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

182 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
of respect (for him), (behaved) as if he were (the god Indra) the elder (brother) of Upêndra;¹
who, though (his) footstool was covered over with the lustre of the jewels on the heads of a
hundred kings subdued by (his) wealth of power, had a disposition that was not embued
with the sentiment of haughtiness (induced) by contempt for other people; by (whose)
enemies, even though renowned for manliness and pride, no remedy, except the perform-
ance of obeisance alone, could be successfully employed; the collection of whose pure
virtues effected the happiness of the whole world; who forcibly destroyed all the specious
procedure of (this wicked) Kali age; whose very noble heart was not tainted by any of
the faults that assert an ascendancy over inferior people; who was renowned for manli-
ness; who excelled in knowledge of the sacred writings; (and) who manifested (his)
attainment of being accounted the first among heroes, by being spontaneously chosen
(as her lord and husband) by the goddess of the fortunes of the assembled hostile
kings.
(L. 19.)—His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the most devout worshipper of
(the god) Mahêśvara, the illustrious Dharasêna (III.),—who, by mastering all the
sciences, produced an excess of joy in the minds of all learned people; who, with (his)
goodness and wealth and liberality, and with (his) heroism, broke the chariot-axles that
were the thoughts of (his) enemies who, occupied in intense reflection (upon his might),
lost the power of acting in concert (against him); who, though thoroughly well conver-
sant with the devious divisions o. the many sacred writings and the arts and sciences and
the proceedings of mankind, still had a nature that was of the most gracious kind; who,
though possessed of innate affability, was (still further) decorated with the grace of
modesty; who destroyed the display of pride of (his) opponents by the staff of (his) arm
that was uplifted in the act of capturing banners of victory in a hundred battles; (and)
whose commands were hailed with joy by the whole array of kings whose pride, induced
by (their) skill in the use of weapons, was subdued by the power of his own bow.
(L. 22.)—His younger brother, who meditated on his feet, (was) the most devout
worshipper of (the god) Mahêśvara, the illustrious **Dhruvasêna (II.),**² whose famous
second name of Bâlâditya was established as one of appropriate meaning, through the
(whole) world being pervaded by the affection of mankind that was produced by (his)
rising,³—who surpassed all previous kings in excellent achievements; who was the accom-
plisher of objects, even such as were hard to be attained ;⁴ who was, as it were, the very
personification of manhood; who, as if he were Manu, was spontaneously resorted to by
(his) subjects, the action of whose thoughts excelled in affection for (his) great good
qualities; who mastered all the arts and sciences ; who, in beauty, put to shame the
moon, which (lustrous as it is, still) is marked with spots; who pervaded with (his) great
brilliance all the intermediate spaces between the points of the compass; who destroyed
¹ Upêndra, the younger brother of Indra, is Vishṇu. The allusion seems to be to the contest
between Vishṇu (in his incarnation as Kṛishṇa) and Indra concerning the tree of Indra's paradise, in
which Vishṇu was victorious and had homage done to him by Indra (see the Vishṇu-Purâṇa, book V.
chap. xxx.; Hall's edition of Wilson's Translation, Vol. V. p. 97 ff.)—On this analogy, it would seem
that the two brothers, Śîlâditya I. and Kharagraha I., had some dispute about the leadership of their
family ; and that eventually Śîlâditya I. conceded the question to his younger brother.
² See page 175 above, note 15.
³ The play on words is on the meaning of bâl-âditya, 'the young sun, the rising sun.
⁴ Or "who was the conqueror of territories, even such as were hard to be subdued."