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No. 42] TELUGU CHOLA RECORDS FROM ANANTAPUR AND CUDDAPAH 188 not be satisfactorily identified with any modern village. Bi(Vi)ripāfu is referred to in several other records, viz., the Mālēpādu plates of Punyakumara . and the Mālēpādu stone insoription of Rashtrakūta Nityavarsha (Indra III). In the former record the place is said to lie on the south bank of the river Suprayoga in Hiranyarashtra. The Suprayogā may be identified with the river Pennår while Hiranyarashtra may be taken to be identical with the region around the present Kamalapuram and Cuddapah taluks. Besides the above records in and around Mālēpădu, two more inscriptions refer to Viriparu. One is the Kopparam plates of Pulakēsin II and the other the Mayidavõlu plates of Pallava Sivaskandavarman. In the former it is stated that the 'road leading to Virpasu' (Virparu-patha) constituted one of the boundaries of the village granted, viz., Irbuli in Karmarāshtra (Guntur Dt.). In the second, Viripasa is described as belonging to Andhrăpatha. It is doubtful if the same village is referred to in all these records. The Viripāsu (Viripafu) mentioned in inscriptions in and around Mälēpādu may be different from the Virparu or the Viripara of the Andhrapatha mentioned in the aforesaid Kopparam and Mayidavõlu plates and which has been identified with Vipparla, Narasaraopet taluk, Guntur Dt.
Therefore, the Viriparu of our record has to be looked for in the region around Råmēsvaram and Mālēpāļu as stone inscriptions at the latter place also mention it. The importance of the place and its situation south of the river Pennār make its identification with Mālēpādu itself not unlikely, as both have their location on the south bank of the Pennär and their very names also appear to have a common import. The village Tärumunu cannot be located.
G. TEXT
1 Svasti sri [] Po2 rmukharāma Punyaku3 māra Prithivivallabha 4 Chola Mahārājulaku 5 pravarddhamāna vijaya rå-* 6 rājya samvatsarambul yē 7 nagu nändu Vasantipori 8 Cholamahādēvulu Täru9 mungi Vasa'ntisvarambuna Pulla10 vattambuna-vāriki Viripari11 (ti]-pulombuna rendu totaļu 12 [ri]hitambalo rāchamānambuna
1 Above, Vol. XI, p. 346, 1.20; H. K. Sastri's reading as Birapăru is to be corrected as Biriparu.
No. 391 of 1904 of the Mad. Ep. Coll..
3 JOR. Vol. XII, p. 363 : Mr. M. S. Sarma, however, identifies the rare with Arurornoi of Ptolemy and locates it in the Nellore district between the rivers Pennår and Suvargamukhi, Mal. Uni. Journal, Vol. XII, p. 153. In the An. Rep. on 8.1. Ep. for 1936, para. 7, pp. 56-7, the region is lo ated in the Atmakur taluk of the Nellore district.
*JTA. XI, p. 201; A. Bh. 0. 1. IV, p. 49; above, Vol. XVIII, p. 257.
Above, Vol. VI, p. 87, text I. 12. . Above, Vol. XXV, pp. 48-9.
+ Malépidu, a probable corruption of Mallopádu, means the place of jasminen (malle) and more or less the same meaning is conveyed by the name Biriparu or Viriparu which means literally the 'place of flowers'. The Virijaji is a variety of the malle or jasmine and the term viripuuou is the colloquial name of this flower. Cf. also male, garland. It has been suggested (An. Rep. on 8. I. Rp. for 1936, para. 7. Pp. 19-7) that Billupadu in the Atmakur taluk, Nellore district, must have been the ancient Biriparu; but there are no vestiges of Telugu Chola rule in that region in this period.
Canoel this rå as the letter is repeated at the beginning of the next line.
First written as ba and then corrected into aa. 1 This may be read as [aa]kitamba.
