North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF SARAYUPARA

animals, in the course of his fight with Vāsuki.^¹

(V. 16) His son, the wise prince (and) the lord of the earth, who by his brilliant white fame (spreading) on the surface of the earth which was pervaded by his excellences, surpassed the lustre of the moon,—the noble one who by his splendour and merits became an object of wonder even to gods,-was the illustrious Śaṅkaragaṇa^² (II), the son of Dēhaṭṭadēvī.

(V. 17) That illustrious king Śaṅkaragaṇa (II) was born from the illustrious Bhāmāna, as from a raised lamp is lighted another, in the house of the kingdom won by him.

(V. 18) Of that illustrious king Mugdhatuṅga^³ there was a queen named Vidyā, as moonlight is of the full moon rising from the ocean,^⁴ as Lakshmī is of Vishṇu, as Pārvatī, in respect of good fortune, is of Śiva, as a branch is of the kalpa tree,—_being the kandalī plant shining with its bulbous roots which spread about through great prosperity springing from good fortune.

(V.19) From her was born the king, the illustrious Guṇasāgara (II) , the crestjewel of princes, who resembled a mountain (in firmness); who was like an axe in cutting the creeper of incessant suffering (resting) on the tree of poverty; who was fire to the cotton-wool which was the roaring herd of elephants; who was like the god of death in destroying the host of all the neighbouring arrogant princes.

(V. 20) His beloved (wife) was Rājavā as Lakshmī is of Vishṇu, as Rōhiṇī is of the moon, as Gaurī is of Śiva, and as Paulōmī is of Indra. She obtained a son named Śivarāja (II) who resembled Brahmā and was well-known on the earth, being the abode of the merits, ( viz.,) valour and generosity, and being sanctified by truthful and charming speech.

(V. 21) He, having obtained the royal position by the order of the king, became the great kalpa tree to all suppliants and the sun to the cluster of lotuses which was his family. Moreover, his enemies, who were oppressed by the rows of flames from the fire of his great prowess, did not, somehow, feel cool even after crossing the ocean.

(V.22) The title of king, which primarily applied to Pṛithu in the Kṛita age, which became well-known in (the case of) Rāmabhadra whose enemies were destroyed in the Trēta (age), which resorted to the eldest son of Pāṇdu in the Dvāpara (age), shines,^⁵ having obtained a footing in the illustrious Bhāmāna (II).

(V. 23) From him afterwards was born of Sūgalladēvī a son (named) Śaṅkara- gaṇa (III), who, gladdening a multitude of elders by his specially pious conduct and being the foremost among virtuous persons, took care of (all) creatures as of his (own) life. The king was (like) Śaṅkara, capable of destroying (his) arrogant foes, and was the kalpa tree to the suppliants.

(V. 24) Then there shone, on the throne of his father, Bhīma, the son of the queen Yaśōlēkhyā, (who was) like Bhīma, the son of Kuntī, being the abode of political wisdom, humility and fortune, (and) who smiling had his beautiful person bathed (at the time of his coronation) with the auspicious waters (poured) from jars as also with tears of good persons due to excessive joy.
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^¹The significance of this description is not clear to me.
^²Lit., he who has gaṇa preceded by śri-Śankara, i.e., who is named śri-Śaṅkaragaṇa.
^³Mugdhatuṅga thus appears to be another name of Śaṅkaragaṇa (II).
^⁴If the meaning is as given above, the correct compound would be sāgar-ōdgata-pūrṇṇa-vidhōḥ.
^⁵The present tense is wrongly used for the past as the present inscription does not belong to the reign of Bhāmāna II.