Maṟutuṟupalli grant of Satyāśraya

Metadata

Current Version:  draft, 2025-01-21Z

Editor:   Dániel Balogh.

DHARMA Identifier: INSKalyanaCalukya00099

Hand Description:

The plates are written in the "early Telugu-Kannada" script employed in the late grants of the Eastern Cālukyas, unlike all other known Kalyāṇa plates, which are in Nagari. The retroflex ḷ is very frequently (but without apparent consistency) used in place of the regular Sanskrit l. In the edition, the spelling has been normalised for confidently read Sanskrit words, but left unchanged for uncertain readings and names. Upadhmānīya and jihvāmūlīya are frequently used.

---

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

^{⎘ plate 1v 1}floret On namo mah¿i?⟨ī⟩dharāya||

svasti[.] samasta-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇā(M)
⁸hārītī-putrāṇāṁ| kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-śvetātapatrādi-rājya-ci(h)¿(ṇ)?⟨n⟩(ān)āṁ| sapta-
⁹-mātr̥kā-parirakṣitānām aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snā(na-pa)vitrīkr̥ta-gātrāṇāṁ kārttike-
¹⁰ya-vara-prasāda-labdha-mayūra-piṁccha-kunta-dhvajādi-viśeṣa-cih¿ṇ?⟨n⟩ānāṁ| bhagavan-nārā-
¹¹yaṇa-prasādāsādita-vara-varāha-lāṁcchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-(vaśī)kr̥tārāti-maṇḍa-
^{⎘ plate 2r 12} lānāṁ samasta-bhuvanā(ś)raya-sarvva-lokāśraya-vijayāditya-viṣṇuvarddhanādi-vi-
¹³śeṣa-nāmnāṁ| rāja-vara-ratnānām udbhava-bhūmiḥ|

Atha niśā-samaye sahasrāṁśāv iva| ki-
¹⁹yantam a¿ba?⟨pi⟩ kā¡ḷ!⟨l⟩am antarita-rājya-tejasi vaṁśe| tata Eva ca ku¡ḷ!⟨l⟩āca¡ḷ!⟨l⟩āT|

sa ca|

tas(mā)(t puna?)⟨ḥ⟩(|)

(a?)(tha)(|?)

(tasya) ca|

tad-anu cāḷuky(ā)-
⁴⁴nāṁ ku¡ḷ!⟨l⟩am a¡ḷ!⟨l⟩aṁkariṣṇuḥ Ari-nr̥pati-śiraẖ-kirīṭa-koṭi-ghaṭṭita-caraṇa-saroja-virājamā-
^{⎘ plate 3v 45} [na]-(pā)da-pīṭho vijayādi(tyo) (bhaṭṭāraka?) [2×] (tha?)(y)(ā?) [?4×] (ra?) [3×] (pa?)(ra)ḥ| Asahya-(te)-
⁴⁶(jā Ap)y anura(kta)-maṇḍa¡ḷ!⟨l⟩o (bhuja) [?8×] (|?)

tat-sūn(au) kīrttiva(r)mman(i rā) (ṣ)ṭra(k)ūṭa-kūṭa-kriyā-vaṁcite
⁴⁹vikramāditya-bhrātā bhīma-parākramaś ca(ḷukya)-ku¡ḷ!⟨l⟩ā¡ḷ!⟨l⟩aṁkāra-(bh)ūto vinayena kṣmā(ṁgaṇāyā)-
⁵⁰◯ẖ karaṁ jagrāha|

(śi?) [4×] (marṇṇadhime?) [2×] (ya?) [1×] (dhī)-ma(hiḷā)-
⁵⁴(yā)(ṁ manonu?)(ka)ṁ (janaka?) [?21×] (ti-la)-
⁵⁵(kṣmī)-mā(tā)(tiva?) [?17×] (bhūmiṁ?) (vikramonnataḥ) (śau)ryya-
^{⎘ plate 4r 56} -(nirjji)[ta1×](r)(o?)[1×] (rājaka śauryya hārita mahīma?) [?6×] (yyam a?)(yya) [1×] (tas ta?)(sya) vi-
⁵⁷[?7×] (yasya?) (tā)(pānaḷo dīpto niṣṭha?) [?3×] (yā?) [?1×] (tā?)M|

sa Eṣa (ra)[ṇa]-raṁga-bhīmaḥ bhīma-parākramā-
⁶⁵(kr)[ānta]-mahī-maṇḍa¡(ḷ)!⟨l⟩(o) mahī-ma(ṇḍa)¡ḷ!⟨l⟩(a-karaṇḍa)kān(t)ara-mita-kīrttiḥ|

Api ca|

kiṁ ca|

svasti[.] samasta-bhu(va)nāśraya-śrī-pr̥(thv)ī-va(llabha-mahā)rājādhirāja-parameśvara-parama-bha-
⁷⁷ṭṭāraka-cāḷu(k)yābharaṇa-śrīmad-āhavamalla-deva-pāda-paṁkaja-bhramara⟨ḥ⟩ śrīmat-satyā(śra)ya-devaḥ
⁷⁸I(ṟi)vabeḍeṁgāpara-nāmā| kuśa¡ḷ!⟨l⟩ī| sarvvā(n e)va yathā-saṁbadhyamānakān niyuktādhikār(i)ṇas samā-
⁷⁹diśati|

Astu vas saṁviditaṁ yathā mayā sū(r)yy(o)parāga-(n)imit(t)e ko(ṭ)itī(r)t(the) k(r̥)ta-(majjanena mā)-
^{⎘ plate 5r 80} (tuḫ pitu?)(r ātmanaś cai)hi(kā)mutrika-puṇya-yaś(o)-[’]bhi(vr̥ddhaye|) pitror ājñay(ā) (krov?)e(lli-v)āstavyā-
⁸¹(ya kau)ṇḍinya-gotrāya| {(c)}(chandoga)-sabrahmacāri(ṇe|) bhaṭṭa-(deva?)naśa(rmma-pau)trāya (naggi?)ma-bhaṭṭa-s(ū)-
⁸²(na)ve devana-(bha)ṭṭ(āya| ca)tu(r-vvi)dyā-nivāsāyā(ne)ka-guṇa-(gaṇābhi)rāmāya śrī-teramya[?1+]-
⁸³(nu?)(bhūta)-pārameśvara-pā(da-pras)ādāvāpta-gurud(ā)sāpara-nāmne kollipāka-viṣaye| Ā[?2+]-
⁸⁴[2×]-[ca](tv?)āriṁśad-grāma-madhye| yasyopānta-grāmāḥ| pūrvvata(ẖ k)(ola?)nūruḥ[.] dakṣiṇataḥ ma[?2+]-
⁸⁵r(uḥ?)[.] (paścimata)ḥ Ādle(ṟu)ḥ[.] Uttarataḥ taṁgoṭūruḥ[.] Evam ayaṁ (tyaktāś)eṣa-da(ṇḍa)-daśāparādha(ḥ) [A-cā-]
⁸⁶ (ṭa-bha)◯(ṭa-praveśya)(ḥ|?) (par)ih(r̥)ta-sarvva-kara-bādhaḥ| (maṟutuṟu?)(palli-nāmā) grāmo datta(ḥ?) [?2+]-
⁸⁷◯ (Asya sī)(mā)ni| pūrvvataḥ bha(gavatī-pāṣāṇaḥ)[.] (dakṣiṇata)[ḥ] (bi?)k(k?)eṟuḥ[.] paści(ma)[taḥ ?1+]-
⁸⁸◯ (samudraḫ p)āṣā(ṇā)ḥ[.] Uttara(ta)ḥ (dai)vataṁ trīṇi (kā?)[1×]

(mame)[1×] (rttha)m adhikr̥tya [bhavi-]
⁸⁹(ṣyad-rāja)[2×] (bodha?)yati (yathāsmā)bhi(r) ddharmma-yaśobhi(v)r̥(ddha)y(e) dattaḥ ta(thā) bhavadbhir a[pi sva-]
⁹⁰-(da)tta-ni(rvviśeṣaḥ?) (prat)(ipāḷan?)(ī)yaḥ| yaś cāsya bā(dhā)ṁ janaye(t sa) paṁ(cabhir mmahā)-pātakai(s sa)[ṁyu-]
⁹¹(jyati| yaś ca pā)¡(ḷ)!⟨l⟩(a)ya(ti) (so?) [’]ś(v)ame(dha-pha)la(m āpno)ti| bhagavatā(py ukta)(M|?)

(p?)(āḷ)(e?)(n)(ā?)py u(kta)[?2+]
⁹³[1×] (thinyā?)(|)

iti| maṁ(ga)¡ḷ!⟨l⟩aṁ śrī|

Apparatus

Translation by Dániel Balogh

¹Om. Homage to (Viṣṇu) the Bearer of the Earth.

May the all-pervading (vibhu) Primeval God named Hara ordain prosperity: he who occupies half the body of a charming lady (Umā), [and who may be] suspected of [wearing] an ornament of pretty ketaki petals on account of the sliver of the moon amidst his bound-up matted locks.^↓1

Although his beloved penetrates his body, he is the sole abode of dispassion. May Śiva—he of eight forms, the Universal Spirit—protect this earth.

Victorious is this Earth, who, like a cow her calf, affectionately sustains her suckling infant—the entirety of animate beings—with the milk that is her crop.

May that Primeval Divine Boar be victorious: he who [once] lifted up the earth with his tusk and who subsequently became this [King] Paracakramalla in order to protect her (the earth) with his arms.

^7-13Greetings! The soil from which originate the excellent jewels of kings—who belong to the Mānavya gotra praised by the entire universe; who are sons of Hārītī; who attained the paraphernalia of kingship such as the white parasol by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon; who are protected by the Seven Mothers; whose limbs have been hallowed through washing in the ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice; who obtained their distinctive regalia such as the peacock fan (mayūra-piṁccha), the lance (kunta) and the banner (dhvaja) by the grace of Kārttikeya’s boon; 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 distinctive names include ‘shelter of the entire universe’ (samasta-bhuvanāśraya) and ‘shelter of all the world’ (sarva-lokāśraya), Vijayāditya and Viṣṇuvardhana—

[that “soil”], the home of treasure-troves of virtues—which has overwhelmed the Durjayas {those who are difficult to overcome}, crushed (mr̥d-) the Maurya lineage, fended off the Nala dynasty {been an elephant to reeds and bamboos}, been the Night of Doom (kāla-rātri) to the Kaḷacuris as well as a wildfire to the overproud Kadambas {kadamba trees}; which resembles a fearsome thunderbolt that rent the massive mountain of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas—has become famed in the world as ‘the Caḷukya Dynasty’.

[Kings] of that dynasty, sixty-less-one in number, [all] repellers of enemy elephants, reigned in Ayodhyā. [Then] another sixteen controlled (rakṣ-) the Southern Track (dakṣiṇāpatha), having disposed of the Pāṇḍyas by means of their army, vanquished the Gaṅgas in battle and deposed the Ceras, Coḷas and others.

^18-19Then, when the royal blaze of the dynasty had been—but for a moment—obscured like that of the thousand-rayed sun at nighttime: from the very same mountain of a dynasty [there arose]—

a favourite of the ladies Majesty (śrī) and Earth (bhū), renowned as His Majesty Jayasiṁha Vallabha, armed with the sharp ¿blade? of a sword, flashing when raised and glittering with the gushing gleam of pearls spilled forth as he split the forehead globes of the raging elephant lords of his foes: he whose moon-bright reputation has reached the far shore of the ocean.

Radiant, he promptly attained elevation {being the sun, he soon rose}, making the day-lotuses which were the faces of his friends bloom; with his arms {rays} tearing asunder the darkness of over-arrogant enemies, and exemplifying to the world {illuminating for the people} the conduct {road} to which the people of old had taken recourse.

²⁴And he—

after striking down in battle an army of eight hundred elephants in musth and five hundred princes (rājan), seized Majesty (lakṣmī) once again as king (pārthiva).

After him, his son Raṇarāga, with a passion for battle (raṇa-rāga), became king: he who split the broad chests of his enemies with his sword and whose arms were caressed by the goddess of victory.

Then, like the sun from Mount Sunrise, like enlivening power from the sun, there arose from that ruler the king named Pulakeśi Vallabha.

He was an offerer of the Aśvamedha, a protector (pātr̥) of the earth as well as a drinker (pātr̥) of soma, a slayer of the enemy, an ¿upholder (dhartr̥)? of uprightness (dharma), a conductor (netr̥) of [good] conduct (naya), an assailer of the Kali age, subdued [only] toward his elders (guru).

²⁹From him in turn—

there arose Kīrtivarman (I), a dweller in ¿the white? ... , the doomsday to the Maurya dynasty, famed for ... ¿assaulting the greatly powerful? Kadambas, ... ¿the burden? of the entire earth ... .

His younger brother (Maṅgalīśa), the doomsday to the Coḷa family, ... who ¿assailed? Siṁhalikā ¿after crossing? the ocean, like Rāma, by means of a bridge [of ships].

³³¿Then?—

after bestowing ¿the royal turban (paṭṭa) [and]? the kingship ¿signified by the white parasol? on his elder ¿brother’s son? named Satyāśraya (Pulakeśi II), ... Maṅgalīśa, with humility for his ornament, willingly (svayam) ¿submitted to? his rule.

³⁵And his—

¿generosity? would remain unfulfilled even upon granting the earth encompassed by the four oceans; [his] valour [would only be sated] ¿upon the expiration of? ... the elephants of enemy kings. The truth about him would [seem] unreal even in a dream conversation—how [much less] could it be described to a waking man? Indeed, the acts of His Majesty Satyāśraya Vallabha are entirely beyond this world.

Then Edamari of vigorous valour, who with his arms conquered the invincible Gūrjara^↓2 became king over the ocean-surrounded surface of the earth, with great power [like that] of the Primeval Boar.

[Then] his son Ādityavarman, who accumulated good karma, whose mere name was a cause of destruction to enemy kings, became the earth’s beloved (king), with his footstool embellished by the great crowns of kings.

His son [was] Vikramāditya (I), comparable in qualities to the kings of yore, whose reputation (is so bright that it) scoffs at (the serpent) Śeṣa, conch shells, the moon, jasmine and (Mount) Kailāsa.

[Then] arose the king named Yuddhamalla, most esteemed by elders, clad in proudly exuberant valour: a supreme warrior who attained fame and besieged his enemies.

^43-46After him, Vijayāditya ¿Bhaṭṭāraka? was eager to adorn the lineage of the Cāḷukyas. His footstool was resplendent with his lotus feet rubbed by the tips of diadems on the heads of enemy kings ... His blaze was unbearable, yet his realm was loyal; ^↓3 his arms ... .

¿After him? arose the beloved of Lady Earth named Vikramāditya (II), on a par with King Pr̥thu, ornamented by ¿a series of? hosts of virtues. Royal Majesty betook herself to his immense chest and stayed there.

^48-50After his son Kīrtivarman (II) was dispossessed by the dirty (kūṭa) dealings of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, Vikramāditya’s brother of fearsome valour,^↓4 an ornament to the Caḷukya dynasty, humbly grasped the hand of Lady Earth.

His son Kīrtivarman (III), who had overcome the impurity of the Kali age and subjugated enemy kings, shone under the burden of kingship. Then his son named Taila (I) became king, the equal of the Mindborn (Kāma) in appearance, who trampled the realms {hosts} of his enemies.

His son Vikramāditya (III), a king ornamented with modesty who had the valour (vikrama) of Indra {Viṣṇu}, bore the burden of the earth that came to him in succession (krama).

^53-57 ... [begat] ¿a son corresponding to his desires? on the lady ... Majesty ... ¿the earth?, eminent through his valour, heroically ¿defeated? ... greatness seized by valour ... the blazing flame of whose energy ... .^↓5

... like the Six-Faced (Skanda) to Maheśa, ¿a son, praised by the populace, was born to him from the daughter of King Kr̥ṣṇa?.

It is that Vikramāditya (IV), the king whose only passion was valour (vikrama), who obtained (as wife) the goddess (lakṣmī) Bonthā born of the ocean of the Cedi dynasty.

Like Kāma to Hari (Kr̥ṣṇa) on account of his handsomeness, like Kumāra (Skanda) to Kāma’s Enemy (Śiva), like Jayanta to Indra, a son (Taila II) was born to him for the propagation of his lineage.

Already in childhood (ā bālyāt), the splitting of the forehead globes of enemy kings’ elephants was child’s play to him, as it is to a lion cub, due to the effect (yogāt) of his innate talent (guṇa).

With the wildfire of his great fury, he incinerated an eminent bodyguard contingent abounding in elite warriors—which, in its extreme arrogance, had even turned against its own king—[thereby simultaneously] protecting the king and overcoming his enemies.^↓6

^64-65It is he, Raṇa-raṅga-bhīma, ‘the Bhīma of the battleground’, who has conquered the circle of the earth with his fearsome (bhīma) valour, whose reputation is trammelled (only) by the perimeter of the cage that is the circle of the earth.

[The goddess] Fame, seeing Eloquence (Sarasvatī) in his mouth and Majesty (Lakṣmī) on his chest, wanders off as it were out of jealousy, even to other continents.

⁶⁶Moreover—

He, the mighty-armed subduer of enemies, pulled up the jewel of kingship from the great ocean of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, who had long overshadowed his own dynasty.

⁶⁷Furthermore—

Originating from a noble dynasty {the origin of good bamboo}; a vessel of elevatedness; rivalling the sun;^↓7 with feet {foothills} stretched across the ocean-girt earth; renowned throughout the three worlds; fanned by billowing chowries {rambling yaks}—I see not the slightest difference between this king Taiḷa and that {mountain} Vindhya.

Like Lakṣmī to Hari, like Lady Speech (Sarasvatī) to the Ordainer (Brahmā), like Bliss (Rati) to the Mindborn (Kāma), like the Mountain’s Daughter (Pārvatī) to Śambhu, his darling wife was the daughter of the Raṭṭa king Bhāmaha, known in the world as Jākabā, complete with all [auspicious] omens and endowed with the virtues of conjugal fidelity, more beloved than [his own] life, good in conduct and immaculate in body as the string of a pearl necklace {is perfectly round and of bright components}.

His Majesty King Taiḷa begat on her a son destined for victory, whose name Satyāśraya, ‘shelter of truthfulness’, attained literal reality.

How could his virtues be described? They—truthfulness, selflessness and prowess—[constantly] vie with one another and [therefore] remain subject to him.

^76-79Greetings! The bee at the lotus feet of the shelter of the entire universe (samasta-bhuvanāśraya), the Favourite of Fortune and Earth (śrī-pr̥thvī-vallabha), the Supreme Lord (parameśvara) of Emperors (mahārājādhirāja) and Supreme Sovereign (parama-bhaṭṭāraka), the Ornament of the Cāḷukyas, His Majesty King (deva) Āhavamalla—namely His Majesty King (deva) Satyāśraya also known as Iṟivabeḍeṅga,^↓8 in sound health, instructs all the appointed officials concerned.

^79-88Let it be known to you that I, having performed an ablution at Koṭitīrtha on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun, [acting] on the order of my parents for the augmentation of my mother’s, father’s and my own merit and glory in this world and beyond, [have given a village] in Kollipāka district (viṣaya), within the ... [division of] forty villages to the grandson of Bhaṭṭa ¿Devana?śarman and son of ¿Naggima? Bhaṭṭa, [namely] to Devana Bhaṭṭa of the Kauṇḍinya gotra and the Chandoga school, resident of ¿Krovelli?, a receptacle of the Four Knowledges (catur-vidyā), delightful with a host of virtues, who has obtained the cognomen Gurudāsa through the favour of the divine presence ¿experienced at Śrī-Teramya[?1+]? Its adjacent villages [are as follows]. To the east, K¿ola?nūru. To the south, Ma[?2+]ru. To the west, Āleṟu. To the north, Taṁgoṭūru. Thus [demarcated], this village named ¿Maṟutuṟu?palli has been granted, relinquishing (tyakta) [the royal prerogative to collect] fines (daṇḍa) and [punish] the ten crimes (daśāparādha), not enterable for constables (cāṭa) and men-at-arms (bhaṭa), exempt from all taxes (kara) and burdens (bādha). Its boundaries [are as follows]. To the east, the stony ground ¿of? Bhagavatī. To the south, [the river] Bikkeṟu. To the west, the [?1+] lake (samudra) and rocky grounds. To the north, ¿[land] belonging to a deity [and] three ... ?.^↓9

^88-91With respect to ¿this transaction (artha) of mine, he advises (understand: I advise) future rulers? as follows: we have given [this] in order to augment merit and glory, therefore you sirs ought to ¿protect it as [though it were] not different from? that granted by yourselves. And he who should pose an obstacle [to this] shall be conjoined with the five great sins. Whereas he who protects it shall attain the fruit of an Aśvamedha. The Reverend (bhagavat) too has said:

He who would seize land, whether given by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in faeces for sixty thousand years.

⁹³And ¿Pāḷa? has said ...

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.

⁹⁴Auspiciousness, prosperity.

Commentary

The preamble of all other known Kalyāṇa Cāḷukya copper charters is highly standardised, to the degree of being verbatim identical in most respects. The present document parallels that structure in many ways, but the details are entirely different. In the comparative notes below, “standard” refers to the text of the known later charters; citations from the standard are based on the Kauthem plates of Vikramāditya V (Fleet 1887) with silent emendation and normalisation.

The standard commences with the standard Cālukyan invocation jayaty āviṣkr̥taṁ viṣṇor, followed by a second stanza in praise of the Varāha avatāra, then a prayer for the king’s victory. The ruler is not equated to a deity in the standard. His epithet is Akalaṁkacarita in Kauthem and Tintiṇi; Jagadekamalla in Miraj, Daulatabad; Trailokyamalla in Narihaḷḷa, and Tribhuvanamalla in Nīlgunda, Kallasāmbi. Placed at the beginning of the second hemistich, the epithet is echoed by the word akalaṁka shortly afterward, implying that the stanza was originally composed for a king bearing this style. In his edition of the Kauthem plates, Fleet assumes that this king was Satyāśraya, who did bear this epithet according to the testimony of several stone inscriptions. He therefore concludes that at the time the Kauthem plates were issued, Satyāśraya was still alive but had made over the sovereignty to his nephew Vikramāditya V. Given, however, that the same epithet is found in this stanza of the Tintiṇi plates of Jayasiṁha II, this explanation is no longer tenable. Either several kings of the line were styled Akalaṅkacarita, or the stanza of the standard eulogy began to be adapted only during the reign of Jayasiṁha II. I am not aware of other occurrences of the present text’s epithet Paracakramalla. It is probably another epithet of Satyāśraya II, since his father Taila II was styled Āhavamalla. The latter appears also in line 77 of the present text, where Satyāśraya is described as a bee at the feet of Āhavamalla.

The prose dynastic eulogy in lines 7 to 13 (from svasti to udbhava-bhūmiḥ) is identical to the standard, except for the following details. The phrase aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitrīkr̥ta-gātrāṇāṁ is absent in the standard. In place of -dhvajādi-viśeṣa-cihnānāṁ, the standard has only -dhvajānāṁ. In place of °ārāti-maṇḍalānāṁ, the standard has °ārāti-rāja-maṇḍalānāṁ. In place of vijayāditya-viṣṇuvarddhanādi, the standard has viṣṇuvarddhana-vijayādityādi. Since the actual royal epithets are always Samastabhuvanāśraya Vijayāditya and Sarvalokāśraya Viṣṇuvardhana, the arrangement samasta-bhuvanāśraya-sarvva-lokāśraya-vijayāditya-viṣṇuvarddhanādi found here is superior. Finally, the standard has rāja-ratnānām in place of rāja-vara-ratnānām.

The first syllable of this stanza employs licence, using a single long syllable where two short syllables are expected by the metre. The corresponding mālinī stanza in the standard likewise lists the Nala, Durjaya, Kadamba, Maurya, Rāṣṭrakūṭa and Kalacuri dynasties (in this order) as defeated rivals.

In the standard, a mālinī stanza making the same general claims (but without naming any defeated southern dynasties) corresponds to this pair of anuṣṭubh.

The connecting prose in lines 18-19 corresponds to prose expressing the same meaning in the standard.

In the standard too, Jayasiṁha is also introduced with a śārdūlavikrīḍita stanza, but the contents are different.

In the standard, the second stanza on Jayasiṁha is likewise a vasantatilakā, but it claims victory over the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Indra, son of Kr̥ṣṇa.

The standard does not have a third stanza on Jayasiṁha.

The verse introducing Raṇarāga in the standard is also an āryā playing on the term raṇa-rāga, and in addition hara-caraṇa-rāga.

The introduction of Pulakeśi in the standard is another āryā, asserting that he ruled in Vātāpi.

The standard’s second stanza on Pulakeśi is a mālinī claiming that he gave away two thousand villages to the r̥tviks of his aśvamedha.

At this point, the standard also introduces Kīrtivarman in a mālinī stanza, recounting his victories over the Nalas, Mauryas and Kadambas.

The standard has a mandākrāntā introducing Maṁgalīśa (sic) here. He is said to be famed for sarva-dvīpākramaṇa, to have crossed (ullaṁghya) a body of water (abdhi) by a pontoon of boats (nau-setu-baṁdhair), and to have subjugated the Kalacuris.

Much of this stanza is illegible and has been tentatively reconstructed. It is quite certainly in a mixture of vasantatilakā with indravajrā in the third quarter, apparently due to the impossibility of fitting the name Satyāśraya to vasantatilakā. A similar, but differently arranged, mixture of metres is found in stanza 19. Alternatively, the engraver may have omitted some trick used by the composer to fit the name to the metre (e.g. satya-sahitāśraya-?). The standard’s corresponding verse about Maṁgalīśa is a mandākrāntā like the previous one. It relates that Maṁgalīśa had seized the throne only because his elder brother’s son (jyeṣṭha-bhrātuḥ ... suta-vare) Satyāśraya was an infant (arbhakatvād) at the time, and willingly resigned in the latter’s favour (tasmin pratyārpipad ... mahīṁ) upon his attainment of young adulthood (yūni). The standard stanza’s emphasis on the moral rectitude of this act (cālukyānāṁ ka iva hi patho dharmyataḥ pracyaveta) may be paralleled by the phrase vinaya-bhūṣaṇa in the present text, if this compound applied to Maṁgalīśa.

The standard’s next verse is a vasantatilakā offering generic praise for Satyāśraya and mentioning his defeat of Harṣa.

In the standard too, Satyāśraya’s successor (there explicitly called his son) is introduced in a drutavilambita stanza and praised in general terms. The stanza there also involves prāsa on the name, with aḍamarī-, dviḍ-amarī- and mr̥ḍam ariṣṭa-. The name of this person has always been understood to be Neḍamari, as perhaps first stated by Wathen (Wathen 1836). The dental d is quite certain in the present text, but a retroflex ḍ cannot be ruled out fully and may be accepted as correct, as it is recorded in Nāgarī (where the distinction from d is conspicuous) in all the other copper plates of the dynasty. However, in this record, the name unquestionably begins with an initial E. In fact, the standard eulogy also permits that analysis. The received readings are °odvahaṁneḍamari (Kauthem, Daulatabad), °odvahanneḍamari (Miraj, Narihaḷḷa) and °odvahanniḍamari. The e of the name is certainly short, as proved both by the prosodic requirement and by the variant involving i. Therefore, °odvahann eḍamari may be regarded as standard sandhi. In the light of the new record, the name of this alleged ancestor of the Kalyāṇa Cāḷukyas should therefore be revised to Eḍamari.

This stanza is doubtless in a mixture of indravajrā and vasantatilakā. The corresponding verse of the standard is an upajāti (indravajrā and upendravajrā), which also refers to Ādityavarman as bhū-vallabho and introduces him as ādityavarmārjjita-puṇya-karmā.

The standard introduces this Vikramāditya with half an anuṣṭubh, continuing to Yuddhamalla in the same stanza.

The standard dedicates no separate stanza to Yuddhamalla.

The passage in lines 43 to 46 seems to be prose, although it may include a short stanza. The legible bit beginning with Asahya-tejā yields vaṁśastha if we apply hypersandhi (-tejāpy) or non-standard declension (-tejo’py). The text after this possible vaṁśastha line can contain at best one additional line, while the preceding text does not appear to fit any metre. In the standard, the genealogy continues in anuṣṭubh (no connecting prose) with Yuddhamalla’s son Vijayāditya who defeated warriors of all lands in single combat

The standard introduces Vikramāditya in just a quarter of an anuṣṭubh stanza.

Analogously to the prose in lines 48 to 50, the standard describes Kīrtivarman II’s loss of the realm in the rest of the anuṣṭubh that commenced with the introduction of Vikramāditya. Another anuṣṭubh stanza then begins with the mention of the nameless brother, who is there too described as (or named?) bhīma-parākrama.

In the standard, Kīrtivarman III is introduced in the second half of the stanza that recounts the nameless brother, while Taila I gets the first quarter of the next anuṣṭubh.

The standard dedicates little over an anuṣṭubh quarter to Vikramāditya III.

The badly effaced passage in lines 53 to 57 certainly contained, or even consisted solely of, verse. Many of the tentatively read fragments suggest anuṣṭubh, including the full odd quarter yasya tāpānaḷo dīpto. The corresponding part of the standard comprises the latter part of an anuṣṭubh about Bhīma, the son of Vikramāditya III, followed by another anuṣṭubh about Bhīma’s son Ayyaṇa, who married the daughter of Kr̥ṣṇa, identified as the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Kr̥ṣṇa II.

The standard introduces Vikramāditya IV, the son of Ayyaṇa and the Rāṣṭrakūṭa princess, in an āryā stanza.

In the standard, the marriage of Vikramāditya IV to Vonthādevī, daughter of the Cedi king Lakṣmaṇa, is narrated in a sugīti stanza. (Fleet was not able to identify this rare metre involving 32 morae in the first hemistich and 27 in the second, which does, however, occur in the Veṅgī Cālukya corpus.)

The corresponding stanza in the standard is a mālinī about the birth of Taila II (named in that stanza) from Bonthādevī and Vikramāditya IV, also involving divine comparisons.

The standard has an āryā stanza similar in many details, stating that the splitting of the globes of enemy elephants was child’s play to Taila, as it is to a lion, which possesses innate strength. The latter is expressed with the word hari, and some of the capabilities ascribed to Taila there seem to pun on that word, being probably associated with Viṣṇu.

The standard dedicates two śārdūlavikrīḍita stanzas to the praise of Taila, the first announcing his victory over the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Karkara (Karka II), and the second his imprisonment of an Utpala who had previously defeated or intimidated Hūṇas, Māravas and Caidyas.

The standard has an āryā stanza and an upajāti relating Taila’s marriage to Jākavvā, daughter of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Bhammaha.

The standard also narrates the birth of Satyāśraya in an anuṣṭubh, then continues along its own lines with his younger brother Yaśovarman.

Bibliography

Not reported in print or edited earlier. In 2010, Csaba Dezső prepared a preliminary reading and a partial translation of the contents for the then owner of the plates. The present edition was created for DHARMA by Dániel Balogh, on the basis of photographs taken by Matthew Pia and provided in 2010 to Dezső, and new pictures taken by Samana Gururaja in 2024 in the private collection of James Melikian (Phoenix, Arizona).

Primary

Secondary

Notes

↑1. The verse refers to the Ardhanārīśvara form of Śiva and may also allude to the custom that ketaki flowers must not be used in his worship. The fragrant efflorescence of the screw pine, known as kewra (from ketaki) in perfumery, is surrounded by white modified leaves, translated as “petals” here.
↑2. Or “the Gūrjara named Durjaya” or possibly “the Gūrjaras and Durjayas”.
↑3. This fragment has solar allusions in the words tejas and maṇḍala and may have continued with double meaning.
↑4. Bhīmaparākrama may have been the name, rather than a description, of this brother. It is not, however, a name that has any parallels in the dynasty. See also the commentary.
↑5. Based on the standard genealogy of the dynasty (see the commentary), this passage would have enumerated Vikramāditya III’s son Bhīma and his son Ayyaṇa. The latter is the subject of the partially preserved next stanza.
↑6. This feat is not mentioned in the standard eulogy and its details are not clear to me. I believe that this is a slightly obfuscated reference to Taila acting as a loyal underling of his overlord the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Kr̥ṣṇa III and protecting him from an assassination attempt. This would be compatible with the stanza’s place early in the narrative of Taila’s career and might explain why the event is not reported in other inscriptions of the dynasty. An inscription of 965 CE (Krishnamacharlu et al. 1940: pages 24–25, № 40) reports Taila controlling the Tardavāḍi 1000, obtained from Kr̥ṣṇa III as an aṇuga-jīvita or “retainer’s fief”. Alternatively, the reading may be dhāṁga rather than thāṁga, referring to the contemporary Cāndella king Dhaṅgadeva (r. c. 950-999), but it is not clear why Taila should have aided this ruler.
↑7. The reference is to the Purāṇic story where the Vindhya grew to such a height as to obstruct the sun’s passage in the sky until the sage Agastya asked the mountain to become lower.
↑8. The imperial titles lack nominative endings, and I therefore construe them in compound, qualifying Satyāśraya’s father Taila II. It is, however, clear that Satyāśraya himself bears the royal styles (śrīmat and deva) of his father, and the preceding imperial titles may also have been meant to qualify him.
↑9. The text from trīṇi onward may belong to the next passage. See the apparatus to line 88.