Kuruspal

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Kuruspal (कुरुसपाल) is a village in Bastar tahsil of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh.

Variants

Origin

Jat Gotras Namesake

Location

It is situated 32km away from sub-district headquarter Bastar (tehsildar office) and 50km away from district headquarter Jagdalpur. According to Census 2011 information the location code or village code of Kurushpal village is 449292. Kurushpal village is located in Bastar tehsil of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh, India. As per 2009 stats, Kurushpal village is also a gram panchayat. The total geographical area of village is 160.31 hectares. Bastar is nearest town to kurushpal for all major economic activities, which is approximately 32km away.[1]

History

Narayanpal and Kuruspal are quite close to each other, the former being situated on the river Indravati. Near these villages are the forts of Rajapur and Bodra, and not far away the beautiful falls of the Indrvati at Chitrakut present a magnificent appearance. Narayanpal is only 6 miles from Gadia and has an old temple, an image of Vishnu, and an inscription. [2]

III. Kuruspal inscription of Dharana-Mahadevi, second queen(?) of Somesvara

Source – Epigraphia Indica Vol. IX (1907-08): A S I, Edited by E. Hultzsoh, Ph.D. & Sten Konow, Ph.D.,pp. p.163

Kuruspal is a village about a mile off from Narayanpal. The inscription was found built upside down into the steps of a small tank, which shows that it did not belong to the tank itself, but was brought away from some ruins, possibly the temple built in the centre of the tank, and was utilised without regard to what was engraved on it. It is in the Nagari character, the language being Sanskrit with very bad spellings. The object of the inscription is to record a grant of land situated near Kalamba by Dharana-Mahadevi, who seems to have been the second queen of Somesvaradeva. The inscription belongs to the victorious reign of Maha-rajadhiraja Somesvaradeva

The same long birudas are in the Narayanpal and Barsur inscriptions are attached to Somesvaradeva's name. The inscription also mentions the name of Narayanapura. It is dated in the Saumya samvatsara.

No. 4 Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.

Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.28.jpg
Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.29.jpg
Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.30.jpg
Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.31.jpg

No. 4 Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.

By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, B.A; Nagpur.

Source : Epigraphia Indica & Record of the Archaeological Survey of India, Vol.X, 1909-10, pp.25-28


[p.25]: The subjoined inscription was found at Kuruspal, a village in the Bastar State, by Rai Bahadur Diwan Baijnath, who kindly sent me impressions of it together with a transcript from the original stone. I, however, waited for better impressions from the Archeological Department and these I received in due course, but as the writing is illegible owing to the roughness and bad state of the stone, it has not been possible to secure very satisfactory copies. Under the circumstances I have not been able to decipher the record satisfactorily and the difficulty has been aggravated by the fact that almost the whole of the left side of the stone is broken off carrying away about 5 or 6 letters of many lines; and some letters on the right side also are gone. It seems almost impossible to restore the lost portion and it is unfortunate that some letters belonging to proper names have disappeared, However, there is still enough left to invest the record with some importance. I have, therefore, endeavoured to elicit this portion without paying much attention to the unimportant passages, such, for instance, as those enumerating the names of the inhabitants or castes which I have mostly allowed to remain as read by Mr. Baijnath from the original stone, from line 24 to the bottom. The record contains altogether 39 lines covering a space 5' 8" x 2' 4" on the stone, which in its present mutilated form measures 5' 3" x 2' 4". These are the greatest lengths and breadths which are not uniform throughout, because the stone is broken on all aides. The characters are bold averaging about 1", but many of them are worn out. They belong to the Nagari alphabet, those appearing in the antiquated form being i, ē, cha, ņ dha, bha, ra, śa, and sa. The language is Sanskrit, partly prose and partly verse, the composition not being being free from grammatical or spelling mistakes. The birudas or family titles from the commencement to line 6 are in prose, the composition being in a style somewhat characteristic of the southern records ; compare, for instance, the Nadagam plates of Vajrahasta (above, Vol. IV. p. 189). From line 21 there is again prose dealing with the business portion of the record, which ends with the usual imprecatory verses and the engraver's name, etc., in prose. Underneath the record are carved the figures of a cow, a linga, a dagger, a shield and the sun, the signification of which as imprecatory symbols has been elsewhere explained.1

The inscription- records the grant by king Somesvaradeva of a village whose name cannot be made out, but from the boundaries it appears that to its south was the Indranadi and to its east a village named Aranga (आरंग) and to the west Kapalika (कपालिक). The name of the village to the north is also not clear. The birudas of the family to which Somesvaradeva belonged correspond to those mentioned in the Narayanpal 3 (नरायनपाल) inscription with a few additions and variations. They state that the king belonged to the Nagavamsa (नागवंश) and to the Kasyapa gotra. He had a tiger crest and snake banner and acquired sovereignty of Chakrakuta through the favour of the goddess Vindhyavasini. In connection with the last biruda I have already referred to this inscription (above, Vol. IX. p. 179) where I have shown that Chakrakuta lay somewhere near the present capital of Bastar. The personal eulogy of the king who is styled Maharajadhiraja Paramabhattaraka Parmesvara, informs us that Somesvara was the son of Dharavarsha (धारावर्ष), whose grandson was Kanharadeva (कन्हरदेव). The latter was only heir-apparent at the time our inscription was engraved. There is nothing new in this genealogy as we already


1. Above, Vol. IX. p. 161,

2. ibid p.311

3. [This statement refers evidently to the Kanharadeva mentioned in L.7 of the text. It is, however, open to question if this Dharavarsha is identical with his namesake mentioned in L.11, in view of the fact that a king named Nagatideva (नागतिदेव) is introduced in L.9. Again, there is no necessity to mention the grandson o{ Dharavarsha in L. 7, as the record belongs to the time of his son Somesvara. But as the inscription is considerably damaged, the question must be left to be decided by future researches, - Ed,]


[p.26]....(?) inscription.1 The subjoined record, however, refers to certain contemporary kings, and had the whole of this portion been capable of being deciphered or restored, it would probably have solved some important historical problems. Most of these kings are mentioned here by the names of their countries or capitals, those quite clear being Uḍra, Lanji, Ratnapura, Lemṇa, Vengi, Bhadrapattana and Vajra. Owing to the mutilated state of the record it is not certain whether Somesvara claimed to have conquered them, but one implication is, plain, viz, that they were his rivals. In verse 8 it is stated that, having killed the powerful king Madhurantaka in battle and having put other kings to trouble, he became, as it were, a junior Narayana by imitating the latter's action in having killed Madhura and a host of other demons. The next two verses speak of the burning of Vengi and subjugation of Bhadrapattana and Vajra, his greatest exploit apparently being the killing of Madhurantaka. From his Rajapura plates 3 the latter appears to have occupied Chakrakuta, of which Somesvara claimed to be the hereditary ruler. The burning of capital towns seems to have been a favourite form of annoyance to unfriendly rulers and was perhaps regarded as a great achievement. Our hero boasts of having 'burnt Vengi like the great Arjuna who fired the Khandava forest.' This was at the most a tit for tat, as we find Chakrakuta itself burnt several times by the Kings of the countries on the other aide of the Godavari (see above, Vol. IX. p. 179). Vengi was the country between the Godavari and the Krishna, 3 and our inscription mentions the name of Virachoda (वीरछोड़), who, as we know from other sources, was the viceroy 4 of this country appointed by his father. Somesvara seems to have added another laurel to his fame by burning the forests of the Vajra country. The acme of exaggeration is reached in the vainglorious boast contained in the llth verse in which it is stated that Somesvara took 6 lakhs and 96 villages of the Kosala country. Of course Kosala here refers to Maha-Kosala or Dakshina-Kosala which extended from the confines of Berar to Orissa and from Amarakantaka to his own territory in Bastar. It is doubtful whether even this extensive area ever contained as many as 6 lakhs of villages, but even supposing that it did, there is absolutely nothing to justify the boast that Somesvara ever became king of that country. It is possible that he may have raided a part of Kosala and may have held it in his possession until driven out again. This surmise seems to be supported by Jajalladeva's 5 inscription dated 1114 AD, Jajalladeva was king of Dakshina-Kosala ruling at Ratanpur, and in his eulogy referred to above, he is stated to have 'seized in battle Somesvara, having slain an immense army. No details are given as to who Somesvara was, but from synchronistic allusions it is apparent that he was identical with the donor of our inscription. The Narayanpal 6 epigraph, which is dated 1111 A.D., explicitly mentions that Kanharadeva became king on the death of Someshvara, and we know from the Barsur7 inscription that he was living in 1108 A.D. The Ratanpur epigraph was engraved in 1114 and these dates are so close to each other as to leave little doubt in the matter.

Returning to the list of countries, we know Udra to be the old name of Orissa, Lanji, 8 a well-known tract in the district of Balaghat, Ratnapura, the capital of the Haihayas in Dakasina Kosala, and Vengi, the country between the Godavari and Krishna, Lemṇa may be Lavana, the eastern tract of the Raipur district. So far, the inscription does not give us any new information, but the remaining two names, viz. Vajra and Bhadrapattana, are interesting. Vajra or Vayiragaram is mentioned in Tamil literature and inscriptions. 9 The earliest reference to Vajra is perhaps in the Tamil poem Shilappadigāram10 which is believed to have between 110 and 140 A.D. It is stated in this poem that the Chola king Karikāla


1. Above Vol. I. p, 315. f.

2. Ibid p.174

3. See Ind. Ant. Vol VI P.63, and above Vol. IV, p.36,

4. South Ind Inscr Vol.I,p.51

5. Above, Vol I, p.38

6. Above Vol IX,p.161 et seq

7. Ibid p.162 f

8. Lanjika is mentioned along with Vairagara in the Ratnapur inscription of Jajjaladeva among the provinces which paid tribute to him (Above Vol I, p.38). Ed.

9. See South Ind Inscr Vol.III, pp.132 and 140 , Vol II. p. 235.

10. The Tamils 1800 year ago p. 208


[p.27]: was on terms of friendship with the kings of Vajra, Magadha, and Avanti. How Vajra fared in later times there are no materials at present to elicit, but during the 10th and llth centuries it was apparently not so important or strong as in the early ages. A noteworthy fact is that in Tamil inscriptions it is always mentioned in conjunction with Chakrakota or Ṡakkarakkoṭṭṭam (शक्करकोट्टम), and since I have localised the latter in Bastar, it will now be easy to see why Vayiragaram must be Wairagarh (वैरागढ़) which adjoins the Bastar State and is situated not very far away from the place where the old Chakrakuta lay. This inscription itself confirms the identification of Chakrakuta with Bastar, as it calls Someshvaradeva the lord of Chakrakuta, and the happy quibble which the composer of our inscription has introduced in regard to the name Vajra 1 referring to diamonds and its conqueror as a ' diamond piercer,' to my mind definitely settles the question of the identification which does not appear to have been suggested or attempted before. Wairagarh was a well known diamond mine in olden days and it continued to be famous even in the times of Akbar to which the following quotation from the Ain-i-Aknari2 testifies : 'Kallam 3 is an ancient city of considerable importance ; it is noted for its buffaloes. In the vicinity is a zamindar named Babjeo of the Gond tribe, more generally known as Chanda ; a force of 1,000 horse and 40,000 foot is under his command. Biragarh (बीरागढ़) which, has a diamond mine and where figured cloths and other stuffs are woven, is under his authority. It is but a short time since that, he wrested it from another chief. Wild elephants abound.' The final note of Abul Fazl about wild elephants incidentally enables us to see how it was that Rajendra-Chola (Kulottunga I.) carried off many herds of elephants from Vayiragaram mentioned in the Tiruvorriyur inscription. 4 This is a further confirmation of the identity of the place. Should additional evidence be required as to Wairagarh having been a capital of ruling kings, it is furnished by its ancient remains 5 and the strong local tradition 6 according to which a line of Mānā kings held sway for some time. Mana or Mani is a semi-aboriginal caste, whose origin is obscure. They say that they came from Manikgarh in the Nizam's Dominions and my belief is that they were a branch of the Nagavamsi kings who worshipped Durga under the name of Manikyadevi. 7


1. It may be noted that the correct name of Wairagarh is Vajrakara (वज्राकर), which means ' diamond mine ' and has nothing to do with garh or fort. The real meaning having been forgotten, folk-etymology stepped in a varring that the name meant the ' fort of Waira, a contraction of Vairāba, a ubiquitous king, whose capitals are found spread over numerous parts of India. The story spun out, while it tickled the pride of the loftal people, brought conviction home in view of the fact that a fort existed there. This fort is, however, a modern one (See Cunningham]]'s Reports, Vol. VII. p. 127).

2. Jarrett's Edition, Vol. II. pp. 229 and 280. Even prior to this, the Musalmans knew of the Wairagarh diamond mines. In the Burhān-i Ma, āsir from which Major J. S. King has compiled a history of the Bahmani dynasty, it is stated that in the year 879 (A.D. 1474) Sultan Muhammad Shah II, sat in state on the throne and gave a public audience to the amirs and nobility and in elegant language explained as follows:-" The announcers of news, have informed me that the district of Wairagadh which is in the possession of Jatak Raya, the ungrateful, is a mine of diamonds; and I am resolved that that district also, like all the others, shall be brought into the possession of the servants of this court ; and that in those districts the rights of Islam shall be introduced aud the symbols of infidelity and darkness be obliterated." It is stated that one 'Adil Khan was sent on this mission. He laid siege to the fortress at Wairagarh, whereupon Jatak Raya surrendered (Ind. Ant. Vol. XXVIII. p. 286).

3. Now in the Yeotmal district of Berar. It is quite close to Chanda.

4. South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III pp. 183-4

5. Cunningham's Reports, Vol. VII. p. 127.

6 Col. Luis Smith's Settlement Report of Chāndā (चांदा) district (1869), p. 61. The dates given in this report are conjectural, because the Colonel thought that the Gonds conquered the country about 870 A.D., and therefore the Mānās being their predecessors must have ruled before this. In the Chanda District Gazetteer (1309) it has been, however, clearly shown why the Gauds could not have come into possession of Chāndā until the 13th or 14th century A.D.

7 See for instance above, Vol. III. p. 318, where Somesvara is called ' a worshipper of the heavenly and holy lotus feet of the blessed Manikyadevi,' See also Elliott's Report on the Dependency of Bastar (1861), page 13, where he says that the present family of Bastar Rajas were worshipping the goddess ' Mānkeshwarea ' before they came to Bastar and that on their coming here she assumed the name of ' Danteshwaree' under which appellation she is still worshipped. My own belief is that with the change of the dynasty the old name of the goddess was changed and the Manikyadevi of the Nagavamsis became the Dantesvari of the present family.


[p.28]: The goddess, apparently, gave her name to the fort and to her worshippers, who, on being ousted mixed with the local Gonds and deteriorated so as to be regarded as a branch of the Gond tribe. Apart from all these considerations, there is epigraphical evidence of the existence of a family of chiefs at Wairagarh who are mentioned in the Ratanpar inscription of Jājalladeva 1 (dated 1114 AD) as paying tribute to the Haihayas of Dakshina-Kosala. The reference to Bhadrapattana, which is merely a variant of Bhadravati for metrical purposes, is again a point of great importance, because while on the one hand it affords still another proof of Wairagarh's identity, on the ether hand it confirms what I have elsewhere endeavoured to prove, viz. that the present Bhandak is the old Bhadravati. 2 Our inscription mentions Bhadrapattana in conjunction with the Vajra country, which shows that it was quite close to Vajra, Vajra heing Wairagarh, there is no place in its vicinity answering to Bhadrapattana except Bhandak, which is only about 70 miles from Wairagarh. There can be no doubt as to the antiquity of the place, and local tradition strongly supports its identification with Bhadravati. It once enjoyed the celebrity of being the capital of Maha-Kosala and it was this place which Hiuen Tssang visited.

With regard to the geographical names occurring in the grant portion of the inscription, the villages Aranga and Kapalika I am unable to trace, but Indranadi is the present Indravati, about a mile from Kuruspal which flowed through Chakrakuta. The modern representative of Chakrakuta is probably Chitrakuta which may be a corruption of the older name.


1. Above Vol.I,p.33. Note that the spelling of the name is Vairāgara and not Wairagarh. 2. Ind. Ant. 1908,p.208, footnote-19

No.5. Two Kuruspal Inscriptions of Dharana-Mahadevi.

No.5. Two Kuruspal Inscriptions of Dharana-Mahadevi Of the Time of Somesvaradeva
By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, B.A; Nagpur.

Source: Epigraphia Indica & Record of the Archaeological Survey of India, Vol.X, 1909-10, pp.31-34

Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.32.jpg
Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.33.jpg
Kuruspal Stone Inscription of Somesvaradeva.p.34.jpg

[p.31]: Kuruspal is a village about a mile off from Narayanpal 1 and 22 miles from Jagdalpur, the capital of the Bastar State. The name is probably a corruption of Krishnapura as Narayanpal is of Narayanapura. The place contains numerous ruins, among which there is a tank called Rani Tarai (रानी तरई). The first of the subjoined inscriptions had been built upside down in one of the steps of this tank and was found by Bai Bahadur Diwan Baijnath who supplied me with 3 impressions together with one of another fragmentary stone found in a field.2 The tank slab probably belonged to a temple built in the middle of the tank, and dedicated apparently to the god Kameshvara (Siva) referred to in the inscription. Both these inscriptions record the grant of land near Kalamba (now untraceable), and the gift was made in both cases by queen Dharana-Mahadevi (धारण महादेवी), who was apparently the consort 3 of Somesvaradeva. This Dharana-Mahadevi is also mentioned in the Narayanpal inscription, apparently as a transferer of the land granted by Gunda-Mahadevi. It is worthy of note that some names of the recipients mentioned


1. See above, Vol. IX. page 161.

2. The text was subsequently compared with fresh impressions supplied by the Government Epigraphist for India.

3. It may be noted that there is nothing definite to show that she was his wife, For aught one knows, she might have been his mother.


[p.32]: there (for instance Mahāṇaka Devadasa) also figure in the tank slab. The latter also mentions certain tenants who are stated to be residents of Narayanapura and Ṭemarā (टेमरा), both of which are close to Kuruspal. The subjoined inscriptions appear to be older than the Narayanpal record of Saka 1033. Both say that they were issued during the reign of Maharajadhiraja Somesvaradeva, who had of course died prior to Saka-Samvat 1033. Neither of them is dated, but on the tank slab I have read the name of the samvatsara as Saumya, which prior to S. 1033 fell in S-991. It therefore appears that they were issued about the year 1069 A.D. Somesvaradeva is stated to be born of the Naga race and has all the birudas attached to his name as in the Narayanpal inscription. The subjoined records afford no new historical information, but would perhaps be of some use when finally fixing the periods of reign of the Bastar branch of Sinda kings.

As farther inscriptions have been found in Kuruspal which will appear later on, it seems necessary to add here the distinguishing features of the slabs under notice. The tank slab measures 6' 10" X 2' 2" and the writing consisting of 26 lines covers 3' 4"x 2' 1". On the top is a linga in the middle with the sun and the moon to the left and 5 circles in a row to the right, probably representing the remaining 5 planets which give their names to the week days and indicating that the grant is to last aa long as they endure. At the bottom are engraved a cow, a dagger and shield and a donkey associating- with a pig which is an obscene imprecation explained in the test.

The fragmentary slab is 49" long and 15" or 16" broad. There are 16 lines of writing on it, most of which are incomplete. The first 3 lines together with portions of the fourth, and fifth are on a piece altogether broken off from the main slab. The greatest length of the space covered by the writing is 27" and breadth 15". The slab has no figures on the top, but at the bottom there are the same figures as on the tank slab.

The tank slab was engraved by one Damodara Sūtradhāra. The average size of the letters which are Nagari is l-1/4". The language is bad Sanskrit with the exception of the stereotyped birudavali. The noticeable orthographical peculiarity is that in some, places ja is used for ya as in line 11. The fragmentary inscription does not give, the name of its' engraver. The average size of its letters is 1-1/2".

Translation of A - Tank Slab

[p.33]: Om ! Hail ! In the [Saumya-samvatsara], during the auspicious (and) victorious reign of His Majesty the prosperous Rajabhushana Maharajadhiraja, the glorious Somesvaradeva, who was born of the race of the Naga (cobra), who is resplendent with the mass of rays (proceeding from) the jewels on (his) thousand hoods; who is the lord of Bhogavati, the best of cities, whose crest is a tiger together with a calf, who belongs to the Kasyapa- Gotra, whose shout of victory is (universally) known, who is the protector of the worlds, who is the great worshipper of Mahesvara (Siva), who is the supreme lord, who resembles a bee, which is rendered yellow by the mass of the pollen of the lotus feet of the great Mahesvara :-

Hail! [Somala]-Mahadevi (सोमल महादेवी), the peerless mother of the world, who was wholly sanctified by having bathed in the water of the- Ganges ; the second (queen ?) (was) Dharana-Mahadevi ; her gift; the land situated near Kalamba was given to the god [Ka]mesvara free of taxes and all 'encumbrances, (By?) Pandi[ta] Taṭṭakatala-Mahaṇaka, the land having been made a devadāya, was bestowed on the god.


[p.34]:

Translation of B Fragmentary Stone

In the Glorious and victorious reign of his majesty, the prosperous Rajabhushana Maharajadhiraja, the glorious Somesvaradeva, the queen Dharana- Mahadevi, the peerless mother of the world, who has bathed in the water of Ganges(and) whi is clever in (giving) charity, gave land situated near Kalemva free of all encumbrances and taxes, to the God Kameshvara. ....If any one does otherwise, his father (is) an ass (and his) mother a pig.

No.7. Kuruspal Stone Inscription Of Somesvradeva Saka Samvat 1019 (=1097 A.D.)

No.7. Kuruspal Stone Inscription Of Somesvradeva- Saka Samvat 1019
By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, B.A; Nagpur.

Source - Epigraphia Indica & Record of the Archaeological Survey of India, Vol.X, 1909-10, pp.37-38

Kuruspal Stone Inscription Of Somesvradeva.p.38.jpg

[p.37]: If the remoteness and inaccessibility of Kuruspal in the Bastar State of the Central Provinces have prevented the antiquarian from witnessing its ancient remains, temples, tanks, wells and gardens, the publication of inscriptions from that place have at least made him familiar with its antiquity and the importance it once enjoyed about a thousand years ago.

Local tradition avers that there were in that quondam town Sāt ūpar sāt fron baoli or 147 step-wells and as many tanks, and Rai Bahadur Baijnath, Diwan of Bastar, assures me that the story has a great deal of truth in it. Among the ruins on the bank of a tank known as Choryā-tarāi was found the present record, which like its three predecessors refers to the reign of the Nagavamsi king Somesvaradeva. There is, however, an agreeable departure in that it is dated. This is a point which renders its publication imperative in spite of the mutilated and extremely bad condition of the stone on which it is inscribed. The stone in fact is not in whole. It is broken into two pieces, and erosion has had its ample share in obliterating the letters. The stone with both the pieces put together measures 5' 0-1/2"x 2 ; 1-1/2, the length of the inscribed portion being 3' 1" with 24 lines, each about 2' 1" long. The average size of the letters, which belong to the Nagari alphabet, is about 1", The language is Sanskrit prose and there are no peculiar features in orthography other than those found and noticed in other inscriptions from Kuruspal.

The object of the inscription is apparently to record a dedication of a lamp to the god Lokesvara by the inhabitants of a village not named. It appears that a subscription of 11 gadyānakas (coins) was raised by them. The dedication was made 'in the Saka year 1019 during the victorious reign of the illustrious Somesvaradeva, who belonged to the Naga family, who was the lord of Bhogavati, the best of cities ; the space between the ten quarters was resounding with the deep sound from the shrill drums proclaiming whose brilliant victories ; whose crest was a cow and tiger; who was, as it were, the sun to the lotus of the Chhinda family; who resembled a bee which was rendered yellow by the mass of the pollen on the lotus, i.e. the feet of the great (god) Mahesvara, who was the store-house of statesmanship ; who was the shelter of the whole world ; -who was like Arjuna in using the bow ; who was the lord of kings ; who was by birth as beautiful as the god of love ; who was terrible to his opponents (Pratigaṇḍabhairava) ; who was like Pururavas among kings ; who resembled the demi-gods in enjoyments ; who was brave like Narayana, glorious like Indra, true like Harishchandra, and in subduing passion, like Mahadeva, and who had acquired his kingdom by the force of his own arms.' In this birudavali, some of the titles are noteworthy as they wero also borne by Madhurantakadeva of the Rajapura plates,1 whom Somesvaradeva is stated to have killed in battle in the long inscription found at Kuruspal. 3 This would mean that both belonged to the same family, and that Somesvara killed his relative and himself became a king, ....not, however, appear necessary to discuss this point before the Telugu inscriptions of ....are published.

Returning to the date, it is to hi regretted that all the original details are not available due to the stone having broken off. The only thing that can be gleaned with certainty is .......(?) nakshatra Svati, the day which looks like Sanaischara or Saturday, ..... having become obliterated or lost. The figures of the year in the ....(?) indistinct, but Rai Bahadur Baijnath has satisfied himself from the original ... (?) 1019. Luckily, the cyclic year Isvara-samvatsara is also given. From


1. Above, p. 181. 2. Above, p, 26.


[p.38]: these insufficient data Mr. Gokul Praaad, Tahsildar of Dhamtari, has, however, calculated its English equivalent to be Saturday, the 18th July 1097 A.D. He states that the Isvarasamvatsara occurred in the Saka year 1020, so the year referred to in the inscription must be the one which had expired 1 and that in these two years, there was only one saptami combined with a Saturday and the Svati nakshatra, and this tithi belonged to the bright fortnight of the Sravana month in Saka 1020 current.

Population

Kurushpal has a total population of 640 peoples, out of which male population is 330 while female population is 310. Literacy rate of kurushpal village is 41.56% out of which 50.30% males and 32.26% females are literate. There are about 149 houses in kurushpal village. Pincode of kurushpal village locality is 494010.[3]

References


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