Person: Dániel Balogh

This stone inscription is carved onto the back wall of the veranda of the Ghaṭokaca cave at Gulwāḍā, which is a Buddhist site. The inscription, like those found at Ajaṇṭā, has been damaged by the weather, originally being 22 lines long, but now the last four lines are almost completely worn away. According to Shastri (1997: 44-45), the inscription was incised to record the excavation of the cave in which it is recorded and its donation to a Buddhist saṅgha, although the damage to the inscription over time has led to the details of the donation remaining unknown. The beginning of the inscription includes praise of the Buddha and a family history of Varāhadevā, a minister of the Vākāṭaka king, Hariṣeṇa.

This stone inscription, in cave 16 at Ajaṇṭā, was first published in 1862 by Dr. Bhau Daji. As with the other stone inscription in cave 17 at Ajaṇṭā, this inscription has been damaged by exposure to weather. The inscription was written for Varāhadeva, a minister of the Vākāṭaka king, Hariṣeṇa. The inscription records the excavation and decoration of a cave dwelling, which both Mirashi (1963: 104) and Shastri (1997: 42) believe refers to the creation of cave 16 itself, where the inscription is found at Ajaṇṭā. The donation was made to an order of Buddhist monks.

According to the single plate of this charter, it was issued at Vatsagulma and starts immediately by citing Devasena’s order of the grant. The inscription records the donation of a village (unidentified) to two Brāhmaṇas Dharmasvāmin and Bhavasvāmin of the Śāṇḍilya gotra. According to Shastri 1997: 40-41, the exact location of the donated land is not known but may possibly be in the Akolā district.

This charter records the donation of the village Ākāsapadda to fourteen Brāhmaṇas by Vindhyaśakti II. The charter records the names of the Brāmaṇas and the share of the village which they were given. According to Shastri 1997: 39, the charter is important in that it proves that Pravarasena I, who ruled as part of the undivided family, had at least four sons who all became kings, which until the discovery of this charter had not been satisfactorily proven.

The charter consists of five plates, but only three bear inscription and the attached seal is also without inscription. According to Shastri 1997: 70, this indicates that the charter was left unfinished. Mirashi 1963: 79 also states that the charter was left incomplete as it does not specify the donation. It does however record the planned place of issue, Pṛthivīṣeṇa II’s temporary residence at Vembāra, which Mirashi 1963: 80 has identified with the modern village of Bembāl, 28 miles east of Chandrapur and 2 miles west of the Waingaṅhā river. Although incomplete, the importance of the inscription lies in its mention of Pṛthivīṣeṇa II and his father Narendrasena II. Prior to the discovery of this charter, neither ruler was known as only grants of Pravarasena II were known before 1893. Because of this, the description of both Narendrasena II, Pravarasena II’s son (?) and Pṛthivīṣeṇa II were new contributions to the known Vākāṭaka history.

This plate, which is unfinished, was found in the village of Mohallā in the Durg district of Chhattīsgaḍh. The details of the charter are not recorded in the inscription as it is not finished. According to Shastri, the plate is possibly dated to the reign of Pṛithivīṣeṇa I.

This plate, the fourth of a five plate charter, was discovered whilst digging for manganese in the Mānsar area. It is not know where the donated areas are or where the plate was issued.

This inscription, of which only one plate is now known, records the donation of the village of Śrīparṇakā by Pravarasena II to three beneficiaries: Gaṅgārya, Vasurārya and Rudrārya. The charter was issued to replace an earlier grant of the village Māṇapallikā. The donation was made to augment the religious merit of Pravarasena II’s mother, Prabhāvatī Guptā, indicating that she is still alive at the time of issue. However, as only one of the plates of this grant is known, the date and place of issue is not known.

This charter has five copper plates and records the donation of 2000 nivartanas of land by royal measure in the village of Dhuvavāṭaka (Dhruvavāṭaka) to a number of Brāhmaṇas. An additional 26 nivartanas in two other villages is recorded in the third plate as being specifically donated to the Brāhmaṇa Somārya. Both Mirashi 1963: 64 and Shastri 1997: 34-35 argue that this third plate is actually a forgery, inserted into the charter at a later date to benefit Somārya. The first part of the donation (that of the 2000 nivartanas) was issued in exchange for the earlier donation by Pṛthivīṣeṇa I of the village of Vijayavallī-vāṭaka. The charter was issued in the 29th year of Pravarasena II reign and was issued from the temple of Pravareśvara.

The charter was issued by Pravarasena II in the 27th year of his reign and is, according to Shastri 1963: 31, a unique charter in the Vākāṭaka examples because it provides for a free feeding house, attached to a temple as opposed to an individual donation of a land grant. The donation was made at the request of Nārāyaṇarāja.