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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI The record consists of fourteen lines. The average size of the letters is .7". The characters are of the Nāgarī alphabet. They resemble, in a general way, those of the other inscriptions of the Kalachuri king Karņa. As regards individual letters we may notice that n is written without a dot see sanghasya, 1. 7, -gan-ālankrit-, 1.11; th has no vertical or even a horizontal line at the top, see pātha-, 1.12; the upper loop of th is closed in Manōratha-, 1. 8; the left limb of dh is seen fully developed in two cases, see Dhamēsva [rah*], 1.9 and vādhakam 1. 13, but in others the old form is met with ; the letters r and g are not clearly distinguished, see -pār-aika-gantāh, 1. 2 ; so also m and a or ā ; see mahā-, 1.7; and Asvina, 1.6; finally, the medial dipthongs are indicated by fully drawn prishthamātrās. The language is corrupt Sanskrit. Notice, for instance, the wrong forms gunarāsī for guna-rāśih and pār-aika-gantāh for pār-aika-gantā, both in 1.2, Mahājānānujāina for Mahājā ( yā) nānujā (yā) yinī, 1.10 and the incorrect sandhi in-bhūto pitribhih, 1.14. Except for the opening verse in praise of the Buddha and the usual imprecation at the end, the whole record is in prose. As regards orthography, attention may be drawn to the use of ri for ri in Triga (ka) [lingā-*], 1. 4, the repetition of a consonant after r as in -sarvv-āndhakā- rah, 1. 1, the substitution of j for y in Mahājānanujāina and, bhārjā, both in 1.10 and the use of the sign for v denote b, see -Vuddha-, 1. 11, -nivandhanā-, 1.12 etc.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of Karņa, of the Later Kalachuri Dynasty. He is mentioned here with the same titles as in the Goharwa Plates, and is said to have meditated on the feet of the illustrious Vāmadēva who is also named with Imperial titles. The object of the inscription is to record that a female devout worshipper named Māmakā who was a follower of the Mahāyāna and the wife of Dhamēsvara1 (Dharmēśvara) who also was a devout worshipper and follower of the Mahāyāna, caused a copy of the Ashtasāhasrikāprajñā to be written and made some donation to the Order of Venerable Monks dwelling in the monastery called Śrī-sad-dharma-chakra-pravartana-Mahābōdhi -Mahāvihāra, for the recitation of the book. Two monks who were evidently heads of the institution are named in the present record. One of them was Manōrathagupta. The name of the other, which is partially lost, ended in pātrika. The inscription is dated on Sunday, the fifteenth tithi of the bright half of Āśvina in the year [8]10.2 No era is specified, but there can be little doubt that the date is in the Kalachuri era. It is quit regular ; for, the fifteenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Āśvina in the current3 Kalachuri year 810 ended 15 h. 50 m. after mean sunrise on Sunday, the corresponding Christian date being the 4th October, 1058 A.C. This is one of the few Kalachuri dates in current years. As pointed out by Sir John Marshall and Dr. Konow, the Saddharmachakrapravarttana Mahābōdhi-Mahāvihāra was the Great Monastery at Sārnāth which was erected at
the place where the Buddha preached his first sermon. 1 See below, p. 278, n.1.
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