Seal śrī-viṣamasiddhi

Plates

sviasti. śrīmatāṁ sakala-bhuvana-saṁstūyamāna-mānavya-sagotrāṇāṁ hāriti-putrāṇāṁ kauśīikiī-vara-prasāda-labdha-raājyānāṁ mātr̥-gaṇa-paripālitānāṁ svāmi-mahāsena-pādānudhyātānāṁ bhagavan-naārāyaṇa-prasāda-sāamaāsādita-vara-varāha-lāñcchanekṣaṇa-kṣaṇa-vaśīkr̥tārāti-maṇḍalānām aśvamedhāvabhr̥ttha-snaāna-pavitriīkr̥ta-vapuṣāṁ caḷukyānāṁ kulam alaṁkariṣṇoḥ svāsi-dhārā-prabhaāvāvarjjitaāśeṣa-bhūpāla-makuṭa-koṭi-māṇikkkya-śāṇa-kaṣaṇa-masr̥ṇa-nakha-maṇi-kiraṇa-kesarodbhāsita-pāda-padma-yugaḷlasyānavarata-tulā-dhr̥ta-śātakumbha-viśrāṇana-varddhitāvadāta-kīrtteḥ sarvva-lokāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārājasya pautraḥ nija-bhuja-niśitāsi-dhārā-prasśamita-para-cakkra-vikramasyāneka-sāmanta-mauli-mālā-makaranda-rajaḥ-puñja-piñjarita-caraṇāravinda-dvayasyāneka-tulā-dhr̥ta-svarṇṇa-dāna-vidhūta-pāpmanaḥ niravadyodāra-guṇa-gaṇālaṁkr̥tasya śrī-vijayāditya-mahārājasya priya-tanayaḥ sva-pratāpa-śravaṇa-tat-kāla-vilīyamāna-para-narapati-vikramaś cakravartti-lakṣaṇopetaś śārgṅgāyudha Iva lakṣmiī-vallabhaḥ kṣīrārṇṇava Ivātigāambhīra-satvaḥ Anavarata-laḷlita-mada-mudita-vibhrama-bhramita-laṭaha-kaṭākṣekṣaṇālakṣiteṣu makaradhvajaḥ Ari-timira-nikara-vidhvaṁsanodayeṣu praḷlayādityaḥ subhaṭa-prakaṭāṭopa-kṣubhita-kolāhalāhalasanna-yuddheṣu viṣamasiddhiḥ diīnānātha-suhr̥rj-jana-dvija-bandhu-bvr̥ndāraka-mitra-bhr̥tya-kāṁkṣita-vara-pradāneṣu kāmadhenuḥ deva-dvija-guru-caraṇaānudhyaātas sarvvalokāśraya-śrī-viṣṇuvarddhana-mahārājādhirāja-parameśvara-bhaṭṭārakaḥ gudrahāra-viṣaya-nivāsino rāṣṭrakuūṭa-pramukhaān kuṭiuṁbinaḥ sarvvaān itttham āñajñāpayati

vidhditam astu vo ’smābhiḥ -vāstavyaāya kauśikhika-gotraāya taittiriīya-sabrahmacārinṇe Aulaupeya-sūtrāya veda-vedaāṁgetihitihāsa-purānṇa-video viṣṇuśśarmmanaṇaḥ pautraḥāya sarvva-śāstra-video yajñaśarmmaṇaḥ putrāyāa pada-vākyata-pramanapramāṇa-prabhava-cāru-bhuūri-kīrtteaye ṣaṭ-karmma-niratāya traiayī-mārggaāṇnuśsārinṇe Āyu-mr-ārogyaābhivir̥ddhaye bhavvaśśarmanaṇe soma-grahaṇa-nimitte randubaḷḷi nāma grāmaḥ sarvva-kāara-parihaārenṇa Udaka-puūrvvaṁ krir̥tvā dattaM

tasya Avadhayaḥ. puūrvvataḥ kalpaṭṭanabu AvadhiTḥ. dakṣinṇataḥ tāḻkaṭuru AvadhiTḥ. paścimataḥ niḍuṁgāḍu AvadhiTḥ. Uttarattaḥ jakkanaceṟuvu AvadhiTḥ. yeEteṣaāṁ catur-avadhayaḥ. Asyopari bādhā na kenacit karaṇiīyyā. karoti yas sa pañca-mahaā-pātaka-saṁyyukto bhavati. vyāsenāpy uktaM

bahubhir vvasudhā dattā bahubhiś cānupālitā yasya yasya yadā bhūmis tasya tasya tadā pphalaM sva-dattām para-dattāṁ vā yo haretia vasundharāṁ ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi viṣṭṭhāyaāṁ jāyatte kr̥miḥ bhūmi-dānāt paraṁ dānan na bhūtan na bhaviṣyati tasyaiva haraṇāt pāpan na bhūtan na bhaviṣyati bhuūmiṁ yapḫ pratidhgr̥ṇhhṇāti yaś ca bhūmiṁ prayacchati Ubhau tau puṇya-karmmāṇau niyatauaṁ svargga-vāsiṇnau svan dātuṁ sumahac chakyaṁ duḥkham anyatra pālanaM dānaṁ vā pālanaṁ veti dānāc chreyo ’nupālanaM AĀjñaptir asya dharmmasya nirmmalo dharmma-saṁgrahaḥ Eṟeyamma Iti khyaātaḥ śūro vinaya-vacchatsaḷlaḥ

kautamaācāryyeṇa likhitaM

Seal śrī-viṣamasiddhi The seal is completely effaced. Faint vestiges are compatible with the reading shown here and seem less compatible with the most likely alternative śrī-tribhuvanāṁkuśa, but the reading and restoration are far from confident.

Plates -prabhaāvāvarjjitaāśeṣa- -prabhāvārjjitaāśeṣa- RM cites the Pr̥thivipallavapaṭṭana grant of Viṣṇuvardhana IV as also reading -prabhāvārjjitāśeṣa-, but this may be an oversight. His point is not to corroborate this reading but to indicate that the title is simpler there. It is quite certain on the basis of several cognate plates that the intended expression was prabhāvāvarjjitāśeṣa-. -kesarodbhāsita- -karodbhāsita- The reading is quite clear in the original plate (sa is to the left of the descender of rjji in the previous line), and confirmed by the Zulakallu plates of Vijayāditya I. -kīrtteḥ The surface of the plate, elsewhere pristine, is a little uneven around these two characters. They are also a little narrower than usual, and the vowel marker for e us squeezed poorly into the scant space between these two characters. They, and perhaps the preceding two and the next one, may be a correction over carefully deleted earlier text. cakravartti- The repha has been written as a separate stroke (resembling a J in shape) to the right of the i marker. It is probably a subsequent addition, though it is also possible that it was written this way in order to avoid having to reduce the size of the i marker. kṣīrārṇṇava Ivātigāambhīra- kṣīrārṇṇavair atigāambhīra- The reading is clear, so this must be some kind of weird typo in RM. -nikara- RM's note about the ra being added below the line is wrongly anchored next to the preceding word, timira. -kolāhalāhalasanna- -kolāhalāhala sanna- I do not know why RM considers only la to be superfluous. In addition to the dittography, there is yet another la inscribed above the first in line 17, and then deleted. It seems that the engraver first started the line too high, then decided to delete the first character and start again lower down. -mahārājādhirāja- A kākapada in the shape of a small cross is inscribed to the right of the vowel marker of rā, and the added ja is below this mark, to the right of the lower body of rā. -parameśvara- The characters rame are narrower and more closely spaced than usual, while śvara are extremely narrow and close, as well as fainter than the rest of the writing. It seems very likemy that only parama had been first inscribed, then rama was deleted and rameśvara reinscribed in the resulting space.. -pramukhaān -pramukha- My emendation is not essential for the text's intelligibility, but the formula is ubiquitous in the corpus. -vāstavyaāya Here, ya is very narrow and its left limb is barely present. It is possible that this character is a subsequent insertion, utilising the left-hand stroke of au on the next character for its right limb (and re-inscribing the au stroke in smaller size) and inserting the rest of ya in the space after vya. -purānṇa-video -purāṇa-vide Although the preceding words, in the dative, qualify the donee, I still think this particular compound at least was intended to qualify his grandfather. Note that the specification of residence and affiliation likewise applies to the donee's grandfather, rather than the donee himself, in many related grants. viṣṇuśśarmmanaṇaḥ viṣṇuśarmmaṇaḥ -śāstra-video -śāstra-vide Here too, I believe this term was meant to apply to the donee's father, not to the donee. pada-vākyata-pramanapramāṇa- I accept RM's emendation because of the strong collocation of these three words and the attestation of their combination in the Uṟuvuṭūru grant of Vijayāditya III. I do wonder, however, if vākyata (possibly vākyāta, with a minuscule hook at the end of the subscript y stroke) was rather meant for vākyārtha. Āyu-mr-ārogyā I believe this m is not an unwitting mistake but non-standard sandhi involving an epenthetic m. randubaḷḷi reṇḍubaḷḷi The name was read as Raṇḍubaḷḷi for the ARIE report, while RM asserts that it is correctly Reṇḍubaḷḷi. In RM's estampage, the first character does look rather like re, but there are also two conspicuous dots placed symmetrically on either side of its body. Because of these, I was inclined to read it as a long initial Ī when I first edited this text. Having in the meantime had the opportunity to look at and photograph the original plates, I am now certain that ra (and nothing else) is inscribed here, but this character is a correction over some earlier writing. What looks like an e marker in the estampage is part of the curved outline of the pre-correction character, and what look like two dots are probably the lower ends of its body, which may have been ga. I hazard the conjecture (without showing it in my edition) that the engraver may have written grā for grāmahere, then realised that he had omitted the name of the village. There is, however, no trace of a subscript r, and the right limb of grā further on in this line continues seamlessly into the subscript r, lacking a hook that might have resulted in the dot present at this locus. Thus, gā is perhaps more likely for the pre-correction character, and it too is very far from certain. The second character of the name is beyond doubt ndu, not ṇḍu. The reason why previous editors thought otherwise is probably a small and slightly sinuous horizontal stroke to the left of the headmark, which may have been taken for the left-hand side of the distinctive upper component of ṇ. The right-hand side of the headmark, however, shows neither the rest of this component, nor any sign of damage. The sinuous horizontal stroke is in all probability a remnant of the pre-correction character here; indeed, it looks very similar to the ā of grāma later in this line. The third character, ba, is indistinct in the estampage but clear in the original. tāḻkaṭuru tāṟkaṭuūru niḍuṁgāḍu niḍugāḍu A dot above gā, to the left of its centre, is visible in the estampage and clear in the original. It is in all probability an anusvāra. yeyeteṣaāṁ yeteṣaete RM's emendation is of course perfectly appropriate to the immediate context, but seems to be an unlikely scribal error, and the forumlation ete catur-avadhayaḥ does not occur anywhere else in the corpus that I am aware of. I believe the text is garbled from expressions involving Eteṣāṁ catur-avadhi-madhya-varti (cf. the Nemmaḷūru and Dinakādu grants of Vijayāditya I). haretia hearetia What looks like an e marker is an ornamental extension to the tail of ha. ṣaṣṭiṁ ṣaṣṭir Ubhau tau tau The vowel marker on bh consists only of a humped right-hand stroke; the left-hand stroke completing au was omitted by the scribe. anyatra This word does not fit the context well and is probably a scribal mistake for anyārtha. The only other occurrence of this stanza in the Eastern Cālukya corpus that I am aware of is in the Koṇḍakaṟipḻola grant of Viṣṇuvardhana III, where the variant of this word is anyasya. kautamaācāryyeṇa RM emends the to gautamācāryyeṇa, which is probably correct, but I prefer not to interfere.

Seal

Plates

Greetings. The grandson of His Majesty King mahārāja Viṣṇuvardhana III, the shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya whose pair of feet is illuminated by a nimbus of rays from the jewels that are his toenails, which have been rubbed smooth by the grindstones that are rubies at the tips of the crowns of the totality of kings bowed down by the prowess of the blade of his sword, whose clear reputation was enhanced by the ceaseless distribution of gold weighed on balance scales, That is, gold weighed on a scale against his body, the tulāpuruṣa mahādāna. and who 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 Hāriti, 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 dear son of His Majesty King mahārāja Vijayāditya I, who repressed the onslaught of enemy armies para-cakra-vikrama by the sharp swordblade wielded by his own arm, whose pair of lotus feet were engilded by a mass of stamen dust i.e. pollen from the garlands on the brows of many peripheral rulers sāmanta, whose sins were washed off by the donation of gold weighed in many a balance scale and who was adorned by a host of irreproachable niravadya and noble virtues: namely His Majesty the Supreme Lord parameśvara of Emperors mahārājādhirāja and Sovereign bhaṭṭāraka Viṣṇuvardhana IV, shelter of all the world sarva-lokāśraya, upon hearing of whose ferocity the bravery of enemy kings para-narapati-vikrama instantly vanishes, who possesses the bodily marks of a universal sovereign cakravartin, who is the beloved of Royal Fortune lakṣmī as Viṣṇu the Wielder of the Śārṅga bow is the beloved of Lakṣmī, who is very profound by nature, like the ocean, who is a very Crocodile-bannered love god among men at whom women glance with flirtatious eyes made all the more appealing by a flurry of gestures delighting in ceaseless playful desire, who is a doomsday sun inasmuch as his rising dispels the dense darkness of enemies, who prevails over adversity viṣama-siddhi in battles thick with agitated clamour and the swaggering displays of great warriors, who is a cow of plenty kāmadhenu inasmuch as he grants the boons coveted by the destitute, the helpless, his friends, Brahmins dvija, kinsmen, reputable persons,Or perhaps gods? (vr̥ndāraka) allies and underlings bhr̥tya, and who defers toWhile I consistently translate the phrase (pāda+)anudhyāta, occurring in almost all Cālukya plates in the description of kings as “deliberately appointed by,” in this case it seems clear that the expression caraṇānudhyāta means that it is the king who pays respectful attention to the persons mentioned. the honoured presence pāda of gods, Brahmins and his elders guru—this Viṣṇuvardhana commands all householders kuṭumbin—including foremost the territorial overseers rāṣṭrakūṭa—who reside in Gudrahāra district viṣaya as follows.

Let it be known to you that on the occasion of an eclipse of the moon, for the augmentation of our vitality and health, we have given the village named Randubaḷḷi with an exemption from all taxes, the donation being sanctified by a libation of water, to Bhavvaśarman, a resident of belonging to the Kauśika gotra and the Taittirīya school, of the Aulupeya sūtra, whose great good reputation arises from his mastery of words grammatics, pada, sentences linguistic analysis, vākya and the means of knowledge epistemology, pramāṇa, who is engaged in the six duties of a Brahmin and follows the path of the Veda, the grandson of Viṣṇuśarman, a scholar of the Veda, Vedāṅga, Itihāsa and Purāṇa, and the son of Yajñaśarman, a scholar of all treatises śāstra.

Its boundaries are as follows. To the east, the boundary is Kalpaṭṭanabu. To the south, the boundary is Tāḻkaṭuru. To the west, the boundary is Niḍuṁgāḍu. To the north, the boundary is Jakkanaceṟuvu. It is located in the midst of these four boundaries. Let no-one pose an obstacle to the enjoyment of rights over it. He who does so shall be conjoined with the five great sins. Vyāsa too has 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 thousand years.

There has never been and will never be a gift surpassing the gift of land, nor has there ever been or will ever be a sin surpassing the seizing of the same.

He who accepts granted land and he who offers land: both of these doers of meritorious deeds are guaranteed to dwell in heaven.

It is possible i.e. easy to give away what is yours, even if it is a great thing; but it is hard to preserve the property of another.I translate the emendation suggested in the apparatus to line 37, but not included in the body of the edition. When it comes to the question, “donation or preservation of previous grants?”—the answer is that preservation is superior to donation.

The executor ājñapti of this provision dharma is the impeccable superintendent of justice dharma-saṁgrahaI assume that dharma-saṁgraha is synonymous to dharmādhyakṣa or dharmādhikaraṇika, but it may be the title of a different official, or it may be used in a non-technical figurative sense as “storehouse of justice”. known as Eṟeyamma, who is valiant and fond of discipline.

Written likhita by Kautamācārya.The name may be a mistake for Gautamācārya.