SII 3.42: original edition by Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch

Alternative title: “No. 42.—ON A BOULDER NEAR TIRUVALLAM.”

Author of digital edition: Emmanuel Francis (emfr).

Summary: This inscription is engraved on the slightly sloping surface of a large boulder in the bed of the Nīvā river, one mile north-east of Tiruvallam. The alphabet is Tamil and Grantha of an archaic type. It resembles the alphabet of the inscriptions of the Western Gaṅga king Kampavarman (Nos. 5 and 8 above) and lies between the two Kīḻ-Muṭṭugūr inscriptions of Vijaya-Narasiṁhavarman¹ as the upper limit and the two Āmbūr inscriptions of Vijaya-Nṛipatuṅga-Vikramavarman² as the lower one. As in other archaic Tamil inscriptions,³ the virāma is expressed by a vertical dash over the letter in a number of cases, though not throughout. In the word Maṉṟāḍi (l. 8) the syllable ṟā is expressed by two separate symbols.⁴ The letter ṉ has generally its archaic form, but in two cases⁵ its central loop is fully developed. The language of the inscription is Tamil; but line 1 contains some invocations in Sanskrit prose, and line 15 f. a Sanskrit verse.

The record is dated in the 62nd year of the reign of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman (l. 2 f.). Three other inscriptions of the same king are noticed in Vol. I. (Nos. 108, 124 and 125). As I have shown before,⁶ he is probably identical with Nandivarman, the father of Vijaya-Nṛipatuṅgavarman and the son-in-law of the Rāshṭrakūṭa king Amōghavarsha I. If this identification is correct, the inscription would have to be placed before the end of the 9th century A.D.

Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman appears to have been the sovereign of Mahāvalivāṇarāya (l. 11) or Māvalivāṇarāya (l. 5), who was a descendant of the family of Mahābali (l. 5) and ruled the twelve thousand (villages) of Vaḍugavaḻi (l. 6), i.e. ‘the Telugu road.’ This province is mentioned in the Muḍyanūr plates of the Bāṇa king Malladēva as ‘the twelve thousand villages in Āndhra-maṇḍala,’⁷ and in the Udayēndiram plates of the Bāṇa king Vikramāditya II. as ‘the land to the west of the Āndhra road.’⁸ The attributes which are prefixed to the name of Mahāvalivāṇarāya in the subjoined inscription (l. 3 ff.) are also found in an undated inscription of Mahāvalibāṇarasa at Gūlgānpode.⁹ As I have stated before,¹⁰ Mahābalibāṇarāja seems to have been the hereditary designation of the Bāṇa chiefs. Hence it is impossible to say which individual chief is meant in the present inscription.

The inscription records that a goldsmith granted some land to a temple at Vāṇapuram (ll. 6 and 14), and that Mahāvalivāṇarāya confirmed this grant (l. 10 f.). Vāṇapuram, ‘the town of the Bāṇas,’ seems to have been the residence of the Bāṇa chief and to have been situated close to Tiruvallam.

Language: Tamil (tam).

Version: 2025-09-08 19:01 (3992bd7), last modified 2025-07-03 14:51 (0ec4724).

Edition

⟨1⟩ Om namaśśivāya{m} (sva)sti śrī [||]
⟨2⟩ ko vicaiyanantivikkiramaparumaṟku yā-
⟨3⟩ ṇṭaṟupa(t)tiraṇ(ṭ)ā(va)tu sakalajaga⟨t⟩tra-
⟨4⟩ yābhivanditasurāsurādhīśaparameśvaraprati-
⟨5⟩ hārīkṛitamahā¿v?alikulo¿t?bhavaśrīmāvalivāṇarāyar
⟨6⟩ vaṭu(kava)ḻi (pa)ṉṉī{r}rāyiramum Āḷa v(āṇa)purattu
⟨7⟩ vaṭa(ci)karakoyil putukkuvittu I(ta)ṟku Iḷaṅ-
⟨8⟩ kiḻavar makaṉ maṉaṟāṭiṭai Aḻiñciṟka(ḷam) paṭṭi (vi)laikku
⟨9⟩ koṇṭu kuṭutteṉ Ūṟṟukkāṭṭukoṭṭattu (A)ḷiṅkaṇapā⟨kka⟩ttu
⟨10⟩ kīḻakattu taṭṭāṉ mā(ta)n makan (A)ritīraṉ [|] kuṭutta tevar pokam
⟨11⟩ mahāvalivāṇarāyar piṭākai valañceytu koṭuttār [|] Itu kāt-
⟨12⟩ tā(r A)ṭi⟨yeṉ muṭi me⟩laṉa [|] Itu Aḻittāṉ kaṭikai (E)ḻā Iru(va)raiyum
⟨13⟩ ko(ṉṟa p)āvattu (pa)ṭuvāṉ [|] Itu Aḻi(t)tāṉ Ippāvattu⟨k⟩ku Añcāṉāyil
⟨14⟩ (Aṉ) [**] koyilu⟨k⟩ku Āyiram kāṇam (ta)ṇṭappaṭuvom vāṇapuratto(m) [||]
⟨15⟩ ¿v?a(hu)bhir vasudhā dattā rāja(bhi)⟨ḥ⟩ sa¿k?arādibhi⟨ḥ⟩ ⟨|⟩ yasya yasya yadā bhū-
⟨16⟩ mi⟨s⟩ tasya tasya tadā phalam [||]

Apparatus

⟨14⟩ (Aṉ) [2+] • Read aṉṟāḷ.

Translation by Hultzsch 1899

(Line 1.) Ōm. Obeisance to Śiva ! Hail ! Prosperity !

(L. 2.) In the sixty-second year (of the reign) of king Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman, while the glorious Māvalivāṇarāya,—born from the family of Mahābali, who had been made door-keeper by the lord of gods and demons, Paramēśvara (Śiva), who is worshipped in all the three worlds,—was ruling the Vaḍu[gava]ḻi twelve-thousand,—I, [A]ridhīraṉ, the son of Mā[da]ṉ, a goldsmith (and resident) of a house in the east of [A]ḷiṅgaṇapā[kka]m in (the district of) Ūṟṟukkāṭṭu-kōṭṭam,¹¹ caused to be renewed the Vaḍa-[śi]gara-kōyil¹² at Vāṇapuram and gave to it the paṭṭi¹³ (called) Aḻiñjiṟka[ḷam], (which I had) bought from Maṉṟāḍi, the son of Iḷaṅgiḻavar.

(L. 10.) Mahāvalivāṇarāya circumambulated the hamlet (piḍāgai) towards the right and granted (the land) enjoyed by the god, which (Aridhīraṉ) had given.

(L. 11.) “The feet of him who protects this (charity), (shall be) on my head.¹⁴ He who destroys this (charity), shall incur the sin of one who kills the great men who are permanent (members)¹⁵ of the assembly.¹⁶ If the destroyer of this (charity) does not fear this sin, we, (the inhabitants) of Vāṇapuram, shall pay a fine of one thousand kāṇam) to the palace of the king who is then ruling.¹⁷

(L. 15.) “Land has been granted by many kings, commencing with Sagara. Whosever (is) the earth at any time, his (is) then the reward (of gifts of land).”

Bibliography

Digital edition of SII 3.42 by Hultzsch 1899 converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.

Primary

[SII] Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1899. South-Indian inscriptions. Volume III: Miscellaneous inscriptions from the Tamil country. Part I: Inscriptions at Ukkal, Melpadi, Karuvur, Manimangalam and Tiruvallam. South Indian Inscriptions 3.1. Madras: Government Press. Pages 90–92, item 42.

Notes

1. Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 177 f. and p. 360.
2. Ibid. p. 182 f.
3. See above, p. 4, note 2, and p. 50.
4. Compare above, p. 45, note 3.
5. aritīraṉ, l. 10, and paṭuvāṉ, l. 13.
6. Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. p. 181 f.
7. Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 175, text line 21 f.
8. Ep. Ind. Vol. III. p. 76, text line 21.
9. Ind. Ant. Vol. X. p. 39, No. I.
10. Ep. Ind. Vol. V. p. 50.
11. See above, Vol. II. p. 345 and note 4.
12. I.e. -the temple with the tower in the north.-
13. On this term see above, Vol. II. p. 359, note 12.
14. See above, p. 39, note 4.
15. Literally, ‘who do not rise.’
16. The two Tamil words iruvar and kaḍigai correspond to mahājana and ghaṭige in a Chalukya inscription; Ep. Ind. Vol. III. p. 360.
17. With aṉṟāḷ koyil compare aṉṟāḷ ko, above, Vol. I. pp. 113 and 115.

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<title>SII 3.42: original edition by Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch</title>

<title type="alt">No. 42.—ON A BOULDER NEAR TIRUVALLAM.</title>

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<p>This inscription is engraved on the slightly sloping surface of a large boulder in the bed of the <hi rend="bold">Nīvā</hi> river, one mile north-east of <hi rend="bold">Tiruvallam</hi>. The alphabet is Tamil and Grantha of an archaic type. It resembles the alphabet of the inscriptions of the Western <hi rend="bold">Gaṅga</hi> king <hi rend="bold">Kampavarman</hi> (Nos. 5 and 8 above) and lies between the two Kīḻ-Muṭṭugūr inscriptions of <hi rend="bold">Vijaya-Narasiṁhavarman</hi><note><hi rend="italic">Ep. Ind</hi>. Vol. IV. p. 177 f. and p. 360.</note> as the upper limit and the two Āmbūr inscriptions of <hi rend="bold">Vijaya-Nṛipatuṅga-Vikramavarman</hi><note><hi rend="italic">Ibid.</hi> p. 182 f.</note> as the lower one. As in other archaic Tamil inscriptions,<note>See above, p. 4, note 2, and p. 50.</note> the <hi rend="italic">virāma</hi> is expressed by a vertical dash over the letter in a number of cases, though not throughout. In the word <hi rend="italic">Maṉṟāḍi</hi> (l. 8) the syllable <hi rend="italic">ṟā</hi> is expressed by two separate symbols.<note>Compare above, p. 45, note 3.</note> The letter <hi rend="italic">ṉ</hi> has generally its archaic form, but in two cases<note><foreign>aritīraṉ</foreign>, l. 10, and <foreign>paṭuvāṉ</foreign>, l. 13.</note> its central loop is fully developed. The language of the inscription is Tamil; but line 1 contains some invocations in Sanskrit prose, and line 15 f. a Sanskrit verse.</p>

<p>The record is dated in the 62nd year of the reign of <hi rend="bold">Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman</hi> (l. 2 f.). Three other inscriptions of the same king are noticed in Vol. I. (Nos. 108, 124 and 125). As I have shown before,<note><hi rend="italic">Ep. Ind</hi>. Vol. IV. p. 181 f.</note> he is probably identical with <hi rend="bold">Nandivarman</hi>, the father of <hi rend="bold">Vijaya-Nṛipatuṅgavarman</hi> and the son-in-law of the <hi rend="bold">Rāshṭrakūṭa</hi> king <hi rend="bold">Amōghavarsha</hi> I. If this identification is correct, the inscription would have to be placed before the end of the 9th century A.D.</p>

<p>Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman appears to have been the sovereign of <hi rend="bold">Mahāvalivāṇarāya</hi> (l. 11) or Māvalivāṇarāya (l. 5), who was a descendant of the family of <hi rend="bold">Mahābali</hi> (l. 5) and ruled the twelve thousand (villages) of <hi rend="bold">Vaḍugavaḻi</hi> (l. 6), <hi rend="italic">i.e.</hi> ‘the Telugu road.’ This province is mentioned in the <hi rend="bold">Muḍyanūr</hi> plates of the Bāṇa king Malladēva as ‘the twelve thousand villages in <hi rend="bold">Āndhra-maṇḍala</hi>,’<note><hi rend="italic">Ind. Ant</hi>. Vol. XV. p. 175, text line 21 f.</note> and in the Udayēndiram plates of the Bāṇa king Vikramāditya II. as ‘the land to the west of the <hi rend="bold">Āndhra</hi> road.’<note><hi rend="italic">Ep. Ind</hi>. Vol. III. p. 76, text line 21.</note> The attributes which are prefixed to the name of Mahāvalivāṇarāya in the subjoined inscription (l. 3 ff.) are also found in an undated inscription of Mahāvalibāṇarasa at <hi rend="bold">Gūlgānpode</hi>.<note><hi rend="italic">Ind. Ant</hi>. Vol. X. p. 39, No. I.</note> As I have stated before,<note><hi rend="italic">Ep. Ind</hi>. Vol. V. p. 50.</note> Mahābalibāṇarāja seems to have been the hereditary designation of the <hi rend="bold">Bāṇa</hi> chiefs. Hence it is impossible to say which individual chief is meant in the present inscription.</p>

<p>The inscription records that a goldsmith granted some land to a temple at <hi rend="bold">Vāṇapuram</hi> (ll. 6 and 14), and that <hi rend="bold">Mahāvalivāṇarāya</hi> confirmed this grant (l. 10 f.). Vāṇapuram, ‘the town of the Bāṇas,’ seems to have been the residence of the Bāṇa chief and to have been situated close to Tiruvallam.</p>

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<lb n="1"/>O<hi rend="grantha">m</hi> na<hi rend="grantha">maśśi</hi>vā<hi rend="grantha">ya<surplus>m</surplus> <unclear>sva</unclear>sti śrī</hi> <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="ddanda">.</g></supplied>

<lb n="2"/>ko vicaiyanantivikkiramaparumaṟku yā

<lb n="3" break="no"/>ṇṭaṟupa<unclear>t</unclear>tiraṇ<unclear>ṭ</unclear>ā<unclear>va</unclear>tu <hi rend="grantha">sakalajaga<supplied reason="omitted">t</supplied>tra</hi>

<lb n="4" break="no"/><hi rend="grantha">yābhi</hi>va<hi rend="grantha">ndi</hi>ta<hi rend="grantha">surāsurādhīśaparameśvarapra</hi>ti

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<lb n="6"/>vaṭu<unclear>kava</unclear>ḻi <unclear>pa</unclear>ṉṉī<surplus>r</surplus>rāyiramum Āḷa v<unclear>āṇa</unclear>purattu

<lb n="7"/>vaṭa<unclear>ci</unclear>karakoyil putukkuvittu I<unclear>ta</unclear>ṟku Iḷaṅ

<lb n="8" break="no"/>kiḻavar makaṉ maṉaṟāṭiṭai Aḻiñciṟka<unclear>ḷam</unclear> paṭṭi <unclear>vi</unclear>laikku

<lb n="9"/>koṇṭu kuṭutteṉ Ūṟṟukkāṭṭukoṭṭattu <unclear>A</unclear>ḷiṅkaṇapā<supplied reason="omitted">kka</supplied>ttu

<lb n="10"/>kīḻakattu taṭṭāṉ mā<unclear>ta</unclear>n makan <unclear>A</unclear>ritīraṉ <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="danda">.</g></supplied> kuṭutta tevar pokam

<lb n="11"/>mahāvalivāṇarāyar piṭākai valañceytu koṭuttār <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="danda">.</g></supplied> Itu kāt

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<lb n="13"/>ko<unclear>ṉṟa p</unclear>āvattu <unclear>pa</unclear>ṭuvāṉ <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="danda">.</g></supplied> Itu Aḻi<unclear>t</unclear>tāṉ Ippāvattu<supplied reason="omitted">k</supplied>ku Añcāṉāyil

<lb n="14"/><unclear>Aṉ</unclear> <gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/> koyilu<supplied reason="omitted">k</supplied>ku Āyiram kāṇam <unclear>ta</unclear>ṇṭappaṭuvom vāṇapuratto<unclear>m</unclear> <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="ddanda">.</g></supplied>

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<l n="a"><lb n="15"/><choice><sic>v</sic><corr>b</corr></choice>a<unclear>hu</unclear>bhir vasudhā dattā</l>

<l n="b">rāja<unclear>bhi</unclear><supplied reason="omitted">ḥ</supplied> sa<choice><sic>k</sic><corr>g</corr></choice>arādibhi<supplied reason="omitted">ḥ</supplied> <supplied reason="subaudible">|</supplied></l>

<l n="c">yasya yasya yadā bhū<lb n="16" break="no"/>mi<supplied reason="omitted">s</supplied></l> <l n="d">tasya tasya tadā phalam <supplied reason="undefined"><g type="ddanda">.</g></supplied></l>

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<note>Read <foreign>aṉṟāḷ</foreign>.</note>

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<p>(Line 1.) <hi rend="italic">Ōm</hi>. Obeisance to <hi rend="bold">Śiva !</hi> Hail ! Prosperity !</p>

<p>(L. 2.) In the sixty-second year (<hi rend="italic">of the reign</hi>) of king <hi rend="bold">Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman</hi>, while the glorious <hi rend="bold">Māvalivāṇarāya</hi>,—born from the family of <hi rend="bold">Mahābali</hi>, who had been made door-keeper by the lord of gods and demons, Paramēśvara (Śiva), who is worshipped in all the three worlds,—was ruling the <hi rend="bold">Vaḍu[gava]ḻi</hi> twelve-thousand,—I, <hi rend="bold">[A]ridhīraṉ</hi>, the son of <hi rend="bold">Mā[da]ṉ</hi>, a goldsmith (<hi rend="italic">and resident</hi>) of a house in the east of <hi rend="bold">[A]ḷiṅgaṇapā[kka]m</hi> in (<hi rend="italic">the district of</hi>) <hi rend="bold">Ūṟṟukkāṭṭu-kōṭṭam</hi>,<note>See above, Vol. II. p. 345 and note 4.</note> caused to be renewed the <hi rend="bold">Vaḍa-[śi]gara-kōyil</hi><note><hi rend="italic">I.e.</hi> -the temple with the tower in the north.-</note> at <hi rend="bold">Vāṇapuram</hi> and gave to it the <hi rend="italic">paṭṭi</hi><note>On this term see above, Vol. II. p. 359, note 12.</note> (called) <hi rend="italic">Aḻiñjiṟka[ḷam]</hi>, (which I had) bought from <hi rend="bold">Maṉṟāḍi</hi>, the son of <hi rend="bold">Iḷaṅgiḻavar</hi>.</p>

<p>(L. 10.) <hi rend="bold">Mahāvalivāṇarāya</hi> circumambulated the hamlet (<hi rend="italic">piḍāgai</hi>) towards the right and granted (<hi rend="italic">the land</hi>) enjoyed by the god, which (Aridhīraṉ) had given.</p>

<p>(L. 11.) “The feet of him who protects this (<hi rend="italic">charity), (shall be</hi>) on my head.<note>See above, p. 39, note 4.</note> He who destroys this (<hi rend="italic">charity</hi>), shall incur the sin of one who kills the great men who are permanent (<hi rend="italic">members)</hi><note>Literally, ‘who do not rise.’</note> of the assembly.<note>The two Tamil words <hi rend="italic">iruvar</hi> and <hi rend="italic">kaḍigai</hi> correspond to <hi rend="italic">mahājana</hi> and <hi rend="italic">ghaṭige</hi> in a Chalukya inscription; <hi rend="italic">Ep. Ind</hi>. Vol. III. p. 360.</note> If the destroyer of this (<hi rend="italic">charity</hi>) does not fear this sin, we, (<hi rend="italic">the inhabitants</hi>) of <hi rend="bold">Vāṇapuram</hi>, shall pay a fine of one thousand <hi rend="italic">kāṇam</hi>) to the palace of the king who is then ruling.<note>With <foreign>aṉṟāḷ koyil</foreign> compare <foreign>aṉṟāḷ ko</foreign>, above, Vol. I. pp. 113 and 115.</note></p>

<p>(L. 15.) “Land has been granted by many kings, commencing with Sagara. Whosever (<hi rend="italic">is</hi>) the earth at any time, his (<hi rend="italic">is</hi>) then the reward (<hi rend="italic">of gifts of land</hi>).”</p>

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<p>Digital edition of SII 3.42 by <bibl><ptr target="bib:Hultzsch1899_01"/></bibl> converted to DHARMA conventions by Emmanuel Francis.</p>

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