| The
document is well preserved on the whole, but 4 syllables are gone in the middle of line
15, 4 to 12 syllables at the end of lines 23-28 and 2 to 5 in the first part of lines
49-52. Besides, a few single letters have been destroyed or become indistinct here and
there. The alphabet is the common Nagari of the 13th century. The language is not quite correct Sanskrit, and with the exception
of two short sentences in the beginning and at the end, is throughout metrical. Towards
the end, some Gujarati words and Gujaraticism appear. The inscription contains Prashasti
(Verse 75) composed in honour of the Lingas which a Shaiva ascetic called Tripurantaka,
erected at Somanatha Pattana or Devapattarn or Prabhasa, the famous Shaiva Tirtha in
Sorath, now usually called Veraval.
The poem consists of: St. 1 to 3: Mangala, preceded by a
short prose in vocation to Shiva. First two verses are addressed to Shiva, the third to
Ganesha. This is followed by the genealogy of the Chalukya kings of Gujarat, descendants
of Vyaghrapalliya or Vorghela branch founded by Dhavala. |
