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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 27, PLATE XVII. 121

No. 27; PLATE XVII.

KHOH COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF THE MAHARAJA JAYANATHA.

THE YEAR 177.

Tʜɪs inscription,—which was first brought to notice by General Cunningham, in 1879,
in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. p. 13, No. 4, where he published a partial trans-
lation of it, with a lithograph of the passage containing the date (id. Pl. iv. No. 6),—
is from another set of copper-plates that appear to have been found somewhere in the
valley near the village of Khôh,¹ in the Nâgaudh State in the Bâghêlkhaṇḍ division of
Central India. I obtained the original plates, for examination, from the possession of the
Râjâ of Nâgaudh, through the kindness of Major D. W. K. Barr.
The plates, which are inscribed on one side only, are two in number, the first mea-
suring about 9⅜" by 6⅝", and the second 9⅛" by 6⅝". They are quite smooth, the edges
having been neither fashioned thicker, nor raised into rims; the inscription, however, is
in a state of very good preservation throughout. The plates are fairly thick; but the
letters here and there shew through faintly on the backs of them. The engraving is good,
but shews, as usual, marks of the working of the engraver's tool throughout.—In the
upper part of each plate, there is a hole for a ring to connect them. But the ring and
seal are not forthcoming.—The weight of the two plates is 3 lbs. 11 oz.—The average
size of the letters is about ¼". The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets,
and are of the same type with those of the preceding inscription of the same Mahârâja of
the year 174, No. 26 above, Plate xvi. In râjânas, line 12, the vowel â is attached, in a
very unusual way, to the top stroke of the j; instead of to the centre of it, as in rôjâ (for
râja), line 13; this occurs occasionally in other inscriptions also; and it is difficult to say
whether it is an authorized variety of practice, or only a mistake on the part of the
engraver. The letter r, in combination with a following consonant, is formed uniformly
above the top line of writing. The characters include the rather rare jh, in ajjhita,
line 5.—The language is Sanskrit; and the entire inscription is in prose, except for the
benedictive and imprecatory verses in lines 16 to 20. From a linguistic point of view, we
have to notice (1) the use of the Prâkṛit word phuṭṭa, in line 10; and (2) in pratishṭhâ-
pitaka, line 9, and utpadyamânaka, line 12, the affix ka, which I have commented on at
page 69 above.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice (1) the doubling of
k and t, in conjunction with a following r, e.g. in kkramêṇa, puttra, and prapauttra
line 9; and (2) the use of v for b, in vali, line 10.
The inscription is one of the Mahârâja Jayanâtha; and the charter recorded in it
is issued from the city or hill called Uchchakalpa. The date of the writing of the
charter is given, in words, as the year one hundred and seventy-seven (A.D. 496-97), and
the twenty-second day, without any specification of the fortnight, of the month Chaitra
(March-April). It is a Vaishṇava inscription. And the object of it is to record the
grant, by the Mahârâja Jayanâtha, to some Brâhmaṇs, of the village of Dhava-
shaṇḍikâ, for the purposes of a temple of the god Vishṇu, under the name of Bhagavat
or the Divine One, established by them there.

¹ See page 93 above, and note 3.
R