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142
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAY, 1877.
versed in the Vedas, at Kurukshetra or Varanasi."
Among the numerous other inscriptions at Båd å mi, there is only one more of the later kings of the Western Chaluky a dynasty. It is on a fragment of a black stonu tablet, leaning against the east wall in the yard of She rif Khân's house, just below the enbankment of the tank, at the south-east corner of the town. It is in the Old Canarese characters and lan- guage, in well-formed letters of from the tenth to the twelfth century. There are remains,
more or less imperfect, of 27 lines, of about 39 letters each; the rest of the stone is lost. It begins with the Vaishņa va invocation Jayaty=dvishkritan Vishnor, &c., and is undoubtedly & Châluky a inscription; but, after this, hardly a connected passage is now legible anywhere, and I could not trace the name of the king, the date, &c. The emblema at the top of the stone are somewhat unusual :-In the centre three standing gods-Brahma, Vishnu, and siva; on their right, a seated Ganapati; and on their left, & cow and calf.
SUBSTANCE OF TWO SÅSANAS IN SIR WALTER ELLIOTS COLLECTION OF
SOUTH INDIAN INSCRIPTIONS.
BY THE REV. R. CALDWELL, D.D., LL.D., TINNEVELLY. The originals are on copper plates, preserved | sits on on a royal throne surrounded by, &c. in the Temple at Tiruppû vanam, in the praised by, &c., possessed of such and such zamindari of Sivagangei, district of Madura. good qualities, promoter of such and such pious
The language is generally Tamil; but the in actions) he [that is, apparently, Raja Gambhira troductory portion of No. 1 is Sanskrit, in old Déva) seated on the altar-couch, in the sacred Grantha characters.
sleeping-chamber of the temple at MadakuNo. I.
ļa in, East Madura, in the fourishing Chola
country, out of the 1200 shares into which the "Svasti Sri! The first thing that made
village (or district) called Raja Gambhira its appearance was Water. Upon the water
chatur-vedi mangalam, in the district Hari slept, reclining on Sasha. From Hari's
of Raja Gambhira-vala-Nada, were divided, navel, Brahma, the Creator of the world, spon
including ten villages, each of which is fully taneously appeared. From him Atri was born.
described, grants 1080 of those shares to 1080 From Atri's eyes the Moon appeared. The
Bhattas, and 120 shares to the temple, for the Moon's son was Budha. From him arose Pardravâs, and from Parûravås the Påndya lords.
subsistence of the temple Brâhmaņs; and for the
confirmation of the same, at the request of Sri Raja Gambhira Dê VA, in order to settle
Sastri Bhattârska, issues this sásana, duly the bonndaries of the district called by his
attested by many witnesses." name (see below), after ascertaining from Sun
Reference is made in several places in this ideana daresvara [Siva of Madura] the proper junc
to the measurement of land by" the measuring-rod ture of time for doing so, in his 25th year, in of Vira Pandiyan." This Vira Pandya must the month of Margali [December-January], have preceded Kulasekhara Dêve, and probably in the dark fortnight, on Saturday, in the yoga there was a considerable interval of time between called Svati, ordered an elephant to be let loose the two. A Vira Påndi, doubtless a later prince [whatever path the elephant took to be regarded
of that name, succeeded to the throne of Madura as the divinely appointed boundary]."
in A.D. 1437. This is the only Vira Pandi whose The above in Sanskrit verse; what follows is
date is known as yet with certainty. The " Vira in Tamil :
Pandu" mentioned in the Singhalese annals (Mahd
vanso) was not a predecessor of Kula gokhara, "In the 18th year, 4364th day, of the lord of
but a rival and successor. His date was probably the earth, Sri Kochchadei (royal ascetic- about A.D. 1175 (see my Dravidian Comparative Rajarshil] Varma, emperor of the three Grammar, p. 538). The Kulasekhera of this inworlds, sri Kulasekhara Deva, (who scription is not styled Pandya Deva, but simply
• On five plates measuring 167 by 5t inches, engraved on both sides, but without ring or soal. -ED.
