Copper plates from Kondavidu (set I) — reign of Pr̥thivīśrīmūla, year 25

Editors: Arlo Griffiths, Vincent Tournier.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSEIAD00187.

Hand description:

Language: Sanskrit.

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

Version: (a154659), last modified (72e3163).

Edition

⟨Page 1b⟩⟨marginleft: 1⟩ ⟨1⟩ svasti vijayatāṇḍikoṇḍavāsakād devadvijagurucaraṇasamārādhinā⟨2⟩dhigataniratiśayapuṇyanicayasya sakaladiṅmaṇḍalālaṅkārabhūtaya⟨3⟩śasaḥ śrīprabhākaravikhyātamahārājasya sūnur mmātāpitr̥pādānuddhyātaś śruti⟨4⟩smr̥tivihitapadārtthāvabodhajanitaprajñāvivekaniravagītānupālitā⟨5⟩⟨Page 2a⟩śeṣavarṇṇāśramadharmmaḥ parānugrahamātraprayojana⟨6⟩pratipannaiśvaryagurubhāraḥ paramamāheśvaraḥ ⟨7⟩ śrīmān pr̥thivīśrīmūlarāja Evam ājñāpayati yathā ⟨8⟩ ya tāḻupākaviṣaye velpukoṇḍaŪṟukoṇḍamaddi⟨Page 2b⟩⟨marginleft: 2⟩⟨9⟩ceruvuĀtukūrākhyagrāmamaddhyāvasthitaḥ kalvaceṟuvuḷa ⟨10⟩ nāma grāmaḥ śrīmahāmeghavāhanapratiṣṭhāpitavarddhamā⟨11⟩nimahāvihāranivāsarater ddhyānādhyayanakarmmānuṣṭhāna⟨12⟩parasyāryyabhikṣusaṁghasya yathāsukhaṁ caturvvidhapratyaya⟨13⟩⟨Page 3a⟩paribhogāya sarvvābādhaparihāreṇa sarvvādānaparivāraḥ ⟨14⟩ tāmraśāsanīkr̥tya mahāmātrapuṇyaśāsanamātāmahī⟨15⟩puṇyaprāptyartthaṁ pr̥dhivīśrīmūlarājena dattaḥ tad atra ⟨16⟩ śrutismr̥tivihitasadācārānuṣṭhānaparais sarvvair eva ⟨Page 3b⟩⟨marginleft: 3⟩ ⟨17⟩ rājabhir ayam asmadīyo dharmma Iti paripālanīyaḥ ⟨18⟩ hastikośavīrakośena ca tathāpy uktaṁ ||

I. Anuṣṭubh

bahubhir vva⟨19⟩sudhā dattā

a

bahubhiś cānupālitā

b

yasya yasya ⟨20⟩ yadā bhūmiḥ

c

tasya tasya tadā phalam iti ||~

d

⟨Page 4a⟩ ⟨21⟩ yaś cātra lobhapramādād ajñānakṣudraparivāra⟨22⟩doṣavaśād vā vilopaṁ kuryāt· tasyāyaṁ smr̥tivihitaḥ ⟨23⟩ pratyavāyo yathāha

II. Anuṣṭubh

nighnatām bhartr̥govipra⟨24⟩

a

bālayoṣidvipaścitaḥ

b

yā gatis sā bhaved vr̥ttiṁ

c
⟨Page 4b⟩⟨marginleft: 4⟩

⟨25⟩ harataḥ śāsanākitām· ||~

d
III. Anuṣṭubh

tām eva rakṣato yatnā(t·)

a

⟨26⟩ nibodha kr̥tinaḥ phalam·

b

naikakalpasahasrāṇi

c

⟨27⟩ divi devais sa divyati ||~

d
IV. Anuṣṭubh

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi

a

⟨28⟩ svargge krīḍati bhūmidaḥ

b

Ākṣeptā cānumantā ca

c

tāny eva ⟨Page 5a⟩ ⟨29⟩ narake vased iti ||

d

pravarddhamānavijayasaṁvatsare pañca⟨30⟩viṁśatitame Āṣaḍhamāsaśuklapakṣasya prati⟨31⟩padi svamukhājñā

V. Anuṣṭubh

yāvaj jaladhimervvarkka

a

diṅmahī⟨32⟩nabhasa sthiti

b

tāvat· śrīmūlarājasya

c

loke tiṣṭhatu śāsana <dextrorotatory-spiral>

d

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ -samārādhinā- • Correct -samārādhanā-, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨2⟩ sakaladiṅmaṇḍalālaṅkāra- ⬦ sakaladiṅmaṇḍalālankāra- Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨3⟩ sūnur ⬦ ssū(sū)nur Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨8⟩ ya • Emend yat. Krishna Sastry 1990, p. (n.11) considers the akṣara redundant. — ⟨8⟩ -Ūṟukoṇḍa- ⬦ -Uṟukoṇḍa- Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨9⟩ -Ātukūrākhya- ⬦ -Atukūrākhya- Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨9⟩ -grāma- • Krishna Sastry 1990, p. (n.12) needlessly proposes to emend -grāmāṇāṁ. — ⟨9⟩ -maddhyāvasthitaḥ ⬦ -madhyavasthitaḥ Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨9⟩ kalvaceṟuvuḷa ⬦ kalvaceṟuvula Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨12⟩ caturvvidhapratyaya- ⬦ caturvidhapratyāya- Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨13⟩ sarvvābādhapari- ⬦ sarvvabādhapari- Krishna Sastry 1990 • Krishna Sastry 1990 corrects dha- to dhā-. But the reading -bādhāpari- is not attested anywhere in these inscriptions. The reading as it stands could be corrected sarvvabādhapari-, in which case one could argue that the scribe anticipated correct sarvvā- further on in the line. Note, however, that the same reading sarvvābādhaparihāreṇa is preserved in EIAD 175, l. 33; sarvvābādhaparihāram is found in 170, l. 8. It therefore seems necessary to take the compound as sarvva + ābādha-.

⟨14⟩ mahāmātrapuṇyaśāsanamātā- • Krishna Sastry 1990 corrects tra to trā, but this does not seem desirable.

⟨15⟩ pr̥dhivī- • Correct pr̥thivī-. The scribe has omitted the central dot that would have made th out of dh. Krishna Sastry 1990 has not noticed the error. — ⟨15⟩ tad atra ⬦ tadanu Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨18⟩ hastikośavīrakośena • The editor of Krishna Sastry’s publication (n. 15) proposes to correct to hastikośavīrakośābhyāṁ. — ⟨18⟩ tathāpy ⬦ tadhāpy Krishna Sastry 1990 • Krishna Sastry corrects his reading to tathāpy. It seems unproblematic to read th.

⟨22⟩ -parivāra- ⬦ -paricāra- Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨22⟩ doṣavaśād vā vilopaṁ ⬦ -doṣavaśād vivilopaṁ Krishna Sastry 1990 • With parenthetic ‘corrections’ to -doṣavaśāt vidhilopaṁ.

⟨22-23⟩ smr̥tivihitaḥ pratyavāyo ⬦ smr̥tivihitapratyavāyo Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨23⟩ bhartr̥- ⬦ bhatr̥- Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨24⟩ -bāla- ⬦ -bala- Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨24⟩ -vipaścitaḥ ⬦ vipaścidaḥ Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨24-25⟩ vr̥ttiṁ harataḥ ⬦ vr̥ttiharataḥ Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨25⟩ śāsanākitām· • Emend śāsanāṁkitām·, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨25⟩ yatnāt· • The final consonant looks a bit more like n·, but it seems highly unlikely that this is what the engraver intended.

⟨27⟩ divyati • Emend dīvyati, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨30⟩ Āṣaḍha- • Emend Āṣāḍha, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨31⟩ svamukhājñā ⬦ svamukhājñayā Krishna Sastry 1990.

⟨32⟩ -nabhasa sthiti • The reading is uncertain; one has the impression that the engraver first wrote ṣṭ and then tried to correct it into something which may as well have been intended to be ssth as sth. Emend -nabhasas sthitiḥ, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990. — ⟨32⟩ śāsana • Emend śāsanam·, as indicated by Krishna Sastry 1990.

Translation

(1–7) Hail! From the victorious camp of Tāṇḍikoṇḍa, the illustrious king Pr̥thivīśrīmūla, blessed by the feet of his parents; upholder of all laws on class and stage of life, in impeccable manner, through [his] intelligence and discrimination produced by [his] perception of the meanings of the words enjoined in revelation and tradition; who had undertaken the heavy burden of sovereignty with the sole purpose of favoring others; devout worshiper of Maheśvara; son of the celebrated great king Śrī Prabhākara, whose fame was the ornament of all quarters of space, whose unsurpassed store of merit had been obtained by the veneration of the feet of gods, brahmins and masters — he commands as follows:

(8–18) ‘The village named Kalvaceṟuvuḷ, situated in the middle of the villages called Velpukoṇḍa, Ūṟukoṇḍa, Maddiceruvu and Ātukūrā, in the Tāḻupāka district, has been given by king Pr̥thivīśrīmūla, accompanied by [the right to take] levies, with complete exemption from taxes, after making a charter in copper, with a view to his maternal grandmother obtaining the merit of a grant entailing very copious merit, for the purpose of unrestricted (yathāsukham) use for the fourfold requisites by the community of noble monks, devoted to the execution of tasks such as meditation and study, delighted to reside in the great monastery of Vardhamāni that had been established by Śrī Mahāmeghavāhana — therefore [it] is to be safeguarded by all [future] kings, devoted to the execution of good conduct in this connection, as enjoined in revelation and tradition, [thinking] “This is our duty,” [and particularly] by the Hastikośa and the Vīrakośa.’ And thus is it said:

I
By numerous [kings], land has been given; and by many it has been protected. Whoever holds land at a given moment, to him does the fruit then belong.

(21–23) The one who would carry out the annulment [of a foundation], whether by cupidity and negligence, or by ignorance and under influence of the sins of lowly dependants, to fim [befalls] this offence stated in tradition. It is said:

II
The destiny of those who slay their master, a cow, a brahmin, a child, a woman or a learned man, will be the one of him who seizes [the land/livelihood] that is marked by a (royal) charter.
III
Hear the fruit of the virtuous man who protects it scrupulously: during numerous thousands of aeons he plays in heaven with the gods.
IV
The giver of land revels in heaven for sixty thousand years; the one who seizes [land] as well as the one who approves (of the seizing) will reside as many [years] in hell.

(29–31) Oral command [issued] in the twenty-fifth victorious and prosperous year, on the first [day] of the waxing fortnight of the month of Āṣāḍha.

V
As long as the endurance of oceans, Meru, sun, directions, earth and sky, so long may the charter (or: rule) of Śrī Mūlarāja endure on earth!

Bibliography

First described and edited by Krishna Sastry 1990, pp. 72–3, 76–7. Re-edited here from available documentation and after autopsy of the plates.

Secondary

Krishna Sastry, V. V. 1992. Three grants of Prithvisri Mūlarāja from Kondavidu. Epigraphical Series 20. Hyderabad: Dept. of Archaeology & Museums, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Pages 1–11. This reproduces the same author’s 1990 publication without any of the notes.

No name. 1887–. Annual report on Indian epigraphy. Madras; Calcutta; New Delhi: Government of Madras; Archaeological Survey of India. Pages 1995–96: 3, no. A.4.

Hanumantha Rao, B. S. L., N. S. Ramachandra Murthy, B. Subrahmanyam and Īmani Śivanāgireḍḍi. 1998. Buddhist inscriptions of Andhradesa. Secunderabad: Ananda Buddha Vihara Trust. Pages 211–3.