South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI

until he came to the middle of the second plate when he found that he had more than sufficient space at his disposal. He, therefore, left more space between his lines and wrote letters of a larger size especially in lines 38-40. The writing is in a state of good preservation.

The characters are of the Nāgarī alphabet. Some letters show considerable development, approximating to their forms in the modern Nāgarī alphabet, though they are still in the stage of transition. The initial ē, for instance, shows, for the first time in the records edited here, its left curve separated from the right vertical in ēkasmim-, 1.28; elsewhere it is joined to the latter, see ēk-aika-, 1.11; kh has its left member fully developed, see khyāta-, 1.13, but notice Natt-ākhya-, 1.10 in which it shows the older form; n appears with a dot for the first time in bhujangam=a-, 1.11 and bhrū-bhamnga-, 1.15, but without it in =jangamah, 1.13 and –Gāngēyadēvasya, 1.40. Similarly th has its upper loop open in Dāsarathir=, 1.15 and -nāthah, 1.23, but in other cases it shows its older form, see yasy=ārtha- and, -tathā, both in 1.8 ; ph has now a tail added to the loop on the right, see phalam, 1.45; s in –sārthi-, 1.31 has the same form as in the modern Nāgarī, but in other cases it has the older form. The subscript n has the same form as when it is independent, see Karnna and iv=āvatīrnnah, both in 1.29. Besides, owing to the carelessness of the writer or the engraver several letters appear in varying forms, see, for instance, bh in bhāva-, 1.1, and –prabham, 1.2 ; y in dharmmāya, 1.7 and Gāmgēya-, 1.28 ; g in yōgāya, 1.7 and –gamanām=, 1.18 and r in kārunya-, 1.20 and param=, 1.32. In some cases it is difficult to distinguish between bh and h as well as between v and dh.

The language is Sanskrit throughout, except in verse 12 which is in Prakrit. The first thirty-two lines which contain the eulogistic portion of the record are in verse, with the exception of the introductory ōm namah Śivāya, 1.1 and the words kim=v=āparēna, 1. 13. This part of the record is written in the usual kāvya style. The description in vv. 16 and 20, which is based on ślesha or double entendre, is cleverly done. It is noteworthy that v. 18 is taken from the play Bālabhārata (called also Prachandapāndava) of Rājeśēkhara.¹ The formal part of the grant begins in 1.32 and is followed by six benedictive and imprecatory verses. The last line contains the date expressed in numerical figures. The record is very carelessly written. See, for instance, the mistake of concord in yasy-ārtha-saktō matih, 1.8, the wrong form Trikalimg y-ādhipati- for Trikaling-ādhipatī-, 1.34, the use of the short for the long vowel in –bhupālē in 1.9 and vice versa in –dhanānūsamdhita=, 1.7, the use of ē for ī in prathēta-, 1.29 and the reverse of it in –sārthishv-, 1.31, the wrong elision of the final consonant in sthir=āsi for sthir=āsīt and of visarga in Lakshmi for Lakshmīh, both in 1.22. These and other mistakes, too many to be enumerated, make it very difficult to restore the original correct readings. The following orthographical peculiarities may also be noticed:─ s is used for ś almost throughout except in the case of śrī, see Sivāya for Śivāya, 1.1, =āslēsha for =āślēsha, 1.3 etc.; v is employed for b in sad-vrahmanē, 1.1, vavamdha, 1.4 and so forth ; y takes the place of j in tasy=ānuyō for tasy= ānujō, 1.22, -yāyata for –jāyata, 1.23 and vice versa in dur-jjasah for dur-yyaśah, 1.27 ; n stands for n in ānrinya, 1.8 and parjjanaishīt for paryyanaishīt, 1.10; the anusvāra is wrongly changed to m in kim=v=aparēna 1.13 and to n in –vansa, 1.6 and –vansē, 1.45 ; ksh is written for khy in saukshakrit, 1.7 and kshātam, 1.27 and ky for ksh in kaukyēyakō=, 1.26 ; the vowel ri is used for ri in nistrimsatā, 1.21 and Trikalimg y-, 1.34 ; finally, the consonant following r is repeated in many cases, see Kārttavīryah, 1.3, Karnnah, 1.29 etc.

The plates were issued by Karna of the Later Kalachuri Dynasty, from his ______________

¹ See Bālabhārata (Nirnayasāgara ed.), Act I, v. 62.