Prakrit inscription from Dhār recording the defeat of Karnāṭaka

Although the inscription is a just fragment of the original, it is a thematically coherent story of conquest: 1) the event): You (the king, perhaps Arjunavarman or in Arjunavarman’s retelling, Bhoja) attacked the Karnāṭa country; 2) the consequence (for the women): You turned their queens into wretched wanderers; one walks barefoot (paya... jāi), another sobs (ru°antīō), and cries echo everywhere (ruïāiṁ); 3) further consequence (for men): You turned the battle into a sport, using their severed heads as balls (sira kaṁdua-viṇōō), and 4). the pride of Karnāṭa is reduced to rubble (sēlā).

In terms of verse by verse organisation the themes, the following is tentatively proposed. Given the poem starts with an account of an attack on the Karnāṭa country, it seems likely that the earlier portions recounted victories in other directions, the wider thematic framework being a digvijaya.

Verse 41 kannaḍa ü i ha [*ta?] The Karnāṭa … here … [struck/destroyed?]

Verse 43 ... vaüttā taē ēsā

[Sanskrit Gloss: …vṛttā tvayā eṣā]  …this [situation/woman] has been rendered thus by You. (An address to the king,  ‘this’ (eṣā) likely refers to the wretched state of the enemy kingdom or a specific queen.)

Verse 44 annā paya tiiaṁ jāi ha

[Sanskrit Gloss: anyā padāti… yāti ha]  Another [woman], indeed, goes on foot…” (The start of the catalogue of misery. Enemy queens, formerly carried in palanquins, are forced to walk barefoot—a standard image of defeat.)

Verse 46 ... sāṇa kiṁ bhaṇimō

[Sanskrit Gloss: …eṣāṃ/tāsāṁ kiṃ bhaṇāmaḥ]  …of [them], what can we say?” (A rhetorical question expressing that the extent of their misery is beyond words.)

Verse 47 annō ccia ïha tihichā

[Sanskrit Gloss: anyaḥ ca eva iha…]  And yet another one here…” (Continuing the list of individual tragedies observed on the battlefield or in the captured city.)

Verse 49 kkaṁṭhaṁ ru°antīō

[Sanskrit Gloss: kaṇṭhaṁ rudantyaḥ] “…crying with [choked] throats / sobbing aloud.” (The women are described in a state of deep grief, their voices stuck in their throats.)

Verse 50 annāiṁ ruïāiṁ jāi

[Sanskrit Gloss: anyāni ruditāni jāyante]  Other weepings / cries arise…” (The sound of grief pervades the scene.)

Verse 52 sira kaṁdua-viṇōō

[Sanskrit Gloss: śiraḥ kanduka-vinodaḥ]  …[their] heads [became] a ball-game sport. (A violent shift in imagery; the king decapitated the Karnāṭa warriors and their rolling heads are compared to balls used in a game.)

Verse 53 kannāḍaō havē sā

[Sanskrit Gloss: karnāṭa… veṣā]  …[wearing] the dress/guise of the Karnāṭa [people]… (Gist uncertain, but perhaps  describing the disheveled appearance of the defeated populace.) 

Verse 55 (approx) kannaḍa ō ili sēlā

Karnāṭa … the rocks / stones … (Gist again uncertain, perhaps referring to the reduction of Karnāṭa to rubble.)