North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA

written instead of Tuesday”. Thus, in view of his calculations, Tuesday, the 19th August, 1225 A.C. seems to be really the day on which the grant was made and on which day there was a lunar eclipse also. [1]

... Lines 72-5 refer to the usual conditions of the grant, which are the same as of the Kings belonging to this dynasty ; [2] and lines 76-8 give the imprecatory stanzas (vv. 24-27). The last two lines of the charter record the date in figures, as stated above, and also tell us that the inscription was composed by the royal preceptor Madana, under the guidance of the Mahā- Sāndhi-vigrahika (the great Minister of peace and war) Paṇḍita Bilhaṇa. [3] This is followed by the sign-manual of the Mahārāja-Śrī-Dēvapāla, and with the usual maṅgalaṁ mahā-śrīḥ, as also to be seen in the several grants of the dynasty, the charter comes to a close.

...The inscription does not specify Dēvapāla’s relationship with Arjunavarman whom he is said to have succeeded, or the state of affairs leading to the former’s accession. In this respect we have already seen in the preceding record that Arjunavarman of the main branch probably died without leaving a male heir, and Dēvapāla of the subordinate branch, who first succeeded his father Hariśchandra on the subordinate throne, seems to have had an opportunity of uniting both the houses and occupying the throne of Dhārā.

... The number of donees of the present grant is 32 in all, as will be clear from the abstract list, given below. In each case, the charter gives the gōtra and pravaras of the donee, [4] with the names of his father and grandfather, with his epithet or family name or his distinctive designation in an abbreviated from, alonġ with his place (or country) of origin, and excepting in two instances (Nos. 8 and 10), also the Vēdic śākhās or the Vēdas studied by them. In this respect it is interesting to note that the family names or the distinctive designations change not only in one generation but sometimes with each generation. Thus whereas a donee has one epithet, his father a separate and his grandfather a still separate one. For example, Bhadrēśvara is stated to have borne the epithet Śukla, his father was Āvasathika and grandfather, Dīkshita (1.25). Lāhaḍa calls himself Dīkshita ; his father was Agnihōtrin and his grandfather Upādhyāya, (11. 63-4). Narasiṁha is stated to be Āvasathika, but his father and grandfather are called Dīkshita and Agnihōtrin, respectively (1.65). From these and from some other instances that may be noted, it is evident that the epithets or family-names in those days were not necessarily stereotyped as they are now, handed down unchanged to children and grand –children. [5]

The proceeds of the whole village granted in favour of the Brāhmaṇas were divided into 32½ shares (vaṇṭakas) [6] in a manner as shown in the following table :

No. of donees............No. of shares allotted to each..........Total No. of shares
26............................... .… .......................1...................…................. 26
3 ...................................................... ….. ½ …................................ .1½
2 ......................................................… ...1½.................................….3
1 …......................................................... 2 ...................................…2
_______ ........................................................................................_______
Total 32 ..........................................................................................32½
_______ ........................................................................................_______

...The charter says nothing about half of the remaining share and the only presumption that we can make in this respect is that perhaps it was the same as already donated to gods (i.e. temples) and Brāhmaṇas as can be seen from the statement dēva-brāhmaṇa-varjaṁ (1. 74), or it was reserved for some other purposes, e.g., for marking the boundry, etc.
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[1] Also see D. R. Bhandarkar’s remarks in his I. N. I., No. 480.
[2] As we have already noted, the word kaṅkaṭa in the expression chatush-kaṅkaṭa-viśuddhaṁ is a local word known in Mālwā in its corrupt from Kāṅkaḍa, to denote the fallow ground left as boundary mark between two fields or villages. D.C. Sircar interprets the expression as chatushkaṁ kaṭa-, for which see his I. E. G.
[3] He is the same person with whose consent grants Nos. 47 and 48 were drafted ; and Madana, the sculptor, is also the same who engraved these two inscriptions.
[4] To the name of each of the donees the word śarman is suffixed ; and with the exception of Madhyadēśa and Hastināpura (11. 63-67 and 70 respectively), the name of the place or country of his origin has the word sthāna attached to each.
[5] Cf. also the same case in Nos. 1-2, above, and No. 60, below.
[6] Kielhorn observed that vaṇṭaka is synonymous with pada ; and we may note that it is perhaps derived from the root vaṇṭ, to divide.

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