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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XVIII.
ruler but professes to be a mere copy of a copper-plate charter of his, prepared about the middle of the 12th century A.D.
236
The plates are three in number, each about 18" long and 10" broad. The edges of them all are fashioned slightly thicker, so as to serve as rims for the protection of writing. The record is inscribed on the inner side of the first and third plates and on both sides of the second. The plates are strung together by a stout elliptical ring of about 48" and 37" in diameter and of about " in thickness, passing through holes on one side of each plate. The ring was intact when the plates were examined. The ends of the ring are soldered into a roughly square seal, which measures 17" in height and breadth, and bears, in relief, on a counter-sunk surface, as the principal figure, an image of Garuda, on a lotus seat facing full front, with his prominent beaknose and holding a snake in each hand. Two discs are seen above the ears of Garuda, but it is difficult to say what they represent. On Garuda's proper right, there is a representation of Ganapati in the upper corner, and lower down an indistinct chauri and a lamp. On his left, near the top is some goddess, standing in front of an animal (perhaps a lion) and holding a ladle in her right hand; below her is a chauri, and, near the bottom, a Svastika.1 Beneath the central figure are in relief the letters: Srimad-Amoghavarshadēvasya.
The engraving is clear and on the whole well-executed, but the record is full of inaccuracies due chiefly to the incorrect draft written by the scribe on the plates. The characters agree fully with those of other Rashtrakuṭa records of the period. The language is Sanskrit throughout. Excepting the introductory "Om Svasti," the inscription is in verse down to line 57 (Third Plate). As regards metrology attention may be drawn to verses 23 and 39. The metre of these is Mattebhavikriḍita, which is not found in classical literature. It is not noticed in the Sutras of Pingala, Vrittaratnakara or Chhandomañjarī, but is described in the Chhandomañjari-parisishta as sabha-ran-mau ya-la-gas-trayodasa-yatir-Mattebhavikriditam. As regards orthography I might say that (1) v is almost invariably written for b; (2) a consonant is invariably doubled after r, in the case of y, n, t, m, dh, n, p, k, and also v when not followed by y (cf. nirvyapēksham in 1. 7), but not always in the case of g and j (cf. Karahada-vinirggata in 1. 60 and yasörjjana in 1. 20, but vishaya-vinirgata in l. 61 and 'r-örjita in l. 8); (3) Visarga when followed by &, sh or sis, as a rule, changed to that letter; (4) gh for h is found in one instance only (cf. Ayodhyasinghasana in 1. 8, Pl. I); (5) final n is sometimes replaced by m (cf. sva-bhrityäm jhatiti in l. 13, and tām bhubhṛito in 1. 15) and m by n (in gadhan-gajar, 1. 21, very rare); (6) upadhmaniya is frequently though not invariably used (cf. bhedah-pasūnām-iva, 1. 40, but not in turagaiḥ pitañ-cha, 1. 21); (7) the vowel ri and the syllable ri are sometimes interchanged (thus in kirttis-trilokyän, 1. 33, and trinagra-lagna, 1. 71);(8) t is, as a rule, doubled when followed by r; and lastly (9) in prose portions Visarga is retained in some instances where it should be replaced by o (cf. paschimataḥ Nandagrāmaḥ in 1. 65, Pl. III), and in some places where it should be elided (cf. Dakshinatah Uppala, etc., in l. 65).
The first thing that strikes one about the contents of this grant is that some of its verses are identical with those in the Konnue Inscription of Amoghavarsha published by the late Prof. Kielhorn. Thus verses 2-15 of the latter are identical with stanzas 2-3, 6, 8, 10-12, 27, 29, 36, 45, and 50-53 of the former with slight variations in some cases. With reference to the Konnur Inscription, Prof. Kielhorn expresses the opinion about the middle
1 The figures on the seal are on the whole similar to those of the Cambay plates. (Above, Vol. VII, pp. 26-7.) [For the use of this metre in Kanarese inscriptions as well as literature see, for instance, above, p. 197, v. 4, p. 206, v. 1, p. 207, v. 3, etc., Vol. XVIII, p. 172, v. 1, or Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. IV, part II, p. 384, Inscription No. 76, of Nagamamgala Taluq and Adipampa's Adipuräna, quoted in Karnataka Karicharitě, Vol. I, PP. 26-27, or Nagavarman's Käryävalokanam, p. 10, v. 59, or Andayya's Kabbigara Kavam (Karnataka Kavyamañjari Series No. 2), p. 5, v. 19.-Ed.]
Ep. Ind., Vol. VI, pp. 29 and .
