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104 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXXIII name Mallikarjuna (lines 11 and 19) has been spelt with kh instead of k as in Telugu inscriptions." The inscription bears no date.
Verses 1-4 in lines 1-9 describe a king named Prataparudra. The first of these stanzas speak of him as mithila-bhüpāla-mauli-ratna-lasat-pada and räja-firo-mani which may indicate that he was an independent or imperial ruler. The suggestion seems to be supported by verge 3 which represents the king as hearing the burden of the entire earth. Verse 2 refers to his capital as excelling Amaravati, the city of the gods, but does not mention its name. This reference to the capital, which has no direct relation with the purpose of the inscription, seems to indicate that king Pratāparudra was ruling from the unnamed city when the inscription was incised.
The following five stanzas (verses 5-9) in lines 9-20 describe the preceptor of Pratāparudra. Verse 5 states that the name of the king's preceptor was Mallikārjuna who enjoyed the title Tribhuvanividyāchakravartin. He is also called süri in the same stanza and kovida in verse 9 and was apparently famous for his learning. The name of "Mallikarjuna is repeated in verse 9, while Verse 7 represents him as a great devotee of the god Siva as it says that Indusēkhara (Siva) liked his stay in Mallikarjuna's mind better than his residence on Mount Kailasa. Verges 8-9 state that a locality called Mantrakata lying on the southern border of the Vindhya mountain range (Vindhy-ädri-dakshina-präntë) and on the bank of the river Gautami (Gautami-taţë) was studded with numerous lingas and that the city called Simhädri-nagari, situated in the said locality, was beautified by Mallikarjuna with many buildings. Gautami is another name of the river Godāvari, while Mantrakūta appears to be the same as Manthani (also called Mantenna), the headquarters of a Taluk of the same name in the Karimnagar District in the former Hyderabad State but now in Andhra Pradesh. A chief named Gunda is described as the lord of Mantrakuța-nagart in the Hanumakonda inscription' (Saka 1084=1162 A.D.) of Kakatiya Pratāparudra I, while the same chief is called Manthanya-Gunda in the Palampet inscription of Saka 1135 (1213 A.D.), and Manttena-Gunda in the Gana pesvaram inscription (Saka 1153-1231 A.D.) of the Kakatiya king Ganapati. Thus the same place is called Mantrakūta-nagari, Manthani and Mantenna. A Siva temple built at the same place, called Mantrakūtapura, by Gangadhara, a general of Kakatiya Pratāparudra I, is mentioned in the Karimnagar inscription of Saka 1092 (1170 A.D).
Verse 10 in lines 21-23 states that Mallikārjuna's wife was Gauri who caused to perform the Gaya-Sraddha, apparently of her husband Mallikārjuna, even though the husband's death is not clearly referred to in the inscription. As already indicated above, &rāddha performed in honour of the departed spirits of dead relatives at Gayā is regarded as specially efficacious especially during the dark half of the amänta month of Bhadrapada or the purnimänta month of Asvina. Verse 11 in lines 23-26 speaks of Gauri's daily entı y through the gate of Gaya' and to her securing the salvation of the foremost of her relations (i.e. her husband). Apparently she was performing what is called nitya-frāddha for the emancipation of her husband Mallikarjuna.
1 Cf., o.g., P. Sreenivasachar, A Corpus of Inscriptions in the Telingana Districts, Part III, 1968, p. 71.
* Mallikarjuna's title Tribhuvant-vidyd-chakravartin reminds us of the title Sakala-vidya-chakravartir enjoyed by several scholars at the court of the kings of the Hoysala dynasty of Dorasamudra. It has been suggested that the title was conferred on the court pandits by the Hoysala kings (Heo abave, Vol. XXXI, p. 227). It is thus not impossiblo that the title Tribhuvant-vidyd-chakravartin was oonforred on Mallikarjuna by his royal disciple Pratáparudra.
P. Sreenivasachar, op. cit., Part II, p. 10, text line 34. • Hyd. Anch. Ser., No. 3, p. 3, text line 49.
Above, Vol. III, p. 85, text line 18. .P. Sreenivasachar, op. oit., p. 173, text line 142. * Gayd-dvdram dvibanti dint dine seems to refer to Gaurt's daily visit to the Caya temple. • The expression purodhasan cha bandhandm has been used to indicate the husband.'
