South Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FEUDATORIES OF THE MAIN BRANCH

gods, has become highly renowned; who, by her constant pursuit of (the three purushārthas of) religious merit, prosperity and happiness, has dispelled the darkness of ignorance (and ) has become extremely resplendent in the world¹, (and) who has attained an eminent status with her sons and grandsons, who, lion-like princes as they are, are devoted to justice and discipline.

...(V. 11). That illustrious king², the sovereign, who is endowed with a multitude of excellences who has destroyed his enemies, whose pair of feet, having the grace of fullblown lotuses, and rubbed by the heads of several feudatory princes subdued by his perfect triad of powers, has overcome all regions and whose birth is highly extolled by the people as being in the famous Lunar race-

...(Line 34) [He] issues the following order to all residents concerned headed by (the officials,, viz.)³ the Grāmakūṭa, the Chief of the Drōṇāgraka, the Devavārika and the Gaṇḍakas in (the village) Vardhamānaka in the vishaya of Pañchagartā (included) in the Uttara-rāshṭra (Northern Division) of Mēkalā-

...(Line 36). “Be it known to you that for the increase of the religious merit of Our father and mother and of Ourself, We have donated this village extending to its four boundaries,−together with udraṅga and uparikara⁴, together with treasures and deposits, and (with the privilege that it is ) not to be entered by (Our) soldiers and policemen except for punishing thieves,−to the illustrious Lōhitasarasvāmin of the Vatsa gōtra and the Mādhyandina śākhā, (to be enjoyed by him and his successors) as long as the moon, the sun, the earth and the starts will endure.

...(Knowing this, you should obey his orders and offer him the bhāga and bhōga according to custom.”

...This command has been given by Me personally. And those kings also who will be born in Our family should consent to and maintain this gift. And whosoever will cause obstruction in (the enjoyment of) this grant, will incur (the guilt of) the five great sins.

(Here occur three benedictive and imprecatory verses.)

...(Line 47). This charter is concluded. In the year 2 of the increasingly victorious reign, on the thirteenth (lunar day) of the dark (fortnight) of Bhādrapada, the nakshatra being Pushya.

...(This charter has been written by Śiva, son of the Rāhasika Īśāna and engraved by Mihiraka, son the goldsmith Isvara.
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¹ Thcere is obviously a pun on her name Lōkaprakāśā.
² There is a pun on the word narendra which means here (i) a king (viz. Bharatabala) and the Vākāṭaka king Narēndrasēna. The translation given above is with reference to the first meaning. In the second, saumya vaṁśa will have to be taken in the sense of ‘a family of gentle nature’, The Vākāṭakas were Brāhmaṇas by caste. Hence their family is described here as gentle by nature.
³ For these officials, see above, p. 84.
⁴ Udraṅga and uparikara correspond to the bhāga and bhōga mentioned below in line 40. Udraṅga was probably a land-tax while uparikara signified some miscellaneous taxes in kind such as are mentioned in the MSM., Ch. VII, vv. 130-32.