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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
SUPPLEMENTARY INSCRIPTIONS space, about 30 cms. The size of an individual letter is about 2.5 cms. The lower left corner of the stone is slightly broken and lost, causing no loss of any letter. The writing consists of eight lines of equal length, and, with the initial word Svasti and with the exception of a small sentence in the end, which gives the poet’s name, the record contains only one stanza in the Śragdhara metre. The language is Sanskrit, which is correct. The palaeography shares the peculiarities of the Ḍōṅgargāon and Jaināḍ inscriptions, edited above.[1] For instance, the letter dh is formed as v, in kudhra-, l. 3 ; ṇ when doubled is written as ll ; see Karṇṇāṭa in l. 2 ; and the letter r resembles a verticle with a horizontal stroke attached to it on the left in the middle, as in vīra, l. 6. The rare jha occurs in l. 3. Orthographically, we note that the syllable following r is doubled, of which we have only two examples, namely, Karṇṇāṭa (l. 2) and pūrvvā- (l. 5). The dipthongs are denoted both by the pṛishṭha- and the ūrdhva-mātrās, even side by side, as in Jagaddēva-devo in line 6. The record refers itself to an illustrious hero of the name of Jagaddēva who is described as vanquishing thousands of (enemical) warriors,all alone, when even those who sided him in the battle had fled off. The stanza was composed by the poet Aśvatthāma. The record bears no date, but on palaeographical grounds, it may be assigned to about the same time as of the Ḍōṅgargāon inscription which was dated in Śaka 1034 or 1112 A.C.
Beginning with the asupicious word Svasti, as said above, the inscription says that when the terrified Kālidāsa had fled and the Karṇṇāṭa forces were melting away (had dispersed somewhere), when the Pāṇḍya chieftain had sought hasty refuge in some mountain crevices, and even when his own army too had scattered at the nick of the time, when Bhānu (lit. Āditya, the Sun) was wandering (busy) in the eastern hill-peaks, the daring, dauntless, valiant and illustrious Jagaddēva, riding his (war) horse Kālamēgha (lit., the cloud of deluge), only by the strength of his arms, vanquished hundreds of thousands (laksha) of the hostile warriors.[2] Neither the family nor the parentage of our hero is mentioned in the record, but on the basis of its find-spot, which is in the same region where the Ḍōṅgargāon and Jaināḍ stone inscriptions[3] were found, it is not difficult to identify him with the homonymous son of Paramāra Udayāditya and a brother of Naravarman. Our conclusion is supported by the fact that this record was composed by the poet Aśvatthāma who also composed the latter of these records. The palaeography too points to the same, as observed above. In the above respect, the expression Bhānau pūrvvādri-sānau (ll. 4-5) is also noteworthy. Kolte has rightly shown that the word Bhānau, as a synonym of Āditya (the Sun), obviously refers to Vikramāditya (VI), the Later Chālukya emperor (1076-1126 A.C.), who has entrusted Jagaddēva with the administration of a province which comprised parts of the Yeōtmāl and Ādilābād Districts, roughly to speak, the northern districts of the old Hyderabad State ; and the find-spot of the present inscription, which is in the same region, leaves no doubt in identifying the latter with the illustrious son of the Paramara Udayaditya. The verse obviously refers to some engagement by Jagaddēva, in which he was sided by Kālidāsa, the army of the Karṇṇāṭas and the Pāṇḍyas, against an enemy who is not mentioned by name. Kālidāsa appears to be the same who was the general of the Western Chākukya king Vikramāditya and the son of Madhuvarasa, the Commander of the army of Sōmēśvara I Āhavamalla.[4] Karṇṇāṭa-daṇḍa, mentioned next, obviously refers to the Chālukya army led by Kālidāsa, though the word sometimes refers to the Hoyasaḷas also.[5]
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