North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE SILAHARAS OF NORTH KONKAN

No. 1 : PLATES I AND II
KANHĒRĪ CAVE INSCRIPTION OF PULLAŚAKTI: ŚAKA YEAR [765]

..THIS and the following two inscriptions are incised in the caves at Kānhērī near Bombay. They were first brought to notice by Dr. E.W. West, who published an eye-copy of them in the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. VI (1862), plate following page 8.

..Dr. West combined this and the next inscription and numbered them as 43. Thereafter, Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji published a translation of portions of two of these three Kānhērī inscriptions (viz. 2 and 3), but he did not attempt the reading and translation of the present inscription, which he left unnoticed. In 1884 Dr. Kielhorn published a transcript of the text and a translation of it without a facsimile plate, and discussed its contents in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XIII, pp. 132 f. He pointed out that No. 43 of Dr. West consists of two inscriptions, separated by two vertical lines (called by him No. 43 A and No. 43 B). Each of these consists of five lines and is engraved on the architrave of Cave No. 78, just opposite to the Darbār of Mahārāja’s Cave, No. 10. The present inscription is No. 43 B. Each line is 7’ 6” (228.60 cm.) long. The letters are somewhat smaller than those of the next inscription (No. 2). The inscription has suffered a great deal and much of it has become indistinct. It is deciphered here from impressions kindly supplied by Mr. M.N. Deshpande of the Archaeological Department. I have also consulted the eye-copy of Dr. West and the transcript and the translation of it by Dr. Kielhorn.

.. The characters are of the Nāgarī alphabet. Worthy of note are the following peculiarities. The superscript ñ is placed horizontally, while the subscript ṇ is vertical. See pañcha, line 4, and Pūrṇṇahari, line 3. The language is Sanskrit, incorrect in some places. As regards orthography, we may notice akshai-nīvī for akshaya-nīvi in line 5. The consonant following r is doubled in pravardhamāna-, line 1, and Kaparddī-, line 2.

.. The inscription refers itself to the reign of the illustrious Pullaśakti, who meditated on the feet of the illustrious Kapardin, the Mahāsāmanta and the lord of Kōṅkaṇa headed by Purī, which he had obtained by the favour of the Mahārājādhirāja, Parmēśvara, Pṛthvīvallabha, the illustrious Amōghavarsha. The latter is the first Rāshṭrakūṭa king of that name, who flourished from circa A.D. 814 to A.D. 880. The present inscription contains a date at the end, which has now become quite illegible. Kielhorn doubtfully read it as Saṁvat 765. This date must evidently be referred to the Śaka era, in which all the inscriptions of the Śilāhāras are dated. It corresponds to A.D. 843-44. In the absence the necessary details, it does not admit of verification.

.. The object of the inscription is to record that Vishṇu[gupta], son of Pūrṇahari, made certain grants of money for ( the worship of) the Bhagavat (Buddha), the repairs of the vihāra, the clothing of the monks and the purchase of their (religious) books at Kṛshṇagiri. For this purpose he made two perpetual endowments of 40 drammas each, and a third one of 120 drammas.