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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 32. PLATE XXI A 139
(L. 19.)—And it has been said in the Mahâbhârata, in the Śatasâhasrî-Saṁhitâ, by
vyâsa, the arranger of the Vêdas, the supreme sage, the son of Parâśara,—“O Yudhish-
ṭhira, best of kings, catefully preserve land that has previously been given to the twice-
born; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) (is) more meritorious than making a grant!
As a rule, indeed, no inauspicious condition is experienced by kings; but they are purified
for ever, when they bestow land! The earth has been enjoyed by [many*] kings, com-
mencing 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 who confiscates land that has been given, whether by himself, or by
another,—he becomes a worm in the ordure of a dog, and sinks (into hell) together with
his ancestors! 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. 27.)—(This charter) has been written in two centuries of years, increased by
fourteen, on the sixth day of the month Pausha, by the Sâṁdhivigrahika Nâtha, the
great-grandson of the Amâtya Phalgudatta; the grandson of Varâhadinna; (and) the
son of Manôratha. The Dûtaka (is) Dhṛitisvâmika.

No. 32; PLATE XXI A.

MEHARAULI POSTHUMOUS IRON PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF CHANDRA.

THIS inscription was first brought to notice in 1834, in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc Vol.
III. p. 494. where Mr. James Prinsep published a lithograph of it (id. Plate xxx.),
reduced from a facsimile made in 1831 by Lieutenant William Elliot, 27th Regiment N. I.
This lithograph was not accompanied by any details of the contents of the inscription;
and it does not represent a single letter of the original correctly, and is quite unintelligible
from beginning to end.—In 1838, in the same Journal, Vol. VII. p. 629 ff., Mr. James
Prinsep published a much improved lithograph (id. Plate xxxiii.), reduced from an ink-
impression made in the same year by Captain T. S. Burt, of the Engineers; and, with it,
his own reading of the text and a translation of it.¹—And finally, in 1875, in the Jour. Bo.
Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. X. p. 63 ff., Dr. Bhau Daji published a revised version of the text and
translation, including the correct reading of the king’s name as Chandra, with a lithograph
which appears to have been reduced from a copy on cloth made by Dr. Bnagwanlal
Indraji.²
Mêharaulî, or Mêmharaulî,³—an evident corruption of Mihirapurî,—is a village

¹ The translation is reprinted in Thomas' edition of Prinsep's Essays, Vol. I. p. 320 f.
² This paper was published in 1875; but it was read before the Society four years earlier, on
the 13th April 1871.
³ The ‘Maharoli, Manroli, and Muhroulee, of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 49. Lat. 28° 31′
N.; Long. 77° 14′ E.—The pillar has always been known as the “Dehli Pillar;” and I think the
name of the village in which it really stands, so important because of its obvious derivation, viz.
Mihirapurî, ‘the city of the sun, or of the Mihiras,’ was not put on record, in connection with the
inscription, until I noticed it (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 362.)
T 2.

140 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
nine miles almost due south of Dehli, the chief town of the Dehli District in the
Pañjâb. The inscription is on the west side of a tapering iron column, sixteen inches
in diameter at the base and twelve at the top, and twenty-three feet eight inches high,
standing near the well-known Kutb Minâr in the ancient fort of Rây Pithôrâ within
the limits of this village.
The writing, which covers a space of about 2' 9½" broad by 10½" high, is in a state
of excellent preservation throughout, owing, of course, to the nature of the substance on
which it is engraved. The bottom line of the inscription is about 7' 2" above the stone
platform round the lower part of the column. The engraving is good; but, in the process
of it, the metal closed up over some of the strokes, which gives a few of the letters a
rather imperfect appearance in the lithograph; this is especially noticeable in the sy of the
opening word yasyô, and in the r of urasâ in the same line.—The size of the letters varies
from ⁵/₁₆" to ½". The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets; and, allowing
for the stiffness resulting from engraving in so hard a substance as the iron of this column,
they approximate in many respects very closely to those of the Allahâbâd posthumous
pillar inscription of Samudragupta, No. 1 above, Plate i. But, as a distinguishing feature,
we have to notice the very marked mâtrâs, or horizontal top-strokes of the letters, which
we have already observed in the Bilsaḍ pillar inscription of Kumâragupta, No. 10 above,
page 43, and Plate v. — The language is Saṁskṛit; and the inscription is in verse
throughout.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice (1) the use of the dental
nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in prânśu, line 6; (2) the doubling of t, in
conjunction with a following r, in śattru, line 1; and (3) the very unusual omission of the
second t, which is formative and not due to the preceding r, in mûrtyâ for mûrttyâ, and
kîrtyâ for kîrttyâ, line 3.
The inscription is a posthumous eulogy of the conquests of a powerful king named
Chandra, as to whose lineage no information is given. It is not dated.¹ It is a
Vaishṇava inscription; and the object of it is to record the erection of the pillar, which is
called a dhvaja, or ‘standard,’² of the god Vishṇu, on a hill called Vishṇupada, i.e.
“(the hill that is marked with) footprints of Vishṇu.”
As regards this hill named Vishṇupada, and the question whether it should be
identified with that part of the Dehli Ridge on which the column stands,—the actual
position of the column is in a slight depression, with rising ground on both sides; a position
¹ Mr. Prinsep allotted this inscription to the third or fourth century A.D.; and Dr. Bhau Daji, to a
period later than the time of the Guptas. Mr. Fergusson (Indian Architecture, p. 508), drawing special
attention to the Persian form of the capital, expressed a conviction that the inscription is of one
of the Chandraguptas of the Early Gupta dynasty, and consequently belongs to A.D. 363 or 400.—
My own impression at first, on independent grounds, was to allot it to Chandragupta I., the first
Mahârâjâdhirâja of the family, of whose time we have as yet no inscriptions; and I should not be
surprised to find at any time that it is proved to belong to him. The only objection that I can see, is
that it contains no reference to the Indo-Scythians, by overthrowing whom the Early Guptas must have
established themselves. But, having regard to the name of the village at which the pillar is, it is also
possible that the inscription is one of the younger brother of Mihirakula, whose name is not men-
tioned by Hiuen Tsiang.
² Compare dhvaja-stambha, ‘flag-staff,’ as applied to the Êraṇ column in line 9 of No. 19
above. There is another iron column, at Dhâr, the ancient Dhârâ, now the chief town of the Dhâr
State in Central India. But there is no ancient inscription on it; unless it is completely hidden
under, and destroyed by, a Persian inscription that was engraved on it when the Musalmâns conquered
that part of the country.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 32, PLATE XXI A. 141
which hardly answers to the description of its being on a giri or ‘hill.’ And this, coupled
with the tradition that the column was erected, in the early part of the eighth century A.D.,
by Anaṅgapâla, the founder of the Tômara dynasty,¹ lays it quite open to argument
whether this is the real original position of the column, or whether, like the Asôka columns
at Dehli, and possibly the Asôka (and Gupta) column at Allahâbâd, it was brought to where
it now stands from some other place. But the fact that the underground supports of the
column include several small pieces of metal “like bits of bar-iron,”² is in favour of its
being now in its original position; as they would probably have been overlooked, and left
behind. in the process of a transfer.
TEXT.³
1 Yasy⁴=ôdvarttayataḥ pratîpam=urasâ śattrûn=samêty=âgatân=Vaṅgêshv=âhava-
varttinô=bhilikhitâ khaḍgêna kîrttir=bhujê
2 tîrtvâ sapta mukhâni yêna samarê Sindhôr=jjitâ Vâhlikâ⁵ yasy=
âdyâpy=adhivâsyatê jalanidhir=vvîryy-ânilair=ddakshiṇaḥ [||]
3 Khinnasy=êva visṛijya gâṁ narapatêr=ggâm=âśritasy=êtarâṁ mûrt[t]yâ
karmma-jit-âvaniṁ gatavataḥ kîrt[t*]yâ sthitasya kshitau
4 śântasy=êva mahâ-vanê hutabhujô yasya pratâpô mahân=n=âdyâpy=
utsṛijati praṇâśita-ripôr=yyatnasya śêshaḥ kshitim [||]
5 Prâptêna sva-bhuj-ârjjitañ=cha suchirañ=ch=aikâdhirâjyaṁ kshitau Chandr-
âhvêna samagra-chandra-sadṛiśîṁ vaktra-śriyaṁ bibhratâ
6 tên=âyaṁ praṇidhâya bhûmipatinâ dhâvêna⁶ Vishṇô(shṇau) matiṁ prâṁśur=
Vvishṇupadê girau bhagavatô Vishṇôr=dhvajaḥ sthâpitaḥ [||]
TRANSLATION.
He, on whose arm fame was inscribed by the sword, when, in battle in the Vaṅga
countries, he kneaded (and turned) back with (his) breast the enemies who, uniting to-
gether, came against (him);—he, by whom, having crossed in warfare the seven mouths
of the (river) Sindhu, the Vâhlikas⁷ were conquered;—he, by the breezes of whose prow-
ess the southern ocean is even still perfumed;—
(Line 3.)—He, the remnant of the great zeal of whose energy, which utterly destroyed
(his) enemies, like (the remnant of the great glowing heat) of a burned-out fire in a great
forest, even now leaves not the earth; though he, the king, as if wearied, has quitted this
earth, and has gone to the other world, moving in (bodily) form to the land (of paradise)
won by (the merit of his) actions, (but) remaining on (this) earth by (the memory of his)
fame;—
¹ Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. I. p. 171. ² id. Vol. IV. p. 28, and Plate v.
³ From the original pillar. ⁴ Metre, Śârdûlavikrîḍita, throughout.
⁵ Prinsep also read vâhlikâ; but Bhau Daji, varying in also the first syllable, read bâlhikâ.—
In the first akshara, the v is imperfect on the right side, through the closing up of the metal. In the
second akshara, the h is turned in the opposite direction to that in which it is turned in âhava, line 1
and mahâvanê and mahân, line 4. But, that the akshara is hli, not lhi, is certain; because l can
only be formed to the left; whereas, at this period, h was formed sometimes to the left and
sometimes to the right; and, in the present inscription, it is turned to the right, as here, again in
hutabhujô, line 4, and dhâvêna, line 5.
⁶ See page 142 below, note 2.
⁷ See note 5 above.

142 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
(L. 5.)—By him, the king,—who attained sole supreme sovereignty¹ in the world, ac-
quired by his own arm and (enjoyed) for a very long time; (and) who, having the name
of Chandra, carried a beauty of countenance like (the beauty of) the full-moon,—having
in faith² fixed his mind upon (the god) Vishṇu, this lofty standard of the divine Vishṇu
was set up on the hill (called) Vishṇupada.
No. 33; PLATE XXI B.
MANDASOR STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF YASODHARMAN.
THIS inscription, which I published, for the first time, in 1886, in the Ind. Ant.
Vol. XV. p. 253 ff., is another record from Mandasôr,³ or more properly Dasôr, the
chief town of the Mandasôr District of Scindia's Dominions in the Western Mâlwa
division of Central India. With the inscription of Kumâragupta and Bandhuvarman,
No. 18 above, page 79, and Plate xi., it was discovered in 1884, in the search made
under my direction, in consequence of my having seen the hand-copy of the next in-
scription, No. 34, that had been sent by Mr. Arthur Sulivan to General Cunningham in
1879; the present inscription had escaped Mr. Sulivan's notice. Like the next inscrip-
tion, it is on one of a pair of magnificent monolith columns,⁴ apparently of very close-
grained and good sandstone, lying in a field immediately on the south side of a small
collection of huts, known by the name of Sôdaṇî or Sôndaṇî, but not shewn in the maps
as a separate village, between two and three miles to the south-east of Mandasôr.

¹ aikâdhirâjya; lit. 'the condition of being the sole Adhirâja.'—Adhirâja, lit. 'supreme king,'
is a technical feudatory title, probably denoting the same rank as Mahârâja. It occurs, for instance,
in line 5 of the Byânâ inscription of the Adhirâja Vijaya (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 10). Its derivative,
dhirâjya, however, is here used in a general and non-technical sense, in accordance with its original
etymological meaning.
² In line 6, dhâvêna, as read by Prinsep, is what is really engraved; not bhâvêna, as read by
Bhau Daji. But, as dhâva, 'cleansing, washing, making bright, polishing,' appears to be used only
in composition, the word seems to be a mistake for bhâvêna, which is equivalent to the bhaktyâ of,
for instance, line 5 of No. 6 above, page 35; and this is borne out by the position of the word in the
text.—The engraving of the rest of the inscription, however, is so very correct, that it is just pos-
sible that future researches may even yet shew that Dhâva is a proper name here, as it was interpret-
ed by Prinsep. In that case, Dhâva, as another name of a king called Chandra, might be compared
with Kâcha, which I have intimated (page 27 above, note 4) may be a familiar and less formal name
of Samudragupta.—In line 5 I have arranged my translation according to the order of the words in
the text. But, assuming that the composer's arrangement of them was due to metrical exigencies, we
might translate—"(and) who, carrying a beauty of countenance like (the beauty of) the full-moon,
had (in consequence) the name of Chandra;" and thus obtain a hint that the king's original name was
not Chandra.
³ See page 79 above, and note 1
⁴ About fifty yards away to the west of these two inscribed columns, in the next field, I turned
up the lower part of another large sandstone column. The base is rectangular, about 3' 6" high by
3' 4" square. The shaft, of which only a length of about 2' 0" remains attached to the base, is cir-
cular about 3' 4" in diameter; and, instead of being plain like the two inscribed columns, it is carved
all over with cross-lines into diamond-shaped knobs. I had the field excavated all round this column,
but could find no traces of the rest of the shaft, or of the other parts of it. From its different pat-
tern, it can have no connection with the two inscribed columns.

NDICARUM. Plate xxi. 143
ion of Chandra.
:h, with
" high ;
nasonry
om this
'here it
vith the
, occu-
ut 2' 2"
nainder
bout 7"
end of
ese two
' 3", or
and not
. The
to the
d 3' 2"
r from
v. Ind.
in dia-
ere is a
of the
.nd, on
al. It
ed off.
ring to
I only
exactly
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1 eight

posite
about
The
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Judha-
und it.
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earing
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in two
ident-
.s that

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Based on the page layout, the running header (Vol. III. 143), and the visible text fragments and inscription rubbings, here is the line-by-line transcription of the visible portions.

Page Header & Marginal Notes

Vol. III. 143
south, with
4' 5" high ;
[b]y masonry
From this
[a]nd where it
[connect]ed with the
[por]tion, occu-
about 2' 2"
remainder
[ea]ch about 7"
[up]per end of
these two
[abou]t 39' 3", or
[lo]ng, and not
[b]elow. The
[rail]way to the
[hig]h and 3' 2"
pillar from
Surv. Ind.
[8'-]11" in dia-
there is a
[no]rth of the
; and, on
[the] capital. It
[tr]immed off.
[an]swering to
it. I only
[verti]cal, exactly
[sur]face of it,
with eight
[th]e opposite
[faste]l, is about
[bu]ried. The
[the] same kind
[of paṇḍ]it Budha-
[havin]g found it.
very well
2" broad
wearing
[w]aist down-
[he]re, in two
evident-
[p]arts that

Upper Inscription (Gupta Script)

𑀕𑀗𑁆𑀕𑀸𑀥𑀭𑀂 𑁇 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁄 𑀥𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫...
𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑁇 𑀥𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 [𑀲𑀼]...
𑀯𑀺𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀼𑀤𑀸𑀲𑁄 𑀤𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀓𑀭𑀂 𑁇 𑀩...
𑀕𑁄𑀯𑀺𑀦𑁆𑀤𑀤𑀸𑀲𑁄 𑀯𑀿𑀤𑁆𑀥𑀂 𑁇 𑀓𑀰...
𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀻𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑁄 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑁇 ...
𑀭𑁂𑀯𑀢𑀻𑀭𑀫𑀡𑀂 𑁇 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲...

Lower Inscription (Gupta Script)

𑀲𑀯𑀭𑁆𑀡𑁆𑀡𑀂 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑁄 𑀩𑁆𑀭𑀸𑀳𑁆𑀫𑀡𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀤𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁄 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀭𑀸𑀚...
𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀲𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀤𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀓𑀭𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑀓𑀮𑀺...
𑀓𑀼𑀮𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀻𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁄 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲...
𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑀂 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑀂 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀧𑁅𑀢𑁆𑀭𑀂 ...
𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀯𑀺𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀼𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑀓𑀮𑀺𑀓...
𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁄 𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀤𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀂 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀻𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬...
𑀲𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀰𑁆𑀭𑀻...
𑀧𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀭𑁄 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀭𑀸𑀚... 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀲𑁆𑀬...
𑀯𑀺𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀼𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑀲𑀼𑀢𑀂 𑀤𑀻𑀭𑁆𑀖𑀤𑀸𑀲𑀂 𑁈

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 33, PLATE XXI B. 143
The column with the present inscription lies, partially buried, north and south, with
the top to the north. The base of it is rectangular, about 3' 4" square by 4' 5" high;
and, as there is no socket at the bottom to indicate that it was fitted into any masonry
foundation, this part must have been buried when the column stood upright. From this
base there rises a sixteen-sided shaft, each face of which is about 8½" broad where it
starts from the base; part of the shaft, about 17' 0 in length, is still connected with the
base, making the length of this fragment about 21' 5", and the present inscription, occu-
pying five of the sixteen faces, is on this fragment, the bottom line being about 2' 2"
above the top of the base. Immediately in continuation of this, there lies the remainder
of the shaft, about 17' 10" long; at the upper end of this, the faces are each about 7"
broad, shewing that the column tapers slightly from bottom to top. The upper end of
this fragment is flat, with a round socket projecting from it; which shews these two
fragments make up the entire shaft, the total length of which was thus about 39' 3", or
34' 10" above the base. This column appears to have broken naturally in falling, and not
to have been deliberately divided, as the other was, in the manner described below. The
next part of this column, the lower part of the capital, lies about forty yards away to the
north, close up to the hedge of the hamlet, and is a fluted bell, about 2' 6" high and 3' 2"
in diameter, almost identical in design with the corresponding part of a small pillar from
an old Gupta temple at Sâñchi, drawn by General Cunningham in the Archæol. Surv. Ind.
Vol. X. Plate xxii. No. 1. In the bottom of it there is a socket-hole, about 11" in dia-
meter, answering in size to the socket on the top of the shaft; and on the top there is a
projecting socket. About twenty-five yards south of this, and fifteen yards north of the
column, I found a flat stone buried in the ground just level with the surface; and, on
excavating it, it proved to be the next portion, the square upper part of the capital. It
measures about 2' 8" high by 3' 10" square: the vertical corner edges are trimmed off.
I could not get at the bottom of it; but there must be there a socket-hole, answering to
the projecting socket on the top of the bell-shaped part that came below it. I only
exposed one side of it; but this was sufficient to shew that it is a lion-capital, exactly
like the capital of the other column, noticed more fully below. On the top surface of it,
there is in the centre a circular socket-hole about 11½" in diameter and 4" deep, with eight
other rectangular socket-holes round it, one in the centre of each side, and one opposite
each corner. The total length of this column, up to the top of the lion-capital, is about
44' 5"; or forty feet above the ground, if it stood with the entire base buried. The
square lion-capital must have been surmounted by a statue or statues, of the same kind
as that which stands on the summit of the column at Êraṇ¹ which has on it Budha-
gupta's inscription, No. 19 above, page 88; but I cannot feel sure of having found it.
I found, indeed, in the same field, towards the west side, in three pieces, a very well
executed sandstone bas-relief slab, 9' 0" high, with a rectangular pedestal 3' 2" broad
by 1' 8" deep and 8" high, of a male figure, standing, somewhat larger than life-size, wearing
a kirîṭa or high head-dress, with necklace and armlets, and draped from the waist down-
wards, with a small figure standing by the right leg. And close by this there were, in two
pieces, the kirîṭa and the head and shoulders of another figure of the same size, evident-
ly a duplicate of the above. Unless, however. there were some intervening parts that

¹ See Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 81, and Plate xxvi.

144 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
have been altogether lost, these slabs cannot belong to the columns, since their pedestals
have no sockets to fit into the socket-holes on the tops of the lion-capitals.¹
The other column, with the fragmentary duplicate copy of this inscription, No. 34
below, Plate xxiC., stood, as is shewn by the present position of its base, about twenty
yards north of the column that I have just described. When overthrown, it fell east and
west, with the top towards the west. The base is rectangular, about 3' 3" square by 3' 11" high.
Differing from the first column, the base here is followed by a concave circular part, about
1' 0" high. From this there rises a sixteen-sided shaft, each face of which is about 8"
broad where it starts from the base. But the portion of the shaft that remains attached
to the base is only about 1' 1" long; and a row of chisel-marks all round the column here,
shews that it was deliberately broken by the insertion of wedges. The next piece of the
column,—or rather a remnant of it, as it is broken vertically, and part of it has been lost,
—lies about three yards to the north of the base, and parallel with it, but in an inverted
position, with the upper end to the east. This piece is about 9' 0" long; and the rem-
nant of the duplicate inscription is here, on two of the faces; the bottom line of it being
about 2' 9½" above the square base. The next piece of the shaft is missing altogether,
and is supposed to be entirely buried somewhere in this field. The remainder of the
shaft, about 6' 9" in length, lies, almost entirely buried, a few yards to the west of the
portion including the base and the commencement of the shaft. Each face here is about
7" broad at the top; shewing that this column also tapers slightly from bottom to top.
The top of this fragment is flat, with a round socket projecting from it; which shews that
we have here the end of the shaft. Immediately west of this fragment, there lies the
fluted bell part of the capital, about 3' 0" high and 3' 3" in diameter, similar in design to
the same part of the capital of the other pillar. In the bottom of it there is a socket-hole,
about 11" in diameter, answering in size to the socket on the top of the shaft; and on the
top there is a projecting socket. Just to the west of this there lies, upside down and
partially buried, the next portion of the capital, the square upper part, measuring about
3' 0" high and 3' 10" square; the vertical corner edges are trimmed off. The bottom,
and one entire side and parts of two others, are exposed; and enough is visible to shew
that each side consists of a bas-relief sculpture of two lions, each sitting on its haunches
and facing to the corner, where it merges into the corresponding corner lion on the next
side;² with the head of a conventional siṁha or mythological lion in the centre, over the
backs of the lions. In the bottom of this stone there is a socket-hole, about 10½" in
diameter, answering to the projecting socket on the top of the bell-shaped part that came
just below it. And I dug under one of the corners of the top enough to find there a rec-
tangular socket-hole, which justifies us in assuming that the top has one circular and
eight rectangular socket-holes, just as in the top of the lion-capital of the first column.
As in the case of the first column, I cannot feel sure of having found the statue or statues
which must have stood on the top of it.
The two inscribed columns were evidently intended as a pair, though the full measure
of the second cannot be taken. From the distance between them; from the difference in
the detailed measures; and from the analogous instance of the Êraṇ column, as shewing
¹ There are some similar bas-relief slabs set up in a group under some palm-trees in another
field, about fifty yards away to the east from where the inscribed columns lie; but these, again, do not
appear to belong to the columns.
² Compare the lions on the upper part of the square portion of the capital of the Êraṇ column.

the way in which they must have been finished off at the top,—they can hardly have been
connected by a beam, after the fashion of a tôraṇa or arched gateway; and there are no
traces of any temple to which they can have belonged. They are evidently an actual
instance of two raṇastambhas or "columns of victory in war," such as the Kauthêm¹
grant of Vikramâditya V., dated Śaka-Saṁvat 930 (A.D. 1008-9) expired, speaks of as
having been set up by the Râshṭrakûṭa king Karkara or Kakka III., and as having then
been cut asunder in battle by the Western Châlukya king Taila II.
To return to the inscription on the first column,—the writing, which covers a space
of about 3′ 2½″ broad by 1′ 2½″ high, has suffered a good deal from the weather; and, owing
to the difficulty of obtaining lights and shades, partly in consequence of the letters being
rather shallow, and partly because of the natural light colour of the stone, it is rather
difficult to read on the original column; but, in the ink-impression and the lithograph, it
can easily be read with certainty throughout.—The size of the letters varies from ¼″ to ⅜″.
Differing from the Mandasôr inscription of Kumâragupta and Bandhuvarman, No. 18
above, page 79, Plate xi., the characters here belong to the northern class of alpha-
bets, and are a development, in some respects, of the type of the Allahâbâd posthumous
pillar inscription of Samudragupta, No. 1 above, Plate i., and, in others, of that of the
Mathurâ inscription of Chandragupta II., No. 4 above, Plate iiiB. They include the
rather rare lingual ḍh, in upagûḍha, line 4. In vîrya, line 4, and sâmantair=yasya, line
5, the r is formed on the line of writing, with only a single y below it; in combination
with other consonants, e.g. in sumêrôr=vvighaṭita, line 1, and dharmmasya, line 8, the r
is formed above the top line of writing, and the consonant is doubled, in the usual way.—
The language is Sanskrit; and, except for the two words at the end, recording the
engraver’s name, the inscription is in verse throughout.—In respect of orthography, we
have to notice (1) the use of the upadhmânîya in śikhariṇaḥ-paśchimâd, line 5; (2) the
use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in aṅśu, line 5, and vaṅśa, line
8; and before s, in têjâṅsi, line 1, and pâṅsu, line 3; (3) the doubling of k and t, in con-
junction with a following r, in âkkrânti, line 4; chakkra, line 7; mâttra and yattra, line
3; anyattra, line 6; and nâyitô=ttra, line 7; but not in kriyantê, line 5, and śatru, line 1;
and (4) the doubling of dh, in conjunction with a following y, in addhyâsint, line 4.
The inscription is one of a king named Yaśôdharman,² whose dominions are de-
scribed as including the whole of the northern part of India, from the river Lauhitya, or
the Brahmaputra, to the Western Ocean, and from the Himâlayas to the mountain

¹ Ind. Ant. Vol. XVI. p. 18.
² Having regard to the frequency with which, in the period of this inscription, varman occurs as
the termination of proper names, and to the rarity of dharman,—there might be some temptation to
suggest that Yaśôdharman should be corrected into Yaśôvarman. But the dh is very distinct in line 7
here, and in the corresponding place in line 7 of the remnant of the original duplicate copy of this
inscription, No. 34 below, Plate xxiC.; and again in line 8 below; and again in the same name
in line 4 of the inscription of Yaśôdharman and Vishṇuvardhana, No. 35 below, Plate xxii.—
The form dharman is not of frequent occurrence. But we do meet with it in other proper names;
e.g. Kṛitadharman, Kshattradharman, Kshêmadharman, Jayadharman, and Sudharman. And it also
occurs in ordinary composition; e.g. in Manv-âdi-praṇîta-vidhi-vidhâna-dharmmâ, in line 5 of the
Mâliyâ grant of the Mahârâja Dharasêna II. of the year 252, No. 38 below, Plate xxiv.; and in
têjôbhir=âditya-samâna-dharmmâ, in line 29 of the Kauthêm grant of Vikramâditya V. of Śaka-
Saṁvat 930 expired (Ind. Ant. Vol. XVI. p. 22).

146 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
**Mahêndra.*¹ We have an important allusion in the statement that he possessed countries
which not even the Guptas and the Hûṇas could subdue; and a still more important
record, in connection with the general history of the period, to the effect that homage was
done to him by even the famous king Mihirakula. It is not dated. But Yaśôdhar-
man's date is now known from the Mandasôr inscription of Mâlava-Saṁvat 589 (A.D.
532-33) expired, No. 35 below, which mentions him and Vishṇuvardhana; and the present
inscription, having been engraved by the same person, Gôvinda, must fall within a few
years on either side of that date. Also, the use of the present tense almost throughout,
coupled with the record that Yaśôdharman himself erected the column, shews that the
inscription is one of his own time, not posthumous. The opening verse contains a Śaiva
invocation; which is in accordance with the boast, in line 6, that Yaśôdharman never
bowed his head to any save the god Śiva. But the record itself is non-sectarian; the
object of it being only to narrate the erection of the column, for the purpose of reciting
the king’s glory and power.
TEXT.²
1 Vêpantê³ yasya bhîma-stanita-bhaya-samudbhrânta-daityâ digantâḥ śriṅg-
âghâtaiḥ Sumêrôr=vvighaṭita-drishadaḥ kandarâ yaḥ karôti |
ukshâṇaṁ taṁ dadhânaḥ kshitidharatanayâ-datta-pañch-âṅgul-
âṅkaṁ drâghishṭhaḥ Śûlapâṇêḥ kshapayatu bhavatâṁ śatru-têjâṁsi
kêtuḥ ||
2 Avirbhût-âvalêpair=avinaya-paṭubhir=llaṅghit-âchâra-mârggair=mmôhâd=aidam-
yugînair=apa-śubha-ratibhiḥ pîḍyamânâ narêndraiḥ | yasya kshmâ
Śârṅgapâṇêr=iva kaṭhina-dhanur-jyâ-kiṇ-âṅka-prakôshṭhaṁ bâhuṁ lôk-
ôpakâra-vrata-saphala-parispanda-dhîraṁ prapannâ ||
3 Nindy-âchârêshu yô=smin=vinaya-mushi yugê kalpanâ-mâttra-vṛit[t]yâ
râjasv=anyêshu pâṁsushv=iva kusuma-balir=nn=âbabhâsê prayuktaḥ | sa
śrêyô-dhâmni samrâḍ=iti Manu-Bharat-Âlarkka-Mândhâtṛi-kalpê kalyâṇê
hêmni bhâsvân=maṇir=iva sutarâṁ bhrâjatê yattra śabdaḥ ||
4 Yê bhuktâ Gupta-nâthair=nna sakala-vasudh-âkkrânti-drishṭa-pratâpair=nn=
âjñâ Hûṇ-âdhipânâṁ kshitipati-mukuṭ-âddhyâsinî yân=pravishṭâ |
dêśâṁs=tân=dhanva-śaila-druma-śa(ga)hana-sarid-vîrabâh-ûpagûḍhân=vîry-âva-
skanna-râjñaḥ sva-gṛiha-parisar-âvajñayâ yô bhunakti ||
5 Â Lauhity-ôpakaṇṭhât=tala-vana-gahan-ôpatyakâd=â Mahêndrâd=â Gaṅg-
âślishṭa-sânôs=tuhinaśikhariṇaḥ=paśchimâd=â payôdhêḥ | sâmantair=
yasya bâhu-draviṇa-hṛita-madaiḥ pâdayôr=ânamadbhiś=chûḍâratn-âṁśu-râji-
vyatikara-śabalâ bhûmi-bhâgâḥ kriyantê ||
6 Sthânôr=anyattra yêna praṇati-kṛipaṇatâṁ prâpitâṁ n=ôttamâṅgaṁ yasy=
âślishṭô bhujâbhyâṁ vahati himagirir=durgga-śabd-âbhimânam |
¹ It is doubtful whether this denotes here the famous Mahêndragiri or Mahêndrâchala in the
Gañjâm District, among the Eastern Ghauts; or another mountain of the same name, not so well
known, which appears to be mentioned also in line 2 of an earlier Nâsik inscription of the nineteenth
year of Siri-Puḷumâyi (Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. No. 14, pp. 108, 109), and in the Bṛihat-
Saṁhitâ, xiv. vv. 11-16 (Kern's Translation, Jour. R. As. Soc. N. S. Vol. V. p. 83), and must be
located somewhere in the Western Ghauts.
² From the ink-impression.
³ Metre, Sragdharâ; and in the next seven verses

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 33, PLATE XXI B. 147
nichais=tên-âpi yasya praṇati-bhuja-bal-âvarjjana-klishṭa-mûrddhnâ
chûḍâ-pushp-ôpahârair-Mmihirakula-nṛipêṇ-ârchchitaṁ pâda-yugmaṁ ||
7 [Gâ]m=êv-ônmâtum=ûrddhvaṁ vigaṇayitum=iva jyôtishâṁ chakkravâlaṁ
nirddêshṭuṁ mârggam=uchchair-ddiva iva sukṛit-ôpârjjitâyâḥ sva-
kîrttêḥ | tên=â-kalpânta-kâl-âvadhir=avanibhujâ śrî-Yaśôdharmmaṇ-
âyam stambhaḥ stambh-âbhirâma-sthira-bhuja-parighêṇ=ôchchhritiṁ
nâyitô=ttra ||
8 Ś[l]âghyê janm-âsya vaṁśe charitam=agha-haraṁ dṛiśyatê kântam=
asmin=dharmmasy=âyaṁ nikêtaś=chalati niyamitaṁ n=âmunâ lôka-
vṛittaṁ [l*] ity=utkarshaṁ guṇânâṁ likhitum=iva Yaśôdharmmaṇaś=
chandra-bimbê râgâd=utkshipta uchchair-bhuja iva ruchimân=yaḥ
pṛithivyâ vibhâti ||
9 Iti¹ tushṭushayâ tasya nṛipatêḥ puṇya-karmmaṇaḥ | Vâsulên=ôparachitaḥ
ślôkaḥ Kakkasya sûnunâ || Utkîrṇṇâ² Gôvindêna ||
TRANSLATION.
May that very long banner of (the god) Śûlapâṇi destroy the glory of your enemies ;—
(that banner) which bears (a representation of) the bull (Nandi), marked by the five
fingers (dipped in some dye and then) placed on him by (Pârvatî) the daughter of the
mountain (Himâlaya), who causes the distant regions, in which the demons are driven
wild with fear by (his) terrible bellowings, to shake; (and) who makes the glens of (the
mountain) Sumêru to have their rocks split open by the blows of his horns !
(Line 2.)—He, to whose arm, as if (to the arm) of (the god) Śârṅgapâṇi,—the
fore-arm of which is marked with callous parts caused by the hard string of (his) bow,
(and) which is steadfast in the successful carrying out of vows for the benefit of man-
kind,—the earth betook itself (for succour), when it was afflicted by kings of the present
age, who manifested pride; who were cruel through want of proper training; who, from
delusion, transgressed the path of good conduct; (and) who were destitute of virtuous
delights :—
(L. 3.)—He who, in this age which is the ravisher of good behaviour, through the
action simply of (his good) intentions shone gloriously, not associating with other kings
who adopted a reprehensible course of conduct,—just as an offering of flowers (is beauti-
ful when it is not laid down) in the dust ;—he in whom, possessed of a wealth of virtue,
(and so) falling but little short of Manu and Bharata and Alarka and Mândhâtṛi, the
title of “universal sovereign”³ shines more (than in any other), like a resplendent jewel
(set) in good gold :—
(L. 4.)—He who, spurning (the confinement of) the boundaries of his own house,
enjoys those countries,—thickly covered over with deserts and mountains and trees and
thickets and rivers and strong-armed heroes, (and) having (their) kings assaulted by (his)
¹ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh). ² Supply praśastiḥ.
³ samrâj ; ‘a sovereign who rules ove kings and has performed the râjasûya-sacrifice.’—For a
description of the râjasûya, which is a great sacrifice or religious ceremony performed, at the corona-
tion of a supreme sovereign or universal monarch, by the king himself and his tributary princes, see
the Râjasûya-Parva in the Sabhâ-Parva of the Mahâbhârata ; Protap Chandra Roy's Translation,
page 95 ff.
U 2.

148 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
prowess,—which were not enjoyed (even) by the lords of the Guptas, whose prowess was
displayed by invading the whole (remainder of the) earth, (and) which the command of
the chiefs of the Hûṇas, that established itself on the tiaras of (many) kings, failed to
penetrate:—
(L. 5.)—He before whose feet chieftains,¹ having (their) arrogance removed by
the strength of (his) arm, bow down, from the neighbourhood of the (river) Lauhitya up
to (the mountain) Mahêndra,² the lands at the foot of which are impenetrable through
the groves of palmyra-trees, (and) from (Himâlaya) the mountain of snow, the table-
lands of which are embraced by the (river) Gaṅgâ, up to the Western Ocean,—by
which (all) the divisions of the earth are made of various hues through the intermingling
of the rays of the jewels in the locks of hair on the tops of (their) heads:³—
(L. 6.)—He by whom (his) head has never been brought into the humility of
obeisance to any other save (the god) Sthâṇu;—he, through the embraces of whose
arms (Himâlaya) the mountain of snow carries no longer⁴ the pride of the title of being
a place that is difficult of access;—he to whose two feet respect was paid, with compli-
mentary presents of the flowers from the lock of hair on the top of (his) head, by even that
(famous) king Mihirakula, whose forehead was pained through being bent low down by
the strength of (his) arm in (the act of compelling) obeisance:—
(L. 7.)—By him, the king, the glorious Yaśôdharman,⁵ the firm beams of whose
arms are as charming as pillars, this column, which shall endure to the time of the de-
struction of the world, has been erected here,—as if to measure out the earth; as if to
enumerate on high the multitude of the heavenly lights; (and) as if to point out the path
of his own fame to the skies above, acquired by good actions;—(this column) which
shines refulgent, as if it were a lofty arm of the earth, raised up in joy to write upon the
surface of the moon the excellence of the virtues of Yaśôdharman, to the effect that—
"His birth (is) in a lineage that is worthy to be eulogised; there is seen in him a charm-
ing behaviour that is destructive of sin; he is the abode of religion; (and) the (good)
customs of mankind continue current, unimpeded (in any way) by him."
(L. 9.)—From a desire thus to praise this king, of meritorious actions, (these) verses
have been composed by Vâsula, the son of Kakka. (This eulogy) has been engraved by
Gôvinda.

¹ Sâmanta, lit. 'bordering, neighbouring; a neighbour, a feudatory prince, the chief of a tribu-
tary district,' is a technical official title, denoting a rank next below that of the Mahâsâmanta, which
title occurs, for instance, in several places in the Nirmaṇḍ grant of the Mahâsâmanta and Mahârâja
Samudrasêna, No. 80 below, Plate xliv.—Sâmanta is of constant occurrence, in other inscriptions,
in its technical sense; but it is here used only in a general way, and is translated accordingly.
² See page 146 above, note 1.
³ chûḍâ is a single lock or tuft of hair left on the crown of the head after the ceremony of ton-
sure, which is performed in early childhood.
⁴ To complete the sense, we must apparently supply, in connection with vahati, the negative
particle na from the first pâda of the verse.
⁵ See page 145 above, note 2.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 34, PLATE XXIC. 149

No. 34; PLATE XXIC.

MANDASOR DUPLICATE STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF YASODHARMAN.

THIS inscription, which I published, for the first time, in 1886, in the Ind. Ant. Vol.
XV. p. 257 f., is the remnant, mentioned above, of the original duplicate copy of the
inscription of Yaśôdharman on the second inscribed column, described at page 144 above,
at **Mandasôr,**¹ or more properly Dasôr, the chief town of the Mandasôr District of
Scindia’s Dominions, in the Western Mâlwâ division of Central India. It was discovered
by Mr. Arthur Sulivan, who forwarded his hand-copy of it to General Cunningham in 1879.
And it was this that led to the search which was made under my direction in 1884, and
which resulted in the discovery of the entire copy of this inscription No. 33 above, page
142, and Plate xxiB., and of the inscription of Kumâragupta and Bandhuvarman of the
Mâlava years 493 and 529, No. 18 above, page 79, and Plate xi.
The writing, which covers a space of about 1′ 1″ broad by 1′ 2″ high, is in some
respects in a state of rather better preservation than the entire copy; but nearly three-
quarters of the full inscription is lost here, through the column having cracked vertically
and part of it being now not forthcoming.—The size of the letters varies from ¼″ to ⅜″.
The characters belong, as before, to the northern class of alphabets, and were engrav-
ed by the same person, Gôvinda, who engraved the entire copy, No. 33 above; and this
record appears to have been in all essential details an exact reproduction of the copy that
has been preserved entire. We have the lingual ḍh in upagûḍha, line 4. And the two
methods of forming r in combination with a following consonant, are very well illustrated
by vîrya, line 4, and ôpakhârair=mmihirakula, line 6.—In respect of orthography, we
have to notice (1), as before, the use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś,
in anśu, line 5; and before s, in têjâṅsi, line 1; and (2) the doubling of t, in conjunction
with a following r, in yattra; line 3, and nâyitô=ttra, line 7; and also in śattru, line 1,
where it is not doubled in the entire copy.
This fragmentary inscription preserves the names of Yaśôdharman and
Mihirakula. But the passage mentioning the Guptas and the Hûṇas has been lost:
and also that which gives the boundaries of Yaśôdharman’s dominions.

TEXT.³

1 ...... [da]tta²-pañch-âṅgul-âṅkaṁ drâghishṭhaḥ Śûlapâṇêḥ kshapayatu
bhavatâṁ śattru-têjâṅsi kêtuḥ ||
2 ...... jy[â]-kiṇ-âṅka-prakôshṭhaṁ bâhuṁ lôk-ôpakâra-vrata-saphala-
parispanda-dhîraṁ prapannâ ||
3 ...... [Â]larkka-Mândhâtṛi-kalpê kalyâṇê hêmni bhâsvân=maṇir-iva
sutarâṁ bhrâjatê yattra śabdaḥ ||
4 ...... [vî]ra-bâh-ûpagûḍhân=vîry-âvaskanna-râjñaḥ sva-gṛiha-parisar-âvajñayâ
yô bhuṅakti ||

¹ See page 79 above, and note 1.
³ From the ink-impression.
² Metre, Sragdharâ; and in the next seven

150 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
5 ....... pâdayôr=ânamadbhiś=chûḍâratn-âṅśu-râji-vyatikara-śabalâ bhûmi-bhâgâḥ
kriyantê ||
6 ....... [âvar]jjana-klishṭa-mûrddhnâ chûḍâ-pushp-ôpahârair=Mmihirakula-
nṛipêṇ=ârchchitaṁ pâda-yugmaṁ ||
7 ....... [śrî]-Yaśôdharmmaṇ=âyaṁ stambhaḥ stambh-âbhirâma-sthira-bhuja-
parighêṇ=ôchchhritiṁ nâyitô=ttra ||
8 ....... [Yaśôdha]rmmaṇaś=chandra-bimbê râgâd=utkshipta uchchair-bhuja
iva ruchimân=yaḥ pṛithivyâ vibhâti l.
9 ....... [Ka]kkasya¹ sûnunâ || Utkîrṇṇâ² Gôvindêna ||
TRANSLATION.
[It is unnecessary to offer a translation of this fragment, as the contents of it are fully
explained by the translation of the entire copy, at page 147 above. It is sufficient to note
that we have the name of Yaśôdharman,³ complete in line 7, and partially preserved in
line 8; the name of Mihirakula, very clearly legible, in line 6; and, in line 9, the name
of Gôvinda, the engraver of the record.]

No. 35; PLATE XXII.

MANDASOR STONE INSCRIPTION OF YASODHARMAN AND VISHNUVARDHANA.

THE MALAVA YEAR 589.

THIS inscription, which I published, for the first time, in 1886, in the Ind. Ant.
Vol. XV. p. 222 ff., is from a stone-tablet, which, when shewn to me in 1885, was in the
possession of Sir Michael Filose, K.C.S.I., at Ujjain, but which had come originally from
an old well, somewhere in the lands of Mandasôr,⁴ or more properly Dasôr, the chief town
of the Mandasôr District of Scindia's Dominions in the Western Mâlwa division of Cen-
tral India, where it was found, in the course of repairs, built up with the inscribed surface
inside. I could obtain no accurate information on the point; but possibly this is a large
and ancient well, which immediately attracts attention, just inside the eastern entrance of
the Fort.
The stone is a smooth and beautifully engraved tablet, apparently of slate-stone, mea-
suring about 1' 11" broad by 1' 6¼" high and 2¾" thick. There are no sculptures on it,
connected with the inscription. But, on the back, which is divided into two compart-
ments by what seems to be either a spear with a curved handle, or a shepherd’s crook,
there are engraved in outline, very roughly,—at the upper corners, the sun on the proper
right, and the moon on the proper left; and, lower down, on each side, a man on horse-
back, facing towards the central dividing sculpture; the horseman on the proper right
side carries in his left hand either a chaurî or fly-flap made from the bushy tail of the Bos
Grunniens, or a śaṅkha or conch-shell; the other horseman carries something in his right
hand, but I could not distinguish the object. These sculptures were engraved, of course,
when the tablet was fixed in the position in which it was discovered, with the inscribed
¹ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh).      ² Supply praśastiḥ.
³ See page 145 above, note 2      ⁴ See page 79 above, and note 1.

middle of Line 1:
There is a clear "शू" (loop with subscript u and śa) or "श"?
Wait, look at line 1, character 11:
... [शूलपाणेः] ...
Wait, let's search:
What is the first verse of Yashodharman's pillar inscription?
Let's recite:
1:
वेपन्ते यस्य ... wait, why did "वेपन्ते यस्य भीम-स्तनित" come to mind?
Wait, is it from another inscription, like Aphsad?
Aphsad:
"ॐ। शेषाहेर्भूय इत्थं शमित-भव-भयोत्कम्पम्..." no,
"मूर्त्तौ मन्द-धियाम्..."
What about Deo Baranark?
What about Junagadh of Skandagupta?
"श्रियं परार्द्ध्यां विदधातु विष्णोः..."
What about Eran pillar of Budhagupta?
"जयति विबुध-बन्धुः..."
What about Mandasor of Kumaragupta and Bandhuvarman?
"यो भास्वाञ्छुचि-रश्मिर्..."
What about Mandasor of Yasodharman and Vishnuvardhana (Fleet No. 35)?
"स जयति जगतां पतिः पिनाकी..."
WAIT!
"स जयति जगतां पतिः पिनाकी"!
Is THAT Fleet No. 35?
Yes! "

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surface inwards; and it is owing to this position, that the inscription has remained in so
perfect a state of preservation.—The writing covers the entire surface of the stone, with
a margin of from 1" to 1½"; and is in a state of excellent preservation almost throughout,
though there are just a few letters from which it was impossible to clear out the hard in-
crustation of lime, with which the writing was blocked up from beginning to end, sufficient-
ly for them to come out quite perfectly in the ink-impression, and so in the lithograph.
At the ends of lines 1, 2, and 3, a few letters have been lost by the edges of the stone
being chipped here; and at some other places a few letters have been damaged in the
same way. But the only place where the missing letters cannot be supplied, is at the
commencement of line 16.—The average size of the letters is about ¼". The characters
belong to the northern class of alphabets, and are of precisely the same type, being in
fact engraved by the same hand, with those of the Mandasôr duplicate pillar inscriptions
of Yaśôdharman, No. 33 above, page 142, and Plate xxiiB., and No. 34, page 149, and
Plate xxiiC. They include the very rare initial au, in aulikara, line 5; and the lingual
ḍh, in uḍûḍha and gâḍha, line 7; rûḍha, line 11; and ûḍha, line 18.—The language
is Saṁskṛit; and, except for the opening word siddham, and the two words at the
end recording the name of the engraver, the entire inscription is in verse.—In respect of
orthography, we have to notice (1) the use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anus-
vāra, before ś, in vaṅśa, lines 6 and 9; aṅśu, line 9; aṅśa, line 11; and abhraṅśin, line
12; (2) the use of the dental nasal, before s, in bhāyānsi, line 2, and yaśānsi, line 4;
though we have the more usual anusvāra in manāṁsi, line 22; (3) the doubling of t, in
conjunction with a following r, e.g. in śattru, line 4; kalattra, line 11; and pāriyāttra,
line 16; and (4), the doubling of dh, in conjunction with a following y and v, in addhyāsita,
line 16-17, and addhvani, line 18, though not in other places.
The inscription refers itself, in the first instance, to the time of Yaśôdharman,¹ here
called a tribal ruler,² whose name is already on record from his duplicate pillar inscriptions
at Mandasôr, No. 33 above, page 142, and No. 34, page 149. It then mentions a king³
named Vishṇuvardhana, who, though he had the titles of Rājādhirāja and Paramê-
śvara, would appear to have acknowledged a certain amount of supremacy on the part of
Yaśôdharman. Vishṇuvardhana's family is mentioned as the lineage that had the
aulikara-crest.⁴ The inscription is dated, in words, when the year five hundred and

¹ See page 145 above, note 2.
² janêndra; lit. 'a lord of a people or tribe.'
³ narâdhipati; lit. 'a chief ruler of men.'
⁴ aulikara-lâñchhana.—I have not been able to obtain any explanation of the word aulikara;
but it seems to denote either 'the hot-rayed (sun),' or 'the cool-rayed (moon).'—As regards lâñ-
chhana, 'a mark, sign, token, spot,' which I render by 'crest,' it is the technical term for the principal
emblem impressed by kings on the copper-seals attached to their charters, and is quite distinct from
the emblem on their dhvajas or banners. Thus, the Raṭṭas of Saundatti and Belgaum had the
suvarṇa-garuḍa-dhvaja or 'banner of a golden Garuḍa,' but the sindhura-lâñchhana or 'elephant-
crest' (e.g. line 43 of the Têrḍâḷ inscription of Śaka-Saṁvat 1045, &c.; Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 18, and
p. 24, note 24). So also the Kâdambas of Banawâsi, and also those of Goa, had the śâkhâcharêndra-
dhvaja or vânara-mahâdhvaja, 'the banner of a monkey, or of (Hanumat) the king of monkeys,' but
the siṁha-lâñchhana, or 'lion-crest,' which latter appears on the seals of their grants and on their
coins (e.g. line 28-29 of the Kargudari inscription of Śaka-Saṁvat 1030, Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 252;
and line 9 of the Golîhaḷḷi inscription, Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. IX. p. 296; see also, for the
seals of their grants, id. p. 230, No. 8, and Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 288; and, for their coins, Jour. Bo.
Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. X. p. xxiv.) The Chalukyas, in all their branches, had the varâha-lâñchhana

152 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
eighty-nine had expired from the tribal constitution of the Mâlavas, and, therefore, when
the year five hundred and ninety (A.D. 533-34) was current; but no further details of the
date are given. The opening invocations are addressed to the god Śiva. But the record
itself is non-sectarian; the object of it being only to record the construction of a large well
by a person named Daksha, the younger brother of Dharmadôsha, who was a minister
of Vishṇuvardhana, in memory of their deceased uncle Abhayadatta, who had formerly
held the same office for the tract of country bounded by the Vindhyas and the Pâriyâtra
mountain, and the (Western) Ocean.
The genealogy of this family of ministers is given; and it includes a somewhat notice-
able name in that of Bhânuguptâ, the wife of Daksha's grandfather, Ravikîrtti. Her
date would be just about one generation before that of the king Bhânugupta, for whom
we have the date of Gupta-Saṁvat 191 (A.D. 510-11) from the Êraṇ posthumous pillar
inscription of Gôparâja, No. 20 above, page 91, and Plate xiiB.; and the coincidence of
name and time is such, that it is almost impossible not to imagine some family connection
between him and her. Bhânugupta, of course, must have been a Kshatriya; and Bhânu-
gupta's husband, Ravikîrtti, was evidently a Brâhmaṇ. But the ancient Hindu law
authorised the marrying of Kshatriya wives by Brâhmaṇs. And we have an epigraphi-
cal instance of this practice in the Ghaṭôtkacha cave inscription of Hastibhôja, a minister
of the Vâkâṭaka Mahârâja Dêvasêna; it tells us that Hastibhôja's ancestor, the Brâhmaṇ
Sôma, "in accordance with the precepts of revelation and of tradition" married a
Kshatriya wife, through whom Hastibhôja was descended, in addition to some other wives
of the Brâhmaṇ caste, whose sons, and their descendants, applied themselves to the
study of the Vêdas.¹
TEXT.²
1 Siddham [॥*] Sa³ jayati jagatâṁ patiḥ Pinâkî smita-rava-gîtishu
yasya danta-kântiḥ। dyutir=iva taḍitâṁ niśi sphurantî tirayati
cha sphuṭayaty=adaś=cha viśvam॥ Svayambhûr⁴=bhûtânâṁ sthiti-
laya-[samu]-
2 tpatti-vidhishu prayuktô yên=âjñâṁ vahati bhuvanânâṁ vidhṛitayê।
pitṛitvaṁ ch=ânîtô jagati garimâṇaṁ gamayatâ sa Śambhur=bhûyâṁsi
pratidiśatu bhadrâṇi bhava[tâṁ]॥ Phaṇa⁵-maṇi-guru-bhâr-[âkk]r[â]-
3 nti-dûr-âvanamraṁ sthagayati rucham=indôr=mmaṇḍalaṁ yasya mûrdhnâm [।*]
sa śirasi vinibadhnan=randhriṇîm=asthi-mâlâṁ sṛijatu bhava-sṛijô vaḥ
klêśa-bhaṅgaṁ bhujaṅgaḥ॥ Shashṭyâ⁶ sahasraiḥ Sagar-âtmajânâṁ
khâta[ḥ]
‘boar-crest,’ which appears on the seals of all their charters, and on their coins; and the special con-
nection of the lâñchhana with the śâsana or ‘charter,’ is shewn by a passage in lines 73 ff. of the
Korumelli grant of Râjarâja II., “on whose charter the mighty form, that of the first boar, of
(the god) Vishṇu, which lifted up the entire circle of the earth on the tip of (its right-hand) tusk, be-
came in a pleasing way the crest” (id. Vol. XIV. p. 85)
¹ Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 140 and note.
² From the original stone.
³ Metre, Pushpitâgrâ.
⁴ Metre, Śikhariṇî.
⁵ Metre, Mâlinî.
⁶ Metre, Upajâti of Indravajrâ and Upêndravajrâ.