by Wikipedia
Accessed: 10/27/21
[From 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, as well as other contemporary material, with an accompanying manuscript text written by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853), the Governor-General’s Agent at the imperial court. Acquired with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and of the National Art-Collections Fund.]
The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar viewed from the west, with the gateway of the adjacent mosque. Author: Metcalfe, Sir Thomas Theophilus (1795-1853). Medium: Ink and colours on paper. Date: 1843.
[The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar viewed from the west, with the gateway of the adjacent mosque. Firoz Shah Kotla, the citadel of the city of Firuzabad, was founded by Feroz Shah Tughlaq (r.1351-88) in 1354. Firuzabad extended from Hauz Khas to the banks of the Yamuna. Only some ramparts and ruined structures survive. The remains of a pyramidical structure, topped by the Ashokan pillar, stands out. The pillar was brought here by Feroz Shah from Ambala, and is the second column of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r.c.272-31). It was the first Ashokan pillar to be deciphered by James Princep in 1837, giving the key to the Brahmi script.]
Inscribed: naqsha-i kotla-i Firuz Shah Badshah. Mazhar ‘Ali Khan.
Feroze (‘Propitious’) Shah’s (‘King’) Laut (‘Pillar. Club’) is situated in the immediate environs of the city on the High road from the Dehlie Gate towards Muttra. The building on which the Laut now stands was constructed by the Emperor Feroze Shah as a Shekargah or Hunting place. He reigned at Dehlie between the years AD 1351 and 1388 in the last of which he died at the age of 90. But the pillar must have been erected as a Hindoo Monument at a much earlier period, for one of the inscriptions records a date of 1220 of the Hindoo Era, corresponding with AD 1164, or 29 years before the conquest of Dehlie by Shahabodeen (‘Strength of the Faith’) Ghoree (‘name of a particular family or dynasty’). [Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad born Shihab ad-Din]Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad (Persian: معز الدین محمد غوری), born Shihab ad-Din (1149 – March 15, 1206), also known as Muhammad of Ghor, was the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202 and as the sole ruler from 1202 to 1206. He is credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent, which lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a territory spanning over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Northern India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
-- Muhammad of Ghor, by WikipediaAgain, by the guidance of God, I was led to repair and rebuild the edifices and structures of former kings and ancient nobles, which had fallen into decay from lapse of time; giving the restoration of these buildings the priority over my own building works. The Masjid-i jami of old Dehli, which was built by Sultan Mu'izz-ud din Sam [Sultan Shihab ad-Din Ghori / Muhammad of Ghor], had fallen into decay from old age, and needed repair and restoration. I so repaired it that it was quite renovated.
The western wall of the tomb of Sultan Mu'izz-ud din Sam [Sultan Shihab ad-Din Ghori / Muhammad of Ghor], and the planks of the door, had become old and rotten. I restored this, and, in the place of the balcony, I furnished it with doors, arches, and ornaments of sandalwood.
The minara of Sultan Mu'izz-ud din [Sultan Shihab ad-Din Ghori / Muhammad of Ghor] had been struck by lightning. I repaired it and raised it higher than it was before.
-- XVII. Futuhat-i Firoz Shahi of Sultan Firoz Shah, Excerpt from The History of India As Told By Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, edited from the posthumous papers of the Late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B., East India Company's Bengal Civil Service, by Professor John Dowson, M.R.A.S., Staff college, Sandhurst, Vol. III, P. 374, 1871After Sultan Firoz returned from his expedition against Thatta, he often made excursions in the neighbourhood of Dehli. In this part of the country there were two stone columns. One was in the village of Tobra, in the district (shikk) of Salaura and Khizrabad, in the hills (koh-payah); the other in the vicinity of the town of Mirat. These columns had stood in those places from the days of the Pandavas, but had never attracted the attention of any of the kings who sat upon the throne of Dehli, till Sultan Firoz noticed them, and, with great exertion, brought them away.
-- XVI. Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi, of Shams-i Siraj 'Afif, Excerpt from The History of India As Told By Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, edited from the posthumous papers of the Late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B., East India Company's Bengal Civil Service, by Professor John Dowson, M.R.A.S., Staff college, Sandhurst, Vol. III, P. 269-364, 1871
The height of the pillar now visible above the building is about 37 feet, and its circumference where it forms the terrace is about 10 feet 4 inches; it is composed of a single stone, and tradition asserts that only 1/3 is visible, the remaining 2/3 being buried in the earth. The structure originally consisted of three stories, and used, accorded to current opinion, partly as a menagerie and partly as an aviary.
The Emperor’s reign of 38 years though not brilliant in other respects was distinguished for the enlightened spirit of his Regulations and the extent and utility of his Public Works amongst the latter and the greatest of all is the canal from the Jumna to the district of Hansie and Hissar and still called by his name.
The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, View from the south of the Kotla. Author: Metcalfe, Sir Thomas Theophilus (1795-1853). Medium: Ink and colours on paper. Date: 1843.
[View from the south over the ruined palace and mosque of the Kotla on the river bank, towards the Ashokan pillar. Once the largest mosque in Delhi, now only the rear wall survives. It is believed that Timur, the Mongol conqueror, who sacked Delhi in 1398, came to this mosque for his prayers.]
Inscribed: naqsha-i qil‘a-i kotla-i Firuz Shah bar lab-i darya.
The second view represents a portion of the old Palace built by the same Emperor, but now past falling into decay. On my first arrival in Dehly in 1813, and indeed for many years subsequent, the Hall of Audience here represented was in perfect condition. The roof has of late fallen in with part of the front walk, and a portion of the room in which the Emperor Alumgeer the 2nd was murdered, and by the door way nearest to the river (as shown in the drawing) stills exists, through which the lifeless body of the Emperor was cast out upon the sand, where it lay for several days uninterred and almost unnoticed.
In the background are seen the minarets of the Zeenut ool Musajid (vide page 33 [f. 36]) and the Bridge of Boats constructed by the local authorities over the River Jumna. The Emperor Ahmud (‘Praiseworthy’) Shah {‘King’) having been deposed and blinded in July AD 1734 [i.e. 1754], by Ghaziodeen (‘the Hero of the Faith’) his commander in chief, one of the Princes of the Blood Royal, a son of the former Emperor Jahandar
-- The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, by British Library Online Gallery
Ashokan Edicts
Askhokan Pillar in Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
General information
Architectural style: Edicts on sandstone pillars and on in-situ rocks
Town or city: Delhi
Country: India
Coordinates: 28.61°N 77.23°E
Construction started: 3rd century BC
Completed: 3rd century BC
Design and construction
Architect: Ashoka
The Ashokan edicts in Delhi are a series of edicts on the teachings of Buddha created by Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor who ruled in the Indian subcontinent during the 3rd century BC. The Edicts of Ashoka were either carved on in-situ rocks or engraved on pillars erected throughout the empire; examples of both are found in Delhi.
The first in-situ rock edict was discovered in Delhi in 1966, and establishes the city's ancient historical link with the Ashokan era (273–236 BC).[1][2][3] Delhi's stone pillar edicts were transported from their original sites in Meerut and Ambala during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388 AD). They were erected in Feruzabad, the fourth medieval city of Delhi, established by Feroz Shah Tughlaq.[2][4][5]
The inscriptions are written in Prakrit, a colloquial language used in everyday speech. The edicts were intended to teach the people of the morals and ideals of civilised living, to bring peace and harmony to the vast empire. The philosophy bears a striking resemblance to the teachings of the Buddha, which his followers believe lead to enlightenment (the universal law of nature), and the constituent elements of the world as it is experienced (the characteristic of elements).[6][2][7]
History
Until the 3rd century BC, a large region of the Indian subcontinent was ruled by Chandragupta Maurya (322–298 BC), founder of Mauryan Empire. He was the grandfather of Ashoka. Ashoka's father Bindusara ruled from 297–272 BC. Ashoka, known as Ashoka the Great, after he took over reigns of the Mauryan Empire from his father then expanded and consolidated his grandfather's region into a much larger empire with command over large swathes of the Indian subcontinent and with his capital at Pataliputra, the present day Patna in Bihar.[8] Ashoka ruled for three decades. During his reign, he underwent a dramatic change in his life-style after winning the Kalinga War of 261 BC, at the cost of immense loss of life. As one of his edict inscriptions states: "150,000 people were forcibly abducted from their homes, 100,000 were killed in battle, and many more died later on".[9] This event had a profound impact upon him. He was repentant. He then decided to renounce further warfare. He then converted to Buddhist religion, as the ethos of Buddhism (teachings of Buddha, an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth} appealed to him. His 13th edict is a form of self indictment: "Even a hundredth or a thousandth part only of the people who were slain, or killed or abducted in Kalinga is now considered as a grievous loss by Devanmpiya, beloved of the Gods, i.e., Ashoka".[9]
He avowed that his future actions would entirely be on spiritual lines and devoted to the spread of the doctrine of the right conduct.[9] Two years after the Kalinga war, as a primary member of the Buddhist faith, for 265 days, he undertook a nationwide pilgrimage of holy places of Buddhist religion. On his return to Pataliputra, his capital, in 258 BC, after a grand celebration, he launched his missionary campaign throughout his empire and even spread to South India and Sri Lanka. Ashoka's son Mahindra was involved in this mission. In 257 BC, he got the first four of his 14 rock edicts inscribed in different parts of his empire. Out of the fourteen rock edicts, one rock edict has been discovered in Delhi, though not in a complete form.[9]
While edicts inscribed on rocks were found in many parts of the world, erection of carved pillars was unique to Ashokan times, totally independent of any other structures.[10]
Edicts
Main article: Edicts of Ashoka
Replica of Ashoka's Major Rock Edict at Girnar, Gujarat, displayed at the entrance to the National Museum, Delhi
Ashokan edicts are significant for the message they convey on the teachings of Buddhism. They have been found across his empire, written in several languages and scripts, but most of those found in India are written in Prakrit, using the Brahmi script. To spread the message in the north-western of the empire, edicts were written in Kharoshti script. Bilingual and bi-scriptural edicts have also been discovered in Kandahar and Afghanistan, written in Greek and Aramaic. Ashokan edicts written on rocks or pillars are considered unique and permanent as compared to the palm leaf or bark writings (perishable materials) of the past during the Harappan civilization, or even early Mauryan Empire edicts. The Brahmi script was not deciphered until 1837, by James Prinsep, an Indian antiquarian. The edicts of Ashoka deal with codes of conduct in respect of moral and religious views, as his personal messages.[2][11]
The edicts are of two types: the in-situ rock edicts and the pillar edicts, both of which are found in Delhi. The rock edicts are further subdivided into two categories, the "major rock edicts" and the "minor rock edicts", based on their age. Minor rock edits are the earliest, followed by major rock edicts, and then the pillar edicts.[11] Major rock edicts have been discovered across India, with 14 personal declarations by Ashoka. Two have been moved to Delhi from their original locations.[11]
The minor edicts, which predate the major edicts, have been discovered at 17 locations in different regions of the country. Ten of them are categorized as "minor rock edict I" that proclaim Ashoka's religious commitments and urge people to adopt this path. The last seven edicts, include the category of "minor rock edict II" that urges people to be obedient and respectful to parents, elders and teachers. The last seven rock edict include the Delhi edict (found in 1966) that is categorized as minor rock edict I. One particular minor rock edict that is housed in Asiatic Society, Calcutta is a dictum to the Buddhists urging them to read the seven scriptural texts.[11]
The six basic pillar edicts, which are carved on sandstone, deal mainly with the spread of moral values; Ashoka's Dhamma cover topics such as kindness, forbearance, and concern for the welfare of his people. These edicts are fairly uniform in their language and text, unlike the rock edicts, but the Delhi-Topra pillar has a long additional message. It abridges and reaffirms the content of other pillars, and to some degree those of the Major Rock Edicts also.[11]
Rock edict in Delhi
A rare Ashokan rock edict of the 3rd century BC. found in Delhi enclosed in a crude concrete shed during the 20th century
See also: Minor Rock Edicts
Ashokan edict details on in-situ rock surface in Delhi, but fading
The in-situ Bahapur rock edict (28.55856°N 77.25662°E) was discovered in Delhi in an engraved form on a small patch of rock exposure in Srinivaspuri, one kilometer north of Kalkaji temple, close to Bahapur village in South Delhi. The edict categorized as a "Minor edict" written in Brahmi script was a first person message of Ashoka, which exhorts people to follow the Buddhist way of life. It is inscribed on a rock surface with irregular lines and letter size with a number of lines not clearly decipherable. The edict translated into English reads:
Devanampiya (His Majesty) said thus: (it has been) more than two and a half years since I became a lay devotee.[12] At first no great exertion was made by me but in the last year I have drawn closer to the Buddhist order and exerted myself zealously and drawn in others to mingle with the gods. This goal is not one restricted only to let the people great to exert themselves and to the great but even a humble man who exerts himself can reach heaven. This proclamation is made for the following purpose: to encourage the humble and the great to exert themselves and to let the people who live beyond the borders of the kingdom know about it. Exertion in the cause must endure forever and it will spread further among the people so that it increases one-and-half fold.[8][13]
The rock edict epigraph was discovered on an inclined rock face by a building contractor operating at the site for building a residential colony. Archaeologists immediately examined it on 26 March 1966 and identified it as representing the Minor Rock Edict I of the Ashokan period in the light of its similarity with edicts in 13 other places in different parts of India, such as Barat in Jaipur division (to which Delhi rock edict has close resemblance) and the two pillars in Delhi. The Delhi edict was recorded as the 14th epigraphic version. The inscription covers an area of size 75 centimetres (30 in) length and 77 centimetres (30 in) height of the rock face. There are ten lines of writing of varying length written in Prakrit language in early Brahmi script and lacks uniformity of the aksharas (letters).[2]
One interpretation for the rock edict at Bahapur in Delhi is that it represents the trans-regional trade route of North India as an ancient trade link between the Gangetic Delta and the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The second view is that it marks the site of a temple since it has been found at the base of a rock exposure near the present day Kalkaji temple. It is claimed that at Kalkaji, where the new Kalka Mandir (temple) exists now, was the old location of a temple (one of the five temples in Delhi) built by Pandavas, heroes of the epic Mahabharata period.[2][14]
Shelter on the surrounding rocky landscape
Edict in Delhi surrounded by steel cage
Ashoka's Rock Edict (close up)
Pillar edicts in Delhi
See also: Pillars of Ashoka and Major Pillar Edicts
Pillar edict on the ridge near Hindu Rao hospital, the second pillar shifted from Meerut to Delhi, known as the Delhi-Meerut Pillar
All of the Ashokan pillar or column edicts were made out of Chunar sandstone quarried from Chunar in the Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh. They were chiseled at the quarry and then transported to various places in the country. They were chiseled from massive rock blocks of 1.22 metres (4.0 ft) square and 15.2 metres (50 ft) long, which were extracted from the quarry. They were chiseled as monolith pillars of size between 12.2 metres (40 ft) and 15.2 metres (50 ft) in length with an average diameter of 0.785 metres (2.58 ft).[15] The pillars were cut, dressed, finely polished into circular columns, and carved with edicts, before being transported to various locations in the country. Two were transferred to Delhi in the 14th century by Feroz Shah Tughlaq.[16]
The two pillar edicts are still in Delhi.[17] The one on the Delhi ridge opposite the entrance of Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, close to the Delhi University campus, is popularly known as the Delhi-Meerut Pillar. The other, in the grounds of Feroz Shah Kotla, is known as the Delhi-Topra Pillar.[18][2]
Feroz Shah Tughlaq, who ruled from Delhi as Sultan during the medieval period between 1351 and 1388, was a keen historian, architect, game hunter, and with deep sense of commitment to build public utilities related to irrigation works and establishing urban towns. Feroz Shah, during one of his campaigns, was enthralled by the two spectacular monoliths – inscribed Ashokan pillars he saw, one at Topra near Ambala and the other near Meerut, till then undeciphered – and decided to shift them to his palatial Feruzabad palace in Delhi as "totemic embellishments". He shifted the pillars from these places and got them erected in Delhi; the former in his new capital and the latter on the ridge, near Pir-Ghaib, his hunting palace. The first pillar was erected in the 1350s, next to the Friday mosque in the new city of Feruzabad.).[6][2][19][20] Near the gate of the building that holds the Ashokan pillar, every Thursday afternoon is a kind of djinns date, as a large number of people visit the place to either mollify or revere the djinns or genies (said to be a pre-Islamic belief) that are believed to prowl there.[21]
Delhi-Meerut pillar
A portion of the Meerut pillar, with a segment of the Edicts of Ashoka, now in the British Museum.
The Delhi-Meerut pillar (28.673853°N 77.211849°E), was shifted from Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi by Feruz Shah and erected at a location in the northern ridge of Delhi, close to his hunting palace, between the Chauburji-Masjid and Hindu Rao Hospital. It was an elaborately planned transportation, from its original location, using a 42-wheeled cart to bring it up to the Yamuna river bank and then further transporting it by the Yamuna river route using barges. As seen now, it is of 10 metres (33 ft) height but the pillar was damaged in an explosion during the rule of Farrukshiar (1713–19). The five broken pieces were initially shifted to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta and later brought back in 1866 and re-erected in 1887. In the early 17th century, William Finch, a historian chronicler, observed that the pillar had "a globe and half moon at top and diverse inscription upon it".[22][23]
Firoz Shah is considered to be an early conservationist, with a keen interest in ancient buildings and objects. In addition to the Ashokan pillar that he moved from Topra in Haryana and had installed in his citadel in Firozabad, he moved a second pillar from nearby Meerut to be installed at what was soon to become his hunting lodge on the ridge, the Kushak-i-shikar. In the early seventeenth century, the pillar was described by an English traveller, William Finch, as one with a ‘globe and half-moon at top, and divers inscription upon it’. The pillar was severely damaged in an explosion during the reign of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar (ad 1713–19) and disintegrated into five pieces. The five fragments were later restored to an upright position in 1866, but its inscribed portions were sawed off and sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Later, the inscribed pieces were received back and joined together and this restored pillar was installed back at its current location in 1867. The current height of the pillar is 10 m. Inscribed in Brahmi script and written in the Prakrit language, the inscription of Ashoka contains his messages and instruction for promoting Dharma and the welfare and happiness of the people. At the base of the pillar, a plaque announces its history. Today, the pillar looks forlorn, standing alone in its fenced enclosure near a roundabout on the main ridge road in front of the gate of the Hindu Rao Hospital complex.
-- Ashoka Pillar, by Smit Sandhir, flickr.com
Ashoka's Pillar at Kamla Nehru Ridge, near Hindu Rao hospital, is one of the two brought in by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in the mid-13th century. Brought from Meerut after one of his campaigns, the pillar was transported meticulously through the Yamuna river on barges and then hauled up on a 42 wheel cart from the bank to the ridge. Another of its counterparts can be found in the urban village of Firoz Shah Kotla.
The construction is mostly made of sandstone, quarried from Chunar town in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, presently another small town (known for its pottery) on the Indo-Gangetic belt but historically a very important destination, finding mention in the ancient Hindu Puranas (scriptures). Huge rock slabs were chiseled at the quarry and then sent across the country. The pillar suffered an accident during the tumultuous reign of the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar during the first half of the 17th century. The top of the pillar which got blown off as a consequence still remains in-state as a result. [???] The pieces of the pillar were transported for safekeeping to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta in 1866, but were brought back and restored in its original place in 1887, where it still stands today.
The pillar is about 10 feet in height with a diameter of about three quarters of a metre and features inscriptions in Brahmi Script; mostly focusing on Ashoka’s major propaganda, viz, his conversion to and propagation of Buddhism and social and animal welfare. Further studies have revealed later inscriptions in Sanskrit around Ashoka’s texts, assumed to date back to the rule of the Chauhan King Visala around the 11th century AD. Firoz Shah himself added some bits of decoration to the pillars later.
The pillar is located at one end of the Kamla Nehru Ridge in North Delhi, with Mutiny Memorial situated nearby.
-- Surviving As A Historical Relic Since The 13th Century, Here's All About The Ashokan Pillar, by Delhi Dwell, 21 Aug 2017
Delhi-Meerut pillar
Delhi-Meerut pillar inscription
Transcription
Delhi-Topra pillar
See also: Topra_Kalan § Topra_Ashokan_Pillar, and Feroz_Shah_Kotla § Topra_Ashokan_Pillar
Ashokan Pillar at the ruined palace in Feroz Shah Kotla, shifted from Topra village in Yamunanagar district, Haryana to Delhi, called the Delhi-Topra pillar.
The Topra Ashokan Pillar (28.635739°N 77.245398°E), moved from Topra Kalan in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, was erected above the palace building at Feroz Shah Kotla is 13 metres (43 ft) high (with one metre below the platform) and made of sandstone. It is finished very well vis-à-vis the second pillar located in Delhi at the ridge.
The inscription in Brahmi script, which was deciphered by James Princep, a renowned scholar in Indian antiquarian studies in 1837, conveys the same message as the other Ashokan Pillars erected such as "code of dharma:virtue, social cohesion and piety" but with one difference that on this pillar there is also a reference to issues related to taxation. The building that houses the pillar is a three-storied structure built in rubble masonry. It has a large number of small domed rooms in the first and second floors, with links to the roof. Rooms on each floor have arched entrances, which are now stated to be used for pujas (worship). It is a pyramidal shaped structure with reducing size at each level with the pillar installed on the terrace of the building. It is conjectured that originally the pillar had a lion capital (similar to the Ashoka Emblem), which is the National Emblem of India. Feroz Shah is said to have embellished the top of the pillar with frescoes in black and white stone topped with a gilded copper cupola. But at present, what is visible is the smooth polished surface of the pillar, and an elephant carving added much later.[24][25][26] It has also been noted that this pillar, apart from the Ashokan edict, has another set of text inscribed in Sanskrit "below and around Ashokan edict", in nagari script. This inscription records: "the conquests of Visala Deva Vigraharaja IV of the Chauhan dynasty, which was still ruling over Delhi at the time of Ghurid conquests in the 1190s, and his victories over a Mlechha (presumably "Ghaznavid or Gharid"). With this finding, it has been inferred that Visala Deva reused this pillar to record his triumphs in wars.[27]
The Staff of Firuz Shah.
[10'4" circumference at base / 37' tall / red]
I now proceed to lay before the Society the results of my application of the alphabet, developed by the simple records of Bhilsa, to the celebrated inscription on Feroz's column, of which facsimiles have been in the Society's possession since its very foundation, without any successful attempt having been made to decipher them. This is the less to be wondered at when we find that 500 years before, on the re-erection of the pillar, perhaps for the second or third time, by the emperor Feroz [r. 1351–1388)], the unknown characters were just as much a mystery to the learned as they have proved at a later period — "Round it" says the author of the Haftaklim, "have been engraved literal characters which the most intelligent of all religions have been unable to explain. Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the rajas or Hindu princes, and that Feroz Shah set it up within his hunting place: but on this head there are various traditions which it would be tedious to relate."
Neither Muhammed Ami'n the author of the Haftaklim [Muhammad Amin Razi, [x], vide Amin Ahmad, author of the Haft Aklim -- The Oriental Biographical Dictionary], nor Ferishteh, in his account of Feroz's works alludes to the comparatively modern inscription on the same pillar recording the victories of Visala Deva king of Sacambhari (or Sambhar) in the 12th century, of which Sir William Jones first [XXI. Inscriptions on the Staff of Firuz Shah, translated from the Sanscrit, as explained by Radha Canta Sarman, Asiatic Researches, Volume 1, 1788, P. 315-317.], and Mr. Colebrooke afterwards, ['Translation of one of the Inscriptions on the Pillar at Delhi, called the Lat of Firuz Shah, by Henry Colebrooke, Esq., With Introductory Remarks by Mr. Harrington,' Asiatic Researches, Vol. VII, 1803, P. 175-182] published translations in the first and seventh volumes of the [Asiatic] Researches. This was in quite a modern type of Nagari; differing about as much from the character employed on the Allahabad pillar to record the victories of Chanara and Samudra-gupta, as that type is now perceived to vary from the more ancient form originally engraven on both of these pillars; so that (placing Chandra-gupta, in the third or fourth century, midway between Visala, in the Samvat year 1220, and the oldest inscription) we might have roughly deduced an antiquity of fourteen or fifteen centuries anterior to Visala's reign for the original lat alphabet, from the gradual change of form in the alphabetical symbols, had we no better foundation for fixing the period of these monuments.
But in my preceding notice, I trust that this point has been set at rest, and that it has been satisfactorily proved that the several pillars of Delhi, Allahabad, Mattiah and Radhia were erected under the orders of king Devanampiya Piyadasi of Ceylon, about three hundred years before the Christian era....
[R]oyal benevolence was exercised ... by the planting of trees along the roadsides, by the digging of wells, by the establishment of bazars and serais, at convenient distances. Where are they all? On what road are we now to search for these venerable relics, these banyan trees and mangoes, which, with the aid of Professor Candolle's theory, would enable us to confirm the assumed date of our monuments? The lat of Feroz is the only one which alludes to this circumstance, and we know not whence that was taken to be set up in its present situation by the emperor Feroz in the 14th century — whether it had stood there from the first? or whether it was re-erected when it received the inscription recording the victories of Visala deva in the Samvat year 1220 or A.D. 1163? — This cannot be determined without a careful re-examination of the ruinous building surrounding the pillar, which I hope some of my antiquarian friends will undertake. The chambers described by Captain Hoare as a menagerie and aviary may have been so adapted from their original purpose as cells for the monastic priesthood — a point which the style of their architecture may settle. The neighbourhood should also be examined for traces of a vihara, a holy tree, a road, and boulees or large pakka wells: — the texture of the stone also should be noticed, that the quarry whence it was brought may be discovered, for now that we know so much of its history we feel a vivid curiosity to pry into the further secrets of this interesting silastambha, even to the difficulties and probably cost of its transport, which, judging from the inability of the present Government to afford the expense even of setting the Allahabad pillar upright on its pedestal, must have fallen heavily on the coffers of the Ceylon monarch!
VI.—Interpretation of the most ancient of the inscriptions on the pillar called the lat of Feroz Shah, near Delhi, and of the Allahabad, Radhia [Lauriya-Araraj (Radiah)] and Mattiah [Lauriya-Nandangarh (Mathia)] pillar, or lat, inscriptions which agree therewith, by James Prinsep, Sec. As. Soc. &c., The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. VI, Part II, July to December, 1837
The Staff of Firuz Shah.
[10'4" circumference at base / 37' tall / red]
In the year 1230, on the first day of the bright half of the month Vaisach (a monument) of the Fortunate Visala Deva Son of the Fortunate Amilla Deva, King of Sacambhari...
The date 123 is here perfectly clear; at least it is clear that only three figures are written, without even room for a cypher after them; whence we may guess that the double circle in the former inscription was only an ornament, or the neutral terminal am; if so, the date of both is the year of Christ sixty-seven; but if the double circle be a Zero, the monument of Visala Deva is as modern as the year 1174, or nineteen years before the conquest of Delhi by Shihabuddin....
He who is resentful to kings intoxicated with pride, indulgent to those whose necks are humbled, an INDRA in the city of Causambi (I suspect Causambi, a city near Hastinapur, to be the true reading,) who is victorious in the world, Visala, sovereign of the earth: he gives ... his commands being obeyed, he is a conqueror, the son of Santanajana, whose mind, when his foes say, 'Let there be mercy,' is free from further hostility.
-- XXI. Inscriptions on the Staff of Firuz Shah, translated from the Sanscrit, as explained by Radha Canta Sarman. Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 1, P. 315-317, 1788
The Staff of Firuz Shah.
[10'4" circumference at base / 37' tall / red]
I have the pleasure of presenting to the Society a Book of Drawings and Inscriptions prepared under the inspection of their late member, Captain James Hoare, and intended by him (I have reason to believe) for the life of the Society.
Two of the drawings represent elevations, taken on the spot, of the stone building near Dehlee, called the Shikargah, or hunting place, of Feeroz Shah; with the pillar in the center, and above the summit of it, commonly known by the designation of Feeroz Shah’s Lat; and described, with an outline of the building and pillar, in the 21st paper of the 1st Vol. of the Society’s Transactions....
The Feeroz Shah, whose name is now attached to the Dehlee pillar, (though it must have been erected as some Hindoo monument at a much earlier period,) appears, from Ferishtuh’s History, to have reigned at Dehlee between the years 1351 and 1388; in the last of which he died at the age of ninety; and Ferishtuh, in the words of his translator, Lieutenant Colonel Dow, gives him the following character: ... [Dow’s History of Hindustan, Vol. I. page 336.]
The author of the Huft Akleem, Mohummud Ameem Razee, who wrote his history of the world (or, as the title of his book imports, of the Seven Climes, into which the Mahommedans divide the universe) in the reign of Akbur, corroborates the above character of Feeroz Shah, and adds the following passage, translated verbatim from his history.“Among the places built by this King (Feeroz Shah) is a hunting place, which the populace call the Lat of Feeroz Shah. It is a house of three stories, in the centre of which has been erected a pillar of red stone, of one piece, and tapering upwards. The visible part of the shaft is, by measurement, twenty-seven Zirras; and it is said, that one-third only is visible; the remaining two-thirds being buried in the earth. In this case, the total length must be eighty-one Zirras; and it is five Zirras in circumference. Round it have been engraved literal characters, which the most intelligent of all religions have been unable to explain. Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the Rajuhs, (or Hindoo Princes,) and that Feeroz Shah set it up within his hunting place. But on this head there are various traditions, which it would be tedious to relate.”
The exact length of the Zirra, referred to in the above description, is uncertain. But there can be no doubt that the height of the pillar, now visible above the building, is thirty-seven feet; and that its circumference, where it joins the terrace, is ten feet four inches [124 inches]. These dimensions I have from Moonshee Mohummud Morad, who himself measured the pillar for Captain Hoare in July, 1797; and who adds, that, as far as it could be seen, (which, from the ruinous state of the building, it cannot be, at present, below the upper terrace,) it is certainly, as described in the Huft Akleem, a single stone, of reddish colour, as represented in the drawing.
One of Captain Hoare’s drawings further represents the plans of the three stories of the Shikar-gah; and his Moonshee informs me, the current opinion is, that they were used partly for a menagery, and partly for an aviary, which the plans appear to confirm.
-- Translation of one of the Inscriptions on the Pillar At Dehlee, called the Lat of Feeroz Shah, Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 7, by Henry Colebrooke, Esq., With Introductory Remarks by Mr. Harington, P. 175-182, 1803
Delhi-Topra Ashoka pillar
Inscriptions (Brahmi on top, Devanagari below)
Transcription
Transportation techniques
Transportation of the Topra pillar to Delhi. Sirat i-Firuz Shahi, 14th century illustration.
Table of Contents
• Preface
• Firozabad, the town
• Kotla Firoz Shah, the Citadel
• The Lat Pyramid
• The connecting bridge
• The Mosque
• The river front and Royal palaces
• Interior courts and Gates
• The Baoli
• Water Tanks and Ducts
• The Citadel Walls; Main entrance bay
• Defence of the walls
• Contemporary accounts of the Citadel
• Firozabad the Royal retreat
• Features of the Palaces
• The Corps of the Palace Slaves
• The Sultan emerges in State
• Events at the Citadel
• The Sultan’s Gardens
• The Sultan’s buildings
• His Chief Architect
• The Royal establishments and domestic arrangements
• Subsequent History of the Kotla
• The Sultan retires in favour of his son Muhammad Khan
• Flight of Muhammad Khan and his supersession by Sultan Firoz’s grandson, Tughlaq Shah
• Death of Firoz Shah
• Death of his successor Tughlaq Shah and enthronement of Muhammad Khan at Samana
• Death of Sultan Muhammad
• Succession of Prince Mahmud at Jahanpanah
• Rebellion and rival sovereignty of his cousin Nasrat Shah at Firozabad
• Timur’s invasion
• Subsequent History
• Appendix
• Index
• Translation of the extracts from Sirat-i-Firozshahi [Folios 91 (b) to 105 (b)]
• Transcript of Sirat-i-Firozshahi [Folios 91 (b) to 105 (6)] with illustrations
• LIST OF PLATES.
o Plate I. — Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi. Bara gateway. General view. (South-west).
o Plate II. — Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi; Vue D'oiseau of a conjectural reconstruction of the ruined citadel.
o Plate III. — Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi; Perspective view of river front.
o Plate IV. — Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi; General view of the mosque. (North-west).
o Plate V. — Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi; view of the Lat Pyramid.
o Plate VI. — (Coloured.) Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi; Illustrations from Sirat-i-Firozshahi —
(а) Removing wheels of the cart from one side and tying ropes and pulling up the pillar to place it in the boat.
(b) Arrival of boat with pillar on the bank of the Jumna (near Delhi), tying ropes to the pillar to remove it from the boat and place it on the cart.
(c) The monolith being carried on the ladha (cart) towards the town of Firozabad (Delhi).
(d) Arrival of the cart with pillar in front of the mosque of Firozabad (Delhi).
• LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS APPEARING IN THE TRANSCRIPT OF SIRAT-I-FIROZSHAHI.
o Fig. 1. — Erection of piers and pulleys and tying of ropes, for taking down the stone pillar.
o Fig. 2 . — Pasheb on which the stone pillar would rest while taken down.
o Fig. 3. — Erection of pulleys and raising the pillar in order to place it on the ladha (cart).
o Fig. 4. — Arrival of the ladha with the stone pillar, at the bank of the Jamna river.
o Fig. 5. — Constructing the foundations of a structure, 61 yards square thereon to set up the pillar.
o Fig. 6. — Building of the first storey and raising the pillar on its top by means of ropes.
o Fig. 7. — Plan of the second storey.
o Fig. 8. — Raising the pillar two yards at a time, first at one end and then at the other.
o Fig. 9. — Third storey of the structure on which the pillar was set up.
PREFACE.
In the preparation of this memoir on the ruins of Kotla Firoz Shah at Delhi Mr. Page had in mind the desirability of attempting to retrieve for the reader the original "atmosphere" of the old fabric, with all its historical associations and charm: and to reveal the distinctive traits and outlook of those who founded and peopled it in the 14th Century A.D.
As a means to this, Mr. Page had recourse to the original narratives of the Mussalman historians of the time (as translated in Messrs. Elliott and Dowson's invaluable volumes) and has quoted in extenso from their writings. Verbose and redundant though these annals often are, they nevertheless reflect, as nothing else can, the mentality of their environment and period, and will, it is hoped, help the reader to visualise the life of the time, and repopulate for him the empty remains of what was once the royal retreat of a Turkish King of Delhi.
Besides the works, particularly by Muslim historians referred to by Mr. Page in his Memoir, there exists another trustworthy and contemporary account of Firoz Shah's reign as narrated in the pages of Sirat-i-Firozshahi, a Persian manuscript in Nastaliq characters deposited in the Oriental Public Library at Bankipore and enlisted in its Catalogue as No. 547. From the Catalogue it appears that nothing is known about the author of Sirat-i-Firozshahi but the verse at the end of the manuscript assigns the work to A.H. 772 (A.D. 1370). i.e., the twentieth year of the reign of Firoz Shah. Sirat-i-Firozshahi thus chronicles the events of the earlier part of Firoz Shah's reign.God said it, I believe it, That settles it.
It is divided into four chapters or babs; and the folios of the second chapter dealing with the removal of the Minarah-i-Zarrin (Golden Pillar) have been transcribed and translated by Mr. Mohammad Hamid Kuraishi, B.A., to form a supplement to Mr. Page's Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah. The illustrations contained in the original not only add charm to the manuscript but portray the minutest details of the removal of the pillar — its carriage in boats and installation on the citadel at Firozabad, where it stands to the present day.
J. F. BLAKISTON.
Director General of Archaeology
New Delhi, March 1936.
-- Memoirs Of the Archaeological Survey of India, No. 52: A Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi, by J.A. Page, A.R.I.B.A., Late Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, With a Translation of Sirat-i-Firozshahi by Mohammad Hamid Kuraishi, B.A., Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, 1937
The transportation of the massive pillars to Delhi, planned under the direction of Sultan Feruz Shah, was documented by contemporary historian Shams-i-Siraj.[19][28]
The truncated pillar now at the ruined palace of Feruz Shah came from Khizrabad, in the upstream reaches of the Yamuna River, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Delhi. The transportation of the pillar was highly demanding, requiring soldiers (both cavalry and foot) to pitch in with all tools and tackles to transport it to Delhi. Silk cotton from the Silk cotton tree, the simal, was gathered in large quantities to surround the pillar before it was lowered horizontally to the ground. The covering was then removed, and replaced by reeds and raw hide to protect the pillar. A 42-wheeled cart was used to transport it to the river bank, where it was loaded onto a large boat. The cart required 8,400 men to move it, 200 to each wheel.[19] A purpose-built palatial building was constructed out of stone and lime mortar to house the pillar. The square base stone was placed at the base of the pillar before the task was completed. The building is now in a ruined state, but the pillar still stands as it was erected.[19][28]
See also
• Related topics
o Ancient iron production
o Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts
o Dhar iron pillar
o History of metallurgy in South Asia
o Iron pillar of Delhi
o List of Edicts of Ashoka
o Pillars of Ashoka
o Stambha
• Other similar topics
o Early Indian epigraphy
o Hindu temple architecture
o History of India
o Indian copper plate inscriptions
o Indian rock-cut architecture
o List of rock-cut temples in India
o Outline of ancient India
o South Indian Inscriptions
o Tagundaing
Notes
1. Sharma, pp. 1, 10–11 A glorious chapter to Delhi’s history was added as recently as 1966 with the discovery of an inscription by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, engraved on a rugged rock, an outcrop of the Arvallis, near Srinivaspuri, west of Kalkaji temple… Direct association of emperor Ashoka (273–236 BC.) of the Maurya Dynasty with Delhi has been brought to light only recently by the discovery of a shorter version of his Minor Rock Edicts carved on a rock near Srinivaspuri. This discovery also indicates that Delhi lay on the trunk route connecting the main cities of ancient India
2. Singh, Upinder (2006). Delhi. Ashokan Edicts in Delhi. Berghahn Books. pp. 120–131. ISBN 81-87358-29-7. Retrieved 22 July2009.
3. Peck, p.26. The city is situated where a spur of the Aravalli Hills meets the Yamuna River, and these outcrops were the sites of some early settlements ... Before the 3rd century BC, India was controlled by numerous competing chiefs and kings, and during this time urban centres of some size developed. One of these became the base of powerful Mauryan Empire, created by Chandra Gupta Maurya and consolidated by his grandson Ashoka (reigned 272–232 BC). Ashoka ruled from Pataliputra, modern Patna, but held sway over most of the Indian subcontinent. He aimed at government in a very real sense, controlling the affairs, or at least exhorting a certain way of life, through his famous edicts… However, the most exciting Mauryan discovery, made in 1966 was of an Ashokan Rock Edict found at Kalkaji (East of Kailash), in South Delhi, indicating that there must have been a reasonably important settlement nearby.
4. Sharma, pp.1,10–11
5. Peck, p.28.The remains of an inscription, on a smooth rock face projecting from the top of a rocky hillock, can be seen under an ugly concrete shelter in a small neighbourhood park in East of Kailash, nor far from the ISKCON temple on the Raja Dhirsain Marg it was discovered in 1966 and is an important part of Delhi’s history and heritage, because it implies that somewhere nearby was a settlement important enough in the 3rd century BC for an edict to have been carved. Among the cluster of religious institutions on the nearby hilltops, the Kalkaji Temple is said to be of great antiquity, and might have had a settlement around it.
6. Sharma, pp. 1, 10–11
7. Peck, p.28
8. Peck, pp.26–28
9. Kulkae, Hermann; Dietmar Rothermund (1998). A History of India. Ashoka the beloved to the Gods. CRC Press. pp. 62–65. ISBN 0-203-44345-4. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
10. "Bhandarkar pp.205–206">Bhandarkar pp.205–206
11. Richard Salomon (1998). Indian epigraphy. Inscriptions of the Mauyryan Period. Oxford University Press US. pp. 135–139. ISBN 0-19-509984-2. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
12. Joshi, M. C.; Pande, B. M. (1967). "A Newly Discovered Inscription of Aśoka at Bahapur, Delhi". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (3/4): 97. ISSN 0035-869X. JSTOR 25202984.
13. Singh pp.121–122
14. Philip Lutgendorf (2007). Hanuman's tale. A Tale of two Temples, Foot note 9. by Oxford University Press US. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-19-530921-8. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
15. Bhandarkar p.206
16. Bhandarkar pp. 206–207
17. "Delhi's air pollution behind corrosion of Ashoka Pillar?".
18. "Kotla's Ashoka pillar, over 2,000 years old, suffers heavy damage".
19. Keay, John (2001). India: A History. The Arm of the Guptas. Grove Press. p. 136. ISBN 0-8021-3797-0.
20. Flood p. 248
21. Peck p. 82
22. Sharma pp.136–137
23. Peck p. 91
24. Sharma p.131
25. Peck p.85
26. Horton, Patrick; Richard Plunkett; Hugh Finlay (2002). Delhi. Feroz Shah Kotla. Lonely Planet. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-86450-297-8. Retrieved 22 July2009.
27. Flood pp.249–250
28. Bhandarkar pp. 207–209
References
• Bhandarkar, R. G; D.R. Bhandarkar (2000). Asoka. Social and Religious life. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-1333-3.
• Flood, Finbarr B. (2009). Objects of Translation. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12594-7.
• Peck, Lucy (2005). Delhi -A thousand years of Building. Rock edicts & Ashokan Pillars. New Delhi: Roli Books Pvt Ltd. ISBN 81-7436-354-8.
• Sharma, Y.D. (2001). Delhi and its Neighbourhood. Rock edicts and Ashokan pillars. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2009.