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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA No. 4─THREE PARAMARA INSCRIPTIONS FROM MALWA (1 Plate) K. N. SASTRI, NEW DELHI Of the three inscriptions[1] under review, the first is from the Mahākālēśvara temple at Ujjain, the second is on a stone pillar in the Bhōjaśālā (now Kamālmaulā Mosque) at Dhār while the third lies in a shrine at Un in Madhya Bharat. Their common characteristic is that each of them contains an alphabetical-cum-grammatical chart (bandha) and a verse alluding to the Varṇa-nāga-kṛipāṇikā-bandha of the king Udayāditya.[2] A. Mahākālēśvara Temple Inscription This inscription is a praśasti, the object of which presumably was to record either the construction or the restoration of a Śiva temple at Ujjain. It survives in two fragments. One of them bears 36 closely written lines engraved on a stone slab built in a niche in the upper storey of the Mahākālēśvara temple. The other fragment comprises 28 lines of text and an alphabetical chart which are inscribed on a stone slab now fixed in a small chhatrī in the same temple on the ground floor. Though it is difficult to be absolutely certain about their relationship, yet their mutual resemblance in style and subject matter tends to support the view that the two fragments were parts of one and the same inscription.[3] The first fragment is 17″ broad by 21½″ high and appears to be badly worn off on the surface. The writing on the second fragment, excluding the chart, measures 14″ broad and 17″ high and is in a far better state of preservation and quite distinct, though, here too, some letters are missing due to the peeling off of the surface. The characters are beautifully executed and belong to the so-called Kuṭila type of the Nāgarī script current in Northern and Western India in the 10th and 11th centuries A. D. They closely resemble those of the Khajuraho inscription of V. S. 1011[4] and the Udaypur praśasti.[5] The language is Sanskrit. Barring the alphabetical chart (bandha), the rest of the extant portion of the inscription is in verse. B is denoted by the sign for v, and the palatal sibilant by its dental counterpart in some cases.
The composer of this praśasti was well-versed in rhetorics and possessed a fine imagination. The first fragment contains nineteen verses of which the first sixteen are devoted to the eulogy of Śiva and the description of the Arbuda mountain. This is followed by an allusion to the sacrificial offering of the sage Vasishṭha whose cow, Surabhi, was snatched away by Viśvāmitra. Herein the poet displays his mastery in the use of allegories, similes and other poetic embellishments which go to make a good kāvya. Owing to an unfortunate gap between verses 19 and 79, the text dealing with the origin of the Paramāra family and the genealogy of its members appears to have been lost. This may be inferred from the occurrence of similar passages in the Paramāra praśastis in other inscriptions, such as the Udaypur praśasti referred to above. The genealogical account might have been brought down to Naravarman, the donor of the present record. _____________________________________________________________
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