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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(VOL. XXIX
The inscription refers to a chief who is described as the righthand man of Goggi-Bhatars and the dear son of Alakumara. He bears the rather unusual epithet Ujeni pisacha (Ujenipisachanāmadhēyumdu) which sounds more like a title than a name, a title probably acquired by him as a result of a terrorising campaign that he must have undertaker, against Ujēni (Ujjain). Who could this unnamed hero be? An inscription at Aibole in the Hungund talul in the Bijapur District of Bombay State mentions a certain Alekomara-Singa (i. e., Ilekomara's son Singa) as the founder of a temple. This record which refers itself to the reign of Vikramāditya is undated but could be assigned palaeographically to the period of Vikramaditya I. If this Singa, the son of Aļekomara could be identical with the unnamed son of Alakumara of our record, it would not be impossible that this Singa fouad an opportunity of following his suzerain in a campaign against Ujjain and of showing his prowess which earned for him the said title as well as the fiefdom of the Euva vishaya. It may be recalled that it was Pula kesin II who distinguished himself as the conqueror of Harshavardhana of Kanyakubja. His conquests were by far the most widely spread and included among the conquered, the Māļavas. Whether Singa alias Ujēnipäche obtained the fiefdom of Eruva as a reward for his valour from Pulukosin II himself or from his son Vikramaditya I when the latter re-established his authority in the south after a temporary set-back following the defeat of his father, Pulakasin II, at the hands of the Pallavas, is more than what could be said at this stage. As regards Goggi-Bhatara who figures in the capacity of a master or leige-lord of Alakumara's son, a chief of this name born of the Chalukya family and bearing the title Mahāsāmanta figures in stone inscriptions of the Mysore State. It is interesting to note that one of these epigraphs ascribes the title Ujjenībhujanya apparently to this same chief. But all these records are assigned to the 10th century A.C. and therefore the chief mentioned in them must be different from Goggi-Bhatūra of our record.
Of the place names, [Turu)tațāka is obviously the present Turimeļļa, the findspot of the record. Legend connects it with the mythical story of the sage Jamadagni and his celestial cow Surabhi. The later inscriptions at this village refer to the place as Jamadagni-ātrama and mention the temple as that of Surabhisvara. The story goes that king Karttaviryārjuna chanced to visit the sage at his āśrama once with his retinue and was amazed at the mysterious powers of the celestial cow which granted anything that its owner wished for. Possessed with the desire to own this cow, the king demanded it of the sage and took it from him by force which resulted in dire consequences not only to the king himself but to generations of the Kshatriyas after him at the hands of Parasurama, the son of Jamadagni. The word Tirumella or Turimella (turu, meaning cow and malla, corrupted into mella, 'drive '), as the village na nie goes, denoted the spot where the 'cow was driven..
The territorial division Eruva-vishaya seems to find the earliest mention in this record. It was a small principality on the borders of the Kurnool, Nellore and Culdapah Districts and was
1 Ind. Ant., Vol. VIII, p. 286 and plate , text lines 2-3. Dr. Fleet remarks thot this record might belong to the reign of either Vikramāditya I or Vikramāditya II.
Among the early Terugu Cholas figures a Saktikomāra. Except for a vague similarity of this name to Alakumara, there is nothing to suggest any relationship between them.
Among the successor of Pulakekin II, neither his son Vikramaditya I nor the latter's great andeos Vikramaditya II claims any campaigns against the Māļavas. Vinayaditya and Vijayaditya no doubt fought with the kings of the north, but they do not specifically mention the Malavan among them. The later Vikramaditya's pro-occupations seem to have confined themselves mainly to the south, especially to the l'allavas.
• Ep. Car., Vol. III, Mysore 36, 37, Vol. XI, Chitaldurg 74.
Ibid., Vol. XI, Introd. p. 9.
• Mr. M. Venkataramayya suggests another derivation of Turimella from Turutatāka : Turutatāka would, in Telugu, correspond to Turumadugu and this may have undergone changes like Turamadugala, Turumadla, Turimalla and Turimella.
