South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The inscription is a fragment, of which but little more than the introductory passages is extant. It refers itself to the reign of a Pañchaladêva, whom, from his appellations of Satyavâkya and Koṅguṇivarman and his titles of lord of the town Kuvaḷâḷa and of the mountain Nandagiri, we recognise as a member of the family of the Western Gaṅgas of Taḷakâḍ.^[1] It mentions, by three well known birudas, his predecessor, the great Noḷambântaka-Mârasiṁha II. Among the epithets that it applies to Pañchaladêva, it styles him Châlukyapañchânana, “ a very lion to the Châlukyas ;” which, perhaps, involves a play on his name, and indicates Pañchala as a Prâkṛit form of the Sanskṛit Pañchânana.^[2] And it represent him as reigning over the whole territory between, on the north, “ the great river,” that is to say the Kṛishṇa,^[3] and on the east, south, and west, the ocean. This assertion is hyperbolical in the latter part, except possibly in respect of the alleged western limit. But, as Muḷgund itself, where this record is, is on the north of the Tuṅgabhadrâ, there is no objection to accepting it as a fact that Pañchaladêva did hold for a time all the territory from the south of Mysore as far north as the river Kṛishṇâ.

The record is dated at the time of the Kanyâsaṁkrânti, or entrance of the sun into Virgo, on Bṛihaspativâra or Thursday coupled with the second tithi of the dark fortnight of the month Bhâdrapada (August-September) of the Yuvan saṁvatsara, Śaka-Saṁvat 897 (expired, according to the southern luni-solar system). And the corresponding English date is Thursday, 26th August, A.D. 975. On this day, the given tithi ended at about 15 hours 39 minutes after mean sunrise (for Ujjain), and the Kanyâsaṁkrânti occurred at 16 hours 5 minutes.^[4]

TEXT.^[5]

1 Ôm^[6] Svasti Satyavâkya-Koṁguṇivarmma-dharmmamahârâjâdh[i]râja Kuvaḷâḷa- puravar-êśva-
2 ra Nandagiri-nâthaṁ chaladuttaraṁga-jagadêkavîra-śrîman-Nola[ṁ]bakuḷân- takadêva-pâdapa-
3 dm-ôpajîvi paḍe-nôḍe-gaṇḍaṁ gaṇḍara-siṁghan=asahâya-sâhasaṁ komaraka-bîmaṁ bîra-
4 da-seḷevoṁ Châlukya-pañchânana[ṁ] śrîmat-Pañchaladêvar=pûrvv-âpara-dakshiṇ- ârṇṇav-âva[dh] i-
5 yi[ṁ] peldore maryyâdey=âge nirâkuḷam=âḷutt-ire [||*] Svasti Sa(śa)ka-varsham= eṇṭu-nûra toṁbhatt-[ê]-
6 laneya Yuva-saṁvatsarada Bhâdrapada bahuḷa bidiye Bṛihaspativâraṁ Kanyâ- saṁkrântiyu[ṁ]
7. . . . . . . . . . . .^[7] [nagara]-mahâjana-pramu kham=ayd[uṁ]-baḷanuv= ild=eleya-bhoja-^[8]

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^[1] For what is known about Pañchaladêva from other sources, reference may be made to pages 71 f., 83, above, and to Vol. V. above, p. 172 f.
^[2] Pañchânana occurs, not exactly as a proper name of Śiva, but as an appellation of him which could be used in the place of his proper name. As a proper name, it occurs in the cases of “ an author and other men ” (see Monier-Williams’ Sanskṛit Dictionary, revised edition, under pañcha).
^[3] See Vol. V. above, p. 169, note 6. The word used is peldore, instead of the more customary perdore.
^[4] Probably, more exact calculations would make the tithi still current at the moment of the saṁkrânti.
^[5] From the ink-impression.
^[6] Represented by a plain symbol.
^[7] Eight or nine aksharas are illegible here, the lower parts of them being broken away and lost. As the nakshatra at the time of the saṁkrânti was Rêvatî, which the moon entered at about 2 hrs. 22 min. after mean sunrise (for Ujjain), we might suggest Rêvatî-nakshatramum=âgi, which would suit both the space and the context. But such remains of the aksharas as are discernible, hardly adapt themselves to that reading.
^[8] The fragment ends here. The next line began, of course, with the ga of the word bhojaga in one of other of its cases, singular or plural.