South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

SADASIVAGAD PLATES OF KADAMBA VIJAYADITYA ;
SAKA 1102

(1 Plate)

P. B. DESAI, OOTACAMUND

This set of copper plates^[1] was secured by me for study in the course of my annual tour in the Bombay-Karṇāṭak parts in February 1952. It was in the possession of Mr. H. V. Naik, Clerk of the Court, Civil Judge’s Court, Karwar. Mr. Naik’s family headquarters are at Sadāśivagaḍ, about four miles from Karwar, and these plates were lying there as an heirloom. Details as to how and when this family came to possess them are not known. I am editing the inscription on these plates here for the first time with the kind permission of the Government Epigraphist for India.

The set consists of three plates held together by a circular ring with seal. The writing is found on the inner sides of the first and third plates and on both sides of the second. The rims are raised to protect the inscription which is, however, worn out in many places. The plates measure 8″ in length, 6″ in breadth and 1/8th inch in thickness. The ring which is 2″ in diameter passes through a circular hole, 5/8th inch diameter. The ends of the ring are soldered into the bottom of a thick circular seal having a rim. The seal, which is 2½″ in diameter, contains on the sunken surface the figures of a rampant lion with upturned tail and a dagger in front of it. At the top around are the figures of a svastika and the sun, followed by the legend Śrī-Vishṇudāsaḥ in Nāgarī characters, and then the crescent. The ring and the seal together weigh 70 tolas and the whole set weighs 380 tolas.

The characters are Nāgarī of the twelfth century, being normal for the period. The letter ōṁ at the commencement is written like tuṁ. Medial ā is generally denoted by a side mātrā. Exceptions to this are the letters vā in line 1 and mā in line 44, where a slanting stroke is placed at the top of va and ma to denote the length. In regard to orthography, the consonant following a rēpha, as a rule, is not doubled. We do, however, note a few instances of doubling also, e. g., mūrttēḥ in line 4, Vijayārkka-in line 31 and suvarṇṇ- in line 35. The language is Sanskrit and the composition is in verse, except in lines 39-46 describing the particulars of the gift. The composition is defective in some places.

The epigraph commences with an invocation to god Śiva. After narrating the origin of the Kadamba family, in the usual manner, from the mythical hero Trilōchana Kadamba who was born from the sweat of Śiva, it gives a succinct genealogical account of the Kadambas of Goa. The account stops with Śivachitta Permāḍi and his younger brother Vijayārka or Vijayāditya II, the sons of Jayakēśin II from the Chālukya princess Mailala Mahādēvī. The inscription represents Vijayāditya as the ruling monarch. Its object is to record a gift of land by the king to the goddess Āryā Bhagavatī. Though not explicitly stated, it appears from the description of his family and the context that the beneficiary of the gift was a Brāhmaṇa of the Bhāradvāja gōtra, named Gōvinda, who was well-versed in the science of astronomy. The donee’s family is described for four generations. The gift property was situated within the boundaries of the village Aruvige included in the tract of Marruvaṭṭugaḍalu.

The record bears the date which is expressed in words thus : Śaka 1102, Vikārin, Kārttika śu. 12, Sunday. The Śaka year was current and the date regularly corresponds to Sunday, October 14, 1179 A. C.

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^[1] No. 2 of the Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy for 1951-52.