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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
The Tiruvalangadu copper-plates of the sixth year of Rajendra-Chola I ...Previous | (Tiruvalangadu copper-plates) | Next... Translation
of the Sanskrit text (Verse
1.) May bashful Bhavani (Parvati) who, seeing her (own)
from (reflected) in the gem on the hood of the king of
serpents (which forms) the necklace of Srikantha (Siva),
(and) (suspecting) it (to be) another woman,
looks askance, excited and jealous, at her husband who, with a heart
all-desirous of (her) embrace, prays (for it) bowing
at (her) feet, grant you uninterrupted prosperity! (V.
2.) May that pond in which the royal swan of heroism sports ; the
sun (which delights) the lotuses (viz.,) the learned ;
the sole caravan-leader of the vast crowd of travelers on the two
routes (viz.,) (the temporal), where the results (of
actions) are seen, and (the transcendental), where the
results are not seen ; the supreme ruler of all royal races ; the
ocean where the multitude of gems (viz.,) all virtues, has
its birth ; — the Chola family —
rule for ever the circle of the earth, redressing the
grievances of all ! (V.
3.) The letters (of the alphabet) limited in number are only
fifty ; (whereas) the virtues of (the kings of) the Solar
race are resplendent beyond number.
How can I describe these (virtues) with those (letters)
? Oh ! Mother Sarasvati ! secure for me (the help of) other
letters (lipi) (also)[1]. (V.
4.) The eye of the three worlds was the Sun[2]
from whom sprang the sprouts of all (families of) kings.
From him (i.e., the Sun) was born by concentration (manana),
Manu,[3]
the first of kings whose name became (thus) conformable to (its)
meaning. (V.
5.) Great Ikshvaku[4]
was born (as) his son ; of him, in great battles the enemies
of gods (i.e., the danavas) were greatly afraid. The three worlds, though completely immersed I the ocean of
his spotless fame, (still) enjoyed extreme delight.[5] (V.
6.) (Then) came forth his son, the heroic Vikukshi,[6]
who was the husband of the youthful Earth adorned by the girdle (viz.,)
the waves of all (surrounding) oceans, (and) whose
lotus feet were resplendent by the luster (proceeding from)
the diadems of many crowds of bowing kings. (V.
7.) To him was born as son the king named Puranjaya, whose abundant
prowess and heroism were well known and the expansive white parasol
of whose blooming fame, having spread over the whole surface of the
entire universe, was (still found to be) in excess. (V.
5.) Great Ikshvaku[7]
was born (as) his son ; of him, in great battles the enemies
of gods (i.e., the danavas) were greatly afraid. The three worlds, though completely immersed I the ocean of
his spotless fame, (still) enjoyed extreme delight.[8] (V.
8.) This mine of prowess, because (he) sat upon the hump of
Hari (i.e., Indra) who had assumed the form of a bull, (and)
killed in battle the warriors of the enemies of gods, bore on this
account the name Kakutstha[9] (i.e., one who sits
on the hump). (V.
9.) (People) say that his son Kakshivat was a king of
unopposed power, whose fame was sung by the celestial singers (gandharva)
in the houses of gods ; and the light of the moon (viz.,) the
reflection of his spotless white parasol, extinguished the fatigue (of
the people) on the surface of (this) earth.[10] (V.
10.) His son was Aryyama, the lord of the earth, who obtained the
Lakshmi (of victory) by stirring the ocean of his enemy (forces)
with the churning rod of his mountain (like) arm ; (and)
whose greatness was pre-eminently extolled. (V.
11.) In his family was born the king (named) Analapratapa,
whose magnanimity was well known in the world, and the fire of whose
prowess sprang forth from his tree (like) shoulders[11]
rubbing against the bow-string, and destroyed (his) enemies. (V.
12.) The full-moon (in swelling) the ocean of his (i.e.,
Analapratapa’s) family was Vena, the foremost of kings.
His son was king Prithu, whose prosperity was great, who was
the chief of rulers, (and) who, like heroism incarnate for
putting down injustice (in
this world), came forth (clad) in mail, wearing a diadem
of gems and holding a bow of matchless strength[12]
with the string (drawn) and the arrow (set) from
Vena’s right arm which was churned (for that purpose) by
chiefs of ascetics. (V.
14.) In this family was born a king who, having killed the demon
Dhundhu of enormous strength, (bore) on earth the name
Dhundhumara.[13] This king also (having
become) the sole resort of virtues, ruled the whole earth. (V.
15.) In that family was born king Yuvanasva[14]
who had no second (to him) in austerity, celebrity, truth and
(other) good qualities ; all people well understood his
prowess to be a rampart-wall in protecting the whole world, ever
increasing on all sides. (V.
16.) The son of that (king), whose greatness was widespread (and)
who was respected by (those) who were (themselves)
deserving of respect, was Mandhatri,[15]
the master of courage, wisdom, love, prosperity and learning.
(He), the birth-place of mercy, ruled for a long time
the earth as far as the Lokaloka mountain[16]
as (if he were) the embodiment of the protective power
itself. (V.
17.) Begotten (of him) was his son (known as) king Muchukunda,[17] who kept himself awake in
the duty of protecting the camp of the army of gods which was
attacked by the forces of powerful demons ; who was engrossed in the
sleep obtained (as boon) through the grace of the lord of
gods (i.e., Indra) and whose eyes, opening in anger,
immediately consumed the crafty demon Kalayavana and (thus)
pleased Mukunda (Vishnu). (V. 18.) In that family was also born he of immense prosperity who was a store-house of celebrated heroism, whose name was known (to the world) as Valabha, who offered up (his) enemies as moths to the flames of (his) arrows and founded (the city of) Valabhi. (V.
19.) To him was born (the king) named Prithulaksha,[18] who, at request of crowds
of gods and demons, set whirling in the ocean the huge mountain
Mandara for (the purpose of) securing nectar. (V.
20.) To him was born a son (known as) parthivachudamani, who
was a mine of power and who, while Mukunda (Vishnu) was
giving the gods a drink of nectar, destroyed the army of the demons
(who were disturbing). (V.
21.) Dirghabahu, the foremost of the virtuous and a jewel of that
race, then became the paramount sovereign.
Learned men say that the fire of his prowess quenched
the grievances of
the virtuous.[19] (V.
22.) He, king Chandrajit, the parental home of the goddess of
victory, conquered the unconquerable army of the enemies of gods and
(also) the Moon who had carried away the wife of his teacher
(Brihaspati). (V.
23.) His son Samkriti became the emperor at the close of the Krita
age. That he highly reddened
(i.e.,
pleased) the earth with the (white) rays of the moon of (his)
fame is (indeed) strange. (V.
24.) A jewel in that family was the king known as Panchapa the
victorious, who, by the excellence of his body, surpassed the
five-arrowed
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