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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 23, PLATE XIV. 109
(Line 3.)—By the Mahârâja, the illustrious Hastin,—who is born in the family of a
kingly ascetic;—who is the great-grandson of the Mahârâja Dêvâdhya;—who is the
grandson of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Prabhañjana;—who is the son of the
Mahârâja, the illustrious Dâmôdara;—who is the giver of thousands of cows, and
elephants, and horses, and gold, and many lands;—who is earnest in paying respect to
(his) spiritual preceptor and (his) father and mother;—who is extremely devoted to the
gods and Brâhmaṇs;—who has been victorious in many hundreds of battles;—(and) who
causes the happiness of his own race,—
(L. 6.)—(By him), at the agreeable request of Mahâdêvidêva, the village named
Vâlugarta, in accordance with the usage of the specification of (its) ancient boundaries,
with the udranga and the uparikara, (and with the privilege that it is) not to be entered
by the irregular or the regular troops, is granted as an agrahâra, by a copper-charter,—
for the purpose of increasing the religious merit of (his) parents and of himself, and in
order to erect the steps of a ladder leading to heaven, acceptable to Mahâdêvidêva,—to
these Brâhmaṇs, of the Aupamanyava gôtra, students of the Chhandôga-Kauthuma
(śâkhâ), (viz.) Gôvindasvâmin, Gômikasvâmin, and Dêvasvâmin,—to be enjoyed by
(their) sons and sons' sons, with the exception of (the proceeds of fines imposed on)
thieves.
(L. 10.)—Therefore, even in future times, no obstacle (to the enjoyment of this grant)
is to be caused by those who are born in Our family, or by my feudatories. This
injunction having been given, he who behaves otherwise,—him I will consume with a
great contempt, even when I have passed into another body.
(L. 12.)—And it has been said by the venerable supreme sage, Vyâsa, the arranger
of the Vêdas,—"O Yudhishṭhira, best of kings, carefully preserve land that has previously
been given to the twice-born; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) is more meritorious
than making a grant! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with
Sagara; whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the
reward (of this grant that is now made, if he continue it)! The giver of land enjoys
happiness in heaven for sixty thousand years; (but) the confiscator (of a grant), and he
who assents (to an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years in hell!
He becomes a worm in ordure, and is tormented together with his ancestors, who
confiscates land that has been given, whether by himself or by another! Those who
confiscate a previous grant, are born (again) as black serpents, inhabiting the dried-up
hollows of trees, in desert places destitute of water!"
(L. 18.)—And (this charter) has been written by the Mahâsâṁdhivigrahika
Vibhudatta, the son¹ of the great-grandson of the Amâtya Vakra; the great-grandson
of the Bhôgika Naradatta; the grandson of Ravidatta; (and) the son of Sûryadatta.
The Mahâbalâdhikṛita² Nâgasiṁha (is) the Dûtaka. The year 100 (and) 90 (and) 1;
(the month) Mâgha; the day 3.
¹ See page 108 above, note 6.
² Mahâbalâdhikṛita, lit. 'a great officer placed at the head of the forces,' is a technical official
title, denoting an officer superior to the Balâdhikṛitas.—The latter title, Balâdhikṛita, occurs in line 2
of the Shâhpur image inscription of Âdityasêna, No. 43 below, Plate xxixA.—A synonym for Mahâ-
balâdhikṛita was Mahâbalâdhyaksha, which occurs in Mr. Bendall's Nêpâl inscription of Harsha-
Saṁvat 34 (Journey in Nêpâl, p. 75, line 17.)

110 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.

No. 24; PLATE XV A.

BHUMARA STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF THE MAHARAJAS HASTIN AND SARVANATHA.

THIS inscription appears to have been discovered by General Cunningham; and was
first brought to notice by him, in 1879, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. pp. 8 f. and
16, No. 9, where he published his translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate
iv. No. 9.)
Bhumarâ¹ is a village about nine miles to the north-west of Uchaharâ, in the Nâgaudh
State in the Baghêlkhaṇḍ division of Central India. From line 3 of the inscription, the
ancient name of the place seems to have been Âmblôda. The inscription is on one of
the faces of the bottom and rectangular part of a small red-sandstone pillar, popularly
called thâḍî-patthar or "the standing stone," in the lands of this village.
The writing, which covers a space of about 10½" broad by 1' 6¾" high, is in a state
of very fair preservation throughout.—The size of the letters varies from ⅜" to ⅞". The
characters belong to the northern class of alphabets. They include, in line 9, forms of
the numerical symbols² for 9 and 10.—The language is Sanskrit; and the entire in-
scription is in prose.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice (1) the doubling of
t, in conjunction with a following r, in puttra, line 5; (2) the doubling of dh, in conjunction
with a following y, in anuddhyâta, line 2; and (3) the use of b for v, in sambatsarê,
line 8.
The inscription is one of the two Mahârâjas Hastin, of the Parivrâjaka family,
and Śarvanâtha,³ of Uchchakalpa. It is dated, in numerical symbols, on the nine-
teenth day,⁴ without any specification of the fortnight, of the month Kârttika (October-
¹ The ‘Bhomara and Bumra’ of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 70. Lat. 24° 25' N.; Long
80° 41' E.—Gen. Cunningham wrote the name ‘Bhubhara.’ And, at Satnâ, it was given to me as
‘Bhurbhurâ.’ But my office-people brought back the name as either Bumarâ or Bhumarâ, and said that
the villagers do not know of any other form of the name. Of these two forms, Bhumarâ agrees most
closely with the names in the maps, and seems to be the correct one.
² I am a little doubtful about the second symbol, which occurs again in line 24 of No. 25 below,
Plate xvB., and line 14 of No. 71, Plate xliA. But it resembles most a rather straight and upright
form of the symbol for 9. The only other possibilities are 7 or 8.
³ For this Mahârâja, see Nos. 28, 29, 30, and 31 below.
⁴ Other instances will be met with, in the present series, of the number of a day exceeding sixteen,
which is the extreme number in a lunar fortnight, bright or dark. And such instances are still more
common in other inscriptions.—In such cases, whether there is any mention of a lunar fortnight or
not, and also in cases in which the number of the day does not exceed sixteen, and the lunar fortnight
is not mentioned, it is sometimes thought that the reference is to the solar, not the luni-solar, months
and year. But I do not consider that this necessarily follows. At Hulgûr, in the Baṅkâpur Tâlukâ
or Sub-Division of the Dhârwâḍ District, there is an inscription of the Yâdava king Mahâdêva of
Dêvagiri, in which the date (line 15 ff.) is Saka-varshada 1189neya Prabhava-saṁvatsarada Jyêshṭha
ba 30 Budhavâra sûryagrahaṇad-andu, "(the month) Jyêshṭha of the Prabhava saṁvatsara, which is
the 1189th Saka year (A.D. 1267-68); the dark fortnight; (the solar day or lunar tithi) 30 (of the
month); Wednesday; at the time of an eclipse of the sun." And we also have the Kôṭâ inscription
of the Sâmanta Dêvadatta, in which the date (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 351 f.) runs Saṁvat 800 70 9
Mâgha śu di 20, "the year 800 (and) 70 (and) 9 (A.D. 822-23); (the month) Mâgha; the bright fort-
night; the day 20 (of the month)." Of these, the first is a southern date, according to the arrange-

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; NO. 24, PLATE XVA. 111
November), in the Mahâ-Mâgha samvatsara, without any reference to an era. But the
choice lies only between Gupta-Samvat 189 and 201; and, as we have for the Mahârâja
Hastin the early date of the year 156, in No. 21 above, page 93, the preference is in
favour of the year one hundred and eighty-nine (A. D. 508-9). The inscription is non-
sectarian; the object of it being simply to record the erection, at Âmblôda, of a boundary-
pillar between the territories of the two Mahârâjas in question.
One point of importance in connection with this inscription, is that its existence on
stone furnishes definite evidence that the Parivrâjaka Mahârâjas and the Mahârâjas of
Uchchakalpa really did belong to this part of the country. This is a point on which stone-
inscriptions give testimony of a kind that can never be derived from the mere finding, in a
certain locality, of copper-plates, which, being small and portable, are always liable to be
carried to a considerable distance from the places to which they properly belong,¹ and can
only be applied territorially when the places mentioned in them can be identified.
TEXT.²
1 Svasti Mahâdêva-pâd[â]-
2 nuddhyâtô(ta)-mahârâja-Hasti-
3 râjyê Âmblô³dê mahârâja-
4 Śarvvanâtha-bhôgê Indana-
5 naptrâ Vâsu-grâmika-puttra-
6 Śivadâsêna vala-ya-
7 shṭi uchchhritah⁴ [I*] Mahâ-
Mâghê
8 samba(mva)tsarê Kârttika-
mâsa
9 divasa 10 9 [II*]
TRANSLATION.
Hail! In (the boundary of) the kingdom of the Mahârâja Hastin, who meditates on
the feet of (the god) Mahâdêva; at (the village of) Âmblôda; (and) in (the boundary)
ment by which the bright half of the month comes first; and the second is a northern date, according
to the arrangement by which the dark half comes first. These instances, of course, are exceptional
ones. But they suffice to shew that, both in northern and in southern India, down to comparatively
late times, the numbering of the solar days and lunar tithis of the month up to thirty did occasionally
continue alongside of the more usual reckoning by fortnights, in which the lunar tithis of each fort-
night are denoted by the numbers one to fifteen only, and the solar days by the numbers one to
fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen, as the case may be.
¹ A marked instance of the distances to which copper-plates and seals may travel, is afforded by
the finding of the seal of the Maukhari Śarvavarman, No. 47 below, at Asîrgaḍh in the Nimâḍ District
in the Central Provinces. Its original locality must have been some hundreds of miles to the
east of this.
² From the ink-impression.
³ The engraver seems to have first engraved hlô, or perhaps dhlô, and then corrected it into
mblô.
⁴ Read valaya-yashṭir=uchchhritâ. — As regards the correction of vala into valaya, vala-yashṭi
or bala-yashṭi gives no meaning; whereas the appropriateness of valaya-yashṭi, 'boundary-staff or
pillar,' is apparent. The mistake arose from the omission to repeat, at the beginning of line 7, the
ya at the end of line 6.

112 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
of) the bhôga¹ of the Mahârâja Śarvanâtha,—(this) boundary-pillar has been set up by
Śivadâsa, the grandson of Indana, and the son of the Grâmika² Vâsu;—in the Mahâ-
Mâgha saṁvatsara; the month Kârttika; the day 10 (and) 9.

No. 25; PLATE XV B.

KHÔH COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF THE

MAHARAJA SAMKSHOBHA.

THE YEAR 209.

THIS inscription,—which was first brought to notice by General Cunningham, in 1879,
in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. p. 15, No. 7, where he published a translation of
it, with a lithograph of the two passages containing the date (id. Pl. iv. No. 4),—is
on another set of copper-plates that appear to have been found somewhere in the valley
near the village of Khôh,³ in the Nâgaudh State in the Baghelkhaṇḍ 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
measuring about 8⁷/₁₆" by 4⅞", and the second about 8¹/₁₆" by 4⅞". They are quite
smooth, the edges being neither fashioned thicker, nor raised into rims. They have
apparently been subjected to the action of fire; but the inscription is in a state of very
good preservation throughout. The plates are fairly thick; but the letters are deep, and
shew through very distinctly on the backs of them. The engraving is good; but, as usual,
the interiors of the letters shew marks of the working of the engraver's tool.—In the
upper part of each plate, there is a hole for a ring to connect them. The ring is about ¼"
thick and 2¼" in diameter. It had not been cut, when the grant came under my notice;
but one end of it had been forced out of the socket of the seal, so that it could be
separated from the plates. The seal, in the lower part of which the ends of the ring were
originally fused and so secured, is rectangular, about 1⅝" by ⅞". It must have had a
legend, on a countersunk surface; but it is now perfectly illegible, and not worth repro-
ducing by a lithograph. Also, from the shape of the seal, as contrasted with that of
the Khôh grant of the Mahârâja Hastin of the year 191, No. 23 above, Plate xiv.,
and compared with the seal of the Khôh grant of the Mahârâja Śarvanâtha of the
year 193, No. 28 below, Plate xviii., it would seem to be a seal of one of the Mahârâjas
of Uchchakalpa, rather than of one of the Parivrâjaka Mahârâjas.—The weight of
the two plates is 1 lb. 8¼ oz., and of the ring and seal, 6 oz.; total 1 lb. 14¼ oz.—The
average size of the letters is about ³/₁₆". The characters belong to the northern class
of alphabets. They include the somewhat rare initial ô, in ôpâni, line 14. In kuryât, line
17, and in kâryyaḥ, line 16, we have further illustrations of the two methods of forming r,
in combination with a following y, on which I have commented at page 94 above.
The characters also include, in line 24, forms of the numerical symbols⁴ for 9 and 20.

¹ bhôga, lit. 'enjoyment, possession, government,' is a technical territorial term, probably of
much the same purport as the bhukti of other inscriptions.
² Grâmika, 'a villager, the headman of a village,' is a technical official title corresponding to the
modern Kanarese Gauḍa and Marâṭhî Pâṭîl.
³ See page 93 above, and note 3.
⁴ As regards the symbol for 9, see page 110 above, note 2.

Vol. III. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. Plate xv
A.—Bhumara Pillar Inscription of the Maharajas Hastin and Sarvanatha.
(Transliteration / Sanskrit Text of Inscription A)
[Line 1] सिद्धम् [॥*] नमो महादेवाय [। *]
[Line 2] श्रीमहाराजहस्तिनः [। ]
[Line 3] श्रीमहाराजशर्व्वनाथस्य च
[Line 4] राज्यार्द्धे सीमाबन्धोयम् [॥]

B.—Khoh Plates of the Maharaja Samkshobha.—The Year 209
First Plate
[Line 1] ओं नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय [॥] स्वस्ति [॥] नवोत्तरेब्दशतद्वये गुप्तनृपराज्यभुक्तौ
[Line 2] महाचैत्रसंवत्सरे चैत्रमासशुक्लपक्षत्रयोदश्याम् अस्यां संवत्सरमासदिवसपूर्व्वायाम्
[Line 3] भारद्वाजसगोत्राय नृपतिपरिव्राजककुलोत्पन्नमहाराजश्रीदेवाढ्यप्रपौत्राय
[Line 4] महाराजश्रीप्रभञ्जनपौत्राय महाराजश्रीदामोदरसुताय श्रीमहान्नागा-
[Line 5] त्मजस्यानेकगोसहस्रहस्त्यश्वहिरण्यानेकदत्तपरममाहेश्वरात्यन्तदेव-
[Line 6] पितृभक्तस्यानेकसमरशतविजयिनो ऽष्टादशाटवीराज्याभ्यन्तरडभाल-
[Line 7] राज्यप्रवर्त्तनस्य महाराजहस्तिनः पुत्रो मातापितृपादानुध्यातः सकल-
[Line 8] भुवनमण्डलोत्पत्तिस्थितिसंहारकारणस्य जगतः प्रसवितुर्भर्तुर्भग-
[Line 9] वतो वासुदेवस्य पादारविन्दप्रवृत्तभक्तिरत्यन्तदेवब्राह्मणभक्तो ऽ-
[Line 10] वारितदानपुण्योपचितविपुलयशो ऽन्वयगुणयुक्तो महाराजश्रीमहा-
[Line 11] संक्षोभः सविज्ञाप्यमस्यैव भारद्वाजसगोत्रस्य नतृ-नप्तृ-परम्पराया-
[Line 12] म् उपरुन्धविषये नवसुच्छन्दके गर्त्तरि उपरिष्टात् पूर्व्वसमुद्र-
Second Plate
[Line 13] सीमायां दक्षिणस्यां दिशि पुण्ड्रक[वाटक]गोष्ठीवरेभ्यः खण्डविशीर्णप्रतिसं-
[Line 14] स्करणाय भगवतश्च पिष्टपुर्याः पूजोपस्थानगन्धधूपदीपनिवेदनाय
[Line 15] च सर्व्वकरचोरदण्डवर्जितम् आचन्द्रार्कार्णवस्थितिपत्रोपभोग्यम् अग्र-
[Line 16] हारं कृत्वा तद्भागेनैव च भगवत्याः पिष्टपुर्य्या देव्याः कारितपुण्य-
[Line 17] कूपवाप्यादि च यश्चापरो मया धर्मार्थं कृतः स चापि पालनीय इति [॥]
[Line 18] उक्तञ्च भगवता व्यासेन [॥] पूर्व्वदत्तां द्विजातिभ्यो यत्नाद्रक्ष युधिष्ठिर [।] महीं
[Line 19] महिमतां श्रेष्ठ दानाच्छ्रेयो ऽनुपालनम् [॥] बहुभिर्व्वसुधा भुक्ता राजभिः सगरा-
[Line 20] दिभिः [।] यस्य यस्य यदा भूमिस्तस्य तस्य तदा फलम् [॥] षष्टिवर्षसह-
[Line 21] स्राणि स्वर्गे मोदति भूमिदः [।] आच्छेत्ता चानुमन्ता च तान्येव नरके वसेत् [॥]
[Line 22] अज्ञानाद्यदि वा मोहात्कुर्यादपहरं नरः [।] स मग्नो नरके घोर ऋषीणामपि
[Line 23] शापतः [॥] स्वदत्तां परदत्तां वा यो हरेत वसुन्धराम् [।] गवां शतसहस्रस्य
[Line 24] हन्तुर्हरति दुष्कृतम् [॥] लिखितं चैतत् सूर्य्यदत्तेन महासान्धिविग्रहि-

J. F. FLEET, BO. C.S. SCALE .66 W. GRIGGS, PHOTO-LITH.

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 25, PLATE XV B. 113
—The language is Sanskrit; and, except for the benedictive and imprecatory verses
in lines 18 to 23, the inscription is in prose throughout. From a linguistic point of
view, we have to notice in kâritaka, line 13, the affix ka, on which I have commented at
page 69 above. — In respect of orthography, we have to notice (1) the use of b for v,
in sambatsara, line 3; and (2) the occasional use of v for b, in avda, line 1; vrâhmaṇa,
line 7; and vahubhiḥ, line 19.
The inscription is one of the Parivrâjaka Mahârâja Saṁkshôbha. It is dated,
in words, “in the enjoyment of sovereignty by the Gupta kings,” in the year two hundred
and nine (A.D. 528-29), in the Mahâ-Aśvayuja saṁvatsara, on the thirteenth lunar day
of the bright fortnight of the month Chaitra (March-April); and at the end, in numerical
symbols, the date is given again as the twenty-ninth solar day, without any specification
of the fortnight, of the same month Chaitra.¹ Judging by the opening invocation of the
god Vishṇu, under the name of Vâsudêva, it is a Vaishṇava inscription. And the object
of it is to record the grant, by the Mahârâja Saṁkshôbha, at the request of a certain
person named Chhôḍugômin, of the village of Ôpâṇi to a temple of the goddess
Pishṭapurî,²—apparently some local form of Lakshmî, the wife of Vishṇu.³
One point of importance in this inscription is, that it mentions the Mahârâja Hastin
as governing the kingdom of Ḍabhâlâ, or possibly Ḍahâlâ, that had come to him by
inheritance, together with all the country included in the eighteen forest kingdoms. I
cannot identify these eighteen forest kingdoms.⁴ But, in Ḍabhâlâ or Ḍahâlâ, we have

¹ On the extreme importance of this double record, see page 107 above, note 1.
² Through his identification of Pishṭapura with the place that he writes ‘Pithaora,’ and which is
entered in maps as ‘Pataora’ and ‘Puttoura,’ nine miles north of Uchchaharâ, Gen. Cunningham (Ar-
chæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. p. 10) identified this goddess Pishṭapurî with the local goddess Paṭainîdêvî
of this ‘Pithaora.’ But this identification will not hold good; if only for the reason that ‘Pithaora’
is in reality Pataurâ, probably from pitṛi-pura, ‘the town of deceased ancestors.’—Pataurâ and
Pitaurâ, in passing, are evidently common names in that part of the country; as the maps shew
‘Patoura,’ ‘Pitoura,’ ‘Patora,’ and ‘Pithoura,’ respectively 29 miles west by a little north, 18 miles
west, 13 miles north-west, and 24 miles north-west, of Uchchaharâ.—Of Pishṭapura we have already
had an earlier mention in line 19 of the Allâhâbâd pillar inscription, No. 1, page 7 above, as the
capital of a king named Mahêndra, who was conquered by Samudragupta, in the dakshiṇâpatha or
‘region of the south.’ And we have another later mention of it, as being conquered by the Western
Chalukya king Pulikêśin II., in line 13 of the Aihoḷe Mêguṭi inscription of Śaka-Saṁvat 556 or A.D.
634-35 (Ind. Ant. Vol. VIII. pp. 242, 245). It is the modern Piṭṭâpuram, the ‘Pithâpur and Pittapooram’
of maps, &c. (Indian Atlas Sheet No. 94; Lat. 17° 6' N., Long. 82° 18' E.), twelve miles north by east
of ‘Coconada’ in the Gôdâvarî District in the Madras Presidency. It is the chief town of a Zamîndârî,
or Estate of the same name; and the remains at it shew that it is a place of considerable antiquity (see
Sewell in Lists of Antiquities, Madras, Vol. I. p. 23 f.)—The Pishṭapurî of this inscription must be
a local form of some more famous and original goddess at Pishṭapura itself. She is mentioned again,
under the slightly different name of Pishṭapurikâdêvî, in line 12 of No. 29 below, Plate xixA., and in
line 11 of No. 31 below, Plate xx.; and the latter passage shews that her local shrine was at a place
named Mânapura, which may perhaps be the modern ‘Manpoor, Manpora, and Mánpur,’ of maps
about forty-seven miles towards the south-east from Uchaharâ.
³ This seems to be shewn (1) by the general Vaishṇava tendency of the present inscription;
and (2) by the fact that,—whereas in the year 177 the village of Dhavashaṇḍikâ was allotted by the
Mahârâja Jayanâtha for the purposes of a temple of the god Vishṇu, under the name of Bhagavat
or the Divine One (No. 27 below, Plate xvii.),—subsequently half of this same village was set
apart, by a grant of the Mahârâja Śarvanâtha, for the purposes of a temple of the goddess Pishṭa-
purikâdêvî (No. 29 below, Plate xixA.)
⁴ See page 13 above, note 7.

114 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
undoubtedly the older form of Dâhala, Ḍâhâla, Dahâla, or Ḍahalâ, which seems to represent
the modern Bundêlkhaṇḍ, and which was in later times a province of the Haihayas or
Kalachuris of Tripura near Jabalpur, whose original capital was Kâlañjara in Bundêlkhaṇḍ.
This, therefore, is another item of evidence connecting the Parivrâjaka Mahârâjas with this
part of the country.¹
TEXT.²
First Plate.
1 Ôm Namô bhagavatê Vâsudêvâya || Svasti Nav-ôttarê=vda(bda)-śata-dvayê
Gupta-nṛipa-r[â]jya-bhuktau*
2 śrîmati pravarddhamâna-vijaya-râjyê Mah-Âśvayuja-sa[ṁ*]vatsarê Chaitra-mâsa-
śukla-
3 paksha-trayôdaśy[â*]m=asyâṁ saṁba(va)tsara-mâsa-divasa-pûrvvâyâ[ṁ*]³ [|]
Chaturddaśa-vidyâsthâna-vidi-
4 ta-paramârthasya Kapilasy=[ai]va mah-arshêḥ sarvva-tat[t*]va-jñasya
Bharadvâja-sagôtrasya nṛipa-
5 pi⁴parivrâjaka-Suśarmmaṇaḥ kul-ôtpannêna mahârâja-śrî-Dêvâḍhya-putra-
pranaptrâ mahârâ-
6 ja⁵-śrî-Prabhañjana-pranaptrâ mahârâja-śrî-Dâmôdara-naptrâ gô-sahasra-
hasty-aśva-hiraṇy-ânêka-
7 bhûmi-pradasya guru-pitṛi-mâtṛi-pûjâ-tatparasy=âtyanta-dêva-vrâ(brâ)hmaṇa-
bhaktasy=ânêka-samara-
8 śata-vijayinaḥ s-âshṭâdaś-âṭavî-râjy-âbhyantaraṁ Ḍabhâ(Phâ)lâ-râjyam=
anvay-âgataṁ samadi⁶
9 pâlayipnô(shṇô)r=anêka-guṇa-vikhyâta-yaśasô mahârâja-gri(śrî)-Hastinaḥ
sutêna
10 varṇṇ-âśrama-dharmma-sthâpanâ-niratêna paramabhâgavatên=âtyanta-pitṛi-
bhaktêna sva-vaṁ-
11 ś-âmôdakarêṇa mahârâja-śrî-Saṁkshôbhêna(ṇa) mâtâpitrôr=âtmanaś=cha
puṇy-âbhi-
12 vriddhayê⁷ Chhêḍugômi-vijñâptyâ tam=êva cha sva[r*]gga-sôpâna-paṅktim=
ârôpaya-
Second Plate.
13 tâ bhagavatyâḥ Pishṭapuryâḥ kâritaka-dêvakulê va(ba)li-charu-sat[t*]r-
ôpayô-
¹ It is perhaps worth mentioning, that there is in this neighbourhood a station on the Allahâbâd-
Jabalpur railway, called Ḍabhâurâ (the ‘Dabhura’ and ‘Daboora’ of maps), about fourteen miles
east of Mâṇikpur, and fifty miles east by north of Kâlañjara.
² From the original plates. ³ Supply tithau.
⁴ Read nṛipati.—In the second syllable, first ti was engraved, and then it was corrected into pa.
⁵ This ja was first omitted, and then inserted in the margin of the plate.
⁶ Some correction or other is required here; but it is not apparent what was intended;
possibly, however, samyak, sampadi, or sapadi. I do not suggest samadhîpâlayishṇôr, because I
cannot find any authority for the composition of sam and adhi with pâ, ‘protect’.—In the third syl-
lable, ḍi was certainly engraved; but the i may perhaps have been cancelled.
⁷ Read abhivṛiddhayê.
⁸ The mark over this va is only a fault or rust-hole in the copper. There are several other simi-
lar faults or rust-holes in these two plates; e.g. after sy=ârddhaṁ in line 15.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 25, PLATE XV B. 115
14 g-ârthaḥ(ṁ) khaṇḍa-sphuṭita-saṁskâr-ârthañ=cha Maṇinâga-pêṭhê Opâni-
grâma-
15 sy=ârddhaṁ chôra-drôhaka-varjjaḥ(ṁ) tâmra-śâsanên=âtisṛishṭaṁ [|] tad=
asmat-kul-ôtthau(tthai)ḥ ma-
16 t-pâdapiṇḍ-ôpajîvibhir=vvâ kâlântarêshv=api na vyâghâtaḥ kâryyaḥ [|]
êvam=âjñâ-
17 pta¹ yô=nyathâ kuryât=tam=ahaṁ dêhântara-gatô=pi mahat=âvadhyânêna
nirddahêyaṁ [||]
18 Uktaṁ cha bhagavatâ param-arshiṇâ vêda-vyâsena Vyâsênaḥ² [|]
Pûrvva³-dattâṁ dvijâtibhyô
19 yatnâd=raksha Yudhishṭhiraḥ⁴ mahîm=mahimatâ[ṁ*] śrêshṭha dânâch=
chhrêyô=nupâlanaḥ(ṁ) [||] Va(ba)hubhiḥ
20 vasudhâ bhuktâ râjabhis=Sagar-âdibhiḥ yasya yasya yadâ bhûmis=
tasya tasya tadâ
21 phalaṁ [||] Shashṭiṁ varsha-sahasrâṇi svarggê môdati bhûmi-daḥ
âkshêptâ ch=ânumantâ cha tâny=ê-
22 va narakê vasêt [||] Bhûmi⁵-pradânân=nâ(na) paraṁ pradânaṁ dânâd=
viśishṭaṁ paripâlan=chha⁶
23 sarvvê-tisṛishṭâ[ṁ] paripâlya bhûmi[ṁ*] nṛipâ Nṛig-âdyas=tridivaṁ
prapannâḥ || Likhitaṁñ⁷=cha
24 Jîvita-naptrâ Bhujaṁgadâsa-putr-Êśvaradâsen=êti [|] Sva-mukh-âjñâ [|]
Chaitra di 20 9 [||*]
TRANSLATION.
Ôm! Reverence to the divine (god) Vâsudêva! Hail! In two centuries of years,
increased by nine; in the enjoyment of sovereignty by the Gupta kings; in the glorious
augmenting and victorious reign; in the Mahâ-Âśvayuja saṁvatsara; on the thirteenth
lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month Chaitra,—on this (lunar day), (specified)
as above by the saṁvatsara and month and day,-
(Line 3.)—By the Mahârâja, the illustrious Saṁkshôbha,—who is born in the
family of the kingly ascetic Suśarman, who had learned the whole truth of the fourteen
sections of science;⁸ who was a great sage, (being) indeed (an incarnation of) Kapila;
who knew all the first principles; (and) who was of the Bharadvâja gôtra;—who is the
great-grandson of the son of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Dêvâḍhya;—who is the
great-grandson of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Prabhañjana;—who is the grandson
of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Dâmôdara;—who is the son of the Mahârâja, the
illustrious Hastin, who was the giver of thousands of cows, and elephants, and horses, and
¹ Read either âjñaptê, or âjñâpitê. ² Read vyâsêna.
³ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh); and in the following two verses.
⁴ Read yudhishṭhira.
⁵ Metre, Upajâti of Indravajrâ and Upêndravajrâ.
⁶ Read paripâlanañ=cha.
⁷ Read likhitañ.—And supply śâsanam.
⁸ chaturdaśa-vidyâsthâna; viz. the four Vêdas, the six Vêdâṅgas, the Purâṇas, the Mîmâṁsa
system of philosophy, the Nyâya system, and Dharma, or law.
Q 2.

116 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
gold, and many lands; who was earnest in paying respect to (his) spiritual preceptor and
(his) father and mother; who was extremely devoted to the gods and Brâhmaṇs; who was
victorious in many hundreds of battles; who sought to govern properly the kingdom of
Ḍabhâlâ,¹ which had come (to him) by inheritance, together with (all the country) in-
cluded in the eighteen forest kingdoms; (and) whose fame was renowned through many
good qualities;—who is intent upon establishing the religious duties of the castes and the
different periods of life;—who is a most devout worshipper of the Divine One;—who is ex-
tremely devoted to (his) ancestors;—(and) who causes the happiness of his own race,—
(L. 11.)—(By him),—for the purpose of increasing the religious merit of (his) pa-
rents and of himself,—at the request of Chhôḍugômin, and (with the object of) causing
him to ascend the steps of the ladder that leads to heaven,—half of the village of Ôpâṇi,
in the Maṇinâga pêṭha,² is granted by a copper-charter, with the exception of (the right
to fines imposed on) thieves and mischief-doers, for the purpose of observing the bali, charu,
and sattra,³ at the temple, which (he) has caused to be built, of the divine (goddess)
Pishṭapurî, and for the purpose of renewing whatever may become broken or torn.
(L. 15.)—Therefore, even in future times, no obstacle (to the enjoyment of this grant)
is to be caused by those who are born in Our family, or by my feudatories. This injunction
having been given, he who behaves otherwise,—him I will consume with a great contempt,
even when I have passed into another body.
(L. 18.)—And it has been said by the venerable supreme sage, Vyâsa, the arranger
of the Vêdas,—“O Yudhishṭhira, best of kings, carefully preserve land that has previous-
ly been given to the twice-born; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) (is) more meritorious
than making a grant! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with
Sagara; whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the
reward (of this grant that is now made, if he continue it)! The giver of land enjoys happi-
ness in heaven for sixty thousand years; (but) the confiscator (of a grant), and he who
assents to (an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years in hell! (There
is) no gift better than a gift of land, and the preservation (of a grant) (is) better than making
a grant; all kings, commencing with Nṛiga, have attained heaven, (by) preserving land
that had been granted!”
(L. 23.)—And (this charter) has been written by Iśvaradâsa, the grandson of Jîvita,
(and) the son of Bhujamgadâsa. The order (is that) of his own⁴ mouth. (The month)
Chaitra; the day 20 (and) 9.
¹ Or possibly Ḍahâlâ; but the second syllable, though rather badly formed, seems to be bhâ, rather than hâ.
² pêṭha; a technical territorial term, represented in modern Marâṭhî by pêṭâ. Another form of
it, veṇṭha, occurs in line 30-31 of the Harihar grant of Bukkarâya of Śâlivâhana-Śaka 1270 (Jour. Bo.
Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XII. p. 347); and we also have veṇṭheya or penṭheya in line 24 of the Harihar
inscription of Achyutarâya of Śâlivâhana-Śaka 1460 (Ind. Ant. Vol. IV. p. 331).
³ bali is the offering of ghee, grain, rice, &c., to the gods and all creatures of every description;
charu, the oblation of rice, barley, and pulse boiled with butter and milk, for the deceased ancestors;
and sattra, the giving of alms and refuge. They are three of the pañcha-mahâyajña, or ‘five great
sacrifices,’ which are usually (e.g. in line 27 f. of the Mâliyâ grant of the Mahârâja Dharasêna II., No.
18 below, Plate xxiv.) enumerated as bali, charu, vaiśvadêva (the offering to all deities), agnihôtra
(see page 71 above, note 8), and atithi (hospitality; the sattra of the present inscription).—The
sattra-rite was the special object of the sattra, or ‘charitable hall or almshouse,’ which is mentioned
for instance, in No. 7, line 6, page 38 above.
⁴ Saṁkshôbha’s. These words imply that he employed no Dûtaka to convey the orders to the
local officials, but gave them in person; see page 100 above, note 3.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 26, PLATE XVI. 117
No. 26; PLATE XVI.
KARITALAI COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF THE
MAHARAJA JAYANATHA.
THE YEAR 174.
THIS inscription,—which was first brought to notice by General Cunningham, in 1879,
in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. p. 12. f. No. 3, where he published a translation of it,
with a lithograph of the two passages containing the date (id. Plate iv. No. 5),—is from
some copper-plates that were found, about 1850, in a small receptacle inside a ruined
temple of the god Vishṇu, in his incarnation as the Boar, at Kârîtalâî,¹ a village about
twenty-three miles north-east of Muḍwârâ,² the chief town of the Muḍwârâ Tahsîl or
Sub-Division of the Jabalpur District in the Central Provinces. I obtained the original
plates, for examination, from the possession of General Cunningham.
The plates, which are inscribed on one side only, are two in number, the first measur-
ing about 9⅛" by 6¾", and the second 9¹⁄₁₆" by 6⅛". The edges of them are here and
there fashioned slightly thicker than the inscribed surfaces, with corresponding depressions
inside them, so as to serve as rims to protect the writing; and the inscription is in a state
of excellent preservation throughout. The plates are fairly thick; but the letters are
deep, and shew through on the backs, so clearly that in many places they can be read
there. The engraving is good; but the interiors of many of the letters shew marks of the
working of the engraver’s tool.—In the upper part ³ of each plate, there is a hole for a
ring to connect them. But the ring, and the seal attached to it, are not forthcoming.—
The weight of the two plates is 2 lbs. 7 oz.—The average size of the letters is about ¼".
The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets; and the present inscription,
with the five that follow, and with No. 22 above, Plate xiii., No. 24, Plate xvA., and
No. 25, Plate xvB., illustrates what may be called the standard alphabet, with northern
characteristics, of Central India, from towards the end of the fifth to the middle of the
sixth century A.D. The characters include the rather rare initial ô, in ôghadêva, line 1, and
the equally rare jh, in ajjhitadêvî, line 5; also, in lines 24 and 25, forms of the numerical
symbols for 4, 10, 70, and 100.—The language is Sanskrit; and, except for the benedic-
tive and imprecatory verses in lines 14 to 21, the inscription is in prose throughout. From
a linguistic point of view we have to notice, in utpadyamânaka, line 10 f., the affix ka,
which I have commented on at page 69 above.—In respect of orthography, we have
to notice (1) the use of the dental nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in vanśa, line 10;
(2) the constant doubling of t, in conjunction with a following r, e.g. in puttra, line 2;
sagôttra, line 7; and ttrâtâ, line 20; and (3) the occasional use of b for v, in sambatsara,
line 21, and sambat, line 24.
The inscription is one of the Mahârâja Jayanâtha; and the charter recorded in it
is issued from the city or hill called Uchchakalpa.⁴ The date of the writing of the
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
¹ The ‘Karîtalai and Kareetullaee’ of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 89. Lat. 24° 3′ N.;
Long. 80° 46′ E.
² The ‘Moorwari, Moorwarra, and Murwára,’ of maps, &c. ³ See page 101 above, note 2.
⁴ The 'iteral meaning, ‘that which is but little short of being a high place,’ points perhaps
rather to the name being properly that of a hill; but of course with a town on it.

118 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
charter is given, in both words and numerical symbols, as the year one hundred and seventy-
four, and the fourteenth day, without any specification of the fortnight, of the month
Âshâḍha (June-July). There is no information given as to the era. But the Bhumarâ
pillar inscription of the Mahârâjas Hastin and Śarvanâtha, No. 24 above, page 110,
shews that the Parivrâjaka Mahârâjas and the Mahârâjas of Uchchakalpa were contem-
poraries; and, therefore, that the era of the latter must be the same with that of the former,
which is distinctly indicated as being the Gupta era. And the result, accordingly, for the
present date, is A.D. 493-94. The inscription is non-sectarian; the object of it being only
to record the grant, by the Mahârâja Jayanâtha, to a Brâhmaṇ, of the village of
Chhandâpallikâ in the Nâgadêya¹ santaka.²
TEXT.³
First Plate.
1 Om Svasti Uchchakalpân=mahârâja-Ôgha⁴dêvas=tasya puttras=tat-pâd-
ânudhyâtô mahâ-
2 dêvyâṁ Kumâradêvyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Kumâradêvas=tasya puttras=
tat-pâd-[â*]nudhyâtê(tô)
3 mahâdêvyâṁ Jayasvâminyâm=utpannô mah[â*]râja-Jayasvâmî tasya
puttras=tat-pâd-[â*]nudhyâtê(tô)
4 mah[â*]dêvyâ[ṁ*] Râmadêvyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Vy[â*]ghras=tasya
puttras=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtô mahâ-
5 dêvyâm=Ajjhitadêvyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Jayanâthaḥ kuśalî Nâgadêya-
santaka-Chha-
6 ndâpallikâyâṁ brâhmaṇ-âdin=kuṭumbinaḥ kârukâṁś=cha samâjñâpayati [।*]
Vadataṁm=bô⁵=stu
7 yath=aisha grâmô mayâ sva-puṇy-âbhivṛiddhayê Kâṇvasagôttra-Vâja-
sanêyaMâdhya-
8 ndina-brâhmaṇa-Mittrasvâminaḥ s-ôdraṅgaḥ s-ôparikaraḥ a-châṭa-bhaṭa-
prâvêśyaḥ
9 chôra-varjjitô=tisṛishṭas=Tê yûyam=asya samuchita-bhâgabhôga-kara-pratyây-
ôpa-
10 nayaṁ kaka(ri)shyatha âjñâ-śravaṇa-vidhêyâś=cha bhavishyatha [।*] Yê
ch=âsmad-vaṁś-ôtpadya-
11 mânaka-râjânas=tair=iyaṁ dattir=nna vilôpy=ânumôdanîyâ samuchita-râj-â-
12 bhâvya-kara-pratyâyâ na grâhyâḥ [।*] Yaś=ch=aimâṁ dattiṁ lôpayêt
sa pañchabhiḥ
¹ As regards Gen. Cunningham’s desire to identify Nâgadêya with the modern Nâgaudh, see
page 94 above, note 1.
² santaka is a technical territorial term, the exact meaning of which is not apparent. It is
perhaps identical in etymology with the Prâkṛit santaka, 'belonging to,' in asmat-santaka,
'belonging to Us,' which occurs in the Vâkâṭaka inscriptions, No. 55 below, line 21, and No. 56,
line 23.—In No. 29 below, line 7, we have the slightly different form, as a territorial term, of
santika.
³ From the original plates.
⁴ Read râj-augha.
⁵ Read viditam vô.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 26, PLATE XVI. 119
Second Plate.
13 mahâpâtakair=upapâtakaiś=cha saṁyukta[h*] syân(d)=Uktaṁ cha Mahâ-
bhâratê bhagavatâ
14 Vyâsêna [I*] Sva¹-dattâṁ para-dattâṁ vâ yatnâd=raksha Yudhishṭhira
mahîṁ=mahîmatâṁ śrêshṭha
15 dânâch=chhrêyô=nupâlanaṁ [II*] Bahubhir=vvasudhâ bhuktâ râjabhiḥ
Sagar-âdibhiḥ yasya
16 yasya yadâ bhûmis=tasya tasya tadâ phalaṁ [II*] Prâyêṇa hi
narêndrâṇâṁ vidyatê n=â-
17 śubhâ gatiḥ pûyântê tê tu satataṁ prayachchhantô vasun-
dharâṁ [II*] Shashṭi-varsha-sahasrâ-
18 ṇi svarggê môdati bhûmi-daḥ âchchhêttâ ch=ânumantâ cha tâny=êva
narakê vasêt [II*]
19 Âsphôṭala(ya)nti pitaraḥ pravalganti pitâmahâḥ bhûmi-dô=sma[t*]-kulê
jâtaḥ sa nô(naḥ)
20 ttrâtâ bhavishyati [II*] Sarvva-sasya-samṛiddhân=tu yô harêta vasun-
dharâṁ śva-vishṭhâyâṁ kṛimi-
21 r=bhûtvâ pitṛibhis=saha majjati I(II) Saṁba(mva)tsara-ga(śa)tê chatuḥ-
saptatê Âshâḍha-mâsa-
22 sya chaturddaśamê divasê asyâṁ divasa-purvvâyâṁ² likhitaṁ³ mayâ
bhôgika-Râjyi-
23 l-âmâtya-naptṛi-bhôgika-Dhruvadatta-puttra-bhôgika-Guñjakîrttinâ [I*] Dûtak-
ôparika-⁴
24 dîkshita-gṛihapati-sthapati-saṁrâṭ-Chchha(chha)rvvadatta iti II Saṁba(mva)t
100 70 4 Âshâ-
25 dha di 10 4 I(II)
TRANSLATION.
Ôm! Hail! From (the city or hill of) Uchchakalpa;⁵—(There was) the Mahârâja
Ôghadêva. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the Mahârâja Kumâradêva,
begotten on the Mahâdêvî Kumâradêvî. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the
Mahârâja Jayasvâmin, begotten on the Mahâdêvî Jayasvâminî. His son, who medi-
tated on his feet, (was) the Mahârâja Vyâghra, begotten on the Mahâdêvî Râmadêvî.
(Line 4.)—His son, who meditates on his feet, the Mahârâja Jayanâtha,—begotten
on the Mahâdêvî Ajjhitadêvî,⁷—being in good health,⁸ issues a command to the
¹ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh); and in the following five verses.
² Supply tithau. ³ Supply śâsanam.
⁴ Read dûtaka uparika. — Dûtaka should be a word by itself, in the nominative singular; not
in composition with uparika.
⁵ The context is in line 5 f.,—"the Mahârâja Jayanâtha ...... issues a command." The
genealogy that intervenes, is by way of a parenthesis.
⁶ See page 16 above, note 2.
⁷ The first part of this name, ajjhita, must be a Prâkṛit word. There might be some tempta-
tion to correct it into the Sanskrit ujjhita; but there is not the slightest approach to the vowel u
below the final m of the preceding word dêvyâṁ, in any of the passages in which it occurs.—Gen.
Cunningham read the name as Majjhitadêvî; but this is incorrect, as there is no trace whatever of an
anusvâra over the vyâ of dêvyâṁ, in any of the passages.—We have another Prâkṛit name in Ijjâdêvî
in line 5 of the Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription of Jîvitagupta II., No. 46 below, Plate xxixB.
⁸ kuśalin; a technical expression of constant use in charters.

120 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
cultivators, beginning with the Brâhmaṇs, and to the artisans, at (the village of)
Chhandâpallikâ in the Nâgadêya santaka :—
(L. 6.)—“Be it known to you that, for the purpose of increasing my own religious
merit, this village is granted by me,—with the udranga and the uparikara, (and with the
privilege that it is) not to be entered by the irregular or the regular troops, (but) with
the exception of (the right to fines imposed on) thieves,—to the Brâhmaṇ Mitrasvâmin,
of the Kâṇva gôtra and the Vâjasanêya-Mâdhyamdina (śâkhâ).
(L. 9.)—“You yourselves shall render to him the offering of the tribute of the
customary royalties¹ and taxes, and shall be obedient to (his) commands.
(L. 10.)—“And those kings who shall be born in Our lineage,—by them this grant
should not be confiscated, (but) should be assented to ; (and) the tribute of the taxes which
by custom should not belong to the king, should not be taken.
(L. 12.)—“And whosoever may confiscate this grant,—he shall become invested
with (the guilt of) the five great sins and the minor sins.”
(L. 13.)—And it has been said in the Mahâbhârata by the venerable Vyâsa,—“‘ O
Yudhishṭhira, best of kings, carefully preserve land that has been given, whether by thy-
self or by another ; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) (is) more meritorious than
making a grant ! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara,
whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs at that time, the reward (of this
grant that is now made, if he continue it) ! As a rule, indeed, no inauspicious condition is
experienced by kings ; but they are purified for ever, when they bestow land ! The giver of
land enjoys happiness in heaven for sixty thousand years ; (but) the confiscator (of a grant),
and he who assents (to an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years
in hell ! Fathers (in the world of the dead) clap their hands upon their arms, (and)
grandfathers leap (from joy), (saying)—‘ A giver of land has been born in our family ;
he shall become our deliverer ’ ! He who confiscates land, rich in all (kinds of) grains,
(that has been granted),—he becomes a worm in the ordure of a dog, and sinks (into
hell), together with (his) ancestors !”
(L. 21.)—In a century of years, together with the seventy-fourth (year), on the
fourteenth day of the month Âshâḍha,—on this (lunar day), (specified) as above by the
day (&c.),²—(this charter) has been written by me, the Bhôgika Guñjakîrtti, the
grandson of the Bhôgika, the Amâtya Râjyila, and the son of the Bhôgika Dhruvadatta.
The Dûtaka (is) the Uparika, Dîkshita,³ householder,⁴ and chief of architects,⁵
Śarvadatta.
(L. 24.)—The year 100 (and) 70 (and) 4 ; (the month) Âshâḍha ; the day 10
(and) 4.

¹ bhâgabhôga ; lit. ‘enjoyment of shares. My rendering is on the authority of Monier Williams’
explanation of bhâga-bhuj, in his Sanskrit Dictionary, by ‘enjoying taxes ; a king, sovereign.’
² See page 97 above, note 1.
³ Dîkshita ; ‘one who has received initiation, or by whom the preparatory ceremonies have been
observed.’
⁴ grihapati ; ‘the master of a house, a householder ; a man of the second class, who, having finished
his studies, is married and settled.’
⁵ sthapati-samrâj ; the meaning, however, is not quite certain. Perhaps it may mean ‘superin-
tendent of the attendants of the women’s apartments.’

Here is the complete transcription and details for the inscription shown in the plate.

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III

Plate xvi
No. 26: Kārītalāī Copper-Plate Inscription of the Mahārāja Jayanātha
The Year 174 (Gupta Era = c. 493–494 CE)

Genealogy & Historical Summary

• Dynasty: Mahārājas of Ucchakalpa (modern Uchahara / Bhedaghat region, Madhya Pradesh).
• Genealogy:
  1. Mahārāja Svāmidatta (and Mahādevī Devasvāminī)
  2. Mahārāja Vyāghra (and Mahādevī Jayabhaṭṭārikā)
  3. Mahārāja Kumāradeva (and Mahādevī Dhīrasvāminī)
  4. Mahārāja Jayanātha (born of Mahādevī Jayasvāminī), a devout worshipper of the Bhagavat (Viṣṇu) (Parama-bhāgavata).
• Object: Grant of the village Kālabhakaṇṭaka as an agrahāra (tax-free religious grant) to the Chhandoga (Sāmavedin) Brāhmaṇa Mitrasvāmin of the Śāṇḍilya gotra and K

The provided image appears to be entirely blank and contains no visible text or inscriptions to transcribe.

Please provide an image that clearly shows the text/inscription page, and I will gladly transcribe it for you line by line.

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

122 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
TEXT.¹
First Plate.
1 Svasty=Uchchakalpân=mahârâj-Aughadêvas=tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtô
mahâ-
2 dêvyâṁ Kumârad[ê*]vyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Kumâradêvas=tasya puttras=
tat-p[â*]d-ânudhyâtô
3 mahâdêvyâṁ Jayasvâminyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Jayasvâmi(mî) tasya
puttras=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtô
4 mahâdêvyâṁ Râmadêvyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Vyâghras=tasya puttras=
tat-p[â*]d-ânudhyâtô mahâ-
5 dêvy[â*]m=Ajjhitadêvyâm=utpannô mahârâja-Jayanâthaḥ kuśalî(||)
Dhavashaṇḍikâyâ[ṁ*] vrâ(brâ)hma-
6 ṇ-âdîn=kuṭumvi(mbi)naḥ kârukâṁś=cha samâjñâpayati [|] Viditaṁ vô=stu
yath=aisha grâmô may=â-
7 chandr-ârkka-samakâlikaḥ Śâśatanêya-Sarvvavâdha-divira-tatputtra-bhâgavata-
Gaṅga-ta[t]puttra-
8 Raṅkabôṭa-Aja²garadâs[â*]nâṁ sva-puṇy-âbhivṛiddhayê bhagavat-pâd[ê*]bhyaḥ
dêv-[â*]grahârô=tisṛishṭa[h*] [|]
9 êbhiś=ch=âttra pratishṭhâpitaka-bhagavat-pâdânâṁ puttra-[pautra]-prapauttra-
tatputtr-âti(di)-kkramêṇa khaṇḍa-
10 phuṭṭa³-pratisaṁsk[â*]r[êṇa*] va(ba)li-charu-sattra-pravarttan-âdy-anushṭhânêna
cha sva-puṇy-âbhivṛiddhiḥ
11 karttavyâ [||] Tê yûyam=êshâṁ samuchita-śu[l]ka-bhâgabhôga-kara-hiraṇy-
âdi-pratyây-ôpanayaṁ⁴
12 karishyath=âjñâ-śravaṇa-vidhêyâś=cha bhavishyatha [|] Yê ch=âsmad-
vaṁś-ôtpadyamânaka-râjânas=tair=iyaṁ
13 datti[r]=nna vilôpyâ anumôdan[î*]yâ samuchita-rô(râ)j-âbhâvya-kara-
pratyâyâ na grâhyâ[ḥ*]
Second Plate.
14 chôra-daṇḍa-varjyaṁ [| kâ]l-ânukâlaṁ cha pratipâlanîya [|] Yaś=ch=
aimâṁ dattiṁ lôpayêt=sa pa[ṁ]cha-
15 bhir=mmahâpâtakair=upapâtakaiś=cha saṁyuktaḥ sy[âd*] [||] Uktaṁ cha
Mahâbhâratê bhagavatâ vêda-vyâsêna
16 Vyâsêna [|] Sva⁵-dattâṁ para-dattâm=vâ yatnâd=raksha Yudhishṭhira
mahî[ṁ*] mahîmatâṁ śrêshṭha dânâch=chhrêyô=nupâla-
17 naṁ [||] Prâyêṇa hi narêndrâṇâṁ vidyatê n-â-śubhâ gatiḥ
pûyattê(ntê) tê tu satata[ṁ] prayachchhantô vasundha-
18 râ[ṁ*] [||] Shashṭiṁ varsha-sahasrâṇi⁶ svarggê môdati bhûmi-daḥ |
âchchhôttâ ch=ânumantâ cha tâny=[ê*]va narak[ê*] vasêt [||*]
¹ From the original plates.
² Read bôṭ-âja.
³ Read sphuṭita. — Phuṭṭa is a regular Prâkṛit formation; but is not admissible in a Sanskrit passage.
⁴ This anusvâra is so high above the ya, that it seems to have been omitted at first, and inserted subsequently, somewhat at random.
⁵ Metre. Ślôka (Anushṭubh); and in the following four verses.
⁶ Read sahasrâṇi.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 27, PLATE XVII. 123
19 Bahubhir=vvasudhâ bhuktâ râjabhis=Sagar-âdibhiḥ [|] rya(ya)sya yasya
yadâ bhûmis=tasya tasya tadâ phalaṁ [||]
20 Sarvva-sasya-samṛiddhân=[t]u yô harêta vasundharâ[ṁ*] [|] sa vishṭhâyâṁ
kṛimi[r*]=bhûtvâ pitṛibhiḥ saha majya(jja)tê [||]
21 Saṁvatsara-śatê sapta-saptaty-u[tta]rê Chaittra-mâsa-divasê dvâ-
viṁśatimê likhitaṁ¹ bhôgika-Phâlgu²datt-âmâtya-
22 mâtya³-naptrâ bhôgika-Varâhadinna-puttra-sândhivigrahika-Gallunâ [|] dûtak-
ôparika⁴-dîkshita-gṛiha-
23 pati-sthapatisamrat-Chharvvadattaḥ [||] Yattr=âghâtâḥ Dhânyavâhika-
pratyuddêśê garttâ pâlî cha [|]
24 Durggamaṇḍala-pradêśê pâlî [|] Suvarṇṇakakshaka-pradêśê gôpatha-
śaraḥ ardhêna cha pâlî [|]
25 Âmuka-pradêśê garttâ [|] Dâramaṇḍala-pradêśrê(śê) pâlî [|] Vakra-
vaṇa-prâvêśya-maṇḍala-pradêśê pâlî [|]
26 grâmê yâvat-kûpaṁ pravishṭâ iti [||]
TRANSLATION.
Hail! From Uchchakalpa;—(There was) the Mahârâja Ôghadêva. His son,
who meditated on his feet, (was) the Mahârâja Kumâradêva, begotten on the Mahâdêvî
Kumâradêvî. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the Mahârâja Jayasvâmin,
begotten on the Mahâdêvî Jayasvâminî. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the
Mahârâja Vyâghra, begotten on the Mahâdêvî Râmadêvî.
(Line 4.)—His son, who meditates on his feet, the Mahârâja Jayanâtha,—
begotten on the Mahâdêvî Ajjhitadêvî,—being in good health, issues a command
to the cultivators, beginning with the Brâhmaṇs, and to the artisans, at (the village of)
Dhavashaṇḍikâ:—
(L. 6.)—“Be it known to you that, for the purpose of increasing my own religious
merit, (and) for the benefit of the feet of the Divine One,⁵ this village is granted by me, as
an agrahâra of the god, to continue for the same time with the moon and the sun, to
the _Divira_⁶ Sarvavâḍha, of the Śâśatânêya (gôtra) (?), and his son the Bhâgavata Gaṅga,
and his sons Raṅkabôṭa and Ajagaradâsa. And the increase of their own religious merit
should be effected by the succession of (their) sons, [sons’ sons*], sons of sons’ sons, sons of
the latter, &c., by repairing whatever may become broken or torn, and by attending to the

¹ Supply śâsanam.
² Read phalgu.—The name occurs again with the long vowel â in the first syllable, in line 30 of
No. 28 below, and line 11 of No. 30 below. But the correct form, with the short vowel a, occurs in
line 28 of No. 31 below, page 137.
³ Read âmâtya-naptrâ. The syllables mâtya are repeated by mistake.
⁴ Read dûtaka uparika; see page 119 above, note 4.
⁵ i. e. “for the benefit of the Divine One.”—Here, and in line 9 below, the words “the feet” are
only used in accordance with the customary method of respectful mention. No reference is intended
to any shrine containing ‘foot-prints’ of Vishṇu, which would be denoted by the use of pada, not
pâda.
⁶ Divira is a technical official title, explained by Dr. Bühler (Ind. Ant. Vol. VI. p. 10) as meaning
‘a clerk, writer, or accountant,’ on the authority of a passage in the Lôkaprakâśa of Kshêmêndra,
which explains the details of written documents for the benefit of the Diviras.
R 2.

124 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
maintenance of the bali, charu, sattra, and other (such rites), of the feet of the Divine
One, established here by these persons.
(L. 11.)—"You yourselves shall render to these persons the offering of the tribute
of the customary duties, royalties, taxes, gold, &c., and shall be obedient to (their)
commands.
(L. 12.)—"And those kings who shall be born in Our lineage,—by them this grant
should not be confiscated, (but) should be assented to; (and), with the exception of fines
imposed on thieves, the tribute of the taxes which by custom should not belong to the
king, should not be taken; and (this grant) should be preserved from time to time.
(L. 14.)—"And whosoever may confiscate this grant,—he shall become invested
with (the guilt of) the five great sins and the minor sins."
(L. 15.)—And it has been said in the Mahâbhârata by the venerable Vyâsa, the arranger
of the Vêdas,—"O Yudhishṭhira, best of kings, carefully preserve land that has been
given, whether by thyself or by another; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) (is) more
meritorious than making a grant! As a rule, indeed, no inauspicious condition is ex-
perienced by kings; but they are purified for ever, when they bestow land! The giver of
land enjoys happiness in heaven for sixty thousand years; (but) the confiscator (of a
grant), and he who assents (to an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of
years in hell! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara;
whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the reward (of this
grant that is now made, if he continue it)! He who confiscates land, rich in all (kinds
of) grains, (that has been granted),—he becomes a worm in ordure, and sinks (into hell),
together with his ancestors!"
(L. 21.)—In a century of years, increased by seventy-seven, on the twenty-second
day of the month Chaitra, (this charter) has been written by the Sâṁdhivigrahika Gallu,
the grandson of the Bhôgika, the Amâtya Phalgudatta,¹ (and) the son of the Bhôgika
Varâhadinna.² The Dûtaka (is) the Uparika, Dîkshita, householder, and chief of archi-
tects,³ Śarvadatta.
(L. 23.)—The boundaries in this matter (are),—in the direction of Dhânya-
vâhika,⁴ a boundary-trench and a bridge;⁵—in the direction of Durgamaṇḍala, a

¹ See page 123 above, note 2.
² dinna is rather a rare word. But it occurs again(1) as the second part of a proper name, in
Indradinna, a Jain teacher (Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. pp. 247, 251), and perhaps in Vîkidinna, in line 25 of the
Mâliyâ grant of Dharasêna II., No. 38 below (where, however, it may be a name by itself); (2) as a
proper name by itself, in line 9 of the Nirmaṇḍ grant of the Mahâsâmanta and Mahârâja Samudra-
sêna, No. 80 below, Plate xliv., and in the case of a Jain teacher (Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. pp. 247, 252); and
(3) as the first component of the name of a village in Dinnâgrâma (Monier Williams’ Sanskrit Diction-
ary, s. v.) Also, we have a village or town named Diṇṇaputra, either a mistake or a local variation
for Dinnaputra, or more probably a mistake for Dinnâputra, in line 54 of one of the Dhâṅk grants
of Śîlâditya V. (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XI. p. 345; and Indian Inscriptions, No. 15.)
³ sthapati-samraj; see page 120 above, note 5.
⁴ Dhânyavâhika must have been a very common village-name in those parts, as the maps give
‘Danwai,’ ‘Dhanwahi’ (three times), ‘Dhunwahee,’ and ‘Dhunwai,’ all within a distance of thirty-two
miles from Uchaharâ, on the south-east, south, and south-west.
⁵ pâlî; or ‘a raised bank, dike, or causeway.’—This, also, if it did not occur five times in this
passage, and in five different directions, might be taken as a village-name; since the maps give ‘Pali,’
thirty-seven miles north-west, and again seventy miles south by east, from Uchaharâ.