9058009423

220 K. K. SI1AH

purpose. The only reason for this obvious indilTerence on the part of such a profound scholar appears to be his disagreemcnt with hislorians intcrpreting the sociological data contained in the record. This divergence of opinion we will discuss bclow, though it is difficult to agree with one interpretation when the inscription is analysed in its totality.

1.2. The inscription consists of 44 verses of which the first three are in the naturę of mańgala addressed to the Sungod followed by two verses mentioning the migration of the guild of silk-weavers from Lata to Daiapura or Mandsaur and the city, as it then was, finds a graphic description in the next eight verses. We have a glowing description of the Guild as also of the diversified activity of its members in verses fourteen to twenty-two. Ncxt follows a verse referring to contemporary Gupta empcror; another seven in praise of the local ruler. Then we have the poetic description of season alongwith the datę of the construction of the tempie, which is followed by rcference to its restoration thirty-six years later, again, with discription of the season when it was execulcd and both these events are covered by the verses from thirty-one to forty-two. The next verse is benediction in content that the tempie may last for ever and finally figures Vatsabhatti in the last verse as composer of this purv8 and overseer of the making and repairing of the tempie. Having hurricdly summariscd the contents of the inscription in chronological order, we will now cite below the vcrses exclusively concemed with the silk-wcavcrs and analyse the data so obtained.'

||VII

snćtl^T !FW MHlftt-41'MI:    Iftll

Hcre we have elear rcference to migration of the silk-weavers from LSta-visaya (South Gujarat) to Daiapura (Mandsaur) in Malwa but the dale of migration is not given. The sole reason for this mass migration is given as the virtuous king of Daśapura to whom they were manifestly attracted, so much so that they did not mind the discomforts experienced in course of the long journey. The migration was not sudden, because first they came in ‘thought ‘ and then in person, and of course, with their families, perhaps the wholc kin-group.

1.3. Now we cite bclow vcrscs sixteen to nincteen alongwith their English translation as given by D.B. Diskalkar as they are central to our discussion of contemporary social structure in Malwa.

f¥r#r^tRTrup>ji4 srtwtw: forowi iw ^ ott 45 4ifoj iuąn