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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 1, PLATE I. 11
Samudragupta,¹—
(L. 1.)—[Who] . . . . . by his own kinsmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;—whose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;—
(L. 3.)—[Who] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
twanging (of the bow-string) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . burst open and
scattered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dishevelled . . . . . . . . . . ;—
(L. 5.)—Whose happy mind was accustomed to associate with learned people;—
who was the supporter of the real truth of the scriptures; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . firmly fixed
. . . . . . . . ; —who, having overwhelmed, with the (force of the) commands of the col-
lective merits of (his) learned men, those things which obstruct the beauty of excellent
poetry, (still) enjoys, in the world of the wise, the sovereignty of the fame (produced) by
much poetry, . . . . . . and of clear meaning;—
(L. 7.)—Who, being looked at (with envy) by the faces, melancholy (through the
rejection of themselves), of others of equal birth, while the attendants of the court breathed
forth deep sighs (of happiness), was bidden by (his) father,—who, exclaiming “Verily
(he is) worthy,” embraced (him) with the hairs of (his) body standing erect (through plea-
sure) (and thus) indicati on (his) sentiments, and scanned (him) with an eye turning

Ijjâdêvyâm, in the Dêô-Baranark inscription of Jîvitagupta II., No. 46 below, Plate xxixB., lines 2 f.
and 5 f.; and, on the other hand, paramabhaṭṭâraka-mahârâjâdhirâja-paramêśvara-śrîmat-
Suvarṇavarshadêva-prithvîvallabha-śrîmad-Vallabhanarêndradêvaḥ, used in respect of the Râsh-
ṭrakûṭa king Gôvinda V in his Sânglî grant (Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 251, l. 39 f.); and numerous
other instances.—It has been suggested that only śrî, nct śrîmat, is used in the case of paramount
sovereigns. But this is not the case. In addition to the passage noted above in connection with
Gôvinda V., we have paramêśvara-śrîmad-Avantivarmand, in the Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription, l. 15;
śrîmad-Âdityavarma-prithvîvallabha-mahârâjâdhirâja-paramêśvaraḥ, applied to the Western
Chalukya king Âdityavarman in his Karṇûl grant (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XVI. p. 234, l. 12 f.);
paramabhaṭṭâraka-mahârâjâdhirâja-paramêśvara-śrîmad-Dhârâvarshadêva, applied to the Râsh-
ṭrakûṭa king Dhruva, in the Waṇî grant of Gôvinda III. (Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. p. 159, l. 33 f.);
śrîmad-Amôghavarsha-Nṛipatuṅga, used of king Amôghavarsha I. of the same dynasty, in his Śirûr
inscription (id. Vol. XII. p. 219, l. 16); śrîmad-Vikramâditya-śrîmat-Tribhuvanamalladêva, used of
the Western Châlukya king Vikramâditya V., in his Kauthêm grant (id. Vol. XVI. p. 24, l. 73); and
many other examples of the same usage.
¹ As regards the termination gupta, the Vishṇu-Purâṇa, Book iii. Chap. 10, verse 9, says—
“(The termination) śarman is prescribed for a Brâhmaṇ; varman belongs to a Kshatriya; (and) a
name characterised by gupta or dâsa is approved of in the case of (respectively) a Vaiśya and a Śûdra.”
The commentary in the Bombay edition gives, as examples, Sômaśarman, Indravarman, Chandragupta,
and Śivadâsa. (See also F. E. Hall’s edition of H. H. Wilson’s Translation, Vol. III. p. 99 f.) — So
also in the Mânavadharmaśâstra, ii. 31 (Burnell’s Translation, p. 20), a rule of the same tendency
is laid down, though without specifying any particular terminations.—On this authority, it has been
suggested that the Early Guptas were not of high rank, being at the best of the Vaiśya caste; and that
this is the reason why they felt such pride in their alliance with the Lichchhavis, as shewn by the
record of the name of Kumâradêvî and of her family on some of the gold coins of Chandragupta I.,
and by the epithet, “daughter’s son of Lichchhavi (or of a Lichchhavi king),” that is always applied
to Samudragupta in the genealogical passages.—No doubt some such rules as those prescribed by
the Vishṇu-Purâṇa and Mânavadharmaśâstra, were followed more or less in early times. But, as
instances of deviation from them, we have the name of the well-known astronomer Brahmagupta, who
it can hardly be doubted was a Brâhmaṇ; and Dâsavarman occurs, as the name of a Brâhmaṇ, in line
36 of the Nerûr grant of Vijayâditya, dated Śaka-Saṁvat 627 (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p. 131; Indian
Inscriptions, No. 20); and doubtless numerous similar instances might be found, if proper indexes
were available.
C 2.

14 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III
(L. 22.)—Whose imperious commands were fully gratified, by giving all (kinds of)
taxes and obeying (his) orders and coming to perform obeisance, by the frontier-
kings¹ of Samataṭa, Ḍavâka, Kâmarûpa, Nêpâla, Kartṛipura, and other (countries),
and by the Mâlavas, Ârjunâyanas, Yaudhêyas, Mâdrakas, Âbhîras, Prârjunas,
Sanakânîkas,² Kâkas, Kharaparikas, and other (tribes);—
(L. 23.)—Whose tranquil fame, pervading the whole world, was generated by
establishing (again) many royal families, fallen and deprived of sovereignty;—whose
binding together of the (whole) world, by means of the amplitude of the vigour of (his)
arm, was effected by the acts of respectful service, such as offering themselves as
sacrifices, bringing presents of maidens, (giving) Garuḍa-tokens,³ (surrendering) the
enjoyment of their own territories, soliciting (his) commands, &c., (rendered) by the
Daivaputras, Shâhis, Shâhânushâhis, Śakas, and Muruṇḍas, and by the people
of Siṁhala and all (other) dwellers in islands;—who had no antagonist (of equal power)
in the world;⁴—who, by the overflow of the multitude of (his) various virtues adorned
by a hundred good actions, rubbed out the fame of other kings with the soles of (his)
feet;—who, being incomprehensible, was the spirit that was the cause of the production
of good and the destruction of evil;—who, being full of compassion, had a tender heart
that could be won over simply by devotion and obeisance;—who was the giver of many
hundreds of thousands of cows;—
(L. 26.)—Whose mind busied itself with the support and the initiation, &c., of the
miserable, the poor, the helpless, and the afflicted;—who was the glorified personification
of kindness to mankind;—who was equal to (the gods) Dhanada and Varuṇa and Indra
and Antaka;⁵—whose officers were always employed in restoring the wealth of the
various kings who had been conquered by the strength of his arms;—
(L. 27.)—Who put to shame (Kaśyapa) the preceptor of (Indra) the lord of the
gods, and Tumburu and Nârada, and others, by (his) sharp and polished intellect and
¹ pratyanta-nṛipati.—This may denote either the kings within the frontiers of Samataṭa and the
following countries, i.e. the ‘neighbouring kings’ of those countries, or the kings or chieftains just
outside the frontiers of them. Upon the interpretation that is accepted, will depend the question
whether Samudragupta’s empire included those countries, or whether it only extended up to, and was
bounded by, their frontiers.
² See page 8 above, note 1.
³ garutmad-aṅka.—Whether the bird be Garuḍa or not, we have here, I consider, a distinct
allusion to the ‘bird-standard’ on some of the coins of Samudragupta and his successors; see, for
instance, the coins given by Mr. V. A. Smith in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. LIII. Part I. Plate ii.
Nos. 3, 4, 5, 14, Plate iii. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, Plate iv. Nos. 4, 5, 7; see also id. p. 131 f., and Ind.
Ant. Vol. XIV. pp. 93, 179. — garutmat is explained in dictionaries as meaning ‘a bird in general,’
as well as denoting ‘the bird Garuḍa.’ But its most usual and special signification is ‘Garuḍa;’ as,
for instance, in line 7 of the Râjim grant of the Râja Tîvaradêva, No. 81 below, Plate xlv.
⁴ Three of the habitual expressions of the Early Gupta records, applied always and only to
Samudragupta,—viz. the present one; "who was equal to (the gods) Dhanada and Varuṇa and Indra
and Antaka," which we have here in line 26; and "whose fame was tasted by the waters of the four
oceans," which occurs, for instance, in line 1 of the Bhitarî pillar inscription of Skandagupta, No. 13
below, Plate vii.,—are applied, curiously enough, to the Châlukya chieftain Vijayarâja of Gujarât, in
line 5 f. of his Kaira grant of the year 394 (Ind. Ant. Vol. VII. p. 248). The only difference is that,
in the second epithet, the reading there is sama-prabhâva, instead of simply sama.—Of the present
epithet, the latter part, apratiratha, was used on some of Samudragupta's coins; e.g. Jour. Beng.
As. Soc. Vol. LIII. Part I. Pl. ii. No. 6.
⁵ See the preceding note.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 1. PLATE I. 15
choral skill and musical accomplishments;¹—who established (his) title of ‘king of
poets’ by various poetical compositions that were fit to be the means of subsistence of
learned people;²—whose many wonderful and noble deeds are worthy to be praised for a
very long time;—
(L. 28.)—Who was a mortal only in celebrating the rites of the observances of
mankind, (but was otherwise) a god, dwelling on the earth;—who was the son of the
son’s son³ of the Mahārāja,⁴ the illustrious Gupta;⁵—who was the son’s son of the
¹ Nārada is regarded as the inventor of the vīṇā or lute; and, with this reference to him and to
the musical accomplishments of Samudragupta, we have to compare the coins of the ‘lyrist type’ (see,
for instance, Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. LIII. Part I. Pl. ii. Nos. 7, 8), which represent Samudragupta
playing the lute.
² Compare lines 6 and 16 of this inscription.—The title kavirāja, ‘king of poets,’ answering
somewhat to our ‘poet laureate,’ is still in use in Native States.
³ The English terms ‘grandson’ and ‘great-grandson’ are applicable to female as well as male
descent, and are therefore not suitable for use in translations from the Saṁskṛit. The Hindus were
almost always most careful about using properly discriminating terms, e.g. pautra for a grandson
through a son, and dauhitra for a grandson through a daughter; the status of the two lines of descent
differed even more than in European countries; and, in translating, it is necessary to preserve the
distinction accurately.—I will quote an instance in proof. In translating line 12 f. of No. 15 of his
Nêpâl inscriptions, Dr. Bhâgwanlal Indraji (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p. 181) spoke of “Vatsadêvî . . . .
“the daughter of illustrious Bhôgavarman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and the grand-daughter of great
“Âdityasêna, the illustrious lord of Magadha.” From this, Gen. Cunningham (Archæol. Surv.
Ind. Vol. XV. p. 163) naturally enough treated Bhôgavarman, who belonged really to the Maukhari
family, as a son, instead of a son-in-law, of Âdityasêna. This mistake could not have occurred, if
dauhitrī had been properly rendered by ‘daughter’s daughter,’ instead of vaguely ‘grand-daughter.’—
The words that are fairly translatable by ‘grandson’ and ‘great-grandson’ are naptri and
pranaptri. They both occur in the grants of the Mahārājas Hastin and Saṁkshôbha, Nos. 21 to 23
and 25 below; and naptri occurs in line 5 of the Bhumarā pillar inscription, No. 24 below, Pl. xvA.
But the use of them is rare.
⁴ Mahārāja, lit. ‘great king,’ appears to have been, in somewhat earlier times, one of the titles
of paramount sovereignty. Thus, it is used, by itself, by Kanishka, Huvishka, and Vâsudêva, who,
there is every reason to believe, were paramount sovereigns, in their inscriptions of the years 9, 39,
and 83 (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 31, Pl. xiii. No. 4; p. 32, Pl. xiv. No. 9; and p. 34, Pl. xv.
No. 16); and, in conjunction with the higher title of Rājātirāja, ‘superior king of kings,’ by the same
three kings in their inscriptions of the years 11, 47, and 87 (Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 326; Archæol.
Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 33, Pl. xiv. No. 12, and p. 35, Pl. xv. No. 18). So also, in conjunction some-
times with the same word and sometimes with Râjarâja, ‘king of kings,’ the two together represent-
ing the Greek basileus basileon, it was used, in Prâkṛit, on the bilingual coins of earlier date; e.g.
in conjunction with Rājātirāja, on the coins of Hemokadphises (Gardner and Poole’s Catalogue of
Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India, p. 124 ff.), and, in conjunction with
Rājarāja, on the coins of Azes (id. p. 73 ff.) And, before then, it was used by itself, to represent the
Greek basileus, at a time when apparently the fuller title of basileus basileon had not been introduced;
e.g. on the coins of Hermaeus (id. p. 62 ff.)—But, in the Early Gupta and subsequent periods,
Mahārāja was habitually used simply as a technical official title, indicative no doubt of considerable
rank and power, but applied only to feudatories, not to paramount sovereigns.—From the way in
which the two titles are applied uniformly to Samudrasêna and his ancestors in the Nirmand grant,
No. 80 below, Plate xliv., the title Mahāsāmanta, lit. ‘great chief of a district,’ appears to have been
exactly co-ordinate with that of Mahārāja.—A third title, Mahāsēnāpati, lit. ‘great lord of the army,’
seems to have denoted equal rank with these two; since it is coupled with Mahārāja in the frag-
mentary Bijayagadh inscription of the Yaudhêyas, No. 58 below, Plate xxxviB., and also in the Walā
clay seal of Pushyêṇa (Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 274 f.)—And three other offices, viz. those of
Mahāpratīhāra, Mahādaṇḍanāyaka, and Mahākārtākṛitika, would seem to have been sometimes held
by Mahārājas and Mahāsāmantas; since we find all five titles applied to Dhruvasêna I. of Valabhî.
in line 13 f. of the Walā grant of Gupta-Saṁvat 216 (Ind. Ant. Vol. IV. p. 105).
⁵ As regards this name, see page 8 above, note 3.

16 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
Mahârâja, the illustrious Ghaṭôtkacha;—who was the son of the Mahârâjâdhirâja,
the glorious Chandragupta (I.), (and) the daughter's son of Lichchhavi,¹ begotten
on the Mahâdêvî² Kumâradêvî;—
(L. 30.)—(And) whose fame,—ever heaped up higher and higher by the development
of (his) liberality and prowess of arm and composure and (study of) the precepts of the
scriptures,—travelling by many paths, purifies the three worlds, as if it were the pale
yellow water of (the river) Gaṅgâ, flowing quickly on being liberated from confinement in
the thickets of the matted hair of (the god) Paśupati.³
(L. 31.)—And this poetical composition,—(the work) of the Khâdyaṭapâkika,⁴ the
son of the Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka⁵ Dhruvabhûti, the Sâṁdhivigrahika⁶ and Kumârâmâtya,⁷
the Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka Harishêṇa, who is the slave of these same feet of the
¹ Or "of a Lichchhavi (king)."—The present is the more usual form of the name. But the
variant Lichchbivi, with the vowel i instead of a in the second syllable, occurs in line 3 of the
Bhitarî pillar inscription of Skandagupta, No. 13 below, Plate vii.; in line 5 of the spurious
Gayâ grant of Samudragupta, No. 60 below, Plate xxxvii.; and in the Mânavadharmaśâstra, x. 22
(Burnell's Translation, p. 308), where a Lichchbivi, with others, is defined as the offspring of a
degraded member of the Kshatriya caste.
² Mahâdêvî, lit. 'great goddess,' appears to have been always a technical title of the wives of
paramount sovereigns; though, in somewhat later times than that of the present inscription, it was
also sometimes applied to the wives of Mahârâjas, e.g. throughout the Kârîtalâl grant of Jayanâtha,
No. 26 below, Plate xvi.—As applied to the wives of paramount sovereigns, we have it again in the
present volume, in conjunction with Paramabhaṭṭârikâ and Râjñî, in the Mandâr Hill inscriptions of
Âdityasêna, Nos. 44 and 45 below, and throughout the Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription of Jîvitagupta II.,
No. 46 below, Plate xxixB. In other series it occurs, for instance, as part of the name of Lôkamahâdêvî,
the queen-consort of the Western Chalukya king Vikramâditya II., in some of his Paṭṭadakal inscrip-
tions (Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 164 ff.); and as the title of Gâmuṇḍabbe, the wife of the Râshṭrakûṭa king
Gôvinda III., in line 5 of the grant of Śaka-Saṁvat 726 (id. Vol. XI. p. 127).
³ When, under the circumstances referred to in the note on line 3 f. of the Mandasôr inscription
of Yaśôdharman and Vishṇuvardhana, No. 35 below, Plate xxii., the river Ganges was about to descend
from heaven to earth,—in order to break the force of its fall, the god Śiva (Paśupati) received it in the
matted hair coiled above his forehead and projecting like a horn; and its waters wandered there for a
thousand years, before they eventually reached the earth.
⁴ It is doubtful whether this is a tribal or family name, or an official title. The etymology of it is
not apparent.
⁵ Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka, lit. 'great leader of the forces,' is a technical military title.—The officer
who held this rank was the superior of the Daṇḍanâyakas, or 'leaders of the forces.' This latter title
occurs, for instance (together with that of Piriyadaṇḍanâyaka, which is the Old-Kanarese trans-
lation of the Sanskrit Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka), in line 17 ff. of the Baḷagâmve inscription of Saṅkamadêva
(Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 46.)—We constantly meet with Daṇḍanâtha, Daṇḍâdhinâtha, Daṇḍâdhipa,
Daṇḍâdhipati, Daṇḍêśa, and Daṇḍêśvara, as synonyms of Daṇḍanâyaka.—Prinsep translated
Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka in the present inscription by 'administrator of punishments (magistrate)' and
'criminal magistrate;' and this rendering has sometimes been adopted by other translators. As daṇḍa
means 'fine' and 'rod (of chastisement),' as well as 'army, forces,' the titles in which it occurs are
capable of being explained as either judicial or military. But, that they are employed in the inscrip-
tions as military titles, is shewn (1) by the way in which the words Chamûnâtha, Chamûpa, Chamûpati,
&c., in which chamû means only 'army,' are occasionally used as synonyms for Daṇḍanâyaka, &c.,
e.g. in line 33 ff. of the Kargudari inscription of Vikramâditya VI. and Tailapa II. (Ind. Ant.
Vol. X. p. 252), where the Daṇḍâdhinâtha and Daṇḍâdhipa Îśvarayya is also called Chamûpa; and
(2) by the definition of the Daṇḍanâyaka Kâvaṇayya as samasto-sên-âgrêsara, or 'leader of the whole
army,' in line 19 of the Baḷagâṁve inscription referred to above.
⁶ Sâṁdhivigrahika, lit. 'an officer for peace and war,' is a technical official or military title.
Other synonymous titles were Saṁdhivigrahâdhikṛita (e.g. Ind. Ant. Vol. VII. p. 70, line 17 f.);
Saṁdhivigrahâdhikaranâdhikrita (e.g. id. Vol. IV. p. 175, line 18); and Saṁdhivigrahin (e.g. id.
Vol. VIII. p. 20, where it is coupled with Mahâpradhâna and Daṇḍanâyaka).—The next grade above
this was that of the Mahâsâṁdhivigrahika, whose title occurs, for instance, in line 29 f. of the Khôh
grant of the Mahârâja Hastin of the year 163, No. 22 below, Plate xiii.
⁷ Kumârâmâtya, lit. 'counsellor of the prince,' is another technical official title.—The next
grade above it was that of the Mahâkumârâmâtya, who is mentioned, for instance, in line 33 of the
Bhâgalpur grant of Nârâyaṇapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 306.)

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 1, PLATE I. 17
Bhaṭṭâraka,¹ (and) whose mind is expanded by the favour of constantly walking about
in (his) presence,—let it be for the welfare and happiness of all existing beings!
(L. 33.)—And the accomplishment of the matter has been effected by the
Mahâdaṇḍanâyaka Tilabhaṭṭaka, who meditates on the feet² of the Parama-
bhaṭṭâraka.³
¹ It is somewhat doubtful whether this title here denotes Samudragupta, or his successor; but
on the whole, êshâm, 'these,' being used, not têshâm, 'those,' the passage seems to have a strictly
present sense, and to refer to Chandragupta II.; contrast tasya, 'of him, of that one,' which is used
to denote Samudragupta in line 17 above, but which I have had, for convenience, to render in the
translation by the relative pronoun.—Bhaṭṭâraka, lit. 'one who is entitled to reverence or homage,'
is another technical kingly title. In somewhat later times, it seems to have belonged properly
to feudatory Mahârâjas; thus, it is coupled with the name of the Mahârâja Śivadêva I. in
two of the Nêpâl inscriptions (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p. 168, No. 5, line 2, and Vol. XIV. p. 98,
line 2), and with the name of the Mahârâja Dhruvadêva in the same series (id. Vol. IX. p. 173.
No. 10, line 4, where the syllables mahâ, at the end of the line, are omitted in the published text).
So, also, we find the feminine form, Bhaṭṭârikâ, used as the termination of the names of wives of
Mahârâjas; e.g. in line 3 ff. of the Asîrgaḍh seal of Śarvavarman, No. 47 below, Plate xxxA., and in
line 4 of the Nirmand grant of the Mahârâja and Mahâsâmanta Samudrasêna, No. 80 below, Plate
xliv.—As applied to paramount sovereigns, the fuller and more usual title is Paramabhaṭṭâraka, as
in line 33 of this inscription (see also page 10 above, note 3). But other instances occur in
which the shorter title is used; e.g. in line 6 of No. 9 of the Nêpâl inscriptions (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX.
p. 172), Aṁśuvarman has the titles of Bhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja; in line 17 ff. of the
Wokkalêri grant of Kîrttivarman II. (id. Vol. VIII. p. 26 f.), the Western Chalukya kings
Vikramâditya I. and his successors, down to Kîrttivarman II., all have the titles of Mahârâjâdhirâja,
Paramêśvara, and Bhaṭṭâraka. And we have the same title in Old-Kanarese inscriptions, in the ab-
breviated, or perhaps original, forms of Bhaṭâra and Bhaṭṭâra; e.g. in line 2 f. of the Mahâkûṭa
inscription of the Western Chalukya king Vijayâditya (id. Vol. X. p. 103), in which he has the titles
of Mahârâjâdhirâja, Paramêśvara, and Bhaṭâra; and in line 2 of the Paṭṭadakal inscription of the
Râshṭrakûṭa king Dhruva (id. Vol. XI. p. 124), in which he has the titles of Mahârâjâdhirâja,
Paramêśvara, and Bhaṭṭâra.—In the sense of 'reverend,' bhaṭṭâraka was also a priestly title; e.g. it
is applied to the Jain priest Kumudachandra, in line 2 of the Nêsargi inscription (id. Vol. X. p. 189,
note 16).—And, in the sense of 'worthy of worship; sacred,' it was also applied to gods; e.g. to
Paśupati (Śiva), in line 1 of No. 6 of the Nêpâl inscriptions (id. Vol. IX. p. 169); to the Sun, in line 15
of the Khôh grant of the Mahârâja Śarvanâtha, No. 28 below, Plate xviii.; and to Varuṇavâsin (the
Sun), in line 13 of the Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription of Jîvitagupta II., No. 46 below, Plate xxixB.
² pâd-ânudhyâta.—This is a customary technical term, used of the relations between a para-
mount sovereign and his feudatory chieftains, officials, &c.; e.g. in the Udayagiri cave inscription
No. 3 below, Plate iiB., the Mahârâja, who makes the gift, is described as meditating on the feet of
Chandragupta II.—It is also applied to the relations between parents and their children; e.g. in line
18 of the Râjîm grant, No. 81 below, Plate xlv., the Râja Tîvaradêva is described as meditating on
the feet of his mother and father. It is also used in connection with kingly successions, whether the
natural relationship is that of fathers and sons, or of elder and younger brothers; e.g. throughout the
Kârîtalât grant of the Mahârâja Jayanâtha, No. 26 below, Plate xvi.; and in lines 0 and 8 of the grant
of the Mahârâja Vinâyakapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. pp. 140, 141), who is described as meditating on
the feet of his father, Mahêndrapâla, and of his elder brother, Bhôja II. And it is also used in respect
of the worship of gods; e.g. in line 3 of the grant of the Eastern Chalukya king Amma II. (Ind. Ant.
Vol. XIII. p. 249), the Chalukyas are described as meditating on the feet of the god Svâmi-Mahâ-
sêna.—In one solitary instance, line 33 f. of the Khârêpâṭaṇ grant of Śaka-Saṁvat 930 (Jour. Bo.
Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. I. p. 218), anudhyâta occurs without pâda preceding it, and the Śilâhâra chieftain
Raṭṭarâja is described as śrî-Satyâśrayadêv-ânudhyâta, "meditating on the glorious (king) Satyâśraya."
But the omission of pâda here is probably due only to carelessness on the part of the drafter of the
record.
³ i.e. Chandragupta II.—Paramabhaṭṭâraka, lit. 'one who is supremely entitled to reverence
or homage,' is one of the technical titles indicative of supreme sovereignty (see page 10 above, note 3).—
I have found one instance in which it is also used as a priestly title, in line 43 of an inscription of
Śaka-Saṁvat 1172 at Mamdâpur in the Belgaum District (Indian Inscriptions, No. 1), where it is
applied to a Śaiva priest named Vimalaśiva or Vimalaśambhu.—The feminine form, Parama-
bhaṭṭârikâ, was one of the titles of the wives of paramount sovereigns; e.g. in the Mandâr Hill
inscriptions of Âdityasêna, Nos. 44 and 45 below.
D.

18 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III
No. 2; PLATE IIA.
ERAN STONE INSCRIPTION OF SAMUDRAGUPTA.
THIS inscription, which has not been previously edited, was discovered in 1874-75 or
1876-77 by General Alexander Cunningham, R.E., C.S.I., C.I.E., then Director-General of
the Archæological Survey of India, and was first brought to notice by him in 1880, in the
Reports of the Archæological Survey of India, Vol. X. p. 89.
Êraṇ,¹ the ancient Airikiṇa,² is a village on the left bank of the Bînâ, eleven miles
to the west by north from Khurâî,³ the chief town of the Khurâî Tahsîl or Sub-Division of
the Sâgar⁴ District in the Central Provinces. The inscription is on a red-sandstone squared
block, that was found a short distance to the west of the well-known ruined temple of the
Boar,⁵ at which there is the inscription of Tôramâṇa, No. 36 below. The original stone is
now in the Imperial Museum at Calcutta.
The writing, which covers the entire front of the stone, about 9½″ broad by 3′ 1″
high, is in a state of fairly good preservation ; but it does not give a very clear lithograph,
in consequence of the whole surface of the stone being full of holes more or less large.
It is only a fragment ; six entire lines, as shewn by the numbering of the verses, have
been broken away and lost at the top of the stone, and an indefinite number at the bottom;
and also an entire pâda of each successive verse, has been broken away and lost
at the commencement of lines 25 ff. In addition to this, from one to three letters have
been destroyed at the commencement of each extant line, as far as line 24, by whetting
tools on the edge of the stone. As far as line 24, each line contains one pâda of a verse;
but the following lines contained originally two pâdas each ; this shews that the inscrip-
tion was of an irregular shape, with probably some sculptures on the proper right side of
the stone above the first halves of lines 24 ff.—The average size of the letters is about ½″.
As is indicated especially by the form of m, the characters belong to the southern class of
alphabets ; and I should be inclined to name them a variety, with southern characteristics,
of the Central India alphabet of the period. The particular type used in this inscription
is further represented in the present volume by the Udayagiri cave inscription of Chandra-
gupta II. of the year 82, No. 3 below, Plate iiB.; the Âraṅg plates of Mahâ-Jayarâja, No.
¹ The 'Airan, Ehrin, Eran, and Erun,' of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 52. Lat. 24° 5′ N.;
Long. 78° 15′ E.—The name is now written and pronounced both Eraṇ and Êraṇ ; but, as is shewn
by the ancient name, Airikiṇa, the first form, with the lingual ṇ, is the correct one.—The name is not
unique; for the maps shew another 'Eran' seven miles almost due west of Bhêlsâ, and another
thirteen miles to the north-east of Bhêlsâ.
² So far as the passage in line 25 of the present inscription goes, we might take this name as
either Airikiṇa or Êrikiṇa, in consequence of the euphonic absorption of the final a of vishaya. But
the real form of the name is shewn by line 7 of the Boar inscription of Tôramâṇa, No. 36 below,
Plate xxiiiA., where we have vishayê=sminn=Airikiṇê, without any saṁdhi or joining of vowels.—
The autonomous copper coins of the Aśôka period, found at Êraṇ, give us an earlier Pâli or
Prâkṛit form of the name, which is either Erakaña or Erakaṇa ; but the last syllable is not very dis-
tinct in the specimens available for examination (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XIV. p. 149, and Plate
xxxi. Nos. 17 and 18.)
³ The 'Khorye, Khurai, Korai, Kurai, and Kurâi,' of maps, &c.
⁴ The 'Ságar and Saugor' of maps, &c.
⁵ Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. Plates xxvA. and xxviA.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 2, PLATE II A. 19
40, Plate xxvi.; the Râypur plates of Mahâ-Sudêvarâja, No 41, Plate xxvii.; the Vâkâṭaka
inscriptions, Nos. 53 to 56, Plates xxxiii. xxxiv. and xxxv.; and the Râjim plates of Tîvara
dêva, No. 81, Plate xlv. The chief characteristic of it is the peculiar 'box-headed' tops
of the letters, formed by sinking four short strokes in the shape of a square and leaving a
block of stone or copper in the centre of them. We have a variation of this characteris-
tic, represented in this volume by the Majhgawâṁ plates of the Mahârâja Hastin of the
year 191, No. 23, Plate xiv., in which the tops of the letters, instead of being 'box-headed'
or square, are 'nail-headed' or triangular, with the apex of the triangle downwards.¹ And
the present inscription contains a mixture of both types; the 'nail-headed' tops can be seen
in, for instance, prithu-râghav-âdyâḥ, line 8, and samudraguptaḥ, line 10; and the 'box-
headed' tops in, for instance, bahu-putra-pautra, line 19, and samara-karmma parâkkram-
êddhaṁ, line 21. Owing to the nature of the substance worked on, in the case of inscrip-
tions on stone, except those on a large scale, these centre blocks would obviously be very
liable to injury; in the actual process of engraving, as well as from the wear and tear of
time. The result is that, though these two characteristics of this alphabet are usually
very well preserved and are very recognisable in the copper-plates, in the stone
inscriptions they are preserved, so as to be clearly recognised in this series of Plates, only
in the large-scale Nachnê-kî-talâî inscriptions of the Mahârâja Prithivishêṇa, Nos. 53
and 54, Plate xxxiiiA. and B. In the present inscription I cannot find a single instance
in which there is enough left of the triangular or the square centres of the tops of the
letters, to shew distinctly in the lithograph. It is, in fact, quite possible that, in inscrip-
tions of this scale on stone, the engraver was not very particular about leaving the centre-
blocks at all; an indifference about this is certainly observable even in the Chammak
plates of the Mahârâja Pravarasêna II., No. 55, Plate xxxiv., through nearly the whole
of which the tops of the letters were scooped out hollow, without any centre-blocks at all.
The characters include, in the numbering of the verses, forms of the numerical symbols
for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.—The language is Saṅskṛit; and the inscription is in verse through-
out.—In respect of orthography, the only points that call for notice are (1) the use of
the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before h, in paribriṅhaṇa, line 26; and (2)
the doubling of k and dh, in conjunction with a following r, in vikkrama, line 1, and
parâkkrama, lines 17 and 21; and in ddhrutam, line 12.
The inscription is one of the Early Gupta king Samudragupta, whose name
is recorded in line 10. From the occurrence of the word babhûva in line 9, the first part
of the inscription probably mentioned some of his ancestors. But, that the inscription did
not extend to the time of any of his successors, is shewn by the fact that none of their
names can be fitted into any of the places where letters are illegible in lines 11 to 24;
consequently, the prowess, &c., described in these lines are those of Samudragupta; and
this description is immediately followed by the mention of the erection, at the city of
Airikiṇa, i.e. Êraṇ, of something or other of which the stone was either a portion or the
separate record. The lacunæ here leave us without any clue as to what was erected, and
in connection with what form of religion. But, judging from its shape and appearance,
¹ Mr. C. Bendall has obtained two specimens of triangular-headed characters, one of them in
Nêpâl, in which, differing from the present forms, the apex of the triangle is placed uppermost; see
his Journey in Nêpâl, p. 54 f. He appears to have named them 'point-headed' or 'arrow-headed'
characters.—Quite recently, Mr. J. Robinson, C.E., of Gayâ, has sent me, for examination, another
very interesting specimen of a variety of the same characters in an inscription on the bottom plate
of a brass image of Buddha.
D 2.

20 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
the stone is part of a temple. And General Cunningham has suggested that, if it was
attached to any of the existing ruins, it belonged most probably to the temple with a
colossal figure of Vishṇu,¹ immediately on the north of the temple of the Boar. The date
of the inscription, if any was recorded, is broken away and lost.
TEXT.²
*(Lines 1 to 6, containing the whole of the first verse and the*
*first half of the second, are entirely broken away and lost.)*
7 [---³ ᴗᴗ ᴗ--] suvarṇṇa-dânê
8 [--]ritâ nṛipatayaḥ Pṛithu-Râghav-âdyâḥ [॥*] 2
9 [--] babhûva Dhanad-Ântaka-tushṭi-kôpa-tulyaḥ⁴
10 [ᴗ-ᴗ]ma-nayêna Samudraguptaḥ [। *]
11 [--]pya pârtthiva-gaṇaḥ=sakalaḥ pṛithivyâm
[L14

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
Vol. III
A.—Eran Inscription of Samudragupta.
Plate ii
B.—Udayagiri Cave Inscription of Chandragupta II.—The Year 82.
SCALE .33

Plate Headers and Inscriptions

A. Eran Stone Inscription of Samudragupta (Lines 7–26)

[Line 7] . . . . . . . . . . . . [य]स्य पौरुष-पराक्रम-दत्त-शुल्का
[Line 8] . . . . . . . . . . . . [ह]स्त्य्-अश्व-रत्न-धन-धान्य-समृद्धि-युक्ता
[Line 9] . . . . . . . . . . . . [गृ]हेषु मुदिता बहु-पुत्र-पौत्र-
[Line 10] . . . . . . . . . . . . [सं]क्रामिणी कुल-वधूर् विनिपातयन्ती ॥
[Line 11] . . . . . . . . . . . . [य]स्यापरार्ध्य-विभवे विभव-प्रभावे
[Line 12] . . . . . . . . . . . . [स]म्प्रीति-विस्मय-हर्ष-भरोद्भवैश्च
[Line 13] . . . . . . . . . . . . [सं]भावितः स नृपतिः पृथु-राघव-कल्पः
[Line 14] . . . . . . . . . . . . [स]मरे समुद्रगुप्तः ॥
[Line 15] . . . . . . . . . . . . [ता]तेन यः सुचरिताभिनिवेश-योग्यान्
[Line 16] . . . . . . . . . . . . [पु]त्रांश्च वीक्ष्य बहुशः कुल-धर्म-वृद्ध्या
[Line 17] . . . . . . . . . . . . [ब]भूव धनद-तुष्टि-कोप-तुल्यः
[Line 18] . . . . . . . . . . . . [स]मरे समुद्रगुप्तः ॥
[Line 19] . . . . . . . . . . . . [ये]नाखिलं कुल-यशः प्रवितानवद्भिः
[Line 20] . . . . . . . . . . . . [स्वै]र् बाहु-विक्रम-जितावनिपैर् यशोभिः
[Line 21] . . . . . . . . . . . . [आ]पूरितं त्रिभुवनं चरितैश्च पुण्यैः
[Line 22] . . . . . . . . . . . . [रा]ज्ञा यशः-परिकरः प्रथितावदातः ॥
[Line 23] . . . . . . . . . . . . [स्व]-भोग-नगरे ऐरिकिणे बभूव
[Line 24] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Line 25] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Line 26] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. Udayagiri Cave Inscription of Chandragupta II (Gupta Year 82)

[Line 1] सिद्धम् [॥] दन्त-घटित-द्वि-जालक-विमुक्ते
[Line 2] गुप्त-कुलाव्ययोदित-महिम्नः
[Line 3] परमाद्भूतस्य राज्ञां राज्ञः
[Line 4] श्री-चन्द्रगुप्तस्य पादानुध्यातो
[Line 5] महाराज-च्छगल-पौत्रस्य महाराज-विष्णुदास-पुत्रस्य
[Line 6] सनकानीकस्य महाराज-वोढस्यायं देय-धर्मः
[Line 7] संवत्सरे ८० २ आषाढ-मास-शुक्ल-एकादश्याम् [॥]

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 3, PLATE II B. 21
(L. 9.)— . . . . . . . . there was Samudragupta, equal to (the gods) Dhanada and
Antaka in (respectively) pleasure and anger;¹ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by policy; (and) [by
whom] the whole tribe of kings upon the earth was [overthrown] and reduced to the loss
of the wealth of their sovereignty ;—
(L. 13)—[Who], by . . . . . . . . satisfied by devotion and policy and valour,—by the
glories, consisting of the consecration by besprinkling, &c., that belong to the title of
‘king,’—(and) by . . . . . . . . . combined with supreme satisfaction,— . . . . . . . . . .
(was) a king whose vigour could not be resisted ;—
(L. 17.)—[By whom] there was married a virtuous and faithful wife,² whose dower
was provided by (his) manliness and prowess; who was possessed of an abundance of
[elephants] and horses and money and grain; who delighted in the houses of . . . . ;
(and) who went about in the company of many sons and sons’ sons ;—
(L. 21.)—Whose deeds in battle (are) kindled with prowess; (whose) . . . . . very
mighty fame is always circling round about; and whose enemies are terrified, when they
think, even in the intervals of dreaming, of (his) . . . . . . . . . that are vigorous in
war ;—
(L. 25.)— . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in a place in Airikiṇa,³ the city of his own
enjoyment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . has been set up, for the sake of augmenting his own
fame
(L. 27.)— . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . when the king said . . . . . . .
(The rest of the inscription is entirely
broken away and lost.)
No. 3; PLATE II B.
UDAYAGIRI CAVE INSCRIPTION OF CHANDRAGUPTA II.
THE YEAR 82.
THIS inscription appears to have been first brought to notice in 1854 by General
Cunningham, in his Bhilsa Topes, p. 150 f., where he published his reading of the text,
and a translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate xxi. No. 200).—In 1858, in
his edition of Prinsep's Essays, Vol. I. p. 246 f. note 4, Mr. Thomas published his own
reading of the text, accompanied by a translation by Professor H. H. Wilson.—And, finally,
in 1880, in the Archaeol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 50, General Cunningham published his revised
reading of the text, and a revised translation of it, accompanied by a fresh lithograph
(id. Plate xix.)
¹ Compare the customary expression, “equal to (the gods) Dhanada and Varuṇa and Indra and
Antaka,” in line 26 of No. 1 above, page 8. See also page 14 above, note 4.
² Samudragupta's wife was Dattadēvī; but the metre prevents her having been mentioned by
name in this verse.
³ See page 18 above, note 2.
⁴ The lacunæ in this verse render it impossible to say whether here, and below, sva, ‘his own,
refers to Samudragupta, or to some feudatory of his, who may have been mentioned here.

22 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. VOL. III.
Udayagiri¹ is a well-known hill, with a small village of the same name on the eastern
side of it, about two miles to the north-west of Bhêlsâ,² the chief town of the Bhêlsâ
Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Îsâgaḍh³ District in the dominions of Scindia (properly
Śindê) in Central India. On the eastern side of the hill, a little to the south of the village,
and almost on the level of the ground, there is a cave-temple, which, from its containing
this inscription, General Cunningham has named "the Chandragupta Cave."⁴ The in-
scription is on the upper part of a smoothed and countersunk panel, about 2' 4½" broad by
1' 6" high, over two figures,—one of the four-armed god Vishṇu, attended by his two
wives ; and one of a twelve-armed goddess, who must be some form of Lakshmî, the con-
sort of Vishṇu, rather than, as suggested by General Cunningham, Mahishâsurî, i.e.
Durgâ, the consort of Śiva,—which are sculptured on the face of the rock, outside the cave
and a few feet to the north of the entrance to it.
The writing, which covers a space of about 2' 3½" broad by 4¾" high, is in a state of
fairly good preservation ; the surface of the rock has peeled off in some places ; but no
letters are entirely destroyed, except the g of chandragupta in line 1, and, in line 2, the
first akshara of the name of the Mahârâja whose gift is recorded.—The average size of
the letters is about ⅝". The characters belong to the southern class of alphabets, and
give another specimen of the 'box-headed' variety, peculiar to Central India, which I have
commented on at page 18 f. above ; but in this inscription, again, there are no instances in
which enough remains of the square centre of the tops of the letters to shew distinctly in
the lithograph. In âshâḍha, line 1, they include an adaptation from the northern alpha-
bets ; viz. the separate sign for the lingual ḍh, which, in the early southern alphabets, was
represented, together with its unaspirated form ḍ, by the same character as the dental d.
They also include, in line 1, forms of the numerical symbols for 2 and 80.—The lan-
guage is Sanskrit ; and the inscription is in prose.—In respect of orthography, the
only point that calls for notice, is the doubling of dh in conjunction with a following y, in
anuddhyâta, line 1.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Early Gupta king Chandra-
gupta II. It is dated, partly in numerical symbols and partly in words, in the year⁵
¹ The 'Udaygiri and Udegiri' of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 53. Lat. 23° 32' N.; Long.
77° 50' E.
² The 'Bhilsa and Bhelsa' of maps, &c.
³ The 'Isagarh' of maps.
⁴ Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 49 ff. and Plates xvi. and xvii.
⁵ Whether "current" or "expired," is not specifically stated. But the locative case is used ;
and, there being no word signifying "expired" in apposition with it, the natural sense of it is "in
the year eighty-two," i. e. "while the year eighty-two is current."—It is often asserted that the ancient
Hindus always expressed their dates in expired years. And, according to this, we should understand
atîtê, 'having gone by, having passed by,' or any similar word, in apposition with saṁvatsarê
in the present passage, and translate accordingly.—No doubt, in making calculations, the Hindus
worked, as Europeans must work, with the number of expired years as a basis. But this is quite
a different question from that of their method of expressing the dates ; as, also, is the question
whether they did not sometimes by mistake quote years as current which were really expired, and
the reverse, and even occasionally quote, as current, or even as expired, years that were still to come.
And, as a very clear and pointed instance of the record of a date in current years, we have the Gwâlior
Sâsbahû temple inscription of Mahîpâla, dated Vikrama-Saṁvat 1150, which gives (Ind. Ant. Vol.
XV. p. 41 ; vv. 107, 108 ; l. 40) first, in words, the number of years expired, and then, partially

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 3, PLATE II B. 23
eighty-two (A.D. 401-2), and on the eleventh lunar day of the bright fortnight of the
month Âshâḍha (June-July). The cave appears to be a Vaishṇava cave; and this must,
therefore, be a Vaishṇava inscription. And the object of it is to record the gift or dedi-
in words and fully in figures, the number of the current year,—Êkâdaśasv=atîtêshu saṁvatsara-
śatêshu cha l êk-ôna-pañchâśati cha gatêshv=abdêshu Vikramât || Pañchâśê ch=Âśvinê mâsê kṛishṇa-
pakshê nṛip-âjñayâ | rachitâ Maṇikaṇṭhêna praśastir=iyam=ujjvalâ || Aṅkatô=pi 1150 ||
Âśvina-bahula-pañchamyâm,—"and when eleven centuries of years had passed by, and (in addition)
fifty years, less by one, had gone, from (the time of) Vikrama; and in the fiftieth (year); in the
month Âśvina; in the dark fortnight; by order of the king, this brilliant eulogy was composed by
Maṇikaṇṭha; or, in figures, (in the year) 1150, on the fifth lunar day of the dark fortnight of
Âśvina."—Excluding special and capricious instances, the inscriptions disclose the following general
and systematic constructions in the expression of dates.—(1) The use of the nominative singular or
plural, unaccompanied by any verb or participle. Instances of this are somewhat rare. But I can
quote (a) the Mathurâ image inscription (No. 70 below, Pl. xlD. l. 2), saṁvatsaraḥ 200 30; (b) the
Goa grant of Satyâśraya-Dhruvarâja-Indravarman (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. X. p. 365,
l. 17 ff.), pravardhamâna-vijaya-râjya-saṁvatsaraṁ viṁśatitamaṁ Śaka-kâlaḥ=pañcha varsha-śatâni
dvitriṁśâni; (c) the Dighwâ-Dubaulî grant of the Mahârâja Mahêndrapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV.
p. 113, l. 4), saṁvatsrâ (i.e. saṁvatsarâḥ) 100 50 5 Mâgha śu °li ° (d) the Bengal Asiatic Society's
grant of the Mahârâja Vinâyakapâla (id. Vol. XV. p. 141, l. 17), saṁvatsrô (i.e saṁvatsarô, for either
saṁvatsaraḥ or saṁvatsarâḥ) 100 80 8 Phâlguna ba di 9; and (e) the second date in the 'Deogarh'
inscription of Bhôjadêva of Gwâlior, dated Vikrama-Saṁvat 919 and Śaka-Saṁvat 784 (Archæol. Surv.
Ind. Vol. X. p. 101, and Pl. xxxiii. No. 2, l. 10), Śaka-kâl-âbda-sapta-śatâni chatur-aśîty-adhikâni 784.
And, for early times, we may compare, though they relate to years of government, instead of eras,
(f) the nominative in the Banawâsi Prâkṛit inscription of Hârîtîputra-Śâtakarṇi (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV.
p. 333, l. 1), rañô Hâritîputasa ...... Sâtakaṁṇisa ...... savachharaṁ 10 2 Hêmaṁtâna
pakhô 7 divasa 1; (g) the nominative in the Râjim grant of the Râja Tîvaradêva (No. 81 below, Pl.
xlv. l. 35 f.) pravardhamâna-vijaya-râjya-saṁvatsaru 9 Kârttika divasu ashṭamu 8; and the
crude form in (h) the Âraṅg grant of the Râja Mahâ-Jayarâja (No. 40 below, Pl. xxvi. l. 24),
pravardhamâna-vijaya-saṁvatsara 5 Mârgaśira 20 5, and (i) the Râypur grant of the Râja Mahâ-
Sudêvarâja (No. 41 below, Pl. xxvii. l. 27), pravardhamâna-vijaya-saṁvatsara 10 Mâgha 9. Compare
also, for later times, the crude form in (j) the 'Dewal' inscription of Lalla of the Chhinda family
(Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. I. Pl. li. l. 24), saṁvatsara-sahasra 1049 Mâgha ba di 3 Gurudinê; in (k) a
Kôlâpur inscription of Siṅghaṇa II. (Indian Inscriptions, No. 47, l. 1 f.), Śrî-Śaka 1157 Manmatha-
saṁvatsarê Śrâvaṇa bahula 30 Gurau; and in numerous other instances.—(2) The use of the
nominative singular or plural, in apposition with an ordinal adjective, which, again, usually qualifies
the nâme of the saṁvatsara, of the sixty-years cycle, in the genitive case. This is a Drâviḍian
method, in constant use in Southern India. As typical and leading instances, I will quote, in re-
spect of the nominative singular, (a) a Baḷagâṁve inscription of Bijjala (Pâli, Sanskrit, and Old-
Kanarese Inscriptions, No. 183, l. 62), Śaka-varsham 1080neya Bahudhânya-saṁvatsarada Pushyada
puṇṇami Sômavârav=uttarâyaṇasaṁkrânti-vyatîpâta-sômagrahaṇad-andu; and, to illustrate a numer-
ous class of instances in which the crude form is used to represent the nominative singular, (b) a Baḷa-
gâṁve inscription of Sômêśvara II. (Ind. Ant. Vol. IV. p. 209, l. 30 ff.), Śaka-varsha 997neya
Râkshasa-saṁvatsarada Pushya śuddha 1 Sômavârad-andin=uttarâyaṇasaṁkrânti-parva-nimittadiṁ;
and, in respect of the nominative plural, (c) the grant of Gôvinda III. (id. Vol. XI. p. 126, l. 1 ff.),
Śaka-nṛipa-kâl-âtîta-saṁvatsara-śataṅgaḷ=êḷ-nûṟ-irpatt-âṟaneyâ Subhânu embâ varshadd Vaiśâ-
khamâsa-kṛishṇapaksha-pañchamî Brihaspativâram=âgi, and (d) the Adaraguñchi inscription of Koṭ-
ṭiga or Khoṭṭiga (id. Vol. XII. p. 256, l. 7 ff.), Śaka-nṛipa-kâl-âtîta-saṁvatsara-śataṅgaḷ=eṇṭu nûṟa
tombhatta-mûṟaneya Prajâpati-saṁvatsaraṁ saluttam-ire tad-varsh-âbhyantarad=Âśvayujad=ama-
vâse Âdityavâra sûrya-grahaṇa.—(3) The use of the locative singular or plural, with the corresponding
locative, in apposition, of atikrânta, atîta, gata, nivṛitta, prayâta, samatîta, vyatîta, yâta, or
any similar word, signifying 'elapsed, or gone by.' Thus, in respect of the locative singular, (a)
the first date of the Mandasôr inscription of Kumâragupta and Bandhuvarman (No. 18 below, Pl. xi.
l. 19), Mâlavânâṁ gaṇa-sthityâ yâtê śata-chatushṭayê | tri-navaty-adhikê=bdânâm=ritau sêvya-
ghana-stanê || Sahasya-mâsa-śuklasya praśastê=hni trayôdaśê; and (b) the Sâmâṅgaḍ grant of

24 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
cation,—by a mahârâja of the Sanakânika¹ tribe or family, who was a feudatory of
Chandragupta II., but whose name, in line 2, is now illegible,—of, evidently, the two
groups of sculptures above which it is engraved.
Dantidurga (Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. p. 112, l. 30 f.), pañcha-saptaty-adhika-Śakakâla-saṁvatsara-śata-
shaṭkê vyatîtê saṁvat 675 pai(?pô or pau)hachchhikâyâ Mâgha-mâsa-ratha-saptamyâṁ tulâ-purusha-
sthitê. And, in respect of the locative plural, (c) the Bâdâmi cave inscription of Maṅgalîśa (Ind.
Ant. Vol. VI. p. 363, ll. 6 f., 11), Śaka-nṛipati-râjyâbhishêka-saṁvatsarêshv=atikrântêshu pañchasu
śatêshu . . . . . mahâ-Kârttika-paurṇamâsyâm; (d) the Harihar grant of Vinayâditya (id. Vol. VII.
p. 302, l. 23 ff.), shôḍaś-ôttara-shaṭ-chhatêshu Śaka-varshêshv=atîtêshu pravardhamâna-vijaya-râjya-
saṁvatsarê chaturdaśê vartamânê . . . . . Kârttika-paurṇamâsyâṁ; and (e) the Kauṭhêm grant of Vi-
kramâditya V. (id. Vol. XVI. p. 24, l. 61 f.), Śaka-nṛipa-kâl-âtîta-saṁvatsara-śatêshu navasu triṁśad-
adhikêshu gatêshu 930 pravartamâna-Saumya-saṁvatsarê paurṇamâsyâṁ sômagrahaṇa-parvaṇi.—
(4) The use, as in the present instance, of the simple locative single or plural, without any participle
signifying 'elapsed or gone by,' in apposition. Thus, in respect of the locative singular, (a) the
Gûnda inscription of the Kshatrapa Rudrasiṁha (Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 157, l. 3), varshê dvy-uttara-
śatê saṁ 200 2 Vaiśâkha-śuddha-pañchamî-Dhanya-tithau Śravaṇa-nakshatra-muhûrtê; (b) a
Mathurâ inscription of Vâsudêva (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 35, and Pl. xv. No. 20, l. 1),
saṁvatsarê 90 8 Varshâ-mâsê 4 dva sê 10; (c) the Majhgawâṁ grant of the Mahârâja Hastin (No. 23
below, Pl. xiv. l. 1 f.), êka-navaty-uttarê=bda-śatê Gupta-nṛipa-râjya-bhuktau śrîmati pravardhamâna-
MahâChaitra-saṁvatsarê Mâghamâsa-bahulapaksha-tṛitîyâyâm; and (d) the Alînâ grant of Śîlâditya
VII. (No. 39 below, Plate xxv. l. 77 f.), saṁvatsara-śata-chatushṭayê sapta-chatvâriṁśad-adhikê
Jyêshṭha-śuddha-pañchamyâṁ aṅkataḥ saṁvat 400 40 7 Jyêshṭha śu 5. And, in respect of the loca-
tive plural, (e) the Waṇî grant of Gôvinda III. (Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. p. 159, l. 46 f.), Śaka-nṛipa-kâl-
âtîta-saṁvatsara-śatêshu saptasu triṁśad-adhikêshu Vyaya-saṁvatsarê Vaiśâkha-sita-paurṇamâsî-
sômagrahaṇa-mahâparvaṇi; and (f) the Pâṭan grant of Bhîma II. (id. Vol. XI. p. 71, l. 17 ff.), śrîmad-
Vikramâdity-ôtpâdita-saṁvatsara-śatêshu dvâdaśasu shaṭ-pañchâśad-uttarêshu Bhâdrapadamâsa-
kṛishṇapaksh-âmâvâsyâyâṁ Bhaumavârê=tr=âṅkatô=pi saṁvat 1256 laukika Bhâdrapada ba di 15
Bhaumê.—And (5) the use of the abbreviations saṁ and saṁvat, standing alone, and not explained
by a full record in words as they are in instances (3, b) and (4, a, d, f) above. This method, however,
throws no light on the question now under discussion; and the use of these abbreviations will form the
subject of a separate note.—Now, in the cases illustrated by the examples given under (2) above, it can
hardly be disputed that current years are intended; the very construction,—e.g. in (2, a) "Monday,
the full-moon day of (the month) Pushya of the Bahudhânya saṁvatsara, (which is) the 1080th Śaka
year,"—prevents any other interpretation. And, in the examples given under (1), it is difficult to see
how, without imagining an elliptical construction for which no actual example can be quoted as an
authority, the nominative case could be used to denote any but the current year. With these ex-
amples, and the plain record of the Gwâlior inscription, before us, when we find that in a certain class
of instances (3, a to e) the locative case is uniformly coupled with a word distinctly meaning 'expired
or gone by' in apposition, whereas in another class of instances (4, a to f) any such word is as uni-
formly omitted, there is nothing to prevent our giving, but on the contrary every reason to induce us
to give, to the simple locative, in the last class of instances, its natural and ordinary meaning of "in
such and such a year," i.e. "while such and such a year is current." This is the meaning that is
always given to the simple locative in a regnal date; thus, in a Nâsik inscription (Archæol. Surv.
West. Ind. Vol. IV. pp. 108, l. 1, 109),—siri-Puḷumâyisa saṁvachharê êkunavîsê 19,—"in the nine-
teenth (19) year of the illustrious Puḷumâyi." It has never been attempted to maintain that, in such
a record as this, the text means "the nineteenth year having expired." And there is no reason why
any such forced interpretation should be put on the simple locative expressing the number of years
of an era; especially when we bear in mind that almost every era owes its origin to only an exten-
sion of regnal dates, and that the system of expired years can only have been devised when a con-
siderable advance had been made in astronomical science.
¹ In the fourth syllable, the vowel here is the short i; but in the same word in the Allâhâbâd
pillar inscription, No. 1 above, line 22, page 8, it is long.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 4, PLATE III A. 25
TEXT.¹
1 Siddham || Saṁvatsarê 80 2 Âshâḍha-mâsa-śukl-ê(ai)kâdaśyâm |
paramabhaṭṭâraka-mahârâjâdhi²-śrî-Chandra[g]upta-pâd-ânuddhyâtasya |³
2 mahârâja-Chhagalaga-pautrasya mahârâja-Vishṇudâsa-putrasya Sanakâ-
nikasya mahâr[âja]- . . ḍha(?)lasy=âyaṁ dêya-dharmmaḥ ||
TRANSLATION.
Perfection has been attained !⁴ In the year 80 (and) 2, on the eleventh lunar day of
the bright fortnight of the month Âshâḍha,—this (is) the appropriate religious gift⁵
of the Sanakânika,⁶ the Mahârâja . . ḍhala (?),—the son's son of the Mahârâja
Chhagalaga; (and) the son of the Mahârâja Vishṇudâsa,—who meditates on the feet
of the Paramabhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Chandragupta (II.)
No. 4; PLATE III A.
MATHURA STONE INSCRIPTION OF CHANDRAGUPTA II.
THIS inscription, which has not been previously edited in full, was discovered in 1853
by General Cunningham, and was first brought to notice by him in his first Archæo-
¹ From the original stone.
² Read mahârâjâdhirâja.—With the reading of this inscription, which may perhaps be, not an
omission by the engraver, but a conventional abbreviation of the full title, we may compare maraja-
Sha, i. e. mahârâjâdhi, for mahârâjâdhirâja, on one of the silver coins of Skandagupta (Ind. Ant.
Vol. XIV. p. 66 f.)
³ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
⁴ siddham.—On the analogy of an inscription (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. V. Plate xliH.), which
commences Siddhiḥ Śrîḥ Saṁvat, &c.,—to which we may add another inscription (Jour. Beng.
As. Soc. Vol. XXIX. p. 18, and Vol. XXX. p. 13) commencing Siddhiḥ Saṁvat, &c.—Dr. Bühler
(Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 273) takes siddham, at the commencement of inscriptions, as a nominative case
standing by itself, and translates it by ‘success.’ But it seems to me to be clearly the remnant of some
such phrase as siddhaṁ bhagavatâ, “perfection or success has been attained by the Divine One,”
analogous to the jitaṁ bhagavatâ, “victory has been achieved by the Divine One,” of, for instance,
the Gaḍhwâ inscription of Kumâragupta, No. 8 below, Plate ivC., and the grant of the Pallava Yuva-
mahârâja Vishṇugôpavarman (Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 51). We may also compare jitaṁ . . . . .
Vishṇunâ in the Tuśâm inscription, No. 67 below, Plate xlA. And we have the remnant of another
analogous expression, in dṛishṭam, “sight (i.e. clearness of perception in religious matters) has been
attained (by the Divine One),” at the commencement of, for instance, the Chammak and Siwanî plates
of the Mahârâja Pravarasêna II., Nos. 55 and 56 below, Plates xxxiv. and xxxv.—In his remarks referred
to above, Dr. Bühler tells us that, in the Mahâbhâshya (Kielhorn’s edition, pp. 5, 6) siddham is
quoted as a maṅgala or ‘auspicious invocation;’ and refers us to some remarks, supporting this, by
Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar in Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 346.—As helping to illustrate the meaning, ‘perfection,’
by which I render siddham, I would refer to the use of siddha by the Jains to denote their saints who
have attained siddhi or ‘perfection or final beatitude,’ and who are invoked, under this epithet, in, for
instance, the Udayagiri inscription of the year 106, No. 61 below, Plate xxxviiiA. line 1.
⁵ dêya-dharma; lit. ‘(a gift of) religion, which is proper to be given.’—Monier Williams, in
his Saṁskṛit Dictionary, renders it by ‘the duty of giving, charity, beneficence;’ Dowson, by ‘votive
offering’ (e.g. Jour. R. As. Soc. N. S. Vol. V. p. 184); and Bühler and Bhagwanlal Indraji, by
‘meritorious gift, or benefaction’ (e. g. Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 83).
⁶ See page 8 above, note 1.
E₂

26 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
logical Report, which, originally printed in 1863 as a supplement to the Journal of the
Bengal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXXII. pp. iii. to cxix., was in 1871 reprinted, with the
addition of Plates, as Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. I., in which the inscription is noticed on
p. 237.—Subsequently, in 1873, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 37, and Plate xvi.
No. 24, he published a reduced lithograph of it, shewing the completion of the lines as
arranged by him.
The inscription is on a red-sandstone fragment, about 10" broad by 11½" high, cracked
across the lower proper right corner, which was found, with its face downwards, forming
part of the pavement immediately outside the Katrâ¹ gateway at **Mathurâ,**² the chief town
of the Mathurâ District in the North-West Provinces. The original stone is now in the
Provincial Museum at Lâhôr.
The writing, which covers the entire front of the stone, about 10" broad by 11½" high,
is in a state of very fair preservation. It is only a fragment; the first line has been almost
entirely destroyed, and an indefinite number of lines have been entirely broken away and lost
at the bottom of the stone; and, in addition to this, from one to nine aksharas have been
broken away and lost at the commencement of the lines, and from one to five at the ends
of the lines, except in lines 8 and 9.—The size of the letters varies from ⅜" to ¾". The
characters belong to the northern class of alphabets. They are of radically the same
stock with those of the Allâhâbâd posthumous pillar inscription of Samudragupta, No. 1
above, but with several essential differences in details; the most noticeable of these are
(1) the very marked curve in the left downward stroke of m, which I have noticed, at page 3
above, as belonging originally to an earlier form of this letter than that which occurs in the
Allâhâbâd inscription; (2) a slanting straight stroke, instead of a circular loop, at the
bottom of the left downward stroke of s; and (3) the formation of the lower part of h en-
tirely to the right, instead of its sloping downwards only slightly to the right and then
turning up very markedly to the left.—The language is Sanskrit; and the extant portion
of the inscription is in prose throughout.—The orthography does not present anything
calling for remark.
The inscription is one of the Early Gupta king Chandragupta II. His name
does not occur in the portion that is extant. But the instrumental case putrêṇa in line 9,
immediately after the mention, in the genitive case, of Samudragupta, shews that the
genealogy was continued down to, and ended with, his son and chosen successor, whose
name came in line 11 or 12, and who is known from the subsequent records to have been
Chandragupta II.; and that the subject of the inscription was an act of the latter. The
date of the inscription, if any was recorded, and the subject of it, were in the portion that
has been broken away and lost.
**TEXT.**³
1 . . . . . . [Sarvva-râj-ôchhêttuḥ prithiv]y[âm=apratiratha]-
2 [sya chatur-udadhi-sali]l-âsvâdita-ya[śasô Dha]-
3 [nada-Varuṇ-Êndr-Ântaka-sa]masya Kṛitânta-[paraśôḥ]
4 [nyây-âgat-ânêka-gô]-hiraṇya-kôti-prada[sya chir-ô]-
¹ katrâ is the common word used in that part of the country for ‘an enclosed market-place.’
² The ‘Matra, Muthra, and Muttra,’ of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 50. Lat. 27° 30′ N.;
Long. 77° 43′ E.
³ From the original stone.—The passages that have been broken away are supplied from the
Allâhâbâd posthumous pillar inscription of Samudragupta, No. 1, lines 24, 26, 28, and 29, page 8 above,
and from lines 1 to 4 of the Bhitarî pillar inscription of Skandagupta, No. 13 below, Plate vii.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 4, PLATE III A. 27
5 [tsann - aśvamēdh - āharttur = mma]hārāja - śrī - Gupta - prapau[t]r[asya]
6 [mahārāja-śrī-Ghaṭōtka]cha-pautrasya mahārājādhir[āja]-
7 [śrī-Chandragupta-pu]trasya Lichchhavi-dauhitrasya mahā[dē]-
8 [vyāṁ Kumāra]d[ē]vyām=utpannasya mahārājādhirā-
9 [ja-śrī-Sa]mudraguptasya putrēṇa tat-parigṛi-
10 [hī]t[ē]na mahādēv[y]āṁ Dat[t]adēv[y]ām=ut[p]an[n]ē-
11 [na¹ paramabhāgavatēna mahārājādhirāja-śrī]-
12 [Chandraguptēna] ..........................
(The rest of the inscription is entirely
broken away and lost.)
TRANSLATION.
(Line 8.)—By him who is the son,—accepted by him,² (and) begotten on the
Mahādēvī Dattadēvī,— of the Mahārājādhirāja, [the glorious] Samudragupta,—
(L. 1.)—[Who³ was the exterminator of all kings;⁴ who had no antagonist (of
equal power)] in the world; [whose fame was] tasted [by the waters of the four oceans⁵];
¹ I add these two lines in order to shew the continuation of the construction of this record.
² See page 12 above, note 1.
³ i.e. Samudragupta.
⁴ sarva-rāj-ōchchhéttri.—In the nominative case, sarva-rāj-ōchchēttā, this epithet occurs on the
reverse of some gold coins, hitherto always classed in the Early Gupta series (see Jour. Beng. As. Soc.
Vol. LIII. Part I. p. 169 f., and Pl. ii. No. 1; also Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. II. p. 36, and Pl. vii.
No. 1), which have on the obverse the name of Kācha, in the place where the king's name usually
stands on coins, with the marginal legend kāchō gām=avajitya karmabhir=uttamair=jayati,
“Kācha, having conquered the earth, is victorious by (his) most excellent deeds,” and which have
always been attributed to the Mahārāja Ghaṭōtkacha, the grandfather of Samudragupta.—But, in
the first place, the name on these coins is distinctly Kācha, and nothing more; and kācha, which
means ‘glass, crystal; the string of the scale of a balance; alkaline salt, black salt; wax; &c.,’ is a
tōtally different word from utkacha, ‘having the hairs (of the body) standing erect (through pleasure),’
which is the second component of the name of Ghaṭōtkacha. Secondly, Ghaṭōtkacha, being only a
feudatory Mahārāja, was not entitled to issue a coinage in his own name. And thirdly, the epithet
sarva-rāj-ōchchhettri on the reverse, is, in the inscriptions, always applied to Samudragupta, and
to him only.—There is nothing distinctive in this epithet, sufficient to shew that it belonged only
to the Early Gupta dynasty (and, in that dynasty, to Samudragupta). Nor, I think, is it absolutely
certain that these coins belong to the Early Gupta series. But the general appearance of them,
with the legends on them, justifies such an opinion. And, if they are Early Gupta coins, then they
must be attributed to Samudragupta, not to Ghaṭōtkacha; and Kācha must, in that case, be a personal
and less formal name of Samudragupta; and with it we may compare such instances as Śāba,
‘cadaverous, of a dark yellowish colour, tawny; the young of any animal,’ used as a second name
of Vīrasēna, a minister of Chandragupta II. (No. 6 below, Plate ivA. line 4); Vyāghra, ‘a tiger,’
applied to a Jain named Rudrasōma (No. 15 below, Plate ixA.); and Permāḍi (also Parmāḍi, Par-
māṇḍi and Paramardi), a name of the Western Chālukya king Vikramāditya VI. (Jour. Bo. Br. R.
As. Soc. Vol. XI. pp. 225, l. 9, 253, l. 14; Bühler’s Vikramāṅkadēvacharita, Introd. p. 30, note 2; and
Rājataraṁgiṇī, vii. 1122, 1124).—The only other instances, known to me, in which the name Kācha
occurs, are in the case of two rulers or chieftains, Kācha I. and Kācha II., mentioned in one of the
inscriptions in the Ajaṇṭā caves (Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 129, lines 4, 6), belong-
ing to a period that is at any rate appreciably later than that of the Early Guptas.
⁵ i.e. “whose fame extended up to the shores of the four oceans.”—Jambudvīpa, or the central
division of the known world, including India, was supposed to be surrounded on all sides by the
ocean.
E 2.

28 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
who was equal to (the gods) [Dhanada and Varuṇa and Indra and Antaka]; who was
[the very axe] of (the god) Kṛitānta;¹ who was the giver of [many] millions of [lawfully
acquired cows] and gold; [who was the restorer of the aśvamêdha-sacrifice,² that had
been long in abeyance];—
(L. 5.)—Who³ was the son of the son’s son of the Mahārāja, the illustrious
Gupta; the son’s son of [the Mahārāja, the illustrious] Ghaṭôtkacha; (and) the son
of the Mahārājādhirāja [the glorious Chandragupta (I.)], (and) the daughter’s son of
Lichchhavi, begotten on the Mahādêvî Kumāradêvî;—
(L. 11.)—[By him,⁴ the most devout worshipper of the Divine One,⁵ the
Mahārājādhirāja, the glorious Chandragupta (II.)], . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(The rest of the inscription is entirely
broken away and lost.)

¹ Kṛitānta-paraśu.—This is another of the formal epithets which are always applied to
Samudragupta, and to him only. In the nominative case, Kṛitānta-paraśuḥ, it occurs on the reverse
of some of his gold coins; see, for instance, Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. III. Part I. p. 177 f., and Pl.
ii. No. 11.
² A ceremony which centred in a horse, and was concluded after the selected steed had been
turned loose for a year to roam about at will, guarded by armed men. The ceremony appears
to have ended sometimes in the actual immolation of the horse, but sometimes only in keeping it
bound during the celebration of the final rites. The successful celebration of a hundred aśvamêdhas
was supposed to raise the sacrificer to a level with the god Indra.—The present epithet, aśvamêdh-
âhartṛi, is another of those which are always applied to Samudragupta, and to him only. With it we
have to compare the legend aśvamêdha-parākramaḥ, “he who has displayed prowess by a horse-
sacrifice,” on some of the gold coins which are attributed to Samudragupta; see, for instance,
Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. LIII. Part I. p. 175 ff., and Pl. ii. No. 9; and Archæol. Surv. West. Ind.
Vol. II. p. 37 f., and Pl. vii. No. 4.
³ i.e. Samudragupta.
⁴ See page 27 above, note 1.
⁵ paramabhāgavata; lit. ‘a most devout worshipper of (the god) Bhagavat.’—This epithet is
supplied from the subsequent inscriptions, and the coins of Chandragupta II. himself.—It is a technical
sectarian title, analogous to paramamāhêśvara (e.g. No. 38 below, line 2), paramasaugata (e.g.
No. 52 below, line 8), paramavaishṇava (e.g. lines a and 1 of the Dighwā-Dubaulî grant of the
Mahārāja Mahêndrapāla; Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 112), paramapāśupata (e.g. line 8 of the Verâwal
inscription of Arjunadêva; id. Vol. XI. p. 242), and paramadaivata (e.g. line 1 of the Nêpâl inscrip-
tion of Vasantasêna; id. Vol. IX. p. 167, No. 3). Other similar epithets, but not formed in quite
the same way, are paramabrahmaṇya (e.g. line 39 of the grant of Amma II.; id. Vol. VII. p. 16);
paramâdityabhakta (e.g. No. 38 below, line 10); and paramabhagavatîbhakta (e.g. lines e, i, k, 3, 6,
and 7 of the Dighwā-Dubaulî grant referred to above); also atyantamāhêśvara and atyantasvāmi-
mahābhairavabhakta, e.g. No. 55 below, lines 9 and 4; and atyantabhagavadbhakta, in No. 19 below,
line 6, and No. 36, line 4. — Bhagavat, ‘venerable, revered, sacred, divine, holy,’ was used as a title
of priests, e.g. lines 5 and 6 of a Paṭṭadakal inscription of Vijayâditya and Vikramâditya II., where
it is applied to two Āchāryas (Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 165, No. 101); and also of any saintly personage,
e.g. line 12 of No. 23 below, where it is applied to Vyāsa, the arranger of the Vêdas. And it was
also used as an epithet of any god or object of worship; thus, it is applied to Buddha, in line 6 of
No. 62 below; to Vishṇu, in line 6 of No. 32 below; to Śambhu (Śiva) in line 5 of No. 7 below; to
Svāmi-Mahāsêna (Kārttikêya), in line 7 of No. 10 below; to Varuṇavāsin (the Sun), in line 13 of No.
46 below; and to Jinêndra, in line 1 of the Aihoḷe Mêguṭi inscription of Pulikêśin II. (Ind. Ant. Vol.
VIII. p. 241). But it seems to belong most particularly to the god Vishṇu (see, for instance, the
Vishṇu-Purāṇa, vi. 5; Hall’s edition of H. H. Wilson’s Translation, Vol. V. p. 211 ff.), and to
denote him whenever there is nothing in the context to give it any other application; and, as well-
known instances of its use in this way, we may quote Bhagavadgîtā, the name of an episode of
the Mahābhārata devoted entirely to the subject of devotion to Vishṇu as Kṛishṇa; Bhāgavata-

Vol. III. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. Plate iii
A.—Mathura Inscription of Chandragupta II.
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SCALE .27
B.—Sanchi Inscription of Chandragupta II.—The Year 93.
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J. F. FLEET, BO. C.S W. GRIGGS, PHOTO-LITH.

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