Stone stela from site 99 at Nagarjunakonda — reign of Siri-Ehavalacāntamūla, year 11

Authors of digital edition: Arlo Griffiths (argr), Vincent Tournier (vito).

Language: Sanskrit (san) [Script (other) (script_other)].

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

Identifier: DHARMA_INSEIAD00050-3.

File path: texts/xml/DHARMA_INSEIAD00050-3.xml.

Version: 2026-08-26 06:33 (99dfc27), last modified 2026-08-26 06:33 (99dfc27).

Edition

⟨1⟩ [siddham·] [⁓] varṣa Ekādaśe rājñaḫ prabhor ehavalaśriyaḥ
⟨2⟩ [śukla](pa)kṣasya māghasya puṇya Ekādaśe hani (⁓)
⟨3⟩ [deve] (yas)y(ā)tibha(kti)r hutavahata(na)ye caṇḍa(śa)ktau (ku)māre
⟨4⟩ pautras senāpater yyas samaravijayinaẖ kkhyātakīrtter aṇikkeḥ
⟨5⟩ prāsādaṅ (g)āṇ[ḍ]i[pu]tt(r)as sa talavaravaraẖ kārttikeyapprasādāt·
⟨6⟩ [Eliśrīś] [śrīviśā]laṁ śubhamatir akaro(t) (sa)rvvadevādhivāsam·

Apparatus

⟨5⟩ -sādāt· • Chhabra notes that sandhi has not been observed at the end of pāda c, but this seems normal rather than noteworthy.

Translation

Success!

In the eleventh year of the king, the lord Ehavalaśrī, on the auspicious eleventh day of the bright fortnight of (month) Māgha,

the excellent Talavara Eliśrī, of bright intellect, whose intense devotion (is directed) towards the god Kumāra, the son of Fire, [who holds a] fierce spear, grandson of the general Aṇikki who was victorious in battles and whose fame is widely known, son of Gāṇḍi, by the grace of Kārttikeya made (this) temple, abounding in good fortune, the abode of Sarvadeva (i.e. Śiva).

Bibliography

Chhabra [1963] 1959–1960, p. 147 reported that this inscription is found in six or seven versions, all broken fragments, not a single version having been found in its entirety. It took me some hours to dovetail the fragments till the discovered and kept in the site museum at Nāgārjunakoṇḍa. Many of the fragments are still missing. I was, however, able to restore the complete text by deciphering the extant parts on the various fragments. The facsimile on Plate A shows the greater part of one of the versions, while those on Plate B represent parts of two more versions. The three versions whose images were published by Chhabra correspond to the three stelae we documented. See also EIAD 50-1 and 50-2. Only a synthetic edition was published by Chhabra [1963] 1959–1960. This version is edited here for the first time from published documentation and after autopsy of the stone.

Secondary

No name. N.d. Indian Archaeology: a review. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India. Pages 1956–57: 36.

ARIE

Srinivasan, P. R. & S. Sankaranarayanan. 1979. Inscriptions of the Ikshvāku period. Epigraphical Series 14. Hyderabad: Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Page no. 41.

ARIE

Raghunath, K. 2001. The Ikṣvākus of Vijayapuri: A study of the Nagarjunakonda inscriptions. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers. Pages 142–3 (no. 33).

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: 50.3

[2] Raghunath no.: 33

[3] Srinivasan & Sankaranarayanan no.: 41

[4] Tsukamoto no.: —

[5] Lüders no.:

[6] Support : stela, shattered, recomposed

[7] (Faces:) Lines: 6

[8] H: 84

[9] W: 49

[10] D: 14

[11] H: 56

[12] W: 45

[13] Language(s): Sanskrit

[14] Original locality: Nagarjunakonda Site-99, Karttikeya Swami Temple

[15] Present locality: NM 790

[16] Primary bibliography: Chhabra 1959-60a.

[17] Secondary bibliography: ARIE 1957-58: 3, B.5. — Raghunath 2001: 142-3 (33).

[18] Visual documentation: Chhabra; Raghunath.

[19] Substance of inscription: construction of a temple for Sarvadeva

[20] Remarks:

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fortnight of (month) Māgha,</p><p n="2" rend="stanza"> the excellent Talavara Eliśrī,

of bright intellect, whose intense devotion (is directed)

towards the god Kumāra, the son of Fire, [who holds a] fierce spear,

grandson of the general Aṇikki who was victorious in battles

and whose fame is widely known, son of Gāṇḍi, by the grace

of Kārttikeya made (this) temple, abounding in good fortune,

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reported that this inscription <cit><quote>is found in six

or seven versions, all broken fragments, not a

single version having been found in its entirety. It

took me some hours to dovetail the fragments till

the discovered and kept in the site museum at

Nāgārjunakoṇḍa. Many of the fragments are still

missing. I was, however, able to restore the

complete text by deciphering the extant parts on the

various fragments. The facsimile on Plate A shows

the greater part of one of the versions, while those

on Plate B represent parts of two more

versions</quote></cit>. The three versions whose images

were published by Chhabra correspond to the three stelae

we documented. See also EIAD <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00050-1.xml">50-1</ref> and <ref target="DHARMA_INSEIAD00050-2.xml">50-2</ref>. Only a synthetic edition was published by <bibl><ptr target="bib:Chhabra1959-1960_01"/></bibl>. This version is edited here for the first time

from published documentation and after autopsy of the

stone.</p><listBibl type="primary"><bibl/></listBibl><listBibl type="secondary"><bibl><ptr target="bib:IAR"/><citedRange>1956-57: 36</citedRange></bibl><bibl><ptr target="bib:ARIE"/><citedRange>1957-58: 3, no. B.5</citedRange></bibl><bibl><ptr target="bib:Srinivasan+Sankaranarayanan1979_01"/>:

<citedRange>no. 41</citedRange></bibl><bibl><ptr target="bib:ARIE"/><citedRange>1995-96: no. B.10</citedRange></bibl><bibl><ptr target="bib:Raghunath2001_01"/>:

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