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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA,
(VOL. III.
known. In four cases the short u is marked in such a way that it might be mistaken for a conjunct r, viz. puo (at the end of 1. 19), tuld and purusha (1. 36), and samudra (1. 39). There are certain peculiar mistakes which repeat themselves in this inscription. In line 14, the long as well as the short i are attached to the tt of pottine (for potrinë), and the same mistake recurs in connection with the fr of Sri in line 52. In tadiya (1. 11) and pdlaniyê (1. 89), the short i is ased instead of the long i. To the ti of koféra in line 15, and to the si of vira-si in line 23, the sign of d is affixed in addition to the í and i, respectively. In dana (1.69) and add (1. 70), the d has two signs of a affixed to it in each case. Both the vowels ri and i are attached to d and r, respectively, in drisha (1. 62) and vritti (1. 64). In some conjunct consonants of which the last element is r, and which are followed by a long d, ther is added to the sign of length instead of to the group itself. For instance, the of daishfrá (1.4), asid-gráma (1.59), and drán (1. 89), instead of being added to shț, dg, and d respectively, is connected with the sign of length in each case. The distinction between 8 and a is not clearly marked. Thes of bhgôtsava (1. 29) and of simhasana (1. 33 f.), and the a of abhujanga (1. 24) and of anitárita (1. 39) are nearly identical. In yad-damshfrå (1. 9), makarandda (1. 20), and Muddanena (1. 83), the two d's are written side by side without any attempt to indicate the rirtima. Similar anomalies occur in lines 26 and 32. In the former case h and m are written side by side, and in the second case tataparé is written for tatparê. In line 19, we have a peculiar form of the letter ja. The right angle, which is usually attached to the middle of the vertical portion of the letter, is in this case affixed at the bottom. The double t takes the place of tr in the following cases :- póttine (1. 14), tattásio (1. 59), kaļatto (1. 61), yatta (1. 62), and puttapauttáo (1. 68).
Of mistakes due to wrong pronunciation, the following may be noted :- vrishtya (1.12) and Vuma (1. 61) occur instead of vrishty and Uma, respectively. The dental sibilant is used for the palatal in si for frí (11. 23 and 72), in Salivah& (1. 50 f.) and in srauta for frauta (1.75). Dh occurs for ddh in sidha for siddha (1. 49), and dhdh for ddh in sidhdha (1. 66). The lingual | occurs in the following Sanskrit words - mangaļa (L. 22 f.), kaļa (1. 35), ávali (1. 49), kaļatta (1. 61), chakravala (1. 79), and yugaļa (1. 92). The Tamil name Ilangóvil has been changed to Yalamgövil (1. 62). It remains to be noted here that the name of the father of Harihara II. is written Bhuka once (1. 23), and Bhukka throughout the rest of the present inscription, while in all other inscriptions which have been published, the name is spelt with the unaspirated b and doublo k.
The language of the inscription is Sanskrit, verse (11. 2 to 37, and 50 to 92) and prose (11. 1, 38 to 50, and 93). The first two verses are invocations addressed to Siva and to the boar-incarnation of Vishņu, respectively, the third to Ganapati, and the fourth and fifth again to the boar-incarnation. The sixth verse refers to the Moon, and the seventh to his descendant Yadu and to the race of the Yadavas, who sprang from the latter. The eighth mentions Samgama (I.), the first historical person of the first Vijayanagara dynasty, and the tenth his son Bhukka (i.e. Bukks I.). Bhukka's queen was Gauri and their son Harihara (II.) (v. 14), in whose reign the present inscription is dated. A lengthy prose passage (11. 38 to 50) consists of a list of the birudas of Harihara (II.). Verse 18 gives the date of the inscription, while verses 19 to 31 specify the village granted and the donees. Verse 33 again celebrates Harihara (II.), and verses 34 and 35 contain the names of the composer and of the engraver of the inscription. Then follow four of the usual imprecatory verses. In the last verse (40) the king beseeches future rulers to protect the gift made by him. As in other Vijayanagara inscriptions, the end of the document is marked by the name of the god Sri-Virûpåksha in Kanarese characters.
Of the history of the Vijayanagara kings we do not know so much as might be expected of a dynasty which rose to prominence only about the beginning of the 14th century of the Christian era. The earliest epigraphical record of this dynasty is the only known inscription of Harihara I., in which he is called Mahamandalékvara Párva-paschima-samudr-adhiputi Sri-Vira
