South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE EARLY CHALUKYAS OF GUJARAT

final consonant is indicated by its short form with a horizontal line at the top, see vasēt, 1.45. The sign of the jihvāmūlīiya occurs in ll.7, 16. 28 and 30, and that of the upadhmāniya in ll. 7, 10, 14, 17 and 20. The sign-manual of the donor is in the northern characters with wedges at the top.

(The language is good and, on the whole, correct Sanskrit. The fierce fight with the Arab invaders is graphically described in ll.23-33. It is noteworthy that in its eulogistic part the inscription contains in ll.18-19 one long compound expression, copied for the first time from Gurjara records. No such borrowing from Gurjara grants is noticed in the earlier inscriptions of the Sēndrakas, nor even in those of Pulakēśin’s elder brother Śryāśraya-Śīlāditya. Except for the mangala ślōka in praise of the boar incarnation and four benedictive and imprecatory verses at the close, the record is in prose throughout. As regards orthography, we find the consonant following r doubled in many cases, see, e.g., Vishņōr=vvārāham, l.I, -Kīrttivarmma-, l.6, etc. The guttural nasal is used for the anusvāra before ś in –nistrińśa-, l.19, gh for h in; Jayasingha-, l. 17 and the jihvāmūlīya for sh in –nihkrayīkŗita-, l.28. The vowel ŗi is used for ri in –nistŗimśa-, l.8 and vice versa in -Pritihivī-, l.34. On the other hand, the somewhat rare sandhis in –vaksha-sthala, l.22, and -dashțōshțha-, l.28, are in accordance with the varttikas on Panini’s rules VIII, 3, 36 and VI, I, 94 respectively.

The plates were granted by the illustrious Avanijanāśraya-Pulakēśirāja of the Gujarat branch of the Early Chālukyas. The inscription opens with the usual verse in praise of the boar incarnation. Then comes the genealogy of the donor. In the family of the Chālukyas1 who are described here as in the grants of Śryāśraya-Śīlāditya,2 there was the Pŗithivīvallabha, Mahārājādhirāja, Paramēśvara, the illustrious Satyāśraya-Kīrtivarmarāja, whose body was sanctified by avabhritha bath in an Aśvamēdha sacrifice. His son was the illustrious Satyāśraya-Pulakēśivallabha, who was a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara and obtained formidable power by his defeat of the illustrious Harshavardhana, the lord of the Uttarāpatha. His son was the Paramabhattāraka, the illustrious Satyāśraya-Vikramāditya who also was a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara. He regained his kingdom with the help of his excellent horse Chitrakantha and vanquished the three kingdoms, Chēra, Chōla and Pāņdya. His younger brother was the Paramabhattāraka, the illustrious Dharāśraya-Jayasimhavarmarāja, who was a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara. His son was the Paramabhattāraka, the illustrious Jayāśraya-Mangalarasarāja, who was a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara, and reconquered his own dominions by the might of his arms. His younger brother, the Paramabhattāraka, the illustrious Avanijanāśraya-Pulakēśiraja, who was a most devout worshipper of Mahēśvara, made the present grant.

Of the six princes mentioned above, the first three, Kīrtivarman, Pulakēśivallabha and Vikaramāditya, are plainly identical with Kīrtivarman I, Pulakēśin II and Vikramāditya I respectively, of the Early Chālukya Dynasty. The next three, viz., Dharāśraya- Jayasimha, Jayāśraya-Mangalarasarāja and Avanijanāśraya-Pulakēśin, though here mentioned with the high-sounding title Paramabhattāraka, were of a feudatory rank and owed allegiance to the Imperial house of Bādāmi. The name of Śryāśraya-Śīlāditya, whose Navsāri and Surat plates bear earlier dates, is omitted here, probably because he predeceased his father Dharāśraya-Jayasimha.

In ll. 23-33 the record describes graphically the Arab invasion of the Chālukyan kingdom and the fierce fight which was fought in the vishaya of Navasāri. We are told
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¹ See above, p. 133, n, 1.
² Nos. 27 and 29, above.