APPENDIX
Translations of Inscriptions, chiefly in the Nail-headed character
of the Takshak Races and Jains, fixing eras in Rajput history.[[1]]
No. I
Memorial of a Gete or Jit prince of the fifth century, discovered 1820, in a temple at Kunswa, near the Chumbul river, south of Kotah.
May the Jit’ha be thy protector! What does this Jit’h resemble? which is the vessel of conveyance across the waters of life, which is partly white, partly red? Again, what does it resemble, where the hissing-angered serpents dwell? What may this Jit’ha be compared to, from whose root the roaring flood descends? Such is the Jit’ha[Jit’ha]; by it may thou be preserved [(1)].
The fame of Raja Jit I now shall tell, by whose valour the lands of Salpoora [(2)] are preserved. The fortunes of Raja Jit are as flames of fire devouring his foe. The mighty warrior Jit Salindra [(2)] is beautiful in person, and from the strength of his arm esteemed the first amongst the tribes of the mighty; make resplendent, as does the moon the earth, the dominions of Salpoori. The whole world praises the Jit prince, who enlarges the renown of his race, sitting in the midst of haughty warriors, like the lotos in the waters, the moon of the sons of men. The foreheads of the princes of the earth worship the toe of his foot. Beams of light irradiate his countenance, issuing from the gems of his arms of strength. Radiant is his array; his riches abundant; his mind generous and profound as the ocean. Such is he of Sarya [(3)] race, a tribe renowned amongst the tribes of the mighty, whose princes were ever foes to treachery, to whom the earth surrendered her fruits, and who added the lands of their foes to their own. By sacrifice, the mind of this lord of men has been purified; fair are his territories, and fair is the Fortress of Tak’hya [(4)]. The string of whose bow is dreaded, whose wrath is the reaper of the field of combat; but to his dependents he is as the pearl on the neck; who makes no account of the battle, though streams of blood run through the field. As does the silver lotos bend its head before the fierce rays of the sun, so does his foe stoop to him, while the cowards abandon the field [796].
From this lord of men (Narpati) Salindra sprung Devangli, whose deeds are known even at this remote period.
From him was born Sumbooka, and from him Degali, who married two wives of Yadu race [(5)], and by one a son named Vira Narindra, pure as a flower from the fountain.
Amidst groves of amba, on whose clustering blossoms hang myriads of bees, that the wearied traveller might repose, was this edifice erected. May it, and the fame of its founder, continue while ocean rolls, or while the moon, the sun, and hills endure. Samvat 597.—On the extremity of Malwa, this minster (Mindra) was erected, on the banks of the river Taveli, by Salichandra [(6)], son of Virachandra.
Whoever will commit this writing to memory, his sins will be obliterated. Carved by the sculptor Sevanarya, son of Dwarasiva, and composed by Butena, chief of the bards.
[Note 1.]—In the prologue to this valuable relic, which superficially viewed would appear a string of puerilities, we have conveyed in mystic allegory the mythological origin of the Jit or Gete race. From the members of the chief of the gods Iswara or Mahadeva, the god of battle, many races claim birth: the warrior from his arms; the Charun from his spine; the prophetic Bhat (Vates) from his tongue; and the Gete or Jit derive theirs from his tiara, which, formed of his own hair, is called Jit’ha. In this tiara, serpents, emblematic of Time (kal) and Destruction, are wreathed; also implicative that the Jits, who are of Takshac, or the serpent race, are thereby protected. The “roaring flood” which descends from this Jit’ha is the river goddess, Ganga, daughter of Mena, wife of Iswara. The mixed colour of his hair, which is partly white, partly of reddish (panduranga) hue, arises from his character of Ard’hnari, or Hermaphroditus. All these characteristics of the god of war must have been brought by the Scythic Gete from the Jaxartes, where they worshipped him as the Sun (Balnat’h) and as Xamolscis (Yama, vulg. Jama) the infernal divinity.
The 12th chapter of the Edda, in describing Balder the second son of Odin, particularly dwells on the beauty of his hair, whence “the whitest of all vegetables is called the eyebrow of Balder, on the columns of whose temples there are verses engraved, capable of recalling the dead to life.”
How perfectly in unison is all this of the Jits of Jutland and the Jits of Rajast’han. In each case the hair is the chief object of admiration; of Balnath as Balder, and the magical effect of the Runes is not more powerful than that attached by the chief of the Scalds of our Gete prince at the end of this inscription, fresh evidences in support of my hypothesis, that many of the Rajpoot races and Scandinavians have a common origin—that origin, Central Asia.
[Note 2.]—Salpoora is the name of the capital of this Jit prince, and his epithet of Sal-indra is merely titular, as the Indra, or lord of Sal-poori, ‘the city of Sal,’ which the fortunate discovery of an inscription raised by Komarpal, king of Anhulwarra (Nehrwalla of D’Anville), dated S. 1207, has enabled me to place “at the base of the Sewaluk Mountains.” In order to elucidate this point, and to give the full value to this record of the Jit princes of the Punjab, I append (No. V.) a translation of the Nehrwalla conqueror’s inscription, which will prove beyond a doubt that these Jit princes of Salpoori in the Punjab were the leaders of that very colony of the Yuti from the Jaxartes, who in the fifth century, as recorded by De Guignes, crossed the Indus and possessed themselves of the Punjab; and strange to say, have again risen to power, for the Sikhs (disciples) of Nanuk are almost all of Jit origin.
[Note 3.]—Here this Jit is called of Sarya Sac’ha, branch or ramification of the Saryas: a very ancient race which is noticed by the genealogists synonymously with the Sariaspa, one of the thirty-six royal races, and very probably the same as the Sarwya of the Komarpal Charitra, with the distinguished epithet “the flower of the martial races” (Sarwya c’shatrya tyn Sar).
[Note 4.]—“The fortress of Takshac.” Whether this Takshacnagari, or castle of the Tâk, is the [797] stronghold of Salpoori, or the name given to a conquest in the environs of the place, whence this inscription, we can only surmise, and refer the reader to what has been said of Takitpoora. As I have repeatedly said, the Tâks and Jits are one race.
[Note 5.]—As the Jits intermarried with the Yadus at this early period, it is evident they had forced their way amongst the thirty-six royal races, though they have again lost this rank. No Rajpoot would give a daughter to a Jit, or take one from them to wife.
[Note 6.]—Salichandra is the sixth in descent from the first-named prince, Jit Salindra, allowing twenty-two years to each descent = 132—S. 597, date of ins. = S. 465-56 = A.D. 409; the period of the colonization of the Punjab by the Getes, Yuti, or Jits, from the Jaxartes.[[2]]
[1]. [The Inscriptions quoted in this appendix have been reprinted as they stand in the original text: partly, because it would have been necessary to discard the Author’s versions, and to replace them by the translations of recent scholars; partly, as an example of the Author’s methods of translation and annotation. With the help of Mr. Vincent A. Smith and Pandit Gaurishankar Ojha of the Rājputāna Museum, Ajmer, references have been added to modern translations of the Inscriptions.]
[2]. [This Inscription is on a stone built into a wall of a temple of Mahādeva, at Kanaswa, near Kotah. The Author’s “Jit prince” of Sālpur is due to a misunderstanding, and in all probability owes its origin to the words Sambhor-jjatā, ‘the matted hair of Sambhu,’ a title of Siva, in line 2 of the Inscription. The Inscription begins with verses in honour of Siva as Sambhu and Sthānu, and glorifies the Maurya race, and a king of that race named Dhavala. Dhavala had as his friend a prince of the Brāhman caste, named Sankuha, whose wife, Degini, bore to him the prince Sivagana, who built a temple to Siva, and endowed it with the revenues of two villages. The date is A.D. 738-9 (IA, xix. 55 ff.).]
No. II
Translation of an inscription in the Nail-headed character relative to the Jit race, discovered at Ram Chundrapoora, six miles east of Boondee, in digging a well. It was thence conveyed, and deposited by me in the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society.
To my foe, salutation! This foe of the race of Jit, Cathida [(1)], how shall I describe, who is resplendent by the favour of the round bosom of Roodrani [(2)], and whose ancestor, the warrior Tukhya [(3)], formed the garland on the neck of Mahadeva. Better than this foe on the earth’s surface, there is none; therefore to him I offer salutation. The sparkling gems on the coronets of kings irradiate the nail of his foot.
Of the race of Botena [(4)] Raja T’hot was born; his fame expanded through the universe.
Pure in mind, strong in arm, and beloved by mankind, such was Chandrasen [(5)]. How shall he be described, who broke the strength of his foe, on whom when his sword swims in fight, he appears like a magician. With his subjects he interchanged the merchandise of liberality, of which he reaped the fruits. From him whose history is fair, was born Kritika, the deeds of whose arm were buds of renown, forming a necklace of praise in the eyes of mankind. His queen was dear to him as his own existence—how can she be described? As the flame is inseparable from the fire, so was she from her lord—she was the light issuing from the sun—her name Goon-newasa [(6)], and her actions corresponded with her name. By her he had two sons, like gems set in bracelets, born to please mankind. The eldest was named Sookunda, the younger Deruka. Their fortunes consumed their foes: but their dependents enjoyed happiness. As the flowers of Calp-vricsha are beloved by the gods, so are these brothers by their subjects, granting their requests, and increasing the glory of the race, whence they sprung.—[A useless descriptive stanza left out [(7)].]
Deruka had a son, Kuhla, and his was Dhunika, whose deeds ascended high—who could fathom the intentions of mankind—whose mind was deep as the ocean—whose ever-hungry faulchion expelled from their mountains and forests the Meena tribes, leaving them no refuge in the three wolds, levelling their retreats to the ground. His quiver was filled with crescent-formed arrows—his sword the climber (vela) [(8)], of which pearls are the fruit. With his younger brother Dewaka he reverences gods and Brahmins—and with his own wealth perfumed a sacrifice to the sun [798].
For the much-beloved’s (his wife) pleasure this was undertaken. Now the river of ease, life and death, is crossed over, for this abode will devour the body of the foe, into which the west wind wafts the fragrant perfume from the sandal-covered bosom of Lacshmi [(9)]; while from innumerable lotos the gale from the east comes laden with aroma, the hum of the bees as they hang clustering on the flowers of the padhul is pleasing to the ear.
So long as Soomeru stands on its base of golden sands, so long may this dwelling endure. So long as the wind blows on the koonjeris [(10)], supporters of the globe, while the firmament endures, or while Lacshmi [(11)] causes the palm to be extended, so long may his praise and this edifice be stable. Kuhla [(12)] formed this abode of virtue, and east thereof a temple to Iswara. By Achil, son of the mighty prince Yasooverma [(13)], has its renown been composed in various forms of speech.
[Note 1.]—Qu. if this Jit is from (da, the mark of the genitive case) Cathay? the land of the Cat’hae foes of Alexander, and probably of the Cathi of the Saurashtra peninsula, alike Scythic as the Jit, and probably the same race originally?
[Note 2.]—Roodrani, an epithet of the martial spouse of Harar-Siva, the god of war, whom the Jit in the preceding inscription invokes.
[Note 3.]—Here we have another proof of the Jit being of Takshac race; this at the same time has a mythological reference to the serpent (takhya), which forms the garland of the warlike divinities.
[Note 4.]—Of this race I have no other notice, unless it should mean the race (cula) was from Butan.
[Note 5.]—Chandrasen is celebrated in the history of the Pramaras as the founder of several cities, from two of which, Chandrabhaga, at the foot of the central plateau of India, in Northern Malwa, and Chandravati, the ruins of which I discovered at the foot of the Aravulli near Aboo, I possess several valuable memoria, which will, ere long, confirm the opinions I have given of the Takshac architect.
[Note 6.]—The habitation of virtues.
[Note 7.]—This shows these foresters always had the same character.
[Note 8.]—Vela is the climber or ivy, sacred to Mahadeva.
[Note 9.]—Lacshmi, the apsara or sea-nymph, is feigned residing amongst the waters of the lotos-covered lake. In the hot weather the Rajpoot ladies dip their corsets into an infusion of sandal-wood, hence the metaphor.
[Note 10.]—Koonjiris are the elephants who support the eight corners of the globe.
[Note 11.]—Lacshmi is also dame Fortune, or the goddess of riches, whence this image.
[Note 12.]—Kuhl is the fifth in descent from the opponent of the Jit.
[Note 13.]—Without this name this inscription would have been but of half its value. Fortunately various inscriptions on stone and copper, procured by me from Oojein, settled the era of the death of this prince in S. 1191, which will alike answer for Achil, his son, who was most likely one of the chieftains of Kuhla, who appears to have been of the elder branch of the Pramaras, the foe of the Jit invaders [799].
No. III
Inscription in the Nail-headed character of the Mori Princes of Cheetore, taken from a column on the banks of the lake Mansurwur, near that city.
By the lord of waters may thou be protected! What is there which resembles the ocean? on whose margin the red buds of honey-yielding trees are eclipsed by swarms of bees, whose beauty expands with the junction of numerous streams. What is like the ocean, inhaling the perfume of the Paryata [(1)], who was compelled to yield as tribute, wine, wealth, and ambrosia [(2)]? Such is the ocean!—may he protect thee.
Of a mighty gift, this is the memorial. This lake enslaves the minds of beholders, over whose expanse the varied feathered tribe skim with delight, and whose banks are studded with every kind of tree. Falling from the lofty-peaked mountain, enhancing the beauty of the scene, the torrent rushes to the lake. The mighty sea-serpent [(3)], o’erspent with toil in the churning of the ocean, repaired to this lake for repose.
On this earth’s surface was Maheswara [(4)], a mighty prince, during whose sway the name of foe was never heard; whose fortune was known to the eight quarters [(5)]; on whose arm victory reclined for support. He was the light of the land. The praises of the race of Twast’ha [(6)] were determined by Brahma’s own mouth.
Fair, filled with pride, sporting amidst the shoals of the lotos, is the swan fed by his hand, from whose countenance issue rays of glory: such was Raja Bheem [(7)], a skilful swimmer in the ocean of battle, even to where the Ganges pours in her flood [(8)] did he go, whose abode is Avanti [(9)]. With faces resplendent as the moon, on whose lips yet marked with the wound of their husband’s teeth, the captive wives of his foes, even in their hearts does Raja Bheem dwell. By his arm he removed the apprehensions of his enemies; he considered them as errors to be expunged. He appeared as if created of fire. He could instruct even the navigator [(10)] of the ocean.
From him was descended Raja Bhoj [(11)]. How shall he be described; he, who in the field of battle divided with his sword the elephant’s head, the pearl from whose brain [(12)] now adorns his breast; who devours his foe as does Rahoo [(13)] the sun or moon, who to the verge of space erected edifices in token of victory?
From him was a son whose name was Maun, who was surcharged with good qualities, and with whom fortune took up her abode. One day he met an aged man: his appearance made him reflect that his frame was as a shadow, evanescent; that the spirit which did inhabit it was like the seed of the scented Kadama [(14)]; that the riches of royalty were brittle as a blade of grass; and that man was like a lamp exposed in the light of day. Thus ruminating, for the sake of his race who had gone before him, and for the sake of good works, he made this lake, whose waters are expansive and depth unfathomable. When I look on this ocean-like lake, I ask myself, if it may not be this which is destined to cause the final doom [(15)].
The warriors and chiefs of Raja Maun [(16)] are men of skill and valour—pure in their lives and faithful. Raja Maun is a heap of virtues—the chief who enjoys his favour may court all the gifts of fortune. When the head is inclined on his lotos foot, the grain of sand which adheres becomes an ornament thereto. Such is the lake, shaded with trees, frequented by birds, which the man of fortune, Sriman Raja Maun, with great labour formed. By the name of its lord (Maun), that of the lake (surwur) is known to the world. By him versed in the alankara, Pushha, the son of Naga Bhut, these stanzas have been framed. Seventy had elapsed beyond seven hundred years (Samvatisir), when the lord of men, the King of Malwa [(17)] formed this lake. By Sevadit, grandson of Khetri Karug, were these lines cut [800].
[Note 1.]—The Paryata is also called the Har-singar, or ‘ornament of the neck,’ its flowers being made into collars and bracelets. Its aroma is very delicate, and the blossom dies in a few hours.
[Note 2.]—Imrita, the food of the immortals, obtained at the churning of the ocean. The contest for this amongst the gods and demons is well known. Vrishpati, or Sookra, regent of the planet Venus, on this occasion lost an eye; and hence this Polyphemus has left the nickname of Sookracharya to all who have but one eye.
[Note 3.]—His name Matolae.
[Note 4.]—A celebrated name in the genealogies of the Takshac Pramara, of which the Mori is a conspicuous Sac’ha or branch. He was the founder of the city of Maheswar, on the southern bank of the Nehrbudda, which commands the ford leading from Awinti and Dhar (the chief cities of the Mori Pramaras) to the Dekhan.
[Note 5.]—The ancient Hindu divided his planisphere into eight quarters, on which he placed the Koonjerries or elephants, for its support.
[Note 6.]—Twastha, or Takshac, is the celebrated Nagvansa of antiquity. All are Agniculas. Cheetore, if erected by the Takshac artist, has a right to the appellation Herbert has so singularly assigned it, namely, Tacsila, built by the Tâk; it would be the Tâk-sillā-nagar, the ‘stone fort of the Takshac,’ alluded to in No. 1.
[Note 7.]—Raja Bheem, the lord of Avanti or Oojein, the king of Malwa, is especially celebrated in the Jain annals. A son of his led a numerous colony into Marwar, and founded many cities between the Looni river and the Aravulli mountains. All became proselytes to the Jain faith, and their descendants, who are amongst the wealthiest and most numerous of these mercantile sectarians, are proud of their Rajpoot descent; and it tells when they are called to responsible offices, when they handle the sword as well as the pen.
[Note 8.]—Ganga-Sagur, or the Island at the mouth of the Ganges, is specified by name as the limit of Bheem’s conquests. His memoria may yet exist even there.
[Note 9.]—Avanti-Nat’h, Lord of Avanti or Oojein.
[Note 10.]—Paryataca, a navigator.
[Note 11.]—Raja Bhoj. There is no more celebrated name than this in the annals and literature of the Rajpoots; but there were three princes of the Pramara race who bore it. The period of the last Raja Bhoj, father of Udyadit, is now fixed, by various inscriptions discovered by me, A.D. 1035, and the dates of the two others I had from a leaf of a very ancient Jain MS., obtained at the temple of Nadole, namely, S. 631 and 721, or A.D. 575 and 665. Abulfazil gives the period of the first Bhoj as S. 545; but, as we find that valuable MS. of the period of the last Bhoj confirmed by the date of this inscription of his son Maun, namely, S. 770, we may put perfect confidence in it, and now consider the periods of the three, namely, S. 631, 721, and 1091—A.D. 567, 665, and 1035—as fixed points in Rajpoot chronology.
[Note 12.]—In the head of that class of elephants called Bhadra, the Hindoo says, there is always a large pearl.
[Note 13.]—The monster Rahoo of the Rajpoot, who swallows the sun and moon, causing eclipses, is Fenris, the wolf of the Scandinavians. The Asi carried the same ideas West, which they taught within the Indus.
[Note 14.]—Kadama is a very delicate flower, that decays almost instantaneously.
[Note 15.]—Maha-pralaya!
[Note 16.]—The MS. annals of the Rana’s family state that their founder, Bappa, conquered Cheetore from Maun Mori. This inscription is therefore invaluable as establishing the era of the conquest of [801] Cheetore by the Gehlotes, and which was immediately following the first irruption of the arms of Islam, as rendered in the annals of Mewar.
[Note 17.]—As Raja Maun is called King of Malwa, it is evident that Cheetore had superseded both Dhar and Awinti as the seat of power. A palace of Maun Mori is still shown as one of the antiquities in Cheetore.[[3]]
[3]. [For this Inscription see ASR, Progress Report West Circle, 1903-4 p. 56.]
No. IV
Inscription in the Devanagari character, discovered in January 1822 in Puttun Somnat’h, on the coast of the Saurashtra peninsula, fixing the era of the sovereigns of Balabhi, the ‘Balhara kings of Nehrwalla.’
Adoration to the Lord of all, to the light of the universe[(1)]. Adoration to the form indescribable; Him! at whose feet all kneel.
In the year of Mohummud 662, and in that of Vicrama 1320, and that of Srimad Balabhi 945, and the Siva-Singa Samvat 151, Sunday, the 13th (badi) of the month Asar [(2)].
The chiefs of Anhulpoor Patun obeyed by numerous princes (here a string of titles), Bhataric Srimad Arjuna Deva [(3)], of Chauluc race, his minister Sri Maldeva, with all the officers of government, together with Hormuz of Belacool, of the government of Ameer Rookn-oo-Din, and of Khwaja Ibrahim of Hormuz, son of the Admiral (Nakhoda) Noor-oo-Din Feeroz, together with the Chaura chieftains Palookdeva, Ranik Sri Someswadeva, Ramdeva, Bheemsing, and all the Chauras and other tribes of rank being assembled [(4)];
Nansi Raja, of the Chaura race, inhabiting Deo Puttun [(5)], assembling all the merchants, established ordinances for the repairs and the support of the temples, in order that flowers, oil, and water should be regularly supplied to Rutna-iswara [(6)], Choul-iswara [(7)], and the shrine of Pulinda Devi [(8)], and the rest, and for the purpose of erecting a wall round the temple of Somnat’h, with a gateway to the north. Keelndeo, son of Modula, and Loonsi, son of Johan, both of the Chaura race, together with the two merchants, Balji and Kurna, bestowed the weekly profits of the market for this purpose. While sun and moon endure, let it not be resumed. Feeroz is commanded to see this order obeyed, and that the customary offerings on festivals are continued, and that all surplus offerings and gifts be placed in the treasury for the purposes afore-named. The Chaura chiefs present, and the Admiral Noor-oo-Din, are commanded to see these orders executed on all classes. Heaven will be the lot of the obedient; hell to the breaker of this ordinance.[[4]]
[Note 1.]—The invocation, which was long, has been omitted by me. But this is sufficient to show that Bal-nat’h, the deity worshipped in Puttun Somnat’h, ‘the city of the lord of the Moon,’ was the sun-god Bal. Hence the title of the dynasties which ruled this region, Bal-ca-Rae, ‘the princes of Bal,’ and hence the capital Balicapoor, ‘the city of the sun,’ familiarly written Balabhi, whose ruins, as well as this inscription, rewarded a long journey. The Rana’s ancestors, the Suryas, or ‘sun-worshippers,’ gave their name to the peninsula Saurashtra, or Syria, and the dynasties of Chaura, and Chauluc, or Solanki, who succeeded them on their expulsion by the Parthians, retained the title of Balicaraes, corrupted by Renaudot’s Arabian travellers into Balhara [802].
[Note 2.]—The importance of the discovery of these new eras has already been descanted on in the annals. S. 1320-945, the date of this inscription = 375 of Vicrama for the first of the Balabhi era; and 1320-151 gives S. 1169 for the establishment of the Sevasinga era—established by the Gohils of the island of Deo, of whom I have another memorial, dated 927 Balabhi Samvat. The Gohils, Chauras, and Gehlotes are all of one stock.
[Note 3.]—Arjuna-Deva, Chaluc, was prince of Anhulpoor or Anhulwarra, founded by Vanraj Chaura in S. 802—henceforth the capital of the Balica-raes after the destruction of Balabhi.
[Note 4.]—This evinces that Anhulwarra was still the emporium of commerce which the travellers of Renaudot and Edrisi describe.
[Note 5.]—From this it is evident that the Islandic Deo was a dependent fief of Anhulwarra.]
[Note 6.]—The great temple of Somnath.
[Note 7.]—The tutelary divinity of the Chauluc race.
[Note 8.]—The goddess of the Bhil tribes.
No. V
Inscription from the ruins of Aitpoor.[[6]]
In Samvatsir 1034, the 16th of the month Bysak, was erected this dwelling[[7]] of Nanukswami.
From Anundpoor came he of Brahmin[[8]] race (may he flourish), Muhee Deva Sri Goha Dit, from whom became famous on the earth the Gohil tribe:
2. Bhoj.
3. Mahindra.
4. Naga.
5. Syeela.
6. Aprajit.
7. Mahindra, no equal as a warrior did then exist on the earth’s surface.
8. Kalbhoj was resplendent as the sun.[[9]]
9. Khoman, an unequalled warrior; from him
10. Bhirtrpad, the Tiluk of the three worlds; and from whom was
11. Singji; whose Ranee Maha Lakmee, of the warlike race of Rashtra (Rahtore), and from her was born:
12. Sri Ullut. To him who subdued the earth and became its lord, was born Haria Devi: her praise was known in Hurspoora; and from her was born a mighty warrior in whose arm victory reposed; the Khetri of the field of battle, who broke the confederacy of his foes, and from the tree of whose fortune riches were the fruit: an altar of learning; from him was
13. Nirvahana. By the daughter of Sri Jaijah, of Chauhana race, was born
14. Salvahana.
Such were their (the princes whose names are given) fortunes which I have related. From him was born [803],
15. Secti Koomar. How can he be described?—He who conquered and made his own the three qualifications (sacti);[[10]] whose fortunes equalled those of Bhirtrpad. In the abode of wealth Sri Aitpoor, which he had made his dwelling, surrounded by a crowd of princes; the kulpdroom to his people; whose foot-soldiers are many; with vaults of treasure—whose fortunes have ascended to heaven—whose city derives its beauty from the intercourse of merchants; and in which there is but one single evil, the killing darts from the bright eyes of beauty, carrying destruction to the vassals of the prince.[[11]]
[4]. [See IA, xi. 242 f.]
[6]. [This name is wrongly transliterated. It is Ātapura, now Ād, Āhad or Āhar, 2 miles E. of Udaipur (IA, xxxix., 1910, p. 186 ff.).]
[7]. Aitun.
[8]. Vipra cula.
[9]. Ark.
[10].
| 1. Pribhoo 2. Oootchha. 3. Muntry. | } | Three Sactis. |
[11]. [Erskine, who obtained a correct copy of this Inscription from Pandit Gaurishankar H. Ojha, writes: “In his translation Tod left out several names, namely, Mattat, Khumān II., Mahāyak, Khumān III., and Bhartari Bhat II.; but with the help of a copy recently discovered at Māndal in the house of a descendant of the Pandit whom Tod employed, it has been possible to supply the omissions, and it may be added that these names are confirmed by other inscriptions” (ii. A. 14). Erskine gives a corrected list of the Chiefs of Mewār in ii. B. 8 ff.]
No. VI
Inscription of Kumar Pal Solanki, in the Mindra of Brimha, in Cheetore, recording his conquest of Salpoori, in the Punjab.
To him who takes delight in the abode of waters; from whose braided locks ambrosial drops continually descend; even this Mahadeva, may he protect thee!
He of Chaulac tribe, having innumerable gems of ancestry, flowing from a sea of splendour, was Moolraj, sovereign of the earth.
What did he resemble, whose renown was bright as a fair sparkling gem, diffusing happiness and ease to the sons of the earth? Many mighty princes there were of his line; but none before had made the great sacrifice.
Generations after him, in the lapse of many years, was Sid Raj, a name known to the world; whose frame was encased in the riches of victory, and whose deeds were sounded over the curtain of the earth; and who, by the fire of his own frame and fortune, heaped up unconsumable wealth.
After him was Kumar Pal Deo. What was he like, who by the strength of his invincible mind crushed all his foes; whose commands the other sovereigns of the earth placed on their fore-heads; who compelled the lord of Sacambhari to bow at his feet: who in person carried his arms to Sewaluk, making the mountain lords to bow before him, even in the city of Salpoori?
On the mountain Chutterkote ... ar, the lord of men, in sport placed this [writing] amidst the abode of the gods: even on its pinnacle did he place it. Why? That it might be beyond the reach of the hands of fools!
As Nissa-Nath, the lord who rules the night, looking on the faces of the fair Kamunis below, feels envious of their fairness, and ashamed of the dark spots on his own countenance, even so does Chutterkote blush at seeing this (Prasishta) on her pinnacle.
Samvat 1207 (month and day broken off) [804].[[12]]
[12]. [See Epigraphia Indica, ii. 422 ff.]
No. VII
Inscriptions on copper-plates found at Nadole relative
to the Chohan princes.
The treasury of knowledge of the Almighty (Jina) cuts the knots and intentions of mankind. Pride, conceit, desire, anger, avarice. It is a partition to the three[[13]] worlds. Such is Mahavira:[[14]] may he grant thee happiness!
In ancient times the exalted race of Chohan had sovereignty to the bounds of ocean; and in Nadole swayed Lacshman, Raja. He had a son named Lohia; and his Bulraj, his Vigraha Pal; from him sprung Mahindra Deva; his son was Sri Anhula, the chief amongst the princes of his time, whose fortunes were known to all. His son was Sri Bal Presad; but having no issue, his younger brother, Jaitr Raj, succeeded. His son was Prithwi Pal, endued with strength and fiery qualities; but he having no issue, was succeeded by his younger brother Jul; he by his brother Maun Raja, the abode of fortune. His son was Alandeva.[[15]] When he mounted the throne, he reflected this world was a fable: that this frame, composed of unclean elements, of flesh, blood, and dust, was brought to existence in pain. Versed in the books of faith, he reflected on the evanescence of youth, resembling the scintillation of the fire-fly;[[16]] that riches were as the dew-drop on the lotos-leaf, for a moment resembling the pearl, but soon to disappear. Thus meditating, he commanded his servants, and sent them forth to his chieftains, to desire them to bestow happiness on others, and to walk in the paths of faith.
In Samvat 1218, in the month of Sawun the 29th,[[17]] performing the sacrifice to fire, and pouring forth libations to the dispeller of darkness, he bathed the image of the omniscient, the lord of things which move and are immovable, Sudasiva, with the panchamrit[[18]] and made the gifts of gold, grain, and clothes to his spiritual teacher, preceptor, and the Brahmins to their hearts’ desire. Taking til in his hand, with rings on his finger of the cusa (grass), holding water and rice in the palm of his hand, he made a gift of five moodras monthly in perpetuity to the Sandera Gatcha[[19]] for saffron, sandal-wood, and ghee for the service of the temple of Mahavira in the white market (mandra) of the town. Hence this copper-plate. This charity which I have bestowed will continue as long as the Sandera Gatcha exist to receive, and my issue to grant it.
To whoever may rule hereafter I touch their hands, that it may be perpetual. Whoever bestows charity will live sixty thousand years in heaven; whoever resumes it, the like in hell!
Of Pragvavansa,[[20]] his name Dhurnidhur, his son Kurmchund being minister, and the sastri Munorut Ram, with his sons Visala and Sridhara, by writing this inscription made his name resplendent. By Sri Alan’s own hand was this copper-plate bestowed. Samvat 1218 [805].[[21]]
TREATY between the Honourable the English East-India Company and Maharana Bheem Sing, Rana of Oudeepoor, concluded by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe on the part of the Honourable Company, in virtue of full powers granted by his Excellency the Most Noble the Marquis of Hastings, K.G., Governor-General, and by Thakoor Ajeet Sing on the part of the Maharana, in virtue of full powers conferred by the Maharana aforesaid.
First Article.—There shall be perpetual friendship, alliance, and unity of interests between the two states, from generation to generation, and the friends and enemies of one shall be the friends and enemies of both.
Second Article.—The British Government engages to protect the principality and territory of Oudeepoor.
Third Article.—The Maharana of Oudeepoor will always act in subordinate co-operation with the British Government, and acknowledge its supremacy, and will not have any connection with other chiefs or states.
Fourth Article.—The Maharana of Oudeepoor will not enter into any negotiation with any chief or state without the knowledge and sanction of the British Government; but his usual amicable correspondence with friends and relations shall continue.
Fifth Article.—The Maharana of Oudeepoor will not commit aggressions upon any one; and if by accident a dispute arise with any one, it shall be submitted to the arbitration and award of the British Government.
Sixth Article.—One-fourth of the revenue of the actual territory of Oudeepoor shall be paid annually to the British Government as tribute for five years; and after that term three-eighths in perpetuity. The Maharana will not have connection with any other power on account of tribute, and if any one advance claims of that nature, the British Government engages to reply to them.
Seventh Article.—Whereas the Maharana represents that portions of the dominions of Oudeepoor have fallen, by improper means, into the possession of others, and solicits the restitution of those places: the British Government from a want of accurate information is not able to enter into any positive engagement on this subject; but will always keep in view the renovation of the prosperity of the state of Oudeepoor, and after ascertaining the nature of each case, will use its best exertions for the accomplishment of the object, on every occasion on which it may be proper to do so. Whatever places may thus be restored to the state of Oudeepoor by the aid of the British Government, three-eighths of their revenues shall be paid in perpetuity to the British Government.
Eighth Article.—The troops of the state of Oudeepoor shall be furnished according to its means, at the requisition of the British Government.
Ninth Article.—The Maharana of Oudeepoor shall always be absolute ruler of his own country, and the British jurisdiction shall not be introduced into that principality.
Tenth Article.—The present treaty of ten articles having been concluded at Dihlee, and signed and sealed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe and Thakoor Ajeet Sing Buhadoor [806], the ratifications of the same, by his Excellency the Most Noble the Governor-General, and Maharana Bheem Sing, shall be mutually delivered within a month from this date.
Done at Dihlee, this thirteenth day of January, A.D. 1818.
(Signed) C. T. METCALFE (L.S.).
THAKOOR AJEET SING (L.S.)
THE LATE MAHĀRĀJA SIR SUMER SINGH, OF JODHPUR (b. 1901; d. 1918),
AND HIS BROTHER, THE PRESENT MAHĀRĀJA UMMED SINGH (b. 1903).
To face page 928.
[13]. Tribhawun-loca; or Patala, Mirtha, Swerga.
[14]. Mahavira, to whom the temple was thus endowed by the Chohan prince, follower of Siva, was the last of the twenty-four Jinas, or apostles of the Jains.
[15]. The prince being the twelfth from Lacshman, allowing twenty-two years to a reign, 264-1218; date of inscription, S. 954, or A.D. 898, the period of Lacshman.
[16]. Kudheata.
[17]. Sudi choudus.
[18]. Milk, curds, clarified butter, honey, butter, and sugar.
[19]. One of eighty-four divisions of Jain tribes.
[20]. Poorval, a branch of the Oswal race of Jain laity.
[21]. [See Epigraphia Indica ii. 422 ff.]