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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CHANDELLAS OF JEJAKABHUKTI broad by 24 cms. high and is in a fair state of preservation, except one letter each in ll. 2 and 3 where it is slightly damaged, though it can well be made out. The average height of the letters is 3 to 5 cms. The inscription consists of four lines. The characters are Nāgarī. They are beautifully formed and carefully engraved. The vowel a while occurs only once, in l. 5, begins with a curve ; and among the consonants, ch shows its loop triangular in –nācha-, l. 4 ; the joining bar of s continues to be a curvature of the lowest extremity of its left limb ; see Saṁgrāmasīha, l. 3 ; and h has developed a tail as in the same example. R shows two different forms in the same word –pratīhāra,< l. 3. The language is Sanskrit, influenced by the local dialect, as we find from the use of –Sīha and -nāchaṇi-, both in l. 4. The inscription is in prose ; and orthographically there is nothing worth noting, except that m after r is doubled in –varmma-, l. 2. The inscription refers itself to the illustrious Mahārāja Madanavarmadēva, whose name figures in l. 2. The family to which this king belonged is not mentioned in the record, but the title of the king and the discovery of the inscription at Kālañjara, which was a stronghold of the Chandēlla rulers, leave little doubt that he was no other than the son of Pṛithvīvarman and the grandson of the illustrious Kīrttivarman, as we know from the other inscriptions of the house.
The date of the record, as mentioned in numerical figures only, is (Vikrama) Saṁvat 1186 without further particulars ; and the year, if taken as the northern Vikrama expired, corresponds to 1129 A.C. In the absence of the necessary details the date cannot be verified. Opening with the year and mentioning the name of the king, the inscription introduces the mahā-pratīhāra (the great personal attendant of the king) of the name of Saṁgrāmasiṁha and the great (court) dancer Padmāvatī. The object is not stated therein but the record appears to mention some benefactions made to the deity by both these persons. The last two names Lāshu and Auji appear to represent those persons who engraved the record ; or these names may have been written some time subsequently and have no concern with the main record. We have nothing to ascertain either of the views. The importance of the inscription lies in the fact that it furnishes the earliest year for the reign of Madanavarman. The geographical name mentioned in the record is that of Kālañjara, which is the well- known fort as we have often seen.
TEXT[1]
No. 116 ; PLATE CVIII-A
THIS inscription was brought to notice by General Alexander Cunningham, who published
his transcript thereof, in Roman characters, with an English translation and a small-scale
lithograph in his Archaeological Survey of India Reports, Vol. XXI (1883-1885), p. 34 and
Plate X-B. The inscription is edited here from the same plate.
1 From an impression which I owe to the Chief Epigraphist, Archaeological Survey of India. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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