South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

Begotten on Apsarôdêvî, his son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the devout worshipper of the Sun, the Mahârâja Âdityavardhana. Begotten on Mahâsênaguptâdêvî, his son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the devout worshipper of the Sun, the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja Prabhâkaravardhana, whose^[1] fame crossed the four oceans ; before whom other kings bowed down on account of his prowess and out of affection for him ; who wielded his power for the due maintenance of the castes and orders of life, (and) who, like the sun,^[2] relieved the distress of the people. Begotten on the queen of spotless fame Yaśômatî, his son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the devout worshipper of Sugata (Buddha)─ like Sugata solely delighting in the welfare of others─ the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja Râjyavardhana [II.], the tendrils of whose bright fame overspread the whole orb of the earth ; who appropriated the glory of Dhanada, Varuṇa, Indra and the other guardian (deities) of the world ; who gladdened the hearts of suppliants by many donations of wealth and land acquired in righteous ways, (and) who surpassed the conduct of former kings.

He in battle curbed Dêvagupta and all the other kings together, like vicious horses made^[3] to turn away from the lashes of the whip. Having uprooted his adversaries, having conquered the earth, having acted kindly towards the people, he through his trust in promises^[4] lost his life in the enemy’s quarters.

(L. 7.) His younger brother, who meditates on his feet, the devout worshipper of Mahêśvara (Śiva)─ like Mahêśvara taking compassion on all beings─ the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhiraja Harsha issues this command to the Mahâsâmantas, Mahârâjas, Dauḥsâdhasâdhanikas, Pramâtâras,^[5] Râjasthânîyas, Kumârâmâtyas, Uparikas, Vishayapatis, regular and irregular soldiers, servants and other, assembled at the village of Sômakuṇḍakâ which belongs to the Kuṇḍadhânî vishaya^[6] in the Śrâvastî bhukti, and to the resident people :─

(L. 10.) Be it known to you ! Having ascertained that this village of Sômakuṇḍakâ was Held^[7] by the Brâhmaṇ Vâmarathya on the strength of a forged charter,^[8] I therefore have broken that charter and taken . (the village) away from him, and, for the increase of the spiritual merit and fame of my father, the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja Prabhâkaravardhanadêva, of my mother, the Paramabhaṭṭârikâ Mahâdêvî, the queen Yaśômatîdêvî, and of my revered eldest brother, the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja Râjyavardhanadêva, have given it, in the nature

_______________________
^[1] Compare Gupta Inscr. p. 220, lines 1 and 2 of the text.
^[2] The word for ‘sun,’ employed in the original on account of the preceding –pravṛitta-chakra, is êkachakkraratha, ‘whose chariot has only one wheel’ ; compare for it e.g. in the thir act of the Ratnâvalî the verse commencing with adhvânaṁ n=aikachakraḥ prabhavati, and Mayûra’s Sûryaśata a, v. 59 (where the Sun says: na hi rathô yâti mê n=aikachakraḥ). For the idea that the sun relieves distress, compare e.g. Gupta Inscr. p. 162, text, l. 2.
^[3] The Gerund kṛitvâ of the original text is employed, in an unusual way, to convey a passive sense ; ‘like vicious horses (curbed) after they have been made to turn away from the lashes of the whip.’ In Prâkṛit we do find passive Gerundas ; compare e.g. bhajjita janti (=bhaṅktvâ yânti), ‘they run away after having been broken,’ in Prof, Pischel’s Materialien zur Kenntnis des Apabhraṃśa, p. 23. For Sanskṛit I can only quote, from the Daśakumâracharita, kim upakṛitya pratyupakṛitavatî bhavêyam, where the Gerund upakṛitya must mean ‘after having been favoured.’
^[4] According to the Harshacharita, ‘allured to confidence by false civilities on the part of the king of Gauḍa ;’ see Prof. Cowell and Mr. Thomas’s Translation, p. 178.
^[5] On pramâtâra and mahâpramâtâra, which occurs in line 17 of the text, see Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. p. 182, note 70; pramâtṛi also apparently occurs in Gupta Inscr. p. 216, l. 9.
^[6] With Kuṇḍadhânîvaishayika compare Aṅgadîyavaishayika, above, Vol. IV. p. 211, l. 7, Vâlavîvaishayika, Gupta Inscr. p. 216, l. 6, Gayâvaishayika, ibid. p. 256, l. 7 of the text, . . . vaishayika, ibid. p. 50, l. 25, etc.
^[7] In bhuktaka the suffix ka has been added to bhukta─ as noted already by Prof. Bühler, through the influence of the Prâkṛit─ without altering the meaning of bhukta (svârthê) ; compare Prof. Pischel’s Grammatik der Prâkrit-Sprachen, § 598. In Gupta Inscr. we similarly find atisṛishṭaka, kâritaka, dattaka, pravishṭaka, pratishṭhâpitaka, utapannaka, utpadyamânaka.
^[8] On the subject of forged copper-plates see now Dr. Fleet in Ind. Ant. Vol. XXX. p. 201 ff.