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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA DEWĀS COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF NARAVARMAN the record is all in prose. Orthographical peculiarities are the same as to be noticed in the writing of the time and the locality, viz., (I) the use of the sign for v to denote b as well ; (2) the use of the pṛishṭha-mātrā to denote the medial dipthongs and of one pṛishṭha-mātrā and the other ūrdhva-mātrā in case of ai and au, of course, with a few exceptions ; (3) occasionally the use of s for ś ; (4) reduplication of a consonant following r ; (5) the tendency to put an anusvāra at the end of a sentence or a hemistich of a verse, with a few exceptions like phalam, 1.14 and ākṛitim, 1. 2 ; and (6) occasionally the sandhi being not observed where it is necessary, as in śrī-Udayāditya, 1. 5 and Bhāradvāja-Āṅgirasa, 1.16. ...To note the contents of the record, we find that after the auspicious symbol and the expression jayō’bhyudayaścha, the inscription begins with the two oft-quoted stanzas in the Anushṭubh metre, the first eulogising Vyōmakēśa and the second invoking the blessings of Smarārāti (Śiva, in both the cases). Following this, it goes on to state the genealogy of the donor in the usual way, viz., the Paramabhaṭṭāraka, Mahārājādhirāja and Paramēśvara, the illustrious Sindhurāja, his successor P.M.P. Bhōjadēva, his successor P.M.P. Udayādityadēva, and his successor P.M.P. Naravarmadēva (11. 3-6). Line 6 begins to denote the main object of the record, stating that the P.M.P. Naravarmadēva, after taking bath on the confluence of the Rēvā and Kuvilārā and after performing the daily duties and having worshipped Bhavānīpati and the god Nīlakaṇṭha, announced, in the presence of Brāhmaṇas, the paṭṭakila and all who had assembled at the village of Mālāpuraka in the Bhagavatpura-pratijāgaraṇaka, included in the Iṁguṇīpadra-sārdhasaptaśata-bhōga, the gift of land which is stated to have been made by him when he was staying at the village of Chāmaṭikā (?). The donee was Viśvarūpa, who was the son of Mahirasvāmin and the grandson of Dhanapāla of the Bhāradvāja gōtra with its pravaras Bhāradvāja, Āṅgirasa and Bārhaspatya, who was a student of the Āśvalāyana śākhā and hailed from Adriyalavidā-sthāna which is stated to have been included in Dakshiṇāpatha (11. 15- 16). The date, as given in words only in 1. 9, is the the eleventh of the bright half of Bhādrapada of Saṁvat 1152, which of course, be referred to the Vikrama era. The equivalents of the date are :-
...We have no means to verify the date but since while discussing the date of the preceding inscription, I have give reasons to conclude that the year of the present record should be taken as current, and thus the true equivalent of the date would be 24th August, 1094 A. C. Following this line of thought, we are also justified in holding that Udayāditya died in the latter part of 1093 A.C.[1] ...The gift consisted of two halas of land and some other object which cannot be known, as at the point of the very mention of it the rest of the inscription is lost.[2] It may be stated here, however, that the missing portion of the grant may also have contained the terms of the donation, the benedictive and the imprecatory stanzas, the sign-manual of the king and the figure of Garuḍa, as we find in the other grants issued by the members of the Paramāra house.
...We have seen that the gift consisted of two halas of land, and it would be some interest
to make an attempt here to know its approximate extent. The land is stated to have been
measured 42 times both ways (ubhaya-), i.e., lengthwise and breadthwise, by a rod (daṇḍa) of
96 parts or parvas (11. 17-18), this being then the custom of measuring land (bhū-nivartana-prathā) constituting one hala, that is much as could be cultivated by one plough in a single
season. The practice of measuring land by a bamboo-rod is quite common even to-day in
Mālwā, as in many other parts of the country. And taking the 96 parvas of the rod under
reference to be as many aṅgulas, this being the smallest unit of practical linear measurement,
and considering the length of one aṅgula, to be about three-fourth of an inch,[3]
the total length
of the rod would be 96 × ¾ , i.e., 72 inches or 6 feet ; and multiplied by 42, this would give the
[1]
Following the same system of calculation, we find that the equivalent of exactly one year before, with
the same tithi and month, would be 4th September. 1093 A.C. But here we have to remember that
the first anniversary is celebrated some time about and not exactly on the day of death.
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