South Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE EARLY GURJARAS

of them has two holes, .6" in diameter, at the top for the rings which must have originally held them together; but neither the rings nor the seal, which must have been connected with one of them, is forthcoming. Some portion of the upper left-hand corner of each plate has been broken away, which has resulted in the loss of from one to fifteen aksharas in 11. 1-14 on the first, and from one to three aksharas in 11. 29-33 on the second plate. Besides, a few aksharas have become illegible owing to the corrosion of the surface of the plates in some places. The record consists of 51 lines, of which 28 are inscribed on the first, and 23 on the second plate. The average size of the letter is about .15".

The characters belong to the western variety of the southern alphabets, and resemble those of the other grants of the Early Gurjaras. It would suffice to draw attention to the following peculiarities of individual letters. The sign for medial (long) ū in –nmūlita-, 1.8, is added to the top of m and not to the bottom as is usually done; the medial ri of kri is formed as in the Kāvī plate only in one place, viz., in Mahābalādhikŗita-, 1.50-; in other places it appears in its usual form, see, e.g.,-Valadhikŗita- in the same line; d shows a loop in suchaņda-, 1.23, but contrast its form elsewhere, e.g., in –Kauņdinya-, 1.35; n has no loop in kaumud-īndu-, 1.17; b is generally rectangular, but in svabhuja-bala-, 1.14, it is elongated, and in bali-, 1.36, it is roundish. It is generally distinguished from v, but in –Valadhikrita-, 1.50, it is indicated by the same sign as that for v. Another letter, which is occasionally liable to be mistaken for v, is dh, see, e.g., the forms of the two occurring side by side in –ādhirāja-vijrimbhi-, 1.10. The language is Sanskrit. Except for two verses which occur in the eulogy of the donor and six more expressing benediction and imprecation at the end, the record is in prose throughout. It is carelessly written, especially on the second plate. The eulogy of the first four princes given here closely agrees with that in the Navsāri and Anjanēri plates, while a considerable portion of the description of the last prince is the same as in the Kāvī plate. The text of 11. 16-24, however, which describe Ahirōla and his son Jayabhaţa IV is not known to occur anywhere else. The orthography shows the usual peculiarities noticed in connection with other Early Gurjara grants.

The plates were issued by the illustrious Jayabhaţa born in the great family of Maharāja Karņa, who had attained the pañchamahāśabda and was the lord of Mahāsāmantas (great feudatory chiefs).¹ The object of the inscription is to record the grant, by Jayabhaţa, of the village Mannātha situated in the famous Bharukachchha district. The donee was the Brāhmaņa Āchchada², the son of the Brāhmaņa Ādityanāga, of the Hēţāvuka sub-caste,³ who belonged to the Kauņdinya gōtra and was a student of the Mādhyandina śākhā of the Vājasanēya (or White Yajurvēda). He had emigrated from the pathaka and āhāra of Lōhikaksha. The object of the gift was, as usual, to provide for the performance of the five great sacrifices and other rites. The Dūtaka was the illustrious Dēiyaka and the scribe the Mahābalādhikrita Sangulla, the son of the Balādhikŗita Alla.

The grant was made and written on the fifteenth day of the dark half (called amāvāsyā in 1.40) of Āśvina in the year 486. The year and the tithi are expressed in 11.49-50, both in words and numerical symbols. This date must, of course, be referred to the Kalachuri era. As the Kalachuri year according to my view began on Kārttika śu.di.1, the date of the present grant would be later than that of the Kāvī plate by more
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¹The place of issue is not known, as the first few aksharas in 1.1, where we could have expected its mention, are lost owing to the breaking away of the left-hand upper corner of the first plate.
²Mr. Acharya reads his name as Uchchada, but there is no trace of any mātrā on the left of ţţ in Bhaţţ-Āchchadāya, 1. 36.
³See below, p. 109, n. 3.