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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI individual letters, attention may be drawn to the two forms of initial i used in iti, 1.16 and īsānē, 1. 14; n without dot in lingam, 1. 13; the tailless left member of kh in vikhyātā, 1.19; and n without a loop which is met with in several places. The letters n, bh and r occur each in two forms ; compare n in –varānām=, 1.4 and karmmani, 1.1 7; bh in bhavēt-, 1.17 and bhaktyā, 1.18 and r in Vapulēśvara, 1.16 and –vyavaharanayā, 1.20. The language is Sanskrit. The first nineteen lines are in verse and the remaining four in prose. The praśasti, as the composition is called in verse 18, has been carelessly composed. Notice, for instance, the curious mixture of Indravajrā and Vasantatilakā metres in verse 24. The name Vappulla, required by the metres of verses 5 and 8, is written as Vapulla. Verse 4 contains a clumsy metaphor describing Karna as a lion. The orthography shows the usual peculiarities of the reduplication of the consonant after r, the substitution of v for b and of s for ś as well as the use of m for an anusvāra before v (see -samvatsara, 1. 20).
As nearly half the portion of the praśasti is lost, it is not possible to give a complete account of its contents. As usual, the record opens with a verse invoking the blessings of some deity, probably Śiva.1 It then refers to a king whose name is lost, but who, we are told, was born from Kōkalla. From him was the illustrious Karnadēva who is described as an impending universal destruction and as one who had planted his foot on the extremely haughty heads of eminent kings. This Karna is evidently the well- known Kalachuri Emperor of that name who was a terror to contemporary rulers. The first two princes mentioned in verse .2 were plainly his father Gāngēyadēva and grandfather Kōkalla II. Verse 5 introduces Vappulla2 who is described as devoted to Karna’s lotus-like feet. The following verses give his pedigree. From some distinguished person whose name is lost, was born Vijjalarānaka.3 His younger brother was Vigraharāja who, it seems, was the father of Vappulla (v.8). The next two verses (9 and 10) are devoted to the description of the battles fought by Vappulla. Two of these are named in the extant portion viz., the ghōtaka-vigraha or the Battle of Horses (v.9) and the Battle of the Yellow Mountain in which Vappulla, having defeated the forces of Trilōchana, equalled in glory Arjuna, who had overcome the prowess of the three-eyed god Śiva (v.10). We are next told that Vappulla erected a temple of Śiva in the village Kādambarī in which he caused a linga under the name of Vappulēśvara to be installed by sages. Another temple dedicated to Śrīvatsa (Vishnu) was surrounded by four small shrines of other deities, the name of one of whom, Lakshmī-Nārāyaņa, occurs in the preserved portion. The temple had in front of it a large orchard of mango and other trees. The praśasti was composed by Vijhūka4, the son of Hrishīkēśa (v. 18).
The scribe seems to have discovered after writing v. 13 that he had omitted two
verses. These he added below. The first of them is almost completely broken away ; the 1No deity is named in the extant portion, but v. 11, which speaks of a temple of Śankara erected by
Vappulla, suggests that the inscription was originally put up at it. It, therefore, probably opened with a
verse in praise of Śiva. |
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