The Nacne-Kī-Talāī stone inscriptions, discovered near the fort of Kuthara in Madhya Pradesh, consist of two epigraphic records engraved on a single loose slab. The first inscription is an incomplete draft on the side, while the second one is fully executed on the front face, surrounding a central wheel motif. Engraved in the box-headed Brāhmī script, the records are composed entirely in Sanskrit prose. They belong to the reign of the Vākāṭaka king Pṛthivīṣeṇa and mentions the Ucchakalpa king Vyāghra.
The incomplete inscription mentions the names of Pṛthivīṣeṇa and Vyāghradeva. The brief text of the completed inscription documents a pious dedication by Vyāghradeva, who acknowledges his political subservience by explicitly declaring that he meditates on the feet of the Vākāṭaka mahārāja Pṛthivīṣeṇa. The exact nature of the dedication is not specified within the text. Vyāghradeva executed this meritorious act specifically for the religious benefit of his mother and father.
No. 1
1. vākāṭakānām mahārājaśrīpṛthivīṣeṇa-
2. . . . . . vyā ghra
No. 2
1. vākāṭakānām mahārājaśrī-
2. pṛthivīṣeṇapādā nuddhyāto
3. vyāghradevo mātāpitroḥ puṇyārtthe
4. kṛtavāniti |
No. 1
...of the illustrious Pṛthivīṣeṇa, the mahārāja of the Vākāṭakas..... Vyāghra...
No. 2
Vyāghradeva, who meditates on the feet of the illustrious Pṛthiviseṇa II, the Mahārāja of the Vākāṭakas, has made this for the religious merit of his mother and father.
| Dynasty: | Ucchakalpa |
| Ruler: | Vyāghradeva |
| Date: | c. 470 to 490 CE |
| Language: | Sanskrit |
| Script: | Box-headed Brāhmī |
| Nature of grant: | Religious endowment |
| Purpose: | To record a construction done by the king for the religious merit of his parents |
| Provenance of inscription: | Nacne-Kī-Talāī, Kuthara, Madhya Pradesh |
| Type of Inscription: | Stone inscription |
| Source: |
Bibliography & Research
- Fleet, J. F. (1888). No 53 & 54. Nachane Ki Talai Stone Inscriptions of the Maharaja Prithvishena. In Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum (pp. 233-234). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Mirashi, V. V. (Ed.). (1963). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: The Inscriptions of the Vākāṭakas (Vol. V). Archaeological Survey of India.
