South Indian Inscriptions

NASIK CAVE INSCRIPTIONS

denomination of the Buddha himself ? It would be a somewhat unusual application of the word ; but perhaps it could, to some extent, be explained by the necessity of avoiding here the names of Bhagavat, Buddha and Jina which follow later on. I take vaṇṇanâ in the sense which is now commonly reserved to varṇa, ‘ eulogy, glorification.’ If taken thus, the sentence introduces the invocation quite naturally. Viṇhupâla, whatever may have been his position and the reason for his intervention (nothing enlightens us about the matte ; is the name perhaps only an equivalent of Viṇhupâlita in the following epigraph ?), ‘ praclaimed this praise of the Lord,’ i.e. adored the Buddha ‘ in order to procure the well-being of the inhabitants of Gôvardhana.’

The beginning of the invocation itself seems puzzling. Bühler read patipatapasa ; but this does not help us. He translates (perhaps by some inadvertency ?) as if he had read patipatasa = prâptiprâptasya ; but even thus the compound would be an error for prâptaprâptêḥ. It seems little credible that prâpti, which, as seen in N. 2, has acquire a different technical sense, should have been used here in a way which is at least unusual even in religious literature. Bühler and Bhagwanlal seem to have fallen into a common error by considering it beyond all discussion that bhagatasa must be a fault for bhagavatasa. We ought to be careful not to charge the engraver too rashly. All difficulties vanish if we admit : first, that the words must be separated otherwise, and secondly that the bh bore the vowel u which has disappeared, the stone being here much defaced. Thus we get ’bhugatasapatipatapasa = abhyudgatasaṁprâptipratâpasya, an excellent epithet to Budhasa, as will be seen from my rendering. Saṁpatti is well known in Pâli (see Childers) not only in the sense of ‘ prosperity,’ but with the special and more technical meaning of ‘ religious attainment.’ Nothing in this sentence betrays a later origin. It may be supposed that Vishṇupâla, being concerned in some way with the execution of the inscription, was led by his zeal to crown it by that pious manifestation.

No. 4, Plate ii. (Ksh. 13).

On the east wall of the veranda in Cave No. 3, under the ceiling.

TEXT.

1 Sidhaṁ senâye Vejayaṁtiye (1) vijayakhadhâvârâ Govadhanasa Benâkaṭakasvâmi (2) Gotamiputo Siri-Sadakaṇi (3)
2 ânapayati Govadhane amacha Viṇhupâlita (4) gâme Aparakakhaḍiye ya (5) khetaṁ Ajakâlakiyaṁ Usabhadatena (6) bhûtaṁ nivatana (7)-
3 satâni be 200 eta amhakheta nivataṇasatâni (8) be 200 imesa pavajitâna Tekirasiṇa (9) vitarâma etasa chasa khetasa parihâra
4 vitarâma apavesa (10) anomasa (11) aloṇakhâdaka araṭhasavinayika savajâtapârihârika (12) cha etahi na parihârehi parihar . hi (13)
5 ete (14) chasa khetaparihâr . (15) cha etha nibadhâpehi (16) aviyena (17) âṇataṁ amachena Sivagutena chhato Mahâsâmiyehi uparakhito (18)
6 datâ paṭikâ savachhare 18 (19) vâsapakhe (20) 2 divase 1 Tâpasena (21) kaṭâ.

REMARKS.

(1) AS. ºjayatiº.─ (2) G. and AS. ºṭakâ svâº.─ (3) G. ºdakâṇi.─ (4) G. and AS. ºlitaṁ.─ (5) G. ºḍiyaṁ yaṁ kheº ; AS. ºḍiya ya kheº.─ (6) G. Ushabhadâtena.─ (7) AS. nivatane.─ (8) AS. ºsatâṁni.─ (9) G. ºsina ;AS. ºsinâ.─ (10) G. apâveº ; AS. ºvesaṁ.─ (11) AS. ºmasaṁ.─ (12) G. ºtapariº.─ (13) G. ºriharahi ; AS. ºriharîhi.─ (14) AS. eta.─ (15) G. and AS. ºhâre.─ (16) G. and AS. nibadho lihi. The only point which in my reading seems subject to some material uncertainly is the vocal e of the syllable pe.─(17) G. suviyeṇa ; AS. aviyeṇa.─ (18)