Kanheri Cave 73 Verandah Inscription

Editors: Kelsey Martini, Vincent Tournier.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSKI00040.

Hand description:

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan.

Repository: Satavahana (tfb-satavahana-epigraphy).

Version: 2025-06-19 22:25 (96d125e), last modified 2025-06-18 10:24 (c64d377).

Edition

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⟨1⟩ sidhaṁ kal(ī)Aṇakasa negamasa golaṇakaputasa negamasa Isipālasa ⟨2⟩ saparivārasa mātāpituṇa ⟨3⟩ puyaṭha leṇa poḍhi ca deyadha⟨4⟩ma || Akhayanivi ca dinā gāme ⟨5⟩ saphāUsu kheta dhap(e)ti Eto ⟨6⟩ ca vasaUthasa civarika bārasaka ⟨7⟩ gimh(ā)su paḍiko m(ā)se seseṇa ⟨8⟩ maṭape pavāḍe ca paḍiAgitava

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ kal(ī)Aṇakasa ⬦ kaliAṇakasa B+B; kaliAṇakasa G • The right vertical of the l- curves intensely to the right and down resulting in a slight spiral that may be indicative of an intended ī-mātra. The l-s in this inscription all exhibit a slight curve to the right (which may just be a peculiarity of the scribe/engraver), however none feature such a spiral. — ⟨1⟩ negamasa • The second negamasa appears to read negaṃmasa, however the possible anusvara is likely rather a fault in the stone.

⟨2⟩ mātāpituṇa • The third akṣara rather resembles -pe- in that the supposed i mātra appears to just be an extension of the left vertical stem rather than being a separate stroke attached to the top. However, cf. l. 5 dhap[e]ti which does not feature an elongation of the vertical but rather just curves to the left.

⟨3⟩ puyaṭha ⬦ puyatha B+B; puyatha G.

⟨5⟩ dhap(e)ti ⬦ thapati B+B; thapati G • The first akṣara is too angular to be a tha while the e mātra on the second akṣara is nearly certain. This is likely the causative of √dhā (Skt. dhāpayati).

Translation by Kelsey Martini

(1–4) Success! A cave and cistern; the pious gift of the negama Isipāla, son of the negama Golaṇṇaka of Kalyan, together with their retinue, for the purpose of the worship of the mother and father.

(4–8) And an akṣayanīvī is given, a field bestowed in the village SaphāU. And from this, a cloth money of twelve for the one who dwells the rainy season [and] a paḍika per month in the hot season. And with the remainder the pavilion and canopy are to be maintained.

Commentary

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 81, item 18.

[G] Gokhale, Shobhana. 1991. Kanheri inscriptions. Pune: Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. Page 95, item 40.

[M] Martini, Kelsey. 2023. “Early Indian administrative documents (ca. 2nd c. BCE - 3rd c. CE): Problematic ancient inscriptions in light of book two of the Kauṭilya Arthaśāstra.” Ph.D. dissertation, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. Munich. Pages 184–189.

Secondary

Senart, Émile. 1905–1906. “The inscriptions in the caves at Nasik.” EI 8, pp. 59–96. [URL]. Page 83.

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.)” Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute 9 (1/2), pp. 1–160. [URL]. Pages 19–21, 23, 25–26.

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 568.

Njammasch, Marlene. 1972. “Dorfverleihungen und Landschenkungen im Dekhan vom 1. bis zum 5. Jahrhundert u. Z.” Klio 54 (54), pp. 251–308. DOI: 10.1524/klio.1972.54.54.251. [URL]. Pages 262, 305.

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 114, 158, 191, 249.

Njammasch, Marlene. 1981. “Probleme der Stadtentwicklung und der Stadt-Land-Beziehungen in Indien vom 1. bis zum 5. Jahrhundert u. Z.” Klio 63 (1), pp. 113–121. Pages 117, 120.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 1986. Monastery and guild: Commerce under the Sātavāhanas. Delhi: Oxford University Press. [URL]. Pages 61–62, 82, 103.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 1987. “Early Historical Urbanization: The Case of the Western Deccan.” World Archaeology 19 (1), pp. 94–104. [URL]. Page 98.

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.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 1994–06–01. “Kanheri: The archaeology of an early Buddhist pilgrimage centre in western India.” World Archaeology 26 (1), pp. 35–46. DOI: 10.1080/00438243.1994.9980259. [URL]. Page 39.

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.

Shimada, Akira. 2018. “Royal and Non-Royal Patronage in the Early Deccan.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 41, pp. 473–507. Page 491 fn. 24.

Schopen, Gregory. 2019. “The Business Model of Buddhist Monasticism: Acquiring Productive Assets.” Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 2 (2), pp. 217–249. Pages 226–227.

Strauch, Ingo. 2021. “Money for rituals: akṣayanīvī and related inscriptions from Āndhradeśa.” In: Power, presence and space: South Asian rituals in archaeological context. Edited by Henry Albery, Jens-Uwe Hartmann and Himanshu Prabha Ray. Archaeology and Religion in South Asia. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 193–214. Page 206.

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<lb n="3"/>puyaṭha leṇa poḍhi ca deyadha

<lb break="no" n="4"/>ma <g type="ddanda">.</g> Akhayanivi ca dinā gāme

<lb n="5"/>saphāUsu kheta dhap<unclear>e</unclear>ti Eto

<lb n="6"/>ca vasaUthasa civarika bārasaka

<lb n="7"/>gimh<unclear>ā</unclear>su paḍiko m<unclear>ā</unclear>se seseṇa

<lb n="8"/>maṭape pavāḍe ca paḍiAgitava

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<note>The third akṣara rather resembles -pe- in that the supposed i mātra appears to just be an extension of the left vertical stem rather than being a separate stroke attached to the top. However, cf. l. 5 dhap[e]ti which does not feature an elongation of the vertical but rather just curves to the left.</note>

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