South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

image was consecrated after his name Kumāra-Gaṇapēśvara, for the worship of which an endowment was probably made. The grant portion, as indicated above, is lost, but it may be pointed out here that the endowment is made over to a Śiva shrine, although at present the inscribed stone is found in a Vishṇu temple. At present there is only one temple dedicated to Śiva at Mōṭupalle, called Vīrabhadrēśvara temple,^[1] in which the image of Gaṇapēśvaradēva set up by Gaṇapati must have been consecrated. But the god in this village is variously styled in inscriptions as Mūlasthāna-Rāmīśvaradēva,^[2] Amarēśvaradēva^[3] and Pātēśvaramuḍaiya-Nāyanār. At Śrīśailam there appears to have been an order of Śaiva monks named after Mallinātha. Apart from the Bhṛiṅgi-maṭha^[4] constructed by Gaṇapati, there were also, on the hill at Śrīśailam, Gaṇa-maṭha,^[5] Arusa-maṭha,^[6] Kalu-maṭha^[7] and the Sāraṅga-maṭha.^[8] The existence of five maṭhas on the hill is explicitly referred to in an inscription at Śrīśailam.

In the manuscripts collected by the late Mr. Mackenzie there is an account pertaining to Nāyanapalle which is therein styled Mōṭupalle-Nāyuḍupalle. It starts with a legendary history of the village which is traced from Udayana-Chakravartti, through Prōla, Gaṇapati, Gōparāju Rāmanna, Siddhayadēva-Mahārāja, Bayyachōḍa-Mahārāja, Rudradēva, etc. It makes mention of some of the inscriptions found in the place of which, however, the present inscription is not one.

Of the geographical places mentioned in the inscription, Nellūru identical with the district headquarters of the same name and Śrīśailam in the Kurnool District are too well known. Mōṭupalle, also known as Dēsyyyakoṇḍa-paṭṭaṇa^[9] and Vēlānagara,^[10] was an important seaport in the time of Gaṇapati. This king issued an abhaya-śāsana^[11] in Śaka 1166, corresponding to A.D. 1244, offering protection to foreigners at this port. Since in cases of shipwreck, Gaṇapati promised to take the usual customs duties only, this edict should have been particularly welcome to the merchants. A similar concession was extended to foreign merchants by the Reḍḍi chief Anna-Vōta in Śaka 1280 (i.e., A.D. 1358) at this port.^[12] The Venetian traveller Marco Polo calls the Kākatīya kingdom, Mutfile, i.e., Mōṭupalle, which according to him was reputed for its large-size diamonds and muslins ‘as fine as the tissue of spider’s web.’

TEXT

1 . . . . . .13
2 sa[sti]sa[hita]….14
3 hama??alesvara Kakati 15

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^[1] No. 600 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[2] No. 774 of 1922 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[3] No. 775 of 1922 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[4] The image of Bhṛiṅgi set up at Śrīśailam by a merchant of Rājamahēndravaram is one of the subsidiary deities worshipped in the place (A.R. No. 29 of 1915). A golden replica of this image was presented to the temple by Chandraśēkharayya, an officer of Kṛishṇadēvarāya-Mahārāya (No. 14 of 1915). Reference to the cult of Bhṛiṅgi in South Indian may be traced from the time of the Chōḷa king Rājarāja I, during whose reign an image of this deity was set up in the big temple at Tanjore (S.I.I., Vol. II, pp. 190 ff).
^[5] No. 41 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[6] No.309 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[7] No. 41 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[8] No. 44 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[9] Non. 600 an 605 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[10] No. 606 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[11] Nos. 600 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. Above, Vol. XII, pp. 188ff.
^[12] Nos. 01 and 602 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
^[13] This line may be filled up as ‘ Svasti Śrī Samasta-pra ’. Some more lines at the beginning are lost.
^[14] The missing letters in the gap may be read as Śrīman-ma.
^[15] The letters Gaṇa may be introduced here.