South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

inscription, after which we have another row of figures, viz. a woman seated with folded hands and having big ear-lobes, a man seated with folded hands and wearing necklaces, and again a female figure seated with folded hands and having big ear-lobes. Then the inscription continues. I am unable to offer any explanation of these sculptures, and I do not even venture to decide whether they have any special reference to the events and persons spoken of in the inscription or not.

The alphabet of the inscription is Kanarese. The average height of the letters is ½″, but the last four lines have been added in characters of about half that size. The writing is beautifully executed. Occasionally the letters are drawn out into more or less ornamental flourishes ; compare śrî in ll. 1 and 3, jâ in l. 21, jai in l. 36. To avoid a blank at the end of l. 31, the sign for anusvâra, usually a small curricle above the line, is enlarged to the size of a full letter. As partly already in inscriptions of the twelfth century A.D., medial ê is expressed in two ways, either by a sickle-shaped sign with its end slightly curved inward as in ḍê in l. 3, or by a sign consisting of two arches with their openings turned downward as in dhê in l. 4. The same two signs appear as parts of the signs for medial ai and ô. The two forms are used quite promiscuously. Tê, e.g., shows the first form in ll. 23, 49, 74, 75, 89, the second in ll. 7, 34, 77, 96, 111 ; nê the first in ll. 8, 40, 42, 58, 60, 61, 62, the second in ll. 58, 59 ; rê the first in ll. 36, 39, 57, 61, 63, the second in ll. 101, 110 ; bai the first in l. 3, the second in l. 8, vai the first in ll. 6, 33, 89, the second in l. 71 ; mô the first in l. 1, the second in ll. 44, 80, 100 ; yô the first in ll. 10, 14, 23, 32, 47, 66, 69, the second in ll. 31, 109, 110 ; etc.─ The language is Sanskṛit, and with the exception of some propitious words in the last line, the whole text is in verse. Rare words are jaṅghâlaka, ‘ swift-footed,’ in l. 17, prakôpa, ‘ incensed with passion,’ in l. 33, dhaṭ, ‘ to charge,’ apparently meant as the root of the noun dhâṭî, in l. 34, prôllâsat, ‘ shinig,’ which owes its origin merely to the metre, in l. 39, saustava, ‘ praise,’ in l. 63, vaikharî, ‘ speech,’ in l. 80.─ As regards orthography, it may be mentioned that final t is changed into d before j in jagad=jayaṁtaḥ (l. 9) and –bhavad=jagati (l. 15), but the correct sandhi is found in atanôj=jainâ- (l. 20). The dental nasal is written instead of the lingual in varnaṁ (l. 44), âkarnnanêshu (l. 59), karnnair (l. 66), âkîrnnair (l. 68) and -ârnnava- (l. 94). Initial i appears as yi in Yirugapa- (ll. 12, 61, 105) and initial ê as yê in supâtra yêva (l. 57). The y after j is dropped in jâyân (l. 24). S is written instead of ś in âsrayas (l. 16). The spelling sallâpî (l. 86) instead of saṁlâpî is according to Dr. Kittel’s Kannaḍa-English Dictionary a Kanarese peculiarity. Occasionally the groups chchh, ddh, bbh are spelt chhchh, dhdh, bhbh, as usual in inscriptions of this class.

After an invocation of the Jaina religion (v. 1), the inscription gives in the next 18 verses an account of a certain Irugapa. Bukkarâya, who must be identical with Bukka I. of the first dynasty of Vijayanagara, had a minister Baicha (v. 2) or Baichapa (I.) (v. 3), who had three sons (v. 4)─ Maṅgapa, Irugapa (I.) and Bukkaṇa (v. 5), Maṅgapa, the eldest of them, who was a follower of the Jaina religion (v. 6), was married to Jânakî (v. 7). They had two sons, Baichapa (II.) (v. 8) and Irugapa (II.) (v. 9), who in vv. 12, 13, 14 is called also Irugêśvara and Irugêndra. As appears from vv. 8 and 16, the two brothers were Jainas like their father. With the exception of Bukkaṇa, all the members of this family are called generals (daṇḍêśvara, daṇḍanêtṛi, daṇḍanâtha, daṇḍapati, daṇḍapa, daṇḍâdhipati, daṇḍâdhîśvara, dhvajinîpati), and most of the verse devoted to the praise of Irugapa II. (9-19) refer in general terms to his military achievements. Twice (vv. 10, 11) Irugapa II. is given also the title of prince (kshmâpa), and twice (vv. 13, 14), with a strange blending of his two titles, he is even called daṇḍanṛipati.^[1]

The family of Irugapa II. is partly already known to us from other recodes. An inscription at Vijayanagara, dated in Śaka 1307 = A. D. 1385,^[2] mentions, according to Prof. Hultzsch, a certain Chaicha or Chaichapa, the hereditary minister and general of Harihara II., and his
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^[1] Compare above, Vol. VII. p. 116.
^[2] South- Ind. Inscr. Vol. I. No. 152