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246
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vol. XXIII.
virāma stroke above is found in siddham in a l. 1. The numeral symbols for 3, 5, 7, and 80 are used both in a and in b.
The execution and preservation of the inscriptions are, on the whole, very good. The sixth to eighth aksharas of l. 4, and the seventh and eighth of l. 5 of a are defaced, and so are the final letters of II. 3-5 of b. There are, further, several superfluous and accidental strokes and dots, e.g., in a above l. 1; above the va of samvatsarë l. 2; across and above the tā of etāyam and vā of puruvāyam 1. 3 ; before the s-mātrā of the second putrehi 1. 4; after Sanik[@]ya l. 4, where the three strokes are perhaps meant to be a sign of division; across the right leg of ga in bhagava1. 4; in b after the bha and above the gha of Bhadramėghasya 1. 1; above the ya of tritiya l. 2; above the ryye of saudaryyēhi l. 4, etc. The apparent i-matrā above the è of ētāyan a l. 3 has perhaps been cancelled, and the same may be the case with the i above shk in pushkirinya b 1.5. The a-stroke is absent or defaced in several places, e.g., Mahăr[ājasya a l. 1; sapt[a]site a l. 2; ēt[@]yam b 1.3; pallanak[ājrasya 1. 3; Sanik[@]ya a l. 4; bhagavaty[a] alā)ryyāya a 11. 4-5 ; sth[@]pit[a] a 1. 5; the same is the case with the i of d[i]easa a l. 3; the è of Bhadram[e] at the end of a 1. 1 (and of III 1. 1) and of Sandhak[a]na a l. 4 and sa[m]vatsar[a bl. 1; the anusvåra in punya[m] a 1.5 ; sa[]vatsara bl.1; ēt[ā]yaṁ puruvāya[m] b 1. 3; the tā in sap[ta)fiteb l. 2, etc.
The orthography is fairly consistent. But we find vardhatu a l. 5, varddhatu b 1.7; Sandhak[e]na a l. 4 for Shandhakēna b 1. 5. The writing pratishchapitā for pratishthäpitā b 1. 6 is a mere slip. Instead of bhagava-a l. 4 the engraver seems to have begun to write bhagva..
The language is mixed Sanskrit, and the dual has, as usual, been replaced by the plural. We may note the use of the plural-dual of the words putra and bhrätri forson and daughter',
brother and sister', respectively, in accordance with Päņini I. ii. 68 (bhrätriputrau svasriduhitgibhyām). The word pallāna for Sanskrit paryāna saddle', cannot in any way prove eastern affinities, on account of its l. Pischel, Grammatik der Prakrit-Sprachen para. 285, gives pallāna from Jaina-Maharashtri, and it is a well-known fact that such words are often widely distributed outside the territory where they have developed in accordance with the phonetical laws of an individual language or dialect; cf. the common pallaika, Sanskrit paryarka.
As already stated, the contents of the two records are almost identical, though some details are found only in a and others only in b. They record the setting up of two slabs as a seat (āsanapata), at a pond (pushkarinyan, only in b), for the Holy Noble Devi (bhagavaty[a] a(ā)ryyāya devisya), only in a), by the son and daughter (putrēhi) of the saddler (pallānak[a]ra-) Sapshara, the brother and sister born from the same womb (saudāryyehi bhrātrihi, only in b), the son and daughter of Midgali (Mädgali putrehi), Sanikā and Shandhaka.
The two slabs were accordingly intended to form a seat for an image of Dëvi. It is then evident that the slab with the rounded top was to be placed vertically behind the image, and the rectangular one below it. In such circumstances we must evidently take a as the first record, and this inference is further strengthened through the fact that a begins with siddham.
It is further evident that there can never have been more than two such slabs in the asana, and this makes it necessary to say something about the slab containing inscription III, published by Mr. Sahni.
A look at the plate published with his paper will show at once that the slab containing III has the same shape as that on which a is engraved. And a close examination of the facsimile will show that the text is the same as that of a, with some minor differences.
It is easy to see that the defaced aksharas in the beginning are, as in a, siddham. Then the first line contains mahārfaljasya fri-Bhadrama, just as a, even with the same omission of the final
