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

64 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
also six more, at night, on the sixth day of (the month) Praushṭhapada. And these
(other rivers) which take their source from (the mountain) Raivataka,¹ (and also) this
Palâśinî, beautiful with (its) sandy stretches,—(all of them) the mistresses of the ocean,—
having dwelt so long in captivity, went again, in due accordance with the scriptures, to
their lord (the sea). (And) having noticed the great bewilderment, caused by the excess
of rain, (the mountain) Ûrjayat, desirous of appropriating the wives of the mighty ocean,
stretched forth as it were a hand, consisting of the river (Palâśinî), decorated with the
numerous flowers that grew on the edges of (its) banks.
(L. 17.)—[Then on all sides] the people fell into despair, discussing how they should
act; and, spending the whole night awake in vain, in great anxiety they reflected,—“Here
in a moment, (the lake) Sudarśana has (by the overflowing of its waters) assumed an
unpleasing appearance² towards all the people, (as if it were) a man (?); having
the appearance of the ocean, quite full of water, can it ever (again) become pleasing of
aspect, ................?”
(L. 18.)— ............he³ having become ............ and displaying the height
of devotion towards his father, (and) holding in full view, for the welfare of the king and
of the city also, religion, which has such auspicious results,—in a century of years, in-
creased by thirty and seven others also, .............. attentive to the sacred
writings ................. whose majesty is well known. Then, having sacrificed to
the gods with oblations of clarified butter and with obeisances; and having gratified the
twice-born with (presents of) riches; and having paid respect to the citizens with such
honours as they deserved, and to such of (his) servants as were worthy of notice, and to
(his) friends with presents,—in the first fortnight of the month ...... belonging to
the hot season,⁴ on the first day, he, having practised (all the above) respectful
observances for two months, made an immeasurable expenditure of wealth, and, [built
an embankment] a hundred cubits in all in length, and sixty and eight in breadth, and
seven (?) men's height in elevation, .......... of two hundred cubits. (Thus), having
done honour to the kings, he laboriously built up, with a great masonry work, properly
constructed, the lake Sudarśana, which is renowned as not being evil by nature, so that
it should last for all eternity,—agitated by the defiances of the ruddy-geese which display
(their) beauty along the edges of the firmly-built embankment, and by the settling down
(in its waters) of the herons and the swans ................ pure waters; on the
earth .............. the sun and the moon.
(L. 23.)—And may the city become prosperous; full of inhabitants; cleansed from
sin by prayers sung by many hundreds of Brâhmaṇs; [and free from] drought and famine
for a hundred years .............................. [Thus] ends the composition
of the description of the restoration of (the lake) Sudarśana.
Second Part.
(L. 24.)— ............ of him (Skandagupta), who destroyed the pride of (his)
haughty enemies; who is of great glory; who is the banner of his lineage; who is the lord

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¹ Raivataka is the hill opposite to Ûrjayat or Girnâr.
² There is a play on the words su-darśana ‘having a good appearance,’ and dur-darśana
‘having a bad appearance.’
³ i.e. Chakrapâlita.
⁴ Grîshma, the hot season, consists of the two months Jyeshṭha (May-June) and Âshâḍha (June-
July). The name of one or the other of them is now illegible in this line.