Plates
The Sudarśana discus a pleasant-looking realm, the single-handed protection of Indra’s world of powerful subjects, the destruction of the hunchbacked enemy of crooked enemies — may you rejoice at these three exploits of Viṣṇu brave achievements of the king, the son of a hero.
Greetings. The lineage of the majestic Cālukyas—who are of the Mānavya gotra which is praised by the entire world, who are sons of Hāritī, 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 enemy territories 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—of the one who was eager to adorn that lineage,
namely of Satyāśraya Vallabha Pulakeśin II, the brother was Kubja Viṣṇuvardhana, who long ago became the Vallabha ruler of Veṅgī for eighteen years.
Then Jayasiṁha Vallabha became king for thirty together with a trio i.e. 33 years. His brother the sovereign bhaṭṭāra named Indra became king for seven days.
For nine years, Viṣṇurāja Viṣṇuvardhana II. From this one was born Maṅgi Yuvarāja, who reigned for twenty five years. From him arose Jayasiṁha II, reigning for thirteen.
His younger brother by a different mother, the lord Kokkili, for six months.
His elder brother Viṣṇurāja Viṣṇuvardhana III with a lotuslike face was king for thirty-seven years, having deposed his own younger brother in battle.
Then Vijayāditya I was king for eighteen years. Then Viṣṇurāja Viṣṇuvardhana III became the lord of allThe text is incorrect here and the intended meaning not quite certain; see the apparatus to line 10. for thirty-six years.
His son Vijayāditya II was lord for forty years,
he who, having fought against the armies of the Gaṅgas and the Rāṣṭrakūṭas raṭṭa and overcome their forces, built a hundred and eight Śiva temples according to the count of his battles.
His son named Kali Viṣṇuvardhana reigned for a year and a half. His offspring Vijayāditya III for forty together with four.
Born from his younger brother the prince yuvarāja named Vikramāditya, the peerless nirupama King nr̥pa Bhīma—a torrential gale to whom enemy hosts were but fluff—became for thirty years the ruler, the fame of the host of whose innate virtues pervaded the circle of the compass.
His son, the forehead ornament of the Calukya dynasty, that King adhipa ArkānegallaSee the apparatus to line 15 about this epithet. so named because he safeguarded the world with his sword brilliant with the gleam of pearls released by splitting the forehead domes of enemy elephants— that Vijayāditya IV, outstanding in valour, protected the country of Veṅgī only for six months, being eager to cohabit with the women of the immortals.
A son fit to bear the burden of the earth was born to him: stalwart Ammarāja, the vessel of victory, slayer of the champions of his rivals dāyāda.
He, also known as the only hero of the world, renowned by the names Gaṇḍaragaṇḍa and Rājamahendra—
having defeated his enemies, attained the tying of the hereditary turban of royalty upon the passing of the Śaka year measured by fires, Vedas and elephants 843, right to left, in the auspicious solar month named Taurus vr̥ṣa, with Leo siṁha ascendant lagna, when the moon had entered Tvaṣṭr̥’s lunar mansion the Citrā nakṣatra, on a Sunday, in the lunar month Vaiśākha, during the bright fortnight , becoming through his valour Ammarāja, lord of kings for ever and anon, like the discus-bearer Viṣṇu.
When this king—like unto Nara, Nr̥ga, Nala, Nahuṣa, Bharata and Rāma—rules, the earth girt in the shores of the four oceans puts on a display of being in the Kr̥ta epoch.
Also, his—
valiance, which habitually dwells in the brawny arms of this victor, seems to be reflected in the choice concubines of the enemies hewn asunder by his frolickingly drawn sword, their faces devoid of tresses, their allure paled.
An enemy king cannot even cope with the thick sun-obscuring dust of King Gaṇḍaragaṇḍa’s troops, struck up by the hooves of their horses—much less with his excellent army.
He who is endowed with the three powers śakti-traya like Śiva,The reference is to Śiva’s icchā-śakti, jñāna-śakti and kriyā-śakti and to the king’s prabhu-śakti, mantra-śakti and utsāha-śakti. but not ugly-eyed does not have an odd number of eyes; who is the favourite of Royal Majesty like Nārāyaṇa the beloved of Lakṣmī, but not dirty-bodied dark-skinned; who is a springhead of conciliation sāman like Brahmā the source of sāman hymns but not a blabbermouth many-faced; whose hand is gentle with gifts like a divine elephant whose trunk is moist with rut fluid, but not dominated by passion covered in dust; who is both wealthy and an auspicious ruler like Kubera who is affluent and a lord of virtuous people; who is both possessed of the quality of profundity and unfathomable in magnanimity like the ocean which is possessed of the quality of deepness and essentially unplumbable; whose realm, like the sun’s orb, is honest in behaviour perfectly round; whose power, like Guha’s spear, is irresistible; whose majesty, like Meru’s hugeness is inviolable insurmountable; who manifests favour avana to the dejected ku-mud like the moon which illuminates clusters vana of night lotuses kumuda—he is truly deserving of the epithet “shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya”. To explain—
The Emperor rājādhirāja Amma succours the underworld by making the earth’s burden extremely light for the serpents that uphold it, since he buttresses the earth with his truthfulness; likewise the middle world, through conduct along the precepts of Manu and by overcoming enemies and disruptive elements kaṇṭaka; also heaven, by gratifying the gods through incessant proliferations of great sacrifices and through grants that please them.
When Vijayāditya the Sun of Valour succumbed to fate and went down in a blaze of glory, there arose Rājamahendra, a moon to delight the world.
Also, he is—
to the clusters of lotuses which are his kinsmen: the sun; to amorous women: the Love God; in battle against the armies of crooked enemy kings: dazzling as the God of Death.
That shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya, His Majesty Viṣṇuvardhana, Supreme Lord parameśvara of Emperors mahārājādhirāja, the Supreme Sovereign parama-bhaṭṭāraka, supremely pious and supreme devotee of Maheśvara, who was deliberately appointed as heir by his mother and father, convokes all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa—as well as royal agents rājapuruṣa such as ministers mantrin, chaplains purohita, generals senāpati, princes yuvarāja, superintendents adhyakṣa and so on, who reside in Southern Kaṇḍeṟuvāḍi district viṣaya and commands them as follows. Let it be known to you:
In the gotra of excellence named Kauśika, which is attended by special and the greatness of which is widely known, there was born the magnificent prabhu Eṟeyamaśarman, reputedly ??originating from? Svāttalūru, whose armour was religious duty dharma, who was respectable on account of his birth and who achieved distinction through virtuous valour.
The son born to him was the famous dvivedin named Vennamaryya, the middle of whose sacrificial platform vedi Indra attends day after day to partake of oblations.
He had a son, a principal among the true, comparable to the Lotus-Navelled Viṣṇu, prominent on account of his intellect honed to excellence by the exercise of learning, his host of virtues, his selflessness and his respectability. Ornamented by his own conduct, assertive, influential with the populace, true to his kinsfolk, eternally ascendant, honest of speech, he shone forth with the name His Excellency Cāmyaṇa.
Brahmanical glory glows in his family, which conducts a succession of sacrifices, is illuminated by the Vedas and Śāstras and is dedicated to proper conduct.
Invoked by him to partake of offerings, Indra is perpetually present, embraced by Śacī and mounted on his elephant.
Also,
the flock of parrots living in cages in the dormers candraśālā of his mansion has given doctrinally correct teaching to children who have fumbled their memorised texts.
Moreover,
his very courtyard has become purificatory, being so muddied by water for washing feet in his perpetual rendition of welcome to guests that not even the thousand-rayed sun, not even at the height of summer, can dry it.The stanza involves some difficult-to-read spots and my interpretation of it requires emendation, for which see the apparatus to lines 45-46. Nonetheless, I am quite certain that the message intended by the composer was what I translate, or something very close to it. Compare stanza 30 of the [Kākamrāṇu grant of Bhīma I](DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00025.xml), yasya śrī-bhavanājiraṁ dvija-pada-prakṣālanāṁbu sphuṭaṁ nityaṁ karddamatāṇ nayaty and stanza 7 of the [Ākulamannaṇḍu grant of Bhīma II](DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00034.xml), yad-gr̥hātithi-pūjāyāṁ pāda-prakṣālanāṁbhasā| Ajiraṁ karddamībhūtaṁ punāty ā saptamaṁ kulaṁ.
Furthermore, he—
was born in a lofty lineage associated in succession since Satyāśraya Pulakeśin II with the thrones of the emperors born of his dynasty, so that his innate power as the governor īśvara of the specific district viṣaya of Veṅgī is worthy of respect in royal towns rājadhānī, villages grāma and Brahmanical holdings agrahāra.
In addition,
at his house, even outcastes dāseraka luxuriate, having access to the copious, scented clarified butter that flows out continuously through the drains after being tasted and left over by gods-on-earth Brahmins.
Also, he—
knows the distinction of various gems—such as diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies—as well as Agastya himself, better indeed than Buddhabhaṭa and his ilk.The most prominent texts on gemmology are the Ratnaparīkṣā of Buddhabhaṭa or Buddhabhaṭṭa and the Agastimata. The terms vajra, indranīla, marakata and padmarāga seem, in this order, to be four of the first five among the 16 kinds of gems described by Buddhabhaṭa, with pearls being the fifth kind of mahā-ratna (VII), so the composer of this stanza may have been familiar with the work.
Also, he continuously surpasses Br̥haspati the guru of the gods in intellect, Manu in conduct, the sun in brilliance, Meru in firmness, the ocean in profundity, the earth in tolerance, Skanda the Spear-Bearer in invincible power, Viṣṇu the Discus-Bearer in heroism, the Crocodile-Bannered Kāma in aesthetic pleasure, the Moon-Crested Śiva in transcendentalSee the apparatus to line 53. wisdom, the Four-Faced Brahmā in completeness of learning, Uṣanas in diplomacy nīti, the full moon in the possession of all arts moon digits.
To that Minister amātya Cāmyanaśarman,The name involves a dental n here, but a retroflex ṇ above. whose other name is Sucaritābharaṇa “He whose ornament is good conduct”, who is decorated with the complete host of virtues, who has fully mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas and is engaged in the six duties of a Brahmin, we Amma I, being pleased by his shouldering of the burden of the entire kingdom, have on the occasion of the winter solstice given the village Penuṁbulugu along with its hamlets, converted to a Brahmanical holding agrahāra by a remission of all taxes, the donation being sanctified by a libation of water.
The boundaries of that village are as follows. To the east, the border is none other than the border of Duggaṟenipūṇḍi. To the southeast, the border is none other than the border of Śaṁkaraṁbu. To the south and southwest, the border is none other than the border of Kolaṁkulūru. To the west and northwest, the border is none other than the border of Nammūru. To the north and northeast, the border is none other than the border of Koṇḍayūru. Let no-one pose an obstacle to his enjoyment of his rights over this holding agrahāra. Whoever poses an obstacle shall be conjoined with the five great sins. So too has the reverend Vyāsa said:
He who would seize land, whether given by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in faeces for sixty thousand years.
Whoever preserves this establishment dharma shall enjoy the special reward of heaven. So too it is said:
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.
Rāmabhadra too, upon creating an establishment dharma, implores future kings to protect the establishment, in order toSee the apparatus to line 53. preserve it:
Over and over again, Rāmabhadra begs all these future rulers: “Each in your own time, you shall respect this bulwark of legality that is universally applicable to kings!”
The executor is the castellan kaṭaka-rāja. The poetry is Mādhava Bhaṭṭa’s. Written likhita by Koṇḍācārya.
In that same district, the king convokes all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa residing in Vākapadra andThis reading is very uncertain; see the apparatus to line 70. Nammūru and commands them as follows. To that Master svāmin KumāraśarmanThe wording implies that this Kumāraśarman should have been introduced before, but he is not mentioned in the primary grant and his relationship, if any, to Cāmyaṇa remains unclear. on the occasion of the winter solstice we have with pleasure given a field of an extent sufficient for sowing twenty-four khaṇḍikas of kodrava seed by the royal measure in the southeastern direction of Nammūru, converted to a Brahmanical holding agrahāra by a remission of all taxes, the donation being sanctified by a libation of water.This part of the text is a largely conjectural restoration. See the apparatus to line 73. Let this be known to you.
The borders of that field are as follows. To the east, the border is none other than the border of Penuṁbulu.There may be a different name or word here; see the apparatus to line 74. To the south, the border is none other than the border of . To the west, the pannasa of Veṁgiśarman. And to the north, .
A king who protects that which I have given to worthy Brahmins: the pair of that king’s feet are placed on the crown of my head.
The executor ājñapti is the castellan kaṭaka-rāja.