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

The provided image is completely blank and contains no visible text, inscriptions, or markings to transcribe.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS ; No. 42, PLATE XXVIII. 205
27 [ ⏑ – – – – – – – ⏑ ] | [bhôgê] bhûr=bhujag-âdhipasya cha taḍid=
yâvad=ghanasy=ôdarê tâvat=kîrttim=ih=âtanôti dhavalâm=Âdityasênô
nṛipaḥ || Sûkshmaśivêna¹ Gauḍêna praśastir=vvikaṭ-âksharâ ||(।)
28 [– – –]mâ(?)mitâ samyag-dhârmmikêna sudhîmatâ |'
TRANSLATION.
Ôm ! There was a king, the illustrious Krishṇagupta, who was like a mountain, in
that (his) cities, like the slopes of a mountain, were crowded with thousands of elephants ;
in that he was attended by men of learning, as a mountain is inhabited by Vidyâdharas ; in
that he was of good descent, as a mountain is possessed of excellent bamboos ; (and) in
that he was firm (and) lofty ; (and) whose arm played the part of a lion, in bruising the
foreheads of the array of the rutting elephants of (his) haughty enemies, (and) in being
victorious by (its) prowess over countless foes.
(Line 1.)—Just as the full-moon, destitute of spots, the destroyer of the darkness, was
produced from the ocean, so from him there was born a son, the majestic one, named the
illustrious Harshagupta, who,—raining down a terrible flight of arrows from (his) firm
bow that was bent with ease at the befitting proper time, (and) being gazed upon with
copious tears by (his enemies) who, averse to the abode of the goddess of fortune being
with (him, her) own lord, were stupified (at being unable to prevent it),—was (always) dis-
playing a glorious triumph, the written record as it were of terrible contests, in the guise
of the rows of the knots of hard callous places, caused by wounds from many weapons, on
(his) chest.
(L. 3.)—His son was the illustrious Jîvitagupta (I.), the best among kings, who
was a very cold-rayed (moon) to (wither) the waterlilies that were the countenances of the
women of (his) proud enemies. The very terrible scorching fever (of fear) left not (his)
haughty foes, even though they stood on seaside shores that were cool with the
flowing and ebbing currents of water, (and) were covered with the branches of plantain-
trees severed by the trunks of elephants roaming through the lofty groves of palmyra-
palms ; (or) even though they stood on (that) mountain (Himâlaya) which is cold with
the water of the rushing and waving torrents full of snow. Even still his superhuman
deeds are regarded with astonishment by all mankind, like the leap of (the monkey
Hanumat) the son of the Wind² from the side of (the mountain) Kôśavardhana.³
¹ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh).
² Hanumat was one of the most celebrated of a host of semi-divine apes, who were created to
become the allies of Râmachandra in his war with Râvaṇa. The leaders of this army of monkeys
were supposed to be the offspring of various gods ; and Hanumat was the son of Pavana or Mâruta,
the Wind. One famous leap taken by Hanumat was from the mainland, over the sea, onto
Ceylon, in order to discover the whereabouts of Sîtâ. Another was his leap back from Ceylon to
the mainland, after setting Râvaṇa's city on fire, on which occasion he sprang from a mountain
which sank into the ground under the shock. A third leap, or flight through the air, was when he
went to the mountain Gandhamâdana, to procure a medicinal herb to cure the wounded Lakshmaṇa.
Which of these leaps is alluded to here, is difficult to say, as Kôśavardhana does not seem to be given
in the epic as the name of a mountain at all; and I cannot find the names of the mountains from
which his leaps were taken.
³ The only other mention that we have of a mountain Kôśavardhana, is in line 17 of the Shêr-
gaḍh (Kôṭâ) Buddhist inscription (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 46), where it seems to denote the hill on
which the Fort of Shêrgaḍh now stands. This may, or may not, be one of the mountains from which
Hanumat took one of his flights through the air.

206 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. VOL. III.
(L. 5.)—That king begat one son, by name the illustrious Kumâragupta, of
renowned strength, a leader in battle ; just as (the god) Hara begat a son, (Kârtti-
kêya) who rides upon the peacock ;¹—by whom, playing the part of (the mountain)
'Mandara,'² there was quickly churned that formidable milk-ocean, the cause of the
attainment of fortune, which was the army of the glorious Îsânavarman, a very moon
among kings, (and) which had for (its) spreading rows of waves the plantain-trees that
were wantonly shaken to and fro by the roaring wind (caused by the marching of the
troops), (and) had (its) rocks, that were the ponderous and mighty rutting elephants (of
the forces), whirled round and round by the masses of water that were the rising dust
(stirred up by the soldiers). Cherishing heroism and adherence to the truth, (even) in
(the possession of) wealth, he went to Prayâga; (and there), honourably decorated
with flowers, plunged into a fire (kindled) with dry cow-dung cakes, as if (simply
plunging to bathe) in water.³
(L. 8.)—The son of that king was the illustrious Dâmôdaragupta, by whom (his)
enemies were slain, just like the demons by (the god) Dâmôdara. Breaking up the
proudly stepping array of mighty elephants, belonging to the Maukhari, which had
thrown aloft in battle the troops of the Hûṇas (in order to trample them to death), he
became unconscious (and expired in the fight); (and then, waking again in heaven,
and) making a choice among the women of the gods, saying "(this one or that) belongs
to me," he was revived by the pleasing touch of the waterlilies that were their hands.
He, (while he was) king, gave away in marriage a hundred daughters of virtuous Brâhmaṇs
endowed with many ornaments and with youth, (and) dowered with agrahâra-grants.
(L. 10.)—From him there was a son, the illustrious Mahâsênagupta, the leader,
among brave men ; who in all the assemblages of heroes acquired a (reputation for)
valour (that stood) in the foremost rank ;—whose mighty fame, marked with the honour
of victory in war over the illustrious Susthitavarman, (and) [white] as a full-blown
jasmine-flower or waterlily, or as a pure necklace of pearls pounded into little bits (?), is
still constantly sung on the banks of (the river) Lôhitya, the surfaces of which are (so)
cool, by the Siddhas in pairs, when they wake up after sleeping in the shade of the
betel-plants that are in full bloom.
(L. 11.)—As (the god) Mâdhava, whose feet are graced by the attentions of (the
goddess) Śrî, (was born) from Vasudêva, so from him there was (a son), the illustrious
Mâdhavagupta, finding pleasure only in prowess, whose feet were graced by the
attentions of the goddess of fortune. He being remembered in the foremost rank
. . . . . . . . . . . ; being the leader of those who acquire renown in war ; (and) being a
very store-house of goodness, the best of those who excel in the collection and bestowal
of riches, the natural home of wealth, truth, and learning, (and) a firm bridge of religion,
—there is no one on the earth . . . . . . . . . . . . who is (as) worthy to be praised by vir-
¹ One of the names of Kârttikêya was Kumâra; hence the comparison between him and
Kumâragupta.
² The allusion in this verse is to the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, for the
recovery of the nectar and other precious things that had been lost. The mountain Mandara was
utilised as the churning stick. And, during the process, Lakshmî, the goddess of fortune and wealth,
sprang from the froth of the sea.
³ This verse seems to indicate that Kumâragupta's funeral rites took place at Allahâbâd; but
not necessarily that he placed himself on the funeral pyre while still alive.

tuous people, (as he was). He also (like the god), carried a discus in the palm of (his)
hand ;¹ to him also belonged a bow made of horn, and a pleasing sword (which was em-
ployed) for the destruction of (his) enemies (and) the happiness of his friends ;² (and),
when the slaughter of (his) foes had been achieved, . . . . . . . . . . . . was averted by him ;
. . . . . . . . . . . . people did obeisance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "(My) mighty enemies have been
slain by me in battle ; there remains nothing more for me to do,"—thus he, the hero,
determined in his mind ; (and then) with the desire to associate himself with the glorious
Harshadêva³ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(L. 15.)—His son was the illustrious one, named Âdityasêna, the best among kings,
whose scimetar was sullied with a thick coating of dust in the shape of the pearls from the
temples of the lordly elephants⁴ of (his) enemies that were split open (by it), . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maintaining the supreme renown, that (his)
perfect praise, coming from . . . . . . . . . . (and) rising from the destruction of (his)
enemies, is worthy to be lauded in the presence of all wielders of the bow,—a continuous
line of blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cleaning with the edge of
the silken cloth of a banner, (used) under the excuse of (wiping away) sweat in battle, (his)
sword that was stained with the rut (of the elephants slain by him), and was covered with
sand in the shape of the minute fragments of the pearls (from their foreheads) through
. . . . . . . . . . . . that was broken to pieces, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the
destruction of rutting elephants, in the course of which many swarms of bees, led into a
mistake by the copious fragrant juice that trickled forth, were attracted by their perfume.
. . . . . . . . . . . in battle which is full of terrible and repulsive frownings . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . (he) is accustomed to laugh in a charming manner in the gatherings of
(his) favourites and servants. His [wife], truthfully constant to (her) lord ; performing
penance with the excellent qualities of (her) mouth (?) ; . . . . . . . . . . . laughter . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . Being . . . . . . . . . . (and) being the greatest cause of the destruction of the
power of all (his) enemies, (and) being possessed of his own mighty prowess, even when
he is full of weariness produced by the fatigue of drawing (his) sword forth (from its
scabbard) and (dealing) blows (with it),— . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the foreheads
of rutting elephants in battle, [he is verily] a guardian of the world, by whose white um-
brella the whole circuit of the earth is covered. He, the king, has had both (his) gleam-
ing arms increased in bulk by splitting open the temples of rutting elephants in war ; he

¹ The god carries an actual discus ; the king had the mark of a discus (see page 183 above,
note 4).
² The allusions here are to the discus of Vishṇu (Mâdhava), to his bow of horn named Śârṅga,
and to his sword called Nandaka.
³ Harshavardhana of Kanauj.—The present form of his name occurs also in the Harshacharita
(Kaśmîr edition), p. 119, line 5.—I notice that he is often called Śrîharsha, and Śrîharshavardhana ; as
if śrî were a component part of his name, instead of being only the honorific prefix. But I cannot find
any authority whatever for this. I cannot trace a single instance in which the reading of any inscription
or book is śrî-Śrîharsha (see page 8 above, note 3) ; while, in line 26 of the Kauthêm grant of
Vikramâditya V. (Ind. Ant. Vol. XVI. p. 22), he is distinctly called Harsha-mahânṛipa, "the great
king Harsha." So, also, Bâṇa's book about him and his history is always called simply Harshacharita,
not Śrîharshacharita, in the colophon of each division of it ; and the śrî, which is prefixed on the
title-page of the Kaśmîr edition, only qualifies Harshacharita, as the name of the book, in the sense
of "the famous history of Harsha."
⁴ The belief, to which there are constant allusions in Sanskrit poetry, was, that there are pearls
to be found inside the foreheads of elephants.

208 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
has a halo of fame, [acquired] by destroying the power of many enemies; the darting
fire of the prowess of (his) feet has had thrown into it (to feed it) the locks of hair on the
tops of the heads of all (other) kings; he is possessed of fortune; (and) he has a pure
and celebrated reputation (acquired) by honourable behaviour in war.
(L. 23.)—This best of temples has been caused to be made, on account of (the god)
Vishṇu, by him, the king, whose very great fame, (of) this (kind that has been described),
white as the orb of the autumn moon (and) conferring renown on the (whole) circle of
the world, was for a long time made angry by him through (his) desire for (her) associa-
tion with (his) wealth, and then, becoming more wonderful than ever, went, forsooth,
through the enmity natural to the condition of rival wives, to the other side of the ocean
(in order to dwell there far away).¹
(L. 24.)—By his mother, the Mahâdêvî Śrîmatî, a religious college has been
caused to be built, resembling a house in the world of the gods, (and) has been given by
herself in person to religious people.
(L. 25.)—By the queen, the illustrious Kôṇadêvî, the dear wife of that same king,
in the performance of an excellent penance, there has been caused to be excavated a
wonderful tank, the waters of which are eagerly drunk by people; which is full of drifting
and glistening spray, resembling in lustre a śaṅkha-shell, or the moon, or crystal; (and) in
the waves of which, driven to and fro by the motion of the alligators, the birds disport
themselves and the large fishes play about.
(L. 26.)—As long as a digit of the moon [remains] on the head of (the god) Hara,
(and) (the goddess) Śrî on the breast of Vishṇu, (and) (the goddess) Sarasvatî . . . . .
. . . . . in the mouth of Brahman; as long as the earth [remains] on a hood of (Śêsha)
the king of serpents; and as long as there is lightning in the interior of a cloud,—so
long shall the king Âdityasêna display here (in these works) (his) dazzling fame!
(L. 27.)—(This) eulogy, (written in) beautiful letters, . . . . . . . . . . [has been
composed, or engraved] by Sûkshmaśiva, (a native of) the Gauḍa (country), who is
thoroughly religious (and) very intelligent.

No. 43; PLATE XXIXA.
SHÂHPUR STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION OF ÂDITYASENA.
THIS inscription was discovered, apparently in 1879-80, by Mr. J. D. M. Beglar,
Assistant to the Director General of Archæological Surveys; and was first brought to
notice, in 1882, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XV. p. 12, where General Cunningham
published his reading of the text, and a translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph
(id. Plate xi. No. 1).
Shâhpur,² also known as Shâhpur-Têtarâwâṅ, is a village on the right bank of

¹ Kîrtti, 'fame,' and Lakshmî, 'fortune or wealth,' are here regarded as the two co-wives of the
king. The idea is that his fame became at length so great as to extend to the uttermost ends of
the world, beyond even the oceans; and this is indicated by Kîrtti becoming at length jealous of
Lakshmî, and leaving her husband's house in order to dwell far away from her rival wife.
² The 'Shahpur, Shahpoor, Shahpoor-Tetranwan, and Shahpoor-Titarawa.' of maps, &c Indian
Atlas, Sheet No. 112. Lat. 25° 6' N.; Long. 85° 43' E.

the Sakarî river, about nine miles to the south-east of Bihâr, the chief town of the Bihâr
Sub-Division of the Paṭna District in the Bengal Presidency. The inscription is on the
pedestal of a standing image of the sun,—represented as a man, 2′ 10″ high, holding a
waterlily in each hand; and with, on each side, a small standing figure, that on the right
being armed with a club,—which was found on a mound in the lands of this village.
When I sent my copyists to Shâhpur in 1884, they could not find the image, and could
obtain no information as to what had become of it; my lithograph, therefore, has been
prepared from Mr. Beglar's pencil-rubbing, which suffices for practical purposes, though
perhaps the date is not quite as clear as it might be.
The writing, which covers a space of about 1′ 4½″ broad by 4″ high, has suffered
a good deal of injury towards the proper right side of the stone; the rest, however, is very
well preserved.—The average size of the letters is about ½″. The characters belong
to the northern class of alphabets, and are of almost precisely the same Kuṭila type as
those of the preceding Aphsaḍ inscription of Âdityasêna, No. 42, Plate xxviii. They
include, in line 2, forms of the numerical symbols¹ for 6, 7 (?), and 60.—The language
is Saṁskṛit; and the inscription is in prose throughout.—In respect of orthography, the
only point that calls for notice is the use of v for b in valâdhikṛita, line 3.
The inscription refers itself to the time of Âdityasêna, of the family of the
Guptas of Magadha. Its date, in numerical symbols, is the year sixty-six, on the
¹ The symbol for the day is a little doubtful; but it seems to be 7.—Gen. Cunningham inter-
preted these symbols as decimal figures, and read the year as 55, and the day as 1. At the same time
he notified that Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji, interpreting them in the same way, read the year as 88. And
the date certainly has the appearance, in Gen. Cunningham's published lithograph, of either 55 or
88.—But this is too early a period for the occurrence of decimal figures; and, though the symbols
are rather damaged, I think quite enough of them remains to shew very clearly a 60, followed by a
6.—So far as definite dates are available, the system of numerical symbols was preserved in this part
of the country as late as Harsha-Saṁvat 188 (A.D. 794-95) as shewn by the Bengal Asiatic Society's
grant of the Mahârâja Vinâyakapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 138 ff.); and in the neighbouring coun-
try of Nêpâl, as late as Harsha-Saṁvat 153 (A.D. 659-60), as shewn by the inscription of Jayadêva
II. (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. p. 178 ff., and Vol. XIV. p. 345), and Gupta-Saṁvat 535 (A.D. 854-55), as
shewn by another Nêpâl inscription (id. Vol. IX. p. 168 ff., and Vol. XIV. p. 345). In the west of
India, it continued, in Gujarât, as late as Śaka-Saṁvat 679 (A.D. 757-58), as shewn by the Kârêlî
grant of Kakka of Gujarât (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XVI. p. 105 ff). In Central India, as
late as Vikrama-Saṁvat 879 (A.D. 822-23), as shewn by the Shêrgaḍh (Kôṭâ) inscription of the
Sâmanta Dêvadatta (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. pp. 45 ff., 351). And in the South, as late as about Śaka-
Saṁvat 549 (A.D. 627-28), as shewn by the Vizagapatam grant of the Eastern Chalukya Mahârâja
Vishṇuvardhana I. (Burnell's South-Indian Palæography, p. 137 f. and Pl. xxvii.; see also Ind. Ant.
Vol. VII. p. 186, where I gave the date as the sixteenth year, instead of the eighteenth, which it
really appears to be.)—As regards the introduction of decimal figures (setting aside the question
of the first invention of them, which was probably by the astronomers of Ujjain in the fifth or sixth
century A.D.), the earliest epigraphical instances of the use of them that I can quote, are, in the
north, the Gwâlior inscription of Bhôjadêva dated Vikrama-Saṁvat 933 or A.D. 876-77 (Jour Beng.
As. Soc. Vol. XXXI. p. 407 f.; see also Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 108, note 25); and the ‘Pêhewâ’ in-
scription of the same king, dated Harsha-Saṁvat 276 or A.D. 882-83 (Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol.
XXII. p. 673 ff., and Vol. XXXIII. p. 223 ff.; see also Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 109, note 27); in Central
India, the ‘Deogarh’ inscription of the same king, dated Vikrama-Saṁvat 919 and Śaka-Saṁvat
784 or A.D. 862-63 (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 100 ff.; see also Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 110, note
32); in Gujarât, the ‘Bagumra’ grant of the Râshṭrakûṭa chieftain Dhruva III., dated Śaka-Saṁvat
789 or A.D. 732-33 (Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 185); in Kâṭhiâwâḍ the Môrbî grant of Jâïnka, dated
(irrespective of the actual reading in line 17) Gupta-Saṁvat 585 (A.D. 804-5); and in the Dekkan,
the Sâmâṅgaḍ grant of Dantidurga, dated Śaka-Saṁvat 675 or A.D. 753-54 (Ind. Ant. Vol. X
p. 108 ff.).

210 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
seventh (?). day of the bright fortnight of the month Mârga, i.e. Mârgaśira or Mârgaśirsha
(November-December). The era is not specified ; but, from the known facts of Âditya-
sêna's history, it is that of Harshavardhana of Kanauj, commencing¹ A.D. 606 or 607 ;
and the result for this date, therefore, is A.D. 672-73. The inscription is one of solar
worship ; and the object of it is to record, in the first place, some grant, the details of
which are illegible in line 1 ; and, in the second place, the installation of the image by
the Balâdhikṛita² Sâlapaksha, in, apparently, the agrahâra of Nâlanda.
The name of Nâlanda is rather doubtful in this inscription ; but there is no special
objection to reading it, since Nâlanda was a famous place, originally Buddhist, in the
neighbourhood of Shâhpur, being in fact identified by General Cunningham³ with the
modern ' Baragaon,'⁴ seven miles due north of Râjgîr, and about fifteen miles nearly due
west of Shâhpur. The image, being fairly small and portable, may easily have been
originally set up at Nâlanda, and then removed at some time or other to Shâhpur.
TEXT.⁵
1 ...... kh . l . ḍh . g ... chandra-kshiti-kâlaṁ yâvat=p[r]atipâditaṁ [||*]
2 Ôm Samvat 60 6 Mârgga śu di 7(?) asyân=divasa-mâsa-
samvatsar-ânupûrvvyâṁ⁶ śrî-Âditya’sêna-
3 [dêva]-râj[y]ê **Nâ(?)landa(?)-mah-âgrahârê sâdh[un]â va(ba)lâdhikṛita-
Sâlapakshêṇa dê[ya]-dharmmô=yaṁ pratishṭhitaṁ(ḥ)
4 [mâtâpitrôr=â]tmanaś=cha puṇy-âbhivṛiddhayê [||]
TRANSLATION.
.................. has been granted, to endure for the same time with
............ and the moon and the earth.
(Line 2.)—Ôm! The year 60 (and) 6 ; (the month) Mârga ; the bright fortnight ;⁸
the day 7 (?),—on this (lunar day), (specified) as above by the day and month and
year,⁹—in the reign of the illustrious Âdityasênadêva, this appropriate religious gift
has been installed by the virtuous Sâlapaksha, the Balâdhikṛita, in the great agrahâra
of Nâlanda (?), for the purpose of increasing the religious merit of (his) parents and of
himself.
¹ See Ind. Ant. Vol. XIII. p. 420, note 37.
² Balâdhikṛita is a technical military title, meaning literally 'one who is appointed to (a com-
mand of) the troops.' The superior of the Balâdhikṛitas was the Mahâbalâdhikṛita; see page 109
above, note 2.
³ Anc. Geog. Ind. Vol. I. p. 468 ff.
⁴ Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 103. Lat. 25° 8' N. ; Long. 85° 29' E.—In the map, the name is written
' Burgaon.' The correct form of the name would therefore seem to be Baḍgaum.
⁵ From Mr. Beglar's pencil-rubbing ; so also the lithograph.
⁶ Supply tithau ⁷ Read śry-Âditya.
⁸ The text here has the abbreviation śu, which represents śuddha, or śukla, in composition with
paksha or pakshê; see page 92 above, note 1.
⁹ See page 97 above, note 1.

Vol. III. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. Plate [XLI.]
A.—Shahpur Image Inscription of Adityasena.
Scale .40.
Text (Shahpur Stone Image Inscription):
[Line 1] ॐ संवत् ६० ६ मार्ग शुदि सप्तम्यां [॥*] अङ्गोक्षजाते सालोपक्षातायां राज्ञां ध्यातायां महाप्रतिहार-
[Line 2] वालधिकृत-श्रीमद्-दामसेन-भार्य्या-श्रीमती-कोशदेवी-पुत्रेण परमभागवत-
[Line 3] नालन्दाया-विहार-प्रशस्त-प्रतिष्ठितेयम् प्रतिमा भगवतः सूर्य्यस्य महासामन्त-
[Line 4] श्री-शालपक्षेण ॥ महाराज-श्रीमद्-आदित्यसेन-राज्ये ॥

B.—Deo-Baranark Inscription of Jivitagupta II.
Text (Deo-Baranark Inscription):
[1] ॐ स्वस्ति [॥] जयत्युदित-मण्डल-रुचिर-रञ्जिताशेष-दिङ्मुखः [।]
[2] तमः-समूह-निहन्ता वर-कुवलय-दीप्त-किरण-दीधितिः सूर्य्यः ॥
[3] गोमतीशतं-प्रादुर्भव-विजयासन-स्कन्धावारात् श्रीमन्-महाराजाधिराज-श्रीमद्-माधवगुप्तस्तस्य
[4] पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातः परममाहेश्वरो महाराजाधिराज-श्री-आदित्यसेनदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानु-
[5] ध्यातः परममाहेश्वरो महाराजाधिराज-श्री-देवगुप्तदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातः
[6] परममाहेश्वरो महाराजाधिराज-श्री-विष्णुगुप्तदेवस्तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादानुध्यातः परम-
[7] माहेश्वरो महाराजाधिराज-श्री-जीवितगुप्तदेवः कुशली [॥] नागराहारे वरुणिका-ग्रामे
[8] ब्राह्मणांस्तथैवान्यानपि समुपगतांश्चोर-दण्डिक-दण्डपाशिक-दण्डोद्धरणिक-शौल्किक-
[9] गौल्मिक-दूत-प्रेषणिक-हस्त्यश्वोष्ट्र-नौबल-व्यापृतक-राजपुत्र-कुमारामात्य-
[10] राजानक-राजपुत्र-महाप्रतिहार-महादण्डनायक-महाकर्त्ताकृतिक-
[11] महासामन्त-प्रमातृ-धर्म्माधिकरणिक-तदायुक-विनियुक्तकादीन् सम्पूजयति
[12] समाज्ञापयति च [।] विदितमस्तु वो यथायं ग्रामो मया मातापित्रोरात्मनश्च पुण्याभिवृद्धये
[13] पूर्व्व-दत्तानुमतेन वरुणवासिनः भगवतः सूर्य्यस्य पूजा-संस्कार-वलि-चरु-सत्र-प्रवर्त्तनाय
[14] खण्ड-स्फुटित-संस्कार-करणाय च बालार्क-देव-कुले भोजकानां शूर्पकार-प्रभृतीनां
[15] शर्व्वानी-भोजकाधिष्ठित-भोजकान्तरेभ्य आ-चन्द्रार्क-क्षिति-सम-कालं यावत्
[16] सर्व्व-कर-समेतोऽचाट-भट-प्रावेश्यः प्रतिपादितः [।] यत एतद्-धर्म्म-गौरवाद्-भवद्भिः
[17] परिपालनीयः [।] आज्ञा-प्रवर्त्तकोऽत्र श्रीमद्-विष्णुगुप्त-पाद-प्रसादावाप्त-राज्य-विभवः
[18] सामन्त-सुर्य्यदत्तो भोजक-शूर्पकारस्य भोजक-शर्व्वानी-सन्ततेर्-अव्याहत-पालने
[19] नियुक्तः [।] दूतकश्चात्र महाप्रतिहार-श्रीमत्-सुर्य्यदत्तः [॥]
[20] संवत् ...

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; Nos. 44 AND 45. 211
Nos. 44 and 45; (No PLATE.)
MANDAR HILL ROCK INSCRIPTIONS OF ADITYASENA.
THESE two inscriptions were discovered by Dr. Francis Buchanan (Hamilton), and
were first brought to notice in his reports, from which Mr. Montgomery Martin compiled,
and in 1838 published, the book entitled Eastern India, where the inscriptions are men-
tioned in Vol. II. p. 58, with reduced lithographs (id. Plate iv. Nos. 3 and 4).—I cannot
find that any fuller notice of them has ever been published.
Mandâr or Mandâragiri¹ is a famous hill about seven miles south-east of Bânkâ,²
the chief town of the Bânkâ Sub-Division of the Bhâgalpur³ District in the Bengal Presi-
dency. When I was on tour in the north of India, I could not succeed in acquiring any
accurate information as to the position of the inscriptions, and was thus unable to obtain
impressions and publish lithographs of them. But Dr. Buchanan's facsimiles, though not
good enough to reproduce, are intelligible throughout, with the exception of the three
letters immediately following the name of Âdityasênadêva. And quite recently Mr.
Beglar has sent me a rubbing and a hand-copy of No. 44, which, though not suitable for
lithography, fully endorse Dr. Buchanan's rendering of this record, and enable me also
to read with certainty some of the letters that are doubtful in his lithograph. From Mr.
Beglar's remarks, I learn that this inscription, No. 44, is on the rock to the right of the
steps rising from a corner of the lower tank, now called Pâpahariṇî, and at the base of a
flight leading to the upper tank. The position of the other inscription, No. 45, seems to
be not now known at all.
The two inscriptions are identical in substance; but are arranged, one in two lines, and
the other in four. The writing of No. 44 covers a space of about 6′ 2″ broad by 2′ 11″
high; and is in a state of fairly good preservation; but the surface of the rock seems to
be so rough that it is doubtful whether an ink-impression could be obtained, sufficiently
good for lithography.—The average size of the letters is about 5″. The characters
belong to the northern class of alphabets, and are of almost precisely the same Kuṭila
type as those of the Aphsaḍ inscription of Âdityasêna, No. 42 above, Plate xxviii. page
200.—The language is Sanskrit; and the inscriptions are in prose.—The orthography
presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscriptions refer themselves to the time of Âdityasêna, of the family of the
Guptas of Magadha. They are not dated. But the paramount titles of Parama-
bhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja applied here to Âdityasêna, shew that they belong to
the period of confusion and anarchy that attended the death of Harshavardhana of Kanauj,
when Âdityasêna established the independence of his family in Magadha; and that they
are slightly later than his Aphsaḍ and Shâhpur inscriptions, in the latter of which,—as
it is in prose,—the paramount titles would certainly have been introduced, if he had
assumed them by that date. They are non-sectarian; the record being simply that
Âdityasêna's wife, Kôṇadêvî, caused a tank to be made.
¹ The ‘Mandar, Mandargiri, Mundar Hill, and Mundar H. Temple,’ of maps, &c. Indian Atlas,
Sheet No. 112. Lat. 24° 50′ N.; Long. 87° 4′ E.
² The ‘Banka’ of maps.
The ‘Bhagalpur and ’Bhaugulpoor’ of maps, &c.
2 D 2

212 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL III.
TEXT.¹
No. 44.
1 Ôm Paramabhaṭṭâraka-mah[â]r[â]jâdh[i]r[â]ja-
2 śrî-Âditya²sênadêva-dayit[â] parama-
3 bhaṭṭârik[â]-r[â]j[ñ]i-mah[â]d[ê]v[î]-śrî-[Kô]ṇad[ê]v[î]
4 pushkariṇî-kîrttim=im[â]n=k[â]r[i]tava[tî] [॥*]
No. 45.
1 Ôm Paramabhaṭṭâraka-mah[â]r[â]j[â]dhirâja-śrî-Âd[i]tya³sênadêva-
day[i]tâ
2 paramabhaṭṭârik[â]-r[â]jñî-mahâd[ê]vî-śrî-K[ô]ṇad[ê]vî pu[shkariṇî-
kîrt]t[i]m-im[â]n-kâritavatî [॥*]
TRANSLATION.
Ôm ! The Paramabhaṭṭârikâ,⁴ the queen,⁵ the Mahâdêvî, the glorious Kôṇadêvî,—
the dear wife of the Paramabhaṭṭâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Âditya-
sênadêva,—caused to be made this famous work⁶ of a tank.
¹ From Mr. Beglar’s rubbing of No. 44, and Dr. Buchanan’s published lithograph of No. 45.
² Read śry-Âditya. ³ Here, again, read śry-Âditya.
⁴ Paramabhaṭṭârikâ, lit. ‘she who is supremely entitled to respect or veneration,’ is the femi-
nine of paramabhaṭṭâraka (see page 17 above, note 3); it was one of the customary technical titles
of the wives of paramount sovereigns.
⁵ râjñî; also in line 2 ff. of the following Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription of Jîvagupta II.—The word is
only the feminine form of râjan; but it does not seem to have been so exclusively and technically
used as a subordinate feudatory title, in the way in which râjan was used. In the present day also
Rânî, which is the Prâkrit form of râjñî, is the proper title of a wife of a Râjâ, but is also used,
equally with Mahârânî, as a title of the Queen-Empress of England and India.
⁶ kîrtti.—Mr. K. T. Telang (Ind. Ant. Vol. IX p. 36, note 13) first brought to notice, on the
authority of Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji, that in certain connections kîrtana has the meaning of ‘a
temple;’ e.g. in line 18 of the Khârêpâṭaṇ grant of Anantadêva, dated Śaka-Saṁvat 1016 (id. p.
34), which he was then editing.—This was supported by Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar (id. Vol. XII. p.
228 f.); who, in pointing out the error into which, from not being aware of this meaning of the word,
I had fallen in translating the passage in lines 14 f. of the Barôda grant of Kakka II., dated Śaka-
Saṁvat 734 (id. Vol. XII. p. 159), was able to quote three passages from the Agni-Purâṇa (in the
Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. I p. 111), Bâṇa’s Kâdambarî, and Sômêśvara’s Kîrttikaumudî, in which the
word evidently has the same meaning.—And to these instances I have since been able to add the
‘Dudahi’ inscriptions of Dêvalabdhi (id. Vol. XII. p. 289), and the Udayagiri inscription, dated
Vikrama-Saṁvat 1093 (id. Vol. XIII. p. 185).—On the analogy of these authorities, there is every reason
for allotting the same meaning, when required, to kîrtti, which is a derivative from the same root.
Dr. Bhandarkar has, however, recently suggested to me that kîrtti and kîrtana are hardly to be
actually translated by the word ‘temple,’ or by any other specific term; but denote generally ‘any
work, of public utility, calculated to render famous the name of the constructor of it.’ This is in
accordance with the etymology of the words, from the root kṛit, ‘to mention, commemorate,
praise.’ And the particular work referred to may be a temple, as in the instances quoted above; or a
tank, as in the present inscriptions; or anything else of a suitable nature.
Another passage in which kîrtti has the same meaning, though we have no information now
as to the specific nature of the work referred to, is in line 4 f. of an inscription on the right-hand
side pier in the porch of the temple of Vaidyanâtha at ‘Deoghar’ in the ‘Santâl’ Pargaṇâs in the
Bengal Presidency, edited by Dr. Rajendralala Mitra in the Jour. Beng As. Soc. Vol. LII. Part I

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 46, PLATE XXIX B 213

No. 46; PLATE XXIX B.

DEO-BARANARK INSCRIPTION OF JIVITAGUPTA II.

THIS inscription was discovered in 1880-81 by General Cunningham; and was first
brought to notice by him, in 1883, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XVI. pp. 68 and 73 ff.,
where he published a reading of the text, and a partial translation of it, supplied to him by
Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji, with a lithograph (id. Plates xxv. and xxvi.) from a photograph
by his Assistant, Mr. H. B. W. Garrick.
p. 190 f., No. 3. It is a Vaishṇava inscription; and, therefore, as pointed out by Dr R. Mitra, it does
not belong properly to the temple of Vaidyanâtha, which is a Śaiva shrine; and, from the conclud-
ing words, it seems to have been brought away from some building on the Mandâr Hill. I had no
opportunity of obtaining a proper impression of the inscription. But the one in the Society's library
suffices to shew that Dr R. Mitra's version of the text, which I now give, with my own translation of
it, is correct:—

TEXT.

Śâstâ samudrânta-vasundharâyâḥ yashṭ=Aśvamêdh-âdya-mahâ-
kratûnâm | Âdityasênaḥ prathita-prabhâ-
vô babhûva râj=âmara-tulya-têjâḥ || Mâghyâm Viśâkhâ-pada-
saṁyutâyâṁ Kritê yugê Chôla-purâd=a-
pêtya mahâ-maṇînâm=ayuta-trayêṇa trilaksha-châmîkara-ṭaṅkakêna ||
Ishṭv=âśvamêdha-trita-
yêna dattvâ . . . . . . . . . . . . kôṭi-yuktam | śrî-Kôshadêvyâ
sahitô ma? .â .chikarat
rttim=imâm sa sarvvâm || . . . vê . . . 'thêna vidhivat=
dvijêndraiḥ svayam yathâ vê . . . narêndraḥ |
kalyâṇa-hê . . .
tôr=bhuvana-trayasya chakâra saṁsthâṁ Nṛiharêḥ sa êva ||
Sthâpitô Balabhadrêṇa varâhô bhukti-mukti-
daḥ | svarg-ârthê pitṛi-mâtṝiṇâṁ jagataḥ sukha-hêtavê || Iti
Mandâragiri-prakaraṇaṁ ||

TRANSLATION.

There was a king, Âdityasêna, of renowned prowess, equal in glory to the
gods; the ruler of the (whole) earth up to the shores of the oceans; the performer
of the aśvamêdha and other great sacrifices. On the full-moon day of (the month)
Mâgha, coupled with the sign of (the lunar asterism) Viśâkhâ, in the Kṛita age,
—having arrived from the Chôla city,—having sacrificed with three aśvamêdha-
sacrifices, (and) having given away his own weight a thousand times over,
together with a crore of horses,—he, with (his) consort, the glorious Kôshadêvî,
caused to be made the whole of this famous work (kîrtti), with three myriads
of large jewels (and) three lakhs of gold (coins of the kind called) ṭaṅkakas.
Having consecrated (it) according to due rite (through the ceremonies performed)
by Brâhmans, just as if he, the king, himself (was laying out) the path of the
Vêdas, he made an establishment of (the god) Nṛihari, who is the cause of the
prosperity of the three worlds. A boar (i.e. the god Vishṇu in that form), the giver
of enjoyment and final emancipation, has been set up by Balabhadra, in order
that (his) parents may attain heaven, (and) for the happiness of the (whole)
world. Thus runs the chapter on the Mandâragiri.

214 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
**Dêô-Baranârk,**¹ or Dêva-Baranârk, the ancient Vâruṇikâ of this inscription, is
a village about twenty-five miles south-west of Arrah (properly Ârâ), the chief town of the
Shâhâbâd District in the Bengal Presidency. The inscription is on two contiguous faces
of a pillar in the entrance-hall of a temple on the west side of the village,² which has
apparently been adapted in modern times as a temple of the god Vishṇu.³
The writing, which covers a space of about 2' 3½" broad by 1' 4" high, has suffered
a great deal of injury from the weather, especially down the proper right side, where
many passages are hopelessly illegible; but fortunately the whole of the genealogy of the
Guptas of Magadha given in this inscription is intact, with the exception of the first three
syllables of the name of Mâdhavagupta, in line 2, which can easily be supplied. In lines
7 ff., however, there was a good deal of historical information that is not now quite per-
fect.—The average size of the letters is about ⁷/₁₆". The characters belong to the north-
ern class of alphabets, and are of almost the same Kuṭila type as those of the Aphsaḍ
inscription of Âdityasêna, No. 43 above, Plate xxviii.; but they do not shew the bent tails
of the letters quite so markedly.—The language is Saṁskṛit; and the inscription is in
prose throughout. In style, it follows the customary form of a copper-plate charter; not
of a stone-inscription.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice (1) the use of sh,
instead of the jihvâmûlîya or the visarga, in antashpâti, line 7; (2) the use of the dental
n, instead of the anusvâra, before s, in hansa, line 14; (3) the doubling throughout of t, in
conjunction with a following r; e.g. in ttraya, line 1; puttra, line 5; and mittra, line 16;
and (4) the use of v for b, in vâlâditya, line 13.
The inscription is one of Jîvitagupta II., of the family of the Guptas of Maga-
dha; and the charter recorded in it is issued from the fort of Gômatîkoṭṭaka. It is not
dated.⁴ It is an inscription of solar worship;⁵ its object being to record the continuance
of the grant of a village, either Vâruṇikâ or Kiśôravâṭaka, to the Sun, under the
title of Varuṇavâsin, a name which is of some interest, as apparently preserving the ancient
belief, in accordance with which varuṇa, lit. 'that which envelopes,' meant 'the all-encom-
passing sky, before it became the name of the ocean-god Varuṇa, who himself was ori-
The characters, called Maithila by Dr. R. Mitra, shew that this inscription is quite modern,
—certainly not earlier than the sixteenth century A.D.; and it must have been engraved when the
boar-statue of Vishṇu, spoken of in line 6, was set up by Balabhadra. I have thought it worth
while, however, to give the record in full, because, in my opinion, it so plainly contains a memorial
of the great Âdityasêna of Magadha. The antiquity of the allusion is indicated by its being referred
to the Kṛita age. And though the name of Âdityasêna's wife is here given as Kôshadêvî, instead of
Kôṇadêvî, this is to be explained by the usual inability of the people, then as now, to read correctly
the ancient characters of the inscription or other record from which the composer of these verses
obtained his information; and it is a mistake of the kind that corroborates, not invalidates, the
identification of Âdityasêna.
¹ The 'Deo-Barnârak, Deo-Barnârâk, Deo-Barunârak, and Deonar Narooh,' of maps, &c. Indian
Atlas, Sheet No. 103. Lat. 25° 15′ N.; Long. 84° 31′ E.
² See Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XVI. Plates xxii. xxiii. and xxiv.
³ id. p. 69.
⁴ Gen. Cunningham read in it the date of 152, which he referred to the era of Harshavardhana of
Kanauj. But this arose only from a misunderstanding of the words sa-daśâparâdha-pañcha, in line
19.
⁵ It appears that two special festivals in honour of the sun still take place at Dêô-Baranârk, on
the sixth day of the bright fortnight of the months Chaitra and Kârttika (see Archæol. Surv. Ind.
Vol. XVI. p. 72).

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 46, PLATE XXIX B. 215
ginally looked upon as one of the twelve Âdityas, or forms of the sun, the offspring of
Aditi.¹
The importance of this inscription consists, first, in its continuation, for three more
generations, of the genealogy of the Guptas of Magadha, including the name of Dêva-
gupta, which, as will be seen hereafter, gives the clue to the date of the Vâkâṭaka
Mahârâjas; and secondly, in its recording the names of certain previous kings, who each
in succession had confirmed the grant. The names that are now legible are those of
Bâlâditya, who, as is known from the writings of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang,
played so important a part in connection with Mihirakula; Śarvavarman, who is evident-
ly the Maukhari king Śarvavarman, whose copper-seal we have in No. 47 below, Plate
xxxA.; and Avantivarman, who is probably the Maukhari Avantivarman, mentioned in
Bâṇa's Harshacharita as the father of Grahavarman who became the husband of Râjyaśrî,
the sister of Harshavardhana of Kanauj.²
Of the places mentioned in the inscription, Gômatikoṭṭaka, the fort whence the
charter was issued, must evidently be looked for somewhere along the river Gômatî, the
modern Gômti or Gumti, which, rising in the Shâhjahânpur District of the North-West
Provinces, passes Lucknow and Jaunpur, and flows into the Ganges about half-way between
Benares and Ghâzîpur, and about eighty-five miles to the west of Dêô-Baraṇârk. And
Vâruṇikâ is plainly the modern Dêô-Baraṇârk itself. In the modern name, the first
component is dêva, 'a god;' and the second, a corruption of Varuṇârka, evidently gives
the name of a later conception of the original god, embodying the attributes of the Sun
(arka) with those of Varuṇa.
TEXT.³
1 ..........⁴ [na]maḥ [||] Svasti Śakti-ttray-ôpâtta-jayaśabdân=mahâ-nau-
hâ(ha)sty-aśva-patti-sambhâra-durnivâraj=jaya-skandhâvârât Gômatikoṭṭaka-
samîpa-vâsa-
2 [kât] .....⁵ [śrî-Mâdhava]guptas=tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtaḥ
paramabhaṭṭârikâyâm râjñyâm mahâdêvyâm śrî-Śrîmatyâm=utpannaḥ
paramabhâgavataḥ śrî-Âditya[sê]-
3 [nadêvas=tasya] pu[ttra]s=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtaḥ paramabhaṭṭârikâyâm râjñyâm
mahâdêvyâm śrî-Kôṇad[ê]vyâm=utpannaḥ paramamâhêśvara-
paramabhaṭṭâraka-mahâr[â]j[â]-
4 [dhirâja-paramêśvara]-śrî-D[ê]vaguptad[ê]vas⁷=tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânu-
¹ See, for instance, Monier Williams' Indian Wisdom, pp. 12 f. and 68; and Muir's Sanskrit
Texts, Vol. I. p. 27, note 42.
² See FitzEdward Hall's preface to the Vâsavadattâ, p. 52; and the Harshacharita, Kaśmîr
edition, p. 311 ff.
³ From the ink-impression..
⁴ Bhagwanlal Indraji supplied varuṇavâsi-bhaṭṭârakâya here. But only about five aksharas, or
at the most six, appear to have been destroyed.
⁵ Some sectarian title of Mâdhavagupta must have been destroyed here; but there seems hardly
room enough for paramabhâgavata or paramamâhêśvara.
⁶ Read śry-âditya.
⁷ This name of Dêvaguptadêva,—which is of considerable importance, from its bearing on the
date of the Vâkâṭaka Mahârâjas,—is very indistinct; but I agree with Bhagwanlal Indraji that it
can be read with sufficient certainty.

216 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
dhyâtaḥ paramabhaṭṭârikârikâyâ[ṁ*] râjñyâ[ṁ*] mahâdêvyâ[ṁ*] śrî-
Kamala¹dêvyâm=utpannaḥ paramamâhê-
5 [śvara-paramabhaṭṭâraka-ma]hârâjâ[dhi]râja-paramêśvara-śrî-Vishṇuguptadêvas=
tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânudhyâtaḥ paramabhaṭṭârikâyâ[ṁ*] râjñyâ[ṁ*]
mahâdêvyâ[ṁ*] śrî-Ijjâ²dê[vyâ]·
6 [m=utpannaḥ parama .........³-parama]bhaṭṭâraka-mahârâjâdhirâja-paramêśvara-
śrî-Jîvita⁴guptadêva[ḥ*] kuśalî Nagara-bh[u*]ktau Vâlavî-vaishayika-
śrî-Vâ(?vô) ..
7 .............................. padra(?)lik(?ksh)-ântashpâti-V[â*]ruṇikâ-grama-
gôshṭh[â]na(?)kula-talâvâṭaka-dûta-sîmakarmakara-madyâ(?)-
8 .................................... taka-râjaputtra-râjâmattra⁵-maha ....
kshatika-mahâdaṇḍanâyaka-mahâpratîhâra-mah[â]sâ-
9 ............................. pra(?)mâtasâ ...... k[u]m[â]râmâtya-râjasthânîy·
ôparika- .................. dhika-chaurôddharaṇika-dâṇḍika-da(?dâ)ṇḍa-
10 [pâśika(?)] ......................................... ka .... rshṇi(?)vala - vyâyata -
Kiśô(?)ravâ(?)ṭa(?)ka(?)-g[r]âma-h ........... d . t ... vaṇikaga .... pati-
karma(?)-
11 ...................... rasaka ............. t-âsmat-[p]âda-prasâd-ôpajîvinaś=cha
prativ[â]sinaś=cha vrâ(bra)hmaṇ-ôttarâ[n*] mahattara-ka(?ku)kshi(?)pura-
12 ............................................... vijñâpita-śrî-Varuṇavâsi-
bhaṭṭâraka-prativa(ba)ddha-bhôjaka-Sûryamittrêṇa upari-likhi-
13 [ta] .................................... grâm-âdi-saṁyutaṁ paramêśvara-
śrî-Vâ(bâ)lâdityadêvêna sva-śâsanêna bhagava-śrî⁶-Varuṇavâsi-
bhaṭṭâraka ..
14 ..................... ka ......... va-parivâ(?)haka ...... bhôjaka-Hansa-
mittrasya samâpat[t*]yâ yathâkâl-âdhyâsibhiś=cha êvaṁ paramêśvara-
15 śrî-Śarvvavarmma ....................... bhôjaka-Rishi⁷mittra ...... yatakaṁ
êvaṁ paramêśvara-śrî[ma*]d-Avantivarmmaṇâ pûrvva-dattakam· avala-
16 [mbya] ....................... êvaṁ mah[â*]râ[jâdhirâ*]ja-paramêśvara-
................... śasana-dânêna bhôjaka-Durddha(?)ra(?)mittrasy=
ânumô-
17 [dita] ...................... tê(?)na(?) bhu(?)jyatê(?) [|] tad=aham
kimapi(?) .... êvaṁ ........ matimân ........ ânupâ(mô)ditam=iti
sa(?)rvva(?)-samâjñâpa(?)nâ(?) [|] êtâ ..
18 ........................................... payu ....................
....... Varuṇavâsy-âyatanaṁ tad=anu dattam ....
¹ Bhagwanlal Indraji read kumâra; but the three aksharas are distinctly kamala.
² Read sr-Îjjâ. ³ Either bhâgavata or mâhêśvara is illegible here.
⁴ Bhagwanlal Indraji read savitri; but the three aksharas are distinctly jîvita, as, in fact, was
recognised by Gen. Cunningham (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. XVI. pp. viii., 68).
⁵ Read râjâmâtya. ⁶ Read bhagavach-chhrî.
⁷ Read bhôjaka-rishi; or, according to the more usual custom, bhôjak-arshi.—In the case of a
final a, followed by an initial ṛi, it is usual to join the vowels in regular saṁdhi. But Dr. Hultzsch
has drawn my attention to the fact that the commentary on Pâṇini, vi. 1, 128, rity=akaḥ, states
that the saṁdhi here is in accordance with the opinion of Śâkalya, and thus seems to intimate that,
according to other grammarians, the saṁdhi is optional, and a hiatus is equally permissible.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 46, PLATE XXIX B. 217
19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tyaksha . . . . . . . . . . . . .
s-ôdraṅgaṁ s-ôparikaraṁ sa-daśâparâdha-pañcha . .
20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [॥*]
TRANSLATION.
Reverence to . . . . . . . . .! Hail! From the victorious camp, possessed of shouts of
victory acquired by the three constituents of power,¹ (and) invincible through (its)
equipment of great ships and elephants and horses and foot-soldiers, (and) situated near
the fort of Gômatikoṭṭaka :—
(Line 2.)—(There was) . . . . . . . . the illustrious Mâdhavagupta. His son, who
meditated on his feet, (was) the most devout worshipper of the Divine One, the glorious
**Âdityasênadêva,**² begotten on the Paramabhaṭṭârikâ, the queen,³ the Mahâdêvî, the
glorious Śrîmatîdêvî.
**(L. 3.)—**His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the most devout worshipper of
(the god) Mahêśvara, the Paramabhaṭṭâraka, Mahârâjâdhirâja, and [Paramêśvara], the
glorious **Dêvaguptadêva,**⁴ begotten on the Paramabhaṭṭârikâ, the queen, the Mahâdêvî,
the glorious Kôṇadêvî.
**(L. 4.)—**His son, who meditated on his feet, was the most devout worshipper of (the
god) Mahêśvara, the [Paramabhaṭṭâraka], Mahârâjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara, the
glorious Vishṇuguptadêva, begotten on the Paramabhaṭṭârikâ, the queen, the
Mahâdêvî, the glorious **Kamaladêvî.**⁵
**(L. 5.)—**His son, who meditates on his feet, the most devout worshipper of . . . . . . . .,
the Paramabhaṭṭâraka, Mahârâjâdhirâja, and Paramêśvara, the glorious Jîvita-
guptadêva⁶ (II.),—[begotten] on the Paramabhaṭṭârikâ, the queen, the Mahâdêvî, the
glorious **Ijjâdêvî,**⁷—being in good health, [issues a command] to the herdsmen,
Talavâṭakas,⁸ messengers,⁹ makers of boundaries,¹⁰ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
¹ śakti-traya.—The three śaktis, or ‘constituents of regal power,’ are prabhutva, ‘majesty;’
mantra, ‘good counsel;’ and utsâha, ‘energy.’
² The omission, in the case of Âdityasêna, of the paramount titles,—which are duly attached to his
name in the Mandâr Hill inscriptions, Nos. 44 and 45 above, page 211, and to the names of his mother
and wife, and all his successors, in the present inscription,—is rather peculiar.
³ râjñî; see page 212 above, note 5.
⁴ See page 215 above, note 7.
⁵ See page 216 above, note 1.
⁶ See page 216 above, note 4.
⁷ This is a Prâkṛit name, in which ijjâ represents the Sanskrit ijyâ, ‘a sacrifice.’—We have had
another Prâkṛit name of a female, in Ajjhitadêvî; e.g. in line 5 of the Kârîtalâî grant of the Mahârâja
Jayanâtha of the year 174, No. 26 above, page 117.
⁸ Talavâṭaka is an official title, the etymology and meaning of which are not apparent.—Dr.
Bhagwanlal Indraji, in his treatment of this inscription, read the word with the short vowel a in the
second syllable, and explained it as meaning the modern Talâṭî or Talâṭhî, ‘the village accountant;’
but of course some authority requires to be cited, before this explanation can be accepted.
⁹ Dûta; the word seems to denote here simply ordinary message-carriers or postmen; not the
special officers called Dûtakas, employed in connection with copper-plate charters (see page 100
above, note 3).
¹⁰ Sîmakarmakara.
2 E2

218 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
...... Râjaputras,¹ Râjâmâtyas, ............ Mahâdaṇḍanâyakas, Mahâpratîhâras,²
................................... Kumârâmâtyas, Râjasthânîyas, Uparikas,
................ Chaurôddharaṇikas,³ Dâṇḍikas,⁴ Daṇḍapâśikas, ............
.... of the village of Vâruṇikâ, which lies in the .. ............................
............ in the Nagara bhukti,⁵ (and) .. ............ belonging to the
Vâlavî vishaya, (and) to................... the village of Kiśôravâṭaka (?), which
was laid out by ....................,
and to those who subsist on the favour of Our feet, and to the neighbours, headed by the
Brâhmaṇs, (and) to the Mahattaras, ............................................
(L. 12.)—By the Bhôjaka⁶ Sûryamitra, belonging to (the establishment of) the divine
(god) the holy and sacred Varuṇavâsin, who was requested................... the
above-mentioned [village] .................... together with ...............and the
village, &c., was formerly bestowed by the Paramêśvara, the glorious Bâlâdityadêva, by
(his) own charter, ................ the divine (god) the holy and sacred Varuṇavâsin,
............ by restoration to the Bhôjaka Haṁsamitra, and by those who presided at
different times, viz. the Paramêśvara, the glorious Śarvavarman ..................
[to] the Bhôjaka Ṛishimitra......... by the Paramêśvara Avantivarman. In accord-
ance with this practice⁷ ................................. assent to its enjoyment by the
Bhôjaka Durdharamitra was giaen, by the grant of a charter, by the Mahârâjâdhirâja and
Paramêśvara.................; and it is now enjoyed by him.
(L. 17.)—“Therefore I [now announce] that it is assented to ....................
......; such is (my) command to all people. ................................
...... the altar of (the god) Varuṇavâsin; after that, there is given .................
............................. with the udraṅga and the uparikara, with (the proceeds of
fines for) the ten offences, the five.......................................
¹ Râjaputra means literally ‘a king’s son, a prince;’ but, as used in such passages as the pre-
sent, it evidently has some technical official meaning, differing from this. In the modern Prâkṛits we
have, in Marâṭhî, râut or râût, and in Gujarâtî, râwat, in the sense of ‘a horse-soldier, a trooper.’
And these words would seem to be derived from râjaputra, and so to indicate its technical meaning;
rather than, as given by Molesworth and Candy in their Marâṭhî Dictionary, from râva-dûta, ‘a
king’s messenger.’
² Mahâpratîhâra, lit. ‘a great door-keeper,’ was the technical title of the officer next in grade
above the Pratîhâras (see page 190 above, note 1).
³ Chaurôddharaṇika, lit. ‘one who is entrusted with the extermination of thieves,’ is evidently
the technical title of a certain class of police officers.
⁴ Dâṇḍika, lit. ‘a chastiser, a punisher,’ may denote either a judicial functionary, from daṇḍa in
the sense of ‘a fine;’ or a police officer, from the same word in the sense of ‘a rod (of punishment).’
⁵ bhukti, lit. ‘enjoyment,’ is a technical territorial term.—From the arrangement of the text
here, as also from the mention of “the village of Pânîyaka, in the Śrâvastî bhukti, and belonging to
the Vâlayikâ vishaya which lay in the Śrâvastî maṇḍala,” in the Dighwâ-Dubaulî grant of the Mahâ-
râja Mahêndrapâla (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 112, line 7 f.), and the mention of “the village of Ṭikkarikâ,
in the Pratishṭhâna bhukti, and attached to the Kâśîpâra pathaka which belonged to the Vârâṇasî
vishaya,” in the Bengal Asiatic Society’s grant of the Mahârâja Vinâyakapâla (id. Vol. XV p. 141,
line 9 f.), the term bhukti seems to have denoted a larger extent of territory than a vishaya.
⁶ Bhôjaka is explained by Monier Williams, in his Saṅskṛit Dictionary, as denoting ‘a class of
priests, or sun-worshippers, supposed to be descended from the Magas by intermarriage with women
of the Bhôja race.’—Childers, in his Pâli Dictionary, gives the same word as meaning ‘a village-head-
man.’
⁷ The construction of the original is Bâlâdityadêvêna ......... pûrva-dattakam=avalambya,
“having relied on (i.e. having adapted himself to) the former grant that was made by Bâlâdityadêva
(and the others mentioned).” I have broken up the construction for convenience of translation.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 47, PLATE XXX A. 219
No. 47; PLATE XXX A.
ASIRGADH COPPER SEAL INSCRIPTION OF SARVAVARMAN.
THIS inscription was first brought to notice, through two independent channels, in
1836. In the Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. V. p. 482 ff., Mr. James Prinsep published the
Rev. W. H. Mill's reading of the text, and translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph
(id. Plate xxvi.) reduced from a drawing, forwarded to him by Dr. J. Swiney, which had
been made in 1805 from a wax-impression of the original seal, and had been in the possession
of Dr. Mellish from then; the lithograph is a fairly good one; but the rendering of the in-
scription was erroneous almost throughout. And in the Jour. R. As. Soc. F. S. Vol. III.
p. 377 ff., Professor H. H Wilson published Sir Charles Wilkins' reading of the text and
translation of it, accompanied by a lithograph, apparently full-size, prepared from an im-
pression which was found in 1805 or 1806 by Captain Colebrooke at Asîrgaḍh, in a box
containing property of the Mahârâjâ Scindia, and was forwarded by him to Sir Charles
Wilkins.
Asîrgaḍh¹ is a hill-fort, which formerly belonged to Scindia, about 'eleven miles to
the north-east of Burhânpur,² the chief town of the Burhânpur Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the
Nimâḍ³ District in the Central Provinces. As is shewn by the Sônpat seal of Harshavardhana,
No. 52 below, Plate xxxiiB., and the seal attached to the spurious Gayâ plate of Samudra-
gupta, No. 60 below, Plate xxxvii., the original of the inscription is evidently the seal,
presumably of copper, of a copper-plate grant. The grant itself appears never to have
been found. As regards the seal, it is not quite clear from the published accounts whether
the original was ever found, or only impressions of it. But, at any rate, I have not been
able to find out what became either of the seal, or of the impressions of it. My litho-
graph is a full-size reproduction of the lithograph published with Professor H. H. Wilson's
paper.
In the absence of the original seal and impressions, I am unable to give any details
as to its measurements, weight, state of preservation, &c. But, if the original lithograph
is full-size, it represents a seal, roughly oval in shape, measuring about 4⅞" by 5⅛". The
upper part is occupied by emblems, which are—in the centre, a bull, walking to the proper
right, decorated with a garland; beyond it, or perhaps attached to its off-side, there is
an umbrella, the staff of which is decorated with two streamers; on the proper right side,
in front of the bull, there is a man, walking, who carries in his right hand a curved double
axe on a short transverse handle, and in his left hand, either a standard, with a wheel or
sun-emblem on the top of it, or perhaps an abdâgîr or 'sunshade;' and on the proper left,
behind the bull, there follows another man, who carries in his left hand an ordinary long-
handled double axe, and in his right either a chauri-brush or a stick, with which he is
driving the bullock.—The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets; and,
though rather florid, especially in respect of the representation of the superscript vowels,
they are of a perceptibly older type than those of the inscriptions of the Guptas of
¹ The 'Asirgarh and Asseer Gurh' of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 54. Lat. 21° 28' N.;
Long. 76° 20' E.
² The 'Burhanpur and Boorhanpoor' of maps, &c.
³ The 'Nimár' of maps, &c.
2 E 2

220 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
Magadha, Nos. 42, 43, and 46, Plates xxviii. and xxixA. and B.—The language is
Sanskrit; and the inscription is in prose throughout.—In respect of orthography, we have
to notice (1) the use of the upadhmānîya, in utpannaḥ=parama, line 7; (2) the doubling
throughout of k and t, in conjunction with a following r; e.g. in atikkrānta, line 1, and
puttra, line 3; and (3) the doubling of dh, in conjunction with a following y, in anuddhyāta,
lines 3, 4, 5, and 6.
The seal is one of the Maukhari king Śarvavarman, whose approximate date
is fixed very closely by the mention of his father Îśānavarman, as the contemporary of
Kumāragupta of Magadha, in line 7 of the Aphsaḍ inscription of Âdityasêna, No. 42 above,
page 200. The mere finding of the inscription at Asîrgaḍh of course does not suffice
in any way to connect the members of this family of Maukharis with that locality. Their
territory probably lay some hundreds of miles more to the east. Its real position,
however, is a point that, with the definite date of Śarvavarman, can only be cleared up by
the discovery, if it is still in existence, of the plate itself, to which the seal belongs.
**TEXT.**¹
1 Chatus-sāmudr-ātikkrānta-kîrttiḥ pratâp-ânurâg-ôpanat-ânya-rājā(jô)² varṇṇ-
āśrama-vyavasthā-
2 pana-pravṛitta-chakkraś=Chakkradhara iva prajānām=artti-hara[ḥ*] śri(śrī)-
mahārāja-Harivarmmâ [II*] Tasya
3 puttras=tat-pâd-ânuddhy[ā*]tô Jayasvâminî-bhaṭṭârikâ-dêvy[ā*]m=utpannaḥ
śrī-mahârâj-Âdityava-
4 rmmâ [II*] Tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânuddhyâtô Harshaguptâ-bhaṭṭârikâ-
dêvyâm=utpannaḥ śrī-mah[ā*]râ-
5 j-Êśvaravarmmâ [II*] Tasya puttras=tat-pâd-ânuddhyâta Upaguptâ³-
bhaṭṭârikâ-dêvyâm=utpannô
6 mah[ā*]râjâdhirâja-śri(śrī)-Îśâna⁴varmmâ [II*] Tasya puttras=tat-pâd-
anuddhyâtô La(?)ksh[m]îva-
7 [t]î⁵-bhaṭṭârikâ-mah[ā*]dêvyâm=utpannaḥ=paramamâhêśvarâ(rô) ma-
8 hârâjâdhirâja-śrī-Śarvvavarmmâ Maukhariḥ [II*]
¹ From the lithograph published with Sir Charles Wilkins and Prof. Wilson's paper; so also the
present lithograph.
² In the absence of the original seal, which possibly was not properly cleaned before it was
copied, I can only treat this, and a few other instances, as mistakes of the original, though they may
be only defects in the lithograph.
³ Sir Charles Wilkins read umāguptā. As regards the second syllable, m and p are very much
alike in the lithograph. But the letter here seems to be p, rather than m; and there is certainly no
ā over it.—In support of my reading, the name Upaguptā occurs in the masculine form, Upagupta,
as the name of the fourth or fifth Buddhist Patriarch (e.g. Ind. Ant. Vol. IX. pp. 149, 315; Buddh
Rec. West. World, Vol. I. p. 182, and Vol. II. pp. 88, 93, 273).
⁴ Read śr-Îśāna.
⁵ Sir Charles Wilkins read harshiṇī; but there are four aksharas to be accounted for, not three.
The first akshara is very doubtful; the second is certainly not rshi, but seems to be ksh[m]ī, rather
imperfectly copied; the third is va; in the fourth, the superscript ī is distinctly visible, and the con-
sonant, which is almost entirely illegible, naturally suggests itself as t.

...
कन्दर्प्प-प्रतिमो नृपः शमित-धीर् यस्य प्रभावार्ज्जितैः पुण्यैः प्राप्य महीम् अकण्टकतया शास्त्य् एव चक्रार्द्ध-भाक् [|*]
Then:
Line 5:
उत्सन्न-द्विषि तेन धाम भगवद्-वैकुण्ठयोर् आत्मना
श्रीमद्-बिम्बोत्थ-कान्त्या विहित-दिन-करे प्रेक्षणीये गुहायाम् [|*]
Line 6:
कान्तेऽद्भुत-विन्ध्य-भूधर-गुहा-गेहे समा-रोपयत् ॥
Wait, let's read the exact words of Line 5 and 6!
Line 5:
उत्सन्न-द्विषि तेन विग्रहवता धात्रावतार-च्छलात्
Wait, look at line 5:
उ त्स न्ने द्वि ष तै र्नि...
Let's look at the start of Line 5 in the photo:
उ त्स न्ने द्वि षि ते न धा म ज ग ताम् आ रा ध यि ष्णुं ह रिम्...
Wait, look at Line 5:
`उ त्स न्