In tandem with the revisionist history of the colonial archaeology, this monograph examines the early medieval Buddhist monastic site of Nālandā (a World Heritage Site) through a study of colonial surveys and excavation reports. This is a new edition of an older book (1989) that includes a revised introduction and two new chapters on recently published secondary and primary sources. As Mary L. Stewart lays out in the introduction to Nālandā Mahāvihāra, the goal of this book is to collate Nālandā's historical archaeological literature in order to contextually examine connections between past and present areas of knowledge and technique (p. xxi). She makes a strong case for reexamining the material remains from this site to rewrite its history.
Each of the eleven chapters focuses on a specific theme and/or time period. The first chapter collates eight major claims about the origin, growth, and decline of the monastic establishment of Nālandā. These claims, often reiterated in historiography, are based on an uncritical reading of textual accounts (p. 3) that have become the “received wisdom” (p. 8). Stewart examines the academic trajectory of these claims, their roles in stereotypical representations of Nālandā, and their detrimental effects on the later excavations and overall scholarship of this site. Each of these claims needs to be reevaluated afresh.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 provide the religious, art historical, and literary contexts through an analysis of prominent scholars of Buddhist texts, architecture, and sculpture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Together, these chapters highlight how the study of Buddhism was informed by colonial modes of thinking that placed undue emphasis on the Buddhist texts as the only authentic source for the study of Buddhism and led to the “text-based archaeology.” She enumerates several examples illustrating the treatment of translations of Chinese travel accounts as indisputable facts in the framing of key Buddhist ideas. This method was closely tied to the identity and authority of the scholars, who were either based at European institutions or part of the British colonial state.
Chapters 6 and 7 focus on the early archaeological surveys and explorations between 1812 and 1871. These surveys led to the identification of Bargaon as a Nālandā monastic site and the beginning of the excavations and documentation of its sculptural and architectural remains. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 discuss three phases of excavations and conservations of this site between 1915 and 1938. Stewart highlights the methodological problems with the dating of different layers of excavated structures as well as their structural designs and layouts. These chapters also highlight the colonial conservation policy, which focused on reconstructing the structures with the aim of presenting them as “a neat and tidy ruin” (p. 150). In doing so, the Archaeological Survey of India excavators were guided by the Chinese travel accounts and attempted to supplement them with newly discovered inscriptions and sculptures.
Newly added chapters 10 and 11 reassess recent literary translations and archaeological works to suggest new questions and approaches for future study. Chapter 10 reevaluates recent translations of Chinese accounts of Nalanda, which need to be consulted to rethink the colonial framing of Buddhist categories (e.g., vihāra and saṇghārāma) at this site. Chapter 11 problematizes older claims about this site that have been part of a circular loop of knowledge production since the early twentieth century, which can be dismantled by adopting recent archaeological methods for the study of chronologies, structures, inscriptions, and images. For instance, her suggestion to use LiDAR (light detection and ranging) survey and soil sampling may indicate the extent of this site as well as its detailed chronological layers. She suggests moving away from the compartmentalized study of sculptures and other remains and focuses instead on a holistic approach in tandem with other Buddhist sites.
This excellent book intersects the historiography of Nālandā with the history of archaeology of Buddhism. Scholars often have difficulty accessing all the materials, including photographs and drawings, of a site like Nālandā, as materials from this site are scattered in collections in South Asia and the United Kingdom. Stewart meticulously brings all of these materials together. Almost every chapter has images that highlight the material wealth of this site, making the book a wonderful resource for scholars. Besides crediting the excavators of this site for either raising important questions about the interreligious dynamics or partially moving away from the text-driven archaeology, Stewart accentuates the potential of archaeological and epigraphical sources to delineate their own interpretation of Nālandā's significant past. This book is a valuable contribution to the study of Nālandā and Buddhist archaeology and will appeal to the scholars of Buddhist material culture.
