This work is a study of the Buddhist cave inscriptions of western India, dating from approximately 100 B.C. to 250 A.D. They have been chosen as the basis for this study primarily because they are the major historical sources for two important political powers, the Satavahanas and the Western Ksatrapas. Furthermore, the inscriptions contain data relating to the society and culture of western India for the period of Satavahana rule, as well as to the history of Buddhism during that time.
The dissertation addresses three basic questions. The first of these concerns three points of historical fact and chronology of the Satavahanas and Western Ksatrapas. What were the major historical events of the period, the time frame in which these events occurred, and the length of the Satavahana Dynasty?
A second and corollary question is the effect of historical events on Buddhism and the Buddhist monasteries of western India. In particular, what role did dynastic conflict play in the building and development of the Buddhist cave temples?
The relationship between language politics, and religion is the third question brought out by the evidence of the inscriptions. Numismatic sources indicate a relationship between language and the political persona of the central ruling power. How does this relationship fit in with the relationship between politics and religion?
The approach taken throughout this study has been to make it more comprehensive than previous ones and it is this broader context which has shed new light on various inscriptions and provided the material for a new historical concept of the period under investigation. A threefold method has been undertaken toward this end: a comparative analysis of inscriptions, a reevaluation of evidence, particularly the literary, that has been drawn upon in earlier works, and the use of evidence based upon inscriptional context and numismatics. It is the interrelation of these sets of data that has revealed new information about the politics, religion, language and culture of western India.
