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The Barli Inscription (obtained from a Bhinaika village 36 miles southeast of Ajmer) belonging perhaps to 5th-4th century B.C. is one of the earliest
Jaina JAINA is an acronym for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, an umbrella organizations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism in USA and Canada. It was founded in 1981 and formalized in 1983. Among Jain organization it is ...
inscriptions reported from Rajasthan.


History

Earlier scholars assigned the Barli inscription to the pre-
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
n period, but more recent scholars have assigned it to a later date. According to historian
G. H. Ojha Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha (15 September, 1863– 17 April, 1947), born in Rohida village of Sirohi District, was a historian from the Indian state of Rajasthan. A prolific author, he wrote several books ( in Hindi ) on the history of Rajastha ...
, 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 means 84 Years after the Nirvana of
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...
. Vira is one of the
epithets An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
of 24th
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
Mahavira.
K. P. Jayaswal Kashi Prasad Jayaswal (27 November 1881 – 4 August 1937) was an Indian historian and lawyer. Jayaswal's works ''Hindu Polity'' (1918) and ''History of India, 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.'' (1933) are classics of ancient Indian historical literature. A ...
also agreed with Ojha's reading. Indian Magazine Editor
Ramananda Chatterjee Ramananda Chatterjee ( bn, রামানন্দ চট্টোপাধ্যায়) (29 May 1865 – 30 September 1943) was founder, editor, and owner of the Calcutta based magazine, the '' Modern Review''. He has been described as th ...
has assigned the inscription to 4th Century BCE. On Paleographic grounds, the inscription can be assigned to the 2nd-1st century BCE.


Description

This inscription is present on a piece of the pillar of dimension 13x10 inches. The inscription is written in
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
language. The writing was done by engraving, sewing, engraving, weaving, digging, piercing, burning, and punching. There are many defects in this inscriptions.


See also

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Early Indian epigraphy The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BCE, in the Brahmi script. If epigraphy of proto-writing is included, undeciphered markings with symbol systems tha ...
*
Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...


References


Citation


Sources

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External links


Unacademy- rock inscriptions of rajasthan
{{Jainism Topics, state=expanded Indian inscriptions Jain inscriptions History of Rajasthan 443 BC