North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA

DHARAMPURI GRANT OF VAKPATIRAJADEVA

below ; the loops of ch, dh and v are almost similar, the first of these letters occurs in chaṅchad, 1.2. and the other two in vāridhēr-, 1.3., and all the three letters are found in one single instance and exhibiting the same form in cha vōdhayati, 1. 10. In some instances, however, ch resembles r, see anuchintya and cha, both in 1. 31. The form of the rare ñ can be seen in chañchala, 1. 28. Bha in 1. 1 is confounded with ru ; and the formation of r and s is almost as in modern Nāgarī, see, e.g., sarasī, 1. 3. It is also interesting to note that the top-strokes of several letters are triangular, with the vertex below, as in kaṭhōra, 1.2.

...The language of the record is Sanskrit, and with the exception of two verses in the beginning, two in the middle and five in the end, it is composed in prose. In respect of orthography, the points that call for notice are these:- (1) the use of the sign for v to denote b as well ; (2) the doubling of a consonant following r and of t that precedes it, as in Narmmadā, II. 8-9 and sarvvadā, 1.24 ; and in pavittraka, 1. 14, māttra, 1. 16 and attra, 1.33 ; (3) the dental s occurring for the palatal only in two instances, viz. Pisācha, 1. 13 and chaturddasyāṁ, 1. 14 ; (4) the sporadic use of the mātrā before a letter and above it and the other two dipthongs denoted by one mātrā before the letter and the other above ; (5) the occasional use of avagraha to denote the merging of a in ē, cf. in vṛiddhayē’=dṛishṭa, 1. 22, and in ō, cf. in samētō’hi-, 1. 20, but also to denote the merging of a in ā in vudhvā’smat, 1. 25, and not in some other instances for which see taḍārōyam, 1. 11 and sāmānyōyaṁ, 1. 30, where it may rightly be expected ; (6) the wrong use of the sign for anusvāra in place of m at the end of a hemistich, as in gataṁ, 1. 4, śriyaṁ, 1. 17, phalaṁ, 1. 18 and 1. 26 ; (7) the consonant n engraved with the vertical stroke and then marked halanta in –smin 1. 14 ; and (8) some wrong spellings as saṁvatsarē appearing as samvatsarē, 1. 14, śrēyāṁsi as śrēyānsi and ārdritaṁ-vā-as ārdritam-vā, both in 1. 3, truṁśa for triṁśa, 1. 13 ; and finally, local influence is to be seen saiṅhikāya, 1. 2, and Vairisiṅha, 1. 6.

...The inscription contains a few grammatical and other errors. The rule of sandhi is violated in –nī uttarasyāṁ, 1. 9 ; diśau is wrongly put for diśi in 11. 12 and 13, though in 1.12 we find diśi also. A superfluous u is engraved in tathō uttarasyāṁ, 1. 11 and tīrtha is spelt as ttirtha in 1. 13, evincing carelessness of the writer or the engraver.

...It is a royal charter and its object is to record the donation by Vākpatirāja, of a taḍāra (?) of the name of Pipparikā, connected with Gardabhapānīya situated in the region (bhōga) of the name of Gardabhapānīya on the Narmadā, from his stay at Ujjayanī (11. 9 ff). The date, which is expressed in words in lines 13-14 and again in figures in lines 32-33, is the fourteenth day of the bright half of Bhādrapada in the year 1031, which, for the Chaitrādi expired year, would correspond to 3rd September, 974 A.C. and for the kārttikādi expired, to 23rd August, 975 A.C.=[1]

...To note the contents of the record, it opens with a symbol denoting siddham, and following it, it has two maṅgala-ślōkas. The first of these stanzas purports to eulogise the beauties of the manly throat of Śrīkaṇṭha (Śiva), desiring him to increase our happiness, and the second, to describe the body of Mura-ripu (Lord Kṛishṇa), with a request to him to protect the world. Then begins the genealogical portion of the grantor, which is in prose (11. 5-8) . It mentions the name of the illustrious Vākpatirājadēva. otherwise known as Amōghavarshadēva, bearing the epithets Pṛithvīvallabha and Śrīvallabha, who was the lord paramount meditating on the feet of the Paramabhaṭṭāraka, Mahārājādhirāja and Paramēśvara Sīyakadēva, who meditated on the feet of the P.M.P. Vairisiṁhadēva, who, in his turn, meditated on the feet of P.M.P. Kṛishṇarājadēva. The record does not mention the name of the house to which these kings belonged, but from the names given in it and also from the Garuḍa symbol engraved at the end, it can obviously be known to be that of the Paramāras of Mālwā.

...Lines 9 ff. state the donation of a taḍāra (?) of the name of Pipparikā, situated on the banks of the holy Narmadā, to the north of the portion of waters called the Gardab ha-Pānīya[2] ; it was bounded on the east by Agāravāhalā, on the north by the ditch (or descent ) belonging to (of) Chikhillikā, on the west by the river Gardabha(ī) and on the south by the Piśāchadēva-tīrtha. The donation was made by the king from his stay at Ujjayanī (Ujjain) to increase the merits of his
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[1] The date cannot be verified.
[2] As translated by Kīrtanē on p. 53 of the Ind. Ant., Vol. VI. This, however, appears to me to be the western boundary of the gift place.

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