Indian Antiquary Vol 18

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 69

FEBRUARY, 1889.]
MISCELLANEA.
According to Dr. Führer, the grant No. II. possibly, the day immediately following or preced"is dated Thursday, the 4th lunar day of the ing a sankranti). bright half of the month Bhadrapada of the Taking, as for reasons which need not be (Vikrama) year 1181, answering it appears to mentioned here we must do, 1187 to be a year of Thursday, the 9th September 1124 A.D."-Here the Vikrama era, the possible equivalents for the again, (1) the 9th September, A.D. 1124, was a 15th lunar day of the bright half of Margasirsha Tuesday; and (2) in A.D. 1124, the 4th of the would be bright half of Bhadrapada 'apparently' corres- for the northern or southern) year 1187, ponds to Friday, 15th August.
current, And, according to Dr. Führer, the grant No.
Wednesday, 27th November, A. D. 1129, III. " is dated Friday, the 15th lunar day of the
when there was full-moon about 16 h. bright half of Chaitra of the (Vikrama) year 1185,
after mean sunrise ; and answering it appears to Friday, the 20th March for the (northern or southern) year 1187, 1128 A.D."-And here again, (1) the 20th March, expired, - A. D. 1128, was a Tuesday; (2) in A.D. 1128, the
Monday, 17th November, A. D. 1130, 15th of the bright half of Chaitra was Sunday,
when there was full-moon about 1 h. 18th March ; and (3) Dr. Führer has made no
25 m. after mean sunrise. reference to the term manuddau, mentioned The second of these two dates does furnish the apparently in connection with the date; a term week-day required, but on neither date was there which, indeed, Dr. Fübrer takes to denote "the a sankranti; for the nearest sankranti took sun's entrance into another zodiacal sign after placemidnight."
in A, D. 1129, on Monday, 25th November. Each of the three dates does present certain which was the 13th of the bright half of difficulties, which, using only the photolithographs Margasiraha; and for which we are indebted to Dr. Führer, I shall in A. D. 1130, on Tuesday, 25th November, try to point out in the following remarks :
which was the 8th of the dark half of a No. I.
month; while the preceding savikranti had
taken place on Monday, 27th October, The date is contained in the following passage:
which was the 9th of the dark half of a (L. 18.) ...... samvat 1187 Margga su di
month. (L. 19.) psurnni(rana)masy&m tithau Boma
Unless there be some rule concerning saria dine ladyêha srimad Varanasyan sam. krantis which is unknown to mo, there appears krantau.....
therefore to be some error in the recorded deWhat first strikes us here, is that the term 8*
tails of the date; and the possibilities seem to di is followed by the expression paurnamdeydi me, either that the grant was made on a Monday, tithane, on the full-moon tithi,' an expression the day of a sankranti, the 13th (not the 15th) ordinarily made use of when a date is given in
lunar day of the bright half of Margasirsha, -in words, while, when the date is given in figures,
which case the true date would be Monday, 25th eu di is employed, followed by a numeral for the
November, A. D. 1129 ; or, that the word arerieday, which, in the present case, might have been krantau has been wrongly inserted in the grant,
krantau has been wrono expected to be 15. Of this exceptional usage in which case the true date would be Monday. shall treat on a future occasion. As regards the 17th November, A. D. 1130. In the former case present inscription, there can be no doubt that the the figures 1187 would denote the current year; in meaning intended to be conveyed is, that the the latter, the ye
the latter, the year expired. In my opinion the grant was made in the year 1187, on the full probabilities are that the full-moon tithi is rightly moon tithi or 15th lunar day of the bright half of quoted in the grant, and that the true date therethe month Margasirsha, on a Monday. On this fore is Monday, 17th November, A.D. 1130 : day the king, when at Benares, made a certain and I may point to the grant of Chandradôva and grant, having, we are told, bathed in the Ganges | Madanapaladôva of the year 1154, as a clear
on the occasion of a savikranti, or entrance of the instance in which (similarly to what I suppose to sun into a sign of the zodiao.. Since, under ordin- have been done in the present grant) an ulardary circumstances, the sankranti here spoken of yana-sankranti has been wrongly quoted, coupledshould coincide with the date mentioned before, as it is with the 3rd day of the bright half of we obtain for calculation :--the year 1187 of an Mågha, a day on which the uttardyana-sansunspecified era, the full-moon tithi or 15th lunar kerdnti can never take place. day of the bright half of Margasirgha, being a I may add that of all the years from Vikrama Monday and also the day of a samkranti (or, 1180, current, up to Vikrama 1190, expired, the