South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

the Sâṅglî grant, in which the formal preamble of the prose passages describes Suvarṇavarsha-(Gôvinda IV.) as meditating on the feet of Nityavarshadêva,^[1] i.e. as the immediate successor of Indra III.

The successor, then, of Indra III. was his younger son Gôvinda IV., who is first introduced, in his Sâṅglî grant of August, A.D. 933, by the name of Gôvindarâja ;^[2] the next verse in that record gives him the biruda of Sâhasâṅka ;^[3] the next verse says that, though he was Prabhûtavarsha, he was called Suvarṇavarsha became he made the whole earth entirely golden by showers of gold ;^[4] some lines in prose, containing epithets with rhyming ending, which stand before the usual preamble of the prose passages, give him the birudas of Nityakandarpa, Châṇakyachaturmukha, Vikrântanârâyaṇa, and Nṛipatitriṇêtra ;^[5] and finally, the formal preamble of the prose passages mentions him as Suvarṇavarshadêva, Pṛithvîvallabha, and Vallabhanarêndradêva, “ his majesty the king Vallabha,” who meditated on the feet of Nityavarshadêva-(Indra III.).^[6] The Daṇḍâpur inscription of his time, dated in A.D. 918, quite early in his reign, mentions him by only the biruda of Prabhûtavarsha,^[7] which is in accordance with what we understand from the Sâṅglî record, namely that he was Prabhûtavarsha first and became known as Suvarṇavarsha subsequently. The inscription at Kaḷas in the Baṅkâpur tâluka, dated in A.D. 930,^[8] does not seem to include any varsha-appellation : in the verses, in addition to giving his name, in its Prâkṛit form, as Gojjiga, Gojjigadêva, and Gojjigavallabha, it gives him the birudas of Nṛipatuṅga, Vîranârâyaṇa, and Raṭṭakandarpadêva ; and, in addition to using again Gojjigavallabha and Vîranârâyaṇa, the prose passage which leads up to the date and other details speaks of him as Gaṇḍamârtaṇḍa, Madagajârûḍhamâtaṁga (?),^[9] and Raṭṭavidyâdhara, and also includes one or two other birudas of which the reading is not at all certain. The inscription at Kaḷasâpur in the Gadag tâluka, dated in December, A.D. 933,^[10] mentions him by only the biruda of Suvarṇavarsha. And so also does an inscription at Kaujgere in the Rôṇ tâluka,^[11] which is

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^[1] See note 6 below.
^[2] Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 250, text line 23.
^[3] Ibid. text line 25. The word was then translated, by “ characterised by daring ;” with, however, the remark in a footnote that it might be taken as a biruda.
^[4] Ibid. text lines 25, 26.
^[5] Ibid. p. 251, text lines 36, 37, 38.
^[6] Ibid. text lines 39, 40. The appellation is preceded by the honorific śrîmat,─ not śrî.
^[7] Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 223, text line 1. The record was then wrongly allotted by me to Jagattuṅga II.─ In nâlvatt=avutâ, line 2, avutâ is a form of the present participle of avi (2), ‘ to be spoiled, damaged ; to rot ; to perish ; to go out, be extinguished.’ And thus the record is dated on the winter solstice of the month Pausha of the Pramâthin saṁvatsara, when the Śaka year eight hundred and forty was “ coming to an end.” Pramâthin can be connected with the figures 840 only by the mean-sign system of the cycle, according to which, it began on the 12th February, A.D. 918, Śaka-Saṁvat 840 current, and ended on the 8th February, A.D. 919. Ś.-S. 840 expired, or else by the northern luni-solar system, according to which it coincided with Ś.-S. 840 expired, = A.D. 918-19; and, in either case, the date would fall in December, A.D. 918. If we were to apply the southern luni-solar system, we should have to assume that 840 is a mistake for 841 ; because, by that system, Pramâthin coincided with Ś.-S. 841 expired, = A.D. 919-20. Prof. Kielhorn (Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. p. 269) has adduced a later instance, of A.D. 930 (the date of the Kaḷas inscription, noticed further on), in which we must apply the northern luni-solar system. And we may take it, therefore, that there is no mistake in the year in the Daṇḍâpur record, and that it is dated in December, A.D. 918. Compare notes 3 and 4 on page 180 below.
^[8] Noticed, Ind. Ant. Vol. XII. p. 211, No. 48, and p. 248, and Dyn. Kan. Distrs. p. 416, For the exact date, the 17th January, A.D. 930, see Prof. Kielhorn’s result in Ind. Ant. Vol. XXIII. p. 114, No. 7, and his remarks in Vol. XXIV. p. 269.
^[9] The antepenultimate syllable is doubtful, but seems to be ma or mâ. In the penultimate syllable, it is not quite certain whether the vowel with the t is a or u. Madagajârûḍhamâtaṁga may be rendered, as suggested to me by Prof. Kielhorn, by “ the most excellent rider of rutting elephants.”
^[10] Noticed, Dyn. Kan. Distrs. p. 416 f. To the details of the date given there, add “ at the Uttarâyaṇasaṁkrânti.” If this is to be taken as the leading detail, the equivalent cannot be Sunday, 29th December, but must be either Sunday, the 22nd, or Monday, the 23rd. The week-day, Âdityavâra, is quite distinct : and it seems be impossible to read the tithi as anything but ashṭamî.
^[11] Not yet published ; I quote from an ink-impression