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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA APPENDIX RAJAPRASASTI INSCRIPTION[1] OF UDAIPUR (Continued from Vol. XXIX, part V) Abstract of contents Slab I ; Invocation The contents of the first slab are mostly invocatory, though the main theme of the inscription, namely the construction of the artificial lake called Rājasamudra, is also alluded to at places as in verse 3. The first thirteen verses constitute a Bhavānīstōtra, the following nine a Gaṇēśastōtra and the rest a Sūrya-stōtra. There are altogether thirty stanzas, the concluding portion of the last one being destroyed. Although the first eulogy is designated as Bhavānī-stōtra, yet in it are invoked some other deities as well, such as Rāma in verse 1, Ramā in verse 5, Sarasvatī in verse 6, and so forth. In the last verse of this stōtra, that is in verse 13, the poet has introduced his name as Raṇachhōḍa, whose parentage is given further on in the record. Slab II ; Canto I The second slab also has an invocation in the beginning, comprising eight stanzas, collectively named in the inscription as Maṅgalāshṭaka. From the first verse we gather that the temple of Ēkaliṅga (13 miles to the north of Udaipur) was situated near the stream Kuṭilā[2] on the top of the mount Vivara,. It is indicated in verse 7 that Rāṇā Rājasiṁha was a descendant of the solar race to which belonged Manu, the first of the kings. After the Maṅgalāshṭaka, verse 9 describes the poet Raṇachhōḍa to be a Tēlaṅga Paṇḍita, born in the Kaṭhōṇḍī family ; his father’s name is given as Madhusūdana, while his mother is one Vēṇī, daughter of the family of the Gōsvāmins.[3] The same stanza speaks of Raṇachhōḍa’s two brothers whose names appear to be Bharata and Lakshmaṇa, for whose teaching the Rājapraśasti was utilized. The next verse, i.e., verse 10, tells us that the king, while residing at Dhōdhuṁdā, commenced the construction of the great lake on the 7th day of the dark half of the month of Māgha in the year (or rather after the completion of the year) 1718 (of the Vikrama Saṁvat), and that the poet Raṇachhōḍa at the same time began to compose the praśasti of that lake at the command of the king. In verse 16 the poet says : ‘ I compose this work in the language of the gods, i.e., in Sanskrit, because the works composed in that language, like the Mahābhārata, are everlasting like the immortals themselves, whereas Bhāshā works are short-lived as the mortals themselves.’ Then, before _____________________________________________________________ [1] The inscription seems to have been noticed for the first time by Major A. N. Bruce, Political Agent at
Hadoti, and Captain J. J. Blair, Assistant Agent to the Governor General in Rājputāna, during their visit to
Udaipur early in the eighties of the last century. Yadurāya, a Brahmaṇa of Rājnagar, was subsequently asked
to transcribe the record and to despatch the transcript of each canto to Major Bruce as soon as it was complete.
The text thus received by Major Bruce was being forwarded to Captain Blair at Tonk who had it translated into
English by Pandit Ramkarna of Tonk. Sixteen cantos were thus transcribed and translated into English when
the work suddenly stopped due to the sad demise of the two English officers. The labour was, however, not
wasted ; for, Munshi Deviprasad prepared a summary of the contents of the sixteen cantos with the help of
Pandit Ramkarna’s translation and published it in Urdu as a brochure titled Tārīkh Rājparshasti (Nawal Kishore
Press, Cawnpore, 1884). The transcript was, however, defective as some names had either been wrongly
read or altogether omitted (including that of Hamīr) by Deviprasad. Kavirāj Shyāmaldās published the text in
the Vīravinōda which was not accessible to us.
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