Ancient meditating mystic, 1,000-year- old, to rest in Gujarat's Vadnagar museum

AHMEDABAD: An extraordinary archaeological discovery that has captivated scientists and locals alike — millennia-old skeletal remains of an ascetic, found in a meditative posture — has finally found a home at the Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum after intense debate over their fate.The remains, excavated in 2019 and believed to date back to the 10th century, represent one of only four known examples in India of ancient burials depicting the Dhyan Mudra meditation pose. According to the ASI website, three such examples were reported earlier from Balathal in Rajasthan, Tripuri in Madhya Pradesh, and Adam in Maharashtra.The skeleton, discovered in a seated cross-legged position with the right hand placed on the lap and the left hand raised to chest level, sparked both scientific interest and local reverence.After over five months of persistent campaigning by Vadnagar residents and a tug-of-war between the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Gujarat govt's Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, the remains were finally transferred to the museum on Thursday.Dr Y S Rawat, director general of ASI, confirmed to TOI that the skeletal remains reached the museum safely after consultation with local authorities. Pankaj Sharma, Director of the Archaeology and Museums of the state govt, did not respond to multiple calls and messages to get perspective."During the excavation at the south-western side of Kotha Ambaji Lake, an extremely rare type of burial was exposed. It was found on the north-western side of a square platform, identified as a stupa. It belongs to the succeeding deposit as compared to the stupa… The antiquity of this Samadhi burial can be dated back to the 9th or 10th century CE or later, probably when the square memorial stupa was no longer in use," according to the ASI website.TOI earlier reported that the scientists at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) carried out DNA analysis of the skeleton when the man's ancestry was found to be closer to the current population of northern Gujarat.The skeleton's journey into the museum came after a long battle waged by the locals who believed that due respect should be accorded to the 'Baba'. A Vadnagar resident told TOI on condition of anonymity that the finds created a lot of buzz and conversations around its conservation raised hopes of its long-term preservation at the museum."The museum was inaugurated in January this year, but there was no word on the skeleton. While one faction wanted to bury it from the place where it was found, another wanted to send it to the national museum for its historic importance. The locals then started correspondence with top offices and finally managed to ensure that the locally-revered 'Baba' remains in Vadnagar with due respect," said the resident.The ASI officials carefully wrapped the entire structure complete with the skeleton from the ASI camp near Hotel Toran in the town and mounted it on a crane, after which it was shifted to the museum premises about 5 km away. Sources close to the development said that currently, the team will carry out ‘preservation'. The decision on whether it will be part of any of the displays at the experiential museum highlighting the town, which is believed to have existed in the same spot for over 2,200 years, will be taken later, sources said.