North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

6 tra-[ch*]chhadōgō Rāṇāyaṇīō¹ Varshangaṇa-sagōttra Indrāpuraka-vaṇigbhyāṁ kshattriy-Āchalavarma-Bhṛikuṇṭha²siṅhābhyām=adhishṭā³-
7 nasya prāchāṁ diś=Īndrapur-ādhishṭhāna-māḍāsyāta-lagnam=ēva pratishṭhāpi- taka-bhagavatē Savitrē dīp-ōpayōjyam=ātma-yaśō-
8 bhivṛiddhayē mūlyaṁ prayachchhatiḥ4 [||*] Indrapura-nivāsinyās=tailika-śrēṇyā Jīvanta-pravarāyā itō=dhishṭhānād=apakkrama-
9 ṇa-saṁpravēśa-yathāsthirāyāḥ⁵ājasrikaṁ grahapatēr=dvija-mūlya-dattam=anayā⁶ tu śrēṇyā yad=abhagna-yōgam
10 pratham⁷-ārh-āvya[va*]chchhinna-saṁsthaṁ dēyaṁ tailasya tulyēna⁸ pala-dvayaṁ tu⁹2 chandr-ārkka-samakālīyaṁ [||*]
11 Yō vyakkrmēd¹⁰=dāyam=imaṁ nibaddham gō-ghnō guru-ghnō dvija-ghātakaḥ saḥ [|*] taiḥ pātakai[ḥ*]
12 pañchabhir=anvitō=dhar=gachchhēn¹¹=naraḥ s-ōpanipātakaiś=ch=ēti ||¹²

TRANSLATION

       (Line 1) Luck !

       (Verse 1) May that Sun, the store of rays that cleave as under the sheath of the world (viȥ., darkness) protect you, whom Brāhmaṇas, with minds enlightened, praise, according to the rite in (their) uniform course of meditation; whose end, either vertically or transversely, neither the gods nor the demons could ascertain; (and) by having recourse to whom, mankind, when they are helpless through the intense virulence of disease, acquire consciousness (again)!

       (Lines 3-5). When a century of years augmented by forty-six (has elapsed), pertaining to the increasingly victorious reign¹³ of the Paramabhaṭṭāraka Mahārājādhirāja, the prosperous Skandagupta, and when the month of Phālguna is current, for the augmentation of the enjoyment (of power), in Antarvēdi, of the Vishayapati Śarvanāga, who has been favoured by that venerable (king),¹⁴

       (Lines 5-8). The Brāhmaṇa Dēvavishṇu, who belongs to community¹⁵ of Chaturvēdins of Padmā relating to Indrāpura, who is the son of Dēva, (and) the son’s son of Haritrāta, (and) the son of the son’s son of Ḍuḍika; who always maintains the sacred fire and is a student of the Sāmavēda,¹⁶ who belongs to the Rāṇāyana school;¹⁷ and who is of the Varshagaṇa-

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¹ Read Rāṇāyanīyō.
² Fleet corrects it into -Bhrukuṇṭha but Bhṛikuṇṭha and Bhṛukuṇṭha are interchangeable.
³ Read –adhishṭhā⁰.
⁴ Read prayachhati. That the marks after ti are the visarga and not marks of punctuation, is shown by the form of the visarga throughout this inscription, and contrasted with it, the marks of punctuation after bhāskaraḥ, line ³, and at the end of the inscription.
⁵ The visarga is unnecessary in sandhi.
⁶ Read –dattam [|*] Anayā.
⁷ Read pratham-.
⁸ Fleet correctly says that tulyēna seems to be a mistake for taulyēna.
⁹ I.e., tulyēna (=taulyēna).
¹⁰ Read yō=tikkramēd=.
¹¹ Read dhō gachchhēn=.
¹² Read cha [|| 2*] iti ||.
¹³ See page 246 above, note 1.
¹⁴ I.e., Skandagupta. For the term pāda, see note 4 on page 20 above.
¹⁵ See page 247 above, note 1.
¹⁶ Fleet translates it by “who always recites the hymns of the Agnihōtra—sacrifice”. See the next note.
¹⁷ According to Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Rāṇāyanīya-sūtra is equivalent to Gōbhila-gṛihya-sūtra. It is well-known that the latter is a Gṛihya-sūtra of the Sāmavēda; and this agrees with the fact that Dēvavishṇu, the donor, is called a Chhandōga, ‘a student of the Sāmavēda.’ The preceptor, Gōbhila, is credited with the composition of also a Śrauta-sūtra and a Naigēya-sūtra, both pertaining to the same Vēda.