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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA remarks of Dr. Fleet’s article, which was accompanied by photo-lithographs of the inscription (on the back of the Plate) and of the seal (on the front of the Plate). The present facsimile of the inscription has been prepared, under Dr. Fleet’s superintendence, from fresh ink-impressions made for him, in 1903, in the British Museum. The seal has been reproduced from a plaster cast taken by Mr. Griggs from a sealing-wax impression which was made at the same time in the British Museum. The sealing-wax impression shows, in the centre of the seal, a standing animal which faces the proper right and looks like a deer, but must be meant for a bull,[1] the crest of the Pallavas, and over the back of the bull, a few indistinct symbols which may be taken for the sun, a crescent, and perhaps one or more stars. The characters of the inscription resemble those of the Hîrahaḍagalli plates of Śiva-Skandavarman,[2] but are less ornamental and more irregular. This seems to be due to the fact that the engraver mechanically copied a draft which had been written in a pronounced running hand. Instances are the vâ in line 14 and the vâṁ of gavâṁ (l. 15), the subscribed v of savvaº (l. 11) and the subscribed ch of bahubhiśch[â]º (1: 12), the vowel i of gâmeyikâ (l. 10) and of pibati (l. 15).[3] The group tta, while in most cases resembling nna,[4] has two other shapes : in uttare (l. 6) the upper t has a fully developed loop, as in Tamil, and in chhettaṁ (l. 7) and dattâ (l. 12) the lower t is fashioned in the same manner. The initial â of âyu (l. 8) differs from that of Âtukassa (l. 6), âyuttâ (l. 10) and âṇatti (l. 16). In the ṇâ of nivattaṇâ (l. 9) the ṇ is placed in a slanting position, and the â fills up the right upper corner. Another peculiar letter is the tha of pariharatha and pariharêpe[tha] (l. 11). A rude final form of m occurs at the end of ll. 13, 14, 15. Marks of punctuation are used after siddha on the left margin of plate i. and at the end of the inscription. In ll. 12-15 every odd pâda of the two ślôkas is divided from the next by a blank space. Plates ii. a and ii. b are marked like the pages of a book by the numerical symbols ‘ 2 ’ and ‘ 3 ’ on the left margin, and the numerical symbol ‘ 4 ’ occurs in l. 9.
While in the Andhra inscriptions every double consonant is expressed by a single letter, the orthography of Chârudêvî’s grant is in accordance with that of the literary Prâkṛit.[5] In the word saṁvvachchhara (l. 1), v is doubled after anusvâra. As to the language of the inscription, noteworthy words are Bhâraddâya[6] (l. 2) for Bhâradvâja, talâka, heṭ[ṭh]a, pâṇiya (l. 5) and chhett (l. 7).[7] Instances of the nom. plur. neutr. are the three words nivattaṇâ chattâri sampadattâ (l. 9 f.). The abl. sing. [kû]pât (l. 5 f.) is due to a relapse into Sanskṛit. Pronominal forms are amhaṁ (l. 8) and amhehiṁ (l. 9), the genitive and instrumental of asmad, and taṁ (l. 10), the acc. sing. neutr. of tad. Verbal forms are the gerunds kâtûṇa (l. 9) and nâtûṇa (l. 10) and the imperatives pariharatha pariharâpe[tha] (l. 11).
The inscription is dated in some year of the reign of the Mahârâja Vijaya-Skandavarman,
the figure or figures of the date being illegible. It contains an order by the queen of the heir-apparent (Yuvamahârâja) Vijaya-Buddhavarman, who was one of the Pallavas and, as such,
a Bhâradvâja or member of the Bhâradvâja gôtra. I read the queen’s name as Chârudêvî, and
that of the prince whose mother she claims to have been as [Bu]ddhi[yaṁ]kura or, in Sanskṛit,
Buddhyaṅkura. In favour of my restoration of this damaged word it may be stated that
aṅkura, ‘ a sprout,’ is synonymous with pallava, and that other Pallavas bore the similar surnames
[1] Compare Dr. Fleet’s Dyn. Kan. Distr. p. 319, note 5.
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