South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

NAYANAPALLE INSCRIPTION OF GANAPATIDEVA

V. VENKATASUBBA AYYAR, MADRAS

The subjoined inscription^[1] is found on a stone built into the back wall of the Chennakēśvara temple at Nāyanapalle, a village about 3 miles from Mōṭupalle in the Bapatla taluk of the Guntur District. The stone is fixed into the wall horizontally while the lines of writing are vertical, thus indicating that it must have been introduced in its present position sometimes later when the temple was renovated ; but in the attempt to fix the slab into the wall, its top and bottom portions have been chiselled away causing damage to a few lines at the beginning and end of the inscription. A big portion in the middle of the inscribed surface is also very much worn out. As it is, the record is incomplete ; a few lines forming the concluding portion of the inscription are probably to be found on the other face of the stone not open to view now.^[2] Since even in the present sate, the inscription is of great value, I edit it with the permission of Rao Bahadur C. R. Krishnamacharlu, Superintendent for Epigraphy.

Owing to the damaged condition of the record, its importance has not so far been properly assessed ; but an attempt is now made to read the inscription in its proper perspective and interpret its historical significance.

The epigraph is in Telugu prose and is engraved in characters of the 13th century A.D. Its orthography does not call for any special notice. The word sēyumu used in l.21 offers some difficulty, especially as the inscription is fragmentary. Whether it is used as an order of Gaṇapati to a subordinate official, or, whether the word has to be corrected into sēyiṁchi so as to accord with the sense conveyed by gānki-goni vachchi (ll.15-16) and maṭhamu kaṭṭiṁchchi (ll. 18-19) is not evident. The interpretation of this word does not, however, alter the main historical bearing of the record.

The epigraph is not dated, but it states that the Kākati king Gaṇapatidēva-Mahārāju, in the course of his victorious digvijaya campaign, (proceeded to) the southern direction, killed Bayyana and Tikkana who had burnt Nellūru, and proceeding to Draviḍamaṇḍala, won over^[3] Kulōttuṁga-Rājēṁdrachōḍa, received presents of elephants from the ruler of Nellūru, constructed a maṭha at Śrīparvata, called Bhṛiṅgi-maṭha, described as belonging to the lineage (santānamu) of Mallināthadēva and that he consecrated at Chaitrapura alias Mōṭṭupalli an image called Kumāra-Gaṇapēśvara, after his name.

It is to be regretted that the concluding portion is lost, but its purport can be easily guessed. It must have contained particulars of some grant of land at Nāyanapalle, made to god Kumāra-Gaṇapēśvara set up by Gaṇapati at Mōṭupalle, a village close to Nāyanapalle. Since the introductory passage has not suffered any damage, the historical portion of the record may be said to be complete.

The present inscription^[4] confirms and supplements the literary evidence available regarding

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^[1] This is registered as No. 769 of 1922-23 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[2] Mr. H. K. Narasimhaswami who went to the village at my request to examine the other face could not dislodge the stone from its present position in the wall.
^[3] [See below p. 197, n. 2─Ed.]
^[4] Since sending this article for publication, my friend Dr. N. Venkataramanayya of the Madras University has published his study of this inscription in the Telugu Journal Bhārati (February, June and July parts 1945) wherein he seeks to identify Kulōttuṅga Rājēndrachōḍa with a Velanāṇḍu chief of that name. I have, however, to differ from the identification proposed by him. It may be pointed out in this connection that in an inscription from Śrīraṅgam (S.I.I., Vol. IV, No. 500) dated in the 9th year of Māravarman Sundara-Pāṇḍya (accession A.D. 1216) the temple managers are said to have colluded with the Oṭṭar to the detriment of the income of the temple. Dr. Venkataramanayya takes the word ‘ Oṭṭar ’ as Oḍḍiyar, i.e., people of Orissa, and postulates a Kaliṅga invasion of the south as far as Śrīraṅgam about A.D. 1224. The inscription does not refer to any invasion or confusion consequent of the inroad. The word ‘ Oṭṭar ’ must be taken to mean ‘ those who have undertaken to do a thing or given an agreement ’ (to the temple) and not as referring to the people of Orissa, for the latter are referred to in Tamil inscriptions as ‘ Oḍḍiyar.’ The theory of Kaliṅga invasion as far as Śrīraṅgam based on the interpretation of this word by Dr. Venkataramanayya is therefore not acceptable.