HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN NASHIK (BASED ON THE INSCRIPTIONS AT TRIRASHMI BUDDHIST CAVES)

Introduction: Inscriptions have always been looked upon as the confirmatory source of history; more so in a multi-cultured country like India. These inscriptions represent the history of their period and help historians and laymen to understand the social, political, and religious history of the past. Nashik has been recorded as one of the ancient cities of India. The inscriptions seen on the Trirashmi Caves (tiranhu in Bramhi script and Prakrit-Pali language) shed light on the political history as well as the contribution of various kings and laymen to Buddhism in Nashik.

History: Maharashtra has been a region of great antiquity. The cultural history of Maharashtra cannot be complete without the caves, hemadpanthi temples and forts. The caves in India were first carved out in the Barabar mountains of Bihar; however within a century this concept spread across Maharashtra and today Maharashtra boasts of nearly 80 % caves of India or approx. 800 odd caves.

One of the major reasons for so large nos. of caves present in Maharashtra is due to the presence of basalt rock and hard black rock mountains formed due to volcanic eruptions. These natural conditions favored rock architecture.

As per the Vinaya, the monks were supposed to stay away from the laymen in peaceful environment; some natural caves became the best option. Thus cave architecture flourished in Maharashtra as early as 3rd cent. B.C. and continued till 1200 A.D. These caves were built close to the trade route which offered monks the required help in terms of donations for the monastery. Since the trade enriched the State and locals, they too were influenced to help the monastery.Nashik Caves: Based on the style of architecture and notations and style of inscriptions, researcher and scholar - S.Nagaraju states that the Nashik caves dated between 2nd cent. B.C to 3rd cent A.D.i Nashik was an important city on the road from

Paithan to Supparka (Sopara) and hence formed a resting place for the merchants. Various inscriptions seen on the Trirashmi Caves shows that the rulers, merchants as well as laymen helped build the caves. The inscriptions seen in the Trirashmi caves are written in Northern and Southern Bramhi script and the language is Prakrit and Pali. The 2 major kings who favored Buddhism were Satavahana and the Kshatrapas.

Satavahana period Inscriptions: The Satavahanas was the earliest known dynasty of Maharashtra. Though the Ashokan inscriptions mention Maharattha as a region, yet very little is known of its rulers. The Satavahana dynasty was powerful and ruled over this region for the longest period of nearly 400 years. The history of Satavahanas is depicted by the various inscriptions that have been carved. Nearly 75 inscriptions of Satavahanas are seen in Maharashtra. The inscriptions of Nashik and Naneghat are the oldest inscriptions of Satavahanas and shed light on the periodicity of their rule.

One of the oldest inscriptions belong to Nashik's Trirashmi caves as seen in Cave no.14 in 2 lines on the right side window. Buhler, Bhagwanlal Inderji and Senart have read and translated this inscription and dated it to 2nd cent. B.C.ii

The inscription states that, saadvaahnakulao knho raijanaI naaisakona samaNaona mahamaatoNa laoNa kairti.e. "….the descendant of the Satavahanas, King Krishna (ordered) Nashik's mahamatra Saman to design this cave". This shows that Nashik was under the rule of Satavahana kings and that they favored Buddhism.

In the chaitya (cave no.18), inscriptions are vertically written on the 2 pillars situated on the right hand side.iii

"rayaamaca Arhlayasa cailasaIlaNaksa duhutuya mahahkuisa ir…ya BaTpailakaya rayaamacasa AigayatNaksa BaMDakairk yasa Baairyaaya kpNaNakmaatuya caoityaGarM itrNhuima inazpaipt"

i.e. From (place) Chalisilan, the king's minister Arhalaya's daughter and the grand-daughter of Mahahakusiri - Bhatpaalika who is the wife of the minister of stores Agiyatanak and mother of Kapannak completed this Trirashmi cave.

Another inscription of Satavahanas can be seen in Cave no.3 on the wall above the door. This is one of the biggest inscriptions of 11 sentences. iv The inscription describes the courage, power and administration capability of Satkarni. Further it informs us that this cave was donated by Queen Gautami Balashri and on the 19th

throne accession anniversary, her grandson -King Pulumayi, son of Gautamiputra Satkarni donated a village "Pisachipadak" (to the south-west of the caves)to the monks for proper maintenance of this cave in respect to his father and grand-mother. The verandah of cave 3 has inscriptions of Gautamiputra Satkarni. The script is ancient Bramhi with Prakrit Pali language. The inscription contain numerical like 2, 4, 10, 20 and 100. The inscription details the order given by Satkarni to his minister named Samak who was based at Govardhan. Satkarni had donated a farmland of "kakhadi" village to the monks living at Trirashmi caves; however this farmland did not yield any crops and hence Samak was ordered to donate a part

i S.Nagaraju - Buddhist Architecture of Western India, 1981, pg.312

ii H.Luders - List of Brahmi Inscriptions;no.1144

iii H.Luders - List of Brahmi Inscriptions;no.1141; Epigraphia indica; vol.8, pg.91

iv H.Luders - List of Brahmi Inscriptions;no.1123; Epigraphia indica; vol.8, pg.60

of the King's land situated on the borders of Govardhan to the monks. This order seems to be verbally given by the king and written by his maid servant named "lota" and inscribed by Sujivina. The inscription reads as follows:

savaCro 20 4, vaasaana pKo 4, idvasao pcamao 5, sauijaivanaa kTa savaCro 20 4, igamhaNa pKo 2, idvasao 10i.e on the 24th year, varsha paksha 4th and 5th day, the king gave the order and in the same year the order was carried out.The date mentioned in this inscription is important since it records that till the 18th year of accession to the throne by Satkarni, Nashik was not under his control.

In the same inscription, the 3rd line states - eqa Amhoih pvato itrNhuimh Amh Qamadanao laoNao…… "on the Trirashmi mountains, the monks staying in our caves" which is noteworthy since it depicts the genuine interest of Satkarni in the monks and his devotion to the caves.

On the verandah of Cave no.3, 4 lines are inscribed which states that Pulumayi donated a village named Shamlipadra instead of earlier Sudarshan village to the monks of Benakatak residing in Trirashmi caves. This is an interesting recording which confirms that the monks residing at Trirashmi caves came from Benakat region on the banks of Vainganga river. It is worth mentioning here that Benakat was a famous Buddhist centre as seen from the excavation at Pauni in Bhandara districtv. On the same verandah, on the roof of cave no.3, there are 6 lines inscribed followed by a "swastika" and then the remaining 7 lines are written. This inscription states that Satkarni ordered Vishnupaalitala to donate a 200-acre village to the Buddhist monks residing at Trirashmi mountain and to make this village free from all taxes. This donation was given by Satkarni after his victory over Kshatrapa Nahapana.

v V.V.Mirashi - Sanshodhan Muktawali; 8; pg.203

Western Kshatrapas Inscriptions: The Kshatrapas ruled over the northern part and had control over the present region of Gujarat, Konkan, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa and Rajputana. The inscriptions of the Kshatrapa Rishabhdatta are seen in Cave no.10 in the verandah. The inscription is of 6 lines written in Bramhi script and Prakrit language. The special features are - mention of figures in thousands, mention of "vaYa-" (year) instead of "savaM%sar" and the inscriptions are written in 3 years period - 41, 42 & 45. The inscription states that in Sako 42, Kshatrapa Nahapana's son-in-law and Dinika's son Rishabhdatta donated this cave and for maintenance and well being of the monks deposited 3000 karshapanas (gold coin) with the local merchant. The inscriptions calculated the interest very minutely and even mentioned its disbursement.

On the entrance above right side room of Cave no.10, there is an inscription of Dakshamitra, wife of Rishabhadatta. It states thatvi

isaQaM, ra&ao xahratsa xa~psa nahpnasa dIihtu dInaIkpu~sa ]YavadatsakDuMibainaya dKima~aya doyaQaMmaM Aaovarkao

meaning "alert!, King kshaharat Kshatrap Nahapana's daughter and Dinika's son Rishabhdatt's wife - Dakshamitra donated this room to the monks"

Another inscription of Kshatrap Nahapana on Cave 10 on the verandah which is one of the largest inscriptions states that Rishabhdatta ordered purchase of a farm on eastern Govardhan (Nashik) for 4000 karshapanas and donated the produce (farm) to all the monks staying in the city.

Opposite to cave no.23, there is an incomplete cave with inscriptions of 4 lines. This inscription is important since it mentions the donation from a farmer. It

vi Senart - Epigraphica Indica; vol.8; Luders no.1134

states that - isaQaM, r&ao vaaisaizputsa saaimaisairpulau maa[sa saMvaCro 2 homaMta pKo 4 idsao 8 eitya puvaaya kuTMuibakoNa QaNamaoNa [Na kairtM sah maata iptuih sah BaigaNao meaning that during the era of King Pulumayi, a farmer named Dhanam donated this cave in memory of his parents and sister.

This is very interesting for the fact that the Trirashmi caves not only received donations from the kings, but even from laymen since they considered it as a noble deed. Another inscription shows that the well near cave 10 is donated by the Abhirs who had a brief control over Nashik.

Style of Inscriptions: The style of the inscriptions clearly depicts the writing skills and its development. The initial inscriptions of the Satavahanas seen in the chaitya of Nashik's Trirashmi caves depict the early form of writing. The alphabets are not very sharp, the surface is rough and the letters, though cuneiform are not in uniform size. This shows that writing skills was not fully developed and marks the entry of inscriptions in Maharashtra. The inscriptions in various caves show the development in writing skills. The later on fonts, size and style of various inscriptions can be termed as classic. The alphabets are more prominent, sharp and uniform. The Satavahanas inscriptions of later stages show calligraphic style Bramhi with closely held letters. The Kshatrapas inscriptions have bold inscriptions and the letters are prominent and spacious.The inscriptions mention the historical background of both the Kings and their achievements. Their rule, their donations to the Trirashmi caves is highlighted and their achievements are recorded. Out of the 23 inscriptions seen, 17 belong to the

kings and the balance 6 inscriptions mention donation by the merchants and laymen.

Conclusion:Thus it can be seen from the inscriptions at Trirashmi caves of Nashik that during the 500 years of building these caves, both these kings not only favored Buddhism, but went out to ensure that the monks were not troubled by moving around either for alms, medicine or for chivaras (cloth worn by monks). This is seen from the deposit kept by Kshatrapa Nahapana with the local merchants. The Queens too felt it a noble deed to donate a room or donation to the Sangha. Though the Satvahanas and Kshatrapas had engaged in war over territory and each had their turn to rule Nashik; however both were very generous in helping the Buddhist monks. This could be due to the large spread presence of Buddhism over the entire continent and quite naturally, the Kings felt that it was their duty to help Buddhist monks in every possible way.

This generous help from the kings helped the monks to practice in peace and spread the ideals of Buddhism.

Atul BhosekarM.A-II

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