Minor Brahmi Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
By B. M. Barua
Summary
This article provides a revised edition of the minor Brāhmī inscriptions found in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri cave complexes in Orissa. After reviewing James Prinsep’s nineteenth‑century transcriptions and subsequent editions by Raja Rajendra Lal Mitra; Alexander Cunningham; Pandit Bhagavan Lal Indraji and R. D. Dutta; the author notes that earlier publications suffered from incomplete copies and misreadings. The paper lists each inscription under the cave in which it occurs—Vaikuṇṭhapura (Upavaciri); Mañchapuri; Pitalapura; Yamapura; Tattvagumphā; Anantagumphā and others—and supplies transliterations and English translations. Particular attention is paid to palaeographic features such as the shapes of letters and auspicious symbols; the grammatical forms used in Prakrit; and titles borne by donors. The donors include royal figures such as Khāravela’s chief queen and provincial officials; as well as lay devotees and monks. In addition to rock‑cut inscriptions; the article discusses a painted alphabet in the Tattvagumphā cave and notes evidence for later additions to some records. The author compares his readings with those of earlier scholars and explains why some earlier conjectures about personal names and titles (for example; identifying Mahimada as an official designation) are untenable. Where necessary he reconstructs incomplete readings by consulting parallels in the Hathīgumphā inscription and other contemporaneous records. This painstaking philological work reveals that most of the minor inscriptions date from the first century B.C. and are closely connected with the reign of Khāravela. The article’s critical apparatus is accompanied by a review of the archaeological context of each cave and a discussion of how the inscriptions illuminate social; religious and administrative life in ancient Kalinga. By producing accurate transcriptions and translations and by tracing earlier errors to their sources; the author aims to settle long‑standing disputes about the text; arrangement and interpretation of these epigraphs.
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Conclusion
The revised edition demonstrates how careful comparison of manuscripts and physical evidence can correct earlier transcriptions and provide a coherent sequence for the minor Brāhmī inscriptions. By locating each epigraph within its cave context and linking donors to known historical figures; it enriches our understanding of the religious and administrative network of ancient Kalinga and underscores the importance of rigorous epigraphical methodology.