Collection of Early Indian Inscriptions Nr.2

Pauni (Pawni ) inscr.

El, XXXVIII No. 28, BRAHMI INSCRIPTIONS FROM PAUNI
V. B. KOLTE
Pauni is a small town in Bhandara District (Maharashtra), gituated on the right bank of Vaingaкgа. On the 19th March, 1968 I received information from my friend Shri W.G. Ghodvaidya that some sculptures and inscriptions were, discovered at Pauni. Before I could visit the place the Nagpur Times of Nagpur published an account of these sculptures and inscriptions as reported by Messers. Brahmanand Deshpande and S. J, Killedar from Nagpur Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur, who had visited the place earlier on information received by them from Dr. Meshram at Pauni. I found that the inscriptions were not read. After a few days Shri Ghodvaidya informed me that another stone with large inscriptions was lying in a pit near about those sculptures referred to above. I immediately visited the place for taking estampages of the same, on the basis of which I published an article in the daily Taruнa Bhаrata from Nagpur (7th April, 1968), giving my transcription of those inscriptions. During my visit to the site of these ancient relics I tried to study the stone sculptures and the pillar stones. I could see that they were stones of railing, since they had notches and upright projections. I, therefore, surmised that it must be a site of a Buddhist stуpa. I am editing the inscriptions called here as A, B, C and D from the originals and estampages. I am thankful to Dr. S. B. Deo, Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Nagpur University, Nagpur, for supplying me the photographs and a set of estampages taken by the photographer of the Department and also the necessary information and description of the architecture on these stones.
Pauni is a place which is surrounded by a moat and a rampart on three sides, which is now in a dilapidated condition. On the fourth side flows the sacred river Vaingaкgа. As we approach the main gate of the town we find that on both the sides of the gate the rampart is intact. On the right hand side of the approach road is a small tank which is known as Bаlasamudra. Near the tank there is a mound on which the modern temple of Jagannаtha has been constructed. The temple is facing east. On the right hand side of the mound there are a few kilns for which earth is often dug out for laying bricks. It was during such operations that the stone pillars and railings bearing some inscriptions were incidentally discovered. Close to the west of the mound are lying some remains. One of these, bearing inscription A, shows the upright member (thabha) of the stone railing with lenticular notches on one face to accommodate the horizontal bars or sуchis of the railing. On the rest of the faces of the octagonal upright are human sculptures in the lower panel and in the upper panel are early Buddhist religious motifs. The physical features and coiffure of the human figures in the lower panel and the absence of the Buddha figures in the upper panels are suggestive of the early date of these relics. The top of the upright has a projection which was accommodated in the notch of the coping stone.