278 JANIBIGHA INSCRIPTION, [J.B.O.B.S. was the title of the king who was the protector of the Diamond Throne at Bodh-Gaya. That such a king must have ruled over territory contiguous to or including the country immediately round Bodh-Gaya goes without saying. It may be noted in this connexion that Pithipati has so far been found only in Buddhistic writings and inscriptions. The donee of the grant is the Ceylonese Master of the Tripitaka Mangala Svāmin, who was probably resident at BodhGaya and seems to have been the abbot then in charge of the monastery at Bodh-Gaya established during the reign of Emperor Samudra Gupta by Meghavarṇa, the Buddhist king of Ceylon.* The village which was the object of the gift is named Kotthala. It remains unidentified. The Saptaghatta mentioned in the inscription is probably the designation of the district in which the village of Koṭthala was situated. Ghaṭṭa may stand for a "ferry" or "crossing" or for a "mountain-pass" and sapta means seven". It is probable that the range of hills which rises from the vicinity of Bodh-Gaya may have been responsible in some way for this nomenclature. The epithet Satyavāk used to qualify Jayasena may be compared with the same epithet in the Deopara inscription of Vijayasenat. "In the reign of Samudra Gupta, a great monastery was constructed close to this temple by the Cingalese about the year 330 A. D. This monastery was built by Meghavarna, the Buddhist king of Ceylon, in consequence of the complaints made by two monks whom he had sent to do homage to the Diamond Throne and to visit the monastery built by Asoka at Bodh-Gaya. On their return, they informed the king that they could find no place where they could stay in comfort, and the king resolved to found a monastery where his subjects could reside when on pilgrimage. An embassy was sent to Samudragupta and the required permission having been given, Meghavarna erected a splendid monastery to the north of the Bodhi tree. This building which was three storeys in height, included six halls, was adorned with three towers, and surrounded by a strong wall 30 or 40 feet high. The decorations were executed in rich colours with high artistic skill, the statue of Buddha, cast in gold and silver, was studded with gems, and the subsidiary stupas enshrining relics of Buddha himself were worthy of the principal edifice."District Gazetteer of Gaya, p 47. -- Ep. Ind. Vol. I. p. 308. TEXT. Line 1. ॐ स्वस्ति ॥ श्रीमन्महावोधिप्रदं पुराणं परम् (म्प) 2. री नियतं जिनानां । ध्वस्थितानां स्थिति 3. रस्ति यत्र संवोधये वोधितरोस्तलं च ॥ 9. [न] ॥ दत्तो' दानमिमं ग्रामं जयतेनः स भूपतिः । 18. तः खरः सकरिका च माता ॥ 8 ॥ तचाय- TRANSLATION. Om! Hail! Majestic (is) the shade of the Bodhi tree (which is) the ancient, invariable bestower of Mahabodhi (Supreme Enlightenment) to the Conquerors (Jinas) and which is the stay of those who are on the road to (attain) Sambodhi (v. 1). The anusvāra is evidently a mistake. • The letter looks like a व. It is evidently a mistake for न. The sign here resembles the symbol for 4 used in inscriptions of this period, but the incision is not deep. The fourth verse of the record ends here. • The form of this letter makes a near approach to स. But there cannot be any doubt as to its being intended for न. Compare also the in fauty: (1.8). • Read सदि. This village of Koṭthala, with land and water, without any reservation, together with the plough-tax, in Saptaghaṭṭa, is granted by charter to the majestic Diamond Throne for its monastery, in trust of Monk Mangala Svāmin of Ceylon, Master of the Tripitaka, by the King, the son of Buddhasena, for as long as the sun and the moon endure (v. 2). Having made a gift of this village the learned king Jayasera, the Lord of Pithi, true to his promise, spoke thus: (v. 3) 'Whichsoever king of my dynas y, good, bad or worthless, violates this (grant), his father (should be considered) an ass and his mother a sow (v. 4).' (On) the 15th day of the bright half of Kārttika, LakshmaṇaFena Samvat 88 expired. |