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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA No. 25.─ TWO PRAKRIT POEMS AT DHAR. BY PROFESSOR R. PISCHEL, PH.D.; BERLIN. The two Prâkṛit poems here edited were discovered at Dhâr, in November 1903, together with the corresponding slab of black stone which contains the praśasti of Arjunavarman published above, p. 96 ff., by Professor E. Hultzsch. Prof. Hultzsch was good enough to send me two inked estampages which had been forwarded to him by Dr. Vogel and Mr. Cousens, and one of which is reproduced on the three accompanying Plates. Like the praśasti, the poems are on the whole well preserved ; in the second poem, however, the beginning of lines 26-38 is broken away, as may be seen from Plate iii. The inscription consists of 83 lines and is engraved with great care. Only one serious mistake occurs in A. verse 65, where instead of chammakkaṇam aṇamaggo apparently must be read chakkammaṇam aṇamagge. The alphabet is the same as in the praśasti and has been already discussed by Prof. Hultzsch. I would draw special attention to the initial i. u, o ; to tha, e.g. in thakkaṁ, A. verse 40 (Plate i. l. 16), tha, A. 58 (Plate i. l. 23), thâhiâ, B. 2 (Plate ii. l. 1), aṇathakkaṁ, B. 40 (Plate iii. l. 14), thâhaviâ, B. 87 (Plate iii. l. 32) ; to kkha, e.g. in rakkhaü, A. 2 (Plate i. l. 1) ; to jjha, e.g. in majjhe, A. 6 (Plate i. l. 3) ; to śa, e.g. in Śivâya (Plate i. l. 1), ºparamêśvaraº, śrîº, ºśatam, mahâśrîḥ (Plate ii. l. 42) ; and to ṅga, e.g. in kayaṅ garuâṇa (Plate i. l. 18) and maṅgalaṁ (Plate ii. l. 42). Chchha and ttha, though resembling each other, are more clearly distinguished than in the manuscripts of the Jainas, where these two letters are constantly confounded ; compare, e.g. ºvitthâro and ºchchhâya, A. 2 (Plate i. l. 1) ; ºsarichchhaṁ and ěttha, A. 15 (Plate i. l. 6). There occurs in A. 87 (Plate ii. l. 34) one letter about the reading of which I am not certain. It | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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