________________
No. 5.] THE ANDHAU INSCRIPTIONS OF THE TIME OF RUDRADAMAN
21
It is difficult to understand why the symbol for 15 should be used in this inscription, because it mentions the lunar tithi. I am inclined to think that the syllable represents Bahula and not 15. Immediately after this we have two short horizontal strokes denoting 2, The year should be referred to the Saka era of 78 A.D., and the dates are, therefore, equal to 130 A.D.
The language of the inscriptions is Prakrit, and the letters belong to the northern variety of the Indian alphabet of the first or second century A.D. The palæography calls for some remarks, as the alphabet shows archaisms when compared with that of the Junagadh inscription of Rodradaman. With the exception of #, ri and o, no vowel occurs in its initial form. U in athāpita occurs in all the records in the last line. Ri occurs twice, once in inscrip tion B in the word Rishabhadevasa (1.5) and once again in inscription D in the same word (1. 3). The initial form of o is to be found in A, B and D in the word Opasati. The medial forms of vowels do not call for remarks with the exception of u in ga in Phaguna which is certainly earlier than the forms in the Junagadh inseription of Rudradaman; cf. Bühler's Indische Palæographie, Table II. 9. VI. The rare medial I occurs in Sihamita (C, 1. 2), Sihila (A, 1. 3; B, 1. 6; and C, 1. 3) and in oriraye (A, I. 2). Among consonants ka does not show any curvature in its lowest extremity, except once in Ysämotika (B, 1. 1); ja shows two different forms, (1) with a curved back and (2) with a straight back. Na occurs in conjunction with ja in rajño. Ta also is found only once, in kulubiniye (C, 1. 3). It occurs conjointly with sha in Chashtana (ABCD, 1. 1), lashti (A, 1. 3; B, 1. 8; C, 1.3; D, 1.4), Jeshtarirāye (A, 1. 2) and Tresha (C, 11. 3-4). The lingual na shows the archaic form where no curvature is noticeable in either the top or bottom horizontal lines; cf Phaguna (A, 1. 2; B, l. 4; C, I. 2), šamaneriye (C, 1. 2), frā manerena (D, 1. 4). In the majority of cases the base line of na is curved, the exceptions being na in Madanena (C, 1. 3) and the cases in inscription D. In the majority of cases ba is a perfect square with straight sides, the only exception being the form in kutubiniye (C, 1. 3). Ya presents a number of varieties :-(1) the archaic type, in which the right and left vertical lines show no signs of curvature, but have acute angles on one side of their bases, cf. Ysā (A, 1.1); (2) the transition type, which shows slight signs of curvature, as in Jayadāma (A, 1. 1); and (3) the early Kushan type, where the base line is carved, as in Jayadāma (C, 1. 1). Both la and ha show angles on their line at the point of its junction with the horizontal parts. The right vertical limb of la is bigher in comparison with the left limb of ha. Three different forms of the palatal é are to be found in the records :-(1) the broad-backed type, which is usually to be found in the records of Ushabhadāta, in which the central pendant drops from the left half and slants to the right; cf. Opasati (A, 1. 3), panchāśe (B, 11. 3-4); (2) the more archaic form is to be found in inscription D, where it is used in all cases; in this form also the letter is broad-backed, but the pendant drops vertically from the middle of the curve; cf. Opasati (1. 3), srāmanerena (1.4); (3) the northern form, in which the back consists of two different curves which meet in an acute angle; cf. Senika and samaneriye (C, 1. 2). This is exactly the form in the Mathura inscription of the year 72 of the reign of Sodasa.
The object of all four inscriptions is to record the erection of funeral monuments by the relatives of the deceased. In the inscriptions themselves these monuments are termed lashti's (Pkt. latthi, lit. 'a stick'). Inscription A records the erection of such a monument (lashli) by Madana, sou of Sihila (Simhila), to the memory of his sister Jeshtavira (Jyöshthavira), the daughter of Simbila of the Opnšati (Aupaśatika) gotra, in the year 52, on the second day of the dark half of Phaguna (Philguna), during the reign of the king (Rajan) Rudradaman, son of Jayadå man, (who was the grandson) of Chashtana, son of Ysåmotika. Inscription B records the erection of a funeral monument to the memory of Rishabhadēva, son of Simhila of the Opasati (Aupaśatika) yötra, by his brother Madana, son of Simhila, on the same year, month and day. Inscription
Ante, Vol. II, p. 199, No II.
