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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA not impossible to think that it was the custom to offer land to the god for making provision for naivēdya formally with an offering of a bhōga consisting of clarified butter, curry, curds and betel-leaf. Inscription No. 2 records the grant of two Vāṭis and 5 Māṇas (i.e. 2¼ Vāṭis) of land in the village of Kshātayī (or Chhātayī)-Utapallī (or Utapallī in the Kshātayī or Chhātayī division) by the footman (Padātaka, modern Oriya Pāika) Khaṇḍa, who was the son of Chaṇḍānā, on Monday, Makara-badi 7, in Śaka 1158 and in the Aṅka year 29 of Rāutta (i.e. feudatory ruler) Anaṅkabhīmadēva (Anaṅgabhīma III) falling in the victorious reign of the god Purushōttama. It is clear from this record that the Gaṅga monarch Anaṅgabhīma III considered himself a viceroy of the god whom he regarded as the real lord of his kingdom. We have seen elsewhere[1] how the Oriya chronicle Mādalā Pāñjī records a tradition according to which a Gaṅga king named Anaṅgabhīma dedicated his dominions in favour of the god Purushōttama-Jagannātha, as a result of which act he regarded himself as a ruler of the Rāuta class and his successor did not enjoy formal coronation. We also know that one of the Bhubaneswar inscriptions[2] of Anaṅgabhīma III mentions his empire as the Purushōttama-sāmrājya, ‘ the empire of Purushōttama ’, while some records[3] of Bhānu II, great-great-grandson of Anaṅgabhīma III, mention the god Purushōtama-Jagannātha as his overlord. The date of the inscription under review correspond regularly to Monday, January 5, 1237 A.D. The twentyninth year of the Aṅka reckoning corresponded to the twentyfourth regnal year of the Gaṅga monarch. The grant recorded in this epigraph was made in favour of the god Purushōtthama for making provision for offerings to the deity with the cognizance of Viśvapati. It was made with clarified butter, curry, curds and betel-leaf as in the case of Inscription No. 1 analysed above. The meaning of the last line of the record, which speaks of the deities Halin (Balarāma), Chakrin (Kṛishṇa-Vishṇu) and Subhadrā, is difficult to determine. But the mention of these three deities, in connection with the Jagannātha temple at Purī in a record of the thirteenth century is interesting. A Bhubaneswar inscription of the same century, bearing the date Śaka 1200 (1278 A.D.), states how the Gaṅga princess Chandrikā or Chandrādēvī, daughter of Bhānu I, built a Vishṇu temple at Ēkāmra (Bhubaneswar) and ‘ decorated with diadems and other ornaments Bala, Kṛishṇa and Subhadrā (apparently installed in the said temple)’.[4]
Inscription No. 3 records the gift of one Vāṭi of land at Kurāṅga and another plot consisting of one Vāṭi at Mūraḍa by Kīrttivāsa (or Kṛittivāsa)-nāyaka on Sunday, Kumbha-sudi 7, in Śaka 1158 and in the Aṅka year 29 (i.e. in the 24th regnal year) of the reign of Anaṅkabhīmadēva (Anaṅghabhīma III). According to Swamikannu Pillai’s Indian Ephemeris, in the Śaka year 1158 expired, Kumbha(i.e. solar Phālguna)-badi 7 fell on February 3, 1237 A.D., which was, however, a Tuesday and not Sunday as stated in the inscription. The grant of the above two Vāṭis of land was made in favour of the god Purushōttama for making provision for offerings to the deity with the cognizance of Pāṭhin Mahādēva who is known from Inscription No. 1. It was made with clarified butter, curds, curry and betel-leaf as in the cases of Nos. 1-2. Inscription No. 4 records the grants of two pieces of land by the Śrīkaraṇa Suru-sēnāpati, the donor of the grant recorded in No. 1, on Friday, Phālguna-badi 1, in Śaka 1158 and in the Aṅka year 31 (i.e. in the 25th regnal year) of the reign of Anaṅkabhīmadēva (Anaṅgabhīma III). According to the Indian Ephemeris, in the Śaka year 1158 expired, Phālguna-badi 1 fell on February 12, 1237 A.D., which was, however, a Thursday and not Friday as given in the record. The first of the two pieces of gift land measured one Vāṭi and was situated in the locality called Rāvaṅga-Ālasaṇā (or Ālasaṇā in the Rāvaṅga division). It was made in favour of the god Purushōttama for making provision for the supply of one Māṇa (probably the same as Maṇa equivalent to ________________________________________________
[1] Orissa Historical Research Journal, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 48 ff. ; above, pp. 19 ff.
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