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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA The object of the inscription is of record the grant of the village of Pipalāhika to, and conferment of authority over the gates of the Kālañjara fort upon, Mahēśvara by king Kīrttivarman in recognition of, and as a reward for, the services that the former rendered to him when he was in distress at Pitādri. The Ajayagarh inscription of the time of Bhōjavarman also contains a reference to this fact and states that Mahēśvara earned the grant of the village named above and the title of Viśisha of Kālañjara for rendering service to Kīrttivarman in the Pīta-śaila vishaya.[1] The present inscription thus makes clear the meaning of term viśisha, applied to of Mahēśvara in the inscription if Bhōjavarman. Viśisha was apparently the designation of the officer who had authority over the gates of a fort and may be considered to be the commander of a fort. The inscription opens with salutation to the goddess Chaṇḍikā. Verse 1, which is mutilated, appears to describe Kailāsa, the above of Nīlakaṇṭha, and eulogises Kālañjara. Then follows the description of Brahmā (verse 2). Brahmā’s son was Kāśyapa. From him, i.e., Kāśyapa, came into existence the family known as Vāstavya, adorned by illustrious men (verses 3-4). In this family was born Jājūka, who crossed the ocean of Vidyā (learning) consisting of kalā, purāṇa, āgama, dharmaśāstra and sāhitya and who was the very limit of satya (truth) and sama (justice) (verse 5). The Jājūka bestowed undisputed sovereignty of the world on king Gaṇḍa and earned from him as a royal grant the prosperous village of Dugauḍa (verses 6). The inscription of Bhōjavarman while referring to this grant adds that Jājūka, who had the title of Ṭhakkura, was appointed sarvādhikāra-karaṇa by king Gaṇḍa. This grant of the village of Dugauḍa to Jājūka, according to the same source, was recorded on a copper plate, which has not yet been discovered. There was then born in that family Mahēśvara whose glory was sung by the wives of the Siddhas and who restored the golden age of Virtue by establishing the laws of Manu (verse 7). The last verse (v.8) gives the details of the grant made to Mahēśvara.
The inscription apparently belongs to the time of the Chandēlla king Kīrttivarman, who was the great grandson of Gaṇḍa. The earliest known date of Kīrttivarman from an Ajayagarh inscription is V. S. 1147, Māgha śukla saptamī, Rēvatī nakshatra=Thursday, 10th January, 1090 A.D.[2] and the last known date is V. S. 1154, Chaitra-sudi 2, Ravivāra=Sunday, 7th March, 1098 A.D.[3] The present inscription and the Ajayagarh inscription of the time of Bhōjavarman speak of the misfortune which befell Kīrtivarman at Pītādri of Pīta-śaila when Jājūka rendered him help. This is obviously reminiscent of the long struggle between the Chandēllas and the Kalachuris for mastery over the Bundelkhand region. The Rewah stone inscription of Vappulaka dated in K. S. 812 (1060-61 A.D.) and belonging to the reign of Kalachuri Karṇa shows that Pītādri was under the occupation of Karṇa in that year.[4] Vappulaka claims to have “ held the sword in the valley of the yellow mountain (Pīta-parvata-talē), having conquered the forces of Trilōchana and the goddess of fortune of the ascetic Vījjala ”. The crushing defeat the Chandēllas had suffered at the hands of Karṇa is referred to in the Prabōdhandrōdaya[5] of Kṛishṇa Miśra and the Vikramāṅkadēvacharita of Bilhaṇa.[6] Who this Chandēlla king defeated by Karṇa was, it is not possible to determine precisely. The Chandēlla contemporaries of Karṇa (1042 to 1071-72 A.D.) were Dēvavarman, whose known date is 1051 A.D.[7], and Kīrttivarman, younger brother of _________________________________________________
[1] Above, Vol. I, p. 333. The name occurs as Mahēśvara in the present inscription ; but it is Māhēśvara in
the inscription of Bhōjavarman.
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