Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c21.s3.t2.9

v2.c21.s3.t2.9

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