Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana
Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana | |
---|---|
Material | Stone |
Writing | Sanskrit |
Created | 1st century BCE – 1st century CE |
Place | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh |
Present location | Ranopali monastery, Shri Udasin Sangat Rishi Ashram |
Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana is a stone inscription related to a Hindu
Sunga inscription from Ayodhya
The Ayodhya inscription of the
According to Kunal Kishore, the inscription is not grammatically correct Sanskrit.[8] Others scholars disagree and state that except for one minor scribe error, the inscription is in good Sanskrit.[7][9]
Inscription
The discovered inscription is damaged and incomplete. It reads:[7]
1. Kosal-adhipena dvir-asvamedha-yajinah senapateh Pushyamitrasya shashthena Kausiki-putrena Dhana
2. Dharmarajna pituh Phalgudevasya ketanam karitam– Shunga dynasty Ayodhya Inscription, 1st-century BCE – 1st century CE[7][8]
Translation
Sahni – a Sanskrit scholar, translates it as,
Dhana (deva, bhuti, etc), Lord of Kosala, son of Kausiki, the sixth of the Senapati Pushyamitra, who had performed the Ashvamedha twice, erected a shrine (or other memorial) in honor of Phalgudeva, the father of the Dharmaraja.
— Dhana's Ayodhya inscription[7]
Significance
The Sunga inscription is short but one that has attracted much debate. Scholars disagree on how to interpret Pushyamitrasya shashthena.[7] It literally means the "sixth of Pushyamitra", which can be interpreted as "sixth son of Pushyamitra" or "sixth descendant of [generation after] Pushyamitra". The former interpretation would mean Dhana likely lived in early 1st-century BCE, the later would imply Dhana to be a great grandchild of a great grandchild through the father or mother side, and he lived in 1st-century CE.[7][4]
According to Bhandare, there is uncertainty if there were more than one ancient kings named Dhanadeva. The inscription suggests there was one in the 1st century BCE, while the dating of the coins with Dhanadeva name range from 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. Typically, both are considered to be the same. The coins with Dhanadeva were mold cast, were made from silver or copper, and show a bull with fodder tray in front. His name is in Brahmi script, and the coins also show swastika and Ujjayini signs.[10][4]
The ancient Ayodhya inscription is significant also because it establishes that the Hindu Shunga dynasty was ruling Ayodhya around the 1st century BCE, that the custom of building temple shrines to popular leaders or famous kings was already in vogue by then, and that Phalgudeva may have been the same person as Pushyamitra. It is also the earliest epigraphical evidence that the general Pushyamitra Shunga founded a dynasty and performed the Vedic ritual Ashvamedha twice (it is unclear why he did it twice).[7]
See also
- Chandragupta Maurya
- Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions
- Nanaghat Inscription
- Sects of Sikhism
References
- ^ a b Verma, Thakur Prasad (1971). The Palaeography Of Brahmi Script. p. 84.
- ISBN 978-81-208-3394-4.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0592-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1.
- ^ P.L. Gupta (1969), Conference Papers on the Date of Kaniṣka, Editor: Arthur Llewellyn Basham, Brill Archive, 1969, p.118
- ^ D.C. Sircar (1965), Select Inscriptions, Volume 1, 2nd Edition, pages 94-95 and footnote 1 on page 95
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j RBDR Sahni, A Sunga Inscription from Ayodhya, Epigraphia Indica Volume 20, ASI, pages 54-58
- ^ a b Kunal Kishore, Ayodhya Revisited, p.24, Prabhat Prakashan
- ^ Theo Damsteegt (1978). Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit. Brill Academic. pp. 206, 209–210.
- ISBN 978-81-208-2973-2.