The Wikipedia statement, "The Dasaratha Jataka carved on the Bharhut Stupa indicates that the story of Rama was prevalent in India from the 2nd century BCE," caught my attention. This is intriguing because iconography related to Rama is only available from the 5th/6th century CE. Clear sculptures or carvings prior to this period are not found. Against this backdrop, the above statement is surprising.
1. The Dasaratha Jataka Story
In the 3rd century BCE Dasaratha Jataka, King Dasaratha has two sons, Rama Pandita and Lakshmana, a daughter named Sita Devi, and another son, Bharata, from a second wife. Following his father’s command, Rama Pandita goes into forest exile. Bharata searches for his elder brother and invites him to return to rule the kingdom. Rama, citing the twelve-year vow given to his father, declines, gives his sandals to Bharata, and asks him to govern instead. After completing his exile, Rama Pandita returns, rules the kingdom, and reigns for sixteen thousand years.
This Buddhist Jataka story lacks the abduction of Sita, Ravana, the Rama-Ravana war, or the establishment of dharma.
2. Yaksha Abducting a Woman
A 1st century BCE terracotta plaque from Kaushambi depicts a yaksha carrying away a woman. The woman appears to struggle to escape the yaksha’s grasp. A monkey peers through tree leaves, and one of the woman’s earrings lies on the ground. The narrative of men with ill intentions abducting women is a common theme in global literature.
This scene of a "yaksha abducting a woman" aligns with the abduction of Sita in the Ramayana, particularly the detail of Sita dropping her ornaments for the monkeys to find during her abduction. This narrative could be a folk tale from that era or perhaps a lost Buddhist Jataka story.
By 500 CE, the Ramayana, already prevalent in oral tradition, was committed to writing. The 3rd century BCE Dasaratha Jataka and the 1st century BCE "yaksha abducting a woman" story likely served as inspirations. Incorporating the establishment of dharma as its backbone, the traditional Ramayana narrative was composed as an epic poem. From then on, the Ramayana spread across India, uniting its people as a shared language, the lifeblood of the land, and a collective soul.
The Wikipedia statement, "The Dasaratha Jataka carved on the Bharhut Stupa indicates that the story of Rama was prevalent in India from the 2nd century BCE," originates from Mandakranta Bose’s The Ramayana Revisited (2004), which states: "The earliest sculptural evidence of the Rama theme can be traced to the depiction of the Dasaratha Jataka in the reliefs of Bharhut, dating from the second century BCE" (p. 337). This is an attempt to attribute antiquity to the Ramayana. Alexander Cunningham, considered the father of Indian archaeology, first proposed that a carving on the Bharhut Stupa (Cunningham Plate No. 27) resembles the Dasaratha Jataka.
However, Russian professor von Oldenburg opined at the time that this carving does not depict the Dasaratha Jataka and remains unidentified. Historian E. Hultzsch, in an article titled Jatakas of Bharhut (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1912), clarified that the carving represents the Mahabodhi Jataka, not the Dasaratha Jataka.
3. What is on the Bharhut Stupa Carving?
The sculpture features a dog and three individuals. One person, dressed as an ascetic, holds an umbrella and sandals in one hand and a staff with a sack in the other. On the other side, a man and woman in royal attire and ornaments are depicted. A dog sits in the center.
Cunningham tentatively suggested that the ascetic carrying Rama’s sandals is Bharata, the royally dressed figures are Sita and Rama, and the scene depicts Bharata visiting Sita and Rama in exile, requesting Rama to rule, only for Rama to politely decline and offer his sandals—an episode from the Dasaratha Jataka. He noted it was "recognizable at first glance."
However, the figures are unlikely to be Rama, Sita, and Bharata, and the scene may not be from the Ramayana for these reasons:
- Lakshmana, always by Rama’s side, is absent.
- During exile, Sita and Rama wear ascetic attire, not royal garments.
- Bharata does not appear in ascetic attire in the Ramayana.
- There is no role for a dog in the Ramayana.
4. The Mahabodhi Jataka
E. Hultzsch argued that the Bharhut Stupa carving depicts the Mahabodhi Jataka, not a Ramayana scene. In this story, an ascetic named Bodhi arrives in Benares. Recognizing his wisdom, the king invites him to stay. Bodhi’s presence brings peace and prosperity. The king’s pet dog grows close to Bodhi. Jealous of Bodhi’s popularity, the king’s ministers spread false accusations, leading to a death sentence for Bodhi. Unaware, Bodhi visits the palace, but the dog barks, warning him of danger. Understanding the threat, Bodhi returns to his hut, gathers his umbrella, sandals, staff, and sack of clothes, and decides to leave. The king, realizing his mistake, visits Bodhi, apologizes, and begs him to stay, accepting him as his guru.
The carving’s elements—an ascetic with an umbrella, sandals, staff, and sack, a king, a queen, and a seated dog—clearly align with the Mahabodhi Jataka.
The Bharhut carving has no connection to the Ramayana. Claiming it as a 2nd century BCE Ramayana scene or evidence of Rama’s sculptural form from that period is misleading propaganda. This appears to be an attempt to push the Ramayana’s iconography, visible only from the 5th century CE, back to the 2nd century BCE. While textual claims assert Hinduism dates back thousands or lakhs of years, non-textual sculptural or archaeological evidence is absent. Archaeological findings across India overwhelmingly belong to Buddhist and Jain traditions, with Hindu evidence emerging only after the 6th century CE, often rooted in Buddhist and Jain origins.
Similarly, some 3rd century BCE carvings from Nagarjunakonda are said to depict the Dasaratha Jataka, but this claim is also dubious.
Although epigraphic evidence suggests Rama temples existed from the 5th century CE, none survive today. The oldest surviving Rama temple in India is identified as the Rajiv Lochan Temple in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, dating to the 7th century CE.
References
[1] Valmiki Ramayana website (valmiki.iitk).
[2] Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 44, Issue 2, April 1912.
[3] Barhut Book II, Jataka Scenes by Benimadhab Barua, 1934, p. 147, confirms Plate 27 depicts the Mahabodhi Jataka, as per Hultzsch, not the Dasaratha Jataka.
[4] The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha’s Former Birth, Vol. 5, edited by E.B. Cowell, p. 119.
By Bolloju Baba
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