Nutulapaṟu grant of Maṅgi Yuvarāja

Editors: Dániel Balogh, John Faithfull Fleet.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00014.

Hand description:

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: Eastern Cālukya (tfb-vengicalukya-epigraphy).

Version: (c66dc65), last modified (eed44f3).

Edition

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⟨1⟩ śrī-vijayasiddhi

Plates

⟨Page 1r⟩

⟨Page 1v⟩ ⟨1⟩ svasti śrīmatāṁ sakala-jagad-abhiṣṭūyamāna-mānavy¿ā?⟨a⟩-sagotrāṇ¿a?⟨ā⟩ṁ hāri⟨2⟩ti-putrāṇāṁ k¿o?⟨au⟩śik¡i!⟨ī⟩-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-paripā⟨3⟩litānāṁ sv¿a?⟨ā⟩mi-mahāsena-pādānudhyātānāṁ bhagav¿ā?⟨a⟩n-nārāyaṇa-prasāda⟨4⟩-samāsādita-varāha-lāñchanānāṁ Aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitr¿i?⟨ī⟩⟨5⟩-kr̥ta-vapuṣāṁ caḷukyānāṁ kula-jaladhi-samuditendor nnaya-vinaya-vikramo⟨6⟩pārjita-cāru-bhūri-kīrtteḥ śrī-jayasi¡ṁgh!a-vallabha-mahārāja-priyānujasyendra⟨7⟩-samāna-vikramasya śr¿i?⟨ī⟩n(dra)-bhaṭṭārakasya s¿u?⟨ū⟩nor aneka-samara-saṁghaṭṭopalabdha⟨Page 2r⟩⟨8⟩-yuddha-vijaya-yaśaḥ-prasūty-āmoda-gandhādhivāsita-sakala-di¡g!-maṇḍalasya ⟨9⟩ nānā-śāstrābhyāsopab¡ri!⟨r̥⟩ṁhita-vimala-viśāla-buddhe⟨ḥ⟩ tyāgaudāryya-dhairyya⟨10⟩-kā⟨ṁ⟩ty-ādi-guṇālaṁkr̥tasya{ḥ} śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārājasya{ḥ} priya-tanayaḥ sama⟨11⟩tiś¿ai?⟨ayi⟩ta-pit¡ru!⟨r̥⟩-guṇa⟨ḥ⟩ śakti-sampanna Ānv¿i?⟨ī⟩kṣiky-ādi-vidyā-pra⟨yo⟩geṣu vijaya⟨12⟩-siddhi⟨ḥ⟩ sv¿a?⟨ā⟩si-dhāraṇa-namita-ripu-nr̥pati-ma⟦ṭa⟧⟨⟨ku⟩⟩ṭa-taṭa-ghaṭitāneka-maṇi-kiraṇa-rā⟨13⟩ga-ra¿jiṁ?⟨ṁji⟩ta-caraṇa-yuga¡ḷ!⟨l⟩aḥ parama-brahmaṇyo mātā-pit¡ru!⟨r̥⟩-pādānudhyātaḥ ⟨14⟩ śrī-sarvvalokāśraya-ma⟦rājaḥ⟧⟨⟨hārā⟩⟩jaḥ kraṁja-v¿a?⟨ā⟩stavy¿a?⟨ā⟩ya kāśy¿ā?⟨a⟩pa-gotr¿a?⟨ā⟩ya ¿A?⟨Ā⟩pa⟨Page 2v⟩⟨15⟩staṁba-s¿u?⟨ū⟩trāya tai¿tri?⟨ttirī⟩ya-sabrahma¿sa?⟨cā⟩riṇ¿a?⟨e⟩ kuliśarmma⟦pau⟧⟨⟨ṇa⟩⟩⟨ḥ⟩ pautrāya doṇaśarmma{ṇa}⟨16⟩ṇaḥ putrāya kuṇḍi-doṇaśarmmaṇe ⟦ma⟧⟨⟨ka⟩⟩rmarāṣṭre nutulapaṟu nāma grāme d¿o?⟨a⟩kṣi⟨17⟩ṇa-diśāy¿a?⟨āṁ⟩ padanta-kṣetra⟨ṁ⟩ dattaM

revadistane br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetra-dakṣiṇata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ taṭ¿a?⟨ā⟩⟨18⟩ka-paścimata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ peṇukapaṟaṁbu br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetr¡a-U!ttarata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ nidubaṁṟu-pa⟨19⟩nta-¿puvvata?⟨pūrvvataḥ⟩⟨.⟩ doṇavādi-panta-br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetra-dakṣiṇata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ Etakaṇḍa-nāma-br¿a?⟨ā⟩hm¿ā?⟨a⟩⟨20⟩ṇa-kṣetra-paścimata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ veḷeṟukaṇḍi-nāma-br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetr¡a-U!ttarata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ Etakaṇḍa-n¿a?⟨ā⟩⟨21⟩ma-brāhmaṇa-kṣetra-p¿u?⟨ū⟩rvata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ śrama-taṭāka-br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetra-pascimata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetr¡a!⟨Page 3r⟩⟨22⟩-¡U!ttarata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ veḷuka-taṭāka-br¿a?⟨ā⟩hmaṇa-kṣetra-p¿u?⟨ū⟩rvata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩ koṟinipa[ca. 4+] [brāhma]⟨23⟩ṇa-kṣetra-dakṣiṇata⟨ḥ⟩⟨.⟩

Eta¿t-s?⟨c-c⟩atur-avadhi dv¿a?⟨ā⟩daśa-¡k!⟨kh⟩aṇḍika-kodra[vāvāpa-pramāṇaṁ kṣe]⟨24⟩tra⟨ṁ⟩ Uttarāyaṇa-nimitte Udaka-p¿u?⟨ū⟩rva⟨ṁ⟩ sa{ṁ}rva-kara-parih¿a?⟨ā⟩re⟨ṇa⟩ datta⟨ṁ⟩⟨.⟩ [pravarddhamāna-vija]⟨25⟩ya-rājya-saṁvatsare ¡visaḥ!⟨viṁśe⟩⟨.⟩ Atra vy¿a?⟨ā⟩sa-gītā⟨ḥ⟩ ¿s?⟨ś⟩lokā⟨ḥ⟩

I. Anuṣṭubh

bah[ubhir vvasudhā dattā]

a

⟨26⟩ bahubhiś cānupālitā

b

yasya yasya yad¿a?⟨ā⟩ bhūmi⟨ḥ⟩

c

tasya [tasya tadā phalam]

d
II. Anuṣṭubh

⟨27⟩ sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ v¿a?⟨ā⟩

a

yo haret¡i!⟨a⟩ vasundharāṁ

b

ṣaṣ¿ṭh?⟨ṭ⟩i-va[rṣa-sahasrāni]

c

⟨28⟩ viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate kr̥miḥ

d

Ājñ¡ā!pti⟨ḥ⟩ nissarami(ji?) [ca. 5+]

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Apparatus

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⟨11⟩ -guṇa⟨ḥ⟩-guṇa- JFF. — ⟨11⟩ -pra⟨yo⟩geṣu ⬦ -pra¿g?⟨śn⟩eṣu JFF • Although Fleet’s emendation is plausible, prayogeṣu is now confirmed by the London Plates and Elūru Grant of Maṅgi Yuvarāja.

⟨12⟩ -dhāraṇa-namita- ⬦ -dhāraṇ¿a?⟨ā⟩namita- JFF • I do not see the necessity for Fleet’s emendation. Moreover, the actual intent must have been -dhārānamita-; compare line 8 of the Koṇeki Grant and line 6 of the Timmapuram plates.

⟨13⟩ -ra¿jiṁ?⟨ṁji⟩ta- • Lacking a facsimile, I cannot judge how far to the right the anusvāra is shifted and whether there is any apparent reason for the shift.

⟨15⟩ doṇaśarmma{ṇa}⟨16⟩ṇaḥ • Fleet observes that the ṇa at the end of line 15 is indistinct because it is partly on the edge of the plate. I therefore prefer to mark up this one as superfluous, and not its repetition at the beginning of line 16.

⟨16⟩ nutulapaṟu- • Fleet notes that Sewell had read the name as kutulapaṟu, but this is incorrect.

⟨17⟩ revadistane … • See the commentary for my interpretation of this passage, which differs from that of Fleet. I do not show Fleet’s differing emendations in this apparatus.

⟨18⟩ peṇukapaṟaṁbu ⬦ peṇukapaṟabuṁ- JFF. — ⟨18⟩ nidubaṁṟu-panta • Compare the village Niḍupaṟu in the grant named after that village.

⟨19⟩ -kṣetra⟨ṁ⟩ • After this word too, Fleet supplies punctuation (though he does not do so elsewhere in the list).

⟨23⟩ Eta¿t-s?⟨c-c⟩atur- ⬦ ca ta¿t-s?⟨c-c⟩atur- JFF • Lacking a facsimile, I cannot be certain if my reading is correct, but even if it reading proves to be ca, emendation to E is required on the basis of parallels. — ⟨23⟩ -avadhi • Fleet emends to -avadhiḥ, but his reason for doing so is not clear to me. He supplies no punctuation in this line, but he probably understood a sentence to end after his ca, and he may have interpreted tac-catur-avadhiḥ (where he definitely shows tac- in compound) as an elliptic nominal sentence. — ⟨23⟩ -kodra[vāvāpa-pramāṇaṁ kṣe]⟨24⟩tra⟨ṁ⟩-kodra[ca. 5+] [kṣe]⟨24⟩tra⟨ṁ⟩ JFF • According to Fleet’s note, the gap is five or six characters in extent, in which he probably (but not definitely) includes the supplied kṣe. He further notes that the intended text may have been “dvâdaśa-khaṇḍikak-ôdrava-brâhmaṇa-kshetraṁ”, for which he cites the parallel “dvâdaśa-khaṇḍikak-ôdrava-bîja-saṁsthânaṁ kshetraṁ” as his own reading of the Eḍeru plates. I am not sure why Fleet prefers to read khaṇḍikaka and udrava (the latter is a kind of tax according to Sircar’s IEG, s.v., but it seems to be a rare term if not a hapax legomenon), when khaṇḍika and kodrava appear much more natural. Fleet’s summary says the line probably means that the yield of the field was twelve khaṇḍikas, possibly understanding saṁsthāna as "production". Again perhaps more likely is the interpretation that it can be sown with (has as its foundation saṁsthāna) twelve khaṇḍikas of kodrava seed. The closely parallel London Plates of Maṅgi Yuvarāja read pramāṇaṁ in a similar context (line 19); several other parallels are also available in later Eastern Cālukya grants, on the basis of which I tentatively restore as above.

⟨28⟩ [ca. 5+] • As Fleet notes, the length of the gap applies if the line was filled to the margin. — ⟨28⟩ nissarami(ji?) • Lacking a facsimile, I adopt Fleet’s reading. Compare the London Plates, where the ājñapti seems to be the same person. The name is quite effaced there, but appears to be nissā(ra)(m?)i(nniḥ?).

Translation by Dániel Balogh

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(1–17) Greetings. From the ocean that is the lineage of the majestic Caḷukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is lauded by the entire universe, who are sons of Hāriti, who attained kingship by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon, who are protected by the band of Mothers, who were deliberately appointed (to kingship) by Lord Mahāsena, who acquired the Boar emblem by the grace of the divine Nārāyaṇa, and whose bodies have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice—had arisen a moon [who was] His Majesty King (mahārāja) Jayasiṁha Vallabha (I), who earned his great good reputation by his political acumen (naya), discipline (vinaya) and valour. His dear younger brother [was] Indra Bhaṭṭāraka whose valour equalled Indra’s. His son [was] His Majesty King (mahārāja) Viṣṇuvardhana (II), who perfumed the complete circle of the quarters with pleasant fragrance from the efflorescence of his glory [achieved by] martial victory attained in the clash of many a battle, whose flawless and vast intellect was heightened by the study of various textbooks (śāstra) and who was ornamented by virtues such as selflessness, generosity, perseverance and charm. His dear son [is] His Majesty the supremely pious King (mahārāja) Sarvalokāśraya (Maṅgi Yuvarāja), who was deliberately appointed (as heir) by his mother and father, who possesses qualities and powers surpassing [those of] his father, who is endowed with [the three] power[s], who prevails in victory (vijaya-siddhi) in applications of sciences such as critical investigation (ānvīkṣikī), and whose pair of feet are tinted by the hues of the rays from the many gems fitted to the surfaces of the crowns of enemy kings bowed down by the blade1 of his sword. [This King Sarvalokāśraya] has given a padanta field2 in the southern direction of the village Nutulapaṟu in Karma country (rāṣṭra) to Kuṇḍi-Doṇaśarman of the Kāśyapa gotra and the Taittirīya school, who is an adherent of the Āpastamba sūtra and a resident of Kraṁja, the grandson of Kuliśarman and son of Doṇaśarman.

(17–23) 3To the south of the Brahmin field in Revadistana. To the west of a pond. To the north of the Brahmin field in Peṇukapaṟu. To the east of ¿the road to? Nidubaṁṟu.4 [Furthermore.] To the south of the Brahmin field ¿by the road to? Doṇavādi. To the west of the Brahmin field named Etakaṇḍa.5 To the north of the Brahmin field named Veḷeṟukaṇḍi. To the east of the Brahmin field named Etakaṇḍa. [Furthermore.] To the west of the Brahmin field by the Śrama pond. To the north of a Brahmin field. To the east of the Brahmin field by the Veḷuka pond. To the south of the [Brahmin] field […] Koṟinipa.

(23–25) The field, [sufficient?] [for sowing?] twelve khaṇḍikas of ¿kodrava? and having the above four boundaries, was donated with exemption from all taxes on the occasion of the winter solstice, [the donation being] sanctified by (a libation of) water. In the twentieth year of the [progressive triumphant] reign. With regard to this, [these] verses [were] sung by Vyāsa:

I
Many (kings) [have granted land], and many have preserved it (as formerly granted). Whosoever at any time owns the land, [the fruit {reward (accrued of granting it)} belongs to him at that time].
II
He who would seize land, whether given by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in faeces for sixty [thousand] years.

(28) The executor (ājñāpti) is ¿Nissaramiji?[…]

Translation into French by Estienne-Monod 2008

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(1–17) Prospérité ! [Le petit-fils] de l’illustre Indra Bhaṭṭāraka, dont la vaillance est pareille à celle d’Indra, [qui était] le cher frère cadet du grand roi illustre Jayasiṁgha Vallabha, dont la grande gloire charmante fut procurée par sa bonne conduite au pouvoir et en privé, et par sa vaillance, lune qui se lève au-dessus de l’océan qu’est la lignée des Calukya, illustres, du même gotra que les descendants de Manu, honorés dans le monde entier, fils de Hāriti, qui reçurent le royaume grâce à la faveur de Kauśikī, protégés par la troupe des mères, méditant aux pieds du seigneur Mahāsena, dont les corps furent purifiés par les bains purificatoires de l’aśvamedha, doués du signe du sanglier octroyé par la faveur du bienheureux Nārāyaṇa, le cher fils du grand roi illustre Viṣṇuvardhana, possesseur du cercle entier des horizons, envahis par le parfum de la joie, engendrée par la victoire et la gloire au combat, acquises dans les heurts de nombreuses batailles, dont l’immaculée et immense intelligence fut fortifiée par l’étude des divers traités, orné par les vertus de générosité, noblesse, constance, beauté, etc., le grand roi illustre Sarvalokāśraya,6 qui surpasse son père par ses vertus et son pouvoir, qui remporte des succès victorieux dans les controverses des sciences philosophiques et des autres [sciences], lui dont les deux pieds sont colorés par la rougeur des rayons des nombreuses pierres précieuses serties sur l’orbe des diadèmes des rois ennemis inclinés devant la lame de son épée, très pieux, qui médite aux pieds de sa mère et de son père, donne à celui qui réside à Kraṁja, du gotra de Kaśyapa, qui suit les sūtra Āpastaṁba, disciple de l’école de Taittirīya, au petit-fils de Kuliśarman, fils de Doṇaśarman, à Kuṇḍi-Doṇaśarman, le terrain d’un grand homme,7 au sud du village nommé Nutulapaṟu, dans le Karmarāṣṭra, à Revadistana, terrain de brahmane.

(17–23)

  • Au sud un étang,
  • à l’ouest le terrain de brahmane de Peṇukapaṟu,
  • au nord Nidubaṁ-ṟupanta,
  • à l’est le terrain de brahmane de Doṇavādipanta,
  • au sud le terrain de brahmane du nom d’Etakaṇḍa,
  • à l’ouest le terrain de brahmane du nom de Veḷeṟukaṇḍi,
  • au nord le terrain de brahmane du nom d’Etakaṇḍa,
  • à l’est le terrain de brahmane de l’étang de Śrama,
  • à l’ouest le terrain de brahmane,
  • au nord le terrain de brahmane de l’étang de Veḷuka,
  • à l’est le terrain de brahmane de Koṟinipa,

(23–25) et [il] donne le terrain au sud défini par ces quatre limites, possédant douze kaṇḍika8 de kodrava,9 à l’occasion du solstice d’été, après une avoir fait d’eau, exempté de toute taxe. La vingtième année de [notre] auguste règne victorieux. Voici des vers du poème de Vyāsa :

I
beaucoup ont donné une terre et beaucoup l’on protégée, celui qui possède la terre en possède le fruit.
II
Qu’elle soit donnée par lui ou par un autre, celui qui prend une terre renaît ver de terre dans les excréments pendant soixante mille années.

(28) L’exécuteur est Nissaramiji.

Commentary

My interpretation of the boundary list is tentative. Fleet also admits that “the application of them is not quite plain” and leaves it at that, except to say that the donne receives a padanta field and, apparently, also a Brahmin’s field in Revadistana. Based on the punctuation and anusvāras supplied by him, he interprets the boundary list as starting with dakṣiṇataḥ in line 17. This leaves us with three sets of boundaries, two complete (in the sequence South–West–North–East) and the last incomplete (in the sequence West–North–East–South, with no landmark noted for the south). The three sets of boundaries imply that three separate fields were granted. The only way to eliminate the deficiency in the boundaries is to read the demarcation statements not as conventional pairs with directions followed by landmarks in the nominative meaning “[in] direction X [of the field is the] landmark Y”, but as pairs of landmarks compounded to directions meaning “[the field is in] direction X [of the] landmark Y”. See also my commentary on the Elūru Grant of Maṅgi Yuvarāja for other Cālukya grants where such a method of demarcation is (or may be) employed.

Pending further insights (hopefully based on a study of the original, or at least a facsimile), I prefer this interpretation of the boundary list. This makes the brāhmaṇa-kṣetra at Revadistana the first landmark rather than part of the donation, and yields three sets of four boundaries each. The sequence of the boundaries is still anomalous, being S–W–N–E for the first two and W–N–E–S for the last. Interpreting the boundary statements as compounds in the way I suggest, the subjective sequence (i.e. that of the boundaries relative to the field) is in fact the conventional E–S–W–N for this last item, but N–E–S–W for the first two. I have no explanation for this discrepancy, unless it is related to the fact that the donated land is to the south of Nutulapaṟu, and the sequence of boundaries refers to an actual or imaginary perambulation of the plots after walking out to them from the village. Another anomaly in the list is that the Etakaṇḍa-nāma-brāhmaṇa-kṣetra features twice within one set of boundaries, apparently being to the east and west of a plot (regardless of whether the statements are interpreted as compounds expressing the field’s position relative to the landmarks, or as nominatives expressing the landmarks’ position relative to the field), without also being to the north or south of it.

Bibliography

Reported in Sewell 1884, p. 24, № 176. Edited from the original by J. F. Fleet (1891) with a summary of the contents.10 The present edition follows Fleet and does not show the location of binding holes with respect to the text.

Primary

[JFF] Fleet, John Faithfull. 1891. “Sanskrit and Old-Kanarese inscriptions: No. 195. Madras Museum copper-plate grant of Mangi-Yuvaraja.” IA 20, pp. 104–106.

Secondary

Sewell, Robert. 1884. List of inscriptions, and sketch of the dynasties of southern India. Archaeological Survey of Southern India 2. Madras: Government Press. Page 24, item 176.

Notes

  1. 1. See the apparatus on line 12.
  2. 2. Fleet’s suggestion that this word may be derived from bhadanta is plausible. The term thus probably means a field donated to a reverend person.
  3. 3. Fleet analyses the structure of the boundary list differently. See the the commentary.
  4. 4. Here and below in connection to Doṇavādi, I assume without complete confidence that panta is a form of Sanskrit patha or pathin. The same form occurs in the Koṇḍakaṟipḻola grant of Viṣṇuvardhana III in association of two (probable) village names, apparently meaning a road connecting those two settlements. The form panthaḥ is used with a village name (explicitly specified as a village) in the Pamiḍimukkala plates (set 2) of Viṣṇuvardhana II and the Peddāpurappāḍu plates (set 3) of Viṣṇuvardhana II, where it is distinguished from a rathyā-mārgaḥ.
  5. 5. Or perhaps the field of the Brahmin named Etakaṇḍa. Likewise below.
  6. 6. Ce roi est nommé Maṁgi Yuvarāja dans les insc. nos 26 à 56. Ce biruda étant le plus fréquemment appliqué à ce roi dans notre corpus, et afin d’éviter l’ambiguïté du biruda sarvalokāśraya, qui est appliqué à divers souverains, nous retenons l’appellation Maṁgi pour désigner ce roi dans les généalogies et les fiches de présentation.
  7. 7. Selon l’éditeur padanta serait une corruption de bhadanta, « moine bouddhiste ou homme vénérable », n. 28 p 106.
  8. 8. Une mesure de surface.
  9. 9. Sorte de millet.
  10. 10. There seems to be no published estampage, but CHECK a printed copy of IA20.