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No. 35 ] BARLA INSCRIPTION OF THE TIME OF PRITHVIRAJA III, V.S. 1234 301
Verses 7 ff. describe another family belonging to the Käsyapa götra, to which the hero of the eulogy belonged. Verse 7 mentions Sadhadēva of this family and his son Udaya. The damaged last foot of the stanza no doubt mentioned Udaya's son and apparently also the son's wife. Verse 8 states that, from the husband and wife whose names are lost with the concluding part of the previous stanza, was born Thakkura Palhūka. The next stanza (verse 9) describes Pálhūka's good character and qualities while verse 10, most of the syllables in the second foot of which are lost, states that he constructed a step-well by what he had earned by means of trade. This shows that Thakkura Pālhūka was a trader by profession, although it is uncertain whether he actually belonged to the mercantile caste as well. Verse 12 states that some money belonging to Rahada, & brother of Palhūka's father, was also spent in the construction of the well and that the Thakkura (i.e. Palhūka) became free from his debt to his uncle thereby. The concluding syllables of the stanza are lost; but it seems that Palhūka had previously borrowed some money from his uncle Rāhada and that Rahada or his heirs agreed to forego the realisation of the amount if it was spent in a good cause like the construction of a step-well. Verse 13 mentions the four wives of Rāhada, viz. Dēvamā, Salakhū, Lakshmi and Uttamā. The introduction of these ladies in the narration is difficult to explain; but it seems that it was they who permitted Pālhūka to spend the amount borrowed from their husband in the construction of the well. Possibly this was done for the merit of Rabada who might have been dead at the time.
The eulogy is stated to have been composed by Padmanābha, son of Acharya Nē.... The name of the poet's father consisted of about two aksharas only and seems to have been something like Nēma. A partially preserved epithet of Padmanabha appears to suggest that he claimed to be a kavi or poet. The inscription was engraved by Jayatasimha, son of Pandita Yaśõdhara. Since this person does not look like an ordinary engraver, it is not unlikely that he only painted the letters on the stone to facilitate the work of the real engraver of the record. If such was the case, the name of the person who actually engraved the prasasti on the stone is not mentioned in the record.
The most puzzling information supplied by the inscription under study is its date : V. S. 1234, Chaitra-sudi 4, This is the earliest date of Chāhamāna Prithvirāja III so far known. Unfortunately, the date is not satisfactorily verifiable since the name of the week-day has not been mentioned in the epigraph. If, however, the beginning of the Vikrama year in the age and area in question can be determined, the date of our inscription may be calculated, although, unfortunately, the result of such an attempt scarcely solves the mystery of the date of our record. As will be seen below, the latest known date of the father and predecessor of Prithviraja III is V.S. 1234, Bhadrasudi 4. This would suggest that the year commenced some time between the months of Chaitra and Bhadra, so that the month of Bhadra was earlier than that of Chaitra. But, even though the Ashädhädi and Srāvanādi Vikrama years are not unknown in Rajasthan, the dates in the inscriptions of the Chahamānas do not support such an explanation.
Let us clear the position by an examination of the following regular and verifiable dates in the records of Přithvirāja III and his immediate predecessors. 1. Ajmer inscription of Vigrabarāja or Visala IV, dated V.S. 1210(1153-54 A.D.), Mārgasirsha-sudi
5, Sunday=November 22, 1153 A.D. The year began before the month of Märgasireha. 2. Hansi inscription of Prithvibhata or Prithvirāja II, dated V.S. 1224(1167-68 A.D.), Māgha-sudi
7, Thursday January 18, 1168 A.D. The year began before the month of Mágba.
1 Bhandarkar's List, No. 289. • Ibid., No. 329.
