Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2: 4.2 Survey by Form and Material

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2

Language
English

Contents

4.2 Survey by Form and Material

c9.s2.1

D. B. Diskalkar, *Materials Used for Indian Epigraphical Records*; SIE 61–82; IGI II.24–49; BIP 92–8; PIP 67–87; BPLM 142–58; IC I.157; A. V. Naik, “Inscriptions of the Deccan,” 1–13; SITI III.2, 213–29; SAI 308–13.

4.2.1 Stone

c9.s2.t1.1

By far the commonest materials used for Indic inscriptions are stone surfaces of various types. In general, softer varieties of fine-grained stones are preferred; frequently used types include sandstone, basalt, slate, trap, and steatite. Inscribed stone objects comprise a wide variety of forms, which may be summarized as follows.

c9.s2.t1.2

4.2.1.1 Slabs

c9.s2.t1.3

Some inscriptions, particularly from the earlier periods, are inscribed directly onto rough stones with little or no preparation of the surface. Such is the case, for instance, with the Aśokan rock inscriptions. More commonly, however, the rock surface is subjected to varying degrees of preparation involving smoothing and polishing of the area to be inscribed. Later and more elaborate stone inscriptions, especially those of the *praśasti* class (see 4.1.1), are typically inscribed on rectangular stone slabs, sometimes very large, which were previously cut to size and carefully polished. Such slabs would usually be built in the walls or other parts of temples, palaces, and other structures. Long inscriptions, especially those of literary content (4.1.8), could be inscribed on a series of slabs (as many as twenty-five in the case of the *Rājapraśasti* at Udaypur). Stone slab inscriptions may also serve devotional purposes, as in the inscribed and sculpted slabs (*āyāgapaṭas*) of the Buddhists and Jains, or the inscribed footprint slabs of gods or revered personages (see 4.1.10).

c9.s2.t1.4

4.2.1.2 Freestanding pillars and steles

c9.s2.t1.5

Early examples of inscribed columns include the Aśokan pillars and the Besnagar pillar of Hēliodōros (see Appendix, no. 2). Later pillar inscriptions may be panegyric, donative, devotional, or memorial in function (4.1.1 and 4.1.4). *Yūpas* or sacri- FIGURE 8. Dhār (Mahākāleśvara Temple) *sarpabandha* inscription. From CII 7.2, pl. XXVII; copyright, Archaeological Survey of India.

c9.s2.t1.7

ficial pillars commemorating the performance of Vedic sacrifices are common in the early centuries of the Christian era.⁴¹

c9.s2.t1.8

⁴¹ See B. Ch. Chhabra, “Yūpa Inscriptions,” in *India Antiqua: A Volume of Oriental Studies Presented by His Friends and Pupils to Jean Philippe Vogel, C.I.E.* (Leyden: E. J. Brill, 1947), 77–82; see also section 7.3.1.1.

c9.s2.t1.9

Inscribed steles or freestanding upright stones are most commonly seen in India proper in the form of hero- or *satī*-stones from western and southern India (4.1.4). Stele inscriptions in general are much more prevalent in Cambodia (4.3.7.7) and other parts of Southeast Asia, where they are the usual material for stone inscriptions.

c9.s2.t1.10

4.2.1.3 Structural elements

c9.s2.t1.11

From the earliest times inscriptions, usually of a dedicatory character, were commonly engraved on the walls, facades, columns, pillars, pilasters, railings, gates, doorways, and other parts (including even floors and ceilings) of stone structures such as excavated caves, *stūpas*, temples, palaces, and wells.⁴² The cave temples of western India and the *stūpas* of central India such as Sāñcī and Bhārhut, for example, bear hundreds of dedicatory and explicatory inscriptions (4.1.3 and 4.1.5). In later centuries many temples, especially Jaina temples in western India and Hindu temples in the south, were heavily inscribed on their walls and pillars with inscriptions recording dedications and endowments.

c9.s2.t1.12

⁴² Cf. Naik, “Inscriptions of the Deccan,” 4.

c9.s2.t1.13

4.2.1.4 Images and statuary

c9.s2.t1.14

Stone sculptures, most commonly images of deities and other religious figures but also sometimes portraits of royal and other secular personages, are often inscribed, usually by way of recording the donor of the images and/or identifying the portrait (4.1.5). In some early examples the inscription is written on the object itself, as in the case of the Patna *yakṣa* inscription (SI I.93–4), carved on the shoulder of the statue. In the case of Buddhist images, the inscription may be written on the halo around the deity’s head, as in the “Aśo-raya” inscription (JRAS 1982, 142–3 and 149–50). In later examples, however, the usual practice was to record the donation on the pedestal of the statue; such pedestal inscriptions are common in the Brahmanical, Buddhist, and especially the Jaina traditions.

c9.s2.t1.15

4.2.1.5 Portable objects

c9.s2.t1.16

Inscriptions on smaller, portable stone objects are also common, particularly among the Buddhists. Inscribed stone reliquaries for bodily relics of the Buddha and other venerables are common in the earlier centuries. Stone bowls are also occasionally inscribed (e.g., Kailwan, EI 31, 229–31; Termez, *Vestnik Drevnei Istorii* 1974.1, 117–22), as are other miscellaneous items such as lamps (e.g., Utmanzai, EI 23, 289) and weights.⁴³

c9.s2.t1.17

⁴³ Diskalkar, *Materials*, 28. See also Stanislaw J. Czuma, *Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India* (Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1985), 163–4.

4.2.2 Metals

c9.s2.t2.1

4.2.2.1 Copper

c9.s2.t2.2

Copper, by far the most common metal used for inscriptions in India, is second only to stone in overall frequency. The great majority of inscriptions on copper are copper plate land grant charters, which number in the thousands (4.1.2). Though far less common, other types of inscriptions on copper are also known, especially Buddhist records on such copper objects as dedicatory tablets,⁴⁴ relic caskets,⁴⁵ ladles,⁴⁶ seals,⁴⁷ and bells.⁴⁸

c9.s2.t2.3

⁴⁴ E.g., Sui Vihār, CII 2.1, 138–41, and Kara, EI 22, 37–9.

c9.s2.t2.4

⁴⁵ E.g., Kurram, CII 2.1, 152–5.

c9.s2.t2.5

⁴⁶ E.g., Taxila and Bedadi, CII 2.1, 87–9.

c9.s2.t2.6

⁴⁷ Taxila, CII 2.1, 100–1, nos. 4–9 and 11; see also Thaplyal, *Studies in Ancient Indian Seals*, 3 and n. 3.

c9.s2.t2.7

⁴⁸ Cambā; B. Ch. Chhabra, *Antiquities of Chamba State* II.175–6.

c9.s2.t2.8

4.2.2.2 Bronze

c9.s2.t2.9

Inscriptions on bronze are also fairly common, though much less so than on copper. The most common types of bronze inscriptions are those on religious images, recording dedicatory and/or devotional messages on the pedestals (e.g., the Ākoṭa Jaina bronzes, ARIE 1952–53, nos. B.16–48), and on seals. The latter are most commonly found attached to copper plate charters (see 4.1.2), although separate bronze seals are also known.⁴⁹ The Sohgaurā plaque, though often referred to as "copper," is actually of bronze (SIE 79) and is hence the earliest specimen of an inscription in that metal. Other inscribed objects, notably Buddhist relic caskets, are also sometimes of bronze (e.g., Wardak, CII 2.1, 165–70).

c9.s2.t2.10

⁴⁹ See Thaplyal, *Studies in Ancient Indian Seals*, 3 and n. 4.

c9.s2.t2.11

4.2.2.3 Brass

c9.s2.t2.12

Inscriptions on brass and similar alloys are found most commonly on sculptured images (especially Jaina ones, according to Diskalkar).⁵⁰ A few inscribed Brahmanical brass images of about the eighth century have been published.⁵¹ Occasionally inscriptions are found on other brass objects, such as a seal (Kosambi, ASIR 10, 4) or trident (Uttarkāśī, *New Indian Antiquary* 3, 34–6). Inscribed masks of royal or divine figures made of brass or similar alloys are sometimes found in the Himalayan regions, for instance, the *aṣṭadhātu* mask from Nirmaṇḍ (*Acta Orientalia* 1, 230–4) and the "Court Mask" (JA 279, 137–74).

c9.s2.t2.13

⁵⁰ *Materials*, 33; cf. Ojhā, BPLM 154.

c9.s2.t2.14

⁵¹ See J. Ph. Vogel, ASIAR 1902–3 ("Inscriptions of Chamba State"), 240–4.

c9.s2.t2.15

4.2.2.4 Iron

c9.s2.t2.16

Inscriptions on iron are rare, the only important specimen being the inscription of King Candra (= Candragupta II?) on the iron pillar at Meharauli (CII 3, 139–42). An iron object, believed to be a branding iron, with the Brāhmī letters *jaya* in reverse was found at Nālandā (JBORS 23, 128–9). In later times, iron weapons such as cannons were sometimes inscribed, most commonly in NIA or Islamic languages but sometimes also in Sanskrit (e.g., Ajaygaṛh, ARIE 1969–70, no. B.203).

c9.s2.t2.17

4.2.2.5 Gold

c9.s2.t2.18

Inscriptions, usually Buddhist dedicatory, votive, or ritual records, are sometimes found on gold. Among these are Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions on a gold plate and on two rings from Taxila (CII 2.1, 83–6, 100, nos. 1 and 2), as well as the recently discovered Senavarma gold plaque inscription (IIJ 29, 261–93). Another newly found Kharoṣṭhī reliquary has letters inset with gold on a schist reliquary box (Utarā ins., IIJ 31, 169–77). Buddhist canonical texts were written on gold leaves in several Buddhist countries, including Burma (4.3.7.5), Sri Lanka (4.1.7), and Indonesia (4.1.7; 4.3.7.11). Gold bars with Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions have been found in Uzbekistan (4.3.7.4).

c9.s2.t2.19

4.2.2.6 Silver

c9.s2.t2.20

As with gold, most inscriptions on silver are Buddhist Kharoṣṭhī records. Inscriptions of this class published in CII 2.1 include a scroll (70–7), vase (81–2), cups (97–8), plates (98–9), and a sieve (99), all from Taxila, and a disk (151) from Māṇikiāla. An inscribed silver scroll was also found at Bhaṭṭiproḷu (Lüders, *Philologica Indica*, 223). According to Ojhā (BPLM 152 and n. 4), inscribed silver plates and other objects can also be found in Jaina temples.

c9.s2.t2.21

4.2.2.7

c9.s2.t2.22

4.2.3.2 Bricks

c9.s2.t2.23

Bricks with passages from canonical texts or *dhāraṇīs* have been found at several Buddhist sites (e.g., Nālandā; 4.1.7). Brahmanical inscriptions recording Vedic sacrifices such as the *aśvamedha* are sometimes found on bricks which were presumed to

c9.s2.t2.24

4.2.5.3 Carnelian

c9.s2.t2.25

A few inscribed carnelian seals are known, for example, the Paris carnelian (CII 2.1, 7) and the Perak (Malaysia) seal of Viṣṇuvarman (Chhabra, *Expansion of Indo-Aryan Culture*, 35–6).⁶¹

c9.s2.t2.26

4.2.5.4 Ivory and bone

c9.s2.t2.27

Ivory and bone seals with Brāhmī inscriptions have been found at several sites, such as Bhīṭā (ASIAR 1911–12, 48), Rupar (IAAR 1953, 123), Kauśāmbī (IAAR 1958, 76), Besnagar ( "Survey of the Inscriptions" in the *Encyclopaedia Britannica*, 11th ed. (1910–11), vol. 14, 623–5 (through the sixth century A.D. only).

4.3.1 Inscriptions of the Mauryan period (third century B.C.)

c9.s2.t3.1

4.3.1.1 Inscriptions of Aśoka

c9.s2.t3.2

E. Hultzsch's edition of the Aśokan inscriptions in CII 1 is still the standard reference source, though out of date in several respects, especially in that it does not include inscriptions discovered since its publication in 1925 (Erraguḍi, Bombay-Sopārā, Amarāvatī, Sannati, ten versions of the minor rock edicts, and the Greek and Aramaic inscriptions). J. Bloch's *Les Inscriptions d'Asoka* (1950) is a convenient and reliable shorter text and translation edition, but it is also seriously outdated. Older editions such as those of É. Senart (*Les Inscriptions de Piyadassi*, 1881) and A. C. Woolner (*Aśoka Text and Glossary*, 1924) are superseded by the more recent ones. The new discoveries up to 1979 are presented in D. C. Sircar's *Aśokan Studies*. A new complete edition of the Aśokan inscriptions is an urgent desideratum (cf. 6.6).

c9.s2.t3.3

There are many other general editions and translations of the Aśokan edicts, too numerous to mention here. Among the abundant translations into English and many other languages, D. C. Sircar's *Inscriptions of Aśoka* (1967) is worthy of note as a reliable semipopular edition.

c9.s2.t3.4

Bibliographical information is provided in M. A. Mehendale's *Aśokan Inscriptions in India* (1948), 60–99; in F. R. Allchin and K. R. Norman's "Guide to the Aśokan Inscriptions" (*South Asian Studies* 1, 1985, 43–50); and in the bibliographic supplement (732–5) to the English edition of É. Lamotte's *History of Indian Buddhism from the Origins to the Śaka Era* (1988). The last two provide references to many of the new discoveries, except for the most recent ones (see 4.3.1.1.1).

c9.s2.t3.5

Several more recent books and monographs have concentrated on detailed critical editions of particular subgroups, by type or by location, within the Aśokan corpus. These include L. Alsdorf's *Aśokas Separatedikte von Dhauli und Jaugaḍa* (1962), U. Schneider's *Die Grossen Felsen-Edikte Aśokas* (1978), P. K. Andersen's *Studies in the Minor Rock Edicts of Aśoka*. Vol. 1: *Critical Edition* (1990), and U. Niklas' *Die Editionen der Aśoka-Inschriften von Erraguḍi* (1990).

c9.s2.t3.6

Articles on particular inscriptions or linguistic, textual, and historical aspects of the Aśokan records are far too numerous to list here comprehensively. Worthy of note among the more recent works are those of Ludwig Alsdorf, Collette Caillat, Klaus Janert, K. R. Norman, Ulrich Schneider, and D. C. Sircar; partial listings can be found in the bibliographic sources noted here, although no complete and up-to-date bibliography exists. The articles of some of these authors are conveniently available in collections of their articles such as Sircar's *Aśokan Studies*, Alsdorf's *Kleine Schriften*, and, especially, Norman's *Collected Papers*.

c9.s2.t3.7

The inscriptions of Aśoka, the great Mauryan emperor and patron of Buddhism who ruled ca. 272–232 B.C., are the best-known and most widely studied Indian inscriptions. But they are also highly untypical in several respects, first of all in their pattern of distribution, with the same or similar texts duplicated in widely scattered parts Some Major Epigraphic Sites [Figure: Map 3 Location of Aśokan Inscriptions]

c9.s2.t3.9

of the country. Their style and content are also unusual, for the most part involving proclamations of the emperor's moral and religious sentiments as expressed personally by him in the first person. Despite having been intensively studied for over a century and a half, the Aśokan inscriptions remain problematic in several respects, and many points of interpretation are still controversial.

c9.s2.t3.10

The Aśokan inscriptions are written in various MIA dialects which are referred to collectively as the "Aśokan Prakrits." The principal dialect is the eastern, which evidently represents the imperial language of the Mauryan dynasty and its capital at Pāṭaliputra (modern Patna, Bihar). All of the pillar edicts and several of the rock edicts are in this language. Other rock inscriptions, however, are written in the western (notably Girnār) and northwestern ("Gāndhārī"; Shāhbāzgaṛhī and Mānsehrā) dialects.⁶⁶

c9.s2.t3.11

⁶⁶ For details see section 3.1.2.

c9.s2.t3.12

With the exception of the northwestern rock edicts (and those in non-Indian languages, i.e., Greek and Aramaic; see 4.3.7.3), all of the Aśokan inscriptions are written in the earliest attested form of the Brāhmī script. Only the Shāhbāzgaṛhī and Mānsehrā rock inscriptions are in Kharoṣṭhī.⁶⁷

c9.s2.t3.13

⁶⁷ There is, however, one word, *lipikareṇa*, 'by the scribe', written in Kharoṣṭhī in the scribe's signature appended to the minor rock edicts (otherwise in Brāhmī) at Brahmagiri, Śiddāpura, and Jaṭiṅga-Rāmeśvara.

c9.s2.t3.14

The Aśokan inscriptions are the earliest Indian epigraphs which can be dated with any certainty, if not the absolutely earliest ones.⁶⁸ The inscriptions are dated in the regnal years of Aśoka, ranging from the eighth (rock edict XIII) to the twenty-seventh (pillar edict VII, Delhi-Toprā). These regnal dates can be correlated to absolute years, that is, approximately 264–245 B.C., from various external sources, mainly by the references by name to five contemporaneous Greek kings (*yonarāja*) in rock edict XIII.

c9.s2.t3.15

⁶⁸ See also sections 2.1.2 and 4.3.1.2.

c9.s2.t3.16

The inscriptions of Aśoka are divided into two main groups, rock edicts and pillar edicts. The former group is further subclassified into (major) rock edicts (including the separate rock edicts), minor rock edicts, and cave inscriptions; the latter into (major) pillar edicts and minor pillar edicts. The minor rock edicts were apparently the earliest group, followed by the (major) rock edicts, while the pillar edicts were the last to be promulgated.

c9.s2.t3.17

*4.3.1.1.1 Major rock edicts.* The major rock edicts consist of a set of fourteen proclamations inscribed on rocks at the following sites (arranged from north to south):

c9.s2.t3.18

1. Shāhbāzgaṛhī (Peshawar Dist., NWFP, Pakistan)
2. Mānsehrā (Hazara Dist., NWFP, Pakistan)
3. Kālsī (Dehra Dun Dist., UP)
4. Girnār (Junagadh Dist., Gujarat) (fig. 9)
5. Bombay-Sopārā (Thana Dist., Maharashtra; now in Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay. Only two fragments of edicts VIII and IX.)
6. Erraguḍi (Kurnool Dist., AP)

c9.s2.t3.19

The rock edicts are concerned with such matters as the protection of animal life by decreasing the number of creatures killed in the royal kitchen (I); the provision by the king of public works such as medical clinics and tree planting (II); the promotion of public morality (III, IV, VII, XI, etc.); and respect for rival sects (*pāṣaṇḍa*, XII). Of special interest is edict XIII, by far the longest of the group, in which Aśoka expresses his regrets for the enormous loss of life and other suffering inflicted in the course of his conquest of Kaliṅga.

c9.s2.t3.20

FIGURE 9. Girnār (Junāgaḍh) rock with the Aśokan rock edicts and the inscriptions of Rudradāman and Skandagupta. From E. J. Rapson, *Ancient India from the Earliest Times to the First Century A.D.* (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1916), pl. I; reprinted with permission of Cambridge University Press.

c9.s2.t3.21

Two further sets of rock edicts from the Kaliṅga territory contain edicts I–X and XIV, but in place of XI–XIII have two “separate rock edicts”:

c9.s2.t3.22

7. Jaugaḍa (Ganjam Dist., Orissa)
8. Dhauli (Puri Dist., Orissa)

c9.s2.t3.23

The two separate edicts at Jaugaḍa and Dhauli contain exhortations to the royal officers (*mahāmātra*) at Samāpā and Tosalī, respectively, to respect and enforce the king’s wishes. Finally, a recently discovered stone slab containing fragments of the so-called Kaliṅga edicts XII and XIV and of separate edicts I and II has been found outside of the Kaliṅga region:

c9.s2.t3.24

9. Sannati (Gulbarga Dist., Karnataka)

c9.s2.t3.25

*4.3.1.1.2 Minor rock edicts.* The minor rock edicts are now known from seventeen sites (arranged from north to south):

c9.s2.t3.26

1. New Delhi (also referred to as Amar Colony or Bahapur; Delhi Union Territory)
2. Bairāṭ (Jaipur Dist., Rajasthan)
3. Gujjarā (Datia Dist., MP)
4. Sahasrām (Rohtas [formerly Shahabad] Dist., Bihar)
5. Ahraurā (Mirzapur Dist., UP)
6. Rūpnāth (Jabalpur Dist., MP)
7. Pāṅguṛāriā (Sehore Dist., MP)
8. Maski (Raichur Dist., Karnataka)
9. Gavīmaṭh (Raichur Dist., Karnataka)
10. Pālkīguṇḍu (Raichur Dist., Karnataka)
11. Niṭṭūr (Bellary Dist., Karnataka)
12. Uḍegoḷam (Bellary Dist., Karnataka)
13. Rājula-Maṇḍagiri (Kurnool Dist., AP)
14. Erraguḍi (Kurnool Dist., AP)
15. Brahmagiri (Chitradurga Dist., Karnataka)
16. Śiddāpura (Chitradurga Dist., Karnataka)
17. Jaṭiṅga-Rāmeśvara (Chitradurga Dist., Karnataka)

c9.s2.t3.27

The first ten of these sites contain the text of minor rock edict I only, which describes Aśoka's increased religious zeal and exhorts his subjects to pursue similar goals. Numbers 11–17 also include minor rock edict II (in varying forms), recommending respectful behavior toward parents, elders, and teachers. Several of the minor rock edicts are recent discoveries, the newest among them being Ahraurā (1961), New Delhi (1966), Pāṅguṛāriā (1976), and Niṭṭūr and Uḍegoḷam (1977).

c9.s2.t3.28

An individual rock edict, known only in one copy, was also found at Bairāṭ and is now in the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.⁶⁹ It is addressed directly to the Buddhist community (*saṃgha*) and recommends seven texts for their study (see 7.3.2.2).

c9.s2.t3.29

⁶⁹ This inscription is sometimes referred to by other names such as Calcutta-Bairāṭ, Bhābrā, Bhairāṭ-Bhābrā, minor rock edict III, etc.

c9.s2.t3.30

Three cave inscriptions in the Barābar hills (Gaya Dist., Bihar) record the gift of the caves to the Ājīvikas by a King Piyadasī, who is presumably Aśoka.

c9.s2.t3.31

*4.3.1.1.3 Pillar edicts.* The pillar edicts comprise a basic set of six edicts preserved on Mauryan sandstone pillars in six places:⁷⁰

c9.s2.t3.32

⁷⁰ In addition, there has recently come to light a small fragment from somewhere in northern Pakistan of what seems to be Aśokan pillar edict VI; see K. R. Norman, *South Asian Studies* 4, 1988, 100–2. There is, however, considerable doubt as to its authenticity (op. cit., 101 n. 6).

c9.s2.t3.33

1. Delhi-Toprā⁷¹
2. Delhi-Mīraṭh⁷²
3. Lauṛiyā-Ararāj (East Champaran Dist., Bihar)
4. Lauṛiyā-Nandangaṛh (West Champaran Dist., Bihar) (fig. 10)
5. Rāmpurvā (West Champaran Dist., Bihar)
6. Allahabad-Kosam.⁷³

c9.s2.t3.34

⁷¹ The pillar was originally in Toprā, Ambala Dist., Haryana, but was brought to Delhi by Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq in or around A.D. 1368 and installed in his fort there.

c9.s2.t3.35

⁷² The pillar was originally in Mīraṭh (Meerut), Mirath Dist., UP, but was also transported to Delhi by Fīrūz Shāh and erected there on The Ridge.

c9.s2.t3.36

⁷³ The pillar is now in the fort at Allahabad but is generally believed to have been brought there from Kosam (Kauśāmbī), Allahabad Dist., UP.

c9.s2.t3.37

FIGURE 10. Lauṛiyā-Nandangaṛh Aśokan pillar. Photograph courtesy of Frederick Asher.

c9.s2.t3.38

The six basic pillar edicts, which unlike the rock edicts show only minor textual and dialectal

c9.s2.t3.39

4.3.1.1.4 *Minor pillar edicts.* Two of the minor pillar edicts, at

c9.s2.t3.40

1. Sāñcī
2. Sārnāth

c9.s2.t3.41

contain similar but more extensive texts on the banishment of schismatics. The latter adds a note on Two short inscriptions from the Sītābeṅgā and Jogīmāṟā caves on the Rāmgaṛh hill (ASIAR 1903–4, 123–31) are estimated on paleographic grounds to belong to about the third century b.c. The Jogīmāṟā inscription is particularly interesting both for its language, being the only pure epigraphic specimen of Māgadhī (see 3.1.3) and for its unusual content (4.1.10), recording the love of one Devadina for Śutanukā, a temple prostitute (*devadaśikyi*).⁷⁵

c9.s2.t3.42

⁷⁵ Several other early Brāhmī inscriptions, such as Deoṭek (V. V. Mirashi, *Studies in Indology* I.109–17) and Barḷī (K. P. Jayaswal, JBORS 16, 1930, 67–8) have been attributed by some scholars to the Mauryan, or even the pre-Mauryan period. But more cautious scholars are generally inclined to attribute these records to the Śuṅga period on the grounds of paleographic features which are slightly more advanced than Aśokan Brāhmī.

4.3.2 Inscriptions of the Śuṅga period (ca. second to first centuries B.C.)

c9.s2.t4.2

During the so-called Śuṅga period⁷⁶ inscriptions become somewhat more common, though the overall number of sites is still relatively small. Most records of this time are short Brāhmī inscriptions in Prakrit from northern and central India, though there are also a few from the east and south.

c9.s2.t4.3

⁷⁶ This name (like some others in this chapter) is merely a term of convenience, referring to the best-known but by no means the only dynasty ruling in this period.

c9.s2.t4.4

One of the most important of the early Śuṅga inscriptions is the Besnagar pillar inscription (Appendix, no. 2), recording the erection of a *garuḍa-dhvaja* by one *Heliodora* (i.e., Hēliodōros), who was the Greek ambassador (*yonadūta*) from King Aṃtalikita (i.e., Antialkidas) to King Kāśīputra Bhāgabhadra, presumably a Śuṅga ruler.

c9.s2.t4.5

The Buddhist *stūpa* site of Bhārhut has yielded some 225 inscriptions,⁷⁷ of which 141 are donative in nature while the remaining 84 are labels describing the accompanying sculptural representations of *jātakas*, *avadānas*, and so on (cf. 4.1.5). A Bhārhut pillar inscription (CII 2.2, 11–12) recording the donation of a gateway (*toraṇa*) “during the reign of the Śuṅgas” (*suganaṃ raje*) provides the only epigraphic attestation of the dynastic name *Śuṅga*.

c9.s2.t4.6

⁷⁷ Lüders published 218 Bhārhut inscriptions in CII 2.2, and 7 additional records now in the Allahabad Museum were added by Sircar in EI 33, 57–60. The original site of Bhārhut has been dismantled, and the relics and inscriptions found there are scattered in various collections, the largest number being in the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

c9.s2.t4.7

A similar corpus from approximately the same period consisting of 842 mostly donative inscriptions is found at the *stūpa* site of Sāñcī.

c9.s2.t4.8

Among the several other records of this period from northern and central India are the earliest known inscriptions in Sanskrit (see 3.3.1). These are the Ghosuṇḍī (SI I.90–1) and Hāthībāḍā (EI 22, 198–205) stone inscriptions of about the first century b.c. and the Ayodhyā stone inscription (SI I.94–5), which is probably slightly later.

c9.s2.t4.9

Among the recent discoveries in northern India from this period is the Reh stone *liṅga* inscription, attributed by G. R. Sharma (*The Reh Inscription of Menander*) to the Indo-Greek king Menander, though as shown by B. N. Mukherjee (JAIH 12, 1978–79, 150–5) this attribution is unjustified. Also worthy of note is the Pratāpgaṛh stone pillar inscription (EI 39, 79–80) recording the erection of the pillar by a *bhāgavata* Utararakhita (Uttararakṣita). Excavations at Pauni have yielded a few dozen Buddhist donative and label inscriptions similar to those from Sāñcī and Bhārhut (S. B. Deo and J. P. Joshi, *Pauni Excavation*). Other recent finds include an umbrella shaft inscription from Pāṅgurāriā (EI 40, 119–20) and the Sūryamitra stone inscription in the National Museum, Delhi (EI 40, 165–7).

c9.s2.t4.10

From eastern India, the most important inscription of the Śuṅga period is the Hāthīgumphā inscription of Khāravela (SI I.213–21), which records the dedication of residential caves to Jaina monks and contains a detailed, year-by-year account of Khāravela’s exploits. The Hāthīgumphā inscription is poorly preserved, so that its readings, translation, and historical interpretation by different scholars vary widely, and it is not possible to establish a single standard version (cf. 5.2). Some further light has been shed on the history of Khāravela’s little-known Mahāmeghavāhana dynasty by a new inscription duplicated on four different pillars from Guṇṭupalli (JESI 5, 49–51), mentioning a King Siri Sada (= Śrī-śāta?) who may have been a successor of Khāravela.⁷⁸

c9.s2.t4.11

⁷⁸ Several other significant inscriptions of later centuries were also found at Guṇṭupalli; see JESI 5, 51–9, and I. K. Sarma, *Studies in Early Buddhist Monuments and Brāhmī Inscriptions of Āndhradēśa*, ch. 3.

c9.s2.t4.12

An important epigraphic site of the Śuṅga period in southern India is the *stūpa* at Bhaṭṭiprōḷu (Krishna Dist., AP), which yielded ten short Buddhist relic dedications (SI I.224–8). These inscriptions are of particular interest for their dialectal and especially their paleographic peculiarities, including the use of a diacritic mark to indicate postconsonantal *a* (see 2.2.5.1). Several early dedicatory *stūpa* inscriptions resembling those from northern India (Bhārhut and Sāñcī) in form, content, and paleography have also been found at Amarāvatī (*Ancient Ceylon* 3, 97–103).

4.3.3 Inscriptions of the Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian era (ca. second century B.C. to third century A.D.)

c9.s2.t5.1

4.3.3.1 Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions from the northwest

c9.s2.t5.2

During the period of the domination by a series of foreign rulers including the Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, and Kuṣāṇas, a large number of inscriptions in Kharoṣṭhī script and Gāndhārī or northwestern Prakrit language were recorded in northwestern India and adjoining areas of modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan (see 2.3.1). The basic source for this material is still Konow’s *Kharoshṭhī Inscriptions* (CII 2.1), which contains ninety-six inscriptions, but this is badly outdated, since many more Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions have been discovered since its publication in 1929, especially in recent years (as discussed later). An up-to-date list and bibliography of Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions are given by G. Fussman in “Gāndhārī écrite, Gāndhārī parlée,” 444–51 and 488–98.

c9.s2.t5.3

The majority of Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions record Buddhist relic deposits, donations to monasteries, image dedications, and so on. Most are written on stone, though inscriptions on metals (copper, bronze, silver, and gold) and on earthen materials are also known. The Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions are conventionally divided into those of the Indo-Greek and Scytho-Parthian phase (second century B.C. to first century A.D.) and those of the Kuṣāṇa period (first to third centuries A.D.).

c9.s2.t5.4

Among the most important and representative Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions of this period are the Mathurā lion capital inscriptions (CII 2.1, 30–49), recording various donations by the family of the Mahākṣatrapa Rajula to the Sarvāstivādin monks; the Takht-i-Bāhī stone inscription of the time of Gondophernes (CII 2.1, 57–62), which furnishes an important fixed point in the chronology of the Scytho-Parthian period; and the Kurram relic casket inscription (CII 2.1, 152–5), recording the *pratītyasamutpāda* formula in Gāndhārī.

c9.s2.t5.5

A large number of Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions have been discovered and published in recent decades, including several of considerable historical and cultural importance. Among these are the Brussels Buddha image inscription (BEFEO 61, 54–8), which provided a rare instance of a dated Gāndhāran sculpture; the Mathurā pedestal inscription (EI 40, 168–9), one of the few biscript (Kharoṣṭhī and Brāhmī) records (see 2.5.4); the Indravarman relic casket inscription (JAOS 102, 59–68), which proved the existence of an era dating from the ascension of the Scythian king Azes I which can be identified with the “Vikrama” era (see 5.5.1.3); and the Senavarma relic deposit inscription on a gold leaf (IIJ 29, 261–93), which is the longest Kharoṣṭhī record known to date.⁷⁹

c9.s2.t5.6

⁷⁹ Many other Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions, including numerous Buddhist reliquaries from undisclosed sites in Pakistan, have been published in recent years and are continuing to be published by, among others, H. W. Bailey, G. Fussman, B. N. Mukherjee, and R. Salomon in JRAS, BEFEO, JAS, JESI, IIJ, JAOS, and other journals.

c9.s2.t5.7

Recent explorations in the valleys of the Indus River and its tributaries in northern Pakistan have brought to light nearly two hundred short Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions of about the first to third centuries from the Chilas, Alam Bridge, and Hunza-Haldeikish sites.⁸⁰ These and other sites in the Chilas-Gilgit region have also yielded many thousands of inscriptions of various periods, mostly somewhat later, in Brāhmī and other scripts and languages (see 3.5.3.1 and 3.5.3.3).⁸¹ Most of these inscriptions are brief graffiti or travelers’ records but are nonetheless of considerable historical, cultural, and linguistic importance. The abundant epigraphic material from this region is being published in the volumes of *Antiquities of Northern Pakistan* (see the bibliography, s.v. Karl Jettmar) and in the *Materialen zur Archäologie der Nordgebiete Pakistans* series.⁸²

c9.s2.t5.8

⁸⁰ See G. Fussman, “Inscriptions de Gilgit,” *BEFEO* 65, 1978, 1–64, and “Les Inscriptions kharoṣṭhī de la plaine de Chilas,” in K. Jettmar, ed., *Antiquities of Northern Pakistan*, I.1–40.

c9.s2.t5.9

⁸¹ See O. von Hinüber in Jettmar, *Antiquities of Northern Pakistan*, I.41–106. On the north Pakistan inss. in general, see also Ahmad Hasan Dani, “The Sacred Rock of Hunza,” *Journal of Central Asia* 8, 1985, 5–124, and *Chilas: The City of Nanga Parvat (Dyamar)*.

c9.s2.t5.10

⁸² Vol. 1, M. Bemmann and Ditte König, *Die Felsbildstation Oshibat*; vol. 2, G. Fussman and D. König, *Die Felsbildstation Shatial*. For recent discoveries of Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions outside India, see sections 4.3.7.3 and 4.3.7.4.

c9.s2.t5.11

4.3.3.2 Brāhmī inscriptions from northern and central India

c9.s2.t5.12

From the early centuries of the Christian era we have a large number of dedicatory stone inscriptions in Brāhmī script, many of them Buddhist but some also Jaina and Brahmanical, associated with the reigns of the Indo-Scythian Kṣatrapas of Mathurā and the great Kuṣāṇa kings (Kaniṣka and his successors). The language of most of these inscriptions is Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit, but some, especially the later ones, are in more or less standard Sanskrit. The majority of the inscriptions of this group are from Mathurā and are collected in H. Lüders' *Mathurā Inscriptions*. Other specimens have been found farther to the south and east, mainly at Buddhist sites such as Set-Mahet, Sāñcī, and Sārnāth. A typical example of the inscriptions of this group is the Sārnāth umbrella shaft inscription of the time of Kaniṣka (Appendix, no. 5).

c9.s2.t5.13

Several important new Kuṣāṇa inscriptions have been found in recent years. Among these are the Govindnagar (Mathurā) inscription of Kaniṣka's year 12 (EI 40, 197–8); the Agra inscription of Kaniṣka's year 16 (JESI 4, 76–7); the Govindnagar inscription of Huviṣka's year 25 (EI 40, 198–200); the Mathurā inscription of Huviṣka's year 50 (JESI 10, 71–2); and a Śaivite inscription from Mathurā (EI 39, 9–10).

c9.s2.t5.14

4.3.3.3 Inscriptions from western India

c9.s2.t5.15

*4.3.3.3.1 Inscriptions from the cave temples.* A large number of dedicatory inscriptions, mostly Buddhist, in Brāhmī script and Prakrit or hybrid language are found in the rock-cut cave temples of Maharashtra, particularly at Kārle, Junnār, Nāsik, Nānāghāṭ, Bhājā, Beḍsā, and Kāṇherī. Of special historical importance are the inscriptions of the Sātavāhana and early Western Kṣatrapa kings from the first four of these sites. The inscriptions of this group are conveniently collected in J. Burgess and Bhagwanlal Indraji's *Inscriptions from the Cave-Temples of Western India* (ICTWI), although this is not the most up-to-date source for readings.⁸³

c9.s2.t5.16

⁸³ For further references, see SI I.164–73 and 189–212.

c9.s2.t5.17

Particularly important inscriptions of this class for both political and literary history are the Nāsik inscription of Uṣavadāta (SI I.167–70), describing his exploits and donations on behalf of his father-in-law, Nahapāna, and the Nāsik inscription of the reign of Vāsiṣṭhīputra Puḷumāvi (SI I.203–7), eulogizing the late King Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi (see 7.2.1.1).

c9.s2.t5.18

*4.3.3.3.2 Inscriptions of the later Western Kṣatrapas.* Several dedicatory stone inscriptions in Sanskrit or hybrid language belonging to the reigns of the later Western Kṣatrapa line of Caṣṭana (the so-called Kārdamaka line) have been found in the Kathiawar and Kacch regions of Gujarat. The Western Kṣatrapa inscriptions are collected in V. V. Mirashi's *History and Inscriptions of the Sātavāhanas and the Western Kṣatrapas*. By far the longest and most important of these is the Junāgaḍh rock inscription of Rudradāman (SI I.175–80), which is the earliest (ca. A.D. 150) long Sanskrit inscription and is of great historical and literary significance. An important recent discovery in this class is the Andhau inscription of the year 11 of the reign of Caṣṭana (JAIH 2, 104–11), whose earliest previously known date was 52.⁸⁴

c9.s2.t5.19

⁸⁴ See also section 5.5.1.4.

c9.s2.t5.20

4.3.3.4 Inscriptions of southern India

c9.s2.t5.21

In the period corresponding to the Scytho-Parthian era in northern India, a large number of stone inscriptions, mostly Buddhist dedications, were being recorded in southern India at major *stūpa* sites such as Nāgārjunakoṇḍa, Amarāvatī, and Jaggayyapeta (all in Andhra Pradesh). These inscriptions are generally written in Brāhmī of the early southern variety and in Prakrit language. From Nāgārjunakoṇḍa we have several dozen inscriptions on columns and other stone surfaces, mostly recording the donations of the Ikṣvāku royal family who ruled around the second and third centuries A.D. (EI 20, 1–37; 21, 61–71; 35, 1–36, etc.).⁸⁵ Other inscriptions at Nāgārjunakoṇḍa as well as Amarāvatī and Jaggayyapeta record donations associated with the Sātavāhana and other dynasties (see Jas. Burgess, *The Buddhist Stupas of Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta*).

c9.s2.t5.22

⁸⁵ For summaries of the inss. at Nāgārjunakoṇḍa and related sites, see P. R. Srinivasan and S. Sankaranarayanan, *Inscriptions of the Ikshvāku Period*.

c9.s2.t5.23

In recent years more inscriptions of this type have been discovered at several other sites in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere in southern India, notably Sālihuṇḍam,⁸⁶ Kesanapalli,⁸⁷ and Sannati.⁸⁸ Recent epigraphic discoveries at Amarāvatī have included new inscriptions of this and other periods.⁸⁹

c9.s2.t5.24

⁸⁶ Srikakulam Dist., AP; R. Subrahmanyam, *Salihundam*, 119–23.

c9.s2.t5.25

⁸⁷ Guntur Dist., AP; A. W. Khan, *A Monograph on an Early Buddhist Stupa at Kesanapalli*, 2–5.

c9.s2.t5.26

⁸⁸ Gulbarga Dist., Karnataka; M. S. Nagaraja Rao in IEBHA 41–5.

c9.s2.t5.27

⁸⁹ I. Karthikeya Sarma, JESI 1, 1974, 60–74; 7, 1980, 18–21.

4.3.4 Inscriptions of the Gupta era (fourth to mid-sixth centuries A.D.)

c9.s2.t6.1

4.3.4.1 Inscriptions of the imperial Guptas

c9.s2.t6.2

The inscriptions of the Gupta emperors of northern India, nearly all in Sanskrit language and late Brāhmī script, are compiled in J. F. Fleet's *Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings* (CII 3, 1888) and in D. R. Bhandarkar's revised edition of CII 3 (1981).⁹⁰ The majority of the Gupta inscriptions are stone records on rocks, pillars, and cave walls, but there are also several copper plate, clay seal, and miscellaneous inscriptions. Many of the Gupta inscriptions, especially those on rocks and pillars, are of the *praśasti* class (see 2.1.1), while others are purely dedicatory, recording Brahmanical, Buddhist, or Jaina donations and mentioning the ruler only in connection with the date. Several royal seal inscriptions provide detailed dynastic genealogies and are of great value for historical reconstruction.

c9.s2.t6.3

⁹⁰ For details, see section 8.1.2.

c9.s2.t6.4

The outstanding historical and literary record of the Gupta period is the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (SI I.262–8), recording the king's exploits and conquests in elaborate mixed verse and prose. Another important record of the *praśasti* type is the Junāgaḍh rock inscription of Skandagupta (SI I.307–16), inscribed on the same stone as Aśoka's Girnār rock edicts and the Rudradāman inscription, documenting the reconstruction of Lake Sudarśana.

c9.s2.t6.5

Among recent discoveries of Gupta inscriptions, the Vidiśā image inscriptions of the time of Rāmagupta (CII 3, rev. ed., 231–4) are extremely important in supporting the historicity of Rāmagupta, previously known only from literary sources as the elder brother of Candragupta II. Other recent finds include new inscriptions from the reign of the late Gupta king Budhagupta from Mathurā (JESI 9, 6–11) and Śaṅkarpur (JESI 4, 62–66).

c9.s2.t6.6

4.3.4.2 Inscriptions of the contemporaries and successors of the Guptas in northern and central India

c9.s2.t6.7

Sanskrit eral dynastic and geographical groupings. Lists of the inscriptions of many of the dynasties are available in various sources; for

c9.s2.t6.8

4.3.5.3 Eastern India

c9.s2.t6.9

The inscriptions of the Pāla kings of Bihar and Bengal, comprising a few ing section, the inscriptions can be discussed only in broad terms; for bibliographical information and lists of inscriptions see the general bibliography (795–822) in R. C. Majumdar, ed., *The Struggle for Empire*, and the sources mentioned in the preceding section.

c9.s2.t6.10

The Indo-Aryan inscriptions of this period are generally in Sanskrit, but the NIA languages were coming into use gradually at different times and places (see 3.4). During the early and middle phases of this period, the various local scripts (used for both Sanskrit and vernacular inscriptions) took on fully developed and independent forms which in most cases are similar to those of the modern Indic scripts.

c9.s2.t6.11

With the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of India from the late twelfth century onward, Sanskritic inscriptions became gradually less common, though they continued to be recorded in good numbers well into the fourteenth century, especially in central and southern India. From the fifteenth century on, Sanskrit inscriptions became still rarer, being largely supplanted by those in Persian, Arabic, Dravidian, and NIA languages (see 3.5.2). Bilingual inscriptions are quite common in this period, especially in the south (Sanskrit plus Tamil, Kannada, or Telugu) but sometimes in the north as well (Sanskrit plus NIA languages such as Marathi, Hindi, etc., or Islamic languages such as Persian or Arabic).

c9.s2.t6.12

Sanskrit inscriptions nevertheless did continue to be written into the eighteenth and occasionally the nineteenth centuries,⁹³ and while many of the later examples are inferior in both quality and historical significance, there are still some significant records, for example, the Udaipur *Rājapraśasti* (cf. 4.1.8 and 7.2.2.2.1). In general inscriptions of the Islamic era, and especially the later examples, are less extensively studied and documented than those of earlier times, but they are nonetheless of considerable interest and importance as literary, historical, and social documents.

c9.s2.t6.13

⁹³ See, e.g., D. R. Bhandarkar's *List of the Inscriptions of Northern India*, nos. 1061–76.

c9.s2.t6.14

Typical stone *praśastis* of this period are the Deopāṛā stone inscription of Vijayasena (SI II.115–22) and the Nāgpur Museum stone inscription of Naravarman (SI II.391–401). A good specimen of the elaborate southern Indian copper plates of this era are the bilingual (Sanskrit and Tamil) Leiden plates (twenty-one in number) of Rājendra I Coḷa (EI 22, 213–66).

c9.s2.t6.15

The principal dynasties under whose rule Sanskrit inscriptions were issued during the Islamic era include:

c9.s2.t6.16

Western India: Cālukyas of Gujarat, Cāhamānas (Chauhans), Guhilas, Paramāras,⁹⁴ Rathoḍas, Śilāhāras⁹⁵

c9.s2.t6.17

⁹⁴ Collected in CII 7.2 (H. V. Trivedi, *Inscriptions of the Paramāras*) and A. C. Mittal, *The Inscriptions of Imperial Paramāras*.

c9.s2.t6.18

⁹⁵ Collected in CII 6 (V. V. Mirashi, *Inscriptions of the Śilāhāras*).

c9.s2.t6.19

Northern India: Gāhaḍavālas, Kacchapaghātas, Tomaras Central India: Candellas, Kalacuris Eastern India: Bhañjas, Candras, Khaḍgas, Pālas, Senas, Varmas, (Bengal); Bhauma-Karas, Eastern Gaṅgas, Gaṅgas, Śailodbhavas, Somavamśīs, Sūryavamśīs (Orissa); Bhaumas (Assam) The Deccan: Cālukyas of Kalyāṇa, Eastern Cālukyas of Veṅgī, Eastern Gaṅgas, Kākatīyas, the kingdoms of Vijayanagara, Yādavas of Devagiri The far south: Coḷas, Hoysaḷas, Pāṇḍyas Inscriptions in Sanskrit issued by or under Muslim rulers are also found in some numbers, for instance, the Burhānpūr inscription of ʻĀdil Shāh (Appendix, no. 14), recording the dedication of a mosque. Often these are bilingual (Sanskrit and Arabic or Persian).⁹⁶ Nondynastic Sanskrit inscriptions of various sorts, mostly private donative records, are also found in good numbers throughout this period; especially common are Jaina temple dedications and image inscriptions.

c9.s2.t6.20

⁹⁶ Several inss. of this type have been published in *Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica* and *Epigraphia Indica: Arabic and Persian Supplement* (see 8.1.1), e.g., the Bīdar inscription (EI, *Arabic and Persian Supplement*, 1962, 81–4) in Sanskrit and Persian.

c9.s2.t6.21

Significant new discoveries from this era include the Siyan stone inscription of Nayapāla (EI 39, 39–56) and the Udaipur stone slab with a eulogy of the sun god (JESI 8, 97–100). From southern India, the Karandai Tamil Sangam plates (discovered in 1950 but not published until 1984; K. G. Krishnan, MASI 79) provide another specimen of the huge and elaborate (fifty-seven plates weighing a total of 111.73 kilograms) bilingual (Tamil and Sanskrit) Cōḷa land charters.

4.3.7 Extra-Indian inscriptions

c9.s2.t7.1

Inscriptions in Indo-Aryan languages from outside of the geographical boundaries of traditional India as defined for this study (i.e., the modern nations of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) number in the thousands and constitute a major branch of the field of Indian epigraphy. Such extra-Indian inscriptions are found from Egypt to Vietnam, and from Azerbaijan to Indonesia.⁹⁷ Their form and content are equally diverse, sometimes very similar to corresponding material from India, as in the case of many of the specimens from Afghanistan and Southeast Asia, sometimes radically different, as in most of the material from Chinese central Asia. Almost without exception,⁹⁸ the epigraphs are written in Indic scripts, either in their original Indian form or in local variants or derivatives thereof (especially in Southeast Asia). Many of the extra-Indian inscriptions, particularly in Southeast Asia, are bilinguals.⁹⁹

c9.s2.t7.2

⁹⁷ In this book the inscriptions are grouped geographically by reference to modern nations rather than (as has generally been the practice) by obsolete designations (Champa, Annam, Turkestan, etc.) or broad regional categories (Indo-China, Southeast Asia, central Asia, etc.).

c9.s2.t7.3

⁹⁸ The only significant exception is the (partially) Indic texts in Aramaic script from Afghanistan (see 4.3.7.3).

c9.s2.t7.4

⁹⁹ "Bilinguals" in the broader sense of the term; see section 3.6. For a rare true bilingual from Cambodia, see Kamaleswar Bhattacharya, BEFEO 52, 1964, 2.

c9.s2.t7.5

Sources for the study of extra-Indian inscriptions are scattered in a very wide variety of publications in many languages, not always easily accessible; an attempt is made here to provide references to the major sources for each country. No comprehensive survey of this subject has been previously available, though brief accounts of some of the material can be found in SIE 202–18 (Chapter VI, "Indian Epigraphy Abroad") and IC I.171–2 (Southeast Asia only).

c9.s2.t7.6

4.3.7.1 Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

c9.s2.t7.7

Sri Lankan inscriptions in Indian and Ceylonese languages are published in *Epigraphia Zeylanica* [EZ]. Important anthologies are E. Müller, *Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon*, and S. Paranavitana, *Inscriptions of Ceylon*. For general bibliography, see H. A. I. Goonetileke, “Writings on Ceylon Epigraphy: A Bibliographical Guide,” in *Ceylon Historical Journal* 10, 1960–61, 171–207.

c9.s2.t7.8

Several thousand inscriptions in Sanskrit, Pāli, Tamil, and especially in various stages of Sinhalese have been discovered in Sri Lanka. The scripts employed include early regional varieties of Brāhmī, the Sinhalese script at various stages of development, and occasionally other northern and southern Indian scripts. Most of the Sri Lankan inscriptions are on stone, especially cave walls; a few are on copper and other metals. The great majority of Sri Lankan inscriptions are concerned with dedications of various kinds to the Buddhist monastic community and regulations concerning its affairs.

c9.s2.t7.9

The oldest Sri Lankan inscriptions consist mostly of dedications of caves to the Buddhist *saṃgha*, usually written in a local variety of old Brāhmī script above the entrance to the caves. These and other similar early inscriptions, numbering well over a thousand, are dated on historical and paleographic grounds from about the third century B.C. to the third or fourth century A.D. Their language is referred to as “Old Sinhalese” or “Sinhalese Prakrit” (see 3.1.4.2.2). Several of the earlier inscriptions of this group (39 out of 1,234 in Paranavitana, *Inscriptions of Ceylon* I) are written from right to left instead of the usual left to right; a few (e.g., no. 1099) are inscribed in boustrophedon (cf. 2.2.3.2.4).

c9.s2.t7.10

Most of the later Sri Lankan inscriptions are written in more advanced forms of the Sinhalese variety of Brāhmī script and of the Sinhalese language which developed out of Sinhalese Prakrit. Such inscriptions are relatively rare between the fourth to eighth centuries, but stone inscriptions, mostly recording royal proclamations and grants to Buddhist establishments, become very common in the ninth to twelfth centuries (see 3.4.7). A particularly interesting and important body of materials is the literary graffiti from Sīgiri, published by S. Paranavitana in *Sigiri Graffiti*.

c9.s2.t7.11

Sanskrit inscriptions written in either Sri Lankan or northern Indian scripts are considerably less common than those in Sinhalese; only seventeen are listed in Malini Dias, “Sanskrit and Pali Inscriptions of Ceylon” (*Ancient Ceylon* 1, 1971, 105–9). Among the most important specimens are the Tiriyāy rock inscription (seventh century; EZ 4, 151–60 and 312–19), eulogizing the *Girikaṇḍi-caitya*; the Jetavanārāma stone inscription (ninth century; EZ 1, 1–9), recording detailed regulations for the conduct of Buddhist monks; and the Indikaṭusāya copper plaques (EZ 3, 199–212; 4, 238–42), recording fragments of the *Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā* and the *Kāśyapa-parivarta*.¹⁰⁰

c9.s2.t7.12

¹⁰⁰ See section 4.1.7 for other related inscriptions.

c9.s2.t7.13

Pāli inscriptions are, somewhat surprisingly, very rare; Dias (op. cit.) lists only three. An interesting example of a Pāli inscription (originally misread as “mixed Sanskrit”) is the Abhayagiri copper plate (EZ 3, 169–71), containing a verse from the *Vaṭṭaka Jātaka*.

c9.s2.t7.14

4.3.7.2 Nepal

c9.s2.t7.15

Anthologies of inscriptions from Nepal in Sanskrit and other languages (mainly Newari) include Bhagvânlâl Indraji and G. Bühler, “*Inscriptions from Nepal*,” IA 9, 1880, 163–94; S. Lévi, *Le Nepal* III; R. Gnoli, *Nepalese Inscriptions in Gupta Characters*;

c9.s2.t7.16

D. R. Regmi, *Medieval Nepal, Part IV*; D. R. Regmi, *Inscriptions of Ancient Nepal*; H. Jośī, *Nepāla ko Prācīna Abhilekha*; Dh. Vajrācārya, *Licchavikālakā Abhilekha*; and Dh. Vajrācārya and Ṭ. Śreṣṭha, *Śāhakālakā Abhilekha [Pahilo Bhāga]*. See also the *Abhilekha-saṃgraha*, and various articles in Nepali journals such as *Pūrṇimā*, *Kailash*, and *Journal of the Nepal Research Centre*.

c9.s2.t7.17

Sanskrit inscriptions in Brāhmī script and its local derivatives are found in Nepal in large numbers from the fifth century¹⁰¹ until recent times. The inscriptions of the Licchavi period (fifth–ninth centuries), numbering about two hundred, mostly on stone, have tended to attract the attention of epigraphists and historians; most of the anthologies cited here consist exclusively or mainly of inscriptions of this period.¹⁰² This material includes some outstanding specimens of the *praśasti* style, such as the Cāṅgu-Nārāyaṇa pillar inscription of Mānadeva (SI I.378–82), which is the oldest dated inscription of Nepal ([Śaka?] 386 = A.D. 464/65).

c9.s2.t7.18

¹⁰¹ The Aśokan (third-century B.C.) minor pillar inscriptions from Rummindeī and Nigālī Sāgar are from the Terai region of Nepal but are here treated together with the other Aśokan inscriptions (4.3.1.1.4).

c9.s2.t7.19

¹⁰² A useful inventory of Licchavi inscriptions is given in M. Slusser, *Nepal Mandala*, I.403–19.

c9.s2.t7.20

Inscriptions of the post-Licchavi period, though numerous, are in general less well documented, though they have begun to attract more attention in recent years in such publications as Regmi's *Medieval Nepal, Part IV*, *Abhilekha-saṃgraha*, Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha's *Śāhakālakā Abhilekha*, and in several articles published in the journals cited earlier. Many of the later inscriptions are bilingual in Sanskrit and Newari.¹⁰³ Stone inscriptions continue to predominate, but copper plates are also not rare (cf. 4.1.2 n. 5).¹⁰⁴

c9.s2.t7.21

¹⁰³ Cf. section 3.5.3.3; see also Slusser, op. cit., 393.

c9.s2.t7.22

¹⁰⁴ See, e.g., M. R. Pant and A. D. Sharma, *The Two Earliest Copper-plate Inscriptions from Nepal*, and Regmi's *Medieval Nepal IV*, nos. 14, 17, etc.

c9.s2.t7.23

Some late inscriptions of Nepal, mostly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, are written in Nepali¹⁰⁵ or Nepali and Sanskrit; for examples see Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha's *Śāhakālakā Abhilekha* and *Abhilekha-saṃgraha* 12.

c9.s2.t7.24

¹⁰⁵ Cf. section 3.4.6; see also Slusser, op. cit., 394.

c9.s2.t7.25

The inscriptions of Nepal generally record royal grants of land or privileges (*prasāda*) of various kinds, temple endowments or reconstructions, dedications of images or *liṅgas*, and so forth. In style and formula they generally resemble the corresponding types of records from India. On the whole, inscriptions of Brahmanical affiliation predominate, especially in the earlier period, but Buddhist records are also common throughout.

First 169 of 252 passages. Read on

Linked texts (44)