for students of BA VI Sem BHU

1. BA VI Sem
Mehrauli pillar inscription
By
Prachi Virag Sontakke

2. Introduction
• Enigmatic: An object of considerable interest.
• Subject of Historical, Palaeographical, Scientific &
Technological studies.
• The amazing technology by which a metallic object
weighing nearly seven tons could be fabricated over
fifteen centuries ago.
• Phenomenal corrosion resistance displayed.
• Dhwajstambh for Vishnu.
• Many inscriptions.
• Most important : Inscription of Chandra

3. Location
• Current location: Mehrauli
• Smith: Visnupada-Giri referred
to as the location for the Pillar in
the inscription could well have
been in Mathura.
• Inscription: Its erection by
Anang Pal I in the temple of Rai
Pithora.
• When the temple was converted
to a mosque by Qutb-ud-din
Iback (around 1190 CE.), the
Pillar was permitted to stand
where it was.

4. Discovery & Decipherment
Year Scholar Contribution
1828 Captain Archer Reported on the Delhi Pillar, describing the inscription on it as 'of
unknown antiquity' and which 'nobody can read
1831: Lieutenant
William Elliot
Made a fascimile of this inscription at the request of Dr. Mill of
Bishop's College.
1834 Princep Published fascimile of this inscription
1838 Captain T. S.
Burt
Made a reliable ink impression of the inscription and passed it on
to Mr. James Prinsep
1838 Princep Published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal a
lithograph of the inscription.
1871 Bhau Daji Presented an edited reading and translation
1871 J.Fleet Edited it again.

6. Dating
Style of
execution
Language
Content
Palaeography

7. Dating
• Smith + Stephen: The style of the Pillar and the form of the characters of the inscription,
considered together permit no doubt that the monument was erected in the Gupta period.
• Prinsep: 3rd or 4th century CE.
• Daji: A period later than the time of the Guptas
• Fleet: The characters of the inscription closely resemble those on the Allahabad Pillar. The well-
marked top lines of the letters on the Iron Pillar, which were once supposed to mark a later date,
are also found in Kumara Gupta's Bilsad inscription.
• Joshi: Place this inscription, on palaeographic grounds with those of Samudragupta and
Chandragupta II.
• Pillar is considered by most scholars to belong to the early Gupta period i.e., later 4th or early 5th
century CE.

8. Physical details
• Total length from the top of the capital
to the bottom of the base: 23 feet 8
inches.
• 22 feet are above ground and only 1 foot
8 inches are below ground.
• The bell capital: 3.5 feet high
• Weight: estimated to exceed six tons.
• Lower diameter of the shaft:16.4 inches.
• Upper diameter: 12.05 inches.

9. Metallurgical enigma
• Stephen: 1876. "a solid shaft of wrought iron
• Wanglen: The material of the Pillar was wrought iron and had never been molten.
• Robert Hadfield: 1912. Chemical analysis of trace elements.
• 1945: Laboratories of the Chief Metallurgical Inspector, Government of India,
Jamshedpur
• 1961: Archaeological Survey of India
• 1963: National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur.
• Tata Iron and Steel Works two Laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR)

11. Technique of manufacturing
• Wanglen: The material of the Pillar was wrought iron and had never been
molten.
• The iron ore was perhaps weathered magnetite, obtained by surface quarrying,
and was bedded intermittently with charcoal in a small charcoal-fired furnace
with a foot-driven hide-bellow.
• The hot lumps of iron sponge thus obtained were hammer-forged in order to
squeeze out most of the slag.
• Judging from the weld-lines visible on the surface, the Delhi Pillar seems to
have been built up from a great many lumps, weighing 20-30 kg, successfully
forge-welded together under firing with a charcoal blast.
• The surface of the Pillar still retains marks of hammer blows.
• B.B.Lal : The massive Pillar was not cast, but fabricated by forging and hammer-
welding lumps or balls of hot pasty iron in a step-by-step process.

12. Corrosion resistance of the pillar
• Astonishing corrosion resistance of the main, exposed,
cylindrical part of the massive Iron Pillar
• But the bulbous base + grooved capital of the pillar: been
subjected to corrosion.
• This fact has often not been highlighted in accounts and articles
devoted to the iron Pillar
• 1961: Pillar was dug out for chemical treatment, preservation &
reinstallation on the eve of the Centenary Celebrations of ASI
• B.B. Lal: "An examination of the buried part of the Pillar and the
hollow capital surmounting it has amply demonstrated that the
iron of the Pillar is vulnerable to rusting like any other specimen
of wrought iron".

13. The Rustless Wonder
• Technique of manufacture: Forge welded from many sponge iron lumps
of different composition. so the chemical analysis and consequently
microstructure as well as mechanical properties are variable from layer to
layer of the pillar.
• Phosphorus in ferrite: exerts a beneficial influence through oxidation to
phosphate which as an inhibitor promotes the formation of protective,
impervious oxide films on the pillar surface.
• Low sulphur and magnanese contents: expected to make some
contribution to the increase in corrosion resistance of the Delhi Pillar
• Protective film coating of corrosion products.

14. Inscriptions
• Brief inscription by Anangpal II about the erection of the Pillar
has the date 1109 `Samvat' i.e. 1052
• Most significant and earliest = Six-line Sanskrit inscription in
archaic Gupta Brahmi script on its upper portion.
• Deciphered and translated by Prinsep in 1838.
• Many aspects shrouded in mystery and dogged by controversy.
• Inscription is not dated.
• Refers to the conquests of a powerful king named 'Chandra’
• The dynastic particulars of Chandra are not recorded in the
inscription.
• No unanimity amongst scholars about the exact identity and
precise historical context in terms of his period or specific data.

17. Inscribed textual content
The inscription supplies us the following facts about the eulogized monarch.
i) He defeated his enemies in the Vanga.
ii) He crossed 'the seven mouths of the river Indus' i.e., the Indus delta, and conquered the
Vahlikas.
iii) The breezes of his prowess were still "perfuming" the regions of the Southern Ocean.
iv) He established sole and supreme sovereignty on the earth by "the force of his own arm“.
v) He ruled for a long time.
vi) He was a devout Vaishnava and put up this pillar as a "Dhvaja-Stambha" (Flag Staff) for Lord
Vishnu.
vii) His fame lingered on the earth even after his death.

18. Identification of Chandra
• O.Stein: Not possible to identify Chandra.
• James Princep: Chandra = Some king of 3rd/4th cent CE.
• Bhau Daji: Chandra = Post Gupta king.
• Ferguson: Chandra = either Samudragupta or Chandragupta II.
• J.Fleet + R.G.Basak: Chandra = younger brother of Mihirkula.
• R.C.Majumdar: Chandra = Kusana king Kanishka.
• H.C.Raichaudhary: Chandra = Naga king.
• H.P.Shashtri + R.D.Benerjee: Chandra = S/O king Simhavarman
• V.P.Sinha + H.Seth: Chandra = Chandragupta Maurya.

19. Chandra as a Gupta king
• Chandra = Chandragupta II: A.F.R.Hoernle + Smith + R.K.Mookherji +
D.C.Sircar + A.S.Altekar etc.
• Chandra = Samudragupta: Sri Ram Goyal + Shankar Goyal: Chandra =
Samudragupta

20. Identification of Chandra
• S.R.Goyal: King Chandra = Chandraprakasa, which is another
name of the Gupta emperor Samudragupta.
• Kavyalankarasut ravrtti (circa 800 CE): Refers to Vasubandhu,
the famous Buddhist scholar, who was the minister of
"Chandraprakasa, the son of Chandragputa.
• Shankar Goyal: The military feats, as noted in the inscription,
are quite distinctive & they fit only Samudragupta.
• The choice of Iron & not the traditional stone for the Pillar
strongly suggests a tough soldier & warrior.

21. Posthumous character of the inscription
• Fleet: It is a "posthumous eulogy“.
• Verse 2 of the inscription: King has gone to the
other world in bodily form and secondly, the
king remains in this world in the form of his
fame.
• D.Sharma + D.R.Bhandarkar: Not posthumous.

22. Samudragupta vs. Chandragupta II
Epigraphical reading Samudragupta Chandragupta II
Chandra was Vaishnava Yes Yes
Ruled for a long period 20-25 years 38 years
Established his kingdom by might of his
arms
Appointed by his father as
Yuvraja.
Had to kill his brother to claim
throne
Southern seas perfumed by his prowess Dakshinapath campaign Matrimonial alliance with
Kadambas
Defeated his enemies in the Vanga Pratyant rajyas defeated by
him.
Had to reconquer after his
accession?
Crossed 'the seven mouths of the river
Indus’ & conquered Vahlikas.
Shahnushahi ? Minature Brahmi inscriptions
from Gilgit: Shri Chandra, Shri
Vikramaditya

23. Palaeography
• Writing is in excellent condition.
• Owing to the nature of smooth iron, on which it is engraved.
• The six lines of the inscription cover a space of about 2 feet 9.5 inches
broad by 10.5 inches high.
• The bottom line is about 7 feet 2 inches above the stone platform round
the lower part of the column.
• The size of the letters varies from 0.3 to 0.5 inch.
• The engraving is on the whole very good.
• The metal has closed up over some of the strokes.
• This has led to a rather imperfect appearance of a few letters in the
lithograph.

24. Palaeographical observations
• Fleet: The characters on this inscription belong
to the northern class of alphabets (allowing for
the stiffness resulting from engraving on so
hard a substance)
• In many respects closely similar to script of
Allahabad pillar inscription on Samudragupta.
• The marked `matras' or horizontal top strokes of
the letters, which seems to correspond to the
Bilsad pillar inscription of Kumaragupta (415-
416 CE).
• A.H.Dani: script belonging to early 5th cent CE.

25. Conclusion
• Need not be looked upon as a mystery or an enigma.
• Stands out as a metallurgical marvel of its age.
• Mode of Fabrication: Hammer forging and welding ball of hot pasty
iron in many steps.
• Reasons for Rustlessness: Unusual chemical composition, protective
oxide film, favorable Delhi climate
• Date of the Inscription: 380-385CE.
• Erected by: Samudragupta/Chandragupta II
• Future research: Pillar’s original location & its whereabouts for some
six centuries before its installation at Mehrauli; tools used for
shaping the Pillar's magnificent capital, as also for engraving the
inscription on the Pillar.