South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

in the district called Puliyûr-kôṭṭam.^[1] Nuṅgambâkkam occurs in a copper-plate inscription belonging to the time of the Chôḷa king Râjêndra-Chôḷa I.^[2] The Tamil Dêvâram contains a hymn dedicated to the Śiva temple at Tiruvorriyûr composed by Tiruñânasambandar.^[3]

The Pârthasârathisvâmin temple at Triplicane contains (1) the subjoined Pallava inscription ;^[4] (2) a number of fragments of Chôḷa records built into the floor in various parts of the temple ;^[5] (3) a mutilated epigraph of the Pâṇḍya king [Mâra]varman Kulaśêkhara ;^[6] and (4) a few Vijayanagara inscriptions. Some of the Chôḷa fragments belong to the time of Kulôttuṅga III. and Râjarâja III.^[7] The Pâṇḍya epigraph mentions Tirumayilâppûr (i.e. Mailapur) in Puliyûr-kôṭṭam[8] and (the temple of) Teḷḷiyaśiṅga-Nâyanâr in Elumûr-nâḍu, a subdivision of Puliyûr-kôṭṭam.^[9] The Vijayanagara records belong to the time of Sadâśiva, Raṅga and Veṅkaṭapati.^[10] Two of the suburbs, viz. Puduppâkkam and Vêppêri, and three of the outlying villages, viz. Śembiyam, Naḍumbarai and Veysarpâḍi,^[11] were granted to the Triplicane temple during the Vijayanagara period, while a pious Vaishṇava made some additions to it in or before A.D. 1564-5 during the reign if Sadâśiva.

The subjoined inscription is engraved on a stone built into the floor close to the entrance into the garbhagṛiha of the temple. As people walk on it very frequently, the stone has become much worn, and the writing has suffered considerable damage. Very few aksharas are, however, really doubtful, though some are broken.

The alphabet is Tamil, with a number of Sanskṛit words written in Grantha characters. The following is a list of the latter :─ svasti śrî, Pallavakulatilaº (line 1) ; Bhâradvâja-gôtrâlaṁkârapatiy=âkiya (l. 1 f.) ; śrî-Dantivarmma-Mahârâja (l. 2 f.) ; varshavarddhana (l. 3) ; mṛi of tiruvamṛidu (ll. 7 and 14 f.) ; ºśarmma (l. 11 f. and twice in l. 12) ; svâmibhôga (l. 14) ; ºddharma (l. 15) ; ha of lôha, tshi of ratshiº (l. 17) ; ºndharmmaº (l. 18) ; ratshiº (l. 18 f.) ; svasti (l. 19).─ The puḷḷi (or virâma) is marked in a large number of cases and is denoted by a short vertical line added at the top of the letter. One graphic peculiarity deserves notice. When lingual ṭ and rough r are doubled, the symbol for the secondary i or u, which is now placed over the second letter or by its side, is, in this inscription, added, in most cases, so as to include the first as well. In other words, the two letters are treated as a group. In line 9, double kki is written similarly as a group. Two forms of n occur, one with the central loop
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^[1] South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 133.
^[2] This inscription has recently been discovered at Tiruvâlaṅgâḍu near Arkonam and will be published in South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. Part III.
^[3] Compare South-Ind. Inscr. Vol.III. p. 132.
^[4] No. 234 of the Government Epigraphist’s collection for 1903.
^[5] Annual Report on Epigraphy for 1903-4, paragraph 25.
^[6] No. 238 of the Government Epigraphist’s collection for 1903. It is dated in the 4[9]th year of the king’s reign and may perhaps belong to the “ Kales Dewar ” of the Muḥammadan historians ; see the Annual Report on Epigraphy for 1899-1900, paragraph 13.
^[7] Nos. 241 and 242 of the Government Epigraphist’s collection for 1903 are two of them. In some of them Tiruvânmiyûr (the modern Tiruvâmûr) is said to have been in Kôṭṭûr-nâḍu, a subdivision of Puliyûr-kôṭṭam alias Kulôttuṅga-Chôḷa-vaḷanâḍu.
^[8] Called after Puliyûr, which is close to Madras ; above, Vol. IV. p. 8, note 1. According to an inscription of Kulôttuṅga I., Tiruvorriyûr, 6 miles north of Fort St. George, belonged to Pulal-nâḍu, a subdivision of Pularkôṭṭam, which was called after Polal near Madras on the road to Nellore ; South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 132.
^[9] Mention is also made of Ayanapuram in Tuḍarmunni-nâḍu, a subdivision of Pularkôṭṭam alias Vikrama-Chôḷa-vaḷanâḍu. Ayanapuram is the name of a shrotriem village to the west of Madras (No. 72 on the Sydapet taluk map).
^[10] Annual Report on Epigraphy for 1903-4, paragraph 25. The inscription of Raṅga is in Telugu, while the rest are all in Tamil.
^[11] Called Veshârupâḍi in the inscription. The modern name connects the village with the sage Vyâsa or some person called after him. Vêlśârru, which occurs in an inscription of Kulôttuṅga I. at Tiruvorriyûr, is perhaps an older form of Veshârupâḍi ; South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 134.