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KING KRISHNARAJA AND ELAPURA.
AUGUST, 1883.]
been understood in its usual and etymological sense by Mr. Fleet and the first translator; that sense is not at all appropriate here and the word must be taken to signify "a temple." Though the dictionaries do not give this sense, there is no question the word does denote a "temple." Thus in Mr. Telang's Silâhâra grant, we have
सं (शं) भोर्यो द्वादसा (शा) पि व्यरचयदचिरात्कीर्तनामि (नि).
"Who verily constructed in a short time twelve temples of Śiva." (Ind. Ant., vol. IX, p. 34, 11. 1-2.) The word occurs in other inscriptions also where it must be interpreted as a temple." In the Agni Purana we have in the Chapter on the Construction of Temples,'
तस्माद्दित्तं समासाद्य दैवाद्वा पौरुषादथ । दयान्सम्यदिजायेभ्यः कीर्तनानि च कारयेत् || (Ed. Bib. Ind. vol. I, p. 111.) "Therefore having got wealth by luck or by exertion, one should give it in the proper way to the best among the twice-born and cause temples to be constructed." Similarly in Bana's Kadambart, in the description of the victorious march of a prince, we have
आदिशन्देशव्यवस्थाः स्थापयन्स्वचिह्नानि कुर्वन्कीवनानि लेखयन् शासनानि पृथिवीं विचचार ।
......
एला- संनिवेशम् is to be taken as a Bahuvrthi qualifying कीर्तनम् understood; नाम is an inde clinable adverb meaning "verily," has its final vowel shortened because it qualifies the neuter noun Sivadhama.
महतां विद्यमानानां वित्तेनोपकरोति यः । स्वर्गमानां जरत्पुर्तकीर्त्तनोणेन ॥
तु
In this passage therefore, Krishnaraja is represented to have caused to be constructed on the hill at Êlâpur, a temple of Siva of extraordinary beauty, and in the next stanza the idol is spoken of as having been decorated by the king with rubies, gold, and all other precious things. Here, too, Mr. Fleet translates yena by "by means of it," but it ought, as in the preceding sentence, to be rendered as "by whom," i.e., by the king. Now, when the ending pura of names of places undergoes a change in the vernaculars it becomes ura, and in rare cases ora. Thus we have Chittur for Chitrapura, Indor for Indrapura, Sirur for Sripura, Simhur for Simhapura, Nandur or Nándor for Nandipura, Bishnur for Vishnupura, Mahisur for Mahishapura, Teur (often spelt Tevur) for Tripura, &c. Thus then Elâ pura should become Elur, and with the termination ka which is the Sanskrit
This occurs in the description of Vastupâla in the fourth canto. The sense is, "[That Vastupåla] who does good to the great who are living by means of wealth, and to those who are dead by the restoration of dilapidated works of public utility (such as tanks, wells &c.) and temples."
The words in the two stanzas before us are to be thus syntactically connected:
vernacular Elura. It is, therefore, a temple of extraordinary beauty on the hill at Elur & that Krishnaraja, in these two stanzas is said to have caused to be
33
यद् यह एलापुराचलगताडुतसंनिवेशम् [कीर्तनम् ] original of the wraamisr ending & we have वीक्ष्य विस्मितविमानचरामरेन्द्राः " एतद् शिवधाम स्वयंभु, ईदृशी श्रीः कृत्रिमे न दृष्टा बहु चर्चयन्ति; यस्य [कीर्तनस्य ] कर्ता शिल्पी अपि खलु भूयस्तथाविधकृतौ व्यवसायहाने: “अहो कथम् एतद् मया कृतम् " इति अकस्मात् विस्मयम् आप तद् नाम कीर्तनम् येन राज्ञा अकार्यत.
constructed; very likely it was the Kailasa itself, since it is spoken of with such admiration.
The date of the grant in which D antidurga is represented to have conquered the Chalukyas and become paramount sovereign is Śâka 675, and
"He traversed the earth, dictating arrangements for the government of countries, placing his memorials, constructing temples, causing grants to be written, &c." In Someévara's Kirtikaumudi we have
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This reference I owe to Mr. Telang himself. My attention was called to this passage by Prof.
Here येन राज्ञा is, like यो and यस्मिन् in the preceding sentences and in the following, to be connected with कृष्णराजः जज्ञे in the first sentence in which the description of this king begins. It is usual in Sanskrit literature when a description is given, to introduce each sentence by the relative pronoun and make it an attributive adjunct of the subject in the principal sentence, i.e., the thing or person described. A close translation of this is :
"[That king] by whom, verily, was caused to be constructed a temple on the hill at Élâpura, of a wonderful structure,-on seeing which the best of immortals who move in celestial cars, struck with astonishment, think much constantly, saying, This temple of Siva is self-existent; in a thing made by art such beauty is not seen,'-a temple, the architect-builder of which, in conse-quence of the failure of his energy as regards [the construction of] another such work, was himself suddenly struck with astonishment, saying, 'Oh, how was it that I built it!"
Abaji V. K&thavate, of Ahmedabad, who has been editing the Kirtikaumudt for the Bombay Sanskrit Series.
