Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c25.s2.49

v2.c25.s2.49

From the opening verses of the same epigraph, we gather that puppet shows were also common in those days. For it commences thus with an invocation to Śrigiri Mallikārjuna : "As the stage manager pulls the strings of the puppet and makes him dance, so (?) (control my actions), Śrigiri Mallikārjuna" (*bombeyan ēkamam piḍidu sūtrikan āḍisuv-antey āḍut ā-bom-bege . . .*)³ In A. D. 1521 Gaṅga Rāya Dēva Mahārāja-aya granted to the puppet player (*bommalāṭa*) Puruvaṭi Purāṇar Virapa's son Kṛishṭapa (Kṛishṇappa) Uppakuṇṭipale belonging to Sādali, free of all imports.⁴