Nalajanampāḍu grant of Bādirāju

Editor: Jens Thomas.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSTelugu00026.

Language: Telugu.

Repository: Telugu Inscriptions (tfb-telugu-epigraphy).

Version: (8e67924), last modified (d5dcd05).

Edition

⟨Face A⟩ ⟨1⟩ svasti bha⟨2⟩gavad-arhatām pa⟨3⟩rama-bhaṭṭ¿a?⟨ā⟩rakasya (p)¡a!⟨ā⟩⟨4⟩d¿a?⟨ā⟩nudhy¿a?⟨ā⟩ta-parama-mā⟨5⟩hēśvara-para[mē]śvara-pa⟨6⟩llavāditya ¡śr̥(ī)! b(ā/o)di⟨7⟩rājula Andu paḷḷe⟨8⟩yari koḍuk(u) b(ā)di(rā)⟨9⟩j ēnvānṟu r(ā)jam(ā)[naṁ]⟨10⟩bu mūnṟu vuṭṭḷu Āṟla ⟨11⟩ (v/p)aṭṭu kṣētra[ṁ]bu pa(ṟ)[i]⟨12⟩si paḷḷeyāri[1+]⟨13⟩yana(ṁ)bunāku Icce

⟨14⟩ dīni rakṣiñcinavāni(ki) ⟨Face B⟩ ⟨15⟩ Aḍugaḍug a⟨16⟩śvam(ē/e)dha[ṁ]buna ⟨17⟩ pala[ṁ]b agu ⟨18⟩ dī(n)i ḻacchina⟨19⟩vāniki Ek(e/a)ḻu ⟨20⟩ [ś]r(ī) parvvata[ṁ]bu ⟨21⟩ ḻaccinapāpa[ṁ]⟨22⟩b agu

vāvṟo⟨23⟩ḻaḷa koḍuk(u) ⟨24⟩ ¡pallavācā⟨25⟩(r)jyasya! ¡liki⟨26⟩(taM)!

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ bha⟨2⟩gavad-arhatām pa⟨3⟩rama ⬦ bha⟨2⟩gaṣvad-arhatā(mpa)⟨3⟩rama ?; bha⟨2⟩gavad-arhata-(pa)⟨3⟩rama ?.

⟨3⟩ bhaṭṭ¿a?⟨ā⟩rakasya (p)¡a!⟨ā⟩⟨4⟩d¿a?⟨ā⟩nudhy¿a?⟨ā⟩ta ⬦ bhaṭṭārakastamā⟨4⟩dānudhyāta ?; bhaṭṭārakasya pā⟨4⟩dānudhyāta ?.

⟨5⟩ pa⟨6⟩llavāditya ⬦ pa⟨6⟩klavāditya ?.

⟨6⟩ ¡śr̥(ī)! b(ā/o)di⟨7⟩rājula ⬦ śrī bōḍi⟨7⟩rājula ?; śrī bādi⟨7⟩rājula ?.

⟨7⟩ paḷḷe⟨8⟩yari ⬦ paḷe⟨8⟩yari ?.

⟨9⟩ r(ā)jam(ā)[naṁ]⟨10⟩bu ⬦ rāja[ca. 1*]⟨10⟩bu ?.

⟨10⟩ vuṭṭḷu Ā(ṟla) ⬦ vuṭṭu aṟla ?; vuṭṭu Ā(ṟla) ?.

⟨11⟩ (v/p)aṭṭu kṣētra[ṁ]bu pa(ṟ)[i]⟨12⟩si ⬦ paṭṭu kṣētraṁbunu pa[ca. 1*]⟨12⟩si ?; pa(ḻa)⟨12⟩si ?.

⟨12⟩ paḷḷeyāri[1+]⟨13⟩yana(ṁ)bunāku Icce ⬦ paḷayāri⟨13⟩ yanabunāku icci[ri] ?; paḷḷeyāri [dā]⟨13⟩yana(ṁ)bunāku Icce ?.

⟨14⟩ vāni(ki) ⬦ vāni[ca. 1*] ?.

⟨18⟩ ḻacchina- ⬦ ḍaccina- ?.

⟨19⟩ Ek(e/a)ḻu ⬦ cakaṟu ?; ekaḻu ?.

⟨21⟩ ḻaccina- ⬦ ḍaccina- ?.

⟨22⟩ vāvṟo⟨23⟩ḻaḷa ⬦ va[ca. 1*]⟨23⟩ḍāḷu ?; va(cco)[1+]⟨23⟩ḻaḷa ?.

⟨24⟩ ¡pallavācā⟨25⟩(r)jyasya! ¡liki⟨26⟩(taM)! ⬦ pallavācā⟨25⟩(jya)sya liki⟨26⟩(taṁ) ?.

Translation by Butterworth and Venugopaul Chetty 1990

Hail! Ṣrí Bodirájulu who meditated at the feet of the blessed Arhata the great Bhattáraka, who (Bodirája) was a great devotee of Ṣiva, and who was supreme lord. Among them Bá(Bo?)diráju, son of Paḷeyaru, gave land sowable with 3 puṭṭis of seed . . . . to me named Paḷayári. Whoever maintains this will obtain the merit of performing several Aṣvamédhas. Whoever obstructs it will incur the sin of killing at Ṣrí Parvata. (This is) written by Pallaváchá(rya), son of Vá . . . dáḷu.

Translation by Master [1956] 1947–1948

Hail! Paraméśvara-Pallavāditya, a devoted worshipper of Mahēśvara, meditating on the feet of the Supreme Master, the Lord Arhat. He who is named Bādirāju, son of the village chief in the family of the Bādirājulu, divided off a field of three puṭṭis of millet by the royal measure and gave it as the village-chief’s hereditary land. He who preserves this (assignment) will have the reward of performing the horse sacrifice often. He who destroys it will ever have the sin of destroying the Śrīparvvata. Written by Pallavāchārya, son of Vāccho..ḻāḷa.

Translation by Sastri 1969

Hail! Paramēśvara Pallavāditya, a devoted worshipper of Mahēśvara, meditating on the feet of the Supreme Master, the Lord Arhat, (in his time), he who was called Bādiraju, the son of Paḷḷeyaru, having obtained from Śrī Bādirājulu, land sowable with three puṭṭis of paddy, by the royal measure gave (it) as the gift of (his father) Paḷḷeyaru. He who preserves this (gift) will have the reward of performing the horse-sacrifice often. He who destroys it will ever have the sin of destroying the Śrīparvvata. (This is) written by Pallavācārya, son of Vacco . . ḻāḷu.

Translation by Jens Thomas

Commentary

There might have been an additional akṣara after vāvṟo- in line 22. Radha Krishna erroneously states that “[t]he text of the ins. upto rājula in the 7th line is engraved in the Dēvanāgarī Script.” (Radhakrishna 1971, p. 62 n. 101) Butterworth and Venugopaul Chetty edited the first part of the inscription up to line 7 in Devanagari script because the inscription contains Sanskrit forms. The following lines are given in Telugu script. That might have caused the confusion although a picture of the squeeze is given in [1956] 1947–1948, № 38 by Master (whom Radha Krishna cites). As for the spelling of r̥ in śr̥ī in line 6 compare the spelling of the akṣara dr̥ in Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramayya [1956] 1947–1948, plate G, l. 5.

Bibliography

The inscription was first edited by Alan Butterworth and V. Venugopaul Chetty in 1990, pp. 676–677 and re-edited by Alfred Master in [1956] 1947–1948, pp. 203–206, № 38 with ample annotations and a good picture of the estampage. A translation of the text was given in both editions. K. M. Sastri, while mostly relying on Master’s edition, provided another translation in 1969, p. 292 . Sastri attributes his different reading in line 11 to N. Lakshmi Narayana Rao (ibid. n. 1).

Secondary

Butterworth, Alan and V. Venugopaul Chetty. 1990. A collection of the inscriptions on copper-plates and stones in the Nellore district: Part II. Reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. Pages 676–677.

Master, Alfred. [1956] 1947–1948. “Nalajanampadu old-Telugu inscription.” EI 27, pp. 203–206. Pages 203–206, item 38.

Sastri, Korada Mahadeva. 1969. Historical grammar of Telugu with special reference to Old Telugu c. 200 B.C. - 1000 A.D. Anantapur: Sri Vekateswara Univ. Pages 291–292, item 16.