A Date with History (Part 2): Sanchi's stupas

Contd from Part 1

Why is there erotica in temples?

The erotic sculptures in Khajuraho make up only 10% of the total carvings. What is erotica doing in a temple is the first question people ask. Our guide - who dispassionately called them "amorous couples" - pointed to the prevalence of the Tantric tradition at the time as a reason. But there is a deeper philosophical reason for this too.

To understand this, we have to go take a look at the Jain temples. Although built in the same time as the Hindu temples, the Jain temples are markedly different. There are no erotic carvings in the Jain temples. The inside of the temples are also dark, unlike the Hindu temples which are flooded with natural light.

The architecture is full of clean, geometric lines.

Jainism and Buddhism are different from Hinduism in a key aspect - their attitudes towards desire. The Buddha gave up on material life to become an ascetic. The tirthankaras worshipped by the Jains were celibate monks. And that's why Jain temples are dark from inside, encouraging disengaging from the world and letting go of worldly attachment.

In contrast, the Hindu God Vishnu takes birth again and again to partake of mortal life with all its material aspects. Shiva is convinced by Shakti to give up his ascetic life to become a householder. Of course, the Gods don't do it for themselves but for the sake of the world. That's why there are erotic sculptures right alongside scenes of war and figures of people dancing and singing. It's all a part of human life.

Look closely, and you can try to guess what was acceptable at the time and what wasn't. There were many panels depicting one man with multiple women - probably an indication of polygamy. But there were only a few in which the men outnumbered the women, and one looked disturbingly like war-rape - one woman bent over, while men holding weapons wait in line for their turn. The themes will inevitably appear depressing to the modern eye, but there's not much point judging the past by the yardstick of the present.

Apart from the wealth of information that the sculptures provide, the architecture is also a reason why the temples have been designated a World Heritage Site. They represent the peak of the nagara school of architecture. The height and the repeating structure of the spires, ending in the shikhara that is exactly above the idol are said to symbolise the Himalayas - the abode of the gods. Is it any surprise that shikhara also means summit in Hindi?

Looks are deceptive

We went to visit Raneh falls the next day. 

The Raneh falls are formed by the river Ken falling into a canyon 100 ft deep. It used to be possible to go to the actual site of the waterfall, until an incident a few years ago when some tourists who went there got trapped by a sudden rise in the water level. They spent a terrifying night on the rocks, surrounded by water on all sides. 

100ft ≈ 8th floor of a building

To keep them from panicking in the darkness, a huge light was brought in to shine upon them in the night, until the army rescued them in the morning. Now there are railings along the edge of the drop, and you can only walk with a guide. During the 2005 monsoons, - the year Mumbai had flood - there was so much rain that the canyon itself disappeared under the river.

The canyon is next to the Ken gharial sanctuary, which is closed to the public during the monsoon months. Gharials, a type of crocodile, are almost extinct in every country they once inhabited (Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangaldesh), except India. We went out of the way into the forest to spot them through binoculars. After peering a bit, I saw a dark green shadow lurking in the light green waters. Just a hint of its long, narrow snout could be seen. It's rare to hear of conservation efforts for the less-pretty animals like gharials. But a gharial is just as important for the ecosystem as a tiger or a flamingo.

The next day, we left for Bhopal on a train from Satna. 

Serenity, Sanchi

I had dragged the family to Sanchi early in the morning. The Sanchi stupas really demonstrate how Buddhism has evolved. The main stupa is surrounded by gateway like arches in the cardinal directions, which are engraved with stories from the Jatakas. None of the stories actually portray the face or figure of the Buddha - he is represented only through symbolism - footprints somewhere, or an umbrella. In BC, the Buddha wasn't worshipped as a God. However, when you enter through the arches, you will see a statue of the Buddha. The statues were installed in the in the latter half of the first millennium AD, when Hinduism started rising in prominence and it's idol-worship influence seeped into Buddhism.

On the left (BC), the Buddha is shown symbolically. On the right (AD), he is depicted in his human form.

I had been to Sanchi two years ago, as part of a work trip. That time, my colleagues and I had walked around the stupas, not understanding much, but feeling every bit peaceful on a rain-washed early morning. We had walked down a stone path to the stupa that is in the middle of the forest, away from the main complex. It was near a small pond, into which water was gushing down. Add peacocks to that and you have a recipe for magic.

I think I was still looking for the magic from two years ago, so I set off into the forest in the direction of the farthest stupa. When I reached, I saw that there was no stream of gushing water now, and the small pond was overrun with algae. No peacocks, either. I walked back, a little dejected. While going back, the paths diverged. One of them was grassy and wanted wear, so of course I had to take it. It was quite a long route, and at some point I did wonder if I had gotten lost. Still, I was happy that it was really silent. Maybe I could meditate for a while... 

How you imagine meditation to be

Until someone switched on the loudspeakers in the village downhill.

How it actually turns out to be

It sounded like a Bollywood song, but it wasn't. It was a religious bhajan set to the tune of a Bollywood song. Buddhists preach shunning desire and that is very difficult. However, I think they did a great service to mankind by shunning loudspeakers. Can you imagine loudspeakers in a monastery? Now can you imagine a temple without a loudspeaker?

We stopped for a breakfast of aloo parathas on the way to Bhimbetka, also a World Heritage Site. Bhimbetka's cave paintings date back to 30,000 years ago, and signs of inhabitation in the caves stretch even further back - to a 100,000 years ago. The paintings show people hunting, dancing and even riding animals. There is also an imaginary creature - something resembling a gigantic boar, which is shown chasing after people. So much of the history we study is recent, because it is written history. But man existed for millennia before the written word was developed. We can now write and draw - heck, capture entire lives with so much ease. 

But it all started in a cave on a small hillock in the plains of Madhya Pradesh. This is the first Facebook, the first M. F. Husain. This is proof that mankind possessed imagination, and that's what led to the birth of art and culture.