Velaṁbaṟṟu grant of Amma I Encoding Dániel Balogh intellectual authorship of edition Dániel Balogh DHARMA Berlin DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00063

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2019-2025
DHARMAbase

Halantas. Final M (e.g. l3, l8) is a small circle with a hook on top (a stylised, reduced ma) with a slightly sinuous vertical tail. Final N (e.g. l9) is a reduced na with a slightly sinuous tail on the right-hand side of the stem. Final T (e.g. l17) is likewise a reduced ta with a tail attached on the right.

Original punctuation marks are plain verticals.

Other palaeographic observations. Anusvāra is normally at head height after the character to which it belongs; occasionally atop the next character, e.g. l19 aṁbhodhi; l28 velaṁbaṟṟu. Initial O occurs in line 1; initial Ī in l31.

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.

Initial encoding of the file
Seal śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa
Plates

On namo nārāyaṇāya| svasti. śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇāṁ hārīti-putrāṇāṁ kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-paripālitānāṁ svāmi-mahāsena-pādānudhyātānāM bhagavan-nārāyaṇa-prasāda-samāsādita-vara-varāha-lāñchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tārāti-maṇḍalānām aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitrīkr̥ta-vapuṣāṁ calukyānāṁ kulam alaṁkariṣṇoḥ satyāśraya-vallabhendrasya bhrātā kubja-viṣṇuvarddhano ṣṭādaśa varṣāṇi| tat-putro jayasiṁha-vallabhas trayastriṁśataṁ| tad-anujendrarāja-nandano viṣṇuvarddhano nava| tad-ātmajo maṁgi-yuvarājaḥ paṁcaviṁśatiM| tat-putro jayasiṁhas trayodaśa| tasya dvaimāturānujaḥ kokkiliṣ ṣaṇ māsāN| taj-jyeṣṭhonujam uccāṭya viṣṇuvarddhanas saptatriṁśataM| tat-putro vijayāditya-bhaṭṭārakaḥAṣṭādaśa| tat-suto viṣṇuvarddhanaṣ ṣaṭtriṁśataM| tat-sūnur aṣṭottara-śata-narendreśvarāyatanānāṁ sva-yuddha-jaya-saṁkhyānāṁ karttā vijayādityo ṣṭacatvāriṁśataM|tad-ātmajaḥ kali-viṣṇuvarddhano ddhyardha-varṣaM| tat-putro vijayāditya-mahārājaś catuścatvāriṁśataM| tad-anuja-yuvarāja-vikramāditya-sūnuś cālukya-bhīma-bhūpālas triṁśataṁ varṣāṇi| tat-putro vijayāditya mahārājaṣ ṣaṇ māsān veṁgī-deśam anupālya nāka-lokālayaṁ yayau|

tasmāl lokamahādevyāṁ gauryyāṁ guha iveśvarāT| Ammarāja Iti khyātas suto jātas satomāṁ mataḥ| sarvva-lakṣaṇa-sampannas sarvva-loka-manoharaḥ śukla-pakṣa-śaśīvāsau prāptavān sakalāḥ kalāḥ| catur-aṁbhodhi-mālā-san -mekhalālaṁkr̥tāvaniṁ saṁrakṣituṁ sa dhr̥tavāN paṭṭam ā-candra-tārakaM|

yaś ca Indur iva mr̥du-karānandita-kuvalayo dinakara Iva sad-vr̥tta-maṇḍalo vainateya Iva vinatānanda-janako guha ivāpratihata-śaktis sa sarvva-lokāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārājādhirāja-parameśvaraḥ parama-brahmaṇyo velanāṇṭi-palliya-viṣaya-nivāsino rāṣṭrakūṭa-pramukhān kuṭuṁbinas sarvvān ittham ājñāpayati

viditam astu vaḥ kauśika-gotrāya vemūru-vāstavyāya mādhavaśarmmaṇaḥ pautrāya viṣṇuśarmmaṇaḥ putrāya ṣaṭ-karmma-niratāya veda-vedāgaṁṁga-pāragāya taittirīya-sabrahmacāriṇe koḍaliśarmmaṇe karppaḍam mocayitvā dakṣiṇāyana-nimitte sodaka-pūrvvaṁ sarvva-kara-parihāram agrāhārī-kr̥tya| velaṁbaṟṟu nāma grāmo smābhis saṁpradatta Iti

Asyāvadhi-grāmāḥ. pūrvvataḥ krāpa| dakṣiṇataḥ tūrkkavelli| paścimataḥ kuccaripaṟṟu| Uttarataḥ Iṁpaṟṟu| kṣetrāvadhayaḥ. Āgneyatonairr̥tyāṁ vāyavyataḥ Īśānataś ca| muyyali-kuṭla| Asyopari na kenacid bādhā karttavyā. yaḥ karoti sa pañca-mahāpātaka-saṁyukto narakaṁ gamiṣyati. tathā coktaM|

bahubhir vvasudhā dattā bahubhiś cānupālitā yasya yasya yadā bhūmis tasya tasya tadā phalaM| sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vā yo hareta vasundharāṁ ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate kr̥miḥ| ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi svargge tiṣṭhati bhūmi-daḥ ākṣeptā cānumantā ca tāny eva narake vaseT|

Ājñaptiḥ kaḍaya-rājaḥ

Seal
Plates taj-jyeṣṭhonujam taṁ| jyeṣṭho ’nujam I see neither an anusvāra nor a punctuation mark here; the dot beyond the top right corner of ta appears to be damage. The o in jyeṣṭho is uncertain; only the right-hand stroke for ā is clear. If what seems to be a second stroke attached to the body on the left is only damage, I would still emend to o. For the first word, NV's taṁ would also be acceptable, but unless this can be confirmed as the actual reading, I prefer to assume that jy was written instead of jjy rather than to supply an anusvāra, because while taj-jyeṣṭha clearly implies an elder brother, mere jyeṣṭha is never used in such a sense in any related grant that I am aware of. In principle, emending to tajjyeṣṭhānujas tam or tasya jyeṣṭhānujas tam would also be possible, but there seems to be a quarter anuṣṭubh here; see also the commentary. Finally, assuming that the m in anujam is a result of non-standard sandhi, emending to taṁ jyeṣṭho ’nuja or taṁ jyeṣṭhānuja would also be possible, but slightly inferior to the emendation proposed here. viṣṇuvarddhanaṣ ṣaṭtriṁśataM viṣṇuvarddhanaṣṭastriṁśataNo ’ṣaṭtriṁśataṁ nāka- ka- There is a dot above the top left corner of ka, but I do not think it is a superfluous anusvāra, since that is normally a circle and is located lower down, between character heads. -śaktis sa sarvva- -śaktis sarvva- -vedāgaṁṁga- -vedāṁga- The anusvāra is to the right of ga.
Seal
Plates

Om! Obeisance to Nārāyaṇa! Greetings! Satyāśraya Vallabhendra Pulakeśin II was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Calukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is praised by the entire world, who are sons of Hārīti, who attained kingship by the grace of Kauśikī’s boon, who are protected by the band of Mothers, who were deliberately appointed to kingship by Lord Mahāsena, to whom the realms of adversaries instantaneously submit at the mere sight of the superior Boar emblem they have acquired by the grace of the divine Nārāyaṇa, and whose bodies have been hallowed through washing in the purificatory ablutions avabhr̥tha of the Aśvamedha sacrifice. His brother Kubja Viṣṇuvardhana reigned for eighteen years. His son Jayasiṁha Vallabha I, for thirty-three. His younger brother Indrarāja’s son Viṣṇuvardhana II, for nine. His son Maṅgi Yuvarāja, for twenty-five. His son Jayasiṁha II, for thirteen. His younger brother by a different mother, Kokkili, for six months. His eldest brother Viṣṇuvardhana III, after dethroning his younger brother, for thirty-seven years. His son Vijayāditya I Bhaṭṭāraka, for eighteen. His son Viṣṇuvardhana IV, for thirty-six. His son Vijayāditya II, who commissioned a hundred and eight temples of Narendreśvara in the number of his victories in battle, for forty-eight. His son Kali-Viṣṇuvardhana V, for a year and a half. His son King mahārāja Vijayāditya III, for forty-four. The son of his younger brother the heir-apparent yuvarāja Vikramāditya, King bhūpāla Cālukya-Bhīma, for thirty years. His son King mahārāja Vijayāditya IV passed on to reside in the heavenly world after having protected the country of Veṅgī for six months.

A son named Ammarāja I,See the commentary; I wonder if this is in fact a grant of Amma II, with some rulers omitted by mistake. honoured by the worthy, was begotten by him on Lokamahādevī, as Guha Skanda was begotten by Īśvara on Gaurī.

Endowed with all good omens and captivating the minds of all people, he grew to perfection in all arts, like the moon of the bright fortnight which grows to completeness in all its digits.

He donned the the eternal ā-candra-tāra turban of sovereignty in order to protect the earth, decorated by the beautiful garland of the four oceans.

He—who moreover gladdens the orb of the earth ku-valaya by lenient taxes like the moon which gladdens night waterlilies with gentle beams; who has a well-behaved country like the sun which has a perfectly round disc; who engenders joy in those who bow to him like Vainateya Garuḍa who engenders joy in Vinatā; and whose power is as irresistible as the spear of Kārttikeya—His Majesty the supremely pious Supreme Lord parameśvara of Emperors mahārājādhirāja, Viṣṇuvardhana Amma I, shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya, commands all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa—who reside in Velanāṇṭi Palliya district viṣaya as follows:

Let it be known to you that on the occasion of the summer solstice we have granted the village named Velaṁbaṟṟu, converted into a rent-free holding agrahāra by a remission of all taxes, the donation being sanctified by a libation of water, to Koḍaliśarman of the Kauśika gotra and the Taittirīya school, a resident of Vemūru, grandson of Mādhavaśarman and som of Viṣṇuśarman, who Koḍaliśarman is engaged in the six duties of a brahmin and is thoroughly learned in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, thereby releasing him from his vow of wearing rags karpaḍa.

Its bordering villages are as follows. To the east, Krāpa. To the south, Tūrkkavelli. To the west, Kuccaripaṟṟu. Tot he north, Iṁpaṟṟu. The boundaries of its fields are as follows. To the southeast, in the southwest, to the northwest and to the northeast: the triple boundary junctures. Let no-one pose an obstacle to his enjoyment of his rights over it. He who does so shall go to hell, conjoined with the five great sins. It is said moreover:

Many kings have granted land, and many have preserved it as formerly granted. Whosoever at any time owns the land, the fruit reward accrued of granting it belongs to him at that time.

He who would seize land, whether given by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in faeces for sixty thousand years.

A donor of land stays in heaven for sixty millennia, while a seizer of granted land and a condoner of such seizure shall reside in hell for just as many.

The executor ājñapti is the castellan kaḍaya-rāja.

The genealogy seems to contain several anuṣṭubh fragments. Since these are phrases that deviate from the usual form of the prose genealogy, I do not think they are accidental; rather, they were probably lifted verbatim from a version of the genealogy composed fully in anuṣṭubh. Such fragments include taj-jyeṣṭho ’nujam uccāṭya (l9-10; see also the apparatus); sva-yuddha-jaya-saṁkhyānāṁ (l12); nāka-lokālayaṁ yayau (l16).

Although according to NV, the grant does not mention anything of historical interest not known from other sources, stanza 1 says Amma’s mother was Lokamahādevī. This is the name of Amma II’s mother, but I am not aware of Amma I’s mother having the same name. Either this is new historical information, or perhaps the grant in fact belongs to Amma II and omits by mistake the kings from Amma I to Bhīma II. The Pulivaṟṟu (spurious?) grant of Amma I records Amma I’s mother’s name as Pallava Mahādevī, but the authenticity of that grant is questionable, and even if the information is authentic, she may have been Lokamahādevī of the Pallava dynasty.

Edited by N. Venkataramanayya (), perhaps from the original, with a photograph of the set and seal estampages of the plates; without translation. The present edition by Dániel Balogh is based on a collation of Venkataramanayya's edition with his visual aids. Only significant typographic mistakes are shown in the apparatus here, and others are silently assumed to have been correctly read by the original editor.