16-19) (FIG. 10.26).

Tablet shaped beads of this type are very common in the megalithic and um burials of South India.

HORIZONTAL STROKES ENCLOSED INVERTICAL BANDS: An oblate bead of carnelian from megalithic Machad bears horizontal strokes enclosed in two vertical bands (Mehta & George, 1978: Fig. 9.20).

CROSSWITHFORKEDENDS:(FIG.10.22) A tabular bead of carnelian (Deo & Gupte, 1974: Fig. 21.23) bears white etching on both the faces. The etched pattern is a cross with forked ends. It is a unique pattern.

ELLIPTICAL BEAD:

CIRCLESENCLOSING DASH:

DOUBLE AXEPATTERN: (FIG.10.29)

Two standard elliptical carnelian beads with circular section are decorated with circles all over the body enclosing a dash (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.9) in white from Porkalam. This is attributed to the megalithic period. Thapar mentions that a bead recovered from Bhir Mound ascribable to the 4th c. BCE bears roughly similar design (FIG. 10.33).

A tabular specimen of carnelian from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1968: Fig. 31.2) has double-axe pattern etched on both the sides. The pattern does not extend into the thickness of the side.

HALFCIRCLES WITHDOTANDA CROSS:(FIG.10.30) A standard tabular bead of carnelian has come from Hastinapura. It bears an interesting decoration. Ascribable to the 15th c. CE this bead has five half circle each with a dot in it etched along the periphery and a cross in the centre.

CONNECTED PENTAGONS WITHMARGINAL BANDS: A long convex elliptical bead of agate from Tilaura-kot is etched in white with ten connected pentagons in two rows and with marginal bands, one each near the end (Mitra, 1972: Fig. 25.12). This may be dated between 3rd c. BCE to 3rd C. CE.

CROSSPATTERN:

ETCHED EYE BEADS:

Two circular tabular carnelian beads are etched with a cross (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.8) (FIG. 10.23) in white at Porkalam from megalithic burial. A slight variation of this has come from Kaundinyapura. Here the empty cross has a vertical and a horizontal line intersecting in the centre (Dikshit, 1968: PL XXIX B.25) (FIG. 10.24). An early specimen found at Taxila comes from Mauryan level. Here we find the cross framed within a double square (Beck, 1933: PL 11.5).

One long cylindrical bead of chalcedony is etched with two connected circles and zonal bands at the ends (IA-R, 198889: PL XXXII.A). This bead belongs to 2nd c. BCE 6th c. CE bracket.

BiconeBarrelShapedEtchedBead:

SLANTINGSTROKESENCLOSEDIN VERTICALBANDS: (FIG.10.32) A tabular carnelian specimen from Kaundinyapura is decorated with short slanting strokes laid in between double lines at the margin. The pattern appears on both the surfaces.

Ahichchhatra has contributed two etched specimens decorated with eyes in compartments. One specimen is long circular bicone barrel with a somewhat rare etched pattern (Dikshit, 1952: Fig.1.3) (FIG. 8.10). It is decorated with three small eyes probably intended as protection against the 'evil eye'. The decoration is very truthful; the comers of the eyes are indicated beautifully and the central dot represents the corona. Dikshit (1952) mentions an identical bead from Kausambi in his collection. A similar one is said to exist in B.M. Vyas collection (Dikshit: 1952) at Allahabad, but in these the eyes assume the shape of an elongated circle occasionally without the central dot. It is attributed to 300 - 200 BCE time bracket.

ETCHEDEYEPATTERN: One tabular specimen of circular etched eye-bead comes from Kaundinyapura attributed to the 1st - 3rd c. CE. This carnelian specimen is etched with adjacent diamonds with dash line strikes on both sides. One specimen from Kausambi is flattened Hexagon in shape (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.18). It is not dated. One of the unillustrated examples is said to bear double eye near perforations. This bead is now fractured due to heating which has turned it into an opaque white substance resembling chalcedony.

Another specimen from Ahichchhatra is bicone circular barrel in shape. Although it has been attributed to 850 1100 CE. There is possibility of its being reused in this period (Dikshit, 1952: Fig. 1.2). It is decorated with zonal bands and three eyes are formed by circles (FIG. 8.9). Rajghat has yielded one specimen from surface scatters. This is a long barrel plano-convex bead elliptical in shape (Narain & Singh, 1978: PL 111.9). The 'eye' pattern is

97

Distinctive Beads

etched over natural red surface. Compare to the above specimens its a very simple one.

It can be said that this type of eye-beads was prevalent in

One etched bicone barrel specimen comes from Rairh. It is decorated with circles in the centre and two zonal bands at either end (Puri: PL XXXII.5).

OblateBeadwithEtchedEyePattern:

early historical and early Medieval period.

An oblate bead of carnelian with white etching bears three horizontally concentric circles on the body-enclosing oval in imitation of the eye. This bead indicating the pattern of the eye-bead has come from megalithic period at Machad.

One specimen from Kausambi is barrel shaped (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.18). It is attributed to 100-175 CE. Another barrel shaped specimen is dated to 25 -100 CE. One circular cylinder of carnelian (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.11) is an unstratified specimen.

EllipticalBeadWithEtchedEyePattern: One specimen of this type has come from surface collection at Rajghat. This is a long piano-convex elliptical with 'eye' pattern etched in white (Narain & Singh: 1978).

Two etched agate beads have come from Lothal. One specimen (Rao, 1985: Fig. 132.2 Vol. II) is a deep yellow, short truncated convex-cone, plano-convex barrel bead. Etched in black with eye design. It is a unique specimen. It has been attributed to 1555 BCE.

Another specimen of this type comes from Porkalam. This standard elliptical circular carnelian bead etched in white bears three circles on the body enclosing oval circles in imitation of eye. This belongs to the megalithic period (Thapar, 1957: Fig. 5.6).

Second specimen is olive grey in colour (Rao, 1985: Fig.130.6). This agate specimen is short truncated convexcone, plano-convex barrel. This eye-bead is etched with two circles resembling cat's eyes.

BarrelShapedBeadswithEtchedDots: The only specimen of this type comes from Adam attributed 10th c. BCE - 5th c. BCE (IA-R, 1988-89: 56). This short barrel shaped bead is etched with white dots.

SphericalBeadswithEtchedDots: Twenty three spherical specimens with etched dots have come from Sirkap, Bhir Mound, Dharmarajika Stupa, Chirayya Kot, Patna (Bihar), Kosam. These specimens bear small white etched dots on the natural surface.

SphericalEye Beadswith Re-etchedDots:(Dikshit,1949) (FIG.8.2) These Beads are decorated with large white by the first process. These spots are again black closely following the outline of concentrically. This has the effect of 'eyes' bead and the pattern is very pleasing.

Rajghat (Narain & Singh: 1978) has contributed eleven beads, which can be put in the first group. On these bead small white etched dots are arranged in rows on natural light surface. At Rajghat these beads were in vogue for many centuries as we find them from 2nd c. BCE to the mediaeval times. Two specimens are attributed to 2nd/3rd c. BCE. One belongs to the 3rd c. BCE to 1st c. CE time bracket. Four specimens are placed in I st- 3rd c CE bracket. One each belongs to 3rd -7th c. CE, 7th -12th c. CE, 12th_ 14thc. CE and surface scatter.

spots etched re-etched in the white all over the

Seven specimens of this category have come to light. Incidentally all of these belong to Ganges plain, for example, specimens from Kosam collection, Lucknow Museum, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Patna Musem, and Shah collection Chairayya Kot.

Sirkap has contributed two carnelian specimens with white dots (Beck, 1941: PL 11.26, 27) etched on the natural surface. Both these specimens are attributed to the 1st c. CE

Sphericalbeadswithcirclesetchedonthem: It is a more usual way of producing an 'eye-bead' just by

etching a series of rings and sometimes adding a dot in the centre.

Parallel from Dharmarajika Stupa (Beck, 1941: PL 11.29)is attributed to the 2nd c. CE. Two specimens from Rairh (Puri, PL XXIII.10, 17) also belong to the early historical period.

Bhir Mound has contributed three specimens - one of agate and two of carnelian. Carnelian specimen from Bhir Mound of 4thc. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL 11.8)has one circle etched on the natural surface with a dot in the centre. Similar specimen from Sirkap (Beck, 1941: PL 11.24) is attributed to the 1st c. CE Two similar specimens from Bhir Mound of agate and carnelian are dated to the 3rd c. BCE.

Two more specimens of agate and chalcedony have come from Bhir Mound (Beck, 1941: PL 11.5, 16). These are attributed to the 3rd c. BCE. Sonpur specimen (FIG. 41.19) it is attributable to 200 BCE - 200 CE bracket. Kausambi specimen (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.28) ascribable to 1st c. BCE 1st c. CE.

Two specimens one each from Bhir Mound, 3rd c. BCE (Beck, 1941: PL 11.2) and Sirkap, 1st c. CE (Beck, 1941: Pl.11.19) in agate have three parallel zones etched round a spherical bead and the perforation is put through the middle zone, and this way it becomes an eye-bead.

Bangarh specimen (Goswami, 1948: PL XXXII) belongs to the Mauryan period and Sanghol (IA-R, 1988-89: PL XXXII.A) one is dated from 2nd c. BCE to 6th c. CE. On three spherical beads of agate from Tilaura-kot spots are arranged in five to eight concentric circles. These are also attributed to the Mauryan period. 98

Etched Beads in Ancient India One specimen of this type comes from Tilaura-kot with eighth dotted concentric circles. It is attributable to the 3rd - 2nd c. BCE bracket. Sankalia and others mention a similar specimen from Ahar (Sankalia, at. el., 1969: Fig. 98.6).

1961-61: PL XXVIII.C). This specimen with white pattern has been ascribed to the 2nd c. CE. Two specimens decorated with this pattern have come from Surkotada (Joshi, 1987: Fig. 76.79,80). Here the Figure of eight is filled with small circles.

Navda-Toli has contributed a well made specimen of this type from Mauryan level. It is a small deep-red, globular bead having three roughly pera-shaped etching in white (Deo, 1955: Fig. 1.2) (FIG. 10.35).

One similar specimen ascribed to the Harappan period comes from Kalibangan (IA-R, 1960-61: PL XLIX.B). Three similar specimens have come from Lothal (Rao, 1985: Fig. 131.5; IA-R, 1950-56: PL XII) (FIG. 7.24). These are deep red, standard lenticular bead with diamond shaped section having axial perforation. Three white concentric bands in-groups of two are etched on both the sides forming the Figure of' 8'.

One standard elliptical circular, etched in white with three circles on the body has come from Porkalam (Thapar, 1952: Fig. 5.6). These circles enclose oval circles in imitation of the eye. This is the only specimen, which has come from megalithic period. This indicates towards their contacts with the people of other culture.

Slightly elaborate pattern is seen on three other beads from Chanhu Daro (Mackey, 1943: PL LXXIX.9, 10 11). Here the Figure of eight is filed with small circles. These three specimens are barrel shaped.

The only other etched bead that needs to be mentioned is a fragmented eye-bead from Jandial dated to the 1st c. CE (Beck, 1941: PL 1.7). This appears to be made by a variation of the second process. The material has been whitened right through the perforation and then, instead of a black, a pale brown colouring matter has been used and the greater part of the surface has been coloured with it.

A variation of this pattern is seen on another specimen (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXIX.14) where in the same pattern is carried out in very fine lines. This Figure of eight device is still in use in parts of India at the present day. It is said to be a protection against the 'Evil eye' and on this account it is sometimes employed as a brand for cattle in Orissa and Rajasthan. This also occurs on beads from Tell Asmar, Kish and Ur (Beck: 1933).

SphericalBeadwithElongated Eyesin Quadrants: An unique bead has come from Megalithic Machad. It has four elongated eyes in four quadrants separated by a line, etched in white.

Harappa has yielded one specimen in carnelian (Vats, 1974: PL CXXXI.4.9). This is an elaborate broken eyebead. It is elliptical in section when complete was very similar to the one from Chanhu Daro (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXIX.14) and Ur. However Ur specimen has one less ring round the eye and is circular in section (Beck, 1933: PL LXVII: Fig. lh). The pattern is carried out in very fine lines. Other three specimens have only one circle etched on them (Mackay 1943: LXXIX.1-3). These are also lenticular.

CircularTabularShapedEtchedEyeBead: One specimen of circular etched eye-bead comes from Kaundinyapura (Dikshit, 1969: PL. XXIX.B.24). This carnelian specimen is tablet shaped, etched with adjacent diamonds with dash line strokes in their centers, in imitation of eyes and pupils, appearing on both sides. This specimen is attributed to the 1st -3 rd c. CE. One specimen from Kausambi is flattened hexagon in shape (Sharma, 1969: PL LXI.18). It is not dated. One of the unillustrated examples is said to bear double eye near perforations. This bead is now fractured due to heating which has turned it into an opaque white substance resembling chalcedony.

Another specimen from Chanhu Daro is so skilfully cut that it has natural white line round its margin (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXXIV.12). This is also lenticular bead. This is identical with some beads from the Royal Tombs at Ur (Woolley, Royal Cemetery PL 133.220). One specimen (Mackay, 1943: PL LXXIX.8) has a guilloche pattern. A EtchedEye Beadswith Figure'8', Circle and Guilloche, similar specimen comes from Surkotada (Joshi 1987: Fig. TrebleEyePatterns: (Lenticular in shape) 76.78). Both in shape and etched pattern it shows a total Chanhu Daro had contributed 13 beads, which can be similarity. This also bears guilloche or what may be called called as eye-beads. treble eyes on its surface. The only difference is these hollow circles are filled in with three concentric circles Four specimens of etched beads have the most popular (FIG. 7.27). pattern i.e. the Figure of '8' (Mackey, 1943: PL LXXIX.4 5,6,7). These are lenticular beads with two parallel sides Kalibangan has yielded one specimen of treble eye (IA-R, and one concave and the other convex end. Mr. Majumdar 1960-61: PL XLIX.B). This specimen also belongs to the found another example in his early work at Chanhu Daro Harappan period and almost identical to the one mentioned (Majumdar, 1939: PL XVII.25). These lenticular rounded from Surkotada. beads have same pattern etched on both the sides. The two These etched eye-beads of carnelian are one of the joined circles composing it are generally empty. important characteristics of Harappan culture. As One specimen with a Figure of eight with empty circles mentioned earlier both in shape and etched pattern they has been yielded from the excavation at Nagal (IA-R, shows a total similarity. In the excavations at Harappa, an 99

Distinctive Beads

eye-bead is reported but it has got only a single pattern of an eyeball (Vat, 1940: 401 PL CXXXI: Fig. 4.9). Similar beads are noticeable at Lothal too (Rao, 1956-57: PL XXXVII: Fig. 28, Rao, 1961: PL X: Fig. 27.5).

The etched eye-beads can be assigned a bracket of almost eighteen centuries i.e., 17th c. BCE to 5th c. CE. These can be broadly classified into two groups. 1) Etched Eye Beads with Figure '8', Circle and Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns belonging to the 17th c. BCE 2) other etched beads ascribable to 5th c. BCE to 5th c. CE bracket.

100

GEMOLOGY IN ANCIENT INDIA

Indian Gemology has a significant part to play in the various Indology and archaeological studies. Man's quest for gemstones is perhaps as old as his necessity to use distinctive beads. One shall never know whether the Paleolithic and Neolithic man were acquainted with gemstones or not. They might have got interested in the beautiful and shiny precious and semi-precious stones found in nature. Though beads of siliceous materials are reported from their habitational remains, the evidence of their use as gem stones are still doubtful.

India for the world market. The origin and development of Gemological studies in India, if done, are rewarding from the point, of geology as well as archaeology. The different periods of the industry and their specialization need to be established and coordination and correlation affects to specify the periods of further studies of excavations in the ancient river valleys. The different periods of lapidary including the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Vedic, Harappan and post-Harappan periods have to be studied and further excavations may bring more data to bridge the gap.

India is well known for precious and semi-precious stones, especially from Vedic times. There is no mention of any gemstones in the Rigveda. However the word Ratna occurs it just meant anything which excels amongst the same class of substance, e.g. gajaratna, asvaratna, nagaratna, maniratna etc. The word maniratnas is suppose to denote the gemstones. In the Puranas we get the story of Kaustubba and Syamantaka. They are described as fine diamonds, which originated from ocean and sun respectively. When one comes to Atharvavedic period described are from vegetable world, expect the later period one gets very extensive literature of the appreciation of gemstones cultures in India.

This preliminary analysis of the archaeological and literary data concerning Gemology can be attempted in three parts. The first briefly traces the origin and development of Gemology from the pre - and proto historic times in the Indian context based on the archaeological data made available from various excavations in the respective sites. The second part deals with the gemological studies based on the available literary sources. In the third part the therapeutic and prophylactic properties of gems and their place of origin in India and neighbouring places is discussed separately in the next chapter.

all the manis conch shell. In and indicative by the various

Gemology during the Vedic Civilization

There is hardly any data available from the Vedic literature as to the study of Gemology during the Vedic period. But the word diamond equated to the Sanskrit word Kulisa, Pavi, Vajra etc. makes it difficult to state that the Rigvedic people did not have any acquaintance with diamond, for their most powerful god, Indra is noted to have his weapon as Vajrayudha. In that case, the Rigvedic people could have had a good knowledge of diamond so that they could make a weapon out of it. Rig Vedic culture is generally equated with the Sarasvati Valley Culture.

As studied in the earlier chapters along with the occurrence of precious and semi-precious stones, their cutting and polishing too was an old industry in India. This field had gained further importance these days. To develop such an expertise of gemology, it must have been practiced by Indians from quite ancient times, possibly extended back to prehistoric times. At present more than 20,000 minerals are known form the rocks of the earth's crust of which some 2000 are listed under the head of gemstones. The most important factor in this field is the standardization of these gemstones in terms of modern Mineralogy. Apart from diamond, the colored minerals of gems also play a very important role. One needs to correlate Sanskrit terminology with modern mineral terms for the sake of uniformity, clarity and correct understanding.

However the sites in the now extinct Sarasvati river valley have brought not any gemstones, cut and polished or raw. Until such discoveries, it is hard to substantiate the Vedic claims. The Vedic literature describes only diamonds, and no other gems.

It is well known that India discovered the diamonds for the world. The Brazillian diamonds discovered in the early part of the 18th century did not get recognition as it was believed that diamonds originated only from India (Sinha, 1967: 217-218). As such they used to be diverted through

Gemology during the Indus Valley Period

From the Indus valley civilization, many gemstones have been cited (Srikantha Sastry 1962). There is a great advancement made in the field of Gemology from the

101

Distinctive Beads Vedic period to the Indus Valley period. As stated earlier many gems including lapis, turquoise, jadeite, agate, rock crystal, chalcedony, serpentine, hematite fine grained chert, green feldspar, amazonite, opal, onyx and red and green 'jasper' etc. are reported to have been found and a full fledged lapidary industry developed in Chanhu Daro and Lothal. The Indus people had developed great interest in gems and gemstones. It may be noted that these are semi-precious stones and no precious stones like diamond, ruby, sapphire etc. have been reported.

The above list would suggest that the Vedic rishis or members of their lineage have been the original authors of Gemology in India. There is also a text by name Ratnadipika (Josyer: 1979) authored by Bharadvaja rishi. These facts indicate that the later people were only compilers while the earlier people like Agastya, Bharadvaja, Saunaka and Kautilya, were originators and first hand scientists. It is unfortunate that later redactors and compilers did not give much thought to the subject and Gemology took a backseat in later ages.

It may be recalled here, that there are no texts in Sanskrit

The last mentioned text i.e. Manimala, contains a commentary by Bodhananda who refers to many other texts including Saunakiya, Manibhadra Karika, Samba, Vajranusasana, N arayaniya, Padasamgrahadipika, Ksharakalpa, Niryasakalpa, Mritpanchaka, Gunaratnakara, Mritvijnachandrika, Abbrakabharana, etc., none of which are available at present. These facts indicate that what we possess now is a very negligible part of the literature on Indian Gemology.

available at present dealing with lapidary, except only one reported by Sharma (1983), i.e. Agastya Samhita. Gemology in the Epic period The gems that occur in the Mahabharata are 1. V aidurya Beryl, 2. Mukta - Pearl, 3. Pravala or Vidruma - Coral, 4. Vajra - Diamond, 5. Marakata or Masara - Emerald, 6. Indranila - Sapphire, 7. Suryakanta or Arka - the Sunstone, 8. Chandakanta or Galu - the Moonstone (Lad, 1979: 191).

Development of Gemology during the Early Mediaeval Period:

Beryl, pearls, and corals occur frequently. They were infact, the only gems worn on the body, strung in simple or gold-strings. It appears that only a chosen few from among a large repertoire of gold articles were embellished with gems.

During the Harsha period we get references of deriving beads from the surrounding nature like elephant, snake, conch-shell, fish, donkey, clouds, etc. Similarly Bana has very elaborately described beads and ornaments made from precious stones like Padmaraja (Ruby), Manikya, Sphatic (crystal), Markat (Emerald), Vaidurya (lapis lazuli), Vidrubh, Pravala (Coral) and Nilam (Sapphire).

Development of Gemology during the Historical Period.

In the first chapter Sarasvati image has been created which is said to have adorned with pearl necklace. While portraying a sage character - Durvasa, Makarika (the crocodile) amulet has been mentioned. This amulet is generally seen on the sculptures of Gupta images.

Gemological development in India, listed in successive Sanskrit texts shows that a school of Gemology existed in India through ages. After rig veda the next important work in Sanskrit is that of Maharshi Agastya, but the original text is not available.

In this period Trikantaka ornament was very common. This had an emerald with two pearl beads on both sides. He further described a short necklace having nine large size pearls, which encircled the neck. This character also wears Pralambmala of precious stones, like ruby emerald and coral, which reaches to the breasts. Kings of this period wore a thick necklace of globular ribbed beads. Walrus ivory ornaments were also quite in vogue.

Probably the later texts Agastyamata and Agastya Ratna Pariksha owe their origin to, the original text Agastya Samhita, also they are not easily available. It is stated that Agastya who moved to the south of the Vindhyas acquainted with the gems of the South Indian peninsula and wrote it in his 'Samhita '. It is also stated that he was the author of Gemology of north India and specially the Himalayas.

From the 14th century CE European travelers and merchants like Travernier and others have recorded the gem activity in the country. Thus the gem industry in India is current from the Vedic times till now and can be considered as a living art of India. Much of the literature in this period usually repetitive for instance 10th c. CE Yukti Kalpataru of Bhojaraja of Ohara Nagara and Ratnaparikshadi Sapta Grantha, Samagraha by Thakkara Pheru, (Jinavijaya Muni: 1961) from Rajasthan Puratana Granthamala

The text of Ratna Pariksha of Buddhabhatta is stated to contain chapters on the origin, occurrences, kinds and sub kinds, polishing, expelling of the defects, polishing instruments, results of wearing such gems, artificial gem making etc. It is difficult to come to any conclusion based on this text, for in such remote times it would have been impossible to resort to artificial gem making. But a school might have existed from sometime in the middle ages of synthetic and artificial gem making in India. The other works are Agstya samhita; Artbasashtra of Kautilya; Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira; Garudamahapurana; Skandapurana; Agnipurana; Manasollasa or Abhilashitartha Cbintamani of king Somewara; Sivatattvaratnakara of Basavaraja; Manimala of S. M. Tagore.

Society and Gems The role of gemstones in jewelry and medicine is much appreciated from very ancient times, in India. They are recognized by many authorities to ward off evil caused from the adverse positions of planets, by black magic etc. 102

Gemology in Ancient India In order to protect oneself or ameliorate the adverse effect of planets, one has to wear certain gems. In the later period minerals were equated with planets. It is not clear from the literature who equated the minerals with the planets. But many of the astrological texts and some smritis/puranas have made the equation of gems against the planets. The color of the gems may have played decisive role in equating them against the planets. Later many minerals including nepheline, sillimanite, quartz (agate) etc. were also used as gemstones if they exhibited the same property. Thus there is a vast field of research to determine the correct mineral of the planets. It is accepted in theory that there is some kind of relationship between the gems and the planet on the basis of their emission of particular wave length of light. In this sense many of the colored gems can be equated with each of the planets and examined for their effect on the human body. Each sign of the Zodiac is supposed to have its peculiar stone. When planets are evil, the following gems should be worn on the body. Planets, Stars

Gems to wear

Sun

Ruby

Moon

Pearl

Mars

Coral

Mercury

Emerald

Jupiter

Topaz

Venus

Diamond

Saturn

Sapphire

Rahu

Garnet/Zircon/Hessonite /Agate/Spinel

Ketu

Cat's Eye/Chrysoberyl

Cat's eye

Topaz

Emerald

Sapphire

ruby

diamond

zircon

coral

pearl

It can be seen from the above disposition that they are set

in a ring in the same pattern as the disposition of the nine grahas in the grahayajna sacrifice of the Asvalayayana Smriti. In the east, the choice and wearing of the correct birthstone is not a haphazard affair, but has developed into a fine art. The mystical therapeutics of all the popular gems are universally accepted. In most part of the Asia people wear a gem because that particular gem is the one corresponding to ones planets, stated in ones horoscope. This wearing has not consideration based on its color, shape, value, durability or its rarity. The person wearing these generally has faith that the planetary gem would enhance the beneficial qualities of his star and ward off the malefic effects. The stones must not have any flaws and having good color, size and quality are selected. They are cut to a uniform size. According to some authorities the centre stone representing the planet (giving the owner most trouble) should be of half a size bigger than the rest. These stones are then blessed by a priest or in a temple and handed to the goldsmith at an auspicious time. The ring has to be of pure gold and another one or more metals which have planetary significance. Each stone should be set at that particular time, in the correct position when that planet is in session, to a set order of priority. This ritual may take the best part of a year or more. After the ring is completed, it would be handed to the owner at the propitious time and will be kept in a box wrapped in turmeric soaked silk or cotton-but wool or skin-together with sandalwood or other aromatic roots near the family shrine. It will have to be worn for the first time at the suspicious hour-Muhurataappointed by the astrologer with appropriate incantation. Apart from other factors, it must always be in the period of the waxing Moon (Khalik: 1972). The important gems referred to in Hindu Shastras are nine, they are 'The Diamond, Ruby, Beryl, Pearl, Hessonite, Coral, Emerald, Topaz and Sapphire.

If any planet or star has adverse effects corresponding gems should be worn on person to nullify the unfavourable influence. Navaratna Rings

Gems have, since long been employed for personal decoration. It has been found in later ages as insignia of personal and social status, besides being concentrated wealth. The navaratna rings prepared in India of nine traditional gems is worn by many for their sheer glittering and personal decoration and possibly safety against the adverse effects of planetary dispositions. They are set in the following fashion:

According to Gopala Iyengar (1969) Vajra, Mukta, Manikya, Indranila and Marakata are considered to be Panchamaharatnas, which along with Vidruma, Gomedhika, Pushyaraga and Viadhurya are considered as the traditional Navaratnas. The last four are called uparatnas. Utpala Parimala mentions 22 varieties including the above nine, Karketana, Rudhirakbya, Vipula, Vimalaka, Rajamani, sphatika, Cbandrakanta, Saugandhika, Sankba, Mahanila, Brabmamani, Jyotorasa and Sivyaka being the other ratnas. It may be said that the Indian Gemology is quite ancient

and has developed from the period of stone age man in a systematic way. The development of cutting and polishing

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Distinctive Beads

industry of these stones is also very much impressive. This helps in establishing the different phases of the

development of gemology and lapidary, and brings out in exact terms the story oflndian Gemology.

104

PROPHYLACTIC AND THERAPEUTIC QUALITIES OF THE STONES

Now we shall study another important aspect viz., the prophylactic and therapeutic qualities of the stones, sources of raw materials, as it helps in determining the status of the person using it. It gives an insight into the world of diseases and their treatment method in the ancient periods. These also throw floodlight on the cultural contacts like migration of people, trade between the source place and the find spot of the stone amulets and pendants.

heat in a man suffering from fever. Beads made of amber preserved in wearer against rheumatism, toothache, rickets jaundice, and every kind of internal ailment, stops excessive nose bleeding, and an amber amulet tied to the neck made of the largest goiter to disappear. Amber beads are rare in India except at Taxila. This is due to the nonavailability of amber in India. The nearest source 1s northern Burma.

Next few paragraphs discuss in detail all these factors along with the place of origin of these precious and semiprecious stones.

Amethyst: Pliny says amethyst protects man against sorcery. W om as an amulet it cures a man of gout, improves memory, and relieves from poison. Beads of this material were quite popular from the third millenium BCE to about the Gupta period. Amethyst, occurs in outcrops of the Deccan Traps, in the bed of the Narmada near Jabalpur, filling up lava-cavities, and in the Rajmahal traps of Burhait in the Santhal Parganas, Bihar and Orissa (Brown: 1923). The mineral is also common in the Sutlej Valley in Bashar region, Punjab, and several localities in Andhra, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu (Wadia: 1944), Chhindwara and W arangal districts, Paleghat in Kerala, Central Provinces, Bashahr in Himachal, Tanjore district, Madras, and Kumaun (Brown 1923). Dharwar rock system is also rich in amethyst (Wadia: 1966).

Agate: The 'red agate', which is mentioned by Pliny and known as 'blood agate' was a protection against the large spiders and scorpions. The so-called 'green agate' is potent in quelling disease of any kind in the eyes. Brown agate makes warrior victorious and protects a man against every kind of poisonous reptile. It also gives a lover favor in the sight of his lady, recovers from sickness, gives a man riches happiness, health and long life, stops the flow of rheum in the eye, increase intelligence, drives away fever, epilepsy and madness, disperses the water in dropsy. Triangular agate amulets are worn on the neck to keep away intestinal trouble. Grey agate prevents stiff-neck and ward off colic and diarrhea. The antiquity of the use of agate goes back to the Indus Valley civilization of about the third millenium BCE. Etched or plain agate beads are recovered from almost all the Chalcolithic sites. In the megalithic period they were used as funerary goods. This material was abundantly used in the historic period. In late medieval period it was used for Sulemani beads.

Asbestos: It preserves a man from sorcery and evil eye. Asphalt: It is bitumen, and considered auspicious. Beryl: It protects and treats the bearer against diseases of the eye, jaundice and prevents diseases of the liver. Although ample references are found in literature beryl as the material for beads is exceedingly rare. According to Epic references it came from Ceylon and Nilgiris. Beryl, occurs in Mewar, Jodhpur Jaipur, and Ajmer, in Rajasthan, Nellore district, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, Kamataka, Hazaribagh district in Bihar. Small quantities of beryl occur in the pegmatites of Rajasthan, and Andhra (Krishnan: 1982).

The potential source of Agate is from the mines of Rewa Kantha, Ahmedabad Kanpur and Kaira district of Gujarat, Bengal, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, the Rajmahal and Singhbhum in Bihar. Good agates are also found from north of the Pangony Lake in the Rudok dist. of Kashmir. Agate is of common occurrence in the amygdaloidal basalt of the Deccan Traps, which covers extensive parts of and Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh, beds of Narmada river, Gujarat state, the chief place, which supplies agate, is Ratanpur and Damlai in Rajpipla where rolled pebbles of amygdaloids are contained in a Tertiary conglomerate (Brown: 1923).

Carnelian: It is called a 'blood stone', because it acted on the blood, and prevented it from rising in excess to the head. Carnelian makes the skin healthy and removes blotches, pimples and sores. Carnelian has been widely and abundantly used for beads in India in all the periods, Harappan, Chalcolithic, Megalithic, Historical and Mediaeval. In M. P. the geodes of the Deccan Traps and the bed of the Narmada River contain varieties of carnelian.

Amber: women wore ornaments made of amber in the earliest periods in the history of world. Amber kept a man cool during the hottest days of summer and reduced the

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Distinctive Beads

Chalcedony: This was supposed to give a man a peaceful and equable disposition, and protects him from the evil eye. It is found from 3rd millenium to the early medieval period, but never was so popular. It occurs in the veins of the Deccan Trap.

Hematite: It is believed to stop bleedings of every kind, cleares blood shot eyes, and dried up rheum in the eyes, and provided a cure for snake-bite and prevents urinary troubles. Jade: Amulets made of this hard and very beautiful stone assisted women in childbirth, and were regarded as rendering unfailing help to those who were suffering from intestinal troubles. It cured dropsy, abolished thirst, made a man victorious in battle, protected from lightening, and relieved palpitation of heart. True jade, comes into India from the Karakash Valley of south Turkistan and China (Wadia: 1944).

Chalk and other White Stones: These are regarded as a protection against evil eye, witchcraft and danger from fire. Crystal: Crystal amulets protected their wearers against the evil eye, and saved them from bad dream, gave relief from toothache. Crystal has been extensively used for bead making. It was mainly used in Mauryan period. They are also used to great extent in the South Indian megaliths. The chief places for crystal, are Kathiawad, Orissa, Bihar, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, the Deccan Tanjore, Kalabagh, and Kashmir (Wadia: 1966).

Jasper: It was supposed to possess many magical qualities. It was used to drive away night devils and to help pregnant women, wards of the effects of evil eye. The earliest occurrence of jasper is reported from Indus Valley Culture. This was also used in Chalcolithic and historical period. In Mysore State jasper, is found near Thimmapagarh in Sandur Taluk of Bellary district. In M. P. the geodes of the Deccan Trap bed of the Narmada River and Rajputana also contains varieties of jasper.

Corals: Corals in an amulet acts against sterility, and it protected its wearer against the evil eye. It is suppose to give courage. It also helps in curing blood-related diseases. Corals came from the coral fisheries of the Malabar Coast and Ceylon, and from Italy and the Mediterranean Sea (Lad, 1979).

Lapis Lazuli: Lapis lazuli amulet was supposed to prevent miscarriage and abortion, and to ward off calamities of every kind. Suppose to be of foreign origin it has been used for beads from the 3rd millennium BCE. The source of lapis lazuli is Persia and Badakshan. It has also been reported from Tartany, Tibet, China, Syria and Chile. Lapis beads are rare not only in the Indus Valley sites but also at the historical sites. A few examples are recovered from megalithic context. It seems to be used sparingly after the Gupta period.

Emerald: In ancient times the emerald was believed to cure diseases of the eyes and was worn as an amulet against fascination, the evil eye, and epilepsy. Emerald, and aquamarine, occur in Mewar, Central Asia and Siberia (Lad, 1979). Aquamarine is also available in Bihar, Nellore, Ajmer and Krishnagarh in Rajasthan (Wadia: 1944). Diamond: The one who wears a Diamond has a luxurious life, which enhances the name fame and artistic quality of the person. Diamonds came from the Anantapura, Cuddapah, Guntur, Krishna and Kumool districts of Andhra Pradesh. Within India, other sources of diamonds were like Parma mining fields in Madhya Pradesh (Lad, 1979).

Malachite: This stone protects them from the evil eye, and eases their pain when cutting their teeth. Magnesite: Magnesite, is available in the Hasan and Mysore districts in Kamataka. The best known occurrences are those of chalk hills near Salem district of Madras and ofKodakole in Mysore (Krishnan: 1982).

Feldspar: Feldspar amulet preserves are from sunstroke, headaches, and bleeding of the nose during sleep. Sun and Moon-stones belong to the feldspar family (Lad: 1979). Moon-stones have been found in abundance in the gemgravels of South Ceylon and also in the Kangayam district of Tamil Nadu. These are also found in Ceylon.

Onyx: It is an amulet to protect them against the evil eye. Placed near a woman in labour reduces the pains of childbirth, and conduces delivery. The antiquity of onyx also goes back to the 3rd millennium BCE and they are recovered from Megalithic burials also. In M. P. Betual and Chindwara - the geodes of the Deccan Traps and in the bed of the Narmada River (Wadia: 1966) onyx are abundant.

Garnet: An amulet of garnet protects a man from evil terrifying dream, and prevents skin diseases. The garnet assures to its wearer love and faithfulness, and freedom from wounds. Antiquity of the use of this goes back to 5th century BCE. Garnets, are most abundant in the metamorphosed rocks of Rajasthan. Its occurrence is confined mainly to Nellore, Krishnagarh, and Vishakhapatnam districts of Andhra. In Madras, Gamet occurs in Ovari-Navaladi, Kuttankuli, Nilgiri, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli, Kanyakumari, Ramanathapuram districts in Mysore. In Rajasthan it occurs in Sarwar, Rajmahal, Phulad districts. Garnets are of very common occurrence in Archeaon system (Wadia: 1966). Many other localities are Gharibpet, Warangal, Khammamet districts in Hyderabad (Brown: 1923).

Opal: Ancient tradition attributes to this remarkable stone a twofold quality, i.e., to say, it possesses the baleful influence of the Evil eye, and also the power to relieves the pains of those who are suffering from diseases of the eye. It increases the powers of the eyes and mind. Opal has been utilized in the historical period. The bed of the Narmada River (Wadia: 1966) in Madhya Pradesh and the geodes of the Deccan Traps contain varieties of opal. Pearls: Pearl strengthens mental faculties, calms emotions and increases peace of Mind. It is also suppose to ensure a happy conjugal life and protection from widowhood. It 106

Prophylactic and Therapeutic Qualities of the Stones sastra offers greater scope for research and applications. These gems are said to act as an important aid in the cure and control of Diseases. For this purpose sometimes a combination of different stones are utilized of their ashes are used.

also provides vitality and wisdom. Pearls came from Ceylon - The gulf ofMannar.

Pumice Stone: This is used as a birth amulet, and is carried by women who are anxious to secure easy labour. Pegmatites: Pegmatites, carrying feldspar, quartz, and mica, are seen at a number of places in Maharashtra like Ratnagiri, Chanda, Nagpur, Bhandara.

Red coral can be use to combat bronchitis, common cold, constipation, throat problems. Red coral with yellow sapphire is used for anemia, arthritis, bladder problem, diabetes, rheumatism, hernia, syphilis and tuberculosis. Red coral is used with emerald to cure ear problems, gall stones, paralysis.

Pyrites: It was worn as an amulet against crocodiles. Ruby: As an amulet it was believed to protect a men from witchcraft of all kinds, plaque and pestilence. They heal their the body, there are least chance for the evil-spirits to do it harm. The amulet also conduced to equality of minds. It gives name, fame, vigour, virtue warmth and the capacity to command. Being the Gem for Planet Sun, it is considered as effective in getting success in all fields of life.

Blue sapphire is good for asthma. Emerald, yellow sapphire and hessonite are used in case of acidity problem and digestive disorder. Emerald is combined with moonstone for the disease of epilepsy. Red coral and sapphire is helpful in curing cancer. White coral and yellow sapphire give relief from eczema. Ruby saves the wearer from heart diseases. High blood pressure can be brought to normal by using emerald, yellow sapphire and blue sapphire. Coral and moonstone can cure goiter and gonorrhea. In case of impotency diamond and red coral helps. Red coral and moonstone can cure hysteria.

Sapphire: It is worn as a health amulet and as a protection against the evil eye, and plaque, pestilence and famine. It is most widely used to enhance ones financial status. The healthier the body, the least chance have the evil spirits to do it harm. The amulet also conduced to equality of minds. Sapphire came from the ruby mines of Ceylon and Burma (Lad: 1979).

A combination of emerald with yellow sapphire and moonstone gives relief from typhoid. Red coral with pearl cures piles problem. Mental stability can be achieved by wearing emerald with moonstone and yellow sapphire.

Sard: This stone was supposed to help women in labour, and assist an easy delivery.

White coral with emerald is used in the treatment of leucoderma. Red coral and blue sapphire helps the patient suffering from jaundice. Emerald, moonstone and yellow sapphire help in sleep disorders.

Sardonyx: This stone was regarded as a protection against witchcraft, removed rheum from the eyes, and prevented premature childbirth.

Gem medicines form a most important part of the Indian schools of medicine i.e., Ayurveda and Siddha, while the former uses some 10% of minerals, the latter uses nearly 90% of minerals. Many texts in Sanskrit on Rasa-shastras it is called have been in vogue since about the 5th century CE. Most important of all of them is the text of Rasaratnasarmucbcbaya of Vagbhatacharya, (Sharma 1962) noted to be of the 13th century. He devoted one full chapter on gem medicines in his text. The bhasmas 'ash' of gems prepared in the methods described therein have been claimed to cure many a deadly disease for which there is no medicine in the modem system (Murty: 1995).

Schist: This stone was much used in making amulets and was supposed to posses magical properties similar to those of hematite. Steatite: Workable deposits of steatite, occurs in Singhbhum district of Bihar, Jabbalpur, Salem, Idar, Jaipur, Archaeon and Dharwar rocks of the Peninsula (Wadia: 1944). Serpentine: Amulets made of serpentine were worn against the bites of serpents and string of noxious reptiles generally and worked against poisons. Turquoise: As an amulet it protects the wearer from poison, the bites of reptiles, diseases of the eye. It warns him of the approach of death by changing its color. Wards off the evil eye. The Buddhist associate it with the Buddha, because of the legend in which a turquoise stone enabled him to destroy foul monster.

The ashes of diamond, ruby, sapphire, etc. are noted to cure diseases like Tuberculosis, impotency etc. Recently, Shenoy (Murthy 1994) has been able to cure to the satisfaction of modem doctors, the deadly disease of aplastic anaemia. Comprehensive study on Nilam (Damayanti 1991) has indicated that sapphire alone can be used under the term Nilam for medicinal purposes claimed by Rasa-sastra and not cordierite, though both are blue in color.

Turquoise beads are rare, found at Mohenjo Daro, Charsada and Rairh. The Deccan Traps of Western India are a great centre of agate, amethyst, carnelian, onyx, quartz and different varieties of chalcedony. Yellow tranchytic trap is found in the Nila hill, about a mile east of Sopara and also near Kurla in Salsette (Bhagwanlal: 1881). The other source is the Persian province ofKhorasan.

Thus many of the terms in Sanskrit denoting gems need be confirmed by modem researches. Similarly recent researches on Gomedha have indicated that out of two samples of zircon and garnet considered under the head, some qualities of Gomedha claimed by Rasa-sastra are found in zircon and some others are found in garnet, so

Most important of all these uses of gems are their medicinal properties. Gem medicines of Indian Rasa107

Distinctive Beads that both of them may be considered as gomedha from different angles.

south Gujarat etc. In addition to the above places, which nourished lapidary industry, cities like Mehgam and Bhagatrav in Gujarat are said to have exploited semiprecious stones from the Narmada valley.

Thus this field opens up a vast domain of researches in mineral medicines, a field not known to modem medicine, since they use mostly chemical compounds than minerals. The latter are natural chemical compounds, the bhasmas of which can be assimilated by the human system very quickly and cure the diseases. The minerals have another advantage in that they are found in any season which is not so in the case of herbal medicines. The quantity employed is also very minute as required by the human body and they have proved to be highly potential (Murty: 1995).

It should be noted that it is difficult to state the place of

origin of these and other semi-precious stones just on the basis of the beads available. A detailed study is needed for their identification. Comparative Gemological studies are to be carried out in order to certify their place of origin. Though many of the secondary semi-precious stores are the river products, agate, chalcedony etc. are products of veins in the Deccan trap region of Maharashtra, Gujarat and northern Kamataka. Not only their identification is very much necessary, but also the advancement that the lapidary industry had made by then and the various methods and instruments used in lapidary needs to be ascertained.

Every precious stone is supposed to exercise its peculiar influence. For instance, Ambar is regarded as a good remedy for throat and agate is supposed to prevent snake bites and so on. The sources of these gemstones have been speculated to be from different places. The green quartzite is noted to have been obtained from Nilagiri hills; fine grained chert from Indus valley; lapis lazuli and turquoise from Afghanistan or Khorasan in Persia; chert from Sukkur-Rohri and jasper from Rajasthan hills; banded agate from Rajpipla mines in

It is quite possible that the authors of various cultures from per-historic to the mediaeval period in India might have obtained their raw material from the above named sources, either themselves or through intermediaries.

108

CONCLUSIONS

This detailed study of distinct beads in India shows that though there are certain limitations to the study, the beads emerge as the carrier of human beliefs and culture to which they belong. They also serve as a pointer to the various tendencies associated with this craft. The Indus Valley Cultures show their own developments and form a separate group by themselves.

A consideration of the specimens of cemented eye beads recovered from Taxila and other sites indicates that cemented variety of eye-beads were popular till the Mauryan period and therefore definitely had an earlier origin, as the cutting of the facets or the cemented patches required great skill and practice. The patches were cemented with an adhesive.

The marked use of etched beads, with distinctive patterns having decoration with Figure '8 ', distinguishes this phase of the Indian bead industry. Beads with eye pattern were very prominent in Indus Valley Culture. Beads of this type were often produced by banded variety of agate. Etched Eye Beads with Figure '8', Circle/sand Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns belonging to the 1ih c. BCE were an indispensable part of this culture. These beads push antiquity of eye-beads back to the 3rd millennium BCE and its use is universal.

This indicates that the ancient people knew the art of joining stones. This art has its origin in imitation of natural stones such as onyx or banded agate, but the use of quartz plates on a white materials, such as shell, which hardly show themselves, were probably due to the apotropaic qualities attached to them. This may probably intended to avert the effects of evil eye and distract the attention. The etched eye-beads can be assigned a bracket of almost eighteen centuries i.e., 1ih c. BCE to 5th c. CE. The second group of etched beads is ascribable to 5th c. BCE to 5th c. CE bracket. The lapidaries of the Mauryan age exhibits superiority in the workmanship, perhaps only equaled by the artistic work of the Gupta period, which unfortunately, is not very well documented.

The making of stone eye-beads for protection against various forms of evil dates back to a remote antiquity. One of the simplest and earliest kinds is cut out of onyx. Such beads, called "cameo beads" were made in Mesopotamia and Persia from before 30th BCE (Beck: 1941); very similar ones are still being made in India and worn as charms against small pox.

From the above description one can come to the conclusion that initially eye-beads were made from natural stones by skilfully arranging color bands on the bead surface. In the course of time these were substituted by cemented eyebeads. During the early historic period-stratified eye-beads of glass dominated the picture. Probably due to the omniscient belief in casting of evil eye, superstition etc. these beads always remained in use.

The discovery of faience specimens in the proto-historic period at Navda Toli, having similarities with those found in the Indus Valley sites and sites from Western Asia tend to indicate a possible link or contact between these regions. To some extent similar types of pottery corroborates this. At Navda Toli and Maheshwar, cheaper material like terracotta was mostly used by the inhabitants of Indo Roman period.

In the course of time out of customs and usage these specimens must have become crude and possibly even got conventionalized, but their use is the clear expression of the superstition prevalent in the society through successive millennia.

The Mauryan data is boundless and informative, and at the same time posses a variety in its material contents. One has to admire the technical skill attained during this period. This was never surpassed in the history of India. The bright banded agate beads, the extensive use of crystal, the introduction and continued use of animal and bird-shaped amulets, - all these show an exuberant variety of types and the richness associated with variety. Whether it was due to the Achaemenid contacts, or was the result of prosperous econormc conditions at home one cannot say with certainty.

With the Satavahana period in the Deccan and the SungaKushana in the north, we are presented with quite a different picture of the bead industry. Foreign contacts like that with Rome plays not a little part in diversifying the material and perfecting new such materials as glass. We have definite evidence that glass was manipulated and worked successfully in the Painted Grey Ware period as at Hastinapura and Atranjikhera, and became popular in the subsequent decades. Wide-spread use of this cheap 109

Distinctive Beads

material led to the deterioration of, stone beads in ancient India in few succesive centuries.

When one talks about the etched beads they can be classified in four groups on the basis of shapes. The broad classification points out that these were associated with particular periods. The truncated barrels generally belong to later historical and early medieval period approximately dated between 3rd to 6th c. CE. Similarly spherical beads belong to 2nd BCE to 3rd CE bracket; tabular to Megalithic culture and Lenticular to Harappan culture.

During early historic period glass also was very commonly used for making distinctive and sophisticated type of eyebeads. This gave birth to the stratified eye beads of glass. The occurrence of stratified eye-beads is a distinctive feature of the Mauryan Period on several sites in India and therefore it appears to have been imported in the country through foreign cultural contacts. The earliest date for such beads at Taxila is circa 5th c. BCE. Stratified eyebeads of glass found in India, though not very accurately dated in all the cases, belong to 5th c. BCE - 1st c. CE group. Spot eye-beads can be said to belong to Mauryan and Satavahana/Kushana period in general.

In North India, though the situation is much eased by countless specimens in different museums, particularly from the rich centres of Ahichchhattra, Kosambi, Rajghat, and V aisali, the situation in eastern India is not promising. The study of the unstratified museum material, establishes the supremacy of intricately worked and faceted specimens. Sure enough, it shows a rich cultural pattern in the fertile valleys of the great rivers and the alluvial plains. As one proceeds to late historic and early mediaeval period the number and variety in the forms of distinctive beads decreases. This is counter balances with descriptions m literature and depictions in sculpture.

Though stone beads dominate on practically all early Indian sites, glass in general affected the quality and even the variety of the stone beads from the Satavahana period onwards. Apart from the findings of eye-beads from excavations, they also have been found, described in contemporary literature. This tradition appears to have continued through proto historic, historic and medieval times to the present day with a major change in shapes, indicating the continuity of a superstition which seems to have formed part and parcel oflndian life through ages.

A period wise division of the later periods is not possible due to the absence of accurately documented specimens. When one approached the Gupta period the material which can be designated as distinctive beads are nil and if they exist the precise date for them is not available. However the data culled through sculpture and literature, justifies the glorious picture of the Golden Age. Catastrophically, we are not able to create this picture factor through this study of the distinctive beads. So far none of the Gupta sites are systematically excavated. Horizontal excavation at one of these sites in the Gangetic doab might unearth valuable data for the same period. This will also help in attributing a lot of unstratified specimens stored in the museums of Northern India. The full growth of manufacture at this stage is seen in the exquisite crystal pendants from Bhita and Rajghat, but the data, does not come from the stratified and well documented deposits. The etched beads disappear from the picture, and instead they are made of glass imitating the same pattern in the mediaeval period.

The beads from the Megalithic complexes of Peninsular India show the same monotony and conservatism although characterized by regional variations - for forms inspite of extensive sporadic excavations. Etched beads with set patterns were an integral part of the burial deposit (Deo, 1973) as also on the habitation sites. The explorations so far conducted do show that this culture may be assigned to the beginning of the first millenium BCE. In the region round Taxila with the largest and most varied types of distinctive beads in India, this contemporary phase exhibits itself in a peculiar way in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The Mauryan Bhir mound phase is superceded by the Saka-Parthian stratum in the much harassed Sirkap and is amply compensated by a large variety of types both hybrid and of foreign origin. They present us with a wide field for study but even these stand in isolation because a comparative material from the adjoining areas in the north is lacking, except through some sporadic work in the Gangetic valley as at Rajghat, Kosambi, and Mathura.

The important position of the distinctive beads in ancient India is unfortunately marred by many undated specimens in the subsequent period. In fact, we have no reasonably datable material for the subsequent epochs either in the north or in the south till the advent of the Muslims on the Indian soil. Even then the material is restricted to a few bead types and pertains to a few explored sites. The general picture, which emerges, is that of countless varieties in the manipulation of glass. It must be admitted that the data we get for the Muslim period is abundant and varied. It is, as a matter of fact, a new experience of perfection of old methods.

Where there was some sort of a homogeneous pattern in the spread of distinctive beads during the Mauryan period, we find that in the early centuries of the Christian era the patterns divide themselves into cultural centers at many remote places, uninfluenced by one other. Political conditions have necessarily something to do with it. One is amazed with the non-existence of appreciable data after the Satavahana period in the Deccan and South India. The scanty data of this region erodes abruptly after this period and our knowledge of distinctive beads of the postSatavahana epochs in the south is negligible.

The possible findings of these intermidiate layers would give us the missing clues. Suffice it to say that we have a growing mass of literary evidence for the familiar use of glass vessels, objects, beads and bangles which excludes 110

Conclusions the possibility of glass being the monopoly of the Persians. The so-called mediaeval material from the Muslim layers is poor in respect of stone beads, the place being taken by glass. The classification of beads from sites in Maharashtra like Maheshwar, Nasik and Nevasa explains this factor very well. Stratified evidence from North India is lacking except at Hastinapur and Atranjikhera where the data is not from continuous habitations. On a majority of sites, the number of stone beads is generally larger than the glass one. It is at least so on sites of the early historic period and the proportion of glass beads is on the increase as one moves towards the Muslim period. One can say with certainty that the formidable data that we have in respect of the Chalcolithic, Megalithic, Mauryan and Satavahana periods is marred by insufficient, meagre and less definitive data from the post-Satavahana period onwards. The recovery of countless similar specimens from different sites all over the world and their continuos use till today has always been fascinating. These tiny things open a book of many folded story if corroborated with sculptural and literary data. It is this common-ness of forms, which has struck us as a reflection on the essential and fundamental unity of Indian culture, particularly in ancient India. Inspite of the foreign infiltration, this unity lies undisturbed through centuries in respect of the various forms. One finds assimilation of foreign elements, in a very indigenous way, in the existing forms. Just like being confined to a period they were also confined to particular province. The truncted barrel was concentrated in Northern India, Tabular beads were generally found in south India while the lenticular etched beads flourished in north west region. Like the shape the decorated designs on the beads also were regional in nature. Connected pentagons in Zonal bands on barrel spherical beads were in use during historical period; radiating strokes on tabular beads during Megalithic period. The etched eye beads with Double Treble eye pattern were in vogue in the Harappan period. The decorative patterns etched on them bear close resemblance to those found else where in similar chronological horizons. They show how these types of techniques have traveled long distances, there by shedding light on possible cultural contacts between distinct places. On the basis of the patterns found on the etched beads one can trace the trade routes within the subcontinent and all over the world. The beads found at Paunar indicate that Maharashtra was the meeting point between Northern and Southern India.

The specimens from the west indicate that land routes during Mauryan period started from Taxila. These foreign parallels also indicate that Sea-route were in use as abundant of etched beads during Mauryan and Satavahana period/ Indo Roman period are found in different continents. When one talks about material used for the manufacture of distinctive beads, one has to accept that steatite and faience were the materials profusely used in the Harappan period. It is very obscure that faience is altogether absent in the Mauryan period and falls out of use after Gupta age. In preference to metal semi-precious stones were utilized in plenty in the early historic period. Here also agate and carnelian were preferred. Shell was consistently used for bead making in all cultures. Although in literature one finds mention of precious stones, actual specimens are totally absent. Use of metal is restricted to the Harappan and Megalithic period. As India occupied a prominent position on the world trade map non-indigenous materials were also used. The use of distinctive beads was not confined to any one place or period. The great mass of evidence about these described above justifies the statement that the use of distinctive beads was, and still is, universal. This study has helped us to understand the belief, customs, economic conditions and the set-up of the society. These beads reflect the curative, magical, superstitious ideas and religious and social beliefs of contemporary times. The material used for these also indicates the social status of the user. Amulets have been found to possess definite shapes, so designed for some magico-religious reasons. In amulets elephant symbolizes majesty, and personifies sovereignty. The axe amulet was used to restore an unjustly slandered man to honor. In India, the Sankha has lore of its own. Its use as an amulet is evidenced as far back as the period of the Atharvaveda and finds mention in Mahabharata, Mauryan sculpture, Buddhist literature, the Gupta period, Varahamihira, Harshacharita, Rajatarangini ofKalhana. Tortoise the most popular type of amulet makes its appearance in a conventional shape, and goes out of fashion after 3rd c, CE In the medieval times the tortoise amulets were generally flat and their snouts less pronounced. The early specimens of birds generally have outstretched wings, as in flying posture, a feature, which is conspicuously absent in all the specimens recovered from historic sites. This may be due to the employment of hard stones in preference to softer materials, such as terra cotta and faience, which form the chief material of the earliest specimens. The role of gemstones in amulets and pendants is much appreciated from very ancient times in India. The texts like Arthashastra, Agstya Samhita, Ratnapariksha, Brihadsamhita, Mamimala and Sivatattvaratnakara mention use of a particular stone with a particular shape of 111

Distinctive Beads amulet. However the use of a particular material also indicates the social status of the users, as only affluent people could import certain, non-indigenous materials from distant lands, or wear amulets of materials like gold.

one of the most sophisticated and distinctive types of beads for the Mauryan period. The amulets differ from region to region in respect of their typology. This can be used as an aid to establish the context of the single specimen, for example, lion, tortoise, and frog amulets. The amulets take different shapes, the earlier ones being in semi-precious stones, as mentioned earlier; but later, popularity for comparatively larger specimen is evidenced by numerous specimens encountered at Satavahana sites in the Deccan. On these sites, the bull assumes larger dimensions in a crude material, such as terra cotta.

Terra cotta specimens have great value as a source of social and religious history. Terracotta specimens may be regarded as the poor man's possessions since it is usual for the poor classes to imitate the fashions of the rich within their standards. Secondly terracotta specimens indicated a higher demand for the types, as it was possible to produce it on a large scale within a short span of time. In the earlier period Harappan, Chalcolithic one finds use of metal where as in the early historic period, stone specimens predominates and the terracotta specimens replace them in later historic period.

Boat amulets ensured safe voyage and the specimen found at Kondapur shows that it was connected with maritime activities. They show the changes, which took place in socio-economic and religious background. Most of the shapes traveled from Taxila to the Deccan and southern country.

The use of material depended on its availability within the easy reach of the man and in turn gives clues about trade. Inferences regarding foreign cultural and/or trade contacts can in many instances, be drawn from the study of the material from which the amulets and pendants were made. The materials, which are not indigenous to India like, Lapis lazuli mostly found in Afghanistan, and Roman glass must have reached some sites by way of trade.

It is not only the cultural influence infiltrating the country

from outside, but within the country itself the trade-routes and the geographical peculiarities went a long way in establishing the wide-spread distribution of types of beads, distinctive beads. Close resemblance of distinctive beads, in their typology, from many sites in northern and southern India, demonstrates that cultural intercourse was common between different regions.

The abundance of a particular material indicates, as for instance - agate, chalcedony and carnelian - the proximity of the source and the possibility of a local industry working on it. The paucity indicates the difficulty in obtaining the material, the higher cost of production and the restricted use of the material by only the affluent classes. It can be said that the material was not much favoured or was perhaps out of fashion.

One expects better specimens with the advancement in technology but the Indian specimens become cruder with the passage of time. This may indicate the deteriorating economic status of the society. It must be realized that the painstaking minute work done by the craftsman and the creation of the various forms by the artists is no mean work. It was a craft of great skill and was confined to a special class of workers, as is today.

The religious significance of certain distinctive beads is evident in many cases. Several symbols/shapes show the magnitude of the hold which religion had on the contemporary society. For example, casket amulet from Paunar, indicating towards the strong hold of Buddhism.

The skilled workmanship of some specimen shows that they were made to meet the demands of a specialized type and the workmanship speaks volumes for contemporary craftsmanship. Craftsman's work often exhibits the perfection of technical skill in the commonly used object along with his keenness and ability in assimilating ideas alien to his own culture, and his ability to imitate or reproduce or create on demand certain required shapes, for instance pregnant lady pendant from Ahichchhatra.

All though the religion changed the human faith did not change with the passage of time. The connotations of different amulets kept changing and the symbols were given different meanings by different religions and assimilated into them. For Buddhists, bull stands for 'asterism taurus' on which the Buddha was born. It is well known to the Brahmanic faith as the vehicle of Siva, and it was always depicted in theripomorphic form. From the Rigvedic time the bull stands for virility and power. It is likely that large amulets found in terracotta represent Nandi, the well-known Vahana of Siva.

The common forms appear in their true and natural state and exhibit no special characteristics, but the case differs slightly when some foreign element shows itself for example lion amulet from Sambhar. The shapes lose their natural form and assume a hybrid or stylized shape through non-acquaintance and the novelty of the material. When adapting these shapes for their own requirements, they combine the Indian forms with alien ones and used materials with which they were familiar through long usage or tradition. The combination of forms is not a very happy result in many instances, but they surely indicate the

No belief is perhaps so universal among mankind as that of the evil eye. With ancients it was almost a religious belief. The use of an eye bead shows the prevalence of the superstition about the evil eye current even now in India. In India the belief in the evil eye is a part of popular Hinduism. Images of eyes are used to avert evil on the grounds of sympathetic magic. The stratified 'eye' bead is

112

Conclusions difficulties experienced in adopting a new mode of discipline or decoration.

us inkling into the possible class structure of the contemporary society. Distinctive beads associated with burials are an excellent evidence of the prosperity otherwise of the deceased person, his beliefs and ideas regarding life in the other world and similar evils present there too.

This issue leads us to the wider implications of foreign or non-alien culture contacts. There are certain types of pendants, which seem to have been introduced with the arrival of foreigners and have stayed in the country even after the cultural influences associated with them have died out. For instance, Bullae still survives even to this date in the form of Putali in Lakshmi Hara in India. Thus the items which one would take to be of indigenous origin by constant usage proved to be otherwise when interpreted in the light of their cultural and historical background.

So the reasons for wearing these could have been various, like magico-protective, tribal identification, personal identification, aesthetic, medicinal, religious, social, economic, and heir-loom. Hence this study of distinctive beads is not only a study of the superficial or superstitious tendencies or luxurious habits of man, but an important aid in understanding the development of successive stages of change in shapes. It is also the visible expression of the evolved aesthetic sense of humanity through successive millennia. Thus, such a study opens up the book of life, and provides ample scope for cultural interpretation by providing an insight into the progress of lapidary art in a particular period and changes it went through in different periods. It also gives antiquity to the practices followed today although these hold totally different or no meaning. Certain types of decorations assume a cultural significance, which is very helpful in interpreting the material set-up and in consequence, the life-pattern of a society.

The rare specimens indicate its use by a certain class whose demands were above the level of an ordinary artist. Works of art, as some distinctive beads could justifiably be called, reflect a comparative leisure and the genius the creative artist and further indicates the social standing and dignified status of the craftsman. This further meant economic prosperity of the particular culture, which could support the craftsmen. These special types enable us to know more of the technological expertise of the times. Such specimens give

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INDEX Adam22 Agate 105 Ahicchatra 22 Alagankulam 22 Amber 105 Amethyst 105 Amreli 23 Amulets 36-63 Amulets in Atharvaveda 37 Amulets in Indus Valley 37 Amulets in Rigveda 36 Amulets with animals and their components represented 3950 Appukallu 22 Arikamedu 22 Arni 23 Asbestos 105 Asphalt 105 Atranjikhera 23 Bahal 23 Bands 93 Bangarh 23 Barrel Flush Spot Eye-Bead 81 Barrel Raised Spot Eye Bead 80 Barrel Shaped Beads With Etched Dots 82 Barrel Shaped Beads With Etched Dots 98 Barrel Shaped Stratified Eye-Beads 79 Beads in Literature 10-14 Beads in Sculpture 19 Beetle Amulets 39 Bell Pendants 64 Beryl 105 Besnagar 23 Bhagwanpura 23 Bhita 23 Bhokardan 23 Bicone Barrel Etched Bead 81 Bicone Barrel Etched Eye Bead 89 Bicone Barrel Shaped Etched Bead 97 Bird Amulets 39 Boat Pendants 64 Boat Shaped Eye Bead oflvory 84 Brahmapuri 24 Bud Pendants 64 Bull Amulets 40-41 Bull Before A Tree In Railing 96 Bullae 64 Carnelian 105 Casket Shaped Amulet 52 Cat Amulets 41 Cemented Eye Beads 76 Chalcedony 106

Chalk 106 Chandraketugarh 24 Chanhu Daro 24 Chevron Pattern 90 Chirand 24 Circles Enclosing Dash 97 Circular Tabular Shaped Etched Eye Bead 81 Circular Tabular Shaped Etched Eye Bead 99 Claw And Tooth Amulets 42 Club Pendants 65 Cock Amulets 4 7 Conch Shell Amulet 52 Conical Pendants 65 Connected Pentagons With Marginal Bands 97 Connected Squares Within Zonal Bands 95 Coral 106 Crescent Pendants 65 Cross Pattern 97 Cross With Forked Ends 97 Crystal 106 Cultural Importance 3 Dhulikotta 24 Diamond 106 Diamonds Enclosed In Zonal Bands 90 Distinctive Beads 1 Dots 95 Double Arch In Bands 93 Double Axe Pattern 97 Double Square 96 Double-Capped Pendant 66 Drop Pendant 66 Early Mediaeval Period 102 Economic Importance 3 Elliptical Barrel Eye-Bead 84 Elliptical Bead 97 Elliptical Bead With Etched Eye Pattern 82 Elliptical Bead With Etched Eye Pattern 98 Emerald 106 Epic Period 102 Etched Eye Beads 81 Etched Eye Beads 97 Etched Eye Beads With Figure '8 ', Circle And Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns 99 Etched Eye Beads With Figure '8 ', Circle/S And Guilloche, Treble Eye Patterns 82 Etched Eye Pattern 97 Etched-Beads 87-100 Eye Beads Of Natural Stones 83 Eye-Beads 70-86 Feldspar 106 Flush Spot Eye-Bead 81 Gamet 106 120

Index Gemology 101 Half Circles With Dot And A Cross 97 Harappa25 Harinarayanpur 25 Hastinapura 25 Hematite 106 Hexagons Enclosed Within Pentagons And Marginal Bands 92 Historical Period 102 Hollow Square With A Dot 93 Horizontal Stripe 95 Horizontal Strokes Enclosed In Vertical Bands 97 Horizontal Strokes Within Marginal Bands95 Indus Valley Period 101 Jade 106 Jasper 106 Jokha 25 Jorwe 25 Kakrehta 25 Kalibangan 25 Kanchipuram 25 Karad25 Karaikadu 26 Karur26 Kaundinyapura 26 Kausambi 26 Khairadih 26 Kodumanal 26 Kondapur26 Kotalingala 27 Kumrahara 27 Lapis Lazuli 106 Lothal 27 Magnesite 106 Maheshwar 27 Malachite 106 Malhar27 Mallapadi27 Mallet Shaped Pendant 67 Maski 27 Mathura27 Miscellaneous Pendants 68 Mohenjo-Daro 27 Multi Faceted Octagonal Squares Connected With Zonal Bands 93 Nagara28 Nagda28 Nagwada28 Narhan28 Nasik 28 Navaratna Rings 103 Navda Toli 28 Nevasa 28 Oblate Bead With Etched Eye Pattern 82 Oblate Bead With Etched Eye Pattern 98 Oblate Beads 97 Oblique Strokes 95

Oblique Strokes In Marginal Bands 90 Oblique Strokes In Quadrants 93 Obsolescence 5 Onyx 106 Opal 106 Paharpur 29 Paithan 29 Parallel Bands 95 Paunar 29 Pauni29 Pazhayannur And Machad 30 Pearls 106 Peddabankur 30 Pegmatites 107 Pendants 64-69 Perur 30 Piprahwa 30 Porkalam 30 Prakashe 30 Pumice Stone 107 Pyramid Pendants 67 Pyrites 107 Radiating Stokes 96 Raised Spot Eye-Beads 80 Rajghat 30 Rajgir 30 Rectangular Tabular Pendant 67 Religious Importance 3 Rojdi 31 Ruby 107 Sanur 31 Sapphire 107 Sard 107 Scabbard Pendant 67 Schist 107 Serpentine 107 Sisupalgarh 32 Sites in Ancient India 29-48 Slanting Strokes Enclosed In Vertical Bands 97 Social Importance 4 Society And Gems 102 Sonkh 31 Sonpur 31 Sopara 32 Spacer Pendant 68 Spherical Bead With Elongated Eyes In Quadrants 99 Spherical Beads 95 Spherical Beads With Circles Etched 81 Spherical Beads With Circles Etched On Them 98 Spherical Beads With Etched Dots 81 Spherical Beads With Etched Dots 98 Spherical Eye Beads With Re-Etched Dots 98 Spherical Eye Beads With Re-Etched Dots 81 Spherical Flush Spot Eye-Bead 81 Spherical Raised Spot Eye-Bead 81 Spherical Stratified Eye Beads 79 Spot Eye Beads 79 121

Distinctive Beads Square With A Dot 96 Square-Tabular Eye Beads 84 Sravasti 32 Steatite 107 Stones and Di eases 107 Stratified Eye Beads 78 Surkotada 32 T. Kallupatti 25 Tabular Bead 96 Talakad 32 Taxila 32 Techniques to Produce Eye-Beads 78 Ter 32 Triangular Pendant 68 Tripuri 32 Truncated Long Barrel Shaped 87 Two Rows Of Connected Pentagons Arranged With In Marginal Bands On Either Side 87 Two Rows Of Connected Pentagons Arranged With In Marginal Bands On Either Side 95 Two Rows Of Hexagons With Dot Enclosed In Zonal Ujjain 32 Universality of Amulets 36 Uraiyur 32 Vaisali 32 Vedic Civilization 101 Veerapuram 32 Vertical Bands 88 Vertical Bands 90 Vertical Lines And Dash Line Bands Enclosed In Zonal Bands 92 Vertical Spiral Dot Pattern 90 Yelleswaram 33 Zigzag Band 97 Zigzag Bands 96 Zigzag Pattern 89 Zigzag Pattern 90 Zigzag With Zonal Bands 96 Zonal Bands With Zigzag Pattern 93

122