South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

(roots) ; at one damma^[1] on every bag of the following : onions, turmeric, dammer, fenugreek, cumin, mustard, salagas^[2] of new gunny bags, green ginger, lime fruits, (and) cocoa-nuts ; at two dammas on every bag of the following : jaggery, cleaned cotton, ghee, castor oil, saṅgaḍi,^[3] flowers of the Bassia Latifolia (tree), dry ginger, iron, and steel chisels ; at three dammas on every bag of mango jelly ; at four dammas on every bag of the following : sugar, areca-nuts, cotton thread, and betel leaves ; at six dammas on every bag of the following : long pepper, pepper, sandal, cloves,^[4] nutmeg, mace, lead, tin, (and) copper ; and at one chavela^[5] on a double bullock-load of women’s garments :─ the mûlavîsas levied at this rate from many (people) were granted (to the temple) by Nâdiṇḍla-Gôparsayyaṅgâru for the merit of the glorious chief minister Sâḷuva-Timmarsayyagâru and his wife Lakshmamma.

(L. 157.) “ If (any) Oḍḍa kings^[6] and Teluṅgu kings shall violate this charity, they shall incur the sin killing cows on (the banks of) the Gaṅgâ ; if (any) Turuka (i.e. Musalmân) kings shall violate (this charity), they shall incur the sin of eating pigs.”

The inscription ends with one of the usual imprecatory verses in Sanskṛit and the first half of another. Although the Śaka year is called a current year, the addition of the cyclic year leaves no doubt that really the expired year was intended. For Śaka 1442 expired= Vikrama the date corresponds, according to Prof. Kielhorn’s calculation, to Wednesday, the 2nd May A.D. 1520, where a partial eclipse of the moon, visible at Vijayanagara, took place 18 h. 14 m. after mean sunrise.

The village of Maindavôlu is the modern Mayidavôlu,^[7] 12 miles east-south-east of Narasarâvupêṭa. The village of Lemballe I am unable to identify. Yajñvâṭipura seems to have been the name of a quarter or a suburb of the town of Koṇḍavîḍu.

TEXT.^[3]
North Face.

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^[1] This is apparently the same as dramma ; see Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I. Part II. p. 21, notes 1 and 6 ; Ep. Ind. Vol. I. p. 168 f. ; ibid. Vol. II. p. 130 ; and Ep. Carn. Vol. I. Introd. p. 8.
^[2] According to Brown’s Telugu Dictionary, śalaga or śelaga is ‘ a word used in measuring grain etc., one lot from which a new reckoning begins.’
^[3] This term is not intelligible . It occurs in the obscure biruda Saṅgaḍirakshapâlaka of a Reḍḍi king, in an unpublished Amarâvatî inscription (No. 258 of 1897).
^[4] Karâṁbhuü is probably the Tamil karâmbu or kirâmbu, ‘ cloves.’
^[5] I.e. chavalamu, ‘ the fraction ⅛ (of a pagoda etc.).’ According to Brown’s Telugu Dictionary this is about one shilling.
^[6] I. e. kings of Orissa. The special mention of these kings and of the Muḥammadans in the imprecation shows that they were continually disturbing the peace of Kṛishṇarâya’s dominions.
^[7] See above, p. 84 and note 4.
^[8] From inked estampages supplied by Dr. Hultzsch.
^[9] The last akshara has been corrected.
^[10] Read º.