SII 3.69: original edition by Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch

Alternative title: “No. 69.—INSCRIPTION AT TIRUKKALUKKUNRAM.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This inscription (No. 174 of 1894) is engraved on the wall of the strong-room of the Vēdagirīśvara temple at Tirukkaḻukkuṉṟam, a large village in the Chingleput district on the road from Chingleput to the port of Sadras.1 This village is mentioned in Sundaramūrti’s Dēvāram as Kaḻukkuṉṟam, ‘the hill of the kites.’ The ancient name of the temple was Mūlasthāna.2 Tirukkaḻukkuṉṟam itself bore the surname Ulagaḷanda-Śōḻapuram and belonged to Kaḷattūr-nāḍu, a subdivision of the district of Kaḷattūr-kōṭṭam. The names of this district and of its subdivision are derived from Kalattūr, a village on the south of Chingleput.3

The inscription records the grant of two lamps, made in the 14th and 15th years of the reign of Kulōttuṅga I. (ll. 32 and 38). The historical introduction agrees on the whole with that of No. 68 as far as line 11. It then relates that Kulōttuṅga I. drove Vikkalan (i.e. Vikramāditya VI.) from Naṅgili (in the Kōlār district)4 by way of Maṇalūr5 to the Tuṅgabhadrā river, and that he conquered the Gaṅga-maṇḍalam and Śiṅgaṇam, by which the dominions of Jayasiṁha III. seem to be meant.6 Having secured his frontiers in the north, he turned against the Pāṇḍyas7 and subdued the south-western portion of the peninsula as far as the Gulf of Maṉṉār, the Podiyil mountain (in the Tinnevelly district), Cape Comorin, Kōṭṭāṟu, the Sahya (i.e. the Western Ghāṭs) and Kuḍamalai-nāḍu (i.e. Malabar). From the statement that he “fixed the boundary of the Southern country” (l. 27), it may be concluded that he limited the territories of the Pāṇḍya king to the Madura district. In order to pacify the newly acquired country, he settled some of his officers on the roads passing through Kōṭṭāṟu, etc. An inscription of the 39th year of his reign at Chōḷapuram, a portion of Kōttāṟu (No. 46 of 1896), actually mentions one of those military settlers.8

Language: Tamil (tam) [Tamil (tamil)].

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

Identifier: DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0069.

File path: SII03/DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0069.xml.

Version: (8fd5bed), last modified (455b24d).

Edition

⟨1⟩ sva(sti śrī) [||] (pukaḻ cūḻn=ta) pu(ṇari) Akaḻ cū⟨ḻ⟩n=ta puvi(yi)ṟpoṉṉemiya(ḷavum tan nemi) [naṭappa] (vi)-

⟨2⟩ (ḷa)ṅku cayamaka(ḷai) Iḷaṅkopparuvat=tu cak=karakoṭṭat=til vik=karamat=t(o)[ḻilāl putumaṇam puṇa]

⟨3⟩ (r)¿t=?tu matavarai(yī)ṭṭam vayi(rā)karat=tu (vā)ri Ayinuṉaikkon=taḷavaraicar ta[ṉ taḷamiriya vā](ḷuṟai) kaḻi(t=tu)

⟨4⟩ to¿ḻ? valik=kāṭṭi(p)p¿(e)?rppari naṭāt=tik=k¿i?rt=tiyai niṟut=ti vaṭa(tic)ai vākai cūṭit=te(ṉṟicai)t=te(ma)rukamala(ppū)-

⟨5⟩ makaḷ potu(m)aiyum poṉniyāṭai naṉṉilappāvai⟨yi⟩n=tanimaiyun=tavirt=tu pu(ṉi)taru⟨t⟩tiruma(ṇi)-

⟨6⟩ makuṭa⟨m⟩ Urimaiyi(ṟ)cūṭittaṉṉaṭi (I)raṇṭun=taṭamuṭiyāka(t=t)o⟨ṉ⟩ṉilaven=tar cūṭa mu(ṉ)ṉai manuv(ā)ṟu peru{k=}ka ka-

⟨7⟩ liyāṟu vaṟuppa ce(ṅ)koliṉāvalpuvit(to)ṟu¿c?cella v(e)ṇ(ku)ṭai

⟨8⟩ Irunilav¿i?ḷāka(m)e(ṅkaṇun=ta)natu (ti)runiḻa(l) v(e)ṇ(ṇi)lāt=tikaḻa O-

⟨9⟩ ruta(ṉi) meruviṟ(puli vi)ḷaiy(ā)ṭa (vā)rkaṭa(l tivān=ta)rat=tu pūva(r) tiṟ(ai) viṭut=ta ka(la)-

⟨10⟩ (ñ)cori kaḷiṟu (mu)ṟai niṟpa (vi)laṅ(ki)ya (t)e(ṉ)ṉavan karun=talai (pa)run=ta(lai)t=tiṭa

⟨11⟩ tan po(ṉ)nakaṟpuṟat=tiṭaik=ki(ṭappa) I(ṉṉāṭ)piṟkulappiṟ(ai) p(o)l niṟppi(ḻai)-

⟨12⟩ ye(ṉaṉum) co(ll)etir koṭ¿a?ṟṟ¿i?l(latu) (taṉ) kai villetir koṭā vi{y}(k=ka)-

⟨13⟩ lan ka(lla)tar (naṅki)li (tu)ṭaṅ(ki maṇalūr) naṭuve(ṉa)t=tuṅ(ka)pat=t¿a?raiyaḷa-

⟨14⟩ van=ta(ṉ) veṅkaḷiṟu viṭṭa māna(mum kū)ṟiya (vī)ramuṅkiṭappa Eṟi(ya ma)lai(ka)ḷu-

⟨15⟩ (mutu)ku neḷippaviḻin=ta natikaḷu⟨m⟩ (cuḻaṉṟu)ṭaintoṭa viḻun=ta kaṭa¿(laḷ)?-

⟨16⟩ (ḷu)n=talaivirit=talamara kuṭatic(ait=ta)nṉā(ḷu)kan=ta tātaiyun=tā(ṉum pa)ṉ(ṉā)-

⟨17⟩ (ḷi)ṭṭa palapala (mutu)kum paya¿pp?e(ti)r māṟiya ca(ya)p(p)eru(n=ti)ru(vu)m (pa)ḻiyukan=tu ku-

⟨18⟩ (ṭut=ta) pukaḻiṉ ce(l)viyum (vāḷ)āviṭṭa (ma)ṭan=t(ai)ya(rī)ṭṭamum¿i?ḷā(tu) kuṭut=ta veṅ-

⟨19⟩ (ka)ri niraiyu⟨m⟩ kaṅkamaṇṭalamum ci(ṅkaṇam)eṉṉum pāṇi Iraṇ(ṭu)⟨m⟩ Oruvicaik-

⟨20⟩ k(ai)k=k(o)ṇṭīṇṭiya pukaḻoṭu pā(ṇ)ṭimaṇṭala(mu)m ko(ḷ)ḷat=tiru(vu)ḷa-

⟨21⟩ t=taṭait=tu poṟikarit=talaṅka(ḷum) (tan=ti)ravāri(yu)m Uṭaiccāy vaṭakaṭal te-

⟨22⟩ ṉkaṭa(l me)l {kaṭal} va(na)tu pol (ta)n (p)e(ru)ñceṉ(ai)yai(y)evippañcava-

⟨23⟩ r(ai)varum poruta por(k=ka)ḷat=tañci ve(ru) ¿ka?(ḷi)t=t(o)ṭi Araṇena(ppu)k=ka kāṭ¿i?ṟat=tu⌈-

⟨24⟩ (ṭai)t=tu ṉā(ṭa)ṭippaṭu(t=tu maṟṟa)va(rtammai vanacarar tiriyum koṟṟa) v(e)ñcurameṟṟi

⟨25⟩ koṟṟavijaiya{ja(ya)}staṁbha(m ti)cai(toṟuni)ṟu(t=ti) mu(t=ti)n calā(pamu)m

⟨26⟩ mut=tamiḻppoti(yi)ṉil (cat=ta)va(ṉkari) [******] mukaṉṉi [*] yāvakaik-

⟨27⟩ koṇṭa⟨ru⟩(ḷi) teṉṉā¿ṭa?lai kāṭṭi k¿a?ṭa{l}ma(laināṭuḷ)ḷa cā(v)eṟellān=tani (vi)-

⟨28⟩ cu(mp)e(ṟa) māv(e)ṟiya (tan) varun=ta ni(t=ta)lai(varai kuṟu)kalar koṭṭ(ā)ṟuṭppaṭa neṟi-

⟨29⟩ toṟuni(lai)kaḷiṭṭaru(ḷi) tiṟal (koḷ) ci(ṅkācana)t=tu Irun=taruḷi poṅkoḷi-

⟨30⟩ (y)ā(ramu)m tiruppuya(t=ta)laṅkalum (pol vīramu)m tiyākamu(m) viḷaṅka p(ā)r-

⟨31⟩ micai (m)e(vala)r (vaṇa)ṅka v¿i?ṟṟirun=taruḷi(ya) (kovirā)jakecari(vanma)rāna cak=kara(va)tti-

⟨32⟩ (ka)ḷ śrīkulot=tu(ṅ)kaco(ḻa)devaṟku (yāṇṭu) (10) 4 Āvatu jayaṅko-

⟨33⟩ ṇṭac(oḻa)ma(ṇṭala)t=tuk=ka(ḷa)t=tūrk(ko)ṭṭat=tu kaḷat=tūrnāṭṭu ta(ṉ) kūṟṟu devatāna(n=tiruk=ka)ḻu-

⟨34⟩ k=ku(ṉ)ṟamāna Ulaka⟨⟨ḷa⟩⟩n=taco(ḻapura)t=tu śrīm¿u?las¿t?ānamuṭaiyamahādevaṟku Oā⟨⟨y⟩⟩māṉāṭṭu cevūr(āna)

⟨35⟩ co(ḻa)keraḷanallūriruk=ku [***] ppaḷḷi celvaṉ paḻumaṭaiyaṉāna kulot=tuṅkacoḻa(pp)e(ri)-

⟨36⟩ yarayan vait=ta tirunu(n=t)ā(viḷa)k=ku 1 Oṉṟinuk=ku Arumoḻitevanuḻak=kāl nicatamuḻak=ku ney(k=ku)

⟨37⟩ viṭṭa cā(vā mū)vāpper(āṭu) t(o)ṇṇūṟu [|] Ivai cantrādityavaraiy celu(ttu)v(āṉ) Aṭi En (ta)-

⟨38⟩ lai melina [|] Itu (panmā)h(e)śvararakṣai [|] meṟpaṭiyāṉ (y)āṇṭu 10 5 Āvatu v(ait=ta)

⟨39⟩ tirunun=tāviḷak=ku[k=ku viṭ]ṭa (Āṭu) toṇṇūṟum cāvā (mū)v(ā)pperāṭu [|] I(v)aiy panm(ā)h(e)śvararakṣai [||]

Apparatus

⟨9⟩ (tivān=ta)rat=tu • Read tīvara.

⟨14⟩ van=ta(ṉ) • The Tanjore inscription (above, Vol. II. No. 58) reads vum veṅkaṇum (read Eṅkaṇum) paṭṭa veṅkaḷiṟum viṭṭa tan m(ā)ṉa.

⟨18⟩ (vāḷ)āviṭṭa • Other inscriptions read vāḷāroṇkaṇ.

⟨21⟩ t=taṭait=tu • Other inscriptions insert veḷḷavaruparittaraṅkamum or corruptions of it. — ⟨21⟩ poṟikarittalaṅka(ḷum) • No. 73 reads (p)oru(ka)rikkalaṅ (ka)ḷun.

⟨24⟩ (koṟṟa) • Read poṟṟai.

⟨26⟩ poti(yi)ṉil • Read pokiyilum mat=taveṅkari paṭum maiyaccaiyamuṅkaṉṉiyuṅkaik.

⟨28⟩ varun=ta • This is probably a corruption of varūtiṉi. — ⟨28⟩ (kuṟu)kalar • Other inscriptions insert kulaiya.

⟨34⟩ Oā⟨⟨y⟩⟩mā • Read Ōymā. The ā is added in order to mark the length of the preceding vowel o; compare above, p. 16, note 2. The y is engraved below the line.

Translation by Hultzsch 1903

(Line 1.) Hail ! Prosperity ! While the wheel of his (authority) went as far as the golden circle (i.e. Mount Mēru) on the earth, which was surrounded by the moat of the sea, that was (again) surrounded by (his) fame, (the king) newly wedded, in the time (when he was still) heir-apparent, the brilliant goddess of victory at Śakkarakōṭṭam by deeds of valour and seized a herd of mountains of rut (i.e. rutting elephants) at Vayirāgaram.

(L. 3.) (He) unsheathed (his) sword, showed the strength of (his) arm, and spurred (his) war-steed, so that the army of the king of Kondaḷa, (whose spear had) a sharp point, retreated.

(L. 4.) Having established (his) fame, having put on the garland of (the victory over) the Northern region, and having stopped the prostitution of the goddess with the sweet and excellent lotus-flower (i.e. Lakshmī) of the Southern region, and the loneliness of the goddess of the good country whose garment is the Poṉṉi, (he) put on by right (of inheritance) the pure royal crown of jewels, while the kings of the earth bore his two feet (on their heads) as a large crown.

(L. 6.) The river (of the rules) of the ancient king Manu swelled, (and) the river (of the sins) of the Kali (age) dried up.

(L. 7.) (His) sceptre swayed over every (quarter of) this continent of the nāval (tree); the white light of the sacred shadow of (his) white parasol shone everywhere on the circle of the great earth; (and his) tiger (-banner) fluttered unrivalled on the Mēru (mountain).

(L. 9.) (Before him) stood a row of elephants showering jewels, which were presented (as) tribute by the kings of remote islands whose girdle is the sea.

(L. 10.) The excellent head of the refractory king of the South (i.e. the Pāṇḍya) lay outside his (viz. Kulōttuṅga’s) beautiful city, being pecked by kites.

(L. 11.) Not only did the speech (of Vikkalaṉ):—“After this day a permanent blemish (will attach to Kulōttuṅga), as to the crescent9 (which is the origin) of (his) family,”10 —turn out wrong, but the bow (in) the hand of Vikkalaṉ was not (even) bent against (the enemy).

(L. 13.) Everywhere from Naṅgili of rocky roads—with Maṇalūr in the middle—to the Tuṅgabhadrā, there were lying low the dead (bodies of his) furious elephants, his lost pride and (his) boasted valour.

(L. 14.) The very mountains which (he) ascended bent their backs; the very rivers into which (he) descended eddied and breached (the banks) in their course; (and) the very seas into which (he) plunged became troubled and agitated.

(L. 16.) (The Chōḷa king) seized simultaneously the two countries (pāṇi) called Gaṅgamaṇḍalam and Śiṅgaṇam, troops of furious elephants which had been irretrievably abandoned (by the enemy), crowds of women, (the angles of) whose beautiful eyes were as pointed as daggers, the goddess of fame, who gladly brought disgrace (on Vikkalaṉ), and the great goddess of victory, who changed to the opposite (side) and caused (Vikkalaṉ) himself and (his) father, who were desirous of the rule over the Western region, to turn their backs again and again on many days.

(L. 20.) Having resolved in (his) royal mind to conquer also the Pāṇḍi-maṇḍalam (i.e. the Pāṇḍya country) with great fame, (he) despatched his great army,—which possessed [excellent horses (resembling) the waves of the sea], war-elephants (resembling) ships, and troops (resembling) water,—as though the Northern ocean was overflowing the Southern ocean.

(L. 22.) (He) completely destroyed the forest which the five Pañchavas (i.e. Pāṇḍyas) had entered as refuge, when they were routed on a battlefield where (he) fought (with them), and fled cowering with fear.

(L. 24.) (He) subdued (their) country, drove them into hot jungles (in) hills where woodmen roamed about, and planted pillars of victory in every region.

(L. 25.) (He) was pleased to seize the pearl fisheries,11 the Podiyil (mountain) where the three kinds of Tamiḻ (flourished),12 [the (very) centre of the (mountain) Śaiyam13] where furious rutting elephants were captured, and Kaṉṉi,14 and fixed the boundaries of the Southern (i.e. Pāṇḍya) country.

(L. 27.) While all the heroes15 in the Western hill-country (Kuḍamalai-nāḍu)16 ascended voluntarily to heaven, (he) was pleased to bestow on the chiefs of his army, who were mounted on horses, settlements on every road, including (that which passed) Kōṭṭāṟu,17 in order that the enemies might be scattered, and took his seat on the throne acquired in warfare.

(L. 29.) (He) was pleased to be seated (on it) while (his) valour and liberality shone like (his) necklace of great splendour and (like) the flower-garland on (his) royal shoulders, (and) while (all his) enemies prostrated themselves on the ground.

(L. 31.) In the [1]4th year (of the reign) of this king Rājakēsarivarman, alias the emperor Śrī-Kulōttuṅga-Śōḻadēva, 1—one—perpetual lamp was given to Mahādēva, the lord of the Śrī-Mūlasthāna (temple) at Tirukkaḻukkuṉṟam, alias Ulagaḷanda-Śōḻapuram, a dēvadāna) in its own circle (kūṟu)18 in Kaḷattūr-nāḍu, (a subdivision) of Kaḷattūr-kōṭṭam, (a district) of Jayaṅgoṇḍa-Śōḻa-maṇḍalam, by . . . . ppaḷḷi Śelvaṉ Paḻumaḍaiyaṉ, alias Kulōttuṅga-Śōḻa-periyarayaṉ, who resided at Śēvūr,19 alias Śōḻakēraḷanallūr, in Ōymāṉāḍu.20

(L. 36.) In order (to supply) to (this lamp) one uḻakku of ghee per day, (measured) by the Arumoḻidēvaṉ-uḻakku,21 (he) granted ninety full-grown ewes, which must neither die nor grow old.22

(L. 37.) The feet of him who will continue this (grant) as long as the moon and the sun exist, shall be on my head. This (is placed under) the protection of all Māhēśvaras.

(L. 38.) In the 15th year (of the king’s reign) the above-mentioned person (also) granted ninety full-grown ewes, which must neither die nor grow old, for 1 (other) perpetual lamp which (he) had given. This (is placed under) the protection of all Māhēśvaras.

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 3.69 by Hultzsch 1903 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1903. South-Indian inscriptions. Volume III: Miscellaneous inscriptions from the Tamil country. Part II: Inscriptions of Virarajendra I., Kulottunga-chola I., Vikrama-chola and Kulottunga III. South Indian Inscriptions 3.2. Madras: Government Press. Pages 143–148, item 69.

Notes

  1. 1. See Ep. Ind Vol. III. p. 276, and Ind. Ant. Vol. XXI. p. 343.

  2. 2. See line 34 of the present inscription, and the four inscriptions quoted in the preceding note.

  3. 3. See Ind. Ant. Vol. XXI p. 197, note 1.

  4. 4. See above, Vol. II. p. 235, note 5.

  5. 5. This place cannot be identified.

  6. 6. See above, Vol. II. p. 235, note 7, and p. 391, note 7.

  7. 7. Here (l. 22 f.), as in the Chidambaram inscription (Ep. Ind. Vol. V. p. 104) and in the Kaliṅgattu-Paraṇi (xi. verse 69), ‘five Pāṇḍyas’ are spoken of. Mr. Venkayya has drawn attention to the word Pañchavaṉ, ‘one of the five,’ which is used in this inscription (l. 22) and in Tamil literature as a title of the Pāṇḍya kings, and concludes that “very often, if not always, there were five Pāṇḍya princes ruling at the same time” (Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. p. 60 f.). I suspect that this custom may have been due to the desire of imitating the mythical Pāṇḍava brothers, who were five in number.

  8. 8. L. 3 f.:— koṭṭāṟṟu nilaippaṭai (kāṇi)viccātarattaṟu(ta)mpil paṭaiyilān tamiḻaṉ māṇikkaṉ. Compare Ind. Ant. Vol. XXIV. p. 254, note 28.

  9. 9. The spot in the moon is alluded to.

  10. 10. The Eastern Chālukya family, from which Kulōttuṅga I. was descended in the male line, claimed the Moon as its ancestor.

  11. 11. This refers to the coast of the Gulf of Maṉṉār.

  12. 12. See above, Vol. II. p. 236, notes 1 and 2.

  13. 13. This is the Tamil form of Sahya, the Sanskrit name of the Western Ghāṭs.

  14. 14. See above, Vol. II. p. 236, note 3.

  15. 15. In Malayāḷam, chāvēṟ (Tamil śāvēṟu) means ‘one who has elected to die, moriturus.’ Interesting details about the Chāvēṟs are found in Mr. Logan’s Malabar, Vol. I. pp. 162 to 169.

  16. 16. This term does not refer to Coorg as I suggested in Vol. I. p. 63, but is probably identical with the modern Malayāḷam or Malabar.

  17. 17. This is the well known town near Cape Comorin; see Ep. Ind. Vol. V. p. 104, note 3.

  18. 18. See p. 3 above, note 7.

  19. 19. In accordance with the next following note, this must be Chēvūr near Tiṇḍivaṉam; see Mr. Sewell’s Lists of Antiquities, Vol. I. p. 207.

  20. 20. According to the inscriptions of the Tintriṇīśvara temple at Tiṇḍivaṉam, this place belonged to Ōymāṉāḍu.

  21. 21. See above, p. 8, note 3.

  22. 22. See above, Vol. II. p. 375, note 3.