SII 12.247: original edition by V. Venkatasubba Ayyar

Alternative title: “No. 247. (A.R. No. 198 of 1905). TRIPURĀNTAKAM, MARKAPUR TALUK, KURNOOL DISTRICT. ON THE NORTH WALL OF THE KITCHEN IN THE TRIPURĀNTAKĒŚVARA TEMPLE.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This is a Grantha inscription praising the greatness of Mahārājasiṁha, i.e. Kōpperuñjiṅga (II), son of Jīyamahīpati by his wife Śīlavatī. Jīyamahīpati is the same as the Tamil Śīyaṉ in the name Aḻagiya-Śīyaṉ. No. donation to the local temple is recorded in this inscription, but its eulogistic character is emphasised by engraving a Nāgarī1 and Telugu2 version of it in the same temple. The chief is called an ornament of the Kāṭhaka race, Avanyavanasaṁbhavaḥ, Sarvajña, Khaḍgamalla, Niśśaṅkamalla3 etc. He claims to have ‘destroyed the pride of the Karṇāṭa king’ and to have been a ‘Sun to the lotus tank of the Chōḷa family’. He was a devotee at the feet of the god at Chidambaram, where he built the eastern gōpura4 resembling Mount Mēru from the riches obtained by the conquest of his enemies and called it after his own name. The decorations on the four sides of this gōpura are said to have been made with the booty acquired by subduing the four quarters and from riches used in his tulārōhaṇa-ceremony. The inscription also refers to the gifts made by the chief to the temples, among others, at Drākshārāma, Ēkāmra (Conjeeveram), Vīraṭṭānam, Śvētajambu (Jambukēśvaram), Madura5 and Kāḷahasti. His inscriptions are not, however, found in the last mentioned three places; but they are found at Tirupati close to Kāḷahasti wherein he is styled ‘Kāñchi-Nāyaka.’

His Drākshārāma inscription is dated in Śaka 1184 (A.D. 1262) and since his gift at this place is referred to in the present record, the latter has to be placed after that date, if not at a later time in the very same year.

Two important statements made in this inscription establish Kōpperuñjiṅga’s relationship with the Chōḷas and the Pāṇḍyas. He claims to have elevated in the south a Chōḷa prince ‘who was shuddering with fear’ (l. 9). The Chōḷa prince referred to was evidently Rājēndra-Chōḷa III who must have received assistance from the Kāḍava chief, probably against Rājarāja III. He also calls himself a sūtradhāra in the installation (sthāpanā) of the Pāṇḍyarāya. This suggests that Kōpperuñjiṅga should have proceeded to the north as an advance-guard of the Pāṇḍya ruler Jaṭāvarman Sundara-Pāṇḍya I.

Language: Sanskrit (san).

Version: (5e30cca), last modified (0ec4724).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī [||] sakalabhuvanacakravarttinā kāṭhakakulatilakakarṇāṭharājamānamarddanena coḷakulakamalākaradivākareṇa pāṇḍyarāyasthāpanāsūtradhāreṇa sakalaguṇagaṇaratnā-

⟨2⟩ kareṇa samastajanopakaraṇībhūtasāmrājyasaṁpadā sa(rasa)sāhityasāṃyā trikeṇa bharatārṇavakarṇadhāreṇa pavitrakīrttinā kanakasabhāpatināthacara ṇāravindamadhukarā-

⟨3⟩ yamānena sarvajña khaṭgamallena ✤ kalyāṇavyomaraṃge niratiśayaparānaṃdarūpeṇa nṛtyaNvāme bhāge himādrerduhitari satataM vīkṣya vīkṣya sthitāyāM | śrīmaTbhūbhogajāta(ṃ)

⟨4⟩ niravadhikamahābhaktiniṣyaṃdapūrṇandevaścaṃdrārddhamauliścirammavatu jagatpālane jāgarūkaṃ || ⟨1⟩ AvanyavanasaMbhavakṣitipatiḥ svanāmnākaroddha(n)airjitakaverajā viṣayavīrabhogārjitaiḥ

⟨5⟩ sumerumiva gopuraṃ kanakasaṃsadaḥ prāgdiśi (kṣa)ṇ¿a? (ttri)daśamaṇḍhalimakuṭa koṭi saṃghaṭṭitaṃ || ⟨2⟩ saptadvīpajayārjitena vasunā śrīkhaḍgamallo nṛpassaptāṃ bhonidhivīci(laṃghana) kalājaṃghāla

⟨6⟩ kīrtikramaḥ | śaMbhorādinaṭasya saptabhuvanakṣemaṃkarasyākaroT tārAcakrataraṃ gamūlaśikharaM (śrīgopuraM kāmadaṃ) || ⟨3⟩ vyāptaṃ devaissamastai ssadasi naṭapateḥ gopuraṁ sa vyadhatta kṣoṇīrakṣābhijātassa-

⟨7⟩ kalaguṇanidhiḥ kāṭhakakṣoṇipālaḥ Ānīya prāṇabhājānnayanaviṣayatā (ndrāvayaN) saptabhūmivyājāT saptyaiva lokānadhikammalayā prauḍamūrtyā svakīrtyā || ⟨4⟩ prācyānāskandya bhūpāN pra-

⟨8⟩ tivihitatulārohaṇastaddhanaughaiḥ rājā niśśaṁkamallaḥ pratibhaṭanihitaiḥ svarṇa bhārairudāraiḥ nṛttāsaktasya nityaṃ sadasi girisutāsākṣike caṃdra mauleḥ prāgbhāgaṃ ⌈-

⟨9⟩ gopurasya pratibhaṭamakarottṛuṭyato bhāstarasya || ⟨5⟩ bhayacakitamavācyāM potamāro-

⟨10⟩ pya coḷaṃ sthiramatiratirūḍa stasya vittaistulāyāṃ Atanuta ramaṇīyaṃ bhāgamebhi ssuvarṇai stribhuvananṛpanātho dakṣiṇaṃ gopurasya || ⟨6⟩ karṇāṭa munmathya diśi pratīcyāṁ tadvitta nirvi-

⟨11⟩ ttatulādhirohaḥ hemnātanottena krapāṇamal⟨l⟩o bhāgaṃpra-

⟨12⟩ tīcyāṁ haragopurasya || ⟨7⟩ AindrāN kṣoṇipatīnvijitya sahasā sainyai rudicyāṁ raṇe vīrastatprahitairupāyana(dha)naiḥ kṛ-

⟨13⟩ tvā tulārohaṇaṃ śrīmaTdabhrasabhāpatervyatanuta śrīgopurasyottaraṃ bhāgaṁ tatkanakaistaṭittatimiva śrīkhaḍgamallo nṛpaḥ || ⟨8⟩ samakuṭamabhiṣekaṃ gopuraikādhirājye vyadhita ki-

⟨14⟩ la sabhāyāmīśiturgopurasya [|] AvanipatikirīṭairāhṛtairhemakuṃbhāN vyaracayadatulaśrīḥ śrīmahārājasiṁhaḥ || ⟨9⟩ drākṣārāmasvayaṃbhū (dṛu�)hacara (dha)va⟨l⟩aikāmrakaśvetajaṃbhūśrīvīrasthāna-

⟨15⟩ coḷakṣitivaramadhurākāḷahastyādikeṣu [|] prādāT bhūbhogajāto makaraśikharitaṁ toraṇaṃ kalpavṛkṣaṃ ḍoḷiṃ muttābhidhānaṃ tripuravijayine bhadrapiṭhantu haimaṃ || ⟨10⟩ jāto jīyamahī-

⟨16⟩ paterguṇanidheḥ śrī śīlavatyāṃ suto rājñyāṃ puṇyanidheravanyava⟨na⟩ jassarvajñatāyāḥ padaṃ [|] Etat�āñcanaraṃganāṭyanaṭanānaṃdollasatpārvatīvātsa lyārjitanirmalaśṛtamahā-

⟨17⟩ lakṣmīssamastaṁ vyadhāT || ⟨11⟩ raṃgāTdabhrasabhāpaterviracitaṃ tatpaścime diṃmukhe sthānaṁ śāśvatamādarānmarakatākārasya gaurīpateḥ [|] kṣoṇīpālanajātabhūmi patinā śrīkāṭha kaina svayaṃ bhātye-

⟨18⟩ tatpariveṣṭitaṁ viyadaho tāpiṃcchagucchāyitaṃ || svasti maṃgaḷmahā śrī śrī [||]

Apparatus

⟨5⟩ (laṃghana) • The Telugu copy reads lāghava.

⟨6⟩ (śrīgopuraM kāmadaṃ) • The same copy reads saptasthalaṁ gopuraM.

⟨7⟩ (ndrāvayaN) • The same copy reads kārayaN here.

⟨10⟩ °rūḍas • The same copy reads ºcaṃḍaḥ. — ⟨10⟩ stribhuvananṛpanātho • See No. 246 above.

⟨16⟩ nidhe • The Telugu copy reads phalai for nidhe.

Commentary

⟨5⟩ samghaṭṭitaṃ. An additional verse is given here in the Telugu version of this inscription. It reads:— tumgaissemdriya ṣaṣṭa hayadharttaṭṭa koṇatatvadvayam tārāyāma bhujatra yodaśa śaśidvamdvāmśabhāgamtayā(ḥ) khamḍam sātvi kāśyā gāram vṛṣapate(ḥ) śrīkhaḍgamal lovyadhānmātrā khamḍa{ma}mudāravimda bhavanam śrīgopuram kāmadam ||

⟨11⟩ This line begins in the middle.

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 12.247 by Venkatasubba Ayyar 1943 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Venkatasubba Ayyar, V. 1943. South Indian inscriptions. Volume XII: The Pallavas (with introductory notes in English). South Indian Inscriptions 12. Madras: Government Press. Pages 154–156, item 247.

Notes

  1. 1. A.R. No. 202 of 1905.

  2. 2. A.R. No. 197 of 1905.

  3. 3. Niśśaṅkapratāpa was the title of the Hoysaḷa kings Ballāḷa II (A.R. Nos. 123 and 126 of 1913), Vīra-Narasiṁha (No. 116 of 1913) and Sōmēśvara (No. 519 of 1912) with the latter two of whom Kōpperuñjiṅga came into conflict. The title Niśśaṅkamalla is also fourd in a record from Tiruvaṇṇāmalai (A.R. No. 480 of 1902). It is, however, not cloar whether it has any reference to the contemporary ruler of Ceyion with the same name. But it may be mentioned that Parākrama-Bāhu. king of Īḻam sided with Kōpperuñjiṅga I in the latter’s attempt to imprison the Chōḷa monarch (Ep. Ind. Vol. VII, p. 168).

  4. 4. The south, west and north gopuras here were built by Kopperuñjiṅgadēva I, Jaṭāvarman Sundara-Pāṇḍya I and Kṛisḥṇadēvarāya respectively.

  5. 5. The mention of Madura indicates Kōpperuñjiṅgas friendly relationship with the Pāṇḍyas.