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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA appear in lines 13 and 8 respectively. Some of the palaeographical and orthographical peculiarities are the same as those noticed in respect of the record edited above. The language of the epigraph is Sanskrit and its composition is prose except for a verse in lines 16-17. The writing is fairly free from mistakes. The charter purports to record the gift of the village of Vaṁśavāṭaka situated in the tract of Sōllundūraka-seventy in Palāśikā-vishaya to Nāgaśarman of the Hārīta gōtra, who was endowed with all the qualities of a Brāhmaṇa. The gift was made with the approval of Mahārāja Asaṅkitavarman of the Bhōja family[1] by the chief Ēlakēlla of the Kaikēya lineage for the merit of both. The executor of the grant was the Mahārāja himself. The record is dated in the 5th regnal year of the Bhōja king Aśaṅkitavarman and the gift is stated to have been registered on the full-moon day of Jyēshṭha. This date does not admit of verification. On consideration of palaeography, the Bhōja ruler and Ēlakēlla who must have been a feudatory may be placed approximately in the sixth or seventh century. King Aśaṅkitavarman is described as a great devote of Śiva. If this king is identical with his namesake of the Hirēgutti inscription,[2] he has to be regarded as tolerant towards Buddhism. Ēlakēlla, the donor who belonged to the Kaikēya lineage, is known for the first time from the present record. The Kaikēya family, however, is known from several epigraphs. The Halmiḍi inscription of Kadamba Kākusthavarman refers to a fight of the Kadambas with the Kēkayas and Pallavas.[3] Kadamba Kṛishṇavarman I married a Kaikēya pricess.[4] Prabhāvatī, queen of Kadamba Mṛigēśavarman and mother of Ravivarman, belonged to the Kaikēya lineage.[5] The Kaikēya family also figures in later inscriptions such as the Haldipur plates[6] of Gōpāladēva and the Kekkār inscription[7] of Aṇṇeyarasa of the eighth century. In regard to the geographical names in the record, the village of Vaṁśavāṭaka may be identified with Kāpōli from where the plates were unearthed.[8] Sōllundūraka-seventy remains to be located. It seems to have comprised an area of the Khanapur and Halyal Taluks. Palāśikā-vishaya is the same as the well-known Palasige-12000 of the later epigraphs, Halsi being its chief town.
TEXT[9] First Plate 1 [10]Dṛishṭaṁ [|*] Vijaya-śrī-pravarddhamāna-rājya-saṁvatsaraṁ paṁchamaṁ pā-
_________________________________________________________ [1] Aśaṅkitavarman of the Hirēgutti plates and his namesake of the present charter apparently belonged to
one and the same family. The seals of both these plates bear identical figures of an elephant (see above,
Vol. XXVIII, pp. 70 ff.).
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