The Chausa hoard is a collection of ancient Jain

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

s. It is named after the location of the discovery:

Chausa Chausa is a town and corresponding community development block in Buxar district, Bihar, India. It is located 11 km west of the district headquarters, Buxar, on the bank of the river Ganga. As of 2011, the population of the village of Cha ...

(also known as Chausagarh), which is located in the

Buxar district Buxar district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. Located in the southwestern part of the state, it is a primarily agricultural district. The district headquarters is at the town of Buxar. Buxar district was carved out from Bhojpur d ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

The Chausa hoard was the first known

hoard discovered in the Gangetic valley and consists of a set of 18 bronze sculptures. The oldest of such bronzes to be found in India, experts date them between the

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in Woodcut, woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word '' ...

and the

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname of Indian origin, meaning "guardian" or "protector". Origins and distribution The name is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means "guardian" or "protector". According to historian ...

period, (from 2nd, or possibly the 1st century BC, to the 6th Century AD). In his classification of Jain bronzes, Patrick Krueger regards them to be early type, characterized by portrayal of a single

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

without a parikara.

Major Idols

The hoard includes a

Dharmachakra The dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र, ) or wheel of dharma is a symbol used in the Dharmic religions. It has a widespread use in Buddhism.John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, ''The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art,'' p. ...

showing Dharmachakra supported by two

yakshi Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from Devas and Asuras and Gandharvas or Apsaras. Yakshinis and their male counterparts, the Yaks ...

s supported by makaras; a

kalpavriksha Kalpavriksha (, Kalpavṛkṣa) is a wish-fulfilling divine tree in religions like Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. In Buddhism, another term, ''ratnavṛkṣa'' (jeweled tree)'','' is also common''.'' Its earliest descriptions are mentione ...

and sixteen

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

s. Among the tirthankaras, those of

Rishabha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

are easily identified by the locks of hair.Indian bronze masterpieces: the great tradition : specially published for the Festival of India, Karl J. Khandalavala, Asharani Mathur, Sonya Singh, p.56 The bronzes currently reside in the

Patna museum Patna Museum is the state museum of the Indian state of Bihar. Founded on 3 April 1917 during the British Raj to house the historical artefacts found in the vicinity of Patna, it is constructed in the style of Mughal and Rajput architecture, a ...

Related Discoveries

Other well-known hoards of Jain bronzes include Akota Bronzes, found in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

;

Vasantgarh hoard The Vasantgarh hoard contains 240 Jain bronze idols discovered in Vasantgarh, located in the Sirohi District of Rajasthan, India, and dating back to early Medieval India. Description In 1956, 240 bronze idols were found dating back to early M ...

, found in

Vasantgarh Vasa is a village in Sirohi District in Rajasthan state in India. It is 9 km from Swarupganj and 25 km from Abu Road and also known as Vasantpur or Vasantgarh. Vasa also has got a temple Laxminarayan Mandir whose foundation stone w ...

;

Hansi hoard The Hansi hoard is a collection of 58 bronze images of Jain Tirthankaras that were accidentally discovered by children on January 19, 1982. The Archaeological Survey of India excavated the entire hoard, which was located in Hansi, in the Hisar ...

, found in

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

; and Aluara bronzes, found in

Gallery

File:Rishabhadeva, Bronze from Chausa, Bihar, dating from 7th century A.D. 37644.jpg, Rishabhadeva, Bronze from Chausa, Bihar

Notes

References