Cave No.19 of Satavahana king Kanha at the Nasik Caves, 1st century BCE.[1]
Inscription of king Kanha in cave No.19, Nasik Caves. This is the oldest known Satavahana inscription, circa 100โ70 BCE.[2] In Brahmi script:๐ฒ๐ธ๐ค๐ฏ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ธ๐๐บ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฒ๐บ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ณ๐ธ๐ซ๐ธ๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ธ๐ญ๐ข Sฤdavฤhanakule Kanhe rฤjini Nฤsikakena Samaแนena mahฤmฤteแนa leแนa kฤrita "Under King Kanha[3] of the Satavahana family this cave has been caused to be made by the officer in charge of the Sramanas at Nasik".[4][3]
Kanha (Brahmi script:๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ, Ka-nha, c. 1st century BCE) was a ruler of the Satavahana dynasty of India. Historian Himanshu Prabha Ray assigns his reign to the period c. 100โ70 BCE.[5][1]
Kanha has been mentioned as "Krishna" (IAST: Kแนแนฃแนa) in the Puranas. According to the Puranic genealogy, he was the brother of the first Satavahana king Simuka (whose name varies according to the different Puranas).[6][7]
Nasik cave
Besides the legendary Puranas, Kanha's existence is also supported by an epigraphic record at Cave No.19 in the Nasik Caves. He is identified with the "Kanha-raja" (King Kanha) of "Satavahana-kula" (Satavahana family) mentioned in a Nashik cave inscription.[8] The inscription states that the cave was excavated by maha-matra (officer-in-charge) of the shramanas (non-Vedic ascetics) during Kanha's reign. Based on this, Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya concludes that Kanha favoured Buddhism, and had an administrative department dedicated to the welfare of Buddhist monks. Also, the term maha-matra, well known in Ashokan inscriptions, indicates that the early Satavahanas followed the Mauryan administrative model.[6]
Cave No19 at the Nasik Caves is located on the ground floor, to the left of the entrance of Cave No.18, and right under cave No.20. Cave No.19 has one inscription mentioning the dedication by a government officer during the rule of king Krishna of the Satavahanas:
๐ฒ๐ธ๐ค๐ฏ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ธ๐๐บ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฒ๐บ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ณ๐ธ๐ซ๐ธ๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ธ๐ญ๐ข Sฤdavฤhanakule Kanhe rฤjini Nฤsikakena Samaแนena mahฤmฤteแนa leแนa kฤrita
"Under King Kanha of the Satavahana family, this cave has been caused to be made by the officer in charge of the Sramanas at Nasik."
^ abAlcock, Susan E.; Alcock, John H. D'Arms Collegiate Professor of Classical Archaeology and Classics and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Susan E.; D'Altroy, Terence N.; Morrison, Kathleen D.; Sinopoli, Carla M. (2001). Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History. Cambridge University Press. p. 168. ISBN9780521770200.
