The Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan ( V )

By U SAN THA AUNG

Miniature Stupas

To Buddhist the world over, the stupa is an emblem of Buddha's parinirvana, for the stupa is a monument erected over relics of the Buddha. And because Buddhists revere the relics of the Blessed One, it naturally follows that the stupa should play a leading role in Buddhist architecture.

The oldest stupas extant are full hemispherical domes constructed of brick or stone, usually raised raised on a terrace. The stupas of Sanchi, Andher and Mankiala near Rawalpindi, in India and Pakistan, all belong to such a type. At a later period, a solid cylinder or drum was added beneath the hemisphere, thereby gradually raising it above the ground-level. Later still a square piece of stone came to be placed on top of the hemisphere. This square piece acted as the support for the hti or finial. Still later on an architect added a niche to one side of the drum. Later architects developed this idea by adding four niches to the drum, each niche facing one of the cardinal points. Today these niches each contain an image of the Buddha. See picture. Go Generally four Buddhas are figured around votive stupas. (There are some stupas with five niches, but these are very rare).

Today almost every hillock in Arakan is crowned with a pagoda, but old stupas dating before 1000 A.D are now extremely rare. They have either collapsed due to weathering, (annual rainfall in the Arakan State is over 200 inches), or have been destroyed by vandalism, or been encased in pagodas built by later kings. There is no doubt, however, that they were once plentiful. The inscription of Viracandra, a king of the Candra dynasty states that a hundred stupas were constructed and dedicated by King Viracandra because of his love for the True Law. See picture: Go To date, over thirty stone in scriptions bearing, in Gupta characters, the Yedhamma verse in full, have been found from all over Arakan. These stone inscriptions are the remains of the old stupas built before the 6th century A.D.

Recently miniature stone stupas with the Yedhamma verse inscribed on them have been found in Arakan. I now present three of them. The first miniature stone stupa was found at the foot of the Kyauktaw Hill when an old stone stupa collapsed to reveal the miniature encased inside. See Plate 10 for the stupa, and Plate11 for the Yedhamma verse inscribed on it. By studying the characters used in inscribing the verse palaeographically, we can establish the date of the stupa. In the case of the present stupa we can roughly assign the date to be somewhere about the 5th century A.D.

This miniature stupa consists of two pieces. The lower piece is a square base which may be regarded as a plinth. The height of the plinth is about seven inches. The upper piece is the stupa proper, about two and a half feet in height. This piece has a square platform made to fit in the base. Above this platform is a cube. The complete Yedhamma verse is inscribed on one of the faces of this cube. There terraces, and above the terraces is the cylindrical drum decorated with two. The top of the cylinder is hemispherical. It looks like an inverted bowl or a bell. On the top of the hemisphere is a ring of beads surmounted by moulding which support the hti.

The two other miniature stupas were found at Meechaungwa village, twenty miles north of kyautaw town. The village lies on the bank of the Kaladan river. The erosion of the banks brought to light the two stupas which were stuck in the mud about 20 feet below ground level. They are now kept for safe custody and preservation in Akyab town. See picture. Go The miniature stupa in picture is almost exactly like the first one, except that the Yedhamma sides of the square platform. The verse reads: Yedhamma hetu prabhawa hetu. See picture. Go The stupa is complete with plinth and hti. The third stupa which is shown in picture, Go however, no longer has a plinth. The part above the cylinder has also been broken off and is missing. The incomplete Yedhamma verse is inscribed in two lines. Yedhamma hetu on the square platform above the cube and Prabhawa hetu on the square platform above the cube and Prabhawa hetu on the cube itself. See picture. Go This stupa is slightly shorter than the first one, whereas the second is slightly taller. From studying the handwriting on these two stupas, (palaeographical examination), they can also he assigned to the 4th or 5th century A.D.

These three surviving miniature stupas carved out of stone in a bygone age, and by chance spared by the climate, together with other stone inscriptions fallen from old pagodas, each bearing the Yedhamma verse in Gutpa characters, are sufficient to establish positively, the fact that Buddhism flourished in Arakan not later than the 4th or 5th century A.D.

Why did the people of that era inscribe the Yedhamma verse on religious sculptures and monuments? What do the words signify? It will not be out of place to answer these questions here.

After having attained Enlightenment, Buddha preached his first sermon to the five ascetics who were his former companions, in the Deer Park (Mrigadava) on the outskirts of Benares. These five became his first disciples. Buddha then proceeded to Rajagriha where king Bimbisara gave him the park known as the Bamboo Grove. While Buddha and his disciples were sojourning there, a remarkable incident occurred.

Assaji, the youngest of the five disciples, went into the city of Rajagriha with his alms-bowl, where he met an ascentic by the names of Buddha under the name of Sariputra. Upatispa was greatly impressed by Assaji's dignity and composure and was moved to ask who was Assaji's dignity and composure and was moved to ask who was Assaji's teacher and what were his teachings. Assaji replied that his teacher was Gautama Buddha, but that as regards Buddha's teachings, he being newly ordained, could not explain the dhamma completely. The eager Upatisya, however, pressed Assaji to tell him a little of what he knew. Assaji complied by reciting the Yedhamma verse.

“Ye dhamma hetu prabhava hetum tesam tathagato

Hyavadattesanca yo nirodha evamvadi mahasramanah”

Out of all the laws, the law of cause is the origin.

Tathagato (i.e. Buddha) has spoken of the conditions arishing

from a cause. He has also spoken of their cessation. This is the doctrine of the great Sramana i.e. Buddha).

Upon hearing the verse, Upatisya's higher consciousness was awakened immediately. (He became a Sotapan, the first stage for becoming an Arahat.)

The Yedhamma verse, therefore, gives the cream of Buddhism. According, to the comments made by G. Codes “The extraordinary conciseness of this stanza, that gives in four verses the quintessence of the teaching of the Master, might alone be considered sufficient there is more in it than that. According to the tradition preserved Buddha secured the adherence of the two disciples Sariputta and Moggallama, afterwards revered in the circles of the Brotherhood as second the two most notable followers of the Master, must rapidly have and any well have seemed to them a quite irresistible charm for the conversion to the Faith of any who had not yet heard it.”

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