No. 1. A BRAHMI INSCRIPTION FROM PALE

H. D. SANKALIA AND SHOBHANA GOKHALE. EI, XXXVIII No. 27
The discovery of a short Brаhmи inscriptioni in a cave near Pаle in Poona District, Maharashtra, was made known to us by Shri R. C. Bhide, an oflicial of the Poona University. The village is situated about 8 miles away from Kamshet on the main Bombay-Poona road. The cave is excavated at a height of about 70m on a hill near Pаle. The cave faces east, and commands a magnificent view. It measures 23 m 75 cm long, 5 m 67 cm broad and 7m 27 cm high. The ceiling is probably incomplete, as we can distinguish between the finished portion and the unfinished lower portion. Further on the left hand wall of the cave, there is a cell with a benech. The cell measures 1 m 27 cm x 1 m 2 cm x 1 m 21 cm. The inscription\1 is engraved on the same wall, just near the original entrance, almost at eye level, about 2 m from the floor level. Below is a carved out cistern.
The inscription is incised on a specially prepared space which is about 50 cm X 40 cm, the actual engraved space occupying an area of 39 cm x 17 cm. It is in four lines. The letters are bold and deeply cut, their average size being 3 cm. The characters are Brаhmи and in their squat nature and other features they resemble the Nаnаghат inscription. The inscription may be assigned to the 1st century B. C. The language of the inscription\2 is Prakrit influenced by Sanskrit.
The inscription records that a certain Bhadaмta Idarakhita (Indrarakшita), probably together with some others, caused the cave and a cistern to be excavated. The expression sаhа kаhi saha occurring towards the end of the record is difficult to interpret. But our interpretation is based on the analogy of the inscription No. 5\3 in cave No. V from Kuda, which reads lеnaм pодhi cha sahа . . . . . Bоdhiya saha
Taking all this evidence, we come to the inescapable conclusion that in the Pаle cave we have the earliest Jaina record in Maharashtra, datable to about the 1st century B. C.
The cave is situated in the hitherto unknown group of hills, and this cannot be the only Jaina cave over here. There must be many more, which need to be searched.
_____________________________________________
1 1 This is registered as No. B 74 in A.R.Ep., 1968-69.
2 2 We are thankful to Professor M. A. Mehendale for very useful suggestions in preparing this article.
3 4 ASWI, Vol. IV, p. 85.


TEXT

1 Namо arahaмtаnaм [|*] kаtuna[м]
2 [bha] Bhadaмta Idarakhitеna lеna[м*]
3 kаrаpita[м*] pодhi cha sаh[а] kаhi-
4 saha[||*]
__________________
From the original engraving and impressions.
L. 1. This word (kаtuna[м]) might be taken as an absolutive form (cf. Sanskrit kрtva), e.g., abhivаdеtunaм in the Calcutta-Bairat edict of Aщоka (CII, Vol I, 1925, p. 172).
L. 2. The letter [bha] seems to have been chipped off at the time of engraving and so the engraver had to incise bha a second time.