Aihole inscription refers to Kali Yuga and not Mahabharata war date

The Aihole inscription, found in a Jain temple in Karnataka, praises Chālukya king Pulakeśin II and provides key evidence for Kali Yuga's date. However, a single reference to Bhārata has sparked controversy, with two interpretations: it refers to either Kali Yuga's start or the Mahābhārata war's start.

Two researchers used the Aihole inscription to date the Mahābhārata: one (Chandru Ramesh) linked Kali Yuga's date to the war, placing it at 3101 BCE (Kali Yuga's actual start), and another (Vedveer Arya) interpreted it as the war's date, placing it at 3162 BCE. Both are incorrect. This article clarifies the inscription's meaning through word-by-word analysis and allied inputs.

Two verses of this inscription, numbered 33 and 34 give the date of the Jain temple built by Ravikīrti. The importance of the verse is that it gives the time in both Kali years and the Śaka years. The date related part of the inscription as given in Indian Antiquary is shown in Fig.1.^[i]

Fig.1. Date of the Aihole inscription

The underlined word in Fig.1, “Bhāratādāhāvāditah”, is disputed. What does this mean? From the time of Mahābhārata war?  Or from some other event of the Bhārata?

This verse was analysed by Kota Venkatāchelam who suggested a correction of “shateshu” in verse 33 to “gateshu”. But he assumed that the verse refers to Mahābhārata time and deducted 37 years (not mentioned in the verse) to arrive at the Mahābhārata date as 3138 BCE which has been picked out by a few researchers.^[ii] There is no basis for the 37-year gap between Kali Yuga and the war, when the Mahābhārata has stated clearly about a gap of 35 years. Kali Yuga started on the 36^th year after the war.

Let us now examine the verse to know the time period given and keep the disputed “Bhāratādāhāvāditah” at the end of the decipherment.

Verse 33:

Trimśatsu = 30

trisahasreṣu = 3000

Bhāratāt dāha avādita = (to be translated at the end)

Sapta abda śatayukteṣu = 700

Gateṣu = gone

abdeṣu pancasu = 5 years

Verse 34:

Pancāśatsu = 50

Kalaukāle = in Kali’s Time (7th case)

ṣadsu = 6

pancaśatāsu = 500

Samāsu = putting together, aggregation, conjunction, combination, connection, union, totality. (Stem:  samāsa: masculine vocative singular)

samatitāsu = samatIta = gone or passed by

Śakānām = of the Śaka (6^th case)

Api – unto, on

bhubhujām = king (accusative)

Meaning:

Trimśatsu (30) trisahasreṣu (3000) Sapta abda śatayukteṣu (700) abdeṣu pancasu (5)

Gateṣu Kalaukāle (having gone in Kali Kaala) = 3735 years gone in Kali Kāla

Pancāśatsu (50) ṣadsu (6) pancaśatāsu (500) Samāsu samatitāsu Śakānāmapi = 556 years having gone in the Śaka era.

Kali years = 3735

Śaka years = 556

Kali years – Śaka years = 3735 – 556 = 3179

3179 are the elapsed years before the beginning of Śālivāhana Śaka! So, the Śaka mentioned in the inscription is Śālivāhana Śaka.

Deducting 78 CE when this Śaka began = 3179 – 78 = 3101 BCE = Kali Yuga begin date.

Thus, this inscription makes a clear statement on the elapsed Kali years and the elapsed years in Śālivāhana Śaka. The Kali age mentioned as “Bhāratādāhāvāditah” doesn’t refer to the end of the Mahābhārata war. Then what does it mean?

Let us split the word.

Bhāratāt = singular, masculine, 5^th case = from Bhārata, a reference to Yudhiṣṭhira, the foremost among the Bhārata-s.

Dāha = √dah, burning, combustion, internal heat. (Also means ‘place of cremation’. There is something called, “Dāha-bali” mentioned in Garuda Purāna, which is pinda offered to the deceased at the time of cremation. Dāha is associated with cremation agni.)

Fig 2: Sanskrit Dictionary meaning

Bhāratāt Dāha reminds us of the final fire deposited within the body of Yudhiṣṭhira at the Prājāpatyaṃ Yajna when he gave up everything. It doesn’t mean war.

The last word is vādita.

vādita = spoken or declared

The meaning is complete.

Bhāratāt Dah (√dah) vādita = from (the time) Bhārata declared that they consumed (reposited) the fire (within by Prājāpatyaṃ yajna).

This is a clear indication of the abdication of the throne by Yudhiṣṭhira that took place at the beginning of Kali Yuga.

How the Bhārata-s consumed Agni

Srimad Bhagavatam says that Yudhiṣṭhira conducted “prājāpatyāṁ” by which he placed Agni within himself![iii]

prājāpatyāṁ nirūpyeṣṭim

agnīn apibad īśvaraḥ

prājāpatyām — Prājāpatya sacrifice;

nirūpya — having performed;

iṣṭim — goal;

agnīn — fire;

apibat — placed in himself;

īśvaraḥ — capable.

Meaning: Yudhiṣṭhira performed a Prājāpatyam yajna and placed in himself the fire for quitting household life.

His brothers, on seeing Kali’s Adharma everywhere followed his footsteps by doing the same yajna.[iv]

Thus, all the Pandava-s (Bhārata-s) had done the Prājāpatyaṃ yajna to quit the householder dharma and become Sadhus.

A unique feature of Prājāpatyaṃ yajna as given in Yajur Veda and extoled by many luminaries such as sage Yajnavalkya and Bodhayana is that after relinquishing all the belongings, the doer of this yajna gives up his Agni too, but places it within himself.

As long as one is a householder, the sacrificial fire must be kept burning throughout life. Even when the Pāṇḍavas went to the forest, they took their Agni with them for daily Agnihotra. During their year of incognito living, their Agni was sent to Drupada's kingdom for maintenance. This Agni remains with oneself until death, when one's mortal remains are consumed by it.

For one who had relinquished his householder Dharma and embraced Sanyasa Dharma by doing the Prājāpatyaṃ yajna, the Agni that is going to consume his mortal remains would be placed within oneself! It is like self- cremating and doing one’s last rites by oneself. All the Pandava brothers had done this by Prājāpatyaṃ Yajna as soon as Kali Yuga started.

This information is contained in Aihole inscription!

The Aihole inscription stands as a solid proof for linking the abdication with the beginning of Kali Yuga.

It must be noted that the Bhārata war year isn't stated in any inscription. Kali Yuga year is the anchor for Time, not the Mahābhārata war date. Researchers should correct this misinterpretation. Readers should learn the correct interpretations and facts about Kali Yuga's date.

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[i] Indian Antiquary, Vol 5, p.70

[ii] Pandit Kota Venkatachelam, “The Age of the Mahabharata War” pp.55-56

[iii] Srimad Bhagavatam: 1-15 -39

[iv] Srimad Bhagavatam: 1-15-45