North Indian Inscriptions

ADDITIONAL INSCRIPTIONS

ERAN STONE PILLAR INSCRIPTION OF SRIDHARAVARMAN

nearly three centuries later, we know of three Mahārāshṭras, consisting of 99000 villages. They evidently comprised the present Northern and Southern Mahārāshṭras and the Marathi-speaking parts of States of Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad. All this territory was generally grouped under the single comprehensive name of Mahārāshṭra mentioned in the Epics, Purāṇas and other works of Sanskrit literature. Satyanāga seems to have taken pride in mentioning his Māshārāshṭra origin. Ērikiṇa is modern Ēraṇ. The placename occurs as Ērakaña (i.e. ,Ērikiña, with the vowels restored) on the coins published by Cunningham¹ and as Ērakiṇa in an inscription on the Sāñchī Stūpa². Later, the name occurs in abhishṭhāna of Airkiṇa in the Ēraṇ inscriptions of Samudragupta and Tōramāṇa. The adhishṭhāna of Ērikiṇa was included in the territorial division Bāhirikā in the āhāra of Nagēndra. Both these names are otherwise unknown³.

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¹ Cunningham’s eye-copy of the legend on one of the coins clearly reads Ērakaña, but that of the legend on the other as Ērakanya. Allan also reads the latter legend similarly; but the reading is probably incorrect. The superscript letter does not appear like ṇ. Besides, if there had been a subscript y, it would have appeared much lower, and not in a line with the other aksharas. The last letter, therefore, appears to be ña as on the other coin. It is noteworthy that the place-name occurs as Ērakina in a Sāñchī Stūpa inscription.
² Ep. Ind., Vol. II, p. 375.
³ Bāhirikā, of course, occurs as the name of a vishaya in distant Gujarat as stated above. See p. 606, n. 5, above.
⁴ From the original pillar which I examined in situ and from inked estampages kindly supplied by Dr. Chhabra. I am indebted to Dr. Chhabra, Mr. N.L. Rao and Mr. Y.R. Gupte for the reading of a few words in this much abraded inscription.
⁵ This expression occurs also in the Kānākhērā inscription, No. 5, above. The spacing there shows that is used in that record to describe the god Mahāsēna (Kārttikēya). Here it would be more naturally construed with श्रीघरवर्म्मणः in 1. 2.
⁶ The lost aksharas may be restored conjecturally as जितसेनमहासेनपादानुव्यात-The following aksharas स्य is almost certain.
⁷ In the margin of lines 2 and 3, there appear traces of some aksharas which may be read as सिद्धमस्तु. It may be noted that these words occur at end of the Kānākhērā inscription.
⁸ The subscript letter of this conjunct appears more like y than d, through there is no doubt about the name.
⁹ The last nine aksharas in this line were probably वर्षसहरत्राय स्वराज्या-.See line 2 of the Kānākhērā inscription. The last three aksharas are almost certain.
¹⁰ In view of the clear reading here, it would be better to read वैजयिके 1.2 of the Kānākhērā inscription also.
¹¹ Read सप्तर्विशतितमे.
¹² The lost portion probably mentioned the month, fortnight and tithi, and ended in पूर्व्वकम्‌, of which faint traces can still be seen. Cf. line 3 of the Kānākhēra inscription.
¹³ Read एतद्दिवस एरिकिणा-.
¹⁴ The horizontal ē-mātrā of ṇē is clearly seen on the pillar.
¹⁵ Read नगेन्द्राहारस्य बाहिरिकायां. This is an instancf सापेक्षसमास.. Some word like पधके , meaning