The Nachne-ki-talai stone inscriptions, discovered near the fort of Kuthara in Madhya Pradesh, consist of two epigraphic records engraved on a single loose slab. The first inscription is an incomplete draft on the side, while the second one is present on the front face of the stone slab, surrounding a central wheel motif. Engraved in the box-headed Brāhmī script, the records are composed in Sanskrit prose.
The incomplete inscription mentions the names of Pṛthivīṣeṇa and Vyāghradeva. The brief text of the completed inscription documents a pious dedication by Vyāghradeva, who acknowledges his political subservience by explicitly declaring that he meditates on the feet of the Vākāṭaka mahārāja Pṛthivīṣeṇa. The exact nature of the dedication is not specified within the text. Vyāghradeva executed this meritorious act specifically for the religious benefit of his mother and father.
First Inscription
1. vākāṭakānām mahārājaśrīpṛthivīṣeṇa-
2. . . . . . vyā ghra
Second Inscription
1. vākāṭakānām mahārājaśrī-
2. pṛthivīṣeṇapādā nuddhyāto
3. vyāghradevo mātāpitroḥ puṇyārtthe
4. kṛtavāniti |
प्रथमः शिलालेखः
१। वाकाटकानाम् महाराजश्रीपृथिवीषेण-
२। । । । । । व्या घ्र
द्वितीयः शिलालेखः
१। वाकाटकानाम् महाराजश्री-
२। पृथिवीषेणपादा नुद्ध्यातो
३। व्याघ्रदेवो मातापित्रोः पुण्यार्त्थे
४। कृतवानिति ।
Prose Inscription
vākāṭakānāṃ mahārājaśrīpṛthivīṣeṇa . . . . . vyā ghra
Prose Inscription
vākāṭakānāṃ mahārājaśrīpṛthivīṣeṇapādā nuddhyāto vyāghradevo mātāpitroḥ puṇyārtthe kṛtavāniti |
गद्य भाग:
वाकाटकानां महाराजश्रीपृथिवीषेण । । । । । व्या घ्र
गद्य भाग:
वाकाटकानां महाराजश्रीपृथिवीषेणपादा नुद्ध्यातो व्याघ्रदेवो मातापित्रोः पुण्यार्त्थे कृतवानिति ।
Vyāghradeva, who meditates on the feet of the illustrious Pṛthiviseṇa II, the Mahārāja of the Vākāṭakas, has made this for the religious merit of his mother and father.
Bibliography & Research
- Fleet, J. F. (1888). No 53 & 54. Nachane Ki Talai Stone Inscriptions of the Maharaja Prithvishena. In Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum (pp. 233-234). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Mirashi, V. V. (Ed.). (1963). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: The Inscriptions of the Vākāṭakas (Vol. V). Archaeological Survey of India.
| Dynasty: | Ucchakalpa |
| Source: | |
| Date: | Vyāghradeva |
| Place: | c. 470 to 490 CE |
| Language: | Sanskrit |
| Nature of grant: | Religious endowment |
| Purpose: | To record a construction done by the king for the religious merit of his parents |
| Provenance of inscription: | Nachne-ki-talai, Panna, Madhya Pradesh |
| Type of Inscription: | Stone inscription |
