Bhitari Pillar Inscription of Skandagupta

Author of digital edition: Dániel Balogh (daba).

Language: Sanskrit (san) [Southern Brāhmī (unspecified) (brāhmī_southern_unspecified)].

Repository: SIDDHAM (siddham).

Identifier: DHARMA_INSSiddham00036.

File path: XML-Provisional/DHARMA_INSSiddham00036.xml.

Version: (3083d2d), last modified (c200993).

Edition

⟨01⟩ (siddham?)

⟨1⟩ (sar)vva-rāj(o)cch(e)ttuḥ pr̥thivyām apratirathasya catur-udadhi-sa(l)i(lās)vādita-yaśaso (dha)nada-varuṇ-endr-(ā)ntaka-sa(masya)

⟨2⟩ kr̥tānta-paraśoḥ nyāyāgat(ā)neka-go-hiraṇya-k(o)ṭi-pradasya ciro(t)sannāśvamedhāharttur mahārāja-śrī-gu(p)ta-prapautra(sya)

⟨3⟩ mahārāja-śrī-ghaṭotkaca-pauttrasya mahārājādhirāja-śrī-candragupta-putrasya licchivi-dauhitrasya mahā(de)vyāṁ kum(ā)radevy(ā)-

⟨4⟩ m utpannasya mahārājādhirāja-śrī-samudraguptasya putras tat-parigr̥hīto mahādevyā¿n? dattadevyām utpanna(ḥ) svayam apratirathaḥ

⟨5⟩ parama-bhāgavato mahārājādhirāja-śrī-candraguptas (ta)sya putra(s) ta(t-p)ādānuddhyāto mahādevyāṁ dhruva(de)vyām ut(pa)nnaḥ parama-

⟨6⟩ -(bhā)gavato mahārājādhir(āja)-śrī-kumāraguptas tasya prathita-pr̥thu-mati-(sva)bhāva-śakteḥ pr̥thu-yaśasaḥ pr̥thivīpateḥ pr̥thu-śrīḥ⟨⟩

⟨7⟩ pi(tr̥)-pa(r)igata-pāda-padma-varttī prathita-yaśāḥ (pr̥)thivīpatiḥ suto ya[m] (ja)gati bhu(ja)-bal-ā¿ḍ?yo gupta-va¿ṅ?śai(ka)-vīraḥ prathita-vipula-

⟨8⟩ -dhāmā nāmataḥ skandaguptaḥ sucarita-caritānāṁ yena vr̥ttena vr̥ttaṁ na vihatam amalātmā tāna-(dhīdā?)-vinītaḥ vinaya-

⟨9⟩ -bala-sunītair vvikkrameṇa kkrameṇa pratidinam abhiyogād īpsitaṁ ye(na) la(bdh)vā svabhimata-vijigīṣā-prodyatānāṁ pareṣāṁ praṇi-

⟨10⟩ hita Iva le(bhe sa)ṁvidhān-opadeśaḥ vicalita-kula-lakṣmī-stambhanāyodyatena kṣititala-śayanīye yena nītā triyāmā samu-

⟨11⟩ dita-ba(la)-kośān yudhy amitrāṁś ca (j)itvā kṣitipa-caraṇa-pīṭhe sthāpito vāma-pādaḥ prasabham anupamarddhir dhvasta-śastra-pratāpai[r] vina[ya-na]ya-

⟨12⟩ -(supitra)-kṣānti-śauryai(r) nnirūḍhaM caritam amala-kīrtter ggīyate yasya śubhraṁ diśi diśi paritu(ṣṭ)air ā ku(mā)raṁ manuṣyaiḥ pitari divam upe(te)

⟨13⟩ viplutāṁ (va)¿ṅ?śa-lakṣmīṁ bhuja-bala-vijitārir yyaḥ pratiṣṭhāpya bhūyaḥ jitam iti paritoṣān (m)ātaraṁ sāsra-nettrāṁ hata-ripur iva (kr̥)ṣṇo devakīm abhyu(pe)-

⟨14⟩ (ta)ḥ sv(ai)r ddaṇḍ(aiḥ) [⏑⏑] (ra?)tyu[.][.]t-pracalitaṁ va¿ṅ?śaṁ pratiṣṭhāpya yo bāhubhyām avaniṁ vijitya hi jiteṣv ārtteṣu kr̥tvā dayāM notsi(kto) (na ca?) vismitaḥ pratidinaṁ

⟨15⟩ (saṁ)(varddha?)(māna)-dyutiḥ gītaiś ca stutibhiś ca vandaka-(jano?) yaṁ (prā)payaty āryyatāM hūṇair yyasya samāgatasya samare dorbhyāṁ dharā kaṁpitā bhīmāvartta-karasya

⟨16⟩ śatruṣu śarā [––⏑––⏑⏓] [–––⏑⏑–⏑–] vira(ci?)taṁ prakhyāpito (d)ī(pt)i(mān) (na)dyo(ri) [.][⏑] nabhī(ṣu?) lakṣyata Iva śrotreṣu śārṅga-dhvaniḥ

⟨17⟩ s(v)a-pituḥ kīrtti [––⏓] [⏓⏓⏓⏓⏑–⏑⏓] [⏓⏓⏓] (muktibhir yuktā?) [⏓⏓⏓⏓⏑–⏑⏓] [na yasya] pratimā kācit pratimāṁ tasya śārṅgiṇaḥ

⟨18⟩ s(u)pratītaś cakāremāṁ [⏓⏓⏓⏓⏑–⏑⏓] iha cainaṁ pratiṣṭhāpya supratiṣṭhita-śāsanaḥ grāmam enaṁ sa vidadh(e) pituḥ pu(ṇ)yābhivr̥ddhaye

⟨19⟩ Ato bhagavato mūrttir iyaṁ yaś cātra (saṁ)(śri?)(taḥ) ubhayaṁ nirddideśāsau pituḥ puṇyāya puṇya-dhīr iti

Bibliography

First noticed in Prinsep 1836, p. 661. Transliterated and translated in Mill 1837, partially reprinted and discussed in Prinsep & Thomas 1858, pp. 240–248. Discussed (with new transcript) in Cunningham 1871, pp. 97–99 and plate XXX. Revised reading and translation in Bhau Daji 1875. Revised and re-translated again in Indraji 1885, then re-edited in Fleet 1888. Further corrections in Agrawal 1941, p. 60, Chhabra 1963. Further discussion in Chhabra 1965, Mirashi 1980, Agrawal 1986, p. 63, Bakker 2005, Willis 2009, pp. 144–149.

Originally encoded for Siddham in the project Beyond Boundaries (Grant Agreement No. 609823) by Dániel Balogh (2019, № IN00036). Encoding updated to DHARMA conventions by Dániel Balogh.

Secondary

Fleet, John Faithfull. 1888. Inscriptions of the early Gupta kings and their successors. First edition. Vol. 3. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum. Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing. Item 13.

Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramakrishna, Bahadur Chand Chhabra & Govind Swamirao Gai. 1981. Inscriptions of the early Gupta kings. Corpus inscriptionum indicarum 3, revised edition. New Delhi: Archaeological survey of India. Item 31.

Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramakrishna. 1927–1936. A list of the inscriptions of northern India in Brahmi and its derivative scripts, from about 200 A. C.: Appendix to Epigraphia Indica and record of the Archaeological Survey of India, volumes XIX to XXIII. Calcutta: Archaeological Survey of India. [URL]. Item 1549.

Sircar, Dines Chandra. 1965. Select inscriptions bearing on Indian history and civilization. Volume I: from the sixth century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. 2nd edition revised and enlarged. Calcutta: University of Calcutta. Book III, item 28.

Agrawala, Prithvi Kumar. 1983. Imperial Gupta Epigraphs (गुप्ताधिराजलेखमण्डल). Ancient Indian Epigraphical Sources (प्रत्नाभिलेखसंहिता) 10, pt. 1 / 2. Varanasi: Books Asia, Distributed by Prithvi Prakashan. Item 36.

Goyal, Śrīrām. 1993. गुप्तकालीन अभिलेख/Guptakālīna Abhilekha (Inscriptions of the Gupta Age). Jodhpur: Kusumanjali Prakashan. Items 209-222.