North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE SILAHARAS OF KOLHAPUR

the possession of the Trustees of the temple of Kanakāditya (the Sun) at Kaśēḷī in the Rājāpur tālukā of the Ratnāgiri District. As shown below, the plates have a grant of the Śilāhāra king of the Kolhāpur branch inscribed on them. On the back of the last plate, however, a later grant has been engraved in Marathi. Mr. V.K. Rajvade, a well-known researcher of Mahārāshṭra, discussed the contents of both the records in the Annual Report of the Bhārata Itihāsa Saṁśodhaka Maṇḍal for Śaka 1835. The Marathi inscription was later deciphered by Dr. M.G. Dikshit in the Maṇḍal Saṁśōdhana Patrikā, Vol. VI, pp. 14 f. It has also been included and discussed by Dr. S.G. Tulpule in his Prāchīna Marāṭhī Kōrīva Lēkha, pp. 193 f. As the original copper plates are not procurable, I have studied the original grant with the help of the transcript of the Sanskrit portion given by Taylor and the later addition with the help of the facsimile of the Marathi portion in Dr. Tulpule’s work. Fortunately, Dr. Taylor has published the transcript of the Sanskrit grant line by line according to the original plates. [1]

..The copper plates are three in number, strung on a ring with a figure on its seal which Rajvade took to be Hanumān, but which is probably Garuḍa as in the case of other grants of the Śilāhāras. Each plate measures 121/2 inches (31.75 cm.) long 81/2 inches (21.59 cm.) broad and 1/5” (.51 cm.) thick. The total weight of the plates is 161/2 lbs. (7.48 kg.) The first plate has on its outer side the figure of a cow with a calf, with a sword or a dagger in front, and the sun and the moon above her horns. Near the figure of the Sun the word dēvaprada has been engraved [2]. The Sanskrit grant is engraved on the inner side of the first plate, both the sides of the second plate and the inner side, again, of the third plate. This record appears to be in a good state of preservation. The Marathi record is engraved on the outer side of the third plate and is considerably damaged.

.. The characters must evidently be of the Nāgarī alphabet, but as the original plates have not been available for inscription, their peculiarities cannot be sated. The language of the original grant is Sanskrit as already stated, and the record is partly in verse and partly in prose, like most other grants of the Śilāhāras. Most of the verses in the initial eulogistic portion descriptive of the early kings up to Gaṇḍarāditya occur in the earlier Kolhāpur plates of that king dated Śaka 1048. The next two verses eulogising his successor Vijayāditya also occur in an earlier grant, but verse 13 descriptive of his achievements and verses 14 and 15 descriptive of his son, the reigning king Bhōja, are new. The prose portion contains several birudas of Bhōja II, which occur in the present grant only. The formal portion is in prose, and is followed by the usual benedictory and imprecatory verses. The last line records the name of the engraver. Strange as it may seem, he is of the Brāhmaṇa caste.

.. The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Śilāhāras king Bhōja II of Kolhāpur. His genealogy is given as in the Kolhāpur plates of Gaṇḍarāditya, the names of his two successors being added at the end. One of the new verses mentions Vijayāditya’s reinstatement of the rulers of Sthānaka and Gōvā and assistance to Bijjaṇa to gain imperial position. His queen Ratnā is mentioned in the eulogy of his son Bhōja II. The object of the inscription is to record the grant, by Bhōja II, of the village Kaśēli for providing food daily to twelve Brāhmaṇas. The village was situated in the territorial division of Aṭṭavira in Kōṅkaṇa. While stating the boundaries of the village the river Kurula, the ocean and the village Ambēvarika have been mentioned. The grant was made at the request and for the prosperity of the prince Gaṇḍarāditya, on the holy occasion of the Dakshiṇāyana-saṅkrānti, which occurred on Thursday, the fourth tithi of the bright fortnight of Āshāḍha, when
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[1] The transcript has omitted some anusvāras etc. and read some aksharas wrongly. However, I have taken the transcript to be an accurate copy of the original and have suggested the necessary emendations in foot-notes.
[2] P.M.K.L., p. 193.