North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF RATANPUR

RAIPUR MUSEUM STONE INSCRIPTION OF PRITHVIDEVA II

TRANSLATION

Ōṁ ! Adoration to Śiva !
(Verse 1) May that dust of Śambhu's feet lead to your prosperity !. . . . . . . .

(V. 2) [There was (the king) Jājalladēva (1)] who equalled the sun's lustre, who was a ruby in the chaplet on the head of the Kalachuri [lineage (and) the charm of whose whole body was caused by the envious side-glances, (clearly) manifested by the graceful play of the eye-brows of the goddess of victory during fighting].

(V. 3) ( This verse is completely lost.)

(V. 4) There was born from him the illustrious Ratnadēva (II) . . . . . . the multitude of hostile kings moving on the border of the battle-field . . . . . . [who was the moon to the ocean of friendly persons, who was resting place of courteous con- duct and whose feet were caressed by the heads of a crowed of princes].

(V. 5) In the family of the kings, his ancestors, who were versed in politics⁴. . . . . .

(V. 6) . . . . . . the home of the joy of Jānakī, the humbler of the pride of those who hated his lord, . . . . . . . .

(V. 7) He^⁵ had a son , Harigaṇa by name, a swan to the lotus plants which was the service of the feet of Hari and Hara . . . . . . . . .

(V. 8) He had a modest wife who was like the goddess of fortune and like Satī in her husband's home in the midst of prosperity in all matters . . . . . .

(V. 9) On her [was begotten (by him) a son, Vallabharāja by name], who robbed off lustre from the clusters of lotuses which were the families of his foes . . . . . . .

(V. 10) [Having not seen a suitable illustration and having not heard of one in (this) Kali age, in (respect of) horse-riding,] acquaintance with numerous and various (branches of) knowledge, healing and appreciation of a multitude of noble qualities, the crowd of poets observed silence while eulogising him.^⁶

(V. 11) [Being vehemently fond of the sport of capturing elephants] on earth, [he has made] the whole Vindhya forest devoid of elephants [and having humbled] through (his) lord [the king of Gauḍa who, like Indra, was] the lord of elephants, [the valiant (Vallabharāja) day by turned the enemy's city into the Vindhya tract for the cap- ture of (his) elephants].

(V. 12) [While his lord was looking on, Vallabharāja dealt blows(?)] on the hostile king [from behind and] before and adorned his lord (?)] with pearls scattered from the temples of rutting elephants just then cut off in the large arena of the battle-field . .
. . . . . .

(V. 13) [He who was praised through poetry], who advanced a long distance for the destruction of the redoughtable and mighty (enemy), who was
congratulated by the __________________________

¹ Metre: Vasantatilakā.
² Restore प्रस--.
³ Metre: Anushṭbh.
⁴ Verse 5 and 6 probably contained a description of Dēvarāja and Rāghava, the great-grandfather and grandfather, respectively, of Vallabharāja.
⁵ I. e. Rāghava. See verse 12 of the Akaltarā stone inscription (No. 84, above).
⁶ I. e., Vallabharāja.