North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF CHANDRAVATI

No. 79 ; PLATE LXXXI-A
DĒVKHĒTAR STONE INSCRIPTION OF THE TIME OF SŌMASIṀHA
[Vikrama ] Year 1293

... THIS inscription was noticed by Pt. Gaurishankar Ojha in the Annual Report of the Rājputāna Museum, Ajmer, for the year 1910-11, p. 7, and thereafter by V.S. Sukhthankar, in the Progress Report of the Western Circle, Archaeological Survey of India, for 1916-17, p. 69. It is edited here from my personal inspection and fresh impressions which I owe to the kindness of the Superintending Archaeologist of the Western Circle of the Survey.

... The record is incised on the base of a short pillar pertaining to the porch of the Śiva temple at Dēvkhētar, [3] which is an ancient site about 2 kms. from Asāvā in the Rēodhar tehsīl of the Sirōhī District in Rājasthān and lies about 18 kms. north by east of Rēodhar. The record consists of four lines. The writing measures about 31 cms. broad by 13.5 cms. high. The average height of the letters is between 2 and 2.5 cms. They are not well formed, though they are distinct and fairly legible. The ūrdhva-mātrā is throughout used to denote the medial dipthongs, Much of the portion of the record is in a local dialect. It is in prose. It appears also to have lost some letters on the proper left side and the sense cannot be clearly and completely made out. The purpose too is not clear.

... The inscription refers itself to the prosperous reign of Sūmasīha (i.e., Sōmasiṁha). It does not furnish the name of the family to which this ruler belonged, but from the provenance of the record he appears to have been no other than the homonymous ruler who was the son of the illustrious Dhārāvarsha of the Ābū Paramāra house. The earliest date for this king is V.S. 1277, furnished by the Dhāntā image inscription; [4] and the importance of the present record is that it provides his latest known year, giving him at least 16 years

...The date of the record is Jyēshṭha, 1293 (of the Vikrama era); and the year, if taken as current, corresponds to 1235 A. C. The details of the date are not mentioned and hence it cannot be verified.[5]
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[1] The two aksharas appear to be struck off in the original and the whole corrected as प्रसादावाप्त.
[2] The rest of the inscription is illegible.
[3] The antiquities of this place, which is also spelt as Dēvakhetra, or –Kshētra, were described by D. R. Bhandarker in the Prog. Rep., of the W. Circle, for the year ending March, 1907, p. 30. The place is about 3kms. from Sirōḍī which is on the Rēodhar-Sirōhī matalled road. The record is incised on the last pillar
of the circumbulatory path of the temple which contains a fine image of Trimūrti, in marble. The letters of the record are not deeply engraved and those at the end of each line are lost owing to a slanting break of the stone on this side. Inside of the lintel of the porch is another record in eight long lines which are all damaged but the first line reads: . . . स्वस्ति (।*) संवत्‌‍ १२०२ मागंमिर सु(शु)दि ३ सोमदिने श्रीजस (यशो)धवल- देवविजयराज्ये एतत्‌सम्नि(एतस्मिन्‌) काले प्रवर्त्तमाने प्रदंत(दीय)मान द्रं २–––The date regularly corresponds to 17th December, 1145 A.C.
[4] Above, No. 77.
[5] However, if the expression mahā is intended to show the mahāpūrṇimā (full-moon day) of the month, the date would correspond to 22nd May, 1236, for the current Vikrama Year 1293.

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM
VOL.VII ...............................................................PLATE LXXX
NANA STONE INSCRIPTION OF THE TIME OF SOMASIMHA: (VIKRAMA) YEAR 1290

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