South Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

grant, by Pravarasēna II, of the village Charamāṅka situated on the bank of the Madhunadī in the rājya (division) of Bhōjakaṭa which consisted of 8000 nivartanas by the royal measure. The donees were a thousand Brāhmaṇas¹. The grant was made at the request of Kōṇḍarāja, the son of Śatrughnarāja. This Kōṇḍarāja is also mentioned in line 45 of the Paṭṭan plates. The grant is dated on the thirteenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Jyēsṭha in the 18thth regnal year. The Sēnāpati was Chitravarman. From the Belōrā plates, Set B, we know that Chitravarman was holding the same post seven years earlier in the 11thth regnal year of Pravarasēna II.

... As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Pravarapura, which finds a mention here for the first time, was evidently the later capital of Pravarasēna II. His earlier capital was Nandivardhana from which his two earlier grants were issued. Pravarapura was evidently founded by Pravarasēna II and named after himself. He appears to have shifted his seat of government there some time after his eleventh regnal year. The exact location of Pravarapura was long uncertain; but the recent discovery of several sculptures of the Gupta-Vākāṭaka period at Pavnār, 6 miles from Wardhā, has rendered it probable that the village marks the site of ancient Pravarapura. Charmāṅka is, of course, Chammak where the plates were discovered. The Madhunadī on the bank of which it was situated is now called Chandrabhāgā. Bhōjakaṭa, the headquarters of the division (rājya) in which Charmāṅka was included, is an ancient city. It was founded by Rukmin, the brother-in-law of Kṛishṇa. When the latter abducted his sister Rukmiṇī, he vowed that he would not return to Kuṇḍinapura, the capital of Vidarbha, unless he killed Kṛishṇa and rescued his sister. As he did not succeed in this, he refused to return to Kuṇḍinapura, but founded a new city named Bhōjakaṭa where he fixed his residence². Bhōjakaṭa is usually identified with Bhātkulī, a village about 8 miles from Amarāvatī where there is still a temple of Rukmin. Some images of Jain Tīrthaṅkaras were also discovered there several years ago.

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¹Though the Brāhmaṇa donees are said to have numbered a thousand, only 49 are actually mentioned at the end of the record. Perhaps they represented others or were the heads of the families. It is also unlikely that the word sahasra is used indefinitely in the sense of a large number. Cf. varsha-sahasra-go-brāhmaṇa. . . . in line 15 of the Junāgaḍh rock inscription of Rudradāman, Ep. Ind., Vol. VIII, p. 44, and vasa-sata-sahasāya in the Prakrit grant of Sivaskandavarman, ibid., Vol. I, p. 7.
² Cf. स्वसारं तु  रुक्‍मी मानमदान्वितः ।  हीनप्रतिज्ञो नैच्छत्स प्रवेष्‍टुं  कुण्‍डिनं पुरम्‌ ॥  विदर्भेषु निवासाथै निर्ममेऽन्यत्पुरं महत्‌ । तद्धोजकटमित्येव वभूव भुवि विश्रुतम्‌ ॥Harivaṁśa, II, 60, 31-32.
³ From the plates facing pp. 240-41 in Fleet’s C.I.I., Vol. III.
⁴ Read षोडश्‍यतिरात्र-.
⁵ Read विष्‍णुवृद्ध-.
⁶ Read सम्राजो.