Hīrahaḍagaḷḷi copper plates, time of Śiva-Skandavarman, year 8 EpiDoc encoding Emmanuel Francis intellectual authorship of edition Emmanuel Francis DHARMA Paris, CEIAS DHARMA_INSPallava00003

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2019-2025
DHARMAbase Confirmation of the grant, with exemptions, of a garden in Cillarekakoḍuṁka to 24 Brahmins, and further grant of lands, seemingly in Āpiṭṭī.

See (EI 1, no. 1, p. 2).

The project DHARMA has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 809994).

Public URIs with the prefix bib to point to a Zotero Group Library named ERC-DHARMA whose data are open to the public.

Internal URIs using the part prefix to point to person elements in the DHARMA_IdListMembers_v01.xml file.

Creation of the file
Seal

śivaskandavarmmaṇaḥ

Plates diṭhaṁ siddhaM .

koāṁcīpurā Aggiṭthṭhoma-vājapeyassamedha-yājī dhamma-mahā rājādhirājo bhāraddāyo pallavāṇaā sivakhaṁdavamo Amhaṁ visaye savattha rājakumāra-senāpati raṭṭhika-māḍabika-desādhikatādīke gāmāgāmabhojake vallave govallave Amacce Ārakhādhikate gumike tūthike neyike Anne vi ca Amha-pesaṇa-ppayutte saṁcaraṁtaka bhaḍamaṇusā ṇa

parihāraṁ vitarāma Ettha dāṇi Āpiṭṭiī-vatthavāṇa cillareka-koḍuṁka-bhojaka-bamhaṇānaāṁ Appa ṇa kula-gottasa dhamāyu-bala-yaso-vadhanike vijaya-vejayīke ca kātūṇam Appatihata-sāsaṇassa Aneka-hirogo-koḍi go-hala-sata-sahassa-ppadāyino mahārāja-bappa-sāmīhi 3 vāṭaka cillareka-koḍuṁke puvvadattaṁ golasamajasa patībhāgo 1 Ātteya-sagottasa Agisamajassa patībhāgā 4 māḍharasa patībhāgā be 2 jāmātukasa Agillasa patī bhāgo 1 hārita-sagotasa kālasamasa pattībhāgā 3 bhāradāya-sagottassa kumārasamasa patībhāgā 2 kosikāa sagotasa kumāranaṁdi-kumārasama-koṭṭasama-sattissa ca catuṇhaṁ bhātukāṇa cattāri pattībhāgā 4 kasava-sagotta sa bhaṭisa patībhāgo 1 bhāradāyasa khaṁdakoṁḍisa 4 patībhāgā be 2 khaṁdaḍhasa patībhago 1 bappasa pattībhāgo 1 dattajasa patībhāgā be 2 naṁdijasa patībhāgā 3 vatsa-sagotasa rudasamasa patī bhāgo 1 dāmajasa patībhāgo 1 sālasamajasa patī bhāgo 1 parimitasa patībhāgo 1 nāga-naṁdisa patibhāgo 1 golisa patībhāgo 1 khaṁdasamasa patībhāgo 1 sāmijasa patībhāgo 1

Etesi bamhaṇāṇāṁ Agisamaja-pamukhāṇaṁ sātāhaniraṭṭhe gāme cillarekakoḍuṁke dakhiṇasīmaṁ puvvadattaṁ 5 Amhehi vi Ā-canda-tāra-kālika kātūṇaṁ Udakādiṁ saṁpa datto

Etaṁ bamhaṇāṇaṁ cillerekakoḍuṁka-vāṭakam Akūra-yollaka-vinesi-khaṭṭā-vāsaṁ A-dūdha-dadhi-gahaṇaṁ A-raṭṭha-saṁvinayikaṁ A-loṇa-gula-cchobhaṁ A-kara-veṭṭhī koṁjallaṁ A-paraṁpara-balivadda-gahaṇaṁ A-taṇa-kaṭṭha-gaha ṇaṁ A-haritaka-sāka-pupha-gahaṇaṁ Evamādīkehi Aṭṭhā rasa-jāti-parihārehi visaya-vāsīhi Api ṭṭī-vāsīhi cillerekakoḍuṁka-vāsīhi ca pariharitavaṁ 6 parihāpetavva ca tti

Api ca Āpiṭṭīyaṁ Agisamaja pamukhāṇa bamhaṇāṇaṁ khalasa nivataṇaṁ gharassa nivata ṇaṁ Addhikā cāttāri 4 kolikā be tti 2

Eva nātūṇaṁ Atha koci vallabhamadena pīlā bādhā kareyya kāravejo vā tasa khu Amhe nigahavāraṇa kareyyāma ti

bhūyo ca varisa-sata-sahassātireka-samakāle Amhaṁ pallava kalamahaṁtte bhavissabhaḍe Anne ca no 7 vasudhādhipataye Abhatthemi jo sakakāle Upari likhita-majātāye Aṇuvaṭṭhāveti tasa vo sammo ti yo ca si vigghe vaṭṭeja sa ca khu pañca-mahāpātaka-saṁjutto narādhamo hoja ti

dattā paṭṭikā vāsa-satasahassāya

saṁva 8 vāsa 6 diva 5

sayam āṇataṁ

8 kolivāla-bhojakasa rahasādhikata-bhaṭṭisa mmasa sa-hattha-likhiteṇa paṭṭikā kaḍa tti

svasti go-brāhmaṇa-lekhaka-vācaka-śrotṛbhya Iti

Seal śivaskandavarmmaṇaḥ śivaskandavarmmaṇaḥ This is reading (page 9), but nothing is legible on the seal now kept with the plates in the Chennai Government Museum (2008). The same legend is found on the seal of another Pallava plate (DHARMA_INSPallava00002).
Plates koāṁcīpurā kāṁcīpurā koṁcīpurā Alternatively, one can follow , considering that what is taken as the left component of medial o is just a defect on the plate. Aggiṭthṭhoma° Aggitthoma° Aggiṭthoma° Aggiṭthoma° Aggiṭṭhoma° The original reading is ṭtha, as indicated by the dot inside the tha of this ligature. pallavāṇaā pallavāṇa raṭṭhika° raṭṭhika° raṭṭhaika° notes that [t]he i of raṭṭhika is very faint. This medial i is not clear on the published estampage, but is more visible on the photos (2011). °māḍabika° °māḍabinuka° °māḍabika° °māḍabinuka° °māḍabika° The letter ka looks indeed like nu, since the left part of its horizontal crossbar is missing. notes that the emendation māḍambika is possible, but doubtful, given that is attested attested only in Jainz literature. Ārakhādhikate Āaraṇādhikate Ārakkhādhikate Ārakhādhikate The initial Ā is clear on the photos (2011), where a little hook is visible on its right side of letter) bhaḍamaṇusā ṇa bhaḍamaṇusāṇa kaḍho bhaḍamaṇusā ṇakaḍhaso notes that his suggested reading kaḍho is very doubtful, with the exception of the last vowel. suggets to read bhaḍamanuṣe āṇaveti. A verbal predicate is indeed expected here to complete this first sentence. parihāraṁ pārihāraṁ parihāraṁ Āpiṭṭiī° Āpiṭṭi° Āpiṭṭi° Āpiṭṭīyaṁ Āpiṭṭīyaṁ The ī in ṭṭi is not clear on the published estampage, but well visible on the photos (2011). bādhā bādhā The ā in dhā is not clear on the published estampage, but well visible on the photos (2011). Ettha cattha Ettha kaḍa kada kaḍa notes: Perhaps kaḍa is to be read.

Success!Errata and corrigenda (EI 1, p. 479) taken into account. From Kāṁcīpura—the righteousCompare Mr. Fleet's grant, Indian Antiquary, vol. V, p. 155, line 17 of the transcript. supreme king of great kings of the Pallavas Sivakhaṁdavama Śivaskandavarman, a BhāraddāyaCompare Mr. Fleet's grant, Indian Antiquary, vol. V, p. 51, line 15 of the transcript, and ibidem, page 155, line 14 of the transcript, as well as vol. IX, p. 101, line 2 of the transcript, where bhāraddāyassa has to be read for bhāraṭṭāyaṇa. Bhāradvāja an offerer of Agniṣṭoma, Vājapeya and Aśvamedha sacrifices issues the following orders:

In our whole territory we send greetingsTwo verbs have been left out, one in the third person singular after sivakhaṁdavamo, and one in the first person plural, or in the absolutive at the end of the list of officials. For the pronoun amhaṁ 'our' shows that a new sentence begins with line 3, and the words vitarāma cattha dāṇi prove that it must have stood in the first person plural or in the absolutive. The first verb was probably āṇaveti or some equivalent. The second may either have been a word expressing command, or, what I consider more likely, some expression implying greeting, such as are found in many other inscriptions. to the royal princes, generals, rulers of districts, custom-house officers,I consider the correction māṇḍabika as certain and take the word maṇḍaba or maṇḍapa, from which it has been derived, in the sense of the māṇḍavī, 'custom house'—see Molesworth, Marāṭhī Dictionary, sub voce. The śaulkikas are frequently mentioned in Sanskrit inscriptions. prefects of countries and others, to the freeholders of various villages,That bhojaka does not mean' temple priest,' but 'ināmdār,' or 'freeholder,' seems to follow from its use in line 8, where the donees are called cillarekakoḍumkabhojakas, who lived in Āpiṭṭī, and in line 50, where the privy councillor Bhaṭṭisama receives the title kolivālabhojake. Such a despised personage as a temple priest could hardly become a minister. Professor Fausböll points out to me that gāmāgāmabhojaka may be rendered as above, as repetitions of the same word with a lengthening of the final vowel of the first are commonly used in Pāli in order to indicate the vīpsā. to herdsmen, cowherds, ministers, foresters, gumikas, tūthikas, neyikas,The first of the three words left untranslated corresponds to Sanskrit gaulmika. As gulma means both 'a thicket' and 'a picket of soldiers,' the derivative may denote either a kind of forest official or the leader of a gulma of warriors. Tūthika may be connected with Prākrit tūha 'a Tīrtha,' and means 'overseers of fords' or 'of bathing places.' With neyika compare naiyokāḥ in Mr. Fleet and Elliot's grant, Indian Antiquary, vol. V, p. 62, line 28 of the text. Mr. Fleet changes it to niyuktāh, which now seems a rather doubtful emendation. I suspect that naiyokāḥ is a mistake for naiyikāḥ, which would exactly correspond to neyika, and that both words are corruptions of Sanskrit nāyaka, commonly pronounced nāick. If this is correct, the term denotes a military officer of the rank of a corporal or a sergeant. and all others employed in our service, to roaming spies and warriors, Saṁcarantaka occurs also in Mr. Fleet's grant, loc. cit., line 29 of the text, and Mr. Fleet has translated it by 'travellers.' I believe that royal servants are meant, and that the word refers to the spies whom the Indian kings sent into the provinces to explore the behaviour of their officials,—see Manu, VII, 122. and we grant here an immunity viz. the garden in Cillarekakoḍuṁka, which was formerly given by the great king, the lord Bappa,The great king Bappa is probably the donor's father,—see Mr. Fleet's article, Indian Antiquary, vol. XV, p. 272ff. a giver of many krors of gold and of one hundred thousand ox-ploughs,This may, of course, mean also 'one hundred thousand cows and the same number of ploughs of land,' Regarding the various kinds of the measure of land, called 'a plough,' see Kullūka on Manu, VII, 119.—while he made the gift a means of the increase of the merit, longevity, power and fame of his own family and race—to the Brāhmans, free-holders of Cillarekakoḍuṁka and inhabitants of Āpiṭṭi, viz. to Golasamaja Golaśarmārya one share of the produce, Pattī, patti, patī, and pati I take to be the representatives of Sanskrit prāpti, which means āya, 'produce,' or 'income.' It is of course possible that the garden was let and the rent divided among the donees. to Agisamaja Agniśarmārya of the Ātteya Ātreya gotra four shares of the produce, to Māḍhara Māṭhara two shares of the produce, to his son-in-law (?) Agilla Agnila one share of the produce, to Kālasama Kālaśarman of the Hārita gotra two (?) shares of the produce, to Kumārasama Kumāraśarman of the Bhāradāya Bhāradvāja gotra two shares of the produce, to the four brothers Kumāranaṁdi Kumāranandin, Kumārasama Kumāraśarman, Koṭṭasama Koṭṭaśarman and Satti Śakti of the Kosika Kauśika gotra four (4) shares of the produce, to Bhaṭi Bhaṭṭi of the Kassava Kāśyapa gotra one share of the produce, to Khaṁdakoṁḍi Skandakoṭi? the Bhāradāya Bhāradvāja two shares of the produce, to Khaṁdaḍha Skanda-ṛddha one share of the produce, to Bappa one share of the produce, to Dattaja Dattārya two shares of the produce, to Naṁdija Nandyārya three shares of the produce, to Rudasama Rudraśarman of the Vātsya gotra one share of the produce, to Dāmaja Dāmārya one share of the produce, to Sālasama Śyālaśarman? one share of the produce, to ParimitaThis name does not seem to be correct; perhaps it should be Harimita, i.e, Harimitra. (?) one share of the produce, to Nāganaṁdi one share of the produce, to Goli (?) one share of the produce, to Khaṁdasama Skandaśarman one share of the produce, to Sāmija Svāmyārya one share of the produce.

By Us also the formerly-given gardenThe word vāṭakam has been left out by mistake. situated on the southern sīm, in the village of Cillarekakoḍuṁka and in the province raṭṭha of Sātāhani, has been granted to the above-mentioned Brāhmans, chief among whom is Agisamaja Agniśarmārya, the gift being confirmed by a libation of water and being made valid as long as the moon and stars endure.

This garden in Cillarekakoḍuṁka, which belongs to the Brāhmans, is to be free from taxes ... ... ..., free from the taking of sweet and sour milk,Milk, grass, firewood, vegetable, and so forth had to be furnished gratis by the villagers to royal officers and their servants. The custom still prevails in many native states. ... ... ... ...I do not venture to translate araṭṭhasaṁvinayikaṁ. The phrase is, of course, identical with that used in the Andhra inscriptions (Archaeological Report, West. Ind., vol. IV, pp. 104-106, Nos. 13, 14)—araṭhasarinayika, my former explanation of which cannot stand. free from troubles about salt and sugar,In Sanskrit alavaṇaguḍakṣobham. Digging for salt was a royal monopoly. free from taxes, forced labour ... ... ... , free from the taking of the oxen in succession,I suppose this refers to the obligation of furnishing by turns draught-cattle for the progress of the royal officers. free from the taking of grass and wood, free from the taking of vegetables and flowers; with these and other immunities of the eighteen kinds it must he exempted and caused to be exempted by the inhabitants of the province, by the inhabitants of Āpiṭṭī and by the inhabitants of Chillerekakoḍuṁka.

Moreover, in Āpiṭṭī one nivartana has been given to the Brāhmans, chief among whom is Agisamaja Agniśarmarya, for a threshing-floor, one nivartana for a house, four labourersThe addhikā i.e., ardhikāḥ, appear to have been slaves,—see also Āpastamba's Dharmaśūtra, II, 28, 1. receiving half the produce addhikā, two Kolikas.Kolikā corresponds to Sanskrit kaulikāḥ, and may mean 'weavers.' But it is also possible to think of the well-known tribe of the Kolīs, who were slaves.

Now if anybody, knowing this, proud of being a favourite of the king, should cause or cause to be caused a small obstacle to the donees him, forsooth, we shall restrain by punishment. And further I pray both the future great warriors of our Pallava race, who may rule within a period exceeding one hundred thousand years, as well as kings, differing from us in descent, saying unto them: 'To him among you blessings, who in his time makes the people act according to the rule, written above.I transliterate and complete this,— yaḥ svakakāla uparilikhitamaryādayā (janān) anuvartaye tasya vaḥ śarmeti. But he who acts contrary to it shall be the lowest of men, loaded with the guilt of the five mortal sins.' A charter valid for one hundred thousand years has been given on the fifth day, in the sixth fortnight of the rainy season, in the year eight. My own order. 'The charter has been prepared in his own handwriting by the privy councillor Bhaṭṭisama Bhaṭṭiśarman, the Kolivāla freeholder.' 'Welfare to cows, Brāhmans, the writer, the readers and the hearers.'

Seal Order of Śivaskavadavarman.
Plates VuC'est-à-dire "Vérifié".. Perfection !

De Kāñcīpuram ...

Nous accordons ... à Golasamaja Golaśarmārya: 1 part à Agisamaja Agniśarmārya de l'Ātreyagotra: 4 parts ...

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Prospérité au vaches, aux brahmanes, aux scribes, aux récitateurs et aux auditeurs :

For a description of the Prakrit language of this grant, see (EI 1, no. 1, p. 2-4), , .

About the seal, see 9: The plates are still held together by a single ring to which a nearly circular, somewhat battered, seal about an inch in diameter is attached. This seal shows as emblem an animal, facing the proper right, which may be intended for a deer or a horse. Below there stands the word Śivaskandavarmaṇaḥ, the last three akṣaras of which are much defaced and doubtful. The first four akṣara are perfectly plain and leave no doubt thut this part of the grant was in Sanskrit, just like the maṅgala at the end.

Edited in (EI 1, no. 1) with facsimile and English translation; corrections in (EI 2, no. 40); corrections in (EI 2, no. 40); text and sanskritised text in 461-466 with facsimile; text and summary in (IP 3); re-edited here by Emmanuel Francis (2023), based on published estampages and photos of the original plates in the Chennai Government Museum (2008).

457-461 35-39 3 IR 3 xvi, 107 8