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No. 19.)
BRAHMI INSCRIPTION ON A WOODEN PILLAR FROM KIRARI.
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some cases he has to ascend a yüpa by a ladder, touch the mortar-shaped top-piece made of wheaten dough, rise by the measure of his head over the post and descend after performing certain rites. Our pillar could serve such a purpose very well. But here we should remember that Vājapēya is one of the several Soma sacrifices which kings or Brāhmaṇs have to offer before celebrating the Rājasūya and the Brihaspatisava. Why should a sacrificer select a thing connected with a rite which is after all a minor one as compared to the principal Yajfa and write a large inscription on it giving the names of very high officials such as this pillar bears? To solve such a question satisfaetorily one would like to explore the site where the pillar was unearthed and see if any vestiges of some other sacrifice or sacrifices are to be found there.
The association of a reservoir or tank (Hirābandh) might suggest this pillar to be an ordinary tank-pillar, such as we see erected in the midst of tanks in the Central Provinces or elsewhere. But then, we have to remember that such columns are generally of stone. Besides, there would be no reason why such an important record should be incised on it mostly to remain hidden under water. Another likelihood may be that it was a jayastambha or column of victory, but there too, looking at the position of the personage responsible for its setting up and of the officers connected with him, it will be quite reasonable to expect a more permanent and dignified material than an ordinary bija trea of which the pillar is made. The other alternative would be that it was a dhvajastambha or a flagstaff connected with some temple for, that may be made of stone or wood, circular, sixteen- or eight-sided and shaped like a kumbha (pot) at the middle or at the beginning. Its height varies according to its nature. The emblem (vāhana) of the god to whom it is dedicated is to be put on it together with the banner cloth (dhvaja-pata). Such an assumption would naturally suggest the existence of some structure close by and until we find any traces of it we are not in a position to call the pillar a dhrajastambha. Whether it is a post connected with the Vājapēya or similar rites or a dhvajastambha, the fact remains that it is a unique find yet made in India.
The writing on this pillar very closely resembles that of the Näsik cave inscriptions. Leaving aside other symbols the one for khi is particularly noteworthy. In the two impressions reproduced here this is represented by the fifth letter while in the Näsik cave inscriptions it is to be seen in the word dhamarakhitëna though in another word, i.e., in bhikhusanghasa, it is written in a different manner. Regarding the age, I am to remark that on palæographic grounds the record is to be assigned to about the second century of the Christian era. The extant portion shows no trace of any date in it. It is chiefly on account of its age that this relic of the past possesses considerable epigraphical value for, early Brāhmi inscriptions are rather very rare. As an historical document, however, one will be sorry to find that whatever importance it had originally is now irretrievably lost with the portion that has peeled off. What we may now surmise from the nature of the contents as they are at present is that the inscription must have been connected with some mighty ruler of a very high rank who had a well-organized staff of officers such as the Commander-in-Chief, the Accountant, the Treasurer, etc., etc.
The language in which the document is couched is Prakpit, or one might call it corrupt Sanskrit prose. It is like the language of the Nāsik inscriptions alluded to above.
As to the nature of its contents I am to observe that the record now mostly consists of official titles or designations and the names of some of the individuals who must have held them.
01. silparatna (Trivandrum S. S. No. LXXV), p. 234 :
शिलया दावचाबाच नाकारमषापि वा।
EUT 7 TETT Wwfega: etc., etc. ? See above, VOL VIII, No. 18, plate V (n. 3).
