Part 9 - Inscription of Bhuti in the Vyaghra-gumpha or Tiger-cave

" The following "record is incised," says Mr. R D. Banerji, on the outer wall of the inner chamber of the Bagh or Tiger cave (No. 15 of the plan published in the Bengal District Gazetteer, Puri). It consists of two lines. The characters used are as old as the inscriptions in the Mancapuri cave and belong to the second century B.C." Of the Bagh-Gumpha or Tiger-cave which is an excavation on the Udayagiri, we have the following interesting description in Raja Rajendra Lala Mitra's Antiquities of Orissa, Vol. II, p. 31 :- "In size it is similar to the (Alakapura cave), but its exterior is cut into the shape of a tiger's head. The distended jaws of the animal form the verandah, and the entrance to the cell occupies the place of the gullet. The head is remarkably well-formed, and the chiselling is excellent. By the right of the entrance (we have) a short inscription in the Lat (Asokan) character." For a similar description of the cave, see Mr. Mano Mohan Ganguly's Orissa and Her Remains-Ancient and Medieval, pp. 45-46, where one reads: the Hati Gumpha is a small one It is situated higher up the The roof of the front verandah "The Tiger cave, on the west of consisting of a verandah, and a single cell. hill than the Ganesa or the Hati Gumpha. is formed by the upper jaw of the animal. In this cave, the eye, nose and upper jaw of the tiger have been represented; the two canine teeth on the two sides of the incisors have been shown; the number of incisors is greater than what is noticed in the animals of the feline species. The cell is provided with one door flanked by pilasters resting on raised platforms and surmounted by a semi-circular arch-band." For a short description of the cave, see Dr. W. W. Hunter's Statistical Account of Bengal, District of Puri and the Orissa Tributary States, p. 73. The text is based upon Major Kittoe's facsimile read and reproduced by James Prinsep in JAS 3, old series, Vol. VI, Pl. LVII, Cave No. 5, called Tiger-cave; Rajendra Lala Mitra's copy of Prinsep's transcript in his Antiquities of Orissa, Vol. II, p. 31; Alexander Cunningham's handcopy reproduced in Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, old series, Vol. 1, Pl. XVII, 13 (97)

Cave No. 4, called Tiger-cave; Luders' List of Brahmi Inscriptions, in EI, Vol. X, Appendix, No. 1351; Hari Das Dutta's inked impression read and reproduced by R. D. Banerji in EI, Vol. XIII, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Inscriptions, Pl. II, No. 7, Cave called Bagh or Tiger Cave ; and, above all, A. E. Caddy's cast preserved in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. The inscription is interposed between two symbols, a tree-symbol representing a vrksa-caitya or woodland-shrine and marking the commencement, and a Svastika marking the close.

Nagara¹-akhadamsa-[11]-sa 2 Bhutinos lenam [.] [12]. 1. Prinsep, Rajendra Lala Mitra and Cunningham read Ugara. Luders and Banerji correctly read Nagara. 10 2. Prinsep and Rajendra Lala Mitra wrongly read avedasa, aveda being taken to mean an anti-Vedist, and the Genitive case-ending sa being regarded as the initial of the donor's name which they read Sasuvi. Cunningham reads akhadasa and Banerji, akhadamsa, both agreeing with Prinsep and Rajendra Lala Mitra in treating the sixth case-ending sa as the initial of the donor's name which they read Sabhuti (Subhuti). Luders correctly reads akhadamsasa. Banerji's argument is: There is plenty of space after the last letter of the first line and so it cannot be said that the possessive case-ending had to be incised in the lower line for want of space. Generally a mason does not mutilate words when there is no dearth of space." Sten Konow's counter-argument is: "The two lines have been kept of the same length, and that is apparently the reason why the termination of akhadamsasa has been written in L 2." I find that, in spite of there being no dearth of space, the mason has written, in one of the Barhut inscriptions, the sixth case-ending in L 2 (Hultzsch's Bharhut Inscriptions in I. A. Vol. XXI, No. 90): (1) Bhadata-Budharakhitasa Satupadano- (2) sa danam thabho. 3. Prinsep and Rajendra Lala Mitra read Sasuvin; Cunningham and Banerji, Sabhutino. Laders correctly reads Bhutino, Caddy's cast, which I have carefully examined, clearly bears out Luders reading. 4. Prinsep and Rajendra Lala Mitra wrongly read lonam. (99)

nagara-akhadamsasa bhutino lenam [1] TEXT AS IT READS IN PALI nagara-akkhadassassa bhutino lenam [1] TEXT AS IT READS IN SANSKRIT nagara-acadarsasatra bhutah layanam [1] TRANSLATION The cave (which is an excavation) of the Town-judge Bhuti. 1 Nagara-akhadamsa is obviously the same official designation as Nagala. Viyohalaka or Mahamata-Nagalaka in Asoka's First Separate Rock Edict. and Nagarika or Nagarika- Mahamatra in the Arthasastra of Kautilya-Kantalya, Bk. II, Ch. 36 and Bk. IV, Ch. 6. 100)