THE SAPTA-RATNAS AND ITS USE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS FROM NORTH-

WESTERN INDIA
Author(s): Sarita Khettry
Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 2015, Vol. 76 (2015), pp. 50-56
Published by: Indian History Congress

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 THE SAPTA-RATNAS AND ITS USE IN
ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS FROM NORTH-
WESTERN INDIA

Sarita Khettry

Buddhism as a formal and institutional religion has a history in Ind

spanning nearly seventeen centuries (6th century BCE- 13 th centiiry CE).
was one of the important religions of the north-western part of the I
subcontinent (which includes the territories now politically in Pakistan (P
Punjab, North- West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan), Jamm
Kashmir (partly occupied by Pakistan) the Punjab and parts of Haryan
Himachal Pradesh and also Eastern Afghanistan) by the 3rd century B
at least during the reign of the Mauryan King Ashoka. It continued to
till about the 5th century CE as suggested by the epigraphic and liter
sources.1 In its early phase Buddhism was much rigid and philosophic
nature and restricted to the worldly renounced persons. In subsequent centu
it was much more popular among the laity. Some popular practices
introduced during the time of Mauryan king Ashoka (c. 273-236 BCE)
such custom was erecting the stupa over the corporeal relics of the Bu
This practice was pre-Buddhist in date. The earliest evidence of stupa is fo
in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta.2 Here, in replying to Ananda's question
the ceremonies to be performed after the death of the Master, the Bu
answered that his remains after cremation should be treated as men used
treat the remains of a king of kings and at the four cross-roads a da
(stupa) should be erected to the Tathagata. This shows that practice of bur
the remains of the dead under a mound or tumulus was known during the
of the Buddha. We know that the eight stupas were raised after the death
the Buddha over his relics at Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Allaka
Ramagrama, Vathadipa, Pava and Kusinagara. The testimony of the Ch
pilgrims like Fa-hsien and Xuan Zang tells us that similar memorials
erected over the remains of the former Buddhas such as those of Kas
near a town in the Sravasti district; over those of Krakuchanda and Kanakam
in the district of Kapilavastu. From these data it is clear that the erection
stupas must have been a familiar institution in India. Among the Budd
the stupa did not become an object of marked veneration until the tim
Ashoka. According to a tradition, it was by the effort of Ashoka that out
eight stupas, seven were opened and relics of the Blessed One were distrib
among the principal towns of his realm, by erecting a stupa over each por

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 Ancient India 5 1

This shows that Ashoka might not h

gave a great fillip to it.
In our region, the exact date of int
is not known. According to a legend
erected some 84,000 stupas on the relic
on the advice of Yasa, the venerable m
ancient Gandhara was known to the em
and this was one of the places wher
inscription" of c.lst-2nd century CE
records its installation at the Dharmar
case, we can assume that the practice o
Buddha came into vogue from the tim
The relics which were found insi
casket of different size and shape.5 A
at various sites of north-western In
other antiquities. In this connection w
an important object of Buddhism alo
our area. Precious jewels {ratnas) ar
seven ratnas ? Where do we find th
sources? Why the seven ratnas were
with Buddhism? Who donated these ra
questions which are raised in the prese
data.
The earliest steatite relic vase from north-western part of the Indian
subcontinent was discovered in the village of Pathan in the Swat valley. The
vase bears an inscription in Kharosti stating about a certain meridarkh
Theodorus (Theudora) who enshrined the body relics of the Sakyamuni for
the purpose of security of many people.6 However, whether relics (of the
Buddha) and other precious objects were found in the vase is not known to
us. We can refer to a Buddhist relic casket at present in the collection of
Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA. The exact provenance of the reliquary ¡s
not known to us. It is believed that it comes from the area of Bajaur (to the
west of Swat). The region was ruled by hereditary rulers known as apracarajas.
The dated inscription on the reliquary records the motivation of Indravarman,
a local prince of Bajaur, for enshrining relics of the Buddha. The date of the
casket is c.5th-6th century CE. Here also we do not find the associated
antiquities in the form of precious jewels {ratnas).1 Examples can be multiplied
in this connection.* An important reliquary of gilded stone is worth mentioning
here.9 It is in the shape of a stupa published in the Catalogue of Kushana
sculpture by Stainislaw Czuma. Inside there were various boxes of silver,
gold, stone, and crystal, as well as jewellery of gold and beads of various

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 52 IHC: Proceedings, 76th Session, 2015

stones and corals. There were many gold flowers. There was also a long
Kharoshti inscription on a gold leaf. The inscription records the redeposition
of the Buddha's physical relics by Senavarma, king of Odi, in the time o
Sadaskana, the devaputra, son of Kujula Kadphises, the Great king, king
kings. No mention is made in the catalogue of bone or ash being found in th
reliquary.
Excavation conducted at Stupa AI at Kalawan (Taxila) yielded a
miniature stupa in which a smaller spherical casket of stone held one cylindrical
flat gold casket containing some fragments of bone. The other collection
includes gold sheets and disks, silver sheets and disks, a piece of quartz,
crystal beads, both transparent materials, a beryl bead which is green, green
glass beads, a piece of garnet which is red, pearls and a piece of turquoise.10
Beside a copper plate inscription in Kharoshti characters of Is' century CE is
found in the collection. It is important to note here that the precious jewels in
this collection find mentioned in the list of sapta ratnas in the Mahavastu, a
Buddhist text of the Mahasamghikas (lokottaravadins) of the early Christian
century. What are sapta ratnas or seven treasures? The sapta ratnas as
mentioned in the Buddhist text Mahavastu are suvarna (gold), rupya (silver),
vaidurya (lapis lazuli), sphatika (crystal or quartz), mukta (pearl), lohitaka (a
red precious stone, or red coral), musaragalva (ammonite, agate, or coral)."
The definite composition of the collection did not take shape until the time of
the Mahavastu. Some Pali texts use sapta-ratna as a collective term to refer
to a group of precious substances, such as gold, silver and jewels. However,
there is no specific list of seven treasures in these texts. The Milindapanha12
mentions a long list of precious jewels like gold, silver, pearls, mani, sankha,
coral, lohitika, masaragalva, vaidurya, vajra, spatika and metals such as iron,
copper, bronze etc. But by the first century BCE when Milindapanha was
composed these were not component parts of the sapta ratna. The composition
of the sapta ratna was fixed in the Mahavastu. In some texts, where the list
omits mukta (pearl), the last three treasures are rohitamukti (red pearl, rubies,
red coral beads, carnelian beads or other red precious stones), asmagarbha
(amber, coral, diamond, or emerald) and musaragalva (ammonite, agate, or
coral).According to Xinru Liu13 both sapta and ratna may have derived from
the conception of state machinery. The Mauryan theorist Kautilya envisaged
state machinery in terms of seven limbs (saptanga). The seven limbs ( saptanga )
are the king ( svami ), the minister (amatya), the territoiy (janapada), the capital
(durga), the treasury (kosa), the coercive power ( danda ) and ally (mitra).1*
The seven treasures first comprised the Buddhist view of the main constituents
of early state sovereignty. They included the wheel (cakra), which is a symbol
of rule, an elephant (hastin) and horse (asva), both symbols of the monarch's
status, a gem (mani), a queen (stri), a householder (gahapati) who collects

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 Ancient India 53

wealth for the king and a minister

origin of the word sapta ratna
Milindapanhz. In this text Nagasen
king Milinda (Menander I or II) abo
mentioned the jewel bazaar. He ref
jewel of right conduct, the jewel of
jewel of emancipation, the jewel of th
of emancipation, the jewel of discr
wisdom of the Arhats. By being ad
words of Buddha the children o
illuminating the whole world.15
It is not clear when, or for wha
designate seven kinds of precious j
jewels are as mentioned in the Mili
quality of a jewel is pureness and a
perfectly pure in his means of livelih
jewel is that it cannot be alloyed with
bikshu earnest in effort never mixes
is set together with the most costl
jewel. The strenuous bikshu earnest
those of higher excellence, with men
the third stage of Noble Path, with t
recluses, of the three fold wisdom, o
The Mahavastu, a Buddhist text
picture of the benefits and merits
jewels in stupas. According to this te
jewels for a Buddha claimed Buddhah
same text further records that the m
seven treasures ( sapta - ratna) " and
the trees with leaves of the seven
Mahayana text of 2nd-3rd century
demands that his followers make 84,0
be urns containing fragments of his b
The discovery of relic caskets along w
the above fact.20 It is also mentio
worshipping images of Buddhas
contribute flowers, incense, garlands
gems and jewels, as well as flags and
the Common Era seven treasures be
wealth. Religious merit could be acq

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54 IHC: Proceedings, 76th Session, 2015

Robert L. Brown in his article 'The nature and use of the bodily relics of the
Buddha in Gandhara'22 has shown that the practice of burying treasure with
the dead may have come from practices associated with the royalty of t
peoples living in the areas adjacent to that of Gandhara in the first centuries
BCE and CE, perhaps the Kushanas. In 1978-79 excavation were conduct
at Tilya Tepe by Soviet and Afghan archaeologists. The excavation yielde
eight royal burials. These burials belonged to 50 BCE to 50 CE. It is thoug
that they are graves of royalty of one of the branches of the Kushanas who
were ruling at the time from nearby Yemshi Tepe. Of the eight graves, t
authorities managed to excavate six in February 1979. The grave goods includ
the same kinds of materials that are found in Gandharan Buddhist reliquaries
viz. jewellery, gold ornaments, coins, beads, and covered boxes of certai
types. There is no indication from their grave deposits that this Kushana royal
were Buddhists. He compared the treasure of grave deposit from Tilya Te
with the treasure found in the stupa deposit published in the Catalogue
Kushana Sculpture by Stainislaw Czuma. He further says that the fema
burials contained cosmetic boxes among other articles which are identical
shape and size with the Gandharan Buddhist reliquaries of Indravarman a
Ramaka. According to Robert L. Brown the use of casket of varying size and
shape for depositing the relics and treasures may come from the practice of
burying cosmetic boxes and treasures in royal Kushana grave. It should
important to note here that the practice of buiying the relics along with sapta
ratna or seven treasures goes back to the 4th or 5th century BCE when t
stupa of Vaishali was built and relic casket of soap stone was deposited alo
with fragment of golden conch shell (cowrie shell), two glass beads and coppe
punch mark coins.23The casket is at present in the collection of Patna Museum
Bihar. We can cite here the evidence of Piprahwa relic casket.24 Archaeologica
excavations were conducted by W. C. Peppe in 1897-98 at Piprahwa in Ba
district of Uttar Pradesh. During the time of excavation he came across in
stupa a huge sand stone box which contained, among others, objects lik
jewellery and five caskets. An inscription is found on the lid of a steatit
casket. Initially the inscribed Piprahwa Casket was thought to be from Sakya
and pre-Ashokan times when found by W. C. Peppe ini 898, but its characters
have been shown to be typically Ashokan. Today it is dated not earlier th
the 3rd century BCE. As evident from above sources it can be said that t
practice of burying relics in the casket along with seven treasures goes back
to the 4th-5th century BCE in general and in the 3rd centuiy BCE from our
area. Thus there is no question of borrowing this custom by the Buddhis
from the Kushanas or from people of any of their branches. The Kushan
flourished in the 1st century CE and ruled the vast region till the middle of th
3rd century CE.

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 Ancient India 55

It appears that in the early centuries

were noticeable in the doctrinal aspec
North- West. The age witnessed th
representation of the Buddha under t
introduction of the image cult and th
the concept of new Bodhisattva et
introduced such as worship of the Bu
the relics and donation of different
and upasika. The concept of nirvana a
the Kharoshti inscription of the nort
concerned record that it was no long
be attained by laity by performing m

NOTES AND REFERENCES:

1. Ed. by R.G. Basak, Asokan Inscriptions, Calcutta, 1959, pp.71-72;

Bhandarkar, Asoka, Calcutta, 1969, p.78; ed. by Cowell and Neil, Divyavad
Cambridge, 1 886, pp.443-34; Journal of the Epigraphical Society of India, M
1990, Vol. XVI, pp.3 1-33; Tr. and ed. by W. Geiger, The Mahavamsa, Lond
1912, pp.82-84.
2. Tr. by T.W. Rhys Davids, Mahaparinibbana Sutta, Sacred Book of the East,
Vol. XI, reprint, Delhi, 1980, Ch. V24-25.
3. Ed.by Cowell and Neil, Divyavadana, Cambridge, 1886, pp.443-34.
4. B.N. Mukherjee, 'A Kharoshti inscription oftheKushana age referring to Asoka,'
JESI, 1990, V0I.XVI, pp.3 1-33.
5. Ed.by E.Erringtonand J.Cribb with M Claringbull, The Cross Roads of Asia,
Cambridge, 1992, pp. 172-197; Kurt A.Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara, New York,
2007, pp.21-25.
6. S. Konow, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vo'.l', pt. I, Calcutta, 1 929, p.4.
7. R. Salomon, 'The "Avaca" Inscription and the Origin of the Vikrama Era,'
Journal of the American Oriental Society, American Oriental Society, Vol.102,
No. I, 1982, pp.59-68.
8. Ed. by E. Errington, From Persepolis to the Punjab, London, 2007, pp.2 1 1 -
223.
9. R.L.Brown, 'The nature and use of the Bodily Relics of the Buddha' Ed. by
Kurt A. Behrendt, Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, Texts, Vancover, 2006,
pp. 1 89-90; R. Salomon, 'Inscription of Senavarma of Odi', Indo- Iranica, Vol.29,
no. 2, 1986; H.W. Baily' A Kharoshti inscription of Senavarma, King of
Oá',JRAS, 1 980, pp.2 1 -29
10. J. Marshall, Taxila, Vol.1, Cambridge, 1954, pp.327, 353, 356, 363, 367, 387,
389,390.

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 56 IHC: Proceedings, 76th Session, 2015

11. Ed. by E.C.M.Senart, Mahavastu, Paris, 1882-7; Tr. by J. Jones, Londo

1949, Vol.1, 49, p.4 1 ;63p.52; 194, pp. 1 52-3, 1 95, pp. 1 53-4;249,pp.204-5;Vol.IIl,22
p.221; 227,p.222; 323, p.3 14.
1 2. Tr. By T. W. Rhys Davids, The Questions of Milinda, Sacred Book of the Ea
V9l.36.pt II. Delhi, 1982, V, 17.
13. Xinru Liu, Ancient India and Ancient China, Delhi, 1988, p.93.
14. R.S.Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and SInstitutions in Ancient Ind
Delhi, 1959, pp.3 1-49.
1 5. Tr. By T.W. Rhys Davids, The Questions of Milinda, Sacred Book of the Eas
Vol.36.pt.II.Delhi, 1982, p.220.
16. Ibid.p.253.
17. Mahavastu, Vol. 1, 49-50 pp.4 1-42.
18. Mahavastu, Vol .1, 112, p.89; 116, p.91.
19. Tr. by H. Kern, Saddharmapundarika, Vol.21, SBE, London 1 884pp. 382-3 .
20. Ed. by E. Errington, From Persepolis to the Punjab, London, 2007, p.216.
21. Op.cit. H. Kern, pp.215, 366,389.
22. Ed.by Kurt A.Behrendt, Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, Texts,
Vancover, 2006, pp. 1 93-206.
23. Journal of the Bihar Research Society, Vol.11, Bihar, 1956; A.S Altekar,
Corporeal Relics of the Buddha, Patna Museum, Patna, p.9.
24. The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, USA, Vol.3,
No.1, 1980, ppl03-110; Orientations, Sep. 1986, pp.46-5i.
25. CII, Vol.11, Pt.I, pp.157-158; op.cit. J. Marshall, Vol.1, p.256, 327.

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