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No. 48.)
KARIKAL INSCRIPTION OF MADHURANTAKA.
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No. 48.-KARIKAL INSCRIPTION OF MADHURANTAKA.
BY E. HULTZSCH, Pa.D. According to the large Leyden grant, six Chola kings ruled between Parantaka I. and Rajardja I. But while the inscriptions of the two latter are found soattered over the whole Tamil country, no records of those six intermediate kings had so far turned up, except two insoriptions of Aditya II. and the mere mention of Gandariditys, the second son of Parantaka I., in an inscription of his father. This break in the continuity of the Chola records is probably due to the conquest of their dominions by the Rashtrakata king Krishna III, whose vassal Batuga killed Rajaditya, the oldest son of Parantaka I., at Takkolam before A.D. 949-50.
The village of Karikal between Sholinghur and Båņayaram contains a small temple of the goddess Poppi-Ammap. The slab which forms the roof of this templo, bears the subjoined inscription of " Bajakderivarman, the conqueror of Madirat (Madhura)." Madirai konda is known to have been a surname of Parantaka 1.6 and the Sanskrit synonym Madhurdataka is applied to Rajendra-Chola I. in the large Leyden grant. These two kinge, however, had the title Parakesarivarman and not Rajakesarivarman. Consequently the subjoined inscription of R&jakesarivarman, the conqueror of Madirai," may be attributed to another Madhurantaks who, according to the large Leyden grant, was the son of Gandardditya and ruled between Aditya II. and R&jardja 1.8 This identification would suit the alphabet of the subjoined inscription, which resembles that of the Tamil inscriptions of the Rashtrakūta king Krishna III.
The alphabet is Tamil, with the exception of the two Grantha words suvasti fri at the begin. ning. It is worth noting that, in minatn (1.3) and Venndyi (1.4), the syllable nd is expressed by two separate symbols and not, as usual, by a conjunot character. The language of the inscription is vulgar Tamil.
The inscription records that a temple of Pidar10 - which must be the present temple of Poggi-Ammap-- was built by a woman named Vennâyi-Nahgai.
TEXT,11 1 Savasti tri(6rt) [11] Madirai konda kov-Irasakodaripa2 pmar[k]k-iyanda
añjávadu
Pulivala-nattu 3 Mariyadi Vil vi)ro-Valañjiyap m ipatti Kijar-ka4 ratta Brapidi
Achehag Venpåyi-Na5 ngaiy-én sesyv]ichcha Piqari koyil [11]
Bouth-Ind. Inaer. Vol. III. p. 81 and note 1. tid. Vol. II. p. 874.
Takkolam (No. 887 on the Madras Survey Map of the WAIAjapét tálake of the North Aroot district) is a village 6 miles south-east of Arkonam Junction. The temple at Tokkolam contains an inscription of Krishga III.
• Ep. Ind. Vol. IL p. 168.
.No. 40 on the Madras Surey Map of the WAAjap talaka. In Mr. Sowell's Liste of Antiquities, Vol. I. p. 163, the name in, owing to an error, given u KarikAl. The village of Karikal must not be confounded with the French settlement of Karikal, the proper Tamil nama of which is Karaikkal) 100 Ind. Lat. Vol. XXI. p. 327.
See above, p. 178 and noto 11. 1 South-Ind. Imor. Vol. I. p. 111 1. and Vol. II. p. 189, note 1. • See the Table, fbid. Vol. I. p. 112.
* Abovo, Vol. IIL p. 885, and Vol. IV. p. 83. *Thle the Tamil name of a village goddese; compare South-Ind. Inson Vol. IL P. 48, note 10, and Vol. Ill. p. 9.
i From two inked stampares, prepared by Mr.T. P. Krishnaram Betri, M.A. Bead reseti.
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