Pujaripali

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Author of this article is Laxman Burdak लक्ष्मण बुरड़क
Map of Raigarh district

Pujaripali (पुजारीपली) is village in Sarangarh tahsil in Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh.

Location

It is situated 22 miles north by east of Sarangarh. It was in the Chandrapur Estate of the Chauhan Kingdom of Sambalpur prior to 1849 and in the Sambalpur district during the British Rule. [1]

Pujaripali Stone Inscription of Gopaladeva

(Deposited in the Raipur Museum.)
Pujaripali Stone Inscription of Gopaladeva

The King Gopaladeva is referred to as worshiping seven mothers in this inscription. It includes Purushottama Kshetra. The description of deities and their vehicles is from verses six to ten in the inscription which closely follows Markandedya Purana. [2]

The Pujaripali Stone Inscription perhaps of the Naga family gives a list of holy places, where his glory spreads. It refers to Naga pilgrims from the Indo-Gangetic basin to Puri. From the Nagpur stone Inscription of the rulers of Malwa we learn that pilgrims from Malwa were regularly visiting Purushottama Kshetra. [3]

Putana Vadh is carved out on the doorway of collapsed temple of Pujaripali.


Pujarlpali is a village 22 miles from Sarangarh, the head-quarters of a State of the same name.

The inscription is written in praise of the Varahi goddess locally known as Barhadevi, and almost every sloka mentions the name of her devotee Gopala, who apparently built a temple to which the stone was affixed. In the 34th sloka the goddess is stated to have given him a boon that his prowess would be unparalleled. In slokas 38 to 40 a number of places are mentioned where the glory of Gopala vira was spread like that of the autumnal moon.

Places of Pilgrims mentioned are Kedara (on the Himalayas), Prayaga (Allahabad), Pushkara (in Rajputana), Purushottama (Jagannath Puri), Bhimesvara (in the Upper Godavari District), Narmada, Gopalpura (apparently the village of that name on the bank of the Narmada, near Tewar, close to Jabalpur), Varanasi (Benares), Prabhasa (Pabhosa, near Allahabad), the junction near Garigasagara (in Bengal), Srivairagya-matha, Pedaragrama (the head-quarters of the Pendra Zamindari in the Bilaspur District), and 2 or 3 other places which are illegible. All these are holy places of (rear celebrity, except Gopalpur and Pendra which appear to have been mentioned, because Gopala had probably some connection with them, Apparently, he was the founder of Gopalapura, which was named after him, and Pendra was perhaps his birth-place. The inscription is undated, but is attributable to the 9th Century A. D. on palaeographic grounds. A Gopaladeva is mentioned in the Boramdeo inscription noticed in Cunningham's Archaeological Reports, Volume X, page 35 ff. Both Pendra and Pujaripali are so close to Kawardha State in which Boramdeo is included that it is very possible that the two Gopalas are identical. Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar holds the same view on other grounds. (Vide Cousens' Progress Report for 1904, page 51.)

Note - The following content is from: Corpus Inscriptionium Indicarium Vol IV Part 2 Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi, 1905. pp. 588-594

This inscription was discovered by Mr H Cousens in 1904. It has been noticed before, first by Dr D. R. Bhandarkar in the Progress Report of the Archaeological Survey of Western India for 1903-4, p 48, and subsequently by Rai Bahadur Hiralal in his Inscriptions in the Central Provinces and Berar. It is edited here for the first time from the original stone and its ink impressions taken under my direction.

The inscription is incised on a slab of black stone measuring 2' 4-1/2" broad and 1' 6-1/2" high, which in 1904 Mr. Cousens found placed in front of an old brick temple of Mahâprabhu at Pujâripâli, a village 21 miles north by east of Sarangarh, the chief town of a former feudatory State of the same name in the Chhattisgarh Division of Madhya Pradesh. The stone is now deposited in the Raipur Museum

The writing seems to have originally covered a space measuring 2' 4-1/2" broad by 1' 6-1/2" high, but almost the whole of the first line and from one to fifteen aksharas on either end in LL 2-8 have been lost owing to the breaking away of the top and the right and left upper corners of the stone Besides, the writing has been almost completely effaced in the middle of LL 8-20. The characters are of the Nāgari alphabet. Prishthamâtràs are generally used to denote medial diphthongs , the left limbs of kh and dh are fully developed , ś and bh appear throughout in their modem forms , n shows a dot as in ran-ānganê L-3 , the upper loop of th is open on the left, as in Markkamdêyo-tha L-24, while as the second member of the conjunct sth it is placed vertically and not on its side. These peculiarities of the letters indicate that the inscription does not probably date before the 12th century A C. The language is Sanskrit. The whole of the preserved portion, except a sentence in L-3 and another in L-25 naming the scribe and the engraver, is in verse. The verses, all of which appear to have been numbered, total 46.

The inscription is one of a king named Gopāladeva. The object of it apparently is to record the charitable deeds of Gôpâladêva, especially the construction of the temple where it was put up.

The first line, which is almost completely mutilated, contains the names of Brahmā, Vishnu and Mahêsvara, joined in a compound. In most of the following verses up to verse 37, the first half is devoted to the description of a goddess, while the second states how Gôpâla showed his devotion to her, or what favours she conferred on him. The goddess is named variously as Vaishnavi, Vārāhi], Nārasimhi, Aindrî, Châmundâ and so forth and her form, weapons, and vehicle are described in consonance with her epithet. In verse 19 she is said to have been pleased with Gôpâla. She granted him a boon that he would attain success in all his affairs and acquire all knowledge (v. 24) Gôpâla again praised her, and by virtue of repeating her mantra ten million times Gôpâla got a boon from her that he would have matchless strength and prowess. Verses 35-37 describe a fierce battle in which Gôpâla apparently became victorious. Verses 38-40 state that at Kêdāra, Prayāga, Pushkara, Purushôttama and Bhïmësvara, on the Narmadâ,at Gopalapura, Vārānasi, Prabhāsa, the junction of the Gangā with the sea, Vairāgyamatha, Śauripura, and the Pêḍarâ village, the Kirti of Gopāla shines like the autumnal

moon As Dr Bhandatkar has already remarked, the word kīrti is probably used here with a double entendre. It signifies that Gôpâla performed some charitable act such as building a temple at the aforementioned places, most of which are holy tîrthas Verse 41 states that Gôpâla resembled Kandarpa (the god of love) in handsome form, and Sūdraka in valour, and that riding a horse he appeared in various places like Revanta. In the next verse (42) Gôpâla requests all people of the mandala (province), whether of his family or not, to protect the kïrtî. The woid kirti here probably refers to the temple where the slab was originally placed.

Verse 43 describes the poet Nârâyana, who apparently composed this inscription, as the author of the kāvya Rāmābhyudaya The inscription was written by Dëdû and engraved by Dhanapati.

This record is not dated ; but Dr Bhandarkar identified the king Gôpâla described in it with the Kānaka Gôpâla, for whom the date 840 of the Kalachuri era (1088-89 A C) is furnished by the Chhapri statue inscription. R B. Hiralal accepted this identification on the ground that both Pendra (with which he identified the village Pëdarâ mentioned in v 40) and Pujâripâli are close to the former Kawaidha State in which the Chhapri inscription is found. Apart from the similarity of names, however, there does not seem to be any valid reason for the identification. The palaeographical evidence detailed above indicates that the present record is somewhat later than the Chhapri inscription. Besides, if we identify the two princes, we shall have to suppose that the country under the direct sway of Gôpâladëva extended from Kawardha in the west to Sarangarh in the east. He must, therefore, have ruled over a more extensive territory than even his Kalachuri overlord whose era is found used in the Chhapri inscription of Gôpâladêva's feudatory Lakshmanarâja ! More definite evidence is needed than mere identity of names to prove the identification of the two princes .

From the Shêormârayan inscription we learn that there was another prince named Gôpâladëva who belonged to a collateral branch of the Kalachuri family. As that inscription, which belongs to the time of his nephew Amanadëva II, is dated in the Kalachuri year 919 (1167-68 A C), Gôpâladëva must have flourished in circa 1150 A. C. This agrees with the date we have fixed above on the evidence of palaeography. The fierce battle in which Gôpâladëva distinguished himself may be the same as that in which his brother Ulhanadeva lost his life as stated in the Shëonnârâyan inscription. As shown already the battle was fought with the Kalachuri king Jayasimha of Tripuri, whose known dates range from K 918 to K 928.

The reference to the Rāmābhyudaya kāvya of Nârâyana, the author of the present inscription, is interesting. There are at least three Sanskrit works of that name known from other references, but only one of them has been published so far. The first of these in chronological order is a play ascribed to Yasovarman, who is probably identical with the homonyms king of Kanauj, the patron of Bhavabhùti. It is cited in the Dhvanyâlôka of Anandavardhana (11th cen A C) and the Dhvanyâlôkalôchana^ of Abhinavagupta (11th century A C ). The Nâtakalakshanamtnûkôsa of Sâgaranandin also cites two verses from

one Râmâbhyudaya which judging from the inttoductory remarks of Sâgaranandin, seems to be a play . It is not known if it is identical with the aforementioned work of Yasovarman. Aufrecht mentions a kâvya named Râmâbhyudaya in 30 cantos, the authorship of which is ascribed to one Vënkatësa whose date is unknown. The third work of this name is a play by Vyâsaśrî-Ràtnadëva, who flourished in the 15th century A C. The work mentioned in the present record seems to be different from all these ; for its author ship is definitely ascribed to Nārāyana. It is doubtful if it could be identified with the Râmâbhyudaya cited in the Nàtakdakshanaratnakûsa , for, as shown above, the latter was probably a nātaka, while the work mentioned here was a kâvya. As shown above, its author Nârâyana seems to have flourished in the 12th, cen A C.

As for the geographical names mentioned in the present insciiption, Kédâra is a well-known tïrtha on the Hjmàlayas, Prayâga is, of course, modem Allahabad, Pushkara is a boly tïrtha still known by this name in Rajputana. Putushôttama may be the well-known Puri in Orissa, Bhimesvara is a well-known tirtha, also called Drākshārāma in the Godavari District of the Madras State. The river; Narmadâ and the holy place Vārānasi are too famous to need identification. R B Hiralal identified Prabhâsa with Pabhôsi near Allahabad, but in the period to which the present inscription belongs, the latter does not seem to have been so famous. Prabhasa is more likely to be the tirtha of that name in Saurashtra. Sauripura (the city of Krishna) may be Dvàrakà in Saurashtra R B, Hiralal's conjecture that Gôpâlapura mentioned here was founded by Gôpâladëva himself is plausible, but his identification of i twith the village Gopalpur near Tewar cannot be upheld, for Gôpâladëva's sway could not have extended so far in the north. It must have been situated not very far from Pujaripali. I would identify at with the Gôpâlpur which has on the right bank of the Mānd river, about 10 miles north-west of Pujaripali. Pedarāgrāma is likely to be Pendri, 8 miles north by east of Sarangarh. The other places cannot be identified.

Translation

Reference - http://www.archive.org/stream/corpusinscriptio014674mbp#page/n297/mode/2up

(Verse.1) - Brahma, Vishnu and, Maheshvara
(V.2) - Vārāhī, she herself . ...
(V.3) - The goddess Vaishnavi, holding a conch and a discus and seated on an eagle, was with great devotion worshiped by Gôpâla with flowers and (various kinds of) incense
(V.4) - The goddess, wearing bracelets of serpents (and) [riding] a large bull . .
(V.5) - This is that wise goddess named Trayī who has a (mighty) power on the battlefield. It is indeed she whom you, O Gôpâla of grave temperament, have praised.
This verse and also the second one form the lights in the beginning and the end.
(V.6) - the six-faced one, who wields a pike in her hand and who destroys all sins, has always been praised by Gôpâla
(V.7) - Vārāhi, who utters a terrific cry and who raised the earth with her tusk, has always been praised with devotion by the brave Gôpâla.
(V.8) - Nārasimhi, who made constellations of stars fall on the ground by the whirling of her mane and who is exceedingly powerful, [was praised] by Gôpâla.
(V.9) - The exceedingly powerful goddess Aindrī endowed with a thousand eyes, who has the thunderbolt in her hand and is seated on a lordly elephant, was well worshiped by Gôpâla.
(V.10) - Chamunda, who is dark-complexioned like the petal of a blue lotus, rides a spirit and terrifies enemies in battle, [was praised] by Gôpâla.
(V.11) - (The goddess) Tvaritā, who is bright like lightning and is considered as similar in complexion to the Indragôpaka insect and vermilion, was adored by Gôpâla.
(V.12) The goddess Tripurā, who, (though) wholly void of parts, is proficient in trtee arts and was formerly {worshiped) in a mandala of three corners, dwells always in the heart of Gôpâla.
(V.12) - The three-faced terrible Mārīchā of bright form,(also called) Samayā, who exterminates the ranks of the enemies, was seated in the heart of Gôpâla.
(V. 13) The goddess Jayā, who destroys foes, (as well as) Vijayā, who enhances victory (and) makes one's path happy, were always worshipped by Gôpâla.
(V. 14) - May that Tārā, who has an excellent seat in the midst of the dreadful ocean, be pleased with Gôpâla, {affordmg him) excellent protection !
(V-15) - Vindhyavāsinī dwelling on the mountain, Mahāmāyā (and) Mahākāli were worshiped by Gôpâla.
(V.16) - The goddess, who is called Totalā when the Brāhmanas commit a fault(?), who attains victory in battle in the three worlds and who is called Charchikā when (other) creatures do wrong(?), was seen by Gôpâla.
(V.17) - The goddess Kāmakshī, (who is called) Mahālakshmī (and appears as) forgiveness and compassion, was pleased by the brave Gôpâla with (his) devotion.
(V.18) - (The goddess) Sarasvatī, (who is called) Gauri (and) (who is) success,fame and unbaffled intelhgence, was propitiated by Gôpâla day by day with his great devotion.
(V.19) - [The goddess] was pleased with the brave Gôpâla and granted a boon.
(V.20) - The goddess, being greatly pleased at every syllable {of Gôpâla' s prasasti), said, O great warrior, Gôpâla I Thou art, no doubt, an excellent son !
(V. 21)- " O Gôpâla ! (Thou art) like Sûdraka on the earth. "
(V. 22) - As Nandin is (dear) to Mahesha, as Garuda is to Vishnu, so (art thou) Gôpâla, a son of the goddess Vâràhî undoubtedly !
(V. 23) . . There is none like Gôpâla, (described) in Sanskrit or Prakrit( literature).
(V. 24) - That which is (called) success in all affairs, that which is regarded by the wise as learning, — through the power of that . . . Gôpâla . .
(V. 25) - . became always
(V. 26) - Having seen that the buffalo-demon was killed (by the goddess) by planting (on him) the big toe of her foot, that brave Gôpâla praised (the goddess) Ambikā
(V.2 7) - ...
(V.28) - When he praised the goddess that killed (the demon) Raktabîja who (could) not be defeated by all gods, all fortune [entered the house Gôpâla]
(V.29) - became ....
(V.30) - Chandikâ, who has a terrific step and is possessed of great strength and valour, (and) who killed Nisumbha and Sumbha, was again praised by Gôpâla.
(V.31) - was adored by Gôpâla.
(V. 32) - Having propitiated the goddess who had been praised by Vishnu himself in order to kill the demon Kamsa, Gôpâla became fit to be described by good people.
(V.33) - Love to one's son
(V.34) - By the power (derived) from muttering {her) mantra a crore times, the goddess again granted (him) the boon— Gôpâla ! thy strength, prowess and valour (will be) matchless".
(V.35) - in thousands, lakhs and crores
(V.36) - The female demons, attracted by blood, waded thorough the dreadful river of blood which was navel-deep and was infested by vultures and jackals.
(V.37) - Tell me if there was, is or will be on the earth another person resembling the illustrious Gôpâla in marvellous prowess on the battlefield where darkness is caused by arrows discharged all round from
(V. 38-40) - On the earth the Kirti of the brave Gôpâla shines like the autumnal moon at the famous Kêdâra, Prayâga, Pushkara, Purushôttama, Bhïmêsvata, on the Narmadà, at the famous Gôpâlapura, Vârânasï, Prabhâsa, at the junction of the Gangâ and the sea, Varalī, the famous Vairâgyamatha, the Ashtadvâra, Śauripura, [and) the village Pêḍarā.
(V.41) - Gôpâla resembles the god of love in handsome form and is (like) Sûdraka in valour. He appears in every place mounted on a horse like Rêvanta.
(V.42) - "Whatever person of noble mind is born in this world, whether in my family or another's, may he protect this meritorious work ! Thus says Gôpâla, falling at (his) feet.
(V.43) - The good poet Nârâyana, whose mind is (engaged) in adoring the lotus-like feet of Vishnu, who composed, the kavya full of sentiments, called the famous Rāmābhyudaya, [and) on remembering whose composition, the Goddess of speech, with her mind filled with intense pleasure, became (like) her lute, {composed this prasasti)
(V. 44-5) - Agastya, Pulastya, Jaimini, Lômaśa and others, Mârkandëya, also Durvàsas {and) Vyâsa were subject to death, (while) others are at the mercy of fate in this age which perishes in a moment! Knowing this, O men, may your minds be always directed to spiritual knowledge !
Written by the Pandîta Dedū. Engraved by Dhanapati.

Notes by Wiki editor

Sanskrit text

  • Verses 1-4

  • Verses 5-17

  • Verses 18-25

External links

Further reading

  • See Fleet's Gupta Inscriptions, pages 197 and 192.
  • Epigraphia Indica, Volume XI, page 186.

References

  1. ↑ Sasanka S. Panda: "Advent of Vaisnavism in Uppar Mahanadi Valley", Orissa Review: July 2003, p. 102
  2. ↑ Religious beliefs and practices of North India during the early mediaeval period By Vibhuti Bhushan Mishra, p. 27
  3. ↑ [http://books.google.co.in/books?id=z4JqgSUSXDsC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=Pujaripali&source=bl&ots=EJzyBbPdUV&sig=k3IYTaQI4-Dvp8QfVj4ILw-8sgc&hl=en&ei=LWtSTOKJLI2lcdXN2b8M&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Pujaripali&f=false A Panorama of Indian culture: Professor A. Sreedhara Menon felicitation volume By A. Sreedhara Menon, K. K. Kusuman, p. 165

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