Memorial pillar from site 57 at Nagarjunakonda — reign of Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, year 20

Editors: Arlo Griffiths, Vincent Tournier.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSEIAD00034.

Hand description:

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan.

Repository: Early Andhra (tfb-eiad-epigraphy).

Version: 2025-05-06 06:25 (a154659), last modified 2025-04-09 09:04 (139433a).

⟨1⟩ [mahā]⟨Fragment a⟩(r)[āja](sa) Asamedha-yā(j)⟨Fragment b⟩[isa] [Aneka-hi]⟨2⟩(ra)ṇa-k(o)ṭ⟨Fragment a⟩[i-go-sata-sahasa-hala-sata-sahasa-pa]⟨3⟩d(ā)yisa siri-ca(ṁ)tamu(la)⟨Fragment a⟩[sa putasa vāna]⟨4⟩vāsaka-niveḍha(ka)sa kim(i)l(ā) [1×]⟨Fragment a⟩[4+][to]⟨5⟩sala-kosala-paṭu-ma(gha)dhi-(si)ra(sā) [saṁpaṭi]⟨6⟩chita-sāsanasa vijha-(sela?)-vasa [4+] ⟨7⟩ siripavatādhipatisa ba(hu)-sa(ma)[ra-v](i)[jaya]⟨8⟩-ladha-patāpasa maṭhari-putasa [siri-vira]⟨9⟩purisadatasa savachara 20 (hepa satamaṁ) 7 ⟨10⟩ divasa 7 thap[i]tā pat[i]mā

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ [mahā]⟨Fragment a⟩(r)[āja](sa) ⬦ […] R • Reconstruction based on similar formulas, occurring for instance in EIAD 40. — ⟨1⟩ [Aneka-hi]⟨2⟩(ra)ṇa-k(o)ṭ⟨Fragment a⟩[i-go-sata-sahasa-hala-sata-sahasa-pa]⟨3⟩d(ā)yisa ⬦ (ra)ṇakoṭi […] (dā)yisa R • Reconstruction based on analogy with EIAD 40.

⟨3⟩ siri-ca(ṁ)tamu(la)⟨Fragment a⟩[sa putasa] ⬦ siri-caṁtamū(la) […] R • Reconstruction based on analogy with EIAD 30. — ⟨3⟩ [vāna]⟨4⟩vāsaka-niveḍha(ka)sa kim(i)l(ā) [1×] ⬦ vāsakativadantasa kamalaka R • The term kimilā seems to be the first element of a long compound running through most of l. 5. It is also rather obscure, although it is tempting to connect it to Pali kim(b)ilā and Sanskrit kr̥milā, on which see Sircar 1971, pp. 248–255.

⟨4⟩ [to]⟨5⟩sala-kosala-paṭu-ma(gha)dhi-(si)ra(sā) ⬦ salakosalapatsaumayadhi (siri) R • The first two of these four place names form a pair commonly encountered in literary sources. They are discussed at length in Lévi 1923, pp. 1–11 (= Lévi 1929, pp. 63–72). The third toponym, paṭu, is more obscure, but the pāṭavas or people of Paṭu feature in Purāṇic lists of people living in the Vindhyas (cf. Sircar 1971, p. 44). Their location is uncertain. Finally, maghadhi seems to point to the inhabitants of Magadha, the aspiration of the third consonant apparently having been imposed also on the second one. The form maghada with full inversion of aspiration is encountered in the manuscript tradition of the Śaktisaṅgamatantra, as noted in Sircar 1971, p. 85.

⟨5⟩ [saṁpaṭi]⟨6⟩chita-sāsanasa ⬦ […]chitasāsanasa R • Our reconstruction here is informed by the occurrence of the phrase sirasā saṁpaṭicchitasāsana, meaning “whose rule/teaching has been accepted by [the bowing of] the head” in Pali commentarial literature. See Dīghanikāyaṭṭhakathāṭikā (ed. De Silva 1970) III 158.4–5: gahetabba-vacano sirasā sampaṭicchita-sāsano; Itivuttakaṭṭhakathā (ed. Bose 1934–1936) I 78.8–10: evaṁ-mahānubhāvo ti cakka-ratanādi-samannāgamena kassaci pi pīḷaṁ akaronto va sabba-rājūhi sirasā sampaṭicchita-sāsana-vehāsagamanādīhi evaṁ mahānubhāvo.

⟨6⟩ vijha-(sela?)-vasa [4+] ⟨7⟩ siripavatādhipatisa ⬦ […] siripavatādhipatisa R • Read or emend viṁjha-. The reading (sela) is very uncertain, and admittedly not supported by such literary parallels as Rājaśekhara’s Kāvyamīmāṁsā (chapter 17, ed. Dalal and Sastry 1934, pp. 93–94): vindhya-dakṣiṇapāda-mahendra-malaya-mekala-pāla-mañjara-sahya-śrīparvatādayaḥ parvatāḥ.

⟨7⟩ ba(hu)-sa(ma)[ra-v](i)[jaya]⟨8⟩-ladha-patāpasa ⬦ bapusa […] ladhapatapasa R • Our restitution is tentative, but in whichever way we reconstruct this compound, it is clear that it offers an interesting antecedent to royal epithets borne by Viṣṇukuṇḍin rulers and Pr̥thivīśrīmūla. See, for instance, EIAD 181, l. 5: cāneka-cāturddanta-samara-śata-sahasra-saṅghaṭṭa-vijayī; 186, st. II: bahu-samara-jayopāttonata-śrīr; 189, ll. 7–9: Asakr̥d-aneka-niśita-nistriṁśa-sahasra-saṁkulātibhīma-saṁgrāma-bhūmi-pratilabdha-vijayī. A similar epithet is also found in the Kadamba corpus, in the Sirsi Grant of Kr̥ṣṇavarman, year 19, ll. 5–6: bahu-samara-vijaya-samadhigata-yaśo-rājya-śrīḥ.

⟨8⟩ maṭhari-putasa ⬦ māṭharīputasa R.

⟨9⟩ 20 (hepa satamaṁ) 7 ⬦ 20 (4) […] R.

⟨10⟩ thap[i]tā pat[i]mā ⬦ thāpitā patimā R.

Translation by Arlo Griffiths and Vincent Tournier

On the 7th day of the seventh 7th fortnight of the cold season in year 20 of Māṭharīputta Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, son of the Great King Siri-Cāntamūla—sacrificer of the Aśvamedha, giver of many tens of millions of [pieces of] gold, hundreds of thousands of cows and hundreds of thousands of plows of land—who has encircled the Vanavāsakas, whose commands are received on the head by [the people of] Kimilā, […] Tosala, Kosala, Paṭu, and Magadha, the overlord of the Vindhya mountain, of […], and of Śrīparvata, who has obtained splendor from victory in many battles—this image has been established.

Commentary

The sculpted panels foreground the figure of Cāntamūla, the founder of the dynasty, and remind viewers of his accomplishments, while perhaps gesturing at the continuity of the line in the form of the young prince; for its part, the inscription foregrounds the figure of Vīrapurisadatta, adding his own accomplishments, while gesturing toward the power and charisma of his father.

Bibliography

First published by Raghunath 2001. Re-edited here (after our edition in Ollett et al. forthcoming) from our photos of the ASI estampages.

Primary

[R] Raghunath, K. 2001. The Ikṣvākus of Vijayapuri: A study of the Nagarjunakonda inscriptions. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers. Item 18, pages 121, 201.

Ollett, Andrew, Vincent Tournier and Arlo Griffiths. forthcoming. “Early Memorial Stones from the Deccan (up to 300 ce).” In: Early Āndhradeśa: Historical studies around the epigraphic corpus. Volume two: Studies. Edited by Arlo Griffiths, Vincent Tournier and Akira Shimada. Gonda Indological Studies. Leiden: Brill. Pages ...–...

Secondary

IAR 1967-68. Indian Archaeology 1967-68: A Review. Edited by B. B. Lal. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1968. Page 52.

ARIE 1967-1968. Annual report on Indian epigraphy for 1967-68. Edited by G. S. Gai. Delhi: Manager of Publications, 1979. Pages 2–3, appendix B, item 22.

Stone, Elizabeth Rosen. 1994. The Buddhist art of Nāgārjunakoṇḍa. Buddhist traditions 25. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Page 35.

Display Options Word Wrap Line Numbers Comments Processing Instructions

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Data source: 'iksvaku-inscriptions/metadata/EIAD-inventory.xlsx'

- - - - - - - - -

[1] Inventory no. EIAD: 34

[2] Raghunath no.: 18

[3] Srinivasan & Sankaranarayanan no.: —

[4] Tsukamoto no.: —

[5] Lüders no.:

[6] Support : memorial pillar

[7] (Faces:) Lines: 10

[8] H: 142

[9] W: 37

[10] D: 19

[11] H: ESTIMATE

[12] W: 13

[13] Language(s): MIA

[14] Original locality: Nagarjunakonda Site-57

[15] Present locality: NM, w/out acc. nr.

[16] Primary bibliography: Raghunath 2001: 121 (18), 201.

[17] Secondary bibliography: IAR 1967-68: 52. — ARIE 1967-68: 2-3, B.22.

[18] Visual documentation: Est. ASI. — photos JM 2017

[19] Substance of inscription: setting up of pratima / Asamedha

[20] Remarks: fragmentary; IAR and ARIE state "broken pillar used as a step in a well in Site No. 57 of Sector N III". Raghunath, p. 201, assigns the inscription to Site-1, probably

in error.

[21] :

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<lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost">mahā</supplied><milestone unit="fragment" n="a"/><unclear>r</unclear><supplied reason="lost">āja</supplied><unclear>sa</unclear> Asamedha-yā<unclear>j</unclear><milestone unit="fragment" n="b"/><supplied reason="lost">isa</supplied> <supplied reason="lost">Aneka-hi</supplied><lb n="2" break="no"/><unclear>ra</unclear>ṇa-k<unclear>o</unclear>ṭ<milestone unit="fragment" n="a"/><supplied reason="lost">i-go-sata-sahasa-hala-sata-sahasa-pa</supplied><lb n="3" break="no"/>d<unclear>ā</unclear>yisa siri-ca<unclear>ṁ</unclear>tamu<unclear>la</unclear><milestone unit="fragment" n="a"/><supplied reason="lost">sa putasa vāna</supplied><lb n="4" break="no"/>vāsaka-niveḍha<unclear>ka</unclear>sa kim<unclear>i</unclear>l<unclear>ā</unclear> <gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/><milestone unit="fragment" n="a"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character"/><supplied reason="lost">to</supplied><lb n="5" break="no"/>sala-kosala-paṭu-ma<unclear>gha</unclear>dhi-<unclear>si</unclear>ra<unclear>sā</unclear> <supplied reason="lost">saṁpaṭi</supplied><lb n="6" break="no"/>chita-sāsanasa vijha-<unclear cert="low">sela</unclear>-vasa <gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character"/>

<lb n="7"/>siripavatādhipatisa ba<unclear>hu</unclear>-sa<unclear>ma</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ra-v</supplied><unclear>i</unclear><supplied reason="lost">jaya</supplied><lb n="8" break="no"/>-ladha-patāpasa maṭhari-putasa <supplied reason="lost">siri-vira</supplied><lb n="9" break="no"/>purisadatasa <space/> savachara <num value="20"><g type="numeral">20</g></num> <unclear>hepa satamaṁ</unclear> <num value="7">7</num>

<lb n="10"/>divasa <num value="7">7</num> thap<supplied reason="lost">i</supplied>tā pat<supplied reason="lost">i</supplied>mā</p>

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<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01"><unclear>ra</unclear>ṇakoṭi <gap reason="undefined"/> <unclear>dā</unclear>yisa</rdg>

<note>Reconstruction based on analogy with <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00040.xml">EIAD 40</ref>.</note>

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<lem>siri-ca<unclear>ṁ</unclear>tamu<unclear>la</unclear><milestone unit="fragment" n="a"/><supplied reason="lost">sa putasa</supplied></lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">siri-caṁtamū<unclear>la</unclear> <gap reason="undefined"/></rdg>

<note>Reconstruction based on analogy with <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00030.xml">EIAD 30</ref>.</note>

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<lem><supplied reason="lost">vāna</supplied><lb n="4" break="no"/>vāsaka-niveḍha<unclear>ka</unclear>sa kim<unclear>i</unclear>l<unclear>ā</unclear> <gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/></lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">vāsakativadantasa kamalaka</rdg>

<note>The term <foreign>kimilā</foreign> seems to be the first element of a long compound running through most of l. 5. It is also rather obscure, although it is tempting to connect it to Pali <foreign>kim(b)ilā</foreign> and Sanskrit <foreign>kr̥milā</foreign>, on which see <bibl><ptr target="bib:Sircar1971_02"/><citedRange unit="page">248–255</citedRange></bibl>.</note>

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<app loc="4"><lem><supplied reason="lost">to</supplied><lb n="5" break="no"/>sala-kosala-paṭu-ma<unclear>gha</unclear>dhi-<unclear>si</unclear>ra<unclear>sā</unclear></lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">salakosalapatsaumayadhi <unclear>siri</unclear></rdg>

<note>The first two of these four place names form a pair commonly encountered in literary sources. They are discussed at length in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Levi1923_01"/><citedRange unit="page">1–11</citedRange></bibl> (= <bibl><ptr target="bib:Levi1929_01"/><citedRange>63–72</citedRange></bibl>). The third toponym, <foreign>paṭu</foreign>, is more obscure, but the <foreign>pāṭava</foreign>s or people of Paṭu feature in Purāṇic lists of people living in the Vindhyas (cf. <bibl><ptr target="bib:Sircar1971_02"/><citedRange unit="page">44</citedRange></bibl>). Their location is uncertain. Finally, <foreign>maghadhi</foreign> seems to point to the inhabitants of Magadha, the aspiration of the third consonant apparently having been imposed also on the second one. The form <foreign>maghada</foreign> with full inversion of aspiration is encountered in the manuscript tradition of the <title>Śaktisaṅgamatantra</title>, as noted in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Sircar1971_02"/><citedRange unit="page">85</citedRange></bibl>.</note>

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<lem><supplied reason="lost">saṁpaṭi</supplied><lb n="6" break="no"/>chita-sāsanasa</lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01"><gap reason="undefined"/>chitasāsanasa</rdg>

<note>Our reconstruction here is informed by the occurrence of the phrase <foreign>sirasā saṁpaṭicchitasāsana</foreign>, meaning <q>whose rule/teaching has been accepted by <supplied reason="subaudible">the bowing of</supplied> the head</q> in Pali commentarial literature. See <title>Dīghanikāyaṭṭhakathāṭikā</title> (ed. <bibl><ptr target="bib:DeSilva1970_01"/></bibl>) III 158.4–5: <foreign>gahetabba-vacano sirasā sampaṭicchita-sāsano</foreign>; <title>Itivuttakaṭṭhakathā</title> (ed. <bibl><ptr target="bib:Bose1934-1936_01"/></bibl>) I 78.8–10: <foreign>evaṁ-mahānubhāvo ti cakka-ratanādi-samannāgamena kassaci pi pīḷaṁ akaronto va sabba-rājūhi sirasā sampaṭicchita-sāsana-vehāsagamanādīhi evaṁ mahānubhāvo</foreign>.</note>

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<lem>vijha-<unclear cert="low">sela</unclear>-vasa <gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character"/> <lb n="7"/>siripavatādhipatisa</lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01"><gap reason="undefined"/> siripavatādhipatisa</rdg>

<note>Read or emend <foreign xml:lang="pra-Latn">viṁjha-</foreign>. The reading <foreign xml:lang="pra-Latn"><unclear>sela</unclear></foreign> is very uncertain, and admittedly not supported by such literary parallels as Rājaśekhara’s <title>Kāvyamīmāṁsā</title> (chapter 17, ed. <bibl><ptr target="bib:Dalal+Sastry1934_01"/><citedRange unit="page">93–94</citedRange></bibl>):

<foreign xml:lang="san-Latn">vindhya-dakṣiṇapāda-mahendra-malaya-mekala-pāla-mañjara-sahya-śrīparvatādayaḥ parvatāḥ</foreign>.</note>

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<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">bapusa <gap reason="undefined"/> ladhapatapasa</rdg>

<note>Our restitution is tentative, but in whichever way we reconstruct this compound, it is clear that it offers an interesting antecedent to royal epithets borne by Viṣṇukuṇḍin rulers and Pr̥thivīśrīmūla. See, for instance, <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00181.xml">EIAD 181</ref>, l. 5: <foreign>cāneka-cāturddanta-samara-śata-sahasra-saṅghaṭṭa-vijayī</foreign>; <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00186.xml">186</ref>, st. II: <foreign>bahu-samara-jayopāttonata-śrīr</foreign>; <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00189.xml">189</ref>, ll. 7–9: <foreign>Asakr̥d-aneka-niśita-nistriṁśa-sahasra-saṁkulātibhīma-saṁgrāma-bhūmi-pratilabdha-vijayī</foreign>. A similar epithet is also found in the Kadamba corpus, in the <ref target="DHARMA_INSSiddham01024.xml">Sirsi Grant of Kr̥ṣṇavarman, year 19</ref>, ll. 5–6: <foreign>bahu-samara-vijaya-samadhigata-yaśo-rājya-śrīḥ</foreign>.</note>

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<lem>maṭhari-putasa</lem>

<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">māṭharīputasa</rdg>

</app>

<lem><num value="20"><g type="numeral">20</g></num> <unclear>hepa satamaṁ</unclear> <num value="7">7</num></lem>

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<rdg source="bib:Raghunath2001_01">thāpitā patimā</rdg>

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<p>On the 7th day of the seventh 7th fortnight of the cold season in year 20 of Māṭharīputta Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, son of the Great King Siri-Cāntamūla—sacrificer of the Aśvamedha, giver of many tens of millions of <supplied reason="subaudible">pieces of</supplied> gold, hundreds of thousands of cows and hundreds of thousands of plows of land—who has encircled the Vanavāsakas, whose commands are received on the head by <supplied reason="subaudible">the people of</supplied> Kimilā, <gap reason="lost"/> Tosala, Kosala, Paṭu, and Magadha, the overlord of the Vindhya mountain, of <gap reason="lost"/>, and of Śrīparvata, who has obtained splendor from victory in many battles—this image has been established.</p>

</div>

<p>The sculpted panels foreground the figure of Cāntamūla, the founder of the dynasty, and remind viewers of his accomplishments, while perhaps gesturing at the continuity of the line in the form of the young prince; for its part, the inscription foregrounds the figure of Vīrapurisadatta, adding his own accomplishments, while gesturing toward the power and charisma of his father.</p>

</div>

<p>First published by <bibl><ptr target="bib:Raghunath2001_01"/></bibl>. Re-edited here (after our edition in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Ollett+al2025_01"/></bibl>) from our photos of the ASI estampages.</p>

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