EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(V. 12.) (Once), a huge wild elephant was reflected by a beautiful fragment of glimmering
moon-stone in the court of an enemy’s palace, which had been deserted in a hurry through (fear
of) the lord Iruga (who was) on the march. Thinking that it was a hostile elephant, he struck
his image (and) broke one of his tusks, (and) was (therefore) afterwards often invoked by the
hosts of Vêtâḷas (with the words) : ‘ Have mercy, have mercy, Gajânana !’[1]
(V. 13.) ‘ Who is able to wipe off a letter written by the Creator on the surface of the fore-head?’ In this saying we do not believe, (considering it to be) a saying made up of a liar’s
words, because as soon as the general Irugêndra was born on earth, his friends, even if they had
been without wealth, were supplied with abundant wealth, and his wealthy enemies were
deprived of their wealth.
(V. 14.) While thy arm, O general Irugêndra, was carrying the burden of the earth
(originally) laid on the group of the hoods of the lord Śêsha, that serpent, contented, the lines
of his hair always bristling with joy on account of the frequent opportunities for closely embracing his wife, used his thousandfold tongue in praising thy virtues !
(V. 15.) Plenty of food, protection from dangers, medicine and instruction became his
continual gift. Acts of violence, falsehood, passion for the wives of others, theft, and infatuation
kept away on account of his ruling the country.
(V. 16.) His liberality (was directed) only towards worthy persons, his pity towards the
poor, his looks towards the Jina, his love towards the path of religion, his two ears towards
listening to the fame of the lord of the Jinas, his tongue towards praising his virtues, the health
of his body towards worshipping him, his nose towards the excessive fragrance of the lotuses of
his feet, and all that was his towards serving him.
(V. 17.) While the world was made white by the fame of the general Irugapa, blackness
was praised only in (connection with) the hair of (women) with rolling eyes, and while his bar-like arm was wearing the bracelet of the earth, mutual oppression also was spoken of only in
(connection with) their breasts.
(V. 18.) By their ears with their ear-rings forgotten, by the surfaces of their foreheads with
no marks fixed to them, by their disheveled curls, by their swelling breasts untouched by strings
of pearls, and by their bimba-like lips deprived of the redness (caused) by the betel, even the fair-eyed (wives) of the kings hostile (to him) repeatedly (and) thoroughly betray his excessive power.
(V. 19.) Since his fame, surpassing the river of the gods,[2] has washed off, at last, the spot
in her disk, the moon, being (now) perfectly clear, really swallows the beauty of the faces of the
women.
(V. 20.) Who would not do homage to the ascetic (yati), the venerable Paṇḍitârya, whose
greatness is to be honoured ; the grains of dust of whose foot-lotus produce a world for those who
bow (to him) in devotion ;[3] the wave of loveliness of whose compassionate side-glances purifies the
heart ; the faultless fluency of whose speech destroys delusion and self-conceit.
(V. 21.) The roar of the discourse of the ascetic (yamin) Paṇḍitârya, which is a warrior
(in cutting) the neck of the succession of great self-conceit, fame and skill of the pleasant and
distinguished sweetness of the streams of honey of the flowers of the mandâra tree, verily resembles the river of the celestial world,[4] winding through the hollows of the braids of the dancing
Rudra.
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[1] I.e. Gaṇêśa, who has the head of an elephant, but only one tusk.
[2] I.e. the Gaṅgâ.
[3] The dust of the lotus-like foot of Paṇḍitârya is compared to the pollen of the lotus of Brahman which
produces the world.
[4] I.e. the Gaṅgâ.
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