Kanheri Cave 88 Left Wall Verandah 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_INSKI00078.

File path: texts/DHARMA_INSKI00078.xml.

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

Edition

⟨1⟩ [therāṇa bhayatāṇa][*]pāl(āṇa) (A)[te]v(ā)sisa
⟨2⟩ [**]ṇayasa[*][.](i)vanakasa pavajitasa
⟨3⟩ [***] dhaka(sa) (l)e[ṇa] pānīyapoḍhī ca
⟨4⟩ [de]yadhama cāt(u)dise bhikhusaghe pati-
⟨5⟩ ṭhāpita mātāpitaro Udisa savasatāna
⟨6⟩ hitasukhaṭha Apaṇo ca nivāṇasabhāra-
⟨7⟩ tha Etasa ca Akhayanivi (dinā)

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ [therāṇa bhayatāṇa][ca. 1+]pāl(āṇa) ⬦ [ca. 18+]pāl(āṇaṃ) B&B; [ca. 13+]pāl(aṇaṃ) G.

⟨2⟩ [ca. 2+]ṇayasa[ca. 1+] [.](i)vanakasa ⬦ [6+]ṇayasa[3+](m)itanakasa B&B; [6+]ṇayasa[3+](m)itanakasa G •

⟨3⟩ [ca. 3+] dhaka(sa) (l)e[ṇa] pānīyapoḍhī ca ⬦ [9+] lena [3+] pānīyapoḍhi ca B&B; [5+] leṇa [3+] pāniya poḍhi ca G •

⟨6⟩ nivāṇasabhāra⟨7⟩tha ⬦ nivānāsabhāraṭha B&B; nivāṇāsa bharatha G • B+B mistakenly equates this with Skt. nirvāṇāśāvharaṇārthaṃ, however it is rather Skt. -saṃbhārārtha; cf. CKI 564 1-6 apaṇasa hidasuhadaye ṇivaṇasabharadae, 5-2 ṇivaṇasaṃbharadae and CKI 155.2 nirvanasaṃbharae.

Translation

A cave and drinking cistern: the meritorious gift of the ascetic [3+]dhaka [and] the [2+]ṇaya [1+][.]ivaṇaka, the pupil of the reverend elder [2+]pāla. Established for the universal order of monks. Assigned to the mother and father, for the purpose of the welfare and happiness of all beings and for the purpose of his own equipment for nirvāṇa. And for this an akṣayanīvī is given.

Commentary

B+B and G restore too many akṣaras in l. 1-3, the inscription is not that fragmentary. ASWI V reads l. 6-7 as one line, likely accidently.

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 26.

[G] Gokhale, Shobhana. 1991. Kanheri inscriptions. Pune: Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. Page 136, item 51.

Secondary

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 19–20.

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. 1971. “Akhayanivi-Schenkungen an Klöster Und Tempel Im Dekhan Unter Den Sātavāhanas.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 24 (2), pp. 203–215. [URL]. Page 213.

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. Page 256.

Damsteegt, Theo. 1978. Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit: Its rise, spread, characteristics and relationship to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Orientalia Rheno-Traiectina 23. Leiden: Brill. Pages 312 n. 127, 313 n. 167.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha. 1986. Monastery and guild: Commerce under the Sātavāhanas. Delhi: Oxford University Press. [URL]. Pages 103–104.

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 & Himanshu Prabha Ray. Archaeology and Religion in South Asia. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 193–214. Page 207.

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