South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

king of Tagaḍai and (son of) Râjarâja-Adigan. He is said to have ruled over the three rivers Pâli, Peṇṇai and Ponni. The inscription records that he granted a place named Śirukkôṭṭai in the bank of the Pêṇṇai river to Nâgai-Nâyaka of Kuḷan, and that he built a temple.

The Pâli must be identical with Pâlâru river ; the Peṇṇai is the Southern Peṇṇâru ; and the Ponni is the Kâvêrî. It may be assumed that the Pâlâru formed the northern boundary of the king’s territories and the Kâvêrî the western one, while the Southern Pennâru passes not far north-east from his capital Tagaḍûr, the modern Dharmapuri.^[1] Kuḷan, where the donee came from, is another form of Kuḷam or Kuḷanûr, the modern Ellore.^[2] He may have been related to the Nâyakas of Ellore, who are mentioned in inscriptions of the Telugu country.^[3] His name, Nâgai-Nâyaka, is perhaps connected with Nâgaiyanpaḷḷi, an ancient name of Kambayanallûr, which occurs in two inscriptions of the Hoysaḷa king Vîra-Viśvanâthadêva (Nos. 9 and 10 of 1900).

The donor is mentioned in two inscriptions at Śeṅgama in the Tiruvaṇṇâmalai tâluka of the South Arcot district,─ in the first of them (No. 115 of 1900), which is dated in the 20th year of Tribhuvanachakravartin śrî-Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷadêva, as “ the born Perumâḷ, alias the son of Râjarâja-Adigan,”[4] and in the second (No. 107 of 1900), the beginning of which is lost, but which quotes the twenty-first (year of Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷadêva ?), as “ Râjarâjadêvan^[5] Viḍugâdalagiya-Perumâḷ, alias the son of Râjarâja-Adigan.”^[6] In both inscriptions he is stated to have been a contemporary of Śeṅgêṇi Ammaiyappan Attimallan,[7] alias Vikrama-Chôḷa-Śambuvarâyan, a chief who seems to have been a subordinate of Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷa III.^[8] Besides, No. 107 of 1900 mentions as his contemporary a certain Śeyyagaṅgar, who is probably identical with Śîyagaṅgan, a subordinate of Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷa III.^[9] Consequently, the king during whose reign the subjoined inscription of Viḍugâdalagiya-Perumâḷ is dated must be Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷa III., who ascended the throne in A.D. 1178,^[10] and the date of the inscription, the 22nd year, corresponds to A.D. 1199-1200.

TEXT. ^[11]

1 Svasti śrî [||*] T[i]ribuva[na]chchakkaravattiga[ḷ] śrî-Kulôttuṅga-Śôladêvarku yâṇḍu 22 âvadu (Symbol) Urai^[12] maru[vu]ṅ=Gulôttuṅga-Śôladêvark=uraitta yâṇḍ= irubadin mêl=iraṇḍir=Peṇṇai=kkarai maruvu[ñ]=Jirukkôṭṭai Ku[ḷa]n Nâ[gai]- Nâyagark=aḷittu=kkar-raḷi tan pêr=i-
2 ṭṭa kâr-anaiya-kaiyâ[n] tirai-maruvun-daḍaṅ=gamala-Ttagaḍai mannan śelum Pâlî [P]eṇṇai Ponni=ttiru-nadi mûnr=uḍaiya virai-maruvun-dâr-mârvan Râja- r[â]ja[v-A]digan vilaṅgâ-moli Viḍugâdâlagiya-Perumâḷêy ||^[13] (Symbol)

TRANSLATION.

Hail ! Prosperity ! In the 22nd year (of the reign) of the emperor of the three worlds, the Glorious Kulôttuṅga-Śôladêva.

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^[1] See page 331 above.
^[2] See South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 172 and note 2.
^[3] Ibid. Vol. II. p. 308.
^[4] Piranda Perumâḷ=âna Irôjarâja-[A]tiga-maganâr.
^[5] This portion of the title has to be taken as the name of a Chôḷa king to whom Viḍugâdaḷagiya-Perumâḷ or his ancestors had been tributary. Compare the similar name “ Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷa-Takaṭâdhirâja, alias Mârasiṁhadêva,” in an inscription at Râyakôṭa in the Kṛishṇagiri tâluka of the Salem district (No. 3 of 1900).
^[6] The original reads Irâja[r]âja-A[d]igaimân, which I correct to Irâjarâja-Adiga-magan in accordance with No. 115 of 1900 ; see note 4 above.
^[7] Instead of Attimallan (i.e. Hastimalla) two other inscriptions (South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. I. No. 132, and Vol. III. No. 61) have the title Kaṇṇaḍaipperumân.
^[8] South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 121.
^[9] Ibid. page 122.
^[10] See Professor Kielhorn’s Table on p. 24 above.
^[11] From an inked estampage.
^[12] In this Tamil verse urai maruvu rhymes with karai maruvu. tirai-maruva and vivai-maravu.
^[13] In the original this sign of punctuation is represented by a visarga.