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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI (V. 15) There was the illustrious Dharaņīdhara, a wise Brāhmaņa, who had studied the Vēdas, Smŗitis, Itihāsas and Purāņas. His son Pŗithvīdhara, whose intellect has become keen by (the study of) dialectics, has composed this eulogy. (V. 16) As long as Mēru (which is) the jar of gold, the Gangā and the ocean endure on the earth, so long may this temple of Śiva last! (V. 17) That Mahīdhara, who understands the teaching and the practical work of the science invented by Viśvakarman1, has incised this commendable praśasti. (V. 18) While the Chēdi era was increasing to nine hundred and a couple of years and the illustrious Gayākarna was ruling this country, this eulogy was put up near the temple of Śiva on Sunday, the first (lunar day) in the bright fortnight of the month Āshādha.
No. 59 ; BAHURIBAND is now a small village situated on a plateau at a distance of about 20 miles from Sihōrā, the headquarters of the Sihōrā tahsil in the Jabalpur District of Madhya Pradesh. Not far from Bahuriband lie the villages of Tigōwā and Rūpnāth, the former of which is known for its Gupta temple, still in a state of perfect preservation, and the latter, for its Aśokan rock-edict. Bahuriband contains some old ruins, the most conspicuous of which is a colossal standing nude statue of the Jain Tirthankara Śāntinātha. ‘It is near the village and stands upon its original site, portions of the foundations of the walls of the shrine, in which it stood, being still around it. It stands 12 feet and 21⁄2 inches high from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head.’2 There is an attendant holding a chawri on either side of it. The chhattra over it is now broken away and lies behind the image. It measures 4’ 4” in height and has the figure of an elephant on either side of it. The present inscription is incised on the pedestal of the statue of Śāntinātha. It falls into three parts. Parts A and B, each consisting of three lines, are engraved on the top of the pedestal to the left and right respectively of the feet of the image3. Part C, which has seven lines, is incised on the front face of the pedestal. Before it is a small kunda intended to receive the water of the Tirthankara’s bath. The inscription was first brought to notice by General Cunningham, who gave his reading of the first two lines and a portion of the third of part C4. It was next noticed by Dr. D.R. Bhandarkar who published a short abstract of its contents5. It is being edited here for the first time from the original stone as well as its inked estampages which were kindly supplied by the Superintendent of Archæological Survey, Central Circle, Patna. The inscription is very much weather-worn, especially in parts A and B. Besides, a
few aksharas in the first line of part C have been broken away. The characters belongs to
the Nāgarī alphabet. It may be noted that dh appears here to be fully developed as in the
modern Nāgarī; see, e.g., dharmma-, 1.4 and Sūtradhāra, 1.5; th, on the other hand, has not
yet opened its upper loop, see Sāmtināthasya, 1.5. The language is Sanskrit. The orthography does not call for any special notice. 1 I.e., the science of architecture. Viśvakarman is the architect of gods.
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