Indian Antiquary Vol 19

SR No.: 032511
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 510
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 21 MB

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JULY, 1890.
Mr. Thomas, the original site of this pillar was near Khizrâbâd, immediately west of the Jamnâ, at the foot of SiwAlik mountains, whence the pillar was removed to Delhi by Firoz Shah (A.D. 1351-1888). The inscription A. is on the south-east side of the pillar, above the top line of the Asoka edicts. B. and C. run right round the pillar, on the same level with each other, immediately below the last line of the Aboka edicts. The inscription B. commences on the south-east and ends on the north-west ; and C. commences on the north-west and ends on the south-east.
The writing of A. covers a space of about 1' 11" broad by from 8 to 10" high ; and the size of the letters is between 2 and 21! The writing of B. covers a space of about 3' 101" broad by about 8' high; and the size of letters is 13." The writing of C. covers a space of about 5' broad by about 1' 1" high; and the size of the letters is about 1" in the first four, and about 1}" in the remaining two lines. Throughout, the writing is well preserved, so that the actual reading of the text of the inscriptions is nowhere in the least doubtful. The characters are Nagari, with nothing remarkable about them except that the sign for bh shows a rather peculiar form,-0.g. in Sákarnbhari-bhápati, in A., line 2,- which we meet again, e.g., in the Pâlam Bảoli' inscription of the Vikrama year 1337. All the three inscriptions were evidently written by the same writer, the Kayastha Sripati, a son of Mahava, of Ganda descent (C., line 5). The language of the inscriptions is Sanskrit; A. is in prose, and B. in verse; and of C., lines 1 - 4 are in verse, and lines 5-6 in prose. As regards orthography, the consonant bis denoted by the sign for v in the word vrúté in C., line 3, the only word in which it occurs.
The inscription A. merely contains a date, which will be treated of below; and the statement that this inscription, and clearly also the two others, are inscriptions of the king of Sakambhari, Visaladeva, the son of Avelladeva. Lines 1-2 of the inscription C. record that this Visala, ruler of Sakambhari, had conqnered the land between the Vindhya and Himalaya mountains, and that, by repeatedly exterminating the Mlochchhas or barbarians, he had made Aryavarta once more the abode of the Aryas; while lines 3-4 represent the king, who is here called Vigraharaja, the ornament of the Chahamanas, as exhorting his descendants to continue the work of conquest, begun by him.5 Lines 5-6 of the inscription C. repeat more fully the date given at the commencement of A., and state that the inscription was written, at the king's command and in the presence of the astrologer Tilakaraja, by the writer whose name has been already given, and that the post of Maha-mantrin or great minister was held at the time by the Rajaputra, the illustrious Sallakshanapâla. Finally, the inscription B. glorifies the king here addressed as Vigraha or Vigraharajadeva, in terms which are of no value for historical purposes.
The inscriptions A. and C. are both dated, in figures only, on the 16th of the bright half of Vaisakha of the year 1220 ; and C. refers that date distinctly to the Vikrama era, and gives besides the day of the week, a Thursday. Now the possible European equivalents for Vaisakha bukla 15 would be, -
1 See Prinsep's Essays, Vol. I, p. 384; Archeol. Survey of India, Vol. I. p. 161; Elliot's History of India, Vol. III. pp. 351-2.
? Journal Beng. As. Soc., Vol. XLIII. Part I., Plate 1.
* This name was first read Amilladdua, Colebrooke read it Velladdva, but added in a note that it might also be read Avëlladara.
Colebrooke considered it "impossible to determine from the tenor of the inscription, without other information whether Vigrahardja and Visaladeva were names of the same person, or of different prinou." Larsen, Ind. Alterthumskunde, Vol. III. p. 924, took Vigrabar jo to have been a tributary of Visaladeva.
Lines 1-4 of the inscription C, are quoted in Arngadhara's Paddhati, Professor Peterson's edition, Nos. 1956 and 1256, with the remark - Atau Nriga-nipati-pashana-yajfayúpa-prasasth these two (verse) are from # pralasti which is on a sacrificial post, made of stone, of the king Nriga.' In the second of the two verses the edition has the various readings Chahuvdra-tilakuh, and brimen-Vigraharaja, for Chdhamana-tilakali and Srimad-Vigraharaja which are quite clear on the stone.
• According to Colebrooke," the fortunate Lakshapapála."