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28
EPIGRAPHIÀ INDICA
(VOL. XXXIII
general of Sultan Nasiruddin. But it has to be pointed out that, if the father was a contemporary of Chāhamāna Vigala or Vigra harāja IV (o. 1154-63 A.D.) and the son of Jajapēlla Chahada (o. 1234-54 A.D.), both of them must have enjoyed very long lives.
Verses 17 ff. describe Gängadēva, the son of Ajayadēva and Saubhāgyadevi and the hero of the oulogy under study. An interesting information about him is that he claims to have been & sachiva (minister) of the son of Nrivarman (i.e., of Gopāla), who defeated Viravarman in the battle on the Baikata river. It is diffloult to say whether the stanze uses the word jayanta in the sense of 'victorious' or as & secondary name of king Göpāla. Gāngadēva is stated to have himself taken part in the battle on the Saikata, apparently the same as the Sikatā or Bālukā mentioned above. The Bangla inscriptions mention Gõpāla's partisans who died in the said battle with Chandēlla Viravarman. Here we have one who escaped death in that sanguinary conflict to enjoy the fruits of victory. Verse 19 states that Gāngadēva repaired the dilapidated temples in the Padonalaksha vishaya (district or territory), with the administration of which he was possibly associated. This district of Pādūnalaksha, probably forming the whole or part of Jajapēlla Gopāla's kingdom, reminds us of the two Sapāda laksha countries, one of which extended up to the valley of the Siwalik' and the other lay in the present Karimnagar region of the former Hyderabad State. The expressions sa-pada-laksha and pād-ona-laksha literally mean respectively 'one lakh and a quarter', and 'one lakh minus a quarter'. The number in these geographical names refers to the traditional number of villages contained in the geographical units although it is generally exaggerated. Unfortunately the Pädonalaksha territory mentioned in our record cannot be identified with precision."
Verses 21-23 state that Gāngadēva exacavated a vāpi or stepwell while verse 24 mentions an upavana or pleasure garden, full of fruit trees and flowering plants, which was also created by him apparently around or in the vicinity of the vāpi. Verse 25 contains a prayer that the vāpi might last for ever.
Verses 26-27 mention the author of the pragasts and the person who wrote it on the stone for facilitating the work of the engraver. The poet responsible for the composition of the eulogy was Sivanäbhaka born in a Māthura Kāyastha family hailing from Gopadri Gwalior). He was the son of Kosādhipa (treasurer) Lõhata and the grandson of Damodara. The same stanza is found in some other prasastis composed by Sivanabhaka, including the Bajaudi inscription edited above. The person responsible for writing the letters of the epigraph on the stone was another member of the Mathura Käyastha community. His name was Maharaja and his father was Sömarāja. The name may not be a mistake for Mahārāja since the stanza mentioning the person is known from other inscriptions in which also it is spelt as Maharāja... But it is difficult to be definite in this matter as hā could have been changed to ha for the requirement of the metre.
The location of the geographical names mentioned in the inscription has been already discussed above. As we have indicated, some of them cannot be satisfactorily identified.
Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 1103 ; The Struggle for Empire, pp. 67, 138; above, Vol. XXXI, pp. 323-24. * Ray, op. cit. pp. 1081 ff.; of. pp. 1054, 1067. VOR, Vol. XVIII, p. 40.
. JBRS, Vol. XL, Part I, March 1954, pp. 8 ff.
No. 146 of 4. R. Ep., 1962-63, App. B, seems to suggest that Padonalaksha was the name of the district round Narwat. See below, p. 68. It may thus have benn the name applied to the Jajapolla kingdom just us the namo Sapädalaksha was used to indicate the dominions of the Chahaminas of Bakambhari.
.a. 4. R. Ep., 1962-63, App. B., No. 145; above, Vol. XXXII, p. 389.
