South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI

340 NO. 65:
PLATE LIV
REWA PLATE OF JAYASIMHA: ( KALACHURI ) YEAR 926

THIS plate was brought to notice by Sir A. Cunningham who found it in the possession of the Rewa Durbar. A brief and, in some respects, incorrect account of it was given by him in his Archæological Survey of India Reports, Vol. XXI, pp. 145 The inscription was subsequently edited, with a lithogoraph, but without any translation, by Dr. F. Kielhorn in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XVII, pp.224 ?. The plate has since been deposited in the British Museum. It is edited here from excellent ink impressions kindly supplied by the authorities of the Museum.

‘The inscription is on a single plate measuring about 13” by 9 ⅞” and in- scribed on one side only. The surface of the plate itself smooth; but for the protection of the writing, strips of copper about ⅜ “ broad are fastened by rivets along the edge of the top and the two sides; and the bottom edge was originally protected in the same way, but the strips have been torn off and lost. The preservation of the inscription is perfect; and there is hardly any letter which is not cleat and distinct in the impression.__ In the upper part of the plate and secured by a strong rivet passing through the plates, there is a thicker and broader strip of copper, which towards the end projecting above the plate is turned over so as to catch and hold a plain copper ring about ⅜” thick and 2 ⅛” in diameter. There is no indication of any seal having been attached to the ring.¹__ The weight of the plate with the ring is I64½ tolas’. ^² The letters in lines I-2 and II-12 are much bigger than those in others. Their size consequently varies from .25” to .15”.

The characters are Nāgarī. They are somewhat irregularly formed and carelessly incised. Several letters have more than one form; see, e.g., the initial I in iva, II. 7 and 8; j in-rājādhirāja-, 1.2 and upārjakō, 1.5: dh in-Gayādhara-, 1.10 and – madhūkah, 1.12, and g in gana-nāyakah, 11.1-2 and – gajapati-, 1.3. In some places it is difficult to distinguish between v and ch, and ś and s. The language is Sanskrit. Except for the opening verse in praise of Hēramba and the usual benedictive and imprecatory verses at the end, the whole record is in verse. It is somewhat carelessly written. Rules of sandhi have, in some cases, not been observed. In 11.8-12 there is a confusion of the active and Passive constructions. Besides, there are some mistakes of case-inflections, e.g., in 11.9-10, the plural is wrongly used in referring to two donees. The wrong number of the compound chanr-ārkka- mēdini and the superfluous addition of a second affix in utkirņņitam may also be noted. As regards orthography, we find that the sign for v is throughout used to denote b; s is, in some cases, used for ś as in in Kausika -, 1.9 and vice versa in vatsarājaś, 1.14; and kh is employed for sh in sa-garti-ōkharah, 1.12.

The inscription refers itself to the reign of the king Jayasimha, evidently of the Later Kalachuri Dynasty of Tripuri. He is mentioned here with the same imperial titles as in his Jabalpur Plates. He is called a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara and the lord of Trikalińga and is said to have meditated on the feet of Vāmadēva who is also given the same imperial titles. The Object of the inscription is to record the grant of the village Ahadāpāda situated in the Khaņdagahā pattalā. It was made at Kar- karēdi by the Mahārāņaka Kirtivarman on the occasion of offering oblations to his deceased father, the Rāņaka³ Vatsarāja. The donees were two Brāhmaņas, Ţhakuras Mahāditya and Silaņa, who belonged to the Kauśika gōtra and had
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¹ The seal may have been sliding on the ring as in the case of the Vākāţaka plates.
² Ind. Ant., Vol. XVII, P.224.
³ Vatsarāja is, however, called Mahārāņaka in the genealogical portion.