Peṇukapaṟu grant of Jayasiṁha I

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¹ bhagava¿pvi?⟨t-svā⟩mi- • A very surprising spelling mistake that seems quite clear. I believe the reason for it is correction in the pre-drawing for the plate, where the handwriter probably wrote svā, then corrected to tsvā by adding t on top; this in turn was interpreted as pvi by the engraver.
² -loka-mātr̥bhi⟨ḥ⟩ • In this word, bhi is raised and rather flattened: its body seems to be mostly level with the headline. Fleet thinks it was inserted subsequently above the line, but if so, the space between the preceding and following characters was much wider than normal. — ² sapta-mātr̥bhiḥ • The lower dot of the visarga merges into the bottom of the following pa. The visarga may have been inserted subsequently, and the lower left part of pa may have been re-engraved to make room for it.
³ -va(r)āha- • Though read as clear by Fleet, rā actually looks like vā, descending hardly lower than the preceding vā and closed into a rounded loop.
^7–8 -vi/ṣama-siddheḥ • Before ṣa, at the top left of the page, there is a circle at headline height. Fleet does not comment on it. It may be the vowel marker of an aborted repetition of vi, but no trace of a body is discernible in the scan. I would expect to read āvāpta-siddher viṣamasiddheḥ or some other phrase that includes Viṣamasiddhi as a name, and a derivation of the name. The circle could also be an editorial mark indicating that eyeskip needs to be corrected here.
¹⁴ -saṅka(ṭo?)tka¿dh?⟨ṭ⟩a- ◇ saṅkaṭ¿e?⟨o⟩tka¿dha?⟨ṇṭha⟩ JFF • The glyph I read as ṭo resembles de (or perhaps ḍe) rather than ṭe, as read by Fleet. Fleet must be correct in interpreting the stroke below the body as an e mātrā, paralleled by several similar attachments in this inscription. I think that in addition to that, what looks like the stem of d was meant to be the right-hand part of the o mātrā. The bottom attachment for the left-hand marker and the distorted shape of the right-hand one would have been occasioned by the descender of nu above, and the right arm of the vowel mark would have been misinterpreted by the engraver as a headmark and stem. Compare e attached to the bottom of rgge in line 26, where the descender of sya above did not allow attaching the vowel marker at the top. In the second part of the word, I think the emendation °otkaṭa is more appropriate to the context and presumes a much more likely scribal mistake than Fleet’s °otkaṇṭha.
¹⁷ marddavalli ◇ ma(rdda/ddā)valli JFF • The marker added to dd seems to be identical to the repha e.g. in pūrvva in the same line. I would expect an ā marker to be horizontal.
²⁴ Uktañ ca JFF • I accept Fleet’s reading, and this was obviously intended, but in the poorly scanned facsimile, these characters look like ukā co.
²⁷ mantr(i)- ◇ mantrī JFF • The vowel mark is partly obscured by dots in a circular shape. They may signify a correction of ī into i, but I cannot be sure from my poor scan. I think the word ought to be read in compound, while Fleet prints a space after it. — ²⁷ -purohita⟨s ta⟩(sya?) ◇ purohit(a/āsya?) JFF • The first character with t could indeed be tā, but several instances above where the headline was similarly elongated on the right were read as ta by Fleet where ta was expected. I restore tentatively, but I think my restoration fits the context and corrects the metre. Given the bad quality of my scan and Fleet’s own uncertainty about the last character, it is also possible that sta is engraved here and sya needs to be supplied. Finally, there seems to be a spot, possibly a kākapada, to the right of ta, so perhaps the missing character was in fact added by the engraver somewhere.
²⁸ °ejya- ◇ °ejy(a/o)- JFF • In the scan, I see no indication of o, and since I expect the text to be in anuṣṭubh, I think the alternative reading given by Fleet may be ruled out. — ²⁸ -ya(bh/s)uciḥ JFF • I adopt Fleet’s reading because I cannot improve on it from my poor scan. I see no trace of the final visarga. I wonder if it is possible to read (or emend to) °ejyayā śuciḥ here; intuitively, yājinaḥ seems most likely. These characters are spaced more widely than the rest of the line.
²⁹ kada(ḥ?) ◇ radaḥ JFF • I am quite certain the first character is a cursive ka (where the descender starts from the right-hand arm). This last line, which Fleet remarks is "quite unintelligible", is probably in a different hand than the rest of the inscription. The characters are quite widely spaced throughout the line. My scan of this last page is even worse than the rest, and the condition of the text is also much worse.
^X [.]ū(ṭa)katana ◇ [1+.]ūṭakatanaḥ JFF • I wonder if we have the word dūtakaḥ here, perhaps followed by tena. In the rest of the line, I blindly adopt Fleet’s readings. In my scan, na is indistinguishable, but the rest of Fleet’s characters are plausible if less than clear.

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^1-16Greetings from the majestic Udayapura of victory. The grandson of the majestic Kīrtivarman, whose fame has crossed the four oceans and who was eager to adorn the family of the Calukyas —who were deliberately appointed (to kingship) by the Divine Lord Mahāsena, who are cherished by the seven Mothers who are the mothers of the seven worlds, to whom all kings instantaneously submit at the [mere] sight of the Boar emblem they have acquired by the grace of the divine Nārāyaṇa, who are of the Mānavya gotra, who are the sons of Hāriti, and whose limbs have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice; —the son of [Viṣamasiddhi], who behaved like a Cow of Plenty (kāmadhenu) toward those who sought his protection, [but] who prevailed over adversity (viṣama-siddhi) in beleaguering numerous enemy forts, whose weapons [served only] for saving the afflicted, whose wars [served only] for crushing his enemies’ conceit, whose education [served] for discipline (vinaya), whose accumulation of wealth [served only] for largesse, whose largesse [served only] for moral duty (dharma), whose moral duty [served] for the attainment of transcendence (śreyas); —His Majesty the supremely pious King (mahārāja) Jayasiṁha Vallabha, who was deliberately appointed (as heir) by his mother and father, who, like the moon, delights the hearts of all people, who, like a divine elephant {sprinkling his stall with an uninterrupted stream of rut fluid}, sprinkles his habitation with an uninterrupted stream of gifts whose armies are indomitable as the {discus} of (Viṣṇu) the Discus-Wielder, who is attended by mercy as Droṇa {is followed by Kr̥pā}, who has prevailed over all (sarva-siddhi) by the strength of his arms, whose valiant banner stands proud in the press of a hundred battles, —commands everyone as follows.

^16-24Let it be known to you that in the eighteenth year of [our] triumphant reign, on the occasion of the equinox we have given as a donation (pratigraha) the village named Peṇukapaṟu on the eastern side of Marddavalli in the district (viṣaya) of Gudrahāra, converted to a rent-free holding (agrahāra) by a remission of all taxes, to Guptaśarman, a devout performer of the six duties (of a Brahmin) who has [mastered] the eighty doctrines (tarka), —grandson of Śivaśarman, a resident of Pogulūra who belongs to the gotra of Bharadvāja, follows the teaching (sūtra) of Bharadvāja and has studied the two Vedas; son of Devaśarman, who has acquired the thousand (cows as a ritual fee)^↓1 and mastered the two Vedas. Let no-one pose an obstacle (to his enjoyment of his rights) over it. So too did the reverend Vyāsa, the redactor (vyāsa) of the Vedas speak:

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.

A donor of land rejoices in heaven for sixty millennia, [while] a seizer (of granted land) and a condoner (of such seizure) shall reside in hell for just as many.

The executor (ājñapti) of this (grant) is Siyaśarman, ¿purified by? the Vājapeya sacrifice, who is minister and house priest (purohita) to that (king) as Br̥haspati is to Indra.^↓2

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^1-16Prospérité ! De l’illustre camp victorieux d’Udaya, le petit-fils de l’illustre Kīrtivarman, dont la gloire est allée au-delà des eaux des quatre océans, ornement de la lignée des Calukya, méditant aux pieds du bhienheureux seigneur Mahāsena, rendus prospères par les mères des sept mondes, auxquels tous les rois ont été soumis en instant à la vue du signe du sanglier, faveur octroyée par le bienheureux Nārāyaṇa, du même gotra que les descendants de Manu, fils de Hāriti, dont les corps ont été purifiés par le bain purificatoire de l’aśvamedha, le fils de celui qui se comportait comme la vache des désirs envers ceux qui lui demandaient protection, (fils) de celui qui remporta le succès contre l’adversité^↓3 en détruisant les places inaccessibles des nombreux ennemis, et qui possèdait une arme pour protéger les affligés, qui guerroyait pour briser en éclats l’orgueil des ennemis, qui était instruit pour avoir une bonne conduite, qui acquerait des richesse pour [les] donner, qui donnait pour assurer le règne du dharma, qui pratiquait le dharma pour conquérir la gloire,^↓4 (ce fils) comme Śaśadhara^↓5 dont les rayons réjouisssent le cœur de tout l’univers,^↓6 apporte le bonheur dans le cœur de tous les hommes, comme Suragaja dont le corps est inondé d’un flot continu de madha,^↓7 son corps est inondé par le flot continu des dons, comme Cakradhara^↓8 dont le disque n’a pas d’adversaire,^↓9 son royaume n’est point attaqué, comme Droṇa suivi par Kr̥pā,^↓10 il éprouve de la compassion, pourvu de tous les succès obtenus par la force de son propre bras, bannière de victoire et d’héroïsme dressée dans les heurts de centaines de combats, le grand roi illustre Jayasiṁha Vallabha, très pieux, méditant aux pieds de sa mère et de son père, ordonne précisément à tous :

^16-24qu’il soit connu de vous que nous donnons en présent, dans le viṣaya de Gudrahāra, sur la côte est de Mardavalli, le village nommé Peṇukapaṟu, à l’occasion de l’équinoxe, la dix-huitième année de son règne victoirieux, au fils de Devaśarman, - qui a appris deux veda, sectateur de Bharadvāja, du même gotra que les descendants de Bharadvāja, - (fils) qui habite à Pogulūra, qui se plaît dans (l’accomplissement) des six devoirs et qui possède les quatre-vingt raisonnements,^↓11 à Guptaśarman, exempté de toute taxe, en qualité d’agrahāra. Aucune charge ne doit lui être imposée. Et le bienheureux Vyāsa qui connaît les Veda a dit ceci :

beaucoup ont donné une terre, beaucoup l’ont préservée, celui qui possède la terre en possède le fruit.

Celui qui donne une terre se réjouit dans le ciel pendant soixante mille années. Celui qui la prend ou le permet demeure en enfer aussi longtemps.

^27-28Celui qui est son ministre et chapelain, comme Br̥haspati est celui d’Indra, Siyaśarman est l’exécuteur de ce (don).^↓12