The Vakatakas

Home , Dakshina Kosala, Devasena (Vakataka king), Harishena, Narendrasena, Narnala, Rudrasena II

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL. V

INSCRIPTIONS or THE VAKATAKAS

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL. V

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VAKATAKAS

EDITED BY

Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi, M.A., D.Litt* Hony Piofessor of Ancient Indian History & Culture University of Nagpur

GOVERNMENT EPIGRAPHIST FOR INDIA OOTACAMUND

1963 Price: Rs. 40-00

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

PLATES PWNTED By THE MRECTOR;

LETTERPRESS P WNTED AT THE JQB PREFACE

after the of the publication Inscriptions of the Kalachun-Chedi Era (Corpus Inscrip- tionum Vol in I SOON Indicarum, IV) 1955, thought of preparing a corpus of the inscriptions of the Vakatakas for the Vakataka was the most in , dynasty glorious one the ancient history of where I the best Vidarbha, have spent part of my life, and I had already edited or re-edited more than half the its number of records I soon completed the work and was thinking of it getting published, when Shri A Ghosh, Director General of Archaeology, who then happened to be in Nagpur, came to know of it He offered to publish it as Volume V of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Series I was veiy glad to avail myself of the offer and submitted to the work the Archaeological Department in 1957 It was soon approved. The order for it was to the Press Ltd on the printing given Job (Private) , Kanpur, 7th 1958 to various July, Owing difficulties, the work of printing went on very slowly I am glad to find that it is now nearing completion

the course of this I During work have received help from several persons, for which I have to record here my grateful thanks For the chapter on Architecture, Sculpture and I found Painting G Yazdam's Ajanta very useful I am grateful to the Department of of Archaeology, Government Andhra Pradesh, for permission to reproduce some plates from that work Dr B Ch Chhabra, Joint Director General of Archaeology, went through and my typescript made some important suggestions The Government Epigraphist for India rendered the necessary help in the preparation of the Skeleton Plates Shri V P. Curator of the Central Rode, Museum, Nagpur, supplied the photographs of some panels discovered at Pavnar recently Prof N R Navlekar ofJabalpui kindly read a proof of the Introduction and made some important suggestions To all these friends I feel deeply indebted I thank Shri Finally, A Ghosh, Director General of Archaeology, for having included this work in the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Series and the Director, Eastern of Circle, Survey India, for the excellent plates which illustiate the records in this Volume

NAGPUR V V MIRASHI 30th April, 1963

CONTENTS Page Xist of Plates (ix)

Abbreviations (xi) Corrigenda (xiu) INTRODUCTION

Chapter I The Discovery of the Vakatakas i Chapter II Vakataka Chronology v Appendix A Note on Dr R C Majumdar's Genealogy and Chronology of the Vakatakas vii

Chapter III The Home of the Vakatakas . xi Chapter IV Early Rulers xvii Chapter V The Mam Branch xxi Chapter VI The Vatsagulma Branch xxix Chapter VII Administration xxxiv Chapter VIII Religion xl Chapter IX Society xliv Chapter X Literature liii Chapter XI Architecture, Sculpture and Painting Ix TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH No Plate 1 I Deotek Stone Insciiption of Rudrasena I 1 ^2 II Poona Plates of Prabhavatigupta 5 ^/3 III Jamb Plates of Pravarasena II 10 ' 4 & 5 IV & V Belora Plates (Sets A and B) of Pravarasena II 16 6 VI Chammak Plates of Pravarasena II 22 7 VII Siwani Plates of Pravarasena II 28 '8 VIII Riddhapur Plates of Prabhavatigupta 33

/ 9 IX Indore Plates of Pravarasena II 38 10 X Dudia Plates of Pravarasena II 43 711 XI Tirodi Plates of Pravarasena II - 48 '12 XII Wadgaon Plates of Pravarasena II 53 13 XIII Pattan Plates of Pravarasena II 57

,/14 XIV Pandhuina Plates of Pravarasena II . 63 15 XV Patna Museum Plate of Pravarasena II 69 16 XVI Rmtek Plate of Pravarasena II 73 17 XVII An unfinished Durg Plate 76 18 XVIII Balaghat Plates of Prithivishena II 79 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH 19 XIX Bamhan! Plates of Bharatabala 82 50-21 XX-XXI Nachne-ki-Talai Stone Inscription of Vyaghradeva 89 22 XXII Gam Stone Tmrrmrinn nfVvaCThraH?va or> (vm) CONTENTS Page INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

23 XXIII Basim Plates of Vmdhyasakti II 93 24 XXIV India Office Plate of Devasena 101 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

25 XXV Ajanta Cave Inscription of Varahadeva 103 26 XXVI Ghatotkacha Cave Inscription of Varahadeva 112 27 XXVII Inscription in Ajanta Cave XVII 120 Index 131 LIST OF PLATES Facing Page

Map showing places mentioned in Vakataka Inscriptions XVlll

Plate

A The Image of Tnvikrama from Ramtek " " Between Ix & Ixi B The Panel Meeting of Bharata from Pavnar pages " " G The Panel Killing of Vali from Pavnar D of (i) The Image Ganga from Pavnar ^ Between pages Ixii & Ixin (n) Inscription on the Image of Ganga E The Temple at Tigowa F The of on the of the Image Ganga Door-way -{ Between pages Ixiv & Ixv temple at Tigowa G The Image of Yamuna on the Door-way of the at Temple Tigowa J Between pages Ixiv & Ixv H The Temple at Nachna I The Plan of Gave XVI at Ajanta Ixvi J Dying Sundari Ixviii K The Plan of Cave XVII at Ajanta Ixx Ixxi I Between pages & L Greedy Jujaka receiving Ransom Money M The Buddha, Yasodhara and Rahula Ixxii N The Front View of Gave XIX at Ajanta Between Ixxiv & Ixxv O The Plan of the Ghatotkacha Gave pages

I Deotek Stone Inscription of Rudiasena I 4 II Poona Plates of Prabhavatigupta 8 III Jamb Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 12 & 13 IV Belora Plates (Set A) of Pravarasena II Facing page 18 V Belora Plates (Set B) of Pravarasena II Facing page 20 VI Ghammak Plates of Piavarasena II Between pages 24 & 25 VII Siwam Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 30 & 31

VII (contd ) Seals of Pravarasena II Seal of (i) Ghammak Plates, (n) Seal of Siwani Plates, (m) Seal of Tirodi Plates Facing page 32 VIII Riddhapui Plates of Prabhavatigupta Facing page 36 IX Indore Plates of Pravarasena II Facing page 40 X Dudia Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 46 & 47 XI Tirodi Plates of Pravarasena II Facing page 50 XII Wadgaon Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 54 & 55 XIII Pattan Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 60 & 61 Plates of II XIII (contd ) Pattan Pravarasena Facing page 62 XIV Pandhurna Plates of Pravarasena II Between pages 66 & 67 of II 68 XIV (contd ) Pandhurna Plates Pravarasena Facing page XV Patna Museum Plate of Pravarasena II Facing page 70 (x) LIST OF PLATES

Hate Facing P

XVI Ramtek Plate of Pravarasena II Facing page XVII An Unfinished Duig Plate Facing page XVIII Plates of Pnthivlshena II Balaghat Between pages 80 & XIX Bahmam Plates of Bharatabala Between pages 86 & XX Nachne-ki-Talai Stone of Inscription (No I) Vyaghradeva Facing page XXI Nachne-ki-Talai Stone Inscription (No II) of Vyaghradeva Facing page XXII Stone of Ganj Inscription Vyaghradeva Facing page XXIII Basim Plates of II Vmdhyasakti Between pages 96 & XXIV India Office Plate of Devasena Facing page ] XXV Ajanta Gave Inscription of Varahadeva Facing page ] XXVI Ghatotkacha Cave Inscription of Varahadeva Facing page ] XXVII Inscription m Ajanta Cave XVII Facing page 1 ABBREVIATIONS

ABORI Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Ajanta G Yazdam, Ajanta ASWI Archaeological Smvey of Western India Bom Gaz Bombay Gazetteer CASIR Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Reports CII Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum CTI Burgess, Cave Temples of India DKA Pargiter, Dynasties of the Kali Age END R G Bhandarkar, Early History of the Deccan Ep Ind Epigraphia Indica GCI Ghatotkacha Cave Inscription (pub by Government of Hyderabad). COS Gaekwad's Oriental Series

HCIP R C Majumdar and A D Pusalkar, History and Culture of the Indian People ICPB in P and Berar Hiralal, Inscriptions C (Second ed ) Ind Ant Indian Antiquary Ind Cul Indian Culture Ind Hist Quart Indian Historical Quarterly JASB Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal of the JBBRAS Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of the JBORS Journal Bihar and Onssa Research Society JNSI Journal of the Numismatic Society of India JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society JRASB Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal MASI Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India MBH Mahabharata MSM Manusmnti C S WHIP R Majumdar and A Altekar, New History of the Indian People. MIA New Indian Antiquary NUJ Nagpur University Journal PIHC Proceedings of the Indian History Congress PRASIWC Progress Report of the Archaeological Survey of India, Western Circle. PTAIOC Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference. SI V V Mirashi, Studies in Indology

CORRIGENDA

Page viii, para 2, line 6 For tddnsd putrd read tddntdh putrdh. line 14 ,, ix, For Mahdrdja-Ddmodarasena read Mahdrdja-sri-Ddmodarasena.

ix, foot-note 1 For Pnthivshena read Prithivishena.

xi, paia 2, line 5 For tftffr read ?ffrfr line ,, xii, 2 For Satpuda read Satpuda

,, xvni, foot-note 2 For amendation read emendation. line 6 ,, xxin, para 2, For Ramgiri read Ramagiri xxix, para 5, line 5 For the sons Pravarasena I read the sons of Pravarasena I

,, xxxix, para 3, line 4 For explicity tead explicitly xhx, line 6 For Jujaka read Jujaka -tilaka li, para 1, line 5 For -tilaka read

,, liii, line 12 For prasasit read prasasti

,, Iviii, hne 12 For *iwr read ^TRTT

Ixxiv, para 3, last line Insert an inverted comma at the end.

Ixxv, para 2, line 2 Substitute a comma for the full point after bases For octagon read octagonal

19, text-line 8 For *rr[ *] read *M[ *] 19, text-line 17 For ^ read ^rr- 21, foot-note 1, line 2 For p 63 read p 64. 24, text-line 21 For *n^(^r)fc read ^^(^nr)fT- 29, foot-note 5, line 2 For Mdrkandeayapurdna read Mdrkandeyapurana

32, line 2 Insert Plialguna in after of 35, para 1, line 3 For Mujumdar tead Majumdar 39, foot-note 4 For -atistnshtah read -atisnshtah 40, text-line 5 For ^- read *r^-

,, 40, text-line 10 For ^ read ^., 40, text-line 11 For fpr^r read

40, text-line 14 For q*(qr)^f read 41, text-line 22 For ^r- read 41, foot-note 1 For ^ read v 44, text-line 3 For STCPTK- read 44, text-line 6 For ^rn^TFr- read

,, 49, foot-note 7, line 2 For Venatata read Venatata 50, text-line 10 For snre^r read 50, text-line 16 For ^ read ,, 50, text-lines 19 and 20 Insert a hyphen after the last letter

,, 51, text-line 21 For grf^rf read ^H-Hf . ,, 53, para 3, line 5 For kbpt-lopakhptah read khpt-opakhptah 57, para 4, line 6 For sunoh read sunoh. ,, 58, foot-note 2, line 1 For Rajamdmka read Rdjamdmka. 58, foot-note 2, line 2 For vishaya-mana read vishaya-mdna ,, 58, foot-note 3, line 2 For or Mahdpurusha read or Mahdpurusha j, 60, text-line 18 For ii+id=t>MT read (xiv) CORRIGENDA

Page 62, line 9 For karttika read Karttika 67, text-line 54 For *rr <=?_ read ^T^T-

71, text-line 9 For ff*fi*fM- ft?a^ SRffaRf-

83, line 18 For -mshesha read -mseska

3, 85, text-line 24 Insert a flb?u/a at the end

86, text-line 43 For [qr*cr read 86, foot-note 7 For ^ts^r- re^fi? 87, line 6 from the bottom For peoples read people 88, line 32 For son the goldsmith read son of the goldsmith 96, text-line 2 For *r read \- foot-note 1 97, For Ajnapti read Ajnapti 107, line 3 For Satara read Satara text-line 107, 5 For [^- read |V|- text-line 16 For 108, -^ [.*] read -^ [.i*] text-line 5 116, For r*qfa; f^rx r^ spsrfX tarx 123, para 3, line 2 For Rdmaydna read Ramayana INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I THE DISCOVERY OF THE VAKATAKAS

Vakatakas were one of the most glorious dynasties that flourished m South India THEin ancient times Their empire at one time extended from Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east They were great patrons of literature The liberal patronage they gave to Sanskut and Prakrit poets soon brought the Vaidarbhi and Vachchh<5mi ritis into prominence and induced great poets like Kalidasa to adopt them for their works They themselves composed kavyas and subhashitas which have evoked praise from famous poets and rhetoricians like Bana and Dandin, Kuntaka and Hemachandra The temples they erected are no longer in existence, but the sculptures found in their rums have attracted the notice of art-cntics, who rank them among the best specimens of ancient times The magnificent mhaia and chaitya caves which their mmisteis and feudatories excavated out of solid rock at Ajanta and Gulwada still excite the admiration of the world In view of these achievements theie is hardly any exaggeration in the following obseivation 1 of Prof " J. Dubicuil Of all the dynasties of the Deccan that have reigned from the third to the sixth century, the most glorious, the most important, the one that must be given the place of honour, the one that has excelled all others, the one that has had the greatest influence on the civilization of the whole of the Deccan is unquestionably the illustrious " dynasty of the Vakatakas Still, the existence and even the name of this illustrious dynasty had passed 2 into oblivion and became known only when the Siwani coppei -plate grant of Pravarasena II was discovered in Madhya Pradesh in 1836 Vmdhyasakti, the founder of this dynasty, was indeed mentioned in the Puranas, but partly owing to bad readings and partly due to misconstruction., he was believed to have belonged to the Yavana or Greek race. Even after deciphering the inscription in Ajanta Cave XVI which gives the royal genealogy from the earliest time to the last Vakataka king Harishena, Dr Bhau Daji remarked in 1862 that 'the Vakatakas were a dynasty of the Yavanas or Greeks who took the lead in the performance of Vedic sacrifices as well as in the execution of most substantial 3 ' and costly works for the encouiagement of Buddhism It has since been pointed out that the founder of the is described in that as a Vmdhyasakti, dynasty, inscription dmja 9 which usually means a Brahmana The gotta Vishnuvriddha of the Vakatakas is also mentioned in almost all their copper-plate grants It is now generally accepted that like the Satavahanas, the Vakatakas also were a Brahmana family that rose into prominence in the early centuiies of the Christian era The period duiing which the Vakatakas flourished had long been uncertain Un- like the Guptas, they did not start any era, but dated all their grants in regnal years Their age had therefore to be conjectured from the characters of their inscriptions

1 Dubreiul, Ancient History of the Deccan, p. 71 *3ASB,Vol V (1836), pp 726, f 3 J B.B RAS> Vol VII, pp 69 f ii INTRODUCTION

Almost all the Vakataka grants are incised in box-headed characters, which soon became stereotyped Experts therefore differed on the interpretation of their palaeographic evidence Dr. Buhler refened the Vakataka to the fifth 1 grants century AC , while Fleet2 and Kielhorn 3 whose 4 , opinion Sukthankar cited with approval, assigned them to the eighth century A c The latter view appeared to be supported by the mention, in Vakataka giants, of Mahaiajddhitaja Devagupta as the maternal giandfather of Pravarasena II Fleet identified this Devagupta with Mahatdjddimdja Devagupta of Magadha, the son of Adityasena, mentioned in the Deo-Barnarka inscription, who flourished towaids the close of the seventh centuiy A c The Vakatakas were therefore believed to have ruled in the seventh and eighth centuries A c This estimate of their age pioved to be wide of the mark by the discovery, in 1912, of the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta, which Prof K B Pathak and Rao Bahadur K N Dikshit first briefly noticed in the Indian Antiquaty, Vol XLI, (1912), pp 214f and later edited fully in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol XV, pp 39 f These plates explicitly mention that Prabhavatigupta, the chief queen (agra-mahishi) of the Vakataka king Rudrasena II and mother of the crown-prince Diva- was the of the karasena, daughter illustrious Gupta king Mahdrdjddhirdja Chandragupta II These discovered with a plates, though coppersmith of Poona, really belong to the tahsil of the Hinganghat Wardha District m VidaibhaS The places mentioned in that grant could not be identified at the time, but the matrimonial relation of the Vakatakas and the Guptas explicitly stated therein placed Vakataka chronology on a sound basis Vincent who had not Theieaftei, Smith, written a single line on this dynasty in his Early India in History of (third edition, published 1914), wrote a long article on it in the Journal the Asiatic 317 of Royal Society (1914), pp f, setting forth, with his characteristic precision and the available evidence of clarity, copper-plate grants and stone inscriptions, and giving a of the based on it 6 7 history dynasty Later, Pi of J Dubreuil and Dr S K Aiyangar thiew more light on the history of this royal family It was, however, the late Dr K P who the Vakatakas into Jayas\val brought prominence and assigned them their rightful

in the ancient of India In the book AD to place history' History of India, 150 350 AD , to which he the ' gave significant name Naga-Vakataka Imperial Period', Jayaswal tiied to show that * imperial rule and pai amount sovereignty had been in the hands and of the Vakatakas full keeping sixty years before Samudragupta^' According to Jayaswal, Pravaiasena the son of I, Vmdhyasakti, evolved a cleai political thesis "His thesis was a Hindu for the whole of India Empire and the enthronement of the Sastias Secondly, a movement in favour great literary of Sanskrit begins about 250 A D and in 50 years reaches a at which pitch the Guptas take it up Thirdly, revival of Varnasramadharma and Hindu is orthodoxy emphasised very pointedly, it was the cry of the time The society under the Vakataka was imperialism seeking to purge the abuses crept in under Kushana rule It was a Hindu Puritan Movement which was greatly fostered and which received a wide imperial implication under Pravarasena I Fourthly, under the Vakatakas the art of and the sculpture graphic ait of Ajanta which lay under their direct government

1 ASW.I, Vol IV, p 119 2 C// Vol 5 III, Introduction, p 15 Ind Vol *Ep } III, pp 213 f 4 Ibid, Vol XVII, p 13 5 Below, p. 7. 6 Dubreuil, Ancient Histoiy of the Deccan, pp. 71 f 7 Ancient India Aiyangar, (published by Sardesai), Vol I, 91f 8 pp 150 A.D to Jayaswal, History of India, 350 A D , p. 5, THE DISCOVERY OF THE VAKATAKAS ii i

\vere vivified The credit of the revival of Hindu ait which had been universally attributed by the present-day writers wholly to the Guptas, like the ci edit of Sanskrit revival, really belongs to the Vakatakas 5S1 Many ofJayaswaPs theories about the Nagas, Vakatakas and Pallavas have been shown by sober criticism to be untenable, but there is no doubt that his powerful advocacy of the Vakatakas brought that dynasty into prominence and served to obtain recognition for their achievements Further progiess in our knowledge of the history of the Vakatakas was made in 1939 by the disco\ery of a copper-plate grant of the Vakataka king Vindhyasakti II at Basnn (or Vasim) in the Akola District of Vidarbha Before this discoveiy all wnteis who wrote 2 on the Vakatakas believed that there was only one line of succession in the Vakataka dynasty, notwithstanding the explicit statement in the Put anas thatPraviia, the son of Vindhyasakti, who is plainly identical with the Vakataka Samrdt Pravarasena I, had four sons, all of whom 3 came to the tin one, and the discrepant evidence of the inscription in Ajanta Cave XVI

which, multilated as it is, did not seem to give quite the same line of succession as the 4 coppei -plate giants From the Basim plates, which I edited in the Epigtaphia Indica, Vol XXVI, pp 137 f, I showed for the first time that the Vakataka family blanched off after the death of Pravarasena I The statement in the Puianas that he had four sons

is coirect probably Two of these are known (i) Gautamiputra, who predeceased his father and whose son I Rudrasena succeeded Pravaiasena I; and (11) Sarvasena, whose son Vindhyasakti II issued the Basim plates I also showed from the inscription in Ajanta Cave which I a fresh 5 that the XVI, re-deciphered from estampage , recoid contained the names, now paitly mutilated, of the princes Sarvasena and Vindhyasena, the latter being evidently identical with Vindhyasakti II, who issued the Basim plates It would seem, therefore, that the extensive empire of Pravarasena I was divided among his sons after his death. His grandson Rudrasena I obtained Northern Vidarbha as his patrimony, and ruled from the old capital Punka Sarvasena, the second son, obtained Southern Vidaibha extending to the Godavari. Where the other two sons weic ruling is not yet known They may have held the country south of the Godavari as well as Dakshma Kosala. Their rule seems to have come to an end by the use of the Early Rashtrakutas and the Sakas in Kuntala, and the Nalas and others in Dakshina Kosala In my article on the Rashtrakutas of 6 in I that Manapura , published 1944, showed Mananka, the progemtoi of this Rashtiakuta family, flemished about 375 AC and luled from Manapura which is probably identical with the modern village Man on the Man liver in the Satara District of the Maharashtra State Later, from some coins discovered in the excavations at Kondapur and other places I showed that a &aka dynasty flourished in the Mahisha countiy comprising 7 the southern portion of the formei Hyderabad State and the adjoining territory It was founded by the aka king Mana who lose to power after the downfall of the Satavahanas These Early Rashtrakutas and the &akas were thus the sou them neighbouis of the Vakatakas,

150 to 350 95 f \Jayaswal, History of India, AD A D , pp. 2 Aiyangar thought that theie was a dispute about succession after the death of Pravarasena II, and Narendrasena probably took the kingdom from an elder bi other Ancient India, p 114. 3 Pargiter, Dynasties of tite Kah Age., p 50 4 For this see A.S W.I Vol. of , IV, p. 128. The names Vakataka princes mentioned in this Ajanta inscription have to be revised as shown below, pp. 104 f. ^Hydetabad Archaeological Series, No. 14. *ABO R,I, Vol. XXV, pp. 36 f. 7JJVS,/, Vol XI, pp. 1 f, Vol. XII, pp 90 f, Vol. XV, pp 115 f IV INTRODUCTION

the Vakatakas was also thrown the 1 and Some more light on the history of by Inscriptions some of their coins2 of the Nalas, who once invaded their territory and occupied portion 3 were their feudatories dominion, and also by the recoids of the Somavamsis, who ruling in Mekala of this From this resume of Vakataka history it will be seen how our knowledge royal the last hundred and There are family has increased gradually during twenty-five years be thrown future dis- still some dark corners of its history on which more light may by and to form a rather coveries, but it is now possible to give a fair outline of that history rough estimate of the achievements of the Vakatakas. For this an attempt is made in the following pages

Ind Vol. 100 Vol. 153 f 12 f. , XIX, pp f., XXI, pp , XXVIII, pp 2JJV.SJ., Vol. I, pp. 29 f. . Ind, Vol XXVII, pp. 132 f. CHAPTER II VAKATAKA CHRONOLOGY

Vakataka chronology is still more or less conjectural, but there are a few fixed Dr that THEpoints Though JayaswaPs view the Kalachuri-Chedi era was originally founded by the Vakataka king Vindhyasakti I 1 is untenable as none of the records of the Vakatakas themselves are dated in it it, is not unlikely that Vindhyasakti I rose to about the same time as the power Abhira king Isvarasena i e m circa 250 AC He may have ruled for about to 2 twenty years (c. 250 270 A c ) His son Pravarasena I is credited the Puranas with a of 3 m reign sixty years This is not unlikely in view of his performance of four Asvamedhas and several Vajapeya and other Srauta sacrifices He may therefore flourished from c to 330 c have 270 A Pravarasena Fs long reign is also indicated by in the the fact that he was succeeded elder branch not by a son, but by a grandson, viz Rudrasena I This latter have ruled for prince may about twenty years (c 330 to 350 A c When his son Prithvishena I succeeded his ) him, family had been ruling over the for a hundred to 350 A c and this is in. kingdom years (250 ) keeping with the description in the Vakataka grants that his treasure and army had been accumulating for a hundred 4 years Prithivishena I seems to have had a long reign, for he is said to have lived to see a succession of sons and grandsons Besides, his son Rudrasena II was a junior contemporary of the Gupta king Chandragupta II-Vikramaditya (c 380-413 AC), whose daughter Prabhavatigupta was married to him Vincent Smith's conjecture that this matrimonial alliance of the Guptas and the Vakatakas occurred at the time of Chandragupta IPs invasion of the territory of the Saka Satraps of Gujarat and Saurashtra 'somewhere about 5 ' 395 AC appears quite plausible Rudrasena II therefore may have come to the throne in c 400 AC He had a short of about 5 to reign yeais (c 400 405 AC); for his dowager queen Prabhavatigupta was acting as a regent for her son Yuvaidja Divakarasena for at least 13 years Divakarasena seems to have died soon after the issue of the Poona plates of his mother Prabhavatigupta, for, no other grant of his icign has come down to us He therefore be may referred to the period c 405 to 420 A c He was succeeded by his younger brother Damodarasena alias 6 Pravarasena II, who had a long reign of about thirty years 420 to 450 A c His son (c ) Narendrasena and grandson Prithivishena II may have each ruled for about the former c twenty years, from 450 to 470 A c , and the latter from c. 470 to 490 A c The period thus conjecturally assigned to Prithivishena II's reign is corroborated by the date of his the 7 stone feudatory, Uchchakalpa prince Vyaghra , whose inscriptions have been found at Nachna and Ganj in Madhya Pradesh The lattei's son Jayanatha was in the 8 ruling Gupta years 174 and 177 His reign may have extended from G 170

1 History of India, etc, pp 109 f 2 1 the *nTT adopt reading T^ftr TUWjfaeft 5 snrsqfa given by a MS of the Vayupwana D K.A. y 48, f n. 86. 3 Cf. 1 snfhft Tnr i *rfe f^wfar^R^rrfq sfaRH ?ft^ ^ ^TT jfr^nr ^sfnr ^ tn n ibid, p 50. 4Cf. qrfrOTfireJfo imTKK^q I WMHWflfaui m No 3, line 11. SJRAS, (1914), pp 317 f. 6 His Pandhurna plates (No. 14) are dated in the twenty-ninth regnal year. 7 was not a Vyaghra feudatory of Prithivishena I as supposed by some scholars. See below, pp. 89f. 8 For a detailed discussion of the identification of the era m which the dates of the Uchchakalpa kings are see article entitled ' The Dates of ' recorded, my Uchchakalpa Kings in Ep. Ind , Vol XXIII,' DO 171 f vi INTRODUCTION

to G 190. Vyaghra, his father, was therefoie probably ruling from c G 150 to G. 170, 2 e. from c 470 to 490 AC He was thus a contemporary of the Vakataka Prithvishena II, to ^hom we have conjecturally assigned the same period 470-490 A c. As icgards the Vatsagulma Branch, its founder Sarvasena was a contemporary of Rudrasena I of the Main Branch He may therefore have nourished from c 330 to 355 A.C. His son Vmdhvasena or II had a 1 Vindhyasakti long reign of more than 37 years . He have ruled for 40 01 even 45 may years He may therefore be placed in the penod c 355- 400 AC His successor II Pravarasena appeals to have died >oung, for his son, whose name is lost m the mutilated unfortunately Ajanta inscription, came to the throne at the early of 8 Pravarasena II of this age years branch may therefore have ruled fiom c. 400 to

410 A c , and his son from 410 to 450 A c Devasena, who succeeded the latter, may be referred to the 450 to 475 period A G , and his son Harishena to c 475 to 500 A c If the in the of the 2 story eighth chapter Dasakummachanta has a historical basis, Harishena may have been succeeded his who luled for ten by son, about years (c 500 to 510 A a.) the was Thereafter, country conquered by the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja The Vakataka 3 chronology may therefore be stated as follows

Vindhyasakti I (250 AC)

Pravarasena I

(270 A,C ) Mam Branch | Vatsagulma Branch

(Gautamiputra)

Rudrasena I Sarvasena (330 AC) l Vindhyasakti II or Vindhyascna (355 AC) Rudrasena II Pravarasena II 40 A G ( ) c (400 A )

Divalrasena Dam5drasEoa c (405 A ) Pravarasena II (420 AC)

AG Devasena ) (450 AC) | Harisnena (475AC)

Son (Name unknown) (500 AC) The ^ronology given above agiees generally with that fixed by Dr Altekar chffers fiom but the one suggested by Dr R. C. Majumdar and adopted by Dr D C S/rcar 1 have examined the latter in an Appendix.

23. 2 See below, Chapter VI 3 The years in the brackets give the approximate dates of accession APPENDIX

A NOTE ON DR. R. C. MAJUMDAR'S GENEALOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE VAKATAKAS

Dr R C Majumdar has discussed the question of the genealogy and chronology of the Vakatakas in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol XII, pp 1 f He the gives the following genealogy with duration of each reign

Vmdhyasakti I

(250 A c )

Pravarasena I AC) Mam (270 (Bianch) | (Vatsagulma Branch)

Divakarasena Damodarasena Pravarasena II Devasena A c (420 AC) (435 AC) (450 AC) (450 )

Narendi asena Harishena A c A c (480 ) (475 )

Prithivishena II

(505 A.C )

This chronology is based 011 the following evidence dated in the 19th of Pravarasena II describe (i) The Riddhapur plates regnal year the dowager queen Prabhavatigupta as sagta-vatsha-sata-dwa-putra-pautra This passage means that Prabhavatigupta lived for more than a hundi ed years and had sons and grandsons She appears to have survived her bi other Kumaragupta whose reign came to an end in 455 A c She was probably born about 365 AC She became a widow about 420 A.C when she had three minor sons Divakarasena., Damodarasena and Pravarasena. She acted as regent for Divakarasena for thirteen vears As the 100th year of Prabhavatigupta fell before the 19th regnal year of Pravarasena II, working backwards we get the follow- of the accession of her three sons Divakai asena 420 A.C Damodara- ing approximate >ears , sena 435 A c and Pravai asena 450 A c of the Main Bianch and Harishena of the Bianch weie (11) Narendrasena Basim contemporaries, being sixth 111 descent fiom their common ancestor Pravarasena I

5 Narendrasena s son Pnthivishena II was therefore junior to Harishena Fiom the list of conquests attributed to Harishena it seems that he overran the territory of the main Vakataka branch Prithivishena II, who is said to have rescued the fortunes of the family, possibly defeated Harishena or his successor He was the suzerain of Vyaghradeva who ruled in the Nachna-Ganj territoiy I now proceed to examine this chronological scheme vm INTRODUCTION

laised Dr is the The mam plank m the chronological structure by Majumdar The occurs description of Prabhavatlgupta in the Riddhapur plates expression actually This has been in the following form sagra-vatsha-sata-diva-putia-pautra variously interpret- two one who has sons ed The editor of the grant suggested the following renderings (i) and will the live in and and grandsons, a life of full hundred years ((in end) heaven, (li) who has renowned sons and grandsons and who has lived a life of full hundred years as the word diva in that cannot Of these, the first rendering is unacceptable, simple expression < live in heaven '. The second the yield the meaning who will in the end rendering (with ' to as means change of diva into divya) is also equally open objection diyya heavenly ', ' not 'renowned Dr Majumdar has ingeniously suggested the .reading jwa in place of

1 mean that diva He takes the expiession sdgta-vatska-sata-jwa-putoa-pauttato Prabhavatlgupta lived for more than a hundied years and had sons and grandsons living at the time As it to be examined this expression is pivotal for his theory, lequires caiefully Dr Majumdar apparently takes the expression sagia-varsha-sata~jiva-put?a-pautid as and a compound consisting of two adjectival expressions sagra-vaisha-satd jiva-putra-pautra, of full hundied and the latter that the first referring to hei own age years stating the the her sons and grandsons were living at the time As compound stands, to be connected with the intended expiession sagra-varsha-sata-jwa appears putra-pautrd, dissolution being sagra-vcnsha-tatam jivanti iti tddnsd putra pautrds=cha yasyah so, To is as a of fortune and so the have living sons and giandsons regarded sign good epithet in the of in literature and 2 The jiva-putra is often noticed description women mscnptions life must be connected with The preceding expression indicating long evidently jiva. life of hei sons and not her own a expression refers to the long grandsons, To Hindu widow like Prabhavatlgupta, a long life of a hundred years is most distasteful It is not a source of it must note in this connection ofjoy No widow is likely to boast We that the expression occurs in Prabhavatigupta's own grant The long life mentioned in it must therefore be taken to refer to her sons and grandsons c It may, however, be asked, How could the sons and grandsons of Prabhavatlgupta 5 have been a hundred years old m the 19th year of Pravarasena IP The question is

is to easily answered The intention express the wish that they would be long-lived It is like the attributive adjective dyushmat or dirghdyus noticed in the description of small 3 children It would be wrong to infer from it that the children were then long-lived The is of the expression in Prabhavatigupta's grant same type The only difference is that instead of an indefinite expression indicating long life like ditgkayus, one denoting a life of full hundred years is used The expiession must theiefore be taken to mean that Prabha- vatlgupta had at that time sons and grandsons who, it was hoped, would be long-lived. It does not refer to the long life of Prabhavatlgupta herself at all

1 This was first in P.I 58 f. pointed out by Prof Jagan Nath H.C , Vol IV, pp 2 i 9 Of (i) q-zr sffar wfrcfipr SFTTW Rtgoeda, X, 36,

(n) ^n'lRn *r 5fto|^ ?rp=r fa^nrfsflr| i

^tefc ^ ^ ^FT *T I V 2 pjfof ^zftaT Mahdbharata, 3 144, (m) sftej^ ftw?3r 5^ Tsrc^r ^r^Fr i "! |c3T iTCftr 3Tfo?mi Ramqyana, IV, 19, 11. 1 in Vol. (iv) sfN^nq TWlcj^ HK Nasik Cave Inscription, Ep. Ind , VIII, p. 73 the words of Kausalya in the Uttarafamachanta, when she sees Lava being dragged away by the boys of Valmlki's hermitage, eager to see the horse of Asvamedha sfsr^f? 3TPTTf*T

1 arrfir fesr I 3T ^ sprojfi yftm ^^r^; srr^r *I^W ^[Fr I Uttararamachanta, Act iv. Here Kausalya uses difgkayusham (long-lived) as an attnbute of Lava, who was in his teens. VAKATAKA CHRONOLOGY APPENDIX ix

The foundation on which Di Majumdar's theory is based is thus extiemely shaky I shall now proceed to examine the subsidiaiv evidence adduced by him of than a hundied veais in the (i) To account for Prabhavatigupta's age more nineteenth regnal year of Pravarasena II, Dr Majumdar supposes that the Vakataka queen she had thiee sons, Divakaiasena, Damodarasena and Pravarasena According to him,

i in advanced was born about 365 A c and became a widow in 420 A c , e when she was the \ve shall age of 55 years Her eldest son was then about six years old If this is coirect, or have to suppose that Prabhavati had no male children till she was nearly fifty years old, that all her sons born before had died, and that after that age she had these three sons ' in close succession This appears very unlikely As Dr Majumdar has himself said, in all cases wheie nothing definite is known, we shall proceed on the basis of a reasonable ' and probable state of things No grants made by Damodarasena have been discovered. Pra- Besides, the description in the Riddhapur plates seems to point to his identity with varasena II The expression Vakdtakdndm Mahdidja-Ddmodamsena-Pravaiasena-janani occuis in the desciiption of Prabhavatigupta It uses the phiase Vakdtakdndm Maharaja in connection with the name of Damodarasena, but not with that of Pravarasena II When we in remember how particular the drafters of Vakataka giants weie about the use of this title connection with the name of every Vakataka king who actually reigned, it looks strange that the title should not have been prefixed to the name of Pravarasena II, who was actually ruling at the time Again, there is no reason why the name of Divakarasena should have been omitted It seems probable therefore that Damodarasena and Pravaiasena II were identical, and that the latter name was adopted by the pnnce at the time of Ins accession cleai that From the Jamb plates dated in the second regnal year of Pravarasena II it seems this prince had come of age when he began to reign Prabhavatigupta's regency does not seem to have continued long after the issue of the Poona plates dated in the thirteenth year evidently of the boy-prince Divakarasena's reign It does not therefore seem likely that Prabhavatigupta was a hundred years old in the nineteenth regnal year of Pravarasena II

(n) Dr. Majumdai says that Narendrasena of the main bianch and Harishena of the Vastagulma branch were contemporaries, because both of them were sixth in descent 1 from then common ancestor Pravarasena I We cannot, howevei, be certain about the contemporaneity of princes by counting generations, for, the reign-periods of kings vary greatly Besides, though Narendrasena was sixth in descent from Piavarasena I, one did not Naiendiasena was therefore of his ancestors, viz , Gautamiputra reign probably a contemporary of Devasena Consequently, Prithivlshena II and Harishena may have ruled in the same period As the latter claims to have conquered Avanti or Malwa, he must have overrun the temtoiy of the main branch He had probably annexed it after the death of Prithivlshena II Prithivlshena that need (in) As for the restoration of the foitune of his family by II, not refer to any struggle with Harishena We know that there were wais between the mam branch of the Vakatakas and the Nalas of Pushkari Bhavadatta of the Nala dynasty had overrun the Vakataka territory and occupied Nandivardhana, the erstwhile Vakataka capital The Nalas admit that their own capital was devastated by the enemy some time before the reign of Skandavarman, the son of Bhavadattavarman, who resettled it It

1 Really speaking, it was Pnthivshena II who was a contempoi ary of Harishena. See the Genea- logical Table on p. vi x INTRODUCTION

is easy to surmise that this enemy, though not named in the inscription, was the contemporary Vakataka king. The restoration of the fortune of the Vakataka family mentioned in the Balaghat plates probably refers to the reoccupation of Northern Vidarbha by Prithivishena II. The scheme of the genealogy and chronology of the Vakatakas proposed by Dr. Majumdar thus goes against the available evidence of the Vakataka and other inscriptions and is therefore untenable CHAPTER III THE HOME OF THE VAKATAKAS

Vakatakas are generally believed to be of northern origin Thus, Vincent ( and are THESmith, in his article on the Vakatakas, says, If Vindhyasakti Pravarasena the same persons as Vindhyasakti and Piavira of the Puranas, the origin of the family 5 must be sought somewhere in the area now known as Central India . Jayaswal went fiom Vakata or Vakata on the one step further and derived the dynastic name Vakataka analogy of Ttaikutaka, which is plainly formed from Tnkuta He identified this Vakata, the supposed home-land of the Vakatakas, with Bagat, a village in the northernmost part of the former Orchha State, six miles east of Chirgaon in the District of Jhansi 'The to the was the first annointed and Brahmana ', says Jayaswal, 'who, according Puranas, king the founder of the dynasty and who assumed the appropriate appellation of Vindhyasakti, ' adopted the name of his own town as his dynastic title The northein origin of the 1 Vakatakas has been tacitly admitted by almost all scholars who have written on this subject I therefoie propose to examine critically the evidence on which it is based this (1) The main basis of theory of the northern origin of the Vakatakas is the 2 following passage in the Puranas

fi'dUfi

: t

\ n

i U u

c This passage is introduced with the words, Hear also the future luleis of Vidisa \ and mentions towards the close the names of Vindhyasakti and Pravira, who are undoubtedly kings of the Vakataka dynasty It has, therefore, been supposed that Vindhyasakti and Pravira ruled somewhere in Central India, not far from Vidisa, modern Besnagar near Bhilsa This passage mentions several kings, but none of them, with the exception of the two mentioned above, are known from any other source. Besides, it is not clear how far the scope of the introductory statement JTTFf^f^r^rPr ?rfawiT? f^ffacT extends That all the kings mentioned in this passage were not of Vidisa was realised by Pargiter ' ' also, who gave the heading Dynasties of Vidisa, etc to it. It is noteworthy that the passage introduces Sisuka, the ruler of Purika, in verse 5 Purika, we know from the

1 See JV Vol 96 southern of the Vakatakas first out e.g H.I P , VI, p The origin was pointed by me in N UJ., No 3, pp 22 f pp 49-50 xi{ INTRODUCTION

which is usually identified HanvamM, was situated at the foot of the Rikshavat mountain, Pravira was therefore situated south of the Vmdhyas. with the Satpuda lange. The town the son of is mentioned in this passage immediately (or Pravarasena I), Vmdhyasakti, succeeded the latter in that territory after Sisuka, piobably because that Vakataka prince Purika to be mentioned as a capital of It may be noted in this connection that appears of it Praviia in the next verse Pargiter gives the following reading

u would be Kaftchanaka, If this reading is adopted, the name of the Vakataka capital and inserted in the line meiely but this reading would make the particle cha meaningless emendation >ftwr * *r*TT . ?fe Sfcw for padapurana I, therefore, adopt Jayaswal's ingenious two Purika and Chanaka 'SFPPT ^ 3 meaning that Pravarasena ruled from capitals the Vakataka is mentioned The verse, if thus read, would satisfactorily explain why king and made Punka immediately after Sisuka He evidently annexed the latter's kingdom to the in the noith. This a second capital of his empire, which thus extended Vmdhyas the Vakatakas passage in the Puranas does not, therefore, give any indication that originally belonged to Central India is advanced to the northern (2) Another argument which sometimes prove origin of the Vakatakas is the identification of Rudradeva mentioned m the Allahabad pillar This the inscription of Samudragupta with Rudrasena I of the Vakataka dynasty implies existence of the Vakataka empire in North India during the reigns of the early kings, Rudrasena I and his grandfather Pravarasena I. The identification is, however, extiemely in that as a of exterminat- unlikely. Rudradeva, who is mentioned inscription king Aryavarta ed by Samudragupta, must have been previously ruling north of the Vindhyas. We have, Rudrasena I or of earlier of however, no inscription of the reign of the Vakataka any king the dynasty from North India The only record of Rudrasena I discovered so fai is the District of 2 I stone inscription found at Deotek m the Chanda Vidarbha Rudiasena was, therefore, ruling in Vidarbha, not in Central India Besides, as Dr Altekar has already observed, 3 if Rudrasena I had been exterminated by Samudragputa, it is extremely unlikely that his son Prithivishena I would ever have selected a Gupta princess (viz Prabhavatigupta) to be his daughter-in-law For all these reasons, the identification of Rudradeva of the Allahabad pillar inscription with the Vakataka Rudiasena I is extremely unlikely and it cannot substantiate the northern origin of the Vakatakas in a (3) The suiest indication of the rule of any king particular territory is the coins are original findspot of his stone inscriptions Copper-plates and easily carried of miles from place to place and are sometimes found hundreds away from then original in places Stone inscriptions are generally not transported this manner Now, there is not a single inscription of any Vakataka king found north of the Vindhyas Two stone 4 ' inscriptions of a prince named Vyaghradeva, who describes himself as meditating on the feet of the Vakataka Prithivishgna' have, however, been discovered in Central India one at Nachne-ki-talai in the former Jaso State, and the other at Ganj in the former

1 Cf *T*rfacT?cfrt ?R I ftf*Rfr tfr 22, ^T^RT farm 1 Hanvamfa, Vishnuparvan, 38, J^V WT jfer ^TW ?TTO 1 Rikshavat is mentioned in the Vishnupurana as 'the source of the Tapi, Payoshni and Nirvindhya and therefore corresponds to the Satpuda mountain Cf ^r^R'^^f^^o^snT^T ^^frnr^r It 2 No. 1 3JVK/P, Vol. VI, p. 105 4 Nos. 20-21 and 22 THE HOME OF THE VAKATAKAS xiii

first Vakataka Ajaigadh State This Prithivishena is identified by some scholars with the are sometimes king of that name, who flourished in the period 350-400 A c These records cited to prove that the Vakatakas had an empire north of the Vindhyas prior to that of the Guptas The paleographic evidence which has been recently adduced to prove the 1 of the early age of these inscriptions is not conclusive Besides, there is no other vestige extension of Vakataka supremacy in that region as early as the reign of Prithivishena I On the other hand, Vyaghradeva of the aforementioned Nachna and Ganj inscriptions is probably identical with the Uchchakalpa prince of the same name mentioned in the grants 2 of his son Jayanatha who flourished in the last quarter of the fifth century AC His suzerain Prithivishena was therefore the second Vakataka king of that name who flourished from about 470 A c to 490 A c That the Vakatakas had extended their supremacy north of the from Vindhyas duimg the reign of Prithivishena IPs father Narendrasena is also known to the expression Kosala-Mekald-Malav-abhywchchita-sasanah used in the Balaghat plates describe Narendrasena 3 This is again confirmed by the evidence of the Pandavavamsl king 4 luled over Bharatalala who covertly refers to his suzerain Narendrasena This Bharatabala of is known Mekala as stated expressly in the grant No other king of the name Vyaghra to have ruled in Central India in the age of the Vakatakas Vyaghradeva of the Nachna and a and Ganj inscriptions therefore belonged to the Uchchakalpa dynasty was feudatory of the Vakataka Prithivishena II and not of Prithivishena I, who flourished nearly 120 rule of the years earlier These inscriptions do not, therefore, evidence any eaily Vakatakas, much less their home-land, north of the Vindhyas of and coins afford no sure (4) As stated before, the find-spots copper-plates proof also has to be of the lule of any dynasty in a particular territory Still, their evidence the considered in the absence of other proofs The only coppei -plate grant of Vakatakas said to have been found in North India is that recorded on the so-called Indore plates^ of the late Pandit Vamanasastri Pravarasena II These plates were found in the collection of Islampmkar It is well known that the Pandit was engaged m collecting old Sanskrit I have shown manuscripts and historical records from different parts of the country 6 elsewheie that two other grants found in his collection at Indore were oiigmally from located in As all othei Khandesh and the places mentioned in them can also be Khandesh from copper-plate grants of the Vakatakas discovered so far originally came Vidarbha, to the same of the the Indoie copper-plate grant also, in all probability, belongs part in North India 7 country None of the places mentioned m it have been located of Indian fabric which he As for coins, Jayaswal drew attention to some coins North attributed to the Vakatakas The com with the legend Piavarasenasyofi bears, according the date 100 referr- to Jayaswal, the date 76, and that having the legend Rudia? Jayaswal 248 A c accord- ed these dates to the so-called Kalachun-Chedi era commencing m , which,

1 n 1 D C Sircar has drawn attention to the triangular v and the In H C.I P , Vol III, p. 179, to evidence an date for old forms ofj and t, which, according him, early Vyaghradeva's feudatory f See also article on this Prithivishena, but the evidence is inconclusive See belo\v pp 89 my f subject in Dr S. K Belvalkar Felicitation Volume, pp 286 2 CII, Vol, III, Nos 26 and 27. 3No 18, pp. 27-28 4 No 19, lines 31-34 5No 9 6C./7, Vol IV, pp. 5 f 7 1 have identified some of them in the Balaghat District See below, p 40 8 History of India, etc., pp 52 f, 9 Ibid, pp. 108 f. xiv INTRODUCTION

ing to him, \vas ically started by the Vakatakas. If his readings of the legends and dates and the identification of the era are correct, these coins may indicate the extension of Vakataka rule north of the Vindhyas during the reigns of the early Vakataka rulers Pravarasena I and Rudrasena I But JayaswaPs leadings and interpretations have been disputed by other scholars Dr. Altekar has shown that the coin attributed to Pravarasena is really of Virasena The symbols which Dr Jayaswal supposed to be the date 76 are

really the branches of a tree in railing As for the coins of Rudrasena I, what he took to be the letters Rudia is really the tn-i atria symbol The symbol supposed to denote the date 100 is a svastika l So these coins cannot clearly be attributed to any Vakataka king. In fact, the Vakatakas did not strike any coins, but used the currency of the Guptas throughout their kingdom Several gold coins of Chandragupta II have been found in Vidarbha The silver coins of the Western also have been Kshatrapas may current in their territory. Some hoards of Kshatrapa coins have been found in the Chmndwada and other districts of Madhya Pradesh Again, even supposing that the readings of the dates on these coins are coirect, they cannot be referred to the eia of 248 A c That era was not started by the Vakatakas 2 and has not been used in dating any Vakataka grant All inscriptions of the Vakatakas aie dated in regnal years. As a matter of fact, the era was introduced in Vidarbha after the downfall of the Vakatakas The only date of that era found in Vidarbha occms in the recently discovered Nandivardhana plates of Svamiraja, who was probably 3 a feudatory of the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja The foregoing discussion must have made it plain that neither the era nor the coins are of the Vakatakas There is thus not an iota of evidence to prove that the Vakatakas originally hailed from North India I shall to state evidence now proceed some which indicates that the original home of the dynasty was in the Deccan The earliest mention of the 4 (i) name Vakataka occuis in the following record incised on a fragment of an octagonal pillar at Amaravati m the Guntur District of Andhra State. It is in Prakrit and is in characters of about the third century A c 5 Inscription No 126

Line 1

,j 2

j> 3

The is msciiption unfortunately fragmentary, but its extant portion shows that it was intended to record the of a gift gnhapati (householder) named Vakataka and his two wives, one of was whom named Chamuna. The gift was made by them at the instance of a Thera (Buddhist Bhikshu) named Bodhika and for the longevity of themselves and their agnates (jnatts), friends and relatives Vakataka is used here as a personal name and not as a family name This record shows that the gnhapati Vakataka had gone to Amara- vati with his wives to make donations there for the longevity of himself, his wives and relatives The name of the native was mentioned in the village beginning of the first line, but it is lost In now view of the difficulties of travelling in those days it would not be

Vol , V, pp 130 f 2 It was probably started by the Abhira king IsVaiasena C//, Vol IV, pp xxm f 3 >w- Ibid, Vol. IV, pp. 611 f. *Ep Ind, Vol XV, p 267 and plate. 5 This number is cited from Amaravati in the Government Sculptures Madras Museum, p. 304. THE HOME OF THE VAKATAKAS xv

wrong to infer that this gnhapati Vakataka was the resident of a countiy not very far fiom Amaravati It may be noted in this connection that the inscriptions discovered at Amaravati generally mention countries, rivers and places of South India such as Dravida,

l the Krishna, the Godavari, Dhanakataka and Kantakasaila The only places of North India which I have noticed in the 126 inscriptions of Amaravati that have been published so far are Rajagriha and Pataliputra, mentioned as places of residence of monks who or whose disciples made certain donations at Amaravati The inference that the gnhapati Vakataka mentioned in inscription No 126 was a resident of South India would thus appear reasonable

On palaeographic grounds this inscription has been referred to the third century A c The gnhapati Vakataka mentioned in it was not therefore far removed in time from

Vindhyasakti I, who seems to have come into prominence about 250 A c This gnhapati was in all piobability the progenitor of the Vakataka family even as Gupta was of the Gupta family What social or official status he had, we do not know; but he was apparently of sufficient importance to be regarded as the progenitor of the family This Vakataka was then a follower of Buddhism, but later on he or his descendants seem to have changed their religious faith and become staunch supporters of the Vedic i eligion Several instances of such change of faith can be cited from the ancient history of India. indications of the of (2) There aie several other southern origin the Vakatakas In the formal portions of Vakataka grants there occur several technical terms which are noticed in the Hirahadgalli and Mayidavolu plates of the Pallava king Sivaskandavarman. Some of these may be given here

Expressions in the Basim plates Corresponding expressions in the Pallava grants

2 3

5, 6

These similarities are suiely not accidental. They presuppose some connection of the Vakatakas with the Pallavas It is also possible that both these dynasties borrowed these expressions from earlier Satavahana inscriptions No such technical terms have,. however, been noticed in any early grants of North India titles and Dharmamahdt mentioned in connection with (3) Again, the Hantiputoa aja, the earliest Vakataka kings Pravarasena I, Sarvasena and Vindhyasakti II in the Basim to the southern of the these titles are noticed plates, unmistakably point origin family, for., the m the early grants of only southern dynasties such as the Vinhukada Satakarms, in the Pallavas, the Kadambas and the Early Chalukyas, They are not found earlv grants of any northern dynasty that the Vakatakas extended to a ministerial of (4) Finally, the patronage family South India for several generations may also indicate their southern origin This family c was named Vallura aftei the village Vallura in the southern region which was its original 3 has not been but it be the place of residence This place yet definitely identified, may same as modern Velur which lies about 30 miles north by east of Hyderabad in the Yelgandal

tVif list nf crpno-rnnTniral names ihifl rm INTRODUCTION

His District of the former Hyderabad State. The progenitor of this family was Yajfiapati son Deva, who was a contemporary of Vindhyas*akti and perhaps also of his son Pravarasena

I, is described m the Ghatotkacha cave inscription as a very pious Brahmana, at whose instance the whole kingdom including the king engaged itself in the performance of religious ntes From Vakataka inscriptions also we have evidence of a phenomenal religious activity in this period Pravarasena I, who was the real founder of Vakataka imperial power, is said to have performed several sacrifices such as Agnishtoma, Aptoiyama, Ukthya, Shodasm, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava and Sadyaskra, besides foui AsVamedhas. No other early king of North or South India, except Madhavavarman I of the Vishnukundin dynasty, is known to have performed so many Srauta sacrifices It is not unlikely that he was encouraged m this by this pious Brahmana minister Deva Ravi, the grandson of is said to have Deva, established his sway over the whole territory (knt-adhipatyam mdiaye samagri] He was a contemporary of the Vakataka king Sarvasena who founded a separate with kingdom Vatsagulma as its capital Ravi may have assisted Sarvasena m extending- the limits of his patrimony by making fresh conquests The last two known members of this family, Hastibhoja and Varahadeva, were the capable ministers of the Vakataka kings Devasena and Hanshena respectively It will be seen that the two families ministerial and royal which were intimately connected with each other for several genera- rose to tions, distinction m the same period The ministerial family hailed from Vallura as shown which, above, may be identified with Velur in the Central Deccan The ori- habitation of the ginal gnhapati Vakataka cannot be determined owing to the unfortunate mutilation of No 126 at Inscription Amaravati, but it was also probably situated in the Central Deccan This also affords the most plausible explanation of how the Vakatakas rose to m Vidarbha or power Central Deccan immediately after the downfall of the SaUv,I- hanas

The evidence adduced above I will, hope, convince readers that the original home of the Vakatakas was in South India. CHAPTER IV EARLY RULERS

middle of the third A c marks the century commencement of an impoi tant epoch in the of South India THE history The Satavahanas, who had held a major part of the for an of more than four peninsula unusually long period centuries and a half, disappear fiom the of about this time stage history Pulumavi IV is the last known king of the Andhra e mentioned in the (i Satavahana) dynasty Puranas His rock inscription has been found at Adoni in the District of Andhra State 1 while his Bellary , potin coins have been discoveied at Tarhala in the 2 Akola District of Vidarbha . He therefore probably ruled over an extensive kingdom stretching from the Narmada m the north to the Tungabhadra in the south After his downfall in area 250 A c several small , kingdoms appeal to have risen m the different which had been provinces previously under his sway The Put anas say that on the dismemberment of the Andhra Empire the seivants of the Andhias, viz the Sriparvatiyas, Andhras, Abhiias, Gardabhilas, Sakas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Murundas and Hunas would rise to 3 power This statement has, to a certain extent, been corroborated the of and coins by discovery inscriptions We know that the Abhiras carved out a kingdom for themselves in Northern 4 Maharashtra, KSnkan and Gujarat, and the Sriparavatiyas or the Ikshvakus did 5 the same in the lower Krishna valley Again, we have numismatic evidence of the rise of a Saka dynasty m the southern parts of the Hyderabad State after the overthrow of 6 the Satavahanas The founder of this dynasty was Mana Mahisha, whose power and prestige entitled him to a mention in the Puranas He had the status of Maha- under the senapati probably Satavahanas Later, he threw off their yoke, but continued the title for some time on his coins The Puramc statement about the rise of the Gardabhilas, Tusharas Murundas and Hunas to Yavanas, , remains be verified by the discovery of and coins inscriptions They may have usurped power in the provinces north of the Narmada As regards the Sakas, who also are mentioned in the same context, we have evidence of an independent Saka kingdom in Central India, different from that of the Western Kshatrapas of Saurashtra It was founded by the Mahadandanayaka Sridharavarman 7 as it the Pui anas make no Strange may appear, mention of the Vakatakas among the dynasties that lose after the downfall of the Satavahanas They no doubt mention Vmdhyasakti, but they place his rise after the Kilakila (or Kohkila) kings who succeeded the Satavahanas no other 8 We have, however, evidence of the rule of these Kilakila or Kohkila kings Vmdhyasakti I is the earliest known king of the Vakataka dynasty He is mentioned n the aforementioned passage of the Puranas and also in an inscription in Cave XVI at ' 9 The latter record calls ' Ajanta him the banner of the Vakataka family and gives the

1 Ind , Vol. 1 53 f editor of this Ep. XIV, pp The record ascribes it to Pulumavi II, Vasishthiputra, but the palaeographical evidence shows that it belongs to the reign of the last king, Pulumavi IV. 2 JV S I Vol J , II, pp 92 f The king's name occurs as Puluhamavi on the coins found at Tarhal a *DK A, pp 45 f 4 C/7, Vol IV, pp. xxxmf 5&p Ind, Vol XX, pp 1 f 6 J JVSI, Vol XV, pp 1 f 7 C/7, Vol IV, pp. xxxvm f 8 1 Cf era ^Ftf&fr&WR^T faraRrfecTiffocqfa I DKA,p 48. 9 No. 25, line 1. XV111 INTRODUCTION

a Brahmana Later Vakataka valuable information that he was a dvija, which usually means as the of the Vakatakas How Vindhyasakti I inscriptions mention Vishnuvnddha gotra mentioned in an at Amaravati we do not know, was related to the gnhapati Vakataka inscription he also had a but it is not unlikely that like the Saka Mahdsendpati Mana, previously occupied under the which facilitated his rise to royal position of power and vantage Satavahanas, power. Puranic Scholars are not agreed about the original home of this Vindhyasakti The indicate that he was a ruler of Vidisa * This is passage referred to above is supposed to I not correct. The Purdnas mention not Vindhyasakti I, but his son Pravarasena (under rulers of as shown the the name Pravira) in connection with the Vidisa, because, below, the of was latter annexed the kingdom of Purika where a scion of Naga family Vidisa ruling r situated in the Central Deccan not far from Vindhyasakti s home was probably Vallura, the mimsteiial which served the Vakatakas for the original habitation of family faithfully Purdnas mention two Punka and Chanaka of his son several generations. The capitals Pravarasena I 2 Of these, Chanaka was probably the older capital from which Vindhya- identified sakti was ruling. It has not been I. He is said to The Ajanta inscription highly glorifies Vindhyasakti have augmented battles When he was irresistible had a his power by fighting great enraged, He large he exacted submission from his enemies have no reliable cavalry, by means of which We information about the extent of his kingdom His name is supposed to be a biruda, suggest- the but to Puranic ing the extension of his kingdom to Vindhyan region, according the account this was achieved not by him but by his son Pravarasena I We may, however, well believe that starting from his base in the Central Deccan he raided and occupied parts of Vidarbha The Sanskrit and Prakrit charters of the Vakatakas omit Vmdhyas'akti's name and start the genealogy of the royal family invariably from his son Pravarasena I. is to his name even in the this Again, no regal title prefixed Ajanta inscription From 3 it has been surmised that Vindhyasakti I received no formal coronation This is hardly convincing The reason for the omission of his name seems to be that the real founder of Vakataka power was not he, but his son Pravarasena I, who greatly extended his dominion The Ajanta inscription which mentions his name is in verse It mentions no with the names of other rulers also So there is regal titles in connection no reason to doubt that Vindhyasakti carved out an independent kingdom for himself in ancient Vidarbha He probably flourished in the period 250-270 AC In some Purdnas he is credited with a 4 reign of 96 years, but the period, if correct, may rather represent his long life the Pravarasena I, who succeeded Vindhyasakti I, was most renowned king of this dynasty. He extended his dominion in different directions He carried his arms to the Narmada in the north and annexed the kingdom of Puiika. The Purdnas say that a king named Sisuka, who was the daughter's son of a Naga king of Vidisa, was ruling there Pravarsena deposed him and incorporated his kingdom into his own dominion He then transferred his capital to Punka This city was situated somewhere at the foot of the Rikshavat or Satpuda mountain 5 We have no definite knowledge about the other

96. , p K A, p 50. I adopt Dr. Jayaswal's amendation TffSR^ ^ *RT

a - B fc <

cb JSfc i

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EARLY RULERS xix

campaigns of Pravaiasena It has been suggested that he succeeded in imposing his suzerainty over the Western Kshatrapas Rudrasimha II and Yasodaman II, who were his contemporaries, and who, unlike their predecessors, did not assume the title of Mahdksha- l as no definite of this The break in the use of the trapa There is, however, yet proof higher title by the Western Kshatrapas may be due to the rise of an independent kingdom in Central India undei the Saka king r!dharavarman There is also no evidence to show that Pravarasena I cariied his victorious arms beyond the Narmada and incorporated 2 Baghelkhand into his dominion The only proof of Vakataka suzerainty in Baghelkhand in this early period is furnished by the lithic records, at Nachna and Ganj, of Vyaghradeva, who calls himself a feudatory of the Vakataka Prithivishena, but as shown elsewhere, these therein the second records belong to a much later age, Prithivishena mentioned being Vakataka king of that name who flourished in circa 470-490 A c It is also unlikely that Pravarasena I made any conquests in Northern Maharashtra, have Gujarat and Konkan, which were ruled by the powerful Abhira kings He may and Shola- succeeded in conquering parts of North Kuntala comprising Kolhapur, Satara have earned his arms to Dakshina pur Districts of the Maharashtra State Eastward, he may Kosala, Kalmga and Andhra, which were ruled by petty princes in this period The paucity limits of his dominion of records of this age makes it difficult to state his conquests or the exact of the Vedic He Pravarasena I was a pious man and a staunch supporter religion almost performed a number of Vedic sacrifices The records of his successors invariably 3 as four Asvamedhas The mention his performance of the seven Soma sacrifices as well sacrifices which were marked liberal Purdnas make a special mention of his Vajapeya by 4 he assumed the title Samrat, which is gifts to Brahmanas Thereafter unique imperial mentioned in several records of his descendants 5 Like the early Pallava kings, he took 6 Like the also the title Dharmamahdrdja indicative of his piety and righteous conquests 7 himself a descendant of Haritl These two Vmhukada Satakaims , he called Hdntiputra, titles are indicative of his association with southern kings sacrifices Pravarasena I By his conquests and performance of Asvamedha proclaimed still further means his supremacy in the Deccan He sought to strengthen his position by to the of a matrimonial alliance with the Bharasivas of North India The latter belonged in an stone inscrip- Naga race and may originally have been reigning Vidarbha, for, early has been found at Paum tion of a Bhara king named Bhagadatta (circa second century AC) 8 to have raided North m the Bhandara District of Vidarbha Subsequently they appear coins of their India, where they established themselves Copper Adhirdja (Emperor)

58 f 100 ., Vol. VI, pp , p I extended to Bundeiknana 2 100. There is also no evidence that the of Pravarasena Ibid , p. empire 220 in the north as stated m HCIP , Vol II, p 3 named as follows Agmsntoma, The seven Soma sacrifices (called sapta Soma-samsthah) areusually and Vakataka inscriptions men- Atyagmshtoma, Ukthya, Shodasm, Vajapeya, Atiratra Aptoryama and to them Of No 5, lines tion all these except Atyagmshtoma and add Bnhaspatisava Sadyaskra omits Shodasin and Atiratra If No 23 mentions Jyotishtoma, but Ukthya, _ __ 4 50 of the mentions Vajimedhas m place ofVajapeyas KA , p A MS Vqyupurana to assume the title Samrat Gf TT^TT ^ TFT- 5 The performer of a Vajapeya sacrifice is entitled 3 g-JnTte^T '^reftr ^rsrr^ ^Tsr^Rfa II Satapatha Brdhmana, V, 1, 1, assumed m the centuries of the era 6The title Dharmamaharaja, whichHmdu kings early Christian some officials of Asoka. We rmd have been the title Dharmamahamatra borne by high may suggested by northern of the Pallava Sivaskandavannan Some it for the first time in the HirahadagaUi grant king 15 and ouy or CII, Vol IV, pp kings assumed the title of Dharmavijaym righteous conqueror 333 ilnd Ant , Vol XIV, p, *Ep 2nd, VoL XXV, pp 11 f XX INTRODUCTION

of the i Eun at Padmavati, the well-known capital Nagas Bhavanaga have been found were staunch Saivas They earned on then Vakataka records we learn that the Bharasivas that owed Ins tnHOa or tndent) and beheved hey shoulders the emblem of Siva (perhaps 2 as as ten Asvamedhas to that They performed many the. ro>al position god's grace winch had obtained by their consecrated with the water of the Ganga, they and were Kushanas that the Bharasivas had driven away the ^alour The plainly shows description aie re- of and K&fi , which India and recovered from them the tlrthas Prayaga from Central was a Siva the Maharaja of the Bharasivas, garded as sacred by all devotees of Bhavanaga, to who I He his daughter m marriage Gautamiputra, contemporarv of Pravarasena gave Vakataka This alliance with the powerful ,vas the eldest son of the Emperor probably and ot to have strengthened the power prestige Naea family of the North appears greatly descendants. mentioned in all of Gautamiputra's rtie Vakatakas, for, it is invariably grants with a re n of 60 yeais, The Puranas credit Pravarasena I (whom they call Pravira) long lg his of four Asvamedhas and several Vajapeya which is not unlikely in view of performance about 270 A c to 330 A c sacrifices. He may have ruled from and active Prime Minister named Deva, Pravarasena I had a very pious, learned It is said that by his influence who is eulogised in the Ghatotkacha cave inscription ^the in the of duties whole kingdom including the king engaged itself performance leligious been noticed in the of Pravarasena I may have The phenomenal religious activity reign mainlv due to the influence of this learned and pious statesman 4 all of whom became According to the Purdnas, Pravarasena I had four sons, kings there was no evidence Until recently this statement of the Puranas appeared incredible, for, of the Basim that the Vakataka family had branched off so early The discovery copper- besides mentioned in several plate grant m 1939 showed for the first time that Gautamiputra Sarvasena 5 His name Vakataka grants, Pravarasena I had at least one more son named at 6 It seems therefore cer- has also been noticed in the inscription in Cave XVI Ajanta after his tain that the extensive empire of Pravarasena I was divided among his four sons The death The eldest branch probably continued to reign from the old capital Punka Basim second son Sarvasena established himself at the holy city of Vatsagulma, modern in the Akola District of Vidarbha One of the remaining sons may have been ruling over North Kuntala comprising the upper Krishna valley, and the other may have been put in charge of Dakshma Kosala, if that was included in the dominion of Pravarasena I. No records of these two branches have yet come to light probably because they were short-h\ed The Kuntala bianch may have been crushed out of existence by the Rashtra- kuta famih \\hich was founded by Mananka in the upper Krishna valley in circa 375 7 AC The branch ruling in Dakshina Kosala may also have been ousted by the Nalas and 8 others \\ho lose to po\\ei about the middle of the fourth century A c

iJJVSI, VoTv5 pp 21 f 2 Cf. No 3, lines 4-5 etc. 3 Cf =rcnnr Tn^T^T ST^PR; wm fw qrnf ^r ST^P ti No 26, line 5 4 Cf. TOT =qwd TTfrWfrr TOfarr i DKA 50 grog , p 5 No 23, line 4 6 No 25, line 6 7 See mv article 'The Rashtrakutas of ' in A B R I Vol Manapura , XXV, pp 36 f Also S I > \ ol I, pp 178 f SFor the Nak kings see my article 'Gold Coins of Three of the 3 Kings Nala , N S /., * Dynasty J P T the a m Daksluna sala see mily mllllg Ko > Plates of Bhimasena II T H v ? ix- o , o r / T Arang Ep. haVC Sh Wn Vo1 (M ' XXVI ' PP 227 f )' the date of thls is G 182 DU1*n \r ^ not? P 0*0 ! Sr^t V AC), G 282 as taken by the editor CHAPTER V THE MAIN BRANCH

1 the eldest son of Pravarasena I, predeceased his father The GAUTAMIPUTRA,latter was therefore succeeded by his grandson Rudrasena I in ciica 330 A c In later Vakataka records Rudrasena I is invariably described as the daughter's son of Bhavanaga, the Mahdidja of the Bharasivas, which indicates that the young prince had the powerful support of the Nagas of Padmavati Only one inscription of his reign has been 2 that at in the Chanda District of Vidarbha It is incised on a discovered, viz , Deotek large slab of stone after chiselling off an earlier record, issued probably by a Mahamatia of Asoka the Great, prohibiting the capture and slaughter of animals The Vakataka inscription on the slab records that the shrine where the slab was put up was the dharma-sthana (place I of of religious worship) of the Rajan Rudrasena Rudrasena was a fervent devotee Mahabhairava, the terrific god created by Siva for the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice He had no regard for the doctrine of ahimsa preached by Asoka He therefore apparently had no scruples in getting his own inscription incised on the same slab which contained an old proclamation of the great Buddhist Emperor prohibiting the capture and slaughter of animals. Rudrasena I was a contemporary of the mighty Gupta king Samudragupta His age was therefore a period of great convulsion m the country to the north of the Narmada. Samudragupta, with the powerful support of the Lichchhavis of Vais"ali, embarked upon a career of conquest and annexation in North India His Allahabad pillar inscription mentions a large number of princes of Aryavarta or the country to the north of the Narmada 3 whom he forcibly dethroned and whose kingdoms he annexed Among these rulers were the Naga princes Nagadatta, Ganapati Naga and Nagasena Of these, Ganapati Naga was probably the contemporary ruler of Padmavati, for, his coins have been found there. He was evidently the successor of Bhavanaga The other Naga princes were probably ruling over smaller states in Central India We do not know what measures Rudrasena I took to help his relatives in North India, but there is no doubt that their final defeat and overthrow deprived him of the support of a powerful confederacy of the Naga States After subduing the princes of North India, Samudragupta led his expedition to the south The first king who felt the weight of his arms was Mahendia, the lord of Kosala, i e Ghhattisgadh This king may previously have been a feudatory of the Vakatakas, his

1 Dr D R Bhandarkar, drawing attention to the faulty construction in the stereotyped form of the Vakataka genealogy, suggested that Gautamiputra was the grandson, not the son, of Pravarasena I If this view is accepted, the successor of Pravarasena I would be his great-grandson as Gautamiputra did not evidently come to the throne, the expression Vdkdtakdndm Maharaja, which occurs invariably in the description of every Vakataka king, being absent in his case Again, if Gautamiputra was the ? grandson, not the sou of Pravarasena I, who was the son of the latter? Why is his name omitted These questions cannot be satisfactorily answered For further discussion of this question, see my article in Ind Cult Vol , XI, pp 232-33 2 No 1 3 Some scholars identify Rudradeva mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription as uprooted by Samudragupta with the Vakataka Rudrasena I, but the former was a uler of Aryavarta or North India, while the Vakatakas had, in this early peiiod, no foot-hold north of the Narmada as shown above Again, as Dr Altekar has shown, if Rudrasena I had been killed by Samudragupta, his son Pntmvlshena I would not have accepted Prabhavatigupta, the grand-daughter of Samudragupta, as a bride for his son Rudra- sena II Ind Cult, Vol IX, pp 103 f xxii INTRODUCTION

powerful neighbours to the west It is not known if Rudrasena lent him any aicl In misting defeated 1 the aggression of the Gupta Emperor, but Mahendra was ultimately and had to allow Samudragupta to pass through his temtory for invading the kingdoms of Vya^hiaiaja of Mahakantara (the Gieat Forest Country, now called the Bastar Distuct of Madh>a Pradesh) and other southern kings. These Gupta conquests dealt a severe blow to the power and prestige of this senior branch of the Vakataka family Vyaghraraja of Mahakantaia, who probably belonged to the Nala family, Mantaraja of Kurala, Mahendragin of Pishtapura (modem Pithapuiam) and a host of other princes who were ruling in Kalinga and Andhra, threw off the Vakataka yoke and submitted to the Gupta Emperor The kingdom of this Senior blanch, therefore, ( arm- to br confined to Northern Vidarbha which lay between the Naimada and the Inclhyadrr range

Though Rudiasena I's kingdom was thus much reduced In size, he maintained Ins independence and did not submit to the mighty Gupta Emperor Perhaps Samndnigupta, like Alexander, grew wiser by the resistance he encounteied m his southern campaign, and avoided a direct conflict with the Vakataka king He may also have thought It prudent to have iclations with his southern friendly neighbom who occupied a strategic position with to the of the regard kingdom powerful Western Kshatrapas, whom he had not yet subdued In any case, there are no signs of Gupta supremacy In the Vakataka m ouls of the 2 The Vakatakas did not the age adopt Gupta eia, but throughout dated their grants hi regnal years As they had no coins of their were not loth to own, they use Gupta < urrcaoy as had used Saka they coinage before, but that was certainly no indication of Gupta suzerainty Their relations with the seem to have Guptas been veiy friendly. Rudrasena I was succeeded in circa 350 AC his son by Pnthivlshena I, who is In the of his successors as a eulogised grants fervent devotee of MahesVata and is endowed with such noble as qualities truthfulness, compassion, self-restraint and chanty as well as with heroism and political wisdom He is with compared Yudhishthli a, the fii-u Pandava hero of yore, who was famous for such virtues Pnthivishcna I appears to lmv< pursued a peaceful policy which and contentment brought happiness to his people, Amiss the northern frontier of his kingdom, the Gupta Emperois Samudragupta and Chamha- gupta II were an following aggressive policy, subduing their neighbours and annexing their territories Pnthlvishena wisely refrained from being entangled in thcv w.us and devoted himself to the consolidation of his position in the south and the amelioration of the condition of his subjects The results of his are summed policy up In official Vakatuk t records in the following words -Prithivishena I had a continuous supply of u easui c- and ai which had been my accumulating for a hundred 3 '"' " years PnthlVishena * a Md probably long reign, which seems to have leimiualcd iu 400 A cr cvca Some yeais before the close of It, m circa 395 A c , Chandragupiu II, who had

was not observedob ! ' " *"* Sh WnW this m South ia The > as r *" ? ^" nnces ^ Pted Paramount a. feudatory p m South Indla sovereigns w.-ll fl was t e *l T ' ed - bythe v , on the " fe of the G eTtTord' ^ ^ ^ f ^duated 7 $* 5? THE MAIN BRANCH xxiii

by that time become the lord paramount of a large part of North India, launched his attack on the Saka Kshatrapas of Malwa and Saurashtra l The causes of this war are not known The Kshatrapas were the northern neighbours of the Vakatakas They had held the fertile provinces of Malwa, Northern Gujarat and Saurashtra for more than three become It is centuries and had very powerful therefore not unlikely that Chandragupta II the alliance of his sought powerful neighbour, the Vakataka king Pnthivishena I, in his war against the Kshatrapas. The combined strength of the Guptas and the Vakatakas was sufficient to out the Western wipe Kshatrapas, who disappear from history about this time II then annexed and Chandragupta Mahva probably made Ujjayini a second capital of his vast to cement the empire. He sought political alliance with the Vakatakas by giving his in daughter Prabhavatigupta marriage to the Vakataka prince Rudrasena II, the son of I Pnthivishena This matrimonial alliance between the ruling families of Malwa and Vidarbha recalled a similar event which had occurred more than five centuries earlier in the time of the Sungas Kalidasa's Malamkagmmitoa, which draws its theme from the latter event, was probably staged first at Ujjayini on the occasion of the marriage of Prabhavatigupta and Rudrasena II 2 Like his Pnthivishena I was a Saiva father, During his time the Vakataka capital seems to have been shifted to modern Nandivardhana, Nandardhan (also called Nagardhan) near about 28 miles from This is Ramtek, Nagpur place surrounded by strongly fortified forts like Ghughusgadh and Bhivgadh, which may have been the reason for its selection as 3 a site for the royal capital I Pnthivishena was succeeded by his son Rudrasena II, the son-in-law of the illustrious Unlike his Gupta king Chandragupta II-Vikramaditya ancestois who were all Saivas, this was a devotee of to prince Chakrapani (Vishnu), whose grace he ascribed his prosperity. This change in rehgious creed may have been due to the influence of his wife Prabhavati- like her was a gupta, who, father, devotee of Vishnu She greatly venerated the padamulas (foot-prints) of Ramachandra on the hill of Ramgin, where she made both of her known 4 This is modern grants Ramagiri Ramtek, a well-known place of pilgrimage near Nagpur, which about lay three miles from the then Vakataka capital Nandivardhana Rudrasena II died soon after his in circa 405 A c accession, , leaving behind two sons, Divakarasena and Damodarasena, who succeeded him one after the other 5 Divakarasena was a minor at the time of his father's death The dowager queen Prabhavatigupta therefore looked after the affairs of the State as for her regent little son Her Poona plates, which were issued from Nandivardhana in the thirteenth year evidently of the boy prince's revealed for the reign, fiist time that she was a daughter of the famous Gupta king Chandra-

! The last known date of the Western is S 310 or S Kshatrapas Six (i.e 388 A c or 388 +x A c.) while the earliest date of II Chandragupta noticed in the inscriptions of Malwa is G 82 (401-2 A a). V. Smith therefore conjectured that the war against the Kshatrapas must have occurred m circa 395 A c. 2 There are other instances of Sanskrit plays being staged on similar occasions See e g Rajasekhara's 1 1 Viddhasalabhanjika (C , Vol IV, pp Ixxixf) 3 " See Vakatakas of the " Wellsted, C P and Berar and Their 7 A S B S ) Country VfN ' Vol XX, pp. 58 f 4 is mentioned as the of issue Ramagiri explicitly place in her Riddhapur plates, No 8, line 1. The grant recorded in her Poona was also plates probably made at Ramagiri See No 2, line 14. 5 Some scholars that Rudrasena II had three say sons, mz , Divakarasena, Damodarasena and who ruled Pravarasena, one after another HCIP, Vol III, p 181. But we have no records of Damodarasena as we have those of Divakarasena and Pravarasena Again, if Damodarasena was different from Pravarasena II it is that the title VaKatahanam strange Maharajah should not have been prefixed to the name of the latter in the Riddhapur plates, though he was reigning at the, time xxiv INTRODUCTION

on a sound basis Unlike othci chartcis gupta II, and thus placed Vakataka genealogy initial of the Vakatakas, this grant is inscnbed in nail-headed characters and in its portion of This indicates that gives the genealogy of the Guptas and not the Vakatakas clearly of Prabhavati- Gupta influence was predominant at the Vakataka court during the regency i and statesmen gupta Chandragupta II had evidently sent some of his trusted officers Sanskrit to assist his daughter in governing her kingdom One of these was the famous poet his Kalidasa, who seems to have stayed at the Vakataka court for some time He composed he describes world-famous lyric Meghaduta probably during his sojourn in Vidarbha, for, 2 as therein Ramagiri as the place of the exiled Yaksha's residence This place, already of the stated, is undoubtedly identical with Ramtek near Nagpur His graphic description six-year old Sudarsana in the 18th canto of the Raghuvamsa was probably suggested by what he saw of the boy prince Divakarasena at the Vakataka capital Divakarasena also seems to have been short-lived He was succeeded in ciica 420 A c by his brother Damodarasena, who, on his accession, assumed the name Pravarasena of his illustrious ancestor Several grants of this prince have come down to us They iccord his donations of fields or villages in the modern districts of Amaravati, Wardha, Nagpur, Betul, Chhindwada, Bhandara and Balaghat in Vidaibha and Madhya Pradesh The latest of these grants is dated in the 29th regnal year Pravaiasena II had therefore a long of reign about thirty years from circa 420 A c to 450 A c

Pravarasena II continued to reign from the old capital Nandivaidhana till his llth 3 regnal year, for, his Belora plates dated in that year were issued from that city Thereafter, he founded a new city which he named Pravarapura after himself and shifted his scat of government there The earliest grant made at Pravarapura is dated in the 18th regnal 4 , which shows year that this change of the capital must have occurred some time between the llth and 18th regnal years Pravarapura is probably identical with Pavnai near Wardha in the Wardha District of Vidarbha Pravarasena II was a devotee of Sambhu, by whose grace he is said to have established on earth the of the or reign Knta-yuga Golden Age He was a very libeial king, for more than a dozen grants of his reign have been discovered so far Having come into contact with such a as he great poet Kalidasa, naturally acquired a taste for poetic composition Some of his Sanskrit verses are preserved in Sanskrit anthologies Several Prakrit gathds composed by him have been included the m GatkasaptaSati Though himself a Sdiva, he composed the Prakrit S'etubandha in kdvya glorification of Rama, probably at the instance' of his mother 5 He to Prabhavatigupta began compose this kdvya soon after he came to the thrones and received consideiable evidently help in its composition from his fncnd Kalidasa? This has been k&oya highly eulogised by Sanskrit poets and ihctoncians

r She was morepromore proud oi her evidently S Gupta descent than of her marriage in the Vakataka family IX 9f Z^^^^^^^^^^^^^^J^ 'PP Also*/, Vol I,pp 121 4 No 6, line 60

6 Cf Setubandha, canto I, v 9

for th that * " <"*> ,kel KWH actuaHy < >~, y THE MAIN BRANCH xxv

when the Pravaiasena built a magmficant temple of Ramachandia at Pravarapura capital was a was shifted there This also was evidently done at the instance of his mother who which decorated the have worshippei of that god Some beautiful panels temple recently been found in excavations at Pavnar II in ciica 450 A c is known Narendrasena, who succeeded his father Pravarasena , 1 His Bharatabala also makes fiom the unfinished Balaghat plates of his son feudatory 2 state that he a covert reference to him in his Bamhani plates The Balaghat plates enticed the ancestral fortune bv means of the confidence which he had created by his already taken to mean that there was some trouble about his acquired noble qualities This was bi other 3 It succession Dr Kielhorn thought that he might have superseded his elder of the between Narendrasena has also been suggested that there was a division kingdom 4 This view and his brother whose name is lost in the inscription in Ajanta Cave XVI in the is now proved to be untenable as the princes mentioned Ajanta inscription belonged a succession in this to the Vatsagulma branch There is no clear indication of disputed a of that period, the description m the Balaghat plates being only poetic way stating Narendrasena attracted royal fortune by his noble qualities She Narendrasena married Ajjmtabhattarikd, a princess of Kuntala probably belong- over the Southern Maratha ed to the Rashtrakuta family of Manapura, which was ruling Districts of the Maharashtra State Country, comprising the Satara, Kolhapur and Sholapur a near describe the The Pandarangapalli plates discovered m village Kolhapur Mananka, Kuntala 5 This founder of the family, as the ruler of the prosperous country loyal family and sometimes came into conflict with the appears to have wielded considerable power the time of II it Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka family During Chandragupta as tradition its was came under the sphere of Gupta influence and, says, government carried on under the direction of the Gupta Emperor Kalidasa, the famous Sanskrit poet, was sent as an ambassador to the court of the contemporary Kuntala king who was probably have been the of Devaraja Ajjmtabhattanka, married by Narendiasena, may daughter who flourished in circa Devaraja's son Avidheya, mentioned in the Pandarangapalli plates, 440-455 AC the north The Narendrasena followed an aggressive policy in the east and Balaghat II state that he his the enemies plates of his son Pnthivishena had, by prowess, subjugated and Malava 6 Of and that his commands were honoured by the lords of Kosala, Mekala the direct administration of the these countries, Malava had till then been under Guptas of the fifth A c since the overthrow of the Western Kshatrapas About the middle century ,

*No. 18, line 30 2No 19, lines 31-34 *Ep Ind, Vol IX, p 269 4 S K Aiyangar, Ancient India, p 132 m these as 'the chasuser 5D C Sircar mteiprets the expression snmat-Kuntalanam ptasastta plates ' the ruler but the of the Kuntala of the prosperous Kuntalas and makes Mananka not vanquisher the of the Kanarese H.C 1 P , country He further identifies the Kuntalas with Kadambas country these views As I have shown elsewhere, the root Vol III, p 200 It is difficult to accept praias, used with it means to chastise when used with the name ofa country, usually means to rule and when persons, the two sa-Vidarbh~ That this was the intended meaning is also clear from the contrast in expressions in the to describe Mananka The Dakakumara- Amaka-mfeta and snmat-Kuntalandm pra'sasita used plates of Kuntala from that of Vanavasi This chanta, in its eighth uckchhvasa, mentions the ruler separately not to the Kadamba which held Vanavasi shows clearly that the ruler of Kuntala did belong family (modern Banavasi in North Kanada) 6 No 18, line 27-28 xx\i INTRODUCTION the Gupta empne was convulsed by the invasions of the Hunas and though Skandagupta fought bravely to stem the tide of these invasions, there was a feeling of unrest and uncertainty in the land This is indicated by the statement in the Mandasor inscription of V. 529 that in the short period of 36 years (between V 493 and V 529) several princes held the l country of Dasapura The recently published Mandasor inscription of V 524 also states that a Prabhakara, feudatory of the Guptas ruling at Dasapura, had to fight with several enemies of his lord. 2 Some of these may have sided with the Vakataka Narendrasena and sought his help in throwing off the Gupta yoke What success Narendrasena achieved ultimately in extending the sphere of his influence to Malwa is not known Mekala is the countiy near Amarakantak, where the Narmada, called Mekala-sutd, takes its rise Before the rise of the Guptas this country was included in the dominion of the Maghas, which extended from Fatehpur m the north to Bandhogadh in the south. 3 Aftei them o\erthro\\ing Samudragupta annexed the fertile teiritory of the Vatsa country and celled out the pai hilly tract of Baghelkhand among a number of feudatories such as the and Pandavas. The last of Panvrajakas, Uchchakalpas these appear to have previously owed to the An allegiance Magha kings inscription at Bandhogadh mentions Rdjan Vais>a\ana and his father Mahdsenapati Bharatabala, who probably belonged to the Pandava lineage and were feudatories and army commanders of the Maghas, Later, they transferred their allegiance to the * The BamhanI Guptas plates^ of the Pandavavamsi king Bhatabala alias Indra give the following of the genealogy prince Jayabala, his son Vatsaraja, his son Nagabala, and his son Bharatabala The first two of these weie probably feudatones of the Guptas Nagabala, who seems to have come to the throne when the Gupta empire was tottering oumg to the of the first onslaughts Hunas, assumed the title ofMahatdja, indicative of his and rising power prestige He foimed a matrimonial alliance with the ruler of Kosala (modern Ghhattisgadh) the fetter's by getting daughter Lokaprakasa married to his son Bharatabala 6 She was a of the probably daughter king Bhimasena I, mentioned in the Arang plates' of his giandson Bhimasena dated II, G 182 (501-2 AG) Bharatabala, whotohed m , 460-480 A c , makes a veiled refeience to his suzerain, the Vakataka ^ tranSfCrred ^ alle iance from S the Gu to the WkSkr^THVakatakas This T^ 1 P^ confirms the statement in the Balaghat plates that the commands<->mmanas ofor Narendrasena uere honoured by the ruler of Mekala f C DakShl ^^ " Ghhattis adh com S > P--g ^ modern districts of Duf/Raio r T ~ TR 1 P * " SCen Mahendra ^ > Wh as - over tLtins countrvcotfr! in T f ^ ruling the fourth'Tcentury A c was , defeated by SamudraguptaP and forced to

' ' ' he orementioned of aldated m G 18^8- 5001 o Arang plates Bhimasena II, 1 l ^ "A C Sh W that1 J / J his fam ^d % been ruling over Msala for ai

1 CH, Vol. Ill, p 83 Ep Ind, Vol XXVII, p 15

30.

> V ' K- PP 3*2 Vol f., XXVI, pp. 227 f THE MAIN BRANCH xxvn

least six generations Narendrasena's contempoiary may have been Bhimasena I. also Narendrasena may have annexed the Anupa country, the capital of which was Mahishmati, modern Maheshvar, when he extended his suzrerainty to Malwa l 2 Naiendrasena, who was probably a grown up man at the time of his accession, have had a of about 20 A c the of his may reign years (450-470 ) Towards end reign the Vakataka territory was invaded by the Nala king Bhavadattavarman According to the Puranas? the Nalas luled over the Kosala country This statement is corroboiated by the find-spots of then insciiptions and coins Gold coins of three kings of the Nala family, Varaha, Bhavadattavarman and Arthapati have been found at Edenga in the Kondegaon. tahsil of the Bastar District of Madhya Pradesh 4 Of these Varaha was the eailiest He may have been defeated by Narendrasena and forced to pay tribute His son Bhavadatta- seems to varman have taken icvenge He invaded the Vakataka territory and pressed as far as Nandivardhana, the eistwhile capital of the Vakatakas, which he occupied foi some time A copper-plate inscription discovered at Riddhapur in the Amaravati District iccords the grant of a village in the Yeotmal District which the king Bhavadatta had made at the 5 holy tlrtha of Prayaga (Allahabad) for the religious merit of himself and his wife The were issued 6 plates actually by his son Arthapati from Nandivaidhana This inscription shows that a clearly considerable portion of the Vakataka dominion was occupied by the Nalas

The Vakatakas also admit this disaster to their arms The Balaghat plates state that Prithivishena II, the son of Narendrasena, laised his sunken family 7 At this time he seems to have been to forced to move the east and fix his capital at Padmapura, modern Padam- near in the pur Amgaon Bhandara District, from where an unfinished Vakataka plate was intended to be issued 8 Prithivishena consolidated his power at this capital and after a time drove the enemy fiom his ancestral country He even earned the war into the and stormed and devastated his as enemy's territory capital Pushkari, admitted in an inscription of Arthapati's brother Skandavarman found at Podagadh in the Vizagapatam District 9 It is not known whether Prithivishena II continued to lule fiom Padmapura or again shifted his capital to some other place in Vidarbha. In any case Padmapura retained its importance for a long time, for, it attracted learned Brahmanas like Gopala, an ancestor of the famous Sanskrit diamatist Bhavabhuti, who performed the Vajapeya and other sacrifices there In his plays Bhavabhuti mentions Padmapura situated in Vidarbha as the home of his ancestors 10

Prithivishena II soon retrieved his position m the north also and even piessed farther than his father Two stone insciiptions of his feudatory Vyaghradeva, who explicitly acknowledges his suzerainty, have been discovered at Nachna and Ganj in the former Vindhya

1 The Dasakumarachanta., eighth uchchhvasa, shows that Mahishmati was included m the dominion of the Vakatakas about this time 2 His father Pravarasena II had a long reign of about 30 years *DKA, p 51. *3N$I, Vol I, pp 29 f *Ep 2nd, Vol. XIX, pp 100 f 6 Arthapati was the son, not the grandson, of Bhavadattavarman as supposed by Dr D G Sircar, See Ind Htst Vol Quart , XXXIV, pp 142 f 7 No 18, line 33 8 No 17, line 1. 9 Ep. Ind, Vol XXI, p. 156 10 For the identification of see Ind Hist f Padmapura, Quart , Vol. XI, pp. 287 Also S / , Vol I, PP 21 f xxviii INTRODUCTION

Pradesh J This Vyaghradeva piobably belonged to the Uchchakalpa dynasty, for, several records of this dynasty mentioning his name have been found in the Nagod District As Jayanatha, the son of Maharaja Vyaghra was ruling from circa G 1 70 to G 1 90 (490 to 510 A c 2 be referred to the from to was ), Vyaghradeva may period 470 490 AC He thus a contemporary of Prithivishena II The Uchchakalpa kings were previously the feudatories of the Guptas, whose era they used When the power of the Guptas declined in the second half of the fifth A c seem to have transferred their to century , they allegiance the Vakatakas

Unlike most of his Prithivishena II was a of Vishnu he is ancestors, worshipper , for, 3 described as parama-bhagavata in the Balaghat plates He is the last known member of this senior branch of the Vakataka dynasty He may have closed his reign in 490 A c After him, the kingdom was probably annexed by Hanshena of the Vastagulma branch, who made extensive conquests in all directions Thus ended this senior branch of the Vakataka dynasty after a glorious rule of about 160 - years (circa 330 490 AC) It produced a series of illustrious kings who were capable rulers of men, wise administrators, and liberal patrons of learning and art No lithic monuments of their age have survived in Northern Vidarbha, but the few panels that have been to at recently brought light Pavnar show the excellence of the plastic art of the time. Their was age equally distinguished in literature Two kdvyas, the Meghaduta and the former in Sanskrit and the Setuba?idha,the latter in Prakrit have immortalised it Many othei Sanskrit works which the gave Vaidarbh! rffr the place of eminence among all ritis must have been composed dining this period, but they have all passed into oblivion.

20-22.

"* "* ' 177' o PP- CHAPTER VI THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

existence of this branch was unknown till the discovery of the Basim plates In 1939 Several members of it were indeed mentioned in the inscription in Cave XVI at Ajanta, but owing to a sad mutilation of the record, their names were misread ese names have since been restored and it has been conclusively shown that the princes who ed the country to the south of the Indhyadri range belonged to a different branch of the kataka family The founder of this branch was Sarvasena mentioned in both the Basim plates and of Ajanta inscription as a son of Pravarasena I He was presumably one his younger is. The country under his rule seems to have sti etched south of the Indhyadri range up the bank of the Godavarl In the establishment of his authority over this territory he Dears to have received considerable help from his minister Ravi, the son of the Brahmana Tia from a Kshatriya wife l Ravi's descendants became the hereditary ministers of the kataka kings of Vatsagulma and served them faithfully for several generations Sarvasena selected Vatsagulma, modern Basim in the Akola District of Vidarbha, it called is his capital This was an ancient city The country round Vatsagulmaka ntaoned in the Kdmasutoa of Vatsyayana Vatsagulma was regarded as a holy tirtha i according to a local Mdhatmya it was so called because the sage Vatsa, by his austerities, 2 In de an assemblage of gods come down and settle in the vicinity of his hermitage and its name Vakataka age it became a great centre of learning and culture, gave 3 chchhoml to the best poetic style the title From the Basim plates we learn that Sarvasena continued Dhatmamahdrdja ich his father Pravarasena I had assumed in accordance with the custom in South

is conventional. Sarvasena lia The description that the Ajanta inscription gives of him however, known as the authoi of the Prakrit kdyya Harwijaya, which has been eulogised 4 Prakrit some of which Sanskrit poets and rhetoricians He also composed many gathas, ^e been included in the well-known Prakrit anthology Gdthdsaptasati He may be -rred to the period 330-355 A c the Basim Sarvasena was followed by Vindhyasena, called Vindhyasakti (II) in loid of who was his tes He pursued a moie vigorous policy and defeated the Kuntala, into eminence about ithem neighbour As stated befoie, a Rashtrakuta family rose pi just and annexed the s time Mananka, its founder, made considerable conquests territory the south of the Godavari,5 which was previously ruled by one of the sons Pravarasena I

iNo.26, line? 2 another derivation of this The Jayamangald, a commentary on Vatsyayana's Kamasutra, gives were two of The ;e-name According to it, Vatsa and Gulma princes Dakshmapatha country also Vatsa and Gulma Led by them came to be known as Vatsagulmaka The Bnhatkatha mentions of but it does not state that founded > were sons of a Brahmana and maternal uncles Gunadhya, they and 9. ty named Vatsagulma See Bnhatkathamanjari, 1, 3, 4, Kathasantsagara, I, 6, a for 3 Vatsagulma retained its importance as a centre of learning and culture for longtime, Raja- married lara describes it as the pleasure resort of the god of love, where the mythical Kavyapurusha of asekhara Vol. clxxiv f ityavidya It was probably the native place Raj GIL, IV, pp 4 See below, Chapter X ' I 5 of in A B R I Vol 36 f , S , Vol I, See my article 'The Rashtrakutas Manapura , XXV, pp 178 f xxx INTRODUCTION

In an inscription of his descendants, Mananka is described as the ruler of the prospeious Kuntala country and as the conqueror of Asmaka and Vidarbha l Mananka founded the city of Manapura which became the capital of these Early Rashtrakutas. This Maria- pura is probably identical with Man, the chief town of the Man tdlukd of the Satara District in the Maharashtra State Mananka was thus ruling ovei the Southern Maratha country His kingdom was contiguous to those of Asmaka and Vidarbha Asmaka lay along the bank of the Godavari and comprised the Ahmadnagar and Bhir Districts of Maharashtra The rulei of Asmaka was probably a feudatoiy of the Vakatakas the Fiom palaeographical evidence afforded by the grants of his successors Mananka seems to have flourished towards the close of the fouith century AC He was thus a of As both contemporary Vindhyasena Mananka and Vindhyasena claim a victory over each neither of other, them appears to have emerged completely victorious fiom this \var the of During reign Mananka's successor Devaraja, however, the kingdom of Kuntala came under the of the influence of the sphere Guptas, for, its government was cairied on under the 2 direction of Chandragupta II It therefore ceased to be a menace to the Yatsagulma Vakatakas Vindhyasena made the Basim in the grant 37th icgnal year The plates weie issued from the royal and the capital Vatsagulma, icgister grant of a village situated in the territorial division of Nandikata, modern Nanded in the Maharashtia State. The genealogical poi tion of the grant is ^ntten in Sanskrit and the formal portion in Prakrit, which shows how the classical language was giadually asserting itself Vindhyasena, like his father and grand- fathei, assumed the title Dhaimamahdi aja His mimstei Pravara is mentioned m the Ghatotkacha cave inscription was Vindhyasena probably a contempoiary of Prithivlshena 1, and, like the lattei, may have closed his reign about 400 A c Vmdtoascna *as followed his son by Pravarasena II, about whom little is known. ame CXate " excdlent y > Powerful and He seems to have a had short reign A c for (400-415 ) , when he died Ins son ig "aiS ld ^ ^ ^'^ Ghatotkacha cave

' who 1S Said to ^ e ">" -11, lost in the tontion Ajanta inscrip- is mimstei ^as Kirti He ,vas succeeded m aua 450 A c by ms son Devasena

ta ataias of Berar dcscnptive respectivclv. Thi, view a"d 'the Vakatakas cannot be accent fL f, of Vatsagulma' V r Und VatSa expUcnly stated bv ulma ^ was incluledTn ^1^1 xtsTa^o COrrob, f that rated the statement Kadambapura (modern Ka!amb inn ft , ^ m the

u oa\3 m iv- ttvui U1C ***-"*" was inftBT s'"i'v^ 5 governing of the kinmlr. * *i. spenaine XXV ? g ' PP ^^ f Xo' f:*/,Voi I,re, 186f ^ndragupta. See THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH xxxi

liis kingdom to him and gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures l Hastibhoja is eulogised in the Ajanta and Ghatotkacha cave inscriptions which were caused to be incised by his son Varahadeva Devasena was succeeded in ciua 475 A c by his son Harishena, who is the last known king of this line He was a brave and ambitious prince and carried his victorious ' 2 arms m all directions Unfortunately the Ajanta inscription, which in lines 14-15 describes his conquests, is very sadly mutilated, but the extant portion mentions several countries which he had either overrun or forced to pay tribute These countiies lay in of viz in the Kosala all the four directions Vidarbha, , Avanti (Malwa) north, (Chhattisagadh), Kalinga (between the Mahanadi and the Godavarl), Andhra (between the Godavari and the Krishna) in the east, Lata (Central and Southern Gujarat) and the Trikuta (Nasik District) 111 the west, and Kuntala (Southern Maratha Country) m south It would thus seem that Harishena became the undisputed suzerain of the entire country extending fiom Malwa in the North to Kuntala in the south and from the Arabian sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the cast of this Haiishena's conquests do not seem to have resulted in the permanent annexation vast territory The rulers of these countries were probably allowed to retain their respective kingdoms on condition of regular payment of tribute Harishena s subjugation of Malwa the plainly shows that he had already incorporated kingdom of the senior branch Into his own dominion In Kalinga and Andhra Harishena's incursions seem to have led to the establishment of new royal families, for, just about this time in 498 AC the Ganga era was started marking the foundation of a new power in Kalinga 3 In Andhra Harishena the appears to have supplanted the contemporary Salankayana king and given the kingdom to Vishnukundm king Govindavarman The latter's son Madhavavarman I married a Vaka- 4 taka princess who may have been Harishena's own daughter In Kosala or Chhattisgadh also we find that the old family mentioned in the Arang plates was supplanted by the 5 in the kings of Sarabhapura That Harishena's suzerainty was recognised west beyond the confines of Vidarbha is shown by the inscription which a ruler of Rishika (modern 6 Khandesh) has left in Cave XVII at Ajanta In the south the Rashtrakuta king of Kuntala continued to rule his kingdom for a long time after submission to the Vakataka king Harishena probably ruled from citca 475 to 500 A c Harishena had a pious, liberal and capable minister named Varahadeva, who was loved alike by the king and his subjects He was the son of the aforementioned Hastibhoja who had seived Devasena Varahadeva was a devout Buddhist He caused Cave XVI at Ajanta to be excavated and decorated with sculptures and picture galleries The 7 inscription which he caused to be incised on its wall is our chief source of information

1 This description was taken by K P. Jayaswal to mean that Devasena abdicated in favour of his son Harishena; but verses 12-16 of the inscription convey no such idea The inscription is merely intended to glorify Hastibhoja, to whom Devasena consigned the cares of government Similar statements otcur in some other records also They are not to be taken literally 2No. 25 3 the of the see article in Vol 325 f I VoU For epoch Ganga era my Ep Ind,, XXVI, pp. , S , II, pp. llOf. *Ep. Ind., Vol. IV, pp, 103 f 5 Bulletin the Institute For the dates of the kings of Sarabhapura, see of Deccan College Research , f Vol. VIIIa pp 47 f;Sl, Vol I, pp 231 6 No. 27, 7 No. 25 INTRODUCTION

foi the histou of this Vatsagulma branch. He caused also the Ghatotkacha cave Guluadd, a few miles from Ajanta, to be excavated and decorated, where he has left i

1 inscription, describing his ancestors Hanshena is the last known king of this line He may have been followed by one < U\o other princes, but even their names have not come down to us In any case the dyiiasi Neems to have been overthrown by citca 550 A c bv the Katachchuris or Kalachuiis < Mahishmati The coins of Krishnaraja, who heads the genealogical list in eaily Kalachu grants ha\e been found all over the country extending from Vidisa in the noith to Nasik an Karhad m the south and from Bombay in the west to the Districts of Amaiavati and Be till i the east This Kalachun king seems theiefore to have reared his Empire ovei the i urns of th Yakataka dominion Svamiraja whose plates dated m the Kalachun year 322 (573-71 A n. \\eie issued from Nandivardhana was probably a feudatoiy of the Kalachun Knslinaruja The causes \\hich led to the sudden disintegration of the mighty Vakataka Empin ha\e not been recorded m history, but Dandin's Dasakumarachanta, which was vuiltei within about a hundred and twenty-five years after the fall of the Vakatakas, appears to have a prcsened hvmg tradition about the last period of Vakataka rule This Sanskiit woik In its last chapter called Visrutachanta narrates the adventures of Visruta, one of the Kumaw uho *ere followers of son of Rajavahana, Rajahamsa, the dethroned king of Magadha.* The narrath e points to the existence of a southern large empire. The empc 1 01 ruled directly o^ er Vidarbha umch comprises the Marathi-speaking districts of the formei MaclhyA Pradesh and the Hvderabad State Vidarbha had a number of feudatory kingdoms, w*. Kun Southern Asmaka ala_ Maharashtra), (the country on the southern bank of the VjrQcia.\arii. RishTka (Khandesh) "^^ 1- r - - - - -

*" CXtended fr m the Narmad^ in ^ north to the lungabhadrai m the south and7Tfrom the Arabian Sea in the West to at least" the voun w pr\succeeded to this ^ in all aU, ^cct- to and agam applv himself to the ***** s'tudy"f the dfln' ft ' but he his ' comin"^g under theînfluence of licentious ^^ courtier ^T* treated the LJ *"""** tO nf pleasures and ^^^1^ ^T" ^ ^ the ^^^^ êcts stated him ^ affiun rf ^ Ûtc. H, "and J ^ H ^^ Ia,l.sness ^ ^ Conse en became ^ ? disoidci and rampan m the Îd T^ % crafu a S^le êroftheneighCn^ ^ opportunity, the YKlarbha The latter ^^^ ^ to ingrat& He also conned to ,as **"* when the thoroughh disorganised, the nto ^y, modern SmakastT the BanaâsI m .North. êd kmg of VanavM The J^fct' lanei advanced with ^ bngdom f a lal o-e ^*-^^f a T-i _

\\ith the king of Kuntala and caused disaffection among other feudatones also They treacherously attacked their suzerain in the rear, while he was fighting with the invading forces of the king of Vanavasi The emperor was killed in the battle The cunning Asmaka king then contrived to cause dissenssions among the feudatones also They fought among themselves for the spoils of the war and destioyed one anothei He then appiopnated the whole booty and, giving some part of it to the invader, induced him to return to Vanavasi, and himself annexed the kingdom of Vidarbha In the meanwhile the old faithful minister of Vidarbha safely escorted the queen of Vidarbha with hei lw o small children a prince and a princess to Mahishmati, wheie the late emperoi's half- brother latter was reigning The made advances to the widowed queen, but was repulsed by her He then wanted to kill the little pnnce of Vidarbha, but was himself murdered by Visruta, who espoused the latter's cause and placed him on the throne of Mahishmati The nairative ends here So we do not abruptly know whether the boy-pimce ultimately the ruler of succeeded in ousting Asmaka from Vidarbha and regaining his ancestral throne to The nairative seems reflect faithfully the actual political conditions in Vidarbha in the penod which followed the death of Harishena in ciica 500 A c. In later of centuries the centre imperial power in the Deccan shifted successively to Mahishmati, but it was Badami, Manyakheta and Kalyana, never in Vidarbha Some of the geographical names also went out of use in later times One such instance is that of Rishfka This country is mentioned in the Mahabhamta, Ramayana and Bnhatscanhitd and in the Nasik

cave of but it is to later 1 inscription Pulumavi, unknown works and inscriptions All these indications point to the sixth centmy A c as the age in which the incidents described m the Visrutachanta happened Dandm, whose ancestors originally belonged to Vidarbha, had reliable sources of information2 as he details evidently , gives about the kingdoms flourishing m the period which are substantiated in all material points by contemporary inscnptional evidence His narrative clearly shows that the great Vakataka empire which once extended from beyond the Narmada in the north to the Tungabhadra in the south suddenly crumbled to pieces owing to the incompetence of Hanshena's successoi and the treacheious defection of his feudatories As Dandin's narrative ends abruptly, we do not know whether Hanshena's grandson regained the throne of Vidarbha with external aid He in so with the assistance of the may have succeeded doing Vishnukundm Madhavavarman I, the mightiest king of the age, who was ruling over Andhra and who is credited with the performance of eleven Asvamedhas The latter had manied a Vakataka princess who was probably Hansheiia's own daughter But the Vakataka prince could not evidently have retained his hold over Vidarbha for a long time, for, as we have already seen, the Kalachun Krishnaraja, who in the meanwhile had established himself at Mahishmati, extended his sway over Vidarbha as well as ovei Northern Maharashtra by 550 A c The Somavamsis, Gangas and Vishnukundins asserted their independence in the east, while the Rashtrakutas must have gradually gained strength in the south Thus disappeared the last vestiges of Vakataka power after a glorious rule of nearly 300 yeais

iSee ABORI, Vol XXV, pp 167 f 2 According to the AvantisundarlkatKa and the AvantisundankatJidsara, Dandm was the great-grandson of the Sanskrit poet Damodara who originally hailed fiom Achalapura and was later patiomsed by the Ganga king Durvmita and the Pallava king Simhavishnu. Damodara must therefore have lived in the last quarter of the sixth century A c His great-grandson Dandm can consequently be referred to the third quarter of the seventh century A c Dandm thus appears to have flourished about a hundred and twenty-five years after the fall of the Vakatakas It is therefore not unlikely that he had fairly reliable infoimation about the closing period of the Vakataka age. CHAPTER VII ADMINISTRATION

countrv under the direct rule of the two branches of the Vakataka dynasty THEextended roughly from the Narmada In the north to the valley of the Godavari in the south and from the eastern boundary of Rishlka (Khandesh) in the west to the western boundaiy of Dakshina Kosala (Chhattisgadh) in the east This vast territory was divided into a of number idshtras, also called tajyas., corresponding to the modern Commissioners* Divisions, some of which find a mention in our records We have thus the Pakkana lashtm mentioned in the Belora 1 the in the 2 plates , Bhojakata tdjya Chammaka plates in 3 Varuchha rajya the Pandhurna plates and the Aiammi tdjya in the Dudia and Pandhurna 4 plates In the records of contemporary feudatory families, whose kingdoms were comparatively smaller, the rashttas \vere named after the directions in which they were situated. Thus find the we Uttaia tdshtra or Northern Division mentioned in the Bamhani plates of the Pandavavamsi 5 king Bharatabala , and the Purva idshtra or Eastern Division named in the of 6 7 Arang plates Maha-Jayaraja and the Raipur plates of Maha-Sudevaraja No such divisions are, however, noticed in the Vakataka grants The rashtras were next divided into a number < vishayas or districts This appears clear from the statement in the Bamhani that the in plates PaSchagaita 02.^0 which the donated village was situated was included in the Uttara i&shtm of 8 (division) Mekala The names of vishayas generally ended in kata or kataka Four such vishayas are named in our records viz Bhojakata comprising the of the modem Amaravati District9 roughly teintor> , Bennakata corresponding to the modern Bhandara and Districts 10 Balaghat , Nangarakataka, the exact location of which is uncertain 11 and Nandikata which , comprised the territory round modern Nanded in the Maharashtra State 12 When a was too vishaya large, it was divided into parts which were named after the dnections in which \vere situated they We thus find the apara-patta or western division of the Bennakata mentioned in the Tirodi 13 plates The vishayas were further sub-divided into ahata* and or bhogas bhuktis Only one dhata \iz the Supratishtha akdia is mentioned in our records 1 ^ It seems to have comprised parts of the modern Waioda and Yeotmal taJisils of Vidarbha Hmganghat, The relation of dhdra to bhoga is not known Our lecoids mention thiee bhogas viz Bennakarparabhoga's, L5hanagarabhoga 16

1 No. 5, Ime 13 2 No 6, hne 18 3 No. 14, line 20 4 No. 10, line 13, No 14, lines 26 and 29 5 No 19, line 34 6 C/7, III, p 193 7 Ibid , p. 198. 8 No 19, lines 34-35 h k 1S Said t0 ha e bC f Unded bv the Rukmm ' biother.in-law of Krishna. See . /n Jo msa,ll VVishnuparvan,r cli 60 v. 32 l0 No 11, Ime 13 11 No 24, hne 2 12 No 23, hne 5 13 No. 11, Ime 13 14 No Ime 2, 10; No 3, line 17, Xo 12, line 17 15 No 7, line 17-18, 16 No. 13, line 20 ADMINISTRATION xxxv

1 and one Asibhukti2 which was included and Hiiam/apurabhoga , bhukti, viz , probably 3 In the Pakkana rashtra The bhogas contained cities, towns and villages The names of the cities and towns geneially ended nagata or pura, such as Asvatthanagaia, Pravarapura, Hnnayapura, Chandrapura, Padmapura, etc Sometimes towns were named after the princes who founded them Compaie Pravarapura founded by Pravarasena II The names of villages ended in gtama (cf Danguna-grama, Sirshagrama, Manduki-grama, kheta or kKetaka vataka etc), (cf Varadakheta, Asvatthahetaka) , (cf Bonthikavataka, etc or etc Some territoiiai Pavarajjavataka, ) vnaka (cf. Kararijaviraka, Darbhaviraka, ) divisions weie named after the number of villages included in them Such was Pravare- 4 svara-shadvimsati-vataka It appeals to ha\e been a group of twenty-six villages which received this name after a shrine of Siva under the name of Pravaresvaia erected by Pravarasena I In the earlier records of the Satavahanas, geographical names occur in Piakut As the Vakatakas adopted Sanskrit foi writing their charters, the names of mountains, riveis, towns and villages are given in that classical language It is interesting to note that the Satmala 5 range in which the Ajanta caves aie situated is called Sahya-pada in an inscription at Ajanta In some cases the names of riveis have since been changed quite out of recognition Thus 6 the river Uma mentioned in the Jamb plates is now known as Wanna Similarly the 7 of the Charmanka was MadhunadI , on the bank which village (modem Chhammak) 8 situated, bears now the name of Ghandrabhaga The names of the Eenna and the 9 Hiranya mentioned in the Tirod! and Wadgaon plates can, howe\er, still be recognised in the Wamganga and Erai of modern times The form of government in the Vakataka age was monaichical The king had supreme authority which was, however, checked considerably by the dictates of icligious works like the Smntis Theie is no reference to any Mantn-parishad 01 Council of Ministers in Vakataka grants It is needless to say that there \vas no popular assembly also Still, the lule of kings was not despotic or oppressive to the people The ideal of a Welfare State has always been kept befoie Indian kings by the writers of Smntis and Aithasastras and it has 10 of the Vakatakas must also been pi cached by great Sanskrit poets like Kahdasa Many have attempted to reach it Our records are unfortunately lacking in details about the

iNo. 10, line 16 2 No. 4, hne 13 and No 5, line 13 s Marga, which is generally translated by 'away', seems also to have denoted a territoiiai division The records of the Sarabhapurlya kings, which use taddhita forms from words denoting territorial divisions derived from (e g. vatshqyika, bhoglya etc ) contain the expression Sundanka-marglya Sundanka-marga. This shows that like mshqya and bhoga, maiga also meant a territorial division. We have several such in 4 divisions in Vakataka giants See e g. Sailapura-marga mentioned the Beloia plates (Nos. and in the 5, line 13), Kausika-marga in the Riddhapur plates (No 8, line 12), Gepuraka-marga Indore plates (No 9, line 8), Varadakheta-marga, in the Pattan plates (No 13, line 20), Sundhati-marga and Yasapura-marga in the Patna Museum plates (No 15, lines 2 and 6), Uttara-marga (which is specifically mentioned as situated m Nandikata) in the Basim plates (No 23, line 5) and Uttara-marga (in Nanga- to the territorial division lakataka) in the India Office plate (No 24, line 1) Marga corresponds pathaka mentioned m other records 4 No 5, line 14 5No. 27, hne 23. 6 No. 3, hne 17 7 No. 6, hne 18, 8 No. 11, hne 13 9 No. 12, line 1.

10 ; 3 5 ? Gf JTSTFTT f^?fzrr^T Trsr^T^T^ n ^' i tf firar fiRnscrrsrr ^^" ^ T|^. n Raghuvamh I, 24 xvxvi INTRODUCTION

admmistiation of the kings, but the description they give of Prithrvlshena I is significant. He was maiked out not only for his personal bravery, intelligence and political widsom but also foi such virtues as tiuthfulness, straightforwardness and compassion He took pride

1 in being Dhaimavyqytn i e. a righteous conqueror This means that he never waged any stiove to war for self-aggrandisement He conferred his gifts on worthy recipients He follow in his life the example of Yudhishthira, the well-known Pandava king of yore, whose name has been held in great veneration throughout the ages We have no account of the h\ es of othei kings of this dynasty, but in the absence of any evidence to the contrary we may suppose that they also tried to lule in the same mannei Pravarasena II in particular is said to have established Knta-Yuga (Golden Age) by his wise rule It may also be noted in this connection that Harishena, the last known Vakataka king, is described in an Ajanta 2 inscription of his feudatory as one who secured the well-being of his subjects Unlike the Kushanas and the Guptas of North India, the Vakatakas did not assume titles like 01 etc 3 high-sounding Shahanushahi Paiamabhattdtaka, Mahdrdjddhirdja, Paramesvaia, , 4 but contented themselves with the oldei modest style of Maharaja They did not also claim 5 any drune origin, but believed that they owed their royal fortune to the grace of their ishta-devata Thus, Rudrasena II is described as one whose loyal fortune was due to the giace of the god Chakrapani (Vishnu) 6 His son Pravarasena II is said to have obtained his 7 weapon of ula by the special favour of the god Sambhu (Siva) Their feudatories, the Pandava kings of Mekala, howevei, who had come into contact with the Guptas, describe 8 themselves in their grants as paiama-gwu-devat-ddhidaivata-v2sesha i e highly venerable peisonages, deities and supreme divinities They thus claimed superhuman power Again, Lokaprakasa, the queen of the Pandavamsi king Bharatabala, is described as born in. a family descended from gods 9 The Vakatakas did not claim for themselves descent from any god 01 eponymous hero, but these feudatories of Mekala proudly proclaimed their birth in the venerable Pandava-vamsa descended from the Moon The contemporary lulers of Mahakantara (modern Bastar District and the adjoining territory) similarly claimed that 10 thev were descended from the king Nala of epic fame The Vakataka mention three kinds of viz those grants feudatories, , (i) who submitted to the when thev came to know of his Emperor resolve to subdue them, (11) those who

1 Cf No 4, line 8, No 6, line 10 etc His ancestor Pravarasena I and some members of the blanch assumed the title Vatsagulma of Dharmamahdrdja indicative of their piety and their support to the Vedic religion 2 No 27, line 21 3 C//, Vol III, No 1, line 8, No 5, lines 2-3 etc 4 has It been supposed that the title Mahaiaja assumed by the Vakatakas as contrasted with mentioned in connection with the Mahdrdjddhirdja Gupta Emperors indicates the inferior political status of the formei Vol 180 It HCIP., III, p should, howevei, be noted that the kings of the Vatsagulma branch had assumed the same title even before the time of Samudragupta and Chandragupta IT, when there could have been no of question subordination to the Guptas See No 22, line 1-s! PravarasEna Fs title samrdt was due to his performance of Vajapeya sacrifices His title Mahdrdw is also sometimes mentioned along with it 5 The epithet to Pravai asena I in the Hdntlputra applied Basim plates (No 23, line 3) peihaps originally meant 'a son of e favoured the ' (i by) Buddhist goddess Hariti Later, it came to mean a descendant (or disciple) of the sage Hanti. Ind, Vol Ep VIII, p 31, VtkramanJcadevachanta, I, 58 No 3, line 13 7 No 15, line 1 8 19 ' lme 9 and 14 The GuPtas assumed the title of Paramadawata also See v^r ^ rt Ep Ind , Vol Jvv, p loO 9 No 19, line 29 lQ Ep Ind, Vol XIX, p 102 ADMINISTRATION xxxvii

submitted on attacked and those were \ valour 1 being , (111) who anquished by The imperial on these feudatories yoke must have been lighter than In North India, for, they do not mention their 2 usually overlords They must, of course, have been required to pay tribute and to join the imperial army in all wars of offence and defence 3 We do not get much information about the administrative organization of the Vakatakas Unlike the grants and seals of copper-plate charters of the Guptas, the Vakataka inscriptions do not generally mention the names of the consorts of the ruling The known are 4 the kings only exceptions Prabhavatigupta , agra-mahishl (crowned of and 5 the of queen) Rudiasena II, Ajjhitabhattarika , queen Narendrasena The former acted as Regent for her minor son Tuvaraja Divakarasena for at least thirteen years. Other queens do not appear to have taken any part in the administration of the kingdom The Yuvaiaja may have assisted his father in governing the kingdom, but of this there 6 is no specific mention in the grants of the The administration kingdom must have been carried on with the help of a large numbei of officers, civil and military, but few of them find a mention in our records The

Dasakumatachanta> which in its eighth uchchhvdsa gives us a picture of the political and social conditions in the age of the Vakatakas, mentions the mantnn (Counsellor) and the adhydkshas are not (Heads of Departments), but they noticed in our records The inscription in 1 Ajanta Cave XVI mentions the Sachiva or Minister The officeis who were appointed to govern the rdjyas or provinces of the kingdom were known as rdjyadhikntas 01 Governors. 8 Chamidasa, mentioned in the Tirodi plates, was an officer of this rank The Sarvd- 9 dhyaksha, who is usually mentioned in Vakataka grants, was probably the head of the Secretariat He was invested with authority to appoint suboidmate officeis called Kula- putias and direct them for the execution of royal orders The Kulaputras had various duties. Their primary function was of course the maintenance of law and order For this purpose 10 they had a number of bhatas and chhattas under them The b hatas were soldieis, while the 11 chhdtias, who correspond to the chatas mentioned in some inscriptions, were policemen The Kidaputoas, Chhatras and bhatas, like the tahasildars and police officers of modern times, toured m the districts for the collection of land-revenue and various taxes due to the State 12 They could seize the treasure trove, work salt and other mines, and make village people work free of charge for the State They were entitled to free boarding and lodging while touring 13 in the districts for the work of the State They must, no doubt, have been exacting and

8, lines 26-27 2 The Vakataka suzerain is explicitly mentioned in No 27, line 21, while his name is covertly suggested in No 13, lines 32-34 The Sarabhapuriya kings, who were probably feudatories of the Vakatakas, do not, however, name their overlords 3 In the eighth Uchchhvasa oftheDajakumaiachanta, the feudatories of the king of Vidarbha come to his help when he was attacked by the ruler of Vanavasi. 4 No 2, line 9 5 No 18, line 31. 6 The Riddhapur plates of the Nala king Bhavadattavarman weie actually granted by his son Maharaja Arthapati, who was probably Tuvaraja at the time 7 No 25, line 15. 8 No 11, line 33 9 See eg No 3, line 20 10 oc cit 11 No 19, line 37. 12 Gf ajnd-sanchan-kulaputt-ddhiknta bhataf-chhdh as-tha in No 3, line 21 3, line 26. xxxviii INTRODUCTION

oppressive in their dealings with the village people They weie therefore expressly forbidden to enter agiahara villages donated to Brahmanas, and could not claim from them any of the privileges allowed to them in other places except when they had to apprehend persons accused of high treason, the murder of a Brahmana, theft, adultery or such other heinous crimes So long as the donees of these land-grants did not icbel against the king and did not commit any offence against the residents of other villages, they were free from the moles- tations of these bhatas and Chhatras l The Kulaputias, bkatas and Chkdttashad therefore to be specially informed of every land-grant made by the king in 2 Another officer, who is, however, mentioned a solitary grant of the Vakatakas, was ' that a Rajuha His name is derived from tajju a rope ', which shows he was originally Settlement Officer who measuied land for the assessment of revenue The Rajukas are mentioned in the edicts of Asoka In the Mauiyan times they were high officers of the State who were placed in charge of many hundred thousands of men and who could at their disci etion inflict punishment or confer a reward They seem to have lost their high rank in course of time, for, the lajuka is mentioned m the aforementioned Vakataka grant 3 only as a wiiter of the charter The Rahasika mentioned in the Bamhani plates was probably the Piivate Secretary who acted as the confidential clerk of the king The only military and police officeis mentioned m Vakataka grants are the Sendpati^ and the Dandanayakcfi The Sendpati is almost invariably named in chaiters of land-grants as 6 they were drafted in his office His title, like that of his lord, was a modest one In North India, the Guptas introduced grandiloquent titles for their civil and military officeis such as Kumar S ahika and 1 but the Vakatakas dmatya, dndhivigt Mahadandanayaka ', prefeired to continue the humbler titles of the earlier age There weie apparently frequent transfers of officers; for, we find that the post of the Sendpati was held by different persons or by the same person at different times duiing the reign of Pravarasena II Thus, the Sendpati of the king was Ghitravaiman in the llth and 13th 8 in the 18th 9 Narm- regnal yeais , Bappa and 25th years , dasa and Charmdasain the 23id 10 the 27th ear 11 and the yeai , Katyayanam } , Madhappa m 12 29th year Sometimes the Older for a land-giant was personally given by the king and this was indicated by the words djnd svayam (oidered personally), recorded in the charter In other cases the name of the Dutaka (called Ajnapti in theBasim plates) who communicated the loyal order to the Sendpati' s office was mentioned at the end of the charter 13 In one grant the names of the persons who got the charter diafted are also iccorded 14 Sometimes the name of the goldsmith who inscribed the coppei -plates \vas also written at the end of the grant 15

iNo 6, line 42-43 2 No 9, line 34 3 No 19, line 48 4 See*. No. 5, line 30 5 No. 24, line 2 6 verse cited the the Asmnti m Mitakskard on Tajnaoallyasmnti, II, 319-20, states that the chaiters were to be written by the Sdndhmgrahikd or Minister for Peace and War 7 C/7, Vol. Ill, p 10 8 No 5, line 30 and No 6, line 60 9 No 7, line 35 and No. 12, line 42 10 No 10, line 23 and No 11, lme 33 11 No 13, line 44 12 No 14, line 54 13 Cf the used in of expression raj-ajna-prada place Dutaka in the Ponnuturu plates (line 6) of Ind Samantavarman. Ep. , Vol XXVII, p 220 14 No 13, lines 46-47 13, lines 45-46, No. 19, line 49. ADMINISTRATION xxxix

The Bamham plates give the names of some village officers 1 The Grdmaluta was the head of the village administration The Dwnagmkanayaka, who also was informed of a land- have been the head of the called 2 the grant, may Dronagraka (also Dronamukha) , larger territorial division in which the donated village was included The Devavdnka, who apparently helped the Gt dmakuta in the management of the village affairs, may be identical with of the Dauvanka (or Piatlhdra}^3 who was the head the village Police The Gandakas were probably not different fiom the bhatas or soldiers mentioned in Vakataka land-grants These officers and their subordinates collected land-revenue and other government dues and maintained peace and order in the village Sources of State Revenue Our records shed some light on the sources of royal income The main sources were of course the land levenue and other direct taxes They are 4 mentioned as khpta and upa-khpta in Vakataka inscriptions Khpta, which means a fixed 5 assessment, is mentioned also in Kautilya's Atthasdstta It probably signified the land-tax Upakhpta probably meant minor taxes such as are mentioned in the Manusmnti, VII, 6 131-132 Besides these, the State claimed the right to confiscate the treasures and deposits accidentally discovered Digging for salt was again a royal monopoly Salt mines existed until iccent Lonar in the District in Beiai times, (Sanskrit Lavanakara) , a village Buldhana of Vidarbha, being specially noted for them Fermenting of liquors was also a royal pre- gorative The village officers were authorised to collect miscellaneous taxes in kind which 7 aie indicated by the expression pushpa-kshira-sandoha in Vakataka grants These were evidently the same as those mentioned in the Manusmntt, VII, 118, which the head the village was authorised to collect on behalf of the king and appropriate in lieu of his pay The State had again the right to make people work fi ee of wages for works of public utility The villagers had to provide all amenities to touring royal officers, such as grass for feeding 8 their horses or bullocks, hides for their seats and chaicoal for their cooking The agiahdra villages were exempted from all these taxes and obligations We have no record of any dissensions in the Vakataka family as we have in the case of some other contempoiary royal families The administration of the Vakatakas appears to have been very efficient and it secured peace and prosperity to their subjects As the the inscription in Ajanta cave XVI states exphcity, the ministers of Vakatakas, by their good government, became always dear and accessible to the people like their father, mother and friend They governed the country righteously, shining by their fame, religious ment and 9 excellences In describing Vidarbha as sautajya-tamya (attractive through good government) 10 Kahdasa was probably paying a tiibute to the excellent administiation of the Vakatakas

iNo 19, line 35 2 Kautilya mentions Dwnamukha as the chief village 111 a territorial division of 400 villages See ed Shama 46 Arthasastra (second by Sastn), p. , ^Pmtiham, which is a synonym of Dauvanka, is used in this sense m the Sukmmtisara, II, 120-21, 170-75 4 also See eg No 3, line 28 No. 19 mentions udranga and upankaia and bhdga and bkoga m the same sense 5 Arthasastra (second ed ), p 60

7 See eg No 5, line 20

*Ibid t lines 20-21. 3No 25, lines 12 and 15 WRaghuvamsa, canto V, v 60. In v 40 of the same canto Kahdasa describes the capital of Vidarbha as prosperous (nddha) CHAPTER VIII RELIGION

was unprecedented religious activity in the age of the Vakatakas The founder THEREof the royal family was the Gnhapati Vakataka, who was a follower of Buddhism He went on a pilgrimage to the distant holy place of Amaravati in the Guntur District of where he has left Andhradesa, an inscription lecordmg his gift of a stone pillar for the of l longevity himself, his two wives, friends and relatives The gift was made at the instance of the Them (Buddhist Bhikshu) Bodhika The descendants of this Gnhapati Vakataka changed their religious faith and became staunch supporters of the Vedic and Puramc icligion They were guided in this by a pious Brahmana family of Vallura This family maintained its 2 reputation for Vedic learning for several generations Its foundei was YajrLapati, who was probably a contemporary of the Vakataka king Vindhyasakti His son Deva had influence with the told of the whole great ruling prince , for, we are that on account him 3 kingdom including the king engaged itself in religious activities As a matter of fact, we

find a phenomenal religious activity in that age Pravarasena I, the son of Vindhyasakti I who had made extensive conquests, performed a large number of Vedic sacrifices such a< 4 four Asvamedhas and the seven Soma sacrifices including the Vajapeva Thereafter we 5 have no record of Vedic sacrifices being performed by later Vakataka kings, but they mus have extended liberal patronage to learned Brahmanas and helped them in the performance of Srauta sacrifices 6 Thus, one grant of Pravarasena II records the gift of 8000 nivartana 7 of land to as many as a thousand Brahmanas Several other grants of this prince and hi mother as well as of some princes of the Vatsagulma bianch have been discovered, whicl recoi d gifts of land and even of whole villages to learned Brahmanas

Puramc Hinduism also received a fillip during the age of the Vakatakas Severa temples dedicated to Hindu gods were erected throughout their dominion Most of th Vakataka princes were devotees of Siva So the temples of that god must have been mud larger in number than those of other deities Owing to paucity of inscriptions we do no1 to however, notice many references them Piavarasena I, the gieat Emperor who dis tingmshed himself by his numerous Vedic sacnfices, is known to have constructed a tempi 8 of Siva under the name of Pravaresvara The territorial division of twenty-six villages

which it was situated came to be known by its name His giandson Rudrasena I, wh 9 succeeded him, also constructed a dhaimasthana (temple) at Chikkamburi, modern Chikmar in the Ghanda District, which was probably dedicated to his ishta-devatd Mahabhairavs

2nd, Vol XV, p 267 2 No 26, line 8 3 Ibid , line 5 4 See e g No 3, line 1 5 are known to have rites like They performed Gnhja the Ganayaga. The Jamb plates Pravarasena II record his to a Brahmana who is described as gift Gana-yajm No 3, line 19. 6 Ancestors of the famous Sanskrit poet Bhavabhuti, who were learned and pious Brahmanas ar to were invited originally belonged Udumbara, probably by the VaLatakas to their capital Padmapur where settled down and several Vedic sacrifices they performed See Ind , Vol Ep XXII ' FFpn ' 21O 7 No line 20 6, / 8 No line line No line 1 The of 4, 5, 14, 14, names Siva generally ended m i'svara 13,_No x ai those of Vishnu in svamin So the temple of Pravaresvara was probably dedicated to Siva 9 No 1, line 6 RELIGION xh

Temples dedicated to Vishnu also were not rare Rudrasena II, the grandson of Rudrasena 1 I, became a devotee of Chakrapam (Vishnu) probably through the Influence of his chief queen Prabhavatigupta, who, like her illustrious father Ghandragupta II, was a devout 2 worshipper of that god She frequently visited the temple on the holy hill of Ramagin situated not far from her capital, where the foot-prints of Ramachandra, an incarnation 3 of Vishnu, were installed Both her known grants are made on Karttika su di 12, evidently at the time ofthefidrand after the completion of the fast on the preceding Prabodhini Ekddasi One of them specifically mentions the foot-prints of Ramagirisvamin, near which the grant 4 was made Some other grants of her son also appear to have been made at the same place 5 In one grant a half of the village donated was given by a merchant named Chandra another at Pattan in the There was famous temple Asvatthakhetaka (modern Betul District) , in which also the object of worship was a pair of the foot-prints of Mahapurusha (Vishnu) Pravarasena II made a munificent donation of 400 mvartanas of land for the maintenance of 6 the charitable feeding house (sattra) attached to the temple Another temple of Ramachandra probably existed at Pavnar near Wardha, just at the place where Vinobaji's dsrama now stands on the bank of the river Dham It appears to have been decorated with beautiful panels depicting scenes from the Ramdyana., some of 7 which have recently been discovered at the place These panels were probably built into the walls of the temple as in the case of the Gupta temple at Devagadh As shown above, Pavnar is probably identical with Pravarapura, which Pravarasena II founded and made the seat of his government some time after the eleventh regnal year This temple may have been constructed by him at the instance of his mother, the dowager queen Prabhavati- gupta So long as the capital was at Nandivardhana, Prabhavatigupta could have the e at darsana of her ishta-devatd, (i Ramachandra) Ramagiri which was only about 3 miles away; but when the capital was shifted to Pravarapura, she, having gone to stay there, must have felt the need of a temple of Ramchaiidra there. At her instance her dutiful son Pravarasena this and it the artists II appears to have erected temple got decorated by best of the age is on an artificial the area Vinobaji's dsrama., which situated mound and round which yielded of 8 the panels mentioned above, probably marks the site this temple Buddhism also was flourishing in the kingdom of the Vakatakas It had perhaps a greater attraction for those \\ho on account of some calamities befalling them were convinced of the transitonness of health, worldly possessions and life Varahadeva, minister of the Vakataka king Hanshena, who was so convinced, caused a magnificent vihdra 9 cave to be excavated at Ajanta in memory of his father and mother He got it adorned with windows, doors, beautiful picture-galleries, ledges, statues of the nymphs of Indra, etc It contained a temple of the Buddha inside and was provided with a large reservoir of water as also with a shrine of the lord of the Nagas He presented the magnificent cave to the Community of Buddhist Monks at Ajanta

3, line 13 2 Note the expression atyanta-bhagavad-bhakia descriptive of her m her grant No 2, line 8 3No. 2, line 14, No 8, line 31. 4 No 8, line 1, ^PrF'OHTfrnT Tr^TSTRf I 5 No 9, line 20 6 No 13, lines 22-23 7 For a description of these panels, see below, pp. Ixi f. * 8 For a full discussion of this matter see my article entitled Pravarapura An ancient Capital of the Vakatakas' in Sarupa-BKaratf, pp 271 f See also SI, Vol. II, pp 272 f 9No 25 line 18 xlu INTRODUCTION

Varahadeva caused another cave to be excavated at Gulwada, 11 miles west of Ajanta Like Cave XVI, this cave also is of the Vihdra type, with a shrine of the Buddha m the dharma-chakra-pravartana-mudrd at the farther end It is decorated with beautiful the sculptures and well-carved pillars and pilasters, but contains no paintings As inscription in which Varahadeva gave an account of his ancestors 1 is sadly mutilated in its lower portion, the purpose for which the cave was excavated remains unknown. Nearby is another smaller cave of the vihdra type which also was probably excavated by the same minister and dedicated to the Buddhist Sangha T\vo other caves at Ajanta belong to the age of the Vakatakas They are the Vihara Cave XVII and the Chaitya Cave XIX Both were excavated by a feudatory of Harishena, who ruled over the Rishika country His name is unfortunately lost, as the inscription in Cave XVII, in which he had given an account of himself and his ancestors, is now very much mutilated. From the extant portion of it we learn that this prince was overwhelmed with soi row at the premature death of his younger brother Ravisamba 2 Being convinced of the transitoriness of worldly existence, he began to lead a pious life. Realizing that wealth causes an obstacle in the attainment of sid,dhi> he adorned the earth with stupas and mhdras

He caused the excellent monolith mandapa (i e. Gave XVII) containing the chaitya of the it Buddha to be excavated and provided with a water-cistern To the west of it, in another the hill a e to These part of he caused gandhakutl (i Chaitya Cave XIX) be excavated two are known for their excellent paintings and sculptures respectively

As this inscription states, there must have been many such mhdras and chaityas excavated or constructed in other parts of the Vakataka empire, but they have now passed into

oblivion ,

An analysis of the grants of the Vakataka kings and their feudatories would shed interesting light on the religious tendencies of the age Of the 27 inscriptions edited here, as many as nine are either incomplete or record no gift. Of the remaining eighteen grants, 3 vihdra to three record donations of and chaitya caves Buddhist Sanghas, and fifteen, gifts of some land or village to Hindu gods and Brahmanas This shows that Buddhism was 4 gradually losing ground and Hinduism was asserting itself It would again be interesting to see on what occasions the gifts were made. The grants to Buddhist Sanghas mention 5 no particular occasion Again, two of the grants to Brahmanas contain only season dates basis for the and therefore afford no conjecture. Of remaining thirteen grants also, only 6 three state explicitly the tithi of the gift, while the others contain only the dates when recorded these the gifts were actually From latter, however, we can in some cases conjecture the occasion of the For if a is recorded on the gift. instance, gift 12th or the 13th of the bright or dark fortnight of a month, it would not be wrong to conjecture that it was made on the occasion of the after a fast on the ekddasi pdrand observing preceding (llth tithi) We thus find that of the aforementioned thirteen grants, as many as nine were made at the time of the pdrands of the following Ikadasis

iNo. 26 lines 3 f 2 No 27 lines 12 f 3 Viz Nos 25, 26 and 27 4 In the of the most of the preceding age Satavahanas, inscriptions recorded gifts to Buddhist Sanghas. 5Nos 10 and 23 6 Nos 2, 7 and 14. RELIGION xlm

Name ofEkadasi Total no ofgrants 1 Jyeshtha su di 11 (now called Nirjala) One 1 2 Bhadrapada va di 11 One2 3 Asvina s"u di 11 (now called Pasankusa) One3 4 4 Karttika su di 11 (now called Prabodhini) Four 5 Magha va di 11 (now called Shat-tila) One5 6 Phalguna su di 11 (now called AmalakI) One6

This shows what importance the ekadasi-viata had attained in that age Again, even among the ekadasis, that called Prabodhim ekadasi was regarded as most sacred It is Interesting to note that Kahdasa also mentions this tithi in the Meghaduta 7 as the day of deli- verance for the exiled Yaksha It was believed that on that tithi the god Vfshnu rose from his serpent couch after a sleep of four months One grant (No 12) recorded on Jyeshtha su di 10 was made to a Brahmana who is described as Vishuva-vachanaka It seems therefore to have been made on the occasion of 8 the Mesha Sankranti In the case of the two grants, no particular sacred tithi seems to have

been the occasion of the gifts One grant (No 14) was made on the occasion of tila-vachanaka i e probably a sraddha The foregoing analysis reveals certain surprising facts Most of the Vakataka kings were Paramamahesvatas i e devout worshippers of Mahesvara or Siva Still, apart from No 1 which may have recorded the construction of a temple of that god there is not a single inscription which records a gift in honour of him Similarly, there is no mention of any in this gift having been made on a solar or a lunar eclipse It may be noted connection that eclipses and sankrantis were the usual occasions when land-grants were made to

Brahmanas in later times, while gifts on completion of the ekddast-vrata were very rare

6 2 No 19 3 No 3 4 Nos 2, 4, 5, and 8.

G No 7 7 Cf wrRft $ ^rwrrffora snfirqFft i v 120 8 Nos 9 and 15 In the case of the former grant which was recorded on VaiSakha va. di 5 it is possible to say that it was made on the preceding tithi sankashta-chaturthi, which is sacred to Ganapati, but it is doubtful if that god had attained such importance in the Vakataka age There is generally no obeisance to him in the beginning of early grants CHAPTER IX SOCIETY

records do not yield much information about the social condition in the age of the OURVakatakas Hindu society was then no doubt divided into castes, but the caste system had not become quite rigid Some of the royal families of that age belonged to the Brahmana, and some to the Kshatriya caste The Vakatakas were Brahmanas of the Vish- nuvriddhag^ra. 1 Their feudatories who ruled over the Mekala country traced their descent 2 from the Pandavas of the lunar race and evidently claimed to be Kshatnyas The lulers of Mahakantara (modern Bastar District of Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining territory) claimed descent from the famous king Nala They also must have been regarded as Kshatnyas In some other cases such as those of the rulers of Sarabhapura and Rishika we have no means to ascertain their caste Though people generally married within their caste, intercaste marriages of the anuloma type sanctioned by the Smritis* were not unknown The Brahmana prince Rudra- sena II married the Vais*ya princess Prabhavatigupta This marriage brought no inferior status to her and her children; for she became the agra-mahishi (crowned queen) of the Vakataka king and her sons Divakarasena and Pravarasena II succeeded to the throne one after the other Another inter-caste marriage of that age is mentioned in the Ghatotkacha Cave inscription So ma, a learned Brahmana of Vallura, married wives of both the Brahmana and Kshatriya castes. His sons from the Brahmana wives devoted themselves to the study of the Vedas and made their native place famous by their learning. His sons from the Kshatriya wife, on the other hand, took to the military profession and * distinguished themselves by their valour Some of them became ministers of the Vakataka kings. The Brahmanas who devoted themselves to the study of the Vedas and Sastras were highly venerated. Some of them mastered more than one Veda This was indicated by to their names5 which had not become mere surnames. epithets like Dviveda prefixed , yet Some Brahmanas officiated as priests at Srauta sacrifices and Gnhya rites Those who performed certain rites like Gana-yagas were looked down upon and were not invited to a srdddha. The Brahmana who officiated at such rites received a munificent gift Some Brahmanas preferred to lead a celibate life and were known as naishthika Brahmachanns Kaluttaka, 6 who received the Jamb plates, was a Brahmana of this type Some Brahmanas were known for their pious and saintly life Such was the Acharya Chanalasvamm who is des- 7 cribed as Bhagavad-bhakta (a devotee of Vishnu) in the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta He was probably staying at Ramagiri and appears to have been in charge of the temple of Ramachandra there; for, the village Danguna which Prabhavatigupta granted to him was first offered to the feet of the god on Karttika u di 12

*No 3, line 2 2 No 19, line 1. 3 Manusmnti, III, 13 4 No. 26, lines 7-8 5 No. 12, line 22 6 No 3, line 19 7 No 2, line 14 SOCIETY xlv

From our records we get some interesting details about the Brahmanas of Vidarbha in that age Their names usually ended in sarman, drya, dchdrya or svdmin They belonged to different Vedas and sdkhds or charanas Unfortunately, all records do not give details about the Vedas and sdkhds of the donees So the information is meagre We can nevertheless make some gleanings It is noteworthy that among the donees of copper-plate grants the Rigvedins and the Sdmavedins are conspicuous by their absence, not a single grant being made to them 1 Among the Tajurvedins, the followers of the Taittiriya sakhd predonmate, as 2 many as six grants having been made to them One grant is made to a Brahmana of the ' Mddhyandina sdkhd of the White Tajurmda? He was residing in Mekala In three other cases also the donees probably belonged to the Vdjasamya or White Yajurveda as shown by

the word vdji being prefixed to their gotia^ The Brabmanas of the Atharvaveda are now extremely rare, but they were not so in those days; for, two grants, viz those recorded in the Tirodi 5 were to them of the donees to the and Basim plates , made One belonged Balaghat District and the otheis to the Akola District Some Brahmanas may have risen to a high rank in the administration of the State As the castes of the officers are nowhere mentioned in copper-plate grants, our information in this respect is very meagre, but judging by his name, Devanandasvamin, who is named to the as Dutaka in the Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta, probably belonged Brahmana 6 caste Some of the scribes of the grants whose names ended in ddsa may also have been members of the same caste 7 The Kshatriyas, who ranked next to the Brahmanas in social hierarchy, occupied high held the office positions in the administration of the State Thus, Chitravarman, who high 8 of the Sendpah in the 1 1th and 13th regnal years of Pravarasena II, was probably a Kshatriya. Other Sendpatis such as Chamidasa, Namidasa, Bappadeva, Katyayana, and Madhappa may also have been of the same caste, but we have now no means of ascertaining this. 9 Judging by his name, Prabhusimha, the scribe of the Riddhapur plates, may also have been of the Kshatriya caste Our records do not yield much information about other castes The Indore plates the mention a merchant (vdnijaka) named Chandra, who could afford to purchase a half of of Pravarasena II 10 village which was granted to certain Brahmanas by the Indore plates Some records mention the suvarnakdras (goldsmiths) who engraved the copper-plates As not the no large stone inscriptions of the Vakatakas have yet been discovered, we do get built the names of any sutradhdras (artisans) The artisans, sculptors and painters who temple at Pavnar and excavated and decorated with sculptures and paintings the Caves XVI, XVII and XIX at Ajanta and the Ghatotkacha Cave at Gulwada have also remained unknown

1 Some of the donees of the Ghammak plates which recorded grants to a thousand Brahmanas of 'various gotras and charanas' may have belonged to these Vedas The Vedas and Sakhas of the few donees who are named therein have not been recorded

*Viz Nos 3-5, 7, 8, 15 3 No 19, line 39-40 4 Nos. 9, 12 and 14 5 Nos 11 and 22

6No 8, line 31. 7 It is well known that the great Sanskrit poet Kahdasa, who belonged to the Brahmana caste, has a similar name It is noteworthy that the scribe of No 13 bore the same name 8No 5, line 30, No 6, line 60 9No 8, line 32 9, line 20 INTRODUCTION

states that a of Hanshena The Inscription in Ajanta Cave XVII feudatory Empeior whose name has, unfortunately, been lost, being moved by compassion, released, by expend! suffused as they were hi ture of wealth, (persons) whose eyes were through fear, though * others that is mutilated (own) sons As this verse, like several m record, very sadly were were domestic slaves The it is not possible to say who these persons Perhaps they India A slave had no tc institution of slavery was, no doubt, prevalent in ancient right 2 was treated with kindness and s( property He had to do menial work He generally of the Indians slaves foreign observers like Megasthenes have recorded that none employed from those who have The Yajnaoalkya Smnti lays down that a king should release bondage been enslaved by force or have been sold by thieves He who saved the life of his mastci of the was also set free Those who were sold for money could be released by payment requirec amount to their master 3 In the Mnchchhakatika Sarvilaka attempted to release his lady-lovi aforementioned from servitude by this means The slaves referred to in the Ajant," took on them and releascx inscription were probably of this type Hanshena's feudatory pity them from bondage by paying ransom-money and made them free citizens about the mode oi Inscriptions generally do not contain any particulars people's utensils living, their costume, jewellery, head-dresses, weapons, dwelling places, furniture, musical instruments and so forth For these, we must turn to contemporary literatuic, Sanskrit and Prakrit sculpture and painting The Vakataka age produced several kaoya^ but most of them are now lost The Meghaduta of Kahdasa and the Setubandha of Pravarasen*! II are the only kavyas of the age, produced in Vidarbha, now extant As the other kavya\ and ndtakas of Kalidasa were produced in Malwa outside Vidarbha, the description in them diw may not be exactly true of Vidarbha Still, these works also could be utilised with caution The best sources of information about the social condition of the time are tht1 sculptures and paintings in Caves XVI, XVII and XIX at Ajanta, which were excavated and decorated in that age Fortunately, many of these sculptures and paintings are still ami in a fairly good condition They furnish considerable information about the customs manners of the people of Vidarbha in that age As shown elsewhere, the custom of building temples and mhdras in stone and briclv was coming into vogue in the age of the Vakatakas, 4 but these materials do not seem to have been generally used for constructing dwelling places for the rich or the poor Ajanta paintings show that palaces, houses as well as shops in market places were constructed oi wood As is well known, early Indian architecture was in wood When Vihdras and Chaityas came to be excavated in hills, many of the features of wooden architecture sue h as beams and rafters, unnecessary as they were in such excavations, were carved in stone Wooden ribs can still be seen in some early caves such as the Chaitya Cave at Karla Ajanta paintings show that the palaces and mansions of rich persons were constructed on wooden pillars which were decorated with carvings or paintings in three places, at llu bottom, in the middle and at the top The pillars had stone pedestals and either round or elongated capitals The lintels were decorated with Chaitya windows The assembly halls were either square or round m shape with a small verandah In front For the latter type,

] No. 27, line 17 ^-Manusmnti, IX, 416 3 Adhyaya II, v 182 4 Ajanta paintings occasionally show some small stone structures crowned with a dome, an amalaka and a finial resembling those of the original temple at Bodh Gaya They may be devakulis or small temples. See Ajanta, Part III, PI LXI and IV, PI XLIV (a). SOCIETY xlvii

1 see the circular pavilion where queen Maya is relating her dream to her husband The 2 halls were decorated with awnings and tapestries of various colours Some buildings had 3 4 dove-cots with gabled roofs such as are described by Kalidasa in the Meghaduta, v 40 The gateways leading from one part of a building to another had barrel-shaped roofs which 5 were decorated with the designs of Chaitya-windows at both the ends When necessary, shamianas (pata-mandapas) and tents (upakaryas) were erected They are mentioned by Kalidasa in the description of the grand reception of prince Aja in Kundinapura, the capital of VIdarbha 6 Shops were generally square in shape and small In size, equipped with chhajjas of cloth or wickerwork in order to protect them from the sun and rain The dwe- 7 llings of the poor had thatched roofs as at present The furniture in the halls was of a simple type Low square seats with round cushions for reclining against were used A stool called pdda-pitha was placed in front for resting the feet on The custom of placing pots one over another in slings suspended from the roof 8 of a kitchen, which is even now in vogue, Is noticed In some paintings While dining, 9 people sat on low square seats, with the plate placed in front on a low stool Ajanta paintings give us a glimpse into the various strata of society in Vidarbha Some people are shown black in complexion and short in stature, with a flat nose These may be the aborigines residing in Vidarbha and may have belonged to the Naga race Those who excavated and painted the caves at Ajanta were probably of the same extrac- tion 10 They have, therefore, sculptured and painted in several places Naga-rajas with hoods n of serpents ovei their heads On the other hand, kings, queens, Brahmanas as well as male and female servants, noticed everywhere, are of the Aryan race They are fair In complexion, tall In stature and graceful In features Besides, there were several foreigners such as the akas, Parthians and Kushanas, who had settled in Maharashtra Some of these are portiayed in the Ajanta caves In the fresco in Gave XVII which represents the Buddha preaching to a congregation, we notice among the audience some persons with a conical 12 head-dress, who aie apparently of foreign origin Elsewhere there appear others with a flat face and small eyes, diessed in a long robe, who, according to Mr Yazdam, may be 13 Chinese Pilgrims from China used to come to India to visit the sacred places of Buddhism

Ajanta paintings give us a clear Idea of the costume and jewellery worn by men and women in Vidarbha in the age of the Vakatakas Most of them are shown dressed in a short antariyaka or lower garment As It did not cover the knees, it was called ardhoruka In the 14 Harshachanta Bana has described it as one which left uncovered a third part of the thighs. This cloth had stripes of different colours The lower garments of Rama, Lakshmana and

\Ajanta, Part III, PI LXI. 2 Ibid, Part IV, PI XVII (a) *Idid, Part III, PI LXIII

4 1 Cf cTT ^rMifa.&5

' ' Sita In the panel called Meeting of Bharata from Pavnar are of the same type, but the 1 are much broader, reaching down to the ankles. One end of this cloth which covered

the left thigh was tucked behind like a kachchha, while the other, after covering both the legi> taken was behind and after being tucked a little, was kept dangling like a tail. The lowe garment was worn in a different manner in North India. Its pleats were gathered in fron as seen in the 2 sculptures at Saflchi and Bharhut Such pleats or nims aie seen nowhen in the paintings of the Vakataka age at Ajanta, while the dangling end at the back is noticec almost 3 everywhere In the Rajatarangini Kalhana has given the following humorous descrip tion of this c mode of wearing the lower garment by the southerners: The king (Lahtadit\ i made the tail of the lower garment of the southerners touch the ground in order to show thai * they were beasts 4 also Women wore their lower garment in a similar fashion This is clear from OIK end of it behind dangling when they are shown seated 01 standing with the back turned towards 5 others. Some women, however, wore their lower garment in the vikachchha fashion i e without the ends of it being tucked up behind Some men wore a pair of shorts whirl] were tied with a band 6 called katibandha This kind of lower garment was called chandaiakti From the Harshachanta we learn that women also used to wear such a chanddtaka or under- wear inside a long robe or kanchuka 7 While in active engaged exercise, such as horse-riding 01 hunting, men used to pui on trousers and a coat with full long sleeves over them In the fresco representing ihr the Mnga-Jatdka, king who has gone a hunting is shown dressed in this manner 8 Main Gupta kings appear clad in the same fashion on their coins Some servants also are shown with long-sleeved robes in Ajanta paintings Men wore an usually upper garment (uttariya} which, like the sacred thiead, went ovei the left shoulder and below the arm This mode right pit of wearing it kept the light arm free for movement In some the paintings uttariya is seen turned over on the left shouldei Some used to persons fold it and wore it as a vaikakshaka across their breast 9 Some othcis took a cloth and used it both as long a lower and an upper garment 10 In some cases we find the uttariya worn over a long-sleeved coat u In many paintings at Ajanta, the of the upper part bodies of kings, queens and rich persons appears to be bare, while their male servants, and female, are clad m garments. facie but the strange, painter's intention was to show that these met* and^pnma Appears women of high social status were wearing diaphanous clothes Sanskrit poets desciibe hese as garments mhsvasa-harya* (such as could be blown away by mere breath) or as sarirr-* (thinner than the sloughs of serpents) They also state that even

IX at AJ anta ^ such are PI XVi pleats shown. See Ajanta, Part III, *Snd 9 IV, PI XLVIII, LXV etc 4 Rajatarangini, IV, 180 * Ajanta, Part IV, PI. LXIV(b). *Ibid, Part IV, PI 1 LI(c) Harshachanta Press * (Nirnayasagar ed., 1912), pp. 31-32 Ajanta, Part IV, PI LXVIII(c) 9 Part Ibid, IV, PI IV(c). lQ Ihd,, Part IV, PI. XV. ll Snd, Part IV, PI. lz XVII(a). RagkuoamSa, Canto XVI, v. 43 13 Harshachanta^ pp 31-32. SOCIETY xhx

the\ weie the inside \vhen worn, limbs of the body such as the breasts and thighs, ornaments, etc weie seen sandal paste clearly through them The pamteis have shown in then pictures what the poets descnbed in their kdvyas Some women used to weai a band called pqyodhma-pata to cover then breasts l In the scene lepiesentmg dying Sundari, in Cave XVI, the maid who is fanning the pnncess a breast-band 2 in the has worn such Again, fresco of the Visvantaia-Jataka where Jujaka is receiving the ransom-money, the queen who is sitting beside the king has also worn a 3 similar payodhaia-pata In the Sakuntala, when Sakuntala complains that Pnyamvada and asks to ' had tied her bark-garment tightly Anasuya loosen it, Pnyamvada retorts, You ' should lather blame your youth which has developed your bi easts 4 In this scene also a similar payodhaia-pata is evidently referred to As its knot used to be tied on the back, Sakuntala had to ask her friend to loosen it The kanchuhkd 01 half-sleeved bodice, now usually worn by Maharashtrian ladies, though not much in evidence, is noticed in some paintings For instance, the maid, standing near queen Maya, as she is relating her di earn to her husband, 5 is shown to have \vorn such a bodice Again, the woman with a child on her waist, who appears in the midst of suppliants assembled to receive alms in the fresco representing the Visvantara-Jdtaka, has put on a half-sleeved jacket of the modern type with the floral 6 designs painted on it In a scene of the Simhvaldvaddna in Cave XVII, a woman is shown 7 to have worn a gi een bodice of the same type as is worn by Maharashtrian ladies at present Women of the aka and Kushana descent used to wear a half-sleeved jacket instead of a bodice 8

Boys diessed themselves in the same manner as men This appeals cleai from the fiescoes representing prince Siddhartha and his young companions Some of them have one end of their lower garment dangling at the back, while some others are shown with a scarf 9 on their shoulder, placed like an uttarlya antat After his enlightenment, the Buddha used to wear three garments, (i) the dvdsaka (which Yuan Chwang calls nwasand] or lower garment which was tied at the waist with a

giidle, (n) the uttat dsanga, also called sankakshik a which was worn like an uttanya and (in) the sanghdti or long cloak In the frescoes in Caves XVI and XVII, the Buddha appears in 10 n some places to have worn an uttardsanga and in others a sanghdti Several modes of hair-dressing and coiffure are noticed in these paintings In the frescoes in Caves XVI and XVII, men nowheie appeal with a tmban such as is seen in the 12 earhei frescoes at Ajanta The ruling princes are marked by a high jewelled diadem Sometimes a single golden band woin across the forehead served to distinguish a royal peisonage Otheis such as ministers, royal officeis and common men generally wore their hair loose, which fell on their back, neck or chest Some wore a cotton or silken band

1 Pnyadantkd, Act II, v 7 2 Ajanta, Part III, PI LII 3 Ibid, Part IV, PI XXVI ^Sdkuntala, Act I 5 Ajanta Port III, PI LXII 6 Ibid , Part III, PI LXIV Part IV, PI LXIV(a) Part III, PI. LXVI Part III, PI LXIII Ibid , Part IV, PL XXXIX. 11 Ibid Part Part PI XLI. , III, PI LIII and LXXIV, IV, VPl XV. 1 INTRODUCTION

l across theii forehead, which Bana also has noticed In the scene in Gave XVII represen- a a of social status who is ting the Buddha preaching to congregation, person high sitting is as such white silken near king Bimbisara among the audience shown wearing a band, 2 under which his curling hair appears in small clusteis Foreigners like the Sakas and 3 Kushanas are shown with a conical head-dress or with a low round skull-cap The Brahma- 4 nas were marked by a tied tuft of hail on the crown of their head In the school-scene in Cave XVI some of Sidhartha's companions have a similar tuft of hair 5 Boys generally 6 had clusters of hau called kakapakshakas above their ears In some sculptures, Purnabhadra, 7 Paftchika and such other semi-divine beings are shown with a wig-like coiffure Buddhist monks shaved their heads clean, but they do not appear in this manner in Ajanta frescoes. In the scene representing the miracle at Sravasti the naked Kshapanakas are, however, 8 shown with clean shaven heads, whereas the Buddha, as also sages, wear matted hair Women dressed their hair in a variety of ways The Ajanta frescoes exhibit a gieat It that in the frescoes many exquisite styles of coiffures is, however, noteworthy nowhere in Caves XVI and XVII is any lady shown to have covered her head with the hem of her ladies of noble birth do at and female servants upper garment as Maratha present Male in shown to have worn a conical for of foreign descent are some places cap See, instance, servant with featuies a in a the picture of such a maid rough who attends on royal pair scene of the Visvantam-Jdtaka in Cave XVII She has worn a green jacket and a conical 9 in cap with a tuft at the top Again, we do not see women of the age using a veil Only noticed like one picture has Mr Yazdani what appears a veil In the scene which represents the Buddha preaching to his mother in the Tushita heaven, one of the devis appears to have ( worn an embroidered head-dress to which is attached a veil of white gauze such as is worn 5 10 by brides in European countries Everywhere else women appear without a veil as in Maharashtia at present

It is, howevei, noteworthy that women of Vidarbha did not apply a tilaka to their forehead in the Vakataka age as they do at present 11 That this custom was, however,, prevalent in some places is clear fiom Kahdasa's description in the Raghuvamsa, XVIII, 44. Men and women weie very fond ofjewellery in the Vakataka age Merchants, middle class people and servants generally appeal without jewellery on their person, but kings, princes, high officeis, queens and wives of rich people as also their maids are represented with a variety of ornaments As stated before, kings used to wear a high jewelled diadem They also put on jewelled eai -ornaments (kundalas) and necklaces of pearls or gems Their arms were ai inlets 12 adorned with jewelled (angadas), with strings of pearls hanging from them . In hi: description of the svayamvata of Indumati, Kalidasa describes how one of the princes whc

in the Haishachanta 2 Ajanta, Part IV, PI XXXIX cit. ,PaitIV, PI XXIII 5 Ibid, Part III, PI LXIII 6 In the Uttararamachanta, Bhavabhuti describes Lava as having five chndds of this type. I Ajanta, Part IV, PI LXXV(a) *Ibid Part PI , IV, XLIII (b)

., Part III, PI LXVI Part PI , IV, p 67, XL (a) II In the paintings of the earlier caves at Ajanta, however, such a tilaka is noticed on. the forehea of women See Ajanta, Part III, PI. XXIV.

, Part IV, PI XXXIX SOCIETY H

1 attended it had to extricate his necklace which had got entangled in his armlet Rich men wore golden wristlets (kanaka-valayas) In the Megkaduta Kalidasa describes how the forearm of the exiled Yaksha, who had become emaciated owing to separation from his 2 beloved, appealed bare by the fall of a golden wristlet The fhigeis were adorned with loss is rings. The confusion caused in the Sdkuntala by the of the signet ling of Dushyanta well known Rich people wore a many-stringed pearl necklace after the mannei of a assembled to heai the sermon of the Buddha jajnopavlta The pictures of kings and princes 3 or that of the flying Indra in Cave XVII give us a fairly clear idea of the jewellery worn by rich men in the Vakataka age That boys also wore similar ornaments will be clear from the picture of Rahula, who goes forth to welcome the Buddha Women too put on very varied and beautiful jewellery In many of the frescoes at Ajanta women are shown with a head-ornament called laldtikd, one string of which followed ; ' the parting line of hair Bana has described it as a tilaka-mani kissing the slmanta This laldtikd had, in some cases, a cluster of pearls or a round golden disc suspended on the 4 forehead, which gave it the name chatula-tilaka Boys also wore this kind of ornament See, for instance, the pictuies of Yasodhara and Rahula welcoming the Buddha in Ajanta Cave XVI 5 Some women wore a network of pearls in their hair, which Kalidasa has mentioned in the Meghaduta, v 65 They also put on pearl-necklaces of one or more strings In the Megkaduta Kalidasa mentions a pearl-necklace with a large saphire woven in the 6 middle Some women used to wear kanthikas (necklaces) of rubies and emeralds, while others liked those made of gold coins (mshkas) Several Indian and Roman coins have been found in excavations, with a hole at the top, which shows that they were worn 111 such necklaces. Nowhere in Ajanta frescoes do we notice the nose-ornament now worn by Maha- rashtrian ladies It had not, evidently, come into vogue in that age The main oinaments of women then weie the laldtikd in the haii, round ear-rings, jewelled armlets with pearl- also called strings suspended from them and bracelets of gold They woie jewelled girdles mamniekhalds When these girdles were equipped with small bells, they were called kdnchis Kalidasa desciibes how women wearing such a girdle used to attract domestic swans They also wore anklets, which, however, were not thick like those used by women of North India The oinaments woin by women of Vidarbha showed a much more refined taste 7 Men used a footwear which was tied with straps near the ankle When they went belt and a fixed it The to fight or hunt, they had a sword suspended from their dagger m 8 accoutrement of hoises such as the saddle, bridle etc was just as at present, but the stirrups are nowhere noticed Hoises for riding were well decorated The warrior's quiver of arrows was fastened to the saddle Foot-soldiers used to tie it on their back Elephants were adoined with gold ornaments and pearl strings, with laige discs suspended on their trunks, but their bodies aie nowhere noticed painted as described by Kalidasa in the Meghaduta, v 19 Nor do we notice a howdah on the back of any elephant

1 Raghuvamsa, GantoVI, v 14 2 Cf ^FT^^f^cW^ES I Megkaduta, v 2 3 Ajanta, Part III, PI LXVII 4 Cf ll Com. on the Harshaehanta, p. 32. * Ajanta, Part IV, Pl.XLI 6 Meghaduta, v 48 7 Ajanta, Part III, PI. LXII. *Ibid., Part IV, PI LXVIII (b) In INTRODUCTION

Among weapons of war we find swords, spears, daggers, airovvs etc. Swords were generally curved in shape, though straight ones sheathed in scabbards are also noticed. The latter were suspended from the girdles of wariiors or were tied to the saddles of riding horses Shields were rectangular and curved, though lound ones also aie noticed in some places Among household ai tides we may mention umbrellas which were either lectangular 01 The umbrella held over the heads of round square. royal kings and queens was, howevei , in shape Fly-whisks were like those now in use, but fans were rectangular and elongated. Among musical instiuments are noticed tabors (mndangas), conches, symbals, flutes and lutes \vith one 01 more stimgs The tabor, while being played upon, was suspended from the neck animals we notice Among elephants, horses, cows, bullocks, tigeis, lions, deer, monkeys, and The camel dogs is, however, nowhere seen Among aquatic animals we find the the tortoise and the crocodile fish, painted Other animals have not been painted evidently for want of occasion CHAPTER X LITERATURE

it is well-known that in the fourth and fifth centimes A c Sanskrit litei alure flourished as IThad never done before This was no doubt mainly due to the liberal patronage which the authors at their court Some of these were Gupta kings extended to Sanskrit kings the Allahabad stone we learn that the poets of no mean order From pillar inscription ' had obtained the title of of ', great Gupta Emperor Samudragupta Kavirdja, King poets which even learned men found fit to draw * His by his several poetical compositions upon current son Chandragupta II Vikramaditya was probably the author of several subhdshitas 2 to a under the name of Viki amaditya, collected in some Sanskrit anthologies According of learned tradition recorded by Rajasekhara, he submitted himself to a test in the assembly 3 took such an active interest in it is no wonder men at Ujjayim When kings themselves poetry, likewise 4 Some of the officers of the are that their officers and subjects also did Guptas the famous author of the Allahabad known to have been poets Besides Hanshena, ptasasit of S Kumai and Maha- of Samudragupta, who held the high offices andkivigrahika, amatya we know of Saba of the Kautsa the dandanayaka during the reign of Samudragupta, gotta, is described as the of in the Sandhivigiahika of Chandragupta II, who poet Pataliputra and officers must have distin- Udayagin cave inscription Seveial other princes similarly of the art guished themselves in that age by their practice poetic to the north In the south also This state of tilings was not, however, confined poetry as well as other fine arts flourished at the Vakataka court The first thing that strikes written in Sanskrit The us is that almost all Vakataka grants are throughout only excep- is i but this case also the tion is the Basim grant of Vindhyasakl II, m genealogical portion to Prakrit in the in Sanskrit This grant shows how Sanskrit began gradually supplant of the Vakataka are written in and in a drafting of royal charters Most grants prose This matter-of-fact manner, and are therefoie wholly devoid of poetic embellishment From does not however, indicate that the Vakatakas took no inteiest in Sanskrit poetry Diva- the Saduktikarnamnta of Sridharadasa we know of a subhdshita composed by Tuvaiaja for whom Prabhavati- kaiasena who is probably identical with the homonymous boy-prince 6 subhdshitas are ascribed to Pravarasena Several gupta was acting as a regent Some other in that in Vidaibha under the liberal good Sanskrit kasyas must have been written age have now into oblivion; for, otheiwise, patronage of the Vakatakas, though they passed not have Vaidarbhi as the best style of early rhetoricians like Dandiri would regarded of would nol have adopted it for the com- Sanskrit poetry, and Kahdasa, the poet Malava, 7 position of his works

as ' vanous !//, Vol III, p 8 Fleet'a translation of vidvaj-jan-opajivyamcma-kavya-knyabhih by incorrect. that fit to be the means of subsistence of learned men' is evidently poetical compositions were 160 f 2Kavindiavachanasamuchchqya,ed by F W Thomas, Intiod., pp 3 S first ed 105 f Rajasekhara, Kavyamimdmsa (G O , ), pp 4 1 i Ibid 54 Cf trrfH frsft s^ff afar *pf% ^rer , p 5C//, Vol III,p 35. 4 ^Saduktikamdmnta (ed by H D Shaima), II, 31, 7 rlti is known Gf That Kahdasa composed his works m the Vaidarbhi well 2 'r 1 1 Avanttsundarikatha, p liv INTRODUCTION

One of Kalidasa's works, the lovely lyric Meghaduta, may be regarded as a kavya of Vidarbha, since it was probably composed during the great poet's sojourn at the Vakataka court The subject matter of the kavya is the message which a yaksha, exiled from Alaka because of dereliction of duty, sends by a cloud-messenger to his beloved at the approach and of the lainy season The yaksha gives a graphic description of the places, mountains rivers on the loute of the cloud from Ramagiri, where he was staying, to his home in Alaka 1 As I have shown elsewhere, this Ramagiri is undoubtedly modern Ramtek, 28 miles frorr Nagpur, which has maintained its reputation as a holy place to this day Several grant* 2 of the Vakatakas weie made at the temple of Ramchandra, called Ramagiri-svamin, or that hill As Ramagni was onlv about three miles from the then Vakataka capital Nandi vardhana, Kalidasa must have visited it many times It was evidently at this place tha the theme of the Meghaduta suggested itself to him. This kavya composed in Vidarbha ha " evoked unstinted praise from all critics It is difficult to praise too highly," says Keith " either the brilliance of the desciiption of the cloud's progress 01 the pathos of the pictur< of the wife, sorrowful and alone Indian criticism has ranked it highest among Kalidasa' elicit and th. poems for brevity of expression, richness of content and power to sentiment, 5 ' 3 praise is not undeserved As stated before, the insciiptions of the Vakataka kings aie in prose, but those c their ministers and feudatories are either wholly or partly in verse They are composed i of \vord and sense 4 Som a lucid style and are, in many places, embellished with figures of their verses would be good illustrations of the Vaidarbhi style of til Piakrit poetrv also received a fresh impetus during the enlightened legime also authors of excellen Vakataka kings. These kings were not only patrons oflearned men, but Prakiit kavyas and subhashitas Of these the earliest is Sarvasena, the founder of the Vatsz gulma branch, who composed the Prakrit kavya Haiivijaya Sarvasena had indeed long bee known as the author of this Prakrit kavya from the references to him in the works of Anand; vaidhana, Hemachandra and other rhetoricians, but that he was a king became known on from a mutilated verse5 in the fragmentaiy Avantisundarikatha, to which I drew attentic of this he who founded the recently History knows of only one king name, wz , Vatsaguln branch of the Vakataka dynasty He must therefore have been the author of this kdvyt The Hanvijaya is not now extant, but we can form a fair idea about its theme, natur rhetoricians In the etc from the quotations and references in the works of later Dhvanyaloi Anandavardhana states that Sarvasena had altered the original story and introduced son imaginaiy incidents in it in order to make it suitable for the delineation of the intend* sentiment 6 Anandavardhana does not state what the story was, but heie Ins commental the had for its theme t Abhmavagupla comes to our help. He states that Hanvijaya Krishna for the lemoval of the Parijata tree from heaven, which was done by appeaseme 7 cites a Prakrit vei of his wife (evidently Satyabhama) Elsewhere Anandavardhana was wiitten in the Maharashtri from the Hanvijaya, which shows that the work dialect.

157, Vol I,pp 12 f 2 No 8, line 1 3 Keith, History of Sansknt Literature, p. 86 4 in the in cave XVI at See Nos 25, 26 and 27. It was the use otyamakas inscription Ajanta t enabled me to restore the mutilated name of Sarvasena in line 6. 5 fasrar U Cf WT sftersn^T . 1 ... f Avantisundankatha, p. 2 6 to the incidents added As the kavya has not comedown to us, it is not possible specify by Sarvase but one of them may have been the sending of Satyaki a&a.msrishtSrtha-dtitatQ India. See below, p. 7 See Dhvanyaloka (Nirnayasagar ed.)> P p 127 LITERATURE Iv

Some other Prakut veises in the Dhvanyaloha appear to have been taken fiom the same work, though this has not been explicitly stated by Anandavardhana * The next writer who mentions Sarvasena is Kuntaka, the famous author of the Vakwktijwita He classes Sarvasena with Kalidasa among writers of the sukumdm-mdrga 2 (elegant style) Bhoja, the author of the Sarasvatikanthdbharana, cites two Prakrit verses, which fiom then contents appear to have been taken from the Hanvijaya The first of these states why Satyabhama alone in the midst of the other wives of Krishna got enraged by humiliation (when the Parijata flowers obtained from heaven were presented by Krishna to Rukmini) , The second verse seems to have been addressed by Krishna to Satyabhama " If I Says he, had appeased you, who had become enraged by (the presentation of) flowers the same flowers to it would not have (to Rukmini) , by offering you, been in keeping with either my love for you or my offence against you (Hence I am honouring you with his other the gift of the Parijata tree itself )" In work Snngdmprakdsa also Bhoja cites several verses from the Hanmjaya Thus in the piakasas xxii-xxiv, which have been published, as many as six veises have been quoted from that kdvya as stated by the editor in the Index of Prakrit verses of those chapters. Several more verses must have been cited in other chapteis which are still unpublished 3 has icferred to the Hemachandra, the Jam polymath, Hanmjaya in several places in his vivnti on the AlankMachudamani, which gives us several bits of interesting information. For instance, he tells us that like the Setubandha, the Hanmjaya was throughout written in one and that the verses the Gahtaka metre (viz , Skandhaka) m metre found therein were later The last verse of each canto contained the word utsdha interpolations 9 just as that m the dsvdsas of the Setubandha contains anutdga Its theme, as stated above, was the forcible re- moval of the Parijata tiee by subduing India for the appeasement of Satyabhama It seems that Krishna had at first sent Satyaki as a msnshtartha-duta., i.e as a Commissioner of Like other it invested with full powers negotiation mahakavyas contained the description the of the city (Dvaraka), the hero (Krishna), season spring, sunset, horses, elephants, drinking paities and so forth. Ultimately, Krishna invaded heaven, vanquished Indra and forced him to part with the celestial tree Parijata, which he presented to Satyabhama to appease her anger 4 The Hanmjaya is probably the earliest Prakrit kdvya known so far It fully conforms to the norm of the mahakavyas and seems to have served as a model for the Sanskrit and Prakrit kdvyas of Kalidasa and Pravarasena II, who flourished in a later age It seems to current in India down to the twelfth A c have been century , for, Dandin (7th cen.), cen Kuntaka cen cen Anandavardhana (9th ), (10th ), Bhoja (llth ), Abhinavagupta (llth either refer to Saivasena or cite verses cen ) and Hemachandra (12th cen.) by name icferring to incidents in that kdvya I have not seen icfeiences to it in later works and no manuscripts of it are known to exist anywhere Sarvasena seems to have composed some Prakrit gdthds also Gangadharabhatta, \vhose commentary has been published in the Nirnayasagar edition of the Gdthdsaptasati, does

1 die cited in than For instance verse sajjei surahi-maso, etc , which has been more one place (ibid., pp. 106, 236 etc.) as descriptive of the vernal season, is also probably taken from the Hanmjaya, which, as shown below, did contain a description of that season 2 Cf tfgra tfl <$ tfR'gsRTfa' ^rfs^fRrcpftfHT^RT ^1^0% *sw t Vakroktijimta, p 71. 3 See Hemachandra' s Kavyamisasana> ed by Rasik Lai, pp. 457 f. 4 The Paumachanu of Vimalasun was, according to a statement in that work, composed in the year 530 after the Nirvana i e. in this is as doubtful. Prof. of Mahavira 64 A.C , but date regarded Jacobi ' 9 places the kdvya in the third century A c 01 somewhat later. Ivi INTRODUCTION

not name Saivasena among the known authors of the gdthas, but, as Weber has shown, asciibes two and to him Pitam- anothei commentatoi Bhuvanapala verses, viz , 217 234 bara, a third commentator,, whose commentary on the gdthas has been published iccently, mentions Sarvasena's name in connection with two more verses, viz 504 and 505 The attribution of these gdthas to Saivasena furnishes additional evidence for the identification of that author with the homon-ymous king who ruled over Southern Vidarbha During the reign of Saivasena and his successors, Vatsagulma appears to have become a centre of learning, and the Piaknt kavyas and subhashitas composed there evolved a style called Vachchhomi which a of Vaidarbhi ( Vatsagulmi) , became synonym Rajasekhara mentions Vachchhomi m this sense in the opening verse of his Karpuramanjan Like Sarvasena, Pravaiasena II of the Senior branch of the Vakataka family distin- the guished himself by the composition of Prakrit poetry He is the reputed author of Prakrit kdvya Setubandha, also called Ravanavaho, in the Maharashtr! Prakrit According

1 to some scholars this Pravarasena was Pravarasena II of Kashmir, and the kdvya was composed to commemoiate a bridge of boats constiucted across the river Vitasta This the theoiy is, however, untenable, for, the Rdjatarangiw, which mentions the construction of 2 bridge, makes no reference to this kaoya Ramadasa, a commentator of the kdvya, has, on the other hand, recorded the tradition that the work was actually composed by Kalidasa, who ascribed it to Pravarasena by the older of Vikramaditya This tradition can be satisfactorily explained only if this Pravarasena is identified with Pravarasena II of the Vakataka family, for, the lattei was the daughter's son of Chandiagupta II-Vikramaditya. We have seen above that Kalidasa, who enjoyed the patronage of Chandragupta II, probably stayed at the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana for some time, and while there, composed his Afeghaduta, which mentions the holy place Ramagiri, situated not far from that capital It is therefore not unlikely that he helped his patron's daughter's son Pravarasena II in com- 3 posing the kdvya during his sojourn in Vidarbha This explains also the tradition preserved by Ramadasa that Pravarasena was called Bhujadeva, for, Bhoja was the name of the ancient dynastv of Vidarbha Verse 9 of the first canto of Setubandha states that the work was commenced by Piavarascna soon after his accession and that he occasionally found it difficult 4 to carry it on On such occasions he must have received help from Kalidasa, winch is recorded in the aforementioned tradition as well as in the colophons of the cantos of the Prakrit kdvya The Setubandha has for its theme the epic stoiy of Rama from his advance against Ra\ana and the building of a biidge of stone to Lanka to his return to Ayodhya after the extermination of the demon king The work is divided into fifteen cantos called asvdsas, and contains 1362 verses The prevailing metre is Skandhaka> but verses in other metres also are interspersed in the middle and also added at the end of each canto The Setubandha is in an artistic considered suitable for a composed style mahakdvya y with the of use puns and long compounds It was plainlv written for a public which was well versed in Sanskiit, and contains a descuption of all the topics considered essential in a Sanskut mahakdvya It has been highly praised by Sanskrit poets and rhetoricians Bana in his Harshachanta that this Setu e sa>s by means of (i Setubandha) the fame of Pravarasena crossed the as the of had before of ocean, aimy monkeys done by means the bridge (of Rama)

1 Sansknt Sanskrit Macdonell, History of Literature, pp 331-32, Keith, History of Literaim e, 132 f, 2 pp Rajatarangim, III, 354 * Setubandha, I, 9. *Cf LITERATURE Ivii

the famous critic of the 9th A c bestows Anandavardhana, century , high praise on the section of the kdvya which describes how Sita was overwhelmed with grief at the sight of the J illusory head of R5.ma Pravarasena II wrote, besides this kdvya, stray Prakrit verses, some of which have been in the preserved aforementioned Prakrit anthology Gathasaptasati The index of the gdthds in the Nirnayasagar edition of this work ascribes five verses mz 45, 64, 202, 208, and 216 to and Pitambara adds two more to 481 2 Pravarasena, them, mz , and 565 Further, Bhuvanapala mentions Pravara, Pravararaja or Pravarasena as the author of the following gathas 46, 126, 158, 203, 209, 321, 341, 567, 734 This Pravarasena or Pravararaja can be none other than the Vakataka Pravarasena II, the reputed author of the Setubandha It may pnma facie seem strange that these gathas of the Vakataka princes Sarvasena and Pravarasena II in the ascribed to the Sata- should be included Gathasaptasati^ traditionally vahana king Hala, who flourished more than three centuries earlier We should, however, remember, that the Gathasaptasati has not come down to us in its original form As Weber pointed out long ago^ the work has undergone six or seven recensions Only 430 verses are common to all recensions They may have been the original kernel of the anthology Several additions and omissions appear to have been made in it from time to time As I have shown elsewhere, it contains some gathas of Vakpatiraja, who was a junior contemporary of Bhavabhuti and therefore flourished nearly three centuries after Pravarasena II It should therefore cause no surprise if some gathas of the aforementioned Vakataka princes are found included in it

The existence, in the Safltasati, of several gathas composed by the two Vakataka kings Sarvasena and Pravarasena II, raises the interesting question whether that anthology contains any other gathas composed by other Vakataka princes We now possess complete lists of the princes of the Nandivardhana and Vatsagulma branches of the Vakataka dynasty None of these except Sarvasena and Pravarasena (II) figure in the list of the authors of verses of the Saptasati But there were two other branches of the family ruling perhaps in Kuntala and Dakshina Kosala They had no doubt a short life of about 50 years (circa 330-380 AC), but they must have produced some princes As the names of the members of the Nandi- vardhana and Vatsagulma branches invariably end in sena, the names of these princes also have ended in sena may The Gathasaptasati mentions five such names viz Jayasena (v 170), Makarandasena (w 6, 80, 90), Satyasena (vv. 233, and 298), Mallasena (v 237) and Vasantasena (v 323) The conjecture may therefore be hazarded that some of these poets, if not all, belonged to the Vakataka family Its corroboration will have to be left to future research

Besides the Sltubandha of Pravarasena II, there was another work called Setu which also was probably produced in the Vakataka age The Avantisundankathd has the following veise in its introductory portion eulogising early Sanskrit and Prakrit poets

i *I?TT T *qMd^u: It * ' This verse mentions fifty-six poets, who are described as kam-pungava eminent poets They had an insight into the real nature of things and attained the position of authority in their own sphere Another piece of interesting information that this verse gives is that these

l ed Dhvanyaloka (Nirnayasagar , 1911), p 148. Anandavardhana says that the figures of sense (arthdlankaras) vie with one another in pressing themselves on the attention of the author while his mmd was engrossed in describing the pathetic scene 2 The numbers of gathas cited here refer to those in the Nirnayasagar edition, of the Gathasaptasati. Iviii INTRODUCTION

poets, though dead, continued to live in this world in the form of Setv This was therefore the name of their work which was quite well known in the time of Dandm The poets and works eulogised in the introductory verses of the Avantisundarikatha to appear have been mentioned in the chronological order The aforementioned verse about the Setu occurs immediately after that describing Sarvasena's Hanmjaya and before another eulogising Kalidasa This work therefore appears to have been produced in the Vakataka Since it age was composed by fifty-six poets, it could not have been identical with the Setubandha of Pravarasena II Curious as it might appear, we have a similar name viz in , Chhappannaya (Sanskrit, ShatpaflchaSat) mentioned among those of Prakrit poets the ! verse of the of A c . following Kuvalayamala Uddyotanasun (778 )

e How can I take any steps, being, like a simple deer, terrified by the roar of the lions, viz ? ' , Pahttaya, Salahana and Chhappannaya This of vers.e speaks three poets Palittaya, Salahana and Chhappannaya Palittaya and Hala are (or Padalipta) well-known Prakrit poets Like them, Chhappannaya also was a Prakrit probably poet The Kuvalayamala eulogises him as follows*

far &wftfdft 3^ fa

' What need be said about the Chhappannayas, the eminent poets, with whom even now a poet of clever sayings is compared in this world '' The first thing that strikes us in this eulogy is that Uddyotana has used the plural number in praising Chhappannaya That this is not for the purpose of showing respect to the poet appears clear from other verses in which Uddyotana has used the singular In to such referring great poets as Palittaya, Hala, Bana, Devagupta, nay his own teacher Haribhadra which means Chhappannaya, fifty-six, was therefore probably the name of a of These group poets fifty-six poets probably formed a Kavi-mandala and published a work under their collective name As stated before, this Setu could not have been identical with the Setubandha The ^ latter is a Prakrit of the same as the kavya type Kumdrasambhava, Kirdtdrjuniya and Sisupdlavadha. Its several cantos have a of and a unity purpose uniformity of style such as one can hardly expect in a work as heterogeneous composed by many as fifty-six poets Besides, none of the later writers who have referred to it have even hinted that it was a compilation of verses composed by several poets There must therefore have been another work named S?tu 9 which was of the of an This is also type anthology suggested by the eulogy of Uddyotana. He says that the fifty-six poets were famous for clever sayings (Chtieka-bhamtas) so much so that became the standards of they comparison for later poets Their verses were probably of the same type as the Sanskrit subhashitas, in which means by of a few strokes they depicted an interesting situation It is not unlikely that there was such an anthology m the Vakataka age As we have seen, the Vakataka Sarvasena and Pravarasena princes II composed gdthds which were later mcorpoiated into the Gdthdsaptasatl Several other not poets, known to history, whose gdthds are included m the must have Gathasaptasati, flourished in the same age It should therefore cause no surpnse if a compilation of such was gdthds made in that age under tlie name of S&u The seems to anthology have become current as the work of fifty-six poets wh.o

C D. Dalal's Notes to his edition of the Kdyyamimamsa (G O S ) LITERATURE lix

contributed to it, and by Its excellence became the standard by which the work of subsequent poets was judged When the anthology went out of vogue in later times, some of its verses seem to have been incorporated Into the earlier anthology of Hala This appears to be the only satisfactory explanation of the statements of Dandin and Uddyotanasuri regarding the fifty-six poets and their work Setu CHAPTER XI ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING

architecture, sculpture and painting the achievements of the Vakataka age were IN as outstanding as in literature There were several temples erected in that age, some of which are mentioned in the inscriptions of the Vakatakas such as the Dharma- sthdna at Chikambun, the temple of PravaresVara which gave its name to the territorial division Pravaresvara-shadvims'ati-vataka, the temple of Ramaginsvamm on Ramagin (modern Ramtek) and the temple of Mahapurusha (Vishnu) in Asvatthakhetaka (modern Pattan) Besides, there was a beautiful temple of Ramachandra built by Pravarasena II at his new capital Pravarapura, evidently at the instance of his mother Prabhavatigupta But none of these structures is now extant There is indeed a temple of Ramachandra on the the hill near Ramtek, but it has not retained its original shape As the territory under rule of the Vakatakas has not yet been thoroughly surveyed, we have no knowledge of the remains of the structures of that age if any still exist The only place where we find some remnants is the hill at Ramtek. On a spur of that hill north-east of the Varaha Gate, there are still some remains of an ancient building which may go back to the Vakataka age There seems to have been a large structure erected at this place, but of it only a small mandapa open on all sides is what now remains As in the case of the Gupta temples, it motif has a flat roof supported by six pillars, four of which are decorated with the lotus We have no knowledge of the image installed in this temple, but it seems to have been some incarnation of Vishnu there is still its side what to been , for, by appears have originally a beautiful image of Trivikrama, 1 now sadly mutilated. The god has a crown on his head, with a halo round his face He wears the kundalas on his ears and a pearl-necklace with a

large pendant round his neck His vaijayanti garland is shown falling on both his legs He wears an udarabandha His lower garment, which is fastened at the waist with a girdle, hangs down in folds in front His arms are now broken on both the sides, but their jewelled angadas, (armlets) can still be seen His left foot is planted on the ground, while the right foot, which was raised to measure the sky, is now broken at the knee The pose shows his determination to rescue the three worlds from the demon king Bali The latter is standing in the tnbhanga pose at the god's feet m an attitude of reverence. The image of his queen who was standing by his side is now very much mutilated In its original condition this panel must undoubtedly have been reckoned among the best products of the Vakataka age As stated before, there was a temple of Ramachandra at Pravarapura, modern Pavnar near Wardha It was decorated with several panels, some of which were discovered from time to time while digging in the fields round rl Vmobaji's aframa on the left bank of the river Dham As these sculptures were not seen by any archaeologists, their importance was not realised for several years When I visited the place in 1949, they attracted my attention at once I photographed them and brought them to the notice of scholars at the fifteenth session of the All-India Oriental Conference held at Bombay in that year. Later, some more panels were discovered at the same place I have described them. elsewhere 2 Here I shall take up some of the important ones

iSee Plate A f 272 f. ZSarupa-Bharati, pp 271 , SI, Vol II, pp, C.CF-PIJS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V Plate A

THE IMAGE OF TRIVIKRAMA FEOM RAMTEK

L O ) /from PRINTED AT THE SURVEY OF INDIA OFFICES (P CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V Plate B

THE PANEL "MEETING OF BHARATA" FROM PAVNAR

PRINTED AT THE SURVEY OF INDIA OFFICES (P REG No 3977 E 36-1103'63 (from photograph) ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixi

One of these panels is now housed in a small hut erected for the purpose near the dsrama It is 3' 8" by 3' 5" in size and is named Bharata-bheta (Meeting of Bharata) 1 There are four in this other figures panel, mz , Sita, Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana. One figure appears by the side of Sita, but it is partially cut This panel, being more than 1500 years old, is now much worn out; but still the figures are fairly clear Sita has clasped the arm of Rama, who is speaking to Bharata He has affectionately placed his left hand on the right palm of Bharata Rama's face has a serene look Bharata, who has slightly bent down his face, appears delighted to meet his revered elder brother Lakshmana, on the other hand, has turned his face away and appears disconsolate All of them are clad only in a lower garment which appears striped as in the frescoes at Ajanta Rama and Lakshmana wear matted hair Bharata's hair has fallen on both his shoulders All the figures are very well modelled Rama's body appears graceful and Lakshmana's muscular There is no artificiality seen anywhere in the modelling or pose of any of the figures Naturalness, restraint and simplicity, which are known to be the characteristics of the sculptures of the Gupta age, are noticed in the figures of this panel It must therefore be referred to the Vakataka-Gupta age This panel is rightly named Bharata-bheta by hr! Vinoba, but this meeting of Rama and Bharata is not the one which took place at Nandigrama after Rama's return from Lanka It is the earlier one which occurred at Chitrakuta. We know from Valimki's Ramayana that Bharata, on his return to Aybdhya, came to know of the exile of Rama and the death of Das"aratha He at once decided to bring Rama back, and for that purpose started in search of him, accompanied by his ministers and army as well as the people of Ayodhya Rama was then staying at the Chitrakuta hill When he noticed a large cloud of dust in the distance, he asked Lakshmana to find out the cause of it. The latter climbed a tree, and from the banner marked by the kovidara tree, he inferred that Bharata was coming towards them. He suspected that Bharata's object in coming with a large army was to do away with them and thus to get the throne permanently Rama could, however, guess the real purpose of Bharata's visit He tried to disabuse Lakshmana's mind of that suspicion by telling him that Bharata must be coming there to take them back to Ayodhya But 2 Lakshmana was not convinced This attitude of Lakshmana's mind is skilfully shown by the sculptor in the present panels While Rama and Bharata are engaged in a heart-to- heart talk, Lakshmana is looking in the opposite direction Indifference, if not positive hostility, is imprinted on his face. This panel, the interpretation of which is quite certain, affords a key to the understanding of the other panels found near the dsrama It shows that the temple to which it was affixed must have been dedicated to Rama The other panels also must, evidently, have been related to some incident or other in the life of Rama And this is what we actually find to be the case, for, some of the other panels portray such events as the birth of Rama, the death of Dasaratha, the departure of Rama and others to the forest, the fight of Sugriva and Valin, etc Most of these are now sadly mutilated But there remains one which is fairly intact 3 This panel, 4' 4" by 2' 11" in size, portrays the scene when, in the course of the fighting between Sugriva and Valin, the latter fell down, being hit by an arrow of Rama, who, together with Lakshmana and Hanuman, had concealed himself behind some palm

1 See Plate B 2 Ramayana, IV, 17, 35-43, 18, 6-7, 18, 21, 3 See Plate G Ixn INTRODUCTION

trees When Vahn fell down, Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman approached him Valin then rebuked for Rama attacking him while he was engaged in fighting with another Rama justified his action on the ground that Valin deseived the extreme punishment as he had violated his brother's wife in utter disregard of the eternal law of moral conduct 1 This scene is in the portrayed panel It shows four figuies Valin has fallen on the ground With his hand he is right supporting his head which was reeling with the loss of blood caused the by wound He is looking up to accost and rebuke Rama The latter is seen in the with the pratyalidha posture, left knee advanced and the right leg drawn back His left y hand is on the forward placed thigh, while the right hand is holding something He wears a small necklace and has an udarabandha a and katibandha His body is gracefully modelled He has a haughty demeanour as he flings back the accusation of Vahn and his own action justifies Lakshmana and Sugriva are standing behind Rama The trees from behind which Rama shot his arrow are shown by means of the conventional large flowers in the upper right corner They are of the same type as those in the well-known of of panel Ahalyoddhara (Redemption Ahalya) in the Gupta temple at Deogadh in Madhya 2 Pradesh This beautiful to the panel undoubtedly belongs Vakataka-Gupta age The about the erection of a conjecture temple dedicated to Rama by Pravara- sena II at his new which was capital Pravarapura, made by me several years ago, was based only on the evidence of these and was not panels substantiated by any inscription That evidence has now become available unexpectedly Recently, while digging in the courtyard of Vrnobaji's the of a female ateM, image deity, about 6 ft in height, was discovered 3 Originally it was but now all four-armed, the arms are broken The goddess wears several caived beautifully necklaces, a vaikakshaka, an carved exquisitely mekhald (girdle) and anklets Her hair is modelled in a coiled fashion which was in vogue in the Gupta-Vakataka Her face is serene. She is age standing on a crocodile, which marks her out as the river goddess The identification is Ganga placed beyond doubt by the inscription carved to the proper right side of her legs, viz e Ganga Bhagavati (i Goddess Ganga) The characters of the resemble those of inscription closely the Pattan plates of Pravarasena II and leave no doubt that the is of the Vakataka This image age. find clearly shows that there was a magnificent of that temple age just where VmobajI's dsrama is now situated. As stated before, none of the temples built by the Vakatakas is now extant but two shrines erected by their feudatories are still standing, from which we can form a fair idea of the religious buildings of that age first of these is at near Tigowa Bahunbandh in the Jabalpur District of Pradesh^he Madhya Tigowa is probably a corruption of dma _ Tngi (Three Villages), the other two of the triad being Angora and Deon It is reported that there was, in ancient times, a town at large Bahunbandh, which had and the other Tigowa villages as its suburbs There is sull at Bahunbandh a colossal statue of the Jama Tlrthankaia Santmatha, with an inscription of the leiga of the Kalachun king Gayakarna (llth A G 4 centmy ) on its pedestal which tes,nes to the importance of the place in old days When Cunningham visited" m he noticed Tig6wa 1873-74, there, besides two the Gupta temples, foundations of as as six shrines which had been many} thirtv-Y utterly destroyed by a railwav contractor 5

l Ramaj>ana, II, 96, 18, 23-24 2 The Gupta Temple at A S I Deogarh (M , No 70), plate XVI ^See Plate D 4 C7.7, Vol IV, pp 309 f I, Vol IX, p 41 CORPUS TKriCRiPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL. v Plate C

THE PANEL "KILLING OF VALI" FROM PAVNAR CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM Plate 1) VOL \

of from Pavnar (i ) The Image Ganga

(n) The Inscription on the Image of Ganga ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixiii

Fortunately, there is still at Tigowa an old temple of the Gupta age in a good state of

1 preservation It possesses all the common characteristics of the early Gupta temples noticed at Sanchi and Eran and may therefore be referred to the middle of the fifth century A c Tigowa lies about 65 miles from Bandhogadh, which was probably the capital of the Pandavavamsi kings of Mekala The temple may have been erected during the time of the who flourished in ciica 450 As shown2 Pandavavamsi king Bharatabala, AC already , he was a feudatory of the Vakataka king Narendrasena The temple at Tigowa may there- 3 fore be supposed to represent the temple architecture and sculpture of the Vakataka age 4 This temple is now dedicated to the goddess Kankali It measures 12 ft 9 in in length and breadth and has a flat roof In front there is a portico supported on four pillars The

is ft 9 in while that either is ft in middle intercolummation 2 , on side only 2 6 Such a difference is noticed in the porticos of the early temples at Sarlchi, Udayagin and Eran, to be 'one of the and is, therefore, supposed minor marks of the Gupta style' All the four of the same with a difference in pillars are exactly type slight their capitals Each has a this it has an plain square base Above octagonal portion which is beautifully decorated with lotus and other designs The shaft then becomes sixteen-sided and thereafter circular This is surmounted by a fluted bell From each corner of the square portion above the bell a small foliated turnover hangs gracefully down The square capital of each pillar

is decorated with two chaitya-wmdow bosses, having the head of a man or a lion peeping the shows two couchant through them The upper portion of capital lions back to back with some tree like the mango or the palm between them The lions at the corners of face Similar are two adjacent sides have a common capitals noticed in the case of the at Eran pillars of the Gupta temple The garbhagnha of this temple measures 8 ft by 1\ ft Its entrance door is decorated with the designs of the custard-apple Immediately above the door-frame there is a line of 7 square bosses, which, though used for decoration here, originally represented the ends of the beams of a wooden structure There is another line of thirteen square bosses just below the roof The architrave over the door frame is extended beyond the jambs of the two

sides, below which appear the panels of the river-goddesses, the Ganga on the left and 5 the Yamuna on the right The Ganga is shown in the tnbhanga posture, standing on a crocodile which is swallowing a human being On her right is standing a female attendant with some offerings which the goddess is touching with her right hand in token of acceptance On her left there is a male chown-bearer In her left hand the goddess has a fruit of the custard-apple tree which has spread its branches over her head

1 a flat roof a of the These are thus stated by Cunningham (i) without spire, (n) prolongation the the entrance door-lintel beyond the jambs, (111) statues of Ganga and Yamuna guarding door; with lions to with a tree between (iv) pillars with massive capitals, ornamented two back back them; a all the etc I Vol. (v) continuation of the architrave of the portico as moulding round building C AS IX, pp 42-43 2 Above, p xxvi 3 In later times the territory round Tigowa was included in the dominion of the Panvrajaka kings. This is indicated by the Betul plates of Sankshobha dated m the Gupta year 199 (518 AC), which record the grant of two villages in the vishaya of Trrpuri (modern Tewar near Jab alpur). There is no reason to suppose that the Parivrajakas had extended their authority so far to the south as early as 450 to which date the be referred on the evidence of its architecture. In A C , Tigowa temple may this earlier age the country was probably included in the dominion of the Pandavavamsis of Mekala, who were feudatories of the Vakatakas 4 See Plate E 5 See Plate F Ixiv INTRODUCTION

The of the is figure goddess beautifully modelled She has a multi-stringed peai lalatika in her round hair, hundalas on the ears, jewel and pearl necklaces, one of whicl down between her hangs plump breasts, as well as a beautiful rdana, bracelets and anklets A down over her left long garland hangs leg Her face shows perfect grace This is on< of the best sculptures of that age

There is a similar of the 1 panel river goddess Yamuna to the right of the entranci door She is on a standing tortoise under a mango tree She has held its branch witl her raised left hand is and plucking a fruit with the right She has a male and a femal( attendant on her and left right respectively Both of them are standing on lotus stalks This at has a flat temple Tigowa roof and is therefore of an earlier age than th< at Gupta temple Deogadh which had a low piramidal spire The latter is referred to th< 2 early part of the sixth century A c The temple at Tigowa may therefore be dated abou the middle of the fifth century A c Some time later its portico was turned into a mandapt the on the by closing opening both sides by means of sculptured slabs, and another portic< was added front The latter m has now totally disappeared except for a slab on the righ with the of sculptured image the Buddha incarnation of Vishnu, which appears to have beei added in a still later age Of the slabs used sculptured to close the opening of the original portico on the left the one upper contains an image of the eight-armed goddess Kali She holds in her hand a a bow, pattisa and other weapons as also two shields She is surrounded on both the side skeleton who are by figures praying or making offerings to her The lower panel on the same side shows the four-armed god Vishnu sleeping on the coils of the serpent Sesha, who ha spread his hoods over the god's head The god holds the discus and the conch in his lef hands His upper nght hand supports his head, while the lower one is in the abhaya-mudra On the lotus which has sprung from his navel sits the god Brahma Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, is shampooing his feet. The upper slab on the right side has another panel of the goddess Kali, while the lower one shows the Boar incarnation of Vishnu On one of th< pillars of the there is the in three lines portico following inscription , Siddhih Setabhadra sthana-samanya-bhaUaputra-Umadmah Karnnahuvja-sanlpah On the evidence of paleography this inscription to be of about the which also appears eighth century A C , may represcn the when these age sculptured slabs were added to close the openings on the two sides o the original portico As stated before, the panel of the Buddha incarnation must hav< been added in a still later age Another temple of the Vakataka age exists at Nachna in former Vindhya Pradesh 3 Botl at Nachna and which lies about two miles to its Ganj only east, stone inscriptions of Vyaghra a deva, feudatory of the Vakataka king Pritmvishena II, have been discovered 4 As showi before, this is identical with the Vyaghradeva probably Uchchakalpa prince Vyaghra whc flourished m the last of the fifth quarter century AC This territory was, therefore included in the of undoubtedly empire the Vakatakas in that period Cunningham founc two at of which the earlier temples Nachna, one, said to be dedicated to the goddess ParvatI probably belongs to the Vakataka 5 The has age gatbkagnha now no image on its pedestal

1 See Plate G 2 The at I Gupta Temple Deagarh (M A S , No 70), p 11 3 See Plate H 4 Nos 20-22. 5 C A S R Vol. 96 , XXI, p Banerji thought that this temple was decidedly of the early GuptE i g 4th-5th period, century AC P R.A SI, WC for 1918-19, p 61. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM VOL V PLATE E

I bD O -M O a ^

W w H COBPUS INSCR1PTIONUM INDICAEUM

VOL V PLATE F

THE IMAGE OF GANGA ON THE DOOR-WAY OF THE TEMPLE AT TIGOWA

3977 E 36-VCS-2. (from photograDh"! CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE G

THE IMAGE OF YAMUNA ON THE DOOR-WAY OF THE TEMPLE AT TIQOWA

No 3977 E 36 -1103'fil /from PnlMTFn AT THF SuPVfY OP IM3IA OPFICFI (P L CM CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM H VOL V PLATE THE TEMPLE AT NACHNA

REG No 3977 E 36 V03 63 (from piiotograph) PRINTED AT THE SURVEY OF INDIA OFFICE:, i F> ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING kv

This temple also is flat-roofed like that at Tigowa, but it is two-storeyed, the place of the later spire being taken by a small chamber constructed over the garbhagnha There is no staircase to reach this upper chamber It seems, therefore, to have been intended to indicate the position of the sanctum The roof of this chamber also is flat, clearly showing that there was no hkhara over it This chamber, in course of time, developed into the

* sikhara,) of which we find the earliest form in the Gupta temple at Deogadh The temple at Nachna is thus somewhat later than that at Tigowa, but earlier than the one at Deogadh It may therefore be referred approximately to the last quarter of the fifth century A C Another peculiarity of the Parvati temple at Nachna is that it has a covered practakshind- patha (path of circumambulation) which is not noticed in the earlier Gupta temples at Safichi, Eran and Tigowa Its gatbhagnha is nearly square in plan, measuring 15 ft 9 in by 15 ft It is surrounded on all sides by a roofed verandah, 5 ft in width, closed by a wall, three ft thick, which serves as a path for circumambulation The front wall has an entrance opposite the dooi of the gatbhagnha In front of the entrance there is an open unroofed court, nearly 12 ft in length and breadth, which is approached by a flight 2 of steps The doorway of the gatbhagnha is veiy richly decorated The door-frame has two 3 bands The inner one has at the bottom a haloed male door-keeper (ptatihara). Above this there is a beautiful scroll of a creeper issuing from the navel of a squatting male figure The outer band has at the bottom the figure of the river goddess Ganga on the left and the 4 Yamuna on the right, above which there are small decorative panels of mithunas The pillars outside this door-frame are decorated with hoiizontal bands of various designs, while the lintel over them has three beautiful chaitya-wmdows At the end of the lintel on either side there is a large figure of a goddess standing over a lotus and attended by a female 5 *The of this 'are to all figures temple , says Cunningham, much superior mediaeval sculpture, ' both in the ease and gracefulness of their attitudes as well as in the real beauty of form 5 The upper chamber is quite plain, both inside and outside. It is lighted by means of two chaitya-wmdows, one in each side wall The garbhagnha receives its light through two windows of simple square holes fixed in its side walls just opposite the chaitya-wmdows in the outer walls of the pradakshina-patha The outer faces of the walls are carved to imitate rock-work, lions, bears, peacocks, monkeys, deer, yakshas, ganas, etc. being sculptured here and there in small niches to give them the appearance of caves The external appearance of the temple at Nachna shows that its form was imitated from a rock-cut cave In fact the earliest existing shrines in India are m the form of rock- cut viharas and chaityas The aitists of ancient Vidarbha excelled in this art also Some of the most magnificent caves at Ajanta hewn out of solid rock, which still exist in a fair condition, testify to the skill of the artisans of that age The Vihara caves XVI and XVII and the Chaitya Cave XIX all of which belong to the Vakataka age are, according to Burgess, both from their architecture and their paintings, as full of beauty and interest as any caves in the West of India 6 Of these three caves, Cave XVI was excavated by Varahadeva, who was a minister

1 The at S I 8 Gupta Temple Deogarh (M A , No 70), p 2 See the of the Vol plan temple. CASR, , XXI, pi. XXV 3 PI See XVI in P.R A S I , W C. for 1918-19 See also Plate H. 4 These river goddesses appear just below the prolonged lintel of the temple at Tigowa. 5CASR, Vol XXI, p 96 302 Ixvi INTRODUCTION

of the Vakataka Emperor Hanshena It is in some respects the most elegant of all caves Its verandah, 65 ft long by 10 ft 8m wide, has six plain octagonal pillars and two beautifully

l carved pilasters The hall inside is entered by three doors, of which the middle one is larger than the two side ones There is also a window on each side, between the middle and the side door The either pilaster on side of the main door has the figure of the river goddess Ganga standing on a crocodile

The or hall is mandapa inside 66 ft 3 in. long, by 65 ft 3 in deep and 15 ft 3 in high It is supported by twenty pillars, sixteen of which are of plain octagonal shape, while the four two the remaining m middle of each of the front and back rows have square bases and first to 8 and then to 16 change sides, with square heads and bracket capitals The front aisle is somewhat longer than the back one Its roof is cut in imitation of beams and brackets the rafters, supported by m form of hnnaras and apsarases There aie six cells on each side, two m the back wall, and one at each end of the verandah There is no antechamber, the chaitya-mandira (shrine) being entered from three doors in the back aisle The latter contains a gigantic statue of the Buddha in the dharmachakm-piaoartana- in the mudrd, sitting pralambapdda posture on a lion seat He is attended by Vajrapam on the and on the right Padmapam left, with chauns in their hands There is space for pradakshind round the image of the Buddha The at the left end of the '-a inscription verandah describes this cave in the following words 'This which is adorned with dwelling windows, doors, beautiful picture-galleries, ledges, statues of the of Indra and the is nymphs like, ornamented with beautiful pillars and stairs, and has a tem- of the inside' 3 ple Buddha The picture-galleries referred to as su-mthi in this veise covered the walls of the verandah and the hall but of inside, many them have now been very sadly mutilated. Both Gave XVI and XVII were excavated and decorated with paintings in the same

mz , the of the Vakataka period, reign king Hanshena The artists appear to have done the work with a definite plan The paintings in Gave XVI mostly describe the incidents in the last life of the while Buddha, those in Cave XVII generally illustrate the events of his lives There are indeed a few past Jdtaka scenes depicted in Cave XVI, but they are confined to the walls of its verandah and the front corridor For instance, the story of the Sutasoma Jdtaka, in which Sutasoma, his the by spiritual power, compels cannibal king Saudasa to give up his evil habit, is painted on the architrave above the front of the pillars verandah Similarly, the stones of the Hash Jdtaka, in which an elephant sacrifices himself in order to save the lives of hungry travellers, and the Mahd-Ummagga Jdtaka, in which the child Mahosadha solves difficult riddles, are painted on the walls of the front corridor The incidents in the life of Gautama Buddha can be divided into two parts, viz , (1) those that happened before he turned the Wheel of the i e Law, , preached his doctrine m the Deer Park at Sarnath and those that (11) occurred subsequent to that event As stated the or before, chaitya-mandira garbhagnha of Gave XVI has an image of the Buddha in the dharmachakra-pravartana-mudrd It therefore furnishes the dividing point of the paintings in this cave Those on the wall of the corridor are right chronologically arranged, commenc- from the scene of 4 ing Conception In the painting above the first and second cell-doors

!See Plate I 2 No. 25, v. 24 ZAjanta, Part III, pp. 44 f 4 The chronological sequence of the becomes evident if paintings quite we commence at the right of the end right corridor and walk round the hall from to left It also right helps in the interpretation of some of the frescoes In his excellent work Mr Yazdam Ajanta has, however, followed the opposite order in the of this cave It of describing paintings is, course, the usual order of pradakshind CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE I

THE PLAN OF CAVE XVI AT AJANTA

Index of Paintings in Cave XVI at Ajanta of the ( The Numbers are as in the Plan Cave )

8 Flying Apaaraaes the BuddKa In the teaching attitude 1 The Dream of Queen Maya 9 The ManushT Buddhas 2 The Visit of the Sage Asita of Archery 10 The Buddha's Visit to Nanda s Coronation Hla Conversion 3 Slddhartha at School and his Practice Kapilavastu

Signs 1 4 Scenes from the Life of the Buddha the Four 1 Dying SundarT the Offering of Jataka 5 The Offering of Trapusha and Bhalllka Sujata 12 The Maha-Ummagga Jataka 6 The Buddha preaching to the Congregation 13 The Hastl In Tushlta Heaven 7 The Visit of Aiatarfatru to the Buddha 14 The Buddha preaching

ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixvji

the fresco is from the light, queen Maya is shown sleeping on a bed As very much damaged, we notice only one of her feet resting on a round pillow Two maids are sleeping neai her feet This is evidently the scene in which Maya saw in a dream a celestial white elephant enter her womb The roof of the chamber in which she is sleeping is suppoi ted on high at the in wooden pillars decorated with horizontal bands bottom, the middle and at the top. The roof is further ornamented with chaitya windows with lotus designs in the centre To the left of this chamber there is a low gate with a barrel-shaped roof which leads to a circular pavilion where we notice Maya relating her dream to king Suddhodana Some of her maids to the account are sitting on the ground, eagerly listening The figure of the maid l who is standing nearby is specially graceful In the painting on the left we notice the sage Asita holding the infant Siddhartha in his arms and predicting his future career To the left of this there is another scene in which we find Siddhartha taking lessons from his guru, with his companions sitting round him. He wears a long coat and a conical cap with a ribbon tied round it In the scene below we find the prince practising archery His companions aie sitting on low stools, watching his skill 2 On the wall between the third and fourth cell doors are painted later events in the life of young Siddhartha, such as his first meditation during the Ploughing Festival and his and 3 seeing the four signs of old age, disease, death renunciation On the wall above the third and fourth cell-doors we notice some events which happened soon after Siddhartha attained enlightenment, z e became the Buddha Two merchants named Trapusha and Bhallika, who saw the Buddha after his trance, made to the left of this offerings of honey and rice-cakes him On scene we notice the noble lady Sujata cooking milk-rice for the Buddha and later offering it to him and to four other hermits who were with him 4

As the garbhagnha has the image of the Buddha in the teaching attitude, the paintings on the walls of the back corridor to the right and left of the doorway appropriately portray the scenes of the Buddha preaching to congregations The frescoes here are very much damaged, but from what remains of them we can conjecture the occasions On the left lion his wall the Buddha is shown sitting on a seat, with feet resting on a full-blown large lotus, the stalk of which is held by two Naga kings who are marked out by the hoods on their heads He is attended by a Bodhisattva on either side Among the congregation are seen on the left several young ladies and a prince sitting in a reverential attitude He is probably 5 Ajatasatru, the king Magadha On the right are noticed some hermits with shaven heads as well as some men and women On the wall to the right of the doorway there was probably the scene of the Buddha preaching to the gods in the Tushita heaven. We shall next proceed to describe the paintings on the wall of the left corridor The frescoes on the right side of the fourth cell door are very much damaged, but the figure of a flying apsaras to the right of the Buddha is still in a fairly good condition She is dressed only in a striped loin cloth (a? dKoruka) She wears a laldtikd with a pendant hanging over her forehead Her curly hair, dangling kundalas, ekdvah of large pearls, armlets and bracelets are drawn with skill Her pose shows movement in the air She is looking

lAjanta, Part III, pi LXII. ZJbtd., Part III, pi LXIIL SAjanta, Part III, pi LXIII PartIII,pl. LIX Part LVII , III, pi. Ixviii INTRODUCTION

1 eagerly towards the Buddha Her inward feeling is suggested by the gestures of her hands of The original painting above the third cell door was probably damaged in course time and was replaced by another containing figures of the Manushi Buddhas in two rows The lower row has four Buddhas sitting on round seats with cushions behind their back and triple umbrellas over their heads The upper low has seven or eight Buddhas of the same type All of them are in the teaching attitude. The figures appear conventional and may have been drawn by the monks Bhadanta Dharmadatta and Bhadanta Bappuka whose names 2 are mentioned in the painted records below The fiescoes over the first and second cell-doors of the left corridor as well as those on the left wall of the front corridor narrated the story of the conversion of Nanda, the half- brother of the Buddha The paintings here are very much damaged, but some of the scenes can still be recognised Aftei his enlightenment the Buddha visited Kapilavastu Nanda was then about to be consecrated as heir apparent When the Buddha came to the royal palace he was greeted by his wife Yasodhara and son Rahula The Buddha then met Nanda and handed him his begging bowl Nanda followed him and consented to join the order His head was therefoie shaved and he was oidained But he began to pine for his beautiful wife Sundari So the Buddha took him to heaven and showed him celestial nymphs They were so superior to his wife that he consented to continue in the order for obtaining one of them The story is narrated in the Buddhist canon as well as in the Saundamnanda of Asvaghosha Some of the incidents in this story such as the visit of the Buddha to Kapilavastu, the consecration of Nanda, his conversion and subsequent pining for his beautiful wife aie illustrated in the extant frescoes But the painting which has evoked unstinted praise from art-critics is that of the last incident in this story When Nanda decided to continue in the monastic order, his crown was brought to his wife Sundari At its sight the latter ' } sank with grief This scene which has long been known as that of the dying princess is 3 painted in the fresco in the left corridor between the pilaster and the first cell-door Sundari is sitting on a low seat, her back resting on a round cushion Her drooping head, half-closed eyes and languid limbs indicate the great shock she has received at the sight of the crown brought before her A maid is supporting her from behind lest she might fall down, while the lady who is sitting beside her is looking into her face with a sorrowful gaze, and is holding her wrist as if to feel her pulse Another maid with a pankha who is standing nearby has shown hei grief by the contortion of her body as she looks askance at her sinking mistress Behind the pavilion, two other maids are anxiously discussing the condition of the lady The peacock on the top of the pavilion appears also to feel the grief and to share in the anxiety of the maids It has lengthened its neck as if to listen to what the maids outside the pavilion are saying about the condition of its mistress Mr Griffith has paid a well- e deserved tribute to this fresco Says he, For pathos and sentiment and the unmistakable way of telling its story this picture, I consider, cannot be surpassed in the history of art. The Floientines could have put better drawing, and the Venetians better colour, but neither ' 4 could have thrown greater expression into it

A flight of steps leads down from the front of Gave XVI and turns to the left into a

l Ajanta, Part III, pi. LV(c) Zflnd Part 55 f 94r f. , III, pp , z { Ajanfa Part III, pi LII The credit of identifying the dying princess' with Nanda' s wife belongs to Mr G Yazadam The order of the fresco shows that the identification is probably correct, p 307 See Plate J CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE J

ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixix

small excavation, on the back wall of which is carved the figure of a Naga-raja, seated on the coils of a serpent, whose hoods spread over his high flat-topped mukuta This is probably the dwelling of the Lord of the Nagas (Nagendra-vesma), to which a reference is made in l the inscription in Cave XVI As the artisans and painters who excavated and painted the caves at Ajanta belonged to the Naga race, such images of the Naga-raja are found sculptured in the caves there. the As stated before, two other caves at Ajanta, viz , the Vihara Cave XVII and Chaitya Cave XIX belong to the Vakataka age They were excavated by a ruler of Rishika (modern Khandesh) who owed allegiance to the Vakataka Emperor Hanshena 2 His name is unfortunately lost, as his inscription in Cave XVII is now very badly mutilated From the extant portion of it we learn, however, that by the premature death of his younger brother Ravisamba, this prince became convinced of the transitoriness of worldly existence and so he got these caves excavated and dedicated them to the Buddhist Sangha at Ajanta Cave XVII, which is of the Vihara type, generally resembles Cave XVI described before Its verandah in front measures 64 ft in length and 10 ft. in breadth and is support- 3 ed by six plain octagonal pillars with a pilaster at each end, which is exquisitely carved The hall is entered by a large central door and also by a smaller one at the left end There is a window on the left between the large and the small door and two more on the right, one large and the other small The mandapa or Hall inside is 64 ft wide by 62 ft deep and sixteen are 13 ft high Its roof is supported by twenty pillars, of which octagonal and plain, while the remaining four two middle ones in each of the front and back rows have square bases with shafts changing into octagonal and sixteen-sided, which are decorated with there is exquisite carving and painting. Behind the mandapa an antechamber (antardla], 17 ft 9 in in width and 8 ft 5 in in depth, leading into the chaitya-mandira (shrine), which measures 17 ft 9 in in width and 19 ft 6 in in depth The door-frame of the shrine is decorated with three bands, of which the inner and the outer have beautiful scroll work, while the middle one has alternating figures of seated and standing Buddhas On either side of the lintel there is a figure of the river goddess Ganga standing on a crocodile Inside the shrine there is a large image of the Buddha sitting cross-legged in the Togasana posture, with his hands in the Dharmachakra-pravaitana-mudra. He has a halo round his face and his an hair is ai ranged in schematic curls. The lobes of his ears are extended He wears antaravasaka or lower garment and a sankakshikd which goes over the left and under the right arm At the back of the throne there is a crocodile at the top on either side, from the mouth of which a man is trying to leap out On the front face of the throne are carved at two crouching deer with a wheel between them, symbolising the deer-park Sarnath, where the Buddha first turned the Wheel of the Law On the proper right side of the Buddha stands Padmapani and on the left Vajrapani, both cariying a chaun or fly-whisk. There are two more attendants near the throne; that on the right carries the Buddha's begging bowl, while that on the left has something in his hand which is not quite clear. to the Above, two flying mdyadharas are seen one on each side carrying offerings Buddha 4 six in each of This cave has, m all, eighteen cells one at each end of the verandah,

25, v. 25 2 No 27 3 See Plate K. 4 Ajanta, Part IV, pi. Ill, (b). Ixx INTRODUCTION

the walls of the right and left corridor, and two on each side of the back door of the hall, It is also provided with a fine cistern of water which is approached by a flight of steps 1 at left between this cave and Cave XVI. It Is specifically mentioned in the inscription the end of the verandah with As stated before, this cave was excavated by a prince who was overwhelmed sorrow at the premature death of his younger brother It is stated in the afoi e-mentioned inscription that he used to wait upon persons who possessed great learning, liberality, compassion, contentment, friendship, forgiveness, courage and wisdom. It is therefore not surprising that the paintings in the cave excavated bv him should illustrate the tales preaching these virtues We have seen above that the frescoes in Gave XVI mostly describe the incidents in the last life of the Buddha This cave contains very few paintings of that type, while it abounds with those describing the past lives of the Buddha, in which one or other of the afore-mentioned virtues was exemplified The paintings may also have been utilised by the monks in illustrating their sermons most Gave XVII contains now more paintings than any other cave at Ajanta, and of all in them are m a fairly good condition. It is not possible to describe them detail, of but we may indicate their position briefly and point out the salient features of a few them

On the back wall of the verandah to the left of the main door there are some paintings which are supposed to illustrate the Visvantara Jdtaka, though there are more and detailed pictures of this Jdtaka inside the Hall There are indeed some incidents portrayed here this the distribution of necklaces to which support identification, mz , gifts including costly suppliants, the exile of a prince and a princess (Visvantara and Madri), the flymg

Indra, who, according to the story, came to Visvantara to ask for the gift of his wife, etc The picture of flying Indra, gandharvas and apsarases is specially noteworthy Indra is fair in complexion and has a noble mien He wears a high crown and beautiful jewelled necklaces, armlets and bracelets His vaikakshaka is thrown backward as he flies through the air He wears an ardhoruka which is fastened round his waist by means of a beautiful jewelled katibandha with a dagger and a sword fixed in it The clouds through which he and his attendants fly are shown by means of white and blue curves and patches This is one of the most fascinating small paintings at Ajanta and well illustrates the artist's skill in portraying 2 flying figures On the back of the verandah, above the two windows to the right of the mam door, is painted an incident in the life of the Buddha, in which he calmed a furious elephant named Nalagm which was let loose against him in Rajagnha at the instigation of Devadatta The infuriated elephant running through the streets of Rajagriha, demolishing wooden structures, lifting up men and animals with its trunk and causing consternation among the people, is vividly portrayed In the next scene it is seen kneeling down meekly before the Buddha, who blesses it with his hand The men and women in the shops and galleries of the houses nearby are filled with amazement and reverentially fold their hands 3 The whole scene is very realistic and testifies to the imagination and skill of the artist On the left wall of the verandah, above the cell-door, is painted a huge wheel which e was supposed to represent the Zodiac and so this cave was called the Zodiac Gave ' The correct is that it is the view, however, wheel of Samsara (worldly existence) In

iNo. 27, v. 26. * Ajanta, Part III, pi. LXVII *Ibid Part 9 III, pi. LXXIV. COEPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE K

THE PLAN OF CAVE XVII AT AJANTA

Index of Paintings in Cave XVII at Ajanta

( The Numbers are in as the Plan of the Cave )

- 1 2 Scenes from the Vlsvantara Jataka 15 The Buddha, Yasodhara and Rahula 3 Flying Indra and Apsarases 1 6 The Miracle at SravastT 4 The Manushl Buddha 1 7 The Sarabha Jataka 5 Gandharvas and Apsarases adoring the Buddha 18 The Matn-poshaka Jataka 6 The Taming of the Furious Elephant Nalagirl 19 The Matsya Jataka 7 The wheel of Samsara 20 The Syama Jataka 8 The Shad-danta Jataka 21 The Mahlsha Jataka 9 The Mahakapl Jataka 22 The Simhalavadana 10 The Hasti Jataka 23 The Si bl Jataka 11 The Hamsa Jataka 24 The Mriga Jataka 12 The Visvantara Jataka 25 The Riksha Jataka 1 3 The Sutasoma Jataka 26 The Nyagrodha-mriga Jataka 14 The Buddha preaching In the Tushlta Heaven

REG No 3977 E'36 1103'62

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VOL V _ PLATE L GREEDY JUJAKA RECEIVING RANSOM MONEY

ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixxi

Buddhist as in Hindu literature, worldly existence is conceived as a gigantic wheel which revolves all creatures through a seiies of life and death l

The present wheel was designed to have eight divisions marked by its spokes (asht- dia-chakra), but only five of them can be made out, the remaining three not having been completed owing to the position of the cell-door The wheel contains various scenes of village and town life It is shown as revolved by the hands of some being of colossal size, probably representing Karman As stated before, the stories of the past lives of the Buddha are illustrated in the frescoes on the walls of this mandapa We find, for instance, the stories of the Shad-danta Jdtaka, the Mahdkapi Jdtaka and the Hasti Jdtaka painted on the outer wall of the front 2 corridor inside the Hall to the right of the main entrance, the Hamsa Jdtaka on the left 3 wall of the same corridor and the Visvantara Jdtaka^ the Mahdkapi Jdtaka (II) and the 4 Sutasoma Jdtaka on the wall of the left corridor Some scenes of the Visvantara Jdtaka were, of course, painted on the back wall of the verandah, but its whole story could not be narrated there probably for want of space It is, therefore, repeated on the wall of the left corridor from the first to the fourth cell-door The different incidents of the story such as Visvantara taking leave of his father and mother before proceeding into exile, the departure of the prince and the princess, the giving away of the little children Jalin and Krishnajina to the Brahmana Jujaka, and finally, their restoration by the latter to the king, their grandfather, in consideration of a large sum of money paid as ransom, are all painted with great skill The last scene when Jujaka appears in the royal court to receive the ransom money Yazdani has * * is specially noteworthy Mr described it in the following words The artist has delineated all the ugly features of Jujaka the broken teeth, the goaty beard, the parrot-like nose and small, uncanny eyes, combined with the brightness which has come over his face at the jingle of the money which the royal treasurer is pouring into his outspread scarf The expression ofjoy may also be perceived from the treatment of his eyes, and the artist has further enhanced it by placing high lights on the nose and lips of the ' Brahmana5 The king holds the last coin in his hand which he is apparently throwing into the Brahmana's scarf with a contemptuous look The artist has shown, with evident humour, the Brahmana with an open umbrella even when he appears in the royal court As shown below, the frescoes on the wall of the right corridor also relate Jdtaka tales. The only paintings which narrate incidents in the last life of the Buddha inside this cave are noticed on the right and left walls of the antardla (antechamber) and those of the Chaitya- mandira (sanctum) As stated before, the sanctum contains an image of the Buddha in the teaching attitude The frescoes outside, therefore, fittingly describe the incidents which happened soon after the Buddha turned the Wheel of the Law On the left wall of the antardla we see a painting in which the Buddha is discoursing upon the Law to his mother and the gods and goddesses of the Tushita Heaven He is next shown to have descended to the world of men by means of a ladder He then preaches the Law to the kings, queens, noblemen and others who have come to see him The Buddha is seated on a throne in the pralambapdda posture and dharmachakra-pravartana-mudra, with Padmapani and Vajrapani attending upon him To his right are Bimbisara, the

l Ajanta, Part IV, pi. IV-VI. 2 Ibid Part , IV, plates X-XIV 3 Ibid, Part IV, pi XVII. *Ibid , Part IV, pi. XIX-XXXVII ta, Part IV, p 49. See Plate L Ixxii INTRODUCTION

king of Magadha, his son Ajatasatru, his queen and some other chiefs with round or conical head-dresses One of them who has prominent mustaches and a beard and also a conical head-dress may represent a Saka or Kushana chief, such as may occasionally have been noticed at the Vakataka court To the left of the Buddha are several monks, of whom two who are prominent may be identified with Sariputra and Maudgalyayana The eyes of all are turned towards the Buddha who is expounding the Law The monk next to Sanputia may be Ananda, the chief disciple of the Buddha, who, from the gestures of his hand, seems to be answering the questions put to him by the Buddha 1 The artist has been able to paint this great composition with perfect ease and consummate skill On the back wall of the antardla to the left of the shrine door, thei e is the well-known 2 painting of the Buddha greeted by his wife and son, Yasodhara and Rahula Having received the intimation that the Buddha has come to Kapilavastu and may visit the palace in the course of the begging round, Yasodhara has put on her best garments and ornaments and stands at the door with her son Rahula, who also is similar dressed, expecting the arrival 3 of the Buddha In the present fresco the Buddha is shown in a very large size, suggestive drawn of his spiritual greatness The figures of Yasodhara and Rahula are purposely much smaller in size as compared with him The Buddha has matted hair on his head and a halo round his face He is clad in a reddish long gown and carries a green beg- His ging bowl in his right hand His head is slightly inclined towards Yasodhara face shows philosophic calm, mingled with compassion for Yasodhara, whom he finds still attached to worldly life Yasodhara has placed Rahula in front, suggesting thereby that foi his sake, if not for hers, the Buddha should come back to the householder's life Rahula has spread both his hands to ask for his heritage as instructed Both he and Yasodhara would have fixed their eyes on the Buddha's face, anxiously awaiting to hear what he are say to them A vidyddhara has held an umbrella over the Buddha's head and flowers being showered over him from the sky This painting has evoked highest praise for its sublimity, suggestiveness and skilful delineation of human emotion On the right wall of the antardla there is a painting of the miracle which the Buddha 4 performed at Sravasti at the request of king Bimbisara Accepting the challenge of some naked sYamanas who wanted to cause a schism in the Sangria, the Buddha assumed numerous forms to confound his opponents The artist has shown considerable humour in drawing the burly figures of the naked sramanas On the rear wall of the back corridor to the right of the antardla are painted the following Jdtakas in order the Sarabha Jdtaka, the Mdtnpbshaka Jdtaka, the Matsya Jdtaka the and the Sydma Jdtaka^ The story of the last of these is similar to that of Sravana in 6 Rdmdyana of Valmiki Next, the Mahisha Jdtaka is painted on the right wall of the back 7 corridor .

On the whole wall of the right corridor is painted the story of the Simhala Avaddna*. here The story is told in the Dwydvaddna> but, as Mr Yazdani has shown, the frescoes

lAjanta, Part IV, pi XXXVIII-XL. llbid Part , IV, pi XL-XLI. 3 See Plate M *Ajanta, Part IV, pi XLIII. 5 Ibid, Part IV, plates XLIV-XLIX. 6 Ramayana} II, 63, w 22 f 7 Ajanta, Part IV, pi LI a %Ibid Part , IV, plates LI b-LXIV a. CORPUS INSCRIPTION INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE M

THE BUDDHA, YASODHARA AND RAHULA

ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixxiii

show some deviation from it Further, on the right wall of the front comdor is painted the 1 story of the Sibi Jdtaka and on the front wall of the same corridor to the left of the mam entrance are those of the the painted following Jdtakas, mz , Rum Jdtaka, the Riksha Jdtaka 2 and the Nyagrodhamnga Jdtaka

Besides, the ceilings of the Hall and the right and left corridors are decorated with painted designs of various kinds The ceiling of the Hall has, inside a large square, seven concentric circular bands with a circular pattern in the centre The bands have various decorative designs such as those of jewellery, creepers with leaves and flowers, pearl strings, etc. The space at the corners of the square is filled with flying figures with offerings of flowers In the decorative designs round the large circle and elsewhere on the ceiling of the Hall the heads of animals such as lions, elephants, horses, buffaloes, deer, etc as well as 3 some fabulous creatures are ingeniously interwoven in the scrolls of creepers As

' Mr Yazdani has observed, the colour-schemes of these subjects also show a highly developed art, since the different colours aie most harmoniously blended and are most pleasant to ' 4 the eye In view of the magnificent aichitecture, sculpture and painting in this cave ' there is hardly any exaggeration in the description in its inscription that the Vihara cave 5 ' * is such as cannot be even imagined by httle-souled persons It is undoubtedly the 6 ' finest monument of its kind in India, and peihaps in the whole world Like Cave XVII, Cave XIX at Ajanta was excavated by the ruler of Rishika who was a feudatory of the Vakataka Emperor Harishena It is one of the four Chaitya caves at Ajanta 7 * and is referred to as Gandhakutl in the inscription in Cave XVII It is regarded as one ' of the most perfect specimens of the Buddhist art in India In front of it was an enclosed court, 33 ft wide by 30 ft deep, but the left side of it has now almost entirely gone It has an elegant porch in front supported on two pillars which are decorated with horizontal 8 bands of the lotus motif, and have finials of the dmalaka type . The lintel over them is decorated with two horizontal bands of chaitya windows, with another of kitimukhas between them The whole fagade of the cave is covered from top to bottom with figures of the Buddhas m various attitudes, standing or seated, single or in pairs, as also with floral designs and chaitya windows with pairs of lovers (mithunas) dallying with each other In the centre there is a large horse-shoe arch, with horizontal ribs carved in stone, which lights the interior of the Gandhakutl On each side there is a yaksha Paftchika on the left and Purnabhadra on the right They are dressed in transparent garments and have beautiful

i Ajanta, Part IV, plates LXVC-LXVIL Part , IV, plates LXVIII-LXXX Part , IV, plates LXXXI-LXXXIV. Part , IV, p. 107. 5No 27, v. 25 6 Ajanta, Part IV, p 11. 7 This cave lies to the west of Cave XVII and thus answers to the description of the Gandhakutl mentioned in the inscription. Mr Yazdani doubts this identification and suggests that the Gandhakutl * ' may have been an insignificant chapel which has now disappeared owing to the disintegration of the in rock above Gave XVIII This is, however, in direct opposition to the description the inscription that the Gandhakutl was udara or magnificent We have no reason to suppose that there was exaggeration in this As for the argument that this cave appears to be later than Cave I on the evidence of the ( decorative features of the tnfonum, we may cite the opinion of Burgess From its position and its style of architecture, there can be little doubt that it is of about the same age as the two Viharas XVI 3 and XVII which are next to it C TI, p 317. 8 See Plate N Ixxiv INTRODUCTION

coiffures and jewellery 1 Outside, in a niche at the bottom of the left wall of the court hoods there is a beautiful panel of the Nagaraja and his wife A serpent has spread its seven over the head of the Nagaraja Another hood is seen over the head of his wife Both of them wear high jewelled crowns and several ornaments To the proper right of the Nagaraja 2 there is an attendant with a chaurt As stated before, there is a similar panel of the Nagaraja and his wife in a small excavation near Gave XVI also Inside, the Gandhakuti is 24 ft wide by 46 ft. long and 24 ft 4 in high The earlier has 15 caves of this type were perfectly plain, but this is elaborately carved The nave pillars, 1 1 ft high They have a square base, above which their shaft becomes first octagonal and then circular, with horizontal bands of beautiful tracery The circular portion is dmalaka either plain or decorated with perpendicular or spiral flutes Above this is the in portion which is surmounted by a bracket capital with the figure of the seated Buddha a the middle and elephants, sardulas or flying gandhawas on the brackets Above plain architrave theie is an entablature, 5 ft high, which is divided into compartments by 3 stand- vertical bands of various designs The compartments contain images of the Buddha, ing or seated The dome rises 8 ft 4 in high The Chaitya contains, inside a niche and under an arch resting on two beautifully dome carved demi-pillars, a las-relievo figure of the Buddha clad in a long robe Above the is the usual hairmka with a small image of the seated Buddha surmounted by three roof of umbrellas one over another, each being upheld by four figures on four sides The walls the aisles is flat and is decorated with flower scrolls, figures of the Buddha, etc The also have paintings of the Buddhas with halos, seated or standing like that This is the first instance of a chaitya cave wholly in stone In earlier caves at Karle the ribs of the nave and the umbrellas over the chaitya were in wood. Here they ' are are all in stone Nothing in or about it is or ever was in wood, and many parts so lithic in design that if we did not know to the contrary, we "might not be able to detect to at once the originals from which they were derived The ti ansformation from wood 4 stone is complete in this cave Some more caves of the Vakataka age exist near the village Gulwada, about 1 1 miles west of Ajanta They are known as the Ghatotkacha caves and were excavated, like Gave XVI at Ajanta, by Varahadeva, a minister of the Vakataka king Hanshena They are situated in a deep gorge There were apparently three caves excavated here, of which only two are now extant, the third being known only from some traces left behind Both the caves that are still standing were of the mhdm type, but the pillars and pilasters of the smaller one are now almost entirely destroyed, only the bracket of a pillar and a pilaster still remaining The bracket has the curious representation of four deer with common head It will be remem- the bered that capitals of the pillars of the temple at Tigowa had at the corners the repre- sentations of two lions with a common head

The larger cave, however^ is in a fairly good state of preservation, though in its case also, the front pillars of the verandah are completely destroyed There is a mutilated inscrip- tion5 on the back wall of the verandah* at the north end, from which we learn that it was

l Ajanta, Part IV, pi LXXV (a) 2 Part Ibid , IV, pi LXXVI (b) 3 Ibid , Part IV, pi LXXV (b). 4(7 T./, p. 317 5 No. 26 P o

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THE PLAN OF THE GHATOTKACHA CAVE ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTING Ixxv

excavated by Varahadeva, a minister of Hanshena It gives his pedigree from the beginning, but as its lower part is sadly mutilated, all information about the purpose for which it was excavated and the Buddhist Sangha to which it was dedicated is now lost Another the of the cave contains inscription carved over the figure of the Buddha on one of pillars etc the well-known Buddhist creed, Te dharmmd hetu~piabhavdh t

The larger cave generally resembles Cave XVI at Ajanta, though there are some minor differences in its plan 1 At either end of the verandah there is a chapel, with two

pillars between pilasteis in front and a small cell at the back The hall is entered by three doors, the central one being larger than the two side ones Between the central and the side door there is a window on either side The central door is decorated with two bands 2 of scroll work and a third one containing seated and standing Buddhas, mitkunas etc At either end of the lintel theie is a goddess standing on a boar, not a crocodile as in the caves at Ajanta, the change being introduced here probably with reference to the name Varahadeva 3 of the minister who got the caves excavated The side doors and windows are decorated with chaitya-vatayanas containing figures of the seated Buddha, with globular forms on the fimals4

The hall inside is supported 011 twenty pillars, disposed in four rows The two middle

pillars and those at the corners have square bases changing into octagon, sixteen-sided and thirty-two-fluted and then returning through the sixteen and eight-sided forms to the 5 square under plain bracket capitals The remaining pillars have octagonal shafts and square heads with brackets There aie pilasters in the side walls in line with the front 6 and back rows of pillars, those behind being decorated with full or half medallions The front pilaster in the left side wall has a figure of the seated Buddha with an attendant on either side and the aforementioned Buddhist creed carved above

In the middle of the back wall of the hall there is an antaiala (antechamber) with two pillars in front, and the chaitya-mandira (sanctum) behind On each side of it in the back wall and also in the middle of the left wall of the hall there is a chapel with two pillars m front and a cell behind, like that at each end of the verandah mentioned before There 7 are six other cells in the left wall and five on the right In the chaitya-mandira behind the antardla there is a large image of the Buddha, seated in the yogdsana posture and the Dharmachakra-pravartana-mudrd, with a Bodhisattva carrying a chaun on either side The Bodhisattva on his proper left is Vajrapani as he has the vajra in his left hand, that on the should be as in the caves at but his the lotus has not right Padmapam Ajanta, sign, mz , been carved On the pedestal of the Buddha's lion-seat there are the usual figures of the crouching deer with a wheel between them, symbolising the Buddha's first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath Some devotees are also seen kneeling on either side of the wheel The Buddha has a laige round halo round his face, beyond which aie seen some flying mdyadharas and vidyddhans with garlands for the woiship of the Buddha8

J See Plate O 2 GC/,pl 4 3 No 26, v 18. 4 GC/,pl 5 5 GC/,pl 8 6 Ibid, pi 9. 7 The middle one on the right has the appearance of a chapel with two doors in front, but there is no cell behind it as in the case of the other chapels in this cave. 8 G C./,pl 3. Ixxvi INTRODUCTION

At the right end of the front aisle of the Hall there is carved a chaitya in half relic and on the other two walls appear a number of seated and standing Buddhas Accordiii; to Burgess^ these were carved at some later date

The present cave differs in certain respects from Gave XVI at Ajanta. It is suppose* some to be by anterior to the latter on the basis of the general architectural style and th in it 1 but sculpture , the Inscription of Varahadeva incised therein leaves no doubt thr it Is of the same age as the aforementioned caves at Ajanta Any differences that may b noticed in the architecture and sculpture of the two caves must be attributed to mdividiu \\orkmanship and not to a difference in their age TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

No 1 PLATE I

DEOTEK STONE INSCRIPTION OF RUDRASENA I

is now a small village, about 50 miles south-east of Nagpur It has an DEOTEKold temple in a dilapidated condition and a large Inscribed slab. The place was visited by Cunningham's assistant, Beglar, in the year 1873-74 He has described

the temple and the insciibed slab in Cunningham's Archaeological Survey Reports, Vol. VII, pp 123-25 From the pencil impressions Beglar took at the time, Cunningham published an eye-copy of the two inscriptions on the slab and his transcript of their texts, without any translation or interpretation, in the Corpus Inscnptionum Indicarum, Vol I (First Edition), pp. 28-29 Though the inscriptions are very important, none noticed them until I drew attention to them at the Mysore session of the All-India Oriental Conference held in December 1935 They have been edited with facsimiles by me in the Proceedings and Transac- tions 1 of the Conference I visited Deotek in October 1935 and took estampages which showed some better readings than Cunningham's eye-copy On the other hand, some letters which Cunning- ham read in the last line of the earlier record have since then disappeared, evidently owing to the peeling off of the surface of the slab, which had for a long time been used as a seat and cowherds while cattle described 2 ' by village boys tending As by Beglar , the inscribed slab is an oblong trapezoid of rough-grained, quartzy sandstone, worn smooth in places by the feet of villagers, it being situated m the thick shade of a magnificent tamarind tree, on the side of the village road, and thus offering a capital resting place and seat the stone is nine feet three and a half feet broad at one feet ten , long, end, and two ' inches at the with sides it bears two distinct other, straight , inscriptions The stone has since been removed to the Central Museum, Nagpur The earlier of the two inscriptions is inscribed lengthwise and is in four lines It occupies r 10" of the breadth of the stone, leaving the lower portion of about 1' 6" uninscnbed. The characters are of the early Brahmi alphabet, resembling, in many cases, those of the Girnar edicts of Asoka The language is early Prakrit as in the Girnar edicts At least the first three lines of this inscription seem to have originally extended to the right-hand of the slab traces of isolated letters in the first which are in no edge , for, line, way connected with the second inscription, can still be marked on the original stone Besides, the sense of the first two lines, which are fairly legible, appears to be incomplete in the absence of their 3 right-hand half It would again be strange if the engraver, selecting a large slab nine feet and incise it long commencing to lengthwise, had ended his lines about the middle of it, out leaving nearly a half at the right end. For these reasons I cannot accept Beglar's view that * the second inscription was cut evidently with some regard for the prior inscription,

1 P.TAIO.C., 1935, pp. 63 f *CAS.R, vol. vii, P . 124. 3 One would, for instance, expect at the end of line 1 the names of animals and the seasons in which their capture and slaughter were prohibited. Cf As oka's pillar edict V. 2 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

' ! as it does not interfere with or injure it On the other hand, the later inscription seei to have been incised after the earlier one was chiselled off to make room foi it The object of the earlier inscription was to record the command of some lord (Sdi

is called in line the and of soi (who 'king' 4) 3 prohibiting capture slaughter (evidently animals in certain seasons as in Asoka's fifth pillar edict, or, maybe, throughout 1 line m< year) and declaring some punishment for such as dared to disobey it The third tions executive officers (amachaamdtyaK) whose duty may have been to enforce these oide The last line contains the date 14, denoting probably the regnal year in which the recc was incised

This edict seems to have been issued by a Dharmamahamatra in the fourteenth y< aftei the coronation of Asoka. From the fifth rock edict of the great Buddhist Empei we learn that these Mahdmdtras were first appointed by As"oka in the thirteenth year af

his i e a to the date of this record One of duties to thi coronation, , yeai prior t,he assigned was to prevent the capture and slaughter of animals It is not unlikely that the Dharmamai mail a who was in charge of ancient Vidarbha caused the present recoid to be incised of Chikambun mentioned in line 1, which seems to have been then a place gn importance, to proclaim the command of the great Emperor to his subjects living in 1 neighbourhood2 3 is five lines which are inscut The second inscription which concerns us here in , breadthwise, commencing from the narrow end of the slab Like the earlier inscriptK it also has suffered considerable damage Some letters in the first four lines have eitl

off of t altogether disappeared or become illegible, owing to the wearing away and peeling surface of the slab. Besides, a channel 4" in breadth has been cut right through the mid< 4 of the inscription, which has evidently resulted In the further loss of some more letters

in t Like the Eran inscription of Samudragupta, the present record is inscribed box-headed variety of the southern alphabet of about the fourth century AC As rega individual letters, we may note the triangular v in -vamsa line 4, the tripartite^ in line ff and the unlooped n in line 5 The size of the letters vanes from If" to 7J . The langua is Sanskrit and the whole insciiption is in prose The object of this inscription is to record the construction of a temple or place not religious worship (dhaima-sthandf by king Rudrasena at Chikkamburi. It may be in this connection that there is at present a small plain structure of laterite in a dilapidat * condition just where the inscribed slab was noticed The temple is small, consisti of a cell and its entrance it have a small or a attache simply , may had portico mandapa as the ground in front is covered with cut blocks, but it could not have been large a ' indeed the temple is of the kind usually built without a mandapa 6 The existing structi

ICASR, Vol. vii, p 124 2 In some of his edicts his AS oka orders officers to get his edicts engraved on stone pillars, rocks stone slabs the districts in throughout their charge See his Rupnath rock inscription^ line 5, a Sarnath pillar inscription., lines 9-10 3 There are faint traces of two letters (Siddham?} in a much smaller size in line 6 4 The channel could not have existed at the time the inscription was incised, for, in one case

least (viz , in vamSa we are sure that it has caused the loss of one letter a lasya] vz%. t jd Beglar has remarked, "Long afterwards, when no one could read the inscriptions, this great slab, large enoi. to the breadth of the of a occupy sanctum temple, was considered to form into anargha and in the proc the were sacrificed". A.S Vol inscriptions remorselessly C R , VII, pp 124-25 3 The chief temple in the capital was called Vaijqyika-dharma-sthana vol. vn, P 124. DEOTEK STONE INSCRIPTION OF RUDRASENA I 3

is quite plain The only decoration it seems to have had was in the form of a scroll on its door frame, two fragments of which are lying in front of it The door seems to have been 4' 4" in breadth and about 4' in height The lintel has, in a recess in the middle, a small * image of two-armed Ganapati, measuring 6" in breadth and 8|" in height The roof of the sanctum is formed of intersecting squares and has a pyramidal shape cut up extenorly into gradually diminishing steps Temples of this type can be seen in the adjoining villages

1 of Panon and Armon There is a large image of Ganapati placed in the cell, but it seems to be of a later age The temple was originally dedicated to Siva The hnga has now disappeared, but from the socket in an old argka lying nearby, it seems to have been a large one, about 13" in diameter Such hngas are found round about Mansar near Ramtek, which was undoubtedly an ancient holy place dating back at least to the time of the Vaka- takas There is a broken image of Nandl lying in front of the present temple Though the cannot date back to the fourth to which the present structure century A C , period inscription can be referred, it undoubtedly marks an ancient site and may have been erected when the original temple fell into ruins The inscuption is not dated The name of the king's family which occurred in the beginning of the fourth line has, unfortunately, been lost, but on the evidence of palaeography to Cunningham conjecturally assigned the record Rudrasena I, though according to the notions then prevalent, he called him a king of Kailakila Yavanas, and placed him m 170 AC 2 Though this date cannot now be accepted, Cunningham's attribution of the present record to the Vakataka king Rudrasena I seems to be correct There were two in of the Rudrasena who was the kings of this name the dynasty Vakatakas, mz , I, grandson son-in- and successor of Pravarasena I, and Rudrasena II, the grandson of the former and law of Ghandragupta II-Vikramaditya Of these, the former was a Saiva, being a fervent 3 devotee of Svami-Mahabhairava, while the latter, probably owing to the influence of 4 his wife Prabhavatigupta, was a worshipper of Chakrapani (Vishnu) . As the present to I inscription evidently records the building of a Siva temple, it may be ascribed Rudrasena 5 This is also confirmed by the palaeographic evidence detailed above The importance of the present inscription lies in this that it is the earliest record of the Vakatakas discovered so far, and is, besides, the only lithic record of that royal family. Its situation shows that Rudrasena I ruled south of the Narmada and renders doubtful the as identification of Rudradeva, who is mentioned in the Allahabad stone pillar inscription one of the kings of Aryavarta, with Rudrasena I of the Vakataka dynasty There remains now the question Why was the inscription inscribed breadthwise and commenced at the narrow end of the slab ? As is well-known, there was a revival of Hinduism and Sanskrit learning in the age of the Vakatakas They themselves performed of ahimsd animal sacrifices, and could have therefore had no regard for AsSka's precepts When therefore Rudrase na I built a temple of his favourite deity and wanted to put up an felt no in off some inscription of his own to record it, he could have scruples chiselling part stone was of the earlier inscription to make room for his record The probably placed

vii, Pp 125-26.

., Vol I, p 29 3 to him in the of Pravarasena II. See the adjective aftflrd'H \ fa 4|tfmTsnre^FCT applied copper-plates 4 of his son Pravarasena See his description ^M^d^^^Mxsr^T^TT^^^^q^ in the copper-plates II. 5 form in all other Vakataka Note especially the unlooped n in line 6. This letter has a looped inscriptions 4 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

on the broader end of its length and half-buried, leaving only the Vakataka record above the ground The left-hand portion of the earlier record was left untouched as the Vakataka inscription, which was commenced at the narrow end of the slab, was finished about the middle of the stone

There is one 1 As only place, mz , Chikkamburi, mentioned in both the records pointed out by Hiralal, it is identical with the adjoining village Chikmara Chikkamburi seems to have been a for more than six hundred both the Maha- flourishing city years ; for, mdtra of Asoka and the Vakataka king Rudrasena I thought it fit to incise their records there In ancient times it must have extended to and perhaps included in its expanse the site of the modern village Deotek where the inscnbed slab was lying TEXT

i focwi*-^ [ft] *r 2

TRANSLATION

(At) Chikkamburi Pravara3 This a (Line 4) (is) special place of religious worship of Rdjan Rudrasena (I), born in the family [of the Vdkatakas].

r The as name appears Chikambar\i\ in the earlier inscription

3 This may refer to Pravarasena I. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM IND1CARUM

VOL V PLATE I

DEOTEK STONE INSCRIPTION OF RUDRASENA I

No 2 PLATE II

POONA PLATES OF PRABHAVATIGUPTA

copper-plates were found in the possession of one Balwant Bhau Nagarkar, THESEa coppersmith of Poona who originally hailed from Ahmadnagar in the Maharashtra State They are said to have been preserved as an heirloom, in his family for some generations They, however, seem to have originally belonged to the Hinganghat tahsil of the Wardha District in Vidaibha, for, as shown below, most of the places mentioned in this grant can be located in that tahsil The plates were at first very briefly noticed by Prof K. B Pathak in the Indian Antiquary, Vol XLI, pp 214-15 Their importance was immediately recognised and the information furnished by them was utilised by V. A Smith * ' in his article entitled The Vakataka Dynasty of the Central Provinces and Berar published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1914, pp 317 f They were later edited with facsimiles and an English translation by K B Pathak and K N Dikshit in the Epigraphia Indtca, Vol XV, pp 40 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles as their present whereabouts are not known

' The plates are two in number, measuring 9J" long and 5J" broad They are strung together by means of a ring (^" thick and J" in diameter) with soldered ends, passing through a hole y in diameter, cut through the centre of one side of the plates The ling is further made to pass through the perforated handle of the seal, which is plain and oval in shape (length 2f", breadth 2J"), and contains four lines of inscription, with figures * of the sun and the moon above and a flower at the bottom The weight of the plates and the ring is 97 tolas The record is engraved only on the inner side of the two plates, the first containing 10 lines, and the second, 12 lines The letters 011 the first plate are somewhat larger than " those on the second the size of the former is and that of the latter is The , average TV writing is in a fair state of preservation The characters aie mostly of the nail-headed variety having a triangle with its apex downwards at the top of the letters A few letters, however, are of the box- in all other of the Vakatakas were written e headed type which inscriptions See, g , Vakataka- in line 1 of the seal and si ofstddham in line 1 on the first plate It is noteworthy that besides their box-heads, some of these letters (e g v and s) have forms which are different from those noticed elsewhere in this grant They agree with those in other grants of box- headed characters It would seem therefore that the scribe began to write the present grant in box-headed characters, but not being accustomed to them, he soon changed over to nail- headed characters with which he was more familiar He may have hailed from North India where the nail-headed characters were in vogue The characters show an admixture of northern and southern peculiarities, the former predominating over the latter. Thus, g and s have a loop at the lower end of their left member, n has its vertical and upper bai divided into two, sh and s are looped, but t and m are not, the vertical of / is shortened and the tail of h turns sharply to the left Besides these northern characteristics, the following southern ones may also be noticed, a, k and r have a curve turned to the left at the bottom of their verticals; the lingual d is round-backed, the medial n is shown by a curve turned to the left in sa-knpt-opaknptah, line 18, but mpftthivyam-, 6 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

line 5 and -atisnshto in line 15 the curve turns to the right Thejihvdmuliya occurs twice and in lines 12 and 15, and the upacthmaniya once only in line 6 The languages Sanskrit at the except for two verses, one on the seal and the other of the usual imprecatory type end, the whole record is in prose. As regards orthography, we may notice the reduplication of the consonant after r as in Ndndwarddhandt in line 1 and the use of n for n In dnshtam in the margin of lines 2-3 ' * The record commences with dnshtam, seen The plates were issued from Nandi- vardhana by Prabhavatigupta, the chief queen of the Vakataka Maharaja Rudrasena for hei (II) and mother of the Tuvardja Divakarasena. She was then acting as Regent minor son The plates record the grant of the village Danguna which the dowager queen made to Acharya Chanalasvamin on the twelfth tithi of the bright fortnight of Karttika, evidently after observing a fast on the preceding Prabodhini Ekadasi Prabhavatigupta is described as a fervent devotee of the e first offered the to Bhagavat (i Vishnu) She gift the foot-punts of the Bhagavat, who is probably the same as Ramagirisvamin mentioned in her later Riddhapur plates, and then made it over to the Acharya The donated village was situated in the Supratishtha ahara and lay to the east of Vilavanaka, to the south of in the Sirshagrama (Sirishagrama ?) and to the north of Kadapinjana. The grant is dated thirteenth year evidently of the boy-prince's reign The scribe was Ghakradasa. It is noteworthy that though Prabhavatigupta describes herself as the Chief Queen of the Vakataka not of Maharaja Rudrasena (II), she gives the genealogy of the Guptas and the Vakatakas in the introductory portion of the present grant This is also noticed in her later 1 grant recorded in the Riddhapur plates She was evidently very proud 6f her descent from the imperial Gupta family The genealogy begins with Maharaja Ghatotkatcha, the first king of the Gupta His son was latter's the (dynasty) Maharaja Chandragupta (I) ; the son from Mahadevi Kumaradevi was Maharajadhirdja Samudragupta, the daughter's son of the Lichchhavi who several asvamedha sacrifices his son (chief), performed , was Maharajadhirdja Chandragup- ta a (II) devout worshipper of the Bhagavat, the latter's daughter from the Mahadevi Ku- beranaga who was born in a Naga family was Prabhavatigupta. She was the chief queen of the Vakataka Maharaja Rudrasena (II) and mother of the Tuvardja Divakarasena. It will be noticed that the description of Prabhavati's Gupta ancestors given in the present grant does not agree completely with that noticed in genuine Gupta records. In the first place it makes no mention of Gupta, the founder of the dynasty Secondly, Chandra- gupta I is mentioned with the lower title of Maharaja, not with the imperial one of Maharaja- as in dhiraja Gupta records Thirdly, some of the epithets used here to describe Chandra- gupta II were usually applied to his father Samudragupta2 Notwithstanding these differences, the grant is undoubtedly genuine as we find that the genealogy given here r repeated verbatim in the Riddhapur plates of the dowager queen3 The importance of the present grant lies in this that it placed for the first time the Vakataka on a sound basis In genealogy the Vakataka grants discovered before (viz the Siwani and Dudia of Chammak, plates Pravarasena II) Prabhavatigupta was describee as the daughter of Maharajadhirdja Devagupta Fleet identified this Devagupta wirJ

J No 8, below 2 See eg the Allahabad stone of pillar inscription Samudragupta and the Bhitan stone pilli inscription of Skandagupta 3 In the Riddhapur plates, Samudragupta also is mentioned with the lower title of Mahardi See No 8, line 4 POONA PLATES OF PRABHAVATIGUPTA 7

of the Later mentioned in the the homonymous king Gupta dynasty, Dieo-Barnark pillar inscription and thus relegated the Vakatakas to the eighth century A G His opinion was accepted by Kielhorn and Sukhtankar The present inscription, which states clearly that Prabhavati was the daughter of the Early Gupta king Ghandragupta II, proved unmistakably, for the first time, that she lived in the last quarter of the fourth century A G It has since been shown that Devagupta was a favourite name of Ghandragupta II and so it finds a mention in Vakataka grants As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Nandivardhana was identified by Hiralal with Nandardhan or Nagardhan near Ramtek The identification has since been corroborated by several proofs The other villages, however, remained unidentified A clue to their location was afforded by the Jamb plates of Pravarasena II, discovered in this clue I could 194-0, which also mention the same Supratishtha ahara. With identify seems to be some of the villages mentioned in the present grant Vilavanaka Vani, about 2 miles to the west, and Kadapinjana, Kadhajan 3 miles to the south by east of Hinganghat Hmganghat seems therefore to occupy the same position as the ancient village Danguna. The latter place-name appears to have been changed to Hmgan in course of time, ghat It is that the name of being added to it as it was a fording place on the Wunna noteworthy same river also ends in As the the village Kavadghat on the opposite bank of the ghat as situated in the dhaia can also be villages mentioned in the Jamb plates Supratishtha to have the located in the Hinganghat tahsil, that dhdra seems comprised roughly territory discovered in now included in that tahsil The present plates of Prabhavatigupta, though tahsil distant Poona, seem therefore to have originally belonged to the Hinganghat TEXT 1

First Plate

2 feri^FRcrr ^rfer [i*] ; [i*] fast [i*] [i*]

3 4

6 WT 7 ^rrfsRi^^-^'-si^W'W 5%rr

' ' 8 9 10 Second Plate

12 is 14

1 Ind Vol XV. From the facsimiles facing p. 42 m Ep , 2 Read ^^ This word occurs in the margin between lines 2 and 3 3 Read vrf^ngNr- as in No. 3, line 1 4 Read INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

<^^

zft r ) [i*]

22 SEAL

1 2 3 4 TRANSLATION

Seen Success ' has been Victory attained by the Bhagavat 1 Hail ! From Nandivar- dhana

There was the 11 Maharaja, the illustrious Gtatotkacha, the first king of the Guptas His excellent son the the (was) Maharaja, illustrious Chandragupta (I). His excellent son the the (was) Maharajadhirqja, illustrious Samudragupta, (who was) born of the Mahddem Kumarad the evi; (who was) daughter's son of the Lichchhavi (chief); (and) who performed several horse- sacrifices His excellent son (is) the Maharajadhiraja, the illustrious Chandra- 12 gupta favoured him e is fervent devotee of (II), graciously by (i , Samudragupta), who a the who is a matchless warrior 13 all Bhagavat (Vishnu) , on the earth ; who has exterminated kings, whose fame has tasted the waters of the four oceans 14 , (and) who has donated many thousands of crores of cows and gold (coins) . His the (Line 7) daughter, illustrious Prabhavatigupta of the Dharana gotra, born of the illustrious Mahadevi Kuberanaga, who was (herself) born in the Naga family, who is a fervent devotee of the the Chief of Bhagavat (Vishnu) , who (was) Queen the illustrious Rudra- sena the (II), Maharaja of the Vakatakas; who is the mother of the Tuvaraja, the illustrious

2 Read TRT-* 3 Read 's^T- as in other Vafcataka plates. 4 Some grants add

c i i .Read ^^^KTH t ?i

VOL v PLATE

POONA PLATES OF PKABHAVATIGUPTA

Seal

"!tf .-J<3

POONA PLATES OF PRABHAVATIGUPTA 9

Divakarasena; having announced (her) good health, commands the householders of the in the village, Brahmanas and others, (residing) village of Dariguna, (situated) in the ahdra of Supratishtha, to the east of Vilavanaka, to the south of Sirshagrama, to the west of Kadapinjana and to the north of Sidivivaraka, as follows it to that on the "Be known you twelfth (lunar day) of the bright (fortnight) of Karttika, for We have, augmenting our own religious merit, donated this village, with the pouring to the is out of water, Acharya Chanalasvamin., who a devotee of the Bhagavat, as a gift not previously made, after having offered it to the foot-prints of the Bhagavat Where-

fore, you should obey all (his) commands, with proper respect (L. 16) And We confer here on (him) the following exemptions incidental to an agrahara anted to the as gi Chaturvidya (Brahmanas), approved by former kings (This village is)

1 not to be entered soldiers and from to by policemen , (it is) exempt (the obligation provide) hides as and charcoal2 grass, seats, (to touring royal officers) , exempt from (the royal prerogative 3 and from of) purchasing fermenting liquors digging (salt) , exempt (the nght to) mines and 4 khadira trees from to flowers and milk is , exempt (the obligation supply) , (it donated) together hidden treasures and 5 with (the right to) deposits (and) together with major and minor taxes . (L 18) Wherefore, this (grant) should be maintained and augmented by future kings will Whoever, disregarding Our order, (himself) cause or make (others) cause the slightest obstruction, upon him, when complained against by the Brahmanas, We will inflict punishment together with a fine

4 And there is, on this point, (the following) verse sung by Vyasa occurs verse (Here an imprecatory ) This charter6 has been written in the (L 22) thirteenth (regnal) year." (It has been) engraved by Ghakradasa.

SEAL

of (This is) the enemy-chastising command the Mother of the Tuvaraja, the ornament of the Vakatakas, who has attained royal fortune by inheritance

l Bhatas are chhatras soldiers and (lit umbrella-bearers), who correspond to the chdtas of other line records (cf No. 19, 37), are policemen They were forbidden to enter the donated villages except for apprehending thieves and persons accused of high treason Cf No 19, lines 37-38 2 ' } Fleet translated, It does not carry with it (the right to) pasturage, hides and charcoal He thought that this and other similar expressions reserved certain rights to the villagers against the See C II Vol n 1 This does not to correct grantees , III, p 242, appear be The expression of evidently exempts the donee from the duty feeding and lodging royal officers during their stay in the village Later grants mention a tax called vasati-danda, which was levied for the purpose See Ind Vol and n Gf in the Ep , XXV, p 225 a-tana-kattha-gahanam Hirahadagalh plates. Ibid , Vol I, pp 5f. ^Kmva is a or seed used to cause fermentation in the of drug manufacture spirits See MSM , ch VIII, 326 Later grants mention that the right to mahua trees from which liquor was manufactured was transferred to the donee C//, Vol IV, p 343 4 ' Pathak and Dikshit, who read a-patu-medhyah in line 1 7, translated, not to have an animal sacrifice but the is ', reading of the text clearly a-kham-medhyah Medhya has therefore to be taken in the ' sense of ' Khadira trees 5 : Kautilya Arthasastra (p 60) gives klipta in the sense of fixed assessment'. Klipta and upakhpta correspond to bhaga and bhoga, which occur in the grants of Bharatabala and the kings of ' Sarabhapura Klipta probably means land-tax ', and upkhpta miscellaneous taxes in cash or kind 6 * ' Fleet translated npufdsanam by a charter for (the observance of even) his enemies Pathak and Dikshit translated as above No 3 PLATE III

JAMB PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

IHESE plates were discovered, in 1940, in the possession of one Baburao Madhavrao Mokasdar of T Athole, Jamb, a village, about 7 miles north by east of Hinganghat, m the Hinganghat tahstl of the Wardha District in Vidarbha They were edited by me with facsimiles in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol XXVI, pp 155 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles The copper-plates are four in number, each measuring 8" by 4 11" The first and fourth are plates inscribed on one side only, and the remaining two on both the sides the When plates were first seen by me, they were held together by a ring, but its ends were neither joined by a pin nor soldered The seal which it must have carried is not forthcoming now All the plates are in a good state of preservation, and consequently there is no in the uncertainty reading anywhere The weight of the four plates is 185 tolas and that of the ring is 16 tolas The record consists of 36 lines, six being written on each inscribed face of the four The characters are of plates the box-headed variety The following peculiarities may be noticed The box is in some cases fixed to the back of j, instead of being added at the

in lines 7 and in cases is top (cf mahdrdja- 8) ; some the box not added at all (cf mahdrdja- in line the 14), sign of the upadhmdnlya which occurs in lines 13, 15 and 33 has in all cases a box added at the which is not noticed in other records final m which is seen in a top , 3

smaller size, has a box-head in but not in 1 medial au siddham, dnshtam, both in line , the is kh is without a line line the bipartite everywhere, loop (cf khanaka-, 27 and likhita-, 36) ,

d is in 1 lingual distinguished from d danda, line 1, but not in Manduki-, line 18 and Kaundmya in line the t is in 19, subscript some cases looped, finally, single and double dots are used here and there to denote punctuation, which is redundant in most cases

The is language Sanskrit, and except for an imprecatory verse in lines 34-35, the record is in As prose throughout regards orthography, we find that consonants are reduplicated before and after r as uiparakkram-, line 5, and murddh-, line 6, this reduplicated before y in line and Bhdgiratthy-, 6, msarga before^ is changed to upadhmdniya m lines 13, 15 and 33 The record with the word ' ' opens dnshtam, seen The plates weie issued by Pravara- sena H of the Vakataka dynasty from Nandivardhana. In the introductory portion of the his is traced from grant genealogy Samrat Pravarasena I, the Mahdrdja of the Vakataka He to (dynasty) belonged the Vishnuvriddha gotra and performed several Vedic sacrifices such as Agnishtoma, Aptoryama, Ukthya, Shodasm, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava and Sadyaskra as well as four AsVamedhas He was succeeded his by grandson Rudrasena I 9 the son of Gautamlputra from the daughter of Bhavanaga, the Mahdrdja of the Bharasi- vas. The royal family of the Bharasivas is said to have been created by the god Siva who was pleased by their carrying his hnga on their shoulders They performed ten Asvamedhas and were crowned with the water of the Bhagirathi (Ganga) which they had obtained by their valour Mahdrdja Rudrasena I was a fervent devotee of Svami-Mahabhairava He was succeeded his son by Mahdrdja Prithivishena (I), who was a fervent devotee of Mahesvara He was endowed with several noble qualities and ruled for a long time, sons having and grandsons as well as a large army and a treasure which had been accumulating for a hundred His son was years Mahdrdja Rudrasena H, who is said to have acquired JAMB PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 11

royal fortune by the grace of Chakrapam (Vishnu) His son from Prabhavatigupta, the of daughter Mdhdrdjddhirdja Devagupta, was Maharaja Pravarasena H9 who was a devout worshipper of Mahesvara As stated before, this Devagupta Is none other than Chandra- gupta II -Vikramaditya, the illustrious Emperor of the Gupta dynasty of the is The object present inscription to record the grant., by Pravarasena II, of the in village Kothuraka which was situated the ahdra (territorial division) of Supratishtha. The village lay to the west of the river Uma, to the north of ChinchapalYi, to the east of Bonthikavataka and to the south of Mandukigrama The donee w^s the celibate Brahmana Kaluttaka, who belonged to the Kaundmya gotra and the Taittiriya Sakha of the at Black Tajurveda The grant was made the victorious place of religious worship (vaijayika dharmasthdna) and is dated on the twelfth tithi of the bright fortnight of Asvina in the second regnal year The Diitaka was Ghakradeva, and the scribe Nagavarman. The donee of the present plates is called gana-ydjin It may therefore be conjectured of that the grant was made on the occasion a gana-ydga at which he officiated as a priest. The Manusmnti (III, 164) enjoins that a sacnficer of the Ganas should be avoided at a raddha The expression gandndm ydjakah is variously interpreted by the commentators of 1 but Buhler's 2 that the reference be to the mentioned Manu , suggestion may gana-homas in the Baudhdyana-Dharmasutra seems to be preferable These gana-homas were to be per-

formed by a person for himself A Brahmana is, however, allowed to perform the rite for his teacher, father and mother, but for none else If he performs it for others through greed, he is tainted by sin and perishes like one who has swallowed poison. Baudhayana, however, says later on (IV, 8, 10) that through a desire of removing one's guilt one may cause these oblations to be offered by men who have been engaged for money in case one is unable to do it, a man need not torment himself This means, as explained by the commentator Govlndasvamm, that the wealthy man who engages a priest for the perform- 3 ance of the rite will be freed from sin, but the latter will be tainted by guilt This explains why the priests who performed gana-homas for others out of greed were avoided at a srdddha Naturally few persons must have come forward to do the rite and those who did it received a high reward The case is analogous to that of the first annual srdddha in honour of a dead person or to that of a srdddha at an eclipse The donee of the present plates seems to have performed such a gana-homa for Pravarasena II, from whom he received a village as his sacrificial fee

As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Nandivardhana has already been identified with Nandardhan or Nagardhan near Ramtek in the Nagpur District Kothura- ka, the donated village, cannot now be traced. Its site seems to have been occupied by Mangaon on the right bank of the Wunna, about 2J miles north by west of Jamb, since all the boundary villages mentioned in the present plates can be identified in Its vicinity in their respective directions Thus Chinchapalli is Chicholi which also is situated on the right bank of the same river Wunna, hah" a mile to the south of Mangaon, Bonthikavataka is now called Bothad and Mandukigrama, Mandgaon, about 3^ miles to the north by west and 2 miles to the north respectively from Mandgaon The Wardhd District Gazetteer records a tradition that Mandgaon is named after one Mando RIshi who is said to have done penance on the Wunna river The present grant, however, shows that the ancient name of the place

other of see Ind Vol 157 f interpretations gana-yaga, Ep , XXVI, pp. 2 See his Laws of Manu, SEE, Vol. XXV, p. 106 3 See Gavindasvamin's commentary on Baudhayana-Dharamasutra,, IV, 8, 9 12 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

was Mandukigrama The identification of these thiee boundaries shows that the river other than the Urna which formed the eastern boundary of the donated village is none in which these Wunna As shown before, Supratishtha the headquarters of the dhdra now included in the tahsil villages were situated comprised roughly the territory Hinganghat of the Wardha District

TEXT 1

First Plate

1 ft(f)^r [i*]fe^ [i*] sfte^fd<.R- 2 ^MH^CJ^M (^ 3 *HfNW tl^l 5 c 4 3icqr<^ift*ii-ii

I 5

10 Hi^ifl-^f^]^i4-^favjiiqc:c(^^ 11

Second Plate Second Side

13 14 7 15 ^TPT(^TT TOi^dl'w ^r*^i"i^ n 7 16 T^T I 7 7 17 FT T^Tr i ^rd^^Tf u i ^MII 3m

Third Plate First Side

7 19 ^rlT 20 ^H^^HlRui (ff ) [l*] 21 22

" -Hi -H 23 ^l d K K+U ^

the Ind. facsimile facing pages 160-61, Ep. 9 Vol XXVI. 2 Here and in many places below, rules of Sandhi have not been observed. 3 Read

5 This mark of punctuation is superfluous 6 The anusvara is misplaced Read 3f^ 7 This mark of punctuation is superfluous 8 Read 9 Read ?T5T as in other Vakataka grants 10 Read COEPUS INSCEIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL PLATE III

JAMB PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

12 20

in, b

36 JAMB PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 13

24 ^(T^TT) Ndc^^cq-Hfa^ci [|*]

Third Plate Second Side

M Rl I'^TT

Fourth Plate

3id)dM eb

[i*] TT f^tft t [i?n*] ^^R: fefrt

TRANSLATION

Seen. Success ' Hail ' From Nandivardhana the of the who By the order of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), Maharaja Vakatakas, of has established the Knta- is a fervent devotee of Mahesvara, who, by the grace Sambhu, was born of the of the yuga (Golden Age) (on the earth], who Prabhavatigupta, daughter and who is the son of the the illustrious Mahdrdjddhirdja, the illustrious Devagupta, Maharaja, of the of the Divine Rudrasena (H), who acquired an abundance prosperity by grace (Lord) 16 of the illustrious Prithivishena the Chakrapani (Vishnu), and who was the son (I), Maharaja who was endowed with of the Vakatakas, who was intensely devoted to (the god) Mahesvara, wisdom, truthfulness, straightforwardness, compassion, heroism, valour, political modesty, devotion to and with the state of be- high-mindedness, intelligence, worthy persons, of and such other who had ing a righteous conqueror, purity mind, qualities, of treasure and which had been sons and grandsons and a continuous supply army conducted himself like Yudhishthira, and who was accumulating for a hundred years, who of the Vakatakas and the son of the son of the illustrious Rudrasena (I), the Maharaja

2 Read - 3 Read 4 Read -=5ST^ - as in other Vakataka grants 5 Read - 6 Read ~ 7 Read - 8 Read 9 Read - 10 Read 1 1 Metre Anushtubh. 12 Read snRqf^- 13 This markof punctuation is superfluous l* Read sets ofdandas 15 There is a floral design between these two 16 1 e Rudrasena II 14 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

was Gautamiputra, who was intensely devoted to (the god) Svami-Mahabhairava, who the daughter's son of the illustrious Bhavanaga, the Maharaja of the Bharasivas, whose royal family was created by Siva, who was greatly pleased by (their) carrying the hnga of oiva the like a load placed on (their) shoulder, and who were besprinkled on their head with pure 1 water of the (river) Bhagirathl that had been obtained by their valour,^ who was the son of

the illustrious Pravarasena (I), the Maharaja of the Vakatakas, the Samrdt (Universal Monarch), who performed the Agmshtoma, Aptoryama, Ukthya, Shodasin, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava, Sadyaskra and four AsVamedhas, and who was of the Vishnu- vriddha gotra

(Line 17) The village named Kothuraka situated in the dhdra of Supratishtha. river to to the east of Bonthi- which (is) to the west of the Uma, the north of Chinchapalli, kavataka (and) to the south of Mandukigrama, has been donated (by Us) to \hzBrahmachann (named) Kaluttaka, who has performed a gana-ydga and who belongs to the Taittirlya sakha (Line 20) Wherefore, Our officials of noble birth, who are employed by the order of the Sarvddhyaksha (General Superintendent) and who exercise their authority by (Our] 2 command, and (Our) soldiers and policemen should be dnectedby the (following) commanc

which is already well-known (to them) "Be it known to you that in order to increase Our religious merit, life, power victory and prosperity, to secure Our well-being in this world and the next and to obtan blessings for Ourself, We have given here in (Out) victorious place of religious worship, witl

the pouring out of water, (this village) as a gift not previously made And We grant the following exemptions which are incidental to a village bestowec on a Brahmana proficient in the four Vedas and are appropriate, as approved by forme kings It is not to pay taxes, it is not to be entered by soldiers and policemen; it does no entitle to cows and bulls 3 it does not entitle it to on (the State) customary , (also) (royalties

flowers and milking, it is exempt from (the obligation to provide) grass, hides as seats an< charcoal it is from (to touring royal officers)*', exempt (royalties on) the purchase of fermentm 5 and the of salt it is free from all kinds of it is hquois digging , forced labour, donated togethe c with (the right to) hidden treasures and deposits (and) together with major and minor taxes it is to be enjoyed as long as the sun and the moon (will endure) and it is to follow the successio of sons son's sons should cause and None an obstruction while (the donee or his successor is enjoying it (This grant) should be preserved and increased by all means. And whoeve] will himself disregarding Our order, cause or make (others) cause even the slightest obstruc tion, upon him, when complained against by the Brahmanas, We will inflict punishmer " together with a fine (Line 32) In showing thus Our regard to religion, We, in order to avoid mentic

1 D R Bhandarkar suggested that suridh surioh in line 3 refers to Gautamiputra, who succeed Pravarasena I The construction is no It doubt faulty would be better to read Gautamiputra- putras in as No 13, line 9 There is no doubt that Gautamiputra did not reign See the absence of the ul Vdkatakanam Maharaja in his case For the probable reason for the faulty construction, see Ind Cu Vol XI, pp 232 f 2 See above, p 9, n 1 3 Fleet 'It does not with it translated, carry (the right to) cows and bulls in succession of productic and remarked that the here interpretation was not quite certain Perhaps, the right to demand t first calf of a cow is referred to here 4 See above, p 9, n 2 5 See above, p 9, n 3 6 See above, p 9, n 5 JAMB PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 15

of the meritorious deeds already done, do not refer to (Our) care and protection of the grants of many past kings And the following verse sung by Vyasa should be regarded as an authority on this point : verse (Heu occws an imprecatory ) the (Line 35) (This charter has been written) by Nagavarman on twelfth (lunar day] in the second Chakradeva of the bright (fortnight) of the month Asvayuja (regnal) year, being the Dutaka. Nos 4 AND 5 1 PLATE IV AND V

BELORA PLATES (SETS A AND B) OF PRAVARASENA II

a plates were discovered in the possession of Mr N H Jane of Belora, villaj THESEin the Arvi tahsil of the Wardha District, which is situated on the left bank of tl Wardha, about 6 miles south by east of Morsi They were edited by me wi facsimiles in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol XXIV, pp 260 f They are edited here from tl same facsimiles. The four copper-plates obtained from the owner were, on examination, found to into two sets of two plates each, called hereafter Set A and Set B Each set original fort consisted of three plates, but the last plate of Set A and the first one of Set B are not coming now The first plate of Set A is inscribed on one side only, and all the other plat on both the sides The plates of Set A are slightly larger in size and heavier in weig ff ' than those of Set B The former measure 9 9 by 4 9", and weigh 67f tolas, while t latter measure 9 6" by 4 8" each, and weigh 64 tolas About 2" from the middle of the prop right of each plate there is a round hole J" in diameter for the ring which originally he together the plates of each set, but neither the rings nor the seals which must have been co nected with them are now forthcoming All the plates are in an excellent state of preser\ tion The letters are deeply cut and some of them show through on the other sic the case of first especially m the plate When carefully examined, the grants appear to be palimpsests, all the plates showing here and there clear traces of earlier letters whi were beaten in before the present charters were incised on them These earlier lett< were box-headed and of the same type as those which were later engraved in their pla< So the earlier charters undoubtedly belong to the same period As their letters have be almost everywhere carefully beaten in, it is not now possible to say who issued them, wl they recorded and why they were cancelled As stated both above, the inscriptions are incomplete. The preserved writing the first which has lost its one, concluding part, contains 18 lines, and that of the secoi of which the initial portion is missing, 24 lines The characters of both are of the b< headed and resemble variety in a general way those of the other grants of Pravarasena

The only worth is the use of the t peculiarity noticing looped In both the sets, t appe in the and looped unlooped forms, for instances of the former, see yato- in line 14 of Set and mditam- m line 17 of Set and for those B, of the latter, notice Shod ashy-Atiratra- in 1 1 of Set A and atlt- in line 25 of Set B The subscript t is usually looped and to distmgu it from n its loop elongated, see e g Kdrttayuga- in line 12 and bhukti in line 13 of Set A. The is language Sanskrit The of Set A is in that existing portion wholly prose ; of B is also in prose except for two benedictive and imprecatory verses in lines 27-29 1 of both the sets shows the same is orthography peculiarities, mz , (1) the vowel n used fo and vice versa, see and in pautnnah Pnthivisenasya line 9 of both the sets. In vishnta, I 16 of Set B, the vowel n is used for ru (2) Similarly, h is used for the vowel* li in khpt-opakhpa m line 22 of Set B The / is (3) palatal used for the dental s in Suryya- line 14 of Set A The consonant (3) following r and that preceding r and y are doubl see abhivarddhamana- in line 8 eg and sarvvadddhyaksha in lines 14-15 of both the sets r vikkrama in line 7 of Set A Besides, both the sets show such mistakes as the use of the short the long vowel, ungrammatical forms of words, etc BELORA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 17

Both the sets of plates were issued by Pravarasena It of the Vakataka dynasty. His is traced here from I as in genealogy Pravarasena exactly the preceding Jamb plates, his maternal II grandfather Chandragupta being called Devagupta, The plates of set A, the record on which begins with dnshtam, were issued from Nandivardhana. The place of issue the case of those Set is m of B unknown owing to the loss of its first plate The former record the of the Mahalla-Lata in the Asi which was situated in the grant ^village bkukti, of while the latter the donation of mdrga (subdivision) Sailapura, register two villages, viz , the Dirghadraha m Pakkanarashtra and Mahallama-Lata. Of these latter villages, the second is identical plainly with the village Mahalla-Lata of Set A as it is specified exactly it like The grant recorded in Set B is, therefore, later than that of Set A The donee of both the was the same viz of the grants , Suryasvamin Kasyapa gotra and Taittirlya sdkhd, who was a resident of the place Pravaresvara-shadvimsati-vataka. Both the grants made at the victorious were, again, place of religious worship (vaijayika-dharma-sthdna) for of the increase religious merit, life, strength, victory and fortune of the donor The date of the first record is missing, but that of the second is given at the end The latter was written, while Chitravarman was the Sendpati, on the thirteenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Karttika in the eleventh regnal year

As stated above, the second set of plates records the grant of two villages, one of which had already been given by the same king to the same donee by the first set Why it was found necessary to include the village again in the second grant is not known Cases of the issue of a fresh charter recording again a previously made gift are indeed not unknown ; but in such cases the circumstances which necessitated the issue of a fresh charter such as a invasion or the loss or of the earlier fire etc are foreign damage charter by , 1 generally specified No such reasons are given in the present case. In fact, both the charters purport to have been granted by the same king and the interval between their dates could not have been more than ten years This therefore raises the question if the second 2 charter, or at least the second plate of it which records the grant of two villages, is a forgery . In favour of such a supposition may be adduced the circumstance that the writing on the second plate of Set B begins and ends with the same words as that on the second plate of Set A, so that the former plate could have been easily substituted for the latter It may, however, be pointed out that there are no other circumstances suggesting such a forgery As shown above, both the plates of Set B are smaller in size than those of Set A so that not one but two plates must have been so substituted But there was apparently no need to replace the third plate of the first grant Again, the similar formation of letters and the occurrence of the same orthographical peculiarities and grammatical mistakes m both the records make it highly probable that both the grants were written by the same clerk in the Secretariat of the Vakatakas The mention of Chitravarman as Stnapati in Set B in favour of the of that set from the Chammak of is another point genuineness , for, plates Pravarasena II we learn that Chitravarman held that office till at least the 18th year of

1 of 2nd Vol and the See eg. the Barah copper-plate Bhojadeva, Ep } XIX, p 18, Nidhanpur of ibid Vol 76. copper-plates Bhaskaravarman, , XII, p. 2 Dr N P Chakravarti has suggested that the grant of two villages in Plate II of Set B was found to be wrong on examination and that this plate was meant to be replaced by Plate II of Set A which was subsequently engraved He has drawn attention to the ornamental mark found after atisnshtah in Plate II of Set A, which, according to him, was intended to prevent any unauthorized addition in the blank space left at the end of that line He has not, however, offered any satisfactory explanation for the circumstance that the unwanted plate was not removed or cancelled 18 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

The reason Pravarasena IPs reign The second set does not, therefore, appear to be spurious the donee why It includes the name of a previously donated village seems to be that Brahmana for the two probably made a request to the king to give him a consolidated charter grants beer As for the localities mentioned in the present grants, Nandivardthana has already the District shown to be identical with Nandardhan (or Nagardhan) near Ramtek in Nagpur Mahalla-Lata or Mahallama-Lata which seems to mean the larger Lata may be represented by Ladki or Ghat Ladki in the Morsi tdlukd of the Amaravati District, about 18 miles 1 identical north by west of Belora Mahalla-Lata lay m the marga of Sailapura which may be with Salbardi2 situated in the midst of hills about 15 miles east of Ladki Asi, the chiei with town of the bhukti (subdivision) in which Mahalla-Lata was situated, may be identical Ashti which lies only 10 miles south of Belora Dirghadraha is probably Dighi on the left bank of the Wardha, about 30 miles south of Ashti The name of Pravaresvara-shadvim- sativataka which is mentioned in both the grants as the home of the donee seems to indicate that it was the chief village in a group of twenty-six villages Perhaps it received this name 3 from a shrine of Siva called Pravafesvara installed by Pravarasena I and named after himself This as place well as Pakkana, the headquarters of the rdshlra (division) in which Dirgha- draha, one of the donated villages, was situated, cannot be traced now TEXT4

Set A

First Plate

[|*] fe^T Scffer [l*]

3 4 a^feiqtnrd^Htr^ 5 ^Ifar^dMKc^ll^ci^l^^ 6

Second Plate First side

n r^ i ^ i 8 ^ ^& [?ft]w <& fe^uj [ *] 9 10 10 ^ g(^)m?n^^

1 There another js small village called Ladgaon on the left bank of the Wardha, about 20 miles south of Belora 2 Salbardi is an ancient place containing some old caves and hot 3 springs Compare the name VankS-Tummana of the first of the capital Kalachuris in Chhattisgadh (Ind. Hist , Vol It was so called Quart IV, p 34). because of the shrine of Vankesvara which it contained It be noted in this connection that the of may temple Pravaresvara is mentioned in line 1 of No. below. 4 14,' From the original plates and facsimiles 264 and 266 in facing pp Ep Ind ' Vol XXIV 5 Read 6 Here and in many places below, the rules of Sandhi have not been observed 7 Read 8 This sign of punctuation is superfluous 9 Read sffax^. This word does not occur in other ^ Vakataka grants. 10 Read % COEPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE IV

BELORA PLATES (SET A) OF PRAVARASENA II

BELORA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 19

11 12

Second Plate; Second side

2 3 ld.il I-H 13 <=mid [l] STdÔIHT Sfl^Pwêdd (*T ) 4 5 6 14 cf,-cj^ci||i| n t [ftr] ^rnr i î^H^fiî^tcuft*! ^r [i*]

15 ^rwz 7rH^ckiu ^ 1^1 K f^rfer ; 3" ^HT 16 ^mR-id^i [i*] fTCg sr*i$K:HiF+KK+iit 17

1 10 is v^ e by l =i'Hi^ Set B

Second Plate First side u 7 ^i^^i* u^fl^'fc^Hqfa^ > c u 8 ll^fA|c l'm lHH(^')eA|lRl^ l[ *] 9

1 14 I H l- 5TH H RfM 1 1 ^'H^M ^HV^^i

" 13

...... l8 14

15 d *] [i] 16 Pl^dl" 17 ^'RcJ^I fafed^^T [l*]

1 Read - 2 Read ST^C as in line 13 of Set B below 3 In Set B the name of this village occurs in the form 4 Perhaps M=^5<=l ^FWfrsrid+^i W^ *s the correct reading 5 The subscript t of tti is not completely engraved, 6 Read zzf 7 Read 8 Read 9 This mark of punctuation is superfluous 10 An ornamental figure is incised here 11 contained six I have numbered the As the first plate, like the others of this set, must have lines, first line on this side as 7 12 Read ^MfycftipTFr 13 This msarga is superfluous 14 Read ^cTRT 15 Read sTd^lxl^'PT 16 This sign of punctuation is superfluous 17 Read 18 Read

20 The engraver first incised

22 Read " 20 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

18 g Third Plate: First side

19 20 8 9 10 21 14 11 22 f^rfa 23 ?T

24-

Third Plate Second side 3 ' ' *I^T4'*] ^q^nrm *] 21 ^F 5^[22 29 ^^?rT ^ cTP% ^TT^ ^W [iRIl]

Seen. Success! Hail 1 From Nandivardhana the of the Vakatakas, who By the order of the illustrious Pravarsena (II), Maharaja of has established the Knta-yuga is a fervent devotee of Mahesvara, who, by the grace Sambhu,

J Read 4 2 Read 3 14 above. Read -^rf^T^'T so as to agree with "XW&X m line 4 Read ^^clT qitM 1 5 Read -q^rkr f^njT- writer has ., 6 Read In this and some expressions below, the blindly 3FTRPTWm^iT Here the draft to the donation of one village (*nr ). copied the masculine form ofthe usual referring neuter form is required so as to agree with 7 Read 8 Read 9 Read tt 4 fe f

15 Read

15 Read 16 Read -

19 This mark of punctuation is superfluous. 20 Read ^fe 21 Metre Anushtubh 22 Read

. . j *t, z. u the draft omitted the aksharas Perhaps vfr^ was intended, but the writer m copying

. . . . , , haplography. , two dandas and a horizontal stroke. 25 There is an ornamental mark after this followed by COEPUS INSCRIPTION INDICAEUM VOL V PLATE V

BELdRA PLATES (SET B) OF PBAVAEASENA II

^^,&

^^^,a

24 24

BELORA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 21

was born of the of the (Golden Age) (on the earth), who Prabhavatigupta, daughter Maha- and who is the son of the the illustrious rdjddhirdja, the illustrious Devagupta, Maharaja, Rudrasena II

(For translation of lines 1-10, see above, pp 13-14.) in (Line 13) The village Mahalla-lata in the Asi bhukti the mdrga of Sailapura a has been donated (by Us) to Suryasvamin of the Kasyapa goti and Taittiriya (sakha) 1 who resides in the (village) Pravaresvara-shadvimsati-vataka Wherefore, Our officials of noble birth, who are employed by the order of the and who exercise their com- Sarvadhyaksha (General Superintendent) authority by (Our) mand, and (Our) Soldiers and Policemen should be directed by the (following) command which is already well-known (to them) cc Be it known to you that in order to increase Our religious merit, life, power, victoiy in this world and the next and to obtain and prosperity, to secure Our well-being blessings as a not with the for Ours elf, We have given (this village) gift previously made, pouring out of water, in (Out) victorious place of religious worship the is not (The rest of grant forthcoming )

SET B

of the illustrious Pravarasena the of the (Line 12) By the ordei (II) 9 Maharaja Vakatakas,

(For translation of lines 7 to 12, see above, pp 13-14) the named in the Pakkana rdshlra and The two villages (viz ) village Dirghadraha in the of the village Mahallama-lata in the Asi bhukti mdrga Sailapura, have been donated to of the and the who resides in the (by Us) Suryasvamin Kas*yapa gotra Taittiriya Sakha, Pravaresvara-shadvimsati-vataka.

(For translation of lines 15 to 25, see above, p 14) should be as an (Line 26) And the following two verses sung by Vyasa regarded authority on this point two benedictwe and verses (Heie follow imprecatory ) the (Line 29) (This charter) was wntten by [Mani], Chitravarman being Senapatt, of Karttika in the on the thirteenth 10 (and) 3 (lunar day) in the bright fortnight

eleventh 10 (and)i (legnaJ) year.

1 a shrine in honour of Siva This seems to be a territorial division of twenty-six villages named after I See 63 under the name of Pravaresvara, apparently built by Pravarasena below, p No 6: PLATE VI CHAMMAK PLATES PRAVARASENA H

plates were found in about 1868 while ploughing a field at Chammak (ancient THESECharmanka), a village about four miles south-west of Achalpur in the Amaravati District of Vidarbha They were first brought to notice in 1879 by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji, who published his reading of the text m Pamphlet No 9 of the Archaeological Survey of Western India, pp 54 f They were next edited, with a translation, by Dr Buhler, first in the Archaeological Survey of Western India, Vol IV, pp 116 f, and again, with facsimiles of the plates, but not of the seal, in the Indian Antiquary, Vol XII, pp 239 Finally, they were published, with facsimiles and a translation, by Dr Fleet in the Corpus Inscnptionum Indicarum, Vol. Ill, pp 235 f The original plates, which were obtained by Major H Szczepanski, are not forthcoming now. The record is, therefore, edited here from Dr Fleet's lithographs. 'The plates, of which the first and last are inscribed on one side only, are seven in number, each " * measuring from 7f to 7|* by from 3|" to 3f They are quite smooth, the edges of them having been neither fashioned thicker, nor raised into rims A few of the letters on the first and last plates have been damaged by rust, but the rest of the inscription is in a state of excellent to preservation. . Towards the top of each plate there is a hole for a ring connect them * The ring is circular, about J" thick and 3f in diameter It was not soldered into the socket of a seal; but the ends of it were flattened off, as if to overlap and fasten with a or pin bolt; there is, however, no hole in them to show that they were ever secured in actually this way. The seal is a flat disc of copper, rising slightly towards the centre, about J* thick and 2* in diameter To the centre of the back of it there is soldered a small ring, by which it slides on the larger ring mentioned above. Across the surface of

the seal there is the . legend in four lines The weight of the seven plates is about 6 Ibs 1 4 oz. and of the two and the about 14 oz 7 13 rings seal, J , total, Ibs 12 oz The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets, but except in lines 58 and 59, the boxes at the top of the letters are scooped out hollow They include the numerical symbols for 8 and 10 in line and for 60, 8000 in line 19 The sign of the upadhmdnlya occurs m lines 13, 16 and 32 The following peculiarities of the characters may be noted. The medial i (long) is shown two curves in by turned opposite directions, see $ri-Bhaoandga-, line 7; but in in line the is Gautamiputrasya 8, vowel indicated by a single curve turned to the right; the medial an is see bipartite; dauhitra-, lines 7-8, t is generally unlooped and n is looped, but in the two letters are many places confused, see atyatna- for atyanta, line 9 and sannana- for santana- in line 12 The is language Sanskrit, and except for the legend on the seal and two benedictive and verses imprecatory in lines 36-39, the whole record is in verse As regards we note the orthography, may reduplication of a consonant before and after r as in kkrama-, in line 2 on the seal and in line that of the saty-arjjava- 9, consonant preceding y is Bhdgiratthy-, line 6 and of v after an anusvdra in samvvatsare, line 60 Like other of the complete grants Vakatakas, the present record opens with the word dnshtam 'seen' The were issued plates byMz^r^Pravarasena H of the Vakataka dynasty from Pravarapura. His is here as genealogy given exactly in the preceding two grants, his maternal grandfather being called The Devagupta. object of the inscription is to record the

l CII,Vol III, pp 235-36 GHAMMAK PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 23

grant, by Pravarasena II, of the village Charmanka situated on the bank of the MacUmnadl In the rajya (division) of Bkojakata which consisted of 8000 mvartanas by the royal measure

1 The donees were a thousand Brahmanas The grant was made at the request ofKondaraja, the son of Satrughnaraja. This Kondaraja is also mentioned in line 45 of the Pattan plates The grant is dated on the thirteenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Jyestha in the i8th regnal year. The Sendpati was Chitravarman. From the Belora plates, Set B, we know that Ghitravarman was holding the same post seven years earlier in the llth regnal year of Piavarasena II As foi the localities mentioned in the present grant, Pravarapura, which finds a mention here for the first time, was evidently the later capital of Piavarasena II His earlier capital was Nandivardhaiia from which his two eailier grants were issued Pravarapura was evidently founded by Pravarasena II and named after himself He appears to have shifted his seat of government there some time after his eleventh regnal year The exact location of Pravarapura was long uncertain, but the recent discovery of several sculptures rendered it of the Gupta-Vakataka period at Pavnai, 6 miles from Wardha, has probable Charmanka of Chammak that the village marks the site of ancient Pravarapura is, course, on the bank of which it was situated is where the plates were discoveied The Madhunadi now called Chandrabhaga. Bhojakata, the headquarters of the division (rdjya) the in which Charmanka was included, is an ancient city It was founded by Rukrmn, he biother-in-law of Krishna When the latter abducted his sister Rukmmi, he vowed that unless he killed Krishna and would not leturn to Kundmapura, the capital of Vidarbha, to return to but icscued his sister As he did not succeed in this, he refused Kundmapura, he fixed his residence2 is usually founded a new city named Bhojakata where Bhdjakata Amaravatl where there is still a identified with Bhatkuli, a village about 8 miles from temple there several of Rukmm Some images of Jam Tirthankaras weie also discovered years ago

TEXT3

Fust Plate

[u*]^fer [i*] sprc^PH^ikft^^ 2 3

?tf^^^

a -49 are actually iThough the Brahmana donees are said to have numbered thousand, only others or were the heads of the families mentioned at the end of the record Perhaps they represented in the sense of a large number LA It is also not unlikely that the word sahasra is used indefinitely rock of Rudradaman Eplnd varsha-sahasra-go-brahmana in line 15 of the Junagadh insertion ,hd Vol I, Praknt of Sivaskandavarman, , Vol VIII, p 44, and vasa-sata-sahasaja in the grant P 7 2 Gf 3ffiF?f]RT HM^ciiP-cId I ^craTT cj ^WT w*r fftr^r 5^

31-32 ? ll HanvamSa, 11,60,

3 in Fleet's Vol III From the plates facing pp 240-41 CII, 4 Read 5 Read 6 Read 24 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

Second Plate: First side

igf f^ 6 ( c^ ) W^T^rt^? ( ) 7 8 9 ^ ( ) 10

Second Plate' Second side

11 12 13

14-

Third Plate First side

16 ^fd" (d~) ^m 17 is

20 [l*] Third Plate

21 si i?i i^ ^ 22 23 24- wr)

25 [5 [)*] 26

Fourth Plate First side

27 28 29 30 31 32

1 Fleet to read but it no proposed j gives good sense The Pattan plates (No. 13 give Effav? m line 1 1 2 The first engraver incised f^5f , which he later corrected into 3 The first later engraver incised ^fp" and corrected it into 4 Read 5 Read - 6 The engraver first incised ^PT and later corrected it into 7 Read - 8 Read -

10 Read or as in the Pattan plates (No 13), line 35 11 After this word, f^rf-was incised and then cancelled. COEPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE VI

IW 02

CO w H

CHAMMAK PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 25

Fourth Plate Second side

1 33 ^5) ^TTTIT 3T 34 TT n 3rfc*r(foT)^r ^MI-H 35 qftqT^f ^^IH^^HMr^Kl^f [\*] 2 ^ 36 aqrEnfaft ^rrw wf^ wfa (*)3^Wt [i*] 37 ^T(^T)

Fifth Plate First side

38 4 ^IHM^dl ^ cTF^ ^TT^ ^ftfr [iRII*] 39 [I*] sn^rTT - ^^T TT?TT 40 ft^f^-^T ^fT^^^^TW^RT [l*] 41 42

side Fifth Plate Second

44 w ^T^T f^cr (z )

45 ^K^ ) [i*] J 46 ] MKKI^^l^? ^TT^(^r)^ ^TWL 47

Sixth Plate First side ^fe^r *r 48 ^rar^rn^HM *] ( ) ^rrfa 49 50 51 52

Sixth Plate Second side

I \ < *J*-J U_J_ ,. r* r C*1 ^Lr sk"l ...

54 ; *] *Ri(4 55 ^ J t^TWf^[ *] ^^M j Ttfl^L 56 )

Seventh Plate

^^ q 5 7 ^Vr^fr^^TP^t^" *M *] J7J!^ *!

58 [ *] ffrf^q^^

lit would be better to read ^m^T is cancelled. 2 before this afaAaro The sign of upadhmanlya Anushtubh. 3 Metre of this and the next verse 4 corrected into =^ Originally ^, later be omitted. 5 This mark of punctuation is to 6 corrected into ^T Originally ^T, later 7 corrected into tfT Originally ^T, later of 8 This rf is incised below TT ^^T- 26 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

59 zzj- [ *] ^(sirJd^lKM+l^ (flST^M'JJd^ [l*] GO (We|w5frF 'EMrtK^dK*! (^r) 61 ^^IKW(^IT) *di*M T^McrT^rr^r it SEAL

2 ^(^MlkiHMfsR [l*] 3 TFsP^cK^t^

[ll*]

TRANSLATION

Seen Hail ' From Pravarapura the of the Vakatakas By the order of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), Maharaja th who is a fervent devotee of MahiesVara, who, by the grace of ambhu, has established the Knta-yuga (Golden Age) (on the earth), who was born of Prabhavatigupta daughtc th of the Maharajadhuaja, the illustrous Devagupta, and who is the son of the Maharaja,

illustrious Rudrasena (II)

1 to see (For translation of lines 14, above, pp 13-14 ) 8000- (Line 18) The village named Charmanka (consisting of) eight thousand (nwm the tanas) of land, according to the royal measure, (situated) on the bank of (nver) Madhunad

in the 1 ajya of Bhojakata, has, at the request of Kondaraja, the son of Satrughnaraja been given to a thousand Brahmanas of various gotras and chaianas.

lines to see 14-15 (For translation of 21 35, above, pp )

(Line 36) The (following) two verses sung by Vyasa should be regarded as an authorit on this point. verses (Here occur two benedictwe and imprecatory ) (Line 39). And this condition of the charter should be maintained by the Brahman^ and (future) kings (This grant shall be enjoyed by the Brahmanas) as long as the sun and th moon will endure, provided that they commit no treason against the kingdom consisting c 2 seven constituents of the (future) kings, that they are not found guilty of the murder of and etc that do not the Brahmana, theft, adultery high treason, , they wage war; (and) they do no harm to other villages But if they act otherwise or assent to such acts, th king will commit no theft if he takes the land away (from them) (Line 44) And the recipients (of the grant) appointed for the occasion m this respec are (as follows) Ganarya of the Satyayana (gotta), Devarya of the Vatsya (gotta), Kumarasarmary of the Guhasarman of the of the Bharadvaja (gbtra) , Parasarya (gotra) , Devarya Kasyap 3 (gotra), (and) Mahesvararya (fl^)Matrarya ,R-adraryaoftheKaundinya(,o^ra) ; Somarya(am of the Hansarmarya , Kumaras"armarya Bharadvaja (gotra), Matrisarman of the Kaundiny (gotra); (and) Varas"arman, GondaSarman (and) Nagasarman, Santisarman of the Bharadvaj of the (gotra), (and) Rudrasarman, Bhqjakadevarya Vatsya (gotra), (and) Maghas"arman (am Devasarman, Mokshas"arman of the Bharadvaja (gotra), (and) Nagasarman, RevatiSarmai

1 Metre Anusktubh 2 These are the king, his ministers, ally, territory, treasure, fortress and army 3 These two also to the _ probably belonged sa.ineg'otra Kasyapa So also in the following, whe ' no gotra is mentioned, that named before is to be understood CHAMMAK PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 27

of the (and} Dharmarya; Sarmarya Bharadvaja (gotra), (and) Nandanarya, Mulasarman, IsVaraSarman (and) VaraSarman, Skandarva of the of the Vatsya (gotra) ; Bapparya Bharadvaja of (gotra), (and) Dharmarya , Skandarya theAtreya (gotra); Somasarmarya of the Gautama (gotra); (and) Bhartrisarman, Rudrasarmarya, Magharya, Matnsarmarya (and) of the Isvara^armarya; Matri^armarya Gautama (gotra); Devasarmarya of the Kaundinya (gotra); (and) Varasarmarya (and) R5harya; Svamidevarya of the Gautama (gotra), (and)

RevatiSarmarya (and) Jyeshtha^armarya, Kumara^armarya of the Sandilya (gotra), (and) of SvatiSarmarya; (and) Kandarya the Satyayana (gotra) and others. charter (Line 59). (This) has been written, Chitravarman being the Sendpati, on the thirteenth (lunar day] of the bright fortnight of the month Jyeshtha in the eighteenth- 10 (and) 8 (regnal) year.

SEAL

This the of the the ( is) enemy-chastising command king Pravarasena (II) , ornament of the Vakatakas, who has attained royal fortune by inheritance. No 7 PLATE VII

SIWANI PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

Gond at the plates were found in the possession of a Malguzar named Kazan living of Pradesh THESEvillage of Pmdarai in the Siwani tahsil of the Chhindwada District Madhya Vol They were brought to notice In 1836, m the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, V, a translation of pp 726 f, where Mr James Pnnsep published his transcript of the text and a next edited Dr Fleet in the it, accompanied by lithograph of the plates They were by translation and Corpus Inscnptionum Indicarum, Vol III, pp 243 f togethei with a lithographs of the plates They are edited here from the same lithographs. * are five in The plates, of which the first and last are inscribed on one side only, the middle number, each measuring about 8TV by 4^" at the ends and somewhat less m nor raised They are quite smooth, the edges of them having been neither fashioned thicker,

. . Tin into rims The inscription Is in a state of perfect preservation throughout is a holt engraving is very good Towards the proper right end of each plate, there Tin for a ring to connect them The ring is circular, about |" thick and 3-|" in diameter or bolt ends of it were flattened off, so as to overlap, and were fastened with a pin of it secmr The seal is a thin flat disc of copper, about 3 TV in diameter A bolt in the centre ff it to a thin band of copper, about f" broad and 3| in circumference, by which it slides m

i the ring mentioned above Across the surface of the seal there is a legend in four hm s of the five is Ibs of the oz tola The weight plates about 3 4| oz , and ring and seal, 5J ;

ff 1 3 Ibs oz The size of letters is the and the last 9| average the about J , except on seal plait i' where they are larger The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alpha arc a bets, resembling those of the Jamb plates The only peculiarities that may be noted follows kh has a rectangle at the bottom, see -khanakah, line 29, d Is not distinguished cletuli line from d, see danda, line 11, n shows the same form as In modern Nagari, see -ydjinah, 2 b has two forms in line 17 a notch in the lei (i) the square one as Bennd-, and (il) that with

limb as in line 1 final Is indicated its short form and In so mi Bnhaspati-,, , a consonant by cases by means of a short horizontal stroke at the top, see dnshtam, line 1 and rdja-vantanain

line 5 The sign of the upadhmdnlya occurs In line 3 of the legend The language \ Sanskrit, and except for the legend and two benedictive and imprecatory verses at the end the is in the inscription verse throughout As regards orthography, we may note (I) redupli cation of the consonant following r as in -Aptdryyam-, line 1 and that of the consonant pic v as line use of n fn ceding y and in Bhdglratthy-, 5 and addhvaryyave, lines 19-20, (11) the h fn anusvdra before s and s as in vansa-, line 5 and 17 and ansa-, line 4, and (ni) the use of the medial vowel h in -klipt-opakhpta-, in line 30 The inscription, which opens with dnshtam, is one of Maharaja Pravarasena H of th Vakataka dynasty. His genealogy Is given here exactly as in his other grants, his mateniu grandfather being called Devagupta. The object of the present Inscription Is to record th grant, by Pravarasena II, of the village Brahmapuraka to the Brahmana DeVasarmachary of the Maudgalya gotra and Taittiriya sdkhd The place of Issue Is not named in the record, hi it was probably the royal capital Pravarapura, for, the grant is said to have been made <

1 Fleet, CII, Vol III, pp 243 f SIWANI PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 29

the victorious of 1 place religious woishrp (vaijaytka- dhauna-sthdna) The donated xillas>e v>as situated mjhe Bennakarpara-bhoga and lay to the north of Vatapuraka, to the west of to the south of Kinihikhetaka, Pavarajjavataka and to the east of Kollapuraka. The adjoining it was named The village^ Karanjaviraka. giant was made on the istH tithi of the bright of in the fortnight Phalguna eighteenth regnal year (expressed in words) of Pravarasena II The STenapati at the time was Bappadeva. The charter Mas wntten b\ Acharya. The localities mentioned m the piesent plates lemained unidentified for a long time Fleet suggested the identification of one of only them, mz , Kollapuraka winch he thought was ' possibly identical with the modem Kolapoor of the map, twenty-one miles south of ' This is Ilichpur mconect, for, the real name of the place is Kholapur and it was founded a M ell-known of by Kholesvara, general the great Yadava king Singhana, who named it after himself and it as an to 2 granted agiahara Brahmanas Again, none of the othei \illages can be identified in the of While vicinit} Kholapur editing the Patna Museum plate of Pravarasena II, Dr Altekar suggested that Brahmapuraka named in it to define the boundary of the donated village Sriparnaka was identical with the village of the same name granted by the present plates He identified it with Brahmanwada near Achalapm 3 This identification also is open to the same objection, for, none of the other \illages can be identified in the vicinity of Biahmanwada The statement in the present grant that Brahmapuiaka was situated in is Like Bennakata of the TirodI 4 Bennakapara-bhoga important plates , this also must have derived its name from the nvei modern 5 and bhoga Benna, Wamganga , must have included the territory in the vicinity of that river With this clue I could identify most of the villages mentioned in the present giant Karanja, about 6 miles from Amgaon, a railway station on the Calcutta-Nagpm line of the South-Eastern Railway, is the probably ancient Karanjaviraka. Brahmapuraka, the donated village, is Bahmni, about thiee miles from Kararija Kollapttraka of the plates is now icpresented by Kulpa near Kaianja, about 5 miles to the west of Bahmni Pavarajjavataka and Vata- be 6 puraka may the modem Paiaswada and Badgaon near Bahmni . These places he within 20 to 30 miles from the eastern bank of the Wamganga. and weie in all probability included the 7 m Bennakarpai a-bhoga mentioned m the present plates

Fv <>t Plate ^^

expiession generally occuis in the giants made at the royal capital 2 Cf I Sources the ^ftesnjqrfVrsr ^ iffer^KJHxW*!, tfft *W\wn fop crgn^&ifcdH'TgTrr II G. H Kharc, of Mediaeval Histoty of the Deccan, p 64 ^JBORS.Vol XIV, p 472 4 See No 11, line 13 5 This river is called Vena in the Mahabhdr&ta (Sabhapaivan, Adhyaya 31, v 12), Padmapu^ia (svargakhanda, adhyaya, 30, vv 30-32, and adhyaya 114, vv 27-28) The Markandeayapurana and the Matsyapw ana call it Venya Venva in the Vayu (ad 45, v 102) and Kurma (ad 47, v 32) are evidently corrupt forms of the Sanskrit name Venya 6 Paraswada and Badgaon do not he to the north and south of Bahmni as stated in the plates, but are situated in the opposite dnections The official who drafted the present chaiter must have been res- ponsible for the mistake 7 The identifications of these places were first suggested by me in the Nagpur University Journal, No I, pp 1 ff 8 From the facsimiles facing pages 248 and 249 in Fhet's C//., Vol III 30 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

2 3 2 e *! i 3" fti a fa 4 *Kw fdt*i 3RT ^ fii ( ) R 5

Second Plate Fust side

6 7 8

10 ^mH^Tc-m wf^r i <=t q

Second Plate Second side

12 13 14 15 16

Third Plate Fust side

c L : : 18 M M< RT( >ft)^ 19 20

21 ^^T^rnT Mmlfd^i [l*]

22 i^t^mq I yci^^ejid^^ ^TW?f I

Thud Plate Second side

23 24 25 26 27

Fouith Plate Fust side

:5 :5 28 3( !?T)wt^T aWW'^ftefi-Jcl^ STJ^q^fl^v^^ *]

1 Read 2 Read apr- 3 This and similar marks of punctuation in lines 7-3 1 are unnecessary. 4 It is not necessary to correct this into TPTFTcT as proposed by Fleet. 5 Read 6 Read 7 Read

at j which was engraved first, was later changed to f%, 10 Supply COEPUS INSCKIPTIONUM INDICAKUM

VOL V PLATE VII

I Pn O OQ 0)

l~I O

GiFOtu g HH C/3

50-:'?: '&nr cc o CO

h^-la^^-c-B, *3r -^tl^m^;^l .<-* r:-.r &'*&i& SIWANI PLYTES OF PRAVARASENA II 31

29 30 31 32 33

Fowth Plate Second side

34 ^r wrfjTukiqfed*** i tK^PiM^ ^I-H hK^ tftr 35 ^^n^rrfr

u e 37 Mii flTiîH [i*] : u e 38 tflHÎH II Î^H'dl TT5T ^JW M'Hl fl t>Tlzfl' I

Fifth Plate

^F^nf 'ff^fif 311-^TiT 39 ^f^M'H^Hlfrl ^fe [l*] 8 9 40 TT cfT^ ^R^ TO^f(^r) [ll*]KTilHtfH i% t) SEAL

2 '^^MI'-dHHf^nr [l*] 3 4

TRANSLATION

Seen By the oidei of the Mahmaja, the illustrious Pravarasena (II), who is an ornament of the Vakataka family, who, by the grace of Sambhu, has established the JCnta-jntga the eat who was born of the of the (on tli) , Prabhavatigupta, daughter Mahdtajddhitdja 9 the illustrious Devagupta; who has exterminated all his enemies by his excellent policy, stiength and valour, who follows the path adopted by former kings (and) who is the son of Rudrasena

(D[)a the Mahai aja of the Vakatakas: (Fot ttamlatwn ofjmes \ to 13, we above, pp 13-14)

11 (Line 17) The village named Brahmapuraka, together with Lorata and the light to 12 levy a tax equal to one-fiftieth (of the sah-pjice], situated in the bhoga of Beiuaakarpara, has been given, with the pouring out of water, to the Adhvaiyu, Achaiya Devasarman of the

first fw, later corrected into 2 Read 3 Read qf 4 Other cognate plates have generally 5 Read 6 Read 7 Read 8 Metre of this and the next verse Anushtubh. 9 Read -^rrr ^r 10 Metre Anushtubh 11 The meaning of korata is not ceitain. 12 For this see v. tax, MSM , ch. VII, 130 3 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

and the Taittiiiya sdkhd, on the twelfth (tuna) day) in the bright (foitmght) of the eighteenth (tegnal) year. of its (This village lies), according to the specification boundaries, adjoining (the village) Karanjaviraka, to the north of Vatapuraka, to the west of Kinihikhetaka, to the south of Ravarajjavataka (and) to the east of Kollapuraka. to see 14 (Foi translation of lines 23 34, above, p ) 35 has been written while is the (Line j (ThiA chattel) by Acharya, Bappadeva Senapati

this i of the meritorious And in matte of religion We s in order to avoid mention deeds aheady done, do not refer to (Out) care and protection of the grants of many past kings (And) We make this request to future rulers out of reverence for them (Line 38) The (following) \erses sung by Vyasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point. oaui two benedictwe and vetses (Hete wipiecatoiy )

SEAL

tianslatwn the on the see (Foi of legend seal, above^ p 27 ) CORPUS INSCRIPTION UM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE Vll(contd)

SEALS OF PRAVARASENA II

Seal of the Chammak Plates Seal of the Siwani Plates

Seal of the Tirodi Plates

U ) D C Sircar from PRINTED AT THE SURVEY OF INDIA OFFICES (P ( photographs ) REQ No 3977 E'36~||03i62

No 8 PLATE VIII

RIDDHAPUR PLATES OF PRABHAVATIGUPTA

plates \vere found in the possession of Mahanta Dattaraja of the Mahanubhava THESEsect. They were discovered at Riddhapur in the Morsi tahsil of the Amaravati District in Vidarbha They have been edited twice by Mi Y R Gupte, first in Marathi in the Bhtiiata Itihasa Samsodhaka Mandal Quarterly, Vol. Ill, Nos 2-4, pp 89 f, and again, with negative facsimiles and an English translation, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol XX, pp 53 f The plates are now deposited in the Bharata Itihasa Sam- sodhaka Mandal, Poona They are edited here from the same facsimiles " The copper-plates are four in number, measuring 5f long, 3|" broad and Y thick The fiist and fourth plates are inscribed on one side only, and the other two, on both the sides There are thirty-two lines of writing in all, of which five are inscribed on the first, and thiee on the fourth plate The remaining plates have six lines on each side The letteis on the first and fourth plates and those in the first two lines on the first side of the other lines letters are second plate are laigei and thicker than those in the The well cut and the iccord is in a good state of preservation Each plate has a round hole 6/16" in diameter foi the ring which must have held the plates together, but neither the ring nor the seal which it must have carried is now forthcoming The weight of the four plates is 115 tolas The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets resembling those II that need be stated of the Jamb and other plates of Pravarasena The only peculiarities here aie as follows The length of the medial i (long) is indicated by a double curve or by in a dot in a circle, see sri-Ghalotkacha-, line 2 and -mahishi, line 9; the rare initial ai occurs in aihik-, line 13, medial an is bipartite as in -dauhitro^ line 3, kh has a loop at the bottom line but not m line 31 and s have curves turned inside at the end of -khanaka, 19, likhitam, , g line and -vaishajata- in line 11 d and d are theii left member as in -nagare, 12 , distinguished line b occurs with a notch on the as line 8, a final consonant is m danda- t 24, left, mKubera-, line the shown by its smalt size, but has no vertical stioke at the top, see vasundhatdm, 28, sign of the lines 27 and 29. of the jihvaniuliya occurs in line 22 and that upadhmdniya m 1, 6, 22, a small horizontal Interpunctuation is indicated by veitical stiokes as in line 1 or by dots or the stroke as in lines 16 and 32, The language is Sanskrit, and except for a verse at the end, the before whole iccoid is in prose As regards orthography, we may note reduplication line that of a consonant before and after i as in parakkmm-, line 26 and chaturvtndya-, 17, y for the medial vowel h in line 20. as m -pdd~anuddhyato, line 5, and the use of/? khpt-opakhptam, has been attained the Lord', The inscription opens with Jitam Bhagavatd 'Victory by no word like which occurs also in the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta There is, however, ' ' charters dnshtam seen which occurs in the latter grant as well as in almost all complete leave of Pravarasena II The characters as well as the wording of the present grant, however, 110 doubt that it is genuine the chief of the The inscription is one of Mahadevi Prabhavatigupta, queen Damodara- Vakataka Maharaja Rudrasena II and the mother of the Vakataka Maharaja of sena-Pravarasena. As shown below, the record is dated in the igth regnal year the the Vakataka king Pravarasena H, but, stiange as it mav appear, intioductory 34 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

portion of the grant gives the genealogy of the Guptas and not of the Vakatakas This is also seen in the Poona plates which were issued when Prabhavati was acting as Regent for her minor son Yuvmaja Divakarasena The introduction of the Gupta genealogy in the latter grant can be explained as due to the influence of the Gupta officials sent by Chandragupta II to Vidarbha to help his widowed daughter in the government of the Vakataka kingdom. foi II a No such explanation will, however, avail in the present case, Pravarasena was all he has grown up man when the present grant was made In his earlier giants given his own genealogy in the introductory portion The use of the Gupta genealogy heie must therefore be attributed to Prabhavati's pride in her descent from the Gupta family The genealogy of the Guptas is given here exactly as in Prabha\ atI's Poona plates, the only difference being that the imperial title Mahaiajddlmaja is here applied only to Chandragupta II, all his predecessors including the gieat Emperor Samudragupta being styled as Mahmaja The Vakataka kings Rudrasena II and Pravarasena II mentioned is described as in the grant are also styled as Maharaja Prabhavatigupta meditating on the feet of the Bhagavat Like her father, she was a devotee of Vishnu. The plates were issued from the foot-prints of *the lord of Ramagiri% who is evidently identical with Ramachandra, an incarnation of Vishnu The object of the inscription is to record the grant, by Prabhavati, of a field together with a house and four huts of farmers in Asvatthanagara which lay m the mdiga (subdivision) of Kosika. The donees are not mentioned by name, but are described as Brahmanas, with or without sons, who were of the Parasai a gbti a and the Taittiriya sdkha The grant is dated, at the end, on the twelfth tithi of the bright fortnight of Karttika in the nineteenth regnal year of Pravarasena. As Prabhavati was a devotee of Vishnu, she seems to have made the present grant on the occasion of the paiana (completion) of her fast on the preceding Prabodhini Ekadasi Her Poona grant also was made on a similar occasion The Dutaka was Devanandasvamin and the scribe Prabhusimha There is one expression in the description of Prabhavati which has led to much controversy Mr Gupte, who edited the plates, read it as s-dgta-vatsha-sata-diva-putra-paut) a two life of full and pioposed the following rendeiings (i) who has sons and grandsons, a hundred years and will (in the end) live in heaven, and (n) who has renowned sons and grandsons and who has lived a life of full hundred years 1 Mr Gupte remarked that the expression need not be taken literally and that what was intended was that Prabhavati- gupta lived for a long time and saw illustiious sons and grandsons It has since been shown2 that the correct reading is -jwa-puti a-pautt a, not-diva-putia-pautid Dr R C. Majumdai took the expression literally and understood it as meaning that Prabhavati lived for more 3 than a hundred years and had sons and grandsons On this interpretation he based his theor> of Vakataka chionology. It does not, however, appear to be coriect In the expression citec above, jwa-putm-pauti d means 'having living sons and grandsons' Similar expression 1 jwa-sutd orjiva-putid occur in the Rigveda, the Mahdbhdmta and the Rdmayana as well as ii 4 some old inscriptions To have living sons and grandsons is regarded as a sign of gooc

56 60. iJA SJB , JVS., Vol. XX, pp and 2 This was first out Prof Nath in ? / I pointed by Jagan H C , V, p. 59 3 1 f J R.A S B , Vol. XII, pp 4 Cf spr I 9 (i) sfr^jfanj^snnTO JRzgveda X, 36,

*r ^rre i (ii) 'STRrftr sftsrpr fa^nrftrcrl ^fa-fff f ^ irgRi *r^ *T zfm II MBH, V, 144, 2

T?rf^ i (iii) ^sffa^r fa^Fr 3*r ^n^r 3T?cf^ THT^r ^rr ^rfcf ^rfew It Ramayna IV, 19, 11, 1 sr^fT I Nasik cave (iv) ^fr^cTR TRTTnp inscription, Ep Ind , Vol VIII, p 73 RIDDHAPUR PLATES OF PRABHAVATIGUPTA 35

in the fortune and is therefore often mentioned description of women. The preceding expression s-agia-vatsha-sata indicating long life must evidently be connected with jiva The refers to the life of the expression, therefoie long sons and grandsons of Prabhavati and not to her own Besides, to a widow like Prabhavatigupta a long life of a hundred years is most distasteful No Indian widow is likely to boast of it in her own record The long life mentioned in the expression must therefoie be taken to refer to that of the sons and grandsons of of Prabhavati The expression cannot, couise, be taken literally, but must be interpreted or to like the epithets dugkayuh ayushmat applied small children The intention in such cases is to express the wish that they would be long-lived The expression therefore means * ' who has sons and grandsons who (it is hoped) will live for a full hundred years Prabhvatigupta is again described in line 10 as the mother of the Vakataka Mahdidja, the illustrious Damodarasena-Pravarasena. This expression also has been inteipreted differently by different scholars Di Mujumdar says that Damodaiasena and Pravarasena were two cliflereiit sons of Prabhavati We must note, however, that the expression uses the phrase Vdhdtakdndm Mahdidjah in connection with the name of Damodaraseiia, but not with that of Pravarasena II When we lemembei how particular the drafters of Vakataka grants were about the use of this title in connection with the name of eveiy Vakataka king who

1 it looks that the title should not have been to the name actually icigned , strange prefixed all sons of Pravarasena II, who was ruling at the time Again, if the intention was to name of Prabhavati, the name of Divakarasena also should have been added It seems probable that the latter name therefore, that Damodaiasena and Pravarasena II were identical and was adopted by the prince at the time of his accession As foi the place-names mentioned in the present giant, Ramagiri is undoubtedly lies 3 miles from Nandivar- modern Ramtek, about 28 miles north of Nagpui It only^about the In clhana, modern Nagardhan, the earliei capital of Vakatakas Kalidasa's Meghaduta, where the exiled from lived for a From Ramagiri is mentioned as the place yaksha, Alaka, year. learn that the hill was marked the venerable foot- the description in Kalidasa's poem we by 2 and it is that the was made pi ints of Raghupati (Ramachandia) , noteworthy present grant the Lord of The situa- by Prabhavatigupta near the foot-prints of Ramagiri geographical to tion of Ramtek answers to the description of Ramagiri in the Meghadftta* and it is known should therefore be no have been icgarded as a holy place for several centuries There II doubt about this identification Several grants of Prabhavatigupta and Pravarasena but the Rama- were made after being offered to the Bhagavat who was plainly none god has been identified chandia whose padukfo were installed at Ramagiri Asvatthanagara District of Vidarbha4 Kosika, the with Asatpur m the Achalput tahsil of the Amaravati was cannot, howevei, be headquarters of the mdrga in which Asvatthanagara situated, located in its neighbouihood

Fust Plate

ofGautami- 1 Notice the omission of the title Vdkdtdkdndm Maharajah in connection with the name his Pravarasena I No. 3, line 7. putra, who predeceased father See, above,

E c c ; ^cf ^??r T^TT ^ r rf% R' dT^cr i verse 12 ^Nr^r^ ' 3 of in the For a fuller discussion of this identification, sec my article 'Location Ramagui Nagpur in Vol 12 f Umveisily Journal, No IX, pp 9 ff See also my Studies Indology, I, pp 4J.ASB, N.S, Vol. XX, p 58 5 58 60 in A.S B 3 Vol. XX. From the negative facsimiles facing pages and J 36 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

GA 3 4 H^j5 U'( n) 5

Second Plate Fvst Side

Xc -i i ft oil M fd' <^ R?fT"H I I q'cft 6 -TI ft)

9 10

Second Plate Second Side

12 13

14- 15 16 17

Thitd Plate Fvst Side

18 19 20 21 22 23

Thud Plate Second Side

25 26 27 28 ^^TT(rrr) ^T^rTT TT zft fTcf ^^TTnT [l*] " 29

1 The Poona plates have 2 The facsimile shows the medial i (long) clearly 3 Read WT^riTPTT -U^fiy^W 4 This woid is superfluous 5 Read ^f%

1 to agree with $N See *T JFer^mre?W m line 16 above. 8 Read ^WTT II ^fcT I Metre Anushtubh CORPUS INSCR1PTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE VIII

00 o

iwH

CO

O OJ

tt A P a

RIDDHAPUR PLATES OF PRABHAYATIGUPTA 37

Fowth Plate

30 31 4 32 snrftrat^ n TRANSLATION

Victory has been attained by the Bhagavat' Fiom. the footprints of the Lord of Ramagiri : (There was) the Maharaja, the illustrious Ghatotkacha, the first king of the Guptas. His son the the (was) Mahdidja, illustnous Chandragupta (I). His son, graciously favoured by him, (was) the Mahataja, the illustrious Sainudragupta, (who was) born of the Mahddevi KLumaradevi (and was) the daughter's son of the Lichchhavi (Chief) His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the Maharajadhitqja, the illustrious Chandragupta (II), born of the Mahddevi Dattadevi, who (was) a fervent devotee of the Bhagavat (Vishnu), who (was) a matchless warrior on the earth, who exterminated all kings, (and) who donated many thousands of

crores of cows and gold (coins) which he had obtained by lawful means of the (Line 7) His daughter, the illustrious Mahddevi Prabhavatigupta Dharana goto a, bom of the queen Kuberanaga, who was herself born in a Naga family, who is an ornament of both the (Gupta and Vdkataka) families, who (was) the Chief Queen of the the is the mother of the illustrious Illustrious Rudrasena II, the Mahatdja of VafcSfakas ; who 5 the of the who meditates Damodarasena (alias ) Pravarasena (H), Mahwaja Vakdtakas, on the feet of the who has sons and who will live for Bhagavat (Vishnu) , (and) grandsons 6 commands the Mahattams a full hundred years having announced (het) good health, (elders) in the of the village led by the Brahmanas (rending) in the Asvatthanagara matga (subdivision) of Kosika as follows " Bhuktaka with a We have m this town donated the field enjoyed (so far) by together 7 of the Parasara farm-house situated in it (and) four huts of cultivators, to the Brahmanas not have out gotta and the Taittiriya sdkhd, whether they have or do sons, by pouring merit and in this water and issuing a charter for the increase of Our leligious (Out welfae) world and the next see (Foi translation of lines 16-26, above, pp 14-15) rulers Our (Line 26) We issue this oidei to the present (who are) vanquished by icsolve, attack or valom should be as authontative on this And the (following) verse, sung by Vyasa, regarded point OLCUIS an veise (Hete imprecatory )

while the illustrious Pravarasiena (II) , the (Line 29) In the nineteenth year, on the twelfth in the Maharaja of the Vakatakas, is governing his kingdom, (lunat day) chatter has been The Dutaka is bright fortnight of the month Karttika (this wntten) Prabhusimha. Devanandasvamin. (This chaitei) has been wntten by

*Read ^T^T SRTT^Rf 2 Read ^^Tf^rf^cff 3 in both his ai but the is clearly as above. Gupte gives this name as t^^T*ft tides, reading

5 See above, p 35 6 See above, p. 34 7 The names of the Brahmanas have been omitted inadvertently No 9 PLATE IX

INDORE PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

plates weie in the possession of Pandit Vamansastri Islampuikar of Indore. Their THESEoriginal fmdspot is not known, but, like some other giants 1 in the possession of the Pandit, thev did not originally belong to Indore, but \veie evidently obtained by him somewhere else in the course of his search foi Sanskrit manuscripts and antiquities They were handed over by him to Dr D R Bhandarkar, from whom they were obtained bv Mr Sushil K Bose for publication They have been edited, with facsimiles, by him in the Epigiaphm Indica, Vol XXIV, pp 52 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles 2 " The copper-plates are three in number, measuring 7" long by 3f broad They are quite smooth, their edges not having been made thicker or raised into rims About 2" from the left margin, each plate has a hole, about 5/16" in diameter for the ring which must have ongmallv held the plates together, but neither the img nor the seal which it must have carried is now forthcoming The grant must have originally consisted of four plates, but the first plate is missing As in the case of the other grants of Pravarasena, the plate must have been incised on one side only, so that about seven lines of the recoid are now lost The first two of the existing plates are inscribed on both the sides, while the last plate is inscribed on one side only The inscription is in a good state of preservation The extant portion of it consists of 34 lines, of which six are written on the first side of the first e. the (i originally second) plate and seven on each of the other inscribed sides The weight of the plates has not been recorded The characters are of the box-headed vanetv of the southern alphabets lesembling those of the other grants of Pravarasena II The only peculiarities that call for notice are as follows The raie medial h occurs m line 23 and j in sa-khpt-opakliptah, , g have some cases a cui\e turned inward at the end of the left member as in the Riddhapur plates; see line n Kausika-sa-gotta-, 15, has no loop at the bottom in -pautrwah, line 4, n occurs in two the forms, cursive one as in -Rudrasena-, line 1 and that resembling the Nagari form as in line t is Ritdtasena-, 6; generally unlooped, but in some cases it is confused with n, see -sanchitnana- for sanchmtana in line 28 b in two forms as in , appears the Siwanl plates The language is Sanskrit, and except foi an imprecatory verse in lines 31-33, the whole record is in As we note the prose regaids orthography, may (i) reduplication of a consonant after r as in -dijjava-, line 2, that of the consonant before as in line (n) y -sarw-dddhyaksha- t 9; that of v after anusvdia in (111) seemingly pa?a-dattd[?n*]vvd, line 32, (iv) the use of it for the medial n m -Pnthivi-, line 5 and vice vetsa in -krtydbhi-, line 25 The is one of inscription the Vakataka Mahdtdja Pravarasena H. His genealogy was in the as apparently grven beginning exactly m the Jamb plates, but its earlier portion which described Pra\arasena I and Bhavanaga, the chief of the Bharasivas, is now lost. The name of the place whence the weie issued is also plates now lost, but as the grant is said to have been made at the victorious place of religious worship (vaijayifo dliarma-slheme) ,

for the of iSee, instance, grants Mahaidja Svamidasa and Maharaja Bhulunda, which must have originally belonged to Khandesh. See article in A B R.I Vol my , XXV' DDP1 159 f See alsn C TflT Vol. IV, pp 5-10 > 2 The size of the and the of the hole plate position show that the Durg plate (No. 17)did not beloncr to this set ' INDORE PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 39

the place of issue may have "been the royal capital Pravarapura The grant has been veiv carelessly diafted The writei has, again, committed mistakes in omitting some woids and afterwards \\ntmg them in wrong places 1 In one case he has substituted the name of 2 a Biahmana for that of the village granted All this has made the task of interpietation veiv difficult It seems, however, clear that the object of the present inscription was to recoid to the writer's the grant of a village (the name of which is unfortunately lost owing of to the east of carelessness) which lay in the mdrga of Gepuraka, to the north Aramaka, Kobidarika, to the south of Kosambaka and to the west of Anjanavataka. In line 1 1 Pravarasena II says that he made the grant for augmenting his religious merit, life, power lead and royal fortune as well as for his well-being in this world and the next Line 20 with line 13, however, states that a half of the vdlaka (village) was purchased and donated to the Brahmanas by the merchant Chandra near the foot-punts (pada-mula) of the B/iagavat, who was probably the same as the Lord of Ramagni mentioned m the Riddhapur plates In line 17 Pravarasena II says that he has iccorded the gift in a charter as it has been 3 fmlher that the has been to the Brahmanas pieviously made and still he says village granted out of watei 4 The in which we can reconcile these as a fresh gift with the pom ing only way that the chant chased a half of the conflicting statements is to suppose mei Chandra pui it and the to confirm particular village and donated to certain Brahmanas requested king a charter in that behalf The seems to have the other half the gift and to issue king given the of the village for his own icligious merit etc The donees were Brahmana G5ndarya, the son of Visakharya, who was residing at Aramaka, and his six sons^ Manoratharya, Govarya, Devarya, Bapparya, Kumararya and Dronarya They belonged to the Vaji- of Kausika go ha The grant is dated on the fifth tithi of the dark fortnight Vaisakha in the twenty-third year evidently of the reign of Pravarasena II The order was communicated by the king personally The grant was written by the Rajuka Kottadeva

The mention of the officer Rajuka as the writei of the grant is interesting The is first noticed in the of Asoka officei Rajuka, as he is named elsewheie, msciiptions He of men and could at was a high officer placed in charge of many hundred thousands is fiom his discretion inflict punishment 01 confer a reward The term derived lajju meaning officer who measuied lands foi the assessment a rope and originally signified a settlement Satakarnr5 of land-tax The Rajjuka is also mentioned in an inscription of Chutukulananda in the shows that the term He is rarely noticed thereafter His mention present grant

!The words mula datdm-iii at the end of line 13, which the Editor of the Ep Ind considered un- at the end of line 20 should have been intelligible, are connected in sense with Bhagavat-pada- They a mistake wutten at the bottom of the first side of the third plate. The writer committed m writing the them at the bottom of the second side of the second plate It will thus be seen that merchant but donated Chandra did not purchase half of any field from the Brahmanas as supposed by Bose, the From the boundaries in the a half of the village to them near the footprints of Bhagavat given in was the record it appears clear that the whole village, not a field it, granted by king. the 2 The writer mentions Visakharyavataka as a village in line 14 Visakharya was, however, name of a Brahmana who was the father of Gundarya, one of the donees of this grant. While copying over the name of the the record from the bhwjapatra, the wrtiter's eye seems to have skipped proper in the next line as it seem, the village, in place of which he wrote Vi'sakhmja occurring Strange may mistake remained uncorrected 3 kntah m lines 17-18. Notice pu[r*]vva-dattd iti kntva asmabhi^i*] sasana-mbandhah 4 in line 18 Notice a-purvu-dattd(ttyd) udaka-purvvam-atistj-ishtah 5 connected with Though the expression Gonddrya-putm is gramatically only Manoratlwiyaya,\tto piobably intended to be connected with the following names also . Cam, Vol. VII, p. 251. 40 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

remained in use till the beginning of the fifth century A C at least

As no definite is mfoimation available about the original findspot of the present plates, it is not easy to locate the places mentioned in them, and none have been identified so fai Aftei a good deal of search foi them, I have been able to find some of them in the directions in the respective Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh Kosamba which lay to the north of the donated village is probably identical with Kosambakhanda which Pravarasena II granted bv his Tnodi plates As shown elsewhere, the latter is identical with Kosamba, 6 miles to the south of Tiro di Anjanavataka which defined the eastern boundary of the donated village is piobably Afljanwadl, about 5 miles to the south-east of Kosamba Kobidarika which to the west lay of the donated village may be Kunargaon, 4 miles south bv \\est of Kosamba These three villages thus lie in the same directions as those stated in the piesent grant Gepuraka and Aramaka cannot, however, be found in the neighbourhood of these If these villages identifications aie coirect, the grant may have originally belonged to the Balaghat District

TEXT 1

Second Plate Fust side

2 3 feJ^)^[^]Tm^ 4 snfocFPT fa 4^M ][ *] ^zjfi

Second Plate^Second Side 8 ^ ^^^2 9 c^ Pa ^ 1 w ociT^-^srfeft^rfFR^fr 3 3 4 10 ^ ^r aftd ^ *]

12 ^smrar ^rpF^rnT siKi 1 ) 6 13 qm ^ 5^rfir% i

Thud Plate Fiut Side 14 15 T^ 16 17 IB 19

1 From facsimiles facing p 55 in 2nd, Vol 2 Ep XXIV Read 3R+iw

f)itfr are to be connected CORPUS INSCRIPTION INDICARUM

PLATE IX VOL v

frr of

00 (M (M CO CO - -.7 . - jt * ararr

L &!! to fiificir- ":

O Q CO O CO CO

00

INDORE PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 41

20 TTT [i*]3T^r

Third Plate Second Side sr^c^nft 21 cpsm snr^^rsTR^ *] 22 3T^qrfe(^)T^^ 3F^(Tr)tf?npn-(^)in^ 23 24 25

26 tH^lV^^lfr^^+iHl (^T ) 27

Fomth Plate 28 29

: 30 ^TaT( TRT)ii?HHiim [l*] 31 10 zft 32 4^tiii 5Tcr ^^rrr(TnT i) x 11 fHi Id ls n 33 5 fcr (^nr )

TRANSLATION

st is not (The fit plate of this grant forthcoming ) By the order of the illustrious Pravarasena (H), the Mahmdja of the Vakatakas born of Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Mahdrqjddhirqja, the illustrious Devagupta,-who

is the son of the illustrious Rudrasena (II), the Mahdtdja of the Vakatakas

(Fot translation of lines 1 to 6, see above, pp 13-14)

12 officials of noble (Line 8) In the terntonal division (matga) of Giepuraka Our and birth, who aie employed by the ordei of the Saivadhyaksha (General Superintendent) should who exercise their authority by (Our) command and (Our) soldiers and policemen - be directed by the (following) command which is already well known to them "Be it known to you that here in Our victorious place of religious worship in order for in this to mciedse Our religious meiit, life, power (and) piospenty (and) (Our) well-being

world and the next, We have recorded in a chaiter this gift as it was previously made viz 13 to the east of (the gift of) the village situated to the noith of Aramaka, Kovidarika,

following words q^ ^trfirfrf occui m a coriupt foim m line 13, above

3 This word is superfluous, 4 Read 5 Read 6 The anusvara of f^r is placed on =*T 7 Other Vakataka giants generally react

10 ReadTOtfT ^F 11 Metre Anushtubh on the ^Marga seems to denote a territorial division, for no place is mentioned here as situated road to Gepuraka 13 of the The name of the village has been omitted through inadvertence. The name Visakharya, father of Gondarya, one of the donees, has been prefixed to vataka by mistake 42 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

to the south of Kosambaka, (and} to the west of Anjanavataka, (made) to Gondarya, son of the \vho resides at Visakharya of Vaji-Kausika gotta, Aramaka (and to) Manortharya, son of Gondarya, (and) Govarya, Devarya, Bapparya, Kumararya (and) Dronarya, and We have given it as a gift not previously made with the pouring out of water Half of this village was donated to the Brahmanas by the Merchant Chandra near the foot-prints of the Bhagavat, after having purchased it (from Us) 1 And We here the incident to a donated to grant (following ) exemptions village a

Brahmana, proficient in the four Vedas :

tj anslation lines see above (For of 21-28, , p 14.) (Line 29) We command the present rulers who have been vanquished by Our resolve, attack and valour and We request the future lords out of reverence for them The (following) verse sung by Vyasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point

occurs an veise (Hete impiecatoty )

(Line 33). (This chattel) has [been written on the fifth (lunar day) in the dark of Vaisakha in the (fortnight) twenty-third (regnal) year The order (was communicated) 2 himself . by (the king) (The charter has been) written by the Rajuka Kottadeva.

1 In the original this statement occurs partly m line 20 and partly in line 13. In both the cas< it has been misplaced. See above, p. 39., n. 1.. 2 As the order was communicated the by king himself, no Dutaka has been named in this chartc No 10* PLATE X

DUDIA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

plates were in the possession of some Gonds at Dudia m the Aser pargand of THESEthe Chhmdwara District of Madhya Pradesh They have been edited before, with facsimiles, by Dr Kielhorn in the Epigtaphia Indica, Vol III, pp 258 They are edited here from the same facsimiles " "The copper-plates are four in number, each of which measures 7J" long by 3f broad The second and third plates aie inscribed on both sides, the first plate is so on one side, and the fourth is blank and merely serves to protect the writing on the second side of the third plate The plates are quite smooth, their edges having been neither fashioned thicker nor raised into rims, but the writing, nevertheless, is in an excellent state of preservation About 1J" distant from the middle of the proper right maigm, each plate has a hole, about in * ^i/' diameter, for a nng on which the plates were strung The ring is between J* and f thick, and 3 J" in diameter The two ends of the piece of coppei of which it is formed are flattened off, and contain holes for a rivet, which has been lost On the ring slides a copper " band, J* broad, which is bent into a ring off* by 1| in cliametei, and the two ends of which are soldered together Through the soldered part a hole is drilled, which corresponds to a hole in the centre of a circular seal; and a rivet, which also is lost now, must have held the

copper band and the seal togethei Owing to the loss of the two nvets, the ring, the copper band and the seal are now quite loose The seal is 3 TV diametei, and has across its suiface a in four lines The of the four is Ibs that of the legend weight plates 3J , ring, p5 the band and the seal is Ib Ibs copper } , total, 3f The characters belong to the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets and resemble those of the Indore Like the forms of n b preceding plates latter, they show two and , the curve of/ encircles the letter on the left as in -lalamasya in line 1 of the seal, the sign of the jihvdmuliya occurs in line 22 and that of the upadhmdniya m line 3 of the seal and line 16 of the plates Inter-punctuation is shown by one or more horizontal or vertical strokes The language is Sanskiit, and, with the exception of the legend on the seal and one imprecatory veise in line 27-28, the whole record is in prose As regards orthography, we find that a consonant has been before and aftei ; as in. lines 4-5 reduplicated parakh am-, a.nd-Afltdij>yd?n- ) line 1 as in 1 befoiej Bliagnatthy-amala-, line 5, and after anuwaia in sarnvvatsaiH., line 28 The inscription, which opens with dnshtam, is one of the Vakataka Mahdtdja Pravarasena II. His genealogy is given here exactly as in the Jamb plates, his maternal giandfather being called Devagupta. The object of it is to record the grant, by Pravara- sena, of 2 5 (mvaitanat) of land at Darbhamalaka in the Chandrapura sangamika, to one 2 Yaksharya of the Kausika gotra, and of sixty (nwai tanas) of land at the village of Kar- makara in the Hiranyapura bhoga to one Kalisarman of the Kaundinya gotta The oider is addressed to the royal officers, soldieis and policemen in the Arammi-rajya m which evidently both the aforementioned villages were situated The charter was written by Goladasa while Namidasa was the Sendpati It was issued from Pravarapura.

l Ep Ind, Vol III, pp 258-59 2 The figures of land (bhumi) given here, like those in the Chammak plates, probably refer to the nnartanas See line 22 of the Pattan plates (No 13, below) which mention 400 nivai tanas oiland according to the royal measure 44 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

The record is m line on the dated, 28, tenth day of the fourth fortnight of the rainy season in the twenty-third year evidently of Pravarasena IPs reign It does not admit of but coi verification, probably responds to the tenth tithi of the bright half of the month Bhadra- The date is pada noteworthy as it is one of the two season dates known so far from Vakataka In all inscriptions other inscriptions dates aie recorded in lunar months and tithis The localities mentioned in the present grant have not yet been satisfactorily identified Dr Kielhorn the suggested identification of Chandrapura with Chandpur, 'which lies to the south of Siwani and to the west of the river 1 Wenganga ', but he could not locate the other mentioned in the places grant Dr Hiralal proposed to identify Arammi with Arvl, the chief town of the Arvi tahsil of the Wardha District, and Chandrapura with Chandur where theie is a confluence of the two rivers Chandrabhaga and Sarasvati Further, he suggested that be Hiranyapura might Sonegaon near Chandur and Karmakara, Kalamgaon close to the same town2 These identifications also are not quite satisfactory A clue to location of the places is possibly afforded by the mention of Hiranyapuia This town may have been situated on the river which is Hiranya mentioned m the Wadgaon plates of Pravarasena II As shown 3 elsewhere, this Hiranya is identical with the modern river Erai Chandrapuia may be the modern Chanda, the chief town of the Chanda District This old name of the town is still cuirent Near Chanda there is the confluence of the two rivers, Eiai and In fact the town of is Jharpat Chanda situated in the angle foimed by these two rivers so that its situation answeis to the description of Chandrapura in the present grant viz was a or c a tract of land that_it sangamika near the confluence of two rivers', but the mention of the 4 Arammi-rajya m recently discovered Pandhuma plates also has raised doubt about these identifications Since both the grants which mention Arammi-rajya come fron the Chhindwara we must District, evidently look for the places situated m them in tha district As shown some of the localities very elsewhere, referred to in the Pandhurn ( plates can be identified in the neighbourhood of Pandhuma, which indicates that Arammi the alters of that headqu division, may be modern Amla, about 40 miles north by wes of Pandhuma None of the places mentioned m the piesent grant can, however, be tracec in that region, unless Hiranyapura is Harankhedi, about 6 miles north of Multai

TEXT5

Ft?st Plate

6 1 ?CT [\ 1 *^fofa ^f^ 2 ft bU *TW: qqqiy^%w5WirvrM iW*HfH^ (

Ind 9 Vol III, p 260 2 XCP.J3 , p 93 3Below, p 54. 4 No 14, lines 26 and 29 5 From the fasimiles 260 and 261 in facing pages Ep. Ind , Vol III 6 Here and in many places below, the rules of sandhi have not been observed 7 Origin ally -i%Tt^r, changed to - DUDIA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 45

Second Plate Fust Side

8

* vf 9 [

10

11 12 13

Second Plate: Second Side

14

15

16

17 ^^HJMI-H ^JR[ *]

18

16 19 ^r! ST^^r^R S

Third Plate First Side

c j c < c i si^ i' ift'H f in'Kii^Ti ^^ t 20 ^F^tft" ^T^T(^T) i'l^m^I^r^ ( )

21

's suggestion that the correct reading is TPTFTcT- does not appear to be coirect 2 Read 3 Read - 4 Read 4

b This akshara is superfluous 7 Read 8 Read 9 Read -* 10 Read See 2 line 16 No line 25. ^Read either flT*R^?ST f^cRTiT or ^nTTf^RPT f^cTTTT No } and 3, 12 The visarga after T is cancelled. 13 Tins akshara is superfluous 14 Read anr^nfiRt This is supposed to qualify some word like 1 5 Read -s 46 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

5 5 1 ^ I 22 ^(s^WSSfrrTSzr ^T^^OTfir^fsW qf^T^^ ^^ [ (?r)wr(w)3r- 2 c

24 fa^^J^TH (*T)

^i; 25 ^d^iHdHHftfnrucw S^^TR [i*]

Thud Plate Second Side

Seal

2

3 4

TRANSLATION

Seen From Pravarapura

By the ordei of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), the Makdidja of the Vakatakas, born of Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Mahaiajadhuaja, the illustrious Devagupta,

who is the son of the illustrious Rudrasena (II), the Maharaja of the Vakatakas

translation lines see 13-14 (For of 1-10, above^pp ) (Line 13) Our officers of noble birth, who are employed by the order of the Saivadhyaksha (General Superintendent) (and] \\ho exercise their authority by (Our) command and (Out) soldiers and policemen m the Aranutni-rajya should be directed by the following is command which well known (to them) " Be it known to that in order to you increase Our religious merit, life, powei and prosperity and to obtain blessings for ouiself, We have donated heie at Our place of reli- with the out of water gious worship pouring twenty-five nwartanas of land in (the village of)

1 Read - 2 This is anusvara wrongly placed over the following akshara. 3 Read 4 Read - 5 Read 6 This sign of punctuation is superfluous 7 Metre Anushtubh 8 Read 9 Read CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE X

DUDIA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

1 1, a

10 10

12 12 20 .SJf^ifpPj^^ 20 flWchv&os/J?fl s? siQ/tf-sj Wfa /L 22 22

24 24

Seal DUDIA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 47

in the of Darbhamalaka Sangamika Chandrapura to Yaksharya of the Kausika gotta, and sixty nwat tanas of land in the village of Karmakara situated in the bhoga of Hiranyapura the to Kalisarman of Kaundmya gotia, as gifts not previously made

(Foi translation of lines 18-25, see above, p 14.)

(Line 25). We issue this order to the present rulers (who have been) vanquished by this Our resolve, attack or valour. (And] We make icquest to future (iidets) out of reverence for them (Line 26) And the following verse sung bv Vyasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point occuis an vetse (Heie imprecatoiy ) (Line 28) (This chattel) has been written by Goladasa, while Namidasa is the in the Senapati, on the tenth day fourth fortnight of the twenty-third (tegnal) year.

Seal

translation the on the see (For of legend seal, above, p. 27 ) No 11 PLATE XI

TIRODI PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

miles south-east of plates were found at the manganese mine of TirBdr, 8 Katangi, THESEIn the Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh They were made over to me for publication I them with by Mr T A Wellsted, Manager of the Manganese Mines, Mansar edited 167 f facsimiles and an English translation in the Epigiaphia Inctica, Vol XXI, pp They in the Central are edited here from the same facsimiles The plates are now deposited Museum, Nagpur. first and fourth The copper-plates ai e four in number, each measuring 7 1" x 3 8" The on both the sides Their ends are plates are inscribed on one side only, and the other two is a state of neither fashioned thicker, nor raised into rims, still the inscription in perfect the have a roundish hole, pieservation About 21" from the propei right margin, plates which is 3 3" 4" in diameter for a circular ring to connect them The ends of this ling, a were so m diameter, were flattened off so as to overlap and were joined with pin They this slides a small seemed when the plates were sent to the Nagpur Museum On ring rivet circular band about 7" bioad and 3 8" in circumference, to which is secured with a is 126 and that a flat circulai copper seal, 2 T m diameter The weight of the plates tolas, inscribed side of the first two of the ling, the band and the seal is 18J tolas Each plates the four lines contains six lines, that of the third, five lines, and that of fourth, only resemble The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets They that call for notice are those of the other giants of Pravaraseiia II The only peculiarities a In the curve as follows The length of the medial I Is shown either by ringlet representing curve turned in the direction as in short i as In piamani-, line 29, or by another opposite o also is shown in two with a mdtrd on each side of trayomse, line 31 The medial ways, (i) 1 with a curve on the side as in bhunjato, a consonant as In Shodashy-, line and (ii) right only not line 23. The medial au is everywhere bipartite D and d aie clearly distinguished, 8 in two forms as in other Vakataka cf Shodashy-, line 1, and samuditasya, line B appears like v in one see line 15 and inscriptions In its subscript form it appears place, ayw-bbala, of in lines 24, 26 etc -udvahana-, line 4 The visaiga signifies a double mark punctuation 13, line The completion of the record is shown by a long horizontal on the seal and the usual The language is Sanskrit Except for the legend imprecatory shows the usual veise towaids the close, the whole record is in prose The orthography and of that befoie The use of n for the ledupllcation of a consonant after r and anusvara, y vowel n and of h for the vowel h may also be noted, see dtishtam, line 1 and sa-khpt-opakhptak, final lines 22-23 On the other hand, n occurs for n in sarvva-knyabhi-, line 24 The conso- line 1 and line 31 nant is dropped in some places, see -sthdnd, -doadasyd, the Pravarasena The plates were issued from Narattangavari by Vakataka Maharaja ' with seen '. IL His genealogy is given as in his other grants The inscription opens dnshtam, to a Brahmana named The object of it is to record the grant of the village Kosambakhanda Varunarya of the Haikan^o^ra and the Atharvaveda, who was a resident of Chandrapura donated was bounded on the east on and was proficient In three Vedas The village by Jamali, the south by Vardhamanaka, on the west by Mrigasima and on the north by Mallakape- dhaka. As the order is addressed to the officers and soldiers m the western division (apara-patla) TIRODf PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 49

of Bennakata, it is evident that the donated village was situated in it The giant was 1 written by the Chief Minister (Rdjy-ddhiknta) Chamidasa by the King's own order of The grant is dated, in words, on the twelfth day of the dark fortnight Magha in the twenty-third year, evidently of Pravarasena IFs reign Unlike most other grants of was not at the 2 but at a called Pravarasena II, the present grant made royal capital , place Narattahgavari which may have been a ttrtha The month of Magha is specially praised in the Puranas as very sacred, and various legends are narrated in them to evince the great 3 merit ofbathing at a holy place during that month The eleventh tithi of the dark fortnight of the purmmdnta Magha, which is called Shattila Ekadasi and is observed as a fast-day, is highly 4 Pravarasena therefore have to the vari glorified in the Padmapwana may gone Narattanga tittha to bathe there on the Shattila Ekadasi day and may have made the present grant on the him for his following day before breaking his fast The grant was made by religious merit, for his in this world and the as well life, strength and prosperity, securing well-being next, his mother As he mentions his mother and as foi augmenting the religious merit of only it is that she was at the time of the not his father also, who was long since dead, likely living the four piesent grant and may have accompanied him to holy place Only years before, she had made her own grant recorded m the Riddhapur plates As for the geographical names occurring in the present plates, Narattaugavari was is a like probably a tittha as suggested above This probably joint name Nagapura-Nandivar- dhana, and means Vari near Narattanga5 In that case it can be identified with Wan, also called Bhairavagadh, now a deserted village on the river Ban or Wan m the extreme north-west of the Akot tahsd in the Akola Distuct6 It is only 18 miles to the west of the old fort of

is still as a Narnala, which probably represents ancient Narattanga, and icgarded holy place miles to north-east Kosambakhanda, the donated village, is evidently Kosamba, about 6 the a district7 the of Tirodi, wheie the plates were found Bennakata was evidently comprising miles to the east of in the Gondia territory round the modern village Bern, 35 Kosamba tahsil of the Bhandara District, which may have been its headquarteis The district seems to 8 have been divided into two parts by the nver Benna, modern Wainganga Kosamba, which is 20 miles from the and was now icpiesents ancient Kosambakhanda, only Wainganga, of Bennakata Of the that evidently included in the western division (apara-patta) villages bounded it on the east formed its boundaries, only one can now be traced Jamali which to east of Kosamba where the is probably modern Jamuntola, 3 miles the Chandrapura,

*Dr N P Ghakravarti suggests that the name may be read as Navamidasa 2 occurs in the at the It is noteworthy that the expression vaijayiKe dharmasthdrie., which grants made royal capital, does not occur in this charter

3 It Cf spm^far 3mr ternrfoR^ fofenr I Tr^TFT ^r^ grs^g^FfteTFT Padmapurdna* Uttarakhanda, adhyaya 124, v 164 *Ibid vv 5 f , Uttarakanda, adhyaya 43, 5 or As there are now and were probably in ancient Vidarbha several villages named Van Varkhed, Narattanga seems to have been fixed to the place-name to define the position of the place intended 6 with an of Kala-Bhairava The At this place there are ruins of a fort called Bhairavgadh, image II s ancestor Rudrasena who was a place may have attained importance m the time of Pravarasena I, fervent devotee of Kala-Bhairava 7 3 Bhojakata is anothername ending in kata The Mahdbhdrata, Sabhaparvan, adhyaya l,w 10-12, The name of the latter occurs states that Sahadeva vanquished the lords of Bhojakata and Venatata as Venakata in many Grantha MSS of the epic, 8 is another territorial division named Bennakarpara-bh6ga mentioned in the Siwani plates therein can be identified after the river Benna As shown elsewhere, the villages mentioned as situated m the Amgaon Zammclari, east of the Wainganga 50 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

donee was living, is probably identical with Chandpur It lies only twelve miles to the south-east of Kosamba and contains an old fort The other villages cannot be identified. TEXT 1

Fust Plate

2 3

4 ^rf^fa R* 1 5.*1 fa ^ fciti H ^M i fed 5 6

Second Plate Fust Side

6 8 ^d^Pd^ 'J] ^^4^^ft^^Hl'4^(^)^ir^J) [ *] 9 7 10 TM^W^Tft^TFT ^ft[ *]

8 4 12 ^dl^r(TT) -M'HNRl^aNl^H^tH I

Second Plate Second Side

13 TT^rfHcK^H^ ^FTTcf* I

14- n 15 16 17 12 13 18 T^(^T?)^<^^d^^T^fw ^^f^ ^ 4 n^

Plate:, First Side co 19 spjo^c [l *] 20

!From the facsimiles facing pages 172 and 173 in Ep Ind,, Vol. XXII. 2 Here and in many places below, the rules of sandhi have not been observed 3 The box at the top of *3 is not complete 4 This sign of punctuation is superfluous other is omitted here. 5The adjective ^rT^^TR^^rcrrffT which occuis m cognate plates 6Read -Ml^lcHTf^c^-

7 Read 7f^ft(Tor^r 8 This sign of punctuation is superfluous 9Read 10Read 1 1 Read -s

13 the The gotra is named ^r^f^ in Gotmptavaranibandhakadamba. 14This word is superfluous CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM VOL V Plate XL

IW

W H

'S to

TIRODI" PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 51

21 22 23

Thud Plate Second Side

24 2 25 HM'HHeM M'K1 l^k^T^ I

Pom th Plate

29 30 31 ^i ^PT?WT 'R^ fed Ma 22 ^pr [^w] [i *] (^r)

Seat

4 3 TRf[*] M^KiM* ! I 9 4-

TRANSLATION

Seen. From the Narattangavari place a the of the V katakas, who By the oider of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), Maharaja was born of Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Maharajddhiraja, the illustrious Devagup- the is the son of the illustrious Rudrasena the Mahmaja, of Vakatakas ta, (and) who (II), see (Fot translation of lines 1 to 10, above, pp 13-14) of the Our officials of noble birth, who are employed by the order Saivadhyaksha and exercise theii command, (Our) (Gencial Superintendent) who authority by (Om) of Bennakata should soldiers and policemen in the western division (apatapatta) (the distnct) is well known . be directed by the following command which already (to them] and "Be it known to you that in order to increase Our religious meiit, life, power in this world and the next, the village named prospeiity and to secuie (Out) well-being to the Kosambakhanda, which lies to the west ofJamali, to the north of Vardhamanaka, is bestowed here with the east of Mrigasima, and to the west of Mallakapedhaka, pouring

!Read 2 Read 3 Read 4 Read 5 Read *T^T WS^WT The following maik of punctuation is supeifluous 6 Read ^f^T Metre Anushtubh 7 Read ^f^^T^ snftfsRT 8 This mark of punctuation is superfluous 9 Metre Anushtubh. 52 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

out of water as a grant not previously made, upon Varunarya of the Atharvaveda and the Harkan gotra, who has (mastered] the three Vedas and is a resident of Cbandrapura.

translation lines 19 to see 14-15 and that lines 26 to see (For of 26, above, pp 'for of 29 5 above, p. 32 )

(Line 29) And the following verse sung by Vyasa should be regarded as an authority on this point occurs an vetse (Here imprecatory ) (This order was communicated) by the king himself on the twelfth (lunar day) of the of in the dark fortnight (the month) Magha twenty-third (regnal) year, (It has been) written by the Rajyadhiknta Chamidasa.

Seal

translation the on the see (For of legend seal., above, p. 27 ) No 12. PLATE XII

WADGAON PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

plates weie handed over to Dr S S Patwardhan, Cuiator of the Gential THESEMuseum, Nagpur, by one Bhagwan Shiva Ganar of Yenur, a village in the Hmganghat tahsil of the Waidha District, in Vidarbha They weie in the possession of his grandfather at \Vadgaon in the Warora tahsil of the Chanda Distiict They were published by me with facsimiles in the Epigiaphia Indica, Vol XXVII, pp 74 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles The plates aie now deposited m the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay. The copper-plates aie foui in number, of which the first and the last are inscribed on the inner side only, and the other two on both the sides They measure 6 5" long and 3 5" broad, and weigh 97 tolas The;y weie held together by a ring, about 3 tolas in weight, passing through a loundish hole, 1 3" from the middle of the left side of each plate It must have

originally earned the usual Vakataka seal sliding on it, but it is not forthcoming now There aie foity-two lines of writing m all, which are evenly distributed on the six inscribed faces of the foui plates The wilting is in a good state of pieservation throughout In a few cases the engravei has corrected his mistakes of omission and commission, see amsa-bhdia-, line line 9 etc but theie are more which aie left uncoiiected In the 4, saty-aijjava, , many right-hand lower cornei of the fust side of the second plate, he has incised the syllables 1 Marade(da)ie, which weie inadvertently omitted in line 42 In line 21 several letters were beaten in and in their place the expression mshuva-vachanaka- was incised Tins coirection done in the Vakataka for the or tampering, whatevei it might be, was apparently age, substituted afahmcu are of the same type as the lest of the record The characters aie of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabet i esembling those aie the cursive of the other msciiptions of Pravarasena II The noteworthy peculiarities form of the medial u in sunoh, line 4; the bipartite an m dauhitrasya, line 7, the medial n, which the addition of a curve turned downwards is formed not by the usual curling curve, but by line 31 The on the left of k in -adhiknta, line 23, and the rare medial h in khpt-lopakhptah, for and 3 on the second side of the numerical symbols foi 400 occui m line 20, and those 2 is for two bene- second and the third plate respectively The language Sanskrit, and, except is The shows the dictive and impiecatory verses, the whole iccord m piose 'orthography

aftci ? and before see 9 and usual icduplication of a consonant 7 , aijjava-,lmt Bhaguatthy-,lme6 the Pravarasena II. It with The inscription is one of Vakataka Maharaja opens as in his other his maternal dwhtam The genealogy of the king is given here exactly plates, The of the is to iccord the of grandfather being called Devagupta. object inscription grant II made to a Brahmana 400 mvai tanas of land by the royal measure, which Pravarasena 2 and to the a named Rudrarya, who was veised m two Vedas belonged Vaji-Lohitya got? land donated to him was in the He was a resident of the village Ekarjunaka. The village Velusuka which was situated in the Supratishtha akdta or subdivision The village lay to the west of to the east of Gridhragrama, to the south of Kadambasarajka, Niligrama the on the bank of and to the noith of KSkilara. The plates were issued from royal camp

another instance of a correction inserted in a wrong place, see above, p 39, n. 1 line 15. to is mentioned m the Indore plates, 2A similar gotta, with Vdji prefixed it, Vaji-Kausika of the In both these cases the donees may have belonged to the Vajasaneya Sakha Yajurveda 54 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

the rivet Hiranya on the tenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha in the twenty- fifth 1 of the of II at year , evidently reign Pravarasena The Sendpati the time was Bappadeva. He is mentioned also in the Siwani plates of Pravai asena II The scribe was Maradasa. The donee Rudrarya is styled vishuva-vachanaka (reciter at a vishuva] which suggests that the grant was made on the occasion of a vishuva or equinox The vishuva immediately preceding the date of the grant was that of the Mesha-sankranti falling in Chaitra The grant was evidently made to the Brahmana foi icciting ceitam sacred texts on the occasion of the vishuva or Mesha-sankianti

As for the localities mentioned in the piesent grant, the Supratishtha ahara in which the situated is in two other viz the of village Velusuka was mentioned grants, , Poona plates Prabhavatigupta and the Jamb plates of Pravarasena II It seems to have comprised parts of the Hinganghat, Waiora and Yeotmal tahsils of the Wardha, Chanda and Yeotmal Dis- tricts icspec lively The village Velusuka in which the donated land was situated cannot now be traced, but it seems to have occupied the same position as modern Chmchmandal which lies ]ust on the south of the elbow of the Wunna, for all the boundary villages mentioned in the piesent chartei can be traced in the vicinity of it in the respective directions. Thus Gridhragrama is Gadeghat, about 8 miles to the west, and Niligrama is Niljai, about 5 miles to the east of Chmchmandal. Kadambasaraka is Kosara, about 2 miles to the north Kokilara is modern Khairi which lies about 4 miles to the north-west All the

in It is boundary villages can thus be satisfactorily identified the vicinity of Chinchmandal 5 again noteworthy that Chmchmandal lies only about miles to the south of Wadgaon where the plates were found The river Hiranya is the modern Era!, which flows from north to south in the Waroia tahsil and ultimately joins the Wardha Ekarjunaka where the donee resided is probably Aijuni on the left bank of the Erai, about 16 miles north-east of Warora, the chief town of the Warora tahsil. TEXT?

Fust Plate

[V] I^^Mfe^smjsFreffcr^^

2 3 4 5

6 ^m'^i'Ri (^nr) Ta^^(^)ftnr^r^f^(^)^^H^^^ 7 ^q-^j^" t"1! M

Second Plate First Side

8

1 Lines 20-21 of the present plates state that the grant was made in the twentieth year, but this i ( probably a mistake Perhaps pancha was omitted before visatima in line 20 What looks like the syllabi* ncha at the end of the last line may have been part of pancha inserted m the wrong place It is unlikely that the grant remained unregistered for five years 2 From the facsimiles facing pages 76 and 77, Ep 2nd, Vol XXVII. 3 Expressed by a symbol 4 Re ad *rrer?^- 5 Read ^TRT^r 6 The engraver at first incised W, which he after changed into ?TT CORPUS INSCEIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL PLATE XII

WADGAON PLATES OF PRAVAHASENA II 28

32

34

36

38

40

42 WADGAON PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 55

9

Second Plate. Second Side

15 16 17 18

19 ft^R"^ ^TTT^T ^TFT (*Rf ) ^tft)^K^(^T) t^g^TFT 20 21

Plate Fust Side

11 k fi^ijsil^l ^rUft" 22 M.^M't'^ (^T)ta^tM (sqf )T [l ^ oc| Tfe-M 23 ( ^T ) 24

! *fir

29 30 SR^Rt fe vR^ ftr 3HKKMt<4.H?^n; ( ) [^] ( ) tiw-alnwct ^533 f 31 ^^(ft")^ & ( 32

akshara, \\iliich \vas omitted at first, has been \vntlen in a small form 2 The medial z of this akshara has been subsequently shortened 3 The engraver at first incised kn and subsequently changed it into sn 4 Just below this word, the aksharas Maiade(da}s[e] have been incised, but theii proper place seems to be after Bdppadeve, line 42 5 Read isnrm^T b just before this word there is the numerical symbol for 2 denoting the numbei of the plate. 7 Read t^RHIcf 8 This msarga is icdundant. 9 1 Read fWfa?r^ This is probably a mistake for ^s^f^rfeR See the regnal year mentioned in line 41. 10 These seven akshatas are of a large size and have been incised ovei others which were carefully beaten in 1 * Read ^Fffarzr and ^RcTozrnr so as to make them agree with ^ST^fa 12 Read f^cl^^irTWzn' 1 3 This should a like the di after of the record that the of the qualify word sur , but forgot object grant was four hundred mvartanas of land, not the whole village 14Read ifznST fa?m*T 15 Just before this word there is the symbol for 3, denoting the number of the plate. 56 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

33 34 35

Fourth Plate

J 36 fro? 2^ *nrfe (f ) f (fzarfa) [\ ] 3rfFr(f^r)^ [

37

oi 38 '*r w \ t =hTi F^rTf TIT 39 40

41 <=ii^w ii^n ^f ii 42 TRANSLATION

Success ' Seen From the camp on the nver Hiranya the By order of the illustrious Pravarasena (BE), the Mahdidja of the Vakatakas and a devout worshippei of Mahesvara, who, by the grace of Sambhu, has established the Kntd-yuga (Golden Age) (on the eaitk), who was born of Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Maharajadhnaja, the illustuous Devagupta, (and) who is the son of the illustrious Rudrasena (II), the Makaidja of the Vakatakas

translation lines see 13-14 (For of 1-14, above, pp ) a in the dhdra ( Then is] village named Velusuka of Supratishtha, which lies to the east of GridHragrama, to the south of Kadambasaraka, to the west of Niligrama and to the north of Kokilara. From this (milage) four hundred mvaitanas> (infigures) 400 of land by the

royal measure have been donated to Rudrarya of the Vaji-Lohitya gotta, who resides at Ekarjunaka and who has recited (the Vedic mantms) on the occasion of the Equinox (Vishuva).

(Foi tianslation of lines 22-37, see above., pp 14-15 and p. 32)

The (following) two verses sung by Vyasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point two benedictive and verses (Here follow impiecatoiy }

(Line 41). (This chartei has been) written by Maradasa, while Bappadeva is the Sendpati, on the tenth (lunar day) of the bright (fortnight) or Jyeshtha in the twenty-fifth there be (regnal) year. May happiness'

2 Read 3 Read 4 Read 5 The superscript ?r of this ahshara has been wrongly cancelled Read 6 Metre of this and the next verse Anushtubh 7 Read 8 Read 9 etter of this which was h has been The superscnpt conjunct corrected into p. 10 1 Reacl JTR^TCfa. The aksharas ^K^l^ which were inadvertently omitted here were afterwards in the lower corner below line 14 on the first side of the wrongly incised right second plate* 11 Read fetfwtr There is an ornamental figure after this word

12 is a of the word omitted before in - This possibly part ^^- sftenffa line 20 above 4 13 Read RrW" or No 13- PLATE XIII

PATTAN PLATES OF PRAVARASENA fl

plates were discovered at Pattan, a village in the Multai tahsil of the Betul THESEDistrict in Madhya Pradesh They were turned up in a field by the plough of a farmer m 1935 They were later acquired for the Central Museum, Nagpur, where they are now I with facsimiles in the Vol 81 f. deposited edited them Epigiaphia Indica> XXIII, pp. They are edited heie from the same facsimiles The copper-plates are five in number, of which the fust and the last are inscribed on one side only and the remaining three on both the sides Each plate measures 6*9" by 4" and is about 1" m thickness The ends of the plates aie neither fashioned thicker nor raised into rims for the protection of the writing About 1 9" from the proper right side the connected the of each plate theie is a hole, |-" in diameter, for ring which originally the reached the the had been and plates When plates Nagpui Museum, ring straightened the seal must its seal, which is a round disc, separated from it The usual band to which have been rivetted is not forthcoming now The weight of the plates is 134: tolas and that Their of the seal, 8 1 tolas. The plates are not now in a good state of preservation surface, rust which originally was not made quite smooth, has been fuither damaged by Many lines have been almost letters in the right half of line 45 and most of those in the two following from the tiaces left obliterated by friction, but can be read, though with some difficulty, the first of the third on the plate Each inscribed surface contains six lines, except side lines it The seal contains the usual Vakataka plate which has only five inscribed on legend m verse, inscribed m four lines. The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets The only

medial t is denoted peculianties that call for notice are as follows, The (long) generally by but in one case a ringlet in the curve which represents its short form, (viz., Bhdgiratthy-, and another a dot in the circle line 7) by a curve turned in the opposite direction, m by (cf. in line the medial au Sn-Pravatasenasya, line 19); the medial o is cursive Lohanagara-, 20; no notch on the left as in line 10 is bipartite everywhere; the subscript j and$ have -aijjava-, its small form and in some cases and -ajur-bbala, line 27, a final consonant is indicated by line and dattam line by a short horizontal stioke at the top, cf Ptavarapwal, 1, > 23; and line 3 of the the upadhmamya occurs in lines 15, 18, and 35 of the inscription m legend curved lines on the seal Punctuation is indicated by two or three vertical and somewhat followed by a dash. seal and the The language is Sanskrit Except for the legend on the customary in It abounds in. benedictive and imprecatory verses at the end, the whole record is prose verbal and nominal deriva- mistakes of orthography, sandhi> syntax, declension, conjugation, to the or carelessness of the writer. tives etc , most of which must be attributed ignorance for the vowel as As regards mistakes of orthography, we may note the use of the shoit long as in Pnthim- line 14 and m sunoh, line 4, of n for the vowel n and of h for the vowel h been cf khpt-opakhptah in line 33, in many cases the nilcs of sandh have violated, gunai see forms as line and samup'etasya, line 12, For mistakes of declension, such pmwaya, 25, line 37. As an instance of for those of declension see karayita> line 36, and kwyyamah, wrong nominal notice veibal derivatives, see kaidvaka, lines 46-47 and for that of derivatives, 58 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

rdjakya (for iajakiya}> line 22 The writer has violated an elementary lule of concord m in sutaydh Prabhdvatiguptdyam, line 17 and of compounding in murdhn-abhishiktanan-^ line 7. As icgards orthographical pecuhanties sanctioned by Sanskrit grammar, we may notice that consonant preceding ? and y is doubled in paidkktama-, line 6, and saivvaddhyaksha, line 24, and that following ? is similarly reduplicated in vaiddhamana-, line 13 The inscription, which opens with drishtam, is one of the Vakataka Maharaja Pravara- sena II. His genealogy is given here as in his other plates, his maternal grandfather being called The of the which were issued from 1 Devagupta. object present plates, Pravarapura , is to recoid the of 400 mvat tanas of the measure2 in the grant land, by royal , Asvatthakhetaka for the maintenance of a sattm or charitable feeding house in honour of the foot-prints of 3 Mahapurusha (Vishnu) The village was situated in the mdiga of Varadakheta included in of at the division (blioga) L5hanagara. The gift was made the request of Narayanaraja. The chaiter was written on the seventh day of the dark fortnight of Karttika in the scribe was twenty-seventh (i egnal) year. The Kalidasa who was serving under the Sendpati Katyayana. The record was engraved by the goldsmith Isvaradatta, who was a servant of Kaundaraja. It is stated at the end that Pitamaha and Nanda caused the charter to be drafted

The present plates furnish the last but one date so far known of Pravarasena II's leign The mention of Pravarapui a as the place of issue shows that the city continued to be the loyal capital to the end of his re.ign Kaundaraja whose servant Isvaradatta incised the present charter is evidently identical with Kondaraja, the son of Satrughnaraja, at 4 whose request the grant recoided in the Chammak plates was made The mention of Kalidasa in the present grant raises the interesting question of his with the illustrious Sanskrit of that name is identity poet The latter generally placed in. the Gupta period, but the earliest epigraphical mention of his name occurs in the Aihole of ptasasti Pulakesin II, dated aka 556 (634 A C )5 This is the first time that the name Kalidasa has been discovered in a record of the Gupta period no as a Kalidasa, doubt, figures only scribe in the present grant, but that does not se his with the Sanskrit per disprove identity great poet Such charters were generally drafted and written on clerks in the copper-plates by working office of the Sdndhivigrahika or Minister for peace and war, but sometimes we find even great officers mentioned as writeis of such documents Thus the writer of the Tirodi plates of Pravarasena II was the Chief Minister himself 6 (Rajyddhiknta] Again, according to a tradition iccorded by Ramadasa, a commentator of the Kalidasa Setubandha, composed the Prakrit kdvja for Pravarasena the order of 7 Tins he must by Vikramaditya have done during his sojourn in Vidarbha The idea of the seems to have writing Meghaduta suggested itself to the poet's mind at Ramtek near of the which we Nagpur (Ramagiri Meghaduta}, know was a holy place visited by the

1 Since the was made at the the grant capital, expression vaijayike dhatma-slhane occurs in it as it does in other Vakataka grants made at the capital 2The same expression occurs in the See Wadgaon plates (No 12) also Rajamamka m No. 6, line 18 There have been local may measures called Mshaya-maw Cf SankhBda of Dadda II plates '(Cv II*9 Vol IV, p 77) 3For a similar grant of a later see the slightly peiiod, Podagadh inscription, Ep Ind Vol XXI p. 156 For or see Mahapurusha Mahapurusha meaning Vishnu, the Purana II 1 Bhdgavata ' ' ' 10 ' V** 15, 4 and 6, 17, 16-17, VIII, 6, 32, etc 4 See No 6, line 19 $Ep Ind, Vol. VI, pp 1 f 6No 11, line 32 7 Press ed 3 see also the Nirnayasagar , p 3 colophon of the last canto PATTAN PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 59

Vakatakas 1 It is not unlikely that while in Vidarbha, Kalidasa was attached to the office of the Sendpati as stated in the present record He may therefore be identified with the writer of this grant But a close examination of the present record shows that this view is untenable The scribe of the present plates had a very imperfect knowledge of Sanskrit As pointed out above, there are numerous orthographical and grammatical mistakes, for most of which the writer, not the engiaver, must have been lesponsible On the other hand, Kalidasa had a great command ovei the Sanskrit language He has emphasised the importance of in one of his similes2 and his works contain fewer instances of solecisms than coirect speech , those of his predecessors and successors It is incredible that such a great poet as Kalidasa would commit so manv mistakes of orthography, sandhi, syntax, nominal and verbal forms, the record as it one has to admit that the etc , which disfigure present Disappointing ib, scribe was only a namesake and a contempoiary of, but not identical with, the prince of ddsa were current in Sanskiit poets We may note heie that similar names ending in Vidarbha in the age of the Vakatakas Thus we know of Namidasa, a Sendpati, Chamidasa, the Chief Minister, as well as the writers Chakradasa, Goladasa and Maiadasa As for the localities mentioned in the pi esent grant, Varadakheta is probably Warud in the MorsI tahsil of the Amaiavati Distiict, about 12 miles south of Pattan Lohanagara, the headquarters of an ancient division, may be represented by Loni, about 9 miles south- land was west of Warud The name of the village Asvatthakhetaka, in which the donated the situated, can no longer be tiacecl, its site seems to be occupied by modem village is now included in Pattan Tiadition says that the ancient village, the site of which a Muslim saint Pattan, was turned upside clown and buried underground by the curse of of Sulaiman Shah3 Even now when excavations are made, large-size bricks, beads onyx an and old coins are found there, which also shows that the modern village is occupying from Multai to Warud old site It may, again, be noted that Pattan lies on the way have been included in the (ancient Varadakheta), and may, therefore, mdrga (territorial division) of Varadakheta. TEXl 4

Fust Plate

[\*] 2 3 4 5

6 I M I'

Second Plate First Side

l No 8, line 1 t-Kumarasambhava, canto I, v 27. ?>Betul District Gazetteer, p. 256 4 Ind Vol XXIII From the facsimiles facing pages 86-J m Ep , 5 Read ST5TR 6 Read 3^r- 7 Read 60 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

8 Hi^i?fi"(ftr)' 9 10

1 1

r *i 12 Rd^^^fo^fa^WMM^ir^mO U J Second Plate ' Second Side

13 14 15 16 17 18

Thud Plate Fust Side

19 20

21 ^^I^IM^ft ^TFTt zff3&j [|*]sr5f ^R TT- 22 10 23 ^^TTtWt^ iKWKivi|[ct;ai-ii?T ^rHT C\ *S f|*]L J Third Plate Second Side

Fotath Plate Fust Side

sf 12 30 (sf )?rniT(^)^K-H^UlP=ld

1 The box at the top of 37 is not completely incised 2 All othei Vakataka discovered so fai 1 grants lead TlRnfrpTCq JWT, thus making the construction The in the ambiguous leading present plates shows that the adjectival expressions from ^vpffi^T onwards qualify ^Sfa^T 3 This expression is unnecessarily repeated 4 Read 5 Read 6 Read 7 Read 8 Read 9 The engraver has cancelled a icdundant stroke on the left of cTT 10 Read snftsqrft' and - 11 The construction is here We should have either *l *l faulty trctf [?rf*r ^rf^T^f or Tri^r^j^

12 Read The writer has that qfjqrsn' fwU'H' forgotten the present grant was made to a temple and not to Brahmanas versed in the four Vedas Notice ^r^WHw^ in lines 36-37 below. Some of the and laid down here are in the case of a prohibitions exemptions appropriate only gift of a whole village. COKPUS INSCRIPTION UM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE XIII

PATTAN PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

12

16

18 28

30

34 PATTAN PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 61

32 33 34 35 ^)^^^)TfeT^xMr<^4ftd^^ [i*] Fourth Plate Second Side

36 37 38 39

40 M^i^il^Ti^T" [i*]

Fifth Plate

' ^fkfir J 42 ^r^q^^if^i ^^nr rfe[ i*j 43 44 45 46 47

2 ^^VlKt^Mfer [l*J 3 4

TRANSLATION

Seen Hail 1 From Pravarapura By the order of the Illustrious Pravarasena (II), the Maharaja of the Vakatakas, and a devout worshipper of Mahesvara, who, by the grace of Sambhu, has established the the of Kntayuga (Golden Age) (on the earth], who was born of Prabhavatigupta, daughter the Maharajadhiraja, the illustiious Devagupta, (and) who is the son of the illustrious Rudra- sena (U), the Maharaja of the Vakatakas

(Fot translation of lines 1-16, see above, pp 13-14) in the (The residents of) the village led by the Brahmanas m Asvatthakhetaka marga addressed as follows* of Varadakheta (included) in the bhoga of Lohanagara, should be

] Read 2 Read 3 The anusvdra is superfluous 4 Metre of this and the next verse Anushtubh 5 Read 6 a fault in What looks like a dot in the middle of the circle denoting medial i is probably due to the copper 7 The letters in the brackets can be read with certainty on the original plate. 8 Read g^rof^^trr 9 Metre Anushtubh 62 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

In this village We ha\e donated, at the request of Narayanaraja, four hundred mvartanas of land by the royal measure, to be utilised for the charitable feeding house (attached to the temple of) Mahapurusha (Vishnu) translation lines see 14-15 and (For of 24-39, above, pp p 32 ) (Line 39). And the following two veises sung by Vvasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point

occm benedictive and veises (Heie two impucatoiy )

(Line 43) (This charter has been) written by Kalidasa, a servant of the Sendpah Katyayana on the seventh (lunar day) in the dark fortnight of karttika m the twenty-

seventh (legnal) year, (It has been) engraved by the goldsmith Isvaradatta, a servant of KaundarSJa. The executors of this (wyal) charter are Pitamaha and Nanda.

Seal

translation the on the see (Foi of legend seal, above, p 27 ) OOEPUS INSCKIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE X

PATTAN PLATES OJF PKAVAEASENA II

10 b

40

46

Seal

No 14 PLATE XIV

PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA H

plates are said to have been found in 1942 when the old house of one Kadu THESEPatil was being demolished atTIgaon, a village six miles North by West from Pandhurna on the Itaisi-Nagpm line of the Central Railway, in the Chhindwara Distiict of Madhya Pradesh Later, they reached the hands of Mr M G Karmk, IAS, while he was Deputy Commissions at Chhindwara They were brought to my notice in Octobei 1957 by Mr V. P Rode, who had seen and deciphered them partially at Mr Karnik's icsidence At my lequest Mr Karnik very kindly allowed Mr Krishna Dev, Superintendent, Archaeological Department, to take their estampages, from which I first deciphered the record Latei, Di B Ch Chhabra, Goveinment Epigraphist, kindly supplied me with a set of ink impressions which are reproduced here I ha\e received some help in the decipherment and interpretation of this grant from Mr N L Rao I am grateful to all these friends who have helped me in one way or another I edit the recoid here from the impressions received from Mi Krishna Deva and Dr B Ch. Chhabia The copper-plates are five in number, each measuring 7 5" by 3 7" The first and the last plate are inscribed on one side only and the remaining three on both the sides The 5" in for the neither the plates have a hole, diameter, ling which strung them together, but ring nor the seal which it must have carried has been found All the plates are in a good state of preseivation. Their weight is 195 tolas The record consists of 55 lines, which are unevenly distubuted on the eight sides of the six and others seven or lines inscribed first five plates, some having eight on them The two and the last two plates are neatly engraved The letters on the third plate are, however, carelessly incised In some places they are impeifectly foimed or run into one another The language of this poition of the record is very faulty and contains some Prakrit words and affixes This clearly indicates that this plate is spurious. It seems to have been substituted for the original third plate of the grant The characters aie of the box-headed variety The following peculiarities may be noted: The medial i (long) is shown either by a dot in a curve as in -kaliya, line 42, or by two is as in curves, one inside the other, as in sri-Pravai asenaya inline 4, the medial an bipartite as in lines the letter / has dauhiti asya, line 8, t and n are sometimes confused ac/ickkenta, 51-52, it cmves to the see geneially a short vertical on the right, but sometimes sharply left, Lckhapalhkd- in line 26, the sign of jihvamuliya occurs in line 43 and the numerical symbols

for 20, 9, 7 and 5 in lines 27, 28, 30, 31 and 53 at the The language is Sanskrit, and except for two benedictivc and imprecatoiy verses as shown end, the whole iccoid is in prose The portion on the third plate, which, above, and contains some Prakrit words such as is probably spurious, is very carelessly drafted

vatthavva or vdtthavva (foi vastavyd) m lines 28 and 31, tmdpdnuma orpdnuvisa (For panchammfati) in lines 26 and 29. Some of the expressions used in this portion are, again, very obscure; in line 31 In other the record see, e g padannatdtz in line 28 and mjuttinaiati parts present As we note does not present any difficulties of inteipretation regards orthography, may for the that a nasal is used for anusvaia as in ansa-, line 5 and tnnse, line 53, h is used

consonant ? is as in vowel h in sa-khpt-opakhpta in line 41 and the following reduplicated abhivaiddhamana-) line 13 64 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

f * The record opens with the word dnshtam seen The charter was granted by the Vakataka king Pravarasena II. His genealogy is given here as in his other grants, his maternal grandfather being called Rajadhirdja Devagupta. The plates were issued from the temple of Pravaresvara, but the place where this temple was situated has not been mentioned PravaresVara was the evidently name of the Sivahnga installed by the Vakataka king Pravarasena I and named after himself The territorial division in which the temple was situated is called PravareSvara-shadvimsati-vataka in the Belora plates (two sets), issued in the of early part Pravarasena II's reign Its exact location cannot be determined, but it was probably situated in the Wardha District The is in line 53 on the piesent grant dated, 3 tenth tithi of the dark fortnight of Vais'akha in the twenty-ninth regnal year of Pravarasena II It is the last known of this It was written 1 grant king. by Acharya while Madhappa was the Sendpati The of the object present inscription was to record the gift of two thousand mvartanas of land in the village Dhuvavataka included in the territorial division of Varuchcharajya, to several Brahmanas of different Charanas (Sakhas) and gotras Only four of them viz Yajnarya, Bhojarya, Somarya and Dharmarya are mentioned by name All of them belonged to the or White Vajasaneya Tajurveda, and the first three of them are explicitly stated to be of Kaundinya gotra The villages Brahmanavataka, Ajakarna, Badarigrama and Darhha- are patha mentioned while stating the boundaries of Dhuvavataka This donated land was in 2 given exchange for another village named VijayapalKvataka which had been previously gifted by Prithiviraja i e by Prithivishena I In the spurious third plate which was inserted in the charter later, two other gifts of twenty-five mvartanas each, together with an additional mvartana for building a residential house, are recorded on the occasion of tilavdchanaka a (i.e sraddhd) m favour of the Brahmana Somarya, who was one of the donees of the original grant and resided at Kallara. The first piece of land was situated in the of and village Lekhapallika the second in that of Sarigamika, both being included in the territorial division called Arammirajya. Both these to have been gifts purport made in the same regnal year as the original grant, viz. the but the first was twenty-ninth, given on the seventh day of the fifth fortnight, and the second on the ninth of day the seventh fortnight of the rainy season It will be noticed that this method of a recording gift in a season, a fortnight and a day is different from that used in line 53 while the registering original gift viz by citing a month, a bright or dark fortnight and a tithi. Such season dates occur in only two other Vakataka inscriptions viz the Basim 3 of plates Vindhyasakti II and the Dudia plates* of Pravarasena II. This difference m the two dating gifts adds to the suspicion about the genuineness of the third m which are plate they recorded It seems plain that the Brahmana Somarya, in whose favour are said to have been they made, got the third plate prepared and engraved, and surreptitiously inserted it in the original charter As for the localities mentioned in this grant, VijayapalHvataka may be Bijagora on the left bank of the Kanhan, about four miles to the north of the Multai-Chhmdwara road. the of Varuchcha, headquarters the Varuchcha-rajya, may be Varegaon, about four miles west of Pandhurna The village Dhuvavataka, in which the donated land was situated, cannot now be but two of its traced, boundary villages still exist in the neighbourhood

was the scribe of the Siwanl plates (No 7) also. 2 For another such exchange, see No 15, lines 6-7 3 No 23, line 28 and 29. 4 No. 10, line 28. PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 65 of Tigaon Thus be modern Badarigrama may Borgaon which lies about two miles to the north, and Ajakarna may be the same as about four Ajangaon, miles south by east of Tigaon The two villages "and Lekhapallika Sangamika mentioned in the spurious third plate as situated in the territorial division of be Arammi-rajya may identical with Lakhapur near Chikhall on the Multai-Chhmdwara and load, Sangam near the confluence of the rivers Kanhan and Bel the Arammi, headquarters of the territorial division in which they were situated, be identical with a station on the may Amla, Itarsi-Nagpur line of the Central Railway is also mentioned in the Dudia Arammirajya plates* which, again, were found in the Chhindwara District Kallara where the Brahmana was Somarya residing may be about 13 miles north of Kherli, Multai The other places cannot be identified TEST?

First Plate

T [(*] ^cK<$c(jtf^Rra; [i*] 2 3 4 5

l =1 H | 6 ^ bd^H 4H d

Second Plate: First Side 8 9 10

12 13 14

Second Plate: Second Side

15 15 w^ ^ft ^Nd^wiq- (q- ) 16

! No. 10, line 13 2 From ink-impressions supplied by Mr Krishna Dev and Dr. B. Gh. Chhabra. 3 Read 4 Here and in several places below, the rules of sandkt have not been observed. 5 Read 6 Read 7 This mark of punctuation is redundant. 8 Read 9 Read 10 Read 11 Read as in *ftenfl3iw 3,1 tM' other cognate grants. 12 Read {

14 Read ^ 15 Read 16 Read ^ft . The following word is redundant. 66 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

17 18 19 20 21

u ^x1< i 22 ^ft(ft)^PT^f^r ^Tm^T *T^ t^TF^ ^"[ *] Third Plate: Fust Side

23 24 25 26 27 28

Third Plate. Second Side

29 23 2 25 26 30 ^r w =tmN^ iriRm 'Ri^NH* ^r^ ^r^ o ^ ^nr vs fer 31 32 33

1 In other Vakataka grants this title is mentioned as 2 This akshara is redundant 3 Read 4 Re ad 5 Read 6 Read 7 Read 8 Read 9 Read Sffivzfr after 10 ! Read ^ (qualifying *f^a t in this \ery hne) 11 Read 12 Read 13 Read

15 Read i fi Read 17 The meaning of this is not clear to me 18 Read 19 Read 20 Read 21 Re ad 22 Read 23 Read 24 Read

26 Read 27 Read 28 This date appears supeifluous 29 The meaning of this is not clear to me. 30 Read 31 W 6^'- 31 Read ^cTT (qualifying arfa: in line 29 above) CORPUS JNSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL Y Plate XIV

PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

tt,a

14 14

22 oo PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

26

28

32

34 34

40 40 PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II 67

34

Fourth Plate - Fust Side

35 36

37 cTT[*] ^ 38 39 40 * 7 4i

Fourth Plate Second Side

42 *r ^r 43 crx^[*] 5PwiRT[*] ( ) TF^r^[ *] ^rqit+i -ct$iti riH

46 ^T ^r^^BTf(^) Ji^?H [l*] 47 ^T 48 TlHMr<^Kk^(^f) ^xS^IH [ *] [l*

Fifth Plate

1 49 ^jfcfrT 5pRrprN>^ft[i*3 ^^(rrr) T^^crr(TTT) [^r] ^ 9 so ^ncrRr[i*] ^^(^T) ^id^ji^^ Hst^ |^nr [n ? n*] si wt(fe) ^^^ifui ^F^pf ^Ri ijl^r [i*] 52 53 L 54 fofed ^TPT^ft ^(^ H t TT 55

TRANSLAIION

Seen From the place of the temple of Pravaresvara of the who, By the order of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), the Mahwaja Vakatakas, who by the grace of Sambhu, has established the Knta-yuga (Golden Age) (on the earth], was born of Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Rdjddlmdja, the illustrious Devagupta, of the the of the Vakatakas (and) who is the son illustrious Rudrasena (II), Mahdtdja

2 Read -^^^T if it has to qualify some word like 3 Read 4 Read 5 Read 6 like flPT are really inappli- Read anrg^l^Mir^r These expressions, which qualify some \vord , cable here as the object of the gift is some land and not a village. 7 Read g-fST^crq^cT 8 Read ^r^TST. 9 Metre of thus and the following verse- Anushiubh lORead ^W^tr^rfw _ . as the scnbe m unc "fofe- is unnecessarily repeated Read arPTRT. Acharya is mentioned 35 of the Siwani plates (No. 7) also 68 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

lines 1 to see 13-14 (For translation of 19, above, pp ) for 1 (Line 19) In exchange Vijayapallivataka granted by Prithiviraja , land, measuring two thousand mvartanas by the royal measure in (the milage) Dhuvavataka, situated lies in in (the territorial division called) Varuchcha-rajya which the low ground by the western boundary of the village Brahmanavataka, to the north of the way to the village Ajakarna, to the east of the village Badari and to the west of (the milage) Darbhapatha, has been donated (by Us) to Brahmanas of various gotras and charanas (Line 23) The recipients (of the gift) are as follows (This land) has been donated of are to Brahmanas, the foremost whom Yajnarya and Bhojarya of the Vajasaneya (sakha) and the Kaundinya gdtra, Somarya of the Vajasaneya (sakha) and Kaundinya gotra, and Dharmarya of the Vajasaneya (sakha) at the (Line 26) Further, here place of religious worship (for Our well-being) in this the at and other world the recitation (of sacred texts) accompanied by a libation of sesamum 2 3 seeds , on the in the of the land 7th day 5th (fortnight) ssgth (regnal) year , measuring twenty- five mvartanas by the royal measure together with a nivartana for residence, situated in the village Lekhapallika included in (the territorial division) Arammi-rajya, has been donated to Somarya of the Vajasaneya (sakha) and the Kaundinya gotra, residing at Kallara. here at the (Line 29) Again, place of religious worship (for Our well-being) in this and the other at the recitation sacred world, (of texts), accompanied by (a libation of) sesamum seeds, on the in the the season in the 4 gth day yth (fortnight of) rainy (regnal) year 9 , land mvartanas with a nivartana for measuring twenty-five together residence, situated in (the village) in Sangamika (the territorial division) Arammi-rajya, has been donated to Somarya of the Vajasaneya (Sakha) and the Kaundinya gotra, residing at Kallara. (Line 32) Wherefore, Our officers of noble birth, who are employed by the order of the Sarvddhyaksha (General Superintendent) and who exercise their authority by (Our) soldiers and command, (Our) policemen should be directed by the following command which is well-known (to them) . " Be it known to that m order to increase you (Our) religious merit, power and victory and to secure in this world and the (Our) well-being next, (the aforementioned land) has been, donated as a gift not with the out of previously made, pouring water at our victorious place of religious worship

(For translation lines 36 to see 14-15 of 48, above, pp and p. 32 ) And the (Line 48) following verses sung by Vyasa should be regarded as authoritative on this point

(Hete occur two benedictwe and verses imprecatory ) (Line 52) (This charter) has been written by Acharya, a servant of Madhappa, on the tenth (tithi) of the dark of fortnight the month Vaisakha in the twenty-ninth- (in 20 figures) (and) g-year, Madhappa being the Sendpati

l Le , by Prithivlshena I 2 /

VOL. V , Plate XIV (Contd.)

PANDHURNA PLATES OF PRAVARASENA II

46

48

No 15. PLATE XV PATNA MUSEUM PLATE OF PRAVARASENA H

1HIS plate was first brought to notice by Dr AS Altekar, who edited it without facsimiles in the the Bihar and Onssa Research Vol 465 f Its T Journal of Society 3 XIV, pp. exact find-spot was long unknown In his introductory remarks Dr Altekar stated that e * it was found somewhere in the Central Provinces Dr K P Jayaswal remarked in his 150 A to 350 A that it came from Dr Hiralal History of India, D D , p 74, Jabalpur thought, on the other hand, that the present plate belonged to the set of three or four plates found

1 near Ramtek in Vidarbha, most of which are now missing The present plate records the grant of a village and mentions its boundaries on all sides, but in the absence of definite information about its provenance none of the places could be satisfactorily identified After a good deal of correspondence in 1936, I succeeded in settling the provenance of the plate, which enabled me to identify the places mentioned in it I published a note on it in the Journal of the Nagpur University, No II, pp 48 f I edit it here from an excellent facsimile to the of the late Rai Saheb Curator of the of it, which I owe courtesy Manoranjan Ghosh, Patna Museum From the information supplied by Dr P N Sen of Narsmghpur it seems that the the foundation of the one plate was discovered in about 1919, while digging bungalow (or who of its out-houses) of the District Superintendent of Police at fialaghat. Dr P N Sen, was then Civil Surgeon at Balaghat, received the present plate from the District Superinten- he could not and sent it to his brother Rai Bahadur dent of Police (whose name recollect) , Manmath Nath Sen Dr Sen does not know what became of the other plates of the set Mr M N Sen who was then Sub-divisional Officer at Jamatra, Santa! Pargana, presented Central it to the Patna Museum through the Superintendent of Archaeological Survey, Circle, Patna It has since then been deposited in that Museum ' 4 at the 7 5" in The plate measures about 7 25" by 2" the ends, length is, however, a the middle The thickness is T It is quite smooth and nicely preserved, hardly single nor raised into rims letter has been damaged Its edges are neither fashioned thicker so do not show on the reverse Letters are distinct, but not very deep, that they through the of the about an inch from the The engraving is good. . . Towards proper right plate, in diameter It was intended for to centre, there is a hole about 35" obviously the^nng ones for a time connected this with the remaining pass through, which must have long plate 2 is 30 tolas '. of the set The weight of the plates resemble The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets They Pravarasena II The that those of the other grants of the Vakataka king only peculiarities and the sub- need be noted here are as follows The rare initial at occurs in aihik-, line 7, in kulumbmo line 4 The medial % is turned to the right script jh m Madhukajjharyyd in (short) d and d are line 5, the medial au is bipartite as in Kaundinya, line 8; clearly distinguished, is Sanskrit line 3 The ih is shown with a ringlet at the bottom as in Millukadratha-, language noticed As the peculiarity and the extant portion is wholly m prose regards orthography, only

1/.CJPJ7, p 5. 2 S. 465-66 J.B R 9 Vol XIV, pp. 70 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

is the of the consonant i as in line 3 reduplication following -mmgge, The msaiga is incorrectly omitted in several places The upadhmdmya occurs in line 6 The present plate is probably the third plate of a set of four or five plates. As in other grants of Pravarasena II, the first two plates must have contained the name of the place of issue and the genealogy of the donor The record on the present plate commences with the description of Pravarasena II as the son of Prabhavatigupta and as one who carried the sula obtained by the favour of (the god) Sambhu This is the only giant of Pravarasena II

is in this the in which he described manner, usual expression being Sambhoh prasdda-dhnti(ta)- Kaitayugasya meaning that he had established the Knta-yuga or the Golden Age on the earth

1 by the grace of the god Sambhu The expression in the present plate makes a better sense and recalls a similai description of the Bharasivas that their royal family was created by the god Siva, who was pleased by their canying his linga (or emblem such as tnfula) on their shoulders The object of the present plate is to record the grant, by the Vakataka Mahdtdja Prava- to thi son of rasena II, of the village Sriparnaka ee Brahmanas, mz , Gangarya, Vedarya, of of the Bharadvaja goto a, Vasurarya of the Kaundinya gotta and Rudrarya the Taittiriya sdkha and Kaundinya gotra The donated village was situated in the mdrga of Sundhati and lay to the east of Brahmapuraka, to the west of Millukadratha, to the north of Madhu- kajjhart and to the south of Darbhaviraka. The grant was made in exchange for the of previous gift of the village Manapallika which was situated on the marga Yasapura. 2 is not in the Siwam the The reason which necessitated this exchange stated As plates , village granted is described as sa-pafichasatka, the meaning of which is uncertain Fleet ' ' doubtfully suggested that the expression possibly meant with fifty hamlets This does not 3 appear to be correct Dr Altekar thinks that it indicates some fiscal privilege Peihaps c 4 ' it means together with the sales tax amounting to one-fiftieth of the sale price It is noteworthy that the grant was made by Pravarasena II for the accumulation of religious merit and for (well-being in) this world and the next of his mother (mdtn-bhattdnka)

1 This shows that the present plate does not belong to the same set as the Ramtek plate *, for the latter records a grant made by Pravarasena II for the increase of his own icligious merit, this the next life, strength and prosperity as well as foi his well-being in world and The extant portion mentions no elate that As for the places mentioned in the present plates, Dr. Altekar thought Brahma- 6 puraka was the same village which was gifted by Pravarasena II by his Siwam plates He identified it with Biahmanawada near Achalpur This identification is not coirect, for Brahmapuraka mentioned in the Siwam plates was situated in the Bennakarparabhoga which, 7 as we have seen, comprised the territory in the vicinity of the Benna or Wamganga It could not have been situated so far in west in the Achalpur tahsil of the Amaravati District . Dr. Altekar's identification of Madhukajjhari with the Madhunadi mentioned in the Chammak for reason plates cannot also be accepted the same As the plates were discovered at Balaghat, we must search for the places mentioned in them in the vicinity of that town.

iSee, eg, No 3, lines 15-16 2 No 7, line 20 SJBO.RS, Vol XIV, p 475. 4 Cf. Mamsmnti, VII, 130 5 See No 16, lines 2-3 6J B.O.R.S,Vo\ XIV, p 472 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICAKUM

VOL V PLATE -XV

PATNA MUSEUM PLATE OF PEAVAHASENA II

PATNA MUSEUM PLATE OF PRAVARASENA II 71

I have been able to some of them identify with the help of detailed Survey maps Brahma* is about puraka probably Bahmani, 12 miles north by west of Balaghat It lies on the load connects Lalburra with which Samnapur The latter may represent ancient Sundha or Sundhapura. Madhukajjhari is probably Murjhar, about 3 miles south-east of Bahmani, and modern 2 miles north Millukadratha, Mugardara, by east of Bahmani Nothing to can be traced in the of corresponding Sripamaka vicinity these places, but it was probably situated between Bahmani and Mugardara Darbhaviraka cannot now be traced It will thus be seen that like the villages named in the Tirodii 1 the plates , villages in the can be traced the mentioned present grant m Balaghat District As shown elsewhere, the villages mentioned in the Siwam plates can be located in the Bhandara District2 These identifications show that the country under the direct rule of Piavarasena II comprised the modem districts of Balaghat and Bhandara and extended to the western boundaiy of Dakshina Kosala

TEXT3

Thud Plate. Fust Side

2 3 4 5

Third Plate. Second Side

6 u 7 ^nRf^g ^i^'-HidiR^iii ( rr) *

TRANSLATION

two this aie not (The just plates of gtant foi thcommg )

By the ordei of the illustrious Pravarasena (II), the Mahdiaja of the Vakatakas, horn of Prabhavatigupta, who, by the grace of Sambhu, wields a spear, There a named in the territorial division of ( is) village Sriparnaka, (matgo) Sundhati, to the east of (which lies) Brahmapuraka, to the west of Millukadratha and to the noith of Madhukajjhari and to the south of Darbhaviraka. The householdeis and residents of the

1 \bove, pp. 48 f 2 Above, p 29 3 From mk impressions supplied by the Guiator of the Patna, Museum. 4 The dot in the superscript curve of this akshata is probably clue to a fault in the coppei. 5 Read JnTT^PT^FTT ^W^T as in other cognate grants 6 Perhaps WJTTFrf was intended 7 The expression is incomplete Read ^f^FnTfsjRjt^gpf . Gf. ^T'T^cn^ which occurs in several cognate plates. 8 Read ^^T3^- as the diafter has used a compound containing the names of the three donees. 9 The anusvara on this akshara may have been cancelled. 79 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

that for the increase of the merit and for the village should be informed religious well-being, in this world and the next, of Oui Queen-Mother, We have donated (this) village extending the sale to to its boundaries together with the right to levy a tax of one-fiftieth (of price) (the son of of the of the Brahmanas) Gangarya, Vedarya, Bharadvaja gotra y Vasurarya Kaundmya the and in for the gotra (and) Rudrarya of Kaundmya (gotra) Taittiriya Sdkhd, exchange the division of previously donated Manapallika m territorial (mdrga) Yasapura.

the are not (The subsequent plates of grant forthcoming ) No 16 PLATE XVI RAMTEK PLATE OF PRAVARASENA H

plate belongs to a set of about five copper-plates which was discovered a few THISyears ago by some contractors while digging for manganese at Mansar nearRamtek, about 28 miles from Nagpur The contractors divided the plates among themselves After some of them had left the province, the news of the discovery reached Mr G P Dick, Barrister- could recover at-Law of Nagpur, who consequently only one of the plates It was m his possession until his departure for England Subsequently, it seems to have been lost Dr Hiralal, to whom impressions and photographs of the plate were sent soon after it was dis- account of it in his covered, gave a short Inscriptions inCP and Berar (second edition), pp 4-5 I As the plate was unpublished, requested Dr. Hiralal to send its ink impressions to me He complied with my request, but the impressions were lost in transit He subsequently sent me its photographs, fiom which I edited it with facsimiles in the Nagpur University Journal, No. Ill, pp 20-21 I edit it here from the same facsimiles As shown below, the present plate records a Vakataka grant A Vakataka copper- plate inscription generally consists of five plates Of them, the first two contain the genealogy of the donor, commencing from his ancestor Pravarasena I On the third plate are generally given the particulars about the grant the occasion on which it was made, the name, of Its etc The fourth gotra etc. of the donee, the name the village. boundaries, plate enumerates the conditions of the grant and the immunities allowed to the donee This is followed by the usual benedictive and imprecatory verses, the regnal year when the grant was made and the names of the writer and the Dutaka, which occupy the fifth plate. The of the fourth present plate, which contains an enumeration the immunities, is, therefore, measure 5'6" 3 1*. or penultimate plate of its set. The photographs sent by Dr Hiralal by for the About 1 3" from the proper right end of them there is a round hole, 3* in diameter, ring which must have originally held the plates together. As the scale of the photographs is not known, it is not possible to state the exact dimensions of the original plate Judged by to been in a state the photographs which have considerably faded, the plate seems have good rust of preservation, only two or three letters in the last two lines being slightly damaged by than There are five lines on either side The fifth line on the first side is somewhat shorter left corner the rest as there was no sufficient space for more letters In the lower proper and The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets closely worth resemble those of the other grants of Pravarasena II The only peculiarities noticing is m Vakataka records, is shown by are that (i) the medial au, which generally bipartite the made to turn to the two curves in pautra, line 7, the curve on right hand being wrongly left is a curve to the (d left; (li) the sign for the medial i (long) curling generally turning the In lines it turns to the (ill) signs kshtra-, line 4), but In bhunjitah (for bhunjatah) 7-8, right, 8 The language is for the jihvamuliya and upadhmdmya occur In lines 4 and respectively be seen from the transcript given Sanskrit, and the extant portion is wholly m prose As will Absence of saadhis, below, the record has been written very Incorrectly and carelessly. forms like kuryydt and omission of the msarga, the use of n for n and of Incorrect grammatical in all Similar mistakes are, however, noticed kdrayita are some <5>f the mistakes glaring more words at the end of line 1 and several Vakataka grants The scribe has omitted some In the notes to the transcribed text after atm-anugmhaya In line 3 as shown below 74 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

As the first three plates aie not forthcoming now, all important particulars such as the names of the donor and the donee, the land or the village granted, its boundaries etc are lost. But as the characters of the present plate resemble those of the Patna Museum and other plates of the Vakataka king Pravarasena II, the present grant also was probably made by him The opening words of the extant portion state that it was made for the increase of religious merit, life, strength and prosperity of the donor This statement clearly shows that the present plate could not have belonged to the same set as the Patna Museum plate which records a gift for the increase of the religious merit of Pravarasena IPs mother The subsequent portion lecords the usual immunities granted in respect ofagrahdra villages. Except for certain variants, they are identical with those which usually figure in Vakataka copper- plate inscriptions The concluding lines convey the royal order that none should cause an obstacle in the enjoyment of the gift, but that it should by all means be protected and augmented. This was followed by the usual warning, only a part of which appears on the present plate, that whoever, disobeying the royal order, would cause the slightest hindrance, would receive condign punishment, if reported against by the Brahmanas. In the absence of the last plate, it is not possible to state the names of the writer and the Dutaka nor the regnal year when the grant was made The plate does not make any addition to our historical information; for the formal pait of the grant which Is pieserved on the present plate is common to several other Vakataka inscriptions

TEXT 1

Fowth Plate' Fust Side

i ^ <=i \ 4^i ft Af 3 4 2

Fomth Plate. Second Side

6 ^f^FPFf *]

1 III From the facsimiles facing p 28 m JV U.J , No as m the Pattan plates (No 13), line 25. 3 in the Tirodi and Ghammak Read f^?rg^er^T?r^r Gf f^^Rf^mnTT plates 4 This mark of punctuation is superfluous 5 Read r 1 ____&

6 I f^cTTFT Some words like tr^ ^Ff ^^s^Tfa^CH: I srsTR^ftf^cfl J-^4

VOL V PLATE XVI

RAMTEK PLATE OF PRAVARASENA II

. ^ ( '

10

75 RAMTEK PLATE OF PRAYARASEXA II

i*]

10 TRANSLATION

aie not ) (The fist thiee plates of the giant forthcoming o.der of the of noble who aie employed b> the (Our Officers birth) and who e.ercise their authority by (O.r) Superintendent) to (Generai i should be directed by the following order which and policemen]

lines 2 to 10, see above, pp 14-15 ) (Fat translation of

the ate not forthcoming ) (The subsequent plates of giant

iRead - as m other 2 Read Tf^m fz^T^n^Tz^T^n^T haven been -4FtoPT ^^nrf f^TFT sentence must 3The concluding words of this Vakataka grants. No 17 PLATE XVII AN UNFINISHED DURG PLATE

the plate was discovered at Mohalla, the headquarters of former Panabaras THISZammdari in the Durg District of Madhya Pradesh An ink impression of it was sent to the late Dr Hiralal, but he did not consider it of sufficient importance for to it in being included in his Inscriptions in C P and Berar I came know of January 1934 from a casual reference in his letter Later, he sent me an ink impression of it on which he had fortunately jotted down the name of its owner In the course of inquiries made by Mr B. A. Bambawale, Deputy Commissioner of Durg, it was elicited that the plate was oiiginally found at Mohalla It is now deposited in the Central Museum, Nagpur I edited it 1 I with a facsimile in the Bkarata Itihdsa Sarhsodhaka Mandala Quarterly , Vol XV Later, re-edited it in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXII, pp 207 f The inscription is edited here from the original plate This plate was intended to be the first of a set of three or four copper-plates recording the charter of a Vakataka king It is inscribed only on one side It measures 8" by 3 75", and weighs 19" tolas It is only 1/20" in thickness and is thus the tlunnest of all Vakataka plates discovered so far About 1 9" from the middle of the proper right margin there is " a hole, 35 in diameter, for a ring intended to connect it with other plates of the set But no such ring has been discovered so far The size of the plate and the position of the hole show that it does not belong to the same set as the Indore plates or the Patna Museum third plate of Pravarasena II The plate contains five lines only The letters are very neatly cut and do not show through on the reverse, though the plate is very thin The ends of the plate are neither

thicker nor raised into rims still the is fashioned ; inscription in a perfect state of preservation. The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets They resemble in a general way those of the Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta. The only peculiarities

for are as : an is as in that call notice follows The medial bipartite other Vakataka grants ,

round back and is not from see line 1 in d has a clearly distinguished d, -shodasy-^ , m appears with the attached to its left as in line 1 a transitional cursive form, lower box arm Agmshtom-, ; its other form with the box attached to the right vertical, which is generally seen in the charters of Pravarasena II, does not appear in this record The two forms appear side by side in the Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta The form of m used in the present plate develops ultimately into that found in the charters of the kings of Sarabhapura as well as in those of Tivaradeva. The final t and m appear in a much reduced size and the latter has a looped base The language is Sanskrit and the extant portion is wholly in prose The orthography shows the usual reduplication of the consonant preceding y and of that follow- line line 1 ing r\ see Bhagiratthy-, 4 and 'Apfbryyam-^ With the exception of the place of issue, the record is identical, so far as it goes, with the initial portion of the charters of Pravarasena II and Prithvishena II It mentions by one of the viz I. It refers his name only king dynasty, , Pravarasena then to grandson who was a great devotee of Svarru-Mahabhairava, and who was the daughter's son of Bhavanaga, the Maharaja of (the family of) the Bharasivas. The record on the plate stops just before the

1 The article is included in G H. Khare's Sources of the Mediaeval History of the Deccan,Vol II, pp. 1 f. AN UNFINISHED DURG PLATE 77

this mention of of Pra\arasena I, \iz I grandson , Rudiasena The plate purpoits to have been issued from Padmapura. It seems that the on inscription the present plate was not completed; for the word ' ' dnshtam seen which occurs in the usually beginning of finished charteis of the Vakatakas as 1 a mark of authorization is its absence here conspicuous by There is in fact sufficient space for three letters in the of the first beginning line, which shows that the word dnshtam was intended to be incised there after the iccoid was completed It may again be noted that the present plate leaves space sufficient for five letters at the end of the last line The word which follows in Gautamtputmsya Bhavandga-dauhitmsya other Vakataka records could very well have been written in that space In fact the engraver seems to have begun to incise that for faint traces word, of the top poition of the fiist syllable of that word can be noticed on the plate That the engraver left so much space at the end shows that he received an order to before he could stop complete the line Whether the record was incised on another set of plates cannot be determined at piesent It is also difficult to determine who intended to issue the present plate The general resemblance between the characteis of the present plate and those of the grants of Pravarasena II that it be suggests might that Vakataka king It may, however, be noted that almost all the of Pravarasena II are grants issued fiom eithei his earlier capital Nandivardhana or the later If he had intended to one, Pravarapura issue the present plate, Pravarapura, not Padmapuia, would, m all probability, have been mentioned as the place of issue Besides, the evidence detailed above seems to show that palaeographic the present plate may be to a later date is assigned Padmapura not known to have been a holy place, nor is a word like vdsakdt added to it it, showing that was the site of the donor's camp It seems therefore that Padmapura was the capital of a successor of Pravarasena II who intended to issue this chartei

It seems that the to capital was shifted Padmapura during the reign of Pravarasena IPs son Narendrasena The clesciiption in the Balaghat plates that Prithivishena II raised his sunken that there was family suggests some foreign invasion during the reign of his father Narendiasena when he was reduced to great stiaits The invasion was probably the Nala by king Bhavadattavarman, who later occupied the western portion of the Vakataka dominion and luled fiom the cistwhile Vakataka capital Nandivardhana. The Vakataka king Narendrasena in this emeigcncv appeals to have shifted the seat of his government to Padmapura in the east where he had the support of his loyal feudatories, the rulers of Mekala and Kosala Later, Narendrasena's son Pnthivishena II drove the enemy out of his ancestral dominion and even carried the war into his territory He appears to have invaded and the burnt Nala capital Pushkar! as stated in the Po dagadh stone inscription The mention of Padmapura in the present plate is also interesting fiom another point of view The well-known Sanskrit poet Bhavabhuti, who flourished towards the close of the se-

venth A c mentions in as his ancestral It is century , Padmapura Vidarbha home not unlikely that his ancestors who weie great Mimamsakas and performed such great Vedic sacrifices as the were Vajapeya specially invited to their capital Padmapura by the Vakataka kings who were of patrons Vedic learning and themselves performed great Vedic sacrifices After the decline of the Vakatakas there were no great royal dynasties ruling in Vidarbha Bhavabhuti seems there-

iThe so lai the only exceptions known are (i) Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta (No 8) and the India Office plate of Devasena (No 24) It does not occur also in the Balaghat plates of Pnthivi- shena II, but that charter also was unfinished 78 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

fore to ha\e gone to the north where he found a patron in Yasovaiman, the king of Kanauj 1 As stated befoie, Padmapura was situated in Vidarbha The country of Vidarbha was not confined to what is known now as Berar, but extended considerably to the east of the Wardha The Siwani, Incloie and Tirodi plates of Pravarasena II show that the country under the direct rule of that Vakataka king extended to the eastern boundary of the Bhandara and Balaghat Districts As a matter of fact, theie is now no village named Padmapura in Western Vidarbha, while there are at least six villages of that name in the Chanda and Bhandara Districts of Eastern Vidarbha Of these, Padmapur, 2 miles from Amgaon, a station. 011 the Nagpui -Calcutta line of the South-Eastern Railway, is probably the Padmapiua of the present plate The village contains many ancient remains such as images of Hindu gods like Vishnu, those of Jain Tirthankaras like Parsvanatha and Risha- bhadeva, fiagments of massive stone pillars and a large lintel measuring 8'xl7'xl' 6" Theie aie, besides, lemnants of some old temples in a dilapidated condition One beautifully carved mediaeval image of iva seems to have been hi ought over from theie and is now preserved in the Gential Museum, Nagpur No other Padmapui in Vidarbha is reported to ha\e such ancient relics I theiefore feel no hesitation in concluding that Padmapur near Amgaon in the Bhandara District was the Vakataka capital and the ancestral

1 home of Bhavabhuti .

TEXTS

3 T [V] arf^^^TT^^Wfas^T^ts ^RKM^MH^34 la ti ^

<=1 =1 itf> 3 3\ -M>

TRANSLATION

Fiom Padmapura

translation lines 1 to see 13 (Foi of 5, abate, p )

(The subsequent plates of the giant have not been found.}

* 3 1 of Bhavabhuti For fuither discussion of this matter, see my article The Birth-place m LH,Q. y 21 i Vol. XI, pp. 287 f. and Studies in Indology, Vol I, pp 2 From the original plate 3 three letters before this word There is a space of '!" sufficient for incising 4 Faint traces of the of a letter can be seen There is a space of 1'3" left after this word. top portion on the plate CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V Plate XVJI

w

I o P P w

125

No 18: PLATE XVIII

BALAGHAT PLATES OF PRTTHIVISHENA II

' * plates v*eie found hanging to a tree in the jungle somewheie m the Distiict of THESEBalaghat in Madhya Pradesh some time before May 1893. They were sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal and weie latei entrusted to Di Klelhom for being edited His article on them together with facsimiles was published posthumously m the Epigiaphm Indica, Vol. IX, pp 267 f The plates are edited here from the same facsimiles Their present whereabouts aie not known

e The plates are five in number, each between 6^" and 6" long bv between 3* and 4" high, t\\o of them contain no writing whatever, while of the thiee others (here descubed as is on both sides and the first and the third on one plates i, ii and iii), the second engraved not fashioned thickei near the side only Though the plates have no laised rims and are edges, are the engraving on them is throughout in a perfect state of pieservation The five plates from the middle of the strung on a ring, which passes through a hole about 1J" distant pioper ' ' thick and between 3" and right margin of each plate The ling is ciicular, about 3|" in diameter The ends of it are flattened off and joined by a bolt, which had not been cut ' slides a smaller when the plates reached Dr Kielhom On the ring described, there ring, made of a band of copper, the ends of which aie fastened bv a rivet which also passes through, this disc was and firmly holds, a flat disc of copper about 2^" in diameter Undoubtedly 1 made to serve as a seal and to bear some wiitmg, but nothing has been engraved on it .' the Prithivishena The plates were intended to record a grant of Vakataka Mahdidja extant of it consists EL, but foi some reason the inscription was not completed The portion of 35 lines inscribed on four sides of the first three plates The characters are of the box- a those of the headed variety of the southern alphabets They lesemble in general way that need be noticed grants of Pravarasena II, but aie less angulai The only peculiarities as letter in line 31 d and d are here are as follows The laiej/z occurs a subscript Ajyhita-, , in line 1 and lound as clearly distinguished, v appeals in two foims, rectangular as -vasakad-, m vachandt, line 35, thejihvdmultya occms in line 30; the visaiga is denoted by two hook-shaped lines The language is Sanskiit, and the text is wholly In piose As regards orthography, we may note the use of the \owel n for n as in -pautiinah, line 16, of n foi n and vice versa as in kamnya-, line 12 and mono-, line 13, and of the guttural and dental nasals for the anusvaia in vansa- in lines 8, 24 etc and ansa in line 6 Pri- As stated before, the plates were intended to be issued by the Vakataka Mahmaja thivishena II His genealogy up to Pravarasena II occurs as in the latter's Jamb plates, with of the writer2 of a in line 10 the omission, evidently through inadvertence , long expression is noticed Of Pravarasena II the present grant gives the additional description which only in his Siwani grant that he followed the path laid down by lus piedecessors and that by his exterminated all his enemies. Piavarasena IPs son good policy, strength and valour he was Narendrasena, who is said to have taken away the family's fortune by means of confidence

Vol. 267. Ind , IX, p this that Rudrasena I was descri- 2Jayaswal tried to make much capital out of mistake and thought bed here as a Bharasiva Maharaja as he had succeeded as a Bharasiva dauhitra See his History of India, 32. He does this description occurs only m such a late grant. etc , p not, however, explain why 80 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN BRANCH

In the excellent qualities previously acquired by him We are further told that his commands were honoured the lords of by Kosala, Mekala and Malava. His son, from the queen Ajjhitabhattarika, the daughter of the king of Kuntala, was Maharaja Prithivishena n, a of who was devout worshipper the Bhagavat (Vishnu) The present plates were intended from his to be issued by him camp at Vembara which is mentioned in the beginning, but of his order only the word sarvvadhyaksha- was actually written The unfinished nature of

3 the charter is also indicated the absence of the present by word drishtam 'seen , which almost invariably occurs as a mark of authorisation in all complete charters of the Vakatakas As the inscription was not completed, there is no mention of the regnal date or of the writer and the Dutaka

The place Vembara from which the charter was intended to be issued remained unidentified for a long time In my article on the Durg plate I suggested its identification with Bembal, about 28 miles to the east of Chancla and 2 miles 10 the west of the Wamganga 1

TEXT2

Fust Plate

ef i q -=M $

2 3 4 5 6

7 ri s^i cj TH'cjSdtl -H CM I

Second Plate First Side

10

12 9 p U - qT5FRf ^FFrf fa ^ [^ -H' fr Tt 13 ^^^nTc^ ^ft^ ^ ( f$ ) ^ ( ) 14 15 16 ft Tte^ ( )

Ep Ind, Vol XXII, p 210, n 6 2 From, facsimiles facing pp 270 and 271 in. ibid Vol IX 3 of the There is empty space for three akshaias here Several other giants Vakatakas open with dnsi am *This maik of punctuation is superfluous 5 Read 6 Read 7 Read 8 the There is a redundant vtsatga between

VOL v PLATE XVIII

BALAGHAT PLATES OF PRITHIVISHENA II

^^,a

16

18

BALAGHAT PLATES OF PRITHIVISHEXA II 81

1 7 sft crfsrfrtiwr TT3f[f^r] ( ) *p>[ *] is

19 20 21 22 23 ^^HdklMIW^ Hhld- 24

e c 25 ^FTT^q" u w

Third Plate

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 upcq- ^q-?rr^* 3^fT^r?^rT[ *] TRANSLATION 8 From the camp fixed at Vembara- the of the Vakatakas; the order of the illustrious Prithivishena (H), Mah&aja By who who has lescued his sunken farmh ; who is a devout worshipper of the Bhagavat (Vishnu) , vvho was born of the Mahddevi Is the abode of valour and forgiveness, Ajjhitabhatmrika, the who is the son of the illustrious Narendrasena, the daughter of the lord of Kuntala; check enemies bowed down bv his valour, whose Mahdtaja of the VakStakas, who held m confidence and Malava ; who, from commands were honoured by the lords of Kosala, MekalS, of by him, took away the (wyal) foitune in the excellent qualities previously acquired the of the son of the illustrious Pravarasena (H), Maharaja (Ms) family; who was the Vakatakas 13-14) hnei 1 see above, pp (Forttanslation of -25, bx the of noble birth] appointed Smvddhyaksha general (Line 35) Our [officers Superintendent) the was not mscnbed } (The subsequent portion oj giant

here of a redundant initial i engraved 2Theie is an incomplete sign here 3 There is a redundant *T incised 4 Read ^sr- 5 Read 5r

No 19 PLATE XIX BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABALA

were discovered at plates the village Bamhani in the Sohagpui tahsil of the State THESEformer Rewa Dr. B Gh Ghhabi a published first a short note on It in the Bhatata- Part Kaumudi) I, pp 215 fT and later edited them \vith facsimiles and a translation m the Epigiaphia Mica, Vol XXVII, pp 132 if I discussed the historical information furnished * these in an article entitled The Pandava of by plates Dynasty Mekala ', published m the Indica Historical Research Institute Silver (Indian Jubilee Commemoration Volume), pp 268 f are edited here The plates fiom the facsimiles accompanying Dr Chhabra's aiticlem the Epigiaphia Indica 'The are thiee m each plates numbei, measuimg roughly 7" broad by 4V high are on a about in They strung copper ling, J" thickness, passing through a hole, f-"in diameter cut in the centre of each near the plate margin The ring must originally have been circular in shape, but in its present condition it is bent and elongated Its ends are seemed " under a comparatively small seal with a diameter of f The seal bears no emblem or if there was it has now legend 3 any originally, completely disappeared The inscription on the is in an excellent state of plate preservation throughout The first and third plates are engraved only on one side, while the second bears writing on both the sides. There are altogether 49 lines of writing, twelve being insciibed on the first face, thirteen on each side of the second and eleven the last All plate, on the plates together with the ring and the seal weigh 94 tolas' l The characters are of the nail-headed vanety of the southern alphabets. They resemble in some icspects those of the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta, which also are of the same nail-headed variety, but, unlike the latter, they do not contain any admixture of the letters noithem The following peculiarities may be noted The initial % (shoit) consists of an indented cuive over two dots see line placed horizontally, iti, 3, in medial i (long) the is indicated in all means of a length places by dot in the curve denoting short i as in

line the forms of initial ~e and au which occur in asid-, 1, lines 25 and 16 respectively are has a notch in its stroke as in line 3 noteworthy , j slight top Jayabala, In the case of 772, of a see 1 we notice a box-head instead nail-head, su-vi?nala~, line The numerical symbol for is also it not consist of 2 noteworthy, for does two curves placed one above the other, but has the same form as in modem Nagari The language is Sanskrit, the record being partly in prose and partly in verse As regards orthography, we may notice the use of the for the anusvdia final n as in srimam, line 2; reduplication of the consonant preceding and following i as m puttio, saivva-, line 3, the use of the guttural nasal in place of the anusvara in vanse, line 41, the use of v for b in some places as in -vabhuva, line 8; and the use of n

for the vowel n in yyafo ishya, line 22 There are, besides, several mistakes in the writing of the record which have been conected in the transcript and the foot-notes appended to it.

Ep, Ind, Vol XXVII, p 132 BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABALA 83

The is one Bharata or Bharatabala of insciiption ofMahdtdja the Pandava lineage, tuled over the of Mekala. The of It is to iccord the who country object grant of the village Vardhamanaka situated in the Panchagarta-vishaya in the Uttara-rashtra (Northern

Division) of Mekala to the BrahmanaLohitasarasavminoftheVatsa gotta and the Madh- yandina fdkha The charter was -written by Siva the son of the RahasiKa Isana, and \\as H* the son of the Isvara. It is engraved by Mihiraka, goldsmith dated in the regnal year 2, on the thirteenth tithi of the dark fortnight of the month Bhadrapada, the nakshatia being Pushya. of the donoi The plates give the following genealogy

Jayabala Vatsaraja m Dronabhattarika

Malm a] a Nagabala 772 Indrabhattarika

Mahdidja Bharatabala alias Indra m Lokaprakasa.

connection with the names of the The insciiption does not mention any royal title m is in verse The next t\\o first two kings, piobably because theii description given kings in one Nagabala and Bharatabala are first described m a prose passage and later eulogised as devout of or more \eises They are both styled as Mahdiaja and described \\orshippers \\hich Mahesvaia, great patrons of the Brahmanas and as Patamagurudevatddhidaivatamshesha e a and a has been taken to mean distinguished as a highly venerable personage, deity supieme ' the divine nature of the is not noticed divinity This last epithet which signifies kings Paiamadeva- A similai viz , in the insciiptions of even Gupta and Vakataka kings epithet, as shown Dr Chhabra tddhidaivata occurs, howevei, in the Soio and Patiakella plates by was also known bv the name of From verse 5 it appears that Bharata 01 Bharatabala with the lord of in verses 6 Indra. This is also confirmed by his comparison Indra, gods, family descended and 8 Bhaiatabala mariied Lokaprakasa who is described as born in a the Dr Ghliabra's view that she might be a princess of fiom gods and as aprincess of Kosala. that there was a Pandava farmlv Pandava family of Kosala cannot be accepted, for, supposing if not samano- it must have been as sagotoa, ruling over Southern Kosala in this period regaided allow of Mekala Hindu Dhaimasastra does not daka, of the family ruling over the country to the farmlv between samdnddakas and Lokaprakasa probably belonged marriages sagotras A C dated in the year 182 (501-02 } descended from Sma From the Arang plates* Gupta for at least five generations we learn that this family was ruling in K6sala (Ghhattisgadh) The five ancestors were Sura, Dayita before Bhimasena I who was reigning at the time Bhimasena I and Dayitavarman II Lokaprakasa, (01 Dayitavarman I), Bibhishana, Bhimasena I of Dakshina Kosala who married Bharatabala was piobably a daughter of oi traced its descent from the Pandavas As stated before, this dynasty of Me'kala a double the family is called saumja, epic fame In verse 1 1 which seems to have meaning, Mahabhvata are known from S5ma or the Moon The Pandavas of the ie 9 descended race to have belonged to the lunar , , the Veise 11 seems to descnbe not only kmg As pointed out by Di Chhab.a, Centra) Narendrasena.- From , the Vakataka long Bharatabala, but also his suzerain Narendra ,

~ as read bv the ed.to,. G 182 not 282 l^JwTvalk, pp 342 f The date of this plate 228 a Ibtd,Vol XXVI, p , -,-,<_.,. ,. hich descnbedescrme the ChaluU of Siladitya, ^vhicii 2 For a similar instance, see the Surat plates Sryasraya Siladitva Emperor Vmayaditya, the Suzerain of Sryasraya 84 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

that the the Balaghat plates we know commands of Narendras ena were honoured by the rulers of Kosala, Mekala and Malava. This is usually taken to mean that the lulers the of of these countries acknowledged suzerainty the Vakataka king In the Arang plates howevei no that of his of Bhimasena II we have, , indication any predecessors were the feudatories of the Vakatakas Like these rulers of Kosala, Bharatabala also makes no cleai refeience to his o\erlord, but he may have covertly alluded to him in the verse in question l Among the officeis to whom the royal order is addressed are mentioned the ddmakuta, Dtondgmkanayaka, D'evavdnka and Gandaka Except Grdmakiita, these names are not known to occur elsewheie The Gidmakuta was, of course, the head of the village The Drondgmka- ndyaka was evidently the chief of the Dronagraka which seems to be the same as Dronamukha mentioned in the Aiihasatira Kautilya lays down that there should be a Dronamukha in the 2 midst of fom hunched \illages The Drondgrakanayaka was probably the head of this ' principal village Dr Chhabra takes D'evavdnka in the sense of a superintendent of ' temples and holy places Perhaps D'evavdnka is a mistake for Dauvdnka, in which case it may mean the same as Piatthaia The Sukranitisdra mentions the Pratihdta as the head 3 has been taken in the sense of e a of the town or village police. The Gandaka warnor ', ' ' but may signify the same as bhata or a soldier These officers and government servants aie concerned with the collection of revenue and the maintenance of peace and order and have therefore to be informed of every gift or transfer of landed property The localities mentioned in the present grant have already been identified by Dr Chhabra Mekala is the name of the country comprising Amarakantak and the surrounding region The Narmada, which takes its rise in the Amarakantak hill, is called Mekala-kanyakd.

Vardhamanaka is, of course, Bamhani where the plates were found Pauchagarta probably means a valley of five rivers It is notewoithy that in the vicinity of Bamhani there are five rivulets at a short distance from one another, which later on join the Sona There is also a village named Pachgaon, about three miles south of Sahdol, which probably represents the headquaiteis of the Parichagarta mshaya TEXT4

First Plate

b 1 ^rfef 3U*fl'3' Hl^Hf *rftHi^WIH-eW TT fe?f[l*] [l *] ^Tfel^TT(^fT) 2 ^ 3 fWr|>rT*] 1 4 M^wHi' u i^^^^i<(^)wf(ft") [N?M*] 5 ^"(^PT) =icti^'< siftwt (^^ci

!Di Chhabia has drawn attention to an analogous instance in the Ghumh plates in which the Samdhava Chiefs Knshnaraja II and his brother Jaika I refer to their sovereign, the Pratlhara Empeior Ramabhadra, in a covert manner 2 Aithasastoa ed 46 is (second by Shama Sastn) , p Dronamukha explained by Jam commentators as a town approachable by a road as well as a water-way *Sukranitisara, II, 120-21, 170-75 4 From the facsimiles 140-41 in Ind Vol XXVII. facing pp Ep , 5 Expressed by a symbol. 6 This vismga is superfluous 7 Metre Sragdlwa 8 Read r^-. 9 Metre Vasan tatilaka BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABALA 85

7 1 *rf*rwf%(tfr) ^TRTEr j^nfN [i*] 1 8

srfrfsr fr [i *] gTWTfrT^^rom ( ) 12 qr qr ^CTH ( ) ^F^n^Rrr ( ) [i *] Second Plate Fust Side 13 Sfamtf 3 3T(zTT)cr WfRq^T^ (Sfc{) 14 15

] 3- 5 i? sprfe^ ivi TOrrw^T^^rf% [i i*] ^ [ *] ^5T5^rr ^ 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 f^f^^ffTyFF^f^(^) ^mir ?R[(fr)crT^wr Second Plate Second Side 26

27 ^^TS (SJT )[|*] 28 ^t^Ki

29 S(?J- (i) so

1 Metre Upajati 2 sffaTT _ , ,, _a. _ Read , fn, ha hi a does with foRTPT than with 1$ as Chliabia 3 It seems better to construe this adjective 4 Metre Mahni 5 Metre Indravajra 6 Read Read

1 Metre Sardulavikridita

verse Construe them *th are not connected wrth the following

v. 10 is The following mark of punctuation superfluous Metre- Mahni mark of punctuat^n.s superfluous ^ makes the queen, name run. *. compound 86 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

31 ^ 2 3 2 w^ni *TT^F^rfe^ ^rr^- ^ft^^c^MM^r ( $ ) ( ^ ) [i 33 oi4 zpizr(^Er) 3rmsftr^^n=f( 34 3 %zr

Tint d Plate

39 ^n^r err arRarrfrtt^T ( 40 fe^r ^r frpf ^ ( ^^ ) f^rT5frt|cRn^ ( ) ( ) 41 42 43 44 [l *] 45 T5 f *fte% i fsrrfrr ^^t ( STT^WT ^PTTFCTT ^ ^^^^ ^cr ) ^rfe[ *] [ 46 ^r q-^rnrsT :f ^TTT(T) T^rrT(rrT) (^r) ?ncra-( fir )?[!*] r?t(^") "iffRcrr

47 14 ^FTFcT ^TRPT I 5f^i^T?f 1 f^RPSiRr^R ^T ^TT (^ ) [l *] R ( ) 48 15 fefe^r ^TT^JT ftrt^fr- zfr^rr j^n-^t^ [i *] TTfftr^^n^t^ 49 ^^ ^^373:^ t ^r ftr n g^rofSRT^RJ^ W$^ ( ) TRANSLATION 16 Success 1 Hail! in the (Verse 1) There was lineage of the Pandavas of extiemcly spotless gloiy and abundant lustre, a king of Mekala, who acquired wide fame and became foiemost among the lords of the earth who, by his own glorious deeds, has, for all time, become lenowned in this world by the name of Jayabala, a disposer of Fortune, who had a charming form and was adorned with a multitude of excellent qualities He had a son, who resembled the loid of Vatsa 17 e attained (V 2) (i Udayana) , who victoiies in battles, who was famous, compassionate, endowed with virtues and conveisant

1 of Metre this and the next verse Sragdhard 2 Chhabra^ ingeniously suggests the reading T^erfa in place of q

1 1 This ws&ga is superfluous 12 This visarga is also superfluous 13 Metre of this and the following two verses Anushtubh. 14 This of sign punctuation is superfluous 15 This anusvara is superfluous 16 In this I have derived some help from Dr Chhabra's translation of this record 17 This is to the according proposed emendation Vats^vara-prahsamo If the text is to be mtei- as it Vatsesvara will preted stands, be the same as Vatsaraja mentioned m the next verse CORPUS INSCRIPTION INDICARUM

VOL v PLYIFXIX

BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABALA

24

BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABALA o/Q7

with religious rites, (and) who made the gardens of the houses of his enemies crowded with wild beasts. 1

(V 3) There was the king, the illustrious who was Vatsaraja, magnanimous, who the extolled good deeds (of others), who could differentiate between merits and was obliging to (his) people, righteous and devoted to good policy His son the (Line 8) was illustrious Maharaja born of the Nagabala, illustrious (queen) Dronabhattarika, who meditated on his who a feet, was devout worshipper of Mahesvara (Siva) and a great patron of the Brahmanas, who was the (regarded as) most revered teacher, the a deity and supreme divinity and was possessed of royal fortune As he marched the (V 4) along, earth, the paths on which were pounded by the hoofs of horses, obscured the their farthest (his) quarters, regions becoming dry and disturbed by his whose were soiled with dust, (but) elephants, temples the rutting juice, immediately restored order to them wet with the them, making spray (of their rut) there is his (Line 13) Then son, the illustrious Maharaja Bharata, born of the illus-

who meditates on his is trious queen Ladrabhattarika, feet, who a devout worshipper of and a of the the Mahesvara great patron Brahmanas, (and) who (is regarded as) most revered teacher, a deity and the supreme divinity of (V 5) From her who was endowed with the qualities compassion and good as son nature also with generosity and wisdom, there was born the (known as) Indra possessed of a spotless and lovely lustre, even as Karttikeya was born from (Parvat!) the daughter of the lord of mountains

in his and Fire (V 6) He is (the god) Indra the destruction (of enemies) (the god) brilliant with lustre, he is amiable and steadfast in his adherence to good behaviour, he mantras has attained authority and eminence in consequence of the (sacred) recited by the Brahmanas, his appearance makes good persons happy and leads to attainment, by the is honoured with people, of religious merit and prosperity, he always by good persons on the altar is with presents of wealth even as sacrificial fire kindled offerings (of ghee etc) has covered all with dead bodies (V 7) He, the powerful one, who regions (the of) has overthrown even the multitude of the mighty and roaring enemies whom he forcibly and trees as an excellent quarter-elephant does with the lofty, thickly growing resounding three wealth which it uproots May the Earth, who yields (the objects of) religious merit, the and enjoyment, produce abundant prosperity due to good government throughout 21 entire dominion of this king who thus exerts himself the foremost the lords of the eaith, (V 8) The illustrious king Bharata, among who has shelter to the Fortune resembles (Indra) the lord of gods, in valour (he) given his arm of the multitude of foes slain by him, when she resorted to The matchless one - here from the world of it the herself, descended gods, (V 9) who is, as were, Ganga like which is who has character, bright and spotless crystal, sanctifying the peoples W of white even as the has a pure stream crystal-hke purified by restraints and vows Ganga who is endowed with a multitude of and clear water, which flows within its banks, (and) as the has its waves of water, tranquility and other virtues just Ganga has become the best royal consort of the king (V 10) who, (named) LokaprakSsa, born in a of the like the moon-beams, who, being family Bharatabala, whose fame is (lovely)

1 his enemies desolate He made the palaces of 2 TPnr tVip rnmtmrtion see above, P. 85, n. 3. 88 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

gods, has become highly renowned, who, by her constant pursuit of (the three purushdrthas of) rehgious merit, prosperity and happiness, has dispelled the darkness of ignorance (and) has become in 1 has status extremely resplendent the world , (and) who attained an eminent with her sons and grandsons, who, lion-like princes as they are, are devoted to justice and dis- cipline. That illustrious 2 the is (V 11) king , sovereign, who endowed with a multitude of has his excellences, who destroyed enemies, whose pair of feet, having the grace of full- blown lotuses, and rubbed the heads of several by feudatory princes subdued by his perfect triad of powers, has overcome all and whose birth is regions highly extolled by the people as being in the famous Lunar rate (Line 34) [He] issues the following order to all residents concerned headed by (the viz the officials, ) Gramakuta, the Chief of the the Devavdnka and the Gandakas in Dronagraka, (the Vardhamanaka in the of milage] vishaya Panchagarta (included) in the XJttara-rashtra (Northern Division) of Mekala " Be it to that for (Line 36) known you the increase of the religious merit of Our father and mother and of Ourself, We have donated this village extending to its four boundaries, together with and with treasures udranga upankartf, together and deposits, and {with the privilege that it not to be entered soldiers is) by (Our) and policemen except for punishing thieves, to the illustrious Loliitasarasvamin of the Vatsa gotra and the Madhyandina Sakha, be him and his as (to enjoyed by successors) long as the moon, the sun, the earth and the stars will endure

this, should his ciders offer Knowing you obey and him the bhdga and bhoga according to custom/ 3 This command has been given by Me personally And those kings also who will be born in Our family should consent to and maintain this gift And whosoever will cause obstruction in (the enjoyment this will incur of) grant, (the guilt of) the five great sins occur (Here three benedictwe and verses imprecatory ) This (Line 47) charter is concluded In the 3 of the ^ ^ year increasingly victorious on the leign, thirteenth (lunar of the dark day) (fortnight) of BhSdrapada, the nakshatra being Pushya. This charter has been written by son of the Siva, Rdhasika Isana and engraved by Mihiraka, son of the goldsmith Isvara.

1 There is obviously a on her pun name LokaprakaSa 6 here a *" tlS'SgNSSnt ^7*"* T C Bharatabala) and the the the second, U to &St I saLja ^ ha o en TT f V*? "f"* f were V gentk tWe '' The Brahmanas by caste Hence thetrfam.lv ?S KJ ? 3 Y "^ M 'e For ^ gmt by nature ' these offices, see Tbovep sf

was pro w - * , miscellaneous taxes m hud such as m the MSM., Ch. VII, w 130-32 are menhoned Nos 20-21 : PLATES XX AND XXI NACHNE-KI-TALAI STONE INSCRIPTIONS OF VYAGHRADEVA

two inscriptions were discovered by General Cunningham in 1883-84 He THESEpublished his reading of the larger of them, together with facsimiles of both, in his Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India, Vol XXI, pp 97 f They were next edited with facsimiles and a translation by Dr Fleet in the Corpus Inscnptionum Indzcaium, Vol III, pp 233 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles The inscriptions aie on a loose slab which was found lying on the ground outside the fort of Kuthara near the village Nachne-ki-talai, about seven miles north-west of Jaso, the chief town of the former Jaso State, now included in Madhya Pradesh Inscription No 20 is incomplete and is engraved on one of the sides of the slab, while inscription No 21 which is complete is on the face of it The former inscription was left incomplete probably because that side of the stone was found too rough The inscription was therefore commenced again and finished on what is now the front side of the slab " The writing of No 20 coveis a space of about 1' 9f broad by 1\" high, that of No 21, about 1' 9" broad by V 1" high. In the centre of the larger inscription there is the figure of a wheel which Jayaswal took to be a characteristic symbol of the Vakatakas The characters belong to the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets There has been a of these refer great difference of opinion about the age inscriptions, which, as stated below, themselves to the reign of the Vakataka Maharaja Prithivishena. Dr Fleet did not examine no to so as this question Perhaps there was need do there was only one Vakataka king of the name Prithivishena known when he edited these records He naturaly assigned

1 them to Prithivishena I, mentioned in the grants of Pravarasena II The Balaghat plates that which were discovered later have brought to notice another king of name, viz > I Since then Prithivishena II, who was the fourth lineal descendant of Prithivishena scholars have been sharply divided on the question of the identity of the Prithivishena records were Some of them such as Dr during whose reign the present incised 2 3 and Prof H G 4 that he was the first Sukthankar , Dr Jayaswal Raychaudhuri thought characters king of that name Rao Bahadur K N Dikshit, however, pointed out that the of the Nachna and Ganj inscriptions were later in date than those of the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta5 He therefore identified the Prithivishena of these inscriptions with Prithivishena II of the Balaghat plates The same opinion has been expressed by Prof Touveau-Dubreuil6 and Dr R C Majumdar 7 Recently Dr D G Sircar has reopened the c out that the of the Nachna and Ganj question by pointing palaeographical peculiarities earlier than those of even the Basim of II, Inscriptions are undoubtedly plates Vmdhyasakti 8 * has drawn attention to the form of a grandson of Pravarasena I He pointed triangular

ICII, Vol III, p 233 2 Ep 2nd, Vol XVII, p 13 3 etc 73 History of India, , p 4 Political History of Ancient India, p 541 $Ep Ind, Vol XVII, p 362 6Jnd Ant Vol LV, pp 103 f 7JRASB, Vol XII, pp 1 f 8H.CIP, Vol. Ill, p 179, n 1. 90 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

the He is therefore v and the old forms of t andj occurring In present inscriptions definitely to the of Prithivishena I In view of this of the opinion that these inscriptions belong reign this rather Dr Sircar seems conflict of opinions it is necessary to examine question closely out of use soon after the time of Prithivishena I to think that the triangular form of v went and so these records cannot be referred to the reign of Prithivishena II, when the rectangular form of that letter was m vogue This is not borne out by the inscriptions of the age As

z> into use even before the time of Prithi- a matter of fact, the rectangular form of had come 1 vishena I We notice several instances of it m the Eran stone inscription of Samudra- the other the form gupta; see kulavadhuh, line 20, mckmtya, line 24 etc On hand, triangular of v did not disappear soon after the age of Prithivishena I, for we find it used in the Saftch! 2 inscription of Ghandragupta II, dated G 93, see eg mahdmhdre, line 1, sarvva-guna-, line 8 etc Indeed, it continued in use much longer, for while the inscriptions of the Vakatakas of 3 generally use the rectangular v, the Podagadh stone inscription Skandavarman and the 4 Kesanbeda plates of Arthapati use the triangular form of that letter, see e g Bhavadattasya, line 3, and a-pravesyam, line 8 in the former, and vibhah, line 1 and dhruva-, line 7 in the latter The Nala kings Skandavarman and Arthapati did not flourish earlier than Prithi- 5 vishena II It is noteworthy that all the inscriptions mentioned above are incised in box- headed characters The triangular form of is therefore no indisputable evidence which would compel us to assign the present records to Prithivishena I The same can be said of the so-called old forms of for j and t, these also occur in the Podagadh inscription It is true that the form of v in the present inscriptions is more angular than that seen in the other records mentioned above, but angularity is no sure sign of an earlier age As pointed out 6 by Kielhorn, the characters of Pravarasena IPs grants are more angular than those of the Balaghat plates of his grandson Prithivishena II Besides, it is not unlikely that the writer of the Nachna and Ganj inscriptions was influenced by the form of v current in that must note in locality We this connection that the Nachna and Ganj inscriptions are the records in only box-headed characters from the Baghelkhand region. The standard form of characters current in that was 7 locality nail-headed as seen in the Mjhgawam plates of Hastin and the Bamhani 8 plates of Bharatabala The writer of the Nachna and Ganj was not 9 inscriptions apparently quite familiar with the box-headed characters though he wrote the lecords in them evidently to please the Vakataka overlord He therefore seems to have imitated the form v unconsciously of from the nail-headed alphabet with which he was more familiar We find an instance in analogous the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta The writer of that grant, who hailed from probably North India, was not quite familiar with box-headed characters which were current m Vidarbha He commenced to write in them the legend on the seal, but after the first writing four letters viz. Vakataka, he gave them up and wrote the remaining in nail-headed legend characters The triangular form

1 Vol C/7, III, plate facing, p 20 2 Ibid Vol , III, plate facing, p 28 *Ep Jnd,Vo\ XXI, pp 153 f *Ibtd,Vol XXVIII, p 12 f

*Ep Ind,Vol IX, p 268 7C//,Vol III, pp 106 ff. 8 No 19, above 9 As observed by Suktharxkar, the letters of these epigraphs are uacouth m appearance. GOEPUS INSCKIPTIONTJM INDICARUM

VOL. V PLATE XX

'g W

o

1 I

o CO 5 a o > o o 05 I I Oi CD o o 8

O O GQ E~t CO

Ms o 23

CORPUS INSCEIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE XXI

o -J-3 d Jzq a? > 03 03 O

O C/3 Sz;

ow

NACHNE-KI-TALAI STONE INSCRIPTIONS OF VYAGHRADEVA 91

of * is therefore no sure of sign the early age of these insertions' The foims of; and t also do not preclude the view that these records belong to the of Prithivishena IF The reign language is Sanskrit and both the inscriptions are m piose As regards ortho-

No 20, which is ^Inscription incomplete, mentions in the first line the name of the Vakataka Maharaja Prithivishena. The name of his feudator> Vyaghra is incomplete!) incised in line 2 No 21 mentions the names of both and recoids that Vyaghiadeva made something, perhaps a a well or a for the merit of his temple, tank, icligious father and mothei . The lecoid is not but it dated, since blongs to the reign of Prithiushena II as sho*n abo\e, it may be referred to the 470 to 490 A G of the period Vyaghradeva piesent inscriptions' is probably identical with the of the king Vyaghra Uchchhakalpa d\nast> \vho \\as ruling ovei the in the region same peiiod The lattci's son Ja\anatha \vas luling in G 174 and G 1773 His leign may therefore ha\e extended fiom G 170 to G 190 Vyaghra, his father, was therefoie probably ruling from cuca G 150 to G 170 i e from 470 A C to 490 A C He \vas thus a contemporary of the Vakataka king Prithivishena II.

No 20

No 21

TRANSLATION8

feet of the illustnous Prithivishena the Vyaghradeva who meditates on the (II), for the ment of mother and father Mahal dja of the Vakatakas, has made (this) lehgious (fas)

of Narendrasena s feudaton Bharatabala 1 This form of v occurs throughout in the Bamhanl plates of the \ie\v that these 2 For the examination of other arguments advanced in support inscriptions MI f abo\e belong to the reign of Prithivishena I, see Introduction, pp , 3 117 and 121 The dates of the Uchchakalpa kings aie iccorded in the C 1 1 , Vol III, pp 171 f as shown me in Ind > Vol XXIII, pp Gupta, not die Kalachun, era by Ep Vol III 4 From the facsimiles facing page 234 in Fleets

GANJ STONE INSCRIPTION OF VYAGHRADEVA

msciiption was discovered by Mr R D Banerji in 1919 It was edited for the THISfirst time with a facsimile and a translation by Dr V S Sukthankar in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol XVII, pp 12 ff It is edited heie from the same facsimile The inscription is engraved on a detached slab of stone which Mr Baneiji found lying at the bottom of a donga, adjoining a hill called Maluha-tongi neai Ganj m the formci Ajayagadh state, now included in Madhya Pradesh Close by is a ruined stone structure, probably a dam to hold the waters of the stream passing along the donga The findspot of the present inscription is not far icmoved fiom the mined city of Kuthaia whcic the

1 Nachne-ki-talai inscriptions were discovered The present inscription is much better pieserved than the preceding two iccoids of the same king The wiiting covers a space 2' 1" by T As in the Nachne-ki-tlaai inscriptions, there is in the centre of the first line the figure of a wheel The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets, resembling closely those of the preceding two records As observed by Sukthankar, they arc unequal m size and uncouth m appearance The language is Sanskrit and the whole iccord is m piosc The ortho- shows the same as graphy peculiarities m the two pieceding inscriptions. The is of inscnption Vyaghradeva, who meditated on the feet of theVakatakaMfl/y/ dja Prithivishena. He was evidently a fuedatory of the latter The object of the msciiption is to record that Vyaghradeva did something, perhaps a dam to stem the watcis of a stream, foi the religious merit of his parents As shown before, this Vyaghra was piobably identical with the homonymous prince of the Uchchakalpa dynasty who flounshed in euca 470-90 2 His suzerain was AC therefore probably the Vakataka king Prithivishena II

TEXT3

2 5 3 sfr IRTT ctf ^rfrfa TTT^rfq^-f *] 3*rr ( ) [i *]

TRANSLATION

Vyaghradeva, who meditates on the feet of the illustrious Prithivishena (II), the of the has made Maharaja Vakatakas, (this) for the religious merit of his mothci and lather.

l Ep 2nd, Vol XVII, p 12 2 Sukthankar referred the record to the seventh A c 3 century From the facsimile 12 in 2nd facing page , Vol XVII 4 Ep The superscript z is not clear 5 Read BAMHANl PLATES OF BHARATABALA

7 8

10

12 ) [l *] Second Plate Fust Side

n[^n*] 14 15

T I ) f^fT^TT[ *] J- 5

17 ^r i vi i r [ *] 5rgcfr [i *] 18

19 r- 20

22 23 24 25 Second Plate Second Side

27 28

29

i Metre Upajdtl Ohhabra does Wth than W1th i n ^cms^ttcr to construe adjecuve frnm, 4 Metre Mahni 5 Metre. Indravajra (3 Read 7 Read ^^^^j^j ^^

1 o Metre SardulavikrUita consuue *" wth the following verse

of >. superfluous The followmg mark punctual

Mahni.. Metreere _ as is 5 mark of Dissolve This punctuation ^ ^^m^mf name h maLes the queen, a ?te . a -* J*, compound follows: significant. 86 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

7^z?flf Plate 39 40 41 42 43

44 13 PRWRTTftfiT cT^T cTCT fe [l*]qW2T^3T^T^fTR: ^w(^) [ll Hll] 45 ^rrftr ^^ *ff Tftsrftr i srr^irrr ^R^PCTT ^ CTF^VT^ ( ) ^rfe[ *] ^q; [ 46 ^r ^rr(TTr) T^rrr(Trr) (^r) ^^^ qrR(ftr)q-[i*] *rft(t)

47 H smw ^TRR i SROTR i ft^rîraâR ^r ^rr sq cupr- (r ) [i *] ^ ( ) ^f 48 15 zf^rr fefecr ÎT^T j^nr^nr [i*] ^% ^T^^^ri^^T fin^ft- 49 c^W^^f ^^rof^TO^TJ^T ftrf|^^(^f)fcr II TRANSLATION 16 Success 1 Hail' There was in the of the (Verse 1) lineage Pandavas of extremely spotless gloiy and abundant a of who lustre, king Mekala, acquncd wide fame and became foremost among the lords of the earth who, by his own glonous deeds, has, for all time, become icnowncd m this world the name of a by Jayabala, disposer of Fortune, who had a charming fonn and was with a adorned multitude of excellent qualities

(V 2) He had a son, who resembled the lord of Vatsa 17 c (i Udayana) , who attained victories in battles, who was famous, compassionate, endowed with viitucs and conveisant

1 Metre of this and the next verse Sragdhata 2 the Chhabra^ ingeniously suggests reading

1 ! This msarga, is superfluous 12 This msarga is also superfluous 13 Metre of this and the following two verses Anushtubh 14 This of sign punctuation is superfluous 15 This anusvdra is superfluous 16 In this I have derived some from help Dr Chhabia's tianslation of this record ** & P emendatlon If the text ureted Vatswara-pratisamo is to be interpreted as7it stands,^nT^f^^Vatsesvara willnTbe the^ same as Vatsaraja mentioned m the next verse BAMHANI PLATES OF BHARATABAIA

with fi. ., <, who , fc ,,, ^ ,

to and (Aw) people, righteous devoted to good WaS e ll StnOUS N abala ****** ^ > born of the illustrious DroniST^ I? who7 f !r >., Dronabhattaoka, meditated on his feet, who was a devout of and a worshipper MaheLa (Siva great patron of the who was Brahmanas, (redded as) the most revered teach" a deity and the supreme and was divinity possessed of royal fortune (V 4) As he marched the along, earth, the paths on which were pounded bv the hoot of (his) hoises, obscured the quarters, their farthest regions becoming dry and disturbed b% his dust, (but) elephants, whose temples were soiled with the rutting juice, immediatdv restored ordei to them, making them wet with the their spray (of rut} Then there is his the (Line 13) son, illustrious Maharaja Bharata, born of the illustrious Indrabhattarika, who meditates on queen his feet, v^ho is a devout worshipper of MahesVara and a great of the patron Brahmanas, (and) who (is regarded as) the most revered a teacher, deity and the supreme divinity From her who was (V 5) endowed with the qualities of compassion and good nature as also with and theie generosity wisdom, was born the son (known as) Indra possessed of a and spotless lovely lustre, even as Karttikeya was born from (Paivati) the daughter of the lord of mountains

He is in i (V 6) (the god) Indra the destruction (of his enemies) and (the god Fire bnlhant with lustre, he is amiable and steadfast in his adherence to good behavioir, ne has attained and in mantias lecited b\ the authority eminence consequence of the (sacred) Biahmanas, his appearance makes good persons happy and leads to attainment, bv the people, of religious merit and prosperity, he is alwavs honoured bv good persons with piesents of wealth even as sacrificial fire kindled on the altar is with offerings (ofgnee etc } all with dead bodies (V 7) He, the powerful one, who has covered regions (the of' the multitude of the mighty and roaring enemies whom he has foiciblv overthrown even tiees as an excellent quarter-elephant does with the lofty, thickly growing and resounding it wealth which uproots May the Earth, who yields (the thtee objects of) icligious merit, and enjoyment, produce abundant prosperity due to good government thioughout the 21 entae dominion of this king who thus exerts himself foremost the lords of the earth, (V 8) The illustrious king Bharata, the among who has shelter to the Fortune resembles (Indra) the lord of gods, in valour (he) given his arm of the multitude of foes slain by him, when she resorted to The matchless one - heie nom the woild of as it the herself, descended godb, (V 9) who is, were, Ganga which is has character, and spotless like crvstal, sanctifying the peoples (she) who bught white even as the has a pure stieam of cnstal-hke purified by restraints and vows Ganga who is endowed with a multitude of and clear water, which flows within its banks, (and)

the has its waves of watei , tianquihty and other virtues just as Ganga has become the best loval consoit of the king (V 10) who, (named) LSkaprakasa, in a familv of the like the moon-beams, who, being born Bharatabala, whose fame is (lovely)

1 enemies desolate He made the palaces of his n 3. 2 For the construction, see above, p 85, 88 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

of three gods, has become highly renowned, who, by her constant pursuit (the pumshdrthas of) the darkness of has religious merit, prosperity and happiness, has dispelled ignorance (and) in 1 who has attained an eminent status with become extremely resplendent the world , (and) her sons and grandsons, who, lion-like princes as they are, are devoted to justice and dis- cipline illustrious 2 the who is endowed with a multitude of (V 11) That king , sovereign, excellences, who has destroyed his enemies, whose pair of feet, having the grace ofJull- blown lotuses, and rubbed by the heads of several feudatory princes subdued by his perfect triad of powers, has overcome all regions and whose birth is highly extolled by the people as being in the famous Lunar rate issues the order to all (Line 34) [He] following residents concerned headed by (the the the Chief of the the officials, mz ) Grdmakuta, Drondgraka, Devavdnka and the Gandakasm (the

village] Vardhamanaka in the vishaya of Panchagarta (included) in the Uttara-rashtra (Northern Division) of Mekala (Line 36) "Be it known to you that for the increase of the religious merit of Our father and mother and of Ourself, We have donated this village extending to its four 4 with treasures boundaries, together with udranga and upankara , together and deposits, the that it soldiers and (with privilege is) not to be entered by (Our) and policemen except for punishing thieves, to the illustrious Lohitasarasvamin of the Vatsa gotra and the

Madhyandina Jakhd, (to be enjoyed by him and his successors) as long as the moon, the sun, the earth and the stars will endure.

Knowing this, you should obey his orders and offer him the bhdga and bhoga according " to custom

This command has been given by Me personally And those kings also who will be

born m Our family should consent to and maintain this gift And whosoever will cause in obstruction (the enjoyment of) this grant, will incur (the guilt of) the five great sins occur three verses (Here bemdutwe and imprecatory ) (Line 47) This charter is concluded In the year 2 of the increasingly victorious on the thirteenth of of reign, (Iwar day) the dark (fortnight) Bhadrapada, the nakshatra being Pushya. This charter has been written by Siva, son of the Rahasika Isana and engraved by Mihiraka, son of the goldsmith Isvara.

1 There is obviously a pun. on her name Lokaprakafa 2 There is a on the word narendra which means here a pun (i) king (viz Bharatabala) and the Vakataka king Narendrasena The transaction given above is with reference to the first meaning In the e second, saumya vamsa will have to be taken in the sense of a family of gentle nature,' The Vakatakas were Brahmanas by caste. Hence their family is described here as gentle by nature. 3 For these officials, see above, p 84 4 Udranga and upankara correspond to the bhaga and bhoga mentioned below in line 40. Udranga was probably a land-tax while upankara signified some miscellaneous taxes in kind such as are mentioned in the MSM , Gh. VII, w. 130-32. Nos 20-21 PLATES XX AND XXI NACHNE-KI-TALAI STONE INSCRIPTIONS OF VYAGHRADEVA

two inscriptions were discovered by General Cunningham in 1883-84 He THESEpublished his reading of the larger of them, together with facsimiles of both, In his Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India, Vol XXI, pp 97 f They were next edited with facsimiles and a translation by Dr Fleet in the Corpus Inscnptionum Indicarum, Vol III, pp 233 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles The inscriptions are on a loose slab which was found lying on the ground outside the fort of Kuthara neai the village Nachne-ki-talai, about seven miles north-west of Jaso, the chief town of the former Jaso State, now included in Madhya Pradesh Inscription No 20 is incomplete and is engraved on one of the sides of the slab, while inscription No 21 which is complete is on the face of it The former inscription was left incomplete probably because that side of the stone was found too rough The inscription was therefore commenced again and finished on what is now the front side of the slab The writing of No 20 covers a space of about 1' 9f" broad by 1\" high, that of No 21, about I' 9" broad by 1' 1" high In the centre of the larger inscription there is the figure of a wheel which Jayaswal took to be a characteristic symbol of the Vakatakas The characters belong to the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets There has been a great difference of opinion about the age of these inscriptions, which, as stated below, refer themselves to the reign of the Vakataka Maharaja Prithivishena. Dr Fleet did not examine this question Perhaps there was no need to do so as there was only one Vakataka king of the name Prithivishena known when he edited these records He naturaly assigned

1 them to Prithivishena I, mentioned in the grants of Pravaiasena II The Balaghat plates that which were discovered later have brought to notice another king of name, viz ,

Prithivishena II, who was the fourth lineal descendant of Pnthivishena I Since then scholars have been sharply divided on the question of the identity of the Prithivishena such as Dr during whose reign the present records were incised Some of them 2 Dr 3 and Prof H G 4 that he was the first Sukthankar , Jayaswal Raychaudhun thought king of that name Rao Bahadur K N Dikshit, however, pointed out that the characters of the Nachna and Ganj inscriptions were later in date than those of the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta5 He therefore identified the Prithivishena of these inscriptions with Prithivishena II of the Balaghat plates The same opinion has been expressed by Prof. 6 7 the Jouveau-Dubreuil and Dr R G Majumdar Recently Dr D G Sircar has reopened e the of the Nachna and question by pointing out that palaeographical peculiarities Ganj than those of even the Basim of inscriptions are undoubtedly earlier plates Vindhyasakti II, ' I 8 has drawn attention to the form of a grandson of Pravarasena He pointed triangular

1C II, Vol III, p 233 2Ep Ind, Vol XVII, p 13 3 etc 73 History of India, , p 4 Political History of Ancient India, p 541 5Ep Ind, Vol XVII, p 362 6 Ind Ant Vol LV, pp 103 f 7 J.RASB, Vol XII, pp 1 f ZHCIP, Vol III, p. 179, n. 1. 90 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

He is therefore v and the old forms of t and j occurring In the present inscriptions definitely to the of Prithivishena I In view of this of the opinion that these inscriptions belong reign this rather Dr Sircar seems conflict of opinions it is necessary to examine question closely out of use soon after the time of Prithivishena I to think that the triangular form of v went and so these records cannot be referred to the reign of Prithivishena II, when the rectangular of the As form of that letter was in vogue This is not borne out by the inscriptions age v come into use even before the time of Prithi- a matter of fact, the rectangular form of had 1 of vishena I We notice several instances of it in the Eran stone inscription Samudra- line 24 etc On the other hand, the form gupta, see kulavadhuh, line 20, mchwtya, triangular for we find it used in the Sanchi of v did not disappear soon after the age of Prithivishena I, 2 see e mahdmhare, line 1, line inscription of Chandragupta II, dated G 93, g smvva-guna-, 8 etc Indeed, it continued in use much longer, for while the inscriptions of the Vakatakas stone of Skandavarman 3 and the generally use the rectangular v, the Podagadh Inscription 4 form of that see e Kesanbeda plates of Arthapati use the triangular letter, g Bhavadattasya, line 1 and line 7 in the line 3, and a-pravesyam, line 8 in the former, and vibhah, dhruva-, did not flourish earlier than Prithi- latter The Nala kings Skandavarman and Arthapati 5 are incised in box- vishena II It is noteworthy that all the inscriptions mentioned above headed characters The triangular form of v is therefore no indisputable evidence which I can be said of would compel us to assign the present records to Prithivishena The same It is the so-called old forms of j and t, for these also occur in the Podagadh inscription in other true that the form of v in the present Inscriptions is more angular than that seen the records mentioned above, but angularity is no sure sign of an earlier age As pointed out by Kielhorn, 6 the characters of Pravaiasena IPs grants are more angular than those of the II it is not that the writer Balaghat plates of his grandson Prithivishena Besides, unlikely the form of v current in that of the Nachna and Ganj msciiptions was influenced by the Nachna and are the locality We must note m this connection that Ganj inscriptions only records In box-headed characters from the Baghelkhand region The standard form 7 of characters current in that locality \vas nail-headed as seen in the Mjhgawam plates 8 of of Hastin and the Bamhani plates of Bharatabala The writer the Nachna and Ganj 9 inscriptions was appaiently not quite familiar with the box-headed characteis though he wrote the records m them evidently to please the Vakataka overlord He therefore seems to have unconsciously imitated the form of v from the nail-headed alphabet with which he was more familiar We find an analogous instance in the Poona plates of Prabhavatigupta The writer of that grant, who probably hailed from North India, was not quite familiar with box-headed characters which were current m Vidaibha He commenced to write in

them the legend on the seal, but after writing the first foui letters viz Vakataka, he gave them up and wrote the remaining legend in nail-headed characters The triangular form

1(7/7, Vol III, plate facing, p 20 2 Ibid Vol , III, plate facing, p 28 *Ep Ind,Vo\ XXI, pp 153 f *Ibid Vol 12 f t XXVIII, p 5 Dr Sircar thinks that the Nala king Skandavarman was a contemporary of the Early Chalukya Kirtivarman I See Vol 189 king (567-97 AC) HCIP , III, p SEp Ind, Vol IX, p 268 ?C//,Vol III, pp 106 ff 8 No 19, above 9 As observed by Sukthankar, the letters of these epigraphs are uncouth in appearance NACHNE-KI-TALAI STONE INSCRIPTIONS OF VYAGHRADEVA 91

of v is therefore no sure of the of 1 sign early age these inscriptions The forms ofj and t also do not the view that these 2 pieclude records belong to the reign of Prithivishena II . is Sanskiit The language and both the inscriptions are in prose As regards ortho- the that need be noticed is graphy, only point the doubling ofdk before y in -anuddhyata- in line 2 of No 21

Inscription No 20, which is incomplete, mentions in the first line the name of the Prithivishena. of Vakataka Mahaiaja The name his feudatory Vyaghra is incompletely Incised in line 2 No 21 mentions the names of both and records that Vyaghradeva made something, perhaps a temple, a well or a tank, for the religious meiit of his father and mother. The iccoid is not dated, but since it blongs to the reign of Prithivishena II as shown above, it be referred to the 470 to 490 may period A G Vyaghradeva of the present inscriptions is identical with the of the probably king Vyaghra Uchchhakalpa dynasty who was ruling ovei the region in the same peiiod The latter's son Jayanatha was ruling in G, 174 and 3 G 177 His icign may therefore have extended from G 170 to G 190. Vyaghra, his fathei, was therefore piobably ruling fiom ciica G 150 to G 170 i e from 470 A C to 490 A C He was thus a contemporary of the Vakataka king Prithivishena II.

TEXT4

No 20

No 21

2

3 ansReft ^rmrfinfrf *] 4

TRANSLATION8

feet of illustiious Vyaghradeva who meditates on the the Prithivishena (II), the of Maharaja of the Vakatakas, has made (this) for the religious merit (his) mother and father

1 This form of y occurs throughout in the BamhanI plates of Narendrasena's feudatory Bharatabala 2 For the examination of other arguments advanced in support of the view that these inscriptions to the of see xu f above belong reign Prithivishena I, Introduction, pp. , 3 1 1 Vol 117 and 121 dates of the are recorded in the C , III, pp The Uchchakalpa kings not the era as shown in Ind Vol 171 f Gupta, Kalachun, by me Ep , XXIII, pp 4 From the facsimiles facing page 234 in Fleets C/7, Vol, III 5 This akshara was at first omitted and then written below the line 6 This akshara was at first omitted and subsequently written below the line. 7 Read t^rfrfr 8 This is a translation of No 21. No 20 is fragmentary and mentions only Vyaghra and the illustrious Prithivishena (II), the Maharaja of the Vakatakas No 22 PLATE XXII GANJ STONE INSCRIPTION OF VYAGHRADEVA

inscription was discovered by Mr R D Banerji in 1919 It was edited fot the THISfirst time with a facsimile and a translation by Dr V S Sukthankar in the Epigiaphia Indica, Vol XVII, pp 12 ff It is edited heic from the same facsimile The inscription is engraved on a detached slab of stone which Mi Banerji found lying

at the bottom of a donga., adjoining a hill called Maluha-tongi near Ganj in the foimci Ajayagadh state, now included in Madhya Piadesh Close by is a mined stone stiuctuie, probably a dam to hold the waters of the stream passing along the donga The lindspot of the present inscription is not far removed from the ruined city of Kuthata where the

1 Nachne-ki-talai inscriptions were discovered The present inscription is much bettei preserved than the preceding two iccoids of the same king The writing covers a space 2' 1" by 1' As in the Nachne-ki-tlaai inscriptions, there is in the centre of the first line the figure of a wheel The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets, resembling closely those of the preceding two records As observed by Sukthankai, they aie unequal in size and uncouth in appearance The language is Sanskrit and the whole record is in prose The ortho- shows the same as graphy peculiarities in the two preceding inscriptions The is of who inscription Vyaghradeva, meditated on the feet of LheVakStakaMato dja Prithivishena. He was evidently a fuedatory of the latter The object of the msciiption is to record that Vyaghradeva did something, perhaps a dam to stem the waters of a sliceim, foi the religious merit of his parents As shown before, this Vyaghia was probably identic al with the homonymous prince of the Uchchakalpa dynasty who flemished in citca 470-90 2 His suzerain was AC therefore probably the Vakataka king Prithivishena II

TEXT3

2 5 3 ^^](^)ficfft-fcr [I*]

TRANSLATION

who meditates on the feet of the illustnous Vyaghradeva^ Prithivishena (II), the of the has made for Maharaja Vakatakas, (this) the religious merit of his mothei and fathci

*Ep Ind,Vo\ XVII, p 12 2 Sukthankar referred the record to the seventh A c 3 century From the facsimile 12 in facing page Ep Ind , Vol XVII 4 The superscript z is not clear. 5 Read COEPUS INSCRIPTION IXDICARUM

VOL v *1 VTL xxu

IW

ofc

O

o H

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

No 23: PLATE XXIII BASIM PLATES OF VINDHYASAKTI H

plates were discovered by Pandit Vasudev Sastri Dhanagare at Basim, the THESEheadquarters of the Basim tahsil of the Akola District in Vidarbha There were first published with facsimiles by Dr. Y. K Deshpande and D B Mahajan in the Proceedings of the Indian f were re-edited with fresh facsimiles History Congress> Thiid Session, pp. 459 They by Mr D B Mahajan and myself in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol XXVI, pp 137 f They are edited here from the same facsimiles. The plates are in the possession of Mr Dhanagare at Basim. The copper-plates are four in number, each measuring 61" broad and 3 4" high The first and fourth plates are inscribed on one side only, and the other two on both the sides Their ends are neither fashioned thicker nor raised into rims, still the inscription is in a good state of preservation About 1 2" from the middle of the proper right edge of each plate, there is a round hole, 25" in diameter for the ring which holds the plates together The ring, however, has no seal. The total weight of the plates together with the ring is 47J tolas The inscription contains thirty lines of writing, which are equally divided on the six inscribed sides of the four plates The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets, lesembling those of the grants of Pravarasena II The only peculiarities that need be noticed here are

is in as follows* The medial au is bipartite as in -pautiasya, line 3; kh some cases without a loop, cf. lakkhadha, line 25; t and n are not distinguished in many places, both being denoted line the by the same form, see -vvachanat, line 5, hemanta, line 28 and anumannati, 26; lingual n has an identical form whether it is used as a subscript or a superscript letter, as in a-hvanna- dhdnna, line 20. Numerical symbols for 30, 7 and 4 occm in lines 28 and 29 of the text, those for 1 to 4 on the first inscribed side of the respective plates Of these the symbol with an additional for 4 in line 29 is noteworthy, for it consists of the sign for ka curve, In the of the same not at the top as usual, but at the right side of its horizontal bar margin is its short form without plate, the svmbol is exactly like ka A final consonant indicated by at line 5 a crescent-like curve is used here and there a box the head ; see ~wachandt, Finally, of the as a mark ofpunctuation, which is redundant inmost cases The language inscription of the in lines 1-5 is partly Sanskrit and partly Prakrit. The genealogical portion grant but like the is in Sanskrit, the formal portion which follows is m Prakrit, Hirahadgalli sentence in Sanskrit It is note- plates, the present inscription closes with a benedictoiy and there aie worthy that as in early Prakrit inscriptions of the Pallavas Brihatphalayanas, calls for no no benedictive or imprecatory verses at the end. The Sanskrit portion special as Vishnuvriddha notice except that the gotta of the Vakatakas which is usually given appears it is the here in the form Vrishnivriddha. The' former is evidently the correct form; for only on the and The Prakrit form of the gotra given by the standard works gotras pravatas por- for this is one of the few grants tion of the inscription deserves careful study; coppei -plate from south India which contain a detailed portion in Piakrit Even in this portion, however, the Sanskrit svasti-santt- the language is influenced by Sanskrit; see, eg expressions which are inseited in the midst of vachane, lines 8-9, sa-mancha-mahakcnana, line 24 etc, 94 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

has technical Prakrit sentences The present giant many expressions ^mentioning exemptions to the of Pallava but granted to the donees which are common grants Sivaskandavarman, several instances of double unlike the latter, the present inscription shows consonants, though for double ones are no means see cases of single consonants doing duty by rare; e.g contrast line 18 etc In some the Chdtuvejja-ggdma-majjdtd, line 19 and Revatyesi, respects confoim to the rules of Piakrit language of the present record does not strictly grammarians; 56 Other see e g tinnd in line 17 instead of tinm laid down by Vararuchi, VI, notewoithy forms are se in line 19 in the sense oftasya,ya in lines 7, 19, 25 and 26 meaning cha, and the As for the dialect it as be euphonic nasal etthan-gdme in line 9 used, is, might expected, e the 1 in line but it is curious to note that the Maharashtri, see, g , apuno (for regular appano ) 8, this record found in the heart of Maharashtra exhibits some peculiarities which ai e usually e the of th into dh in line and the ascribed to the Saurasem, see, g , softening Adhivvamka, 9, verbal forms rakkhadha, rakkhdpedha, panharadha and panhardpedhcfi in lines 25 and 26 and dam* in line 8 On the other hand, we have the haidening of d into t m majjdtd, line 19 as in the Paisachii These forms show that the peculiarities of the seveial dialects weie not after strictly confined to the provinces which they were named are the forms si used in the sense of the Especially noteworthy in (or sim) dative, c.g , etc in lines 10-18 Jivujjesim (Sanskrit, Jwdiydya), Ruddqjesi (Sanskrit, Rudraiyaya) Accoid- to 4 the dative case has from the its ing grammarians , disappeared Prakrits, place being taken by the genitive The genitive singular of nouns in a usually endb in rw (written as sa in very early records) and this is the form which is invariably found in othet Prakrit inscriptions. The form in si (or, sim) which is found throughout in the present inscription has survived in old Marathi works like the Lildchantra and the Jnarietvari It is the parent of the Marathi dative affix sa

The only orthographical peculiarities that call for notice are the i cduphcation of a consonant after i in (as Dharmma-, line 1) and anusvdta (as in sd\m\vvachchhatam, line 28), foi as in the use ofj y katejja, line 26 and the use of the class- nasal in place of anusvdra m Sanskrit and Prakrit see words, eg Vindhyasakti -^ line 5 and a-chammanguliKa, line 22 Like other finished Vakataka grants, the present inscription opens with the woicl dnshtam ' seen the ', auspicious word siddham being written in the mat gin of the fust plate as in the Hirahadgalli plates of Sivaskandavarman The insciiption icfers itscll to the reign of the Vakataka the king, Dhatmamahdi dja Vindhyasakti. The object of it is to i egistei the grant, by Vindhyasakti, of the village Akasapadda^ which was situated near Takalakkhop- in paka thenorthern mdrga (Subdivision) of Nandikada. The donees wei e cei tain Brahma- nas of the Atharvana charana or the Atharvaveda It may be noted that a Brahmana of this Veda is mentioned as the donee in the Tirodi plates of Pravai asena II also The names of the donees ended in arya as in some other grants of the Vakatakas The land 01 the revenue of the was divided into four village parts, of which three \veie assigned to eight Brahmanas and the one remaining to one Brahmana The shaies of the foimei,

1 Vararuchi, V, 45 In SaurasenI the form would be attano 2 Ibid., XII, 3 3 ai dr ayS d Wn damm m VIH 4 ' ' 277 but sa g ' y that thc final *aro'' * * ?^TTr ! on! optionallyl ' dropped (VIII, 1, 29) 4 Vararuchi, VI, 64 1S the Vlllage gwen m Plural as Valurakesu m No 13 at K

four of them received half a shaie 1 and again, were not equal, only the remaining; foui, UKJ shares each

The plates are dated in the thirty-seventh year ^expressed in numerical symbols evidently of the reign of the donor Vindhyasakti, on the 4th day of the first fortnight of Hemanta. The date is noteworthy, for it is one of the two season dates occunmg in the

i was written bv the Vanhu i Vishnu and uas grants of the Vakatakas The grant Sendpati issued from Vatsagulma. of the donor asakti The inscription gives the following genealogy Vindhv Pravarasena, ith Vmdhvasakti the his son Sarvasena and the latter son Vindhyasakti. In connection u that he had the Vajape\a, Inscription purports to state performed Agnishtoma, Aptor>ama, and four and that he was a Hantiputra Jyotishtoma, Bnhaspatisava Sadyaskra Asvamedhas, These two latter aie found i e a descendant of and epithets (a son, 5 Haritt) Dhwmamaharaja this Thev seem to ha\e been adopted from applied to a Vakataka king m giant only As one was known before the disco\en the grants of the Kadambas only Vindhyasakti the in Ca\e he who is mentioned in the Puranas and m inscription of the present plates mz , that the donor of the was identical XVI at Ajanta, it was at first naturally supposed plates The was therefoie with the celebrated founder of the Vakataka dynasty present inscription asakti of the Vakatakas two before Vindfc supposed to cariy the genealogy generations of the giant is in It has since been pointed out that the genealogical portion piesent faulty connection the Dkammahndja thiee times in construction; for it seems to repeat epithet almost the with the perfoimance of with Vindhyasakti Besides, it credits Vindhyasakti m connection with Pmarasena I same number of identical sacrifices as those mentioned therefore that the expressions sn-Pmw asena-pautraw in all other Vakataka grants* It seems a in line 4 are to be taken as m-Piawasenasya paut,as} m line 3 and sn-Sarvafena-putiasya - m the so that the adjectival expressions and SrUSavasSnaya putrasya, preceding and s> would agree with sn-Praw asenasya including the epithet Dhawiamahdi djasya the thiee to this construction, all Ungs respectively According * the Dlwmamah" Sarvasena and Vindhyasakti, would receive epithet the thus be no tautology Besides, expression Agmshtom-Aptoyyam^ and wouW ^^ ,^ toz^*] tt , ^-, THIS is

therefore be as in the .vould VindhyaSak* I The genealogy present plates Pravarasena I

(son) Sarvastina

(son) Vindhyasakti II * T Afferent branch This would therefore be a Pravarasena II and in several of to the genealogy insertions -^' *-

XVI ' PP 96 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

was succeeded by his grandson Rudrasena I, the son of Gautamiputra, who probably did not come to the throne

These princes were also mentioned in the inscription m Cave XVI at Ajanta, but owing to the mutilated condition of it their names were differently read by Dr Bhau Daji, Pandit Bhagvanlal and Dr Buhler, who edited it from time to time The correct readings have since been restored 1

As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Vatsagulma, which was evidently the capital of this branch, is undoubtedly modern Basim where the plates were discovered. The place-name is variously derived The Jayamangald, a commentary on the Kdmasuha, 2 states that Vafca and Gulma were two uterine brotheis and princes of Dakshmapatha The country settled by them came to be known as Vatsagulmaka The local Mahdtmya gives an altogether different derivation It states that Vatsa was a sage who by his very severe austerities made an assemblage (gulma) of gods come down and settle in the vicinity of his Both these hermitage derivations are evidently conjectural The Vatsagulmaka country is mentioned the Kdmasutia of m Vatsyayana which describes some peculiar customs current there is also Vatsagulma mentioned by Rajasekhara in his works Karpuramanjarl and 3 Kdvyamimdmsd Nandikada, which was the of a district is apparently headquarters , probably identical with Nanded the chief town of a district of the same name in the Maharashtra State and the Takalakkhoppaka donated village Akasapadda which was situated neai it cannot be identified From the definitely description in line 6 we learn that they lay in the northern subdivision of Nandikada Now, on the road which connects Nanded with Basim, which lies about 75 miles to the north of there it, are two villages Takallgohan and Takali, about 40 and 45 miles from respectively Nanded One of these may represent ancient About 7 miles to the Takalakkhoppaka. west ofTakalig5han theie is still n small named Asund which is village possibly identical with Akasapadda. The identification of Nandikada with NandSd which is almost certain shows that Vindhyasakti II was ruling over southern Berar and the northern part of the formei Hyderabad State TEXT4 First Plate

2 *g^*rcrrer^(^ 3 4 -H^KMt-H ^nprer 3 I-H H $KN ^ 9 10 5

f ^ m thC Hydeiabad Archaedqpcal Scxic,, No 14 Sec also turn Nosbeb mscnp- tJCamasutra ed 295 The (Nimayasagar ), p Bnhatkatha also probably mentioned Vatsa and Gulma as the sons of a Brahmana and the maternal uncles of Gunadhya It docs not, however, state that th^ founded a city named Vatsagulma See Bnhatkathamanjan, I, 3, 4, and ' Kat^sant^l 69 " (C g ^^^ *"**> ^ ln ^ of as names ^lr~ &*' STvatoiLs 4 From the facsimiles facing pages 152 and 153 in Ind Vol 5 Ep , XXVI This word is written in the margin on a level with line 3 6Qther Vakataka name this plates gbtra as Vishnuvnddha See No 3 line 9 7 Read 8 Read

thisi line m the theie is a margin sign for 1 denoting the number of 10AppositeThis mark of the PpUte punctuation is superfluous "The first engraver incised da which he afterwards altered to CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE XXIII

BASIM PLATES OF VINDHYASAKTI II

10

14 14

PRINTED AT THE SURVEY OF INDIA OFFICES (P L O ) D C Sircar Scale Three-fourths REG No 3977 E'36-1103'61 , 16

20

24

28

30 BASIM PLATES OF VINDHYASAKTI II 97

Second Plate : Fust Side

6 7 8 9 9 u 10 ^nw srng^r i ^iwqi

Second Plate Second Side

1 1 12 13 14 15

Thud Plate* First Side

(Sanskrit, Ajnapto) is the same as Dutaka who was to see to the execution of the royal order. 2 Cf srrfTRrs^rfcfTr^rfsr^rr in the Sanskrit giants, see above, No. 3, line 21. 3 In the margin to the left there is a sign for 2, denoting the number of this plate 4 Hemachandra (VIII, 1, 29, IV, 277) gives both dam and dammm the Saurasem. Dam occurs In the also Ind Vol 5 Hirahadgalh plates Ep , I, p 5 Prakrit grammarians give appano as the correct form in the Maharashtri, see Vararuchi, V, 46 com (Bhamaha's ) , Hemachandra, VIII, 3, 56 6 Hultzsch takes similar expressions which occur in lines 5-6 of the Mayidavolu plates as Magadlil nominatives It is better to take them as locative singular forms, denoting purpose In the Hiraha- and British the dagalli Museum plates gerund kdtuna or katunam follows -vaddhamyam or vaddhartiye. 7 Such an expression does not occur in the Sanskrit charters of the Vakatakas. 8 of th into is The softening dh characteristic of the SaurasenI See also takkhadha, t akkhapedha, toanharedha, and panharapedha in lines 25-26, below 9 The signs of punctuations in lines 10-18 are superfluous 10 The anusvara on si is very faint, but it is there 11 The gotra Sravishtha or Sravishthayana is not mentioned in the Gohapravarambandhakadamba, the of the Kadamba Harivarman Ind but Sangoli grant king (Ep , Vol XIV, p. 167) names some of it is Brahmanas the Sravishtha gotra and noteworthy that like the donees of the present grant, they all belonged to the Atharvaveda 12 The Hirahadagalli plates have, in line 27, etesi bamhandnam 13 The correct form is tinni in all genders See Vataruchz, IV, 56 14 In the on the on a level with this there is a for 3 margin left, line, sign 3 denoting the number of :his plate is of ibid !5This genitive singular tad, , VI, 11 16 This form of the word the of d into occurs in line (with hardening t] 45 of the Hirahadagalli plates. According to Prakrit grammarians this is a characteristic of the Paisachi dialect 17 The marks of punctuation in lines 20-27 are superfluous. 18 This seems to correspond to fanva in the Sanskrit charteis of the Vakatakas See e g No. 2 ine 17. 98 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

T/md Plate Second Side

1 < u 21 -HN *$q i 1 siyu^PhsKui^r sFTW^Trfaferf [i] 22 23

i *i IOGI*II

Fourth Plate

26 Mf<4

TRANSLATION

Success ! Seen From Vatsagulma- the order of the the By Dhatmamakdtdja, illustrious Vindhyasakti (II) of the Vakatakas, the son of the the is) DharmamaJidrdja, illustrious Sarvasena (and) grandson of the Dharmamahmaja, the Illustrious Pravarasena the and the son (I), Samrdt, (i e. descendant) of Haritii2 9 of the Vnshnivriddha and (who was) gotra who performed Agnishtoma, Aptoryama, 3 , Vajapeya, Jyotishtomai Brihaspatisava, Sadyaskra and four Asvamedhas : The and soldieis who are Ajnaptf* employed by us m all departments^ as well as other of noble birth in (towing officials) (the village) Akasapadda, which is situated near Takalakk- in the northern division of hoppaka (mdrga) Nandikada, should be caused to be addressed (as follows)

1 The curve on na seems to have been cancelled 2 The at first engravei incised da which he later changed to cha ThlS C rreSp ndS tO m the Sanskrit ^'^P^P^P^ charters of the Vakatakas Sec e line 28 g No 3,

*I am indebted to Dr B Gh Chhabra for the reading of this expiession 51 he letter after ma has been cancelled 6 Read tassa 7^Read panlupitehi veditassa Cf No 3, line 31 1 " ^ 1Cftj alm St n a leVd Wth ^ hnC ' 1S a S ^ ^M ** *> the l^ ^otuig last three aksharasof this woid are incised over others which have been cancelledn^^n.u 1(J Read Vanhitna 11 There is an ornamental symbol between these two sets of dandas "The epithet Hantiputra occurs in the inscriptions of the Kadambas and iho T^.ri nt -i i See e the M " g Talagunda inscription of Kakusthavarman 2nd Vol (Ep , VII I t n ^l M 1 S? rsss-ts; "t ft sssj? 4y aibcipieri01 Hariti Cf. meaning a Buddhist. Sakya-putra BASIM PLATES OF VINDHYASAKTI II 99

the increase of life (Lines 7-10) For (Out) and po\vei, for invoking blessings and peace and for Our in this world and the We have now in our (for Us), well-being next, granted, 1 this to membeis the victorious place of religious worship , village (the following of) Atharvanila 2 chaiana in this village as a new gift which is to be enjoved as long as the moon and the sun

three 3 of it to these f ? will endure, (in the following proportion), mz , parts (infigures) following Brahmanas half a share being given to Jivujja (Jivarya) of the Bhalandayana gotra, to of the to a of the Ruddajja (Rudrarya) Kapinjala gotta, Bhattidevajja (Bhartndevan j of the Kausika Shravishthayana gotra, to Deaja (Devarya) te, toVenhujja (Vishmana; of the Kausika to (Pitrarva/ oi of the Kausika gotra, to Vidhyja (Vidhyarya) gotra, Pituja of the the Paippaladi gotra, to Chandaja (Chandrarya) Bhalandayana gotra (and] tojetthaja to CBuddh- Kausika 3 two shares Buddhaja (Jyeshtharya) of the gotra (and) being given to of the Kausika to arya) of the Bhalandayana gotra, Bhaddilajja (Bhadrilarya) gotra, the Kausika to Hannnaja (Hiranyar>a) of the Kausika Sivajja (Sivarya) of gotta, (and) 1 to of the Kausika gotra the fourth , Revatyja (Revatyarva) gotra** and part, (in figure) as the from restrictions for it, such (Lines 19-21) And We grant following exemptions the Brahmanas in the four Vedas, as appro\ed aie incidental to a village granted to proficient entrance the District to be it is to be from (the of) Police', exempt by former kings, mz , exempt to fermentation of it is to be exempt from (the obligation from the digging of salt and liquor, to flowers it does not entitle State) (the royalties on) make) presents of gram and gold*, (the hides and and it is not to provide pasture, and milks and to the customary cows bullocks^, and ser- it is not to provide cots, water-pots? charcoal, it is not to be entered by soldiers, it is vants (to tounng royal officer), *^^^>^*^^^to and minor taxes, and to platforms and major carries with it the right to treasures deposits, with immunities of all kinds larse fields^ and it is to be exempted nnd it it to be exempt should it, cause protected, (Snes 24-30) Wheiefore, you protect this charter as authontatne and cause it to be exempted, regarding

_ _ - . Dharmasthane ^hen ------In VakatakaVltava chaitersrhaiters it qqualifies 1 seems to be misplaced Vijaya-vejayike the the grant was made at capital lie of the Athaivaveda ,/,,//, n C Sircar proposes to translate the ' is Senart translates express** STbs how J V I j -*^"^*ee$ ' ^ P ' of the {^ to be controlled as other parts kingdom m the it by not to the or nata,am paid J, iprarnya means the customary present Ind Vol VIII, p 1/S Rudradaman Ep , Tunagadh inscription of VU J state , 5These were taxes in kind pasd to the ^W wMa _gAmm of the 6The These latter expressions expression ^<^M^^^,^^Xidavolu plates and ht ** "" HuahadagaJh plates 01 8 * * J ^^***^^^S^' from the obligation ^ means to ^ have been taken to denote exemption &

were rather that the viUage people *> .*. the corresponds cMU .t waer pot hich the Hultzsch derives tUUto from & ^ MM^ plates It P* e senants m the ^arahadagalh , to Siayldavolu and ^ obhgatlon prowd a in the sense of a slave, dependent^ dictionaries give meant here officers is ( for tounng perhaps held in the sense of a 8Dict,onanes give karma 100 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

Whoever will cause trouble or approve of it when caused, upon him, when complained with a fine. against by the aforementioned Brahmanas we will inflict punishment together tne (Line 28-30). In the year 30 (and) 7, in the first fortnight of winter, on day 4. This order, given by Us personally, has been written by the S'enapati Vishnu. May there be success ! No 24 PLATE XXIV INDIA OFFICE PLATE OF DEVASENA

HIS plate was in the possession of the India Office, London, but it isnotknoun ho\* or T when it went there Its oiiginal find-spot is not known It was edited \\ith a facsimile by Dr H. N Randle in the New Indian Anttquaiy, Vol II, pp 1 77 f Later, I published a note on it in the same volume of the Journal, pp 721 f It is edited heie from Dr Randle's facsimile ' of the other are not It now It is the first plate of a set, which plates foithcommg inches and 5 but since a has been broken a\\av measures 9|- by 2% weighs ounces, part in an unusual cleai of the on the at the ring-hole (which is fortunately position, inscription, in its condition must have been lather and proper light edge), the plate original longer has the corners rounded off There is heavier The sides are stiaight, but the intact end of three faulv no laised edge or nm The inscription consists lines, engraved deeply (so the and on one side as is usual In the case that some characteis show slightly on reveise), only, Vakataka The first and last akshaias m the third line of the first last) plates of grants (and ' ' c ends the limit of the first two lines* The Insciiption abruptly project beyond The characters are of the box-headed variety of the southern alphabets, resembling \voith Vakataka Pravarasena II, the only peculiarity noticing being those of the grants of the as and the to laise the curves of such letters k, i, subsciipt the geneial tendency upturned / and n occurs in this in Pravarasena II's The confusion of y higher than is usual giants is m The Is Sanskrit and the extant portion ^holl) prose "errant also The language line 2 and line 3 Prakrit as In sachatantara(ka) 9 Tappajjassa, laneuae-e is in places influenced by of a consonant aftei r it is the doubling The only orthographical peculiarity presents line 3 as in -mdgga, line 1 and dhrnmma-, _ have been issued the Vakataka MahaiyaVwswiom The purports to by plate officers addressed to the touimg ro} al (Aafc- Vatsvasulma. It records the order of the king such as the bkatas, BhOjakas and Dandanayakas employed pJ) mentioned^^^^^at the end oflineA had of that the village (probably Yappajja N^garakataka and Bhavasvannn of the Sandiha .ranted him to theBrahmanas Dharmasvami^ been ty i n mentioning the exemp The record ends here abruptly, the subsequent portion, date and the names of the future rulers, the !egnal to the donees, the appeal to

does not open V^takas, the piesent inscription

- the en It not, again In g in the beginning^^^SSi^^ of the king genealogy leigning m encc plovcd too that the^^^ ^ therefore conjectured s LOTS Dr Randle ^ of ^ charter and so the was rejecteeen^s much for the Vakataka official plate ,mto usualK are convincing ^^^ of these reasons, however, quite he None do so imanabh . % Rlddhapur it does not ^j^ occurs In the beginning of Vakataka grants,

hoW ,e occu, n No such epuKe, r) - - ep.het of Bh 2Randle takes Dhanl elsewhere _ . as mlSos I/ and 18. winning of hne 1 102 INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

plates of Prabha\ atlgupta, for instance, do not contain it Foi all we know, the later Vakataka princes of the Vatsagulma bianch may have pmposeh shortened the introductory portion of their grants; for \ve ha\e no copper-plate grants of this branch after Vindhya- sakti IPs time As for grammatical and other mistakes, they are noticed in still greater numbers in several genuine giants of the Vakatakas It would not therefore be wise to reject this grant as unauthorised or spurious Its importance lies in the fact that it is the only lecorcl of Devasena's reign In fact it showed for the first time that Vatsagulma was a capital of the Vakatakas, \\mch was later continued bv the chscoven of the Basim plates ot Vmdhvasakti II

As for the localities mentioned m the present giant, Vatsyagulma is evidently identical with Vatsagulma which has already been shown to be modem Basim in the Akola District of Vidarbha Nangarakataka probably denoted a territorial division cones- ponding to the modern district, though the names of such divisions usually ended in kata. Nangaia, its chief town, cannot be satisfactorily identified If Nangani is the wiiter\s mistake foi Manga* a, the place may be identical \vith Mangiul, (ancient Maiigarapuia), the headquarters of a tahsil of the same name in the Akola District 1 It lies about 25 miles noith bv east of Basim, on the high road which connects Basim with Karanja It was therefore situated in the noithern subdivision (uttaia-marga) as staled in the piesent inscription It seems to have been an ancient place since a large hoard of mote than 1500 coins of the Satav ananas was in its 2 found neighbouihood Yappajja, if this is the correct name of the donated village, cannot be identified

TEXT3

[r]

TRANSLATION

Hail' From the Vatsyagulma B> oiclct of the illustiious Bevasena, tlu of the Vakatakas In Nangarakataka, m the Noithein subdivision (mmga)^ Om touiing Olht<3s <>{ noble birth such as soldiers, Bhojalas and should be - DandanayaLas addrt-^ed \ a* follow*) This 2) Ullage (hat been u, ^(Lme Yappajja panted by fA) DE-armasvSmbt <>i the Sandilya gotta and to Bhavasvamin (The subsequent plates of the cue not giant Joithcmmng )

was first out in m\ note in JV / J pointed , Vol II rmU 7^" 5./, Vol II, pp 83 f 3 From the facsimile 180 in JV I facing p A , Vol II 4 Read 5 Perhaps ^rfewffarc ^FfrW W^rfr'T ^ \vasmttnded 6 This to be a appears Prakrit form. Perhaps *r^ was the name of to be COEPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

VOL V PLATE XXIV

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INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES OF THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

No 25 PLATE XXV AJANTA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA

to b\ Di Bhau who an e\ of inscription was first brought notice Daji, published e-copv its text and a translation in the the Starch THISit togethei with a transcript of Journal of Bombay Vol 56 f Dr Bhau noticed m it the names of the Royal Asiatic Society (1862), VII, pp Daji and and of then mimsteis of the kings VindhyasakU, Pravaiasena Devasena, Hastibhoja and Varaliadeva He identified the first two of these kings with the homonvmous princes of Piaxaia- of the Va-kataka dynasty who had already become known from the Swam plates an note and a tianslanon, but sena II The mscnption was next edited with introductoiy in the the of without A facsimile, by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indrajl Inscriptions fiom Cave-Temples of 69 f Pandit Bhagvanlal noticed Westan India (Archaeological Survey India) (1881), pp VmdhvaSakti,Pra\aiasena, [Rudia]sena; in it the names of the following Vakataka kings the Pandit and Harishena The tianscnpt was piepaied by (a name lost); Devasena, o\ei that of Di Bhau Daji The with his wonted skill and shows a great impiovement and a Di Buhlei in the Archaeolo- ,ecoid was next edited, with a translation hthogiaph, by Dr Buhlei's Vol IV pp 124 f and Plate LXVII gical Sumy of Western India, (1883), Pandit It seems was made from a facsimile caiefully prepared by fihagianlal hOiograph not woiked hand Dr Burner's tianscnpt does however, to have been somewhat up by he noticed two additional names viz Pnthmshena differ much from Pandit Bhagvanlai's, but the record in the portion of and Piavaiascna (II) after [Rujdrasena genealogical he fourt a which I confuted to discussed the contents of the inscription m papei edited from an at Lahoie in 19401 and latei session of the Indian Hfctmy Congress held for m heHvderabad^ the Government Epigiaphist India, excellent estampage supplied by ^ ]M1. Therecoidiseditedherefiomthefacsimilepubhshed^ththat

end outside the xctandab left-side wall at the extieme e mscnpuon is incised on the

of Imes 23 and -fa or two more m the centre at the lowe. left cornel and one the surface of the stone . flaking off of rf HneS) beautl 4

-" * V J. JL V- V V>**- f f Y boxes at the hea southern alphabets The tliat can iui uu^ ato< Deotek.n?ntpk Theine omyonlv ppoints * w e inscription d added at the an additional uptu initial n the is indicated by length v> ^ LUHJ.^.., - ?./? i ^-.^ 17 fhf-uic mfriialuiv,vii^ z is snown oy vettical* see utaafiva-, line i/, medial <7W is bipartite and /to- both m toe , medial i a loop as w tt& ^ by cases a / has m most long is still ^^-, line 16, j- tripartite,

79 f .C, 1940, pp 104 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

form The is Sanskrit and the (e g Lata-, line 14) it has assumed a dimunitive language in number As inscription is in verse throughout The verses are thirty-two regards line 1 and orthography, \ve may note the doubling of the consonant after r as in iwvvdpana-, line 3 The occurs the use of the guttural nasal in stead of anusvara in vansa-, upadhmdniya in lines 2 and 10, and thtjihvamuliya in line 10. The inscription is one of the minister Varahadeva of the Vakataka king Harishena. with The object of it is to record the dedication of a cave-dwelling (vesma) fully decorated but since pillars, picture-galleries, sculptures etc to the Buddhist Sangha It is undated, Harishena ruled from about 475 A C to 500 A it be referi ed to the end of the fifth C , may century AC It is noteworthy that Fergusson and Burgess also assigned the Ajanta cave XVI, where the present record is incised, to about 500 A C on the evidence of the style of its architecture 1

The inscription falls into two paits The first part compiismg the first twenty vetses gi\ es the genealogy of the reigning king Harishena and incidentally names and eulogises Hastibhoja and his son (Varahadeva) who as ministers served the Vakataka kings Devasena and Harishena. The second pait describes the cave-dwelling containing a Buddhist temple (chaitya-manduam} and an excellent hall (mandapa-ratnam) excavated by Varahadeva which he to the Buddhist dedicated Sangha for the religious merit of his father and mothci The main interest of the inscription lies in the first pait which gives the Vakataka from genealogy right Vindhyasakti, the founder of the family The piesent mscnption describes Vindhyasakti as a dmja (Brahmana) who became renowned on earth, having increased his in power great battles His son Pravarasena I is next gloufied m verse 6 as one whose lotus-like feet were kissed by the rays of the crest-jewels of hostile kings Pravarasena Fs son and successor was named and described in veise 7, but owing to the unfortunate mutilation of the record in this part, the name is partially lost Only the latter of it viz -sena is cleai part , Bhagvanlal, who first noticed the name, thought that sena was a traceable preceded by faintly form like dra, so that the name might have been Bhadrasena, Chandrasena, Indrasena, Rudrasena, etc In his transcript of the record he adopted the reading Rudrasena evidently because this name occurs soon after that of Pravarasena I in the Siwarn and Chammak plates of Pravarasena II, which had been discoveied before This was also reading adopted by Buhler, who next edited the piesent inscription It must, however, be noticed that according to the afoi ementioned land- of Piavarasena II, Rudrasena I was not the son of grants Pravarasena I, but was his giandwn, while the states that the successor of present inscription clearly Piavarasena (I) was his wn. We must therefoie either that the suppose poet committed a mistake in dcscubmg this or the of the relationship, reading loyal name adopted by Bhagvanlal and Buhler is inconccl. The former alternative does not appeal likely, for the inscription was composed under the direction of the Vakataka Hanshena's minister and king is, on the whole, very cotiettly written It is, much abraded in however, very the portion where the name occuis, and therefore a mistake is m reading not unlikely Both Bhagvanlal and Buhlet also were not quite certain about this but the foimer that < reading, thought he saw a faintly traceable ' form like dra If we refer to the used lithograph by both of them, we find that the upper member of the ligature read as dra is but theie a quite illegible, appears loop below it, which seems to have been taken as the subscript i of dm There are several instances of the sub- 7 in script that lithograph, but in none of them is it denoted a by loop; it is always shown

Cave-Temples of India, p 306 AJANTA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 105

by a hook open to the left The new estampage supplied by the Government Epigraphist does not show even this loop The preceding akshara ?u is of course completely gone as admitted by both Bhagvanlal and Buhler The reading Rudrasena in verse 7 is therefore extremely doubtful The Basim plates name Sarvasena as the son and successor of the Vakataka Pravara- sena I who performed four Asvamedhas and other sacrifices It may therefore be suggested that the name lost here is Sarvasena The reading Saivasenah would suit the metre as well as Rudiasenah The latter part of the verse would therefore be Sarvasenah Ptavarasenasyajita- sarvvasenas-sufo-bhavat The resulting yamaka would make this reading quite plausible The poet who composed this inscription was fond of using yamakas based on proper names as will be seen from the following.

Line 2 abhivnddha-saktih . . dana-saktih Vindhyasaktih 7 Pravarasenas=tasya putro=bhut=pravar-orjjit-odara-sasana-pravarah

10-11 Hastibhqjah . dig-gandhahasti-pratimo babhuva 1 4 Hansheno hai i-vikkrama-pratapah his The description jita-sawva-senah of this prince was evidently suggested by name Sarvasena* We may therefore take it as almost certain that Pravarasena I was succeeded fay his son Sarvasena. Bhagvanlal did not notice any royal name in the next verse, but Buhler thought that he could read in the middle of line 7 the akshaias pra(or pn}thivt which showed a name like PrithivisKena2 As he had adopted Bhagvanlal's reading Rudiasmah in the preceding verse,

he identified this Pnthivlshena with Pritmvishena I, whom several land-grants mention as the son and successor of Rudrasena I We have seen, however, that verse 7 probably mentions the name of Sarvasena, not of Rudrasena Besides, the reading PnthwisKenah noticed a is by Buhler is equally uncertain The akshaia which he read as thi has tapering top and in this th has open below It cannot therefore be read as thi, for in all cases inscription, in line 15 and invariably a round top and is closed at the bottom, see e g piathito piathita- gun-opabhoga in line 21 The akshara appeals to be sn, of which the lower curve representing r is indistinct The following akshaia is clearly mm It is followed by clear traces of dhya. Especially the elongated curve representing the subscript y is unmistakable The two to be following akshatas are almost certainly senah? The name thus appears sri-Vindhyasena. not been noticed shows that The initial word sat-putrah in that verse, which has before, 4 Vindhyasena was the son of the preceding king Sarvasena The Basim plates mention and successor of Sarvasena and Vindhyasakti (II) as the son Vmdhyasakti Vindhyasena coiioborate the in are plainly identical The Basim plates thus reading sri-Vindhyasenah verse 8 The second half of the verse which is verv badlv mutilated indicates that he won a victory over the lord of Kuntala. as hut etc He The next verse (9) was read by Bhagvanlal Piavaraslnasya put) ob I The correct therefore thought that it described another son of Pravarasena reading fiist It shows that Pravarasena was Pravarasenas=tasya putrobhut was given by Buhlei (H)

< he took to be the son and the next king Buhler identified this Pravarasena (whom

1 there is no in that he all armies One would rather , Otherwise, special point saying conquered or expect an expression like jita-sarvva-lokah jita~sarvva-i ajah n 1 2ASW I , No 4, p 125, 3 They were doubtfully read as sJienah by Buhler 4 but there is no for so aksharas before Buhler conjecturally supplied tanqyas=tasya, space many in line 7 and the does not suit the metre parthiv~endrasya reading 106 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

and successor of Prithivisheiia I) with Pravarasena II, whose Siwani Chammak plates This identification also cannot be had already been discovered and deciphered upheld. As shown above, verse 8 does not mention Prithivishena, but Vmdhvasena Secondly, we find that Pravarasena II was even if we adopt Buhler's leading Pnthwishenah in verse 8, for his father was Rudrasena the not the son of Prithivishena I, but was his grandson, II, men- son-in-law of the famous Gupta king Ghandiagupta II -Vikramaditva Pravarasena, tioned in verse 9 as the son and successor of Vlndhy asena (or Vindhyasakli II) must theiefore who is known from moie than a be distinguished from the homonvmous Vakataka prince dozen grants discovered in Vidarbha Verse 10 introduces another prince who evidently succeeded his father Piavarasena II, detei mined to the mentioned in the preceding verse, but whose name cannot now be owing mutilation of the first half of that veise He is said to have come to the throne when he was well This is not known from onlv eight years old and to have ruled his kingdom piince anv othei iccorcl desciibed in veise 10 Verse 1 1 mentions Devasena as the son and successor of the prince

1 He is also known from the India Office plate edited before of Devasena. These Verses 12-16 incidentally describe Hastibhoja, a capable minister veises also have suffeied much mutilation, but what remains of them is sufficient to give us a fair idea of his accomplishments We are told that he was an abode of merits, had a the allies broad and stout chest, was obliging, modest, loving and affable, and destroyed of his enemies He governed the people well and was accessible and dear to them like then the father, mother and friend Entrusting the caies of government to him, king (Devasena) ga\ e himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures son Veise 17 proceeds with the loyal genealogy and describes Harishena, the and successoi of Devasena The following veise which describes his conquests is badly mutilated The first part of it mentions the countries of Kuntala, Avanti, Kalinga, Kosala, Trikuta, Lata and Andhra, evidently in connection with the conquests of Harishena. minister of His Veises 19-20 eulogize a son of Hastibhoja who became a Harishena name which must have occurred in the second half of verse 19 is now lost, but from verse 30 ue can conjecture that it was Varahadeva. He is said to have possessed the virtues of libera-

lity, foigiveness and generosity, and to have luled the country righteously Realising that

life, youth, wealth and happiness aie tiansitory, he excavated a cave in honour of his father and mother foi the use of the best of ascetics Verse 24 described the cave-dwelling (oesma) as adorned with beautiful 2 statues the windows, doors, picture-galleries , ledges and of nymphs of Indra, and supported by lovely pillais It contained a temple of Buddha and was provided with a large icseivoii of w^ater and a shrine of the lord of the Nagas. This descuption exactly applies to cave XVI where the inscription has been incised. Verse 30 states that Varahadeva made over the cave to the Community of Monks The last two verses (31-32) express the hope that the cave containing the excellent mandapa dedicated to the tluee tatnas e and would last forever and that the world (i , Buddha, Dharma Sangha) would be fieed from all blemishes and entei the peaceful and noble state which is devoid of sorrow and pain

J No 24, above 2 The reference to picture-gallenes in v 24 was missed by both Bhagvanlal and Buhlei as the ' ' * * formei took suvitki to mean splendid verandahs and the latter, beautiful terraces The his Tnkdndasesha (cited by Ghanasyama in commcntaiy on the Uttaiatdmachaitia, Act, I) gives vWnka ' ' (which is the same as vithi] in the sense of a low of pictures AJANTA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADE\ \ ; M7

As for the localities mentioned m this record, Kuntala generallv denoted the ,un'i v bwween the Bhima and the Vedavati, the Satara including and Sholapm Districts a, uell as some Kanarese distncts of the and ' Bombay, Mysore Madras States \ccoidin* to some wntets, however, Kuntala stretched much farther to the north Rajasekhaiaseems toidentift Kuntala *ith a part of Maharashtra including Vidarbhai Soddhala, the author of the states that Piatishthana Udayasimdaukatha, (modern Paithan m the formei Haidarabad State) on the Goclavari was the of capital Kuntala? Avanti is Western Mai* a the of which was called capital Ujjam (also Avanti) Kalinga comprised the countn alone the eastern coast between the Mahanadi and the Godavari Kosala is ex identh Dakshina KSsala. corresponding to modem and the Chhattisgadh adjoining parts of the Onssa State The exact location of Trikuta vv as uncertain From the long descnption m Kalidasa's Raghuvamla it was of comse known that the mountain Trikuta after v\hich the countn uas named nas situated m Apaianta (Noith Konkan)3 The dynasty of the Traikutakas v\as also known to have held parts of Konkan, Southern Gujai at and Northern Maharashtra But which oi the Western Ghats \vas Trikuta \vas not pait designated known The Afijaneri plates mention Purva-TrikfUa mthaya (Eastern Trikuta District) m connection with certain ta\e in 4 levied favoui of a temple situated m the Nasik District Trikuta seems therefore to have the to the west of Nasik compiised countiy Lata generallv signifies Central and Southern between Gujarat, the Main and the Tapi, but in some iccords it is said to have

included the to the noith of the Mahi as fai as is lenitoiy Kaira^ FmalK , Andhra the \\ell- Jknowu name of the Telugu-speaking country to the south of the Godavari

TEXT6

Act vases 74-75 iRdjasekhara, Balaidmliyana, Act III, veises 50-52, X, 21 and 83 ZUdayasundarlkatha (Gaekwad's Oriental Series), pp SRaghuvamsa, canto IV, v 59 *Ep Ind, Vol XXV, p 40 CII, Vol IV, p 149 Vol 40 sihd., XII, p , ,-> i 1,- between pages 142 and 14a f'Fiom the facsimile published m the Ep M,Vol XXVI, The m Ga^e X , 11 7This word v\as not noticed bv the previous editors inscription \janta (No 27) refers to the Buddha as *rfa 8 Metre of this and the next two verses Upajdti ^ord mav ha. e been 9These three ^^rof are fauly clear The complete Buhler read lOThis was the reading of Bhagvanlal n Metre Upq&ti 12 Metre Uplndiovajta or Upajatt 108 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

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l Metre of verses 6-9 is a. species of mdtrasamaka as staled Kiehorn 7?^ Vol by ^ , VIII * p 27 Dr. Venkatasubbaiah calls it Gitika R Vol JO , IX, pp 46 f and 179 i 2 and Buhler Bhagvanlal proposed to read this name as ^^ See 105 3 above, p. This word was omitted in all previous transcripts 4 Buhler proposed to read the name of this as Tfaefrtw See prince above ' p 105 5 Read 6 Metre of verses 10-12 Indiaoajra or Upajati 7 the word was Perhaps tft^fenfcft Hastikosa, as the designation of an officer occuis in the Godavari copper-plate grant of Prithivimula JBBRAS,Vo\ XVI, p 1 18. 8 These three akshmas are fairly clear 9 Metre Upajati 10 Metre Upendravajrd or Upajati. 1 ! Metre Up'endravajt a 12 Metre Upajati

iSBhagvamal and Buhler lead **& ^rfcr which is ungrammatical Buhler's pioposal to emend it as FfnTS^rRT is as unnecessaiy the akshara following ^ is ?? 4 clearly l Metre Aupachchhandasika !5 Metre Vamsatha 16 Metre Aupachchhandasika. l7This word, omitted though by previous editors, is fairly clear in the new iSRestore Metre cstampaffc.F 6 ^ Indravajta 19 Metre. Aupachchhandasika. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM

AJANTA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA

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AJANTA GAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 109

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26

TRANSLATION20

(Verse 1) Having bowed to the sage (Buddha) who extinguishes the rising flames of the sins of the three worlds I shall give a eulogy about a succession of kings

1 Metre- Upajati 2 This first quarter of the verse has been read by me foi the first time The reading given by Bhagvanlal and Buhler does not give any good sense 3 Bhagvanlal and Buhler read 5TO". 4 Metre Aupachchhandasika 5 Buhler read but the akshaias are doubtfully ^|T'Tj completely gone Read sjfsfcpr 6 This last quarter, which I have read completely for the first time, shows that the Chaitya-manihra was not structural and outside the cave as supposed by Burgess, but that it was the shrine of die gigantic statue of the at the back cave. Buddha of the Compare f^tf^^TT^'fffRr'SFtcJr'T in line 24 of inscription No. 2 7.

Buhler read \ 1 'Bhagvanlal and -=^ *^Tf1 fa*l fM which does not yield a good sense The expression

1 51 <*> i *fiH*n|l fffel'M ^ occurs in line 26 of inscription No. 27 also 8 Read -<^*te*cTJj; Metre Upajati 9 Metre PrakaTshinl 10 Metre of this and the next verse Aupachchhandasika 11 The last two of the missing aksharas may have been 12 Metre Vasdntatilaka 13 Read 14 Read 15 Read 16 Metre Upajati. 17 Read fa1^-, 18 Metre Sardulamkndita l 9 Metre* Mahnl. 20 In this translation I have derived some help from Dr, Buhler's rendering, though I have differed from him in the interpretation of certain passages 110 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

a Brahmana a twice-born on earth (V 2). There was (lit , man) (named) Vindhys'akti, was irresistible whose strength increased in great battles, whose valour, when he was enraged, even by gods, (and) who was mighty m fighting and charity (V 3) He, whose majesty was like that of Indra and Upendra (Vishnu), who, by the 1 the might of his arm, conquered the whole world (and) [who destroyed up-rooted thorns] , became the standard of the Vakataka race

the masses i aised (V 4) He, eclipsing in battles the sun with of dust by (the hoofs of) his horses, making the enemies made them intent on salutation to him for the of the he made (V 5) Having subdued his enemies (accomplishing) work gods, a great effort to acquire religious merit lotus-like feet were kissed the of (V 6) His son was Pravarasena (I), whose by rays lotuses jewels worn on the heads of hostile kings (and) whose eyes resembled fresh, blooming 2 son who (V. 7) The rays of the sun (Sarvasena) was Pravarasena (I)'s defeated all armies 3 the (V 8) The illustrious Vindhyasena, the noble son of the lord of kings, governed earth righteously, having conquered the lord of Kuntala (V. 9) His son was Pravarasena (II), who became exalted by his excellent, powerful and liberal rule

(V 10) His son who, having obtained the kingdom when eight years old, ruled well (V 11) His son became king who, on earth, was known as Devasena by 4 whose lovely enjoyments the earth of the lord of gods (V 12) Through the greatness of the religious merit of (that) king pioperly the (thete) was Hastibhoja, abode of excellences, the illustrious Commander of the Elephant Force on the earth5 (V. 13) He, who had a broad and stout chest and lotus-like eyes, (and) who destioyed the partisans of his enemies, (who had) arms resembled a scent-elephant station- ed In a quarter

(V 14) Obliging, modest, loving, agreeable, obedient to (the king's) wishes, faultlessly (V 15) So also, on account of his being a well-wisher of the world as well as by Ins and excellent he dear happy rule, was, indeed, always and accessible (to the people) like

(their) father, mother and friend The (V 16) king, having entrusted (the government oj the kingdom) to him, fiee from care and himself became engaged in the enjoyment of pleasures, acting as he liked his (V 17) Then son became king .. Harishena, who, in loveliness, icsembled Indra6 and the , Rama, Hara, Cupid, moon, and who was brave and spirited like a lion (V 18) He [conquered], Kuntala, Avanti, Kalinga, Kosala, Trikfita, Lata, Andhra, which, though very famous for valour

h.e who , exterminated wicked people 2 and Buhler read Bhagvanlal the name of this prince as Rudrasena See above, p 105 3 Buhler read Pnthivishena as the name of this prince See abo\e, p 105 4 ' Perhaps the sense is that the earth vied with the world of the gods ^Hastikbsha seems to be a technical official title as m the Godavarf copper-plate grant of Pnthivlmula. Fleet took it to mean an official who kept the purse and made disbursements on account of the establishment of elephants JBBRAS,VQ\ xvi, p 119 6 ' Han of the text should be taken to mean Indra not' as ', Vishnu ', Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, is separately named AJANTA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 111

(V 19) The son of Hastibhoja, icnowned on eaith, became the minister of that king \vhole eaith

(V 20) Beloved by the king and the subjects, he, who was of staid and firm mind, endowed with the virtues of liberality, forgiveness and geneiosity, and intent on (the performance of) religious duty, governed the country righteously, (shining) brightly with the rays of his fame, religious merit and virtue (V 21) He amassed a large store of religious merit foi . especially, after which

1 he, [regarding] the sacred law as his (only) companion, made this sacred dwelling, being

extremely devoted to (the Buddha), the teacher of the world

(V 22) [Realising that] life, youth wealth and happiness are transitory, . he, for the sake of his father and mother, caused to be made this excellent dwelling to be occupied by the best of ascetics (V 23) On the best of mountains, on which hang multitudes of water-laden clouds which is inhabited the lords of in the thickets of the ? (and) by serpents slopes ( )

of which . by the lord of the goddess of heioism (V 24) [The dwelling] which is adorned with windows, doors, beautiful picture- 2 statues of the of Indra and the which is ornamented galleries , ledges, nymphs like, with beautiful pillars and stairs, and has a temple of the Buddha inside Which is situated on the the attractive a (V 25) top ( of mountain) , appears canopy, which is provided with a large reservoir of abundant water and is also ornamented with a shrine of the lord of the Nagas 3 and the like (V 26) various pleasures in a fieice wind blowing all round warmed by the heat of the rays of the summer sun and affording enjoyment of well-known comforts in all seasons.

(V 27) [Which resembles] the palaces of the lord of gods and is similar to a cave in the lovely Mandara mountain as desired by the people

(V 28) which shines on (the slopes of) this matchless mountain since it removes fatigue

(V 29) The cave on this (mountain) . clothed in the brilliance of Indra's crown, 4 which the people, with their love expanding throughjoy and gratification, have named -vis'ala . to the of (V 30). Having presented (the cave) with devotion Community Monks, Varahadeva together with the multitude of his relatives, having enjoyed royal pleasures, e. the ruled righteously, being praised like Sugata (i Buddha) (V 31) As long as with the multitude of the hoods of serpents resembling crowding clouds as long as the sun [shines] with lays red like fresh red arsenic, even hall dedicated to the three so long may this spotless cave containing an excellent (mandapa) tatnaS) be enjoyed 1 of contains various (V 32) [May] this mountain, the peak which (types of) caves, rid its which is inhabited by great people and may the whole world also, getting of

' manifold sins, enter that tranquil and noble state, free from sorrow and pain

c ' 1 Kara seems to have been used here in the unusual sense of a place of worship It may be noted ' act ' or ' ' Buhler ' He a that kdra in Pali means an of worship homage translated, made prison ( ?) ' all round for the teacher of the world ' * ^Su-vithi was translated as 'splendid verandahs' by Bhagvanlal and as beautiful terraces by in the cave Cf used in the Uttararamacharita Buhler It probably refers to the picture-galleries vithika 3 Act I Burgess thought that the chaitya-mandiram must be structural and outside; but it undoubtedly refers to the shrine containing a colossal statue of the Buddha at the back of the cave 3 This refers to the shrine of the Naga Raja 'in the staircase leading down from the front of the cave'. 4Cave XVI seems to have borne a name ending in mtala No 26. PLATE XXVI GHATOTKACHA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA

but without facsimile inscription was first pubhshed with an Engbsh translation, any Western India THISplate, by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji in the Inscriptionsfwm the Cave-Temples of

1 (Aichaeological Survey of Western India) (1881), pp 88 f He gave a fairly correct transcript of the text and pointed out that Hastibhoja, mentioned m line 10, was probably a minister of the Vakataka king Devasena He further identified Devaiaja mentioned in line 13 with the homonymous minister of a king of Asmaka, mentioned in line 10 of the inscription in Cave XVII at Ajanta, and on the basis of this identification, conjectured that the Ghatotkacha cave was of a somewhat later date than the Ajanta caves XVI, XVII and 2 XXVI . The msciiption was next edited with a lithograph and an English translation by Dr G Biihler in the Archaeological Swvey of Western India, Vol IV (1883), pp 138 f and PI LX. The lithograph was prepared from an estampage taken by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji, and appears to have been somewhat worked up by hand Dr Buhler's transcript and translation difFeied in some points from those of Pandit Bhagvanlal He declaied himself against the identification of Devaraja with the Asmaka minister of the same name, 3 proposed by Pandit Bhagvanlal, and apparently took Devaraja to be Indra, the lord of gods Buhler further pointed out that this ministeiial family belonged to the Valliuas, which, he \\as a sub-division of the 4 thought, apparently Malabar Brahmanas The transcripts of Bhagvanlal and Buhler led to certain misconceptions icgardmg the original home of this family I therefore published a revised edition of the record with a facsimile prepared from estampages supplied by the Archaeological Department of the Hvderabad State It is re-edited heie from the same estampages The piesent inscription is incised on the left end of the back wall of the veiandah of what is known as the Ghatotkacha Cave at Gulwada, 1 1 miles west of Ajanta It seems to have originally consisted of twenty-two lines, but the last four lines are now almost completely defaced. Of the remaining eighteen lines, again, only the first ten can be read less but a of moie or completely, major portion the next eight lines on the right- hand side is now 111 ecoverably lost owing to the decay of the stone on which they were engraved The inscriptions, howevei, the only record which gives a complete genealogy of Vaiahadeva, the minister of the Vakataka king Hanshena, and this circumstance invests it with consider-

I have tried to il as able importance decipher much as is possible in its present defaced condition

1 The Ghatotkacha cave where the is first inscription incised was bi ought to notice by Captain and described Rose by Surgeon W H Bradley, but the present inscription does not appear to have been before 1881 Dr called it an of Asmaka deciphered Burgess inscription princes, evidently relying 011 the account given by Pandit Bhagvanlal 2 the of Bhagvanlal gave following genealogy Devaraja Hastibhoja, (his son) Varahadeva, and to (his son) Bhaviraja, (his son) Devaraja According him, Devaraja was the great-grandson of and of Varahadeva The Hastibhoja grandson Ajanta caves XVI and XVII were, however, excavated dunng the reign of the Vakataka king Hanshena, whose minister was Varahadeva Cave XXVI was excavated a Buddhist by Bhikshu m honour of Bhaviraja, a minister of the king of Asmaka 3 As shown in line 13 in none other below, Devaraja than the Vakataka king Devasena, 4 This view rests on the in leading Malays line 7, which, as shown below, is extremely doubtful. See below, p 1 16, n 8 GHATOTKACHA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 113

seems to have a The inscription onginally covered space, 4' broad by 2' 4" high The are of the box-headed of the characters variety southern alphabet, generally resembling those of the in Caves XVI and XVII at Vakataka inscriptions Ajanta The onh peculiarities that call for notice are as follows The medial u (long) is denoted bv t\vo horizontal on the in cases strokes added to the vertical light some and on the left in others, see gurunam.

3 In the case of on the other is line 1, and Vallum; line bhu, hand, the \o\vel indicated the and a by turning the vertical upwards to right adding horizontal stroke to it, see babkuia, n a is it is the line 9, t is unlooped, while shows loop, y tripartite except when subscript, vertical stroke of / is invariably turned sharply to the left, a final consonant is indicated b\ its the see line 9 The for the small size and a horizontal line at top , tasmdt, sign jihvamulira in lines 5 occurs in line 5 and 9, and that for the upadhmaniya 4, and 10 the whole record is Each line of it The language is Sanskrit, and metrically composed and contains one verse The metres used m it are Indtavajtd, Upajdti, Aryd, Pushpitdgrd free from Vasantatilakfr The record is composed in a simple and graceful style, generalh for notice is asa to Panini, II, 4, 52, solecisms The only form which calls t which, contrary verb of the tense2 The shous the is used in line 5 as an independent perfect orthography

i of the the of a consonant after and the use guttural usual peculiarities of reduplication line 6 nasal for anusvara, see vansb, line 3, and vansajasu, was to recoid the excavation of the Vihara The object of the inscription apparently name is not ed completeU , cave by a minister of the Vakatakas whose unfortunately preserx The record with a below was Varabadgva, the son of Hastibhoja. opens but who, as shown , the teacher as the among sages and verse m of the Buddba, who is described sage praise Dharma and marvels The second verse describes among teachers, who was a store of With verse 3 begins the the othei two membeis of the Buddhist trinity Cana (or Sangha), Brahmanas we are a race of exceUent analogy of the ministenal family There is, told, great who aie well-known m the south (V 3) Valluras, InitwasbornYajnapat^vhoinHis Atri, Garga and Angnas (V 4} z the great primeval sages, Bhrigu, account o .horn learned and active statesman and on wwho was'a capable,,

-

cum z himself by his ,itrability wg ,s* HastibbSja (V 9) Hastibhoja distinguished

the ______, 10 metre of inscription ' " __ the , that , 13-iq thoughthoughtt some of the akshvas m Imes 8, l Buhler, who missed ^ ^ ^ ^

, ,

o from the latter drinkers, he had Brahmana sons and 95 114 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

Vakataka king Devasena (V 10) The next two verses (VV 11-12) which eulogised Hasti- bhqja are unfortunately very much, mutilated Verse 13 commences with atha which Indi- cates the 1 It 2 introduction of a new subject mentions a son ofDevaraja, named HarisHetia . He is plaintly identical with Devasena's son Harishena, the great Vakataka king during whose reign the Ajanta caves XVI, XVII and XIX were excavated Bhagwanlal and Buhler, who could not decipher the two words Devardja-sunwHansherid, missed completely the historical information given by this verse. The former identified this Devaraja with a minister of an Asmaka while the latter that was 3 king, thought devardja no personal name at all . Verse 14 seems to have continued the of eulogy Hanshena The next verse (15), which, like V commences with atha 13, seems to have resumed the description of Hastibhqja from V 12 Verse 16 refers to several sons4 of , apparently Hastibhoja, perhaps in connection with a description of Varahadeva, who succeeded his father as the Chief Minister of Hanshena His name is in line 18 The partially preserved lower part of the inscription which probably eulogised Varahadeva and recorded the excavation of the Ghatotkacha cave is completely lost. As Dr Buhler observed, the of V 5 makes it that wording probable Deva who is eulogised therein held the office of Prime Minister The king whom he served is not named, but in view of what has been said it above, would not probably be wrong to infer that his master belonged to the Vakataka The ministers and the dynasty contemporary Vakataka kings whom they served may therefore be stated as follows Ministers Contemporary Vakataka Kings (with appwxi- mate __ dates of accession] Yajnapati

Vmdhyasakti (250 A C ) _ | Soma Pravarasena I (270 A C )

Ravi Sarvasena A (330 C ) Pravara A Vmdhyase'na (355 C )

Sri Rama Pravarasena II (400 A C )

i . v- I Klrtl A (Name lost) (410 C )

Hastibhoja Devasena (450 A C )

Varahadeva Harishena (475 A C ) This ministerial family bore the name of Vallfira, which, as V 8 shows, was derived fiom their original habitation This is said to have been place situated in' the south Buhler, who, following Bhagvanlal, read in V 7 as the name of Malaya the country where Ravi was ruling, thought that the ministerial family was piobably a sub-division of the

N 25 V l alS thC W rd atha 1S USCd t0 mark a chan e m the subJ ect of *2 S i 'i l , description JBhagvanlal read atha Devaraja, and Buhler, atha devarajasya m the beginning of V 13 PI I V in A S WI,Vol IV, defective as it shows is, clearly the aksharas atha JTemraja-sunur^Han- The fr^t estampages suppliedI to me by the Archaeological of the Department Hyderabad State give the Harishena There should name clearly. therefore be no doubt about this readme 3 A S.WI, Vol. IV, p. 139, n. 4 4 The inscription in Gave XVI at also refers to the Ajanta bandhu-varga of Varahadevavaranadeva Tin had a number of who apparently large relatives. See No 25, line 24. GHATOTKACHA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 115

Malabar Brahmanas As shown below, the reading Malaya is extremely doubtful, and from this apart reading, there is no evidence to place the homeland of this family so far to the south It appears more likely that the family originally belonged to the southern portion of the former Hyderabad State, for even now there is a village named Velur m the (Yelgandal) Karimnagar District of that State It may be noted in this connection that the Vakatakas of who patronised this family appear to have originally belonged to the same part the country; for the earliest mention of the name Vakalaka occurs in a pilgrim record on a at Amaravati 1 which lies about 150 miles It is not pillar , only south by east of Velur unlikely that both these families which rose to distinction in the same period and were connected intimately with each other for several generations hailed from the same part of the country which was apparently the Central Deccan This gives a plausible explanation of how the Vakatakas rose to power in Vidarbha or Central Deccan immediately after the downfall of the Sata- vahanas

The present inscription has also a bearing on the age of the Ghatotkacha cave has which been variously estimated In a note added to Bhagvanlal's transcript of this inscription, Burgess stated that Bhagvanlal's view that the Ghatotkacha cave is of a somewhat later date than the Ajanta caves XVI, XVII and XXVI was borne out also by its architecture. Subsequently, Burgess seems to have modified his view, evidently in view of Buhler's of the record for he remarked in his on the interpretation present , report Buddhist Cave- " and their S Vol as follows- It seems Temples Inscriptions (A WI , IV) probable that Hastibhoja was the excavator of this cave which would thus belong to a period somewhat " anterior to the Ajanta vihdta excavated by his son As shown above, the Ghatotkacha cave also was excavated during the reign of the Vakataka king Harishena by a son of the minister of Hastibhoja, who was probably Varahadeva. It is therefore of the same age as the Vihara Caves XVI and XVII and the Gandhakuti or Chaztya Cave XIX, all of which were excavated during the reign of the same Vakataka king Any differences that may be noticeable in the architectures of these caves must be attributed to individual workmanship and not to a difference in their age

TEXT2

4 q$wtft ^*-4ftsi 2 wr^rqTV ] [nrJpsTBZRnffr WRI^^T) [i*] 4 [IRII*] arfer RI firftr sfe*npiT 3 =I^

\Ep Ind, Vol XV, p 267. 2 From inked estampages supplied bv the Archaeological Depaitment, Hyderabad State 3 Metre of vv 1 and 2 Upajdti 4 The readings in the second half of this verse are not quite certain Bhagvanlal read Buhler added in a "Either and Buhler cTTOT sT^m note, cRirrxsiSKT or ?rqr IJ^KT to be read ". The akshara before ^r is certainly ^T, and the verbal form vrsfa shows that the subject must be in the plural So cTTOr ^TTT must be the intended reading 5 read and

2 ) [l*]

5 H^lf^HM 55 5 ?RT[^}sft t* *TCT WXfSft [l ] 6 ^[^t] 5pm5 ill 5Tf^7^^i5TTx[qT]^ ^ [II I*] 7 s 6 *fr*TRTcr *ft*T [sjrmfojjtf dl^UHfcuH^SFSTPfr [l*] 37rd stfta Wfcr *T?ft"cnTK [ii^n*] 7 *r ^fw^rr ^nW^m<:MK^mi*i ^^f^K^r) D*]

9 ^ 8 fe^lK ^MW ^KU'KKI'ii [ST^T*] tt^T tmiKl'M+U'X [l*] [11*11*]

1 9

15 10

I traces still remain of a curve on Cf Bhagvanlal and Buhler read sr^ersflSTTTTT, but ^

I in 71. cT^^nift^f Raghnvamsa, VI, ^ 2 Bhagvanlal read m^R^e^RF, but Buhler gave the correct reading Jn^+i'^P-M^Rr 3 of this He read IRT ^r^T^r and Bhagvanlal could not restore the name of the progenitor family , used the elsewhere also in the sense of thought ^RTsr^T^r was his proper name SPFRT is, however, by poet 'well-known', See lines 3 and 10, below Buhler suggested zTSraK and wr% as possible readings, and last decided in favour of the latter The name is fairly clear in the fresh estampages The curve on the traces of the letter is still seen So vwifo is undoubtedly the correct name There are upadhmdniya onpra 4 Metre of verses 4-12 : Upajdti 5 but as Buhlei the i mark of 1& The next Bhagvanlal read 'TfPTl', pointed out, *Tf]r quite plain akshara also which was not read by Buhler has a similai 7-mark The intended reading seems to be the Datakumat achanta Sanskrit 100. *rtt?fr Cf Tfflrcfr TS^^'t'sr m (Bom Series, 1919), p. 6 8 first akshata of the word is clear with UK- Bhagvanlal read qrtc ?, and Buhler ?TFT The fairly in of the of Deva with deva the sign of upadhmaniya over it, and view comparison (the god Krishna), is still clear It is reading Pdrtha is almost ceitain The second akshara quite $ and not c*T, nor f. 7 but the nasal is clear Bhagvanlal and Buhler read srsraT!, superscript guttural quite Read -wsTPg. 8 Both Bhagvanlal and Buhler read this word as wt The first akshara appears more like vi than ma, the curve on it being still quite cleai The second akshara is now very much damaged. It was probably so in the days of Bhagvanlal and Buhler also The facsimile published in A S< W L it to its is for in this the letter / (PI. LX) shows be /, but accuracy doubtful, epigraph has invariably in a this / in i its right limb sharply turned to the left the form of curve, but Bhagvanlal's copy has straight vertical stroke on the right Cf the forms of/ m anf^n^rRT and STWHMitiM't both in line 4, in in line and Psftf- in line 17. In all these cases /

GATE INSCRIPTION ( VOL V GHATOTKACHA

Scale One-fourth

C Sircar

REQ NO 3977 E'30-1,103'63 IPTION OF VARAHADEVA Bate XXVI

"*<.

6

8

10 10

12 12

14 14 Ira

18

-fourth

GHATOTKACHA CAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 117

TRANSLATION9

(Verse 1) Victorious is he who is called the Buddha, the sage among sages, the teacher among teachers, the immortal the best among immortals, among the eminent (and) a store of marvels who attained enlightenment abstention from the by enjoyment^ (of worldly pleasures) (V 2) next the law (Victonous) (is) promulgated by him who knows the law, and also the the (victorious) (w) Community, best among all communities, having done seivice to a which**, worthy recipient, the sons (of men) become exalted

1 read but Buhler Bhagvanlal jw, took the word to be ^r The akshatas are doubtful but I have followed as the Bhagvanlal traces left admit of that reading 2 Bhagvanlal could read and Buhler only ^ncrsr, ^rcr^ The akshcaa following ^rcR is *r The next clearly akshara has lost its but the lower is upper part, w-sign clear The following akshara is cleaily ha It lesembles ha m line 3 closely , The u^fe next akshara is almost certainly n. The name was the last two aksharas undoubtedly ff^cfr, being clear m the new estampages. Afc the missed this were previous editors^ important name, they unable to identify this Devaiaja conectly. 3 Metre Aiyd 4 Netre of verses 14 and 15 Pushpitdgra 5 Metre Vasantatilakd 6 Metre Pushpitdgra 7 Metre Vasantatilakd 8 There are traces of an akshaia here and there in the next foui hues in the lithograph published m 4.S. I Vol. PI as well as in W , IV, LX the estampages supplied to me, but no words can be read 9 completely In this translation I have derived some from Dr help Buhler's rendering, though I have differed rom him m the interpretation of several passages ' 10 is An&bhoga lack of attention or disinclination '. See interest, A Critical Pah Dictionary by Anderson and Smith Buhler it Crenckner, translates as abstaining from fruition '. 11 The sense of the second half of this veise is somewhat obscure. Kara seems to be used herein the ,ame sense as in viz a act of Pah, , deed, service, meicy or worship, homage Karapakara is ' apparently *sed here in the same sense as Kdrakataka one who a 5 performs religious duty or service . (Pah Dictionary Kara has been used in line 17 of No. above. jy Rhys Davids). 25 See p 111, n 1, above. This

(Continued) 118 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

is well known a race of most eminent Brahmanas (V. 3) In the southern countiy great merit and since (the age of) named Valluras, which (race) has accumulated religious glory Brahma and is honoured by the great 1 an excellent Brahmana, who (V. 4) In that (race) was born famous Yajnafpati] , for then resembled the primeval Brahmanas Bhngu, Atri, Garga and Angiras, noted good qualities in wisdom and (V 5) His son was Deva, who being wise, learned, proficient political resembled the engaged in the performance of religious rites, god (Krishna) , being guided even as by whom, the whole kingdom together with the king performed religious duties 2 e did the Partha (i , Arjuna) (under guidance of Knshna) as it (V 6) From him was born Soma, a second moon were, who, performing religious to wives of the two duties as enjoined by the Vedas and Smntis, gave his love (equally) families (castes), born m Brahmana and Kshatnya a wife of noble birth and he a (V 7) On Kshatnya chaiacter, begot good-looking the son named Ravi, possessed of marks of royalty who established his sway over whole 3 territory

(V 8) From other Brahmana wives he obtained sons who fulfilled then clesucs m mastering the Vedas, whose habitation named Vallura is even now (well-known) in the 4 southern country / son (V 9) The son of Ravi was Pravara. From him sprang Sri-Rama. His was Kirti of good repute, and from him was born Hastibhoja. (V 10) When the Vakataka Devasena was ruling, Hastibhoja distinguished 5 himself by his excellences (he) whose noble birth (and) charity even now

(V 11) Among the resolute, intelligent, efficient and meritorious colleagues . when the king's (V 12) Occupying a half of whose seat men in the assembly

Footnote No 11 (Continued] verse has editors ' Even an and ? puzzled previous Bhagvanlal tianslated, ungrateful unjust prison ( ) ' dedicated to his viituous person, becomes the bestower of good Buhler gave the following lenclermg c The Community (of ascetics) placed m which, as in a beautiful vessel, even those who have sinned ' by committing murdei, become exalted' In a note he adds, The phrase karapakarastanayah is veiy as it ambiguous may be taken as one compound, consisting of kdtapakdra and astanaja., or as two words ' ' ' ' ' kaiapakmas and tana} ah as kaia may be interpreted effort or a Yati or murder '. If it is taken ' as a compound it may be translated by those whose efforts arc offences and who thus cast aside good behaviour or prudence', or by 'those who offend against ascetics, and thus' etc 01 by 'those whoso oftcnct ' is and etc If murder who thus we adopt the second division tanayah means 'sons' and hanipalaiah can be taken in various again ways The poet no doubt intended to puzzle the reader But in any case the general sense remains the same, and the half vcisc is intended to asseit that smnus arc ' purified by joining the Buddhist Sangha JThis name is almost certain 2 Buhlei, who read ndtha in place of Paitha, translated as follows 'Undei whom, when he gamed of the and of the lawful rites were as in the possession kingdom king, performed (time of) the Loid Buddha' With the which Buhler reading dhatmydh knydh adopted, this construction is impossible, for the verb be to be in the would expected plural, not in the singular as here (prachakre) As shown above the reading is undoubtedly Paitha and so the simile seems to have been suggested by the name DFva The sense seems to be that the whole its kingdom together with the king did duty being guided by Deva, even as Arjuna had done before by the advice of the god Knshna 3 As shown the above, reading Malayeis not likely Ravi was therefore lulmg over the tcmloiy round his native place Vallura, not over Malaya 4 As the is Vallm a-namna as both and reading clearly here, given by Bhagvanlal Buhler, Vallura i% the name of the became known that name as it was primarily village JThe family by living at the place. 5 This indicates that Hastibhoja was dead when the inscription was incised GHATOTKACHA GAVE INSCRIPTION OF VARAHADEVA 119

there is 1 . (V 13) Then Harishena, the son of Devaraja Hastibhoja . (V 14) Observing (kzs) fame as white as moon-beams. ... (V Then was born a dear son2 15) (to Hastibhoja} , who was his (very) self, possessed of a hundred qualities 3 (V 16). Among his many sons (V 17) the entire reward (V 18) Here is Varahadeva, thoroughly examined

1 Bh3-gvanlal, taking Devataja to be a proper name, identified him with the minister of the Asmaka an king mentioned in inscription in Cave XXVI at Ajanta, while Buhler thought that it meant the lord of Indra The for the first gods, reading Devaraja-sunur-Hansheno., given here time, shows clearly that this Devaraja was none other than the Vakataka king Devasena, and his son was the same as Hanshena. The cave was thus excavated during the reign of Hanshena, not of Devasena 2 This son was Varahadeva who is probably mentioned m the large Vakataka inscription m at as the successor of minister of Cave XVI Ajanta Hastibhoja and Hanshena. Cf. Prithiviraja used in the sense of Pnthivishena I m No 14, line 19, above, p 66 3 this verse Perhaps stated that of the numerous sons of Hastibhoja, Hanshena selected Varahadeva for the post of his Prime Minister. No 27 PLATE XXVII INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA CAVE XVII

several times before 1 the first the piesent inscuption had been copied , attempt THOUGHto edit it \v as that of Dr Bhau Daji He personally copied this and other inscriptions at Ajanta in Febiuaiy 1863, and submitted his papers on them to the Bombay Branch of the 2 Royal Asiatic Society on the 10th July 1863 He published an eye-copy of the epigraph together with a transcript and a sort of English translation m the Journal of the Society 53 f read the names of nine of whom viz Vol VIIj pp He princes, four, , Dhntarashtra, Hansarnba, Saunsamba and Ravisamba, he thought, belonged to one dynasty and the as remaining five, whose names he read Upendragupta, Skacha, Niladasa, Skacha and 3 to another In line 13 he read as the name of a minister4 he Krishnadasa , Amtya who, thought, piobably served Ravisamba Dr Bhau Daji failed to notice that Hanshena, mentioned in line 21, was identical with the homonymous Vakataka king named m the inscription in Gave XVI at Ajanta About the general purport of the epigraph and the location of the kingdom 01 capitals of these princes he offered no remaiks The inscription was next edited, with an introductory note and a translation, but without any facsimile, by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji in the Inscriptions fwm the Cave-Temples of Western India (Archaeological Survey of Western India), (1881), pp 73 f The Pandit deciphered the record with his usual skill and thoroughness He, for the first time, gave correctly the names of the following ten princes, all of whom, according to him belonged to the same royal family and ruled over Asmaka Dhntarashtra, Harisamba, Saunsamba, Upendragupta, Agaja or Kacha I, Bhikshudasa, Niladasa, Kacha II, Krishnadasa and Ravi- samba Again, he drew attention to the name of the king Hanshena, whom he identified with the Vakataka pimce of that name and to whom, he thought, this Asmaka family might have been subordinate Further, from the fragmentary phrases of verse 12, Bhagvanlal conjee tui eel that the elder son of Krishnadasa whose name is obliterated murdered his brother Ravisamba, but afterwards repented The mhaia where the present inscuption is incised was constructed either by this king or his mimstei whose name Bhagvanlal lead as Achmtya As regai ds the date of the inscription, he thought that it belonged to the same

' age as that in Cave XVI which was incised in chaiacters cuirent in Ghhattisgarh Distnct ' and the country round the Banganga about the 5th and 6th centuiy A D The epigraph was next edited with a lithogiaph and a translation by Di G Btihler in the Auhaeological Suivey of Western India, Vol IV (1883), 128 f and PI Ivi The lithogiaph was made from a facsimile prepared by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji and appeals to have been considerably worked up by hand Dr Buhler's transcript does not differ much from Pandit Bhagvanlal's He gave the same names of princes, but he coriected the Pandit's statement about the purport of veise 12 He showed that the correct meaning of the veise was that the bi younger other perished suddenly by an accident or died of a disease The next verse,

iJASB,Vo\ V,p 5te,JBBRAS, Vol VII, pp 55 f 2JBBRAS, Vol VII, pp 53 f 3 The correct names Kacha (I), Niladasa, Kacha (II) weie given foi the fust time by Pandit Bhagvanlal 4 As shcmn belo\\, no mimstei is named here. The word sackwa which occurs in verse 13 has misled all previous editors For its correct meaning, see p 122, n 3, below INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA GAVE XVII 121

according to him, mentioned the ruling king's minister Achitya who donated the vihara. Dr Buhler referred the inscription to the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century AC

The iccord was finally edited by me from an excellent inked estampage supplied by the Government Epigraphist for India It was published with a translation and a mechanical facsimile in the Hydembad At chaeologual Seties., No 15 It is edited heie from the same facsimile

The inscription is engrav ed on a side wall outside the verandah in Cave XVH at Ajanta in the foimer Hydeiabad State It has suffered much by exposure to weather Several akshaias in the beginning of each line on the left have been completelv destroyed by ram- watei ruckling over them Besides, a few akshmas here and theie have become illegible The general purpoit of the mscnption can, however, be made out without much difficulty The inscription covers a space 4' bioad and 4' 5" high The characters are of the box- headed vaiiety of the southern alphabets The following peculiarities may be noted: The length of the medial I is shown by a curling curve which is generally turned to the left to the as in marichi- line 20 and nyavivisat, line 26, but in some cases the curve is turned in kdnta- right as in pmdipta-, line 6 and vyavwndhat, line 13, the medial au is bipartite as mpau, line 8, k is cursive m piakdm-, line 26, ch and z> are in some cases indistinguishable; line d in line line 6 is see manchi-, line 20 and iamr- 9 29, Bhikshudasa 5, andptadzpta-, angular that for in lines The sign for the jihvamuliya occurs in lines 1, 4 and 6, and the upadhmaniya There are 1 1 and 13 The language is Sanskrit and the whole lecord is metrically composed of the contains one twenty-nine verses in all, none of which is numbered Each line inscription complete verse The completion of the first hemistich is m some cases marked by a horizontal stroke and that of a whole verse by two veitical strokes As for orthography, we may

the consonant ? is i see line note that following geneially eduphcated , karmmano, 1, ktrtti-, etc the is omitted in bhuva in line 22 in accordance with a line 5 , msaiga correctly stupa- vaittika on Panmi VIII, 3, 36, but the final n is wrongly changed to anusvdia in anuchivdm, hue 18

As shown below, the inscription was caused to be incised by a prince whose name the is now unfortunately lost, but who was probably ruling over Khande~sh as a feudatory of Vakataka Emperor Harishena. The object of it is to recoid the excavation, by this 2 1 of the vihdia cave XVII and the Cave XIX at The prince , gandhakuti Ajanta piesent to the end of fifth It is of the same inscription may therefoie be referred century AC which also to the of the same Vakataka age as the mscnption in Cave XVI, belongs icign Emperor Haiishena Owing to the destiuction of a considerable portion on the left, the inscription does filled in not admit of a detailed analysis The gaps in the text are required to be some with an obeisance to the who is places by conjecture The record opens sage (Buddha), desciibed as a thunderbolt to the tiee of worldly existence The poet then proceeds to give Gave the following pedigree of the donor of the Vihdia

1 who \veie misled the \vord sachiva All previous editois of the present inscription, by occumngin like \vas caused to be excavated bv a minister For the line 13, thought that this cave also, Cave XVI, see 122 correct interpretation of the verse below, p the small XVIII ft om which 2 Bhagvanlal thought that the gandhakuti mentioned in v 27 was Cave See etc n 2. The the image which was movable had been removed Inscriptions , p 76, description, which is situated to the west of Cave XVII. however, clearly refeis to the Chaitva Cave XIX actually 122 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

(Name lost)

(son) Dhritarashtra

(son ?) Harisamba

(son) Saurisamba

(son?) Upendragupta

(younger son) Kacha I

9 (son ) Bhikshudasa

- (son) Niladasa

(son ?) Kacha II

(son) Krishnadasa

(sons)

i (Name lost) Ravisamba

of the is The name founder of the family now lost, but from the description in verse 2, ( ' it seems to have been one signifying Protector of men l The relation of Harisamba, Upendragupta, Bhikshudasa and Kacha (II) to their predecessors is not specified in the preserved poition of the inscription About Kacha I we are told that he was a younger son of his father Upendragupta, but why his elder brother did not succeed to the throne is not stated

married a whose also is 2 Krishnadasa princess name unfortunately uncertain . He had from her two sons who are said to have resembled Pradyumna and Samba, the well- known sons of the epic hero Krishna The name of the elder son has not been preserved, but the younger was called Ravisamba. The eldei son succeeded to the throne The two brotheis conqueied Asmaka and other countnes and lived happily together, with increasing fraternal love and fame After some time Ravisamba met with premature death, which, the poet says, was due to his deeds in former lives The elder brother, being overwhelmed with soi row and convinced of the transilormess of existence 3 to lead worldly , began a pious

1 The verse does not state that he was the son of a as king Bhagvanlal supposed See Inscriptions etc 73. , p. 2 Bhau Daji read the name of the queen as Amachandra, and Buhler as Suchandra, but neither of these readings is supported by the facsimile The correct reading appears to be Atichandm. 3 This is the correct meaning of verse 13 -Amtya-samjna-sachivas-tatahparam iyavivndhat*punya-maha- mahtruham Amtya-samjna (Pali, amchcha-sanna) is mentioned in the Uddna as a subject of meditation. There is no reference to any minister here. INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA CAVE XVII 123

life He waited upon saintly peisons known for their learning, chanty, compassion and other virtues and imitated in his actions He bestowed righteous kings munificent gifts on and moved released from terrified suppliants being by compassion, bondage persons bv spend- ing large amounts foi the purpose Realising that wealth causes an obstacle in the attainment of siddhi meditation on the Omniscient he adorned the by (Buddha), earth with stupas and and with hbeial while vihdras, delighted suppliants gifts, Harishena, the moon among the eai th also caused the excellent kings, was protecting He monolith mandapa containing the chaitya of the Buddha to be excavated in the form of the piesent Cave XVII on a beautiful spur of the Sahya mountain He provided it with a watei cistern and caused a noble gandhakutl 1 to be excavated to the west of it in another part of the same hill The last verse (29) expresses the hope that the mandapa would cause the well-being of good people as long as the sun continues to dispel darkness with its lays The foregoing account of the inscription must have shown that the last of these kings whose name is unfortunately lost was a contemporary and probably a feudatory of the Vakataka Empeior Harishena He was preceded by ten other princes The founder of the family whose name has not been preserved may, therefore, have been reigning in the period from ciua 275 to 300 A C. From the mention of Asmaka in v 10 of the present inscription Pandit Bhagvanlal conjectured that these princes were ruling ovei Asmaka The verse, however, plainly shows that Asmaka was one of the countries raided by these princes, it was not their home- land From the Suttampdta we learn that the Asmakas weie settled in the vicinity 2 of the Godavari and that their country bordeied on that of the Mulakas The Suttampdta further states that the disciples of the Brahmana Bavari who was living on the bank of the Godavari in the country of Asmaka, proceeded to North India via Pratishthana (modern 3 the Paithan), the capital of Mulaka Asmaka, theiefore, appears to have been situated to south of the Godavari and probably comprised parts of the Ahmednagar and Bhir District The country of Asmaka thus lay to the south of Ajanta and was different from Khandesh which lay to the north of it The ancient name of Khandesh seems to have been Rishika. Varahamihira places Rishika in the southern division In the Ramaydna Rishika is grouped with Vidarbha 4 among the countnes of the south which Sugriva asked monkeys to visit in search of Slta In the Mahdbhdrata also Rishika is coupled with Vidaibha 5 Elsewheie the epic mentions Rishika and Asmaka among the countnes conquered by Kama 6 In the Dasakumdiachanta of the ruler of Rishika is said to have been, like that of Asmaka, a feudatory of the king Vidarbha 7 The Nasik cave inscription of Pulumavi mentions Asika (Sanskrit, Rishika) toge- Pulumavi's thei with Asaka (Sanskrit, Asmaka) and Mulaka among the countnes governed by 8 to father Gautamiputra Satakaim All these icferences show that Rishika was contiguous Asmaka, Vidarbha and Mulaka The only country which answers to this geographical for it is on the east Berai and on the position is Khandesh, bounded by (ancient Vidarbha),

1 This is the Chaitya Cave XIX, about the age of which there was much uncertainty 2 Suttampata, Parayanavaggo, vatthugatha, 5, 2 3jW, v 16 ed v 10 ^Rdmdyana (Nirnayasagar ), Kishkmdhakanda,, 5 an v 64 Mahdbhdrata (Chitrasala Press ed.) } Bhishmapar\ adhyaya 9, 6 v. 20 Ibid , Karnaparvan, adhyaya 8, 7 Dasakumarachanta (Bom. Sanskrit Series), p 138 Ind, Vol VIII, pp 60 f 124 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

south by the Auiangabad District (ancient Mulaka) South of Mulaka lay Asmaka (modem Ahmadnagar and Bhir distncts) The district obtained its modern name Khandesh in much later times 1

The loyal family described in the present inscription, \\hich rose to po\\er in the second third must first half of the century A C , have owed allegiance to the Abhlras who succeeded the Satavahanas as an Impeiial power in the Deccan 2 After the fall of the Abhiras, they seem to have transferred their allegiance to the Vakatakas A fragmentary verse in the adjoining Cave XVI at Ajanta states that the Vakataka Empeior Haii&hena either raided or exacted tribute fiom Tnkuta, which compused the territory round Nasik. Khandesh which lav between Vidarbha and Trikuta must have likewise submitted to the Vakatakas In fact, the present inscription mentions the Vakataka Emperor Harishena in a manner which indicates that he was the lord paramount of this royal family The Dasdkumatachanta gives in the eighth Uchchhvasa, a narrative which seems to have had a historical basis3 As shown elsewhere, it icflects the last of Vakataka the of period rule, mz , reign Harishena's son narrative mentions ruler of The the Rishlka (modern Khandesh where this royal family was reigning) as a feudatory of the Emperor of Vidarbha This is a further indication that this loyal family owned the suzerainty of the Vakatakas We have no records of any successors of Krishnadasa's son, who, as we have seen, was a contemporary of the Vakataka Emperor Harishena The dynasty appeals to have been overthrown by the Kalachuns of Malushmati who occupied Northern Maharashtra after the downfall of the Vakatakas Hoards of the silver coins (rupdkas) of Krishnaraja, the founder of the Kalachuri 4 power, have been found both in the Nasik District and Bei ar^, which border Khandesh on the west and the east respectively A coin of the same king has recently been reported from Nandurbar in the Khandesh District TEXTG

*rnr [i*]

[i *] f

n [BII*]

1 The present name of Khandesh is said to have been given to the district in Musalman times to suit the title of Khan conferred on the Faruki Ahmad I of kings by Gujarat. EHD , p 138 2 The grants of three other kings of Khandesh are dated in the Abhna eia AB RI Vol XXV, pp 98f ,C //,Vol IV, pp 5-12 3 Introduction, above, pp xxxnf. 4 The coins of were discovered at Devlana near Nasik Bom Vol. Krishnaraja Gaz , I, pt. u, p 13 5 A hoard of 1600 coins was discoveied at Dhamoii in Berai 6 Fiom the impressions supplied by the Government Epigraphist 7 Both Bhagvanlal and Buhler read but the aks/iata -JTRfff,, preceding ?TT is, certainly ^, and there is little doubt that the 1 whole expression was Tres^Rrfa The poet has used arerfa aeain in Verse 12 below 8 Buhler read ^nfaff, but the subscript m ofrmma is clear m the facsimile 9 Metre Vamsastha 10 lead which will Bhagvanlal ^rr hardly suit the context Buhler read fo, the preceding akshara is 55". Read tt*-*fr 11 Metre Upajdti 12 Metre of verses 3-7 Aupachchhandasika COEPUS INSCRIPTION INDICARUM

VOL v PLATE XXVII

INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA CAVE XVII

D C Sircar Scale, about One-seventh PR,NTE D AT THE SURVEY OP , NDIAOFF1CES (P L o , REG No 3977 E'36 1103 Sz

INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA CAVE XVII 125

4 ------1 [g-Jrf 'f^frt^sffrm^g^ jj~]

5 fefiFTX ^ 1% WRRTTT II __-__-^-^- 5 ^TFTT ^qfecTFT.,_-_^cft 6 _-_

s [i*]

fan*]L J

______^__ '^ g : [i*] 9 HnrR ^ fedWr [T^fem^^frrR; n [^n*] 10 v______^_^.- -~ 10 j [HWf^r ]^^^^! fcif^nr] [i*]

[l*]

second akshaia as but the facsimile shews the 1 BhagvanlalTead 3% here Buhlei also read the ^, reading ^T to be coriect as a Buhler admitted that ^ 2 Bhagvanlal doubtfully read S^ and gave FFT possible leading vvas clcai The intended word may be <^T- or possibly ^TT- as its cun e 3 read but the second akshara is cleaih f?r, Bhagvanlal and, following him, Buhler ^ ; The akshaia is g s not closed at the bottom piecedmg probably r as _ The akmata Buhler read the name 4 omitted the akshara preceding ^T, but f^T Bhagvanlal The like and a curve at the top icpctition receding ^^T does not, however, appear 5 has, besides, ended m and may have been artg^rr Df *F5 in the verse suggests that the name of the queen ^ The is ex idently suggested 5 These three aksharas wei c read by me for the first time description 3y the name Atichandrd fa Indravaira , Metre (or Upajdti] .. ^ _ ,,, _ anlal s lead it as Wr^K* Bhagv 7 This has been variously read Bhau Daji expression ^r^T tacsimile uUl Buhler into ^^ ^TR The eading was rr^rf^TSr^r^TR^ which changed i^TfTOT that the correct is as given above >how reading editor has been by subsequent 8 Bhau Bail first read the name as tfwre and the reading adopted and Samsamba but in view of the names Hansamba The first akshara^ a somewhat peculiai form, that the intended name was Ramsamba occurring in v 3, it is not unlikely 9 Metre Upajati almost ceitain 10 These four aksharas read by me for the first time aie 11 Bhagvanlal and Buhlei read ^r^nrf*nTq". 12 Metre of verses 10-13 Vamsastha ceitain 13 These seven aksharas are almost O n^, The correct reading read which is WBhau Daj! and Bhagvanlal f^ ungrammatical irst given by Buhler the first time 15 This woid is completed here foi while gave only sr 16 Bhau Dan read ^T ^ EMdUdft , Bhagvanlal form of * is^ u.*^w~ - r Seethe rriuiri" 5TT?T Theme aksharaUK^/iara followinglunun-jai^ *T-^i undoubtedly/ , ^m the next tbbr* also are not doubtful stois lepeated ^T9 above. The followmg very MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES 126 INSCRIPTIONS OF

I C ssmprte ii ?3ii pin

] [i*]

r 4 ft H n n* ir lo L j *

17 r

18 ?m f^TciT ft-^1 ^^TT^rfe^)^^ II ?<=:M -^ ^ J 19 r -,r~- ^ofur ^r [i*]

20 -

21

1 the first time me This expression was completely icad for by 2 been read viz 3 This expression has vanously, , ^^^RTf^T- (Bhau Daji) fifth second is f?r , and the the (Bhagxanlal) and srf^q-^rraf^- (Buhler) The s^n; undoubtedly ?rr, unmistakable The coirect is thcicfou tin one upturned curve of the medial 5 being leading given by Bhau Daji, though his interpretation was wrong 3 Metie of verses 14 and 15 Upajdti 4 but is the facsimile All previous editors read ^n^rfwl^PP, the leading not supported by and third akshaia is and the fouith fa The grves no good sense The clearly ?r, piobably only possible reading appears to be 5 Bhau Daji lead ^?5TTf^FTTf?T^T-3 but Bhagvanlal omitted the strond ahihaia, while Buhlei gave \vhich does not, however, suit the metic The afahcnas aie quite unmist arable heie 6 Metre of w 16 and 17 Indiavajrd (01 Upajati] 7 lead andBuhler but neithrj of these suits the coriU \t Bhagvanlal îf^rt^R 3 ^WTfer^'ss-r'T, Besides, not Lo as the akshaia befoie E^TIS clcaily ^, 'if, thus shoeing the concct icadmg be gncn aljovc 8 Read ^T^sm- 9 Metre Vamsiastha 10 Bhau Daji lead ^g^znfaeTFTrf'T, and Bhagvanlal, ^TTf^nrrfff'Tcrr?^ 1'ht context shows that this êlse gi\es the \\oids of the pairot, pointing out the obstacles of wealth in the attainment of the highest goal 11 Metre Indmvajia (01 Upajdti} 12 read while Bhag\anlal î^-HiPwfT , Buhler was certain only about the akshaias ^r and zftT The member of the first akslmra is subscupt legible clearly ?r, and the use of arfcpfPT suggested that the cxpies- sion ended in the ablative, though the final cT is not now legible 13 read which Bhag\anlal JRT>?f)T , Buhler corrected into wftrfrr The facsimile leaves uo doubt that Buhler's leading is correct 14 Metre Uplndtavajra or Upajdti 15 There is a ledundant vertical stioke after ^ 16 Metre Aupachchhandasika i 7 Buhlei's emandation *n=r is unnecessary as the visaiga is dropped by the Varttika on Panim VIII, 3, 36 18 Aletie of verses 22 and 23 Indravajta (or Upajati) INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA GAVE XVII 127

I*] ~ ^ ^ *94* TfTT^^^^FT [I*! -O "\ L J

------~ - fw^T 25 ; ftl^T [l*]

r [\*]

^--^ ------29 ^-^-^---^ ^nW^T ^^T [l*] n

TRANSLATION 10

to the who has mastered the three (Verse 1) Having bowed sage (Buddha) completely lores and who is a thunderbolt 11 to the tree of woildly existence, ... I will set forth a description of the excellences of the donor of the Vihdia, whose deeds are pure

the lord of . . . who wore a his and (V. 2) To man (named ) , parasol (over head) who made his name significant by the protection of the people, was born a son, Dhritarash- tra by name, who had a white parasol face as (V. 3) [The son] of that king was Harisamba, whose was lovely a lotus and the moon. Again, the son of that king was king Saurisamba, endowed with spotless beauty

(V. 4) The resplendent Upendragupta of wide-spread fame . [was begotten] by him. Then he had a younger son who became well-known as king Kacha (I). his (V 5) [From him was descended] . . . Bhikshudasa m order to deposit splendour and glory [on the earth.] A son of that lord of men was a king named Nfladasa, renowned on the earth.

1 read as but to read which does how- Bhau Daji here, Bhagvanlal proposed Tlfa'7HK4r.& , not, ever, make a good sense Buhler omitted two aksharas before ?TR 2 This hemistich was first completely read by me. Previous editors had missed the interesting refers to the Ajanta hill as g^RR. 3 Metre of verses 24-27: Upajdti 4 All previous editors read ^-tO^-m^^ heie, but the conjunct consonant after T is clearly ^ not ^. the sense of a gift occurs in some records of the period 5 Previous readings of this expression were f^^Mh74'*l (Bhau Daji and Buhler) and the first to akshara must (Buhler) The curve on *r, appears have been cancelled The following It is be read as TT not fft 6 Bhagvanlal read 5RT5T, but the facsimile does not show an anusvara on W. 7 Buhler. Bhau Daji's incorrect reading ^4W

9 F Bhau Daji correctly read 1%ff%, but Bhagvanlal's misreading f?Tff 3T was repeated by Buhler 10 In this translation I have derived some help from Dr Buhler's rendering, though I have differed from him in the interpretation of some passages. 11 The poet is fond of using aiam (a thunderbolt) in the sense of an instrument of destruction See V. 12. below 128 INSCRIPTIONS OF MINISTERS AND FEUDATORIES

(V 6) His son of biilliant fame became well known as Kacha (II). Then

to that king \\ as born Krishnadasa, who augmented the splendour of (his) race and line His wife ^vas 1 the clad in as (V 7) Atichandra, , daughtei (of) garments white as the rays of the moon, whose face resembled the full moon and whose ornaments weie modesty and virtuous conduct 2 (Vv 8-9) [He] obtained (het) who brightened the land in the form of suppliants Fiom her he had two sons resembling Pradyumna and Samba, who had longish, lotus-like eyes and lovely bodies like burnished gold The elder (of them] boie the title of a king, while the second boie the appellation Ravisamba. (V 10) Having subjugated prospeious countries such as Asmaka [the two princes] whose piowess had become fruitful, shone like the sun and the moon, (V 11) While they, whose honoui was dependent on and whose creeper- like affection and glory had grown \ery much, were living always in concord and happiness, (V 12) [Fate] whose decree is not to be evaded even by superhuman beings diead was the deeds in a life 3 and whose power produced by done previous , announced the thunderbolt of impel manence in the case of the younger (brother} (V 13) [Having oversome] as if with firmness, the diseases of the body and the elder the 4 mind, [the brother] , having always consciousness of transience, made thereafter the great tree of religious merit grow served those5 who who (V 14) He , possessed great learning, liberality, compassion, contentment, friendship, foigiveness, courage and wisdom, and who felt pleased with (V 15) He, who was of pure conduct, habitually imitated in his deeds honourable kings of noble conduct

(V 16) He made The suppliants being satisfied (with gifts) spiead, in 6 the same way, the fame of other suppliants .

1 restored Buhler the queen's name as Suchandid That the name ended in chandia is certain, but the first of it was ati rather than su See n part probably } above, p 125, 4 2 The is the description probably suggested by queen's name Atichandra (one who has surpassed the moon) 3 Bhagvanlal took this as the description of the elder brother who he thought, muidered the younger bother, but Buhler rightly inferred that the meaning of the verse was that the younger brother perished suddenly by an accident or died of a disease 4 The use of the woid sachiva in amtya-samjha-sachivah has misled all previous editors They took amtya, achintya or achitya as the name of the minister who, they thought had donated the Vihata But minister should in why the come abruptly heie has not been stated The Amarakoska gives two senses of sachiva a an associate (i) minister, and (n) Cf Mantrl sahayah sachivau (Amarakosha, III, 207) At of a 3 the end compound, sachiva conveys the sense of 'assisted by or 'provided with' (Momer- Williams) To illustrate this sense the St Petit sberg Dictionary cites the following passage from Sankara's on the Bhashya Chhdndogya Upamshd (1, 2) doshavad-ghrana-sachivatvat viddha ghrana-devata Amtya- samjna-sachivah, therefore, means that the elder brother was always conscious of the transitonness of life. Amtya-samjnd (Pah, amchcha-sannd) is mentioned in Buddhist literature as an object of meditation, which destioys the sense of aharikcba (Pah, asmi-niana) Gf amchcha-sanna bhavetabba asmi-mana- samugghataya (Udana, IV, 1) The verse thcrefoie states that the cldei brother, being always mindful of the of impermanence existence, engaged himself in the acquisition of religious merit The donor of the Vihdra was this elder brother of Ravisamba, not his minister 5 These were piobably Buddhist monks 6 The of the verse seems to be that the so meaning king bestowed much wealth on suppliants that they themselves made munificent gifts to others which made them famous INSCRIPTION IN AJANTA CAVE XVII 129

(V 17) He released by the power of the expcdituie of wealth whose eyes

1 were suffused through fear,, as though they were his (own) dear sons (V 18) Even he who had been treated affectionately like a son icpeated, like a 2 knowing human being, the excellent and puie thoughts in his heart " (V 19) (Rich persons) failed to attain, because of their wealth, the " 3 siddhi rightly so called (obtainable) by devout meditation on the Omniscient (Buddha) (V 20) He adorned the whole woild by the light of his fame, bright like the rays

of the moon . by collecting materials (V 21) While that moon among the princes, Harisheua, whose face resembles a lotus and the moon, and who does what is beneficial for (his) subjects is protecting the earth

(V 22) He, who has a very marvellous store of merit adorned the earth with Stupas and Vihaias^ and caused the joy of suppliants by conferring gifts (on them) (V 23) On a spur of the Sahya (mountain), looking beautiful with clouds, which, 4 with the confused noise of always pass over it (as if) to provide it with a canopy (V 24) [He excavated] this monolithic excellent Hall, containing within it a Chaiiya ascetics e of the and the of statehness of the king of (i , Buddha) possessing qualities he caused to be this (V 25) Having expended abundant [wealth], made donated is and which cannot be even little-souled men [Hall] which almost measureless imagined by to a cistern to the and filled (V 26) He caused be dug (near it) large pleasing eyes with sweet, light, clear, cold and copious water to and the mind In another of it the (V 27) delightful the eyes part m west he caused to be made a grand Gandhdkuti* for attainment of stddhi (V 28) May all the blessings desired the caused by devout attend 6 in all his deeds stnves foi meditation on the lord of sages (i e Buddha) him , who the welfare of the people ' of (V 29) May this Hall out of affection cause the attainment \\ell-bcing

' by good people as long as the sun dispels darkness by its rays

1 This seems to refer to the release from bondage of animals as well as human beings Compare the fifth Pillar Edict of Asoka, which mtei diets the captuie of animals in certain seasons of the year 2 Bhagvanlal, being probably misled by the -word vadfya, wholly misunderstood the purport of the * verse and translated it as follows [The minister] who, though he knew that the king had acquired in ' his heart a conscience purified from murderous tendencies did not disclose Buhler thought that the text was conupt heic and took the sense to be that even learned men had to acknowledge the minister's punty of heait Both these lendenngs aie incoirect The verse probably refers to a domesticated pariot kept in the palace, \\hich, like a knowing human being (vidan-nnvat) lepeated the thoughts in the pnnce's heart 3 These aie probably the woids uttered by the panot They point out the obstacle caused by \vealth in the attainment of siddhi Buhler, who did not nsk a translation, thought that the general sense of the verse was that misfortunes fled (apeyuh) from the pious mimstei, being overcome by his supplications addiessed to Buddha This is wide of the mark (pramdhdna) (sanajnabhdia) 4 Buhler has omitted this verse completely m his translation 5 Bhagvanlal thought that the Gandhakuti was Cave XVIII, from which an image of the Buddha had been lemoved Buhler's rendering 'on the other side of this (Buddha's) body on the left' is obviously incorrect The reference is undoubtedly to the Chaitya Cave XIX, which actually lies to the west of Cave XVII 6 This probably refers to the prince who caused Cave XVII to be excavated.

INDEX

The Aiabic numerals refer to the pages of the Texts and Tianslations, and the Roman numerals to those of the Introduction n aftei a numeinl to foot-notes The following other abbreviations also have been used au Br =Brahmana ca =author, , =, mgt =engraver, ep =epiibet,/=fima!e, j'= feudatory, k =kmg,/ ^locality, m =male, mm =mmister,mo =mountam,n =name, o/=officer,/r *=pnnce, ? =qutcr n =nvcr, s a = J T.mc t d =teuitoiial te tit tn as, division, =templc, =title, =town, m =village, uk =v\ork

A / Arammi, , 43, 44, 46, xxx v ' d Arammi-iaj\a, , 64, 65, b8, xxx Sansknt au AbhmavaguptJ., , Iv Arang plates of Bhlmastia, 83, 84, xx n , xxv*, xxx AbhTrd, dy 124, xvu, xix Araiig plates of Maha-Ja>araja, XXXIV In n ' \chalapuia, , 29, xxxiu ardho uka, a lower gaiment ', xlv n, Ixx 68 Ach-T^ya, scnbe, 32, 64, Arr vi jor", , 3 ' addhaka, a halj 95 n A thapati, Nala k 90 , ocvii a^d n , xxxvu n tit xix Adhiia/a, , ktbasastra, Sansknt oik of Kaunly 8tj xxxix ' lie id ol a XXXVll Adhyaksha, depaitment ', il Arvi, , 44 Lalei k 11 Aditv. asuia, Gupta , ' Ar>avarta, No,ih India', at xvu AcLumj , s a co Asaka, Aani'ka, , 123 Aguish tuiiui, I cdic sacnfut., 10, 14, 95, 98, xvi, xix n t d Asi-bhukti, , 17, 81,21, vvxv a<> i ahai a, 'a giant of land', XXXIX s a Asika, , Rishika, co , 123 Agi a-ma/nthl, 'Clowned Qjiecn', xxxvu, xhv co 1 n 1 128 ; vvxu Asmaka, , 12 and xxx and , xxxu , 14, 120, 122, 123, ahai a, I d , 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, Aboka, k , xix , xxi xxxv in 69 Maurya 2,3, 39, at, initial, 33, Asvaghosha, Sanskrit poet, Kv in 65, 68 Ajdk un i, n , 64, 14 u 65 Asvamedha, Vedic sacrifice, 10, 95, 98, v, \\i, , vs., Ajaug ion, n , XXll K xi xl\i-ln , XXXU!, A)iin|a., paintings at ji 58, 59, 61, xvxv, xh Ixv \svatthakhetaka, , Ajanta, CUve XVI, 112, xh, xlv, xlvi, tn 35, 37, xxxv \s'vatthanagaia, , 34, intS CUve 120, 121 and n, xhi, xlv-xlvn, lx\, Ixix \j XVII, 99 Ixxm Atharvanika-chaiana, 5 a \thai vavcila, Ajcinta, CU\e XIX, xlu, xlv, xlvi, Ixv, ^ 103 f i Athaniaveda, Cave Inset of Vaiahadeva 95, 96, , , Ajinia iplion 122 " 12S llV Atichandra, q t 111, XXIX, XXX1-XXX1X, ^'^ I die ^ !4, ^MJ 120 f \tir5.tra, sacrifice, Civc XVII, Inscnption in, Ajanli M^- l lxvu lxMJ Atyignishtoma, I'tdic sacrifice, k of > Ajatis'atru, Magadha, ~ initial, 80, 81, xxv, xxxvn au, Ajjhilabhal tanks, lakalaka, q , m au, medial, bipaiute, 10,33,48,57,63,69,73,76,93,103,121 T Dutaka, off, ^ Jjnapti, co 106, 107, llO ix, vxxi 94 96 98 Avanti, sa Western Malava, , donated m > ' Akaspadda, , xxxm n, In, Kii, Km toantuundafikatha, Sanskrit wk , ci Alaka, , xxxiin Sansknt wk , 6 n lui Avantisundankathasaia, \Ll3hdbad of banmdiagupta, 3, , xxi, pillar m&cnption k VM ^1U lxxlv Avndheya, Early Rashtiakuta , amalaka, a kind of fimal, -^ ^ xhu B Atnalaki Ikudasi, ' Xl 4- / XIV, / \niai avail, , 37 43 -8 in 28, S - 44, 65 b, squaie form, ,_ 48 in the left limb, 28, 33, 37, 43, IVM and n b, with a notch au Iiv, Ivi, Auuudavaidhana, Sansknt , 57 without a notch m the left limb, 97 n , 98 n b, Anatti,sa Ajhapti, of, 48 xxn, xxxi, xxxm b, subscript, co, lOb, 107, 110, xix, XXX'U Anclhia, ca X^ 11 Ba.daim, , . 1, J 64 65, 68 Andhra, dy , vi Badankagiama, , ' 29 angada, an aimlef , 01 , - I 1X11 Badgaon, 29 1 n 28 Bahmam, m , 122 n , 126 'consciousness of tiaimtoimess , Lxn anitya-sanjna, vi ^ 42 Bahuribandh, , vi 39, 40, 79 s a , 69, AnjanvadT, tn Anjanavataka, 40 Balaehat , m If ,83, 89, 90, xxv, Anjanvadl, , 'ante-chamber', antarala, Ixix f xxv i a lowei f 9 1 3 ^ , , 82 , 90, antaravasaka, garment', ,f Bharatabala xlvn _- - ' T anta a lower garment ', au rlyaka, xliv Bana, Sanskrit , marriage XXVI, anuloma 107 Bandhogaclh, fort , vvxvui, s a North Konkan, 29, 32, Apaianta, , 48, 49, 51 Bappa, off , 27 'western atiara-patta, division', Br donee, Ixv 11 Bappar>a, a of flying, painting Br donee, Apsaras, xvi, xix Bapparya, 10, 14, 15, 98, Vedic sacrifice, monk, Aptoryama, xxxiv Bappuka, Buddhist m 43, 44, 46, Aramikaj , 132 INDEX

17 106,107,113,117 Barah of Buddha, plate Bhojadeva, Ixxv 93,96 Buddha, image of, 106, \h, xln, Lxvn, Ixix, a ? 99 (Buddhaiya), JB) donee, 102 and n , 105, m, Buddliajja BSsim plates of \ mdh\ as'akti II, 89, n 1m xx, xxix, xxx, xxxv , xlv, 16 18 .1 > Belora, ,

16 f , 23, 64, Eelura plates of Piavarasena II (Sets A and B), xxxv n xxxiv, Cave-Temples, Hv f u 80 Bembal, , Ghaitya, Buddhist temple, xvn 49 , xln Bern, , Ghaitya cave at Ajanta, a n 29, xxxiv Benna, s Wamganga, , Chaitya cave at Karla, vlvi xxxiv td, 29, 31, 49, 70, lxx\ Bennakarpara-bhoga, Chaitya-mandira, 109 , in, , Ixvi, Bennakata, td, 49, 51, ' a window Ivxv Km Chailya-vatayana, Chaitya ', Betul plates of Sankshobha, Chaitva window, xhi 99 Bhaddilajja (Bhadiilarya), Br donee, 9 Chakradasa, m , 88 n bhaga, ta\, > 15 Chakradeva, off , 11, X1X Bhara k ' Bhagadatta, , 9 vxxvm Chhatra, a policeman ', , \x\vn, s a 6, 8, 34, 39, 42, 80 Bhagavat, , Vishnu, s a xxx vlt Chakrapam, , Vishnu, 3, 11, 13, vi, 49 Bhairavagadh , foi t, Ghalukyas, Early, 96 *"* n > ' BhagirathI, , Ghhappannaya, s a Shai-panclUbat, a Society Xlx Bhara, s a BhaiHbiva, dy , of fifty-six poets ', xxi 76, xix, ' Eharasixa, dy , 10, 14, 38, Chheka-bhanita, a clever saying ', 87 Bharata, s a Bharatabala, Pandavafeu , 83, Ghamidasa, scnbe, 49, 52, x\^vn, VS.XVIH, xlv 9 xxvi, xxxiv, Bhiratabala, Pandtua, feu , , 83, 84, xin, Ghammak, vi 22, 23 xxxvi, Ixiii Ghammak plates of Pia\aias>uia II, 6, 17, 22, 104, 106, xxxiv Bhartns\ Bi donee 27 amm, , Chamuna, / xiv 'a 9 n, 84, x\xvu-xxxi\ bhata, soldier', ca vn ChanakS, Vakdtaka , vi 23 Bhatkuh, , ~s.hv Ghanalas\amm, Br , 0, 9, f donee 99 Bha' idevajja (Bhartiidc\ar>a),^ , Chandaja (Chandraiya), B> donee, 99 \1 n Bha\abhuti, Sanskrit, au , 77, 78, xxvn, Chhandogya Upamshad, 128 n xxxvii n Nala k , 77, i\, xxvn, Bha\adattavarman, vi 50 Chandpur, , k 76, xxi Bhavanaga, Bhaiauua , 10, 14, xx, Chandra, me) chant, 39, 42, xb, xlv Bhav as\ amm, Br donee, 101, 102 Chandrabhaga, n , 44, xxxv mm 112 n Bhaviraja, , k J7 Chandiagupta I, Gupta , b, 8, 120, 122, 127 Bhikshudasa, feu , k f Ghandragupta II, Gupta , 3, 6, 8, 11, 17, 22, 34, 37, 10l>, v, xxvi Bhlmasena I, k of the Sif>a dy , 83, \\\ n \xxvi n i win, and , , xli, lui, K Bhioiasuia k the Su>a \\vi II, of dy , 83, vi Chandrapuia, , 48, 49, 52 Bhitaii pjllai inscnption, 6 Chandrapuia-sangamika, 43, 4-4-, 47 Bh~\ xxm agadh, fort, vi Ghandur, , 41 ta\ 82 n Bhoga, 3 charactei s t n bhuga, d , 43, v\xn, xxxiv , xxxi\ box-headed, 2, 5, 10, 1C, 22, 28, 33, 43, 18, 53, 57, 03, Bhoja, Sansknt au , Iv 69, 73, 7b, 79, 89, 90, 93, 101, 103, 113, 121 Bhojadeva, Sanskrit au , Ivi BrahmT, 1 Bhojaka, off, 101, 102 nail-headed, 5, 82, 90 Bhojakadevarya, Br donee, 26 s a vi Chaimanka, Chammak , , 23, 26, XXKV t d 49 n BKojakata, , 23, 26, , xxxiv, xxx\ < a n chata, policeman ', 9 , xxxvn Br Bhojarya, donee, 64, 68 ' chalula-tilaka, a head-oinamenl, li Bhuitaka, m , 37 Chicholi, vi , 11 bliukti, t d v\xiv, xx\v s a vi Ghikkambmi, C'hikmdid, , 2, 4, xl, K Bhuvanapala, com , Ivi f vi Chikmara, , 4, xl k the la BibhThhana, of S dy , 83 vi Chiuchapalli, , 11,11 Bimbisara, k of Magadha, Ixxi vi Ghinchmandal, , 54 Bodhika, Buddhist monk, ~jav, xl Chinese, tace, xlvn Bontluka\afaka, s a Buthad, vi, 11, 14, xxxv Chitravaiman, Setiapatt, 17, 21, 23, 27, xxxvni, viv di Borgaon, , 65 cliollaka, 'a watei-pot', 99 n Bothad, n , n Chutukulananda Satakaini, k , 39 Brahmanas their names, \lv, then Sakhjb, xlv, their consonant, final, 28, 33, 57, 76, 113 professions, xh

s a vi Brahmanavataka, Brahmanwada, , G4, 68 Brahmanw vi ada, , 29, 70 D vi Brahmapmaka, , 28, 31, 70, 71 Vedic Bnhaspatisava, saaifice, 10, 14, 95, 98, xvi, xix n d, angular, 121

Bnhatkatha, Paisachi u>k , 96 and n xxxix n , d, round-backed, 5, 10, 33, 76, 79 Sansknt wk n Brhatkathamanjan, , 96, xxxix J, not distinguished from d 28, 48, 77.

Brihatphalayana, dy , 93 co Dakshinapatha, , 96, xxix n Sansknt wk xxxni Bnhahamhita, , Damodara, Sansknt poet, xxxiu n INDEX 133

s a Damodaiasena, Piavaiascna II, V&ataka k , 35, vi, vn, ix, Durg plate of a Vakataka king, 7b f and n ", 15, 34, 75, XXXMI, and xh Dandanajaka, mililaiy , , ojf 101, 102, xxxv in Daiv'eda, , ' 4 , \h\ diuvlandi, u,icnce o XXMl banshul an Davuhn, , i, xxxm and n XYxn, , hn, h Danguna, s a k, 7, 9, xxxv, xln e, initial, 82 Dai bhcimalak in i, , 43, 47 M Edenga, , XXMI D.ii in bhapath i, , 64, 68 EkadaSi, a fasting day, b, xli-\lui Daibluivnaka, m , 70,, 71,, xxxv vi Ekarjunaka, , 53, 54, 56 bansknt oik Daiakumaiaclianta, , 126, 124,\i,xxv n ,xxxu-xxxin Eras XXXVll Jl Gauga, s a tn xxxi Dasapuia, Mandasoi, , ' Gupta, //.;

in ,

DfotCk stone msuiptitm of Rudrasena I, f xxl ' fortnight m season dates

, 1 49 n u won/up ', 2, 1, 17, 29, 38, , I)lia)mn\tlumti, J>lat,e oj jcligioM K 99 n , \1, k xxi, Gayakarna, Kalacl'itn ,

101,102 / 41 Dhumaswimn, 111 dunce, Gepuraka, , 39, 40, ' id, xxxv, n n, a ii'>litcom conqueiot ', ep Gepuiaka-marga, 18 Ghat LacJkT, m , 37 Ghatotkacha, Gupta k , 6, 8, J)liuva\aUk,i, w , wk llVj lv, 1V11 72 Ghatotkacha Cave, 112, 114, xln, xh, ban, Lxxv MuunyuUa, Santint , 21 112 xln ^ 7, 18, Ghatotkacha Cave inscription, f, xvi, \x, vxx, Dughadiaha, j, , Dighi, , and n 9, vi, vn, ix, xxni , Ghughusgadh, fort, ia, K(SW/aA /w , 3, 84 his. subhaslnta, hn Ghumli plates, \xi\, \\\vn, xhv, ha, Gunar edict of AbGka, J)nj>avadana, Bnddliul . n , , Godavari, , v J3ti\ul } of a GGladasa, scribe, 43,47 initial woid indicating completion , tfiuhlam,''ucn\ 39 80 B) donee, 58, 64, 77, | GundSrya, t>, 10, 17, 33, *8, 53, QO 26 0> Gundasarman, pr , donee, Jj! onabha 1 1 auka, Pandam q , xxxix ..-_,./ 84,' gDlras IJiuiiagiaka, Id, - ' 84, 88, xxm Atieya, fj)nwraka,iayaka, t,h oj a Dionagtaka',

. . n , , 84, xxxix , Bhalandayana, L d Dronamtikha, , 72 Bharadvaja, 26, 27, 70, 7J> dona, Dharana, 8,37 27 1 xxxiv Gautama, b, 43 , lJ)udiA plaks uf Pi.iv,u,isena II, 134 INDEX

9 Harkarij 48,52 Hiiahadgalh plates of Sivaskanda-varinan, , 93, 94, 97 n , xix Kapmjala, 99 99 n ) Kasyapa, 17,26 Haiannaja (Huan\2iya), Br donee, 99

vi Kaundmya, 11,26,27,43,47,64,70,72 I-Iarankhedi, , 44 99 Kaubika, 43, 47, Huanva, n , 44, 54, 56, \\xv

1m t d Kautsa, Hiranyapuia-bhuga, , 13, 14, 47, xxxv

Loliitya, 53 Huna, iate, xxvi 28 Maudgal> a, Hun a, dy , xvu Pai asara, 34,37 Paippaladi, 99

Pai asai ya, 26 2, initial, 82

Sandilya, 27, 101 i, medial, 09, 103

Satyayana, 26,27 1, medial 33, 48, 57, 63, 73, 82, 121 Sra\ n ishtha, 97 Ikshvaku, dy , xvu 97 n Sia\isthhayana, Indhyadu, mo , 39 77 Vaji-Kaus'ika, India Offioe plate of Devasena, H , 101 f , \xxvw 66 tn Vaji-Kaundm> a, Indoie, , 38 83 of 38 f Vatsa, Indoic plates Piavarascna II, , 77, \ui, xxxv n , xlv

Vatsya, 2t>, 27, xln India, flying, painting of, Ixx n Vishnuvi iddha, 10, 14, 96 , xhv India, s a Bhaiatabala, Pdndauafeu, 83, 87, xxvi s a Pandava Vushmviiddha, Vishnm nddha, 93, 96, 98, Indiabhattatika, q , 83,87

Bi 39 tn Govarya, donee, Kana, } 83,88 Vishnukundin k XXXI Govmdavarman, , Is'vara, goldsmith, 83,88 Gi ' headman a xxxix amakuta, of village ', 84, 88, Isvaradatta, goldsmith, 58,62 sa ai Gnddhagiama, Gadeghat, , 54,56 Isvarasaiman, Bi donee, 27 ' Gi a householder xl ihapati, ', xiv, IsVai asarmarya, Bt donee, 27 rites, xl, xliv Grihya Is\aiasena, donee, 26

Gulma, m , 96 and n , xxix

Gulwada, vi , 112, xhi 57,82 au Gunadhya, Piaknt , 9b n , x\i\ ch Jaika, Satndhava , 84 n

Gupta, A. , Jamali", ni , 48, 49, 51

, 8, 3i, \xx\i vi Gupta, dy 37, vxvm, xxx, Jamb, , 10, 11 Ldtej 7 Guptas, , dy , Jamb plates of Pravaiasena II, 7, 10, 43, 79, ix, xl, xhv

Gupta temple at \h vi Devgadh, Jamuntola, , 49 P&ndava k xxvi H Jayabala, , 83, 86, Jayamangald, com on Vatsyqyana's Kdmasuha, 96, xxix

Jayanatha, Uchchakalpa feu , 91, v h, with tail sharply turned to left, Jayasena, Piakut poet, Ivn Hala, Salavdhana k and Piaknt au , Iviu, hx Jctthaja (Jveshthaiya), Bi donee, 99 Hanbhadra, Piaknt au , Ivin jh, 79 Harichandia, Bi , jh, subscupt, 69 Hansamba, feu , 120, 122, 127 n 44 Hamaimarya, Bi donee, 26 Jharpat, , jihvdmul'tya, sign of, 6, 33, 43, 63, 73, 79, 113, 121 Huishcna, Vdkataka k , 103, 104, 106, 110, 112, 114 and ' jlva-putid, having living sons ', 34 , 115, 119 and n , 121, 124, 129, i, vi, viu, i\ and ' sons jija-pu.li a-paulra, having living and gtandsons ', 34 n , xvi, xxxi-xxxm, \xxvi, xh, xhi, xKi, Ixvi, lxi\, Br 99 Ixxiv his conquests, \\xi, annexed the kingdom of jiMjja (Jivaiya), donee,

Marathi wk , 94 the Main Bi anch, xxxi, established the Eastern Gangas JTidnesvan, in Jodhpur inscription of Piatihdia Bauka, 113 n Kahnga, xxxi, supplanted Salankayana A , xxxi, Junagadh lock inscription, 23 n established Vishnukundin k , Govindavarman, xxxi, Bi 27 his mimstei Varahadeva, xxxi, his reign-pciiod, xxxu, Jyeshthab'aimarya, donee, Vedic saci 98 and n xi\ n his successoi, xxxn-xxxm Jyotibhtoma, ifice, 95, , Jiu Hanshcna, off , K Hanti, Buddhist goddesss, XXXV1H

Harm, saqe 98 n , xxxvi n k, cuisive, 121 98 n 120 and n 127 Hariti-panchaiikha, sage, Kacha I, feu , , 122, 98 and n xxxvi n 120 and n 128 Hanllputia, ep , 95, , \v, Kacha II, feu , , 122, \u and xxxiv n 96 a Hanvamsa, Sanskrit. wK , , Kadamba, dy , 95, Ivill tn xxx n Planvijaya, Prakrit kavya, j llV-lvl, Kadambapura, , Iianmka, IXMV Kadambasaiaka, s a Kosaia, vi, 54, 5C Ivi s a m 9 Hai shachanta, Sanskrit wk , \lvii, xlvui, Kadapiujana, Kadhajan, , 7, vi 7 Hastibhoja, mm ofDevas^/ia 103, 104, 106, 110,111, 112and?z, Kadhajan, , ' ' 113-115, 118, 119 and n ,xvi, xxxi Kakapakshaka, a clnstei of han above the ear 1 au 94 n 97 n Iv & n xxxiu Hemachandrn, Sanskrit and Ptaknt , , , i, hv, Kalachui i, dy , 124,vi,xxxn, 12 vi xxx n Hmganghat, tn and id, 7, Kalamb, , INDEX 135

Kalharia, bansh.nl au , , ' \lvui Krishna, incarnation lislma of vxxi ? 3n Kaluga, ban&nl poet, 113 j 35, 107, , tj vxtu-vxs, xxx n , Knshnada>a, feu , xvxix n 120, U2 5 124, 123 , xh, \\vii, I, 1m and n , h, Ivi Knshnaraja, Kalacl'un k , 124, \1 W\i, vXXH! 62 53, 59, &amdha^a k Knshnaraja II, , 84 106, 107, 110, MX, xxn, xxxi ' Knta-yuga, goldt,n age', Kahvuman, /? 20,31,67, 69, vxxxi 43, 46, 47 Kshatrapa, dy , xxu vxsii 11 xi\, and h , xx\ Kallaia, , 64, 65, 68 Kuberanaga, q of Cliandta^upla 11, .#; 6, 8, 37 KaluMaka, donee, ' 11, 14, xhv a Kulapluia, high off ', ui 101, W\\13, vX-iMU KiUy3.ni, , VXXlll Kulpa, vi , hdmasutra, bamknt wk 29 , 9b, xxix and H KumaradevL ' Gi'pta, q , n b, 8, 37 kanaka-ialaya, gold wiuth I ", h k ' Kumaragupta, Gupta , \n kanUiuka, a tobc ', xlv in Br ' Kumararja, donee, a /;(/: 39 kanchuhkd, ', xhx Kumai dmatya, a high Ojf XVXMll, llll Kapddiya, Bi don c, 27 Kumdi asambhava, Sansktit ak , 113 Km Kankal7, n, goddt^f, bun Bi Kumarasdimar>a, donee, 26,27 Kantakasdild, / , XV M , ' Kumargaon, 40 kanthikSj necklace ', h ' kundala, an eai ornament ', ' 1 /,/, a /;/flt o/ ', axt/ihtp 111 ca Kundmapura, , 23, xlv n fj Kaiafija, , 29 Kuntaka, Sanskiit at , i, Iv sa vi Kaianjavuakii, Kautiija, , 29, 31, xxx\ co Kuntala, , 80, 81, 105 107, 110, xix, xxv and n ' v\, , kdfdpnkdnt, Vi puforms a icligwus duty*, 117 xxix-vxxui, K n rz ' ' Kannakaia, , 43, 44, 47 the Kuntalcs'a, loid of Kuntala , xxx n Pniknt wk Ivi n, , 96, co Kurala, , xxu xx Kushana, ta.ce, xlv ii, 1

K , XXXll ij,achrhuu, dy Kushana, dy , V\, XXXVI 96, xxix H Kuvalayarndld, Piaknt nk , Ivui ' katilnindha, band Jor the waul', xlvin, Ixn, Ixx xlv Kat),1yaua, ci// 58, 162, xxxvm,

in Kaundai Tja, , 58,62 I, \\itli a long \eitical, 103 biin i>knt au 84 Kautilya, , with a /, shoit vertical, 5, 63, 104, 113 v> 7 Ivav tdghaf, , /, cursive, 43,63 ' (i Ivni kdVi-inuiidnlti, Sanely \ di Ladgaon, , 18 Iv Hdinkni wk , h.avydnu\d\nna, i.

fJi, with a tu tangle at tin bottom, 12,28 33 languages kh, with a loop, 54 Prakrit, 1, 63, 93 Khau i, vi , 124 n Sanskrit, 2, 6, 10, Ifa, 22, 28, 33, 38, 43, 43, 53, 57, 65 63, 69, 73, 76, 79, 82, 91, 92, 93, 101, 104, 113, 121 Lata, Central and Southern Gujarat, 106, 107, 110, xxxi vi 29 Kholapui, , ui Lekhapallika, , 64, 65, 68 t.o>iiiaiiJu 29 Kliuir 'vaia, mdiUiiy , Lichchhavi, tube, xxi Kilakila, , dy ch 37 Lichchhavi, , 6, 8,

laK.i, vi , 29,31 Lilachan'ia, Matathi wk , 94 haiuhnt wk Km , , ^i 61 Lohanagaia, sa Ltfni, , 58, 59, 113, 114, 118, xxx JYUIJ, mm j t a-bhoga, d , xxxiv 9 n xxxix Lohanagai land tu\, , Ah/ila, Lohitasaiasvamin, Bi Done, 83,88 39, 40, 41 Kol>ulaiaka, n , xxxvi Pdndaoa q , 83, 87, v\vi, 56 Lokapiakaia, Kokilai vi 54, i, , Ji vxxix xvn Lonai, , Ivohkila, , dy Lunar dynasty, 83 29,31 Kollajjui tka, m , 95 Koiulamudi plait, s ol J M 23,26 Jvondaraja, m , 76 XXXll m, cursive, en Knnkana, , 7b m, unlooped, co 77, 80, 81, 83, 84, 106, Js.ujal,i, A a, Dakshma Kusala, , wxv xl Madhappa, Off, 64, 68, in, xxv-xxvn, xxxi 107, 110, k xxxni Madhavavarman, Vishnukimdin , xvi, xxxi, to xix, x\,xxxiv,lvii la, Daksluiia, , s a i 70,71 Madhukajjhau, Murjhar, , 40, 49, 50 vi Ivusamba, , xxx\ Madhunadt, J a Chandrabhaga, n , 23, 26, 70, 39, 40, 42 ls.os unbaka, in , Praknt dialect, 97 49, 51 Magadhl, vi 48, tslus.tnibakhantla, , v\vi and 54 Magha, dy , bsLosata, ui , 27 Br donee, 31, 35, 37 Maghaiya, t voMka, d , 26 Bi donee, 35, 37, xxxv n MaghaSarman, / d 34,

f 86 117 n *, 't, K,

108 w , 109 121?' U6a Mahakan*ara, co , u, , 108

?; 1 o5, , 100 H , 15 r 123 n 1"G ;; Mahakuta inscription of J , ,

86 n , 109 Mahalla-Lafa, vi , 117 n Malaallaiia-Lata, vi ,

*- vl 85 , 109 n Mahamalia, off ,

58 and a xh 84 , tid n Mahapurusha, s a Vishnu, got, , 62, xxi,

108 , 124 n 125 , 12b n 127 ;/ tit 21, 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, , , Mdhatdja, , 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 20,

Vasantatilaka.) ,/ 84 , 109 n, 117 j7, 30, 4!, 43, 46, 48, 51, 53, 56, 58, 61, 67, 7b, 85 107 ?! 1U8 /z , , , 109 n , 113 , xxu n , 79, 81, 33, 87, 89, 91, 92, lOl, 102, v-u, 116 n , 125 n, 126 , 127 w xxxvi and P jtxxû n 107 108 n n n, , Ub Maj.d, ti' ac.iv , x-c^vi and djddiurdja, , 6, 8, 34, 37, Mihiraka, engi , 83, 08 97 r vxvu n MaharashiiT, P,ahit dialect, 94, , z;z MilluLadratha, , 70, 71 tit WLI, xviu com Mahdsenapah, , Mitdkshard, , xxxv in, r 37 2?; MaJ'altara, an elder', Mokbhasaiman, ^zw, 2( Jv Mahavlia, T'rtliankara, Months MahTndra, k of Dakshma Rosala, xxi, xxu and n, AXVI As'vmi 01 AJ 15 "û II, Mahendragm, k of Pishfapura, Bhadiapada, 83, 88 MaheS\ ara, f donee, 26 Kai ttika, 6,0 co in, xvu Mahisha, and dy , Maghi, 49,51 <-V" n Mahishmatl, ca , Phalguna, 90 29,32 Majhga\\an plates of Hastm, 0(3 Ivu 39, *2, 01, Makarandastna, Prakrit poet, M> ichchhakat ka Sanski it play, 116 n mo , 114, 115, Malaya, ii Mrigibimi, , 51 xxv 40, Malava, co , 80, 81, 84, vi Mugaidaia, , 7U j\la j Sansknt } xxiu ajikagninntra, p ay, to Mulika, , 124 51 23, Mallakapcdhaka, n , 48, Mulusarman, Hi dome* 27 Mallascna, Ptaknt pod, Ivu co Mumla, , \\V11 tn 111 MSn, j ot Mutjhai, , 71 Mana, baka k , xvu, xviu Muiunda, dy , XVll Rdshtiakula k .xv n Manaaka, Early , 111, vx, and , xxix, xxx ind n N c" Manapalhka, , 70, 72 n, \utli Us \cilicil ind uppti b u divided, j Manapura, Eaily RdshtrakUta ia , in, xxx 72, unloopid, 33 (, 5 mandapa, tiihdia caê, xln Mândasoi , unlooprd, 2, 93, 101, 113 inicnption of V 524, xx\ i Mandasor inscnption of V 529, xxvi is in , N'igiiT, s a 28, S8, 4 J Mandukigrama, Mandgaon, n 1 1, 1 1, x-> x\

Mandgaon, a , n NichnU-ki-lilai sLcmt in tupMomol V\ u\T\ 89 f \Iani scube, 21 aghi }, , 92, v,

xi i, Kiv mam-nieknald, gudlt, h xix, xxvu, Naa, ifla, loo, 111, xxi, xlvn Manuiatharva, J5r rfowf, 39 Mantaiaja, k of Kuidla xxu Pdndaja L Ndg ibala, , [}'5 [J7 xxvi Alanlnn, Gounstllot', VXXVH A ' Ndgaditta, JVi'a , XVJ \fanlri-par-shad, a Council of Afuusleis xxx\ Naga Raj i, ca 1U tl} , MV Manvakli~ta, , xxxiu i slinnt, Nig Raj

Nigardlun, ^ , t d 7? XXM| marga, , 17, 21, 34, 35, 37, 39, 58, 59, 70, 91, xxxv Nagasmnan, ^ ^/o/zct-, Matrarya, Br donee, 26 ^( } /, Br NdgdSLna, .A^fl , 9^ Matris'armaiva, dovee, 2,1 s NdgdVdiuidn, nbt,, \\ \t\ Matn^aiman, Bi dowt, 9^ ncikshatia, Buddha?s Pushy a, 33 QU Ma\a, mot/iei, l\vii Ndla, c/Jic hew, Mayidavulu plates, x j ly 97 n } gg n ' Nala j = ^ Hi, xc Khadna tiee iv, ix, and n , xxu, xxvu medkja, , g n Sansknt Naimda.d, off, 43> xh Mts'iaduta, wk , 47j xxxvlll| 58, vxu, xlm, xlvi, xlvii, h, hv, hi Nanda, biotiia the co half of Buddha, KVU| Mekila, , 77, 80, 81, 84, 1V 83, 86, , xxvi, xxxiv, m Nanda, , 58 h' xxxv i, xhv, Km and n a, LV rf0 t< Mckala-buta, s a Ninchnary , ; 7 Narmada, n , ^XV1 Nandaulhan, ^; , 7 ,,, *. ' XX.ZI i Mesha-saiikianti, ~ j * Nand d ' > 91,, xxx, xxxiv Metres Nandikadi, j f rf Ndndul, , 9 j } CJG, 98, 102 n , XKX, xxxiv Anushtuoh, 3 n , 13 n 20 a , , 25 n , 26 n , 31 n ca , 36 n , 41 Nandivardlidna, , , 6-8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 23, 35, 46 51 61 n, n, 56, B, , 67 86 n n, 77, ix, vein, xxvu, xh, hv, Ivi, Ivu INDEX 137

t Nangaiakataka, d , 101, vxx\ n Hasli 102, xvxn, Jdtaka, KUj J XX1 Ntirattauga, s a Nainala, 49 and n Mahakapi Jdtaka, ]YM

Narattangav ai i, holy place, 48-50 Malta- llmmaga Jdtaka, ] xv i m Narayanaiaja, , 58,62 J\yag, d Ilia-mi iga Jdtaka, btxi n so. Nai uidi Vakaiaka 83 Naruxha, as>~na, k, 83, n, Km Rtksha Jdtaka, Ixxin

Idkdtaka 88 in n I NaiCndiasuia, k, 77, 79, 81, 84, n, , Rum Jdtaka, Kxni v, his xxv \i, i\, xm, \\VXXAU, xxxwi, accession, , Shad-danta Jdtaka, Jvxi his Bhaiatabala, xxv, his Sibi feuddtoiy queen \jjlutabhatt- Jdtaka, ] XX111 xxv of atika, , rmfcudatoues KcUala, Mekala and Malava, Sutasoma Jdtaka, Ixvi, Ixxi xu, xxvi, invasion of his kingdom Nala Viivanlata by Jdtaka, K^ j xxl k Bhavaddttavainid,n, xxvii, his reign-period, xxvii t d Pakkana-iabhtia, , 17, 18, 21, xxxiv Nainala 49 j Jo, t, s a Piakiit an Pahttaya, Padahpta, , Ivin

Nasik Gave of Pulumav i s xxxm Pallav inscnpUon a, , dy 93, XIX n } x^m co Nasikva, , x\.xn Pauthagat td, Id , 83, 84, 88, xxxiv plates of Bha;>kaiava.inian, 17 Nidhanpui Pauchika, laksha, \

, 120 and n 12 Niladasa, fat , 122, Pandai ijigapalll plates, xxv

i ui NH grama, sa NTIjai, , 34 Pandava, dy , xxn, XXM, xxxiv, xxxvi, xhv, Km vi NIljd.1, , 54 Pandhuina, vi , 63 Nnjala lkada~t, xhn of Pandhuina plaits Piavarasena II, 44 f , xxxiv

Nuvmdlna, n , xvm Panori, vi , 3 a li nishka, gold com, tit Pa> amabhat tdiaka, , xxxvi ' Irv n NISI ishtdi tlia-dula, coiiunusionc) with full pojieis of negotiation ', Pai amadatvata, ep , xxxvi K Paramadevatddhidaiuata, ep , 83 I xl nwai tana, m , 23, 43, 53, 58, PatainagurudtvatddhidaiiatavUihesha, cp , 83, xxxvi ' lo^jci xhx nivasana, ga>ient', 'a dejout Ptaama-Mafiesuaia, wotslnppa of &tua', ep , xlm

Pai aiiiesvai tit xxxvi Numeucal symbols foi- ft, , a 1 21,93 pdiand, completion oj fast', 34, xh, xln

3 21,53,93 Pauvrajaka, dy , , xxvi, Ixm 4 93 Parsvanath, image of, 78 5 63 Paithian, lace, xlvii

8 22,27 Pdfcawkus'a "tkadaTi, xlm

' 7 63,93 Pata-mandapa, a tent ', xlvn

t 9 63 palhaka, d , xxxv n

10 21,22,27 Patna Museum plates of Piavaiastna II, 69 f, 74, xxxv n 63 vi 20 Pattan, , 57, 59, xh 93 Pattan of Piavaiasuia f 30 plates II, 57 , xxxv .

400 53 Paumachaiia, Piaknt wk , lv s 8000 22 PavushnI, a Puma, n , xvm n

vi Pavarajjaxafaka, , 29, 31, xxxv O n Pavnar, , 2.3, xh Payodhaia-pata, 'a band foi the bieasts*, xhx llltdlell, 43, 57, 82 Pillai edict V of Asoka, 1 n Pishtapuia, sa PIthapuiam, ca, xxn

Pitamaha, m , 58, 62 Pachgaon, vi , 84 Puambaia, com , Jvi ' afoot-punt ', 35,39, xxin pddaniiila, Pituja (Piti \arvaj, Si donee, 99 ' a xh 11 pdda-pltha, foot-stool ', vi PIth5.piu am, , Xxn ca Padmapura, , 77, 78, XXA n and n , xxxv, xln Podagadh in^ciiption of Skandavaraman, 58, 77, 90, xxvii ca x\i Padmavatl, Ndga , xx, ?onnuturu plates of Samantavaiman, xxxvm Paintings at Ajanta Poona plates of Piabhavatigupta, 5 /, 33, 34, 82, 90, n, (i) Events m Buddha's lift xxm n , xhv Mava, her 5 conception, Ixvi, iclating dteam, Kvii, i the abhakai a, feu , of Guptas, \\V1 \sita piedictmg Buddha's caieci, KMI, Buddha's, Vdkdtaka Piabhavatlgupta, q , 3, 6-8, 11, 13, 21, 26,31, 33-35, fiist meditation, Ixvn, the four signs, KMI, Tia- 37, 41, 46, 56, 61, 67, 70, 71, v, vu-ix, xn, xxi n , pusha and Bhalhka offering honey to Buddha, xxin, xxxvii, xli, xhv, 1m, daughter of Chandragupta Ixvn, Buddha preaching to congregation, Ixvn, II -Vikiamaditya, xxui, devotee of Vishnu, xxm, Buddha pteachmg in Tush.Ua heaven, Ixvn, Ixxi, hei giants at Ramagiu, xxm, her sons, Divakaiasuia Buddha 111 Kapila\astu, Kvm, dying Sundarl, and Damodaiastna alias Piavaiasena II, xxm and n , IKVUI, taming of Nalagin, Ixx, Buddha meeting the icgent foi foimer, xxm, her Poona plates, xxin, Yasudhara and mnacle at Rahula, Ixxii, Siavastl, influence at hei xxiv Gupta court, , pioud of hei Gupta Lxxui descent, xxiv n

?i set abhusiuiha, the, ] (n) Jdlakas 34^ 37 } x v Hantsa Jdtaka, Ixxi :*iabodhini ekadasi, Q 34 xlm 138 INDEX

Prakrit of 23 Sanskrit au grant Sivaskandavarman, Rajaiekhara, , xxm n , xxix n , liu, Ivi pralamba pdda Ixn posture, Rdjatarangml, Sanskrit wk , xlvm pranaya, 'nazaiana', 99 Rajuka, off , 39, xxxvni Pi atlhara, dy , 84 n , xxxix and t idjya, d , xxxi v, xxxvii

s ' Pratishthana, a Paifhan, ca , 123 Rdjyddhiknta, Chief Munstei,' 49, 52, 58, xxxvii piatydlidha, postwe, Ixii Ramabhadra, Piatlhdia k , 84 n

Pravara, mm , xxx 114, 118, Ramachandra, incarnation of Vishnu, xh s Pravara, a Piavarasena II, Ivn Ivi Ramadasa, com , 58, xxiv K s a ca Pravarapuraj Pavnarj , 22, 23, 26, 28, 38, 43, 46, Rdmdyana, Sanskiit epic, 123, xxxui, xh

58, 61, 77, xxxv, xh and n s a liv Ramagin, Ramtck, 35, 37, 38, xxm and n , xxiv, xh, xliv, Piavararaja, s a Piavarasena II, IVH Ramagmsvamm, sa Ramachandia, god, 6, 34, xh, hv k Pra%aiasena, of Kashmn , Ivi tn Ramtek, , 7, 58, 73, xxm, hv Pravaiasena n n I, Vdkdtakak , 3, 4 , 10, 14, 17, 21 , 35 , Ramtek plate of Piavaiasena II, 70, 73 f

' 38, 64, 76, 95, 98, 103-105, 110, 114, 111, v-vn, xi, xii, t tdshtra, 'a d , xxxiv

xn-xvi, xvui, xxi n , xxxvi n his annexation of , xl, Rashtrakutas, Eaily, of Manapura, m, xx, xx\, xxix, xxxi, xxxm Punka, extent of his and n his wm, kingdom, xvni,xix , Rdvanavaho, sa Sttubandha, Piaknt Kduya, Ivi Vajapeva, Asvamdha and other brauta sacrifices, xix Ravi, mm , 113, 114, 118, xvi, xxix and n his , titles-Sam af, Dhaimamahardja and Hantipuba, Ravisamba, J u , 120, 122, 128, xin, Ixix xix, his matrimonial alliance with xix, xx, Bhavanaga, Revatyja (Revat-jdiya), Bi donee, 99 his long life, xx, his age, xx, his Prime Minister Deva, Rcvatisaiman, Bt donee, 26 xx, his four sons, xx, their kingdoms, xx Revatisaimarya, Bi donee, 27 Pravaiasena Vdkdtaka k the 3 II, of Mam Branch, n , 6, n, medial 5, 63 10, 11, 13, 17, 20-22, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 38, 41, 43, tn Riddhapur, , xxvn 46, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, in n 56, 58, 61, 76, 93, 95, 106, , 8 Riddhapui plates of Prabhavatigupta, 6, n , 33 f , 77 n*, XXIH n vn, ix, , xxvn , xxxvi, xl, xh, xhv, xlv, hn, Iv, 101-102, \ii,xxmn , xxvn,xxxv ,xxxvm2 ,xlv his Ivi, Ivm, numerous grants, xxiv, his s reign-period, Rikshavat, a Satpuda mo , xn, xvm and n xxiv, his ca his early Nandivardhana, xxiv, latei ca Rishabhadatta, image of, 78 Pravaiapura, xxiv, its identification with Pavnai, xxiv, co xliv J RishTka, , 123, xxxi-xxxu, xin, a devotee of biva, an of Prakrit Setu- xxiv, gdthds and R~iti, Vaidarbhi, i, xxvni, 1m xxiv and n his bandha, construction of a te of Ram- Ruharya, Bt donee, 27 chandra at \xv Piavaiapura, Ruddajja (Rudiarva), > donee, 99 Piavarasena II Vdkdtaka k the of Vatsagulma Branch, 105,106, Rudradcva, k of Aiydva} ta, 3, xn, xxi n 110, 114, vi, vn, xxx Rudrarya, Bi donee, 2b s a Siva Piavaiesvaia, 18 and n , 2 1 n xl n , 64, 67, xxxv, and Rudrarya, Bi donee, 53, 56 t d Pravaiesvara-shadvimsati-vataka, , 17, 18, 21, 64, xl Rudiarya, Bi donee, 70, 72 sa Piavaiascna Pravlia, I, xi, xn, xvui, xx Rudiasarman, Br donee, 26 Piayaga, holy place, xx, xxvn Rudrasaimaiya, Bi donee, 27

Pi s a Prithivishena 68 n 1 19 ithiviiaja, I, 64, 66, and , Rudrasena IVdkdlaka k , 2, 3, 4, 10, 13, 17, 49, 95, in, PrithivishCna Idkdtaka k I, , 10, 13, 77, 80, 81, 89, 90, vi, vn, xn, xiv, xxi and n , xl, xh, daughtei's son of

v and n his a.i 105, , xn, xm, xxi, xxx, xxxvi, noble quali- Bhavanaga, xxi, his dhai masthdna Deotek, devotee of his ties, xxii, peaceful policy xxu, his age, xxii, his Mahabhauava, xxi, lost suppoit of Naga relatives, alliance with Chandiagupta II, xxm, his son Rudrastna xxi, his feudatones submitted to Samudragupta, xxn, II man led to Pi abhav atlgupta, xxm, a devotee of maintained his independence, xxn and n shifted his ca to biva, xxm, Nandivardhana, xxm Rudiascna II, Vdkdtaka k , 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 17, 21, 26, 28, Pntluvibhena II, Vdkdtaka k , 76, 79, 81, 89, 91, 92, 95, 31, 33, 31, 37, 41, 46, 51, 56, 61, 67, 106, v-vn, xxi n , ix n 106, v, vj, and , x, xin, xix, xxvn, xxvni, Ixiv, xxm, xxxvn, xh, xliv, son-in-law of Chandragupta II laibed his sunken family, xxvn, his ca Padmapura, Vikraniaditya, xxm, a devotee of Vishnu, xxm, xxv a, invaded and devastated the Nala ca PushkaiT, his wife PrabhavatTgupta, xxm, her religious influence his xxvii-xxvin devotee xxvn, feudatory Vyaghradeva, , xxm, Ins sons, xxm, died eaily, xxm of his Vishnu, xxvui, rcign-penod, xxvni Rudiasnuha II, Western Kshaliapa, xix Pulumavi II, Satcuahana xxm k, xvn, Rukmm, pi , 23, xxxiv

Puliunavi IV, Sdtavdhana k , xvn n and Rukmiru, w , of Ki iblma, 23, Iv Punctuation, sign of, 10, 33, 48, 93 Vdkdtaka ca Punka, , nj, xn, xvin, xx Purnabhadi attendant a, of Buddha, Ixxiii s, looped, 5 t d left Purva-rashtia, , XXX1V i, with the member ending in a cuive, 33,38 Nala ca Pushkaii, , 77, ix, xxvn sh, looped, 5

Saba, off , 1m

' Sachiva, a minister ', XXXVII

it Raghuvainsa, SansLt wk , xxiv and xxxv n n 107, , , xxxix Saduktikamamnta, Sansknt anthology, hn Rdhasika, Pnvate Seaetaiy, 83, 88, xxxvni Sadyaskra, Vedic sacnfice, 10, 14, 95, 98, xvi, xix Raipur plates of Maha-Sud'varaja, xxxn Sahva, mo , 123, 129, xxxv ca Rajaguha, , xv s a t Sailapuia, Salbaidi, d , 17, 21, xxxv n ' ' ) e rdja-mdna, oyal measu) , 58 Samdhava, dy , 84 n

an, tit , xxn n Raj xxi, Saka, lace, 1, xlvii INDEX 139

Saka, , dy m, \V11> X1X Ptaknt xxiv n Sgtubandha, kavya, 58, and , xlvi, lv, Ivi, Ivm Sdkuntala, Sansknt play, xhx, h tit Shdhdnushdhi, , xxxvi s a haldhana, Satavahana, Piaknt poet, Ivm Shat-tila tkadasi, 49, xlm Salankayana, dy , xxxi Vedic Shodasm, saciifice, 10, 14, 98 n \w,xix Sambhu, s a Siva, god, 13, 20, 26, 31, 56, 61, 67, 71, xxiv, \xx\j Siddham, an auspicious wold, 94 tit 72 Samrdt, , 10, 14, xix and , xxu n , xxx\i Simhalavadana, Pah wk , \li\ L ?z Samudragupta, Gupta , 6, 8, 34, 37, MI, xxi and , xxvi, Siinalialavadana, painting of, Ixxu i xxxv n , hu Pattava k Simhavishnu, , xxxui n Sauchl inscnption of Chandragupta II, 90 , Singhana, Tadava k 'Minister Peace and Wat \xx\mand hn , 29 Sandhivigrahika, for ', 58, ,

vi tmshagrama, vi Sangam, , 65 t 63 9, xxxv vi 68 bisuka, k Sangamika, , 64, 65, of Punka, xi, xn, xvm ' Buddhist 113 Sangha, Community ', 106, Sisupalavadha, Sansknt wk , Ivm ' a cloak \h\ sanghatl, ', Vv a, image of, 78 Sangoh plates of Hamaiman, 97 n Siva, temple of, xl n ' ' sa kakshikd, an uppei garment xh\, bux f>iva, scnbe, 83,88 j>arifcashta-chatunhi, xlm H Sivajja (Snai>a), Bi donee, 99 Saukheda plates of Dadda II, 58 biva-hxiga, Sankranti, Mesha, \lm s 3, 10 Sivaskanda\aiman, Pallava k S3,ntmatha, Tirthankai a, Kn , 94, xix vi Santiiaiman, Br donee, 26 Swam, , 28 technical 70 Snvam plates of Pia\aras na sa-pahchd'satka, tenn, II, 6, 28 f, 70, 71,77, sa Gdthasaptafati, Piaknt anthology, Ivn SaptaSatl, 104, 106, ! 9 n xxxi xhv k Saiabhapma, kings of, , , Skandagupta, Gupta , xx\i xxxxu Bi Sarabhapurlya kings, Skanddiva, donee, 27 44 Saiasvati, n , Nala k Skandavaiman, , 90, i\, xxvn Sansknt tuk h S(7rasvat7kanthdbha>ana, , Skandhaka, a metie, h ' ' Saivddhyaksha General Superintendent 75, 80, 81, xxxv.ii in ancient sla\eiy India, xlvi Vakataka 95, 98, 103, 105, 110, 114, 111, vi, Sarvasena, k, Sansh it au Soddhala, , 107 \ Ivm foundei of the n, xv, xvi, xx, hv-lvi, , Vatsagulnu Soma sacnfices, xix, xl branch, xxix, made Vatsagulma his capital, xxix, his Soma, mm , 113, 114, 118, xxix, xhv au of the til Dhaimamahdrdja, 95, 98, xxix, Hanvijaya Br Somarya, donee, 26 and some Praknt xix gdthds, B) S^maiya, donee, 64,68 Satakarm, Vinhukada, k , xix Somaharmaiya, Bi donee 27 n Satavahana, dy , xvii, xln and &oma\ aitisl, dj , n n, xxxm Satpuda, mo , xvm and Spuuoub plates, 63 f batiughnaraja, m , 23, 26 biauta sacrifices, xhv Salti a, 'a chantablc feeding house', 58 ^ Sansknt au Sildhaiadaba, , 1m Satyabhama, wife of ktislma, Irv-h k li\ Srldharavaiman, baka , xix Satyaki, m , ^ \\n, bdnsknt wk Piaknt poet, Ivu Snngdi apt akdsa, , lv Satyascna, / 01 Sauiidat ananda, Sanskrit kavya, Kviu bi~painaka, , 29 j Piaknt 97 n. donated vi Samasem, dialect, 94, bnpai naka, , j 70,71

feu , 120,122,127 Saurisamba, biipai-vatiyas, dy , XMl Sculptures and Panels Sti-Rama, mm , 113, 114, 118, xxx ' Bharata-bhcta, Meeting of Bharata Ixi Siyas'raya Siladitya, Uia.lu.kya pi 83 Boai Incai nation Ixiv Subhashitas, hu, hv, Ivi Buddhas, l\xv budaisana, k of Ay'odhya, XXIV Ganga, Kn, Ixm, Ixiv buddliodana, Buddha's fathet, Ixvii Kali, Ixiv Sansknt Sukranitisata, wk , 84, xxxix n Nagaraja and his wife, Ixxiv / Sundauka-marga, d , xxxv n Padmapatii, Ixxvi, Kix, Sundhati, vi , 70, 71, xxxv Tnviki ama, Jx t d Sundhati-marga, , XXXV ft Vahvadha (Killing of Valm), Ki Ixn bunga, dy , XXill Vajrapam, Ixvi, Ixix, Ixxv t d Supiatishtha, , 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 54, 56, xxxi\ Vishnu, &ct.habaym, x jlv k Yamuna, Ixiv Sura, , 83 Suryasvamin, Bi donee, Seals of Vakataka 17,21 plates 5, 9, 22, 27, 28, 32, 43, 47, 48, 57, 62 ' Sutradhara, an architect ', xlv of Seal Bamham plates, t 82 Suttampdta, Pali wk , 123 Season dates, 44, 47, 64, 68, 95, 100 ' Suvarnakdta, goldsmith, xlv Commander ' Sendpati Army ', 29, 43, 58, 62, 64, 95, 100, a Suvithi, picture gallery ', 106, 111 xxxvi xlv Svamidevarya, Br donee, 27 Setu, Piaknt anthology, Ivii-hx Svamiraja, feu of the Kalachut is, XXXll S'etu s a Setubandha, Praknt kdvya, ivi Svatia'aimarya, Br donee, 27 140 INDEX

vin [Jtlaiatdmachanta, Sansknt play,

t 88, xxxi\ Uttara-rashtra, d , 83, ' 5,16,38 ' xhx looped, uttat dsanga, an uppe) garment ', 10,16,63,69,93 li\ Minlooped, uttanya, 'an upper garment', xlvin, 70, 72, xlv raittuT.a sakha, 11, 14, 17, 21, 28, 32, 34, 37, 98 94 > 96 > lakalakhoppaka, n , 96

v, 79,121 12 rectangulai, FakalTgohana, , 79 98 v, round, Talgunda inscription of Kakusthv arman, 90 z), tnangulai , 2, 89, Tapi, n , xvn Vachchhoml, Piaknt style, XXIX, K 1 Taihala, a , Vaidaibhl, Sanskrit style, hll

at ' temples vatkakshaka, a gat land', xlvm, Ixx Ajanta, xxl Vai/ali, Lichchhaii ca , IXAH, Ixxv Cave XVI, Ixvi-lxix, XXVI Vaisravana, Pandava pi , Ixix-lxxui, Cave X\II, Vedic xl Vajapeya, sacrifice, 10, H, 77, 95, 98, v, xvi, xix and , Cave XIX, Kxiu-lxxix Vajasaneya sakha, 53 w , bt, xlv m xi Guhvada Vakata, , Kxi\ -Ixxvi xvxix Caves, Vakataka, m , xiv, xvi, win, Kiv-lxv Kachnl"-ki-talai, VaUtakas, dy , 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 17, 20-22, 26-28, 31, 33, Ix-lxn 34, 37, Pav nai , 38, 41, 43, 46, 51, 53, 56, 58, 61, 04, 67, 70,

1\ 1 Ramtek, 77, 79, 81, 91-93, 95, 98, 101, 104, 110, lliMl ), 121, Ku-lxiv then Tigov\a, importance in history, i, discoveiy of, i, then xl Ihera, 'a Buddhist Bhikshu', XH, age accoidmg to Buhler, n, accoiding to I'ltct, n Kii-Kiv Kielhoin and Biihlci's view ligovva, , Sukthankar, n, cunfaaud, 1 tilaka 'fl maik on the forehead \ u, Jayaswal's view about their empuc m Noi th India h hlaka-mam, 'a head oinament', and achievements, n, Vatsagulma blanch known fioin ' 68 n xlm tilaMchanaka s a Sidddha ', 64, , the Basim plates, in, their fom bianchcs, 111, two ol

vi 48 these overthiown the Rashtrakutas of TirodI, , by Manapuia, 48 xlv Tirodi plates of PiaxerasPna II, /, 58, 77, 94, xxxvn, the Sakab and the Nalas, m, then chronology v-x, saint' 78, Kn Tttthankara, 'a liberated ', Majumdai's view examined, vn-x, Jayasvval's tluoiy about then cia, v, xui, xiv, then home, xi-xvi, (hi n tilhis- supposed coins, xiu, xiv, catly itilcis, xvn-xx, of blight i 01 1 night Vmdhyasaku I, xvn-xvin , Prav ai asena I, x\ m-xx, 10 54,56 MamBianch Ruchasenal, xxi-xxn,PiithivIshtn il, 12 6, 9, 11, 15, 29, 34, 37, xhv x\n-xxni, Rudiasena II, 13- 11, 17, 21, 23, 29, 32 xxui, Divakaiascii.i, xxni, PiabluvatTguptd, x\ni-xxiv, of dark fortnight Natundnscna, xxv-xxvu, Prithivlshena the 39, 12 II, xx\n-\\vni, achievements ol this xxvui 58, 62 bianch, 10 64, 68 Vatsagulma Bianch Saivascna, xxix, Viudhva- II 49, 51 idkti alias VmdhyasSria, xxix, Piavdias~rui, \xix, his a 13 83, 88 successoi, bov pimce, x\ix, Deva,sen,J, xxix-xx\, Ins Tiaikutakas, dy , 107 Haushena, xxxi-xxxn, succtssot, xxxu-x\\in, the downfall of this XXXH-XXMH Tiikiita, mo , and co 106, 107, 110, 124, xi, vvxi bianch, ' l vaindfika, a seivant Tn-ratna, tin ce gems' in Buddhism, 106 ', 09 n

Sansknt wk , \\ Tushaia, dy , xvn Vakilikhjivita, ca n U Vanavas", , xvui, xxiu, vxx\u Vakpatiraja, Piaknt au , Ivn 53 vi <', medial, cuisuc, Valluia, , 112-114, 110, x\, xvi, xl, \hv 113 u, medial, 103, Valluras, Bialimanas, 113 H , 114 \ Uchchakalpa, dy , 91, 92, and , xui, \x.\i, xxvm VanavasT, ca ,

Pah a, A Ldatia, , 128 Vanhu (s a Vishnu), sinbe, a Ixn tn udara-bandha, band, VanT, , 7

Praknt au , lix s Ldd\otana, Ivin, Vankesvaia, a , Siva, 18 n udiai'ga, a ta\, 83 and n xxxix vi , Vanko-Tummana, , 18 K

M , xl a Ldumbara, Varada, n , XXXII ca Ujja\ini, , XXlll vi Varadakhefa, , 58, 59, 61, xxxv \~edic Ukthva, sacnjice, 10, 14, 98 n , xvi, xix / d Vaiadakheta-marga, , 58, 61, xxxv n

Uma, n , xxxv 11, 12, 14, Varaha, Nala k , XXVI I upadhmaniya, sign of, 6, 10, 28, 33, 43, 57, 73, 113, 121 VarahadSva, mm , 103, 101, 100, 111, 112 M, 113, lit andn, ' a tent upakdrya, ', xlvn 119 n 115, and , xvi, xxxi, xh, xln, xlv, Kiv, Ixxvi la\, 9 n ttpakhpla, , xxxix Vardhanuhira, aslionwmei, 123 upankara, ta\, 88 and n , xxxix Vaiaiuchi, Praknt grammarian, 94 UpCndiagupta, feu , 127 120, 122, Varasarman, Br donee, 26, 27, t d Uttara-marga, , 94,98, 102, xxxv Vaiasarmarya, B> donee, 27 INDEX 141

Vardharrunaka, vi , 43,51,83,84,88 Vishnukundin, , dy XVI, Vv.ll, XXX111 Van, vi , 49 Sansknt wk Vishnupurana, , xu 01 Varegaon, , ' 64 an vishiua, equinox ', 54,56 t Varuchcharajya, d , ' 64, 68, xxxiv lecitot at a vishuva-vachanaka, uisfiuua' 54, \lm Varunarya, Br donee, 48,52 Vitmta-chanla, a m the chapter DaMikumatachanla, XI 1, \\X111 Pi ah it Vasantasena, poet, Ivn Vis'vantaia Jataka, xlrs 1 vasatidanda, tax, 9 n Vitasta, n in Kashmn, hi Vasurarya, Br donee, 70,72 Vyaglua, Uchchakalpa pr , v ' 91, 92, and n, \\, vn, xu, vd aka, a village ', 39, xxxv Xlll, XIX, XXV111, IxiV Vatapuraka, m , 29,31 , of Vakataka Vyaghaiadeva,/eM Piithivishcna II 89,-92, v, Vatsa, m , 96 and n xxix n , Vll, XXVH, X-iMll Vatsa, sage, 96, xxix Vyaghraiaja, k of Mahdkdntdta, ^n co Vatsa, , XXVI ca Vatsagulma, , 95, 96, 98, xxix-xxxm 102, xvi, xx, xxv, W xxix and n , xxxmd n n , xxxvi , hv, hi, Ivn

Vatsyagulma, ca , 101, 102 vi Wadgaon, , 53 s a Vatsyagulraaka, Vatsagulma, C| 96, xxix and n Wadgaon plates of Pravai astna II, 53 f Vatsaraja, Pdndava k , .83, 87, xxvi n Wamganga, , xxxv Vatsyayana, Sansknt au 29, , . x^x n Wanna, , 12, xxxv Vedarya, Br donee, 79 71 Wan, m , 49 of Wheel Samsara, painting of, Ixx-lxxi Vedas

Atharvavcda, 48, 94, 99 B, xlv Rigveda, xlv Yajurveda, y, tripartite, 2, 103, 113 Madhyandma, 83, xlv Br Yajfiapati, , 113, 114, 118, xvi, xl 1 Taittirlya, 1, t, 2 1 , 1 7, 34, 37, 70, 72, xlv YajHavalkya-smnti, xxxviu n , xlvi Vaji (sa Vajasantya or 68 whe), 39, 42, 53, 56, 64, Yajnarya, Br donee, 64,68 Samaveda, xlv Yaksharya, } donee, 43,47 vi Vclur, , 1 xvi donated vi 15, xv, Yappajja, , (?), 101, 102 vi Velusuka, , t d 54,56 Yasapma-maiga, , 70, 72, xxxv n / Vembara, , 80,81 Yasodaman II, Western Kshahapa, XIX Vena, (5 a n Wamganga), , 29 Yasovarman, k of Kanauj, 77 t d VCpakata a , 49 n Yavana, dy , xva Venhujja (Vishnvarya), Br donee, 99 Venya s a n Wamganga, , 29 Years co Vidarbha, , 23, xxx and n xxxn-xxxm , i egnal, Viddhasdlabhafijika, Sansknt play, XXX111H ot Asoka Vidhyja Br (Vidhyarya), donee, 99 14 Vidisa, Naga ca , xl of Bharatabdla, Vihara Caves, xh, \hi, 2, 83,88 vi Vyayapallivataka, , 68 64, of Divakaiascna, tit Vikramaditya, , xxiv n Ivi , 13, 6,9 s a vi Vilavanaka, Vani, , 9 6, 7, of Piavaiascna II k Vmayaditya, Chalukya , 83 n 2, 11, 15 Vmdhyaifakti I, Vdkdlaka k , 95, 103, 104, 110, U4,i, v, 11, 17,21 vi, xi, xn, xvn, xvin, x eaihest known Vakataka k 18, 17, 23, 29, 32 xvn, called rfoya (BrShnma), in Ajanta cave mscnp- 19, 33, 34 tion, xvm, his home i Gential Deccan, Ins xvm, ^3, 39, 42, 44, 47, 49, 51 capital Ghanaka, xvin,ns kingdom, xvm, his date, 25, 54 and n , 56 xvi u 27, 58,62 Vmdhyasfakti II, Vakataka k , 94-96, 98, 105, 106, 110, 29, 64,68 114, in, vi, vn, xv, xxuxxx, called Vmdhyascna m of Vmdhyas'akti II, Ajanta Gave mscnptioi xxix, defeated Mananka, 37, 95, 100 k of the Kuntala, xxix, mie Babim giant, xxx, his minister Pravara, xxx, Is title Dharmamaharaja, xxx, ycais of Eras his reign-period, xxx Gupta Era, Vmdhyas"na, s a Vmdhyas'akti II, 'akatakd k (sec abovt ) 174, xxvm vu aka, 'a village', xxxv 177, XXVlll Visf akhaiya3 Br , 39 199, Ixui ' vishaya, a territorial dwision ', xxxiv Kalachun Era, ' vishaya-mana, district measure ', 53 322, at Vishnu, image of, Padmapur, . 73 Yaclhishthira, epic hew, xxn, xxxvi Vishpu, ' SSndpatt, . 95 100 Ltown Prince Tuvardja, ', 6, 8, 9, xxxvii and n , 1m

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