|
The Indian Analyst
|
|
South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI His desciple was Kīrtiśiva who is said to have contributed to the prosperity of the king Narasimha. Five verses (22-26) are devoted to this description. The next eighteen verses refer to Vimalaśiva. He belonged to the gōtra of Visvāmitra and was the son of Madhu sūdana and Umā. Having paid off his debt to gods and others by performing religious rites at Prabhāsa, Gōkarņa, Gayā, and other tirthas, he was initiated in the Śiva doctrine by Kīrtiśiva, He was very handsome, learned and liberal, and exercised great vigilance in looking after all affairs of the king. The earth being adorned with gardens, tanks, chari- table houses, temples and dwellings for Brāhmaņas constructed by him is said to have vied with heaven in splendor. The king Jayasimha devoutely bowed to him. We are next told that Vimalaśiva built a temple of Śiva under the name Kīrtīśvara for the glory and religious merit of his spiritual preceptor Kīrtiśiva. The name Jayasimha endowed it with three villages on the occasion of a solar eclipse. Once of these villages, which was named Tēkabhara, was situated in the vishaya (district) of Navapattalā and the other two named Kaņdaravāda and Vadōha or Avadōha in Samudrapāta which was apparently another district. The importance of the present inscription lies in the information it furnishes about the Spiritual preceptors of the Kalachuri kings of Tripurī from Yaśahkarņa downwards. It may, however, be noted in this connection that Asatic Society of Bengal plates of Gōvidachandra1 mention the Śiva Āchārya Rudraśiva, not Purushaśiva, as the Rājaguru of Yāśahkarna Perhaps Yāśahkarna had two Rājagurus in succession. The name of Vimalaśiva, the guru of Jasimha occurs in his Jabalpur plates2 also.
The presents Praśasti was composed by the poet Śaśidhara, who was a Brāhmaņa of the Maunya3 gōtra. He composed also the Bhērā-Ghāţ inscription of Alhanadēvī, while his elder brother prithvidahra was the author of the Tēwar inscription of the reign of Gayākarnņa. The present record was incised on the stone by Nanndēva, the son of Mahī- dhara. His father was the sculptor of the aforementioned stone inscription of the reign of Gayākarņa and that of Alhaņdevi. As for the localities mentioned in the present record, Tēkabhara may be identical with Tikhāri, 5 miles south by west of Jabalpur. The vishaya (district) of Navapattalā in which it was situated may have comprised the territory round the modem Nayākhērā which lies about 8 miles west of Ţikahāri. Samudrapāţa is probably samand Pipāria, 4 miles south of Jabalpur. There are several villages named Kuņda or Kuņdan near Jabalpur, one of the which may represent the ancient Kaņdaravāda. No place exactly corresponding to Vadōha or Avadōha can, however, be traced in the Jabalpur District. Prabhāsa, Gōkarna and Gayā are too well-known to need identification.
1 J.A.S.B., Vol. XXXXI, pp. 123 ff.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
