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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI of the mountain, and (also) a well having copious water. (V.17) On account of devotion to his preceptor he caused to be rebuilt with a wonderful masonry of large stones and then re-excavated (very) deep the well, which had been dug by the illustrious Praśāntaśiva at this place, (but) which had become dilapidated and full of wood fallen into it, in course of time. (V.18) There was a Dīkshita named Mēhuka, whose fame was known on the earth. He, who was foremost among good men, begot a son named Jēika. To him was born, from the womb of Amarikā1, the poet Dhāmsaţa. He composed this praśasti couched in beautiful arrangement of letters (V.19) May this eulogy endure unchanged on this earth as long as the divine river (Gangā), meandering through the coiled matted hair of Paśupati (i.e., Śiva), with its waters shattering on the surface of the rocks on the Himālayas, flows to (the sea), the lord of rivers, along the path (shown) by Bhagīratha, sanctifying the earth with its bounding waves. (V.19) The wise and renowned Dāmōdara, the son of Lakshmīdhara and the younger brother of Vāsudēva, wrote this praśasti in excellent letters! (This praśasti) has been inscribed by Nīlakaņţha by the order of the Sūtradhāra Sūrāka. The year 724, (the month) Phālguna, the bright (fortnight), the (lunar) day 5.
No. 45 ; THE stone, which bears this inscription, is said to have been found at Bilhāri (lat. 23° 48΄ North, long. 80° 19΄ East), 9 miles west by south of Murwārā, the headquarters of a tahsil of the same name in the Jabalpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The stone which was at first removed to Jabalpur² has now been deposited in the Central Museum, Nagpur. It seems to have broken in transit, as it shows now a large crack which cuts it vertically right across. Fortunately, it has not resulted in the loss of more than one or two letters. The inscription was first published with an abstract of its contents by Dr. F.E. Hall in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XXX, pp. 317-334. Its contents were next discussed by Sir A. Cunningham in his Archœological Survey of India Reports, Vol. IX, pp. 80 and 102-5. It was subsequently edited, with an excellent translation and a lithograph, by Prof. F. Kielhorn in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol. I, pp. 251-270. It is edited here from the original stone and ink impressions taken under my supervision. The record, which consists of thirty-three lines, is inscribed on the counter-sunk surface of a large panel of grey sandstone. The inscribed space measures 6΄ 3˝ broad by 3΄ high and is surrounded by a plain border 3.5˝ broad. The first thirty lines of the inscription are very well preserved, except for a few letters at the end of each line ; the latter can, however, be read without much difficulty from the traces left on the stone. On the other hand several letters at the end of the last three lines have been almost completely effaced by the wearing away of the inscribed surface. The average size of the letters is .5˝ in the first three lines and .75˝ in the rest. The characters, which are beautifully written and deeply engraved, belong to
the Nāgarī alphabet. They closely resemble those of the Chandrēhē inscription.3 The 1The position of Amarik-ōdarē after talah in the second half of the verse clearly shows that Amarikā
was the mother of Dhāmsaţa and not of Jēika as Banerji has taken.
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