South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

KOLHAPUR PLATES OF SILAHARA GANDARADITYA ; SAKA 1037

The grant gives the genealogy of Nōḷamba as follows : in the Nigumba family was born Hōrima, who was the very sun to the lotus, viz., Jaina congregations. His son was Bīraṇa and the latter had a younger brother named Arikēsari. Bīraṇa had a son Kundāti and his younger brother was Nāyima. Nāyima’s son was Nōḷamba, whose banner was marked with a golden fish and a cobra and who acquired the favour of a boon from the goddess Padmāvatī. He received the grant of the village Ādage, excluding the tax āruvaṇa. In it were included the two villages Aṅkulage and Boppēyavāḍa. These villages belonged to the gampaṇa and country of Miriñje. The conditions of the grant are described thus.^[1] If the Nārgāvuṇḍas of the place were to serve actively they would not get anything in cash towards their maintenance or salary from the donee (except Kōdevaṇa) i.e., they must maintain themselves with the dues of Kōdevaṇa which they would get in their capacity of Nārgāvuṇḍas and if they did not wish to continue in their offices, they would not get Kōdevaṇa (even).

The date of the record given in ll.44-46 in Śaka 1037 expressed both in words and in numbers, the cyclic year Manmatha, Wednesday, the 8th of the bright fortnight of Kārttika. It is quite regular for the expired Śaka year 1037, the European equivalent being Wednesday, 27th October, A.D. 1115.

Of the geographical names mentioned in the grant, Vēṇugrāma, Koṅkaṇa, Kuṇḍi, Tagara and Miriñje are well known. Gōmantha has been dealt with above. Aṅkulage and Boppēyavāḍa were the two villages assimilated into the village Ādagē. A word about Vaḷayavāḍa may not be out of place here. Scholars have expressed different views about its identification. The late Dr. K. B. Pathak suggested, in a talk with me, that it might be identified with Waḷiwaḍe, about 5 miles to the east of Kalhapur. I personally visited the above village, but did not find there any old remains which would testify to its antiquity. I do not know, however, whether there are any antiquarian remains at the other places with which the village has been identified. I am unable to identify with certainty, any of the three villages granted but I would just suggest some identifications. About three miles to the south-west and north-west of Miraj, are two villages Anklī and Kūpwāḍ which may now represent Aṅkulage and Boppēyavāḍa. Or about thirty miles to the south-west of Miraj are two villages Ankōḷ and Āḍī which may be identical with Aṅkulage and Ādagē ; but they are rather too far away to be included in the Miriñje-kaṁpaṇa. Besides these villages, the Postal Village Directory of the Bombay Circle has included one Anklī in the Kolhapur State and falling under the Shirol Road (present Jayasinghpur) postal beat, which is only 8 miles to the south-west of Miraj. This may be a modern substitute for Aṅkulage.

TEXT2

[ Metres : Vv. 1, 12, 16, 17 Anushṭubh ; 2, 15, 20 Mālinī ; 3, 6, 8, 10, 14, 19, 21, 22, 24 Indravajrā ;
4, 13, 18 Śārdūlavikrīḍita ; 5, 7, 9, 11, 23 Vasantatilakā.]

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^[1] The passage here is rather ambiguous and I explain it with much diffidence : āruvaṇa and kōdevaṇa seem to be the names of two taxes like sikāvaṇa, mahasvaṇa, etc., in Marāṭhī, but the meaning of the terms is not clear to me. [To me the passage seems to mean that the Nārgāvuṇḍas would not get any gold for their maintenance, i.e., as salary, excepting the aruvaṇa, if they were prepared to do the duties connected with their office, but if they refused to shoulder the responsibilities of office, they would not get even the koḍevaṇa (read as kōdevaṇa by the author) to which they were entitled as hereditary holders of the office of Nārgāvuṇḍa. That koḍevaṇa is a tax is clear from l.44 (there read as kōḍēvaṇa) of the Kargudari inscription of the Kādamba prince Tailapa (Ind. Ant., Vol. X, p. 253), where it is mentioned along with manedere (house-tax). It was probably a tax on umbrellas, though Fleet took it in the sense of ‘ a haṇa or paṇa stamped with the device of an umbrella ’ (ibid., p. 255 n.).─N.L.R.]
^[2] Prepared from the original. I am thankful to Mr. N. L. Lakshminarayan Rao for suggesting better readings of the place-names.