No. 52 to 54 wall shrine, & maha mandapa & nakulesvara shrine

No. 42 - On a boulder near Tiruvallam & No. 43 - Bilvanathesvara temple

No. 44 to 47 Bilvanathesvara shrine

No. 48 to 51 west, north, south wall of the shrine

No. 55 to 57 Bilvanathesvara shrine, south wall of the maha mandapa

No. 58 to 60 verandah round the Bilvan, maha mandapa, north of the tank

No. 61 to 63 north wall of the maha mandapa & west wall of the kitchen

No. 52.- On the west and south walls of the Bilvanathesvara shrine

This inscription is dated in the 20^th year of the reign of the Chola king Rajaraja I. and records the gift of a lamp by Nannamaraiyar or Nannaman,[1] the son of Tukkarai.  The donor belonged to the Vaidumba family and ruled over Ingallur-nadu,[2] a district of Maharajapadi.

The seven thousand (villages) of Marajavadi, the chief town of which seems to have been Valluru, are mentioned in an inscription of Rajadhiraja at Mindigal in the Kolar district (No. 279 of 1895) ; Marayapadi occurs in an inscription of Parthivendravarman at Takkolam in the North Arcot district (No. 14 of 1897) ; and a copper-plate inscription of Krishnaraya of Vijayanagara mentions some villages of the Marjavada-rajya, which are in the modern Cuddapah district.[3]  Consequently, Valluru has to be identified with the present village of Valluru in the same district.[4]  The Vaidumba king was defeated by the Chola kings Parantaka I.[5] and Virarajendra I. ;[6] and Vinayamahadevi, the mother of the Eastern Ganga king Vajrahasta III., belonged to the Vaidumba family.[7]

Hail ! Prosperity ! In the 20^th year (of the reign) of the glorious king Rajaraja Rajakesarivarman, alias Sri-Rajarajadeva, who, in his life of growing strength, during which, - (in) the belief that, as well as the goddess of fortune, the goddess of the great earth had become his wife, - (he) was pleased to destroy the ships (at) Kandalur-Salai and conquered by (his) army, which was victorious in great battles, Vengai-nadu, Ganga-padi, Nulamba-padi, Tadigai-padi, Kudamalai-nadu, Kollam, Kalingam, and Ila-mandalam, (the conquest of which) made (him) famous (in) the eight directions, - deprived the Selinas of (their) splendour at the very moment when [Udagai], which is worshipped everywhere, was (most) resplendent ; - Nannamaraiyar, the son of Tukkarai, the Vaidumba, who possessed Ingallur-nadu, (a district) of Maharajapadi, gave one perpetual lamp, (which) was to burn as long as the moon and the sun exist, to (the temple of) Tirutikkali-alvar at Tiruvallam in Miyarai-nadu, (a subdivision) of Paduvur-kottam.  For (maintaining this lamp he) gave 90 full-grown ewes, which must neither die nor grow old.[8]  These ninety ewes[9] . . . . . .. .

No. 53.- On the north wall of the Mahamandapa in the Bilvanathesvara temple.

This inscription consists of 21 lines and is dated in the 3^rd year of the reign of Parakesarivarman, alias Rajendra-Choladeva (I.).  It records that the inhabitants of Vanapuram (11. 9, 16 and 18), i.e. Tiruvallam,[10] sold 1,000 kuli of land to Somanatha (11. 6, 16, 18 and 20), (the son of ) Samkaradeva (1. 5 f.), whose name has been already met with in an inscription of Rajaraja I. (No. 51).  The same epithets, which precede the name of Samkaradeva’s father Tiruvaiyan in No. 51, are here prefixed to the name of Samkaradeva (11. 2 to 5), with nearly the same mistakes in spelling.[11]  A further allusion of Somanatha’s descent from the Western Ganagas is contained in Gangadevimanali (1. 11), the name which he bestowed on the land purchased by him.  Besides, Samkaradeva and Somanatha claim to be connected with the Vaidumba family[12] (1. 5).

I do not consider it worth while to publish the text of the second half of line 17 and of lines 18 to 21, which record that Somanatha assigned the land “to the Mahadeva temple of Tiru[vai]ya-Isvara, which the members of our family have caused to be built on the southern side of the temple of Tiruvallam-Udaiyar” (1. 18 f.), i.e., of the Bilvanathesvara temple, and that he granted 96 sheep for the maintenance of a lamp in the same temple (1. 20 f.).  The temple of Tiruvaiya-Isvara has been already mentioned in No. 51.

(Line 1.) Hail ! Prosperity ! In the 3^rd year (of the reign) of king Parakesarivarman, alias Sri-Rajendra-Soladeva, - I, Somanatha, (the son of) Ko[ng]uni[varman], the very righteous Maharaja, the supreme lord of Nipunilapura,[13] Srinatha, the glorious Sivamaharaja, the Vaidumba Samkaradeva, purchased from the citizens of Vanapuram in Karaivali, (a subdivision) of  Perumbanappadi, (a division) of Paduvur-kottam, (a district) of Jayankonda-Sola-mandalam, the cultivated land (called) Gangadevimanali, which I possess free of taxes.

(L. 11.) The eastern boundary of (this land is) to the west of the Manalikkal (channel), which flows to the south ; the southern boundary (is) to the north of the Kannakkal (channel), which flows to the piece (of land) of the carpenter ; the western boundary (is) to the east of the Kolukkuttu  (?) in the piece (of land) of the carpenters ; and the northern boundary (is) to the south of a channel which flows to the Sribalipatti (the god) Tiruvallam-udaiyar.

(L. 16.) We, the citizens of vanapuram, sold and gave by a deed of sale, with all exemptions, the land enclosed within these four boundaries, (which measures), not excluding the cultivated land,[14] one thousand kuli by the rod of sixteen spans, having received from Somanatha the whole of the purchase-money and the tax-money, (due) for these one thousand kuli, at the very place of the sale . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No. 54.- On the North wall of the Nakulesvara shrine in the Bilvanathesvara temple.

This inscription is dated in the 4^th year of the reign of Rajendra-Chola I.  Irayiravan Pallavayan (1. 4 f.), an officer of his who is known from several other inscriptions,[15] had built a shrine which he called Rajarajesvara[16] (1. 11 f. and 1. 16 f.), and which is apparently identical with the shrine on which the inscription is engraved.  For maintaining two lamps in this shrine, he purchased for 50 kasu from the inhabitants of Tiruvallam a piece of land which measured 2, 000 kuli, and which received the name Araisur-Vadagai (1. 15 f.) with an allusion to his native village of Araisur (1. 3 f.).

(Line 1.) Hail ! Prosperity ! In the 4^th year (of the reign) of king Parakesarivarman, alias Sri-Rajendra-Soladeva.  The hand-writing of us, the assembly of Tikkali-Vallam in Miyaru-nadu, (a subdivision) of Paduvur-kottam, (a district) of Jayankonda-Sola-mandalam.

(L. 2.) We have received 50 kasu, (which were) good (i.e., of full weight) (and) current at the time, from the hand of Irayiravan Pallavayan, alias Uttama-Sola-Pallavar[ai]yan,[17] a Perundaram[18] of the lord Sri-Rajendra-Choladeva (and) the lord of Ar[ai]sur in Pambuni-kurram, (a district) of Nittavinoda-valanadu.

(L. 9.) For these fifty kasu we sold the following land by the deed of sale to (the god) Chandesvaradeva (of the shrine) of Rajarajesvaram-Udaiyar, which he had caused to be built in the temple of Tiruvallam-udaiyar in our city.