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No. 22.) TINNEVELLY INSCRIPTION OF MARAVARMAN SUNDARA-PANDYA II. 159
20 [n=tavirttu 7]r-ūroru-pura[v]=ākki kudi i[ru]kkal[@]
m na[tta]t[ti]lē kuļi irupp āga=p[pa]ógum manaiyum eludi Murappu-[n]āttu=pPõlalaVira-Somidēva-chcha. turvvēdimangalam-enru mámadi peyarăl ivv-āņdu brahmad yañ=cheyvad-ā[ga]
idugav-enrum ivv-ūrirukkum-idattu irupattu 21 [n]ā[l-a]diy-āņa Sundara-Pāņdiyan-kõlal nilamualandu payir pā[1][t*]tu visainda
nilattukku [a]ntarāyamu[m] viņi[y]őgamum taruvad-āņa achchum kāriyavarachchiyum vetti-pāttamum pañchupīlisandusandhi)vikkiragappērum mar[ru]m
e[p]pesya]rpa[tti]navum utpada kärukku mättal 22 kāśu kälum mudal Virapāņdiyaņāl nellu mu-kkalamum Tulä viraichchu visainda
nilattukku i-vvarisaiyil [o]nru-padiyum el (va]ragu [ti]naippul=i[ru]ógu viļainda nilattukku mättāl tira(majm irandum (pa]säņum-i-vva[rijsaisyu]m-aga ivy
āņdu-mudal iruppa23 d-āga ittu variyilār eļutt-itta ul-variyum nam [lai]yun=tara-chchopnom [1*] kai
kkondu ippadi Chandrădityavat belvad-aga-kka[l*]lilum sembilum vet[ti]-kkolgav-enru tiruvāymo[li]ndarulinār [l*] [v]ai [Tirumalli]-nåttu[t]Tadankanpi-ch
Chirfür-udaiyānn=U 24 [y*lyaninrāduvān [Vī]raśāladēva[n-ā]na Kurukulattaraiyan=eluttu [i*] ivai Sevvi
rukkai-nāţtu Sakkarapāņinal[lū]r Arayan Viradamudittān-ā[na] Palla[varāya]nelu[ttu) [1*]
TRANSLATION. (Lines 1-6.) Hail! Prosperity! The goddess Lakshmi (Tiru) (that resides in) the beautiful (lotus) flower and the goddess of Victory (attendant) on war, (now) resting on (his) victorious arms (having the semblance of the lotus-like rounded breast;" the goddess on the tongue of Brahma (Vēda) that loves the white-petalled lotus, gracefully approaching (him) ;' the goddess of the wide Earth with (her) bed of hard ground surrounded by the white-billowed (sea), exulting on becoming (his) queen' (all) creeds, politics and law (luxuriantly) springing up; flags for the festivals of gods being hoisted up in every place; the fire of the dark Kali (age) being extinguished; the fine sacrificial fires accompanied by rare acts performed by saintly Brahmins, rising
1 As an adjective qualifying malar, pů means 'beautiful'.
• There is some difficulty in explaining the passage lamarai-kkuvi-mulai-jeya-ppuyattuiruppa. Here it would be natural to take támaras-kkuvi-mulai' as a single phrase qualifying jaya-bhuja'. If so taken, the meaning would be, as we have adopted in the translation, that both the goddesses Lakskhmf and Victory rested on the arms of the king and the arm is likened to what the combination of the three words tämarai, kuvi and mulai might imply. These words respectively mean 'the lotus', well developed or rounded' and 'breast'. Preserving the order of the words the phrase could be rendered into . lotus-like well developed (or rounded) breast', and if the order of the words could be altered, for which we do not find any good justification, it would mean well shaped breast-like lotus'. Either in this case, or in taking tâmarai' and 'kuvi-mulai' as two separate qualifying terms of jaya-bhuja the sense is not much altered. The comparison of mulai to bhuja seems somewhat far-fetched. It is rather difficult to trace in the passage reference to two different parts of the king's body where the two goddesses rested. If the conjunctum combined with the termination of the seventh case il, i.e., ilum could be taken as understood after mulai and puyam, it may be possible to say that the king's breast and arm became the resting places of Lakshmi and Victory. That these goddesses would naturally resort to the arm is evident for the arm resembled the lotus which is the residence of one, and is the source of victory Also; but the difficulty is the insertion of kuvi-mulas after the word támaras
• The word tilaippa carries the sense coming into close touch' or enjoy • Urimai is used in this sense in many inscriptions On samayı see abovo, Vol. XXII, p. 50, foot-note 7 and Additions and Corrections.
