South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The language of the record is Sanskrit, while its composition is partly in verse and partly in prose. It exhibits various mistakes, most of which are to be ascribed to the engraver. As regards the orthographical peculiarities, the following points deserve notice ; (1) A final n is invariably changed to an anusvāra,^[1] as in śrīmāṁ, l. 2 ; =smiṁ, l. 3 ; etc. This resultant anusvāra becomes redundant, when the following letter is a vowel, in which case the original n is retained or, so to say, restored, as in sarvāṁn=ēva, l. 36. (2) A consonant preceding or succeeding r is occasionally reduplicated, as in puttrō=, l. 5 ; kīrttī l. 2 ; etc. (3) The guttural nasal is used instead of anusvāra in vaṅśē, l. 41, while the same word is used in its correct form elsewhere vaṁśaḥ, l. 33. (4) In rāja-si[ṁ*]ghaiḥ l. 31, gh has taken the place of h. (5) As a rule, a separate sign is used for b, but twice, in ll. 8 and 26, it is represented by that of v. (6) In vyākrishya, l. 22, ṛi is wrongly represented by ri. In such cases as samaṁnvitāyā[ḥ*], l. 16, and likhitaṁñ=ch=, l. 48, the anusvāra is superfluous, Conversely, in praśaṁnsī,l. 7, the n is redundant. Besides, there are certain other irregularities, such as omission of sandhi, visarga, anusvāra and even of letters, wrong sandhi, etc., which have been duly pointed out in the text and the footnotes added thereto.

The object of the inscription is to register the grant of a village, called Vardhamānaka, included in the Pāñchagartā district of the Northern province of Mēkalā, to one Lōhitasarasvāmin of the Vatsa gōtra, a follower of the Mādhyandina śākhā of the Śūkla Yajurvēda. The grantor is a king, Bharatabala by name, who is stated to belong to the Pāṇḍava lineage, ruling over the country of Mēkalā. We shall by and by have occasion to discuss a more detailed history of this ruler. The charter is stated to have been issued on the 13th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhādrapada in the 2nd regnal year, composed by Śiva, son of Rāhasika Īśāna, and engraved by Mihiraka, son of the goldsmith Īśvara.^[2]

It will readily be perceived that the village of Bamhanī, the findspot of the present plates, is the modern representative of Vardhamānaka, the village granted, the present name being a possible contraction of the original term. As regards the vishaya of Pāñchagartā, it is difficult to locate it precisely, but, as its name indicates, it must refer to a region around Bamhanī, watered by five rivers or rivulets. A well-known example of this kind of designation is Traigarta or Trigarta,^[3] the ancient name of the territory including the district of Kāngṛā in the Panjāb. Trigarta, it is explained,^[4] is so called because it is watered by three rivers namely the Rāvī, the Beās and the Sutlej. Here the word gartā is obviously to be taken in the sense of ‘a valley’.^[5] In the present instance, the five rivulets probably refer to five of the tributaries of the river Sōn, which are shown on the map to be at a short distance from one another on either side of the village Bamhanī.^[6] Mr. K. L. Pancholi, Deputy Commissioner, Sōhāgpur Division, kindly informs me of the existence of a village called Pachgaon, about three miles south of Sabdol, which possibly represents the head-quarters of the ancient district of Pāñchagartā.^[7] More interesting is, however, the mention of

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^[1] This apparent solecism is reminiscent of the cognate usage in the Vedic texts where, however, a n in such cases is represented by an anunāsika. Compare, for example, tathā lōka akalpayan (Taittirīyakāraṇyaka, Ānandāśrama series, Poona, 1898, p. 199).
^[2] See, however, below p. 145, n. 7.
^[3] The city of Trigartā, mentioned in Sōmadēva’s Kathāsaritsāgara (taraṅga 73, v. 21), has perhaps nothing to do with this Trigarta.
^[4] Cunningham, A. S. I. Reports, Vol. V, p. 148. See also N. L. Dey’s Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India, p. 205; under the word Trigartta.
^[5] It also means ‘a stream which does not extend to more than, say, ten miles’. Compare : Dhanuḥ-sahasrāṇy=ashṭau cha gatir=yāsāṁ na vidyatē | na tā nadī-śabda-vahā gartās=tāḥ parikīrlitāḥ. This is cited from the Chhāndōga-pariśishṭaby Kullūka in his commentary Manvarthamuktāvalī on the Manusmṛiti, IV, 203.
^[6] See The One Millionth Map of India (Political Edition)─India and Adjacent Countries, Sheet No. 64. The village of Bamhanī is given there at a point roughly 23º 15′ N., 81º 48′ E.
^[7] However, see below, p. 142, n. 6.