The Stupa of Kanaganahalli: Art historical and religious historical analysis of the illustrations along the circambulation path

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jens-Uwe Hartmann
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270746539

The Buddhist site of Kanaganahalli with its large central stupa existed from the pre-Christian era until the 4th century CE. In its importance it has to be compared with two other classic sites of early Buddhist art, Bharhut and Sanchi, and its discovery is seen as one of the most important archaeological findings of the 20th century in India. Regrettably, the documentation of the site in India does not correspond with its importance; so far only the inscriptions have received an adequate treatment in a publication in 2014. A first project was dedicated to the study of the large relief slabs that once covered the dome of the stupa and can be dated to the first decades CE. The scenes on these slabs have been described and analyzed, their contents identified and then compared with depictions of the same themes from other regions of India. This study is nearly finished. Its results place Kanaganahalli within the development of early Buddhist art in India, and they demonstrate the importance of the site for our knowledge of Indian Buddhism. Numerous images from the stupa are unique, among them the inscribed portraits of the Satavahana kings, but also inscriptions documenting episodes from the life of the Buddha that have not been passed on in the literary tradition, and titles of stories about previous births of the Buddha that differ from the ones presently known. The present application completes the project and the study of the sculptural material from Kanaganahalli; it will focus on the reliefs that once covered the lower part of the stupa and were seen close-up by the visitor during her/his ritual circumambulation of the stupa. These reliefs do not depict narrative scenes; rather, with images of sacred sites related to the Buddha legend, but also with symbolic depictions of the Buddha's presence and with figures like nagas and yakshas, they create a kind of 'sacred geography' that will be examined further in the course of the project. On the four projecting platforms that were added to the stupa at around 120 CE, scenes from the life of the Buddha are depicted. These 32 scenes, some of which were repeated, serve as excellent examples for the mutual influences between Kanaganahalli and other art centres in Andhra Pradesh. The project furthermore encompasses the three-dimensional sculptures within the area of the circumambulation, among them an inscribed series of the eight 'historical' Buddhas including Maitreya, as well as the ornamental objects. These include a multitude of examples for the close contacts of the site with artistic regions outside India, notably with Rome. The most remarkable example for this intensive exchange that flourished in the wake of trade contacts between the Satavahana empire and the Mediterranean is the representation of the Buddhist wheel of law with a lion-head hub as it is known from Roman chariots.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants