Ablūr, Sōmēśvara temple, about A.D.1200

(1–4) Ōm! Reverence to the god Śaṁbhu, who is made beutiful by a caurī which is the moon that lightly rests upon his lofty head, and who is the foundation-pillar for the erection of the city of the three worlds! May that tree of paradise which is Śaṁbhu, praised by the gods,-which is the abode of the beauty of clusters of flowers which are the rows of drops of water thrown up by the waves of the holy river Gaṅgā; which has for fresh sprouts his dangling matted hair; which has as its growing fruit the ambrosia-rayed moon; which is pleasing with boughs that are his arms; and which is embraced by a creeper that is the goddess Gaurī,-give to Rāma, in particular, with perpetual activity, an abundance of such fruits as are longed for by a petitioner! May Śrīkaṇṭha, who is Īśa[in the form of] Vīra-Sōmēśa, surrounded by all the gaṇas,-who is adorned by feet in which there are set her and there the numerous crimson rays of the cluster of the jewels in all the tiaras of the multitude of the gods; who is the best of the immortals; and who is the abode of the splendour of the rays of the glances of (Pārvatī) the daughter of (Himālaya) the lord of the mountain of cold,-always confer good fortune upon Rāmadēva, upon him who is of unequalled greatness!

(5–10) Round about it (namely Jambūdvīpa) is the ocean, which is met by banks of clouds that are the trunks, blowing out sprouts of water, of numerous herds of elephants which agitate the waters by the blow of the tips of their tails that are as efficient in doing so as the shoals of great fish which fall out from months of the fierce monsters of the sea that glide to and from which there rise the rays of many jewels and the lustre of large pearls; which has lines of mountains on its shores; and which is enclosed by the brooad hips of the woman who is the Earth. And there, on the south of Jambūdvīpa, whoch is girt about by the salt ocean whoch is thus beautiful as being the abode of numerous marine animals and the place of very high waves, among all the Nīḷa, NIṣadha, and Himālaya mountains, the cold mountain [Himālaya],-which has vast glens for rest after the fatigue of the great dalliance of love of the crowd of the dauthers of the siddhas; which is full of rows and rings of huge rocks falling down from the many piles of mountains that are pounded by the torrent of the waters of (the Manākinī) the river of heaven; and which is irradiated by the mass of the tremulous lustre of the cold-rayed moon,-is beautiful with a lenght stretched out so as to measure to eastern and the western oceans.

(10–17) In the land of Bhāratavarṣa, whoch lies oin the southern flank of that same Himālaya, the king of mountains, there shines, with exceedingly great comeliness, the country of Kuntaḷa; and there there is beautiful the city that is called Alande, full of grace and splendour, and ever esteemed to altogether surpass Amarāvatī (the city of the gods) with learned people and with a countless wealth of cattle and grain and water. Moreover:-as is well known, in Amarāvatī there are Sukēśi and Mañjughōṣe, these two; but in that town there is a whole multitude of women, all of them with beatiful hair and sweet voices. It is charming with various plantations of sweet-smelling rice, with parks and gardens which are in bloom through all the seasons, with plenty of well-filled tanks and wells and pools, with sounds everywhere of cranes and buzzing bees and cuckoos and ruddy geese and peacocks and numerous flights of parrots and blue jays, and with the music of lutes in the diversions of courtesans. And when it had thus become a place of many charms, as being known to be the site of an infinite number of parks, and pleasing with inexhaustible pools of water, and crowded with many people and the dwelling-place of innumerable courtesans, and the abode of a countless number of merchants, there came down there, from the silver mountain (Kailāsa), accompanied by Girijā (Pārvatī), with great gladness, the god Sōmanātha (Śiva), who has the water-lilies that are his feet made tawny by the mass of the multitude of the rays that dart forth from the jewels inlaid in the tiaras of all the gods, and who is a very tree of paradise having for the ripening of its fruits the accomplishment of the desires of worshippers who bow down before him in supplication.

(17–20) Among the residents of that town of Sōmanātha, in the Brāhmaṇ quarters, amongst the Brāhmaṇs, there became famous one who resembled those [well known] Vyāsa and Śuka and Vāmadēva and Parāśara and Kapiḷa and others; namely he, Puruṣōttama, who was called the best of Brāhmaṇs,-belonging to the Śrīvatsa gōtra; praised by [all other] Brāhmaṇs; acquainted with all the Vēdas and Vēdāṅgas; of an excellent disposition through possessing the virtue of pure behaviour. The good wife of that Brāhmaṇ was Padmāmbike, of pure behaviour, devoted to her husband, who by her virtuous disposition caused herself to be likened to both Sītādēvī (the wife of Rāma) and the wife of that [well-known] Satyatapas. And, that husband and wife having remained for a long time without offspring, one day, having come to know the saying of the Vēda that "there is no heaven for him who has no son", the famous Puruṣōttama, who practised truth and purity, did worship, together with his wife, to Śaṁbhu, in order to obtain a son, saying "Īśa is the protection from misfortune".

(20–27) At the same time, when Mahēśvara (Śiva), whose feet, resembling water-lilies, are worshipped by the crowd of gods and demons,-with Kēśava (Viṣṇu) and Vāsava(Indra) and Abjabhava (Brahman) in attendance upon him, and surrounde by countless Gaṇas, and accompanied by Umā (Pārvatī),-was enjoying the delight of an interchange of pleasing conversations in royal darbār in a delightful part of the mountain Kaiḷāsa, Nārada, the leader of the Gaṇas, spake thus:-"While Ohila, Dāsa, Cenna, Siriyāḷa, Haḷāyudha, Bāṇa, Udbhaṭa and Maḷayēśvara who came here in human form, and Kēśavarāja, and innumerable other Gaṇas, resigning the happiness of earthly life, have been dwelling here in this especial excellet abode of faith, the congregation [of Śaivas on the earth] has been afflicted among the Jains and Buddhist". On his speking thus, Mahḕsvara, with a smile on his face that resembled a water-lily, said to Vīrabhadra:-"Do thou, in the world of men, beget a man with a portion of thyself, and then put a stop to those hostile observances". And thereupon Vīrabhadra came in a dream, in the guise of an ascetic, to Puruṣōttamabhaṭṭa, and said:-"There shall be born to thee a son, who shall suppress hostile observances"; and he further said:-"Those many people, in the region of the south, who have tradden in the paths of the Jains, all of them shall be put to shame, O master! By the son [who shall be called] Rāma". Having thus spoken and having manifested great graciousness, he went away. And Puruṣōttamabhaṭṭa, full of content at having succeeded, obtained a son, and performed the birth-ceremony and other rites, and bestowed the name of Rāma in accordance with the bidding of the god.

(27–33) And while he [Rāma], having become imbued with meditation on Śiva in a manner suitable to his divine birth, was practising observances with strict indifference to other things, it came about that, through the intensity of his devotion which was directed entirely to one object, he was called one who had one sole aim; and, having worshipped Śiva with great exclusivenes, he acquired the name of Ēkāntada-Rāma. And in the course of practising observances with speech and body and mind always devoted to the feet of [Śiva] the lord of Gaurī [Pārvatī], as various sacred places prescribed by the Śaiva traditions and on all the numerous great and small rivers where there are altars of Śaṁbhu, he came and beheld with joy the Sōmanātha of the south, honoured by the gods, who drives away all sins. And when, having thus come, he was worshipping that Sōmanātha of Huligeṟe, whose feet are beautified by the cluster of the rays of the jewels in the tiaras of the greatest of the gods who unceasingly bow down before him, that supreme lord became manifest, and said:-"Go, O Rāma! At my command, to the excellent village of Abbalūru, and take uo thy abode there at ease, and sacrifice to me with strict devotion; and without any apprehension, enter into controversy with the Jains, and wager thy head; and be victorious, O son!"

(33–38) And when, on the god Sōmanātha having thus given his commands, Ēkāntada-Rāmayya was abiding, with complete indifference to other things, at the shrine of the god Brahmēśvara of Abbalūru, some of the Jains, together with that Saṅkaguaṇḍa, concerted together, and came to obstruct him, and with great resolutness persistently sang [of their own god] in the proximity of Śiva, saying "Jina is the [true] divinity". When he heard that, Ēkāntada-Rāmayya became very full of wrath, and said "It is forbidden to praise any other deity in the proximity of Śiva" but, refusing to desist, they continued vociferating; and then he spake thus:-"Who is it that creates the earth? who is it that protects it in the time of calamity? and further, who is it that is able to destroy it, when his anger becomes great? It is that same Śaṁbhu; and, in the face of the existence of him, who pervades everything, how can he (Jina) be a god, who came by chance into the world, and lived in bewilderment, and applied himself to practising austerity, and [only thus] attained happiness? does your Arhat bestow gifts as Hara (Śiva) does? has he ever given even so small a thing? [it is] from Hara [that] in former days the devout Gaṇas Bāṇa and Diniśāḷa, and so many others, obtained boons". On his having thus spoken, the Jains said:-"It may be so! but why dost thou simply talk of former worthies? cut off thine own head, under such conditions that all people may know of it, and offer it to him, and get it back from him [and then we will admit that] thou art indeed a pious man and he is indeed the god".

(38–43) When they had thus spoken, Ēkantāda-Rāma said "If I offer my head to (Śiva) the foe of Love, and obrain it back, what is the wager that ye will pay to me?"; whereupon they replied, in anger "We will pluck up our Jina and set up [an image of] Śiva". Then, saying "Give me [it in writing on] a palmyra-leaf" and taking the palmyra-leaf that they gave, Rāma brought [his image of] Śiva into the presence [of the Jains] at the place where he was to straightway cut off his head and make an offering of it, and spake thus:-"If I have ever not said that thou alone, O Śaṁbhu, art my protection without fail, and if my thoughts have evere gone astray after other gods, my head shall not go from me by the edge of this scimitar, but otherwise, O Śiva, let it roll down before thy feet" and, thus speaking, the brave Rāma, with a loud shout, and with an unfaltering hand, set himself to cut off his head and lay it at the feet of Śiva. While the disciples were saying "Surely he inflicted but a small wound; he drew the sword and thought, indeed, to do a bold thing, but then he became afraid and has preserved his body unhurt; he must have devised some mischief to the sword [blunting it,so that it shall not wound him"], Rāma, that man of ability, quickly and instantly cut through his own neck with as little difficulty as if he were shearing through a bundle of grass, and placed [his head] at the feet of Īśa (Śiva), and caused joy to the attendants of Śaṁkara (Śiva).

(43–46) After the severed head had been exhibited in public during seven days, Hara kindly gave it back: the head became sound again without any scar; and Rāma received it back, to the knowledge of all people. Inmuch perturbation, all the Jains, in great distress, bowed down on the ground and seized his feet, imploring him to abstain from destroying their Jina; but, refusing to abstain, he fell on it like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and broke the head of the Jains, crying out that Mārī (the goddess of plague or death) had come upon them, were running away in flight, he beat the Jina till it fell; and he made them accept the holy Vīra-Sōmēśva.

(46–51) When the jains, having gone in a body, and having related all the matter in a cunning way to king Bijjaṇa, were, with enmity, making a very slanderous complaint about it, king Bijjaṇa became mad with anger, and looked at Rāmayya with wrath, and said:-"Why hast thou done this evil thing?"; whereupon he shewed the palmyra-leaf that they had given, and said:-"This is the palmyra-leaf that they gave; weight it in thy mind, and place it in thy treasury; let them wager again; if they dare further stake, in thy presence, [all] their various Jinas, then I will cut off my head and place ir as the stake in their hands, and will recover it even after they shall have burned it; but they shall wager to me the various Jinas of their eight hundred shrines, the chief of which is the Ānesejjeyabasadi". Thereupon king Bijjaṇa said:-"We will see this marvel"; and he summoned the wise men of the shrines, and the [other] Jains, and said:-"All of you wager your shrines, and give [it in writing on] a palmyra-leaf. But they said:-"We came to lay a complaint about the shrine which has already been ruined; we have certainly not come to lay a wager and lose [any more of] our Jinas!" Then king Bijjaṇa laughed, and dismissed them, bidding them to go without any further words, and to live in peace; and he gave to Rāmayya, in sch a way that all of them knew of it, a certificate of victory.

(51–55) A very Indra to the mountains that are hostile kings; a very Agastya to the ocean of hostile kings; a hot fire to the fuel of hostile kings; a very Śiva to Love in the form of hostile kings; a great Garuḍa to the fierce serpents that are hostile kings; such is the glorious Bijjaṇa, the friend of those who swing the sword in seizing the wives of inimical kings, and the favourite of the woman Fame. Having put down the Cōḷa, having humbled Lāḷa, having deprived Nēpāḷa of stability, having crushed Andhrato pieces, having madethe Gurjara captive, having broken the greatness of the king of Cēdi, having ground Vaṅga in a mill, having fought and killed the kings of Baṅgaḷa, Kaḷiṅga, Māgadha, Paṭasvara, and Māḷava, the brave king Bijjaṇārāya has protected the whole circuit of the earth. Agastya was born among the Kaḷacuryas [there was displayed] the power of drinking up, without vomiting, the ocean that was the lineage of the Caḷukyas.

(55–61) Hail! The glorious bijjaṇdēva,-who was possessed of all the glory of the names of, among others, the Mahāmaṇdalēśvara who attained the pañcamahāśabda, the supreme lord of Kāḷañjara the best of towns, he who had the banner of a golden bull, he who was heralded in public with the sounds of the double drum called ḍamaruga, he who was the sun of the water-lily that was the family of Kaḷacuryas, the fierce in fight, the cage of thunderbolts to [protect] elephant-like chieftains who sought refuge with him, a very (Rāvaṇa) lord of Laṅka in prowess, [he who behaved like] a uterine brother to the wives of other men, he who was successful [even] on a Saturday, the wrestler against hill-forts, a very Rāma characterised by firmness of character, the wrestler free from apprehension, was pleased with the great boldness that was displayed by Rāmayya, and with his unsurpassed devotion to the god Mahēśvara; and, for the repairs of the whatever might become broken or torn or worn-out belonging to the enclosure, with beautiful pinnacles, of the temple of the god Vīra-Sōmanātha, and for the aṅgabhōga and the perpetual oblation of the god, having put forward [to manage the grant] Caṭṭarasa, the chieftain of the Sattaḷige seventy which was kampaṇa of the Banavase twelve-thousand, and the chief Prabhus and the village-headmen of that kampaṇa, and having laved the feet of toh holy Ēkāntada-Rāmayya, he gave, with libations of water, the village named Gōgāve to the south of Maḷugunda in the Sattaḷige seventy, with its established boundaries and [to be enjoyed according to] the tribhōga, and so maintened.

(61–65) Om! When many kings, possessed of glory and renowned fame and valour, endowed with prowess [that has been preserved] in legends, had passed away in tje lineage of the Caḷukya kings which was considerd to be the chief ornament of the lunar race, Tailapa [II], as an instance of a typical king, who may be called one of the seven principal mountains of the earth which was the Cāḷukyas, with happiness possessed [the world]. To that Tailapadēva there was born a son name Iṟivabeḍaṅga-Satyāśrayadēva; his son was Vikramadēva [V]; his younger brother was Daśavarmadeva; his son was Jayasiṅgarāya [II]; his son was Āhavamalla-[Sōmēśvara I]; his son was Tribhuvanamalla-Permāḍirāya-[Vikramāditya VI]; his son was Bhūlōkamalla-Sōmēśvara [III]; his son was the pratāpacakravartin [Perma]-Jagadēkamalla [II]; his younger brother was Traiḷōkyamalla-Nūrmaḍi-Tailapa [III]; and his son was Tribhuvanamalla-Sōmēśvara [IV], whose prowess and majesty were as follows:-

(69–80) That same Tribhuvanamalla-Sōmēśvaradēva [IV], when the kumāra Bammayyathe chief of all the leaders of the army, the establisher of the Cāḷukya sovereignity, and he himself, were at the small village of Seleyahaḷḷiyakoppa with the pleasure of an agreeble interchange of communications, and were one day engaged in a discourse about religion and were reciting the praises of ancient and recent devotees of Śiva, heard the story of Ēkāntada-Rāmayya, when he was at Abbalūru, and when all the Jains assembled and came and entered into a great disputation with him and made a wager that, if he would cut off his head and cloud get it back from the hands of Śiva, he might break their Jina and set up Śiva and gave [it in writing on] a palmyra-leaf, took the palmyra-leaf that they gave, and cut off his own head, and then, after doing worship to Śiva, on the seventh day got back his head free from all injury just as it was before, and obtained a certificate of victory, together with respectful treatment, from the hands of Bijjaṇadēva, and broke the Jina, and destroyed the shrine and flung it down, and laid waste the site, and set up the god Vīra-Sōmanātha, and in accordance with the Śaiva traditions founded a temple with three pinnacles, as vast as a mountain. And Tribhuvanamalla-Sōmēśvaradēva [IV] was astonished, and, from a desire to see him, caused a letter of deferential invitation to be written, and made him come, and met him with respect, and took him along with himself to his own house, and did worship to him with great reverence, and, for he repairs of anything that might become broken or torn or worn-out belonging to the enclosure with beautiful pinnacles of the temple of the holy god Vīra-Sōmanātha, and for the aṅgabhōga and the raṅgabhōga and the perpetual oblation of the god, and for the occasions, among others, of the purificatory ceremony of the month Caitra and the festival of spring, and for the giving of food and the imparting of knowledge, saying that the village was to belong to the god, with the very greatest devotion, having put forward Mallidēva, the chieftain of the kampaṇa [to manage the grant], and having laved the feet of Ēkāntada-Rāmayya gave with libations of water, [by] a copper-plate charter, as a grant to the god Paramēśvara (Śiva), the village of Abbalūru in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa seventy which was a kampaṇa of the Banavase twelve-thousand, together with the custums-duty called mēlāḷike-manneya of that village, and with [the right to] fines and ounishments and buried treasure, and with its boundaries established in former times and with the trībhōga; and he seated him on an elephant and paraded him in public, and thus with the very greatest devotion mainteined.

(80–81) Om! Ēkāntada-Rāma, who worshipped the water-lilies that are the feet of Śrīkaṇṭha with thoughts free from any perplexity, and who became famous in being considered to be the bulwark of the Śaiva rites, delighted in devotion to Śiva!

(81–82) May the holy god Vīra-Sōma, who is the greatest among all the gods; who carries moon [on his forehead]; and who wears the grab of an actor in the dance of amorous dalliance which is lovely on account of the beauty imparted to it by smiling, white, trembling, full glances of the sweet smiles of (Pārvatī) the daughter of the mountain (Himālaya), day by ady confer fortune and long life and fame upon Kāmadēva, upon him who is endowed with nobility!

(82–91) Hail! When the illustrious Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara Kāmadēvarasa, possessed of the string of names of, among others, the Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara who attained the pañcamaśabda; the supreme lord of Banavāsi, the best of towns; he who acquired the excellent favour of the god Madhukēśvara of Jayantī (Banavāsi); the delight of learned people; the ornament of the family Mayūravarman; the lion of the Kādambas; the fierce in fight; he who excelled in audacity; the elephnt-goad of brave men; a very Rādhēya (Karṇa) in truth; a very cage of thunderbolts to [protect] those who sought refuge with him; a very cow of plenty to petitioners, was governing the Panuṁgal five hundred, punishing the wicked and protecting the good, he came and saw the god Vīra-Sōmanātha of Abbalūru, and beheld the temple, as large as a mountain, which Rāmayya had made according to the precepts of the Śaiva traditions, and listened in detail to the daring that he had displayed, and was pleased, and took him along with himself with the very greatenest affection, and went away; and, when his ministers and himself with the maṇḍalika Madukeya, were seated [in assembly] at the capital of Pānumgal with the pleasure of an agreeble interchange of communications, with the very greatest devotion he made the village named Mallavaḷḷi, on the north of Jōgēsara whoch near to Muṇḍagōd in the Hosanāḍ seventy which is a kampaṇa in the Pānuṁgal five hundred, together with its established boundaries and including the trībhōga into a namasya grant for the god Vīra-Sōmanātha, and laved the feet of Rāmayya, and gave it, with libation of water, with the very greatest devotion, for the temple of that same god, and for the aṅgabhōga and the raṅgabhōga and the perpetual oblation of the god, and for the purificatory ceremony of the mont Caitra and the festival of spring and the other occasions, and for the giving of food and thus preserved religion. May it be well! Om!

(91–99) Those who preserve these acts of religion shall obtain the reward of fashioning in gold the horns and hoofs of a thousand tawny-coloured cows at the sacred Vāraṇāsi or Prayāga or Kurukṣētra or Arghyatīrtha or Śrīparvata or any other holy sites, and giving them to Brāhmaṇs versed in the four Vēdas at such meritorious times as an eclipse of the sun, an eclipse of the moon, a vyatīpāta, a passage of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to the next, etc.; those who destroy these acts of religion shall incur the sin of slaying those same cows and Brāhmaṇs at the Ganges or Vāraṇāsi or Kurukṣētra or any other sacred sites. And, to shew that there is no doubt about this, he quotes the saying of Manu of former times:-The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara; whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the reward [of making this grant, if he contiues it]. The dust of the earth may be counted, and the drops of rain; but the reward of preserving a religious grant cannot be estimated even by the creator. He who confiscates land that has been given, whether by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in ordure for te duration of sixty thousand years. He who, though capable [of better things] displays neglect in act or thought or speech, whether he be a person of good condition or a man of low caste, he is outside the pale of all religious rites. The maker [of a grant] shall rise seven times seven times seven family [to heaven], but he who confiscates shall cause the same number of families to sink down [into hell]. There may be absolution for one who slays a cow or a Brāhmaṇ on the Ganges or at any other sacred place, but not for men who confiscate the property of gods or Brāhmaṇs. "This general bridge of religion should at all times be preserved by you"; thus does Rāmacandra make his earnest request to all future princes. May it be well and auspicious; and may there be good fortune. Om! Om!

(99–101) Saying "[As] I am thus [notoriously] a very treasury of austerity directed towards Hara, any small effort is not [becoming to me]", rāma, the abode of devotion to Śaṁbhu, constructed [this great] temple of (Śiva) the destroyer of the cities (of the demon Tripura). Without spending or asking for anything, even so little as a hūga, which devotees, standing in front of him in reverence, might offer for the shrine, but going with great humilty to the princes [and obtaining their contributions], through the inexhaustible favour of ̀Siva Rāma made this temple, resembling (Kailāsa) the mountain of Hara; how successful he was!

(101) Kēśavarāja, the leader of the forces, spake this record; and Saraṇa, the slave of Īśa, he whose refuge is the water-lilies that are the feet of Śiva, put it into proper shape and wrote it with facility. Om!

(102) Hail! Malidēvarāya [who belonged to the race of] Mukkaṇṇa-Kādamba who was born from the holy Hara (Śiva) and the Earth; the supreme lord of Banavāsi, the best of towns; the worshipper of the water-lilies that are the sacred and holy feet of the holy god Madhukanātha,[…] of Nāgarakhaṇḍe, gave […]