An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c10.s5: 5.5 Palaeographic and Epigraphic
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c10.s5
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5.5 Palaeographic and Epigraphic
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Epigraphy and palaeography form the primary source of dating in the field of historical archaeology. Inscriptions on stone and other materials—copper-plates, seals and sealings—along with their contents have always played and will continue to play a substantial role in the dating not only of standing monuments but of the cultural deposits of excavated sites. The dates of the construction, consecration or renovation of a large number of ancient temples and other religious and secular structures and also of images are furnished by inscriptions. The chronological data from epigraphy and palaeography have rendered invaluable assistance in the reconstruction of the stylistic phases of the origin, development and decline of the different schools of Indian art and architecture.
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That this source has proved to be of utmost importance at many historical and archaeological sites may be evident from a few examples given below. Thus the inscriptions found at NAGARJUNAKONDA not only form the sole source in resurrecting the dynastic history of the Ikṣvākus of Vijayapurī but help in dating most of the exposed structural units, both religious and secular, and associated antiquities exposed in the excavations. The period of the rule of this dynasty has been settled on the basis of the palaeography of the epigraphs, as the regnal years of these Ikṣvāku kings are not recorded in any era. These epigraphs are mostly on *āyaka* pillars, *maṇḍapa* pillars and memorial pillars (*chāyā-stambha*). Apart from dating the excavated material vestiges, epigraphy has helped in tracing the beginning, efflorescence and decline of the Nagarjunakonda phase of the art of the Krishna valley.
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Another such example is the site of NĀLANDĀ. Monastery 1 there, the most important of the monastery group, has nine structural phases. The find of an inscribed copper-plate of the Pāla king Devapāla (c. 810-50) has rendered it possible not only to date of one of these phases and its associated antiquities but also to formulate the relative chronology of the underlying and overlying phases. Similarly the fifth phase, with its interesting stucco figures, of the imposing main temple could be ascribed to the 6th century on the basis of an inscribed brick found within the core of a votive *stūpa* belonging to that phase of the temple. This inscription on the brick is dated in the year 197 which, referred to the Gupta era on the palaeographic considerations, works out to be A.D 516-7.
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Sub-pd III of Pd III of the excavated remains at KAUŚĀMBĪ has been dated to 125 to 50 B.C. on the basis of the palaeography of a seal of Jarayadeva as also coins of Bṛhaspatimitra II.
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The copper-plate inscription found within a *stūpa* inside a *stūpa*-shrine (*gṛhastūpa*) excavated at Kalawan near Taxila helps us in the dating of the *stūpa*-shrine, as the inscription records the deposits of relics within a *gṛhastūpa* at Chadasilā by a female worshipper in the year 134 of Azes (c. A.D. 77).
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The dating of one of the two excavated monasteries at SIRPUR has been fixed by an inscription engraved on a stone slab found on the floor of the n. veranda of the monastery and written in characters of the 7th century. It records the construction of the monastery by the monk Ānandaprabhu during the reign of Bālārjuna. Thus it is proved that the monastery was built during the reign of the Pāṇḍuvaṁśī ruler Mahāśivagupta Bālārjuna whose reign period is assigned to the first half of the 7th century.
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The date of the excavated Śiva temple at INDRAGARH is fixed by a stone inscription found at the site recording that the temple was built in 709 at the time of Rāṣṭrakūṭa ruler Nannapa.
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Even in inscriptions bearing the name of a ruler palaeographic evidence is of great use not only in settling the date of the excavated structures but in assigning the inscription to a specific ruler. For instance the core of the main *stūpa* at DEVNIMORI yielded a stone casket, the inscription thereon recording that the *Mahāstūpa* was constructed during the rule of king Rudrasena in the year 127 of the Kathika rulers. As there are three w. Kṣatrapa kings of that name, a controversy arose over the particular ruler whose time witnessed the construction of the *stūpa*. Ultimately on a close scrutiny of the palaeography of the inscription the date of the inscription has been equated to A.D. 375, by referring the year to the Kalacuri era, which falls within the reign of the period of Rudrasena III.
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To cite yet another example, the brick remains of *aśvamedha* platforms unearthed at JAGATGRAM refers to king Śīlavarman as having performed horse sacrifices. As king Śīlavarman could not be associated with any known dynasty it is the palaeography of the inscriptions on the bricks that settles the dating of the platforms between A.D. 250 and 300.
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In a similar way circular sealings of baked clay bearing Brāhmī [20.4.2] legends are indicative of the date of Pd IV of the excavated remains at TRIPURĪ. These sealings may be ascribed to the 2nd-3rd century on palaeographic grounds. Four of these mention the title Vāsiṣṭhīputra Mahārāja and the names of the rulers Śivabodhi and Vasubodhi. The sealings, besides dating the Pd, have given us the names of new kings, Śivabodhi and Vasusbodhi, who were the rulers of the Tripurī region during the 2nd-3rd century and belonged to the Bodhi dynasty.
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In many cases epigraphs bear neither the name of any king nor dates recorded in any era. Here naturally only palaeography determines the date or approximate period. Thus the well-known *stūpa* at PIPRAHWA yielded amidst a rich deposit of relics an inscribed reliquary bearing a dedicatory record regarding the corporal relics of Buddha. On the basis of the palaeography of the inscription the main period of the structure and associated deposits could be dated to the 3rd century B.C. Based on the inscription as well as the distance and bearing of Lumbinī in relation to Kapilavāstu as given by Fa-Hien, scholars felt that the ancient site of Piprahwa might have formed part of or of the suburbs of Kapilavāstu where the Śākyas, according to Buddhist texts, deposited the corporal remains of Buddha within a *stūpa*. Recent excavation in the close proximity of this *stūpa* brought to light within the remains of a monastery a number of sealings with the legend *oṁ Devaputravihar(e) Kapilavastu-bhikṣu-saṅghasya*, palaeographically datable to the Kushan period. The legend therefore throws light not only on the date of the monastery, most probably constructed at the instance of a Kushan king, but on the location of Kapilavāstu itself. It may be noted that this type of monastic sealings recovered from excavations has helped archaeologists in identifying ancient sites like NĀLANDĀ, KUŚĪNAGARA and RATNAGIRI.
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That the nucleus of the Maha-caitya at AMARAVATI came into existence in the 3rd century B.C. is proved by the excavation which yielded granite uprights of a railing bearing short inscriptions in characters of that century.
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Of the four Pds exposed in the excavation at UJJAIN the find of two seals of ivory has helped in dating Pd II with the NBPW [11.16] and its associated ceramics. The seals—one reading *Gosahatikasa* and the other perhaps *Pattilasa* written in early Brāhmī script assignable on palaeographic grounds to the 3rd-2nd century B.C.—provide the upper limit of the chronological range of the Pd.
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Pd II of the three Pds exposed at ŚRĀVASTĪ is dated on the basis of the finds of a terracotta sealing with the legend *Baladata (sa?)* in the Brāhmī script of the 2nd-1st century B.C. and of copper coins, belonging to the Ayodhya series, dated to the middle of the 2nd century B.C. The find of the Ayodhya coins and the sealing in the upper levels of Pd II suggests for this Pd a date from about the middle of the 3rd to the middle of the 1st century B.C.
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Pd VI of the remains of DHARANIKOTA is assigned to the 2nd-3rd century on the basis of its finds—particularly coins of the late Sātavāhana period and an ivory seal showing a *stūpa* with railing and bearing a fourletter inscription. On palaeographic grounds the seal is ascribed to the 2nd-3rd century. This is in consistency with the date assignable to the coins.
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HASTINĀPURA has five occupational Pds of which Pd IV has been assigned to the early 2nd century B.C. to the late 3rd century A.D mainly on the basis of identifiable coins, an inscribed pot, an inscribed sherd and a terracotta seal. As regards the coins of Śeṣadatta which have been assigned to the 2nd century B C., it may be noted that the palaeography of the legend would indicate a date much later than that century.
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The above will show how inscriptions provide close evidence on the date of excavated remains. Nevertheless the evidence based on these data is not always impeachable and should be used with careful comparison with other data. The palaeography of the legend on Śeṣadatta's coins found at Hastināpura already mentioned may be cited as an example. While dating a stratum on the basis of palaeographic evidence one must bear in mind the regional variations of the scripts due to the fast or slow evolution of a particular script. Moreover it is quite possible that the seals, particularly monastic ones, like coins, might have been in circulation for a long period. Similarly images dedicated by devotees at different times are quite often deposited in a store-room. Finally sealings, copper-plate inscriptions and the like may be found out of their chronological context. Thus a terracotta seal with an inscription in Brāhmī reading *Buddhapasya* was found amidst the remains of Pd III, assigned to the 15th century and onwards, at NAGARA. Thus while dating the excavated deposits or structures on the basis of coins, seals, sealings and inscribed images and the like one should be one's guard and these finds have to be cross-checked by other materials found at a given stratum and context.
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Mitra, D., 1973, *Excavations at Tilaura-kot & Kodan & Explorations in the Nepalese Tarai*, Kathmandu. For other sites see respective entries in vol. II.—M. GHOSH