Kanheri Cave 5 Cistern Inscription

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

Contributor: Kelsey Martini (kema).

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan (pra) [Script (other) (script_other)].

Repository: Satavahana (tfb-satavahana-epigraphy).

Identifier: DHARMA_INSKI00016.

File path: texts/DHARMA_INSKI00016.xml.

Version: 2026-08-16 19:50 (8c6fcee), last modified 2026-07-17 15:36 (581605e).

Edition

⟨1⟩ [*******] (vā)s(i)ṣṭhiputrasya śri(s)ā(takarṇ)īs(ya) dev(y)ā(ḥ) kārddamakarājavaṁśapra[bha]v(ā)y(ā) mahākṣatraparu(dra)putry(āḥ) [***]

⟨2⟩ [******][*] sa ka rājama(tr)[.](sya)[*] va(ś)ya[*](sya) v(i)śvasyasya Amātyasya śaterakasya pānīyabhājanaṁ deyadha(r)mma[ṃ]

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ (vā)s(i)ṣṭhiputrasya śri ⬦ vāsiṣṭh(ī)putrasya śrī B&B; vāsiṣṭh(ī)putrasya śrī M. — ⟨1⟩ mahākṣatraparu(dra)putry(āḥ) ⬦ mahākṣatraparu[1+]putry(āḥ) B&B; mahākṣatra(pa)ru[dra][2+]putry(āḥ) M; mahākṣatra(pa)ru(p)utry(āḥ) G • There is clearly only one akṣara following ru and it is clear that it must be read [dra], with this being a shortened form of Rudradāman.

⟨2⟩ [6+][1×] sa ka rājama(tr)[.](sya)[1×] va(ś)ya[1×](sya) v(i)śvasyasya ⬦ [14+] sya [3+]v(i)śvasyasya B&B; [6+] (syāḥ) [3+] (vi)śvasyasya M; [8+]sya [3+] v(i)śvasyasya G. — ⟨2⟩ deyadha(r)mma[ṃ] ⬦ deyadharmma[ḥ] B&B; deyadharmma[ḥ] M; deyadharmma[ḥ] G.

Translation

A drinking vessel: the meritorious gift of Śateraka, a confidant minister/relation (v(i)śvasyasya Amātyasya), a [1×]va(ś)ya[1×], a royal adviser...of the queen of Vāsiṣṭhiputra Śri-Sātakarṇi, descended from the race of the Kārddamaka kings, daughter of Mahakṣatrapa Ru(dra)...

Commentary

The lacuna from the end of l. 1 up to l. 2 [1×] sa ka likely consisted of the name of the Queen and a word ending in ka that is in compound with the following rājama(tr)[.](sya). B+B state that “As the connection between the royal lady, mentioned in l. 1, and the minister in l. 2, is not clear, I can do no more than translate the terms literally. It seems, however, probable that the minister executed the work at the command of the queen.” It is rather more likely that this is the donation of the amātya who is listing his relationship with the queen, as is also the interpretation of Mirashi.

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 78, item 11.

[G] Gokhale, Shobhana. 1991. Kanheri inscriptions. Pune: Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. Page 62, item 16.

[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 68, item 25.

Secondary

Bühler, Georg. 1883. “On the Relationship Between the Andhras and the Western Kshatrapas.” Indian Antiquary 12, pp. 272–274. Pages 272–273.

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 li.

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 4, 19, 21, 48, 52.

Rao, M. Rama. 1951. “The Sātāvāhana Rival of Rudradāman.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 14, pp. 52–56. [URL]. Pages 52, 55–56.

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

Dehejia, Vidya. 1972. Early Buddhist rock temples. London: Thames & Hudson. Pages 26–28, 68.

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 77–78, 80, 82, 114.

Damsteegt, Theo. 1978. Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit: Its rise, spread, characteristics and relationship to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Orientalia Rheno-Traiectina 23. Leiden: Brill. Pages 147 (no. 9), 207, 216.

Shah, Kirit K. 2001. The Problem of Identity: Women in Early Indian Inscriptions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Page 46.

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 129.

Efurd, David. 2018. “Buddhist Sites of Western India in the Aftermath of the Sātavāhana-Kṣaharāta War: Dynastic Geographies and Patterns of Patronage, Renewal, and Abandonment.” JIABS 41, pp. 359–420. [URL]. Page 394.

Ollett, Andrew. 2018. “Sātavāhana and Nāgārjuna: Religion and the Sātavāhana state.” JIABS 41, pp. 421–472. DOI: 10.2143/JIABS.41.0.3285748. [URL]. Page 434.

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