North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CHANDELLAS OF JEJAKABHUKTI

GWĀLIOR STONE INSCRIPTION OF MAHĪPĀLA

The inscription proceeds to record that for the maintenance of all this establishment, the king properly divided (the village of) Pāshāṇapallī, and allotted five shares and a half to the god and twenty-four shares and a half to the most excellent Brāhmaṇas to whom he made gifts (vv. 75-76) : and to look after this, he kept a Brāhmaṇa, the renowned son of Yōgēśvara and Salakshaṇa by name,¹ who was himself a sage, a seat of learning and possessing other good qualities and enjoyed the confidence of the king (vv. 77-78). The following seven verses (79-85) embody the names of donees (see Appx. A) and verses 86-100 mention the implements for the gods, such as ornaments, dresses, pots for worship etc., which were donated by the king on this occasion (see Appx. B).

Then we are told that the king also made arrangements for stone-cutters, carpenters, engineers, car-men and other persons and also for excavating and building reservoirs, wells, tanks and so forth, by donating the tenth part (of the revenue) in his whole dominions, also giving the twentieth part to Aniruddha, to keep up the charitable distribution of food etc. (vv. 101-02). The next stanza expresses the hope that the temple of Padma, i.e., of Padmanātha built by the king of that name, may be ever-lasting.

The following two stanzas (104-05) state that the praśasti was composed, by the order of the king, by the poet Maṇikaṇṭha, an eminent Brāhmaṇa of the Bhāradvāja gōtra, the son of the poet Gōvinda and the grandson of the chief of the poet Rāma, and whose “intellect was polished by (the study of) Mīmāṁsā and Nyāya, and who took delight in eloquent sayings,”² and that it was written by his friend Yaśōdēva Digambarārka who was a poet in all the languages. Then is given the date in vv. 107-08, which we have seen above.

The next two verses (109-110) introduce the king’s Minister Gaura, who is said to have resembled Vasishṭha and Bṛihaspati in intelligence and due to whose power in the form of a blazing fire, the king’s adversaries perished as months, in a battle. The inscription closes with two stanzas which state that the record was engraved in excellent letters, in the temple of the glorious Padmanātha, by the artisan Padma, the son of Dēvasvāmin and also by the artisans Siṁhavāja and Māhula,³ and expressing hope, in the end that “may the letters engraved (here) serve the purpose.”

As for the localities mentioned in the inscription, Gōpādri which figures twice in v. 6 and again in v. 31 is evidently the city of Gwālior where the inscription was found. Gādhinagara (v. 6) is Kānyakubja ; and Mālava (v. 10) roughly corresponds to the present Mālwā region of Madhya Pradesh. Simhapaniya where a temple is said to have been built by Kīrtirāja (v. 11) is, as stated above, the modern town of Suhāniyā in the Mōrēnā District and lying about 50 kilometres due north-east of Gwālior. It is well known for a large and fine temple of Śiva still existing at the place,⁴ and possibly it appears to be the same temple as built by Kīrtirāja. Pāshāṇapallī (v. 75) reminds us of the name of the modern village of Pahādgaḍh which is situated about 55 kilometres due west of Gwālior and thus appears to have been then included in the kingdom of the Kachchhapaghātas.⁵

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¹ Here the reading is sūrī-salakshaṇaḥ and Kielhorn translates it as ‘endowed with the characteristics of a sage’. But in view of his name not appearing in the whole verse when his father’s name is given, I am inclined to take Salakshaṇa as his name.
² He is also the composer of the following inscription where he is stated to be a poet in six languages.
³ If we take Siṁhavāja as the title of Māhula or vice-versa, then instead of three we have only two engravers. But nothing can be said to be certain in this respect.
⁴ See Cunningham’s A. S. I. R., Vol. II, p. 400; also see Marshall’s A. S. I. R., for 1925-26, p. 190.
⁵ We have nothing to verify this identification. It may also be stated here, however, that there is one more place of the name of Padhāvalī which lies about 30 kilometres due north-east of Gwālior and contains remains of a tenth century temple (Cunningham, A.S.I.R., Vol. XX, p. 107). And in view of the latter half of its name is the same as of the Pāshaṇapallī and also in view of its proximity from Gwālior where the temple described in the present inscription stands, one may be tempted to identify both these places with each other. But this is only a surmise.