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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
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object of this grant, is said to be in Paka-nādu, it may be inferred that the region along the seacoast might have been called by the name of Paka-nāḍu.
Undrakonda, one of the forts said to have been captured by Krishnadevaraya, was a mahādurga where Pratapa-Rudra Gajapati held his court, attended by learned men (Pandits), Patras (commanders of army), Běhara Mahāpātras (collectors of revenue as well as commanders of army), and Samantas (vassals) (lines 19-21). The Assistant Superintendent for Epigraphy takes this to be the same as Indrakonda of Briggs' Ferishta, II..
Vidyanidhi is the last of his titles and it requires explanation. His work, Sarasvativiläsa, is a living evidence of his lore in Sastras, Puranas and other works in Sanskrit literature. Some scholars contend that the work was written by Lakshmidhara Pandita; yet it may be said that the Pandit might have helped the Gajapati in compiling the work. His father Purushōttama Gajapati was such a great scholar that his poetic flourishes were elixir to the ears (Karnarasayanāni) (line 10). The son of such a scholar king must have been educated well in his boyhood. In his 15th year while being the governor of Srikurmam(-Mandala), he wrote such a beautiful and scholarly book as Syainika-kastra (the science of Hawking). M M. H. P. Sastri, who was not aware of the learning of the Gajapati prince of Kurmam, considered Kurmachala as referring to Kumaun and Rudradeva as its king. The other details recorded in the inscription are the following
Lines 26-28: The donee Konḍayya, was the best of the twice born (dvija-rajaḥ), shone with all good qualities, was the son of Tammaya and the grandson of Narayana Yajvan (who performed a sacrifice) of the Bharadvaja götra, of the Yajus(-sakha) sect, and was a resident of Pulugulla.
Line 28: The object of the grant was Velicherla, the gem amongst villages situated in the region of Jaladanki, in the district (siman) of Päka-naḍu. This gift was made with reverence (samadarat), associated with libations of water and gold (hiranya).
The gift, exempted from the thirty six kinds of demands and other imposts, was given to last till the moon and the sun endure, to be enjoyed from son to grandson (for generations). Such rights as those of mortgage and sale were also given. The gift was made in the presence of Durga and Jagannatha for the increase of merit (lines 31-32). The boundaries of the village were shown by the boundary stones.
The boundaries are mentioned in Telugu from line 32 to line 36. Lines 36-39 contain two imprecatory verses.
The charter is ratified by fixing the royal seal which is divided into two parts. The first represents a rampant lion' in writing. Many people understand it to be the Telugu letter kha which forms the initial of the word Khamandu. This is not tenable as there was no occasion for the kings of Orissa to adopt this word of Urdu origin.
The significance of this seal requires to be traced from the time of the Eastern Ganga kings of Orissa. They ratified their grants by securing the ends of a metallic ring on which the plates containing the document were strung, in a metallic lump on which was fixed the seal consisting
[For a discussion regarding the authorship of Sarasvativiläsa, see J. B. R. S., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 15 ff.-Ed.] Published by the A. 8. B. New series, No. 1252, edited by M M. H. P. Sastri. Mr. Sastri understood the author as the lord of Kürmächala, which is supposed to be the modern name of Kumaun; but considering the internal evidences in the work, Pratapa-Rudra was really the Governor of Kürmam which, in analogy with Simhachalam, was named Karmachala. As in the Sarasvativiläsa, in this work also, he collects authorities from several books of Sanskrit literature. References to Puranas, Védas, and other works of Sanskrit are a peculiar feature in the authorship Gajapati kings. Purushottamadeva Gajapati in his Namamalika says that he had studied several books.
