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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA of the god Śiva.. The land was granted for making provision for sweeping the maṇḍapa thrice a day, white-washing its walls once a year and repairing the roof once in every twelve years. Of the five vāṭikās of land, two were allotted to the kumbhakāra (potter) for repairing the roof, two to the chūrṇakāra (lime-washer) for white-washing and one to the sweeper. The names of the recipients of the grants are not mentioned. It is stated that the maṇḍapa was used for performing parv-ōtsava (festivals on auspicious day), mah-ōtsava (the great festival, probably meaning the Śivarātri) and ceremonies such as marriage. The most interesting feature of the inscription is that it describes the Gaṅga monarch Anaṅgabhīma III as Bhagavat (line 2). The king was a staunch devotee of the god Purushōttama-Jagannātha (Vishṇu) of Purī. Thus the epithet Bhagavat applied to him by one of his Śaiva officers appears to be significant. This shows that the Gaṅga king Anaṅgabhīma III was regarded by his subjects as a saint. As we have pointed out elsewhere,[1] this king, according to a tradition recorded in the Madalā Pāñjī,[2] became a ruler of the Rāuta (feudatory, from Sanskrit Rājaputra) class after dedicating all his possessions (including the kingdom) in the god’s favour (e nagara-Kaṭake thāi śrī-Purushottama-śrī-Jagannātha-devaṅku samasta samarpi Rāuta-paṇe thāānti.).
The same work also says how from that time the Gaṅga kings did not enjoy formal coronation at the time of accession as the god was considered the ruler of the country (rājā 2 ṅka abhisheka na hele ; Oḍishā-rājya-rajā śrī-Jagannātha-mahāprabhu emanta kahi abhisheka nohile). It has also been shown by me[3] that Anaṅgabhīma III and his successors called themselves Rāuta, that Anaṅgabhīma’s kingdom is referred to in one of his Bhubaneswar inscriptions as Purushōttama-sāmrājya (i.e., the empire belonging to Purushōttama-Jagannātha) and that in some records of Bhānu II (c. 1305-27 A.C.), great-great-grandson of Anaṅgabhīma III, the god Purushōttama-Jagannātha is mentioned as his overlord. The fact that the present Mahārājās of Purī, who are modern representatives of the medieval imperial rulers of Orissa, consider themselves servants of the god Purushōttama-Jagannātha of Purī no doubt shows the continuity of the custom first introduced by Anaṅgabhīma III by dedicating his kingdom to the god. It is necessary in this connection to consider certain suggestions first offered by Dr. N. Venkataramanayya[4] and recently reiterated by Dr. T. V. Mahalingam.[5] Our attention is drawn to the Śrīraṅgam inscsription[6] of the ninth regnal year of Māravarman Sundara-Pāṇḍya (who ascended the throne in 1216 A.C.), according to which the temple managers colluded with the Oṭṭar to the detriment of the income of the temple, as well as to the two inscriptions[7] incised, one in continuation of the other, on the west wall of the rock near the Aruḷāḷa-Perumāḷ temple at Kāñchīpuram. The first of these two inscriptions is dated in the year 19[8] of the reign of Anantavarma-Rāhutadēva, Wednesday, Mīna-sudi Pañchamī, Rēvatī, and records the grant of the village of Uḍaiyakāmam in Antarudra-vishaya by Sōmaladēvī-mahādēvī for daily worship and offerings to the god. It also describes king Anantavarma-Rāhuttarāya (probably the Mahādēvī’s husband) as belonging _________________________________________________
[1] Orissa Historical Research Journal, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 48-49.
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