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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE YAJVAPALAS OF NARWAR and we also find limbs of some of the letters occasionally omitted, e.g., tasmād- in l. 7 appears as tasgād-, without the horizontal stroke of m, and viśva- in l. 1, as vimva, as the tail of the left limb of s is omitted. On the other hand, a redundant chisel stroke has changed g to m in gamya-, l. 3, and t is often formed as v, e.g., in tadā-, l. 5. Errors of this type and subsequent corrections and insertions that the inscription often has are all noted in the text that follows. The language is Sanskrit ; and with the exception of the opening word Siddham and the portion containing the date in the end, the record is metrically composed in the same fluent style as the preceding one, by the same poet Śivanābha. In all there are 27 verses, which are all numbered. It is interesting to note that verse 10 is composed in a metre of rare occurrence, known as paṁkti which belongs to the supratishṭhā group. The following orthographical peculiarities may be noted. (1) The general use of v to denote b as in -viṁvita-, l. 2 ; (2) the doubling of a consonant following r with certain exceptions, cf, kīrtti- and -ūrjita, both in l. 5 ; (3) the occasional use of the dental for the palatal sibilant e.g., in visuddha-, l. 25, and vice versa in śēnā, l. 15 ; (4) the general use of the sign of anusvāra in place of an appropriate nasal, even at the end of a stich, with a few exceptions as in kānti-kāntam, l. 2. Besides these, the medial dipthongs are denoted sometimes by the pṛishṭha-mātrā and in the other instances by the ūrdhva-mātrā ; the sign of avagraha occurs only once, in l. 14, to denote the name of Ajayadēva correctly ; and the kāka-pada sign is used at the end of ll. 1, 2, 10 and 22.
The inscription is a prasasti (laudatory account), as the word is used in l. 26 (v. 26), and refers itself to the reign of Gōpāladēva of the royal house known as that of the Jajapēlla (Yajvapāla) dynasty of Nalagiri (the fort of Narwar). The immediate object of it is to record the excavation of a stepped well (vāpī) and planting of a garden by Gāṅgadēva, Minister of Gōpāladēva, evidently at Narwar, where the stone was found. The last line of the record shows the date in decimal figures only ; it is Thursday, the tenth of the dark half of Pausha of the (Vikrama) year 1339. which, as calculated by Dr. Sircar, regularly corresponds to 26th November, 1282 A. C. The month was Pūrṇimānta.[1]
Like any other praśasti, the record falls into two parts, the first nine verses containing the maṅgala-ślōkas followed by the genealogical account of the royal house, and the remaining
eighteen verses speaking about the well and its excavator, with the names of the composer,
writer and the engraver of the composition. After the introductory word Siddiḥ, the inscription has two invocatory stanzas inviting the blessings of Sadāśiva and Achyuta, respectively.
The next verse introduces Ratnagiri, and says that a hero of the name of Jayapāla was created
by Maha(hā)ruṇḍā, who appears to have been the family-deity of the house to which he belonged.
Ratnagiri, where the family is stated here to have its stay, cannot be satisfactorily identified,
though Dr. Sircar suggests that it may be the same as the modern town of Ratangarh Kheḍī
(Lat. 24 ̊ 49’ ; Long. 75 ̊ 13’) in the Mandsaur Distrcit of the former Gwālior State on the
route from Neemuch to Būndī, 36 miles (58 kms. north-east of the former and 73 miles
(117 kms.) south-east of the latter.[2] The description of the mountain in v. 3, that it (is so
lofty as to) obstruct the speed of the Sun’s chariot is all poetic. With reference to the family
name Yajvapāla, it is possible to say that it may have been the Sanskritised from of Jayapāla
who appears to be an eponymous hero, or mythical king, in view of the fact that the real history
of the house begins from Chāhaḍa. This prince is stated to have captured, by the force of his
arms, Nalagiri and some other places from his enemies whom he vanquished (vv. 6-7) ; and then
we find the name of his son, Nṛivarman. After him (tadanu) was born Āsalladēva whose
description is merely conventional (v. 8). The definite relationship between these two rulers
is not mentioned in the present record, but from the other inscriptions of the house we know
that the latter was the son of the former. Āsalladēva’s son was Gōpāladēva who is stated here
[1] Sircar,op. cit., p. 36. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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