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No. 33] TWO, INSCRIPTIONS FROM JAIPUR DISTRICT
189 No. 33–TWO INSCRIPTIONS FROM JAIPUR DISTRICT
(1 Plate)
D. C. SIRCAR, OOTACAMUND About the end of 1952 and the beginning of the following year, I was travelling in various parts of Madhya Bharat and Rajasthan in search of inscriptions. In the course of that tour, I visited Jaipur, headquarters of both the State of Rājasthān and the District of Jaipur (old Jaipur State), in January 1953. There are no inscriptions among the exhibits of the Jaipur Museum ; but Dr. 8. P. Srivastava, Chief Superintendent of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Rajasthān, was kind enough to allow me to examine some old impressions of epigraphic records that are preserved in that museum. These inscriptions were mostly copied from different parts of the Jaipur District of Rajasthān, but the findspots of many of them could not be determined. In the following pages I edit two of the inscriptions, impressions of which were kindly supplied to me by Dr. Srivastava. My thanks are due to him for this act of kindness as well as to Mr. U.C. Bhattacharya, Curator of the Rajputana Museum, Ajmer, for a few informations, and to Pandit A. K. Vyus, Superintendent of Archaeology and Museums, Udaipur (Rājasthan), for some suggestions.
1. Inscription of the time of Allāvadina ('Alāuddin), V. S. 1362 This is a stone inscription in seven lines, the last of which has only two letters. The space covered by the writing measures 31 inches in length and 8 inches in height. The inscribed stone must have belonged to a step-well; but its findspot is unknown to me. .
The characters, which are neatly and carefully engraved, are Nägari. The lines of writing have each a double danda at both ends. The language of the inscription is Sanskrit. Little calls for special remark as regards the palaeography and orthography of the record with the exception of the fact that b has been indicated by the sign for v and kh by that of sh. The date of the inscription is given as Samvat 1362, Phālguna-vadi 12, Thursday, Uttarăghadhănakshatra, Variyan yoga, which is stated to have fallen in the victorious reign of mahārājādhiraja srimad-Allāvadina, 'the destroyer of the pride of all kings'. The date seems to correspond to Thursday, February 10, 1306 A. D., taking the month to be Pūrnimānta. On that date krishna-dvādasi began at 33 of the day and Uttarăshādha-nakshatra at 16.
The object of the inscription, which begins with an adoration to Jagajjananī, the mother of the world', is to record the construction of a vāpi or step-well by two brothers, named Bhöjadēva and Padmasinhadēva, who belonged to the Chāhumāna (i.e. Chāhamina or Chauhan) family. They are stated to have been the sons of Gopatidēva (from Göpati's wife Dharmidēvi), grandsons of Dhēnūdēva and great-grandsons of Madhūdēva. Bhöjadēva (possibly also his brother Padmasimha) is described as Maha-Khadgadhara. The record was written by Sivarāja, called Vyasa. The expression khadgadhara means & swordsman '; but in inscriptions we have the official designation Khadgagrāha or Khadgaraksha' which has been interpreted as a clan of body-guards carrying swords'. Khadgadhara of the inscription under study seems to be a similar official designation, Although the real status of Chahamäna Bhöjadēva can hardly be determined. The eulogistio description of the imperial ruler Allāvadina in the present inscription as samasta-bhüpāla-manamarddana, which does not look like a casual reference to the lord of the land, may suggest that Bhöjadeva was in the service of the Muslim conquerors of Rajasthän. Vyāsa was the official designation of Brāhmaṇas employed by the Rājput kings for reciting and explaining the epics and the Puranas. It is still the family name of many Brāhmanas of Rajasthān. Apparently the
N. G. Majumelar, Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, p. 863 (text line 18) ; Vogel, Antiquities of the Chamba State, Pp. 127 f.
