This stone inscription, recovered from the vicinity of Lonad in Thane district, Maharshtra, records a grant made during the reign of the Śilāhāra king Aparāditya II. Currently preserved in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, the slab features a central kalaśa flanked by the sun and moon, and a Śiva liṅga in relief. The record employs Sanskrit language influenced by Marathi and is engraved in the Nāgarī script.
The inscription commemorates a pious donation by the mahāpradhāna bhopaka Vyomaśambhu, who, with royal sanction of the sovereign, gifted a field in the hamlet of Veharali to the deity Vyomeśvara, a liṅga named after the donor himself. Dated to the Śaka 1106 (1184 CE), the grant specifies the boundaries of the field. It further states donation of Poruthi drammas for the mahābhoga of the deity on the solar eclipse. The document, recorded by the scribe Mādhava and the officer Gopirāja, concludes with a traditional imprecatory formula and mentions the presence of the holy footprints (pādukā) of Vyomeśvaradeva.
1. siddham | svasti | jayaścābhyudayaśca śakanṛpakālā-
2. tītasaṃvatsaraśateṣvekādaśasu ṣaḍadhikeṣu yatrāṅka-
3. topi śaka saṃvat 1106 krodhisaṃvatsare kārttika va
4. di 15 some adyeha samastarājāvalīvirājita śrī-
5. madaparādityadevarājye . . mahāpradhānabhopakaśrīvyo-
6. maśaṃbhuḥ ityetasmin kāle pravartamāne śāsanaṃ samabhilikhyate yathā ṣaṭṣaṣṭi viṣaye srīcā
7. tarakeśvaradevasya dahasagrāmāntaḥ pātī veharali gāvakṣetre bhopakaśrīvyomaśaṃbhunā śrī-apa-
8. rādityadevān matyā sūryaparvaṇi . . . . . . . vyomeśvaradevāya . . . . . . . dattaḥ
9. . . . . . vāvakaḥ dakṣiṇataḥ rājamārgaḥ pūrvataḥ ārāmakaḥ uttarataḥ vyomeśvaradevāya dattamu-
10. . . . vidhi nimittāya poruthi dra 100 mahābhoganimittāya dra 30 daśavarṣāvadhī upari ṣo-
11. ruthi dra 30 . . . . . divākarasatka . . . . . . . . . .
12. avadhī . . . . . . . .
13. . . . . . . . umāśivāya prasādīkṛta dra 30 . . . . . . . .
14. . . . . . upari gṛhe 2 akareṇa . . . . . ācandratārakāvadhi
15. iye śāsane likhitā bhāṣā jo lopī athavā lopāvi yo gardabhanāthu gardabhu
16. tehācie māe sūryaparve gardabhu jhave iti vicārya tathā yasya yasya yadā bhūmistasya
17. tasya tadā phalamiti ślokārdha vicārya na kenāpi lopāyitavyam |
18. api tu sarveḥ pālanīyamiti | likhitaṃ sa mādhaveneti . . . . . . . .
19. śrīvyomeśvaradevāce pā-ula | maṅgalaṃ mahāśrīḥ
20. gopirājena likhitaṃ śāsanam |
Line 1-9
Success! Hail! May there be victory and prosperity!
In the expired śaka year eleven hundred increased by six, in figures, śaka year 1106—on Monday, the 15th tithi of the dark fortnight of Kārttika, in the cyclic year Krodhin—on this day, here, during the reign of the illustrious Aparādityadeva, adorned with all royal titles, when Bhopaka, the illustrious Vyomaśaṃbhu is the mahāpradhāna—at such a time this royal order is being written, viz. Bhopaka, the illustrious Vyomaśaṃbhu has, with the permission of the illustrious Aparādityadeva, donated to the god Vyomeśvara a field in the Veharali village (hamlet) situated in the Dahasagrāma included in the Ṣaṭṣaṣṭi viṣaya, on the occasion of a solar eclipse. On its. . . . . a field; on the south, a public way; on the east, an orchard; on the north,. . . . this field has been donated to the holy Vyomeśvara.
Line 10-14
For. . . . Poruthi drammas 100, for the god’s food-offerings for a period of ten years; thereafter Poruthi drammas 30. . . . . belonging to Divākara. . . . have been gifted to the god Umā-Śiva. . . . two houses, free from house tax, so long as the moon and the stars endure.
Line 15-20
Whoever will destroy or cause to be destroyed the contents of this royal order his mother will be violated by an ass which is the best among asses.
Knowing this and also the meaning of the half verse, viz. whoever is the owner of the land, to him belongs then the religious merit of the gift, none should destroy this gift. On the other hand, all should preserve it. This has been written by the sāndhivigrahika Mādhava.
Here is the foot-print of the holy Vyomeśvaradeva. May there be happiness and great prosperity!
The royal order has been written by Gopirāja.
Glossary
Dramma – A unit of currency donated for rituals and maintenance of the temple.
Gardabha-śāpa – The “ass-curse,” a traditional malediction in grants threatening violators.
| Dynasty: | Śilāhāra |
| Ruler: | Aparāditya II |
| Date: | 5th November 1184 CE (Cyclic year Krodhin, Kārtika dark fortnight, Śaka 1106) |
| Place: | Veharali village (hamlet) in Dahasagrāma |
| Donee: | The temple of Vyomeśvaradeva |
| Language: | Sanskrit mixed with Marathi |
| Deities: | Śiva |
| Nature of grant: | Religious endowment, Land donation |
| Purpose: | To provide offerings, food, and maintenance for the temple of Vyomeśvara and for the deity Umā-Śiva |
| Provenance of inscription: | Lonad, Thane district, Maharashtra |
| Type of Inscription: | Stone Inscription |
| Source: |
