Epigraphia Indica Vol 03

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 99

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
(VOL. III.
0.-JAMBUKESVARA INSCRIPTION OF VALAKA-KAMAYA.
Saka-Samvat 1408. This inscription is engraved on the north wall of the second prakdra of the Saiva temple of Jambukêśvars on the island of Srirangam near Trichinopoly. It is referred to in Mr. Moore's Trichinopoly Manual (p. 341) and in Mr. R. Sewell's Lists of Antiquities (Vol. I. p. 267) as the only inscription in the Jambukêsvara temple, which contains a date in the Saka era. It consists of eight lines in modern Tamil characters, intermixed with a few words and syllables in the Grantha alphabet. The language is very faulty Tamil.
The inscription records the grant of one véli of land in the village of VadakaraiVenkonkudi to the god of Tiruvanaikka. The date of the grant was the day of Mahåmågha, which fell on Sunday, the full-moon tithi of the month of Kumbha of Saka-Samvat 1403 expired, the Plava sa mvatsara. Mr. Dikshit kindly informed the Editor that the Enropean equivalent of this date is Sunday, the 3rd February, A.D. 1482. The donor was the great provincial chief (mahamandalesvara) Valaka-Kåmaya, alias Akkalaraja, who bore the titles of "a Bhima among the Chôļas," "a Vishņu among the Chôļas” (Sola-Narayana), and “the lord of Uraiyûr the best of cities" (Uraiyur-puravar-ddhisvara). Though it is very doubtful if he had any real connection with the ancient indigenous dynasty of the Cholas, he claimed at any rate to be their rightful successor; and his name has been accordingly included in Dr. Hultzsch's preliminary list of Chola kings. His title mahamandalesvara suggests that he was a dependant, probably of one of the last kings of the first Vijayanagara dynasty.
TEXT. 1 Subham-astu svasti8 sri [ilo] Sak-&ptum. 1403 idaŋ méi sellan[i]ora Pilava
samvarsarattu Kumba-nayarka půruva-pakshattu puruņaiyum Aditta-váramum
perra Magattu nå! Sim2 ho-Brahagpati-10 Mahamaga-punya-kalattile sriman-mahamandalesvaran Solar-Biman
səla-Narayanan Uraiyûr-purvvar-athiśvaran 11 Válaka-Kåmayar åņa Akkalaråsar 3 nâyaņârslagiya Tiru våņaikkâv=udaiya nåyaņår kôyil Adi-Sandesvara-dêvar
kanmigalukku kudutta tanma-sadaga-ppattaiyam [ll] Nayanår alagiya
Tiruvanaik4 k&v=udaiya nayanâr Vadakarai-Venköpkudiyil tiru-vêttai aga elund=arıļugira tiru
nå! maņdapa-chchirappuk[ka]m nâchchiyâr Agilândanaya
1 No. 80 of 1891 in Dr. Hultzsch's Annual Report for 1891-92.
The village of Venkopkodi is mentioned in the Tañjavur inscriptions ; see South-Indian Inscriptions, Vol. II. p. 63. Vadakarai means "on the northern bank (of the Kåverf);" see ibid. p. 53, note 1.
Tiruvanaikka, “the sacred elephant-grove," is the ancient Tamil designation of the site of the Jambu. késvara temple; see South Indian Inscription, Vol. II. p. 253.
According to the Tamil dictionaries, this town, which is now a suburb of Trichinopoly and the centre of the native trade in cigars, was the former capital of the Cho! kings. Ptolemy calls it already "Oploupa Bao leroy Súprayos. The Saiva temple at Uraiyur contains some ancient Choļa inscriptions.
See his Annual Report for 1891-92, p. 7.
• An inscription of the Vijayanagara king Virupaksha II., the son of Mallikarjuna, dated in Sakn-Sarhvat 1405 expired, is found at Gangaikondasolapuram in the Trichinopoly district; see ibid. p. 9.
7 From an inked estampage received from Dr. Holtzsch.-Words which are written wholly or partially in Granthe letters, are distinguished in the transcript by thick type. # Read stasti. . Read Sak-abdan.
10 Rend Brihaspati. u Read puratar-ddatbuaran. 1 Read Adi-Chandlivara,