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188
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JULY, 1896.
not acquainted with the intricacies of astrological conceptions. For what is more natural than to suppose that one would be at the height of one's power in one's own house rather than under the roof of another ? Bat such a supposition would imply ignorance of an important branch of Indian letters, not only on the part of the writer of the slôka, but also on the part of those court pandits and other scholars of the age, who must have examined the verse before allowing it to be inscribed on a tablet specially prepared for it. The two alternatives being thus equally difficult to accept, I leave the solution of the problem to those better versed than myself in the history of Indian astrology. There can be, however, no similar doubt as to the position of the chief of the gods - Jupiter. He was in 578 in the sign of Sagittarius, - just the position where we should have expected him, having found him 28 years previously in Leo. The lunar mansion of the day was Yamya or Bharani, as the star is now more commonly called.
More important to us than all these items of astronomical information is that the king of Vēņåd of the day was Martåndaverman, who is described as of boundless fame and of mild disposition, the latter of which descriptions at least must be taken as answering to fact. If the third descriptive clause, “the chief among the kings of Kerala," is meant to be equally significant, it would clearly prove that there were others in Kerala exercising sovereign powers at the time- & supposition of some historical value, as we shall see further on. But it appears to me quite possible that the expression is a mere expletive introduced to fill up the metre. The subject of the grant is described as lands of great value, and its object a particular divine service consisting of offerings to be made at the early dawn of each day.
XVIII. This inference is fully borne out by the Tamil portion of the record, which when translated reads thus :
18 Old Malayalam No. 79. Medieval Tamir Second Padmanabhapuram Inscription of Vira
Kerala-Mártandavarman. "In the Kollam year 678, the sun being 26 days old in Mêsham, on Saturday, new moon, [the lunar mansion being] Bharani, was instituted a dawn offering by Sri-Vira-KóralaMartandavarma-Tiruvadi of Kilapperor, to be made to the Mahadeva of Sivagiri at Raņasimhanallúr, and the arrangements made for the expenses thereof are as follow :
The husked paddy required per day being in home measure .... the total paddy required per year is 24 kalam, and the cost of condiments amonnts to .... To meet this total charge, six kalam are to be taken out of the tax due on ... and for the remaining 18 kalam is to be utilized the tax due on the paddy lands beginning with the piece called Akkirappullan Perai among the Alvår temple lands in Tiruvikramapuram, thus making the total 24 kalam in all. The clarified butter required for the divine service and for vaisvadeva being per month two nali in home measure, the land called Mavaraimllaippirayidam is also made over for the purpose. All these properties shall be taken possession of and enjoyed by the Vâriyan of Sattanûr, by name Adityan Adityan, and he shall furnish the supplies for the offering and also a holy garland ont of the flower garden to be formed by him. (In return for his labour) he shall take the offering of cooked rice. If the supply is not made for any one day when the property is enjoyed in pursuance of this arrangement, double the default shall be paid ; but if the failure continues for a month, a fine shall, in addition to double the quantity defaulted, be imposed. If, however, the failure is due to the obstruction of any in the sabhá, a complaint shall be lodged at the door (of the temple P) and the obstruction shall then be removed. Thus in lineal succession, and as long as the moon and the stars endure, shall these paddy lands and gardon be enjoyed, the rent recovered every harvest, and the divine service conducted without failure. This copy of the royal writ is inscribed on this stone by Ichuran Iravi of the temple.'"
