Anvaldi Sati Pillar Inscription of Somesvara and Prithvi Raja III
Summary
R.C. Agrawala’s article focuses on an unusual double inscription on a sati (widow-immolation) pillar from Anvaldi, a village near Jahazpur in the Mewar region. Now preserved in the Victoria Hall Museum at Udaipur, the square pillar bears carving on its upper portion and contains two separate inscriptions engraved in crude Devanagari script. The top inscription (Inscription A) occupies four lines and records the death of a warrior named Jehada, a Dodiya chief, during the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Prithviraja. Agrawala dates the record to Vikrama Samvat 1245, which corresponds to 1188–89 AD, during the Cauhan ruler Prithviraja III’s reign. Inscription A uses formulaic phrases praising the king and reports that Jehada committed sati after her husband died in battle. The second inscription (Inscription B), found below the first and consisting of six lines, is a separate record dated V.S. 1234 (1177–78 AD). It refers to another noble but the text is badly weathered. Agrawala compares his readings with earlier notices by scholars like G.H. Ojha and H.C. Ray, highlighting discrepancies: Ojha read the date of Inscription A as Samvat 1244, while Ray misinterpreted some of the letters. Agrawala argues that the Anvaldi inscriptions provide valuable evidence for dating the reign of Prithviraja III, especially as they record his title Mahārājādhirāja rather than the more modest titles found in some chronicles. He also analyses a related inscription from Bajata near Ajmer dated V.S. 1245, which similarly mentions Prithviraja III. By correlating these epigraphs with other known records, such as the Bijolia inscription and the famed Prithviraja Vijaya, Agrawala suggests that Prithviraja’s reign extended at least into 1189 AD. The article concludes by emphasising that small regional records like sati pillars can shed light on larger political histories. The Anvaldi pillar also illustrates the social practice of sati among Rajput elites and the use of commemorative inscriptions to perpetuate genealogies and heroic narratives.
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Conclusion
The Anvaldi sati pillar carries two crude Devanagari inscriptions that commemorate warriors and their widows during the reign of Prithviraja III. Agrawala’s careful reading corrects earlier misdatings and demonstrates that one record is from V.S. 1245 and another from V.S. 1234. These dates, along with a related Bajata inscription, extend Prithviraja III’s known reign and confirm his status as Mahārājādhirāja. The study highlights how local memorials, though minor in appearance, are essential for reconstructing the chronology of major dynasties and for understanding practices like sati among medieval Rajput elites.