Texts

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This and the next inscription belong to the same king, as No. 108. The present inscription is dated “in the ninth year of Ko-Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman.”

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0124.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated “in the forty-seventh year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman.”

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0125.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated in the third (?) year of Madirai-koṇḍa Ko-Parakesarivarman.¹

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0126.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The stone, which bears the subjoined inscription, is unfortunately very much worn. The text, as far as it can be made out, runs as follows: [[see below]]

An inscription of the same Rājendra-deva, which is dated in the ninth year and is found in a niche of the Varāhasvāmin Temple at Māmallapuram, was published by Sir Walter Elliot.¹ He identified Āhavamalla with the Western Chālukya king Āhavamalla II. or Someśvara I. (about Śaka 964 to about 990), who, according to inscriptions² and according to the Vikramāṅkacharita (sarga i, verses 90, 115, 116), fought with the Choḷas. The Rājendra-deva of the present inscription and of Sir Walter Elliot’s inscription may be identified with that Rājendra-deva of the Sūryavaṁśa, whose daughter Madhurāntakī was married to the Eastern Chalukya king Rājendra-Choḍa (Śaka 985 to 1034) according to verse 12 of the Chellūr grant (No. 39).³

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0127.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription mentions Sakalalokachakravartin Rājanārāyaṇa Śambuvarāya[ṉ]¹ and seems to record a gift to Vaṛittuṇai-appaṉ.²

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0128.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: On this stone, the name of Śambuvarāya and part of one of his birudas (Aṛagiya) are visible; see the introduction of the Poygai inscriptions (Nos. 59 to 64).

Language: Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0129.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0012.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The southern wall of this temple is covered with several Choḷa inscriptions. None of them can be made out completely, as the letters are much obliterated, and as the stones are, to all appearance, not in their original order.

This is dated “in the 11th (?) year of Ko-Rājakesarivarman, alias Chakravartin Śrī-Kulottuṅga-Śoṛa-deva.”

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0130.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is engraved to the right of No. 130 and may have been intended for its continuation. It records a gift of land from the inhabitants of Aimbūṇḍi (the modern Ammuṇḍi)¹ to their Śiva temple, which bore the name of Muppaṉaiyīśvara. The gift was made before the god Ādidāsa Chaṇḍeśvara-deva.²

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0131.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated “in the 10th (?) year of Tribhuvanachakravartin Koṉeri Meṉ-koṇḍa Kulottuṅga-Śoṛa-deva.” The donor was Śeṅgeṇi-Ammaiyappa . . . . Perumāḷ, alias Vikrama-Śoṛa-Śambuvarāyaṉ.¹

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0132.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated during the reign of Vīra-Veṅkaṭapatirāyar and in the Śrīmukha year. This is Śaka 1556, two years before No. 107 and three years before an inscription of Veṅkaṭa II. published in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XIII, p. 125. The inscription records that Govindappa-nāyaka caused the maṇḍapa to be built and allotted some land in Kaṛaṉipākkam for the maṇḍapa, which was to be used as a watershed and sattram.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0133.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: At this village, there are four stones with sculptures and rough inscriptions. The sculptures are the following:—on stone No. 134, a man with a bow; on stone No. 135, an elephant and a bird; on stone No. 136, an armed man; and on stone No. 137, a man fighting with a tiger.

This and the next inscription are dated in the third and eighteenth year, respectively, of Ko-Vijaya-Narasiṁhavarman.¹

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0134.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0135.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This and the next inscription are dated in the twenty-ninth and thirty-second year, respectively, of Madirai-koṇḍa Ko-Parakesarivarman.¹

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0136.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0137.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: 1. King: the illustrious mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Veṅkaṭadeva-mahārāyar.¹

2. Date: Śaka 15[2]4 expired and the Śubhakṛit year current.

3. Donor: Bommu-nāyaṉ Nāṅgama-nāyaka,² i.e., Nāṅgama-nāyaka, the son of Bommu-nāyaka.³

4. Donee: the Vīra Temple at Mariḷiyappaṭṭu.⁴

Language: Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0138.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated in the Durmati¹ year, which was current after the expiration of the Śaka year 1554. The third symbol of the Śaka date is not quite clear. There is a mistake either in the Śaka or in the cyclic year, as the only Durmati year of the 16th century corresponded to the current Śaka year 1544. The inscription mentions the temple of Raṅganātha-Perumāḷ at Paḷḷikoṇḍai.²

Language: Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0139.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0013.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: 1. King: the illustrious mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, the illustrious Sadāśivadeva-mahārāyar (of Vijayanagara).¹

2. Date: Śālivāhana-Śaka 1489 expired and the Prabhava year current.

3. Donee: the liṅga of Mārgasahāya² at Tiru-Viriñchapuram.

Language: Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0140.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The inscription is a fragment, dated in some year of Rājarāja-deva.¹ In the second line the word Śoṛa-koṉ, “the Choḷa king,” occurs.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0141.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The beginning of both lines of this inscription is buried underground. From that part, which I have copied, it appears that the inscription refers to some gift (mānya, i.e., sarvamānya). At the beginning of the second line, the word paḍaivīḍu occurs in the plural and seems to be used in the sense of “encampments.”¹ The inscription ends with “the signature of Jayaṅkoṇḍa-Śoṛa-Brahmā-rāyaṉ”; the same name is borne by a villageaccountant in a Tirumalai inscription.²

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0142.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is an incorrect duplicate of the first four lines of No. 81, above.

Languages: Tamil, Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0143.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: Besides the fragments noticed below, the shrine of Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara and its mahāmaṇḍapa contain a number of fragments in the Grantha character, which must have belonged to one or more inscriptions in Sanskrit verse and prose. One of the fragments, which is found on the floor of the mahāmaṇḍapa and which consists of 10 lines, mentions the Choḷas in the genitive case (coḷānām, line 3). A second fragment, which is found on the roof of the mahāmaṇḍapa, consists also of 10 lines and seems to be connected with the first. It mentions Choḷa-Triṇetra (lines 1 and 10) and three Eastern Chalukya kings, viz., [Vijay]āditya-Guṇakāṅga, Chāḷukya-Bhīma and Kollavigaṇḍa¹ (line 3). The name of V[ai]dumba, a king who is known to have been conquered by the Choḷa king Parāntaka I.,² occurs at the beginning of line 5. In lines 7 and 8, (the temple of the god) Bhīmeśvara is mentioned. The 8th line of both fragments seems to have contained a date in the Śaka era, of which the first number was 9 and the third was 3.³ A third fragment, which is found on the floor of the Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara Shrine and consists of 49 lines, mentions the Eastern Chalukya king Dānārṇava⁴ (line 17) and the Choḷa king Karikāla-Choḷa⁵ (line 38) and contains a long list of birudas of some king. Another list of birudas is contained in a fourth fragment, which is found on the roof of the mahāmaṇḍapa and consists of 30 lines. There is a fifth fragment in 9 lines on the roof of the mahāmaṇḍapa. Two small fragments, each of which contains 8 lines, are found near the window, which opens from the mahāmaṇḍapa into the front maṇḍapa.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0144.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: Each line of this inscription is incomplete at the end. It is dated during the reign of Madirai-koṇḍa Ko-Parakesari[varman].¹ Line 2 mentions “the holy stone-temple” (Tirukkaṟṟaḷi), i.e., the Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara Temple.² According to lines 3 and 4, the inscription seems to have recorded an agreement made by the inhabitants of two quarters (śeri) of Kachchippeḍu (i.e., Kāñchīpuram), of which the second was called Ekavīrappāḍichcheri and the name of the first also ended in ppāḍichcheri. The term paḷḷichchandam³ occurs in line 5.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0145.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This fragment is dated in the twelfth year of Ko-Rāja-Rājakesarivarman, “who built a jewel (-like) hall at Kāndaḷūr.” The mention of Kāndaḷūr shows, that the king has to be identified with that Rājarāja-deva, who caused the inscriptions Nos. 40, 41 and 66 to be engraved, and that he built the hall at Kāndaḷūr before his twelfth year. The inscription seems to have recorded, that the assembly (sabhā) of some village pledged themselves, to furnish a yearly supply of paddy to the temple-treasurers (Śiva-paṇḍārigaḷ) from the interest of a sum of money,¹ which they had received from “the large holy stone-temple, alias Rājasiṁheśvara, at Kāñchipuram,” or to pay a fine of a quarter poṉ daily. The document is signed by [Pu]ṟambi Sūrya of Tiruviṛāpuṟam.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0146.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: These two fragments belong to the time of Ko-Rājakesarivarman. The second is dated in his 3rd year. Each of them records an agreement made by the inhabitants of some village, who pledged themselves to furnish daily one uṛakku of oil for a nondā¹ or nandā lamp in exchange for a loan of 15 kaṛañjus of gold, and is signed by Māṉatoṅgaḷ Maḷḷerumāṉ, a member of the village-assembly (kūṭṭam).

First inscription.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0147.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This fragment, which is dated in the fifteenth year of Ko-Parakesarivarman, contains an agreement made by the inhabitants of some village, who had received a certain sum of money from “the large holy stone-temple (i.e., the Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara Temple) at Kachchippeḍu (i.e., Kāñchīpuram).” From the interest of this sum, they pledged themselves to supply ghee for a lamp at the rate of 1 uṛakku per day or 7 nāṛis and 1 uri per mensem.¹ The measure to be used was a nāṛi, which was equal to a rājakesari.² As the Choḷa kings alternately bore the surnames Rājakesarin and Parakesarin,³ it must be assumed, that this measure was called after one of the predecessors of the king, to whose reign the inscription belongs. The writer of the inscription was the village-headman Nāga Alappaḍi.⁴

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0148.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: These are three fragments of what must have been a very long inscription. Its extent may be estimated from the fact, that line 1 of the first fragment corresponds to line 1 of No. 67, line 1 of the second fragment to line 5 of No. 67, and the first part of line 1 of the third fragment to the latter part of line 6 of No. 67. None of the fragments is in its original position. The first and second are built into the roof of the mahāmaṇḍapa of the Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara Shrine. The third fragment is built into the pavement of the veranda near the entrance into the mahāmaṇḍapa; some letters of each line are covered by a pillar.

Although the name of the king, during whose reign the inscription was engraved, is lost, the existing fragments of the first line, which agree literally with parts of the first, fifth and sixth lines of the inscription No. 67, prove, that the inscription was one of Rājendra-Choḷa-deva. As the list of his conquests reaches here only as far as “the high mountains of Navanedikkula,”¹ the date must fall between the 7th and 10th years of the king. The inscription seems to have recorded some gifts of paddy, gold and money.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0149.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0014.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is dated in the 26th year of Tribhuvanachakravartin Rājarāja-deva. According to the Poygai inscriptions (Nos. 59 to 64) this year would correspond to Śaka 1163-64. By the subjoined document, some person pledged himself, to supply daily one āṛākku¹ of ghee for five lamps (saṁdhi-viḷakku) “to the lord of the holy stone-temple, alias Rājasiṁhavarmeśvara, at Kachchippeḍu,” i.e., Kāñchīpuram. The ghee had to be made over daily to those, who were in charge of the nāṛigai (measure) within the temple.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0150.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The original of the subjoined grant was bought for Government from the Dharmakartā of Kūram, a village near Kāñchīpuram.¹ It is engraved on seven thin copper-plates, each of which measures 10(1/8) by 3(1/4) inches. As the plates are in very bad preservation, the work of deciphering them was somewhat difficult. Of the seventh plate about one half is completely lost. Next to it, the first, fifth and sixth plates have suffered most. An elliptic ring, which is about (3/8) inch thick and measures 4 by 4(3/4) inches in diameter, is passed through a hole on the left side of each plate. The seal is about 2(1/2) inches in diameter and bears a bull, which is seated on a pedestal, faces the left and is surmounted by the moon and a liṅga. Farther up, there are a few much obliterated syllables. A legend of many letters passes round the whole seal. Unfortunately it is so much worn, that I have failed to decipher it.

The language of the first 4(1/2) plates of the inscription is Sanskrit,—verse and prose; the remainder is written in Tamil. The Sanskrit portion opens with three benedictory verses, of which the two first are addressed to Śiva and the third mentions the race of the Pallavas. Then follows, as usual,² a mythical genealogy of Pallava, the supposed founder of the Pallava race:—

[[genealogical table:]] Brahman. Aṅgiras. Bṛihaspati. Bharadvāja. Droṇa. Aśvatthāman. Pallava.

The historical part of the inscription describes three kings, viz., Parameśvaravarman, his father Mahendravarman and his grandfather Narasiṁhavarman. Of Narasiṁhavarman it says, that he “repeatedly defeated the Choḷas, Keraḷas, Kaḷabhras and Pāṇḍyas,” that he “wrote the (three) syllables of (the word) vijaya (i.e., victory), as on a plate, on Pulakeśin’s back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., whom he caused to turn his back) in the battles of Pariyaḷa, Maṇimaṅgala, Śūramāra, etc.,” and that he “destroyed (the city of) Vātāpi.” No historical information is given about Mahendravarman, who, accordingly, seems to have been an insignificant ruler. A laudatory description of the virtues and deeds of his son Parameśvaravarman fills two plates of the inscription. The only historical fact contained in this long and difficult passage is that, in a terrible battle, he “made Vikramāditya,—whose army consisted of several lakshas,—take to flight, covered only by a rag.”

The three kings who are mentioned in the Kūram grant, viz., Narasiṁhavarman, Mahendravarman and Parameśvaravarman, are identical with three Pallava kings described in Mr. Foulkes’ grant of Nandivarman Pallavamalla,³ viz., Narasiṁhavarman I., Mahendravarman II. and Parameśvaravarman I. Of Narasiṁhavarman I. the lastmentioned grant likewise states, that he “destroyed Vātāpi” and that he “frequently defeated Vallabharāja at Pariyaḷa, Maṇimaṅgala, Śūramāra, and other (places).” Here Vallabharāja corresponds to the Pulakeśin of the Kūram grant. If Mr. Foulkes’ grant further reports, that Parameśvaravarman I. “defeated the army of Vallabha in the battle of Peruvaḷanallūr,” it is evident that it alludes to the same fight as is described in the Kūram grant.

If we combine the historical information contained in both grants, it appears—1. that the Pallava king Narasiṁhavarman I. defeated Pulakeśin, alias Vallabharāja, at Pariyaḷa, Maṇimaṅgala, Śūramāra, and other places, and destroyed Vātāpi, the capital of the Western Chalukyas, and—2. that his grandson Parameśvaravarman I. defeated Vikramāditya, alias Vallabha, at Peruvaḷanallūr. As stated above (p. 11), Pulakeśin and Vikramāditya, the opponents of the two Pallava kings, must have been the Western Chalukya kings Pulikeśin II. (Śaka 532 and 556) and his son Vikramāditya I. (Śaka 592 (?) to 602 (?)), who, more indico, likewise boast of having conquered their antagonists.⁴ Thus, a grant of Pulikeśin II. says, that “he caused the leader of the Pallavas to hide his prowess behind the ramparts of Kāñchīpura;”⁵ and, in a grant of Vikramāditya I., it is said that “this lord of the earth, conquering Īśvarapotarāja (i.e., Parameśvaravarman I.), took Kāñchī, whose huge walls were insurmountable and hard to be broken, which was surrounded by a large moat that was unfathomable and hard to be crossed, and which resembled the girdle (kāñchī) of the southern region (read dakshiṇadiśaḥ).”⁶

Another Pallava king, viz., Nandipotavarman, is mentioned as the opponent of the Western Chalukya king Vikramāditya II. (Śaka 655 to 669) in the Vakkaleri grant, which was published by Mr. Rice.⁷ The table inserted on p. 11, above, shows that this Nandipotavarman must be identical with the Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamalla, who is mentioned in Mr. Foulkes’ grant. Though digressing from my subject, I now sub- join a transcript from the facsimile and a translation of that part of the Vakkaleri grant, which describes the reign of Vikramāditya II.

⟨36⟩ sakalabhuvanasāmrājyalakṣmīsvayaṁvarābhiṣekasamayānanta⟨37⟩rasamupajātamahotsāhaḥ Ātmavaṁśajapūrvvanṛpaticchāyā⟨38⟩pahāriṇaḥ prakṛtyamitrasya pallavasya samūlonmūla⟨39⟩nāya kṛtamatiratitvarayā tuṁḍākaviṣayaṁ prāpyābhimu¿s?⟨kh⟩āgatannandipotava⟨40⟩rmmābhidhānampallavaṁ raṇamukhe saṁprahṛtya prapalā¿s?⟨y⟩ya kaṭumukhavādi⟨41⟩trasamudraghoṣābhidhānavādyaviśeṣ¿ān?⟨au⟩khaṭvā¿ṁ?⟨ṅ⟩gadhvaja⟨ṁ⟩ prabhūtaprakhyāta⟨42⟩hastivarānsvakiraṇanikaravikāsanirākṛtatimirammāṇikyarāśi⟨43⟩ñca hastekṛtya kalaśabhavanilayaharidaṁganāṁcitakāṁcīya⟨44⟩mānāṁ kāṁcīmavināśya praviśya satatapravṛttadānān¿ā?⟨a⟩nditadvi{j}ja⟨45⟩dīnānāthajano narasiṁhapotavarmmanirmmāpitaśilāmayarāja⟨46⟩siṁheśvarādidevakulasuvarṇarāśipratyarppaṇopārjitorjitapuṇyaḥ A⟨47⟩nivāritapratāpaprasarapratāpitapāṇḍyacoḷakeraḷakaḷabhrapra⟨48⟩bhṛtirājanyakaḥ kṣubhitakarimakarakarahatadalitaśuktimuktamuktāphala⟨49⟩prakaramarīcijālavilasitavelāk¿u?⟨ū⟩le ghūrṇamānārṇobhidhāne dakṣi(ṇā)⟨50⟩rṇave śaradamalaśaśadharaviśadayaśorāśimayaṁ jayastambha⟨51⟩matiṣṭhipadvikramādityasatyāśrayaśrīpṛthivīvallabhamahārājādhirā⟨52⟩japarameśvarabhaṭṭāraka(ḥ)

“Vikramāditya Satyāśraya Śrī-Pṛithivī-vallabha, the king of great kings, the supreme ruler, the lord,—to whom arose great energy immediately after the time of his anointment at the self-choice of the goddess of the sovereignty of the whole world, and who resolved to uproot completely his natural enemy, the Pallava, who had robbed of their splendour the previous kings born from his race,—reached with great speed the Tuṇḍākavishaya (i.e., the Toṇḍai-maṇḍalam⁸), attacked at the head of a battle and put to flight the Pallava, called Nandipotavarman, who had come to meet him, took possession of the musical instrument (called) “harsh-sounding” and of the excellent musical instrument called “roar of the sea,” of the banner (marked with Śiva’s) club, of many renowned and excellent elephants, and of a heap of rubies, which drove away darkness by the light of the multitude of their rays, and entered (the city of) Kāñchī,—which seemed to be the handsome girdle (kāñchī) of the nymph of the southern region,—without destroying it. Having made the twice-born, the distressed and the helpless rejoice by continual gifts, having acquired great merit by granting heaps of gold to (the temple) of stone (called) Rājasiṁheśvara, which Narasiṁhapotavarman had caused to be built,⁹ and to other temples, and having burnt by the unimpeded progress of his power the Pāṇḍya, Choḷa, Keraḷa, Kaḷabhra and other princes, he placed a pillar of victory (jayastambha), which consisted (as it were) of the mass of his fame that was as pure as the bright moon in autumn, on the Southern Ocean, which was called Ghūrṇamānārṇas (i.e., that whose waves are rolling) and whose shore glittered with the rays of the pearls, which had dropped from the shells, that were beaten and split by the trunks of the frightened elephants (of his enemies), which resembled sea-monsters.”

That Vikramāditya II. really entered Kāñchī and visited the Rājasiṁheśvara Temple, is proved by a much obliterated Kanarese inscription in the Kailāsanātha Temple at Kāñchīpuram. This inscription is engraved on the back of a pillar in the maṇḍapa in front of the Rājasiṁheśvara Shrine, close to the east wall of that maṇḍapa, which at a later time was erected between the front maṇḍapa and Rājasiṁheśvara. It begins with the name of “Vikramāditya Satyāśraya Śrī-Pṛithivī-vallabha, the king of great kings, the supreme ruler, the lord” and mentions the temple of Rājasiṁheśvara (rājasiṁgheśvara, line 4).

I now return to the Kūram plates. The three last of them contain the grant proper, and record in Sanskrit and Tamil, that Parameśvara (i.e., Parameśvaravarman I.) gave away the village of Parameśvara-maṅgalam,—which was evidently named after the king himself,—in twenty-five parts. Of these, three were enjoyed by two Brāhmaṇas, Anantaśivāchārya and Phullaśarman, who performed the divine rites and looked after the repairs of the Śiva temple at Kūram, which was called Vidyāvinīta-Pallava-Parameśvara, and which had been built by Vidyāvinīta-Pallava, probably a relative of the king. The fourth part was set aside for the cost of providing water and fire for the maṇḍapa at Kūram, and the fifth for reciting the Bhārata in this maṇḍapa. The remaining twenty parts were given to twenty Chaturvedins.

At the time of the grant, the village of Kūram belonged to the nāḍu (country) or, in Sanskrit, manyavāntara-rāshṭra of Nīrveḷūr, a division of Ūṟṟukkāṭṭukkoṭṭam (lines 49 and 57 f.), and the village of Parameśvaramaṅgalam belonged to the Paṉmā-nāḍu or Patmā-manyavāntara-rāshṭra, a division of Maṇayiṟkoṭṭam (lines 53 and 71). As, in numerous Tamil inscriptions, paṉma corresponds to the Sanskrit varman,—the form Paṉmānāḍu, which occurs also in No. 86, might mean the country of the Varmās, i.e., of the Pallavas, whose names end in varman, the nominative case of which is varmā. There is, however, a possibility of patmā being a mistake for, and paṉmā a Tamil form of, Padmā,¹⁰ one of the names of the goddess Lakshmī. With Maṇayiṟkoṭṭam compare Maṇaviṟkoṭṭam in No. 86 and Eyiṟkoṭṭam in No. 88. Possibly Maṇaviṟkoṭṭam is a mere corruption of Maṇayiṟkoṭṭam, and Maṇayil stands for Maṇ-eyil, “mud-fort,” which might be a fuller form of Eyil, a village in the South Arcot District, which seems to have given its name to Eyiṟkoṭṭam.¹¹

In conclusion, an important palaeographical peculiarity of the Tamil portion of the Kūram plates has to be noted. The puḷḷi, which corresponds to the Nāgarī virāma, occurs frequently, though not regularly, in combination with seven letters of the Tamil alphabet. In the case of five of these (ṅ, m, l, ḷ, ṉ) it is represented by a short vertical stroke over the letter, as in the inscription No. 82, above.¹² In the case of the two others (n and r) it has a similar shape, but is placed behind the letter and at an angle with it, in such a way that the lower part is nearer to the letter than the upper one.

Languages: Sanskrit, Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0151.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: A rough transcript and paraphrase of the subjoined inscription was published as early as 1836 in the Asiatic Researches.¹ The original is engraved on a lamp-pillar in front of a Jaina temple at the ruined city of Vijayanagara. The temple is now-a-days styled Gāṇigitti Temple,² i.e., “the temple of the oil-woman.”³

The inscription consists of 28 Sanskrit verses and commences with an invocation of Jina (verse 1) and of his religion (Jina-śāsana, v. 2). Then follows a pedigree of the spiritual ancestors and pupils of the head of a Jaina school, who was called Siṁhanandin:—

[[genealogical table]] The Mūla-saṁgha. The Nandi-saṁgha. The Balātkāra-gaṇa. The Sārasvata-gachchha. Padmanandin. Dharmabhūshaṇa I., Bhaṭṭāraka. Amarakīrti. Siṁhanandin, Gaṇabhṛit. Dharmabhūsha, Bhaṭṭāraka. Vardhamāna. Dharmabhūshaṇa II., alias Bhaṭṭārakamuni.

The various epithets, which these teachers receive in the inscription, are:—āchārya, ārya, guru, deśika, muni and yogīndra. Other Jaina terms, which occur in the inscription, are:—syādvāda (v. 2.) or anekānta-mata (v. 22), paṭṭa (vv. 11 and 12) and chaityālaya (v. 28).

The pedigree of Jaina teachers is followed by a short account (vv. 15 to 18) of two kings of the first Vijayanagara dynasty, viz., Bukka, who was descended from the race of the Yādava kings, and his son Harihara (II). Harihara’s hereditary minister was the general (daṇḍādhināyaka, vv. 19 and 21; daṇḍanātha, v. 20) Chaicha or Chaichapa. Chaicha’s son, the general (daṇḍeśa, vv. 21, 22 and 28) or prince (kshitīśa v. 23; dharaṇīśa, v. 24) Iruga or Irugapa, adhered to the doctrine of the above-mentioned Jaina teacher Siṁhanandin (v. 24). In Śaka 1307 [expired],⁴ the cyclic year Krodhana (lines 36 f.), Iruga built a stone-temple of Kunthu-Jinanātha (v. 28) at Vijayanagara (v. 26). This city belonged to Kuntala, a district of the Karṇāṭa country (v. 25).

Through my assistant I received a copy,—printed with a Telugu commentary in the Rudhirodgāri-saṁvatsara (i.e., 1863-64 A.D.),—of a Sanskrit kośa, entitled Nānārtharatnamālā and composed by Irugapa-daṇḍādhinātha or, as he calls himself in the opening verses, Iruga-daṇḍeśa. Dr. Oppert⁵ mentions a large number of MSS. of the same work. Dr. Aufrecht⁶ describes three inferior MSS. of it and states that, according to one of these, its composer lived under a king Harihara. This notice enables us to identify the author of the Nānārtharatnamālā with the general Iruga or Irugapa of the subjoined inscription.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0152.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: Next to No. 152, this is the oldest dated inscription at Vijayanagara. It is engraved on both sides of the north-west entrance of a ruined Jaina temple, which is situated to the south-west of the temple No. 35 on the Madras Survey Map. A careless transcript and paraphrase in the Asiatic Researches¹ has been useful so far as it enabled Mr. R.Sewell to complete the pedigree of the first Vijayanagara dynasty in his Lists of Antiquities.²

The inscription is written in large and handsome characters, which are, however, considerably obliterated in consequence of the usual coating with chunnam. It records, in Sanskrit, prose and verse, that in the Parābhava year, which was current after the expiration of the Śāka year 1348 (line 25), king Devarāja II. built a stone-temple (chaityālaya or chaityāgāra) of the Arhat Pārśvanātha (l. 5) or Pārśva-Jineśvara (l. 27) in a street (vīthi) of the Pān-supārī Bāzār (Kramuka-parṇāpaṇa, l. 4, or Parṇa-pūgīphalāpaṇa, l. 25) at his residence Vijayanagara (l. 4) or Vijayanagarī (l. 6), which belonged to the Karṇāṭa country (ll. 4 and 6).

The chief value of the inscription consists in the pedigree, which it gives no less than three times,³ of the first Vijayanagara dynasty:—

1. Bukka (ll. 1, 9, 24) of the race of Yadu (Yadu-kula, l. 8, or Yādavānvaya, l. 1).

2. His son, Harihara (II.) (ll. 2, 10, 24), mahārāja (l. 2).

3. His son, Devarāja (I.) (ll. 2, 13, 24).

4. His son, Vijaya (ll. 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 24) or Vīra-Vijaya (l. 2).

5. His son, Devarāja (II.) (ll. 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24), Abhinava-Devarāja (ll. 3 f.), or Vīra-Devarāja (l. 16), mahārāja (l. 4), rājādhirāja, rājaparameśvara, etc. (ll. 3 and 23).

In the subjoined genealogical table of the first or Yādava dynasty of Vijayanagara, the names of the father and of the elder brother of Bukka and those Śaka dates, for which no references are given in the foot-notes, are taken from Mr. Fleet’s table of the same dynasty.⁴

[[genealogical table]] [[L1C1]] Saṁgama. [[L2C1]] Harihara I. (Śaka 1261.⁵) [[L2C2]] Bukka. (Śaka 1276 [current], 1277, 1278, 1290.) [[L3C1]] Harihara II. (Śaka 1301, 1307,⁶ 1317,⁷ 1321.) [[L4C1]] Devarāja I. (Śaka 1332, 1334.) [[L5C1]] Vijaya.⁸ [[L6C1]] Devarāja II. (Śaka 1346, 1347, 1348, 1353 [current], 1371.⁹)

During the reign of Devarāja II. the city of Vijayanagara was visited by ‘Abdu’rrazzāq as an ambassador of Sult6ān Shāh Rukh of Samarkand, a son of the great Tīmūr. ‘Abdu’r-razzāq informs us, that he stayed at Bījānagar (Vijayanagara), the capital of Deo Rāī (Devarāja II.), from the close of Z6u’l-ḥijja A.H. 846 = end of April A.D. 1443 to the 12th Sha’bān A.H. 847 = 5th December A.D. 1443.¹⁰ An English translation of his own account of his journey is included in Elliot and Dowson’s History of India.¹¹ Curiously enough, the whole is also incorporated with slight alterations in Galland’s translation of the Thousand and One Nights, where it forms part of the Story of Prince Aḥmad and the Fairy Parī Bānū. This is one of the twelve doubtful stories, the originals of which are not found in the existing Arabic MSS. of the Nights. The late Professor Weil¹² was of opinion, that they were probably contained in the fourth volume of the Paris MS., which was lost after Galland’s death; and two of the missing stories have since been actually recovered by M. Zotenberg.¹³ In ‘Abdu’r-razzāq’s account of Vijayanagara, we possess the dated original, from which part of the Story of Prince Aḥmad was taken. In the absence of works of reference, I cannot say if this fact,—which furnishes us with a terminus a quo for the compilation of that story,—has been noticed before.

According to ‘Abdu’r-razzāq,¹⁴ Devarāja II. issued the following coins:—I. Gold: (1) varāha; (2) partāb = (1/2) varāha; (3) fanam = (1/10) partāb. II. Silver: tār = (1/6) fanam. III. Copper: jītal = (1/3) tār. Pagodas or varāhas with the legend śrīpratāpadevarāya, which on some copies is corrupted into śrīpratāpadāvarāya, are described by Dr. Bidie,¹⁵ who also figures a pagoda of Bukka.¹⁶The name partāb, which ‘Abdu’r-razzāq attributes to the half pagoda, is probably connected with the surname Pratāpa, which occurs before the names of Vijayanagara kings both on coins and in inscriptions. Dr. Bain of Bangalore possesses a half pagoda¹⁷ with the legend śrīpratāpadovarāya (sic) and of the same type as the corresponding pagoda. Two quarter pagodas in my cabinet have on the obverse an elephant which faces the left, and on the reverse the legend śrīdevarāya. No fanam or silver coin with Devarāja’s name has been hitherto discovered. Copper coins of Devarāja are very common in the South-Indian bāzārs. They have on the obverse a bull or an elephant, and on the reverse the legends śrīdevarāya, pratāpadevarāya, rāyagajagaṁḍabheruṁḍa, or śrīnīlakaṁṭha.¹⁸

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0153.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is engraved on a rock not far from the summit of the fort of Gutti (Gooty) in the Anantapur District¹ and consists of one verse in the Sragdharā metre. At the time of the inscription, the fort of Gutti (Gutti-durga) belonged to king Bukka. By this, the well-known king of the first dynasty of Vijayanagara, whose inscriptions range between Śaka 1276 [current] and 1290 [expired],² seems to be meant.

Besides the subjoined inscription, the fort of Gutti bears three very rough rock-inscriptions in Kanarese of Tribhuvanamalladeva, i.e., of the Western Chālukya king Vikramāditya VI., surnamed Tribhuvanamalla. The dates of two of them, which I succeeded in making out, are recorded in the new era started by Vikramāditya VI., the Chāḷukya-Vikrama-varsha, which, according to Mr. Fleet,³ began with the king’s accession in Śaka 997 [expired]. The two inscriptions are dated in the 46th and 47th years, which corresponded to the cyclic years Plava and Śubhakṛit, i.e., Śaka 1043 and 1044 [expired] or A.D. 1121-22 and 1122-23.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0154.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The subjoined Grantha inscription is engraved on the outside of the east wall of the innermost prākāra of the great temple at Chidambaram in the South Arcot District. It consists of two verses in the Sragdharā metre, each of which eulogises the victories of Kulottuṅga-Choḷa over the five Pāṇḍyas. The first verse further states, that the king burnt the fort of Korgāra (Korgāra-durga) and defeated the Keraḷas. Korgāra is probably a Sanskritised form of Koṟkai in the Tinnevelly District, the ancient capital of the Pāṇḍyas.¹ The second verse records, that Kulottuṅga-Choḷa placed a pillar of victory on the Sahyādri mountain, i.e., the Western Ghāṭs. This he must have done after his conquest of the Keraḷas, which is mentioned in the first verse.

According to a grant published by Mr. Fleet,² Kulottuṅga-Choḍa-deva was the name of two of the Eastern Chalukyan successors of the Choḷa kings. Of the first of these, who was also called Rājendra-Choḍa and ruled from Śaka 985 to 1034, the Chellūr grant reports that he conquered the Kerala and Pāṇḍya countries.³ From an unpublished Chidambaram inscription⁴ it appears, that the surname Kulottuṅga-Choḷadeva was also borne by the maternal grandfather of the last-mentioned king, the Choḷa king Rājendra-Choḷa-deva, among whose conquests we find both the Keraḷa and Pāṇḍya countries.⁵ Consequently, it is impossible to say to which Kulottuṅga-Choḷa the subjoined inscription has to be referred.⁶

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0155.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0015.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0016.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0017.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0018.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription is a duplicate of No. 18.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0019.

Emmanuel Francis.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0001.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This fragment consists of the last verse of Nos. 18 and 19.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv01p0i0020.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This is a highly damaged record of Vijaya-Kampavikramavarman dated in his 9th year. It registers a gift of 30 kaḻañju of gold by Amarnidi alias Pallavadiyaraiyar of Kañjanūr in Indaḷūr-nāḍu which was a subdivision of Śōḻa-nāḍu and another gift of a similar amount by a person whose name is lost, for burning two perpetual lamps in the temple at Tiruvoṟṟiyūr. It may be noted that Kañjanūr which may be identified with the village of the same name in the Kumbakonam taluk of the Tanjore district is not herein called Siṁhavishṇu-chaturvēdimaṅgalam, as is done in a record from Tiruviḍaimarudūr.¹

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0100.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This record dated in the 10th year of Vijaya-Kampavikramavarman states that, when the army of Pirudi-Gaṅgaraiyar was stationed at Kāvaṉṉūr in Miyāṟu-nāḍu, a subdivision of Paḍuvūr-kōṭṭam, the kāvidi ‘who took Perunagar’ and who was also a soldier of Vāṇaraiyar opposed it and fell in the encounter.

Language: Undetermined.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0101.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription, dated in the 11th year of Vijaya-Kampavarman, registers a sale of the ērikkāḍi-right by the assembly of Kīḻppūdūr in Kāliyūr-kōṭṭam to Mādēvaṉār, son of Perumbāṇaṉ Śakkaḍi-Araiyar in return for the gold received from him. One kāḍi of paddy was ordered to be levied as ērikkāḍi (tank duty) on each paṭṭi of cultivated land, including those given to physicians as vaidya-bhōga.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0102.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The date of this record of Vijaya-Kampavarman is not clear. It might be 11, 13 or 16. The inscription records an agreement made by the assembly (ūr) of Vaikkāṭṭūr to provide offerings to the god Mahādēva at Tiruvoṟṟiyūr, on the day of saṅkrānti, for the interest on 27 kaḻañju of gold received by them from Pūdi Aṟindigai, wife of Viḍēlviḍugu [Iḷaṅkōvē]ḷār of Koḍumbāḷūr¹ in Kō-nāḍu. The chiefs of Koḍumbāḷūr (in the Pudukkottai state) figure largely in inscriptions as subordinates of the Chōḷas, but their connection with the Pallavas is not so well known. A chief of this family is also mentioned in a mutilated record from Kīḻūr,² dated in the 11th year of Vijaya-Nandivikramavarman, where the donor is stated to be the wife of Śāttaṉ Maṟavaṉ and the daughter of Vikrama-Pūdi who is probably identical with Viḍēlviḍugu Iḷaṅkō-Adiaraiyaṉ mentioned in the same record.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0103.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The subjoined record is dated in the 17th year of Vijaya-Kampavarman and in registers a gift of 736 kaḻañju of gold to the assembly of Chiṟṟambalam in Kāvadippākkam alias Avaṉinārāyaṇa-chaturvēdimaṅgalam for feeding a person daily, by a lady called Nampirāṭṭi, the elder sister of one Tiruvānaṅgamudi.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0104.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: The construction of a temple of Nirañjanēśvarattu-Mahādēva at Tiruvoṟṟiyūr by a certain Nirañjanaguravar of the place and the gift of 20,000 kuḻi of land by purchase from the assembly of Maṇali for its upkeep, are recorded in this inscription of Vijaya-Kampavarman dated in the 19th year. The document was drawn up by Rudrappōttar Kumāra-Kāḷan, the madhyastha of the village. The communities Mandirattār and Kombaṟuttār are mentioned in ll. 29-30.

The inscription is stated to have been engraved by Tiruvoṟṟiyūr-Āchāryaṉ alias Paramēśvaran, son of Śāmuṇḍāchārya.

The puḷḷis are marked in the inscription.

Languages: Sanskrit, Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0105.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: This inscription of Kampavarman, dated in the 20th year, is engraved above the figure of a person holding his severed head by the tuft in his left hand, while the right hand grasps a sword (Plate VI). It registers a gift of land made by the ūrār of Tiruvāṉmūr to Paṭṭai-Pōttaṉ for the pious act of Okkoṇḍanāgaṉ Okkatīndaṉ Paṭṭai-Pōttaṉ, probably his father, in cutting off flesh from nine parts of his body and finally his head as an offering to the goddess Bhaṭārī, i.e., Durgā.

The rituals connected with human sacrifice offered to the goddess Durgā are described in the Kālikā-Purāṇa, Chapter 70.

The modern Mallām or an ancient suburb of it was known as Tiruvāṉmūr in inscriptions.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0106.

Emmanuel Francis.

Summary: It is stated in this record of Vijaya-Kampavarman, dated in the 20th year, that a member of the āḷum-gaṇattār of Kāvadippākkam in Paḍuvūr-kōṭṭam made a gift of 11 kaḻañju of gold for supplying, from the interest on this amount, water to the temple of Tiruppondaip-Perumānaḍigaḷ at Rājamalla-chaturvēdimaṅgalam. This village may be identified with Brahmadēśam itself where the present inscription is found. Since we find an inscription of the Gaṅga king Rājamalla, the grandson of Śrīpurusha at Vaḷḷimalai¹ not very far from Brahmadēśam, Rājamalla-chaturvēdimaṅgalam, may have been called so after this Gaṅga king. It may be mentioned that in the region surrounding Brahmadēśam there are villages called Srīpurushamaṅgalam² and Raṇavikrama chaturvēdimaṅgalam³ which must have been named after the Gaṅga kings Śrīpurusha and Raṇavikrama, the grandfather and father respectively of Rājamalla. The name of the god at Brahmadēśam viz., Tiruppondai-Perumānaḍigaḷ is uncommon in the Tamil country and it is probably to be traced to some Gaṅga or Western Chāḷukya⁴ princess.

Language: Tamil.

Repository: South Indian Inscriptions (Original Edition) (south-indian-inscriptions).

DHARMA_INSSIIv12p0i0107.