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SHASTRI INDO-CANADIAN INSTITUTE

92, GOLF LINKS,
NEW DELHM10003. INDIA

CONTRIBUTIONS OF SANSKRIT
INSCRIPTIONS TO LEXICOGRAPHY

Contributions of Sanskrit
Inscriptions to Lexicography

S.P. TEWARI
Allahabad Museum, Allahabad

1987

AGAM KALA PRAKASHAN
DELHI-110052

First Published 1987

Published by :

Dr. Agam Prasad, M.A., Ph.D., Diploma in Muscology
for AGAM KALA PRAKASHAN

34, Central Market, Ashok Vihar, Delhi-1 10052, Phone 7113395

Printed by :

Print India, A-38/2, Maya Puri, Phase I, New Delhi-1 10064

Nijo—pajna prajnd prasara parivisphara mukurl,
Pad-arthanam s-arthah pratiphalati yesham-avitathah.

Giram gramo ylsham-adharam-adhisetl svayam-ayam,
Namas-tlbhyo sadbhyas-tilakita jagadbhyah kim-aparam.

Indras-Chandrah Kasakritsn-Apisall Sakatciyanah,
Paniny-Amara-Jainlndm Jayanty-ashtadi sabdikah.

Dedicated as a tribute to the pioneering works of

James Prinsep, George Biihler, E. Hultzsch, J.F. Fleet,

F. Kielhorn, H. Liiders, D.R. Bhandarkar, V.V. Mirashi

and D.C. Sircar.

CONTENTS

Preface

1. Introduction : Significance of Epigraphs in Relation
to Lexicography

2. The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions but not
Included in Dictionaries so far

3. The Words Used in the Inscriptions with a Different

Shade of Meaning than Defined in Dictionaries

4. The desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms

5. The Words which have been Improperly/Mistakenly
Deciphered by the Epigraphists

Appendix I : —The Lexicographical Import of
Certain Words Explained in Bigger Details ;

(0 Ashfapushpikd, 93

(ft) Chaturddanta, 96

(111) Choksha, 107

(/v) Dvirada-danava, 117

(v) Gurubhir-ahhyasta-naman, 12Q

(v/) Harita-kalapaka, 136

(v//) Katiika, 142

(v///) Mlgha-dambara, 149

(tx) Niryyuha, 157

Page
ix

24
75

86
93

viii Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Pages

(x) ParivahamTdha-vidhanam, 164
(xi) Patyupurika, 169
(xii) Prati-nartaka, 174
(xiii) Puramdara-nandana, 178
(xiv) Sugnhita-naman, 184
(xv) Upakarika, 203
(xvi) Varika,2W

Appendix II :— An Alphabetical List of all the Words

Discussed 212

Bibliography 218

Index 229

PREFACE

In the day to day job of a professional epigraphist, the need
for consulting dictionaries, various lists and indexes is such that
jocularly many of them are known as the pandits of dictionaries
and indexes \klchid-dictionarykechidklchid-indexpanditah. The
reason behind this call for dictionaries and indexes in the job is
that we come across so many words in the inscriptions which are
some times not found in the dictionaries at all or, if they are
included in the dictionaries, the shade of their meaning is different
in the context in which the word has been used in the inscription.
Many times, desi words are used in their sanskritized forms and
in certain cases even well known Sanskrit words are used in their
desi forms. But, the most troublesome words are those (and such
words are never found in dictionaries) which come out as a part
of the faulty reading made by the epigraphists due to the mutilat-
ed defaced or the fragmentary nature of the inscription itself.
All such words (broadly classified in four groups) scattered in the
pages of the journals like Epigraphia Indica and others, have been
collated and examined here in this monograph at some length.

Although every editor of a record has tried to draw our
attention towards the words and expressions of lexicographical
interest occurring in that particular record, J.F. Fleet was most
probably the first, who nearly a century back highlighted the
occurrence (and also the need for collating and examining) of
many words and phrases from the inscriptions which were not
listed in any existing dictionary. This lacking on the part of
existing dictionaries of Sanskrit and Prakrit was amply demons-
trated by F. Kielhorn, in his introductory notes and comments
of the inscriptions he edited. Let me put it here, even at the cost
of sounding slightly irrelevent to the theme, that Kielhorn till
today, enjoys an unsurpassed credit of editing the most difficult
(yet beautiful) records composed in Sanskrit language and the job

x Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

of editing does include the translation with explanation of every
word he has deciphered including some of the hard nuts.

Besides these pioneers of the early stages, it is possibly D.C.
Sircar, who has contributed most to the field of Indian Epigraphy
and Lexicography. As early as the year 1 949 he emphasized the
need for such studies when he presented a paper on "Epigraphy
and Lexicography in India" before the XVth All India Oriental
Conference held at Bombay. Subsequently he also brought out
the Indian Epigraphical Glossary which still remains as the only
major work in the joint field of epigraphy and lexicography.

Inspite of the usefulness of the glossary of Sircar to the great
extent, the need for collating and examining such words and ex-
pressions which do not figure in the modern Prakrit, Pali and
Sanskrit dictionaries, rather independently, remains still a long
felt desideratum. Likewise, the sphere of Sircar's paper on
"Epigraphy and Lexicography in India'' requires further expansion
from its exclusive treatment of the technical terms and expressions
of only the charter of Vishnusena. Similar is the need, in case
of the words and expressions of other groups out of the four I
have specified above.

An attempt is made here, probably for the first time, to
collate and examine all such words which have been found of
lexical interest by the eminent epigraphists and the editors of the
records like, Blihler, Hultzsch, Fleet, Kielhorn, Sten Konow,
Liiders, N.L. Rao, Mirashi, Chhabra, Sircar and many others.
The original comments of these epigraphists, in case of such
words, as and when found necessary, have been quoted.

The big advantage of this compilation and our own perusal of
the texts of the inscriptions published in the pages of nearly fourty
volumes of the Epigraphia Indica has been that in many cases
although the epigraphist who noted the rare occurrence of a parti-
cular word from an inscription could hardly suggest anything (for
want of help from the dictionaries) as to the exact meaning or even
the broad sense of that word, we have been able to either explain
the exact meaning of that word or at least suggest the broad
sense of it in general. It has been possible by the scrutiny of
the contexts in which such words have occurred for more than
once. In some cases, a rechecking of the original writing of a
record has also proved of great help. Inspite of all this, I admit

Preface xi

that in certain cases for want of more references and also
on account of my own limitations, I have not been able to
suggest anything and in such cases, that particular word is
simply listed here with the remarks of that epigraphist who
brought the word to light for the first time.

All this has been done with the sole aim of drawing the
attention of our linguists and lexicographers. It is really strange
to note that although the bulk of literature in the form of
so many new inscriptions has been growing for more than a
century or so, hardly any of the dictionaries of the Sanskrit
language and literature have taken cognizance of it. If this short
monograph on the contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to
lexicography succeeds in catching the eye of our learned
compilers of the dictionaries, I will consider my labour rewarded.

In completion of this work I owe a great deal of gracitude
to my gurus, elders, and friends. In the first instance,
I recall the encouraging words of guidance I received from
Prof. V.S. Pathak, University of Gorakhpur, Prof. J.G. de
Casparis, University of Leiden, The Netherlands, Dr. S.D. Singh,
University of Queensland, Prof. A.M. Shastri, Nagpur,
Prof. S.H. Ritti of Dharwar and others.

For the kind words of appreciation to my work I acknow-
ledge with gratitude the names of Prof. G.C Pande, Chairman,
Allahabad Museum Society, Allahabad, Dr. S.C. Kala, Shri R.C.
Tripathi, D.G. A.S.I., New Delhi, Dr. S.P. Gupta, National
Museum, New Delhi, Prof. J.S. Negi, Prof. B.N.S. Yadava,
Prof. U.N. Rai, Dr. G.C. Tripathi, Dr. Om Prakash and others
from Allahabad.

Just like the word slddh im precedes the draft of each and every
epigraph, I acknowledge with thanks the name of my senior
Dr. K.V. Ramesh, Director Epigraphy, A.S.I. Mysore. I enjoyed
the benefit of his company for such a long time that it is really
difficult for me to assess as to how much of his scholarship
has unknowingly got filtered into the pages of this work.

From the long list of friends and admirers if I plan to
record the favours I received from all of them, I may have to add
an appendix to this monograph and that will be an unwanted
burden on my readers. However, I feel duty-bound to acknow-
ledge the help of those absence of which would have hampered

xii Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the very progress of this work. Being poor as I am in the field
of formalities, I happily record all the help I received from
Ms. Cynthia Talbot during her stay in Mysore and also later. I am
particularly beholden to her for the job of proof reading of the
manuscript and a very scholarly retouching of the draft of this
monograph as a whole. If there is any credit due to me on account
of this work she deserves the biggest chunk of it. For an
indirect but timely boost to morality I received from the side of
Di. (Mrs.) R. Indira and Shri S.K. Lakshminarayan Babu of
Mysore, in the midst of an unexplainable crisis I faced while
this work was in progress, no words of thanks will suffice. I
feel happy keeping it alive as a due on my part. In this very
category of friends I gratefully acknowledge the name of Mev.
Nelly Geerts from Amsterdam who did everything possible at
her command to make the manuscript of this monograph
presentable.

A good number of other friends like Drs. Dion Den
Nieuwenboer, Dr. Marcel Van Tilborg, Dr. Nandana Chutti-
wongs, Ton Quax, Frans Evers, J.M.M. Ubaghs, Jan Brouwer
from Amsterdam and Leiden, deserve my thanks for the keen inter-
est they have shown in the progress of this work. Within this very
list of friends I include the name of Dr. Agam Prasad, Propreitor
Agam Kala Prakashan, New Delhi and other members of his
team for the presentable and timely execution of this work.

Before closing this note let me admit here frankly that I am
neither a linguist nor a lexicographer either by profession or by
training. It is possible therefore that a linguist or a lexicographer
well equipped with the advanced methodology of the subject
may feel like marking Ts and crossing *t's herein but I welcome
it. With these words I close this note and pray that : —

Iha-yat-tyaktam-ajnan ad-
alasyad-yad-uplkshitam.
Pramddad-anyathoktarh yat-
tad-vidvadbhir visodhyatam.

20th May, 1987 S.P. TEWARI

Allahabad Museum
A llahabad

INTRODUCTION

Significance of Epigraphs in relation to Lexicography

Palaeography and lexicography are two aspects of epigraphy
which are not simply allied to it but actually form part and parcel
of it. If the help of palaeography is needed for deciphering the
text of a record, that of lexicography is required for an interpreta-
tion of its contents. But whereas the scope of palaeography is
limited solely to the defined sphere of epigraphs, the field of
lexicography is much wider since it forms the base of any
language and its expression, be it classical or folk, ancient or
modern. Our traditional pandits like Magha and others have
elucidated this fact by calling the study of sabda-sastra as one
which has no bounds (ananta param kil asabda-sastram and
prabhuta-kala-jneyani sabda-sastrani)1 while at the same time
emphasizing that for proper understanding of language,
knowledge of grammar and also lexicons is a must : "sabd-
arthau sat-kavir-iva dvayam vidvan-ap'ekshate"2

Confining myself to the theme of Indian Epigraphy and
Lexicography in this monograph, I will try to show in short how
the specialized literature of epigraphs has contributed to the much
wider and generalized field of lexical studies by way of adding
new words, expressions and the like.

From the field of epigraphical literature which has become
quite voluminous in the course of the past century or more, my
discussion for obvious reasons, will be confined to Sanskrit
inscriptions only. Here again, the time and space at my disposal
(not minding the limitations of my own capacity) will not permit
me to exhaust even the most representative records written in

1. Pancha-tantra : Kathamukha, 9. N.S. edition, Bombay, 1930.

2. Sisupalavadha, II. 112; XIV, 24 etc.

2 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Sanskrit. Therefore, the treatment of the subject is bound to be
selective in nature.

Although in the other classical languages of the world like
Greek, Hebrew, Syriac or Arabic, a minute distinction between
the two disciplines of lexicography and grammar is maintained,
in the classical Sanskrit tradition they are figuratively referred to
as one and the same but in a compound form. The best example
of our views on the inseparable nature of grammar and lexico-
graphy is met in the famous couplet of Kalidasa who describes
word and its meaning as the inseparable ones: "Vag-arthdv-iva
sampriktau vdgartha-ppratipattayl."3 The same idea has been
further endorsed by the well-known saying that makes it
imperative on the part of each and every student of Sanskrit
language to treat the Ashtddhydyl and the Amarakosha as his own
parents :

Ashiddhydyl jaganmatd
Amaraktisho jagat-pita

The extent to which the jagat-pitd was dependent on the
authoritative interpretations of words by the jagan-matd is
illustrated by another humorous saying which accuses Amara,
compiler of the Amarakosha, of stealing all of Patanjali's Maha-
bhdshya on Panini : "Amarasimho hi pdpiydn sarvam bhashyam-
achuchurat."4

This awareness of the inseparable nature of the two
disciplines of grammar and lexicography is also attested by
Sanskrit records from early times. The well-known Junagadh
inscription of Rudradaman, which also enjoys by general
consensus the privilege of being the earliest record written in
Sanskrit, makes a specific reference to the twin disciplines of
grammar and lexicography. Herein, while speaking of various
branches of learning Rudradaman has specialized in, the
composer of the record refers to the term as follows :

Sabd-arttha-gdndharvva-nyay-adydndm vidydnarh-

3. Raghuvamsa, I. 1.

4. Amarakosha, N.S. edition, Bombay, 1905, p. I.

Introduction 3

mahatinam parana-dharana-vijndna-prayog-avapta-
vipula kirttina.5

Likewise, in the BannahaHi plates of Kadamba Krishna-
varman II the academic achievements of his grandfather Vishnu-
varman also include the discipline of sabd-drtha (sabd-artha-nydya-
vidushd)6 and the qualifications of one of the sandhi-vigrahihas
of Chandragupta II called Virasena Shaba were that he was
sabdarttha-nyaya-lokajnah and also a kavi.1 Examples of such
references can easily be further multiplied but I will avoid going
into the details here. If suffices to say that the composers of
Sanskrit inscriptions were well aware of the singular importance
of the science of words and their meanings, i.e., grammar including
lexicography.8

Although the compound sabdarttha of the Junagadh record
which is followed by the expression vidyanam, was previously
understood in the sense of 'grammar and polity', i.e., sabda-vidya
or grammar and artha vidyd or artha-sdstra, i.e., polity, the
mistake was set right by Kielhorn while editing the inscription,
once again.9 According to Kielhorn, even though the compound
sabdartha in its simple form could be construed as denoting the
two sciences of sabda-vidya and artha-vidya, the manner in which
it is referred to in association with nyaya in some inscriptions
makes it more logical to construe it as 'the science of words and
their meanings', i.e., grammar including lexicography. "It may be
added", Kielhorn says further, "that sabddrtha, on account of the
irregular position of its two members; in grammar is a well-known
compound which is taken in the sense of 'word and its meaning'
and which frequently occurs in this very sense in the titles of

5. E./., VIII, p. 44, 1.13.

6. E./..VI, p. 18, 1. 9.

7. C./.7., III, 1. 4. "Kautsas-Sdva iti khyato Virasenah kulakhyaya.
Sabadarttha-nyaya lokajnah kavih Pataliputrakah" .

8. Cf. Deopara Inscription of Vijayasena (vide £./., I, p. 310) where regard-
ing the poet of the prasasti called Umapatidhara it is said that 'his
understanding was purified by the study of words and their meanings' :
"esha kaveh pada-padartha vichara Suddha buddher-Umapatidharasya
k j-itih prasastim ' ' .

9. £./., VIII, p. 48, n. 3,

4 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

grammatical, lexicographical and other works."10

As we come to know from the published literature on Indian
epigraphy, although every editor of a record has tried to draw our
attention towards the words and expressions of lexicographical
interest occurring in that particular record, J.F. Fleet was most
probably the first to highlight the occurrence of many words and
phrases in inscriptions which were not listed in any existing
dictionary. His observation, made almost a century back (some
time in the years 1898-99) while summing up his discussion on
the Kannada inscriptions at Ablur,11 holds good even till this day
and particularly in relation to (the field of) Sanskrit inscriptions.12
Since what Fleet felt at that time is a common experience shared
by practically every editor of an inscription, the relevant passage
deserves to be quoted in its entirety :

The epigraphic records contain many technical expres-
sions— particularly in the way of titles, territorial terms,
names of gods, guilds, professions, taxes, tenures,
measures and so on; but also some ordinary words which
Mr. Kittel's13 dictionary does not explain, because, no
doubt they do not occur in ordinary literature or in the
Native vocabularies of the language. It may be hoped
that, if he should ever issue a supplement to it, he will
examine the edited records, and see what can be done to
collate, examine and explain such expressions; while
doing what I can in this direction, I can really do little
more than call attention to points which come
prominently to my notice in searching for the meaning
of the words which are not intelligible at the first sight;
and I cannot undertake to collect all the different
variants of Kanarese words which are found in the
inscriptions.14

Along with Fleet, equally commendable are the efforts of
another master epigraphist Kielhorn, who has brought to our

10. E.7., VIII, p. 48, n. 3.

11. Ibid., V, pp. 213-265.

12. It is a matter of great satisfaction to note that the remarks of Fleet have
caught the imagination of the editors of the Kannada dictionary being
compiled under the auspices of the Kannada Sahitya Parishad, Bangalore.

13. Reference is made to the Kannada English Dictionary edited by Kittel,
Mangalore 1894.

14. Op. cit.t p. 238, n. 1.

Introduction 5

notice a good number of words and expressions of lexicographical
interest from the field of inscriptions. But, besides these pioneers
of the early stages, it is possibly D.C. Sircar, who has contributed
most to the field of Indian Epigraphy and Lexicography. As
early as the year 1949 he emphasized the need for such studies
when he presented a paper15 on "Epigraphy and Lexicography in
India" before the XV All India Oriental Conference held at
Bombay. Subsequently, as is well-known to most students of
Indian epigraphy, Sircar also brought out the Indian Epigraphical
Glossary*6 which still remains as the only major work in the joint
field of epigraphy and lexicography. It may not be an exaggera-
tion to add here that the Glossary of Sircar despite its limitations
is like the Amarakosha to every student of Indian epigraphy.

In his remarks regarding the utility of epigraphical and
lexical studies made nearly four decades back Sircar reiterated the
need for a systematic collection of lexical items found only in
epigraphs. According to him :

the old inscriptions in Prakrit and Sanskrit abound in
technical terms and expressions which are not found in
the lexicons. Some of these words are no doubt recog-
nised in the lexicons but not exactly in the same sense.
None of the compilers of the modern Prakrit, Pali
and Sanskrit dictionaries, is known to have utilized
epigraphic materials. As a result of this, their works can
only be regarded as incomplete.17

It is shocking to note that none of the edition of the popular
Sanskrit-English dictionaries of either Monier-Williams, the new
edition of which is said to have been greatly enlarged and
improved upon as recently as in the year 1956, or ofApte, the
revised and enlarged edition of which came out only in 1957, have
bothered to take cognizance of the literature available on Sanskrit
inscriptions. The only Sanskrit-English dictionary known to me
that has taken the lead in this regard is the Encyclopaedic
Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles brought out by

15. Vide, Proc. of the All India Oriental Conference. XV Session, Bombay.
1949, pp. 270-280; see also £./., XXX, No. 30, pp. 163-181.

16. Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, 1966.
17. Op. dt., p. 271.

6 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Poona,
after the year 1976 onwards.18 But, without bringing any discredit
to the learned compilers of the said dictionary, I would say that
in their pious efforts even they have not been able to go beyond the
list of Bhandarkar in so far as the inclusion of epigraphical
material is concerned.

Besides the lexical side of the term sabdartha, the grammatical
side of it, in regard to Sanskrit inscriptions, has not only been
neglected so far but has even been rather misunderstood by some
of our pioneer epigraphists. The attention of scholars to this
aspect of epigraphy and lexicography has been drawn very recently
by K.V. Ramesh in his book on Indian Epigraphy.1* According to
him :

One tragic development which needs to be discussed in
some detail here relates to the negative attitude of our
epigraphists, particularly the pioneers among them, who
were mostly westerners, towards inscriptional Sanskrit.
Such negative attitude fostered no doubt by rigid Paninian
Pandits besides putting the seal of approval on the rigid
intolerance of Paninian grammarians, has also turned us
blind to the changes and development of a living language
and trained us to dismiss all of them as mistakes
resulting from ignorance or half knowledge.20

For want of space I cannot go into the details of the examples
Ramesh has taken pain to cite in his book. One thing which
deserves mention here and towards which he has particularly
drawn our attention also, is the distinction between 'urban* and
'rustic' styles of language noticed in the body of one and the same
record. According to him :

The formal compositions belong to the classical strain and
may be loosely christened 'urbane* and the operative parts
of the same record which contain the lion's share of
so-called ungrammatical elements and which address
themselves to the common folk, and are out and out

18. An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles. Ed.
by A.M. Ghatage, Poona, 1976-78, Vols. I, If, Part I, 1979, Part II, 1980,
Part III, 1981.

19. Indian Epigraphy, I, Dehhi, 1984, pp. 44 ff.

20. Ibid., p. 44 ff.

Introduction 7

unsophisticated, belong to what may be loosely termed
as the 'rustic' strain.21

In my opinion, this distinction between 'urbane' and 'rustic'
trains of epigraphical language is the same as that which has been
drawn earlier in the field of literature, between tatsama or
sanskritasama and 'desi9 respectively. We know from lexicons
like Desindma-mala72 of Hemachandra that many words which were
considered dlsi at a particular time later became tatsama while
tatsama ones became dtsi all because of their use, abuse and
misuse by the common man. The fluctuation between 'dlsi and
tatsama has been a constant process and, in my opinion, it is even
more apparent in the field of Sanskrit inscriptions. By ignoring
such words in the name of chaste Paninian grammar, 1 believe
we have done a great disservice to the cause of lexicography.

In spite of the fact that Sircar has taken a lead, as stated
above, in the field of Indian Epigraphy and Lexicography, the need
for collating such words and expressions which do not figure in
the modern Prakrit, Pali and Sanskrit dictionaries, remains still
a long felt desideratum. Likewise, neither the paper of Sircar on
"Epigraphy and Lexicography" that deals mainly with the terms
and expressions used in the charter of Vishnusena23 nor his Indian
Epigraphical Glossary specify clearly those words which, though
defined in lexicons, have undergone a change in their meaning
when used in the composition of inscriptions. Besides this, not
even a tentative list of dlsi words, whether combined in the form
of a compound with tatsama words or otherwise, has been includ-
ed in the glossary of Sircar. Apart from all this, a point that
has never been raised by epigraphists themselves is the issue of
words which have been improperly/mistakenly identified, either on
account of faulty reading and misguided interpretation on the
part of the editor of a particular record or due to the mutilated,
defaced and fragmentary nature of the record itself.

Needless to say, an attempt has been made here, probably
for the first time, to collate and examine, first of all, such words

21. Indian Epigraphy, I, Delhi, 1984, p. 47 ff.

22. Desinamamala of Hemachandra with the glossary of Pischel, Vizianagaram,
1938.

23. E.I., XXX, pp. 163-181.

8 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

which have been used in the Sanskrit and semi-Sanskrit inscriptions
noticed so far, but which do not find place in dictionaries.
Secondly, it has also been our aim to cull out from the body of
inscriptions those words which are used in a different sense in
inscriptions than they are defined in dictionaries. Besides this, a
good number of dlsi words used either in their dlsi or sanskritized
forms are also collated and examined. Finally, a list of such
words and expressions which came out and got circulated in the
vocabulary of epigraphists, either on account of a faulty reading
or because of the mutilated, defaced and fragmentary nature of the
record, is also compiled herein.

Agreeing with Sircar in his statement that "it (is) not possible
for a single man to collect all interesting words and expressions
from all published epigraphic records in the various Indian
languages in a short period of time". I have confined my survey
to the records which have been published in the journal Epigraphia
Indica. The list of words thus collected has been arranged
for the sake of convenience in four groups, i.e., A, B, C, and D.
Besides these hundred and odd words discussed in four different
groups, an appendix is also added that deals in detail with the
meaning of more than fifteen words and expressions.

Group A

THE WORDS REFERRED TO IN THE

INSCRIPTIONS BUT NOT INCLUDED

IN DICTIONARIES SO FAR

Abhinut Vak : This term appears as a title in the Madras
museum plate of a Vaidumba king, Bhuvanatrinetra. According
to the editor of the grant P.B. Desai, "The charter ends with the
expression Sn Abhinut-Vak which would have been the chief's
title used as the sign-manual".1 After this, there follows a note
(No. 4) which says :

Abhinut-Vak means 'one whose speech is praiseworthy'.
This is an early instance of a ruler using a title for the
sign-manual. The famous instance of the later period is
"Sri VirupakshcC of the Vijayanagara Kings. But in the
later case it is the tutelary deity and not the title of any
ruler or rulers.2

In the Sanskrit English Dictionary of Apte,3 although the
word abhinun-na (i.e., 'one who is not abhinuf) is included in the
sense of 'one who is agitated' or 'who is full of woe', the affir-
mative word itself is omitted. The dictionary of Monier- Williams4
explains the term abhi-nud as 'to push, press and abhinodayati as
'to excite, spur or urge on'. But there is no authoritative
reference to the usage of the word cited, nor is there any
compound form like abhinut-vak included therein. The idea of
the title, in my opinion, is somewhat similar to dhlrasvara (cf.

1. E.I., XXVIII, p. 68 (introduction).

2. Ibid., n. 4.

3. Apte, Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 176.

4. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 64.

lO Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

"a\ochad-lnam gagan-sprisa Raghuh svarina dhirlna nivartayann-
iva".)*

Aina : The term aina figures in the Ratanpur inscription of
Jajalladeva which was edited first by Kielhorn.6 Later on, it
was also included by Mirashi in his C.LI, volume of the inscrip-
tions of the Kalachuri Chedi era.7 The relevant part of the
verse where the term aina occurs reads as : "ChldUlna sa aina
sangraha kritd maitryam-param prdpitah".*

After translating the above portion of the verse as "was by
the ruler of Chedi, forming as alliance of princes (?).... friend-
ship",9 Kielhorn adds a note stating that he has taken aina as
an adjective derived from ina, a lord, master, king, etc. However,
he adds that he is doubtful about the meaning of this passage.10
Following Kielhorn, Mirashi has also taken this very sense of the
term aina.11

Monier- Williams has included the term aina as a masculine
plural noun in the sense of the name of a people as it is referred
to in the Calcutta edition of the Mahabharata. In certain lexicons
(varia lectio), according to him, the term aina is also referred to as
aila.12 Apparently, this is not the meaning which is desired in the
context of the present record.

Apte's dictionary rightly includes the term aina in the form
of an adjective but explains it as "inah Siiryah, tasya idam", i.e.,
"of the sun".13 It also cites a reference to this effect from the
Ramacharitam of Yuvaraja Kavi which reads "nirvarnya varnlna
samdnam ainam bimblna bimbam chyutamasta-sringdt".14 In my
opinion, the expression inarh of the avochadlnam, etc., of
Raghuvamsa which I have quoted above is also used more or

5. Raghu, III, 43.

6. £./., I., pp. 35, 38.

7. C././., IV, pp. 410-17.

8. Ibid., p. 413(11.19-20).

9. Op. «'/., p. 38.

10. Ibid., n. 37.

11. Op. cit., p. 416, n. 3.

12. M.W., p. 234.

13. Apte, p. 503.

14. Ramacharitam of Yuvaraja Kavi VI 25

M^wwVwl R,TCA,,\ vu

The Words Referred to in the inscriptions 1 1

less in this very sense. Mallinatha has explained it in the sense of
Indra.15

Thus, if we rely upon the explanation of the term aina
from Apte which is based on the authority of Ramacharita, it
should mean a prince, king or master (all indirect synonyms of
Indra) belonging to the solar (Ina) race.

Arddha-srotika : Kielhorn, while editing the Khalimpur plate
of Dharmapaladeva, states that he cannot suggest suitable
meanings of words such as khataka, yanika or yanaka, arddha-
srotika and bhishuka.16 As regards the term arddha-srotika (for
other words see below), it seems to be a combination of the
Sanskrit word arddha (meaning half) and the Sanskritized form
of a Prakrit or Dlsi word sltika, seia or seigd which occurs
elsewhere also17 in the sense of "a measure of weight equal to
two handfuls".18

But in the inscription under reference the term arddha-srotika
appears to refer to the name of a small village (cf. "Bilvarddha-
srotikayam" and "Bilv-arddha srdtikayah").19 In the present
context, the term srotika seems to be the dimunitive form of the
word srotaka which is used elsewhere20 in the sense of "a kind of
rent" or "probably, a tax in kind collected from farmers by
a lessee of state lands". According to Sircar both the terms
srotaka and srotra seem to be the "same as Marathi, silotara,
silotan or silotri".21 However, the word is not noticed in
this sense either in the dictionary of Monier-Williams or that of
Apte.

Avasanika : Early epigraphical references to this term come from
the Siyadoni Inscription which was edited by Kielhorn.22 Accord-
ing to him it is the same as avasanika which is derived from
avasa meaning a 'dwelling or residence.. It is a clear example of a
case where a chaste Sanskrit word got slightly changed because of

15. See the gloss of Mallinatha on Raghu, III, 43, 'enam-Indram.'

16. £./., IV, p. 253; n. 4.

17. E/.,XXV, XXX.

18. Glossary, p. 309, s.v. setika.

19. £./., IV, 1.30ff.

20. Ibid., XXXII.

21. Glossary, p. 321 and the references cited therein.

22. £./., I, pp. 165-66.

12 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

its being introduced into everyday use.

Bhishuka : The reading of the term being quite clear in the
inscription, where it figures in connection with the description of
the boundary of a land-grant,23 this cannot be taken as a
mistake for bhishaka or bhishak, i.e., a physician. There is a
possibility that the term is a contracted form of Sanskrit bhikshuka
meaning 'belonging to a bhikshu or a monk'. The consonant sh
may have been pronounced as kh (thus shu becoming khu) which
is an equivalent in Prakrit for the Sanskrit conjunct consonant
ksh.

However, if it is a Sanskrit word (?), it is not included in the
dictionaries so far. , .

Chakdntara : While editing the Kharepatan plates of Rattaraja,
Saka 930, Kielhorn remarks : "For the three words, jivaloka, and
chakdntara and juhaka, which are quite clear in the original, I
cannot suggest any suitable meaning".24 The dictionaries also do
not come to our help in this regard. Since the term chakdntara
appears in connection with the boundary demarcation, along
with other permanent landmarks like parvata, the only possibility
in this case is that the engraver mistakenly engraved chakdntara
instead of cha kdntdra, meaning 'and a forest'.
Chatuka (vata) : The term chatuka-vata figures in the passage :
"Chaitr-dmdvdsydydth jahnavl-madhyl chatuka-vata saris t hit ena grah-
dpardge", which occurs in the Nagardhana plates of Svamiraja.25
Mirashi who has edited this grant renders the term chatuka-vata
as "while staying at Chatuka banyan tree", along with a note
stating that "chatuka-vata may be akshaya vata at Prayag, but
J have not come across this designation of it elsewhere"/6

Monier- Williams, on the authority of a gloss on the work of
Hala, has explained the term cha{uka as ''a wooden vessel for
taking up any fluid".27 But, as is apparent, this meaning does not
suit the context here.

After considering the flexible shape of the letter cha and va
(although I must admit here that the letter cha of chatuka is

23. £./., IV., p. 253.

24. Ibid., Ill, p. 296, n. 5.

25. Ibid., XXXVIII, p. 9, 1.9.

26. Ibid., p. 11, n. 2.

27. M.W., p. 383.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions

very distinct in the plate and the word cannot be read anything
else but chatuka only), a tentative suggestion which could be made
is that may be the word intended to be engraved was vatuka
or batuka, since the primary meaning of batuka, *a baby', suits
the episode of Bala-Mukunda sleeping on the patra-puta of
vata leaves; cf. "vatusya patrasya putl sayanarh balarii Mukundarh
manasd smaramV *.28

Chhaya : The term chhaya figures in a good number of inscriptions
in the sense of an image.29 Furthermore, in its compound form
we also get references to "chhaya dipa"™ and "chhaya-stambha".31
Chhaya-dipa is explained as "a lamp held by an image, often
arranged to burn continuously in front of a deity in a temple",32
whereas chhd.ya-stambha (chhaya thabho in Prakrit) is considered
as a "memorial pillar bearing image of the deceased".33 The fact
that such memorial pillars were carved with the image of the
deceased is well illustrated in case of an inscription of
Virapurisadatta from the Nagarjunakonda.34 What is not made
clear nor exemplified either in the dictionaries of Monier- Williams
and Apte or in the works of classical Sanskrit literature is that
the word chhaya, as we have seen, is invariably used in the sense
of an image in inscriptions. The application of this sense of the
word chhaya requires a further probe.

Chdllika : The word chollikd in the broad sense of a chollika of
leaves occurs in the Rajor inscription of Mathanadeva.35 Kielhorn,
while commenting upon this term states : "This word I have not
met with elsewhere. Fifty leaves appear to be a usual tax;
compare, e.g., £./., II, p. 179, VV, 41-42".36 To me, it seems a
locally coined word with the help of a better known word

28. This is a popular verse which is quoted here. For better references to this
effect see Bhagavat Purijna, XII. 8.4 and XII.9.21, etc.

29. £./., I, p. 165 ff.

30. Ibid., XXXITT, pp. 182-184.

31. Ibid., XXXIII, p. 171 and XXXV, pp. 3-17.

32. Glossary, p. 73.

33. Ibid.

34. £./., XXI, illustration of inscription L-facing, p. 63.

35. Ibid., Hi, pp. 265, n. 1.

36. Ibid.

14 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

cholaka?1 making it a diminutive feminine yielding the sense of a
bodice, a cover or a wrapper by which the bundle of leaves were
covered. The size and the shape of a chollika must have differed
from place to place.

Dhlnku kaddhaka : This term figures along with many other
terms in the well-known charter of Vishnusena which has been
discussed by Sircar more than once. First he discussed the
whole charter alongwith this term in his paper "Epigraphy and
Lexicography*'38 and then he considered all these phrases and
terms with more details when he edited the record in the pages of
Epigraphia Indica.39 The particular phrase in the charter bearing
this term reads : "Dhenku-kadhdhaka nila-dumphakas cha
vishtim na karayitavya"**

'The words dhenku-kadhdhaka and dumphaka", as rightly
remarked by Sircar, "are unknown [to Sanskrit literature]".
"Dhenku", he says further, "may be compared with Hindi dhlnki
or dhenkuli meaning a machine for extracting juice, while
kadhdhaka seems to be Prakrit form of Sanskrit karshaka'\
"Dumphaka", in his opinion, "may be the same as Sanskrit
drmphaka meaning one 'who presses'. The nila-dumphaka possibly
manufactured blue-dye from the indigo plant".41

However, the idea of this achdra is that the persons operating
dhenkuli and pressing indigo plants should be exempted from
forced labour as their jobs were excessively hazardous in nature.
Dvaroshtha : While editing the Siyadoni stone inscription of the
time of a Pratihara king Devapala, Kielhorn has come across
a good number of words and expressions which are of lexicogra-
phical interest. According to him, "The first part of the
inscription contains a considerable number of words which either
do not occur in Sanskrit literature at all, or for which the
dictionary furnishes no appropriate meaning; and some of which

37. Sec Monier-Will Jams' dictionary, p. 403. The word cholaka is often
referred to by Bana in his Harshacharita from which the Hindi word
chott is derived.

35. Vide Proc. of the All India Oriental Conference, XV Session, Bombay,
1949, pp. 270-80.

39. E/..XXX, pp. 163-181.

40. Ibid., p. 172, n. 19.

41. Ibid.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions 15

undoubtedly were taken from the vernacular".42 He has noticed
as many as 38 words and expressions of this type. The term
dvardshtha is one of these. As noticed by Kielhorn, it occurs
three times in this record in the following context :

(i) "Svakiy-dvasanika-dvaroshtha" (1. 14);
(ii) "Dvaroshtha-nishkasa-pravesaka" (1. 32); and
(iii) "Nishkdsa-pravlsa-dvardshthakam" (1. 33).

In an effort to understand/explain this term Kielhorn
compares it with dvara-koshthaka, i.e., 'a gate chamber', listed
in the index of the Divyavadana*3 which sounds quite convincing.
In the Kdsika, praghana or praghana is explained as "bahya-dvara-
prakoshthd" which came to be known as alinda during the Gupta
period. Bahya-dvdra-prakoshlha used to be the big door built in
front of palaces or bigger mansions consisting of many rooms
which was closed/bolted by a big panel of doors (mahakapdta) 44
Buddhaghosha, while commenting upon the term paghana of the
Vinaya pitaka, explains it as that part of the house which was
invariably crossed both while getting in or out of the house :
"Paghana nama yam nikkhamantd cha pabisantd cha pddlhi
hananti"45

Coomaraswamy, on the basis of art illustrations, has taken
dvdra-kdshthaka in the sense of a large gate built at intervals,
along the boundary wall of a palace or a fort. He has further
considered it as a synonym of pratoli, the same as pola or paura
of the modern times.46

V.S. Agrawala considers dvdra-prakoshiha as the tatsama
form of the modern colloquial term varauthd.41 But in my
opinion, there have been three successive stages (phonetically
speaking) in the contraction of the word dvdra-prakostha. First,
from dvdra-prakoshtha it was shortened to dvdra-koshtha and then

42. £./., I, p. 165.

43. Ibid.

44. Pdnini Kalina Bharatavarsha (Hindi), Varanasi 1969, pp. 138-139.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid.

16 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

formdvarakoshtha, as has been noticed by Kielhorn, it got shorten-
ed to dvara-oshtha or dvaroshtha the version which appears in the
inscription. In all probability, it is directly from dvaroshtha that
we arrived at the modern Hindi term varautha where da of dvara is
dropped.

Thus, the sense of the expression svakiy-avasanika-dvardshiha
of the record is 'the gates (including both for entrance as well as
exit) of the residence (avdsanikd)9. Likewise, dvaroshtha-nishkasa-
pravlsakam or nishkasa-pravesa dvaroshthkam mean 'both the gates
for entrance and exit' or the same thing vice versa. But, if we
take the word oshtha of dvaroshtha as an independent Sanskrit
word and not as the shortened form of koshlhaka a possibility
which cannot easily be denied -it is equally probable that it
means a projected coverage provided from above the door either
of an entrance, exit or any other door of a residence. In this
case, the balance of the meaning will rest on the word oshtha.^
For our information, it is the word dvarosh'ha which is not includ-
ed in the dictionaries.

Dvi-ndma : In the Harsha stone inscription edited by Kielhorn,
the disciple of Visvarupa (a §aivacharya) called Bhavarakta is also
called Allata which was his second name. It is in this connection
the expression dvi-nama is used. Commenting upon this,
Kielhorn says that " 'also called' is apparently the meaning of
dvinamatah which does not occur elsewhere."49 A noteworthy
point in this regard is that the prefix dvi with the word nama in its
compound form is a rare occurrence. Although we do get
expressions like apara-nama, priya-nama, etc., an expression like
dvi-nama, which seems to be a precursor of terms like urf in
Hindustani or alias in English, is rarely noticed.
Ghanghala : In the prasasti of Lakhamandal edited by Biihler the
verse referring to this term reads as under :

Yas-samara-gharighal-dkhydm-anvartthavatTn dadhara-

48. See the gloss of Mallinatha on the dshthadharait tu radana-chchhadau
daSana vasasi" of Amara (II.6.90) which explains oshtha as "oshtha iti
uparitana danta vasah"\ vide Amarakosha ed. A. A. Ramanathan, Madras,
1971.

49. £./., II, p. 128.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions \ 1

rana-raudrah.

Aparam-aganita sangara kari-radan-agrankit-draskah.50

Remarking on the word ghanghala here Biihler says :

I am unable to find in the koshas and dictionaries
accessible to me the word ghanghala, which occurs here
and below in verse 14 and 15. A comparison of three
compounds, samara-ghanghala, mahi-ghanghala and ripu-
ghanghala, makes it probable that its meaning is the
'conqueror*; very likely it is a desi word allied to
ghanghola.51

In the Yasastilaka-champu of Somadeva we come across
"vadi-ghanghala", the exact meaning of which is also not made
clear by its editor.52 No wonder if the word has some relation
with the colloquial Hindi verb ghanghora(la)na which is used in
the sense of a forced churning.

Ghataka-kupaka : Referring to this term, which figures in the
Rajor inscription of Mathanadeva in a context where "two
palikas from every ghataka-kupaka of clarified butter and oil"
were to be deducted, Kielhorn remarks that about "ghataka-
kiipaka, I can only say that ghata by itself means a jar, a pitcher
measure equal to one or to 20 dronas and kupaka 'a leather oil
vessel.'"53 But, after considering the text of the record which
reads "ghataka-kupakam prati ghritasya tailasya cha palikl dvt,"
it is not improbable that these two objects of measurements (i.e.,
ghata and kupaka) are mentioned here in accordance with
yathasankhya, that is in order of sequence. This way, it would
mean that a tax of two palikas was to be deducted from a jar and
a leather oil vessel full of clarified butter and oil, respectively.
Halta-dana : The term hatta-dana also figures in the same
inscription as the above. Regarding the sense of this term
Kielhorn says, "I am not certain about the meaning of hatta-
dana in line 22 (of the text). It may perhaps be equivalent to
mandapika or sulkamandapikd, 'a custom house* which occurs in

50. E.7.,1, p. 13, v. 13.

51. Ibid.

52. Yasastilaka-champu of Somadeva, cd. Handiqui.

53. E,/., Ill, p. 264, n. 11.

18 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

similar passages of other inscriptions.*'54 No wonder, if the term
was hatt-adana meaning adana, (i.e., something obligatory) to be
given in the market (hdtta). Possibly this referred to raw materials
like vegetables, the quantities of which differed from day to day,
and this is why no definite levy could be imposed upon these
commodities which could hold good all the time. Taxes on such
articles were collected (as they are even today) on the spot, in the
market itself.

Jivaloka : Like chdkantarah which we have referred to above,
jivaloka is another term about which nothing definite could be
suggested by the editor. One possibility is that all three (i.e.,
chdkantara, jivaloka and juhuka) were hamlets of the bigger
villages known as Devalakshraigrama, Vyadgarula and Sayya-
palli.55

Kauptika : This figures in the Siyadoni stone inscription
text lines 2, 19 and 30,56 in all cases compounded with a proper
name which denotes that it was perhaps the name of an office,
Khdtaka: Commenting upon words like khataka, ydnika or yanaka,
ardha-srotikd and bhishuka, Kielhorn says, "I cannot suggest
suitable meanings."57 We have already suggested some meanings
for the terms ardha-srotikd and bhishuka and as regards khataka
it has been included in the dictionary of Apte in the sense of 'a
digger, a debtor, a moat and ditch'.58 Here itself Apte has also
cited a reference to Khataka from the Bhagavata Purdna which
reads : "Vikridato-mrit-dmbhodhau kirn kshudraih khdtak
odakaih."*

Besides this, the term ydnaka is again included by Apte in
the sense of 'a vehicle or a conveyance'.60 But unfortunately none
of the above meanings suit the context of the record where these
terms are mentioned in connection with the details of the
boundary of a given land. Thus our lexicographers have yet to
find out what the appropriate sense of the above terms are.

54. £./., Ill, p. 266, n. 10.

55. Ibid., p. 296, n.5; also p. 301, 11.49-50.

56. Ibid., I, 11.2, 19, 30 and the remarks of Kielhorn on p. 165.

57. Ibid., p. 249, 1.33; p. 253, n. 4.

58. Apte's dictionary, p. 636.

59. Bhagavata Purapa, VI, 12, 22. (Gita Press edition).

60. Op. cit.t s.v. yanaka.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions 19

Khova : This figures as a part of one of the acharas noticed in
the charter of Vishnusena. It reads as : "Sarva-srlnibhih khova
ddnarh na ddtavyam.*'61

According to Sircar, "The meaning of khova is uncertain. It
may be the same thing as the atta pati bhdga or the share of the
lord of the market mentioned as a tax in the Rajatarangini."62
Kritopasanna : In the Siyadoni stone inscription this term figures
in lines 27, 35 and 38, always qualifying vlthi or street. Kielhorn,
after listing it as one of the difficult terms, has left it un-
explained.63 Considering the other adjectives used before • vithi
like avalipta, uvataka-sahita, upasannd or kritopasannd, etc., it
seems probable that this expression must have been derived from
the local vernaculars where even today in such cases a phrase like
"npa-pdta-kara taiydra karana" is commonly used. Thus,
kritopasanna in the present context will mean 'a vithi that has been
made ready for use'.

Mayuta : As stated more than once by Kielhorn who came across
this term while editing the Rajor inscription of Mathanadeva,
although the reading of the term mayuta is very clear in the
rubbings, yet "its meaning is not apparent."64 But after taking
the reference to the text into account, I feel the suggestion of the
editor of Kdvyamdld, who proposed to alter the reading of
"sakala-bhoga mayuta" into "sakala bhdga sarhyuta" is worth
considering in this regard.65

Nirdvidhd : The verse containing this term occurs in the
Ratanpur inscription of Jajalladeva which was edited by
Kielhorn. The relevant line of the verse reads as: ^Visv-dnandi
budhd prasarpita-sudhd sadmdsritd nir-dvidhd."69

Herein, remarking on the term nir-dvidhd Kielhorn states that
"I have taken the word nir-dvidhd in the sense of advaya or
adviHya but am unable to quote another passage in support of
this meaning."67 Obviously it is a contribution of this record to

61. E./., XXX, p. 171.

62. Rajatarangini, v. 164.

63. £./., I, p. 165.

64. £./., Ill, p. 264, n. 1; also p. 266, n. 9.

65. Ibid.

66. Jbid.,1. p. 35, 11.16-17. ..

67. #W.,p. 38, n. 36,

20 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the field of Sanskrit lexicography.

Pichchhdchald : In the Balsane inscription of (Rashtrakuta)
Krishna which was edited by M.G. Dikshit, a verse reads as
follows :

Tajja Sri Mahaluka Pandita iha svlyaih
prasiddho gunair-yah Krishnasya mahipateh
kariall kart-asu pichchhachaldm.6*

Dikshit after translating the relevant portion of the verse as
"who in no time made over the earth (pichchhachalam to the
possession of the king Krishna" adds a note stating that "I am
obliged to Mr. S.K. Dikshit, M.A., for the meaning of the word
pichchhachala"69 But the word as such does not figure in the
dictionaries and we do not know on what authority the junior
Dikshit derived its meaning and the senior Dikshit accepted it.

To me, it seems to be a hybrid word made of half Prakrit
and half Sanskrit. In pichchhachalam, the word, pichchha is a
tadbhava of the Sanskrit word prish\ha meaning back and achala,
as we know, is a Sanskrit word meaning a mountain. This curious
compound could be split as prishthl achaldh santi yasyd sdy i.e.,
prithvi — the earth.

Prasanna-dlviyaraka : This also comes from Kielhorn's list of
curious terms compiled from the Siyadoni inscription. The exact
meaning of this phrase which would also suit its context is yet to
be ascertained.

Pravani : Commenting upon this term figuring in expressions
like "vanik-pravani-pramukha'" and "pravanikara" of the Rajor
inscription of Mathanadeva, Kielhorn states that "the meaning of
the word is not clear.'*70 For the sake of comparison, he draws
our attention to another reference from the Indian Antiquary
(XV, p. 10, n. 58), which I regret that I could not trace.

However, the word pravana in general and pravani with kri
gets a reference in the dictionary of Monier- Williams.71 Likewise,

68. E.I., XXVI, pp. 312-13, v. 3.

69. Ibid., n. 1.

70. /£/</. Ill, p. 263, n. 4.

71. Monier-Williams, p. 690. He has also included a term nishpravani but in
an altogether different sense.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions 11

in Apte's dictionary besides many other meanings and references
to the term pravana one meaning is also given as 'generous' one.72
Here itself, the compound form of pravani krita is explained as
'inclined favourably towards'. In my opinion, though the exact
meaning of the term is not very clear, it has the sense of 'the
(guilds) of generous merchants and their chiefs'. The exact sense
of the word pravani, particularly in the present context, requires
further examination.

Praryya : We come across this term in the Tipperah plate of
Lokanatha where the relevant part of the verse reads thus :
"Yasyd sthdvara sanjnako dvijavarah prdryyo jananyd pituh."13

R.G. Basak who edited this grant, after translating the above
line as "of whom the mother's father's grandfather was called
Sthavara," remarks that "the use of the word praryya (father's
father or father-in-law's father) is rare"74 and it is certainly so as
the word is not included in the dictionaries.

Prdydsaka: In the Sanjan plates of Amoghavarsha I, a line of
the verse that extols the glory of the king reads as follows :
"Pramldnim gamayan-Kalinga-Magadha prdydsako yasakah."15

Regarding the meaning of the word prdydsaka which is not
noticed in the dictionaries, D.R. Bhandarkar who edited this grant
remarks : "I take the word prdydsaka in the sense of prdya +
dsaka. Prdya signified seeking death by fasting, sitting down and
abstaining from food with some object in view (generally with
words like as, upa, vis, etc)."76 Strangely enough even the word
ydsaka is not noticed in the dictionaries with the sense of an
afflictor that Bhandarkar has construed here.
Sapta-padaka : Reference to this word comes from the Konnur
inscription of Amoghavarsha I, where he is described as: "nirdahy-
Ikapad'ena sapta-padakdn vidvit-vanochchh'edind"11

Although with reference to the present context Kielhorn has
explained the term sapta-padaka in the sense of an 'allied'
confederation of adversaries, he has not been able to give its

72. Apte's dictionary, p. 1107.

73. £./., XV, p. 307, 1.10, \. 6.

74. Ibid., p. 310 and n. 6.

75. Ibid.t XVIII, p. 246, v. 32.

76. Ibid., p. 254, n. 1.

77. Ibid., VI, p. 36.

22 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

literal sense for want of reference to this effect in the dictionaries.
In fact, it is the word padaka of this compound which poses a
problem in this regard and considering it once again in this very
context of the record, it seems to refer to the kings in general
who are traditionally supposed to be the masters of the saptanga-
rajya or saptaprakritis. In this case, the poet who composed the
text of the record has taken a little liberty with the language by
using the word pada as a synonym (though an unusual one) of
anga possibly under the influence of alliteration which is apparent
in the case of eka-padena sapta-padakan. Thus, sapta-pada will
denote the kingdom and sapta-padaka the king.
Salikhalla : This curious term occurs in the Kolhapur inscription
of Bhoja II, with reference to the field called salikhalla granted to
Brahmanas. Kielhorn, after stating that salt is rice and khalla
denotes, in addition to other things, a canal, cut, bench, deep
hole, remarks that the meaning of the whole phrase is not clear.78
In my opinion, it makes sense if we take khalla as a mistake for
khalya which is a threshing floor. This way, the phrase salikhalla
or better still sdlikhalya will mean that land for threshing rice was
provided.

Tatti : This is another term gathered from the Rajor inscription
of Mathanadeva which is not noticed in any of the dictionaries.
Commenting upon this term Kielhorn remarks : "Here we have
otherwise unknown tatti in line 16 in the phrase tattim. . .kurvvatab
karayata va, and in line 17 in the compound tatti sonathya,
rendering assistance in the proper management (?)."79
Tribhangi : In the inscription from Manthani, in connection with
the idol of Vishnu-Krishna which was installed therein, an
expression qualifying the image as "madhuram-tribhangya" is used.
According to Sircar, the word tribhangt, an instrumental case of
which is tribhangyd, is not noticed in the dictionaries; "although",
as he states further, "the term 'tribhangi9 occurs in the Lilasuka
Vilva-mangala's Krishna-Lilamrita (11.101 — though some manu-
scripts use tribhanga only) and also gets a reference in the Silpa-
ratna of Srikumara (XIII.28; T.G. Sastri's edition p. 129)."80

78. E./., Ill, p. 214, n. 2.

79. /bid., p. 266 ff.

80. Ibid., XXXIV, pp.65-66.

The Words Referred to in the Inscriptions 13

Naturally the word tribhangi deserves to be included in the
coming editions of dictionaries of the Sanskrit language.
Utkrishti : In the charter of Vishnusena there is an injunction
which reads " dvldanak'ena vind utkrishti na grdhyd". Herein, after
admitting the fact that the exact meaning of the term utkrishti is
uncertain, Sircar suggests that utkrishti may be the same as Pali
utkutfhi and Sanskrit utkrushti or utkrosha which means
'wailing'.81

Vdsdvaka : It figures in the Surat plates of Karkkaraja
Suvarnavarsha as "vasdvaka mahattar-adhikdrin" wherein the
meaning of the term vdsdvaka, according to Altekar (the editor of
the grant), is obscure.82 We have yet to find out the meaning of
this term which suits the context of the grant in question.

81. £./., XXX, p. 172.

82. Ibid., XXI, pp. 133 and 144.

Group B

THE WORDS USED IN THE INSCRIPTIONS
WITH A DIFFERENT SHADE OF MEANING
THAN DEFINED IN DICTIONARIES

Abhatarakahi : In one of the inscriptions from Nagarjuna-
konda edited by Sircar which refers to the donation of a memorial
pillar (chhdyd-thabho), along with many names of the mothers,
sisters and queens of the king which are all suffixed with the
honorific title sri, there are two names which are devoid of it and
are preceded by the adjective abhata-rakahi. The relevant portion
of the inscription reads as follows :

Ayasiriya Kanhasiriya Sivanagasiriya
abhatarakahi cha Sarasikdya Kusumalatdya
cha chhdyd thabho.1

Having observed all the names suffixed with the honorific title
sri, Sircar says :

The above list of the ladies is followed by the names of
two other women whose names are not endowed with the
honorific word sri. They are Sarasika and Kusuma-
lata described in the record as abhatarikd (Sanskrit
abhyantankd), 'an intimate female friend', possibly used
to indicate 'a concubine*. The official designation
dbhyantarikd is, however often understood in the sense of
'a guard of the harem'.2

In my opinion, the absence of the honorific sri after the

1. £./., XXXV, p. 4, 11.12-13.

2. lbid.t Introduction, p. 3.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 15

names of two women here may be either (i) on account of their
being widows and in that case the term abhatarikd would be taken
as the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word abharttarika, or (ii) if
we agree with Sircar's interpretation of the term, taking it as the
corrupt form of dbhyantarika, they should be considered as two
maid-servants of the harem who would have accompanied the
noble ladies (mothers, sisters and queens of the king) to the holy
place (where the pillar was installed), because they were the
favourite maids of the harem. Thus, in all probability, it is
their status of maid-servant that made the writer of the draft
avoid the use of an honorific suffix with their names. It is also
in conformity with the instructions of the Natyasastra? in this
regard.

As regards Sircar's opinion of these women being concubines,
I think it was perhaps the meaning of the name Sarasika which
prompted him to think that. But in that case, their names
probably would not have been devoid of the honorific sri.
Achamta : This term occurs in one of the fragmentary inscriptions
coming from the area of Nagarjunakonda. In the present context
of the record it qualifies the preceptors who were well-versed in
their own doctrines as well as in those of others. Part of the
text referring to this term reads thus : "achamta rajachariyanam
saka samaya para-samaya. . .".4

Sircar who edited this record, while commenting upon the
term achamta states :

The word achamta, meaning 'excessive' occurs in the
expression 'achamta hita sukhaya* (Sanskrit atyanta hita-
sukhaya), 'for the excessive welfare and happiness* in one
of the Nagarjunakonda inscriptions;5 but that meaning
does not suit the context, unless it is believed that some
letters were inadvertently omitted after the word and
that rajachariyanam (i.e., of the king's teachers) is to be
read separately. But the same expression apparently
occurs in another Nagarjunakonda inscription where
Vogel suggested the reading '\Bhadam\ta-raja-

3. Natyasastra (G.O.S. edition) XVII, 91-99. cf. "Nona kusuma namanab
preshycih karya". ,

4. E./., XXXIV, p. 211, 11.5-6.

5. Ibid.. XX, p. 22.

26 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

chariydnam" .6 The expression achamtardjdchariya would
mean teachers of (or from) AchamtarajV or better
'teachers of the Acharhtaraja school or community'.
Unfortunately we do not know of any king or locality
called Achamtaraja or a community of Buddhist teachers
characterised by that name.7

This is what jocularly called a Drdvida-prandydma, not so
uncommon with the community of professional epigraphists. In
my opinion, the word achamta of the present record is the same
as achchanta which is noticed in the Pali English Dictionary of
Rhys Davids. After admitting that the word is the same as
Sanskrit atyanta (i.e., ati -f- anta) here it is defined as "uninter-
rupted, continuous, perpetual" as its first and literal meaning and
then as "final, absolute, complete, exceedingly, extremely, very
much"; etc.8

Thus, as per the above definition of the term achamta or
achchanta, the phrase achamta-rajachariydnam of the record will
mean those 'who were uninterruptedly, continuously or through-
out preceptors of the kings'.

Alin and Arin : These words are gathered from the Mandakil Tal
inscription which was edited by B. Ch. Chhabra. The particular
line of the verse wherein the term alin figures reads : "nihsaratvam
kadalydm-alini mukharatd kokill pdrapushtyam"9 and that of
arin reads : "sul-dri prahatdhitdn tribhuvanasy-ochchhlda
rakshakaran".10

Commenting upon this Chhabra says, "Of lexical interest
are the. words like alin for all and arin as a synonym of chakra.
The latter derived from the word 0ra, 'spoke- is of rare occurrence
in literature as well as in epigraphy",11 As an example for
arin he quotes a line from the Strotra-ratnakara which reads :
"dnandl nah pumydd-ari-nalina-gadd sankha-pdnir-Mukundah".12

6. £./.-, XXXIV, p. 211, 1.1.

7. Ibid., XXXIV, p. 212.

8. Pali English Dictionary, p. 7.

9. £./., XXXIV, p. 81, v. 6.

10. Ibid., v. 2.

11. Ibid., pp. 77-78.

12. Strotra-ratnakara, Madras, 1927, Part I, p. 224.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 2?

A verse where alini is used in this very sense was told to me
by a local pandita of my village though without the name of the
author or the source. It reads, "Kamalinim- alini malim kritd
bhuvinate vinate vinatl-sayalf . But the best example of both 0/1/1
(masculine) and alini (feminine) comes from the Sisupalavadha of
Magha : "Alina ramat-alinl silindhre sahasayanta na dipa pa\al

Anudarsayanti : Remarking on the expression "kusalamuktv-
anudarsyanti" figuring in the Damodarpur copper plates, R.G.
Basak states : "Anudarsayanti is not in frequent use. It means,
'inform as follows', cf. "Slnapatih putram Agnimitram parishvajya
anudarsayati (vide Malavikagnimitram of Kalidasa").14
Aputrika-vlm : In the Bonda plates of Mahasiva Tivara, the
majority of the privileges enjoyed by the donees, are of common
occurrences in royal grants, except for one. The unusual one is
rendered as "together with the enjoyment of a~putrika-vlni"ls and
as Sircar points out is not usually found in inscriptions. Accord-
ing to him :

The word vem means 're-united property after it was
divided'. The expression aputrika-vlni has probably been
used in our record in the sense of 'the property of a
person who died without leaving a heir*. This is
sometimes mentioned as 'aputra, aputraka or aputraka-
dhana* in inscriptions.16

The above instances cited in support of the explanation of
the term aputraka-\lni by Sircar are taken from contexts where the
land in question belonged directly to the state. But, in the
present case, the situation is slightly different since the land in
question is already given by the king to a donee along with all
the privileges including aputraka-vlni. Therefore, this case does
not seem to be covered by the earlier instances quoted by Sircar.
In my opinion, it forms a special category of its own. And, the
real purport of the phrase aputraka-vlnl in the present context

13. Sisupalavadha, VI, 72.

14. £./., XV, p. 136.

15. Ibid., XXXIV, p. 116, 1.22.

16. Ibid., p. 114 (introduction). For other references see £./., XXVIII, p. 291,
1.22, n. 13; XXX, p. 170, etc.

28 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

seems to be that, though a property that belonged to a person who
died without leaving a heir generally used to go back to the state,
in this case it would remain with the donee. This privilege, if my
explanation is right, hints at the emergence of landlordism
amongst donees.

Ardraka : This term figures in the context of one of the acharas
referred to in the charter of Vishnusena. The phrase therein
reads as : "ardraka lakatdydh sulk-dtiyd-trikl rupakah sapadab".11

According to Sircar, it "means either (i) the crossing fare
for a boat full of dried ginger (ardraka) sticks (lakata) was Ij
silver coins, or (ii) undried (drdra or ardraka) lakata or laguda
(Sanskrit)".18

In my opinion, the second explanation seems to be more
tangible, also because 'a boat full of dried ginger' is not so often
carried but 'undried' (wet) fire-wood or timber is carried by boats
frequently.

Asvdrasa : The Bhaturia inscription of Rajyapala : Wherein this
term is referred to was first edited by S.P. Lahiri and published in
the Indian Historical Quarterly™ and then by D.C. Sircar in the
Epigraphia Indica. Among many points on which the two scholars
differed from each other, one was the meaning of the following
verse which bears a reference to the term dsvorasa :

Mdtangair-mmada-garvitair-upanatair-asvorasair-
bhumijair-urvyd sasya samriddhayd bahutithair-
haimn~dnchayair-arjitaih.2Q

Here, the term asvorasair-bhumijaih) has been explained by
Lahiri first as "on the score of the broad-chested Bhumijas", then
the verse was translated as ". . .with the presents of haughty
elephants in rut, principal horses (asvorasaih) and men (bhumijaih)
that had surrendered to him (upanataih) as well as land covered
by crops and many heaps of gold which were acquired by him".21

17. £./., XXX, p. 177, n. 60.

18. Ibid.

19. I.H.Q., XXXI, No. 3 (Sept. 1955), pp. 215-31.

20. £./., XXXIII, p. 154, v. 7.

21. Op.cit.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 29

But, according to Sircar who differs from Lahiri :

The verse merely refers to the fact that (Rajyapala the
king) obtained the possession of a large number of
elephants, horses and infantry men (i.e., prisoners to be
made slave) as well as land and gold, all belonging to
his enemies, as result of his victory over the latter.22

In my opinion, although Sircar has certainly improved upon
the matter compared to Lahiri, he has somehow avoided tackling
the actual purport of the term asvdrasa. The term asvdrasa means
neither 'principal horses' as Lahiri has taken it nor simply 'horses'
as it is construed by Sircar, who has coolly ignored the sense of
or as a.

The term asvdrasa seems to be a hybrid form of asva and
orasa or avarasa. In all probability the word avarasa has been
made shorter by orasa as it would have not been possible to
accommodate it with the scheme of the metre. The term avarasa,
if I am right in taking it like this, is again a contracted form of
abarasa which is an Arabic term.

The term abarasa, according to the Farasanama, denotes
the spots (in the form of small dots) noticed on the main body of
the horse. In English, it is explained as a "fly-bitten (grey)".23
Thus, orasa or abarasa-bhumija of this compound is qualifying the
colour of the horse.

In this case, the phrase asvorasair-bhiimijaih should render
the sense of the 'high quality of horses that were of fly-bitten
earthy grey colour*. Such horses are also known as kummaita in
the literature of the medieval period. The name kummaita
literally means 'a red-black mixed colour'. An author called
Rangina (in his Farasanamd, Rangina, Ch V II— vide Agrawala)
has written, "/o> avl rangarrib ghoron ke takardra, To kaha sabasl
kummaita achchha hai yara".24

Jabardasta Khan, who was a contemporary of Aurangazeb,
has written that kummaita is a variety of red (surkha) when the
colour is syahi-mayala (vide Farasanamd, ed. Philaut, p. 8).

22. £./., XXXIII, pp. 150ff.

23. Farasanama, p. 8, quoted by V.S. Agrawala vide, Nagan Pracharini
Patrika, year 59, Nos. 3-4, Sam 201 1 , p. 227-28.

24. Ibid.

30 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Jayadatta calls it kayaha and defines it as "pakva-tala mibho vajl
kayaha parikirttitah"25 The name kayaha of the horse has also
been noticed by Hemachandra. In the Salihotra ascribed to
Nakula the same horse is defined as follows :

Tail ati hi Jala jo \akhl khaira kl
ranga. Ala pimchha paga syama to so
kummaita kl anga"26

Steingas in his Persian English Dictionary has explained
abarasa as a dapple grey, pie-bald grey or spotted red and white.27

V.S. Agrawala, on the basis of all the above references,
considers the kritiika-pinjara type of horses referred to by Bdna
as the same as abarasa.2* While commenting upon the phrase
krittika pinjarah of Bana, Sankara explains, "Tdraka kadamba
kalp- an ika- bindu-kalmashita tvachah krittika-pirijarah' \29

King Somesvara, in his Manasollasa, most probably defines
the same variety of horse as taranga :

Chitritah parsva dlsl cha svlta-bindu
kadambakaih. Yd va ko va bhavzd-varnas-
taranjah kathyatt hay ah.™

According to all the authorities cited above, this variety of
horse is considered very lucky and of high quality as well.
Therefore, in all probability, by the term asvorasair-bhumijaih only
such horses were meant.

Atirikta : In the Haraha inscription of the reign of Isanavarman
edited by Hirananda Sastri there comes an expression which reads :
"tkadas-atriktlshu shatsatita vidvishi"*1

Herein, regarding the meaning of the word atirikta Sastri

25. Farasanamti, p. 8, quoted by V.S. Agrawala vide, Nagari Pracharini
Patrika, year 59, Nos. 3-4, Sam 2011, p. 227-28.

26. Ibid.

27. Persian English Dictionary.

28. Harshacharita Ek Samskritik Addhyayan, Patna, 1954.

29. Harshacharita (N.S. edition), p. 62.

30. Manasdllasa, (G.O.S. edition, Baroda), IV. 699.

31. £./.,XIV,P. 118, v. 21.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 31

remarks : "The dictionary gives 'redundant' as one of the mean-
ings of atirikta. This would suggest that 11 is to be deducted
from 600. But no instance is known to me where the word is
used in this way".32

In fact, the meaning of the word atirikta in the present context
is that number eleven is to be added 'extra' to the figure of 600.
This is one of the examples which shows how in certain contexts
the minus meanings of the dictionaries have become plus in the
inscriptions.

Avidhava : This term (as well as the term jivaputa) figures in the
inscription engraved on the pedestal of a Lajjagauri image installed
by Mahadevi Kharhduvula the queen of Ehavala Chamtamula.
The single line inscription reads as under :

Siddham Mahddevlya avidhavaya jivaputaya
Maharaja [Ehavala Chamtamula] patiya
Khamduvulaya kdritdti.33

After rendering the term avidhava into 'one with her husband
alive' and jivaputa as 'one who has her child alive', Narasimha-
svami (the editor of the record) says "The expressions avidhava
and jivaputa used in describing the queen are noteworthy".34

This gives a clue that the goddess, on the base of whose
image the record is engraved, was worshipped mainly for the
welfare of one's own husband and children. The term
avidhava is of an early usage and has not been so commonly used
in the classical literature. Amara has preferred to call such
women as "pativatni" or "sabhartrika".35

The term jivaputa, though rare, has been used as "jivasutd"36
and "jiva-putra-pautrd",37 in some other records as well.
Ayaka Khambha : J.Ph. Vogel, while editing the Prakrit inscrip-
tions from Nagarjunakonda wherein this term frequently occurs,

32. £./., XIV, p. 113, n. 1.

33. 76/W..XXIX, p. 139.

34. Ibid., p. 139.

35. Cf. " All ft sakhi vayasya cha pativatni sabhartrika" vide Amara, JI.6.12.

36. An. Rep. Archaeological Survey of India, 1908-09, p. 149, n. 3. Gf. Nasik
inscription of Gautamiputra Satakarni.

17. In an inscription of Prabhavatigupta (vide Select Inscriptions, p» 440.)y • *

32 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

states, "The word ayaka khambha mentioned in these epigraphs is
evidently the technical term by which they are known","8 And,
while elaborating the same once again he notes that :

The word ayaka occurs also in the compounds
dakhindyaka (Burgess, Amaravati etc., p. 86, pi. LX, no.
47) and utardyaka (ibid., p. 93) which have been rendered
'the south entrance' and 'the northern gate'. It is
questionable whether this translation is correct. The
word 'gate' is rendered by ddra (Skt. dvdrd). Most
probably the word ayaka indicates that part of the
monument where ayaka kharhbhas were placed.39

Sircar, in order to be on the safe side, has included both the
senses of this term in his Glossary.40 Apte's dictionary refers to
ayaka skambhah in the sense of 'a kind of pillar* and directs one
further to compare it with the Manasara*1 but what kind of a
pillar the ayaka was is not explained. Thus, the precise meaning
of this term, in my opinion, requires a further probe from the
side of Sanskrit/Prakrit lexicographers.

Amka-bhadra-khachita : In the fragmentary stone inscription of
queen Udalladevi, a verse referring to the construction of the
temple of lord Vindhyesvara reads as follows :

Sri Vindhylsvara sulino = dbhutatarah
stambh-avali sobhitah. Prdsddo = yam-
anlka-bhadra-khachito ndrtd-
patdkdnvftah*2

Here, regarding the term anlka-bhadra-khachita, M.M. Nagar
who edited the inscription, not being sure of its meaning, takes
the phrase first as it is and renders it "is carved with many
auspicious scenes".43 Then, in one of his notes, he assumes that
the word khachila is actually rachita and thus by making the

38. £./.,XX, p. 1.

39. ibid.

40. Glossary, p. 41.

41. Apte's Dictionary, p. 348.

42. £./., XXIII, p. 187, 11.5-7.

43. Ibid., p. 188.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 33

phrase into "aneka-bhadra-rachito" instead of the original anlka-
bhadra-khachito he translates it as "made of or containing much
gold".44

I for one, do not see any necessity of altering the text. To
me, it seems that the term anika-bhadra in its poetic form refers
to the sarvatobhadra types of temples because more than one (eka)
is anlka and in the sarvatobhadra type of temple there is more
than one miniature temple provided with many banners
(nandpatdka) or the pinnacles. Monier-Williams explains sarvato-
bhadra as a temple of square form having an entrance opposite
every point of the compass.45 In addition, although amka-bhadra
as such is not found in the dictionaries, amka-mukha is explained
as "having several faces, having different ways".46
Bhukti-suddha : This figures in the following verse of the Khare-
patan plates of Rattaraja :

Mudrd- suddham kriyd- suddham bhukti suddham
sachihnakam, Rdja-sva-hasta suddham tu
suddhim-dyati sasanam*1

While editing these grants Kielhorn remarks "I am not quite
sure about the exact technical meaning of the terms kriydsuddha
and bhukti- suddha" '.48 and neither of the dictionaries include these
compounds. Hence, these terms require a further probe.
Chandraka : The term chandraka figuring in the phrase "sakti
hlti para-pnti hltus- chandraka charchitah''49 of the Bheraghat
inscription of Alhanadevi has been translated by Kielhorn as a
'young moon' but with the remark that it is a rare occurrence.50
Chauksha : This word forms part of the name Sri SI oka
Chauksha51 noticed on a pilgrim record from village Sondhia,
Karchhana Tehsil, district Allahabad. Although, possibly on the

44. £./., XXIII, n. 10.

45. Monier-Williams, p. 1189.

46. /£/W.,p. 42.

47. Ibid., Ill, p. 296, 1.73.

48. Ibid.

49. lbid.% II, p. 10.

50. Ibid., p. 14, n. 67.

51. Ibid., XXXIV, p. 248, oo. IV, (ii),

34 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

basis of the prefix Sri sloka and the palaeography of the letters,
Sircar has taken the name as that of a Vaishnava from the south,
we have shown in our discussion on Chaukshas (see the other
part) and also elsewhere52 that it was a particular sect of
Vaishnavas, who were the worshippers of Svami Narayana deva.
Chintita : In the inscription of the time of Kadachchhi which was
composed by a poet called Jhangu, he describes his own
composition as chintitd in place of rachita, which is of lexical
interest. The relevant line reads as : "Bhatta Mammasya putrlna
Jhanguna chintita subha".53

Chollaka: Commenting upon "akhatvd chollaka vlntsika" of the
Basim plates of Vindhyasakti II, V.V. Mirashi takes it in the
sense of a 'water pot*. According to him, "Chollaka is plainly
identical with cholaka in the Mayidavolu plates and yollaka in the
Hirahadagalli plates. Hultzsch derives chollaka from chullaki, a
kind of water pot".54

Chumbaka : The relevant verse from the Silimpur stone inscription
which uses the term chumbaka reads :

Sandigdha nirnnayam yuktyd kurvato =
pi sahasrasah yasya dharmma-tula
ndsid analambita-chumbhaka.55

R.G. Basak, after translating analambita chumbaka as "with
its uppermost part never unsupported", adds that "the word
chumbaka is seldom found in literature in the sense in which it has
been used here. The Medinikosha states one of the various
meanings of this word as, 'dhatasy-ordhv-alambanl\ 'the upper part
of a balance'."5*

Dana-muhl (Skt. Dana-mukhya) : While discussing the Prakrit
expression " ddna-muhl" ', found engraved (in Kharoshthi) on the
Bimaran vase, Pargiter takes it as dana-mukha or dana-mukhya
and explains the word mukhya on the evidence of puranic
literature, as *a chief or head' among many other connotations,

52. Tcwari, S.P., "Who were the Chaukshas ?", J.P.N.S.I., IV, pp. 100-109.

53. E./., XXXV, p. 59.

54. Ibid., XXVI, pp. 153, 155, n. 3.

55. Ibid.,Xlll, pp. 291-92, v. 21.

56. Ibid., p. 294, n. 5.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 35

and finally takes up the meaning of the word mukha as 'the

foremost'.57

Dandasana : The text of the Kolagallu inscription of Khottiga

"contains technical expressions like dandasana and lohasani, the

exact import of which", Luders states, "is not quite clear".

Neither dandasana nor lohosana finds place in the verse which

enumerates the five yogic asanas, viz :

padmasanam svastikakhyam bhadram vajrdsanam
tathd virasanam-iti proktam kramdd-dsana
panchakam**

Both these terms are not found in the dictionaries.
>asa : In the Bheraghat inscription of Alhanadevi, the word dasa
is used in the line "dirgha manojna-daslna iribhuvana dlpayitam
ylna" in the sense of a wick of a lamp which, according to
Kielhorn, happens to be a rare meaning.59

Dhurna vlld : The term figures in the Kadba plates of
Prabhutavarsha. Luders, while examining it, remarks, "Dhuma-v'ela
may have a special meaning unknown to me. Mr. Rice seems
to render it by 'south east' can it mean "the time when the smoke
of the evening fires arises, the evening time 7"60 Possibly,
dhumavM is a synonym of <*odhuli vlla or sandhya when the smoke
of evening fire arises, as Luders has rightly presumed. In the
Vasavadatta of Bhasa, the main feature of the evening is marked
by the expression " pravicharati dhtimd munivanam" .61
Dhvaja-kinkini : Although both the words dhvaja and kinkini are
quite common and are well explained in the dictionaries, yet the
formation of another compound where these two qualify
yuvatayah* figuring in the Bijaulia stone inscription, is a curious
one.62 Elsewhere, Motichandra has identified these young maidens
as courtesans who were using their anklets (kinkini) along with

57. E.7., XVI, pp. 97 ff.

58. Ibid., XXI, p. 260, 1.35; see also Sabda kalpadruma.

59. Ibid., IT. p. 13, v. 33.

60. Ibid., IV, p. 347, n. 6.

61. Svapnavasavadattat 1.16.

62. Chaturbhani (Hindi), Bombay, 1959, introduction, p. 64,

36 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

a banner in their trade.

Disdpatta : As remarked by Fleet while editing a series of
Kannada records from Ablur,63 the word disdpatta figures in a
good number of records from Karnataka and later on also in
some of the Sanskrit inscriptions from Andhra Pradesh. On the
authority of Kittel's Kannada English Dictionary, Fleet has
considered it as a Sanskrit word and explained in the sense of
"one who causes (his enemies) to be scattered in all direction*'.64
The word disd he has construed in the sense of region or the
direction and pata from the root pat meaning to split, cleave or
tear, etc.

Unfortunately, the word is not found in Sanskrit English
dictionaries and strangely enough the Glossary of Sircar65
considers it only as a word of Kannada origin. Although I
have no authority to cite in support of what I know out of my
own survey, the word disdpatta seems to have been adopted from
the vocabulary of wrestlers who play a trick called desapata
more popularly known as pata, which when applied against the
opponent throws him away helter-skelter. And considering the
context of the Ablur inscription at least, this meaning of the term
fits well since the person to whom the title disdpatta is ascribed
is described as "vadigharatfa", i.e., vdde gharattavat vyavaharati
yah sah.

Duhitdndm : In the inscription of Toramana edited by Buhler,
the genitive case plural of the word duhitri meaning 'daughter'
is used once (in line 10) as duhitrindm, which follows the inscrip-
tions of Paninian grammar to the core; but in the very next line
duhitdndm66 is used as the same word in the same case. This
peculiar feature of the language of the record "proves the utter
loss of all feeling for the rules of the language",67 according to
Buhler. But, as we have stated earlier in our introduction to this
monograph, it reflects, in our opinion, the day to day use of the
language and also the way some of the inconvenient usages and

63. E.I., in, p. I89ff.
64Mbid.t V, pp. 226-27, n. 5r

65. Glossary, p. 98.

66. £./., I, pp. 238-241.

67. ##.,p. 241, n. 23,

the Words Used in the Inscriptions 37

forms of Sanskrit words were made simple. In my opinion, the
term duhitanam should equally be considered as one of the
authentic forms of the genitive plural of the word duhitri.
Durbhagd : This is an example of how, even at the cost of
grdmyatva (being rustic), composers of grants were not willing
to lose their chance of making a pun. Or, should we say that
the real opposite of subhaga could be expressed only by the use
of durbhaga. In that case, the poet of Dewal prasasti69 should be
considered more realistic in his outlook.

Dva-saptaty-adhikam : This term may be noticed in a number of
inscriptions belonging to the Vijayanagara and other kings, but the
one we have considered here figures in the Koduvidu inscription
and in another inscription of Krishnadevaraya edited by Luders.69

Referring to the term "dvasaptaty-adhika", in the said
inscription of Krishnadevaraya, Luders remarks that about
"dva-saptatyadhikam, etc., I do not know what is meant by this
phrase".70 But, as attested by Sircar, it seems to be the equivalent
of the phrase which appears later in both Kannada and Telugu
records as "bahatiara niyoga".

Here, in both the cases (whether dva-saptaty adhika or
bahattara) the terms literally mean seventy-two. Although a
good number of explanations have been given about these terms
and there are scholars who in their frantic efforts have virtually
exhausted counting the number of all the offices of the then state,
yet they have not, been able to account for all the seventy-two
numbers even to their own satisfaction.

In my opinion, here both dva-saptaty adhika and bahattara
are not to be taken in their literal sense but more in their
figurative sense. In its figurative way, bahattara means all and
sundry or the mani-fold aspects of any given thing, for that matter.
For example, in Hindi we have an idiom "sup bole to boll chalani
kya boll jisme bahattara chhld". It can loosely be translated as
the one like a sup (Skt. surpd) may still open its mouth against
something but not a sieve (chalani) which has countless holes.
Likewise, someone occupied with multifarious activities will say
"hamare pas bahattara kdm hain ik nahin", meaning that *I have

68. E.L, I, p. 83, v. 17, see also Biihler's note 53 on page 83.

69. Ibid., VI. p. 113, n. 1.

70. Ibid.

38 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

got countless things to do and not just one'.71

In fact, it is a matter of research to find out how and when
such idiomatic expressions came up replacing the earlier ones.
In India, or better to say in Indian languages, there has been from
very beginning a liking for all the different multiple forms of the
number six. There are many things which are expressed by six
then by eighteen, then by thirty-six and here we have for countless
things the numeral seventy-two. Although it is too early to
pass any judgement on this issue, it is my belief that the numeral
seventy-two would have received prominence as a part of an
indiom to express countless things only after the regional verna-
culars came to the forefront. In other words, it may be difficult
to find any authentic expression in Sanskrit for dva-saptatyadhika.
Naturally the said phrase of the Vijayanagara record has been
Sanskritized from the bahattara of the regional vernaculars.
Dvaya : There are certain peculiar and rare grammatical usages
which even though noticed here and there in Sanskrit literature
are few and far between. The term dvaya is one of that type.
It figures, as B. Ch. Chhabra has spotted out, in the Chatesvara
temple inscription. The relevant verse of the record reads as
under :

As char yam yad-ami-dvaye = pi na chirad-
asadya Vishnoh padam. Prapta nirbhara
nirvriti pranayitam pratyarthinah
parthiva.12

Chhabra, while commenting upon 'the term dvaya of this
verse, remarks : "Grammatically the pronominal use of the word
dvaya in verse 13 is interesting. Such a usage is rare, but we have
instances of it in Sanskrit literature as in Magha's Sisupalavadha,
III, 57; "Janairajata-skhalanair-najatu dvayt=py-amuchyanta vinita
margah:^ On this, the gloss of Mallinatha says :

d\ayt dvirupa apt, prathama charamataya-

71. Glossary, p. 43; see also £./., XIX, XXIII and XXX including the term
bdhattara niyogina.

72. E./., XXIX, pp. 121-133, v. 13.

73. Ibid., p. 122.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 39

'jasi vibhashayd sarvandma sanjnd' atra
mdrga sabdasya sadharmydd-lva vrint-
dvalambi phala dvayavad eka sabdln-drtha
dvaya pratitlh.14

Dvldh-dpy-ayodhyasyate : This figures in the Nagpur stone inscrip-
tion of the Malava King Lakshmanadeva and the relevant part of
the verse from the record reads as follows : "Marttum ktvalam-
uttamair nripatibhir dvldh-dpy-ayodhydsyatl"15

The above line is translated by Kielhorn as : "(while those of
the north) throw themselves on their swords, and thus court death
as the best and only fate left to them."76 Furtheron while adding
a note he states : "I take the words dvldh-apy-ayodhyasyatl to
mean that the princes of the north did what is expressed by
ayodhyasyatl in the two senses which these words are capable of
conveying.

Ayo, i.e., ayah may be taken as the nominative of either the neuter
ayas 'iron, steel' or the masculine ay a, 'favourable fortune'.77

Here, although Kielhorn has understood the meaning of the
phrase correctly, he could still not gauge the cultural significance
of it. This refers to a particular custom of ancient India that was
observed (rather, it was obligatory on their part to observe) by
defeated kings at the time of their surrender to the victor. In the
Harshacharita, B:ma has referred to the same by paraphrasing it
as "kantha baddha kripdnapattaih"1* It means that the defeated
kings had suspended their swords from their necks (instead of
carrying them in their hands) in order to propitiate the anger of
the victorious lord. This very idea at a later stage is expressed by
Tulasi in the form of the advice offered by Angada to Ravana as:
"dharahu dasana trina kamtha kuthari"79
Ekapdtra : In spite of the fact that R.K. Goshal finds this official

74. Sisu., Ill, 57; Ghantapatha of Mallinatha.

75. E./..II, p. 186, v. 37.

76. Ibid., p. 192.

77. Ibid., p. 192, n. 72.

78. Harshacharita, (N.S. edition), p. 60; see also Kane's edition, notes p. 121
and Agrawala in the Harshacharita Ek Sanskritik Addhayan, p. 44; also
the translation of the Harshacharita by Cowell and Thomas, p. 48.

79. Ramacharitamanasa, VI, 197.

40 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

title, figuring in the Rakshaskhali island plate of Madommana-
pala, interesting enough, he has not explained the actual function
of it. In the record it is referred to along with saptamatya as
yavad-lkapatra" which is followed by Kanaka and Dandanayaka.™
Sircar has taken it as yavadlkapatra and compared with such
known titles zspatra and mahdpatra.81

Ekakshara : In the inscriptions of Huli edited by L.D. Barnett,
Jnanasakti Panditadeva because of his knowledge of logic and
grammar is called Ekakshara. According to Barnett, "Here (in
this term) there seems to be a play on the double meaning of
Ekakshara, which apparently is taken as signifying, 'uniquely
literate'."82

Gaduka : This term forms part of a verse figuring in the Kalanjar
inscription of V.S. 1147 which was edited by S.L. Katare. Lines
of the said verse read as under :

Gaduka-dvaya~ddn Ina Nilakanthasya
yat-phalam. Tina samyujyatam srlman
Vasudlvah satam-matah.*3

On this Katare remarks :

If my reading of the text as gaduka-dvaya danlna is
correct, it seems that Vasudeva (the donor) requested
Srimurti for permission to donate t*o pots of water
and gain the merit of this pious deed. The practice of
setting up over the lingam, for the duration of the
summer, of two pots of water from which water falls on
the lingam drop by drop, is not only common but is
regarded as a highly pious deed.84

Here itself, Sircar in his capacity of the editor of the
Epigraphia Indica adds an extra note which states that : "The
reading intended for what has been read gaduka seems to be

80. E.I., XXVII, p. 122, 11.4-5; also p. 123, n. 10.

81. Glossary, p. 106.

82. E.7., XVIII, p. 194.

83. Ibid.. XXXI, p. 165, 11.8-9.

84. Ibid., p. .164, n. 1.

The Words Used in the inscriptions
gamdusha; 'handful'."85 But, in my opinion :

(iv)

(i) The reading gaduka by Katare is well supported by the
fascimile of the record.

(ii) It also suits the context here because (if we believe in the
'handful* suggestion of Sircar) for such a simple act as
'offering handful of water twice', there would have been
no need of requesting specific permission. This could be
done as part of daily worship as well.
In this case, Sircar's comment seems to be totally
unwarranted.

The need for specific permission while installing two
water pots in case of Vasudeva would have been on
account of the fact that like him there would have been
many more devotees desirous of doing the same.

(v) As regards the word gaduka or gadduka, we do get even
early records referring to this word in the sense of a
water pot.86

Ghdtika : In the Ghumli plates of Baskharadeva the eastern
boundary part of the given land is said to have been marked by
"ghotika" According to Sircar, "The post was probably marked
with the figure of, or was shaped like, a mare."87

The noteworthy point for our purposes here is the term
ghotika which means a mare but which has been endowed with
the allied meaning of a boundary post in this record.
Grama-grama : Generally the word grama means a village. But
in the Bahur plates of Nripatungavarman88 and also in one of
the Eastern Chalukya grants89 by way of repetition of the word it
has been used, according to Hultzsch, in the sense of " 'village of
villages', i.e., a large village (?) or a chief village (?)." It is also
possible that here the first word grama is used in the sense of a
village and the second one in the sense of their multitude or a
cluster. In other words, the second time grama is used in the way

85. £./., XXXI, p. 164, n. 1.

86. For example, see £./., XI, pp. 202 ff, XVI, p. 3, v. 6; also p. 36, n. 1, etc.

87. £./.,XXXI, p. 12, n. 1.

88. Ibid., XVIII, p. 4, 1.18, n. 12.

89. Ind. Ant., XIII, p. 138, 1.18.

42 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

that we find in Magha's "sphutibhavad-grdma-visisha murch-
chhana\ where the terra grama in that context is explained by
Mallinatha as "svara-sanghata". In fact, even the source for
svara-grama of music comes from the concept of a village only.
This is also made clear by Mallinatha90 who cites grama-lakshana
as follows :

Yatha kutumbinah sarvl ekibhuta
bhavanti hi. Tatha svaranam sandoho
grama ity-abhidhJyatt.91

Thus, the term grama-grama of our record means a grama-
sandoha, i.e., 'village of villages' as was originally thought by
Hultzsch.

Grantha : The Bilahari stone inscription of the rulers of Chedi
edited by Kielhorn contains an invocatory verse where this term
is used in the phrase "grantho yach-cha Durodaraiti Purabhido
devya samam divyatah"?2 After translating the term grantha here
as 'stake\ Kielhorn remarks that "I am doubtful about the
meaning of the word grantha, which I have translated by 'stake'."93
This puzzle has also not been solved by Mirashi (vide, Cil, Vol.
IV, Part I, pp. 204 if)

Bhattoji Dikshita, while commenting upon Amara (II, 4, 162),
has taken both grantha and granthi as analogous and explained
granthatt with the help of "grathi kautilyt". Here itself, he has
quoted a line from the Medinikosha which gives the following
synonyms of the word grantha : " Parva-kllbam mahl granthau
prastavl lakshanantart".94

In my opinion, the synonym prastava of the term grantha
here suits the context of our record very well because prastava in
case of gambling could easily be taken in the sense of a 'stake*.
Grishti : Once again, in another invocatory verse oftheKoni
inscription of Kalachuri Prithvideva II, which was edited by
Mirashi, we come across the term grishti in the following line

90. Sisupalavadha, I. 10; with the gloss of Mallinatha.

91. Ibid., commentary part.

92. £/., I, pp. 251-270, 11.1-2, v. 3.

93. Ibid., p. 263, n. 28.

94. Amarakosha, (N.S. edition) with the commentary of Bhattoji Dikshita.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 43

of the relevant verse : " Sthlyad-dhvastd ripuh sris-tribhuvana
namito grishtir-isht-aptayt vah".95

After rendering the word grishti here into 'bull', Mirashi
states that, "generally the word grishti is feminine and signifies
a cow that has had only one calf. When masculine, the word
means a boat. Here it is used in the sense of Siva's bull".96
Gitpyadguru : This term is used in two verses of the Sundha hill
inscription of Chachigadeva edited by Kielhorn.97 After admitting
that the real sense of this term is not clear, Kieihorn suggests
that, "as a gupyadguru must be something on which a golden
kumbha and golden kalasa can be placed (see verses 27 and 37),
the word perhaps denotes a temple generally or a particular
temple".98

Gurvayatana : The term (gurvayatana'\ which generally means
'teacher's shrine', in this particular record has been used in the
context of a place where the memorials of the gurus were
established.99

Hari-dina and Harivasara : Here although dina and vasara are
generally taken as synonyms for day, the meaning of vasara in
harivasara is explained as dvadasi of the bright fortnight of the
month of Ashadha, Bhadrapada and Karttika; and haridina as a
general term for tkadasi.100

Haiha-sangama : It figures in one of the prasastis from
Baijanath edited by Buhler. The context of the occurrence of
this term in the prasasti is where the poet, after highlighting the
noble character of his patron, as a contrast passes derogatory
remarks on the objectionable behaviour of other petty chiefs who
indulge in coitus with the wives of their own subjects by force
(hat ha). This bold statement of the poet Rama who composed
the prasasti reads as under :

Ady-esvara manda-parakramatvam matva
vipakshair-avadharit-ajnah

95. £./., XXVII, p. 280, v. 2.

96. Ibid., translation part.

97. Ibid., IX, p. 70, ff.

98. Ibid.

99. Ibid , XXI, p. 9, 1.10, n. p. 4.
100. Ibid., VI, p. Ill, n. 4.

44 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

Vdstavya-nari hatha-sangamlna
puradhipatyam saphalam-vidanti. 101

Although hathasllsha meaning 'forcible embrace' is included
in the dictionary of Monier- Williams, no such compound as hatha-
sangama is noticed in any of the dictionaries. This seems to be
the precursor of the word balatkara which is so much in the news
these days.

Josham : A court poet of Eastern Chalukya ruler Vijayaditya III,
while extolling all the good qualities of his patron, describes the
pleasure his master used to derive by attending goshthis :

Goshthi josham gunanam-abhajata nikaro
yatra-cha kvapy-alabdham
Narmalape ~ pi vani na bhavati vitatha
satyasandhasya tasya.102

Kielhorn who edited these Masulipatam plates of Vijayaditya
remarks on the term josham, "According to the dictionaries, the
wordjosha, in classical Sanskrit, would seem to be used only as
adverb, in the form josham; but it occurs as a substantive in the
sense of sukha, e.g., in Harshacharita (p. 159, 1.8)".103
Kali-Vallabha : K.B. Pathak, while editing the Pimpri plates of
Dharavarsha Dhruvaraja, has added an elaborate note on this
term which in my opinion takes full review of this term and also
perhaps settles the appropriate meaning of it once and for all.104
He writes :

One of the titles of Dhruva is Kali-vallabha, which
Dr. Fleet always translates, "favourable of the Kali age".
It is well-known the Kali age is sinful, and to be called
"favourable of the 'sinful-age' " can hardly be regarded
as complimentary. The real explanation appears to be
different. Kali means, 'a brave person, a warrior* and

101. £•./., I, pp. 97-112.

102. Ibid., V,p. 120,11.22-25.

103. Ibid., p. 126, n. 7.

104. lbid.t X, p. 84.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 45

Vallabha means 'favourite' or 'lord'.105 And, the title
should be rendered, "the favourite of warriors". That
this is the real meaning of the title is implied in the
following verse which occurs in the Manne grant and the
Sisur inscriptions :

Labdha-pratishtham-achiraya kalirh
suduram utsaryya suddha-charitair-
dharanitalasya. Kritva punah Krita-
yuga sriyam-apy-aslsham, chitram katham
Nirupamo Kali-vallabho = bliut.

i.e., 'Having quickly driven far away, by his pure actions,
the Kali age, which had obtained a footing, and having
created again the glory of the Krita age on the surface
of the earth, it is wonderful how Nirupama became the
favourite of the Kali age (the favourite of warriors)'.106

This verse is an instance of the well-known figure of speech
called Virodhabhasa (apparent contradiction). The expression
kali~vallabha is used in a double sense. The literal rendering
'favourite of the Kali age' creates an apparent contradiction, which
consists of the Kali age being driven away by its own favourite.
But this contradiction is not real and disappears as soon as we
remember the secondary and the real sense of the title, 'the
favourite of warriors',107

Kapata-sandhi-krama : This term occurs in the Urajam plates of
Indravarman II which were edited by P.R. Srinivasan and R.
Subramanyam. After stating that the term is of lexical interest,
the editors have left it unexplained. The editor of the journal, in
this instance, has also offered no explanation.108

Considering that kapat-ddghatana means opening of the

door planks, the phrase kapata-sandhi should mean the closing

• »

105. E.L, I, n. 3 which quotes :

(i) "Kali stri kalikayam na suraji kalahe yuge" of Medinikosha.
(ii) "Kalir-vibhitake sure vivade — ntya yuge yudhi" of Hemachandra; and
(iii) "Trishv-adhyakshe=pi vallabhah" of Amara and "Vallabho dayite-
dhyakshe" of Medini.

106. Vide, £•./., VII, p. 205, 11.2-3 .

107. E.I., X, p. 84.

108. Ibid, XXXVII, p. 160, 1.17,

46 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the door. And the word krama, as we know, denotes a sequence.
Thus, the phrase "kapata-sandhi-krama" should mean the sequence
which is followed in closing the two planks of the door. As per
our observation, when the two planks of the door are to be closed
in the traditional indigenous way, the left one is bolted first and
the right one later. Therefore, the sequence which seems to have
been referred to by the phrase kapaja-sandhi-krama intends to
have the left door closed first and the right afterwards.
Karttakritika : In the charter of Vishnusena the king is endowed
with many official designations or titles. One such title of the
king is Mahakartta kritika". Commenting upon the title kartta-
kritika, Sircar, who had occasion to deal with this charter more
than once, remarks, 'The real meaning of karttakritika is
unknown, but it may have indicated a royal agent, or a judge of
a superior court or an officer, like the present day Legal
Remembrancer, inviting the king's attention to what was done
or left undone".109

Later on, in his Glossary, he explains the same term as
follows :

Mahakarttakritika (I.E. 8-2; E. 1. XXIX, XXX, C. I.I.
Ill, H.D.), official designation of uncertain import,
probably a reporter who informed the king about the
progress of big undertakings, sometimes explained as,
"the royal agent or judge", one of the designations
sometimes included in the Panchamahasabda, cf. the
case of Maitraka Dhruvasena I, cf. Ind. Ant., Vol. XV,
p. 306."°

The title Karttakritika or Mahakarttakritika, in my opinion,
derives its origin from Kartta or Karttavlrya, i.e., Sahasrabahu
Arjuna who is said to have had thousand arms. The implication
of the designation seems to be that the official endowed with this
title was entrusted with, or had his say in, practically all the affairs
of the state. Figuratively speaking, he was the man with
thousand arms like Kartta or Karttavirya and also he resembled
the akriti (facial appearance or the very personality (of Kartta in
the performance of his duties.

109. E.I., XXX, p. 166.

110. Glossary, p. 177.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 47

Khandhikatasa (Skt. Skandhlkrita) : One of the inscriptions of
Ehavala Chamtamula from Nagarjunakonda edited by Sircar reads
as under :

Araka Bhadarakasa yati samana
khamdhikatasa kodarakasa chhaya
khambho.m

According to Sircar, "The inscription indicates that the pillar
on which it is engraved was the chhaya stambha of Kodaraka
who is described as oraka bhadaraka (Skt. Aryaka Bhatlaraka)
and yati samana khamdhikata (Skt. yati sramana skandhlkrita).
The first of these epithets may suggest that Kodaraka was a
religious personage, probably the head of a monastery. The other
epithet, in which skandhlkrita literally means 'borne on the
shoulder' seems to mean that he was highly respected by the
yatis (Brahmanical ascetics) and sramanas (Buddhist monks)".112

To me, it seems that in a simple record the composer has
put the matter quite figuratively. For khamdha in Pali means is 'a
trunk of the tree' and kodaraka is the Pali form of kotaraka, i.e.,
'a cavity inside the trunk of a tree'. In other words, the figurative
idea of the expression "yati samana khanidhi katasa kodarakasa^
is that kodajaka personified the mass of yatis and sramanas. In
Sanskrit it could be rendered as 'yatinam cha sramananam cha
skandhikritasya kotarakasya chhaya stambhah'.
Mall : The term mall or yuvati mall figures in one of the Silahara
cave inscriptions which were edited by D.R. Bhandarkar.
Commenting upon the compound yuvati mall, he remarks :

Yuvati male —yuvati mall. Malath means 'a high ground,
rising or elevated ground*. The word occurs in V.
16, of Kalidasa's Mlghaduta, where it is explained by
Mallinatha as 'sailaprayam — unnata-sthalam' i.e., 'an
elevated hilly place'. Consequently, yuvati mall is to be
understood as denoting some hilly place for meeting
young women.113

111. £./., XXXV, p. 13, 11.2-4.

112. Ibid.

113. £•./., XXII.

48 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

But following the gloss of Vallabha on the Meghaduta we
arrive at a slightly different conclusion. Vallabha's explanation
of the word mdlam is as follows :

Malam-udddram kshltram kinchin-
mandg-druhya and mdlarohanam
vrishtyd vadhii prlty-artham mdlln
hi tad-upari bhavam-dkdsam lakshyatt.114

Monier-Williams has not explained the word with this mean-
ing in particular.

Matha : While reviewing the Balsane inscriptions edited by M.G.
Dishita,115 B. Ch. Chhabra refers to the relevant line of the
text that reads : "Akdrayad-raja-matham-cha bhagnam nirantaram
brahma nivdsa htto".

He objects to the term rdja-matha or mat ha being rendered
only as 'monastery'. Chhabra thinks that to call matha a
monastery here is a misconception of the exact purport of the
record. Its secondary sense here is that of a "devalaya or a
temple"116 Later on he says :

It remains to be shown that matha meaning 'temple' is
found not only in lexicons, but also actually used in
old inscriptions. The Dhauli cave inscription of the
time of Santikara, for instance, records the erection of a
temple where the term employed is mafha.117 The word
matha occurring in line 8 of Kaman stone inscription,
has been taken as referring to a temple of Siva.118
The Algaum inscription, dated in the sixty second regnal
year of the Ganga monarch Anantayarman Chodaganga,
obviously refers to a temple of Siva, under the name
Garttes'vara, again using the word matha for temple.119
Instances of mathi and mathikd (diminutive forms of

114. Meghaduta, with the commentary of Vallabha, edited by E. Hultzscb,
London, 1911.

115. £./., XXVI, p. 309 ff.

116. Ibid., XXIX, pp. 136-37; n. C.

117. Ibid., XIX, p. 264.

118. Ibid., XXIV, p. 330 ff.

119. Ibid., XXIX, p. 47, 1.14.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 49

matha} in the sense of 'shrine' or 'cell' are also found in
inscriptions.120

Not disagreeing with the explanation of Chhabra who takes
matha in the sense of a devalaya, I think it still remains to be
shown as to which is the earliest epigraphical reference to the
term matha and in what sense it has been referred. Does it
contradict the meaning of the term matha as a chhatra-nilaya
(a sort of a convent, referred to by Amara) like the explanation
of Chhabra does, or does it support that ?

In all probability, the matha kind of complex was attached
to the temple in the form of a dwelling place — a sort of
residential area meant for teachers and their disciples. But
gradually the matha complex developed to the extent that it
overshadowed the temple itself or became a synonym of the
temple as such. The examples cited by Chhabra come from that
period onwards. In fact, these two aspects of a matha, i.e.,
chhatralaya or devalaya, require further examination before we
can say definitely when, how and in what sense the matha
complex was attached to the temple.

Mulavasi : A line of the Kessanpalli inscription of Charhtamula,
edited by S. Sankaranarayanan, reads as under : "Nigajasa
Bahusutiyanam mulavasi vihara chttika".121

While commenting upon the term mulavasi from the above,
Sankaranarayanan states that :

The expression mulavasin, 'those who are having or
undergoing mulavasa'' is interesting. The word mula both
in Sanskrit and in Pali may mean 'beginning or
commencement'. (Mallinatha of the (na mulath likhyat'e
kinchit' fame would object to this). The Buddhist
Sanskrit texts prefix this word to the names of certain
penances known as panvasa 'penances to be performed
by the probationers', (note 1. p. 315; so mula parlvasa
may mean probation, i.e., penance during probation,
starting over from the beginning as the original offences
are repeated by the monks. See also Edgerton— Bud.
Hybrid Sanskrit Diet. s.v. panvasah\ may be parityajya
vasah 'residing after abandoning a time or place*. See

120. Vide, E.I., XXVI, p. 225, 11.26-27,

121. #/</., XXXVIII, p. 313 ff; 1,2,

50 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the Vedanta Kalpataru (II. 1.24) of Amalananda and
manapya — a penance prescribed after parivasa). So it
is probable that mulavasin of our record denotes the
monks performing such penances.122

To me, all this seems to be an exercise in vain. In the
original text (mula-patha) of the record the phrase is only mula-
vasi and the further addition of parivasa or upavasa to it is
nothing but superfluous. The word mula, here, as elsewhere,123
is used in the sense of 'main, basic, original' and vast or vasinah
are the residents. Thus the phrase mula-vasi vihara chltika which
is preceded by nigaja Bahusutiyanam, in my opinion, refers to the
nigaja (i.e., Skt. nikaya, body) of the Bahusutiyas who were the
original (mula) residents (vast) of the vihara and chaitya or the
chaitya vihara. In other words, the chaitya vihara originally
belonged to the nikaya of the Bahusutiyas.

Muraja : In the Gautami plates of Ganga Indravarman, the
land granted is referred to as "danam murajah chatvari" ,124
On this K.G. Goswami who edited these grants remarks,
"The meaning of the expression ldanam murajah chatvar?
is not clear. Muraja generally means a kind of musical instru-
ment such as tambourine".125 The editor of the journal remarks
here that "muraja may denote a land measure, the area of the
donated land being four murajas".126 But, how muraja, if it is a
Sanskrit word, could be explained in the sense of a land measure
is not made clear. From certain records noticed earlier than this
and also a few later ones, Sircar has indecisively tried to
compare this term with mura and muraka.121 But the letter ja
of muraja in the plate is so clear that it cannot be taken as a
mistake for muraka.

There are two specific meanings of muraja given in the
dictionaries. One is a 'kind of drum or tambourine' and the other
is 'a sloka artificially arranged in the form of a drum'. From the

122. Vide, E.L, XXXVIII, p. 314-15.

123. Cf. "Prasadasya vinirmane mula-bhittir-apekshate" from Manu and "na
mulam likhyate kinchit" from Mallinatha.

124. £./., XXIV, p. 182, 1.29.

125. Ibid., n. 14.

126. Ibid.

127. Glossary, s.v. muraja', see EJ., IX and XXXIII,

Words Used in the Inscriptions 51

illustration of muraja-bandha, as it is given by Durga Prasad in
his edition of the Sisupalavadha (while explaining XIX. 29, page
472 of the N.S. edition), it seems more probable that the term
muraja does not denote so much a measurement of the land as its
shape, which would have looked like that of a big drum.
Pakshapata : In a couple of pilgrim records noticed by Sircar,
from the area of Allahabad in U.P., the term paksha pata has been
used in the sense of 'one who works on behalf of someone else'.
In other words, it should be taken as denoting 'in favour of.
An example of this type reads as under :

Sri Sadarnnava Gcwdhahasti Vasantalila
Harshavardhana pakshapatah purva-
dlsiya Balavarmmanah likhitam tamra-
ghanna.12*

Pani-patrika : In one of the three inscriptions of Ramagupta,
edited by G.S. Gai, the preceptor Chandra Kshamacharya is
described with the epithet "pani-patrika" ,129 Commenting upon
the term pani-patrika, Gai remarks that "the epithet pani-patrika
indicates that the Jaina monk was eating with hands*'.130 But,
in this regard every human being is a pani-patrika and no one
is pada-patrika. In my opinion, the Jaina preceptor Chandra
Kshama possibly belonged to the Digambara sect of Jainas who
avoid keeping even a begging bowl required for taking food and
drinking water. Instead, they use only their hands for all these
purposes. Apte (dictionary, p. 1004) after quoting an instance
from the Sataka of Bhartrihari (III. 52; cf. pani-patram pavitram)
explains the compound pani-patra as drinking by means of the
hand.

Partly a-Chchhaya-Mandapa : The Kendupatna plates, which have
been 'edited by Sircar, state that the grant was made when the
king was in the "paniya chhaya-mandapa" .m In the opinion
of Sircar, this means "possibly a shaded hall cooled by water".132

128. £./., XXXIV, pp. 249 ff.

129. Ibid., XXXVIII, p. 49, 1.2.

130. Ibid., p. 47.

131. Ibid., XXVIII, p. 190, 1.178.

132. Ibid., p. 187.

52 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

The compound pamya-chchhaya-mandapa as such is not notic-
ed in the dictionaries. It may be something \ikejala-chadara of the
Savana-Bhadon type of apartments noticed at a later date in
Mughal architecture. For more details, see our paper on
mlghadambara in the other part of this work.
Parivara : While examining the "So-called Taksit-i-Bahi inscrip-
tion of the year 103",133 Sten Konow tries to show that the word
parivara is also used in the sense of a chapel, after citing a good
number of instances, particularly from Kharoshthi records, where
this term occurs. It clearly demonstrates the fact that many words
used in inscriptions have undergone changes in their meanings
which are seldom noticed in the dictionaries. The discussion
by Konow on the term parivara being a long one, we would refer
our readers to go through it on their own.

Pasadaka : The text of the foot-print slab inscription from
Nagarjunakonda, edited by Sircar and A.N. Lahiri, provides two
interesting terms for discussion. The term pasadaka figures in
the first line and the term pavlni dhara in the second. The text
of the first line reads as under :

Achariyanam thlriyanam vibhajavadanam
Kasmira Gandhara Yavana Vanavasa
Tambapanni dipa pasadakanam.134

"The word pasadaka", remark the editors, "which generally
means 'causing serenity or happiness' (is used here) figuratively
in the sense of converting to the Buddhist faith. The Mahavamsa
uses the expression 'dlpappasadeko thlro" to indicate 'the monk
who converted the island ( Ceylon)'. "1?5

Pavinidhara : As stated above, this term occurs in the second line
of the record which reads :

v Inma-jdi inn? oirjla /rrrJiig vd

Mahavihara vasinam navanga sathu sasana

atha vyajana vlnichhaya visaradanam

ariya vamsa pavtnidharanam.136

.*neK .tr

133. £./., XVI1T, pp. 267-268.

134. Ibid., XXXIII, p. 250, 1.1.

135. Vide, Pali English Diet, by Childers, s.v. Pasadako.

136. Op. clt., p. 250, 1.2.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 53

Sircar and Lahiri, after rendering the phrase "ariya varhsa

I pavlmdhara" into Sanskrit as "arya varhsa pravlni dhara", have

explained the title as "(the teacher) knew the traditions of

; Buddhist recluses by heart", or "who knows the traditions of the

[ (four) classes of (Buddhist) recluses by heart". In my opinion,

it gives only the general sense of the phrase and not the

specific one. In particular, the meaning of the word pavtni is

I certainly not made clear here. The word pravini, as it is rendered

into Sanskrit by the editors, means only the "braid of hair worn

by widows and by wives in the absence of their husbands, a piece

of coloured woollen cloth (used instead of a saddle)" and also

"the housing of an elephant", (vide Monier-Williams, p. 694).

Needless to say that all these meanings of the Sanskrit word

pravlni fall contrary to the context here.

Later on, after putting more emphasis on the term dhara of
pavlni dhara, the editors have equated the term with such expres-
sions as dhammadhara, vinayadhara, matikadhara, etc., of Pali
literature (vide Childers Pali Dictionary) as well as Vinayadhara,
and Mahavinayadhara of the Amaravati inscriptions (vide Burgess,
p. 37, No. 8, and p. 102, No. 25) and Digha-majjhima-nikayadhara
of one of the Nagarjunakonda inscriptions (vide El, XX, pp. 17
and 29). But, as I see it, neither the Sanskrit rendering of pavlni
into pravlni nor the combining of dhara with Vinaya, Digha and
Majjhima, etc., give the desired sense of the phrase in the present
context. The titles suffixed with the term dhara no doubt refer to
such Theras and Acharyas who knew the above-mentioned texts
by heart, but in the case of pavlnidhara the shade of meaning
in accordance with the Pali texts seems to be slightly different.

In the Pali English Dictionary of Rhys Davids (p. 67), the
word pavlnidhara (besides all its other meanings) is explained (on
the authority of Dh. A. Ill, 386) as "vamsanurakkhaka" ', i.e.,
anurakshaka or the protector of the varhsa of the Arya (Buddha).
Pratika-Priya-Vachana : Literally the term means 'saying welcome
things in an inverted manner'. It has been used in the Gwalior
prasasti in connection with the nick-name Kakkuka of a Pratihara
king who was otherwise called Kakutstha.137 The significance of

137. £./., XVHl, p. 107, v. 5; for "Kakkuka the Nickname of a Pratihara
King" see S.P. Tewari, in J.P.N.S.I., Vol. VII, pp. 82-86.

54 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the phrase for our purpose is that it demonstrates the fact that
though separate words like pratika, priya and vachana are found
in the dictionaries, there is a need to incorporate some of their
compound forms as well since these yield a slightly different shade
of meaning.

Pratipadharyam : This term occurs in the Nesarika grant of
Govinda III which was edited by P.L. Gupta.138 Commenting
upon this term (which he has read a little differently), Gupta says
that :

Verse twenty-two of the grant refers to the insignia of the
lord of the Gurjaras as 'phalakam prativadharyam'.
This faulty passage may be amended as 'phalakam
pratiharyam\ meaning a tablet (phalaka) having the
figure of a pratihara (door keeper). The reference is to
the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kanauj. The seals attached
to the charters of these Pratiharas look like a tablet
(phalaka)* being a rectangular piece 6" to 8" broad and
10" to 13" long.139 They should bear a human figure
facing full front under an arch. This figure has been
taken to be the goddess Bhagavati, since she is mention-
ed in the grants of the Pratihara King Mahendrapala.140
But we know from the Gwalior prasasti that the Gurjara
Pratiharas were born in the family having the emblem
of a pratihara (door-keeper)141 and a man under an arch
is an apt representation of door-keepers.

On the above comments and also on the reading of the
text by Gupta, Sircar, who happened to be the editor of the
journal then, has added an extra note.142 He, after improving
upon the reading of the relevant text of the grant, quotes it as
follows :

Andhra-Chalukya Maurytbhyo,
Varaham Gurya(ja) resvarat.
Phalakam pra (pro) tipa(d*)haryam
Vrishabham Pallavtsvarat.

138. £./., XXXIV, p. 126 ff.

139. Ibid., n. 10, Vide, E.I., VI, pp. 4 ff. and vv. 9 and 20.

140. Ibid., n.l\tVide,Ind.Ant.,XV,v.H2.

141. Ibid., n. 12, Vide E.I., XVIII, p. 107, 1.3; Pratihara-kitana-bhrit.

142. Ibid., XXXIV, p. 137 ff.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 55

Then he renders the phrase pratipadharya as "a phalaka or
board bearing (the figure of) the pratipad or kettle-drum and
harya or shake, from the Gurjara king*'. Later on, while
summarizing the whole issue of the banners of different dynasties
that Rashtrakuta Govinda has snatched away, Sircar reverts to
the issue of pratipad once again and remarks :

verse four of the Sagartal (Gwalior) inscription of Bhoja
represents the Pratihara family as Pratihara-kltanabhrit
(i.e., having the banner bearing the figure of the
pratihara, probably meaning Lakshmana the door-keeper
of Rama), and, if it is believed that the same emblem
was referred to in our record, we have to correct the
passage in question as "phalakam pratiharankam" .
Since, however, such an emendation would look rather
arbitrary and a royal family could have more than one
emblem for their banner, it is difficult to be sure on this
point.143

We on our part feel like asking the great master epigraphist
what the need was for such a long note on a issue about which
he himself was not sure.

However, in my. opinion, there is no need to emend the
passage in question, either as phalakam pratiharyam (suggested by
Gupta) or as phalakam pratiharankam (suggested by Sircar).
The passage phalakam pratipadharyam, as it has been rightly
read by Sircar, yields the sense that Gupta has tried to
bring home. The etymology of the term pratipadharya (vide
Halayudha with the commentary of J.S. Joshi, Lucknow, p. 456)
gives the sense of a pratihara or door-keeper. The first meaning
of the word pratipad according to Apte (dictionary, p. 1075) is
"access, entrance or way" and pratipadharya like pratihara should
be the one who keeps charge of the gate of entrance and brings
messages into the king and commands out to the public.144
Purasa : This occurs in the Kasyapa image inscription from
Silao edited by B. Ch. Chhabra. The relevant line of the record

143. £./., XXXIV, p. 137 ff.

144. For further details on the position and the duties of a door-keeper
(pratihara) see, S.P . Tewari, The Royal Attendants in Ancient Indian
Literature, Epigraphy and Art, Delhi, 1987, pp. 21 ff.

56 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

reads : "Pravrajid~yah purasa-vapusham kapttlyam vihaya".™5

Chhabra, after stating that the word purasa is of lexico-
graphical interest, considers it as an equivalent of the equally rare
word purata which means 'gold'.146

Purva- Purvaja- PUJ ana : A verse in the Indragadh inscription of
Nannappa edited by Krishnadeva, where this phrase figures, reads

Gauda-dlsodbhavasy-tyam Sankarasy-
aiamajlna tu. Durggaditylna vihita
purva-purvaja'pujana.1 47

On the term purva-purvaja-pujana, Krishnadeva remarks that
"in the epithet purvaja pujana applied top ur va, the word purvaja
has been used to indicate the god Jiva."148 But, as far as I can
ascertain, the lerm purvaja has never been used in the sense of the
god Siva, neither here nor anywhere else. Literally, the term
purvaja denotes one who was born earlier and Siva was never
born since he is ajanma.

In my belief, this purva (euology) is purvaja (r.e., purvajanam,
or purvacharyanam, who are all mentioned earlier in the record)
pujana, i.e., worship. In other words, it means that this euology
itself is the worship of the ancestors by means of literature.
Purva- prachiy am : In one of the three inscriptions of Lakshmes-
vara edited by L.D. Barnett, the following phrase referring to
this term occurs : "Siva dharmma harmya-tala purva-
prachiyam."149

Barnett, after translating this phrase as the "right eastern
face on the floor of the edifice of the religion of Siva", adds a
note which says that "the word purvaprachi is not clear to me.
It seems to mean the 'east of east face', i.e., a person holding a
very prominent and representative position, in the church. Most
temples face towards the east".150 But according to Monier-

145. £./., XXV, p. 334.

146. Ibid., p. 320, introduction.

147. £./., XXXII, p. 117, 11.14-15.

148. /&/</., p. 113, n. 1.

149. Ibid., XVI, 11.37-38.

150. /£«/., p. 51, n. 2.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions

Williams (p. 704) who takes prachina, on the authority of
lexicons, in the sense of prachlra, it is possible that the term
prachl or prachiyam is also used in the sense of a prachira or
'hedge' and thus the term purva prachi may mean 'one who was
like the foremost (or the earliest) base wall' or 'a hedge (mula-
bhitti) to the floor and the whole edifice of the religion of Siva'.
Risha : One of the acharas in the charter of Vishnusena states
that ltpara*vishayat-karanabhyagatd \anijakah para rlshl na
grahyah". According to Sircar "The word rlsha means injury,
but its significance in the present context is unknown".151
Sabhavan : In the Sravanabelgola epitaph of Mallishena this
rarely used, although grammatically correct, term is noticed in
the following passage :

Sri Pushpaslna munir-iva padarii
mahimno dlvasya yasya samabhut-
sabhavan-sadharmma.152

As has been pointed out by Hultzsch (based on information
he received from Kielhorn), the word sabhavan according to
Panini's grammar (V. 3, 14; itar-abhyopi drisyanil) has the same
connotation as that of atra-bhavan and tatra-bhavan. However,
the word sabhavan does not figure in either of the dictionaries of
Monier-Williams and Apte.

Sadhara : After considering the context in which this word
occurs in the Pratabgadh inscription of the time of Mahendrapala
II of Kannauj, G.S.H. Ojha remarks that "the meaning of
sadhara is not clear — ". His assumption is that "it may mean
'with the adjacent grounds' or may be (it is) an abbreviation of
sadharana (common)".153

Samhatika : This term occurs in the Kasyapa image inscription
from Silao edited by B. Ch. Chhabra. Having stated that the
term is of lexicographical interest, Chhabra says that it "appears
here (in this record) as a synonym of samghati or samghatika
which is peculiar to Buddhist terminology and denotes 'one of

151. £./., XXX, p. 172, n. 16.

152. Ibid., HI, p. 201.

153. Ibid., XIV, p. 177, 11.26 and 32.

5 8 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the three robes of a monk (tri-chlvaray ":154

Sasana : In the Dewal Prasasti of Lalla there is a verse which

reads155 :

Yah sasanany-ati-samriddha jan-
anvitani. Simanta sasya bahulani
dadau dvijtbhyah.*56

Herein Biihler, who edited this record, comments upon the
term sasana that "the word is used in a peculiar sense that may
not be noticed in the lexicons". According to him, "When the
author speaks of holy sasanas situated on the banks of pure
rivers, he uses the word Sasana in the sense of villages granted by
sasanas or edicts; for which meaning it might be difficult to find
good authority".157

Sthanato=pi na chalito : The expression tlsthanato—pi na
chalito isha Bhagavana rumbar bhavo Ashjabhuja (?) svami",
figures in the Nagarjunakonda inscription of the time of Abhira
Vasushena which was edited by D.C. Sircar.158 Referring to this
term, Sircar observes :

The statement that the god was not removed from its
place (stanto=pi na chalito) but was installed on the
Setagiri is not quite clear. But it may be a case of the
reinstallation of a deity at the same place where it was
being worshipped for some time. The specific mention
of the fact that it was not removed from its place
probably suggests that the image in question was going
to be taken to some other place. It may be conjectured
that some foreign conquerors were in possession of the
area and that one of their leaders wanted to carry the
image home but that the idea was later given up. It
may however, be admitted that reinstallation of the
deity is not clearly suggested by the language of the
epigraph. If, moreover, the expression rumbara-bhava
really means that the image was cut out of the trunk of
an udumbara tree standing on the hillock, the non-

154. £./., XXV, p. 328.

155. Ibid., VIII, pp. 26 ff.

156. 76/W..I, p. 79, v. 21.

157. lbid.% see also v. 33 of the same record.

158. lbid.t XXXIV, pp. 202-03, 1.4.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 59

removal of the image may, of course, refer to its installa-
tion at the place where it was fashioned.159

I am sorry to say that there is a lot of conjecture in the
whole observation of Sircar, except in the last sentence where he
seems to have admitted the truth. The idea seems to be that the
image of Ashtabhujasvami was carved directly in the trunk of an
udumbara tree without any attempt of dislocating it from the
place. Such an image (a true stationary one) is described by
Bana in his Harshacharita as "pratiyatana". In this case, it was
the image of Katyayani which was carved out of the trunk of a
tree :

Pathika-jana namaskriyamana pravesa
padap'dtkirna Katyayani pratiydtanam.m

Sankara in his gloss on this passage explains pratiyatana as
"pratima", i.e., image.161 Amara has also included it as one of
the synonyms of pratima where Bhattoji has explained the word
pratiyatana as "pratiyatyatl=naya" and quoted the rule "yata
nikar-opaskarayoh" which means the application of yata (as is the
case with pratiyatana) denotes 'beautifying or ornamenting by way
of adding grace (upaskara)\ In the present context, this grace
has been added to the trunk of the tree by carving an image of
Vishnu/Katyayani therein.

The phrase sthanato = pi na chalito reminds me of a similar
expression occurring in the Mrichchhakatika of Sudraka. There,
the mother of Vasantasena, who was absurdly fat, is ridiculed by
Vidushaka as "pravtsya Mahadeva".162 The idea is that her image
was carved out first, probably from an immovable rock boulder,
and then the door, boundary walls, etc., were made.163

159. £•./., XXXIV, p. 200 (introduction).

160. Harshacharita (N.S. edition) p. 57; sec Harshacharita Ek Samskritik
Adhyayan (Hindi) by V.S. Agrawala, p. 37.

161. Cowell and Thomas have translated this passage as "with figures of the
goddess carved on the trees at the entrance". Harshacharita, London,
1897, p. 45.

162. Mrichchhakatika, IV. 29 ff.

163. For more details on this see S. P. |Tewari, "Personal and Nicknames in
Mfichchhakatika", Cultural Heritage of Personal Names and Sanskrit
Literature, Delhi, 1982, pp. 73-74.

60 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Regarding the expression rumbara bhava of the record, be-
sides the fact that this would appear to have been a prominent
tree on the top of the hillock, the Vaishnava faith in the sanctity
of an udumbara tree would have also been responsible in singling
out this tree for the purpose of image carving.164
Sthavira : This figures on the legend of the seal of the Nagardhan
plates of Svamiraja which were edited by Mirashi. The full
phrase of the legend reads : "mahamatra ganasthavira" '.165

Mirashi, after considering the sthavira of mahouts (maha-
matra) as the ''president of their corporation", remarks that
"sthavira seems to be used in the same sense asjttthaka of which
it is a synonym. The latter term occurs in the Jatakas as head of
a corporation".166 But, gana-sthaviray in my opinion, could as
well be taken as a gana vriddha, i.e., chief or senior of a gana, the
corporation. The vriddha meaning of sthavira is defined by
Vyasa as follows :

Na tena vriddha bhava ti yen-asya
palitam sir ah. Yd vai yuvapy-adhiyanas-
tarh dlvah sthaviram viduh.161

Suddham : Our attention to this term, which occurs in the
Chatesvara temple inscription, is drawn by B. Ch. Chhabra. The
relevant lines of the verse from the inscription read as follows :

Ktyam mantra-kala yad-unmad-karlvyuham
vihay-amuna. Suddham-lka-padl vrishl
kalayata samrajyam-asaditam™*

Chhabra has translated it as "what a wonderful magic trick
was that, leaving aside the array of rutting elephants (and depend-
ing rather) on the one-legged bull (i.e. dharma) adopting merely
that (magic) he had secured the empire".169

164. In the Vishnusahasranama one of the names of Vishnu is Udumbara also.

165. £./., XXVIII, p. 9.

166. Ibid.

167. MBH, III, 133, 11.

168. £./., XXIX, p. 126, 11.6-7.

169. Ibid., XXIX, p. 130.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 61

Then follows a note adding, "Mark the use of the word suddha
in the sense of kivala in the present context. The English word
pure offers a parallel in as much as this likewise is occasionally
used in the sense of sheer and mere".170

Svita : For the sake of the many nuances closely associated
with this term, it is necessary for us to quote the full text of the
Siroli inscription of Sarvavarman which incorporates it. It reads
as under :

[1] Maharajadhiraja sripara [2] mlsvara Sarvavarmma
Padanuddhyata [3] sri Mahalaya Vriddhlsvara diva [A] kula
karapaka kshatriya Na [5] ravarmm \na\-mata-pitror-aimana
[6] scha Puny-apya-yanaya Svita Pa [7] pdni (ni) ya-sangraha
krita.™

The above text is marked by three notes from G.S. Gai who
edited this record. The first note is on the word Svita (1.6)
suggesting that the word means 'white' and we may take it here
in the sense of 'clear'. The second one is on the letter pa (1.6)
stating that "this letter is superfluous" and the third one is on the
word krita (1.7) suggesting that the full phrase be read as "san-
grahah karitah".]12

After carrying out the above emendations in the text Gai

gives a summary of the record as follows :

The object of the inscription is to record the construction
of a water reservoir (pamyasamgraha) by Naravarmman
for the merit of his parents as well as his own. The
reservoir must have been somewhere in the vicinity of
the inscribed rock and the present spring above might
have been connected with it.173

From the emendations suggested by Gai in the body of the
last sentence of the record (though not justified in all cases), it is
certain that the last sentence of the inscription lacks grammatical

170. £•./., XXIX, n. 3.

171. Ibid., XXX VIII, p. 58.

172. Ibid., p. 58, nn 7 and 8.

173. Ibid., p. 58.

62 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

accuracy. But our observation of this part of the record makes
us think that in this sentence there are few letters which got
rather omitted than there being anything unwanted or superfluous.

Although used in the sense of cleaning and thus becoming
white, the word svita does not refer to the water of the reservoir
(which comes into existence only after the emendations of Gai
are taken into account). In my opinion, the word, svita meaning
'to become white, be white or clean' (cf. Apte, p. 1581, also
"Vyatikarita digantah svita manairyasobhih") is qualifying, or
used against, the mass of sins (cf. pa, of line 6 and pani of
line 7 which makes the reading papani apparent on one hand and
the emendation of Gai irrelevant on the other) which king Nara-
varmman had accumulated.

Thus, in contradiction of Gai's emendation, the intended
reading of the text here seems to have been "hita papani y[ani]
sangraha krit [ani]". This could be rendered as 'cleared (cleaned)
or washed away the sins that have been accumulated'. Therefore,
the object of the inscription is not to record the construction of
a water reservoir but rather to record the construction of the
temple of Mahalaya Vriddhesvara for the merit of his parents as
well as for his own merit, and also to record the cleaning of all the
sins accumulated by the king.

No wonder if the king Naravarman would have had the
record engraved after taking a bath on the same rock that bears
this record since even now, as stated by Gai (p. 57), the water of
the spring that is right above this rock, flows on to the surface
of it.

There is nothing unusual in the fact that the cleansing/
removal of the king's sins was put on record. We know from two
prasastis of Baijnath that a king called Lakshmanachandra visited
Kedaresvara in order to efface sins and take a vow that henceforth
he would not misbehave with the womenfolk of his subjects.174
Tarkuka : This word, which occurs in the Talgunda inscription
of Kakusthavarman, is given in the Abhidhana Chintamani of
Hemachandra (V. 388) as a synonym of yachaka and is also
explained in a gloss on the Rajatarangini (III.254) in this very

174. £./., IX, pp. 97-112; cf. "Kedara ydtram virachayya yfnq visodhanifr
praktana dushkritosya".

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 63

sense. However, the word is of rare occurrence in literature
and even in the dictionaries; though they include the term, they
do not give any definite explanation regarding its etymology.175
Tatakam : While reviewing and re-editing the reading of the text
of Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman, Kielhorn makes note of
this term and remarks "It may be noticed that Prinsep's wrong
reading tatakam (for tataka} is responsible for the word tataka,
shore, of our dictionaries".176 And just as Kielhorn says, both
Monier- Williams (p. 432, tataka n. a shore) and Apte (p. 763,
tatakam, a shore or bank) have included it in their dictionaries
without verifying its accuracy. The word, courtesy of these
dictionaries, remains still in circulation. This is one of the
glaring examples of how words wrongly read by epigraphists
sometimes gain wide acceptance; the reason being that epigraphists
have hardly any say in the matter of dictionary compilation and
linguists seldom come out of their chambers to bother about
what is being cooked rightly or wrongly in the laboratory of the
epigraphists.

Tataka-matrika : This freshly coined term is an outcome of the
witty and fertile imagination of the poet of the Porumamilla tank
inscription of Saka year 1291.177 The relevant verse referring
to this term reads as under :

Ity-uttama phalam srutva Bhavadura
mahipatih. Tataka-rndtrikam-urvim
dharmatma kartum-udyatah.11*

V.S. Sukthankar, having translated the term tataka-matrika
as "tank nourished", adds a note which says that "with tataka-
matrika cf. the terms dlva-matrika and nadi-matrika in a similar
sense".179

In my opinion, the term tataka-matrika is a new usage not
met so far in any of the dictionaries of Sanskrit language and

175. £./., VIII, p. 34, n. 7.

176. Ibid., p. 42, n. 4.

177. Ibid., XIV, pp. 102; 108.

178. Ibid., p. 102, v. 28.

179. Ibid., n. 1.

64 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

literature. In fact, most of the dictionaries do not go beyond, in
this case, the list of Amara which reads as follows :

Dlsd nady-ambu vrishty-ambu sampanna
vrihipalitah, syan-nadi-matriko diva-
matrikas-chayatha kramam.1*"
•
This is an example which demonstrates that Sanskrit remained

living language in certain quarters even after hey-day of the
so-called classical age. There were poets (and other learned
people) in areas like Porumamilla (present day Cuddapah district,
A.P.) who, being far from the basins of any rivers, felt the necessity
of acknowledging their gratitude towards the innumerable tanks of
their region which nourished the land (tataka-matrika).
Tatamba : The relevant line from the original text of the record
wherein the term tatamba occurs, which comes from the cave 4
at Ajanta, reads as follows : "mata-pitrds-tatambdyas-ch-agr-
anvavdya".m

D.C. Sircar, while commenting upon this term states :

7< n 11 7 ill i t tTtfj 'n ij'! '*. :"i3~^

The expression tatambayah in the singular may, of course,
mean 'the ambd (i.e., mother) of (one's) tata (i.e , father)'
that is to say "one's father's mother". There are,
however, words of common use in Sanskrit to indicate
one's father's mother and tatamba is not such an expres-
sion. It is, therefore, not improbable that the expression
has been used in the inscription to convey a special
meaning such as that of one's father's step-mother or
aunt.182

\V\,\ to 1

In my opinion, Sircar is not right in deriving a special mean-
ing of tatamba for the following reasons :

(i) It is but natural for the donor to mention the name of
his father's mother, having first mentioned his own
parents. I do not see any reason for Sircar's objection
to this. He has also not cited any instance from the

180. Amarakosha (Bombay edition).

181. E/.,XXXUI,p.262, 1.2.

182. 76/V., p. 261 (introduction).

\e Words Used in the Inscriptions 65

vast field of inscriptions where, after the mention of
one's own parents, a reference to the mother (amba) of
one's father (tata) should be taken in the sense of father's
step-mother or aunt. The whole idea of Sircar is based
on the very shaky grounds, of tdtdmbd not being very
common expression or at least one that is not included
in the traditional list of the terms which mean a
grandmother.

(ii) The fact that here it is the direct lineage of the donor
which is intended in the record is also supported by the
mention of the term anvavdya instead of anvaya. Both
the terms are explained by the commentators of Amara
as follows :

(a) Anvaya : "annyati sambadhyatl anln-Wi anvayah",
i.e., anvaya is that which establishes relationship;
and

(b) Anvavdya : "anviyati purvah paras ch-lti anvavdyah",
i.e., where purva and para (before and after, past
and present lineage) is explained.183

(iii) After admitting that the word tata is many times
substituted by the term drya, we may easily consider
tdtdmbd as a synonym of drya-janani. Thus tdtdmbd is
pitdmahi.

Thus, by tdtdmbd what is meant here is the grandmother who
comes in the direct (but past) lineage of the father.
Titbara : The following verse of the Gadag inscription of Vira
Vallala II, refers to this term as such :

Nyakkdnna pituh sriyam Kalachuri
kshatrdnvyarh karshaid. Yln-aiklna
hi tubarena karind shashtirjitd
dantinam.1*4

According to Ltiders, ''For tubara the dictionaries gives the

183. Vide Amara, II. 7.1. with the gloss of Lingayasurin, ed. AtA. Rama-

nathan, Madras, 1971.
|84. E./..VI, p. 96,1.29,

66 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

meanings, 'a bull without horns; a beardless man, a eunuch' (but)
here it evidently denotes a tuskless elephant as opposed to dantin,
the tusked elephant".185

This is also an example of a case where even a word noticed
in the dictionaries gives a different meaning in certain inscriptional
contexts.

Udbhavaka : This forms part of one of the acharas mentioned
in the famous charter of Vishnusena.186 The full phrase therein
reads : "udbhavaka vyavaharo na grahya".

While explaining this Sircar says, "The word vyavahara here
may be taken in the sense of a 'law-suit', but the real meaning
of 'udbhavakd* is uncertain. It may, however, refer to a case
carelessly put before the court (cf. udbhavana, i.e., neglect) or to
one based on fabrication or false allegation".187
Ullambana : In the same charter, another phrase reads as :
"ullambanl karnna-trotanl cha-vinayo rupakah sapta-viriisatih".m
Sircar says that :

The word ullambana is recognised in the lexicons in the
sense of 'leaping over some one' but the Anhasastra
(IV.8) uses it to indicate 'hanging' which seems appli-
cable to the present case, although the punishment
appears to be rather mild. Karnn-trotana i.e., cutting off
of a bit from someone's ear seems to be also referred
to in No. 7 above (in this very charter, it reads :
'svayarh hrasitl karnnl chhalo na grahyah').1*9

The term ullambana as per the context here could also be
taken in the sense of leaping over someone and karnna-trotana as
twisting off (not cutting) of someone's ear which would be an
ordinary offence, and hence the punishment would also be mild.
Tro\ana and hrasita, in my opinion, are two different words which
are not analogous in their meanings. Trotana seems to be a
Sanskritized form of the desi phrase kana torana (Skt. karnna
trofana or better still karnna-lunthana) or kana ainthana in Hindi.

185. E./.,p. 92, n. 4.

186. Ibid.,XXX,p. 170, n. 3,

187. Ibid.

188. Ibid., p. 174, n. 37,

189. Ibid.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 67

Likewise, ullambana could be either analogous with Hindi ulatana
or ulata-dlnd wherein the complainant is pushed on the ground
by the accused.

Unmara-bhlda : The second achara of this very charter of
Vishnusena begins with "unmara-bhldo na karamyo raja-puru
s/jZflfl".190 This is referred to in the record after the first achara
of "aputrakam na grahyam" i.e., 'the property belonging to a
person who died without leaving a son should not be confiscated'.
In this very context, while explaining unmara, etc., Sircar says,
'The royal officials are asked not to break open or violate the
unmara the meaning of which is unknown. It may be related to
umbara (Pali ummara, ummara, Gujaratt iimbro, umro threshold).
The reference may be to the threshold or door of a house."191

Unmara, in my opinion, is the same as Sanskrit udumbara a
tree the wood of which is used invariably (even today) for making
the threshold of a house. It is installed after a short ceremony
that symbolizes the sanctity of the settlement of the house. This
is why the dlhali (or threshold) of a house is always considered a
sacred spot.192 Therefore, to break open or violate the sanctity
of the dihali (made of udumbara wood which has become almost
a synonym of dlhali here) amounts to uprooting the very lineage
of that particular family.

Vallabha-durllabha : This curious compound occurs in the
following passage from the Srungavarpukota plates of Ananta-
varman which were edited by R.C. Majumdar :

Brahmantna ch-atmand=graharah putra-
pautrikam-upabhujyamand na kaischid-
vallabha-durllabhair-upahantavyah.193

Majumdar, after rendering the phrase vallabha-durllabha into

190. £./., XXX, p. 170, n. 2.

191. Ibid.

192. Cf. Megha, 89, "Vinyasyanti bhuvi gananayd dehali-datta pushpaih" and
also Mrichchhakatika, 1.9, "yasam balih sapadi mad-griha-deharmam" on
which Prithvidhara remarks that "yasam mama griham tasya dehqlyqh
tasam udumbara *umaratha* iti khyatanam'\

193. £./., XXIII, p. 60,

68 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

"any officer (however) eminent", remarks :

The original expression is vallabha-durllabha. The first
word means, 'overseer, superintendent or herdsman' and
probably stands for royal officials in general. I am
unable to suggest any definite meaning for durllabha.
One of its meaning given in the lexicons is 'eminent or
extraordinary' and it may be regarded as an adjective
of vallabha (mayura-vyamsakadivat). Or, possibly, from
its association with vallabha, it may also have to be
taken in the sense of an official, though the term in this
sense is not known from any other source.194

In the Trikandaslshakosha (III.287) its commentator
Seelaskandha, while explaining the word durlabha therein quotes
from the Visvakosha which says "durlabhah karchurl jnlyo
dusprapl vallabha = pi cha". Is it possible that the composer of
the grant has originally intended "vallabha vallabhaih", i.e.,
'officials who are favourites of their masters'; but after realizing
that the repetition of the term vallabha may not give the desired
sense of a 'master' he has used the synonym of vallabha (i.e.,
durllabha) for the second vallabha of the compound ?
Vastavya : Rai Bahadur Hiralal, while dealing with the phrase
"sa-karuka panka-vanig-vastavya" occurring in the Chandella
copper plates,195 remarks, "This expression appears to be new.
Its exact meaning is not understood". Here itself the editor of
the journal remarks, "Does it mean, 'together with potter's mud
and what has been left by merchants' ? Vastavya is applied to
what is left as a worthless remainder on any spot".196

Sircar in his Glossary (p. 367) has referred to vastavya first
in the sense of a community of Kayasthas (vide E. I., XVI) and
then (on the basis of a reference in E.I , XXXIV, p. 172, note 3)
"rarely also called samanya, resident". Here the first meaning of
the community of Kayasthas is certainly out of context but the
second one may be considered.

Buhler (E.I., I, pp. 97 ff.) has rendered the term vastavya in
the context of "vastavya-nan hatha-sangama" as the resident or

194. £./., XXIII, n. 5.

195. Ibid., XX, p. 131, plate B, 1.9,

196. Ibid., p. 131, n. J,

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 69

the subject of the kings. In my opinion, the term vastavya in the
present context refers to those carpenters (karuka) and potters
(panka-vanik) who were stationary and residing at a particular
place, and thus subjects of a particular state, in contrast, to those
who were moving from place to place. Apte (p. 1421) has explain-
ed the term vastavya in the sense of 'dwelling, inhabiting, resident'
(cf. "puri=sya vastavya kutumbitarh yayau", Sisu, I, 66; "Ih-aiv-
asmi maharaja vastavyo nagare dvijah", Katha) and vastavyam
in the sense of 'a habitable place, house or habitation, residence
(vasatl)\

Viglyai'e : Commenting upon the phrase "vigiyatt dlva-vadhii
kadambaih" occurring in the grant of the Gurjara King Jayabhata
edited by G.V. Acharya, B. Ch. Chhabra remarks, "The portion
vigiyatl (etc.,) reads like a line of uplndra vajra metre. The word
vigiyatl, if it is intended to convey the sense of 'is praised', is not
appropriate since it means rather 4is condemned'."197

This is an example of how, in certain cases, the composers of
grants have used words that have an altogether different connota-
tion in the dictionaries.

Vikara : The Chandravati plates of Chandradeva edited by
D.R. Sahni, refer to this term in the phrase "asyam pattalayam
diva-dvija vikara-gramas-tatha deva-gramah" ;198 Here, the term
vikara has been left untranslated by Sahni, but F.W. Thomas (the
editor of the journal) has added his own remark which says, "The
word vikara would naturally mean 'tax-free'; but we may expect
a more technical meaning. In the case of Kirttipala's inscription
(E.I., VII, pp. 94, 96) Kielhorn took the word as proper name of a
village".199 But, after considering the context of the present
record in which the term vikara has been used, it becomes
clear that the term is used here more in the sense of a 'tax-free*
village than in the sense of a proper name of the place.
Vikata (kshara) : The earliest epigraphical reference to the term
vikata (in its Pali form vigada) comes from the Rummindei pillar
inscription of Asoka. Here it qualifies the term bhicha and is
used, therefore, as "vigada bhichd".™ The next reference comes

197. £-./., XXIII, p. 15J, 1.32, n. 8.

198. Ibid, XIV, p. 195, 1.27.

199. Ibid., p. 196, n. 1.

200. C.I.I., I, p. 164, 1.3.

70 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

from the Aphasad inscription of Adityasena.201 Here it is used
in the form of "prasastir-vikalakshard". The third reference to
the term we have gathered is from the Harsha stone inscription
where it occurs twice.202 Once as "virachita-vikata-pandu-putr- [?]
abhiramam" and the other time as "sughatita-vikatam karham
Harsha harmyam". The fourth reference to the term comes from
the Tasai inscription of (Harsha year) 182 where the relevant
portion reads "prasasta vatsara sail dvasitl vikatakshara" ,203

In the Rummindei pillar inscription of Asoka, the expression
vigada bhicha, after splitting it into vigadabhi and cha (on the
suggestion of Charpentier), was translated by Hultzsch as "bear-
ing a horse",204 although by adding a note on this Hultzsch has
also incorporated the views of R. Bhandarkar (vide J.B.B.R.A.S.,
XX, 366, n. 14) and Fleet (J.R.A.S., 1908, 477, 823) for taking the
word bhicha separately in the sense of bhittika 'a wall'; and that
of Pischel who considers the term vigada (Grammatiek, 49, 219)
as an Ardha-Magadhi form of Sanskrit vikrita. Thus Hultzsch
translates "site vigada bhicha" in the sense of "a (brick) wall
decorated with stone".705

Sircar in his Select Inscriptions has also more or less endorsed
this opinion.20* However, the Sanskrit form of the Ardha
Magadhi term vigada as vikrita somehow does not bring
conviction and our attention has been drawn to this by R.B.
Pandey who has rightly suggested that the term vigada bhicha
should be taken as an equivalent to Sanskrit "vikata-bhittika".201
But apart from this, the suggestion of Pischel that the term
vigada is used here in the sense of decoration has received almost
general approval amongst scholars.

This very meaning of the term vigada (or vikata) has been
endorsed by Fleet who rendered the phrase prasastir vikat-akshara
of the Aphsad inscription into "euology written in beautiful

201. C.I.I., Ill, p. 205, 1.27.

202. £./., II, pp. 121, v. 12 and p. 123, v. 33.

203. Ibid., XXXVI, p. 52, 11.9-10.

204. C.I.I., I, p. 194, translation.

205. Ibid.,n. 1.

206. Select Inscriptions, Vol. I, p. 67, Sanskritized version of the text; see also
n. 1.

207. Historical and Literary Inscriptions, Varanasi, 1962, p. 39, n. 6.

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 71

letters",208 the only difference being that something which is
specially made or done (yiseshhlna krita) is taken by Pischel as
decoration and by Fleet as the act of beautification. Once again,
the exposition of Sircar on the term vikatokshara of the Tasai
inscription is the same as that of Fleet.

But this is not the case with the explanation of Kielhorn who,
while considering the word vikata in the Harsha stone inscription,
has to explain its meaning in relation to two other terms of a
technical nature. Fairness demands on our part that we look
into the context of the Harsha inscription in detail.

As stated above, there are two such instances where the term
vikata occurs in the Harsha inscription. Part of the first verse
referring to this term reads :

Etat-svarn-anda-kanti pravaratama maha-
mandap- abh ogabhadram . Prania-prasada-mala
virachita vikata pandu-putr-abhiramam™

The line from the other verse referring to this term reads :

Ten-ldam dharmma-vittaih sughatita
vikatam karitam Harsha harmyam.2 °

After translating vikatapandu-putra, etc., as "pleasing like the
sons of Pandu by reason of the courtyards", Kielhorn remarks
that though :

The residing of the second line of this verse [12] is quite
clear in the impression, owing to the word vikata its
meaning is not clear to me. Vikata is apparently used
here as a feminine substantive, and should, judging
from the context, denote both a hall or courtyard and
a female, related somehow to Pandavas. In the former
sense the word is evidently used in verse 33, below, and
as regards the other meaning, it may at any rate be noted
that vikala is the name of one of the hundred sons of
Dhritarashtra.211

208. C.I.I., Ill, translation, p. 208.

209. £./., II, p. 121, v. 12.

210. Ibid., p. 123, v. 33.

211. Ibid., p. 126, n. 64.

72 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

The problem faced by Kielhorn here is common with those
dealing with the translation or explanation of tricky Sanskrit
compositions. Like a Chess-board, one wrong move made here
makes the whole thing get puzzled. It's not for nothing that
scholars like Blihler have placed the compositions of the
period to which our record belongs in the class of artificial
poetry.

However, the wrong move Kielhorn made was that he did
not reconsider the text of the term pandu-putra. As it is clear
after recheckiug the fascimile of the record, the reading pandu-
putra can as well be taken as "pandu-putrya" and in that case it
will be an instrumental case of the term pana'u-putrL Now
pandu in Sanskrit means yellow-white clay; something like stucco
and putri is the same as putari or puttalika meaning 'a puppet, or
doll, or an image'.

Thus, when we look into the meaning of the said verse from
this angle, we arrive at a different conclusion. In this way, the
line of the verse will read as "virachita vikata pandu putry-
abhiramam" which will mean that the sides of the main shrine
were made pleasing 'on account of being decorated with mini
puppets or idols (putri) made of pandu (or white-yellow) clay'.

In other words, here in this case also the meaning of the
term vikata is that of decoration or beautification only.

Monier- William considers the word vikata itself as a Prakrit
word and opines that probably the Sanskrit form of this word is
vi-krita212 which is also defined by Amara in his lexicons.213
Here, it is remarkable to note that in the Amarakosha no such
word as vikata is included. It is possible that out of two forms
of vigada (i.e., vikata and vikrita) the first one remained as a
Prakrit word even though it was included in Sanskrit compositions
and the other one (i.e., vikrita) gained its full refined status.
This phenomenon is noticed when we come to look into the
meaning of these words which are otherwise considered as
synonymous. The term vikrita is defined in the sense of vlbhatsa
meaning 'ugly, having unusual size or something that is deformed,
etc.'. The official seal on this (i.e., vikrita) form of the term

212. Monier-Williams, p. 953.

213. Amara, I, 7, 19; cf. "hasd hasyarn cha vibhatsam vikritam".

The Words Used in the Inscriptions 73

vigada and its primary meaning as ugly was put as early as the
time of Amarasimha himself. Later on, however, sometime
during the compositions of the Apshad and Tasai inscriptions (as
far as the literature from epigraphs is concerned), both the words
vikrita and vikata were used primarily in the sense of vikrita only.
But in certain cases, both in Sanskrit literature and in the field
of Sanskrit inscriptions, the early (Prakrit) meaning of the term
vikata as decoration, beautification, broad, spacious, wide and
beautiful, etc., was still retained. Examples of this type are
noticed in the epigraphs we have already referred to.

As regards Sanskrit literature, the said Prakrit meaning of the
term vikata is noticed in the Mrichchhakatika21* Sisupalavadha,2'5
NaishadhTyacharita 16 and a few other works. ]n the Visvakosha211
(quoted by the commentator of Naishadha), synonyms of the word
vikata218 are enumerated as under : "vikatah sundarl prokto visala
vikaralayoh"219

Thus, the explanation of the phrase vikat-akshard will be
"vikatayitah asksharah yasam", i.e., \heprasasti where the letters
have got a charming display or they are beautifully engraved.

The word vikata, in my opinion, is well preserved in the name
of gem-cutters, artists and modellers in general, who are referred to
in the Harshacharita of Bana as Vaikatikas. Commenting upon
the passage "tadrisah knvaikatika iva tejasvi-ratna-vina&akah kasya
na badhyalf\ Sankara explains the term vaikatika in the sense of
"ratna-bandhakafr".220 According to Agrawala, they are the
same as Blgadi or Baigadi" of the modern Rajasthan and
Gujarat.721

Vikosa-nilotpala : E. Hultzsch, while editing the plates of the
time of Sasankaraja, first rendered this term into "which rivals an
unfolded flower" and then remarked that "this meaning of vikosa
is not given in the dictionaries".222

214. Mrichchhakaiika 2.

215. Sisu, X.42; XIII, 10.

216. Naishadha, XVIII, 19, Cf. "Kinnarl vikata g'iti jhankritih^ •

217. Ibid., Sanskrit gloss.

218. Ibid., XI, 40.

219. KwfeApte, p. 1423.

220. Harshacharita (N.S. edition) along with the gloss of Sankara, p. 188.

221. Harshacharita Ek, etc., p. 126.

222. F.7., VI, p. 146, n. 1.

74 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Vimukta-randhra : This term figures in the Devnimori relic casket
inscription of Rudrasena which was edited by P.R. Srinivasan and
which was also noticed earlier by R N. Merita and reviewed later
by D.C. Sircar and S. Sankaranarayanan. The relevant passage
from the record wherein the term vimukta-randhra occurs reads as
under : "Sadhv-Agni-varmma ndmna Sudarsanlna cha vimukta-

randhrtna"-223

The compound word vimukta-randhra as it is used here quali-
fying the monk is not noticed in the dictionaries. P.R. Srinivasan
has rendered it as "one who has renounced the world".224 But,
we know that the word randhra has hardly been used in the
sense of a 'world'. The primary meanings are 'cavity, hole' and
figuratively it is also taken as a 'fault, imperfection or a short-
coming'.

D.C. Sircar while reviewing this record has concentrated
mainly on the date portion of it;225 whereas Sankaranarayanan,
even though he preferred to read this term as "vimukra-randhra",226
has not bothered to state what meaning he derives out of it. In
comparison to all the above references the meaning of the term
vimukta-randhra as 'flawless' or 'faultless' suggested in the very
beginning by Mehta seems to be the satisfactory one/27

223. £./., XXXVII, p. 69, 1.3.

224. Ibid., p. 68.

225. J.O.I (Baroda) XIV, pp. 336 ff.

226. Ibid., XV, p. 73, 1.3.

227. Ibid., XII, pp. 173 ff.

Group C

THE DESI WORDS USED IN THEIR
SANSKRITIZED FORMS

In this group, as stated earlier, we have collated and examin-
ed a good number of words which are considered by the
epigraphists as ungrammatical, unsophisticated or belonging to
what may be loosely termed as the rustic strain. All these refer
to the term called dlsi by the linguists and also the lexicographers.
Such terms occur mainly in the operative part of the records
denoting thereby that they were meant to address, besides others,
the common folk of the contemporary society.

As we know from our survey of the records included in the
Epigraphia Indica volumes, the Siyadoni inscription of the time
of Pratihara King Mahendrapala seems to contain, possibly the
biggest chunk of dlsi words in the body of its text. This is also
clear from the remark of its editor Kielhorn who says :

The first part of the inscription contains a considerable
number of words which either do not occur in Sanskrit
literature at all, or for which the dictionary furnishes no
appropriate meaning; and some of which undoubtedly
were taken from the vernacular.1

We have dealt with the words of the first type earlier to
some extent and now we will see which dlsi words have percolated
into the text of an otherwise Sanskrit inscription.
Apasaraka : It occurs in the Siyadoni record in phrases like

, p. 165.

76 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

"apasaraka-sahita" (11.7, 17, 24) and "apasaraka-prarigana-
sahita" (11.32 and 33). 2 Herein, unlike the word apasaraka the
other words like sahita and prangana are Sanskrit words. Kielhorn
has compared the word apasaraka with the modern colloquial
Hindi word osard which means 'a porch, portico, peristyle,
vestibule', etc., and which is used in Marathi as osari. Since the
word apasaraka is not noticed in the dictionaries in this sense, are
we to presume that the word has been Sanskritized by the
composer of the draft from the original, locally known vernacular
word osara, or is it from apasaraka itself that the term osard got
its modern form ? This is the point which requires a further
probe.

Arhata : In the Pratabgarh inscription of the time of Mahendra-
pala edited by G.S.H. Ojha, this word is used in its instrumental
case as ^araha\lncC\ Ojha, after considering it as a dlsi word
springing from the stock of local dialect, explains it as a Persian
wheel which is known in Sanskrit as araghata.3
Ahada : Although the exact meaning of this word which once
again occurs in the Siyadoni inscription is not clear, Kielhorn,
relying on the context of "samasta-ahada-sambaddha silakufanam",
explains it in the sense of a place where stone cutters work, a
quarry (?\4

Agara : In the Haraha stone inscription of the time of
Isanavarman, edited by Hiranand Sastri, the relevant line of the
verse referring to this term reads as under : "Mitrasy-amburuh-
agara dyutikrita bhuri-pratapatvisha^.5

While considering this term in the above context Sastri
remarks that "agara (Sanskrit akara) means a collection or
mine''.6 Naturally the word agara (though being a desi one) was
more in circulation than the Sanskrit word akara which would
have equally fitted in the scheme of metre.

Badde (manohara) : This term has been used in the Nilgund
inscription of Amoghavarsha I, which was edited by Fleet. While

2. £./., I, p. 165.

3. Ibid., XIV, p. 176, 1.26.

4. Ibid., I, p. 165, 1.30.

5. Ibid., XIV, p. 110, 1.11.

6. Ibid., n. 1.

The Desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms 77

remarking on the term baddl manohara, Fleet says that :

Kittel's Dictionary gives baddl, 'a truthful woman' and
indicates that it is a feminine form of badda, 'firm, true'
which is a tadbhava corruption of the Sanskrit baddha.
The whole word baJdl manohara, half Kanarese half
Sanskrit is a viruddha-samasa (more popularly known as
an an samasa), 'an incongruous or improper compound,
a compound of heterogeneous words or words dissimilar
in kind', which according to the Sabda-mani-darpana^
sutra, 174, is allowed only when sanctioned by poets of
old, as, for instance, especially in birudas.1

Bharasala : The expression "padithaplti bharasalam" occurs in
one of the inscriptions of the time of Charhtamula which has been
edited by Sircar. After suggesting first that "the intended read-
ing (of bharasala) seems to be bhalara sala" he states that "the
expression bharasala seems to be a mistake for bhamdara said
(Skt. bhanddra said) meaning a store-room."8

Sircar is certainly right in taking the sense of bharasala
(Skt. bhandara-sala) as a store-room, but what I object to is his
remark that the use of the word bharasala is a mistake for
bhamdara sala. It is not a mistake, nor was it done inadvertently;
rather, it was the usage which must have been current in the
vernacular of the place in those days. From bharasala or bhara
sala evolved a Hindi word bharasara meaning a place where all
kinds of things are stored.

Chadaka : In the Sitabaldi inscription of Vikramaditya VI, edited
by Kielhorn, the expression "aribala chadaka" occurs in the form
of a biruda. According to Kielhorn, "This word chadaka is not
Sanskrit, it probably is connected with the root chat, 'to break'
and apparently the whole biruda is equivalent to 'aribala-
nishudana'. Compare also Marathi chadaka, 'a slap, a stroke'."9
Chukka : The term chukka occurs in the following expression of
one of the Salankayana charters from Kannukalu edited by
B.V. Krishna Rao : "Alikhita chukka khalitlhi savva jata
pariharlhi"™

7. E T, VI, p. 106, n. 6.

8. Ibid., XXXV, pp. 7, 1.8, nn. 3 & 8 (introduction).

9. Ibid., p. 306, 1.5, n. 3.

10. /&</., XXXi, p. 5, 11.23-24.

78 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Rao has rendered this phrase as "with these immunities and
others) that have been either nof written down or even otherwise
stated to be included".11 On this the editor of the Journal (D.C.
Sircar) remarks that "the word chukka is the same as Hindi
chuka, error, fault, mistake, failing and chukka khalita may be
translated as, 'omitted through mistake'."12 I think, both the
words chukka and chuka are the contracted form of the Sanskrit
word chyuti or chyutaka with the difference that chukka seems to
be the precursor of the Hindi word chuka.

Chuna : The phrase "chuna-vithi" occurs in the Siyadoni inscrip-
tion which has been left unexplained by Kielhorn.13 In my
opinion, this term may have two possible explanations. One is that
possibly the word chuna is the same as Hindi chunta (chintl
feminine) meaning 'ants', and the other is possibly the vithl or the
particular lane of the market where most of the distilleries were
located because chuna or chunvana in Hindi also means the act of
distilling spirituous liquor. The latter view is also supported by
the fact that all these areas were inside prasanna hatta (i.e., the
market of prasanna1* liquor).

Dati: Remarking on the occurrence of this term (which figures
quite frequently in later records) Kielhorn says that dati is a desi
word for datti,15 meaning a gift of a grant.

Dhvamsa : This occurs in the Chandrehe inscription of Prabo-
dhasiva which was edited by R.D. Banerji. The relevant line of
the verse reads as :

Guru-grava-gram-otkhanana-dalana
dhvamsa-vidhina. Mahidhre = dhvanam
yd vyadhita-jaladhau Raghava iva.16

Banerji translated this as "who, through the expedients of
excavating, breaking and ramming masses of heavy stones, built a

11. £./., XXXI, p. 7.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid., I, p. 165 ff.

14. For this meaning of the term prasanna see Arthasastra, 11.25, 18,27, 3\
and Divyavaddna, p. 216. see Chaturbhani, p. 33, n. 24(2).

15. £•./.,!, pp. 135-136.

16. Ibid., XXI, p. 150. v. 13.

The Desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms

wonderful way through mountains ... as Rama (did) through the
sea".17 On this follows a note from the editor of the journal
stating, 'The process of road making described here is strikingly
similar to that adopted by modern engineers in metalling roads
and we may thus conclude that 'macadimizing' was well known in
Hindu India. The word dhvamsa must be taken to mean here
'crushing' or 'ramming' of the road metal and apparently survives
in Hindi dhwnasa and Bengali duramasa—o. rammer".18
Gadigra : The term gadigara occurring in the inscription on the
Wardak Vase has been taken by F.E. Pargiter as gadika, gaddika
or gafika which according to him "undoubtedly refers to the vase.
Gadika or better gaddika, is probably a dialectical form of
Sanskrit gadduka which means 'a kind of jar, especially a golden
vase'."19 In Kannada records from Sogal20 and Lakshmesvara,21
the same term occurs as gaddugtya and gadduga which has been
explained by Barnett in the sense of a water vessel. For the
Sanskrit word gaduka see our discussion on the term gaduka dvya
above. The term gaduka still survives in the form of geduva or
genduvd in the folk-songs of eastern Uttar Pradesh where it is
generally referred to as "jhanjhara genduva Gangajala pani"22
Ghanaka and Ghranaka : In the Siyadoni inscription this term
has been used in both the forms ghranaka (1.28) and ghanaka
(1.31). Kielhorn has compared it with the Marathi word ghana,
'an oil mill'.23 But, in my opinion, the sense of ghanaka, in the
expression "ghanaka- ghanaka prati-dinam prati-palam" of the
record may also be taken in the sense of the Hindi word ghana or
gham a particular measurement of seeds poured at a time of the
kolhii or the taila-yanira, the oil-mill. In fact, the oil-mill came
to be so known because it used to consume one ghana of seeds at
a time, when pressing oil (see also E.I., II, p. 32). Similar is the
case with sugarcane pressing and this is the reason why the name
for both the oil-mill and for sugarcane is known in Hindi as
kolhii only.

17. E./., XXI, p. 152 (translation).

18. Ibid.tn. 1.

19. Ibid., XI, p. 212.

20. Ibid., XVI, p. 3, v. 6.

21. Ibid., p. 36, n. 1.

22. For this information I am grateful to my women relatives.

23. £./., I, p. 165.

80 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Har : Commenting upon the expression "vyaghraklndik-abhidhana
har mulavapl"24 of the Gwalior inscription of the year 933,
Hultzsch has considered the word har as a desi one meaning "a
village common, the cultivated space immediately round a
village".2'

Kanduka : It occurs three times in the Siyadoni inscription
(1.10). Kielhorn (E.I., I, p. 165) has compared it with the Hindi
Kandu (Sanskrit Kandavika), "a certain tribe whose occupation
it is to fry corn, prepare sweetmeats etc.; a sugar boiler".
Kansdraka : Here itself, Kielhorn has explained kansaraka of
llkansaraka-vlthr (E.I., I, 1.15) as kasdra (or kaslra) of Hindi
and kansdra or kdsara of Marathi which means 'brazier', Sanskrit
kansyakdra.

Kavadi : In the Cintra prasasti of the reign of Sarangadeva edited
by Biihler the relevant line of the verse wherein this term is used
reads as under : " Sammarjanaya devanam kavadi-dvyam-
ambhasah" 26

Referring to the term kavadi here, Biihler remarks, ft Kavadi
is apparently the Gujarati and Marathi kavad which means the
same as Sanskrit vivadha 'a bamboo or pole for carrying
burdens"."27 The word kavadi is known in Hindi as kanvari
which seems to be the contracted form of the Sanskrit word
kambali — a short form of kambali-vahyaka.

Kllayah : One of the acharas mentioned in the charter of Vishnu-
sena refers to this term as follows : "Kllayah sankachikasya ch-

According to Sircar it means that "for loop holding klla the
tax was half of \\ silver coins (prescribed in the earlier achara,
No. 67, of the record). The meaning of klla is uncertain,
although k'ela in Hindi stands for Sanskrit kadali. Can klla in
our record stand for a Prakrit form midway between kila and
khlla for Sanskrit krija in the sense of krldanaka ? It may also
mean a vessel for carrying wine, which was smaller than khalla".29

24. E./.,I,pp. 159-161, 1.7.

25. Ibid., translation, p. 161, n. 17, quoted Bate's Hindee Dictionary.

26. Ibid., pp. 284-85, v. 47.

27. Ibid., p. 277, n. 16.

28. Ibid., XXX, p. 178, number 68.
29.

The Desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms 81

In my opinion, the last suggestion of Sircar regarding kila mean-
ing a vessel for carrying wine seems to be more probable. The
word kila seems to be a desi word of Dravidian origin. In the
Desinama mala of Hemachandra the word kalla or kalya is
explained in the sense of a liquor.30

Kitika: In the Pratabgarh inscription of the time of Mahendrapala,
the word kitika (E.I., XIV, p. 176, 1.26) is Sanskritized from (dtsi)
kidi or kida, 'matting screen' which is akin to the Sanskrit word
kata.

Khalla : It is used in the charter of Vishnusena as a desi word
which seems to have been derived from khala. The expression
"khalla-bharaka" of the charter means 'a leather bag full'.31
Khasra : In the Siyadoni inscription it occurs in the contexts of
"paripanthana-khasra" (11.6, 10, 15) and khasra badha" (1.39).
Kielhorn suggests that it is comparable to the Hindi Khasar (better
kasar) meaning 'damage, loss, injury', etc.32
Kolhuka : The expression "samasta tailika-srlnya prati kolhukam"
of the Gwalior inscription of the year 933 refers to the term
kdlhuka in its desi form. It is the same as kolhu in Hindi, meaning
an 'oil-mill'33 (cf. "telini tora kolhu chall alabanga"—Kabir).
Kosavahl : This term "is applied to as much land as can be
irrigated by one kosa or leather bucket".34

Kurttaka : In the Manchikallu inscription of the Pallava
Simhavarman, the concluding part of the sentence in lines 3-4
reads as :

Bhagavato Jiva siva

svamisa tlthikana kurttak-opaharakadi
katam35

Sircar has Sanskritized the same as :
Bhagavatah Jiva Siva svaminah

30. Desinamamala, II, 2. In the glossary appended to this work, R. Pischel
considers the word kalla to be derived from Dravidian

31. E.!.t XXX, p. 178, no. 67.

32. Ibid., I, p. 165.

33. Ibid., p. 159, 1.16.

34. Ibid., XIV, p. 176, 1.31.

35. Ibid., XXXII, p. 88.

82 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

tairthiklbhyah kurttak-opaharakadi
kritam.

Commenting upon the term kurttaka here, Sircar says that
"the word is not found in Sanskrit lexicons, but kuttaka is recog-
nised in Pali in the sense of a 'woollen carpet'. Our inscription
seems to use kurttaka in this sense".36

Kutkila : The Sravanabelgola epitaph of Mallishena refers
to this term in the context of his euology : "Yad-bodh-ambudhim-
itya vi ra Himavat-kutkila kanthad-budhan" .31

Hultzsch has taken this word in the sense of a slope of a
mountain and quoted the Canarese Dictionary of Sanderson
where it is explained as of Sanskrit origin meaning a 'mountain'.
Here itself, he has also cited the reference from the Trikandaslsha
Kosha which includes the word kuklla instead of kutkila in the
sense of a mountain.38

The word kukila, as far as I can ascertain, is not included
in the dictionary of Monier- Williams and although Apte has
included the word in this very sense, he has not given any further
explanation or reference to this effect. As is clear from the plate
of the original text, the portion bearing this word is partly
damaged and the reading Kutkila has been restored by Hultzsch.
Therefore, the possibility of the reading being kukkila may also
not be denied as the word kukkila happens to be nearer in sense,
once we admit that the poet of this composition has doubled the
second ka of kukila for the sake of metre and made it kukkila.
Nemaka : It occurs in the Siyadoni inscription in the contexts of
"nlmaka vanik" (11.4, 11, 16) and "nlmaka-jati-vanik" (1.37).
Nemaka, as has been stated by Kielhorn is a desi word coming
from Hindi and Marathi stock.39 The expression nimaka-vanik
(merchant of salt) is noticed in certain Hindi speaking areas as
nonha sahu.

Niti and Panati : This term is used in the Sitabaldi inscription
of Vikramaditya VI, in the expression which reads : "bhatta

36. £./., XXXII, p. 88.

37. 76«.,m, p. 189, 1.7,v.!2.

38. TrikandaSeshakdsha, II, 3.1.

39. £./., 1, p. 165 ff.

The Desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms

Bithapai panati bhatta Bopa pai m/i".40

According to Kielhorn, "panati and nlti in the above
(expression) are clearly and closely related to and synonymous
with Marathi panatu 'great-grand-son' and natu, 'grand-son'.
The Sanskrit words would be 'pranapta and napta* ".41 In Hindi,
we have panati and nati which sound even closer to the original
of the text.

Pahdtikd, pdhata, Jaghu-pahdtikd : All these expressions which
figure in the Gwalior inscription seem to be Sanskritized forms of
the desi word pahada or pahdra which comes from Hindi stock.42
Shamhalatmaka : In the Mandhata plates of Devapala edited by
Kielhorn, a revenue term figures in the expression "shamhalat-
maka samanvita" ,43 which is not met elsewhere and the meaning of
which is not clear.

In my opinion, there seems to be some orthographical error
in the case of this word in the record. The intended term was
perhaps to denote all the six privileges (i.e., chatuh kankata
visuddhah sa-vriksha-malakulah, sa-hiranya bhaga-bhogah, soparl-
karah, sarvadaya samltah and sanidhi niksfopah)44 with which the
land was granted.

Svolipdta or svolikapata : It figures more than four times in the
expression "avdsanika svollpata" (E.I., I, p. 166; 11.12, 16, 21,
23, etc.) three times as "avasanika svolikdpata" (11.8, 13, and 22)
and twice as "olipata" (11.35 and 38).45 The term has been left
without any explanation.

Is it possible that the word is ollpdta; wherein oli is the same
as Awadhi on (Cf. "more dou naina chuvain jasa on". Padmdvat
of Jayasi) which means the area where the rain water falls from
the roof top ?

Tall: It occurs in the same inscription as above (11.9 and 20),
perhaps in the sense of a 'particular measure of spirituous
liquor'.
Tikhara : "Tikhara-vithi" (1.35) is another term from the Siyadoni

40. E.7., III, p. 306, 1.8.

41. Ibid., n. 10.

42. Ibid.,It p. 159 ff, 11.9,10, 11,

43. Ibid., IX, p. 104, 11.72-73.

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid., I, p. 165-66 ff.

84 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

inscription which Kielhorn has left unexplained. Is it possible
that tikhara-vithi is the same as tishara or trisira-vithi meaning a
'street' which joins three roads or which can be reached from
three sides ?

Tikina : This word, figuring in the Nalanda stone inscription of
Yasovarmadeva, has been considered by Hiranand Sastri as of
foreign origin.46 According to Sten Konow, the word "tikina is
Turki tigin, ttgin, tagin, meaning 'a prince of the blood'. It is
specially used about the son or the brother of the Khan".47
Possibly the suffix tagin of the name of a ruler called Subuk-tagin
denotes the same meaning.

Uvataka : In the Siyadoni inscription it occurs as "uvataka-sahtta"
(11.12, 13, 16 and 25, etc.), qualifying houses. Kielhorn compares
it with the Marathi word dta "the little wall or raised hedge
which runs along with brisk of the raised mass on which the
house stands" and oti "a verandah, porch, vestibule".48 The
first suggestion of Kielhorn seems to be more convincing. Possibly
uvataka is Hindi uvata or dta meaning something which obstructs
the view of the eye (cf. "vitapa dta dlkhahin Raghurai", Rama-
charitamanasa, IV, 7, 8).

Vahaka : In the expression "uttar-abhimukha-vahakah" occurring
in the Gwalior inscription, Hultzsch considers it as "connected with
Hindi word baha a water channel".49 Likewise, in the expression
"vdhita ksh'etram" (1.8), "the particle vahita is derived from Hindi
bahana, 'to plough' ".50

Vara : This word which occurs in the Ranganatha inscription
of Sundara Pandya may not be defined as a desi word, yet the
sense of the word in the following context is such that it reflects
the influence of the local language of its area ;

Ichchham Sundara Pandya unnata matim
vibhrat svaya sanjhaya. Nispady-
abhyavahara vara yugalan-nishkampq
sampattikam.51

46. £./., XX, p. 44, n. 1.

47. Ibid., p. 41.

48. Ibid., I, p. 165.

49. Ibid., p. 159, vide Grierson's Bihar Peasant Life, p. 211.

50. Ibid.

5|. Ibid., m, pp. 14 ff, p. 17, v. 26,

The Desi Words Used in their Sanskritized Forms

According to Hultzsch, although the word vara in Sanskrit
means only a 'week day', here it has been taken in the sense of
a 'week' because it suits the context well here and also because
in Tamil and Kannada vara is used in the sense of a week.52
Vittolaka : This term occurs in the Ganesgad plates of Dhruvasena
I,53 in the context : "danakara vitiolaka kara visuddham '.54

Commenting upon this, Hultzsch remarks, "Vittolaka is
probably the same as Sanskrit vishti, the Telugu vetti and the
Kanarese bitti. The designation of the lower village servant,
vattivadu in Telugu and vettiyan in Tamil is derived from this
word"!55

Vyaja : Although the word vydja in Sanskrit generally means
a 'pretext, an excuse', in the Jalor inscription of Ghahman
Chachigadeva, as it is gleaned from the context, it occurs in its
dlsi form meaning 'interest on money'.

Commenting upon the expression, "itlsham drammanam
vyajina" of this record, G.S. Gai remarks that "the term vyaja is
used (here) in the sense of interest on money and is the same as
Marathi vyaj and Hindi byaja".56

52. £./., Ill, p. 17, n. 1.

53. Ibid, I, p. 166.

54. Ibid., Ill, pp. 318-323.

55. Ibid., p. 323, n.l.

56. Ibid., XXXIII, pp. 46 & 49, 1.21

Group D

THE WORDS WHICH HAVE BEEN

IMPROPERLY/MISTAKENLY DECIPHERED

BY THE EPIGRAPHISTS

Kapola-Prachchha(a)na : This expression figures in a verse of the
Paschimabhag plates of Sri Chandra, the relevant line from which
is as follows : ^ § oka- prachchhana- jar j jar am virachitam Hum kapol
odaram".1

Besides the fact that the term prachchhana used here is of rare
occurrence, the significance of which we shall take up in the sequel,
the epigraphical reference to the kapola-prachchhana associated
with the Hunas is useful for the following reasons :

(i) It provides authentic epigraphical proof of the statement
of Kalidasa in his Raghuvamsa (IV.68) when he speaks
of the custom of kapola-patana (scarification of the
cheeks) as the common mode of lamentation among
Huna widows.

(ii) The meaning of the word prachchhana or prachchhana, as
suggested by Sircar, indirectly supports the views of
Agrawala, who, while scrutinizing the text of the said
verse from Kalidasa, expressed the opinion that the right
reading of the phrase therein should be "kapola-patana"
and not ^kapola-patala" as is noticed in some of the

1. E./..XXXVII.P. 302, v. 14.

the Words which have been Improperly I Mistakenly Deciphered Si
manuscripts of Raghuvamsa.2

Coming to the word prachchhana of the above verse, Sircar
points out that the word prachchhana is used either for prach-
chhana or prachchhita meaning scarification. Both the words
prachchhana or prachchhita as noticed from the dictionaries are of
rare occurrence. Monier-Williams (p. 658) has given only one
reference to this effect and Apte is silent even about that one.
Likewise, no such compound as kapola-patana or kapola-pra-
chchhana is noticed in either of the dictionaries.
Lankarayan : In the Sanjan plates of Amoghavarsha I, which were
edited by D.R. Bhandarkar, one line reads : " garjjad-Gurjjara-
mauli saury a-vilayo lankarayan karayan" ?

Commenting upon the expression lankarayan of the above
verse, Bhandarkar says, "I take lankarayan in the sense of
Lankarivad-acharati, behaves like Rama, the enemy of Lanka".4
But for taking it as Lankarivad-acharati, it would be better if we
modified the text, without disturbing the metre, as "Lankarivat-
kdrayan".

Madara : This is a good example of how sometimes even a slight
mistake on the part of the scribe of the record puzzles an editor.
In the Doddapadu plates of Vajrahasta (III) edited by G.S. Gai,5
11.43, 45 and 52 state that "madara manavarttika" was given to
some one. 'The meaning of the expression madara-manavarttika",
says Gai, "is not clear. It is not found in Sanskrit lexicons and
lay be the same as manu vritii, manu vartti, and mano vartti given
Brown's Telugu Eng. Diet, in the sense of 'maintenance, support
>r allowance'." Then, at some length he changes his opinion and
tys, "It is possible that the term madara is a mistake for sadara

"Kapola-patana of Raghu". I.H Q., June 1957, pp. 139 ff. See also
Satabda Kaumudi (Nagpur Museum Centenary Vol.), 1964, p. 131. Out of
nine manuscripts of Raghuvamsa compiled and critically edited by
R.G. Nandargikar (Delhi, 1971, 4th edition), four (those ofCharitra-
vardhana, Vallabha, Sumativijaya and Dharmameru) have retained the
reading kapola-patana^ whereas five others read kapola-patala, the expla-
nation of which created inconvenience even to Mallinatha.
£./., XVIII, p. 246, v. 32.
Ibid., p. 254, n. 2.
Ibid., XXXIV, pp. 42-43.

g§ Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

and the whole expression means that the king gave the village as
a manavarttika with due regards".6

Olabaku : This term occurs in one of the inscriptions on memorial
pillars from Nagarjunakonda which were edited by Sircar. The
Inscription reads as follows :

[1] Khamdhavarana Okhamdhakasa amita
[2] janasa dapa-damanasa Olabaku
[3] hathi-gahakasa mahaslna [4] patisa
kulahakandm siri Chamta [5] vulasa
chhayd thabho.1

Commenting upon this, Sircar says that :

The 'Khamdhavarana Okhamdhakasa and Olabaku hathi-
gahakasa' are difficult to explain. In Sanskrit, the first
of these two may stand as 'skandhavaranam-avaskandaktf
meaning 'one who attached or subdued the camps (of the
enemies forces)'. The expression hathi gdhaka (hasti-
grdhaka) means one 'who seizes the elephants (of the
enemies) or catches elephants (from the forests), while we
may also have here ku-hathi (a wicked-elephant) instead
of hathi. The expression olabaku hathi-gahaka may thus
mean 'one who seized the elephants of an enemy named
Olabaku' or 'one who used to catch elephants in the
forest called Olabaku' or 'one who captured an elephant
named olabaku' or 'one who captured a wicked elephant
as or belonging to or in the shape of olabu.8

To me, the reading of olabaku itself does not seem to be
satisfactory. In my opinion, the engraver has failed to maintain
consistency in writing and also the proper distinction between the
letters kha (cf. line 1 kharhdha-varana and okhamdhakasu) and o
(cf. line 2 in the supposed reading olabaku from Sircar). Thus,
what is read by Sircar as o in olabaku seem to be kha (though
slightly inconsistent) and the reading thus comes out as
"khalabaku" which would be rendered into Sanskrit as khala
(wicked) vakra (i.e., crooked).

6. E.7., XXXIV, pp. 42-43.

7. Ibid., XXXV, p. 14, 6A.

8. Ibid., p. 14.

The Words which have been Improperly I Mistakenly Deciphered 89

Pancharthala : The full expression figuring in the Harsha stone
inscription edited by Kielhorn reads as follows : " Panchdrtha-
Idkul-dmnayl Visvarupo = bhavad-guruh".9

Kielhorn after splitting the compound panchanhala-
kulamnaye inadvertently as pancharthala and akulamnayl got stuck
with the word pancharthala and remarked that "pancharthala is
not clear as the word is of a rare occurrence'*10 whereas the fact
is that, as we have shown in our transcription of the extract from
the record above, the phrase ispanchdrtha plus Lakula which is
further suffixed with amnayl. It is clear that the phrase here
refers to the Lakula sect which was one out of five sects of Saivas.
Pandu-putra : For our exposition on the term pandu-putra see the
term vikata in Group B.

Sdraka : Once again, inadvertently, of course, Kielhorn has taken
the last part of the word amalasdraka, occurring in the Bilahari
stone inscription of the rulers of Chedi,11 separately, with the
result that he could not find any suitable meaning for the word
saraka. This mistake has been set right by Mirashi in his volume
on the Kalachuri Chedi inscriptions by explaining the term as
amalasaraka.11

Suhoti : R.D. Banerjee after reading this word in a Brahmi
inscription of the Scythian period remarks that, "It resembles to
some extent the Bengali affix ta as in mamata, 'maternal uncle's
son', pisata, 'son of a paternal aunt'. The word (i.e., suhoti)
probably is an apabhramsa of the Sanskrit svasriya and the whole
phrase probably means, 'sister's daughter's daughter'."13

In my opinion, words like this which are not met even in the
dictionaries are many times the creations of epigraphists, born out
of mutilated and disturbed epigraphs. This is one such example
of the type.

Takmi : This particular term appearing in one of the inscription
of Govinda Chandra, king of Bengal, forms part of the phrase
which reads "sri takmi dinakarina bha(tarakalf\l4:

9. £./., II, p. 122.

10. Ibid., p. 127, n. 66.

11. Ibid., I, p. 251 ff.

12. C.I.I., IV, Part I, p. 220, n. 1.

13. £./., X, p. 115, no. VIII, n. 5.

14. Ibid., XXVII, p. 25.

90 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

N.K. Bhattasali who edited this inscription, after translating
the above phrase "the (image) of the maker of the day, the god
of the persons afflicted with the (skin disease) takmtf\ remarks
that "the word takma is a rather curious one. A disease called
takman is often found referred to in the Atharvavtda (I, 4-6, 9, 11
and 19) where hymns against akman are given. The sun-god is the
reputed healer of leprosy and other skin diseases, including
probably the takman of the Atharvavldd" '.15

But, the above reading of the record has been disputed by
D.C. Sircar (vide Bharatavarsha, Chaitra, 1348 B.S., p. 397) who
suggests the reading of the same as "Sri Lakshmidina kdrita".

This is one example which shows how epigraphists search for
the meanings of words which do not really exist.
Tamaniyakara : This occurs as an adjective qualifying the name
of an artisan called Mulabhuta, in one of the memorial pillar
inscription from Nagarjunakonda. The short text of the record
reads as under :

[1] Pavayatakasa [2] avesanika sa
[3] tamaniyakarasa [4] Miilabhutasa
[5] chhaya thabha.16

Sircar, who edited this record, remarks in his introduction
that:

The word avtsanika meaning 'the foreman of artisans'
occurs in early epigraphs such as the Sanchi inscription
of the Satavahana monarch Satakarni and the Jaggaya-
peta inscriptions of the Ikshvaku king Virapurishadatta
(vide Luder's List, Nos. 346, 1202-04). Mulabhuta seems
to have been an avtsanika in the service of Ikshvaku
kings. It is difficult to explain the epithet Tamaniyakara'
applied to Mulabhuta in the inscription. It may be the
name of the family to which the person belonged.
Otherwise, we have to take it as another personal name
and insert the word cha to indicate that the pillar was
raised for both Tamaniyaka and Mulabhuta.17

15. E.I., XXVII, p. 25.

16. Ibid., XXXV, 6 C-I, p. 16.

17. Ibid.

The Words which have been Improperly I Mistakenly Deciphered 91

It is also possible that the term avisanika is devoid of genitive
sa (making it a compound with the following word) and the letter
sa of line 2 is intended for tamaniyakara (of line 3) making it
"satamaniyakara\ i.e., 'the artisan Mulabhuta who had made
hundreds of houses made of mani or the marble stone'.
Utarayam-navamikayam : This term occurs in the inscription of
Kanishka year 10, which was edited by Liiders. The relevant
line of the record, as deciphered by Liiders, reads as "[u]tarayam
na[va] mikayam".lB

Coming to explain these terms Liiders says :

The most difficult words of the inscription are utarayam
navamikayam. I have thought for sometime that they
might be part of the date and mean 'on the following
(i.e., a intercalated) ninth (lunar day)' but for two
reasons this idea must be given up. Firstly, such a
statement would be in the wrong place after itayl
purvayl, and secondly, as Professor Kielhorn informs
me, uttara is never used in the sense of adhika or dvitlya.
The words must, therefore, be connected with 'hdrmyan=
datairi .... However, these explanations are far from
satisfactory.19

Leaving the matter of interpretation of the two words utard
and navamika aside for the moment, as regards the readings
whereas that of the word utara is clear, that of navamika is
certainly not proven beyond doubt. In this connection, the
comments of Liiders himself are noteworthy. He, after suggesting
the reading as na[va]mika, adds in his note that "the two conver-
gent side lines of the va are not very distinct, just as in the same
letter in line 3, and there appears a vertical in the middle which
makes the letter look almost like //a".20 We, on our part, there-
fore, feel more inclined to read the above-mentioned letter as na
rather than va and this makes the word formerly designated as
navamika into nanamika. Besides, Liiders' reading of the last
syllable of the term navamikayam also does not seem to be
satisfactory. To me, it looks more like navamikdyl, and with the

18. £./., IX, pp. 239, 241, no. 1.

19. Ibid., p. 241.

20. Ibid., p. 240, n. 6.

92 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

change of na in place of va the word should be taken as
"nanamikayV '. Instead of locative singular, the term would thus
be in the dative singular case and the Sanskrit rendering of it
would be construed as nanambikayai, i.e., '(given or dedicated)
to Nanambika'.

Hence, if our suggestion is accepted, Nanambika would yield
the sense of mother goddess (ambika) Nana, in whose honour the
temple was dedicated. Although the name of the goddess Nana
is mentioned in Greek script, in the coin legends of Kanishka
and Huvishka, this may very well be the only known epigraphical
reference to the goddess Nana from the inscriptions of the
Kushanas.21

Vainatapatya : The first line of the invocatory verse from the
Salotgi pillar inscription edited by Kielhorn and H. Krishna
Sastri has been read as follows: "Jayaty-avishkritam Vishnor-
Vainat-apatyam-uttamam".22

Here, commenting upon the term Vainata, the editors remark
that "the adjective vainata of the text is not given in the
dictionaries". But from careful re-examination of the fascimile
of the record, it seems that the reading of the text is vinata and
not vainata. This makes the expression "vinatapatya", 'the son
of Vinata', meaning Garuda.23

21. For more details on this term see my paper on the "Reference to the
Babylonian Goddess Nana in the inscription of Kanishka, year 10" vide
Rtlpanjali (in memory of O.C. Gangoly), Delhi, 1986, pp. 135-137 and
plates. I wish to record here that Prof. B.N. Mukherjee, whose work on
the Nana on Lion (Calcutta, 1969) is well known has kindly gone through
the typed script of my above paper (before its publication) and agreed with
my interpretation. My thanks are due to him. Earlier, this paper was
rejected by an editor of a commemoration volume to which it was sub-
mitted, on the grounds that it was "a reinterpretation of earlier inter-
pretations by other scholars," and not an original work in and of itself.
Would the learned editor be kind enough to elaborate more fully as
regards the alleged sources of my paper ? Could it be that he may have
missed the significance of my emendation to the text, and all its implica-
tions, due to an unfamiliarity with the subject ?

22. £./., IV, p. 60.

23. Ibid., p. 62, n. 3.

APPENDIX I

The Lexicographical Import of Certain Words
Explained in Bigger Details

ASHTAPUSHPIKA

Besides other references to the term ashla-pushpika which
could be gathered from the vast field of published inscriptions, the
one I have collected here comes from the Tipperah grant of
Lokanatha which was edited by R.G. Basak.1 Here it occurs in
the phrase : "Narayanasya satatam-ashta-pushpika boH-charu-
satra-pravrittayl" .2

After leaving the term ashta-pushpika untranslated, Basak
adds a note stating that, "I cannot explain this term".3 Herein
follows the remark of F.W. Thomas who was then editor of the
journal saying that, "Ashta-pushpika occurs in the Harsha Charita,
Ch. I, as denoting an 'eight-fold offering of flowers' (in that
passage to the eight forms of Siva); see the translation, p. 15, n. 3
and the commentator Sankara's note on the text".4

Before we look into the details of Sankara's commentary in
this regard, it is worth mentioning here that the word is not noticed
in the dictionary of Apte. Monier-Williams who has included the
term in his dictionary explains it on the authority of Kadambari as
"a wreath made with eight different kinds of flowers".5 But what
the eight different kinds of flowers were is not specified here.

The Sanskrit gloss of Sankara on the original, "mtirtir-ashtav-

1. E.7., XV, pp. 307 ff. 1. 24.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.,v. 311, n. 3.

4. Ibid.

5. M.W.,p. 116.

94 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

api-dhydyanti suchiram-ashta-pushpikdm-addt"6 explains the phrase
ashla-pushpikd as under :

"Ashtau pushpdny-lv-dshta-pushpikd. Tatra prabhriti gandha-
pradhdnarh pdrthivam; argha-sndn-ddikam rasa-pradhdnam-
dpyam\ pradip-dbharana-prabhddi -rupa pradhdnam taijasam;
anultpana-prabhriti sparsa-pradhdnam vdyaviyam', sushir-
dtodya-gitddikam sabda-pradhdnam-dkdsiyam\ anu-dhydnatii
mdnasam; asti sarvatr-aivlsvara iti nischayo bauddham; aham-
ev-lsvara ity-dhamkdrikarh. yad-vd\ dsana-varga-prabh ritishv-
ashldshu praty-lkam-ashia-pushpikd".1

The whole thing has been rendered into English by Kane as
follows :

" Ashla-pushpikd with reference to the eight forms of Siva
(i.e., the earth, the wind, the water, the sky, the fire, the
sun, the moon and the sacrificer) means a bunch of eight
flowers . . . Sankara also explains that ashta-pushpikd
refers to the eight acts of worship each of which may be
metaphorically called pushpa. They are : Pdrthiva-
pushpa, i.e., smearing the deity with some fragrant sub-
stance, because gandha is the special quality of the earth
(Prithvl)\ Apya-pushpa, i.e., bathing with water or milk,
as rasa is the special quality of water (ap); Taijasa-
pushpa, i.e., waving lights [offering ornaments, etc.];
Vdyaviya-pushpa, i.e., applying cooling unguents, as
sparsa is the special quality of vdyu (the wind); Ikdsiya-
pushpa, i.e., playing on musical instruments and singing,
as sabda is the special guna (quality) of dkdsa (the sky);
Mdnasa- pushpa, i.e., contemplation^ of the god Siva;
Bauddha-pushpa, i.e., a firm idea that Siva is all pervading,
as the vishaya of buddhi is nischaya, (i.e., determination);
Ahamkdrika-pushpa, i.e., the knowledge of the non-
difference of the soul from the Supreme, expressed by the
Upanishads in the words, "aham-brahmdsmr*

Apart from the metaphorical side, the actual names of the

6. Harsha Charita (N.S. edition), p. 20.

7. Ibid., commentary part.

8. Ibid., edited by P. V. Kane with exhaustive notes, Delhi, 1973 (reprint),
Notes on Ch. I, pp. 46-47.

Appendix I 95

eight different kinds of flowers which formed ashta-pushpika are
enumerated in the gloss on the Kadambari of Bana. With
reference to the text, "ati-roshanataya kadachid-durnyast-ashta-
pushpik-dpat-dtpadita-krodhtna"9 etc., the commentators enumerate
the following eight names of the different flowers :

"Bakarh Dronam Cha Durdhiiram Sumana Patala tatha
Padmam-Utpala-Go-wryam-ashtau pushpani Sankart"™

As is obvious from the literary reference to the term ashta-
pushpika, the bunch of eight flowers were generally offered only in
the worship of Siva. But, as we have seen in the record under
reference, the provision of the offering of ashta-pushpika along
with ball, charu and satra in this case was made for the worship
of Lord Narayana (i.e., Vishnu). Here, either it denotes the
adoption of the saiva-paddhati of worship at a later date in the
temple of Narayana, particularly in the region of Bengal or the
worship by ashta-pushpika in this case included the eight kinds of
asanas and mudras only, as it has also been stated by Sankara
above.

9. Kadambari, ed. by Peterson with Sanskrit commentaries.
10. Ibid., Commentary part quoted by Kane— vide his notes on the Harsha
Charita I, p. 46. Bhanuchandra's gloss on the same (KSdambari ed. by
Pansikar, Bombay, 1921, pp. 400-01) explains ashta-pushpika as solika (cf.
'yashta-piishpika solika tasyah"1) which is further an obscure term that is
not found in the dictionaries.

CHATURDDANTA

The majority of the epigraphical references to the term
chaturddanta are gathered from the inscriptions of Western Ganga
kings. From the commendable volume brought out recently on
the Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, I was able to gather as
many as 36 references to this term.1 Here, it forms a part of the
epithet of king Harivarmma, which gets repeated more or less in
the same way in the anuvamsika-prasastis of the dynasty right
from the fifth century onwards. This epithet of king Harivarmma
reads as follows :

"Anlka-chaturddanta-yuddh-avapta chaturudadhi
salil-asvadita-yasasah" .2

Without the least intention of bringing any discredit to all
the learned editors of the above mentioned prasastis I would say
that the real purport of the term chaturddanta has somehow gone
unheeded in their editorial notes and comments.

Besides the above mentioned grants of the Gangas, the term
chaturddanta also forms part of the epithets of some other kings.
A couple of them could be seen as under :

(1) "Anlka-chaturddanta-samara-sanghatta dvirada-gana-
vipula vijayasya" vide Chikkula plates of Vikramandra-
varman II.3

1. Ramesh, K.V., Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, Delhi, 1984; pp. 35(1.
9-10); 40 (11.8-9); 45 (1.9); 48-49 (11. 8-9); 52-53 (11.8-9); 57, 62, 67-68;
70; 81; 84-85; 90, 95, 100, 113,120, 131, 135, 146, 156, 162; 170, 176, 182,
191, 207, 240, 283, 296, 328, 340, 370, 412-13, 434, 490, 495, etc,

2. Ibid., p. 35 (lines 9-10).

3. £./., IV, p. 196, 11. 12-13, n. 2; edited by Kielhoro.

Appendix I 97

(2) "Anlka-chaturddanta-samara-sanghatta Vijayinalf vide
Tundigrama grant of Vikramendra III.4

(3) "Antka-chaturddanta-samara-sanghatta Vijayi" vide
Hyderabad Museum plates of Prithvlsri Mularaja.5

Kielhorn, while editing the above quoted passage from the
Chikkula plates observes that, "chaturddanta is an epithet of
Indra's elephant Airavata, the elephant of the east"6 and renders
the meaning of the epithet as "who gained extensive victories
when his troups[s/c] of elephants encountered in battle numerous
four-tusked elephants".1 After this, he adds a note with reference
to the compound chaturddanta which says that "the compound,
so translated here, cannot be properly dissolved1'.8

While dealing with the same phrase later, Sircar after review-
ing the opinion of Kielhorn (quoted above) did not feel inclined
to go into the details of the subtle meaning of the compound
chaturddanta and remarked that, "It is, however, not impossible
that the expression chaturdant a- samara or chaturddanta-samara
means merely a war of elephants"9 Obviously, Sircar did not pay
attention to the difficulty in dissolving the compound chaturddanta
raised by Kielhorn in his remarks.

Reverting to the explanation of the term chaturddanta from
Kielhorn, I notice that the same meaning of the term is also given
by both the dictionaries of Monier- Williams and Apte. Whereas
Apte has defined the term merely as "an epithet of Airavata, the
elephant of Indra"10 without any authoritative reference to this
effect, Monier-Williams has elaborated the meaning of the term
to some extent. He explains chaturddanta as the one "having 4
tusks; Indra's elephant Airavata" and as the "name of an
elephant".11 Out of these three meanings of the term, the first
two are based on the authority of local lexicons (which are not

4. E.7., XXXVT, p. 12, 1. 17, edited by Sircar.

5. Ibid., XXXVIII, p. 194, 11. 12-13; edited by S.S. Ramachandramurthy.

6. £./., IV, p. 195, n. 2.

7. Ibid., p. 197. Emphasis provided here is from our side.

8. Ibid , p. 197, n. 7.

9. Ibid., XXXVI, p. 8, n. 7. See also the Indian Epigraphical Glossary, p. 69.

10. Apte's dictionary, p. 694.

11. Monier-Williams, p. 384.

98 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

specified) and the third one bears a reference to the Panchatantra}2
and the Kathasaritsagara.13 Here itself, Monier-Williams has
included two more words which are worth examining in this
regard. One is chaturdanshtra, meaning one 'having 4 tusks' and
the other is chaturdat (which in its nominative case becomes
chaturdari) meaning, a 'four-toothed' one.14

Coming to the Sanskrit lexicons which are not specified by
Monier-Williams, I notice that the word chaturdanta as such and
more so as a synonym of Indra's elephant Airavata is not
included in the Amarakosha. It is in the Trikandaslsha15 that the
word chaturddanta is included as one of the synonyms of Airavata
and the same is substituted by the word chaturdarishtra in the
Vaijayanti kosha.16

Here, apart from the reference to the term chaturddanta from
the Trikandasesha (which I shall review in the sequel). The
formation of the word chaturdat is worth consideration. It is a
compound word, as attested by Monier-Williams too,17 made up
of the words chatur -\-danta, which in accordance with Panini's
sutras sankhya supurvasya (V.I V.I 40) and vayasi dantasya datri
(V.IV.141) gets changed into the form chafurdat.l9>

12. Panchatantra, III, I, ]. (quoted by Monier-Williams). In the Calcutta
edition (1930) it is HI. 2. (p. 334); 'kasminschit vane chaturdanto nama
mahagajo'.

13. Kathasaritsagara, LXII, 30; i.e.,

"Tatr-avagraha sushke = nya nipane gaja-yuthapah
Chaturdant-abhidhano = mbhah patum-agat kadachari"
i.e., "Now, once on a time, a leader of a herd of elephants, named
Chaturdanta, came there to drink water because all the other reservoirs of
water were dried up in the drought that prevailed" vide, The Ocean of
Story, tr. by Tawney, C.H., London, 1926, Vol. V, p. 101.

14. M.W., p. 384.

15. The Trikandasesha by Purushottamadeva, Bombay 1916; I, 1.60 : "Hasti-
mallas-chaturdanto bhadra-renur-madamvarah".

16. Vaijayantikosha of Yadavacharya, Varanasi, 1971; I. 2.12. "Airavanas-
chat ur dan sht rah ' ' .

17. M.W., p. 384.

18. Ashtadhydyi ofPanini, ed. by S.C. Vasu, Delhi, 1962 (reprint), Vol. II.
p. 1031. Cf. vritti which explains the sutras as " sankhya purvasy a supurvasya
cha Bahuvrlher-yo danta-sabdas-tasya datri ity-ayam-adesd bhavati samasanto
yayasigamyamclne", i.e., "for dantq is substituted dot in a Bahuvrihi, when

(Contd.)

Appendix I 99

The inference drawn by the formation of the compound
chaturdat (or chaturdan) clearly demonstrates that the word danta
of the compound chaturddanta is not used here in its popular
sense of a 'tooth'. Had that been the case, the compound in
accordance with Panini's sutra would have been chaturdat and
not chaturddanta as it appears in the epigraphical and a few
literary references we have cited above.

The term danta here in all probability is used as a synonym
of words like Vishana and sringa which are referred to and also
used in the sense of a tusk of an elephant, in some of the lexicons
and the literary works. In the Visvakdsha synonyms of danta are
referred to as under :

"Vishanam pasu-sringa syat-krida dvirada-
dantayolf9.19

Likewise, in the Sisupalavadha of Magha, danta-patrika, i.e.,
an ear-ring made of ivory, is said to have been made out of the
tusk (vishana) of Vinayaka :

Vidagdha- liloch it a dan ta-patrika
Vidhitsayd nunam-anlna manina
Na jatu Vainayakam-'ekam-uddhritam
Vishanam-adyapi punah prartohati.20

Thus, after admitting that the term danta of the compound
chaturddanta is used in the same sense as a sringa (i.e., horn) of
any other animal, one arrive nearer to the intended sense of the
compound. Unfortunately, the term chaturddanta with this
connotation of the term danta is not included in any of the

a numeral or su precedes it, and the whole word expresses a stage of life,
i.e., an age". Thus, as it is explained in the commentary, compounds like
dvidat, tridat and chaturdat, etc., are formed which in their nominative cases
become dvidan, tridan and chaturdan. For more details on this issue see
India As Known to Panini, by V.S. Agrawala, Lucknow, 1953, pp. 224-
25.

19. Quoted by Mallinatha on Sisu. 1.57.

£0. Sisu. 1.57, cf. the gloss of Mallinatha which says, "utddhritam-utpatitam
Yinayakasya Ganesasy-edam Vainayakam ekain vishanam dantab".

100 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

dictionaries known to me so far. However, it is once again, the
sfitra of Panini which guides us in this regard.

In the Ashtadhyayi, Panini's observation on the growth of the
horns of animals which also helps in determining their age is
recorded as follows :

"Sringam-avasthayarii cha"21

The vritti on the same explains it as "sringa sabda uttara-
padam-avasthaydm sanjn-aupamyayds-cha Bahuvrihau ddy-udattarh
bhavati"22 It means :

"In a Bahuvfihi denoting age (as well as a Name or a \
Resemblance), the second member sringa gets acute ^^
(accent) on the first syllable. Thus, udgats-sringa Q>
dvyarigulassringa angulas sringa (etc.). Here the word
sringa denotes the particular age of the cattle at which
the horns come out, or become (longer or thicker);
observe sthulassringa"23

Now in accordance with the above sutra of Panini when we
examine the compound chaturddanta we noticed that the first
syllable of the second member danta has been provided with an
acute accent here. It goes to the credit of both the composers as
well as the engravers of the grants we have referred to above
regarding the term chaturddanta, for being careful throughout in
providing an acute accent on the first syllable of the second
member of the compound chaturddanta. In contrast, the dic-
tionaries of Monier-Williams and Apte and also in the texts of
Trikandasesha, Panchatantra and Kathasaritsdgara as well as in
the Indian Epigraphical Glossary of Sircar, this acute accent on the
first syllable of danta is missing. Let us hope that this omission
will be rectified in the future editions of these works on the
authority of the correct usage of the term as it appears in the
inscriptions.

Before I take up the issue of dissolving this compound in its.

21. Ashtadhyayi, VI, IJ, 1J5.

22. Ibid., p. 1179.
23.

Appendix I

101

proper order, it is worth remarking here that the term chatur-
ddanta in all probability, is a welcome contribution to the field
of Sanskrit lexicography from the side of the composers of the
Western Ganga grants. And, as has been rightly suggested by the
editor of the Inscriptions of the Western Gangas2* also, it is not
impossible that some such curious terms and intelligent titles
would have been coined for the first time by some of the kings
themselves. For, it is not merely a tall claim if some of them
have been endowed with such epithets as "vaktri-prayoktri-
kusala"25 and sabd-avatara-kciraka", etc., in their grants.26

As regards the dissolution of the compound term chaturddanta
which I have already taken as a Bahuvrihi, it can be done as
follows :

"Chatwdh-odattam dantath yasya asau
chaturddanta",

i.e., an elephant whose tusks are four times more lofty or
elongated than is usual with the normal ones; and arilka-chatur-
ddanta will mean, 'the elephants with elongated tusks'. The
phrase uddttadanta I have taken here on the analogy of Ramayana
where a similar phrase occurs as follows :

"Itas-ch-dddtta-dantanam kunjardndm
tarasvinam" ,27

Here the phrase udatta-danta is explained by Rama in his
gloss as "udatta-dantanam maha~dantandiri>' ',28 i.e., elephants with
lofty tusks.

It should be noted here that the above explanation of the term
chaturddanta receives indirect support from the references to this

Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, introduction p. XXXI; under dnuvam-
sika-prasasti.
25. Ibid., p. 75; No 20, 11. 8-9, pp. 80-81, No. 21, 11. 6-7, etc.

Ibid., p. 87, No. 22, 1. 31; p. 96, No. 24, 1. 26, etc., used as one of the

titles of Durvimta.

Trikandasesha, T. 1. 60-61.

The Ramayana of Vdlmiki with the commentary of Rama, N. S. Press,

Bombay, 1930; II. 99.11.

102 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

effect noticed in the Trikandasisha, Panchatanira and the Katha-
saritsagara. In addition, this interpretation is also supported by
the title "vyal-anik-opanigraha panditasya", etc., which at a later
date substitutes for the title taritka-chaturddant a- samara sanghatta-
vijayV, etc., of the Ganga kings.

In the Trikandaslsha as we have seen earlier, the synonyms
of the name of Airavata are enumerated as under :

"flasti-mallas-chaturdamo Bhadra-renur-

Madamvarah

Sv'eta-dvipah Sudama = tha".29

Besides the fact that these are the names of Airavata (the
elephant of Indra and, therefore, the ideal elephant), one simple
inference which could be drawn from the above list is that a
chaturddanta is a hasti-malla, i.e., malla or a wrestler or fighter
amongst elephants. This suits very well with the phrase of the
title anlka-chaturddanta which is followed by the clause samara-
sanghatta, etc. Indirectly, it means those elephants which were
considered ideal in war.30

Likewise, in the Panchatanlra^1 and the Kathasaritsagara?2
the elephant called chaturdanta by name, is described as maha-gaja
and gaja-yuthapa which are nothing else but synonyms of udata-
danta (or mahadanta) of the Ramayana that we have discussed
above.

The title which is substituted for the usual title of 'anlka-
chaturddanta samara\ etc., and figures at a later date as one of the
titles of Krishnavarmana reads as follows :

"vyal-antk-dpanigraha-panditasya".3*
meaning that, 'he was a master in capturing or subduing many

29. The Ramayana of Valmiki, Commentary part.

30. For reference to fighter elephants and their jobs during war-time see
Arthasastra, ed. Kangle, R.P., Bombay, 1960, Part I, 10, 4.14 and 10,
5.54, Part II (Bombay, 1972), pp. 444 and 449.

31. See note 12 above.

32. See note 13 above.

33. Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, p. 480, No. 155, 1. 13.

Appendix I

103

wicked or vicious elephants'. Here, the term which stands some-
what closer in the sense to the term chaturddama is vyala. As
gleaned from the Arthasastra, a vyala type of elephant is consider-
ed wicked or vicious not because of any deformity in its physique
but because of its gigantic, sturdy and elongated tusks, which
make him difficult to be easily subdued (dur-damya).34 And. it is
in this sense that a vyala stands a bit closer in meaning to
chatwddanta.

Having discussed the term chaturddanta to some extent, this
is time to recall one of the stories from the Jatakas titled
"Chhaddanta Jataka", the proper meaning of which has baffled a
good number of art historians for a long time. The sole relevance
of the term chhaddanta to our theme is that it adds further sup-
port to the meaning of the term chaturddanta we have proposed
above. And, in turn, it also helps to remove the confusion that
exists amongst art historians regarding the proper understanding
of the meaning of the title chhaddanta of the said Jataka.

A. Foucher seems to be the first art historian who tried to
collate and examine all aspects (including that of the real meaning
of the title) related to the text and also the art illustrations of
Chhaddanta Jataka. This has been the main theme of one of his
papers titled "The Six-Tusked Elephant; an attempt at a chrono-
logical classification of the various versions of the Shaddanta
Jataka".35

Foucher, in course of his discussion on the theme of
Chhaddanta Jataka, has on the whole, reckoned twelve versions,
five artistic and seven literary ones. The list of literary versions
includes :

(i) Stanzas of the Pali Jatakas.
(ii) Lieu tu tsi king (Tr. by Seng-houei dated 280)
(iii) Prose commentary of the Jataka (rendered into Pali in
the 5th century A.D.)

34. Arthasastra, Part J; II. 15.42; II. 31.4; If. 32.1, 8 and 10, etc. For more
details on Vyala or Vyala-dvipa, see Sisu. XII.28; Kirata, XVII.25 and
Nitisataka, 6, etc.

35. The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central
Asian Archaeology, (Eng. Tr. by L.A. Thomas and F.W. Thomas), London,
1917. pp. 185 ff.

104 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

(iv) Kalpadrumavadana.
(v) Ta che tu luen (Tr. by Kumarajiva between 402 and 405

A.D.).
(vi) Tsa pao tsang king (Tr. by Ki-kia-ye and T'an yao in

472 AD.).

(vii) Siitralankara (Tr. into Chinese by Kumarajiva around
410 A.D.).36

Although Toucher's discussion is more concerned with the
nature of the instrument which was employed to cut off the tusks
than with the actual number of the tusks themselves, it is clear
from a perusal of his article and from our own examination of the
sources that all of these texts, except the Sutralankara, describe the
elephant Chhaddanta as being endowed with only one set of tusks.
The prose commentary of the Jataka even while explaining the
term chhabbisana as chhabbanna, i.e., six-coloured,37 admits the
fact that the elephant called Chhaddanta was endowed with a
single pair of tusks :

" 'Chhaddanta varanassa chhabbanna rathsi viya
visajjamanl yamaka dant'e"?*

And the words of these comments are also not derived so much
from the commentators own opinions as from the Pali text of the
story itself.39 The fact that the elephant was endowed only with
a single pair of tusks is made very clear time and again in the Pali
text of the story by describing them as yamaka-dante** danta-
yuga41 and dantl-iml,*2 etc. Luckily these terms have been

36. The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central
Asian Archaeology, (Eng. Tr. by L.A. Thomas and F.W. Thomas), London,
1917, pp. 196.

37. Jataka (ed. V. Fausboll, London, 1891), Vol. V, p. 41, see also tr. by E.B.
Cowell and others (Cambridge, 1905), Vol. V, p. 23, n. 1.

38. Ibid., pp. 54-55.

39. ibid., pp 37 and 39-40.

40. Ibid., pp. 37, 39-40, 44. Cf., "aham etam chhaddanta hatthim marapetva
yamaka dante ahardpetutn samattha homiti".

41. Ibid., p. 51; cf. "Bahu hi me danta yugd ulara" .

42. Ibid., p. 52, cf. "Dante ime chhinda pura mar ami" .

Appendix 1 105

correctly translated by H.T. Francis as "a pair of his tusks".43

The term chhabbisana referred to above, is nothing else but
another synonym of chhaddanta itself. Here, bisana (Sanskrit
vishana) is used as a synonym of danta, a fact which we have
already discussed above.

Regarding art illustrations of the theme of chhaddanta Jataka
if we include the one from Sanchi also (which has been excluded
by Foucher as it did not provide him with the point he was look-
ing for)44 the total number becomes six.45 And. out of these six
illustrations of the theme, except in two cases, one from Sanchi
and the other from Ajanta, in all the other four cases (of
comparatively an earlier date) the elephant is invariably shown
with only single pair of tusks and no more.

How the term chhaddanta was understood by both the
engraver of the label and the master artist who executed the full
details of the medallion illustrating the theme of Chhaddanta
Jataka therein, is clearly revealed at Bharhut. Here, the
medallion which depicts an elephant with a single pair of tusks
is labelled :

"Vldisa Anuradhaya danam
Chhadantaya Jatakam".46

Thus, in my opinion, both the terms chaturddanta and
chhaddanta instead of 'four or six-tusked elephants' denote the
sense of an 'elephant whose tusks are four to six times more
elongated and developed than those of the normal ones'. This is
well corroborated by the Pali text of the Jataka story where the
shape and size of the elephant Chhaddanta is described as 'sabba
stto (like svtta-dvipa in Sanskrit) aththaslti hatthubbedho vlsamrat
anasatayamo41 (i.e., he was eighty-eight cubits high, one hundred

43. The Jataka (tr. by H.T. Francis), Vol. V, pp. 22, el al.

44. Op. cit., p. 196, n. 1.

45. Ibid., Where the list of twelve versions, five artistic and seven literary one
is given. For Sanchi, see, The Monuments of Sanchi by John Marshall
and A. Foucher (reprint, Delhi, 1982), Vol. II, p. XV and notes.

46. Cunningham, Bharhut Varanasi (reprint) 1962.

47. Jataka, op. cit., pp. 37, 41, etc.

106 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

and twenty cubits long) and had tusks which were fifteen cubits
in circumference, thirty cubits long and emitting six-coloured
rays :

"Dantd pan' assa parikkiilpato pannarasa hattha
ahesum dighato timsahattha chhabbannahi
rasmlhi samanndgata".4*

48. Jataka, op. cit.% p. 37.

CHOKSHA

In spite of a good number of literary references to this effect,
the only hitherto known epigraphical reference to the term
choksha or chauksha is noticed in one of the recently discovered
copper plates of Bhulunda.1 After the first four lines of this
grant which inform us that it was issued from Valkha by
Maharaja Bhulunda who was subordinate (padanuddhydta) to
the Imperial Guptas (parama-bhattarakas)2 the relevant lines (5-8)
of the charter read as follows :

". . . . yato — dya prabhritya dlvaklya karshakah—
kfishanto vapantah Pasupat-aryya Chokshdh diva-
prasadakas clia gandha-dhupa-bali-charu satr-

opayogadish-upj,ydjayaman as-sarvair-lva

samanumantavyafy[ 1 ] varshl 50

Phalgu su 5".3

Since, as stated earlier, this is the first time that we come
across the term choksha in the field of epigraphical literature, it is
worthwhile to discuss it along with other corroborative evidences
from literature and find out who the Chokshas referred to in the
above-mentioned grant of Bhulunda were.

The word choksha or chauksha is derived from the root
chukshd referred to in the chhatradi-gana of Dhatupatha. Literally

1. Bagh hoard of copper plate inscriptions by S.K. Bajpai, (vide, J. E.S.I.,
Vol. X, pp. 86-89).

2. £"./., Vol. XV, pp. 286-91.

3. The preliminary report of Bajpai regarding the discovery of the hoard of
copper plates including the one under reference, does not furnish any
details like the text of the grant or explanatory notes on the terms thereof.
The text of the grant cited here has been prepared by us in consultation
with Dr. K.V. Ramesh, Director (Epigraphy), Mysore.

108 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

it means a "pure or a clean (person)."4 It is in this very sense
that the term is used in the Mahdbharata5 and the Manusmriti.6
Further on, again in the same sense, the term in its Pali or Prakrit
form is referred to as chokkha.7 In fact, chokha-mdla is even today
referred to in Hindi as something which is considered absolutely
pure, unadulterated and clean.8 But in course of time, the basic
meaning of the term choksha, particularly after the arrival of the
Bhagavatas on the religious scene of Hindu society, got expanded
to the extent that the very idea of purity and cleanliness gradually
came to be associated with the name of a particular sect of Bhaga-
vatas known as Chaukshas.

It is possibly in the Natyasastra of Bharata that the term
choksha figures for the first time as the name of a sect of
Bhagavatas. Bharata, while discussing the issue of different
languages and dialects to be spoken by the variety of characters
in a drama, refers to the following characters along with Chokshas
whose dialogues were supposed to be in Sanskrit.

Parivrad muni sakylshu chokshlshu srotriylshu cha

4. Sanskrit English Dictionary of Monier-Williams, pp. 400, 402.

5. MBH. 12.70.8 (Chitrashala edition, Pune, 1929-33);
"Anlshur-gupta-darah syach-

chokshah syad-ghrinl nripah. "

6. Manu. 3.197 (ed. with the commentary of Medhatithi by G.N. Jba),
Calcutta, 1932 :

"Avakaseshu choksheshu jala-tireshu ch-aiva hi

Vivikteshu cha tushyanti dattena pitarah sada."

Medhatithi explains the term choksha here as

'svabhdva-suchayo manah prasada-janakaranyadayah\

i.e. the places or the persons which are naturally clean and, therefore,

pleasing to the eyes.

7. Pali Eng. Dictionary, p. 105 which refers to Chokkha as one who is clean
(Jataka. 111.21) and chdkkha-bhava (Majjhima, 1.30) in the sense of cleanli-
ness. Likewise, in the Paia sadda Mahannad (p. 416) the term chokkha on
the authorities of Nay a (III) Bhagavati sutra (9.17), Rayapaseniya and
other texts is explained as suddha, suchi and pavitra, though while explain-
ing the entry of chokkha (f) therein, it also infers that the word Chokkha
meant a particular type of Parivrajika (a female ascetic).

8. For details see Tewari, S.P. in the 'Cultural Heritage of Personal Names
and Sanskrit Literature, p. 48.

Appendix I 109

Sishta yl ch-aiva lingasthah sanskritam tlshuvojaylt"9

Abhinavagupta while commenting on this verse, calls
Chokshas the members of a particular sect of Bhagavatas who in
his times were also known as Ekayanas.10 Manamohan Gosh,
who rendered the above verse into English has, somehow totally
ignored the significance of this peculiar reference to chokshas, and
has not taken cognizance of even the commentary of Abhinava on
the same.11 His rendering of the above verse reads as follows :

"To itinernt recluses, sages, Buddhists, pure srotriyas
and others who have received instruction [in the Vedas]
and wear costumes suitable to their position (lingaslha)
should be assigned Sanskritic Recitation".12

As it is obvious, he has rendered the sense of choksha into an
adjective to srotriya meaning pure. This is also clear from the
foot-note he has added to this term.13 What is not clear, and
even if clear does not seem tenable, is the explanation he has
offered for considering the term choksha here as an adjective. He
says that "the adjective 'pure' (choksha) used with srotriya is
possibly to separate him from an apostate who might have entered
Jaina or any other heterodox fold and was at liberty to use
Prakrit*'.14 But, as gleaned from the original statement of
Bharata himself who had placed all the characters referred to in
the locative case; the first-three in a compound form (parivraj-
muni-sakylshu) and the remaining two (chokshlshu srotriytshu chd)
separately, and then instructed that in the case of all of them
(tishu) Sanskritic recitations should be assigned, it is obvious
that he did not intend choksha to be meant as an adjective to
srotriyas here. The use of the word cha which succeeds both

9. Natya-sastra (ed. Kavi, M.R. G.O.S., Baroda, 1934, Vol. II, with the
commentary of Abhinavagupta), XVII. 38.

10. Ibid., commentary part. Cf. "Choksha Bhagavata vi&esha ye Ekayana iti
prasiddah".

11. The Natyasastra (Eng. Translation), Vol. I (Ch. I-XXVI1) by Ghosh, M.f
Calcutta, 1950.

12. Ibid., Ch. XVIII/36, p. 329.

13. Ibid., n. 4.

14. Ibid.

110 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

choksha and srotriya here lays further emphasis on their separate
identity. Thus, what was construed by Abhinava earlier and
explained as a particular sect of Bhagavatas seems to be more
appropriate.

The next work which uses the word choksha in the sense of a
noun after the Natya-sastra is the Bnhatsamhita of Varahamihira.
Here, the reputed astrologer, while discussing the good and bad
effects of the various omens (sakunas) appearing on the different
circles of quarters (antara-chakram) and affecting the people
residing there, refers to Chokshas as the residents of the south-
western spoke. The relevant verse from the text reads as follows :

Sastr-anala-prakopav-agnlyl vaji-marana silpi bhayam
Yamyl dharma-vinasd—parl^agny-avaskanda
choksha badhah.*5

The same thing has been translated into English by
Subrahmanya Sastri as "an omen appearing in the south-eastern
spoke that is 'burning' indicates clash of arms and outbreak of
fire, and causes the destruction of horses and danger from artists;
one in the southern spoke leads to the destruction of meritorious
deeds; (the same) in the south-western spoke to death from fire
(and) sudden attack of ruffians".16 Here, since Utpala in his
Sanskrit commentary on the same has explained choksha as
dushta (choksho dushta iti prasiddhah)11 Subrahmanya has also,
without going deeper into the real sense of the term, rendered
them into ruffians. Besides this, the English version of
Subrahmanya could also not bring out the true overall purport of
the verse. In fact, what Varahamihira intended to say is that, if
a burning sign appears on the south-western spoke, it will cause
death from fire (in general) and sudden death to the Chokshas.
It indirectly hints that the regions falling to the south-west of
Ujjayini, from where Varahamihira predicted, was the territory
which was populated by the Chokshas. In other words, he meant

15. Brihat-samhita, Vol. II, 86.431 ed. by Dwivedi, S. London, 1897.

16. Brihat-samhita (English translation) by V. Subrahmanya Sastri, Bangalore,
1947, Vol. II, Adh. LXXXVII-sl. 43, p. 679.

17. IndiaasSeeninthe Bnhat-samhltqofVqrd^amihirat Shastri, A.M.,
1969, pp. ^55-56.

Appendix I 111

the present region of the Gujarat State as the area where Chokshas
were residing.

Coming to the actual purport of the term choksha what Ajai
Mitra Shastri has concluded seems to be right. According to him
"the word choksha occurring in LXXXVI-43 (of the Bnhat samhita)
refers to a sect of Vaishnava ascetics. Utpala's explanation of
choksha meaning a wicked person, may indicate either his ignor-
ance about this sect of Vaishnava mendicants or that they had
earned a bad reputation because of their notoriety."18 In light of
the further references to Chokshas from texts of a later date, their
notoriety seems to be the more likely reason for Utpala's
comments, rather than any lack of knowledge.

As Shastri has already noticed19 and as has been noticed
earlier also by others,20 a good number of categorical references
to Chokshas figure in the Padma-prabhritaka of Sudraka and the
Pada-taditaka of Shyamilaka.

In the Padma-prabhritaka, Sudraka refers to one of his
characters called Pavitraka as chauksha or to be exact as
chauksha-vadita21 Although in the satirical style of the Bhana
the deeds of this Pavitraka, the representative of the Chaukshas,
are badly condemned, the details put forward by Sudraka even
then help us in visualizing some of the salient features of the
behaviour of the Chaukshas. The vita in the play introduces this
Pavitraka as follows :

"Eshu hi Pavitrako nama prachchhanna purhschali
ko = chaukshah chauksha-vaditah raja-mar gl —
vidita jana-samsparsam pariharann-iva samgrihit-
ardra-vasanah samkuchita sarv-ango nasika-dvayam-
anguli-dvaylna pidhaya chaivara-Siva -pifhikam-
asritya sthitah"22

18. India as Seen in the Brihat-samhita of Varahamihira, Shastri, A.M., Delhi,
1969, pp. 555-56.

19. Ibid., see also India as Seen in the Kuftanimata of Damodaragupta, Delhi,
1975, p. 72, n. 4.

20. Chaturbhani, ed. and translated in Hindi by Motichandra and V.S.
Agrawala, Bombay, 1959, pp. 31-22, 163-65. See a.lso Tewari, S.P., op. cit.,
pp. 48-49.

21. Ibid., Padma, pp. 21-23.

22. Ibid., pp. 21-22.

112 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

From the above, barring the fact that the character of this
Pavitraka was not up to mark as he indulged in amorous dalli-
ances with harlots and had many secret affairs with others and
that he was a Chauksha only in namesake, the other noteworthy
features which are gleaned, can be summarised as under :

(A) The Chaukshas strenuously avoided even the slightest
touch from others in their everyday life. This they
carefully observed even while walking on the main roads
of the town.

(B) They invariably carried with them a cloth made wet after
their bath (samgrhit-ardra-vasanah).

CC) In order to avoid not only the touch but even the smell
of another person, they constantly kept their nostrils
closed with their two fingers and walked after humbling
themselves down from all sides.

(D) The only thing positive in their case was that though
Vaishnavites themselves they did not avoid going near or
worshipping Siva and other non-Vaishnavite deities
also.23

Besides this, the careful coinage of the name Pavitraka by the
author of the drama is also indicative of the characteristics of a
man endowed with such a name. On the one hand it constantly
reminds us of the root chukshd meaning pious (or pavitra) from
which the term chauksha or choksha is derived, and on the other
hand it illustrates fully well that who can be more rigid in the
matters of touchability than Pavitraka himself?

The Pada-taditakam of Shyamilaka also lays stress on the
above-said points regarding Chaukshas and informs us further that
Chaukshas carried a staff (vltra-dandd) and a bowl (kundika) in
their hands and they used to present lemons (bija puraka) to their
teachers and the deity.24

23. On the basis of the reference to chatvara Siva-p'ithika of this text and some
similar references from the Kuttanimata (verses 748-50), Ajay Mitra Shastri
has surmised that the chaukshas had a liberal religious attitude and
worshipped non-Vaishnavite deities also (op. cit., pp. 555-56).

24. Chatiirbhani, pi. 163 : "EsHd Hi v?trq-danla kt^rlika bhanda Siichitd vrishala
chaukshamatvd", etc.

Appendix I 113

Apart from the above facts reconstructed so far, there are
two more important points of information regarding chaukshas
which we gather from both texts. One is that the activities of the
chaukshas by the time of the composition of these texts did not
remain confined to the vicinity of temples only but that they were
also entrusted with jobs like that of a dharmasanika15 and the
amatya (minister) for pradvivaka26 (justice), etc. Indirectly it also
confirms the support and patronage which both Vaishnavites and
Vaishnavism received during the time of the Guptas, the period to
which the composition of these plays is generally assigned.

The other point which we gather is that possibly on account
of their being too rigid in the matter of purity and personal
cleanliness and also partly because of their close association with
the important portfolios of state administration, the chaukshas
themselves and their mode of living was not liked by the common
people. Needless to say, their low-moral sense and the degraded
character was viewed on the top of all this, and this is what that
is amply demonstrated by the derogatory remarks gathered from
both the texts. For instance, Pavitraka of the Padma Prabhritaka
for his secret affairs with the harlots and his hypocracy in the
matter of touchability, etc., is viewed as prachchhanna pumschallka,
achaukshah chauksha-vaditah, hasyah kahalvlsha, avijnata-jana-
samsparsa, aknti-matra-bhadrakah* mithy-achara-vinitah and
chauksha-pisacha, etc.27 Likewise, in the Padataditaka, amatya
Vishnudasa is introduced as Vrishala-chauksha, meaning the
illegitimate son of a chauksha and further rebuked as an up'eksha-
viharina2* meaning a worthless rogue. Not only this, the very
garment (kanchukd) they were wearing is condemned as the one
meant for the propagation (prachard) of hypocrisy and

25. Chaturbhani, p. 21 . Cf. "Esha hi Dharmasanika putrah Pavitrako nama

chauksha-vaditah".

26. Ibid., pp. 163-64, Cf. "Esha hi chauksha-amatyo Vishnudasah

rnahaty-api prad-vivcika karmani niyuktena". The name Vishnudasa of a
Chauksh-amatya is also noteworthy in this regard as it indirectly confirms
that the chaukshas were Vaishnavites.

27. Ibid., Padma, pp. 21-23. For detailed discussions on these adjectives
bordering almost on nick-names, see Tewari, S.P., op. cit.t pp. 46-48.

114 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

wickedness.29

These remarks about the Chaukshas in whose sect the
degradation has badly set in and who were keeping a very low
moral in the eyes of the contemporary society, make us fully
understand what Bhattotpala meant when he commented upon
them as 'choksha dushta iti prasiddhah\ In the light of the above
facts, it is difficult to presume that he was not aware of this sect
of Vaishnavas. He rather knew of them too well and would have
even observed them from close quarters since, as we shall see, in
all probability the sect of Chaukshas must have been very much
in existence during his time as it seems to be alive even till
today.

Having considered so far the literary references to Chaukshas
and their status in society to some extent, a remarkable suggestion
put forth by Agrawala regarding the present-day identity of
Chaukshas deserves consideration. Agrawala while commenting
on the above-mentioned references to Chaukshas suggests that the
people of the Swami Narayana sect of Gujarat who are known as
Chaukhalia and are equally conservative in the matters of
touchability, etc., may be identified with the Chaukshas of the
past.30 This he seems to have done mainly on the basis of
linguistic possibilities under which the Sanskrit word chauksha
may easily get corrupted in the form of chaukhaliyd (i.e.,
Chaukshalya > chaukhiya, chaukhya > chaukshya and thus
chauksha).

If we compare the facts regarding Chokshas or Chaukshas
gleaned from literary works with the information about them
contained in the charter of Bhulunda, we find the two sets of
facts to be compatible.

The first important point of this record of Bhulunda is that
it refers to Chokshas in a dignified way with the honorific Arya
(line 6). The second point is that this reference to Chokshas is
made in connection with their attendance in the service of Svami

29. Chaturbhani, Padma, p, 23 ; "satha-prachara kanchuka",

30. Ibid., p. 21, n. 18(9).

Appendix I

115

Narayana deva (line 3).31 The liberal outlook of the Chokshas
in the matter of religious tolerance is supported by the fact that
they are mentioned in the company of Pasupatas along with other
dlva-prasadakas (lines 5-6).

The fact that there was a temple (?) of Svami Narayana deva
in the village Pipplojjhara lying on the other side of the river
Narmada and situated within the jurisdiction of Valkha (the
capital of a province) which is generally identified with the
modern township of Bagh, also coincides with the statement of
Brihat-samhita which refers to Chokshas living somewhere to the
south-west of Ujjain.

Before closing our inquiry on the identity of Choksha or
Chaukshas we may sum up the whole issue as follows :

(i) Although the word choksha in the beginning had only
the meaning of something which was considered pure,
clean and untouched, at a later stage particularly after
the arrival of the Bhagavatas on the religious scene of
Hindu society, its meaning got expanded and gradually
the term got associated with the particular sect of Bhaga-
vatas who came to be known as Chaukshas.

(ii) Whereas it is difficult to state how early they came to be
associated with this identity, it is possible to say that in
the society known to Bharata of the Natya-sastra the
people of this sect were already addressed by this name.

(iii) The Chaukshas probably had their heyday in the period
between the composition of Varahamihira's Brihat-
samhita and of Padma-prabhritaka and Padataditaka.

(iv) Whether Chaukshas were associated with the cult of
Svami Narayana deva from the very beginning or not is
a matter of speculation, but as gleaned from the grant
of Bhulunda, from the last quarter of the fourth century
their association with that cult, which was popular in
the area around Bagh (in Madhya Pradesh) including

II. In another charter of Bhulunda forming part of the same hoard as the one
under reference, he is called 'Svami Narayanadasa Maharaja Bhulunda'
(line 9 of the grant of year 47 Pausha, pa. 8) which makes us to surmise
that possibly Svami Narayanadeva was also tfce family deity of the king.

116

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

some of the regions from Gujarat is well established,
(v) In the light of the facts gathered from the two Bhanas
which reveal the rigidity of Chaukshas regarding
untouchability, etc., and further facts regarding their
association with the cult of Svami Narayana deva
gathered from the grant of Bhulunda, it is possible to
agree with the supposition of Agrawala and identify the
Chaukshas with the modern Chaukhaliyas of the Svami
Narayana sect of Gujarat.

DVIRADA-DANAVA

The particular reference to the use of the term 'dvirada-
danavd1 and its interpretation we have selected for review is from
the 'Deval Prasasti of Lalla, the Chhinda', which was first edited
by Biihler in the pages of the Epigraphia Indica.1 The relevant
verse of the inscription referred to where the term 'dvirada-danava'
occurs as a compound, reads as follows :

"Sul-kshata-dvirada-danava-kumbha-mukta-
mukta-kalapa-kalitamala-kantha-kantih
visvarh punatu-girija-vadan — avadhuta
Chandr—opanlia parivasham — iv = odvahanti"2

It is translated by Biihler as :

"May the daughter of the mountain purify the universe;
she the spotless splendour of whose throat has been
gained through a multitude of pearls fallen from the
frontal globes of the danava (who assumed the shape of)
an elephant (and was) wounded by (her) trident; she
who wears as it were the halo surrounding the moon
which is surpassed by her face".3

This translation bears a foot-note saying :

"the demon who assumed the shape of an elephant is
no doubt Mahishasura. According to the Markandlya
Purdna, LXXIII, 30, the Asura turned himself also into
a Mahagaja. When speaking of the halo which
surrounds the face of Parvati, the poet may have thought
of representations, such as are found in Moor's Hindu
Pantheon, plate VII, where her head is surrounded by a

1. £./., Vol. I, No. XII, pp. 75-85.

2. Ibid., p. 77, 1. 2, v. 2.

3. Ibid., p. 81.

1 1 8 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

glory. Chandropanlta which I have taken as equivalent
to chandraya-upanita, may also stand for chandrena-
upanita. In the latter case it would indicate that the
moon found on Siva's crest transferred his halo to the
goddess who is closely united with her husband in the
form of Ardhanari."4

Regarding the statement that the demon who took the shape
of an elephant was Mahishasura we may agree but only with a
certain amount of doubt, and not 'without any doubt' as Btihler
says. From the text of the Dlvimahatmya? we know that during
the course of the battle Mahishasura also assumed the form of
an elephant (mahagajah)6 in succession with many more forms
like that of a lion, etc.7 What is even more noteworthy here is
the point that the trunk of that elephant-shaped demon (Mahisha)
was cut off by the sword of the goddess8— and not the trident
(sula) or any other weapon.

If this dvirada-danava is interpreted as Gajasura, who was
killed by Siva, the Siva-Purana9 version of the story stands more

4. £./., Vol. I, No. XII, p. 81, n. 45.

5. Devimahdtmya, ch. 80, V. 31.

6. lbid.,ch. 80, vv. 29 -31.

7. Ibid., vv. 30-31 :

"Tatydja mdhisham rupam\ and

Tatah simhd=bhavat-sadyo ydvat tasy = dmbikd sir ah

Chhinatti tdvat-purushah khanga-pdnir=adrisyatd'\

"Tata ev = dsu-purusham devi chichchheda sdyakaib

tarn khanga-charmana sardham tatah so=>bhun mahagajah".

8. Ibid., "Karshatastu karam devi khangena nirakrintata".

9. Siva Purana, Ch. 57, vv. 1-5 :

"Srinu Vydsa mahapremna charitam Sasimaulinah
yath-avadhi trisulena ddnavendram gajdsufdm^
"Danave nihate devya samare mahishasure
Devanafn cha hi tart hay a pur a deva sukham yayuh"
"Tasya puttrd mahdvTrah munisvara Gajdsurah
Pitur-vadham hi samsmritya kritam devya surarthanat" .
"Sa tad-vairam=anusmritya tapo = rtham gatavan-vanc
samuddisya vidhim prityd tatopa paramam tapah"
"Protasten trisiilgna sa cha daityo gajasurah
Chhattri kfitam^iv = atmdndm rnanyamdno jagau haram" .

Appendix! 119

relevant here. According to the story given in the Siva Purana,
Gajasura was the son of Mahishasura, who, after the death of
his father, tried to take revenge upon the gods and, with this aim
in mind, did a great penance. He was finally killed by Siva with
his trident and was hung over his head. Gajasura prayed to Siva
for mercy and got a boon as a blessing from the Lord that his
skin would cover the body of Siva. In this way Siva came to be
known as Krittivasa.

At another place the term dvirada-danava is substituted as
danava-gajah in an inscription of Lakshmana-sena.10 Here also
the editor of the inscription has not been able to make this point
clear. He even regrets his * 'incapability in translating the
relevant clause"11 and acknowledges his indebtedness to the editor
of the Epigraphia Indica (N.P. Chakravarti) for that matter.
Even after the help of the editor of Epigraphia Indica the trans-
lation of the term 'nirasta danava-gajah\ etc., could not be made
clear because the improved translation of Chakravarti rendered
the compound 'danava-gajar? in the plural, though in the record
it is used in singular.12 Thus, the interpretation of Chakravarti
that "Siva (Panchanana) has vanquished the elephants who are
the danavas"13 does not seem tenable.

Besides this we get plenty of references to Siva as the killer
of Gajasura from the field of iconographic sculptures, where the
same myth is depicted. We also had occasion to raise this point
elsewhere14 and believe that scholars will agree to interpret both
dvirada-danava or danava-gajah as synonyms of 'Gajasura' who
was killed by Siva with his trident and whose skin later hung
over him.

10. £./., XXV, No. 1, pp. 1-13.

11. Ibid., p. 10, n. 3.

12. Note that the term 'gajah' is clearly used and also read by the editor as in
singular and not in plural. Therefore, to translate that as 'elephants' in
place of 'elephant' may not be proper.

13. Op. cit., 10, V. 1 (Translation).

14. Hindu Iconography, Tevvari, S.P., p. 38 and references cited therein.

G URUBHIR-ABH YASTA-NAMAN

The phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman, figures for the first time
in the Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman1 in the form of an
adjective qualifying the name of Rudradaman himself. Though
the literal sense (vachyartha) of the phrase, with little variations
here and there, has already been explained by scholars earlier, the
suggestive meaning (lakshycrthd) of the same has still remained
obscure. The two explanatory notes on the same term from Levi
and Kielhorn, while attempting to go deeper into the underlying
idea behind the phrase arrive at a different conclusion than that
which in our opinion was actually intended by the learned
composer of the record. In order to deduce the real import of
the phrase —as it was most probably desired by the composer
himself— a reconsideration of this adjective of Rudradaman's
name is necessary.

James Prinsep, who had the privilege of bringing to light for
the first time the full text of the record along with its translation
in 1838, explained the phrase 'gurubhir-abhyasta-namari* as "the
one who was mindful of the lessons of his instructors".2 Later
on, Wilson, who improved upon the text and the translation of
Prinsep, rendered the same phrase into "one whose name is
repeated by the venerable".3 Subsequently the same rendering of
the phrase with very little change was also approved by scholars
like Bhau Daji,4 Eggling,5 Bhagwanlal Indraji, Buhler and

1. E./., Vol. VIII, p. 42, 1. 4.

2. Essays on Indian Antiquities ed. Edward Thomas, London, 1858, Vol. I,
p. 50.

3. Ibid,, p. 68.

4. Jl. Bombay Asiatic Society, VII, p. 1 18 ff.

5. Archaeological Survey oj Wt stern India, IJ, p. 128 ff.

Appendix I 121

others.6 With a marginal difference from the rendering of Wilson,
Buhler interpreted the phrase as, "one whose name is repeated by
great men".7 A little later while writing in German, he slightly
modified his own rendering of the phrase by putting it as "the
venerable ones pronounce his name (in praying for salvation)".8
Thus, as we have seen, from the time of Frinsep till the time of
Buhler, the scholars who had occasion to refer to the term
gurubhir-abhyasta-naman were more directly concerned with the
literal sense (vachyartha) of the phrase.

Jt was most probably Levi who first tried to go deeper into
the underlying idea of the phrase and come out with an elaborate
explanation. Having observed the literary charm of the compo-
sition of the record in general and the peculiarity of the term
gurubhir abhyasta-naman which has the advantage of rhyming with
the name of the King Rudradaman in particular, he comes to
review the above translation of the phrase from Buhler. According
to him "the expression 'gurublrir-abhyasta-namari' seems to imply
a still more precise sense than the one cited above".9 As per
him :

"the verb abhyas evokes in a certain way the study of the
Vedas10 and the mention of the gurus determines the
sense still more certainly; the name of the Kshatrapa
Rudradaman is for holy personages like another Veda
which demands assiduous study, absolute veneration and
which assures the most precious results".11

Kielhorn, who stands next in the galaxy of pioneers who have
dealt with this phrase, has first of all offered his accord to Wilson's
translation of the phrase cited above,12 and then, by adding a

6. Ind. Ant., VII, p. 257 ff. also Die Intlischen Inschriften und das Alter der
Indischen Kunsiposie, pp. 45 tT, 286 ff. The references to the articles of
Levi and Kielhorn will be cited separately.

7. Ibid.

8. Die Indischen , etc., p. 53.

9. Ind. Ant., XXXIII : Some Terms in the Kshatrapa Inscriptions; Eng. Tr.
p. 165.

10. Ibid. He cites here Manu, iv, 147; vi, 95 and Yiljnavalkya, iii, 204 in
support for the same.

11. Ibid.

12. £./., Vol. VIII, p. 45 (translation).

122 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

foot note to the same,13 he has listed his own comments. The
opinion of Kielhorn regarding the actual import of the phrase
gurubhir-abhyasta-naman can be simply stated as under :

(i) First of all he supports Levi's explanation of the term
and says that, "as (it) has been pointed out by Levi, the
use of abhy-as and the statement that Rudradaman's
name was repeated by gurus at once suggest the notion
that for these reverend personages the name was like
another Veda, demanding assiduous study and devout
veneration, and yielding the most precious fruit".14

(ii) The second remark he adds is that the phrase "gurubhir-
abhyasta-naman seems a stronger expression than the
ordinary sugrihita-naman" .l5

iiii) The third remark of Kielhorn deals with the grammatical
aspect. According to him, "in gurubhir-abhyasta-naman
(for the more logical guruvabhyasta-naman) we have one
of those constructions which Indian grammarians
impeach by the statement 'saplksham-asamartham
bhavati\ but after all justify by gamakatvat-samasah".16

Thus, what emerges out of the views of the previous scholars
regarding the actual import of the phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman,
can be summarized as follows :

(i) The phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman seems a stronger
expression than the ordinary sugrihita-naman.

(ii) The literal sense (vdchyartha) of the phrase should be
construed as the 'one whose name (ndman) is repeated
(abhyasta) by the venerable (gurubhih)\

(iii) The connotation (lakshyartha) of the phrase should be
considered as 'the name (of the Kshatrapa Rudradaman)
for the reverend personages was like another Veda,
demanding assiduous study and devout veneration, and
yielding the most precious fruit'.

13. £./., ' ol. VIII, p. 45 (translation).

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

Appendix t 123

(iv) Grammatically the expression gurubhir-abhyasta is not
proper as it violates the rule of samasa. According
to grammatical rules it should have been gurvabhyasta-
ndman.

Reviewing the whole issue afresh, while there is no disagree-
ment with the literal sense of the phrase and also the remark of
Kielhorn that it is a stronger expression than the ordinary
honorific title of sugrihita-naman, it is difficult to be convinced
with what Levi explains in the name of making it 'more precise'
and to which Kielhorn also extends his own accord.

The definition of the phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman from
Levi where too much emphasis is laid on the usage of the verb
abhy-as even while making the sense 'more precise' creates
anomalies of other than a literal nature. The statement of Levi
that "the name of the Kshatrapa Rudradaman is for holy person-
ages like another Veda which demands assiduous study and
absolute veneration" etc.;17 when viewed in the light of age-old
Indian culture, falls contrary to the well regarded notion which
treats gurus on par with gods.

In India, and to our understanding even in countries outside
India, the high status accorded to one's guru has been such that it
commanded universal honour and respect.18 No one could ever,
howsoever great person he might be, command or even anticipate
'devout veneration' from his own gurus. For a devout sishya the
very idea that his own name would be 'assiduously studied like
another Veda* by his own gurus, would amount to a sin of a
heinous type. This is an idea which lacks support from all corners.
Showing respect to one's guru has been such a deep rooted notion
that even the asuras&nd ddnavas of Indian myth agreed upon its
value. The two heroes of our great epics Rama and Krishna
even after being recognised as the incarnations of Vishnu, were at
no stage awarded any such epithet in the above sense. And, as
far we know, Alexander the great did not deem any such adjective

17. Levi, op. cit.t p. 165.

18. Cf. uchurya-devo bhava\ besides the countless references which may easily
be cited to the theme right from the Vedic literature onwards upto the
time of Guru-gita, a casual reference to the edicts of Asoka (R.E. No. IX,
gurdna apachiti', XII, guru susrusa).

124 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

to his name as befitting which lowered the dignity of Aristotle.
In fact, the anomalies of Levi's explanation is such that even the
simple etymology of the word guru19 rebels against it.

The theme of guru and guru bhakti (devout veneration to
guru) is so well known that we need not dwell upon it in depth,
The only thing we would like to say in this regard is that the
explanation of Levi, in light of the above facts, does not seem ten-
able and it is, therefore, necessary to look into the actual purport
of the term gurubhir-abhyasta-naman afresh.

This 'stronger expression of gurubhir-abhyasta-naman' as
Kielhorn has rightly remarked, is formed of three words, i.e., guru
(a noun) abhyasta (a verb) and naman (again a noun) and, as we
shall see, all the three words are pregnant with more subtle a
meaning than it has been usually thought. Therefore, the desired
sense of the expression is bound to remain obscure unless we are
able to deduce the real import of all the three words separately.

As regards the literal sense of the word guru the renderings
like 'instructors, venerables, great men and the 'holy personages',
etc., from the early scholars are, no doubt, found quite satisfactory,
but, we may have to admit at the same time that all these refer
to only the general sense of the word and do not pin-point the
indicatory meaning of it which is yet to be settled. And, our
submission in this regard is that the real import of the expression
as a whole depends to a greater extent on the subtle meaning of
the word guru itself.

The real clue to the indicatory sense of the word guru in the
present context lies in its association (through the verb abhy-as)
with another noun called naman and that is what makes the use
of this word more technical than usual.

Amarasimha who has the reputation of being quite selective
in such matters, refers to the first and the foremost sense of the
word guru as :

"Upadhyayo — dhydpako = tha sa = nishekadikrid-guruh"20

19. Amara, 11.7.7 and the commentaries of Vandyaghatlya, Kshlraswamy,
Mahesvara, Bhanuji Dikshita, Lingayasunn and others on the same who
all explain the word guru as "grinaty-upadisat-iti guruh\

20. Amara, 11.7.7, cf. the commentary of Bhanuji (Amarakosha, N.S. ed.

(Contd.)

Appendix I

125

It means that all those honourable persons who only teach or
instruct are known as upadhyaya and adhyapaka but the one who
not only teaches but also does all the samskara (sacraments) like
nishlka and others, is termed as one's own guru. Obviously,
Amara by referring to nishlkadi here makes a clear reference to
the instructions of Manu in this regard and that is a fact which
has also been noticed by almost all the commentators on Amara.

Manu, in the same context as that of Amara, explains the
definition of the term guru as follows :

"Nishekadini karmani yah kardti yatha vidhi,
sambhavayari ch-anmna sa vipro gurur-uchyate".21

It says that guru is one who performs all the sasmskaras
(sacraments) for a person beginning from nisheka onward and
who also provides food and necessary nourishment. Medhatithi
in his gloss explains the term nisheka, which forms the crucial
point of the verse, as act of progeny leading to conception. It is
the same which is referred to as garbhadhana, being one of the
primary samskaras. Since nisheka is the act, explains Medhatithi,
which is performed invariably by the father of a son only, it is clear
that Manu refers to one's father (pita) only as the first guru.'2
The fact that the status of a father being guru is many times
higher in comparison to that of upadhyaya and acharya is further
emphasized by Manu as thus : "Upadhyayan-das-acharya
acharyanam sat am pita".23

Medhatithi on his part, elucidates the same idea by quoting a

Bombay, 1929, p. 252) on the same which explains the word guru as :
"nishekd garbhddhdnam-ddir-yasya tasya karta",

besides the other explanations such as grindti-dhartnddi (iti guru) and
giraty-ajnanam, etc. Apart from it, Bhanuji also cites the opinion of
Manu along with that of some other commentators who in the light of
Amara's reference, explain the word guru as the one who supervised the
samskaras (samsakdrddi kartur-guroh).

21. Manusmriti with the Manubhashya of Medhatithi ed. by Jha, G.N.,
Calcutta, 1932,11.142.

22. Ibid., cf. commentary which says : "nisheko retah sekah sa ddir-yeshdm
karmanam', ddi grahandt-pitur-avam gurufvopadesab",

23. Ibid., 11.145,

126 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

verse from Vyasa as follows :

"Prabhuh sarira-prabhavah priyakrid-prdnado-guruh-
Hitdndm-upad'eshtd cha pratyaksham daivatam pita".24

This early concept of a father being considered one's own
guru (rather one of the gurus at an early stage) propounded and
pleaded by Manu, has also received the favour of classical
Sanskrit poets at a later date. KaHdasa who had a personal
liking for the words with a more subtle meaning, must have
referred to the term guru, in the sense of a father, more than a
dozen times in his Raghuvamsa alone. A couple of them can be
noticed as under :

"Na k'evalam tad-gurur eka-pdrthivah,
kshitav-abhud-eka-dhanurdhard—p i sah" .

"Ath dsya-goddna-vidher-anantaram vivdha-dikshdm
niravartayad-guruh".

"Ajasra-dlkshd pravatsya mad-guroh kriyd vighataya
katham pravanas'e".

"Jagat prakd^arh tad-ashes ham-ijayd bhavad-gurur
larhghayitum mam= odyatah".

" Ajasra-dikshd-prayatah sa mad-guruh kratdr-
aslshlna phaltna yujyatdm".-5

Such instances can be multiplied to any length.

Coming to the literally pregnant phrase (because it refers to
the ceremonies revolving around pregnancy) of nishlkadi from

24. Manusmriti, commentary on 11.142.

25. Raghu\U3\t 33, 44,48, 65, cf. the comments of Mallinatha who explains
guru wpita and also 'gurur-gishpati pitryadyait of Amara.

Appendix I 127

both Manu and Amara, we gather the relevance of the whole
reference to our context. While explaining the phrase nishlka-
dikrid from Amara, Kshiraswamy in his gloss also quotes the
above cited verse from Manu and to our benefit he not only
explains the meaning of nishlka but also the salient part of the
suffix ddi.26 According to him, both Manu and Amara when they
referred to nishlkadi by the qualitative suffix adi they also meant
all other samskaras like pumsavana, s'imantonnayana, jatakarma,
nama-karana, anna-prasana and so on and so forth.27

Thus, the simple inference we may draw from the above is
that the word guru in its first instance always meant a father who
supervised the ceremonies of purificatory sacraments and then a
teacher, instructor or any other holy personage. This becomes
even more apparent in the case of gurubhir-abhyasta-naman where
the term guru is directly associated with the term naman.

As regards the contextual import of the phrase abhy-as, a
verb employed in the service of two nouns, the explanation of
Levi that it "evokes in a certain way the study of the Vedas"28
even though partially right, does not render the sense desired in
the present context. We have already discussed above the
anomalies caused by such an explanation. Levi is right in saying
that the "mention of the gurus (along with abhy-as) determines the
sense (of the phrase) still more certainly" but unfortunately, not
the sense he has so assiduously tried to determine himself. The
meaning of the word abhy-as as construed by Levi in the present

26. Uttara, V. 27, cf. Gudnapur inscription of Kadamba Ravivarman (vide
Srikanthika, pp. 61-72 where Vlrasarman his grand-father is mentioned as
his guru) .

27. Amara (T.S.S. ed. Trivandrum, 1914) TI.77 cf.
"adi sabddt-puinsdvana sTmantdnnayana jatakarma-
ndma-kara na opanayanddini grihyante ' ' .

28. Levi, op. cit., Levi's references to Manu (I V.I 47, VI, 95) and Yfijnavalkya
(iii. 204) in this regard do not clinch the issue in the manner he makes us
to believe. First of all, in these contexts the instructions given by Manu
relate to the Brahmins entering the stage of vanaprastha and sanyasa and
secondly, it is not only the vedd-bhydsa but also the brahmdbhyasa (IV. 149)
which is referred to where, in all certainty the verb abhy-as is not used
as if it was reserved only for veddbhyasa. The commentaries of Kulluka
and Medhatithi on the same also betray the explanation of Levi in this
regard.

128 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

context (and further supported by Kielhorn) suits phrases like
batubhir-abhyasta-naman better than gurubhir-abhyasta naman.

The word abhy-as is formed of abhi (that is avyaya) and the
root as. This prefix abhi in the Sanskrit lexicons is enumerated
in the list of anlk-artha- avyaya29 indicating the fact that it yields,
with reference to the context, more than one meaning. The root
as as we know yields the sense of to be, to exist, to be present, to
take place, to happen, to abide, to dwell, to stay and so on and
so forth.30 From this the past participle abhy-asta is formed like
the one popularised by Kalidasa in his "saisavt=bhyasta-vidya-
ndm".31 The noun from the same is abhyasa meaning repetition
in general, being defined as, "punah punah sthdpanam abhyasah".32
Since from very early times the study of the Vedas formed the
major part of the education which was imparted and grasped
merely through repetition (abhyasa}, no doubt the usage became a
bit more popular in the case of Vtdabhyasa33 but the application
of this verb did not in any way remain confined to the Vedas and
Vedic studies alone. A good number of examples where the
phrase abhyasa is applied in a context other than that of Vedic
studies can easily be cited.34 In fact, Pimm's sutra ' mithyopa-
padat krino — bhyast"35 tends more towards the meaning of
abhyasa being habit, custom or the practice to which Apte cites
an example of "tad-yath-ahhyasam-abhidhiyatam" from Bhava-
bhuti.36 This latter phrase illustrates the usage of abhyasa in
connection with abhidha or naman which was equally popular with
literature.

Thus, from the use of the verb abhy-as what we understand
in the present context is that the gurus having repeatedly con-
centrated upon the meaningfulness and the auspiciousness of the
object in mind, repeatedly pronounced the same aloud and

29. Vaijayanti,8.1.\6.

30. Monier-Williams, p. 117.

31. Raghu,l.S.

32. Halayudha, ed. Joshi, J.S., Lucknow Saka 1879, commentary part, p. 129.

33. Cf.^Vedabhyasa-jadah k at ham nu vishaya vyavfitta kautithalo nirmatuth
prabhavet manoharam-idam rupam pnrano munih". Vikrama 1. 10.

34. See Apte's Skt. Eng. Diet. p. 194.

35. Ashta. 1.3.71. cited by Apte.

36. Uttara. 1. 8 ff. It means : "therefore, address me as is your wont".

Appendix I 129

thereby settled the name, fame and the very existence of that
object. And, a meaningful and auspicious object of this type,
upon which they concentrated for long and which they pro-
nounced repeatedly was in the present context nothing else but
the glorious name (naman) of Mahakshtrapa Rudradaman
himself.

This interpretation of the term abhy-as is further supported
by the phrase naman of the expression which is explained as
"mnayatl abhyasyatl namytl abhidhiyatl arthd anlna v537 or
mnayati abhyasyan yat, tat".3* It means that naman is a
characteristic mark, sign, form, nature, appellation or a personal
name which is awarded after due consideration and pronounced
repeatedly first by the gurus (i.e., the father, the teachers and other
holy personages) only.39

Before we come to our conclusion a couple of parallels from
Kalidasa are worth noticing where he has utilized the same idea
as that of the phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman but in a more lucid
way. While referring to the nama-karani ceremonies of Raghu
and Aja, he remarks as under :

"Srutasya ydyad-ayam-antam-arbhakah-tatha
parlsham yudhi ch-lti—parthivah avtkshya dhator-
gaman-artham-arthavich-chakara-namna Raghum-
atma-sambhavam".4Q

i.e., 'the father of Raghu (whom he has invariably referred
to as guru) the king, after having considered the word's meaning
well had named him so, desiring that his son should be both an
exponent of learning and a master victor*. Likewise, since the
queen of Raghu gave birth to the prince at the time presided
over by Brahma the Aja, the king (i.e., Raghu) named his child

37. Apte, p. 888.

38. Halayudha, No. 152, commentary p. 387.

39. See, Amara 1.6.8 and the commentaries thereupon. [See also the comment-
ary on Halayudha (op. cit.) which cites the sftra, "naman siman vyomann-
iti manin pratyayena nfpyfandt sadhiC\ etc.; Monier-Williams (p. 536),
however, does not agree with the derivation of naman from mna thowgh
without giving his reasons for it.

40. Ra§hu, 111.21.

130 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

after him and he became Aja :

Brahmt muhurtl kila tasya dlvi kumara-kalpam
sushuvl kumaram

Atah pita Brahmana eva namna tam-atma janmanam-
Ajam Chakara*1

The point we want to bring home by citing the above refer-
ences from Kalidasa is that it was father — the guru who decided
and ultimately pronounced the name of a child. The phrase
abhyasta of our expression has been made further easy by Kali-
dasa in the form of avlkshya and thus, in our opinion the conno-
tation of both the words should be considered as analogous.

Now, having considered the real import of all the three
constituents of the expression gurubhir-abhyasta-naman. we have
no hesitation in saying that in all probability the naming ceremony
(nama-karana samskara) of Rudradaman was duly performed
either by his father Jayadaman or the grand-father Chashtana
who, as we know from other sources, was very much there not
only at the time of his birth but even at the time of his assuming
power.42

Although both the relevance of the theme and the space at
our disposal do not permit us to go into the details of the naming
ceremony as they are gleaned from the various grihya-sutras, a
cursory glance particularly at the procedural part of it will help
us to substantiate our view to some extent. And, this is also the
point where most of the sutras are unanimous in their opinion.
According to them, at the time of the naming ceremony the
father leaned towards the right ear of the child and addressed
him : <fO child ! thou art the devotee of so and so family deity,
hence thy name is '....'. Thou art born under such and such

nakshatra, hence thy name is ' ' and thy popular name is

' V The assembled Brahmins uttered the popular name in

a chorus : "May so and so name be bestowed". Then the father

41. Raghu,V36. For details on this issue see Tewari, S.P., Cultural Heritage
of Personal Names and Skt. Literature, Delhi, 1982, pp. 79-87.

42. Vide. Andhau stone inscription of the time of Chastana and Rudradaman
£./., XVI, pp. 23ff. For the view regarding the common rule of both,
see Sircar, D.C., Select Inscriptions, No. 63, rj. 4,

ippendixl 131

finally asked the child to salute the Brahmins who blessed him,
repeating the popular name every time, "May you so and so live
long".43

As it is clear from the procedure of the naming ceremony,
the name of the child (naman) was first pronounced and repeated
(abhyasta) in his ear by his own father (guru) and then by other
Brahmins, teachers and holy personages (gurus) who blessed him
adequately. This analysis leads us to explain the whole phrase
of gurubhir-abhyasta-naman as under :

'gurubhih suvicharya pawiah-punylna bararh-
baram dhyatva cha kalpitarh samuchchariiam
abhyastarh cha nama yasya asau gurubhir-abhyasta-
naman, Una gurubhir-abhyasta-namna .

Apart from the linguistic analysis, so many other indirect
references also come to the support of our view that in all pro-
bability the naming ceremony in particular and other samskaras
in general, were duly performed in the case of Rudradaman.
These can be summarised as under :

(i) It is a well-known fact that the names of the Western
kshtrapas from Rudradaman onward (or, to be exact
even from Jayadaman), in comparison to the names of
their ancestors like Nahapana, Chashtana and
Jhasamotika, are more Sanskritized (the same which
historians call Indianized)44 which suggests that some
such samskara was done to their names.

(ii) The fact that Rudradaman could enter into a matri-
monial alliance by offering his daughter to Satakarni45
and thus could claim a very close relationship

13. Vide Bhat, V.R., Our samskaras, Bombay, 1970, pp. 21-25. For more
details on the same see Hist, of Dharmasastra, IT, Pt. I, Ch. VI, pp. 238-
254. For Epigraphical references to naming ceremony, see Ind. Ant. Vol.
XVIII, p. 12966, E.I., IV, p. 120ff, and X, p. 95ff.

44. Vide Ind Ant. XII, pp. 139ff, E.I., VII, pp. 78ff., XX, pp. 16, 19ff,
Liider's List No. 994 and Sircar, D.C., Select Inscriptions, No. 59, n. 1
(p. 168) 67, n. (p. 178), n. 9 (p. 179) and No. 98 (No. 2) p 231, etc.

45. Vide, Kannheri Buddhist tank inscription (LiuJer's list, No. 994).

132 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

(sambandhavidura)46 with the Satavahanas also indirectly
confirms the view that by this time the Kardamakas,
after having their purificatory sacraments performed,
were duly recognised in the fold of Hindu society. Had
this not been the case, howsoever politically motivated
it was, a matrimonial alliance with Satakarni, who is
eulogized as being one of the staunch Brahmins (ika
bamhanasa)47 and who stopped the contamination of the
four varnas (vinivatita chatuvana-sarikarasa)4* would
have not been so easily possible.

(iii) In all probability, an event of such a high cultural
import in the early history of India would have taken
place during the regime of a powerful Mahakshatrapa
like Rudradaman himself. The fact that he was highly
imbued with such great qualities as satya-pratijna (true
to the vows made), dhrita-karunya (full with compassion),
dharmartha-kama-vishaya-patitva (due command over
the objects of religion, wealth and pleasure), dharma-
nurdga (strong attachment with dharmd] and many more,
repeatedly bear out the same truth and confirm the same
possibility. This is also borne out by the categorical
references to his expertise in the fields of grammar
(sabdartha), music (gandharva), logic (nyaya) and other
great sciences. Furthermore, his skill in producing
compositions in prose and verse which were, clear
(sphuta), agreeable (laghu), sweet (madhura), charming
(chitra),49 and beautiful and which excelled by the proper
use of words and the figures of speech, do confirm the
same supposition, time and again. Practically more
than two-third of the inscription itself stands a testimony
to the fact that all the samskaras including nama-karana
were duly performed in the case of Rudradaman.

46. £./., VIII, p. 44, 1. 12.

47. Ibid., p. 60, 1. 7.

48. Ibid, p. 60, 1. 6.

49. Cf.Rama. IV. 3.32-33 where the charming speech (chitrayclvacha) of
Hanuman is described as :

"samskOra-krama-sampanntf ' .

(ppendix /

133

Having analyzed the ground for an event of such a high
cultural import, a word regarding the impeachment proposed by
the Sanskrit grammarians against the composer of this record for
coining an illogical expression like gurubhir-abhyasta-naman may
not be out of place.

Kielhorn, on behalf of Indian grammarians, remarks that an
expression where something is required or presupposed (saplk-
sham) becomes (bhavati) illogical or weak (asamanham) and that
cannot be ignored. Since in the present case the need for a
samasa (compound) is so convincing (gamakatva) for the more
logical reasons it is necessary to take it as gurvabhyasta-naman.50

Our submission to the charge of Kielhorn is that the composer

of the record was so overwhelmed with the news of a glorious

event taking shape in the form of the naming ceremony of Rudra-

daman that he did not like to omit even a syllable of it at the cost

of grammar and make it ambiguous. The fact that the name of

his master Rudradaman, at the time of the naming ceremony, was

duly considered and repeatedly pronounced, first by his own father

and then by his other teachers and holy personages, is certainly

better conveyed by the term gwubhih in its plural form, than it

would have been in its compound form. For, as we know, the

compound gurvabhyasta can be split either way, i.e., guruna

(singular) abhyasta or gurubhir (plural) abhyasta and this would

leave the choice of deriving its meaning more with the reader and

almost nothing with the composer who was ever eager to impart

his own message. We, therefore, think that, in view of such an

important message which refers to an event regarded as a turning

point in the career of Rudradaman and his successors of the

dynasty, an insignificant error of grammar can easily be

condoned.

After settling the main purpose of the expression gurubhir-
abhyasta-naman, a look into the subsidiary import of the same is
equally rewarding. This relates to the literal sense of the phrase
meaning that the 'name of Rudradaman was (repeatedly) pro-
nounced by the venerables', and the act of this addressing or
pronouncing the name immediately causes to recall the fact that

50. See Apte's Dictionary, appendix F. p. 110, for 'supeksham-asamartliam
bhavati' and 'gamakatvat-samasah'.

134 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the name which was thus pronounced was not the name of an
ordinary person but that of a great king. On account of this issue,
therefore, the established norms of ancient Indian modes of
addressing come into effect, which deal, along with many other
things, also with the issue as to who were the persons privileged
with the right of pronouncing the name of a king in public.

Although some casual references to the ancient modes of
address figure in the Manusmriti51 and a few in the Amara
kosha52 at a later date, the details regarding the address in
question and many others find mention only in the Natyasastra of
Bharata who deals with the whole issue under a separate chapter
entitled "The Modes of Address and Intonation".53 Herein,
Bharata having referred to the popular modes of address takes up
the issue where Brahmins are supposed to address the king and
lays down his instructions as under :

"Namnd raj-lti va vachya brahmanais-tu naradhipah
Tat-kshamyam hi mahipalair-yasmat-pujya dvijah
smritah".54

It means that "Brahmins may address the kings at their
pleasure, by their names. This should be tolerated, for the
Brahmins are to be adored by the kings".55 In this case, although
the phrase namna and vachya are almost analogous with the namna
and abhyasta of our expression, the gurus are referred to by their
appellations of Brahmana and dvija which does not make much
difference since it were the Brahmins who were generally the gurus
in ancient India.

The simple inference we may draw from the above is that the
phrase gurubhir-abhyasta-naman, besides that it refers to an event
of high cultural import, also forms part of the dramatic formu-
lary. Although Prof. Levi has discussed some such terms figuring
in the Kshatrapa inscriptions in detail, we really wonder how the
expression gurubhir-abhyasta-naman could have escaped his sight.

51. Manu, II, 122-139.

52. Amara, 1.8.12-15.

53. Natyasfistra, (G.O.S. cd), Baroda, 1934, Vol. 11.17, 66-93.

54. Ibid., 17.70.

55. Ibid., (Eng. Tr ) by Ghosh, M, Calcutta, 1950, Vol. I, Ch. XI. 6, p. 336.

Appendix 1

135

The overall utility of this inference to the field of dramatic formu-
lary can be gauged as under :

(i) Even though the learned composer of the record has not
virtually imitated the phrase from Bharata, he has given
enough hint for us to conclude that he was "thoroughly
imbued with dramatic formulary contained in the Natya-
sastra".56

(ii) The fact that the composer has phrased his expression as
gurubhir-abhyasta and not as gurubhir-evabhyasta which
would have been more exact had he followed Bharata
literally, paves way for two assumptions. One is, that
the composer, even while carrying out the instructions of
Bharata, did like to impress upon us that he has im-
proved the matter of his source-material. The second
is, that in his skilful way, he has preserved the possi-
bilities of both the explanations of the expression.

(iii) Levi believed that it was Bharata himself who was highly
influenced by the dramatic formulary contained in the
record of the Kshatrapas, but a detailed analysis of this
phrase does not fall in line with this belief. It suggests
instead that the composer of the record was influenced by
Bharata's work and Levi has perhapsgdeliberately ignored
it for that reason.

Thus, the expression gurubhir-abhyasta-naman, as we think,
represents the view that the naming ceremony of Rudradaman
was duly performed by his father (guru) in the company of other
teachers and holy personages who first of all thought of his name
and then repeatedly pronounced it. This privilege of pronouncing
the name of Rudradaman, even in public and also at a later stage
when he became a king, was enjoyed by the said holy personages
as their own prerogative.

56. For the similar views, cf. Kane, P.V. in his introduction to the Sahitya-
darpana, Bombay, 1923, pp. VlH-IX.

HARITA-KALAPAKA

A curious reference to harita-kalapaka1 qualifying water jars
is made in the Mathura Brahmi inscription of Huvishka year 28.
In this inscription a good number of objects are mentioned which
were supposed to be kept every day on the door of the punya-
said (charitable pavilion) for distribution amongst orphans and
the destitutes. The relevant lines of the record which may prove
helpful for the discussion that follows could be cited as under :

" Divase divas'e cha punya-salayl

dvdra mult dhdriye sddyam saktundth ddhaka 3
lavana-prastho 1 saku prastho 1 harita kaldpaka
ghatakd 3 mallaka 5 etam andthdnam kritlna
ddtavya babhakshitdna pibasitanam".2

Sten Konow who has edited the said record in the pages of
the Epigraphia Indica, has rendered the fore-mentioned lines into
English as follows :

" day for day, having kept it at the

entrance to the hall on the same day three" ddhaka
groats, one prastha salt, one prastha saku, three ghataka
and five mallaka of green vegetable bundles, should be
given for the sake of destitute people, hungry and
thirsty".'

This rendering of the text from Konow reveals that he has
not construed the term harita-kalapaka in the sense of an adjective
qualifying ghataka but as a separate entity meaning "bundled
fresh vegetables" or 'green vegetable bundles'.4 Besides this, he

1. £./., XXI, pp. 55ff.

2. Ibid., p. 60, 11. 5-9.

3. Ibid., p. 61.

4. /£/</., see also p. 58.

Appendix I 137

also alternates the proper sequence of the things as they are put
in the record by placing harita Kalapaka before the term mallaka
"without knowing anything", as he himself admits, "about the
size of the ghataka (jar) and mallaka (bowl)".5

Before resuming the review of the term harita-kaldpaka in
the present context, it is worth-mentioning here that although the
said record has been noticed even prior to Konow by two other
scholars, neither of them paid any attention to the real import of
the term in question since they were not concerned with cultural
or linguistic issues.6 Thus, it is Konow who for the first time
attempted to offer some explanation of the term harita-kalapaka.
But, for the reasons detailed below, we find the above explanation
of the term harita-kaldpaka by Konow far from convincing.

(i) Following Konow's interpretation of the term, one has
to disturb the given sequence of the objects as they are
noticed in the body of the record, i.e., we have to shift
the term harita-kaldpaka from its original position where
it precedes the word ghataka and place it before the
word mallaka which is not justified. It amounts to
altering the composition of the record itself.

(ii) Even if, for a moment, we agree with Konow's rendering
of harita-kaldpaka into bundled fresh vegetables or
'green vegetable bundles' his combination of the same
with mallaka or the five bowls is something which hardly
brings conviction. As per our own observation a bundle
(of green vegetables) is in itself a sort of measurement
which is understood locally and which differs from region
to region, place to place and time to time. It hardly
requires bowls for its measurement.

(iii) The fact that ghataka or the water-jars and mallaka
or the bowls figure in the text of the record only after
the list of eatable items is exhausted, also goes against

5. E.L, XXI, see also p. 58.

6. Jayaswal, K.P. in J.B.O.R.S. XVIII. pp. 4ff and Deb, H.K. in l.H.Q.
VII, pp. 117ff. Whereas the main burden of JayaswaFs paper is to break
the news of the discovery of such a record and refer to the terms like
Pur ana, Kushana and Tikina, etc., the theme of that from Deb deals only
with the name of Greek month 'Gurpriye'.

138 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

the said rendering of Konow. On the other hand, the
categorical reference to hungry (bubhukshita) and thirsty
(pipasita) people in this regard, confirms the suitability
of the words as they are placed in the text of the record.

After Konow, although Sircar has not thought the term
harita-kalapaka important enough to include in his Indian
Epigraphical Glossary, he has still by way of Sanskritizing the text
of the record and also by an addition of a small note on it in his
Select Inscriptions,1 demonstrated very clearly that he did not
agree with Konow's explanation of the term. In the course of
Sanskritizing this particular phrase, Sircar has rendered it as
follows :

" harita-kalapaka-trayah

mallakati (pana-patraniy*

After this, for harita-kalapaka- ghatakah, Sircar adds a note
which, after an interrogatory mark added by he himself, says that
the term could be rendered as "jars of a preparation of different
green vegetables ?"9

Here, first of all the credibility of Sircar's interpretation of
the term is marred by his own question mark which makes it
obvious that in spite of his not feeling satisfied with the interpreta-
tion of the term from Konow, he was also not fully convinced by
his own interpretation.

The strange thing with Sircar's interpretation of the term is
that whereas Konow has already taken liberty with the usual
meanings of the words harita and kalapaka by rendering them
into bundles of green vegetables, he has gone further than that
and cooked a different preparation by rendering it into "a
preparation of different green vegetables". We somehow do not
find scope for so much liberty with the meanings of the words in
question.

Apart from it, as per our own observation, although a jar
full with pickles is often heard of and seen (and, in that case if we

7. Select Inscriptions, I, pp. 152-53.

8. Ibid., p. 153.

9. Ibid., n. 3.

Appendix / 139

agree with the interpretation of iukta prastha as amla-rasa from
Sircar, it would have been more appropriate if this would have
been stored in the jars rather than the prepared vegetables) but
hardly a jar full with a preparation of different green vegetables.

Having observed the fore-mentioned anomalies in the inter-
pretations of the term from both Konow and Sircar, we feel
inclined to entertain the whole phrase of harita-kalapaka-ghalaka
as one compound and review the import of the same afresh.

Out of the three words with which the above compound is
formed, as regards the rendering of ghataka into water-jars it is
agreed on all hands. But, about the remaining of two other
words, i.e., harita and kalapaka a reconsideration of their meanings
is still desired.

The term harita, as we think, may no doubt render the sense
of something green in colour but to think that it invariably
renders the sense of green vegetables is a far-fetched supposition.
Thus, whether vegetables or not, the one thing which is certain is
that the term harita means something that is green in colour.
Now, since the only word remaining with the compound in
question is that of kalapaka we have to focus our attention on the
actual purport of this and find out what is that thing which is
green in colour and denoted by this term. In our opinion, the
real purport of the term kalapaka forms the nucleus of the com-
pound as a whole and once the real sense of this term is settled
down we may arrive nearer to the intended meaning of the record.

Various connotations of the term kalapaka as compiled in
the dictionary of Monier-Williams, include a band, bundle, a kind
of ornament, a string of pearls and the rope round an elephant's
neck, etc.10 Out of this, since Konow was interested in taking the
word harita in the sense of green vegetables, he preferred to render
the term kalapaka into bundles, but as we have seen, the first
meaning of the word kalapaka is an ornamental band, rope or a
bunch of thread put on the neck of an object.

With reference to the present context, because it is the term
ghataka or the water-jar which is being qualified by the adjective
harita-kalapaka, it is worth inquiring if the fore-mentioned

10. Sanskrit Eng. Diet. p. 261. Under fo/tf, see also Amara (III.3.128) where
kahlpa is explained as 'kaliipa bhushane barhe tunire sarihatavapi'.

146 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

meaning of the term kalapaka may also render any tangible sense
in association with the object (i.e., gha(aka) in question.

Thinking on the above-lines we come across a folk-belief
related to the gift (in charity or otherwise) of a water-jar (ghataka)
observed even till today in the regions of Mathura and some
other parts of U.P. According to this belief, whenever a water-jar
is to be given as a part of a gift or even on certain other auspi-
cious occasions either a bunch (kalapaka) of coloured thread or a
strip of cloth is tied on its neck in order to make it auspicious.
In the absence of thread or cloth, some grains are placed inside
the jar. The bunch of threads tied on the neck of water-jars is
locally known as kalava in the north Indian dialects. It is used
on every auspicious occasion and also with objects other than
water-jars. This kalava in our opinion, in the tadbhava form
of both kalapa and kalapaka as they are more or less analogous
in their meanings.11

A curious literary reference to the term kalapa^ where it
seems to have been used in the sense of kalava and there too in a
context almost the same as that of ours, is noticed in the
Kadambari of Banabhatta.

Since both the contexts, the one from the inscription and the
other from the Kadambari in which the term kalapa is applied,
seem to be identical and also because the literary reference to the
term validates our supposition, we deem it proper to have a
thorough look at the reference from the latter.

Banabhatta, while referring to the siitika-griha (lying in
chamber) of queen Vilasavati and to the arrangement of so many
auspicious and ornamental objects therein, states that close to the
walls of the room there were hanging a row of platters arranged
upside-down and forming an auspicious design known as vardha-
mana. These platters he states further, were decked with strips
of cloth dyed with various colours which were placed upon them
at intervals :

" pancha-rdga-vichitra chlla-chitra-

kalapa-chinham-arpita pishta-pankankitam

11. Sanskrit Eng. Diet., p. 261.

Appendix I 141

vardhamana paramparam ",12

The same has been explained by Bhanuchandra in his Sanskrit
commentary as under :

"Pancha-ragair-vichitra ye chlla-chitra vastra-
khandaS'tesham kalapa h samuhah sa iva chinham
yasyam sa /am".13

V.S. Agrawala, while reviewing the same once more, states
that herein the reference to the term kalapa is of a technical
nature. According to him the real sense of the term kalapa is the
same as kalava in Hindi and kalava is the term used for the
coloured bunches of thread (suti lachchha) or the strips of cotton
used as a mark of auspiciousness and ornamentation.14 The fact
that such kalavas were tied on to the platters (saravas) forming
vardhamana-ma.Tk, further confirms their use with clay pots, dishes
and water-jars. Even today on the occasion of a sankranti known
as saktu- sankranti in the north, many such water-jars, their necks
tied with coloured kalava threads, are distributed along with fans,
etc., amongst the poor and destitute as an act of piety. A cate-
gorical reference to the distribution of saktu from the record in
question adds extra weight to our observation.

Thus, in our view, the term harita-kalapaka of the record, in
all probability, refers to the green coloured threads which were
tied with the water-jars before they were given to the hungry and
thirsty people for their use.

12. Kddambari, ed. with the commentary of Bhiinuchandra by K.P. Parab
and W.L.W. Pansikar, Bombay, 1921, p. 143.

13. Ibid., commentary part.

14. Kadambari ek samskritik adhyayan, Varanasi, 1970, p. 85, n. 2.

KATUKA

Although some stray references to the term katuka do figure
in two or three inscriptions of a later date1 as far as we could
ascertain the earliest reference to this term appears in the
Talesvara Grant of Dyutivarman.2 This is also the only epi-
graphical usage of the word in the sense of an occupational group.
The relevant lines wherein reference to katuka along with many
other officials is made, read as follows :

" Parama-bhattaraka maharajadhiraja srl Dyutivarmma
kusali parvvatakara rajyl asmad-vamsydn-maharaja
viseshan pratimanya dandoparika-pramatara-
pratihdra kumaramatya-pilupaty-asvapati jayanapati-
ganjapati-supakarapati-tagarapati vishayapati-
bhogika-bhagika-danda-vasika-katuka prabhrity-
anujivi- varggam" .3

Mr. Gupte who edited the grant for the first time, has trans-
lated the above phrase as under :

'The Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja being in good
health, in his kingdom filled with mountains, pays
respects to the excellent kings of his line; enquires about
the welfare of the prefect of police, the pramatara, the
warden, the councillor of the king, the masters of
elephants, horses, armour, marts, cooks, land holders,
police officers, the katukas and other dependents".4

1. EJ.t XI, pp. 34, 69 for Katudeva and Katukaraja, a chahmana king and
p. 38 for Katuka being the name of a person; E.7., XXT, p. 54, Katuka as
the name of a Brahmin; E.7., XXX, p. 134 for the term katukattambha.

1. E./., XIII, pp. 115-17.

3. Ibid., p. 115; 11. 3-5.

4. Ibid., p. 1J7.

Appendix I

143

As is obvious, Gupte being uncertain of the actual import of
the term katuka has, in his first attempt, left the term untrans-
lated. But, after second thoughts, he adds a foot-note to it which
states that he consulted a Prof. Sovani regarding the term katuka
who thought that it might mean a sect of Jains.5 Having rejected
this meaning as improbable, Gupte himself surmised that katukas
apparently mean any person (officers, members of the religious
assembly not generally held in respect at the time, etc.) who were
disagreeable to the public.6 But, who these katukas were in
particular, Gupte, in the end, admits very frankly that he could
not say with confidence.

Later on, after a lapse of more than three decades, Kane,
while adding an appendix to his History of Dharmasastra, Vol. Ill,
tried to tackle the exact meaning and also the function of the
term katuka.1 But in absence of further evidence in this regard,
he had also to satisfy himself with the remark that the "exact
functions (of this official) are not known."8 He could at the
most cite the Telesvara grant as an epigraphical reference to this
term which we have quoted above. Kane's reference to the
Mahakatuka in this regard is not found in the said volume;
perhaps it became a casualty of the printing process.

As expected by every student of Indian epigraphy, Sircar's
Glossary does include the term katuka in its list.9 But, even after
the lapse of more than twenty years from Kane and roughly half
a century from the time Gupte edited the grant and brought this
term to our notice, for the want of further evidence, Sircar could
also not solve the riddle. In fact, Sircar, with due acknowledge-
ment, of course, has simply reproduced verbatim the information
he thus received from Kane. Thus, what the exact functions of
an official referred to as katuka were are still not clear. We plan
to discuss this term and also the function of katuka in the light
of two literary references from the Harshacharita of Bana.

In the Harshacharita of Bana, the word katuka in the context

5. £./., n. 9.

6. Ibid.

1. History of Dharmasdstra, III, Poona, 1946, appendix, p. 979.

8. Ibid.

9. Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, 1966, p. 151.

144 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

of an official figures on two occasions. In the first instance, it
figures in connection with the acrid instructions issued by a
katuka to the mahauts of royal elephants found dozing on the
very heads of the animals while their masters were inside the
palace. In his figurative style Bana refers to this term as
follows :

"Katu-katuka-nirdlsa-nasyan-nidrdn-mishan-
nishadini"™

Unfortunately, Sankara the Sanskrit commentator of the
Harshacharita has somehow passed over the word katuka,
without comment. Amongst others, Cowell and Thomas have
translated the phrase by saying that "the shrill words of command
from the marshal dispelled the slumbers of blinking riders".11 In
other words, they have taken katukas as marshals. Kane in his
notes on the Harshacharita12 has explained the whole phrase as
"katukanam katu nirdlslna nasyanti nidra toy a unmishantah
nishadinah'9,13 and rendered it that the elephant riders woke up
from sleep which was dispelled by the sharp commands of their
superior officers. Obviously, Kane takes katukas to be the
superior officers of the elephant riders. Agrawala, while com-
menting on the same phrase in Hindi, identifies katukas with the
designation of royal servants of the Persian import known as
pyddas.14

Although Agrawala while referring to the proper reading of
the text rejects the katuka-katuka reading of the N.S. edition of
the text and rightly prefers the katuka-kaju reading of the phrase,
it is rather surprising how he jumps over from katuka to kataka

10. Harshacharita, VII, p. 204 (N.S. edition). Although in all the popular
editions of the Harshacharita (like that from Fuherer, A.A., Bombay,
1909, p. 275, Parab, K.P., N.S.P. Bombay 1918, p. 204; Kane, P.V.t
Bombay, 1918, p. 54) the phrase is noticed as katu-katuka, in certain
manuscripts noted by Fuhrer (A.B.D., p. 275, n. 7) it is read as katuka-
katu. See also Agrawala, V.S. Harshacharita (Hindi), Patna, 1964,
p. 144, n. 1.

11. The Harshacharita of Bana. Tr. by Cowell and Thomas. London, 1897,
p. 199.

12. The Harshacharita, Bombay, 1918, notes p. 168.

13. Ibid.

14. Agrawala, op. cit., p. 144.

ippendix I 145

in this regard.15 His equation of both katuka and kataka does
not seem to be tenable. Kataka types of soldiers and royal-
servants referred to by Bana (cf. kataka-kadambaka)16 were
designated so because of their either moving in a circle (a ring or
kataka form) or attending upon their masters in the same fashion.
Katukas were certainly different from them. They were, as will
be seen in the sequel, better known so because of their shrill
words of commar.d.

The second important reference to katuka from the Harsha-
charita occurs when Bana takes up the pitiable condition of
persons who were desirous of entering the royal service and,
therefore, gathered near the entrance of the royal palace. He
says that these unwanted poor people unnecessarily flocking near
the gate were dealt with roughly by the katukas and driven away.
He makes a pun on the two meanings of the word katuka here.
The original remark put in the most figurative way runs as
follows :

" Kapha-vikarina iva dml dine katukair-udvljya
manasya".11

Luckily this remark of Bana is commented upon by Sankara
who, having taken cognizance of the double entendrt of the term
katuka, explains it as "katukaih pratiharaih, tikshnaischa"™
Needless to say, Sankara considers katukas as a sort of pratiharas.
It is, therefore, in accordance with Sankara that Cowell and
Thomas have also taken them to be the door-keepers when they
have translated the phrase into "like a phlegmatic patient, he
(i.e., the new-comer seeking a job) is daily worried by acrid door-
keepers".19 In order to make the point even clearer they have
further added a note which says that "katuka may mean either
(i) door-keeper; or (ii) hot-flavours".20

Kane, while commenting on the same phrase once more,

15. Agrawala, op. cit., n. 1.

16. Harsha., p. 196.

17. Ibid., p. 223.

18. Ibid., Commentary part.

19. The Harshacharita, tr. by Cowell and Thomas, p. 221.

20. Ibid., n. 6.

1 46 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

says that the "servant is worried by the sharp words of his master;
or katuka has the same sense as he has explained it earlier".21
Simultaneously, Kane has also considered the Ayurvedic conno-
tation of the word where it means bitters (katu-tikta-kashaya)
made of a ginger and long and black pepper.22

Agrawala, on the other hand, goes on sticking to his earlier
interpretation of the term as pyada\ though admitting it also as
pratihara this time.23

Now, having considered the two literary references to katuka
and the uncertain points of views of the scholars regarding it, we
arrive at the following conclusions :

(i) Cowell and Thomas are certainly not right in the first
case when they call kalukas, marshals, because in the
same paragraph of the Harshachariia, only two
compounds before the one which refers to katuka, Bana
has clearly referred to baladhikntas24 who are better
known as military commanders and marshals. Besides
that, it also does not fit in with the epigraphical refer-
ence to katuka under discussion.25

(ii) Kane's inclination to treat katukas in both cases as
superior officers or masters of the elephant riders does
not seem tenable in the light of the inscriptional reference
which clearly refers to the masters of the elephants and
horses (hasty-asvapati) separately. Secondly, in the
long list of persons looking after the royal-elephant and
the elephant core of the state which is provided in the
Harshacharita none is known as katuka. Even the
Artha-sastra, upon which Bana has heavily relied, does
not refer to any such officer by name as katuka.

(iii) We have already shown Agrawala's error in equating

21. Kane, op. cit., notes, p. 202.

22. Ibid.

23. Agrawala, op. ci/., p. 178.

24. Harsha., p. 204, cf. 'baladhikrita-badhyamana pat\pati-petaka\

25. Out of ten-eleven officials referred to by Kautilya who were looking after
the elephants, Bana has directly or indirectly referred to at least seven of
them, but none is known as katuka in both the lists. For details, see
Agrawala, op. cit., p. 134, n. 1.

ippendix I 147

katukas with the kataka type of soldiers above. He has
once equated katuka with kataka and explained both as
a sort of royal servant equivalent to the later day pyddas
of the Moghul courts.26 Then, in another place he
explains katakas as the foot-soldiers who were known
so because of putting wristlets (kataka) on their hands.27
A third time, he designates katukas, without equating
them with katakas as pratiharas and pyadas. We are,
however, not sure about the similarities between the
actual functions of pratiharas and pyadas. 2%

(iv) With one simple objection, it seems that Sankara is
right in explaining katukas as pratiharas. The objection
is that in the list of the officials mentioned in the grant
under consideration, pratiharas have already figured
before katukas. Therefore, to take it simply as it is will
be admitting a duplication in the grant which is not
probable.

(v) In our opinion, Sankara, without giving much thought
to the various cadres and grades existing within the
office of Pratihara, itself, like bahya-parijana, dauvarika,
pratihara, antara-pratihara and mahapratihara, etc.,29 has
in a very light vein referred to katukas as pratiharas.
In fact, they were not exactly pratiharas in the sense the
word was understood during the Gupta and post-Gupta
periods in administrative circles, but more as pratihara30-
rakshakas31 (the gate or door-keepers). This is why
Gowell and Thomas, in their second instance, have
taken the right sense of the word katuka when they have
interpreted it as door-keepers. This is also clear from

26. Agrawala , <?/>. cit., p. 144.

27. Ibid., p. 131, n. 5.

28. In the Hobson-Jobson (Ed. Yule and Burnell, London 1903), pp. 696-97,
it is said that the word piyada was originally used as a 'foot-soldier' thence
as orderly or messenger. According to Steingas (Persian Eng. Dictionary,
p. 262) also it means a foot-man, a foot-soldier, a peon or foot-guard.

29. Agrawala, op. cit., p. 44, for details onpratihara and dauvarika, etc. Sec
also Manasara (Ch. 49) and Sukraniti 1. 183-84.

30. Cf. Kumara. Ill, 58, " samasasacla-pratihara-bhumim" ', where it is referred
in the sense of a royal gate.

31. Cf . Raghu. VI. 20. "pumvat-pragalbha pratihara-rakshi ."

148 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the contexts in which Bana has referred to them. Thus,
in the first case when they are seen waking up the
elephant riders with their shrill'words of commands, this
activity is taking place very near the gate where the
stall of the royal elephants also used to be (though
inside the gate rather than outside).32 Similarly in the
second case also the main job of the katukas busy in
driving the people away with their acrid commands takes
place at the royal gate only.

(vi) Therefore, in all probability, the katukas were like
dauvarikas or door-keepers whose main function was to
keep vigilant watch over the royal gates with all stern-
ness, acridity and even roughness if it was necessary.
Much before the noble rider would have appeared near
the gate for riding on the elephant, they would have
issued their shrill commands and made the mahauts get
up. In the same way, when so many unwanted people
would have unnecessarily flocked near the royal gate,
they would have most acrimoniously shouted at them
and made them go away. Most probably this acrimony
(katuta) of voice invariably demanded on the part of
their job would have also been responsible for earning
them such an acrid designation. This is further attested
by the remarks of Bana who calls the office of a royal
door-keeper as naishthury-adhishthana,33 i.e., a very
centre of stern discipline.

Since the date of the grant (rightly considered by the editor
as falling between the middle of the sixth and the second quarter
of the seventh century A. D.) coincide fairly well with the time
when the Harshacharita was composed and both are from the
same general area (North India), we can safely assume that
definitions extracted from the latter text can be applied to the
former.

Hence, the term katuka figuring in the Talesvara Grant of
Dyutivarman refers most probably to guards of the palace gates.

32. Cf. Harsha., pp. 58-60. "Varayendraih syamayamanam . . . raja-dvaram-
agamat". Also see Agrawala, op. cif,

33. Ibid., p. 61.

MEGHA-DAMBARA

The epigraphical reference to the term mlgha-dambara is met
in the Karur inscription of VIrarajendra-I. As gleaned from the
text of the record and its translation given by Hultzsch in volume
three of the South Indian Inscriptions,1 the term occurs in the
context where the defeat of Chalukya king Ahavamalla is reported.
For a better understanding of the actual import of mlgha-dambara
it would be worthwhile to cite the English rendering of the
relevant lines of the record :

"the king (Virarajendra) stopped his fast-furious elephant,
put on the garland of victory, seized his (Ahavamalla's)
wives, his family treasures, conches, parasols, trumpets,

drums, canopies, white chamaras, the boar-banner

etc., and, amidst (general) applause, put on the crown of
victory "2

What we notice from the above is that the term mlgha-
dambara rendered into English by Hultzsch as 'canopies' appears
in the context where Ahavamalla is said to have lost all his marks
of royal insignia at the hands of Virarajendra. In other words,
whatsoever may be the actual import of the term mlgha-dambara
(which we will see in the sequel), it is certain that it was one of
the important marks of royalty.

Having rendered the term mlgha-dambara into 'canopies',
Hultzsch has added a foot-note where on the authority of Plan's
Hindustani Dictionary and Lanepoole's Aurangzib which quotes
Bernier's Travels, he remarks that in the times of the Mughals the
word (meghadambara or mlghadambard) had the meaning of a
'covered haudd\3

1. S.I. I. Ill, No. 20, pp. 31-32, 34 (1. 8) and 37.

2. Ibid., p. 37.

3. Ibid., p. 37, n. 5.

1 50 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

As late as in the year 1966, Sircar has included the term
mlghadambara (though not the mlgha-dambara which actually
figures in the record) as one of the entries in his Indian Epigraphi-
cal Glossary and has given credence to its meaning as a 'covered
hauda'4 against the rendering of the same as canopies from
Hultzsch. In other words, what has been referred to as one of
the subsidiary meanings of the term from Hultzsch has been
accepted by Sircar as its primary sense although the real import
of the term, which also suits the context and to which Hultzsch
has given his first credence, has somehow been totally ignored.

Even if we admit that during the time of Mughals, as report-
ed by Bernier and later on also supported by Sircar, the term
mlgha-dambara was taken in the sense of a covered hauda kept on
the back of an elephant, the sense does not seem tenable in the
above context. Here, as we have seen, the term mlgha-dambara
figures along with many other significant marks of royalty like
family treasures, conches, parasols, trumpets, drums, chamaras and
banners, etc., which were considered indispensable royal emblems.
A hauda as far as we know kept on the back of the royal elephant
whether covered or not, has never been considered in itself a royal
emblem. It was kept on the back of the animal just for providing
a little more comfort to the royal rider whereas a canopy which
was suspended from or held over the throne, bed or the person
of the king was considered an absolutely indispensable emblem of
royalty. In fact, a canopy does include a chhatra or the royal
umbrella as well which has been time and again considered as one
of the most significant emblems of royalty. In the words of
Kalidasa, Raghu could easily part with anything but the umbrella
held over him and the two chauries which were waved over his
person :

' 'Adtyam-asit-traya-lva bhupat I
sasi-prabham chhatram-ubhl cha chamarl".5

These emblems could be separated from the person of a king

4. Sircar, D.C., Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, 1966, p, 202.

5. Raghu, III. 16. For the translation of the same idea in the field of visual
arts, see Yazdani, Ajantat II, p. 37, PI. XXXV.

•

]ppendix / 151

only in two situations; when he was either defeated by an enemy
or he was dead.

We, therefore, think that the reference to the term mlgha-
dambara in the present context is made in the sense of a chhatra
which was snatched away from the person of Ahavamalla on
account of his defeat at the hands of Virarajendra.

In order to substantiate our view, it will not be out of place
to look into the antiquity of the usage of the term mlgha-dambara
and the various shades of meaning applied to it.

The term mlgha-dambara as such does not figure in the early
lexicons of the Sanskrit language like the Amara Kosha, Trikanda-
stsha, Halayudha, Vaijayanti and others. Whereas, in the modern
dictionaries of the Sanskrit language like that of Monier-Williams,
Apte and others, the term mlgha-dambara is found explained as a
cloud-drum or thunder and the word dambara as an entanglement,
multitude or a mass of something.6 Strangely enough, these
dictionaries do not cite any authority whatsoever in support of the
meaning they have arrived at. On the other hand, Forbes in his
Dictionary of English and Hindustani and vice-versa, explains the
term canopy in the sense of a sa-e-bdn, chhatra, shamiyana,
chandwa, nauta and mlgha- dambara, etc.,7 though he has also not
cited any reference work in support of the meaning derived.

But, curiously enough besides the inscriptional evidence under
discussion, the term mlgha-dambara figures in the Manasollasa of
the Chalukya king Somesvara and that too in a context which
deals with details of the royal umbrella. This literary reference
to the term megha- dambara, which is the earliest as far as we
could ascertain, is significant in many ways.

First of all, the curious reference to the details of mlgha-
dambara comes from the work of a succeeding ruler of the same
family as that of AhavamalJa whose mlgha-dambara was unfortu-
nately snatched away by the Virarajendra.8 Thus, in the present

6. Sanskrit English Dictionary, ed. M. Williams, pp. 832ff. Apte's Dictionary
Part II, pp. 1288.

7. A Dictionary af Hindustani and English, accompanied by a reversed Dictio-
nary, English and Hindustani by Duncan Forbes, London, Part II, p. 37.

8. Cf. the dates of Virarajendra and Ahavamalha falling in between 1050
A.D. to 1070 A.D. (vide S/f., Ill, pp. 31-32) and the early dates of
Somesvara being 1124-25. (Vide Mansollasa \, introduction, p. VII, ed. by
G.K. Shrigondekar, Baroda, 1925).

152 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

context what Somesvara says regarding mlgha-dambara should
certainly be considered as more authentic than the travel
reports of Bernier quoted by Lanepoole.

Secondly, an object like mlgha-dambara being so familiar to
a king, who can be a better judge regarding its identity, than
Somesvara himself who happens to be a king in his own right ?

Somesvara having described the various types of bhogas or
the enjoyments of the kings comes to refer to chhatra-bhoga as
under :

Idanim chhatra-bhogd-yam kathyatl raj vallabhah
Hlma-patta-nibaddhlna dandln-opari dhdritam.9
Pundarlka-siitachchhatram raja-yogyam-anuttamam
Nila-Patta-nibaddhani raupy-danda dhritani cha.lQ
Nana-varnna vichitrani jhallaribhir-yutdni cha
Megha-dambara-namani-chamarottamsitani cha1 l
Chhatrani vilasat-kanti-manibhir-jaditani cha.12

It means that a royal umbrella which was made to be
suspended from a staff that was covered with gold, used to be
white (like a lotus) in its outwardly appearance. The inner side
of it was made to stretch wide with the help of silver-made rims.
The interior of it was covered with blue silk and jhallans (tassles)
of different colours. Small chouries used to hang all around its
circular border. Such an umbrella of the kings was known as
rnegha-dambara.

Later on, in the works of fourteenth and fifteenth century
the term mlgha-dambara figures in the list of silk stuffs. Accord-
ing to Motichandra terms like mlgha varna and mtgha-udumbara
of the Varnaratnakara1* of Jyotirisvara Thakkura (a Mathila
from Tirhut, Bihar, who wrote in his mother dialect around the
early quarters of the fourteenth century) and the Varnakas like
mlgha-tfambara, mlghadambara and mlghavali, etc., collected in

9. Manasolldsa, T, Vim. Ill, Ch. XVII, 60.

10. Ibid.,63.

11. Ibid., 64.

12. Ibid., 65.

1 3 . Varyaratnakara.

Appendix! 153

the Varnakasamuchchaya14 and also referred in the Jimanavdra-
paridhanavidhi seem to be all analogous.15 The mlgha-dambara
according to Motichandra, is commonly referred to in old
Bengali literature as a name of a variety of sari which was black
in colour or something like the nllamban of the present day.16

Further on, the reference to mlghadambara in the Ain-i-
Akbari of Abul Fazl Allami comes in the sense of "an awning
(which was meant) to provide shade to the elephant driver. It
also looked ornamental and according to him it was an invention
of His Majesty himself".17

Tulasidasa (one of the celebrated poets of Hindi) who
happens to be a contemporary of Abul Fazl, refers to the term
mlgha-dambara in the sense of a chhatra. While describing the
large canopy held over the person of Ravana the king of Lanka, he
comments as under :

"Chhatra mlgha-dambara sir a dhari, soi janu
jalada-ghata ati /car/".18

i.e., 'a mlgha-dambara type of chhatra is held over the head of
Ravana which looks as if a mass of watery clouds are hanging
over him'.

At a later date, V.S. Agrawala, while referring to the
mayamegha-mald phrase from Kddambarl of Banabhatta,19 has
dealt with the actual import of all such terms like m'egha-mala,
gaja-taluka, mlghodara and mlgha-dambara at length. He

14. Varnakasamuchchaya, ed. by Sandesara, B.J. Baroda, 1956,1.84.1, 35.1,
181-5 etc.

15. Costumes, Textiles, Cosmetics and Coiffeur by Moti Chandra, Delhi, 1973,
pp. 148, 153 and 160.

16. Ibid., p. 160. See also the Journal of Indian Textile History, I (1955), p. 29,
quoted by Motichandra.

17. The Ain-i-Akban by Abul Fazl Allami, translated from the original
Persian by H. Blochmann, Calcutta 1873, I, p. 129.

18. Ramacharitamunasa of Tulasi, ed. by Visvanatha Misra, Kasi, V.S. 2100,
VI. 12.5.

19. Cf. "Kvachit-sphatika balakdvall vunta vari-dhara likhit-endrCnudhilh
sancharyamana maya megha-mala", of Kadambari (N.S. edition Bombay,
1921), I, p. 382.

154 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

considers both mlgha-mala and mlgha-dambara as analogous.20 On
the authority of the Aparajita Prichha he explains that the inner
side of the ceiling (vitanachchhada) of a temple was decorated first
with the full-blown lotus and then around it there used to be a
double row of clouds which was joint with another motif designed
to appear like the palate of an elephant. Here, the row of
clouds was known as mlgha-mala, and the elephant's palate like
design as gaja-taluka. Finally all the three (i.e., the lotus
design, the row of clouds and the gaja-taluka) together were
known as mlghodara.21

The design of mlgha-mala which is supposed to be synonymous
with that of mlgha-dambara according to Agrawala, has been
well-recognised in the field of Indian decorative arts as early as
in the Gupta period itself. In fact, in the paintings of the Ajanta
Caves a good number of mlgha-mala designs are noticed in
connection with the decoration of the ceilings wherein a mass of
clouds rising in the sky are nicely painted.22 As gleaned from the
works of medieval Hindi literature the design of mlgha-mala was
closely associated with the decorations of chhatras and chandowas
(a sort of canopy). When this decoration made out of multi-
coloured silk fabrics was applied to a chhatra it was described as
mlgha-dambara like the one referred to by Tulasi.23 The same
design of mlgha-mala done while decorating a chandowa has been
described as dala-badala by Usmana in his Chitravati as under :

" Dala-bddala jalran ambara chhava, Sasi Suraja tehi
manha banava"2*

In the opinion of Agarwala the decoration known asjala-
chadara which was invariably painted on the ceilings of the

20. Kadamban ek Samskritik Adhyayan by V.S. Agrawala, Varanasi, 1970,
pp. 222-21, n. 2.

21. Ibid., see also Aparajitaprichchha (290-47) which explains it as under :

" Kamalsdbhavasya bdhye megha-mala dvayodbhavah
Gaja-tcllukakriti cha valanair-ashtadha kulam".

22. Ajanta by Yazdani, IT, p. Xa, XXVI, XXX, XLVII-e XLIX-a; see also
Ajanta-by Raja Sahib Aundh, PI. 45, ceiling of the cave number 2.

23. Op. cit.t n. 18.

24. Chitriivali of Usmana, 18.2 quoted by Agrawala op. n'/., p. 223.

Appendix / 155

apartments called savana-bhadon of Mughal buildings, as is
found in such apartments at Delhi and Lahore forts, was almost
another name of megha-dambara itself. This as he believes, is
what has been described by another Hindi poet called Bihari in
the following words :

"Sahaja seta pachatoriya pahirai ati chhabi hota.
Jala chadara kl deepa j'yon jagamagati tana jyoti".25

Thus, what we gather from the number of references to
mlgha-dambara cited above is, that originally it was decoration
made or painted in case of the ceilings of caves, temples and
houses with the help of various colours arranged in such a way
that they gave the impression of a multitude of watery clouds
along with lightening; many times appearing with the complexion
of a rain-bow (indradhanusha)26 and in case of the interior of the
objects like chhatra, chandowa or shamiyana the same was made
with the help of blue-silk arranged with many pieces of other
colourful silk fabrics .

The reason why Abul Fazl preferred to call even the awning
fixed on the back of the elephant for providing shade to the rider
as mlgha-dambara21 also seems to be the same as explained above.
How the objects like shamiyana, salban, chandowa or namglra
came to be known as the synonyms of mlgha-dambara is on
account of their interiors being decorated with the type of design
which was in use much before the Mughal period. What was,
in fact, introduced first by Akbar,28 was not the design of mlgha-

25. Bihari Satasai, 516, quoted by Agrawala.

26. Cf. Kadatnbari where Sana describes such colourful designs either painted
or woven as "indrayudha jala-varnan$uka" and "indr&yudhar&ga-ruchir&m-
bara' (vide Agrawala, op. cit.t pp. 182-183 : 80-97, 182-184, etc.).

27. See, n. 17 above. What Blochmann (the translator of the Ain-i-Akbari)
prefers to render into awning, is the same as shamiyana, sa-e-ban
chandowa or the nam-gira (vide Forbes, op- cit., p. 17).

28. As we know, particularly from the survey of ancient Indian art and also
the literature to some extent, the hauda added with an elongated sa-e-ban
on the back of the elephant is not noticed earlier than the Mughal period,

(Contd.)

156 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

dambara but the provision of placing sliamiyana or a namglra on
the back of elephants.

During Hindu period, right from the early times, it was a simple thick-
cushion covered with a rich carpet (known as kutha, sainstarana and asana,
etc., which was generally kept on the back of the elephant used for riding.
The chhatra above the rider was held only when the king was riding on
the state-elephant and not otherwise. Therefore, the statement of Abul
Fazl that keeping of a haudii attached with a sa-e-ban on the back of the
elephant was introduced for the first time by the emperor Akbar himself,
seems convincing.

NTRYYUHA

The term niryyuha in the field of inscriptions, to the best of
my knowledge, occurs for the first time in the Ajanta cave inscrip-
tion of Varahadeva. Although, right from the day the record was
noticed, the term has passed through the hands of such pioneers
as Pandit Bhagwanlal Indraji,1 Burgess, Biihler2 and Mirashi,3
it has still not received the attention it deserves. We, therefore,
intend to reconsider the actual import of this term here in the
light of other literary references.

For the convenience of ready reference and also for the sake
of review, it will not be out of place first to cite the relevant line
of the record and also its rendering into English by the previous
scholars. The said line of the record, the reading of which has
been brought up to date by Mirashi against certain inaccuracies
in the readings of both Bhagawanlal Indraji and Biihler, is as
follows :

"Gavaksha-niryyiiha suvithi vidika,
sunndra-kanya pratimady-alamkritam.
Manohara-stambha-vibhanga (bhushitam),
nivlsit-abhyaniara-chaitya-mandiram*

Leaving aside the other details of the English translation of
the verse and considering only the term niryyuha here, we find
that this has been rendered into 'doors' by both Bhagwanlal
Indraji5 and Mirashi6 whereas Biihler has preferred to explain this

1. Inscriptions from the cave-temples of Western India, Bombay, 1881,
pp. 69-73.

2. Archaeological Survey of Western India, IV, pp. 124-28.

3. C.U., V, pp. 103-11.

4. Ibid., p. 109, 11. 19-20.

5. Op. eft , p. 72.

6. Pp.c//..p. 111.

1 58 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

term in the sense of 'spires'.7 And for this lack of accord, neither
Biihler nor Mirashi has given any explanation in their support.
It prompts us even more to go into the details of the literary
usages of this term and find out its actual architectural import, if
any.

Perhaps the earliest literary reference to the term niryyuha
comes in its Prakrit form from the Majjhima-nikaya of the
Buddhist literature where pasada-niryyuha* is referred to. Rhys
Davids has explained this term, though with a question mark, in
the sense of a pinnacle, turret or a gate. In the dictionary of
Monier- Williams the word niryyuha, on account of its relation
to the context, is assigned the meanings of "prominence, projec-
tion, a kind of pinnacle or turret, a helmet, crest or any similar
head ornament, a peg or bracket, wood placed in a wall for doves
to build upon and as a door or a gate.9 Later on, all these
meanings of the word are also confirmed by Apte in toto.10

Valmiki, in his description of the architectural details of the
city of Lanka, makes use of the term niryyuha with two slightly
different meanings. The first one possibly refers to the ornamental
decoration noticed on the top of the torana but not the torana as
such which is referred to in the same line later that reads :

* ' Charu-torana-mryyuham
pandura'dvara-toranam".11

The second occurrence to the term comes in connection with the
description of railings and reads as :

"Jambunadamayair-dvarair-vaidurya-krita vtdikaih,
Mani'sphatika-muktabhir-mani-kuttima bhushitaih .
Tapta-hataka niryyuhai rajat-amala-panduraih,
Charu-sanjavan-dpltaih kham-iv-otpatitah subhaih"-12

7. Op. cit.t p. 127.

8. Majjhina-nikaya, 1.253 (vide P.E.D., p. 205).

9. Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 557.

10. Apte's Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 918.

11. Ramayana 5.3.4.

12. Ibid., 5.3.8, 9-10.

Appendix I 159

The next literary reference to this term comes from the Pada-
taditakam of Shyamilaka that stands nearer in sense to the line
of our record under discussion. Herein, while describing the
architectural peculiarities of the houses of a sarvabhaurnanagara,
he refers to niryyuha(ka) as follows :

"Bandha-sandhi-dvara-gavaksha vitardi sanjavana-
vithi-hiryyuhakani" . 1 3

Motichandra and Agrawala14 who have discussed the archi-
tectural purport of this term in detail, explain it as that part of
the railing going around the verandah of the house which projects
out of the wall. This portion of the railing which is generally
rectangular in shape is based on two long tusk-like pegs made of
the same material as that of the wall. In north Indian dialects
this is popularly known by the name of a chhajja which is provid-
ed invariably in front of the door of a room.

This meaning of the term according to Agrawala becomes
clearer when we consider the synonyms of it provided by Amara
in his lexicon. In the Amarakosha the word niryyuha is enumerat-
ed with its synonyms as under :

"Dvary-apldt kvatha rast niryyuho naga-dantakl'\^
The same is explained by Sarvananda as :

"alamban-artham glhadi bhitti-nirgatam kashtha-
dvayam naga-dantakah".16

Later on, this idea of niryyuha forming the base for the
projected part of the railings (yidika) of the house verandahs, gets
further confirmation from the specified description of Magha who
refers to the same as under :

"Rat-antarl yatra grih-antartshu

13. Chaturbhani, Bombay, 1959, pp. 173-74.

14. /6/d, p. 144, n. 33 (12).

15. Amarakosha, with the gloss of Sarvananda, Trivendrum, 1914, 111.234.

16. ibid., Sanskrit gloss on the same.

160 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

vitardi-nityyitha-vitanka-nuldh".11

Before we offer our comments on this reference, it is worth-
while to quote the gloss of Mallinatha also on the same which
helps considerably in understanding the implied sense of the term:
Mallinatha says that :

"yatra purl griha-antareshu vitardayo vihdra-
vldikdh tdsdm niryyuha matta-vdrandkhyd apdsrayah
tlshdm vitankd upantanyah kapota pdlikdh ta
iva mdah".18

It means when couples indulged in amorous dalliances inside
houses in the verandahs close by the railings based on the niryyiihas
(the upper portions of which were occupied by pigeons for taking
rest) their pleasing sounds were imitated by the pigeons :

Now, the loving couples and the pigeons apart, what we get
from this reference is that not only the projected portion of the
railing but the railing going around the verandah as a whole was
made to rest on pegs or mini-beams designed in the form of
elephant tusks. Curiously enough, the term niryyuha here has
been substituted by Mallinatha on the authority of the Vaijayanti-
kosha19 by another such term called mattavarana which, as we
know, has been the cause of a great debate amongst scholars on
Sanskrit dramaturgy.

Before taking up the issue of the analogy between niryyuha
and matta-vdrana we would prefer first to sum up once what we
have so far gathered regarding the contextual meanings of the
term niryyuha.

(i) Out of all the synonyms to niryyuha like dvdri, dpida
kvathd rasa and naga-dantaka, we have seen so far in the
Majjhina nikdya and the Rdmdyana at the first instance
the term has been used in the sense of dpida or a chaplet
tied on the top of the torana. Here, the idea which

17. Sisiipalavadha, 3.55.

18. Ibid., Sanskrit commentary of Mallinatha on the same.

19. Vaijayantikosha, 4.3.31. Cf. "kiitagciram tu valabhi niryyuho matta
varanam".

Appendix I 161

governs the meaning of the term in all probability, is
based on the resemblance of the curve formed by the
chaplet on the top of the torana and that of the tusk of
an elephant. This fact is borne out by the actual art
representations particularly from the area of western
caves including that from Ajanta as well.20
(ii) The more popular usage of the term niryyuha is that
which is noticed in the Rdmdyana of Valmiki (at the
second instance), Pada-taditaka of Shyamilaka and the
Sisupalavadha of Magha. Here, it occurs invariably in
association with such architectural term as sanjavana
(i.e., chatuh-sala or a quadrangle) vtdika and vitardi or a
railing and vithi (i.e., a gallery or a verandah) and all
these terms, as we have noticed earlier, are invariably
preceded by references to door and windows,
(iii) Since in the line of the record under discussion the
reference to niryyuha also comes in association with
suvithl (the gallery) and vldika (the railings) which are all
referred to after gavaksha (the windows), we should also
construe the contextual meaning of the term niryyuha
in the same sense as above.

In other words, though the literal sense of the term niryyuha
has been generally construed as nagadantaka or the tusk of an
elephant, its implied meaning, particularly in the context of
architectural details, has been taken either as a peg of the shape
of an elephant tusk projecting from a wall on which a chhajja (a
balcony with the railings in a rectangular shape) rested or as the
nomenclature of this portion of the structure as a whole or, even
as the nomenclature of that portion of the building which includ-
ed galleries with railings (suvithl-vldikd) supported by the tusk-like
pegs in general. The reason for this prominence accorded to the
windows (gavaksha), galleries (suvlthi) railings (vldika) and their
components like niryyuha in the inscription is well in accord with
the architectural details of almost all the caves from western
India including Ajanta where these portions of the caves have

20. Cf. doorway of cave XX at Ajantj* (Vide Archaeological Survey of Western
ifi, IV, PI. XXXII-1).

162 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

certainly received more prominence than the doors.21

Having discussed all the connotations of the term niryyuha,
now is the occasion to think of the analogy between this term and
that of another such term called matta-varana we have referred
to above.

The early reference to the term matta-varana as such, prior to
both the kosha of Yadavacharya and the commentary of
Mallinatha on the Sisupalavadha, occurs in the Kuitanimata of
Damodaragupta where, in regard to the architectural peculiarities
of the mansions of the city of VaranasI, he refers to this term as
under :

"Divya-dharadhara bhiir-iva yd rajati matta-
varandplta"22

A.M. Shastri whose work on the Kuttammata of Damodar-
gupta23 is commendable, after elaborating the meaning of this
term has equated the same with the matta-varani which is
frequently mentioned in the Natya-sastra2* in connection with the
stage craft.

As gleaned from the good number of ready references,
provided by Shastri, "the term has been variously interpreted by
scholars, and the most likely one" to which Shastri has also
offered his accord, "being that which is suggested by H.R.
Divekar who considers matta-varani of the Natya-sastra in the
sense of 'galleries on the two sides of the stage".25 With reference

21. Cf. doorway of cave XX at Ajanta (Vide Archaeological Survey of Western
India, IV, P|. XXXII-1):

(i) Frontispiece from the Chaitya cave at Kondane. Cf. the elephant

tusk like pegs supporting the weight of the gallery with the railing on

the third floor,
(ii) For gavaksha along with the vithis provided with the railings resting

on niryytihas see line drawings (Nos. 6 and 7) from Bhaja on

page 7.
(iii) PI. Ill, front of the Chaitya Cave No. XXVI.

22. Kuttammata of Damodaragupta; Calcutta, 1944, verse 9.

23. India as seen in the Kuttammata of Damodaragupta, Delhi, 1975, p. 231 and
the references cited therein.

24. Natyasastra G.O.S. Baroda, 1956, I, (i) 90-91, (ii) 63-65; 98-99, (iii) 63-67,
etc.

25. Journal of the Oriental Institute, X, pp. 431-37,

Appendix I 163

to the context it also appears to mean a verandah or gallery of a
mansion or a large building.

Since the meaning of the term matta-varana or matta-varam
thus derived stands nearer to the sense of niryyuha and ndga-
dantaka, we have every reason to believe (and also the authority
of Yadavacharya and Mallinatha) that the two terms were
analogous in their meanings.26

The reason behind the term matta-varam not being included
in the dictionaries of Monier- Williams, Apte and others, in this
particular sense as it has been pointed out by Subba Rao,
Ghosh,27 Divekar28 and P.S. Shastri29 could be explained as
under :

Ci) In all probability, it was the term niryyuha rather than
matta-varana that received better currency with the
vocabulary of the vastu-sastras and that is why it has
been treated in detail by all including the dictionary of
Acharya on Hindu architecture.30

(ii) It is also possible that the term matta-varam of the
Ndtya-sastra which is in the feminine gender denotes
the dimunitive or mini form of a matta-varana

(iii) The other possible reason may be that the term matta-
varam was used in a limited sense only and thus it
escaped the attention of Amara and later on the
compilers of the modern Sanskrit dictionaries.

26. Although Diwekar in his brilliant paper on matta-varani has arrived at a
right conclusion, he seems to have misunderstood the two different con-
notations of the term matta-varana. In fact the first sense of the term
matta-varana or matta-varani which, as he has rightly construed himself
(pp. 432-33) is used as an anyapada pradhana bahuvri hi and, therefore,
refers to something different from the two components of the compound,
whereas in case of the matta-varanavdh from Kalidasa (Raghu, XII 93
quoted by Diwekar) it is used as a simple compound.

27. The Natya-sastra (Eng. Tr.) by M.M. Ghosh, Calcutta, 1950, pp. 26-27
and notes.

28. Op. <ri/.,p. 431.

29. Dr. Mirashi Felicitation, Vol., pp. 134-35.

30. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture, London, 1927, p. 319 under nasikd
where niryynha pafijara and khanfa -niryyuha are referred to; and pp. 322-
23 under niryyuha.

PARtVAHAMlDHA-VIDHANAM

The term under consideration figures in the Junagadh
inscription of Rudradaman. Although the inscription right from
the day of its discovery in 1838 received the attention of so many
pioneers like Prinsep,1 Pandit Kamalakant, Wilson,2 Bhau Daji,3
Eggeling4 and others, as Kielhorn has rightly remarked, it was
only Bhagvanlal Indraji who for the first time attempted the
translation of the phrase parivahamidha-vidhanam in 1878. 5 The
Gujarati original of his translation was subsequently rendered
into English by Biihler and brought out in the pages of the
Indian Antiquary, Volume VII, along with the useful comments and
notes of his own.6

Bhagvanlal Indraji, having read the text as "parivaham midha
vidhanam chtf\ has rendered the same into ''where outlets for the
water have been made by means of conduits, the outline of which
runs in curves like a stream of urine". To the last part of this
sentence Buhler added a note saying that, "mutra-rlkha is a
common expression in Gujarati for crooked".7 Obviously, both
the scholars took the word panvaha in the sense of an outlet and
the word midha as synonymous with gomutraka.

But this rendering as well as the reading of the phrase, when

1. Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, VII, p. 338ff. and PI. XV.

2. Essays on Indian Antiquities (edited) by E. Thomas, London, 1858, II,
p. 68.

3. Journal Bombay Branch of Asiatic Society, VII, p. 118ff.

4. Archaeological Survey of Western India Report, II, p. 128ff

5. Indian Antiquary, VII, pp. 257-61.

6. Ibid., p. 261, also Die Indischen Inschriften und das Alter der Indischen
Kunstpoesie, pp. 45ff, and 86ff.

7. Ind. Ant.t VII, p. 261, n. 15. It may be noted here in the passing that the
Vaijayantikosha also refers to the term midha in this very sense (jnaptain
fu jnapitehannam gUne midhafn tu miltrite, 5.4.113).

Appendix 1 165

it was reviewed afresh, has been totally rejected by Kielhorn.8
The objections raised and the suggestions forwarded by him in
this regard, can be summarised as under :

(i) The first disagreement of Kielhorn comes in the case of
the reading of the text. He, against the reading of
panvdham midha-vldhdnam from Indraji and Biihler,
prefers to read it as "parivah-midha-vidhanam". After
this, he adds that, "midha-vidhanam, as we now see,
forms part of the bahuvrlhi compound commencing with
suprativihita, and, therefore, either midha by itself or
midha-vidhana as a whole must denote something that
was provided for the lake just as conduits and drains
were provided for it".9

(ii) Coming to consider the real purport of the word midha
which is not found in the dictionaries, he opines that it
is identical with the Pali word mllha meaning, excrements,
dirt, or foul matter in general. Now, since foul matter
would not have been provided for the lake, that which
was so provided must be denoted by midha-vidhana (and,
therefore, the phrase should mean) as the "arrangements
were made to guard against foul matter or impurities".10
(iii) According to him, the term v'idhana here by the context,
as elsewhere, becomes practically equivalent to parihdra
or pratikriyd. This, he substantiates by quoting from
the Rdmdyanan where anagata vidhdna is once explained
by the phrase " ajigamishitasy-dnishtasya pratividhdnam
parihdrah", and the second time paraphrased by the
word "pratikriyd"}'2-

While reconsidering the meaning of the above phrase once
more, we may submit our observations as follows :

(i) The statement of Kielhorn that the phrase mldha-

8. £./., pp. 37-45.

9. Ibid., p. 42, n. 11, 12.

10. Ibid., p. 45, n. 11.

11. Ramayana, 111-24.11 : "unrig at a-\idhanam tu kartavyam subhanrichchhatu",
and the Sanskrit commentary of Rama on the same. See also VIi.21.5.

12. £./., VIII, p. 45, n. 11,

166 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

vidhanam forms part of the bahuvrlhi compound
commencing with suprativihita-ppranall can be accepted
only if we agree with his interpretation of the term.
This, as we shall see in the sequel excludes the explana-
tion of the term panvaha and that itself raises a doubt
regarding the samasa-vichchhlda he has proposed.13 A
noteworthy point here is that although Kielhorn has laid
much stress on the term vidhanam and its other contexts
in his notes,14 he has virtually ignored the term panvaha
which is of a highly technical nature and the real purport
of which is bound to throw more light on the sense of the
whole phrase.

(ii) Although Kielhorn's equation of the rare term midha
with the Pali word milha meaning, excrement or foul
matter15 sounds convincing at the first instance, yet, when
the compound panvahamidha vidhanam is split as
parivaham+idha vidhanam cha, one feels tempted to
consider the word idha here as an orthographical error
for the word Ida meaning something which is praise-
worthy.16 And, after considering the fact that in both
the cases, i.e., whether the one suggested by Kielhorn
that presumes midha to be milha or the one we propose
now that makes midha (better to say idha) as ida, we
have no choice but to emend the proper reading of the
text following the epigraphical conventions, it sounds
more reasonable to consider it as an orthographical error
which has turned the alpa-prana da of Ida into maha-
prana dha of idha. With this admission of the error in
the text we arrive at a word that has a more praiseworthy
meaning than that of excrement or foul matter.

(iii) Since the third remark of Kielhorn substantiating the
meaning and the context of the word vidhanam very
closely relates itself to both midha and panvaha we prefer

13. £./., VIII, p. 45, n. 11.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. See the entries under the word 'id in the Sanskrit English Dictionary of
Monier Williams, p. 170.

Appendix I 167

to comment on it later, after consideration of the
technical aspect of the term parlvaha as such.

In the vari-varga of the Amarakosa, the term parlvaha is
enumerated as under :

* ' Jalochchhvasah parlvahah
kupakasiu vidarakah"*1

The gloss of Kshiraswamy on the same explains it as "jalarii
pravi-Tddham-uchchhvasati parivahati yairnirgama-margais-tl parl-
vahah'"™ i.e., parlvaha is the outlet through which excess volume
of water (pravriddha-jala) finds its way out. He also cites the
following parable which explains it further :

Uparjitanam-arthanam tvaga Iva hi rakshanam
Tatakodara-samsthanam parivaha iv-ambhasam.

It means that like charity is the only way to safeguard well-
earned money, a provision for a parlvaha or an outlet is the only
remedy for protecting the banks of a tank against the force of
excess water.

In the commentaries of Sarvananda19 and Mallinatha70 on
the same, the local Bengali and Telugu equivalents for parivaha
have been cited respectively as jalabh umbhuka and charuvumarava.

Bhavabhuti in his Uttara-ramacharitam elucidates the idea of
parlvaha even more eloquently when he says that, "purotpidl
tatakasya parivahah pratikriya"21 i.e., when a tank has a large
volume of water, an outlet (or a channel) is the only remedy for
preventing the banks from bursting.

This meaning of the technical term parlvaha makes it clear
that in connection with the lake what was provided was an outlet
for the exit of excess water accumulated during rains. It stands in

17. Amarakosha (T.S.S. edition) 1. 10. 10.

18. Ibid., Sanskrit commentary on the same.

19. Ibid., p. 182.

20. Ibid., with the unpublished Sot'th Indian Commentaries, Madras. 1971,
p. 161.

21. Uttararamacharitam, 3.29; see also Sisu, XVI, p. 51 and Raghu 8.74.

168 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

contrast with the rendering of the term midha-vidhanam by
Kielhorn who explains it as "the arrangements (were) made to
guard against foul matter or impurities." However, from the
explanation of the term panvaha we know that the arrangements
were made not so much to guard against foul matter or impuri-
ties as for the outlet of the excess volume of the water from the
lake. And, this anomaly can be set right only when we construe
the term vidhana meaning arrangement, provision or the execution
governing the deed of panvaha (i.e., making of the outlet or the
channel). The same thing can otherwise be paraphrased as
parlvaha-vidhdnam or vidhana of panvaha. In that case, the term
ida of our suggestion will qualify vidhana. Thus, the whole phrase,
as we think, could be split and explained as ''Ida (or idya)
vidhanina yuktam ida-vidhanam, punah etadrisam ida vidhanena
yuktam yat-parivaharii lad-lva-parlvahmida-vidhanam"

PATYUPARIKA

This unique designation of a post held by Mahasamanta
Vijayasena occurs in the Ganaighar grant of Vainyagupta (year
188) which was brought to the notice of scholars first by Dinesh
Chandra Bhattacharya along with the text of the plate and its
translation.1 The relevant lines in which the term paiyuparika
occurs along with the names of other posts held by Vijayasena run
as follows :

" dutaklna mahapratlhdra-mahdpilupati-

panch-ddhikaranoparika-pdtyuparika

mahdrdja-Sri-mahdsdmanta Vijayaslnin = aitad

. "2

Out of these official titles of distinction, the titles pahchd-
dhikaranoparika and pdtyuparika are construed by Bhattacharya
as combinations of two titles in one which are also quite new.3
He has, however, construed the whole clause as referring to one
designation and rendered the title(s) as "President of a Board of
five district court-judges".4 This interpretation as also the mean-
ing of pdtyuparika, i.e., court judges, suggested by the editor
seems to be incorrect for, if the titles were meant to be interpreted
as one phrase, there would have been no need for the repetition
of the suffix uparika twice. Secondly, his translation of the term
adhikarana, once in the sense of a board and again as a district, is
also far from satisfactory.

Coming to the interpretation of the term pdtyuparika as 'court
judges' or the 'law court officer' as suggested by Bhattacharya,
when we consider the prefix pail, which is the only unusual
term in the whole title (the suffix uparika already being well

1. IHQ, VI, pp. 45-60 and Pis.

2. Ibid., p. 55, 11. 15-16.

3. Ibid., p. 50.

4. Ibid., pp. 50 and 58.

170 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

known), we do not agree with the suggestion made by the scholar.
One really wonders how Bhattacharya, even though well aware of
the fact that the title is somewhat new, took it to mean 'president
of court-judges' without explaining the strange word pati which,
to the best of our understanding, has hardly any connection with
the court of law.

Later on Sircar, after including the same record in his
selections, paid attention to this term and interpreted it as the
"chief officer (uparika) of the accounts department" taking the
meaning of the word pati as arithmetic.5

The same interpretation has also been incorporated in the
revised and enlarged edition of the Sanskrit- English Dictionary
of Apte, with a reference to Bhattacharya's paper from the pages
of Indian Historical Quarterly6 rather than to Sircar.7 In support
of the term pati being used in the sense of arithmetic, the dictio-
nary has also cited references from a text called Lilavati and the
commentary thereupon which explains that pati is the name for
the modes (kramd) such as addition, subtraction and multiplication
etc , through which the theorems of arithmetic are worked out.8
In other words, pati is the term for the arrangement which helps
put objects into their desired sequences (i.e., kramd} either in
added, subtracted or multiplied forms. Even a simple counting
(ganana) of something may also be included within the purview
of this word and that counting may not invariably be that of
accounts only. It may differ from context to context.

Besides the references cited above and interpretations based
on them; no other support, epigraphical or literary, is cited by
Bhattacharya or Sircar. It is rather interesting to note that in the
Harshacharita we have reference to the term patipati more or less
in the same sense as in the grant in question. Bana, while

5. Sel. Inss. (1942), No. 37, p. 333, n. 7. Also see Indian Epigraphy, pp. 343
and 358 (Delhi, 1965) where once with some probability and again with
more confirmity Sircar has retained the same view about the interpretation
of this term. As a ready reference, it also figures in his Indian Epigraphi-
cal Glossary, p. 243 (Delhi, 1966).

6. Op. cit.

7. Apte'* Sanskrit-English Dictionary, II, p. 1008, Poona, 1958.

8. Ibid , see "Pati nama Sankalita-vyavakalita-gunana bhajanadinam krmah"
and "taya yuktain ganitain patiganitam".

Appendix 1

171

describing the military camp of Harsha, which was preparing to
march forward, says that in order to make a move the military
"commanders (balddhikritd) have mustered the crowds of barrack
superintendents"9 (baladhikrita badhyamana-pati ' paii-pl\aki}.^
Sankara in his commentary on the text has explained the word
patl as "bahu-parivara-purmhagrihito nivasa-bhitbhagah" or as a
"kula-putraka-samuhah", i.e., patl is either the residential compart-
ment of parivara-purushas or that of kula-putrakas.*1 This whole
clause, probably on the basis of the commentary of Sankara, has
been translated by Cowell12 as "the crowd (or a group) of barrack
superintendents" which means that the patipatis of Bana were
military officers who were in charge of barracks of soldiers,
resembling the present day company commanders or commanding
officers of battalions. This interpretation as well as the trans-
lation of it has also been accepted by Kane13 and V.S. Agrawala.14
In fact Agrawala, while considering the term patlpati of the
Harshacharita, has also taken into account the palyuparika of our
copper-plate and concluded that "in both the places the term pati
has been used in the sense of a military barrack whose officers-in-
charge were called pdtipati or patyuparika".15

Thus, from the above it is clear that patyuparika was neither
a court-judge as supposed by Bhattacharya, nor was the term patl
rigidly used only in the sense of arithmetic or accounts. Accord-
ing to the context it has other connotations as well and the
context in which Bana has used it is nearer to the context in
which it is used in the copper-plate charter under reference. The
proximity of the dates of the record and of Bana adds further
weight to this hypothesis.

Now, before proceeding further, it will be necessary on our
part to review the interpretations of the term pa\lpaii of Bana as

9. Cowell, Harshacharita of Bana, Ch. VII, p. 199.

10. Harshacharitam, with the commentary of Sarikara, p. 204 (N.S Edition,
Bombay).

11. Ibid., Sankara has also given a variant to the term as pathipali which is
not supported by others.

12. Supra.

13. Harshacharita of Banabhatt a, notes, p. 168 (Delhi, 1973).

14. Harshacharita Ek Samskritik Adhyayan, pp. 143-44 (Patna, 1964).

15. Ibid., p. 144.

1 72 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

given by Sarikara, Cowell, Kane and Agrawala as all of them have
suggested it to be the title of a 'Barrack Superintendent'. The
doubtful point in this regard is how the word pail can mean a
'barrack of military soldiers', since the idea is not supported by
the literal meaning of the term which, as we have seen above,
relates more to the mode of counting, its sequence or any other
arrangement of this type. However, the idea of counting some-
thing or its sequence, etc., can hardly be ignored. Therefore, it
seems likely that the term patipati was used as a title for those
military officers who were commanding battalions and whose
main job, at the time when soldiers were asked to fall in, was to
have their roll-calls taken. Since, at the time of roll-call, all the
soldiers (i.e., their group, samuhapltaka) stand in a desired
sequence (kramd) one after another which facilitates their count-
ing (i.e., pa\l or ganana), the master (pati) or the superintendent-
in -charge (uparika) would have rightly been designated as
patyuparika. The need for having information about the exact
number of soldiers present in the army of the king would have
certainly given a high status to this post. This is also the reason
why Bana has placed them next to baladhikrita in order.

It may be noted that patyuparika is referred to in the grant
along with other official designations such as maharaja and
mahasamanta. Here Vijayasena, besides being addressed as
maharaja, mahasamanta and patyuparika, is also called mahapratl-
hara (i.e., chief of the door-keepers of the king's chamber, royal
palace or the capital city),16 mahapllupaii (the master of elephants),
panchadhikaranoparika (i.e., chief amongst the governors of cities),
etc. The title patyuparika is placed before purapaloparika which
is further followed by the titles of maharaja and mahasamanta.
Though it is difficult, as Sircar has correctly observed,17 to say
whether the different posts were held by Vijyasena at the same
time or one after another, there can be little doubt that the titles
of maharaja and mahasamanta would have been conferred upon
him when he was at the zenith of his career. In other words, after
once assuming titles of such a high order, he would have certainly

16. Sircar, op. cit.

17. Ibid.

Appendix I

173

not been demoted to the rank of a mahapratihara or a mahapilu-
pati. Further, if instances like that of a yuvaraja becoming
maharaja and from maharaja in turn becoming a maharajadhiraja
are any indication, it is also possible that all these different posts
were held by Vijayasena in succession, a possibility that cannot
easily be ignored. In that case, Vijayasena would have begun
his career from the humble post of mahapratihara, then obtained
the titles of mahdpllupati and panchadhikaranoparika and, after
enjoying these posts successfully, he would have been promoted
to the post of patyuparika which, in that case, should certainly be
higher than his previous posts.

After considering the martial nature of such jobs as maha-
pratihara and mahapilupati as well as the high administrative
status of an uparika who was in-charge of more than one
adhikarana. it seems somehow unlikely that Vijayasena was
entrusted with the post of a petty chief of the accounts department
and that too with a strange title of patyuparika which is different
from the already existing and better known titles like that of
kdshadhy&ksha, ganaka or vyavaharapala, etc.

In the light of the above arguments, it seems more probable
that the title patyuparika was applied to the designation of a
military officer who was in-charge of the roll-call of the soldiers
of the king's army. The absence or the non-occurrence of such a
title in earlier records also suggests a growth in numbers of the
soldiers in the armies of Indian kings and their feudatories, which
created the necessity of roll-call parades and regular checks by
counting their numbers.

PRATI-NARTAKA

The only known reference to the term prati-nartaka comes
from the Alina copper-plate inscription of Siladitya VII of the
year 447 wherein Guha the scribe of the charter is referred to as
'prati-nartaka-kula-putr-amatya\l J.F. Fleet, who has included
this grant in his corpus of the Gupta inscriptions, while rendering
this term into English has first of all left it untranslated by stating
that "(this charter) has been written by his (i.e., Maha-pratihara
Siddhaslnd 's) deputy, prati-nartaka, the high-born amatya Guha",2
and then, in one of the foot-notes, has remarked as under :

"Prati-nartaka appears to be an official or family title.
Westergaard, in his Radices, does not give nrit in compo-
sition with prati. Monier-Williams, in his Sanskrit
Dictionary, gives it in the sense of 'to dance before, in
token of contempt'. But it more probably has some
connection with nartaka in the sense of 'a bard, a
herald*."3

Later on, this probable meaning of the term prati-nartaka as
a bard or a herald from Fleet has been once entertained by Kane
in his appendix of the History of Dharmasastra volume three4 and
another time by Sircar in his Indian Epigraphical Glossary5 without
any further comment whatsoever.

Much before taking up the issue of reconsidering the probable
meaning of the term prati-nartaka as expressed by Fleet, it is
worth rechecking the entry of the term prati-nrit in the new

1. C./.7., III, p. 180, 11. 76-77 : "tan-niyuktaka-prati-nartaka-kula-putr-
amatya Gtthena Hembata-putrena likhitam"

2. Ibid., p. 190.

3. Ibid., p. 190, n. 3.

4. History of Dharma-s astro, III, appendix p. 991.

5. Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, 1966, p. 260.

Appendix / 175

edition of the Sanskrit English Dictionary of Monier-Williams
which has been, in due course of time, greatly enlarged and
improved upon, because as we shall see the meaning of the term
prati-nartaka which Fleet has cited from Monier-Williams is
rather incomplete and this would have happened only on account
of the former's consulting the older edition of the dictionary.

In the new edition of the said dictionary of Monier-Williams,
the word prati-nrit is explained as to 'dance before (in token of
contempt), mock in turn by dancing before' and the more intensive
meaning of the phrase prati-narnritlti as to 'dance before (in token
of love), delight or gladden by dancing before'.6

This makes it clear that the sense of the term prati-nrit was
not only to 'dance before (in token of contempt)' but as per the
context it was also construed as to 'dance before (in token of
love, delight or happiness)'. This accounts for Fleet's having no
choice but to consult the old edition of the said dictionary and
differ from it.

Coming to the term prati-nrit from which the noun prati-
nartaka is formed, we notice that in all the contexts it is the
upasarga1 called prati that is supposed to govern the meaning of
the phrase when conjoined either with the verb or the noun. In
most cases it renders the sense of anukarana* or imitation which
could in certain contexts also yield the sense of mockery generally
when prati is conjoined with a verb only and not a noun. But
that is not the case all the time. There are instances where the
association of prati with some verbs yields the sense of kritrima or
the artificial, i.e., something that gives the resemblance of the
genuine as such. For example, in the Magha's phrase of
"sugandhitdm-a-prati yatna-purvvam",9 the term prati-yatna is

6. Sanskrit-English Dictionary (revised edition), Oxford, 1956, pp. 666-67.
The two literary references in support of the two different shades of the
meanings cited by Monier-Williams which we regret that we could not
rccheck, come from the Mahabharata and the Mahabhcishya of Patanjali.

7. Ibid., p. 210, where upasarga is defined as a nipata 01 participle joined to a
verb or noun denoting action (cf. "abhi, prati, pari-upa ete pradayah
upasargah kriyd yoge gatis-cha* vide Pan I, 4-58-60.

8. Cf. Mahabhashya, 1.4.4 — on Paninl's sutra referred to as anukararuini ch-
aniti-param (1.4.62).

9. Sisupalavadha, 3.54 : "Sugundhitam-a-prati-yatna~piirvvam bibhranti yatra
pramadaya purisam".

176 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

applied in the sense of imitation only. This becomes clearer
when we look at the Sarvankasha of Mallinatha on the same
which explains the phrase "a-prafi-yatna", as "ha prati-yatnah
sarhskarah purvvo yasyastam a-prati-yatna-purvvam a-kritrimam
svabhavikim-ity-arthah" ™ And, this is what is also attested by the
Vaijayantikosha11 that explains 'prati -\-yatncC in the sense of
sarhskara.

Thus, on the analogy of prati-yatna, in our opinion, the
phrase prati-nartana could also be construed as an act of kritrima
or the artificial dance. In other words, prati-nartana never meant
a dance in its usual form but a mere resemblance to dance and a
person in whose movements (gati) this resemblance to or imitation
of dance was noticed, came, therefore, to be known as prati-
nartaka.

While paraphrasing the same once more, we can say that
prati-nartaka should be one whose movements when he marched
in front of his master presented a great resemblance to dance.

Having discussed the semantic side of the term, now it is
time to examine how far the job of a herald, who has been
considered as prati-nartaka by Fleet, Kane and Sircar, justifies the
above explanation of the term.

A herald in the parlance of the West generally meant an
officer who made state proclamations, bore messages between
princes, officiated in the tourney, arranged various state cere-
monials, regulated the use of armorial bearings, settled questions
of precedence and recorded names and pedigrees of those entitled
to armorial bearings.12 In the Indian context and more particu-
larly in the context in question, a herald is supposed to be a type
of messenger, a forerunner, or to be more precise a bearer of the
banner who usually ran in front of the royal army. This is well-
attested by a good number of literary references and also pictorial
illustrations to this effect. For example, the banner-bearers in the
army of Harsha are described by Bana as those who ran (or,
rather marched faster than others) in front of the army : "pur ah

10. See f.n. 9, Sanskrit commentary of Mallinatha on the same.

11. Vaijayantikosha. 8.1.31 : "prati yatnas tu safnskarah"

12. Concise Oxford Dictionary y p. 571.

Appendix I 177

pradhavad-dhvaja-vah mi".13

In the field of visual arts, we notice the presence of a herald
or a banner-bearer (dhvaja-vahakd) right from early times. For
example, in the reliefs from Amaravati, besides many forerunners
and messsengers who on account of their movements confirm the
idea of prati-naratana^ there is a delineation of a herald marching
in front of the royal troupe who translates the idea of Bana's
'purah pradhavad-dhvaja-vahnn' phrase in almost all respects.15
One could easily gather the idea from close observation of the
movements of these persons, that heralds, though they were not
dancers, were made to dance to the tunes of their masters. In
fact, these (the prati-nartakas) were dancers whose movements
(gati) were neither controlled by the lay a (rhythm) nor the lala
(time measure) of the musical code but by the tune (in the form of
command) of their masters only.

After considering the other titles like kula-putra and amatya
of Guha (the prati-nartaka in question who was also the deputy —
tan-niyuktaka of a Mahapratiliara), it is obvious that he was not
a person of such a low status like that of a messenger or a fore-
runner but certainly an official of a higher and most trustworthy
status. And, the fact that the banner of any army or a king
enjoyed a status per excellence bears out the truth that Guha, the
prati-nartaka of our record, must have enjoyed a considerably
high status in the hierarchy of the state.

In the light of the above facts it seems rather improbable to
think that the title prati-nartaka would have been a family title.
Had that been the case, we would have certainly come across it in
some of the other inscriptions of this very dynasty somewhere.
On the other hand, the title prati-nartaka as we have said at the
very outset seems to be a rare one even for a royal designation.
No wonder if it is attributed to Guha as a special epithet since he
was so good at his job as a herald.

13. Harshachanta (N.S. edition) VII, p. 205. See also the English translation
of the Harshachanta from Cowell and Thomas, p. 201.

14. James Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship or Illustrations of Mythology
and Art in India, London, 1873, Pis. LIX and XCV11I.

15. Ibid., see PI. LXXXIII— Fig. 2.

PURAMDARA-NANDANA

An unusual reference to the term puramdara-nandana is
made in the Nilgund inscription of Amoghavarsha, which was
edited first by Fleet in the pages of Epigraphia Indica, volume VI.1
It occurs in the invocatory verse of the record that reads as
follows :

"Jayati bhuvana-karanarh Svayambhur =
Jayati Puramdara-nandano Murarih.
Ja yati giri-suta-niruddha-dlho
Durita-bhay-apaharo Haras- cha devah".*

Fleet has translated the verse into English as under :

"Victorious is Svayarhbhu (Brahman), the cause of the
world; victorious is Murari (Vishnu), the son of Purarh-
dara (Indra); and victorious is the god Hara (Siva)
whose body is imprisoned by (the embraces of) (Parvati)
the daughter of the mountain (Himalaya); and who
removes sin and fear".3

After the translation Fleet adds a footnote to the term
puramdara-nandana which says :

"The reading puramdara-nandano is quite clear and
unmistakable in the present record, and in line 1 of an
inscription of A.D. 897-98 and Chinchli in the Gadag
taluka,4 and evidently in also the impressions of an ins-
cription at Kalanjar, referred to "about the eighth

1. £"./., VI, pp. 102ff, Nilgund Inscription of Amoghavarsha I; A.D. 866.

2. Ibid., p. 102, 11. 1-2.

3. Ibid., p. 105, v. 1.

4. I am sorry that for want of clear cut reference to this effect I could not
verify the contents of this record.

Appendix I 179

century",5 from which the verse has already been brought
to notice by Prof. Kielhorn (Ep. Ind '., Vol. V, p. 210,
note 3).6 And it seems impossible to translate the word
otherwise than by "Son of Puramdara". But Vishnu
was one of the svayambhu or self existing gods; the later
mythology represents him as the younger brother of
Indra, and, as yet, we know of no other statement that
would make him a son of Indra, and we know the
expression "son of Indra" only as an epithet of the
monkey king Valin, of Arjuna, and of Jayanta".7

Subsequently, after the above lines were printed and the
volume of the Epigraphia Indica was about to come out, Fleet
seems to have consulted Prof. Kielhorn concerning this point.
This is indicated by a paragraph in the column of "Additions and
corrections" of the said volume which reads as follows :

"Professor Kielhorn has now fully accounted for the
description of Vishnu here as puramdara-nandana "son
of Indra", see Gottinger Nachrichten, 1900, p. 350ff.,
where he has shown that it may be traced back to the
use of Akhandala sunu, in the Kiratarjuniya, i. 24, to
denote primarily Arjuna, "the son of Indra", and secon-
darily Vishnu, "the younger brother of Indra". As he
has said in conclusion, "If a poet like Bharavi could use
Akhandala- svnu as a name of the god Vishnu, we can-
not wonder that some petty poet should have employed
its exact synonym Purarhdara-nandana, in just the same
sense".8

As can be seen from the above, the arguments of both Fleet
and Kielhorn in construing the sense of puramdara-nandana as
'the son of Indra' are based mainly on the authority of Bharavi's
Kiratarjunlya. It is, therefore, necessary to look into the original
context of this term and see how and why Bharavi, known for
his care in selecting words, has resorted to such an unusual and

5. This inscription is above a statue of Siva and Parvati in a cell near
Nilakantha's temple. A photolithograph of it is 'given in Archaeological
Survey of India, XXF, Plates IX, X.

6. £./.. V, p. 210, n. 3 where Kielhorn has also supplied the full transcript of
the text prepared from Cunningham's impressions.

7. Ibid., VI, p. 105, n. 8.

8. Ibid., Additions and Corrections, p. vi.

180 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

contra-mythical usage. The particular verse from the woik
referred to by Kielhorn reads as follows :

"Katha prasanglna janair-udahritad-
anusmrit-Akhandala-sunu-vikramah.
Tav-abhidhanad-vyathat I nat-ananah
sa duhsahan-mantra-padad-iv~oragah".9

The context of this verse is where Draupadi is reporting the
state of affairs to Yudhisthira and telling him how frightened
Duryodhana is. The simple meaning of the verse is that 'when-
ever somebody refers to your name along with the valorous deeds
of Arjuna (the son of Indra, i.e., Akhandala) to Duryodhana, he
feels uneasy like a snake does when the words of a poison
removing mantra are recited*. Here, as far the original text is
concerned, I do not see any shade of meaning in the term
akhandala-sunu that refers to Vishnu as 'the son of Indra'.

In fact, it is the gloss of Mallinatha on the above verse that
gives some inkling to this effect although not in the sense of
Vishnu as the son of Indra but as his younger brother. Mallinatha,
while explaining the term akhandala-sunu states as follows :

ltanusmrit~akhandala-sunu-vikramah smrit-
Arjuna parakramah" .10

Then, in order to extract the meaning of Garuda from the
word vikrama he applies the usual acrobatic of Sanskrit commen-
tators and remarks :

" Akhandala-sunur-Indr-anujah Uplndro Vishnur-
iti ydvat,n tasya vih pakshi garuda ity-arthah" .n

To me, with all regards to the great commentator Mallinatha,
it all sounds superfluous as instead of highlighting the anha-

9. Kirdtarjunlyam ofBharavi with the commentary (Ghantapathd) of Malli-
natha, ed. by Durgaprasad, Bombay, 1916, i. 24.

10. Ibid., pp. 11-12 commentary part.

11. Ibid.t here he quotes the authority of Visvakosha.
12 Ibid.

Appendix t \ jl

gaurava*3 of Bharavi, it highlights more of his anartha-gaurava.
In my opinion, for reciting the mantra against a snake-bite, the
presence of Garuda in person is not necessary and the job is done
better by a visha-vaidya. The idea of Bharavi's statement is
that even a casual reference to the valorous deeds of Arjuna
makes Duryodhana feel frightened like a snake charmed by the
mantra of a visha-vaidya. Here, the artha-gaurava of Bharavi's
expression is not so explicit in the double entendrl of either the
term akhandala sunu or vikrama as it is in case of katha-prasanga
that happens to be the synonym of a visha-vaidya.14

Thus, it is clear now that in regard to the word akhantfala-
sunu from Bharavi what has been construed by Fleet and Kielhorn
is based more on the gloss of Mallinatha. And, as we have seen
earlier, even Mallinatha does not explain the term akhandala-sunu
in the sense of Vishnu as the 'son of Indra'. What he says on the
authority of the Visvakosha is that the word sunu, as per the
context, could also be construed in the sense of anuja or younger
brother. In other words, it will be merely a matter of interpreta-
tion if we ascribe the use of akhandala-sunu in the sense of Vishnu
to Bharavi.

Coming to the statement of Kielhorn that the expression
akhandala-sunu is the exact synonym of puramdara-nandana,
exactitude of the synonymity in between the two terms sunu and
nandana also deserves to be examined in detail.

The term sunu is derived from the root su (Dhatupatha, XXIV,
21) and defined as 'suyatl iti sunuh\ meaning one who is begotten
or brought forth. Monier-Williams has given its other parallels
from the Indo-European group of languages including 'son' of the
current English.15 In the Amarakosha, select synonyms of sunu
are described as atmaja, tanaya, suta and putra.*6 In short, sunu
is a son who is begotten.

13. Compare the popular saying of "upamd Kalidasasya Bharaver-artha-
gauravam", etc.

14. Cf., "katha-prasarigo vartayam visha-vaidye=pi vachyavat", of Visva that is
quoted by Mallinatha himself.

15. Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp. 1240-41.

16. Amara II. 6.27; "atmajas-tanayah sunuh sutafi putrah striyain tv-ami". An
appropriate usage of the term sunu is met in the expression of Kalidasa :
"sunuh simritvak-srashtur-visasarj ddita-sriyam\ Raghu 1.93.

182 Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

As regards nandana, it is derived from the root nand (Dhatu-
patha,iii, 30), meaning 'to rejoice, delight, to be pleased or
satisfied with and to be glad of, etc. It is defined as, 'nandayati
iti nandanah1 meaning one whose (appearance) causes joy or
gladdens.17 Since the appearance of a son has been considered
universally as a fact that delights every one,18 the subsidiary
meaning of the term nandana has also been construed as that of
a son. This is why Halayudha has included the term nandana
in the list of his synonyms for a son, in the last :

"Sunuhsanntatir-atmajas-cha tanujah putrah
prasutih sutah tuk, tokam tanayas-cha nandana
iti prajfiair-apatyam smritam".19

Hence, while summing up our inquiry on the synonymity in
between sunu and nandana, we can say that in spite of both terms
yielding the sense of a son their connotations in detail are quite
different and they cannot be taken as 'exact synonyms'.

After going through the view of both Fleet and Kielhorn in
detail what we conclude is that :

(i) Fleet is neither right in interpreting the terra puramdara-
nandana as the son of Indra nor he is right in his state-
ment that, "it seems impossible to translate the word
otherwise than by 'son of Puramdara'.20

(ii) The views of JCielhorn that support the hypothesis of
Fleet and that are based mainly on the authority of
Bharavi's akhandala-sunu are also not based on a very
sound footing, for as we have seen, even though the term
sunu can be construed in the sense of a son and a younger

17. Monier-Williams, p. 526.

18. Compare the maxim, 'sabda-laghava matrena putrotsavam many ante
Vaiyakarnah\ See also Kalidasa's usages of nandana in 'atindriyeshvapy-
upapannadarsand babhiiva bhuveshu Dilipa-nandanah* and again in its
feminine form nandini\ 'anindya Nandinl nama dhenur-avavfite vanat' (Raghu
III. 412 1.82).

19. Halayudhakosha, II, 497.

20. £./., VI, p. 105, n. 8.

Appendix 1

183

brother,21 it can never be taken as an 'exact synonym* of
nandana. In simple terms, simu is one who is begotten
and/or born later but this is never the case with nandana
who may be born either before or later or who may be
even a contemporary of one's own self.

(iii) In my opinion, the term puramdara-nandana means 'one
who delights or brings happiness to Indra'. And here it
is Murari (i.e., Vishnu) who is qualified with that objec-
tive of delighting Indra.22

(iv) Besides, the poet who composed the verse of this
inscription (howsoever petty a poet he might have been),
has, in my opinion, taken enough care in the selection
of his words. That is, lest someone may not confuse the
issue, he has placed the expression 'puramdara-nandano,
between the two terms svayambhu (as a prefix) and
Murari (as a suffix). If the real purport of the term
svayambhu is to remind one that Vishnu is a self-existing
god, that of the term 'Murdri, is just to give an
example of Vishnu's exploits that were ever meant to
please Indra.23

(v) My interpretation of the term 'puramdara-nandana1
meaning 'Vishnu who pleases Indra' is supported by ano-
ther invocatory verse from the Junagadh inscription of
Skandagupta. This self-explanatory verse of that record
reads as follows :

"Sriyam-abhimata-bhogyam naika kal-upanitam,
Tridasa-pati-sukharttham yd Ballr ajahara.
Kamala-nilayanayah sasvatm dhama-lakshmyah
Sa jayati vijit-arttir- Vishnur-atyanta jishnuh".24

21. See M.W.P. 1240, who has also referred to the said verse of the Kiratar-
juniya in support of sunu being a younger brother.

22. Compare the line of the text that reads "Puraindara-nandand Murarih".
The compound "Purandara-natidanah' may be explained better as
""Puramdarain nandayati ahladayati vd iti Puraindara-nandanah."

23. Cf., the episode of Mura who had snatched away the chhatra and kundala
of Indra and who was later on killed by Vishnu-Krishna, vide Bh. P.,
X, 59, 1-2.

24. C.I.I., Ill, ed. by Fleet, pp. 50ff, 1. 1.

SUGRIHlTA-NAMAN

The curious term Sugrihitanaman which is related to the
realm of ancient Indian official, dramatic and non-dramatic
etiquette, figures for the first time as a mark of an official etiquette
in the Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman. The relevant lines
of the record, where this term figures far more than once in
connection with the genealogy of Rudradaman, read as follows :

" Tad-idam rajno mahakshatrapasya

sugrihita-namnah Svami Chashlanasya pautra[sya
rajnah kshairapasya sugrihita-namnah Svami
Jayadamna]h putrasya rajho mahakshatrapasya
gurubhlr = abhyasta-namno Rudradamno " l

The inscription being of considerable interest, particularly for
the fact that it enjoys the unsurpassed credit of being the earliest
lithic record composed in chaste classical Sanskrit, captured the
attention of almost every lover of Sanskrit literature, right from
the day of its discovery. Since 1838, when it was first edited with
a translation and small lithograph by James Prinsep, continuously
for a period of more than seven decades attempts were made to
improve upon its reading and also the translation of the text in
general and the interpretations of some of its knotty terms in
particular.2 Though the term sugrihita-naman may certainly not
be classified in the category of knotty terms, the particular
application of this term and also its significant role in some rather
far-fetched conclusions reached by Levi are the facts which
demand our immediate attention here.

Before referring to the views of Levi in this regard and to

1. £"./., Vllt, p. 42, 11. 3, 4 and n. 14 wherein its editor F. Kielhorn has filled
up the lacuna in ihe text.

2. Ibid., introduction, pp. 36-37 and the references cited therein.

Appendix I 185

the conclusions he has drawn, it will not be out of place to have
a cursory look at the rendering of the term sugrihita-naman by
scholars before and after Levi. Since their interpretations differ
markedly from Levi's, this will provide a more balanced perspec-
tive on the matter.

Sugrihita-nama James Prinsep and his associate Pandit
Kamalakanta who have rendered the term sugrihita-naman into
one "who was named so",3 were certainly not keen to go deeper
into the subtleties of this term since they were occupied with
bigger issues. Later on, while revising the said translation of
Prinsep, Wilson rendered the same term as "of well selected
name".4 Though in the subsequent years of 18625 and 18766 a
great advance in the reading and the interpretation of the inscrip-
tion was made by Bhau Daji and Eggeling, since the term
sugrihita-naman did not pose much problem either on the part of
its reading or the interpretation, it was rendered more or less the
same way as above. Two years later when Bhagvarilal Indraji's
own text and translation was published under the editorship of
Buhler in Indian Antiquary," he explained the term sugrihita-/,aman
as one "whose name is of auspicious import".

The same rendering of the term with a slight alteration was
once again confirmed by Buhler in the year 1890, when he pro-
duced the text of the record and a translation of a part of it in
his famous essay written in German.8 What he rendered into
German could be translated as the one "the utterance of whose
name brings salvation".9 It was in this sequel that Levi dealt
with, not the inscription of Rudradaman as a whole, but the
actual purport of the term sugrihita-naman along with some other

3. Essays on Indian Antiquities (edited) by E. Thomas, London, 1858, II,
p. 58.

4. Ibid., p. 68. Revised translation of the "Sah Inscriptions on the Girnar
Rock" by H H. Wilson.

5. Journal Bombay Branch of Asiatic Soc. , VII, p. 1 i 8ff.

6. Archaeological Survey of Western India, II, p. I28ff.

7. Ind. Ant., VII, p. 261.

8. Die Indischen Inscriften und das Alter der Indischen Kunstpossie, Berlin,
1890, p. 53.

9. Ibid., see also Ind. Ant., XXXIII, p. 53.

l86 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

terms referred to in the inscriptions of the Kshatrapas.10

Although as a matter of chronological sequence, it would
have been better to review the article of Levi right now, it will
not be improper to consider the opinion of Kielhorn as well, in
this regard, since he has re-edited the inscription with an elaborate
translation covering many terms at a greater length (coincidentally
also adhering more to the views of previous scholars than to that
of Levi in matters such as the one under discussion).

Kielhorn, while referring to the term sugrihita-naman, renders
it into one "the taking of whose name is auspicious.11 In order to
substantiate his point, he also adds a note to his translation
where, on the authority of a good number of literary references to
this term noticed in the text of Harsha Charita (to which we will
have recourse later), he demonstrates fully well the actual sense
of the verb grahana or sugrahana and its forms like grihita or
sugrihlta being that of receiving, uttering or taking', etc.12

Having' reviewed the earlier scholarship on the epigraphical
reference to the term sugrihita-naman and its interpretations, now
it is appropriate to proceed with the hypothesis of Levi.

Sugrihita-nama Levi in his brilliant paper on the theme
presented in most cogent, fluent and charming language, first of
all expresses his partial disagreement with the interpretation of
the term offered by others including Bohtlink in general, and that
ofBuhlerin particular. According to him* 'the exact sense of
this expression too often rendered by rather vague formulae (of
auspicious name, auspiciously named, etc.) seems capable of being
more clearly expressed".13 In order to demonstrate how clearly
the phrase sugrihita-naman can be expressed, Levi makes a
commendable effort to survey the major part of Sanskrit literature
and quote the references to sugrihita-naman from various texts.
Since, at many places, with all regards to the learned Professor,

10. Ind. Ant., XXXIII, pp. 163-74. Though the original article of Levi was
written in French which appeared first in the Journal Asiatique, 1902,
Part I, pp. 95-125, we, having no access to that language and the journal,
are referring only to the English translation (done under the direction of
Burgess) of that paper titled as Some Terms in the Kshatrapa Inscriptions".

11. £./., Vin, p. 46.

12. Ibid.,n. 1

13. Ind. Ant.t XXXIII, p. 167.

Appendix! 187

he has not only quoted the extracts from the texts, but in some
cases he has rather misquoted and in a few cases even misre-
presented the views of the original authors, we deem it proper to
review the whole issue once again in sequence.

With the ulterior motive of arriving at his final remark that
"// must have been in the time and the court of the K^hatrapas that
the vocabulary, the technique and the first examples of the Sanskrit
drama and everything connected with it were established",1* he
asserts that the term "sugrihita-naman like svamin and bhadra-
mukha, (all terms which figure as honorific titles in the inscriptions
of the Kshatrapas) belongs to the formulary of the theatre and
things relating to it".15 However, the fact is that the definition of
the word sugrihita-naman is not found in the actual text of
Bharata at all although the words svamin and bhadramukha are.
It is much later (later than both the date of the inscription of
Rudradaman and the period of Bharata) that a reference to this
term is noticed in the Dasarupaka16 of Dhananjaya and the
Sahitya-darpana11 of Visvanatha, which Prof. Levi quotes in support
thereby giving the indirect impression that both the texts, as
regards their chronological sequence, fall next in line with the
Ndtya-sastra. This is misleading. The fact is that although the
works of both Dhananjaya and Visvanatha deal with the same
theme as that of Bharata, the more direct inspiration they have
drawn or the information they have gathered for the purposes of
poetic codification hail, in terms of ratio, more from the literary
works which preceded them in the recent past and comparatively
less from Bharata. The very fact that they include terms like
sugrihita-naman in their works, which are not referred to by
Bharata at all. demonstrates the belief that they must have relied
on works better known to them from the recent past.

14. Ind. Ant., XXXIII, p. 169.

15. Ibid., p. 165.

16. Dasarupaka, ii, 63, defines the term sugrihitabhidha as follows :
"Rathi sutina ch-dyushmdn pujyaih sishy-atmaj dnujdh.

Vats eti tutah pi'ijyo=pi sugrihitdbhidhas-tu taih.
Api sabddt pujyena sishy-dtmaj-dnujds-tdt-eti
vdchyah so=pi tals = tat-eti sugrihlta ndma ch-eti."

17. Sahitya-darpana 431, defines it as "sugrihit-dbhidhah piljyah sishy-ddyair-
vinigadyate".

188 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Further on Levi, while disputing the interpretation of the
term sugrihita-naman given by Biihler and found in conformity
with the Petersburg Dictionary also, rejects the explanation of the
term given in the dictionary as well as in its source material.18 As
we know (and Levi also cites), the first edition of the Petersburg
Dictionary while explaining the term sugrihita-naman cites the
definition of the same from the Trikandaslsha as follows :

" yah pratah smaryatl subhakamvaya sa

sugrihita-nama syat "19

It says that the sugrihita-nama is a person whom one recalls
in the morning with a kindly intention. "But examination of the
examples0, says Levi "which I am going to cite, proves beyond
doubt that the text of the kosha is faulty, whoever may be
responsible for the fault, and that it must be corrected thus : . . .
yah prltah smaryatl . . . i.e., the sugrihita-naman is a deceased
person whom one remembers with favour."20

The anomaly of LevFs afore-mentioned statement is that it
finds fault with almost everything without detailing the specific
reasons. He not only disagrees with the interpretation of Buhler
and questions the authenticity of the dictionary, which according
to him did not care to check the proper text of the quotation cited,
but also for reasons better known to him, discards the presently
available version of the kosa and its Sanskrit commentary as
well.21

The fallacy of Levi's argument that pratah- smaryatl, should
be corrected as pi I tah-smaryat I is such that it could hardly be

18. Levi, op. cit., pp. 165-66.

19. The Trikandasesha by Purushottamadeva, with the commentary called
Sarartha-chandrika, Bombay, 1916, II, 7. 27-28. Since we have not been
able to check the entry in the Petersberg Dictionary ourselves, we are not
sure as to what edition of the kosa was followed by Bohtlik and sub-
sequently by Levi if he referred to the kosa himself as he has not cited such
details in his paper.

20. Levi, op. cit., p. 166.

21. The commentary of Trikdtidasesha (op. cit.) explains the term sugrihitanama
as the address of "subha-kamyaya smaraniyasva punya-kirtanasyajanasya",
which we doubt whether Levi has cared to see or if he has seen it, he has
certainly not taken note of it.

Appendix I 189

approved of. It falls altogether contrary to the established norms
of age-old Indian culture where to recall one's elders with all due
regards in the morning (and even otherwise) is considered not
only as a part of etiquette but rather a pious duty or an unfailing
obligation. Even a casual look at the mass of verses available
on the theme of pr aiah- smarana22 will suffice to make one feel
convinced.

Coming to the examples in Levi's paper which he has selected
in support of his argument for the funeral meaning of the
honorific title sugrihita-naman, we can summarize them in the
following order :

1. Having remarked that the authentic works of Bana show
a preference for the (so to say) funeral meaning of the
title he gathers the following quotations in his support :

(a) From the Kadambari where Suka after the death of
his father remarks that "if I breathe when my father
sitgrihitanaman is dead (ivam uparatt = pi sugrihita
namni tail yad-aham . . . pranimi)"-23

(b) Mahasveta, recalling her dead husband, describes
him by these words : "Dlvasya sugrihlta-namnah
Pundarikasya (smaranti) dlvah wgrihita-nama
Pundarikah"2*

(c) In the Harsha-Charita, Rajyavardhana refers to his
grand-father as under : "Taten •-= aiva . . . sugrihita-
namni tat r a bhavati parasutam gatt pitari kirn n =
akari rajvam25 i.e., "Did our father not take the
government in hand on the death of his sugrihita-
naman father ?"

22. See Monier- Williams under the entry pratah-smarana and the select
references cited therein.

23. The Kadambari of Banabhatta ed. by Parab, K.P. with the commentary of
Bhanuchandra, N.S.P. Bombay, 1921, p. 69, 1. 9; cf. commentary which
explains the word sugrihitanamni as "sugrihitam sarvada grahona yogyam
narna", i.e., whether alive or dead, it is an honorific term which always
precedes the names of elders.

24. Ibid. (Ed. by Peterson, Bombay), p. 308, 11. 18 and 22. We regret that we
could not locate this reference in the above quoted edition of the text.

25. Harsha-Charita, (N.S.P. edition), 1918, p. 179, 11. 9-10.

190 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

(d) So, also, the king Harsha himself remembering his
deceased brother-in-law, in the same way attaches the
epithet to his name : "Tatra bhavatah sugrihita-
namnah svargatasya Grahavarmanah balamitram"26

2. In the Mahakuta pillar inscription of A.D. 602 the
genealogy of Mangalesa assigns the title sugrihita
namadhlva to his grandfather Ranaraga.21

3. In the Rajatarangini the demise of king Lalitaditya is
reported by his Prime Minister as follows :

" Sugrihit-abhidho raja gatah sa sukrin dw?m"2&

i.e., "The king Sugrihitabhidha, the beneficient, has gone
to heaven".

Before taking up a review of Levi's motive in citing the
above references to the term sugrihita-naman (which all figure in
the context of 'funeral meaning* and to which a few more can
further be added), it is worth noticing that the references to the
term in the contexts of non-funeral meaning he himself cites (to
which we will have recourse later) far exceed in number the ones
cited above.

The point which Levi desires to bring home, by citing the
above references with their allegedly funeral implications, is not
difficult to discern. It is nothing else but to impress upon us
clearly the fact that the original sense of the title sugrihita-nama is
the same as the one expressed in the inscription of Rudradaman
"m whose court for the first time every aspect of literary Sanskrit
was introduced and established".29

It is in the same sequel and with the same purpose in mind
that he explains the significance of the verb grah and says that this
verb "which generally signifies 'to take', signifies when associated
with the words such as naman, to use, mention or cite".30 Here,
one may have no objection as far as the meaning of the very grah
in association with naman being using, mentioning or citing of

26. Harsha-Charita, (N.S.P. edition), p. 233, 11. 17-18.

27. Ind.Ant., XIX, p. 16, 1. 3.

28. Rajatarangini, ed. by Stein A., Delhi, 1960 (reprint), IV. 362.

29. Levi, op. cit., p. 169.

30. Ibid.

Appendix I 191

the name is concerned, because it is in perfect agreement with the
interpretations of the scholars we have cited above, but what
Levi puts forth as an example to illustrate his point certainly
seems to be far from the mark.

In order to uphold his interpretation of the 'mention of the
name' he quotes the following verse from the Uttara-Ramcharita
where Rama having just resolved to cast Sita aside invokes the
Earth, Sugrfva and others and adds "7z hi manyl mahatmanah
kriiaglmlna duratmana. Mayagrihita namar.ah sprisyanta iva pop-
mana,"31 i.e., * But, indeed I think that those great ones are
contaminated by having their names mentioned by me (who is)
so ungrateful and wicked".32

Here, the very association of the word grihlta ( a form of
the verb grah) with namdnah as far as we understand, does not
make any noteworthy difference unless we think that by applying
the word 'mention' Levi has something more subtle in mind
which might convey a sense contrary to the honourable mention
of a name. As far as we could ascertain, there is no such ins-
truction in Sanskrit grammar which says that the verb grah when
associated with the words like naman should signify the sense
of jugupsa (abhorrence) or akrosa (abuse, calumination or dis-
honour). What we understand is that ndma-grahana was an act
of addressing anyone whereas sugrihita-naman was a particular
phrase used only when the elders and the respectable ones were
to be addressed. This is why the very process of coming to know
one's name is described as, "bhuyah sravanlna nama-grahanam" ,33
i.e., 'by constantly being addressed by the sane name (or appella-
tion) one succeeds in receiving, taking or grasping his name'.

Regarding the usage of the term grihitanamanah from
Bhavabhuti, Levi has not only taken it as a custom contrary to
sugrahana but has also gone further in substantiating his views
with the help of a prescription from Manu. He believes that the
idea attached to the 'mention of the name' is the same as that held
by Manu when he says that "An iron nail, ten inches long and

31. Uttara Ramacharita, ed. with notes and translation by Kane, P.V., Delhi,
J962, 1.48.

32. Translation of this verse as well as that of other passages quoted above
belong to Levi only.

33. Yogasutra ofPatanjali.

192 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

red hot must be driven into the mouth of him who mentions
insultingly the names and caste of the twice-born"34 :

Ndma-jatigraham tv-lsham-abhidrohlna kurvatah
Nikshepy-aydmayah tankur-jyaalann-asyl dasangulah" .

Further on, while emphasizing the same issue he also cites the
examples presented by the commentator (Medhatithi) in discussing
the above.35 Needless to say, Levi finds both the expressions
''mayd grihitanamanah" of Bhavabhuti and "ndma-jatigraham tv-
isham-abhidrohlna kurvatah" of Manu analogous. But the ana-
logy apart, the interpretation he gives to both phrases does not
seem tenable.

In case of Rama's statement in the Uttara Ramacharita what
is meant is not that the above said persons became contaminated
because Rama mentioned them using the phrase grihita-namanah
(as Levi wants us to believe), but that Rama thinks, "I am so
sinful that if i were to take their names, sin belonging to me
would, as if, attach itself to them".36

Likewise in the prescription of Manu, the emphasis is not
actually laid on the phrase 'ndma-jatigraham' which Levi wants
to highlight, but on the phrase 'abhidrohena' (meaning insultingly).
This also made clear by the commentary which Levi seems to have
only half consulted or at least he has quoted only half of it. The
commentary of Medhatithi, on the above verse from Manu, read
as follows : "Nirupapadam nama-gnhnati kutsa prayoglna va
'Devadattaklli\ Abhidrohina krodliena na pranaylna" '.37 It says
that the aforementioned punishment should be given to a person
who mentions the name or the caste of (a twice-born) with insult
or arrogance and not with honour and affection. Had he
mentioned the name with honour and affection (pranaylna) there
would have been no necessity for the prescription as above.

Thus, we find that the emphasis is laid in both cases only on
terms like kritaghnina, duratmana, may a papmana and abhidrohena

34. Manusmriti with the manu-bhashya of Medhatithi, 2 Vols. ed. by Jha,
G.N., Calcutta, 1932, VIIT.271.

35. Levi, op. cit.t p. 167.

36. Kane, op. cit ., notes p. 49.

37. Manu, op. cit., commentary part.

Appendix I 193

but not the least on terms like grihita-namanah or the ndmajati-
graham as Levi wants us to believe and which also forms the core
of his argument.

Based on the above contentions, Levi arrives at the following
conclusion. He says that "the sugrahana is the contrary (contrary
to grihita-nama and nama-grahd) custom; it is to mention the
name of a person, (and) more specially a dead person".38

Apart from the fallacy of his argument on which the above
conclusion is based, the statement is also not borne out by literary
references to the term sugrihlta-naman (where the custom of
sugrahana is directly involved) a good number of which Levi
himself has cited above,39 and also a few more which will follow
in the sequel.

The Mrichchhakalikarn of Sudraka to which a date falling
nearer to the date of Rudradaman may be assigned as Levi
himself would agree (because it refers to terms like bhadra-mukha
and rashtriya40 etc.), refers to its hero Charudatta more than once
with the honorific title of sugrihitanama or sugrihita-namadhlya.
Herein, first of all the courtesan Vasantasena demands from her
servant Madanika the name of a person whom she has met and
Madanika replies : "Sokku ojjue sugahida-namaheyo ajja
Chamdatto nama",41 i.e., "My lady he, of auspicious name,
is called the noble Charudatta". We find it used again in the
same manner by the mother of Vasantasena when the judge asks
her the name of the friend of her daughter :

So kkhu satthavaha Vinadattassa nattio, Saaradat-

tassa tanao, sugahidanamahtyo ajja Charudatto nama"42

38. Levi, op cit., p. 167.

39. Ibid., pp. 165-67. For instance, in comparison to seven references showing
preference, for the funeral meaning of the title sugfihitandman Levi has
easily gathered more than twelve other references to the same word where
it is used in the honorific sense but otherwise.

40. Levi , op. eft. , pp. 163-69, where Levi opines that the works referring to
the titles like bhadramukha, rashtriya and sugnhitanama, etc., which are
noticed in the records of the Kshatrapas, must have borrowed them

the latter and hence they may fall nearer to them in date.

41. Mrichcha (N.S. ed.), Bombay, 1910, p. 45.
42 Ibid., IX, 6ff, p. 208.

194 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

i.e., "It is the grandson of Sarthavaha Vinayadatta, the son of
Sagardatta, the noble Charudatta sugrihlta-nama-dlya". A point
worthy of note here is that the appellation sugrihita-nnman is used
only with reference to Charudatta and not with reference to his
ancestors. Whereas if we rely on the hypothesis of Levi, who says
thai all the early writers of dramas or the fictions must have
borrowed such terms from the records of the Kshatrapas and
sugrahana means to mention more specially the name of a dead
person, the title sugrihita-naman by Sudraka should have been
applied to the ancestors of Charudatta first who were dead, which
is not the case. Not only this but Sudraka, as if he anticipated
in advance that someday a doubt regarding his originality and the
real purport of the term sugrihita-naman would be raised, has
taken care to clarify the basic concept of the term. Therefore, at
a later stage when the servant of Vasantasena asks the name of the
master of Sarhvahaka, he replies thus :

"Slaghaniya namadhlya arya Chdrudatto nama"4*

i.e., "He, of auspicious name is called the noble Charudatta", and
with this, when Vasantasena gets thrilled and asks her maid to give
him a seat immediately, Sarhvahaka starts wondering at himself
and thinks : "Katham arya Charudattasya nama-sankirtanam-
idriso ml adarah" (Why, by the mere mention of the noble
Charudatta's name they are showing me so much respect !).44 Like-
wise, even later also Sudraka, by referring repeatedly to
Charudatta with such appellations as, "Tatra bhavans-Charu-
datta"45 (i.e., his honour Charudatta); "Sri Charudatta"46
and "Dharma nidhis-Charudatta"41 (i.e., Charudatta, the
storehouse of righteousness), wants to bring the same point home
that a sugrihita-naman is one 'whose name is of aupicious import'
or 'the utterance of whose name brings good luck' as it virtually
did in case of the Sarhvahaka of Charudatta.

Visakhadatta the author of Mudrarakshasa who, as Levi

43. Mrichcha (N.S. ed.), Bombay, 1910, p. 59.

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid., IV, 32 ff. and VII, 3ff, p. 159.

46. Ibid., VI, p. 137.

47. Ibid.,VL\4,cf."Dvav-evapujanfyav-ihanagarvafn tjlaka-bhttafn cha. Arya
Vasantasena dharma nidhis=Charudattas=cha"

Appendix I 195

himself remarks, is inspired by the Mnchchhakalikam, has refer-
red to the title of sugrihita-naman with the same import
Sarrigarava the disciple of Chanakya here, who has been asked
the name of the master of the house replies :

"Asmakam upadhyayasya sugrihita-namnarya Chanakya-

i.e., "it is of our master the noble Chlnakya sugrihlta-namari" .
On another occasion in the same drama, the Chamberlain, in
proclaiming the royal command, expresses himself thus :

"Sugrithita-nama devas=Chandraguptah samajflapavati",49

i.e., "His Majesty Chandragupta, sugrihita-naman desires it".

Coming to the Marsha- char it a of Bana and searching out
references to this title which we have not referred to above, a
number of instances are noticed. At the very outset, in the
Harsha-charita, Vikukshi the personal attendant of king Saryata,
introduces himself with due regard to his master as under :

"Mam=api tasya dlvasya sugrihlta-namnah Saryatasya
djnakarinam bhrityam=avadharayatu bhavati*"

i.e., "Know that I am the humble servant of the sugrihita-naman
Saryata". Then, follows the context where Bana comes to see the
king Harsha for the first time. This particular refeience to the
term sugrihita naman, because of its poignancy on account of some
extra phrases added to it, seems to be one of the most appropriate
usages of this term we have witnessed so far. Moreover, it has
also the credit of being couched with Sana's personal experience
which he renders thus :

"Drishtva ch-anugrihita iva nigrihita iva sabhilasha

48. Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadatta, ed. by A. Hillebrandt, Breslau, 1912,
Pt. I, text, Act. 1. 17ff. p. 11. In one of the manuscripts of the same text,
as pointed out by Hillebrandt, the reading is found as "anngrihiHiml-
madheya"

49. Ibid., p. 15.

50. Harsha., (N.S. ed ), p. 27.

196 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

iva tripta iva romanchamucha mukhlna munchann-
ananda-vashpavari'bindun-durad-lva vismaya smarah
samachintayat-so—yam sujanmd, sugrihita-nama,
tijasam rasih ........ dlvah paramlsvaro Harshah",51

i.e., "having seen him, feeling as it were, at once blessed (by the
mere sight) and checked (by the august appearance of the king),
full of desire and yet satisfied with his face horripilated with awe,
and with tears of joy falling from his eyes, Bana stood at a
distance smiling in wonder and pondered, "This, then is the
emperor Sri Harsha, that union of separate glories, noble in birth
and of well-chosen auspicious name".52 So again, though not
that elaborated, Bfina connects the same title with Harsha himself,
when his hearers at home press him to relate the history of that
king :

"Asya sugrihitanamnah punyaraslh .... charitam ichchhdmah

i.e., "we wish to hear the achievements .... of this sugrihita-
naman who is rich in merit."

Further, Bana again refers to the same title and that too in
connection with king Harsha only when Rajyasri is on the point of
mounting the funeral pile and Kurangika (one of her maids)
reports the unexpected arrival of Harsha. Rajyasri says :

"Kurangikl klna sugrihitanamno nama gfihitam-amritamayam*
aryasya",54

i.e. "O Kurangika ! Who is it that has uttered my lord's auspi-
cious name ?"

Having referred to the name, the taking of which brings good
luck and merit, Bana tries to focus on the same, this time by
showing the negative side of it. This figures with reference to the

51. Harsha., (N.S. ed.), p. 77.

52. lbidt(Tr. of Cowell and Thomas, London 1897), p. 64.

53. Ibid., p. 91 (Text).

54. Ibid., pp. 243-49 (tr.).

Appendix I 197

news of the said demise of Grahavarman which the messenger
wants to break without being willing to utter the name of the
miscreant :

"Nam-api grihnato=sya papakarinah papamallna
lipyata iva mtjihva",55

i.e., "as I take merely the name of this miscreant my tongue seems
soiled with a smirch of sin". Indirectly, it means that though
generally there is no harm in merely uttering someone's name,
this fellow is such a miscreant that in his case even the utterance
of his name (namapigrihnato) may soil one's tongue.

After going through a good number of literary references to
the title sugrihita-naman it is time to recall the basic issues raised
by Levi, mainly for the purpose of arriving at our conclusion.
The main argument made by Levi, which we have alluded to
earlier but not in full detail, is that :

"Before becoming fixed, with the stiffness of dead forms,
in the vocabulary of theatrical and literary conventions,
these titles (like sugrihita naman and others) have, of
necessity, done duty in actual life. The first writers who
transported them into the domain of fiction, did not
invent them, thanks to the miracle of a chance coinci-
dence; nor did they go and exhume them out of the past,
with an archaeological care which India has never known;
they borrowed them from current language and be-
queathed them to their successors who have preserved
them with pious fidelity, whilst political events were
transforming the official protocol around them".56

As a supplement to this assertion Levi has, particularly in
regard with the title sugrihita-naman, also made two minor points.
One is that "The verb grah signifies when associated with the
words such as naman, (the sense) of using, mentioning or citing
the name (which is) the custom contrary to that of sugrahana" .51

55. Harsha., (N.S. ed.), p. 188 (text). See also £./., VIII, p. 46, n. 1, where
Kielhorn remarks that the exact meaning of sugrihita-naman is well
indicated by this passage of the Harsha-charita.

56. Levi, op. cit., p. 169.

57. Ibid., p. 167.

198 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

The other issue is that "The real import of sugrahana is to
mention the name of a person, more especially a dead person"5*

Regarding the first point, we have already shown (partially)
the fallacy of Levi's hypothesis which gets fully disproved once
we go through the references from the Harsha-charita cited above.
Bana has very clearly, though figuratively demonstrated the fact
that the association of the verb grah with words such as naman is
not contrary to the custom of sugrahana. He makes a full swing
of the various usages and the associations of the verb grah, as if
to convince those who have any doubt. This is why once, before
coming to sugrihita, he exhausts all other such words as anugrihlta
and nigrihifa59 and the next time, having uttered the title
sugrihita-namno he adds nama-grihitam amritamayam aryasya.60
This demonstrates fully well, that Bana was cautious enough (in
its use) and well conversant with the meaning and other subtle-
ties of the verb grah, certainly more than us, and if we are
permitted to say, even more than the sugrihita-nama Professor
Levi.

Coming to the second point raised by Levi, the only thing we
have discussed so far, is the impropriety of his correction of the
term pratah smaryattf as 'prltah smaryatl, which, to the best of
our understanding, he has done without any rhyme or reason. In
fact, if we adhere to the suggestion of Levi, all those who have
been referred to as sugrihlta-ndman above, will fall in the category
of pritas, which is not true. The meaning of the term prlta as it
is construed in the texts of the Dharma-sastras61 will not suit
even those whom Levi himself has (and rightly so) held in high
esteem.

Levi's other statement that an examination of the examples
he has cited would prove the amendment beyond doubt, is also
not proved beyond doubt. It will be an exercise in vain to count
the number of examples Levi has cited either in support of his
interpretation of the title sugrihita-naman with its funeral meaning

58. Levi, op. c//., p. 167.

59. Op. cit., n. 51.

60. Op. cit., n. 54.

61. The term pretah according to the Dharmasastra has a special meaning. It
applies to the soul of such dead persons whose sraddha and tarpana is not
duly performed, (vide Hist, of Dharma., TV, pp. 262ff.).

Appendix I 199

or of his belief that ' sugrahana' is to mention specially the name
of a dead person, because in both cases examples do not suffice
to bring the point home. Even if the examples were gathered at
random, a fact which may not be denied, the examples where the
appellation sugrihita-naman is used in reference to living dignita-
ries far exceed in number those where the term refers to dead
persons. However, from the observation of all the examples
cited, what comes out as a fact is not what Levi has tried to
emphasize, but what Kielhorn and others have explained without
any undue fuss. In the opinion of Kielhorn "sugrihita-naman
is an honourable title, applied to royal or noble personages, both
living and deceased".6*

By no means was there ever any implication that the person
addressed by this title was dead. At least this is true in case of
all the works Levi himself has referred to. Had there been any
such implication associated with the term sugrihita-naman, the
maid of Vasantasena would have never dared to apply it to the
name of Charudatta the beloved of her own mistress, nor would
the favourite disciple of Chanakya have ever deemed it proper to
address his own teacher as sugrihita-naman and suggest that he
was dead. The same argument applies in case of Bana also with
even more force. Could it, under any logic be deemed proper
that Bana who styles himself as the one who came to see Harsha
for seeking favour (kalyan-abhinivesi)63 would be so ignorant as
to use the title sugrihita-naman for his master when it was meant
specially for addressing dead persons ?

Finally, regarding the major point raised by Levi our sub-
mission may be construed as follows :

(1) There is no denying the fact that titles like sugrihita-
naman and others, before becoming fixed in the
vocabulary of theatrical and literary conventions, have
of necessity done their duty in actual life. The only
thing we would like to add here is that the span of the
actual life of the term did not begin with the record
engraved in 150 A.D. nor did it remain confined to the

62. EJ., VIII, p. 46, n. 1.

63. Harsha., p. 62.

200 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

life span (and also the domain) of its issuer, i.e.,
Rudradaman.

(2) There can also not be two opinions about the assertion
that, 'The first writers who transported them into the
domain of fiction did not invent them", but to presume
that the occurrence of such titles in the body of the
record is only due "to the miracle of a chance coinci-
dence" will certainly be too much of a chance, parti-
cularly in case of language and literature.

(3) Having said that the early writers who have referred to
the above-mentioned title(s) did not invent them, to say
again, that "they also did not go and exhume them out
of the past" becomes self-contradictory. Further on,
even if we believe that "they (the early writers) borrowed
such words from current language" which is not impossi-
ble, nor strange, it is certainly strange to believe that the
users of the current language on their part inherited the
same out of a miraculous chance coincidence. In our
opinion, the theory of 'miracle of a chance coincidence'
as regards a language which originates, grows further
and attains a developed stage, may hardly get universal
approval, more so in the context of Sanskrit which, as
agreed on all hands, was already having a well system-
atized grammar (that always follows once the language
is grown) of its own much before the 'miracle* in the
form of Rudradaman's record took place.

(4) The reasoning of Levi that having once borrowed such
titles and the terms from the current language, the early
writers "bequeathed them to their successors who have
preserved them with pious fidelity", lacks justification on
more than one ground. Firstly if the early writers
(early in the sense that their works are known to us)
could borrow things from the current language and
bequeath the same to their successors, why should we not
assume that the predecessors of the early writers also
could have done the same ? The second assumption
closely linked with the first one is that the early writers
did not borrow it from the past because of their lack of
'archaeological care' which according to Levi 'India has

Appendix I

201

never known'.64 We, on our part, consider the above
remark of Levi more as a mark of the fashion which
was very much in vogue at the time the learned professor
wrote and less as a part of an argument which lacks even
a slender base for its support. However, our submission
to the charge of learned professor is that India as regards
archaeological care in the field of language and litera-
ture, particularly in relation to words, their etymology
and the antiquity, fares for better (and it did fare earlier
also) than any other country of the world. Otherwise,
how it was possible on the part of the successors of the
early writers to 'preserve9 the thing they got in succession
'with pious fidelity' — a fact which Levi himself admits.65

Having thus examined all the pros and cons of Levi's hypo-
thesis in general and his views regarding the honorific title of
sugrihita-naman in particular, we can sum up the whole issue, in
full agreement with Kane, who although had a chance to examine
the views of Levi regarding the date of the Natya-sdstra unfortu-
nately had not enough time and space at his disposal to elaborate
his remarks at length and expound upon his disagreement with
Levi. Since Kane did not elaborate his points (which, we have
tried to do here to some extent) some of the later researchers on
the Natya-sdstra66 have not taken his objections seriously. But,
we are sure, if the whole issue is reviewed in its entirety taking
into account the points that we have raised in addition, the real
force of Kane's argument will certainty be realized.

Kane while referring to the date of the Natya-sdstra in his
introduction to the Sahitya-darpana of Visvanatha reviews the
main burden of Levi's arguments as follows :

" In spite of the brilliant manner in which

the arguments are advanced, and the vigour and confi-
dence with which they are set forth, the theory that the

64. Levi, op. cit., p. 169.

65. Ib id.

66. The Natyasastra, Eng. tr. with notes by Ghosh, M.M., Calcutta, 1950,
I, p. LXXXUI-IV (introduction).

202 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Sanskrit theatre came into existence at the court of the
Kshatrapas and the supplanting of the Prakrits by
classical Sanskrit was led by the foreign Kshatrapas
appears, to say the least, to be an imposing structure
built upon very slender foundations. An obvious reply
is that the inscription was composed by one who was
thoroughly imbued with the dramatic terminology con-
tained in the Ndtya-sastra".61

67. The Sahitya-darpana of Visvanatha ed. with introduction and notes by
Kane, P.V., Bombay, 1923, pp. VIIMX (introduction).

UPAKARTKA

The meaning of the term upakarika as it is used in the
Barrackpur grant of Vijayasena requires reconsideration. This
grant was edited along with the English translation of the text in
the pages of Epigraphia Jndica, Vol. XV. by late Dr. R.D. Banerji.1
Relevant lines of the grant where this term occurs read as under :

" Sri Udayakaradlva sarmmanl Vikramapur-

opakarikd-madhyl sati . . . . "2

This is translated into English by the learned editor of the
grant as follows :

" . . . . in the upakarika ( ? palace) of Vikramapura, to
the illustrious Udayakaradeva Sarman . . . . "3

The same fact is reported earlier in the introductory part of
the article as "the grant was made inside the palace (upakarika) at
Vikramapura".4 In this regard, it is also worth noticing what the
inscription states later that the grant was issued from the victo-
rious camp of Vikramapura (sa khalu sri Vikramapura samavasita
sr imaj-jayaskandhavarat ) . 5

From the mark of interrogation added by Banerji to his
rendering of the term upakarika into palace, it is clear that he
himself was not convinced of this interpretation of the term. This
sign of interrogation placed before the English rendering of the
term upakarika into palace by Banerji also contradicts his own
remark made earlier that 'the grant was made inside the palace

1. E /., XV, pp. 278-86; Barrackpur Grant of Vijayasena : The 32nd Year.

2. Ibid., p. 284, 11. 39-40.

3. Ibid., p. 286.

4. Ibid., p. 280.

5. Ibid., pp, 280 and 283, 11. 22-23.

204 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

at Vikramapura*. And all these self-contradictory and altogether
uncertain remarks of Banerji lose their rationale in toto when we
look at the very first sentence of the grant which says that it was
issued from the victorious camp (and not the palace) of
Vikramapura. The cause of this confusion is possibly the defini-
tion of modern Sanskrit English dictionaries which explain the
word upakarikd with its primary meaning as "protectress and a
female assistant and then (in subsidiary) as a palace, a carvansera
and a kind of cake", all on the authority of some unspecified
lexicons.6

Before we come to consider the exact meaning of the term
as gleaned from the early Sanskrit koshas and also the literary
sources, it is worth considering what the Epigraphical Glossary
of Sircar (which happens to be the great Upakarikd of all the
students of Indian Epigraphy) attributes to this term. Herein,
Sircar has gone out of the palace of all the lexicons and rendered
the term after adding the phrase 'probably' into "a territorial unit
around the headquarters of an administrative unit".7 As it will
be seen in the sequel, this interpretation of the term upakarikd
from Sircar is not only far from that of Banerji but also an impro-
bable one.

The term upakarikd along with its synonyms is referred to in
the Amarakosha as : "Saudho = stn rdja-sadanam upakdry-
opakdrika"* and this has been explained by Kshiraswamy after
considering saudha and rdja-sadana apart as "upakriyate upakaroti
cha pata-mandapddi rdja-sadanam" .9 i.e., a cloth made house
which (temporarily) substitutes for a palace. This sense of the
words upakdryd and upakarikd (after considering both as
synonyms) has been further elaborated by other commentators of
Amara. Bhanuji Dikshita after stating that the words of the
kosha, i.e., upakdryd and upakarikd are synonyms (upakdry-
upakdrikd iti dvirupa kosha darsandd-upakdry-api)^ considers
them as an ordinary or a temporary (sdmdnya) substitute of the

6. Cf. Monier- Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 195.

7. Sircar, D.C., Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, 1966, p. 351.

8. Amara., 11.2.10.

9. Ibid., Commentary part, T.S.S. edition, Trivendrum, 1914.

10. Ibid., with the commentary of Bhanuji Dikshit, N.S. edition, Bombay,
1929, p. 120.

Appendix I 205

king's abode (raja-grihd). But these terms are better explained
in one of the Southern commentaries of the kosha. Here, the
commentator Lingayasurin explains them as under :

"Upa samipe kriyata - ity-upakarya" or "patadibhir-
upakriyatl iti upakarya" and "prayanl (praydnayd)
upakaroti-iti upakarika',11 i.e., a kind of house-like
dwelling which is made nearby (but not inside) the palace
with the help of cloth is upakarya and the same one,
when it is fixed while the king is on march or tour (i.e ,
pray and), is called upakarika.

Thus, it is obvious that all the commentaries of Amara intend
to explain the terms upakarya and upakarika in the sense of a
royal tent or pavilion which was made mainly with the help of
cloth and put up when the king was to camp at a place in course
of a tour.

The same meaning of the word upakarika or upakarya is also
brought home by a good number of literary references, parti-
cularly from the Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa. For instance,
Aja while on his way to Vidarbha is said to have stayed and pass-
ed nights in the royal tents (provided with all amenities) prepared
by the people of the janapadas :

"Tasy-opakary-drachit-dpachara, vanyttara janapad-
opaddbhih. Margl-nivasa manujlndra sunor-babhuvur-
uddyana-vihara-kalpdh".n

Later on, in the same canto, Kalidasa has also elaborated the
royal features of such pavilions or tent-houses. He says that in
front of these royal tent-houses there used to stand two security-
guards close by the gate where the auspicious pitchers full of
water were kept :

"Tasy-adhikdra-purushaih pranataih pradishlam
Prdg-dvara-v'edi vinivlsita purna kumbhdm.

11. Amara., with the unpublished South Indian commentaries, edited by
Ramanathan, Madras, 1971, p. 201.

12. Raghu., V. 41.

206 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Ramyam Raghu-pratinidhih sa nav-opakaryam,
Balyat-param-iva dasam madand = dhyuvasa".n

Likewise, how close to the palace upakarya type of tents
(cf. upa-samipl kriyata iti) were generally supposed to be set up,
is also elaborated later in the Raghuvamsa itself. Kalidasa says
when Rama came back to Ayodhya after the completion of his
period of exile Satrughna had set up royal tents (upakaryah) at a
distance of half krdsa from the city, prior to the former's arrival
in the town :

"Kros-arddham prakriti purah sarlna gatvd,
Kakutsthah stimita javina pushpaklna.
Satrughna prativihit-opakaryam-ary ah
Sdket-opavanam-udaram-adhyuvasa". 1 4

This very meaning of the term is further confirmed by the
commentaries of Hemadri and Mallinatha on the Raghuvamsa.
Hemadri's gloss on the verse V. 41, explains the word upakarya
as 'patavesmani kartryah margl nivasa babhuvuh',15 and that of
Mallinatha on XIII. 79, explains it as 'upakaryah pata bhava-
nani\16 i.e., upakarya denotes a tent-house.

There also seems to be an indirect reference to upakarya
endowed with double entendre in the text of the Panchatantra
stones. Here, in a context that deals with the evils and undepend-
able nature of Fortune, the author of the Panchatantra while
recounting all diatribes against the fickleness of Lakshmi, remarks
as under :

"asivisha-jatir-iva dur-upakarya".11
Although the passage in its simple form means that 'the race of

13. Raghu., V. 63.

14. Ibid., XIII.79.

15. Ibid., V. 41, N.S edition Bombay, 1948, ed. by N.R. Acharya, with the
select portions of the Sanskrit commentaries of Mallinatha, Vallabha,
Hemadri and others.

16. Ibid., X11I.79.

17. A Difficult Passage in the Panchatantra by V.S. Agrawal — vide Journal of
the Oriental Institute. Baroda, VIII, No. 4, June 1959, pp. 338-39.

Appendix I 207

vipers is inaccessible to kindness' and second connotation of the
same yields the sense that a 'royal tent in which a poisonous
snake makes its appearance becomes a condemned house, (i.e.,
dusthta upakarya durupakdrya) unfit for the king's use.18 In other
words, it also confirms the meaning of upakarya or its other
synonym upakarika being a tent- house, or a temporary dwelling
set up inside the camp where the possibility of a snake making
its appearance (unlike that of a regular palace) cannot be ruled
out.

The terms upakarika and upakarya in the similar sense as
explained above, have also been construed in the Vaijayanti-
kosha19 of Yadavacharya and the Abhidhana-ratnamala of Hala-
yudha Bhatta.20

As it is clear from the fore-mentioned usages of the term
upakarya and its close synonym upakarika the term in question
with reference to its context means not a royal palace as such but
a royal tent or a pavilion set up in the centre of the camp where
the king stayed while being on a tour or any other expedition.
Although designed on the usual pattern of the palace, these cloth
made tents were purely temporary in nature and were retained
only for the duration of the camp of the king.

Thus, in the light of the above, and also in accordance with
the fact that king Vijayasena at the time of issuing this grant
was already camping (samavasita)21 at Vikramapura, the phrase
'upakarika madhyl sati' could be explained as 'when the king was
staying or camping inside the royal tent', the said grant incised
on copper was issued to the illustrious Udayakaradeva Sarman'.

18. Ibid., p. 339 and the references cited therein.

19. Vaijayantikdsha,lV.3.3Q.

20. Abhidhanaratnamala, ed. by Jayashankara Joshi, Varanasi, Saka 1879, V.
290 and also the comments of the editor who explains both the words
upakarya and upakarika in the sense of 'a royal tent'.

21. The term samavasa is construed in the same way as vfvasa of As"okan
edicts (Vide, C.I.I., I, p. 167).

VARIKA

The job of fetching water and that of household bearers even
in modern times in the North is done by a class of people known
as bans. They are invariably referred to along with the barbers as
'nau-barr. In the survey of the native races of India, these people
called bans are said to be the household servants of the kings
having a reputation of great fidelity to their employers. In the
same report, it is also mentioned that on occasions, these people
were also employed as torch- bearers or sometimes even as barbers
and they did almost all sorts of household jobs.1 The authenti-
city of the report of the survey mentioning bans as a class of
barber is also borne out by the Desinama-mala of Hemachandra
who refers to the name of a caste known as Varia.2 The Sanskrit
commentary on the same explains both vachchhiutta and varia as
napita, i.e., barber.3 In our opinion, the presently known bans
and the varia must be the same. The word varia in its turn, on
the other hand, might be the corrupt form of the Sanskrit word
varika.

The word varika is somehow a curious one which finds
mention in some of the inscriptions also.4 The ambiguity of the
term is such that it has baffled even eminent epigraphists like
Sircar more than once. With reference to the phrase, "Varikasya
haste nyasako na sthapamyah" , he says once that the word varika

1. Sherring, M.A., Hindu Tribes and Castes, I (reprinted), Delhi, 1974,
pp. 403-04.

2. Desinama-mala ed. by Pischcl, R., Bombay, 1938, 7.47 : Chandilae
vachchhiutta-varia taha phale vare ittham.

3. Ibid., vachchhiutto tatha vario napitah.

4. Charter of Vishnushena, sam. 649, vide £./., XXX, pp. 171, 173-75 and
179; XXXI, p 164, n. 1; XXXII, pp. 56, 57, 60. See also Sircar, D.C.,
Epigraphy and Lexicography in India, vide Proc. of the All India Oriental
Conference, Bombay, 1949, pp. 273-75; Indian Epigraphy 8-8; Indian
Epigraphical Glossary, pp. 245; 364, etc.

Appendix I 209

apparently indicates a royal officer.5 He makes the same identifi-
cation again, this time adding the word "possibly" while explain-
ing pltavika-varikina and uttarakulika-varikaih* ignoring the
contexts altogether. Again, while editing the same record in the
pages of Epigraphia Indica, it seems to him that the word varika
indicates a class of officials. Without any authority whatsoever,
he compares them with Gujarati var'edar or tax-gatherers, whereas
varedar or vahredar is nothing but a contracted form of paharedar
who is a watchman.7 Further, with reference to dlva-varika, he
makes them a superintendent of a temple and next as a superinten-
dent of the gandhakuti.* Our simple impression is that Sircar
could not make the term clear and he has jumped from a class of
official to tax gatherer and then to a superintendent. His
references to Brihaspati-smriti and the Rajatarangini, with all
regards to him, hardly succeed in bringing the point home.

In the Brihaspati-smriti, no doubt, vdrikas are mentioned
along with the Chaturvaidya-vanik and others but all with the
instruction of the king to take care of the plantation and the up-
keep of the trees standing on the boundaries of the villages.9 In
this case the job of a varika would have been simply to give water
(vari) to the plants.

In the same way, the kataka-varika of the Rajatarangini™
also seems to be the person whose duty was to supply water to
the army. Even the errand on which the kataka varika of the
Rajatarangini was sent suits our interpretation better.

Varikas, mentioned in the legends of the Nalanda seals,
though not explained by Shastri, also seem to be the monks whose
responsibility in the commune of the monastery was to look after

5. Epigraphy and Lexicography, op. eft., p. 273.

6. Ibid., p. 275.

7. E.I., XXX, p. 173ff.

8. Epigraphical Glossary, p. 364.

9. Cf. "Sima-vrikshan$-cha kurviran " and

"raja kshetram datva chaturvaidya vanig-varika svdmipurush-

adhishthitam" etc.
(Brihaspati, G.O.S. ed., p. 159).

10. Raja., VI. 345. " Tesham-madhye vasan-gudham-Adity-akhyah palayitah.
Hato Vigraha rajasva prfyah kataka-varikah" .

210 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

the water supply.11 In the monastic set-up where there was no
distinction of caste or creed involved, the assignment of the duties
of a varika to a monk may have had a direct relevance to the
degree or level of that monk's spiritual attainments.

This rather short note on varika leads us to conclude as
follows :

1. In all probability, the word varika is an abbreviated form
of vari-vahaka which yields the sense of a water fetcher.
Its formation may be the same as bhara-vahas-tu-
bharikah.12

2. The references to varika in the Brihaspati-smriti and the
Rajatarangini are also made in the same sense.

3. The varias referred to by Hemachandra should also be
the same as varikas.

4. Their close association with the community of barbers
is mainly based on the similarities in their profession of
attending to the bath of the king. This is also borne out
by evidence from the Jatakas.13

5. In all probability the varikas are the same as those who
are known presently as baris and are frequently referred
to as nau-barl.

6. In the light of the above, the varikas of the insciiptions
should also be taken as the household attendants of the
kings whose main duty was to fetch water and attend to
the bath of the king. Being close to their masters as they
were, they would have also been looking after his
personal belongings including the gifts received from
visitors.

11. Shastri, H., Nalanda and its Epigraphic Material M. A.S.I., No. 66,
p. 38.5.1. 675, PI. Ill a; reads as "Sri Nalanda, Baladitya gandhakudya-
varika-bhikshtlnam", see also S.I. 919, 9?8ff.

12. Agrawal, V.S., Harshacharita Ek Samskritik Adhyayan, Patna, 1964,
p. 164, has mistaken even bharika as varika which is not correct.

13. For references see "nahapako va nahapakantevasi va", (Jataka, 1.342);
"hinajachcho mala maijano nahopita puttd", (J. 11.452, III. 453), etc.

Appendix I 211

7. An old and experienced varika would have also been able
to misappropriate some gift items and thus earned the
displeasure of his master; this in turn leading to the
proclamation that from now onwards no gift should be
placed in the hands of varikas :

"varikasya hasll nyasako na sthapamyah" .

APPENDIX II

An Alphabetical List of all the Words Discussed

Group 'A'

Abhinut-vak

Aina (Adj—from Ina)

Arddha-srotika

Ashtapushpika

Avasanika

Bhishuka

Chakantara

Chaluka (va(a)

Chaturddanta

Chhayd

Chollika

Dhenku-kadhdhka

Dvaroshtha

Dvinamatah

Ghanghala— Samara0, Mahi°

Ripu°.

Ghalaka-kupaka

Hat \adana

Jlvaloka

Juhaka

Kauptika

Khataka

Khova

Kritopasanna

Mayuta

Nila-jumphaka

Nir-dvidha

kurvatah tatti-sdndthyo)

Appendix II

Pichckhdchald
Prasanna-dtviydrak a
Pravam ( Vanik-pravani -

pramukha and pravamkara)
Praryya
Prdyasaka
Sapta-padaka
Salikhalla
Tatti (tattim .
Tribhangi
Utkrishtl
Vdsavaka

Group 'B'

Abhatarakahi

Achanta (in — achanta-raja chariydnam).

Alin

Antardlaya

Anudarsayanti

Aputnaka-veni

Ardraka

Arm

Asvorasa

Atirikta

Avidhava

Ayaka khambha

Amka-bhadra-khachita

Bhukti-suddha

Chandraka

Chauksha

Chintita

Chollaka

Chumbaka

Dana-muhl (Skt. Ddna-mukhya)

Danddsana

Dasd

Dhumavlld,

Dhvaja-kinkini

213

214 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Disapatta

Duhitanam

Durbhaga (gramyatva)

Dvasaptaty-adhikam.

Dvaya

Dvedhapy-ayddhyasyate

Ekapatra

Ekakshara

Gaduka

Ghotika

Grama-grama

Grant ha

Grishti

Gupyadguru

Gurubhir-abhyasta-naman

Gurvayatana

Hari-vasara-Hari-dina

Hatha-sangama

Jiva-puta

Josham (gdshthi-josham)

Kalivallabha

Kapata- sandhi-krama

Karttakritika

Kaluka

Khandhikatasa

Kriyasuddha

Lohasanl

Mall (in yuvati-mal'e)

Midha-vidh dnam

Matha

Mula-vasi

Muraja

Pakshapata

Pam-patrika

Pamya-chchhaya-mandapa
Parivara

Pasadaka

Pavtni-dhara

Pratika-priya-vachana

Appendix ll 215

Pratipad- liar yam

Puramdara-nandana

Purasa

Purvaja (Purvva-purvaja-piijana)

Piirvva-prachiyam

Rlsha

Sabhavan

Sadhara

Samhatika

Sandmya

Sasana

Sthanato — pi na chalito

Sthavira

Suddham

Sugrihita- naman

Svita

Tarkuka

Tatakam

Tataka-mdtrika

Tatamba

Tiibara

Udbhavaka

Ullambana

Unmara-bhlda

Vallabha-durlabha

Vastavya

Viglyatl

Vikara

Vikata (kshard)

Vikosa (nl lot pal a)

Vimukta-raridhra

Group 4C'

Apasaraka

Arahata

Ahada

Agara

Badde (manohara)

216 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Bhara-sala

Chadaka

Chukka

Chuna

Dati

Dhvamsa

Gadigra

Gaddugeya (Kannada)

Ghanaka and Ghranaka

Har

Kanduka

Kansaraka

Kavadi

Kelayah

Kitika

Khalla

Khasra

Kolhuka
Kdsavahl

Kurttaka

Kutkila

Nemaka

Nlti

Pahatika-pahata

Panati

Shamhaldtmaka

Svalipata

Tall

Tikhara (vlthl)

Tikina

Uvataka

Vahaka

Vahita

Vara

Vikata

Vishayana

ViUolaka

Vyaja

Appendix 11
Group 'D'

Kapola-prachchhana

Lankdryan-kdrayan

Mddara

Olabaku

Panchdrthala

Pdndu-putra

Saraka

Suhoti

Takmi

Tamaniyakara

Utarayam-navam ikayam

Vainatdpatya

217

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Bibliography 223

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VI.

, Radhanpur plates of Govinda III, Saka 730, ibid.

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— , Talgunda inscription of Kakuststhavarman, E.I. VI11.

— , Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman, ibid.

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224 Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

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INDEX

, 29

abhartdrika, 25

Abhatarakahi, 24

abhi, 128

Abhidhdna Chintamani, 62

, ratnatudla, 207

Abhinava, 109, 110

Abhinavagupta, 109,-109fn

Abtunut Vdk, 9

Abhira Vasushena, 58

abhyantarika, 24, 25

abfry-as, 122

abhyasa, 128

abhyasta, 131

Ablur, 4, 36

Abul Fazl, 153, 155

dchdra(s\ 14, 19, 28, 66, 67, 80

Acharya(s), 53, 163

Acharya, G.V., 69

Acharya, N.R., 206fn

achanita, 25, 26

achchanta, 26

Addna, 18

adhyapaka, 125

Adityasena, 70

advaya, 19

advitlya, 19

A gar a, 76

Agrawala, V.S., 15, 29fn, 59fn, 73,
86, 99fn, lllfn, 141, 146, 153, 154,
159, 171, 172, 206fn, 210fn

Ahdda, 76

ahafn-brahmasmi, 94

Ahamkdrika-pushpa, 94

Ahavamalla, 149,151

Aina, 10

Ain-i-Akbari, 153

Airavata, 97, 102

Aja; 129,205

Ajanta, 64, 105, 150fn, 161

162fn

Caves, 154

— Inscription, 157
akara, 76
akasa, 94

Akdsiya-pushpa, 94
Akbar, 155, 156fn
akhanclalastmu, 179, 181
akman, 90
akro&a, 191
akulamnaye, 89
Alexander, the great, 123
Algaum Inscription, 48
Alhanadevi, 33
Alin, 26
Allata, 16

Alina copper plate, 174
Allahabad, 33, 51
alpa-praria, 166
amalasaraka, 89
Amara, 42, 49, 59, 125, 139fn, 163,

205
Amarakosha, 2, 5, 16fn, 42fn, 72, 98,

134, 151, 159, 167, 181, 204
Amarasimha, 73, 124
Amara vati, 177

Inscription, 53

ainatya, 113
amatya, 113, 177

Guha, 174

amba, 64, 65
dmla-rasa, 139
Amoghavarsha, 21, 76, 178

I, 87

andgata vidhdna, 165
Anantavarman, 48, 67

230

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

anartha-gaurava, 181

aneka-bhadra-khachita, 32

aneka-chaturddanta, 102

aneka-mukha, 33

aneka-artha-avyapa, 1 28

Anga, 22

Angada, 39

anna-prasana, 127

antara-pratihclra, 147

Anudarsayanti, 27

anugrihita, 198

anOja, 181

anukarana, 175

anurakshaka, 53

anuvamsika-prasastis, 96

cwvflvfl.ya, 65

anvaya, 65

apabhramsa, 89

apara-nama, 16

Apasaraka, 75

apida, 162

Apte, V.S., 5, 9, 10, 13, 51, 55, 69,

93,97,170
apiitra, 27
aputraka, 27
Aputrika-venl, 27
Apya-pushpa, 94
era, 26
Arabic, 2
araghata, 76
Arddha-srotika, 11
Ardha-Magadhi, 70
Ardhanari, 118
ardraka, 28
Arheta, 76
Aridrava, 31
ari-samdsa, 77
Aristotle, 124
/4rm, 26
Arjuna, 179-181
artha-gaurava 181
Arthasastra, 62, 66, 102fn, 146
arthavidya, 3
Aryaka-Bhattaraka, 47
asana, 156fn
Ashadha, 43
Ashtabhujasv2mi, 59

Ashtadhyayi, 2, 98fn, 100
ashta-pushpika, 93-95
dshtha, 16
Asoka, 69

edicts of, 123, 207fn

Asrorasa, 28, 29
Atharvaveda, 90
Atirikta, 30
at may a, 181
atra-bhavant 57
atyanta, 25
Aurangzeb, 29, 149
avalipta, 19
avarasa, 29
Avasanka, 11
avesanika, 90, 91
avyaya, 128
<jyaA:a khambha, 31, 32
Ayodhya, 206

babhukshita, 138
Babylonian Goddess Nana, 92fn
e, 76
, 84
bahana, 84
bahattara, 38

CM*-</, 37

Bahur Inscription, 41

Bahuvrihi, 100, 101, 165, 166

bahya-parijana, 147

Baigudi, 73

Baijanath, 43

Bajpai, S.K., 107fn

baladhikrltas, 146, 171, 172

Bala-Mukunda, 13

balatkara, 44

/>a//, 95

Balsane Inscription, 48

Bana, 30, 39, 59, 73, 95, 143, 145,

170, 171, 177, 189, 195, 196, 198,

199

Banabhatta, 140, 153
Banerj, R.D., 78, 79, 203
Bannahalli plates, 3
, 208, 210

Index

231

Barnett, L.D., 40, 56, 79

Barrack pur grant, 203

Basak, R.G., 21, 27, 34, 93

Basim plates, 34

Baskharadeva, 41

batuka, 13

Bauddha-pushpa, 94

Begadi, 73

Bengal, 95

Bengali, 89, 167

Bernier, 152

Bhaga, 19

Bhagavata-Purana, 13fn, 18

Bhagavatas, 108

Bhagawati, 54

bhadra-mukha, 187, 193

Bhadrapada, 43

Bhaja, 162fn

bhalara sala, 77

bhandara said, 77

Bhandarkar, D.R., 6, 21, 47, 70, 87

Bhanuchandra, 95fn, 141, 189fn

Bharasala, 77

bharasara, 77

Bharata, 108, 109, 187

Bhartrihari, 51

Bharavi, 181

Bhasa, 35

Bhat, V.R., 131fn

Bhattacharya, Dinesh Chandra, 169

Bhattasali, N.K., 90

Bbaturia Inscription, 28

Bhavabhuti, 167, 191

Bhavarakta, 16

Bheraghat Inscription, 33, 35

BhTch i, 69

bhikshuka, 12

bhishak, 12

bhishaka, 12

bhishuka, 12, 18

Bhittika, 70

bhogas, 152

Bhoja IF, 22

Bhukti-Suddha, 33

Bhulunda, 107, 114

Bhumijas, 28

Bhuvanatrinetra, 9

Bihari (poet), 155

bija-piiraka, 112

Bijaulia Stone Inscription, 35

Bilahari Stone Inscription, 42, 89

Biruda, 77

bisana, 105

Blochmann, H., 153fn

Bohtlink, 186, 188fn

Bombay, 5

Bonda plates, 27

Brahma, 129

brahmabhyasa, 127 fn

Brahmana, 22, 127

Brahmi Inscription, 136

Brihaspati-smriti, 209, 210

Brihatsamhita, 110

Brown, 87

Buddhaghosha, 15

buddhi, 94

Buddhist monks, 47

, recluses, 53

, Sanskrit, 49

, teachers, 26

Buhler, G., 36, 43, 58,72,86,120,

157, 158, 164, 185, 186, 188
Burgess, J. 32, 157, 186
Burnell, 147fn
bya/ff,S5

Chachigadeva (Chahman), 43, 85
Chaclaka, 77
Chakantara, 12
Chalukya (king), 149, 151
Charntamula, 31, 49, 70
Chanakya, 195, 199
Chandella, 68
Chandowa(s), 151, 154, 155
Chandradeva, 69
Chandragupta, 195
Chandraka, 33
Chandra Kshamncharya, 51
Chandravati plates, 69
Chandrehe Inscription, 78
Charitravardhana, 87fn
chashtana, 131

232

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Charter of Vishnushena, 208fn

Charu, 95

Charudatta, 193, 194, 199

Charuvumarava, 167

Chatesvara temple inscription, 60

chatufi-sala, 161

chatuka (vata), 12

Chaturbhani, 35fn

chaturdan, 98, 99

chaturdanshtra, 98

chaturdat, 98, 99

chaturdarishtra, 98

chaturvaidya-vanik, 209

chauksha, 107

Chaukhalia, 114

chhabhisana, 105

Chhabra, B. Ch., 38, 48, 55, 56, 57,

68,69

Chhaddanta Jataka, 103-105
chhajja, 159, 161
chhatra, 150, 151, 153-156, 183fn
chhatra-bhoga, 152
chhatralaya, 49
chhatra-nilya, 49
Chhaturddanta, 96, 100
chhaya, 13
chhaya-dipa, 1 3
chhaya-stambha, 13, 47
chhaya-thabho, 13, 14
C/*«//, 89

Chikkula plates, 96, 97
Chinchali Inscription, 178
chintita, 34
Chintr avati, 154
chokha-mala, 108
chokkha, 108
choksha, 107, 110
chollika, 13, 34
chotaka, 14
c/rwA:a, 78
chukka, 77

chumbaka, 34,
cAtt«a, 78
chunta, 78
churivana, 78
i, 78

chyutaka, 78

Cintra prasasti, 80

Commaraswamy, 15

Cowell, E.B., 39fn, 59fn, 104fn, 144-

146, 171, 172, 177fn, 196fn
Cuddapah, 64
Cunningham, 105fn

Daji, Bhau, 120, 164, 185

Dakhinayaka, 32

dala-badala, 154

dambara, 151

Damodaragupta, 162

Damodarpur, 27

Dana-muke, 34

Dana-mukhya, 34

danava, 117

danava-gajah, 119

Dan<Janayaka, 40

Daridasana, 35

rfawftf, 99, 100, 105

danta-yuga, 104

dante-ime, 104

Dantin, 66

Dow, 35

Dasarilpaka, 187

Z>af/, 78

</a//i, 78

dauvarika, 147, 148

Deb, H.K., 137

d?toi//, 67

Delhi, 155

Deopara Inscription, 3fn

i/«/, 7, 8, 11, 66, 75, 76, 78, 80-85

Desinama-mala, 7, 81, 81fn, 208

Devalakshmigrama, 18

deviilaya, 49

Deval praiasti, 117

Devapala, 14, 83

deva prasadakas, 115

deva-vdrika, 209

Devimahatmya, 118

Devnimori relic casket inscription,

74
Pewal prasasti, 5§

Index

dhammadhara, 53

Dhananjaya, 187

dhara, 53

Dharavarsha Dhruvaraja, 44

dharma, 60

Dharmameru, 87fn

dharmanurclga, 132

Dharmapaladeva, 11

dharmasanika, 113

Dharma-sastras , 198

Dhatupatha, 107, 181

Dhauli Cave Inscription, 48

Dheiiku Kaddhaka, 14

dhenkuli, 14

dhrita-kdrunya, 132

Dhritarashtra, 71

Dhruva, 44

Dhruvascna I, 85

dhumasa, 78, 79

Dhuma vela, 35

Dhvaja-kirikini, 35
dhvaja-vdhaka, 177
dhvamsa, 79

DIgha-majjhima-nikayadhara, 53
Dikshita, Bhanuji, 124, 204
Dikshita, Bhattoji, 42fn
Dikshit, M.G., 20
Dikshit, S.K., 20
dina, 43

dipappasadaks thero, 52
dtfa, 36
Disapatta, 36
Divekar, H.R., 162, 163
Divyavadana, 15
Doddapadu plates, 87
Draupadi, 180
Dravidian, 81 fn

origin, 81

Dravida-pranayfima, 26
Duhitanam, 36
Dnhitri, 36
duhitfinam, 36
dumphaka, 14
dur-damya, 113
durbhaga, 37
Duryodhana, 180, 18 J

233

duramasa, 79
Durga Prasad, 51, 180fn
durllabha, 68
dvadwi, 43
dvara-koshthaka, 15
dvara-prakoshtha, 15
</w7r/, 160
Dvaroshtha, 14, 16
Dva-saptaty-adhikcim, 37
Dvflj'a, 38

Dvldh-fipy-ayddhyasyati, 39
Dvi-nama, 16
dvirada-dtmava, 117, 118
Dyutivarman, 112, 148

Earth, 191

Eastern Chalukya grants, 41
-— ruler, 44
Eggling, 120, 164, 185
Ehavala, 31

Ehavala Charhtamula, 47
Ekokshara, 40
Ekapatra, 39
Ekayanas, 100
Epigraphia Indica, 8, 14, 28, 40, 75

Farasanama, 29

Fergusson, James, 177fn

Fleet, J.F., 4, 36, 43, 70, 76, 174, 176,

178

Fly-bitten (grey), 29
Forbes, Duncan, 151, 151fn
Fortune, 206
Foucher, A., 103, 105fn
Francis, H.T, 105
French, 186

Gadag Inscription, 6$
gaddika, 79
gatfduga, 79

234

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

gaddugeya, 79

gadJuka, 41

gadigra, 79

gadika, 79

gadiuka dvya, 79

Gai, G.S., 51, 61, 85,87

Gajasura, 119

gaja-taluka, 153, 154

gaja-yuthapa, 102

gaindusha, 41

Ganaighar grant, 169

ganaka, 173

ganana, 170,1 72

gandha, 94

gandhakuti, 209
gandharva, 132

Ganesgad plates, 85

Ganga, 48

Ganga, Indravarman, 50 «

Gangoly, O.C.,, 92fn

garbhadhana, 125

Garuda, 180, 181

gati, 176, 177

Gautami plates, 50

Gautamiputra Satakarni, 31fn

geduva, 79

geriduva, 79

German, 121, 185

ghana, 79

Ghanaka, 79

Gharighala, 16, 17

£tof, 79

Ghantapatha, 180fn

G//Wa, 17

Ghatage, A.M., 6

Ghataka, 136, 140

Ghataka-kupaka, 17

Ghosh, M.M., 109, 109fn, 163, J63fn

Ghotika, 41

Ghranaka, 79

Ghumli plates, 41

Godtika, 40

goduka-dvaya-danena, 4Q

gomutraka, 164

Goshal, R.K., 39

goshfhis, 44

Goswami, K G , 50

Govinda Chandra, 89

Govinda III, 54

£Tfl//, 190, 197, 198

grahana, 186

Grahavarman, 197

grama, 41

grama-grama, 41

gfima-kakshana, 42

gramyatva, 37

Grantha, 42

grant hi, 42

Greek. 2

, month, 137

, script, 92

Grierson, F.G., 84fn

*rM/~ta, 186, 191

gfihita-nama, 193

^/•//r / f fl namanah, 191

grihya-sutras, 130

^rwA/i, 42, 43

guduka, 79

Guha (scribe), 174

Gujarat, 116

Gujarati, 80

^w/ja, 94

Gupta Inscriptions, 174

Period, 15, 113

Gupta, P.L., 54
Gnpyadguru, 43
Gurjara-Pratiharas, 54
Gurpriye, 137
guru(s), 43, 123, 127, 131

bhakti, 124

gurubhir abhyasta-naman, 120

Gurvayatana, 43

^w//A:a, 79

Gwalior Inscription. 80, 81, 83, 84

• prasasti, 54

Hala, 12

Halayudha, 55, 128fn, 151 182, 207
Malay udhakosha, 182fn
Hanuman, 132fn

Index

235

harem, 24, 25
Hari-dina, 43
harita-kalcipaka, 136, 137
Harivarmma king, 96
Marsha, 30, 171, 190, 196, 199
Harshacharita, 39, 39fn, 44, 59fn, 73,

93, 143, 145, 146, 148, 170, 177fn,

186, 189, 195, 197fn, 198
Harsha Stone Inscription, 16, 70, 71,

76, 89
harya, 55
hastigrahaka, 88
hasti-asvapati, 146
hat ha, 43

hatha-sangama, 43, 44, 68
hathaslesha, 44
hatta, 18

hatta-dana, 17, 18
haudd, 149, 155fn, 156fn
Hebrew, 2
Hemachandra, 7fn, 30, 45fn, 62, 81,

208, 210
Hemadri, 206
Hillebrandt, A., 195fn
Hindi, 16, 78, 80
Hindustani, 16
Hindustani Dictionary, 149
Hirahadagalli plates, 34
Hobson-Jobson, 147fn
hrasita, 66
Hultzsch, E., 41, 42,48,57,70,73,

80, 82, 84, 85, 149, 150
Hunas, 86
Huvishka, 92
Hyderabad Museum plates, 97

Ida, 166

idha, 166

Ikshavaku king, 90

Indian Antiquary, 20

Indian Epigraphical Glossary, 5, 32,

68, 100, 150, 204
Indra, 11,97, 177
Indra elephant, 97

Indraji, Pandit Bhagwanlal, 120, 157,

164, 185

Indragadh Inscription, 56
indradhanusha, 155
Indravarman II, 45
Inscriptions of Western Gangay 96
Isanavarman, 30, 76

jagan-mata, 2
jagat-pita, 2
Jaggayapeta, 90
Jayalladeva, 19
jalabhumbhuka, 167
jala-chadara, 52, 154
Jalor Inscription, 85
Jataka(s), 60, 106fn, 210
jdta karma, 127
Jayabhata, 69
Jayadaman, 130, 131
Jayadatta, 30
Jayanta, 179
Jayaswal, K.P., 137fn
Jayasi, 83
jetthaka, 60

Jlia,G.N., 108fn, 125, 192fn
jhallans, 152
Jharigu, 34

Jimanavaraparidhanavidhi, 1 53
jivaldka, 12, 18
jivaputa, 31
jiva-putran-pautra, 31
jivasuta, 31

Jnanasakti, Pan^itadeva, 40
Josham, 44
jugupsa, 191
juhaka, 12
Junagadb, 3

Inscription, 2, 63, 120, 164, 184

Jyotirlsvara Thakkura, 152

Kadambari, 93, 95, 140, 153, 189
Kadba plates, 35
kadachchhi, 34

236

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

kadali, 80

Kadamba Ravivarman, 127fn

kakkuka, 53

Kakusthavarman, 62

Kakutstha, 53

Kalachuri Chedi, 89

— Era, 10

Kalachuri Prithvideva, 42
Kalanjar Inscription, 178
kaldpaka, 140
kalasa, 43
kaldvd, 140, 141
Kali, 44

age, 44, 45

Kalidasa, 2, 27,47, 126, 128, 130,

150, 163fn, 181fn, 205, 206
Kali Vallabha, 44, 45
kalld, 81

Kalpadrumd vaddna, 1 04
kalyd, 81

Kaman Stone Inscription, 48
kambali, 80
kambali-vahyaka, 80
Kanarese, 77, 85
kdna-torand, 66
Kanauj, 54
kanchuka, 113
Kdndavika, 80
Kdndu, 80
Kanduka, 80
Kane, P.V., 39fn, 94fn, 135fn, 143,

144, 176, 191fn, 201, 202fn
Kangle, R.P., 102fn
Kanistil09\, 92
Kannada, 85

Inscription, 4

records, 79

Kannada English Dictionary, 36

Kannada Sahitya Parishad, 4

Kannukalu, 77

kdnsdra, 80

kdnsdraka, 80

Kdntdra, 12

Koni Inscription, 42

Kapata-sandihi, 45

kapdta-sandhi-krama, 45, 46

kapdt-odghdtana, 45
kapola-pdtala, 87, 87fn
kapola-prachchha(a]na, 86, 87
Karchhana Tehsil, 33
Kardamakas, 132
Karkkaraja, 23
Kaitta, 46
KdrttCikrhika, 46
Karttavlrya, 46
karuka, 69
Karttika, 43
Karur Inscription, 149
Karnn- trot ana, 66
kasar, 81
kasdra, 80
kdsdra, 80
/cajera, 80
kashas, 17
/fa.s/A:a, 15

Kasyapa Image Inscription, 55, 57
kata, 81
kataka, 145

kataka-kadambaka, 145
kataka-vdrika, 209
Katare, S.L., 40
Kathdsaritsdgara, 98, 100, 102
katuka(s)t 142-145, 148
kauptika, 18
/, 80
/, 80
/, 3

Kavi, M.R., 109fn
Kdvyamdld, 19
kaydha, 30
Kayasthas, 68
Kedaresvara, 62
A:^-/«, 8C
Keldydh, 80
Kendupatna plates, 51
Kessanpalli Inscription, 49
kevala, 61
A:/z«/a, 81
khalabaku, 89
Khalimpur plates, 1 1
khalla, 22, 80, 81
khalyd, 22

index

237

khamdha, 47

kliainduvula, 31

khanda-niryyuha, 163fn

khandhikatasa, 47

Khan, Jabardasta, 29

Kharepetan Inscription, 33

plates, 12

Kharoshthi, 34
— records, 52

Khaser, 81

Khataka, 18

tf/tf/J, 80

Khottiga, 35

Khovd, 19

foVo, 81

kidi, 81

Kielhorn, F., 3,4, 11,22, 33, 35,
39, 42-44, 57, 63, 69, 71, 72, 75-85,
89, 92, 96fn, 97, 121-123, 127, 128,
133, 164-167, 179, 180, 184, 186,
197, 199

Ki-kia-ye, 104

kila, 80

kink in i, 35

Kiratkryunlya, 103fn, 179, 180fn,
183fn

Kirttipala's Inscription, 69

Kitikd, 81

Kittel, 4, 4fn, 36, 77

Kodaraka, 47

Koduvidu Inscription, 37

Kolagallu Inscription, 35

Kolhapur Inscription, 22

kdlhu, 81

Kolhuka, 81

Kondane, 162fn

Konnur Inscription, 21

kosa, 81

Kosavdhe, 81

kdshas, 188, 204, 208

koshadhyaksha, 173

Kotaraka, 47

krdma, 46

krama, 170, 172

krTda, 80

kntfanaka, 80

Krishna, 20, 123
Krishnadeva, 56
Krishnadcvaraya, 37
Krishna-Lildmrita, 22
Krishna Rao, B.V., 77
Krishna Sastri, H., 92
Krishnavarman II, 3
Krita age, 45
Kfitopasanna, 19
kritrima, 176
kfittika-pinjara, 30
Kfittivdsa, 119
kriyasuddha, 33
kshard, 69
Kshatrapas, 186, 187, 194, 202

Inscription, 134

Rudradaman, 123

Kshiraswamy, 124, 127
ku-hathi, 88
kuklla, 82
Kula-putray 177
Kuta-putrakas, 171
Kulluka, 127fn
Kumarajiva, 104
kumbha, 43
kummaita, 29
Kundala, 183fn
kundika, 112
kupaka, 17
Kurangika, 196
kurttaka, 81, 82
Kushanas, 92
Kusumalata, 24
kutha, 156fn
Kutkila, 82
Kuttaka, 82
Kuttanimata, 162
, 160

laghu, 132
laghu-pahdtikd, 83
laguda, 28
Lahari, A.M., 52, 53
Lahiri, S.P., 28

238

Contributions of Sanskrit inscriptions to Lexicography

Lahore, 155

lakata, 28

Lakhamandal, 16

Lakshmana, 55

Lakshmanachandra, 62

Lakshmanasena, 119

Lakshmesvara, 56, 79

Lakshmi, 206

lakshyartha, 120

Lakula, 89

Lalitaditya (king), 190

Lalla, 58

Lanepoole, 149, 152

Lanka, 153, 158

Lankarayam, 87

laya, 177

Legal Remembrancer, 46

Levi, S, 121-123, 127fn, 134, 137,

184-186, 188-199, 201
lexicography, 1-3, 5, 14, 20
Lieu tu tsi king, 103
Lllasuka, 22
Lilavati, 170
lingam, 40

Lingayasurin, 65, 124, 205
lohasani, 35
Lokanatha, 21, 93
Liiders, H., 35, 37, 65, 91

macadimizing, 79
Madanika, 193
Madara, 87

madara-manavarttika, 87
madhura, 132
Madhya Pradesh, 115
Madommanapala, 40
Madras, 16fn

Museum, 9

Magha, 1, 38, 42, 97, 159, 161, 175
Mahabharata, 10, 108
mahddanta, 102
Mahadevi, 31
mahakapata, 15
Mahakartta Kritika, 46

Mahakatuka, 143

Mahakshtrapa Rudradaman, 129

Mahakuta pillar inscription, 190

mahapatra, 40

mahapilupati, 173

mahaprana, 166

mahapratihara, 147, 173, 174, 177

maharaja, 172

maharajadhiraja, 173

Mahasamanta, 169, 172

Mahasiva Tivara, 27

Mahasveta, 189

Mahavamsa, 52

Mahendrapala, 54, 57, 75, 76, 81

Mahesvara, 124

mahi-ghanghala, 17

Mahishasura, 117-119

Majumdar, R.C., 67

Maitraka Dhruvasena, 46

Majjhima-nikaya, 158, 160

mal/an, 48

Malavikagnimitram, 27

Male, 47

mallaka, 137

Mallinatha, 11, 16fn, 38, 42, 42fn,
47, 49, 87fn, 99fn, 121fn, 160fn,
162, 163, 167, 176, 180fn, 181fn,
206, 206fn

Mallishena, 67

mamata, 89

Manasa-pushpa, 94

Manasara, 32

Manasollasa, 30, 30fn, 151

manavarttika, 88

Manchikallu Inscription, 81

Mandhata plates, 83

Mangalesa, 190

maniy 91

Manne grant, 45

mano vartti, 87

Manthani, 22

mantra, 180

Manu, 50fn, 125, 126, 191,192
Manusmriti, 108, 134

manu vartti, 87

manu vritti, 87

Index

Marathi, 11, 76, 79, 80, 84

Marshall, John, 105fn

Masulipatnam plates, 44

Matha, 48

Mathandeva, 13, 17, 19, 20, 22

Mathura, 136

matikadhara, 53

matta-v arana, 162, 163

matta-varanl, 162, 163

mayamegha-mala, 153

Mayidavolu plates, 34

mayuta, 19

Medhdtithi, 108fn, 125, 127fn,

192

Megha, 27

megha-dambara, 149-151,153-155
Meghadutta, 47, 48fn, 67fn
megha-mala, 154
megha udumbara, 1 52
meghavali, 152
megha-varna, 152
meghodara, 153, 154
Mehta, R.N., 74
m/</Ao, 165, 166
mijha, 165, 166
Mirashi, V.V., 12, 34, 42, 43, 60, 89,

157, 158

Misra, Visvanatha, 153fn
Moghul, Courts, 147
Monier-Williams, 5, 9, 9fn, 10-14,

20, 33, 53, 56, 70fn,93.97, 100,

129fn, 139, 151, 163,175, 181,188,

189fn

Motichandra, lllfn, 152, 153, 159
Mrichchhakatika, 59, 59fn, 67fn, 77,

193, 195

Mudriirakshasa, 194
Mughals, 150

, architecture, 52

mnkha, 35

Mukherjee, B.N., 92fn
mitla, 49
mitlaphitti, 57
Mulabhuta, 90
mula-patha, 50
Millavasi, 49

239

Mura, 183fn
muraja, 50, 51
muraja-bandha, 51
Murari, 183
mutra-rekha, 164

nagadantaka, 160, 161, 163
Nagar, M.M., 32
Nagardhana plates, 12, 60
Nagarjunakonda, J3, 24, 25, 31, 47,

52, 88, 90

— Inscription, 53, 58
Nagpur Stone Inscription, 39
Nahapana, 131
Naishadhlyacharita, 73
Nalanda Stone Inscription, 84
nama-graha, 193
ncima-grahana, 191
nama-karpa, 127, 132
nama-karna samskara, 1 30
naman, 124, 129, 131, 190, 197, 198
namanah, 191
namgira, 156
Nana, 92
Nanambika, 92
nanatnbikayai, 92
nanamika, 91
nanamikaye, 92
Nona on Lion, 92fn
nandana, 182, 183
Nandargikar, R.G., 87fn
Nannappa, 56
napitay 208
Narasimha-Svami, 31
Naravarman, 61
Narayana (Lord), 95
Narmada, 115
natu, 83
Niitya&astra, 25, 25fn, 108, 110, 134,

135, 162, 187, 201
nan-ban, 208, 210
nauta, 151
navamikayam, 91
navamikaye, 91

240

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Nemaka, 82

Nesarika grant, 54

nigaja, 50

nigrihlta, 198

nilambari, 153

Nilgund Inscription, 76, 178

Nilakantha's temple, 179fn

Nirdvidha, 19

niryyUha(s\ 157, 158, 160-162

niryyuha(ka\ 159

niryyuha-panjara, 163fn

nischaya, 94

nfcAZArfl, 127

nishekadi, 125, 126

nishekadikrid, 127

w/7/, 82, 83

/ro/iAtf jfl/iH, 82

Nripatungavarman, 41

nyclya, 3, 132

Ojha, G.S.H., 57, 76

Olabaku, 88

0V/, 83

olipafa, 83

5roja, 29

osara, 76

orar/, 76

o/o, 84

ota, 84

«f, 84

pada, 22

padakas, 22

padanuddhyata, 107

Pada-taditaka, 111, 159, 161

Padma-prabhritaka, 1 1 1

pahara, 83

paharedar, 209

pahata, 83

pakshapata, 51

Palaeography, 1

Pali English Dictionary, 26

palikas, 17

Pallava, 81

Panati, 82, 83

panatu, 83

panchadhikaranoparika, 173

Panchamahcisabda, 46

Panchanana, 119

panchartha, 89

pancharthala, 89

Panchatantra, Ifn, 98, 98fn, 100, 102,

206

Panda vas, 71
Pandey, R.B., 70
Pandit Kamalakant, 164
Pamto, 71, 72
Pandu-putra, 89
Pandya Sundara, 84
Panini, 100

Panini's grammar, 36, 57
Panini's ^rra, 98, 99, 128
Pani-pdtrika, 51

Paniya-Chchhaya-Mandapa, 51, 52
panka-vanik, 69
Pansikar, W.L.W., 141 fn
pora, 65

Parab, K.P., 141fn, 189fn
par ama-bhaitar okas % 107
Pargiter, F.E., 34, 79
parihara, 165
parlvoha, 164
Parivara, 52
parTvasa, 49
Parthiva-pushpa, 94
parvata, 12
pasadaka, 52
pasada-nlryyuha, 158
Paschimabhag plates, 86
Pasupatas, 115
pa/a, 36
Patanjali, 175fn
Pathak, K.B., 44
pathatika, 83
/w/f, i 69-1 71
patlpati, 170-172
pativatni, 31
4Q

Index

241

pdtyuparika, 169, 172, 173

paura, 15

paveni dhara, 52

Pavitraka, 111, 112

Persian, 76, 144

Persian English Dictionary, 30

Persian Wheel, 76

petavika-varikena, 209

Petersburg Dictionary, 188

Peterson, 95fn

phalaka, 54

physician, 12

Pichchhachala, 20

Pimpri plates, 44

pi na chalito, 58

pipasita, 138

Pipplojjhara (village), 115

pisata, 89

Pischel, R., 7fn, 70, 81fn, 208fn

pita, 125

Platt, 149

Poona, 6

Porumamilla, 64

Tank Inscription, 63

polat 15

Prabhavatigupta, 31fn

Prabhutavarsha, 35

Prabodhasiva, 78

prachdra, 113

pradvivdka, 113

praghana, 15

Prakrit Inscriptions, 5

prdngana, 76

prasannd, 78

Prasanna-deviyaraka, 20

prasanna-hatta, 78

prasastir-vikatdkshard, 70

prastava, 42

Pratabgadh Inscription, 57, 76, 81

prdtah-smarana, 189

pratah-smaryate, 188, 198

pratihara (door keeper), 54, 55, 147

Pratihara king, 14, 53, 54, 75

pratika, 54

Pratlka-Priya-Vachana, 53

pratikriyd, 165

pratima, 59

prati-nartaka, 174, 175, 177

prati-nrit, 175

prat f pad, 55

Pratipadharyam^ 54

pratiyataml, 54

pratoli, 15

pravana, 20

pravani, 20

pravanikara, 20

pravani krita, 21

/Vaj'fl, 21

Prayag, 12

PrCiyasaka, 21

pretah-smaryate, 188, 198

pr^raj, 198

principal horses, 28

Prinsep, 63, 120, 121, 164

prithvi, 20

Prithvidhara, 67fn

Prthvlsri Mularaja, 97

^r/^fl, 54

priya-ndma, 16

pujana, 56

puinsavana, 111

punyasdld, 136

puramdara-nandana, 178, ^179, 181

183

Purusa, 55, 56

Purushottamadeva, 98fn, 188fn
piirva, 65

PHrva-prdchiyam, 56
Purva-Piirvaja-Pujand, 56
/wfra, 181
putri, 72
puvaja, 56

, 144, 147

, 32, 34
Raghuvamsa, 2fn, 10, 86, 126, 129,

150, 181fn, 182fn, 205,206
Rai Bahadur Hiralal, 68
RAjatarangini, 19, 62, J90, 209, 210

242

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

raja-griha, 205

Rajor Inscription, 13, 17, 19, 20, 22

Raja Sahib Aundh, 154fn

Rajyapala, 28

Rajyasri 196

Rakshaskhali Island plate, 40

Rama, 55, 123, 191, 192

Rama (poet), 43, 101

Ramayana, 101, 160, 161

Ramacharitam, 10

Ramacharitamfinasa, 39fn , 84

Ramachandramurthy, S.S., 97fn

Ramanathan, A.A., 16fn, 65

Ramesh, K.V., 6, 96fn, 107fn

Ranaka, 40

randhra, 74

Ranganatha Inscription, 84

Rao, Subba, 163

Rashtrakuta, 20

rashtriya, 193

Ratanpur Inscription, 19

Rattaraja, 12, 33

Ravana, 39, 153

Resha, 57

ripu-ghanghala, 17

Rudradaman, 2, 63, 120, 130, 131,
133,164, 184,185, 187, 190, 193,
200

Rudrasena, 74

rumbara-bhava, 58, 60

Rummindei pillar inscription, 69

rustic, 6, 7

sabda, 94

sabdartha,3,6,132

Sabda kalpadruma, 35

Sabda-mani-darpana, 77

&abda-vidya> 3

sabhartfika, 31

sabhavan, 57

sadara, 87

Sadhara, 57

Sadharana, 57

sa-c-ban, 151, 156fn

SagartaJ (Gwajior) Inscription, 55

Sahasrabahu Arjuna, 46

sahita, 76

Sahitya-darpana, 135fn, 187, 201

Sahni, D.R , 69

Saivacharya, 16

sakala-bhdga mayuta, 19

sakala bhsga safnyuta, 19

Saktu-sankranti, 141

sakunas, 110

Salankayane, 77

Stli, 22

£alihotra, 30

Salikhalla, 22

Salikhalya, 22

Salotgi pillar inscription, 92

samauya, 68

samanya, 204

samara-ghanghala, 17

samara-sarighatta, 102

samasa-vichchhfda, 166

safnghati, 57

samhatika, 57

samskfras, 125, 127, 131, 132

safnstarana, 156fn

samiihapetaka, 172

Samvahaka, 194

Sanchi, 105

Inscription, 90

Sanderson, 82
Sandersara, B.J., 153fn
sangama, 44
Sanjan plates, 21, 87
sarijavana, 161
Sankara, 30, 144, 171, 172
Sankaranarayan, S., 49, 74
sankranti, 141
Sanskrit, 85

commentator, 144

Santikara, 48
sanyasa, 127fn
saptSmatya, 40
saptdriga-rajya, 22
Sapta-padaka, 21
saptaprakritis, 22
Saraka, 89
Sarasika, 24, 25
&aravast 141

Index

243

sari. 153

Sarthavaha Vinayadatta, 194

Sanangadeva, 80

Sarngarava, 195

sarvabhaumanagara, 159

sarvadaya sametah, 83

Sarvananda, 159, 167

Sarvankasha, 176

sarvatobhadra, 33

Sarvavarman, 61

Saryota, 195

S as an a, 58

Sasankaraja, 73

Sastri, Hirananda, 22, 30, 84

Sastri, Subrahmanya, 110

Satabda Kaumudi, 87fn

Sataka, 51

Satakarni, 90, 132

satamaniyakara, 91

Satavahanas, 90, 132

satra, 95

Satragupta, 206

satya-pratijna, 132

sdvana-bhddon, 52, 155

sa-vriksha-mdlakulaht 83

Sayyapalli, 18

Scythian period, 89

Seelaskandha, 68

seia, 11

seiga, 11

tfrffai, 11

Select Inscription, 31fn, 70

Shaddanta Jataka, 103

shamlyana, 151, 155, 156

Shastri, A.M., lllfn, 112fn, 162,

210

Shastri, P.S., 163
Shewing, M.A., 208fn
Shrigondekar, O.K., 151fn
Shyamilaka, 111, 159, 161
Siladitya VII, 174
Silahara, 47
Silao, 55

Silimpur stone inscription, 34
silotara, 11
silotarl, 11

silotri, 11

Silpa-ratna, 25

simantonnayana, 127

Simhavarman, 81

Sircar, D.C., 5, 7,8, 11, 14, 19,22,
24, 25, 28, 32, 36, 37, 40, 41, 46,47,
52-54, 58, 64, 66, 68, 70, 74, 78, 80-
82, 86-88, 90, 97, 100, 130fn, 131fn,
138, 143, 149, 172, 176, 204, 208fn

Siroli Inscription, 61

Sisupalavadha, Ifn, 27, 38, 42fn, 51,
73,99, 103fn, 161, 162

Sita, 191

Sitabaldi Inscription, 77, 82

Siva, 95

Siva's Bull, 43

Siva-Pur ana 118

Siyadoni stone inscription, 14, 18-20,
75, 76, 78-84

Skandhikrita, 47

Sogal, 79

sdlika, 95fn

Somadeva, 17, 17fn

Somesvara, 30, 151, 152

Sondhia, 33

soparikarahy 83

Sovani, Prof., 14

sphuta, 132

srdddha, 198fn

Sramanas, 47

Sravanabelgola epitaph of Malli-
shena, 57, 82

Sri, 24

Sri Chandra, 86

frikanthika ]27fn

Srikumara, 22

Srimurti, 40

sfinga, 99

Srinivasan, P.R., 45, 74

Sri Virupaksha, 9

Srungavarpukota, 67

srotaka, 11

srotika, 11

srotriya(s), 109,110

Steingas, 30, 147fn

StenKonow, 52, 84,136, 137

144

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Slhanato, 58

Sthavira, 60

Strotra-ralndkara, 26

subhaga, 37

suddha, 61

Suddham, 60

Sudraka, 59, 117, 193, 197

sugrahana, 186, 191, 193, 197-199

sugfihlta, 186, 198

sugrihitabhidha, 1 87fn

Sugrihita-naman, 123, 184-189, 191

194, 197, 199, 201
sugrihlta-nwmadheya, 1 93
Sugrlva, 181
Suhoti, 89
sukta prastha, 139
Suka, 189
sukha, 44

Sukthankar, V.S., 63
Sumativijaya, 87fn
Sundha hill, 43
siinu, 181
suprativihiia, 1 65
Surat, 23
suta, 181
sutikd-griha, 140
Suvarnavarsha, 33
suvithi, 161
suvilhi-\edika, 161
svdmin, 187
Svamiraja, 12, 60
Svapnavasavadatta, 35fn
svayambhu, 183,
Svita, 61, 62
svolikapata, 83
svolipata, 83
Swami Narayana, 114
Syriac, 2

Talgunda Inscription, 62
fata, 64, t5, 111
tatakam, 63
Tataka-matrika, 63
Tatamba, 64

tatra-bhavdn, 57
tatsama, 7,15
'/, 22

sdndthya, 22
Tawney, C.H., 98fn

tadbhava, 11

Taijasa-pushpa, 94

Taita-yantra, 19

takma, 90

takman, 90

takmi, 89

Taksit-i-Bahi-Inscription, 52

Talesvara grant, 142, 143, 148

Tfl/r, 83

Tamaniyakara, 90

Tamil', 85

tanaya, 181

T'an yao, 104

Tarkuka, 62

tarpana, 198

Tasai Inscription, 70, 73

Telugu, 85, 167

Telugu- English Dictionary, 87

Tewari, S.P., 34fn, 53fn, 55fn, 59fn,

108fn, HOfn, 111, 113, 119fn, 130fn
Theras, 53

Thomas, E., 120fn, 185fn
Thomas, F.W., 39fn, 59fn 69,93,

103fn, 144fn, 146, 177fn, 196fn
Thomas, L.A., 103fn
Tikhara, 83
Tikina, 84

Tipperah grant, 21, 93
Tirhut, 152
tishard, 84
Toramana, 36
torana, 158, 160, 161
tribharigi, 22, 23
tri-chivara, 58
Trikandaseshakosha, 68, 82, 98, H

102J151, 188
trisird-vithi. 84
trdtana, 66

Tsa pao tsang king, 140
Tubara, 65

index

245

Tulasidasa, 39, 153
Tundigrama grant, 97

Udalladevi, 32

udumbara, 67fn

udata-dantu, 102

uddttadantci, 101

Udayakaradeva Sarman, 203, 207

Udbhavaka, 66

udbhavana 66

udumbara tree, 58, 59

ulatana, 67

ulcita-dena, 67

Ujjayinl, 1 10

Ullambana, 66

umaratha, 67fn

Umapatidhara, 3fn

Unmara, 67

Unmara-bheda, 67

upddhydya, 125

upakarya, 204-206

upakarika, 203-205, 207

«/>ar/A:tf, 169, 170, 172

upasanna, 19

upeksha-viharina, 113

Upendravajra metre, 69

urban, 6

urbane, 7

«r/. 16

Usmdna, 154

Uttara-Ramacharita, 191

utarayaka, 32
Utardyam-navamikdyam, 91

Utkrishti, 23
utkrosha, 23
utkfushti, 23
utkufthi, 23
Utpala, 110, 111
uvuta, 84
Uvataka, 84
uvafaka-sahitd, 19, 84

vachand, 54

vachchhiutta, 208

vachydrtha, 120

vadigharatta, 36

Vdhaka, 84

vahitd, 84

vahredar, 209

Vaidumba king, plates of, 9

Vaijayantikosha, 20, 98, 151, 160,

164fn

Vaikatikas, 73
Vainyagupta, 169
Vaishnava ascetics, 111

—faith, 60
Vaishnavism, 113
Vajrahasta (111), 87
va/cra, 88
Valin, 179
Valkha, 107, 115

Vallabha, 45, 48, 48fn, 87fn, 206fn
Vellala II, 65
Valmiki, 158, 161
vainsanurakkhaka, 53
vdnaprastha, 127fn
Vandyaghatlya, 124
vara, 85
Varahadeva, 157

Varahamihira, 110

Vdrdnasi, 162

varautha, 15, 16

varahamdna, 140

var^flr, 209

vdr/Ar.208,210

v5r/fca, 208-211

vari-vahaka, 210

yarnakas, 152

Varnakasamuchchaya, 153

Varnaratnakara, 152

Vasantasena, 59,193, 194, 199

vdsara, 43

Vasavadatta, 35

Vdsdvaka, 23

visha-vaidya, 181

vasinab, 50
I'astavya, 68, 69

vdstavya-ndri, 68
Vdstu-sdstras, 163

146

Contributions of Sanskrit Inscriptions to Lexicography

Vasudeva (doner), 40

Vasu, S.C., 98fn
Vattivadu, 85
Vayavlya-pushpa, 93

vayu, 94

Veda-bhayasa, 127fn, 128

Vedanta kalpataru, 50

Vidika, 159, 161

veniy 27

vernacular, 15

vetra-danda, 112

vetti, 85

vettiyan, 85

vibhatsa, 72

vldhana, 165

vidhanam, 166

Vidushaka, 59

v/£tf<fo, 69, 70, 72, 73

vigada bhicha, 69, 70

Vigiyate, 69

Vijayaditya III, 44

Vijayanagara, 38

kings, 9

Vijaysena, 3fn, 169, 172, 203, 207

Vikara, 69

Vikafa, 69, 89
vikatdpandu-putra, 71
v/te'a, 73

Vikosa-ni/otpala, 73

Vikrama, 180
Vikramaditya VI, 77, 82
Vikramandravarman II, 96
Vikramapura, 203, 204, 207
Vikramendra III, 97
vikrita, 70, 72
Vikukshi, 195
Vilasavati (queen), 140
Vilva-mangala, 22
Vimukta-randhra, 74
vinayadhara, 53
Vinayaka, 99
Vinaya-pitaka, 15
Vindhyasakti II, 34
Vindhyesvara, 32
Vira, 65

Virapurisadatta, 13, 90

Virarajendra, 151

Virarajendra-I, 149

Virasena Shaba, 3

vari-varga, 167

Virodhabhasa, 45

viruddha-samasa, 77

vast, 77

Visakhadatta, 194, 195fn

Vishana, 99, 105

vishaya, 94

Vishnu, 95, 123, 179

Vishnudasa, 113

Vishnu-krishna, 23

Vishnusahasranama, 60

Vishnusena, 7, 14, 19, 23 28, 46, 66,

80, 81

-- . Charter of, 57
Vishnuvarman, 3
vishfi, 85

Visvakosha, 73, 99, 181
Visvanatha, 187, 201
Visvarupa, 16
vitanachchhada, 154
vitardi, 161
vithi, 19, 161
Vittdlaka, 85
Vogel, J. Ph., 25, 31
Vyadgarula, 18

vyaja, 85
vyala , 103
Vyasa, 126
vyavahara , 66
vyavaharapala, 173

Western Ganga king, 96
Western Kshtrapas, 131
Wilson, H.H., 120, 164, 185, 185fn

Yadavacharya, 98fn, 162, 163, 207

Index

247

yamaka-dante, 104
ydnaka, 18
yanika, 18
yasaka, 21

Yasastilaka- Champ ii, 1 7
Yasovarmadeva, 84
yathtisankhya, 17

w, 47
Yazdani, 150fn
>-o//oA:o, 34
Yule, 147fn
yuvaraja, 173
Yuvaraja Kavi, 10, lOfn
yuvati male, 47

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