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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 35, PLATE XXII. 157
pleasure sung of by poets, in Sanskrit and Prâkṛit construction of the arrangement of
sentences, as being well versed in speech.
(L. 15.)—And after him there came that (well-known) Abhayadatta, maintaining a
high position on the earth, (and) collecting (in order to dispel it) the fear of (his) sub-
jects (?);—by whose eye of intellect, which served him like the eyes of a spy, no trifle,
however remote, remained undetected, (even) at night;—(Abhayadatta), of fruitful actions,
who like (Bṛihaspati) the preceptor of the gods, to the advantage of those who belonged
to the (four recognised) castes, with the functions of a Râjasthânîya¹ protected the region,
containing many countries presided over by his own upright counsellors, which lies
between the Vindhya (mountains), from the slopes of the summits of which there flows
the pale mass of the waters of (the river) Rêvâ, and the mountain Pâriyâtra, on which
the trees are bent down in (their) frolicsome leaps by the long-tailed monkeys, (and
stretches) up to the (western) Ocean.
(L. 17.)—Now he, Dharmadôsha, the son of Dôshakumbha,—by whom this kingdom
has been made, as if (it were still) in the Kṛita-age, free from any intermixture
of all the castes, (and peaceable through) having hostilities allayed, (and) undisturbed by
care,—in accordance with justice proudly supports the burden (of government) that had
(previously) been borne by him;²— (Dharmadôsha), who,—not being too eager about his
own comfort, (and) bearing, for the sake of his lord, in the difficult path (of administra-
tion), the burden (of government), very heavily weighted and not shared by another,—
wears royal apparel only as mark of distinction (and not for his own pleasure), just as a
bull³ carries a wrinkled pendulous dew-lap.
(L. 19.)—His younger brother, Daksha,—invested with the decoration of the pro-
tection of friends, as if he were (his) broad-shouldered (right) arm (decorated) with choice
jewels; (and) bearing the name of "the faultless one," which causes great joy to the ear
and heart,—caused to be excavated this great well. This great (and) skilful work
was achieved here by him, who is of great intellect, for the sake of his paternal uncle, the
beloved Abhayadatta, who was cut off (before his time) by the mighty (god) Kṛitânta,
just as if he were a tree, the shade of which is pleasant to resort to (and) which yields
fruits that are salutary and sweet through ripeness, (wantonly) destroyed by a lordly
elephant.

¹ Râjasthânîya, lit. 'one who belongs to a Râjasthâna or king's abode;' or perhaps 'one who
occupies the position of a Râja,' is a technical official title, the exact grade of which remains to be
determined. The explanation of the word in Kshêmêndra's Lôkaprakâśa, iv., as given by Dr. Bühler
(Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 207) is prajâ-pâlan-ârtham=udvahati rakshayati cha sa râjasthânîyaḥ, "he who
carries out the object of protecting subjects, and shelters them, is called a Râjasthânîya, i.e. 'a
viceroy.'" But, though 'viceroy' is a fair enough rendering of the word on etymological grounds, it
seems to be in reality too exalted a title to be a suitable equivalent. In line 21 of the Mâliyâ grant of
the Mahârâja Dharasêna II. of the year 252, No. 38 below, Plate xxiv., and in line 9 of the Dêô-
Baranârk inscription of Jîvitagupta II., No. 46 below, Plate xxix B. (where Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji
proposed to render it by 'political agent, or regent'), the Râjasthânîya is mentioned rather low down
in the list of officials; so also in line 33 of the Bhagalpur grant of Nârâyaṇapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol.
XV. p. 306), and in the passage in connection with which it was explained by Dr. Bühler.
² i.e. Abhayadatta.—Dôshakumbha, the father of Dharmadôsha, must be the younger brother of
Abhayadatta, and the third and youngest of the sons of Ravikîrtti and Bhânuguptâ.
³ bâhudhya; this meaning is not given in Monier Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary; and I owe it,
and the explanation of one or two other passages in this inscription, to Pandit Durga Prasad,
of Jaypur.