Hero-stone of Goparāja, mentioning Bhānugupta and located near the hamlet of Pahlejpur.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Object ID | OB00045 |
| Title | Eran Pillar of Goparaja |
| Subtitle | |
| Inscription(s) | IN00050 |
| Child Object | |
| Parent Object | |
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| Responsibility | |
| Author | |
| Metadata recorded by | Dániel Balogh |
| Authority for metadata | |
| Metadata improved by | Dániel Balogh |
| Authoriy for improved | |
| Description | |
| Material | Stone / sandstone |
| Object Type | Pillar |
| Dimensions: | |
| Width | 45 |
| Height | 175 |
| Depth | 45 |
| Weight | |
| Details | The top part of a pillar, converted into a Śivaliṅga. In addition to IN00050, the pillar also bears an inscription of Śrīdharavarman, presently not in the corpus (Mirashi 1955: 605-611), and an illegible inscription near the top (Mirashi 1955: 608), possibly defaced when the pillar was turned into a liṅga. The lower section of the extant column is octagonal, then sixteen-sided, then octagonal again. A compartment above the centre of Goparāja's inscription features a seated man and woman who are presumably Goparāja and his wife. Three compartments (two of which are above two of the faces occupied by Śrīdharavarman's inscription) bear reliefs of horsemen. Above this, the pillar is sixteen-sided once again, then octagonal again. Further up, it is again sixteen-sided and fluted or ribbed, curving into a round top (which according to ASIR 10: 89 was reshaped when the pillar was turned into a liṅga.) The part outside the liṅga base is 76 cm tall, but no separate lengths are available for the various sections. |
| History | |
| Created: | |
| Date | |
| Place | Airikiṇa |
| Other ancient history | |
| Found: | |
| Date | |
| Place | |
| Other modern history | |
| Latest: | |
| Date | |
| Place | In situ |
| Authority | |
| Details | Discovered in 1874-75 or 76-77 by Cunningham. It was found under some small trees near the left bank of the Bīnā, about 800 metres southeast of Eraṇ, halfway between Eraṇ and the village of Pehelejpur. The bottom part of the original pillar is lost; the extant top portion has been fashioned into a liṅga. It was probably broken naturally (perhaps after falling), as its bottom is rough. It was fitted into a pedestal, which was broken open in the 19th century to reveal Goparāja's inscription, most of which had been hidden by the pedestal. A new, shallower pedestal was then made for it, and was in turn removed in the 1950s, revealing Śrīdharavarman's inscription which had been completely obscured before this time. |
| Notes | |