Dhauli
Dhauli is a village with about 500 inhabitants in the south of the east Indian city of Bhubaneswar in the state of Odisha ; it is known through a rock edict of the emperor Ashoka as well as through a modern Buddhist stupa and a Hindu temple .
location
Dhauli is only about 5 km (driving distance) south of the temple area of Bhubaneswar at an altitude of about 40 m above sea level. d. The 150 m high Dhauli Hills are in the immediate vicinity .
history
Some researchers identify the place with the area on which in the year 261 BC. The decisive battle of Ashoka against the Kalinga Empire took place. The place was later forgotten, but was revived in the 20th century with the construction of a Buddhist stupa and a pillar with a lion capital and a Hindu temple.
Attractions
Edict of the rock
Ashoka's rock edict, exposed to the effects of the weather for over two millennia, was discovered in 1837 and deciphered and translated by James Prinsep . At the end of the 20th century, it was protected by a building that was largely glazed and provided with metal grilles. It only consists of 11 of the usual 14 edicts:
- 1. The holiness of all life
- 2. From the social services for humans and animals
- 3. The inspections carried out every 5 years by the officials
- 4. From the practice of mercy
- 5. From the supervision of the law of mercy
- 6. The immediate completion of important business
- 7. From the consequences of incomplete compliance with the law
- 8. The King's visit to pious hermits and Brahmins
- 9. The proper conduct of ceremonies
- 10. Of true fame
- 14. Epilogue
Edicts 11 and 12 are missing because they were largely contained in other edicts; Edict 13 refers to the bloody conquest of the Kalinga Empire and could possibly have awakened bad memories.
Two additional edicts that only appear here (so-called Kalinga edicts ) call on his governors and officials to deal impartially and fairly with the conquered; he himself wishes to have great confidence in himself, because "all people are my children".
Rock elephant
Only a few meters above the edict of the rock is a rocky knoll from which the front part of an elephant was carved out. The sculpture is probably one of the oldest (preserved) in all of India and was intended either to symbolize Buddha himself (his mother Maya had become pregnant by a white elephant penetrating her right side), or to underline the dignified, sovereign character of the inscription.
Rock cave etc.
On a hill northwest of the Edict of the Rock is a small cave carved out by human hands with an inscription from the 7th century. At the top of the hill are the ruins of a temple.
Shanti stupa
The Shanti stupa, built on a neighboring hill in 1972 and framed by an imitation vedika fence, was the result of a cooperation between India and Japan. Wide flights of stairs lead past lion pedestals on the side; one ending in front of a person sitting on a lotus throne Buddha image , which is an enlarged copy of the Gupta -zeitlichen teaching of Buddha Sarnath is; the field above shows the wheel of teaching ( dharmachakra ) surrounded by disciples. Further figural terracotta reliefs are embedded in the outside of the stupa. The level of the stupa above contains several Buddha statues with different hand gestures ( mudras ). At the apex of the stupa, which is surrounded by niches with columns of honor above, there are 5 honorary umbrellas ( chhatras ) within a harmika fence. In an annex room there is a statue of the reclining (i.e., entered nirvana ) Buddha.
pillar
Not far from the stupa is a column that was created around the same time and contains a replica of the famous four-figure lion capital of Sarnath.
Hindu temple
The Hindu temple with its Shikhara tower in the style of the Lingaraja temple of Bhubaneswar underlines the peaceful coexistence and coexistence of the two great Indian religions, because Buddha was finally integrated into the Hindu faith cosmos as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu and could therefore also be used by Hindus to be worshiped.
See also
literature
- Ludwig Alsdorf : Aśokas Separatedicts from Dhauli and Jaugaḍa (= treatises of the humanities and social sciences class of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz. Born 1962, No. 1).
- Debala Mitra: Bhubaneswar. Archaeological Survey of India , New Delhi 1984, p. 4ff
- Robert Strasser: Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal. Indoculture, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-921948-10-X , p. 107f
Web links
- Dhauli - Website (English)
- Dhauli - photos
Coordinates: 20 ° 11 ′ 20 ″ N , 85 ° 50 ′ 35 ″ E