North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

Fleet goes so far as to say that Nos. 8 and 17 above and 26 are probably engraved by the same hand. S also presents the western variety in this record. This and Nos. 8 and 17 above can, therefore, be of the same hand. Further, the characters include, in lines 3 and 6, forms of the numerical symbol for 10. The language of the inscription is Sanskrit; and its composition is in prose throughout. The orthography presents nothing calling for remark.

       The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Imperial Gupta king Kumāragupta. The date, however, except in respect of the day, is broken away and lost. So little remains of the inscription that the form of religion or sect to which it belongs cannot be determined; nor can the object of it; except that it seems to record two gifts, one of ten dīnāras, and the other of an uncertain number, as contributions, apparently to some Brāhmaṇas from Sadāsattra.

TEXT

1 Jitaṁ bhagavatā |¹ Pa[ra][mabhāgavata-mahārājādhirāja*]-
2 śrī-Kumā[ragu]pta[ssya² rā][jyasamvatsarē*] . . . . . .
3 divasē 10 [as][yāṁ divasa-pūrvvāyāṁ*] . . . . . .
4 rā Pā[ṭalipu]tra³ . . . . . .
5 . . . . . . Sadāsat[t*]ra-sā[mā][nya*] . . . . . .
6 [da*][ttā] dī[nā]rāḥ 10 ta(?) . . . . . .
7 ti sattrē cha dīnārās-tray. [.||*] [Yaś=ch=ainaṁ dharmma-skandhaṁ vyuchchhi*]-
8 ndyāt=sa pañcha-mahāpā[takaiḥ saṁyuktaḥ syād=iti ||*]
9 Gōyindā-lakshmā⁴ . . . . . .

TRANSLATION

       (Lines 1-3) Victory has been achieved by Bhagavat (Vāsudēva).⁵ [In the year] of the (Gupta) Rule⁶ . . . . . . pertaining to the prosperous Kumāragupta, [the Mahārājādhirāja], an ardent [devotee of Bhagavat (Vāsudēva)]⁷ on the day 10; when this (was the specification of the date):⁸

       (Lines 3-7) . . . . . . Pāṭaliputra . . . . . . the township of Sadāsattra⁹ . . . . . . ten dīnāras were given in the almshouse (called) . . . . . . three dinaras . . . . . .

       (Lines 7-8) [And whosoever breaks up this bit of charity shall become infected] with the Five Great Sins.

       (Line 9) Sign-manual of Goyinda.

No. 27 : PLATE XXVII

BASĀṚH CLAY SEAL INSCRIPTION OF GHAṬŌTKACHAGUPTA

       This seal also was, like that described in No. 13 above, discovered by the late T. Bloch, when as Superintendent, Archaeological Survey, Eastern Circle, he carried on ex-
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¹ Expressed by a horizontal stroke.
² Read -Kumāraguptasya.
³ Curiously, this line has not been read at all by Fleet.
⁴ This line seems to have been written in a different hand, though the letters are of the same period.
⁵ See p. 253, note 3 above.
⁶ See p. 246, note 1 above.
⁷ See p. 253, note 3 above.
⁸ See p. 241, note 1 above.
⁹ See p. 247, note 1 above.