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by a flight of steps also carved in stone. When
Alexander Cunningham visited the cave in the 1860s, he wrote, "the cave was concealed partly by a tree and by an Idgah wall" built by Muslims. The cave is about 46.5 feet (14.2 m) long by 19.16 feet (5.84 m) broad, with semi-circular ends. It has one entrance. Over the entrance is an inscription by the grandson of
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The Gop's Cave, literally "milkmaid's cave", is the largest of the three caves in the
Nagarjuni hill. It is found on the southern side of the hill, with an entrance facing south. The other two caves (the Vadathika and Vapiyaka caves) are on the northern side of the same hill. The cave is approached
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The inscription is a Shakti inscription. It mentions that a
Katyayani (synonym of Durga) statue was consecrated in this cave, as well as the donation of a village's revenue to the maintenance and operation of the Bhavani temple (synonym of Durga). The inscription starts with Om, just prior to the
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According to Arthur Basham, the motifs carved in these groups of caves as well as inscriptions help establish that the
Nagarjuni and Barabar Hill caves are from the 3rd century BCE. The original inhabitants of these were the Ajivikas, a non-Buddhist Indian religion that later became extinct. They
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in three of these caves in the 5th or 6th century. To mark the consecration, he left inscriptions in
Sanskrit. These inscriptions are in then prevalent Gupta script (Gop Script) and these have survived. After the 14th-century, the area was occupied by Muslims, as a number of tombs are nearby.
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in the Gupta era. The inscription states that king
Anantavarman is dedicating a statue of the goddess Katyayani (Durga-Mahishasuramardini) to the cave. The statue was missing when the caves came to the attention of archaeologists in the late 18th century.
304:(horizontal bar above each letter). The inscription is well preserved except for the name of village gifted by the king for the maintenance of the Durga temple. The missing part is in the 10th line which seems intentionally damaged by someone.
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abandoned the caves at some point. Then the
Buddhists used these caves because there are the Bodhimula and Klesa-kantara inscriptions found here. Centuries later, a Hindu king named Anantavarman, of Maukhari dynasty, dedicated Hindu
272:. Wilkins also correctly identified the inscription to be related to Hinduism. Another translation was published by Kamalakanta Vidyalankar with James Prinsep in 1837. John Fleet published another revised translation in 1888.
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ascetics, which dates the cave to the end of the 3rd-century BCE. This smaller inscription, as translated by James
Prinsep starts with "The Gopi's Cave, an abode....", which gives the cave its name.
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The Gop's Cave inscription of
Anantavarman, inside the entrance corridor on the left handside, was first noticed in 1785 by J. H. Harrington, then reported to scholars in the 1788 issue of
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375:"I have thought it necessary to send a copy of part of the Gya inscription, which has been translated, together with the modern character written beneath it, as given by Dr. Wilkins" in
252:. Harrington stated that Muslims were living near these caves. He speculated that these once were "religious temples" because he saw three defaced images in them. The inscription, in
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Fleet states that the inscription may be considered to belong to
Shaivism or Shaktism. It is dedicated to the wife of Shiva, using two of her common names – Katyayani and Bhavani.
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616:
Asiatick Researches, Or, Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal, for Inquiring Into the History and Antiquities, the Arts, Sciences, and Literature of Asia
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The inscription is carved on the wall inside the entrance corridor, and is about 4.92 feet (1.50 m) by 2 feet (0.61 m) in surface. It has ten lines in
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monks. The Nangarjuni Caves were excavated in 214 BCE from a granite hill by the grandson of Ashoka. They are about 16 miles (26 km) north of
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Entrance corridor of the Gopika cave, with the Gopika Cave Inscription of Anantavarman on the polished granite wall to the right.
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Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings by JF Fleet, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Volume III, 3rd Edition
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The above list of archaeological sites, inscriptions and temples is grossly incomplete.
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Select Inscriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civilization, Volume 1, 2nd Edition
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Inscriptions of the Maukharīs, Later Guptas, Puṣpabhūtis, and Yaśovarman of Kanauj
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in Bihar. The other two are Vapiyaka Cave and Vadathika Cave, also called
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is one of three caves found in the Nagarjuni Hill cluster near the
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inscription in Late Brahmi found in the Nagarjuni hill cave of the
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The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Ed. by James Prinsep
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History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas, a Vanished Indian Religion
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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tradition of Hinduism. It is notable for its dedicatory verse to
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Gop ki Gupha (Nagarjuni Hill Cave Inscription II of Anantavarman)
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256:, was copied by Harrington and first deciphered in 1785 by
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684:. Indian Council of Historical Research. pp. 135–138.
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Sanskrit inscription in the Barabar Caves, Bihar, India
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514:Four Reports Made During the Years, 1862-63-64-65
473:. BRILL Academic. pp. 43–44 with footnotes.
636:. London : Printed for J. Sewell pp.
579:Early Asceticism in India: Ajivikism and Jainism
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400:. London : Printed for J. Sewell pp.
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33:Gop ki Shaktism-related Sanskrit inscription
666:DR Bhandarkar, BC Chhabra & GS Gai 1981
651:DR Bhandarkar, BC Chhabra & GS Gai 1981
424:DR Bhandarkar, BC Chhabra & GS Gai 1981
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699:DR Bhandarkar; BC Chhabra; GS Gai (1981).
582:. Taylor & Francis. pp. 335–336.
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555:. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 153–159.
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517:. Government Central Press. pp.
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797:Hindu architecture and art glossary
594:;For more on Maukhari dating, see:
327:Lakulisa Mathura Pillar Inscription
1278:Brihadisvara Gangaikondacholapuram
703:. Archaeological Survey of India.
50:Sanskrit, Gupta script(Gop Script)
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511:Sir Alexander Cunningham (1871).
383:. Bapt. Miss. Press. p. 111.
194:respectively. These are near the
165:and for including the symbol for
138:(referring to the nearby city of
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549:Arthur Llewellyn Basham (1951).
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142:), is a 5th- or 6th-century CE
115:Nagarjuni-Barabar Caves (India)
619:. BMO Press. pp. 276–279.
1:
1481:Archaeological sites in Bihar
678:Kiran Kumar Thaplyal (1985).
470:The World of the Skandapurāṇa
241:, dedicating the cave to the
77:Nagarjuni hill, Barabar Caves
716:Dineschandra Sircar (1965).
284:The inscription (left half).
264:, such as the script of the
250:Asiatic Researches, Volume 1
178:The Gop's Cave, also called
157:The inscription is from the
786:Hindu inscriptions and arts
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1293:Chennakesava Somanathapura
722:. University of Calcutta.
598:, Encyclopaedia Britannica
576:Piotr Balcerowicz (2015).
332:Vadathika Cave Inscription
315:Vadathika Cave Inscription
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751:, Siddham, United Kingdom
630:Wilkins, Charles (1788).
613:J. H. Harrington (1799).
441:Salomon, Richard (1998).
394:Wilkins, Charles (1788).
337:Vasu Doorjamb Inscription
313:first line just like the
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1137:Bateshwar Madhya Pradesh
150:group in Gaya district,
1283:Airavatesvara Darasuram
742:Gopika Cave Inscription
377:Prinsep, James (1834).
109:Nagarjuni-Barabar Caves
1273:Brihadisvara Thanjavur
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128:Gop's Cave Inscription
22:Gop's Cave Inscription
1333:Jageshwar Uttarakhand
1298:Hoysaleswara Halebidu
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1308:Nataraja Chidambaram
1233:Archaeological sites
973:Archaeological sites
838:Archaeological sites
467:Hans Bakker (2014).
69:Gaya district, Bihar
1476:Indian inscriptions
1419:Hinduism by country
1288:Chennakeshava Belur
1197:Sirpur Chhattisgarh
1192:Mahabalipuram Group
653:, pp. 226–227.
426:, pp. 226–228.
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130:, also called the
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1147:Chaturbhuj Gwalior
886:Hathibada Ghosundi
747:2021-04-20 at the
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129:
97:
88:
84:
80:
76:
72:
68:
64:
60:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
37:
30:
25:
20:
1250:Madan Kamdev
1177:Ellora Caves
1111:Badami Caves
1106:Aihole Group
1025:
1021:Gadhwa Stone
1014:Inscriptions
950:(400-899 CE)
874:Inscriptions
718:
700:
693:Bibliography
680:
673:
646:
632:
625:
615:
578:
571:
551:
522:
513:
469:
443:
396:
389:
379:
371:
351:
311:
308:Significance
298:Gupta script
295:
249:
247:
231:
216:(images) of
211:
208:
191:
187:
180:Gop ki Gupha
179:
177:
156:
135:
131:
127:
124:
1409:Iconography
1091:Tigawa Devi
1081:Eran Vishnu
1076:Dashavatara
1026:Gopika Cave
921:Yavanarajya
447:. pp.
276:Description
266:Pala period
254:Late Brahmi
218:Vaishnavism
61:(Gupta era)
1470:Categories
1343:Konark Sun
1165:Navabrahma
1125:600-899 CE
1059:400-599 CE
850:Bet Dwarka
806:Beginnings
363:References
270:Devanagari
85:Gop's Cave
66:Discovered
1328:Khajuraho
1207:Meenakshi
1202:Srirangam
1096:Gop Surya
901:Mora Well
728:785763290
709:606389410
154:, India.
42:Cave rock
1450:Category
1313:Tirupati
1245:Halebidu
1224:Advanced
1170:Papanasi
990:Besnagar
964:Nataraja
948:Maturity
911:Naneghat
745:Archived
321:See also
226:Shaktism
222:Shaivism
200:Ajivikas
159:Shaktism
144:Sanskrit
39:Material
1391:Related
1361:Revival
1265:Temples
1051:Temples
881:Ayodhya
860:Kumhrar
845:Mathura
810:400 CE)
808:(before
243:Ajivika
174:History
47:Writing
1455:Portal
1005:Ujjain
1000:Sirpur
985:Badami
980:Aihole
726:
707:
586:
559:
477:
302:matras
235:Ashoka
1429:Note:
1399:Hindu
1377:Hampi
1240:Belur
855:Dihar
640:-281.
521:–52.
451:-207.
404:-281.
343:Notes
213:murti
163:Durga
152:Bihar
74:Place
724:OCLC
705:OCLC
584:ISBN
557:ISBN
475:ISBN
224:and
204:Gaya
190:and
140:Gaya
126:The
916:Reh
638:278
449:206
402:276
1472::
658:^
603:^
539:^
519:43
489:^
457:^
431:^
410:^
237:,
220:,
206:.
167:Om
778:e
771:t
764:v
730:.
711:.
592:.
565:.
532:.
483:.
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