Masulipatam plates of Amma II

Metadata

Current Version: draft, 2025-01-30Z

Editor: Dániel Balogh.

DHARMA Identifier: INSVengiCalukya00074

Hand Description:

No information is available about details such as the appearance of halanta characters and original punctuation marks. The text may begin with a floret, as usual in Amma’s grants, but EH does not indicate any symbol.

Other palaeographic observations.

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

Seal

¹śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa

Plates

^{⎘ plate 1v}¹svasti[.] śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇāṁ
²hārīti-putrāṇāṁ kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānām mātr̥-gaṇa-paripālitā-
³nāṁ svāmi-mahāsena-pādānudhyāyināṁ bhagavan-nārāyaṇa-prasāda-sa(mā)-
⁴sādita-vara-varāha-lāṁchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tārāti-maṇḍalānā{ṁ}m aśva-
⁵medhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitrīkr̥ta-vapuṣāṁ cālukyānāṁ kulam alaṁka⟨ri⟩-
⁶ṣṇos satyāśraya-vallabhendrasya bhrātā kubja-viṣṇuvarddhano [’]ṣṭādaśa varṣāṇi veṁgī-
⁷-deśam apālayaT| tadātmajo (ja)yasiṁhas trayastriṁśataṁ| tad-anuje-
⁸ndrarāja-nandano viṣṇuvarddhano nava| (tat-sū)nur mmaṁgi-yuvarājaḥ paṁcaviṁśatiM[.]
^{⎘ plate 2r}⁹tat-putro jayasiṁhas trayodaśa| tad-avaraja⟨ḥ⟩ kokkiliḥ ṣaṇ māsāN| tasya j(e)ṣṭh(o)
¹⁰bhrātā viṣṇuvarddhanas tam uccāṭya saptatriṁśataM| tat-putro vijayāditya-bhaṭṭāra-
¹¹ko [’]ṣṭādaśa| tat-suto viṣṇuvarddhanaṣ ¿v?⟨ṣ⟩aṭtriṁśataM| tat-suto vijayā⟨di⟩tya-narendra-mr̥-
¹²garāja¿so?⟨ś cā⟩ṣṭacatvāriṁśataM| tat-putraḥ kali-viṣṇuvarddhano [’]dhyarddha-
¹³-varṣ¿ā?⟨aM⟩| tat-suto guṇaga-vijayāditya⟨ś⟩ catu⟨ś⟩catvāriṁśataṁ|

I. Anuṣṭubh

ta¹⁴d-bhrātur vvikramāditya-

-bhūpateḥ ⟨sac-camūpateḥ⟩

vilasat-kaṇṭhikā-dāma-

-kaṇṭhasya tanayo ¹⁵nayī

II. Sragdharā

dīnānāthāturāṇān dvija-(vara)-samiter yyācakānāṁ yatīnān

nā¹⁶nā-deśāgatānāṁ paṭu-vaṭu-naṭa-sad-gāyakānāṁ kavīnāṁ

bandhūnām andha^{⎘ plate 2v}¹⁷(kā)nām abhilaṣita-phala-śrāṇanād ra(kṣaṇā)d yo

māteva triṁśad abdān bhuvam abhunag asau ¹⁸(cā)ru-cālukya-bhīmaḥ|

tat-putro vijayādityaṣ ṣaṇ māsāN| tasyāmmarājaḥ sapta| tad-anu tālapa-
¹⁹-rājo māsaṁ| tam uccāṭya cālukya-bhīmātmajo vikramādityaḥ saṁvatsar¿āN?⟨aM⟩| tad-anu yuddhamalla⟨ḥ⟩ sa-
²⁰(pta|)

III. Śārdūlavikrīḍita

nirjjityārjjuna-sannibho janapadāt tan nirggamayyoddhatān

dāyādān ina-bhānu-līna-bha-gaṇākārān vidhāyeta²¹(rāN|)

vajjrīvorjjita-(nā)kam amma-nr̥pater bhrātā kanīyān bhuvaṁ

bhīmo bhīma-parākramas sama(bhu)na(K) ²²(saṁ)vatsarāN dvādaśa|

IV. Āryā

tasya maheśvara-mūrtter umā-samānākr̥te¿k?⟨ḥ⟩ kumārābhaḥ

lokamahādevyā⟨ḥ⟩ khalu ²³(ya)s samabhavad ammarājākhyaḥ|

V. Āryāgīti

yasmi¡n ś!āsati nr̥patau paripakvāneka-sasya-(saṁpac-chā)lī|

satata-payo-dhe²⁴(nu)r abhīr nnirītir aparu¡jṅ!⟨jṅ⟩ ni⟦(j?)ni⟧⟨⟨ra⟩⟩sta-coro-deśaḥ|

s{s}a samasta-bhuvanā(śraya)-śrī-vijayāditya-ma(hā)rājādhirāja-
²⁵-(pa)rameśvaraḥ parama-bhaṭṭārakaḥ parama-brahmaṇya⟨ḥ⟩ gu(dravā)ra-viṣaya-nivāsino rāṣṭrakūṭ{ṭ}a-(pramukhā)-
^{⎘ plate 3r}²⁶n kuṭuṁbinas samāhūyetthamājñāpayati|

kanna[?20+śa-]
²⁷rmmaṇaḥ putrāya kauṇḍi¡ll!⟨n⟩yagotrāya tā(ḻu)paṟṟu-grā(ma)[?15+śa-]
²⁸rmmābhidhānāya mat-kula-brāhmaṇāya mama ⟨⟨dharmma⟩⟩[?16+]-
²⁹sya vāy¿u?⟨a⟩vy¿a?⟨ā⟩n diśi Etadīy{y}a-prāktana-kṣetraṁ vilu[ptaṁ ?16+ sa-]
³⁰rvva-kara-parihāram udaka-pūrvvaṁ [?20+]

³¹Asyāvadhayaḥ pūrvvataḥ va[?24+]
³²nāma grāmasya sīmaiva sīm¿a?⟨ā⟩| Uttarataḥ ka [?20+ A-]
³³syopari na kenacid bādhā karttavyā[.] yaḥ karoti [?16+ ta-]
³⁴thā coktaṁ vyāsena|

VI. Anuṣṭubh

svāmino na paro deva

I[ ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ ⏑ – ⏑ ⏓ ]

[ ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ ⏑ – – ⏓ ]

³⁵[ ⏓ ⏓ ⏓ ] paripālakāḥ|

Apparatus

Seal

Plates

¹² °rāja¿so?⟨ś cā⟩ṣṭa° ◇ °rājas ¿o?⟨sā⟩ṣṭa° EH •
¹⁴ bhūpateḥ ⟨sac-camūpateḥ⟩ ◇ bhūpateḥ EH • I supply the missing words from parallels of this stanza. The text may have been intended as a prose abbreviation of the verse original, but since all other parts of the text match, including the next stanza that also follows this one on parallels, I prefer to assume that this is a scribal omission, plausible as eyeskip at pateḥ.
¹⁵ nayī ◇ ¿n?⟨j⟩ayī EH • EH suggests his emendation only tentatively. We now know from parallels of the stanza that the text is correct as received.
¹⁸ tasyāmmarājaḥ • A word meaning "son" is expected here. The intent may have been tasyātmajo mmarājaḥ.
²² -samānākr̥te¿k?⟨ḥ⟩ • I wonder if the reading is in fact with a jihvāmūlīya.
²⁴ ni⟦(j?)ni⟧⟨⟨ra⟩⟩sta- • According to Hultzsch, an i is visible above ra and an n below it. He suggests that the preceding jni may have been engraved twice and then the second corrected to ra.
^26–27 [śa-]/rmmaṇaḥ • Hultzsch does not make this restoration. About ṇa, he observes that it looks like ṇi.
²⁷ tā(ḻu)paṟṟu- • Hultzsch notes that an obliterated e seems to stand over tā. — ^27–28 [śa-]/rmmābhidhānāya • Hultzsch does not make this restoration. He notes that an e seems to have been engraved above ya, and a m below it.
²⁸ ⟨⟨dharmma⟩⟩ • Hultzsch observes that this word is engraved over something else, with only traces visible.
^29–30 [sa-]/rvva- • Hultzsch does not make this restoration.
^32–33 [A-]/syopari • Hultzsch does not make this restoration.
^33–34 [ta-]/thā • Hultzsch does not make this restoration.
³⁴ svāmino ... • I am not aware of any parallel to the stanza in cognate grants or in Sircar’s compilation of bhūmidāna stanzas.
³⁵ paripālakāḥ • Hultzsch prints 5 asterisks in this line to indicate a gap before this word. He does not tell us whether the plate is broken off at the bottom edge, or whether it is only worn to illegibility. The asterisks take up as much page space as 8-10 akṣaras of his text. By my estimate, the number of characters lost in line 34 ought to be around 15 to 20 characters. I arbitrarily place the line break at the beginning of the last pāda of the stanza, but the actual break may have been elsewhere. The word paripālakāḥ is metrically appropriate for the end of an anuṣṭubh stanza, but it is also possible that it is the end of a short prose sentence written after the stanza. Hultzsch prints no asterisks after this word, which I take to mean that the text ends before the plate breaks off, but I cannot exclude the possibility that some further text has been lost after this point.

Translation by Dániel Balogh

Seal

Plates

^1-13Greetings. Satyāśraya Vallabhendra (Pulakeśin II) was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Cālukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is praised by the entire world, who are sons of Hārīti, who attained kingship by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon, who are protected by the band of Mothers, who are humbly devoted to Lord Mahāsena,^↓1, to whom enemy territories instantaneously submit at the [mere] sight of the superior Boar emblem they have acquired 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 brother Kubja Viṣṇuvardhana protected (pāl-) the country of Veṅgī for eighteen years. His son Jayasiṁha (I), for thirty-three. His younger brother Indrarāja’s (Indra Bhaṭṭāraka’s) son Viṣṇuvardhana (II), for nine. His son Maṅgi Yuvarāja, for twenty-five. His son Jayasiṁha (II), for thirteen. His younger brother, Kokkili, for six months. After dethroning him, his eldest brother Viṣṇuvardhana (III), for thirty-seven. His son Vijayāditya (I) Bhaṭṭāraka, for eighteen. His son Viṣṇuvardhana (IV), for thirty-six. His son Vijayāditya (II) Narendramr̥garāja, for forty-eight. His son Kali-Viṣṇuvardhana (V), for a year and a half. His son Guṇaga Vijayāditya (III), for forty-four.

His brother Prince (bhūpati) Vikramāditya, the good general of the army whose neck was garlanded with the flashing locket (of the heir-apparent), had a judicious son.

II.

He, the dear Cālukya-Bhīma—who [was] like a mother to the destitute, the helpless and the sick, to the congregation of excellent Brahmins, to supplicants, to ascetics, as well as to clever Brahmin pupils (vaṭu), actors, good singers and poets arriving from various lands, because he presented them with the objects of their desires and protected them—ruled (bhuj-) the earth for thirty years.

^18-20His son Vijayāditya (IV Kollabigaṇḍa), for six months. His [son] Ammarāja (I), for seven [years]. After him, King (rājan) Tālapa, for one month. After dethroning him, Cālukya-Bhīma’s son Vikramāditya (II), for a year. Then Yuddhamalla, for seven.

III.

Having vanquished him and expelled him from the country, having made [other] haughty rivals (dāyāda) resemble clusters of stars vanishing in the rays of the sun, the younger brother of King (nr̥pati) Amma (I)—Bhīma (II) of fearsome (bhīma) prowess, who took after Arjuna—ruled (bhuj-) the earth for twelve years, as the Thunderbolt-wielder (Indra) [rules] the high heaven.

IV.

To him (Bhīma II), who was [like] Maheśvara in form, a [son] named Ammarāja (II), who verily resembled Kumāra, was born from none other than (his queen) Lokamahādevī, who was like Umā in appearance.

While this king rules, the land is replete with the bounty of many a ripe harvest, exempt from fear, free from disasters (īti), devoid of pestilence and rid of bandits, and its cows never dry up.

^24-26That shelter of the entire universe (samasta-bhuvanāśraya), His Majesty Vijayāditya (Amma II) the supremely pious Supreme Lord (parameśvara) of emperors (mahārājādhirāja) and Supreme Sovereign (parama-bhaṭṭāraka), convokes and commands the householders (kuṭumbin)—including foremost the territorial overseers (rāṣṭrakūṭa)—who reside in Gudravāra district (viṣaya) as follows:

^26-31[To the one] named [...]śarman of the Kauṇḍinya gotra, son of [...]śarman, [... resident of] the village Tāḻupaṟṟu [...] named [...], who is my kula-brāhmaṇa^↓2 [...] my dharma [...] in the northwestern direction of [...] a field formerly belonging to this one, which has been expropriated [... is now restored,] exempt from all taxes, [the donation being] sanctified by (a libation of) water.

^31-34Its boundaries [are as follows]. To the east [... to the west,] the boundary is none other than the boundary of the village named [...] To the north, [...] Let no-one pose an obstacle (to his enjoyment of his rights) over it. He who does so [...] So too Vyāsa has said:

VI.

There is no divinity higher than [one’s] lord [...] protectors.

Commentary

Bibliography

Edited, probably from the original plates, by Eugen Hultzsch (1890: pages 46–49, № 38), with a translation,^↓3 without facsimile. The present edition encoded by Dániel Balogh follows Hultzsch in all diplomatic particulars, since no facsimile of the inscription is available.

Primary

Hultzsch, Eugen Julius Theodor. 1890. South-Indian Inscriptions, Tamil and Sanskrit, from Stone and Copper-Plate Edicts at Mamallapuram, Kanchipuram, in the North Arcot District, and Other Parts of the Madras Presidency, Chiefly Collected in 1886-87. Volume I. South Indian Inscriptions 1. Madras: Government Press.

Pages 46–49, № 38. [siglum EH]

Secondary

Notes

↑1. While I consistently translate the phrase (pāda+)anudhyāta, occurring in almost all Cālukya plates, as “deliberately appointed by,” the construction here is with °ānudhyāyin. Thus, the composer of this text had in mind “meditation on feet of,” or at least a humble devotion to the respected presence. This in turn may mean that the standard phrase with (pāda+)anudhyāta was also understood to have this latter meaning by this time in the Cālukya chancellery. Compare Ferrier and Törzsök 2008: 109.
↑2. Hultzsch translates kula-brāhmaṇa as “family priest” in his commentary, and Sircar’s IEG gives the same meaning, citing SII, probably this particular inscription. However, B. V. Krishna Rao (1973: 283) points out that a family priest would be called purohita, while a kula-brāhmaṇa is a particularly esteemed Brahmin who marries a royal princess in addition to his Brahmin wife, and whose children are raised as kṣatriyas. I am inclined to prefer his explanation.
↑3. His translation excludes the beginning of the praśasti and the executive section.