# SII 3.12: original edition by Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch

Emmanuel Francis

Alternative title: I—INSCRIPTIONS IN THE VISHNU TEMPLE AT UKKAL. No.
12.—ON THE WEST WALL OF THE MANDAPA

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis

Identifier: DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0012

Repository: SII original (south-indian-inscriptions)

File path: SII_B_clean/SII03/DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0012.xml

Language: Tamil [Grantha, Tamil]

Commit: 2026-11-14 15:07 (85a1dec), last modified 2026-09-29 11:08
(2b36d53)

## Summary

This inscription is dated in the 37th year of the reign of
“Parakēsarivarman, the conqueror of Madirai (Madhurā),” i.e. of the
Chōḷa king Parāntaka I.,[1] who reigned from about A.D. 900 to 940.[2]
It records that the villagers granted to the temple the village of
Śōdiyambākkam, which was situated to the north of their own village.
Śōdiyambākkam[3] still bears the same name and lies 3 1/4 miles north of
Ukkal.

In the preceding inscription (No. 11, l. 7), which belongs to the 16th
year of Parakēsarivarman, Śōdiyambākkam is designated as ‘a village
(belonging to) this god,’ i.e. to the Vishṇu temple at Ukkal. At first
sight it might be concluded from this that No. 11 is of later date than
No. 12, and consequently, Parakēsarivarman one of the successors of
Parāntaka I. On the other hand, it is but natural to assume that
Parāntaka I. prefixed the title Madirai-koṇḍa to his name
Parakēsarivarman, in order to distinguish it from earlier Chōḷa kings
named Parakēsarivarman, and that any Parakēsarivarman who succeeded
Parāntaka I. would have followed the example of the latter and adopted a
similar distinguishing epithet. Hence I believe that the inscriptions of
Parakēsarivarman[4] belong to an earlier king than Parāntaka I. The
subjoined inscription would then record a mere renewal or confirmation
of the gift of the village of Śōdiyambākkam, which had already belonged
to the temple in the time of Parakēsarivarman.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī [∥] matirai koṇṭa kopparakesaripa(r)mmaṟku yāṇṭu
muppa(t)t(e)ḻāvatu kāliyūrkkoṭṭattuttaṉ
kūṟṟuccivacūḷā⟨⟨(maṇi)⟩⟩ma(ṅ)ka(la)māki(ya)
śrīvikra⟨2⟩mābharaṇaccaturvvedima(ṁ)galattu sabhaiyom [|]
Emmūrppu⟨⟨va⟩⟩ṉi(m)āṇikkaviṣṇugṛhattupperumāṉaṭikaḷukku devabhogamā⟨3⟩ka
Ivar muṉṉuṭaiya periya nan=tavāṉamuṭpaṭa Emmūr
vaṭapiṭākaiccotiyampākkamāṉa Ūru(m) Ūrirukkaiyum Eriyu⟨4⟩naṉceyyum
puṉceyyum vaḷaiyiṟcuṟṟu Uṭumpoṭi Āmai tavaḻntatepperppaṭṭatum
(I)ppuvaṉimāṇik⟨5⟩kaviṣṇugṛhat(tu)pperumāṉaṭikaḷukku Ārādhippārkkum
A(r)ccanābhogattukkuntrikālanti(ru)vamṛtukkum Iraṇṭu
no(n=t)āviḷakku⟨kku⟩m sa(ndhi)kaḷil (dī)pa⟨6⟩m(ā)lai(ka)ḷukkum
tiruvutsavattukkum (A)yaṉamum viṣuvum ¿gṛ?⟨gra⟩haṇamum
snapanañce(y)vatākavum
śrībalikkuntiruvuṇṇāḻikaippuṟamaṟṟumep⟨7⟩perppaṭṭatukkun(d)evabhogamāvatākavum
[|] Ivvūr (cu)ṭṭi Epperppaṭṭa Iṟaiyuṅkāṭṭappeṟātomākavum [|] Ivvūr Eṟiṉa
kuṭikaḷai sabhāniyogatt(ā)l sa¿M?⟨ṁ⟩vatsara⟨8⟩vāriyañceyvomum
E(ri)vāriyañceyvomum toṭṭavāriyañceyvomum Ikkuṭikaḷai veṭṭi(yu)m
veti(ḷai)yum vālakkāṇamum koḷḷappeṟātom(ā)⟨9⟩kavum [|]
Ivvūrkkuṭika(ḷai)kkuṟṟandoṣamaṉṟu⟦ṭu⟧⟨⟨(p)⟩⟩āṭu devarey
(da)ṇḍittukkoḷvatākavum [|] Oṭṭikkuṭut(tu) ¿ślā?⟨śilā⟩lekhai ceytu
Eḻuttu veṭṭikkuṭuttom sa⟨10⟩bhaiyom [|] Ita(ṉ)ṟe(ṉ)ṟu Iṟa⟨k⟩(ka)
nikā¿ntya?⟨ta⟩ñco(ṉ)ṉom kaṅkai Iṭaikkumari Iṭaicceytār ceyta
pāva(ṅ)koḷv¿(ā)r?⟨om⟩ākavum [|] Itaṟ(ti)ṟampi(ṉom)e
śraddhāma(nda)⟨11⟩(r)ey mey veṟu nicati nūṟṟeṭ(ṭukkā)ṇan(ta)ṇṭappaṭa
Oṭṭikkuṭuttom sabhaiyom [|] Issabhaiyuḷḷirun=tu sa(bh)aiyār
paṇippaveḻu(tiṉ)e(ṉ) Ivvūr maddhya(stha)ṉ (po)ṟṟik=kuṟi
brahmapriya⟨ṉ⟩e⟨ṉ ∥⟩

## Apparatus

⟨9⟩ (p)āṭu • The pa of pāṭu is corrected from ṭu.

## Translation by Hultzsch 1899

(Line 1.) Hail ! Prosperity ! In the thirty-seventh year (of the reign)
of king Parakēsarivarman who conquered Madirai,—we, the assembly of
Śivachūḷāmaṇimaṅgalam, alias Śrī-Vikramābharaṇa-chaturvēdimaṅgalam, (a
village) in its own subdivision of Kāliyūr-kōṭṭam, (ordered as
follows):—

(L. 2.) To the god of the Puvaṉimāṇikka-Vishṇugṛiham in our village
shall belong, as a divine gift (dēva-bhōga), the village called
Śōdiyambākkam, a hamlet (piḍāgai) to the north of our village,—including
the great flower-garden which belonged to this (temple) previously,—the
site of the village,[5] the tank, the wet land, the dry land, and
everything within (its) limits, on which the iguana runs and the
tortoise crawls,[6] for the worshippers of the god of this
Puvaṉimāṇikka-Vishṇugṛiham, for the requirements of the worship, for
oblations (tiruvamṛidu) at the three times (of the day),[7] for two
perpetual lamps, for rows of lamps at twilight, for festivals, for the
bathing (of the idol) at solstices, equinoxes and eclipses, for
offerings (śrībali), (for) supplies[8] to the store-room[9] of the
temple, and for all other purposes.

(L. 7.) We shall not be entitled to levy any kind of tax from this
village. We, (the great men) elected for the year, we, (the great men)
elected for (the supervision of) the tank, and we, (the great men)
elected for (the supervision of) gardens, shall not be entitled to
claim, at the order of the assembly, forced labour (veṭṭi),[10]
vēdi[ḷai] and vālakkāṇam from the inhabitants settled in this village.

(L. 9.) (If) a crime (or) sin becomes public, the god (i.e. the temple
authorities) alone shall punish the inhabitants of this village (for
it). Having agreed (thus), we, the assembly, engraved (this) on
stone.[11]

(L. 10.) If we utter the untruth that this is not (as stated above), in
order to injure (the charity), we shall incur (all) the sins committed
between the Gaṅgā and Kumari. We, the assembly, agree to pay a fine of
one hundred and eight kāṇam per day, if we fail in this through
indifference[12] . . . . .[13]

(L. 11.) Having been present in this assembly, I, the arbitrator of this
village, [Po]ṟṟikkuṟi Brahmapriyaṉ, wrote (this) at the order of the
assembly.

## Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 3.12 by Hultzsch 1899 converted to DHARMA
conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

### Primary

[SII] Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1899. South-Indian inscriptions.
Volume III: Miscellaneous inscriptions from the Tamil country. Part I:
Inscriptions at Ukkal, Melpadi, Karuvur, Manimangalam and Tiruvallam.
South Indian Inscriptions 3.1. Madras: Government Press. Pages 18–20,
item 12, plate III.

[1] See Vol. II. pp. 374 and 379 f.

[2] See ibid. p. 381.

[3] No. 246 on the Madras Survey Map of the Arcot tāluka.

[4] See above, p. 17, note 4.

[5] The term ūr-irukkai occurs in the Tañjāvūr inscriptions, Vol. II.
Nos. 4 and 5.

[6] Compare Vol. II. p. 360, note 1.

[7] See above, p. 11, note 3.

[8] On puṟam see above, p. 6, note 9.

[9] This translation of uṇṇāḻigai is conjectural. The same word occurs
in Vol. I. Nos. 82, 83, 145 and 150. Compare iḍanāḻi, ‘a passage between
two rooms,’ in Dr. Gundert’s Malayāḷam Dictionary, p. 100.

[10] See Ep. Ind. Vol. III. p. 323, note 1.

[11] The ‘engraving’ is expressed twice, first in Sanskrit and then in
Tamil.

[12] Compare above, No. 7, l. 6.

[13] On mey veṟu see above, p. 13, note 1.