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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE EARLY KALACHURIS (L.11) Therefore [this gift should be consented to and preserved] by good kings [whether born in our family1 or others]â (The second plate of this grant is not forthcoming.) No. 14; PLATE VIII THESE Copper-plates, two in number, were found in the possession of one Nānā valad Ahilāji Tidkē of Vadnēr in the Chāndvad Tālukā of the Nāsik District in the Bombay State. They were brought to notice by Mr. Y.R. Gupte, who has edited them, with lithographs and a translation, in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XII, pp. 30 ff. I edit them here from the same lithographs. Mr. Gupte has given the following description of the plates2—‘The plates are substantial. The first of them measures from 10 ½’’ to 10 5/8” long by 8” broad including the rims . . . . . The second measures about 10 5/8” long by from 8 1/8 to 8 16’’ broad including the rims . . . . . . The plates have two holes from 3/5’’ to 1/2’’ in diameter for the insertion of the two original rings, which have been lost. Whether there was any seal or not, I cannot confidently say. There are, however, no traces of one, just as is the case with Sarasavnī plates. When the grant came under my notice, the Vadnēr plates were held together by two thin rings recently made. The edges of the plates have been raised into rims so as to protect the inscription. Either of them bears writing on the inner side only. The second plate is a little broken at the right rim where line 28 ends. The weight of the plates is 129 tolas, without the rings. The letters are very deeply and well cut. They do not show through on the reverse side at all. Some are, however, damaged and some have been completely destroyed by verdigris.’ As the text of the inscription is for the most part identical with that of the Ābhōna and Sarsavnī plates, the damaged letters can be easily supplied. There are thirty-four lines in all, seventeen being inscribed on either plate. The average size of letters is .2â.
The characters resemble those of the Ābhōna plates. The only points that call for notice are as follows:—There appear more wedges than knobs at the top of letters; the former are, again, in some cases, especially when the sign for medial ā is added, replaced by short horizontal strokes. The superscript curve in the sign for initial ī appears like that for n in iva and idam in 11.17 and 34 respectively. See also the sign for the superscript ñ in chañchalam, 1.24. The sign for initial ē in ēsha, 1.19, slightly differs from that used in the Ābhōna plates. The medial ē is generally shown by a slanting vertical stroke, curved at the top, see vasēt, 1.28; but see sarvvān=ēva, 1.17, where it appears as a curve encircling the letter n on the left. N everywhere appears in its northern form. L has in all places a short vertical stroke. The sign for the jihvāmūliya occurs twice in 1.4 and that for the upadhmānīya in11.8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 23, 25 and 31. Punctuation is indicated by a dot in 11.19, 30 and 31 and by two vertical strokes in 11. 27-30. The numerical symbols for 300, 60, 10 and 3 occur in 1.34. The language is Sanskrit and except for five benedictive and imprecatory verses at the end, the inscription is in prose throughout. As regards orthography, we may
1As the grant was made by a military officer, this statement is inappropriate here. It seems to
have been blindly copied from royal charters.
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