PART-I
SANSKRIT
INSCRIPTIONS
Round
the shrine of Rajasimhesvara
TRANSLATION
(Verse
1). May (Ganga) purify
you ! â she who springs from the jewel (on the head) of
Sthanu (Siva), appearing. . . . . black by the splendour of
(his) neck and red by the rays of the gems on the
hoods (of his snkes), who fills the lake of the three
worldsâ¦..
(2.)â¦..After
him (there was) that sage Angiras, who was born from his
(viz., Brahmanâs) mind.
His son was (Brihaspati) the minister of Sakra (Indra)
and preceptor of the gods. His son was Samyu.
From him, who possessed terrible power and was honoured in
the three worlds, there took birth that illustrious chief of sages,
Bharadvaja by name, who became the source of the race of the
Pallavas.
(3.)
From this lovely one came Drona, the highly honoured preceptor of
the Pandavas (and) Kurus ; from him the great Asvatthaman,
who deprived princes of their constancy and pride.
Just as the first-born Manu, his son, Pallava by name, became
the founder of a race of brave and victorious kings, who enjoyed the
whole earth :-
(4.)
Of the Pallava princes, who were pious, who destroyed the
excessively great pride of the Kali (age), who spoke the
truth, who were profound, whose minds knew how to practice the trivarga,
who assiduously honoured the aged, who forcibly subdued lust and
the other internal foes, who excelled in the knowledge of weapons,
who were firm, mighty and endowed with polity and modesty.
(5.)
Just as Guha (also called Subrahmanya or Kumara) took
birth from the supreme lord (Siva), the destroyer of the warlike (demon)
Pura, thus from the supreme lord Ugradanda,
who was born in the race of these (viz., the Pallavas) the
destroyer of the city of Ranarasika, there took birth a very pious
prince (Subrahmanyah Kumarah), the illustrious Atyantakama,
the chief of the Pallavas, who crushed the multitude of his foes by
his power (or spear), whose great statesmanship was well-known
and who had got rid of all impurity (by walking) on the path
of the Saiva doctrine.
(6.)
Like Manmatha (Kama), he charmed refined women in secret ;
like Vasava (Indra), he constantly protected those, who
frequented the path of the three Vedas ; like Madhva (Vishnu),
he tore the hearts of the enemies of sages, twice-born and gods ;
and like Vittada (kuvera), he gratified good people with
abundant wealth.
(7.)
If in the Krita (age) kings like Dushyanta, who saw the gods
and were engaged by (Saints) like
Kanva, would hear a heavenly voice without body, that is not a
matter of wonder ; but ah ! this is extremely astonishing, that
Sribhara
has heard that voice in the Kali age, from which good qualities keep aloof.
(8.)
May Ranajaya
be victorious for a long time, who humbled those princes, who were
puffed up with the pride of abundant prosperity, which they had
acquired by polity and prowess, depriving them of their intelligence
in the mere space of knitting his brows, and who, like Purushottama (Vishnu)
, was born to recue from the ocean of sin the sinking people,
who were swallowed by the horrid monster, (called) the
Kali age !
(9.)
While this prince enjoyed the whole world, which he had conquered by
valour combined with polity, and in which he had killed rebels and
humbled kings, he erected this extensive and wonderful house of Hara
(siva), which resembles his fame and the laughter of
Hara.
(10.)
May Samkara (Siva,) whose terrible ornaments are the coils of
the kind of serpents, and who is praised by the hosts of the kings
of gods and of demons, reside for a long
time in this temple, (Called) the holy
Rajasimha-Pallavesvara !
(11.)
May the bull-marked (Siva) always lend his presence to this
temple of stone, called Rajasimhesvara, which touches the clouds
with its top, which robs Kailasa of its beauty, and which was built
by that pious king of Kings,
who made all quarters
obedient to his orders and (who proved) a royal lion (Rajasimha) to the dense troops of the
elephants of his daring foes !
(12.)
May Rajasimha, the conqueror in battle (Ranajaya), the bearer
of prosperity (Sribhara), the wonderful archer (Chitrakarmukha),
the unrivalled hero (Ekavira), who has Siva for his
crest-jewel (Sivachudamam),
for a long time protect the earth !
TRANSLATION
(Niche
1.) The illustrious Rajasimha.
He whose desires are boundless. The conqueror in battle. The
lovely.
(2.)
The unconquered. The
wrestler with his foes. The fearless.
The mighty.
(3.)
He who is eager for conquest. The
excessively fierce in battle. The
bearer of prosperity. The
great statesman. (He
who resembles) the
sun in rising.
(4.)
The cloud (which showers) wealth.
The granter of safety. The
ornament of his race. The
destroyer of his enemies.
(5.)
He whose power is rising. He
whose fame is rising. He
who boasts of the bull (as his sign). He whose sign is the
bull.
(6.)
He whose possesses terrible prowess.
He who is rising ever and ever.
The exalter and lovely.
He who is endowed with terrible bravery.
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(7.)
The extremely noble. He
who is to be conquered (only)
by submissiveness. The
lion in battle.
(8.)
The spotless. The great
jewel of Kanchi. He who
possesses harsh valour.
The emperor.
(9.)
He who is compassionate to the distressed.
He whose companion is the bow.
He whose doubts are solved.
The guileless.
(10.)
The thunderbolt to his foes. The
unrivalled wrestler. He
whose deeds are wonderful. He
who possesses the knowledge of elephants.
(11.)
The fulfiller of wishes. He whose refuge is Isana (Siva).
(He who resembles) the moon in rising. He who
resembles the cloud (in showering gifts).
(12.)
The destroyer of hostile empires.
The crest-jewel of princes.
He who is continually showering (gifts.) The king of
kings.
(13.)
He who possesses the knowledge of musical instruments.
The wonderful archer. The
lion among heroes. He
who is desirous of prosperity.
(14.)
The altogether auspicious. The
crest-jewel of warriors. He
who is sporting with the goddess of prosperity. (He who
resembles) Arjuna in battle.
(15.)
The favourite of the goddess of prosperity.
(He who resembles) Rama in war.
The ruler of the whole earth.
The dispeller of warriors.
(16.)
He who is fearful in battle. He
who possesses unbounded power.
The lord of the three worlds.
He who showers gifts.
(17.)
The fulfiller of desires. He
who is compassionate to the poor.
He whose gifts never cease.
He who is endowed with brilliant courage.
(18.)
He who goes to war (only in order to procure the means) for
gifts. The constantly
just. He whose heart is
pure. He whose (only)
armour is justice.
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(19.)
The conqueror of wealth in battle.
He whose bow excites terror.
The invincible. He
who is modest (is spite of his) virtues.
The sun of the earth. The
spotless. The ocean of arts. He
who is firm in battle. He
who goes to anger (only) at the proper time.
The subduer of the wicked. The
sun of the Pallavas.
(20.)
The omnipotent. The
benevolent. The constantly active. The
lion among men.
(21.)
He whose fame is pure. He
who resembles Parta (Arjuna) in valour.
The terrible and lovely.
He who is liberal (at sacrifices).
(22.)
The fearless. The great wrestler.
The madly excited. The
madly passionate.
(23.)
The possessor of the world. He
who resembles Mahendra in heroism.
The powerful. He
who resembles Manu by his deeds.
(24.)
The diplomatic., The
favourite of Sripati (Vishnu). The hero in battle.
The sun of at the end of the world.
(25.)
He who is firm in battle . The
jewel of protection. The
fierce in battle. (He who shows) valour
in battle.
(26.)
He whose strength is unequalled.
The destroyer of his enemies.
He whose valour is unbounded.
He who is fond of hoses.
(27.)
The matchless. He whose commands re unbroken.
The sudden thunderbolt.
He whose valour never fails.
(28.)
He to whom the provinces bow. The
unopposed. He whose
power is wonderful. He
who like (to issue) orders.
The wonderfully brave.
(29.)
The irresistible in attacking.
The conqueror of (all) quarters.
He who is unrestrained in battle.
(He who resembles) the
king of Vatsa (in the knowledge of ) elephants.
(30.)
He whose commands are blazing.
The supreme lord of the earth.
He whose punishments are terrible. The highly proud.
(31.)
The highly brave. The
highly rising. He who rises higher and higher.
He whose commands are terrible.
(32.)
The abode of virtues. (He who resembles) spring in rising.
He whose beauty is unrivalled.
The majestic.
(33.)
He who resembles Upendra (Vishnu) in valour.
The fulfiller of hopes.
The ornament of his race.
He who is exalted by virtues.
(34.)
He whose desires are lofty. The
destroyer of rebels. The
unrivalled archer. The
famous.
(35.)
The religious. The refuge of the distressed.
He who is kind to refugees.
The destroyer of plagues.
(36.)
(He who resembles) Tumburu (in the knowledge of) musical
instruments. He whose authority is the (Saiva) doctrine.
He who is adorned with (the power of issuing) orders.
He who is fond of legends.
(37.)
The daring. The unimpeded. The
follower of the (Saiva) doctrine.
The restless. The
highly rising. The subduer of
rebels. The unrivalled
king. He who resembles
Death in valour. The
receptacle of victory. The
black-robed. The subduer of the haughty.
(38.)
The naturally profound. He whose eyes are his spies.
He whose goad is knowledge.
The refuge of the distressed.
(39.)
The subduer of villains. He
who showers gifts. The devotee of Devadeva (Siva). He whose
speed is unrestrainable.
(40.)
The graceful. The
highly brave. He whose
anger is fierce. He who
is making conquests (Only for the sake of ) justice.
(41.)
The wood-fire. The
bestower of prosperity on his country.
The sinless. The barrier of justice.
(42.)
The far-seeing. He
whose commands are proud. The
follower of polity. He
who pleases the eyes.
(43.)
He whose deeds are blameless. He
whose profundity is unfathomable.
He who showers (gifts) without clouds.
He who possesses no small prowess. (44.)
He who is afraid (only) of injustice.
The destruction of his enemies.
The possessor of the earth.
The irresistible.
(45.)
He whose anger is not fruitless. The destroyer of his foes.
He whose power is unresisted. The unreproached.
(46.)
The death of his enemies. The
unimpeded. The daring. The gentle-minded.
(47.)
The ocean of safety. He whose good qualities are well-known. The
constantly active. He who is skilled in expedients.
(48.)
The scent-elephant. He
who possesses the grace of Cupid.
The reviver of poetry. He
who goes to anger (only) with good reason.
(49.)
He whose punishments are fierce.
He whose anger is unbearable.
The shading tree. The ornament of the earth.
(50.)
The noose of Varuna. The
ocean of firmness. The emperor.
He who is fond of elephants.
(51.)
He who has no enemies (left). The unbarred. He who distresses
his enemies. The
crest-jewel of the world.
(52.)
The lion among princes. The
destroyer of armies. The
liberal. The formidable.
(53.)
He whose valour is terrible. The elephant amount
kings. He whose grace
is pleasant. He whose
eyes are the sciences.
(54.)
(He who resembles) Bhagadatta (in the knowledge of) elephants.
He whose grace is extraordinary.
(He who resembles) the lion in valour.
(He who resembles) Narada (in the playing of) the
lute.
(55.)
The devotee of Samkara (Siva). The
foremost among heroes. He
who knows the truth. The
devotee of Isvara (Siva).
TRANSLATION
(Niche
14.) He whose arrows never fail.
He whose arrows are unbearable.
(15.)
He whose arrows are terrible. He
whose arrows are (ever) raised.
(16.)
He whose bow is terrible.
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(17.)
The never perplexed.
(18.)
He who showers (i.e.amply fulfils) desires.
He who resembles Indra in grace.
(19.)
The destroyer of his enemies. The
destroyer in battle.
(20.)
The irresistible.
TRANSLATION
(Verse
1.) May the motionless, the lord, the first of gods for ever
joyfully dwell in this matchless (temple of) Mahendrasvara, which was constructed near (the temple of)
Rajasimhesvara by Mahendra, who sprang . . . . . (from) the
chief of the princes of the holy Bharadvaha-gotra, from that Ujita,
whose bravery frightened the elephants of rival kings !
(2.)
May the skin-robed together with the troops of his attendants. The
Guhas, be present at this dwelling, (Called) the holy
Mahendresvara, which was constructed (near) the temple of the
holy Rajasimhesvara by the illustrious Mahendra, the son of king
Rajasimha, who sprand from t hat Lokaditya (i.e., the sun of the
world), whose valour dried up the army of Ranarasika, just as
the heat of the sun does the mud !
(3.)
May Isa together with Uma graciously take for his permanent dwelling
this temple or Mahendresvara, which was erected near Rajasimhesvara
by Mahendra, the son of king Rajasimha, the lion among the heroes of
the earth, who produced another Krita age by his sinless
conduct !
(4.)
May Mahesvara, the refuge of all gods demons, who puts an end to
time and has made an end of (the demon) Pura, always (take
up) his residence . . . . .
The
temple of Mahendravarmesvara
TRANSLATION
Adoration
to Siva !
(Verse
1.) She, who was the dearly beloved mistress of her husband, the
supreme lord, who was famed by the name of Kalakala, whose sign was
the bull,
and the strength of whose bow had become manifest at the destruction
of cities, just as the daughter of the king of mountains (Parvathi)
is the dearly beloved mistress of her husband, the supreme lord
(Siva), whose sign is the bull, and the strength of whose bow
has become manifest at the destruction of (the demon) the
Pura ; -
(2.)
She, who is resplendent, as she has attained the mighty position of
favourite with king Narasimhavishnu, who has split the hearts of his
foes, and who has devoted himself to the protection of the circle of
the world, and as thus she seems to have subdued the pride of
Pushkaradevata (i.e. Lakshmi, the wife of the god Narasimha
â Vishnu) ; -
(3.)
That Rangapataka, who was, as it were, the banner (pataka) of
women, caused to be built this lovely dwelling of (Siva,)
whose crest-jewel is the moon.
No.30.
FIFTH NICHE TO THE RIGHT OF FRONT ENTRANCE
TRANSLATION
Prosperity
!
(Verse
1.) She, who, full of loveliness, softness, grace and cleanliness
seemed to be the master-piece of the first creator, whose skill had
attained perfection at last, after he had created thousands of
good-looking women ; -
(2.)
She, who was charming through genuine sweetness, who was adorned
with grace, coquetry and feeling, who, like the art of attraction, .
. . . .
No.31.
A PALLAVA INSCRIPTION IN A CAVE-TEMPLE NEAR PANAMALAI
A
facsimile of this inscription was kindly forwarded to me by Mr.
Raghavendracharya of Vanur. It
consists of one Sanskrit verse, which is identical with the last
verse of Rajasimhaâs
large inscription at Kanchi (No.24, above). Hence it may be
concluded, that the Panamalai Cave was founded by Rajasimha and that
in his time the Pallava ruled as far south as Panamalai.
No.32.
A PALLAVA INSCRIPTION FROM AMARAVATI
The
subjoined Sanskrit inscription is engraved on three sides of an
octagonal pillar,
which was excavated at Amaravati by Mr. R. Sewell and sent by dr.
Burgess to the Madras Museum. The
top of the pillar and some letters of the uppermost lines of the
inscription have broken off. The
inscription has hitherto remained a puzzle, as each line seems to
end incomplete. Finding,
that the first words of some lines were connected with the last
words of the following lines, I was led to suppose that the
inscription must begin from the bottom and not from the top.
Curiously enough, this is really the case.
If the inscription is read upwards, we find that it consists
of eleven complete verses and of a prose, passage, the end of which
is lost through the mutilation of the pillar at the top.
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The
inscription opens with an invocation of Buddha and with a mythical
genealogy of Pallava, the supposed founder of
the Pallava dynasty.
Brahman
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Bharadvaja
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Sudhaman
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Drona
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Asvatthama,
married to the Apsaras Madani
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Pallava
Verse
8 gives a popular etymology of the name Pallava.
Then there follow the names of seven Pallava kings : -
1.Mahendravarman,
Son of Pallava.
2.Simhavarman
I., Son of 1.
3.Arkavarman,
Son of 2.
4.Ugravarman.
6.Nandivarman,
Son of 5, Sri-Simhavishnu.
7.Simhavarman
II.
The
inscription contains no information about the relationship, which
existed between 3 and 4, 4 and 5, 6 and 7. Neither does the
genealogy agree with the lists derived by Mr. Foulkes
and Mr. Fleet from other Pallava
inscriptions, although similar names of kings occur in them.
For these reasons great care should be taken in using the
above list for historical purpose.
From
the incomplete prose passage at the end of the inscription, we learn
that, on his return from an expedition to the north, Simhavarman II.
Came to a place sacred to lost part of the pillar must have recorded
a donation, which the king made to Buddha.
Dhanyaghata
or Dhanyagataka is evidently identical with Dhanyakata or
Dhanyakataka, âcorn-townâ the well-known old name of Amaravati.
The use of gha instead of ka can perhaps be
explained by the Tamil habit of softening a single consonant between
two words.â
TRANSLATION
(Verse
1.) May the dust of the glorious, feet of Bhavadvish,
which thickly covers
the multitude of brilliant crest-jewels of the lords of gods and of
demons, for a long time show you (the way to) supreme glory !
(2.)
From the first creator (Brahman) there sprang a pure sage,
called Bharadvaja, who mastered the srutis ; from him ocean (uniting)
the rivers of speech, Angiras by name ; from his the renowned
sage Sudhaman ;
(3.)
From him a sage called Drona, who thoroughly knew all agamas and who possessed terrible might.
In order to obtain a son who would found a race, he strove to
please the eight-formed (Siva) by austerities.
(4.)
By the favour of Sambhu, there arose to him a brilliant (son), famed
by the name of Asvatthaman, just as at morn the brilliant sun rises
over the eastern mountain.
(5.)
Once, surrounded by (other) celestial maidens, the famous
nymph Madani, who wished to see the abode of the hermits, entered
the path of sight of that ascetic.
(6.)
The saint approached her, while, seated amongst a group of asoka-trees,
she was wistfully regarding the male swans, which were afraid of
being separated from their beloved ones, whenever they lost sight of
them behind a lotus of the lake, which was agitated by the wind.
(7.)
Perceiving him who resembled Cupid in the dress of a saint, she lost
her self-control, just as Uma on seeing Sarva.
Then the nymphs united the couple, which had conceived a deep
affection (towards each other)
(8.)
In due time, the nymph gave birth to a protector of the earth, which
is girt by the ocean. The
father called his son Pallava, as he was lying
on a couch (covered) with a heap of sprouts (pallava).
(9.)
From him came the ruler of the earth Mahendravarman ; from him the
valiant Simhavarman ; from him Arkavarman ; after him Ugravarman ;
then Nandivarman from Sri-Simhavishnu.
(10.)
There arose that Simhavarman, in whose audience-hall darkness is
transformed into dawn by the splendour of the jewels on the heads of
many princes, and whom people call (the lord) of eighteen lakshas
of horses and elephants.
(11.)
This hero for along time protected the earth, whose garment in the
ocean, whose pearl-necklace is the Ganga, and whose earnings are
Meru and Mandara.
(Line
28.) Once, while his
back, his flanks and his front were guarded by all his brave vassals
and tributaries (mandalika-samanta), he marched to the peak
of Sumeru, in order to place (there) the fame, which he had
acquired by conquering all quarters.
His elephants, which resembled the peaks of the mountain of
the gods (Meru), tore with claws (!) of their feet the gold,
and his horse, walking on those pieces (of gold), made the
sky appear like a canopy by the gold-dust rising under their hoofs.
There, in order to remove the fatigue caused by wandering
over the whole world, he passed a few days, enjoying the shade of
the (Ganga), the Godavari and the Krishnaverna ,
he perceived (a place sacred to) the lord Vitaraga (Buddha),
named the illustrious town of Dhanyaghata.
Having regarded it with curiosity, and having humbly
aproached and saluted the tutelar deities, which were charged with
the protection of the whole sacred place (kshetra), he
listened to a discourse on the law
. . . in a secluded spot. Having
heard it, saluted the highest-born
. . . and spoke thus : âI also, O lord ! (shall erect a
statue?) of the lord at this very place, ornamented with jewels,
gold, and silver.â After
he had thus spoken, the lord said : âWell, well, lay-worshipper
Simhavarman ! Here [ at ] the place sacred to the highest
Buddhaâ¦â Then having saluted . . . in Dhanyaghataka. . .
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Nos.
33 AND 34. TWO CAVE-INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE TRISIRAPALLI ROCK
The
subjoined inscriptions are engraved on two pillars in a rock-cut
cave not far from the summit of the well-known rock at Trisirapalli
(Trichiropoly). They are both somewhat worn.
The left pillar was found covered by a modern wall, which the
temple-authorities temporarily removed at the request of the
collector, W. A. Willock, C.S.
On each of the two pillars are four Sanskrit verses.
Besides, the lower part of the left pillar bears a few
unintelligible Sanskrit words and a much defaced inscription in old
Tamil characters.
The
two inscriptions record, that a king Gunabhara, who bore the birudas
Purushotama, Satrumalla and Satyasamdha, constructed a temple of
Siva on the top of the mountain and placed in it a linga and
a statue of himself. Each
of the two pillars mentions the river Kaveri, i.e., the Kaveri, on
whose banks Trisirapalli is situated, and referes to the Chola
country. On the left
pillar the Kaviri is called âthe beloved of Pallavaâ ; this
means in prose that a Pallava king ruled over the country along the
banks of the Kaveri river. This
allusion and the fact, that t he characters of the two pillar
inscriptions remind us of those of the Pallava inscriptions at
Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram, make it very probable that Gunabhara
was a Pallava prince, who rulld the Chola country.
TRANSLATION
(Verse
1.) Being afraid, that the god who is fond of rivers (Siva), having
perceived the Kaviri, whose waters please the eye, who wears a
garland of gardens, and who possesses lovely qualities, might fall
in love (with her), the daughter of the mountain (Parvati)
has, I think, left her fatherâs family and resides permanently
on this mountain, calling this river the beloved of the Pallava (king).
(2.)
While the king called Gunabhara is a worshipper of the linga,
let the knowledge, which has turned back from hostile (vipaksha)
conduct, be spread for a long time in the world by this linga !
(3.)
This mountain resembles the diadem of the Chola province, this
temple of Hara (Siva) its chief jewel, and the splendour of
Samkara (Siva) its splendour.
(4.)
By the stone-chisel a material body of Satyasamdha was executed,
and by the same an eternal body of his fame was produced.
TRANSLATION
(Verse
1.) When king Gunabhara placed a stone-figure in the wonderful
stone-temple on the top of the best of mountains, he made in this
way
Sthanu (Siva) stationary
and became himself stationary (i.e.immortal) in the worlds
together with him.
(2.)
King Satrumalla built on this mountain a temple of Girisha (Siva),
the husband of the daughter of the king of mountains, in order
to make he name Girisha (i.e. the mountain dweller) true to
its meaning.
(3.)
After Hara (Siva) had graciously asked him : âHow could I,
standing in a temple on earth, view the great power of the Cholas or
the river Kaviri ?â â king Gunabhara, who resembled
Manu in his manner of rulling, assigned to him this
mountain-temple, which touches the clouds.
(4.)
Thus having joyfully placed on the top (of the mountain) a
matchless stone-figure of Hara (Siva), which he caused to be
executed, that Purushottama, who bore Siva fixed in his mind, made
the loftiness of the mountain fruitful.
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