North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CHANDELLAS OF JEJAKABHUKTI

both in l. 11, and v, as in –pura-, l. 7, Ś shows its antique forms as in śubha, l. 6, and occasionally it is only a triangle surmounted by a hook ; see kuśalī , l. 3; s which is in its older form occasionally appears as modern, e.g., in Sachī-, l. 4. And finally, h is occasionally without the tail ; cf. mahārāja-, l. 1. One akshara each in ll. 6 and 9 was originally omitted and is engraved above and below the line.

There are a few instances showing that some of the letters have totally different forms than in the rest of the record : e.g., ś yaśō-, l. 10, jña in -ājñā, l. 14,sya in yasya and ph in phalam, both in l. 16. Mistakes of writing or engraving, e.g., vāḥ for kaḥ in dhārmmikaḥ, and guḥ for jñaḥ in kṛita-jñaḥ, both in l. 5, and others are pointed out in the text that follows. There are a few grammatical errors, e.g., kṛishāpayatu and the use of the wrong dvandva compound in kshityudadhiṁ for ─ dhi (neuter), both in l. 15 ; they are also corrected in the text.

The language is Sanskrit ; and except two stanzas devoted to the description of the donor Dēvavarman in ll. 4∙6 and five imprecatory verses in the concluding portion, the record is composed in prose. The verses are not numbered. A tendency of the writing, as to be seen in some other records also,¹ is the use of a daṇḍa to denote a comma as well, as in ll. 3 and 10-13 ; and another peculiarity is to introduce verses in the very middle of a prose portion (see vv. 1-2) as in a Champū-kāvya.

In respect of orthography, we may note the following : (1) the general use of the sign for v to denote b as well, as invōdhayati, l. 8; (2) occasionally putting the dental for the palatal sibilant, e.g., in Sachī for Śachī, l. 4 and saila for śaila, l. 12 ; (3) the doubling of a class-consonant following r, as in -karmmāṇau and svargga-, both in l. 17, with rare exceptions like-varjita-, l. 13 ; (4) the sparing use of the pṛishṭha-mātrā ; (5) the wrong change of the final m to an anusvāra at the end of a sentence as in upanētavyaṁ and bhavitavyaṁ, respectively in ll. 14 and 16, and also at the end of a stich as in ll. 18-19, and vice versa in sāmvatsarike, ll. 8-9 ; (6) the general use of an anusvāra except in four instances, viz., jitēndriya-, l. 5, -ānanda-, l. 6. bhagavanta-, l. 9 and paryanta-, l. 13, where the dental nasal is correctly used ; and finally, (7) the wrong spellings of arghya as argha and dattvā as datvā, both in l. 9, and of puṇya as punya in l. 10.

It is a royal charter and its object is to record the grant of a village by king Dēvavarman, in honour of the first death-anniversary of his mother Bhuvanadēvī ; and the day is recorded to be Monday falling on the third of the dark half of Vaiśākha of the (Vikrama) year 1107. The details of the date are to be discussed below.

The inscription opens with the auspicious symbol for Siddham, followed by a prose passage naming the ancestors of Dēvavarman, introducing him as Parama-bhaṭṭāraka, Mahārājādhirāja Paramēśvara, and the supreme lord of Kālañjara, meditating on the feet of the P.M.P., the illustrious Vijayapāladēva who, in his turn, had meditated on the feet of P.M.P., the illustrious Vidyādharadēva. The inscription does not name the family to which all these kings belonged ; but from the occurrence of these names in succession and also from the use of the epithet Kālañjarādhipati, they may safely be taken as belonging to the house of the Chandēllas holding their sway over the Vindhya region, particularly when Dēvavarman who issued this grant has given us another record in the very next year which is to be dealt with just below. Dēvavarman is further described as a great warrior (ll. 3-4); and in a stanza that follows, he is said to have surpassed Yudhishṭhira by his truthfulness, the ruler of Champā i.e., Karṇa, by his generosity, the ocean by his depth, the lord of Śachī (Indra) by his might, the mind-born (Kāmadēva) by his handsomeness and Śukra and Vāchaspatī (Guru) by his shrewdness. The next stanza describes him as endowed with many good qualities, stating that he was wise, righteous, valiant, truthful, subduing senses and grateful.

Then the record says that ‘having realized that the world which is beautiful to look at is like the innermost part of a plantain tree and void of substance’, on the day as stated above, after performing all the rites and in the presence of all the mahattamas and the janapadas (chief and other persons), the Brāhmaṇas and others dwelling at the village of Kaṭhahau which appertains to Raṇamau in the Rājapura avasthā,² the king Dēvavarman, from his camp at Suhavāsa, donated the village, exclusive of what had already been given, the occasion being the death
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¹ As also is the Sēmrā grant of Paramardin, below, No. 126.
² This word seems to be connected with avasatha or avasthāna, a dwelling place. Here it may be taken to denote a town or a territorial unit.