North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF RATANPUR

KHAROD STONE INSCRIPTION OF RATNADEVA III : YEAR 933

the mass of whose fame, the seven oceans rose and the lotuses bloomed, mistaking (it) for the beautiful rise of the moon.

(Vv. 13-4) From the Brāhmaṇa Pṛithvīdhara, who was born in the excellent gōtra of [Sāvarṇa] adorned by the pravaras Vatsa, the excellent Bhārgava, Chyavana, Āpnavana and Aurva, was born Dāmōdara, the store of all excellences, the crest-jewel of astrologers and the source of abundant joy to all persons, whose feet were reverenced by the lords of the earth; who, with his (power to) curse and favour, always appeared as a second Gōbhila, being the foremost among the chanters of the Sāmavēda. His son, named Rāghava, was born for the delight of poets even as the moon rises for the joy of night-lotuses.

(V.15) In the gōtra of Bhāradvāja with the triad of the pravaras Bhāradvāja, Āṅgirasa and Bārhaspatya, there was born a Brāhmaṇa named Mahādhana.

(V.16) By Mahādhana, possessed of religious merit, was begotten Parāśara whose fame was (bright) like white lotuses and kunda flowers; who was a home of fortitude, an abode of fame, a receptacle of truth and a treasure-house of religious merit.

(V.17) As the sun rises from the eastern mountain and the moon from the milky ocean, even so was the well-known son named Nāmadēva (born) from Parāśara.

(V.18) To those two Brāhmaṇas, Jājalladēva (II) of noble nature, who deprived the wives of hostile kings of the parting line of (their) hair, granted with proper rites a village named Bundērā.

(V.19) The king Jājalladēva (II) had his person caught by the huge alligator Thīrū. Being released with great difficulty, he, regaining his kingdom, donated the village to the Brāhmaṇas on a holy day.
(Here follow six benedective and imprecatory verses.)

(V.26) Dharmarāja, the son of the illustrious Vatsarāja (and) the owner of (the village) Jaṇḍēra, who is to the Vāstavya family what the sun is to a cluster of day-lotuses and who is to the crowd of hostile warriors as fire is to fuel, verily wrote (on these plates of) copper here.

(Line 37) [In] the year 91[9]^¹ on the fifth (lunar) day of the dark fortnight of Agraṇa (i.e., Margaśīrsha), on Friday.
The astrologer Paṇḍita Rāghava; the family-priest Ṭhakkura Nāmadēva.

No. 100 ; PLATE LXXXII
KHAROD STONE INSCRIPTION OF RARNADEVA III : CHEDI YEAR 933

THE stone which bears this inscription is built into the wall on the left-hand side of the maṇḍapa of the temple of Lakhaṇēśvara (Lakshmaṇēśvara) at Kharōd, about 2 miles to the north of Shēorinārāyaṇ. In the Jānjgir tahsil of the Bilaspur District in Madhya Pradesh. The inscription has been noticed several times. Its date was mentioned first by Mr. Beglar and then by Sir A. Cunningham in the Archæological Survey of India Reports, Vol. VII, p. 201 and Vol. XVII, p. 43 respectively. The genealogy of the Kalachuri rulers mentioned in it was published by Dr. Kielhorn in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XXII, pp. 82 ff. The contents of the record were briefly noticed by Dr. D.R. Bhandarkar in the Progress Report of the Archæological Survey of Western
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¹ The third figure of the date is almost completely damaged. It is conjectured to be 9. See above, pp 529-30.