A.RAHMAN: created new data from scratch.

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created new data from scratch.

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox artifact
|image = [[File:Vasu doorjamb inscription.jpg|50px]]
|name = Vasu Doorjamb Inscription
|image_caption = 1st century CE Vasu Doorjamb Inscription, in [[Sanskrit]]
|material = Red Sandstone
|size =
|writing = Sanskrit, Brahmi script
|created = Circa 15 CE (reign of [[Sodasa]])
|period =
|place = Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
|discovered =
|discovered_coords =
|location = [[Government Museum, Mathura]]
| map =
{{Location map
| India
| float = center
| relief = yes
| label = Mathura
| lat_deg = 27.496143
| lon_deg = 77.678084
}}
|id =GMM 13.367
|registration =
}}
__NOTOC__
The '''Vasu Doorjamb Inscription''' is an early 1st-century CE Sanskrit inscription in [[Brahmi script]] dedicated to the deity [[Vāsudeva]], related to the [[Vaishnavism]] tradition of [[Hinduism]].{{sfn|Richard Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}}{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|pp=169-173}} It is also one of the several dedicatory inscriptions from [[Mathura]] bearing the name of the [[Indo-Scythian]] [[Northern Satraps|Northern Satrap]] ruler [[Sodasa]], which are useful as historic markers for the first half of the 1st century CE.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=168-179}}

The inscription was found on a red sandstone temple [[Jamb|doorjamb]] dumped in an old well in Mathura, [[Uttar Pradesh]].{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}{{sfn|Sahni|1917|p=10}} The doorjamb is about {{convert|8|ft}} long, {{convert|1.24|ft}} wide and {{convert|8|in}} thick. It is intricately carved on one side while the other side is flat. On the flat side, British India era archaeologists discovered that there is a 12-line inscription, which has been named the ''Vasu Doorjamb Inscription''. The artifact is now at the Mathura Museum and a much studied item. It mentions a 1st-century Vishnu temple, a ''torana'' (temple gateway) and a ''vedika'' (railing).{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=205-206, 262-263}}{{sfn|Michael Willis|2000|p=62}}

The Vasu Doorjamb Inscription is another archaeological evidence about ancient [[Vaishnavism]], providing another link about the continuity between ancient religious traditions and contemporary [[Hinduism]].{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|pp=151-173}}{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|pp=208-210}}{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=205-206, 262-263}}

==Date==
According to [[Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies)|Richard Salomon]], the inscription is from the time of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap [[Sodasa]], or early years of the 1st-century CE.{{sfn|Richard Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}} The name of the ruler appears with his full title (Middle [[Brahmi script]]: [[File:Gupta ashoka svaa.jpg|16px]][[File:Gupta ashoka mi.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka sya.svg|20px]]([[File:Gupta ashoka m.svg|13px]][[File:Gupta ashoka h.svg|13px]][[File:Gupta ashoka kss.jpg|13px]][[File:Gupta ashoka tr.jpg|12px]])[[File:Gupta ashoka p.svg|11px]][[File:Gupta ashoka sya.svg|20px]] [[File:Gupta ashoka sho.jpg|20px]][[File:Gupta gujarat daa.jpg|10px]][[File:Gupta ashoka s.svg|15px]] ''Svāmisya (Mahakṣatra)pasya Śodasa'' "Lord and Great Satrap Śodāsa") in the inscription.<ref>Buddhist art of Mathurā , Ramesh Chandra Sharma, Agam, 1984 Page 26</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA205 |language=en}}</ref> Sonya Quintanilla concurs and estimates about 15 CE, based on a combination of style, script, paleography and numismatic evidence.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=170-171}}

[[File:Sodasa in the Vasu doorjamb inscription.jpg|thumb|left|upright|{{center|[[File:Gupta ashoka sho.jpg|22px]][[File:Gupta gujarat daa.jpg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka s.svg|17px]] The name "[[Sodasa]]" (''Śodāsa'') in the Vasu doorjamb inscription.}}]]
According to Quintanilla, beyond the name, the style of the doorjamb and the carving on it is similar to that found in pieces recovered from close by locations at the Mathura archaeological site such as the Jain [[:File:Parsvanatha_ayagapata,_Mathura_circa_15_CE.jpg|Parshvanatha ''ayagapata'']] and the Namdighosa ''ayagapata''.<ref>Photograph of the Namdighosa ''ayagapata'' Fig. 20 in {{cite journal |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=Āyāgapaṭas: Characteristics, Symbolism, and Chronology |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=2000 |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=79–137 |doi=10.2307/3249941 |jstor=3249941 |issn=0004-3648}}</ref> These too are dated to the early decades of the 1st-century CE.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|p=xxxii, caption; 125}} However, Joanna Williams split-dates the Vasu Doorjamb, stating that the inscription is from early 1st-century CE but the carving may be from the 3rd-century CE because the intricate relief on Vasu doorjamb is more sophisticated, reminding one of the elegance of the early Gupta artists.{{sfn|Joanna Williams|1982|pp=13-14}} Quintilla, in contrast, states that the piece was likely carved and inscribed together prior to its installation in 1st-century CE because there are stylistic differences between the Vasu Doorjamb carvings and those found in the 3rd-century pieces. She states that the similarity in Jain reliefs of the 1st-century CE suggests it more likely that the Vasu piece too was prepared and installed in the 1st-century.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=125-126, 135-136, 153, 199-200}}

==Inscription==
The discovered inscription is damaged, with parts so defaced that they cannot be read. Out of twelve lines, the first five are too damaged to be analyzed. The last seven lines have attracted scholarly studies. Since its discovery, its antiquity and significance has led scholars to interpret it as is, as well as make best guess interpolations and reconstruction followed by a revised translation.{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|pp=169-173}}{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}

{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable centre"
|+ Vasu Doorjamb inscription
|-
! scope="col" align=left| Translation (without interpolation)!!Transliteration!!Early [[Brahmi script]]!!Inscription ([[Prakrit]] in the Middle [[Brahmi script]])
|-
|align=left width="25%"|
<poem>
(lines 1—5 are un-translatable) 
6. by Vasu, the Lord...
7. the great temple of—va . . .
8. the gateway . . .
9. was established, pleased . . .
10. —deva of svami . . .
11. —pa Soda[sa] . . .
12. Let it/him be promoted . . .{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|p=170}}
</poem>

| align=left width="25%"|
{{quote|
<poem>
1. [va]...
2. sa [ṣ]ya...
3. va s-...
4. p...śi...{{refn|group=note|Chakravarti stated in 1942 that some scholars are able to read the Brahmi script for [[Shiva|Siva]].{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|p=208}}}}
5. ṣapu[t]reṇa kauśi . . .
6. vasunā bhaga[va] . . .
7. vasya mahāsthāna . . .
8. lam toraṇam ve . . .
9. ṣṭhāpito prīto . . .
10. devaḥ svāmis- . . .
11. pasya śoḍā[sa] . . .
12. saṃvartayatāṃ . . .{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|p=208}}
</poem>
}}

| align=left width="25%"|
{{quote|
<poem>
1. <big>{{Script|Brah|[𑀯] . . .}}</big>
2. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 . . .}}</big>
3. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀯𑀲 . . .}}</big>
4. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀧 . . .𑀲𑀺 . . .}}</big>
5. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀲𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁂𑀦 𑀓𑁅𑀲𑀺 . . .}}</big>
6. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀯𑀲𑀼𑀦𑀸 𑀪𑀕[𑀯] . . .}}</big>
7. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑁆𑀞𑀸𑀦 . . .}}</big>
8. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀮𑀁 𑀢𑁄𑀭𑀦𑀁 𑀯𑁂 . . . }}</big>
9. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀲𑁆𑀞𑀸𑀧𑀺𑀢𑁄 𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀺𑀢𑁄}}</big>
10. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀤𑁂𑀯𑁊 𑀲𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀫𑀺𑀲 . . .}}</big>
11. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀧𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀰𑁄𑀤𑀸[𑀲] . . .}}</big>
12. <big>{{Script|Brah|𑀲𑀁𑀯𑁆𑀭𑀢𑀬𑀢𑀸𑀁 . . . }}</big>
</poem>
}}

|align=center width="25%"|
{{multiple image
| direction =horizontal
| align = right
| caption_align = center
| total_width = 250
| image1 = 1st-century CE Sanskrit inscription Brahmi script, Vasu doorjamb 3.jpg
| caption1 = The numbered Vasu doorjamb inscription.
| image2 = 1st-century CE inscribed doorjamb, Vasu Mathura India.jpg
| caption2 = 1st-century CE inscribed doorjamb, Vasu Mathura India. [https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=1335&siteid=0&minrange=0&maxrange=0&assetid=73432&self_archive_id=162476&index=971 A modern image]
}}
|}
[[File:Vasu doorjamb inscription Vasudeva.jpg|thumb|upright|The name "[[Vāsudeva]]" appears partially in the inscription, through its last two syllables "''-devaḥ''" (line 10).]]

The decipherable part confirms that a torana (gateway) and Vasu temple was established, and that this happened in the time of Sodasa thereby providing a basis to date the inscription.

According to Chakravarti, the first five lines are too damaged for any reliable translation. Further, no name can be deciphered from the inscription with complete certainty, including the donor name "Vasu" because it could be a compound name with ''-vasu''. However, states Chakravarti, the inscription indicates that the donor had a name that is typically identified as "a Hindu name".{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|p=209}}

===With interpolation and extrapolation===
[[File:Door Jamb Recording Erection of Vasudeva Temple - Circa 1st Century BCE - ACCN 13-367 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 6092.JPG|thumb|upright|Decorated side of the Vasu doorjamb in the [[Mathura Museum]], reference GMM 13.367. The inscription is on the back.]]
Luders and Janert utilized the faded characters, the context and Sanskrit grammar rules to propose a reconstruction:{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}{{sfn|Heinrich Lüders|Klaus Ludwig Janert|1961|p=155}}
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
<poem>
1. (s)[v](amisya mahaksatrapasya Soda-){{refn|group=note|This reconstruction by Luders and Janert is consistent with the 1942 proposal of Chakravarti.{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|p=208}}}}
2. sa [s]ya... (... di-)
3. [vas](e)...
4. [p]...[na] Si[v]a (...)
5. sapu[t]r[e]na kausi[ki] (putrena)
6. vasuna bhaga[va] (to vasude-)
7. vasya mahasthana (. . . sai){{refn|group=note|Ramaprasad Chanda suggests that the 7th line could be "vasya mahasthana.. [chatuhsa]".{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|p=171}}}}
8. lam toranam ve(dika ca prati-)
9. sthapito prito [bha] (gavan vasu-)
10. devah svami[sya] (mahaksatra-)
11. pasya soda[sa](sya . . .)
12. samvartayatam
</poem>
– Reconstructed Inscription, 1st-century CE{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}
</blockquote>

===Translation of reconstructed inscription===
Sonya Quintanilla, in 2007, translated the last seven lines as:{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=262-263}}
{{quote|
. . . a stone [[torana]] and railing were caused to be erected by Vasu at the . . . of the great temple of lord Vasudeva. May lord Vàsudeva, being pleased, promote (the dominion or life or vigor) of [[Svami]] [[Northern Satraps|Mahaksatrapa]] Sodasa.
}}

Ramaprasad Chanda, in 1920, translated the same lines to:{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|p=171}}
{{quote|
By ... vasu a quadrangle enclosed by four buildings (chatuhsalam), a pillared gateway (toranam) and a square terrace in the middle of courtyard (vedikah) have been built (at the shrine at) the great place of the Bhagavat Vasudeva. May Vasudeva be pleased. May (the dominion) of the lord, the mahakshatrapa Sodasa, endure.
}}

NP Chakravarti, in 1942, disagreed with Chanda's interpolation of ''-lam'' to ''chatuhsalam'' because that "term never occurs in inscriptions of this time". He suggested that an interpolation to ''Devakulam'', or even better ''Sailam'', is more likely. Chakravarti translated the same lines to:{{sfn|NP Chakravarti|1942|p=209}}
{{quote|
... by Vasu, a gateway of stone (?) and the railing was erected at the... of the great temple of bhagavat Vasudeva. May bhagavat Vasudeva, being pleased, promote (the dominion or the life and strength) of svamin mahakshatrapa Sodasa.
}}

==Significance==
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| header=Vāsudeva
| image1 = Deity Krishna-Vasudeva on a coin of Agathocles of Bactria 190-180 BCE.jpg
| caption1 = [[Vāsudeva]] with his attributes, as depicted on a coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria]], 190-180 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 |page=437 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA437 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Joshi |first1=Nilakanth Purushottam |title=Iconography of Balarāma |date=1979 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-107-2 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vd-lKzyFg0C&pg=PA22 |language=en}}</ref>
| image2 = Chaturvuyha Sankarshan Vasudeva 2nd century CE, Mathura Museum.jpg
| caption2 = Four-armed Vāsudeva with mace and conch (center), in a ''[[Chatur-vyūha]]'' sculpture.<ref name="CV">{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Pran Gopal |last2=Paul |first2=Debjani |title=Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations |journal=East and West |date=1989 |volume=39 |issue=1/4 |pages=132–136, for the photograph p.138 |jstor=29756891 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref> 2nd century CE, [[Art of Mathura]], [[Mathura Museum]].
| footer=The Vasu Doorjamb Inscription was dedicated to deity [[Vāsudeva]], who appears in art from the 2nd century BCE.
}}
The Vasu Doorjamb Inscription is a significant early Sanskrit inscription from Mathura. The mention of Sodasa's time who, states Salomon, is "dated with reasonable certainty to the early early years of the first century AD".{{sfn|Richard Salomon|1998|pp=87-88}} Its mention of Vasu, temple, Vedika and a torana (gateway) is significant as it confirms that the large temple building tradition was in vogue in the Mathura region by at least the start of the common era. Further, it also attests to the popularity of [[Vāsudeva-Krishna|Vāsudeva (Krishna)]] tradition in this period.{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|p=170}}{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2008|p=437}} The Vasu Doorjamb inscription of Sodasa in [[Uttar Pradesh]] viewed with other epigraphical evidence such as the Besnagar [[Heliodorus pillar]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]], the [[Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions]] in [[Rajasthan]], and the [[Naneghat|Naneghat inscriptions]] in [[Maharashtra]] suggest that the cult of [[Vāsudeva-Krishna]] and early [[Vaishnavism]] had spread over a wide region by the 1st-century BCE to the start of common era.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2008|p=437}}{{sfn|Ramaprasad Chanda|1920|pp=169-173}}

According to Quintanilla, the Vasu Doorjamb and the inscription is "one of the most important and most beautiful objects" from the time of Sodasa, likely from a "temple to [[Vāsudeva]]", another name for [[Vishnu]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA205 |language=en}}</ref> The carvings on the doorjamb are three woven compositions. It has a leafy vine that runs along the length of the red sandstone jamb. Along the stem of the vine are curling leaves and blossoms, that wrap along as those found in nature, a rosette added in where the intertwining vines meet.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=205-206}}{{sfn|Ramesh Chandra Sharma|1994|p=72}} The wider band has lotus rhizome carved in, with subtle naturalistic variations, wherein the lotus flowers are shown in all their stages of bloom, states Quintanilla.{{sfn|Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|2007|pp=205-206}}

==See also==
{{Vaishnavism}}
*[[Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions]]
*[[Heliodorus pillar]]
*[[Mora Well Inscription]]
*[[Naneghat|Nana Ghat Inscription]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book| author= NP Chakravarti| title= Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXIV | year= 1942 | publisher = Archaeological Survey of India| url = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56526 }}
*{{cite book| author= Ramaprasad Chanda |year=1920| title= Archaeology and Vaishnava Tradition in MASI, No. 5| publisher=Archaeological Survey of India| oclc= 715446015 |author-link= Ramaprasad Chanda}}
*{{citation|author1= Heinrich Lüders| author2= Klaus Ludwig Janert|title=Mathurā inscriptions |publisher= Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht| year=1961| oclc= 717966622}}
*{{cite book| author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15537-4}}
*{{cite book|publisher = Government Press Punjab, Lahore| title = Annual Progress Report of the Superintendent, Hindu and Buddhist Monuments, North Circle |year = 1917 |first =Daya Ram|last= Sahni|hdl = 2027/uc1.c2999464}}
*{{cite book|author=Richard Salomon|title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535666-3}}
*{{cite book|author=Ramesh Chandra Sharma|title=The Splendour of Mathurā Art and Museum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-vVAAAAMAAJ|year=1994|publisher=DK Printworld|isbn=978-81-246-0015-3}}
*{{cite book|author=Upinder Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA437|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0}}
*{{cite book|author=Joanna Williams|title=The Art of Gupta India: Empire and Province|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQl_QgAACAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-10126-2}}
*{{cite book|author=Michael Willis|title=Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_TrrAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=British Museum Press|isbn=978-0-7141-1492-7}}

{{Mathura Museum}}
{{Hindu inscriptions and arts}}
{{Hindudharma}}

[[Category:1st-century inscriptions]]
[[Category:Mathura]]
[[Category:Mathura art]]
[[Category:Sanskrit inscriptions in India]]

Vasu Doorjamb Inscription - Revision history

A.RAHMAN: created new data from scratch.