South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

NANDSA YUPA INSCRIPTIONS

foreign rule of the Śakas, the country of the Mālavas must have been squeezed out, and as a result of the victories of [Śrī ?]sōma it must have been restored to its prosperity.

We should not, however, exaggerate the importance of these victories. They secured independence for the Mālavas, and to that extent circumscribed the boundaries of the Śaka empire. Perhaps they brought about the death of Saṅghadāman. But they did not give any serious setback to the Śaka power. There is no break in the dates of the Śaka coins at this period, nor do we find the title Mahākshatrapa in abeyance, as it subsequently became, during the first half of the 4th century A. D.

We shall now briefly review the contents of the record. While doing so, we shall refer to the lines in inscription B, as they are shorter and therefore easier to follow. L. 1 (with the exception of the last two letters) gives the time of the record as the full moon day of the month of Chaitra, which would appear to be the last day of the Ēkashashṭirātra sattra. The sattra must have started about the full moon day of the month of Māgha, falling sometime in the month of February or March A. D. 226. The next Clause from mahatā to dharmmamātraṁ (ll. 1-4) refers to the sacrifice [Śrī ?]sōma and the sattra performed under his auspices. It is worth nothing that the causal construction is used here. We are told that the king ‘ caused the Ēkashashṭirātra sattra to descend to the Mālava country.’ Prima facie this causal construction seems inexplicable, but the mystery is solved when we remember that this sattra, like all other sattras, could be performed by Brāhmaṇa sacrificers (yajamānas) only. The chief [Srī ?]sōma was a Kshatriya and so could not be consecrated as a yajamāna at this sacrificial session ; but he could only get it performed under his auspices. The next two clauses, from samuddhṛitya to yaśasā, ll. 4-6, describe [Śrī ?]sōma as belonging to a well-established house and his own fame as having filled the entire space between the earth and the heaven. The implications of this statement have been already discussed above.

>

The next clause, from sva-karma-sampadayā to vitatya, ll. 6-7, points out that the fame of the hero was not an empty one ; his achievements enabled him to acquire riches, which were so immense that they appeared to be as it were a result of magical power (ātmasiddhi). The next clause, from māyām=iva to hutvā. ll. 7-8, describes how very liberal presets were given to Brāhmaṇas on the occasion of the sattra. It is interesting to note that according to the traditional practice, no dakshiṇā can be given on the occasion of a sattra. This was but natural. The sacrifice gives the dakshiṇā to the priests ; in a sattra, the priests themselves are the sacrificers ; so no gift of a dakshiṇā was possible. ^[1]1 Brāhmaṇas were, however, naturally not unwilling to permit their patron to depart from the usual practice in this respect. He may have stated that the dakshiṇā was being given to them not as ṛitviks (priests) of the sattra, but simply as learned Brāhmaṇas. The word used in this clause have a double entendre. The Purōhita is called Agnivaiśvānara in the Aitarēya Brāhmaṇa, VIII, 25. One way in which the present clause can be explained is as follows :―‘ having offered to the sacrificial priests, who are veritable Agnivaiśvānaras, a stream of wealth as it were, which was sufficient to satisfy all their desires.’ But the clause also recalls the concluding scenes of the sacrificial session. Vasōr=dhārā is the technical name of the final oblation offered to Agnivaiśvānara at the end of the sacrifice, when he is made whole and entire. Agni is the priest among the gods, and so the compound Brāhmaṇ-āgnivaiśvānara would, in this case, mean Agnivaiśvānara, who is Brāhmaṇa. Vasōr=dhārā consisted of 401 ghee offerings made continuously to fire. They were so called, because when Agni receives them, he satisfies all the desires of the sacrifice. While they are being offered, the mantras in the Vājasanēyī Saṁhitā, XVIII, l. 29, are recited for the fulfillment of all varieties of desires of the sacrifice. Vasōr=dhārā also represented the consecration ceremony of Agni as King. It was therefore regarded as a kind of superior consecration ceremony for the royal sacrifice himself,

_______________________________________________

^[1] Parikrayaś=cha tādarthyāt. Pūrvamīmāṁsā, X, 2, 35 : Sattrēshu dakshiṇā na syāt. Śabara’s commentary on the above.