North Indian Inscriptions

SUPPLEMENTARY INSCRIPTIONS

doubled, as in –varmma and –durggē, both in l. 1 ; Yaśō- in l. 2 is written as Jasō-, and yasya in l. 4, as jasya, and that the proper names used in l. 2 are without the case-ending and are separated by a daṇḍa.

The inscription refers itself to the region of the king Vīravarmadēva, who, from the provenance of the record, can safely be identified with the Chandēlla king of that name, the son and successor of Trailōkyavarman, and whose earliest and latest records bear the years V. 1311 and 1337 respectively.^[1] The purpose of the record is to register the installation of an image of Śāntinātha (evidently the one on the pedestal of which it was found), the sixteenth of the Jaina pontiffs, by the sādhu Sōḍhala, the son of sādhu Sīḍhala (also called Sīḍha below in the verse) and Dēvakī, residing at the Jayapura-durgga and belonging to the Grahapati family. The inscription was dated on Monday, the thirteenth of the bright half of Chaitra of the (Vikrama) year 1335. The corresponding Christian date, as calculated by Chakravarti, is 27th March, 1279 A.C. It is regular. The year was Kārttikādi (Southern Vikrama) expired.

The record is of secterian interest and gives only an intermediate date of the Chandēlla king Vīravarman, who is known to have occupied the throne from c. 1247 to 1286 A.C. Beginning with the auspicious symbol for Siddham, which is followed by the customary adoration to Vītarāga, it mentions the setting up of the image in the temple on the fort, by Sōḍhala, in the year which we have seen above. Sōḍhala is described in it as devoted to pleasing others by doing good to them. His speech was sweet and his body was ever pure in consequence of paying homage to the feet of Jina. He had three brothers of the names of Dāmōdara, Gaṅgādhara and Jasōdhara, that is, Yaśōdhara, and a son called Nānadeva.

The only point of interest that the inscription contains is to show the prosperity of the Grahapati family in the Chandēlla kingdom, since we know that one of its members installed a Jaina image at Khajurāhō in V. 1215 or 1157-58 and another at Ahār in V. 1237 or 1180 A.C.,^[2] which also speak of the continuity of the family.

The only geographical name mentioned in the record is Jayapura, which is Ajayagaḍh, as we have often seen.

TEXT^[3]
[ Metres : Verse 1 Vasantatilakā ; v. 2 Anushṭubh ].

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^[1] Nos. 144 and 147, respectively.
^[2] See Nos. 124 and 133, respectively.
^[3] From a photograph.
^[4] Expressed by a symbol.
^[5] The aksharas in brackets shows an unnecessary curve above.
^[6] This and the other proper names below are all without case-ending but separated by a daṇḍa.
^[7] The bracketed letters are all lost. Rather read …..
^[8] The akshara in brackets is formed as va by a wrong stroke of the chisel, as some others also, which are not noted separately.
^[9] The same as above, in the forms of trya and tra.
^[10] The correct word required here is :, which would not suit the metre.
^[11] I am not certain about the closing sign in the end.