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148 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(VOL. XXXIII a little below the line. Further, the mute t is bereft of its top. There is very little difference between the forms of the letters t and n, both being unlooped. The form of the upadhmaniya (line 1) consists of a circle with a cross in the centre, or a four-spoked wheel, so to say, while that of the jihvāmüliya (lines 4 and 5) is identical with that of the letter m. In point of orthography, the consonant before or after is in most cases reduplicated. The reduplication of the one before r, in pprasādāt in line 5, is noteworthy. The change of visarga into sor & before these letters (lines 4, 5 and 6) is another peculiarity worth noticing.
As for the object of the inscription, it records the erection of a temple (prāsāda), described as the dwelling place for Siva (Sarvvadēv-ādhivāsa)," by one Elisri, on the 11th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha during the 11th regnal year of king Ehavalasrt. Elisri, the builder of the temple, is described as a Talavara-vara (apparently the same as Mahālalavara found in many other inscriptions from Nāgārjunakonda). obviously in the service of king Ehavalasrl. He is further described to be a grandson of the Senapati Anikki and a son of Gandi. It is significant that our donor's father does not bear any title, while his grandfather is mentioned to be a Sēnā pati or commander of armies, who had won victories in battle fields and acquired great fame, His own title shows that he too was a high dignitary..
The most prominent thing in the description of Elisri is that he was a devout worshipper of the god Kārttikėya or Kumāra, the wielder of the terrible spear, so much so that he ascribes the erection of the Siva temple in question to the grace and favour of Kärttikėya.
The names of the donor, his father and his grandfather as well as that of the king are all nonSanskritic. They are presumably of Dravidian origin. It has been suggested to me that the word ali or eli in the name Elieri may be connected with the Tamil word vël, equivalent to Sanskrit fakti, 'spear' (weapon of the god Kürttikoya). Anyway, this name as well as the others in this inscription require further elucidation.
The king Ehavalaấri is known from some other inscriptions from the same place, the name being sometimes spelt as Ehuvala. King Ehuvala Chatamula is mentioned as the son of the Iksbvāku king Virapurisadata and Mahädövi Bhatidēvā. One of this king's records, it is interesting to know, is dated in the very 11th year of his reign as in the case with our inscription. His father and he himself bear the metronymics Mädhariputa and Väsethiputa respectively, indicating thereby that the mother of the former belonged to the Madhara götra while the mother of the latter belonged to the Vüsishtha götra. Ehavala or Ehuvala had a sister whose name was Kodabalisiri, queen of Vänavāsaka-mahārāja.
A much longer and well-preserved Sanskrit inscription engraved on a stone pillar of the time of the same king Ehavalasri has likewise been recently discovered at Nagarjunakonda.
It is not possible to equate the regnal year given in the inscription with the corresponding Christian year. Yet, as indicated above, the inscription can palaeographically be placed in the 3rd or 4th century A.D.
The text of the present inscription given below is based on my reading of the original fragments of the inscription.
1 I take Sarva here as a well-known synonym of Sira: Sarral Sarrah Sivah Sthanuh. · For Talarara and Mahátalarara, see above, Vol. XX, pp. 6 and 7, notek. • [The Telugu word élika (from the verb élu, 'to govern') means 'a ruler, king, master-Ed.] . Cf. above, Vol. XX, p. 94, Inscription H, text line 10. • Loc. cit., Inscription H. • This is No. 4 of 4.R.Ep., 1957-58, App. B.
