North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

TRANSLATION

       Luck !

       (Verse 1) Victorious is that Vishṇu, who, for the sake of the happiness of (Indra) the lord of the gods, snatched away the royal dignity of Bali,¹ which was admitted to be worthy of enjoyment and which had more than once been wrested (from them)² who is the permanent abode of (the goddess) Lakshmī, whose resting-place is the waterlily; who overcomes affliction and is the consummate victor.

       (Verses 2-3) And next, victorious for ever, is Skandagupta,, whose chest is clasped by the goddess of wealth; who has developed valour through his own arms and has become over-king of kings; who forged an order with an effigy, namely, Garuḍa,³ which rendered, devoid of poison, the Serpent (bhujaga) Rulers who uplifted their hoods in pride and arrogance; who is the abode of kingly qualities, is of profuse glory; (and) who, when his father attained to the companionship of the gods,⁴ humbled down his enemies and made subject to himself the (whole) earth, bounded by the waters of the four oceans and with thriving border countries;

       (Verse 4) And, moreover, he alone has conquered, whose fame enemies proclaim (being caused to return) to the Mlēchchha countries, with (their) pride broken down to the very root;

       (Verse 5) Whom the goddess of fortune has of her own accord selected as her husband, having discarded all sons of kings, after considering them in succession, with judgement and skill, and pondering over all the springs of virtue and vice.

       (Verse 6) While that king is ruling, verily no man whatsoever from among his subjects has deviated from duty; is distressed, indigent, addicted to vice, miserly; or in one, who is severely chastised with a cudgel.

        (Verse 7-11) Having thus conquered the whole earth, having destroyed the egregious pride of enemies, (and) having appointed protectors in all provinces, he cogitated in many ways:–– “who is there that is suitable; endowed with intellect; is modest; possessed of a nature not devoid of wisdom and recollection; endowed with truthfulness, straightforwardness, magnanimity, and diplomacy; and possessed of sweetness, kindness and fame; devoted; attached; endowed with manly characteristics;⁵ and possessed of (good) intensions, tested by all allurements;⁶ possessed of an inner soul which has attained to the state of being free from
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¹ The legend, as Fleet rightly points out, is the demon Bali, or Mahābali, by his austerities acquired the dominion over the three worlds and oppressed the gods very much. Vishṇu then incarnated himself as a dwarf and prayed to Bali to give him as much earth as he could cover in three steps. Bali, noted for his liberality, forthwith acceded to this seemingly simple request. But the dwarf assumed a mighty form, and began to measure the three steps. The first step covered the earth, the second the heavens; and the third he planted on the head of Bali and sent him and his legions to the Pātāla or lower regions whose dominion was assigned to him.
² Fleet translates: “who had been kept away from him for a long time.” This phrase, however, undoubtedly refers to the frequent defeats inflicted upon Indra and gods by Hiraṇyakaśipu and other demons. It had therefore a better be rendered by “which had more than once been wrested (from them, i.e., the gods).”
³ As Garuḍa was an insignia of the Gupta sovereigns and as Nāgas were a ruling family, it seems that there is in this verse an allusion to Skandagupta having somewhere overthrown the Nāga power.
⁴ I.e., “had died.”
⁵ Nṛi-viśēsha-yuktaḥ may also be taken to mean “possessed of choice men.”
⁶ Upadhā is a term technical to the Hindu Science of Polity. Thus, Kauṭilya in his Arthaśāstra (I. 6.1) has mantri-purōhita-sakhaḥ sāmānyēshv=adhikaraṇēshu sthāpayitv=āmātyān=upadhābhiḥ śōdhayēt, “in association with the counsellors and the high-priest, the king shall test with allurements (the character) of the ministerd appointed in ordinary government departments.” Following Kauṭilya, Kāmandaka says: Upadhā-śōdhitaḥ samyag=īhamānāḥ phal-ōdayaṁ | tē=sya sarvaṁ parīkshēran s-ānurāgāh kṛit-ākṛitaṁ || Upētya dhīyatē yasmād=upadh=ēti tataḥ smṛitā | upāya upādhā jñēyā tay=āmātyān parīkshayēt || (Nītisāra, Canto IV, verses 25-26). Kauṭilya specifies four kinds of upadhā or allurement, namely, dharm-ōpadhā ‘religious allurement,’ arth-ōpadhā ‘lucre allurement,’ kām-ōpadhā ‘love allurement’ and bhay-ōpadhā ‘allurement under danger.’ Kauṭilya also informs us to what upadhā or upadhās officers of one class or another may be subjected.