A FRAGMENTARY STONE INSCRIPTION FROM BHITA - Paper by Priyatosh Banerjee

The present inscription is engraved on a fragment of a stone umbrella-staff which was found in the course of the excavations at Bh¢¶¡ in 1911-12. Its text was published along with an English translation by Marshall in the Annual Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India for 1911-12, p. 44, without, however, any facsimile or remarks regarding its date and object. I edit it from the original record which is now deposited in the Archaeological Section, Indian Museum, Calcutta.

The epigraph, as extant, consists of six lines of writing. As a result of the fragmentation of the staff (on which it is inscribed) the beginning and ends of almost all the lines are mutilated. It is written in early Kush¡n script and is dated in the year 18 of an era the name of which is not preserved. But the year in question belongs presumably to the áaka era, as the palaeography of the record would show.

The language is Prakrit. The object of the inscription is to record the erection of an umbrella-staff for Mavibhadra by a person Those name is not extant.

Text1

In the year eighteen of ..... during the prosperous reign of..... taka by..., a householder, with his kinsmen ..... by a son of..... kenaka(?) ..... an umbrella was caused to be made for Ma¸ibhadra.

Ma¸ibhadra is the name of a famous Yaksha. The erection of an umbrella9 (which is an important symbol of royalty or spiritual greatness as the case may be) in his honour would suggest beyond doubt his divinity. The Deariya Yakha figure also (described by Coomaraswamy in his 'Origin of the Bhuddha Image', p, 27, fig. 47) is shown with an umbrella over his head. It is quite possible that this Yaksha figure also was a cult object.

That the Yakshas were worshipped as cult objects in ancient India is known from various sources, literary and archaeological. The royal house of Magadha, as we find in the Mah¡bh¡rata, worshipped the Yakshi¸¢ J¡r¡ and Jar¡sandha was named after her. The Mah¡bh¡rata refers also to Yaksha Ma¸ivara or Ma¸ibhadra as Kubera's chief attendant, and lord of wealth and treasures. He is invoked as a patron Of merchants with Kubera. The Nidde¿a commentary refers among various other cults to the worship of Yaksa. Ma¸ibhadra and P£r¸abhadra. Many Yaksha-Chaityas or sanctuaries of Yakshas are said to have existed in different parts of India in early days as we find in Buddhist as well as Jaina texts1. The M¡h¡m¡y£r¢2 which was a well-recognized Buddhist text in the 7th century A.D. and wa perhaps considerably older in origin, mentions several Yakshas as being the tutelary divinities of particular cities and places of India and further says that Ma¸ibhadra and P£r¸abhadra, the two brother Yakshas, were, worshipped in Brahm¡vat¢, a place which was probably near the Punjab.

The antiquity of the cult of Ma¸ibhadra is clearly revealed by an inscribed image depicting his figure which was found by Garde at it place called P¡w¡y¡ (ancient Padm¡vat¢), Gwalior State.3 The inscription which occurs on the front face of the pedestal is written in Br¡hm¢ script of the 1st century B.C.4 It describes the figure as bhagavat Ma¸ibhadra and states that his image was set up by his worshippers who were members of a guild. The epithet bhagavat and the fact that the image was erected by a band of bhaktas leave no doubt as to Ma¸ibhadra's divinity. This figure of Yaksha Ma¸ibhadra is similar in style to the two Patna Yaksha figures. The latter were probably, 0. C. Ganguly5 has suggested, the two tutelary deities of the city of Nandivardhana in Magadha.

In short, the inscribed P¡w¡y¡ figure of Ma¸ibhadra shows the existence of a cult associated with this Yaksha in the1st century B.C. That this cult6 was also popular in the Kush¡n period is prored by the Bh¢t¡ record under discussion.

1 From the original record as well as its estampage

2 Only the lower limb of this letter is visible, but nothing can be madeout.

3 The right half of the letter is broken.

4 The left half of the letter is broken

5 The left portion of the letter is broken, the medial u mark, however, very difficult to ascertain what the letter was.

6 The surface of the letter is chipped off.

7 Only the left portion of theletter is extant. It is, however, very difficult to ascertain what the letter was.

8 Only the lower left limb of the letter is extant.

9 The umbrella is essentially a kingly attribute. "The umbrella par-excellence-the white one-was held over the king in whose presence no one else dared to hold a parasol' (Sivaramamurti, Amar¡vat¢ Sculptures, p.96). Since 'the early conception of a divine personage' was based 'upon that of an ideal ruler' (Coomaraswamy, Origin of the Buddha Image, p.19), most of the attributes (including the umbrella) of lsuch a ruler came to be analogically ascribed by the sculptors or devotees to the divinities of thier choice. That the umbrela is an important attribute of spiritual or lefigious greatness (besides being a r¡jak¢ya symbol) since an early time is evident from its association with several deities or divine personages. One jof lthe Bodhisattva figures set up by friar Bala was endowed, we know, with an umbrella-staff a fragment of which with a multilated inscription is still extant (Ep. Ind., p. 291). Buddha in lhis descent from the Trayastr¢m¿a heaven at S¡´k¡¿ya is shown atended by Braham¡ over many Hindu as well as Jaina deities also. For a detailed account of the umbrella attention may be drawn to the excellent notes by penzar,'the Ocean of Story', C.H. Tawney's translation of somada's Kath¡-sarits¡gara, Vol, II, Appendix, pp.263-272 and sivaramamurti, Amar¡vat¢ Sculputures, p.96f.

1 R.P.Chandra, Journal of the Department of Letters, Calcutta University, Vol. IV, pp. 77-84.

2 J.A., 1915,p.38

3 A.S.I., A.R ., 1915-16,P.106

4 Garde assigned the image to the Kush¡n period (1st or 2nd century A.D), but has suggested (Journal of the Department of Letters, Calcutta University, Vol. IV, pp. 50ff). This date well accors with the style and technique of the fingure.

5 Modern Review, October. 1919;cf. Coomaraswamy, The Origin of the Buddha Image, p.12.

6 The subject of Yaksha worship in ancient India has been very ably dealt with by Coomaraswamy in his famous work 'Yakshas' (in two parts).

Text1

2 J.A., 1915,p.38