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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
MISCELLANEOUS NO. 71 ; PLATE LIX THIS inscription was brought to notice by Sir A. Cunningham, who published a transcript and a lithograph of it and drew attention to its date in his Archœological Survey of India Reports, Vol. XXI, pp. 101-3, and plate xxvii. The date was subsequently discussed by Dr. Kielhorn in his article entitled ‘The Epoch of the Kala- churi or Chedi Era’ in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XVII, pp. 218-19. The record is edited here from excellent ink-impressions kindly supplied by the Superintendent of Archæological Survey, Central Circle, Patna. The inscription is incised on a loose broken stone slab near the ruins of a temple at Bēsāni (long. 800 17’ E. and lat. 240 12' N.) in Vindhya Pradesh, about 14 miles north- west of Jukēhi, a station on the Katni-Manikpur branch of the G.I.P. Railway. The record is fragmentary. The extant portion contains six lines. Nothing is lost at the top and the proper right side. The first four lines seem to be complete on the left side also, But as the lower corner on that side is broken off, the fifth line has lost about six aksharas, while the last one shows only the upper fragments of three aksharas in the left corner. Besides, an indefinite number of lines has been lost at the bottom. The extant portion has suffered here and there by exposure to weather. The letters were carelessly written or incised. The characters are Nāgarī and thelanguage Sanskrit. The orthography does call for any remarks.
The inscription opens with the date, viz., the year 958 (expressed in numerical figures only), the third tithi of the bright fortnight of the first Āshādha. The object of it seems to be to record gifts in drammas received from different persons for some purpose not specified in the extant portion of the inscription. The gifts may have been made, as conjectured by Cunningham1 for some work connected with the temple near the ruins of which the stone was found. It may be noted that the preserved, portion of the record does not mention any reigning prince. The interest of the inscription lies in its date which, on the evidence of its characters,
must plainly be referred to the Kalachuri era. Its wording shows that there were two
months named Āshādha in the year 958 and the month in which the inscription was put up
was the first or intercalary Āshādha. We find that in 1207 A.C., which corresponds to the
expired Kalachuri year 958, there were two Āshādhas,2 of which the first or intercalary
Āshādha lasted from the 14th May to the 11th June. The third tithi of the bright
fortnight of it fell on Thursday, the 31st may 1207 A.C. 1See C. A. S. I. R., Vol. XXI, p. 102. CORPUS INCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM
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