Epigraphia Indica Vol 33

SR No.: 032587
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: D C Sircar
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India
Publication Year: 1959
Total Pages: 514
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 29 MB

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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
. [VOL. XXXIII Yayštinagara or Yayatipura, probably after Yayāti III who seems to have beun the first Somavamár king of Utkala. This new 'city of Yayāti' seems to be the modern Jājpur (possibly a corruption of Yayātipura) which was previously the capital of the Bhauma-Karas, the predecessors of the Sömavamgis in Utkala.1
Another interesting fact is that the lady Karpūrasri, the donee of the grant, is described as a Räni or queen and as the daughter of a woman and the granddaughter of another woman. I & inclined to take the word pautri in this context in the sense of 'the daughter's daughter'. The absence of any reference to Karpūrasri's father and grandfather and her representation as the daughter and granddaughter of females appear to suggest that she was born of a harlot. There are other instances of similar representation of a harlot in inscriptions. Thus the Mahākūtēsvara (Badami) temple inscription of the time of Chālukya Vijayaditya records the donations of the harlot Vinā-poți described as the daughter of Kuchi-poți and granddaughter of Revamanchal and the heart's darling (prāna-vallabhe) of king Vijayaditya Satyāśrya. Similarly, an inscription of the time of Rashtrakūta Dhruva in the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal records the donation of Badi-poddi described as the daughter of Goyinda-poddi who was a harlot (.e. Dévadāsi) of the temple of the queen Loka-mahādēvi. These inscriptions are in the Kannada language in which the word poti, poddi or boddi means 'a harlot'.
If Karpūrasri, apparently one of the secondary queens or concubines of the Sõmavamsi king Karna, was a harlot's daughter, there are a few points to be explained. The first of these is that whether the word dēvi suffixed to her mother's name should have to be taken to indicate the latter's status as a queen. We have, however, inscriptions mentioning harlots with names ending in devi. Even if Karpūrasri's mother was the secondary queen or concubine of some ruler, we may think that she was originally a harlot but was later married to or associated with a king while Karpūrasri had been born before her mother was associated with the ruler. I read the name of Karpūrasri's mother as Mahāri Māhūņadēvi, the epithet mahāri being undoubtedly the same as Oriya māhāri (Prakrit mëhari) meaning & songstress or dancing girl or a Dēvadāsi or harlot. She had, therefore, nothing to do with the Hūņa people as suggested by Mrs. Mitra. Secondly, Karpūrasri is described as Salonapura-mahāvihāra-vinirgatā, i.e. hailing from Salonapura-mahāvihára. The Dévadāsis are, however, associated with Brahmanical temples and not with Buddhist monasteries. It is thus impossible to believe that the harlots in question were residents of the monastery at Salonapura. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that Salonapura-mahāvihāra has been used in the inscription as the name of the locality where the harlots lived. Probably the entire area under the possession of the Salonapura monastery or the village or township around it was known under the name of Salonapura-mahāvihāra. This is not improbable in view of the fact that the names of the town of Bihär (i.e. Bihår-sharif) and the Bihar State are both essentially derived from the word vihāra meaning a Buddhist monastery originally standing at the site or in the vicinity of the modern town of Bihār called Bihār-sharif by the Muhamadans. It is of course uncertain whether the harlots in question were attached to any temple situated in the said locality. The third point to be noticed in this connection is that Karpūrasri is stated to have belonged to the Kāśyapa götra. This appears to have been the götra of one of her direct female ancestors, who first took to the profession of a harlot.
1JIH, Vol. XXXIV, pp. 273 ff. The city seems to be called Abhinava-Yayātinagara in the Madala Panji. * Ind. Ant., Vol. X, p. 103. • Ibid., Vol. XI, p. 125.
• A Telugu inscription from Vélpüru in the Sattenepalli Taluk of the Guntur District, dated Saka 1131, mentions Kasadi Süramadēvi, concubine (Bhöga-stri) of the Kota chief Kētarāja, and her mother Amara-säni who was a harlot (SII, Vol. X, No. 249).
* See above, p. 244, text line 7.
According to a Bengali saying, one having no getra can claim the Kāśyapa götra. Cf. also Brough, Gotraprataramafijari, p. 171.