Two Pre-Chandella Inscriptions from Kālañjara

Prof. Peter C. Bisschop

Leiden University

p.c.bisschop@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Abstract

The hill-fort of Kālañjara (Kalinjar), has been an important centre of Śaivism for many centuries. Its presence in the list of Śiva’s abodes (āyatana) in Skandapurā˙ na 167 and in other early sources indicates Kālañjara’s importance in early Śaivism. The major royal inscriptions from the Chandella period have been edited, but many other inscriptions from the hill remain unpublished. Following a survey of references to Kālañjara in early literary sources, this paper presents two pre-Chandella inscriptions from Kālañjara: 1) an inscription already reported by Cunningham, but never transcribed beyond the opening verse, and 2) a newly discovered inscription. 

Introduction 

The hill-fort of Kālañjara (Kalinjar), located on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas in Bundelkhand, 75km northwest of Khajuraho and 95km southwest of Kausambi, has been a centre of Śaivism for many centuries. Its place in the history of Śaivism must have been substantial considering the frequent references to Kālañjara in early Śaiva literature but it has not yet received the attention that it deserves. Kālañjara is a spectacular site, with a very long history, attested by numerous fragments of sculptures, temples and inscriptions, covering an extensive area. Following a brief introduction to the site and its place in early Śaivism, this paper will present two pre-Chandella inscriptions from Kālañjara. 

Kālañjara and Early Śaivism 

That Kālañjara was an important pilgrimage centre already in early times is indicated by the presence of a couple of verses extolling its sanctity in the Mahābhārata. It is referred to two times in the Tīrthayātrāparvan in book 3 and one time in a list of tīrthas in book 13.1 There is no clear connection with Śaivism in these verses.The first passage (MBh 3.83.53–54) mentions Kālañjara as a famous site where one should bathe at the Devahrada. By committing suicide (ātmāna ˙ m sādhayet) there one rises up (mahīyate) to heaven.2The theme of suicide at Kālañjara remains a recurring theme in other descriptions of the site as well, as will be discussed below. The second passage (MBh 3.85.15) refers to the hermitage of Agastya called Hira ˙ nyabindu.3 The third passage (MBh 13.26.34) mentions ˙ Sa ˙ s ˙ tihrada at Kālañjara.4 The Mahābhārata passages attest to the existence of a sacred lake or pool at Kālañjara. By this may be meant one or more among the many natural pools that are to be found on the mountain. 

Kālañjara also plays an important role in the story of the seven brahmins, which is told in the Hariva ˙ mśa, and other sources, including the Skandapurā ˙ na. 5 Kālañjara is the place where the seven brahmins are reborn as seven deer and live a life devoted to dharma.6 According to the Hariva ˙ mśa (HV 16.25–26) the deer remember their previous life here and die by abstaining from food and drink, after which they are reborn as Cakravākas in a place called Sariddvīpa. In the version of the Skandapurā ˙ na (SP 56.85–86), however, they commit suicide by throwing themselves off a cliff.7 

Aside from the story of the seven brahmins, Kālañjara also features in the Skandapurā ˙ na in the important list of Śiva’s abodes (āyatana) in chapter 167. Here it is mentioned in a single verse in between the abodes of Āmrātakeśvara and Puspabhadra:

One who has seen the li˙nga at Mount Kālañjara, the dwelling of Umāpati, 

obtains the result of an aśvamedha and reaches Rudraloka.8  

The verse is stereotypical and provides little concrete information, but it indicates that by the time of the composition of the text Kālañjara was recognized as a major centre of Śaivism. We have in fact already earlier evidence for this development, for the name is found on two Gupta seals found at Bhī ˙ tā (near Allahabad), described by Marshall as follows in the ASI Annual Report 1911–1912 (p. 49): 

No. 15: “Śiva-li˙nga, with umbrella on one side and trident on other. (…) In lower portion, legends in northern characters of the Gupta periodK(ā)lañjarabha ˙ t ˙ tārakasya. “Of the lord of Kālañjara.” (…)The pile of round objects depicted below theli˙nga is probably a representation of the hill itself.”9 

No. 16: “Siva-li˙nga in pedestal with representation of hill on one side and trident-axe on the other. Below, legend, in north-eastern characters of the Gupta period:–K[ā*]la[ñ*]- jara. This is another sealing which arrived in Bhi ˙ tā with a document from Kālañjar.” 

These two seals attest to the presence of a Śaiva temple at Kālañjara in the Gupta period. Another seal found at the same site in Bhī ˙ tā intriguingly contains the name Bhadreśvara. As will be discussed below, one of the inscriptions from Kālañjara refers to a temple called Bhadreśvara. 

The name Kālañjara is also included in the so-called pañcāstaka lists, groups of five sets of eight pilgrimage places, which are found in many tantric (mainly Śaiva Siddhānta) sources, but also already in the pre-tantric Śivadharmaśāstra, a work of lay Śaivism.10 It is included among thesthā ˙ nva ˙ s ˙ taka, along with Chagala- ˙ n ˙ da, Dura ˙ n ˙ da, Māko ˙ ta, Ma ˙ n ˙ daleśvara, Śa˙nkukar ˙ na, Sthūleśvara and Sthaleśvara. With the exception of the lists of the pañcā ˙ s ˙ taka, early Śaiva Siddhānta literature tends to make no reference to place names. Kālañjara is an exception to this, for it is mentioned in the opening verses of the Rauravasūtrasa ˙ mgraha: 

To the Lord of time, to Great time, to Him who dwells on Kālañjara, to the Creator of time, 

the Knower of time, I bow down, to Sadāśiva.11 

This verse indicates that Kālañjara must have acquired central importance in early Śaiva Siddhānta and that it was particularly associated with Śiva as the lord of time (kāla). This is in fact the dominant theme in the mythology of Kālañjara, for it is held to be the place where Śiva’s devotee, Śveta, was saved by Śiva from the clutches of death and granted the state of a Ga ˙ napa of Śiva. A version of the story is told in Skandapurā ˙ na 166, although significantly Kālañjara is not mentioned there: the event is said to have taken place at a mountain in the Vindhyas which afterwards came to be known as Krodheśvara.12 No references to Kālañjara as Krodheśvara in other sources are known.13 It is striking, however, that in line with the Mahābhārata references to Kālañjara, suicide at the hill is recommended in the Skandapurāna as well: 

I declare that the state of men who, being free from delusion, should abandon their body at Krodheśvara, the holy mountain visited by immortals and perfected sages, in the Vindhya plateau, is the same as that of Śveta.14 

The text makes mention of a li˙nga named Śveteśvara and a river named Śvetaga˙ngā flowing there.15 In the Revā- and Ambikākha ˙ n ˙ da recensions of the text, where the Śveta story has been thoroughly rewitten and expanded, the event is unambiguously located at Kālañjara.16 Other versions of the story occur in Kūrmapurā ˙ na 2.35, Li˙ngapurā ˙ na 1.30 and Vi ˙ s ˙ nudharmottarapurā ˙ na 1.236. Furthermore, Kālañjara is held to be the place of Śiva’s 23rd avatāra Śveta (VāP 1.23.191–193, LiP 1.24.107–111). 

As these and other references indicate, Kālañjara must have been an important centre of Śaivism from early times. This is borne out also by the many impressive remains on the hill, although most of the surviving remains are of the Chandella period or after.The place has suffered heavilyfrom the perils of history and is now dominated by later fortifications built by the likes of Aurangzeb and others.17 

Figure 1. Chandi Darwāza inscription: Donald Stadtner.

Inscriptions at Kālañjara 

Quite a few of the longer Chandella inscriptions from Kālañjara have been published, but there remain many smaller inscriptions also from this period which have not yet been published.18 These would certainly deserve a comprehensive study but they fall outside the scope of the present paper. The main centre of Chandella activity was the Nīlaka ˙ n ˙ tha temple in the north-western corner of the fort, but there are many other sites dotted around the hill containing inscriptions, sculptures and architectural fragments. Many of the smaller inscriptions can be found in the natural and artificial caves that form a prominent feature of the place. For this paper, I have selected two pre-Chandella inscriptions for closer study.

Chandi Darwāza Inscription 

The first inscription has already been known for a long time, ever since Cunningham’s report on Kālañjara in his Reports of a Tour in Bundelkhand and Rewa in 1883–1884. 19 It is built into the third of the seven gates of the Kālañjara fort, the so-called Chandi Darwāza (Fig. 1).20 

The original location of the inscription is not known. It is quite probable that it is the fragment of an original pilaster of a temple and that the inscription was added later.21 The script may be dated to about the eighth or ninth century, but the ornamentation looks earlier. The inscription is crowned by a beautiful kīrtimukha spouting pearls, on top of which there is a medallion with a goose-like figure with vegetal features. Its head is broken off.22 The combination of a kīrtimukha topped by a ha ˙ msa is strikingly similar to two pillars from Bhī ˙ tā and Kauśāmbī, both dated to the 5th century ce.23 The two pillars from Bhī˙tā and Kauśāmbī do not contain an inscription, but they have an equivalent empty space instead, at the bottom of which there is a pūr ˙ nagha ˙ ta. We can only speculate whether such a bowl of plenty was originally there in the Kālañjara fragment as well. 

Cunningham provided the following information in his 1883–1884 report (p. 40, referring to Plate IX): 

This is a fine inscription of 15 lines. I see the name of Bhava Nâga in the 10th line, and in the 1st line there is mention of the Pâ˙n˙duvânam-kula. The characters belong to the later Gupta period. It is the oldest long inscription yet found at Kâlañjara. 

After him, the first verse of the inscription was transcribed by Kielhorn in an article devoted to ‘The NagpurMuseum Buddhist Inscription of Bhavadeva Ranakesarin’.24 Kielhorn dates the inscription to the ninth century and reads the first verse as follows: 

[1] siddham26 

I. udayana iti rājā ya ˙ h kule pā ˙ n ˙ davānā ˙ m, 

sakalabhuvananāthasyāsya bhadreśvarasya | 

pavanalulitacihna ˙mramyakāntī˙s˙takā{ntī˙s˙takā}bhir, 

g˙rhavaram atibhaktyā kārita˙m tenapūrvva˙m ||

II. yena prāpya [4] para ˙ m mado na vi(dh ˙ rta) ˙ h śā ˙ thya ˙ m na mittre k ˙ rta ˙ m, nā(k ˙ sā) ˙ mntir nna (jito)dayā [5] na viha(tā) nārthī v ˙ rthā (prek ˙ si)ta ˙ h || (sa)tya ˙ m nopahata ˙ m na sa(ddvi)jaja(nābhā)[6]vāt śramo bhāvito, na krūre [’]pi ripau (k ˙ r)pāpra ˙ nayini prāpte (k ˙ rta ˙ m vi)[7]priya ˙ m ||28 

III. yasyābhūd bhayam a˙nghaso na tu ra ˙ nā[d] dharmme [’]tha maittrī (sa)dā, [8] usro bhūd i(ha) sa(jjana)sya (bhajane) sa(dvye) gha(k ˙ r) – (tta ˙ m sadā) | nitya( ˙ m) lampa[9] ˙ tatā gu ˙ ne ˙ su na parastrī( ˙ su) pra(vri)tta29 kvacit, tasyāsyāttra vinodanā [10] na sabhavadgārddhrā-r-abhū(t te) ⏑ (sā) ||30 

IV. – – – – ⏑ – – sva(bha)vanagamano [11] (yo) pha ˙ nākāram uccai[ ˙ h], sthā( ˙ no – 31 tu) prakīr ˙ n ˙ na ˙ m d ˙ r ˙ dhavipulaśi(lā)[12]– ⏑ (ra ˙ m) śrīccha ˙ tā(bha)[m] | kalpād ˙ r 32pra(srava ˙ na)praca ˙ n ˙ da33pavanapre˙nkhadvimarddak ˙ sama ˙ m34 [13] –, – pi( ˙ s ˙ tre) – ⏑ yārtha ˙ m ta(danu)⏑ ⏑ yaśa ˙ hsannibha ˙ m – (k ˙ rti[ ˙ h] prak) ||35 

V. (ma)ttveda ˙ m jīvi(ta ˙ m) [14] – ⏓ (toya)budbudasa(nnibha ˙ m) | vibhūti ˙ m capalā ˙ m (vīk ˙ sya) ⏓ (nva)rddhanaśaro(jamā ˙ m) || [15] ⏓ ⏓ (-ā -o)dhi( ˙ s ˙ thi)te(ryā) li(khitā i)ya ˙ m sra(ndhaba) u(mbha)kena 

Translation 

Success! 

I. King Udayana, [born] in the race of the Pā ˙ n ˙ davas, in the past caused to be erected, with utter devotion, the magnificent temple of Him, Bhadreśvara, Lord of the entire universe, its banners waving in the wind, with beautiful bright bricks. II. When he had attained the supreme position (param) 36 he did not hold onto arrogance, betrayal of his allies was not done, it was not the case that the arising of impatience was not overcome37 nor was it obstructed, a petitioner was not looked at in vain, the truth was not obstructed, no fatigue was caused by the absence of true brahmins,38 [and] when an enemy, even if cruel, arrived seeking pity nothing disagreeable was done. III. For him there was fear for sin, not for war, there was always benevolence towards the law, … here of good people … always, greediness always developed (prav ˙ rttā) for virtues, not for other men’s wives at all, for him there was no pastime which is concerned with greed for things present in this world (atra).39 IV. He, going to his own abode, … shaped like a serpent’s hood, aloft, of Sthā ˙ nu, expanded(?), … solid and extensive stone, like a mass of glory, capable of resisting, while(?) shaking in the fierce winds gushing from the mountain (adri) at [the end of ] a Kalpa … for the sake of … like glory … V. Having understood that this life is [transient] like a water bubble and perceiving that power is fickle, … … This40 has been written by … Umbhaka. 

Many doubts remain, but it is clear that the inscription continues to describe king Udayana who has been introduced in the first verse, praising hisformidable qualities.This Udayana has been identified with the alleged founder of the Pā ˙ n ˙ duva ˙ mśi dynasty in earlier publications. However, it seems more likely that he is the legendary Pā ˙ n ˙ dava king Udayana, whose life story is told in the B ˙ rhatkathā. 41 Two versions of the B ˙ rhatkathā, K ˙ semendra’s B ˙ rhatkathāmañjarī and Somadeva’s Kathāsaritsāgara, give an account of Udayana’s suicide at Kālañjara.42 According to these two Kashmirian sources Udayana committed suicide together with his two wives and his ministers by jumping off the rock there after worshipping V ˙ r ˙ sadhvaja. He did so after realizing the transitory nature of life: 

[O]ld age has seized me by the hair to hand me over to death; and wrinkles have invaded my body, as the strong invade the kingdom of a weakling; so I will go to mount Kálinjara, and abandoning this perishable body, will there obtain the imperishable mansion of which they speak.43 

Verses 82–84 give a graphic account of this suicide: 

And he reached it, and went up it, and worshipped S’iva, and holding in his hand his lyre Ghoshavatí, that he had loved all his life, and accompanied by his queens that were ever at his side, and Yaugandharáya ˙ na and his other ministers, he hurled himselffrom the cliff. And even as they fell, a fiery chariot came and caught up the king and his companions, and they went in the blaze of glory to heaven.44 

While there is no mention of Udayana committing suicide at Kālañjara in our inscription, it is very probable that it is this same king Udayana who is the subject of the inscription. It is noteworthy that the building of the temple of Bhadreśvara is put back in the mythical past (pūrva ˙ m). The inscription indicates that by the 8th or 9th century there was a local tradition connecting Kālañjara to events related to the famous king Udayana of the B ˙ rhatkathā. 

The remainder of the inscription is unfortunately still obscure. It seems to describe the impressive appearance of the massive tower of the Bhadreśvara temple, but the text is too fragmentary to tell with any certainty. Not much is known about this Bhadreśvara temple at Kālañjara, but the fact that the building is ascribed to the legendary king Udayana indicates that this brick temple must have been a relatively old structure at Kālañjara at the time. We can speculate that the inscription was meant to record repairs to this earlier brick structure or perhaps the replacement of the brick structure by a stone structure. 

The reference to Bhadreśvara calls to mind the Gupta-period Bhadreśvara seal found at Bhī ˙ tā mentioned earlier. The description by Marshall runs as follows: 

No. 17: “Male figure with two arms seated on pedestal. Uncertain objects in hand. Foliage (?) or flames over head and shoulders. Legend in northern characters of the 4th or 5th century ad Bhadrēśvara.”45 

The foliage or flames referred to by Marshall may rather represent the hoods of a cobra.46 The Skandapurā ˙ na knows of an abode of Śiva called Bhadreśvara in the neighbourhood of modern Haridwar, a site associated with the story of the destruction of Dak ˙ sa’s sacrifice,47 but it seems more likely, given the find-spot of this seal and the fact that two seals containing the name Kālañjara were found at Bhī ˙ tā as well, that it is the Bhadreśvara temple at Kālañjara from which the seal was issued. It is a reminder of the complexities in identifying the names of li˙ngas in early Śaivism. The inscription ends with a note on the scribe of the inscription (Umbhaka?); the words preceding it are obscure. 

Figure 2.
Jahangir Mahal inscription: Peter Bisschop.

Jahangir Mahal Inscription 

To conclude, I would like to introduce a hitherto unnoticed inscription from Kālañjara. This inscription is likewise pre-Chandella. I found it in January 2012 under rubble, built into a walled structure inside the courtyard of a building locally known as the Jahangir Mahal, located in the town at the foot of the hill. It is in a bad condition and incomplete. It is 30 cms in length and 25 cms in width, and consists of eleven lines, of which only small fragments can be read with some confidence (Fig. 2). A prominent feature of the script is the curly short -i and the curly repha sign.48 Another outstanding feature is the flourish, consisting of three dots with two lines to the side, which has been added above some of the syllables. The inscription shows metrical features, starting with Śārdūlavikrī ˙ dita and continuing with Vasantatilakā. From the gaps in the metre it is clear that parts to the right—and possibly also to the left—have broken off and that it is only a fragment of an originally longer inscription. Below I offer very tentative readings of what is visible. I have not attempted to restore the metre.

Text 

Naturally, the fragmentary state of the text makes it difficult to retrieve much information out of it, but the overall purport of the inscription seems reasonably clear, in that it describes a line of merchants. The mercantile identity of the individuals mentioned follows first of all from the use of words meaning merchant, namely tyāgī va ˙ nik “a generous merchant” (l. 6) and mahādhanasya “of the merchant” (l. 8), but it is also indicated by the descriptive compound bhūtikaroragendro “[who was like] the serpent king (Vāsuki?) [in the neck] of Śiva / a serpent king producing wealth”. The name Śvetabhadra in line 4 (“from him came Śvetabhadra”) is an appropriate name for a merchant, with its ending in -bhadra which is also a common element in the names of Yak ˙ sas with whom merchants have a special affinity.54 The image of the moon figures prominently, in line 2 (candrakara “the moon’s rays”) and in line 10 (puttra ˙ h śaśā˙nkasad ˙ rśa ˙ h “a son like the moon”). The inscription clearly has a brahmanical orientation: devadvijagurubhaktirato55 “delighting in devotion to the gods, brahmins and elders” (l. 7). All in all, the inscription attests to the presence of a wealthy trading community at Kālañjara and is unique in providing us with a pedigree of these merchants.

Is it coincidence that the two episodes mentioning a suicide at Kālañjara in the B ˙ rhatkathā concern a king Udayana and a merchant (Vasudatta)?56 Whatever the answer may be, Kālañjara arguably has not yet received its due place in the historical writings of India. It is also a splendid site for studying the history of Śaivism on the ground. 


END.

Prof. Peter C. Bisschop

Leiden University, Netherlands

Prof. Peter C. Bisschop

Leiden University, Netherlands

Peter Bisschop is Professor of Sanskrit and Ancient Cultures of South Asia at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies.

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