Mandasor Pillar Inscriptions of Yasodharman

SIDDHAM has published the critically edited version of the inscription as:[7]

Pillar of Yashodharman at Sondani, Mandsaur, bearing the Sondani inscription.

1. vepante yasya bhīmastanitabhayasamudbhrāntadaityā digantāḥśṛṅgāghātaiḥ sumeror vvighaṭitadṛṣadaḥ kandarā yaḥ karoti|ukṣāṇaṃ taṃ dadhānaḥ kṣitidharatanayādattapañcāṅgulāṅkaṃdrāghiṣṭhaḥ śūlapāṇeḥ kṣapayatu bhavatāṃ śatrutejāṅsi ketuḥ||
2. āvirbhūtāvalepair avinayapaṭubhir llaṅghitācāramārggairmmohād aidaṃyugīnair apaśubharatibhiḥ pīḍyamānā narendraiḥ|yasya kṣmā śārṅgapāṇer iva kaṭhinadhanurjyākiṇāṅkaprakoṣṭhaṃbāhuṃ lokopakāravratasaphalaparispandadhīraṃ prapanā||
3. nindyācāreṣu yo smin vinayamuṣi yuge kalpanāmāttravṛtyārājasv anyeṣu pāṅsuṣv iva kusumabalir nnābabhāse prayuktaḥ|sa śreyodhāmni samrāḍ iti manubharatālarkkamāndhātṛkalpekalyāṇe hemni bhāsvān maṇir iva sutarāṃ bhrājate yattra śabdaḥ||
4. ye bhuktā guptanāthair nna sakala vasudhākkrāntidṛṣṭapratāpairnājñā hūṇādhipānāṃ kṣitipatimukuṭāddhyāsinī yān praviṣṭā|deśāṃs tān dhanvaśailadrumaśahanasaridvīrabāhūpagūḍhānvīryāvaskannarājñaḥ svagṛhaparisarāvajñayā yo bhunakti
5. ā lauhityopakaṇṭhāt talavanagahanopatyakād ā mahendrādā gaṅgāśliṣṭasānos tuhinaśikhariṇaf paścimād ā payodheḥ|sāmantair yasya bāhudraviṇahṛtamadaiḥ pādayor ānamadbhiścūḍāratnāṅśurājivyatikaraśabalā bhūmibhāgāḥ kriyante||
6. sthāṇor anyattra yena praṇatikṛpaṇatāṃ prāpitaṃ nottamāṅgaṃyasyāśliṣṭo bhujābhyāṃ vahati himagirir durggaśabdābhimānaM|nīcais tenāpi yasya praṇatibhujabalāvarjjanakliṣṭamūrddhnācūḍāpuṣpopahārair mmihirakulanṛpeṇārccitaṃ pādayugmaM||
7. [gā]m evonmātum ūrddhvaṃ vigaṇayitum iva jyotiṣāṃ cakkravālaṃnirddeṣṭuṃ mārggam uccair ddiva iva sukṛtopārjjitāyāḥ svakīrtteḥ|tenākalpāntakālāvadhir avanibhujā śrīyaśodharmmaṇāyaṃstambhah stambhābhirāmasthirabhujaparigheṇocchritiṃ nāyito ttra||
8. ś(l)āghye janmāsya vaṅśe caritam aghaharaṃ dṛśyate kāntam asmindharmmasyāyaṃ niketaś calati niyamitaṃ nāmunā lokavṛttaṃ|ity utkarṣaṃ guṇānāṃ likhitum iva yaśodharmmaṇaś candrabimberāgād utkṣipta uccair bhuja iva rucimān yaḥ pṛthivyā vibhāti||
9. iti tuṣṭūṣayā tasyanṛpateḥ puṇyakarmmaṇaḥ|vāsulenoparacitaḥ ślokaḥkakkasya sūnunā||utkīrṇṇā govindena||

The inscription was translated by John Faithfull Fleet in Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: Inscriptions of the Early Guptas in 1888:[4]

1. "May that very long banner of (the god) Shûlapâni destroy the glory of your enemies;(that banner) which bears (a representation of) the bull (Nandi), marked by the five fingers (dipped in some dye and then) placed on him by (Pârvati) the daughter of the mountain (Himalaya), who causes the distant regions, in which the demons are driven wild with fear by (his) terrible bellowings, to shake; (and) who makes the glens of (the mountain) Sumeru to have their rocks split open by the blows of his horns!

2. He, to whose arm, as if (to the arm) of (the god) Shârngapâni,— the fore-arm of which is marked with callous parts caused by the hard string of (his) bow, (and) which is steadfast in the successful carrying out of vows for the benefit of mankind,— the earth betook itself (for succour), when it was afflicted by kings of the present age, who manifested pride; who were cruel through want of proper training; who, from delusion, transgressed the path of good conduct; (and) who were destitute of virtuous delights

3. He who, in this age which is the ravisher of good behaviour, through the action simply of (his good) intentions shone gloriously, not associating with other kings who adopted a reprehensible course of conduct,— just as an offering of flowers (is beautiful when it is not laid down) in the dust;— he in whom, possessed of a wealth of virtue, (and so) falling but little short of Manu and Bharata and Alarka and Mândhâtri, the title of "universal sovereign" shines more (than in any other), like a resplendent level (set) in good gold

4. He who, spurning (the confinement of) the boundaries of his own house, enjoys those countries,— thickly covered over with deserts and mountains and trees and thickets and rivers and strong-armed heroes, (and) having (their) kings assaulted by (his) prowess,— which were not enjoyed (even) by the lords of the Guptas, whose prowess was displayed by invading the whole (remainder of the) earth, (and) which the command of the chiefs of the Hûnas , that established itself on the tiaras of (many) kings, failed to penetrate

5. He before whose feet chieftains, having (their) arrogance removed by the strength of (his) arm, bow down, from the neighbourhood of the (river) Lauhitya (Brahmaputra River)[8] up to (the mountain) Mahendra, the lands at the foot of which are impenetrable through the groves of palmyra-trees, (and) from (Himâlaya) the mountain of snow, the tablelands of which are embraced by the (river) Gangâ, up to the Western Ocean,— by which (all) the divisions of the earth are made of various hues through the intermingling of the rays of the jewels in the locks of hair on the tops of (their) heads

The name "Mihirakula" (Gupta script: , Mmihirakula) in line 6 of the duplicate Mandasor Pillar Inscriptions of Yasodharman. The name also appears in the main inscription.

6. He by whom (his) head has never been brought into the humility of obeisance to any other save (the god) Sthânu;— he, through the embraces of whose arms (Himâlaya) the mountain of snow carries no longer the pride of the title of being a place that is difficult of access;— he to whose two feet respect was paid, with complimentary presents of the flowers from the lock of hair on the top of (his) head, by even that (famous) king Mihirakula, whose forehead was pained through being bent low down by the strength of (his) arm in (the act of compelling) obeisance

7. By him, the king, the glorious Yashodharman, the firm beams of whose arms are as charming as pillars, this column, which shall endure to the time of the destruction of the world, has been erected here,— as if to measure out the earth; as if to enumerate on high the multitude of the heavenly lights; (and) as if to point out the path of his own fame to the skies above, acquired by good actions;

8. (this column) which shines refulgent, as if it were a lofty arm of the earth, raised up in joy to write upon the surface of the moon the excellence of the virtues of Yashôdharman, to the effect that— "His birth (is) in a lineage that is worthy to be eulogised; there is seen in him a charming behaviour that is destructive of sin; he is the abode of religion; (and) the (good) customs of mankind continue current, unimpeded (in any way) by him.

9. From a desire thus to praise this king, of meritorious actions, (these) verses have been composed by Vâsula, the son of Kakka. (This eulogy) has been engraved by Gôvinda."

— Mandsaur Pillar Inscription of Yashodharman[2]

Info of Victory pillar of Yashodharman at Sondani, Mandsaur

Scholars have published a series of papers that question Fleet's translation and some have proposed significant revisions.[7] For example, Lorenz Franz Kielhorn published the following corrections, which Fleet concurred is a better translation:[9]

• Line 3: He, in whom, possessed of a wealth of virtue, (and so) failing but little short of Manu and Bharata and Alarka and Mandhatri, the title of 'universal sovereign' - which in this age that is the ravisher of good behavior, applied with a mere imaginary meaning to other kings, of reprehensible conduct, has not shone at all, (being in their case) like an offering of flowers (placed) in the dust, - shines even more (that it ordinarily does), like a resplendent jewel (set) in good gold.
• Line 6: He (Yasodharman) to whose two feet respect was paid, with complementary presents of the flowers from the lock of hair on the top of (his) head, by even that (famous) king Mihirakula, whose head had never (previously) been brought into the humility of obeisance to any other save (the god) Sthanu, (and) embraced by whose arms the mountain of snow falsely prides itself on being styled an inaccessible fortress, (and) whose forehead was pained through being (now for the first time) bent low down by the strength of (his) arm in (the act of compelling) obeisance.

The duplicate, but partial, Mandasor Pillar Inscription of Yasodharman.

Several additional inscriptions were discovered at the same Mandasor site by Fleet and other scholars between 1884 and 1923. One of these is a duplicate, but with many lines lost because of damage at some point later.[4][6]