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No. 3.)
ALUPA INSCRIPTIONS AT UDIYAVARA.
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distriot. Of these records I now edit the eight most complete and important ones. Regarding some difficult points in them I bave consulted my old friends Venkayya and Krishna Sastri, whose remarks proved of much assistance in anravelling the meaning of these enigmatical ancient doouments.
The brst five Udiyåvara inscriptions are on Virakals, ie, stonos set up as memorials of deceased heroes; the remaining three refer to grants of tolls. The three first inscriptions must all belong to the same period; for Nos. I. and II. mention a certain Raņas&gara, and Nos. II. and III. one Svētavahana. These two names and, in addition to them, Chitravahana in No. I. look like those of Aļuva princes, among whom we have already found a Gunasagara and two Chitraváhanas. As the alphabet regembles that of the Mávali inscription, we may identify the Chitraváhana of No. I. with Chitraváhana II., who ruled the Aluvakhoda six-thousand in the time of Govinda III. Consequently Nos. I.-III, must be assigned to about A.D. 800. From the first few lines of No. I. we learn that Chitravá hana II. seized Udiyavara in the course of a war with Ranasigara, who seems to have been a rival claimant to the throne. Nos. II. and III. refer to the storming of Udiyåvara by Svetaváhana, and No. II. records the death, on this occasion, of a follower of Raņas gars, From this it may perhaps be concluded that, after the time of the inscription No. I., Ragas&gara succeeded in ousting Chitraváhana II., but that, later on, he was in his turn defeated by Svetaváhana, who may have been a near relative of Ohitravahana II.
The remaining Udiyavara inscriptions date from the reigns of the two &ļupa, Åļuva or Ålva kings Prithivisigara (Nos. IV. VI.) and Vijayaditya (Nos. VII. and VIII.) alias Máramma (No. VII.). It is impossible to say at present how these two princes were oonnected with Chitravahana II., Raņaságara and Svêtavahana. But, as the alphabet of their inscriptions agrees with that of Nos. I.-III., they must be assigned to about the same period.
In each of the eight subjoined inscriptions Udiyåvara is referred to by one of its older names Udayapura (Noe. V. and VIII ), Udayapura (Nos. II., III., VI., VII.) or Udeyapura (Nos. I. and IV.). In the three last it is mentioned together with Pati (No. VI.), Pombulcha (No. VII.) or Ponvuloha (No. VIII.). Patti and Pombuchcha are known to have been ancient names of the modern Humcha in the Nagar tåluka of the Shimoga district. This Humcha seems to have been the capital of the Aļupa kings. For an inscription at Kigga is dated while Chitraváhana (II.) Was ruling Ponbuchchu.
1.—Inscription of Chitravahana (II.) and Ranasagara. This inscription (No. 94 of the Government Epigraphist's collection for 1901) is engraved on an octagonal pillar in front of the Sambhukallu temple at Udiyåvara. It records that a follower of Chitraváhana (II.) met with his death when the lord of the earth ' (vis. Chitra. våbana) occupied and entered Udeyapura (Udiyåvara) during the trouble of Ranasigara, s.e. in the course of a war with the latter.
TEXT. 1 Svasti eri [*] Rana2 sågaraná lam(sa)ka3 adul-Udeyapuram 4 dhareg[1]šan=pade-po5 gavalli Vijana6 naygará magan-KI
See above, p. 16 and note 7.
* See above, Vol. VIIl. p. 126,
• See p. 16 above.
