|
The Indian Analyst
|
North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF MALWA Nāgarī alphabet ; see I-, 1.5 ; the conjunct gg continues to appear as gn, in vargga,1. 8 ; the loop of ch is triangular, as in uvācha, 1. 7 ; dh and v are almost similar in form, cf. vasudhā-ādhipa, 1.9; and the verticals of dhā are joined by a horizontal stroke, as in the same instance. J and dh continue their old forms, though somewhat advanced ; see Bhōjarāja-, 1. 18 ; and the subscript r is generally indicated in its full form with its superscript half drawn, as in -āśrayaṁtī, 1. 3. The tail of this subscript is often not sharp, making it appear to be a serif ;I. namra and nagendra. both in 1. 4. The language is Sanskrit ; and, with the exception of a short sentence paying obeisance to Śiva, in the beginning, the whole inscription is metrically composed. The existing portion contains twenty-two verses, which are not numbered, and with only the first ten aksharas of the next verse, the inscription abruptly comes to a close. The orthographical peculiarities shown by the writing are more or less the same as to be found in the contemporary inscriptions, viz. (1) we have the use of v to donated b as well, as in vala, 1. 6; (2) a class-consonant following r is generally doubled; cf. akharvvita and Arvvuda, both in the same line; (3) the dental sibilant is frequently used for the palatal, as in vasatāṁ for vaśatāṁ in 1.3; but of the reverse we have only one instance in viśrastāṅgō, 1. 23; (4) the sign of avagraha is employed four times to indicate the merging of a into the preceding ē in 11. 6 (twice), and 18; (5) the anusvāra generally does the duty of the class-nasals; see Gaṁgā, kuṁḍa, Sindhurāja and Śaṁbhu, in 11. 1, 6, 17 and 1, respectively. This sign is also used, of course wrongly, at the end of a hemistich, as in vv. 11 and 16; and lastly, (6) the pṛishṭhamātrā is generally used, with its vertical showing a bend, as of the other letters. ...The language is fluent and sometimes the expressions remind us of the writings of old poets. [1] But occasionally there are mistakes of grammar, gender and prosody. The word khaḍga (masculine) is used in neuter in 1. 17 (v. 15); as Bühler has already noted, in the first half of the very first verse the word ālavāla is broken into two, the first two of the letters ending its first quarter and the rest two beginning the second; in v. 2 the words avas(ś)yam=aniśaṁ appear to be unnecessary and the expression sura-vāsa-vēs(ś)yāḥ for apsarasas in the same verse in not happy. But ignoring these literary foils, the inscription is important as it gives a complete and exhaustive genealogy of the Paramāra house from the earliest ruler down to Udayāditya. It does not bear any date nor is the purpose shown in the existing portion. It is a praśasti, intended to be put in a part of the temple, as stated above.
...After the introductory Oṁ namaḥ Śivāya, the inscription has four I the first two of which are devoted to invoke the blessings of Śiva, and the third and the fourth eulogise Pārvatī and Gaṇēśa, respectively. It is interesting to note here that an invocation to the latter two deities occurs here for the first time in an inscription pertaining to this house.
...
The inscription then proceeds to trace the genealogy of the Paraṁāra house of Mālwā. It
tells us in vv. 5-6 that a hero who had sprung from the fire-altar of Vasishṭha on the Mount
Arbuda(Ābū) slew the enemies and brought back the cow of the sage which Viśvāmitra had taken
away, and was, in reward of this deed, given the name of Paramāra (slayer of the foes) by Vasishṭha
who also blessed him with kingship.
[2]
This account is purely legendary, a later creation, and can
mean nothing more than to invent a high origin for the house, calling the Paramāras as belonging
to agni-kula, exactly similar to that of the races born from the Sun and moon.
[3]
The present inscription, as we may note here, is the first to mention this legend, which is echoed in
the later epigraphical records of the house, e,g., in Nagpur Museum inscription and the
Māndhātā copper-plate grant of Jayasiṁha II, as we shall see below. It also figures in the
records of the Paramāras of Ābū, the earliest of them being the Vasantagaḍh stone inscription
of Pūrṇapāla, dated (V.) S. 1099, corresponding to 1042 A.C.
[4]
and still earlier in Padmagupta’s
Navasāhasāṅkacharita, which was composed about 1005 A.C.P
[5]
This myth, which also figures
in bardic account, as Bühler had long since assumed, had probably arisen on Mt. Ābū, where
[1]
For example, cf. the beginning of verse 2 where we have as echo of the maṅgalācharaṅa in Bhavabhūti’s MālatīMādhava.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| > |
|
>
|