गुप्त अभिलेख संग्रह (जे. एफ. फ्लीट - गुप्त सम्राटों एवं परवर्ती नरेशों के ऐतिहासिक पाषाण व ताम्रलेख)

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 7, PLATE IV B. 37
On the front of the stone, towards the top, traces are visible of eleven lines of writing,
each of about thirteen letters, in characters of the same period with those of the inscriptions
that I now publish. But no part of this inscription, which seems to have been quite distinct
from those on the sides, can be read; and the traces of it that remain are not worth
being lithographed.
The inscription of Chandragupta II. now published, is on the upper part of the present
proper left side of the stone, and the writing covers a space of about 4″ broad by 1′ 4½″
high. It was originally brought to notice, in 1873, by General Cunningham, who published
his reading of the text of lines 10 to 17 in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 55, with a
lithograph of the whole (id. Pl. xx. No. 1). The first two entire lines, and the last half of
each of the remaining lines, have been broken away and lost. The remnant of the inscription,
however, is fairly well preserved and easy to read.—The average size of the letters is ⅝″.
The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets, and are of the same type with
those of the Allâhâbâd posthumous pillar inscription of Samudragupta, No. 1, p. 1 ff. above,
Plate i. They include, in lines 7, 11, and 16, forms of the numerical symbols for 8, 10,
and 80.—The language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is in prose throughout.—In
respect of orthography, the only point requiring notice is the doubling of y and v after the
anusvâra, in saṁyyukta, line 9, and saṁvvatsarê, line 11.
In the first part of the inscription, lines 1 to 9, the date and the name of the king are
entirely broken away and lost. So also the name in the second part. But, in the latter
part, lines 10 to 17, we have the date, in numerical symbols, of the year eighty-eight (A.D.
407-8). And this, coupled with the epithet paramabhâgavata in line 10, followed by the
beginning of the title Mahârâjâdhirâja, shews that the inscription, in this part, certainly
belongs to the time of the Early Gupta king Chandragupta II. And the first part is
so plainly engraved by the same hand,—and is, moreover, not separated by any dividing
line,—that it must certainly be allotted to the same reign. So little remains of the two
parts of this inscription, that the form of religion to which they belong cannot be deter-
mined; nor can the object of them; except that each part records a gift of ten dînâras,
apparently as a contribution to the perpetual maintenance of a sattra, or charitable hall or
almshouse.
In line 12 we have a mention of the city of Pâtaliputra, the modern Paṭna in Bihâr;
but there is nothing to indicate, of necessity, that it is mentioned as a capital of Chandra-
gupta II.
TEXT.¹
First Part.
1 [Paramabhâgavata²-mahârâjâdhirâja-śrî-Chandragupta-râjya]-
2 [saṁvvatsarê]³ .................................................... [asyâṁ]
3 divasa-pûrvvâyâṁ⁴ ....................................................
¹ From the original stone.
² This first line is entirely broken away and lost; but, from the date in line 11, there can be no
doubt that the name and titles of Chandragupta II. have to be filled in here, as also in line 10.—In
the second line, remnants are visible of the first four or five aksharas, including one or two numerical
symbols; but not enough of them remains to shew with any certainty what the latter are.
³ To be corrected into râjyê saṁvvatsarê; see page 38 below, note 5.
⁴ Supply tithau.