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No. 34.
CONJEEVERAM INSCR. OP BRAHMA-TANTRA-SVATANTRA-JIYAR:
SAKA 1282.
319
The characters in which the record is engraved are Tamil and Grantha, the latter being employed for the Sanskrit words. The language is Tamil with an admixture of Sanskrit words, and is somewhat illustrative of the type of Vaishnava composition prevalent in this period and locality. The record is very well preserved, and its orthography does not call for any comment.
The record does not quote any king's name but is simply dated in Saka 1282 and contains the astronomical details—Vikärin, Mesha, bu. 1, Friday and Asvati-whieb yield the equivalent A.D. 1359, March 29. It states that a certain Vaishnavadāsa who had been given the title of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-hiyar by the god (Hastigitīša), was put in charge of a matha evidently at Kāñcbipuram in Saka 1282. This information is of interest for Vaishnava religious history, as it enables us to identify this first pontiff of the matha with the direct disciple of the great Vēdānta-Défika, the erudite scholar, keen controversialist and deeply venerated Vaishnava ächārya, whose literary and religious activities are said to have extended over a major portion of the 14th century A.D.
As mentioned above, the inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, but it is somewhat peculiarly worded, in that it purports to have been issued by the deity himself: In the Tamil records of this temple, the god is called Aruļālapperumā! or Tiruvattiyūr-ninraruļiyaParamagvāmin, or the great Lord who was pleased to stand at Tiruvattiyūr'. The viilage-name Tiruvattiyūr having been Sanskritised into Hastigiri, the god came to be known to Sanskrit authors as Hastigirisa, by which name he is referred to in the opening verse of this epigraph. It is stated that on the representation made by the agent Perumāļtātan and other Bhattae, the god, wbile Beated in regal pomp with his consorts in the abhishēka-mandapa of the temple on the throne named Viravallāļan under the canopy called the Ariyenavallān-pandal listening to the chanting of the songs of Sathakāpa, was pleased to confer the title of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar on & certain Vaishnavadāsa and to put him in charge of a matha and its properties, so that he may propagate the tenets of the Rāmānuja-darśanam' to the Vaishnava laity, and maintain the library which he had collected, probably in the matha premises. A sentence at the end adds that tbis divine order (tirumugam) was engraved on stone by the temple-accountant.
In regard to the particular style of wording in this inscription, couched as if the orders had emanated directly from the deity himself, it may be mentioned that this convention was adopted by some of the Vaishnava temples in the Tirunelvēli District in the 14th and 15th centuries A.D., and in some instances in the South Arcot and Chingleput Districts atgo. Some Saiva temples also appear to have sparingly copied this procedure in drafting their documents at this period. In such cases, the occasion when and the place wherefrom the orders were issued are given at some length. Some instances may be quoted. 1. Sakābdam 1463 nä! ... Mulsināttu brahmađeyam srl-Sēravan-mahādēvi-chatur.
vēdimangalattu Vadapal srimad-Dvārakānāthan aruļal Ayirattenman-pandar-kil Virakēralan-pīthattu nămum nam pendugalodun kūdi-irundu, etc.-(Shermādēvi, No. 186 of 1895 of the Madras Epigraphical collection-S.I.I., Vol. V, No. 750).
1 Desika is believed to have been born in A.D. 1269, Sukla, and to have died in A.D. 1370, Saumya. The present record is of help in confirming the period of his literary activity as the second half of the 14th century A.D.
* The artificial ramp formed by an enclosed manda pa is called the Tirumalai' or 'girl, on top of which the shrine of Varadaraja is located, Compare the verse composed in praise of this Jiyar:
हस्तीशं लीकविख्यात कौण्डिन्ध' विदुषां वरम् ।
रामानुजार्यसिद्धान्तस्थापनाचार्यमाश्रये॥ • This is analogous to the instances in which kings are described as having been seated in partioular halls of their palaces and on particular seats, while issuing the orders contained in the respective epigraphs.
