Epigraphia Indica Vol 29

Author(s): Hirananda Shastri
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 51

2
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXIX
are met with. It is, however, noteworthy that the poet not only presents certain Muslim names and titles in their Sanskritized forms, but also treats a few vernacular and even Persian terms as Sanskrit words like sera in the sense of 'a seer," latta for 'a kick' and salama meaning 'salute' respectively in verse 16 of the Canto III and in verses 41 and 48 of the Canto IV. As regards orthography, the following peculiarities may be noticed: (1) an anusvāra is used for a class nasal as well as for a final m almost invariably; (2) a consonant after r is very rarely doubled as in murddhnā (Slab I, 1. 37); (3) usually a single chh is written where a chohh is required, such cases as vilasachchhatro (Canto III, 1. 1) being exceptional; (4) the sign of avagraha is seldom used (Canto II, 1. 18); (5) in many cases v is employed instead of b. (6) Sometimes sh stands for kh. There are certain other peculiarities, such as the spelling of the name Bharata as Bharatha, which betrays the poet's place of origin being South India.
The author of the poem is a Telanga or Telugu Bhahmana, Ranachhoda, by name, born of the Kathōndi family. From the description of his parentage given towards the end of several cantos, we extract the following pedigree:
Krishna Lakshminätha (II)"
Bhaskara
Madhava (I) Ramachandra (I)
Sarvesvara
Lakshminātha (I)
T. Ramachandra (II)
Madhava (II)
Madhusudana T
Ranachhōda 1
Lakshminätha (III)*
The poet Ranachhōda also mentions his mother's name as Vēņi, daughter of a Gōsvāmin whose proper name is not given but who presumably belonged to the Vallabha sampradaya. It may be pointed out that Vallabhacharya, the founder of this sect, had also hailed from the Telugu country. His second son Vitthalanatha was the first to assume the title of Gōsai or Gosvāmin which was later held by all the acharyas of the sect. These Vaishnavas had their centres at various places in North India, but the one with which the maternal grandfather of the poet Ranachhōda was connected was probably that of Nathadvāra, about 30 miles north of Udaipur. We are further informed in verses 9 and 10 of Canto I that the poet composed the prasasti while teaching a younger brother of his, named Lakshmana, who seems to have had
1 A certain Indian weight, roughly equal to 2 lbs.
For metrical requirements, the chh in the name Ranachhōda has in most places to be read without the reduplication.
This Lakshminätha (II) is, in fact, not at all mentioned in the Rajaprasasti, but we know of his existence from the Jagannatharaya temple inscription at Udaipur, of which he is the composer, and in which he gives his genealogy perfectly agreeing with the one given here (see above, Vol. XXIV, p. 83, verse 48).
He is known from, slab IX, 11. 45-46: slab XXV, v. 16.
Rasputane-kā Itihas (Hindi), Vol. I, pp. 338 ff. See also R. G. Bhandarkar's Vaisnavism, Saivism, etc., pp. 76.