Velvikudi inscription
The Velvikudi inscription is an 8th-century bilingual
Date
The grant was made in the third regnal year of the king Nedunjadaiyan (also transliterated as Neduncheliyan),[1] whose reign is dated to c. 765–815 CE.[2] The grant recorded in the inscription was probably made in 769-770 CE, but there is some controversy about its actual date.[3]
Physical features
- The record is in form of ten copper plates, each measuring 27.5 x 8 cm.[4]
- The plates are held together by a thin copper ring, without a seal.[4]
- British Museum's Indian Charters on Copper Plates in the Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books (1975) states that these copper plates were found at Madakulam.[3]
Language
The inscription consists of the
The Sanskrit portion was composed by Varodayabhatta, who is described as "a performer of all sacrifices" (Sarvakratuyajin).[5] The Tamil portion was composed by Senapati Enadi, alias Chattan Chattan.[6]
The inscription includes the
H. Krishna Sastri, who first edited and translated the inscription, suggested that the Sanskrit part may have been added later to give the inscription a "dignified appearance".[8][10] However, this is unlikely, because similar Sanskrit portions also appear in other near-contemporary Pandya inscriptions. Moreover, the Tamil text of the Velvikudi inscription does not start on a new copper plate, but in the middle of the reverse of the third copper plate. The Sanskrit text that appears at the end of the inscription begins on the reverse of the ninth copper plate, but it is followed by Tamil text starting in the middle of the last copper plate.[8]
Content
Sanskrit portion: Mythical genealogy
The inscription begins with a Sanskrit portion that invokes the God Shiva, and describes the mythical lineage of the Pandya kings, naming the sage Agastya as their family priest. It also gives the following account of the dynasty's origin:[11]
At the end of the previous
Maravarman's son Ranadhira was an able ruler like his ancestors, and Ranadhira's son Maravarman (II) alias Rajasimha was a powerful, prosperous, truthful and learned ruler. The enemy king Pallavamalla ran away from the battlefield when faced with Rajasimha, wondering if the Pandya king was Shiva, Vishnu, or Indra.[11] Rajasimha generously distributed his wealth among the brahmanas, beggars and temples. He married the daughter of the Malava king, and their son was the next ruler, Jatila.[11] (Sastri identified Malava with modern Mala-nadu.[13]) Jatila alias Parantaka was almost equal to Skanda, the son of Shiva.[11]
Tamil portion: Historical context
The Tamil portion begins with the description of a past event, and goes on to describe the achievements of the issuer king's ancestors:
Narkorran (
Subsequently, a
The next king in the line,
Seliyan Sendan's son
Sadaiyan's son
Ter Maran's son Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan (the issuer king, also known as Jatila Parantaka) was a respected, merciful and militarily powerful king, who loved the learned people (
Tamil portion: Grant
The Velvikudi inscription provides the earliest extant reference to the establishment of a Brahmadeya (land grant to a brahmana) in the Tamil-speaking region.[17] It records Nedunjadaiyan's renewal of a grant made by his purported ancestor, the ancient Pandya king Palyaga Mudukudimi Peurvaluti.[17][18]
The inscription states that during the third year of Nedunjadaiyan's reign, a man arrived at the Pandya capital Kudal (Kūṭal or Madurai), and complained that Velvikudi had not been returned to Narkorran's descendants after the end of the Kalabhra interregnum. The king asked the complainant to prove the antiquity of the grant, which the complainant did. The king then granted the Velvikudi village to Kamakkani Narchingan (Kāmakaṇi Naṟchiṅgaṉ) alias Suvaran Singan, the headman of Korkai.[16] The headman kept the one-third of the village for himself, and distributed the remaining part among fifty other brahmanas.[19]
Sanskrit portion: imprecatory verses
The Sanskrit portion at the end names Mangalaraja Madhuratara of Karavandapura as the executor (ajnapti) of the grant.
Tamil portion: Colophon
The Tamil portion at the end states that the inscription was engraved by the order of the king himself, and names the engraver as Yuddhakesari (or Chuttakesari) Perumbanaikkaran.[16][14] The engraver was allotted a house site, a wet field and a dry field.[20]
Historicity
Ignoring the mythical kings, the Sanskrit portion of the Velvikudi inscription mentions three immediate predecessors of the current king Jatila Parantaka (four generations in total). The subsequent Tamil portion mentions six such ancestors (seven generations in total), ignoring the legendary Palyāka Mutukuṭumi Peruvaḻuti. These numbers appear to have been determined by convention: the other near-contemporary inscriptions from the region variously name either four or seven generations of kings.[21]
Madras Museum Plates | Velvikudi Grant | Smaller Sinnamanur Plates | Larger Sinnamanur Plates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sanskrit portion | Tamil portion | ||||
Kadungon | |||||
Maravarman Avanisulamani
| |||||
Seliyan Sendan (or Sendan) | Jayantavarman | ||||
Maravarman | Arikesari Maravarman | Arikesari Maravarman | Arikesari Parankusa | ||
Ranadhira | Ko Chadaiyan
|
Jatila | |||
Maravarman Pallavabhanjana | Maravarman Rajasimha I | Ter Maran (or Maran) | Rajasimha | ||
Jatilavarman Nedunjadaiyan | Jatila Parantaka | Nedunjadaiyan
(=Maranjadaiyan, Anamalai Inscription) |
Varaguna Maharaja (Varaguna I) | ||
Srimara Srivallabha | |||||
Varagunavarman II (Varaguna II)
|
Parantaka Viranarayana | ||||
Maravarman Rajasimha II |
The inscription presents the issuer king Nedunjadaiyan as a descendant of Palyāka Mutukuṭumi Peruvaḻuti, but this may be a false claim.[18]
The inscription is notable for being one of few early sources that mention the
References
- ^ a b S.C. Mishra & Manisha Agnihotri 2009, p. 214.
- ^ Noboru Karashima 2014, p. 88.
- ^ a b Gaur 1975, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Gaur 1975, p. 2.
- ^ K. G. Krishnan 2002, p. 11.
- ^ K. G. Krishnan 2002, p. 13.
- ^ Herman Tieken 2001, pp. 135–137.
- ^ a b c Herman Tieken 2001, p. 137.
- ^ Herman Tieken 2001, pp. 137–138.
- ^ a b c d e f H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 293.
- ^ a b c d e H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 305.
- ^ Herman Tieken 2001, pp. 135–136.
- ^ a b H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 297.
- ^ a b c d e S.C. Mishra & Manisha Agnihotri 2009, p. 215.
- ^ a b c d H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 307.
- ^ a b c d e f H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 294.
- ^ a b K. Lakshmi 2011, p. 94.
- ^ a b Herman Tieken 2001, p. 132.
- ^ H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 308.
- ^ H. K. Sastri 1983, p. 309.
- ^ a b Herman Tieken 2001, p. 136.
- ^ K. A. Nilakanta Sastri 1929, p. 41.
Bibliography
- Gaur, Albertine (1975). Albertine Gaur (ed.). Indian charters on copper plates in the Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books. British Museum. .
- H. K. Sastri (1983). "Velvikudi Grant of Nedunjadaiyan". Epigraphia Indica. Vol. 17 (1923-24). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Herman Tieken (2001). Kāvya in South India: Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry. Egbert Forsten. ISBN 978-90-6980-134-6.
- K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (1929). The Pandyan Kingdom. Luzac and Company.
- K. G. Krishnan (2002). Inscriptions of the Early Pāṇḍyas: From C. 300 B.C. to 984 A.D. Northern Book Centre. ISBN 978-81-7211-129-8.
- K. Lakshmi (2011). "The Priest under the Pallavas". In S. Ganeshram; C. Bhavani (eds.). History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chandrababu. Bharathi Puthakalayam. ISBN 978-93-80325-91-0.
- Noboru Karashima, ed. (2014). "Sixth Century to Ninth Century". A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-809977-2.
- S.C. Mishra; Manisha Agnihotri (2009). "Viewing the Kalabhras as a hoax or historical reality". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 70: 214–217. JSTOR 44147670.
External links
- Velvikudi Grant of Nedunjadaiyan: text and translation by H. Krishna Sastri, in Epigraphia Indica Volume 17.