Tiruccirāppaḷḷi, rock-cut cave, Cirāmalai Antāti, no king, no year

Editors: Indra Manuel, Renato Dávalos, Emmanuel Francis.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSTamilNadu00027.

Languages: Sanskrit, Tamil.

Repository: Tamil Nadu (varia) (tfa-tamilnadu-epigraphy).

Version: (12f3008), last modified (cb45bc1).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī

I. kaṭṭaḷaikkalittuṟai

Ulakam maṭantai nutal uṟantaippati y-an-nutaṟku-t

1

tilakam paramaṉamaruñ cirāmalai yammalaivā

2

y-alakiṉ ṉiṟainta katirmaṇi pāyalai kaṭaṉmēl

3

vilakunatiyām poṉṉi paraṉ kaḻuttiṟ koṇṭa veḷvaṭamē

4
II. kaṭṭaḷaikkalittuṟai

⟨2⟩ vaṭa kayilāyamun teṉpāṉ malaiyapporuppum eṉṉun

1

taṭavarai tām itaṉ ṟaṉmaiya v-āvatu tām uṇarntuṅ

2

kaṭavarai mēkamuḻakkuñ cirāmalai kaṇṭa kaṇ

3

muṭavarai y-eṉṟē maṟucāṉṟ’ eṇṇi moḻikiṉṟatē

4

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ tilakam ⬦ tilatam SII. — ⟨1⟩ pāyalai ⬦ pāya[2*] SII. — ⟨1⟩ pāyalai ⬦ pāya[3*] SII. — ⟨1⟩ kaṭaṉmēṉ ⬦ mēl vantatanti SII. — ⟨1⟩ vilakunatiyām ⬦ [2*]p-poṉi SII.

⟨2⟩ teṉpāṉ ⬦ teṉmāṉ SII. — ⟨2⟩ yeṉṟē ⬦ yo[kku] SII. — ⟨2⟩ maṟucāṉṟeṇṇi ⬦ [maṟucāṉ]ṟeṇṇi SII.

Translation by Indra Manuel

I
The world (ulakam) is a lady (maṭantai); the place Uṟantai (uṟantaippati) is her forehead (nutal); the circular mark (tilakam) on that forehead (annutal+ku) is Cirāmalai, desired (amarum) by Lord [Śiva] (paramaṉ); in that mountain (ammalaivāy), the river (nati⁓ām) Kāviri (poṉṉi) spreading waves (pāy-alai), [carrying] countless (alaku il), numerous/well-formed (niṟainta) shining gems (katir-maṇi), moving away (vilaku) towards the sea (kaṭalmēl), is the white necklace (veḷvaṭam) that the Lord (paraṉ) has (koṇṭa) on His neck (kaḻuttu-il).
II
Even though it is realized (tām uṇarntum) that the Kailāśa in the north (vaṭa kayilāyamum) and the Potikai hill (malaiyapporuppum) on the southern side (teṉpāl) have the same nature as that (taṉmaiya āvatu) of this (itaṉ) [Cirāmalai], once the eye has seen (kaṇṭa kaṇ) [for itself] Cirāmalai, where the rutting cloud-elephants (kaṭa varai mēkam) roar (muḻakkum), it declares (moḻikiṉṟatē) that [those] are really faulty mountains (muṭavarai eṉṟē) considering (eṇṇi) the contradictory proof (maṟucāṉṟu).

Bibliography

Reported in Hultzsch 1888 (ARIE/1887-1888/I/1887-1888/62).

Edited in Krishna Sastri 1923 (SII 4.167).

This edition by Indra Manuel (2024), based on 3D pictures by Adeline Levivier (2022).

Translated by Indra Manuel (2024).

Primary

[SII] Krishna Sastri, H. 1923. South-Indian inscriptions (texts). Volume IV: Miscellaneous inscriptions from the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada countries and Ceylon. South Indian Inscriptions 4. Madras: Government Press. Pages 21–27.

Secondary

Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1888. G.O. No. 424, 20th April 1888. Archaeology. Recording letter from the Director-General forwarding Dr. Hultzsch's progress report from 21st September 1887 to 31st January 1888. Madras: Government of Madras, Public Department. Page 6, item 62, appendixes I/1887-1888.