SII 1.40: original edition by Eugen Hultzsch

Alternative title: “PART II. TAMIL AND GRANTHA INSCRIPTIONS. I. INSCRIPTIONS AT MĀMALLAPURAM. No. 40. ON THE SOUTH BASE OF THE SHORE TEMPLE.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This inscription is dated in the twenty-fifth year of Ko-Rājarāja-Rājakesarivarman, alias Rājarāja-deva. It states, that the king “built a jewel-like hall at Kāndaḷūr,” and then gives a list of the countries, which he is said to have conquered. Among them Veṅgai-nāḍu is the well-known country of Veṅgī; Gaṅga-pāḍi and Nuḷambapāḍi are found on Mr. Rice’s Map of Mysore;1 Kuḍamalai-nāḍu, “the western hillcountry,” is Coorg; Kollam is Quilon; Kaliṅgam is the country between the Godāvarī and Mahānadī rivers; Īṛa-maṇḍalam is Ceylon; Iraṭṭa-pāḍi is the Western Chālukyan empire;2 and the Śeṛiyas are the Pāṇḍyas. I have been unable to identify Taḍigaipāḍi.

Sir Walter Elliot’s and Dr. Burnell’s tentative lists of Choḷa kings3 contain a king Rājarāja, who reigned from 1023 to 1064 A.D. These figures rest on three Eastern Chalukya grants, of which two have since been published by Mr. Fleet and one has been edited and translated above (No. 39). From these three grants it appears, that the Rājarāja, who reigned from Śaka 944 to 985, was not a Choḷa king, but a king of Veṅgī, and that his insertion in the list of Choḷa kings was nothing but a mistake.

The historical portion of the subjoined inscription is almost identical with lines 166 to 173 of the large Leyden grant4 and must belong to the same king. The Leyden grant states that Rājarāja conquered Satyāśraya (line 65). This name was borne as a surname by no less than six of the carlier Western Chalukya kings and was also the name of one of the later Western Chālukyas. From certain unpublished inscriptions of the Tanjore Temple it can be safely inferred, that Rājarāja-deva was the predecessor of Rājendra-Choḷadeva, the enemy of the Western Chālukya king Jayasiṁha III., who ruled from about Śaka 944 to about 964.5 Hence the Satyāśraya mentioned in the Leyden grant might be identified with the Western Chālukya king Satyāśraya II., who ruled from Śaka 919 to about 930;6 and the Choḷa king Rājarāja, who issued the large Leyden grant and the inscriptions Nos. 40, 41 and 66 of the present volume, with that Rājarāja of the Sūryavaṁśa, whose daughter Kūndavā was married to the Eastern Chalukya king Vimalāditya,7 who reigned from Śaka 937 (?) to 944. As Rājarāja-deva boasts in his inscriptions of having conquered Veṅgai-nāḍu, the country of the Eastern Chalukyas, this marriage was probably a forced one and the result of his conquest of Vimalāditya.8 The identification of the Rājarāja-deva of the Leyden grant and of Nos. 40, 41 and 66 with the father of Kūndavā is confirmed by the Koṅgu Chronicle, where some of his charities are placed in Śaka 926.9 The Koṅgu Chronicle further suggests the probability of identifying Kāndaḷūr, where Rājarāja-deva built a hall (śālā), with Chidambaram, as it records that “he enlarged the temples at Chidambaram and erected all kinds of towers, walls, maṇḍapas, flights of steps, etc., and other matters.”

From this and the next-following inscription we learn that Māmallapuram belonged to Āmūr-nāḍu,10 a division of Āmūr-koṭṭam, and that the name of the Shore Temple was Jalaśayana. The purport of the inscription is a new division of the land of the town of Māmallapuram, which had been agreed upon by the citizens.

Language: Tamil (tam).

Version: (3992bd7), last modified (0ec4724).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī [||] tirumakaḷ po-

⟨2⟩ lapperu nilaccelvi(yu)n=taṉakke-

⟨3⟩ yurim(ai) pūṇ(ṭa)mai maṉa(kk)oḷakkā-

⟨4⟩ n=taḷuṟcālai kalamaṟut(taruḷi) veṅkai-

⟨5⟩ nāṭuṅ(ka)ṅkapāṭiyu(nuḷa)mpapāṭiyu(n=ta)-

⟨6⟩ ṭikaipāṭiyuṅkuṭama(lai)ñāṭuṅkol-

⟨7⟩ lamuṅkaliṅkamum Eṇṭicai pukaḻ tara

⟨8⟩ Īḻamaṇṭalamum Iraṭṭapāṭi Eḻaraiyila-

⟨9⟩ kkamun=tiṇṭiṟal veṉṟittaṇṭāṟko-

⟨10⟩ ṇṭa taṉneḻil vaḷa(ru)ḻiyuḷellāyā-

⟨11⟩ ṇṭun=toḻutaka viḷaṅkum yāṇṭe ceḻi-

⟨12⟩ yarai tecu koḷ śrīkorājarājarāja-

⟨13⟩ kesarivarmmarāṉa śrīrājarājadevaṟku yā-

⟨14⟩ ṇṭu Irupattaiñcāvatu [|] Āmu(rk)ko-

⟨15⟩ ṭṭam vakai ceykiṉṟa (pu)tukkuṭai-

⟨16⟩ yāṉ Ekatiraṉ Aiyampatiṉ maṉnakara-

⟨17⟩ māmallapurattu jalaśayaṉadevar te-

⟨18⟩ ṟkkil tirunan=tāvaṉatte Iruk(ka) Iṉna-

⟨19⟩ karattu nakarattomum periḷamaiyo-

⟨20⟩ mum Emmilicain=tu ceyta vyavastai-

⟨21⟩ yāvatu [||] Emmur nirnilamum veṇṇi-

⟨22⟩ lamum toṭṭanilamum kollainilamu-

⟨23⟩ m Iṟainilamāmacceppeṟpaṭṭatu-

⟨24⟩ m nūṟu ma(ṉai)kkiḻ nā(l kūṟā)ka Aṭai-

⟨25⟩ ppatākavum [|] Ippa(ri)cu Aṭaiccu n(ā)-

⟨26⟩ lu kūṟiṭṭa Oru kūṟu Innakarattu ka(ṭu)-

⟨27⟩ mpiṭukucericcaṅkarappāṭiyā(rk)-

⟨28⟩ ku Irupattaiñcu maṉaikku kūṟāva-

⟨29⟩ tākavum [|] niṉṟa muṉṟu kūṟum Eḻu-

⟨30⟩ pattaiñcu maṉaikkiḻ (kū)ṟāvatā-

⟨31⟩ kavum [|] kūṟiṭṭa parice maṉaiyum nilamu-

⟨32⟩ m viṟkkavum Oṟṟivaikkavum dharmma-

⟨33⟩ (d)āṉañceyya peṟuvatākavum [|] ni-

⟨34⟩ lamum maṉaiyum kū(ṟaṭai)t(ta) paric(e)

⟨35⟩ (la)kṣaṇañceytu kuṭuppatākavu-

⟨36⟩ m [|] muṉpuḷḷa lakṣaṇañc(āṅkam ki)-

⟨37⟩ ḻivatākavum [|] kūṟaṭaitta nilaṅka-

⟨38⟩ ḷil niṉṟa palluruvil pa(ḻa)maraṅka-

⟨39⟩ ḷ Avvavakūṟuṭaiyāṉe peṟu-

⟨40⟩ vāṉākavum [|] mañcikkattil niṉṟa-

⟨41⟩ ṉa nūṟu maṉaikkuṅkū(ṟā)vatākavum [|]

⟨42⟩ nilamiṉṟiye patiṉāṟu vayasiṉ

⟨43⟩ mel viyāpārañceytiruppārai

⟨44⟩ Araikkaḻañcu poṉṉum kūli-

⟨45⟩ kkucceytiruppārai Araikkā-

⟨46⟩ l poṉṉum E-

⟨47⟩ ruṭaiyarāy va-

⟨48⟩ ricaikku muvārai-

⟨49⟩ kkālppoṉṉu-

⟨50⟩ m Āṇṭu varai-

⟨51⟩ kkoḷvatākavum [|]

⟨52⟩ Ipparicu Aṉṟe-

⟨53⟩ ṉṟārai me(l) ve-

⟨54⟩ ṟu Irupattaiṅkaḻañcu poṉ daṇ-

⟨55⟩ ṭaṅkoḷvatākavum [|] Ipparicu Em-

⟨56⟩ millicain=tu vyavastai ceyto-

⟨57⟩ m nakarattomum periḷamaiyo-

⟨58⟩ mum [||] Ipparicu nakarattārum periḷa-

⟨59⟩ maiyāruñcolla Eḻutiṉeṉ

⟨60⟩ Iṉṉakarattu karaṇattāṉ tiruva-

⟨61⟩ ṭikaḷ maṇi kaṇṭa ṉāṉ tiruveḷaṟai

⟨62⟩ muvāyirattuEḻunūṟṟuvaṉeṉ [|] I-

⟨63⟩ vai Eṉṉeḻuttu [||]

Translation by Hultzsch 1890

Hail! Prosperity! In the twenty-fifth year of (the reign of) the illustrious Ko-Rājarāja-Rājakesarivarman, alias the illustrious Rājarāja-deva, who,—while both the goddess of fortune and the great goddess of the earth, who had become his exclusive property, gave him pleasure,—was pleased to build a jewel (-like) hall (at) Kāndaḷūr and conquered by his army, which was victorious in great battles, Veṅgai-nāḍu, Gaṅgapāḍi, Nuḷamba-pāḍi, Taḍigai-pāḍi, Kuḍamalai-nāḍu, Kollam, Kaliṅgam, Īṛamaṇḍalam, which is famed in the eight quarters, and Iraṭṭa-pāḍi, (the revenue from which amounts to) seven and a half lakshas; who,—while his beauty was increasing, and while he was resplendent (to such an extent) that he was always worthy to be worshipped,—deprived the Śeṛiyas of their splendour,—We, the middle-aged citizens of this town, unanimously made the following contract, while assembled in the tirunandāvana to the south of (the temple of) Jalaśayana-deva at Māmallapuram, the chief town of the fifty (villages called after) Pudukkuḍaiyāṉ Ekadhīra,11 which form part of Āmūr-koṭṭam.

(Line 21.) The wet land, white (?) land, garden land, dry land and all other12 taxable (?) land of our town shall be divided into four lots of one hundred maṉais.13 One lot of (the land), which has been divided into four lots according to this contract,14 shall be a lot of twenty-five maṉais (which belongs) to the inhabitants of (the quarter of) Ka[ḍu]mbiḍugu-śeri (alias) Śaṁkara-pāḍi of this town. The remaining three lots shall be a lot of seventy-five maṉais. The maṉais (of) the land (included in) the contract of division into lots may be sold, mortgaged, or used for meritorious gifts; (but) the maṉais (of) the land shall be given away as defined by the contract of the division into lots. The previous definition shall be wholly cancelled. The fruit-trees, which stand in the various parts of the lands divided into lots, shall be enjoyed by the owner of the respective lot. Those (trees) which stand on the causeways between the rice-fields,15 shall belong to (the whole of) the hundred maṉais. Among those who are without land and are over the age of sixteen,—from those who are engaged in trade half a kaṛañju of gold (poṉ), from those who work for hire one-eighth of a poṉ and for (each) turn as ploughmen (?) three-eighths of a poṉ shall be taken at the end of the year. From those who do not submit to this contract, further twenty-five kaṛañjus of gold shall be taken besides as a fine. We, the middle-aged citizens of the town, have unanimously established this contract.

(Line 58.) I, Tiruveḷaṟai Muvāyirattu-eṛunūṟṟuvaṉ, the karaṇam of this town, who worships the holy feet (of the god), wrote this contract according to the orders of the middle-aged citizens. This is my signature.

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 1.40 by Hultzsch 1890 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1890. South-Indian inscriptions, Tamil and Sanskrit, from stone and copper-plate edicts at Mamallapuram, Kanchipuram, in the North Arcot district, and other parts of the Madras Presidency, chiefly collected in 1886-87. Volume I. South Indian Inscriptions 1. Madras: Government Press. Pages 63–66, item 40.

Notes

  1. 1. Mysore Inscriptions, p. lxxxiv.

  2. 2. See the introduction of No. 67, below.

  3. 3. Coins of Southern India, p. 131; South-Indian Palaeography, 2nd edition, p. 40.

  4. 4. Dr. Burgess’ Archaeological Survey of Southern India, Vol. IV, p. 204.

  5. 5. See the introduction of No. 67, below.

  6. 6. Mr. Fleet’s Kanarese Dynasties, p. 42.

  7. 7. Indian Antiquary, Vol. XIV, p. 50.

  8. 8. See the remarks of Dr. Burnell, S. I. Palaeography, 2nd edition, p. 22, note.

  9. 9. Madras Journal, Vol. XIV, Part I, p. 17.

  10. 10. Instead of Āmūr-nāḍu, the present inscription uses the term “the fifty (villages called after) Pudukkuḍaiyāṉ Ekadhīra,” which occurs also in lines 32 f. of No. 41.

  11. 11. Pudukkuḍaiyāṉ (Tamil) means “the owner of a new parasol,” i.e., one who has recently risen to royal power; Ekadhīra (Sanskrit) means “the singly brave.”

  12. 12. maccu is perhaps a corrupted from of maṟṟu.

  13. 13. 1 maṉai is equal to 2,400 square feet.

  14. 14. paricu, Sanskrit sparśa, originally means “the touching of water (in a solemn declaration).”

  15. 15. mañcikkam seems to mean the same as mañcil.