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Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c21.s3.t2: B. In Public and Private Charters

Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c21.s3.t2

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B. In Public and Private Charters

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Only the strictest conformity to the *śāstras* could be expected of rulers who were thus under the spiritual guidance of renowned *rāja-gurus*. The innumerable grants recording gifts of land to persons and institutions enable us to assert that the monarchs of Vijayanagara made it a point to include in them details of the *gōtras*, *śākhās*, and *sūtras* of the donees, the minutest particulars contained in the *pañchāṅga* or calendar, and benedictory and imprecatory verses taken from the *purāṇas* and *itihāsas*. Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya on the application of the excellent minister Tippasōma, son of *kandāchāra* Brahman the minister Mādappa, in A.D. 1513, granted to Viśvēśvara, who was a highly esteemed teacher, versed in the *srauta* and *smārta*, ever performing the six rites, and who was the son of Mādhavārādhya of the Haritānvaya Āpastamba-*sūtra* and Yajus-*śākhā*, the village named Bhaṇḍāripaḷḷi in the country between the Tuṅga and the Bhadrā called Yeḍatore, in the Honnur-sime of the Śrīraṅga kingdom, situated east of Siriyūr, south-west of Benkīpura, north of Jannāpura, giving to it another name of Kṛṣṇarāyapura.¹

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¹ E.C., VII., Sh. 1, p. 2. On Yedatore, see Barnett, Ep. Ind., XII., p. 296, and Fleet's note on the same, ibid., p. 296, n. (4). The instances where the gōtra, śākhā, etc. are mentioned are too many to be cited here. A few specimens may be given here. E.C., V., P. I., Cn. 167, p. 198; E.C., IV., Hs. 24, p. 86, Yd. 59, p. 62.

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In the reign of the same great monarch the head-jewel of that king's court (tad-rājānasthāna-śirōmaṇi) the great minister Hisūr Mallarasayya, who was in charge of the Narasiyapura-sime of the Hoysala-nāḍ, granted to Mallayyadēva, son of Mogūr Sōmayya-dēvoḍeyar, of the sōmēśvarācārya-sampradāya of Ōraṅgal, the village of Hāchraraguppe belonging to Kereyārapurasthala, giving it the name of Mallayyadēvapura. This stone inscription is interesting because it contains several titles which are not in the form usually given to Vijayanagara kings. Its date is given thus: Śrīmat Sālivāhana-śaka-varsha 1438 sanda varttamāna-Dhātu-samvatsarada Pushya-śuddha 7 lu Maṅgaḷa-vāradalu ghaḷige 29 mahā-nakshatra Uttarā...sanda ghaḷige 24½ nitya-nakshatra Rēvati-ghaḷige 47½ Sīvayōga 14½ Vaṇijakaraṇa yint ī pañchāṅga-siddhāyada-tithiyalu...²

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² E. C., V., P, I, HN. 19, p. 243, n. (2), 244; P. II, pp. 724-5. The date corresponds to A. D. 1516, Dec., Tuesday 30th (Rice gives it as A. D. 1517). But I am unable to verify further details, According to Swamikannu, Ind. Eph., (V., p. 235) the nakshatra Uttara-Bhādrapada falls on Monday the 29th=Paushya-Su. 6. See, for another example, 402 of 1912.

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It is not surprising, therefore, that a people who were thus uncommonly careful in the matter of including the details of the pañchāṅga, should have copiously copied verses from the purāṇas and smṛitis in the grants. The imprecatory verses beginning with sva-dattām and ending with achyutam-padam which we have just referred to in this chapter, are similar to those found in the smṛitis.³ A copper-plate grant dated A. D. 1403 recording the gift of the village of Sibur in Chetur-nāḍ, to certain Brahmans (named) by Harihara Rāya, contains the following evidently from the composer of the śāsana:

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³ Eggeling, Cat. of the Skt. MSS. in the Ind. Office, II, pp. 387-8.

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Śrī-Rāma-vākyaṁ:—
bahubhir vasudhā dattā rājabhis Sāga- rādibhiḥ|
Yasya-yasya yadā bhūmis tasya tasya tadā phalam||
Āditya:—
svalpāṁ api mahīṁ yas tu dadāti śraddhayānvitaḥ|
sa yāti Brahma-sadanaṁ yasmān nāvarttate punaḥ||
Bṛhaspatiḥ:—
Prāsādā yatra sauvarṇā vasu-dhārāś cha kāmaśaḥ|
gandharvāpsarasō yatra tatra gachchati bhūmidaḥ||
ājñā śulkaṁ cha daṇḍaś cha mudrā-karaṇaṁ eva cha|
sīmā-nirṇaya-kartṛtvaṁ prajābhyō bhaya rakṣaṇam||
yathēṣṭaṁ cha karādānaṁ kāru-saṁsthāpanaṁ tathā|
mandiraṁ dvi-vidhaṁ kṣētraṁ gōṣṭaṁ cha vanaṁ eva cha||
khilībhūtaṁ cha yat kṣētraṁ mṛga-vāsas tathaiva cha|
nadī-parvala bhōgāś chō aṣṭa-bhōgāḥ prakīrtitāḥ||
ēlair aṣṭābhir aiśvaryair aṣṭa-bhōgāis samanvitān|
yō dadāti sura-śrēṣṭa grāmaṁ satkṛtya bhaktitaḥ||
guru-daivata-viprēbhyaḥ puṇya-kālēshu buddhimān|
sa yāti Brahma-sadanaṁ ēka-viṁśa kūlānvitaḥ||
anēka-kālaṁ tatraiva bhōgān iṣṭān manōramān|
anubhūya punar bhūmau rājā bhavati dhārmikāḥ||¹

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¹ E. C., XII, Si. 95, p. 101, text pp. 299-300, The verses may be thus translated: Rāma—"The earth has been enjoyed by Sāgara and other kings; according to their (gifts of) land so was the reward". Aditya: "Though he grant but a small portion of the earth, he will go to Brahma's abode and not return." Brihaspati: "To where there are golden pavilions, where is the cow of plenty and he will obtain all he desires, where the gandharvas and apsaras are, there goes the donor of the land. The power to issue commands, to levy customs dues and fines,

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An inscription dated A. D. 1421 ends with the usual verses among which we have the following: "The quail and the boar, the she-buffalo and the elephant, the teacher and the donor, these six went to svarga." Rice commented thus: "It is said to be taken from the Māśa-mahātmya of the Vāyu or other purāṇa, and refers to the merit arising from making a tank. A quail once scraped a hole in the ground; a boar came and made it larger; a buffalo and elephant each in turn enlarged it still more; a holy man then pointed out that it could be made into a tank or pond; and the king to whom he gave the advice carried out the idea and made a grant of it. For their respectivs shares, in this work of merit all six went to svarga or paradise."¹

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¹ E. C., XI., Hr. 52, p. 110. n. (1). This verse also appears in the grant by the benevolent Muhammadan officer Shaikh Mallik in A. D. 1653, E. C., VII, Ci. 43, pp, 185, n. (1), 186. For an extraordinary and unusual verse in a grant dated A. D. 1516 recording the victory of Krishna Dēva Rāya in the Gajapati kingdom, see E. C., V., P. I., Hn. 13, p. 7. For Rice's remarks on the same, ibid., Intr., pp. xxx-xxxi.

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