Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c7: Guide to Pronunciation of Indian Words and Names

Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c7

Language: English

Guide to Pronunciation of Indian Words and Names

*a ā* as the first and second *a* respectively in "afar." *e ē* as *e* in "pen" and "prey" respectively. *i ī* as *e* and *ee* respectively in "redeem." *o ō* as the first and second *o* respectively in "morose." *u ū* as *u* in "full" and "rule" respectively. *ai* as *i* in "mine." *au* as *ou* in "mouse."

c7.3

CONSONANTS

c7.4

*g* is always hard, as in "get"; never like *j*. *ṭ ḍ* like *t* in "tat" and *d* in "dot" respectively. *t d* like *th* in "thin" and *th* in "that" respectively. *ph* like *ph* in "haphazard"; never like *f*.

c7.5

For other under-dotted letters the English sounds may be used, as their correct pronunciation is not easy to explain.

c7.6

SPECIMEN OF CHALUKYA COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION. (Reduced.)

c7.7

THESE eloquent records of bygone ages are not, as might be expected, altogether silent in regard to the epic period. As preliminary, therefore, to the authenticated history, a brief reference may be made to notices in our inscriptions of incidents in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata.

c7.8

Rāma, on his expedition to Ceylon for the recovery of his wife Sītā, who had been carried off by Rāvaṇa, is generally admitted to have passed through the Mysore country. On the abduction of Sītā, as she was borne along by her captor in his air-car, her rescue was attempted by Jaṭāyu, king of the vultures, who was slain by Rāvaṇa. According to an inscription at the place (Mk 27), it was on the Jaṭinga Rāmēśvara hill in the Molakālmuru tāluq that Jaṭāyu fell when mortally wounded. But before he died he was able to impart the information as to who the despoiler was. This led to the despatch of Hanumān, the monkey chief, as a spy to Laṅkā or Ceylon to obtain confirmation of the report. Meanwhile Rāma made an alliance with Sugrīva, the king of Kishkindha, on the Pampā or Tuṅgabhadrā river (near the site of the mediæval Vijayanagar), with the aid of whose forces he marched against Rāvaṇa in Ceylon. On his way through the Mysore region Rāma seems to have crossed the Kāvērī river at Rāmanāthpura in the Arkalgūd tāluq (Ag 53, Yd 25, 26). The tributary Lakshmantīrtha river, close by, is named after his brother Lakshmaṇa. The return journey, after his triumph, seems to have been by way of Āvani in the Mulbāgal tāluq—where there is a group of temples dedicated severally to Rāma, Lakshmaṇa, Bharata, Śatrughna, Vāli, and Sugrīva—through Nandi in the Chik-Ballāpur tāluq (CB 29), and perhaps Mulukuṇṭe in the Tumkūr tāluq (Tm 14).

c7.9

With regard to the Māhābhārata stories, Kaivāra in the Chintāmani tāluq is said to be Ekachakrapura (Ct 86, 87). Kuntī-dēvī, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas, is said to have rebuilt a temple in the Chik-Ballāpur tāluq (CB 29). An inscription at Belgāmi in the Shikarpur tāluq (Sk 126) says that, after the performance of the Rājasūya sacrifice, the Five Pāṇḍava brothers came there, and set up the Five Lingas of the Pancha Linga temple. King Virāṭa's capital, Matsya, where the Pāṇḍavas spent the last year of their exile in disguise, is identified with Pānungal or Hānugal in Dharwar, just over the north-west border of Mysore.

Linked texts (1)

Inscription (EC 9 Bn 108) — Tamil