No. 1. Gurzаla brаhmи inscription.
| K. A. Nilakantha Sastri - EI, XXVI, No. 13. |
| The inscription edited below is found engraved on a grey marble slab set up
behind the Travellers' Bungalow [It is understood that the slab has since been removed to
the Taluk office compound, Gurzаla.], about two furlongs to the north of it, at Gurzаla
in the Palnад taluk of the Guнтуr District. There are on the spot several similar
slabs which are uninscribed and which must be the relics of some ancient structure that
has now disappeared. An impression of the inscription was placed in my hands some time ago
by Dr. M. Rama Rao, but I found subsequently from Rao Bahadur C. R. Krishnamacharlu,
Superintendent for Epigraphy, that he had secured a much better impression of the record,
and it is from this impression which he has kindly placed at my disposal that I edit the
record which is listed as No. 335 of the Epigraphical Collection of Madras in the An. Rep.
on S. I. Epi. for the year 1936-37, and discussed in paragraph 10 of Part II. The slab containing the inscription measures 5' x 19"[This measurement is furnished by Dr. Rama Rao.]; in its centre is carved a pillar with apparently a bulbous base and a double bulbous capital; the shaft of the pillar shows a slight tapering, being 3" wide at the bottom, and less than 2 1/2" at the top, its height being about 2'. The capital comprises two oviform members, each 3" high, the upper one being broader (5 1/2") than the lower (4 1/2") at its horizontal axis. This capital is surmounted by an abacus 3" high above which stand three cones alongside of one another, looking like the battlement of a fortress. Our inscription comprises three lines, two incised to the proper right, and the third to the left of the carved pillar, all lines running from the capital of the pillar to its base. The script of the inscription is Brаhmи very similar to that of the well-known inscriptions from Nаgаrjunikoндa edited in Epigraphia Indica some years ago by Dr. J. Ph. Vogel, and may be taken to belong to the third century A. D. In the AR. South Indian Epigraphy, Madras, for 1936-37, it is suggested that Halaмpуra 'may be identified preferably with Allуru in the Nandigama taluk of the Kistna district which is not far removed from Gurzаla, though there are two villages of the name Alampuram, one in the Nizam's Dominions and the other in the Tanuku taluk of the West Godavari district'. Аlampуr in the Nizam's Dominions seems best to satisfy the requirements of the case by its name and the known antiquity of its monuments. It is situated at the apex of the Raichur Doab on the western bank of the Tungabhadrа, a little distance before its junction with the Kршна. In spite of its distance from the Palnад region, this place must have been easily accessible by river, and it teems with antiquities, temples and other structures, some account of which will be found at pages 7-13 of the Annual Report of the Archeological Department of H. E. B. the Nizam's Dominions for 1926-27. Another place much nearer Gurzаla and about 20 miles east of it, though not so rich in antiquarian remains, that comes in for consideration here, is Nаgulavaram in the Palnад taluk itself. The name has the same meaning as Halaмpуra (plough-city), and Sewell noted an old Viшнu temple and another temple of Щiva in the place and an illegible inscription in the latter. The place has yielded two inscriptions listed in the Madras Collection. It is possible that the Halaмpуra-sаmin of our inscription is identical with the deity in one of these shrines [Sewell, Lists of the Antiquarian Remains in the Prezidency of Madras, Vol. I, p. 61; Nos. 218 of 1927 and 306 of 1931 of the Madras Epigraphical collection; Survey map 56P/NW. (1"==2 miles).]. |
TEXT. (NS)
1 Sidham | Bhagavate Halaмpуra-sаmine apaнo ayuvadhinikaм
2 Noduka-siri khetaм saмpada[ttам] 5 Mahаrajasa
3 Siri-Ruжupurisadаtasa sa ta 4 gi 8 diva 10 |||
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L. 1. [Reading seems to be ayuvadhanike. - N. L. R.]
L. 2. Cancel the length of the final vowel and read: saмpadattaм.