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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PARAMARAS OF VAGADA ARTHŪNA STONE INSCRIPTION OF THE TIME OF CHĀMUNḌARAJA ... The script in which the inscription is written is Nāgarī; and all that need be said about the palaeography is that the vowel i is shown by two dots placed horizontally with a stroke below, as in iti-, 1. 12; the letter ḍ has an uncouth form making it appear as the initial u of Nāgarī, as in maṁḍala, 1. 2; the conjunct ṇṇ is written as ṇl, e.g., in suvarṇṇa-varṇṇa-, 1. 4; the subscript form of t is represented by a slanting stroke as the subscript r, as in stuvē, 1. 2; the consonant dh, which has of course developed a horn on its left limb, continues to be without a top-stroke, see dharm- mya-, 1. 8; and finally, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the forms of s and m, for which cf. –suta-, 1. 5. ...The language is Sanskrit; and except for the introductory salutation ōṁ namō Vīta- rāgāya, an expression consisting of five akshara in 1. 14 and the year in 1. 15, the inscription is metrically composed. There are sixteen verses; they are not numbered. orthography calls only for the general remarks, e.g., the use of the same sign for b and v, as in vuddhi-, 1. 9; the doubling of a consonant following r, e.g., in varṇṇa, 1. 4; the occasional use of the dental for the palatal sibilant; see palāsa, 1. 10; and the general use of the pṛishṭha-mātrā, except in a few instances like rēkhā, 1. 1, and tulyē, 1. 9. ... The object of the inscription is to record the construction of a Jaina temple (at the place where the stone was found) by Chāhilla (?) during the reign of Chāmuṇḍarāja, who belonged to the Paramāra dynasty. The year of the inscription, as given in 1. 15, is 1159 of the (Vikrama) era. The corresponding Christian year is 1101 A.C., taking the year to be current. The month, the fortnight and the tithi are not recorded in the inscription, The name of the composer appears to have been given in 1. 14, or 15, and that of the engraver at the end; but they are now no longer legible.
... After salutation to Vītarāga, as stated above, the poet pays homage to Vṛishabhēndranāṭha, i.e., Ṛishabhanātha, the first Jaina pontiff. [1] Verses 2-9 describe the pedigree of the man who erected the temple. We are told here that there was a person named Śrīsēna, who had hailed from Mathurā, and his disciple was Chhatrasēna. Another person, a gold-smith, whose name is lost and who appears to have been devoted to both of them, had son of the name of Chāhilla. Chāhilla’s wife was Gaurī, who had a son whose name is again lost. He is stated to have resembled Chāṇakya in intellect. Verse 10 states that this person was respected (or probably appointed an officer) by the Paramāra king Chāmuṇḍarāja; and he built a temple, evidently the one where the stone was found. Verse 15 is meant to describe the poet who composed the record; but his name too is no longer existent. Thereafter, with the year as seen above, and desiring the shrine to be everlasting, the existing part of the inscription ends.
TEXT
[2]
[1]
This verse contains such expressions as may be applicable to both. i.e., the Jaina pontiff and Śiva. But from the expression Vītarāga, which conventionally denotes the Jaina deity, I understand the stanza as mainly intended to denote the same; and the temple, the name of which is lost in verse 13 to have been a Jaina temple, as is also shown by the find-spot of the inscribed stone.
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