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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA BHOPĀL COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION MAHĀKUMĀRA HARISCHANDRA stated that “omission of a name or two is no sure indication of a feud nor does it throw any definite light on the line of succession in a family.”[1] ...Comparing the evidence supplied by the present and the following grants of Hariśchandra, we notice another inconsistency, viz., that whereas the former of these charters states that Hariśchandra obtained his territory through the favour of the Mahākumāra Trailōkyavarman, the latter gives this credit not to Trailōkyavarman but to the P.M.P. Jayavarman. But here we have to note the actual wordings of the two grants ; for whereas the former uses the expression vijay-ādhipatya, meaning that Hariśchandra obtained some victory (over an enemy), the latter has the expression nij-ādhipatya, indicating that he received the principality from (through the sanction of ) Jayavarman who was then the Imperial sovereign. To obtain sanction of the Imperial house, which was ruling at Dhārā, by the subordinate ruler in the Bhopāl region may have been a matter of necessity ; and the Pipliānagar grant points the same. The victory referred to in the present charter may possibly allude to one against the Chandēllas who were their northern neighbours. ...The grant portion begins in 1. 7 and the details thereof we have stated above. The conditions of the grant, which are as to found in the other Paramāra grants, are mentioned in 11. 30-32. In 11. 32.40 we have usual imprecatory stanzas, followed by the syllable dū (i.e. dūtaka) of the grant. He is Mukhyādēśa. Such a proper name, however, appears to be out of the general nomenclature,[2] and we are unable to suggest any other interpretation of the syllable dū used here. This is followed by expressions meaning ‘auspiciousness, good luck and great fortune.’ and the inscription ends with the sign-manual of the Mahākumāra Harischandradēva, which is in Prakrit form.
...Of the geographical names mentioned in the inscription, that of the Mahādvādaśaka-maṇḍala (1. 7) occurs also in the Ujjain grant of the Mahākumāra Lakshmīvarman, of (V.) S.
1191 and 1200 ; and we have seen that the region denoted by it included parts of the modern
districts of Vidishā and Bhopāl.[3]
Bhāillasvāmipura (1. 9) is the ancient city of Vidishā (Bhilsā),
which was formerly the capital of the Ākara-janapada, roughly corresponding to east Mālava.
The name Bhillasvāmin (Bhāїllasvāmin) was originally of an image of the Sun deity worshipped in a temple at that place which subsequently became famous under the deity’s name, as we also know from Albērūnī (c. 1030 A. C. ) who tells us that “the name of the town is identical with that of the idol worshipped there”.[4]
It is interesting to note that the earliest mention of this name is in an inscription of V.S. 935 or 878 A.C. and also that the earliest mention of this name of
the Māndhātā inscription of Jayasiṁha II issued in (V.) S. 1331.[5]
Vētravatī (1. 10) is the river
Bētwā flowing by the city of Bhilsā. With reference to Dādarapadra, the grant-village (1.7),
Chakravarti observed that “there are eleven villages of this name (Padria)”, and thus he left
the place unidentified. But this, as also Vikhilapadra, which is mentioned as a sub-division
of twelve villages including it (1. 7), appears to me a compound name like Araṇi-padra, Vaṭapadra and Iṅguṇī-padra, identical respectively with the modern Rānōd, Baḍōdī and Iṅgnōd or
Riṅgnōd. And while identifying such place-names the first component thereof deserves consideration, since the second signifies nothing more than ’a village’, which is its dictionary meaning.[6]
And accordingly, Vikhilapadra may possibly be identical with the modern village Bilquisganj, about 22 kms. south-east of Sehore, by road, and situated in 23o 6’ N. and 77o 18 E.;
and Dādarapadra may have been the modern village of Dāvrī, about 25 kms. south-west of Bil-
quisgang. It may however, be remarked here that the identification of both these villages is
purely hypothetical, for besides the similarity in the names we have nothing more to substantiate our views except that both these places are situated in the Bhopāl region, which, as we
have just seen, was a part of the Mahādvādaśaka-maṇḍala.
[1] Supra, p. 135.
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