Victorious is the illustrious refuge of the Triple World, the Muni, who set(s) in motion the wheel [or: universal ruler] of the Saddharma, and who, for the sake of the world, constantly remains in his unimpeded Teaching.

From the illustrious Asanapura, whose superior majesty rivals that of the city of Purandara (i.e. Indrapura): among the Viṣṇukuṇḍins, who have the prowess of Viṣṇu, and abound in the glory of brahmins and kṣatriyas, the illustrious Vikramendravarman, blessed by the feet of the Bhagavant Śrīparvatasvāmin; the dear grandson of the great king Śrī-Govindavarman — whose [perfect] faith, based on understanding of the Teaching of the Sugata [or: based on the Sugata and his Teaching], was born from the blessing of a vision of Him who has the six super knowledges (ṣaḍabhijña, i.e. the Buddha), who honored the Three Jewels through the establishment of many great monasteries, and [thus] acquired abundant accumulation of merit —; the dear son of the great king Śrī-Mādhavavarman — who, through performing the ablutions at eleven Aśvamedhas has purified the stains of the world, who performed a thousand Kratus, whose sovereignty over all beings has been obtained by [his performance of] the Sarvamedha, who has performed eleven Bahusuvarṇas, who has obtained all success through eleven Pauṇḍarīkas, whose overlordship has been delivered by the royal consecration, which he accomplished according to the prescriptions, whose sovereignty and lordship (prājāpatya) have been obtained by the offering of eleven Vājapeyas, whose supremacy (pārameṣṭhya) has been produced through the performance of numerous rites such as human sacrifice, and so on, [and] who is a supreme ruler among the rulers (devātideva) —; (this Vikramendravarman) who obtained governorship over the districts of Trikaliṅga and Veṅgī as a favour from his own master (i.e. is father) [or: because of his faith in his own guru] [thanks to his] discipline (naya) and valor, a great Bodhisattva who is like an ornament to both families of the illustrious Viṣṇukuṇḍins and Vākāṭakas, supremely compassionate [or: devout worshiper of the Compassionate One (i.e. the Buddha)], after dutifully honoring all the future kings [who will be/come] near to here (yatra sannihite), [Vikramendravarman] he salutes [them] in this way:

“Be it known to you that I have given, in the region of Veṅgī, the village named Kḻovela—together with its fields—and that named Kḻoyūra, in the vicinity of Koṇḍūra and Maṇivela, in the neighborhood of Koṇḍūra and Maṇivela, with the right to take all taxes and levies [such as] ṭaṇḍi (= taṇḍa, punitive tax?), corvée (viṣṭi), dālava (tax on second crop?), kaduru (tax on spinning yarn?), kuṭṭu, kāḍu (tax on forests?), and kāpu; [these] must not be entered by irregular troops or mercenaries. [These gifts were made] having assigned (uddiśya) them to master Saṅghadāsa, my supreme guru, who is [like] an incarnation of the Tathāgata’s Teaching [or: who has introduced (me) to the Tathāgata’s Teaching], who is endowed with unparalleled learning, knowledge, virtue, and concentration, who is a noble Tāmraparṇīya, a resident of the mahāvihāra, who makes radiant the [spiritual] lineage of master Kṣema. [These gifts, made] with the permission of the great king Śrī-Mādhavavarman as a representative (maddhyamasthānīya) of my supreme guru, are for the royal mahāvihāra named Trilokāśraya established by me, at Asanapura—which is adorned by new constructions and by [Saṅghadāsa]'s disciples— for the enjoyment of the noble community coming from the four directions; [the merit produced by this gift] is for the attainment of the supreme knowledge by all beings, priority being given to the members of my own lineage. I have also given, in the district of Kurava two other orchards of betel-nut trees. With respect to these [gifts,] there should not be any dispute.”

And with respect to this there is [a saying]:

In the same way that we ensure the protection of what has been given by earlier royal seers, likewise, you [future] kings should behave with respect to what has been given by us.

How could someone who resolves, because his desires are lofty, to make an unprecedented gift take hold of what has already been given by another, which would belong to the category of an already used ritual offering (nirmālyapakṣastha)?

Rather (tu), for the increase of your own merits (bhavatpuṇyābhivr̥ddhaye), simply on the grounds that (ity eva) it is [correct] conduct, we are ones to whom respect is due regarding our sollicitation (addhyeṣaṇakr̥tādarāḥ) that we may obtain the reward of our freely made offering (anujñādānalābhārtham).

And with respect to this [same issue], the tradition of yore is recited, by way of hook for those who might forget the rule. As it is said:

The destiny of those who slay their master, a cow, a brahmin, a child, a woman or a learned man, will be the one of him who seizes the livelihood that is marked by a (royal) charter.

He who would seize land given by himself or by someone else becomes a worm in excrement and is cooked together with his ancestors.

The giver of land revels in heaven for sixty thousand years; the one who seizes [land] as well as the one who approves (of the seizing) will reside as many [years] in hell.

Consider the fruit of the virtuous man who protects it scrupulously: during numerous thousands of aeons he plays in heaven with the gods.

By numerous [kings], land has been given; and by many it has been protected. Whoever holds land at a given moment, to him does the fruit then belong.

Twenty-sixth prosperous and victorious year [of Mādhavavarman], first day of the eighth fortnight of Hemanta. The executor is Gandharvamutturāja.

First edited by Ramachandra Murthy (NSRM) in : 207-10. Edited again by (CAPS). The NSRM edition was republished as : 166-77. All these publications are marred by a great number of involuntary errors; the second publication by NSRM does not improve the first. We re-edit the text here from our own photographs and after autopsy of the plates, citing variant NSRM readings only from his first publication.