Chapter 8 - Decorative Articles in the Mahabharata

In this section it is intended to give a brief descriptive account of a few articles, which were not meant for the use of the common man nor for common occasions. They were specially designed royal insignias, part of the paraphernalia of a king, accessories to regal pomp, symbolizing the king's exclusive power, authority and strength. They were taken out when the king rode in a procession, when he held court, when he hosted important sacrificial sessions, when he was consecrated, and when he was cremeated

38° (I.118.10, 126.37; II.49.13; XII. 34-36; XIII.154.10; XIV.74.7; XV.30.8). They were therefore, made of the most expensive material and were highly ornamental. The number of such articles in the Mahabharata is negligible, to be precise only three, but their importance is great. These three articles are : (i) chowries or fly-whisks (camara), (ii) a huge parasole or umbrella (chatra), and = 325% (iii) the flag or the banner (dhvaja or ketu). Camara The camara was made of a wooden or a metal handle, at times of gold (II.2.15; VII.58.26), with an ample tuft of fine, white Yak hair, affixed to the upper end. The person weilding the camara held it by the handle and swayed it sideways, as well as forwards and backwards, fanning the air around and driving away flies and such other pests. The word 'camara' is therefore often compounded with the word 'vyajana' in the compound 'camaravyajana' (II.2.15; VI.17.33; XII. 38.36; XIII.154.10). In some cases the preceding camara is dropped altogether (I.126.37; V.138.20; XI.29. 22), but judging from the importance of the occasions,

such as a coronation (1.126.37; V.138.20), it is clear that these were no ordinary fans, but camara-fans (III. 221.18; XII.38.36; XIII.154.10). The frequent use of the dual (III.221.18; XII.38.36; XIII.154.10) indicates that generally two chowries were held on either side of the king by two different chowrie-bearers, e.g. Bhima and Arjuna held the chowries for Yudhisthira during his coronation at Indraprastha (II.49.13), and Nakula and Sahadeva during his coronation in Hastinapura (XII.38. 36). Very often however, a single chowrie fan sufficed (1.126.37; II.2.15; III.44.17; V.138.20; VI.17.33; XIV. 74.7). The word 'camara' or 'camara' is derived from the identical word Camara, the Sanskrit for Yak (Bos gruinnes), whose white hair were used in making these fly-whisks. There is a constant reference to the whiteness of the chowries (II.2.15; III.240.42; V.138.20, 179.13; XIV.58.7) - they were white (sita, sukla, pandura), clean white (subhra) (XIII.154.10), and silvery white like the moonbeams (11.48.5; VII.58.26). Only in one place are they described as black (II.48.5). These black camaras were brought as gifts for Yudhisthira by certain tribes of mixed origins, of partly foreign lineage, such as the Khasas, Tanganas, Paratanganas, Paradas and Kunindas, who came from the Northen Himalayas, a region well inhabhited by the Yaks. 326

It would not be out of place here to say a few words about the Yak, its physical characteristics and its geographical distribution. The Yak is a massively built animal, with short, sturdy limbs, shaggy fringes of coarse hair hang from its flanks, cover its chest, shoulders, thighs and the lower half of the tail, form (from a bushy tuft between its horns and a great mane upon its neck. It recieves additional warmth through the rigorous winter from a dense undercoat of soft, closely matted hair, which are shed in masses during Spring. The colour of the Yak is uniform blackish brown, with e a little white about the muzzlw. The tame domestic Yaks usually have patches of white on the chest and the tail from which came the exquisite chowrise of the ancient kings (Prater 1965: 246). The black camaras then were not a special type, but probably more common than the white ones, which were therefore, more prized and more sought after. The Yak population is at present distributed in Northen Ladakh, the plateau of Tibet, and parts of the Kansu province in China. Within Indian limits proper, the Yak only occurs in the Chengechemno valley in Ladakh. They sometimes stray into the Sutlej valley and into some of the passes of East Kumaon (Prater 1965: 246-47). Thus it is possible that the tribes mentioned above came from this part of the Himalayas, from Ladakh and Northen 327

Himachal Pradesh, bordering Tibet. The camara, either as the Yak or the flythe whisk was unknown to Vedic literature. The references to camara-fans, made of Yak hair, start appearing in literature from the Epic, the Pali Canon and the Artha- - sastra, and regularly later. The presence of these luxury articles is an indication of new contacts, trade or otherwise, which opened up in Historic times. But despite great familiarity with camara fans, Indian literature, is on the whole, not very well acquinted with the species Yak. The chowries were thus, no doubt, an expensive import item. Chatra The chatra also known as atapatra was an umbrella or a parasole, a very important royal insignia. It was different from any ordiary parasole in that it was huge in size with a long staff which had to be carried by an umbrella-bearer standing behind the king. The handle of the parasole was made of gold (III.44.17; VI.51.31; VII.87.58, 136.8), the ribs of gold or ivory (VI.21.6; XII.226.21), while the canopying cloth was always white (I.118.10; III.44.17, 221.18, 240.42, 264.66; IV.50.18; V.138.20; VI.1.4%; VII.19.8; XII.38.34; XIII.14.91; XIV.63.3; XV.30.8) shining white, imparting to the spread-out umbrella the beauty of the full moon 328

= (IX.23.4). At times from epithets such as 'kancanam' and 'suvarnam' (III.218.24; VII.22.6; XI.24.10), the entire parasole seems to have been wrought from gold. Some of the more ornate ones were decorated with a net- -work of gold (VII.56.34), probably affixed to the ribs and hanging down in graceful beauty all around the hem of the white cloth. One of the parasoles had precious stones (manis) set in gold (XII.216.20). The chatra was not only held over the king's head on important occasions, but he also rode into battle with it, carrying it along on the chariot or on the elephant (VII.19.8, 87.58, 136.8). Dhvaja The banner, known as dhvaja or ketu, was the proud posession of every Ksatriya warrior. These banners were designed to be carried into war, atop the chariots, visible to all from afar, reassuring the warrior's own side, and striking terror in the heart of the enemy. Therefore, very often, warriors aimed at each other's banners, cutting and splitting the flagstaff into pieces with a barrage of arrows. The psycological impact of such an action was great, for the army panicked as soon as they lost sight of the banner believing their leader to be dead. At this juncture even 329

if he was able to assure them of his presence by some such means as the blowing of the conch, the felling of the banner was nevertheless looked upon as a bad omen, a portend for comming defeat. Even for a warrior whose flag was thus cut down, it constituted a loss of morale, although he may be in his prime fighting spirit. It was also an insult and a challenge which he had to fight back. A poetic description of the demoralizing psycho- -logical impact occurs when Karna's flag was knocked down by Arjuna. The poet says: "Sucess, victory, righteous- -ness, and everything that was dear, went down with that banner. As loud groans issued from the army, the hearts of the Kurus also sank" (VIII.67.15). The dhvaja consisted of two parts the handle, known as 'yasti', with which it was fixed to the chariot, and the emblem or the phinial known as 'laksana' or 'chinha', fixed atop it. The handle was made either of wood of precious metals like gold and silver (IV.52.1%; VII.80.17). Three trees have been named whose wood was used in the making of flag-staffs: (i) the fan-palm Tala (Borassus flabilliformis), (ii) Karnikara (Pterospermum acelifolium) (VI.45.8, 111.31; VII.33.12) and 330

= 331 (iii) Kovidara (Bahunia variegata) (VI.50.89). The Tala-staff was a favorite of the Grand-sire Bhisma, huge and tall like the Tala palm itself, raised high above the others (V.148.5; VI.16.41, 17.18, 45.4, 25). These plain wooden-staffs were turned into beautiful gold bedecked handles (IV.30.18%; V.170.19%; VI.19.26) with gold wires and gold plates wound around them like armlets (VII.80.3-7; VIII.40.36), and goldchains down their length (VI.20.41%; VII.80.3-7). Very often precious stones were set into the staff (VI.16.30). Duryodhana's flag-staff was noted for its embedded manis (VII.80.26; VIII.40.36). Jewelled belts held the staff to the chariot (VI.72.16; VII.89.13) and a network of tiny tinkling bells made soothing music as the flag shook with the movement of the chariot (VI.20.41%; VII.80.26; VIII. 63.69). Small triangular cloth banners in various colours - red, yellow, white, blue-were attached to the flag-staff (IV.52.1; VII.80.3-7; VIII.43.57-58), some very artistically made with little miniature stars, moons and suns cut out from gold and silver sheets sewn on to them (VIII.31.49-50, 43.57-58). They fluttered and trembled in the wind and with them jingled the tiny kinkini bells suspended from them (VIII.31.49-50). Scented sandal and Agaru paste was also smeared onto the staffs (VIII.15.32). the The emblem atop the staff was different for each warrior, though sometimes it happened to be/same between

= 332 two or three, and was generally an animal figure, though. not always so. Being right on top of the staff it was visible from a long distance and was the chief factor in recognizing a particular warrior. Unlike the modern concept of a flag as a specially cut out cloth piece with the emblem printed on it, the ancients had a metal emblem on a metal or a wooden staff. The cloth banners attached to the staff were merely a decorative device. The Mahabharata has, on many occasions, described in great details the various emblems of important warriors. They make very interesting reading. Krsna had a huge eagle perched on a jewelled staff, specially designed for him by Visvakarma, the archit- - ect and the sculptor of the gods (II.22.22-23; X.13.3-4). Pradyumna, Krsna's son by Rukmini, had a crocodile on a golden staff (III.18.2, 7). Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, had a pair of mrdangas or tamborines, named Nanda and Upananda (III. 254.6). Arjuna had a fierce ape with a lion's tail, made of gold upon a golden-staff. It was one of the most feared and respected of all emblems, and earned him the epithet 'kapidhvaja' (1.216.13; IV.41.3; VII.80.8). Bhima had a lion, covered with a network of kinkini bells (IX.15.38-39). Ghatotkaca, Bhima's son by the demoness Hidimba,

had a huge vulture with wide open, angry eyes and the beak lifted up, as if it were shreiking with all its might (VII.131.27). Babhruvahana, the Prince of Manipura and Arjuna's son by Princess Citrangada, had a golden lion atop a Tala staff, which was so highly ornamented with gold that it looked like a golden Tala palm (XIV.78.28). Bhisma, the Grandsire of the Kurus, had in imitation of the sky, five stars atop a gold-bedecked Tala staff (IV.50.17). = 333 Duryodhana, eldest of the 100 Kauravas, had an elephant (naga) atop a highly ornate and jewelled staff (TV.50.12; VI.17.25; VIII.40.36). Jayadratha, king of the Sindhu region and the brother-in-law of the Kauravas, had a golden boar, posessed of the fine lustre of the red sun and covered kinkini network (VII.80.20). with a 1 Karna, had a golden elephant-girth (nagakaksya) adorned with kinkini bells, atop an exquisitely made gold and jewelled staff, studded with precious stones, pearls and diamonds, over which the best artists had worked for years (VII.80.12; VIII.63.69, 67.12). Vrsasena, Karna's son, had a golden peacock ornamented with jewels and precious stones (VII.80.16). Drona, the learned teacher of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, had a golden kamandalu amidst a golden fire-alter, a fitting emblem for a great Brahmin (IV.50.6,

52.1; VI.17.24). Asvatthama, Drona's fiery son, had a bow as his emblem (IV.50.9). There seems to be some confusion for the Dronaparva describes it as 'simhalangula' or a lion-tail (VII.80.10). Krpa, Drona's brother-in-law, had an ornate bull for his emblem (VII.80.14). Satyaki, of Krsna's Vrsni tribe, had a lion with a golden mane, atop a golden staff (VII.87.57). Saumadatti had a golden yupa or sacrificial post (VII.80.22-23). The King of Kalinga, modern Orissa, had a tree (VI.17.33). Prince Uttara of Matsya, had a golden lion (IV.33.17). Jarasandha, king of Magadha, who was killed by Bhima, in a wrestling bout, at the instigation of Krsna, had a huge serpent-devouring eagle, visible from a yojana (II.22.22-23). At Jarasandha's death, his famous chariot was acquired by Krsna and along with it the Eagle-banner, an emblem which became so closely associated with Krsna, that he came to be known by the epithet 'Garudadhvaja'. Thus the later concept of Garuda being the vehicle of Visnu, and therefore of Krsna as an avatara of Visnu, had no base in the Mahabharata Even the gods had their own distinct banners. 334

= 335 At least two have been described by the Mahabharata Siva had a bull as his emblem and is constantly refered to as 'vrsabhadvaja' (III.40.61). Kartikeya had a cock (kukkuta) as his emblem. This is contrary to the belief that the peacock is the vehicle of Kartikeya. In the Mahabharata he holds a cock in one hand and a peacock in the other (III.214.23-24), while his banner has only the cock (III.218.32). The white ornamental chatra and the white camara fans appear rather late on the literary scene as typical royal insignias. They are mentioned for the first time in the Epic and the Buddhist Pali literature. The reliefs at Sanchi depict both the chatra and the camara. The parasoles are flat-topped, thickbrimmed, mounted on slender rods adorned with banners and a cluster of pear-string pendants. The camara has a slender handle on which is set the whisk (Dhavalikar 1965 : 72, 73). At Sanchi also occurs the banner or dhvaja, the commonest type consisting of a 'triratna' standard, from below which is suspended an oblong, stripped banner, while clusters of pearl-stings are suspended from the top (Dhavalikar 1965 : 73). Thus we may be sure that at least

by the 1 st-2 nd centuries B.C., if not earlier, the chatra, the camara and the dhvaja had come on their own as special royal insignias and were actual realities outside of literature. They However, there is no sign of any animal or bird phinial as described by the Mahabharata, at Sanchi and other sculptural monuments with just one exception at Barhut (1 st-2 nd century B.C.), the earliest and the only known representation of an animal-figured standard in graphic arts, in sculptured stone (Barua 1934: Plate XXL, 17 a, 17; Cunningham 1879: Plate XII). The Barhut dhvajas are a remarkable exception, a lone example in the entire range of Indian art. are part of a scene on the First Pillar, where a relic casket is being carried in a procession atop the head of an elephant, mounted by the king himself. There are two more elephants similarly mounted by royal personages, while the tail-end of the procession is made up of two horse-men and standard-bearers, a male and a female. "The standard appears to be a small pillared shaped rod, with a flying angel, borne on its capital, and carrying a large piece of hanging garland, evidently a Garudadhvaja, the human-shaped flying angel, representing the mythical-bird Garuda" (Barua 1934 : 15). The standard thus belongs to the king riding the elephant, but unfortunately his name is not mentioned in the inscribed notices. As noted earlier, the Garudadhvaja or the Eagle-banner, = 336

according to the Mahabharata, belonged to the Magadhan ruler Jarasandha, at whose defeat and death, it was acquired by Krsna. The closest parallel to the Barhut 'garudadhvaja' is at Vidisa (1 st-2 nd century B.C.). It is a regular stone stambha, where the Garuda is a symbol of Vaishnavaite faith and not the secular emblem of any particular king or royal house. Such freestanding stone pillars had become quite common by the 2 nd century B.C. and one often comes across their stone replicas in the sculptures of Barhut and Sanchi. They were certainly inspired by the majestic stone pillars of Ashoka with finely carved animal-capitals. Artistically too the stiff stylized wings of the Garuda at Barhut, its half-human and half-bird from resembles the stiff stylized lions of the Mayuran capitals as well as centain similar figures from Achmenid Persia. The inspiration for the Ashokan capitals is believed to have come from the Persian examples and it can not be overlooked that even the Vidisa Garudadhvaja was raised by one Greek P Vaishnavaite named Heleodorus. As far as the literary evidence goes it is equally startling. Let us first consider the Ramayana which by virtue of being the other important Indian Epic has many close parallels with the Mahabharata. Surprisingly the Ramayana describes only two animal standards, the 'garudadhvaja' and the 'minadhvaja' 337

(fish-banner). Apart from the Epics animal-capped standards are conspicuous by their absence in ancient Indian literature till about the 4 th century A.D. This absence is very eloquent as we shall presently see when we examine the evidence before us. The first of the important literary works to refer to standards capped with faunal figures and carried atop royal chariots are those of Kalidasa. The fish (mina) and the eagle (garuda) banners are again conspicuous (Upadhayaya 1968: 62-63), but there are other notable ones too like the 'harinaketu' (deer-standard) of King Pururava in Vikramorvasiya (Act I). The reference to eaglebanner is remarkable for it also happened to be the ensign of the Imperial Guptas under whose patronage Kalidasa is believed to have flourished. The garudadhvaja of the Guptas appears prominently on many of their gold coins, from Samudragupta (330-370 A.D.) to Prakasaditya (496-500 A.D.). This combined evidence leaves no doubt that standards capped with faunal figures were very much in vogue during the 4 th-5 th century A.D. Further credence is lent to this belief by the evidence of certain Puranas, particularly the Matsyapurana, which speaks of the 'grdhradhvaja' (the vulture-banner) (148.88) of the Raksasas, the 'tamrolukadhvaja' (the red-owl-banner) (148.90) of the Yaksas and the golden lion-banner of the Sun and the Moon gods (148.96). This particular chapter of the Matsyapurana chapter 148 has been dated by Dr. -- -G = 338

= 339 R. C. Hazra to a period definitely earlier than 1100 A.D., but not very much early than 800 A.D. (Kantawala 1964 : 142, 292). This late Puranic evidence is well-substantiated by Tamil literature and the annals of certain Southern kingdoms from the 6 th century A.D. onwards. Thus the Pandyan king Rajasimha Pandya (730-764 A.D.) is designated in the Sinnamanur Plates as "minadhvaja". Other Southern dynasties like the Pallavas (5 th-9 th century A.D.) and the Chalukyas (6 th-11 th century A.D.) were distinguished by the bull (vrsabha) and the boar (varaha) standards respectively. The Pallava king Rajasimha had the epithets "vrsabhadhvaja" and "vrsabhal ancana", Paramesvaravarman I (670-680 A.D.) has been described as "vrsanga", while Nandivarman (731- 796 A.D.) as "sakavaraketana" (Dikshitar 1944: 375). 1 The cumulative evidence of literary works, art monuments, numismatic and epigraphic sources is unmistakable. Royal standards capped with a wide range of faunal figures were definitely a late projection on the cultural scene. Lavish gem-incrustated ornamentation described by the Epic has already put them down to the 1 st century A.D., but they could actually have been incorporated in the Mahabharata at a much later date, anywhere between the 5 th-8 th centuries A.D. The Mahabharata critical evidence is of crucial importance at this stage. The description of the various dhvajas is concentrated in the Critical Edition mainly in the 80 th adhyaya of the Dronaparva. While these verses have been retained by the Critical Edition on a consensus basis (i.e. consensus between the various versions and Mss forming the

critical apparatus), another group of similar verses from 340 the same Parva giving some more details of different standards has been rejected and relegated to the Appendix (II : no. 5). The reasons are all too obvious. Through these verses occur in all the sub-versions of the Northen recension they are absent in $2, a group of Mss in the Sarada codex from Kashmir, one of the shortest, purest and the most reliable of all Mss. Similarly in the Southern recension these verses are present only in the Telugu version from Andhra and in a group of Mss belonging to the Grantha cersion from Tamilanadu, while they are absent in the Malyalam version from Kerala. Both the Telugu and the Grantha versions are considered one of the most ornate, lengthy and contaminated while the Malyalam group is much more free of these defects. The editors were thus at full liberty to reject what was absent in the shortest and the purest version, but present in the longest and the most ornate versions. With the easing out of these verses from the Critical Edition we have to do away with some more interesting phinials, particularly faunal figures such as a golden sarabha, a hamsa and a Sarnga bird. But what is of greater interest is the likelihood that these verses could have been inserted first in the Southern recension and then in the Northen. This is not improbable since many Southern kings were known to have used special standards with distinct emblems for each royal-house during the 6 th-8 th centuries A.D. This late date neen not cause any difficulty as none of the Mss are earlier than the 14 th century A.D. In fact most are much later.

== 341 The sources examined so far do not include actual a finds which are unfortunately completely absent in archeological records within the country. Not a single specimen even remotely resembling anything like a royal standard capped with an animal or a bird phinial has been unearthed anywhere in India. This enigmatic absence might give rise to a feeling that these ornamental dhvajas were nothing but a figment of the poet's or the sculptor's fancy, vivid pictures worked up by his imagination and clothed in shining gold and brilliant jewels. There are, however, certain parallels outside the country if not within. These foreign examples could well have served as the source of inspiration for their Indian counterparts. Some of the earliest examples from outside India are of bronze and come from Luristan in Iran. They have been described as 'standards', 'phinials' or 'wands', though their exact use is not very clear. Three broad types can be distinguished "in all of which the principal unit consisting of animals, monsters, and or demons, rests on top of a bottleshaped support". The first type consists of an erect pair of goats or felines (tigers ?) confronting each other with a ring supported on their raised hoofs or paws. Through the ring passes a tube connecting the ring with the support. In the second type, the bube itself is turned into a human figure, frequently combined with felines. The third type has human and animal figures fused together, with human heads appearing at the waist and bird-heads issuing from the shoulders and the haunches of the monsters (Porada 1964 : 20). It is generally believed that these were pole-tops or phinials, but it is

= 342 difficult to say if they were carried into war as in the case or our Epic. A few other bronze objects such as weapons, personal ornaments, seals, small vessels and horse-trappings, besides these 'standards' began turning up in bulk in Western Art markets in the late twenties, and came to be known as the 'Luristan Bronzes', dug out surreptitiously from ancient graves by local tribesmen seeking fortune from art dealers. For a very long time their chronological and cultural horizons remained unknown, being variously attributed to the Kassites (1600-1100 B.C.) or to the Cimmerians (800-600 B.C.) till recent excavations by L. Vanden Bergh brought to light typical Luristan bronzes in well-stratified contexts, along with pottery and other objects related to datable finds in Babylonia, Assyria and Achaemenid Iran, giving them a time range of 1300- 700 B.C. and probably later. From the portable nature of these finds their makers are now believed to be nomadic, pastoral, horse-breeding, and cattle and sheep-rearing tribes inhabiting the Lur mountains seasonally (Waldbaum 1973: 11-12). On purely stylistic grounds, the art of Luristan is believed to have come to an end, with its absorption in Achmaenian art around 700-600 B.C. (Porada 1964 : 10). Slightly later in chronological sequence are similar pole-tops, also belonging to a nomadic pastoral people, the Scyths. The excavation of a large number of mounds in the Eurasian plains, of what is today South-Central Russia, have revealed rich burials with very exciting finds, ranging from the 6 th to the 4 th centuries B.C. The large number of pole-

= 342(a) tops are in bronze in contrast to the lavish use of gold and silver for other articles such as weapons, utensils, ornaments, furniture and decorative plaques. The poletops are capped with animal and bird figures often set in decorative frames and attached with small bells. The range of faunal figures included horses, goats, ibexes, stages, elks, oxes, lions, tigers, winged griffings, birds of prey, and hippocamphus. Some of these figures are highly scematic and stylized such as bird-heads with human eyes, but many others are natural and life-like. These pole-tops were carried in procession atop the poles, probably also in war, and were finally buried along with the cheiftains to whom they belonged. However, it seems unlikely that only a particular emblem was associated with a particular cheiftain, for very often as many 10 pole-tops were found buried in a single barrow (Artamonov 1969: 58-59). These poles, therefore, are more likely to have been simple processional objects and supports for tent-like cloth or leather dwellings and canopies. Some of the figures on the Mahabharata standards have clear parallels in the se, minus ofcource the typical Indian species such as the elephant and the peacock. The boar and the crocodile, animals of the swamps too, are missing in the Scythian art of the steppes. The use of kinkini bells to adorn these animal figures in the Mahabharata also has its parallels in the Scythian bronze figures which have loops made onto them for attaching the bells (Artamonov 1969 : 46-47, 65-66; plates 45, 58-59, 60-61, 189-191).

= =342(b) It would appear rather too far-fatched to link these artifacts of the nomadic Scythian tribes from faroff Eurasian steppes with those described in the Mahabharata, however close the similarity, for it can be purely accidental. This would be true if the Scyths had never come in contact with India during their career as the world's most intrepid horsemen and raiders. But we know in history that certain Scythian tribes did enter India through the North-Western province of Gandhara around the 2 nd century D.C. and spread through much of Northen and Central India upto Saurashtra on the Western Coast, forming impotant kingdoms or Ksatrapies by the 1 st century A.D. They are familiar to ancient Indian literature and also to the Mahabharata as Sakas. It is, therefore, not totally impossible that the idea of standards topped with animal figures was Scythian in origin. As noted earlier the gem-incrustation on these pole-staffs and phinials as well as on many other objects was introduced through Gandhara and was Parthian in origins with whom the iz Scyths had merged somewhere in Iran. The Saka-Kusana era in India also witnessed a sudden exuberance of animal and human forms and anthropomorphic figures in art, particularly on ornaments and weapons of that period, as depicted in the sculptures at Gandhara and Mathura as well as various terracotta and stone figures. (The appearance of animal figures on weapons is discussed in a further chapter on weapons). However, there is one snag, and a rather unsurmountable one, for as long as similar pole-tops or phinials of Scyth origins are not found in typical Saka-Parthian layers at

3 34260) Thus sites like Taksasila which took in much of these foreign influences, we can not be completely sure of the Scythian inspiration behind these ancient dhvajas. despite the parallels outside, as well as, within India, it is at present almost impossible to place the Mahabharata dhvajas in their proper perspective, chronologically, culturally and artistically.