North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

4 Kārttikamāsa-daśama-divasē=syān=divasa-pūrvvāyāṁ [Ch]chhand[ō]g[y]¹_ āchā[ryy-Āśva]-vāji-
5 sa-g[ō]ttra-Kuramaraṇya²bhaṭṭasya putrō Vishṇupālita-bhaṭṭas=tasya putr[ō] Mah[ā]r[ā]-
6 jadhijājā³-śri-Chandraguptasya mantri⁴–Kumārāmātyas=Śikharasvāmy=abhūt =tasya putraḥ
7 Pṛithivīshēṇō Mahārājādhirāja-śrī-Kumāraguptasya mantri⁴–Kumārāmātyō=na-
8 ntaraṁ cha mahābalādhikṛitaḥ⁵ bhagavatō Mahādēvasya Pṛithivīśvara ity=ēvaṁ samākhyātasya⁶
9 sy=aiva bhagavatō yathā-karttavya-dhārmmika-karmmaṇā pāda-śuśrūshaṇāya bhagavach=Chhai-
10 Iēśvarasvāmi-Mahādēva-pāda-mūlē-Āyōdhyaka-nānā-gōttra-charaṇa-tapaḥ-
11 s[v*]ādh[y]ā[ya]-[mantra-sū]t[tra]-bhāsh[ya]-[p][ra][vachana⁷–pāraga] [|*] [ā] [vartita-saṁsad]-[dēvad][r][ōṇ[y]āṁ

TRANSLATION

        (Line 1-4) Obeisance to Mahādēva. In the victorious reign of the Mahārājādhirāja, the prosperous Kumāragupta, whose fame was tasted by the waters of the four oceans (and) who mediated on the feet of the Mahārājādhirāja, the prosperous Chandragupta, when a century of years increased by seventeen (had elapsed), on the tenth day of the month of Kārttika;

        (Lines 4-11) when this was the specification of the date, Pṛithivīshēṇa, who was (at first) Mantri-Kumārāmātya (and) afterwards the Mahābalādhikṛita of the prosperous Kumāragupta the Mahārājādhirāja, and who was son of Śikharasvāmin, Mantri-Kumārāmātya of the prosperous Chandragupta (II), the Mahārājādhirāja, and son of Vishṇupālitabhaṭṭa who, (in turn) was son of Kuramaraṇyabhaṭṭa, a teacher of the Chhandōga and of the Aśvavājin gōtra (placed) at the feet of Śailēśvarasvāmin Mahādēva, for the worship of the feet of this same Lord Mahādēva, Known as Pṛithivīvara, with proper religious rites to (Brāhmaṇas) from Ayōdhyā, of different gōtras and charaṇas (and) conversant with penances, recitation of sacred texts, the mantras, the sūtras, the bhāshyas and pravachanas . . . . at the procession of the image . . . .

No. 22 : PLATE XXII

DAMŌDARPUR COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF KUMĀRAGUPTA I : THE
YEAR 124

        This inscription, along with four others (Nos. 24, 39, 41 and 47, below), was discovered in the village of Dāmōdarpur, about 8 miles west of the Police Station Phulbāri in West Dinajpur District,West Bengal. All the five plates came to light in April 1915 while some coolies, employed by one Chhamir-ud-dīn Mondal, were, during the construction of a road, clearing away a heap of earth between two tanks, locally called Haripukur and Khōlākuṭipukur. In course of
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¹ Read Chhāndōgy-.
² The last letter of this name is doubtful. Konow reads Kuram[ā]ravya.
³ Read –jādhirāja-.
⁴ This word is mantri- and not mantrī as read by Konow.
⁵ Read ⁰kṛitō.
⁶ Read samākhyātasy-ā-. There is, however, a horizontal stroke after sya and almost attached to it which is perhaps placed there wrongly instead of being placed vertically as a top mātrā.
⁷ The restoration of this broken line by Konow up to this point is really marvellous and has been accepted with slight changed, but the letters occurring between it and dēvadrōnyām cannot be restored with any confidence.