________________
256
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[SEPTEMBER, 1895.
directed to be opened). If Nárâņa Tâdar (should ever fail],39 the village association, the Bidara Tiruvadi, 30 and the temple managers are empowered to carry out this arrangement, as long as the moon and the stars endure, through such agencies as they might be pleased to nominate."
We have here irrebuttable evidence of the continuance of Sri-Vira-Koralavarman's rule up to Makara 319 M. E., or roughly speaking up to the end of Januury 1144. How long his reign lasted, or when it actually commenced, we have as yet no means of determining; but that it did last for 18 years and 5 months at the least is established by the two inscriptions before us. The addition in the second document of Tiruvadi, or "holy feet," to the name of the sovereign, if it means anything at all,co muy be taken to indicate the expansion of his dominions and the consequent growth of his power, since we first met with him. The re-establishment of his authority, so far to the north as Trivandram, affords of course clearer evidence of the same. Though I have not yet been able to identify the exact locality of Tenganad, I have no doubt it must have embraced the sea-coast from Tôigapatnam on the mouth of the Kulittu rai river to Tiruvallam, including the famous sea port of Vilijam. The enemy, from whose hands Tenganad is here recorded to have been recovered, may have been, therefore, the representatives of the very same Chôļa power that Kêraļa varman, in the earlier part of his career, found it wise to conciliate.
As for other inferences from the inscription before us, particularly abont village associations, temple authorities, and the curious personage, Bhattaraka Tiruvadi, I would faia wait till our data accumulate. It is quite the fashion nowadays to suppose that ancient native Indian government was despotism, pure and simple, and I would wait till more facts are brought to our notice about the constitution and powers of the early village associations of Travancore, before I venture to discuss the soundness of this general assumption. When we remember the diverse secular functions the Hindu temples were designed to discharge, besides being places of divine worship, we cannot be really too curious about their constitution and management. But I would allow the Buddhist monk, Bhattaraka, to go once more in proof, through his slow evolution of Bhattaraka Tira vadi, Badara Tiruvadi, BalAra Tiruvadi and Pashûra Tiruvadi, before I would identify him with the modern Pisharadi, whose puzzling position among the Malabar castes, balf monk and half layman, is far from being accounted for by the silly and fanciful modern derivation of Pisharaka! + Odi, Pisharaka! being more mysterious than Pisharadi itself.2
A word or two about the taxes and duties mentioned in the above document would prove more pertinent to our present inquiry; but I am sorry I have failed, even after repeated inspection of the original itself, to make out, not only the shorthand symbols given to signify the quantity of paddy, but also what is intended to be read by the combination of letters which, as far as I can discern, look like 'chévadu' and 'alagerudu' - terms which convey no intelligible meaning to me. From the context I take them to stand for certain duties then levied. The tax on looms is clear enongh, though there is no means of discovering its amount. It must have been but a trifle, considering the total expenditure charged on all the revenues set apart by this deed. The word néli is another obsolete term, which I take to mean 'capital.' Considering
88 The expressions within square brackets are conjecturally supplied, while those within the semi-circular brackets are additions to render the meaning clearer.
80 Bidara is a corruption of Bhattaruka, in which full form, too, the word is often found.
+ The kings of Vēņad were always known to literature, Tamil and Malayalam, na venatt-aliga? "the holy feet of Venad."
1 They were fortresses, treasuries, court-houses, parks, fairs, exhibition sheds, halls of learning and of pleasure, all in one
"? I regret to observe that the Travancore Census Report, 1891, adopts this absurd derivation. See Vol. I. pages 743 and 755.
43 This applies to all subsequent inscriptions. The symbols are arbitrary contractions of words and numerals, and difficult, therefore, of conjecture.
