North Indian Inscriptions

SUPPLEMENTARY INSCRIPTIONS

GOPALPUR STONE INSCRIPTION OF VIJAYASIMHA

of Rāhu, making her half-widowed^¹!

(V. 3) Victorious are the roarings of (Vishṇu), the lion of Vaikuṇṭha, which are fond of depriving the lord of demons of his life and which served as mantras (chanted) at the coronation of (Indra), the lord of the three worlds!

(V. 4) May Lakshmī secure the highest bliss for you !-(she) who first became horripilated as she, immediately after coming out of the ocean, was well supported with his hand by Vishṇu with his hair standing on its end, and was led forth [with great respect] by him, the victorious one, her mind being full of love as its large paths were illumined by the rays of each other’s looks!

(V. 5) May that Chakrapāṇi (Vishṇu) cause you joy !-(he) to whom, the omni present one, the Sun and the Moon-who, looking like ear-ornaments as they clung to his ears, were observed with joy by the gods, the siddhas and the vidyādharas who were nearby ––––respectfully intimated in exceedingly loving words that the nectar from [the vessel in his hand] was being drunk by Rāhu^² !

(V. 6) May the multitude of learned men who have the ignorance of their minds rapidly dispelled and who feel delighted on the rise of the sun of literature . . . . . !

(V. 7) “Mother, give me the piece of my tusk which appears on the head of Father.” “Child, give up this importunity. I know nothing of it. You should beg of your father.³” When Śrīkaṇṭha laughed as these words were heard, . . . . . !

(V. 8) Victorious in the three worlds is the disc of the moon with a shining edge, which is almost like the life of the milk-ocean; which is the eye of policy of the god of love, the receptacle of joy to the people's eyes and the fire-pan of love to couples, joined or separated; which dispels the spread of darkness and has produced a noble (royal) family . . . !

(V. 9) Glorious in the sky is the Moon, adorned by a multitude of stars, who in beauty resembles the Kaustubha which adorns the breast of Vanamālin (Vishṇu) . . . !

(V. 10) In his race there was born Sahasrārjuna, the great (king) who with his thousand ray-like arms resembled the sun . . . .

(V. 11) After him there flourished many lords of the earth, whose minds were full of great compassion, and who, with their pillar-like glory, supported the Kalachuri family; the fire of whose prowess flared up with [the tears] shed in grief by the enemies' wives . . . . . .

(V. 12) . . . . . who sharpened his sword with the tears discharged by the eyes of the wives of the enemies killed by him . . . . .

(V. 13) . . . . . . the flames of fire shooting up from the destruction, caused in anger, of the palaces of the enemies, which rose without any obstruction to the orb of the moon . . . .

(V. 14) Karṇadēva, the seventh Chakravartin⁴ (Universal Emperor), who despoiled (other kings) of their royal fortune by levying heavy tributes (as the sun deprives the moon of its
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¹ Vishṇu cut off the head of Rāhu as he was drinking nectar. The head became immortal, but the body fell down dead. Rāhu's wife could not, therefore, enjoy any physical pleasures in his company and was thus half-widowed.
² Rāhu, disguised as a god sitting. in the midst of gods while Vishṇu in the form of Mōhinī was serving nectar to them.
³ This is evidently a dialogue between Pārvatī and the elephant-headed Gaṇēśa. The latter is described as ēka-danta 'having only one tusk'. He thinks that his other tusk, which is missing, is seen in the form of the moon on the head of his father Śiva. The verse in the lost portion may have had words invoking the blessings of the god.
⁴ See above, p. 653, n. 5.
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