Cevuru plates of Amma I

Editor: Dániel Balogh.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00027.

Languages: Sanskrit, Telugu.

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

Version: (7554ccb), last modified (184e36f).

Edition

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⟨1⟩ śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa

Plates

⟨Page 1r⟩

⟨Page 1v⟩ ⟨1⟩ svasti⟨.⟩ śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrānāṁ ⟨2⟩ hārīti-putrāṇāṁ kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-pari⟨3⟩pālitānāṁ svāmi-mahāsena-pādānudhyātānāM bhagavan-nārāyaṇa⟨4⟩-prasāda-samāsādita-vara-varāha-lāñchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tā⟨5⟩rāti-maṇḍalānām aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitrīkr̥ta-vapu⟨6⟩ṣāṁ cālukyānāṁ kulam alaṁkariṣṇoḥ satyāśraya-vallabhendrasya kula-tila⟨7⟩kāyamāna-svāsi-dhārā-namita-ripu-nr̥pati-makuṭa-taṭa-ghaṭita-maṇi-mayū⟨8⟩kha-puṁja-piṁjarita-pāda-padma-yugalasya cālukya-bhīma-bhūpālasya pautraḥ ⟨9⟩ sāsi-sannahana-sva-tanu-tulā-tulita-bhūri-bhāra-bhāsura-hema-rā¡s!⟨ś⟩i-mahā⟨Page 2r⟩⟨10⟩dāna-viśeṣā¿ḍ?⟨ḍh⟩yīkr̥ta-vipra-kula-kalpavr̥kṣasya samasta-bhuvanāśra⟨11⟩ya-vijayādityasya putraḥ Amma-mahīpatir ggaṇḍaragaṇḍo rājamahe⟨12⟩ndra Iti vikhyātaḥ dāyāda-timirodyad-dinakara-kiraṇāyamāna-bhāsurā⟨13⟩si-sanāthīkr̥ta{ta}-dakṣiṇa-¿bh?⟨b⟩āhus sa{sa}rvva-lokāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuva⟨14⟩rddhana-mahārājādhirāja-parameśvara-parama-bhaṭṭārakaḥ parama-mā⟨15⟩heśvaraḥ gudravāra-viṣaya-nivāsino rāṣṭrakūṭa-pramukhān kuṭu⟨16⟩ṁbinas samāhūyettham ājñāpayati⟨.⟩

viditam astu vaḥ guṇakkenallā⟨17⟩para-nāmadheya-vijayāditya-mahārāja-prasādīkr̥ta-hasty-āroha⟨18⟩ṇāvāpta-gudravāra-viṣaya-śrīmad-umikili nāma grāma-rāṣṭrakūṭa⟨Page 2v⟩⟨19⟩-m¿a?⟨ā⟩hātmyasya konakula-candeyarājasya pautraḥ rājādityānuja-mano⟨20⟩hitāryyasya putraḥ vemarājo nāma subhaṭaḥ sāhasena kali⟨21⟩-yuga-¿s?⟨ś⟩ūdrako mat-pitaraṁ vijayāditya⟨ṁ⟩ baddha-karppaṭakaḥ svāmi-bhakti⟨22⟩r ārādhitavāN⟨.⟩ tad-ārādhana-svāmi-bhakti-saṁp¿r̥?⟨rī⟩tair asmābhiḥ kumāra-vija⟨23⟩yādityānna-prā¿s?⟨ś⟩ana-nimitte kramāgata-siddhāyāṣṭa-gadyāṇa⟨24⟩kaṁ parityajya sarvva-kara-parihāra{ṁ}m umikilī-grāma-grāmaṇīs sa ⟨25⟩ vemarāja⟨ḥ⟩ kr̥taḥ⟨.⟩

grāma-dakṣiṇataḥ Ervvoka-cenu⟨.⟩ Asyāvadhayaḥ⟨.⟩ ⟨26⟩ pūrvvataḥ vranta, dakṣiṇataḥ dūdrupāka-sīmaiva, paścimataḥ rāca-cenu ⟨27⟩ cāṇḍ¿a?⟨ā⟩la-kṣetraṁ ca, Uttarataḥ koḍu,

grāmottara-diśi Aypa-Ervvoka-ce⟨Page 3r⟩⟨28⟩nu, Asyāvadhayaḥ, pūrvvataḥ koḍu, dakṣiṇataḥ vanneṟu, paścimataḥ ⟨29⟩ koḍu, Uttarataḥ kolani mulugu,

puṭṭi-nirugu saveraṁ Iruvadinālgu vuṭla-ni⟨30⟩ṇḍṟāyam padu-gaṇḍu padeḻ dumu, tamulaṁmula-tūmeṇḍu,

Asyopari na ⟨31⟩ kenacid bādhā karttavyā⟨.⟩ yaḥ karoti sa paṁca-mahā-pātaka-saṁyu⟨32⟩kto bhavati, tathā ca vyāsenāpy uktaṁ,

I. Anuṣṭubh

bahubhir vvasudhā dattā

a

bahu⟨33⟩bhiś cānupālitā

b

yasya yasya yadā bhūmis

c

tasya tasya tadā ⟨34⟩ phalaM,

d
II. Anuṣṭubh

sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vā

a

yo hareta vasuṁdharāṁ

b

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sa⟨35⟩hasrāṇi

c

viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate k¡ri!⟨r̥⟩miḥ

d
III. Āryā

veṁgī-maṇḍala-rakṣa¿no?⟨ṇa⟩-bhuja-bala⟨36⟩-kaṭakeśvaras samājñāptiḥ

ab

bhaṭṭa-ni(ravadya-sa)ntati-bhaṭṭa-mahā(kāla)-viracitaṁ

cd
⟨Page 3v⟩

Apparatus

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⟨3⟩ -mahāsena- • As Chhabra duly notes, there is a superfluous dot high above se.

⟨4⟩ -varāha- • As Chhabra duly notes, there is a superfluous dot at mid-height between va and rā.

⟨13⟩ -sanāthī° • According to Chhabra, there is a superfluous dot above sa. This is not visible in the scanned rubbing. — ⟨13⟩ sa{sa}rvva- • As Chabra notes, emendation is not strictly necessary, as the first sa may be interpreted as a pronoun. I believe a scribal error is more likely.

⟨22⟩ -saṁp¿r̥?⟨rī⟩tair • As Chhabra points out, saṁpr̥ta could be derived from the verb pr̥ṇoti, but this is restricted to Vedic usage and thus the intent here must have been saṁprīta.

⟨26⟩ -sīmaiva, • I follow Chhabra’s edition, which prints an original punctuation mark here. In the estampage, only a space is visible.

Translation by Dániel Balogh1

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(1–16) Greetings. The grandson of King (bhūpāla) Cālukya-Bhīma, whose pair of lotus feet were engilded by a mass of beams from gems fitted to the surfaces of the crowns of enemy kings bowed down by the blade of his sword and who was like forehead mark on the dynasty of Satyāśraya Vallabhendra (Pulakeśin II), who was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Caḷukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is praised by the entire world, who are sons of Hārīti, who attained kingship by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon,2 who are protected by the band of Mothers, who were deliberately appointed (to kingship) by Lord Mahāsena, to whom the realms of adversaries instantaneously submit at the [mere] sight of the superior Boar emblem they have acquired by the grace of the divine Nārāyaṇa, and whose bodies have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice—; the son of Vijayāditya (IV), the shelter of the entire universe (samasta-bhuvanāśraya) who was a wish-fulfilling tree to the class of Brahmins whom he endowed with that special great gift (mahā-dāna) that is a pile of gleaming gold whose great weight has been weighed in the balance against his own body [girt] with sword and armour: King (mahīpati) Amma (I) Gaṇḍaragaṇḍa, widely known as Rājamahendra, the shelter of all the world (sarva-lokāśraya), His Majesty Viṣṇuvardhana (VI) the Supreme Lord (parameśvara) of Emperors (mahārājādhirāja), the Supreme Sovereign (parama-bhaṭṭāraka), supreme devotee of Maheśvara, whose right arm is complemented with a gleaming sword that is like a ray of the sun rising against the darkness consisting of his rivals, convokes and commands the householders (kuṭumbin)—including foremost the territorial overseers (rāṣṭrakūṭa)—who reside in Gudravāra district (viṣaya) as follows:

(16–25) Let it be known to you [that] the grandson of Candeyarāja of the Kona family, who had achieved the exaltation of [becoming] the overseer (rāṣṭrakūṭa) of the magnificent village named Umikili in Gudravāra district and who ascended an elephant as a favour of King (mahārāja) Vijayāditya (III) who was called Guṇakkenalla, the son of Manohitārya who was the younger brother of Rājāditya, the good soldier named Vemarāja who by his daring is a Śūdraka of the Kali age, has sought the favour of my father Vijayāditya (IV), taking on a karpaṭaka (vow)3 in his devotion to his lord. Being pleased with his worship and devotion to his lord, on the occasion of the anna-prāśana of Prince Vijayāditya (V) we have made that Vemarāja the headman (grāmaṇī) of Umikilī village, exempt from all taxes except for the traditional dues of cultivated land [which are set at] eight gadyāṇakas.4

(25–27) To the south of the village is the ervvoka field (cenu).5 Its boundaries [are as follows]. To the east, a marshy pool (vranta). To the south, the perimeter of Dūdrupāka itself. To the west, the king’s field (rāca-cenu) and the field of the Cāṇḍālas. To the north, a stream (koḍu).6

(27–29) In the northern direction of the village is the Ervvoka field (cenu) of Aypa.7 Its boundaries [are as follows]. To the east, a stream (koḍu). To the south, the Vanneṟu8 To the west, a stream (koḍu). To the north, the landing to the lake (kolani mulugu).9

(29–30) The arrangement (for the remuneration which he is to receive) in grain measures (i.e. in kind) is as follows: the income of saveram is ten kaṇḍus and seventeen tūmus (measured by measure) of 24 full puṭṭis; of tammulam, one tūmu.10

(30–32) Let no-one pose an obstacle (to his enjoyment of his rights) over it. He who does so shall be conjoined with the five great sins. So too Vyāsa has said:

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.
III
The executor (samājñapti) is the castellan (kaṭakeśvara)11 the power of whose arms is the protection of the territory of Veṅgī. [This charter was] composed by Bhaṭṭa Mahākāla, progeny of Bhaṭṭa Niravadya.12

(47)

Translation into French by Estienne-Monod 2008

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(1–16) Prospérité ! le petit-fils du roi Cālukya Bhīma, dont les pieds de lotus sont rougis par des multitudes de rayons des pierres précieuses serties sur l’orbe des diadèmes des rois ennemis, soumis par la lame de son épée, devenue le joyau de la lignée de Satyāśraya Vallabhendra, ornement de la lignée des Calukya, illustres, du même gotra que les descendants de Manu, honorés dans l’univers entier, fils de Hāritī, qui obtinrent leur royaume grâce à l’excellente faveur de Kauśikī, protégés par la troupes des Mères, méditant aux pieds du seigneur Mahāsena, dont le cercle des ennemis fut soumis en un instant à la vue du signe illustre de l’excellent sanglier, faveur octroyée par le bienheureux Nārāyaṇa, dont les corps furent purifiés par le bain purificatoire de l’aśvamedha, fils de Vijayāditya, arbre à vœux pour des multitudes de brahmanes, qu’il rendit exceptionnellement riches avec le grand don d’une immense quantité d’or lumineux, dont le poids immense avait été pesé sur la balance au moyen de son propre corps, ceint de son épée, refuge de l’univers entier, le roi Amma, renommé sous le titre de Gaṇḍara-Gaṇḍo Rājamahendra, dont le bras droit était armé d’une lumineuse épée dardant des rayons, soleil se levant sur les ténèbres de ses rivaux, refuge de tous les hommes, l’illustre Viṣṇuvardhana, roi suprême des souverains de grands rois, éminent seigneur, excellent dévôt de Māheśvara, ordonne ceci aux chefs de famille rassemblés, habitants le viṣaya de Gudravāra, rāṣṭrakūṭa en tête :

(16–25) qu’il soit connu de vous que le petit-fils de Konakula Candeyarāja qui acquit la distinction [d’être] rāṣṭrakūṭa du village illustre nommé Umikili, dans le viṣaya de Gudravāra, qui obtint de monter sur un éléphant par la faveur octroyée par le grand roi Vijayāditya, nommé aussi Guṇakkenalla, fils du frère cadet de Rājāditya, Manohitārya, [lui qui est ] nommé Vemarāja, bon guerrier, Śudraka du Kaliyuga par son audace, a donné satisfaction à mon père Vijayāditya, vêtu de haillons, dévoué à son seigneur. Par nous, satisfaits par sa dévotion envers son seigneur et par ses hommages, à l’occasion de l’annaprāśana13 du prince Vijayāditya, exempté [de taxe], excepté celle des huit gadyāṇaka14 qui constituent le revenu fixe,15 perçu selon la tradition, Vemarāja est nommé chef de village16 du village d’Umikilī.

(25–27) Au sud du village [se trouve] le terrain d’Ervvoka.17 Ses limites sont : à l’est un marécage,18 au sud la limite précise de Dūdrupāka, à l’ouest le terrain royal19 et le terrain des Cāṇḍāla, au nord un ruisseau.20

(27–29) Au nord du village [se trouve] le terrain Ervvoka appartenant à Ayyapa.21 Les limites de ce dernier sont : à l’est un ruisseau. au sud Vanneṟu,22 à l’ouest un ruisseau, au nord un canal venant du lac,23

(29–30) L’arrangement [pour la rémunération qu’il recevra] en mesure de grains est le suivant : un revenu de saveram ? de dix kaṇḍu et dix-sept tūmu mesuré selon la mesure de vingt-quatre puṭṭi, de tammulam ? un tūmu.24

(30–32) Aucune charge ne doit lui être imposée, celui qui en impose est lié aux cinq grands crimes. Ainsi Vyāsa a dit :

I
Beaucoup ont donné une terre, beaucoup l’ont protégée, celui qui possède la terre en possède la 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 ans.
III
Le kaṭakeśvara, dont la puissance du bras protège le royaume de Veṁgī, est l’exécuteur. [Cet édit] a été composé par l’éminent Mahākāla, descendant de l’éminent Niravadya.

Commentary

Discovered in Cēvūru village in Kaikalūr tāluk of Kistna District in the Madras Presidency, about 1928, by the villager Polavarapu Ankayya, son of Venkata Reddi, who was digging the debris of a collapsed mud house. Seen there by Chhabra in November 1938 and borrowed for study.

More detail about the term karpaṭa is found in the Māṁgallu gramt of Dānārṇava. There it is not a military man but a scholar who undertakes karpaṭa for the sake of the rāṣṭrakūṭa Kākaṭya Guṇḍyana in order to secure his favour (ll50-52, guṇḍyanaṁ vīram uddiśya … yena karppaṭam ābaddhaṁ tat-prasādābhikāṁkṣiṇā). The chief in turn grants him a village. This vow (l53, karppaṭī-vrata) is said there to involve morning baths and chastity, but the wearing of rags is not explicitly mentioned. I assume that this vow was performed with the declared intent that the merit thereby acquired go to the performer’s metaphysical stockpile, that it was at the time an established method of acquiring a land grant and/or the position of headman for the performer or his descendants, and that in the present case Vemarāja performed it after retiring from the military. It is also possible that, both here and there, the word is used figuratively in the sense of utterly selfless service.

As Chhabra points out, the last stanza lacks one mora at the end. He suggests -bhaṭṭa-mahākāla idam akarot. Though metrically correct and appropriate to the context, my preference would be -bhaṭṭa-mahākāla-racitam idaṁ.

Bibliography

Edited from the original by B. Ch. Chhabra ([1956] 1947-1948), with translation and inked rubbings supplied by Hultzsch. The present edition by Dániel Balogh is based on a collation of Chhabra’s text with his facsimiles.

Primary

[BCC] Chhabra, Bahadur Chand. [1956] 1947-1948. “Chevuru plates of Eastern Chalukya Amma I.” EI 27, pp. 41–47.

Notes

  1. 1. For the Telugu words and passage in this inscription, I rely on Chhabra’s translation, who in turn had received language help from N. Laksminarayan Rao (and, apparently, from C. R. Krishnamacharlu).
  2. 2. Or, alternatively, by the grace of Kauśikī’s bridegroom, i.e. Śiva. In spite of its slight awkwardness, I prefer the former interpretation because the Bādāmi Cālukyas refer to themselves as nourished saṁvardhita by Kauśikī.
  3. 3. Literally, a vow of wearing rags. See the commentary.
  4. 4. Chhabra understands the text to mean that Vemarāja was raised to headman by this grant, and was, incidentally as it were, granted a tax exemption. This does not seem so certain to me; the charter may well mean that he was already headman by heredity, and the object of the grant is only the exemption, which may in turn be limited to the two fields specified below. A note in Chhabra’s edition (Chhabra [1956] 1947-1948, p. 43, n. 2), signed C. R. K. and probably added by C. R. Krishnamacharlu, points out that the donation may have been comprised only of these two fields.
  5. 5. In the this paragraph and the next, I follow Chhabra in the translation of the Telugu words. Chhabra further notes that according to C. R. Krishnamacharlu, ervvoka may be connected to the Telugu word eruvāka.
  6. 6. Translating koḍu as “brook,” Chhabra refers to Kielhorn (1898-1899, p. 139), who in turn refers to Campbell’s Teloogoo Dictionary which translates this word as “a rivulet, the branch of a river”.
  7. 7. According to Chhabra, Aypa is to be understood as Ayyapa.
  8. 8. According to Chhabra, this is the name of a river. If this is correct, then this river, major enough to have a name of its own, separated the field from the village to which it belonged.
  9. 9. Chhabra: “the bathing place at the lake (@or the drain from the lake@)”.
  10. 10. The translation of this Telugu passage has been adopted literally from Chhabra.
  11. 11. The term kaṭakeśvara was probably used here instead of the more common kaṭaka-rāja or its vernacular variant kaḍa-eṟeya for metrical reasons, as pointed out by Chhabra. These terms are normally understood to mean a chief officer of the royal camp (cf. Fleet 1902-1903, pp. 183–185 and Sircar 1966, s.vv. kaṭaka-rāja). However, as it seems to denote a very high hereditary office in the Cālukyan court, I believe it had in this case no direct association with any army camps.
  12. 12. The castellan may be the same person as Bhaṭṭa Mahākāla; at any rate, the descendants of Bhaṭṭa Niravadya did normally serve in that function. The text, however, does not indicate in any way that the two are one.
  13. 13. Rite célébrant la première nourriture de riz donnée à un enfant.
  14. 14. Nom d’une valeur monétaire, D. C. Sircar, 1966, p. 432.
  15. 15. ibid., p. 311.
  16. 16. grāmaṇī est un équivalent de grāmakuṭa, ibid., p.121.
  17. 17. Traduction de l’éditeur.
  18. 18. Traduction de l’éditeur.
  19. 19. Traduction de l’éditeur.
  20. 20. Selon le Campbell’s teloogoo dictionary, koḍu désigne un ruisseau ; en kannara le même mot désigne le sommet d’une colline. Indication de l’éditeur n. 3 p.47, renvoi à Ep. Ind., V, p. 139, n.2.
  21. 21. Traduction de l’éditeur.
  22. 22. Nom d’une rivière.
  23. 23. Traduction de l’éditeur.
  24. 24. Passage en telugu, nous n’avons pu définir le sens de certains termes, que nous avons restitués tels qu’ils étaient indiqués dans le texte. L’éditeur ne propose pas non plus de traduction pour ces mots.