Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c3: Contents

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c3

Language: English

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Note on Citation and Bibliographic Form, xxi

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1 *The Scope and Significance of Epigraphy in Indological Studies*, 3

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2.1.1 Writing in traditional India, 7 2.1.2 The antiquity of writing in India of the historical period, 10 2.1.3 Characteristics of Indic writing, 14

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2.2 The Brāhmī Script and Its Derivatives, 17

2.2.1 Geographical and chronological range, 17 2.2.2 The name of the script, 17 2.2.3 The origin of Brāhmī, 19 2.2.4 Characteristics of Brāhmī in the Mauryan period (third century B.C.), 30 2.2.5 The historical development and derivatives of Brāhmī, 31

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2.3 The Kharoṣṭhī Script, 42

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2.3.1 Geographical range, 42

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3 *The Languages of Indic Inscriptions, 72

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3.1 Middle Indo-Aryan ("Prakrit"), 72

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3.1.1 General remarks, 72 3.1.2 The Prakrits of the Aśokan inscriptions, 73 3.1.3 Other inscriptions of the Mauryan era, 76 3.1.4 Later inscriptional Prakrits, 76 3.1.5 Literary Middle Indo-Aryan in inscriptions, 80

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3.2 Mixed or "Hybrid" Dialects, 81

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3.2.1 The character of "Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit" (EHS), 81 3.2.2 Geographical and chronological distribution of EHS, 82 3.2.3 The linguistic nature of EHS, 83

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3.3 Sanskrit, 86

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3.3.1 The earliest Sanskrit inscriptions, 86 3.3.2 Early Sanskrit inscriptions from Mathurā, 87 3.3.3 Sanskrit inscriptions from western India in the Kṣatrapa period, 88 3.3.4 Early Sanskrit inscriptions from the Deccan and southern India, 90 3.3.5 Early Sanskrit inscriptions from other regions, 92 3.3.6 The emergence of Sanskrit in the Gupta period, 92 3.3.7 Summary: Historical and cultural factors in the development of Sanskrit as an epigraphic language, 93 3.3.8 Linguistic characteristics of inscriptional Sanskrit, 94

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3.4 The New Indo-Aryan (NIA) Languages, 99

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3.4.1 Marathi, 100 3.4.2 Oriya, 101 3.4.3 Gujarati, 101 3.4.4 Hindi and related languages and dialects, 102 3.4.5 Bengali and other eastern NIA languages, 104 3.4.6 Nepali, 104 3.4.7 Sinhalese, 104

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3.5 Other (Non-Indo-Aryan) Languages in Indian Inscriptions, 105

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3.5.1 Dravidian languages, 105 3.5.2 Islamic languages (Arabic, Persian, Urdu), 106 3.5.3 Other non-Indic languages, 107

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3.6 Bilingual and Multilingual Inscriptions, 109

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4 *Survey of Inscriptions in the Indo-Aryan Languages, 110

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4.1 Typological Survey, 110

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4.1.1 Royal donative and panegyric inscriptions (*praśasti*), 110 4.1.2 Land grant (copper plate) charters, 113 4.1.3 Private donations, 118 4.1.4 Memorial inscriptions, 119 4.1.5 Label inscriptions, 120 4.1.6 Pilgrims' and travelers' records, 121 4.1.7 Cultic inscriptions, 122 4.1.8 Literary inscriptions, 123 4.1.9 Seal inscriptions, 123 4.1.10 Miscellaneous inscriptions, 124

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4.2 Survey by Form and Material, 126

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4.2.1 Stone, 126 4.2.2 Metals, 129 4.2.3 Earthen materials, 130 4.2.4 Wood, 131 4.2.5 Miscellaneous materials, 131

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4.3 General Survey of Inscriptions, 132

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4.3.1 Inscriptions of the Mauryan period (third century B.C.), 133 4.3.2 Inscriptions of the Śuṅga period (ca. second to first centuries B.C.), 141 4.3.3 Inscriptions of the Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian era (ca. second century B.C. to third century A.D.), 142 4.3.4 Inscriptions of the Gupta era (fourth to mid-sixth centuries A.D.), 145 4.3.5 Inscriptions of the post-Gupta or "Medieval" era (mid-seventh to tenth centuries A.D.), 146 4.3.6 Inscriptions of the "Islamic period" (eleventh to eighteenth centuries A.D.), 148 4.3.7 Extra-Indian inscriptions, 150

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5 Methods of Epigraphic Study, 161

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5.1 The Presentation of Inscriptional Texts, 161

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5.1.1 Reproduction of the original inscription, 161 5.1.2 Presentation of the edited text, 162

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5.2 Translation and Interpretation of Inscriptions, 164

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5.3 Authentication of Inscriptions, 165

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5.4 Dating of Inscriptions, 168

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5.4.1 Undated or inadequately dated inscriptions; paleographic dating and problems thereof, 168 5.4.2 Dated inscriptions, 170 5.4.3 Conversion and verification of inscriptional dates, 176

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5.5 Appendix: Eras Used in Indo-Aryan Inscriptions, 180

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5.5.1 Continuous (historical or pseudohistorical) eras, 180 5.5.2 Cyclical (astronomical) eras, 196

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6 The History of Indian Epigraphic Studies, 199

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6.1 The Pioneering Era: Early Readings of Indian Inscriptions (1781–1834), 199

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6.2 The Era of Decipherment (1835–1860), 203

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6.2.1 Decipherment of the early Brāhmī script, 204 6.2.2 Decipherment of the Kharoṣṭhī script, 209 6.2.3 Other developments during the era of decipherment, 215

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6.3 The Period of Maturity (1861–1900), 217 6.4 The Modern Period (1901–1947), 221

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6.5 Indian Epigraphy Since Independence (1947 to the present), 223

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6.6 Future Prospects and Desiderata, 224

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7 *Epigraphy as a Source for the Study of Indian Culture*, 226

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7.1 Epigraphy and History, 226

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7.1.1 Political and dynastic history, 226 7.1.2 Administrative, economic, and social history, 231

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7.2 Epigraphy and the Study of Indian Literature, 232

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7.2.1 Inscriptions as a source for the history of Indian literature, 233 7.2.2 Inscriptional texts as literature, 235

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7.3 Epigraphy and the Study of Religion, 238

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7.3.1 The Brahmanical/Hindu tradition, 239 7.3.2 Buddhism, 241 7.3.3 Jainism and other sects, 243

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7.4 Epigraphy and the Study of the Arts, 244

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7.4.1 The visual arts, 244 7.4.2 The performing arts, 248

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7.5 Epigraphy and Linguistics, 248

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7.6 Epigraphy and Geography, 249

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7.7 Other Fields, 250

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8 *Bibliographic Survey*, 252

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8.1 Primary Sources: Notices and Editions of Inscriptions, 252

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8.1.1 Periodicals, 252 8.1.2 Epigraphic serial publications, 254 8.1.3 Anthologies of inscriptions, 255 8.1.4 Separate monographs, 257

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8.2 Secondary Sources: Handbooks and Reference Works, 257

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8.2.1 Handbooks of epigraphy and paleography, 257 8.2.2 Reference works, bibliographies, and lists, 259 8.2.3 Miscellaneous studies and collections, 260

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Appendix: Selection of Typical Inscriptions*, 262

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1. Rummindeī minor pillar edict of Aśoka, 262
2. Besnagar pillar inscription of Hēliodōros, 265
3. Bhārhut label inscriptions, 267
4. Kalawān copper plate inscription, 267
5. Sārnāth umbrella shaft inscription of the time of Kaniṣka, 270 6. Niya (central Asian) Kharoṣṭhī document, 272
7. Kahāuṃ pillar inscription of the time of Skandagupta, 273
8. Lakkhā Maṇḍal *praśasti*, 275
9. Văt Ph'u stone inscription of Jayavarman [I], 280
10. Baroda copper plate inscription of Rāṣṭrakūṭa Karkkarāja [II], 283
11. Tiruveṅkāḍu temple inscription, 295
12. Nālandā inscription of Vipulaśrīmitra, 297
13. Pilgrim inscription on the Kosam pillar, 302
14. Burhānpūr inscription of Edala-Śāha (Ādil Shāh), 304
15. Pabhosā Jaina inscription, 307