Barli Inscription

Barli Inscription
Material Stone
Size 13x10 inches
Period/culture 5th century BCE
Discovered 26°18′48.3″N 72°55′51.6″E / 26.313417°N 72.931000°E / 26.313417; 72.931000Coordinates: 26°18′48.3″N 72°55′51.6″E / 26.313417°N 72.931000°E / 26.313417; 72.931000
Place

Ajmer District, Rajasthan

26°18'48.3"N 72°55'51.6"E
Present location Government Museum, Ajmer

The Barli Inscription was escavated in Ajmer District, Rajasthan.

History

Earlier scholars assigned the Barli inscription to the pre-Ashoka period, but more recent scholars have assigned it to a later date.[1]

According to historian G. H. Ojha, who discovered the inscription in 1912, the inscription contains the line Viraya Bhagavate chaturasiti vase, which can be interpreted as "dedicated to Lord Vira in his 84th year". Based on this reading, Ojha concluded that the record was inscribed in 443 BCE (year 84 of the Vira Nirvana Samvat), 84 years after the death of the Jain leader Mahavira.[2] K. P. Jayaswal disagreed with Ojha's interpretation, but nevertheless assigned the inscription to a pre-Ashoka period: he dated it to 374-373 BCE, equivalent to the year 84 of an imaginary calendar era.[3]

Historians such as D. C. Sircar and S. R. Goyal have disputed that theory that the inscription is dated in the Vira Nirvana Samvat, arguing that this era was first used in the early medieval period, and most probably did not exist in the century following the death of Mahavira.[3][4] On paleographic grounds, the inscription can be assigned to the first century BCE.[5] Sircar dismisses Ojha's reading of the inscription as inaccurate, and states that word "Bhagavata" in the inscription refers to the first century BCE Shunga king Bhagavata.[6]

Description

This inscription is present on a piece of pillar of dimension 13x10 inches. The inscription is written in Prakrit language. The writting was done by engraving, sewing, engraving, weaving, digging, piercing, burning and punching. There are many defects in this inscriptions.[7]

See also

Reference

Citation

  1. ↑ Dilip K. Chakrabarty 2009, pp. 355–356.
  2. ↑ S. R. Goyal (2006). Brāhmī Script: An Invention of the Early Maurya Period. Kusumanjali Book World. p. 105.
  3. 1 2 S. R. Goyal 2005, p. 22.
  4. ↑ S. R. Goyal 2005, p. 3:"The belief that the Barli inscription is dated in the 84th year of the Mahavlra Era and thus belongs to the fifth century B.C. is rightly regarded as baseless, for no such era was in existence in that period."
  5. ↑ Swarajya Prakash Gupta; K. S. Ramachandran, eds. (1979). The Origin of Brahmi script. D.K. p. 106. The Barli inscription, which was placed by Ojha in fifth century B.C., can really be assigned to the first century B.C., on paleographic grounds.
  6. ↑ Krishna Gopal Sharma 1993, pp. 5-8.
  7. ↑ Dwivedi 1994, p. 101.

Source

  • Muni, Nagraj (1986), Agama Aura Tripitaka: Eka Anusilana, Concept Publishing Company, ISBN 9788170227311
  • Dwivedi, Bhanwar Lal (1994), Evolution of educational thought in India, Northern Book Centre, ISBN 9788172110598
  • Dilip K. Chakrabarty (2009). India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations. Oxford University Press India. ISBN 978-0-19-908814-0.
  • Krishna Gopal Sharma (1993). Early Jaina inscriptions of Rajasthan. Navrang. ISBN 978-81-7013-081-9.
  • S. R. Goyal (2005). Ancient Indian Inscriptions: Recent Finds and New Interpretations. Kusumanjali Book World.
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