Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s1.t3: 4.1.3 Private donations
Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s1.t3
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4.1.3 Private donations
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Inscriptions recording private donations,¹⁷ usually of a religious character, are very numerous, ranging from simple brief records in Middle Indo-Aryan, Sanskrit, or regional languages, to highly elaborate *praśasti*-style Sanskrit inscriptions. The majority are on stone, though some, mostly image dedications, are on metal. A typical inscription of this type might mention the date (regnal or era); the donor's name, title(s), occupation, and place of residence or origin; the nature of the donation or endowment; its intention or purpose; and the names of the relatives and associates of the donor who are to partake of its benefits.
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¹⁷ See the following specimens in the Appendix: Besnagar pillar ins. (no. 2); Kalawān copper plate ins. (no. 4); Sārnāth umbrella shaft ins. (no. 5); Tiruveṇkāḍu temple ins. (no. 11); Nālandā ins. (no. 12); Pabhosā Jaina ins. (no. 15).
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Beyond these typical features, however, private donative records are highly diverse in content, character, and style. Ornate donative records such as the Mandasor stone inscription of the time of Kumāragupta and Bandhuvarman, recording the construction and subsequent renovation of a Sun temple by the silk weavers' guild (SI I.299–307), may be stylistically almost indistinguishable from royal *praśastis*; in fact, these classes sometimes overlap in that many of the "private" donations involve the relatives, officials, and other associates of kings. Less formal donative records, however, may contain only the basic information of the type outlined previously, or even just the donor's name in the genitive case on a donated object; numerous examples of this class are found among the inscriptions at Buddhist *stūpa* sites such as Sāñcī and Bhārhut.¹⁸
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¹⁸ For example, *Isidatasa dānaṃ* 'Gift of Isidata [Ṛṣidatta]' (Bhārhut A 86, CII 2.2, 47). See also section 4.2.1.3.
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The objects of private donations are in general similar to those of royal donations: tanks, wells, and drinking places; temples or endowments to temples for repairs, maintenance, or daily ritual activities; caves for monastic residences; images of deities; villages or agricultural lands; and so forth. Buddhist donative inscriptions typically record the dedication of *stūpa* structures or reliquaries (fig. 5) and other portable objects (cf. 4.2.1.5). Jaina donative inscriptions on temple walls and images are common, especially in western and southern India in the later centuries.
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FIGURE 5. Silver Buddhist reliquary of Prince Indravarman. Photograph courtesy of the Shumei Culture Foundation.