South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

an excellent minister, the post of governor of the whole empire of the city of Koṇḍavîṭi, together with an army consisting of rutting elephants, horses and infantry, and (the right to use) a palanquin and two chaurîs.

(V. 28.) The sister’s son of the prime-minister, the glorious Sâḷva-Timma, the chancellor (pradhâna) of the glorious Kṛishṇarâya, the first among kings,─ the minister Nâdiṇḍla-Gôpa, versed in the principles of policy, was the sole governor of the excellent city of Koṇḍavîṭi.

(V. 29.) In the Śaka year counted by Râghavâya the excellent minister Gôpa showed his veneration for (the god) Râghava in Achalapurî by (erecting) new buildings adorned with a wall and a gate-tower.^[1]

(V. 30.) records the setting-up of an image of Raghunâyaka.

(V. 31.) Râma, the husband of Sîtâ,^[2] with a circle^[3] consisting of Sugrîva, Lakshmaṇa, Vibhîshaṇa, Jâmbavat, Bharata together with Śatrughna, Hanûmat and Aṅgada, were duly set up by the minister Gôpa.

(V. 32.) Possessed of Sîtâ and Râma, Bharata, Śatrughna and Lakshmaṇa, this excellent city of Koṇḍavîṭi is flourishing (like) Ayôdhyâ ; (but) here are (also) Sugrîva, Hanumat, Vibhîshaṇa, Jâmbavat and Aṅgada, (for) the lord Nâdiṇḍla-Gôpa set up Râma with his circle.

(V. 33.) O Râmachandra, glorious lord of the city Koṇḍavîṭi, dost thou, having become a moon (chandra), assume the ensign of the hawk (sâḷuva), because thou thinkest that the hare comes in as a stain ? If not, why (dost thou assume) this (ensign) of him who has the Garuḍa as his emblem ? ^[4]

V. 34. records the grant of a village to Sâḷuva-Râghava.

(V. 35.) In the year Yuvan, marked as Sâlivâhana-Śaka,^[5] the minister Appa, who is equal to Sâlivâhana, obtained the regentship of the city of Koṇḍavîṭi from the minister Sâlva-Timma.

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^[1] At the end of this verse we find, as before, the explanation of the chronogram ‘Râghavâya 1442 akshara-saṁjña.’This time it shows nothing peculiar, r(â) being 2, gh(a) 4, v(â) 4, and y(a) 1.
^[2] This seems to mean ‘ with Sîtâ on his lap.’
^[3] Saparivâraka is apparently the same as sâvaraṇa in the next verse. Âvaraṇa seems to be a technical term for the circles formed by the statues of Râma’s followers round the statue of their master. Thus we read in the Râmapûrvatâpanîya-Udanishad, v. 48 ff., that Râma is surrounded (âvṛita, vv. 55, 56) by five circles, called âvaraṇa in Nârâyaṇa’s Dîpikâ. The third of these circles is formed by the son of the wind (Hanumat), Sugrîva, Bharata, Vibhîshaṇa, Lakshmaṇa, Aṅgada. Arimardana (Śatrughna) and Jâmbavat (vv. 53, 54), exactly the same persons as those mentioned above. Sîtâ is not mentioned in the description of the Upanishad, though in the preceding verse 47 she is represented as sitting on Râma’s lap ; compare also v. 26. That the author had in view some arrangement of statues similar to that described in the inscription, and not, as the commentator thinks, of figures drawn in a diagram , is probable from the fact that in describing the position of the figures he uses the terms udag-dakshiṇayôḥ, agrataḥ (v. 50), paśchimê (v. 51), âgnêyâdishu (v. 53), whereas in the description of the diagram (v. 58 ff.) he speaks only of madhyê, talpârśvê, etc.
^[4] I.e. either Vishṇu or Sâḷva-Timma. I am not at all sure that my translation of this verse is correct. Its principal object apparently is a pun on the name of the god, Sâḷuva-Râghava, mentioned in the next verse ; compare vv. 41. 42 which in a similar way praise Śiva Vîrêśvara mentioned in v. 43. The name of the god is certainly connected in some way with that of Sâḷva-Timma, where, to judge from the analogy of such names as Nâdiṇḍla-Timma, etc., the first part would seem to be properly a family name. Whether Sâḷva in this sense has anything to do with the tribal name of the Sâlvas or Śâlvas, must be left undecided ; compare Winternitz, Mantrapâṭha, p. xlvii. On the other hand, in the titles Gaṇḍa Kaṭṭâri Sâḷuva, borne e.g. Narasiṁharâya of Vijayanagara and Veṅkaṭa I. of Karṇâṭa (South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. 1. pp. 85, 131), and by the former king even with repetition of the last word (Sâḷuva-sâḷuva ; ibid. p. 132), sâḷuva is clearly only a biruda. According to Dr. Hultzsch it means ‘ the hawk,’ and in this sense, and as a synonym of Garuḍa, it seems to have been used in the present case also.
^[5] As to the chronogram see the remarks on p. 112 above.