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No. 36-NIMBAL PLATES OF KALACHURI SANKAMADEVA
(1 Plate)
M. K. DHAVALIKAR, AURANGABAD
(Received on 2.12.1959)
The set of plates was found while removing stones in S. Nos. 246 and 251 to the south-west of the Sankaralinga temple at Nimba] (Budruk) in the Indi Taluk of the Bijapur District of Mysore. It was in the possession of Shri B. G. Nadgouda Patil, the owner of the field, from whom it was obtained by Shri S. A. Sundara, Exploration Assistant, Department of Archaeology, SouthWestern Circle. It is published with the permission of the Superintendent of the Circle.
The plates are three in number. The first and third plates are inscribed only on the inner side while the second is inscribed on both the sides. There is a roundish hole (diameter 1") in the middle of the upper margin of each plate and the plates were held together by a circular ring soldered beneath a seal. The plates measure 9" in height, 51" in breadth and " in thickness and together weigh 129 tolas.
The characters belong to the Southern Nagari alphabet of about the 12th century A. D. and do not call for any special remarks. The language of the record is Sanskrit (with Kannada influence in some parts; cf. lines 52, 58) and, except the stanzas at the beginning, the imprecatory verses at the end (lines 65 to 82), and a stanza mentioning the writer (lines 82-84), it is written in prose. There are many orthographical errors in the text of the record.
After the invocatory stanza in praise of Siva at the beginning, the record gives the genealogy of the Kalachuri kings, which is similar to that given in the Behatti and Kukkanur3 plates. But Bijjana's victory over the Pandya, Chōla, Vanga and Mälava kings, which is described in the said plates, is absent in the present grant.
The inscription then records the grant of the village of Bobbulavaddhe, situated in Ankulage-50 which formed a part of Tarikada-kampana, made by king Sankama II in favour of the temple of a certain deity at Nimbahura (i.e. modern Nimbal) for repairs to the temple and the worship of the deity. The name of the deity is not clear from the grant as that particular portion is mutilated. Only the first letter ko can be read. The name may be Kōtisankaradeva, i.e. Sankaralinga at Nimbal. The grant was accepted by Nagisēțți apparently on behalf of the deity. The boundaries of the gift village have not been specified. The record mentions the name of the king's minister, Mallikarjuna. The charter was drawn up by Adityadeva who also composed the above-mentioned Behatti and Kukkanur plates. The record was written by Pandita Gollana while it was engraved by Pandaya who was also the engraver of the Behatti grant.
The date of the grant is given as Monday, the 5th of the bright half of the month of Märgasirsha in the cyclic year of Parabhava. The nakshatra was Bharani (a mistake for Sravana) and the yoga Vyatipata. The date, which corresponds to the 17th November 1186
1 The engraving of the record had originally been begun on the outer side of the third plate but was later given
Ind. Ant., Vol. IV, p. 272. JBBRAS, Vol. XVIII, p. 275.
Cf. A. R. Ep., 1937-38, pp. 203-04, Nos. E 49, 51-54. The same name also occurs in the Sankaralinga temple inscription of Yadava Bhillama. See above, Vol. XXVIII, p. 97, text lines 2, 4, etc. [See below, p. 230, note 4.-Ed.]
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