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Tamil
Inscriptions
part
- iii
ADDITIONAL
INSCRIPTIONS IN THE TANJAVUR TEMPLE AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS
RECORDS
INSCRIPTION
OF THE PALLAVA DYNASTY
No.72
CAVE
INSCRIPTION AT VALLAM
The rock-cut Saiva shrine at Vallam near Chingleput bears
two Tamil inscriptions. One of them, which belong to the 13th
century A.D., is engraved on the lower portion of the right door-pillar.[1]
It records the gift of a lamp in the 14th year of
Sakalabhuvana-chakravartin Kopperunjingadeva[2]
(i.e., Ko-Perum-Simhadeva) to the temple of Vayandisura (i.e.,
Vasantesvara) at Vallam in Valla-nadu, (a subdivision) of
Kalattur-kottam.[3] The second,
very archaic inscription is engraved on the upper portions of both door-pillars
and records that the temple was built by Skandasena, the son of
Vasantapriyaraja, who was a vassal of Mahendrapotaraja. From the later
inscription of Kopperunjingadeva, it follows further that Skandasena called the
temple Vasantesvara after his father Vasanta. Mahaendrapotaraja, whose vassal
Vasanta professes to be, must have been a Pallava king. This already suggested
by the first part of his name, which occurs twice in the list of the Pallavas,
as far as it is known (Vol. I, p. 11). The second part of the king’s name
Potaraja,[4]
forms part of Isvarapotaraja,[5]
as the Pallava king Paramesvaravarman I is called in a grant of Vikramaditya I.
(Vol. I, p. 145), and of Nandipotaraja,[6]
which is used as an equivalent of Nandivarman in the Kaskudi plates (No. 73
below, line 90). Finally, the birudas, which the king receives in the
Vallam cave-inscription, have their parallels in other Pallava inscriptions.
With Lalitankura compare Lalita and Nayankura in the Dharmaraja Ratha
inscription (Vol. I, p. 3). Satrumalla and Gunabhara occur also in the two
cave-inscriptions on the Trichinopoly rock (Vol. I, p. 29). Though birudas
are a somewhat unsafe basis for identification, it may be provisionally assumed
that both the Trichinopoly cave-inscriptions of Gunabhara, alias
Satrumalla, and the vallam cave-inscription of Mahendrapotaraja belong to one
of the two Pallava kings called Mahendravarman, i.e., to the first half
of the seventh century of our era.[7]
Translation
Kandasenan (Skandasena),
the son of Vayandappiriaresaru (Vasantapriyaraja), the servant of
Pagappidugu[8] Lalidanguran
(Lalitankura) Satturummallan (Satrumalla) Kunabaran (Gunabhara)
Mayendirappottaresaru (Mahendrapotaraja), caused (this) temple (devakula)
to be made.
On the 30th April 1891, Professor Julien Vinson,
of Paris, was good enough to send me a reprint[9]
of his paper Specimen de Paleographie Tamoule, which contains an
analysis of, and extracts from, the subjoined copperplate inscription. The
original plates had been discovered in 1879 at Kasakudi, 4 kilometers from
Karaikkal (Karikal), by M. Jules de la Fon, of Pondicherry. Professor Vinson’s
paper, which is based on a tracing prepared by M. de la Fon, convinced me of
the importance of the inscription and induced m to apply through Government to
His Excellency the Governor of the French Settlements in India for a loan of the
original plates. This request was most graciously and promptly complied with.
After I had transcribed the plates and prepared impressions of them, they were
returned to their present owner.
The Kasakudi copperplates, eleven in number, are strung on a
ring. On this is soldered the royal seal, with the figure of a bull which faces
the left and is surmounted by a linga. The bull was the crest of the
Pallavas, while their banner bore the figure of Siva’s club (khatvanga).
The Grantha and Tamil characters of the inscription resemble those of the Kuram
plates (Vol. I, No. 151). The major portion of the inscription is in the
Sanskrit language (lines 1 to 104). The particulars of the grant are repeated,
with considerable additions, in the Tamil language (II. 104 to 133). The
concluding portion of the inscription is again in Sanskrit (II. 133 to 138),
with a short parenthetical note in Tamil (1. 137).
The immediate object of the inscription is to record the
grant of a village, made in the 22nd year of the reign (II. 80 and
105) of the Pallava king Nandivarman (verses 27 and 30 and 1. 79). As in other
Pallava copperplate inscriptions, the grant proper is preceded by a panegyrical
account of the king’s ancestors, which adds a large number of new details to
our knowledge of the Pallava history. After nine benedictory verses, the author
names the following mythical ancestors of the Pallava dynasty: -
Brahma (v.
10)
Angiras
(11)
Brihaspati
(12)
Samy
(13)
Bharadvaja
(14)
Drona
(15)
Asvatthaman
(16)
Pallava
(17)
Asokavarman
(19)
This last king can scarcely be considered a historical
person, but appears to be a modification of the ancient Maurya king Asoka. The
follows a passage in prose, which informs us that, after this Asokavarman,
there ruled a number of other Pallava kings, viz., [S]kandavarman,
Kal[i]ndavarman, Kanagopa, Vishnugopa, Viraku[r]cha, Virasimha, Simhavarman,
Vishnusimha and others (1. 48 f.). Some of these names actually occur in the
inscriptions of that ancient branch of the Pallavas, whose grants are dated
from Palakkada, Dasanapura and Kanchipura, viz., Skandavarman,
Simhavaran, Vishnugopavarman,[10]
and Virakorchavarman. The Amaravati pillar-inscription (Vil. I, No. 32) mention
two kings named Simhavarman. But the order in which these names are enumerated,
is completely different in each of the three available sources for the history
of the early Pallavas, viz., the Amaravatipillar, the early
copper-inscriptions, and the prose introduction of the Kasakudi plates. For
this reason, and on account of the summary manner in which the early kings are
referred to by the author of the Kasakudi inscription, it is a mistake to
derive a regular pedigree from the latter, as was done by Professor Vinson (i.e.,
p. 453); and it must be rather concluded that, at the time of Nandivarman,
nothing was known of the predecessors of Simhavishnu, but the names of some of
them, and that the order of their succession, and their relation to each other
and to the subsequent line of Simhavishnu, were then entirely forgotten.
With verse 20 we enter on historical ground. The list of
kings from Simhavishnu to the immediate predecessor of Nandivarman agrees with
the Udayendiram plates of Nandivarman Pallavamalla (No. 74). Simhavishnu
appears to have borne the surname Avanisimha, and is stated to have defeated
the Malaya, Kalabhra, Malava, Chola, Pandya, Simhala and Kerala kings.
His successor Mahendravarman I. “annihilated his chief
enemies at Pullalura” (v. 21). The ‘chief enemies’ were probably the Chalukyas,
who, in their turn, considered the Pallavas their ‘natural enemies.’ As
Pullalur is the name of a village in the Conjeeveram talluqa,[11] it appears that the Chalukya army had made
an inroad into the Pallava dominions, before it was repulsed by Mahendravarman
I.
His son Narasimhavarman I is reported to have conquered
Lanka, i.e., Ceylon, and to have captured Vatapi,[12]
the capital of the Western Chalukyas. The Kuram and Udayendiram plates supply
the name of the conquered Chalukya king, Pulakesin or Vallabharaja, i.e., Pulikesin
II. The conquest of Ceylon to which the Kasakudi plates refer, is confirmed
from an unexpected source. From the 47th chapter of the Mahavamsa[13]
we learn that the Singhalese prince Manavamma lived at the court of king
Narasimha of India and helped him to crush his enemy, king Vallabha. The
grateful Narasimha supplied Manavamma twice with an army to invade Ceylon. The
second attack was successful. Manavamma occupied Ceylon, over which he is
supposed to have ruled from A. D. 691 to 726. As both the Pallava inscriptions
and the Mahavamsa mention the war with Vallabha and the conquest of
Ceylon, the identity of Narasiha and Narasimhavarman I can hardly be doubted.
As, however, the latest date of Pulikesin II is A.D. 642, the accession of
Manavamma must have taken place about half a century before A. D. 691.[14]
No details are given about the reign o Narasimhavarman’s son
Mahendravarman II. The latter was succeeded by his son Paramesvarapotavarman I
who, as we known from the Kuram and Udayendiram plates, defeated the Western
Chalukya king Vikramaditya I at Peruvalanallur. The Kasakudi plats do not
contain any historical information about him, nor about his son
Narasimhavarman II and his grandson Paramesvarapotavarman II.
According to the Udayendiram plates, the next king,
Nandivarman, was the son of Paramesvaravarman II. The Kasakudi plates contain
an entirely different account of Nandivarman’s parentage. In line 72, he
professes to be “engaged in ruling the kingdom of Paramesvarapotaraja;” and in
verse 27, he is said to be ruling, at the time of the inscription, the kingdom
of Paramesvarapotavarman II., i.e., to have succeeded or supplanted the
latter on the throne, and to have been “chosen by the subjects.” This
plebiscite may have taken place after the death of the legitimate king; or,
more probably, Nandivarman may have been an usurper who ousted and destroyed
him and his family. At any rate, he was a remote kinsman of his predecessor.
For, he was the son of Hiranya (verses 9 and 30) by Rohini and belonged to the
branch (varga) of Bhima (verse 30). According to verse 28, this branch
of Bhima took its origin from Bhimavarman, who was the younger brother of
Simhavishnu. The names of three princes, who intervened between Bhimavarman and
Hirnaya, are recorded in the same verse. The name Hiranyavarma-Maharaja occurs
several times in a much-obliterated inscription of the Vaikuntha-Perumal temple
at Kanchipuram. At the beginning of this inscription, Paramesvarappottaraiyar
of the Pallava-vamsa is mentioned as deceased (svargastha). It is therefore not
improbable that the inscription recorded the accession of Hranyavarman or of
his son Nandivarman after the death of Paramesvarapotavarman II. The latter may
have been the founder of the Vaikuntha-Perumal temple, which is called
Paramesvara-Vishnugriha, i.e., ‘the Vishnu temple of Paramesvara,’ in
another inscription of the Vaikuntha-Perumal temple.[15]
With the addition of the new branch, the list of the later Pallavas stands as
follows: -
Unnamed ancestor
1.Simhavishnu
Bhimavarman
2. Mahendravara I
Buddhavarman
3.Narasimhavarman I
Adityavarman
4.Mahendravarman II
Govindavarman
5.Paramesvarapotavarman or
Hiranya
Paramesvaravarman I
6.Narasimhavarman
8.Nandivarman
7. Paramesvarapotavarman or
Paramesvaravarman II
No. 73 Kasakudi
plates of Nandivarman
Other forms of the name Nandivarman are Nandipotaraja (1.
90) and simply Nandin (1.88). The form Nandikpotavarman occurs in the Vakkaleri
plates, which refer to the defeat of the Pallava king by the Western Chalukya
king Vikramaditya II., and the form Nandippottaraiyar in an inscription of his
18th year in the Ulagalanda-Perumal temple at Kanchipuram. He bore
the soverign titles Maharaja and Rajadhiraja-paramesvara and the birudas
Kshatriyamalla, Pallavamalla (1.78), and Sridhara (verse 29). According to
verse 30, he was a devotee of Vishnu. At the request of his prime-minister (1.
89), Brahmasriraja (1. 91) or Brahmayuvaraja (II. 103 and 106), the king gave
the village of Kodukolli (II. 99, 105 f.) to the Brahmana Jyesthapada-Somayajin
(1. 93) or (in Tamil Settirenga-Somayajin (1. 108 f.), who belonged to the
Bharadvaja (1. 94) or Bharadvaja (1. 108) gotra, followed the Chhandogasutra
(II. 94 and 108), and resided at Puniya (1. 95) or Puni (1. 108), a village in
the Tondaka-rashtra (1. 95). The village of Kodukolli, on becoming a brahmadeya,
received the new name Ekadhiramangalam (1. 100). It belonged to
Urrukkattu-kottam (1. 105) or (in Sanskrit) Undivana-koshthaka (1. 98), a
subdivision of Tondaka-rashtra, and was bounded in the east and south by
Palaiyur, in the west by Manarpakkam and Kollipakkam, and in the north by
Velimanallur (II. 98 f. and 111 ff.). Connected with the gift of the village
was the right of dig channels from the Seyaru or (in Sanskrit) Durasarit, the
Vekha or Vegavati, and the tank of Tiraiyan or Tiralaya (II. 101 f. and 115
ff.).
Of these geographical names, the following can be
identified. Tondaka-rashtra is, — like Tondira-mandala, Tundira-mandala and
Tundaka-vishaya, — a Sanskritised form of the Tamil term Tondai-mandalam. One
of the 24 ancient divisions (kottam) of the latter was
Urrukkattu-kottam, which owed its name to Urrukkadu, a village in the present
Conjeeveram talluqa. This kottam was divided into four subdivisions (nadu),
one of which was Palaiyur-nadu. The
head-village of this subdivision, Palaiyur, appears to be identical with the
village of Palaiyur, which formed the south-eastern boundary of the granted
village, and perhaps with the modern Palur at the north-western extremity of
the Chingleput talluqa. The Western boundary of the granted village,
manarpakkam, would then be represented by the modern Melamanappakkam. For the
granted village, Kodukolli, itself and for the two remaining villages which
formed its boundaries, no equivalents are found on the maps at my disposal. The
village at which the donee resided, Puni, may be the modern Pundi, which
belongs to the Conjeeveram talluqa, but is in close proximity of Palur and
Melamanappakkam in the Chingleput talluqa. The dproposed identification of
these three villages is made more probable by the reference, made kin the
Kasakudi plates, to two rivers near which the granted village of Kodukolli was
situated. Of these, the Vegavati or Vehka passes Conjeeveram and falls into the
Palaru near Villivalam. The Seyaru forms the southern boundary of the modern
Conjeeveram talluqa and joins the Palaru opposite Melamanapakkam, which I have
identified with Manarpakkam, the western boundary of Kodukolli.
The executor (ajnapli) of the grant was Ghorasarman
(II. 103 and 106), and the author of the Sanskrit portion, which, as in the
Kuram plates (1. 89) and the Udayendiram plates (II. 101 and 105), is called a prasasti
or eulogy, was a certain Trivikrama (verse 31). To the Sanskrit portion is
affixed a Tamil endorsement (I. 104 f.), which directs the inhabitants of
Urrukkattu-kottam to execute the order of the king. The subsequent Tamil
passage (1. 105 ff.) Records that, on receipt of the royal order, the
representatives of Urrukkattu-kottam marked the boundaries of the granted
village under the guidance of their headman, and formally assigned all rights
to the donee. Another Tamil sentence (1. 132 f.) states that the grant was
executed in the presence of the local authorities (?), the ministers and the
secretaries.
Then follow, in Sanskrit, three imprecatory verses (1. 133
ff.) and the statement that the document was written by His Majesty’s great
treasurer (1. 136). The inscription ends with a docket kin Tamil (1. 137) and a
few auspicious Sanskrit words.
Translation
Hail! (Verse 1.) Victorious is the supreme Brahman,
which is the cause of the production, stability and destruction of the three
worlds; which is true, without end (and) without beginning; which
consists of knowledge (alone); which is one; (and) which
is the abode of immortality!
(2) May that blessed Trivikrama (Vishnu) grant you
prosperity, who, at the sacrifice of Bali, deceitfully asked (only) for
three steps (of land), but suddenly expended (and) strode thrice,
(thereby) appropriating the world!.
(3) May Hara (Siva), the destroyer of Pura, increase
your happiness, who bears the moon on his crest, who wears a serpent on his
shoulder, who holds Bhavani on his left, who bears affection to his worshipper,
who bears Ganga on his head, who wears ashes[16]
on his body, who bears poison on his neck, who wears a braid in his hair, (and)
who holds a spear in his hand!
(4) May Trivikrama and Hara protect you, whose distinct (but)
united bodies (respectively) bear on the neck the supreme splendour of
two ornaments, — the kaustubha (jewel) and the black (poison),[17]
hold a discus and a spear[18]
for the destruction of the Daityas, are of black and white colour, (and)
thrill with joy at the expansion (of the eyes) of Sri and Gauri, (which
emit) coquettish glances (resembling) arrows!
(5) May Padma (Lakshmi) regard you with fondness, who
is seated on a lotus; whose pair of lotus hands is resplendent with a lotus; (and)
whose excellent bath (is poured from) golden jars which are held by the
trunks of (two) female elephants !
(6) May that blessed Arya (Parvati), the sister of
Vishnu, instantly remove dire adversity, — whom Cupid does not approach, out of
fear, it seems, because he has observed the (third) eye on (her) forehead (and
therefore takes her) for Isvara !.
(7) May Vinayaka (Ganesa) grant you freedom from
obstacles, who is as white as the Kailasa (mountain), whose girdle
consists of a huge serpent, who has the face of an elephant, whose ears are
large, who has a single big tusk, (and) whose eyes are (half closed as if he
were) under the influence of rut !
(8) May the race of the glorious Pallavas be protected for a
long time by the supreme lords, those twofold[19]
gods whom (they viz., the Pallavas) have worshipped with traditional
devotion, — (viz.,) the gods in heaven who timely reward gifts,
sacrifices and austerities, (and) the gods on earth[20]
who are engaged in the six duties, whose blessings are true, (and) who
practice self-control !
(9) The earth, surrounded by the rolling ocean, is conquered
by the lord of men, who is the son of Hiranya (and) the lord of prosperity,
whose crest is the bull, (and) the elephants of whose army ward off
enemies.[21]
Hail ! Adoration to Sri ! (10) First, from the lotus, which
rose from the navel of Vishnu, was born the Creator, whose origin is the (supreme)
Brahman; who is self-existent; who fully knows the meaning of the sacred texts;
(and) who has performed the creation of the whole world.
(11.) From his was born at the sacrifice a son of the mind
alone, Angiras, who fully carried out his promises; who laws more brilliant
than fire; who being sinless, put an end to sin; who, being the chief of seers,
obtained a pace among the Seven Seers; who reached (the highest degree of)
austerities that can be desired; (and) who was the best axe for cutting the
tree of ignorance.
(12) From this Angiras (came Brihaspati), who was an
ocean of speeches (and) the father of politics; whom (Indra) the
lord of the gods[22] (and)
elder brother of Tridhaman (Vishnu), made his preceptor (guru);
(and) relying on the power of whose intellect, the celestial women enjoy at
ease amorous pleasures, without thinking of the rising and setting of the sun.
(13.) From him was born the fortunate (and) modest
Samy, who destroyed sin (and) resembled the sun in brilliancy. When Fire
had disappeared, (he) became the fire of the gods and performed even the
action of fire through his own power.
(14.) His son was a sage called Bharadvaja, who became the
founder of the race (gotra) of the glorious Pallavas by the power of (his)
virtues, (and) who mastered the three Vedas, which resemble mountains by
(his) austerities.
(15.) From him cam Drona, the preceptor[23]
of the Kurus, who was produced from the semen[24]
(of Bharadvaja) in a pitcher called drona; whose victorious
banner was an altar painted on the skin of a black-buck; (and) who
completely mastered (the four branches of) the science of archery,[25]
which resemble the four oceans.
(16.) From him came the sage Asvatthaman, who was an
incarnation of (Siva) the enemy of Cupid; who deserved the confidence of
the inhabitants of the world; (and) at the rising of whose anger,
Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima became terrified (and) threw down (their)
weapons without any opposition.
(17.) The glorious Pallava, (during whose rule) the
earth was untouched (even) by the smallest calamity,[26]
was suddenly born to him on a litter of sprouts (pallava)[27]
by (the nymph) Menaka,[28]
that had been sent to him by Sakra (Indra), who as afraid of (losing)
his position (on account of the sage’s austerities).
(18.) Though born from a race of Brahmanas, he possessed in
the highest degree the valour of the Kshatriyas, which was inherent to him.
Does not the thunderbolt possess by nature the quality of burning, though it
springs from the cloud ?
(19.) From him was produced Asokavarman, who removed the
distress of suppliant kings, (but) who distressed those who faced (him)
in battle, (and) who, though bright as the moon, possessed a spotless
fame (which the moon has a spot).
(Line 34.) From him descended the powerful, spotless
race of the Pallavas, which resembled a partial incarnation of Vishnu, as it
displayed unbroken courage in conquering the circle of the world with all its
parts, (and) it is enforced the special rules of all castes and orders,
and which resembled the descent of the Ganga (on earth), as it purified
the whole world.
(Line 37.) All (the kings) sprung from this (race)
possessed power that was everywhere irresistible, large armies, pure descent,
birth from a lotus, (and) great piety, (and therefore) resembled
Kumara, whose spear is everywhere irresistible, (who is also called)
Mahasena, who is the son of Fire, who invented (the array of the army in the
form of) a lotus (and who is also called) Subrahmanya. The great
fierceness,— that resembled fire,— of the power of
their arms dried up,— like the
water of the ocean,— the
irresistible valour of all enemies. The spreading moonshine of their spotless
fame removed the impurity of all the sins of the Kali age. Their extremely
noble conduct and constant prosperity increased the affection of the crowd of
their friends.[29] The beauty
of their forms became the snare, in which,—
like deer,— the hearts of young women (were caught). Their fame,
like the fragrance of sandal trees, was pervading the southern region. The
shadow of their (royal parasol) could not be crossed by the power of the other
(kings), just as the beauty of the celestial trees cannot be surpassed
by the splendour of other (trees). They were full of splendour and kind
to others, (and therefore) resembled the sun whose rays are beneficial
to men. They experienced an increase (agama) of the affection (pratyaya)
of (their) subjects (prakriti), and possessed blameless riches (vriddhi)
and virtues (guna), (and therefore) resembled the science of grammar, in
which crude forms (prakriti), affixes (pratyaya) and augments (agama)
are treated, (but) in which (the rules on) guna and vriddhi are (not)
without exceptions (apavada).[30]
They gave delight (nandana), but were without enemies (apa-ari-jata);
while the Nandana (garden) contains the parijata (tree). Though
full of learning (ghanagama), they were not dull (jada); while
the rainy season (ghanagama) brings water (jala). As Indra the heaven, (these)
lords of the earth enjoyed the whole earth, which is bounded by the Chakravala
mountain (and) adorned by the seven continents and seven oceans.
(Line 45.) Among these have passed away in bygone
times [S]kandavarman, Kal[I]ndavarman, Kanagopa, Vishnugopa, Viraku[r]cha,
Virasimha, Simhavarman, Vishnusimha and other kings, who won great battles by (a
knowledge of) the science of all weapons, whose valour was immeasurable,
who had received by inheritance (the practice of) meritorious acts, who
destroyed (the sins of) the Kali (age), whose minds were learned,
whose bodies bore auspicious marks, who preserved (their) fame (free from
blemishes), whose shoulders were fit to bear the whole earth, who were (evil)
comets to (their) enemies, who conferred honors on (their)
friends, (and) who were the barriers of all good conduct.
(Verse 20.) Thereafter came Simha[Vishnu], the lion
of the earth (Avanisimha), who was engaged in the destruction of
enemies, (and) who lvanquished the Malaya, Kalabhra, Malava, Chola and
Pandya (kings), the Simhala (king) who was proud of the strength
of his arms, and the Keralas.
(21.) Then the earth was ruled by a king called
Mahendravarman, whose glory resembled that of Mahendra, whose commands were
respected (by all), (and) who annihilated (his) chief
enemies at Pullalura.
(22.) From him was born the victorious hero Narasimhavarman,
who surpassed the glory o the valour of Rama by (his) conquest of Lanka,
who was a comet (that foreboded) destruction of the crowd of proud enemies, (and)
who imitated the pitcher-born (Agastya) by (his) conquest of
Vatapi.[31]
(23.) From him was born Mahandravarman, whose long arms were
fierce thunderbolts to the crowd of enemies, (and) beginning with whom,
meritorious acts for the benefit of temples and Brahmanas and (the use of) the
vessel of the donor[32]
have highly prospered.
(24.) Then came Paramesvarapotavarman, to whose desires the
crowd of all kings was subject. This wonderful (king) possessed high
prosperity (bhuti), was the lord of men (bhuti), was the lord of
men (bhuta), had a bull for (his) crest (and) a club on
(his) banner, (and) possessed immovable firmness, [thus resembling Siva,
who wears sacred ashes (bhuti), is the lord of goblins (Bhuta),
has a bull for his emblem and a club on his banner, and resides on the
mountain].[33]
(25.) From him was born a complete incarnation of the
blessed Paramesvara, who equaled Narasimha both by (the strength of) his
body and by (his) name (Narasimhavarman) that spread over the
world. This crest-jewel of the Kshatriyas bestowed his wealth on temples and
Brahmanas (and) devoutly cased the goddess of the earth, who was in his
possession, to be enjoyed by those familiar with the four Vedas.[34]
(26.) From him came Paramesvarapotavarman, who obtained
desired treasures, (viz.,) treasures of fame; who conquered the
coquettish ways of the Kali (age); who led the way of policy, which had
been prescribed by Dhishana (Brihaspati); (and) who protected the
worlds.
(27.) At present his prosperous kingdom, in which enemies
are subdued by the power of (mere) commands, is ruled as far as the
ocean by Nandivarman, who was chosen by the subjects, who is worthy of honour
on account of (his) wisdom, (and) who is the full-moon of the
race of the Pallavas, which is as extensive as the ocean.
(28.) His sixth (ancestor) was the lord Bhimavarman,
who was the younger brother of, (and reigned) after, the glorious
Simhavishnu; the fifth Pallava ruler (was) the glorious king
Buddhavarman, praised by wise men; the fourth (was) Adityavarman, who
resembled (Indra) the bearer of the thunderbolt; the third (was)
Govindavarman; (and) the second lord of the earth (was) the glorious
Hiranya, the refuge of men.
(29.) This Sridhara[35]
resembles Vijaya (Arujuna) in battle, Karnisuta[36]
in acquaintance with the arts, Rama in archery, the king of Vatsa with respect
to the science of elephants and to music, Kama in (the opinion of)
women, the first poet (Valmiki) in the composition of poetry, the master
of policy (Brihaspati) himself in suggesting expedients, (and)
Dharma (Yudhishthira) in delighting the subjects.
(30.) Increasing in prosperity is our lord, king
Nandivarman, who is able to support the race of the Pallavas; who is a born
emperor; who is handsome; who is a master both in the art of gymnastics and in
the virtue of modesty; who is the son of Hiranya; who belongs to the branch (varga)
of Bhima; who worships the feet of Hari (Vishnu); who is descended from
a pure mother; who bears auspicious marks; who is the son of Rohini; (and)
whose good deeds are numerous.
(Line 71.) While the twenty-second year of (his)
reign was current, this Rajadhiraja-paramesvara, the Maharaja called
Nandivarman, who is engaged in ruling the kingdom of Paremsvarapotaraja; whose
mind is clinging to, engaged in, and restless in (the desire for)
supreme bliss; whose head is covered with dust that has dropped from the pair
of lotus feet of the Lord (Parameshthin);[37]
who worships the gods, the Brahmanas, and (others) who are worthy of respect;
who avoids the passions that oppress the people of the Kali age; who dries up (his)
enemies by the fire of (his) growing velour; who refreshes (his)
friends by the water of (his) growing affection; whose right hand is
able (to fulfil) the vow of ruling the whole world; whose pair of feet
is rubbed smooth (as it serves as) whetstones to the edges of the rubies
in the diadems of all kings; who is gracefully embraced by the fortune of the
Pallava race, (and who therefore resembles) the celestial tree, which is
gracefully entwined by the creeper of Nandana garden; the wrestler of warriors
(Kshatriyamalla); the wrestler of the Pallavas (Pallavamalla);
whose might is increasing in consequence of (his) meditations on the
feet of the lord, (his) father;[38]
(and) who is a moon that causes to rise the water of the ocean of great
virtues,— was himself pleased to give as a brahmadeja,[39]—
[as requested] by Brahmasriraja,[40]
who is a friend of men; who is filled with all virtues, as the ocean with a
heap of gems; who is famous (but) modest, handsome (and)
long-lived of soft speech (and) the best of men; who, just as Brihaspati
(is the minister) of (Indra) the lord of heaven, is the chief
minister of the handsome Nandin, the lord of the earth (and) chief of
the Pallavas; who is refined both by nature and through education;[41]
who is the first of the wise, firm (and) brave; who possesses the full
spendour of the Brahmana and Kshatriya castes, and a loyalty of the glorious
Nandipotaraja, which does not cease as long as the moon and the stars endure;
who supports (his) family; who is the chief of (his) family; who
is an eldest son; who resembles the moon in beauty; who excels in all virtues;
(and) who is an eldest grand son; who resembles the moon in beauty; who
excels in all virtues; (and) who is an eldest son,— to
Jyeshthapada-Somayajin, who has mastgered the ocean-like Vedas; who chants the Saman
(hymns) which are pleasant on account of their melodies (rasa);
who has completed the rehearsal and the study of the six auxiliary works, (viz.,)
the ritual of the Veda, grammar, astronomy, etymology, phonetics and metrics;[42]
who knows the properties of words, sentences and subjects; who has drunk the
elixir of the Sruti and Smrithi; who is learned in the portion
referring to rites (karma-kanda) and the portion referring to knowledge
(jnana-kanda); who is skilled in the ways of the world and in the
knowledge of the arts; who is versed in poems, dramas, stories, epics and
legends; in short, who is skilled in all (branches of) holy and profane
knowledge; who is expert in the performance of all rites; who is of good
conduct; (who illumines) the world, as a lamp (does) a house; who
is courteous (in spite of) the honour (paid to him) and of noble
birth; who is the only sun of the middle world (i.e., the earth),
because he has dispelled all ignorance (or darkness);[43]
who is considered the best of father and grand-fathers; whose good deeds (in
former births are the reason of his present) noble birth; who ranks first among
the twice-born; who knows the Vedas; who conforms to the precepts of the Veda;
who follows the Chhandogasutra; who has performed the Vajapeya
and a number of other sacrifices; who belongs to the Bharadvaja gotra;
who resides at Puniya, an excellent settlement of Brahmanas[44]
in the Tondaka-rashtra; who is poor in sins; who is distinguished by (his)
dress (?);[45] who is a
unique person; who cares for both worlds;[46]
who accomplishes the three objects of human life (trivarga); who knows
the four Vedas; whose chief objects are the five primary elements (pancha-mahabhuta);[47]
who knows the six auxiliary works;[48]
who resembles the sun; who possesses good qualities; (and) who is an excellent
Brahmana,— a whole village, the original nae of which was Kodukolli, (but)
which, on becoming a brahmadeya, (received) the new name
Ekadhiramangalam,[49]
in Undivana-koshthaka,[50]
(a subdivision) of the same rashtra,[51]
enclosed by the following four boundaries:—
in the east, Palaiyur; in the south, the same; in the west, Manatpakka[52]
and Kollipakka; (and) in the north, Velimanallur,[53]—
to the extent of altogether two nivartanas;[54]
excluding previous grants to temples and grants to Brahmanas; excluding (the
houses of) the ryots;[55]
with all exemptions (parihara); (and) including[56]
the use of the water by digging channels at convenience from the Durasarit, the
Vegavati, and the tank of Tiralaya,[57]
houses, fields, gardens and groves.
(Line 103.) This (grant was made at) the
request (vijnapti) of Brahmayuvaraja. The executor of the grant (ajnapti)
(was) Ghorasarman. Hail ! Let there be success !
(Verse 31.) The author of the (above) prasasti
(was) the honest Trivikrama, who knew the truth of all sciences (and)
performed sacrifices according to the rules of the three Vedas.
(Line 104.) (The above is) an order of the
king (kon-olai), (dated in) the twenty-second year (of the
reign). Let the inhabitants of Urrukkattuu-kottam see (it) !
(Line. 105.) Having seen the order (tirumugam), which
was issued after (the king) had been pleased to give Kodukolli, (a
village) of our country,— having expropriated the former owners at the
request of Brahmayuvaraja, (having appointed) Ghorasarman as ajnapti
(anatti), having excluded (previous) grants to temples and grants
to Brahmanas, having excluded the houses (of the ryots), to the extent
of altogether two patti,— as a brahmadeya to
Settirenga-Somayajin, who belongs to the Bharadvaja gotra, follows the Chhandogasutra
and resides at Puni,— we, the inhabitants, went to the boundaries which the
headman (vijyavan) of the district (nadu) pointed out,
circumambulated the village (padagai) from right to left, and planted
stones and milk-bush (round it).
(L. 111) The boundaries of (this village are):—
The eastern boundary (is) to the west of the boundary of Palaiyur; the
southern boundary (is) to the north of the boundary of Palaiyur; the
western boundary (is) to the east of the boundary of Manarpakkam and of
the boundary of Kollipakkam; and the northern boundary (is) to the south
of the boundary of Velimanallur.
(L. 114.) (The donee) shall enjoy the wet land
and the dry land included within these four boundaries, wherever the iguana
runs and the tortoise crawls,[58]
(and shall be permitted) to dig river channels and inundation channels
for conducting water from the Seyaru, the Vehka, and the tank of Tiraiyan. (He)
shall obtain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [59]
for these channels. Those who take and use (the water) in these channels
by pouring out baskets, by cutting branch channels (?),[60]
or by employing small levers,[61]
shall pay a fine to be taken by the king. He and his descendants shall enjoy
the houses, house gardens and so forth (and shall have the right) to
build houses and halls of burnt tiles. (The land) included within these
(boundaries) we have endowed with all exemptions.[62]
He himself shall enjoy the exemptions obtaining in this village without paying
for the oil-mills and looms, the hire of the well-diggers (ulliyar), the
share (kanam) of the Brahmanas and of the king, the share of sengodi,[63]
the share of kallal,[64]
the share of kannittu (?), the share of corn ears (kadir), the
share of the headman, the share of the potter,[65]
the sifting of paddy, the price of ghee, the price of cloth (puttagam),
the share of the cloth (pattigai), the hunters (?) messengers, dancing-girls,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[66]
the grass, the best cow and the best bull, the share of the district (nattuvagai),
cotton threads (padan-gari), servants, nedumburai, palmyra
molasses, the fine to the accountant (karanam) and the fine of the minister,[67]
pattur-sarru, . . . . . . . . . . [68]
the tax (vari) on planting water-lilies, the share of the water-lilies,
the fourth part of the trunks, which is given of old trees of various kinds,[69]
including areca palms and cocoanut trees . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .
(L. 132) The grant (para-datti) was made in
the presence of the local authorities (?), of the ministers, and of the
secretaries.[70]
(L. 133.) [Three of the usual imprecatory verses.]
(L. 136.) Hail ! Written by His Majesty’s great
treasurer (Sri-Paramesvara-mahakanthagarin).
(L. 137.) He (viz., the donee) shall obtain
the houses, the house-gardens, and two patti of land.
Hail ! Let there be success ! Adoration !
No. 74. Udayendiram
plates of Nandivarman Pallavamalla.
This inscription has been already published by the Rev. T.
Foulkes in the Indian Antiquary (Vol. VIII, p. 273 ff.) and in the Manua
of the Salem District (Vol. II, p. 355 ff.). The original plates, together
with the originals of four other copper-plate inscriptions[71]
which were also edited by Mr. Foulkes, are preserved at Udayendiram,[72]
a village at the south-western extremity of the Gudiyatam talluqa of the North
Arcot district, and were kindly borrowed for me from their present owner by Mr.
F.A. Nicholson, I.C.S., Acting Collector of North Arcot. The present
whereabouts of two other copper-plate inscriptions from Udayendiram,[73]
of which Mr. Foulkes obtained transcripts in the Telugu character, I was unable
to ascertain. According to Mr. Foulkes, these two inscriptions formed part of a
find of “five, or, by another account, seven sets of copper-plate
inscriptions,” which was made in 1850 in a subterranean chamber in the Brahmana
street at Udayendiram. Mr. Foulkes then believed that the remaining three or
five sets of the find were lost. As, however, Mr. Foulkes’ other grants (I, II,
III, IV and V) are now preserved at Udayendiram and are five in number, I think
that they must be identical with the apparently missing five of the seven sets
discovered at Udayendiram in 1850.
The copper-plates which bear the subjoined inscription, are
five in number. When they reached my hands, they were strung on a ring, which
is cut and bears a circular seal. This contains, in high relief, on a
counter-sunk surface, a recumbent bull, which faces the proper right and is
placed on a pedestal between two lamps. Over the bull is a seated figure on a
pedestal, and between two symbols, which I cannot make out. The diameter of the
seal is 3 Ľ inches, and that of the ring 4 ˝ to 4 7/8 inches. The ring is about
3/8 inch thick. A comparison of this description of the ring and seal with that
given by Mr. Foulkes in the first paragraph of his edition of the plates,
suggests, that, when he examined the plates, they were accompanied by a different
ring and seal. Besides, the seal which is now attached to the plates, does not
resemble the seals of other Pallava grants, but is closely allied to the seal
of the Udayendiram plates of the Bana king Vikramaditya II. (Mr. Foulkes’ No.
V) and of the Ganga-Bana king Prithivipati II. Hastimalla (No. 76 below). I
therefore believe that it may have originally belonged to one of the two
Udayendiram grants of the Bana dynasty, which are now missing (Mr. Foulkes’
grants B and C), and that the original seal-ring of the Pallava plates may have
been attached by mistake to one of these two grants and lost along with the
latter.
The inscription consists of two distinct portions,— a grant
of the Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamall in the Sanskrit language and the
Grantha character (II. 1 to 105), and a short inscription of the time of the
Chola king Madirai-konda o-Parakesarivarman in the Tamil language and character
(II. 105 to 109), which, however, looks as if it had been written by the same
hand as the first or Pallava part of the inscription. Futher, the Grantha and
Tamil alaphabet of both portions of the inscription is considerably more modern
than that of other Pallava grants, and even than that of two other copper-plate
inscriptions of Madirai-konda Ko-Parakesarivarman.[74]
Consequently, the plates are either a forgery, or they are a copy, made at a
later date, of two inscriptions, one of Nandivarman Pallavamalla, and one
Madirai-konda Ko-Parakesarivarman, the originals of which are not within our
reach.
The Sanskrit portion of the inscription records that, in the
twenty-first year of his reign (I. 38), the Pallava king Nandivarman (v. 4, II.
36 f. and 37 f.), surnamed Pallavamalla (II. 36, 46 and 47), granted a village
to one hundred and eight Brahmanas (I. 64 f.). This grant was made at the
request of one of his military officers or vassals, named Udayachandra (v. 1
and 1. 61), who belonged to the race of Puchan (v. 2, I. 45 f. and v. 7), that
had been in the hereditary service of the Pallava race, and who resided at the
city of Vilvala (v. 2 and I. 44) on the river Vegavati (I. 41). This river
passes Conjeevaram, and falls into the Palaru near the village of Villivalam,
which accordingly must be the Tamil original of Vilvala, the Sanskrit name of
the capital of Udayachandra. The three opening verses refer to the god
Sadasiva, the chief Udayachandra, and the race of the Pallavas, respectively.
Then follows, in prose, a genealogy of the reigning Pallava king, the mythical
portion of which (I. 8 ff.) contains the following names:—
Brahma
Angiras
Brihaspati
Samyu
Bharadvaja
Drona
Asvatthaman
Pallava
The list of the historical descendants of Pallava from
Simhavishnu of Paramesvaravarman II. (I. 11ff.) need not be repeated here, because
it agrees with the list in the Kasakudi plates (p. 344), and because the
battles which Narasimhavrman I. And Paramesvaravarman I. Are reported to have
won,[75]
were noticed in the introduction to the Kuram plates (Vol. I, p. 145). A long
prose passage (I. 19 ff.) opens with the words: “The son of this
Paramesvaravarman (II.) (was);” is interrupted by verses 4 to 6, which refer to
the Pallava king Nandivarman; and appears to be taken up again by the words:
“His son was Nandivarman Pallavamalla” (I. 36 f.). Mr. Foulkes concludes from
this, that there were two successive Pallava kings of the name Nandivarman, the
second of whom was the son of the first and bore the distinctive surname
Pallavamalla. I do not think it probable that verse 4 to 6 are to be considered
as forming one sentence with the first prose passage (I. 19ff.), but would
prefer to treat these verses as a parenthesis, and the second prose passage (I.
36 f.) as the end of the same sentence which begins with the first prose
passage. In this way we obtain only one Pallava king named Nandivarman,
who bore the surname Pallavamalla and was the son of Paramesvaravarman II. This
statement is at variance with the Kasakudi plates, according to which
Nandivarman Pallavamalla was not the son of his predecessor, but belonged to an
entirely different branch of the Pallavas. Here is another point which might
induce us to stamp the Udayendiram plates as a forgery. For, it is difficult to
understand how one and the same king could call himself the son of his predecessor
in an inscription of his 21st year, and the son of somebody else in
an inscription of his 22nd year. Two explanations might, however be
attempted. Nandivarman may have thought it political to give himself out for
the adopted son of his predecessor; or it may be assumed that, through
mere carelessness, the scribe who drafted the inscription, used the word putra,
‘son’ (II. 19 and 37), while he wanted to represent Nandivarman only as a
successor, and not as the son, of Paramesvaravarman II.
The most interesting portion of the inscription is the
account of the services, which Udayachandra rendered to his royal master. When
Pallavamalla was besieged in Nandipura by the Dramila princes, Udayachandra
came to his rescue and killed with his own hand the Pallava king Chitramaya and
others (I. 46 ff.). The name Chitrmaya sounds more like a biruda than a
real name. Thus the ancient Pallava king Narasimha had the biruda
Ameyamaya, and Rajasimha that of Mayachara. It is improbable that the Dramila
princes whose leader was Chitramaya, were the relations of follower of
Nandivarman’s predecessor Pramesvaravarman II. and that they had to be overcome
by force, before Nandivarman could establish himself on the throne. Fother,
Udayachandra is said to have bestowed the kingdom many times on Nandivarman by
his victories at Nimba[vana], Chutavana, Samkaragrama, Nellur, Nelveli,
Suravarundur, &c. (I. 48 ff.). Of these localities, Nellur is the
head-quarter station of the present Nellore district. Another of them, Nelveli,
is mentioned a second time immediately after, as the place near which
Udayachandra killed the Sabara king Udayana (I. 52). The Sabaras are generally
identified with the modern Sauras, a hill-tribe in the Ganjam and Vizagapatam
districts. As, however, the different names of savage tribes are often treated
as synonyms by Sanskrit writers, and the Tamil name Nelveli cannot possibly be
located in the Telugu districts, it may be that the author of the inscription
is referring to one of the hill-tribes of the Tamil country, and that Nelveli
is meant for the modern Tinnevelly.[76]
An additional argument in favor of this view is that, immediately after the
description of the war with the Sabaras, the author refers to Udayachandra’s
achievements “in the Northern region also.” He there pursued the defeated the
Nishada chief Prithivivyaghra, who was performing an Asvamedha, and
drove him out of the district of Vishnuraja, which he subjected to the Pallava
king (I. 55 ff.). Nishada is, like Sabara, one of the words by which Sanskrit
writers designate savage tribes. The district of Vishnuraja, which was situated
to the north of the Pallava country, can be identified with certainty. As
Nandivarman was a contemporary o the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya II. who
reigned from A.D. 733-34 to 746-47, he was also a contemporary of the Eastern
Chalukya king Vishnuvardhana III. whose reign is placed by Dr. Fleet between
A.D. 709 and 746. He is evidently the Vishnuraja of the Udayendiram plates,[77]
and his district (vishaya) is the country of Vengi, over which the
Eastern Chalukyas ruled. The last two items in the list of Udayachandra’s deeds
are, that he destroyed the fort of Kalidurga,[78]
and that he defeated the Pandya army at the village of Mannaikudi (I. 59 ff.).
The grant, which was made by Nandivarman Pallavamalla at the
request of Udayachandra, consisted of the village of Kumaramangala-Vellattur,
which belonged to the district called Paschimasrayanadi-vishaya, and of two
water-levers (jala-yantra) in the neighbouring village of Korragrama,
which appear to have been added in order to supply the former village with
means of irrigation. As in the case of other grants, the original name of the
village was changed into Udayachandramangalam in commemoration of Udayachandra,
at whose instance the donation was made (I. 62 ff.). The description of the
boundaries of Udayachandramangalam is given in great detail (I. 65 ff.). Among
the boundaries we find, in the east, a small river; in the south, the temple of
Korragrama, the same village, a portion of which had been included in the
granted village; in the north, the village of Kanchidvara, which, in its Tamil
form Kanchivayil, is referred to in line 107 o the present inscription, and in
another copper-plate grant from Udayendiram; and in the north-east, the river
Kshiranadi, the Tamil name of which is Palaru. As the modern village of
Udayendiram is situated on the Palaru river; as the original of the present
inscription is preserved, and was most probably discovered, at Udayendiram; and
as the Tamil name Udayendiram bears a close resemblance to the Sanskrit name
Udayachandramangalam, and still more so to the forms
Udayendu-chaturvedimangalam and Udayendumangalam, which occur in two other
Udayendiram grants,— there is no doubt that Mr. Le Fanu is correct in
identifying the granted village of Udayachandramangalam with the modern
Udayendiram. This village is now situated on the northern bank of the Palaru,
while Udayachandramangalam is said to have been bounded by the Kshiranadi on
the north-east, and by an unnamed small river on the east. It must be therefore
assumed that either, as Mr. Le Fanu suggests, the Palaru has changed its bed,
or that the name Udayendiram has traveled across the river in the course of the
past eleven centuries. Paschim-asrayanadi-vishaya, the name of the district to
which the granted village belonged, is a literal Sanskrit translation of the
Tamil territorial term Mel-Adaiyaru-nadu, which, according to another
Udayendiram grant (No. 76 below), was a subdivision of the district of
Paduvur-kottam.
The remainder of the prose portion enumerated the Brahmana
donees (I. 75 ff.), which according to line 64, were one hundred and eight in
number. The actual number of the donees is, however, sixty-three, and that of
the shares one hundred and thirty-three. This discrepancy is a third point,
which suggests that the inscription may be a forgery.
Of the two concluding verses, the first (v. 7) refers to the
race of Puchan, and the second (v. 8) informs us that the inscription,— which, like
the Kuram and Kasakudi inscriptions, is styled a eulogy (prasasti, II.
101 and 105),— was composed by the poet Paramesvara, who also received one of
the shares of the granted village (I. 101 f.).
The Tamil endorsement (I. 105 ff.) is dated in the 26th
year of the reign of Madiraikonda— Ko-Parakesarivarman, i.e., of the
Chola king Parantaka I., and records that the villagers of Udayachandramangalam
agreed with those of the neighbouring village of Kanchivayil, which was also
called Iganmaraimangalam, to form one village of the two. Another copy of the
Tamil endorsement has been added on the first, originally blank side of the
first plate of another Udayendiram grant.
Translation
A.— Sanskrit
portion
Hail ! Prosperity!
(Verse 1.) I bow my head devoutly to Sadasiva, who is
seated in the position of profound meditation on the peak of the Sumeru
mountain for the welfare of the three worlds; whose two eyes are the sun and
the moon; who is united with Uma; who has conferred splendor on Udayachandra; (and)
who wears matted hair.
(V. 2.) Let him remain for a long time, the glorious
lord of Vilvalapura, the ornament of the race of Puchan, who has conferred the
kingdom on the Pallava (king) on many battle-fields, who is benevolent,
who is a chastiser of hostile armies, (and) who is renowned on earth!
(V. 3.) Let it remain in the world for a long time,
the race of the Pallavas, whose feet, (tender) as sprouts, are
worshipped by kings; whose hands, (tender) as sprouts, are bending under
the weight of the water (poured out) at donations; (and) who have driven
away (even) the slightest calamity by the multitude of (their)
excellent virtues!
(Line 8.) From the supreme soul was produced Brahma;
from Brahma, Angiras; from Angiras, Brihaspati; from Brihaspati, samyu; from Samyu,
Bharadvaja; from Bharadvaja, Drona; from Drona, Asvatthaman, the splendour of
whose power was immeasurable; (and) from him, Pallava, who drove away (even)
the smallest calamity from (his) race.
(L. 11.) In the race of Pallava, which thus
flourished in an uninterrupted line of regular descent, (was born)
Simhavishnu, a devout worshipper of Vishnu; from Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman,
whose valour equaled (that of) Mahendra; from him, Narasimhavarman, who
destroyed (the city of) Vatapi, just as Agastya destroyed (the demon)
Vatapi, (and) who frequently conquered Vallabharaja at Pariyala,
Manimangala, Suramara and other (places). His son (was) another
Mahendravarman. From him (came) Paramesvaravarman, who defeated the army
of Vallabha in the battle of Peruvalanallur; from him, Narasimhavarman, who was
a devout worshipper of d Mahesvara (and) a great patron of Brahmanas.
His (son was) the very pious Paramesvaravarman, whose beauty (darsana)
surpassed (that of all others), just as Paramesvara (Siva) has (one)
eye (darsana) more (than all others).
(L. 19.) The son of this Paramesvaravarman (was)
he who was a conqueror of all, like Bharata; who was immovable, like (Mount)
Meru; who broke the opposing (force of his) enemies by his own hands, as
the sun breaks the opposing (masses of) darkness by his own rays; who was
versed in all the fine arts (kala), just as the (full-) moon
possesses all digits (kala); who lowered the pride of Nriga, Nala (of)
Nishadha, Nahusha, Nabhaga, Bhagiratha and other (kings); whose powerful
right arm had become spotted by showers of streams of rutting-juice, which
oozed from the temples (of the elephants) of hostile kings; whose great fame, (which
resembled) a group of white water-lilies, filled (all) quarters;
whose lotus feet were rubbed by the multitude of the diadems of prostrate
kings; who resembled Cupid in beauty, the king of Vatsa in (the knowledge of)
elephants, Nakula in (the management of) horses, Arjuna in (the use
of) horses, Arjuna in (the use of) the bow, (and) Drona in
archery; who was versed in poems, dramas and stories; who was skilled in the bindumati,
gudhachaturthapada, prahelika, aksharachyutaka, matrachyutaka and smiliar (verses);[79]
who was a treasury of policy, a vessel of wealth, free from spots, a destroyer
of the power of the Kali (age), (and) devoted (to
liberality) as the Kalpaka (tree);-[80]
(V. 4.) The virtuous Nandivarman, the lord of the
Pallavas, (is) the death of enemies, a Cupid to women, unconquerable by
armies, rich in virtues, the refuge of subjects, (and) a Kalpa tree to
good men.
(V. 5.) Breaking in battle an army of elephants by
sharp arrows, this king, the lord of men (and) hero in war, shines like the
sun, the friend of the lotus, who gradually breaks the mass of darkness by the
bundles of (his) rays (and) rises over the mountain.
(V. 6.) Until the end of the world, the favorite (ornaments)
on earth of this renowned lord, the banner of the Pallavas, are the following:—
the victorious bow (which is) the ornament of (his) hand, (and)
the rutting-juice of hostile elephants at the head of battles, (which is)
the unguent of (his) body.
(L. 36.) His son[81]
was Nandivarman, the lord of men, the lord of the earth, the statesman,[82]
the wrestler of the Pallavas (Pallavamalla).
(L. 37.) While this lord of men was ruling the earth,
in the year which was completing the number twenty-one (of the years of the
reign) of this same Nandivarman, the request[83]
was made to the lord (viz., Nandivarman) by the chastiser of hostile
armies,[84]
the excellent hero, called Udayachandra, who was the lord of the river
Vegavati, the banks of which are adorned with bowers of areca-palms,
cocoanut-trees, ma |
