Plates
Greetings. Eager to adorn the lineage of the majestic Cālukyas—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—there arose the one named Satyāśraya Vallabhendra Pulakeśin II.
Then his younger brother, the ruler of men named His Majesty Kubja Viṣṇuvardhana drove far away the immeasurably powerful Durjayas, who had established themselves in the Āndhra territory viṣaya.
And obtaining the country of Veṅgī, which had been theirs previously, he made it his own and reigned for eighteen years, surpassing Manu in his conduct.
His son Jayasiṁha I protected the earth for thirty-three years. The son of his brother King nr̥pati Indra, His Majesty Viṣṇuvardhana II reigned for nine years. His son was the powerful, victorious Maṅgi. He in turn reigned for twenty years and five, free from trouble.
His son Jayasiṁha II protected the surface of the earth for thirteen years. And Kokkili, his younger brother by a different mother, reigned for six months.
Then his eldest brother, dethroning him, reigned as His Majesty King nr̥pati Viṣṇuvardhana III for thirty-seven years, with his aims accomplished and his enemies defeated.
And his son Vijayāditya I, renowned by the title Bhaṭṭāraka, protected the surface of the earth victoriously for eighteen years.
His son King nr̥pati Viṣṇuvardhana IV reigned for thirty-six years. Then his son Vijayāditya II Narendramr̥garāja—who commissioned a hundred and eight temples ālaya of Śiva according to the number of his battles—protected the entire earth for forty-eight years.
And his son Kali-Viṣṇuvardhana V protected the earth for a year and a half. His son was Vijayāditya III, also known as King nr̥pati Paracakrarāma and Guṇaga. He, conducting himself like Manu, protected the earth for forty-four years.
The son who was begotten by his brother the heir-apparent yuvarāja Vikramaravi i.e. Vikramāditya on Gāmāmbikā, as Guha Skanda was begotten by Īśvara Śiva on Gaurī, is Lord adhipa Cālukya-Bhīma. He, this one here, has defeated the forces of the Raṭṭas Rāṣṭrakūṭas and, uprooting the last vestiges of his enemies, has donned the turban paṭṭa and become the eternal lord of the earth, like none other.
While this king has been protecting the surface of the earth, thieves and the like have disappeared, and adopted good conduct, being afraid of old age and death;The text is somewhat problematic here; see the apparatus to line 24. I believe the beginning of pāda b may be connected to the topic of the first quarter, as in my tentative translation. Fear of ageing and death motivates to good conduct through a concern for the afterlife. The word māraṇa may have been intended as it is (“killing,” i.e. capital punishment), but coupled with jarā (lengthened for the sake of the metre into jārā), it is much more likely that the word intended is maraṇa, “dying,” also lengthened for the sake of the metre. If this phrase is not connected to the first quarter, then the sense is that those who are afraid of old age and death have adopted good conduct. This, however, is rather bland and says nothing about the merit of the king. the earth has become free from calamities īti, and the three kinds of grief have swiftly departed the country;The text is again problematic; see the apparatus to line 24. Failing to find a better solution, I make a minor emendation (āsu to āśu) and interpret asu to mean “grief,” though this is attested only in lexicons and neuter in gender. Nonetheless, trividhāsu was probably intended to mean the same as duḥkha-traya, the three kinds of grief, usually enumerated as ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika: grief originating from within one’s person, from living beings (and/or the physical world), and from the gods (fate). the rain follows the desire of the populace; diseases have ceased to exist; and the Brahmins perform the sacrifices well even if they are hard to perform. The text is again awkward; see the apparatus to line 26. I believe the composer used yatho (yathā+u; or perhaps equivalent to atho with an epenthetic y?) in the sense of “even” or perhaps “all the more so if,” and ku-kriya in the sense of duṣkara. This interpretation is, however, problematic; duṣkarāḥ would have fit the metre perfectly if this was what the composer had wished to express. Emending yatho to yato would result in an interpretable, though still very awkward sentence meaning “diseases have ceased to exist along with bad deeds, because the Brahmins perform the sacrifices well.
He is like Manu to all people, like a father to all classes of his dependants bhr̥tya, like Kāma to amorous women and like a wish-granting tree to supplicants.
That shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya, the supremely pious Supreme Lord parameśvara of Emperors mahārājādhirāja, His Majesty Viṣṇuvardhana Bhīma I, who was deliberately appointed as heir by his mother and father, skilled in procedures nīti such as critical investigation ānvīkṣikī; whose power is as irresistible as the spear of Guha Skanda; who engenders joy in those who bow to him like Vainateya Garuḍa who engenders joy in Vinatā; who eradicates the realms of fierce enemies with his awesome army like Yudhiṣṭhira who does so through BhīmasenaThis last bitextual simile is rather lame on account of the long segment uddhr̥ta-pracaṇḍārāti-maṇḍalaḥ, which does not seem to carry a double entendre. The [Pr̥thivipallavapaṭṭana grant of Viṣṇuvardhana IV](DHARMA_INSVengiCalukya00019.xml) uses yudhiṣṭhira iva bhīmasenānvitaḥ to the same effect. Perhaps pracaṇḍa and/or pracaṇḍārāti is meant to refer to a particular person in one of the meanings.—commands all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa—who reside in Pottupa district viṣaya as follows.
Let it be known to you that to the one named Ḻaṁgāthikaśvara, of the Kauṇḍinya gotra and the Vājasaneya school, grandson of Sabbiśarman and son of Vīthiśarman, on the occasion of his having been a help to our sword, we have given, the donation being sanctified by a libation of water and converted into a rent-free holding agrahāra by a remission of all taxes, the village named Pañcapāka along with its twelve hamlets, as well as the hamlet Koppani, the hill of the village Potūru, the hamlet Vallani and the village Podaṟupāka.
The boundaries of these are as follows.The Telugu phrases in the boundary description are translated very tentatively, with the aid of Jens Thomas. To the east, the eastern extremity of the hill of the village Potūru. To the southeast, the way shelter paṁdri named Sattavu and the scree of the hill mroḍlāni garugu. To the south, the old road coming from the vicinity of Kanaṟuvat toward Ummeṁggi. To the southwest too, that same road. To the west, the Nijjhara river between the hamlets of Ummeṁggi and Koppani. To the northwest, the border is none other than the border of Śarkarakutti. To the north, the Paṁpā river. To the northeast, the border is none other than the border of cīkulūri vāka.
Let no-one pose an obstacle over this ruling dharma. He who does so shall go to hell, conjoined with the five great sins. So too has the reverend Vyāsa 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.
He who would seize land, whether given by himself or by another, shall be born as a worm in faeces for sixty millennia.
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!”
Hereby I offer my respectful obeisance añjali to all future kings on earth, whether born in my lineage or a different royal lineage, who with minds averted from sin observe this provision dharma of mine in its integrity.
The executor ājñapti of this provision dharma is the castellan kaḍeya-rāja.
In this village, as long as the aeon lasts, may the cows overflow with milk, the land produce copious good crops, and the Brahmins be adept in the ritual of the Vedas, excelling in truth.
Let it be well for all the world. Let the hosts of creatures be intent on benefitting others. Let faults fade away. Let the people be happy everywhere.