South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

A solitary Sanskṛit record of Kôpperuñjiṅgadêva is found as far north as Drâkshârâma is the Gôdâvarî district. Unfortunately this inscription (No. 419 of 1893) is so much mutilated that no connected transcript of it can be given. It is dated in the Śaka year 1184 and records gifts to the temple of Bhîmanâtha by the king, who is called Sakalabhuvanachakravartin, Avany-avan-ôdbhava or Avany-avana-saṁbhava, and Mahârâjasiṁha. The two names beginning with avani are Sanskṛit translations of his surname Avaniy-âḷa-ppirandâr.^[1] Mahârâjasiṁha means ‘ the lion among great kings,’ while Kôpperuñjiṅga would mean ‘the great lion among kings.’ The Drâkshârâma inscription calls him ‘the ornament of the Kâṭhaka family’^[2] and ‘a worshipper of Kanakasabhâdhinâtha.’^[3] He is stated to have defeated the Karṇâṭa^[4] and Chôḷa kings and to have established the Pâṇḍya country.^[5] The Kâkati king and Gaṇapati-mahârâja are also referred to in the Drâkshârâma inscription. The first three lines contain two verses in the Śârdûlavikrîḍita metre, and the sixth line states that certain verses were composed by the king himself and inscribed on his gifts to the temple.

It was stated in the preceding paragraph that Kôpperuñjiṅgadêva claims to have established the Pâṇḍya country. On the other hand, an inscription of the Pâṇḍya king Jaṭâvarman alias Tribhuvanachakravartin Sundara-Pâṇḍyadêva at Tiruppandurutti^[6] asserts that this king “ besieged the prosperous city of Śêndamaṅgalam and fought several battles to frighten the Pallava.”^[7] This Pallava is evidently Kôpperuñjiṅgadêva, and Śêndamaṅgalam seems to have been his capital, as we might already conclude from the Tiruvândipuram inscription, according to which Kôpperuñjiṅga was besieged in Śêndamaṅgalam.

TEXT.

1 Svasti śrî [||*] Tiribu[vana]ch[cha]kka[ra]vattigaḷ śrî-Râjarâjadê[va]r[k]ku yâṇ[ḍ]ḍu^[8]
15[vad]il edirâ[m]=âṇḍu Pratâ[pa]chchakkaravatti Hoy[śa]ṇa-śrî-Vi(vî)ra-
Nârasi[ṁ*]hadêvan Śôla-chchakkaravattiyai=
2 Kkô[pp]eruñjiṅgan ^[9][Ś]ênddamaṅ[ga*]lattê [p]iḍi[t]tu koḍu iru[ndu] tan
[pa]ḍaiyai ittu râjyattai alittu dêv-â[laiyaṅga]ḷu[m] ^[10]Vishṇu-stânaṅgaḷum
aligaiyâlê ippaḍi dêvan kêṭ[ṭ=a]ru-
3 ḷi Śôla-maṇḍala-pratishishṭ-âśâriyan^[11] ennu[m] ki(kî)r[t*]t[i] ni[lai]-ni[ru]tti a[l]ladu
i-k[k]âḷam=uttuvad[i]llai^[12] enru Dôra[sa]muttiratti[ni*][n]ru[m] eḍuttu vandu
[Ma]ha[ra*]-râjya=nirmmûlam=âḍi ivanaiyum [i]van peṇḍu-paṇḍâra[mu]m kai-
kkoḍu
4 Pâchchûrilê viṭṭu=Kkôp[p]eruñjiṅgan dê[śa]mu[m] alittu=Chchôḷa-chchakkara-
vattiyaiyum elund=aruḷi(ḷu)vittu=tko(kko)ḍuv=an[ru]^[13] dêvan tiruv-uḷḷam=ây êva
viḍai koṇḍu eluna svasti śrîmanu-[14]mahâpradhâni paramaviśvâsi
5 daṇḍinagôpan Jagago(do)bbagaṇḍan Appaṇa-daṇṇ[â]kkanum Śa[mu]tt[i]ra-
Gop[pa]ya-daṇṇâkkanum Kôpperuñji[ṅ]gan iru[n]da E[ḷ]ḷêriyu[m]
Kalliyûrmu(mû)laiyum Śôlakôn iru[nda]Toludagaiyûrum alit[tu] vê-
6 [nda]n mudaligaḷi[l*] Vîragaṅga[n]â[ḍ]âlvân J[i](chi)na[t]taraya[n] Îlattu râjâ
Parâk[k]i[da](ra)mabâh=u[ḷḷ]i[ṭ]ṭa [mu]dali [4] pêraiyum . . . ko[n]ru

___________________________
^[1] See above, p. 165 f.
^[2] Here ‘Kâṭhaka’ can hardly refer to the kings Cuttack, but must be taken as a Sanskṛit equivalent of
‘Kâḍava ;’ see above, p. 164, note 3.
^[3] I.e. of the god at Chidambaram.
^[4] I.e. the Hoysaḷa king Narasiṁha II.
^[5] Pâṁdya-maṁḍḍala-sthâpanâ-sûtradhârêṇa.
^[6] No. 166 of 1894. According to Professor Kielhorn, the date of this record corresponds to the 7th October A.D. 1257 ; see above, Vol. VI. p. 307 f.
^[7] Line 10 f.:─ Śêndamaṅgala-chchelum-badi murri=Ppallava=naḍ…… =ppala pôe=âḍi.
^[8] Read yâṇḍu.
^[9] Read Śêndaº.
^[10] Read Vishṇu-sthânaº.
^[11] Read pratishṭ­h-âchâryan.
^[12] Read =ûduvadill.
^[13] Read =enru.
^[14] Read śrîmaº.