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

80 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
bank of the river Śiwanâ,¹ is the chief town of the Mandasôr District of Scindia's Domi-
nions in the Western Mâlwa division of Central India. The inscription is on a stone
slab, apparently rather good and dark sand-stone, built into the wall on the right hand
half-way down a small flight of steps leading to the river in front of a mediæval temple of
the god Śiva, under the name of Mahâdêva, at the Mahâdêva-Ghâṭ, which is on the south
bank of the river, just opposite the Fort, and, I think, in the limits of the hamlet of
Chandrapurâ.
The writing covers, except for a margin of about half an inch, the whole front of the
stone, about 2' 7½" broad by 1' 4½" high. It has been a good deal worn away about the
centre of the stone; and also the stone is chipped at several places round the edges; but
only a few letters here and there are really illegible, and these can in each case be easily
supplied.—The average size of the letters is about ⅛". The characters belong to the
southern class of alphabets; but they include two letters borrowed from the northern
alphabets; viz. the separate form of the lingual ḍ, as distinct from the dental d, e.g. in
taḍit, line 6, and chûḍâ, line 17; and also the rare lingual ḍh, e.g. in dṛiḍha, lines 9 and 11.
They give a very good specimen of what may be called the Western Mâlwa alphabet of
the fifth century A.D.—The language is Sanskrit; and, with the exception of the
opening siddham and the concluding words in line 24, the entire inscription is in
verse.—In respect of orthography we have to notice (1) the occasional use of the
jihvâmûlîya and upadhmânîya; e.g. in jagatak=kshaya, line 1; gaṇaik=kham, line 8,
pravisṛitaiḥ=pushṇâti, line 2; and abhitâmraḥ=pâyât, line 3; but not, for instance, in
avabhugnaiḥ kvachit, line 5; paraḥ kṛipaṇê, line 14; rajaḥ-piñjaritaiḥ, line 5; and
pratimânitâḥ pramuditâ, line 9; (2) the occasional doubling of t, dh, and bh, in con-
junction with a following r; e.g. in chittrêṇa, line 12; rôddhra, line 18; and abbhra, line 6;
(3) the same of th and dh, with a following y; e.g. in patthya, line 9; and svâddhyâya,
line 8; and (4) the same of dh, with a following v; e.g. in addhvâdi, line 3.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of a king named Kumâragupta, who, from
the description of him in line 13 as sovereign of the whole earth, can be no other than the
well-known Kumâragupta of the Early Gupta dynasty. Under him, the governor at
Daśapura was Bandhuvarman, the son of Viśvavarman. The inscription belongs
throughout to the solar form of worship. It narrates, in the first place, how a number of
silk-weavers immigrated from the Lâṭa vishaya, or central and southern Gujarât, into
the city of Daśapura; and how some of the band took up other occupations, while those
who adhered to their original pursuit constituted themselves into a separate and flourish-
ing guild. And it then proceeds to record that, while Bandhuvarman was governing at
Daśapura, the guild of silk-weavers built at that city a temple of the Sun, which was
completed when, in words, four hundred and ninety-three years had elapsed, “by (the
reckoning from) the tribal constitution of the Mâlavas,”² and therefore when the four
hundred and ninety-fourth year (A.D. 437-38) was current, on the thirteenth day of the
bright fortnight of the month Sahasya (December-January). Afterwards, under other
kings, part of this temple fell into disrepair. And then it was restored by the same guild,
when, in words, five hundred and twenty-nine years had elapsed, and therefore when
the five hundred and thirtieth year (A.D. 473-74) was current, on the second lunar day
of the bright fortnight of the month Tapasya (February-March). This second date is, of
¹ The ‘Sau, and Seu,’ of maps. ² See the Preface.