Deorkothar (

Devanāgarī Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: also Deur Kothar) is a location of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

importance in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

, Central India. It is known for its

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

stupas and was discovered in 1982.These stupas are credited to the Mauryan emperor,

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, ...

The discovery and excavations

P.K. Mishra (

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

) discovered Deorkothar in 1982 along with Ajit Singh, sarpanch of village Barhat. It was declared a monument of national importance in 1988 by the Govt of India and is being preserved and conserved by

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It ...

. Realising the importance of the site, and its likely international bearing on Buddhism, the Archaeological Survey of India decided to carry out extensive, but controlled, excavations at the site. The excavations were started at the site in 1999 and continued up to 2000. The site is marked by four stupa mounds out of which two stupas No. 1 and 2 were subjected to archaeological excavations. There are remnants of 40 stupas made of stones or bricks. In the area around there are rocks with old rock paintings. Some rocks have

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s in Brahmi language.

Deorkothar inscription

The six line Brahmi

on the Deorkothar pillar is considered to be the earliest evidence of the historic Buddha. It is given in the table – transliterated into

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

script. भ ग व तो बु ध उ त र मि त्रो उ त र मि त्र स अ भ ड्‍ भ ड्‍ स आ ते वा सि ना दि नु उ पा स क स आ ते वा सि स व ज य स व ध म द वे न के क डी के न ब स ति ये उ स पि तो भं भो आ आ च रि ये न क सि P.K. Mishra: Deorkothar (Barhat), Rewa, A Unique, Recently – Excavated Buddhist Site in Central India; Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal. The

mentions

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

on the first line. The gist of the inscription, pertains to the erection and dedication of stone pillar by an unnamed Upasaka and his disciples in memory of the Buddha, the enlightened one. The inscription speaks about an Acharya, named Dharamdev, and his three disciples – Uttarmitra, Bhadra and Upasaka, who used to reside in the monastery. They installed this pillar, dedicating it to the Buddha.

Footnotes

References

*Dainik Bhaskar, Satna, 13 September 2006 *P.K. Mishra: Deorkothar (Barhat), Rewa, A Unique, Recently – Excavated Buddhist Site in Central India; Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal.

External links

DEORKOTHAR : A MILESTONE OF HISTORY, Dr. P.K. MishraThe Buddha Bounces Back By Eric Powell: DISCOVER Vol. 22 No. 07 , July 2001
{Dead link, date=July 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Excavations at the Buddhist site of Deor-Kothar (Barhat), District Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India, 1999-2001 PK Misra - Circle of Inner Asian Art Newsletter, 2001
Buildings and structures in Madhya Pradesh Buddhist temples in India History of Madhya Pradesh Mauryan art Stupas in India Rewa, Madhya Pradesh Archaeological sites in Madhya Pradesh Buddhist sites in Madhya Pradesh Rock shelters Tourist attractions in Rewa district

The discovery and excavations

Deorkothar inscription

See also

Footnotes

References

External links