Hero stone of Candrāditya

Editor: Jens Thomas.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSTelugu00084.

Language: Telugu.

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

Version: (585a60b), last modified (ec27c2b).

Edition

⟨1⟩ svasti śrī mahārājula dha(r)mmuvuna brāhmaṇuḷ ⟨2⟩[di]ki (pā)ṟā candrādityunṟu pasulaku ⟨3⟩ (po)ḍici meṟāsi (vī)⟨4⟩ralōkaṁ(bu) ⟨5⟩ saniye ⟨6⟩ ta[ca. 2*] ⟨7⟩ gāṭa[ya] [vrāse]

Apparatus

⟨2⟩[di]ki ⬦ ve[ca. 1*]ki ?.

⟨3⟩ meṟāsi ⬦ Eṟāsi ?.

⟨7⟩ gāṭa[ya] [vrāse]gāṭa ?.

Translation by Sastri 1969

Hail! Candrāditya, the brahmin of Ve . ki fought for (the sake of) the cattle given as gift to the brahmins by the illustrious king, and went to the world of heroes.

Translation by Jens Thomas

Svasti! The vaidika brahmin Candrāditya of the brahmins in religious service of Śrī Mahārāja got into close combat for the sake of (defending (?)) cattle, excelled (in bravery) and proceeded to the world of heroes. Ta(xx)gāṭa(ya wrote this).

Commentary

The text follows the edition of J. Ramayya Pantulu in 1948, p. 338, № 622 in absence of a picture. Changes have been made due to grammatical probability and parallel readings. The dots used in the edition to indicate lost or unintelligible characters can not clearly be attributed to a certain quantity of characters (one dot may indicate one or more lost or unintelligible characters). The attribute vēdiki (line 2) comes from skt. vaidika-. The converb Eṟāsi has to be read meṟāsi (i. e. meṟasi); this was considered by K. M. Sastri as well (1969, p. 354). There is a parallel reading in Panchamukhi [1942] 1937–1938, p. 192, l. 9, № 26 B: kayyambuna meṟesi. Graphemically, th overall shape of inital ‹E› and ‹me› can be very similar. If the condition of preservation is not very good a confusion can easily occur. The verb meṟayu literally means ’to shine’. Radha Krishna on the other hand gives the meaning of Eṟāsi as ’having pounced upon’ and regards it to be a converb of an unattested verb *eṟayu ’to destroy, plunder’ the causative of which can be found in eṟapir (1971, pp. 244–245). Yet, there are several problems connected with this viewpoint. In several inscriptions the scribe is mentioned at the end. Lines 6-7 also seem to contain a name. While the first element in line 6 cannot be reconstructed without consulting the original (it could be a place name or a proper noun part), the second element appears to be the name gāṭaya which is attested as kāṭaya in Krishna Sastri 1925, p. 411, № 1116, l. 3.

The inscription seems to mention a raid on a brahmin establishment in service of Śrī Mahārāja for the purpose of stealing the cows that were kept there. Cattle raids like this one are mentioned in a lot of inscriptions. The brahmin Candrāditya seems to have tried to fend off the raiders and rescue the cows in the course of which he was killed.

Bibliography

The inscription was noted in A. R. No. 288 of 1905 and was first published by J. Ramayya Pantulu in 1948, p. 338, № 622 with few metadata and without translation. K. M. Sastry 1969, p. 337 provides a translation while relying on J. Ramayya Pantulu’s edition (and omitting lines 6-7).

Secondary

Ramayya Pantulu, J. 1948. South-Indian inscriptions (texts). Volume X: Telugu inscriptions from the Madras Presidency. South Indian Inscriptions 10. Delhi: Manager of Publications. Page 338, item 622.

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. Page 337, item 76.