South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The alphabet is ancient Telugu, while the language is mostly Sanskṛit verse and prose. The description of the boundaries of the village granted (ll. 87-94) is in a mixture of Sanskṛit and Telugu prose. I would draw attention to the following points in the alphabet of the inscription. The long â after consonants is marked in different ways ; compare dhâ, nâ, râ, and hâ in line l with the smâ of the first tasmâd= in line 3, and with the smâ of the second tasmâd= in the same line. The long â added to conjunct consonants of which the rêpha is a member is generally omitted, except in rttâ of vaṁśa-karttâ (l. 4) and rshâ of varshâṇi (l. 29). The syllable jâ occurs eight times in the inscription ; but it is written correctly only once (in mahârâjâdhirâja, l. 61), while in the remaining seven cases the long â is not marked at all. Initial i occurs in ll. 55, 66 ( twice), 70, 85, 87 and 97. In a large number of cases the rêpha is added to the i-symbol above consonants, the addition being denoted by a slight indenture at the base of the latter, e.g. in rtti (ll. 4, 16, 60) and rvvi (ll. 19, 33, 34, 41). Initial i occurs in l. 91. The secondary form of the long î is rarely distinguished from that of the short i ;but in śri (ll. 1, 2), sî (l. 3) and chî (l. 5) an attempt is made to mark the length. Initial u occurs in l. 94. In combination with consonants this vowel is denoted in three different ways ; compare ru (ll. 1, 2, 3, 4), śu (l. 2) and pu (l. 3) with nmu (l. 2) and tsu (l. 3), and with yu (ll. 3, 4, 8). The secondary form of the long û is also denoted in three different ways ; compare bhû (l. 1) with sû (ll. 2, 3) and chû (l. 2), and with tsû (ll. 8, 30, 33), trû (l. 41) and ssû (l. 70). Initial ê occurs in ll. 36, 75, 91. Combined with consonants, this vowel is denoted in two ways ; compare tê (l. 3), mê (l. 4) and kê (l. 7) with jñê and nê (l.2). Initial ai is found in l. 6, and initial ṛi in l. 7. Final k occurs in l. 68 ; final m in ll. 3, 37, 41, 46 ; final n in ll. 31, 35, 36, 41 (twice), 53, 62 ; and final t in ll. 17, 20, 29, 38, 52, 64, 67. In the majority of cases no distinction is made between the dental â and the lingual ḍ ; compare chûḍâmaṇi (l. 81) with °vâraṇ-âdis= (l. 83) and man=alâbhi (l. 84) ; but in pratiḍakkâ (l. 22), Kaḍaṁba (l. 23). Kâramachêḍu (l. 84) and Peggaḍa (l. 85) the loop of the ḍ is quite distinct. The aspirate occurs twice in the inscription (ll. 14, 59), and in both cases in conjunction with cha. In all other cases its place is taken by the unaspirated cha. Double shsha is written as if it consisted of sha and va ; see ll. 32, 35 and 43. The upadhmânîya occurs in ll. 1, 4, 5 (twice), 11 ( twice), 14, 15, 38, 46, 70, 73.

Of orthographical peculiarities the following deserve to be noted :─ The syllable ri is used for the vowel ṛi in Richuka for Ṛibhuka (twice in l. 7), kritvâ (l. 9), °vritâṁtas= for °vṛittâṁtas= (l. 21) and °kritya for °kṛitya (l. 86). The syllable yi is used for initial i in yiti (l. 9) and yiva (ll. 45, 47, 55, 56 (twice), 57, 68). G is doubled after an anusvâra in Gaṁgg-âdi (l. 23) and osaṁggatir= (l. 81) and before r in °ggrâhiṇas= (l. 12), and t before r in Tîrilôchana (l. 17). After r consonants are generally doubled, except in -Bhîm-Ârjuna- (l. 12), and nirjitya (l. 23). Sâṁbrâjya occurs for sâmrâjya in l. 23.

The inscription opens with the Paurâṇik genealogy of the Eastern Châlukya kings (ll. 1- 15) and with a legendary account of their ancestors (ll. 15-25). Ll. 25-42 furnish the historical genealogy of the donor Vimalâditya. The date of his coronation is given in verse 13. He is praised in general terms in vv. 14-20 and in the subsequent prose passage (ll. 54-61). L. 61 f. contains the king’s titles Sarvalôkâśraya, Vishṇuvardhana, etc. Vv. 21-34 describe the donee and his ancestors. Then follows the grant itself, the description of the boundaries of the village granted, and of a field which belonged to it. The inscription closes with the date of the grant, and the names of the executor, the composer and the writer.

The Paurâṇik, legendary and historical portion of the genealogy agree almost literally with the corresponding passage of the Nandamapûṇḍi grant of Râjarâja I.^[1] as far as the description of the reign of Vimalâditya’s predecessor Śaktivarman (v. 11). The Korumelli plates of Râjarâja I.,^[2] the Ṭêki plates of Chôḍagaṅga,^[3] the Chellûr plates of Vîra-Chôḍa,^[4] and the Pi­ṭhâpuram plates

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^[1] Above, Vol. IV. No. 43.
^{[2 ]} Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 48 ff.
^[3] No. 35 above.
^[4] South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. I. No. 39.