Deur Kothar

Deorkothar (Devanāgarī: also Deur Kothar) is a location of archaeological importance in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. It is known for its Buddhist stupas and was discovered in 1982.These stupas are credited to the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka.

The discovery and excavations
P.K. Mishra (Archaeological Survey of India) discovered Deorkothar in 1982 along with Ajit Singh, sarpanch of village Barhat. It was declared a monument of national importance in 1988 by the Govt of India and is being preserved and conserved by Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal.

Realising the importance of the site, and its likely international bearing on Buddhism, the Archaeological Survey of India decided to carry out extensive, but controlled, excavations at the site. The excavations were started at the site in 1999 and continued up to 2000. The site is marked by four stupa mounds built out of brick out of which two stupas No. 1 and 2 were subjected to archaeological excavations. Stupa no. 1 is about 9 m high. There are remnants of 30 stupas made of stones or bricks. In the surrounding area there are 63 rock shelters with old rock paintings. Some rocks have inscriptions in Brahmi language.

Deorkothar inscription
The six line Brahmi inscription on the Deorkothar pillar is considered to be the earliest evidence of the historic Buddha. It is given below, transliterated into Devanagari script. भ ग व तो बु ध उ त र मि त्रो उ त र मि त्र स अ भ ड्‍ भ ड्‍ स आ ते वा सि ना दि नु उ पा स क स आ ते वा सि स व ज य स व ध म द वे न के क डी के न ब स ति ये उ स पि तो भं भो आ आ च रि ये न क सि

The inscription mentions Buddha on the first line. The gist of the inscription, pertains to the erection and dedication of stone pillar by an unnamed Upasaka and his disciples in memory of the Buddha, the enlightened one. The inscription speaks about an Acharya, named Dharamdev, and his three disciples – Uttarmitra, Bhadra and Upasaka, who used to reside in the monastery. They installed this pillar, dedicating it to the Buddha.