Kasare Plates of Allaśakti

Lines 1 to 9

Success! Hail!

In the great lineage of the Sendraka kings, which is firmly established, excellent, and elevated like the peak of the mountain Meru, and the fame of which has become expanded, there was the illustrious Bhānuśakti, who obtained victory in the clash of fight by means of the arrays of troops of many four-tusked elephants; who conquered the multitude of all his foes; who obtained the circle of the earth by the might and prowess of his arms; and whose lotus-like feet were scratched by the diadems on the heads of all the feudatories who bowed to him. And again:

Verse 1 

Born in the family of those eminent Sendrakas, seeing the mass of lustre of whose swords, emitting sparks of fire and resembling flashes of lightning, even Śakra cannot hold his ground while fighting on the battlefield where horses lie slain and the ground overflows with blood flowing from the cut-off frontal globes of hostile elephants, there was the king, the illustrious Nikumbha, who resembled Indra.

Verse 2 

His son was the illustrious Ādityarāja, the guardian of the people, whose fame spread all over the earth; who was stainless like the sun; who had the splendour of the sun; who with affection always thought of the well-being of the people; who placed his foot on the heads of great kings who had large armies, even as the sun casts his rays on the summits of high mountains having extensive ridges; and who, being like the eye of the people as the sun is of the worlds, has destroyed the ignorance of the people, even as the sun dispels darkness.

Lines 10 to 16 

His son is the Pṛthivīvallabha, the illustrious Nikumbha Allaśakti, who has caused the destruction of the greatness, due to might, of his powerful adversaries; whose stainless fame is like the orb of the spotless autumnal moon; who is waited upon by learned men and musicians even as the lord of gods (Indra) is served by the vidyādharas and gandharvas; who is fit to be served; who has his mind purified by delightful knowledge and actions; who causes delight to the humble even as Garuḍa did to his mother Vinatā; who has put an end to disputes about the possession of ploughed fields as Rāma finished fighting for the rescue of his wife Sītā; who, again, is:

Verse 3 

The king Allaśakti, who on earth bears resemblance to Yudhiṣṭhira because his fortune is governed by the brāhmaṇas; because he honours the elders and is always at the head and ready; because his mind is purified by righteous deeds even as Yudhiṣṭhira’s was by the valorous deeds of Arjuna; because he is pious-minded and is followed by an excellent army as Yudhiṣṭhira was called Dharma and was accompanied by his brother, the noble Bhīmasena; because his gifts are always shared by the brāhmaṇas (those whose person is worshipped) together with the gods, even as Yudhiṣṭhira’s person was honoured by Sahadeva and his gifts were shared by all; and because his family is friendly and untarnished, even as Yudhiṣṭhira’s brother Nakula exterminated his foes.

Lines 17 to 20 

He, the Pṛthivīvallabha, the illustrious Nikumbha Allaśakti, who meditates on the feet of his mother and father; who is a devout worshipper of Maheśvara and very pious; and who has attained the pañcamahāśabda, being in good health, addresses the following order to all the kings, feudatories, heads of viṣayas, catoroddharaṇikas, daṇḍapāṣikas, dūtas, gamāgamikas, the mahattaras of the village, officials, and others:

Lines 20 to 25 

“Be it known to you that for the increase of the religious merit and fame of my parents and myself, I have granted, with a libation of water, fifty nivartanas of land to the south of the Parṇandha river in the village of Pippalakheṭa, to be enjoyed by a succession of sons and sons’ sons as long as the moon, the sun, the ocean, and the earth will endure, according to the maxim of waste land, to the brāhmaṇa Bālapravasita of the Kṛṣṇātreya gotra, who is a student of the Mādhyandina śākhā of the Vājasaneya (or White Yajurveda), for the use of the god Alaṅghyeśvara.

Lines 26 to 28 

Wherefore future kings, whether born in our family or others, should consent to and preserve this our gift. It has been said by the holy Vyāsa, the redactor of the Vedas: 

(Here follows one benedictive and imprecatory verse).

Lines 29 to 31 

The banks, groves, and tanks in the donated land are to be enjoyed at all times according to the proper custom. This charter is written by Devadinna by the order of the mahābalādhikṛta, the illustrious Vāsava. In the year 404, on the new-moon day in the dark fortnight of Āṣāḍha, on the occasion of a solar eclipse.

Seal 

The illustrious Allaśakti