SII 3.99: original edition by H. Krishna Sastri

Alternative title: “XI.—INSCRIPTIONS OF PARAKESARIVARMAN PARANTAKA I. No. 99.—ON THE NORTH WALL OF THE CENTRAL SHRINE IN THE KHARAPURISVARA TEMPLE AT TIRUPPARKKADAL. No. 693 of 1904.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This interesting record registers a gift of gold made by a military officer for strengthening the bund of a tank, by depositing on it the silt-removed from that tank. The gift, however, appears to have been utilized subsequently for feeding four Brāhmaṇas in the local temple, for the merit of the four heroes who fell in a battle on the occasion when the donor Tīraṉ Śeṉṉippēraraiyaṉ of Araiśūr made a frontal attack with his colleagues on the enemy, in a fierce battle (astikkaḍai) fought at Vēḷūr between Perumāṉaḍigaḷ (i.e., Parāntaka I.) and the allied Pāṇḍya and Ceylon kings. The result of the battle is not stated; but from the Udayēndiram plates published above, in Volume II, pages 375 ff., Parāntaka I. is known to have conquered Madura after defeating its ruler the Pāṇḍya king Rājasiṁha and to have repulsed an army of the king of Laṅkā (Ceylon), thereby earning for himself the surname Saṅgrāmarāghava. The Ceylon king who at this time must have sent his army in support of the Pāṇḍya could have been no other than Kassapa V. who, according to the traditional account given in the Mahāwamsa, would have reigned from A. D. 906 to 916 (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for July 1913, page 525 f.). The commencement of the reign of Parāntaka I. has been fixed by Professor Kielhorn to lie between 15th January and 25th July A.D. 907.

Language: Tamil (tam) [Grantha (grantha), Tamil (tamil)].

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

Identifier: DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0099.

File path: SII03/DHARMA_INSSIIv03p0i0099.xml.

Version: (e26532d), last modified (3a5972b).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī [||] matiraikoṇṭa kopparakesaripatmaṟkku yāṇṭu paṉṉiraṇṭāvatu koṭṭanāḷ nūṟṟirupattoṉpatu paṭuvūrkkoṭṭattu kkāvatippākkamākiya Amaṉinārāyaṇa(c)caturvvetimaṅkalattu [*******] Ivvāṭṭaik kuṭumpuvārikapperu⟨ma⟩k=kaḷun toṭṭa(v)ārikapperu⟨ma⟩k=kaḷuṅ kaḻaṉivārikapperumak=kaḷum vaṭakaḻaṉi-

⟨2⟩ vārikapperumak=kaḷum bhaṭṭarkaḷum viśiṣṭarkaḷum Uḷḷiṭṭa mahāsabhaiyār paṇiyāl (Iv)vāṇṭu Erivārikañ ceykiṉṟa Erivārikapperumakkaḷom coḻa(nā)ṭṭup pāmpuṇikkūṟṟa(t)tu (Ar)aicūr Araicūruṭaiy [*****] ṉ tīraṉ ceṉṉipperaraiyar pakkal Oṉpa(tarai)māṟi niṟai nūṟṟirupatiṉ kaḻañcu poṉ koṇṭu Innūṟṟirupati-

⟨3⟩ ṉ kaḻañcuppoṉṉum Emmur periya Eri karai maṇṇaṭṭukiṉṟa Oṭanāyaṉmārk kiṭuvataṟku mutalāka koṇṭu Innūṟṟirupatiṉ kaḻañcu poṉṉālum van=ta vṛ¿t?thiyāley pāṇṭiyaṉum Īḻattaraiyaṉum vantu perumāṉaṭikaḷoṭu veḷūr Astikaṭaiceyta nāṉṟu Icceṉṉipperaraiyar tām (n)eṟṟi ceṉṟa Iṭattup paṭṭa cevakar kārimaṅkalamuṭaiyāṉukkum valikku(ṭṭi)kkum perunāyakaṉukkum Aḻiyānilai māṭampikkum Āka Innālvaraiyum cārtti Emmur

⟨4⟩ (pār)yāṟṟaṅkarait tirukkarapurattup perumāṉaṭika(ḷ) Amutuceyyumpoḻtu tāmeṭuppitta cālaimaṇṭakattey vedam valla Apūrvvikaḷ(e)y nicati nālvar brāhmaṇ¿i?ṟku nālu kaṟiyum meyveṟu Āḻākku neyyum meyveṟu nāḻit=tayirum Aṭṭi Ācantrakālamum muṭṭ¿a?mey Ipparicu Agram ¿U?ṭṭuvippomākavum Ivarkaḷ Agram Uṇṭapoḻtu Ivar⟨ka⟩ḷukku meyveṟu Iraṇṭu k(āyu)m Ilaiyum Iṭuvatākavum Ipparicu Agram Ūṭṭuvippatu [|] I nālvar brahmaṇaraiyu-

⟨5⟩ m A⟨v⟩vavvāṇṭu Ērivārikañ ceyyum Erivārikapperumakkaḷey Ācandrakālamum kaṭaikkaṇṭu Ūṭṭuvippā⟨rā⟩kavum | I dhanmam rakṣitt(ār·) Aśvamedhañ ceyta phala¿mm?ey⟨tu⟩vārākavum | I dhanmattukku virodhañ ceytār geṃkaiyiṭaikkumariyiṭaic ceyta pāvattu(p pa)ṭuvārākavum | paṇittom Iv=vāṭṭai Erivārikapperumakkaḷ U(ḷḷi)ṭṭa mahāsabhaiyom ||| Itukuṟiyuḷḷiruntu Ivvāṭṭai Erivārikapperumakkaḷ paṇikka Eḻutiṉeṉ madhyastaṉ civakkuṟi nūṟṟeṇmaṉeṉ |||

Translation by Krishna Sastri 1920

(Line 1.) Hail ! Prosperity ! In the 12th year of (the reign of) king Parakēsarivarman who took Madirai (Madura)—the day of the gift (koṭṭa-nāḷ1 ) (being) one hundred and twenty nine—at the command of the members of the great assembly which included (in it) the great men of the wards-committee, the great men of the garden-committee, the great men of the fields-committee, the great men of the north-fields (vaḍa-kaḻaṉi)-committee2 , the Bhaṭṭas and other distinguished men (viśishṭas) of this year. . . . . . . .Kāvadippākkam alias Amaṉinārāyaṇa-chaturvēdimaṅgalam in Paḍuvūrkōṭṭam, the great men of the tanks-committee, who do the ēri-vāriyam for this year, received from Araiśūruḍaiy[āṉ]. . . . . . . . Tīraṉ Śeṉṉi-Pēraraiyar of Araiśūr in Pāmbuṇi-kūṟṟam (a subdivision) of Śōḻa-nāḍu, one hundred and twenty kaḻañju weight of gold of nine and a half degrees of fineness3 .

(L. 3.) Receiving this one hundred and twenty kaḻañju of gold as a fund for paying the ferry-men depositing mud on the bund of the big tank of our village, we shall, from the interest accruing on this one hundred and twenty kalañju of gold, for (the merit of) these four servants (viz.,) Kārimaṅgalam-Uḍaiyāṉ, Valikkuṭṭi, Perunāyagaṉ and Aḻiyānilai-Māḍambi who died when this (i.e., the above-mentioned) Śeṉṉi-Pēraraiyar himself made a frontal attack on the occasion when the Pāṇḍya (king) and the king of Ceylon marched (against) Perumāṉaḍigaḷ and fought with him a deadly battle4 at Vēḷūr. in the manner described below, feed regularly at the time when offerings are made to the lord (perumāṉaḍigaḷ) of our village of Tirukkarapuram, on the bank of the Pāryāṟu5, in the feeding hall (śālai-maṇḍagam) constructed by him (i.e., Śeṉṉi Pēraraiyar), without any break as long as the moon (lasts), four apūrvi6 Brāhmaṇas versed in the Vēdas, with rich meals (agram)7 supplying four vegetables (kaṟi), one āḻākku of ghee for each individual and one nāḻi of curd for each individual.

(L. 4.) After these are richly fed, two areca-nuts (kāy) and leaves shall be given to each of them. Thus shall the rich repast be given. The great men of the tank-committee who perform (the duties of) ēri-vāriyam year after year shall themselves supervise and feed the four Brāhmaṇas as long as the moon (lasts). Those who protect this charity shall obtain the merit of the performance of Aśvamēdha (sacrifice). Those who obstruct this, charity shall incur the sins committed (by sinners) between the Ganges and Cape Comorin. We, the members of the great assembly including the great men of the tankcommittee of this year, have ordered (in the aforesaid manner). I, the arbitrator (madhyastha) Śivakkuṟi Nūṟṟeṇmaṉ, wrote (this document) under the orders of the great men of the tank-committee of this year, being (myself) present in the assembly.

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 3.99 by Krishna Sastri 1920 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Krishna Sastri, H. 1920. South-Indian inscriptions. Volume III: Miscellaneous inscriptions from the Tamil country. Part III: Inscriptions of Aditya I, Parantaka I, Madiraikonda, Rajakesarivarman, Parantaka II, Uttama-Chola, Parthivendravarman and Aditya-Karikala and the Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra-Chola I. South Indian Inscriptions 3.3. Madras: Government Press. Pages 231–233, item 99.

Notes

  1. 1. The word koṭṭanāḷ occurs for the first time. Other inscriptions use only nāḷ. The exact significance of the word is doubtful.

  2. 2. vaṭakaḻaṉi vārikapperumakkaḷ. The function of this body as distingnished from kaḻaṉivārikapperumakkaḷ is not clear.

  3. 3. māṟi is the word actually used. It has been taken to correspond to the modern māṟṟu.

  4. 4. astikkaṭai ceytanāṉṟu. The translation of this phrase by “a deadly battle” is purely conjectural. It is not found in the dictionaries. The word may also mean “a fight on elephants.”

  5. 5. Pāryāṟu must evidently be the Pālāṟu on which the present village of Tiruppāṟkkaḍal is situated.

  6. 6. The technical term apūrvi as applied to Vēdic Brāhmaṇas is also found in an inscription from the Vishṇu temple at Eṇṇāyiram (No. 333 of 1917). In describing a school for the students of the Vēdas, it mentions three students and teachers of the Ṛig, Yajus, etc., Vēdas who either studied apūrva or taught it. It is not improbable that the term was intended to convey a special method of studying the Vēdas and was an accepted synonym for Vēdic literature which included Rig, Yajus, Chhāndōgya-Sāma, Talavakāra-Sāma, Vājasanēya, Atharva, Bandhāyanīya-Gṛihya, Kalpa, Gaṇa and Kāṭhaka.

  7. 7. Agram is still used in Malabar in connexion with the term agra-śālā, ‘cooking houses in temples’ and with agraśāla-para a special measure used in these cooking houses. Agram also means excellent or chief. When applied to a meal it means perhaps the chief meal provided for in a temple.