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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF RATANPUR RATANPUR STONE INSCRIPTIONS OF VAHARA : YEAR 1552 The inscriptions are incised on two stones built into the front wall of the sanctumA on the left and B on the right side of the door-way—in the temple of Mahāmāyā at
Ratanpur in the Bilaspur District of Madhya Pradesh. A contains five, and B,
eleven lines. The former covers a space measuring 1' broad by 3½ " high and the latter, a
space measuring 11¾" broad by 6½" high. The characters of both are Nāgarī and the
language, barbarous Sanskrit. There are several mistakes of orthography and grammar
in both the records, but especially in B. Both the records are metrically composed. A
contains 3 and B, 8 verses. The only orthographical peculiarities worth noticing here
are that kshy is used for khy in vikshyātā in 1. 2, j for y in jantra-vidyā in 1. 4 and sh for
kh in alashadāsa (for lēkhadāsa) in 1. 10, all in B.
The first inscription (A) refers itself to the reign of Vāharēndra or king Vāhara. That he belonged to the Haihaya dynasty is clear from inscription No. 105., below. It compares Ratnapura to the city of Indra (i. e., Amarāvatī in heaven) and states that the king Vāharēndra, who stayed there, had a force of a thousand horses and sixty elephants, evidently stationed at Ratanpura. It next mentions Gōvinda, the Mayor of Ratanpura, who was Vāharēndra's (trusted) servant in all affairs. The second inscription (B) opens with a salutation to Viśvakarman, the architect of gods. It then lavishes fulsome praise on the Sūtradharā Chhītaku of the Kōkāsa family. His father Manmatha and brother Māṇḍana are also mentioned. All of them find mention in the Kosgain stone inscription of Vāhara.¹
Both the inscriptions are thus of the same period. The first is undated, but the second gives the year 1552 without further particulars. This must, of course, be referred to the Vikrama era and corresponds to 1495-96 A.C. In the absence of the necessary details, the date does not admit of verification.
1 See below, No. 105, 11. 19-20.
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