“By Asapurna[[9]] [the fulfiller of our desires] the kula-devi[[10]] [tutelary goddess] of the race, by whose favour hidden treasures are revealed, and through whose power many Chauhan kings have ruled the earth, of which race was Bhanwardhan,[[11]] who in the field of strife attained the desires of victory. Of his race was the tribe of Hara, of which was Kulan,[[12]] of illustrious and pure descent in both races; whose fame was fair as the rays of the moon. From him was Jaipal,[[13]] who obtained the fruits of the good works of his former existence in the present garb of royalty; and whose subjects prayed they might never know another sovereign. From him was Devaraj,[[14]] the lord of the land, who gave whatever was desired, and whose wish was to render mankind happy. He delighted in the dance and the song. His son was Harraj,[[15]] whose frame was a piece of fire; who, in the field of battle, conquered renown from the princes of the land [Bhumeswar], and dragged the spoils of victory from their pinnacled abodes.
“From him were the lords of Bumbaoda,[[16]] whose land yielded to them its fruits. From Devaraj was Ritpal,[[17]] who made the rebellious bow the head, or trod them under foot, as did Kapila the sons of Sagara. From him was Kelhan, the chief of his tribe, whose son Kuntal resembled Dharmaraj; he had a younger brother, called Deda. Of his wife, Rajaldevi, a son was born to Kuntal, fair as the offspring of the ocean.[[18]] He was named Mahadeva. He was [in wisdom] fathomless as the sea, and in battle immovable as Sumeru; in gifts he was the Kalpa-vriksha[[19]] of Indra. He laid the dust raised by the hoofs of hostile steeds, by the blood of his foes. The sword [748] grasped in his extended arm dazzled the eye of his enemy, as when uplifted o’er the head of Ami Shah he rescued the Lord of Medpat, and dragged Kaita from his grasp, as is Chandra from Rahu.[[20]] He trod the Sultan’s army under foot, as does the ox the corn; even as did the Danavas (demons) churn the ocean, so did Mahadeva the field of strife, seizing the gem (ratna) of victory from the son of the King, and bestowing it on Kaita, the lord of men. From the centre even to the skirts of space, did the fame of his actions extend, pure as curdled milk. He had a son, Durjan, on whom he bestowed the title of Jivaraj[[21]] (Jeojraj), who had two brothers, Subutsal and Kumbhakarna.[[22]]
“Here, at Mahanal, the lord of the land, Mahadeva, made a mandir, in whose variously-sculptured wall this treasure [the inscribed tablet] is concealed. This (the temple) is an epitome of the universe, whose pinnacle (sikhara) sparkles like a gem. The mind of Mahadeva is bent on devotion in Mahanal, the emblem of Kailas, where the Brahmans perform varied rites. While the science of arms endures, may the renown of Mahadeva never perish;[[23]] and until Ganges ceases to flow, and Sumeru to be immovable, may this memorial of Mahadeva abide fixed at Mahanal. This invocation to Mahadeva was made by Mahadeva, and by the Brahman Dhaneswar, the dweller in Chitrakot (Chitor), was this prashishta composed:
Arka, Gun, Chandra, Indu.
“The month of Baisakh (sudi), the seventh. By Viradhawal, the architect (silpi), learned in the works of architecture (silpasastra) was this temple erected.”
The cryptographic date, contained in the above four words, is not the least curious part of this inscription, to which I did not even look when composing the Bundi annals, and which is another of the many powerful proofs of the general fidelity of their poetic chronicles [749].
Arka is the sun, and denotes the number 12; Gun is the three principal passions of the mind; and Chandra and Indu each stand for one: thus,
Arka, Gun, Chandra, Indu.
12. 3. 1. 1.
and this “concealed (gupta) treasure,” alluded to in the inscription, must be read backwards. But either my expounder, or the Silpi, was out, and had I not found S. 1446 in a corner, we should never have known the value of this treasure. Many inscriptions are useless from their dates being thus enigmatically expressed; and I subjoin, in a note, a few of the magic runes, which may aid others to decipher them.[[24]]