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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. IX.
on the Hyderabad-Bezvada section of the Nizam's State Railway and seem to have been included about the beginning of the twelfth century A.D. in the district of Sabbi-sâyira 'the Sabbi one thousand,' which formed part of the Western Châlukya empire, and to have been conferred by Tribhuvanamalla-Vikramaditya VI. on his fendatory the Kakatiya chief TribhuvanamallaBêta. Sabbi-sâyira is not mentioned in other published records and, consequently, its extent cannot be defined until more lithic records from that part of the Nizam's Dominions are published."
The subjoined inscriptions engraved on the four faces of the pillar above referred to, is written in bold and clear Kanarese characters of the twelfth century A.D. The written surface measures roughly in breadth 1' 31" on the east and west faces and 1' 2" on the north and south faces, while in height it is 3' 6", 3' 5", 3' 7", and 3' 31" respectively, on the east, north, west and south faces. The sculptures which the four faces of the pillar bear have been noted already. Verse 1, which contains the invocation, and the imprecatory verses (11 and 12) are in the Sanskrit language. Lines 89 to 91 contain an incomplete Sanskrit verse which is evidently meant to be a quotation. The rest of the inscription is in Kanarese prose (11. 6 to 24, 70 to 88, 91 to 93, and 111 and 112) and poetry (verses 2 to 10). The writing calls for very few remarks. The anusvára is sometimes, as in ancient records, written at the top of the right side of the letter (11. 1, 3, and 4), and sometimes, as at present, written on the right side of the letter (11. 86, 98, 100 and 102). The virama occurs once in 1. 62 where it is marked by a wavy vertical line added to the top of the letter. The e-sign, which is almost similar in form to the virama, is also attached to the top of the letter, but is horizontal. In 11. 40 and 55, however, the e of de in the word perggade and é of yé in the word hridayésvari, are marked differently by a curved line attached to the left bottom corner of the letter and drawn horizontally to its right. In other cases this sign along with the e-sign first described, marks the ai-sign. An attempt is made to distinguish the long from the short but it is not throughout kept up. Among consonants it may be noted, that the length of the horizontal stroke in the middle, which in the case of pa ought to be shorter than in that of sha, is in some instances lengthened so far as to make pa look almost like sha. The forms krima for kramd in 1. 20 and yejña for yajña in 1. 103 are due to the peculiarities of Kanarese pronunciation.
The record begins with an invocation addressed to the feet of Jinendra (v. 1) and refers in 11. 6 to 4 to the reign of the maharajadhiraja, paramésvara and paramabhaṭṭaraka, the [Western] Chalukya king Tribhuvanamalladê va [Vikramaditya VI.] and his feudatory the mahamandalêsvara Kakati Bêta (1. 19), who had acquired the five great sounds (pañchamahafabda) and who was the lord of Anmakunda (1. 16), the best of towns.' The hereditary minister of Kâkatî Bêtarasa (1. 30) was the dandádhinatha Vaija (v. 2). Verse 3 states that Vaija brought his master the mandalika Kakati Bêta (11. 32 and 37) to the feet of the Chalukya (1. 33) emperor (chakrin) (viz. Vikramaditya VI.) and made him rule the district of
1 See verse 3 below.
2 Sebbi or Chlebbi thirty, a small district over which the Western Ganga king Pañchaladeva was ruling in A.D. 971, and which took its name from the village of Chaboi or Chhabbi in the Hubli tâluka of the Dharwar district (Dr. Fleet's Kanarese Dynasties, p. 307) seems to be different from the Sabbi-såyira district which was ruled by the Kakatiya chief Beta.
No. 106 of the Epigraphical collection for 1902. Mr. Cousens refers to this as No. 4 of the inscriptions at Hanumkonda and Warangal (Lists of Antiquarian Remains in H. H. the Nizam's Territories, p. 48).
In footnote 7 on p. 91 of Vol. VI. above, Professor Lüders questions the propriety of the title chakrin (chakravartin) as applied to Vikramaditya VI, in an inscription at Sravana-Belgola, dated in Saka-Samvat 1081. He presumes that the title chakrin is based on the analogy of the epithets sarvajiachakravartin, pratápachakravartin and Chalukyachakravartin assumed respectively by three of Vikramaditya's successors, vis. Sômêsvara III., Jagadékamalla II. and Taila III. The title Chalukya-chakrin applied to Vikramaditya VI. in the subjoined inscription leaves no doubt that this imperial biruda originated with him;
