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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA On the 12th (tithi) of the bright (fortnight) of Phâlguna in the Râkshasa year (which corresponded to the year) 1358 of the Śaka king. Let it grant you (every) wish,─ (the image of) Brahman, the devotee of Jina, who took up his abode [2] (here) in order to grant with pleasure (every) desire to the glorious prince Vîra-Pâṇḍya, the son of Bhairava of the family of Jinadatta ! F.─ On the proper right side of the colossus at Vêṇûr ; Śaka-Saṁvat 1525. A fairly correct transcript of this inscription (No. 72 of 1901) was published by Mr. Rice in the Introduction to his Inscriptions at Śravaṇa-Beḷgoḷa.[3] The inscription is disfigured by a crack, which has injured one or more letters in almost every line. The alphabet is Kanarese, and the language is Sanskṛit verse. In several instances the letter d is closed and consequently identical in shape with dh. This remark applies also to the next inscription (G.). The inscription records that Timmarâja of the family of Châmuṇḍa set up the image of the Jina named Bhujabalin[4] at Ênûra (the modern Vêṇûr). This chief was the younger brother of Pâṇḍya, the son of queen Pâṇḍyaka, and the nephew and son-in-law of Râyakuvara. From the fact that the inscription mentions his uncle and mother, but not his father, it may be concluded that he and his family practiced the aḷiya-santâna, i.e. the inheritance through nephews. Even now the Jaina laymen (śrâvaka) of South Canara follow this rule, while the Jaina priests (indra) practice the makkaḷa-santâna, i.e. the inheritance through sons.
Timmarâja is stated to have set up the image at the instance Jaina priest Chârukîr who belonged to the Dêśîgaṇa and was the pontiff of Beḷguḷa (the modern Śiravaṇa-Beḷgoḷa. Hence the latter must have been the spiritual preceptor of his family. This suggests that for Châmuṇḍa to whose family Timmarâja belonged (l. 14 f.) may be identical with the minister Châmuṇḍarâja who had set up the colossal statue at Beḷgoḷa.[7] The day on which the image was consecrated fell into the expired Śaka year 1525 (in numerical words, l. 4 f.), the cyclic year Śôbhakṛit. Professor Kielhorn kindly contributes the following calculation :- “The date regularly corresponds, for Śaka-Saṁvat 1525 expired = Śôbhakṛit, a Thursday, the 1st March A.D. 1604, when the 10th tithi of the bright half ended 3 h. 33 m., and the nakshatra was Pushya from 1 h. 58m. (or 2 h. 38 m.), after mean sunrise.─ The sign Mithuna was lagna from about 5 h. 20 m. to about 7 h. 20 m. after true sunrise, i.e. the time indicate by the date is about midday.” ___________________________ |
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