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No. 23-BRAHMI INSCRIPTIONS FROM BANDHOGARH
(5 Plates)
THE LATE DR. N. P. CHAKRAVARTI, NEW DELHI1
In March 1938 a number of inscriptions in Brahmi characters were discovered by me at Bändhogarh in the former Rewa State in Vindhya Pradesh. The epigraphs were found inscribed on the walls of artificial caves found in the neighbourhood of the hill fort of Bandhogarh.
Bāndhogarh (23° 40' N., 81° 3' E.), the old capital of the Baghelas, is situated in the southeast of the Rewah State in the Ramnagar Tahsil. It is about 22 miles from Umaria, the nearest Railway Station. Over fifty caves were discovered in this area, most of which are artificial. They are distributed over the low hills within a radius of 3 miles of Gopalpur, a small village at the foot of the fort. The village no longer exists and the only people that lived in the neighbourhood were found to be a few constables in charge of the fort. The forests of Bandhogarh are infested with wild animals and many of the caves are difficult of access. But for the interest taken and the facilities given by the Rewah Darbar it would have been impossible for me to reach many of these caves. Bandhogarh was reputed to be an ancient site; but very little was known about its early history. It was the early seat of the Baghelas and the rulers of Rewah are known as Bāndhavesa or the lord of Bandhogarh (lit. 'lord of friends'). According to a tradition followed by the Rewah house no permission for visiting the fort area was ordinarily given to one who was not a subject of the State. Appreciating the difficulty that might arise in my offering personally to visit the place, I suggested, nearly two years before my visit, if somebody belonging to the State could be sent on a preliminary search. Accordingly, Head Constable Kesari Singh, who had spent 27 years of his service at Bandhogarh, was deputed by the Rewah Darbar to inspect the site and see what epigraphic materials were available. Kesari Singh spent over three months in this work and reported to have found a large number of caves. He also prepared eye-copies of any writing he could find in these, which were sent to me for examination.
At the very first glance at the eye-copies I was impressed with the antiquity and importance of the site. But as it was impossible to make much out of them, I requested the Darbar to grant me permission to visit the place. When my request was placed before His Highness Sir Gulab Singh, the late Maharaja of Rewah, who was well known for his advanced views and was always anxious to have the materials for the ancient history of Rewah properly studied, he readily granted the necessary permission as a special case. I was thus able to visit the place in March 1938. During my stay there I inspected all the caves that were reported to have contained some sort of writing and also most of those containing no inscriptions, particularly the bigger ones. These caves, or more appropriately rock-out dwellings, are of different sizes. Many of them consist of one hall and one or two cells; but there are a few containing seven, eight or even nine cells. None of these, except two, now contains any carved images, while a third has some designs carved on pillars. Otherwise they are simple structures excavated in the rocks. As these are soft sandstone rocks, some of the caves and many of the inscriptions have suffered badly. It appears that the method of writing
[ It is greatly to be regretted that the author passed away while the article was still in the press.-Ed. ] A detailed notice of these inscriptions was to be published by me in the An. Rep. A.8.I., 1939; but its printing was withheld as a war measure. They have been noticed by N. G. Majumdar, above, Vol. XXIV, p. 146, note. 2; by Mirashi, Vol. XXVI, p. 298; and by Motichandra, JNSI, Vol. II, p. 10, and ABORI, Vol. XXVII (1946), pp. 15 f. [See also N. Hist. Ind. Peop., Vol. VI, pp. 41 ff.; Hist. Cult. Ind. Peop., Vol. II, pp. 174 ff. Macron over e and o has not been used in this article.-Ed.]
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