STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF BRĀHMĪ AND ŚᾹRADᾹ INSCRIPTIONS FROM GANDHᾹRA: ITS IMPACT ON RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE REGION By Nasha Bin Rodziadi Khaw DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR 2016 1 STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF BRĀHMĪ AND ŚᾹRADᾹ INSCRIPTIONS FROM GANDHᾹRA: ITS IMPACT ON RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE REGION By Nasha Bin Rodziadi Khaw A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology University of Peshawar 2016 Approved by 1. Dr. M. Nasim Khan (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), Meritorious Professor, Department of Archaeology ------------------------------- University of Peshawar Supervisor 2. ------------------------------- External Examiner 3. ------------------------------- Internal Examiner DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR 2016 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my Ph.D supervisor, Prof. (Meritorious) Dr. M. Nasim Khan (Tamgh-i-Imtiaz) for all the assistance and support, which made the completion of this thesis possible. He has patiently guided me and tolerated my weaknesses during my research and contributed immensely in my pursuit of knowledge in the field of Epigraphy, Palaeography and Sanskrit language. During his tenure as the Director of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he has kindly given the permission for me to study and publish the impressive epigraphical materials being preserved in the museums under his care. I am also indebted to him for allowing me to include his research data into my thesis. A good number of inscriptions compiled in this thesis were gathered from the Gandhāra Store of Lahore Museum. For this, I am grateful to Mdm. Sumaira Samad, Director of the Lahore Musem who has kindly permitted me to study their impressive collections, and has provided me with all the hospitalities and assistance thoughout my research there. My thanks also goes to the staff of the Lahore Museum, especially Mr. Mujeeb Khan who has patiently accompanied and helped me during my data collection over there. Throughout my study in the University of Peshawar, I have received knowledge not only in the field of epigraphy, but also in archaeology and history of Gandhāra, such as Hindu-Buddhist Art, Numismatic, Islamic Architecutre as well as in Proto-History. For this, I would like to thank Prof Dr. M. Farooq Swati, Dr. Mokhtar Ali Durrani, Dr. Ibrahim Shah, Prof. Dr. Gul Rahim Khan, Prof. Dr. Naeem Qazi, Mr. Nidaullah Sehrai and Dr. Zakirullah Jan for all the intellectual discourses. I am thankful to the Vice Chancellor, University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan, the Registrar Dr. Fazli Hadi and the Director Admission Prof Dr. Hezbollah Khan who facilitated and provided me with a condusive environment during my studies. I would like to thank Mr. Muhammad Naeem Bacha who has been tirelessly helping me in administrative matters. I am also indebted to the late Mr. Asad Ali, the photographer of the Department for all his advices and assistances (May he rest in peace). To Zafar Hayat Khan, Zarawar Khan, Mir Muhammad, Mueez-Ud-Din, Ghaiyur Shahab, Mian Asem, Noor Aiza Abdul Rahim, Siti Faridah Hanim, Fazal Ghani and Mohd Rozi Yahaya, I would like to express my appreciation for the friendship and the continuous help and support during my hard times. I would also like 3 to express my gratitude to Mr. Fawad Khan and Mr. Nawaz-Ud-Din for helping me during my research in the Peshawar Museum. My special thanks to Wannaporn Riejang (Kay) for all her support and assistance, especially in retrieving reading materials for this thesis. My sincere thanks are due to the High Commission of Malaysia, especially to H. E. Dato’ Dr. Hasrul Sani Mujtabar, Mr. Rezaldi Zaini, Mr. Ahmad Saduni and Mdm. Hayati Zawawi who have provided me with extremely valueble assistance on visa and other matters. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Universiti Sains Malaysia for providing me with the scholarship for this Ph.D programme. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mokhtar Saidin, Prof. Dr. Stephen Chia, Dr. Nazarudin Zainun, Mr. Zulkifli Jaafar, Mr. Hamid Isa, Dr. Jeffrey Ignatius Abdullah, Dr. Goh Hsiao Mei, Mr. Shaiful Shahidan and Mdm. Syarifah Hasnah for all their helps and supports. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS abbrv. abbreviation(s) abl. ablative acc. accusative adj. adjective 4 adv. adverb caus. causal dat. dative du. dual f. feminine gen. genitive impv. imperative ind. indeclinable inst. instrumental loc. locative m. masculine n. neuter N/A not available nom. nominative opt. optative pl. plural pp. past participle ppp. present perfect participle pre. present pron. pronoun sing. singular voc. vocative LIST OF SYMBOLS [ ] Unclear or partially preserved character(s) which reading is uncertain […] Untranslated part of the inscription ( ) Lost or illegible character(s) conjecturally restored based on context or other means < > Character(s) that has been omitted by the scribe and conjecturally restored <ˉ > Erraneous character(s) which should be cancelled . A missing portion of consonantal or diacritic vowel sign of partially legible character ? An illegible but visible or partially visible character + A missing character /// Beginning or end of an incomplete line A single large or medium-sized circle, a design composed of circles, or other large circular or square design used in the original text = A word break within an character: used in phrase such as vyupaśamas=sukham, in which the final consonant of the preceding word and the initial vowel of the following word are written together as a single syllable ssu. TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................... i 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................................... ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... iv LIST OF SYMBOLS ................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................v LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF MAPS...................................................................................................... xviii LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................................ xviii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... xix PREFACE ................................................................................................................ xxii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................1 1.1 Background of Research ..............................................................................1 1.2 Origin and Development of Writing in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent ........1 1.3 History of Epigraphic Research in Gandhāra ............................................3 1.4 Statement of problems ..................................................................................7 1.5 Objective of the Present Research ..............................................................7 1.6 Methodology of research .............................................................................8 CHAPTER TWO: GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND POLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF GANDHĀRA .......................................................................................................10 2.1 Geography of Gandhāra .............................................................................10 2.2 Historical Records on Gandhāra ...............................................................11 2.3 The Political Landscape of Gandhāra .......................................................12 2.3.1 Prehistory and Protohistory of Gandhāra ...............................................13 2.3.2 Gandhāra of the Vedic, Achaemenid and Mauryan Period ...................13 2.3.3 The Bactrian-Greeks ..............................................................................15 2.3.4 The Indo-Greek ......................................................................................16 2.3.5 The Scytho-Parthians .............................................................................17 2.3.6 The Kushans...........................................................................................18 2.3.7 The Later Kushans and Kushano-Sassanians ........................................19 2.3.8 The Huns and Khingals. .........................................................................20 2.3.9 The Turk Śāhis .......................................................................................22 2.3.10 The Hindu Śāhis ....................................................................................23 CHAPTER THREE: EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE FROM GANDHᾹRA: HISTORY AND DECIPHERMENT .......................................................................25 3.1 Background ..................................................................................................25 3.2 Brāhmī Inscriptions (3rd Century B.C.E-4th Century C.E.) ....................26 3.2.1 Aśokan Rock Edict ................................................................................26 3.2.2 Relief Panel Inscription..........................................................................28