|
The Indian Analyst
|
|
North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CHANDELLAS OF JEJAKABHUKTI side, again, the lines leave an open space which increases almost uniformly in each of the subsequent lines and thus the alignment of the record is not exactly vertical but slightly slanting inwards. The average height of the letters ranges between ∙5 and ∙7 cms. The characters of the inscription are Nāgarī of the tenth century, to which the record belongs. To note the peculiarities of the formation of some of the letters, we find that g as a subscript is engraved as n, cf. svargga-, l. 13; ṅ continues to be devoid of its dot, as in bhaṅga and kalaṅka, both in l. 5; and ch, dh and v are often alike ; see dhavala-, l. 3 and chandra-, l. 5 ; occasionally the first of these letters, i.e., ch, resembles v; see chatuḥ-, l.10 ; and in a few instances dh shows the beginning of a horn on its fore-limb, as in vasudhā, l. 12, where the verticals of dhā are also joined. The letters t, n, and ś appear in their antique form; see nayan-āmṛita- and -śchandra-, both in l. 1. P is often engraved as y; cf. parama, l. 6, and y is generally found with the curve bent upwards so as to serve the purpose of the vertical ; see yasya, l. 12. R, which is generally marked as a vertical with a horizontal stroke attached to the middle of its left, does resembles, v, as in kairava-, l. 5, and is sometimes also like g, as in ravi-, l. 8 ; this letter in its subscript form is shown by a serif ; cf. praṇayi-, l. 1. The signs for n and v are not frequently distinguished ; cf. vṛiddha- and tmana-, both in l.11, and also the signs for ch and v; see chatuḥ and nāma-, both in l. 10. The medial short u is a slanting stroke attached to the middle of the vertical and bent to the right ; see -aśru, l. 4; and the sign for the medial long ū is shown by a loop turned upwards and then suddenly bent down ; cf. bhūmiṁ, l. 12. A curious form of ph appears in phalam, l. 12. The language of the record is Sanskrit ; and it is written in an admixture of prose are poetry. In all these are thirteen verses which are not numbered. With reference to orthography, we may note (1) the use of the sign for v to denote b as well, as in vahubhi-, l. 12 ; (2) the general use of the pṛishṭha-mātrā with a few exceptions ; (3) the reduplication of a class-consonant following r as in suvarṇṇa-, l. 13, and frequently of a class-consonant preceding r, as in mittra-, l.1 ; (4) the correct use of all the sibilants and class-nasals ; and finally, (5) no change of m to an anusvāra in samvatsara, l. 7, and samvat, l. 8 ; and the use of the dental nasal in pratigrihnāti. l. 12.
The inscription is one of Dhaṅgadēva of the Chandēlla Dynasty. Its object is to record the bestowal, by Dhaṅga himself, of the village Chulli (or Yulli connected with Ūsharavāha, to Yaśōdhara bhaṭṭa, son of the bhaṭṭa Jayakumāra of the Bhāradvāja gōtra, with the three pravaras viz., Bhāradvāja, Āṅgirasa and Bārhaspatya, of the Vājasanēya śākhā, who had migrated from Tarkārikā. Yaśōdhara was the grand-father of the donee of the Nanyaurā grant of Dēvavarman, as will be discussed below while editing that grant.[2] The present grant was made by the king for the increase of the religious merit and fame of his parents and himself, from Kāśikā i.e., Vārāṇasī, on Sunday, the lunar-eclipse day in the month of Kārttika in the (Vikrama) Year 1055, as expressed both in words and numerical figures. The corresponding Christian date is Sunday, the 6th of November, 998 A. C. when there was a lunar eclipse visible in India.[3]
The inscription opens with the symbol for Siddham, followed by seven stanzas giving the
genealogy. The first two of these stanzas introduce Harshadēva, mentioning him to be valorous
and fierce like the scorching Sun of summer and also endowed with some other qualities. Stanzas
3 and 4 mention his son Yaśōvarman, who earned fame ‘by cleaving the temples of opponents’
elephants ; and the following three stanzas describe Yaśōvarman’s son, Dhaṅgadēva, stating
that he was victorious in countless battles, righteous and just. All this description is merely
poetic, the verses being good examples of the classical style of composition, containing figures as
speech like upamā, rūpaka and parisaṅkhyā. Historically they are of no value, as all the three
kings who are mentioned here with their mutual relationship are already known from the other
records of the house. All these three names are repeated in the prose passage that follows and
[1] See text, n, on the name, below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| > |
|
>
|
