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No. 20.
THE INSCRIPTION ON THE WARDAK VASE.
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to what bhāga as a "shure" could refer, whereas a condition is intelligible and natural. He first translated agrabhaga as "prosperity," but afterwards agreed with Bühler to seek in it a direct allusion to the acquisition of bodhi. I would rather suggest that, since the expression appears to denote a condition, it refers to Buddhahood. With the word pratya msa added (see note to padiyansam, infra), "& share of Buddhahood" seems to be as appropriate as "a share of bodhi." The expression can hardly refer to any worldly blussing, because in that case is it not rather witless to utter such a wish on behalf of Huvishka, who enjoyed already the highest position on earth?
Bhavatu is used here with the dative, as agra bhāgae and pãyde. Since the dative implies parpose, intention, aim,' bhavatu with the dative means "may it be for the purpose of," "may it be with an aim towards," that is, "may it tend towards," "may it operate towards."
Mada-pidara=mātā-pitara (by rule 1). This must be the genitive of mita-pitā treated as a singular noun ;and it is so treated in the Taxila plate, where the accus. mata-pitaram occurs (E. I. iv, 55). The genitive must be employed here after payãe as in all the other similar sentences. This appears to be a new form of Prākṣit genitive, and the nearest approach to it is piaraha which is a genitive of pita. Its real formation appears to be this-pitara=pitarah (the visarga disappearing in Prakpit) which would be correctly formed as & genitive from pitar (which is the essential base of pitri), just like girah from gir and charah from char in Sanskrit. The declension of pitri in Sanskřit shows eimilar forms from the base pitar, as pitaran, pitarau, pitarah and pitari.
Püyãe.-- Pūjā means more than “honour" and implies some degree of veneration or reveronce; hence pūyde bhavatu means "may it tend to the veneration."
Bhradaba as the word clearly is and not bhradara. Hashtuna Marēgrasya is in apposition to this word and not to me, for the declarant is Kamagulya aud më refers to him; and the meaning is that Hashtana Marēga is the bhradaba in relation to me, that is, Kamagulya. Me is inserted parenthetically, like cha in mahisa Vagra Marēgrasya (1. 2) and in mahisa Röhana (1. 3 B). Bhradaba cannot well be treated as a mistake for bhradara on the analogy of the preceding mata-pitara and so taken as the genitive of bhrādi, because (1) it is contrary to the general practice to inflect two words in apposition as would happen if we read bhradara Hashtuna-Marēgrasya; and (2) it is unnecessary to suspect any mistake. Indeed one should hesitate to suppose there is an error in spelling, unless the mistake is patent (as in rajatibaja, 1. 2) or the word actually written appears impossible (as in aviya, 1. 3 A, and asambrana, I. 4); and one should presume that what has been written is what was intended, if it has an intelligible
1 Unless we adopt & valuable suggestion by Dr. Thomas. Taking agrabhaga in its literal meaning "chief share," he thinks that it denotes a chief share in the merit resulting from this donation. To my mind the addition of the word pratyaifa makes a difficulty in this rendering.
9 Journ. Asiat., arr. 8, vol. XV, p. 123 ; and abr. 9, vol. VII, p. 10. # Dr. Thomas is inclined to think it may be a genitive plural in ran. • Pischel's Prakrit Grammar, $ 391. • This explanation is supported by the exactly analogous use of the genitives bhagavata(k) Sakyamund():
me. p. 209.
The word bhratara appears in the Taxila plate, and Bühler takes bhratara sarea there as=bhratris sarvan, but Anda the construction irregular, as it occurs in the middle of several genitives. It is really the genitive, exactly analogous to mata-pitara here, and as such accords fully with the other genitives there. That passage would then run thus -sa-putra-darasa (ayw-bala-vardhie) bhratara sarva-(cha)-natiga-[bar]dhavata cha, the first oha being inserted parenthetically (like cha in this inscription, see note on bhradaba) with reference to sarta naliga, and the second cha being in its correct place grammatically but referring specially to carpa)-[bar]dhara. These cha's are used more with regard to the sense than strict grammar. Bhatara also occurs on the Minikyäla stono inscription and is treated as a genitive by Prof. Lüders (J. R. A. 8., 1909, p. 686). Natiga there mast natigra here; see note on it.
