Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c14.s1: 3. Bhārhut Label Inscriptions
Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c14.s1
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3. Bhārhut Label Inscriptions
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| Location | Bhārhut, Satna Dist., MP (now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta) |
| Script | Brāhmī of the Śuṅga period |
| Language | Central-western epigraphic Prakrit (prose) |
| Type and format | Label inscriptions, on a stone railing pillar from the south-east quadrant of the Buddhist *stūpa* |
| Purpose | Explanatory labels for the accompanying sculptured scene |
| Date | None given; ca. second century B.C. |
| References | Lüders, *Bhārhut Inscriptions* (CII 2.2), nos. B 32–4, pp. 105–9 + plates XIX and XXXVIII; B. Barua and K. G. Sinha, *Barhut Inscriptions*, nos. II.5a–c, pp. 59–61. |
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Text
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Inscription A (below the sculptured medallion)
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jetavana anādhapeḍiko deti kotisaṃthatena ketā
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Inscription B (on the left rim of the medallion)
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ko[saba]k[ū]ṭi
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Inscription C (on the upper rim of the medallion)
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gadhakuṭi
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Inscription A
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Anādhapedika (Anāthapiṇḍika) gives the Jetavana after buying (it) with a layer of crores.
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Inscription B
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The hut of the Kosabas (Kauśāmbas).
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Inscription C
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The perfumed hut.
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FIGURE 13. Bhārhut label inscriptions. From H. Lüders, CII II.2, pl. XXXVIII; copyright, Archaeological Survey of India.
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A: Anādhapedika: The subject is the well-known Buddhist legend of the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika who purchased the Jetavana park in Śrāvastī by covering it with a layer of coins and presented it to the Buddhist *saṃgha*. A: "after buying": *ketā* < **krayitvā* = Skt. *krītvā*.