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Kālañjara Stone Inscription of the time of
Author: Prof. D. P. Dubey, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology
University of Allahabad
& Ashish K. Dubey
The inscription, edited here for the first time, is engraved on a stone slab measuring 82 x 52 cm, which was retrieved from one of the steps of a large reservoir named Koṭitīrtha in the Kālañjara fort by the Archaeological Survey of India during the conservation work in 2010. It is now preserved in the Amān Singh palace site museum on the right bank of the reservoir. The writing, covering a space of 72 x 41 cm of the slab, is protected by the border measuring eight cm broad and one cm high on all sides. The average size of letters is 2 cm.
The language is Sanskrit; and except for the opening Siddham om namaḥ Sivāya and the date with the words maṅgalam mahāsrīḥ at the end of line 20, the whole record is metrically composed in an artistic kāvya style abounding in figures of speech like anuprāsa, rūpaka, utprekṣā, upamā, apahnuti and vyatireka. There are altogether 29 verses in the 20 lines which the inscription contains. The verses are not marked by numbers, and one of them (No. 20) offends against the metre. The characters belong to the Nāgarī alphabet of the twelfth century CE and resemble those of the Kālañjara stone inscription of Paramardideva, which was incised about two months later in Saṃvat 1258. The letters are beautifully formed and carefully engraved in general. The mistakes in engraving have been corrected by us in the deciphered text at appropriate places.
As regards orthography, we may note that (1) b is generally denoted by the sign for v as in vindavaḥ, vahukṛita-, vrāhmī, l.1; vabhāra, l.8ś ālaṃvya, viṃva, vandhoḥ, l.9; vabhūva, ivāṃvu, l.10; tryaṃvakendunā, l.14, though it is employed in bibhrāṇābharaṇaṃ, l.2 and bibharti, l.6; (2) the class-consonant following r is sometimes doubled as in mūrttiḥ, kīrttivarmma, l.3; -darppo, l.4; jayavarmma-, pṛithvīvarmma, l.5; kṣmābharttuḥ, vārttā-, l.7; karppūra, l.12; -suvarṇṇa-, l.15; (3) the dental sibilant is often used for palatal as in vanse, l.3; kāsyapīṃ, l.8; subhaṅkara, l.12; sāntātmanaḥ, l.13; vansānukīrttanaṃ, l.18; prasastim-imāṃ, l.19; prasastiḥ, l.20, and vice versa is the case in a few examples like Walila, l.13 and kiWalaya, l.15; and lastly (4) the anusvāra is often used for all the nasals. The mātrās above the letters are ornamentally treated. The letter dh appears generally with a horn on its left limb. Confusion is occasionally caused in the formation of t and bh, both looking almost alike; e.g. veṣṭita-bhogibhoga, l.2.
The date is given in the line 20 as Friday, the first day of the bright fortnight of the Aśvina month in the (Vikrama) year 1258. The date regularly corresponds to Friday, the 1st August, 1201 CE current. Fifteen inscriptions including seven copper-plate grants ranging in date from CE 1167 to CE 1201 of the time of king Paramardideva are already published,1 the number exceeding those of the time of any other ruler of the house. The last of his inscriptions Kālañjara stone inscription-is dated Monday, the 8th October, 1201 CE. The present inscription was engraved about two months before his last known date. Hereafter the inscription comes to an end with the expression which means “may fortune attend”.
The inscription belongs to the time of king Paramardideva of the Chandella dynasty ruling at Kālañjara. Its object is to record the construction of a pañcāyatana temple on the bank of Koṭitīirtha in the memory of his father by Vīrasiṃha, the son of Somarāja who was a great grandson of Sallakṣaṇa. The main deity installed in the temple is not named. As the temple was built in memory of Somarāja who appears to be a devotee of Siva from the descriptions in lines 13-15 and Kālañjara itself being a noted Saiva centre, we may presume that the main deity installed in the temple was Siva. This laudatory account was written by Mahīdhara, the son of Kīrttipāla, of the Gauḍa family. He is described as a friend of learned men (kavi-bandhuḥ), prudent in literary compositions (sāhitya-pārdṛisvā), abode of virtues (guṇa-dhāma), well-versed in writing the precious royal documents (bhūpati-ratnalipi-vidhānajñaḥ) and one who delighted the heart of compassionate persons (sahṛidaya-hṛiday-āhlādaka) (ll.18-19). It was engraved by the foremost artisan (silpinām-agraṇī) Mahāgaṇa, the son of Sāḍhala who was an employee in the stone-cutters’ mint (ṭaṅkasālā-niyukta). Both the composer and engraver are not known from other sources of the Chandella history.
The inscription is a prasasti, as stated in lines 19-20, and falls into two parts. The first part, which begins with the symbol for siddham followed by a short sentence paying obeisance to Siva, contains three verses in lines 1-3 invoking the blessings of Gaṇesa (Elephant-faced god-- kuñjar-āsya), Siva and Moon. The inscription then proceeds in verses 4-9 to refer to the genealogical account of the house of Moon from Kīrttivarman to Paramardideva. The expression pīyūṣamayasya vaṃse used just before the name of Kīrttivarman and the names of kings in the genealogy show that the kings mentioned in the inscription belonged to the lunar dynasty of the Chandellas. The first part is separated by a flowery design from the second part which contains a description of the family of Rajapāla of a kṣatriya family, who was a minister under king Kīrttivarman (ll.7-17).
The record solves some family riddles of the Chandella house, particularly related to king Jayavarmadeva, son of Sallakṣaṇavarman, who had a very short reign period and was succeeded by his uncle Pṛithvīvarman, the co-uterine younger brother of Sallakṣaṇavarman. Trivedi thinks that “the procedure of an uncle succeeding his nephew appears to be unusual. This leads to the assumption of some family struggle or war of succession”.2 A Kālañjara stone inscription of the later Chandella king Vīravarman indicates that “being wearied of government Jayavarmadeva abdicated the throne in favour of ------ and proceeded to the divine river to wash away his sins”.3 But the inscription under study clearly says that Jayavarmadeva held the reign of the kingdom in his tender arms, i.e. he became king in his childhood when his father Sallakṣaṇavarman, who had made the Mālava king his tributary, died in his prime youth. His uncle Prithvīvarman killed him by cheating when he inflicted a deadly wound on his heart by his lotus shaped bracelet in a wrestling bout (ll 4-6). There is no doubt that it was a case of disputed succession culminating in a coup-de-etat by Prithīvarman. An Ajayagaḍh rock inscription of the time of Vīravarman supplements the information in this inscription, when it informs that ‘Sallakṣaṇavarman’s sword took away the fortune of the Mālavasś’4 his contemporary Mālava (Paramāra) king being Naravarman.
The record also supplies new information about the family of a minister. It informs that Rajapāla who became a minister in the time of Kīrttivarman, belonged to the Kṣatriya family and in his house inside the Kālañjara fort sacrificial oblations were regularly offered to the deity into fire (l.7). His son Sallakṣaṇa was well-versed in the sāstras, he was old and wandered about clinging to a stick, comparable to a sacrificial post, and his fame resembled the shadow of Moon (l. 9). His son was Tejapāla whose son was Aniruddha. The latter’s son was Subhaṅkara, a devotee of Siva. His son was Somarāja whose son was Vīrasiṃha who built the temple in his memory on the bank of Koṭitīrtha at roof of the Kālañjara mountain. All the members of this minister’s family were pious and learned (ll. 10-17). Sallakṣaṇa of this inscription seems quite different from Sallakṣaṇa who was a minister under king Paramardideva. The BaṭeWvara stone inscription informs that latter’s father was Lāhaḍa and he was a Brāhmaṇa of the Vasiṣṭha-gotra (vasiṣṭha-gotraṃ---visuddhavṛittā viprāḥ--).5
Two geographical names Kālañjara and Koṭitīrtha are mentioned in the inscription. The former is the well-known fort of the same name in the Banda district of U. P. and situated about 145 km west-south-west of Allahabad. The latter is a large reservoir, 142 metre in length with several flights of steps, and is still the object of pilgrimage within the fort. It is also mentioned in the Charkhārī copper-plate inscription of the Chandella king Devavarman, dated V. S. 1108/ CE 1052.6
Metres: verses 1,7,8,12,14,15,17,21,23, 25,26,28, anuṣṭubh; verses 2,3,20,22,24, sārdūlavikrīḍita; verses 4,6,9,16,18,19, upajāti; verses 5,27, āryā; verse 10, sikhariṇī; verses 11,29, mālinī; verse 13, vasantatilakā
सिद्धम् ॐ नमः शिवाय || जयन्ति कुं ( कुञ ) जरास्यस्य करशीकरवि (बि) न्दवः| व (ब) हुकृतमिलत्तारा वनितानंदिविं(बिन्)दवः॥[1+] सृष्टिं धोरिव (सृष्ट्यन्धेरिव ) पुण्डरीकपटली व्रा (ब्रा) हमीकपालावलिः । पर्यन्तस्थितशीतदीधिति महन्तं ( स्सं ) दाह सं-
कोचिनी। चूडावेष्टितभोगिभोगवलयप्रोत्तालनालश्रियं (यम् ) । बिभ्राणाभरणं विभोर्भगवतः श्रेयांसि पुष्णातु व: ॥ [ 2 ] उत्क्षिप्तं जलधेस्तरंगततिभिर्भूयादभीष्टाय ते लक्ष्मीकल्पितचारुचि-
त्रफलकं शीतयुतेर्मण्डलम्। यत्रोन्मीलति लांछनछलतया देवस्य दैत्यद्रुहो मूर्तिः सांजनवाष्पविं(बिन्)दुविरलं कालुष्यमापादिता ॥[3] अथास्य पीयूषमयस्य वंसे (शे) श्रीकीर्तिवर्म्म-
क्षितिपो व(ब)भूव। प्रत्यर्थिपृथ्वीपतिपुण्डरीकैर्निमीलितं यस्य किलोदयेन ॥[4] तदनु कुलाकुलवासः सल्लक्षणवर्म्मभूपतिर्भूतः । मालववंशो विदधे येन सरंध्र : करप्रणयी || [5* ] तारुण्यदप-
ष्मभृति प्रयाते कल्पद्रुमछायमनु(मु)त्र भूपे । तस्यात्मज: श्रीजयवर्म्मदेवो जगाम भूमंडलमंडनत्वम्।।[6*] दधौ मृदुकरे पृथ्वीं पृथ्वीवर्म्मनृपस्ततः । तत्पितृव्यः किर्देदण्डा संघट्टव्रणितामिव॥[7*] घ-
नन्यस्ततुषाराद्रिमृडा( णा) लवलया हृदि । प्रपेदे तद्द्द्वियुक्तेयं मदनं मदनं मही ||[ 8 ] अथास्य नप्ता परमर्दिदेवो बिभर्ति भूमीवलयं भुजेन । अङ्गीकृतक्षत्रकुटुम्व (ब) कांता कदंव (ब) लीलावलय-
व्ययेन॥[9*] ॥ अमुष्य क्ष्माभर्तुः पुरि निवसति क्षत्रियकुलं स्फुरवार्तावृत्तं विपुलमुलवी (मुर्वी) वाससु(शु)भगम्। सर्वोौषायङ्गेहे 10 कुलयुवतिकल्पैव कमला सदा लज्जा सज्जा गुरुजनमन:
संमदयति॥[10] समजनि रजपाल : को[s]पि तस्यादिरुच्चैः प्रतिहतकेलिकालस्त्यागवल्ली प्रवाल:। अकलितपरिणाहैः कास्य (श्य) पीं यो गुणोदयैः प्रलयजलधिवीची विम्लन् टांगीं व (ब) भार॥[11+] कीर्ति-
वर्म्मक्ष्माभर्तुः साचिव्यपदभूषणम्। सल्लक्षणस्तत्तनुजो[s]भूदथ शास्त्रविचक्षणः ॥[12] आलंव्य(आलम्ब्य) यष्टिमटतो मखयूपरूपां वृद्धस्य यस्य यशसो विधुविं (बिम् ) व (ब) वं (बन्)धो: । दिक्पालदन्तचलती (ते)षु कुलाचलेषु वेला-
तटेषु ना खलु स्खलितं व (ब)भूव ॥[13] तेजपालो[s]भवत् तस्मात् पारिजात इवांवु (बु)धेः । सुरभीकृतदिक्चक्रो यशोभिः कुसुमैरिव॥[14] हरेरिव ततो जातो प्रद्युम्नो नंदनः श्रियः । अनिरुद्धगुणग्रामप्रभवो पूर्व्वविग्र-
हः॥[15*] शास्त्रप्रसंगे किल कामधेनुकल्पद्रुमद्वन्द्वगता वदन्ती। येन श्रिये यत्र भवेत् प्रतिष्ठा चि न्तामणेर्देवकुलं यदि स्यात् ||[16] सा गौरीव गिरीशस्य जाह्नवीव सरित्पतेः। व(ब)भूव वल्लभा तस्य ललिता कलि-
तागुणैः॥[17*] अस्यां ततो[s]जायत जातरूपगिरींद्रसौंदर्यगुणाभिरामः । कलिद्रुमोन्मूलन केलिशक्तः सु(शु)भंकरः शंकरपादभक्तः ||[18+] कर्पूरकाश्मीरकुरुं(रं)गजातीफलै (ले)नागुरुगंधवं(बं)धुः। य-
द्भाण्डशाला पवनः प्रयाति प्रत्यासमुत्कण्ठितविप्रयुक्तः।।[19] नेत्रानंदिमनोभवेन नियतं सौंदर्यमु न्मीलितं दृष्ट्वा यं छलितं विलोचनपुटं तस्यापि सां (शां) तात्मन: । एवं वीक्ष्य पुन: प्रमोदश ( स ) लि-
लश्रेणीभिरेणीदृशां संतापं शमयन्ति सांद्रमुरसा नेत्राणि तप्तात्मनाम्॥[20] त्रिसंध्यं न्यस्तकर्पूरपूरितत्र्यंव(ब) केंदुना । अस्ति श्रीसोमराजेन यस्य प्रेमनिरव्ययम्॥[21] मुक्तालंकृति पुष्पित: कि-
श(स)लया लंवी(बी) च चूडामिलन्माणिक्यप्रभया ना कस्य विदितः कल्पद्रुमो[s]यं भुवि। यस्मिन् सांद्रसुवर्णदाननिरते सा कामधेनुः परंकण्वेकं । व (ब) लमादधाति स गिरिः पृष्ठे च कालंजरः॥[22*] यस्य विव-
द्गृहे लक्ष्मीगिरो: सख्यं वितन्वत: । व्र(ब्रह्मांड भांडशाला से (श्रे)यशो राशिभृता चिरम्॥[23] एतस्य प्रमदा पतिव्रतरताधीता विनीता गुणैः कैनं स्तोत्रमुपैति चंद्रधवलैः श्रीवीरसिंहप्रसूः। यल्लाव-
ण्यकलाविलासविगलद् दर्योष्मभिः संप्रति स्वीचक्रे कदलीसरोजशशिभिर्निर्व्याजशीतं वपुः॥[24*] एतदायतनपंचकं पितुः कीर्त्तिराशिरमुनात्र कारितम् । कोटितीर्थजलवीचिमारुतध्व-
स्तयात्रिकजनश्रमोदयम्॥[25] एतद्गौडकुलोत्तंसः कीर्त्तिपालात्मसंभव: । वंसा(शा)नुकीर्त्तनं चक्रे कविवं(बं)धुर्महीधरः॥[26*] साहित्यपारदृष्वा सहृदयहृदयाह्लादकगुणाद्या(गुणधा)म। अलिखत्प्र-
सस्तिमेवां(शस्तिमिमां) भूपतिरत्नलिपिविधानज्ञः ॥[27] टंकशालानियुक्तस्य साढलस्यात्मसंभवः । महागण: समुच्चक्रे शिल्पिनामग्रि(ग्र)णीरिमाम्॥[28] सरसिरुहपरागैः पीतयज्ञोपवीता(ती) स्फु-
रति भुवनशिल्पी यावदंभोजसद्म । इह हि महति तीर्थे भारतीवातिवृद्धा विहितवश(स)तिरेषा तावदस्तु प्रस(श)स्तिः।।[29*] ॥ संवत् 1258 आस्वि[वि]न सु (शु) दि 1 शुक्रे ॥ मंगलं महाश्रीः ॥छ।
References :
1. Trivedi, H. V. 1989. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. VII (3), ASI, New Delhi, pp. 418- 82.
2. Trivedi, H. V. 1991. Op. cit., Vol. VII (1), p. 106.
3. Trivedi, H. V. 1989. Op. cit., Vol. VII (3), p. 509, ll. 10-11.
4. Ibid., p. 501, l. 3.
5. Ibid., pp. 476-77, ll. 10, 14.
6. Ibid., p. 364, l. 15.
7. From the photograph.
8. Expressed by the symbol.
9. Reading is not clear. The correct reading may be kiroḍāṭya meaning ‘cheating’.
10. Read savauṣaṭgehe meaning ‘in the house an exclamation uttered by the hotṛ priest at the end of the sacrificial verse on hearing which the adhvaryu priest casts oblation offered to the deity into the fire’.
11. Read paramaṇvekaṃ.
Courtesy:
Prof. D. P. Dubey, Ph.D.
Professor Department of Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology
University of Allahabad
General Secretary: Society of Pilgrimage Studies
4A/2/1 Muirabad, Allahabad - 211002
Uttar Pradesh, INDIA
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