Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t5: 4.3.3 Inscriptions of the Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian era (ca. second century B.C. to third century A.D.)

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t5

Language: English

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

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is still Konow’s *Kharoshṭhī Inscriptions* (CII 2.1), which contains ninety-six inscriptions, but this is badly outdated, since many more Kharoṣṭhī inscriptions have been discovered since its publication in 1929, especially in recent years (as discussed later).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

Linked texts (3)

Epigraphia Indica
Mathurā lion-capital inscriptions — Prakrit
Nāsik Inscription of Ushavadāta (West's No. 17) (ed. Hoernle 1883) — Prakrit