Ciṟṟampākkam step-stone

Metadata

Current Version:  draft, 2024-04-22Z

Editor:   Emmanuel Francis.

DHARMA Identifier: INSPallava00044

Summary: Records the foundation of a temple (kōyil) by Kumāraṉ, the nephew of Cōmāciyār.

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Edition

¹śrī-mahārāja-parameśvara-varummaṟkku yāṇṭu talaitt-(ā)-
²vatu

tūṇāṅ-kiḻavar-uḷ ālavāyil cōmāciyā-
³ru maru-maḵaṉ kumā(raṉ) [3+ e-]
⁴ṭuppitta kō(yil)

[3×]
⁵[3×] (A)ḻi(vu)m (c)e-
⁶ytār taṭumāv ēṟkka

Apparatus

^1–2 talaitt-(ā)/vatu ◇ talaittā/vatu D
⁵ (A)ḻi(vu)m ◇ Aḻi(vu)m D • Desai 1957–1958’s reading makes sense, but is not warranted on the facsimile, where one would read at once yuḻime or yuḻimē.

Translation by Emmanuel Francis

^1-2First year of the glorious Mahārāja Parameśvaravarman.

^3-4The temple that Kumāraṉ, nephew (sister’s son) of Cōmāciyār in (that is, from) Ālavāy, [one] among the tūṇaṅ-kiḷavars [...] has built.

^5-6He who does ((c)eytār) harm (aḻivu) [...] will be considered like (ēṟkka) ... (taṭumāv).

Commentary

^1-2talaitt-(ā)vatu. See Desai 1957–1958: page 199, note 3: "The expression talaittu from talai is used adjectively in the sense of ’first’. The same usage may also be noted in the familiar phrase talaittu kuḷaṇḍai meaning ’first child’. For epigraphic usage of the word talai meaning ’first,’ we may note the expression Āṉi-ttalai-ppiṟaiyāl in the Takkōlam inscription (above, Vol. XIX, p. 87)."

²ālavāyil. Desai 1957–1958 connects this word with eṭuppitta (lines 3-4), suggesting that Ālavāy is the ancient name of Ciṟṟampākkam/Teṉkāraṇai. We follow Sircar’s opinion (editor’s note to Desai 1957–1958) that Ālavāy is the residence of Cōmāciyār. So does Mahalingam 1988: page 147, note 1.

^2-3cōmāciyāru. See Desai 1957–1958: page 200, note 1: "Sōmāśiyār may be contracted either from Sōmayājiyār or Sōmājiyār."

³ maru-maḵaṉ. This term means more precisely “sister’s son” in the present case.

Bibliography

Edited in Desai 1957–1958 (EI 32, no. 23) with a facsimile; text and summary in Mahalingam 1988 (IP n° 44); re-edited and translated here for DHARMA (ERC n° 809994) by Emmanuel Francis (2020), based on the facsimile published in Desai 1957–1958.

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