# Craftsmanship of Vēḷuguṁṇṭha Ācāṟlu

J. Ramayya Pantulu

Author of digital edition: J. Ramayya Pantulu

Contributor: Jens Thomas

Identifier: DHARMA_INSTelugu00009

Repository: Telugu Inscriptions (tfb-telugu-epigraphy)

File path: texts/DHARMA_INSTelugu00009.xml

Language: Telugu [Script (unspecified)]

Commit: 2026-09-09 14:31 (ea24452), last modified 2026-09-09 14:25
(0ba7051)

## Summary

The inscription mentiones the name of the craftsman Vēḷuguṁṇṭha Ācāṟlu

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## Edition

⟨1⟩ śrī vēḷuguṁṇṭha Ācāṟlu ⟨2⟩ paṇi kēsiri

## Translation by Sastri 1969

Śrī Vēḷuguṇṭha ācārlu did the work.

## Translation

Śrī Vēḷuguṁṇṭha Ācāṟlu did the work.

## Commentary

According to the information about the find spot Vēḷuguṁṇṭha Ācāṟlu was
entrusted with work regarding the seventh cave temple at Bhairavakoṇḍa
(Bhairavakōna). The form kēsiri is conservative in that it preserved
initial k- instead of c- and is thus possibly indicative of old age.
Vēḷuguṁṇṭha is a place name in the locative case (’thousand ponds’),
ācāṟlu is the Telugu plural of the skt. loanword ācārya and denotes a
craftsman. Confer the similar expression pallavācārjya- (Master [1956]
1947–1948, ll. 24-25) that contains the name of the dynasty as its first
member.

## Bibliography

The inscription was noted in the Annual Report and first published by J.
Ramayya Pantulu (1948, p. 18, № 47). K. M. Sastri re-published the
inscription in normalized spelling and provided a translation (1969, p.
283, № 3).

### Secondary

ARIE 1921–22. Annual report on Indian epigraphy for the year 1921-1922.
Edited by G. Venkoba Rao. Madras: Government Press, 1923. Appendix
C/1922, page 79, item 272.

Ramayya Pantulu, Jayanti. 1948. South-Indian inscriptions (texts).
Volume X: Telugu inscriptions from the Madras Presidency. South Indian
Inscriptions 10. Delhi: Manager of Publications. Page 18, item 47.

Sastri, Korada Mahadeva. 1969. Historical grammar of Telugu with special
reference to Old Telugu c. 200 B.C. - 1000 A.D. Anantapur: Sri
Venkateswara Univ. Page 283, item 3.