North Indian Inscriptions

NALLUR GRANT OF HARIHARA II.

known. In four cases the short u is marked in such a way that it might be mistaken for a conjunct r, viz. pu° (at the end of l. 19), tulâ and purusha (l. 36), and Samudra (l. 39). There are certain peculiar mistakes which repeat themselves in this inscription. In line 14, the long as well as the short i are attached to the tt of pôttiṇê (for pôtriṇê), and the same mistake recurs in connection with the śr of śrî in line 52. In tadiyâ (l. 11) and pâlaniyô (l. 89), the short i is used instead of the long î. To the ṭî of kôṭîra in line 15, and to the si of vîra-si in line 23, the sign of â is affixed in addition to the î and i, respectively. In dâna (l. 69) and adâ° (l. 70), the d has two signs of â affixed to it in each case. Both the vowels ṛi and i are attached to d and r, respectively, in dṛisha (l. 62) and vṛitti (l. 64). In some conjunct consonants of which the last element is r, and which are followed by a long â, the r is added to the sign of length instead of to the group itself. For instance, the r of daṁshṭrâ (l. 4), âśîd-grâma (l. 59), and °drân (l. 89), instead of being added to shṭ, dg, and d respectively, is connected with the sign of length in each case. The distinction between s and a is not clearly marked. The s of bhôgôtsava (l. 29) and of siṁhâsana (l. 33 f.), and the a of abhujaṁga (l. 24) and of anivârita (l. 39) are nearly identical. In yad-daṁshṭrâ (l. 9), makaraṁdda (l. 20), and Muddaṇêna (l. 83), the two d’s are written side by side without any attempt to indicate the virâma. Similar anomalies occur in lines 26 and 32. In the former case h and m are written side by side, and in the second case tataparê is written for tatparê. In line 19, we have a peculiar form of the letter ja. The right angle, which is usually attached to the middle of the vertical portion of the letter, is in this case affixed at the bottom. The double tt takes the place of tr in the following cases :― pôttiṇê (l. 14), tattâśî° (l. 59), kaḷattâ° (l. 61), yatta (l. 62), and puttapauttâ° (l. 68).

......Of mistakes due to wrong pronunciation, the following may be noted :― vrishṭyâ (l. 12) and Vumâ (l. 61) occur instead of vṛishṭyâ and Umâ, respectively. The dental sibilant is used for the palatal in si for śrî (ll. 23 and 72), in Sâlivâhê (l. 50f.) and in srauta for śrauta (l. 75). Dh occurs for ddh in sidha for siddha (l. 49), and dhdh for ddh in sidhdha (l. 66). The lingual ḷ occurs in the following Sanskṛit words :― maṁgaḷa (l. 22 f.), kaḷâ (l. 35), âvaḷi (l. 49), kaḷatta (l. 61), chakravâḷa (l. 79), and yugaḷa (l. 92). The Tamil name Iḷaṅgôvil has been changed to Yaḷaṁgôvil (l. 62). It remains to be noted here that the name of the father of Harihara II. is written Bhuka once (l. 23), and Bhukka throughout the rest of the present inscription, while in all other inscriptions which have been published, the name is spelt with the unaspirated b and double k.

......The language of the inscription is Sanskṛit, verse (ll. 2 to 37, and 50 to 92) and prose (ll. 1, 38 to 50, and 93). The first two verses are invocations addressed to Siva and to the boar-incarnation of Vishṇu, respectively, the third to Gaṇapati, and the fourth and fifth again to the boar-incarnation. The sixth verse refers to the Moon, and the seventh to his descendant Yadu and to the race of the Yâdavas, who sprang from the latter. The eighth mentions Saṁgama (I.), the first historical person of the first Vijayanagara dynasty, and the tenth his son Bhukka (i.e. Bhukka I.). Bhukka’s queen was Gaurî and their son Harihara (II.) (v. 14), in whose reign the present inscription is dated. A lengthy prose passage (ll. 38 to 50) consists of a list of the birudas of Harihara (II.). Verse 18 gives the date of the inscription, while verses 19 to 31 specify the village granted and the donees. Verse 33 again celebrates Harihara (II.), and verses 34 and 35 contain the names of the composer and of the engraver of the inscription. Then follow four of the gift made by him. As in other Vijayanagara inscriptions, the end of the document is marked by the name of the god Śrî-Virûpâksha in Kanarese characters.

......Of the history of the Vijayanagara kings we do not know so much as might be expected of a dynasty which rose to prominence only about the beginning of the 14th century of the Christian era. The earliest epigraphical record of this dynasty is the only known inscription of Harihara I., in which he is called Mahâmaṇḍalêśvara Pûrva-paśchima-samudr-âdhipati Śrî-Vîra-