South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

of those who seek refuge (with him,), the deadly enemy of Mâra (Cupid ?), a spear on the heads of respectable kings, the teacher (âchârya) who has established the six darśanas,^[1] the head-jewel of the race of the Moon, the powerful purifier of the Kâśyapa gôtra, (he) who has obtained excellent boons from (the goddess) Padmâvatî of Pombuchcha, who is adorned by numberless and various (good) qualities, samyaktva,^[2] etc., whose head is purified by the sweet-scented water (which has been used for washing the image) of Jina,^[3] (and who is) the lord of sixty-six maṇḍalîkas, ─in order to obtain for himself prosperity, final emancipation, riches| and happiness,^[4]─ at Pâṇḍayanagari (a suburb) of Kârakaḷa, in the presence^[5] of the blessed Gummaṭêśvara, and on the Chikkabeṭṭa (hill) resembling the Kailâsa mountain─

(V. 7.) Is this the noble abode of the lady Śrî (Lakshmî) ? (Is this) the excellent pleasure-house^[6] of the lady Fame ? (Is this) the house of amorous enjoyment of the lady Earth ? (Or) again, is this the sporting-place of the virtuous woman Victory ? (This) prosperous Jaina abode (is indeed) the stage consisting of the two excellent doctrines resplendent with the word syât, (whereupon) the glorious (goddess) Bhâratî (Sarasvatî) (dances), (and is) the house where (the ladies) Heavenly bliss, Salvation and Prosperity choose their husbands . . . . ^[7]

(L. 14 f.) (This Bhairarasa) Rôddada-gôva,^[8] Nikaḷaṅka-malla,^[9] the soul of warriors, the brother of the wives of others (and) the chastiser of kings who do not act up to the words which they utter,─ because he was the foremost in setting up golden pinnacles (on temples), became (as it were) the ruler of the empire of charity, (and) actuated by merit (which was) the outcome of his good deeds (in previous births), caused to be made for (the use of) himself and the (members of the) four saṅghas who possessed all noble qualities and were (habitual) visitors of that abode of Jina, the Tribhuvanatilaka-Jina-Chaityâlaya (temple), which is thus^[10] a mansion giving pleasure to all people (who look at it), (which is) auspicious on every side (sarvatôbhadra), has four faces (chaturmukha)^[11] (and) is the embodiment of the three jewels,^[12]
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^[1] I cannot understand how a Jaina chief like Bhairava II. could claim to have established the six systems of philosophy, all foreign to his own. Perhaps he tolerated the study of these systems in his petty dominions.
^[2] Samyaktva may refer to the possession of the three qualities (ratna-traya) referred to on p. 134, note 3, each of which begins with the word samyak.
^[3] The same epithet is applied to the Daṇḍanâyaka Baladêva in Nos. 52 and 53 of Mr. Rice’s Śravaṇa-Beḷgoḷa Inscriptions.
^[4] The predicate of this sentence is the past participle nirmmâpisi which occurs in l. 19.
^[5] The Chaturmukhabasti, though at a considerable distance from the colossus of Gummaṭêśvara, is here represented as being in its presence ; for the latter was perhaps considered to be the presiding deity of Kârkaḷa and its suburbs. Besides, as the Chikkabeṭṭa hill is just opposite to the hill on which the colossus stands, it is literally true that the temple “ stands in the gaze of the colossus ; ” Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 39.
^[6] Âgara seems to be used here, as in Kanarese, for the Sanskṛit âgâra, which would not suit the metre. A derivative from â + gṛî is âgara which means ‘ halloaing.’ This does not suit the sense of the verse.
^[7] I do not understand the meaning and the construction of the word vṛishê at the end of the verse. Some word like nûnam or dhruvam, which characterises an utprêkhâlaṁkâra, is required. Or can it only be a mistake for vṛisham = excellent ?─ [Perhaps the word Vṛishê is repeated by mistake from verse 6.─ E. H.]
^[8] Mr. Rice (Ep. Carn. Vol. VII. Introduction, p. 39) translates this epithet by ‘ guardian of Rodda ’ or ‘ Gôva of Rodda ’ (ibid. Vol. XII. Translation, p. 91). Elsewhere (ibid. Vol. III. Introduction, p. 16) he mentions Rodda among the conquests of the Hoysaḷa king Vishṇuvardhana and identifies it with ‘ Rodda on the northern Pennâr in the Anantapur district, west of Penukoṇḍa.’ If this is the correct explanation of the epithet Rôddada-gôva, Bhairava II., whose territory was far away from Penugoṇḍa, could only have borrowed the title from some other family. A local line of Chôḷa chiefs “ in the country round Hêmâvati and Niḍugal ” (in the Anantapur district) is described on p. 7 of the Introduction to Ep. Carn. Vol. XII. These chiefs flourished about the 12th century A.D. and invariably bore the titles Roddada-gôva, nigaḷaṅkamalla, aruvattunâlku-maṇḍalîkara-tale-goṇḍa-gaṇḍa, baṇṭara-bâva and marevoge-kâva, which are almost the same as those assumed by Bhairava II. Besides, the Chôḷa chiefs of the Anantapur district belonged to the same Kâśyapa gôtra as Bhairava.
^[9] I.e. Nishkalaṅka-malla, ‘ the spotless wrestler.’
^[10] I.e. as described in v. 7.
^[11] The temple has four doors, each of which opens on three identical stone image of the Tîrthakaras Ara, Malli and Munisuvrata.
^[12] See above, p. 134, note 3.