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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XX.
"The plate which is rectangular in shape is 16.4" long and 11-5′′ broad. At the top of the plate, just in the centre, there is a flat projection 1'4" broad and 1" high shaped into the form of an arch. There is a small hole in the arch through which passes an ordinary copper ring 1.75" in diameter. The plate has suffered a slight damage at its proper right corner at the top. But the writing on either side is in a good state of preservation. The plate with the ring weighs 230 tolas."
The language of the inscription is partly Sanskrit and partly Kannada. The first six verses are in Sanskrit and the next six in Kannada, the rest being in Kannada prose. The Kannada verses are defective both in diction and in prosody. The record is written in Kannada alphabet and is rather indifferently inscribed. The letter va is often written like ra and it is not easy to distinguish pa from ru (as in Tirumarasa in line 17). The aspirates are generally distinguished by means of the vertical stroke at the bottom except in the case of dha. The secondary form of va is sometimes used (vulla in 1. 36 and vurolage in 1. 37). With respect to orthography: (i) the consonants are invariably doubled when they are preceded by repha; (i) the nasal is generally changed into an anusvara before consonants of the same class; (iii) the consonants are freely used in place of vowels (e.g., ye for e in 1: 21 and vo for o in l. 14); (iv) the letter sa is sometimes wrongly used for sha (11. 8 and 42); and (v) double na is used for na as in arnnava (1.9).
The object of the inscription is to register a grant of land made by Madda-Heggade, the chief of Kap with (the consent) of the assembly (nalinavaru), communal and professional guilds (gana-pana) and subordinate officers,' for offerings to Dharmmanatha, the 15th Jina Tirthamkara. The gift was made at the instance of the Jaina teacher Devachandradeva for the spiritual welfare of his guru Munichandradeva, the disciple of Abhinava evakīrttidēva.
The date of the record is Salivahana-Saka 1479, the cyclic year Nala, the first tithi of the bright half of Kärttika, and Sunday. According to L. D. Swamikannu Pillai's Ephemeris the details correspond regularly to A.D. 1556, October 4, Sunday.
The inscription opens with an obeisance to Dharmmanatha which is followed by a verse in praise of the Jina-doctrine (sasana). It then invokes Vardhamana (Mahavira), the 24th Jina. Verses 3 to 6 describe the high spiritual attainments of a Jaina sage named Bhānu who belonged to Tintrini-gachchha, Kāpür-gapa and Müla-samgha. The Kannada verses, which follow, extol the donor Madda-Heggade but tell us nothing material except that he belonged to the Pangula line (bali) and that he was the administrator of the beautiful town of Kap. (Vv. 7-12.) The inscription then states that Ramarajayya, though he was the lieutenant of king Sadativaraya, was ruling the (Vijayanagara) empire (11. 18-21) and that Sadasiva-Nayaka (of Ikkēri) was the ruler of the districts of Barakůru and Mangaluru. Next comes an eulogy of Madda-Heggade in an elaborate prose passage which tells us that he was administering the chief town of Kap with (the help of) the assembly, communal and professional associations and subordinate officers. Then follows the formal portion of the grant. The lands granted were
1 māļinavara 18 the corrupt form of nadinavaru which comes from nadu meaning assembly.
gana is an aggregate of kulas' kulanam hi samühas-tu ganah samprakirtilah (Katyayana, Firamitrödaya, p. 428; quoted by Dr. Pran Nath in his " Economic condition of Ancient India", p. 54); and pana is a sectarian division. Eighteen panas are referred to in an inscription of the 17th century, viz., Vyavahärikas, pañchalas (five sects of saithe), kumbhälikas (potters), tanturäyins (weavers), vastra-bhedakas (cloth dyers ?), tila-ghatakas (oil-willers). kurantakas (kuratakas? : shoe-makers), vastra-rakshakas (tailors), devängas, parikelili (parikelette. virat keepers of pack bullocks), gorakshakas (cow-herds), kirätas (hunters), rajakas (washermen) and kehau. rakas (barbers). These formed a recognised part of the local assemblies. (Annual Report on South-Indian Epigraphy for 1918, part II, paragraphs 84 and 85.)
