Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c12.s3.2

c12.s3.2

As is the case with many other branches of Indology, epigraphy provides a solid geographical and chronological groundwork for the historical study of the religious traditions of ancient India. Among the many aspects of the history of religions which can be elucidated by inscriptions are the growth and relative popularity at different times and places of various devotional cults (see, e.g., 7.3.1.2), for which subject Sircar’s *Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India* constitutes a fundamental source of information. Inscriptions also reveal patterns of royal patronage to different religions and sects, providing a framework for their historical developments. The typical pattern is one of multiple patronage, wherein the same ruler may sponsor, for instance, both Brahmanical and Buddhist institutions. It is also common to find different rulers of the same line lending their support to different establishments, according to their personal preferences; the emperor Harṣa, for example, is described in his inscriptions (e.g., Bānskheṛā, EI 4, 208–11) as the descendant of devotees of the Sun (*paramādityabhakta*) but was himself a Śaivite (*paramamāheśvara*) and is known from other sources (mainly the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan Tsang) to have also patronized Buddhism. Similarly, the earlier kings of the Candra dynasty of East Bengal were Buddhists, while their successors Lahaḍacandra and Govindacandra adopted Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva faiths, respectively.³²