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No. 45]
STRAY PLATE FROM NANANA
apparently engraved in groups by several persons on different occasions. The various documents engraved on the plate record donations made by both royal and private personages in favour of a religious institution apparently situated at Naḍol (cf. ady-eha śri-Naḍule in lines 19-20). Among the donors of non-monarchical rank, some were no doubt members of the Chahamāna royal family of Naḍōl. As our analysis of the different documents would show, it was probably the authorities of the said religious institution that were responsible for the preparation of the document. Since Alhaṇadeva was the donor of only one of the many grants recorded in our epigraph, it is impossible to assign the entire charter to him. The nature of the epigraph somewhat resembles that of the well-known Sironkhurd (Siyāḍōņi) inscription.1
239
The god Tripurushadeva or his temple is often mentioned in the inscription as the receipient of favour. Among other beneficiaries, mention is also made of the god Chandalesvara, whose temple seems to have stood near that of Tripurushadēva, and of the goddess Gauri whose shrine lay within the Chandalaśvara temple. The deities Tripurushadēva, Chandalesvara and Gauri are also known from another Nanāņa copper-plate inscription dated V. S. 1220, Ashadha-sudi 11, Thursday (July 2, 1164 A.-D.). This record speaks of the restoration of the village of Nandānā (modern Nanāņā) in V. S. 1219 and the grant of the village of Chamvōḍi by the Naḍōl Chahamāna ruler Alhana in favour of the temple of Tripurusnadeva as well as of the same ruler's grant of Bhitalavaṭaka (Bhinṭalavaṭaka) to the temple of Chandales vara and of four Drammas per month to the shrine of Gauri built inside the Chandalesvara temple by his queen Sankarādēvi. The god Tripurushadēva is also known from the Nānāņā copper-plate inscription of V. S. 1212, Śrāvaṇasudi 5, Monday (July 24, 1156 A.D.) referring to the shrine of Lakhayesvara built inside the temple of Tripurushadeva by Lakhapadevi, daughter of Chahamana Kuntapala, probably a member of the Nadol branch of the Chahamana family. The localities called Nandana and Bhinṭalavāṭaka are also mentioned in the inscription under study.
The language of the record is Sanskrit, its orthography and vocabulary being considerably influenced by Prakrit or the local dialect. The language is extremely corrupt in some of the records. The nature of Prakrit influence can be guessed from the use of words like mehari, i.e. a songstress', in lines 1-7, etc.; väriga (once written correctly as varika in line 4), i.e. a temple superintendent', in lines 5, 6, etc.; sü(su)ravala (probably, one who sets songs or musical instruments to tune') and panavika (i.e. a drum-player') in line 7; döyaraka (i.e. the singer who repeats part of a song after it has been once sung') in lines 7-8, eto. We have also spellings like Jasodhavalēna for Yasodhavalena and tritiyāyām for tritiyāyām in line 9 and forms like ma(me)harina used as Third Person instrumental singular from the word mehari (recognised as mehari in Prakrit) in the
feminine.
There are several dates in the document, although many of the transactions recorded are undated. The first of the dates, occurring in line 9, is V:S. 1173, Kärttika-vadi 3, and the second is quoted in lines 12-13 as V.S. 1171, Pausha-vadi 10. On both these dates Mahārājādhiraja Asaraja of the Nadōl branch of the Chahamäna family made certain grants in favour of a religious institution at Naḍōl, to which reference has been made above. Line 19 quotes the date V.S. 1122, Kärttika-vadi 5, Saturday, when Maharajaputra Kumara Sahaṇapāla made a grant. Line 23 mentions V.S. 1205, Bhadra-vadi 5,Friday, as the date of a grant made by Chahamaria Alhaṇadeva of Nädöl. The importance of these dates will be discussed in the analysis of the contents of the various records in the epigraph. Besides the above dated records relating to grants made by kings and princes, there are several other grants of royal and private personages, which are undated.
1 Above, Vol. I, pp. 162 ff. Cf. ibid., Vol. XXX, p. 19, note 7 p. 159.
An. Rep. Raj. Mus., op. cit., pp. 4-5, 9, No. 9; 4. R. Ep., 1956-57, No. A 79. An. Rep. Raj. Mus., op. cit., pp. 3-4, 9, No. 8,
