South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

Verse 2 says that in the pleasant Vikrama year 1458 (given in words), on ‘ the royal tithi.’ (i.e. the Vijayā daśamī), a person named Dēśānanda (apparently an architect or a mason) constructed (akāri) the beautiful kīrti (i.e. the temple of the Nāga deity Kauśika). The last word of this stanza goes with the following verse (verse 3) which says that a Kāyastha named Prētēśvara(?) who was a good teacher (sad-upādhyāya), composed the verses (contained in the inscription), which are endowed with good meaning, and that the inscription was likhita (literally, ‘ written ’, but apparently meaning ‘ engraved ’) by an active goldsmith named Kāmadēva. The word Kāyastha apparently refers to the caste of the author of the verses, who was probably the teacher of a village school. Considering the fact that it was only the Brāhmaṇas who usually learnt Sanskrit in medieval India, this Kāyastha’s knowledge of the sacred language (although not very deep) is quite interesting. Another interesting fact is that a goldsmith was engaged to engrave the record on stone.

The worship of Kauśika-nāga at Biharsharif or in its vicinity is of great interest in view of the fact that the Mahābhārata associated the same Nāga with Rājagṛiha, i.e. modern Rājgīr which is not far away. We have referred above to a verse occurring in chapter 21 of the Sabhāparvan, which mentions Rājagṛiha as the abode of the Nāgas, Arbuda and Śakravāpī, and the place where the temples, of the Nāgas, Svastika and Maṇi, stood. The verse that immediately follows the above reads :

aparihāryā mēghānāṁ Māgadhā Manunā kṛitāḥ | Kauśikō Māṇimāṁś=ch=aiva chakrātē ch=āpy=anugraham ||

“ The Magadha country has been so made by Manu that the clouds cannot keep away from it. Kauśika and Maṇimat also have shown it their favour ”. This seems to suggest that the Nāgas, Kauśika and Maṇimat, were worshipped at Rājagṛiha as givers of rains, although that particular characteristic of Kauśika is not mentioned in our inscription. Ancient Indian literatures speaks of various powers of the Nāgas including that of causing rains.^[1] It is interesting to note that Buddhist tradition also associates the scarcity of water at Rājagṛiha on account of drought, on one occasion during the reign of Bimbisāra, with the absence on exile of two Nāgarājas named Girika and Vidyujjvāla (probably elsewhere called Nanda and Upananda).^[2]

TEXT^[3]

1 ^[4](Symbol) ch=Āśvinē māsi śuklē vārē Śukrē daśamyām= abhimata-phaladaḥ sarvva-vighn-āpahārī [|*]
2 yō=sau Nāgaḥ prasiddhaḥ spha(pha)ṇi-maṇi-sahitaḥ Kausikō^[5] nāmadhēyas=tasy=aiv=[Ā]- kr[ū]ra-Śrī[l]ēśa^[6]-Pati-Kuśalai rōpitā kīrttir=ēshā || [1*]
3 Yugm-ēśāsya-kṛit-aik-āvdē(bdē) kā[n]tē nṛipa-gurōs=tithau | Dēśānandō varāṁ kīrttim=akār=īty =a’rth-[ālaṁ]karau^[7] || [2*] [Kāya]s[th]aiḥ sad-upādhyāyaiḥ ślōkan [Prētē]śvar[ai]ḥ^[8] kritau^[9] [|]
4 likhitaṁ^[10] svarṇṇakārēṇa Kāmadēvēna karmmiṇā || [3*] Śākē 1[3]17 nṛipa-Vikramārkē saṁ 1452 [||*]

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^[1] See Vogel, op. cit., pp. 4, 19, 184f., 207, 220, 233, 244, 282 f.
^[2] Ibid., p. 118.
^[3] From impressions and the facsimile published in JBORS, Vol. XXVIII.
^[4] The usual siddham symbol may have been engraved here.
^[5] The intended reading is Kauśika-nāmadhēyaḥ which, however, does not suit the metre.
^[6] An extra short syllable is required here by the metre. Whether the author failed to accommodate the personal names in the passage agreeably with the metre or the first akshara of a name like Supati was left out owing to inadvertence cannot be determined.
^[7] The avagraha has been used unnecessarily. Better and ºarth-ālaṅkṛitau.
^[8] The plural number in the name Prētēśvara (?) and its epithets is meant for gaurava.
^[9] As there are altogether three verses, better read ślōkāḥ and kṛitāḥ. Apparently the author had only the first two stanzas in view ; but the third verse must have also been composed by him.
^[10] Better read likhitāḥ. The author probably had idaṁ ślōka-dvayam or sarvam in view.