SII 1.67: original edition by Eugen Hultzsch

Alternative title: “PART II. TAMIL AND GRANTHA INSCRIPTIONS. IV. INSCRIPTIONS AT TIRUMALAI NEAR POLŪR. No. 67. ON A PIECE OF ROCK ON THE TOP OF THE TIRUMALAI HILL.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This inscription is dated in the 12th year of Ko-Parakesarivarman, alias Uḍaiyār Rājendra-Choḷa-deva. It opens with a long list of the countries which the king had conquered. Among these we find “the seven and a half lakshas (of revenue) of Iraṭṭapāḍi,” which Rājendra-Choḷa took from Jayasiṁha. This conquest must have taken place between his 7th and 10th years, as another of Rājendra-Choḷa’s inscriptions, which is dated in his 7th year,1 does not mention it, while it occurs in some unpublished Tanjore inscriptions of the 10th year.2 The Jayasiṁha of the present inscription can be no other than the Western Chālukya king Jayasiṁha III. (about Śaka 940 to about 964), who, according to the Miraj grant, “warred against the Chola,”3 and who, in another inscription, is called “the lion to the elephant Rājendra-Choḷa.”4 Consequently, “the seven and a half lakshas. of Iraṭṭapāḍi” have to be taken as a designation of the Chalukyan empire,5 which, in two Eastern Chalukya grants, is called “the Dekhan which yields seven and a half lakshas.”6 As both Rājendra-Choḷa and Jayasiṁha III. boast of having conquered the other, it must be assumed that either the success was on both sides alternately, or that neither of the two obtained a lasting advantage. If, in order to identify Rājendra-Choḷa, the enemy of Jayasiṁha III., we turn to the table of the Eastern Chalukya Dynasty, which is found on page 32, above, we find that he cannot be that Rājendra-Choḍa, who reigned from Śaka 985 to 1034. Undoubtedly, the enemy of Jayasiṁha III. was that Rājendra-Choḍa of the Sūryavaṁśa, whose daughter Ammaṅga-devī was married to the Eastern Chalukya king Rājarāja I.7 (Śaka 944 to 985). He is further identical with that Rājendra-Choḍa, who was the son of Rājarāja of the Sūryavaṁśa, and whose younger sister Kūndavā was married to the Eastern Chalukya king Vimalāditya8 (Śaka 937 (?) to 944). From certain Tanjore inscriptions it can be safely concluded, that he was the successor of his father Rājarāja-deva, whose time I have tried to fix in the introduction of No. 40, above. Rājendra-Choḷa’s name occurs also on the seal of the large Leyden grant, and he is in all probability identical with the Madhurāntaka, i.e., “the destroyer of Madura,” who issued that grant after the death of his father Rājarāja.9

Among the other countries, which Rājendra-Choḷa is said to have conquered, the two first in the list are Iḍaituṟai-nāḍu, i.e., the country of Eḍatore, the head-quarters of a tālluqa in the Maisūr District, and Vaṉavāśi, i.e., Banawāsi in the North Kanara District of the Bombay Presidency. With Koḷḷippākkai compare Kollipāke, which, according to Mr. Fleet,10 was one of the capitals of the Western Chālukya king Jayasiṁha III. Īṛam or Īṛa-maṇḍalam is Ceylon. “The king of the South” (Teṉṉavaṉ) is the Pāṇḍya king. Of him the inscription says, that he had formerly given the crown of Sundara to the king of Ceylon, from whom Rājendra-Choḷa took that crown of Sundara. The name Sundara occurs in the traditional lists of Pāṇḍya kings.11 In the present inscription, the term “the crown of Sundara” seems to be used in the sense of “the crown of the Pāṇḍya king,” and the composer of the historical part of the inscription seems to have known Sundara as a former famous member of the Pāṇḍya dynasty. But no conclusions as to the date of Sundara can be drawn from this mention of his name. The names of the Pāṇḍya king, who was conquered by the king of Ceylon, and of the king of Ceylon, who was conquered by Rājendra-Choḷa, are not mentioned. The inscription further records that Rājendra-Choḷa vanquished the Keraḷa, i.e., the king of Malabar. With Śakkara-koṭṭam, whose king Vikrama-Vīra was defeated by Rājendra-Choḷa, compare Chakrakoṭa, whose lord was conquered by the Western Chālukya king Vikramāditya VI.,12 and Chakragoṭṭa, which was taken by the Hoysaḷa king Vishṇuvardhana.17 Madura-maṇḍalam is the Pāṇḍya country, the capital of which was Madura. Oḍḍavishaya, the country of the Oḍḍas or Oḍras13 and the U-cha of Hiuen-Tsiang,14 is the modern Orissa. Kośalai-nāḍu is Southern Kosala, the Kiao-sa-lo of Hiuen-Tsiang,15 which, according to General Cunningham, corresponds to the upper valley of the Mahānadī and its tributaries.16 Takkaṇalāḍam and Uttiralāḍam are Northern and Southern Lāṭa (Gujarāt). The former was taken from a certain Raṇaśūra. Further, Rājendra-Choḷa asserts that he conquered Vaṅgāḷa-deśa, i.e., Bengal, from a certain Govindachandra and extended his operations as far as the Gaṅgā. The remaining names of countries and kings I have been unable to identify.

The inscription mentions Tirumalai, i.e., “the holy mountain,” and records a gift to the temple on its top, which was called Kundavai-Jinālaya, i.e., the Jina temple of Kundavai. According to an Eastern Chalukya grant18 (and an unpublished Chidambaram inscription19), Kūndavā (or Kundavai) was the name of the daughter of Rājarāja of the Sūryavaṁśa, the younger sister of Rājendra-Choḷa, and the queen of the Eastern Chalukya king Vimalāditya. The Tanjore inscriptions mention another, still earlier Kundavai, who was the daughter of the Choḷa king Parāntaka II., the elder sister of the Choḷa king Rājarāja-deva, and the queen of the Pallava king Vandyadeva.20 It seems very probable that it was one of these two queens, viz., either the younger sister or the aunt of the then reigning sovereign Rājendra-Choḷa, who founded the temple on the top of the Tirumalai Rock and called it after herself. As Tirumalai is much closer to the Pallava country, than to the country of the Eastern Chalukyas, we shall scarcely be wrong in attributing the foundation of the temple rather to the king’s aunt, who was a Pallava queen, than to his younger sister, who was married to an Eastern Chalukya king.

According to this and the next inscription, the village at the foot of the Tirumalai Hill bore the name of Vaigavūr and belonged to Mugai-nāḍu, a division of Paṅgaḷanāḍu, which formed part of Jayaṅkoṇḍa-Choḷa-maṇḍalam.

With the text of the subjoined inscription, I have compared four other inscriptions of Rājendra-Choḷa, viz., 1. the inscription No. 68, which is likewise dated in the 12th year; 2. an undated inscription of the Kailāsanātha Temple at Uttaramallūr in the Chingleput District, an impression of which I owe to the kindness of Mr. R.Sewell; 3. an inscription of the Bṛihadīśvara Temple at Tanjore (15th year); and 4. an inscription of the Chidambaram Temple (24th year).

Language: Tamil (tam).

Version: (3992bd7), last modified (0ec4724).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī [||] tirumaṉṉi vaḷaraviru nilamaṭan=taiyum porccayappāvaiyuñcīrttaṉiccelviyuntaṉ perunteviyarāki Iṉpuṟu neṭu tiyal Ūḻiyuḷ Iṭaitu-

⟨2⟩ ṟaināṭuntuṭar vaṉavelippaṭar vaṉavāciyuñcuḷḷiccūḻ matiṭkoḷḷippākkaiyunaṇṇaṟkaru muraṇ maṇṇaikkaṭakkamum poru kaṭal Īḻattaracar tamuṭiyum Āṅka-

⟨3⟩ var teviyaroṅkeḻiṉmuṭiyumuṉṉavar pa(k)kaltteṉṉavar vaitta cuntaramuṭiyum Intiranāramunteṇṭirai Īḻamaṇṭalamuḻuvatum Eṟi paṭaikkeraḷar

⟨4⟩ muṟaimaiyiṟcūṭuṅkulataṉamākiya palar pukaḻ muṭiyuñceṅkatir mālaiyuñcaṅkatir velaittol peruṅkāvaṟpala paḻantivuñceruviṟceṉa-

⟨5⟩ vil Irupattoru kālaraicukaḷai kaṭṭa paracurāmaṉ mevaruñcāntimattivavaraṇ karuti Iruttiya cem poṟṟiruttaku muṭiyum payaṅkoṭu paḻi mika mucaṅkiyil mu-

⟨6⟩ tukiṭṭoḷitta cayaciṅkaṉ Aḷapperum pukaḻoṭum pīṭiyal Iraṭṭapāṭi Eḻarai Ilakkamunavanetikkulapperumalaikaḷum vikkiramavīrar cakkarakoṭṭamu-

⟨7⟩ mutirapaṭavallai maturamaṇṭalamum kāmiṭaivaḷaiyanāmaṇaikkoṇamum veñcilaivīrar pañcappaḷḷiyum pācuṭaippaḻanaṉmācuṇitecamum Ayarvi-

⟨8⟩ l vaṇ kirttiyātinakaravaiyiṟcan=tiraṉṟol kulattirataraṉai viḷaiyamarkkaḷattukkiḷaiyoṭum pi(ṭit)tuppala taṉattoṭu niṟai kulataṉa(k)kuvai-

⟨9⟩ yuñciṭṭaruñce(ṟi) miḷaiyoṭṭaviṣaiyamum pūcurar cer nalkkocalaināṭun=taṉmapālaṉai vem muṉaiyaḻittu vaṇṭuṟai colaittaṇṭayuttiyumiraṇa-

⟨10⟩ cūraṉai muraṇuṟattākkittikkaṇai kirttittakkaṇalāṭamuṅkovin=tacan=taṉ māviḻin=toṭattaṅkāta cāral vaṅkāḷatecamun=toṭu kaṭaṟcaṅkukoṭṭaṉ mahīpālaṉai

⟨11⟩ veñcama vaḷākattañcuvittaruḷi Oṇṭiṟal yāṉaiyum peṇṭir paṇṭāramunittilaneṭuṅkaṭalutti(ra)lāṭamum veṟi maṇaṟṟirttatteṟi puṉaṟkaṅkaiyumā(p)-

⟨12⟩ poru taṇṭāṟkoṇṭa kopparakecaripaṉmarāṉa Uṭaiyār śrīrājendracoḷadevaṟku yāṇṭu 10 2 Āvatu (ja)yaṅkoṇṭacoḻamaṇṭalattu paṅkaḷanāṭṭu naṭuvil

⟨13⟩ va(k)ai mukaināṭṭuppaḷḷiccan=tam vaikavūrttirumalai śrīkun=tavaijinālayattu devaṟkupperumpāṇappāṭikkaraivaḻimalliyūr Irukkum vyā-

⟨14⟩ pāri nan=nappayaṉ maṇavāṭṭi cāmuṇṭappai vaitta tirunan=tāviḷakku [||] Oṉṟinukkukkācu Irupatum (tiru)vamutukku vaitta kācu pattum [||]

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ Iṉpuṟu • Other inscriptions read Iṉpuṟa. — ⟨1⟩ tiyal • An inscription at Uttaramallūr reads tūyar.

⟨2⟩ muraṇ • The ra of muraṇ looks almost like ka.

⟨4⟩ ceṉa⟨5⟩vil • A Tanjore inscription reads ciṉavi for ceṉavil.

⟨6⟩ cayaciṅkaṉ • ci looks like cī. — ⟨6⟩ Aḷapperum • A Tanjore inscription reads Aḷapparum. — ⟨6⟩ pīṭiyal • An inscription at Uttaramallūr reads piṭi instead of pīṭiyal.

⟨7⟩ pācuṭai • Other inscriptions read pācaṭai.

⟨9⟩ ciṭṭaruñ • The Uttaramallūr and Tanjore inscriptions read kiṭṭaruñ. — ⟨9⟩ miḷaiyoṭṭa • A Chidambaram inscription reads puṉaloṭṭa instead of miḷaiyoṭṭa. — ⟨9⟩ yutti • The Chidambaram and Tanjore inscriptions read putti.

⟨11⟩ veñcama • The inscription No. 68 reads camar for cama. — ⟨11⟩ veṟi • An Uttaramallūr inscription reads Eṟi.

Translation by Hultzsch 1890

Hail! Prosperity! In the 12th year of (the reign of) Ko-Parakesarivarman, alias Uḍaiyār Śrī-Rājendra-Choḷa-deva, who,—during his long life (which resembled that of) pure people, (and in which) the great goddess of the earth, the goddess of victory in battle, and the beautiful and matchless goddess of fortune, who had become his great queens, gave him pleasure, while (his own) illustrious queen was prospering,—conquered with (his) great and warlike army Iḍaituṟai-nāḍu; Vaṉavāśi, the roads (to which are bounded by) continuous walls of trees; Koḷḷippākkai, whose walls are surrounded by śuḷḷi (trees); Maṇṇaikkaḍakkam of unapproachable strength; the crown of the king of Īṛam, (which is situated in the midst of) the rough sea; the exceedingly beautiful crown of the queen of the king of that (country); the crown of Sundara, which the king of the South (i.e., the Pāṇḍya) had formerly given to that (king of Īṛam); the pearl-necklace of Indra; the whole Īṛa-maṇḍalam on the transparent sea; the crown praised by many, a family-treasure, which the spearthrowing (king of) Keraḷa usually wore; the garland of the sun (?); many ancient islands, which are the old and great guards of the shore, against which conches are dashed; the crown of pure gold, worthy of Lakshmī, which Paraśurāma, who, out of anger, bound the kings twenty-one times in battle, having thought the fort of the island of Śāndima (i.e., Śāntimat ?) unapproachable, had deposited (there); the seven and a half lakshas of Iraṭṭa-pāḍi—through the conquest of which immeasurable fame arose—(of) Jayasiṁha, who, out of fear and full of revenge, turned his back at Muśaṅgi (?) and hid himself; the high mountains of Navanedikkula; Śakkara-koṭṭam (belonging to) Vikrama-Vīra; Madura-maṇḍalam with the fort of Mudira-paḍa (?); Nāmaṇaikkoṇam, which is surrounded by dense groves; Pañchappaḷḷi (belonging to) Veñjilai-Vīra21; the good Māśuṇi-deśa, where leaves and fruits are green; the large heap of family-treasures, together with many (other) treasures, (which he carried away) after having seized Dhīratara of the old race of the moon, together with his family, in a fight which took place in the hall (at) Ādinagar, (a city) which is famous for its unceasing abundance; Oḍḍa-vishaya, whose copious waters are difficult to approach; the good Kośalai-nāḍu, where Brāhmaṇas assemble; Daṇḍabutti (i.e., Daṇḍa-bhukti), in whose gardens bees abound, (and which he acquired) after having destroyed Dharmapāla in a hot battle; Takkaṇalāḍam (i.e., Dakshiṇa-Lāṭa), whose fame reaches (all) directions, (and which he occupied) after having forcibly attacked Raṇaśūra; Vaṅgāḷa-deśa, where the rain does not last (long), and from which Govindachandra, having lost his fortune, fled; elephants of rare strength, (which he took away) after having been pleased to frighten in a hot battle Mahīpāla of Śaṅgu-koṭṭam (?), which touches the sea; the treasures of women (?); Uttiralāḍam (i.e., Uttara-Lāṭa) on the great sea of pearls; and the Gaṅgā, whose waters sprinkle tīrthas on the burning sand:—

Chāmuṇḍappai, the wife of the merchant Nannappayaṉ, who lives at Perumbāṇappāḍi, (alias) Karaivaṛi-malliyūr, gave a tirunandā lamp to the temple (called) Srī-Kundavai-Jinālaya (on) the holy mountain (Tirumalai) (at) the paḷḷichchandam22 of Vaigavūr in Mugai-nāḍu, a division in the middle of Paṅgaḷa-nāḍu, (which forms part) of Jayaṅkoṇḍa-Śoṛa-maṇḍalam.

Commentary

The remainder of the inscription is written in faint and small characters, and seems to be a rough postscript, which was added after the bulk of the inscription had been carefully engraved by a skilled stonemason.

Postscript. Twenty kāśus were given for one (lamp) and ten kāśus for the sacred food.

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 1.67 by Hultzsch 1890 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1890. South-Indian inscriptions, Tamil and Sanskrit, from stone and copper-plate edicts at Mamallapuram, Kanchipuram, in the North Arcot district, and other parts of the Madras Presidency, chiefly collected in 1886-87. Volume I. South Indian Inscriptions 1. Madras: Government Press. Pages 95–99, item 67.

Notes

  1. 1. Madras Christian College Magazine, Vol. V, p. 41.

  2. 2. The conquest of “the high mountains of Navanedikkula (?)” took also place between the 7th and 10th years, but subsequently to the war against Jayasiṁha.

  3. 3. Ind. Ant. Vol. VIII, p. 18.

  4. 4. Rājendra-Choḷa-gaja-mṛigarāja; Ind. Ant. Vol. V, p. 15, lines 13 f. Mr. Rice’s Mysore Inscriptions, p. 149.

  5. 5. See the remarks of Sir W. Elliot in Carr’s Seven Pagodas, pp. 138 ff.

  6. 6. See No. 39, line 26, and Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV, p. 51, line 29.

  7. 7. See p. 51, above.

  8. 8. Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV, p. 50.

  9. 9. See lines 86 to 88 of the large Leyden grant; Dr. Burgess’ Arch. Survey of S. India, Vol. IV, p. 208.

  10. 10. Kanarese Dynasties, p. 44.

  11. 11. Sewell’s Lists of Antiquities, Vol. II, pp. 218 ff. Dr. Caldwell’s Comparative Grammar, pp. 139 ff. of the Introduction and pp. 535 ff.

  12. 12. Dr. Bühler’s Vikramāṅkacharita, sarga iv, verse 30.

  13. 13. Mr. Fleet’s Kanarese Dynasties, p. 66.

  14. 14. Beal’s Si-yu-ki, Vol. II, p. 204.

  15. 15. Ibid. p. 209.

  16. 16. Arch. Survey of India, Vol. XVII, p. 68.

  17. 17. Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV, p. 53, lines 60 f.

  18. 18. See paragraph 5 of my Progress Report for February, March and April 1888, Madras G.O., 27th July 1888, No. 745, Public.

  19. 19. See paragraph 8 of my Progress Report for July, August and September 1888, Madras G.O., 7th November 1888, No. 1050, Public.

  20. 20. Literally, “the hero of the cruel bow.” Compare veñcilaiccelvaṉ, an epithet of Vīrabhadra as bearing a cruel bow (Winslow).

  21. 21. This term probably means “a village belonging to a temple,” “a holy village;” see p. 91, note 5.