Vasu Doorjamb Inscription

Vasu Doorjamb Inscription
1st century CE Sanskrit inscription
Material	Red Sandstone
Writing	Sanskrit, Brahmi script
Created	Circa 15 CE (reign of Sodasa)
Place	Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Present location	Government Museum, Mathura
Identification	GMM 13.367
Mathura Mathura (India)

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.^[1][2] It is also one of the several dedicatory inscriptions from Mathura bearing the name of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap ruler Sodasa, which are useful as historic markers for the first half of the 1st century CE.^[3]

The inscription was found on a red sandstone temple doorjamb dumped in an old well in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.^[4][5] The doorjamb is about 8 feet (2.4 m) long, 1.24 feet (0.38 m) wide and 8 inches (200 mm) 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).^[6][7]

The Vasu Doorjamb Inscription is another archaeological evidence about ancient Vaishnavism, providing another link about the continuity between ancient religious traditions and contemporary Hinduism.^[8][9][6]

Date[]

According to Richard Salomon, the inscription is from the time of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap Sodasa, or early years of the 1st-century CE.^[1] The name of the ruler appears with his full title (Middle Brahmi script: () Svāmisya (Mahakṣatra)pasya Śodasa "Lord and Great Satrap Śodāsa") in the inscription.^[10][11] Sonya Quintanilla concurs and estimates about 15 CE, based on a combination of style, script, paleography and numismatic evidence.^[12]

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 closeby locations at the Mathura archaeological site such as the Jain Parshvanatha ayagapata and the Namdighosa ayagapata.^[13] These too are dated to the early decades of the 1st-century CE.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16]

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.^[2][4]