Epigraphia Indica Vol 18

Author(s): H Krishna Shastri, Hirananda Shastri
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 89

HPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XYHL.
The execator (ajñapti) of this (grant) was ........ who knew royal politics, the VedaAgne, and all arta! (verse 1, 1. 19 f.). The record ends with three verses sang by Vyasa! (1. 20).
No. 6.-IPUR PLATES OF VISHNUVARDHANA III.
BY PROFEBBOR E. HULTZCH, PH.D.; HALLE (SAALE), I am editing the inscription on these plates from a set of ink-impressions supplied to me by Bao Bahadur H. Krishna Sastri. The plates were found while digging in an unspecified village of the Kistna District and now belong to the collection of Mr. Brindavanam Gopalacharlı at Ipur, & village in the Tenali Taluk of the Guptar District. These are three oblong copper-plates, the second of which bears writing on both sides. The margins of the four inscribed sides are slightly raised into rims. The three plates have a slight inward curvature in the middle of the long edges and measure 6)" by 21". They are strong on & ring of about 3? in diameter, which Passes through a hole of about " in diameter and bears a circular seal of 11 in diameter. The seal bears, on a countersunk surface, the legend Sri-Vishamariddhi in Telugu characters, with an expanded lotus-flower of seven petals at the bottom and a crescent enclosing a star (or the sun ? at the top. The weight of the plates, with ring and seal, is 35 tolas.
The writing is in a state of good preservation. The alphabet resembles that of other Eastern Chalukya grants of the same period. The language is barbarons Sanskrit prose, and two verses are quoted in lines 21-24 of the last plate. Owing to the dense ignorance of the drafting clerk, orthography, Sandhi rules, and grammar are disregarded in every line. Still the inscription is an interesting historical document and can be made out almost completely. It records an order issued in the twenty-third year of his reign by Vishnuvardhana, son of Vijayasiddhi, and grandson of Vishnuvardhana of the Chalukya family. As Vijayasiddhi is known to have been surname of Mangi-yuvarja, his father has to be identified with Vishņuvardhana II, and his son with Vishnuvardhana II. From the seal of the subjoined grant we learn that the latter-like his two ancestors Vishņuvardhana I and II-bore the surname Vishamasiddhi.
The king's order refers to a grant of a field and of a house-site with flower-garden to a Brahmapa residing at Kommara. The field granted formed part of the village of Jalayiru in the district of Plölnandu and was situated to the west of the Eliyesu river and to the east of Kakandivada. None of these local names I am able to identify. But the district of Plölnå du is evidently the same as Prolnāndu or Prölunindu near Pithapuram.
The grant was made by the daughter of Maghinduvardja, Prithivipöthi, who seems to have been one of the queens of Vishņuvardhana III. The second member of the queen's name cannot have anything to do with Hindi pothi, a book.' Perhaps it is a misspelling of poti, a feminine derivative of pota which is known to have formed part of the names of Pallava kings. I hope I am not considered too bold if I further propose to identify the name of Prithiviposhi's father, Maghinduvarāja, with Mahēndravarman II, the Pallava king of Kanch1.7
1 Perbaps he WMA Brihmana minister of the king. His proper name is uncertain because of the break at the end of line 19 of the text. It may have been Sarvajani raya.
* See above, Vol. XVII, p. 384 and Ep. Rep. for 1920, App. A, No. 10 and pp. 99 #. . Note the spelling paoutraga for pauraya (1. 18), and fy for ji in ångapayati (1. 12) and unyapti (1. 24). . Above, Vol. VIII, p. 387.
Above, Vol. IV, p. 230, and Vol. V, p. 74. South-Ind. Incr., Vol. II, p. 841.
1 Above, Vol. X, p. 4.