Kanheri Cave 74 Right Wall Inscription

Authors of digital edition: Kelsey Martini (kema), Vincent Tournier (vito).

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan (pra).

Version: 2025-09-19 11:39 (587d8eb), last modified 2025-09-19 07:56 (d23f36b).

Edition

⟨1⟩ sidhaṃ raño (ma)ḍh(a)riputasa svāmisakase(ṇasa)
⟨2⟩ savachara 8 gi pa 5 diva 10 Etāya (pu)vāya ka-
⟨3⟩ l(i)yaṇakasa nekama(sa) veṇhuna(d)isa putasa nega-
⟨4⟩ masa gahapatisa [**] [*] t(i)sa leṇa pa[ti]ṭhā(p)i-
⟨5⟩ ta sahā Āyyakeṇa □ (nad)ena sahā pituṇa veṇhuna-
⟨6⟩ □ din(ā) sahā mātuya bo□dhisamāya sahā bh(ā)-
⟨7⟩ [tunā] [*] [*] (ha)thin(ā) sah(ā) sāveṇa (ni)kasabadhi-
⟨8⟩ […][****][…]

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ svāmisakase(ṇasa) ⬦ svāmisakasenasa B+B; svāmisakasenasa M; svāmisakasenasa [3+] G.

⟨3⟩ veṇhuna(d)isa ⬦ veṇhunaṃdisa B+B; veṇhunaṃdisa M; veṇhunaṃdisa G.

⟨4⟩ pa[ti]ṭhā(p)i⟨5⟩ta ⬦ pa[ti]thāpi [3+] ta G.

⟨5⟩ □ (nad)ena ⬦ [1×] sena B+B; [1×] sena M; [4×] sena G. — ⟨5⟩ pituṇa ⬦ pituṇā B+B; pituṇā M; pituṇā G. — ⟨5⟩ veṇhuna ⬦ venhuna [3+] G.

⟨7⟩ sāveṇa (ni)kasabadhi ⬦ (sa)vena (n)i(kāyaneti) B+B; (sa)vena (n)i(kāyaneti) M; (sa)vena (n)i(kāyaneti) G • The reading is relatively clear and this may be compared with EIAD 3.3 nīgasaṃbaṃdhivagehi and EIAD 49.4 nīgamitasaṁbadhibaṁ([dhavajana])[(sa)]. In their edition of the former inscription the EIAD editors state that “One may tentatively understand this word as deriving from nija(ka). Cf. EIAD 54, l. 1: svajanasaṃbandhivargena. — ⟨7⟩ Āpano ⬦ Āpaṇā B+B; Āpaṇā M; Āpaṇā G.

⟨8⟩ […][4×][…] • It would appear that this inscription has an eighth line that has hitherto gone unnoticed. It is largely illegible and it is uncertain for how long it once extended, but traces of a few akṣaras can be seen on the photographs and RTIa, underneath the large crack below l. 7 sāveṇa nika-. This is expected as the final word of l. 7 is incomplete.

Translation

⟨1–2⟩ Success! On the 10th day of the 5th fortnight of the hot season in the 8th year of the king Maḍhariputa Svāmisakaseṇa. On the above (date).

⟨3–5⟩ A cave is established of (by) the market councilor and householder ++?ti, son of the market councilor Veṇhunadi of Kalyan.

⟨5–7⟩ Together with the noble Nada, together with the father Veṇhunadi, together with the mother Bodhisamā, together with the brother [1+] [1×] (ha)thi, together with the entire (group) of his own relatives….

Bibliography

Primary

[B+B] Burgess, James and Georg Bühler. 1883. Report on the Elura cave temples and the Brahmanical and Jaina caves in Western India: Completing the results of the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons' operations of the Archaeological survey, 1877–78, 1878–79, 1879–80. Vol. 5. Archaeological Survey of Western India. London: Trübner & Co. Page 79, item 14.

[M] Mirashi, Vasudev Vishnu. 1981. The history and inscriptions of the Sātavāhanas and the Western Kshatrapas. Bombay: Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture. [URL]. Page 78, item 30.

[G] Gokhale, Shobhana. 1991. Kanheri inscriptions. Pune: Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. Page 95, item 41.

Secondary

Rapson, Edward James. 1908. Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Kṣatrapas, the Traikūṭaka dynasty and the "Bodhi" Dynasty. London: Printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum. [URL]. Page xlvii.

Naik, A. V. 1948. “Inscriptions of the Deccan: an epigraphical survey (Circa 300 B.C.-1300 A.D.)” BDCRI 9 (1/2), pp. 1–160. [URL]. Pages 19, 21–23, 26.

Sircar, D.C. 1951. “Chapter XIII: The Sātavāhanas and the Chedis.” In: The Age of Imperial Unity (eds. R.C. Majumdar and A.D. Pusalker). Vol. II. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's History and Culture of the Indian People. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 191–216. Page 207.

Lamotte, Etienne. 1958. Histoire du bouddhisme indien: des origines à l'ère Śaka. Bibliothèque du Muséon 43. Louvain: Université catholique de Louvain, Institut Orientaliste. Pages 568–569.

Hettiarachchy, Jayadevanandasara. 1973. “Buddhism in the Northern Deccan under the Śātavāhana Rulers (c. 30 B.C. - 225 A.D.)” Doctoral Thesis, University of London. London. Pages 79, 82–83, 114.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 1986. Monastery and guild: Commerce under the Sātavāhanas. Delhi: Oxford University Press. [URL]. Page 61.

Habib, Irfan and Faiz Habib. 1990. “A Map of India, B.C. 200 -- A.D. 300, Based on Epigraphic Evidence.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 51, pp. 103–114. [URL]. Page 108.

Neelis, Jason. 2010–11–19. “Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange within and beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.” In: Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks. Leiden: Brill. [URL]. Page 25 n. 74.

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