General Cunningham, the Archaeological Commissioner of India at the time, made a significant discovery in the early months of 1851. While conducting excavations at Sanchi, a site known for its ancient Buddhist Stupas, he stumbled upon a treasure of immense significance. The relics he unearthed were the sacred remains of two prominent disciples of Lord Buddha, Sariputta and Moggallana.
These precious relics were hidden within a deteriorated mound of bricks, known as Stupa No. 3 to archaeologists. Within this stupa, a rectangular hole was uncovered, oriented from north to south. Inside this hole, General Cunningham found two substantial stone chests, each of them bearing inscriptions in ancient Brahmi characters. The southern chest was engraved with "Sariputasa," while the northern one bore the inscription "Mahamogalanasa."
Within each chest rested an exquisite white steatite casket, and these caskets were adorned with delicately modeled saucer-shaped black glazed earthenware covers. On the underside of the casket's lid in the southern chest, the Brahmi letter "Sa" was found, symbolizing Sariputta. Similarly, on the underside of the other casket's lid, the letter "Ma" was inscribed, representing Moggallana.
The inscriptions on these caskets date back to the Asokan period. It is worth noting that Emperor Asoka erected numerous Stupas across India to enshrine the relics of either the Buddha or his devoted disciples. It is plausible that Asoka may have relocated these relics from their original resting places during this process. In support of this idea, it's worth mentioning that Sanchi is not the sole location where the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana have been discovered.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic...
13 окт 2023
