गुप्त अभिलेख संग्रह (जे. एफ. फ्लीट - गुप्त सम्राटों एवं परवर्ती नरेशों के ऐतिहासिक पाषाण व ताम्रलेख)

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS, No 64 PLATE XXXIX B. 265
entirely destroyed. The remnant of the inscription does not display any sectarian charac-
ter. The object of it was to record certain grants to a sattra, or charitable hall or alms-
house.
TEXT.¹
First Part.
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . śr . ku-²
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . sattra yû(?) 9(?)
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [di]vasa-pûrvvâyâṁ ma-
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . guptasy=aiva da . y .
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [A]nantaguptâya(?yâ)
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . puṇy-âpyâyan-â-
7 [rtthaṁ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sattra-sâ[mâ*]nya-bhôja-
8 [na] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [dî]nâraiḥ . . . . .
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vâsô-yugâ-
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . parô dî-
11 [nâra] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dînâraiḥ dê(?)va-
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Yaś=ch=ainaṁ] dharmma-skandhaṁ vyu-
13 [chchhindyât=sa pañchabhir=mahâpâta]kaiḥ sa[ṁ]yu-
14 ktaḥ syâd=iti [॥]
Second Part.
15 . . . . sat[t*]ra-sâmânya-bhôjanê . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16 prati suvaṇṇair=êkân-na-viṁśatibhi[ḥ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17 kâritaḥ [। ] Brâhma(?)ṇô mayika . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 dvayaṁ 2 karôṭa 2 bra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19 yugaṁ 1 koṭṭayba sukun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20 dakshiṇa-kûla-kañchaḍaṁ paksha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [॥]
21 Yaś=ch=ainaṁ • vyuchchhin[dy]â[t=sa pañchabhir=mahâ]-
22 [pâ]takais=sa[ṁ*]yuktaḥ [s]y[âd=iti ॥]
TRANSLATION.
It is impossible to give any connected rendering of the contents of this inscription.
We can only note that, in the First Part, we may perhaps have remnants of the name of
Kumâragupta in line 1-2; that there is the name of Anantagupta or Anantaguptâ in line 5,
evidently belonging to some private person; and that lines 7 to 12 appear to have recorded
certain grants, fixed in dînâras, for the purpose of providing food in a sattra or ‘almshouse,’
and also to provide pairs of upper and lower garments. It ends with the usual impreca-
tion against interfering with the continuance of the grant.
The Second Part, again, refers to food in an almshouse, recording something in
connection with it at a cost of nineteen gold coins of the kind called suvarṇa. Other de-
tails follow, including two karôṭas or ‘basins or cups,’ and one pair [of upper and lower
garments]. Then follows apparently a grant of some land, on the south bank of a river.
And the inscription winds up, as before, with the usual imprecation against interfering with
the grants.
¹ From the original stone.    ² Possibly the original had śrî-Kumâraguptasya.

266 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
No. 65; PLATE XXXIX C.
KOSAM STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION OF THE
MAHARAJA BHIMAVARMAN.
THE YEAR 139.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1874-75 or 1876-77 by General Cunningham, and
was first brought to notice by him in 1880, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 3, where
he published his reading of the text, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate ii. No. 3).
Kôsam,¹ the ancient Kausâmbî, is a small village near the left bank of the Jamnâ,
about eight miles to the south of Karârî,² the chief town of the Karârî Parganâ in the
Manjhanpur or Mânjhandpur Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Allahâbâd District in the
North-West Provinces. The inscription is on the broken base of a sculptured standing
group of Siva and Pârvatî that was found buried in a field near the large monolith pillar
inside the fort, which is described in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. I. p. 309 ff.
The writing, which covers the whole face of the stone, measuring about 10½″ broad
by 4″ high, is in a state of very fair preservation, as far as it goes. But it is only a frag-
ment, as at least one line is almost entirely destroyed below line 2; and it is also impos-
sible to say how much has been lost at each side of the stone.—The average size of the
letters is about ⅝″. The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets. They
include forms of the numerical symbols for 7, 9, 30, and 100, and perhaps³ for 2.—The
language is Sanskrit; and the extant portion of the inscription is all in prose.—The
orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription is one of a Mahârâja named Bhîmavarman, who, judging by the
date, must have been a feudatory of the Early Gupta king Skandagupta. Its date,
in numerical symbols, is the year one hundred and thirty-nine (A.D. 458-59), and the
seventh solar day, perhaps of the second fortnight of a month, or perhaps of the second month
of a season;⁴ but the details here are broken away and lost. It is evidently a Śaiva in-
scription; and the object of it must have been to record the gift or installation of the
sculpture on the base of which it is engraved.
¹ The ‘Kosam and Kosim Kheraj’ of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 88. Lat. 25° 20′ N.,
Long. 81° 27′ E.—Kheraj is a mistake for khirâj; the village consisting of two parts, of which one is
inâm or ‘rent-free, and the other is khirâj or ‘rent-paying.’
² The ‘Kuraiee’ of maps
³ See note 4 below.
⁴ Before the word diva there are two marks which seem to be the numerical symbol 2; and
the passage might be completed either in accordance with the method of, for instance, the date of the
Nâsik inscription of Puḷumâyi, “in the year nineteen, 19; in the second fortnight, 2, of the hot
season; on the thirteenth day, 13” (Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 108, No. 18); or the date
of the Mathurâ inscription of Vâsudêva, “in the 44 (? 74); in the first month of the rainy season; on
the thirtieth day, 30” (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 32, No. 8). But I know of no other instance
of these ancient methods being continued as late as the period of the present inscription; and this
makes it doubtful whether the signs in question really are the numerical symbol 2.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 66, PLATE XXXIX D. 267
TEXT.¹
1 ......... Mah[â*]r[â]jasya śrî-Bhîmavarmmaṇaḥ saṁva[t*] 100 30 9
.........
2 ......... .... 2(?)[²] diva[³] 7 [|] êtad-[d]ivasa kumaramê
.........
3 ......... .... pa ...................................................................
TRANSLATION.
............ (In the government) of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Bhîmavarman ;
—the year 100 (and) 30 (and) 9; .................... 2 (?);⁴ the day 7;—(on)
this day ............................................................................................
No. 66; PLATE XXXIX D.
GADHWA STONE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 148.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1874-75 or 1876-77 by General Cunningham, and
was first brought to notice by him in 1880, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 11,
where he published his reading of the text, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate v.
No. 4).—This rendering of the inscription has remained the only published version of
it up to the present time. But in 1882, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. page 311, note 3,
Dr. E. Hultzsch pointed out that the correct interpretation of the date gave the year 148 ;
not 140, as read by General Cunningham.
This is another inscription from **Gaḍhwâ,**⁵ in the Karchhanâ Sub-Division of the
Allahâbâd District in the North-West Provinces. It is on a sandstone fragment that
was found in the pavement of the Daśâvatâra temple of Vishṇu, and is now in the Imperial
Museum at Calcutta.
With the exception of a margin of about 1½″ at the top and bottom, and at the end of
the lines, the inscription covers the entire front of the stone, measuring about 2′ 4″ broad by
7¾″ high. The writing is a good deal damaged, but can be made out satisfactorily with a
little trouble. It is, however, only a fragment ; since the first part of each line, containing
nearly as much as is now extant, has been cut away in adapting the stone to some later
building purpose, and this part of the stone has not been found.—The average size of
the letters is about ⅞″. The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets.—The
language is Sanskrit ; and the entire inscription is in prose.—In respect of orthography,
we have to notice (1) the use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in
chatvâriṅśad and viṅśati, line 1 ; (2) the doubling of t, in conjunction with a following r,
in chittra, line 3 ; and (3) the doubling of v, after the anusvâra, in saṁvvatsara, line 1.
¹ From Gen. Cunningham’s ink-impression ; so also the lithograph.
² See page 266 above, note 4. ³ i.e. divasa, or divasê.
⁴ See page 266 above, note 4. ⁵ See page 36 above, and note 1.
2 L 2.

268 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of some particular king; but his name has
been entirely broken away and lost in the first half of line 1. The recorded date, how-
ever, shews that it was either of the time of the Early Gupta king Skandagupta, or
immediately after his reign. It is dated, in words, in the year one hundred and forty-
eight (A.D. 467-68), on the twenty-first solar day, without any specification of the fortnight,
of the month Mâgha (January-February). It is a Vaishṇava inscription. And the object
of it is to record the installation of an image of the god Vishṇu, under the name of Ananta-
svâmin; and,—for the purpose of providing perfumes, incense, garlands, &c., and of exe-
cuting repairs,—a grant, the details of which are lost, but which would seem to have con-
sisted of some land at a village belonging to the same god under the name of
Chitrakûṭasvâmin, or 'the lord of Chitrakûṭa.'¹
TEXT.²
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sya pravarddhamâna-vijaya-râjya-saṁvvatsara³-śatê-shṭâ-
chatvâriṁśad-uttarê Mâgha-mâsa-divasê êka-viṁśatimê [|]
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . puṇy-âbhivṛiddhy-arthaṁ vaḍabhîṁṅ=kârayayitvâ⁴ Ananta-
svâmi-pâdâṁ⁵ pratishṭhâpya gandha-dhûpa-srag . . . . .
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s[phu]ṭa-pratisaṁskâra-karaṇ-ârthaṁ bhaga[va]ch-Chittra-
[k]ûṭasvâmi-pâdîya-kôshṭhê(?)ta-prâvêśya-mati .
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lâ dattâ dvâdaśa [||] Yainam⁶
vyuchchh[i]ndy[â]t=saḥ⁷ pañchabhiḥ mahâpâtakaiḥ sa[ṁy]uktaḥ
syâd=iti [||*]
TRANSLATION.
. . . . . In the augmenting victorious reign⁸ of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
in a century of years, increased by forty-eight, on the twenty-first day of the month
Mâgha;—
(Line 2.)—Having caused (a temple having) a flat roof⁹ to be made, for the sake of
increasing the religious merit of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (and) having installed the feet¹⁰ of
(the god) Anantasvâmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . perfumes, incense, garlands . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . for the purpose of repairing whatever may become . . . . . . . . . . torn, there have
been given twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . belonging to the entrance of . . .
. . . . . . . . which belongs to the feet of the divine (god) Chitrakûṭasvâmin.
¹ The Chitrakûṭa referred to here is the modern 'Chatarkot,' 'Chitarkot,' and 'Chitrakote Hill
of maps, &c., in the 'Bânda' District of the North-West Provinces, forty-two miles south-east of
Bânda,' and seventy-one miles south-west of Allahâbâd; Lat. 25° 12' N.; Long. 80° 47' E. It is a
great place of pilgrimage, and is specially sacred to Vishṇu in his incarnation as Râma.
² From the original stone. ³ Read râjya-saṁvvatsara; see page 38 above, note 5.
⁴ Read vaḍabhîṁ kârayitvâ, or vaḍabhîṅ=kârayitvâ. ⁵ Read pâdân or pâdau.
⁶ Read ya ênaṁ, or yaś=ch=ainaṁ. ⁷ Read sa.
⁸ See page 38 above, note 5.
⁹ vaḍabhî (also valabhî, which occurs in line 6 of No. 18 above, page 81) is explained as mean-
ing 'the wooden frame of a roof; a flat roof, house-top, top-room, turret, top-floor, balcony; any tem-
porary erection on the top of a palace; an awning, a tent;' but it seems to refer to a building here, and
to denote 'a flat-roofed temple.'
¹⁰ i.e. "having installed an image;" see page 123 above, note 5. The use of the word pâda, not
pada, shews that the inscription does not refer to the foot-prints or impressions of the feet, which are so
frequently objects of worship. So, also, just below this passage, "the feet of the divine (god)
Chitrakûṭasvâmin" means simply "the divine (god) Chitrakûṭasvamin."

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 67, XL A. 269
(L. 4.)—Whosoever may interrupt this (grant), he shall become invested with (the
guilt of) the five great sins!

No. 67; PLATE XL A.

TUSAM ROCK INSCRIPTION.

THIS inscription appears to have been discovered by Mr. Bird, and was first brought to
notice by General Cunningham in 1875, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. V. p. 138 ff., where
he published a translation of it by Babu Pratap Chandra Ghosh, accompanied by a litho-
graph (id. Plate xl. No. 5).
Tusâm¹ or Tusâm is a village about fourteen miles to the north-west of Bhiwânî,²
the chief town of the Bhiwânî Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Hisâr or Hissâr District in
the Pañjâb. Immediately on the west of the village there is a steep isolated hill, that
rises abruptly out of the plain to a height of some eight hundred feet. And the present
inscription is on the surface of a rock, about half-way up the east side of this hill.
About a foot below the centre of the last line of the inscription, there is engraved on
the rock an emblem, of which a complete restoration is given by General Cunningham in
his published lithograph, and which may be either a Buddhist dharmachakra or ‘wheel of
religion,’ or a sun-symbol. But there is nothing to connect it of necessity with the in-
scription now published; and it may belong to one of the shorter records, e.g. the Jitaṁ
bhagavatâ bhagavat-pâda-dêśê, “victory has been achieved by the Divine One, in (this)
region belonging to the feet³ of the Divine One,” which is engraved just above the present
inscription, in large and somewhat irregular characters of about the same period.⁴—The
writing covers an extreme space of about 4' 2" broad by 2' 2½" high; the lines being of
unequal length to suit the irregularities of the rock. The engraving was rather shallow,
and some of the letters are a good deal weather-worn; but, on the original rock, the in-
scription is quite legible throughout.—The size of the letters varies from ¾" to 1½". The
characters belong to the northern class of alphabets; but in the word aḷi, ‘a bee,’ in
line 1, they include the southern ḷ, which I have commented on at page 4 above.—The
language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is in prose throughout.—In respect of ortho-
graphy, the only points that call for notice are (1) the doubling of dh, in conjunction
with a following y, in upâddhyâya, line 5; and (2), as noted above, the use of the southern
ḷ in aḷi, line 1, which is probably due to Sômatrâta, whose record this inscription is, being
a Sâtvata from Central or Southern India.⁵

¹ The ‘Toosham and Tosham’ of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 49. Lat. 28° 51' N.; Long.
76° 0' E.—The name is written sometimes with the palatal sibilant, and sometimes with the dental;
but with a preference for the former.—Gen. Cunningham wrote the name ‘Tushâm,’ and suggested
that it is derived from Tushâr-ârâma, ‘the Tushâra monastery.’ But the sibilant is not the lingual
sh; and the proposed etymology, due in the first instance to the supposition that the inscription men-
tioned a Tushâra king named Vishṇu, cannot be upheld.
² The ‘Bhewani and Bhewannee’ of maps
³ See page 123 above, note 5.
⁴ See Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol V. Pl. xl. No. 1; which, however, is not quite an accurate repre-
sentation of the original.
⁵ See page 271 below, note 1.

270 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; but,
on palæographical grounds, it may be allotted to the end of the fourth, or the beginning
of the fifth century A.D. It is a Vaishṇava inscription; and the object of it is to record
the making, by an Âchârya named Sômatrâta, of two reservoirs and a house, for the use
of the god Vishṇu under the name of Bhagavat or the Divine One.
The manipulation of General Cunningham's ink-impression, as shewn by the published
lithograph, led to the introduction of the name of the Early Gupta Mahârâja Ghaṭôt-
kacha in line 2; and to the supposition that the name Vishṇu, in the same line, was that
of a Tushâra king who conquered Ghaṭôtkacha, and who might be identified with the third
Kaṇva or Kaṇvâyana prince Nârâyaṇa.¹ As is to be seen, however, in my lithograph now
published, there is no foundation whatever for this; the aksharas that were supposed to
give the name of Ghaṭôtkacha, being, in reality, nothing but dânav-âṅganâ, "(the women)
of the demons;" and tushâra here has no meaning but that of 'frost.'
TEXT.²
1 Jitam³=abhîkshṇam=êva. Jâmbavatî-vadanâravind-ôrjjit-âlinâ ।
2 dânav-âṅganâ-mukhâmbhôja-lakshmî-tushârêṇa Vishṇunâ ।(॥)
3 Anêkapurushâbhyâgat - âryyaSâtvata - y⁴ôgâchâryya -
4 bhagavadbhakta - Yaśastrâta-prapautrasy = âchâryya - Vishṇutrâta -
pautrasy=âchâryya-
5 Vasudatta-p[u]trasya Râvaṇyâm=utpannasya Gôtama-
sagôtrasy=âchâryy-ôpâddhyâya-
6 Yaśastrât-[ân]ujasy=âchâryya-Sômatrâtasy=êdaṁ bhagavat-
pâd-ôpayô-
7 jyaṁ kuṇḍam=uparyy-âvasathaḥ ku-
8 ṇḍaṁ ch=âparaṁ [॥*]
TRANSLATION.
Verily victory has been achieved again and again by (the god) Vishṇu, who is a
mighty bee on the waterlily which is the face of Jâmbavatî, (and) a very frost to (cause
the withering of) the beauty of the waterlilies which are the faces of the women of the
demons!
(Line 3.)—This reservoir, intended for the use of the feet⁵ of the Divine One, (and)
the house above (it), and the second reservoir, (are the work) of the Âchârya Sôma-
trâta,—the son of the son's son of Yaśastrâta, who was the successor of many men (of
¹ Mentioned, for instance, in the Vishṇu-Purâṇa, book IV. chap. xxiv.; F. E. Hall's edition of
H. H. Wilson's Translation, Vol. IV. p. 192.—The Tushâra, Tukhâra or Tushkhara (? Turushka) kings
are mentioned in the same volume, p. 203.
² From the original stone.
³ Over this m, there are the vowel-marks for ô. But they are not connected in any way with the
m; and it is not apparent why they were made, as they cannot possibly stand for the syllable ôm,
and they are altogether superfluous and unmeaning.
⁴ This y is rather an anomalous one; but the character cannot stand for anything else.
⁵ See page 123 above, note 5.

Vol. III. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. Plate xl
A.—Tusam Rock Inscription.
[Line 1] ꣢ जितं भगवता [..]
[Line 2] ꣢ [...]
[Line 3] ꣢ [...]
[Line 4] ꣢ [...]
[Line 5] ꣢ [...]
[Line 6] ꣢ [...]
[Line 7] ꣢ [...]
[Line 8] ꣢ [...]
SCALE .15
B.—Deoriya Image Inscription.
[Line 1] देयधर्मोऽयं शाक्यभिक्षोर्बोधिषेणस्य मङ्गलपु-
[Line 2] रस्य यदत्र पुण्यं तद्भवतु सर्व्वसत्त्वानामनुत्तरज्ञा-
[Line 3] नावाप्तये [॥]
SCALE .50
C.—Kasia Image Inscription.
[Line 1] देयधर्मोऽयं शाक्यभिक्षोर्भदन्तसुवी[रस्य] [॥]
[Line 2] [यदत्र पुण्यं तद्भवतु मा]तापित्रोः सर्व्वसत्त्वानाञ्चानुत्त[र]-
[Line 3] [ज्ञानावाप्तये] [॥]
SCALE .50
D.—Mathura Image Inscription.—The Year 230
[Line 1] सं २०० ३० महारा[ज]स्य [क]निष्कस्य राज्यसंवत्सरे [..]
[Line 2] [..] दे[यध]र्म्मो [...]

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 68, PLATE XL B. 271
preceding generations); who was a highly esteemed Sâtvata;¹ who was an Âchârya of the
Yôga philosophy; and who was a devotee of the Divine One;—the son's son of the
Âchârya Vishnutrâta;—the son, begotten on Râvaṇî, of the Âchârya Vasudatta;—a
member of the Gôtama gôtra;—(and) the younger brother of the Âchârya and Upâdhyâya
Yaśastrâta.
No. 68; PLATE XL B.
DEORIYA STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1871-72 by General Cunningham, and was first
brought to notice by him in 1873, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 48 f., where he
published his reading of the text and a translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph (id.
Plate xviii D).
Dêôriyâ or Dêwariyâ² is a small village on the right bank of the Jamnâ, about
eight miles towards the south-west of Arail or Arayal, the chief town of the Arail
Parganâ in the Karchhanâ Sub-Division of the Allahâbâd District in the North-West
Provinces. The inscription is on the pedestal of a stone standing image of Buddha,—
draped, and with small attendant figures kneeling at his feet, one on the right
side, and two on the left,—that was found at this village. When I examined the image,
it was in the Government Museum at Allahâbâd; but it is now, I understand, in the
Provincial Museum at Lucknow.
The writing, which covers the whole front of the pedestal, about 1' 1" broad by
2½" high, is in a state of good preservation throughout.—The size of the letters varies
from 7/16" to 9/16". The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets.—The lan-
guage is Sanskrit; and the whole inscription is in prose.—The orthography presents
nothing calling for remark.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; it
may be allotted, however, on palæographical grounds, to about the fifth century A.D.
It is a Buddhist inscription; and the object of it is to record the gift, by a Śâkya mendi-
cant named Bôdhivarman, of the statue, on the pedestal of which it is engraved.
TEXT.³
1 Dêya-dharmmô=yaṁ Śâkya-bhikshô[r*]-Bôdhivarmmaṇaḥ [1*] Yad=atra
puṇya[ṁ*]
2 tad⁴-bhava[tu*] mâtâpitrô[ḥ*] sarvva-sat[t*]vânâṁ ch-ânut[t*]ara-jñân-
âvâptayê [॥*]
¹ Sâtvata is explained in Monier Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary as being a name of Vishṇu or
Kṛishṇa, and also of a people, inhabiting a district in Central India, said to be the descendants of
outcaste Vaiśyas.—It seems to be, as used here, the name of some special sect of Vaishṇavas or
Bhâgavatas, probably from Central or Southern India.
² The 'Deoriya and Deorya' of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 88. Lat. 25° 19' N.; Long. 81
51' E.—Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji writes the name 'Dêvalia' (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XVI.
p. 354).
³ From the original stone.
⁴ This d was at first omitted, and was then inserted above the line.

272 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
TRANSLATION.
This (is) the appropriate religious gift of the Śâkya Bhikshu Bôdhivarman.
Whatever religious merit (there is) in this (act), let it be for the acquisition of supreme
knowledge by (his) parents and by all sentient beings.
No. 69; PLATE XL C.
KASIA STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1875-76 or 1876-77 by Mr. A. C. L. Carlleyle, and
was first brought to notice by him in 1883, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XVIII. p. 59,
where he published his reading of the text and proposed interpretation of it, followed (id.
p. 60, note 1) by my own reading of the text (of course mutilated in publication), and my
translation as it then suggested itself to me.
Kasiâ¹ or Kasyâ is a village thirty-four miles due east of Gôrakhpur, in the Pad-
raunâ² Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Gôrakhpur District in the North-West Provinces; and
is the head-quarters of a Joint-Magistrate in charge of a Sub-Division of the District.
The inscription is below the figure of a man, sitting in a squatting position, on the lower
part of the western side of the pedestal of a colossal stone statue of Buddha, recumbent
in the act of attaining nirvâṇa, which was found by Mr. Carlleyle in the course of excava-
tions in a large mound of ruins at this village.
The writing, which covers a space of about 1′ 3¾″ broad by 2¾″ high, is in a state
of very good preservation, except that the name of the sculptor is partially illegible in line
2.—The average size of the letters is about 7/16″. The characters belong to the north-
ern class of alphabets.—The language is Sanskrit; and the whole inscription is in
prose.—The orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; on
palæographical grounds, however, it may be allotted to about the end of the fifth century
A.D. It is a Buddhist inscription; and the object of it is to record the gift, by a Mahâ-
vihârasvâmin³ named Haribala, of the figure below which it is engraved.
**TEXT.**⁴
1 Dêya-dharmmô-yaṁ mahâvihârasvâminô Haribalasya [। ]
2 Pratimâ ch-êyaṁ ghaṭitâ Dinê .. mâ(?)śvarêṇa ।(॥)
¹ The 'Kasia, Kassia, Kasya, Kesiya, and Kusya,' of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 102.
Lat. 26° 45′ N.; Long. 83° 58′ E.
² The 'Paraona, Parâuna, and Pudrownan,' of maps, &c.
³ Mahâvihârasvâmin, lit. 'a great master (superintendent) of a vihâra,' is evidently a technical
religious title of office, denoting the officer who came, in the management of a vihâra, next above the
Vihârasvâmins or 'masters (superintendents) of the vihâra.' The latter title occurs in the Sâñchi
pillar inscription No. 73 below, Plate xlii A.
⁴ From Mr. Carlleyle's ink-impression; so also the lithograph.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 70, PLATE XL D. 273
TRANSLATION.
This (is) the appropriate religious gift of the Mahâvihârasvâmin Haribala. And
this image has been fashioned by Dinê .. mâśvara (?)
No. 70; PLATE XL D.
MATHURA STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 230.
THIS inscription was discovered by General Cunningham, and was first brought to notice
in 1871, in the Jour. R. As. Soc. N. S. Vol. V. p. 185, where Professor J. Dowson pub-
lished his reading of the text, and a translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph (id.
Plate ii. No. 9) reduced from General Cunningham's ink-impression.—And this rendering
of the inscription was reprinted, with a few corrections, in 1873, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind.
Vol. III. p. 37, accompanied by a fresh lithograph (id. Plate xvi. No. 23).
This is another inscription from Mathurâ,¹ the chief town of the Mathurâ District
in the North-West Provinces; and is on the pedestal of a stone standing statue of Bud-
dha, draped, and with a nimbus behind his head and shoulders, that was found in the
Katrâ² mound. When I examined it, it was in the Government Museum at Allahâbâd;
but it is now, I understand, in the Provincial Museum at Lucknow.
The writing, which covers a space about 1' 4½" broad by 2" high on the upper part
of the face of the pedestal, is in a state of fairly good preservation.—The average size of
the letters is about ⅜". The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets.
They include, in line 2, forms of the numerical symbols for 30 and 200. In the rya of
bhaṭṭâyâr-yad, line 1, we have to notice that the r is formed on the line of writing, with
a single y below it. And the same method of forming the r is followed in dharmô and
rjaya, though not in sarvva, in the same line.—The language is Saṁskṛit; and the whole
inscription is in prose.—The orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king. But its date, in
numerical symbols, is the year two hundred and thirty (A.D. 549-50), without any fur-
ther details. It is a Buddhist inscription; and the object of it is to record the gift, by a
Śâkya female mendicant named Jayabhaṭṭâ, to a monastery called the Yaśôvihâra, of
the image on the pedestal of which it is engraved.
TEXT.³
1 Dêya-dharmo=yaṁ Yaśâ(śô)vihârê Śâkya-bhikshuṇyar-Jayabhaṭṭâyâr=
Yad⁴=atra puṇyaṁ tad=bhavatu sarvva-sa-
2 tvanam⁵=anuttara-jñân âvâptayê |(||) Saṁvatsaraḥ 200 30 |(।।),
¹ See page 26 above, and note 2. ² See page 26 above, note 1.
³ From the original stone. ⁴ Read bhikshuṇyâ Jayabhaṭṭâyâḥ || Yad.
⁵ Read sattvânâm.
2 M₂

274 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
TRANSLATION.
This (is) the appropriate religious gift, at the (monastery called) Yaśôvihâra, of
the Śâkya Bhikshuṇī Jayabhaṭṭâ. Whatever religious merit (there is) in this (act),
let it be for the acquisition of supreme knowledge by all sentient beings! The year
200 (and) 30.
No. 71; PLATE XLI A.
BODH-GAYA INSCRIPTION OF MAHANAMAN.
THE YEAR 269.
THIS inscription, which was published by me, for the first time, quite recently, in the Ind.
Ant. Vol. XV. p. 356 ff., is from a stone-tablet that was discovered in the course of the ex-
cavations made by General Cunningham and Mr. J. D. M. Beglar at Bôdh-Gayâ,¹ the
famous Buddhist site about five miles due south of Gayâ, the chief town of the Gayâ
District, in the Bengal Presidency. The original stone is now in the Imperial Museum at
Calcutta.
The stone has the appearance of having been originally set in a socket about three
inches deep, and morticed at the sides into a building. The front surface measures
about 1' 7¾" broad by 1' 6" high. Below the inscription, towards the proper right side of
the stone, there are engraved in outline a cow and a calf, standing towards, and nibbling
at, a small tree or bush; the tips of the ears of the cow are discernible in the lithograph,
below the commencement of line 14.—The writing, which is in the upper part of the
stone, and covers a space of about 1' 7⅛" broad by 1' 0" high, including a margin of about
an inch all round, is in a state of perfect preservation almost throughout.—The average
size of the letters is about ¼". The characters belong to the northern class of alpha-
bets. The form of y, throughout this inscription, is a slightly older variety of the fully
developed Dêvanâgarî form exhibited throughout the Aphsaḍ inscription of Âdityasêna,
No. 42 above, page 200. In the conjunct letter ry, in yatir-yataḥ, line 7, we have to
note that the r is formed on the line, with a single y below it. The characters include,
in the last line, forms of the numerical symbols for 7, 9, 60, and 200.—The lan-
guage is Sanskrit; and, except for the opening symbol representing ōm, and for the date
at the end, the inscription is in verse throughout.—In respect of orthography, the only
points calling for notice are (1) the occasional doubling of k and t, in conjunction with
a following r, e.g. in chakkrais, line 13; tanttra, line 2; and chaittra, line 14; and (2)
the use of v for b throughout, e.g. in vandhu, lines 2 and 8; vabhûva, line 6; and
vôdhi, lines 10 and 12.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king. Its date, in
numerical symbols,² is the year two hundred and sixty-nine (A.D. 588-89), on the seventh
¹ The ‘Bodh-Gya and Buddh-Gaya’ of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 104. Lat. 24° 41' N.,
Long. 85° 2' E.
² As regards the third symbol in the years, 9, it occurs as the second symbol, in the record of the
day, in line 9 of the Bhumarâ pillar inscription of the Mahârâjas Hastin and Śarvanâtha, No. 24
above; in connection with which instance, I remarked (page 110, note 2) that, though it resembles
most a rather straight and upright form of the symbol for 9, yet it might possibly be 7 or 8. I also

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 71, PLATE XLI A. 275

solar day of the bright fortnight of the month Chaitra (March-April). It is a Buddhist in-
scription. And the object of it is to record the erection, by a certain Mahânâman,—
the second of that name mentioned in this inscription,—of a mansion of Buddha, i.e. a
Buddhist temple or monastery, at the Bôdhimanḍa, or, rather, within the precincts of it;
i.e. at the modern Bôdh-Gayâ.
With regard to the places mentioned in this inscription, Laṅkâ is, of course, one of
the most well-known names of Ceylon. And General Cunningham tells me that
Âmradvîpa, ‘the mango-island,’ is another of its names, derived from its resemblance in
shape to a mango. Bôdhimanḍa is the name of the miraculous throne under the bôdhi-
tree at Bôdh-Gayâ, also called the vajrâsana or ‘diamond-throne,’ on which Buddha and
his predecessors sat, when attaining bôdhi or perfect wisdom.¹ And Professor Childers, in
his Pâli Dictionary, added that he inferred that the term was also applied to the raised
terrace built under the bôdhi-tree within the precincts of any Buddhist temple, in imitation,
presumably, of Buddha's throne. This, rather than the throne itself, seems to be its
meaning in the present inscription.
The chief interest of this inscription, lies in the probability that the second
Mahânâman mentioned in it, is the person of that name who composed the more ancient
part of the Pâli Mahâvaṁsa, or history of Ceylon. If this identification is accepted, it
opens up a point of importance in the question of dates. On the one hand, there can be
no doubt that the date of the present inscription has to be referred to the Gupta era, with
the result of A.D. 588-89. On the other hand, from the Ceylonese records, Mr. Turnour
arrived at A.D. 459 to 477 as the period of the reign of Mahânâman's nephew (sister's
son) Dhâtusêna;² and it was during his reign that Mahânâman compiled the history.

then considered that the same symbol occurs, in the record of the day, in the Khôh grant of the
Mahârâja Saṁkshôbha, No. 25, above; in line 24 of which (page 115) I accordingly read the solar
day as 29. Mr. Sh. B. Dikshit, however, has found, by actual calculation, that the thirteenth
lunar day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, which is mentioned in line 2 f. of that record (page 114),
was the twenty-seventh solar day in the month. Accordingly, the symbol which we have there, in line
24, must be interpreted as 7; not 9.—On fuller consideration of the whole matter, with the help of
Mr. Sh. B. Dikshit's calculation, I find that, in the three passages, we are concerned with two separ-
ate symbols; not one and the same.—One is the symbol which is the third in the years of the present
inscription of Mahânâman, and the second in the record of the day in the Bhumarâ pillar inscription;
and I see no reason to alter my original opinion, that it is a rather straight and upright form of the
symbol for 9. A sign extremely like it occurs, it is true, in the date of the Môrbî grant (Ind. Ant.
Vol. II. p. 258, and Plate, line 19), where the record in words compels us to interpret it as 8; but it
is there a decimal figure, not a numerical symbol; and that record also comes from a far distant part
of the country; so that we are not bound to adopt the same interpretation in the present instance.—
The other symbol is the second in the record of the day in the grant of Saṁkshôbha. And an
examination of the lithograph (Plate xv B.) will shew, that it really differs from the symbol which I
interpre as through a slight mark below it, which, being a little detached from it, I took originally
to be a rust-mark, and not part of the symbol itself. Taking it now as part of the symbol itself, it
makes the symbol identical with, though in execution somewhat inferior to, the symbol for the day in
the present inscription of Mahânâman; and, accordingly, the symbol for the day here must now be
interpreted as 7; not as 8, which I took it to be in my original version of this inscription.—The same
symbol occurs also in lines 19 and 21 of the Nêpâl inscription of Jishṇugupta (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p.
172, and Plate); and it was Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji's interpretation of it there as 8, which led me to
read it originally as 8 in the present instance.
¹ See, amongst other authorities, Beal's Buddhist Records of the Western World, Vol. II.
p. 116.
² See Turnour's Mahawanso, pp. ii. liv. lxii. 254 ff.; and Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. VII. p. 922

276 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
The recorded date of the present inscription, therefore, shews,—if the identification sug-
gested above is accepted,—either that the details of the Ceylonese chronology are not as
reliable as they have been supposed to be; or else that a wrong starting-point has been
selected in working them out, and that they now require considerable rectification.
TEXT.¹
1 Ôm [॥] Vyâptô² yên=â-pramêyaḥ sakala-śaśi-ruchâ sarvvataḥ sat[t]va-
dhâtuḥ kshuṇṇaḥ pâshaṇḍa-yôdhâs=sugati-patha-rudhas=tarkka-śastr-
âbhiyuktâḥ sampûrṇṇô
2 dharmma-kôshaḥ prakṛiti-ripu-hṛitaḥ sâdhitô lôka-bhûtyai l³ śâstuḥ Śâky-aika-
va(ba)ndhôr=jjayati chirataraṁ tad=yaśas-sâra-tanttram ॥ Nairôdhîm⁴
śubha-bhâvanâ-
3 m=anusṛitaḥ saṁsâra-saṁklêśa-jin=Maitrêyasya karê vimukti-vaśitâ yasy=
âdbhutâ vyâkṛitâ l nirvviṇ-âvasarê cha yêna charaṇau dṛishṭau munêḥ
4 pâvanau l⁵ pâyâd=vaḥ sa munîndra-śâsana-dharaḥ stutyô⁶ Mahâ-Kâśyapaḥ ॥
Saṁvyukt-âgaminô viśuddha-rajasaḥ sat[t*]v-ânukamp-ôdyatâḥ śishyâ
5 yasya sakṛid=vichêrur=amalâṁ Laṅk-âchal-ôpatyakâm têbhyaḥ śîla-guṇ-
ânvitâś=cha śataśaḥ śishya-praśishyâḥ kramâj=jâtâs=tuṅga-narêndra-
6 vaṁśa-tilakâḥ prôtsṛijya râjya-śriyam ॥ Dhyân⁷-ôday-âhita-hitaḥ śubh-
âśubha-vivêkakṛid=vihata-môhaḥ sad-dharmm-âtula-vibhavô Bhavô
va(ba)bhûva
7 śramaṇas=tataḥ ॥ Râhul⁸-âkhyaś=cha tach-chhishya U⁹pasênô yatir=yataḥ
Mahânâmâ kramâd=êvam=Upasênas=tatô-paraḥ ॥ Vâtsalyam¹⁰ śaraṇ-â-
8 gatasya satataṁ dînasya vaiśêshikaṁ vyâpat-sâyaka-santati-kshata-dhṛitêr=
ârttasya ch=âpatyakaṁ l krûrasy=âhita-kâriṇaḥ pravitatam va(ba)ndhôr=
yathâ-
9 bhâvataḥ êvaṁ sach-charit-ôdbhavêna yaśasâ yasy=âchitaṁ bhûtalaṁ ॥
Âmradvîp¹¹-âdhivâsî pṛithu-kula-jaladhis=tasya śishyô mahîyân
10 Laṅkâ-dvîpa-prasûtaḥ para-hita-nirataḥ san=Mahânâma-nâmâ l tên=ôchchair-
Vvô(bbô)dhimaṇḍê śaśi-kara-dhavalaḥ sarvvatô maṇḍapêna l¹²
11 kântaḥ prâsâda êsha Smara-va(ba)la-jayinaḥ kâritô lôka-śâstuḥ ॥
Vyapagata¹³-vishaya-snêhô hata-timira-daśaḥ pradîpa-vad=a-saṅgaḥ
12 kuśalên=ânêna janô vô(bô)dhi-sukham=anuttaraṁ bhajatâm ॥ Yâvad¹⁴=
dhvânt-âpahârî pravitata-kiraṇaḥ sarvvatô bhâti bhâsvân=yâvat=pûrṇṇô=
mvu(mbu)-
¹ From the original stone. ² Metre, Sragdharâ.
³ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
⁴ Metre, Śârdûlavikrîḍita; and in the following verse.
⁵ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
⁶ My original reading was stutyai. I owe the correction, as also that of amalâṁ, for atulâṁ, in
line 5, to the kind suggestion of Dr. Kielhorn.
⁷ Metre, Âryâ. ⁸ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh).
⁹ From the vowel ô being partially engraved over this u, the engraver seems to have begun to
form the sô here.
¹⁰ Metre, Śârdûlavikrîḍita. ¹¹ Metre, Sragdharâ.
¹² This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
¹³ Metre Âryâ. ¹⁴ Metre, Sragdharâ.

Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. III, Plate XLI

A. — Bodh-Gayā Inscription of Mahānāman. — The Year 269.

(Fleet, No. 71)

Text in Devanāgarī

सर्ब्वावबोधपरिकर्म्मविशुद्धबुद्धिर्य्यो बुद्धभावमगमज्जगदानुकम्पी [।]
सायं प्रणेदुरसकृज्जनकण्ठनालव्युन्मुक्तकण्ठविटपेन रवेण यस्य [॥ १]*

क्रोधादयः परुषवाग्विषदाहदीप्ता धीरात्मनः सुविशदं विजिताः समन्तात् [।]
तस्योत्तमस्य भगवतः कुशलोदयस्य पादारविन्दयुगलङ्कृतशेखरोऽहम् [॥ २]*

तस्यानुकारिचरिते विपुले बभूव नक्षत्रमण्डल इवोदितपूर्ण्चन्द्रः [।]
लङ्काद्वीपसमुद्भवः पृथुमना विख्यातकल्पो यतिर्भावाभावविभावने कृतमतिर्बुद्धो बभूव क्षमी [॥ ३]*

**धीरात्मनः समरसो जितकामरूपः सङ्कल्पदोषविरतो गुरुसंयु

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 71, PLATE XLI A. 277
13 râśiḥ phaṇi-phaṇa-kuṭilair=ûrmmi-chakkrais=samantât yâvach-ch=Êndr-âdhivâsô
vividha-maṇi-śilâ-châru-śriṅgaṅ Sumêruḥ śôbh-âḍhyam
14 tâvad=êtad=bhavanam=uru-munêḥ śâśvatatvam=prayâtu || Samvat 200 60 9
Chaittra śu di¹ 7 ||
TRANSLATION.
Ôm ! Victorious for a very long time is that doctrine, replete with fame, of the Teacher,
the chief kinsman of the Śâkyas, by which, lustrous as the full-moon, the inscrutable pri-
mary substance of existence has been pervaded in all directions ; by which the warriors,
who are heretics, obstructive of the path of beatitude, have been broken to pieces, being
assailed with the weapon of logic ; (and) by which the whole treasure of religion, that had
been stolen by the enemy which is original nature, has been recovered for the welfare
of mankind !
(Line 2.)—May he, Mahâ-Kâśyapa, who is worthy of praise, protect you,—he who
observed the precepts of (Buddha) the chief of saints ; who practised that auspicious habit
of abstract meditation which is of the nature of a trance ; who overcame the anguish of suc-
cessive states of existence ; whose wonderful subjugation of the passions in final emanci-
pation (is to be) displayed in the hand of Maitrêya ;² and by whom the two pure feet of
(Buddha) the saint were beheld at the time of attaining nirvâṇa !³
(L. 4.)—His disciples, endowed with a connected tradition of doctrine, purified as to
(their) emotions, (and) active in compassion for existing beings, roamed at one time over
the stainless country at the feet of the mountains of Laṅkâ ; and in succession from them
there were born, in hundreds, disciples and disciples' disciples, possessed of the virtue of
(good) character, who, without the glory of (actual) sovereignty, were the ornaments of a
lofty race of kings.
(L. 6.)—Then there was the Śramaṇa Bhava, whose welfare was effected by the
development of abstract meditation ; who discriminated between good and evil ; who
destroyed error ; (and) who possessed an unequalled wealth of true religion.
(L. 7.)—And his disciple (was) he who had the name of Râhula ; after whom (there
came) the ascetic Upasêna (I.) ; then in succession (there was) Mahânâman (I.) ; (and)
after him another Upasêna (II.), whose special characteristic of affection, of the kind
that is felt towards offspring,—for any distressed man who came to him for protection,
and for any afflicted person whose fortitude had been destroyed by the continuous flight of
the arrows of adversity,—extended, in conformity with the disposition of a kinsman, (even)
to any cruel man who might seek to do (him) harm ; (and) by whose fame, arising from
good actions, the whole world was thus completely filled.
¹ As regards the interpretation of the symbol for the day, see page 274 above, note 2.
² Maitrêya is a Bôdhisattva, at present in the Tushita heaven, who is to be the next Buddha.
And the present passage, which is rather obscure, is perhaps explained by the injunction which
Buddha, when on the point of attaining nirvâṇa, gave to Mahâ-Kâśyapa, to deliver over his kâshâya
or yellow robe (and with it the transmission of the Buddhist doctrine) to Maitrêya, when he should
attain the condition of a Buddha (see Beal's Buddh. Rec. West. World, Vol. II. p. 142 ff.)
³ Mahâ-Kâśyapa was seated in meditation, when suddenly a bright light burst forth, and he
perceived the earth shaking. And then, exerting his divine sight in order to ascertain what wonder-
ful event was indicated by this portent, he saw Buddha in the act of entering on nirvâṇa (see id.
Vol. II. p. 161).

278 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
(L. 9.)—His disciple, greater (even than himself), (is) he who has the excellent name
of Mahânâman (II.); an inhabitant of Âmradvîpa; a very ocean of a mighty family;
born in the island of Laṅkâ; delighting in the welfare of others;—by him this beautiful
mansion of the Teacher of mankind, who overcame the power of (the god) Smara,¹—
dazzling white as the rays of the moon, with an open pavilion on all sides,—has been caused
to be made at the exalted Bôdhimaṇḍa.
(L. 11.)—By means of this appropriate (action), let mankind,—freed from attachment
to worldly things; having the condition of (mental) darkness dispelled; (and), like (the
flame of) a torch, having no adhesion (to material objects),—enjoy the supreme happiness
of perfect wisdom!
(L. 12.)—As long as the sun, the dispeller of darkness, shines in all directions with
diffused rays; as long as the ocean (is) full on all sides with its circles of waves that are
curved like the hoods of hooded snakes; and as long as (the mountain) Sumêru, the
abode of (the god) Indra, has its summits made beautiful by various jewelled slabs, in
such a way as to be full of lustre,—so long let this temple of the great saint attain the
condition of being everlasting!
(L. 14.)—The year 200 (and) 60 (and) 9; (the month) Chaitra; the bright fort-
night; the day² 7.

No. 72; PLATE XLI B.

BODH-GAYA IMAGE INSCRIPTION OF MAHANAMAN.

THIS inscription, which, also, was published by me quite recently, for the first time, in the
Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 359, is from the pedestal of a Buddhist image that was discovered
in the excavations made by General Cunningham and Mr. Beglar at Bôdh-Gayâ,³ in the
Gayâ District in the Bengal Presidency.
The writing, which covers a space of about 1′ 8¾″ broad by 1¾″ high, is in a state
of almost perfect preservation.—The average size of the letters is about ⅜″. The
characters belong to the northern class of alphabets, and are of precisely the same type
with those of the preceding inscription of Mahânâman.—The language is Sanskrit; and
the inscription is in prose.—The orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; but
the characters allot it to precisely the same time with the preceding Bôdh-Gayâ inscrip-
tion of Mahânâman, of A. D. 588-89. It is a Buddhist inscription. And the object of it
is to record the presentation of the statue, on the pedestal of which it is engraved, by a
Sthavira named Mahânâman, who is obviously the second Mahânâman mentioned in the
preceding inscription.
As pointed out to me by General Cunningham, this inscription shews that
Mahânâman must have been at least thirty years old when he visited Bôdh-Gayâ; by the
Buddhist rules, he could not receive the upasampadâ-ordination, before attaining the age
¹ This refers generally to the subjugation of the passions; but also specially to the temptation
by Mâra, or Love as the Destroyer, which is referred to in Buddh. Rec. West. World, Vol. II. p. 69 ff.
² As regards the interpretation of the symbol for the day, see page 274 above, note 2.
³ See page 274 above, and note 1.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 73, PLATE XLII A. 279
of twenty years; and, after that, he would have to wait at least ten or twelve years, before
he could be invested with the title of Sthavira or Thêra. A further point to be noted, is,
that Mahânâman's visit to Bôdh-Gayâ probably occurred before the time when Dhâtusêna
became king of Ceylon,—during the flight of the uncle and nephew to avoid the persecu-
tion of the usurper Pâṇḍu; according to Mr. Turnour's deductions, this was between A.D.
434 and 439.
TEXT.¹
1 Ôm Dêya-dharmmô-yaṁ Śâkya-bhikshôḥ Âmradvîpa-vâsi-sthavira-
Mahânâmasya² [II*] Yad-atra puṇyaṁ tad-bhavatu sarvva-
sat[t*]vânâm-anuttara-jñân-âvâptayê=stu³ [II*]
TRANSLATION.
Ôm! This (is) the appropriate religious gift of the Śâkya Bhikshu, the Sthavira
Mahânâman, a resident of Âmradvîpa. Whatever religious merit (there is) in this
(act), let it be for the acquisition of supreme knowledge by all sentient beings!

No. 73; PLATE XLII A.
SANCHI STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION.
THIS inscription was discovered by General Cunningham, and was first brought to notice
by him in 1854, in his Bhilsa Topes, p. 199, where he published his reading of it, accom-
panied by a lithograph (id. Plate xxi. No. 199).
This is another inscription from Sâñchi,⁴ in the Dîwângañj Sub-Division of the
Bhôpâl State in Central India. It is on the north side of part of a small monolith round
pillar, broken, that stands a few yards to the north-east of the eastern gateway of the
great Stûpa.
The writing covers a space of about 10" broad by 2¼" high. Except for the first
three letters, which are very much damaged, it is in a state of fairly good preservation,
as far as it goes. But it is only a fragment; the concluding part of it being broken away
and lost.—The average size of the letters is about ⅝". The characters belong to
the southern class of alphabets.—The language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is in
prose.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice the doubling of t, in conjunction
with a following r, in puttra.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated. But,
on palæographical grounds, it may be allotted roughly to the fifth century A.D. It is
evidently the remnant of a Buddhist inscription; and its object seems to have been to
record the gift of the pillar, on which it is inscribed, by a Vihârasvâmin,⁵ the son of

¹ From Mr. J. D. M. Beglar's ink-impression; so also the lithograph.
² Read mahânâmnaḥ.
³ This stu (astu) is redundant, as we have already had bhavatu. The same redundant astu occurs
also in line 2 of the Bôdh-Gayâ image inscription, No. 76 below, page 282.
⁴ See page 29 above, and note 2.
⁵ Vihârasvâmin, lit. 'master of a vihâra,' is a technical religious title of office, applied to certain
functionaries who came next in rank below the Mahâvihârasvâmin; see page 272 above, note 3.

280 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
Gôśûrasimhabala, whose name is partially destroyed, only the first two syllables, Rudra,
remaining.
TEXT.¹
1 A(?)ka .. vihârasvâmi-Gôśûrasimhabala-puttra-Rudra .......
TRANSLATION.
........ the Vihârasvâmin Rudra....... the son of Gôśûrasimhabala......
No. 74; PLATE XLIIB.
CALCUTTA MUSEUM STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION.
THIS inscription, which has not been previously brought to notice, is from the pedestal of
a sandstone image that is in the Imperial Museum at Calcutta. The image seems to
have been originally a standing statue of Buddha; but the whole of the upper part of it,
above the ankles, is broken away and lost. I have no information as to where it was
found.
The writing, which covers a space of about 9¾" broad by 2¼" high, is in a state
of fairly good preservation, as far as it goes; but it is only a fragment; the conclusion of
it, in the third line, having been cut away, apparently in trimming the stone for some
building purpose.—The size of the letters varies from ¼" to ⁷/₁₆". The characters belong
to the northern class of alphabets.—The language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is
in prose.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice the doubling of t, in conjunction
with a following r, in attra and pttrôḥ, line 2.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; but,
on palæographical grounds, it may be allotted roughly to the fifth century A.D. It is a
Buddhist inscription. And the object of it is to record the gift, by a Śâkya mendicant
named Dharmadâsa, of the image on the pedestal of which it is engraved.
TEXT.²
1 Dêya-dharmô=yaṁ Śâkya-bhikshôr-Dharmadâsasya [।*] ya-
2 d-attra puṇyaṁ tan=mâtâpittrô[ḥ*] sarva-sat[t*]vânâṁ ch=â-
3 [nuttara⁴-jñân-âvâptayê=stu ॥]
TRANSLATION.
This (is) the appropriate religious gift of the Śâkya Bhikshu Dharmadâsa. What-
ever religious merit (there is) in this (act), [let] it [be for the acquisition of supreme
knowledge] by (his) parents and by all sentient beings.

¹ From the original pillar ² From the original stone.
³ This s was at first omitted, and then inserted above its proper place.
⁴ This last line has been entirely cut away and lost, apparently in trimming the stone for some
building purpose