# Baṅkāpūr inscription of the time of Someśvara I and the Kādamba Harikeśarin śaka 977 Amandine Wattelier-Bricout Author of digital edition: Amandine Wattelier-Bricout Contributor: Amandine Wattelier-Bricout Identifier: DHARMA_INSVaria90013 Repository: Varia Epigraphy (varia-epigraphy) File path: DHARMA_INSVaria90013.xml Language: Sanskrit [Script (unspecified)] Commit: 2026-09-29 11:15 (2438289), last modified 2026-09-29 11:15 (2438289) ## Summary The previous identifier of this file was INSEI13_14. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Edition ⟨Page 1v⟩ ⟨55⟩ Om 1. Śālinī sāmānyo ’yaṁ dharmma-setur nṛpāṇāṁ kāḷe kāḷe pāḷanīyo bhavadbhiḥ sarvvān etā¿ṁ?⟨n⟩ bhāginaḥ pārtthiveṁdrā⟨n⟩ bhū⟨56⟩yo bhūyo yācate rāmabhadraḥ∥ 2. Anuṣṭubh bahubhir vasudhā bhuktā rājabhiḥ sagarādibhiḥ yasya yasya yadā bhūmi⟨s⟩ tasya ⟨57⟩ tasya tadā{ṁ} phalaṁ∥ 3. Anuṣṭubh sva-datt⟨ā⟩ṁ para-datt⟨ā⟩ṁ vā yo hare¿ti?⟨ta⟩ vasundharā⟨ṁ⟩ ṣaṣṭir vvarṣa-saha¿ś?⟨s⟩rāṇi viṣṭhāyā⟨ṁ⟩ jāya⟨te⟩ kṛmi⟨ḥ⟩∥ 4. Anuṣṭubh deva-dvija-ga⟨58⟩tāṁ bhūmiṁ pūrva-bhuktāṁ haret¿u?⟨a⟩ yaḥ pra¿n?⟨ṇ⟩aṣṭam api kālena tam āhu⟨r⟩ brahma-ghātakaṁ∥ 5. Anuṣṭubh na vi¿ś?⟨ṣ⟩aṁ vi¿ś?⟨ṣ⟩am ity āhu⟨r⟩ deva-sva⟨ṁ⟩ ⟨59⟩ vi¿ś?⟨ṣ⟩am ucyate| vi¿ś?⟨ṣ⟩am ekākina⟨ṁ⟩ haṁti| deva-svaṁ putra-pautrikaṁ Om ## Translation by Barnett 1915–1916 ⟨50–53⟩ So to such as shall protect this pious foundation shall accrue the same fruit as if they had decorated the horns and hoofs of a thousand kine with the five kinds of jewels at Benares, Kurukṣetra, Prayāga, Arghatīrtham Kedāra, Śrīśaila, the Ganges, Gaṅgāsāgaram and other holy places and bestowed them as ubhayamukhis upon a thousand Brahmins learned in the four Vedas; the same fruit shall accrue as if they had made a great banquet to a crore of ascetics at Benares. ⟨53–55⟩ So to him who should destroy this pious foundation, or should agree to its destruction, the same deep guilt shall accrue as if he had destroyed the same holy places mentioned (above) a thousand kine and a thousand Brahmins and a crore of ascetics. Om! ⟨55–59⟩ "This general principle of law for kings must be maintained by you in every age": again and again Rāmabhadra makes this entreaty to all these happy sovereigns. The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, beginning with Sagara; whosoever t any time holds the soil has at the same time the fruit thereof. He who should appropriate land, whteher given by himself or given by others, is born as a worm in dung for sixty thousand years. He who should appropriate land belonging to gods or Brhamins which has been previously enjoyed perishes in course of time and is called a murderer of Brahmins. Poison is not called poison, gods’ property is called "poison" ; poison destroys the individual, gods’ property (if miappropriated) destroys son and grandson. Om! ⟨59–60⟩ This decree the sandhivigrahin Mailayya and Keti Seṭṭi, the manager of (the properties of) the god, wrote out; Kāloja executed the order. Hapiness ! Great Fortune ! ## Commentary Baṅkāpūr, town in Dharwar district, Bombay presidency, latitude 14°55’N and longitude 75°16’E. The ancient town lies nearly two miles south-by-south-west from the modern town. Inscription on an oblong stone slab with in the centre a liṅga on an abhiṣekha stand with the sun and the moon on the left and right respectively and a cakra on the top. Script : good Kanarese (kannada) of the period. Language : kannada and sanskrit. Period : mention of the reign of Cālukya Trailokyamalla (Someśvara I) and of his son Satyavākya-Koṁguṇivarman Permanḍi Vikramādityadevam of the Kadamba Mahāmaṇḍaḷeśvara Harikesarideva. Date: 1055. Purpose : donation to the god Kadambeśvara, tutelary deity of the Kādamba race, gift of an estate consisting of a village The earliest known connection of the later Kādambas with the Banavāsi province ## Bibliography ### Primary [B] Barnett, Lionel David. 1915–1916. “Baṅkāpūr inscription of the time of Someśvara I and the Kādamba Harikeśarin śaka 977.” EI 13, pp. 168–176.