Niḍupaṟu grant of Jayasiṁha I

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¹ hār(i)t(ī)- ◇ hārītī- EH
⁴ -kī⟨r⟩tivarmaṇaḥ ◇ -kīrtivarmaṇaḥ EH
⁶ viṣ·ṇuvardhana- • This being the last line on the page with barely any margin at the botton, a vertically composed ligature would not have fit in the space. I agree with Hultzsch that the engraver seems to have used a vowel killer here, which takes the shape of a tiny slash (Hultzsch calls it a dash) at the top right of what is otherwise a normal-looking ṣa. This is a rare and quite early example of an explicit vowel killer used in an Indian Sanskrit inscription, all the more remarkable because it is used in a conjunct, not in a final position.
^9–10 gaṇḍe/ṟuvāḍyā(ṁ) ◇ gaṇḍe/ṟuvāṭyā(ṁ) EH • In line 11 (ku¿ḍ?⟨ṭ⟩uṁbinaḥ) Hultzsch too reads the exact same consonant glyph as ḍ, emending to the expected ṭ. He probably shows a ṭ here under the influence of attestations elsewhere of variants with ṭ, but the present instance is definitely with ḍ.
¹⁷ -vin¿a?⟨ī⟩ta- EH • I agree with Hultzsch’s that the intent was probably vinīta, although the text is intelligible as received.
¹⁸ °ābhi¿virdha?⟨vr̥ddha⟩ye • I wonder whether, rather than being a strange scribal error, this is again an out-of-the ordinary way of dealing with the last line on an all but marginless page: vr̥ddha would have been very hard to fit in the space.
^19–20 śrī-(v)īya(m)ā (s)[[sādhu-ja]]/nāśrayo ◇ śrī-vīrya(m)ā(t sa)[2+] / nāśrayo EH • Hultzsch tentatively proposes śrī-vīryavān sarva-janāśrayo. This is not implausible, but even with his reading it requires multiple emendation, and I am less than convinced by his reading. I now believe that the same executor is featured in stanza 7 of the Cāmaṟṟu plates of Jayasiṁha I, where his name is Vīyamā (or Dhīyamā) and he is described as sādhu-javanāvagamya. On this basis, śrī-vīyamā sādhu-janāśrayo may be restored here with fair confidence. However, to my eye the name as engraved here seems rather to be Cīyamā, the first character being broader and more angular in shape than other instances of v (compare c in l21 dānāccheyo and multiple instances of v in l22). Since the Cāmaṟṟu plates are preposterously poorly written, the first consonant of the name may in fact be c. Also, EH’s sarva-janāśrayo cannot be ruled out. Regarding the other ambiguities in this segment, I see no indication of a superscript r in ya. In the third character, the consonant is damaged but must be m given what remains of it and the point at which the vowel marker is attached. The last extant akṣara does not seem to have a subscript component (so I doubt Hultzsch’s tsa); from the vestiges, the consonant was most likely s, n or bh.
²³ ṣaṣṭir ◇ ṣaṣṭi⟨ṁ⟩ EH

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^1-12Greetings from the residence at majestic Asanapura. The dear grandson of His Majesty Kīrtivarman, whose actions dispel the suffering of all the world, who is a fiery-rayed sun among kings, arisen at the top of the Sunrise Mountain (udaya-giri) that is the pure family of the Calukyas—who were deliberately appointed (to kingship) by the Divine Lord Mahāsena, who are the sons of Hāritī, who are of the Mānavya gotra, who are protected by the troop of Mothers and who have performed the Aśvamedha sacrifice—; the dear son of King (mahārāja) Viṣṇuvardhana, who like the hare-marked moon gladdens the hearts and eyes of the entire world, who is a majestic Viṣṇu of this epoch, also named Makaradhvaja because he surpassed the crocodile-bannered [Kāma] by the loveliness of his figure; [namely] His Majesty the supremely pious Jayasiṁha Vallabha—who was deliberately appointed (as heir) by his mother and father, whose pair of lotus feet are engilded by a mass of beams sprayed from gems fitted to the surfaces of the crowns of all the subordinate rulers (sāmanta) forced to bow by his progressively increasing valour, who is eager to dispel the darkness of the Kali age with the cluster of light-rays that are his own virtues, and whose prowess is inviolate (akhaṇḍita) as that of Indra (ākhaṇḍala)—commands the assembled householders (kuṭumbin) inhabiting the village named Niḍubaṟu (which lies) in (the district) Gaṇḍeṟuvāḍi, to the north of the river Vyāghra and on the bank of the river Vanneṟu, two gavyūtis from the capital city (rājadhānī) Gaṇḍeṟu in the eastern direction [as follows]:

^12-19Let it be known to you that to the grandson of Maṇḍaśarman, a resident of the locality^↓1 of Asanapura and an affiliate of the ¿royal college? (ghaṭikā)^↓2who studied two Vedas along with their pada, krama and anukrama and was familiar with many legal treatises (dharmaśāstra) along with the Kalpa, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas and Itihāsas; the son of Śivarudraśarman, a performer of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice eager to adorn his lineage with the specially pure reputation earned by his abundant wealth of virtue that exceeded [even that of] his father; [namely to] Kāṭiśarman of the Hārīta gotra and the Taittirīya school, who has studied two Vedas, whose mind has been purified and disciplined through (studying) sacrifices, the lore (āgama), the Upaniṣads, the meaning of mantras, the Itihāsas, the Purāṇas and legal treatises (dharmaśāstra), I have granted this village named Niḍupaṟu at the full moon of Kārttika in order to increase the reputation and merit of my mother, father and myself. Let no obstacle be posed to this.

The executor (ājñapti) in this matter is ¿His Highness Vīyamā?, this shelter of [decent men] who delights the hearts of honourable men,^↓3 possesses majesty and valour, skilled in the branches of royal policy (nīti), familiar with the Vedāṅgas, and a connoisseur of all arts.

²⁰With regard to this, [these verses were] sung by Vyāsa:

O Yudhiṣṭhira, diligently preserve land that has been donated, whether by yourself or another. O best of land-possessors, preserving (a grant) is superior to making a grant.

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.

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^1-12Prospérité ! De la résidence de l’illustre Asanapura, le grand roi illustre Jayasiṁha Vallabha, cher petit-fils de l’illustre Kīrtivarman, qui détruisit la souffrance dans tout l’univers, soleil des rois, levé au-dessus du sommet de la montagne de l’Orient^↓4 qu’est la lignée pure des Calukya, méditant aux pieds du seigneur Mahāsena, fils de Hārītī, de la même lignée que les descendants de Manu, protégés par la troupe des Mères, eux qui pratiquaient le sacrifice de l’aśvamedha, cher fils du grand roi Viṣṇuvardhana, illustre Viṣṇu vivant dans ce yuga^↓5, tel le porteur du signe du lièvre,^↓6 doué de lumière, qui réjouissait les esprits et les yeux de tout l’univers, lui qui vainquit par la beauté de son corps Makaradhvaja, (et qui était) aussi nommé Makaradhvaja, lui dont les deux pieds de lotus sont rougis par les fleurs que sont les rayons des pierres précieuses serties sur l’orbe des diadèmes de tous les feudataires, inclinés devant sa prospérité et sa majesté grandissantes, lui qui dissout l’obscurité du Kaliyuga avec le faisceau de rayons lumineux que sont ses propres vertus, tel Ākhaṇḍala,^↓7 mettant en pièce les hommes (ennemis), très pieux, méditant aux pieds de sa mère et de son père, ordonne aux chefs de familles, rassemblés, résidant dans le village nommé Niḍubaṟu, dans (la circonscription) de ¿Gaṇḍeṟuvāṭyām?, au nord de la rivière Vyāghra et sur la rive de la rivière Vanneṟu, à deux gavyūti à l’est de la résidence royale de Gaṇḍeṟu :

^12-19qu’il soit connu de vous que [nous] donnons au petit-fils de Maṇḍaśarman, habitant le camp d’Asanapura, disciple des Ghaṭikā^↓8, qui a étudié deux Veda avec leurs pada, krama et anukrama,^↓9 qui connaissait de nombreux Dharmaśāstra, avec les Kalpa, Upaniṣad, Purāṇa et Itihāsa, au fils de Śivarudraśarman, grand ornement de sa lignée par son exceptionnelle gloire immaculée procurée par la foule des vertus et richesses de son père, qui pratiquait le sacrifice de l’agniṣṭoma,^↓10 à Kāṭiśarman, qui étudie deux Veda, dont la pensée purifiée est versée dans les sacrifices, les Āgama, Upaniṣad, le sens des Mantra, les Itihāsa, Purāṇa et Dharmaśāstra, du même gotra que les descendants de Hārītā, appartenant à l’école de Taittirīya, ce village de Niḍupaṟu, en vue de l’accroissement de nos mérites et gloire ainsi que ceux de notre mère et de notre père. Aucune charge ne doit lui être imposée.

L’exécuteur noble et charmant, est l’illustre Vīryavān que voici, refuge de tous les êtres,^↓11 expert dans les subdivisions des sciences politiques royales, qui connaît le Vedāṅga, qui a appris tous les arts.

²⁰Voici les vers de Vyāsa :

qu’elle soit donnée par lui ou par un autre, ô Yudhiṣṭhira, protège avec force la terre ; ô meilleur des possesseurs de la terre, la protection de la terre est plus méritoire que le don.

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

Le donateur d’une terre se réjouit soixante mille ans dans le ciel, celui qui la prend ou qui le permet demeure aussi longtemps en enfer.