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117
THE SECOND PRASASTI OF BAIJNATH.
16. He begat a son (named) Kalhana, (who was) a mountain" of precious stoneshis virtues-(and) a boat on the deep ocean of misfortune, (and) who passed over the heads of brave warriors.
17. As his good and obedient son was born, he who was called Bilhana, who showed guileless devotion to the lotus-feet of the supreme lord of Jalandhara, who possessed great power of mind and was terrible on account of his strength.
18. With Lakshanika, the daughter of Hridayachandra, the politic king of Trigarta, he had two sons, named Rama and Lakshmana.
19. While the elder one, most worshipful on account of his virtues, converses with the red-lipped maidens in the town of heaven, his strong-minded younger (brother) has been firmly established here.
20-21. The whole territory which Kanda possessed and the other servants of the lotus-feet of the kings of Trigarta, the destroyers of the foes of Asanda, belongs at present to holy Lakshmana, who protects the inhabitants and whose pure actions are worthy of praise."
22. While that Lakshmanachandra, whose dear wife was Mayatalla-a lady of peerless beauty-protects Kiragrâma,
23. Two pious, happy sons of the merchant, named Siddha, live here; the elder one has the name Manyuka, but the younger one they call Âhuka.
24. In their hearts grew up the faith in Sambhu, which destroys delusion, which is the edge of the axe (to cut down) the tree of mundane existence (and) a storm-wave (to carrry men across) the most terrible ocean of births.
25. By those two, who saw this linga of Siva, called Vaidyanatha, destitute of a dwelling, has it been provided with a temple and has a Mandapa been erected in front of that."
26. When Manyuka and Ahuka formerly dwelt in the same womb, they both announced their determination not to enter again into a womb, speaking thus.
27. "Though Sambhu is compassionate like a father, yet he is more than a father; for a father is the immediate cause of (one's) birth, (but) the god with the moon on his crest is the cause of the cessation of births."
28. May Sahila, Pahila, Kahila and Siddha, the four ancestors of Manyuka and Ahuka, in due order enter heaven.
29. In short, may the remaining twenty men (of their family) all reach Elysium in consequence of this pious work, but may the highest state be (the reward) of these two."
30. And daily six drammas of the money collected in the custom-house have been allotted by Rajanaka Lakshmanachandra to this Vaidyanatha."
Rohana is really the name of the mountain in Ceylon, called Adam's Peak. The poet seems to have chosen it as the instance of a big mountain, most suitable for his purposes.
These two verses, as also the next two, form a Fugma or Yugalaka. The epithet addhu, 'holy' which Lakshmana receives, is explained by verses 21-26 of No. I.
Lingas, standing in the open, are frequently found in the north of India. Thus I remember having seen three very large ones not far from Ushkar in Kadmir, which stand in the middle of the forest. If puri means here a temple, that is easily explained by the tower-like shape of the adytum of the Indian temples.
The verse refers to the belief that a particularly pious deed ensures the joy of heaven to the performer as well as to ten ancestors and ten descendants. All the latter may reach this goal, but the donors themselves desire moksha.
The European dictionaries do not give for mandapike the meaning a custom-house. But its existence is proved by various passages in the inscriptions, compare, e. g., the term mandavika ante p. 7 and by the analogy of its modern represent. ative mámdaví which is a common term for custom-house' in Marathi, Gujaratt and other vernaculars.
