Tāṇḍivāḍa grant of Vijayāditya II

Metadata

Current Version: draft, 2024-09-02Z

Editor: Dániel Balogh.

DHARMA Identifier: INSVengiCalukya00082

Hand Description:

Halantas.

Original punctuation marks.

Other palaeographic observations. Anusvāra is well above the headline, to the right of the character to which it belongs. In l8 raṁga, and l18 vedāṁgetihāsa, it is shifted to above the next character on account of an intervening descender. It is also above the next character in the vernacular name purusaṁbu (l24).

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

Seal

¹śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa

Plates

^{⎘ plate 1v}¹svast(i)[.] śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇāṁ hāriti-p(u)-
²trā(ṇāṁ) kauśik¿i?⟨ī⟩-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-paripālitānāṁ svāmi-ma-
³hāsena-pādānudhyātānāṁ bhagavan-nārāyaṇa-prasāda-samās¿a?⟨ā⟩dita-vara-varā⟦pa⟧⟨⟨ha⟩⟩-lāñchane-
⁴kṣaṇa◯-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tārāti-maṇḍalānāṁ Aśvame⟦(vabhr̥tha)⟧⟨⟨dhāvabhr̥⟩⟩tha-snāna-pavitr¿i?⟨ī⟩k(r̥)-
⁵ta-vapu◯ṣāṁ caḷukyānāṁ kulam alaṁkariṣṇoḥ svāsi-dhārā-prabhāvāvarjitāśe-
⁶ṣa-rājanya-mastakākrānta-tīvraika-śāsanasyāneka-tulā-dhr̥ta-ś{r}ātakumbha-viśrāṇanāva-
⁷dāta-śarīra-sampado niravadyodāra-k(ī)rtti-dhvajasya samasta-bhuvanāśraya-śrī-vija(yā)-
⁸ditya-mahārājasya pautraḥ tat-sūn¿u?⟨o⟩r ati-tumula-ghora-mahāhava-raṁga-paṭutara-nai-
^{⎘ plate 2r}⁹puṇya¿ḥ?⟨sya⟩ sakala-mahīpāla-vandita-caraṇāravinda-yugal¿o?⟨asya⟩ makara-dhvajābhidhānaka¿(ḥ)?⟨sya⟩ sarvva-(lo)-
¹⁰kāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārājasya priya-tanayaḥ samasta-sā(manta)-mauli-mālālaṁ(kr̥)ta-ca-
¹¹raṇa-yuga¡ḷ!⟨l⟩o niravadyodāra-guṇa-gaṇālaṁkr̥ta-śarīraḥ (kṣīrārṇṇava) ¡yi!⟨I⟩va lakṣmī-prasūt(i)r dharmma-
¹²(ja) ¡yi!⟨I⟩va ◯ satya-sandhaḥ Arjuna ¡yi!⟨I⟩va nirmmalopetaḥ bh(ī)masena ¡yi!⟨I⟩va bh(ī)ma-balā¿ḍ?⟨ḍh⟩yaḥ sa-
¹³(ha)de◯va ¡yi!⟨I⟩va saha-deva-mūrttiḥ guha ¡yi!⟨I⟩vāpratihata-śaktiḥ śakti-traya-sampannaḥ pa-
¹⁴rama-brahmaṇyaḥ parama-māheśvaro mātā-pitr̥-pādānudhyātaḥ samasta-bhuvanāśraya-śr(ī)-vi-
¹⁵jayāditya-mahārājādhirāja-parameśvara-bhaṭṭārakaḥ k(o)nūrunāṇḍu-viṣaya-nivāsino (rā)-
¹⁶ṣ(ṭr)ak(ū)ṭa-pramu(kh)ān (ku)ṭuṁbinas (s)arvvān ittham ājñāpayati

viditam ast(u) vo [’]smābhiḥ vaṁgi(pa)-
^{⎘ plate 2v}¹⁷ṟu-v¡a!⟨ā⟩stavyasya gautama-gotrasyāpastam¿bh?⟨b⟩a-sūtrasyātiśaya-dharmmānuṣṭhāna-para-
¹⁸sya ṣaṭ-karmma-niratasya vr̥ddha-maṇḍaśarmmaṇa⟨ḥ⟩ pautrābhy¿a?⟨ā⟩ṁ tat-putrayor vveda-vedāṁgetihāsa-pu-
¹⁹rāṇa-nītiśāstrārttha-(n)i(p)uṇayoḥ doṇaśarmma-goḷaśarmmaṇoḥ putrābhyāṁ Adhyayanādhy(ā)-
²⁰pana-ya◯jana-yājana-dānādi-kriyānuṣṭhāna-tatparābhyāṁ Anavarata-makhāgni-dhūma-
²¹sa⟨ṁ⟩ca(ya)◯-gandhādhivāsita-śarīra-nirmmalābhyāṁ vr̥ddha-maṇḍa-doṇaśarmmabhyām āyu-
²²r-āro(g)yābhivr̥ddhaye sūryya-grahaṇa-nimitte sarvva-kara-parihāreṇodaka-
²³-pūrvvaṁ kr̥tvā tāṇḍiv¿a?⟨ā⟩ḍa nāma grāmo dattaḥ

Asyāvadhayaḥ[.] pūrvvata⟨ḥ⟩ kaḷḷeṟu
²⁴nāma nadī[.] dakṣiṇataḥ purusaṁbu nāma grāmaḥ[.] paścima(ta)[ḥ 2×](ḻama?)-
^{⎘ plate 3r}²⁵ni nāma nadī[.] Ut⟨t⟩arataḥ majjūḷūru nāma grāmaḥ[.] Eteṣā(ṁ) madhya-va(r)tt(ī)[.]
²⁶Asyopari na kenacid ¿bh?⟨b⟩¿a?⟨ā⟩dhā karaṇīyā[.] karoti yas sa pañca-mahāpātaka-saṁyu-
²⁷kto bhavati[.] bha(ga)vatā vyāsenāpy uktaṁ

I. Anuṣṭubh

bahubhir vvasudhā (da)ttā

bahubhiś cānupālitā

(ya)²⁸sya ya◯sya yadā bhūmis

tasya tasya tadā ¿p?⟨ph⟩alaṁ

II. Anuṣṭubh

sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vā

yo ha²⁹reta va◯sundharāṁ

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi

viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate k¡ri!⟨r̥⟩miḥ

III. Śālinī

sarvvān e³⁰vaṁ bhāvinaḥ pārtthivendrā⟨n⟩

bhūyo bhūyo yācate rāmadevaḥ

sāmānyo [’]ya(n) dharmma-setu³¹r nr̥pāṇāṁ

kāle kāle pālanīyo bhavadbhiḥ

IV. Anuṣṭubh

Ājñaptir asya dharmmasya

nīti-śāstra-viśārada⟨ḥ⟩

buddhi-(sa)³²mp(ū)rṇṇa-saṁyukto

niravadyeśa-vatsalaḥ

Akṣaralalitācāryeṇāli(khitaṁ)

Apparatus

Seal

Plates

⁸ tat-sūn¿u?⟨o⟩r ◇ {tat-sūnur} S • S suggests in a note that this word is redundant, but does not explain why he thinks so. It is clear that he understands the following nominatives to refer to Viṣṇuvardhana. I concur with the latter, and therefore emend here and in the following words to a genitive. Compare the analogous tat-putrayor in line 18. An alternative would be to emend mahārājasya in line 10 to mahārājas tasya and leave the preceding nominatives as received.
¹⁴ -pādānudhyātaḥ • According to S, a letter ja seems to have been written below nu. I disagree: this is an ornamental extension of the subscript y of the following dhyā, interrupted at the descender of nu but continued on the left. — ¹⁴ k(o)nūrunāṇḍu- • The name may perhaps be kānūrunāṇḍu. S reads a clear o, and the ARIE agrees.
¹⁸ -putrayor vveda- • The character rvve may have been corrected from vvo, or from something else involving strokes to the left and right of the headmark.
²² -nimitte ◇ nimi¿te?⟨ttam⟩ S • S’s single t is probably a typo. His emendation of the ending is unnecessary. — ²² tāṇḍiv¿a?⟨ā⟩ḍa • I second S’s emendation.
²³ pūrvvata⟨ḥ⟩ kaḷḷeṟu • The characters taka are narrow and very closely spaced, whereas the spacing is very generous elsewhere in this line and the next. It is likely that these two characters are a correction; perhaps ka was originally written, then erased and re-inscribed as taka.
²⁴ purusaṁbu ◇ prusaṁbu S • S uses Prusaṁbu in his discussion too, so this is not a typo in his edition. It may reflect a Telugu pronunciation. — ^24–25 paścima(ta)[ḥ 2×](ḻama?)/ni ◇ paścimataḥ (pa)[...]/nī S
²⁷ (da?)ttā • The word dattā must have been intended, but the first character looks rather like va with some noise around it. Perhaps a correction, but if bhu was first inscribed, then the vowel marker has been deleted completely.
^29–30 e/vaṁ ◇ e/va S • Possibly a typo in S, since he does not emend, though the anusvāra is necessary for the metre. In my opinion, it is clear in the estampage.
³² niravadyeśa-vatsalaḥ • Both the ARIE report and S’s discussion name this person Niravadyeśa-vatsala. I am confident that the name is only Niravadya, and double sandhi has been used in the stanza to fit the expression, properly niravadya Īśavatsalaḥ, to the metre. — ³² Akṣaralalitācāryeṇā° • This name is erroneously cited in the ARIE report as Akṣaralikhitācārya.

Translation by Dániel Balogh

Seal

Plates

^1-16Greetings. The grandson of His Majesty King (mahārāja) Vijayāditya (I), the shelter of the entire universe (samasta-bhuvanāśraya), whose harsh sovereign rule overpowered all rulers (rājanya) bent down by the might of the blade of his sword, whose bodily excellence was cleansed by the distribution of gold weighed on many balance scales, the banner of whose reputation was irreproachable (niravadya) and noble, and who was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Caḷukyas—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 were deliberately appointed (to kingship) by Lord Mahāsena, 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 bodies have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions (avabhr̥tha) of the Aśvamedha sacrifice—; the dear son of his (Vijayāditya I’s) son His Majesty King (mahārāja) Viṣṇuvardhana (IV), the shelter of all the world (sarva-lokāśraya) whose proficiency in the theatre of highly chaotic, terrifying great battles was extremely sharp, whose pair of lotus feet was worshipped by all kings, and whose appellation was Makaradhvaja: [namely] His Majesty the supremely pious Supreme Lord (parameśvara) of Emperors (mahārājādhirāja), the Sovereign (bhaṭṭāraka) Vijayāditya (II), shelter of the entire universe (samasta-bhuvanāśraya), the supreme devotee of Maheśvara, who was deliberately appointed [as heir] by his mother and father, whose pair of feet is adorned by garlands on the heads of all subordinate rulers (sāmanta), whose body is adorned by a host of irreproachable (niravadya) and noble virtues, who produces royal majesty as the Milk Ocean {generated Lakṣmī}, who is true to his word like the son of Dharma (Yudhiṣṭhira), who is associated with virtuous people as Arjuna {was married to an immaculate woman},^↓1 who is endowed with a fearsome army as Bhīmasena {abounded in fearsome strength}, who is ¿accompanied by images of deities? as Sahadeva {¿had the body of Sahadeva?},^↓2 whose power is as irresistible as {the spear} of Guha (Skanda), and who is endowed with the three powers (śakti-traya)—[this Vijayāditya II] commands all householders (kuṭumbin)—including foremost the territorial overseers (rāṣṭrakūṭa)—who reside in Konūrunāṇḍu district (viṣaya) as follows.

^16-23Let it be known to you that on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun, for the augmentation of [our] vitality and health, we have given the village named Tāṇḍivāḍa with an exemption from all taxes, [the donation being] sanctified by (a libation of) water, to the grandsons of Vr̥ddha Maṇḍaśarman, a resident of Vaṁgipaṟu belonging to the Gautama gotra and the Āpastamba sūtra, who was excessively dedicated to the performance of ritual duties (dharma) and was engaged in the six duties (of a Brahmin); to the two sons of his (Vr̥ddha Maṇḍaśarman’s) two sons Doṇaśarman and Goḷaśarman, who were skilled in the interpretation of the Vedas, Vedāṅgas, Itihāsas, Purāṇas and the treatises on polity (nīti-śāstra); [namely to] Vr̥ddha Maṇḍa and Doṇaśarman, who are devoted to the performance of the (brahmanical) duties of learning and teaching, sacrificing and being commissioned to perform sacrifices, donating and so on, and who are stainless on account of their bodies being scented by the smoke of the clumps of smoke from the fires of their unceasing sacrifices.^↓3

^23-27Its boundaries [are as follows]. To the east, the river named Kaḷḷeṟu. To the south, the village named Purusaṁbu. To the west, the river named [4×]nī. To the north, the village named Majjūḷūru. It is located in the midst of these. Let no-one pose an obstacle (to the enjoyment of rights) over it. He who does so shall be conjoined with the five great sins. The reverend Vyāsa too 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.

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.

III.

Over and over again, Rāmadeva begs all future kings thus: “Each in your own time, you shall respect this framework of legality that is universally applicable to kings!”

IV.

The executor (ājñapti) of this ruling (dharma) is Niravadya, who is erudite in the treatises on polity (nīti-śāstra), endowed with complete intelligence, and devoted to his lord.

³²Written (ālikhita) by Akṣaralalitācārya.

Commentary

Bibliography

Reported in ARIE 1916-1917: page 6, appendix A/1916–17, № 5 with discussion at ARIE 1916-1917: page 115, §23. Edited from estampages by M. D. Sampath (1977-1978), with facsimiles and a summary of the contents. The present edition by Dániel Balogh is based on a collation of Sampath’s edition with his estampages and with estampages preserved at the ASI (Mysore).

Primary

Sampath, M. D. 1977–1978. “Tāṇḍivāḍa Grant of Vijayāditya (II).” EI 42: 149–53.

[siglum S]

Secondary

ARIE 1916-1917. Page 6, appendix A/1916–17, № 5.

ARIE 1916-1917. Page 115, §23.

Notes

↑1. I believe that the interpretation on the Arjuna side of the double entendre involves a woman, but I do not know of any particular person among Arjuna’s ladies who was called Nirmalā.
↑2. This punning simile seems quite lame to me, but I may just be missing something. Sahadeva was known for his great physical beauty, so perhaps the king is described as having the body of Sahadeva, like Sahadeva himself. But this appears no less lame to my mind.
↑3. I presume that the full names of the donees are Vr̥ddha Maṇḍaśarman and Doṇaśarman, the former being the son of Doṇaśarman and the latter of Goḷaśarman. The text also permits the interpetation that the full names are Vr̥ddha Doṇaśarman and Maṇḍa Doṇaśarman.
↑4. The name in this stanza is normally Rāmabhadra.
↑5. See the apparatus to line 32 on my interpretation of the string niravadyeśa-vatsalaḥ.