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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF VAGADA No. 83 ; PLATE LXXXIII ... THE stone bearing this inscription is built into a wall of the temple of Maṇḍalēśvara (locally known by the corrupt name Maṇḍlēsar) Mahādēva at Pānāhēḍā,[1] a village in the former State of Bāṅswāḍā, which is now the chief town of a district of the same name in Rājasthān. The record was first brought to notice by Gaurishankar Ojha in the Annual Report of the Rājputānā Museum, Ajmer, for 1916-17, pages 2 ff. ; and subsequently it was edited by R.R. Halder, in the Epigraphia Indica, Volume XXI, pp. 41 ff., with text in the Nāgarī characters (pp. 44-9), but without a facsimile. But, besides the fact that Halder’s treatment of the record is not exhaustive, his reading of the text suffers from some minor imccuracies,[2] as will be known from the subjoined transcript; and though these inaccuracies do not affect the historical facts, they doubtless deteriorate the value of an elegant literary composition. The inscription is edited here, from inked impressions, which, at my request, were prepared and supplied to me by the Superintending Archaeologist of the Western Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. The text was thereafter also revised from an impression which I owe to the Chief Epigraphist, Archaeological Survey of India. ...Unfortunately, the stone on which this record is incised is broken in three pieces, and only the portions on the right and left are now available.[3] The middle portion thereof has entirely disappeared from top to bottom. The writing, when the slab was entire, measured about 80 cms. broad by 50.4 cms. high ; whereas the part of the stone which is now lost is so irregular that it is calculated to measure 34 cms. broad in 11. 1-6, and widening in 11. 20 to 30 and also taking off along with it, an almost semi-circular fragment so as to show its breadth 26 and 11 cms., respectively in these lines, it again lessens in breadth which is 7.5 cms. in the end. But the extant portion of the record is satisfactorily preserved, except that a part of the surface of the stone in the right side thereof has altogether peeled off, taking away one or two aksharas in 1. 34-47, with it.
...The inscription consists of 38 lines of writing; and the characters are carefully drawn and well engraved. They are occasionally ornamental, as in khaḍga, 1. 5; but there are cases when some redundant strokes make their forms somewhat indistinct, for example, śāla in 1. 1 has become śāma; garala in 1. 3, śarala; chaṁchat in 1. 8, vāṁchat ; kāma in 1. 16, kāna; and mālavānāṁ in 1. 17, māvavānāṁ . The average size of the letters varies from 8 to 15 mms. including the flourishes and mātrās at the top. ...
The characters are Nāgarī of the eleventh century. The initial short i is denoted by two
hollow circles subscribed by the sign for the medial short u, as in iva, 1. 20. and the same
vowel in its long from is to be seen only once, in Iśānēna, 1. 2, where it is distinguished by a
horizontal stroke above. The left limb of g often resembles th , as in pannaga-, 1. 2; ṅ has not
developed its dot; cf. paṅka, 1. 7; and the aksharas ch, dh and v are almost identical in form,
though occasionally the loop of the first two of them is slightly angular; see chitta-chaura and
daṇḍ-ādhīśa, both in 1. 26. The rare jh occurs only in one instance, jhaṁkāra, 1. 34, where it
almost resembles the modern kra; the subscript forms of chh and th are similar; cf. sthānē
kachchhōka, 1. 31 ; and ṇ is formed as l; see prayāṇē and chaturṇām =arṇṇavānāṁ, both in 1, 17.
Kh and t have often no tail; e..g., in khura, 1. 9 and dyōtatē, 1. 38. The forms of the letters t. [1]
Now known as Pārāhēḍā, the place is about 8 kms. due east-northeast of Gaḍhī, the head-quarters of a tehsīl in the Bāṅswāḍā District and connected with it, by a cart-track.
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