Lest we forget, the Archaeologist we had

Tavishi Sheal

Lest we forget, the Archaeologist we had

The man who deciphered the Rudradaman I inscription of Girnar and proceeded to be Royal Asiatic Society’s favourite. His curious mind was always in quest of a labyrinth which even the British stalwarts like Princep, Cunningham and H. Newton found challenging to solve.

The first Indian archaeologist and Orientalist scholar Bhagwanlal Indraji; Image Source: Rare Books Society of India

When history leads you down the lanes of rich Indian past, remember the name Bhagwan lal Indraji! Indian historical archives and museums today stand highly indebted to the contributions made by him who vanished in thin air with hardly any traces of recognition for some of the richest scholarly transcripts and archaeological evidences discovered by him.

The transcripts of Hathigumpha, Sopara-Asokan inscription and Girnar’s Rudradaman inscription were all the result of Bhagwan lal Indraji’s hardships to decipher them. Having a knack for Brahmi, Pali, Kharoshti and Sanskrit language and scripts he was instinctively drawn to the relics of Indian past, which equipped the archaeological research in India with some of his major findings like the Mathura Lion capital, Nanaghat relief, Mathura Vishnu image, drum miniature stupas depicting Budhha’s life, Mankuwar Budhha, Besnagar coping stones depicting Bodhi Tree and many more.

Being the first Indian to ever receive an honorary doctorate from a foreign University, (Leiden University) for his dedication to India’s ancient past, his thirst for historical research kept pacing higher every passing year as an orientalist scholar.

Bhagwanlal is also referred to as one of the earliest archaeologists of Indian origin. He co-authored the descriptive books like, Inscriptions from Cave Temples of Western India with James Burgess, who’s work on Ajanta and Rock cut temples of Badami in the Deccan was also majorly assisted by him.

A fellow of Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and honorary member of Royal Asiatic Society, 1877 he had been a valuable fellow of University of Bombay and amongst the few Honorary Fellows of the Royal Institute of Philology, Geography and Ethnology of Netherlands Hague in 1883.

The Royal Asiatic Society, The British Museum and Bombay Native General Library boast some of the precious notes, research materials, coins and manuscripts of Bhagwanlal Idraji. His role in archiving and preserving history though is not anonymous, but still stands shrouded with hardly any recognition he deserves. The trove of India’s ancient past and Archaeological Survey of India could never have received the amount of love and recognition worldwide without him!

Born in Junagadh to a Prashnora Nagar Brahmin, he was kitted with Sanskrit language since childhood. After coming in contact with Colonel Lang who was in-charge of Kathiawar, Bhagwanlal realised his potential in unearthing the secrets of past through his adept deciphering skills. His interest and skills were such that he even pointed the inaccuracies in Princep’s copy of transcript.

The successful initiation for Rudradaman I and Skandgupta’s inscription led to his introduction to artefact enthusiasts like Bhau ji, a famous antiquarian based in Bombay and President of the Royal Asiatic Society’s Bombay branch, H. Newton. He was then commissioned for various archaeological expeditions to the places like Karli, Nashik, Pitalkhora and Nanaghat where he stumbled upon the precious reliefs of the Satavahana ruler Satkarni, Queen Nayanika and other princes of the dynasty.

His works on the Jain manuscripts in Jaisalmer, examination of architecture and inscriptions in ancient shrines of Varanasi, Nagarjuni caves in Bihar, Mathura and Delhi filled the void in history of various regions. The Gandhara style, life size statue of Kambojika, Bactrian and Scythian coins adorned the museums with extraordinary artistic ancient artefacts.

Not just Indian borders, his occupation required him to cross borders and travel the outskirts of Nepal, Indo-Tibetan border, Baluchistan and territories of Yusafzai. A pioneer of Ashokan studies, his excavation report on Sopara and Bairat contributed to the Report Volumes of Archaeological Survey of Western India, making him the first Indian to do so!