Oldest inscriptions referring to Hindu deities, in this case, Samkarshana and Vāsudeva (Balarama and Krishna) in 2nd/1st century BCE

As I continue my reading of ancient Indian history, I was utterly fascinated to know about the oldest inscriptions referring to Hindu deities.

I came across mention of two such inscriptions on the Internet, which are given below:

1) Given below are extracts from Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hathibada_Ghosundi_Inscriptions :

The Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, sometimes referred simply as the Ghosundi Inscription or the Hathibada Inscription, are among the oldest known Sanskrit inscriptions in the Brahmi script, and dated to the 2nd-1st-century BCE. The Hathibada inscription were found near Nagari village, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, while the Ghosundi inscription was found in the village of Ghosundi, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Chittorgarh.

...

The inscription is significant not only for its antiquity but as a source of information about ancient Indian scripts, the society, its history and its religious beliefs.[5] It confirms the ancient reverence of Hindu deities Samkarshana and Vāsudeva (also known as Balarama and Krishna), an existence of stone temple dedicated to them in 1st-century BCE, the puja tradition, and a king who had completed the Vedic Asvamedha sacrifice.[1][7][8] The inscription also confirms the association of the two deities Samkarshana and Vāsudeva with Narayana (Vishnu), possibly a step in their full incorporation into the Vaishnaite pantheon as avatars of Vishnu.[9]

Taken together with independent evidence such as the Besnagar inscription found with Heliodorus pillar, the Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions suggest that one of the roots of Vaishnavism in the form of Bhagavatism was thriving in ancient India between the 2nd and 1st century BCE.[7][10] They are not the oldest known Hindu inscription, however. Others such as the Ayodhya Inscription and Nanaghat Cave Inscription are generally accepted older or as old.[2][11]

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Bhandarkar – an archaeologist, translates it as,

(This) enclosing wall round the stone (object) of worship, called Narayana-vatika (Compound) for the divinities Samkarshana-Vāsudeva who are unconquered and are lords of all (has been caused to be made) by (the king) Sarvatata, a Gajayana and son of (a lady) of the Parasaragotra, who is a devotee of Bhagavat (Vishnu or Samkarshana/Vāsudeva) and has performed an Asvamedha sacrifice.

– Ghosundi Hathibada Inscriptions, 1st-century BCE[5]

[References:]

1. Richard Salomon (1998). Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 239–240. ISBN 978-0-19-509984-3.

5. D. R. Bhandarkar, Hathi-bada Brahmi Inscription at Nagari, Epigraphia Indica Vol. XXII, Archaeological Survey of India, pages 198-205

6. Dilip K. Chakrabarti (1988). A History of Indian Archaeology from the Beginning to 1947. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-81-215-0079-1.

7. Gerard Colas (2008). Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 230–232. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.

8. Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1987). Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 200–201. ISBN 978-81-208-0422-7.

9. Srinivasan, Doris (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 50–51. ISSN 0066-6637. JSTOR 20111096.

10. Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.

11. Julia Shaw (2013). Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD. Routledge. pp. 264 note 14. ISBN 978-1-61132-344-3.

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Pic of one of the fragments of the inscription: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Ghosundi_stone_inscription.jpg

2) Given below are extracts from Naneghat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naneghat :

Naneghat, also referred to as Nanaghat or Nana Ghat (IAST: Nānāghaṭ), is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range between the Konkan coast and the ancient town of Junnar in the Deccan plateau. The pass is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Pune and about 165 kilometres (103 mi) east from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.[1] It was a part of an ancient trading route, and is famous for a major cave with Sanskrit inscriptions in Brahmi script and Middle Indo-Aryan dialect.[2] These inscriptions have been dated between the 2nd and the 1st century BCE, and attributed to the Satavahana dynasty era.[3][4][5]

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Left wall translation with interpolation

1. [Om adoration] to Dharma [the Lord of created beings], adoration to Indra, adoration to Samkarshana and Vāsudeva, the descendants of the Moon (who are) endowed with majesty, and to the four guardians of the world, Yama, Varuna, Kubera and Vasava; praise to Vedisri, the best of royal princes! Of the king.

[Ravi: There are 20 more such points in the inscription translation. To read them please visit above wiki page.]

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[References:]

1. Georg Bühler 1883, pp. 53–54.

2. Theo Damsteegt 1978, p. 206, Quote: "A Hinduist inscription that is written in MIA dialect is found in a Nanaghat cave. In this respect, reference may also be made to a MIA inscription on a Vaishnava image found near the village Malhar in Madhya Pradesh which dates back to about the same age as the Nanaghat inscription."; see also page 321 note 19.

3. Richard Salomon 1998, p. 144.

4. Upinder Singh 2008, pp. 381–384.

5. Development Of Modern Numerals And Numeral Systems: The Hindu-Arabic system, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "The 1, 4, and 6 are found in the Ashoka inscriptions (3rd century bce); the 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9 appear in the Nana Ghat inscriptions about a century later; and the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 in the Nasik caves of the 1st or 2nd century CE — all in forms that have considerable resemblance to today’s, 2 and 3 being well-recognized cursive derivations from the ancient = and ≡."

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Pic of part of Naneghat inscription: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/2nd_century_BCE_Hindu_Sanskrit_inscription_Nanaghat_cave%2C_I-1a.jpg .

Naneghat is not far from Dombivli (and Kalyan) where I lived for many years. I am absolutely fascinated to know that this place has one of the earliest inscriptions about a Hindu deity(ies).

Naneghat is also interesting from history of Satavahana dynasty. I plan to cover that in another post.

Note that Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayodhya_Inscription_of_Dhana , is another ancient inscription which is viewed as a Hindu inscription. But from my reading of the wiki page, I could not find any references to Hindu deities in the inscription and so am not including it in this list of Oldest inscriptions referring to Hindu deities.

Aum Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya! For more on this well known mantra please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Namo_Bhagavate_V%C4%81sudev%C4%81ya .

[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]