North Indian Inscriptions

PREFACE

inscriptions as this was the most complete group in the manuscript of Prof. Lüders. The present work was undertaken after Prof. Waldschmidt’s proposal was accepted in a letter No. 21 A/12/49-4886 dated 11th April 1949 of the Superintendent of Publications, Department of Archaeology, Government of Indian, New Delhi.

  The year 1941 saw the publication of Prof. Lüders’ book on “Bhārhut and die buddhistische Literatur” (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, XXVI, 3, Leipzing 1941), and in this book the author discussed many of the Bhārhut inscriptions. On comparing the treatment of certain inscriptions as contained in the unpublished manuscript intended for the CII, and in the published work on Bhārhut, it was found, that in some respects the latter showed an advance over the former. The published work contained in certain cases a more detailed discussion, besides a treatment of some general topics like the relation of Bhārhut sculptures to the Pāli texts, and a criticism of B. M. Barua’s work on Bhārhut. Hence it seemed necessary to include this material in the present work at proper places, all the more so because copies of Lüders as far as Bhārhut are no more available.

   The recovered material of Prof. Lüders’ as far as Bhārhut is concerned comprised the treatment of most of the individual inscriptions. It has been supplemented with an introduction headed by Lüders’ criticism of Barua’s Barhut, and continued by a treatment of general topics, like a discussion of the language, of the age of the inscriptions, and of the nature of the personal and place names. The index of the words has as well been added. In completing the manuscript of individual inscriptions, the originality of Lüders’ text has been retained as far as possible. Minor changes and additions were often necessary, but have not been indicated at all places. Similarly the supplementing of the text made with the help of the published work of Lüders on Bhārhut has not been distinguished as such. The inscriptions, however, on which any treatment whatsoever was missing in the manuscript have been so indicated in the foot notes.

   In the present text it was thought advisable to divide the inscriptions into two main groups: A: donative inscriptions, and B: inscriptions describing the sculptural represen- tations, and so to arrange them anew. Consequently it was not possible to maintain the sequence of the numbers found in the List of Brāhmī Inscriptions, but these numbers from the List have been mentioned in brackets by the side of new numbers, and in addition a concordance of the old and new numbers has been attached.

   In the year 1952, Dr. M. A. Mehendale of the Deccan College Research Institute, Poona (India), arrived at Gōttingen and joined Prof. Waldschmidt in his work on Bhārhut inscriptions.

  Postscript 1958 : When our manuscript was completed in 1954 we had not heard of the removal of as many as fifty-four pieces of the railing of the Stūpa of Bhārhut, discovered at Pataora and other villages near the modern village of Bhārhut, to the Allahabad Municipal Museum. These sculptures have been treated by Dr. Satish Chandra Kala, Curator, Municipal Museum Allahabad, in his book on ‘Bharhut Vedikā’. Allahabad 1951. Some six or seven pieces are provided with inscriptions, read by Dr. Kala. One inscription haṁsajātakaṁ (below B 41) was already known to the public from Cunningham’s drawing. The new inscriptions have been re-edited by Dr. D. C. Sircar, Government Epigraphist for India, in Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXXIII, pp. 57-60. They have been included in our volume at proper places.