Current Version: draft, 2024-06-06Z
Editor: Valérie Gillet.
DHARMA Identifier: INSMelKil00001
Hand Description:
No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription
matirai koṇṭa kōpparakēcaripaṉma¡rki!⟨rkku⟩👤 yā-
2ṇṭu 3 10 6Āvatu
Avaṉika¡ṉ!⟨n⟩taṟpapurattu mah¿a?⟨ā⟩devark-
3ku kaṇṭaṉ n(eṟ/ēr)iyāṉ👤 tirutta kuḷattiṉ k¡i!⟨ī⟩ḻ Apohanaṅ kiṭa¡ṉ!⟨n⟩-
4(ta bhūmi(yai macakki Itin nirk kiṭaṉta nilam) [?8×] (ṟi) [?1×]
5t(u) Uṭump’ ōṭiy āmai tavaḻ¡ṉ!⟨n⟩tatu Eppē¡ṟ!⟨r⟩paṭṭatu Uṇṇilam Oḻiv’ iṉṟi(y)
6(Aka)vēriyum puṟavēriyum m¡i!⟨ī⟩ṉ poṉṉum vaḷaiyiṟ cuṟṟu Eppē¡ṟ!⟨r⟩paṭṭatum tāṇi[1×] -
7[2×](k) koṇṭu Iraṇṭu taḷiyilum Orō no¡ṉ!⟨n⟩tā viḷakku Erippōm āṉō[m]
8It[ta]ḷi paṭṭuṭaiyōm Eḻuvōm
4 (ta bhūmiyai macakki Itin nirk kiṭaṉta nilam) • The reading of this phrase is based on the parallel in #2 , line 4.
3 Nēriyāṉ is a name of the Cōḻa kings (as lords of the Nēri hill) or alternatively a personal name meaning "one of subtle intellect" (see MTL s.v. nēriyaṉ). Neṟiyāṉ, as derived from neṟi, could mean "religious one", that is, devotee, or "virtouous/righteous one".
5 Uṭump’ ōṭiy āmai tavaḻ¡ṉ!⟨n⟩tatu, "where the lizzard (uṭumpu) runs (ōṭi) and the turtle (āmai) crawls (tavaḻntatu, literally "that which [the turtle] crawls"). This formula, designating uncultivated lands, is also used in the late Pallava copper-plate grants.
6 (aka)vēriyum puṟavēriyum. Literally: "the inner tank (aka-v-ēri-y-um) and the outer tank (puṟa-v-ēri-y-um)". This appears to refer to the tanks comprised by or nearby the plots, but the details remain unclear. See also #7 for a similar formula.
6 m¡i!⟨ī⟩ṉ poṉṉum. Dr. G. Vijayavenugopal (personal communication) suggested us to interpret poṉṉum as "gold", to read the previous word as mīṉa as a mistake for īḻa (īḻam), and to understand the phrase as "Lankan gold". We tentatively take the phrase in the sense of the "gold of fish", that is, the donation includes the income raised from the fishes in the two tanks just mentioned.
7 erippōm āṉōm. Literally "we have become, we are" (aṉōm) "those who will burn" (erippōm)".
8 it-taḷi, "this temple", that is the temple in Avaṉikantaṟpapuram.
First reported in ARIE 1923-1924/C/1924/368 ; edited here for the first time by Valérie Gillet from autopsy and photographs.