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JAINA EPIGRAPES : PART 1
$75 modern Kopbal and Gutti which is modern Gooty in the Anantapur District are noted from early times as strong hill-forts. Garāja appears to have been in charge of the area commanded by these forts. As the reading of this portion of the document is not free from doubt and the subsequent portion of the record is missing, the precise nature and significance of the administrative position of this officer cannot be determined.
Our main interest for the inclusion of the epigraph in the present scheme of studies lies in its reference to the town of Kopaņa. This is the earliest reference to this holy place and centre of Jainism, that could be traced 80 far in the epigraphical sources. Its importance for the study of the local history has been discussed in an earlier context (see p. 202).
TEXT 1 [Svasti ] [1* ] Sri-Vijayāditya-Satyā2 sraya Śri-Prithvi-vallabha Ma8 hārājādhirāja Paramāśvara. 4 Bhatās rakö] prithivi-rājyadandu Ko[ pa ]5 nada (mūru pa ]tiyuṁ Guttiy=odeya[ num] 6 Garðjanuṁ karaṇam=āge madevalere
TRANSLATION Hail! While the illustrious suzerain Vijayāditya Satyūsraya (Asylum of Truth) who bore the titles, Sri-Prithivi-vallabba (Favourite Lord of the Goddess of Fortune and the Earth ) Mahārājādhirāja (Paramount Overlord of the great rulers), Paramāśvara (supreme sovereign) was ruling the kingdom of the earth and when Garāja, the three-fold governor of Kopana and lord of Gutti, was holding the office of the Secretary.
INSCRIPTION No. 48
(Found on a paved stone at Arakèri) This inscription was noticed on a rough white stone at Arakēri, a village situated at a distance of about seven miles towards the north of Kopbal. The stone was built into the pavement of the temple of Basavaņņa in the village. The stone which is almost rectangular in shape measures 56 and 28 inches in length and breadth respectively. The stone has been roughly handled and damaged for the most part of it. Consequently the inscription on it is effaced in a large number of places. The characters which are big in size are boldly and deeply carved. The alphabet is Kannada of about the 10th century A. D. and it has still retained its archaic mode. The language is Kannada. The extant portion of the record consists of 27 lines of writing and the lost lines as such might
