Jaḷayūru grant of Viṣṇuvardhana III

Metadata

Current Version: draft, 2024-09-02Z

Editor: Dániel Balogh.

DHARMA Identifier: INSVengiCalukya00016

Hand Description:

There are no punctuation marks. A single instance of final M in line 22, not read by Hultzsch, resembles a Spanish inverted question mark (and is thus a horizontally mirrored image of a more typical form of final M).

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

Seal

¹śrī-viṣamasiddhi

Plates

^{⎘ plate 1v}¹svasti[.] śrīmatā⟨ṁ⟩ sakala-bhuvana-saṁst¿u?⟨ū⟩yamāna-mānavya-sagotrā-
²ṇ¿a?⟨ā⟩⟨ṁ⟩ hāriti-putrāṇ¿a?⟨ā⟩⟨ṁ⟩ kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājy¿a?⟨ā⟩nāṁ mātr̥{i}-ga-
³ṇa◯-paripālitānā⟨ṁ⟩ bhagavan-nārāyaṇa-prasāda-sam¿a?⟨ā⟩sādita-
⁴-va◯r¿a?⟨ā⟩ha-lāñ¿c?⟨ch⟩anānā⟨ṁ⟩ Aśvame¿th?⟨dh⟩āvabhr̥{i}tha-snāna-pavi⟨trī⟩-k¡ri!⟨r̥⟩ta-vapuṣāṁ
⁵¡ch!⟨c⟩aḷu◯kyānā⟨ṁ⟩ kulam ala⟨ṁ⟩kariṣṇo⟨ḥ⟩ śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārāja-
⁶sya sūn(o)r aneka-samara-sa⟨ṁ⟩ghaṭṭ(o)palabdha-yu⟨d⟩dha-vijaya-ya-
⁷śaḥ-pras¿u?⟨ū⟩ty-¿a?⟨ā⟩moda-gandhā¿d?⟨dh⟩ivāsita-sakala-di¡g!-maṇḍalasya śrī-
^{⎘ plate 2r}⁸ -vijayasiddh¡i!⟨eḥ⟩ priya-tanaya⟨ḥ⟩ sva-vikram¿a?⟨ā⟩krānta-mah¿i?⟨ī⟩-maṇḍal¡asya!⟨aḥ⟩ Ari-
⁹-timira-pra¡ḷ!⟨l⟩ay(ā)ditya⟨ḥ⟩ yuvati-jana-ma¿kh?⟨k⟩aradhvaja⟨ḥ⟩ vidva¿kt?⟨t-k⟩avi-vipra-vandita⟨ḥ⟩ ¡pā!⟨prā⟩-
¹⁰¡ṭaka!⟨rthaka⟩◯-jana-kāmadhenu⟨ḥ⟩ ¡nimachcājyalasya!⟨nirmātsaryālasya⟩-¡naiṣṭūrjya!⟨naiṣṭhurya⟩⟨ḥ⟩ ¡riṣya!⟨īrṣyā⟩-paiś¡ū!⟨u⟩nya-
¹¹-rahi◯ta⟨ḥ⟩ strī-¿bh?⟨b⟩ā¡ḷ!⟨l⟩a-v¡ri!⟨r̥⟩ddha-buddha-praha⟨r⟩ṣaṇ¿i?⟨ī⟩ya-r¿u?⟨ū⟩pa⟨ḥ⟩ śr¿i?⟨ī⟩-viṣṇuva⟨r⟩ddhana-ma-
¹²hār(ā)j¡asya!⟨aḥ⟩ Evam ā¿ñy?⟨jñ⟩āpayati

kommara-v¿a?⟨ā⟩stavy¿a?⟨ā⟩ya Ātr¡i!⟨e⟩ya-go-
¹³trāya ¡reṇya!⟨hiraṇya⟩keśi-sūtrāya Agniśarmmaṇa⟨ḥ⟩ ¡pavu!⟨pau⟩trāya tāḻi⟦rmma⟧⟨⟨śa⟩⟩-
^{⎘ plate 2v}¹⁴ rmmaṇa⟨ḥ⟩ putrāya keśavaśarmmaṇ¡a!⟨e⟩ pḻolnāṇḍu-viṣaye jaḷayūru n(ā)ma
¹⁵grām(e) paścima-diśāyā⟨ṁ⟩ Eliyeṟu-nad¿i?⟨ī⟩-(paśc)imata⟨ḥ⟩ prabhākara-kṣetr¡a!-
¹⁶-¡U!t(t)a(r)ata(ḥ) kākaṇḍivāḍa-kṣetra-pū⟨r⟩vvata⟨ḥ⟩ val(m)ī(ka)-dakṣiṇata Eta¡t-c!a-
¹⁷tu◯r-avadhi viṁśati-khaṇḍikā-¿b?⟨v⟩r¿i?⟨ī⟩(h)i-bīja-paripramāṇa(ṁ) kṣe-
¹⁸tra⟨ṁ⟩ ¡śakraṁti!⟨saṁkrānti⟩-nimitte ¿O?⟨U⟩daka-pū(r)v(va)[ṁ da](ttaṁ)[.] g¡ri!⟨r̥⟩ha-s¿t?⟨th⟩¿a?⟨ā⟩naṁ puṣpa-vā¿ś?⟨ṭ⟩i-
¹⁹k¿a?⟨ā⟩-sahita⟨ṁ⟩[.] sarvva-kara-parihāre⟨ṇa⟩[.] prava⟨r⟩ddhamāna-vijaya-rā-
^{⎘ plate 3r}²⁰ jya-saṁva¡cha!⟨tsa⟩re ¡viṁśati-trir! varṣe śrī-maṁ¡gh!⟨g⟩i-¡duvarāja!-priya-¡duhita!
²¹śrī-¡prithivipo(th)i-nāma datta!

I. Anuṣṭubh

bahu¿b?⟨bh⟩ir vvasu¿d?⟨dh⟩ā dattā

bahu¿b?⟨bh⟩iś cānu²²pā◯litā

yasya yasya yadā bhūmi⟨s⟩

tasya tasya tadā ¿b?⟨ph⟩alaM|

II. Anuṣṭubh

sva-da²³ttāṁ para-dattā⟨ṁ⟩ vā{ṁ}

y{y}o ¡hareriti!⟨hareta⟩ vasundharā(ṁ)

śaṣṭi¡r! varṣa-sahasrāṇi

viṣ¿ṭ?⟨ṭh⟩(ā)²⁴yāṁ jāyate kr̥mi⟨ḥ⟩

¡Āñyapti!⟨Ājñaptiḥ⟩ kaḍa-Eṟeya vātaṭṭa-¡nāma![.] ¡tinasya!⟨tenāsya⟩ g¡ri!⟨r̥⟩-
²⁵ha-s¿t?⟨th⟩ānaṁ dattaṁ

Apparatus

Seal

Plates

² mātr̥{i}- ◇ māt¿ri?⟨r̥⟩- EH • The t has an r̥ marker (not a subscript r, compare krita in line 4) and an i marker. It may have been corrected by the scribe from tri without deleting the i. — ² Aśvame¿th?⟨dh⟩āvabhr̥{i}tha- ◇ Aśvame¿th?⟨dh⟩āvabh¡ri!⟨r̥⟩tha- EH • The bh has an r̥ marker (not a subscript r) and an i marker. — ² -vijaya- • There is an extra vertical stroke and perhaps part of the headmark at the top right of ja. It is possible that the engraver first began a ya here, then corrected to ja.
⁷ -di¡g!-maṇḍalasya • In gm, the g is formed as a downward curve of the left arm of a regularly placed ma. The likely reason is that this is the last line of the plate, right on the bottom edge, where a regularly composed ligature would not have fit. But correction from an initially engraved ma is also possible.
^9–10 -vandita⟨ḥ⟩ ¡pā!⟨prā⟩ /¡ṭaka!⟨rthaka⟩- ◇ -vandi{ta}-pā/¿ṭ?⟨ṭh⟩aka- EH • Hultzsch’s emendation is also plausible. I believe my suggestion is more likely even though it involves a larger alteration to pāṭaka. Earlier Eastern Cālukya kings described as kāmadhenu direct their generosity at the needy and Brahmins (Cīpurupalle plates, line 5); supplicants (Timmapuram plates, line 9); and seekers of protection (Peṇukapaṟu grant, line 7; probably also Koṇeki grant, line 9).
¹⁰ -kāmadhenu⟨ḥ⟩ ¡nimachcājyalasya!⟨nirmātsaryālasya⟩-¡naiṣṭūrjya!⟨naiṣṭhurya⟩⟨ḥ⟩ ¡riṣya!⟨īrṣyā⟩- ◇ -kāmadhenu¿ni?⟨r⟩ ¡machcājyalasya!⟨mātsaryālasya⟩-¡naiṣṭūrjyariṣya!⟨naiṣṭhuryāriṣṭa⟩- EH • Hultzsch’s emendation is again not implausible, but I consider mine more likely to reflect the composer’s intent. On the one hand, I prefer to assume that ni is part of the intended text and a privative prefix, not something engraved superfluously or in error for a superscipt error on the next character. If so, then the compound ending with rahita⟨ḥ⟩ must be separate from the one beginning with ni⟨r⟩, and the point of separation is most likely to be after ālasya. On the other hand, I do not think ariṣṭa has any pertinence here, and propose that īrṣyā had been intended.
¹⁸ g¡ri!⟨r̥⟩ha- ◇ g¿riṁ?⟨r̥⟩ha- EH — ¹⁸ -maṁ¡gh!⟨g⟩i-¡duvarāja!- ◇ -maghiṁduvarāja- EH • See also the commentary.
²¹ -¡prithivipo(th)i-!- ◇ -p¡ri!⟨r̥⟩thiv¿i?⟨ī⟩pothī- EH • I concur with Hultzsch that the last consonant of this name is th, and not ṟ as read in ARIE. As Hultzsch observes, it is not quite the expected shape (compare the first th in the same name), but it differs more substantially from other instances of ṟ in lines 15 and 24. He adds in his discussion that the second member of the name may be a misspelling of potī, the feminine of pota, which is known to have formed part of the names of Pallava kings (see also the commentary). Krishna Rao (1925-1926) insists that the correct reading is poṟī, while also admitting that ṟ looks different elsewhere in the plates. His justification is that he considers poṟī to be a feminine derivative of the old Telugu word poṟadu meaning a youth. On the basis of Hultzsch’s estampages, I have also considered reading this character as a slightly misshapen ś, but this can be discarded on the basis of my photos and the original ASI estampages. To Hultzsch’s notes, I add that the upper part of this character is definitely narrower than the lower part, and without the slightest trace of a notch, so ṟ can be excluded safely. Conversely, the difference from a typical th is only incidental and not critical. The mark inside the body of th has been executed in varying ways in this inscription: the first th of this name differs from both instances in Aśvamethāāvabhr̥tha in line 4.
²² ¿b?⟨ph⟩alaM ◇ ¿b?⟨ph⟩ala⟨M⟩ EH • The final character here is not a typical M, but it must have been intended for one; it definitely is not a punctuation mark.
²³ para- • There are two additional strokes attached to pa, curving down from the bottom left corner of the body, and likewise curving down from slightly higher up the right-hand side. The first one resembles the kind of e marker that is attached to the body of some consonants. It is unlikely that pera or pora would have been inscribed, so these marks may have something to do with the fact that the upper right corner of pa has fallen victim to the edge of the binding hole.
²⁴ kr̥mi⟨ḥ⟩ ◇ k¡ra!⟨r̥⟩mi⟨ḥ⟩ EH — ²⁴ vātaṭṭa • From this point on, the writing seems clumsier than before. It is probably the same hand, but this information may have been added later and in some haste.
²⁵ dattaṁ ◇ datta⟨M⟩ EH

Translation by Dániel Balogh

Seal

Plates

^1-12Greetings. The dear son of His Majesty King (mahārāja) Vijayasiddhi (Maṅgi Yuvarāja), who perfumed the complete circle of the quarters with pleasant fragrance from the efflorescence of his glory [achieved by] martial victory attained in the clash of many a battle and who was the son of His Majesty King (mahārāja) Viṣṇuvardhana (II) who was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Chaḷukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is praised by the entire world, who are sons of Hāriti, who attained kingship by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon, who are protected by the band of Mothers, who acquired the Boar emblem by the grace of the divine Nārāyaṇa, and whose bodies have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice—His Majesty King (mahārāja) Viṣṇuvardhana (III), who has conquered the disc of the earth through his own valour, who is a doomsday sun to the darkness of his enemies, a crocodile-bannered [god of love] to young ladies, praised by sages, poets and Brahmins, a cow of plenty (kāmadhenu) to supplicants, without jealousy, sloth and cruelty, free from envy and treachery, and whose figure delights women, the young, the aged and the wise, commands as follows.

^12-21In the Pḻolnāṇḍu district (viṣaya), at the village named Jaḷayūru, in the western direction (of that village), a field sufficient for (sowing) twenty khaṇḍikās of rice seed, with these four boundaries—to the west of the Eliyeṟu river, to the north of the Prabhākara field, to the east of the Kākaṇḍivāḍa field, to the south of a termite mound—has been donated on the occasion of a passage of the sun (saṁkrānti), [the donation being] sanctified by (a libation of) water, to Keśavaśarman, a resident of Kommara of the Ātreya gotra, an adherent of the Hiraṇyakeśi sūtra, son of Tāḻiśarman and grandson of Agniśarman. A homestead plot [was also granted], together with a flower garden. With exemption from all taxes. In year twenty-three of the years of the progressive triumphant reign. [It was] given by the dear daughter of His Majesty ¿Maṅgi Yuvarāja?, named Her Highness Prithivipothi.

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.

II.

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

^24-25The executor (ājñapti) is the castellan (kaḍa-eṟeya)^↓1 named Vātaṭṭa. It is by him that the homestead land of this [donation] was given.

Translation into French by Estienne-Monod 2008

Seal

Plates

^1-12Prospérité ! l’illustre grand roi Viṣṇuvardhana, fils aimé de l’illustre Vijayasiddhi,^↓2 dont la gloire [obtenue] dans les combats victorieux, remportés dans les heurts des nombreuses batailles, répandait son parfum engendré par la joie, sur le cercle de tous les horizons, [lui-même] fils de l’illustre grand roi Viṣṇuvardhana, ornement de la lignée des Calukya, illustres, du même gotra que les descendants de Manu honorés dans le monde entier, fils de Hārīti, dont le royaume fut obtenu par l’excellente faveur de Kauśikī, protégés par la troupe des Mères, dont les corps furent purifiés par les bains purificatoires de l’aśvamedha, porteurs du signe du sanglier, obtenu par la faveur du bienheureux Nārāyaṇa, [l’illustre grand roi Viṣṇuvardhana,] qui a soumis le cercle de la terre par sa bravoure, soleil dissipant les ténèbres que sont les ennemis, Makaradhvaja pour les jeunes filles, vache des désirs pour les savants, les poètes, les prêtres, les adorateurs et les récitants, dépourvu de jalousie, de mollesse, d’échec, de dureté, de médisance, lui dont la beauté fait le ravissement des femmes, des jeunes gens, des anciens, et des sages, ordonne ceci :

^12-24l’illustre fille aimée de l’illustre Maṁgi Yuvarāja^↓3, nommée Pr̥thivī Pothī, donne à Keśavasarman, habitant à Kommara, du gotra des Ātreya, qui suit les sūtra de Hiraṇyakeśin, petit-fils d’Agniśarman, fils de Tāḻiśarman, à l’occasion de Saṁkrānti, après avoir fait une libation d’eau, dans le viṣaya de Pḻolnāṇḍu, à l’ouest du village nommé Jaḷayūru, un terrain, dont les quatre limites sont à l’ouest de la rivière Eliyeṟu, au nord du terrain de Prabhākara, à l’est du terrain de Kākaṇḍivāḍa, au sud de la fourmilière, [terrain] où l’on peut semer vingt khaṇḍikā de riz, et une maison avec un jardin, exempté de toute taxe, en la vingt-troisième année de [notre] auguste règne.

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

II.

Qu’elle soit donnée par lui ou par un autre, celui qui prend une terre renaît ver de terre dans les excréments pendant soixante mille ans.

^24-25L’exécuteur est le chef de camp^↓4 nommé Vātaṭṭa. Il donne la maison à celui-ci.

Commentary

The seal currently (2023) associated with the plates in the Eluru Museum cannot be the original, since the ASI cover sheet and Hultzsch agree that the seal legend is śrī-viṣamasiddhi, and the emblem shows a star or the sun in the crescent moon. The seal in the museum bears the legend śrī-sarvvasiddhi and has only the moon above the legend. There is a slight chance that the broken and incomplete seal currently associated with the Cāmaṟṟu plates of Jayasiṁha I originally belonged to this set. No image of the original seal is available, so in my edition I show its inscription as reported.

Hultzsch identifies “Maghiṁduvarāja” (line 20) as the Pallava king Mahendravarman III and assumes that his daughter was a queen of Viṣṇuvardhana III. As Krishna Rao (1925-1926) points out, Maṁghiduvarāja (with the anusvāra to be read with ma) must be Maṅgi Yuvarāja, and thus his daughter is a sister of Viṣṇuvardhana III. Compare also the apparent spelling magiṁyuvarāja in line 11 of the Śrīpūṇḍi grant of Tāḻa II, with the anusvāra to the right of the vowel marker in giṁ. Why Hultzsch does not advocate this view, or even mention it as a possibility, is a mystery, especially in view of the fact that it is he who, in the same volume of Epigraphia Indica (Hultzsch 1925–1926: 258) asserts that duvarāja is a Dravidian tadbhava form of yuvarāja, and that the Pr̥thividuvarāja mentioned in the Kopparam plates of Pulakeśin II must be Pr̥thivīyuvarāja, i.e. Viṣṇuvardhana I. Sircar (in Majumdar 1960: 254) asserts the same view and dismisses identification with Mahendravarman III.

Bibliography

Reported in ARIE 1919-1920: page 12, appendix A/1919–1920, № 10 with a description at ARIE 1919-1920: 99–100. Edited from estampages by E. Hultzsch (1925-1926) with a summary of contents, with estampages of the plates, no image of the seal. Some of Hultzsch’s readings were corrected by B. V. Krishna Rao (1926-1927). The present edition by Dániel Balogh is based on photographs taken by myself in February 2023 at the Archaeological Museum, Eluru and estampages at the ASI, Mysore,^↓5 collated with Hultzsch’s text.

Primary

Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1925–1926. “Ipur Plates of Vishnuvardhana III.” EI 18: 58–60.

[siglum EH]

Secondary

ARIE 1919-1920. Page 12, appendix A/1919–1920, № 10.

Krishna Rao, Bhavaraju Venkata. 1926–1927. “A Note on the Ipuru Plates of Vishnuvardhana III.” JAHRS 1: 86–91.

Notes

↑1. The term kaḍa-eṟeya and its Sanskrit equivalent kaṭaka-rāja is normally understood to mean a chief officer of the royal camp (cf. Fleet 1902–1903: 183–185 and Sircar 1966: s.v. kaṭaka–rāja). However, as it seems to denote a very high hereditary office in the Cālukyan court, I believe it had in this case no direct association with any army camps.
↑2. Nommé Sarvalokāśraya in insc. nos 23 et 24, ou Maṁgi in insc. nos 26 à 56.
↑3. Selon Hultzsch ce Maṁgi n’est pas le roi Cālukya mentionné précédemment mais un roi Pallava.
↑4. Le terme kaḍa-eṟeyo est selon Hultzsch l’équivalent kannaḍa de kaṭakarāja, Ep. Ind., XVIII, p. 60, n. 10.
↑5. The ASI cover sheet includes a transcript in Telugu characters, which I have not collated.