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94
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
(VOL. VII.
in his boar incarnation, with a small figure of a woman (representing the earth) resting, as it seems, on one of the god's arms. The god himself is represented as standing over a serpent, in front of which there is a flower. On the back the projection contains the engraving of a conchshell. The writing commences immediately beneath the projection and covers the whole of the first side and two-thirds of the second side of the plate. It is well preserved nearly throughout. The size of the letters is between 1 and 1". The characters differ little from the ordinary Någari. The language is Sanskrit, but some of the names towards the end of the inscription appear in their vernacular forms or rather in forms based on them. Lines 2-12 contain six verses, five of which give the genealogy of the donor, and lines 21-33 contain benedictive and imprecatory verses. Of the introductory verses two (verses 2 and 6) are incorrect. Owing to carelessness on the part of the writer or engraver the text, besides numerous minor errors, contains several corrupt passages, one or two of which I am unable to correct with confidence. In respect of orthography it may suffice to state that the letter v denotes both v and b, and that the dental sibilant is often used for the palatal.
The inscription records a grant of land by the Paramabhaftáraka Maharajadhiraja Paramdsvara, the devout worshipper of Mahêśvara (Siva), the glorious Kirtipaladeva, who by inheritance had obtained the lordship over Uttarasamudra, and who meditated on the feet of the P.M.P., the devout worshipper of Mahekvara (Siva), the glorious Vikramapaladêva, who had acquired the lordship over Uttarasamudra by his own arms (11. 18-21). The document differs from other grants in this that it does not contain an order to officials and others, but simply records the fact that the king made a certain donation.
The text, after the auspicious word frih, commences with the words "this is the own hand of the glorions Kirtipäladeva," words such as we ordinarily find at the end of a grant. Then follow the words om om svasti, and a verse glorifying the god Pasupati (Siva). After that, verses 2-6 give the donor's genealogy. There was a king (nripa) Bhuvanapala, an ornament of the rulers of the earth of the family of Sâvarņi (Manu), descended from the Sun. His son was Vikramapala, who by his own arms acquired the sovereignty over Saumyasindhu (ie. Uttarasamudra). And his son again was Kirtipala.
This Kirtipàla, having worshipped the god Narayana (Vishņu), in his presence, on a date which will be considered below, gave two villages to the Brahman, the Thakkura Prahasitagarman, who was born at a bhatta-village, vis, the village of Devir&makula in the Srávastiyavishaya, belonged to the Gautama gôtra, and was a son of the Pandita Visvarûpa and grandson of the Pandita Kêśava. Both villages were in the Daradagandaki country (déta); one was the village of D[ambaJüli (or perhaps Dévaüli), which belonged to (the) Sasho[raviP]så (district), and the other the village of Vikara, belonging to (the) Sho[th&P]visa (district; 11. 12-17).
The names of three of the localities mentioned in the preceding paragraph unfortunately are partly so indistinct in the original that I am unable to make them out with certainty; and I have not succeeded in identifying any of the places on the maps at my disposal. With the passage describing the birth-place of the donee we may compare above, Vol. III. p. 357, 1. 38, Srdvasti-mandane(18) Käsilli-bhatfagráma-vinirggataya;s the name Daradagandaki must be connected with the river Gandaki (the Great or Little Gandak in the United Provinces); and the names of the two districts remind one of similarly ending names of districts in the grants
1 Compare Gupta Inser. p. 159. In the Jour. Beng. As. Soe. Vol. XVII. Part I. p. 306, Captain J.Cunningham, describing « sculptured representation of Vishnu as the boar, at Pathari, mays: The statue is about 44 feet high, it is covered with figures disposed in ranks; it has a diminutive woman hanging by the turk of the god, and the remains of a serpent may be traced on the ground on which it is standing
• Compare also Ind. Ant. Vol. XVII. p. 121, I. 85, brf-Madhyadh-datapdli-Takkaribdbhaflagrdwa. vinirggata.
