The city or secondary , was a city of the Shung period. An inscription in Brahmi script from the city reads:“Sa va bhutanaam dayatham karita.” That is, this inscription refers to the teaching of Lord Buddha to have compassion for all living beings. The inscription dates from the second century B.C. That is, it is of the Shunga period. The Buddhist stupas and Vaishnava statues of Narayana Vatika from Madhyamika are evidence of Buddhist art and religious beliefs of that era.
A statuesque stone block has been found from the city which is believed to be the fragment of a Buddhist gate. Dr. Madhukar Bhandarkar had seen a structure here with a row parallel to the horizon. It was marked with heavy garlands hanging from it. A great deal of architectural material was taken from the city and installed in the Chittor fort.
Chittor Fort
Henry Cousins, a scholar, had identified 10 Buddhist stupas about half a kilometer northwest of the Kalika temple in Chittorgarh. These 10 stupas were of the same type. The largest of these was 3 feet three inches high. Its base was one foot eight inches square. The top was circular with a dome shape above it. Below, sitting around were 16 statues of Lord Buddha.
Each statue was in a small look. It had a shrunken round neck like shape at the bottom with lotus leaves growing out of it. One row went up and the other went down. Below this again was a square space giving way to the protruding stars and in each of them were enshrined images of Lord Buddha in Dhyana Mudra, Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra. The currency was inscribed at the bottom of each.
Influence of yaksha idols on Buddhist idols
The tradition of Yaksha worship in the Braj region is very old. Sculptors of the Shug period created giant statues of them that were 8-9 feet tall and heavy-bodied. Their bodies were covered with dhotis and utterances with heavy turbans and various ornaments on their heads. The Yaksha statue of Noh village is still known and famous for being in worship. This statue is carved both front and back and so can be seen from all four. The Bharatpur Museum has a good collection of Yaksha and Yakshi statues. These idols went on to become the model of Jain and Buddhist images in India.
Remains of Lalsot Stupa
Some umbrellas have been found from Lalsot near Dausa. One of these umbrellas has six pillars made of red stone. Each pillar is five feet high which is square at the bottom and top and octagonal in the middle. These have the inscription of a Buddhist door on a pillar in the middle. All these pillars must have been part of an ancient Buddhist stupa and the pillar marked with the door must have been in front of the stupa. There is an umbrella over the stupa inscribed on the pillar and a circle around the stupa.
Fractions engraved on both sides of these pillars were used for attaching list pillars. The male figures and lotus inscriptions on these pillars are important. This inscription is similar to the circle of the Sanchi and Bharhut stupas. This type of marking was done in the Shung period. This is also a Shung period marking. There was probably a Shunga stupa at this place in Lalsot, these pillars seem to be part of that stupa.
Storehouse
Remains of Buddhist stupa stones have been found at a place called Bhandarej near Dausa. The discovery of these ruins proves that the vast area from Virat Nagar (Bairat) to Bhandarej and the surrounding area was the area of development of Buddhist art.
Raidh
Dr. Kedarnath Puri had found fragments of a stone vessel in the village of Raidh in the then state of Jaipur, along with a chest made of salkhari and the remains of a polished Buddhist vessel. Such objects are found where the bones of Lord Buddha were kept. Therefore, it is assumed that there was a chaity in Raidh where the bones of Lord Buddha were kept. A fragment 7 centimeters in height was found from this place which appears to be the foot of a goddess statue.
Next to this idol, a statue of a headless devotee holding a garland has been found. It is of the Shunga period. Perforated clay vessels have been found from Raidh. These are Buddhist characters from the Shunga period. It is speculated that these Buddhist vessels were not made in Raidh but came from outside. Such vessels have also been found in the excavations at Bairat. These vessels may have been brought to Raidh from there.
Sambhar
Handley in his article ‘Buddhist Remains Near Sambhar’ concludes that the mound of Naliasar near Sambhar was a Buddhist site but Dayaram Sahni’s discovery proved that it was a Brahmin site. The theory of the revival of Vedic religion in the second century BC is evidenced by a clay seal. Sacrificial materials have also been found here.
Bactrian Monuments and Statues
At the time when Magadha was ruled by the Shunga dynasty, Demetrius, the ruler of Bactria, invaded western India and took over quite a large area. His son Minendra or Menendra extended his kingdom from Gandhara to Mathura. Some of his coins depict a camel, indicating his dominion over Rajasthan.
A quotation which occurs spontaneously in Patanjali's Grammar shows that Madhyamika (a town 8 miles from Chittor) has just been taken over by a Greek. This ruler is presumed to be Demetrius or Minander. Demetrius and Minander conquered Rajputana, Kathiawar and Sindh. A Buddhist monk named Nagasena initiated Minendar into Buddhism. In Buddhist texts he is called Milinda. His reign ended in 160 B.C. to 140 BC. is considered to be up to.
Minendar became the patron saint of the Buddhists. He built many Buddhist monasteries, stupas and monasteries. In old age he lived like a Buddhist monk and attained the rank of Arhat. The weak successors of Minender in 50 B.C. ruled Indian territories till. Eventually the Shakas established control over their kingdom.