Jaina Corpus of Koppala Inscriptions X rayed

Author(s): Nagarajaiah Hampa
Publisher: Ankita Pustak

Page 28

Koppa!a through ages/9
construct the history of Koppa!a in particular and Karnataka in general.
The fact that Koppala enjoyed both excellence and popularity through ages, is richly illustrated by the different forms of the place name. Koppa!a has also the following variants as recorded in inscriptions and literary works - Kopaņa, Kupaņa, Kupiņa, Koppal, Koppa and Kuppa, all referring to one and the same place. Besides, with the affixation of Sanskrit suffix of -pura and-nagara, both meaning a town, the place name Kopana takes the form of Kopaņapura and Kopananagara; with a Sanskrit suffix of -adri and -acala, both meaning a hill, Kopana takes the form of Kopaņādri and Kopaņācala, suggesting the hill at Kopaņa; with the Sanskrit suffix of -tirtha, a free morpheme meaning an holy place of pilgrim, Kopana takes the form of Kopana-tirtha. Yuan Chwang (C.E. 635-43), a traveller from China, has referred to Kopanapura as Konkinapulo (Rice B.L: EC.V. "Intro" p. 15. Burnell. IA, VIII, pp. 145-46; Fleet, 1A. XXIII. p.28 etc.). The two variants, Kopaņācala and Kopaņādri, are the conventional names mostly used in Jaina tradition. These two nomen evidently suggest the geographical position of the place, particularly the Jaina hillock. Since different toponym contribute to ambiguous situation, only Koppaļa', the approved official place name, is used in this monograph.
LITERARY SOURCES
An interesting testimony given by Srivijaya (C. 830-60 C.E.), author of Kavirajamārga (C. 850 A.D.), and a poet laureate of Amoghavarşa-1 (814-75), the Rāșțrakūța emperor who had Nrpatunga as his first name, has recorded the range and principal seats of Karnātaka, where Kannada was the language of the people and administration. According to him, the vast area in between the two rivers of Kāveri in the extreme south and Godāvari in the outermost north, is the fertile Kannada country, the Karnātaka, where the people speaking Kannada language live merrily:
adaro!agam kisuvoļalā vidita mahā kopananagaradā puligereya sadabhistutamapponkun dada naduvaņa nāde nāde kannadada tiru! || [Srivijaya: Kavirājamārga, C. 850 C.E., canto-1. Verse. 37]