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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[DECEMBER, 1885.
The alphabet resembles, as Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji has stated, that of the Nasik inscrip- tion of Siriyaña-Satakamni.' Remarkable are the total absence of the distinction between short and long i, and the frequent neglect of the anusvára, which latter may be owing to dialectic pronunciation. In the ña of raño, the hook on the right has been accidentally detached from the vertical stroke.
My interpretation of the inscription differs from Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji's in several more or less important particulars; and I trust he will take it not as a mark of disrespect, but of respect, if I state in fall the reasons for my dissent. First, I think his reading of the fifth word vasasataya improbable, and his translation "in the century" impossible. The lithographs, especially that of the rubbing, show at the top of va a short stroke turning upwards, and thus indicate that it originally had a superscribed vowel. But, even if we had to read vasasataya, this word could not mean "in the century." A century might be called in Sansksit varshasati, and in Prakrit vasasati ; not varshasatá or vasasata. The gen., dat., and loc. of vasasati would be vasasatiya, not vasasataya. Moreover, a phrase like " in the century of such and such king, in the year," &c., does not occur in any known inscription, and would be meaningless. In his remarks Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji tries to connect it with the Kaśmîrian Lôkakala or Saptarshi-era ; and Dr. Burgess adds in a note, that the year of the Lôkakála is called by Albirûnî "the Samvatsara of the century." Against this it must be stated, that none of the inscriptions and MSS., dated according to the Kaśmirian era, shows anything but Saptar- shi-sariat * , or simply Sanvat * *; and that Kalhaņa uses occasionally Lékakalasya varshé, sahvatsare, &c., or simply Abde, Varshé. Moreover Albirûni's passage, I think, has not the meaning assigned to it by Dr. Bargess. M. Reinaud's translation runs as follows, -"Le
vulgaire dans l'Inde compte par siècles, et les siècles se placent l'on après l'autre. On appelle cela le Sannvatsara du cent." Hence it would seem that, not the year of the Lokakála, but the Lokakala itself was called "Samvatsara du cent." The Sanskrit equivalent probably was satasarhvatsara, formed according to the analogy of shashtyabda, one of the names of the sixtyyear cycle of Jupiter.
But, however that may be, my learned friend's explanation seems to me inadmissible on grammatical and philological grounds. In looking for another interpretation, we should, it seems to me, first ascertain what phrases do occur between king's names and dates, accord ing to regnal years on other inscriptions. The ancient Prakṣit inscriptions afford no help. But the Sanskpit land-grants of the early Kadambas, Pallavas, and Chalukyas, almost in. variably show before the word saivatsara
year' an expression like " of the reign," or, " of the victorious reign," or, "of the prosperous and victorious reign"; and the ways in which this idea is expressed vary very much.
If we now pay attention to the upward stroke above the va of the doubtful word, and take it for the remnant of an i, we obtain the rending visasataya, which, as the legitimate representative of visva-sattayah, may mean "of the rule over the universe." For satta, which in classical Sanskrit means existence,' is used in all the modern Prakrits in the sense of power, authority, rule,' see, e.g. Molesworth's Marathi Dictionary, 8.0.; and, hence, it probably had the same meaning in the older dialects. With this explanation, the beginning of our inscription has to be rendered, “The year 12 of the universal rule of king...," &c.
The second point on which I differ from Dr. Bhagwanlal Indraji is the restoration of the beginning of line 2. He changes the letters jaya to jáya, supplies bha, and combines this with the last word of line 1. He thus obtains
Archæol. Suru. West. Ind. Vol. IV. Pl. ly.
yapravardhanakara... sarvatsara, Pallava grant, ante, Fragments Arabes, p. 145.
Vol. VII. p. 37; -6, suvaijayika....... sarateara, • The commoneat phrase is, pravardhamana-vijaya- Kadamba grant, ante, Vol. VI. pp. 23, 24;-7, vijayaTljya-sasuntsara, see the Chalukya grants, ante, Vol. VI. sashvatara, Pallava, grant, ante, Vol. V. pp. 52-8, Pp 86, 89, 92; VII. pp. 107, 112, 189, 302: VIII. p. 27; IX. tijayapasichamd sarratsare, Chalukys grant, ande, pp. 128, 131; the Pallava grant, ante, Vol. VIII. p. 168. Vol. VII. p. 192, etc. The simple expression atmand Variations are,-1, pravardhamana-rijy-libhisheki-arh- rajyasya' varsha (ante, Vol. VII. p. 35), or svartyavatsara in the Chalukya grant, ante, Vol. VI. p. 73 ;--2, sathvateard (ante, Vol. VI. pp. 30, 32; VII. p. 164), is samedhamnona-vijaya rajya ... sarhuntsara in the Pallava comparatively speaking rare. grant, ante, Vol. V. p. 156; -3, padapadma-pravardha- As the existence of the i is doubtful, I will mention mina-vijaya-rajye... sarvatsara in the Orissa grant, that even taeaeataya may have a similat meaning, as it ante, Vol.V. p.573-, vijayardjyasambachchara, Chalnkya can stand for vasa-sattaya " of the existence of the graut, oute, Vol. VII. p. 220;-5, vijaydyur irigy fuar.! rule.'
