Indian Antiquary Vol 04

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 24

14
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
allusions are very intricate, and difficult to be understood by any person who is not well versed in Jyotisha and the other sciences.
Almost any word which can possibly be construed so as to signify a number may be used in a date. I give a list of some of the words which are most commonly found as substitutes for figures:
Sindhudugangabhú = 1624.
0: Any word signifying "ether," such as kha, gagana, and antariksha.
Sindhu 4, the four seas on the four sides of the earth-north, south, east, and west, 1: Bhu, the earth, and chandra, the moon, duga 2, anga 6, bhú 1, and the whole with their synonyms. read backwards gives 1624.
Again, Kha-dwandwanga-mṛigánga.
2: Yugal, dwandwa, and such like words. 3: All words meaning fire: Agni is a synonym for Kritika, the third nakshatra. Netra and other words for "eye:" the reference is to the three eyes of Siva. Ráma, i.e. Parasurama, Ramachandra, and Bâlârâma.
Kha 0, dwandwa 2, anga 6, and mrigánga (a synonym for Chandra) = 1, and the whole gives 1620.
Another date, Vedáguta-badharana 1634:Veda 4, and vedáguta means that which pre4: The most common words are yuga and cedes veda, i.e. 3; badhara is a derivative from veda. badh, to destroy, and is a synonym of ripa = 6; ana signifies pitar = 1.
These dates were all taken from inscriptions on temples in Rangpur.
It is usual to add some such expression as parimite or parisankhye, "by counting," to signify that the words are intended to represent the date.
5: Vána and synonyms, the five arrows of Kamadeva. Vaktra, the five faces of Śiva.
6: Ripo and synonyms, the six being the enemies of man :-kâma, lust; kradha, passion; lobha, covetousness; moha, infatuation; mada, pride; and mâtsarya, envy. Ritu, the six seasons. Anga, the six branches of knowledge derived from the Vedas,-siksha, pronunciation; chhandas, prosody; vyakarana, grammar; nirukta, explanation of obscure terms; kalpa, religious rites; and jyotisha, astronomy.
7: Muni or Rishi, the seven great sages. Dwipa, the seven continents.
3: Vasu, eight supernatural beings. Gaja, the eight elephants that support the earth.
9: Graha, the five planets,-Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn, with the sun and moon, Râhu and Ketu; Dwara, the nine orifices of the body.
10: Dis, the ten quarters. Avatara, the ten incarnations of Vishnu.
[JANUARY, 1875.
whole expression is to be read backwards; instances may occur in which the different numbers are to be multiplied or added together, but they are certainly very rare, and I have met with none.
The following are ordinary instances of Hindu chronograms:
11: Rudra, the eleven kings of that name. 12: Másá, the 12 months. All words meaning the sun. Sûrya is supposed to have been divided into twelve parts by the father of his wife Suvarna.
For numbers from 1 to 27 the names of the 27 nakshatras may be used. Synonyms may be used in all cases. As a rule, each word is to be taken as the number it represents, and then the
Ind. Ant. vol. III. p. 215.
The practice does not seem to be one of very great antiquity, and many of the supposed old dates are very doubtful. The instance which Mr. Blochmann quoted in his paper on Muhammadan chronograms from Jour. As. Soc. Beng. Pt. I. 1872, page 310, is admitted in a note by. Babu Râjendralâla Mitra to be incorrect, and not to represent the date at all. Again, in the Dinajpur inscription quoted in Ind. Ant. vol. I. page 127, it seems most probable that the words Kunjara-ghata-varshena do not contain the date;t if they do, I cannot help thinking that the interpretation must be 118 if we are to read the date from right to left, according to rule, or 811 if it is to be read from left to right. Kunjara can undoubtedly mean 8; ghata means, in its primary sense, a watering-pot, and secondarily the constellation Aquarius, which is the eleventh sign of the Hindu zodiac, and hence the meaning might be 11; but the date 118, of whatever era we take it, is too early. 811 would be a more likely date, but there seems to be no reason for violating the ordinary rule.
See also vol. I. pp. 195, 227.