South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

First Plate

1 Ōm^[1] svastiḥ^[2] [||*] Āsīd^[3]=yaḥ Pāṇḍavānāṁ suvimala-yaśasām=anvayē bhūri-dhāmnā[ṁ*]
rā-
2 j=ābhūt=Mē(n=Mē)kalāyāṁ kshitipati-tilakaḥ saṁprasūt-ōru-kīrtti(rttiḥ) [|*] śrīmāṁ(mān)
śrī-saṁ-
3 vidhā[tā*?] Jayabala iti yaḥ khyāpyatē svair=yyaśōbhiḥ lō(bhir=lō)kē=smiṁ^[4](smin) sarvvadē
(d=ai?) [va*?]
4 pravara-guṇa-gaṇ-ālaṅkṛitaś=chāra(ru)-mūrttī(rtti)ḥ^[5] [||1||*] Tasy=āhav-āhṛita-jayaḥ prathi-
[tō dayā*?]
5 vāṁ(vān) Vatsēśvaraḥ pratisamō guṇavān=vidhi-jñaḥ [|*] puttrō=bhavad=ripu-gra(gṛi)-
h-ōpa-
6 vanāni yēna vanyair=mṛigaiḥ prachuratām=upapāditāni ^[6]|[|2||*] Mahānubhāva[ḥ*]
7 sukṛita-praśaṁnsī(śaṁsī) guṇ-āntara-jñaḥ purush-ōpabhōgyaḥ [|*] sad-dharmma^[7]-śīlō(laḥ)
sunaya-pra-
8 dhānaḥ śrī-Vatsarāja(jō) nṛipatir=vva7(r=bba)bhūva ^[8]|| [3||*] tasya puttras=tat-pād-ānudhyātaḥ
pa-
9 ramamāhēśvaraḥ paramabrahmaṇyaḥ paramagurudēvatādhidaivataviśēsha[ḥ*]
10 śrīmāṁ(mān) śrīmatyāṁ dēvyāṁDrōṇabhaṭṭārikāyām=utpannaḥ śrī-mahārāja-Nā-
11 gabalaḥ [||*] Turaga-khura-nipāta-kshuṇṇa-mārggā dharittriṁ(ttrī) malinayati dig-
antāṁ^[9](ntān)

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12 pā[ṁ*]su-rūksh-ākul-āntāṁ(ntān) [|*] mada-malina-kapōlā vāraṇā yasya

Second Plate ; First Side

13 yataḥ^[10] praśamam-upanayantē śīkar-ārdrāṁ kshaṇēna |[|4||*] tatas=tasya puttras=tat-pād-
ā-

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^[1] Expressed by a symbol. There is a dot to the left at the bottom and a dot to the right at the top of the symbol, which are superfluous. Similar superfluous marks are to be seen also further on in the plates.
^[2] The visargaafter svasti had better be omitted, because the word is, asa rule, an indeclinable. The form with the visarga occurs in a few inscriptions from Chambā. See J. Ph. Vogel’s Antiquities of Chamba State, Part I, inscriptions Nos. 14, 15, 20-24, 27-29, 31, 33, 34, 36 and 45. It may, however, be observed that in all these inscriptions the sign taken for visarga, in reality, stands for the numerical figure 1. The same sign occurs in Nos. 13, 18, 42 and 48, but there it has been left unread. In some cases, instead of only one, there are two signs, thus representing 11, as in Nos. 31 and 48. An unmistakable instance of the occurrence of visarga after the word svasti is, however, afforded not only by the present record, but also by the Chipurupalle plates of the Eastern Chālukya king Vishṇuvardhana I, thought Fleet doubted the appearance of the visarga there by remarking that “it is probably only due to a mark of punctuation, imperfectly cleared out.” (Ind. Ant., Vol. XX, p. 16,n. 3). In fact, the sign of visarga there is plainly visible on the facsimile and can not be taken for anything else. (See A. C. Burnell’s Elements of South-Indian Palægraphy, London 1878, 2nd ed., Pl. XXVII). In the Vēdas, on the other hand, the word is treated both as an indeclinable and as a substantive. Compare, for example, svasti pūshā asurō dadhātunaḥ (Ṛigvēda, V. 51.11). and svastim Indrā-Marutō dadhāta (Ṛigvēda, II, 29, 3). In the later Vedic literature also instances of its use as a substantive are met with ; cf. daivī svastir=astu naḥ | svastir=mānushēbhyaḥ (Taittirīy., p. 167).
^[3]The construction is rather peculiar, the verb āsīt alone constitutes the principle clause, its subject saḥ being understood.
^[4] The anusvāra meant to be over smi is placed a little aside. It appears to the left at the bottom of the letter māṁin in the upper line.
^[5] A little space left blank here possibly denotes the punctuation.
^[6]This sign of punctuation consists of a single curved line.
^[7]There appears a superfluous dot or anusvāra over the superscript r in this syllable.
^[8] This mark of punctuation consists of two curved lines.
^[9] This anusvāra is touching the base of the letter nā in the line above
^[10] Read yātaḥ. Althoughyataḥ can have the same sense as yataḥ (i.e., yānaṁ kurvataḥ) has, yet it is the latter that fits in with the metre ; and hence that is undoubtedly the intended reading.