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[VOL. XXVII image was consecrated after his name Kumara-Ganapesvara, for the worship of which an endowment was probably made. The grant portion, as indicated above, is lost, but it may be pointed out here that the endowment is made over to a Siva shrine, although at present the inscribed stone is found in a Vishnu temple. At present there is only one temple dedicated to Siva at Mōṭupalle, called Virabhadresvara temple, in which the image of Ganapesvaradeva set up by Ganapati must have been consecrated. But the god in this village is variously styled in inscriptions as MülasthanaRāmisvaradeva, Amaresvaradeva and Patesvaramuḍaiya-Nayanar. At Srisailam there appears to have been an order of Saiva monks named after Mallinatha. Apart from the Bhringi-matha constructed by Ganapati, there were also, on the bill at Srisailam, Gana-matha, Arusa-matha, Kalu-matha and the Saranga-matha. The existence of five mathas on the hill is explicitly referred to in an inscription at Srisailam.
196
In the manuscripts collected by the late Mr. Mackenzie there is an account pertaining to Nayanapalle which is therein styled Moṭupalle-Nayudupalle. It starts with a legendary history of the village which is traced from Udayana-Chakravartti, through Prōla, Ganapati, Gōparāju Ramanna, Siddhayadeva-Mahārāja, Bayyachōda-Mahārāja, Rudradeva, etc. It makes mention of some of the inscriptions found in the place of which, however, the present inscription is not one.
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
Of the geographical places mentioned in the inscription, Nelluru identical with the district headquarters of the same name and Srisailam in the Kurnool District are too well known. Mōṭupalle, also known as Desyuyyakonda-paṭṭana and Velanagara,10 was an important seaport in the time of Ganapati. This king issued an abhaya-sasana" in Saka 1166, corresponding to A.D. 1244, offering protection to foreigners at this port. Since in cases of shipwreck, Ganapati promised to take the usual customs duties only, this edict should have been particularly welcome to the merchants. A similar concession was extended to foreign merchants by the Reddi chief Anna-Võta in Saka 1280 (i.e., A.D. 1358) at this port. The Venetian traveller Marco Polo calls the Kakatiya kingdom, Mutfile, i.e., Motupalle, which according to him was reputed for its large-size diamonds and muslins as fine as the tissue of spider's web.'
"
18
2 sa[sti]sa[hita]....14
3 hämanḍalēsvara Kākati 15
TEXT
1 No. 600 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
No. 774 of 1922 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
No. 775 of 1922 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
The image of Bhringi set up at Srisailam by a merchant of Rajamahendravaram is one of the subsidiary deities worshipped in the place (A.B. No. 29 of 1915). A golden replica of this image was presented to the temple by Chandrasekharayya, an officer of Krishnadevaraya-Mahārāya (No. 14 of 1915). Reference to the cult of Bhringi in South India may be traced from the time of the Chola king Rajaraja I, during whose reign an image of this deity was set up in the big temple at Tanjore (S.I.I, Vol. II, pp. 190 ff).
No. 41 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
No. 309 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. No 41 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. No. 44 of 1915 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
Non. 600 an 605 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
10 No. 606 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
21 No. 600 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. Above, Vol. XII, pp. 188ff.
18 Nos. 01 and 602 of 1909 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
1 This line may be filled up as 'Svasti Sri Samasta-pra'. Some more lines at the beginning are lost.
14 The mis ing letters in the gap may be read as Sriman-ma.
The letters Gana may be introduced here.
