Naneghat cave temple ( Naneghat , Marath. नाणेघाट) is a Hindu cave temple on the eponymous mountain pass in the Western Ghats near Junnar in the Pune region of Maharashtra ( India ). The mountain pass, on top of which a cave temple is located, was part of an ancient trade route. At the top of the pass is a large ancient cave of artificial origin. On the back wall of the cave, a series of inscriptions on the Brahmi was discovered, thanks to which the pass gained its fame. The inscriptions are dated to the II - I centuries BC, when the rules of Satavahan dynasty in Northern and Central India [1] . The inscriptions are related to the oldest historical objects, which testify to the merger of the Vedic religion and the Vishnu cult. They talk about the ritual traditions of shraut and names that give an idea of the ancient Satavakhans. In addition, the inscriptions contain prototypes of digital symbols (2, 4, 6, 7, and 9), which later evolved into a modern Indo-Arabic system of characters to record the values of numbers [2] .
| Sight | |
| Cave Temple on the Naneghat Mountain Pass | |
|---|---|
 Cave Temple Naneghata | |
| A country |  India |
| Location | Pune , Maharashtra |
| Denomination | Vaishnavism |
| Building type | Hindu temple |
| Builder | Satakarni I, Naganika |
| Founding date | II-I century BC |
| Status | inactive, available for visits |
Origin
The mountain pass, on the top of which a cave temple is located, was once part of a trade route connecting the inland regions with the seaports of the northern Concan coast in India . On the road through the mountain pass there is a man-made stone passage between the rocks, for the intersection of which, apparently, they took a fee. It was created by a merchant named Nane to make it easier for other merchants. Everyone who climbed the mountain chain had to pay a toll for the passage [3] . Hence the name of the pass: "Nane" means "coin", and "ghat" - "pass", that is, a paid passage. According to the historian Charles Allen, there is a large carved stone near the road that looks like a Buddhist stupa , but it is a container for collecting tolls [4] .
The cave was discovered by the traveler William Sykes in 1828. Being neither an archaeologist nor an epigraphist , Sykes suggested that he had found a Buddhist cave temple. He visited his discovery several times and made sketches from the walls of the cave. A decade later, in 1837, together with John Malcolm, they published an article "Inscriptions from the Buddha Cave near Junnar" in the Journal of the Royal Asian Society of Great Britain and Ireland [2] .
The discovery attracted the attention of the famous James Prinsep , the Anglo-Indian historian and linguist. He is credited with deciphering Brahmi writing, which allowed him to shed light on unknown places in the history of ancient India. Prinsep was able to partially decipher the inscriptions from Naneghat [4] . Sykes was right that the text was one of the oldest Sanskrit inscriptions. However, not being an expert, Sykes could not have known that this was a Hindu text in the Devanagari language prototype, which appeared later. Numismatist Bhagvanlal Indraji was the first in the article “Coins of the Kings of Satavahan of South India” noted that some of the inscriptions from the Naneghat pass coincide with signs and names on ancient coins [5] . Then the German explorer of ancient Indian languages Georg Bühler published the first full version of the translation of all wall inscriptions in 1883 [6] .
Types of the Naneghat mountain pass
Ancient cave inscriptions
The inscriptions refer to the period of the Satavahan dynasty , in particular, Satakarni I (184-170 BC). It is believed that the cave, statues and inscriptions were made by order of Naganika, the wife of Satakarni I, after the death of the ruler. The inscriptions mention her and her family members. Naganika is the main character of the inscriptions. According to some Indologists, Naganiku can be considered the first woman in the history of India who was involved in politics and had her own coinage [3] . The inscriptions are Brahmi characters, and their language is Prakrit . They narrate about no less than 18 sacrifices performed jointly by Satakarni I and his wife Naganika. They include two asvamedha (horse sacrifice), rajasuya (honoring its ruler by vassals), vajpey (obtaining chakravartina status), and also mentioning the number of donated cows, horses, elephants, chariots, garments and coins [6] .
The celebration of rajasui means that Satakarni I was proclaimed king of kings, and the holding of asvamedha symbolizes his political influence. Naganika for some time after the death of her husband ruled the state with the support of his father. After it, the throne was inherited by the son of the king Purnotanga (170–152 BC). According to religious canons, the widowed Naganika could not make sacrifices herself. They required the presence of both spouses. According to some Indologists, the performance of grandiose rituals by Naganiqi indicates that the sastras and other religious dogmas appeared to be less normative than they were thought of. In other words, religious norms represented a “theory”, while “practice” could differ from them [7] .
Inscriptions have become the key to understanding the spread of Hinduism in ancient India. They mention the Vedic gods: Indra , Chandra (Moon) and Surya (Sun). In addition, the inscriptions say that the rulers worshiped Sankarshan ( Sheshe - Balaram ) and Vasudeva ( Krishna ). This means that the ruling dynasty professed Hinduism bhagavaty , and also that Vaishnavism began to supplant the cult of the deities of nature. The inscription begins with the praise and enumeration of the gods [6] :
| [Worship] Dharma [the Lord of created beings], the worship of Indra, the worship of Sankarshana and Vasudeva, descendants of the moon, endowed with majesty, and to the four guardians of the world, Yama, Varuna, Kubera, and Vasave; Praise Vedishri, to the best of princes!The inscription on the left side of the wall |
On the back wall of the cave there is a niche with eight life-size relief sculptures. To date, the sculptures have not survived, but the inscriptions on the Brahmi remained above them. The inscriptions allow to identify the destroyed sculptures - they are representatives of the royal dynasty, starting with its founder, Satakarni I [1] .
Wall inscriptions Naneghata
Cultural and religious significance
Ancient inscriptions are the main attraction of the mountain pass. According to their translator, Georg Bühler , “they belong to the oldest historical documents of Western India, in a sense, more interesting and important than all other cave inscriptions combined” [6] . According to them one can judge about the turning point in the religious history of India. The rulers still worship the divine powers in the Vedic tradition. They sacrifice living beings and worship the gods of nature. However, new gods are already coming to the fore, associated not with nature, but with the preservation of peace, righteousness and order. The human attitude is changing. From dependence on natural forces, it proceeds to the cultivation of new values associated with divine qualities. They are embodied by the heroes, Sankarshana and Vasudeva, who protect the land and people. Leaving from the Vedic tradition to Vaishnavism occurs smoothly, ritual worship is combined, and then completely replaced by new religion. Wall inscriptions allow you to set the time of a critical period: about the I century BC. However, Vedic ideas remain revered in the northern parts of the Deccan . In the future, they will remain in separate Brahman communities. Naneghat cave also indicates that the Hindu ruling dynasties showed interest in the construction of religious buildings and sculpture [8] . The tradition includes the creation of man-made symbols, types of future murti . “Pratima” ( pratima ), images or similarity of objects of worship appear [9] . In the cave of Naneghat they became the images of rulers, who were revered along with divine powers.
Location
The pass is 120 km. north of Pune and 165 km. east of Mumbai . The highest point of the pass and the cave can be reached by road through the highway number 60 or number 61. Naneghat Cave is located near other archaeological sites. At 35 km. from it is a group of Buddhist caves of the Theravada school in Lenyadri. The nearest airport is in Mumbai, and the nearest railway station is Kalyan Railway Station in Bhiwandi. Today it is a favorite place for trekking [10] .
See also
- Hindu architecture
- Hindu temple
- Khajuraho
- Badami cave temples
- Cave temples of Udayagiri
- Temple Cave on Mount Shushunia
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Singh, 2008 , p. 381-384.
- 2 1 2 Malcolm J. and Sykes W. Inscriptions from the Boodh Caves, near Joonur // The Journal of the United Kingdom and Ireland. - 1837. - V. 4 , No. 2 . - p . 287-291 .
- ↑ 1 2 Kattimani, 2018 , p. 262-263.
- ↑ 1 2 Allen, 2017 , p. 169-170.
- Ra Indraji B. Coins of Andhra-Bhrity Kings of Southern India // Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. - 1878. - T. 13 . - p . 303–314 .
- 2 1 2 3 4 Bühler G. The Nanaghat Inscriptions. - Report on the Elura cave temples and the Brahmanical and Jaina caves in western India. - 1883. - pp. 59-64.
- ↑ Danino M. Women in Indian History: a Few Vignettes from Epigraphy // Pragati Quarterly Research Journal. - 2009. - Vol. 3 , No. 110 . - p . 7 .
- F Lefèvre V. Portraiture in early India between transience and eternity. - Boston: Brill Publishers , 2011. - p. 33, 85–86.
- ↑ Pratima Neopr . Encyclopædia Britannica (2018).
- ↑ Naneghat Trek Unsolved . Holidify Pvt (2018).
Literature
- Allen C. Coromandel: a personal history of South India. - London: Little, Brown, 2017.
- Atyushi International Interdisciplinary Research Journal. - 2018. - February ( t. V ). - p . 262-263 .
- Singh U.S. - NJ: Pearson Education, 2008.