Kanheri Epitaph Inscription 26
Editors: Kelsey Martini, Vincent Tournier.
Identifier: DHARMA_INSKI00076.
Hand description:
Language: Middle Indo-Aryan.
Repository: Satavahana (tfb-satavahana-epigraphy).
Version: (3d490f2), last modified (ed1e22a).
Edition
⟨1⟩ th[e](r)āṇaṁ Ayyamah[ā]⟨2⟩(gi)riṇaṁ Araha(ṁ)⟨3⟩[tāṇaṁ] [1×] (va)bhiḥ
Apparatus
Translation
Stūpa(?) of the venerable Noble Mahāgiri, an arhat…
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<lb n="1"/> th<supplied reason="lost">e</supplied><unclear>r</unclear>āṇaṁ Ayyamah<supplied reason="lost">ā</supplied>
<lb break="no" n="2"/><unclear>gi</unclear>riṇaṁ Araha<unclear>ṁ</unclear>
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<p><foreign>Stūpa</foreign>(?) of the venerable Noble Mahāgiri, an <foreign>arhat</foreign>…</p>
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<p>The name of the monk, Mahāgiri, is unusual for an individual, although it is attested in IBH, Sanc 140:<foreign> mahāgirino bhichuno dānaṁ</foreign>. This name interestingly brings to mind the name of the *<foreign>Mahāgirīya</foreign> (Tib. <foreign>ri chen po pa</foreign>) <foreign>nikāya</foreign>, otherwise unattested in inscriptions. In the third account of the <foreign>nikāyas</foreign> and their tenets preserved in his <foreign>Tarkajvālā</foreign>, the <foreign>Vātsīputrīyas</foreign> are subdivided into two groups, the <foreign>Saṁmitīyas</foreign> and the *<foreign>Mahāgirīyas</foreign>, the latter subdivided into the Dharmottarīyas and the Bhādrāyaṇiyas. See Eckel 2008: 121, 315.9–22. Since the latter are the only <foreign>nikāyas</foreign> represented in Kanheri, the mention of a master Mahāgiri may be of some relevance for the later self-representation of the religious milieux active at the site.</p>
<p>The end of this inscription is most puzzling, since we don’t find the usual thūbhaṁ at the end, and at the moment can’t make sense of the last term. The last akṣara seems clearly to read <foreign>-bhi-</foreign>, although it could theoretically be interpreted as an attempt to modify a <foreign>-bha-</foreign> into a <foreign>-thū-</foreign>. There however remains that the previous two akṣaras do not correspond to what one would expect.</p>
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Commentary
The name of the monk, Mahāgiri, is unusual for an individual, although it is attested in IBH, Sanc 140: mahāgirino bhichuno dānaṁ. This name interestingly brings to mind the name of the *Mahāgirīya (Tib. ri chen po pa) nikāya, otherwise unattested in inscriptions. In the third account of the nikāyas and their tenets preserved in his Tarkajvālā, the Vātsīputrīyas are subdivided into two groups, the Saṁmitīyas and the *Mahāgirīyas, the latter subdivided into the Dharmottarīyas and the Bhādrāyaṇiyas. See Eckel 2008: 121, 315.9–22. Since the latter are the only nikāyas represented in Kanheri, the mention of a master Mahāgiri may be of some relevance for the later self-representation of the religious milieux active at the site.
The end of this inscription is most puzzling, since we don’t find the usual thūbhaṁ at the end, and at the moment can’t make sense of the last term. The last akṣara seems clearly to read -bhi-, although it could theoretically be interpreted as an attempt to modify a -bha- into a -thū-. There however remains that the previous two akṣaras do not correspond to what one would expect.