Cincaṇī Plate of the Reign of Chittarāja

Success! May there be victory and prosperity!

Verse 1

May that Gaṇanāyaka (i.e. Gaṇapati) protect you from calamity—he who destroys obstacles and who, by means of worship, receives attention in all undertakings!

Line 2-5

During the beneficial and victorious rule of the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, the illustrious Chinturāja, who has obtained the right of the five mahāśabdas, who is adorned with all royal titles such as mahāsāmantādhipati, ‘the lord of the City of Tagara,’ ‘a king of the Śīlāra family’, ‘a scion of the family of Jīmūtavāhana’, ‘he who has the ensign of the golden garuḍa’, ‘he who is an ocean of pride’, ‘he who is an adamantine cage to suppliants’, and so forth, while the illustrious Nāgaṇaiya is his mahāmātya and the illustrious Vāupaiya is his mahāsandhivigrahika, and while the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, the illustrious Cāmuṇḍarāja is governing the Saṁyāna-pattana, which has been made over to him by the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Chinturāja.

Line 6-19

Now, while the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, the illustrious Cāmuṇdarāja, who, by his religious merit, has obtained the right to the five mahāśabdas, who is adorned with all princely titles such as mahāsāmantādhipati, ‘Vikramāditya by his own valour’, ‘the Cakravartin (foremost) in adventures’, ‘a serpent (i.e. destroyer) to the chiefs of the circle of his prosperity of the enemies’, ‘he who brightens with fame both the families’, ‘the goad to the elephants that are his enemies’, ‘an ornament (nīla) of the three worlds’ and so forth, is governing Saṁyāna, he addresses all persons, whether connected with himself or others, such as the chief among artisans, traders and karaṇikas, merchants such as Alliya, Mahara, Mahumata and so forth, the chief townsmen, the Śreṣṭhin Kesari, the goldsmith Kakkala, the merchant Uva, the goldsmith Somaiya, and also Vevvalaiya, the Collector of the viṣaya, the chief among the managers of the śālā (Residential Hall) such as Yājñika, Ratnamaiya, Kṣitalakṣaiya Delaiya, Kesavaiya and others, the members of the mahāpārṣad such as Agasti, Śavī, Śīluva, Bhāskara, Arjuna, Dinakara, Deveti, Ārya Sindūra, Ādityavarṇa and others as follows:-

Be it known to you that realising that prosperity is unsteady, youth is momentary and life lies in the jaws of Death, it is a great wonder that men are indifferent to the attainment of the other world, I, the illustrious mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Cāmuṇḍarāja—having bathed at an excellent holy place on the new-moon day in the dark fortnight of Bhādrapada when nine hundred years increased by fifty-six have passed by the era of the Śaka King, the cyclic year being Bhava, in figures, the year 956, the dark fortnight of Bhādrapada, the 15th tithi, and having worshipped gods—have donated, with great devotion, as a gift free from all taxes, an oil mill together with the oil and oil-cakes produced therein, in favour of the Kautuka-maṭhikā for the burning of a lamp in front of the divine Bhagavatī and for the smearing of the feet of the scholars and of the Brāhmaṇas that may visit the temple, by pouring out water on the hand of the scholar Vīhaḍa.

Line 20-28

Wherefore, none should cause any obstruction while he is using this oil mill or allowing others to use it—the mill-area not to be entered by cāṭas and bhaṭas and not to be assigned and not to be attached.

(Here follow three benedictory and imprecatory verses.)

Having known these sayings of the sages, all future kings also should entertain a strong desire only for acquiring the religious merit accruing from the protection of this gift. None should be notorious for the taint in the form of the sin due to the confiscation of it. He who, though thus requested, will allow it to be confiscated, with his mind clouded by the darkness of ignorance through greed, shall incur all the five sins together with the minor sins and shall experience for a long time the pangs of the hells such as Raurava and Andhatāmisra.

He who will confiscate this oil-mill will not get rid of the consequent sin by making gifts of a thousand gardens, a hundred tanks and a crore of cows.

Line 29-32

And as it is, the giver of the charter records his approval: “This has been approved by me, the illustrious Cāmuṇḍarāja, the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara and ornament of the three worlds, the son of the illustrious Vijjarāṇaka, the mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, who has sixty-four black horses, who has the right to use the musical instruments and who is Ahava-nīla (the hero of battles).

The charter has been written by the Dhruva (Revenue-collector) Mammalaiya by his own hand. Whatever is written here—in deficient or redundant syllables—all that is authoritative.