Riddhapur

Location of Rithpur on Map of Amravati district

Riddhapur (रिध्दपुर) or Rithpur village is in tahsil Morsi district Amravati in Maharashtra.

Variants

Riddhapura (ऋद्धपुर), महाराष्ट्र, (AS, p.797)

Location

It is located east of Chandur Bazar on Achalpur –Morsi State Highway No. 240. Pedi river flow through the village. It is the headquarters of the Mahanubhava Sect and also known as Banaras of the Mahanubhavas.

Rithpur was given to Salabat Khan as tankha jagir. The notorious Raja Bishan Chand was Talukdar, who was remembered for his miserliness and tyranny and during his period the village was completely abandoned. There are many temples of Mahanubhavas viz.,Raj Math, Krishna Mandir , Datta Mandir and dargahs of Salam Miya and Mehbub Subhani.

Riddhapur plates of 19th year of Prabhavatigupta

Sanskrit Text First Plate १ जित (त) भगवता ।। रामगिरिस्वामिन=पादमूलाद्गुप्तान (ना) मादि २ राजो महाराजश्रीघटोतकचस्तस्य पुत्रो महाराजश्रीचन्द्र- ३ गुप्त[*] तस्य पुत्रस्तत्पादपरिगृहि (ही) त (तो) लिच्छविदौहित्रो ४ महादेव्या(व्या) कुमारदेव्यामुत्पन्नो महाराजश्रीसमुद्रगुप्तस्तस्य पुत्र- ५ स्तत्पादानुद्धयातो न्यायागतानेकगोहिरण्यकोटिसहस्त्रप्रदस्सर्व्वराजो- Second Plate First Side ६ च्छेत्ता पृथिव्यामप्रतिरथ=परमभागवतो महादेव्या(व्या) दत्तदेव्यामु- ७ त्पनो(नौ) महाराजश्रीसमुद्रगुप्तस्तस्य दुहिता धारणसगोत्रा ८ नागकुलोत्पन्नाया(या) कुबेरा(र)नग(गा)देव्यामुत्पन्ना उभयकुलाल- ९ ङ्कारभूता वाकाटकाना(ना) महाराजश्रीरुद्रसेनस्याग्रमहिषी १० वाकाटकानाम्महाराजश्रीदामोदरसेनप्रवरसेनजननी भगव- ११ त्पादानुद्धयाता साग्रवर्षसतजीवपुत्रपौत्रा श्र(श्री)महादेवीप्रभ (भा)वती- Second Plate Second Side १२ गुप्ता ॥ कोसिकमार्ग्ग(र्ग्गे) अश्वत्थनगरे सब्रह(ब्राह्म)णपुरे(रो)गग्रामहहत्तरा(रा)श्च १३ कुशलमुक्तवा सम(मा)ज्ञापयत(ति)[।*]ऐहीकामुत्रिकमस्मिननगरे स्वपुण्याप्या[यना]त्थ[र्त्थ] १४ पारशरसगोत्राणा(णा) तैत्तिरीयब्राह्मणानामप्यपुत्रापुत्राणा अभ्य- १५ न्तरनिवेशने[न*]सह कर्षकनिवेशनानि च चत्वार(रि) १६ भुक्ता(क्त)काभोगक्षेत्रमुदकपूर्व्व(र्व्व) शासनेनो[न]सति(नि)बद्ध(द्धम) । उचिताश्चास्य १७ पूर्व्वराजानुमताञ्चातुर्विद्यग्राममर्यादान्वितरामस्तद्यथा Third Plate First Side १८ अकरदायी(यि) अभटच्छत्रप्रावेश्य(श्य) अपुष्पक्षीरसन्दोह अचारा- १९ सनचर्म्माङ्कार(र) अलवणक्लिन्नक्रेणिखनक(क) सर्व्वविस्वि(ष्टि)परिहारा(र) २० परिहृत(त) सनिधान सोपनिधान सक्ल(क्लृ)प्तोपकलि(क्लृ)प्तम(मा)चन्द्रा २१ दित्यकालिय(य) पुत्रपौत्रानुगामि भुञ्जता(ता) न केनचिद्वयाघात २२ =कर्तव्य सर्व्वक्रियाभिस्सरक्षितव्य=परिवर्द्धयितव्यश्च[।*]यश्च(श्चा)स्मा(स्म)- २३ च्छासनमगणयमान[*]स्वल्पामपि परिबाधा(धा) कुर्य्यात्कारयि(ये)त वा तस्य Third Plate Second Side २४ ब्राह्मण(णै)रावेदितस्य सदण्डनिग्रह करिष्याम [।*] अस्मि(स्मि)श्च धर्म्मादर- २५ करणे अनी(ती)तानेकराजदत्ता(त्त)सञ्चित(न्त)नपरिपालन पुण्यानुकीर्तन- २६ परिहारार्त्थ न कीर्तयाम [।*]सङ्कल्पाधि(भि)योगपराक्क्रमोपजि- २७ जितान्वर्त्तमानामा(ना)ज्ञापयाम । व्यासगीतश्चात्र श्लोकxप्रमाण(णम्)[।*] २८ स्वदत्ता(त्ता) परदत्ता वा यो हरेत वसुन्धराम्[।*]गवा शतसहस्त्रस्य २९ हन्तुपिबति दुष्कृतमिति वाकाटकाना(ना) महाराजश्रीप्रवर- ३० सेनस्य राज्यप्रशासतसव्वत्सरे एकुनविश्तिमे कार्तिक- ३१ मासशुक्लपक्षद्वादश्या(श्याम) दूतको(को) देवनन्दस्वामी [।*] ली (लि)खित ३२ प्रभुसिङ्घेन ॥

Riddhapur plates of 19th year of Prabhavatigupta

Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta

Reference - Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. V, 1963, pp.33-37

These plates were found in the possession of Mahanta Dattarāja of the Mahānubhāva sect. They were discovered at Riddhapur in the Morsi tahil of the Amarâvatï District in Vidarbha. They hhve been edited twice by Mr. Y R Gupte, first in Marathi in the Bhārata Itihāsa Samsodhaka Mandal Quarterly, Vol. III, Nos 2-4, pp 89 f, and again, with negative facsimiles and an English translation, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol XX, pp 53 f. The plates are now deposited in the Bhārata Itihāsa Samsodhaka Mandal, Poona. They are edited here from the same facsimiles.

The inscription is one of Mahādevi Prabhavātigupta, the chief queen of the Vakataka Maharaja Rudrasena II and the mother of the Vâkataka Maharaja Damodarasena-Pravarasêna. As shown below, the record is dated in the 19th regnal year of the Vâkataka king Pravarasena II, but, strange as it may appear, the introductory portion of the grant gives the genealogy of the Guptas and not of the Vakatakas. This is also seen in the Poona plates which were issued when Prabhâvatï was acting as Régent for her miner son Yuvāja Divākarasena. The introduction of the Gupta genealogy in the latter grant can be explained as due to the influence of the Gupta officials sent by Chandragupta II to Vidarbha to help his widowed daughter in the government of the Vakataka kingdom.

No such explanation will, however, avail in the present case, for Pravarasena II was a grown up man when the present grant was made. In all his earlier grants he has given his own genealogy in the introductory portion. The use of the Gupta genealogy here must therefore be attributed to Prabhavati's pride in her descent from the Gupta family.

The genealogy of the Guptas is given here exactly as in Prabhâvatî's Poona plates, the only difference being that the imperial title Mahàiàjàdhiràja is here applied only to Chandragupta II, all his predecessors including the great Emperor Samudragupta being styled as Mahārāja. The Vâkâtaka kings Rudrasena II and Pravarasena II mentioned in the grant are also styled as Maharaja Prabhavatïgupta is described as meditating on the feet of the Bhagavat. Like her father, she was a devotee of Vishnu.

The plates were issued from the foot-prints of the lord of Ramagiri who is evidently identical with Ramachandra, an incarnation of Vishnu. The object of the inscription is to record the grant, by Prabhâvatï, of a field together with a house and four huts of farmers in Asvatthanagara which lay in the mārga (subdivision) of Kosika. The donees are not mentioned by name, but are described as Brâhmanas, with or without sons, who were of the Parashara gotra and the Taittirïya sâkhà. The grant is dated, at the end, on the twelfth tithi of the bright fortnight of Karttîka in the nineteenth regnal year of Pravarasêna. As Prabhâvatï was a devotee of Vishnu, she seems to have made the present grant on the occasion of the pâranà (completion) of her fast on the preceding Prabodhinî Ekâdasî. Her Poona grant also was made on a similar occasion. The Dutaka was Dêvanandasvâmin and the scribe Prabhusîmha.

There is one expression in the description of Prabhâvatï which has led to much controversy. Mr Gupte, who edited the plates, read it as s-àgra-varsha-sata-dîva-putra-pautri ā and proposed the following two renderings — (i) who has sons and grandsons, a life of full hundred years and will (in the end) live in heaven, and (ii) who has renowned sons and grandsons and who has lived a life of full hundred years. Mr Gupte remarked that the expression need not be taken literally and that what was intended was that Prabhâvatï-guptà lived for a long time and saw illustrious sons and grandsons. It has since been shownthat the correct reading is -jîva-putra-pautrâ not -diva-putra-pautra. Dr R.C. Majumdar took the expression literally and understood it as meaning that Prabhâvatï lived for more than a hundred years and had sons and grandsons. On this interpretation he based his theory of Vâkâtaka chronology. It does not, however, appear to be correct. In the expression cited above, jïva-putra-pautrà means 'having living sons and grandsons'. Similar expression, jiva-sutâ or jiva-putrà occur in the Rigveda, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as some old inscriptions. To have living sons and grandsons is regarded as a sign of good fortune and is therefore often mentioned in the description of women. The preceding expression Sâgra-varsha-sata indicating long life must evidently be connected with jîva. The expression, therefore refers to the long life of the sons and grandsons of Prabhâvatï and not to her own. Besides, to a widow like Prabhâvatîguptâ a long life of a hundred years is most distasteful. No Indian widow is likely to boast of it in her own record. The long life mentioned in the expression must therefore be taken to refer to that of the sons and grandsons of Prabhâvatï. The expression cannot, of course, be taken literally, but must be interpreted like the epithets dîrghàyuh or àyushmat applied to small children. The intention in such cases is to express the wish that they would be long-lived. The expression therefore means 'who has sons and grandsons who (it is hoped) will live for a full hundred years'.

Prabhvâtïguptà is again described in lime 10 as the mother of the Vâkâtaka Mahàrâja, the illustrious Damodarasena-Pravarasena. This expression also has been interpreted differently by different scholars. Dr. Mujumdar says that Dâmôdarasêna and Pravarasëna were two different sons of Prabhâvatï. We must note, however, that the expression uses the phrase Vâkâtakànàm Mahàrâjah in connection with the name of Dàmodarasêna, but not with that of Pravarasena II. When we remember how particular the drafters of Vâkâtaka grants were about the use of this title in connection with the name of every Vâkâtaka king who actually reigned, it looks strange that the title should not have been prefixed to the name of Pravarasena II, who was ruling at the time. Again, if the intention was to name all sons of Prabhâvatï, the name of Divâkarasena also should have been added. It seems probable therefore, that Damodarasena and Pravarasena II were identical and that the latter name was adopted by the prince at the time of his accession.

As for the place-names mentioned in the present grant,

• Ramagiri is undoubtedly modern Ramtek, about 28 miles north of Nagpur. It lies only about 3 miles from Nandivardhana, modern Nagardhan, the earlier capital of the Vâkàtakas. In Kâlidasa's Meghadûta, Râmagiri is mentioned as the place where the Yaksha, exiled from Alakā, lived for a year. From the description in Kālidāsa's poem we learn that the hill was marked by the vénérable foot-prints of Raghupati (Ramachandra), and it is noteworthy that the present grant was made by Prabhâvatîguptâ near the foot-prints of the Lord of Râmagiri. The geographical situation of Râmtek answers to the description of Râmagiri in the Meghadûta and it is known to have been regarded as a holy place for several centuries. There should therefore be no doubt about this identification. Several grants of Prabhâvatîguptâ and Pravarasena II were made after being offered to the Bhagavat who was plainly none but the god Râmachandra whose pàdukâs were installed at Râmagiri.
• Asvatthanagara has been identified with Asatpur in the Achalpur tahsil of the Amaravati District of Vidarbha.
• Kosika, the headquarters of the mārga in which Asvatthanagara was situated, cannot, however, be located in its neighborhood.

Riddhapur plates of Prabhavatigupta (Translation)

• Victory has been attained by the Bhagavat From the footprints of the Lord of Ramagiri : —

• (There was) the Maharaja, the illustrious Ghatotkacha, the first king of the Guptas. His son (was) the Mahārāja, the illustrious Chandragupta I. His son, graciously favoured by him, (was) the Mahārāja, the illustrious Samudragupta, (who was) born of the Mahādevi Kumāradevi (and was) the daughter's son of the Lichchhavi (Chief). His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the Mahārājādhirāja, the illustrious Chandragupta II, born of the Mahādevi Dattadevi who (was) a fervent devotee of the Bhagavat (Vishnu), who (was) a matchless warrior on the earth, who exterminated all kings, (and) who donated many thousands of crores of cows and gold (coins) which he had obtained by lawful means.

• (Line 7) His daughter, the illustrious Mahādevi Prabhavatigupta of the Dharana gotra, born of the queen Kuberanāga, who was herself born in a Naga family, — who is an ornament of both the (Gupta and Vakataka) families, who (was) the Chief Queen of the illustrious Rudrasena II, the Mahārāja of the Vakatakas ; who is the mother of the illustrious Damodarasëna (alias) Pravarasena II, the Maharaja of the Vākātakas, who meditates on the feet of the Bhagavat (Vishnu) , (and) who has sons and grandsons who will live for a full hundred years⁶ — having announced (her) good health, commands the Mahattaras (elders) of the village led by the Brāhmanas (rending) in the Asvatthanagara in the mārga (subdivision) of Kosîka as follows —

" We have in this town donated the field enjoyed (so far) by Bhuktaka together with a farm-house situated in it (arid) four huts of cultivators, to the Brâhmanas of the Parashara gotra and the Taittirîya sâkhâ, whether they have or do not hâve sons, by pouring out water and issuing a charter for the increase of Our religious merit and (Own welfare) in this world and the next.

(For translation of lines 16-26, see above, pp 14-15)

• (Line 26) We issue this order to the present rulers (who are) vanquished by Our resolve, attack or valour.

And the (following) verse, sung by Vyâsa, should be regarded as authoritative on this point

(Here occurs an unprecatory verse )

• (Line 29) In the nineteenth year, while the illustrious Pravarasena II, the Maharaja of the Vakatakas, is governing his kingdom, on the twelfth (lumar day) in the bright fortnight of the month Karttika (this charter has been written) The Dutaka is Devanandasvamin. (This charter) has been written by Prabhusimha.

रिद्धपुर

रिद्धपुर (AS, p.797) मध्य प्रदेश (वर्तमान महाराष्ट्र) का एक ऐतिहासिक स्थान है। इस स्थान पर गुप्त सम्राट समुद्रगुप्त का एक अभिलेख प्राप्त हुआ था जिसमें समुद्रगुप्त के लिए प्रयुक्त ‘तत्पादपरिगृहित’ शब्दों से ज्ञात होता है कि उसके पिता चंद्रगुप्त प्रथम ने समुद्रगुप्त की योग्यता को जानते हुए ही उसे अपने राज्य का उत्तराधिकारी चुना था।

रामटेक

रामटेक (AS, p.789): विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है .....रामटेक महाराष्ट्र राज्य के नागपुर से 20 मील की दूरी पर रमणीक और ऊंची पहाड़ियों पर स्थित है। कुछ विद्वानों के मत में यह महाकवि कालिदास के 'मेघदूत' में वर्णित रामगिरि है। यहाँ विस्तीर्ण पर्वतीय प्रदेश में अनेक छोट-छोटे सरोवर स्थित हैं, जो शायद 'पूर्वमेघ' में उल्लिखित 'जनकतनया स्नान पुण्योदकेषु' में निर्दिष्ट जलाशय हैं। किंवदंती है कि वनवास काल में राम, लक्ष्मण तथा सीता इस स्थान पर रहे थे। रामचंद्र जी का एक सुंदर मंदिर ऊंची पहाड़ी पर बना हुआ है। मंदिर के निकट विशाल वराह की मूर्ति के आकार में कटा हुआ एक शैलखंड स्थित है। रामटेक को सिंदूरगिरि भी कहते हैं। इसके पूर्व की ओर 'सुरनदी' या 'सूर्यनदी' बहती है। इस स्थान पर एक ऊंचा टीला है, जिसे गुप्तकालीन बताया जाता है। चंद्रगुप्त द्वितीय की पुत्री प्रभावती गुप्त ने रामगिरि की यात्रा की थी। इस तथ्य की जानकारी रिद्धपुर के ताम्रपत्र लेख से होती है। प्राचीन जनश्रुति के अनुसार रामचंद्र जी ने शंबूक का वध इसी स्थान पर किया था।

External links

• http://wikimapia.org/10213522/Rithpur-or-Riddhapur

References

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