Sunday story: At Sannati, where Asoka died, no one cares for his legacy!

A few thousand years after the Buddha walked the face of the earth preaching his eternal principles of Dharma and Ahimsa,  his legacy lies in tatters, at least at Kanaganahalli near Sannati in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district, testimony to the shocking apathy of successive governments and their inability to preserve this forgotten corner of Buddhist resplendance.  The worn out gates, thorny bushes and shrubs around the locked museum and a library built at Kanaganahalli on the banks of river Bhima in Chittapur are a silent testimony of negligence. In fact, the only sculpture of Emperor Asoka, in limestone relief, along with his consort, was found here, raising speculation of the little known fact that he could have died here. K.N. Reddy reveals the authorities' neglect of Sannati, a standing example of Buddhist heritage, which the whole world looks to with awe and reverence as the place where Emperor Asoka breathed his last.

Sannati is undoubtedly one of the earliest Buddhist centres in India with a series of excavations leading to the discovery of Boudh Vihars and a stupa, which is larger and artistically richer than even the one at Sanchi. Almost a decade ago, the  government announced that it would be developed into a major international Buddhist Centre. Then Chief Secretary, Mr K Sudhakar Rao made the announcement during his visit in 2008 and soon followed the setting up of the Sannati Development Authority.

The Buddhist monuments, adjacent to the famous Chandralamba Temple and the newly constructed barrage across river Bhima, could have converted the place into a major tourist and pilgrim centre. Unfortunately, the negligence in preserving the monuments and poor connectivity have turned away visitors.
Sannati hit the headlines about three decades ago when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) took up excavation at Kanaganahalli village after the chance recovery of the Asokan edict on the stone slab in 1986 when the Chandralamba temple collapsed.

During the removal of debris to rebuild a new temple in 1989, a rough pink sandstone edict, broken into three pieces with strange writing on it was found in the foundation of the temple. The ASI experts from Hyderabad were summoned and they deciphered the script.  In the excavations carried out from 1991 to 2004, the authorities found Adholoka Maha-Chaitya (The great stupa of the netherworld) built in limestone with elaborate designs. The stupa, 22 metres in diameter at the railing, rose to a height of 17 metre. It was said to have been built in three phases by the Mauryas, early Satavahanas and later Satavahanas.

In addition, as many as 60 dome slabs with exquisite sculptures showing Jataka stories and portraits of Asoka were retrieved.  As many as 60 slabs decorated with a variety of dhama-chakras, stupas, first sermons, Bodhi-trees and Vihara -complexes have also been discovered. During 1986-89, James Howell of the British Society for South Asian Studies conducted an excavation in the second stupa on Nalwar Road.

The state government did its bit , handing over 24 acres at Kanaganahalli for excavation. The Sannati Development Authority , which was provided Rs 5 crore, had to take up developmental projects, including improving infrastructure for tourists and constructing a museum to display the artefacts. There was a proposal to establish a Pali Language Research Centre at Sannati, which had been sanctioned to Gulbarga University by the state government. There were even plans to build a guest house, garden, staff quarters, approach roads, internal roads, canteen and shops.  But they have remained on paper.

Many relics have been shifted to Gulbarga museum,  but hundreds of statues, panels, pillars, pedestals, and inscriptions in limestone are lying in the open ground, exposed to the searing summer heat, cold winter and the vagaries of river Bhima which flows close by.

“We have put together 60 ancient panels which were broken into many pieces. But cementing them as single entities is a herculean task. The chemicals failed to hold together the broken pieces and the steel rods break the soft limestone instead of holding them intact. We are in a dilemma how to proceed further,” a senior officer supervising the restoration work, disclosed.

Across the globe, across millenniums, countless generations have been fascinated by the thoughts of the Buddha and how they have endured the test of centuries. Every Buddhist site in India draws visitors in millions, who come to rediscover their inner peace. Sannati could turn into one of the best Buddhist sites but that will happen only if those in power are sensitive enough to realise that historic treasures, if not cared for, could disappear , leaving us poorer than ever.

Only two acres excavated!
A project report on the preservation and development of Buddhist sites in and around Sannati, prepared by Sannati Development Authority says ASI has to undertake a systematic excavation of all  Buddhist sites. “For instance, the Ranmandal (battle field), a historic Buddhist site, was a fortified area extending over 86 hectares. So far, only two acres have been excavated and the archaeological findings are astounding,” said the report.

This monk says Asoka died here!
Buddhist monk Bhante Tissavro, who heads the Bodh Gaya-based Budh Avsesh Bachao Abhiyaan (Save Buddhist Relics Campaign), has expressed his dissatisfaction over the manner in which the state government has taken up the development of Sannati. The monk, who visited Sannati recently , says his visits to several Buddhist centres in India and abroad, have made him suspect that Asoka, who had visited Sannati during his second sojourn to south India, had died there. "History speaks volumes about Asoka's achievements, there is complete silence on where he died and where his mortal remains were interred.

His tomb could be somewhere among the mounds at Sannati. The ASI which has taken up excavation at Sannati, should widen the scope of the work and search if the tomb of Asoka is located here", he says. He feels the state government should organise "Emperor Asoka Mahotsav' and 'Sannati Mahotsav' at Sannati to attract Buddhist pilgrims.