Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t7.29

c9.s2.t7.29

During the Kuṣāṇa period (i.e., the early centuries of the Christian era), Kharoṣṭhī/Gāndhārī inscriptions, typically on reliquaries or potsherds, similar in form and content to the contemporary records from India (see 4.2.3.3), are common in Afghanistan. These are concentrated in the eastern part of the country, on the fringe of the Indian cultural region, but some also come from farther afield to the southwest (e.g., Dasht-e Nāwur) and north (e.g., Qunduz). Important examples include the Wardak relic bowl inscription (CII 2.1, 165–70), the Bīmarān vase inscription (CII 2.1, 50–2), the Begrām bas-relief inscription (*EI* 22, 11–14), and the Jalālābād stone inscription (*Acta Orientalia* 16, 234–40). Excavations in recent decades have revealed many more inscriptions of this type; among the more important specimens are those from Haḍḍa (*BEFEO* 66, 5–9), Dasht-e Nāwur (*BEFEO* 61, 19–22), and Qunduz (*BEFEO* 61, 58–61).¹⁰⁷