Component-I (A) – Personal Details

Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati . & Dr. K. Muniratnam Director i/c, Epigraphy, ASI, Mysore.

Prof. Susmita Basu Majumdar Dept. of AIHC , University of Calcutta.

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Epigraphy

Module Name/Title Three Inscriptions of the Mauryan Realm

Module Id IC / IEP / 27

Pre requisites

 To learn about the

∙ XIIIth Rock Edict of Asoka Objectives ∙ Barabar Hill Cave inscriptions ∙ Jogimara cave inscription

Keywords Maurya / Asoka / Brahmi / Prakrit / Edict

E-text (Quadrant-I) :

1. INTRODICTION TO MAURYAN RECORDS :

The reign of Aśoka (c. 272-233 BCE), the third and greatest ruler of the Maurya dynasty, is a landmark in the history of the subcontinent as during his time royal records were for the first time inscribed, thus providing us with the definite proof of written documents in the subcontinent. Written mostly in Prakrit language and Brāhmī script (though Kharoshti, Aramaic and Greek were employed in the northwestern part and in Afghanistan), Aśoka caused to be engraved on rocks and pillars three broad varieties of his records. Majority of these records are meant for exhortation to his subjects and functionaries. These are largely administrative promulgations and therefore are labeled mostly as ‘edicts’. These are different from other inscriptions as here the king addresses his subjects and officers directly in first person.

Aśoka edicts are broadly of three types : inscribed on a) rocks/boulders, b) free-standing polished stone pillars and c) cave inscriptions. While his inscriptions on rocks/boulders and pillars are widely distributed, cave inscriptions are found only in Barabar near Gaya in Bihar. The rock edicts sometimes convey extensive messages of the Mauryan emperor and hence labeled as Rock Edicts or Major Rock Edicts (RE); there are also rock edicts of a smaller size and content. The latter is therefore known as Minor Rock Edicts (MRE). Similarly the lengthy statements inscribed on pillars are called Pillar Edicts and the smaller messages engraved on pillars are termed Minor Pillar Edicts/Inscriptions. The statements in the Rock Edicts are found in a set of fourteen; the Rock Edicts are usually found in the bordering areas of the Mauryan realm; the Pillar Edicts are found in the Ganga plains, the very heartland of the Mauryan empire, while the Minor Rock Edicts (in a set of two, MRE II only in peninsular India) are not specific to any region/area. In other words, MREs are distributed all over the empire. The set of 14 Rock Edicts are usually found as a whole, though in Odisha the contents of RE XI, XII and XIII have been omitted. The omission, particularly in the case of the RE XIII in Odisha, seems to have been deliberate and not accidental as our discussions of the RE XIII below will demonstrate. Odisha has yielded, instead, two other Rock Edicts, almost as replacement of the contents of the RE XIII. Dhauli near Bhubaneswar (ancient Tosali) and Jaugada in Ganjam district (ancient Samapa) have yielded two different

REs, which are commonly known as Kalinga Rock Edicts I and II or as Separate Rock Edicts (SRE) I and II, since their contents are not found in the set of 14 Rock Edicts and these are restricted only to two Odishan sites. However, the discovery of a fragmentary Aśokan inscription, with similarities of contents of SRE, from Sannathi (Gulbarga dist, Karnataka), in the 1980s shows the possibility that the contents of the SREs could have been meant for areas beyond Kalinga. This supports Sircar’s proposition to label the Aśokan edicts at Dhauli and Jaugada not as Separate Rock Edicts, but as Rock edits XV and XVI.

2. ROCK EDICT XIII of AŚOKA :

This takes us to a discussion on the RE XIII as this reveals the most important political event of Aśoka’s reign and its far reaching consequences on later part of Aśoka’s reign. The edict opens with the Beloved of the God’s, Priyadarsi’s (i.e Aśoka’s) conquest of Kalinga following a devastating war in which 150,000 men and animals were killed and 100,000 men were taken away (possibly as war-captives) and many more than these numbers died during and as a result of the war. Kalinga was conquered by the Maurya empire when eight years had elapsed since Aśoka’s coronation (i.e. in his thirteenth regnal year or 261-260 BCE). This was the last addition to the Mauryan territory which reached its maximum extent. Ancient Kalinga could have embraced Odisha and adjoining regions of Andhra Pradesh. The edict explicitly records deep remorse of the emperor for having perpetrated the violence in the Kalinga war; he thereafter eschewed war for good. The conquered area of Kalinga was however retained and not given up. It is quite clear that Aśoka did not wish this account of the destruction in Kalinga to be engraved in the Kalinga territory and hence, the RE XIII is not found in Odisha. Though the Maurya ruler clearly deplored the violent conquest of Kalinga he also categorically mentioned that when an unconquered country is conquered such violence could take place. Aśoka discontinued after the Kalinga war all aggressive designs and upheld and promoted the policy of Dhamma which also figures prominently in RE XIII. The contents of RE XIII, particularly on Dhamma may be better appreciated by referring to similar contained in other Aśokan edicts.

One of the salient features of Aśoka’s Dhamma is avoidance of violence, including cessation of wars and non-killing of living beings for hunting and culinary purposes. That is why he prefers the conquest by Dhamma to victory in war. Dhamma stands for a very broad-based policy of Piety, cutting across religious sects; it emphasizes on the practice of certain virtues and avoidance of a number of vices—none of these has any sectarian overtone. For upholding Dhamma, which is the essence of his rulership and governance, Aśoka forbade some rituals and petty festivals like samāja. In the RE XIII specifically, Dhamma embraces brāhmaṇa and Śramaṇa, adherents of different faiths and householders who are exhorted to take care of parents, preceptors and elders. Seemly behavior to slaves and servants, courtesy to friends and relatives and non-violence are stressed herein. It is extremely significant that he stressed on the virtue of practicing firm devotion which in the light of his Greek edict implies firm devotion to king’s interests. Thus, Aśoka considered total allegiance on the part of his subjects as a constituent element of his Dhamma.

Elaborating on his idea of the conquest by Dhamma, the RE XIII highlights the propagation of Dhamma both within his realm (Rajavishaya) and beyond its borders (Anta/Pracanta). In this context are listed people living within the realm: Yonas and Kambojas (Hellenized people of West Asiatic origin, for whom were issued Aramic and Greek edicts); Nābhaka- Nābhapaṁtikas (probably in Maharashtra and Madhyapradesh), Bhojas (Berar, near Nagpur, Maharashtra), the Andhras (in eastern Deccan) and Pulindas (probably in eastern Madhyapradesh). This edict also states the people, areas and kingdoms beyond the confines of the empire: the Cholas (Kaveri valley), Padas/Pandyas (Vaigai valley around Madurai), Satiyaputa/Satyaputra (southern Karnataka-Northern Tamilnadu), Keralaputa (Kerala) and Tambapmni (Tamraparni or Sri Lanka). Also mentioned are five Yavana or Greek rulers viz. Antiyoka (Antiochus Theos II 261-246 BCE), Turamaya (Ptolemy

Philadelphos 285-247 BCE), Amtikini (AntigonusGonatus 277-239 BCE of Macedonia) Maka (Megas of Cyrene, North Africa 272-255 BCE) and Alikasudara (Alexander of Epirus 252- 244 BCE). As these five Greek rulers were contemporaries of Aśoka, he can easily be situated in the 3rd century BCE. It is significant that Aśoka was aware of the limits of his realm where were engraved his edicts; the areas beyond his realm, explicitly stated,have not yielded any Aśokan edict. So the record suggests that extent of the vast Mauryaempire embracing greater parts of the subcontinent and some areas in Afghanistan.

Aśoka thus extols the virtues of conquest by Dhamma which he expects his successors to follow and continue. The conquest through Dhamma, according to RE XIII, ensures happiness to people—his greatest achievement and satisfaction- in both this and the other world. Aśoka however did not entirely rule out the application of arms for conquests. While he exhorts that his successors should think of conquest by arms, he still considered that if people in future would be conquered by arms, the people should be treated with forbearance. This in a way leaves open the option to take to warlike activities, if unavoidable. So Aśoka cannot be considered as following an exclusively pacific policy.

This is in keeping with his very stern warning to the forest dwellers (āṭavikas), figuring in the RE XIII. He entreated and urged forest-dwellers to turn from evil ways with regard to their duty. In other words, he warns them not to stray away from the path of Dhamma. Though full of remorse for the violence in the Kalinga war, Aśoka was full of authority. He cautioned the āṭavikas that he had the power to punish them and that they should behave properly so that they were not killed. The stern threat issued by the Maurya emperor is never repeated in other inscriptions.

The RE XIII widely distributed, along with other REs, in the frontier regions of the Maurya realm, spoke of his a)Kalinga conquest, b) his deep remorse and adoption of the policy of Dhamma, c) some of salient features of his Dhamma, d) terms to designate his realm and the areas beyond the realm, e) peoples, areas and kings beyond his jurisdiction, f) his advice to successors and h) his stern voice against the forest dwellers.

3. AŚOKAN RECORDS AT BARABAR HILLS :

Aśoka’s inscriptions have also been found in the Barabar hills, near Gaya (Bihar). These inscriptions are located in the closest vicinity of the Mauryan capital, Pataliputra (Patna). The location of Barabar hills is moreover in close proximity to Sambodhi or Bodhgaya, the place of enlightenment of the Buddha. There are three small inscriptions of Aśoka engraved on the Barabar hills. These inscriptions record his donations to the Ājīvikas, an important Sramanic group. So these are not edicts, as these do not record any administrative promulagations. These belong to the category of cave inscriptions. However, these are not natural caves, but were man-made caves, excavated out of live rocks. The very existence of artificial caves in the Barabar hills, mentioned clearly in the three inscriptions of Aśoka, thus bear tell-tale proofs of the earliest rock-cut architecture in Indian history. The three inscriptions also offer the earliest epigraphic reference to the Ājīvikas. It should be mentioned that the Ājīvika monks were subsequently donated similar rock-cut caves, in the neighbouring Nagarjuni hills, by Daśaratha, the grandson of Aśoka (c. 220 BCE). It is therefore evident that the Barabar-Nagarjuni hills, almost functioning as twin sites, was a preferred abode for the Ājīvikamonks. There is little doubt that the Ājīvikas received support and patronage from two Mauryan rulers, Aśoka and Daśaratha in the 3rd century BCE.

The Ājīvikas were an important śramanic sect, contemporary to Buddhism and Jainism. The Ājīvika sect was founded by MaṅkhaliputtaGosāla. Like the Buddhists, the Jainas and the Lokāyatas, the Ājīvikas too challenged the infallibility of the Vedas and the religious, spiritual and supremacy of the brahmanas. All these religious sects were homeless wondering ascetics. However, unlike the Buddhists and the Jainas, Ājīvikas did not have any canonical

texts, or at least, their doctrinal texts are not found. Apart from these epigraphic records, the Ājīvikas figure in the Buddhist and Jaina texts which record their sharp differences of opinions from the Buddhists and the Jainas. While the Buddhist and the Jaina texts argued against the Ājīvikas, the repeated mentions of their philosophy and tenets in these texts actually highlight the importance given to the Ājīvika thoughts in the Buddhist and Jaina texts. The Ājīvikas upheld the doctrine of the supremacy of Destiny.

What is particularly significant in the Barabar cave inscriptions of Aśoka is Aśoka’s undoubted support and patronage to the Ājīvikas. It was remarkable for a devout Buddhist ruler like Aśoka to patronize the Ājīvika monks who were rivals of the Buddhists. This seems to have been also part of his Dhamma policy that emphasized on the accommodation of religious differences and pluralities; Aśoka’s policy of Dhamma emphasized on co-existence of diverse sects and the enhancement of the essence of all sects.

Of the three short inscriptions of Aśoka, favouring the Ājīvikas, two record that the cave dwellings were donated to the Ājīvikas when twelve years had elapsed since his coronation, in other words these records were engraved in 257-56 BCE. The third inscription informs of his donation to the Ājīvikas when nineteen years had elapsed since his coronation. Thus the second donation was made seven years after the first donation by Aśoka, i.e. 250-249 BCE. One of the inscriptions, engraved when twelve years since his coronation ended, names the hill as Khalatikapavata (parvata) which was therefore the ancient name of the modern Barabar hills. The hill was also known as Gorathgiri as an inscription records it. These Aśokan inscriptions refer to him as raja Priyadarsi without using the title ‘beloved of the Gods’ (devanaṁpiya). It is likely that Piyadasi or Priyadarsi was the personal name, in addition to his more famous name Aśoka. As Aśoka’s grandson Daśaratha assumed the nomenclature beloved of the gods, it may be surmised that this was the dynastic epithet of the Mauryas. The term for cave or cave dwelling in these inscriptions is kubhā. One such cave was named Nigoha or Nyagrodha, implying that the cave could have been named after or marked by a banyan tree. The cave donated by Aśoka in c. 250-249 BCE is named Supiya or Supriya. These caves bear irrefutable evidence of the famous Mauryan polish which is visible also on the Aśokan pillars and other specimen of Mauryan art. While the insides of the caves are bare and dark, the entrance to the unfinished Lomash Rishi cave (probably abandoned due to some structural defects and hence without any inscriptions of Aśoka) is adorned with superb figures of elephants, demonstrating salient features of Mauryan stone sculpting. The third and the last inscription, according to the reading by Sircar, suggests that the cave dwelling Supiya was constructed at the onset of the monsoons (jalaghoshāgame). If this reading is accepted (the letters are broken and indistinct), then the cave(s) for the Ājīvikas could have been made for the purpose of providing them with shelters during monsoon which was known as vassāvāsa. The Ājīvikas, as wandering ascetics, then seem to have taken shelter, like the Buddhists and the Jainas, in some structures during the rainy season. A recent study of the Mauryan inscriptions at both Barabar and Nagarjuna hills argues that the caves could have been meant for the practice of experiencing afflictions or pain leading to the voluntary termination of life by the Ājīvika monks. This practice is known as nishidhi. So, it is possible that like the Jainas, the Ājīvikas also practiced the cult of the voluntary termination of life by self-afflicted pains leading to mortification.

One needs to pay attention to the fact that the word Ājīvika has been deliberately erased. This erasure was done in remote times. It is safe to assume that the word Ājīvika, written in Mauryan Brāhmī, was erased by someone to whom the MauryanBrāhmī of the 3rd century BCE was legible and intelligible in a later period. The first powerful and independent ruler of Kalinga, namely Khravela, proudly recorded that the Kalinga ruler devastated Gorathagiri, the ancient name of Barabar hills. Kharavela also claims to have made successful raids and expeditions against Magadha, according to this Hathigumphaprasasti. Kharavela was a devout Jaina. It will therefore be logical to infer that the erasure of the word Ājīvika in the

Mauryan inscription was committed by Kharavela who as a Jaina could have borne hostile attitude to the Ājīvika abode at Barabar.

Epigraphic researches of late have brought to light several other inscriptions from Barabar- Nagarjuni hills. These are mostly datable to the period from 4th to 9th centuries CE; there are also some later inscriptions. None of these inscriptions points to the Ājīvika presence. These later inscriptions bear the names of visitors to the twin hills; the visitors were mostly followers of Brahmanical faith.

4. JOGIMARA CAVE INSCRIPTION (Contemporary to the Mauryan records) :

Inscriptions of the Mauryan times paved the way for proliferation of inscriptions in various regions of the subcontinent. One of the interesting inscriptions, ascribed to a period soon after the eclipse of the Mauryan empire, comes from the Jogimara cave, situated in the Ramgarh hills in Chhattisgarh. This is an undated inscription, paleographically assigned to c. 3rd or 2nd century BCE. The script is Brāhmī. Thus one encounters another Brāhmī inscription engraved in a cave. This is a brief inscription consisting of five lines. Unlike the Mauryan inscriptions, discussed above, this is a non-royal record containing names of private individuals. It is also the earliest known inscription coming from Chhattisgarh. It records the names respectively of Sutanukā, a devadāsi, and Devadina (Devadatta in Sanskrit), a sculptor or artist (lupadakha= Sanskrit rūpadaksha). The inscription first mentions Sutanukā, literally a woman with a beautiful body. Then Sutanukā is described as a devadāsī. Then a man named Devadina (Sanskritized as Devadatta) is mentioned. Devadina/Devadatta is introduced as a lupadakha, Sanskritized as rūpadaksha or a sculptor or one who gives form. According to the available reading of the inscription the lupadakha is described as balanaseye which has been SanskritizedVārānasīya. In other words, the artist or sculptor hailed from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This implies that the artist traveled from Varansi to the present Ramgarh Hills area in Chhatitisgarh, though the routes of travel or the reasons of the travel cannot be ascertained. As the inscription mentions Sutanukā desired by Devadatta, it is reasonable to presume that the artist came to meet Sutanukā in the cave in Ramgarh hills. The inscription offers the earliest known evidence of a Devadāsi, belonging to the 3rd/2nd century BCE. The devadāsi is mostly known from South India of much later times, from the 10th/11th centuries onwards. As these devadāsis in south India are known to have been dancers attached to monumental temples, it is not possible to consider Sutanukā of the Jogimara cave inscription as a dancer. If this is accepted then she was the earliest known female dancer / perfomer in Indian history. This meaning can imply that Sutanukā was a performer, though in this inscription she had no affiliation to a shrine. In a recent study of the inscription, along with a close field survey of the locality of Jogimara cave seeks to offer a new meaning to the inscription. While there is no change to the reading of the names and profession of both Sutanukā and Devadatta, it has been suggested that Devadatta made a stone bed (luṇaśeye i.e. Sanskrit leṇaśaiyā) for Sutanukā for her to sleep or lie down. Remains of a stone bed have been cited in support of this interpretation. Attention has been drawn to the rock paintings in the cave depicting chariots, elephants and human figures. This may suggest that the cave was regularly visited by travellers. That the language of the inscription is MāgadhīPrākrit suggests that Devadina hailed from Magadha and was an artist rūpadaksha.

5. Summary

The above inscriptions are among the earliest epigraphic records in Indian subcontinent, all being written in Brāhmī script and Prakrit language. Of the three inscriptions, two are royal and the last one a private record without any mention of a ruler. The first record is an administrative and/or political promulgation issued by the ruler speaking in first person. The purport of the second record is the donation of caves for the Ajivika sect in the heartland of

the Mauryan realm. The third is away from the Ganga valley in present Chhattisgarh recording the earliest mentions of a devadasi and a sculptor/artist.

6. TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS

6.1 Rock Edict XIII AŚOKA

1 (A) ……… ñoKaliṁgā [v . j.] ...... [v ḍh]e [sa]ta-sahasra-mātramtatrāhatambahu- tāvatakammata (C) tatāpachaadh[u]nāladhesuKaliṁgesuti[v]o dhammavāyo

2 ………. [sa]yoDevānaṁpriyasa [v j .] ...... [va]dh ova maranamvaapavāhovajanasa ta bādhaṁvedana-mata ca g[u]r[u]-mata ca Devā[naṁpi] . . [sa]

3 ………… bamhanāvasamanāvaañe .. ……… [s]ā mātr[i] pitarisusumsā guru-susumsāmita- saṁstata-sahāya-ñātike[su] dāsa-[bha].

4……. ………abhiratānamvavinikhamana (H) yesaṁvā[p] ..….[h]ā yañātikāvyasanamprāpuṇatitata so pi teas [u]paghātohati (I) paṭībhā[g]o cesā s[ava]…..

5…….stiimenikāyāañatraYone[su] … [mh]iyatranāstimānusānaṁekataramhipāsandamhinanāmaprasa[d]o (K) y[ā]vata[k]o j[ano ta]d[ā]

6………….sra-bhāgovagaru-mat[o] Devānaṁ……… nayasakachamitave (M) yā ca pi ataviyo D[e]vānaṁpiya[sa] pijitepāti

7…………cate te[sa]ṁ Devānaṁpiyasa…………sava-bhūtānāṁachatiṁ ca sayamaṁ ca samacairaṁ c[a] mādava ca

8……………..[la]dh[o]…..naṁpriyasaidha [sa]vesu [c]. [Yo]na-rājaparaṁ ca tenacatpārorājānoTuramāyo ca [A]ṁt[ek]ina ca Magā ca

9……………. Idharāja-vi[sa]yamhi [Y]o[na]- Kaṁbo …………. ṁdhra- PāriṁdesesavataDevānaṁpiyasadhammā nus[a]sṭiṁanuv[a]tare (S) yata pi dūti.

10……………..[na]m dhamānesasṭiṁ ca dhamaṁanuvidhiyare…………………[v]ijayosavathāpunavijayopīti-rasosā (U) ladhāsāpītihotidhaṁma-vijayamhi

11…………………. ṁ[p]riyo (X) etā[yaathā]yaayaṁdhaṁma-[l]…………[va]ṁ vijayaṁmāvijetavyammaṁñasarasakeevavijayechāti ca

12…………………… kik[o] c[a pā]r[alo]ki[ko]…………….ilokikā ca pāralokikā ca.

Translation

(A) ….. …. the Kaliṅgas ………

(B) . . ….. one hundred thousand in number were those who were slain there, (and) many times as many those who died.

(D) ….. [the repentance] of Devānāṁpriya……….

(E) ………. Slaughter, death, and deportation of people, this is considered very painful and deplorable Devānāṁpriya.

(G)………. Brāhmanas or Śramaṇas, [or] other … …… obedience to mother(and) to father, obedience toelders …… … to friends, acquaintances, companions, and relatives, [to] slaves …… . or deportation of (their) beloved ones.

(H) ….. …. [companions] and relatives are then incurring misfortune, this (misfortune) as well becomes an injury to those (persons)

(I) this is shared [by] all ……….

(J) ………. These clases ….. …. Except among the Yȯnash

.. .. where men are not indeed attached to some sect

(K) As many people as at that time . . part is considered deplorable by Devānāṁ[priya].

(L) … … .. what can be forgiven.

(M) And even the forests which are (included) in the dominions of Devānāṁpriya......

(N)they are [told] ….. . . of Devānāṁpriya . ..

(O) …… . towards all beings abstention for hurting, self-control, impartiality, and kindness.

(Q) . . . … has been won by [Devā]nāṁpriyahere and among all the Yȯna king, and beyond him four kings, (V17) Turamāya, Antekina, Magā . …

(R) .. . here in the king’s territory, [among] the Yȯnaand Kambō[jas] .. . . among the [A]ndhras and Pārindas, - everywhere (people) are conforming to …Devānāṁpriya’s instruction in morality.

(S) Even where the envoys . . and the instruction in morality, are conforming to morality . . .

(T) ...... this conquest, - a conquest (won) in every respect (and) repeatedly, - causes the feeling of satisfaction

(U) This satisfaction has been obtained (by me) at the conquest by morality

(W) ... [Devānā]ṁpriya

(X) For the following purpose this [rescript] on morality should not think that a [flesh] conquest ought to be made, (that), if a conquest does please them, mercy .. . .

(Y) . . in the other world.

(AA) both in this world and in the other world.

6.2 BARABAR CAVE INSCRIPTIONS OF ASOKA

Language : Prakrit

Script : Brāhmī

Date : 3rd century BCE

Provenance : Barabar caves, Bihar

Sudama cave(NigohaKubha) inscription of Aśoka lājinā piyadasinā duvā-dasa-vasā[bhisitenā]

[iyaṁ] [nigoha]- kubhā di[nā] [ājīvikehi]

The inscription mentions the donation of this cave by king piyadasi (Aśoka) to the Ajīvikasafter 12 years had elapsed since his coronation. The cave has been named nigoha.

Barabar : VisvaJhonpri or Visvamitra cave, Aśokan inscription: lājināpiyadasināduvā- dasa-vasābhisitenāiyaṁ

Kubhākhalatika-pavatasi dinā [ājīvi]kehi

The inscription mentions the donation of this cave to the Ajivikas by king piyadasi (Aśoka) when 12 years had elapsed since his coronation. The word kubhā means a cave and Khalatika means a hill surrounded by forest which if taken as the name of the hill on which the Visvajhonpri cave is located. In this case it may be the forest around it which led the people in the locality to name it khalatika.

Barabar : KarnChaupar, Inscription of Aśoka lājā piyadasi ekunavī sati vasā-(bhi)site ja(ladho)- (sāgama) thāta(me) (iyaṁ) (kubhā) Supiy(e) kha(latika pavatasi)(di)nā

The inscription mentions the donation of this cave, called Supiya, by king piyadasi (Aśoka) when nineteen years had elapsed since his coronation. The cave was located in a hill surrounded by forest (khalatika).

6.3 Jogimara Cave Inscription

Language : MāgadhīPrakrit

Script : Brāhmī

Date : 3rd-2nd century BCE

Provenance : Ramgarh Hills, Chhattisgarh

Present Location : Jogimara cave, Ramgarh

Reading :

Line 1. Śutanuka(ā) na(ā)ma

Line 2. Devada(ā)ś(s)ikyi*

Line 3. Śutanuka(ā) na(ā)ma lDevada(ā)śi

Line 4. Taṁkamayithabalunaśeye l Kyi *I

Line 5. Devadinena(ā)ma l Lupadakhe l

* Symbol or Conjunct initial

Translation : (Her) name (is) Sutanukā.

A courtesan / a servant to god.

(Repetition) Line 3. (Her) name (is) Sutanukā. A courtesan/ a servant to god.

Line 4. (This) cave / rock cut bed (is given) to you / her specifically to sleep or lie down.

Line 5. Devadina (by) name .The architect.

Symbol or conjunct initial ‘kyi’ at the end of line 2 and 4.