# Kanheri Cave 99 Inscription

Kelsey Martini and Vincent Tournier

Authors of digital edition: Kelsey Martini, Vincent Tournier

Contributor: Kelsey Martini

Identifier: DHARMA_INSKanheri00083

Repository: Early Western Deccan (tfb-earlywesterndeccan-epigraphy)

File path: xml/DHARMA_INSKanheri00083.xml

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan [Script (unspecified)]

Commit: 2026-09-17 08:03 (159f390), last modified 2026-09-17 05:29
(3d6ac09)

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## Edition

⟨1⟩ 卐 sidhaṁ therānaṁ bhaya(ṁ)tamitabh(ū)tinaṁ ⟨2⟩ leṇaṁ
sāgarapaloganaṁ deyadhama卍

## Apparatus

⟨1⟩ bhaya(ṁ)ta ⬦ bhayata B&B; bhayata G.

⟨2⟩ sāgarapaloganaṁ ⬦ sāgarapaloganānaṁ B&B • B+B likely made up the nā
because they interpret it as the name of a corporation which donated the
cave (see commentary).

## Translation

Success! The cave Sāgarapalogana (“view on the ocean”): a meritorious
gift for the venerable elder Mittabhūti

## Commentary

Gokhale is certainly correct when she states that “It appears that
sāgarapalogana was the name of the cave. The cave is rightly named as it
commands a fine view of the Bassein creek and the sea beyond.” Named
caves are found with some frequency in the early Sri Lankan
inscriptions.

It is not entirely clear if the cave is the meritorious gift Mitabhūti
or if it was made for him, but it is most likely the latter as it would
be highly unusual for a monk to refer to himself in the plural (cf. III
Karl 3 therānaṃ bhaṃyaṃta-iṃdadevasa).

## Bibliography

### Primary

[B&B] Burgess, James & 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 84, item 23.

[G] Gokhale, Shobhana. 1991. Kanheri inscriptions. Pune: Deccan College
Post Graduate and Research Institute. Page 147, item 56.

### Secondary

Stein, Otto. 1933. “Formal Elements in Indian Inscriptions.” Indian
Historical Quarterly 9, pp. 215–226. Page 226 fn. 30.

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]. Page 19.

Mukherjee1960