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No. 13.)
KODURU GRANT OF ANA-VOTA-REDDI: SAKA 1280.
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god Narasimha, the presiding deity of Ahõbalam, the well-known place of pilgrimage in the Kushool District.
The chief interest of the present grant lies in the fact that it is the only copper-plate inscription of the king so far discovered. Stone inscriptions of Ana-Võta known till now number only five and range in date from Saka 1275 to 1283. The earliest date known for his father Prõlaya-Vēma is Saka 1254, and an inscription from Mallavaram in the Ongole taluk of the Guntur (formerly Nellore) District gives for him the Saka year 12[717, which, if correct, would be his latest date. But the reading of the latter date appears to be wrong for reasons cited in the foot-note below and may have to be equated with Saka 1267. An inscription of this king from Tripurantakam is dated in Saka 1268® and this is the latest date so far known for him. His son Ana-Võta algo figures in this record, probably as the crown-prince. That he was a yuvarāja in his father's reign is referred to in a verse in Harivamsamu also.? He may therefore be presumed to have succeeded his father some time betweer Saka 1268 and Saka 1275. The record bearing the Saka date 1283 quoted above refers to the reconstruction of the Amarēsvara temple at Dharanikota by Vēma-Chamūpati, the son of Mallinatha who was the minister of Ana-Võta. As the renovation was made for the increase of the life, health and prosperity of Ana-Vöta, it may be reasonably presumed that he was ruling in Saka 1283. His defeat at the hands of Māda and Ana-Võta, sons of Singa, a general, probably, of the Käkatiya king Prataparudra, is referred to in the Velugofivāri-Vandārali, and this incident has been assigned to Saka 1283. Ana-Vēma is said to have succeeded his brother Ana-Võta after the latter's death. We do not know of any record of Ang Vēma earlier than Saka 1293,10
The only other copper-plate grant of this king known to us is that given in the Elliot Collection mentioned already, but its whereabouts are not now known.
* The five records referred to above are (1) Nellore Inscriptions, Part III, p. 1037. This record, dated in Saka 1275, is included in Rangacharya's Topographical List of Ines. (Guntur No. 405) and it refers to Ana-Vota's minister Mallinátha on whose death his brother made some grants. (2) No. 185 of 1905 of the Madras Epigraphical Collection, dated in Saka 1278. (3 and 4) Nos. 601 and 602 of 1909, both dated in Saka 1280 and (0) No. 258 of 1897. Another record (No. 250 of 9905) dated in Saka 1269 belongs to the reign of Annama Reddi. This has been assigned to Ana-Võta by Sewell and Krishnaswami Ayyangar (Historical Inscriptions of Southern India, p. 191). But it is reasonable to ascribe it to Anna, a younger brother of Prölaya-Vēma, since the date falls within the period of the latter's rule.
No. 340 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical Collection. Nellore Inscriptions, Part III, Ongole 73.
The eclipse is stated to have occurred at the end of the month) Asvina. It must therefore have been an eclipse of the Sun (ahimambu, not hima nisu, i.e., Moon, as understood by Butterworth and Venugopala Chetty, ibid. p. 1025). According to the Indian Ephemeris the details given in the inscription, viz., Advinasyivasane rahtsgraste-himāmáau sura-guru-divant; i.e., the ending of Asvina, solar eclipse, Thursday, agree regularly for the saka year 1267 (current) – A. D. 1344, October 7, Thursday, on which day there was a solar eclipse. In calculating the above date, the months have to be counted as amanta ones as it is the wytom adopted in South India. The word värddhi in the chronogram baila-värddhi-dyumani as read by the authors mentioned above has therefore to be altered suitably by some such word as tarkka to give as the numeral 6 in place of 7, and the chronogram equated with 1267.
No. 191 of 1905. Ka | Vitata-yuvarāja-vibhav-on
nata Potaya-sainyanātha naya-märgga samlhita-santata-seva-vilasita-putra brisamriddha sivaguna-siddha ||
(Harivandamu, Part II, Canto 9, v. 260.) . Above, Vol. VIII, p. 12. . Above, Vol. XXI, p. 270. 10 A. R. on 8. 1. Epigraphy for 1922-23, App. A, No. 9.
