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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
(VOL. VIII
No. 21.-JAINA INSCRIPTIONS AT THE TEMPLE OF NEMINATHA
ON MOUNT ABU.
BY PROFESSOR H. LÜDERS, PH.D.; ROSTOCK. Inked estampages of the numerous inscriptions in the various temples on Mount Abû were prepared by Mr. H. Cousens, Superintendent of the Archäological Survey of the Bombay Presidency, in 1902, and sent by Professor Hultzsch to Professor Kielhorn, who made them over to me for publication. The 32 inscriptions edited below are from the temple of Nêminátha and refer to the erection and endowment of that building by Tējahpala, the minister of the Chaulukya king Viradhavala. At present this sanctuary seems to be known by the name of
the temple of Vastupala and Tējahpala ;' but as the inscriptions clearly show that appellation to be erroneons, the foundation being ascribed to 'i'ejahpala alone, I should prefer either to call it after the saint to whom it was dedicated, or to use the original name which, as again shown by the inscriptions, was Lūpasimhavasahikå or Lūpavasahika.
No. I. is engraved on a black slab built into a niche in the corridor of the temple. A translation of it was published as early as 1828 by H. H. Wilson in the Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI. p. 302 ff. The text, together with a translation, was first edited in 1883 by Professor Abaji Vishnu Kathavate in his edition of Somèsvaradeva's Kirtikatumadi, Appendix A. And a second edition, again accompanied by a translation, appeared in the Collection of Prakrit and Sanskrit Inscriptions published by the Bhavnagar Archæological Department, p. 174 ff.
The writing covers a space of about 3' 11" broad by 2 71" high. It is beautifully engraved and generally in an excellent state of preservation. The size of the letters is". The characters are Jaina Någari. As ba is distinguished from va only by a very minute dot in the centre, which easily disappears in the impression, it is in some cases almost impossible to decide which character was meant. The language is Sanskrit, and apart from the introductory syllable om, a few connecting phrases in ll. 17, 26 and 30, and the concluding remarks in 1l. 46 and 47, the whole inscription is in verse. The text was composed by Sômêśvaradeva, the wellknown purðhita of the Chaulukya kings and author of the Kirtikaumudi; but although some of the verses undoubtedly vie in elegance with those of the larger work of the poet, it cannot be denied that the poem as a whole is disfigured by rather tedious repetitions, and sometimes by a certain want of connection between single stanzas. As regards lexicography, attention may be drawn to the architectural terms balanaka in 1. 37 and khattaka in 1. 40. The former apparently is identical with Marathi balani, which according to the Dictionary of Molesworth and Candy means * a raised seat along the walls of the gabhárå or sabhámandapa of a temple. The word khattaka I cannot trace in any dictionary accessible to me; judging from the context, it seems to have the meaning of pedestal' or 'throne. Proper names frequently appear in their Praksit form. Under the influence of the metre even the vulgar form Tejapála, instead of Téjahpala, is used in verse 56.
After an invocation of Sarasvati (v. 1) and Gaņēša (v. 2), the inscription gives first an account of the family of Téjahpåla. Their native town was Anahilapura, the residence of the Chulukya kings (v. 3). The ancestor of the family was Chandapa (v. 4). His son was Chandaprasada (v.5), who again had a son named Soma (v. 6). Sôma's son was Ašvaraja, whose wife was Kumaradevi (v.7). They had eleven children (vv. 8-24)-four sons: Lûpiga,
1 [On parahi, Jaina temple, which is to be derived from * casathi, another form of the Sanskrit vasali, see Prof. Pischel's Grammatik der Prakrit. Sprachen, $ 207. The Kannada equivalent basadi or basli is a tadbhava of rasati itself-E. H.!
