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No. 9_VUNNA GURAVAYAPALEM PLATES OF PARAMESVARAVARMAN I,
YEAR 19
(1 Plate)
D.C. SIROAR, OOTACAMUND, and P. SESHADRI SASTRI, GUNTUR
Some time ago a set of three inscribed copper plates strung on a copper ring bearing a bronze seal was shown to Sastri by the son of the Village Munsif of Vunna Guravayapalem in the Podili Taluk of the Nellore District of Andhra. Sastri had prepared a transcript of the inscription and got the surface of the seal and the inscribed faces of the plates photographed before the record was returned. The photographs of the plates, however, were taken without outting the ring holding them together and taking them out of it. Thus some letters on all the inscribed faces of the plates are seen covered by a portion of the ring in the photographs. In January 1957, a set of the photographs was received by Sircar from Sastri. Sircar then tried to secure the original plates for examination with the help of the State Government; but the attempt was a failure.
Each one of the three plates is of almost the same size as any of the three inscribed plates of the Reyūru grant of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II who, as will be seen below, was the son and successor of the issuer of the charter under discussion. But they have writing on the inner side of the first and third plates and on both sides of the second, while the Röyüru grant has writing also on the reverse of the third plate. The number of lines in the inscriptions on both the sets of plates is the same. The twenty five lines of writing in the present epigraph are distributed on the plates as follows: 1-6 lines, Ila-6 lines, IIb-6 lines and III- lines, whereas the Rēgūru grant has five lines each on the inner side of the first and third plates and on both sides of the second and six lines on the outer side of the third plate. The hole about the left border of the plates, for the seal-ring to pass through, was made in both the records before the incision of the documents in question. The space between the hole and the border of the plates is slightly bigger in the present set than in the Rēyūru grant. The size of the letters in the inscription under study is slightly smaller than in the other epigraph, although they are almost as neatly and carefully engraved.
The ends of the ring holding the plates together are soldered to the bottom of the seal having a circular surface. The central part of this counter-sunk surface of the seal bears the representation of a recumbent bull with its head towards the proper left and face slightly turned towards front. There appear to be a crescent and a linga above the head of the bull which is known to have been the emblem of the Pallavas. The upper part of the surface, above the back of the bull is occupied by the crude representation of what looks like a deity seated on a throne. Below the bull, there is a legend in three aksharas which appear to read Sri-nadi apparently standing for SriNandi. This was probably a biruda of the Pallava king Paramēsvaravarman I (sometimes called Paramēśvarapõtavarman or Isvarapotarāja) who issued the charter under review. It has, however, to be admitted that this secondary name of the Pallava king is as yet unknown, although we know many of his other birudas such as Atyanta kāma, Srinidhi, Sribhara, Ranajaya, Tarnn
1 The first letter of the lines is often found partially or fully cut off from the photographs.
Above, Vol. XXIX, pp. 89-97 and Plates. There are two more uninscribed platos in this set. • The legend on the soal does not appear to refer to the bull represented on it.
(91)
