South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The Kapâlamôchana-ghaṭṭa ; above, Vol. IV. p. 110, line 13.
The Trilôchana-ghaṭṭa ; Ind. Ant. Vol. XVIII. p. 11, line 12.
The Vêdêśvara-ghaṭṭa ; above, Vol. IV. p. 114, L.
The Avimukta-kshêtra ; ibid. p. 114, L., and p. 113, line 18.
The Kôṭi-tîrtha ; below, p. 159, line 15. (The temples of) Aghôrêśvara, Indramâdhava, Lauḍêśvara and Pañchôṁkâra (below, p. 153, lines 18 and 19), Kṛittivâsas (above, Vol. IV. p. 126, line 22), and Lölârka (above, Vol. V. p. 118, line 18).
Of Prayâga (the temple of) Gaṅgâditya is mentioned, above, Vol. IV. p. 122, line 22.

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Of the new inscriptions the most interesting is C., because it records a grant by Gôvindachandra’s son, the Yuvarâja Âsphôṭachandra, who was unknown to us before. And the inscription A. is peculiar in recording the gift of a house at Benares, not the grant of a village. The three grants recorded in C., D. and E. were made in favour of one and the same Brâhmaṇ, a sun-worshipper and student of the Jyôtiḥśâstra.─ The taxes specified are the bhâgabhôgakara (mentioned in 50 plates of this family), the pravaṇikara (mentioned in 44 plates), the turushkadaṇḍa (mentioned in 23 plates, but not in any of the plates of Jayachchandra), the kumaragadiâṇaka (mentioned in 10 plates), the hiraṇya (mentioned in 9 plates), and the jalakara and gôkara (mentioned together in 4 plates only).

A.─ PLATE OF GÔVINDACHANDRA OF [VIKRAMA-] SAṀVAT 1171.

This is a single plate, which measures about 1′ 3½″ broad by 1′ ½″ high, and is engraved on one side only. In the upper part it has a ring-hole, about ⅝″ in diameter ; and to the plate belongs a circular seal, about 2⅜″ in diameter, which bears in high relief, across the centre, the legend śrîmad-Gôvindach[ṁ]dradêva[ḥ*], in Nâgarî letters about 9/16″ high ; above the legend, the figure of a Garuḍa, squatting down and facing to the proper right ; and below the legend, a conch-shell. The plate contains 21 lines of generally well preserved writing. The size of the letters is between ⅜ and ½″. The characters are Nâgarî, and the language is Sanskṛit. As regards orthography, the letter b is throughout denoted by the sign for v ; the dental sibilant is often employed for the palatal, and the palatal occasionally (as in râśika l. 3) for the dental ; and the words vaṁśa and tâmraka are written vanasa and tâṁvraka, ll. 2 and 21. I may also point out that the sign of avagraha is used in snâyvâ ςsmâbhir=, l. 18.

The inscription is one of the Paramabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja Paramêśvara Gôvindachandradêva, who records that, on Monday, the full-moon tithi of Mâgha of the year 1171 (given both in words and in figures), after bathing in the Ganges at Benares, he granted a dwelling-place (âvâsa^[1]) to the Mahattaka Dâyîṁśarman,^[2] son of the Ṭhakkura Mahâkara and son’s son of the Ṭhakkura Kâkû, [a Brâhmaṇ] of the Bhâradvâja gôtra, whose three pravaras were Bhâradvâja, Âṅgirasa and Bârhaspatya. The dwelling-place so granted was at Benares itself, and lay to the east of (the) Aghôrêśvara and Pañchôṁkâra, and to the west of (the) Indramâdhva and Lauḍêśvara (temples).─ The grant (tâmraka) was written by the Karaṇika Jalhaṇa.^[3] It contains no imprecatory verses.
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^[1] The original has avâsa and treats this word as a neuter noun. Compare avâsanikâ for âvâsanikâ, frequently used in the Sîyaḍôṇî inscription, Ep. Ind. Vol. I. p. 163.
^[2] Compare the name Dâyî (Dâyîka), above, Vol. IV. p. 171.
^[3] The same Jalhaṇa wrote the grant of [Vikrama-]saṁvat 1172, published above, Vol. IV. p. 104, where he is described as śrî-Vâstavyakul-ôdbhûta-kâyastha-ṭhakkura. The term karaṇik-ôdgata of the present grant describes him literally as ‘ descended from a Karaṇika ;’ Chitragupta, with whom he is compared, is ‘ one of Yama’s attendants (recorder of every man’s good and evil deeds).’