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TWO CAVE INSCRIPTIONS FROM TRISIRAPALLI ROCK.
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and refers to the Choļa country. On the left pillar the Kavirt is called the beloved of the Pallava'; this means in prose that a Pallava king ruled over the country along the banks of the Kåvert river. This allusion and the fact, that the characters of the two pillar inscriptions remind us of those of the Pallava inscriptions at Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram, make it very probable that Guņabhara was a Pallava prince who ruled over the Chola country.
A.-PILLAR TO THE LEFT.
TEXT.
कावीरीबयनाभिरामससिलामारा[2] ममालाधराम् देवो वीच नदीप्रियः [3] प्रिय[गुणामप्येष रज्वेदिति [*] साथ[4] का गिरिकन्यका पितृकुलं हिलेह मन्ये गि[5] [रौ] नित्यन्तिष्ठति पलवस्य दयितामा झु[6] वाणा नदीम् ॥ [१] गुणभरनामनि राजन्यनेन लि[7] न लिङ्गिनि जानम् [1] प्रथताधिराय खोके वि. [8] पक्षवृत्तेः परावृत्तम् । [२] चोळविषयस्य शैली [2] मौलिरिवायं महामणिरिवास्थ [*] रगृहमेत[10] ज्योतिस्तदीयमिव गांकर ज्योतिः ॥ [३] शिला[ख] रे[11] ण जनिता सत्यसन्धस्य भौतिकी [1] मृतिः कीर्तिम[12] यी चास्य कृता तेनैव चाखती। [४*] निष्कथ] चला [स][18] मधायि [गुणभरे भक्तिः . .
TRANSLATION. (Verse 1.) Being afraid that the god who is fond of rivers (Siva), having perceived the Kåviri, 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 (Parpató, has, I think, left her father's family and resides permanently on this mountain, calling this river the beloved of the Pallava (king)..
(2.) While the king called Guņabhara 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.
looks like प. * In the transcripts, a small star * attached to a mark of punctuation, letter, or numeral in square brackets [ ], indicates that it did not exist in the original, but has been supplied. -Ed.
* Parvat calls Kåviri the wife of another, in order to prevent Siva from coveting her.
This whole verse has a double entendre. It contains allasions to the Indian logic (tarkafdstra), in which lingin means the subject of a proposition, linga the predicate of proposition and vipaksha an instance on the opposite side.
Satyasandha must have been a biroda of Gunabhsra. A statue of the king is also alluded to in the first verse on the right pillar.
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