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

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

260 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
is more widely renowned on the earth (as being) the son, (begotten) on Padmâvatî,¹ of
the Aśvapati,² the soldier Saṁghila, who, unconquerable by (his) enemies, took himself
to be a very Ripughna;³—by his own appellation, he is spoken of under the name of
Śaṁkara;—(and) he has adhered to the path of ascetics, conformable to the sacred
precepts.
(L. 7.)—Born in the region of the north, the best of countries, which resembles (in
beatitude) the land of the Northern Kurus,⁴—he, the wise one, has set aside whatever
religious merit (there is) in this (act), for the purpose of destroying the band of the
enemies⁵ of religious actions.
No. 62; PLATE XXXVIII B.
SANCHI STONE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 131.
THIS inscription was first brought to notice in 1837, in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. VI.
p. 451 ff., where Mr. James Prinsep published a very fair lithograph of it (id. Plate xxvi.),
reduced from copies on cloth and paper made by Captain Edward Smith, of the Engi-
neers, and, with it, his own reading of the text, and a translation of it.
This is another inscription from Sâñchî,⁶ in the Dîwângañj Sub-Division of the
Bhôpâl State in Central India. It is on the outer side of the centre rail in the fourth row
outside and on the south side of the eastern gateway, and in a re-entering angle of the rail-
ing, of the Great Stûpa.
The writing, which covers a space of about 2′ 5″ broad by 2′ 0″ high, is in a very
fair state of preservation, every letter being, with care, legible from beginning to end;
but, owing to the discolouration of the stone from lapse of time, it is much easier to read
in the ink-impression and lithograph, than on the original stone.—The size of the letters
varies from ⅜″ to 1″. As in the case of the Sâñchî inscription of Chandragupta II. of the
year 93, No. 5 above, page 29, Plate iii B., the characters belong to the southern class
of alphabets; they are not so carefully formed as the characters of that inscription: but,
¹ See page 259 above, note 3.
² Aśvapati, lit. ‘lord of horses,’ appears to be a technical official title.—See Prof. F. Kielhorn’s
note on the analogous term Gajapati, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 9, note 52.
³ Or we may translate “took himself to be the slayer of (all his) foes.”—But Ripughna seems
to be intended as a proper name, and as a synonym for Ripuṁjaya, which was the name of three or
four Purâṇic kings and heroes; or for Śatrughna, which was the name of one of the brothers of Râma.
We may also compare the name of Śatrughnarâja, in No. 55 above, lin 19 page 237.
⁴ The Kurus, one of the tribes of India, were divided into two branches, the northern and the
southern. Uttarakuru, or the country of the Northern Kurus, is supposed to be a region beyond the
most northern range of the Himâlaya mountains, and is described as a country of everlasting happi-
ness.
⁵ Here, again, the allusion is to the ari-shaḍ-varga; see page 156 above, note 5.
⁶ See page 29 above, and note 2.—In connection with what I have said there, regarding the
origin of the name of Sâñchî, I would add that we should compare, with Sâñchî or Sâchî and Kâchî,
such instances as Tôṇḍal and Bôṇḍal, two villages next to each other, separated only by a stream,
in the Mâḷsiras Tâlukâ or Sub-Division of the Shôlâpur District; and Hisrê and Phisrê, two con-
tiguous villages in the Karmâḷeṁ Tâlukâ of the same District. Similar rhyming names may be found
all over the country.

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

Vol. III — Plate XXXVIII

Vol. III.
CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
Plate xxxviii

A. — Udayagiri Cave Inscription. — The Year 106.

(Gupta Era 106 = A.D. 425–26, Reign of Kumāragupta I)

Sanskrit Text (Line-by-Line as numbered on the plate):

नमोऽर्हद्भ्यः [॥] श्रियाभिवृद्धे प्रथिते यशोभिरुद्भासिते सर्व्वगुणातिरेकैः [।] प्रकाश्यमानाद्भुतपुण्यकीर्त्तौ
गुप्तप्रिये श्रीयुतराजगुप्ते [॥] तस्यात्मजस्तत्प्रथितावदातान्वयोदितो भद्र इवेभपोतः [।] प्रद्युम्न[शर्म्मा]-
[स]मविक्रमोऽभूदजातशत्रुः पृथिवीपतिभ्यः [॥] तस्यात्मजस्तत्पदपद्मभृङ्गः स[ङ्घात]-
नामोऽप्यथ सङ्घिलस्य [।] विवर्द्धमानोरुयशाः सदाभूद्विमलविख्यातमति[र्नृपेन्द्रः] [॥]
तस्यात्मजस्तत्पदपूजने रतो ह्युदग्गुणे चापरगोत्रभूष[णः] [।] विशे[षसाङ्गायन]-
गोत्रजश्शुचिर्य्यशोऽभिख्यो विश्रु[तो] भुवि [॥] आचार्य्यभद्रा[न्वय]-
साधुसूनुः समाहितो गोशर्म्म[णो] मुनेः [।] यतीन्द्र[गोशर्म्मसहो]-
दरो बल्यधीष्ट जिनेन्द्ररू[पं]... कारयत् [॥] सं १०० ६ [...]

Transliteration:

namo'rhadbhyaḥ [||] śriyābhivṛddhe prathite yaśobhir udbhāsite sarvva-guṇātirekaiḥ [|] prakāśyamānādbhuta-puṇya-kīrttau
gupta-priye śrīyuta-rāja-gupte [||] tasyātmajas tat-prathitāvadātānvayodito bhadra ivebha-potaḥ [|] pradyumna-[śarmmā]-
-[sa]ma-vikramo'bhūd ajāta-śatruḥ pṛthivī-patibhyaḥ [||] tasyātmajas tat-pada-padma-bhṛṅgaḥ sa[ṅghāta]-
-nāmo'pyatha saṅghilasya [|] vivarddhamānoru-yaśāḥ sadābhūd vimala-vikhyāta-mati[r-nṛpendraḥ] [||]
tasyātmajas tat-pada-pūjane rato hy udag-guṇe cāpara-gotra-bhūṣa[ṇaḥ] [|] viśe[ṣa-sāṅgāyana]-
-gotra-jaś śucir yyaśo-'bhikhyo viśru[to] bhuvi [||] ācāryya-bhadrā[nvaya]-
-sādhu-sūnuḥ samāhito gośarmma[ṇo] muneḥ [|] yatīndra-[gośarmma-saho]-
-daro balyadhīṣṭa jinendra-rū[paṁ]... kārayat [||] saṁ 100 6 [...]

Translation:

Reverence to the Arhats! In the reign of the glorious king (Kumāra)gupta, loved by the Guptas, who has increased in prosperity, is renowned for his fame, is illuminated by the excellence of all good virtues, and whose wonderful holy renown is made manifest;
[L2–L3] His son, sprung from his celebrated and spotless lineage, was like an auspicious elephant-cub, resembling Pradyumnaśarman in valour, and without enemies among the lords of the earth;
[L3–L4] His son, a bee on the lotus of his feet, named Saṅghāta (and also) Saṅghila, possessed ever-increasing great fame and a mind celebrated and stainless;
[L5–L6] His son, devoted to worshipping his feet, born of northern virtues, the ornament of an incomparable lineage, born of the Viśeṣa-Sāṅgāyana gotra, pure, known on earth by the name of Yaśas;
[L6–L8] The virtuous son of the disciple of the lineage of the Ācārya Bhadra; the composed (disciple) of the sage Gośarman; the brother of the lord of ascetics Gośarman, caused to be made this image of the lord of the Jinas (Pārśvanātha) ... in the year 106.

SCALE .40

B. — Sāñchī Inscription. — The Year 131.

(Gupta Era 131 = A.D. 450–51, Reign of Kumāragupta I)

Sanskrit Text (Line-by-Line):

[सिद्धम्] [॥] स्वस्ति [॥] संवत् १०० ३० १...
[परमभट्टारक-महाराजाधिराज-श्री-कु]मारगुप्त[स्य प्रवर्द्धमान-विजय-राज्य-संवत्सरे...]
...स्यां दिवसे...
...भगवतो सम्यक्सम्बुद्धस्य...
...जम्बुद्वीपे महाविहारे...
...आर्य्यसङ्घस्य...
...अक्षयनीवी...
...प्रदीप-प्रवर्त्तनाय...
...रत्नत्रयस्य...
...सर्व्वसत्त्वानामनुत्तरज्ञानावाप्तये...
...भवतु [॥]

Translation & Notes:

Perfection! Hail! In the year 131...
In the augmenting and victorious reign of the Paramabhaṭṭāraka, Mahārājādhirāja, the glorious Kumāragupta...
[L3–L11] Recording an endowment (akṣaya-nīvī) made by a devotee for the continuous burning of a lamp (pradīpa-pravartanāya) before the Holy, Perfectly Enlightened One (the Buddha) at the Mahāvihāra of Sāñchī (Kākanādaboṭa) in Jambudvīpa, for the benefit of the Venerable Assembly (Ārya-Saṅgha) and the Three Jewels (Ratna-traya), to the end that all sentient beings may attain supreme knowledge (sarva-sattvānām anuttara-jñānāvāptaye).

Plate Footer:

J. F. FLEET, BO. C.S.
SCALE, .55
W. GRIGGS, PHOTO-LITH.

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 62, PLATE XXXVIII B. 261
allowing for this, the details shew no particular development. In line 11, they include
forms of the numerical symbols for 1, 5, 30, and 100.—The language is Sanskrit; and
the inscription is in prose throughout. In pravishṭaka, line 4, we have to notice the affix
ka which I have commented on at page 69 above.—In respect of orthograpny, the only
point that calls for remark, is the doubling of v, after the anusvâra, in saṁvvat, line 11.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king; but the date recorded
in it, allots it to the time of either Kumâragupta, of the Early Gupta dynasty, or his
son and successor Skandagupta. It is dated, in numerical symbols,¹ in the year one
hundred and thirty-one (A.D. 450-51), on the fifth solar day, without any specification of
the fortnight, of the month Âśvayuj (September-October). It is a Buddhist inscription.
And the object of it is to record the grant, by the Upâsikâ or lay-worshipper Hari-
svâminî, the wife of the Upâsaka Sanasiddha, of certain sums of money to the
Ârya-Saṁgha, or community of the faithful, at the great vihâra or Buddhist convent of
Kâkanâdabôṭa,—i.e. the great Stûpa at Sâñchi,²—for the purpose of feeding one
Bhikshu day by day, and of maintaining lamps in the shrines of Buddha.
TEXT.³
1 S[iddha]m⁴ [॥*] Upâsaka-Sanasiddha-bhâryyayâ upâsik[â*]-Harisvâminyâ
mâtâ-
2 pitaram⁵=uddiśya Kâkanâdabôṭa-śrî-mahâ-vihârê châturddiśây=âryya-saṁ-
3 ghâya akshaya⁶-nîvî dattâ dînârâ dvâdasa [।*] êshâṁ dînârâṇâṁ
yâ vriddhi-
4 r=upajâyatê tayâ divasê-divasê saṁgha-madhya-pravishṭaka-bhikshur=êkaḥ
bhôja-
5 yitavyaḥ [॥*] Ratna-grihê=pi dînâra-trayaṁ dattam [।*] [ta]d-dînâra-
trayasya vri[d*]dhyâ ratna-grihê
6 bhagavatô Buddhasya divasê-divasê dîpa-trayaṁ prajvâlayitavyaṁ [॥*]
Chatur-Buddh-âsa-
7 nê=pi dattaḥ dînâra êkaḥ [।*] tasya vriddhyâ chatur-Buddh-âsanê
bhagavatô Buddhasya
8 divasê-divasê dîpaḥ prajvâlayitavyaḥ [॥*] Êvam=êsh=âkshaya-nîvî
9 â-chandr-ârkka-śilâ-lêkhyâ svâminî-Sanasiddha-bhâryyayâ
10 upâsik[â*]-Harisvâminyâ pravarttitâ iti [॥*]
11 Saṁvvat⁷ 100 30 1 Âśvayug=di 5 ॥
¹ Gen. Cunningham (Bhilsa Topes, p. 193) read the first symbol as 300. But the two marks on
the right side, required to convert 100 into 300, are entirely wanting; and he must have been misled
by the natural marks of the stone becoming exaggerated in an imperfect ink-impression.
² See page 31 above.
³ From the original stone.
⁴ This word is in the margin, before upâsaka. The traces that remain of it are very faint.
⁵ Read mâtâpitarâv.
⁶ The initial a of this word is badly formed, and is partly run into the ya of saṁghâya. Perhaps
saṁghây-âkshaya was being engraved, as required by saṁdhi, and then the initial a was inserted.
⁷ As regards the reading of the first symbol, see note 1 above.

262 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
TRANSLATION.
Perfection has been attained! By the Upāsikā Harisvâminî, the wife of the
Upāsaka Sanasiddha, for the sake of (her) parents, twelve dînâras are given, (as)
a permanent endowment, to the community of the faithful, collected from the four quarters
of the world, at the holy great vihâra of Kâkanâdabôṭa. With the interest that
accrues of these dînâras, day by day one Bhikshu, who has been introduced into the
community, should be fed.
(Line 5.)—Also three dînâras are given in the jewel-house.¹ With the interest of
these three dînâras, day by day three lamps of the divine Buddha should be lit in the jewel-
house.
(L. 6.)—Also, one dînâra is given in the place where (the images of) the four
Buddhas are seated.² With the interest of this, day by day a lamp of the divine Buddha
should be lit in the place where (the images of) the four Buddhas are seated.
(L. 8.)—Thus this permanent endowment,—written upon stone (so as to endure) for
the same time with the moon and the sun,—has been accomplished by the Upāsikā
Harisvâminî, the noble lady,³ the wife of Sanasiddha.
(L. 11.)—The year⁴ 100 (and) 30 (and) 1 ; (the month) Âśvayuj ; the day 5.
No. 63; PLATE XXXIX A.
MATHURA STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 135.
THIS inscription was discovered by General Cunningham, and was first brought
to notice in 1871, in the Jour. R. As. Soc. N. S. Vol. V. p. 184 f., where Professor
J. Dowson published his reading of the text, and a translation of it, accompanied by a litho-
graph (id. Plate ii. No. 8) reduced from General Cunningham’s ink-impression.— And this
rendering of the inscription was reprinted, with a few corrections, in 1873, in the Archæol.
Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 36 f., accompanied by a fresh lithograph (id. Plate xvi. No. 22).
The inscription is on the pedestal of a broken standing statue that was found in the
Jail Mound at Mathurâ,⁵ the chief town of the Mathurâ District in the North-West Pro-
¹ ratna-griha; see page 33 above, note 5.
² chatur-Buddh-âsana.—As pointed out by Gen. Cunningham in his Bhilsa Topes, p. 191 f., this
is explained by four statues of Buddha, seated, one opposite each entrance, which are in the circular
enclosure that runs round the Stûpa, inside the railing. Owing, I suppose, to alterations made in the
course of the restorations that have been carried out at Sâñchi, the statue at the south entrance is
now a seated statue, similar in general design to the statues at the north, east, and west entrances ;
it is evidently the original statue, which had somehow been shifted, now restored to its proper place ;
and the standing statue, which was opposite the southern entrance when Gen. Cunningham wrote his
description, now stands a little to the west of it.
³ svâminî.—Or perhaps the word stands here for the fuller title, Vihârasvâminî, which occurs in
the next inscription ; see page 263 below, note 7.
⁴ As regards the reading of the first symbol, see page 261 above, note 1.
⁵ See page 26 above, and note 2.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 63, PLATE XXXIX A. 263
vinces. When I examined it, it was in the Government Museum at Allâhâbâd; but it has
now, I understand, been transferred to the Provincial Museum at Lucknow. Of the statue
itself, all that remains is the feet, with part of a small kneeling figure at each side;
and there is thus nothing to shew its nature; but, from the tenour of the inscription, it
must have been a standing image of Buddha.
At the commencement of the inscription, in the margin, there is engraved a Bud-
dhist dharmachakra, or 'wheel of religion,' an emblem the object of which appears to be
to denote the way in which religion encompasses and envelops everything.—The writing
covers a space of about 1' 6½" broad by 2¾" high; and is in a state of very good preserva-
tion, except in the last line, of which almost the whole of the last part is broken away and
lost.—The average size of the letters is about ½". The characters belong to the north-
ern class of alphabets. They include, in line 1, forms of the numerical symbols for
5, 20, 30, and 100.—The language is Sanskrit. The first two lines are in prose, and the
rest in verse.—In respect of orthography, the only point that calls for notice is the
doubling of v, after the anusvâra, in saṁvvatsara, line 1.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king; but, from its date, it
appears to belong to the time of the Early Gupta king Skandagupta; since his father,
Kumâragupta, having commenced to reign in at least the year 96, can hardly have conti-
nued on the throne up to the present date. It is dated, both in words and in numerical
symbols, in the year one hundred and thirty-five (A.D. 454-55), and on the twentieth solar
day, without any specification of the fortnight, of the month Pushya (December-January).
From the expressions used, as well as from the emblem on the margin of the stone, it is
evidently a Buddhist inscription; and the object of it is to record the gift of the statue, on
the pedestal of which it is engraved.
TEXT.¹
1 Saṁvvatsara-śatê paṁcha-striś²-ôttaratamê 100 30 5 Pushya-mâsê
divasê vi[ṁ]ś[ê] di 20 [I*] Dêya-dharm[ô]=yaṁ vihârasvâminy[â]
2 Dêvtâyâ³ [II]* Yad=atra puṇyaṁ tad=bhavatu mâtâpitrôḥ sarvva-
sat[t*]vânâñ=cha anuttara-jñân⁴-âptayê⁵ ||
3 Saubhâgyaṁ⁶ pratiru(rû)patâ guṇavatî kîrttis=sapatna-kshayaḥ śrîman[t]ô
vibhavâ bhavâ[ḥ*] sukha-phalâ nirvvaṇaṁ=amtê śivaṁ
4 a-stabdha(?)ni bhavanti dâna-niratau chittaṁ niyôjy=aikadâ [—] î [— — ◡]
vichâ(?tâ)raṇa[◡ ◡]dhiyâṁ [— — ◡ ◡ — —] i [◡] yâṁ [II*]
TRANSLATION.
In a century of years, increased by the thirty-fifth (year), (or in figures) 100 (and)
30 (and) 5; in the month Pushya; on the twentieth day, (or in figures) the day 20;—
this is the appropriate religious gift of the Vihârasvâminî⁷ Dêvatâ. Whatever religious

¹ From the original stone. ² Read triṁś. ³ Read dêvatâyâḥ.
⁴ This n is rather an anomalous one; but the character cannot stand for anything else.
⁵ There is no objection to the present reading; but we usually have avâptayê.
⁶ Metre, Śârdûlavikrîḍita.
⁷ Vihârasvâminî, lit. 'mistress (lady-superintendent) of a vihâra,' seems, not to be a technical
religious title denoting an office held by females, but to mean simply 'the wife of a Vihârasvâmin;'
see page 279 below, note 5.—We may compare Dandanâyakitî, in line 40-41 of the Kargudari in-

264 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
merit (there is) in this (act),—let it be for the acquisition of supreme knowledge by (her)
parents and by all sentient beings !
(Line 3.)—Good fortune ; the condition of being a model (worthy of imitation),
abounding in virtuous qualities ; fame ; the destruction of the enemies (of religion) ;¹
riches abounding in prosperity, births that result in happiness ; (and) finally, an
auspicious nirvâṇa ;—(all these) are not permanent (?) ;² having once fixed the thoughts
upon the happiness of making gifts, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No. 64 : PLATE XXXIX B.

GAḌHWÂ INSCRIPTION.

THIS inscription was discovered by General Cunningham in 1874-75 or 1876-77, and was
first brought to notice by him in 1880, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. X. p. 10 f., where
he published his reading of the text, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate v. Nos. 2
and 3).
It is another inscription from Gaḍhwâ,³ in the Karchhanâ Sub-Division of the
Allahâbâd District in the North-West Provinces. It was found on pulling down a ruined
wall ; and is on two faces of a fragment of a square sandstone pillar which had been cut
into four beams by splitting it down the middle of each face, in order to adapt it to some
later building purposes. The other pieces were not found. The original stone is now in
the Imperial Museum at Calcutta.
The writing includes the remains of two separate records, which, however, seem to
refer to one and the same object of donation. On that face of the stone which is repre-
sented in the left part of the lithograph, we have the remains of fourteen lines, covering a
space of about 3¾″ broad by 1′ 2¾″ high ; and, on the other side, the remains of eight
lines, covering a space of about 6¼″ broad by 11½″ high. Such of the writing as remains,
is fairly well preserved ; but of course some of the letters are doubtful from want of the
context to explain them.—The size of the letters varies from ⅜″ to ½″. The characters
belong to the northern class of alphabets, and are of precisely the same type as those of
Nos. 7, 8, and 9 above, Plate ivB. C. and D. They include, in lines 18 and 19, forms of the
numerical symbols for 1 and 2.—The language is Sanskrit ; and the inscription is in
prose throughout.—In respect of orthography, the only point that calls for notice is the
use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in viṅśati, line 16.
From the letters visible at the end of line 1, the inscription may belong to the time
of the Early Gupta king Kumâragupta. The details of the date, however, have been

scription of Śaka-Saṁvat 1030 (Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 252, and note 20) ; it means, not ‘a female Leader
of the Forces,’ but ‘the wife of a Danḍanâyaka.’ Modern instances of finding appellations for women
in the official titles of their husbands, are afforded by the Kanarese Gauḍasâni, and the Marâṭhî Pâṭlîn,
as used to designate the wife of the Gauḍa or Pâṭîl, the village-headman.
¹ The allusion is to the ari-shaḍ-varga or ari-shaṭka ; see page 156 above, note
² According to the Buddhist doctrine, it would appear that even nirvâṇa, or the extinction of
existence, is not a permanent state, and does not free the individual who attains it from the liability
of future births unless it is followed by parinirvâṇa, or absolute destruction of identity by complete
absorption into the divine essence.
³ See page 36 above, and note 1.

Vol. III.
CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM.
Plate xx
A.—Mathura Image Inscription.—The Year 135.
SCALE .50
B.—Gadhwa Inscription.
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
SCALE .25
C.—Kosam Image Inscription
of the Maharaja Bhimavarman.—The Year 139.
SCALE .33
D.—Gadhwa Inscription.—The Year 148.

This page is blank and contains no transcribable text (only a stray scan mark/artifact).

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS, No 64 PLATE XXXIX B. 265
entirely destroyed. The remnant of the inscription does not display any sectarian charac-
ter. The object of it was to record certain grants to a sattra, or charitable hall or alms-
house.
TEXT.¹
First Part.
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . śr . ku-²
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . sattra yû(?) 9(?)
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [di]vasa-pûrvvâyâṁ ma-
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . guptasy=aiva da . y .
5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [A]nantaguptâya(?yâ)
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . puṇy-âpyâyan-â-
7 [rtthaṁ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sattra-sâ[mâ*]nya-bhôja-
8 [na] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [dî]nâraiḥ . . . . .
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vâsô-yugâ-
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . parô dî-
11 [nâra] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dînâraiḥ dê(?)va-
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Yaś=ch=ainaṁ] dharmma-skandhaṁ vyu-
13 [chchhindyât=sa pañchabhir=mahâpâta]kaiḥ sa[ṁ]yu-
14 ktaḥ syâd=iti [॥]
Second Part.
15 . . . . sat[t*]ra-sâmânya-bhôjanê . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16 prati suvaṇṇair=êkân-na-viṁśatibhi[ḥ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17 kâritaḥ [। ] Brâhma(?)ṇô mayika . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 dvayaṁ 2 karôṭa 2 bra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19 yugaṁ 1 koṭṭayba sukun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20 dakshiṇa-kûla-kañchaḍaṁ paksha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [॥]
21 Yaś=ch=ainaṁ • vyuchchhin[dy]â[t=sa pañchabhir=mahâ]-
22 [pâ]takais=sa[ṁ*]yuktaḥ [s]y[âd=iti ॥]
TRANSLATION.
It is impossible to give any connected rendering of the contents of this inscription.
We can only note that, in the First Part, we may perhaps have remnants of the name of
Kumâragupta in line 1-2; that there is the name of Anantagupta or Anantaguptâ in line 5,
evidently belonging to some private person; and that lines 7 to 12 appear to have recorded
certain grants, fixed in dînâras, for the purpose of providing food in a sattra or ‘almshouse,’
and also to provide pairs of upper and lower garments. It ends with the usual impreca-
tion against interfering with the continuance of the grant.
The Second Part, again, refers to food in an almshouse, recording something in
connection with it at a cost of nineteen gold coins of the kind called suvarṇa. Other de-
tails follow, including two karôṭas or ‘basins or cups,’ and one pair [of upper and lower
garments]. Then follows apparently a grant of some land, on the south bank of a river.
And the inscription winds up, as before, with the usual imprecation against interfering with
the grants.
¹ From the original stone.    ² Possibly the original had śrî-Kumâraguptasya.

266 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
No. 65; PLATE XXXIX C.
KOSAM STONE IMAGE INSCRIPTION OF THE
MAHARAJA BHIMAVARMAN.
THE YEAR 139.
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. 3, where
he published his reading of the text, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate ii. No. 3).
Kôsam,¹ the ancient Kausâmbî, is a small village near the left bank of the Jamnâ,
about eight miles to the south of Karârî,² the chief town of the Karârî Parganâ in the
Manjhanpur or Mânjhandpur Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Allahâbâd District in the
North-West Provinces. The inscription is on the broken base of a sculptured standing
group of Siva and Pârvatî that was found buried in a field near the large monolith pillar
inside the fort, which is described in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. I. p. 309 ff.
The writing, which covers the whole face of the stone, measuring about 10½″ broad
by 4″ high, is in a state of very fair preservation, as far as it goes. But it is only a frag-
ment, as at least one line is almost entirely destroyed below line 2; and it is also impos-
sible to say how much has been lost at each side of the stone.—The average size of the
letters is about ⅝″. The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets. They
include forms of the numerical symbols for 7, 9, 30, and 100, and perhaps³ for 2.—The
language is Sanskrit; and the extant portion of the inscription is all in prose.—The
orthography presents nothing calling for remark.
The inscription is one of a Mahârâja named Bhîmavarman, who, judging by the
date, must have been a feudatory of the Early Gupta king Skandagupta. Its date,
in numerical symbols, is the year one hundred and thirty-nine (A.D. 458-59), and the
seventh solar day, perhaps of the second fortnight of a month, or perhaps of the second month
of a season;⁴ but the details here are broken away and lost. It is evidently a Śaiva in-
scription; and the object of it must have been to record the gift or installation of the
sculpture on the base of which it is engraved.
¹ The ‘Kosam and Kosim Kheraj’ of maps, &c. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 88. Lat. 25° 20′ N.,
Long. 81° 27′ E.—Kheraj is a mistake for khirâj; the village consisting of two parts, of which one is
inâm or ‘rent-free, and the other is khirâj or ‘rent-paying.’
² The ‘Kuraiee’ of maps
³ See note 4 below.
⁴ Before the word diva there are two marks which seem to be the numerical symbol 2; and
the passage might be completed either in accordance with the method of, for instance, the date of the
Nâsik inscription of Puḷumâyi, “in the year nineteen, 19; in the second fortnight, 2, of the hot
season; on the thirteenth day, 13” (Archæol. Surv. West. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 108, No. 18); or the date
of the Mathurâ inscription of Vâsudêva, “in the 44 (? 74); in the first month of the rainy season; on
the thirtieth day, 30” (Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. III. p. 32, No. 8). But I know of no other instance
of these ancient methods being continued as late as the period of the present inscription; and this
makes it doubtful whether the signs in question really are the numerical symbol 2.

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 66, PLATE XXXIX D. 267
TEXT.¹
1 ......... Mah[â*]r[â]jasya śrî-Bhîmavarmmaṇaḥ saṁva[t*] 100 30 9
.........
2 ......... .... 2(?)[²] diva[³] 7 [|] êtad-[d]ivasa kumaramê
.........
3 ......... .... pa ...................................................................
TRANSLATION.
............ (In the government) of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Bhîmavarman ;
—the year 100 (and) 30 (and) 9; .................... 2 (?);⁴ the day 7;—(on)
this day ............................................................................................
No. 66; PLATE XXXIX D.
GADHWA STONE INSCRIPTION.
THE YEAR 148.
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. 11,
where he published his reading of the text, accompanied by a lithograph (id. Plate v.
No. 4).—This rendering of the inscription has remained the only published version of
it up to the present time. But in 1882, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XI. page 311, note 3,
Dr. E. Hultzsch pointed out that the correct interpretation of the date gave the year 148 ;
not 140, as read by General Cunningham.
This is another inscription from **Gaḍhwâ,**⁵ in the Karchhanâ Sub-Division of the
Allahâbâd District in the North-West Provinces. It is on a sandstone fragment that
was found in the pavement of the Daśâvatâra temple of Vishṇu, and is now in the Imperial
Museum at Calcutta.
With the exception of a margin of about 1½″ at the top and bottom, and at the end of
the lines, the inscription covers the entire front of the stone, measuring about 2′ 4″ broad by
7¾″ high. The writing is a good deal damaged, but can be made out satisfactorily with a
little trouble. It is, however, only a fragment ; since the first part of each line, containing
nearly as much as is now extant, has been cut away in adapting the stone to some later
building purpose, and this part of the stone has not been found.—The average size of
the letters is about ⅞″. The characters belong to the northern class of alphabets.—The
language is Sanskrit ; and the entire inscription is in prose.—In respect of orthography,
we have to notice (1) the use of the guttural nasal, instead of the anusvâra, before ś, in
chatvâriṅśad and viṅśati, line 1 ; (2) the doubling of t, in conjunction with a following r,
in chittra, line 3 ; and (3) the doubling of v, after the anusvâra, in saṁvvatsara, line 1.
¹ From Gen. Cunningham’s ink-impression ; so also the lithograph.
² See page 266 above, note 4. ³ i.e. divasa, or divasê.
⁴ See page 266 above, note 4. ⁵ See page 36 above, and note 1.
2 L 2.

268 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of some particular king; but his name has
been entirely broken away and lost in the first half of line 1. The recorded date, how-
ever, shews that it was either of the time of the Early Gupta king Skandagupta, or
immediately after his reign. It is dated, in words, in the year one hundred and forty-
eight (A.D. 467-68), on the twenty-first solar day, without any specification of the fortnight,
of the month Mâgha (January-February). It is a Vaishṇava inscription. And the object
of it is to record the installation of an image of the god Vishṇu, under the name of Ananta-
svâmin; and,—for the purpose of providing perfumes, incense, garlands, &c., and of exe-
cuting repairs,—a grant, the details of which are lost, but which would seem to have con-
sisted of some land at a village belonging to the same god under the name of
Chitrakûṭasvâmin, or 'the lord of Chitrakûṭa.'¹
TEXT.²
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sya pravarddhamâna-vijaya-râjya-saṁvvatsara³-śatê-shṭâ-
chatvâriṁśad-uttarê Mâgha-mâsa-divasê êka-viṁśatimê [|]
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . puṇy-âbhivṛiddhy-arthaṁ vaḍabhîṁṅ=kârayayitvâ⁴ Ananta-
svâmi-pâdâṁ⁵ pratishṭhâpya gandha-dhûpa-srag . . . . .
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s[phu]ṭa-pratisaṁskâra-karaṇ-ârthaṁ bhaga[va]ch-Chittra-
[k]ûṭasvâmi-pâdîya-kôshṭhê(?)ta-prâvêśya-mati .
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lâ dattâ dvâdaśa [||] Yainam⁶
vyuchchh[i]ndy[â]t=saḥ⁷ pañchabhiḥ mahâpâtakaiḥ sa[ṁy]uktaḥ
syâd=iti [||*]
TRANSLATION.
. . . . . In the augmenting victorious reign⁸ of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
in a century of years, increased by forty-eight, on the twenty-first day of the month
Mâgha;—
(Line 2.)—Having caused (a temple having) a flat roof⁹ to be made, for the sake of
increasing the religious merit of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (and) having installed the feet¹⁰ of
(the god) Anantasvâmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . perfumes, incense, garlands . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . for the purpose of repairing whatever may become . . . . . . . . . . torn, there have
been given twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . belonging to the entrance of . . .
. . . . . . . . which belongs to the feet of the divine (god) Chitrakûṭasvâmin.
¹ The Chitrakûṭa referred to here is the modern 'Chatarkot,' 'Chitarkot,' and 'Chitrakote Hill
of maps, &c., in the 'Bânda' District of the North-West Provinces, forty-two miles south-east of
Bânda,' and seventy-one miles south-west of Allahâbâd; Lat. 25° 12' N.; Long. 80° 47' E. It is a
great place of pilgrimage, and is specially sacred to Vishṇu in his incarnation as Râma.
² From the original stone. ³ Read râjya-saṁvvatsara; see page 38 above, note 5.
⁴ Read vaḍabhîṁ kârayitvâ, or vaḍabhîṅ=kârayitvâ. ⁵ Read pâdân or pâdau.
⁶ Read ya ênaṁ, or yaś=ch=ainaṁ. ⁷ Read sa.
⁸ See page 38 above, note 5.
⁹ vaḍabhî (also valabhî, which occurs in line 6 of No. 18 above, page 81) is explained as mean-
ing 'the wooden frame of a roof; a flat roof, house-top, top-room, turret, top-floor, balcony; any tem-
porary erection on the top of a palace; an awning, a tent;' but it seems to refer to a building here, and
to denote 'a flat-roofed temple.'
¹⁰ i.e. "having installed an image;" see page 123 above, note 5. The use of the word pâda, not
pada, shews that the inscription does not refer to the foot-prints or impressions of the feet, which are so
frequently objects of worship. So, also, just below this passage, "the feet of the divine (god)
Chitrakûṭasvâmin" means simply "the divine (god) Chitrakûṭasvamin."

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 67, XL A. 269
(L. 4.)—Whosoever may interrupt this (grant), he shall become invested with (the
guilt of) the five great sins!

No. 67; PLATE XL A.

TUSAM ROCK INSCRIPTION.

THIS inscription appears to have been discovered by Mr. Bird, and was first brought to
notice by General Cunningham in 1875, in the Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol. V. p. 138 ff., where
he published a translation of it by Babu Pratap Chandra Ghosh, accompanied by a litho-
graph (id. Plate xl. No. 5).
Tusâm¹ or Tusâm is a village about fourteen miles to the north-west of Bhiwânî,²
the chief town of the Bhiwânî Tahsîl or Sub-Division of the Hisâr or Hissâr District in
the Pañjâb. Immediately on the west of the village there is a steep isolated hill, that
rises abruptly out of the plain to a height of some eight hundred feet. And the present
inscription is on the surface of a rock, about half-way up the east side of this hill.
About a foot below the centre of the last line of the inscription, there is engraved on
the rock an emblem, of which a complete restoration is given by General Cunningham in
his published lithograph, and which may be either a Buddhist dharmachakra or ‘wheel of
religion,’ or a sun-symbol. But there is nothing to connect it of necessity with the in-
scription now published; and it may belong to one of the shorter records, e.g. the Jitaṁ
bhagavatâ bhagavat-pâda-dêśê, “victory has been achieved by the Divine One, in (this)
region belonging to the feet³ of the Divine One,” which is engraved just above the present
inscription, in large and somewhat irregular characters of about the same period.⁴—The
writing covers an extreme space of about 4' 2" broad by 2' 2½" high; the lines being of
unequal length to suit the irregularities of the rock. The engraving was rather shallow,
and some of the letters are a good deal weather-worn; but, on the original rock, the in-
scription is quite legible throughout.—The size of the letters varies from ¾" to 1½". The
characters belong to the northern class of alphabets; but in the word aḷi, ‘a bee,’ in
line 1, they include the southern ḷ, which I have commented on at page 4 above.—The
language is Sanskrit; and the inscription is in prose throughout.—In respect of ortho-
graphy, the only points that call for notice are (1) the doubling of dh, in conjunction
with a following y, in upâddhyâya, line 5; and (2), as noted above, the use of the southern
ḷ in aḷi, line 1, which is probably due to Sômatrâta, whose record this inscription is, being
a Sâtvata from Central or Southern India.⁵

¹ The ‘Toosham and Tosham’ of maps. Indian Atlas, Sheet No. 49. Lat. 28° 51' N.; Long.
76° 0' E.—The name is written sometimes with the palatal sibilant, and sometimes with the dental;
but with a preference for the former.—Gen. Cunningham wrote the name ‘Tushâm,’ and suggested
that it is derived from Tushâr-ârâma, ‘the Tushâra monastery.’ But the sibilant is not the lingual
sh; and the proposed etymology, due in the first instance to the supposition that the inscription men-
tioned a Tushâra king named Vishṇu, cannot be upheld.
² The ‘Bhewani and Bhewannee’ of maps
³ See page 123 above, note 5.
⁴ See Archæol. Surv. Ind. Vol V. Pl. xl. No. 1; which, however, is not quite an accurate repre-
sentation of the original.
⁵ See page 271 below, note 1.

270 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM, VOL. III.
The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, and is not dated; but,
on palæographical grounds, it may be allotted to the end of the fourth, or the beginning
of the fifth century A.D. It is a Vaishṇava inscription; and the object of it is to record
the making, by an Âchârya named Sômatrâta, of two reservoirs and a house, for the use
of the god Vishṇu under the name of Bhagavat or the Divine One.
The manipulation of General Cunningham's ink-impression, as shewn by the published
lithograph, led to the introduction of the name of the Early Gupta Mahârâja Ghaṭôt-
kacha in line 2; and to the supposition that the name Vishṇu, in the same line, was that
of a Tushâra king who conquered Ghaṭôtkacha, and who might be identified with the third
Kaṇva or Kaṇvâyana prince Nârâyaṇa.¹ As is to be seen, however, in my lithograph now
published, there is no foundation whatever for this; the aksharas that were supposed to
give the name of Ghaṭôtkacha, being, in reality, nothing but dânav-âṅganâ, "(the women)
of the demons;" and tushâra here has no meaning but that of 'frost.'
TEXT.²
1 Jitam³=abhîkshṇam=êva. Jâmbavatî-vadanâravind-ôrjjit-âlinâ ।
2 dânav-âṅganâ-mukhâmbhôja-lakshmî-tushârêṇa Vishṇunâ ।(॥)
3 Anêkapurushâbhyâgat - âryyaSâtvata - y⁴ôgâchâryya -
4 bhagavadbhakta - Yaśastrâta-prapautrasy = âchâryya - Vishṇutrâta -
pautrasy=âchâryya-
5 Vasudatta-p[u]trasya Râvaṇyâm=utpannasya Gôtama-
sagôtrasy=âchâryy-ôpâddhyâya-
6 Yaśastrât-[ân]ujasy=âchâryya-Sômatrâtasy=êdaṁ bhagavat-
pâd-ôpayô-
7 jyaṁ kuṇḍam=uparyy-âvasathaḥ ku-
8 ṇḍaṁ ch=âparaṁ [॥*]
TRANSLATION.
Verily victory has been achieved again and again by (the god) Vishṇu, who is a
mighty bee on the waterlily which is the face of Jâmbavatî, (and) a very frost to (cause
the withering of) the beauty of the waterlilies which are the faces of the women of the
demons!
(Line 3.)—This reservoir, intended for the use of the feet⁵ of the Divine One, (and)
the house above (it), and the second reservoir, (are the work) of the Âchârya Sôma-
trâta,—the son of the son's son of Yaśastrâta, who was the successor of many men (of
¹ Mentioned, for instance, in the Vishṇu-Purâṇa, book IV. chap. xxiv.; F. E. Hall's edition of
H. H. Wilson's Translation, Vol. IV. p. 192.—The Tushâra, Tukhâra or Tushkhara (? Turushka) kings
are mentioned in the same volume, p. 203.
² From the original stone.
³ Over this m, there are the vowel-marks for ô. But they are not connected in any way with the
m; and it is not apparent why they were made, as they cannot possibly stand for the syllable ôm,
and they are altogether superfluous and unmeaning.
⁴ This y is rather an anomalous one; but the character cannot stand for anything else.
⁵ See page 123 above, note 5.