parakAla-yati 1370

This markdown represents the content of the provided nine pages from EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, Vol. XXV.

No. 34.—CONJEEVERAM INSCRIPTION OF BRAHMA-TANTRA-SVATANTRA-JIYAR: SAKA 1282.

By A. S. RAMANATHA AYYAR, B.A., MADRAS.

Intro

Kāñchīpuram in the Chingleput District was an important place of pilgrimage from very early times. Portions of this town and its environs were in the olden days known according to their religious associations, as the Buddha-Kāñchī, Jina-Kāñchī, Śiva-Kāñchī and Vishṇu-Kāñchī.1 The inscription2 published below is engraved on the north wall of the second prākāra of the Varadarāja temple at Little Conjeeveram, otherwise called Vishṇu-Kāñchī, which is very sacred to the Vaishṇavas of the south.

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The characters in which the record is engraved are Tamil and Grantha, the latter being employed for the Sanskrit words. The language is Tamil with an admixture of Sanskrit words, and is somewhat illustrative of the type of Vaishṇava composition prevalent in this period and locality. The record is very well preserved, and its orthography does not call for any comment.

The record does not quote any king’s name but is simply dated in Śaka 1282 and contains the astronomical details—Vikārin, Mēsha, śu. 1, Friday and Aśvati—which yield the equivalent A.D. 1359, March 29.

Summary

It states that a certain Vaishṇavadāsa who had been given the title of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar by the god (Hastigirīśa), was put in charge of a maṭha evidently at Kāñchīpuram in Śaka 1282. This information is of interest for Vaishṇava religious history, as it enables us to identify this first pontiff of the maṭha with the direct disciple of the great Vēdānta-Dēśika, the erudite scholar, keen controversialist and deeply venerated Vaishṇava āchārya,3 whose literary and religious activities are said to have extended over a major portion of the 14th century A.D.

As mentioned above, the inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king, but it is somewhat peculiarly worded, in that it purports to have been issued by the deity himself.

In the Tamil records of this temple, the god is called Aruḷāḷapperumāḷ or Tiruvattiyūr-ninṟaruḷiya-Paramasvāmin, or ‘the great Lord who was pleased to stand at Tiruvattiyūr’. The village-name Tiruvattiyūr having been Sanskritised into Hastigiri,4 the god came to be known to Sanskrit authors as Hastigirīśa, by which name he is referred to in the opening verse of this epigraph.

Circumstance & decision

रविलोचनः

This refers to Tirumalai Srinivasa Tatadesikan , who is referred to in the 3000 gpp as being appointed the srikarya durandara of the Perumal Koil

It is stated that on the representation made by the agent Perumāḷtātaṇ and other Bhaṭṭas, the god, while seated in regal pomp with his consorts in the abhishēka-maṇḍapa of the temple on the throne named Vīravallāḷaṇ under the canopy called the Ariyeṇavallāṇ-pandal listening to the chanting of the songs of Śathakōpa, was pleased to confer the title of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar on a certain Vaishṇavadāsa and to put him in charge of a maṭha and its properties, so that he may propagate the tenets of the Rāmānuja-darśanam5 to the Vaishṇava laity, and maintain the library which he had collected, probably in the maṭha premises. A sentence at the end adds that this divine order (tirumugam) was engraved on stone by the temple-accountant.

Style

In regard to the particular style of wording in this inscription, couched as if the orders had emanated directly from the deity himself, it may be mentioned that this convention was adopted by some of the Vaishṇava temples in the Tirunelvēli District in the 14th and 15th centuries A.D., and in some instances in the South Arcot and Chingleput Districts also.

Some Śaiva temples also appear to have sparingly copied this procedure in drafting their documents at this period. In such cases, the occasion when and the place wherefrom the orders6 were issued are given at some length. Some instances may be quoted.

  1. Śakābdam 1463 nāḷ . . . Muḷḷināṭṭu brahmadēyam śrī-Śēravaṇ-mahādēvi-chaturvēdimaṅgalattu vaḍapal śrīmad-Dvārakānāthaṇ aruḷāl Āyiratteṇmaṇ-pandal-kīḻ Vīrakēraḷaṇ-pithattu nāmum nam peṇḍugaḷuḍuṅ kūḍi-irundu, etc.—(Śērmādēvi, No. 186 of 1895 of the Madras Epigraphical collection—S. I. I., Vol. V, No. 750).

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  1. Nāyanār Tiruviḍaikāḷi-Nāyanār Āḍi-ayaṇa-ttiru-mañjaṇam śeydaruḷi Irāmānujaṇ-tirumaṇḍapattu Nālukāvipperumāḷ-Vīrasimhāsana ttu śrī-Śaṭhakōpaṇ tirumuttiṇ-pandal-kkiḻ Nāchchimāruḍaṇ chēndaruḷi-irundu eṅgaḷai aruḷappāḍittaruḷi nammuḍaiya aḍiyāril . . . nammuḍaiya kumāraṇ Hariyaṇaṇ kumāraṇ Hariyaṇaṇ, etc.—(Tirukkōyilūr, No. 356 of 1929 of the Madras Epigraphical collection).
  2. Nam bhaktar Malai-maṇḍalattu Taḷaikkuḍi Śēndapirāṇ-Periyaṇāṇa Yādavarāyaṇukku nam-aḍukkalaiaippuram . . . śelvadāga nam magaṇār Vīra-Pāṇḍyadēvarkku eṭṭāvadu, etc.—(Tirunelvēli, No. 127 of 1894 of the Madras Epigraphical collection—S. I. I., Vol. V, No. 416).

Divine sanction

The reigning king of the time is referred to in these records as nam piḷḷai or nam kumāraṇ ‘the god’s son or favourite’, and in response to his formal petition that a particular transaction may be made, the god is described as sanctioning it and issuing a ratificatory order to that effect to the officials concerned. This convention does not, however, appear to have been in vogue for a long time.

Ādi-Chaṇḍēśvara, one of the sixty-three Nāyaṇmārs, is considered to be the steward-in-chief (mūla-bhṛitya) of Śaiva temples, and the documents relating to them are drafted in his name. Similarly also Vishvaksēna or Sēṇai-mudaliyār is looked upon as the Manager of Vaishṇava temples. It is one step further to assume that the orders were issued directly by the god himself.7

Such divine mandates are called aruḷappāḍu; and in the Śrīraṅgam temple, god Raṅgarāja is even now conventionally considered to look after the affairs of his temple himself and issue the necessary orders through the mouth of his temple-officials.

Expressions

Before proceeding to examine the contents of this record, a few expressions occurring in it may be explained.

(L. 2). Vīravallāḷaṇ simhāsanam and Ariyeṇavallāṇ-pandal are the names respectively of a throne and a canopy. The first was probably presented to the temple by the Hoysaḷa king Vīra-Ballāḷa III,8 while the second may have been named after some one having the title ‘he who is as powerful as a lion’,9 but whose title it was is not known.

Nam peṇḍugaḷ—viz., Vishṇu’s two consorts, Śrī and Bhūmi.

Śaṭhakōpaṇ-pāṭṭu kēḷāniṟka—Śaṭhakōpa is the name of the Vaishṇava saint Nammālvār, whose Tiruvāymoli is considered equal to the Vēdas in sanctity and is chanted in the presence of the deity on particular occasions. Endowments made for this service in Vishṇu temples are often mentioned in inscriptions.10

(L. 3). Perumāḷtātaṇ—Perumāḷtātaṇ or Perumāḷdāsaṇ would ordinarily mean ‘a devotee of Perumāḷ (Vishṇu)’; but in this context it appears to have been the name of the agent, supervising the sacred business of the temple (nam vīṭṭu karumam kēṭkum), in whose presence and that of the Bhaṭṭas of the temple, the order is stated to have been promulgated.

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The name ‘Vaishṇavadāsa’ occurring in the same line has to be considered as meaning ‘the servant-devotee of Vaishṇavas’ rather than as the personal name of the donee in the record; for according to the Guruparamparā-prabhāvam, the original name of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar was Pēraruḷāḷayyaṇ of Vīravalli11 and his dāsyānāma on becoming a saṁnyāsin was Pēraruḷāḷa-Jiyar.

(L. 4). Samārādhaṇam aḍukku vēṇḍum muṭṭukkaḷum—seems to refer to the worship to be conducted to the deities kept in the maṭha itself and the requirements therefor. It is usual for every maṭha to have images of some deities for worship.

In this connection, it may be noted that on the eve of the demise of Vēdānta-Dēśika, some images are said to have been bequeathed to his disciple Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar.12

Postakaṅgaḷum idukku vēṇḍum upakaraṇaṅgaḷum—By postakaṅgaḷ (pustaka), manuscript bundles are apparently meant. The upakaraṇas are the accessories and paraphernalia required for running a library—such as probably racks for the accommodation of the manuscript bundles, spare sets of cadjan leaves for copying work, and stylus and other scribal apparatus.

Rāmānuja-darśanam—is the Viśishṭādvaita-siddhānta as codified and expounded in his Śrī-bhāshya by the great Vaishṇava apostle Rāmānuja (A.D. 1017-1137). It was he who had raised this system to an unassailable eminence and had arranged for its propagation in true missionary style, by the training of a number of able exponents and siṁhāsanādhipatis13 from among his numerous disciples.

(L. 5) Nam Rāmānuja-uḍaiyārum nam samayattil uḷḷārum—Rāmānuja-uḍaiyār appears to mean the ‘followers of Rāmānuja.’14 The idea seems to be that the selection of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar as the pontiff was to receive the acceptance of Rāmānuja’s followers and the Vaishṇava laity (samayattil-uḷḷār).

(L. 6) Ivanukku nam muḍittapaḍiyum uḍuttapaḍiyum pūśina-paḍiyum kuḍuttōm—means that the flowers worn by the god, the clothes used by him and the sandal-paste and unguents utilised for his worship were presented to the Jiyar as a mark indicative of the god’s love to the recipient. This expression is found used in some inscriptions15 and in Vaishṇava literature.

Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar

As regards Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar, the donee of the record, some information is available from Vaishṇava literature. Among the South Indian religions, it was Vaishṇavism alone that had developed the ‘historical sense’ to an appreciable extent, and there are therefore several biographies of the Vaishṇava āchāryas available, collated under the names of Vaibhavas and Guruparamparās of varying volume.16 One such work dealing with the life of the great Vaishṇava reformer Vēdānta-Dēśika is the Guruparamparā-prabhāvam17 in Tamil prose by Tritīya-Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar.

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From it we gather the following details about Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar, the first of that name, who was a disciple of Vēdānta-Dēśika :

Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar belonged to the Kauṇḍinya-gōtra and was originally called Vīravalli Pēraruḷāḷayyaṇ. Well-versed in all the śāstras, he became an ardent disciple of Dēśika and assumed the saṁnyāsa garb under the name of Pēraruḷāḷa-Jiyar.

When the Raṅganātha temple at Śrīraṅgam was looted by the Muhammadans in the first quarter of the 14th century, Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar fled along with his āchārya to Satyamangalam (in the Coimbatore District) and returned to Śrīraṅgam only after some years.

He was taught the Bhagavad-vishayam (Ārāyirappaḍi) by Varadāchārya alias Nayiṇārāchārya, the son and disciple of Vēdānta-Dēśika, in Kali 4440, Bahudhānya, Āvaṇi, śu. 2, Hasta (=A.D. 1338, August 18).

On one occasion, he vanquished a pandit of North India in a polemical contest at Śrīraṅgam and was honoured by Dēśika with the title of ‘Brahma-tantra-svatantra’18 ‘he who is a master in Brahma-tantra’. That accounts for the origin of the name by which he was popularly known.

On another occasion during the régime of Tirumalai-Śrīnivāsāchārya19 who had been installed by Dēśika as the Śrīkārya-dhurandhara of the Kāñchīpuram temple, Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar overcame a Kashmīrian Pandit in a philosophical discussion and earned the title of ‘Paryāya-Bhāshyakāra’.20

Some time later under the direction of god Veṅkaṭēśa in a dream, he accepted the Trusteeship of the Tirupati temple. He stayed at Tirupati for a long time expounding the Vaishṇava philosophy to his disciples.

Succession

After his demise he was succeeded by Pēraruḷāḷayyaṇ-Appai. Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar was the author of two small works—the Divyasūri-stuti21 and the Āchāryāvatāra-ghaṭṭārtha.22

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The maṭha which was thus started at Kāñchīpuram under the pontificate of this Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar in A.D. 1360 grew in importance and appears to have latterly removed its headquarters to Mēlkōṭe in the Mysore State, where it became popular under the name of the Parakāla-maṭha.23

Other maTha-s

At about this time in Śaka 1300 there was in the Varadarāja temple at Kāñchīpuram, a minor maṭha called the Vēda-maṭha.24

Another important Vaishṇava maṭha which came into existence in this period was the Ahōbalam-maṭha,25 whose founder Śrīnivāsa is believed to have assumed the Saṁnyāsāśrama in Śaka 1320 (A.D. 1398) under the name of Ādivaṇ Śaṭhakōpa-Jiyar.

Śiṅgabhūpāla

Vēdānta-Dēśika is stated in the Guruparamparā-prabhāvam to have been the contemporary of a certain Telugu chief named Sarvajña-Śiṅgabhūpāla and to have composed the Subhāshita-nīvī for his delectation.26 According to the Velugōṭivāri-vaṁśāvaḷi27 dealing with the history of the Rēcherla chiefs, there were three chiefs of the name of Śiṅga. Of these, Śiṅga III who came to power in A.D. 1425 had the title of Sarvajña.28 The author of the work on rhetoric called the Rasārṇava-sudhākara29 was a Śiṅga, son of an Annavōta; and he has been identified with Śiṅga II and has been assigned to about A.D. 1380.30

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It is no doubt tempting to identify the author of the Rasārṇava-sudhākara, with the chief who honoured the two āchāryas.31 As Vēdānta-Dēśika is believed to have passed away in A.D. 1370,32 and as Nayiṇārāchārya had also attained to literary fame before A.D. 1360, their contemporary has been considered to have been Śiṅga I of A.D. 1360 or Śiṅga II.

The existence of one other Śiṅga at this period may also be noted. In the Śrīraṅgam plates of Mummaḍi-Nāyaka33 dated in Śaka 1280, only two years earlier than the date of the present record. This chief’s father was a Kūna. But the chief, to whom Dēśika34 had dedicated the three works referred to above, is said to have been the son of a Mādhavā-Nāyaka.

Library culture

Another point of interest in this epigraph is the reference to a collection of manuscripts (or a library) which was kept in the maṭha. It is well-known that in the medieval centuries, religious institutions of all denominations flourished in South India. They were left in charge of the heads of these maṭhas called Maṭhādhipatis, Mudaliyārs or Jiyars. Then there were also the Ghaṭikāsthānas.

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Maintenance of these institutions are recorded in several inscriptions;35 it is reasonable to infer that when these maṭhas, ghaṭikās and pāṭhaśālās were functioning properly, they must have been maintaining well-stocked libraries.

A record of the Western Chāḷukya king Trailōkyamalla-Āhavamalla dated in Śaka 980 (=A.D. 1058) from Nāgai36 mentions a gift of land for the maintenance of six Curators called Sarasvatī-Bhaṇḍārigas. Another interesting reference to a Sarasvatī-bhaṇḍāra or library is found in a fragmentary epigraph37 from Śrīraṅgam.

The Paushkara-Saṁhitā38 gives rules for the formation of a library in a temple. The Śrīraṅgam library was mentioned in a 14th year inscription39 (A.D. 1269). A pustaka-bhaṇḍāra at Śṛiṅgēri is mentioned in two epigraphs40 from the early Vijayanagara period (Śaka 1328 and 1354).

TEXT

1 Tirumugappaḍi41 [] Svasti śrī42[||] Ētat-sur-āsur-ādhīśa-mauli-ratna-prabh-āruṇam [] Śrīmat-Hastigirīśasya dēvadēvasya śāsanam ⸻[||] Vikāri-saṁvatsarattu Mēsha-nāyaṟṟu pūrvva-pakshattu prathamaiyum Veḷḷi-kkilaiyamum 2 peṟṟa Aśvati-nāḷ abhishēka-maṇḍapattu Vīra-Vallāḷaṇ-simhāsanattu Ariyeṇavallāṇ-pandal-kīḻ nāmum nam peṇḍugaḷuḍuṅ Śaṭakōpaṇ-pāṭṭu-kkēḷāniṟka nam vīṭṭu43 karumam kēṭkum

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3 Perumāḷtātaṇum nam bhaṭṭa[r*]kaḷum śolla-kkēṭṭu Brahma-tantra-svatantra-jJiyan44 enṟu nām pēr-kuḍutta Vaishṇavadāsaṇukku nām kuḍuttapaḍi [] Ivanukku uṇḍāṇa maṭhamum maṭhattai nōkki 4 varum kshētramum samārādhaṇam aḍukku vēṇḍum muṭṭukkaḷum ivan tēḍina postakaṅgaḷum idukku vēṇḍum upakaraṇaṅgaḷum nam Rāmānujaṇ-darśaṇam naḍakkaikkāga ivanukku 5 pinbum ivan niyamitta ivanuḍaiya śishyargaḷ paramparaiy-āga ivaiyiṟṟai-kkaikkoṇḍu naḍatti-ppōdakkaḍavargaḷ-āgavum [] Ivaṇai nam Rāmānujaṇ-uḍaiyārum nam samayattil uḷḷārum45 kaikoṇḍu naḍatti-ppōda-chcheyvōm [] I-chcheydiyai-kkallilum śembilum veṭṭikko[ḷ]umbaḍi ivanukku nam muḍittapaḍiyum uḍuttapaḍiyum pūśinapaḍiyum kuḍuttōm ௨ 7 Ippadikku-ttiruvāy-malarnd-aruḷiṇapaḍikku kōyil-kkaṇakku Pēraruḷāḷapriyaṇ eḻuttu ௨ I-ttirumugam eḻudina Śakābdam āyirattu iru-nūṟṟu eṇbattu-iraṇḍ-āvadu ௨

TRANSLATION

…“In the month of Mēsha of the (cyclic) year Vikārin, on a Friday with prathamā-tithi… We were pleased to assign to a Vaishṇavadāsa on whom we had bestowed the name of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyaṇ, the maṭha… the books which he had accumulated… so that he may propagate Our Rāmānuja-darśanam…

The Śaka year in which this sacred order was written (engraved) is One thousand two hundred and eighty-two.

  1. Buddha-Kāñchī is referred to in No. 15 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1934-35 (Annual Report on South Indian Epigraphy, 1934-35, para. 56). Jina-Kāñchī is represented by Tirupparuttikkuṉṟu near Conjeeveram; Śiva-Kāñchī and Vishṇu-Kāñchī are respectively the modern Big and Little Conjeeveram. ↩︎

  2. No. 574 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1919. ↩︎

  3. Dēśika is believed to have been born in A.D. 1269, Śukla, and to have died in A.D. 1370, Saumya. The present record is of help in confirming the period of his literary activity as the second half of the 14th century A.D. ↩︎

  4. The artificial ramp formed by an enclosed maṇḍapa is called the ‘Tirumalai’ or ‘giri’, on top of which the shrine of Varadarāja is located. ↩︎

  5. Compare the verse composed in praise of this Jiyar :— हस्तीशं लौकिकख्यातं कौण्डिन्यं विदुषां वरम्।
    रामानुजार्यसिद्दान्त-स्थापकाचार्यम् आश्रये॥ ↩︎

  6. This is analogous to the instances in which kings are described as having been seated in particular halls of their palaces and on particular seats, while issuing the orders contained in the respective epigraphs. ↩︎

  7. In these instances, the records commence with a Sanskrit verse specifying that the orders emanate from the god himself— (a) सर्वलोकसमुत्पत्तिस्थितिसंहारकारणम्। शासनं शाश्वतं शम्भोः श्रीवीरेड्वस्थितिविद्यते॥—No. 127 of 1894 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. (b) एतत्त्रैलोक्यनिर्माणत्राणसंहारकारणम्। श्रीमद्रेश्वरनाथस्य शासनं शाश्वतं परम्॥—No. 51 of 1938-39 of the same collection. ↩︎

  8. Ballāḷa III was camping at Kāñchīpuram in Bhāvaka (Śaka 1256)—No. 401 of 1919 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. In two other records from the same temple, one of which is dated in Śaka 1283, in the regime of Sāḷuva Maṅgu, the god is described as seated in a similar manner while issuing the orders. ↩︎

  9. A liquid measure called ‘Ariyeṇavallāṇ-nāḷi’ was current in this temple at this period—(No. 343 of 1919 of the Madras Epigraphical collection). ↩︎

  10. Madras Epigraphical Report for 1908, part II, para. 35. ↩︎

  11. Guruparamparā-prabhāvam (Tamil, Madras,), p. 114; see also f. n. 3 on p. 319. ↩︎

  12. Ibid., p. 138. ↩︎

  13. There were 74 siṁhāsanādhipatis who were selected. Their names are given in the reply to question No. 24 of the Trimśatpraśnōttaram, Palaṇadai-viḷakkam, p. 30. ↩︎

  14. The following expression from No. 51 of 1938-39 from Śrīraṅgam may be compared—Kodavar kōvaṇavar nam bhaṭṭakaḷ . . . nam Rāmānujaṇ-uḍaiyār nam pādūvār, etc. ↩︎

  15. Compare No. 567 of 1919 of the Madras Epigraphical collection. ↩︎

  16. There are many biographies of Dēśika available. The Vēdānta-Dēśika-vaibhava-prakāśikā by Doḍḍayāchārya is in Sanskrit. ↩︎

  17. Published in Madras in several editions. Dvitīya-Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar, the āchārya of the author of this work is said to have written the Pannirāyirappaḍi-Guruparamparā-prabhāvam, which is not extant. ↩︎

  18. The present record conventionally states that god himself gave the title. ↩︎

  19. Guruparamparā-prabhāvam, p. 138. He was the author of a religious work called the Prabandha-nirvāham. ↩︎

  20. A verse composed by Ghaṭikāśatakam-Ammāḷ in praise of this Jiyar reads— पर्यायभाष्यकाराय प्रवृत्ताय विभूतये। ब्रह्मतन्त्रस्वतन्त्राय द्वितीयाब्रह्मणे नमः॥ ↩︎

  21. The colophon reads—ब्रह्मतन्त्रस्वतन्त्राढ्य द्विव्यमूरिस्तुतिः। ↩︎

  22. Its colophon reads—ब्रह्मतन्त्रस्वतन्त्रेण परकालयतीन्द्रुना। आचार्यावतारघट्टार्थ संक्षेपण प्रकाश्यते॥ ↩︎

  23. See Palaṇadai-viḷakkam, Part II, p. 28. ↩︎

  24. No. 32 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1890—S. I. I., Vol. IV, No. 355. ↩︎

  25. Vide Tirupati Dēvasthānam Report (1930), p. 214, where these traditional dates are questioned. ↩︎

  26. Guruparamparā-prabhāvam, pp. 120 and 139. ↩︎

  27. Dr. N. Venkataramanayya, Velugōṭivāri-vaṁśāvaḷi, Introduction. ↩︎

  28. Vasantarāya, brother of the latter Śiṅga III, made a gift of four dvārapālaka images to the Varadarāja temple (No. 683 of 1919) in Śaka 1359. ↩︎

  29. श्रीमदभूमण्डलाधीश्वर-प्रतिगण्डभैरव-श्रीमावोतरेन्द्रनन्दन-भूमण्डलमौलि-श्रीमिङ्गभूपाल-विरचितं रसार्णवसुधाकरं— ↩︎

  30. His date has been discussed in Śṛiṅgāra-Śrīīāthamu (Telugu) by Prabhākara Śāstri, p. 179, etc. ↩︎

  31. Mr. M. Somasekhara Sarma has kindly brought to my notice a reference… assigned to a period before A. D. 1370. ↩︎

  32. The Sanskrit verses engraved in the Śrīraṅgam temple… are stated in the Guruparamparā to have been composed by Dēśika himself. ↩︎

  33. Ante, Vol. XIV, p. 84 and Annual Report on Epigraphy, Madras, for 1913, pp. 129-30. ↩︎

  34. Life and Literary Writings of Dēśika, by M. K. Tātāchārya, where the following is quoted— इदमिति निजमानन्दैकमेकेन प्रतिसमदिशत् माधवात्मजस्य । ↩︎

  35. Several inscriptions relate to the provision made for the maintenance of such educational institutions, notably Eṇṇāyiram (No. 333 of 1917) and Kāvapūr. ↩︎

  36. The Inscriptions of Nagai (Hyderabad Archl. Series, No. 8), p. 7. ↩︎

  37. No. 139 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1938-39. ↩︎

  38. Published at Mēlkōṭe, Mysore, 1934; chapter entitled ‘Jñāna-pratishṭhāna’. ↩︎

  39. No. 4 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1937-38. ↩︎

  40. Nos. 283 and 284 of the same collection for 1936-37. ↩︎

  41. This word is written below ‘Svasti śrī’ in slightly smaller characters. ↩︎

  42. Svasti Śrī and several other Sanskrit words are engraved in Grantha characters. ↩︎

  43. May also be corrected into nam vīṭṭu karumam. ↩︎

  44. Read -svatantra-Jiyaṇ. ↩︎

  45. Engraved below the line. ↩︎