North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

itself, this is distinctly a Jaina inscription. And the object of it is to record that a certain Madra set up five stone images of Ādikartṛis or Tīrthaṁkaras, i.e., apparently the five images in the niches of the column,-and the column itself, at the village of Kakubha or Kakubha-grāma, i.e., Kahāuṁ.

TEXT¹

[ Metre : Sragdhara throughout]

1 Siddhaṁ² [||*] Yasy=ōpasthāna-bhūmir=nṛipati-śata-śiraḥ³-pāta-vāt-āvadhūtā
2 Guptānāṁ vanśajasya pravisṛita-yaśasas=tasya sarvv-ōttam-arddhēḥ [|*]
3 rājyē Śakr-ōpamasya kshitipa-śata-patēḥ Skandaguptasya śābtē
4 varshē ttrinśad-daś-aik-ōttaraka-śatatamē Jyēshṭha-māsi prapannē |[|[1*]]
5 Khyātē=smin=grāma-ratnē Kakubha iti janais=sādhu-saṁsarga-pūtē [|]
6 puttrō yas=Sōmilasya prachura-guṇa-nidhēr=Bhaṭṭisōmō mahāt[m]ā [|*]
7 tat-sūnū Rudrasōma[ḥ*] pṛithula-mati-ya¬śā Vyāghra ity=anya-saṁjñō [|]
8 Madras=tasy=ātmajō=bhūd=dvija-guru-yatishu prāyaśaḥ prītimān=yaḥ |[| 2*]
9 Puṇya-skandhaṁ sa chakkrē jagad=idam=akhilaṁ saṁsarad= vīkshya bhītō
10 śrēyō-rtthaṁ bhūta-bhūtyai pathi niyamavatām=Arhatām=Ādikarttṛīn [| *]
11 pañch=ēndrāṁ⁴ sthāpayitvā dharaṇidharamayān=sannikhātas=tatō=yam
12 śaila-stambhaḥ su-chārur=giri-vara-śikhar-āgr-ōpamaḥ kīrtti-karttā [|| 3*]

TRANSLATION

       Luck !

       (Verse 1) In the peaceful⁵ reign of Skandagupta, whose hall of audience is fanned by the breezes caused by the throwing down (at his feet) of the heads of hundreds of kings; who is born in the lineage of the Guptas; whose fame is spread (far and wide); who is of supreme greatness; (and) who resembles (the god) Śakra, being the lord of a hundred kings;-in the 141st year, the month, Jyēshṭha having arrived;

       (Verse 2) In this jewel of a village named by the people as Kakubha, (and) purified by the intercourse of holy men,-(there was) the great-souled Bhaṭṭisōma, who (was) the son of Sōmila, the receptacle of many good qualities; his son (was) Rudrasōma, of great intellect and fame, who had the other appellation of Vyāghra.⁶ His son was Madra, who (was) exceedingly affectionate towards Brāhmaṇas, religious preceptors and ascetics.
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¹ From the ink-impressions supplied by the Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, Northern Circle, Agra.
² In the original, this word is in the margin; the si opposite the commencement of the line 2, and the ddhaṁ opposite, and partly above, the commencement of line 3.
³ The mark in the original after this visarga would seem to be an accidental slip of the engraver’s tool rather than intended for a mark of punctuation, which is not required here and which is unlike that occurring at the end of lines 4, 5 or 8. The marks of punctuation, at the end of lines 5 and 7 are, however, unnecessary.
⁴ Read pañch-ēndrān.
⁵ Śāntē: It is unnecessary to explain in detail the interpretation of this word. The difficulty is, as Fleet correctly remarks, not the correct rendering of it, which is perfectly obvious, but to comprehend how it ever came to be read śāntēḥ, and to be interpreted by “of the repose. i.e., death,” i.e. “after the decease “(of Skandagupta):” or, being read śāntē correctly to comprehend how it ever came to be interpreted as meaning “(the empire of Skanda- gupta) being quiescent,” or “(the empire of Skandagupta) being extinct (for the hundred and forty-first year).” The correct interpretation appears to have been first pointed out by Bhau Daji; “in the year one hundred and forty-one, in the peaceful reign of Skandagupta” (JBBRAS., Vol. VIII, p. 246.)
⁶ For some similar instances of second names, see pages 254 above, note 3.