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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JANUARY, 1884.
Tek. Kisi na sabhá mei dharm bichará. bári.
TRANSLATION 1. The Chhatri performed a solemn vow of
virtue, abstinence and all. My monarch doing evil, threw away righteous
ness : destroyed righteousness and honour. O Protector of the poor! O Brother of the
friendless! I have no friend ! Duaśâsana hath seized my garment: my refuge is in thee?
Chorus. None in the assembly thought on righteousness.
da capo. 2. Abalya, the wife of Gautama Rishi, did very
great wrong: The king left his happy Heaven: the Scriptures tell the whole story.
Chorus. None in the assembly thought on righteousness.
da capo. 3. Arjuna, Bhima and king Yudhishthira, to them was no good fortune in the gambling
match). They laid aside their arms for honour: their
power was all lost. Father Bhishma and Droņa Acharya heard it
and kept silence. They are without honour, no honour remains to those whom there is none to check.
Chorus. None in the assembly thought on righteousness.
da capo. 4. The ten yards robe would not tear, Dusse
sana failed. Sara, Syâma, and Hari gave help and slew the most wicked one.
Chorus. None in the assembly thought on righteousness. da capo.
NOTES. This very obscure hymn refers in a confused
kind of way to part of the story of Draupadi as related in the Mahabharata, excepting verse 2, which carries us to the Ramayana and the story of Ahalya and her husband Gautama Rishi.
The first verse appears to be a sort of prayer from Draupadi to Krishna to help her against Dussâ sana, who, after Yudhishthira had lost her along with himself and all his family, dragged her by the hair into the assembly, and began disrobing her, saying she was now a slave, and could not object.
The second verse refers to the story of Ahalya, wife of Gautama Rishi, who was seduced by Indra, for which he was driven out of heaven, while she was cursed to be invisible for 1000 years till Rama released her. See Growse's Ramayana of Tulsi Das, pp. 16 and 284. Observe the form lartab in this verse. Nigam, properly the Vedas, here means the Ramayana.
The third verse continues the story of Draupadi, but is very difficult and obscure. In the first line chdrá seems to be chaud, often used for
bad fortune,' but here evidently the reverse. In the third line of this verse sdrhd is for sádhá : maun sádhná is to preserve silence. Láj means both shame' and its opposite 'honour,' according to context; in this verse, I think, it has the latter meaning. I think the verse means that Yudishthira (and so his brethren Arjuna and Bhima) had no luck in the gambling match so fatal to him; and that the old guardian Bhishma and the teacher, Drona, of both parties looked on, and would help neither. If this be the meaning the final line and the meaning of laj become intelligible.
The fourth verse has the same reference as the first, Sára and Syâma mean Krishna and his father. In the Mahabharata legend Krishna, being present at the scene when Dussa sana so ill-treated Draupadi, had pity on her and restored her garments as fast as they were torn off. Madushi is for inahádusht, the very wicked. one, i.e. Dussâsana.
GRANT OF THE BÂŅA KING VIKRAMADITYA II.
BY THE REV. T. FOULKES, CHAPLAIN OF S. JOHN'S, BANGALORE. In an interesting group of copper-plate dynasty. One of these grants is the subject of inscriptions which were sent to me for exami- the present paper. nation in connection with the Manual of the It consists of three copper-plates of an inDistrict of Salem, there are two land-grants scription which had originally four plates, togeof the kings of the Mah â bali or BA a ther with the third plate of another similar
