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

84 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
śâśvatan=tâvad=astu ॥ Śrêṇy¹-âdêśêna bhaktyâ cha kâritaṁ
bhavanaṁ ravêḥ । pûrvvâ ch=êyaṁ² prayatnêna rachitâ
Vatsabhaṭṭinâ ॥
24 Svasti kartṛi-lêkhaka-vâchaka-śrôtṛibhyaḥ ॥ Siddhir=astu ॥
TRANSLATION.
Perfection has been attained ! May that Sun protect you,—who is worshipped by the
hosts of the gods for the sake of existence, and by the Siddhas³ who wish for super-
natural powers, (and) by ascetics, entirely given over to abstract meditation (and) having
worldly attractions well under control, who wish for the final liberation of the soul, and,
with devotion, by saints, practising strict penances, (who wish to become) able to coun-
teract curses ; (and) who is the cause of the destruction and the commencing (again) of
the universe ! Reverence to that Sun,—whom (even) the Brâhmaṇical sages, though they
knew the knowledge of the truth (and) exerted themselves, failed to comprehend ; and
who nourishes the whole of the three worlds with (his) rays diffused in all directions ; who,
when he is risen, is praised by Gandharvas,⁴ gods, Siddhas, Kinnaras,⁵ and Naras ;⁶
and who grants (their) desires to those who worship (him) ! May that Sun, decorated
with glorious beams, protect you,—who shines, day after day, with the mass of (his) rays
flowing down over the wide and lofty summit of the lordly mountain of dawn, (and) who
is of a dark-red colour like the cheeks of intoxicated women !
(Line 3)—From the district of Lâṭa, which is pleasing with choice trees that are
bowed down by the weight of (their) flowers, and with temples and assembly-halls of the
gods, and with vihâras, (and) the mountains of which are covered over with vegetation, to
(this) city of Daśapura there came, full of respect,—first, in thought ; and afterwards
(in person) in a band, together with (their) children and kinsmen,—men who were
renowned in the world for (skill in their) craft (of silk-weaving), and who, being mani-
festly attracted by the virtues of the kings of the country, gave no thought to the
continuous discomforts produced by the journey and its accompaniments. And in course
(of time) this (city) became the forehead-decoration of the earth, which is adorned with
a thousand mountains whose rocks are besprinkled with the drops of rut that trickle down
from the sides of the temples of rutting elephants, (and) which has for (its) decorative
ear-ornaments the trees weighed down with flowers. Here⁷ the lakes, crowded with
kâraṇḍava-ducks, are beautiful,—having the waters close to (their) shores made variegated
with the many flowers that fall down from the trees growing on the banks, (and) being
adorned with full-blown waterlilies. The lakes are beautiful (in some places) with the
¹ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh).
² Supply praśastiḥ.—See page 87 below, note 10.
³ Siddhas ; semi-divine beings, supposed to be of great purity and holiness, and said to be
specially characterised by the possession of the eight supernatural faculties. Their habitation is in
the sky, or in the middle region between the earth and the sky.
⁴ Gandharvas ; the celestial musicians.
⁵ Kinnaras ; mythical beings, with a human figure and the head of a horse, reckoned among the
Gandharvas, and celebrated as musicians.
⁶ Naras ; mythical beings, allied to the Gandharvas and Kinnaras.
⁷ The original has, as far as line 8, the relative construction, which I have changed, for con-
venience of translation, into the absolute.