Nahta Bandhu Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Dashrath Sharma
Publisher: Agarchand Nahta Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 569

since "in not one there is any trace of a genitive". According to him1 most of these legends are to be treated as "meaningless attempts to reproduce parts of Malavanam jaya" and this suggestion, he avers, "may account for so many of the legends beginning with ma and for the frequency of ma as another letter of the inscription, and indeed, for the limited number of consonants which form these inscriptions". Allan is thus disinclined to regard these legends as names, far less names of foreign rulers.
The legends are, therefore, to be taken either as personal names or as attempts to reproduce a complete legend like Malavanam jaya partially. One point, however, is to be noted in this connection: the letter ma frequently occurs, as many as sixteen times, in a group of twenty legends and on eleven occasions it is initial letter. The frequency of this letter drew the attention of two Indian scho lars, Jayaswal and Bhandarkar, who discussed the meaning and significance of theslegends before the publication of Allan's Catalogue. Jayaswal, who regarded these legends as personal names, suggested that these "seem to be abbreviations-marajaMaharaja; cf. Mahārāya'...Mapojaya, Mapoya and Magaja are probably Maha(Maharaja) aya, Ma (Mahārāja) Paya and Ma (Mahārāja Gaja. Similarly, Magajasa= Ma (Maha) Gaja (Gajaśa). Gajava=Gaja-pa" etc. Bhandarkar took the letter ma as the abbreviation not of Mahā or Mahārāja, but of the tribal name, Malava and he interpreted the remaining letters also as contractions of words like gana, jaya, etc.; for instance ga=gana, ja=jaya, Magaja thus standing for Malava gaṇasya jaya. Bhandarkar thus attempted to improve upon the suggestion of Jayaswal.
The smallness of the size of the Malava coins and the consequent lack of space thereon give the suggestions of Jayaswal and Bhandarkar an appearance of probability. Allan, however, objects to the view of Jayaswal on two grounds first, even if ma is taken to stand for Maharaja, the remaining letters of the legends do not offer any intelligible names and, second, there is no instance of a contraction in Indian numismatics. As to the second objection of Allan, it may be pointed out that though we have no definite instance of a contraction or abbreviation, its probability cannot be totally ignored. Allan's first argument has of course some force. Apparently unaware of Bhandarkar's suggestion, he has not referred to some of the letters, other than ma, having been interpreted as abbreviations of words
1. Ibid.
2. HP, p. 381.
3. For Bhandarkars suggestion see Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, XXIII, p. 224.
4. Loc. cit.
5. Op. cit., p. cvii.
6. Cf. Maharaja Gana on the Naga coinage as an abbreviation for Mahārāja Gagendra, see S, K. Chakraverty, Ancient Indian Numismatics, p. 194,
८० : अगरचन्द नाहटा अभिनन्दन ग्रन्थ