North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

Valabhi plate (CII., Vol. III, 1888, p. 166, line 25). This also does not help us because we know that Kākanāda of Kākanādabōṭa denoted a particular place; in fact, it denoted the site of the Āchārya-kula to which pertained Sāñchī Stūpa No. I. Kākanādabōṭa must therefore have signified the bōṭa of this site, or of Kākanāda as it was then called. Now, the term bōṭa has been preserved, so far as we know, in Marāṭthī and Hindī, and means ‘a figure; a finger’s breadth.’ If this sense is really intended here, Kākanādabōṭa seems to have been so called, because it looked like a finger of the Kākanāda locality.

TEXT

1 [Siddham]¹ Kā[kanā]²dabōṭa-śrī-mahāvihārē śīla-samādhi-prajñā-guṇa-bhāvit-
ēndri[y]āya parama-puṇya-
2 kshē³ . . tāya chatur-ddig-abhyāgatāya śramaṇa-puṅgav-āvasathāy=āryyasaṅghāya
mahārājādhi-
3 rā[ja-śrī]-Chandragupta-pāda-prasād-āpyāyita-jīvita-sādhanaḥ anujīvi-satpuru-
sha-sadbhāva-
4 vṛi . .⁴ jagati prakhyāpayan anēka-samar-āvāpta-vijaya-yaśas-patākaḥ Sukuli-
dēśa-Na-
5 shṭī . . . vāstavyaḥ Undāna-putr-Āmrakārddavō Maja-Śarabhaṅg-Āmrarāta-
rājakula-mūlya-krī-
6 taṁ dē . . r.⁵ Īśvaravāsakaṁ pañcha-maṇḍalyā⁶ praṇipatya dadāti pañcha-
viṁśatiś=cha⁷ dīnā-
7 rān . . . . . . ḥ⁸ [ﺍﺍ *] yad-arddhēna mahārājādhirāja-śrī-Chandraguptasya
Dēvarāja iti pri-
8 ya-nā [ma] . . . . . [y=ē]tasya⁹ sarvva-guṇa-saṁpattayē yāvach=chandr-ādityau
tāvat=pañcha bhikshavō bhuṁja-
9 tāṁ ra[tna*]-[gṛihē] cha dīpakō jvalatu [ ﺍ* ] mama ch-āpar-ārdhāt=pañch=
aiva bhikshavō bhuṁjatāṁ ratna-gṛihē cha
10 dīpaka i[ti] [ ﺍﺍ*] [Ta]d=ētat-pravṛittaṁ ya uchchhindyāt=sa gō-brahma-hatyayā
saṁyuktō bhavēt=pañchabhiś=ch=āna-
11 ntaryyair=iti [ﺍ*] Saṁ¹⁰ 90 3 Bhādrapada-di¹¹ 4

TRANSLATION

       (Line 1-7) Luck ! To the venerable (Buddhist) confraternity, in the prosperous Great Convent of Kākanādabōṭa, in which the organs of sense (of its members) have been perfected
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¹ In the original, this word, which is very much damaged and hardly recognisable, stands above the first two letters of line 1.
² These two letters have supplied from line 2 of the Sāñchī inscription of the year 131, CII., Vol. III, 1888, No. 62, Plate xxxviii, where they are quite distinct.
³ Fleet wrongly reads this letter as kṛi. It is clearly kshē; and the whole can be safely restored to parama-punya-kshētra-matāya which also makes good sense, as may be seen from the translation.
⁴ This may de restored to vṛittakaṁ.
⁵ This may be restored to dēyadharmmaṁ.
⁶ Fleet corrects it into pañcha-maṇḍalyā[ṁ*], which is wrong.
⁷ Read -viṁśatiṁ cha.
⁸ The lacuna may be filled up with akshaya-nīvitaḥ.
⁹ We might supply the lacuna with priya-nāmadhēyaṁ bhavaty=ētasya.
¹⁰ See p. 246 above, note 1.
¹¹ That is, dinē or divasē. As di has been joined to Bhādrapada-, the word property denotes the solar day, from sunrise to sunrise, with which a week-day name would be coupled; not the lunar tithi, which may coincide with, more or less may differ from, the solar day and week day.