- Support
- Stone stela, shattered and recomposed; h. 101 × w. 47-51 × d. 20 cm.
- Text
- Sanskrit language, Southern Brāhmī script script. h. 57 × w. 47 cm .
- Date
- Eleventh regnal year of Ehavalaśrī (i.e., Siri-Ehavalacāntamūla), approximately between 250 and 300 CE.
- Origin
- Nagarjunakonda.
- Provenance
- Found at Site-99 in the 1956-57 season, and first noticed by Chhabra during his epigraphical tour in July 1957. Identified at Nagarjunakonda Museum (acc. no. 789) in February 2016.
- Visual Documentation
-
Photo(s):
- photos JM 2017
- photos AL 2017
- IAR 1956-57: pl. LIX
- Chhabra
Photo(s) of estampage(s):- Raghunath
- Editors
- Arlo Griffiths and Vincent Tournier, with contributions by Stefan Baums and Ingo Strauch.
- Publication history
- Chhabra 1959-60a: 147 reported that this inscription “is found in six or seven versions, all broken fragments, not a single version having been found in its entirety. It took me some hours to dovetail the fragments till the discovered and kept in the site museum at Nāgārjunakoṇḍa. Many of the fragments are still missing. I was, however, able to restore the complete text by deciphering the extant parts on the various fragments. The facsimile on Plate A shows the greater part of one of the versions, while those on Plate B represent parts of two more versions”. The three versions whose images were published by Chhabra correspond to the three stelae we documented. See also EIAD 50-1 and 50-3. Only a synthetic edition was published by Chhabra 1959-60a . This version is edited here for the first time from published documentation and after autopsy of the stone.
(1)
siddham·
||
–
IAnuṣṭubh
a
[va]rṣa
°ekā[da]śe
rājñaḫ
b
p[ra]bho(r)
(ehavala)śriyaḥ
c
(2)
śuklapakṣas[ya]
[m]
(āghasya)
d
(puṇya)
(°ekādaśe)
[ha]ni
–
IIsragdharā
a
(3)
[dev]e
[ya]s[y]ā[t]i(bhaktir)
(hutavahatanaye)
caṇḍaśaktau
kumāre
b
(4)
(pautras)
(senāpater)
[yya]s
s[amara]
(vijayina)ẖ
kkhyātakīrtter
aṇikkeḥ
c
(5)
(p)
[r]
(āsāda)
[ṅ]
g(ā)ṇḍ(i)
[p]u(t)
[t]ras
sa
talavaravaraẖ
kārttikeyapprasādāt·
d
(6)
°eliśrīś
śrīviśālaṁ
[ś]ubhamatir
akaro[t]
[sa]rvvadevādhivāsam·
–
(1) siddham· || – [va]rṣa °ekā[da]śe rājñaḫ p[ra]bho(r) (ehavala)śriyaḥ
(2) śuklapakṣas[ya] [m] (āghasya) (puṇya) (°ekādaśe) [ha]ni –
(3) [dev]e [ya]s[y]ā[t]i(bhaktir) (hutavahatanaye) caṇḍaśaktau kumāre
(4) (pautras) (senāpater) [yya]s s[amara] (vijayina)ẖ kkhyātakīrtter aṇikkeḥ
(5) (p) [r] (āsāda) [ṅ] g(ā)ṇḍ(i) [p]u(t) [t]ras sa talavaravaraẖ kārttikeyapprasādāt·
(6) °eliśrīś śrīviśālaṁ [ś]ubhamatir akaro[t] [sa]rvvadevādhivāsam· –
<ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
<lb n="1"/>
<w xml:id="tok2727">siddham·</w>
<pc>||</pc>
<pc>–</pc>
</ab><lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq975" met="Anuṣṭubh" n="I">
<l xml:id="seq3069" n="a">
<w xml:id="tok6871">
<unclear>va</unclear>rṣa</w>
<w xml:id="tok2729">°ekā<unclear>da</unclear>śe</w>
<w xml:id="tok2730">rājñaḫ</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3070" n="b">
<w xml:id="tok2731">p<unclear>ra</unclear>bho<supplied reason="lost">r</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2732">
<supplied reason="lost">ehavala</supplied>śriyaḥ</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3071" n="c">
<lb n="2"/>
<w xml:id="tok2733">śuklapakṣas<unclear>ya</unclear>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2734">
<unclear>m</unclear>
<supplied reason="lost">āghasya</supplied>
</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3072" n="d">
<w xml:id="tok2735">
<supplied reason="lost">puṇya</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2736">
<supplied reason="lost">°ekādaśe</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2737">
<unclear>ha</unclear>ni</w>
<pc>–</pc>
</l>
</lg><lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq981" met="sragdharā" n="II">
<l xml:id="seq3073" n="a">
<lb n="3"/>
<w xml:id="tok2739">
<unclear>dev</unclear>e</w>
<w xml:id="tok2740">
<unclear>ya</unclear>s<unclear>y</unclear>ā<unclear>t</unclear>i<supplied reason="lost">bhaktir</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2741">
<supplied reason="lost">hutavahatanaye</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2742">caṇḍaśaktau</w>
<w xml:id="tok2743">kumāre</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3074" n="b">
<lb n="4"/>
<w xml:id="tok2744">
<supplied reason="lost">pautras</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2745">
<supplied reason="lost">senāpater</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2746">
<unclear>yya</unclear>s</w>
<w xml:id="tok2747">s<unclear>amara</unclear>
<supplied reason="lost">vijayina</supplied>ẖ</w>
<w xml:id="tok2748">kkhyātakīrtter</w>
<w xml:id="tok2749">aṇikkeḥ</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3075" n="c">
<lb n="5"/>
<w xml:id="tok2750">
<supplied reason="lost">p</supplied>
<unclear>r</unclear>
<supplied reason="lost">āsāda</supplied>
<unclear>ṅ</unclear>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2751">g<supplied reason="lost">ā</supplied>ṇḍ<supplied reason="lost">i</supplied>
<unclear>p</unclear>u<supplied reason="lost">t</supplied>
<unclear>t</unclear>ras</w>
<w xml:id="tok2752">sa</w>
<w xml:id="tok2753">talavaravaraẖ</w>
<w xml:id="tok2754">kārttikeyapprasādāt·</w>
</l>
<l xml:id="seq3076" n="d">
<lb n="6"/>
<w xml:id="tok2755">°eliśrīś</w>
<w xml:id="tok2756">śrīviśālaṁ</w>
<w xml:id="tok2757">
<unclear>ś</unclear>ubhamatir</w>
<w xml:id="tok2758">akaro<unclear>t</unclear>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok2759">
<unclear>sa</unclear>rvvadevādhivāsam·</w>
<pc>–</pc>
</l>
</lg>- (5) -sādāt· Chhabra notes that sandhi has not been observed at the end of pāda c, but this seems normal rather than noteworthy.
Success!
I.
In the eleventh year of the king, the lord Ehavalaśrī, on the auspicious eleventh day of the bright fortnight of (month) Māgha,
II.
the excellent Talavara Eliśrī, of bright intellect, whose intense devotion (is directed) towards the god Kumāra, the son of Fire, of fierce strength, grandson of the general Aṇikki who was victorious in battles and whose fame is widely known, son of Gāṇḍi, by the grace of Kārttikeya made (this) temple, abounding in good fortune, the abode of Sarvadeva (i.e. Śiva).
- bookmark IAR 1956-57: 36
- bookmark ARIE 1957-58: 3, no. B.5
- bookmark Srinivasan & Sankaranarayanan 1979: no. 41
- bookmark ARIE 1995-96: no. B.10
- bookmark Raghunath 2001: 142-3 (no. 33)