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

186 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
with a rampart; whose umbrella was constituted by the canopy of (his) fame, white as the
clusters of foam of the ocean of milk when it was stirred about by the shaking of the churn-
ing-stick, which hung out from a mighty staff that was his own arm, (and) which enve-
loped the whole circumference of the earth; who was a most devout worshipper of (the
god) Mahêśvara; (and) who meditated on the feet of the Paramabhaṭṭâraka, Mahâ-
râjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara, (his) glorious father.'
¹ bappa.—This word has already occurred in line 50 above, where, however, it is a mistake for
bâva, 'uncle.'—The word bâva, qualified by the paramount titles, in the epithet paramabhaṭṭâraka-
mahârâjâdhirâja-paramêśvara-śrî-bâva-pâd-ânudhyâta, actually occurs (1) only in respect of the Para-
mabhaṭṭâraka, Mahârâjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara Śîlâditya III., a most devout worshipper of the god
Mahêśvara (Śiva), in line 46 of the grant of his son Śîlâditya IV. of the year 372 (Ind. Ant. Vol. V.
p. 212; and Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. III. p. 99), and in lines 45 and 46 respectively of the two
grants of Śîlâditya V. of the year 403 (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XI. p. 343). No other instance
of the use of bâva is known to me.—The word bappa is of far more frequent use. In the Valabhî
grants it occurs, qualified by the same paramount titles, in paramabhaṭṭâraka-mahârâjâdhirâja-
paramêśvara-śrî-bappa-pâd-ânudhyâta, an epithet that is applied (2) here and in lines 54-55, 57-58,
and 63 below, and in other grants as far as they go, to Śîlâditya IV. V. VI. and VII., each of whom came
in direct succession after his father, and each of whom had the paramount titles of Paramabhaṭṭâraka,
Mahârâjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara, and was also a most devout worshipper of the god Mahêśvara.
Among the inscriptions of other families, the same expression, bappa-pâd-ânudhyâta, without any
qualifying titles of bappa, is used as an epithet (3) of the Bhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâja Śivadêva I. of
Nêpâl (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 98, line 1-2); (4) of the Mahâsâmanta Aṁśuvarman of Nêpâl, who was
also favoured by the feet of the god Paśupati, i.e. Śiva (id. Vol. IX. p. 169, No. 6, line 2, and p. 170,
No. 7, line 4-5); (5) of Jishṇugupta of Nêpâl, who again was also favoured by the feet of the god
Paśupati (id. Vol. IX. p. 171, No. 9, line 4, and p. 173, No. 10, line 6-7); and (6) of the Paramabhaṭ-
ṭâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja Śivadêva II. of Nêpâl, who again was also favoured by the feet of the
god Paśupati, and was a most devout worshipper of the god Mahêśvara (id. Vol. IX. p. 174, No. 12,
line 2, and p. 176, No. 13, line 2).—The same expression bappa-pâd-ânudhyâta, with the feudatory
titles of Mahârâja and Bhaṭṭâraka qualifying bappa, occurs in paramadaivata-bappa-bhaṭṭâraka-
mahârâja-śrî-pâd-ânudhyâta, an epithet (7) of the Bhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâja Vasantasêna of Nêpâl
(id. Vol. IX. p. 167, No. 3, line 1-2).—And finally, a compound of almost identical import, viz. bappa-
pâda-bhakta, “devoted to the feet of bappa,” occurs, with the title Bhaṭṭâraka qualifying bappa, in
the epithet bappa-bhaṭṭâraka-pâda-bhakta, which is applied (8) to the Pallava Mahârâja Siṁhavar-
man II., who was a most devout worshipper of Bhagavat, i.e. the Divine One, or Vishṇu (id. Vol. V.
p. 155, line 13); (9) to the Veṅgi Mahârâja Vijayanandivarman, also a most devout worshipper of
Bhagavat (id. Vol. V. p. 176, line 1); and (10) to the Pallava Mahârâja Nandivarman, again a most
devout worshipper of Bhagavat (id. Vol. VIII. p. 168, line 14-15); and, with the further qualifying
title of Mahârâja, in the epithet bappa-bhaṭṭâraka-mahârâja-pâda-bhakta, which is applied (11) to
the Pallava Yuvamahârâja Vishṇugôpavarman, again a most devout worshipper of Bhagavat (id. Vol.
V. p. 51, line 14).—In publishing the two grants of Śîlâditya V. of the year 403, Mr. V. N. Mandlik
(Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XI. p. 355, note) treated the words bappa and bâva, quite un-
necessarily, as identical, and considered that they denoted “some great teacher of the Śaiva faith, or
some remarkable great king of that name; but more probably the former, from the adjectives used;”
or, again, some “sage, venerated equally in all parts of Hindustân.” So, also, Dr. Bhagwanlal
Indraji (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p. 167, note 17) has recorded his opinion that bappa is “a general title
used by chief priests.” And I myself (id. Vol. X. p. 57 f., note 4), have suggested that the name is
that of “some king or pontiff of very early times, whose authority was recognised universally in his
own day, and was afterwards preserved in the tradition of several distinct regal families.”—These
suggested explanations, however, cannot be upheld.—In the first place, the epithet in which bappa
occurs belongs undoubtedly to persons of the Śaiva faith in instances 1 to 6 above. But Nos. 8 to 11
shew that it was applicable just as much to followers of the Vaishṇava faith.—In the second place, as
pointed out by Dr. Bühler (id. Vol. V. p. 208 f.) the feudatory title Mahârâja which qualifies bappa
in Nos. 7 and 11 above, and, still more, the paramount sovereign titles of Paramabhaṭṭâraka, Mahâ-
râjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara, which qualify it in the instances grouped under No. 2, shew that the
word must refer to some one of noble or regal birth, and cannot denote a priest, no matter how high