The Indragadh Stone Inscription of Rastrakuta Nanna

Summary

The article examines a newly discovered stone inscription from Indragadh near Bhānpurā, roughly thirteen miles from the Jhalawar Road station in Madhya Pradesh. The inscription records the construction of a Śiva temple by a Pāśupata ascetic named Ācārya Dānārāśi during the reign of a Rāṣṭrakūṭa king whose name is read differently in various secondary reports. Some scholars read the king’s name as Nannappa, while others prefer Bhāsvāna or Bhāmana. The author provides a complete transcript of the Sanskrit record with a Hindi translation and carefully analyses the linguistic and palaeographic features to establish a more reliable reading. He traces the earliest notice of the inscription to the Indian Historical Quarterly and reviews a full translation published in the Madhya Bharat Sandesh. Drawing upon comparative evidence from the Kāhla plates and other copper‑plate grants, the article situates the inscription in the broader history of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa family that ruled in central India during the fifth and sixth centuries. It discusses the genealogical relationships among the Rāṣṭrakūṭa kings mentioned in different records and considers whether the Madhya Pradesh branch of the dynasty was connected to the better known Western Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The author shows that the Indragadh record provides valuable details about local religious patronage, temple architecture and the activities of Pāśupata teachers. The article also corrects previous conjectures regarding the identity of the king and proposes that the name Bhāmana, which occurs in other inscriptions, is more probable than Bhāsvāna. By highlighting the care needed in reading and interpreting fragmentary early medieval epigraphs, the study contributes to our understanding of regional dynasties and the spread of Śaivism in central India. The author emphasises that the record’s prose style and orthography reflect early Gupta influence, with the deity’s epithet and donor’s titles bearing similarities to other central Indian inscriptions. A philological discussion explains why certain akṣaras must be read as nasal retroflex consonants and not as palatal. The article also considers the socio‑political context of the temple construction, noting that Bhāmana’s patronage of Śiva indicates the growing importance of Pāśupata sects among regional rulers. The author compares the inscription to other Rāṣṭrakūṭa records from Jhalrapatan and Kanasva to propose a chronology of local kingship, arguing that Nanna or Nannappa may have ruled during the late fifth century. References to this dynasty in the Jodhpur plates and the Kalachuri inscriptions suggest an intricate network of alliances among minor kingdoms in the Malwa region. The study concludes by stressing that epigraphic discoveries like the Indragadh stone record fill gaps in dynastic histories and highlight the complexity of religious patronage. It encourages further excavation and preservation work in Bhānpurā and neighbouring areas to recover additional records that could clarify the genealogy and chronology of the central Indian Rāṣṭrakūṭas and their interaction with other powers.