North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF RATANPUR

SARKHO PLATES OF RATNADEVA II : YEAR 880

eclipse.^¹The date of the present grant must evidently be referred to the Kalachuri era.. In 1128 A.C. (corresponding to the expired Kalachuri year 880) the Kārttika-paurṇimā ended at 50½ ghaṭikās (20 h. 10 m.) after mean sunrise on the 8th November. As stated in the present inscription, the week-day was Thursday and the nakshatra Rōhiṇī which began at 13 h. 30 m. after mean sunrise. There was also a lunar ecilpse on that day. According to Dr. K.L. Daftari of Nagpur, who has kindly calculated for me the time of the ecilpse, the moon was totally eclipsed between 48 ghaṭikās, 42 palas and 52 ghaṭikās, 54 palas after mean sunrise at Ratanpur. Three quarters of the night were over at Ratanpur at 52 ghaṭikās and 34 palas when, as stated above, the moon was totally eclipsed. The date and the time of the eclipse can thus be completely verified.

As for the localities named here, Chiñchātalāī, the donated village, is probably Chichōlā (long. 82⁰ 39' E., lat. 22˚ 10' N.) on the left bank of the Hasdo in the Jānjgir tashil of the Bilaspur District. It is only 8 miles north by east of Sarkho. Jaṇḍēra, the village owned by the writer Kīrtidhara is probably identical with Jondrā (long. 82⁰, 21' E. and lat. 21⁰, 44' N.) on the left bank of the Seonāth river, about 4 miles outside the south-west limit of the Jāngir tahsil. The maṇḍala of Anarghavallī in which both Chiñchātalāī and Jaṇḍēra were situated, is roughly represented by the present Jānjgir tahsil. Sōṇabhadra from which the donee hailed was situated in Madhyadēśa. It is probably identical with Śravaṇabhadra, to which two Brāhmaṇa donees of the Gaonri plates^² of Vākpati-Muñja dated V.S 1038 belonged. It is noteworthy that like the donee of the present grant, both of them belonged to the Vasta gōtra and had five pravaras.Śravaṇabhadra is also mentioned in the Tilakwāḍā plates of Bhōja and as the family of Surāditya mentioned in those plates is said to have come from Kanauj, Rao Bahadur K.N. Dikshit has conjectured² that Śravaṇabhadra was situated somewhere near Kanauj. Jāmbavat, where the great-grandfather of Padmanābha fasted himself to death, was a tīrtha. It is perhaps identical with the Jambutīrtha mentioned in the Padmapurāṇa,^³ where there was a Śiva-liṅga called Jāmbavantēśvara which is said to have been established by the lord of bears Jāmbavant, who helped śrī-Rāmachandra. From the context it appears to have been somewhere in the vicinity of the river Śvabhramatī (modern Sābarmati).

¹ K.L. Daftari conjectures that Padmanābha may have used for his calculation, the Rājamṛigāṅka a karaṇa work ascribed to king Bhōja of Dhārā in which the bījasaṁskāras seem to have been fixed after actual observation of planets. This work, though composed in Śaka 964 (1042 A.C.), i. e., 86 years before the date of the present plates, may not have been known to the other astronomers of Ratnadēva's court. Padmanābha could, therefore, score an easy victory over them. Cf. Sh. B. Dikshit's History of Indian Astronomy (Marāṭhī), second ed., p. 238.
² Ep. Ind., Vol. XXIII, p. 103.
³ Uttarakhaṇḍa, adhyāya 150.
⁴ From the original plates.
⁵ Expressed by a symbol.
⁶ Read सद्‌व्रह्मणे
⁷ Metre: Anushtubh.