South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI

You,––(the flame) which rises up as if to burn the moon, because it is a friend of the god of love!

(V. 3) May the nectar-rayed (moon) of Śarva, the unique flower in the forest of his matted hair, protect you!––that (moon) which the six-faced ( Kārttikēya), child as he is, persistently asks for,1 in order to play with; which is the stake when (Śiva), the destroyer of the cities, plays at dice with the goddess (Pārvatī) ; (and) which Pārvatī uses as a missile when she is talking angrily (with Śiva) in amorous sports !

(V. 4) May the gigantic dance of the conqueror of Tripura (i.e., Siva) in which he indulged to his heart’s content2 protect you !––( the dance) during which the quarters were pushed back by the exceedingly strong blasts of wind, caused by his massive arms, which suddenly became terrific through his graceful movements as he energetically applied himself to it (i.e., to the dancing) ; and during which the sky rose higher as the earth bent down under (the weight of) his mighty chārī step !

(V. 5) Using my speech to (describe) the family which has sprung from the moon, I, alas ! have, through folly, begun to measure the sky with my hands.

(V. 6) Even though my speech has no brilliance, it will attain it from this great family of the moon whose rise is being described. Or, do not, mark! The streams of rut of the elephants of the quarters, though naturally black, attain the (white) colour of the milky ocean, when they come into contact with it?

(V. 7) That abode of lustre which obtained its rise from the eye of Atri, which befriends the earth by whitening it, which rises up to the Lōkālōka mountain (and) dispels great darkness, is called the moon. The crescent of that very (moon) adorns the forehead of Śambhu. From the same moon sprang, what more (need I say?), this family also of the Haihayas

(V. 8) And in this (family) which was rendered the highest object of reverence by (those) primeval kings, Budha and others, there was a noble prince named Arjuna who covered the wide quarters with the lustre of his fame, which deserves praise because he cut down his enemies like forests.

(V. 9) What happened even to that lord of Lankā (i.e., Rāvaŋa) when he was engaged in hostility with him––(the lord of Lankā), who with ease had lifted up³ (Kailāsa) the lord of mountains belonging to Śarva, (and before whom) the lord of gods went, none knew where, on his elephant which was terrified by the fire issuing from the thunderbolt as it vibrated and broke in striking (Rāvana’s) broad chest––that indeed is the measure of his glory !

(V. 10) Who are we, oh! to describe the merits of him whom the god Dattātrēya, that abode of unrestrained amorous endearments of the goddess of fortune, favoured
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¹Kielhorn, who made the pada-chabbēda as kŗitvā graham mārgati, translated––‘that (moon) which the six-faced (Kārttikēya), child as he is, lays hold of and seeks to play with’. It is better to construe the words asāgrabam kŗitvā khēlāya mārgati.
²Kielhorn translates avyāhat-ēcbcbam by ‘to the full extent of your desires’, evidently treating it as an adverb modifying the verb avyāt. The tenor of the whole verse, however, requires that it should be taken as an adjective to tāndav-ādambaram. Śiva could indulge in the dance to his heart’s content, because the quarters were pushed back, the sky rose higher and the earth bent down, thus affording more space for his dance.
³Kielhorn translated ‘of that lord of Lankā even, who with ease had coaxed Śarva and the lord of mountains’, evidently deriving ullālita from ullal to coax, to fondle. But the word is clearly used here in the same sense as ullāsita (lifted up) in bēl-ōllāsita-v(b)ābu-danda-vibita-Śrīkantha-śail-ōddha(ri)tih in line 6 of Goharwa plates of Karna (No. 50, below).