Masulipatam plates of Vijayāditya III Encoding Dániel Balogh intellectual authorship of edition Dániel Balogh DHARMA Berlin DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00023

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2019-2025
DHARMAbase

Halantas are formed like regular non-final consonants (perhaps slightly reduced in size), complete with headmarks, but with a conspicuous sinuous vertical stroke attached to the headmark, which looks much like a repha (compare e.g. in l27 śarmmaṇe). Examples: T in l29 kenaciT (with a particularly large and elaborate mark). N in l18 pramukhāN; l33 pārtthivendrāN; l35 pratāpavāN; l38 śrīmāN.

Original punctuation. The basic punctuation sign is a perfectly straight, simple vertical, as high as a character body, e.g. l8 nāmadheyasya| or slightly shorter (not reaching the baseline), e.g. l10 yasya|. In the doubled version (e.g. after l14 dhvananti, l34 bhavadbhiḥ) the second stroke is shorter than the first. Tapering series of more than two bars are used after l11, rājaḥ (two bars and a dot); l36 dharmmaḥ (three bars and a small circle); and at the very end, after l40 gaṇyaḥ (unclear, but probably three bars). The punctuation marks at the end of v1 and v2 are single short verticals at mid-height. The maṅgala symbol in L1, transcribed by Khare as oṁ, is a short dextrorse spiral resembling a G or a figure 6.

Other palaeographic observations. The script has the classical "early Telugu-Kannada" look, with relatively larger character bodies and much more line curvature than the hand characteristic of several other grants of Vijayāditya III. Anusvāra is written inline, as a circle at head height, e.g. l1 śrīmatāṁ, saṁstūyamānam, gotrānāṁ, etc. La is what Kielhorn calls a later, cursive form, where the body is reduced to nothing, and the tail curls all the way to the right and up (so essentially a sinistrorse spiral). Kielhorn also points out the later, cursive kha (a good example is l12, khaḍge), and the ba and ja open on the left. The conjunct ṇṇ has a cursive form in which the subscript part is merely a loop, identical in appearance to subscript n (as e.g. in l14, badhnanti and l15, dhāmni). Kielhorn thus reads ṇn and emends to ṇṇ in l20 veṇṇiyāma and l26 prakīrṇṇe, but I prefer to see these glyphs as a legitimate form of ṇṇ. However, a fully fledged subscript ṇ is found in l22 ṣaṇṇān. Superscript r is a slightly sinuous vertical ending in a hook to the right, resembling a mirrored question mark. In l18 sarvvān, the engraver seems to have accidentally created a mirror image of this first (with a hook to the left, like a regular question mark), and then corrected it by continuing the stroke upward and adding a second hook to the right. This is not an ā marker, which is prominently attached to the body of the primary consonant, just as in l16 sarvvātmanā.

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.

Updating toward the encoding template v03 Encoded hand description, bibliography and commentary from earlier comments Initial encoding of the file
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Plates

svasti. śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇāṁ hāritī-putrāṇāṁ kauśikī-vara-prasāda-labdha-rājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-paripālitānāṁ svāmi-mahāsena-pādānudhyātāṁ bhagavan-nārāyaṇa-prasāda-samāsādita-vara-varāha-lāñchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tārāti-maṇḍalānām aśvamedhāvabhr̥tha-snāna-pavitrīkr̥ta-vapuṣāṁ cālukyānāṁ kulam alaṁkariṣṇoḥ samasta-bhuvaśraya-śrī-vijayāditya-mahārājasya sakala-dig-aṁganā-lalāṭikāyamāna-yaśo-māaṇḍalasya gaṁga-kula-kālānalasya kali-kāla-mada-bhañjanasya cālukyārjjuna-nāmadheyasya|

Utkhāta-śāta-taravāri-vidāritāri -nāgādhipasya hariṇādhipa-vikramasya śokākulāri-vanitā-nayanāṁbu-sekaiḥ kopānalaḥ praśamam eti vinā na yasya| tasya priya-tanayaḥ sarvva-lokāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuviarddhana-mahārājaḥ. yasminn ārūḍha-dantiny ari-kulam adhisaṁrohati kṣmābhr̥d-agraṁ yad-bāhāv ātta-khaḍge ripu-yuvati-karā gr̥hṇate cāmarāṇi Ābaddhāyāṁ bhrukuṭyāṁ madhu ripu-bhavane yasya badhnanti bhr̥ṁgā yad-dhāmany āji-bherī-dhvananam anu śivāś śatru-dhāmni dhvananti. tasya priya-tanayaḥ| kānter indu kṣamāyāḥ kṣitir amara-tarus tyāga-śakteḥ pratāpa syārkkaś śaurryasya siṁho jaladhir api mahā-satvatāyā yathāyaṁ sthānaṁ syād evam anyan na hi bhavati mametīva bhītan nitānta nityaṁ sarvvātmanā yaṁ prabhajati vimukhe yatra nānya-pratiṣṭhaṁ|

sa samasta-bhuvanāśraya-śrī-vijayāditya-mahārājaḥ gudravāra-viṣaye sarvvān eva rāṣṭrakūṭa-pramukhāN kuṭuṁbina Ittham ājñāpayati

viditam astu vo smābhiḥ Urppuṭūru-vāstavyasya kauśika-gotrasya Āpastaṁba-sūtrasya veṇiya-vaṁśasya tūrkkaśarmmaṇaḥ pautrāya ṣaṭ-karmma-niratāya taittirīya-gr̥hasdhthāya veda-vedāṁga-vidaḥ dāmodaraśarmmaṇaḥ putrāya|

yaṣ ṣaṇṇān dehabhājām atha jita-jagatām abhyajaiṣīd arīṇāṁ varggaṁ yaṁ prāpya paṁke-ruha-bhuvam api ca vyasmarad brahma-lakṣmīḥ goṣṭhī-joṣaṁ guṇānām abhajata nikaro yatra ca kvāpy alabdhaṁ narmmālāpe pi vāṇī na bhavati vitathā satya-sandhasya yasya| hatvā maṁgiṁ vijita-sakalārāti-bhūpāla-varggaṁ rāgodrekād dhasita-nr̥pati-tyāga-śauryya-pratāpaṁ nānā-hety-āhata-haya-bhaṭonmatta-hasti-prakīrṇṇe yuddhe yasya dvija-gaṇa-varasyādbhiutādeśa-tuṣṭaḥ|

tasmai vinayaḍiśarmmaṇe candra-grahaṇa-nimitte sarvva-kara-parihā-kr̥tya dr̥ṭapau nāma grāmo dattaḥ

tasyāvadhayaḥ. pūrvvato dakṣiṇataś ciu Aṁgalūru. paścimataḥ velpūru. Uttarataḥ caviṭapaṟu. Asyopari kenaciT bādhā na karttavyā. yaḥ karoti sa pañcabhiḥ mahā-pātakair yyukto bhavati. vyāsenāpy uktaṁ

sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vā yo hareta vasundharā ṣaṣṭi-varṣa-sahasrāṇi viṣṭhāyāṁ jāyate krimiḥ| bahubhir vvasudhā dattā bahubhiś cānupālitā yasya yasya yadā bhūmis tasya tasya tadā phalaṁ sarvvān etān bhāvinaḥ rtthivendrāN bhūyo bhūyo yācate rāmabhadraḥ mānyo yan dharmma-setur nnr̥pāṇāṁ kāle kāle pālanīyo bhavadbhiḥ. Ājñaptir asya dharmmasya vikramākrānta-śātravaḥ dvitīya Iva bībhatsu pāṇḍarāṁgaḥ pratāpavāN| śivam astu sarvva-jagatāṁ para-hita-niratā bhavantu bhūta-gaṇā doṣāḥ prayāntu nāśaṁ tiṣṭhatu suciraṁ jagati dharmmaḥ. putraḥ śrī-mādhavasya spphuṭam idam alikhac chāsanaṁ kaṭṭayākhyaḥ śrīmāN sac-chīla-yukto nr̥pa-vara-vijayāditya-rājājñayā tu| citrādīnāṁ kanāṁ kr̥tiṣu ca kuśalo tyantam īśāna-pautro nānā-śāstrārttha-vedī parahita-nirato hemakārāgra-gaṇyaḥ.
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Plates svasti Kielhorn observes that this word may have been preceded by "an ornamental design." The surface of the original is corroded there, but I am quite certain there was no symbol here. -viṣṇuviarddhana- Only half of the unnecessary i marker is engraved; no doubt an eyeskip (to viṣṇu) that was noticed immediately by the scribe. sthānaṁ syād The anusvāra at the end of line 15 (placed at head height) occupies a full character-width of space. The engraver must have deemed the space too small to start syā there and elected to draw that character in the next page. There is, however, what seems to be a second anusvāra there, atop the left side of syā. If this is indeed an anusvāra, then it is the only one in the inscription that is above the headline. The mark definitely does not look like an accident or damage, and I cannot think of a purpose it may have served. sarvvātmanāyaṁ sarvvātmanā yaṁ Kielhorn segments the words differently but does not attempt to construe a coherent sentence. See the note to the translation. veṇiya-vaṁśasya veṇimasya Kielhorn explicitly points this locus out in his commentary as one of the few spots where corrosion affects the legibility of the text. The plate is in a poor condition here, but the photos of the original afford a fairly confident reading, except that ya (K's ) may perhaps be sa. gr̥hasdhthāya Two deleted i markers are clearly visible beneath ha and slightly to the left of s. See also the commentary. dāmodaraśarmmaṇaḥ ra is very close to the edge of the plate and may have been added subsequently. atha jita- avajita- The reading is reasonably certain from the photos. vyasmarad brahma-lakṣmīḥ Kielhorn supplies d brahma conjecturally, citing for a parallel the compound brahma-śrī from line 26 of the Kolaveṇṇu plates of Bhīma II. The vestiges visible in the photo confirm his ingenious conjecture, although they do not completely rule out a different reading. Discernible character parts include part of d, the vertical part of a subscript r attached to the character with d as its body, the tail of h in the next character's body, and possibly the left side of the outline of a subscript m. °ādbhiutādeśa- The superfluous i is not deleted in any way, but u is clearly a subsequent addition. The subscript bh may also be an addition or a correction over a different subscript component. dr̥ṭapau ṭraṇḍapau I cannot agree with Kielhorn in reading the initial consonant as . The roughly C-shaped body is expected to be a full character height in , with just the barest upward turn at the top and no headmark (compare e.g. l18 rāṣṭrakūṭa). Here, the body is lower, with a vertical stem and very probably a headmark. This stem and headmark are apparently located to the left of the body's right-hand extremity, so in the estampage it looks very much like d or . While every subscript r in the inscription has a tail extending vertically back above the baseline, this is certainly not the case with the stroke below the body of this consonant. Its sweep is exactly the same as that of (cf. -kr̥tya two characters earlier), and it may very well have the characteristic curl at the tip of the tail too, although this is not well preserved. As regards the second character, subscript and would probably be indistinguishable even in a perfectly preserved inscription. My preference of d is driven by my tentative identification of this place with modern Dintakurru (see the commentary). Further on in the name, pa may perhaps be va, and even ku is not altogether out of the question, although every other instance of k has a longer descender than what seems to be present here (but compare the short-bodied ru in the next line). caviṭapaṟu I accept Kielhorn's reading but note that the problematic character is all but obliterated. In the estampage it looks more like d than to me (compare the previous notes), while from the photos, I could also imagine l. Reading , however, goes better with my tentative identification (see the commentary). kaṭṭayākhyaḥ kaṭṭaymākhyaḥ The problematic character can be established as y from the photos. citrādīnāṁ prāptaḥ pāra The locus is damaged, but the reading is unambiguous in the photos. -ve -śālī Again, the reading is unambiguous in the photos.
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Plates

Greetings. His Majesty King mahārāja Vijayāditya II, shelter of the entire universe samasta-bhuvanāśraya, called Cālukyārjuna, was eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Caḷukyas—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 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. The nimbus of his reputation was a forehead ornament for all the ladies who are the quarters of the compass; he was the fire of destruction for the Gaṅga house, and he shattered the obstinacy of the Kali age.

His prowess was that of a lion as he slashed the elephant lords, his enemies, with his sharp sword unsheathed. The fire of his rage would never be quenched but when sprinkled with the tears of the grieving women of his enemies.

The dear son of that Vijayāditya II was King mahārāja Viṣṇuvardhana V, the shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya.

When he ascends his elephant, the families of his enemies ascend to the mountaintops. When his arm brandishes the sword, the hands of his foes’ young women grasp chowries.The vignette probably means that the wives, daughters or serving maids of his enemies pick up chowries to propitiate Viṣṇuvardhana and avert his assault, or that they anticipate becoming serving maids in Viṣṇuvardhana’s court. When he knits his brows, bees set up their honeycomb in the palace of his foe. As soon as the war drum sounds in his home, jackals howl in the home of his adversaries. An invasion of bees (bhr̥ṅga) and the howling of jackals are both ill omens, as pointed out by Kielhorn who cites the Harṣacarita for both. Bees frequently build their hives in abandoned ruins, so the meaning there may simply be that they anticipate the ruin of those palaces.

His dear son

to whom—even though there exists the moon for charm, the earth for forbearance, the wish-fulfilling tree of the gods for the capacity of selflessness, the sun for ferocity, the lion for courage, and the ocean for magnanimity—this host of qualities, which would have nowhere to go nānya-pratiṣṭha should he turn his back on them vimukhe yatra, takes recourse eternally and completely, as if utterly horrified at the thought, “there is no other resort for me that is as appropriate as this man could be”.I am forced to agree with Kielhorn that this convoluted stanza “does not admit of a proper construction.” My translation shows the way I believe the composer intended the stanza to work. As pointed out by Kielhorn, mahā-sattvatā as pertaining to the king means magnanimity, but for the ocean it means that it houses large creatures.

That son, His Majesty King mahārāja Vijayāditya III, the shelter of the entire universe samasta-bhuvanāśraya, commands all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa—who reside in Gudravāra district viṣaya as follows:

Let it be known to you that we have given to the grandson of Tūrkaśarman of the lineage of Veṇṇiya, of the Kauśika gotra and the Āpastamba sūtra, a resident of Urpuṭūru; the son of Dāmodaraśarman who was familiar with the Vedas and Vedāṅgas; to this son who is a householder gr̥hastha of the Taittirīya school devoted to the six duties of a Brahmin,

who has vanquished the cabal of the six enemies to embodied beings, even to those who have overpowered the world; upon finding whom, Brahmanic Majesty forgot even the lotus-born Brahmā; concerning whom a host of virtues reached a satisfied consensus such as they never found before; who is so truthful that his speech, even when uttered in jest, never turns out false;

that foremost of the Brahmin class whose marvellous advice pleased Vijayāditya when in a battle teeming with horses and soldiers struck down by various weapons and with enraged elephants he Vijayāditya slew Maṅgi, who had defeated the entire host of enemy rulers and in an exuberance of passion mocked the munificence, courage and prowess of the king—

to that Vinayaḍiśarman, on the occasion of an eclipse of the moon, we have given the village named Dr̥ṇṭapaṟu, converted into a holding exempt from all taxes.

Its boundaries are as follows. To the east and to the south, Aṁgalūru. To the west, Velpūru. To the north, Caviṭapaṟu. Let no-one pose an obstacle to his enjoyment of his rights over it. He who does so shall be conjoined with the five great sins. Vyāsa too has 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.

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.

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 ājñapti of this provision dharma is the valiant Pāṇḍarāṁga who, like a second Bībhatsu Arjuna, defeats his enemies by his courage.

Let it be well for all animate beings; let the hosts of creatures be devoted to the good of others; let vices be annihilated; long let righteousness dharma prevail in the world.

The grandson of Īśāna and the son of the revered Mādhava called Kaṭṭaya wrote likh- this decree clearly at the order of the excellent king Vijayāditya. He, the foremost of goldsmiths, is possessed of majesty, endowed with true moral, skilled in works of various arts such as painting, knowledgeable in the meaning of various treatises śāstra, devoted to the good of others.

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Plates

Prospérité ! Le fils de l’illustre grand roi Vijayāditya, refuge de l’univers entier, ornement de la lignée des Calukya, illustres, du même gotra que les descendants de Manu, honorés dans l’univers entier, fils de Hāritī, qui obtinrent leur royaume grâce à l’excellente faveur de Kauśikī, protégés par la troupes des Mères, méditant aux pieds du seigneur Mahāsena, dont le cercle des ennemis fut soumis en un instant à la vue du signe illustre de l’excellent sanglier, faveur octroyée par le bienheureux Nārāyaṇa, dont les corps furent purifiés par le bain purificatoire de l’aśvamedha, Vijayāditya, dont l’auréole de gloire est inscrite au santal sur le front des femmes de tous les horizons, feu destructeur de la lignée des Gaṅga, qui brisa l’orgueil de l’âge Kali, qui portait le nom de Cālukyārjuna,Première occurrence dans notre corpus de ce biruda.

qui brisa les rois des éléphants, ses ennemis, en tirant son sabre aiguisé, qui possédait le courage du roi des animaux, dont le feu de la colère ne s’éteignait que s’il était arrosé par les larmes des femmes des ennemis, ébranlées par leur chagrin,

son cher fils fut l’illustre grand roi, refuge de tous les hommes, Viṣṇuvarddhana.

Lorsque celui-ci monte sur son éléphant, ses ennemis montent au sommet d’une montagne ; lorsque son bras prend son épée, les jeunes épouses des ennemis empoignent des chasse-mouches, lorsqu’il fronce les sourcils, les abeilles font du miel dans le palais ennemi, lorsque le tambour de la guerre résonne dans son palais, les hurlements des chacals résonne dans le palais ennemi,

Son cher fils,

« La lune est la demeure de la beauté, la terre celle de la patience, l’arbre à vœux celle de la puissance de la générosité, le soleil celle de la majestueuse ardeur, le lion celle du courage et l’océan celle de la vertuLe terme sattva désigne à la fois le courage, la qualité des kṣatriya et le guṇa brahmanique. Le roi condense les vertus des kṣatriya et des brahmanes. de la grandeur, ainsi n’y a-t-il plus de demeure pour moi ! » comme effrayé par cette idée, on rend éternellement hommage de tout son cœur à cet être exceptionnel ; si le visage de celui-ci se détourne, il n’y a pas d’autre refuge possible.La construction est sans doute fautive : le sujet du verbe prabhajati est absent. De plus l’adjectif bhītan, masculin singulier, ne peut qualifier, grammaticalement, que yam, soit le roi. Mais le sens n’est pas satisfaisant, on attendrait plutôt bhīto.

L’illustre grand roi, refuge de tous les hommes, Vijayāditya, ordonne ceci à tous les habitants, rāṣṭrakūṭa en tête, dans le viṣaya de Gudravāra :

qu’il soit connu de vous qu’au petit-fils de Tūrkaśarman, habitant à Urpuṭūru, du gotra de Kauśika, qui suivait le sūtra Āpastaṁba, , au fils de Dāmodaraśarman, qui se consacre à ses six devoirs, maître de l’école des Taittiriya, connaissseur des Veda et Vedāṁga,

à ce fils qui vainquit l’ensemble des six ennemis des hommes qui habitent leur corps, auprès de qui la splendeur de Brahmā, né dans un lotus, se réfugia cependant, en qui la multitude des vertus trouvèrent le bonheur d’être réunies, bonheur inaccessible en quelque lieu que ce soit, les paroles de cet homme, fidèle à ses engagements, même dans les plaisanteries, ne sont pas menteuses.

Vijayāditya ayant tué, par un surcroît de passion, Maṁgi,Il est aussi question de ce personnage dans les insc. nos 35, str.2 ; 37, str. 10, 41. - qui avait vaincu la foule de tous les rois ennemis, qui s’était moqué de la générosité, du courage et de la majesté du roi,- sur le terrain de la bataille jonché de chevaux, de soldats et d’éléphants furieux abattus par des armes diverses, satisfait des merveilleux conseils de ce meilleur des deux-fois-nés,

celui-ci donne à Vinayaḍiśarman, à l’occasion de l’éclipse de lune, le village de Ṭraṇḍapaṟu, exempté de toute taxe.

Les limites sont à l’est et au sud Aṁgalūru, à l’ouest Velpūru, au nord Caviṭapaṟu. Aucune charge ne doit lui être imposée, celui qui en impose est lié aux cinq grands crimes. Vyāsa a dit :

Qu’elle soit donnée par lui ou par un autre, celui qui prend une terre, renaît ver de terre dans les excréments pendant soixante mille ans.

Beaucoup ont donné une terre, beaucoup l’ont protégée, celui qui possède la terre en possède le fruit.

Rāmabhadra demande ceci à tous les princes des rois à venir, encore et encore : ce pont du dharma, commun aux rois, doit toujours être protégé par vous.

L’exécuteur de ce don, qui terrassa ses ennemis par sa vaillance, pareil à un deuxième Bībhatsu, est Pāṇḍarāṁga, doué de splendeur.

Que tout l’univers prospère, que les multitudes d’êtres se consacrent au bien d’autrui, que les vices disparaissent, que le dharma demeure longtemps dans l’univers !

Le fils de l’illustre Mādhava a gravé distinctement cet édit, l’illustre nommé Kaṭṭaya, doué d’une droite conduite, sur l’ordre de l’excellent roi Vijayāditya, ayant atteint la maîtrise ultime des beaux-arts et infiniment expert en orfèvrerie, petit-fils d’Īśāna, qui connaît le sens des divers traités, qui se consacre au bien d’autrui, digne d’être considéré comme le maître des orfèvres.

The original plates were not available when Kielhorn edited them from Sir Walter Elliot’s estampages and brief notes, provided to him by Fleet. He had no image of the seal and reported the legend from Elliot’s notes as “Tribhuvanāṁkuśa.” Kielhorn is, moreover, expressly unsure whether the notes really belong to this set of impressions. According to these notes, the plates were received from Mr. Porter, Collector of Masulipatam. For this reason, I used the name “Ṭraṇḍapaṟu grant” in the earlier versions of my digital edition. But photos of the original have cast doubt on the reading of this name, so I now prefer the vagueness of “Masulipatam Plates” to the uncertainty of the former.

At present, I prefer to read the name of the donated village, contra Kielhorn, as Dr̥ṇṭapaṟu. It is located in Gudravāra viṣaya, and is bordered on the east and south by Aṁgalūru, on the west by Velpūru, and on the north by Caviṭapaṟu (in whose name the ṭa is uncertain). Gudravāra is the surrounds of modern Gudivada. I propose to identify the donated village with the “Dintakurru” found on the 1955 AMS Topographical Map (NE-44-15) or Seri Dintakurru at 16.40496, 81.03906 (a mere 6.5 km ESE of Gudivada) There is a larger village named Angaluru 2 km to the S, which may be identical to the Aṁgalūru of the grant. 1.3 km to the W of the location of Dintakurru, Google Maps (but no other map that I have searched on) shows a place named Serivelpuru. Seri apparently means tax-free or privately owned land, so this may well be our Velpūru. And 1.2 km to the N of Dintakurru, there is a Chowtapalli (Chavutapalle on the AMS map), which I identify as our Caviṭapaṟu. Although among these, Angaluru is the only accurate match (and according to the India Place Finder utility, there is no other locality in the whole of Krishna District with even a remotely similar name), the similarity of the other toponyms, combined with the correspondence of their layout to the directions specified in the grant, together provide enough indirect evidence to make the identification quite secure. Although the of Dr̥ṇṭapaṟu is quite unexpected in a presumably vernacular name (although compare Dr̥ṇṭhamapūṇḍi in the Paḷaṁkalūru grant of Amma II), the existence of the modern toponym Dintakurru also serves as circumstantial corroboration for this reading.

The original plates are now in the Walter Elliot collection of the University of Edinburgh, but without the seal. There is, however, an Eastern Cālukya seal (bearing the legend śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa) with Coll-1860/CP4 in the same collection. The latter is a Vijayanagar grant written in Nandināgarī, so while it is not impossible that a Cālukya seal had been reused in that grant, it is much more likely that the seal has been misplaced and it in fact belongs to the present charter of Vijayāditya III.

All or most of line 21 is a palimpsest, where earlier writing had been beaten or polished out before engraving the current text. In the rubbinhs, only the two i markers noted in the apparatus for line 21 are discernible. To the left of these, the plate’s surface is corroded; if there was earlier writing here (which I believe must have been the case), then there are no traces of it left. But from this point to the end of the line, numerous vestiges can be discerned. They are in the same script as the charter, but probably a different hand, which uses smoothly curved headmarks, somewhat smaller character bodies, and longer descenders. The two i markers may belong to the word likhita. This is almost certainly followed by nr̥pati. The next three deleted characters seem to be candroya, but this is only an approximation. Around the present dāṁgavi, no vestiges can be made out due to corrosion. Behind the present da, there is a recognisable ta, then a narrow illegible character, then probably kāT| prathamata. I detect no previous writing anywhere else in the charter.

In stanza 3 (sragdharā), we have a glide sandhi fusion between lines a and b, the first time I've ever seen this happen, and a more regular fused caesura in line c at the second caesura. There are also fused caesurae in Stanza 5 (mandākrāntā) in line c, and in stanza 10 (sragdharā) at the second point in line b.

Edited from estampages by F. Kielhorn (122-126B), with an abstract of the contents and with partial inked rubbings produced by Sir Walter Elliot and supplied by Fleet.The published facsimiles are incomplete, lacking pages 3r, 3v, 4v and 5r, at least in the reprint of Epigraphia Indica.Subsequently noticed in 49A/1962-6319. The present edition by Dániel Balogh is based on a collation of Kielhorn's text with his facsimiles where avilable, with photos of the original,Taken by Emmanuel Francis at the Edinburgh University Library. and with inked impressions from Sir Walter Elliot's collection.Scans of these impressions were obtained by Emmanuel Francis from the Edinburgh University Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the British Museum.

122-126B 49A/1962-6319