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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vol. IIT.
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E.-At the Bottom of the East Face. 0 श्रीमन्मलधारिदेवर गुडडं बिरुदलेखकमदनमहेश्वरं मल्लिना[<] [] farceafy[@]faza taife isfefe
TRANSLATION. (Verse 1.) Let him be propitious to the flock of the good (bhavya), as of chakoras, the moon of the glorious Nátha race, the blessed Jina Vardhamana, who is to be worshipped by the court of Indra; (who is) a great (and) excellent cluster of light which dispels darkness (and) purifies the world by the streams of nectar (which consist of) the glory of knowledge; (and) through whom, the protector of the good, the great splendour of the ocean of pure religion (dharma) is increasing !
(V. 2.) Let Gautamasvâmin, the head of a school (ganin), be victorious, whose well-known (other) name Indrabhûti (i.e. he who resembles Indra in power) was full of significance, as, by means of the seven supernatural powers (maharddhi), he placed the three worlds at (his) feet! The unimpeded Mandakini (Ganga) of words, (having risen) from the throat of Vira, as from the slope of the snowy mountain, having entered the ocean of his (vie. Gautama's) intellect, (and) being absorbed by the wise, as by clouds, purifies the world.
(V. 3.) Let the Srutakêvalins, whose knowledge is confident (as it possesses) a thousand kinds of argumentation, derived from the doctrine of the founder of the religion (Tirthêsa), (and) who are worshipped by the heads of a host of wise men, expose the secrets of false doctrines by (their) thundering words - just as Indra, whose body is safe (as it possesses) a thousand eyes, produced at the sight of (Gautama) the lord of saints, (and) who is worshipped by the heads of the host of gods, cut the attributes (i.e. the wings of the mountains by (his) roaring thunderbolt !
(V. 4.) Say, how can the greatness be described of Bhadrabahu, whose arms were engaged in subduing the pride of the great wrestler, delusion? Through the merit acquired by being his disciple, the well-known Chandragupta was served for a very long time by the nymphs of the forest.
(V. 5.) By whom on this earth is he not worthy to be worshipped, the pious lord Kaundakunda, who adorned (all) the quarters by (his) fame which possessed the splendour of
1.e. of the Jainas. See Mr. Rice's Inscriptions at Sravana-Belgola, pp. 59 and 63 of the Introduction.
These birds are supposed to subsist on moon-beams.
The expression Natha-kul-ends corresponds to Maya-kula-chanda, 'the moon of the Naya race,' in the Kalpasitra, paragraph 110.-[I have not yet met with Nátha as Mabavira's family name. The Svetambaras use the form Jñ&te, and the Digambaras Jikti, at least in the name of the sixth Anga: Jidtsidharmakatha, the sermon of JnAtri.'- E. L.)
• The influence of the moon on the tide is alluded to.
• [The Svetambaras distinguish more than seven riddhis; compare the Aupapatikasitra, paragraph 24, and Hêmachandra's remarks on his Yogalástra, i. 9.- E. L.)
• Kutklla, a mountain,' is given as a Sanskrit word in Sandersou's Canarese Dictionary. The Trikandaslaha has the form kukila.
7 [Seven kinds of argumentation (naya) are enumerated in the Indische Studien, Vol. XVII p. 39 (-Ind. Ant. Vol. XXI. p. 308 f. where nál is a misprint for naé). Professor Weber's translation of naya," method of conception, exegesis,' meets only those cases in which, as usual, the nayas are brought to bear on the canonical books. In the present verse, however, they refer to mooted problems of a general kind, in which the Srutakovalins defeat the followers of other religions by means of their kinds of argumentation.'- E. L.)- See also Dr. Bhandar. kar's Report on Skt. M88.1883-84, p. 95 f.
8 This is an allusion to the story of Ahalya. • The same legend is alluded to in Mr. Rice's inscription No. 40.
