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

246 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
14 pûrvva-râj-ânuvritta-mârgg-ânusâriṇaḥ sunaya-bala-parâkkram-ô-
15 chchhinna-sarvva-dvishaḥ mahârâjadhirâja-śrî-Dêvagupta-sutâyâm-
Prabhâvati-
16 guptâyâm=utpannasya Śambhô[ḥ*] prasâda-dhṛiti-kârttayugasyaḥ¹
Vâkâṭaka-
Third Plate; First Side.
17 vanś-âlaṅkâra-bhûtasya । mahârâja-śrî-Pravarasênasya vachanât
Beṇṇâ-
18 kârppara-bhâgê pravarddhamâna-râjya-sa[ṁ*]vvatsarê । ashṭâ-
daśamê । Phâlgu-
19 ṇa(na)-śukla-dvâdaśyâm Maudgalya-sagôtrâya । Taittiri(rî)yây=
Âddhvaryya-
20 vê Dêvaśarmm-âchâryyây=ôdaka-pûrvvam sa-koraṭaḥ sa-
pañchâśatkaḥ
21 Brahmapûrakan=nâma grâmô=tisṛishṭaḥ Vaṭapûrakasy=
ôttarêṇa । Kiṇihikhê-
22 ṭakasy-âparêṇa । Pavarajjavâṭakasya dakshiṇêta(na) ।
Kollapûrakasya
Third Plate; Second Side.
23 purvvêṇa । sva-sîmâ-par[i*]chchh[ê*]dêna Karañjavi(ñchi)raka-
taṭê ।(॥) Atr=âsmat-santakâḥ
24 sarvvâddhyaksha-n[i*]yôga-n[i*]yuktâḥ âjñâsañchâri-kulaputr-âdhi-
kṛitâḥ bhaṭâḥ-
25 ś²-chhâtrâś=cha viśruta-pûrvvayâ âjñayâ âjñâpayitavyâḥ [। ]
Vidita-
26 m=astu ta(va)ḥ yath=aishô=smâbhiḥ Âtmanô dharmm-âyur-
bbala-vijay-aiśvaryya-vi³vṛi[d]dhayê
27 ih-[â*]mutra-hit-ârtthaṁ=âtv(tm)-ânugrahâya ।⁴ vaijayikê dharmma-
sthânê⁵ । a-bhaṭa-
Fourth Plate; First Side.
28 chchh[â*]tra-prâvêśyaḥ a-pârampara-gô-balivarddaḥ a-pushpa-
kshîra-sandôha[ḥ*] a-châ-
29 râsana-charmm-âṅgâraḥ a-la⁶vaṇa-klinva⁷-krêṇi-khanakaḥ ।⁸ sarvva-
vishṭi-parihâra-
30 parihṛitaḥ sa-nidhiḥ s-ôpanidhiḥ sa-kli(kḷi)pt-ôpakli(kḷi)ptaḥ
â-chandr-âditya-
¹ Read kârttayugasya.
² Read bhaṭâś.
³ First vṛi was engraved here, and then, it was corrected into vi, by adding the i and partially erasing the ṛi.
⁴ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
⁵ After this word, we require atisṛishṭaḥ, or some similar word, as in line 24 f., of the preceding inscription, page 238 above.
⁶ First li was engraved, and then it was corrected into la by partial erasure of the i.
⁷ Read kḷinna.
⁸ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 56, PLATE XXXV. 247
31 kâli(lî)yaḥ putra-pautr-ânugâmî [|] bhujyamânô na kênachid-
vyâghâtayi-
32 tavyaḥ sarvva-kriyâbhiḥ saṁrakshitavyaḥ parivarddhayitavyâ(vya)ś=
cha [|] yaś=ch=âsma-
33 ch-chhâsanam=a-gaṇayamânaḥ svalpâm=api paribâdhâ(ṅ)=k[u]ryyât=
kârayitâ¹ vâ |²
Fourth Plate; Second Side.
34 tasya brâhmaṇair=âvêditasya [|] sadaṇḍa-nigrahaṁ kuryyâma
kârayêma v=êti [||]
35 Sênâpatau Bâppadêvê likhitaṁ âchâryyêṇa [||] Asmi[ṁ]ś=cha
dharmm-âdhikâra-
36 ṇê |³ ati(tî)t-ânêka-râja-dattâs⁴-saṁchintana-paripâlana[ṁ*] kṛita-
pu-
37 ṇy-ânukîrttayâmaḥ⁵ [|*] êshyantatkâla-prabhavishṇûnaṁ⁶ gauravâd=
bhavishyân=vi-
38 jñâpayâmaḥ [||] Vyâsa-gîtau ch=âtra ślôkau pramâṇi(ṇî)-
karttavyau [||(l)]
Fifth Plate.
39 Shashṭi⁷-varsha-sahasrâṇi svarggê môdati bhûmi-daḥ achchhêttâ
ch=ânumattâ(ntâ)
40 cha tâny=êva narakê vasêta(t) [||] Sva-dattâṁ=paradattâv(m)=
vâ yô harê-
41 ta vasundharâma(m) gavâṁ śata-sahasrasya hantur=harati
dushkṛitam=iti [||]
TRANSLATION.
The Seal.
A charter of king Pravarasêna, the
ornament of the Vâkâṭakas, who has
attained royal dignity by inheritance, (is) a
charter for (the observance of even his)
enemies!
The Plates.
Sight has been attained! Perfection has been attained!—(Line 17.)—At the command
of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Pravarasêna (II.), who follows the path of imitating
the behaviour of previous kings; who has extirpated all enemies by (his) excellent policy
and strength and prowess; who was begotten on Prabhâvatiguptâ, the daughter of the
Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Dêvagupta; who, through possessing the favour of (the

¹ Read kârayitâ, as in line 33 of No. 55 above, page 238; or kârayêta.
² This mark of punctuation is unnecessary; also that in the next line.
³ This mark of punctuation is unnecessary.
⁴ Read datta.
⁵ Read kṛita-puṇy-ânukîrttana-parihâr-ârtthaṁ na kîrttayâmaḥ, as in line 35 of the preceding inscription, page 238 above.
⁶ Read êshyatkâla-prabhavishṇûnâm.
⁷ Metre, Ślôka (Anushṭubh); and in the following verse.

, 'a pollard, the trunk of a lopped tree; a log, stump, short stick.'—In Marâṭhî we have,
kôraṭ, 'spun silk, while still raw or unboiled;' kôraṇṭâ, kôraṇṭî, Barleria or Amaranth; and kôraḍâ,
'dry, empty, yielding no returns or profit.'

Notice in line 31: Kiṇihikhêṭaka has a dot under the n? Let's check image: Kiṇihikhêṭaka or Kinihikhêṭaka?
In line 31: Kinihikhêṭaka - no dot under n.
Wait, let's look closely: "Kinihikhêṭaka".
In line 27: —in the -> —ın tne in print, it's slightly damaged, standard English "in the".

Let's double-check all diacritics:

• Śambhu
• Kṛita
• Vâkâṭakas
• Mahârâja
• Rudrasêna (II.)
• Chakrapâṇi
• Pṛithivîshêṇa
• Mahêśvara
• Yudhishṭhira
• Rudrasêna (I.)
• Svâmi-Mahâbhairava

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
Vol. III — Plate xxxv

Siwānī Plates of Mahārāja Pravarasēna II

Plate IIa

[१] दृष्टम् [॥] प्रवरपुरात् [।] अग्निष्टोमाप्तोर्य्यामोक्थ्यषोडश्यतिरात्र-
[२] वाजपेयबृहस्पतिसवसाद्यस्क्राचतुरश्वमेधयाजिनः
[३] विष्णुकृद्धसगोत्रस्य सम्राजः वाकाटकानां महाराजश्रीप्रवर-
[४] सेनस्य सूनोः सूनोः अत्यन्तस्वामिमहाभैरवभक्तस्य
[५] अंसभारसन्निवेशितशिवलिङ्गोद्वहनशिवसुपरितुष्टसमुत्पादित-

Plate IIb

[६] राजवंशानां पराक्रमाक्रान्तभागीरथ्यमलजलमूर्द्धाभिषिक्तानां दशाश्वमेधा-
[७] वभृथस्नातानां भारशिवानां महाराजश्रीभवनागदौहित्रस्य
[८] गौतमीपुत्रस्य पुत्रस्य वाकाटकानां महाराजश्रीरुद्रसेनस्य
[L11

(first line of Plate IIIb):
Look at the words:
Wait, let's look at the standard text of Pravarasena II grants:
Let's check the genealogy in Pravarasena II's grants:
Usually:
Plate I:
agnisṭomāptoryyāmokthya... pravarasenasya sūnoḥ sūnoḥ... gautamīputrasya...
Plate IIa:
bhavanāgadauhitrasya... rudrasenasya... prabhavatiguptāyām utpannasya...
Plate IIb:
paramamāheśvara-mahārāja-śrī-pravarasenasya vacanāt...
Then comes the order and the village description!
Wait! The grant of the village:
In which plate is the village granted?
Usually on Plate IIb or IIIa!
Then Plate IIIb:
What is on Plate IIIb?
Privileges of the agrahāra!
Let's recall the standard Vakataka privileges (acāṭa-bhaṭa-prāveśyaḥ, etc.):
"apāraṃparagobalīvarddaḥ"
"apuṣpakṣīrasaṃdohaḥ"
"acārāsanacarmmāṅgāraḥ"
"alavaṇakḷiptakrenikhānakaḥ"
"apashumedhyaḥ"
"sarvaviṣṭiparihāra

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 57, PLATE XXXVI A 249
(thus) directed with a command preceded by (the words) 'O illustrious one:'—"Be it
known to you, that, in order to increase Our own religion and life and strength and vic-
tory and dominion, (and) for the sake of (Our) welfare in this world and in the next,
(and generally) for Our benefit, this (village) [is granted*] in (Our) victorious office of
justice.
(L. 27.)—"It is not to be entered by the regular troops or by the umbrella-bearers;
it does not carry with it (the right to) cows and bulls in succession (of production), or to
the abundance of flowers and milk, or to the pasturage, hides, and charcoal, or to the
mines for the purchase of salt in a moist state; it is entirely free from all (obligation of)
forced labour; it carries with it the hidden treasures and deposits, and the kḷiripta and
upakhḷipta; it is (to be enjoyed) for the same time with the moon and the sun; (and)
it is to follow (the succession of) sons and sons' sons. The enjoyment of it should not
be obstructed by any one. It should be protected and increased by all (possible) means.
And whosoever, disregarding Our charter, shall give, or cause to be given, even slight
vexation, We will inflict on him, or will cause to be inflicted, punishment, together with
a fine, when he is denounced by the Brâhmaṇs."
(L. 35.)—(This charter) has been written by the Âchârya, while Bâppadêva is the
Sênâpati.
(L. 35.)—And in this subject-matter of religion,—in order to avoid boasting of (other)
meritorious actions performed (by Us),—We do not recite the religious merit acquired by
(Our) care and protection of grants made by various kings who are dead and gone.
(But), out of respect for those who shall be pre-eminent in times to come, We make a
request (for protection of the grant) to future (kings).
(L. 38.)—And two verses, sung by Vyâsa, are to be taken as an authority on this
point:—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! Whosoever confiscates land that has been given, whether
by himself, or by another, he incurs the guilt of the slayer of a hundred thousand
cows!

No. 57; PLATE XXXVI A.

PAHLADPUR STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION.

THIS inscription was discovered by Captain T. S. Burt, of the Engineers, and was first
brought to notice in 1838, in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. VII. p. 1055, where Mr. James
Prinsep published the text of it, as read by Pandit Kamalakanta from Captain Burt's
facsimile, and, with the text, his own translation.
Pahlâdpur¹ is a village near the right bank of the Ganges, six miles east by south
of Dhânâpur, the chief town of the Mahâîch Pargaṇâ in the Zamânîyâ² Tahsîl or Sub-
Division of the Ghâzîpur District in the North-West Provinces. The inscription is on a
sandstone monolith column,—about three feet in diameter; polished and rounded for a

¹ The ‘Palladpur and Puhladpoor’ of maps, &c. Lat. 25° 26' N.; Long. 83° 31' E.—It should be in
the Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 103, almost opposite the village of ‘Puharpoor’ on the other side of the
river; but it is not entered there.
² The ‘Zamania, Zamina, Zeemaneea, and Zumeniah,’ of maps, &c.

250 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
length of twenty-seven feet; with a rough base of nine feet; the total length being thirty-six
feet,—which was found lying here, more than half buried in the ground, and was after-
wards, in or about 1853, removed to Benares and set up in the grounds of the Sanskrit
College there, on the north side, where it still stands. At the village of ‘Lathiya,’ one and
a half miles east of Zamânîyâ, there stands another sandstone column, rather smaller
in its dimensions, which is supposed to be the sister-column of the Pahlâdpur pillar; but
it is not inscribed.
The writing, which covers a space of about 4' 11" broad by 4" high, is about ten feet
above the place where the column starts from its present pedestal; and, commencing on
the north-west, it runs a little more than half-way round the column. The greater part of
it is in a state of very good preservation; but a few letters in the third pâda of the
verse, containing the name of the king, if it was recorded, have unfortunately quite peeled
off, and are entirely illegible. There are several inscriptions in the so-called "shell-
characters" on this column; but, apparently, no sculptures connected with the inscription
now published.—The size of the letters varies from ½" to ¾". The characters belong
to the northern class of alphabets. They include the so-called Indo-Scythic form of m,
which disappeared in Northern India very soon after the commencement of the Early
Gupta period; and its appearance here is sufficient to stamp this record as being at
least as early as any other inscription in this volume.—The language is Sanskrit; and
the inscription consists only of one verse, preceded by the word iha, 'here.'—The
orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription is not dated, and is non-sectarian. It only commemorates the fame
of a king whose name, if it was recorded, is unfortunately peeled away and lost. Mr.
Prinsep suggested, from the comparison in the last pâda of the verse, that his name was
Lôkapâla. From the rhyming ends of the four pâdas, it seems that his name must have
ended in pâla. But, in the third pâda of the verse, we have certainly the well-known name
of Śiśupâla; and,—whether the name as it stands here is that of the king himself, or
is that of the Purâṇic king Śiśupâla of Chêdi, with whom he is compared,—the infer-
ence seems to be that the name of the king, whose inscription is on the pillar, was Śiśu-
pâla. The chief interest of the inscription, however, is in the early date of it, as shewn
by the characters; and in there being the possibility that it is a record of the Pallavas
in Northern India. The king is called pârthiv-ânîka-pâlaḥ. This might be rendered by
simply "the protector of the armies of kings." But pârthiva has so much the appearance
of standing as a proper name here,¹ that I think the correct translation is "the protector
of the army of the Pârthivas." And, if Dr. Oldhausen’s derivation of the name Pallava,
through the form Pahlava, from Parthava, i.e. Parthian,² can be upheld, there will be no
objection to considering that we have in this record a fuller and more completely Sanskrit-
ised form of the early name of this tribe.
TEXT.³
1 Iha [1*] Vipula⁴-vijaya-kîrt[t*]iḥ kshatra-saddharma-pâlaḥ satata-dda(da)yita-
p[â*]rtthaḥ P[â*]rthiv-ânî(nî)ka-pâlaḥ diśi-diś[i] Śiśupâla[—]timâ
[— ⏑]pau(?)laḥ vihita iva Vidhâtrâ pañchamô lô[kapâ]laḥ [||*]

¹ As a Hindu name, it denotes one of the families of the Kauśikas, descended through Viśvâmitra
from Kuśika who was brought up among the Pahlavas (see Muir's Sanskrit Texts, Vol. I. p. 351 ff.).
² See Weber's History of Indian Literature, p. 188, note 201.
³ From the original pillar.            ⁴ Metre, Mâlinî.

Vol. III
CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
Plate xxxvi

A.—Pahladpur Pillar Inscription.

A.—Pahladpur Pillar Inscription.
SCALE .17

Text (Sanskrit / Gupta Brahmi):

[१] पार्थिवसामन्तगहनोत्खातासङ्गवीर्य्यस्य भगवतः पार्श्वाभ्युद्गतशूलाभिसम्बद्धस्य श्रीशिशुपालस्य

Transliteration:

[1] Pārthiva-sāmanta-gahan-otkhāt-āsaṅga-vīryyasya bhagavataḥ pārśv-ābhyudgata-śūl-ābhisambaddhasya śrī-Śiśupālasya [॥*]

B.—Bijayagadh Inscription of the Yaudheyas.

B.—Bijayagadh Inscription of the Yaudheyas.
SCALE .50

Text (Sanskrit / Brahmi):

[१] यौधेयगणपुरस्कृतस्य महाराजमहासेना-
[२] पतेर् [ब्र]ह्मण्यदेवप्रणत...
[३] ...
[४] ...

Transliteration:

[1] Yaudheya-gaṇa-puraskṛtasya mahārāja-mahāsenā-
[2] pater [Bra]hmaṇyadeva-praṇata...
[3] ...
[4] ...

C.—Bijayagadh Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana — The Year 428.

C.—Bijayagadh Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana — The Year 428.
SCALE .08

Text (Sanskrit / Late Brahmi):

[१] सिद्धम् [॥*] कृतेषु चतुर्षु वर्षशतेष्वष्टाविंशेषु ४०० २० ८ फाल्गुनबहुलस्य
[२] पञ्चदश्यामेतस्यां पूर्व्वायाम् [। ] वररीकस्य पौत्रेण यशोरातस्य
[३] पुत्रेण वररीकप्रपौत्रेण यशोवर्द्धनसत्पुत्रेण श्रीविष्णुवर्द्धनेन
[४] पुण्डरीकेनेष्ट्वा यूपो ऽयमुच्छ्रितः [॥]

Transliteration:

[1] Siddham [॥*] Kṛteṣu caturṣu varṣa-śateṣv-aṣṭāviṁśeṣu 400 20 8 Phālguna-bahulasya
[2] pañcadaśyām-etasyāṁ pūrvvāyām [। ] Vararīkasya pautreṇa Yaśorātasya
[3] putreṇa Vararīka-prapautreṇa Yaśovarddhana-satputreṇa śrī-Viṣṇuvarddhanena
[4] puṇḍarīkeneṣṭvā yūpo 'yam-ucchritaḥ [॥]

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

This page appears to be blank (containing only minor scanning artifacts/dust marks) and contains no legible text or inscriptions to transcribe.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 58, PLATE XXXVI B. 251
TRANSLATION.
Here, he,—who is possessed of extensive victory and fame; who is the protector of
the true religion of the warrior caste; who always cherishes princes; who is the protector
of the army of the **Pârthivas;**¹ who day after day . . . . . . . . . . . Śiśupâla . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,—was created, as if he were a fifth Lôkapâla,² by (the god) Vidhâtṛi.

No. 58; PLATE XXXVI B.

BIJAYAGADH STONE INSCRIPTION OF THF YAUDHEYAS.

THIS inscription was first brought to notice by myself in 1885, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV.
p. 8, and is now edited for the first time. It is from a stone that was found by my copy-
ists, built into the inside of the Fort wall, near the pillar which has on it the following in-
scription of the Varika Vishṇuvardhana, of the year 428, No. 59, Plate xxxviC., in the hill-
fort of Bijayagaḍh or Bêjêgadh, about two miles to the south-west of Byânâ,³ the chief
town of the Byânâ Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Bharatpur⁴ State in Râjputânâ.
The writing, which covers the whole front of the stone, about 1' 5⅞" broad by 2⅝"
high, except for a margin of about an inch at the beginning of each line, is in a state of fair-
ly good preservation, as far as it goes. But it is only a fragment of the original inscrip-
tion. An indefinite amount is lost at the end of each line; and also an indefinite number
of lines below line 2. Every effort was made to discover the rest of the inscription, but
without success.—The average size of the letters is about ⅝". The characters must be
considered as belonging to the northern class of alphabets; and the so-called Indo-
Scythic form of the m stamps them at once as of decidedly early date. But they are of
such a peculiarly ornate type, that, having no inscription of known date with which
to compare them, it is not possible at present to suggest any definite period for them.—
The language is Sanskrit; and the extant portion of the inscription is entirely in
prose.—The orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
All the historical contents of the inscription, including the name, except perhaps
the first syllable and part of the second, of the Mahârâja and Mahâsênâpati whose titles
occur in line 1, are lost. The interest of the inscription lies in its being a record of the
tribe of the Yaudhêyas, who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume only in line 22 of
the Allahâbâd pillar inscription, No. 1 above, where they are included among the tribes
subjugated by the Early Gupta king Samudragupta.
¹ See the introductory remarks.
² The four Lôkapâlas, or regents of the quarters of the world, are—Indra, of the east; Yama, of the
south; Varuṇa, of the west; and Kuvêra, of the north.—The number is sometimes increased to eight,
by the addition of Agni at the south-east, Sûrya at the south-west, Vâyu at the north-west, and Chandra
at the north-east.
³ The ‘Byana’ of the Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 50. Lat. 26° 57′ N.; Long. 77° 20′ E.—Other writ-
ers give the name as ‘Baianâ, Bayâna, Biána, and Biânah;’ but this is wrong; the name, of which the
mediæval form is said to have been Bêhayânâ, is dissyllabic.—As regards Mr. A. C. L. Carlleyle’s
utterly untenable derivation of Byânâ from the name of the demon Bâṇâsura, see my remarks in Ind.
Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 9.—The ancient Sanskṛit name of the place was Śrîpathâ; see id. pp. 8 f., and 10;
and Vol. XV. p. 239.
⁴ The ‘Bhurtpoor’ of maps, &c.
2 K

252 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
1 Siddham [||*] Yaudh[ê]ya-gaṇa-puraskṛitasya mahârâja-mahâsênâpatêḥ
pu .................
2 brâhmaṇa-purôgaṁ ch=âdhishṭhânaṁ śarîr-âdi-kuśalaṁ prishṭvâ likhaty=
Asti Rasmâ ........
3 ² ........................................................................
TRANSLATION.
Perfection has been attained! Of the Mahârâja and Mahâsênâpati, who has been
made the leader of the Yaudhêya tribe, ....................................
................................................................ and having asked
the settlement, headed by the Brâhmans, as to the health of (their) bodies &c., writes—
“There is ... ................................................................
No. 59, PLATE XXXVI C.
BIJAYAGADH STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF
VISHNUVARDHANA.
THE YEAR 428.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1871-72 by Mr. A. C. L. Carlleyle, and was first
brought to notice by him in 1878, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. VI. p. 59 ff., where he
published Dr. G. Bühler’s reading of the text and translation,³ from an ink-impression
supplied by himself, with a lithograph (id. Plate viii). It is on a monolith red-sandstone
pillar that stands in a conspicuous position, near the south wall of the Fort, inside the hill-
fort of Bijayagaḍh or Bêjêgaḍh near Byânâ,⁴ the chief town of the Byânâ Sub-Division
of the Bharatpur State in Râjputânâ. The pillar stands on a rubble masonry platform,
which is about 13' 6" high and 9' 2" square at the top. The height of the pillar above
the plinth is 26' 3". The base is square, to the height of 3' 8"; each face measuring 1' 6".
Above this, the pillar is octagonal, for a length of 22' 7"; and it then tapers off to a
point. The extreme top, however, is broken; and a metal spike, which projects from it,
indicates that it was originally surmounted by a capital. The inscription is towards the
south side of the pillar; it runs vertically down the pillar, and is read from the top down-
wards;⁵ and the lowest letter of line 3, the longest line, is about 7' 0" above the level of the
plinth. The platform, on which the pillar stands, is plainly of much more recent construc-
¹ From the ink-impression.
² Several superscript vowels are legible along this line; but the consonants are all broken away
and lost.
³ Both more or less mutilated in publication.
⁴ See page 251 above, and note 3.
⁵ On this point, Mr. Carlleyle’s account is exactly the opposite; but he is wrong; as is, in fact,
shewn by his further statement that line 2 is on the left of line 1, and so on; this could not be the
case, if the inscription ran from the bottom upwards.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 59, PLATE XXXVI C. 253
tion than the pillar itself; and this suggests that possibly the present position of the pillar
is not its original one. On the south side of the pillar, towards the top of the square base,
there is engraved, in two lines of rather rough Dêvanâgarî characters of about the tenth
to the twelfth century A.D., Śrī-yōgī Vra(bra)hmasâgara, "the holy ascetic, Brahmasâ-
gara;" with perhaps an imperfect date below, of (Vikrama-Saṁvat) 1008 (A.D. 951-52).
And this may possibly indicate the period when the pillar was placed in its present position.
The writing, which covers a space of about 9' 4" broad by 2' 6½" high, is in a state
of almost perfect preservation throughout.—The size of the letters varies from 1⅛" to 2".
The characters must be regarded as belonging to the northern class of alphabets.
They include the so-called Indo-Scythic form of m, quite in accordance with the date of
the record. They also include, in line 1, forms of the numerical symbols for 8, 20, and
400.—The language is Sanskrit; and the entire inscription is in prose.—In respect of
orthography, we have to notice (1) the use of the jihvâmûlîya in yaśaḫ-kula, line 4;
(2) the use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, in viṅśêshu, line 1, and vaṅśa,
line 4; (3) the doubling throughout of t, in conjunction with a following r, e.g. in puttrêṇa,
line 2; (4) the doubling of p, once, under the same circumstances, in suppratishṭhita,
line 2; (5) the very exceptional doubling of ś, in conjunction with a following r and y, in
śśrêyô, line 4, and pañchadaśśyâm, line 2; (6) the doubling of bh in conjunction with a
following y, in abbhyudaya, line 4; and (7) the doubling of t, in conjunction with a follow-
ing v, in puttrattva, line 4.
The inscription is one of a Râja named Vishṇuvardhana, of the Varika tribe.
It is dated, both in words and in numerical symbols, when the year four hundred and
twenty-eight had expired; on the fifteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight of the month
Phâlguṇa (February-March). The era is not stated; but the type of the characters indi-
cates with the locality of the inscription, that we must refer the date to the Mâlava or
Vikrama era, with the result of A.D. 371-72 expired, and A.D. 372-73 current. And this
shews that the Varika Vishṇuvardhana was in all probability a feudatory of the Early
**Gupta king Samudragupta.**¹ The inscription is non-sectarian; the object of it only
being to record the erection, by Vishṇuvardhana, of this pillar, which is called a yûpa
or 'sacrificial post,' on the completion of a puṇḍarîka-sacrifice.
TEXT.²
1 Siddham [1*] Kṛitêshu chaturshu varsha-śatêshv=ashṭâviṅśêshu 400 20 8
2 Phâlguṇa(na)-bahulasya pañchadaśśyâm=êtasyâm=pûrvvâyâm³ [1*]
3 Kṛitau puṇḍarîkê yûpô=yam=pratishṭhâpitas=suppratishṭhita-râjya-nâmadhêyêna
śrî-Vishṇuvarddhanêna Varikêna Yaśôvarddhana-sat-puttrêṇa
Yaśôrâta-sat-pauttrêṇa Vyâghrarâta-sat-prapauttrêṇa⁴
¹ If we refer the date to the Śaka era, the result, A.D. 506-7, might perhaps be used to
identify this Vishṇuvardhana with the king of the same name mentioned in the Mandasôr inscription
of Mâlava-Saṁvat 589 (A.D. 532-33). But there is nothing to justify us in assuming that the Śaka era
was ever used in early times in this part of the country. Also, the form of m, as a northern letter, is
too early for that period. And, as is shewn by his titles of Râjâdhirâja and Paramêśvara, as well as
by the general tenor of his inscription, the Vishṇuvardhana of the Mandasôr record was a far greater
person than this Vishṇuvardhana, the Varika.
² From the original stone. ³ Supply tithau.
⁴ The form of ya that occurs here differs from the form used in the other instances throughout
this inscription, in the distinct loop on the right hand of the bottom of the letter.

254 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
4 śrîtyajña - dharmma - śśrêyô - bbhyudaya - yaśaḥ - kula - vaṁśa - bhâga - bhôg - âbhivṛi-
ddhayê [||] Siddhir-astu pushṭir-astu śântir-astu jîvaputtrattvam-
astv=ishṭa-kâm-âvâptir=astu śrâ(śra)ddhâ-vittê syâtâm=iti¹ [||]
TRANSLATION.
Perfection has been attained! Four centuries of years, together with the twenty-eighth
(year), (or in figures) 400 (and) 20 (and) 8, having been accomplished ;² on the fifteenth
lunar day of the dark fortnight of (the month) Phâlguna ;—on this (lunar day), (specified)
as aforesaid :—
(Line 3.)—On the ceremony of the puṇḍarîka-sacrifice (having been performed), this
sacrificial post has been caused to be set up by the Varika, the illustrious Vishṇu-
vardhana, whose royalty³ and name are well established,—who is the excellent son of
Yaśôvardhana; (and) the excellent son's son of Yaśôrâta; (and) the excellent son of
the son's son of Vyâghrarâta,—for the purpose of increasing (his) splendour, sacrifices,
religion, welfare (in the other world), prosperity, fame, family, lineage, good fortune, and
enjoyment.⁴
(L. 4.)—Let there be success! Let there be increase! Let there be tranquillity!
Let there be the condition of (his) having a son who shall live! Let there be the
attainment of desires that are wished for! May there be faith and wealth!
No. 60; PLATE XXXVII.
SPURIOUS GAYA COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF
SAMUDRAGUPTA.
THE YEAR 9.
THIS inscription, which is now published for the first time, is from a copper-plate that
was obtained a few years ago by General Cunningham at Gayâ,⁵ the chief town of the
Gayâ District in the Bengal Presidency, and was, I think, first brought to notice by him
in 1883, in his Book of Indian Eras, page 53, where it is entered as being dated in the
year 40. I obtained the original plate, for examination, from General Cunningham.
The plate, which is inscribed on one side only, measures about 8" by 7 1/8". It is
quite smooth, the edges having been neither fashioned thicker, nor raised into rims.
About half-way down the proper left side, the plate has laminated rather seriously; and
there is also a small crack just below this place, and another in the top of the plate, in the
¹ As is seen in the lithograph, there is no foundation whatever for the additional letter yô which,
in Mr. Carlleyle's published lithograph, follows this ti, or, rather, the kâ into which the ti was so gratui-
tously converted by him. The result was naturally such as to puzzle Dr. Bühler as to the close of
the inscription.
² kritêshu; see page 73 above, note 1.
³ Or, more technically, 'condition of being a Râja.'
⁴ Or perhaps bhâgabhôga should be taken as one word, meaning 'enjoyment of taxes; lordship,
royalty;' see Monier Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary, s. v. bhâgabhuj, which is explained by 'enjoying
taxes; a king, a sovereign.'
⁵ The 'Gya' of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 104 Lat. 24° 48' N.; Long. 85° 3' E.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 60, PLATE XXXVII. 255
word vâsakât; but, except at these places, the inscription is in a state of perfect preserva-
tion almost throughout. The plate is fairly thick and substantial; and the letters, which
are shallow, do not shew through on the reverse side of it at all. The engraving is fairly
good; but, as usual, the interiors of the letters shew marks of the working of the engra-
ver's tool throughout.—Onto the proper right side of the plate, there is fused a seal,
oval in shape, about 2⅞" by 3⅜". It has, in relief on a countersunk surface,—at the top,
Garuḍa, represented as a bird, standing to the front, with outstretched wings; and, below
this, a legend in five lines, which, being also in relief, is so worn, that nothing of it can
be read except a few disconnected letters here and there, and Sam[u]drag[u]p[taḥ], very
faintly, at the end of line 5. It must have contained a succinct recital of the genealogy,
after the fashion of the Asîrgaḍh seal of Sarvavarman, No. 47 above, page 219, and the
Sônpat seal of Harshavardhana, No. 52 above, page 231.—The weight of the plate, with
the seal, is 2 lbs. 10 oz.—The average size of the letters is 1/16". The characters belong
to the northern class of alphabets. They include, in line 14, forms of the numerical
symbols¹ for 9 and 10.—The language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is in prose
throughout. In line 3-4, we have, instead of the usual expression utsanna, the word
uchchanna, which, as used here, is, according to Sir Monier Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary,
a Prâkṛit corruption of the Sanskrit utsanna.—In respect of orthography, we have to notice
(1) the doubling of t throughout, in conjunction with a following r, e.g. in prapauttrasya,
line 4; pittrôr, line 8; and sagôttrâya, line 9; (2) the doubling of dh, in conjunction with
a following y, in ayôddhyâ, line 1; (3) the occasional use of b for v, in bô, line 8, and
sambat, line 14; and (4) the use of v for b, in vrâhmaṇa, lines 7 and 10; vahṛichâya,
line 9; and savrahmachâriṇê, line 9-10.
The inscription purports to be one of the Early Gupta king Samudragupta, and
to record a charter issued from his camp at the city of Ayôdhyâ.² It purports to be
dated, in numerical symbols,³ in the year nine (A.D. 328-29), on the tenth solar day,
without any specification of the fortnight, of the month Vaiśâkha (April-May). It is a
non-sectarian inscription; the object of it simply being to record the grant to a Brâhmaṇ,
ostensibly by Samudragupta, of the village of Rêvatikâ in the Gayâ vishaya.
The legend on the seal of this grant is in characters which present a very different
appearance to those of the body of the inscription; as also does the copper of the seal,
as compared with the substance of the plate; and the seal is in all probability a genuine
one of Samudragupta, detached from some other plate. The inscription itself, however,
is undoubtedly spurious. This is shewn conclusively, if by nothing else, by the fact that
from uchchhêttuh, line 1, to dauhittrasya, line 5, the epithets of Samudragupta are uni-
formly in the genitive case; the drafter of the inscription was copying from a grant of
Chandragupta II. or some other descendant of Samudragupta;⁴ he only then recognised
¹The symbol which I take to be meant for 9, was interpreted by Gen. Cunningham as 40.
But it certainly is not 40. It resembles most the decimal figure 2. But the day of the month is
distinctly marked by a form of the numerical symbol for 10. This shews that the sign here also is
intended for a numerical symbol; and the only symbol to which it approximates, is that for 9.
²The modern Ajôdhyâ or Ajûdhyâ (the ‘Oudh or Ajoodhia’ of the Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 87),
Lat. 26° 48' N.; Long. 82° 14' E., on the south bank of the river ‘Ghâgra or Ghôgra,’ about four miles
north-east of Faizâbâd, the chief town of the Faizâbâd Division of Oudh in the North-West Provinces.
³See note 1 above.
⁴Compare the construction in the Mathurâ inscription of Chandragupta II., No. 4 above, page 25,
and in the Bhitarî pillar inscription of Skandagupta, No. 13 above, page 52.

256 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
that this construction would not suit a supposed inscription of Samudragupta himself,
which was required in accordance with the seal that was to be attached; and he
promptly then adopted the nominative construction, utpannaḥ .......... Samudraguptaḥ,
without taking the trouble to correct the preceding passages. It is difficult to suggest
any definite time for the fabrication of this grant; on the one side, some of the charac-
ters are antique, e.g. the forms of k, p, m, and r, and particularly h; on the other side,
others are comparatively modern, especially the sh in valatkaushabhyâm, line 7-8. But it
has the general appearance of having been made somewhere about the beginning of the
eighth century A.D. Points which may hereafter serve to fix its date more definitely are.
(1) the use of the Prâkṛit corruption uchchhanna, in line 3-4; and (2) the opening expression
mahâ-nau-hasty-asva &c., in line 1; the only other instances of similar expressions being
in line 1 of the Dêô-Baraṇârk inscription of Jîvitagupta II., No. 46 above, page 215,
and in line 1 of the Dighwâ-Dubaulî grant¹ of the Mahârâja Mahêndrapâla, of A.D.
761-62, and of the Bengal Asiatic Society's grant² of the Mahârâja Vinâyakapâla, of
A.D. 794-95.
TEXT.³
¹ Ôm Svasti Mahâ-nau-hasty-aśva-jayaskandhâvârâj(d)-Â(a)yôddhyâ-vâsakât=
sarvva-râj-ôchchhêttu[h*] pri-
² thivyâm=a-pratirathasya chatur-udadhi-salil-âsvâdita-yaśa[śô*⁴] Dhanada-Varuṇ-
Êndr-Â-
³ ntaka-samasya Kṛitânta-paraśôr=nyây-âgat-ânêka-gô-hiraṇya-kôṭi-pradasya chir-
ôchchha-
⁴ nn⁵-âśvamêdh-âharttu[h*] mahârâja-śrî-Gupta-prapauttrasya⁶ mahârâja-śrî-
Ghaṭôtkacha-pauttrasya⁷
⁵ mahârâjâdhirâja-śrî-Chandragupta-puttrasya⁸ Lichchhavi-dauhittrasya⁹ mahâ-
dêvyâ[m*] Ku-
⁶ mâ¹⁰radêvyâm-utpanna[h*] paramabhâgavatô mahârâjâdhirâja-śrî-Samudra-
⁷ guptaḥ Gayâ-vaishayika-Rêvatikâ-grâmê vrâ(brâ)hmaṇa-purôga-grâma-vala-
⁸ tkaushabhyâm=âha । Êva ch=ârtha[m*] viditam=bô(vô) bhavatv=êśa(sha)
grâmô mayâ mâtâpittrôr=â-
⁹ tmanaś=cha puṇy-âbhivṛiddhayê Bhâradvâja-sagôttrâya Va(ba)hvṛichâya
sav[r]a(bra)hmachâ-
¹⁰ riṇê vrâ(brâ)hmaṇa-Gôpadêvasvâminê s-ôparikar-ôddêśên=âgrahâratvên=âti-
¹ Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 112. ² id. p. 140.
³ From the original plate.
⁴ There is a mark over the śa, which may be only a rust-mark, but which renders it a little doubt-
ful whether yaśô-dhanada was engraved, or yasa dhanada with an omission of sô. The other in-
scriptions, however, shew that the correct reading is yaśasô dhanada &c.
⁵ The other inscriptions all read uttsanna.—Monier Williams, in his Sanskrit Dictionary, suggests
that uchchhanna,—which, in the sense of 'uncovered,' is a regular derivative from ud + chhad,—is, in
the sense of 'destroyed, fallen into disuse,' a Prâkṛit corruption of uttsanna, from ud + sad.
⁶ In order to render the inscription capable of translation, read prapauttraḥ. And, at the same
time, correct all the preceding genitives into nominatives.
⁷ Read pauttraḥ. ⁸ Read puttraḥ. ⁹ Read dauhittraḥ.
¹⁰ This mâ was first engraved closer to the margin of the plate, and then, being indistinct there,
was repeated.

An epigraphic transcription and documentation of the Spurious Gayā Copper-Plate Inscription of Samudragupta (The Year 9) from Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. III, Plate xxxvii (ed. J. F. Fleet).

Bibliographic & Epigraphic Metadata

• Corpus: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. III (Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings and Their Successors)
• Editor / Epigraphist: J. F. Fleet, Bo. C.S.
• Plate: Plate xxxvii
• Title: Spurious Gayā Plate of Samudragupta — The Year 9
• Dynasty: Imperial Gupta (Spurious / Ancient Forgery attributed to the Gupta period)
• King: Samudragupta
• Date: Year 9, 10th day of the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha (Saṁvat 9 Vaiśākha-sudi 10)
• Findspot: Gayā, Bihar
• Language: Sanskrit
• Script: Northern Alphabet / Late Brahmi (Gupta script with some later/anomalous cursive forms indicative of a later date of fabrication)
• Scale of Plate: 0.90
• Photo-lithographer: W. Griggs, Photo-Lith.

Plate Heading & Margin Annotations

[H1] CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 60, PLATE XXXVII. 257
11 sṛishṭaḥ [|] tad=yushmâbhir=asya śrôtavyam=âjñâ cha karttavyâ sarvvê
cha¹ sa²muchitâ grâma-pra-
12 tyayâ mêya-hiraṇy-âdayô dêyâḥ [|] na ch=ê(ai)tat-prabhṛity=êtad-âgrahârikêna
[â*]nyad³-grâ-
13 m-âdi-karada-kuṭumbi-kâruk-âdayaḥ pravêśayita. yâ ma(a)nyathâ niyatam=â(a)gra-
14 hâr-âkshêpa[ḥ*] syâd=iti [||] Saṁba(mva)t⁴ 9 Vaiśâkha di 10 [||]
15 Anya-grâm-âkshapaṭalâdhikṛita-Dyûta-Gôpasvâmy-âdêśa-likhitaḥ⁵ [||*]
TRANSLATION.
Ôm! Hail! From the victorious camp, full of great ships and elephants and horses,
situated at (the city of) Ayôdhyâ,—the most devout worshipper of the Divine One, the
Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Samudragupta,—who is the exterminator of all kings;
who has no antagonist (of equal power) in the world; whose fame is tasted by the waters of
the four oceans; who is equal to (the gods) Dhanada and Varuṇa and Indra and Antaka;
who is the very axe of (the god) Kṛitânta; who is the giver of many millions of lawfully
acquired cows and gold; who is the restorer of the aśvamêdha-sacrifice, that has been
long in abeyance; who is the son of the son's son of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Gupta;
who is the son's son of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Ghaṭôtkacha; (and) who is the
son of the Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Chandragupta (I.), (and) the daughter's
son of Lichchhavi, begotten on the Mahâdêvî Kumâradêvî,—says to the two village
Valatkaushans,⁶ together with the Brâhmaṇs, at the village of Rêvatikâ belonging to the
Gayâ vishaya;—
(Line 8.)—“Be it known to you! For the sake of increasing the religious merit of
(my) parents and of myself, this village is granted by me, as an agrahâra, with the assign-
ment of the uparikara, to the religious student, the Brâhmaṇ Gôpasvâmin, of the Bhârad-
vāja gôtra (and) the Bahvṛicha (śâkhâ).
(L. 11.)—“Therefore attention should be paid to him by you; and (his) commands
should be obeyed; and all the customary tributes of the village, consisting of that which is
to be measured, gold, &c., should be given. And, from this time forth, the tax-paying
cultivators, artizans, &c., of other villages, &c., should not be introduced by the Âgrahâ-
rika of this (village) (for the purpose of settling in it and carrying on their occupations);
(for) otherwise there would certainly be a violation of (the privileges of) an agrahâra.”
The year⁷ 9; (the month) Vaiśâkha; the day 10.
(L. 15.)—(This deed) has been written by the order of Dyûta-Gôpasvâmin, the
Akshapaṭalâdhikṛita⁸ of another village.
¹ sa was engraved here, and then corrected into cha.
² cha was engraved here, and then corrected into sa. ³ Read ânya.
⁴ As regards the interpretation of the first symbol, see page 255 above, note 1.
⁵ Supply ullêkhô=yam, or any similar words.
⁶ Valatkaushan is evidently a technical official title; but it occurs nowhere else; and I am not
able to suggest an explanation of its meaning
⁷ As regards the interpretation of the symbol, see page 255 above, note 1.
⁸ Akshapaṭalâdhikṛita, meaning lit. ‘he who is appointed to (the duties of) a depository of legal
documents,’ is an official title that is evidently syn mous with Âkshapaṭalika (see page 100 above,
note 1).

258 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
No. 61; PLATE XXXVIII A.
UDAYAGIRI CAVE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 106.
THIS inscription was discovered in 1874-75 or 1876-77 by General Cunningham, and was
first brought to notice by him in 1880, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 53 f., where
he published his reading of the text, and a translation of it by Râjâ Siva Prasad, accom-
panied by a lithograph (id. Plate xix).—And in 1882, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. p. 309 f.,
Dr. E. Hultzsch, working from General Cunningham’s facsimile, published his own revised
reading of the text, and translation of it.
This is another inscription from **Udayagiri,**¹ in the Bhêlsâ Sub-Division of the
Îsâgadh District of Scindia’s Dominions in Central India. It is inside a cave-temple,
which General Cunningham has named “No. 10, the Jain Cave.” The cave, which is
about a hundred yards beyond “No. 9, the Amṛita Cave,” is readily discernible from the
plain, by means of the rough stone wall which forms the front of the main part of it; it is
high up in the north-western end of the hill, and is not very easy of access, in conse-
quence of its having to be entered by a narrow and steep flight of steps on the very edge
of the cliff. The inscription is on the smoothed face of the rock, on a partly natural and
partly artificial low arch, leading from the principal room of the cave to the next room
towards the east.
The writing, which covers an irregular space of about 1′ 3½″ broad by 7¾″ high, has
suffered a little damage at the beginning and end of some of the lines, owing to the chip-
ping of the angular edges of the rock; but the readings here can be completed without any
doubt; and the rest of the inscription is in a state of perfect preservation. Below the last
line, there is a row of five roughly cut modern numerals, reading 31245, the tops of which
can be seen in the lithograph; but they have no connection with the inscription.—The
average size of the letters is about ⅜″. The characters belong to the northern class of
alphabets.—The language is Saṁskṛit; and, except for the opening invocation of the
saints or perfect ones, the inscription is in verse throughout.—The orthography presents
nothing calling for special remark.
The inscription refers itself to the period of the Early Gupta kings; but not to
the reign of any particular sovereign. The recorded date, however, shews that it belongs
to the time of Kumâragupta. It is dated, in words, in the year one hundred and six
(A.D. 425-26), on the fifth solar day of the dark fortnight of the month Kârttika
(October-November). It is a Jain inscription; and the object of it is to record the instal-
lation of an image of the Tîrthaṁkara Pârśva, or Pârśvanâtha, at the mouth of the cave.
TEXT.²
¹ Namaḥ siddhêbhyaḥ [॥*] Śrî³-saṁyutânâṁ guṇa-tôyadhînâṁ Gupt-
ânvayânâṁ nṛipa-sattamânâṁ
¹ See page 22 above, and note 1. ² From the original stone. ³ Metre Indravajrâ.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 61, PLATE XXXVIII A. 259
2 râjyê kulasy=âbhivivarddhamânê shaḍbhir=yyutê varsha-śatê=tha mâsê [II*]
Su¹-Kârttikê bahula-dinê=tha paṁchamê
3 guhâ-mukhê sphaṭa-vikaṭ-ôtkaṭâm=imâm jita-dvishô Jina-vara-Pârśva-
samjñikâm Jin-âkṛitim śama-damavân=a-
4 chîkarat [II*] Âchâryya²-Bhadr-ânvaya-bhûshaṇasya śishyô hy=asâv=âryya-
kul-ôdgatasya âchâryya-Gôśa-
5 rmma-munêḥ=sutas=tu Padmâvatâv³=aśvapatêr=bbhaṭasya [II*] Parair⁴=a-
jêyasya Ripughna-mâninas=sa Saṅghi-
6 lasy=êty=abhiviśrutô bhuvi sva-samjñayâ Śaṅkara-nâma-śabditô vidhâna-
yuktaṁ yati-mâ-
7 rggam=âsthitaḥ [II*] Sa⁵ uttarâṇâṁ sadṛiśê Kurûṇâṁ udag-diśâ-dêśa-varê
prasûtaḥ
8 kshayâya karmm-âri-gaṇasya dhîmân yad=atra puṇyaṁ tad=
apâsasarjja [II*]
TRANSLATION.
Reverence to the Perfect Ones!⁶ In the augmenting reign of the family of the best
of kings, belonging to the Gupta lineage, who are endowed with glory (and) are oceans
of virtuous qualities;—in a century of years, coupled with six; and in the excellent month
of Kârttika; and on the fifth day of the dark fortnight;—
(Line 3.)—He⁷ who has conquered the enemies⁸ (of religion), (and) is possessed of
tranquillity and self-command, caused to be made (and set up) in the mouth of (this)
cave, this image of a Jina, richly endowed with (the embellishments of) the expanded hoods
of a snake⁹ and an attendant female divinity, (and) having the name of Pârśva, the best
of the Jinas.
(L. 4.)—He is, indeed, the disciple of the saint, the Âchârya Gôśarman, who was the
ornament of the lineage of the Âchârya Bhadra (and) sprang from a noble family; but he
¹ Metre, Ruchirâ. ² Metre, Indravajrâ.
³ We have here the locative case of a base padmâvati, which, to suit the metre, is substituted for
the proper base padmâvatî, the locative of which would be padmâvatyâm.
⁴ Metre, Vaṁśastha. ⁵ Metre, Upêndravajrâ.
⁶ siddhêbhyaḥ. These Siddhas are not to be confused with the mythical semi-divine Siddhas who
are mentioned, e.g., in line 1 of No. 18 above, page 81. They are saints, who by austere practices
have attained siddhi or 'perfection or final beatitude' (see the remarks on siddham, page 25 above,
note 4) in the shape of some or all of the five states of salôkatâ, 'residence in the same heaven with
any particular deity;' sarûpatâ, 'identity of form with the deity, or assimilation to him;' 'sâmîpya,
'nearness to the deity;' sâyujya, 'absorption into the deity;' and sârshtitâ or samânaisvaryatva,
'equality with the supreme being in power and all the divine attributes.'—The Jain term siddha
corresponds pretty closely to the Buddhist samyak-sambuddha, which occurs in line 1 of No. 11 above,
page 46.
⁷ i. e. Śaṁkara, whose name occurs in line 6 below.
⁸ The allusion is to the ari-shaṭka or ari-shad-varga; see page 156 above, note 5.
⁹ Dr. Hultzsch wrongly read sphuṭa, and thus missed the meaning of this passage.—For vikaṭâ,
which I have translated by 'an attendant female divinity,' see Monier Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary
s.v., where he explains it by 'a kind of female divinity, peculiar to Buddhists.'—The image referred
to in this inscription, is not now in the cave. But, in support of my explanation of the passage, we
may refer to a precisely similar image, in the Jain cave at Bâdâmi, described in Archæol. Surv.
West. Ind. Vol. I. p. 25. It represents the same Jina, Pârśvanâtha, with a five-hooded snake over him
as a kind of nimbus, and a female on the right side, with a serpent's hood, holding up the rod of the
umbrella that shades him