Indian Epigraphy c16.s1: 1. Abbreviations
Indian Epigraphy c16.s1
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1. Abbreviations
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From about the early centuries of the Christian era, contraction of words began to appear in the date portion of inscriptions. The Prakrit forms of the words *saṃvatsara*, *pakṣa*, *divasa*, *grīṣma*, *varṣā* and *hemanta* were contracted respectively as (1) *sa*, *saṃ*, *sava*, *saṃva* or *saṃvat*, (2) *pa*, (3) *di* or *diva*, (4) *gi*, *gr* or *gri*, (5) *va* or *vā* (for Prakrit *vāsa*) and (6) *he* or *hema*.¹ These abbreviations were used when the numbers of years, etc., were expressed in figures. The contractions *saṃvat* for *saṃvatsara*, *śu-di*, *su-di* or *śu-ti* for *śukla-pakṣa-dina* or °*tithi*, and *ba-di*, *va-di*, *ba-ti* or *va-ti* for *bahala-pakṣa-dina* or °*tithi* or *vadya-pakṣa-dina* or °*tithi* are popular even to this day.²
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¹ See, e. g., *Select Inscriptions*, pp. 126, 129, 132-33, 148, 151, 203, 205, 220, 253, 283, etc. For *ka* for *kāla* and *va* for *vāra*, see ibid., pp. 131, 168.
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² The form *ti* for *di* is found in records of the north-western regions. For these contractions, see Bhandarkar's List, Nos. 21, 23, 38, 70, 316, 1072, etc. In many cases, we have *śu-di*, *su-di*, *ba-di* and *va-di* further contracted into *śu*, *su*, *ba* and *va* (see ibid., Nos. 39, 136, 208, 1295, etc.). The names of the months *Bhādrapada* and *Mārgaśīrṣa* were often abbreviated to *Bhādra* and *Mārga* (ibid., Nos. 92, 125, etc.). while occasionally we have *Phā* for *Phālguna*, *Śrā* for *Śrāvaṇa*, *pra* for *prathama*, etc. (ibid., Nos. 842, 361, 1443, 1451). In medieval records in the South Indian languages, we have often *So* for *Somavāra*, *Ma* for *Maṅgalavāra*, *Va* for *Vaḍḍavāra* (Saturday or Thursday), etc.
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In later epigraphs also, we have *saṃ*, *saṃva* (sometimes spelt *samva* or *samba*), *saṃvat* (often spelt *samvat* and rarely *sambat*) and *saṃvacha* or *saṃvaccha* for the word *saṃvatsara*.³ But in many medieval records the contraction is noticed in various corrupt forms such as *samata*, *samatta*, *samanta*, *saṃvatta*, *saṃvvat*, *saṃvata*, *saṃvatu*, *saṃvatū*, *samaṃthu*, *saṃvatuṃ*, *sammat*, *samat*, *samta*, *smat*, etc.⁴ In medieval Orissa, the word was generally written as *samasta*.⁵ When *saṃvat* came to be stereotyped in the sense of ‘an era’, it was occasionally used with case-endings, e.g., saṁvataḥ, saṁvatā, saṁvati and saṁvatām.¹ The word was sometimes regarded as saṁvata, and we have in rarely saṁvate in the seventh case-ending.² The word śrāhi or śrāhi is often found in the medieval inscriptions of Orissa and the Telugu-Kannaḍa area in the sense of saṁvat; but sometimes both the words are used together apparently through some sort of confusion. The word śrāhi seems to be derived from Sanskrit śaradi through Prakrit sarahi.³
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³ See Bhandarkar's List, Nos. 578, 1271, 1272, 1291, 1307, 1375, etc.
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⁴ Ibid., Nos. 49, 357, 360, 366, 599, 1097, 1632, etc.; IHQ, Vol. XXX, pp. 187, 383; *JAS*, Letters, Vol. XIX, Plate I; etc.
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⁵ Bhandarkar's List, Nos. 1133, 1769, etc.
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¹ Ibid., Nos. 36, 262, 932, 1003, etc.; Or. Hist. Res. Journ., Vol. I, No. 2, p. 8; etc. See above, p. 309, note 1.
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² Bhandarkar’s List, No. 988.
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³ Cf. Ep. Ind., Vol. XXIX, p. 106.
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From about the 6th century, abbreviations like dū for dūtaka, rū for rūpaka, dvi for dvitīya, etc., occur in West Indian inscriptions,⁴ while in later records contractions of titles, technical terms, etc., appear very often.⁵ Ni for nirīkṣita (examined) or nibaddha (registered) is common in the early medieval copper-plate grants of Eastern India, which also show composite contractions like mahākṣa-ni in which mahākṣa stands for Mahākṣapaṭalika.⁶
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⁴ See, e.g., Ind. Ant., Vol. VII, p. 73, line 20; Vol. XIII, p.84, lines 37 and 40; Vol. XV, p. 340, line 57; Ep. Ind., Vol. XXX, pp. 175 ff.
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⁵ See, e.g., JAS, Letters, Vol. XX, 1954, pp. 201 ff.; Ep. Ind., Vol. XXX, pp. 55 ff.
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⁶ See, e.g., N. G. Majumdar, Ins. Beng., Vol. III, p. 21, text line 51; p. 64, text line 50; p. 75, text line 64, etc.
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In some cases, we have the contraction śrī-ni⁷ in which śrī seems to stand for śrī-hasta or śrī-caraṇa, both of them being honorific expressions to indicate the king.⁸ Sometimes the endorsement reads śrī-ni mahāsā-ni⁹ which suggests that both the king and the Mahāsāndhivigrahika had occasion to examine the charter. In ni anu mahākṣa-ni,¹⁰ the first ni seems to stand for śrī-ni while the endorsement means that the charter was first examined by the king and then by the Mahākṣapaṭalika. In the contraction mahā-ni,¹¹ it is difficult to determine whether mahā stands for the *Mahāsāndhivigrahika* or any other high officer whose designation begins with the word *mahā*. Sometimes we have *mahāsām-karaṇa-ni*¹ indicating that the document was examined by the *karaṇa* (*adhikaraṇa*) or office (or clerk) of the *Mahāsāndhivigrahika*.
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⁷ Majumdar, op. cit., p. 88.
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⁸ Ep. Ind., Vol. XXVIII, p. 304.
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⁹ Majumdar, op. cit., p. 103.
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¹⁰ Ibid., p. 21.
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¹¹ Ibid., p. 64.
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¹ Ibid., p. 75.
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But that such abbreviations were popular in earlier times is not only indicated by the date portion of early inscriptions referred to above, but also by the use of *ga* for *gāthā* in the Khotanese manuscript of the Dhammapada and *ślo* for *śloka* and *pā* for *pāda* in the Bower manuscripts.² In the medieval inscriptions and manuscripts, often a *daṇḍa* and sometimes a globular mark are used to indicate contractions; e.g., *ṭha* and *pam* followed by such a mark would indicate *ṭhakkura* and *paṇḍita* respectively.³ In the manuscripts of Prakrit works, the same mark seems to indicate reduplication of the following consonant.⁴
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² Buhler, op. cit., p. 92.
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³ See, e.g., *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXXII, p. 125, text line 12; p. 153, text lines 97, 99, 101, 103, etc.
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⁴ See Buhler, loc. cit.
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In some regions, especially in the Orissa area, a word like *pala* was often contracted to *pla*.⁵
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⁵ See, e.g., *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXVIII, p. 47. Cf. *prama* for *parama*.
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In certain medieval inscriptions from Bengal, we have a large number of contractions such as *sām* for *sāmvatsarika* (i.e. annual), *hi* for *hiraṇya* (i.e. tax to be paid in cash), *vā-bhū* for *vāstu-bhūmi* (i.e. homestead land), *nā-bhū* for *nāla-bhūmi* (i.e. cultivated land), *dro* for the land measure called *droṇa* or *droṇavāpa*, *u* for the land measure called *udāna*, *ṭi* for *ṭikara* or *ṭikkara* meaning ‘a mound’ in some Neo-Indo-Aryan languages, *vyā-bhū* for *vyāmiśra-bhūmi* (i.e. mixed land of different categories such as homestead, fallow, cultivated, etc.) and others.⁶ *Sam* for *sambaddha* noticed in these records is also found in inscriptions found elsewhere.
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⁶ See *JAS, Letters*, Vol. XX, p. 203; *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXX, p. 53.
c16.s1.30
Instances of an interesting type of contraction are offered by the Midnapur plates of the time of Śaśāṅka, in which the words *adhi* (or *ādhi*) and *karaṇa* have been used in the senses respectively of *Adhikaraṇika* (or *Ādhikaraṇika*) and *adhikaraṇa*.¹ Abbreviations like *droṇa* for *droṇavāpa*, noticed in these records, are however quite common in the early medieval epigraphs of Eastern India.
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¹ Cf. *Ind. Cult.*, Vol. IX, p. 121, note.
Linked texts (1)
- Dhammapada — Pāli