South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

detail, in guiding us to the real period and attribution of the record , will be made clear further on. The record further presents an initial ô in line 10, and final forms of t in line 4. of r in line 12 (twice), and of ḷ in line 7. It does not seem to make any perceptible difference between the dental d and the lingual ḍ.─ The language is Kanarese, of the archaic type, in prose. And the vocabulary presents three words which call for comment. In line 9 we have a word which according to Mr. Rice’s published texts is nîr-paṇya, and which, in Mr. Rice’s translation, has been rendered by ‘ wet land.’ That rendering is based, I suppose, on an idea that nîr may occurs as another form of nîr, nîru, ‘ water.’ But there is no justification for that in the late Dr. Kittel’s Kannaḍa-English Dictionary. And from the photograph I read l, not r, and find the word nîl, ‘ length.’ From the context, and the usual method of expression in the records, I should have been disposed to take the whole word nîlpaṇya as denoting some particular measure of land, of the same class with matter, nivartana, etc. But Dr. Kittel’s Dictionary gives paṇya, paṇṇeya, in the sense of ‘ a farm, a landed estate,’ connected with paṇe, 4, ‘ ground that is worked, tillage, a quarry ;’ and Mr. Ullal Narasinga Rao’s Kisamwâr Glossary, Mangalore, 1891, p. 95, gives paṇya in the sense of ‘ lands formerly held by the Rajas and now leased out on the condition of their being surrendered when government makes a demand ; crown-lands.’ I therefore take nîlpaṇya as some particular kind of paṇya-lands, consisting of very long narrow strips such as may be often seen in various parts of the Kanarese country. And I consider that probably the word mattar should be supplied. In line 12, assuming that we have the lingual ḍ and not the dental d, we have kaḍaṅgeyaṁ, as the accusative of a word koḍaṅge.

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This word has not been translated by Mr. Rice. I take it as the older form of the koḍage, koḍige, ‘ a gift, a grant,’ of Dr. Kittel’s Dictionary, and of the later koḍagi, which is given in the Kisamwâr Glossary as meaning ‘ a grant of land ’ (p. 144), and (a) ‘ lands having an invariably fixed rent, not liable to any change on account of the seasons, etc., and saleable,’ and (b) ‘ lands granted for service in connection with the restoration or construction of tanks, or of their maintenance in good order ’ (p. 91). It seems sufficient to translate it here by ‘ allotment.’ In line 12, again, we have a word baḷasidor which Mr. Rice, apparently taking it from baḷasu, 1, ‘ to go in a circle or round ; to circumambulate ; to surround,’ etc., has translated by “ those (? Who own the land) surrounding.” I notice that the Kisamwâr Glossary, p. 15, gives baḷasu in the sense of ‘ husbandry, cultivation ;’ and, even apart from that, I see no difficulty about taking baḷasu as a variant of beḷasu, ‘ to cause to grow, to raise (a crop),’ etc. : and I therefore translate the word by ‘ those who have cultivated ;’ finding in that meaning an equally good means of defining exactly the grant that was made. As a matter of fact, the photograph shews before the b a mark which might justify our actually reading b[e]ḷasidor. That, however, does not seem to be really necessary.─ In respect of orthography, the only points calling for notice are (1) the use of the guttural nasal ṅ in [gauṇḍa]ṅge, line 8-9, narasiṅgayyanuṁ, line 10 koḍaṅgayaṁ line 12, and maṅgaḷa, line 16, as contrasted with the use of the anusvâra in koṁguṇi, line 1, râchamallaṁge, line 4, paṭṭaṁgaṭṭid=, line 4-5 and râjyaṁ-geyyuttam=, line 7-8 ; and (2) the use of s for ś in suddha, line 6.

The inscription refers itself to the time of a prince Nîtimârga-Râchamalla, plainly of the family of the Western Gaṅgas of Taḷakâḍ, in whom we have a third Râchamalla, not previously recognised. And it is dated, without a reference to any era, in the sixth year of his rule, on a day specified by certain details to which we shall advert further on. It is a non-sectarian record, registering a grant of land by private persons to a private person.

The following places are mentioned in the record, in addition to Kiriya-Muguḷi and Piriya-Muguḷi :─

Palmâḍi. This is mentioned again in an inscription of A.D. 959 (? 958) at Uppahaḷḷi, Ep. Carn,. Vol. VI., Cm. 42. I cannot find its representative in the maps.