North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA

MANDHATA COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF THE JAYAVARMAN

record consists of 140 lines of writing, the first and the obverse side of the second plate containing 21 and 22 lines respectively, and all the other sides showing 23 lines each, excepting the last side which has only five, as stated above. In the proper right side beneath the writing, in a square measuring 19 cms., is engraved a representation of Garuḍa, the emblem of the royal Paramāra dynasty and common to all the grants issued by the members of this house. The figure is 13 cms. high by 11 cms. broad, and in technical execution it resembles the one engraved on the inscription of the same king from the same place, issued on V.S. 1317. The image is enshrined in a structure with a plain rectangular pillar divided into three parts, on either side, and supporting the roof which consists of three superimposed slabs, which, in their turn, support the spire, all looking like a miniature shrine as was in vogue in Mālava during the time when the record was issued. [1] The exact shape of it may be seen from the photolithograph.

...The alphabet is Nāgarī, bearing a close resemblance to that of the Māndhātā grant of the king, which was engraved only fourteen years before, in V.S. 1317. As regards the individual letters, initial a generally appears with a vertical stroke above a curve on the left, as in atha, 1.26, but it is often indistinguishable from śra, as in aśrānta-, 1.4. The initial i shows no less than three different forms ; (a) a loop with a curve above and subscribed by the sign for medial u ; cf. iti, 1.25, iva, 1.57, and itthaṁ, 1. 74 ;(b) a vertical between two loops subscribed by the same sign but ending in a sharp curve ; cf. iti, 11. 37 and 137 ; and (c) two open loops assuming a ś-like curve and thus showing a form which is the precursor of the Nāgarī i, as in iti in 11.8, 14 and 138. Initial ē with its vertical not fully developed occasionally resembles the letter pa, as in ēsha-, 1. 86 ; and the initial ō, which appears only once in 1. 82, almost resembles the same symbol, as in 1. 1. The initial form of ṛi has assumed the modern shape, as in Ṛigvēda-, in 11. 96, 98 and 103. Of the consonants, the signs for ch and v are clearly distinguishable, for which see virachayya, 1. 1 ; j has almost begun to assume its modern form ; cf. jala-, 1.4 ; the subscript forms of chh and th are alike, see –ichchhā- and sthira, both in 1.32, and ṇṇ is indicated by a single letter marked across by a slanting bar, as in karṇṇa-, 1. 30. Dh shows a transitional stage ; the upper loop of its left limb is mostly a curve separated from the lower one, as in dharmmā-, 1. 1, but occasionally, this curve is substituted by a straight horn, as in vadhū, 1. 61, and dhūta, 1. 63; and in dhuta 1.54, it has also assumed its modern form. The subscript form of this letter continues to be engraved so as to resemble v, as in dvē,1. 9 ; and the verticals of dhā continue to be joined, as in vasudhā, 1.63. And lastly, r also has assumed its modern form, but the wedge at its lower limb is prominently shown, as in virachayya in line 1.

...The language of the record is Sanskrit ; and except for the opening sentence paying obeisance to dharmma, as in the preceding grant of the king, the formal portion in 11. 86-134, and a sentence giving the name of the engraver in the end, the whole record is in verse. In all there are 72 stanzas ; and with the exception of one of them in 11. 93-94, which is generally found in all the Paramāra plates, and the concluding five which are imprecatory and benedictory, all the remaining 66 verses are numbered, indicating specimens of the numerical figures current at that time. The verses are composed in an ornate and highly flown style abounding in figure. The language is generally correct, though there are a few grammatical and other errors, which are noticed below, in the text, or in the foot-notes appended to it.

... The orthography shows the following peculiarities : (1) the doubling of a class-consonant after r, as in -arṇṇava 1. 131, with a few exceptions as in chandr-ārkka in the same line ; (2) the usual occurrence of v for b, as in vibhrat, 1.7 ;(3) the confusion of the palatal and the dental sibilants, the former of which is wrongly put about twenty times even in most common words like viśrānti-, -Īśvara and Śaṁbhōr-, all in 1.82, and vice versa to be noted about half-a-dozen times, e.g., in haṁśa-, 1. 23 and -avataṁśa, 1. 39 ;(4) The lingual sibilant wrongly occurs in dṛishya-, in 1. 12 ;(5) the confusion between the dental and the palatal nasals is shown by examples like Sivir = ṇṇa, 1, 30 and pravana for -ṇa, 1. 54; (6) the confusion between kha and sha can be illustrated by putting shaḍgēna, sishara- and Lashaṇapura, respectively in 11. 54, 81 and 102; and vice versa in sumakhi- for –shi and sarvaṁkakhē (for –shē)in 11. 3 and 70, respectively. (7) There is a general tendency to use the sign of anusvāra for the final m even at the end of a hemistich, except in a very few instances ; (8) the midial dipthongs are indicated both by the pṛishṭha-
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[1] For example, see P. R. A. S. I., W. C., 1920, Pl. XIX-B.

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