North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

Vishṇupada along with foundation materials by the same Sultan Firoz Shah, to beautiful his capital town.

TEXT¹

[ Metre: Śārdūlavikrīḍita throughout]

1 Yasy=ōdvarttayataḥ pratīpam=urasā śattrūn=samēty=āgatān=Vaṅgēshv= āhava-varttinō=bhilikhitā khaḍgēna kīrttir=bhujē[ﺍ*]
2 tīrtvā sapta mukhāni yēna samarē Sindhōr=jjitā Vāhlikā² yasy=ādy=āpy=adhi- vāsyatē jalanidhir=vvīryy-ānilair=ddakshiṇaḥ[ﺍﺍ 1 *]
3 Khinnasy=ēva visṛijya gāṁ narapatēr=ggām=āśritasy=ētarāṁ mūrt[t*]yā karmma-jit-āvaniṁ gatavataḥ kīrt[t*]yā sthitasya kshitau [ﺍ*]
4 śāntasy=ēva mahāvanē hutabhujō yasya pratāpō mahān=n=ādy=utsṛijati praṇāśita-ripōr=yyatnasya śēshaḥ kshitim [ﺍﺍ 2*]
5 Prāptēna sva-bhuj-ārjjitañ=cha suchirañ=ch=aikādhirājyaṁ kshitau Chandr- āhvēna samagra-chandra-saḍriśīṁ vaktra-śriyaṁ bibhratā [ﺍ*]
6 tēn=āyaṁ praṇidhāya bhūmipatinā dhāvēna³ Vishṇō⁴ matiṁ prānśur=Vishṇu- padē girau bhagavatō Vishṇōr=dhvajaḥ sthāpitaḥ [ﺍﺍ 3*]

TRANSLATION

        (Verse 1) On whose arm fame was inscribed by the sword, when, in battle in the Vaṅga territory, he dashed back with his breast the enemies who, uniting together, came upon (him); by whom crossing the seven mouths of the Sindhu the Vāhlikas⁵ were conquered in battle; by the breezes of whose valour the southern ocean is still perfumed;

        (Verse 2) Who, the king, quitting this gō (earth), as if dejected, has resorted to another gō (intermediate region);⁶ who, though he has, in body,⁷ gone to the land (avani) conquered for (religious) rites, has remained on earth (kshiti) by fame; (and) whose great pratāpa (valour), (though it is now) the conclusion of the exertion of (him) who had destroyed his enemies, does not as yet leave the earth like the pratāpa (heat) of the conflagration in a great forest (though it has now) subsided;

        (Verse 3) by that king, who acquired sole supreme sovereignty on earth by his own arm and for very long (and) who having the name Chandra and bearing beauty of face like that of the full-moon, with devotion having fixed (his) mind upon Vishṇu, this lofty flag-staff of the divine Vishṇu was set up on the hill, Vishṇupada.⁸
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¹ From inked estampages.
² Prinsep also read vāhlikā; but Bhau Daji, varying in the first syllable, read bālhikā. In the first akshara the v is imperfect on the right side, through the closing up of the metal. In the second akshara, the h is turned in the opposite direction to that in which it is turned in āhava, line 1 and mahāvanē and mahān, line 4. But, that 6the akshara is hli, not lhi is certain; because l can only be formed to the left; whereas, at this period, h was formed sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right; and, in the present inscription, it is turned to the right, as here, again in hutabhujō, line 4, āhvēna, line 5.
³ This is obviously a mistake for bhāvēna.
⁴ Read Vishṇau.
⁵ For the identification of these Vālhikas with the Kushāṇas see Introd., p. 57 above; also (Miss) Padma Misra’s article on Vālhīka and Bālhīka (I.C., Vol. VIII, pp. 85 and ff.).
⁶ For the differentiation between gō (earth) and gō (mid-region), see Introd., pp. 57-9 above. Quite in consonance with this, the tīrthas on earth (pṛithivī) have been distinguished from those in mid-region or firmament (antariksha) in the MBh., Vana-Parvan, Chap. 83, vv. 93-94. And Vishṇupada, being situated on a high eminence, must have been regarded as belonging to the second category.
⁷ The word mūrttyā clearly shows that Chandra was living in this world when the pillar was set up, that is, at Vishṇupada and as vānaprastha.
⁸ For the identification of Vishṇupada, see Introd., pp. 59-61 above.