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No. 16] CHATESVARA TEMPLE INSCRIPTION
129 freely distributed ambrosia' among the gods (even). after having experienced torture at their hands at the time when they churned him!
(Verse 2) From him (tho ocean) was born the Moon, causing wonderment to the eyes of one and all, whom Vishņu placed in his eye, (and) whom Siva placed on his forehead," out of loving regard for his virtues.
(Verse 3) From him (the Moon) sprang kings, the glowing flames of whose amazing prowess manifesting itself on the ever) expanding battle-fields consumed the swollen stream of rut of the enemy elephants, the union with the celestial Gangā rising every moment through the ceaseless influx of whose fame caused such a (thrill of) joy to the Ocean that he started rollicking with surging waves, the which revels he keeps indulging in (to this day).
(Verse 4) In the family of those (kings) of the spotless fame did the glory of the Narasimha incarnation (of the god Vishnu)' manifest itself in the guise of the king Chōdaganga whose sword a veritable hermit on the sacred banks of the river of rut of the (enemy) elephants flying into a frenzied rage, helped the hostile princes attain the blessing of salvation.
(Verse 5) With his mind agitated by the palpable displeasure, he (Chodaganga) grabbed, in his hand (80 soft) as a fresh leaf, the chignon of the enemy Fortune even before he clutched his creeper-like sword, (and similarly) he first rendered the gorgeous bosome of the ladies of his enemies bereft of their pearls (and) afterwards? (he did so) the broad temples of the boisterous scentelephants (of his enemies), from which rut was trickling profusely.
(Verse 6) At his indignation, the hostile chiefs, obviously frightened by his scimitar being brandighed and looming large to their horror), (and) shuddering under the volley of the multitude of his arrows, sought after the joy of complete-extinction type, as if priding themselves on enan
Literally, 'installed an alms house of spa brosia for the gods.' Ambrosia (amrita or oudha) is one of the fourtoen gems that the Ocean yielded when churned by the gods and the demons. These include the Moon and lakshmi As well.
* The iniplication being that he treated benevolently and generously even those who wronged him grievously.
• While Siva's carrying & crescent on his forehead is well known, the idea of Vishnu's bearing the Moon in the eye goes back to the Vedas, where he is described as having fire as his head aud the sun and moon as his eyes (agnir-murdha chakshushi chandra-siryau). It is on account of this that one of Vishnu's thousand names is Ravi. Idchana, i.e., one who has the sun as one of the eyes' (see Vishnusahasrandma, with Sankaracharya's commen. tary, verse 93).
• In order to appreciate the poetic fanoy here one must know that kirti (fame) is conceived as a white liquid while the waters of the celestial Ganga (really speaking, the Galaxy or Milky Way in the heavens) are regarded to be milky. The augmentation is thus supposed greatly to add to the gracefulness and charms of the fancied lady, hurrying to her lover, with the heaving bosom.
Naraharitanu of the original is comparable with Narasimhavapuh of the Vishnusahasranama, verse 3. • A florid substitute for saying: he killed his enemies.
* The alleged reverse order of vanquishing and molestation, rhetorically speaking, indicates the agility of action and confidence of victory on the part of the person whose valour is described here.
As for the temples of elephants having pearls, they are traditionally known as one of the various sources of pearls. The tradition is recorded by Mallinātha as follows: Karindra-jimita-waraha-darkha-matay-thi-bullyudbhava-vinjani multāphalani prathitāni lõke tesham tu bukty-udbhavam=iva bhūri. "Pearls are known in the world as emanating from elephants, clouds, boars, conohshells, fish, snakes, oyster-shells and bamboos. Of them, however, those coming from oyster-shells are most common. For details, see under mukta in the Sabdakal. padruma.
• A soent-elephant, gandha-sindhura, is supposed to be one of the most excellent kind of elephant. It is defined as Yasya gandhath samdyhriya na tishthandi pratidvipih sa vai gandha-gajo sama mripatēraujuy-dvahab. 'A soent-elephant is that having smelt whose sent the rival elephants take to flight; such a scent-elephant brings victory to the king (who owns it).'
3 DGA/63
